Murder On The Examinations Express

F'king Andrew

Programme pitch:
Taskmaster Champion of Champion series.
Programme pitch 2:
Strictly Come Dancing Champion of Champions series. Properly competitive not like the lame Christmas exhibition specials they have. Proper cutthroat, all-out dancing.

In addition to my thoughts (link below) I also have questions about what Sarah Pochin means by 'arty farty'.
This is at best a pejorative, at worst a discriminatory slur. Either way I think it belies an opinion about 'the kind of people who work in arts/the media'.

bsky.app/profile/murd...

And this should apply to all other government/local government services. Police, fire, care, teachers, social workers and should be extended (with the same robust legal backing) to people who work on public transport, civil servants, shop/retail/catering workers.

And this applies to race, religion, gender, sexuality and all the protected characteristics. The NHS is an organisation for everyone regardless of who/what you are, staffed by everyone regardless of who/what you are.

This should be announced by the PM in a tea-time address and should be backed by full weight of govt. lawyers when the inevitable legal challenges come in. In effect if you decline treatment at the point of delivery, you opt out of the NHS. ALL of the NHS.

@mrjamesob.bsky.social if people say they don't want to be treated by people of different races, religions or cultures they should get their wish and not be treated. At all.
There should be a flag put on their NHS records and they should be refused future treatment.

At this point the NYT are just trolling Only Connect and the BBC aren't they?

I think you're right. Politics news has to be exciting and almost titillating and anything/anyone who isn't is therefore bad policy or a bad politician. Johnson, Braverman, Farage and latterly Jenrick and Badenoch are headline grabbers and policy by shock and awe.

It's incredible really.
The current govt. haven't exactly played a blinder, but when you remember* how atrocious, venal, incompetent and duplicitous the previous govts. were, this lot are steady and boring.

*for this read 'choose to remember/choose to forget...

Lovely stuff.
I've lived in Preston, Manchester and outer London. I don't think you'd get that down south...

Don't all traitors get sent to castles in the Highlands?
Will Claudia Winkleman be there?

1. Where was this?
2. Are there any self catering holiday cottages nearby?

I've recently re-watched the last three Star Wars films.
My observations:
Not as good as I remembered in the cinema.
Some spectacular set pieces.
It looks amazing. Costumes, sets, locations.
There's some incredibly silly dialogue.
Some of the acting is very hammy. Like pantomime hammy.

#FridayFive
1. Homesick, The Kings of Convenience
2. The Little Tin Soldier, Donovan
3. Old Friends, Simon and Garfunkel
4. I Can See Clearly Now, Johnny Nash
5. Green Onions, Booker T and the MGs

About a year ago my daughter observed me getting my wallet before going out.
"Dad, are you still using a wallet? That's cute."
In actual fact wasn't 'still using' it, was just putting it in my pocket out of habit.
Haven't missed it.

Bullseye with Bob Mortimer
Play Your Cards Right with Allison Hammond
Richard Osman's Generation Game

First thing in the morning. Wake at 6, coffee at 6.05. Need to be finished by 6.40 so I can take my turn in the bathroom. Otherwise family life routines get scrambled and we're all late for school/work.
Can usually do Wordle, Connections, Strands and Pips in that time.

It's self evident isn't it? That there was not a lot of energy or planning or urgency going into fighting covid and saving lives/ensuring the ongoing quality of lives for the general populace, *at the same time* that lots of energy and planning WAS going into the VIP lane and disaster capitalism.

The current govt. and Kier Starmer are - perhaps rightly - getting a lot of criticism at the moment, but I've watched 5 minutes of Boris Johnson at the covid inquiry and thank goodness we no longer have this shambles of a dishonest, venal and self serving disgrace in charge of the country.

What Do I Do Now is a classic. Great choice.

Island In The Sun 👍🏻👍🏻

#FridayFive pleasantly lost
1. Travelling With Charley, The Cardigans
2. Cayman Islands, Kings Of Convenience
3. Driftwood, Travis
4. Everybody's Talkin', Nilsson
5. A Forest, The Cure

On the basis that it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission here's the rest of the 12 apostles & Jesus & God.
6. Angel
7. Personal Jesus
8. I say a little prayer
9. Avenging Angels
10. Earth Angel
11. Just like a Prayer
12. Vicar In A Tutu
13. In God's Country
14. Act Of The Apostles

#FridayFive
1.Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Belinda Carlisle
2. Just like heaven, The Cure
3. This Monkeys Gone To Heaven, The Sugarcubes
4. Three Steps To Heaven, Eddie Cochran
5. On Earth As It Is In Heaven, Ennio Morricone

Both brilliant and daft in equal measure. But yes, it's the grown up, more worldly, cooler older sibling to the previous album. It's slicker, sounds more polished and has more of an 'edge' while still being quintessentially De La.

Loads of love for Patricia Routledge around social media today. Obviously lauded for stage roles (never knew she won a Tony!) and Hyacinth Bucket, but she will forever be Kitty for me.
"We're spunky in Cheadle".
Magnificent.

#FridayFive
1. Singin' In The Rain, Gene Kelly
2. Rain Street, The Pogues
3. It's Alright, The Pet Shop Boys (Inteospective version)
4. Prayers For Rain, The Cure
5. Paint the Whole World With A Rainbow 🌈 (Theme from Rainbow)

I love stuff like this. And @dieworkwear.bsky.social is always worth reading.
Lovely.

#FridayFive
Robots (and robot voices...)
1. Strict Machine, Goldfrapp
2. Sexy Boy, Air
3. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips
4. Music: Response, The Chemical Bros.
5. Transformers Theme, (original 80s cartoon series)