“Trouble is a great sieve through which we sift our acquaintances; those who are too big to pass through are friends.”
(Arlene Francis, 1907 – 2011)
John Lentell
24th November, 1970
Monday’s Piece
“The middle way is frequently taken by those who do not know where they are going, and so find comfort in having company on both sides.”
(Prof. F. A. Harper, 1905 – 1973)
John Lentell
21st November, 1970
Sunday’s Piece
“He who has a thing to sell,
And goes and whispers in a well,
Is not so apt to get the dollars,
As he who climbs a tree and hollers.”
(Advertising industry quote attributed to Henry Taunt, 1842-1922)
John Lentell
20th November, 1970
Saturday’s’ Piece
“A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”
(Oscar Wilde, 1854 – 1900)
John Lentell
19th November, 1970
Friday’s Piece
Old lady to vicar, who was leaving with the parish:
“I am so sorry you are going. I have enjoyed your sermons so much. We never knew what sin was until you came.”
John Lentell
18th November, 1970
Thursday’s Piece
“Enough to make a civil servant turn in his groove.”
(Collie Knox, 1899 – 1977)
John Lentell
17th November, 1970
Wednesday’s Piece
“I love every thing that’s old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines.”
(Oliver Goldsmith, 1730 -1774)
John Lentell
16th November, 1970
Tuesday’s Piece
“As the French say, there are three sexes, men, women and clergymen.”
(Rev. Sydney Smith, 1771 – 1845)
John Lentell
15th November, 1970
Monday’s Piece
“An open foe may prove a curse,
But a pretend friend is worse.”
(John Gay, 1685 – 1732)
John Lentell
14th November, 1970
Sunday’s Piece
“I hope you are not afraid of microbes’ apologised the paying teller as he cashed the school teacher’s cheque with soiled notes. “Don’t worry,” said the young lady, “a microbe couldn’t live on my salary.”
John Lentell
13th November, 1970
Saturday’s Piece
Multiply 12345679 x 9
(omitting 8)
John Lentell
12th November, 1970
Tuesday’s Piece
“After having received a lesson on government a child wrote the following:
‘An Absolute Monarchy is when He does as He likes;
a Limited Monarchy is when He don’t do as He likes;
a Republic is when He don’t do nothing at all.’ ”
(From the Boy’s Own Paper, 18th April 1903)
John Lentell
11th November, 1970
Monday’s Piece
“Trains that day were running late, but presently one appeared, and Joad opened a door. ‘Sorry Sir,’ shouted a porter, ‘but this train doesn’t stop here.’
‘And I’m not getting in’, riposted the philosopher, closing the door behind him.”
(C.E.M Joad, 1891 – 1953)
John Lentell
10th November, 1970
Saturday’s Piece
“No distance breaks the tie of blood:
Brothers are brothers evermore”
(John Keble, 1792 – 1866)
John Lentell
9th November, 1970
Friday’s Piece
“I consider the education of our senses and our emotions rather more important than the education of our ideas.”
(From The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang, 1895 – 1976)
John Lentell
21st September, 1970
Thursday’s Piece
“Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest.”
(‘King Lear’ – William Shakespeare, 1564 – 1616)
John Lentell
4th september, 1970
Wednesday’s Piece
“Yet what does the embarrassment of others matter if a conviction of truth and justice demands the courage of the individual to express his conviction by words of actions?”
(‘On Moral Courage’ – Compton Mackenzie, 1883 – 1972)
John Lentell
3rd September, 1970
Tuesday’s Piece
“An optimist is the fellow who fell out of the 20th story window of a skyscraper and as he passed the fourth floor said ‘so far so good’.”
(Of unknown origin from the 1920s)
John Lentell
2nd September, 1970
Monday’s Piece
“I had never had a piece of toast
Particularly long and wide,
But fell upon the sanded floor,
And always on the buttered side.”
(James Payn, 1830 – 1898)
John Lentell
1st September, 1970
Sunday’s Piece
“We are none of us infallible – not even the youngest of us.”
(William Hepworth Thompson, 1810 – 1886)
John Lentell
31st August, 1970
Lentell Soup 