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Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts

13 December 2012

British Comedy Awards 2012

I'm pleased that my new BFF Jo Brand won an award and Lee Mack was deservedly Best TV Comic (male).

However... many of the nominations/awards went to programmes that I've never even heard of!!! Hunderby - what/when/why? If this was completely off my radar, despite TV promos, twitter and internet browsing, who voted for it?

Also, the clips shown for nominated sit-coms that I hadn't seen certainly didn't make me feel I'd missed anything. Were they badly selected or can un-funny stuff win awards? (Well, yes it can.)

I'm disappointed that I couldn't agree with most nominations or winners but, because I hadn't seen these (new?) programmes, I couldn't disagree either. Weird.

14 August 2012

♫ The Good, The Bad and the Others ... Live Music at the Olympics

I didn't see all of it, but here is a round-up of the memorable parts of the London 2012 ceremony  (IMHO)

The Good

Getting straight to the point, The Who. Excellent performance.

Take That - and this is a major admission from someone who truly dislikes their style of music. However, by the time they took the stage, it was a pleasant change to hear in-tune singing.

One Direction - again, not my favourite style of music but very well delivered.

The Bad

Paul McCartney. If you listen to old tracks from Beatles and Wings albums, his voice was usually a bit shaky but did he not know that he couldn't deliver quality at the Olympic gig?

Ray Davies. Not quite so off-key as Sir Paul. Great song, poor delivery.

Liam Gallagher. What happened there? Had Nicola Adams punched him on the nose?

The Others

The Spice Girls sounded just as before (they lost it a bit when hanging on for dear life), Kaiser Chiefs performed a good enough rendition of Pinball Wizard, Annie Lennox was as professional as ever as was George Michael (though boring).

I was not impressed by Emeli Sandé, Russell Brand is not a singer, Jessie J should definitely NOT have attempted We Will Rock You. Brian May, brilliant as he is, cannot resurrect the dynamism of Queen without Freddy. Can't comment on Madness, Muse, Blur and some others as I missed those bits. Eric Idle - well, not really music but good fun.

The Absent

Freddy Mercury and John Lennon for obvious reasons but ... David Bowie?! Wasn't he invited or was he washing his hair?

Personally, I was pleased that Elton John and Cliff Richard were rested. I expect they would have been very competent though not very exciting.

And did I miss it or was there no inclusion of Lily Allen's LDN?


02 April 2012

Thieves & Charity Swap Shops. So Many Questions.

A rising trend of thefts from charity shops is puzzling. Items in the shops are priced very cheaply so what kind of person needs to steal them? If they are so poor that they can't spend £2 on a jacket, surely they would be candidates for receiving the goods free? Is there a charity that provides clothing to poor families in the UK, maybe via swap shops or recycling centres?

What drives people to steal from charity shops? Maybe a 'risk assessment' tells the perpetrator that charity shops are 'soft' targets or that low value theft means less severe punishment. Or maybe it's a short-cut for people who need those items? Many people would rather risk being labelled as thieves than admit to needing charity.

Is it easier to take than to ask? Probably. It's certainly quicker and you're not risking a negative response. Is it less embarrassing to steal anonymously (unless caught, of course) than to be recorded as a 'loser' who needs charity? Certainly in some people's opinions.

It seems that the decision to shun help from 'do-gooders' and resort to law-breaking may be based on retaining what little pride is left by keeping their anonymity. I'm so lucky that I haven't had to find out for myself.

31 March 2012

Unwanted Fame

If I ever do something really stupid in my own home, I'd like to remain anonymous, please. After all, the world isn't interested in the many other things I've done.

If, for example, I'd accidentally set myself alight by pouring petrol from one canister to another near a naked flame, I'd be quite happy for the anecdote to be used as a warning to help others to avoid the devastating results from doing the same thing. I would NOT be happy with having my name and photograph on prime time TV, forever associated with one idiotic act in an otherwise uneventful life.

Did the woman (who will remain nameless in this blog) provide the photograph, her name and age to reporters and agree to her '15 minutes of fame'/infamy? Fair enough, if she did. But did she? I wouldn't have thought she was thinking clearly enough or able to speak coherently at the time, let alone rummage around for a nice photograph and give an interview. No one else had the right to publicise her personal information and the public doesn't need that level of detail.

fireman costume
Fire Safety Notes.
  • Fuel vapour, as has been demonstrated, is highly flammable and should never be in an open container in the home. Even without cooking on the gas hob, there may be pilot lights on gas hobs and gas boilers.
  • Fire blankets are a very useful precaution (more usually for cooking disasters, such as chip pan fires).
  • Remember that if you smell gas in the home, even a small spark from turning on an electric light could ignite.