Nicky Bond's Blog, page 19

Worth the Itch...

Dogs are salivating
 all over the show.You remember Pavlov's dogs, right? That classic study where Pavlov rang a bell every time he fed his dogs, thus creating a conditioned response that'd make them salivate every time they heard the bell? See, I knew you'd heard of it. Fun fact: I once knew a woman whose boobs tingled whenever she heard a crying baby. No mess. I've never experienced that particular phenomenon, but I do have my own conditioned response. Ready? Good. Even if it's on the telly, wh...

Warning: Contains a Gratuitous Perm...

The stats don't lie.
I CBA.You know things are bad when I film a TikTok. Is that what the kids say? Film a TikTok? This week I filmed a TikTok for all of six seconds, bemoaning my hay feverish eyes. So far it's been seen 82 times, which is batshit when you consider I've almost no followers and I didn't share it anywhere. (Until now!) TikTok's a cultural phenomenon that continues to elude me. Like much of social media does to my parents, or how the Internet did to my Grandma. It's my generation's ...

I Have Confidence in Baklava...

'I have confidence
 in meeeeeeeeee' It's been a good week. For me, at least. Because at no point over the past seven days have 41% of my family, friends, or casual acquaintances voted that they have no confidence in me. So that's great news. In fact, in the absence of a VONC on my life, I'm going to assume anyone that's met me in any capacity whatsoever, has FULL confidence in me and my endeavours. Such a reassuring feeling! How lovely to go out into the world with that secure backing. Thanks, Gan...

A Brief Psychological Study...

How often in life do you feel pure euphoria?
Pure euphoria, right there.That was a question posed by my little brother after I'd queried the sense of sitting in a bar to watch a football match during the family caravan holiday. To be fair, I don't think he was specifically talking about the match he'd just watched (it was a couple of months ago when Everton fans were viewing every fixture as the last big push) but to do with experiencing a goal within a crowd of like-minded people. How often do I...

I Don't Mean To Be The Voice of Dissent, But...

Not sure when
she met me Dad.My penultimate term of primary teaching was Spring 2011, as was the wedding of Kate 'n' Wills - aka the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. When royal weddings and births are on the news, I find myself indifferent. (As I am to most things other people do, if they're not impinging on my life or ruining things for a minority - at least that's the aim.) The trouble was, as a teacher I was expected to be 'excited' and 'patriotic' and 'happy to dress up in red, white, and blue ...

Not-Home Pleasures inc. the Best Dip in Christendom...

London Cooking GIF. 
By Rebecca Hendin.Stop Press: I'm writing this from not-home. Exciting! Apart from some Welsh caravans and AirBnBs, this is my first jaunt since the Before Times. It's only London, not a round the world trip, but still. It's a break. A break I used to do regularly, like it was my second city, and yet now it's two years later and I'm gingerly walking past much-loved haunts and hoping they've survived. Some have, some haven't, but in my life, I love you more 🎶  Sorry, I came ov...

The Circle of Life of it All...

Congrats Ukraine! You
threw everything at it.As we take down the bunting and file away the score cards, all that's left to say is CONGRATULATIONS, UKRAINE. You thoroughly deserved a decent placing regardless of anything else, so I'm delighted the global stage had the chance to show solidarity and appreciation to the Kalush Orchestra. 
National treasure
status achieved.But what about our boy, Sam? Wasn't he a stone cold legend on Saturday night?! If you're not singing 'I'm up in space, maaaaaaaan,'...

Bring on the Eurovision!!!!

I'm still not used to the new bloke
so I'm letting Jon Ola keep his
eye on things for now.Oh wow! Oh boy! It's arrived! The week that makes the other fifty-one worth enduring has finally started! From the first selections at the end of last year, through the January bleakness as countries got organised, to the promise of green shoots and bright weather as all eyes turn to Turin, we've made it; to this glorious day. For today is the dawn of our dreams. Today marks the start of - yes you've guessed ...

The Comfort of a Faked Seminar

There's a new podcast that I'm obsessed with but its also reminded me how disappointing post-university life can be. 

Ah, the happy memories of blagging.I have a love/hate relationship with my English degree. (Bear with me. It'll make sense soon enough.) It opened me up to a world of literature and gave me a decent overview of some of the classics - good for pub quizzes and crosswords if nothing else. The down side - because of course there's one - is that my overriding memory of uni is trying to...

A Squatting Art Garfunkel, Technical Deets, and Double Dominos FTW...

Enough with your
shopping list, Art. I
need to get on. 🎶Hello, Hayfever, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again...🎶 Stop it, Art Garfunkel, I'm sick of telling you to get out of my head and find somewhere else to live. All I want is... the sound of silence. 🎶 Why you little...!  Right then, enough about him, back to me. And there's an autobiography title if ever there was one. Not sure who the him is that I've had enough of, as I centre myself in my own life as much as possible. Still. We ...