Consistently Inconsistent

There is something about supporting Wolverhampton Wanderers that is remarkably comforting: they rarely fail to disappoint in bringing about utter disappointment. Since our relegation from (the then) Division 1 in 1984, we have only spent one season in the top flight (the unfortunate 2003–4 season, where we "weren't quite ready to be promoted").

Pretty much every other season, we make a strong start but then, around the halfway mark, mediocrity takes over once again and the scoresheet brings records draw after draw. One season we were nine points clear at the top in February and yet by May, we were fighting for relegation!

And now, here we are, near the end of another season that started off so promisingly but has been plagued by inconsistency and a terrible goal difference. After yesterday's win at QPR, we are 5th in the Championship with one match to play — we will probably end up in the play-offs but we are never any good in the play-offs (too much pressure).

This report from The Sunday Times says a lot really: "If they win at Leicester next Sunday, they will be guaranteed a chance to end a season of inconsistency in style." And that's Wolves, really: consistently inconsistent.

No Such Thing?

Perhaps I’m too cynical for my own good but when I heard that Wagamama, the now ubiquitous chain of Asian fusion noodle restaurants, were opening a new branch in Cambridge this week (they must know they have hit it big when they open a branch in Cambridge) and were offering a free lunch to all of those quick enough to sign up for a slot from the cunningly hidden link on the website, I was convinced it was too good to be true.

“Certainly, Madam. Here’s the bill for your free lunch…”

Nonetheless, a bunch of us signed up and booked our slot at 1.30p.m. today and when we turned up, they were even able to seat all seven of us together at the semi-communal tables. The staff were all helpful and eager-to-please and it turned out that the free meal didn’t consist of a measly side dish; far from it, in fact: we were each entitled to choose one main and one side dish from the menu, along with two drinks (and free bottled water).

The meal selection process was a little simpler for me than for the others on account of my extreme fussiness, but there was one dish whose ingredients were all to my liking – yaki soba, which consisted of an alpine mountain of noodles, chicken, ginger, peppers, sesame and spring onion. I tried some negima yakitori (chicken kebabs) on the side and washed it all down with a couple of juices, one being apple and lime (which I had tried before at their Knightsbridge branch) and the other being a mixed fruit juice, both of which were delicious and certainly a refreshing change from the generic carton-ed liquid you usually find in restaurants.

We were presented with a bill at the end but this was only so that we could correctly calculate the (optional, of course) gratuity. 10% worked out at about £2 each – not bad for a two course meal with two drinks.

And there was no catch! We just filled in some comment cards on our way out and promised we would be back (which, given how cheap the main courses were, seems like a sure thing).

"All Knowledge is Specific"

I went to see The History Boys two weeks ago in the West End and having enjoyed the film (and not just because of the delectable Dominic Cooper), I found it much more suited to the stage (as one might expect given that it was based on the Alan Bennett play of the same name) and, of course, it is always more fun and engaging to feel a part of the production, even if in a largely passive way.

The script is similar for the film and the play and it is just brimming with pithy quotations (or should I say gobbets?) to recycle ad infinitum. One in particular remains prominent in my mind and it is spoken by Hector, the old, traditional teacher who believes in learning for learning's sake rather than for entrance exams:

"There is no such thing as general studies. All knowledge is specific."

This has probably stuck in my mind as I have participated in several pub quizzes recently - all, in theory, general knowledge based and yet each individual question requires the knowledge of a very specific and particular fact. Gems that I have contributed over the past three quizzes include:

• What is the metal extracted from bauxite? Aluminium

• What does someone with ophidiophobia fear? Snakes

• Which former soap star had a hit with the song All I Wanna Do? Dannii Minogue

• Which flower's name means lion's tooth? Dandelion

• What is a mistral? A wind (in Provence)

At least, they are (mostly) indisputable facts, though. Other things are much more ambiguous and that is where the trouble begins... Here's a tougher question: was Karl Marx correct when he said that history tends to repeat itself, first as tragedy, second as farce, and if so, who is laughing right now?

Of course, these facts all cover a wide range of topics - a general range of topics - and yet are, in themselves, still specific.

Moleskine NYC

As a massive stationery fan in general and Moleskine fan in particular, you can imagine my delight when I discovered last autumn that the company had just brought out a range of Moleskine City Notebook - the guidebooks you write yourself. These are absolutely perfect for someone like me who loves to make travel diaries and to make notes of shops, restaurants and places to be revisited and who ends up buying a new guidebook every time she goes back to a city. The City Notebooks all have maps, notebook pages, removable sheets, tabbed pages and all sorts of other wonders. According to the Moleskineus website, they are:

A special guidebook, ideal for those who travel, whether to see the sights or for work, as a way of a organising your trip and to preserve it for your memory and your records. Perfect for those who live there, as a way of organizing the things they know and need about the city they live in. Each notebook has an elastic closure, 228 pages, with up to 44 pages in colours and have a sewn binding. There is an inside accordion pocket and three ribbon placemarkers, each in a different colour.

You can, for example, use the included tracing paper to mark out cool walking routes you have taken. You can choose which categories to include in the tabbed sections (shopping, bars, museums, parks, etc.). And most importantly, you can add to it each time you go back without having to start a completely new holiday diary. This is something you can keep in your bag at all times and make a note of anything worth going back to.

Unfortunately, last year they only had various European city ones and although I do like Paris a lot, I don't go there too much anymore. Deprived of the New York Notebook, I bought Paris anyway and of course, have not yet bothered to fill it in. However, yesterday, in an event worthy of being entered into my Google Cal (oh, let's be honest - anything will excite me enough for that), the Moleskine New York was released; admittedly, not to any of the bookshops out here in the Sticks but I intend to have a look the slightly more metropolitan Oxford at the weekend and if I still have no luck, I shall either go for Amazon or a London trip.

Now all Moleskine needs is to have electronic notebooks (oh, the irony!) and then they can have some nice Web 2.0 tagging and categorisation... Maybe next year, eh?