Everyone’s favourite billionaire, Mike Ashley (do we have ‘favourite billionaires’? or just hate them all on principle and out of jealousy?), has upset everyone, once agian, because he’s invoking the infamous ‘zero hours’ contracts for his Sports Direct part-time workers which basically prevents them from taking second jobs. Even if they only get a few hours a week from Mikey-boy. The incredible thing about this will occur instantly to anyone who’s ever visited a Sports Direct. Which is that for those staff even have the one job is a miracle and goes against any logic or business sense. But two jobs?? Who the hell else would employ them? To qualify you need to: ‘have the ability to stand around wearing sports gear whilst being unhelpful’. A kind of multi-tasking for the decidedly unfriendly. And who’d have thought that someone of Mike Ashley’s standing would use exploitative methods for his (barely) human resource? You can’t help but think its somehow his revenge on the lowly shop assistants for the aggro he gets from his Newcastle players. They’re moaning about wanting a pay-hike on their ‘measly’ £65,000 a week, so he takes it out on his shop workers by paying them £4.37 an hour. Then cutting their hours. And now telling them not get another job as well.

And now Robin Williams is dead. Nothing specifically to do with Mike Ashley, I hope, though perhaps the actor’s suicide may be linked if it is shown he shopped (or tried to) at Sports Direct within 48 hours before his demise. Those stores certainly have that potential. But Robin was depressed and is now yet another tragic loss to the world.

Robin Williams was a comedian who became an actor. Nothing unusual about that. Except he was probably the best stand-up comedian I’ve ever seen (though never, sadly, live… no pun intended) when he was massive in the early 80s. He was fast, manic, mainly unscripted and fast. Did I mention fast? He was like the living embodiment of a cocaine habit. Which in fact was pretty much what he was. Though even when he cleaned up he was still the quickest funny man of them all. And all through his Hollywood years, all through the Mrs Doutbfires and Dead Poets Societies, he never lost his essential Robin Williamsness. In Good Morning Vietnam he simply reverted to what he was and his largely unscripted role was the perfect combination of the comedian he naturally was and the serious actor he became. I love that movie. And Robin Williams never sold his soul to the movie business in the way so many comedians did. Like Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Eddy Murphy, who all became caricatures of themselves. Whereas Robin Williams was always Robin Williams, in the same way that John Belushi was always John Belushi, though sadly, not for very long, and Bill Murray is always Bill Murray.

Rest in peace Funny funny man. At least I know what I’m going to be watching on tv for the next 3 months.

Happy but slightly sad Tuesday

A xxxx