My street is a weird street. Well, I guess it’s not really strictly speaking “mine”, but close enough.


This morning when I looked out through the window the first thing I saw was a man trying to sell a totem pole. I think he was even working in the shop across the road because he was repeatedly entering it. I was just thinking – shouldn’t totem poles go under what’s generally referred to as either warfare material or torture equipment? I mean, if I went down there opening a stand of my own trying to sell rifles, poisonous arrows or maybe a few homemade bombs I’m sure that I’d at least get an objecting letter in the post from the authorities? To be fair, the shop was also selling peaceful stuff like dvd’s and mirrors. But then again, that’s what I’d personally call a cover up strategy.

There’s been other things that have confused me as well. People still keep wishing me a Merry Christmas. Look, as I’ve explained in an earlier post, I started celebrating Christmas on the 17th of October! So that means that I’ve now been celebrating for 53 days. It’s getting a bit tedious to be quite honest with you. I don’t want any more greetings. I don’t even want snow anymore. I feel like it should be over by now. I’m ready for Easter! It was a great “weird-thing-to-do” (see earlier posts) but enough is enough. One more elf and things could turn dirty…

Speaking of my “weird-things-to-do” project, I’m really looking forward to New Year, which is a fantastic opportunity for me to take it to another level! I’ve got loads of plans but feel I can’t really start them until day 01-01-08! My friend suggested I’d start calling them “mental-things-to-do” but I’m just not prepared to enter that sort of territory. Yet.

I can warmly recommend my last year’s New Year resolution of doing 1 weird thing a week for a year! Trust me when I say it will enrich your lives. But today I had something of a reality check. I thought my endeavours of learning how to yodel, to build an igloo, being a vegan for a week, a vegetarian for another, blindly following obscure signs, going digging for Viking treasures, going trainspotting, stop using sugar, voluntarily living off £30 for one whole week, thinking like a guy for a week, being girly to the extreme for another, becoming a scientologist for a week, living off fruit for a week, starting a weird group on the internet, making them all go on an obscure trip, going to see a film I really didn’t want to see, going hunting for UFO’s, walking to Brighton, Windsor and Cambridge, celebrating Christmas in summer etc etc etc, were pretty odd, but today I found a guy who is clearly willing to take things one step further.

He’s started a project with an aim to make 1000 people happy. Well, at first that sounds pretty good and jolly in an easygoing way, but he’s decided that he’s willing to do whatever anybody wants him to do to in order to achieve it! That’s something I would never do. That, according to me, is what makes the difference between “weird” and “mental”. I mean, I guess it could be compared to some sort of random acts of niceness, but while things like those are all on your own conditions, he’s putting himself in other’s hands completely!

So I immediately decided I’d give him a challenge when I get back to London after my trip to Sweden. My friend Esther straight away suggested that we’d ask him to give her a massage (the saucy minx!), but I think we should aim higher. Nothing mean or demeaning, mind you, cos that wouldn’t be encouraging him in a long term sense. And trust me, weird people are to be encouraged! That’s the way to go. It’s in our interest as a community.

;-)