Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in East London (inc going out to cut the back garden grass).

Week 304 Saturday 11^th  until Friday 17^th April 2020.

Lockdown Week, Vier.

Hope you had a good Easter.  I embraced technology to contact loved ones and attempted to impress small children by stuffing a whole chocolate egg in my mouth.  They weren’t impressed at all!

 “Chewie enjoying his Easter treat”.

Sadly last weekend I heard that a friend, Andy who I grew up with during teenage years and more recently had a lot of online contact with sadly died.  My thoughts are with his wife and family.  There have been several notable celebrity deaths during the last seven days.  The one that resonated with me was the passing of Tim Brooke-Taylor.  That’s another comedy legend I sadly never met.  But what a legacy of work he left behind, Tim will continue to make me and others laugh for many years to come.

 “Its not all mine, honest!”.

And Now This……

 “Its hard work this gardening”.

Like a lot of people working from home, I have used some of the time to read articles, watch news reports which I wouldn’t normally have seen.  Something that has interested me about the global lockdown is how animals all over the world have started to reclaim normally overpopulated areas.  Also, pollution levels have dropped across the planet as a result of us meat sacks staying at home.  Very clever experts had previously said that nature would take a while to recover what we have claimed as ours.  However this lockdown has shown that Mother Nature doesn’t waste time in trying to cover up the fact that we ever existed.  Humans might be intelligent, but we really are replaceable.

 “Was this the picture, i wasn’t supposed to publish?”.

What I am about to type is not thought through; there is no scientific basis to any of this. Remember I am a call centre monkey and not an expert in anything.  Humans have affected the planet in many devastating ways, what if every year there was a period of lockdown to allow the planet to recharge and take a deep breath.  This current enforced lockdown has changed everything about our lives; the way we work, travel, connect with others and even shop.  All of this will have effects on our lives for years to come.  Of course, it goes without saying that I would prefer that there wasn’t the huge loss of life across the world.  But I do think some form of lockdown might help us and the planet.

 “Are Vodka Jelly Bears, classed as cooking”.

I mentioned this last week but for me personally the lockdown is not a problem, I like staying at home.  I could easily become a person with agoraphobia and not step outside again and be happy.

 “Very impressed at the Slugs social distancing.  Was worried about the labybird, as the red thing in front was non organic”.

And Now For Something Completely Different……

 “Thanks to my sister Hel, for these pics.  These pavement messages were seen near her house”.

At this time I would like to pay tribute to an essential service that many of us (including me) never really think about.  The Postal (Postman/Woman) delivery person let me explain.

 “Shhhh, dont make a noise.  You might wake Chewie”.

Last week I ordered a couple of Easter (nonedible) prezzies.  Tracking the gifts, I knew that they were “hand delivered last Saturday at 18.34”.  But it soon became apparent that nothing had actually arrived at the address.  Checking the order, I discovered I had messed up (you wouldn’t expect anything else, would you) again.  In the mobile phone field, I had added the door number.  Personally, I am surprised that the ordering system hadn’t questioned the incorrect number and stopped the order from being confirmed.  Something that really puzzled me was how the delivery person decided what door to drop the package off at.  After a moment of panic and frustration, I reordered the items making sure that the address was correct.  At the time of writing, I haven’t heard from the famous internet shopping site customer services team (I’m not surprised).

 “Nice to see shadows social distancing”.

Tuesday afternoon, not only did the emergency second order arrive, but the original one turned up as well.  The lovely (I wasn’t calling them that over the weekend) accidental recipient who lived in the same postcode as my friend must have kept the package safe until after the bank holiday, then handed it to the Postie who must have recognised the surname.

 “Hello RAC”.

Bank holiday lessons learned, check when ordering online.  Always smile at a Posties, there forgotten heroes under the current circumstances.  Plus, I won’t be giving a five-star rating when I get an email asking how my recent shopping experience was.

 “Siphoning water out of a huge barrel.  There was something therapeutic about doing this.  After 17 full watering cans, i was able to tip the barrel over and empty the rest.

Just so you know, my friends loved the gifts, both sets 😊

And Finally……

 “I enjoyed the Vodka Jellies”.

Heard my friend say from the kitchen, “The tip is dripping”.  Don’t worry she was talking about the new Hamster water bottle.

 “Preparing what i call a “Mealworm Pot Noodle” for the birds”.

Sitting working in the living room, my friend called enthusiastically from another as if she had won the lottery, “I’ve got a slot”.  After a pause she told me that the slot was for online shopping.  The way things are at the moment there’s more chance in winning the lottery than getting a shopping slot.

 “I should have been writing this ramble,  but i cant stop watching these two”.

My Mid Life Crisis Conts……

This week I have mainly been watching:  

“Altered Carbon”, (S2, ep 3).  “Carry On, Cleo”, (1964).  “Carry On, Cowboy”, (1965).  “Carry On, Screaming!”, (1966).  “Carry On, Spying”, (1964).  “Death In Paradise”,(S4, ep 3).  “DEVS”, (S1, ep 1).  “Don’t Lose Your Head (Carry On)”, (1967).  “Follow That Camel! (Carry On)”, (1967).  “Have I Got News For You”, (S59, ep 3, TX: 17/04/20).  “Horizon 2020: Coronavirus Special – Pt1”, (TX: 09/04/20).  “Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull”, (2008).  “Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade”, (1989).  “Indiana Jones And the Temple Of Doom”, (1984).  “Jesus Christ Superstar – Full Stage Show – Stay Home #withme”, (Original TX: 19/11/12)(Rpt TX: 11/04/20).  “Lucy & D.i.C, Left Handed”, (YouTube)(TX: 14/11/19).  “Phil Silvers Interview: Follow That Camel!”, (1967).  “Mr Winner”, (S1, ep 6).  “The Mash Report”, (S4, ep 3, TX: 17/04/20).  “The Mike Skipper Saturday Lockdown Quiz”, (Facebook)(11/04/20).  “The Phantom Of The Opera – Full Stage Show – The Show Must Go On – Stay Home #withme”, (Original TX: 02/10/11)(Rpt TX: 17/10/20).  “The Sky At Night”, (TX: 12/04/20).                          

Doctor Who Watched This Week:

“Time Monster”, (S9, Prod Code OOO)(ep 1, TX: 20/05/72)(ep 2, TX: 27/05/72)(ep 3, TX: 03/06/72)(ep 4, 10/06/72)(ep 5, 17/06/72)(ep 6,TX: 24/06/72).

“The Three Doctors”, (S10, Prod Code RRR)(ep 1, TX: 30/12/72)(ep 2, TX: 06/01/73)(ep 3, TX: 13/01/73)(ep 4, TX: 20/01/73).

“Carnival Of Monsters”, (S10, Prod Code PPP)(ep 1, TX: 27/01/73)(ep 2, TX 03/02/73)(ep 3, TX: 10/02/73)(ep 4, TX: 17/02/73).

“Frontier In Space”, (S10, Prod Code QQQ)(ep 1, TX: 24/02/73)(ep 2, TX: 03/03/72)(ep 3, TX: 10/03/73)(ep 4, TX: 17/03/73)(ep 5, TX: 24/03/73)(ep 6, 31/03/73).

This week I have mainly been listening to:  

“13 Minutes To The Moon (BBC World Services), (S2, ep 6, 13/04/20)(Delay to ep 7, 11/04/20)(Bonus: Jim Lovell Pt1, 15/04/20)(Bonus 2: John Aaron, 17/04/20).  “Blood On The Tracks: Live in Hammersmith”, (pt 1 & pt 2, 20/12/19).  “CNN, Coronavirus: Fact Vs Fiction”, (ep 32, 13/04/20)(ep 33, 14/04/20)(ep 34, 15/04/20)(ep 35, 16/04/20)(ep 36, 17/04/20).  “Daddy Look At Me”, (ep 8, 14/04/20)(ep 9, 16/04/20).  “Gossipmongers”, (S3, ep 4, 13/04/20).  “Iain Lee (Bonus)”, (11/04/20).  “Iain Lee (Highlights)”, (11/04, 13/04, 14/04, 16/04/20).  “In Poor Taste”, (ep 116, 13/04/20).  “Lazy Doctor Who”, (ep 1, 28/04/15)(ep 2, 04/05/15)(ep 3, 08/05/15)(ep 4, 16/05/15)(ep 5, 29/05/15)(ep 6, 30/05/15)(ep 7, 14/06/150(ep 8, 15/06/15)(ep 9, 02/07/15)(ep 10, 18/07/15)(ep 11, 08/08/15)(ep 12, 04/09/15).  “Mystery Hour”, (16/04/20).  “NASA: Gravity Assist”, (S4, Trailer, 15/04/20)(ep 1 & ep 2, 17/04/20).  “NASA: Houston We Have A Podcast”, (ep 140, 17/04/20).  “Nick Abbot (Whole Show)”, (11/04,17/04/20).  “Rule Of Three”, (S5, ep 12, 16/04/20).  “Saving Apollo 13”, (Trailer 05/04/20)(ep 1, 12/04/20)(ep 2, 13/04/20).  “Space Boffins”, (14/04/20).  “The Adam Buxton Podcast”, (ep 119, 17/04/20).  “The All New Angelos And Barry Podcast”, (12/04/20)(17/04/20).  “The Missing Doctor Who Podcast”, (ep 1, 10/04/20).  “The Nick Abbot Habit”, (14/04/20).  “Morrissey”,  “Garbage”,  “Shakatak”,  “Terry, Blair & Anouchka”,  “Shed Seven”,  “The Specials”,  “Fun Boy Three”,  “The Colourfield”,  “Razorlight”,  “Pulp”,  “Supergrass”, “Smiths”.