Directors Of The Bored, congratulations. Once again, you’ve reached the Peak Of The Week! After lunch today, it’s easy street to another weekend. I type these sentences like they still have some resonance, but it’ll largely depend on where you are in your working life right now.
Anyway, I have a blog filled with laughter and joy, I promise you. I’ve made an extra special effort today, and I think that’s to make up for how I’m going to start.
Fair warning. This video is harrowing, but, to my mind it is also necessary.
For those who brush off claims that racism isn’t as bad today as it’s being made out to be.
That all this #BlackLivesMatter stuff is an over reaction and a chance for neerdowells to loot and fight.
Coming up is an every day account of a man trying to do his work.
I was helping my boy with his English work yesterday, home-schooling. He was answering questions about Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech, and I helped him dissect it, comprehend it and give it a historical reference, so he would know how long ago it was when that speech took place.
The amount of time that had passed between then and now.
Later in the day, I stumbled upon this on twitter.
I showed this to him as well.
I’m sorry you had to see that.
Not that you watched, but that it happened.
I told my boy that all Dr King was looking for was to be treated the same as everyone else. Not for any special favours or leg-ups in the world. To walk the same streets, sleep in the same hotels, sit on the same bus, eat in the same restaurants, use the same public bathrooms.
To be able to vote, and have someone to vote for who’d represent him.
And how he wanted to achieve it all through peaceful means because he knew that was the only way in the long term they’d be able to get there.
Some of his goals have been achieved, but nowhere near all, and the stain of history can never be wiped clean, but one day, hopefully the human race will all be born at the same starting line.
And when that’s the case, I’m sure people like this guy will understand the importance of it, because he always has.
As long as there’s a platform and news of note I believe you should be aware of, I’ll do my best to share it with you, BEFORE we start the blog each day.
There, I’ve finished my wee bit for today’s edition. Now, on with our blog.
People Are Amazing
I’ve placed this story in here because the lady in question believes what she’s doing is a way of making poorer areas of town look better, and cheering folk up as we hopefully move into a post Pandemic world. Because she owns a few properties in the street, she had them painted bright colours, and asked the rest of the residents if they’d follow suit, and some obliged.
In your head right now is the theme from Balamory playing? Thought so.
The Useful
If you’re one of the folk who’ve actually managed to get fitter in Lockdown by training daily with Joe Wicks or taken up cycling or running, you’ve probably got round to wondering how you’ll keep up that new found commitment when the pressures of daily life start again. The lady below has a few ideas.
She, and other experts have more advice for sticking to that new fitness regime when Lockdown is over.
Now, that I’ve thrown in the fit part of today’s ‘The Useful’ section I don’t feel so bad about the next bit. Royal Ascot is one of the many sporting events to fall victim to Coronavirus. Ordinarily they’d serve up almost a quarter of a million Afternoon Teas over the course of the event, but this year it’s happening behind closed doors.
It probably won’t surprise you to learn I can’t stand horse-racing because I can’t bear to see the horses fall. I think it’s barbaric.
I could never watch battle scenes with horses in the movies or even the opening titles of Bonanza for the same reason, so I wouldn’t miss Royal Ascot in the least. But I do like capitalising on the fact that for those who do the Daily Mail’s got Ascot’s head chef to reveal his recipes for their Afternoon Tea favourites, including Victoria Sponge, Chocolate Roulade and Carrot Cake.
I’ll be honest, I’ve found a bit of a void in my life writing this blog now that Some Good News isn’t publishing a new episode every week. It just gave me joy, and I looked forward to it, but I think I’ve sourced something that evokes a similar set of reactions, certainly in me, AND, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s raising money for charities which are coming into their own in this period.
I’ve already shared a couple of the ‘Reunited Apart’ series, here are a couple more. If you’ve still got an abundance of spare time to kill and feel you’ve watched all the box sets in existence, this may do the trick.
On a similar note, this is beautiful and joyous and cheeky and charming. It’s Judi Dench answering questions from some of her celebrity fans and friends.
World Of The Weird
This one is straight out of a Hitchcock script. Officials in Switzerland have spent 8 months investigating who could have left £152,000 of gold on one of their trains.
Things We’ve Discovered In Lockdown
When hairdressers do reopen, don’t be surprised if your stylist asks you to consider a Bob.
Apparently, it’s one of the most hygienic options you hairdresser can offer.
It’s time for The Funnies
It’s been a while since we heard from Janey, hasn’t it? Where’s my special Janey board?…
Let’s end, as we always do, with some music.
I’m a great lover of ideas.
I love coming up with them, how they delight people when they work well, and most of all, I appreciate them when I see examples of them taking the world by storm.
The lovely thing about an idea is that it’s kind of someone’s brain showing off, and the beautiful aspect of it is when it takes form and other people see it, they all think, ‘why couldn’t I have come up with that(?!) – it’s the simplest, most straightforward thing in the world. It’s brilliant. I cannot believe nobody thought of it before!’
OK, so people had sung in cars before (!), but this twist, supposedly devised as a way of making it through LA traffic quicker because you’re car-sharing, was actually a simplistic, endearing way for an artist to appear on TV to sell their Greatest Hits or brand new album.
That’s how it started anyway, when James Corden moved to host a Late Night TV show there. Then the feature grew arms and legs, and produced moments of unique joy, like this.
Thanks for reading.
Stay safe x
#LaughterSpreadsFaster
Sociable Distance 
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