Friday, June 15, 2012

Caveat Emptor!

So much for "non-stick" pans. Groida and I were doing a bit of pilfering in the Padstow branch of Wilkinson when he cheeked me, so I fetched him one with a skillet and it bounced off his head, ricocheted off a cashier and embedded itself in the ceiling. I think Trading Standards should be informed.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Lucy and Her Soft R's

Have you been watching "Harlots, Housewives and Heroines" on the telly? Uncle Lucas thought it was going to be an everyday tale of sex and drugs and was bitterly disappointed, but consolation came in the cute form of presenter Dr Lucy Worsley.

I saw no evidence of a stethoscope during the series, but perhaps the "doctor" is just an affectation, in the same way that Professor Janet Radcliffe Richards doesn't operate a Punch and Judy show. Be that as it may, her lively explanation of the role of women during the Restoration was utterly compelling, especially with her engaging speech impediment. Groida wondered if she was a ventriloquist's dummy and her father Arthur was working her.

I have learned many new words thanks to her including "nipple", "buggery" and "clitoris". Auntie P tut-tutted at phrases like "urinary instrument and "wee standing up" and is considering an act of violence on the BBC's Director General. Mordecai laughed until he fainted at the mention of "wind cannons".

I hope a DVD will be forthcoming It would make a very acceptable Xmas stocking filler (ahem!) especially if I could persuade Lucy herself to sign it. And give me a quick examination.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Talking Head

You couldn't make it up! I was rummaging around in the galley shaft just after midnight, with a view to polishing off a few of Auntie Pamela's liver & swede pasties (don't knock the idea until you've tried one) when I heard a disembodied voice. Literally.

Have you ever seen "Alien"? You know when that short arse science officer gets his napper knocked off with a fire extinguisher but it still keeps yammering on? Well, it transpires that the late, unlamented Mr Wu was a bloody android. Auntie P kept his bonce as a trophy, festooning a mop. I have to confess it is quite amusing, in a grotesque way, but it didn't half put the wind up me at that time of the morning.

Unfortunately the circuitry appears to have been damaged. It cannot engage  in conversation but simply utters "turned out nice again" in a grating Lancashire accent. You would get more stimulating repartee from an adenoidal parrot. It seems to hold a strange fascination for Groida, who tries to feed it sweets and asks if it knows the whereabouts of his own errant automaton, Mr Prendergast.

Anyway, as long as it keeps him amused and from under my feet I suppose I should be grateful. We are getting the mine ready for the Jubilee celebrations, having graciously decided to leave Queenie and the Epsom Derby alone for this year (actually we just couldn't be bothered).

We kick things off tonight with a double bill of those two classic British fillums, "Peeping Tom" and "Camp on Blood Island". Auntie P has promised us something special in the way of nosh. I just hope it isn't her Escargots Jalfrezi. The last time we had them I was up all night and the snails were coming out of my backside like tracer rounds.

Anyway, people, I hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend. It's just a pity that every manufacturer has wrapped their product in a flag, but that's capitalism for you. Even Groida's croup linctus bottle has the Union Jack on it!