The Tin Drummer

So much for that. Dalyrymple is in the England squad and Plunkett drops out with a side injury.

So presumably Dalyrymple slots in at number 8; or maybe it will be Mahmood for Plunkett instead. Either way it doesn't look great; the batting is stronger with Bell, but there is too much for an inconsistent bunch of bowlers to do against the world No4 and No5 batsmen, Yousuf and Inzi. I can't see an England win, but then I am a pessimist and prefer life that way.

Still struggling with On the Beach, but making extremely slow progress. Thinking about going back to the Canterbury Tales but there is no way I could re-read them all, or maybe I could, but then who actually reads the Tale of Melibee? Maybe I'll just read Parliament of Fowls and leave it at that for the moment, thinking wryly about current affairs.

Listening to Gang of Four at the moment; I dislike their political polemics and half baked brand of far leftism, but I love their tunes and sometimes their lyrics are ok ("We live as we dream, alone", yes I know it is a line from Conrad). I've also gone back to early New Order, who I adore for their brilliant electronic misery and opaque lyrics. I also like the fact that Bernard Sumner circa Movement is not the most confident singer in the world; but who would be, replacing the Ian Curtis of Love will tear us apart? I love them for fusing bleak post-punk and disco, which they had started doing in Joy Division and I love them for picking up the pieces and carrying on.