ITEM! katie at glastonbury





more of katie's glasto pics
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=glasto%2C+worldofkatie&m=tags

& yet more pics, going back back back into the mists of time:

world of katie - july 2009 ( so far )
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157620964330643/

world of katie - june 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157619299590007/

world of katie - may 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157617557462254/

world of katie - april 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157616136418891/

world of katie - march 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157614694690116/

world of katie - weeks 2 & 3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157614047279794/

world of katie - week 1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157613590302782/

we're off to "sunny" clacton-on-sea tomorrow for more burpo baby-related photo opportunities


ITEM! i'm rooting for jayne "neurotic" middlemiss in the celebrity masterchef finals - tho her shiny new(?) white gnashers are a bit distracting ( not to mention dazzling ) - & impossible but true: john "the terrible toad king" torode's mouth has got even bigger this series...
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/a-list/creature-countdowns/gluttons/gluttons-04.html

- katie's ready for glastonbury...!









" - gabba gabba hey hey - gabba gabba hey hey hey - HEY...!"

sir alan sugar's next apprentice...?














more pics:

world of katie - june 2009 ( so far )
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157619299590007/

world of katie - may 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157617557462254/

world of katie - april 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157616136418891/

world of katie - march 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157614694690116/

world of katie - weeks 2 & 3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157614047279794/

world of katie - week 1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157613590302782/

BONUS ITEM! frank plowright's 50th birthday & surprise wedding to luvly lynn morrison on the isle of cumbrae
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157619382541444/

a very happy 50th birthday to martinskidmore





hope you have a wonderful day martin ( - & that you had a great weekend as well )

here are a few pics from the celebrations on friday evening
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157619382736998/

ITEM! ( as usual ) i've been trying to get back into the habit of drawing gomics a bit more regularly - so here's a two page strip i hacked out over the last goupla days - sorry it's a little on the "rough & ready" side but i hope it's at least readable ( & worth the effort of reading )

plse click on each page to see it at a readable size








or go here for the flickr set ( which includes a "bonus" drawing, you "lucky" ppl )
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157616999314569/

any gomments or gonstructive griticism grapefully received as ever

ITEM! as an "antidote" to the cute pics i've been posting of katie recently, here she is in full-on blair witch project mode





tho fans of the cute pics may like to go here for the latest updates
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157616136418891/

( scroll down to the bottom for the most recent photos, from sunday's royal national hotel comic mart )

ITEM! anybody else going to see bob dylan at the O2 on saturday? - & anyone know the best way to get there when the jubilee line isn't working?

ITEM! it's approx two years since i started posting on LJ - so happy anniversary to me - & much more importantly a big w.o.agwu THANK YOU to all our readers - yr kind words, kudos & gomments over the years have kept me coming back & are very much appreciated

ITEM! katie's been a bit poorly this week w/her first ever cold ( guilt dept: she caught it off me ) but she's hopefully on the mend now - she seems much happier generally today - & now she can breathe & eat at the same time

here are a gouple of recent pics of my luvly ( & my other luvly )








soppy ppl plse go here for more recentish world of katie pics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157616136418891/

ITEM! i only caught a brief glimpse of last night's new avengers repeat on bbc4 but it seemed to guest star lewis "bodie" collins & martin "doyle" shaw as ex-mercenary baddies - not exactly a crossover or team up but some sort of dry run or audition for the professionals? - another guest artiste = joanna lumley's ex husband ( & the co-creator of are you being served? ) jeremy lloyd in a marginally "serious" role for once - it's being repeated again tonite around midnight should anybody else be interested - katie doesn't like it as much as the adam west batmans tho ( - it's difficult for ANYTHING to gompete with those bright colours & that super catchy singalong theme tune... )

ITEM! a gouple of choice quotes from my gurrent fave apprentice gontestant james*: "when i wake up in the morning i can taste success in my spit" & ( the admittedly distressing ) "i think he's gonna take me into the boardroom - & you know what? - i feel bloody hurt - it just shows the ingratitude - i honestly feel like when my cat died - it's the hurt inside..."

( one of the above quotes reminded me of some kenickie lyrics - if you can guess which, feel free to award yourself a hot cross bun )

* i also like "the ruff tuff creampuff" lady but she hasn't had much time in the spotlight yet

ITEM! katie sez: "it's like mother's milk to me...!"





( plse click on pic if you wanna see it at a bigger size )

ITEM! what's the "etiquette" re: wearing headphones when pushing a pram? - is it allowed? - katie = usually asleep when in motion, obv i do try to talk to her when she's awake ( or sing to her, poor little mite ) - & i yam v.careful ( to the point of paranoia ) abt crossing roads etc

ITEM! atommickbrane used the expression "professional bum wiper" in an LJ post the other day, which pretty much = my gurrent job description - tho i could more accurately be described as "a happy amateur", i spose...

ITEM! i may have asked this question before ( but if so i can't remember the answer ) - how many gherkins does it take to = one of yr five a day fruit &/or veg? - i yam averaging a gouple of "mado" jumbo sized sweet-sours per day

ITEM! goob to see the great british menu back ( bbc2, 6.30pm weekdays - a sortof methadone for masterchef addicts ) - i hope affable brummy glynn purnell beats paranoid bighead & fabio capello lookalike daniel clifford in this week's clash - & nicens to see flimsy lookalike chef sat bains supervising 'em in the kitchen ( - tho i don't spose former royal gorrespondent jennie bond is all that pleased abt having that job taken away from her - tho she still narrates it )

ITEM! kudos to the giddyoldgoat for his EXCELLENT recent radio times related posts
http://giddyoldgoat.livejournal.com/

ITEM! & that's all my "news" - for more pics of katie, plse visit our "archives"

april 2009 ( so far )
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157616136418891/

march 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157614694690116/

weeks 2 & 3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157614047279794/

week 1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157613590302782/

the last thing the internet needs is yet another review of the watchmen movie but here are a few of my "thoughts" anyway ( some minor spoilers inevitably follow )

ITEM! i should say first that as an admirer of the gomic i REALLY liked this film - it was very exciting to see all that familiar gomic book stuff ( not to mention all that alan moore dialogue ) up on the big screen - its very long tho, nearly three hours - & very violent - i'm not quite sure it'd quite work as a viewing experience to someone who hadn't previously read it, who wasn't interested in spotting all the references etc - & i do wonder what non comics readers generally will make of the flick ( "despicable trash" said the loathsome daily mail ) - anyway, despite my griticisms ( or possibly nit-picking ) below i really did enjoy it

ITEM! for such a literal translation of a gomic to screen, certain grucial bits were missing: ie nearly all the background characters that gave the gomic much of its "heart": the detectives, the two bernards ( the news vendor & gomic reading boy - especially odd to miss 'em out with the tales of the black freighter dvd apparently coming out in a few weeks ), the psychiatrist malcolm & his wife gloria, joey & her girlfriend, all the ppl who hung around times square in the comic - we got a few glimpses of 'em ( malcolm interviewing rorshach being the most notable ) but not enuff to make us care what happened to 'em - we didn't even see the new frontiersman staff until right at the end ( a bit of foreshadowing would have been be nice )

ITEM! some of the violence was unnecessary, i think - it was nearly all verbatim from the gomic but the translation/transition of one panel or page tended to drag out into long drawn out graphic fights & assaults lasting several minutes on screen - & they unbalanced the film overall - the slow motion gimmick didn't quite work ( - & with some of those bits cut out there'd have been more room for some much needed characterisation )

ITEM! i was expecting to hate nite owl cos he wasn't fat enuff ( the fat bloke getting the girl being one of the high points of the watchmen gomic for me ) but otherwise the likeable actor playing him was pretty much spot on - as were silk spectre & the gomedian - & rorshach was abt the best we could've hoped for, assuming they couldn't somehow make william h macy 20 years younger ( - mind you, the "old" make up on carla gugino was a bit jarring )

ITEM! rorshach's mask didn't quite "work" but then the gostumes were all slightly dodgy with the exception of silk spectre's, which was a gomplete redesign - praps showing what works in the gomics doesn't necessarily work on film - tho oddly the 1940s gostumes looked fine - & the owl ship looked great i thort

( EDIT: the gomedian's gostume looked fine all the way thru, actually )

ITEM! dr manhattan's willy was much bigger than it was in the gomic - i guess you really do get more bang for yr buck in the movies - tho his eye shadow was an odd decision ( & his eyes looked "painted on" in places ) - the special effects were not 100% gonvincing in the dr manhattan dept generally

ITEM! where to start with the soundtrack? - obv my chemical romance's mutilation of desolation row is a very bad joke ( - thereby fitting in with one of the "themes" of the film, god help us ) - but the placement of tracks was incredibly crass: everybody wants to rule the world while ozymandias is dissing some businessmen, the sound of silence during the gomedian's funeral, & worst of all: hallelujah* when nite owl finally manages to get it up with s.spectre - this was badly judged & by far the most gringeworthy scene in the film

* tho it was at least leonard cohen's original & not that buckley twit

the soundtrack = mostly goob songs but it was all a bit "blatant" - such as when nite owl & rorshach were approaching veidt's fortress, all along the WATCHtower spelled it for us with: "outside in the distance a wildcat** did growl, two riders were approaching & the wind began to howl" - songs that DID work in the gontext of the film = the times they are a changing ( i thought the whole flashback sequence at the beginning worked very well ), 99 red balloons and me & bobby mcgee

** twas nice to see bubastis tho

ITEM! i note that silk spectre didn't smoke in the movie ( unlike in the gomic where she's gonstantly puffing away ) - i guess she counts as "a goodie" & therefore = a role model & isn't allowed any blinking gaspers - at least they didn't take away the gomedian's cigar ( - such a nasty piece of work is presumably allowed to be a bad influence ) ( - tho he did come across as quite likeable in some places, moreso than in the comic, i'd say )

ITEM! apart from the lisp & his fey ways, ozymandias's character wasn't exactly what you'd call "fully formed", a gay yuppy with humanity's best interests at heart? - it would've been nice if we could've seen a bit more of what motivated him to take such drastic action ( - the actor was pretty crappy, by far the worst in the film ) - the folder marked "boys" on his desktop was a bit naughty - & what was the point of his "reverse headband"?

ITEM! moloch's ears were a bit floppy - they reminded me of the friendly demon clem from buffy the vampire slayer - eagle eyed viewers will have already spotted that moloch = max headroom

ITEM! despite the giant exploding octopus et al, the watchmen gomic was capable of things like subtlety, changes of mood & tone, tears of laughter, sadness, joy etc - & the structure of the piece was very carefully planned - whereas the movie has three settings: loud & dazzling, very loud & dazzling and incredibly loud & dazzing - it really is an assault to the senses - i don't think zach snyder has ever heard the expression "less is more" - some ppl might not like to be shouted at ( or hit over the head ) for three hours

ITEM! the apocalyptic theme notwithstanding, it's a hard film to take "seriously" - again i wonder what ppl who haven't read the original material will make of it - it couldve been a whole lot better - but i enjoyed it so much i can't give it less than eight w.o.agwu stars out of a possible ten - by far the best film i've seen at the cinema this year ( - yes, it's the only film i've seen at the cinema this year )

i wish the characters didn't refer to themselves - & their superhero team - as "the watchmen" tho

ITEM! i also wish it was easier to pop to the lavvy in the imax ( esp when the film is nearly 3 hours long & i had a large diet coke to wash down my bucket of salty popcorn ) - you have to go up the stairs to take a lift down to the foyer... surely they could make it less gomplicated?

another post about new baby stuff - please skip if you're not interested - after a few abortive attempts it seems i'm gompletely incapable of writing ( or thinking ) about anything else at the moment...

ITEM! katie = 31 days old today & it's hard to imagine ( or remember ) life without her - at yesterday's baby clinic she weighed in at 8lbs 12oz, which seemed to me a massive increase on her birth weight of 7lb 8oz in just a month but she's apparently bang on schedule ( & doing well in all areas ) ( - but mostly putney )

i suspected katie'd got gonsiderably bigger as there's recently been noticably less room for her & the water in her bathtime washbasin - she's soon gonna get promoted to our "proper" bath - we've got this baby bathchair/recliner thingy she can relax in now, so fingers grossed she'll take to that - she really seems to enjoy her nightly baths & gombined with a big feed they set her up nicely for a 3-4 hour kip from abt 8pm which is very welcome to all goncerned, as i'm sure you can imagine

ITEM! on the advice of various midwives we've been adding a little olive oil to katie's bathtime water to counteract her dry skin - up to this point she's been having sainsbury's taste the difference spanish extra virgin olive oil in her bath, "fruity & aromatic with a warm peppery finish - ideal for salad dressings & marinades - gives flavour to vegetable & meat sauces ( & katie )" but when that runs out she'll have to make do with spry crisp 'n dry ( - do they still make that? ) or somesuch - the only drawback to these oily baths is that they make her slippery ( & she's a champion wriggler as well ) so we have to be very careful getting her out of the bath, drying her & so on

( typing "crisp 'n" above made me think of the lead singer of kula shaker for some reason - & agincourt, obv...! )

ITEM! this pic is one of my faves of katie so far



we were on the seafront at clacton last week & cos her pram had stopped moving for a minute so we could buy refreshments katie started crying - so i put a tiny bit of my icecream on her nose & it shut her up & she went straight back to sleep - i shouldve tried this last night ( aka this morning ) actually, as she was a nightmare from 3.00am-8.00am, squawking if she wasn't being fed or held - which culminated in a massive projectile vomit - she's sleeping it off now tho... ( bless her )

& here's a pic of lulu & katie having a staring gompetition



it's not brilliantly clear of lulu alas & is probly best viewed at a bigger size ( click thru to flickr to do this ) - in gommon with our cats, katie's still got a hairy back, shoulders & ears - tho we have trimmed her clawlike fingernails since my last post - it's quite disconcerting when katie starts crying in the middle of the night & the cats join in, howling along with her ( - no one warned us about that! ) - katie, lulu & enzo all seem to get on OK anyway, which is a relief

here's our "archive" of more katie pics than anyone ( except her proud parents & grandparents ) could ever possibly want to see

world of katie - march 2009 ( so far )
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157614694690116/

world of katie - weeks 2 & 3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157614047279794/

world of katie - week 1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157613590302782/

& that's all my "news" - thank you for yr kind indulgence - "normal" w.o.agwu service will possibly be resumed when katie grows up or when i get some sleep - whichever is sooner

ITEM! q: who's got a hairy back, sharp claws & spends most of the night howling at the moon?

a: our beloved katie werewolf, of course ( - 21 days old today )

world of katie - weeks 2 & 3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157614047279794/

world of katie - week 1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157613590302782/

ITEM! despite not having a particular favourite ( or least favourite ) this year, i was pleased that devil lookalike ( & presumably suburban satanist ) mat follas won the MASTERCHEF finals - as he said when cooking for the army, "never trust a thin chef" - i was shocked that they didn't play hoppipolla by sigur ros to accompany his triumph tho - i thort it was obligatory for the denouement of any bbc "lifestyle" programme - runner up big nosed andy = a very sore loser, which was quite refreshing to see in this day & age - whereas young christopher seemed happy enuff to go back to his day job, playing drums for the civil service ( que? )

i note gregg "veg man" wallace upped the stakes for the final prog by shouting the odds even more loudly & ludicrously than usual, while john "the toad" torode was quite dignified in gomparison, restricting himself to just some light gurning ( - & eating some passing flies )

ITEM! a goob few years ago, me & some pals tried to eat at the restaurant where big nosed andy did his euro "work experience", ARZAK* in san sebastian - hoping to sample their famous grilled spiced pineapple with exploding pina colada dessert - but there was a three month waiting list for a table & we were only there for the day... so we went for a pizza instead!

* a moebius themed restaurant w/three michelin stars - proprietress elena arzak seems very pleasant & easy going for a world famous chef - but alas her teeth are a bit, um... untelevisual

ITEM! it's a bit disconcerting when i go to my amazon.co.uk homepage & it says "MAKE WAY FOR THE FAT FURY!" - i try not to take it personally - i don't think they really mean me but rather are trying to persuade me to treat myself to the following goveted item on my wishlist
http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/15-508/Herbie-Archives-Volume-2-HC

( one day i may even cave in to this temptation - hopefully before volume 3 comes out ) ( - so many gomics, so little time )

ITEM! dear ole andrew mmmoreton ( formerly of the rut media empire back in the 1980s ) made this BRILLIANT card for katie





ITEM! a giant baby tries to inflate another baby





ITEM! we're DELIGHTED to announce that gerard & liz kingdon have agreed to be katie's godparents - aka ( there's probably no ) godparents ( now stop worrying & enjoy yr life, katie ) - so if anything happens to us, she's in safe hands... ( as tim wonnacutt wld say to a trusted auctioneer )





( katie = 3 days old in this pic )

ITEM! katie went to the comic shop on friday - tho obv if she was really hardcore she'd have gone on thursday ( ie new comics day )








( jenni & katie with will morgan & rob rudderham of 30th century comics, putney - katie's first purchase = all star superman vol.2 hc by grant morrison & frank quitely )

ITEM! i got nearly seven hours of sleep* on each of the last two nights - & jenni did even better ( - she & katie are still asleep as i type this ) - i very much hope this trend gontinues - ie goob girl, katie...!

* not uninterrupted, obv - but still most appreciated

ITEM! for more pics plse visit the ever growin' world of katie flickr set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157613590302782/

& andrew m's photos from saturday
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moreton/sets/72157613829850098/

ITEM! arctic explorer katie




the former bumpo ( now burpo ) well wrapped up for her first trip outside yesterday afternoon - she's now seen all the big wide world has to offer ( ie we went very slowly round our estate twice ) - or wouldve if she hadn't slept thru the entire thing ( - during the day she sleeps fine & hardly cries at all ) ( - & she's already a regular viewer of bargain hunt, obv )

ITEM! the latest member of "arsene wenger's red & white army"





her birmingham city supporting granddad is arriving today no doubt laden with blues scarves, toys etc so i thort it was abt time i got some of katie's gunners gear out ( - mind you at this point i'd dress her in a t*tt*nh*m shirt if i thort it'd help her sleep between the hours of 1.00-6.00am...! ) ( - not really )


ITEM! you can't actually see katie in this 'un but take my word for it, she is there - katie the intrepid explorer w/the last of the putney snow ( not a drugs reference ) - outside our front room window





a few more katie links

auntie fiona came to visit katie yesterday
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/3272610843/

katie & her brilliant midwife nanaa
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/3272610807/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/3272610815/

world of katie flickr set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157613590302782/

thanks again for all the kind words & wishes

- that's yr lot for this week - see you next week...!

a goupla pics of my two favourite girls








thank you all so much for yr very kind gomments, calls, emails, texts etc - really appreciated - i'll try to knock out a few replies today - not sure we'll be staying up too late tonite tho - maybe for the first half of the england match if we can manage it - it's just as well i didn't get tickets for tonite's morrissey goncert live on radio 2 tonite as it clashes with katie's bath time...!

jenni last nite: "PLEASE stop singing to katie, it's worse than her crying!" ( it was j.richman's "i'm a little dinosaur" i think )

( katie responds well to my frank spencer impersonation tho : "who's gonna see da queen on christmas day den?" - as he used to say to his baby daughter jesssica )

welcome to the world isabelle katie florence hand ( aka katie for short ) born at home at 5.19pm on monday 9th february 2009 - 7lb 8oz - mother & baby are both fine - plse click on the photos below to see 'em at a bigger size





- yes, i know she looks like me in this pic ( but then all babies look a bit like me ) - but hopefully this won't last & katie will take after jenni in the looks ( as well as the brains ) department








we had four ( !!! ) midwives in attendance over a 16 hour period - jenni had a "textbook" natural labour lasting just over 12 hours - & i heroically managed not to faint & even got to cut the cord ( as well as mop up the placenta ) - the chief midwife visited this morning & sez jenni & katie are making excellent progress

more pics here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/sets/72157613590302782/

ITEM! a very happy february ( or katie bumpo arrival month as we call it round here ) to everyone - when we first went to see jenni's doctor she said very excitedly "yr baby might come on valentine's day!" which stuck in my mind - katie's actually "due" on 11th but could come any time now - we're playing the waiting game ( & as homer simpson sez: "the waiting game sucks, lets play hungry hungry hippos instead!" )

( we watched KNOCKED UP last night - not sure if this was such a goob idea - the scenes in the delivery room weren't exactly reassuring - but overall it did "resonate" in a few places )

ITEM! here's a drawing i did in dec 2008 at the instigation of mrs_leroy_brown ( twas a gift from her to glynnis )





( plse click thru to flickr to see it at a bigger size )

( in bec's original brief the robot was sposed to be a bit more angry or menacing than it eventually turned out - sorry abt that ) ( the cat = glynnis's cat dave )

ITEM! it's just occurred to me that in my blogging of the BLESS THIS HOUSE movie, i should've noted down every time sid james did his trademark laugh - i'm not sure how to transcribe it tho ( "HYAUK! HYAUK! HYAUK!"...? - anybody got any better ideas? ) - the BTH movie is on film4 again this afternoon, btw

ITEM! i previously mentioned that a pair of queen victoria's bloomers were being auctioned off on wednesday's BARGAIN HUNT - but neglected to mention that auctioneer charles "the young pretender" hanson sold 'em for £4,200 - "that's £2,100 per leg with the gusset thrown in for free" said tim wonnacutt - "thanks for coming" said charles hanson

w.o.agwu fun fact: bargain hunt "expert" david harper dyes his beard a reddish brown colour - now i've noticed i can't take my eyes off it when he's onscreen

ITEM! the second of this morning's wolverine & the xmen cartoons on cbbc was a loose retelling of incredible hulk no.181 - as well as hulk & wendigo, it also guest starred nick fury ( a sort of cross between samuel l jackson & the proper marvel gomics version ) & shield - as these things go it wasn't at all bad - for uk ppl only, it's available on the bbc iplayer for a week
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hjcyk/Wolverine_andamp_The_XMen_Wolverine_vs_The_Hulk/

ITEM! for fans of bashful benjamin j grimm, romance & steve whitaker: thing sketch with flowers
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/3240953855/

ITEM! "we have the queen of puddings, we have the king of sauces, we have the queen of invention and we have the king of bravado - THIS IS FANTASTIC...!" - john "the toad" torode talks up this week's masterchef quarter-finalists ( on 29/01/2009 )

thankfully, pompous big-headed ( & big-haired ) oaf & "king of sauces" julian was narrowly beaten by angela, queen of invention

ITEM! as threatened in my previous post, i've "blogged" the movie version of BLESS THIS HOUSE ( dir: gerard thomas, 1972 ) - made between series 2 & 3 of the telly programme - abandon hope all ye who enter here...

00:01 - the movie opens w/a new "groovy" version of the theme tune - not exactly an improvement on the original imo
00:02 - sid abbott ( sidney james ) arrives home from work, hoping for a peaceful evening
00:03 - idiot son mike ( robin askwith ) has bought a psychedic volkswagon beetle for £15 - the noisy engine wakes sid but he turns over & goes back to sleep on the sofa
00:05 - slightly spaced out daughter sally ( sally geeson ) disturbs sid's nap with her environmental goncerns, "in 50 years time the earth will be finished - mankind is doomed, daddy!"
00:07 - sid's wife jean ( diana coupland ) is at a jumble sale with her friend & neighbour betty ( patsy rowlands ) - buying stuff for their antiques stall - there's a disagreement over a stuffed fish & then an argument about a chamber pot w/carry on regular marianne stone

00:10 - sid has given up on his nap & is in the garden with betty's husband trevor ( peter butterworth ), helping with some building work
00:11 - there's a cameo from janet brown ( peter butterworth's wife in real life ) as the neighbour on the other side of sid & jean's house - she's moving away & gives sid some junk for jean's market stall - it's the first he's heard of it
00:13 - peter butterworth falls over into some goncrete - sid laughs
00:15 - sid & jean have an argument - he forbids her to open her antiques stall
00:16 - sid gives in & agrees to betty opening her antiques stall

00:17 - mike interrupts sid's sunday lie-in with his noisy car as he drives sally to her anti pollution league meeting ( it is a v.pretty car w/its psychedic paint job - & surprisingly clean looking for such a supposed wreck )
00:19 - sid & jean are tidying up the garage - sid is exasperated by mike's modern art sculptures & retreats to the pub with trevor in tow for a "business meeting" with an important client
00:21 - sid is embarrassed in front of his client when the barmaid gives him another chamber pot for jean's stall

00:22 - jean interrupts sid's afternoon nap to get him to move some furniture
00:23 - they see their new neighbours for the first time - it's terry scott & june whitfield, so we almost get a bless this house/happy ever after crossover - except that terry scott's "ronald" here is a much less avuncular character than his usual ( ie he's the film's baddie )
00:25 - sally tries to put out next door's bonfire because it's damaging the environment but ends up accidentally soaking terry scott instead
00:26 - sid unsuccessfully tries to turn off the hose & gets the blame for spraying terry w/water ( - he thinks sid did it deliberately )
00:27 - sid tries to turn off the water off at the mains but finds that mike has incorporated the stopcock into a piece of modern art
00:28 - mike tries to stop sid dismantling his sculpture but eventually the water is turn off
00:29 - after apologising for the water incident, sid accidentally pokes terry scott in the bum with mike's modern art

00:30 - jean & betty open their antiques stall in the market - bill maynard plays the manager mr oldham ( - "yeah, & you wanna 'old 'em when he's around!" sez marianne stone )
00:33 - sid & jean take down next door's overmantle for jean's stall but half of terry & june's wall comes down with it
00:35 - sid, trevor & plastering expert tommy godfrey begin fixing the wall but tommy is called away to fix a roof in wembley that's blown off
00:37 - sid & trevor finishing fixing the wall but a door slams & the wall falls down
00:38 - it's early morning & sid has finished putting the wall back up again - he's about to start the wallpaper when sally warns him that terry & his furniture van are nearly there
00:40 - mike delays terry scott & removal men by pretending his car has stalled in the middle of the road ( - one of the removal men = jonny briggs aka mike baldwin of goronation street fame )
00:41 - terry scott takes over driving mike's VW & accidentally crashes it into another car
00:43 - the police arrive & interview terry
00:44 - after a bit of slapstick, sid, jean & sally have finished the wallpapering & welcome terry & june to their new home
00:45 - the door slams & the wall falls down again

00:46 - sid is exhausted from all that plastering & is allowed to nap in peace for once
00:47 - tommy godfrey finally fixes terry scott's wall properly but terry is still in a bit of a huff
00:48 - terry & june's daughter kate turns up - she's played by carol hawkins of please sir & the fenn st gang fame - terry warns her to keep away from the neighbours
00:50 - mike gets a job as a cook in a caff ( - he knocks things over a lot ) - wendy richard is one of the waitresses
00:52 - sally & her fellow "stop pollution now" gampaigners protest at the fizzo soft drinks gompany - "no more non-disposable containers!" - embarrassing sid & costing him a lucrative order from frank "captain peacock" thornton when they deposit a huge load of tin cans in their lobby
00:53 - sid's car boot is shown to be full of "non-disposable containers" gollected from the fizzo lobby

00:54 - wendy richard resigns from the caff by sticking a pie in the boss's face - her replacement is terry & june's daughter kate - now she's working with mike can a montague/capulet style romance be far away? ( nope )
00:57 - sid is mowing the lawn wearing his "new" panama hat - a 2nd hand gift from jean
00:58 - sid puts the hat down on his gonnecting hedge w/next door & terry scott takes picks it up, assuming it's his
00:59 - sid accuses terry scott of stealing is hat - terry denies it & goes indoors - june whitfield explains that she gave the hat to the jumble sale & sid must've bought it, so it's his now
01:00 - sid blows a raspberry thru terry & june's letterbox
01:01 - terry scott unwilling to apologise or back down, guiltily throws the hat into sid & jean's garden
01:02 - sid accidentally mows the hat & pretty much destroys it - he puts it on his head anyway & gontinues mowing

01:03 - after a post work snog, mike drives kate home & they discover they're next door neighbours - they decide to keep mum abt their romance
01:05 - while having a drink in sid's new shed sid & trevor decide to have a bash at making whiskey

01:07 - noises from mike's car interrupt sid's sunday lie-in again
01:08 - mike meets up with kate & they go for a drive
01:09 - sid & trevor switch on their illegal still for the first time
01:10 - they forgot to put water in the still & it explodes - some of the wreckage flies into terry scott's garden, narrowly missing his head & breaking a pane of glass in his greenhouse
01:12 - mike's car has broken down & he & kate are stranded in brighton - sid has to go & gollect them - this is the first time sid has met kate

01:13 - sid & trevor's 2nd attempt at illegal booze making has gone well & sid's shed is full of their homemade rhubarb brandy
01:15 - jean & june whitfield meet in the market & start getting friendly - much to terry scott's annoyance
01:16 - sally's having a birthday party & after a brief attempt at dancing, the noise is getting to sid - so he & jean decide to eat out at mike's caff
01:17 - annoyed by the noise from next door terry & june decide to go out & check out the caff where kate works
01:18 - the two families end up sitting together & our star-crossed lovers are discovered
01:19 - terry scott accidentally gets a fried egg in the face from the boss & a food fight ensues
01:21 - sid & terry leave the magistrates court after paying a fine for damage to the caff - they cement their newfound alliance in the pub next door - where terry reveals he's a customs & excise man investigating illegal booze making operations
01:22 when the new pals get home they are steamrollered by jean & june into agreeing that mike & kate can get married

01:23 - it's the morning of the wedding - sid tells trevor he hasn't had time to dismantle the still yet - & the shed just happens to be full of highly flammable rhubarb brandy
01:24 - mike, trying to charge the flat battery of his new car, accidentally turns on the still
01:25 - everyone has gone to the wedding except terry & sid - they're trying to fix the car when the shed explodes bigtime, starting a fire - sid obv can't tell terry that the shed = full of booze
01:26 - in terry's absence, bill maynard ( mr oldham ) gives kate away ( - as she's walking down the aisle with him she mouths "who's he?" to her mum - & mike & kate get married
01:27 - a fire engine arrives at the church - clothes ragged & covered in smoke & soot, sid & terry have turned up just in time for the wedding pictures - everybody smiles for the camera - THE END

overall: a pretty accurate summary of everyday life in putney in 1972

ITEM! have a goob weekend everybody ( - & thanks very much if you've made it to the end of this post! )

ITEM! week 38 begins today - the incredible hulk is minding katie bumpo's pram while we wait for her arrival...





do people still do "penny for the guy?" - if so, we should be OK for the next gouple of years

ITEM! my latest high goncept "idea" for a tv series: a revival of DIXON OF DOCK GREEN w/aleesha dixon in the title role ( - tho there might be some difficulty in finding a police helmet to fit her unusually small head ) - aleesha does have a rather unique attitude to law enforcement however: "if the man can dance, he gets a second chance"

( griminals brought to justice by wpc aleesha include include mc harvey & javine )

ITEM! today's radio times listing for BARGAIN HUNT: "queen victoria's bloomers are found in grimsthorpe"

would anyone like to see the return of the bargain hunt experts league table? - i stopped doing it over a year ago
http://worldofagwu.livejournal.com/34413.html

but i've still got abt a month's worth of scores in an ole notebook which have never been added & tabulated ( - & i guess i could start keeping score again )

ITEM! fair warning dept: since i mentioned it in my previous post, the movie version of BLESS THIS HOUSE has been shown on film4 - i've taped it & am thinking of "blogging" it...

the film ( a gerald thomas/peter rogers production ) was made in 1972 between series 2 & 3 of the telly prog which gontinued until sid james' death in 1976 - as well as robin askwith playing mike instead of robin stewart, peter butterworth took over the role of next door neighbour trevor from anthony jackson - tho patsy rowlands kept her role as his wife betty - i wonder how the regular actors felt being replaced by these ( slightly ) bigger names for the movie version? - & did it cause discontent when the "proper" telly cast reunited for the third series & on?

i've got pretty fond memories of the telly version - a gentle silly sitcom w/sid james towards the end of his career playing against type as a devoted husband & father ( making a change from his usual lecherous carry on persona ) whose search for peace & quiet in his domestic setup is gonstantly interrupted by the zany antics & wacky schemes of his ( very slightly ) rebellious children & occasionally his wife or best pal - everybody loved each other & "sid abbott" = a very likeable & sympathetic character

also, it was set in putney ( - but not necessarily filmed here )

i guess the film can be gonsidered a bless this house parallel universe because things that happen in it ( most noticably mike abbott getting married ) aren't reflected in the telly version - i wonder if the movie dvd has got a director or actor's gommentary track...? ( - the one featuring jack douglas, patsy rowlands & jack douglas w/the "carry on girls" dvd was very revealing! )

ITEM! it's week 37 & the katie bumpo explosion could happen any time now ( or any time in the next 5 weeks ) but while we're waiting, here's the first item of clothing we bought for her after we first saw her ( via ultrasound scan )





& for ppl who like this sort of thing, here's katie's shoe gollection so far
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofagwu/3215369824/

ITEM! i was pleased that the foraging-obsessed league of gentlemen reject didn't get through to this week's quarter final in last nite's masterchef - tho i wanted the lady with the moustache to win rather than the mad hatter - hopefully TOAD & THE VEG MAN will be getting their own buddy movie soon ala freebie & the bean or holmes & yoyo where they fight the goob fight against badly cooked "paarstaar" & dodgy chocolate fondants - john torode = the eye candy who gets all the girls, while greg wallace holds up a leathery overcooked steak & sez "it doesn't get tougher than this...!" - charles "the trencherman" campion cld be their huggy bear

ITEM! i watched the last hour or so of the 1970 flick of CROMWELL ( w/richard harris in the title role & alec guinness as charles i ) on bbc2 on saturday afternoon - & most enjoyable it was too - among the all star cast i was pleased to spot sid james's son mike from bless this house as the prince of wales ( - robin stewart is the actor's name ) - i always liked him & don't recall ever seeing him in anything else - & he was cruelly bumped off the movie version of bless this house in favour of that gurning buffoon robin askwith

ITEM! suggested advertising jingle: "i get by with a LIDL help from my friends"

ITEM! rest in peace the bloke who invented the doner kebab ( - & thank you! )

ITEM! further to my pic of enzo yesterday, we've got two cats of course - but his sister lulu was less cooperative abt posing for the camera - still she deserves equal coverage, so here are my best lulu photos so far








goob girl, lulu

( plse click on pics to see 'em bigger in flickr )

ITEM! & here's a pic of katie bumpo's wardrobe taken this morning: as i've said elsewhere, if she turns out to be a boy we're in BIG trouble





( - not that i wanna reinforce gender roles or stereotypes, of course )

ITEM! morrissey, george michael & tony blackburn debating eden by everything but the girl on an early 1980s juke box jury type programme ( - mozza's quiff = amazing, truly a thing of beauty )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCZkVrpYupY

ITEM! most recent bbc iplayer programme watched: wolverine & the x-men episode 3 - despite the silly title it was pretty goob i thought, the best marvel gomics cartoon in recent memory ( - miles better than the ultimate avengers or the iron man & dr strange straight to dvd jobs ) - i'm gonna stick w/it - it's being shown on cbbc on saturdays, btw - i dunno why it's "allowed" on the iplayer tho when most US programmes aren't - presumably cartoons don't "count" so it sneaks through

ITEM! goob luck mr obama!