Archive for June 2012
Mcphereson Whoops
So caught up was in telling you my woes I forgot the reason I was posting. Having checked the job papers this morning I was amazed that my old pal Nigel Farmer was holding a reunion for the stars of the 1980s soap opera ‘Anglian Lives’. The show was local & never made it to network, the snobs in London felt anyone in the East Anglia would be of little interest to the rest of the populous, but oh! How wrong they were. This ignorance afforded us a certain cache, we could cover issues those in London would balk at.
Some of the subjects covered which those in London would have balked at.
Tractor maintenance
Fleas
Over cooked Puddings
Faulty pitchforks
Jamborees.
Ritual Devil sacrifice
Home made curtains
Yes, and even to this day those in London are woefully ignorant of such things. We also covered social and environmental issues
Oil
Water
Electricity
The Rainforrests
Bovril
The set up of the show was simple. Rob Wainright (Richard Griffiths) was a man who discovers a new fuel source in a field in East Anglia. He makes his fortune, millions (which today would probably still be millions) of pounds rolls in. It was truly the Dallas of its’ day, with Ron playing the head of a oligarchy of super rich people, and his cheating, unfaithful and duplicitous wife, whose evil was only out matched by her glamour and looks, Doreen. (Played by Penelope Keith). He had a son, two daughters and a dachsund, although the Dachsund didn’t seem particularly used to film sets, and was written out after biting a guest stars’ ears off mid scene. As the blood gushed from his wounds, Rickman continued to deliver his lines, and even as he lost conciousness he was still emoting like a good ‘un. Of course it’s not something he chooses to talk about, which is why so few interviewers ask him about his ears. I did hear the Radio Norfolk personality Nathan Wickham mention it to him in passing during a interview about Rickmans’ book, shortly before Wickhams’ mysterious disappearance.
Oh, the array of stars who queued up to be on the show. Sylvester McCoy. Bono. Dr Hilary Jones. A man who claimed to be Hartley Hare. It was halcyon days of invites, chat shows and controversy. I remember we did a story line, which, if you took a straw pole around some of the villages in East Anglia (or E.A., as we liked to call it) You would find almost 8% of people were talking about it. 3% positively. Yes, were were the flavour of the month in many ways, an intoxicating brew of talent, script and direction which assured us success. Such a shame Anglian Television decided to ditch it after the first show and put on repeats of sale Of The century.
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Posted By Ed to Mcphereson on 6/19/2012 01:45:00 PM
The Bill Murray Colouring Book You’ve Been Waiting For (PICTURES)
As a human being with eyes and ears and so on, chances are you’re a fan of Bill Murray. After all, what’s not to like? He’s charming, he’s funny, he looks good sliding about on plastic sheets – he’s the whole package.
So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that publishers Belly Kids have announced a new Bill Murray colouring book for all you Bill Murray fans out there who enjoy not going over the lines.
But before you go pre-ordering a dozen for your younger relations, know this: there are swear words hidden in certain images.
via The Bill Murray Colouring Book You’ve Been Waiting For (PICTURES).
Police in ’4am’ pub blunder – Odd News – Digital Spy
Police officers recently stormed into a pub after mistaking the name of a band for the time that they would be performing.
The Feathers in Laleham, Surrey, had displayed an advertisement stating that the establishment had music “from 4am” – 4am being the name of the band that were playing a gig there.
Four police officers barged into the pub, accusing the owners of not complying with public house rules, Orange News reports.
Licensee Kate Dillon said: “I was angry more than anything on the day. We’ve never had any need to call the police or had any trouble. When I calmed down a bit I thought it was absolutely hilarious. They made idiots of themselves really.”
Dillon informed the officials that 4am was the name of the band and that they would be playing within normal hours.
A spokesperson for Spelthorne Borough Council said: “The visit was carried out following seeing an advertisement which mentioned 4am. On investigation, this was part of the name of the band.”
Theives steal 93 lbs. of mayo: Cops – Weird News – Canoe.ca
Police in South Australia say they’re searching for thieves who stole 93 lbs. of mayonnaise from a refrigerated warehouse on Saturday.
Two large tubs of the spread were stolen from a business in Whyalla, about 380 km north of Adelaide, police said.
NewsCore reports police are puzzled by the theft and urge anyone who has heard of people making large amounts of coleslaw or potato salad to call investigators.
via Theives steal 93 lbs. of mayo: Cops – Weird News – Canoe.ca.
Now Leveson wants heretics ‘gagged’ | Mick Hume | spiked
There has been some surprise at the weekend’s reports that Lord Justice Leveson rang Britain’s top civil servant to demand that education secretary Michael Gove be ‘gagged’ in February, after the Tory minister had expressed concern that the Leveson Inquiry into the UK press was creating a ‘chilling atmosphere’ over the media. Surely that nice Mr Leveson would not have done anything so, well, authoritarian?
In fact these reports should not have come as much of a surprise to anybody who has followed what was being said and done at the Leveson Inquiry rather than the fairytale version reported in much of the media – still less to anybody who has followed spiked’s Counter-Leveson Inquiry.
From the first we have argued that the phone-hacking scandal had become a pretext for something far more dangerous. The inquiry is a showtrial of the tabloids, an inquisition designed to purge the popular press and reinforce a conformist orthodoxy across the media. Lord Justice Leveson’s apparent demand that Gove be ‘gagged’ only confirms the inquiry’s mission: to enforce and endorse a ‘chilling atmosphere’ of You Can’t Say That – firstly about the Leveson circus itself.
No, the real surprising question is rather different: why has almost the only prominent public figure to ask any probing questions about the authority of the Leveson Inquiry to rule on the future of a free press been a leading Conservative member of the coalition government that set it up in the first place?
via Now Leveson wants heretics ‘gagged’ | Mick Hume | spiked.
Unemployed Man Finds Steady Work as “Superman” | NBC San Diego
It’s not easy being Superman.
It only earns about $160 a month for Avelino Chavez, who dresses up daily as the caped hero.
But oh, the adventures!
The 52-year-old Chavez can’t fly but does seem to be everywhere in Lima: at political rallies and speeches, at a wedding shoot for Peru’s famed opera tenor Juan Diego Florez, hawking tours and flights on behalf of a travel agency in the central Plaza de Armas.
“Hola Superman!” people shout to him.
“Hola, Superamigo!” he’ll shout back.
Chavez became a superhero 15 years ago after a failed go at bullfighting and jobs as a craftsman, laboratory worker and brothel security guard.
“I lost my job but realized that I could be Superman. I went to the store and bought a blue shirt and a cousin of mine who is a seamstress sewed the cape, the boots, the belt and the red tights,” he told The Associated Press.
He hasn’t lacked for work since.
via Unemployed Man Finds Steady Work as “Superman” | NBC San Diego.
What do you mean – he can’t fly???? Thanks for the tip.
Topless painter causes stir – Weird News – Canoe.ca
Thailand’s Culture Ministry on Monday demanded an explanation from the producer of a talent show which broadcast a female contestant painting with her bare breasts on national television.
“Society has criticised this show and we need to seek an answer,” Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome told AFP.
The contestant on the Sunday show of “Thailand’s Got Talent” removed her shirt and bra before pouring tins of coloured paint on her breasts, which she rubbed on the canvas as the judges watched open-mouthed and the audience cheered.
‘Ghost’ of a child captured in photograph – Emirates 24/7
A man who was taking pictures of his pet cats was in for a surreal surprise. When he was leafing through the pictures that he had clicked, he noticed a blurred outline of a toddler in the background of one of his pictures.
When he investigated, he learnt that there had been an incident of cot death in the same apartment years ago, reports Daily Mail.
That explained why the television changes channels on its own and why sometimes the lights flickered without anyone playing with the switches.
The man, who lives with his girlfriend, says that they have felt a supernatural presence in the apartment. Their pets also act strangely at times as if they can feel someone’s presence inside the house.
The couple were not scared to learn about the presence of toddler’s ghost whom they have named ‘Johnny Junior’. They do not have any plans to move out as they feel that the ghost is a friendly one and has no plans to harm them.
via ‘Ghost’ of a child captured in photograph – Emirates 24/7.
Top 10 of rude London street names – News – London 24
London is home to some of the most splendid and iconic streets in the world. It is also home to streets with some very rude sounding names.
