Parsley and The Adventures Of Parsley

I've recently decided that parsley is wonderful, it can be added to most things and improve it, mostly food though, in my experience it doesn't do much for diesel, coffee or an iphone.

Fish, soups, garlic bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, salads all benefit from a bit of parsley, lus it has a nice green colour.

It comes in three types, flat, curly or dried.

Now when I decided on this exciting and informative blog entry I remembered that Parsley was on a kids TV programme.

I actually thought it was Pipkins, my mind went to "Parsley Hare" but then I remembered that that was "Hartley Hare". So I Googled "Parsley kids TV" and came up with The Herbs.

The Herbs was a stop animation cartoon written by Paddington Bear author Michael Bond and animated/directed by co-creator of The Magic Roundabout Ivor Wood.

The Herbs were 15 minute episodes first broadcast in 1968





Parsley The Lion never spoke but his thoughts were voiced. Parsley made it to his own spin off of 5 minute episodes broadcast first in 1970.

They went out early evening before the news.
They featured amongst others, Dill The Dog, dill is also a fine herb, worthy of an entry of his own!
Anyway here's an episode of The Adventures of Parsley

Captain Pugwash

Captain Pugwash was first shown on TV in 1957.
Captain Horatio Pugwash sailed the seas in The Black Pig, his ship.
The first lot of cartoons aired in 1957-1966, then in 1974-1975 and a new cartoon appeared in 1997
Pugwash debuted in 1950 in The Eagle as a comic strip and later in the Radio Times.
The most cheerful part was the theme tune, apparently a tune dating back to before 1850 known as the Trumpet Hornpipe or Thunder Hornpipe
Anyway here is Horatio and the gang (the theme tune's at the end)




Watch Captain Pugwash Ep01 - Down the Hatch in Animation | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Cockney Rhyming Slang - Made in Hong Kong

I only heard this rhyming slang today, can't recall hearing it before although it has existed for a while.


Similar to "it's all gone Pete Tong", "made in Hong Kong" means something is wrong.


As far as I know it's used for objects and people, for example if you know a dodgy geezer who's been doing bird for various misdemeanours, it's likely he's a bit made in Hong Kong.

Back to school for Morrison's

Someone needs to learn the difference between 'stationary' and 'stationery'.

A genuine dog and bone "dog and bone"

So my latest cockney rhyming slang entry brought up what I think is the first time I have seen the slang being made into what it is, dog & bone = phone.

I'll continue my search for a staircase made of apples and pears, someone married to a Teletubby, a hair piece made of syrup of fig or a watch that was really a kettle.

Dog & bone phones can actually be purchased on Ebay.
Labradors and golden retrievers seem to be the popular types.

Cockney Rhyming Slang - Widow Twankey

Widow Twankey (pictured as played by Eric Potts at the Oldham Coliseum theatre) is a character in the pantomime version of Aladdin, she is Aladdin's mum.

In the world of rhyming slang it is either a handkerchief (hankie) or an American (Yankee). For the latter, the Cockney's don't seem to mind if the American concerned is from the north or south!

I can't say it's a common expression in the slang world. For a Cockney rhyming slang for American, the one I have heard more often is 'septic' for 'septic tank' = yank.

Cockney Rhyming Slang - Christopher Lee, Johnny Cash & Nelson Riddle

So what do the actor Christopher Lee,

singer Johnny Cash

and music arranger Nelson RIddle

have in common?




I've probably given the game away in the title.
They are all rhyming slang for the act of urination!
Christopher Lee = pee or wee.
Johnny Cash = slash.
Nelson riddle = piddle.

I tended to hear Jimmy Riddle after Jimmy Riddle Hoffa. "Going for a jimmy" is the general expression.

A toast rack

A largely archaic and pointless item, most homes no longer have a toast rack, so the sight of one is largely confined to b&bs. A reassuring day off and breakfast with toast nicely cooled off in a toast rack!
For those interested, toast racks date back to the late 18th century, they were designed to stop the toast getting soggy due to the steam condensing. Electric toasters made them fairly unnecessary, but they are still mass produced.

The Cheerful Manifesto 2: Saying "ooh" in the style of Frankie Howerd

There is a lot of noise making to be had in The Cheerful manifesto. Our first noise that should be set aside for at least once a month.

There are several Frankie MP3 downloads here.

I used to have the 'shut yer face' as a text message alert on my phone, I was giving a lift to an elderly gent, and when I received a text message he said "what did you say", it took a while to explain it was my phone.

This is not the best example, but there is one at around 23-24 seconds

The Cheerful Manifesto 1: Gurning

I decided to begin my manifesto for cheerfulness, like everybody else I have my off days, but even in the dark times we should always be able to find a glimmer of cheerfulness. So for no reason other than to be cheerful I commence with gurning.


In the UK especially we do have gurning contests and according to Wikipedia these date back as far as 1267. These contests don't seem to be that commonplace, I've never been to one.

If we set aside a minute a year when everyone has a gurn then that's fine with me, on a Wednesday during Prime Minster's questions in the House of Commons would be a good start.

Anyway here's my favourite gurner, Mr. Les Dawson