Damp Bank Holiday

Today I popped over to the local shop to get some milk for breakfast and came back looking like I’d just gone for a swim in the monsoon season. Yet again, miserable May bank holiday weather has put paid to a wonderful classic car pageant that is held on a field near me – for the past three years it has been rained off. This year it was all set up yesterday, and then swoosh! I dread to picture the scene today – I expect it involves lots of classic cars being winched off the scene covered in mud. Still, we all know classic car owners like to tinker (with the car) in their garages, so this will give them plenty to do for the upcoming weeks.

I really am gutted though, as it is a fab pageant, from what I remember. They have this odd car boot sale to rummage through that looks like someone has tipped the contents of their shed onto tarpaulin – tons of odd rusted bits that only mean something if you own a 1964 Ford Galaxie, or a 1971 Morris Minor. But along with the rusted bits come things like old radios, badges, records, and of course – picnic baskets! I have a bit of a thing for picnic baskets (as you may recall) – the best cars are the ones where a wicker picnic basket looks perfectly at home on the back seat. All other cars are inferior, in my world at least.

Before I veer off into a daydream of the perfect picnic (and the criteria is ‘would the Famous Five eat it?'), today dinner consists of an old fish. Quite literally – me and John decided to explore the freezer and unearthed a fish that we’d bought in August last year. It is currently defrosting in a pan of cold water and the excitement of the day is seeing if it is still edible. The take away menus are standing by, just in case.

So apart from that and catching up on odd admin (every year I bat away my student loan repayments with a swift back hand that would make tennis players proud), for some reason I am rediscovering music of 1988. Not a great vintage, as I am finding out, my top 10 for the year *at the time - very important to remember that!* was probably:

Orinoco Flow - Enya
Requiem - The London Boys

Heaven is a Place On Earth - Belinda Carlisle

Boys (Summertime Love) - Sabrina

I Should Be So Lucky - Kylie

Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson

Push It - Salt 'n' Pepa

When Will I Be Famous - Bros

I Want You Back - Bananarama

Theme from S-Express - S-Express

Looking back at these videos how on earth did Sabrina with her bouncy summertime love get through the censors? The London Boys (RIP) had some ill-advised outfits (unless they were strippers?), Belinda Carlisle's director had spent all of £11 at some Poundland and Kylie looks about ten. Oh how we all wanted a perm like Kylie's... But what I really remember is how much I loved the Theme from S-Express. Of course, I never cottoned on it was 'sex' in the title - oh no. I used to play the single over and over - some doing when you only have a record player (lift needle, click back, move to front of single, lower needle - repeat).