大象传媒

Week ending - 18 January 2008

• Richard Fair
• 18 Jan 08, 10:46 AM

鈥淭onight, Coronation Street will be a four-hanky episode, the first of the newly scheduled Friday double episodes.鈥� So says . It鈥檚 the night we share our tears with Jack as Vera's lifeless body is taken from The Street. 鈥淚t's an episode none of us really wants to see鈥�, says , but just like driving past a motorway crash we鈥檒l slow down a little and gawp before heading off to Channel 4 to cook along with . Talking of which, I did have a double take checking up on their website for the ingredients. On the it says 鈥淐ookalong guinea pig鈥�, but I think that refers to someone giving advice on how to cook steak.

Nigel in Newton-le-Willows is approaching a mid-life moment when it comes to music. 鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 the prospect of my 40th birthday (next year, not this) looming in the distance, but my music tastes have become decidedly middle of the road recently.

"The other day I compiled a CD of what I can only describe as DadRock,鈥� he says before going on to list the likes of Kate Bush, Genesis, Peter Gabriel and Eva Cassidy.

I was only musing on this week about the signs of getting older. Mine are less to do with taste and more to do with how your body begins to rebel.

Meanwhile at the other end of the age scale are on a steep learning curve when it comes to raising a child. 鈥淣ine weeks in, what have we learned?鈥� they ask. Amongst the gems are:

鈥淏abies aren鈥檛 very bright sometimes.
Parents aren鈥檛 very bright sometimes, either: it took Mummy and Daddy a while to realise that you should never change a nappy in a room with carpet.
If Mummy forgets to wash behind baby鈥檚 ears, baby starts to smell of cheese.
If Mummy isn鈥檛 鈥榓llowed鈥� to shower, put the washing on, get dressed, iron clothes or brush her teeth, then Mummy starts to smell of cheese, too.鈥�

Suddenly I don鈥檛 feel like eating my steak anymore.