Monthly Archives: May 2006

Venice: like nowhere else on earth

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Venice is firmly established in our culture.

One of the world’s great cities. Part of our language, thanks to Shakespeare. And now a favourite city break destination with the arrival of cheap airfares.

San Marco’s piazza makes the M25 at rush hour seem bucolic. But the magic of Venice is that you can escape the crowds in minutes. Within the shadow of San Marco’s campanile lie deserted alleyways, bridges and quays. The joy of this city is exploring. You will get utterly lost. But you will stumble across sights that most visitors never see.

Venice also reminds you that world power is a fragile flower. Back in the 16th century, Venice was a mighty force on the world stage. Its Arsenal could build a warship in 24 hours. But within 150 years, Venice’s place in the sun had gone. Napoleon conquered the island city, giving it to his Austrian allies. More recently, the city has lost almost two-thirds of its population since 1945. It now lives on the tourist trade.

Is there a lesson there for George W Bush’s America? 

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Are they taking the wee?

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Names are hugely important.

They help shape our identity – and those of the products we buy. A name that sounds good in one language or culture can prove embarrassing in another. The Scandinavian de-icer Piss would never have taken off in Britain.

So Nintendo’s decision to call its new game console the Wii – pronounced wee – is a brave one. The company says the name was chosen to signify it was for everyone. This is the kind of marketing claptrap that multinationals love. The fact that it will set off schoolboy giggles has obviously been discounted. 

Nintendo’s great rival Sony has understood the need to create compelling names for its products. Back in 1979, it named its new portable music player the Walkman. Critics mocked the Japanese for failing to understand the English language. But the name brilliantly explained what the product did. In the 1990s, Sony repeated the trick with the PlayStation. I can’t see the Wii surviving a generation…

Steve McClaren’s job from hell

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Commiserations to Steve McLaren. He nearly escaped the fate of becoming England’s football  manager. But Luiz Felipe Scolari’s decision to turn down the job – and humiliate the FA at the same time – made McClaren’s elevation inevitable.

If England do badly in Germany under Eriksson and McLaren, the new man’s critics will have a field day before he has even taken over. If he stumbles, the media will replay images of Graham Taylor’s unhappy spell as England manager.

The good news for the Middlesbrough manager is that the FA’s gross mismanagement of his appointment has hushed speculation about his ability to do the job. And as his predecessors have hardly covered themselves in glory since 1966, McClaren could be forgiven for thinking that he has as good a chance as anyone of proving the doomsayers wrong.