It’s been sweet and savoury for the Snagster this week. He’s had Twiglets (yes, you can buy them when it’s not Christmas) and a Topic, some Squares crisps and peach French Fancies. If only Mr Kipling had made them giant peach French Fancies, taking even more inspiration from Roald Dahl’s book.
I’ve now fed 288 things to Snaggletooth! He’s had caramel digestives because 29th May is National Biscuit Day. He’s had fish and chips because 1st June is National Fish & Chip Day. He’s had apple, celery and raisin salad (it can’t be all chips and biscuits) and apple with natural yogurt and honey. Thanks bees!
This week Snaggletooth has been eating things with a surprise inside. He’s had Happy Tattoo bubble gum, Super Tattoo bubble gum, a Kinder Surprise egg and a Fun Egg from Lidl.
He got some cool tattoos and toys.
I especially like the Japanese style fish tattoo.
Snaggletooth has been eating chocolate icing straight from the tub, rhubarb and pear crumble, prawn crackers and a vanilla Vienna (a creation of Iceland’s that is clearly an homage to the mighty Viennetta). I have now fed 280 things to Snaggletooth since June 2016 and this has become one of my weird hobbies, along with writing nostalgic heavy metal fiction.
Snaggletooth has been in a sweet toothed mood recently. He’s chomped strawberry bon bons and a strawberry flavour Vienna ice cream. He’s also made a chocolate panda very endangered and eaten icing straight out of the tub without even putting cake under it because he’s so very rock and roll.
Snaggletooth loves Easter, he’s nibbled many a hot cross bun. He also enjoyed Ferrero eggs, yellow bunny Peeps and egg shaped Peeps.
Recently Snaggletooth has had a very sweet tooth. He’s eaten lemon meringue iced buns, Cadbury’s Creme Eggs, a MaltEaster bunny and a Cadbury Dairy Milk Bunny.
I once persuaded my husband to throw the horns at Cadbury World for a photo which I adore. Happy Easter everyone!
Recently Snaggletooth has been finishing off things left from Christmas (Nell Gwynne mulled cider* and a Nerds holiday rope) and eating pink things (Peeps bunnies and Sweetarts cherry ropes). He doesn’t advise you to follow his diet plan, it’s only suitable for giant disembodied heads.
*For some unfathomable reason I was dressed as Nell Gwynne as a toddler in 1977 as part of a playgroup fancy dress event for the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. I can only assume that my Nan had to come up with a costume at very short notice and decided to focus on the orange selling part of Nell’s career rather than the being the mistress of Charles II part of her career. Also, it was the 1970s and a bylaw had been passed stating that everything must be either orange or brown or unable to stand up to the scrutiny of future generations.
I’m married to a guitarist who loves Joe Bonamassa so our annual vacation has been the Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea festival for the past two years. I’m way more of a metal fan than a blues fan but I love the festival because I love being around people who love music, on a massive floating luxury hotel, with unlimited ice cream. I even got some heavy metal highlights this year, which shouldn’t surprise me, since metal evolved from the blues.
So, in no particular order, here are my heavy highlights;
It was great to hear Black Country Communion on the pool deck stage and in conversation. I love that Glenn Hughes has chosen deep purple as his trouser colour. I also liked it when he said we’re all on a journey together because we actually were, from Miami to Jamaica, rather than the more metaphorical one he usually means. The last time I saw him I was on a journey from Wolverhampton to Oxford. It wasn’t mystical but I did enjoy Warwick services.
I got to hear a snippet of The Hunter (I know it from Danzig, but it originates from Albert King) during Joe Bonamassa’s Led Zep “How Many More Times” cover on the pool deck stage.
Larkin Poe did an awesome cover of War Pigs in the cosy Bar City stage on Thursday. Horns were thrown by many members of the audience. I met them in the corridor and they happily posed for a photo with me and made my day.
Toronzo Cannon is not just an amazing story telling blues man from Chicago, he’s also a bit Spinal Tap. During the song Fine Seasoned Woman he talked about a marshmallow test he does to check the lady he’s going to give his attentions to has the cushion for the pushin’. He won’t do the dirty with women under 31 years old, which is quite specific. Also he claims to keep his marshmallows in the fridge.
Finally, the ship is very heavy, it weighs just over 93,500 gross tons, see the Wikipedia entry for the Norwegian Jade here. Its beautiful carpets are worth a mention, the masks one reminds me of Motley Crue’s Theatre Of Pain album cover and the dragons one makes me think of Dio and The Clash.
It’s been a big weekend for Terminus. They stepped in to two last minute gigs in the cesters of Tow and Bi. Friday night saw them in Towcester, at the Towcestrians Rugby Club, supporting fellow covers band Crimson Monkeys.
Both bands played Free’s “Wishing Well” and a sort of Wishing Well off was had. Seeing the Crimson Monkey’s Ro singing it, while wearing her fabulous high heels reminded me of the quote “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels”. I feel until I’ve seen Terminus’s Dean sing it in high heels I can’t decide whose was the best version. The rugby club is notable for still having poinsettias alive in February, which is quite a feat because they don’t like draughts and are sensitive to variations in temperature*.
Highlights of Terminus’s set were Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction’s “Prime Mover”**, Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” and Judas Priest’s “Breaking The Law”. The song “Sweatmeat” is on the set list, but this is actually Rose Tattoo’s “Sweetmeat”. Sweatmeat sounds a bit horrible.
The Crimson Monkeys played an eclectic mix, highlights of which were “Mustang Sally” (popularised by the film The Commitments but first recorded back in 1965 by Mack Rice, who is also notable for his collaboration with Tommy Cheese, the two men together inventing Mac ‘n’ Cheese, a dish still enjoyed to this day), Thin Lizzy’s “Dancing In The Moonlight”, Bryan Adams “Summer Of ‘69”, The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Woman”, The Small Faces “All Or Nothing” and the Tom Robinson Band’s “2 4 6 8 Motorway” which had the crowd counting along, mostly correctly. A big happy birthday to the bass player of the Crimson Monkeys!
On Saturday night Terminus played their second ever gig at The Bell, Bicester. When they played back in October they had a cracking night so spirits were high (I had Malibu). A new mike stand got its first outing (excellent arts and crafts work by Annette).
I went to the nearest kebab shop before the gig (yes, you do get to enjoy all the glamour when you hang out with Terminus), and they still had some tinsel and baubles on the counter. The tinsel was brown. I have only ever seen brown tinsel once before and this was in the Delight Kebab House in Cowley. Is the Kebab Marketing Board sending a memo to all kebab shops telling them to use brown tinsel?
Terminus had the crowd dancing from the off. They played two sets, giving the crowd literally all they’d got, and then had shouts of more! There was nothing more in the Terminus trug of tunes so they played The Cult’s “Lil’ Devil” again. I’ve noticed that people love this and Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name” on a Saturday night, it’s enlivening. Having a Saturday night steam let off and shouting “Flump you I won’t do what you tell me!” with your mates is ruddy great fun.
I’ll leave you with a bit of Terminus philosophy. In their van hangs an air freshener that reads “You’re never too old to be immature”. Wise words indeed.
*Sorry, this isn’t Gardener’s World.
**It could be sung as prime mower, if this was Gardener’s World.
