Sarah

Oh no, I've reached the point in Classic Coronation Street where one of my school bullies joins the cast 😒

I think I'm going to explode if I hear another internet "influencer" say they're "literally obsessed" with something (and usually a new thing from one day to the next).

It's so nice of Alessi to bring back the kettle that resembles a curling stone, just in time for the winter Olympics.

Bobby Darin or Billy Fury, maybe?

Whether I will go to the cinema for them is another matter. Cinemas are too stressful 😟

In the Beatles biopic photos they've released, George kind of looks like Eric Clapton... Paul and John look pretty good, but the photos are quite grainy and they're in the shadows. Ringo looks good for Let It Be era. I'll be interested to see how it goes.

What gift do you get for a golden wedding anniversary, bearing in mind the couple in question have a reputation for throwing presents out or giving them away? I'm normally not bad for coming up with gift ideas, but this has me stumped.

For once I'm willing it to rain slightly, so I can debut my new duckhead umbrella (there are two ways a misspelling could get me in trouble there).

I wore my fleece lined boots thinking that will hopefully prevent me getting any more chilblains/Raynaud's sores, but now they're rubbing my heels. I don't know how I used to wear ballet pumps in all seasons...

I've got chilblains on the chilblains on my toes (if they are chilblains to start with).

I haven't even made the stollen yet! I'm tempted to leave some lights up, as it's just too cold and miserable without them.

Neighbours highlight, Lucy Robinson's poem/limerick to her brother Paul in episode 41 :-

There was a young man called Paul,
Whose brain was incredibly small,
When he tried to think,
He started to blink,
And his pants began to fall.

#Neighbours

8. I don't remember Max Ramsay being this angry.

7. Everyone looks about 10 years older than their real age, thanks to 1980s fashions. Shane & Daphne have the same hairstyle.

6. The background music is sometimes bizarre. My particular favourite was a scene at a teenage party where they were dancing to some kind of lounge jazz (don't worry, they were raging to some '80s tunes later). I have heard that Suddenly by Angry Anderson has been replaced 😮

5. The lighting is so dark that any scenes outdoors at night are just completely black. You have to pay attention to voices/sound to fill in the blanks. Apparently this gets better around ep 128.

4. The Robinson household is highly progressive and now wondering if that's why I got so hooked on this as a child.

3. They're only using three houses on Ramsay Street at this point and two families, plus Des Clarke & Daphne's house. No Lassiter's complex yet. It still works on a smaller scale (might be useful for a lower budget reboot, hint hint).

2. It's racier than I remember, but I have learned that the BBC used to edit it to fit into time slots. Apparently the tea time episode was shorter than the lunch time one.

I'm rewatching Neighbours from the start. My observations 100 episodes in:-

1. Storylines are resolved very quickly. There are some really normal everyday scenes, which are strangely amusing and relaxing (and desperately missing from modern soaps).

You've just reminded me, someone nearby has a side gate painted like the Tardis. I can't confirm if the side of their house is bigger than it seems behind the gate.

Here's Customs House (note the overhead railway!) Sadly now a Hilton hotel, probably John Lewis and part of Liverpool One stand it's place.

Looking at the sad photos of Woolton Hall in the aftermath of the fire reminded me of Customs House after the war. Both looked like the exterior was in not so bad shape (from a distance) and it's a shame to lose these buildings. I'm not an expert, so I imagine they weren't structurally safe.

Is this why local dairies always try to sell diaries towards the end of the year?

Just to add, there's nothing wrong with creative writing at all, but it's just not something I'm interested in. He plucked it from nowhere when he should've been trying to treat depression.

Just in case anyone thinks they're missing out on an NHS psychiatrist, today's discussion involved suggesting I take up creative writing via a dictaphone or write a book about The Beatles. Yeah, there aren't enough books about them, are there?

Isn't there something about that being a sign of good luck? Not for your clothes/hair, though.

And it's impossible to read it without singing it in your head. I think I can even remember the Red Rose Rock FM jingle (just about).

I started to think about getting an iPad as an incentive to start drawing and writing music again... then my hand pain returned. I need a new hobby.

I'm finally watching the Quant documentary and trying to remind myself that cutting all my hair off is not a good idea.