Day: 21 June 2006

Drive-by album scenes

Each morning as I drive the 10 miles or so to St Andrews I pass a scene that reminds me, every time without fail, of a Pink Floyd album cover. Can you guess which cover it is?

Pink Floyd cover for Animals shows Battersea Power Station

If you were thinking Animals, then I’m sorry to disappoint you. Battersea Power Station is in London, not on the B9131 between Anstruther and St Andrews. Maybe you were thinking of the Secret Bunker.

Pink Floyd cover for Dark Side of the Moon shows a prism

And it’s not Dark Side of the Moon, either. As lovely as it would be to live in the dark, vacuumous emptiness of space it would make my commute in the morning rather less practical. Not to mention the environmental hazard that that would cause with me blasting into space every evening. Round about tea time.

Do you give up? It is of course Atom Heart Mother.

Pink Floyd album cover for Atom Heart Mother showing a cow. In a field.

Pink Floyd’s weirdy-beardy album from 1970 — the year before I was born — Atom Heart Mother featuring a picture of a cow. In a field. Just like all the cows. In the fields. On the B9131 from Anstruther to St Andrews.

I love milk.

“Whatever tickles your pickle!”

A jar of Branston pickle

One of the great things about Nikki in this year’s Big Brother — other than the great way that the Geordie voice-over man pronounces her name: Nih’ee — is her totally-made-up-phrases™.

This evening’s totally-made-up-phrase™ was: “Whatever tickles your pickle!”

What on earth does that mean?! “Whatever tickles your pickle!” What could she possibly have mixed that phrase with? Whatever floats your boat. It’s so left-field it is almost genius.

I love pickle.

Back to Edinburgh and back

A blue Renault Megane Sport Tourer car

Last night a DJ saved my life. Oh, hang on … that’s not right. Last night I drove Jane down to Edinburgh because this afternoon she picks up our new car, a Renault Megane 1.5 Sport Tourer. Only ours will be in dark grey rather than electric blue.

It was while I was away in Bath that Jane rang me to tell me that she’d found this car, and to be honest she sold the idea to me with the simple line: “It’s got loads of gadgets that you’d love!”

Great! Done! Sold!

Last night’s brief visit to Scotland’s capital city also gave me the opportunity to install Skype on Jane’s Mum’s laptop, in preparation for her trip to Canada next month. Skype is great. If you’ve not checked it — or any other internet telephony service (also called VoIP) — out yet then I thoroughly recommend it.