it's a hard life

While Britain has been freezing during the last week, l've been off to sunny foreign climes with work, and as you can see by the picture, staying in a  fancy hotel, getting a tan.
It's a hard life.

toodle pip

another trip to ikea

I was out and about in Richmond yesterday, and was just about to drive home when l crumbled and headed to Gateshead Ikea to buy some more record storage. Of course l then had to build and erect it (Fnaaaarr) as soon as l got back, but l am now chuffed that l made the effort, as l'm very pleased with it. Plus l was there and back in no time, as it's dead easy when you live by the A1. 

I'll be on one of those hoarding programmes in a few years. It's only a matter of time.

toodle pip

don letts confirms l was ahead of my time - plus skinhead reggae music

Many moons ago when l was out and about in New York, l often used to wear a green hat that looked a bit like a tea cosy. l was mocked by some of the people l was with for wearing it, but what can l say - l had style.
This has recently been confirmed when watching a Don Letts programme on the BBC about Skinhead culture. It was interesting and well presented by Don, but the main thing that stood out for me was that he was wearing exactly the same kind of green hat l was wearing back in the day.
A man of good taste obviously.

Also, l've often argued about the original skinheads love of reggae and their openness towards blacks at the time. This obviously changed for later skinheads, but here's some top reggae tunes that the skinheads used to like that l used to play constantly when driving my sister and her daughters about (and no - l'm not a skinhead or racist).

John Holt - Ali Baba



Dave and Ansell Collins - Double Barrell



Toots and the Maytals - Pressure Drop



toodle pip

the addams family home in colour

This just does not look right. A colour photograph from inside the home of  The Addams Family.
Because l've always seen it in black and white on the old TV series, it seems weirder than usual. However, l did notice they have the same Hookah pipe as me (the green and red thing at the bottom of the picture). My one's from Turkey).

toodle pip

wildlife photographer of the year 2017

I've had these photographs for quite a while now. They are my favourite ones from The Natural History Museum's 2017 Wildlife Photographer Of The Year, but I never got around to posting them.
Until now!

toodle pip

sinkholes - sucked to death

Once again, it may be my dirty mind, but l reckon the TV producers of this series are having a laugh with the title.

Either that or they overheard us guys joking about being sucked to death in Amsterdam a few years ago, when we saw a dazed and confused guy being assisted to his feet by the police, looking very skinny and on his last legs.

But happy.

toodle pip

who the **** is george waldo?

I've just rediscovered this amongst some old crap.
Many years ago when l was out and about in that there London, l met and had a few drinks with a guy (George Waldo) who later gave me his card so we could meet up again another time. Nothing dodgy went on - we just had a drink and a laugh, and being the kind of guy l am, l never got round to getting back in touch, but now, looking at the card, l am puzzled as to who the Hell he was / is.
I have absolutely no idea, and can't even remember what he looked like.
Looks important though.

                      

toodle pip

upside down mural in lithuania

This is impressive - an upside down mural in lithuania which when reflected in the water, looks fantastic (and very weird).

toodle pip

spiders - avoid australia!

Some very sensible reasons why nobody in their right mind would go and visit Australia.

toodle pip

wildlife travel photographs

I've had these photographs in a file on my computer for a while, but can't remember where l got them from. They are labelled 'Wildlife Travel' on my file, and l guess they must have been winners in a competition, but l don't know which one (and can't be bothered searching).

They are however, very impressive.

toodle pip

graffiti on cancelled trains, and cricket deaths and sledging

Two items in the news recently.

First of all, there's been trains cancelled because of offensive graffiti on their sides. These have been cancelled at the last minute, leaving commuters fuming and frustrated. An recent example is here.

ThamesLink have tweeted "We can't drive around all day with 'the F word' emblazoned on a train".

That is fair enough, but l have an idea.
It apparently costs about £5,000 to remove the graffiti, but why not just spray over the offensive slogan or image to make it unintelligible, so the train can carry on it's normal route, to then be taken off and cleaned at a later date. That would only take a couple of minutes, and you'd only be spraying where it needed to be cleaned anyway. If it costs a bit more to clean, it's worth it to keep the passengers happy, and prevents vandals deliberately trying to prevent trains running.

Also, cricket sledging has been under scrutiny, after the inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes. He was bowled by Doug Bollinger, who, it has been alleged (by Mathew Day), stated that "I am going to kill you" beforehand. Bowlers deliberately bowl short to cause 'bouncers', which are aimed at intimidating the batsman, often trying to hit and hurt them.
Before others die, here's a suggestion (from someone who knows bugger all about cricket).
Have a line marked in front of the batsman, where the ball has to bounce in beforehand, to eliminate the high bounces of the ball. If a bowler misses it a set amount of times by bowling short, he is unable to carry on bowling during that match, and may face suspension for later matches. Batsmen may still suffer some injury, but it would be pretty unlikely to be in the head area, therefore being a lot safer.

As for piss taking sledging - my favourite quote (by Eddo Brandes) when asked by the batsman (Glen McGrath) why he was so fat, replied  "Because every time l fuck your wife, she gives me a biscuit". I've changed that slightly, replacing 'fuck' with 'shag', and 'biscuit' with 'cracker', and have used it while out and about on many an occasion.  Long may that kind of sledging continue.

Any more advice needed on how to run things, you know where to find me.

toodle pip

england fans drinks bill at the euros

This is kind of old news, as it is a bill for England fans drinks at The Euros. Obviously very expensive, but l am more impressed with the one hardy individual who insisted on having a Carlsberg.

Stick to what you like mate, and sod everyone else.

toodle pip

kevin ayers - shouting in a bucket blues

Kevin Ayers - Shouting in a Bucket Blues.
A man who's later lifestyle l may try and emulate - living abroad and drinking lots of wine. Sounds good to me.



toodle pip

steve jones defacing in flight magazines

When Steve Jones gets bored on long haul flights, he defaces the in flight magazines.
Good man. I only wish l had thought about doing this myself. It would certainly have passed some time while waiting for another round of Jack Daniels to be served.

toodle pip

allan dixon and the happy animals

Because l am so messed up and bitter, these sort of photographs would have annoyed me in the past, as Allan Dixon, the person in the pictures looks like the kind of middle class person l (possibly) judge too harshly.
However, this time, l'll make an exception, and admit that the animals in the photographs look pretty funny.
I must be getting soft in my old age.

toodle pip

the recent work cardiff trip

A couple of weeks ago l went away to Cardiff with work for a few days. I'd been to Cardiff (and other parts of Wales) a few times over the years, but all of my previous trips involved travelling, drinking, concerts and nightclubs, so the old memories of the trips can be a bit of a blur. This time however, l went exploring, and, for a change, not just to pubs. Ticked off The Doctor Who Experience (sounds like a 60's band), The Millennium Stadium Tour, and a look around Cardiff Castle, as well as other places such as Spillers records and around the river Taff.
Most enjoyable, and l'd certainly return to Cardiff again. A great place, even if it did take eight and a half hours driving back due to traffic jams and accidents (and only five hours getting there).
Here's a load of evidence

 

Plus here's my detailed state of the art directions of how to get there.

Luckily l've got a brain like a homing pigeon.

toodle pip