Tuesday, 4 March 2025

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:

  • 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...

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

Utter perfection.

And the weather? Spring, Spring, Spring!!

4 comments:

  1. I was going to say Yello is not for me, but then I played Oh Yeah and, oh yeah, I remember that and I loved it. I have loved that Vettriano painting. The Florida education system! And it’s only getting worse.

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    1. I loved Yello, even before their collaboration with Dame Shirl resulted in the "best Bond theme never to have been a Bond theme"..!

      Vettriano got a lot of stick from the snooty art critics, but as he said: "I am popular and it grieves me that some people associate popularity with trash. It’s a terribly snobbish view." Hear, hear. Jx

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  2. another high note, bassey has a cd set coming out in a couple months with a bunch of unreleased and rare goodies from her golden years. can't wait!

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    Replies
    1. Wow! It's been a long time in the making too, according to the DSB blog.

      I've pre-ordered it as we speak! Thanks for the heads-up, sweetie. Jx

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