After three days last week when both nursery and pre-school were closed due to the snow, and I was left to handle entertaining a hyperactive 4 year old while his mum tried to carry on working (from home) as normal... followed by a busy weekend that featured two kids' birthday parties and even more snow... we were all ready for the glorious return to normality that today would bring.
Until, late Sunday afternoon, we noticed the spots...
Chickenpox.
Meaning Sam can't be around other kids for at least another week... possibly two. And his already stressed-to-the-gills parents are both going to have to take more time off work to look after him while he recovers. You love 'em dearly, but sometimes it's hard, this parenting malarkey...
Brian enjoyed this week's early start and munched on a couple of Ladyfingers before bed. I remember when I used to be able to stay up till 11.30 on a Friday night.
6. Alfred's prizewinner wakes up Saint Peter.
That is a very young Robert Zimmerman, the future Nobel Prizewinner. This was going to be this week's Number One until I realised the original isn't available on youtube! Still, it is pretty obscurem I guess. Here's a passable live version...
Happy to see The Swede recognise these guys, even though it took him a bit to get the right song.
If you've never heard Bathtime In Clerkenwell, please give it your ears for a couple of minutes. I can guarantee it won't sound anything like you expect... and if it doesn't make you grin, I'd check your smile at the doc's.
3. The gorgeous breadmaker chooses a naïve, shrunken crone.
Much puzzlement over this masked marvel, though Alyson got it in the end. She almost loses her mark for calling it "that awful milkshake song" though. Surely this is a female empowerment anthem?
1. Complete the marathon with Tracy and Bette.
Spencer Tracy & Bette Davis...
(Doesn't Stevie Winwood look young?)
Brian bagged this one early doors... making it a 3-all draw between him and The Swede as this week's joint winners.
"The best new band in Britain," said the NME, often a kiss of death... and it certainly seemed to be for Campag Velocet who disappeared shortly after the release of their debut album in 1999.
"Bunch of pretentious arses," appears to have been the verdict of the record buying public, and with song titles including 'Sauntry Sly Chic', 'Cacophonous Bubblegum', and their biggest "hit" (Number #75 with a bullet), Drencrom [Velocet Synthmesc]... well, it's hard to argue with that assessment.
Still, I did take rather a fancy to the title track of that album, Bon Chic Bon Genre. I've no idea why, because listening back now, I'm not entirely convinced it wasn't utter guff. Still, I was young (well, 27) and stupid (no change there). Let's give it one more spin for old time's sake...
Apparently Campag Velocet released their second (and final) album It's Beyond Our Control in 2004 on Pointy Records "to mixed reviews". By then, even the NME had given up on them.
I do love a great opening line, yet it's been almost three years since I did Volume 1 of this particular Top Ten. So here's ten more cracking openers... see if you can identify them from the lyric alone. Click the link to see if you're right. (Except number one: you can have that for free.)
I hope that comment can be taken as me being ironic, not sexist. I certainly don't think the writer of this song was sexist. Quite the opposite. I think his point was more: sometimes it's the little things that drive us apart.
Look, far be it from me to try and sway the voting on JC's ICA World Cup this week, but really... that's so clearly a better opening line than "This and that, they must be the same". (Although I'm guessing C will disagree.)
