Sometimes I have to concede defeat

No, this isn’t a gratuitous leg shot to get my blog stats up! My one and only pair of jeans gave way at the left knee today, with both a large hole and a couple of long rips leaving them rather the worst for wear. Being loathe to spend money on a new pair just yet - and as one of my own actions to curtail unnecessary consumption - I set about hand stitching the rips closed before putting a patch over the hole. I finished stitching the rips and was quite pleased to show my handiwork to the Other Half.

Seldom does a politican get it so right

I had a good chuckle when I read today that Health Secretary Alan Johnson had described increasing rates of the obesity in the UK as a “potential crisis on the scale of climate change”.

He managed to rather cunningly downplay climate change - a global threat to the environment and the entire human race - by implying it was only as serious as a UK-centric health issue, while also getting a few minutes media attention by indulging in theatrical hyperbole.

But, there is rather more truth to his comparison than Mr Johnson probably realises and almost certainly intended.