Samson Settles in.

Proof that the settling-in process is going well - here's the whole gang on the sofa.
Key: (1) Daisy. (2) Ellie. (3) Rosie. (4) Samson. (5) Mum. (6) Dad.
Considering that 6 days ago he hated everyone and attacked the dog it's pretty good progress. Mind you, as I write this Daisy has frightened herself and r‑u‑n‑n‑o‑f‑t. My legs ache.Here's another one, courtesy of a cameraphone and a bit of panorama stitching

Samson the gert big ginge

We have adopted Samson the cat - for his background read The Little Cat Diaries. Here are some pictures of him, having quickly settled into his new home...

Samson on day one - a little nervous but using his in-built radar systems to target leather sofa for clawmageddon.

This truly is a whole lotta cat.

Thoughtful pose. The author apologises for hasty red-eye removal.

Bed and brush. I don't need one other thing. Except maybe some chicken.

It would help to imagine a Harry Hill voice at this point: "Brushy. Brushy brush. Brush brushy brush-brush."

Which Brings Us Nicely Onto Horses...

Horses d'oeuvres to start, naturally, with a de-canter of wine.

Mane course:
Paddock & Chips
Welsh Rare-bit
Mince Piebald
Shetland's Pie
Appalloosa Crumble
Marsca-pony Cheese
(Horse) Chestnuts - Roasted On An Open Shire
Stable D'Hôte
Soup Of The Hay

If You Were To Eat Dog, What Dishes Would You Have?

Labrador & Chips
Pekingese Duck
Beagle Baguette
Border Curry
Chihuahua Chow Mein
Sheepdog En Croute
Collie Coriander
Yorkshire Terrier Puddings
German Shepherd's Pie
Pot Poodle
Husky Rusks
Terrier-iake
Walnut Whippet
Bichon Fricassée
Pug Roast
Schnauser Salad
Canine-elloni
Cornish Westie

8 Dec 08 TWHMBTA

Things We Have Mostly Been Talking About:

A pet rabbit called Bunnica, leading nicely into a discussion about show-jumping rabbits in Denmark

Mauritius, its notable dates, people and history. Why would Mauritius Day be on the 8th December rather than 12 March, which everyone knows is their independence day?

Coco Pops and hot milk

Exhibit A: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ltd8aUEXFK8
I keep ranting about this - people just look at me in a "you're a bit mental, aren't you?" kind of a way. But surely someone must appreciate how bloody ridiculous this advert really is.

If you don't know, the setup is this; child waiting for breakfast, mum pours hot milk onto child's Coco Pops. Camera then zooms into the bowl, to reveal, at the bottom of the bowl, three animated female* hippos doing some sort of synchronised swimming dance to "Sign Your Name" by Terence Trent D'Arby off of the 1990s. As the camera pulls out again, voice-over says something along the lines of "you never know what's going on in the bowl".

This concept is clearly from the diseased imaginings of a copywriter on the edge. Was there an ideas meeting, when this idea was brought up? What were they thinking? I've seen wildlife documentaries, and that tail-wagging poo-spreading thing hippos do to mark their territories. And when the child gets to the bottom, will their greedy spoon seek out the poor unfortunate creatures - to bite their little hippo heads off in the name of fun? Or wail to the unsuspecting parent, "Mum! Mum! There's three tiny animals dancing and crapping in my breakfast, make it go away!"

Should the strapline be: "Coco Pops - so full of hippo shit it turns the milk brown"?

*They have bows on their heads. That's how you can tell.

Cable ties, cable ties

To be sung to the tune of 'Edelweiss'

Cable Ties, Cable Ties
Used for tying up cables
Small and white, ties them tight
Use in your roof or your gables

And so on. Suggestions for further verses will be... er, ignored, probably.

The first one - why bother?

I woke up this morning (dah der dah dah dum)... sorry, the blues is upon me.

It occurred to me that during the course of a working day in my office we spout an incredible amount of random garbage, and occasionally some of it can be quite funny. "Why not", I reasoned, "start a blog. The internet is awash with them, surely my collection of nonsense will stand out like a shiny thing in a dark place". And so here we are.

My vision is as follows: a list entitled "Things we have mostly been talking about", and rants pertaining to things that make me want to rant. I'll probably get bored within the week, but hey, maybe some kindly publisher will happen upon my writings and give me a six-figure book deal. Mmm-hmm.