Sprinkle dance, Len Shelley and the Surveillance State...

Okay American readers - this is (sort of) about cricket but bear with me. Hostilities resume in the greatest sporting show on Earth - The Ashes - on Thursday and the rabbit cannot wait. England have not won in Australia since 1986/7 but start as slight favourites. All is well in the England camp as can be seen from the above video diary by Graeme Swann who - as well as being the best spin bowler in the world - is a natural comedian. At about 8 minutes into the clip, the team introduce an unsuspecting world to the sprinkle dance. Take a look! Amusingly and amazingly, the sprinkle dance has wound the Australian media up - they are complaining that the insolent Poms are practising their victory dance before - erm - winning. Nice to see the Australian media in such a febrile state of mind.

I must confess to never having heard of artist Len Shelley in life but only discovered him through obituaries following his recent death. A number of his best-known works were three dimensional 'art in a box' as above - the splendidly titled Father Built Me a House But Decided to Live in it Himself.

Not to mention the even more wonderfully titled I Saw Grandfather Hoarding Tripe.

Or Leather Things Flap Their Wings at my Window. Of course they do.

And finally - erm - Henry's Parents... I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself.


Finally, while on the same - ahem - subject and without further comment, Mahal has drawn the rabbit's attention to an inevitable consequence of the surveillance state.