Oh baby Jesus I’ve just watched the BBC’s latest attempt to showcase celebrities doing stuff outside their comfort zone. Entitled Tumble it features a bunch of C-listers doing tumbling and simple gymnastic stuff. It’s like Splash! but not as scary or fascinating, which makes it about as much fun as anal warts. It is beyond dire. It’s diarrhoea.
I caught that documentary the other night on the 4-match spell Ryan Giggs had as interim player-manager following the late season sacking of David Moyes at Manchester United earlier this year. If you can recall there was a lot of media and pundit/player commentary at the time saying that the board at Man U should award the permanent job to Giggs and pass the club baton on ‘within house’ having seen the external candidate (and Sir Alex’s personal choice as his replacement) fail abysmally. After all he was the Premiership’s most decorated player, scorer of over 150 goals and a real one-club player having appeared for ManU almost 1000 times over the last 22 seasons. It’s hard to dispute the logic of the argument. Then I watched the film…
Now regular readers may recall that when we were living in the apartment overlooking Bushy Park, there was a spell when the road immediately beneath us was dug up in virtually the same spot 4 times in under 6 months. First was the water main repair, then installation of a new gas main, then remedial repairs to the gas main, then the whole road was relaid. Unbelievable. I watched fascinated as these huge diggers and grinders, tarmac layers and rollers came and went, laying tarmac down on exactly the same spot. I thought that was it in terms of my tarmacadam education.
Well Kylie duly appeared in something very skimpy, apart from the head-dress which was HUGE. And she sang her stuff including CGYOOMH just for me (TYK). Then to close the show we had Dougie MacLean. Who? He must be big in Scotland and he sang something folksy but surely, surely it was crying out for the Proclaimers to close it on 500 Miles. Ah that was probably a bit of self-irony too far. So the final scene was the ‘whole cast’ singing Auld Lang Syne. There must have been at least 7 people on the largest stage and landing strip I’ve ever seen. Sigh. Anyway enough of my mocking, it was a great event and showcase for Glasgow, like the TdF was for Yorkshire. It’s been a good summer for highlighting what our great country has to offer beyond London I think.
pp
Look I thought the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, which seemed to receive universal praise, was a bit celtic inscrutable; i just couldn’t tell where the irony and self-deprecation stopped and the Scottish whimsy took over. But at least it was a hoot. I’ve been watching the closing ceremony for over an hour now and it’s been as much fun as a colonoscopy. Lots of tents (there’s that irony bit – got it, but no midges? because there sure were the only frigging time we camped in Scotland – and rain) and Lulu singing Shout (groan) and Deacon Blue singing something awful then some diddly dee singers then 40 minutes of crap speeches and a tourist advert for Australia’s Gold Coast, ya big gallah. It has been as much fun as a big jobbie in the Commonwealth Games pool. I’ll give it 10 more minutes and if Kylie isn’t on singing Can’t Get You Out of My Head in something very slinky and skimpy, I’m off down Sauchiehall St and heading south to C4.
pp
Well earlier this week we went to Ikea in Neasden (which is just about the least likely place to stick an iconic Scandinavian design brand) to buy a high chair for our young grandson. We got the legs and the seat but the tray was out of stock. So yesterday we made the journey again hoping that the millions of people away on holiday might make the journey around the north circular a little less arduous. We set off at 12.30 and got home at 6.30pm. Arghh!
Now those are three words you don’t see me writing about too often. Ordinarily I’d be ranting and raving about the crap qos offered by companies like (pick your favourite here) Virgin Media, BT, Ryanair, British Gas, Avis, Co-op Bank, Boots Pharmacy (Teddington branch), Sainsbury’s home delivery etc etc. But just occasionally you get delighted by some great example of customer care.
Pasta Paulie 