Sunday 24 August 08 Chat

Some good news this week - the Banana Splits are set to return!

Yes, Fleegle the dog, Bingo the gorilla, Drooper the lion and Snorky the elephant are to return to our screens via the US Cartoon Network following a 'modern makeover'.
Even if you don't remember the Splits themselves you're sure to recall the Tra La La Song which became a classic back in 1968 when Hanna-Barbera created the original Banana Splits Adventure Hour.
In the same zany mode but perhaps for slightly older and more ironically inclined audiences, the great comedian Peter Kay (think Phoenix Nights and Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere) has produced a new TV comedy that takes the mickey out of TV talent shows.
Written by Kay and starring the man himself in the role of contestants, the show is called Britain's Got the Pop Factor & Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice.
If the title's anything to go by it should be a hoot! Look out for it on Channel 4 in October.

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We've got mice. Living in an old house surrounded by fields this is an occupational hazard. But it's a pain as I've only recently managed to clear their brethren out of the car.
Putting moth balls under the bonnet seems to have kept them at bay but when the engine's warm and the windows are closed the smell of moth balls is overwhelming.
So I took a few of the stinkers out of the car (which has made driving a good deal easier) and dropped them down the hole around the water stop tap where the mice are appearing.
The entire house now smells of moth balls and the mice are still in evidence.
So I broke out the traps and loaded them up with chocolate, because everyone in the country knows that mice have a sweet tooth. Except the little devils have grabbed the chocolate and made off with it; chocolate bars 2: mice 0 - the vermin are winning on points.
The food's been that good the mice have invited their friends and now there's mess and droppings all through the kitchen cupboards.
This is the point I realise there could be a nest and babies and the rodents cease being amusing and become disease-carrying pests.
So I've had to take drastic action and purchase anticoagulant grain. They're taking it so that should sort the problem.
Then I'm going to have to think of some way to deaden the smell of the moth balls.
Oh, the joys of county living.

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Usain Bolt, the lighting-fast Jamaican runner and winner of the men's 100m sprint in Beijing managed to go on and win not only the 200m but also a third gold medal and third new world record for his part on the winning men's 4 x 100m relay.
What a man! What an athlete! What a showman! What an amazing achievement for a 22-year-old with little previous world-stage experience.
See the BBC's excellent video summary of his achievement here.
And yes, I cried. Phenomenal. Just phenomenal.