STARK CONTRASTS..

Well maybe it`s because it`s Tuesday and it`s dark and it`s cold and it`s wet but whatever it is, it has put me in the mood for the ironic stark contrasts which caught my eye today.....even if, like the picture above, they were completely unintentional. 

The first came when I was watching the BBC News this lunchtime and amongst all the various news items, two came along one after the other, thanks to whoever it is that decides the running order for news stories.   The first concerned the speculation about who might be the first woman bishop to be appointed in the Church of England.  There are some upcoming vacancies and the bookmakers (this isn`t the irony, honest) are taking bets as to which of four prime candidates will be the first to don the vacant mitre.

This item was immediately followed by one which reported Mario Balotelli`s latest faux pas in that he has been forced to withdraw a post on his Instagram account (whatever that is) which contained alleged racist and anti-Semitic references.   It struck me that there could hardly be a more stark contrast between women bishops and Mario Balotelli coming together in the BBC News.

Somehow it reminded me that much closer to home there is perhaps an example of an even more stark contrast, this time between two adjoining `businesses.`   In the same road where my stylist, Chris of Larkfield, pursues her hairdressing career for discerning gentlemen, there is an example of ironic juxtaposition which it would be impossible to make up.  Here it is:-

I am perfectly certain that clients of the business on the left do not expect immediately to avail themselves of the business on the right, for there can be no question that the one on the left practices anything other than the most rigorous food hygiene regime.  Now those who know my penchant for plain English fayre would know that I am unlikely ever to enter a Chinese takeaway establishment.   Pity the same can`t be said for the business next door.