Thursday, June 15, 2006

Some censorship is evil. Some is downright silly. Here's a piece of wonderful silliness courtesy of the BBC. I guess Alice inWonderland will also have to be banned in case anyone notices the similarities between it and the actions of some politicians.

This afternoon England play Trinidad and Tobago in the World Cup Football tournament. The major trade union in the publishing world (and in many other worlds), Amicus, has got into trouble for allegedly giving out information on how to 'throw a sickie'. This would allow employees to watch the match while still being paid. A major supermarket chain, Asda, has apparently offered staff two weeks unpaid leave on the grounds that they won't be working anyway. I'm in two minds on all this. On the one hand winning would cheer the country up. But early elimination might well be good for the economy. Losing to T&T would be a national humiliation but the British do have a reputation for enjoying a touch of masochism.

 

Whatever else the Cup seems to have killed off High Street book sales except that there are three soccer books in the top five non-fiction bestseller list - Gazza, Pele and our very own Match World Cup book.

 

#    |  Comments [5]  | 
6/15/2006 8:28:36 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
T and T are not bad at all and might just give us a shock. I hope they do. I`m all for underdogs. The only thing stopping me cheering for them will be the thought of all those Scots doing the same
6/15/2006 4:08:05 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Richard, don´t worry about the English economy too much: the Germanz will give England fans a chance to win back this well earned reputation for enjoying a touch a masochism (think penalties). Latest date for that is June 30th, quarter final time against Germany...
6/15/2006 9:49:23 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Does your censorship of comments on this page count as evil or as downright silly?
6/16/2006 7:51:23 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
I don't censor, as far as I know,comments on this page?
Richard Charkin
6/17/2006 5:02:42 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Re your comment "the Cup seems to have killed off High Street book sales"

I can't believe the majority of football fans are also passionate bookworms and book buyers. Couch potatoes more likely, surely?

I know a lot of bookworms, most of them deeply bored by the endless Cup stuff in the press and on the TV News which is usually the only TV bookworms watch.

Anne