Of butlers, cucumbers, pies, Oscars and Dame Shirl

RIP, Jack Vettriano, prints of whose works, incuding "The Singing Butler" [above], are some of the best-selling in British history.

Another snippets post today, dear reader:

• Oscars news: The culmination of "the back-slapping season" has come and gone, and yet again a load of awards went to people we don't know or care about, and to a clutch of films I have not, and will never see. Yawn.
• More art news: A Brueghel miniature painting has been rediscovered, 50 years after it was stolen.

• Weirdest carnival ever? In La Paz, Bolivia, there is an annual cucumber parade (Farándula de los Pepinos) in the carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras (which is today). I wouldn't want that with my pancakes!
• Thick as a plank news: An 18-year-old woman in Florida was arrested after vandalising the car of her ex-boyfriend's neighbour, rather than his. And Americans wonder why we sneer at their education system?
• Happy British Pie Week! Yes, unbelievably, the beloved comfort food of varying quality meat encased in pastry does indeed have its own "awareness week". Who am I to argue? Yum, yum.
• And finally: Happy 80th birthday today to Dieter Meier, brainchild behind the Swiss oddball synth pioneers Yello! By way of a tribute, these masterpieces...

Yello - The Race

Yello - Oh Yeah

...and one of my all-time favourite songs, ever!

Yello featuring Shirley Bassey - The Rhythm Divine

Utter perfection.

And the weather? Spring, Spring, Spring!!

Oh, don't throw your past away, you might need it some rainy day

The Spring sun, low in the sky, is indeed startling on the eyes. However, the joy it brings is somewhat marred by the prospect that another week of drudgery in the office has begun.

Hey ho. On this Tacky Music Monday, for no other reason whatosever than it/he's a joy to watch, how about a bit of Hugh Jackman to warm the cockles?

Imagine...

Hugh Jackman - Everything Old Is New Again [The Boy from OZ]

Oh, how I wish we'd ever had the chance to see this show!

Have a good week, dear reader.

Weekenders on our own, it's such fun

Crocus explosion!

Another glorious sunny day in the garden, and things are looking better all the time. Madam Arcati was up far earlier than I and sorted out the pile of old pots that we had plonked under one of the benches, and swept up the clag that had accumulated at that end of the garden. I got some more repotting and pruning done, a task that's always satisfying. Four bin bags filled with old compost, leaves, weeds and crud later, and we're pleased with the results!

Incidentally, today would have been the birthday of the marvellous Lou Reed, so I think this one is most appropriate for our "Sunday Music" today, don't you?

Lou Reed, David Bowie and friends - Perfect Day [original BBC Children in Need song, 1997]

Fuck! That faboo ensemble version is 28 years old!
[I see dead people...]

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

Our daffs have been glowing in the sunshine today!

Happy Saint David's Day, dear reader!

It's been a beautiful day for the celebration of all things Welsh - and floral - and I have spent it fruitfully in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers. I've dug out and repotted a big Thalictrum and two hardy geraniums, pruned back a few more ferns, and redone the window box that had been ripped out and scattered everywhere by a bastard fox, pottering and tidying as I went along. Now I'm aching - but happy.

Speaking of things to cheer one's spirits - how about a bit [and I know which bit I'd have liked when he still looked like that!] of Sir Tom Jones, Tom Jones? Os gwelwch yn dda!

Tom Jones- Help Yourself

Fab-las!

Speaking of all things Welsh - "What's occurring?"

Gavin & Stacey: The Best of Nessa

Well lush.

Sorry I'm a lady

RIP, Gene Hackman

The sun is rising in a clear blue sky, the weekend is looming, and - after another tedious week in work - we need to start planning the party to celebrate!

As any sign of sunshine always brings thoughts of holidays in Spain, how about an old, old fave [it was in our charts - gulp - 47 YEARS AGO this week!] from one of that country's greatest exports?

Gracias Disco ¡Es viernes!

Baccara - Sorry I'm A Lady

Have a great one, dear reader!

Deranged

The AI-generated video of Gaza that Trump shared yesterday was a terrifying glimpse into his mad brain the world was totally unprepared for.

Millions of people who watched Trump’s vision for Gaza, which includes bearded belly dancers and towering gold statues of himself, have been driven completely insane by the chilling insight into how his deranged mind works.

Martin Bishop from Woking said: “I thought I’d be immune to Trump’s batshit ideas by now, but no. Watching him sipping cocktails by the pool with a topless Netanyahu pushed me over the edge.

“This must be how he sees everything, weird and tacky with money floating down everywhere while terrible music plays all the time. Why else would he endorse this abomination?

“Seeing a child holding a giant gold balloon shaped like Trump’s head made me realise reality is an idiotic delusion. I used to be a rational man with a career and a family. Now I spend my days shitting in the park like a dog and screaming ‘We’re all going to Trump Gaza!’”

Nikki Hollis from Perth said: “I’ve started thinking the gods of Atlantis are talking to me through my toaster, and I only microdosed Trump’s brain for half a minute. Imagine what thinking like that all the time must do to a person.

“Actually you don’t need to imagine. Just turn on the news and you can see a man who thinks Elon Musk is cool.”

The Daily Mash

Of course.

[The "real" story. Be prepared...]

Of fashion, planets, fluffy animals and homosex

"Planetary parade": from Dolores Delargo Towers we can see Venus, Mars and Jupiter - but not a sniff of Uranus! Boom-tish.

Another snippets post today, dear reader:

• Royal news: The ancient and historic St James's Palace - residence of several monarchs over the centuries, and home to the ceremonial Court of St James - is to open to public this year for the first time. We'll be getting tickets, no doubt!*

• Awwww news: London Zoo is celebrating after a "baby boom" - with a number of endangered small mammals being born. None of them edible, I believe.
• Another piece of Hollywood history is gone: Following the death of Columbia Pictures (now Sony), MGM Studios (now Amazon) and 20th Century Fox (now Disney), there's sad news of the legendary Technicolor - pioneers of the transition of films from black & white to full colour in the early 20th century, and integral to the success of all the classic early Disney cartoons and blockbusters such as The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind - which has gone bankrupt. RIP.

• Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion news: The madness and the me-me-me generation that tends to accompany London Fashion Week has departed once more in a cloud of pink glitter, taking memories of Florence Pugh, Richard E Grant, Fiona Shaw and a raft of famous (and not so famous) names on the catwalk in its wake... See the gallery here.
• Drugs news: Following last week's fabulous story about a Peruvian policeman in a capybara costume who led a massive drug raid, police in Colombia this week caught a man smuggling packets of cocaine under his toupee!
• And finally: It's almost the end of LGBT History Month here in the UK and, as has been the pattern in recent years, I/we haven't been to a single event! Admittedly, we were away in Spain at the beginning of the month so missed the most interesting ones. Let's make up for that fact, shall we, with a classic? [Historical, indeed - I first posted this way back in 2008.]

Roddy von Seldeneck - Homosex Discoteque

The weather? Typical British Springtime - wet one minute, sunny the next.

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STOP PRESS:

* Not at £85 per person, we won't!