Words: Hughie, n.

Christopher Hawtree
Tuesday 30 November 1999 00:02 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

BOB DYLAN and Paul Simon are touring together, which could make for an inspired duet as one sings, "You don't need a weather man / To know which way the wind blows", and the other, "I can gather all the news I need / On the weather report."

The fraught world of the weather man is shown by a Met Office inquiry into the telly fiefdom of Bill Giles, who - like Jill Dando - was previously unknown to me (I take Dylan's approach). After winning the appeal, Giles doubtless praised Hughie. Who? He is the god prevailed upon by Australians this century to send rain - perhaps a variant of the military phrase "Send it down, David", although St Hugh is a patron of rain while an echo of pluie is posited by the wartime pilot and slang sleuth Len Clarke.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in