molière and the fat lad

.. some biannual rubbish

a new year's eve trip down memory lane ..

.. an exciting new route for a sunny sunday morning .. 

.. une nouvelle année .. but there's work to do .. une balade hivernale .. 

when ingerland took on italy at wemberley a short while ago in the final of euro 2020, most people believed (well, the lucky few who managed to avoid the traditional gomorrah of pre match festivities that ingerland fans had so thoughtfully provided for everyone outside) that such spectacle would not be surpassed this year. how wrong they were! for you have in your possession here a precious artefact so dangerously full to bursting with passion, insight and wisdom that you should really don medical grade masks and darkened safety visors for any encounter with the many dangerous thrills and sizzling insights of its host, moliere. the great man has exclusively recorded a full commentary of the match, live from his chateau in seventeenth century france. he is the round ball guru that everyone has been seeking to lure away with promises of earthly delights galore. but the poet is not for turning. here he delivers a punditry and commentating masterclass, blessing us with his unparalleled vision, his renowned perspicacity, his ever-alert ear for the cadenced and mellifluous words of strategy that surround us all and yet trouble us but rarely. his reading of the game is both thorough and delightfully nuanced, but also almost spiritual. his encyclopaedic and formidable knowledge of association football informs his every remark and aside. his willingness to share his genius, meanwhile, is yet another sign of his altruism. and then there is his moving bravery - for which, typically, he will claim no credit. indeed, observant listeners will realise that this broadcast represents his first foray back into the arena of contact sport since a serf caused such unnecessary and unfortunate damage to the very digit with which he makes his glorious living (a moment caught in all its bloody goriness live on the pod many moons ago). fearless, incisive, he possesses a deep understanding of the beautiful game, and may even have played a pivotal role in its inception. truly, we are not worthy. but what a time to be alive. here, moliere gifts us with the definitive souvenir of such an epochal tournament final. without superfluity. devoid of bombast ... it has come to our attention that some other bloke also muscled in to this podcast, and for this we can only unreservedly and most sincerely apologise - we share your pain ... inscribe to us at moliereandthefatladATgmail.com (replacing AT with @) ... for full derivation of the word thumb in this context, please see the excellent - but admittedly rival - podcast work of barry glendenning esquire ... and a big shout out to 'aris.

gather by the apocalyptic fireside, friends, and allow three self-appointed representatives of the great powers, the almighty cradles of civilisation, to explain just how the big babies who are at present governing their plague ridden lands managed to so comprehensively wreck these cradles during the last twelve months. luke in the usa, simon in france and rudy in england grapple and flail with the most pressing questions of our time. there then follows a feeble segue into the world renowned 'luvvie section', in which our three heroes, with misty eyes and carbonated masks and pockets full of prophylactic onions, recall their glory years of treading the boards for the bard ... carpe diem, baby ... contact the show - moliereandthefatladATgmail.com (replacing AT with @).

a true feature length epic, which nevertheless cannot do justice to moliere's extraordinary return to the chateau, after an extended period of quarantine in his northern estates. but everything has changed! the hall of mirrors and the concubines are no more, and madame guenevere has muscled in. moliere takes refuge in the coldest house in france. an equally startling return for pilar, fresh from her own lengthy hibernation in a santander bar. fat lad, meanwhile, avers that he has turned over a new leaf, but the jury is out - especially as that appears to be familiar mould under the afore mentioned leaf, and particularly as he is more convinced than ever that much of the local so-called human population are actually shaved mice, shaved coypus, shaved boars and shaved ravens in disguise. the ominous mayday bonfire on the village green is being built, and this may signify moliere's imminent demise. hairy pigs and hairy horses and hairy flies might fly. the chaps discuss poemes saturnienes by paul verlaine. contact moliere, in his hour of need, at moliereandthefatladATgmail.com (replacing AT with @). thank you to pilar, verlaine et famille, and the great raoul ficel for our marvellous theme tune - raoulficel.com

moliere gently and merrily dreams his way downstream to the port of bordeaux on a mississippi paddle steamer, as you do. however, unbeknownst to him, he appears to be momentarily whisked away to some distant land called portsmouth. but who is responsible for this dastardly rift in the space time continuum? the possible culprits are, variously, a siren, a coypu, a fairy and a starling. but answers are there none. the chaps discuss the essential works of michel foucault. theme music by the brilliant raoul ficel - raoulficel.com

une petite balade automnale ...

moliere, fat lad, and their north america correspondent, present their new, regular (but frankly, irregular) politics pod. they tell it how it is. but is it listening? and is junior j junior the third senior paying attention? we can but hope.