Ladies and Gentleman, I give you: Mr B And his top ten, again, in no particular order Frank Sinatra — New York Party time, drunken end of parties Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams Got to love a song with abuse in it Hazel O’Connor — Will You Smoking Sax Joe Jackson — Different for Girls Universally acknowledged as the best opening line in popular music Ian Dury — Toast Just because
Musings
It’s my 3rd Twirthday today!
“Twirthday” (c) @britmums. What is that? I hear you cry … well it is my third birthday on Twitter. I joined on January 6th, 2009. So today I celebrate being a petulant child (anybody who says “no change there, then” will be sent to the naughty step). And all Sovereigns have two birthdays (their “real” birthday and then an “official” one in the summer when the weather is more conducive
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Musings
Is this the end for the Maldives?
I stumbled across this headline this week and actually said “oh for heaven’s sake” out loud Maldives orders ban of all spas. Now I should state here that I have never been to the Maldives, but I have spent six years living in a Muslim country so I feel this gives me a right to comment (even without living in Saudi I would still feel I have a right to
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Musings
And so this is 2012
Good morning and a Happy New Year. I don’t really “do” New Year’s Eve. If I had my way I would be in bed by 10.30pm and sleeping through the whole wretched affair. I am not sure why I feel this way about December 31st but I have done for years. I don’t really enjoy going to parties that start at 7.30pm and by 9pm you are either running out
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Musings
My Top Ten — Olivia Donnan
And the last top ten of the year goes to my gorgeous mum. This is quite a list, the second one I have never heard before but I remember her going to Senegal during the university degree she decided to take at the age of 40, having missed out on going as a teenager. #ProudDaughter So here it is. What a list!! Aretha Franklin — Say a Little Prayer Reminds
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Musings
100 foods to try before you die
I love these sorts of lists! Here we go, I will comment on those I have eaten. How many have you done? Venison — oh yes. Love it Nettle tea Huevos rancheros Steak Tartare — in Tiguana Crocodile — steaks bought at Borough Market and barbecued at home. Really enjoyed it. Black pudding — ooh yes, I do like it but can’t think about what it actually contains. Cheese fondue
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Musings
Christmas Cheer or Christmas Gloom?
“Tis the season to be jolly fa la la la la la ” or so the song goes. There are lots of songs and sayings about Festive Cheer and Season of Goodwill to all men around this time of year but for many it is far from that. It is widely known that in January the divorce rate peaks. Couples delay proceedings and put on a brave face
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Musings
My Top Ten — Neil Donnan
I have been looking forward to reading this list because it is the top ten tunes according to my dad! Lots of memories from my childhood include music and the fact it was always loud in our house. So without further ado: So without making it a “Kepner Tregoe” decision tree, here is a shot at my ‘Nostalgia’ top 10. Bryan Adams: Summer of ’69 Because our daughter was born
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Musings
It is Christmas when…..
You can start threatening the children that Santa won’t visit When we hear Slade on the radio The last pork pie has been delivered where it’s supposed to be When I take a bite out of a Terry’s chocolate orange I’ve had a mince pie When a brass band plays Christmas Carols When Frank the huge inflatable penguin is on the front lawn and home mad cookies are in the
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Musings
House moving superstitions
I was asked to change the time of an appointment today as the tenant moving in has said the time allocated with superstitious. And last month I read this story about Mukesh Ambani who started work on his $1 billion property in 2009 has refused to move into his new house because of a “lack of Eastern facing windows” Story here. This got me thinking about superstitions surrounding property and
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Musings
How can this be justice?
Last week I blogged about the horrific video of a woman on a tram being racist to fellow passengers on a tram. The video has been viewed over eleven million times on YouTube and has caused worldwide revulsion. The woman at the centre of the video, Emma West, was arrested last week and has been remanded in custody since “for her own safety”. She has yet to be sentenced but
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Musings
Reasons to be cheerful — Part III
I haven’t done one of these for a while so I thought it was about time I did another one. 1) Papa Barrow is coming home this week! Following his stroke in late August he has been in hospital but has made an amazing recovery. So much so that he is going to be allowed home. This is fabulous news and means he will be there when we go