pin the destination on the tube map - perivale

This is a dangerous game. Not only do you end up feeling very sick you also have to go to places like Perivale. (duh duh duhhhhhhhhh)

Myself and Lisa are pretty new to london so we thought the best method for exploring was one of random selection. Little did we know that Lisa would turn out to be posessed with an evil 'skill' for picking the places no tourist would ever dream of going....because they made you die a little bit inside.
Our first ten spins of the tube map landed us in Oxford Street. Nice ,but we'd already been there. Then it wa s Lisas turn. It started to rain, it was an omen we wish we hadn't ignored and she picked...

It was chucking it down when we got there and we couldn't find a map so we headed to a newsagents to ask where the town centre was. Simple enough question but all he could do was laugh. A local man (we could tell he was local because he was holding a can of skol) walked in and said if we wanted tescos then to go through the car park. Great. the above pictures are all we found. in the distance of the last one is said Tescos. Probably the most bizzare Tescos ive ever seen actually. By this point we'd come to the conclusion that we'd acidentally taken a really fast 'magic' tube to one of the rougher parts of Derby. Then we saw the diner. We saw 'Starvin Marvins' from a walkway over a motorway , glistening in the rain like a friendly silver bullet. Inside was a mixture of retro fittings, amusing signs , dust and dead flies so we ordered two hot dogs and sat down. The waiters were friendly and the 'no spitting' sign made me chuckle, all the windows were steamed up so you couldn't see outside and it was all very nice. There was a strange bunch of people in there, an Asian family that didn't talk to each other, A couple making 'probably the biggest decisions of their lives' over some nachos and a couple of teenage extras from 'deliverance' that were talking very graphically with their parents about sex. it would have put me off my hot dog had i not already noticed it was made of 'sheets' of pink stuff that i can only hope had seen a pig at some point.

the 'Date Place'

the madness sets in

Fashion with lattitude

Visited Greenwich on the weekend and was roped into a free tour at the Royal Observatory.

After being entertained and slightly embarrassed for a very theatrical tour guide we got to the Gift Shop and to the best purchase i have ever made in a gift shop. A pair of socks that illustrate a different hemisphere on each foot.

They were £5 and being from the North I had to pick myself off of the floor before buying them, but they have earned their money and entertained us and many other teams of Y&R as me and Gem made our own meridian line. Who needs a theatrical tour guide you can learn it all from a pair of socks.

Buffet and book weekend

It was an idea that had been banded about our various offices for months, often cast aside as 'silly' or 'ridiculous' but last weekend it became a reality. We brought together two things held dear to our hearts, our book and the humble Buffet ( must be pronounced 'buff-et'). The thinking is brain bendingly simple, our brains needed some 'time alone to be creative' yet we couldn't leave our poor little stomachs unattended. The Buffet was the answer. Taken from observations at Christmas and various birthdays and funerals we'd deducted that the science of the well craved Buffet allowed not only for a varied and interesting array of day-to-night time nourishment but also almost eliminated unwanted kitchen time during length of time that could stretch to a weekend. So we toddled off to Asda and gorged on 'brain food' in the shape of crisps and dips, little sandwiches cut into triangles, scotch eggs, chip sticks, quiche (oh yes, were posh) and cheese and pickled onions on sticks. Actually we forgot the sticks so Lisa cleverly substituted them with dry spaghetti, its little acts of genius like that that make me glad shes my creative partner. Did we get much work done? yes, after much fussing over sandwich fillings and plate arrangements. Success.

The armpit of the country is once again recognised on national TV

Last year it came straight in at an impressive 6, its eye watering 60's architecture and zombie like locals being the things that won over Kirsty and Phil. Now as we head into 2008 Mansfield has once again made it into the top 20 worst Cities to live in. Its impressive because its not even a city. Though saying that it has done a lot better, falling in at only the 9th biggest shit hole in the country. Nottingham is in at a respectable 4th (an improvement because last year it was runner up) which i think is a little harsh. At least Nottingham has got some nice places. Mansfield on the other hand has probably got a square meter of park that hasn't been graffitied or got a tramp living in it. You know a place is bad when all the postcards for the tourists (poor sods are cursing robin hood for choosing that particular tree) have nice pictures of the sky and the odd railing because the photographer was too scared of accidentally catching a bunch of Chavs in the shot and then been a witness to something. Don't get me wrong, I'm born and bred in Mansfield and that means it will always have a place in my heart. It doesn't mean however, that i have to be happy about it.
So thanks Phil and Kirsty. The mayor will once again curse you in his weekly newsletter and your show will probably never again be watched on stolen plasma screens in unkempt council flats in Ladybrooke. But your message will help the er.. tens of people who were considering a move to change their minds and go and live somewhere more picturesque like Baghdad or something.

Have a go Tuesday

Well today is Tuesday. Which means someones been 'Having a go' at Advertising!

ok so this week we've got a man painted like an envelope and a dog sleeping in a tree.