I came across an article about a local resident’s 100th birthday party in the Hendon & Finchley Press this morning.
We are all well used to being told what’s good for us: don’t eat red meat, don’t eat any meat, be a vegan, make sure you have 5 a day, exercise for 30 minutes a day, abstain from alcohol, sex, tobacco, wheat, dairy, fat, etc. etc. But I laughed out loud at centenarian Jim Booth’s advice when the paper’s reporter asked him for the secret of his longevity.
Jim recounted what he said to Prince Charles when asked the same question during a veteran’s function in 2005:
“I told him what my dad told me many years ago: trust in The Lord and keep your bowels open.”
I see that Stephen Hester, the RBS Bank Chief Executive at the centre of the row about huge bankers’ bonuses has declined his bonus of almost £1million after succumbing to political pressure. Ed Miliband is being given the credit, but I wonder whether Stephen Hester had seen this visual representation of the situation that I saw on the excellent boingboing.net. This really is a case of a picture painting a thousand words…
Saw this piece of communication in the window of the Washeteria Laundrette near Finchley Central tube station and it made me smile. Good advertising doesn’t have to be expensive, it just needs to have a good idea. Not that I’m suggesting our clients do their advertising themselves, you understand…
Today a series of 12 Olympics posters by famous artists were unveiled to promote next year’s games. The posters are going to be exhibited at the Tate Modern as part of the ‘Cultural Olympiad’. That’s the same Cultural Olympiad that is towing an ice island around the coast of Devon, so you can probably see where I’m going with this… It could all be straight out of the spoof Olympic documentary ‘Deliverance’. These posters really are dreadful.
You can see them on the BBC News website here. Bridget Reilly (surprise, surprise) has done some stripes, Tracy Emin has done a quick scribble, and somebody called Michael Craig-Martin seems to have put the word ‘Go’ over what looks like a clipart stopwatch. You get the picture.
Of course, I may have this all wrong and the artists were only given 30 minutes to create them, in which case you’d have to give them the benefit of the doubt. Barcelona did a much better job superimposing athletes onto NASA views of Earth. 19 years later, I can still remember one with a kayaker digging his paddle into the eye of a hurricane. I wish I’d done that poster. I can’t say the same for any of these.
After the disappointment of recently receiving a big red fleece from the London Marathon as consolation for being unsuccessful in their entry ballot for next year’s race, I needed a bit of cheering up about marathon running. So I was pleased to read this story on the BBC news site.
A 39 week pregnant woman ran the Chicago marathon and then gave birth shortly afterwards. She’d beaten her husband in the race (although perhaps he had to run behind her and rub her back), when the contractions started. She had a sandwich and then went off to hospital where she gave birth to a healthy 7.7lb girl. They’re calling the girl June, but I think some kind of Kenyan name would have been more appropriate.
We’ve recently come across three new words which we think you might like to add to your vocabulary too.
First up: Bioprene I was made aware of this word when discussing why my skinnier friend had felt the cold more than my well-padded self during a recent aquathon on Hampstead Heath. I had worn a surfing rash vest which I felt had helped, and were discussing whether you could use a wetsuit in the event. I also slapped my belly and said, “you need a bit more of this” and he replied, “Yes, bioprene would help”. I really like the idea of my blubber being natural neoprene rather than just fat.
Second: Hoodrats Leona Lewis in the Guardian, discussing the riots in Hackney, referred to the feral yobs who had gone on the rampage there as hoodrats. So much more accurate than the usual ‘hoodies’.
Thirdly: Whipcash This morning in Pinner, Julia saw the aftermath of one car bumping into the back of another at low speed. The driver of the car in front obviously decided that this was an opportunity too good to miss and made a massive fuss about everything, refusing to move her car from the middle of the road and calling for the police and an ambulance. Two community police officers, one paramedic vehicle, two police cars and an ambulance rushed to the scene. After an extensive examination, the woman’s non-existent condition was summed up by the paramedic in one beautifully descriptive word: “whipcash”.
Shopping in a Spanish supermarket while on holiday recently, I saw some packaging that made me buy the product. It also made me think that this product heralds a big change. Not the beer, the bottle. Specifically the top.
Show anyone under twenty a can-opener and they wonder what it is, what’s it for, and how do you use it. That’s because cans have had ring-pull tops on for years now. Similarly, if you tell a kid that you used to flick ring-pulls like little flying saucers after you’d opened your can of pop, they will look at you like you are mad – firstly what on earth is ‘pop’ and secondly ring-pulls stay attached to the can when you’ve opened it, and have done for many years.
This product is going to have the same effect for bottle-openers. It’s a ring-pull for bottles. Like all great ideas, it’s so simple that you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. No more hunting around for bottle-openers, no more idiots showing off by opening bottles with their teeth at parties, (I once saw a Thai lady open a bottle with a different part of her anatomy, but that’s another story), no more indentations where you crack a bottle open on the edge of a table, and no more novelty bottle-opener keyrings. Within fifteen years, no-one will know what a bottle-opener is for. If you’re in the bottle-opener industry, get out now.
Another in our series of “What were they thinking?” branding examples. I saw this lorry delivering to a local butchers, burst out laughing, and made a mental note not to buy chicken from there. It was so unbelievable that I had to google the company. Turns out they started in 1911, so the word Diaper probably didn’t mean anything then. But a century of American cultural colonialism later (don’t get me started), the obvious brand association is dirty nappies. MMmmmmm. Now it seems that the family that owns the company is actually called Diaper, so I suppose the conversation about changing the name might well be a little awkward, but perhaps it’s a conversation they ought to be brave enough to have, because if my mouth waters at the thought of stinky nappies, it’s because I’m about to puke.
Having recently worked with a neuro-occupational-therapist on her website and discussing how many of her clients have suffered head injuries while cycling, I always wear a helmet when I’m cycling, but I am constantly surprised at how many people don’t. She sent us this video the other day, and I thought that if I had a bike shop, and I put this clip on my website that I’d sell shedloads of bike helmets.
Obviously the best dog in the world is my border terrier, Bella, but after seeing this video I have to admit that she’s not the coolest dog in the world. Bella is the best, but Tillman the bulldog is the coolest!
