MBTG and SMS
As you may have seen from my earlier post, I was privileged enough to pick up a copy of The People's Friend last week. In case your newsagent is unable to obtain the publication, I wanted to share an interesting insight from the double-page spread on the Queen's 85th birthday.

When the Duke of Edinburgh feels he has to attend an event out of duty, he apparently marks it in his diary as MBTG or "Morally bound to go". Nice touch.

It reminds me of the notation used by doctors to describe their patients. NFN is Normal for Norfolk. PFO is pissed, fell over etc. The abbreviations are almost like SMS language imho.

I'm now imagining a text correspondence between the Queen and Prince Philip:

HER MAJ: where is one at the mo?
PHILIP: at da memorial servis innit mbtg lol
06.16.06 @ 04:34 PM PDT [link]

WASHED AND READY TO EAT


This ephemera should reach you in perfect condition. There's no preparation involved. It's ready for you to enjoy right now. In the unlikely event that you find one of these blog entries in less than perfect condition, please don't hesitate to email Phil Woodford at washedandreadytoeat@philwoodford.com

06.16.06 @ 04:11 PM PDT [link]

Older models

Looking cool. He's a tad over 35 now, but he can still impress the ladies.

Now that I'm 37, I'm thinking that my modelling days may soon be over. OK, well they never really began. But I did once feature in Just 17 magazine talking about banning the bomb. That was when I was a bit of leftie in the late 1980s and probably doesn't really count.

With the population becoming ever more aged, however, there's going to be a greater and greater need for more mature models in the coming years. I've therefore decided to find some examples of older people looking undeniably suave and cool in professional modelling situations and I'm going to post them on this blog. Over time, I'll gain in confidence myself and maybe submit a few snaps to an agency.



06.16.06 @ 03:44 PM PDT [link]

Tell your newsagent to reserve People's Friend


I was browsing through the latest edition of The People's Friend and spotted - between the ads for Daxon lightweight summer sandals and Heather Valley Comfort Stretch Waist Trousers - this rather quaint coupon. I seem to remember things like this from my childhood, where you'd fill out a form, asking your newsagent to reserve something for you. In my case, it was probably a comic about the Second World War.

Well, anyway, it's still going on. The coupon business that is. Not the Second World War. (Unless you're a renegade Japanese soldier in a very distant part of the jungle.) But I digress. Here's the proposition:

If you currently purchase "The People's Friend" from a newsagent, from time to time you may experience difficulties in obtaining a copy. To avoid this, and to guarantee you receive each issue, just ask your newsagent to place a regular order for you. Once set up, your copy of the "Friend" will be held for you to collect, saving you having to search the shelves.

A pitiful image is now running through my mind of an old age pensioner who's banking on the "Friend" being available, as she ambles down to the heart of the village. A fruitless search, perhaps over a period as long as 20 minutes, reveals nothing more than Nuts, Hello and Pick me up. The newsagent shakes his head in sympathy. If only she'd considered the coupon.
06.16.06 @ 03:31 PM PDT [link]

Grace is evicted from BB7
Fierce. Cool. Wicked. Whatevah.

I have to admit I haven't been following this quite as closely as I should - mainly because of pressure of work, the World Cup etc - but it's interesting how Grace's supposed "bitching" and "two-faced" antics are deemed far more undesirable than Nikki's bouts of complete hysteria over missing bottles of beer and so on.

I wouldn't like to be locked in a house with either of them, but Grace is definitely the quieter of the two. And she and Mikey were quite sweet together. And, yes, perhaps I have been watching it a bit more than I let on.
06.16.06 @ 03:04 PM PDT [link]

Grandma's ha'penny gramophone
I was approached by an elderly lady in Tesco by the pomegranates. She told me that they used to be a ha'penny in her day. "I had to walk three miles to the shop," she said, "and I'd ask for my ha'penny gramophone..."

Were pomegranates really standard issue during the days of rationing etc?

I suggested to her that if she wandered further around the store, she might well find that other things had gone up in price too.
06.11.06 @ 02:18 AM PDT [link]