Category: Listography

Listography

Listography – Top 5 80’s and 90’s Game Shows

Jayne16 Comments

I’m feeling very honoured to be hosting Listography for Kate this week and I’ve chosen a topic which is very close to my heart. It’s no secret that I’m a massive nerd, but my geekery has been present even since my earliest days and as a child, I was never happier than when I was watching some sort of quiz show on the TV, testing my mental boundaries and picking up plenty of useless general knowledge along the way. So, in honour of a lifetime of game show watching, I give you my Top 5 80’s and 90’s Game Shows:

BlockBusters

Blockbusters

Watching BlockBusters is one of my earliest ever memories – I was definitely under the age of 5 when I used to watch this as I still lived with my Dad at the time, and I remember sitting in the kitchen, watching it on my Mum’s little portable TV. It used to frustrate the hell out of me if people chose illogical ways to get across the board and I remember thinking that if I ever got to go on BlockBusters when I was older, that I’d be really good on The Hot Spot. Bob Holness was my hero when I was little, like a kindly Grandad who fed me knowledge and I still miss that show, to this day.

Krypton Factor

Krypton FactorAh, Krypton Factor – the ultimate combination of brains and brawn! When I was little, my ambition was to join The Royal Air Force and become a pilot, and I genuinely think it stemmed from watching people use the flight simulator on The Krypton Factor. I loves the assault course round of the show too, it was always so exciting watching them swing across muddy pools on ropes – I vaguely remember feeling a real sense of peril watching them do that, although looking back now it was probably all very safe!

The Crystal Maze

The Crystal Maze

The Crystal Maze was always on TV around the time that I was supposed to be going to bed, so I used to put it on the TV in my bedroom as quietly as I could, and then sit with my hand on the button so that I could turn it off if I heard my parents coming. I was absolutely blown away by the set designs, which seemed so sophisticated to me when I was a kid (even though I’ve seen it again as an adult and they don’t look anywhere near as slick as I remembered) – my favourite ‘zone’ was either Aztec or Futuristic and I used to get SO cross that no-one seemed to do very well in the dome at the end. I also spent many years coveting one of those uniforms (obviously, I’d get the pink one…) and I far preferred it when Richard O’Brien presented it – Ed Tudor Pole just never did it for me.

Whose Line is it Anyway?

Whose Line is it Anyway? started as a radio programme before it came to British TV in 1988 and I think it’s where my love of comedy started – to this day, I adore so many of the comedians who starred on the show – Greg Proops, Stephen Fry, Tony Slattery, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie – they’re all geniuses as far as I’m concerned. I also loved Josie Lawrence and found it so refreshing to see a woman on a show like this (see, I was a feminist at the age of 5!) – I was far too young to have been watching it, but I was allowed to watch TV late on a Friday night, which is when this was usually on. I was absolutely in awe  of their ability to ad-lib and be funny on-demand, and although it’s not a ‘points win prizes’ traditional quiz, it’s still one of my faves and has firmly paved the way for shows like 8 out of 10 cats that are so popular today.

Bullseye

Bullseye Jim Bowen

Bullseye ran from 1981 to 1995 and I remember watching it like it was yesterday. Jim Bowen was an awesome host, low-key but always there with a sarky comment when it was needed, and the premise of the game was so simple that it used to amaze me how people could be so crap at it! The prizes seemed out of this world to me (I caught a repeat on Challenge a few weeks ago and they gave away a caravan!), althought what I always coveted was a Bully statue and set of personalised Bullseye darts. It baffles me that someone managed to make a gameshow out of a game of darts, but it obviously worked as it ran for 14 years, and I bloody loved it!

There are so many more shows I could have mentioned (Catchphrase, anyone?) but I have to stop somewhere, so now it’s your turn. What game shows from the past do you love? Do you wish Bob would give you a ‘P’? Was Michael Barrymore more your cup of tea? Did Family Fortunes float your boat? Write your list and link up below.

Thanks again to Kate for allowing me to host Listography this week.

Listography

Listography – Top 5 Life Lessons

Jayne3 Comments

I’m totes excited to say that the wonderful Kate (and I’m not just saying that, she really is a super-duper top gal) at Kate Takes 5 has decided to bring back Listography, which is probably my favourite linky of all time. She may have been ever-so-slightly badgered into it by me and Carolin from Mummy Alarm, but I like to think of it as a case of active encouragement, rather than actual internet bullying *ahem*…

If you’ve never seen Listography before, there’s a great explanation of it all here, but without further ado, here are my Top 5 Life Lessons:

 Speak Your Mind or You’ll Never Be Happy

I grew up in a family of terminal subtexters – if there was a direct latin translation for “Never Say What Can Be Hinted At Instead”, that would be our family motto. It’s taken many, many years for me to realise that life is far fecking easier when people just say what they mean, instead of saying a passive-aggressive, close approximation of what they mean, coupled with some facial expressions, and hoping people understand what it is that they want. I’m still guilty of it at times, as my poor, beleaguered Husband will attest, but I am trying to be less internal with my communication and my life has improved for it, because if you never say what you want, you’ll never bloody get it.

Housework Will Always Be There

As you’ll probably know, I’m a self-proclaimed domestic failure. I have bugger-all interest in the majority of household tasks and I have to be prodded to get off of my butt and do things all the time. However, my main reasoning for that is that there are SO MANY more interesting and important things that I can spend my time doing. I don’t want to be one of those Mums who says “Yes, Sausage, we can go swimming, but just wait until Mummy’s steam-cleaned all the skirting boards and re-grouted the bathroom tiles” – I want to be the Mum who’s already got one arse-cheek into her cossie before Sausage has even finished asking, because the washing up will still be there but my chance to make Sausage’s childhood fun might not be.

Stop Eating When You’re Full

This one is quite personal, and again, if you’re a regular reader you’ll know that if food were a person with a Facebook page, my relationship with it would read ‘It’s Complicated’. However, if I could give ONE tip to anyone who’s struggled with their appetite, it’s that you need to stop eating when you’re full. I know that may seem like a no-brainer to a lot of people, but it’s not always the case if you’re a person who has food issues. In fact, if I could go one step further I’d say stop slightly before you feel full, because you probably are full, but your brain and belly haven’t quite synced up yet. I wish someone had told me this years ago and I could have saved a lot of issues with gastric reflux, saved myself a lot of money on Gaviscon and ultimately not had to have had so many cameras shoved into so many different orifices (dont ask…)

Read LOTS

And by lots, I don’t mean Tolstoy, Hemingway and Shakespeare, I mean bloody anything. I’ve always loved reading but I don’t just read the books that people say you’re supposed to read and my brain and soul are all the richer for it. When I was a kid, I’d read literally anything I could get my hands on (which at times has even extended to sitting in the bath and reading the backs of every bottle in the bathroom) and now, as an adult, I love the escapism that a good book can provide. Obviously, the internet is full of awesome stuff to read; Husband recently introduced me to Reddit and if you can get past some of the odder subReddits, it’s a brilliant source of knowledge, humour and general fun-ness. I’ve been known to just sit and read random Wikipedia pages too, and it should go without saying that I love reading other people’s blogs. Yes, that might make me a bit of a nerd but knowledge is empowering and reading is the best way to absorb knowledge, even if it’s Mills and Boon.

Be Polite

This may be a case of me secretly trying to indoctrinate my readers, because rudeness is probably my single biggest bugbear, but the old saying that manners cost nothing is so true. You could be the most awesome person in the world, but if you lack basic manners, you’ll always give a bad account of yourself. Saying please and thank you is like a reflex to me; if I’m out in the car and I think that someone is parked, then drive on before realising that they were actually giving way, I feel bad all day – I’ve genuinely contemplated driving around the block just so I can thank someone properly! However, if you always remember to be polite, say your pleases and thank yous, be considerate, hold doors open, you may not always get the same amount of politeness in return but YOU will always come across well and you may just improve someones’ day by being the first person who’s shown them any human decency all week.

So, those are my Top 5 Life Lessons. What would yours be? Leave me a comment below and also head over to Kate’s blog to read the other entries.

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Listography

Listography – Mugs

Jayne7 Comments

I have to say, when I saw this week’s Listography topic, I wasn’t too sure about it. Then I bothered to do the washing up looked in the cupboard and realised that we’re a family of hot drink drinkers (Husband likes anything herbal, Sausage has a penchant for Tick Tock Rooibos tea and I love a decaf instant or a macchiato from my beloved Tassimo machine). So, without futher ago, here’s the Mum’s the Word World of Mugs:

This mug may have been a freebie, but it reminds me of the fab time that I had at Cybermummy, meeting women who'd become my friends, learning from some fabulous speakers and getting bundles of lovely loot to take home with me!
This mug was bought for me by Husband, I like to think that he thinks of me as Wonder Woman (yeah...right...!) and it's a perfect size and thickness for drinking a nice cup of monkey tea from!
I bought this mug for Husband after I broke the previous version. It's artwork comes from the graphic novel 'Death Note', and luckily for me he liked this even more that the last one!
Sausage does love a cuppa and she bought this out of her birthday money when we took her to Colchester Zoo for her third birthday. It's a gorgeous mug but a total bugger to wash as it's all bumpy on the inside and the nooks and crannies get stained very easily.
I bought these mugs when I realised that we didn't have any decent ones to offer a hot drink to a guest. I got them from Wilkinsons and I think they're super cute. They only cost a pound each too, which is a bargain!

Hop over to Kate’s blog to see the rest of the entries.

Listography

Listography – Top Five Randoms

Jayne16 Comments

I’ve not done a Listography for a while, but this is one that I can definitely get on board with – top five random things that you like…the weirder the better. So, here’s a little snapshot that is the weirdness of me:

  1. When I eat a roast dinner, I like to eat it in ‘order’. I’ve done it my whole life, but I eat it based on what I like the least, first. So it usually goes: Brussels sprouts/cabbage, all other veg, Yorkshires, stuffing, meat. I genuinely don’t enjoy my meal unless I eat it in that order.
  2. Falling asleep on the sofa. I’ve always done it and my Mum used to nag me to go and get in bed (a job which Husband now fulfils) but for some reason I just love sleeping on the sofa. I sleep soundly there, especially if someone else is still awake and watching telly.
  3. Hearing Sausage swear. I’m sure this makes me a terrible mother, but on the very odd occasion that she’s tested the water and used a profane word, I find it properly hilarious. Plus, I think it shows great mental acuity when she uses them in context. (Don’t get me wrong, she always gets told not to say bad words, in fact it’s usually her saying “Mummy, don’t use that WORD!”)
  4. Accidentally on purpose wearing a similar outfit to Sausage. It used to happen by accident, but I must admit I do sometimes co-ordinate our outfits deliberately. I know, bat-shit crazy, right?
  5. Having my hair washed at the hairdressers. There’s just something so relaxing about someone else washing your hair for you.
So there you have it. Head over to Kate Takes 5 for more link ups.

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Listography

Listography – My Pet Hates

Jayne10 Comments

As most of you know, I’ve been trying to wean myself off of memes lately, but the problem is, people keep coming up with some bloody good ones! This week, Kate Takes 5 asks us about our pet hates, and seeing as I’m one of those people who is a veritable bristling ball of peeves, so this one was too good to miss!

1. People Who Claim to Not Like a Food Without Having Tried it

To a certain extent I realise, especially with kids, that the first bite is with the eye, and if you genuinely can’t get over the look of something, it’s going to be hard to actually eat it. But when people, GROWN UP PEOPLE, say “I don’t like (insert food stuff here)” and you ask them if they’ve tried it and they SAY NO….HOW THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT IF YOU’VE NEVER TRIED IT?!?!?! Idiocy. And ignorance.

2. People Who Invade My Personal Space

I am a very cuddly and tactile person, with my friends and family, and when you have a toddler and the worlds’ biggest lap dog, you tend to give up any standards you may once have had about maintaining personal space. But when it comes to other people, I want to constantly quote Johnny Castle; “This (……) is my dance space…”. Why do people feel the need to stand two inches away when there’s plenty of space around them? It’s not that I don’t like closeness, it more to do with the fact that standing next to an unknown can be like an olfactory assault. I don’t want to smell your aftershave/perfume/B.O./breath etc. Nor do I want to inspect your pores, feel the flecks of spit that come out when you talk, or be able to deduce what you have for lunch and brand of fucking pipe tobacco you use. This was all made so much worse when I was pregnant and had hideous morning sickness. A bloke I worked with had extremely poor personal hygiene, about three mouldy teeth in his head and smoked a pipe. He is the first person to ever make me actually properly vomit, just by being there.

3. Old People Who Drive Mobility Carts on the Pavement at about 100mph

One would think that, if it’s illegal to drive a vehicle on the pavement, that the law would extend to mobility scooters, especially when they’re being driven by octogenarians with macular degeneration and the reflexes of a three-toes sloth. But no, these half-blind maniacs are allowed to drive around, unrestricted, forcing unsuspecting pedestrians to have to dive out-of-the-way, while they zoom past without a care in the world. Now, my issue isn’t actually with the scooters or who drive them, per se, my issue is with how fast the poxy things go. If they’re made for use on the pavement, the should be restricted to only go as fast as walking pace. Anything faster turns them into a mechanised weapon. Fact.

4. Children’s Dough.

See previous post.

5. People Who Choose their Vices over their Kids

Let me elaborate. There’s this woman and her kid, who live near me. I used to see them walking to school as I was going to Caterpillar Music with Sausage, and I felt really sorry for them. She dresses in pretty dire clothes, that’s not me being a snob, or a fashion victim, she just looks like everything she wears is uncomfortable, ill-fitting and old. In the same vein, her child has unkempt hair, smells a little unsavoury and has the worst jack-ups going. I didn’t judge, I just thought that life must be tough for them. Then I saw her one day, after school, coming our of the shops with 60 fags and a bottle of cider, while her short-trousered kids scuttled along behind asking why can’t I have sweets? Only for Mummy dearest to shout that she doesn’t have any money….Err, but, you had money for fags and booze, lady? I then did another personal re-adjustment and thought “No, she may be running an errand for someone else, the cigarettes and alcohol may belong to someone else”. Until I came back out and walked past her, sitting in the park, smoking her fags and sharing her cider with her bunch of degenerate mates. (They must be degenerates, right? Four adults, sitting in a kids park, drinking?)

All pity for this woman went right out of the window at this point. Her poor kid was basically being singled out for bullying by his too-short trews and hygiene issues, all the while his selfish bitch of a mother is getting off of her face on cheap booze? Un-fucking-acceptable.

So, now you have a pretty detailed insight into what pushes my buttons, do with it what you will. Though if what you choose to do with it involves standing too close, telling me you don’t like olives, putting Play Doh in my carpet, neglecting your kids and then driving off at high speeds on an OAP chariot, expect a slap.

Hop over to Kate’s to see what grinds everyone else’s gears.

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