Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii

Generally speaking, I am a live and let live sort of chap. I class myself as a libertarian politically (with lapses) and by and large, if you don’t bother me, I won’t bother you. That’s how I like the world to run.

That said, some people are complete and utter barn pots and the world – in this case their children – need protecting from them. Remember Bob Geldof and Paula Yates with their penchant for giving their kids idiotic names, the least bizarre of which was Peaches? (Yeah, I want my daughter to sound like a porn star, thank you!). At least they are rich enough to be able to move in circles with other idiotically named people, but spare a thought for ordinary kids who are just going to get bullied.

Kudos then, to the courts of New Plymouth, New Zealand which made a nine year old girl a ward of court so she could legally change the name she so clearly hated: Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.

I am not surprised by the list of blocked names, but I am baffled by the names they let through:

Allowed: Violence; Number 16 Bus Shelter; Midnight Chardonnay; Benson and Hedges (twins)
Blocked: Yeah Detroit; Stallion; Twisty Poi; Keenan Got Lucy; Sex Fruit; Fat Boy; Cinderella Beauty Blossom; Fish and Chips (twins)

Mind you, I have a sneaking appreciation for the names "Benson & Hedges" for the twins…

Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii

Generally speaking, I am a live and let live sort of chap. I class myself as a libertarian politically (with lapses) and by and large, if you don’t bother me, I won’t bother you. That’s how I like the world to run.

That said, some people are complete and utter barn pots and the world – in this case their children – need protecting from them. Remember Bob Geldof and Paula Yates with their penchant for giving their kids idiotic names, the least bizarre of which was Peaches? (Yeah, I want my daughter to sound like a porn star, thank you!). At least they are rich enough to be able to move in circles with other idiotically named people, but spare a thought for ordinary kids who are just going to get bullied.

Kudos then, to the courts of New Plymouth, New Zealand which made a nine year old girl a ward of court so she could legally change the name she so clearly hated: Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.

I am not surprised by the list of blocked names, but I am baffled by the names they let through:

Allowed: Violence; Number 16 Bus Shelter; Midnight Chardonnay; Benson and Hedges (twins)
Blocked: Yeah Detroit; Stallion; Twisty Poi; Keenan Got Lucy; Sex Fruit; Fat Boy; Cinderella Beauty Blossom; Fish and Chips (twins)

Mind you, I have a sneaking appreciation for the names "Benson & Hedges" for the twins…

Freebies

Having missed the Times free book on Monday, I was happy enough to pick up Freakonomics on Tuesday, The World According to Clarkson yesterday and Jane Austen: A Life today.

Someone has clearly gone for an eclectic collection.

The blurb on the back of today’s offering tells me that the author, Claire Tomalin, is Britain’s premier biographer. Odd then, that she is so unknown. I wonder what Elizabeth Longford and Alison Weir have to say about that?



I must say, though, joshing apart, that these are really nice (stylish) paperback volumes, published by Penguin in their classic no-nonsense style, colour coded by genre: Light Blue for ‘big ideas’, Green for mystery, Orange for ‘fantastic fiction’, Pink for distant lands, Dark Blue for real lives and Purple for viewpoints.

Freebies

Having missed the Times free book on Monday, I was happy enough to pick up Freakonomics on Tuesday, The World According to Clarkson yesterday and Jane Austen: A Life today.

Someone has clearly gone for an eclectic collection.

The blurb on the back of today’s offering tells me that the author, Claire Tomalin, is Britain’s premier biographer. Odd then, that she is so unknown. I wonder what Elizabeth Longford and Alison Weir have to say about that?



I must say, though, joshing apart, that these are really nice (stylish) paperback volumes, published by Penguin in their classic no-nonsense style, colour coded by genre: Light Blue for ‘big ideas’, Green for mystery, Orange for ‘fantastic fiction’, Pink for distant lands, Dark Blue for real lives and Purple for viewpoints.

British bloody Telecom!

Sometimes situations arise that just make your morale slump.

Pretty much anything to do with BT (British Telecom, for my non-UK friends) fits that bill. Last weekend I spent a large portion of two hours, having dialed the same number four times, trying to get my account sorted out. When I got the line put in they were supposed to send me a handset that would do a number of fancy things. Here we are, six weeks later and I still haven't received it, though the rental charge has appeared on both my recent bills. Last Saturday therefore, I decided to phone up, sort it all out once and for all, get a refund and cancel the handset since we have handsets that we supplied for ourselves.

Well, it took a long time, but I got there. Or so I thought. I was promised a £5 credit to my account to refund the rental charged so far and the phone was taken off the order list.

Today I get home to find that BT have sent me a returns envelope - presumably so that I can send back the handset I no longer want and which they never supplied. It says on the bag that I can't have a refund until I return it. This means of course, that I shall now have to phone them up again, probably tomorrow, my day off.

Just to be on the safe side I shall put the bag in the post empty, with a polite note reminding them that they never, in fact, supplied the bloody phone for me to return!

Pah!

British bloody Telecom!

Sometimes situations arise that just make your morale slump.

Pretty much anything to do with BT (British Telecom, for my non-UK friends) fits that bill. Last weekend I spent a large portion of two hours, having dialed the same number four times, trying to get my account sorted out. When I got the line put in they were supposed to send me a handset that would do a number of fancy things. Here we are, six weeks later and I still haven't received it, though the rental charge has appeared on both my recent bills. Last Saturday therefore, I decided to phone up, sort it all out once and for all, get a refund and cancel the handset since we have handsets that we supplied for ourselves.

Well, it took a long time, but I got there. Or so I thought. I was promised a £5 credit to my account to refund the rental charged so far and the phone was taken off the order list.

Today I get home to find that BT have sent me a returns envelope - presumably so that I can send back the handset I no longer want and which they never supplied. It says on the bag that I can't have a refund until I return it. This means of course, that I shall now have to phone them up again, probably tomorrow, my day off.

Just to be on the safe side I shall put the bag in the post empty, with a polite note reminding them that they never, in fact, supplied the bloody phone for me to return!

Pah!

Quiz night

Well, we didn't win, but we were only a couple of points behind the winning team, and there was only the pair of us, so fair do's.

The winners actually picked up the jackpot, too. There's only a 20% chance of getting that in addition to the £25 bar tab. It was won last week too, while we were at the Leonard Cohen gig. That must have been a good one at over £200. Tonight it was £51 (it rolls over if the correct envelope isn't picked)and the winners donated it to a cancer charity, so Kudos to them.

Good night as usual.

Quiz night

Well, we didn't win, but we were only a couple of points behind the winning team, and there was only the pair of us, so fair do's.

The winners actually picked up the jackpot, too. There's only a 20% chance of getting that in addition to the £25 bar tab. It was won last week too, while we were at the Leonard Cohen gig. That must have been a good one at over £200. Tonight it was £51 (it rolls over if the correct envelope isn't picked)and the winners donated it to a cancer charity, so Kudos to them.

Good night as usual.