BB FANS

This week there's a bit about the above mentioned Marco Sabba crisp thing! Basically exactly as Cameron posted above.

Arriving in France yesterday and how cold it is... also how rubbish the exchange rate for the euro is with having to pay £193 for 200 euros (I can't work out how to get the wee sign on the laptop).

An underwear company paying £14m (!) for an advertising campaign featuring Victoria Beckham.

Remembering the talk about the talk they got about their mental state before entering the BB house and how they may well end up experiencing paranoia and cabin fever to a serious level.

A friend of his has just returned from Zimbabwe and said the the best thing they could send is old pairs of trainers.... he says he managed to find 8 pairs to send!

This week the main bit is about Ulrika winning Celeb BB and celebrity versions of these shows in general saying the reputation they are getting is making it more difficult for people who genuinely want to experience it. Speaks about the fees attached to appearing on the celebrity versions like Ulrika appearently getting £175,000 compared to Ben Adam's £20,000 and how based on the result people must've thought she was worth it.

How he's still in France and that the temperature has risen a bit but it is certainly still not "warm" as well as speaking about wee issues with French vocab. "There are one or two traps, like the French verb “assister” means to attend, but the verb “attendre” actually means to wait. I don’t think I’ve made a major “faux-pas” yet, but time’ll tell!"

Used car sales and how they were down 20% at the start of the year but because people are holding off buying anything new they are now on the rise.

Jonathan Ross being back on the BBC and how he was glad to see he apologised for what went on.

How he thinks the Brit awards will be worth watching this year (when even are they?) with Kylie Minogue as one of the judges and Girls Aloud being up for best group alongside Coldplay and Take That.

Thanks very much Jezi!

The main bit is about the trip to France and the town of Reims where he's staying. Highlights include going to visit a champagne cellar and getting a tour to see how they make the speciality wine from the region. Only wine from this region can be known as champagne. However there are negative points also as the whole place is full of road works as they are building a tramway, trying to visit a fort last weekend and finding it shut meaning they were marched off the premises in a guy dressed in an army top (!) and he has found museums etc shut too.

Looking forward to the EE Golden Rose competition that starts in Aberdeen next week and how he has bought some special items of clothing while in France for the occasion.

Another £18 million reduction for the Aberdeen City Council budget meaning there will be another round of cuts unfortunately.

The BBC is to be cutting costs also with Jonathan Ross' pay packet apparently getting cut by £4.5 million and other people like Chris Moyles and Terry Wogan may be getting cuts also.

Reality TV judges creating a fuss for the sake of the audience and Paula Abdul marching off the stage in a huff!

Oh that's a shame.



Ooh I'm intrigued now!

Speaking about spending time in France again and the Auld Alliance - saying that although the people of the countries have similar attributes, they are displayed in very different ways within the various cultures. Mentions strikes and Reims grinding to a hault last Monday with the snow fall. A poor postman who came by to kindly inform the people at the bus stop there would be no buses until later on got a barrel of abuse from one lady! He expects the lady ended up walking, as they did.

Getting a custom made waistcoat while en France and getting questioned by the lady as to what it was for if he wasn't getting married. He was happy to let her think that he was a magician until the "loudmouth" he was there with told her this wasn't the case... she then asked if he was one of the Chippendales!

Being all for free speech but thinking Jeremy Clarkson calling Gordon Brown a "one-eyed Scottish idiot" was a bit daft and very disrespectful.

Mentions various theatre productions that are happening out and about in Aberdeen city/shire this week.

Looking at a poll for who should replace Dannii Minogue if she quits the X Factor, Lily Allen had just 3%, Robbie Williams, Peter Kay, Charlotte Church and Will Young had 19% each but Posh Spice was winning with 21%.

Sorry for the delays with this - had a lot on the last couple of weeks.

16 Feb

The main bit was all about free speech and comments on what Jeremy Clarkson had said, as reported the previous week. How although at times you need (or feel the need) to say something, at times it can be better just to keep quiet. Bit about how everyone has made mistakes in things they've said but how it can be the worst if you're in the public eye. Speaks about a Dutch MP who "planned to attend a showing of his controversial film about the terrorist attacks on London, Madrid and New York. The film calls on Muslims to remove what he calls “hate-preaching” verses from their holy book the Koran." and was refused entry to the country as he was deemed to pose a threat to public order. Sums up with saying he thinks political-correctness has gone too far but cases like that show how we do need to be aware of "freedom of speech and potential issues of censorship".

Says thanks to all the folk he met during the Golden Rose week and how he'd had a rare time.

How he had been speaking about weird crisp flavours and how India’s National Volunteer Organisation is planning on launching a drink made from cow's urine - he says he thinks he'll pass...

Government funding in Aberdeen being up £100 a head and the council leader explaining that it "is the lowest-funded council, based on the per capita figures".

How you could spend £1265 to go and see the Beyonce tour if you want a meet and greet ticket!


23 Feb

The media surrounding Jade Goody's illness and wedding and reaction of some of the public to this. How it can be looked at as a bit of a "chicken and egg" situation in that if the British public weren't obsessed with celebrity then the media wouldn't have been an issue. He says that her reasoning for doing all the photoshoots etc are so that there is money there for her two young children so that they can have a type of childhood that she never had the chance to have. Last wee bit is "The sick thing is not that she’s chosen to allow what might be the last chapter of her public life to be documented for all to see. It’s that the very people who criticise her for doing it that way would be the first to haul her over the coals if she hadn’t provided for her boys."

Last Monday being the start of Fairtrade fortnight and how 2000 Fairtrade products are now out there in the UK. Try something new! (not mentioned in the column but if anyone's interested there are ideas on the website... Fairtrade )

Says he doesn't have much in common with him but mentions Zac Efron paying $1m for a new place in Hollywood and having to sleep on a mattress on the floor as he did when he first moved into his house!

Putting time and effort into choosing the right presents for folk but thinking he'll best get saving if he's going to buy his mum the numberplate MAM 1 for £57,000!

Irish police just revealing a memo showing why they hadn't managed to catch a Polish car criminal by the name of Prawo Jazdy... turned out to be the Polish for "driving license" as opposed to somebody's name!

2 March

Mentions how an anagram of his name is "Motor Nutcase" (how apt can you actually get, that is hilarious!) but goes on to speak about funny (unfortunate in some cases) names... for example a guy called Stan Still, a friend of his called Jade Green, a guy called Doug Hole and of his from Northern Ireland claimed he'd gone to school with an "Annette Curten". Apparently the winner from the states is a Carrie Oakey...!

Being a bit "thrifty" and mentions how his gas cylinder had run out that week... when he looked at the date it said it had been delivered on the 22 November 2002.

A Californian guy he knows who's studying in Aberdeen saying he'd been getting into Scottish food and how he'd been confused by a pudding made from neeps... so was Cameron until they establised it was actually rhubarb!

Speaks about some of what he'd been buying/trying for Fairtrade fortnight including chocolate sauce and recycled kitchen towels.


9 March

Taking his Golf to the garage months ago because it was making a "rurring" noise and suggesting it could be to do with the wheel bearing as it was similar to something he had experienced with another car before. They said it was in fact the gearbox and as the car had done 156,000 miles he thought they would be right. Last week there was an issue with the tyres so he took it to a different garage... turned out there had been an issue with the wheel bearing after all so he needed a new one of them, two new tyres AND to pay for the work!

Wondering if we'll notice the extra £75 billion that has been released (is that even the word? who knows) into the country as of last week. Speaks about how some people don't think Premium Bonds is the best place to store your money but half a billion pounds were invested in it last month alone... thinking actions are speaking louder than words.

The effect of "celebrity" on young people and being pleased to see Jennifer Aniston speaking frankly about cosmetic surgery when she spoke out about not liking Botox.

How people sometimes say his degree is a "Mickey Mouse" degree but noticing this week a BTEC National Certificate in surfing and wondering what will be next.

Since his gas ran out last week thinking everything is on a downhill spiral as his kettle and iron have had to be relplaced and now he's needing a new fridge

2001 even! I'm more frugal than that LOL!

Sorry boss.

Infrequent visitor to this section, granted, but always interested in & value Cameron's insight & opinion. Not that I agree with Cameron's opinion all the time & he certainly won't agree with mine most of the time.

But glad to see at least one BB housemate mention 'chicken & egg' regarding the hype in the media of that poor girl, Jade Goody - because that's what 'celebrity' promotion is all about these days in tabloids, tabloid magazines & tabloid TV.

I knew of a Teresa Green, a Donald Duck, a Penny Farthing and a Miss P Bedwell.

Another anagram of his name is Comatose Runt

There are nicer ones but that made me laugh

The main bit is off the back of last week and speaks about people sending him in funny names etc. Says how he's been reading about "labels" given to people for different things - such as NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) for people opposed to wind turbines, BANANAs (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone) and even worse.... people are known as NOPE (Not On Planet Earth)! Goes on to speak about SADDOs - Speed And Drink Driving Offenders. Various information about what will be coming in the way of people who do this, for example car insurance premium rising by a possible 91% or even getting blacklisted altogether - bits also about what may happen to people caught speeding with increases in their insurance. Finally about companies starting to refuse people caught on their phones while driving.... as he says "Stop Telephoning Ur Pals, Idiot Drivers"!

Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's restaurant reopening after being shut down because some customers got ill.. says there are some interesting things on the menu such as snail porridge and mustard icecream. ( )

TV licence fees increasing for both colour and black and white. How staff who work at the museum former residence of a German mathematician have been having to explain to the German board for collecting the fees that he does not need to pay as he died in 1559!!!

Playboy model Jenny McCarthy giving the opposite view on Botox that Jennifer Aniston did as reported last week.

Being chuffed to hear that it has been reported the CLAN fundraising campaign has been going well. (For anyone that is not from here, CLAN is the charity Cancer Link Aberdeen and North - they have a campaign going which is the 123 campaign, one charity, two years to raise three million pounds.)