really nice signage

I sent Weegee, my chief photographer down to the Slade to capture the gorgeous signage above the butcher shop facade. Well here it is - in color.

Makes you feel proud doesn't it?

I've also taken a photo of an abomination of a shop sign. It's the seeping kebab image.

Actually, this one is pretty tame in comparison to the one I originally saw; you get the message though.

Yum yum. Well, lovely listeners, you can be rest assured that it doesn't belong to any take away in The Shire.

modern manners

Modern manners. Is this an oxymoron?

Well, that's a rant for another day. For the moment, I'd like to know one thing.

I'm going to an engagement party and have never been to one before. Should I take a present to this party? It's an informal do.

many thanks,
Doctor Pangloss

The Police

Sunday night was a great night. I've waited 21 years for this and was not disappointed; I went to The Police concert at Twickenham.

I expected to see a bunch of tired old coppers, but no way. Sting, Stewart & Andy were full of beans. Sting, well you expect him to look as he did back in the '80s. Apart from the glasses, Stewart is as energetic a drummer as ever and Andy now sports a generous turkey neck.

Being a young fogey, I just wanted to hear old familiar tunes and that's what I got. Nice. I knew there was no new material, so that was a safe bet.

Actually, we had a great surprise bonus we we arrived at the stadium. I'd bought £45 seats up in the gods and the ticket chap said that as we were early, we had the option of upgrading. Of course, I had my suspicions even though he looked official and working within the premises. We took the plunge and by golly we were given £70 tickets in the lower tier. No fear of nose bleeds now.

Of course, I really wanted to take my camera, but didn't want to go through the indignity of having my memory card erased (35mm is so last century). Well, I found photos on the interweb, so I can pretend I took them.

The journey home was a mission. It took over an hour just to get to Twickenham train station. I'll cut to the chase and tell you lovely listeners that it took 3½ hours to get home. There weren't even any deviations to pubs, mad cow burger bars or kebab shops with ugly signs. It was meant to be a simple journey home on public transport. Somehow, even this couldn't ruin my night out.

OAPs on stage

Have you ever waited most of your life for something to happen?

Please, no facetious answers ie

1) Waiting to pay at the Co Op
2) Waiting for a 53 bus when it's raining
3) Waiting for Godot
4) Waiting for a human being to answer when dialling an 0870 number (BTW this is a con trick - ed.)
5) Waiting for Greenwich Council to spend some cash on the betterment of Plumstead Common
6) Waiting for Greenwich Council to spend some cash on the betterment of Plumstead Common
7) Waiting for Greenwich Council to spend some cash on the betterment of Plumstead Common

etcetera etcetera. You get the message.

On Sunday, I'm going to see The Police in concert at Twickenham. On the whole, I don't like popular music, but was a big fan of The Police. I haven't got a clue what it'll be like now; can't imagine they'll be leaping around the whole time, or maybe if they do they'll sit down every 5 minutes and have a sip of Ovaltine.

Travelling to Twickenham seems straightforward enough, but if any lovely listeners have any top tips on the journey/venue, I'm all ears. Things like :-

1) Do I take the front train carriage at Waterloo in case it'll be mayhem at Twickenham station?
2) Do I leave 10 minutes before the concert ends because it'll be mayhem at Twickenham station?
3) Never buy a drink at the venue because it's really expensive?

Or is this venue really well organised, so I have nothing to fear?

new iPod

I've taken my eye off the tech ball lately, so imagine my surprise when I find out that the latest Apple keynote speech announced new iPods. Not just any old iPod, but touchscreen iPods. This has been speculated about for years and for some reason, I thought the iPhone was it.

I guess a touchscreen device is no great shakes nowadays, but even so, it's none too shabby.