HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR!

I very much enjoyed the birthday concert in Hyde Park last night in honour of Nelson Mandela who is 90. McChe and I had a small glass or two of South African Shiraz to toast the great man while we watched it on Dutch TV, and enjoyed the music so much we ended up dancing in the front window. Again. We are starting to become something of a local tourist attraction. I am amazed he is not Sir Nelson - or even better, Lord Nelson! Perhaps the Queen could give him the gong she's just taken back from Robert Mugabe?

It is also the birthday of another great inspirational figure, who was not too self-important to pass on his birthday greetings to Mr Mandela:

TO A THISSULL

Last week the giant thistle growing in the front garden disappeared. It was over 4' high and in full bloom, its great purple hairy things bursting out all over. The gardener obviously didn't realize it was the national symbol of Scotland. Why should he, he's Moroccan.

McChe was inconsolable. While I searched vainly in the CD collection to find something Scottish and mournful, finally having to settle for Lulu's Greatest Hits, McChe stood in the open window overlooking the empty space in the herbaceous border and, clutching his can of Irn Bru, recited a verse from Burns:

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,

The trembling earth resounds his tread.

Clap in his walie nieve a blade,

He'll make it whissle;

An' legs, an' arms, an' heads will sned,

Like taps o' thrissle.

If you wish to leave a message of condolence, pop over to McChe's art blog which he has just revived by popular demand - oh all right, a passing enquiry from Tom Joad. If you don't, may I suggest you listen to "Gift of a Thistle" from the soundtrack of Braveheart, a beautiful piece of music, on my sidebar. Well you don't have a choice, actually, as the new Deezer embedded thingie switches itself on automatically. This could cause problems if you're reading this in the office. I was planning on putting some Ian Dury on next week.

NEW ORDER

And they want the Elgin Marbles back too?

Irish eyes may perhaps be smiling today at the chaos they have created in Brussels, but French eyes will be red and sore from crying. Beaten 4-1 by the Dutch! Les Bleus wuz robbed of their chance to wreak revenge on Italy for the 2006 World Cup final. The way this tournament is going, the big boys are going to go down like ninepins and we could end up with another shock result, like Greece lifting the trophy in Euro 2004. Which is bad news, as I've got a fiver on Spain in the office sweep. The old order is certainly crumbling, in football as in European politics.

On top of all the excitement of MPs resigning, the Irish referendum and Brom Man's visit, I was very busy on Monday and Tuesday supporting the KNOB's* participation in a two-day "fanfare" or brass band competition. Bert, Manfred, Otto and the boys were still on a high after Sunday's victory over Poland and insisted on finishing with Queen's "We are the champions". I kept schtumm and avoided any comparisons to 1939, just rubbed away quietly with my tin of Brasso and my duster until Bert's instrument shone like a spiegel. By the end of the week they weren't trumping quite so loud, but as far as Euro 2008 goes it's still springtime for Germany, winter for Poland and France. If this tournament gets any more like World War 2, it might perhaps be wise to learn the Russian for "Who are yer?"

Let's watch Greece lift the trophy in that gripping European Cup final once again.

*The Kurt Nachtnebel Oompah Band

WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING

Congratulations to a nice Young Maaan on winning the Democratic nomination. He's got a smile that makes the lilac wanna grow, a voice that loosens knicker elastic and Bruce Springsteen singing his campaign song. With his well-cut suits and his lovely tan he has brought a new elegance to American politics.

I'm not sure how I feel about the possible future President of the United States being younger than me, but as a daughter of Hibernia (I'm a Harridan on my father's side) I can't help cheering on a fellow ethnic minority. He's Irish, you know. I'm not sure which part of Ireland the O'Bamas hailed from, but he looks like a Kerry man to me. The O'Bamas were not very good at geography, and instead of joining the hordes heading for America, went the wrong way and settled in Kenya. I do hope he has not inherited their sense of direction.

He may not even win the race against the Republicans. You can say what you like about John McCain, but this superb campaign video will appeal to blue-collar workers and people of Belgian extraction.