Here They Come Again

... 'lookin' better than a body has the right to'!

Uggie receives a kiss from Jean Dujardin (lucky little dog).

Oh I just love it when I’m right.

Oh alright, as Oscar wins go that was probably the most predictable of all time.

And I’m not always right of course. Yes dear readers, believe it or believe it not, I can be mentally challenged.

Fancy a quiz?

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THIS MAY BE A "little" DIFFICULT FOR ALL WHO ARE OVER 60 .
THOSE YOUNGER THAN THIS WILL HAVE NO HOPE AT ALL.

DEMENTIA  QUIZ

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   FIRST QUESTION:

YOU  ARE A PARTICIPANT IN A RACE. YOU OVERTAKE
THE SECOND  PERSON. WHAT POSITION ARE YOU  IN?

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ANSWER : IF YOU ANSWERED THAT YOU ARE FIRST,
THEN YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WRONG! IF YOU OVERTAKE THE
SECOND PERSON AND YOU TAKE HIS PLACE, YOU ARE IN SECOND PLACE!
TRY TO DO BETTER NEXT TIME.
NOW ANSWER THE SECOND QUESTION,
BUT DON'T TAKE AS MUCH TIME AS
YOU TOOK FOR THE FIRST QUESTION,  OK?

SECOND QUESTION:
IF YOU OVERTAKE THE LAST PERSON, THEN YOU ARE ... ?

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ANSWER: IF YOU ANSWERED THAT YOU ARE SECOND TO LAST, THEN YOU ARE

  WRONG AGAIN. TELL ME SUNSHINE, HOW CAN YOU OVERTAKE THE LAST PERSON??

YOU'RE NOT VERY GOOD AT THIS, ARE YOU?

THIRD QUESTION:
VERY TRICKY ARITHMETIC! NOTE:
THIS MUST BE DONE IN YOUR HEAD ONLY.
DO NOT USE PAPER AND PENCIL OR A CALCULATOR.
TRY IT.
TAKE 1000 AND ADD 40 TO IT. NOW ADD ANOTHER 1000 NOW ADD 30.
ADD ANOTHER 1000. NOW ADD 20 .. NOW  ADD ANOTHER 1000.
NOW ADD 10. WHAT IS THE TOTAL?
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DID YOU GET 5000?

THE CORRECT ANSWER IS ACTUALLY 4100

IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IT, CHECK IT WITH A CALCULATOR!
TODAY IS DEFINITELY NOT YOUR DAY, IS IT? 

MAYBE YOU'LL GET THE LAST QUESTION RIGHT ...  MAYBE ...

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FOURTH QUESTION:
MARY'S FATHER HAS FIVE DAUGHTERS:

      NANA, 2. NENE, 3. NINI,  4, NONO, ... AND ??? 
          WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE FIFTH DAUGHTER?

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DID YOU ANSWER NUNU? NO! OF COURSE IT ISN'T.
HER NAME IS MARY! READ THE QUESTION AGAIN!

OKAY, NOW THE BONUS ROUND,
I.E. A FINAL CHANCE TO REDEEM YOURSELF:

A MUTE PERSON GOES INTO A SHOP AND WANTS TO BUY A TOOTHBRUSH.
BY IMITATING THE ACTION OF BRUSHING HIS TEETH HE
SUCCESSFULLY EXPRESSES HIMSELF TO THE SHOPKEEPER AND THE  PURCHASE IS DONE.
NEXT, A BLIND MAN COMES INTO THE SHOP WHO WANTS TO BUY A
PAIR OF SUNGLASSES; HOW DOES HE INDICATE WHAT HE WANTS?

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IT'S REALLY VERY SIMPLE
HE OPENS HIS MOUTH AND ASKS FOR IT...
DOES YOUR EMPLOYER ACTUALLY PAY YOU TO THINK??
IF SO DO NOT LET THEM SEE YOUR ANSWERS FOR THIS TEST!

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PASS THIS ON TO FRUSTRATE THE
SMART PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE!
HAVE A NICE DAY, ONE AND ALL.

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Don’t you just hate it when people forward this sort of thing? (thanks PGJ)

How did you do?

I got ONE! The bonus round.

Presumably working in retail gave me an advantage.

:)

London Fashion Week A/W 2012

WHY?  Why bother paying any attention to London Fashion week?  There’s a question I’ve often asked myself. But it CAN be interesting. So why not?

The very interesting - Luke Brooks. Central Saint Martins MA Collection AW/12

 

And the Burberry finale wasn’t uninteresting, complete with gold glitter rain (of the finest quality I assume).

Things could only get brighter of course. And they did. 

Courtesy of House of Holland 

Northern lad Henry always cheers me up.

And as usual I was drawn to Holly Fulton 

(well into art deco long before the current trend)

“For the lady that having blown her annual budget takes a vacation a little closer to home. In full holiday spirit and dressed for Vegas - she hits Margate”.

Crikey - brace yourselves Margate!

All of the above a mere fraction of what’s been on show this week of course, some aspects of which might pop up in future posts.

However, as much of the rest was inspired by ‘British heritage’/traditions of the aristocracy (well we are in a Jubilee year) and we’re all familiar with velvet, tweeds and tartans, I’ll spare you on this occasion.

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton

So, Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton a Diamond Jubilee Celebration, currently on at the V & A ... what’s on view?

The Baftas 2012

And the award goes to ... Jean Dujardin!

Winner Best Actor (The Artist)  Baftas 2012 *

* Full list of winners HERE.

********************** NEWS JUST IN !!! ********************

UGGIE wins GOLDEN COLLAR at inaugural awards!

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Next up ... the OSCARS!

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee 2012

We’re not drowning in Union Jacks here in the UK just yet, (well no more than usual) but the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year is now officially underway.

Earlier today, the sixtieth anniversary of the Queen’s accession was heralded in London by a 41 gun royal salute fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park, closely followed by a 62 gun royal salute fired by the Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London.

And Her Majesty has sent us all a message —

Today, as I mark 60 years as your Queen, I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Philip over these years and to tell you how deeply moved we have been to receive so many kind messages about the Diamond Jubilee.
In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign and which my family and I look forward to seeing in many forms as we travel throughout the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth.
I hope also that this Jubilee year will be a time to give thanks for the great advances that have been made since 1952 and to look forward to the future with a clear head and warm heart as we join together in our celebrations.
I send my sincere good wishes to you all.
ELIZABETH R. 

This years’ many celebratory events (so many I’ve set up links on a separate page HERE!) don’t start in earnest until May, but we’re off!

I’m off too until next week. Bit of tons of domestic catching up to do.

Although I will be taking a short break from that later this week to pop over to the V&A for Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton  (on now until 22 April 2012).

In the meantime, an article I came across earlier today by Michael Deacon writing for the Telegraph

A Thought for Anti Monarchists to chew on —

Let's imagine for a moment that the anti-monarchists got their way, the Queen were stripped of her crown, and we were asked to pick a president. What sort of person would we want to vote for, if we were completely free to choose?  First of all, we'd want someone who is popular not only at home but abroad. We'd want someone who could be relied on to act with grace, dignity, elegance and tact. We'd want someone who would rise above the childish, bickering scramble of politics. We'd want someone who would perform their duties untiringly and uncomplainingly. And we'd want someone who could be guaranteed never to bring the nation into disrepute. It's hard to think of candidates who would fulfil all those criteria. But one does spring to mind. This is where anti-monarchism hits a snag. Because if the people of Britain were free to vote for anyone to be their head of state, the candidate they'd choose would surely be … the Queen.

Beautifully put.

Forewarned is Forearmed

 

My initial thoughts on seeing the new Transport for London ad campaign this week were not ‘OMG not more transport chaos!’ or even, ‘I wonder how much that cost?’* I just wanted to know who was responsible for producing it.

Yes, I know the Olympics don’t take place for another six months, but forewarned is forearmed, so I’ve taken the precautionary measure of signing up for e-mail travel alerts. Took all of two minutes.

Tracking down the creators of the TFL ads however took considerably longer ...

 

via

Transport for London

The Olympic Delivery Authority

M&C Saatchi (ad agency)

tokyoplastic (cutting edge vector scientists)

and last (but by no means least)

 Picasso Pictures.

I suppose TFL could’ve provided those links on their website, but I’d rather they focus on what they do best (worst some would say, but not me) and anyway, that’s why Google was invented surely?

Yes, it was quite a trip. Not all of it to my taste.

And the little fairy tale that follows may not be to yours, (I think it’s great!)

so, a WARNING — if you are easily offended — DON’T click HERE.

* £8.8 million pounds (eek!)

A Tartan For Pandas

Unveiled earlier this week, yet another new tartan to add to my list

... this time for pandas!

Commissioned by Edinburgh Zoo to mark the arrival last month of giant pandas Tian Tian (Sweetie) and Yang Guang (Sunshine), the new tartan** designed by Kirsty Franey of Kinloch Anderson, features black white and grey to represent the colour of the pandas' fur, green for bamboo and three red lines to represent China.

I am well aware of course that the whole issue of animals being kept or bred in captivity is a touchy subject, and celebrity pandas in particular always generate some controversy or other.

However, whether you or I approve or not, Tian Tian and Yang Guang* are here, so we may as well celebrate!

*Yang Guang is currently suffering from a bout of colic (a not uncommon condition in pandas) but should recover within a couple of weeks.

**View in more detail @ The Scottish Register of Tartans.

The Artist - Believe The Hype

After seeing The Artist last night, I don’t know who’s tugging at my

 heartstrings more, George  ... OR Uggie! I’m torn.

I mean, who could resist a pooch who loves to skateboard in his spare time!

 

  Check out Uggie’s moves HERE.

As expected, The Artist is now up for ten Oscars, (sadly none for Uggie, despite a spirited campaign on his behalf) but whether they will be converted into wins remains to be seen.

I will say no more, except ...

Believe the hype! And if you haven’t already, go see!