A nice, if all too brief weekend away, and we used the huge lunar tides to find some unusual stuff in the rockpools. More of that another time, but here are a couple of pics I chucked onto Instagram:
Follow me (or don’t – it’s really your call) on Instagram here.
It’s been a while since I did German at school. I did get an A for my GCSE exam, but then I dropped it for my A-levels, because SCIENCE! (and French)
Still, Ich kann mich noch daran erinnen, einige Dinge. And despite the beautiful sentiment, this internet content didn’t look quite right:
… which was because:
So let’s list this one under “Allegedly romantic things you probably shouldn’t say to a German”.
It’s Friday, and in an attempt to get through to the tea break before anyone else, Andrew Harding is in the courtroom early today and he’s brought his musical analogy collection with him:
Yesterday Prosecutor Nel gave us his greatest hits. The defence are promising more of a symphony today, as they sum up their case.
— andrew harding (@BBCAndrewH) August 8, 2014
Andrew has his eye on Barry Roux:
Barry Roux is already at his desk in court – writing furiously by the looks of it. #OscarPistorius — andrew harding (@BBCAndrewH) August 8, 2014
He’s “writing furiously by the looks of it”? Why “by the looks of it”? What else do you think he might be doing?
How can the action of “writing furiously” at a desk in a courtroom be mistaken for anything else?
What other task might he be carrying out that may lead you have even a semblance of doubt that he was not writing, furiously?
I put it to you that if he is sitting at a desk, in a courtroom, with a pen in his hand, moving it furiously over some paper, then it’s highly unlikely that he’s sowing radishes or piloting an Airbus A380.
He’s writing, isn’t he? Furiously.
By the looks of it, anyway.
Yho Ozzie looks saaaaad today #Pistorius
— Rebecca Davis (@becsplanb) August 8, 2014
What an odd emotion for him to be showing, given the circumstances.
But at least he’s not tired today:
#OscarPistorius Havent spotted any excessive yawning from OP today – or any at all
— Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) August 8, 2014
But exhaustion is obviously affecting some people. Look at this tired attempt at humour:
At least the Pistorius trial has taught me what ‘Nil by mouth’ means, which I previously thought was something ppl say to decline oral sex
— Rebecca Davis (@becsplanb) August 8, 2014
“I’m here all week. Try the veal.”
But then there were no more week and they were gone. And, quite possibly, so is this series.
Pending an appeal, anyway.
After someone mischievously suggested yesterday that Retreat Day Hospital in Cape Town was on lockdown due to a suspected Ebola case (it wasn’t), this “brilliant” idea is doing the rounds in Nigeria right now:
VERY URGENT PLS. INFORMATION IS GOING ROUND FROM TRUSTED SOURCES THAT EVERY ONE IS TO POUR SALT IN WARM WATER AND USE IT TO BATH BEFORE DAY BREAK THIS MORNING AS EBOLA VACCINE.
That’ll work. And it does raise the question as to why America is not sharing its salt and warm water reserves.
So what are these trusted sources?
Well, you have to look no further than the very next paragraph to er… not find out:
I don’t even know the origin but every call I’m receiving now points to that. Since salty water is not harmful to skin I think it’s just better we do it.
Have you tried sticking sweetcorn in your ears? I only ask because that’s not harmful to skin either and will have absolutely no effect on Ebola infection either?
UPDATE: WHO tweet
Bathing with salt and warm water, drinking water with salt does NOT cure #Ebola.
Facts about what helps treat Ebola http://t.co/Evrm7YlsME
— WHO (@WHO) August 8, 2014
Interesting that they’re not taking the sweetcorn angle on this.
Summing up, and thus we’re getting towards pretty much the last chance for the journos in the court to come up with The Quote or The Soundbite which will be The Title of The Book about The Trial.
On Nel’s Effects:
The BBC have gone with “Mosaic”:
“If one piece of mosaic is moved, the rest has to move as well to keep picture intact,” says Nel, of #OscarPistorius evidence.
— andrew harding (@BBCAndrewH) August 7, 2014
Sky, with “Snowball”:
#OscarPistorius Nel insisting OP lies had a ‘snowball effect’. After telling one, it kicked off another and another to make everything fit — Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) August 7, 2014
And SA’s ECR with “Domino”:
No. 5: The tailoring of evidence had a domino effect. Once he’d “moved” the fans, he had to create a version about how the duvet got there.
— Thrishni (@Thrishni) August 7, 2014
Meanwhile, back in 1994:
Nel has included “hyperlinks” to his heads of argument which are shown on screens in court. Very high tech. @eNCAnews #OscarTrial — Dianne Hawker (@diannehawker) August 7, 2014
The competition as to who will be the first to tweet the tea break announcement is as tight as ev… oh, no, it’s reigning champion Andrew Harding as usual:
Tea break… #OscarPistorius
— andrew harding (@BBCAndrewH) August 7, 2014
And this simply can’t be true.
I’m pretty sure the judge would not allow him to do either of these things in court:
Nel is getting into the state witnesses and screaming. @eNCAnews #OscarTrial — Dianne Hawker (@diannehawker) August 7, 2014
“Mr Nel, would you please keep your voice down and remove yourself from that state witness.
At once!”