April Fool … anybody?
So it’s April 1, and you’re expecting me to make a fool of people. Well, as I do that most weeks, who am I to disappoint when we have a whole day dedicated to life’s idiots.
First up, we have a follow-on from last week when I spoke of the soft targets being hit as a result of the chancellor’s budget. What I failed to mention was the hike in VAT levied on hot food sold by retail outlets. Now dubbed, “Pastygate,” we have millions of lycra-legged and baseball cap wearing lasses and lads, all outraged because they now have to fork out extra for their daily fix at Greggs.
The government are trying to play it down, of course by not mentioning hot food. Still, they don’t seem to be doing a good job if recent sightings are anything to go by.
The thing is, I can’t actually see why pasties and the rest were exempt in the first place. I know why the government have done it. One, obviously it will bring them more revenue but secretly (and this is where the craftiness comes in), all those who have to maybe eat a banana instead of a pizza slice or sausage roll, will soon be losing weight. You see, Mr Chavvy from Chavtown, will begin to worry that his grey and orange jogging bottoms don’t fit him any more and he’ll have to buy new ones. Even further, Mrs Loudmouth in Leggings, will also be astonished to find that Primark, actually sell lycra garments in sizes under 20.
Wow! I’m amazed. With all these new clothes available smaller sizes, once we have been weaned off a diet of pastry, there will be people queuing up for new stuff. What a boost for a countries economy. I mean, all those sweat shops with children working for 5p a day in third world continents will never have had it so good in terms of turnover.
Still, they produce them – we’ll keep on buying them, just like those God-awful pasties.
Cynical – me?
Mama Mia …
I enjoyed reading about the missing parrot who sings Bohemian Rhapsody. His owner, however, is distraught and wants the bird back after thieves took it.
Hmm, maybe it should have been taught to sing the songs of the Pet Shop Boys instead. If it had, you can guarantee it would have been returned in a day.
Now showing at your local cinema …
Across the land, our multi-screen complexes are showing the latest Hollywood blockbuster – Titanic.
Eh … hang on, didn’t Titanic come out about fifteen years ago?
Yes, Titanic is the latest in a long line of reissues where people are being fleeced in order to watch the same movie again, but this time in 3-D.
For ages, cinemas and audiences feeling ripped off, have gone hand-in-hand. You see, not only have we always paid to get in to see the film, once inside the cinema, we pay more than our original entry fee for bloomin’ popcorn and fizzy drinks. Why? It’s a strange one. We eat popcorn while watching a movie and at no other point in our lives.
Anyway, I digress, so back to Titanic … in 3-D. I have seen Titanic, though never in one go. I always come in at some point when it’s shown but with it being so long, I’ve never had the stamina for the whole motion picture. I actually think the voyage of the real Titanic took less time than watching the silly film. Still, I want to know one thing, and this has puzzled me for years. If it is now in 3-D, with a much better scope of vision, will Kate Winslet finally see that the plank she’s lying on in the freezing water while Leonardo Dicaprio is hanging onto the side … IS BLOODY WELL BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF THEM?
Arrrgghh! Is she stupid? That’s a huge board she’s on. Shift over you idiot and let him snuggle up beside you.
It’s not just that either. Just before the ship sinks, she’s on the lifeboat, heading to safety and then climbs back onto the Titanic to be with Leo. Arrrgghh! “Rose, why did you do that, why?” All that, “You jump, I jump,” nonsense; if she’d stayed on the lifeboat, he’d have jumped on his own and had that piece of wood all to himself.
Stupid mare. She killed Leo.
Quick note to Trevor Mulligan.
Stop sending me bloomin’ emails about sports dates. I have never heard of you, I am NOT in your basketball team or any other kind of team.
The only balls I play with these days, are my own.
And talking of dates …
I used to get loads of spam emails offering me dates with young hotties. Now, they seem to have been replaced by ones suggesting dating the more mature lady. What are they saying, that I’m past it?
I’m quite happy, thank you, with Angiebabe. She’s seven years younger than me and you know what they say? You’re as young as the person you feel.
April Fuel’s Day.
As I have said, there are many contenders today for nob of the week but none more than Tory MP, Francis Maude. This pillock told the nation that they should buy jerry cans and stockpile fuel in case of a potential tanker drivers strike.
Way to go, Maude. Tell all the idiots in the world to buy cans, fill them with flammable substances, then accept the fact that many will go home and store them next to the gas fire.
I got caught up in the panic buying frenzy the other day too. I was in Warwick, then had to drive 30 or so miles and by the time I was home, I needed to fill up. All this talk of queues, I saw none of them until I reached my regular station and had to wait half an hour as every panic buying fool had chosen that one to go to. I had to fill up a full tank; some of them were only at the pumps for thirty seconds. Annoying, or what?
Calm down, Britt.
I’m going to hope nobody tries to prank me now. I shall settle down, enjoy my Sunday and if I’m feeling peckish … apply to get a mortgage so I can afford the exorbitant price of a Greggs Pasty now the government have levied the VAT on them.
Cheers.
Nick
Brilliant analysis! That will, no doubt, be the inevitable consequence of the tax. Though I am quite certain that it was not what they intended $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Enjoy your day, you might want to stay home to be safe from all the pranksters!
I get caught by April Foolsy sort of stuff every other day; don’t see why this one should make a difference 🙂
well you have made me see the good side of being poor .. its been ages since i brought any pasties from a shop hot or cold cheaper to make your own 🙂 and since no car no petrol problems 🙂 good sunday roast hun .. as always a joy to come by and read you
Thanks for stopping by. I’m happy without wealth too. As long as I can write somewhere and have something to blast rock music from.
More tax on sausage rolls, too? How will modern parents ever cope without the ‘Greggs Dummy’ to keep little Chanteray quiet???
This is more of a crisis than I thought!
They’ll have to stick on more re-runs of Jeremy Kyle, to drown out the kid’s crying.
hey Nick,
had to pop in and see what’s cooking! Good read, love the pics. Cheers!
Think of April Fool’s Day as the official holiday to tell big Lies without feeling guilty.
Funny but not funny, really. Voo
Thanks for stopping by, as always, Voo. I try to avoid April Fool’s. I’d get caught every time.
Nick
Excellent uplifting post Nick.
Have we all missed the observation that Greggs et al have been pumping the prices up anyway? All they’ll do is raise prices between now and October, then claim they’re generous by ‘absorbing the VAT increase.’
Asda amuse me with their ‘roll back’ BS. They inflate a price by some humungous percentage for a couple of weeks, drop it to just 50% more than it used to be and call it a roll back.
Sometimes I really enjoy being a miser because you get to notice the way these institutions (government and religiots included) spread BS over everything and then claim to clear it up: like oil companies taking the credit for cleaning 5,000 cormorants.
While I’m in that frame of mind: a follow-up to your earlier comments about the gay marriage ‘debate’ – The Tametsi Decree of 1563 (time of Elizabeth I, an era I’m quite interested in) was the Roman Catholic’s assertion that no marriage was valid without appropriate representation by a priest, bishop or authorised deputised person. Marriage is older than any of the religions claiming authority over it by the same degree that I have more bodymass than Kate (bless her cotton socks) Moss. Like you, I have no vested interest in the issue but am livid that gays are being denied the consequences of marriage that the rest of us (Jan and I married in an excellent Registry Office, many of which now have long waiting lists so couples are resorting to churches in order to marry sooner – something interesting there, methinks??) enjoy.
I am enormously self-gratified to say that ‘Titanic’ is one of the ‘classic’ movies that I have never seen. Also in the list are: ‘Grease’ and ‘Mamma Mia’ plus many more whose titles I can’t be bothered to recall.
Excellent post, once more. Sorry about the hijacking rant, but thanks a million for bringing more chuckles to my protracted hours at the computer screen.
And, from a tweet I saw earlier: ‘which Spice Girl can be used to store petrol? Geri can.’
Cheers
I also saw an article where supermarkets and food producers are reducing the net weight on packets yet still charging the same price.
I’m with you on the religious debate, as you know. DId you read the prat (Vicar of St Martin’s) in the Advertiser, this week? He’s debunking Richard Dawkins as delusional because what happened to that footballer and his recovery. He says it is nothing short of a miracle. Hmmm … If his recovery is divine intervention, who stopped his heart in the first place? Can’t have it both ways. I am going to do one of my letters. We’ll see if that one gets in. If not, I shall blog it.
I’ve not seen Grease (well, half of it) or Mamma Mia, either.
Nick
Loved all of it but parrot really made me laugh
You know me and my cheap jokes.