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This blog is brought to you by the good old British weather. No, really - it was born on a wet, windy Sunday morning, had the sun been shining it might still be no more than a half-formed aspiration. You see, I'd planned to go biking with some friends - which I see as doing my bit for the environment: y'know, pumping out large amounts of burnt hydrocarbons, and cutting a swathe through the flying insect population of southern Scotland (no doubt somewhere sparrows will be starving because their dinner's splattered all over my leathers).

But the weather, it seemed, had other ideas
and, not being one of those bikers who particularly enjoys getting soaked and blown into the path of oncoming traffic, I was left with no option but to make good on a promise I'd made Art-Girl the day before: if the biking was called off I'd start a blog. You see, for some reason best known to herself, Art-Girl finds my writing mildly amusing (here's a tip guys: if you wanna get into a girl's knickers you need neither Donald Trump's bank balance nor Linford Christie's lunchbox, all you need is Woody Allen's sense of humour...though there's always a risk he'll sue you for copyright violation if he finds out you're using it). Anyway, for some months Art-Girl had been suggesting I start blogging and now, thanks to that most capricious manifestation of the Random - the British weather, I have.

This blog does exactly what it says on the tin. Here you'll find my meditations, observations and rants on all sorts of things - some utterly trivial, some deadly serious. You'll find wit (just maybe), wisdom (unlikely, but anything's possible), derision (almost certainly) and mockery (guaranteed) - sometimes all in one sentence. You may find your favourite sacred cows not just mocked but stunned, slaughtered, butchered and served up medium-rare with a nice merlot. You may well find some robust language or other cause for offence. Well, if anything you read here offends you in any way I cordially invite you to stop reading and bugger off! That's what 'grown-ups' do in free societies - if they don't like it they don't read it or watch it. Freedom of expression is an absolute and I'm under no obligation to make sure I don't offend you (whoever you are). I won't mock your race, sex, age, disability or sexuality (well, not unless you're into something really pervy) but all else is fair game.

Now, if you still want to read this blog just come this way...

Wednesday, 18 August 2010

Thought for the day

Now now, calm down. I'm not about to go all 'Radio 4' on you and start writing the kind of wet-tissue tosh you hear on the Toady...oops! Freudian slip – the Today Programme. This will probably disappoint Art-Girl as she actually likes Thought For The Day, and actually has around half a dozen of 'em on her iPod. In my not so humble opinion this is a waste of good solid state memory (Art-Girl no doubt holds the same opinion about the many hours of prog rock that fill my iPod), but each to his or her own, right? So, you can relax Gentle Reader – I'm not about to start spouting platitudes like some Anglican lady vicar who doesn't actually believe in God, but does believe that if we all hold hands, sing 'Kumbaya', and ban the private car all will be well with the world. No, what you're about to get is TFTD Barguest-stylee.

Like the Lord my mind works in mysterious ways, and odd (sometimes very odd) thoughts or questions will arise unbidden. Anyway, here's today's: vegetarian bunny boilers – how does that work then? I mean seriously, is it even possible to have a veggie bunny boiler? Think about it: even though she's not gonna actually eat the bunny it must surely be against her veggie principles to stick it – alive - in a pot and boil it into a nice threatening message. So, what's the veggie bunny boiler to do to get back at the besuited Michael Douglas-a-like lothario that's used and spurned her? Well, she could always give up her vegetarian ways but, given that such people tend to be very earnest about their cause (I'm generalising, but that doesn't, necessarily, make it untrue), that's unlikely. She could always use a soft toy bunny, but given the way many kids abuse their toys boiling's gonna be something of a mercy for the rabbit.

Nope, I think there's only one answer: replace the bunny with something that's...acceptable to a vegetarian. So, if you've been having it away with a veggie, you've dumped her and she hasn't taken it too well, don't be surprised if your missus comes home to find a roasted parsnip or some lightly steamed broccoli in your pressure cooker. And, as I don't find cooked vegetables in a pot on the cooker particularly frightening or threatening, I think we've arrived at a tip: chaps if you are gonna play away from home (and your humble blogger neither recommends nor endorses such behaviour) pick a veggie in which to dip your wick. After all, what's the worst that's gonna happen? Your wife's gonna come home and think you've started cooking the dinner. Bonus!

Chin chin

Afterthought: writing this got me musing on the film 'Fatal Attraction' and the implausibility of it's plot. I mean, really, would you wanna bone Glenn Close? Me neither. She's got a face like a bloke and she looks scarier than Idi Amin having a tizzy. No, do the sensible thing: stick with the rather tasty missus back home and give the bunny a long and happy life.