Walking Commentary
Thoughts and cycling from Manchester to Rome in 2023
We all know that facts taken out of context can be misleading, that spurious correlations can be misdirecting. There’s even a website (and a book) that specialises in spurious correlations. One of my favourites is the 80% correlation between the letters in the winning words of a spelling bee and deaths from spider venom. Ah, the joys of unmoderated, unrefereed information.
It’s the middle(ish) of November and so it’s Movember again. Male sports is once again a showcase for the annual 70’s pornstar moustache revival. I used to do Movember fund raising when I had the enthusiasm that you get after you or someone close has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Now I prefer to publicise the risks of cancer. I prefer to encourage men to have an annual screening specifically for prostate cancer.
I heard today that English goalkeeping legend Ray Clemence has died. Now, I’m not a big football fan despite growing up with compulsive enthusiasms for the top English leagues. While I’ve always preferred rugby, years in America taught me that any sport can catch your imagination and act as a gateway to a new culture. I learned that baseball is more pointless than cricket, that American Football is seriously bad for your health and that to watch basketball, is to see how evolution works, but more slowly.
