Two items stood out for me over the past couple of days - both pretty irrelevant but illustrating once again that sometimes people behave and act far too seriously.
Firstly the new leader of the Labour party - Jeremy Corbyn - was berated for not singing the national anthem. Talk about going over the top. Just because you don't sing the national anthem doesn't mean that you are anti monarchy or unpatriotic. I don't sing the national anthem beacuse 1/ I feel self conscious singing and 2/ I have a terrible voice. I run a mile from karaoke, having a fear of singing in public. I'm happy talking to hundreds of people but not singing. So let's not make such an issue of a politician not singing.
On the subject of our national anthem, I have never understood why we sing about an individual rather than our country. In addition musically I much prefer both "Land of Hope and Glory" and "Jerusalem" as they are much more poetic than "God Save the Queen/King." It's just a matter of taste on that one.
Secondly, former rugby player Matt Dawson has put together his own comedy (and rather camp) version of the New Zealand Hakka - the ceremonial piece of Maori tongue wagging and posturing - made famous by the New Zealand All Blacks and which we will see regularly over the next few weeks at the Rugby World Cup which starts today.
New Zealand have taken exception to this light-hearted piece of whimsy. The only comment that seems appropriate is a simple "If you can't take it, don't dish it out."