Party time

It's been a busy few days....Oscar's 1st birthday which has resulted in even more toys cluttering up the living room....(not that I'm not grateful for gifts).  So many pressies, so little space.  After all he's been given by friends and family...it's still back to the remote control, the repeated swinging of the puppy gate, and mummy and daddy's telephone for hours of fun and amusement.  I did say, at this age, he'd be easily pleased with just a cardboard box, but my wife was having none of it....."SCROOOOGE" came the response.

At the weekend, the arrival of his long-awaited and much planned party.  I think my wife went a bit overboard with the invitations, so if you're reading this and thinking to yourself...."I wasn't invited!"....count this as a blessing...for the levels of noise was deafening, and that was just the adults.  A local entertainer lady "Jo Jingles" did her thing, and a little circle was formed, out of mums and their little treasures.  All eyes and ears on Jo and the many songs with actions!  I was doing the manly thing of opting out and observing from afar chatting to my sisters and respective bro-in-laws I'd not seen in a while.  After three hours of unstoppable  fun, food and squash and handing out the party bags...you see...I am such a big kid....it was time to pile high my boot with all the many birthday pressies for Oscar.

"Oh no, I think I may have man-flu"  And sure enough, my Saturday night was spent watching the final of Strictly, feeling very sorry for myself, shivering and sweating alot.  Ola Jordan does have that effect on me!

Can he get even more social?

Had a nice meal recently with a couple of radio/voiceover pals of mine at my local Indian restaurant in town.  We entered nerd territory pretty quickly.  As soon as we sat down we started spouting about various playout systems/business world of voiceovers/recession and social networking etc etc.  You name it - it was all poured over, and that was before the poppadoms arrived!

I finally agreed, after much hesitation, that I should open a facebook account.  Only 4 years late!  I've always been reluctant, viewing it as a one dimensional "let's look at people's holiday snaps" site, but I see the benefits in business as well.  So you can follow me here.

My mate Natalie has a fancy phone, made from the fruit company (yes, that one) and we got onto the subject of my website.  After studying my web page on her phone, she passed on her erudite opinion that, in the words of many a teacher of mine in year's gone by...."could do better".  Constructive advice, so came away £25 lighter, but armed with new ideas, so early 2012, there WILL be changes.  Watch out.

Oscar's birthday is here.  One today.  Can't quite believe how time has flown.  After so many complications and monitoring of his progress from the moment he was born, he really has thrived and is a healthy strong, cheeky chap who everybody loves.

....So far, he's opened one present, a train which daddy loves, and Oscar's indifferent about...he still keeps going back to his well used toys.  His enjoyment of the big day seems to be somewhat suppressed by tiredness, so it's down to bed, and back up later to resume more pressie opening.  I suggested that I should give him a box, wrapping paper and cardboard for his birthday and Christmas, stating..."He's not gonna know any different at this age"...said "The Scrooge".

Do you love it or do you hate it?

Earlier this week, a cleanup operation was under way after a tanker carrying more than 20 tonnes of Marmite (other yeast extracts are available from all good supermarkets) overturned on the M1 in South Yorkshire closing the motorway for some time.

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire police said the tanker, which was carrying 23.5 tonnes of Marmite, overturned after being involved in a collision with a caravan. 

Inevitably, jokes s-p-r-e-a-d thick and fast...

Radio 4's Today programme was bombarded with joke emails. The best, according to the presenters, read: "Was the Marmite crash on the yeast-bound carriageway?"

....Er no, it was on the M1.  M1 doesn't go east you idiot!!

Next....

Radio stations were inundated with comedy comments alongside the puns flooding Twitter.

@Queen_UK (Elizabeth Windsor): "One hates marmite".

Well said marm!