Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in East and West London & Surrey (The NEXT Chapter).

Week 257 Saturday 18^th until Friday 24^thMay 2019.

Happy 18th bday this week to Spike the Cat.

 “Spike with my card” (Pic by Jane Sparks).

I love a bargain, be honest who doesn’t!  When I see something cheap a small primeval part of my brain starts to fizz with excitement.  That little area probably shines brighter than London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks if seen in an MRI.

 “Taken 12 hours apart”.

A few weeks ago, an email popped in my inbox from “the” major internet shopping company, notifying that I had a £5 voucher to use by midnight Monday 20 May.  This was only remembered when I saw the email again last Sunday afternoon!  The word discount started a chain reaction, making my brain sizzle so much that it produced an overdose of brain ooze flooding the soggy mass in my skull with excitement.  Of course, I didn’t want to make a mess on my friend’s sofa if any excess ooze seeped out of my head, so I had to use the voucher.  I’m told those kinds of stains are a bugger to remove from upholstery.  A discount like that is retail crack, its additive.

 “I was not stalking the Major, honest”.

 

It’s time for me to be open and extremely honest with you.  I have lots of “stuff”!  In fact, I have so much stuff that I am paying a fortune in storage monthly.  Do I really need more, of course the answer is no!  But the buzzing and fizzing around my brain said yes!

 “A little something i wrote for Celestial Toyroom, the magazine for The Doctor Who Appreciation Society (DWAS)”.

Of course, I realise that particular Sunday afternoon could have been spent more constructively (such as searching for a new job or an agent) instead of looking for something to buy.  A lot of time was wasted trying to buy products sold by a third party; if only I had read the small print.  Then I found something that I JUST had to have, a six-disc DVD boxset.  All six films I have seen in the comfort of a cinema, and four of them I already owned on various formats (smoke signals, semaphore, wax cylinder, morse code, VHS and DVD) squirreled away in my lock up.  Why do I need another physical object when these films can be plucked out of the air by downloading them?  Two words “special features”!  I can sit for hours watching the specials, which are sometimes there better than the feature.  It did cross my mind that I am spending £ 16.95 just to get a £5.00 reduction that money could have gone to my future travel plans.  But the discount drug had really gripped me, my finger pressed confirm helping make the online giant even richer!

 “A very cute puppy, spotted on the way to work”.

As I have already said I have so much “stuff”, and really should be downsize not add to the shiz collecting dust.  But companies online and physical know that I, we, are attracted to or in my case addicted to a reduction!  In the supermarkets while pushing the trolley through the isles I am constantly looking for discounts labels.  Most of the reduced items I buy I wouldn’t normally purchase at full price.  Of course, the shops want to sell these cheap because they don’t want to lose money, but it also saves them asking staff look through each individual item to only throw them away (a sole destroying job, I’ve done it).

 “Trying to keep a low profile”.

All of us should really only buy what we need.  Buying less would send a message to manufacturers to make smaller numbers of less popular products (this could be anything, doesn’t have to be food) which would save precious resources that the planet is short of!  And maybe save them money, that might reduce future prices.  I realise this is a very simplistic way of thinking but if we all did buy less and were not so tempted to impulse buy maybe changes would happen.  I definitely need to be less influence by the offer of a few quid off.

 “Beside the river, before work”.

In the meantime, I am still going to really enjoy my boxset.  If you bring popcorn (salted) and are over the age of 18 (the boxset is rated 18) then you’re welcome to join me for a marathon of acid blood, Xenomorphs, gore and a pussy cat.

And Finally……

 “Boarding passes, these names are going to Mars on NASA’s 2020 rover”.

A friend heard a colleague say “the flap was open and the thing was dangling out”.  Luckily this was a conversation about the work van having been recently refueled and not something more sinister.

 “If you want your name to go to Mars look at go.nasa.gov/Mars2020Pass “.

My friend said to me late one evening “are you taking your beaver upstairs”.  I won’t lie; I stopped in my tracks for a few seconds processing this.  My gaze followed her down to rest on a small status of a Beaver that my Canadian friend April had given me. After lots of smutty laughing I carried the gift upstairs.  Yes, I can confirm I do have a beaver in my bedroom.

 “Adults are tripping to Mars aswell”.

My Mid Life Crisis Conts……

“Trying to write this shiz, but distracted by this excellent new comedy”.

This week I have mainly been watching:  

“Brave”, (2012).  “Chernobyl”, (S1, ep 3).  “Click”, (TX: 18/05/19).  “Doom Patrol”, (S1, ep 13 & ep 14).  “Game Of Thrones”, (S8, ep 6).  “Ghosts”, (S1, ep 6).  “Happy!”, (S2, ep 9).  “Have I Got News For You”, (S57, ep 8, TX: 24/05/19).  “High Hopes”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 4).  “High Hopes : Backstage”, (TX: 24/03/15).  “I Zombie”, (S5, ep 4).  “Killing Eve”, (S2, ep 7).  “La Luna”, (2011).  “MISFITS”, (S1, ep 3 to ep 6).  “Not Going Out”, (S10, ep 6).  “Summer Of Rockets”, (S1, ep 1).  “The Eurovision Song Contest: Results”, (Turned on just in time, it’s the best bit.  Plus I couldn’t sit through 26 mediocre song’s, TX: 18/05/19).  “The Graham Norton Show”, (S25, ep 7, TX: 17/05/19).  “The Insomniacs”, (TX: 14/05/19).  “The Last Leg”, (S17, ep 1, TX: 17/05/19)(ep 2, TX: 24/05/19).  “The Looming Tower”, (S1, ep 4).  “The Ranganation”, (S1, ep 1, TX: 19/05/19).  “The Sky At Night”, (ep 790, TX: 12/05/19).  “Victorian Sensations; Electric Dreams”, (S1, ep 1, TX: 22/05/19).  “What We Do In The Shadows”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 9).  “Wynonna Earp”, (S1, ep 1).  “Years And Years”, (S1, ep 2).  “Z Nation”, (S3, ep 12 to ep 14)(S4, ep 1 to ep 13).   

This week I have mainly been listening to:  

“13 minutes To The Moon (BBC World Service)”, (S1, ep 2, 20/05/19).  “30 Animals That Made Us Smarter (BBC World Service)”, (S1, ep 9, 20/05/19).  “Anti Social Show”, (ep 73, 21/05/19).  “David Tennant Does A Podcast”, (S1, ep 14, 21/05/19).  “Griefcast”, (ep 81, 22/05/19).  “Iain Lee (Highlights)”, (16/05,20/05, 21/05, 22/05, 23/05/19).  “LBC Podcast: Nick Abbot (Whole Show)”, (18/05, 24/05/19).  “NASA: Houston We Have A Podcast”, (ep 93, 24/05/19).  “Soundtracking With Edith Bowman”, (ep 143, 24/05/19).  “The Adam Buxton Podcast”, (ep 93, 18/05/19).  “The All New Angelos And Barry Podcast”, (24/05/19).  “The Nick Abbot Habit”, (24/05/19).  “Morrissey”,  “The Weather Girls”,  “Blondie”,  “Travis”,  “Shed Seven”,  “The Bluetones”,  “Echobelly”,  “Gene”,  “Pulp”,  “Space”,  “The Auteurs”,  “Supergrass”, “Ocean Colour Scene”,  “Frankie Goes To Hollywood”,  “The Kingston Trio”,  “Charlotte Gainsbourg”,  “The Young Ones And Cliff”.