You get attached to inanimate things. They come to feature in your life like familiar friends. Look at my two chums in the photograph above. On the left is my old shower radio - inexpensive but invaluable. It has accompanied pretty much every shower I have had in this house for twenty years. How many times have I stood there soaping this pulsing temple of flesh and bone listening to either Radio 4 or Radio 5 Live? That little radio has taught me so much about politics, history and science. I have even enjoyed countless editions of "Woman's Hour" and Nicky Campbell's topical phone-in programme.
There have been innumerable battery changes but finally, finally my faithful companion is kapput, deceased, voiceless and well... gone. You don't see this model any more and besides it bears no company logo. All it says on the back is "Made in China". In seeking a replacement, I discovered that smartphones and little bluetooth speakers have pretty much taken over the shower radio market but I am pleased to announce that I now have a new one though it seems less sturdy than the deceased model. I doubt that it will also last twenty years. Hell, if it did I would be 92 and no doubt receiving bed baths.
Next to the shower radio is the little clock we had in the upstairs bathroom. It served us well for twenty years but like the shower radio, it has also died and new batteries have no impact any more. I ordered a similar replacement clock from "Argos" and I am pleased with it. When performing one's ablutions it is often important to know the time - what with a busy appointments diary and everything - places to go, people to meet... (I'm kidding!).
And below a family cartoon picture I created this very morning when Shirley and I were looking after Little Margot. She was watching Mr Tumble for the umpteenth time and frankly I could not be bothered. Once was plenty so I made this caricature instead - though I am not sure why my photo looks so yellow!
ENGLAND 2 NORWAY 1
This blogpost was created just before, at halftime and just after England's quarter final victory over Norway. Now it's onward to meet either Argentina or Switzerland in the semi-final...
I'm reminded of Citizen Kane which I first saw at The Cosmo in Rose Street.
ReplyDeleteRosebud. The name of his boyhood sledge or toboggan. The Beloved Thing.
I wonder what Little Margot's Beloved Thing will be ? Years from now ?
Mine was our Bakelite radio from the 1940s. Apple green. A lighted dial.
Ella Fitzgerald's Moonlight Serenade. Mario Lanza's Song of India.
Elvis's Pardon Me, If I'm Sentimental. Gracie Field's Sing As We Go.
Sinatra's London By Night. Clint Walker's Beautiful Dreamer. Nat King Cole ...
Those songs date you Mr Haggerty. By my reckoning you are 103.
DeleteSeconds. A 1966 film directed by John Frankenheimer.
DeleteRock Hudson is much younger looking than he really is thanks to surgery.
The Elvis song's real title - A Fool Such as I.
I had a school pal whose mother loved Elvis.
Blue Suede Shoes. Fools Rush In. Can't Help Falling In Love.
Joe's young mum played these on her dinky little record player.
Working abroad in a building site Joe fell from scaffolding.
He was paralysed below the waist. A big strong ladies' man laid low.
Joe passed away years ago. I never saw his mother again.
* Pardon me, if I'm sentimental when we say Goodbye. *
A favourite track at many a funeral.
I have heard of shower radios but never felt the need for one myself. I am never in the shower long enough to be listening to anything. Soap, rinse, done. Get out. In Australia several years ago with severe water shortages we were asked to have three-minute showers, using an egg-timer to time ourselves, though I don't know if everyone followed those rules.
ReplyDeleteSee my response to ADDY below.
DeleteP.S. the drawing is lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks lass.
DeletePoor Norway, I hate it when people lose. Competition is alien to me! Being attached to things. Is that a good way to live life, don't you accumulate?
ReplyDeleteYes. You do "accumulate" and in my opinion it is a very natural way to live life.
DeleteArgentina, I've learnt by osmosis. I like the play on North Face. I've seen a radio like your old one, maybe in a pawn shop. I have a Bluetooth speaker but I can't make it loud enough to hear over the shower noise. It was a gift from my brother who I think won it in a pub raffle.
ReplyDeleteI imagine you spend a lot of time in porn shops Andrew. The hook on my old radio meant I could hook it on to a window handle right next to my lughole.
DeleteYou certainly have a flair for cartoons. I'm usually in and out of the shower in about 5 minutes max. How long do you take to need a radio in there?
ReplyDeleteI am pretty quick at showering but then I have to shave as well and I do that while still in the shower - also there's the drying and the teeth to brush - maybe nail clipping too or sitting on the toilet for a good... think.
DeleteI am my own personal shower radio ... no batteries required!
ReplyDeleteFunny how our appliances and devices can become almost beloved to us. I had a CD player/radio like that. We took it to the beach for many, many summers, and it lived in the kitchens in the houses were we lived. I listened to so much NPR on that thing.
ReplyDeleteNice cartoon.
You could write and illustrate children's books, Neil.
ReplyDeleteI watched the England/Norway game and it was quite exciting. Good luck against Argentina!
The bathroom is the one room where I don't have a radio - and I can't even recall ever wanting one there! ...
ReplyDeleteYou relied on these gadgets to organize your day.
ReplyDeleteLove that cartoon that you drew. I don't listen to the radio in the bathroom, I read, although not while I'm in the shower.
ReplyDeleteBloody hell lad, how long are your showers?
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, or perhaps not, I was talking with a friend who recently flew on a 15 hour Etihad flight in first class. I asked about the in boarding shower and he said you were limited to 10 minutes, after which the water cut out. I timed my next couple of showers - each was under 5 minutes.
GO Binface!
i had a shower radio, it couldn't get a signal in the high rise.
ReplyDeleteI too had a faithful shower radio, it was in the form of a cyberman's head. Sadly it ceased to function a few years ago but it's quite decorative so it remains. My phone performs the same duties now.
ReplyDelete