bananas, my oven and spurs at villa

Three quick unrelated topics:

1. This is what the internet should be for: http://www.peopletalkingonbananas.com/

2. I'm waiting for a bloke to come to fit a new (flexible) pipe to my cooker so that another bloke can come and fix the bloody cooker itself. I've been a month without an oven and hoped that a morning off work would be enough to get stage 1 of the repair out of the way. I was told he'd be here between 8am and 12 noon. It's 12.05 and he's not here. I phoned at 10 and they said he'd be here within the hour. I have to go to work soon so I'm not happy.

3. Good result on sat (1-1 at Villa Park) even though we perhaps should have won it. Chelski helped us out by stuffing Les Arses too. In lots of ways the result was more reassuring than the Wigan result. The Observer said that we were unlucky to the same degree we were lucky against Wigan. All in all a good weekend though.

we woz there!

• Equals most goals scored in prem league
• most goals scored by a team in one half
• Defoe equals most goals scored by one player in prem
• Spurs biggest victory in top flight
• Most goals scored since 1977 (9-0 v Bristol Rovers- I was there too)

To say the half dozen Wigan fans that were there looked dejected after the game is something of an understatement. I felt sorry for them as their mini bus collected them, ready for the long drive back to Lancashire. We waved to them but for some reason they didn't wave back. To their credit some actually applauded. I was grateful as my involvement in the victory was at least as signigficant as Defoe's, but who gets all the glory?

I hear that Scharner (who scored after controlling the ball with his hand, having taken lessons from Theirry Henry in midweek) has magnanomously come out and said he's happy for the game to be replayed.

taste sinks to new depths

Why not get this for your child's next birthday? Can you believe it? On this evidence, bad taste has reached a new level. How long will it be before they have the Twin Towers exploding roller coaster ride or Tsunami wave experience at your local swimming pool?

Lions

I've never really been one for animals but getting up close to these lions was excellent. The one biting that bloke's knee is about 4 months old. Suffice to say I wouldn't like a 4 year old one doing the same to me.

reading signs

Sometimes you can tell a lot about a country- its values, people and way of life- just by looking carefully at its signage. These three say different things- one is about language, one reflects the link between the 'cradle of humankind' to the hope of the new democracy and the other hints at the fear that still exists in places like Joburg.

I guess that whatever the connotation, positive or negative, none could ever be as bad those that pushed blacks one way and invited whites another under apartheid.