Monthly Archives: April 2006

Spy Versus Spy

Today’s Londonist has a fab picture Spy Versus Spy. I was going to write something about being a spy but, for some reason, I don’t really have the heart today. Not that I am a spy, you understand. And if I was I wouldn’t be able to tell you, would I? Over the past thirteen years I have passed the MI6 building at Vauxhall (this one) almost daily. You probably can’t tell people is actually there – or does open Government allow that these days? Anyway, I must have imagined what it’s like to be a some kind of Bond-like individual at some point. Now I know that I must visit South Audley Street to make my dream come true. Of course, Bond wouldn’t rant pointlessly like this. He probably would have blown something up with a missile hidden in a banana instead.

On this day…

2005: Somewhere, Someday, Somebody, Somehow
2003: The Boys of Summer
2003: Good Friday

New Doctor New Earth

david tennant is the new doctor whoThe Doctor was back tonight and the new Doctor is just as good as the last. The first episode of this new series, New Earth, was great. Rose, invaded by Casandra, and shouting I’m a Chav was a very unexpected amusing moment: almost as amusing as the Doctor saving the earth with a satsuma in the Christmas episode. Saturday nights are settled until the summer then.

UPDATE: You really should go and look at the BBC’s Doctor Who website for the new series – it’s really well done and there are tons of extra features & material online.

On this day…

2005: Jack: Straight From The Gut
2003: What We Shouldn’t Be Talking About

By 2209 Rigor Mortis Will Well And Truly Have Set In,

There are few things that brighten up a Monday morning like an amusing news story that pops up in your newsreader. This Is Local London came up trumps this morning with ‘Pensioner Given 203 Year Travel Pass (from This Is Local London)‘. Apparently, and in appropriate newspeak, ‘A sprightly pensioner has been offered a life on the buses after being sent a bus pass valid for the next 203 years’. The lady in question quipped, ‘By 2209 rigor mortis will well and truly have set in, I should imagine’.

On this day…

No other posts on this day.

Some People Are Helpful

My mobile phone developed a fault. It started a few weeks ago but has made the device unusable now. There’s an electrical noise that became so bad other people couldn’t hear me. I could hear them but they had no idea what I was saying. So, I went to talk to the people at Orange and discovered they don’t have the right phone on the insurance that I have been paying for. They said it’s my fault, I said it was their fault. Anyway, after much discussion it appeared that I could upgrade for free anyway so there’s really not that much difference.

I spent a day or two thinking about what to do. I have had a Palm Treo 600 for several years. I think I must have mentioned before that it is not a perfect telephone but it does allow me to take a whole pile of numbers and information with me when I am on the road; and that is very useful indeed. So I decided to upgrade to the Treo 650. And that is where the problems started. The Orange shop I was in said that they have been unable to source a Treo for months and the other central London outlets that I contacted said the same. Other networks now offer the Treo so I contemplated switching – which is a big deal for me because I have an irrational loyalty to Orange despite recent poor service and packages I am not convinced are great value.

Fortunately, there were some very helpful people in the Orange store in Wimbledon. In fact, I can’t recommend that shop too highly and that is the point of this post. While other shops were unhelpful, Wimbledon were fantastic. It might have helped that they actually had the phone I wanted in stock but I think it deserves notice that they were more than helpful. So, on Wednesday I walked out with a shiny new Treo 650. Let’s see what it’s like.

On this day…

2003: Libby Purves – Radio: A True Love Story

Truth? I Can’t Proof!

And so it remains true that I am unable to proof read my own work. This is a sad fact but, for those of you who missed But What Was The Year? (and I know there are many of you) – I have undertaken a small amount of corrective work to make it read better. You can thank me another time.

On this day…

2003: Football

There Was A Time

Ah the power of the web. A friend of mine – who occasionally passes by here – spoke on his site about advertising. Then, it appears he removed it. Sad really because it included the paragraph:

I grew up in the UK. In the 80s. It was a weird time, people were buying their council houses and forcing themselves to drink Asti Spumante in a bid to live a more sophisticated life.

Of course, he really knew that Asti was sophisticated in the 80s. Is it a passing age thing or were the 80s were a much more aspirational time? Even today’s On This Day points to the 80s being different (although debate the sophistication element of Steve Strange between yourselves). Hell, I even thought Footloose was sophisticated (and for Google: this is the official site of the London musical production of the movie Footloose and this might be what made it interesting to me at the time). Anyway, the 80s are in vogue and who am I to deny the world some joy? Footloose is on stage and Dirty Dancing is coming. Reading the paper tonight I noticed that Dirty Dancing is advertising ‘open dance auditions’ for dancers ‘with a variety of bodies’ and partnering skills. Perhaps a career change beckons. Male auditions Thursday 6th April from 2pm!

Ambassador, what do you have for me today?

On this day…

2003: Blitzed! The Autobiography of Steve Strange

A New Man Of The Moment

Jesse Spencer is Man of The Moment

Jesse Spencer is Man of The Moment

Go on, be honest, you don’t recognise one of the stars of TV’s House here do you? Jesse Spencer (aka Dr Robert Chase) has been lighting up Thursday nights on Five for some time now and now we felt it was time to honour him as we celebrate the return of Musak’s Man of The Moment. Actually, there isn’t much fanfare it’s just we had to do something while categorising all those years so that we didn’t go potty. This guy has played many a swimmer which means he spends a long time in few clothes. One fansite has gone slightly mad over this but I prefer the more restrained (almost smouldering) pictures you see of him at Jesse Spencer’s entry into the Man Of The Moment hall of fame.

So tell me, is there a doctor in the house?

On this day…

2004: Dinner On The Lightship
2003: Summer Lunch
2003: The Store for Ladies Who Lunch
2003: Leaving Metropolis

But What Was The Year?

Cover of the Teenage Kicks CDOh how I despair at all those compilation cds that are gracing my cd collection. Over the years I have collected a fair few. I think it’s something to do with being a pop fan. True pop is a three and a half minute tune mimed to some falling glitter snow surrounded by Pans People and introduced by The Hairy Cornflake. To that end, the long player was never really on my turntables as a child. Thus, my musical memories are really quite happily contained across a collection of compilations.  This is all well and good until you come to rip them all so that you can add your youth to your mp3 player. For, lo, compilation cds neither sit well on mp3 machines nor do they rip well. The artist may be in the title box while the artist is just listed as ‘various’. I can live with that (I lie, I can correct that) but I can’t stand that the dates are incorrect. No matter how many times my media player tells me JoBoxers (and their classic, Boxerbeat) is from the 2005 compilation (Teenage Kicks) I know it’s a true pop treasure from 1983 (top ten in February no less). Thus, I must spend my evenings correcting each cd as it gets ripped. My life will be over before this project is complete. My sanity will be gone sooner. But my mp3 player will know hits of 1978 are very different from those of 2002.

Get JoBokers, Essential Boxerbeat, featuring the single Boxerbeat, on mp3 at Amazon.  You can live those teenage years again scratch free. It’s one of the hits of 1983!

On this day…

2004: Million Pound Pair Move
2003: There is other news