So I thought I’d do another posting of random things that have caught me eye this last week. I could do a posting on each of them but they’d be a bit thin I thought. First up a music starter for 10…
Think of a band name which is a bit mad and slightly inscrutible . There are loads of them right eh Limp Bizkit, Mott the Hoople, Dead Kennedys, Echo and the Bunnymen, Happy Mondays. Even massive brand names like The Who and Pink Floyd – what do they actually stand for? Who knows? There are loads of even wackier ones. But what about solo singers? What’s the most unlikely pop name you can think of – which is damn close to their real name? That’s a tad harder perhaps. Well I think I was reminded of one of the least likely on the radio chasing down the M40 to see Becksy. It’s a male singer from America (and it’s not P Diddy), prominent in the late 70’s. His biggest song was probably ‘Lido Shuffle’. No idea? It’s Boz Scaggs. What a frigging name. It sounds like an itchy affliction affecting the scrotum.
Actually his real name is William Royce Scaggs (which sounds like a 1890’s rail engineer) and, for some reason, a school mate nicknamed him Bosley, quickly shortened to Boz which kinda stuck. Anyway it’s a very non-poppy name and he achieved success despite it. Bravo Boz. there are several versions of Lido Shuffle on YouTube but I love this one because it’s from the time of the release with so many 70’s cliches – the drooping fags from the mouth, mullet haircuts, wearing shades indoors etc. It’s so cringey but the song’s pretty damn good. For some reason I can’t load the video but you might be able to follow this link later to see it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZrRS261Edw&list=RDnZrRS261Edw&start_radio=1&rv=nZrRS261Edw&t=3
Next up foodie stuff. I mentioned recently that I was trying to avoid carbohydrates in my diet and it’s going ok. I was feeling peckish the other day and had run out of my nuts selection. So I spotted this package of bread sticks in the cupboard – maybe a single one would be fine…
Pesto flavoured big bread sticks. Sounded ok. I didn’t see the word minis to be honest – I think that was a blind spot because you instinctively know what a bread stick looks like; 7 or 8 inches of crunchiness. And the packet looked exactly the right size. However this is what these ‘big’ bread sticks actually looked like out of the packet…
Can you actually see it? Here it is in my grasp before I dived (very shallowly) into the cheese and chive dip…
As bread sticks go it has to be one of the least impressive ever produced. It’s all of 1″ long. What’s more it looked and tasted like a dog biscuit. In fact that’s probably what it was, just re-packaged. Caz took one look and threw them away. Adieu dwarf breadsticks.
Finally a nice story. As you may know we go to London every week to see our daughter Becksy and to take her out to lunch somewhere – usually in our old stomping ground of Teddington. For several months we’ve been trying to get into a relatively new place called Cafe Benedict in what used to be a Carluccio’s.
But every time we’ve tried there’s been a long queue outside. So we figured it must be good. Anyway the last two visits we have managed to get a table and we love the place. It’s lively, the waiter/waitress crew are young and enthusiastic, the menu’s very brunchy and the food’s excellent and great value and the music they play is excellent – lots of 60’s soul etc. And they’ve made a fuss of Becksy on both visits. So it’s officially our fave lunching place. Go try if you’re in the neighbourhood and don’t mind a short wait at times.
pp
Pasta Paulie 