Did you hear about the elderly German gent who bricked himself into his own cellar by mistake, only realising he was on the wrong side of the new wall when he had finished the job? He then camped out in the cellar for days, and eventually got out by deliberately demolishing his neighbour's wall rather than his own. The police were waiting for him. His neighbours had been in dispute with the old boy over DIY noise, and thought this was the latest and most excessive example, and so plod were called. The police described the man as "pretty stupid" which ranks as understatement of the year! You couldn't make it up.
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The French like to claim that when it comes to looking after their families and community they leave us trailing in their wake, as in France they say that there is still such a thing as society, unlike here where we are all totally self obsessed. A news report recently that in Paris a 69 year old woman was rescued after being trapped in her windowless bathroom for 20 days (!) rather puts paid to French superiority in matters communal.
Surviving on warm tap water, she tried to alert her neighbours to her plight by banging on the pipes at night. So concerned were her neighbours that they even got up a petition to stop what they thought was late night DIY. Only after a few of the more aware realised they had not seen the woman for some time did they raise the alarm, and the woman was rescued by firefighters. If there was a French word for The Gallic Shrug, I'd use it now...
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Other people in the past have done this or similar, but I had the idea that at some point I would like to go a week without using any technology or services that have come into popular usage after 1980, as a fun way of raising money for charity. Can you imagine living for a week with three TV channels, and not being able to watch after midnight, no mobile phone, no computer, no dvd, even no VHS video (assuming anyone has any left to watch anyway), no microwave? Actually, that last one does not bother me in the slightest. To do this I would have to take a week off work too, as I simply could not do my job without a computer, so it will have to wait until next summer, when at least I can get out and about and go for walks. I plan to raise at least £5.50 for the MacMillan Cancer charity.
I mention this now, because unbeknownst to moi (must shake the French thing) I have, partly at least, been usurped by sundry American celebs, many of whom I am proud to say I have never heard of.
On Tuesday, which is World Aids Day, celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Usher (?), Serena Williams et al (damn) will be signing off from all social media for Alicia Keys' Aids charity Digital Life Sacrifice and will remain signed off until they raise over $1 million. Rather dwarfs my intended efforts! Good luck to them anyway.
Apparently Lady Gaga has nearly 24 million fans on Facebook. I'll bet a penny to a pinch of salt she doesn't read all the status updates.
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And finally....the stitches are to be removed from my now much less wonky finger on Wednesday next week, after which I will regale you with all the gory details.
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