Dytopian Sex...

Dystopia update: sex with someone you don’t live with is now illegal – unless it’s in your garden, with up to six people, and your garden is entirely private. 😉

Dominic Cummings Photo Casebook vs. Move On...

"Never hate your enemy. It effects your judgement." Taking Control - The Dominic Cummings Story... https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000ggnm

"Never hate your enemy. It effects your judgement."

Great recent BBC documentary on Dominic Cummings; his rise, fall, and rise again. An enigma. A dangerous enigma at that. What a fascinating man. Driven. Thick-skinned. And supremely self-confident. Compelling viewing.

Taking Control - The Dominic Cummings Story
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000ggnm

Shitshow...

Dominic Cummings and the Grip On Power... short read ->

Oh, I see. "I'm just going for an eyesight test at Barnard Castle opticians - a 30 mile trip. Not sure if I am safe to drive, but I’ll just pop my wife and 4yr-old child in the car for an hour (when by then it was OK for them to stay with family).

"Oh, I know it's also Easter Sunday and it's my wife's birthday too but it's my eyesight that I need to test. Honest!"

To be fair, I once went to a medieval castle to test my eyesight - turns out I have 1320 vision. (Boom tsk!)

Boris Johnson has/had(?) a lot of political capital. He is seen as a winner by and large. He was London mayor (against the odds in a largely left wing capital), winning the Brexit Referendum against the odds, becoming leader of a Tory Party that had mixed feelings about him, persuading other EU leaders his exit deal was a worthy one (much to everyone’s amazement), leading the Tories to recent election win (much to everyone’s amazement)... the man seems/seemed? unstoppable. He wins things.

But here, Johnson can’t really win. He either loses his Svengali or loses his grip on power.

There is no win-win for him here. And that must be tough to take for a ‘winner’ like Johnson.

As a postscript, I’m a little bit in love with Sky News journo Beth Rigby. Incisive, direct questions, cuts to the bone. Holding those in power to account. She skewered May, skewered Corbyn, skewered Cummings, and now doing the same to Johnson. The fourth estate is alive and kicking. Killer lipstick, killer questions.

Dominic Cummings and the Anxiety of Power... short read ->

People hate hypocrisy. And lying. Hypocrites and liars undermine much of normal social life and society in general. Especially in lockdown. When we all have to obey the rules. Or die.

So when a hypocrite and liar in power is exposed, you firstly hope they get called out. And when they are, you hope they admit it. They apologise. And they resign.

What you perhaps don’t expect is the entire fucking Government machinery to whirl into action defending the fucking indefensible. Circle the wagons. Protect the hypocrite. Protect the liar.

But then that’s the anxiety of power.

If you take down one of them, then who among them are safe?

Close ranks. Protect the liar.

Peterborough Standard in 1970...

Little known newspaper the Peterborough Standard in 1970 published what is still one of the funniest series of misprints to have hit the newsstands. It's a sort of stuttering mumble that gets weirder and weirder. 

Danger! Cyberman spotted on Night Bus!...

BBC Together - new service to watch or listen to its programmes together - https://www.bbc.co.uk/taster/pilots/bbc-together

The BBC has launched a new service that will let users watch or listen to its programmes over the internet in the company of friends and family.

Named "Together", the system is built on top of BBC's Standard Media Player and works with any video or audio BBC content, including BBC iPlayer, BBC Sound, Bitesize, BBC News, and BBC Sport.

The developers behind the tool say it will enable users to sync much more accurately than trying to press the play button at the same time. "In fact, sync'd playback through BBC Together should be close enough to have a video or voice call at the same time and react to the big reveals in a drama, or enjoy the punchlines in comedy programmes together," they said in a blog post.

To use the service, users will need to copy-paste a BBC link into the BBC Together page to create a link to a group session that other participants can join. Only the user who created the group session can play, pause, rewind, and fast-forward the video.

The tool is designed to keep people "together even when they are physically apart" during the coroanvirus lockdowns. The BBC has seen viewership soar since the virus pandemic hit the UK, with May 10 being iPlayer's biggest day ever.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/taster/pilots/bbc-together

History Repeating....

Clap (or else!)...

Covid Alert System vs Nandos...

Colour-coded Covid Scarf PPE...

Marge...

Internet Archive....

Loads of old films, TV shows, publications, etc etc. All free!

Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.

https://archive.org/

‪Let the bullshit Covid meme commence!...‬

World War Two (for the modern generation) ->

🇩🇪:😡

🇫🇷🇬🇧:🤷‍♂️

🇩🇪:🏭🚂

🇫🇷🇬🇧:😳

🇩🇪:🇦🇹😉

🇦🇹:😉

🇩🇪🇦🇹:👨‍❤️‍👨

🇫🇷🇬🇧:🙄

🇩🇪:🇨🇿😉

🇨🇿:😬

🇬🇧🇫🇷:🆗

🇩🇪:🙏

🇨🇿:😲

🇨🇿:💀

🇩🇪:🇵🇱😉

🇫🇷🇬🇧:🙅‍♂️

🇩🇪:😙

🇵🇱:😥

🇩🇪:🇵🇱🔫

🇬🇧🇫🇷:💥🇩🇪

🇩🇪:😫

🇷🇺:👋

🇩🇪:😂

🇵🇱:❌

🇩🇪🇫🇷🇬🇧:😴

🇩🇪:🔩❓

🇩🇪:🇸🇯🇩🇰💥

🇩🇰🇸🇯:😱❌❌

🇩🇪:🇫🇷👈🏼

🇫🇷:🤨

🇩🇪:🇳🇱🇧🇪🇱🇺💨🔫🏃

🇳🇱🇧🇪🇱🇺:😫❌❌❌

🇩🇪:🇫🇷🚪✊🏼

🇫🇷:😵

🇩🇪:💥

🇬🇧:💂🌊😣

🇬🇧:⛴️⛵🚢🚣🚤🛥️

🇩🇪:🤬

🇬🇧:😥

🇫🇷:❌

🇮🇹:👋😃

🇩🇪:🤭

🇮🇹:🇬🇷😘👌🏼

🇬🇷:🙅🙅‍♂️

🇩🇪:🇬🇧💥

🇬🇧:🇩🇪💥

🇩🇪:🇬🇧💥💥

🇬🇧:🇩🇪💥💥

🇩🇪:🇬🇧💥💥💥

🇬🇧:🇩🇪💥💥💥

🇩🇪:🇬🇧💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

🇬🇧:🇩🇪💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

🇩🇪:😒

🇮🇹:😃🇬🇷💥

🇬🇷:🇮🇹🔫💥🔫💥🔫💥🔫💥🔫💥

🇮🇹:😲😣🆘

🇩🇪:🙄

🇩🇪:🇭🇷🇷🇸🇸🇮🇲🇰🇽🇰🇲🇪🇧🇦🔫💥🔫💥💥🔫

🇭🇷🇷🇸🇸🇮🇲🇰🇽🇰🇲🇪🇧🇦:❌❌❌❌❌❌❌

🇩🇪:🇬🇷👈🏼

🇬🇷:😬

🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿: 🇬🇷🤝

🇬🇷:🙏

🇩🇪:💥🔫💥🔫💥🔫💥

🇬🇷:❌

🇷🇺:😎💆‍♂️😌

🇩🇪:💂💂⚔️🗡️🔫🔫🗡️⚔️

🇷🇺:🥱

🇩🇪:🇷🇺💥⚔️🔫🗡️💥⚔️🔫⚔️💂⚔️🔫💥⚔️💂🗡️🔫⚔️⚔️💂⚔️

🇷🇺:🙁

🇩🇪:🇷🇺💥⚔️🔫🗡️💥⚔️🔫⚔️💂⚔️🔫💥⚔️💂🗡️🔫⚔️⚔️💂⚔️

🇷🇺:😠

🇩🇪:🇷🇺💥⚔️🔫🗡️💥⚔️🔫

🇷🇺:🗡️⚔️🗡️⚔️🗡️💂‍♀️💥🗡️⚔️🔫⚔️🗡️💥🔫💂‍♀️💂‍♀️

🇩🇪:🥶🥶🥶🥶

🇯🇵:👋🏼

🇺🇲:😎🛳️🚢

🇯🇵:🛩️🛩️🛩️💥🇺🇲🚢🚢🚢🛳️🛳️🛳️

🇺🇲:😠😠😠

🇯🇵:😂👌🏼💯🇲🇾🇸🇬🇼🇸🇹🇭🇵🇬🇵🇭🇫🇲

🇦🇺🤔

🇯🇵:🇦🇺🛩️💣💣💣💣💣

🇺🇲🇯🇵:🚢💥🚢💥🚢💥🚢💥🚢💥🚢🛩️💥🛩️💥🚢🛳️🚢🛩️💥💣🚢🛩️🛳️🚢🚢

🇩🇪:🥶🥶🥶

🇷🇺:😉💪🏼

🇩🇪:🏙️🛢️👌🏼

🇩🇪:🏙️💥💣💥💣💥💣🔫🔫🔫

🇷🇺:🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫

🇩🇪:🥶🥶🌭🚫❄️🤧😰

🇷🇺:😉🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫

🇩🇪:🏙️😞😣🙃⚰️💀

🇷🇺:🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊

🇮🇹:🏜️😫

🇦🇺🇬🇧🇳🇿:🏜️😂

🇩🇪:🏜️😉

🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿:🏜️🔫💥🔫💥🔫

🇩🇪:🏜️🔫💥🔫💥🔫

🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿:😓

🇩🇪:😓

🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿:🏜️🔫💥🔫💥🔫

🇩🇪:😓✋

🇮🇹:🏳️➰👩🏼‍🦲

🇩🇪:🤬

🇷🇺:🔫😎

🇺🇲🇬🇧🇲🇫🇦🇺🇨🇦🇳🇿:🏖️🌊🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫

🇩🇪:👀

🇺🇲🇬🇧🇲🇫🇦🇺🇨🇦🇳🇿:🏃🏻‍♂️👣

🇷🇺:🏃🏻‍♂️👣

🇩🇪:😬

🇷🇺: 🏛️🚩

🇩🇪:👩🧔🏻🔫🔫

🇩🇪:🏳️

🇯🇵:😳

🇺🇲:🛩️☢️💣

🇯🇵:😲

🇺🇲:🛩️☢️💣

🇯🇵:🏳️

🗺️:🎊🎉🥂🍾🍷🍺🍻🥳

🇷🇺🇺🇲:😒

Happy Anniversary Twigs...

14 years ago today Stuart and I went on our first date. We went for food. The next night we went out for food again. Then again. And again.

After eight consecutive supper dates we finally decided to go to the cinema for our ninth date (to see "Batman Begins".)

Yes, it was dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, Batman.

Boom tsk.

Happy Anniversary Twigs.

(PS: Apologies for the old joke but Dilwyn would be unhappy if I didn't recycle it just one more time!)

The Boy Friend @ Menier Chocolate Factory...

Back in late February Stuart and I went to see our last show before lockdown; pastiche musical The Boy Friend at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London's glitzy London Bridge Quarter.

It was actually the day before we were due to head off to Hawaii for a few weeks so we were in holiday mood - and what a show it was to enhance that mood!

It was happy, joyous, and simply ripping roaring.

Time has actually been pretty good to Sandy Wilson's 1953 musical. Although set in the 1920s, it seems to exist, like the work of PG Wodehouse, in its own exquisitely fabricated world where wealth proves no obstacle to true love and where the sun always shines.

This pitch-perfect revival from Matthew White is full of light irony and never descends into camp knowingness.

The Riviera-based story, involving the romantic entanglement of a millionaire's daughter and an aristocrat's son, is simply a teasing trifle. What really counts are Wilson's melodic gift and verbal dexterity. His delicious score, embracing tap, tango and a two-step, is a positive invitation to dance that Bill Deamer's choreography eagerly accepts: Won't You Charleston With Me? is the showstopper with Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson, as one of the young ladies at a French finishing school, doing some of the highest kicks you could wish to see.

The one potential pitfall is a comedy number in which Adrian Edmondson as an ageing aristocrat hymns the virtues of mature passion assuring us that "a fiddle that's old is more in tune”. The difficulties of the sentiments are awkwardly circumvented, but that is the only blot on a richly pleasurable evening. As the young lovers, Amara Okereke and Dylan Mason, dwelling on the imagined delights of A Room in Bloomsbury, have the right air of rhapsodic innocence. Janie Dee, sporting a bandanna and sunglasses, invests the school's French owner with a charm that never galls and sings her big number, Poor Little Pierrette, with memorable plaintiveness.

Robert Portal, as her long-lost beau, delivers the line: "I was a fool to pretend the old Percy was dead" with an admirably straight face and Tiffany Graves, as an all-purpose maid, puts across It's Nicer in Nice with great zest while reminding us that Wilson cleverly deployed the Cole Porter technique of creating lyrics out of a long list. A special mention should go to Paul Farnsworth's costumes that with their ostrich-plumed headdresses and organdie frocks ideally match Wilson's exuberant period pastiche.

It was all at a happier time - the 1920s when the show is set, the 1950s when the show was written, and indeed the early pre-Covid 2020s when the show was performed.

Come back soon London Theatreland. We miss you.

Just started watching Schitt’s Creek. It's smart. And watchable. Particularly liked this scene in S1:E10: how to talk about pan-sexual preference through the language of wine...

Stars Wars c1976. #MayTheFourthBeWithYou

Some behind the scenes photos from Stars Wars c1976. #MayTheFourthBeWithYou 

Grandad...

My grandad said, "It's going to be hot this weekend."

I said, "Tell me something I don't know!"

Grandad replied, "Your Nana's arse can take my whole fist."

iOS has a new Covid-19 setting & Face ID recognises face masks.

iPhone has a new Covid-19 setting (in beta, coming soon). And Face ID recognises face masks. 

First Time In History...

Pam Ayres vs Donald Trump...

Great family Zoom...

Catweazle vs The Slag Brothers...

I used to like Catweazle but used to love Wacky Races; especially The Slag Brothers, Rock and Gravel, in a caveman-themed race car called the Boulder Mobile.

With the lack of haircut during Covid lock-down, it turns out I'm turning into the former not the latter.

Mr. Milk Bottle...