Coming soon to a railway siding near you

My favourite is 'Mikz race kid'.

John Barry Bingo II

Quick post script about last night....

It was amazing. The only minor downer was that I'd convinced myself that Shirley Bassey would make a special guest appearance to sing Goldfinger and sadly that wasn't to be. That aside, it was class. I thought I might actually explode during the Bond medley at the end.

Here's a very ropey pic of John Barry getting a standing ovation:

And now for the bit that you really want to know. The winning Barry Bingo card:

This earned me a free trip to see Die Hard 4 (for getting the most crossed off) AND a free drink when we get there (for being the first to get a line). It was a very tight game - I claimed victory by a single point. I can heartily recommend concert bingo though - we're seeing Jarvis Cocker on Saturday and I'm threatening to create a 'Cocker Lottery' for that.

John Barry Bingo

Tonight I shall be attending this, and I am very excited indeed. I've been a big fan of John Barry's music since being introduced to Bond films as a kid and my interest has grown from there. Those lucky enough to be in attendance at the first (and likely only) Tombola DJ set will, I'm sure, have fond recollections of hearing the Moonraker theme (end title). Not too sure how much involvement Brer Barry had with the discofying of that version but it's on his Moonraker soundtrack so it's good enough for me. Also on that album is the track, 'Bond Smells A Rat', which is one of the best titles in my collection.

As if I couldn't be excited enough already, the adrenaline levels will only be increased further by the involvement of John Barry Bingo.

The draw was made last night. The 21 tracks included on the Themeology collection were put into a big pot and used to draw out two sets of 15.

To add to the atmosphere, Tombolablog pretended to be Graham Kelly for the occasion ("Hello and welcome to the John Barry Bingo draw. The ties will be played on Thursday 21st June, 2007"). CP dressed up as Sir Bert Millichip. I love it when she does that.

Here's what the beautifully crafted bingo cards look like:

CP picked a good collection. I wanted Vendetta and Wednesday's Child so I remain a bit jealous of that. There's recently been much frantic listening to some of the more obscure tracks such as 'The Knack' or 'Walk don't run' so that we can definitely recognise them if they are played.

And here's my gamecard. I was very pleased to get 'The Persuaders theme' as word is that it's very likely to feature tonight (the music is selected by Jarvis Cocker as this is part of his Meltdown curation. 'The Persuaders' is apparently his favourite Barry piece).

We'll need to be pretty discreet with this to avoid irritating those around us. I wonder if I would be thrown out for yelling "HOUSE!" mid-way through 'You only live twice?'

You realise that you're middle class when....

You find yourself having to add "basil" to your mobile phone's dictionary as it doesn't recognise it on predictive text.

I pity the fool that thinks I'm dead

A few months ago I was using a ruler to measure a massive poo on my street. It feels healthier and much more pleasing to be getting my measuring kicks by assessing the growth of my sunflowers. Today the front runner passed the 1m mark. A happy evening in the Tombolablog household, believe me.

But this blog is not about the tall specimens.

This is dedicated to the toughest plant I have ever seen. Even being snapped in two didn't stop it. I was very close to binning it as I didn't want it hindering the growth of the plant it was sharing a pot with, but it has clung to life by a thread and bounced back. It's the Kenny Dobbins (google him) of the horticulture world. It will never win any medals, but it certainly deserves one.

Spot the ball

Yesterday we were walking along the Strand when we noticed a police helicopter, then a police car, and then more and more police motorcyles. Ooh! Could this be the Queen driving past, I wondered excitedly? No. But surely the next best thing! We had the good fortune to have turned up at the exact moment a couple of thousand naked people cycled past. Those of a nervous disposition may wish to avert their eyes...

How does your garden grow?

Have I mentioned that I've been doing a spot of gardening recently?

The sunflowers are now heading towards the magical 1m mark:

Seen as none of my fellow growers have reported their progress recently, I can only assume that the Brixton sunflowers are zooming towards undisputed victory.

The runner beans have been just as successful:

They are now taller than me.

Savage garden

I'm off to Riga this weekend. Woo hoo! According to the Beeb website, this is what the weather will be like:

Alright! For those viewing in black and white, that says SUN and HOT. Better pack the Factor 24. Talking of sun, here's a quick update on the Brixton cottage garden.

A rogue slug broke through my pellet defences this week and chomped on a sunflower. Boo!

Senior's slender frame wasn't strong enough in the wind and he bent over. A big ugly kink in his stem. That's why he's now attached to a big plank splint thing. He remains very tall, but his situation is considered critical. Boo!

Runner beans continue their rapid and impressive growth, winding ever upwards up my canes and wires. Woo!

Back to the sunflower competition and the twins are leading the way for us. This bad boy is now about 48cm tall. Go on son!

It's always nice to be recognised for your efforts

Me and my blue plaque, yesterday.

Of course not. Last time I checked, stumbling through a PhD and finishing 6th in the final of 'The Machine' wasn't enough to be awarded with a blue plaque. This Thomas Willis was a pioneering

(and slightly sken-eyed going off the pic on that wikipedia page) neurologist and also published the earliest English work on medical psychology.

Despite Thomas Willis' sterling efforts though, my favourite Thomas Willis (me aside) is probably the exorcist priest Rev. Thomas Willis from North Yorkshire. He unfortunately doesn't appear to have a webpage of his own, but he does feature in this article, four paragraphs from the end.

More great historical figures (not called Thomas Willis) coming soon, fact fans!

Barry Bulsara spotted at rock concert

Trust me, it did look LOADS like him.

As if coldly murdering Tombolablog's favourite ex-girlfriend of Rob Curling wasn't enough, he's now also indirectly responsible for the death of CP's mobile phone which suffered fatal injuries trying to get a picture. Bastard!

Roots manoeuvres

Sometimes it feels like this blog is just an excuse for me to have a solo pun-making competition.

My runner beans continue to grow at an impressive rate. The longest are now over a cubit long (thanks SPMG for teaching me about the forgotten measures of cubit and span). This would be great but I still haven’t put them in the grow bag and they remain in the spare room. It’s like Day of the bloody Triffids in there!
















They’ve started bursting out of their pots and everything. I need to get them planted properly soon or I’ll wake to find their tendrils dragging me from my bed.

A cubit, yesterday.

Mr Beans

Yeah yeah. Someone else would have said it if I hadn't.

On Wednesday morning I knew I had to get a move on and do something with those beans. So here's my handy step-by-step guide to a fun Wednesday evening.

1. Choose a patch of garden that gets plenty of sunshine.

2. Carry a heavy grow bag home from New Cross, possibly doing yourself an injury. Position in the spot chosen in #1.

3. Buy a pack of 7ft bamboo canes and have fun taking them home on the bus from Camberwell [gardener's note - this wasn't done in the same journey as the grow bag. Only Dr. Octopus or that 4-armed Goro dude from Mortal Kombat could manage that]. Push 5 of the canes down into the soil between the wall and the grow bag.

4. Attach wire to the top of each cane and tie the other end around a brick, or around a nail that can then be smacked into the ground. Doesn't come out too well on photos that, but do it anyway.

5. Rather unnecessarily, use your landlady's stanley knife to cut 10 holes in the top of the bag - one for each plant. Realise that you've got the knife full of soil. Plant your indoor-reared runner bean plants in two rows of 5, so that each is next to either a cane or wire.

6. Water and surround with what is probably way too many slug pellets. Spend some time trying to bend the plants around the wire/cane. Snap a leaf off by accident. Curse. Stand back and admire your handiwork.

My, haven't you grown!

Well whaddya know, another entry about horticulture!

A week ago I got carried away and created a runner bean rearing centre in the spare room. Seven days on, it appears to have been a great success:

The tallest of them is about 16cm (the tallest sunflower we have at the moment is 20cm). Time to crack open the grow bag....

Plug-in baby

Now for a letter from regular reader, Charles Wymer...

"Dear Tombolablog,

On my way to work every day I get the bus from the stop on Gresham Road. One day I noticed something that made me go hmm... There was a plug socket on the wall by the bus stop. A plug socket. On the outside wall. I couldn't recall seeing it there previously. Look, here's a picture:

I think you'll agree, that's an odd place to find a plug socket. What's it for? Charge your phone while you wait for the bus? Maybe new-fangled electric cars can top up their batteries as they cruise around town? And I wonder what Health & Safety would make of it, being exposed to the rain like that?

But as abruptly as it appeared, it was gone. But not only gone, there was no sign that it had ever been there. No holes, marks, wires...nothing. Here's the same patch of wall, yesterday:

What's that all about then eh?"

Garden state

Time for an update...

Since getting involved with sunflowers, we've also started with tomatoes and runner beans. I've also got adventurous and tried to grow a buddleia from a cutting. I picked up some rooting powder and then went on a mission to get some cuttings, dragging CP along as my accomplice. She stood looking embarrassed while I hacked at a shrub in the garden of someone else down our street. I've tried about 10 separate cuttings, and at the moment, I'm hopeful of some success. A few are pictured (below left) and although a couple are now looking very sorry indeed, another one or two are doing pretty well.


It's now 4 weeks since the first sunflower seeds were planted. Sadly, the brave seeds planted directly into the flowerbeds didn't fare too well. Despite daily watering and a nice bed of fresh compost, it must be assumed they never germinated as there remains no sign of them.



Thankfully, several other seeds were planted in pots inside. And they're going really well! We've even started naming a couple of them. 'Senior' (pictured right) is the older brother of 'Junior' (their names inspired by the 'Move your feet' hitmakers). He's going well, measured today at about 16cm.

Back outside and I tried planting some in the flowerbed once they had toughened up a bit indoors. These brave souls have been christened 'the twins'. There's probably no room for sentiment in the tough realm of the

garden but I'm a bit of a sap and my inability to ruthlessly thin out the seedlings could seriously hamper our chances of victory in this competition. The twins are now a few cm apart and doing pretty well (left) but loads of our seedlings remain together as I don't like separating them and breaking their roots. Ah well, I guess I'd be happy with a garden with twice as many stunted flowers as I would with a few lonely giants...

Things that make you go hmmm

While inspecting the garden yesterday, I noticed a group of flattened plants (we planted seeds there but they are most likely weeds). Looking more closely, the area in question was footprint-sized.

Hopefully it belongs to the kid from next door, coming over to rescue his footy. If it's not that, then, well......as I said, hopefully it belongs to the kid from next door.

But if he goes stepping on my sunflowers....

CP and I are turning the spare room into a nursery

.





Don't panic parents! Not that kind of nursery!

I'm being overwhelmed by my urge to plant stuff at the moment. I bought some runner beans at the weekend and have set them up in front of a sunny window to give them some strength before transferring to a grow-bag outside.



That was the scene at about 8.15 this morning. They will get more sun than that as the day goes on.

Petite shoots and leaves

We're now just over a week into the sunflower contest. Venturing into the garden on Monday evening I was greeted by a rather beautiful sight...

I'll soon be needing the tape measure!

I say, I say, I say...

...have you heard about that new Morgan Spurlock film? He decides to live as a Jew for 30 days.



He has to follow Hebrew ways for that month, and Hebrew ways only.

It's called 'Circum Cise Me'.



Cheers.



Garden update (and this is also a few days old now) - how do you know if a shoot is the flower you planted? or just yet more weeds?

We plough the fields and scatter...

This is a week out of date unfortunately but if I'm going to do this sunflower thing properly I should have an entry from the beginning. After Friday & Saturday's shenanigans, we recovered from post-birthday hangovers with an afternoon of intensive gardening.


Sunflower seeds were planted in beds and pots (along with a few in indoor pots in case of any freakish late frosts).

Last summer I waged a one-man, largely unsuccessful campaign against local pigeons. This year my targets are sighted on bindweed. Man, that stuff is incredible! I expect that I'll return to that topic again before too long.

And how better to end the day than with a bonfire! Splendid. Bay leaves go up a treat. Not sure my neighbours were too impressed though - I only noticed after lighting it that they had some washing out....oops. I think CP was a little concerned at one point too - she had a bucket of water on standby in case things got out of hand.

The age old dilemma....I've a free evening, do I finish that scientific paper, or try and wrap my scarf around my head?

Earlier this week I had a brief conversation with a fellow blogger. "Why have you stopped blogging?" I asked the erstwhile blog chum. "I don't feel I have anything to say," came the reply.
It's a good job that there is no such strict criteria enforced here at Tombolablog. There'd be a lot fewer than 116 entries if there was.

Some might say that I should have taken that comment on board, perhaps spending time to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it. However, instead of reflecting, and maybe realising that I, too, have nothing to say, I've decided to embrace the 'nothing to say' content of most of what's on here by continuing to mine my usual themes. Beginning with a knitting update. My scarf has been 'on the needles' since January 2006. A bit shameful that really. However, it's now long enough to do this, perhaps in preparation for a Himalayan trek:


or this, the arctic combat/woolly ninja look:


Look, it's as big as me! Yes, well done, but isn't it really about time it was finished?

Hang the pigeon

It's been brought to my attention that the recent picture of bizarre pigeon death wasn't very clear. Ok, sickos, if you really do want to see an avian corpse, we've delved into the pigeon detective files and come up with this. Any better? As ever, click on it to make it go big.























The investigation remains open.

Flower power

Last summer's projects included modified birdfeeding devices, failed lawnmowing attempts, and knitting (I just reflected on my adventures in June 2006 here). That scarf still isn't finished you know, though it is pretty lengthy now.



So as summer 2007 approaches, Tombolablog is pleased to announce a new activity.

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow bloggers, we hereby introduce the 2007 Blog Sunflower Challenge!



Seeds have been purchased and the garden weeded. We're ready to go. But better yet, we're inviting YOU to play along too. Two fellow bloggers have already accepted the challenge so come join the fun. The progress of the Tombolablog sunflowers will be reported here over the coming weeks and months.


Rules:



There aren't any really. Just plant some sunflower seeds and hope to grow a whopper. We'll be planting ours before the weekend. Don't be evil and cheat with chemicals. Go organic!

EDIT:
Within minutes of this going up one competitor asked about slug prevention. Good point. Slug pellets are allowed.




Bring me sunshine.....