Toast

This is often said, but the money doesn't just disappear. It circulates. People get paid for their services or supplying goods, anything from robes to candles. Big occasions provide work and opportunities for lots of people.

Whether you like it or not, early Fleetwood Mac were very popular here. Their biggest hit was the instrumental Albatross (a hit in a dozen other countries), and besides the songs here they had several other Top 40 hits including Black Magic Woman, later covered by Santana.

I was surprised by its popularity too. It's horrible.

Mon 15 Jan 33 The Foundations — Build Me Up Buttercup -2 30 Fleetwood Mac — Oh Well 28 The Small Faces — Lazy Sunday 27 Tom Jones — Delilah +4 25 Kenny Rogers & The First Edition — Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town - 24 The Edwin Hawkins Singers — Oh Happy Day 23 Elvis Presley — In The Ghetto 23 Stevie Wonder — Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday 23 Fleetwood Mac — Man Of The World 21 Lou Christie — I’m Gonna Make You Mine 21 The Casuals — Jesamine 20 Barry Ryan — Eloise 20 Mary Hopkin — Goodbye 20 Robin Gibb — Saved By The Bell 20 The Bee Gees — Don’t Forget To Remember 18 Dean Martin — Gentle On My Mind 18 Nina Simone — Ain’t Got No / Do What You Gotta Do 16 O.C. Smith — Son Of Hickory Holler’s Tramp 16 Herman’s Hermits — My Sentimental Friend 14 Leapy Lee — Little Arrows 12 The Tremeloes — (Call Me) Number One 12 Bobby Goldsboro — Honey 06 Lulu — Boom Bang-A-Bang -2 06 1910 Fruitgum Co. — Simon Says -2

@Doc Paragraphs, Doc, paragraphs.

A place to gather all those unforgettable film or TV moments where a minor character shines. I'll start with Dean Stockwell as Ben in Blue Velvet. Who could ever hear "In Dreams" afterwards without picturing this scene?

I'd never seen Mulholland Drive. I've just watched it, and this has to go in. Rebekah Del Rio.

Something like a Golden Retriever and it's really delicious. Rum, Chartreuse*, Licor 43 and chilled water. * "or alternative herbal liqueur". Chartreuse is as rare as rocking horse shit these days, so I used Benedictine. I didn't have gold rum either, so I used Lamb's. It still came out a golden colour.

Lovely to see a genuinely happy occasion, unmarred by the death of a parent.

The one that really pisses me off is shops having to close on Easter Day. Christmas Day & Boxing Day I can live with, as that's more of a family time, but not so much Easter Day.

Good old Daisy. May she enjoy many years of retirement. The BBC though: "She will keep her title as Queen, while the King's wife retains the title of Queen Consort..... The British monarch King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla sent their best wishes " I thought it was well established now that "Queen Consort" is NOT a title. It's a rank, or position. Queens Consort are styled Queen.

I can solve this. I don't think I've ever voted for him to be the next death, so if I pick him next time that might do the trick.

Whatever I've got. Currently it's Greenall's, not sure where it came from. May have been a present, or a raffle prize. That cocktail packs a punch, btw. I made another using just the Martini Rosso, and definitely knew I''d had a drink

Sun 14 Jan 24 Fleetwood Mac — Oh Well 24 Edwin Hawkins Singers — Oh Happy Day +4 20 Tom Jones — Delilah 20 1910 Fruitgum Co. — Simon Says 20 The Small Faces — Lazy Sunday 20 Engelbert Humperdinck — A Man Without Love 20 Bobby Goldsboro — Honey 20 OC Smith — Son Of Hickory Holler’s Tramp 20 Leapy Lee — Little Arrows 20 The Casuals — Jesamine 20 Barry Ryan — Eloise 20 The Foundations — Build Me Up Buttercup 20 Dean Martin — Gentle On My Mind 20 Mary Hopkin — Goodbye 20 Herman’s Hermits — My Sentimental Friend 20 Fleetwood Mac — Man Of The World 20 Elvis Presley — In The Ghetto 20 The Plastic Ono Band — Give Peace A Chance 20 Robin Gibb — Saved By The Bell 20 The Bee Gees — Don’t Forget To Remember 20 Lou Christie — I’m Gonna Make You Mine 20 The Tremeloes — (Call Me) Number One 20 Stevie Wonder — Yester-Me Yester-You Yesterday 20 Kenny Rogers & The First Edition — Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town 14 Nina Simone — Ain’t Got No / Do What You Gotta Do 14 Lulu — Boom Bang-A-Bang -6 Massive drop in quality.

I'm sad Hole In My Shoe didn't make it, but I was clearly its only fan so it was always a lost cause.

Sun 14 Jan 61 The Beach Boys — God Only Knows 56 The Rolling Stones — Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown 56 The Kinks — Waterloo Sunset +2 48 The Troggs — Wild Thing 41 The Spencer Davis Group — Gimme Some Lovin’ +2 40 Los Bravos — Black Is Black 06 Traffic — Hole In My Shoe 00 Donovan — Sunshine Superman

Drinking a Vancouver Gin, Benedictine, Martini Dry and Rosso, orange bitters Really nice. I may try this again with just dry vermouth, and again with just the rosso.

His popularity is irrelevant. He may have conned thousands into voting Conservative, but he's still a lying, faithless, unscrupulous cunt whose only motives are his own betterment and profit. He was not fit to be in the same room as Her late Majesty.

It goes to show how conscientious and determined she was to carry out those last duties. It is a shame that her precious energy was wasted on such undeserving cunts as Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

End of life morphine doses don't kill instantly. You can sit at a deathbed all day and all night, but pop out to the loo and they die while you're gone.

More likely it was the morphine.

Roger Daltrey is not sick.

Has this one been done yet? Ron Mael from Sparks and Nikola Tesla. @Paul Bearer

It was a private parking ticket issued by one of those cowboy firms FIVE years ago, so it's a non-story. Those can usually be cancelled by the store manager if you can justify your actions.

You're always such a little ray of sunshine.