Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in East London (Lockdown the Sequel: Week Three).

Week 335 Saturday 14^th until Friday 20^thNovember 2020.

Once again I haven’t been anywhere during this third week of “Lockdown the Sequel”.  I really am looking forward to the big screen movie version of this period of our lives that is bound to be made in a few years’ time.  I would hope that that Matt Lucas would be cast as Bojo our bumbling leader, his impression at the start of the new series of Bake Off was perfect as an audition piece.  Stephen Mangan would make a wonderful Mat Hancock, because of his panicked rabbit in headlight look (which is exactly how the Right Honourable Member of Parliament for West Suffolk, and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care looked during daily Downing Street briefings he hosted) that he is well known for.

 

I wonder what archaeologists will make of 2020.  Yes, I really haven’t been anywhere as you can tell during the last seven days. 

And Now For Something Completely Different…….

The battle against a gang of local squirrels who have been attacking the garden birdfeeders got serious this week.  Before I carry on, I want to stress I love to see these hoppity bushy tailed rodents, they are welcome in the garden.  There is plenty of birdfeed to go around scattered on the various flat table feeders and bowls.  Not content with clearing everything off the horizontal feeders, they climb/jump on to the hanging feeders stopping the birds sitting patiently in a nearby tree waiting for the four legged menace to scurry away.  One of my issues with squirrels is they just keep feeding, stuffing more and more into their cavernous mouths, probably only eating a small amount.  The rest gets buried and forgotten about, only to be uncovered by a different squirrel who if they could think like us would have thought they had won the lottery.

This week I took delivery of three (as the advert claimed in large friendly bold letters) “squirrel proof” bird feeders.  When I unwrapped them, my first thought was these will never last, because they felt extremely lightweight and fragile compared to the heavier ones that the gang have recently pulled apart.  A concern is the door on the top that covers the opening used to fill the feeder up has a gap.  I am convinced that a tiny paw pulling and tugging over a period of time could open the door rendering the feeder useless. 

Once everything was filled I withdrew and watched in true “Winterwatch” fashion.  The birds appeared eyeing up the new feeders swinging gently in the wind.   Once one sparrow was brave enough to land on the feeder, all its mates soon joined the feeding party.  Things got interesting about when the first squirrel casually zig zagged across the grass towards its cafeteria for brunch.   The birds scattered as it climbed the metal poll and gripped on to one of the new feeders.   From the body language it appeared a little confused and annoyed because the nuts and seeds were inches away, but was out of its grasp.

Don’t worry, once it realised that the hanging feeders were now of bounds, it scampered on to the table feeders and gorged itself forgetting its panic seconds earlier.  The new feeders have been up most of the week, I have been checking the doors on the top of all of them for signs of damage; so far everything still looks like new.   Though I wonder how long it will be before I see the gang gathered at the bottom of the garden, with the cleverest wearing a white coat holding a small piece of chalk pointing at a black board showing complex diagrams on how to crack open these (fingers crossed) secure feeders.  If anything happens I will let you know.

I’m hoping that next week i might actually go out down the road resulting in proper content to write about.

And Finally……

“I can’t find the slit”. This was said by a friend as she struggled to open a packet of salmon (#firstworldproblems).

At the end of a work call the man (customer) on the other end said “I was great” (he really doesn’t know me!).  I imagined him in a smoking jacket, lying back in a huge comfy chair smoking a fag satisfied with the call.  It was only just passed 9am.

My Mid Life Crisis Conts……

This week I have mainly been watching:  

“Click”, (14/11/20).  “Coffee And Quasers – Hands On With Virtual Production And UnReal Engine”, (YouTube)(TX: 16/11/20).  “Cornwall With Simon Reeves”, (S1, ep 2, TX: 15/12/20).  “Between”, (S1, ep 4).  “Daleks! (BBC Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious)”, (YouTube)(S1, ep 2, TX: 18/11/20).  “Farscape”, (S2, ep 6 to ep 13).  “Farscape – Make Up Test”, (YouTube)(TX: 04/08/11).  “Father Ted”, (S2, ep 10).  “FOX 26, 9pm (US Eastern Time) News Hour – With Tom Zizka”, (FaceBook)(TX: 16/11/20).  “Fringe”, (S1, ep 14 to ep 17).  “Glitch”, (S3, ep 4).  “Hanna”, (S1, ep 3 & ep 4).  “Have I Got News For You”, (S60, ep 7, TX: 20/11/20).  “His Dark Materials”, (S2, ep 2).  “Lexx”, (S2, ep 1 to ep 3).  “NASA TV LIVE – Launch of NASA/Space X Crew-1 Dragon (Resilience) (Hopkins/Walker/Glover of NASA and Noguchi of JAXA)”, (NASA TV)(TX: 15/11/20).  “NASA TV LIVE – Tour Inside of NASA/Space X Crew-1 Dragon (Resilience) On Route To The ISS”, (NASA TV)(TX: 16/11/20).  “Paul Merton’s Heroes Of Comedy”, (TX: 15/11/20).  “Spitting Image (2020)”, (Britbox)(S1, ep 8, TX: 14/11/20).  “Star Chamber – Kenny Everett – Unaired Yorkshire TV Pilot”, (YouTube)(TX: 16/11/20).  “Star Trek: Discovery”, (S3, ep 6).  “Taskmaster”, (S10 (S1 on C4), ep 6, TX: 19/11/20).  “The Great British Bake Off”, (S11 (S4 on C4), ep 9, TX: 17/11/20).  “The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice”, (S7 (S4 on C4), ep 9 TX: 20/11/20).  “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 4).  “The Walking Dead: World Beyond”, (S1, ep 8).  “Thoroughbred”, (2016).  “Z Nation”, (S1, ep 13)(S2, ep 1).                                       

Doctor Who Watched This Week:

“Silence In The Library”, (S30 (S4), ep 8,Prod Code 4.9)(TX: 31/05/08).

Gerry Anderson Watched This Week:

 “Space 1999”, (S1, ep 19, TX: 22/01/76).

 “UFO”, (S1, ep 16, TX: 03/02/71).

This week I have mainly been listening to:  

“Betamax Video Club”, (ep 3, TX: 27/10/17) (ep 9, 17/01/18) (ep 15, 19/04/18).  “Coronavirus Global Daily Update”, (BBC World Service) (14/11/20) (15/11/20)(16/11/20) (17/11/20)(18/11/20) (19/11/20) (20/11/20).  “CNN, Coronavirus: Fact Vs Fiction”, (ep 185, 16/11/20)(ep 186, 17/11/20)(ep 187, 18/11/20)(ep 188, 19/11/20)(ep 189, 20/11/20).  “Daddy Look At Me”, (S4, ep 2, 19/11/20).  “Dear Joan And Jericha (Julia Davis And Vicki Pepperdine)”, (S3, ep 1, 17/11/20).  “Doug And Elly Watch Telly”, (ep 1, 25/06/20) (ep 2, 03/07/20) (ep 3, 17/07/20) (ep 8, 08/09/20) (ep 9, 08/09/20) (ep 10, 15/09/20) (ep 15, 10/11/20).  “Griefcast”, (ep 121, 18/11/20).  “Grounded With Louis Theroux”, (BBC Sounds)(S2, Trailer, 16/11/20).  “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buddha”, (S1, ep 11, 17/11/20).   “NASA: Houston We Have A Podcast”, (ep 172, 20/11/20).  “Nick Abbot (Whole Show)”, (14/11/20)(15/11/20(20/11/20).  “Poppy Hillstead Has Entered The Chat”, (S2, ep 3, 17/11/20).  “Rob Beckett And Josh Widdecombe’s Lockdown Parenting Hell”, (S1, ep 58, 14/11/20) (ep 59, 17/11/20) (ep 60, 20/11/20).  “Something Who”, (ep 6A, Pt1, 23/11/19) (ep 6B, Pt2, 05/12/19).  “Space Boffins”, (17/11/20).  “Sue Perkins An Hour Or So With….”, (S3, ep 3, 17/11/20).  “The Adam Buxton Podcast”, (ep 140, 14/11/20) (ep 141, 20/11/20).  “The Old Doctor Who Show”, (ep 103, 18/11/20).  “The Nick Abbot Habit”, (17/11/20).  “Toby Hadoke’s Time Travels – Preview”, (20/11/20).  “Verbal Diorama”, (ep 2 10/03/19)(ep 3, 17/03/19)(ep 14, 13/08/19)(ep 53, 30/07/20)(ep 54, 06/08/20).  “What’s The Problem? With Nick Abbot And Carol McGiffen”, (S1, ep 43, 16/11/20).  “Morrissey”,  “Toto”,  “Fleetwood Mac”,  “Journey”,  “Bruce Springsteen”,  “ACDC”,  “Pink Floyd”, “Prince”,  “Kenny Loggins”,  “Queen”,  Tracy Chapman”,  “The Bangels”,  “Roxette”,  “Soft Cell”,  “Siouxsie And The Banshees .