Trees grow as tall as they can…

I have thought much about whether I should comment on the Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross fiasco that has featured in many of the tabloids this week, but I didn’t listen to the Russell Brand Show, so it isn’t something I feel qualified to comment on, except perhaps that I was somewhat surprised at the use of the phrase ‘lapse of taste’ in connection with Russell Brand’s antics; it never ceased to amaze me that he remained ‘on air’ after seeing his, for me, unacceptably lewd behaviour week after week referring to Russell’s ballbags, or Russell’s scrotum, when he presented Big Brother’s Big Mouth.

However on reading of his background some time ago I had some sympathy for him, in particular I always remember an article in which he said  ”I don’t want to die as That Mad Bloke From Big Brother, I didn’t want to die as That Mad Bloke From MTV. I want to do something that has value, worth, poetry momentum… I’d just like to do everything I can. Trees grow as tall as they can, don’t they – not half as tall.’

No doubt his talents will take him far and I hope that he will “do something that has value, worth, poetry and momentum” rather than fall back on the lewd behaviour that he is more famously associated with.  Perhaps his recent flight to Hollywood will make that possible, maybe those casting Johnny Depp might spot a certain resemblance?

Spogs and other thingamajigs

Back in August (“A Quarter of Nostalgia“) I wrote about the “bobbly aniseed jelly ones” in Bassetts’ Liquorice Allsorts, when I should have called them by their ‘correct’ name of spogs! How did I come across this? Well, recently on BBC’s “Breakfast” program they interviewed Danny Danzger and Mark McCrun, authors of a new book “The Thingummy” , this book provides the real names of many common ‘thingummies’ complete with history, myth and anecdote behind them. Apart from explaining that Spogs are the blue and pink aniseed sweets out of liquorice allsorts, the book also gives the name for the groove that runs between your nose and your mouth, the stringy bits of a banana, and the name of the white exhaust trail that an aeroplane makes in the sky! The Retro Sweet Hamper web site clearly know their spogs! But if Spogs are the blue and pink aniseed sweets, please tell me what the yellow thingamajigs are in their picture – I have never seen them in the UK – have you!?