Souvenirs Of The RMS Queen Mary

Someone in the family- probably my grandfather but it could have been my father- crossed the Atlantic on the Cunard liner Queen Mary in July 1948 and brought back these menu cards as a souvenir....



The Queen Mary made her maiden voyage in 1936 and was for a time the largest ship afloat. She carried troops during WWII, and retired from service in 1967. She is currently berthed at Long Beach, California.

Death And Disembowellment- And All Before The Watershed

My mother is watching a TV programme about vultures. There's an awful lot of that sort of thing on TV these days, especially in the afternoons. I can see the attraction of shows about cute animals, but why do we like watching shows about animals eating one another?

I caught a bit of the action when I was taking my mother her cup of tea. A lion had brought down a herbivore and was tearing it to bits- while the vultures looked on. Whoops, there goes what looks like the stomach! In any other context this sort of imagery would have people writing in to complain (and the Mail would be relishing their "fury") but since it's a wildlife programme it's totally fine, apparently...