Peter Beardsley's Head

Peter Beardsley's head. Stick it to your window, wall or mirror!

For the 1990 World Cup, the Topps company produced a set of giant footballers' heads to collect, and via a suction pad on the back, to stick to an appropriate surface. When I say "giant", I mean a little under A5 paper size, but big enough (bigger than stickers, anyway).

I was old enough to know better, but I bought one or two packets anyway. You didn't know who you were going to get when you bought one. I was lucky enough to get a Peter Beardsley, who has been stuck to the hallway window on and off for the past twenty years. Open the curtains in the morning, and there he is, grinning at you with his slightly lopsided smile! A bit scary, really...

 This is what the packet looked like:

The excited fella in the foreground supports Sunderland

This is the full list of players:

1. Gary Lineker
2. John Barnes
3. Chris Waddle
4. Bryan Robson
5. Terry Butcher
6. Paul Gascoigne
7. Neil Webb
8. Peter Beardsley
9. Peter Shilton
10. Des Walker
11. Steve Bull
12. Stuart Pearce
13. Gary Stevens
14. Mark Wright
15. David Rocastle
16. Steve McMahon
17. Dave Beasant
18. Bobby Robson

I'm sure there's a Steve Bull and a Steve McMahon hidden in a cardboard box in the attic. I wish they were collectable, but a quick look at ebay tells me they're not. Nobody has bought one for weeks. Ah well.

Badge Quiz 2: Football

The second badge quiz shows six current Football League teams. Annoyingly, numbers three and five turned sideways when I scanned them - and yes, the scan quality isn't great, but come and have a go if you think it's hard enough!

Go!

Badge Quiz 1: Music

Two quick quizzes to amuse and/or infuriate you over the weekend.

This first picture shows six button badges, each of which has had the name of the band skilfully blacked-out. Simply name the bands.

Go!

Grape-Nuts, Loo Rolls and Cat Food

All ready for a Heston Blumenthal recipe

I pick up other people's shopping lists whenever I find them. Here's one that both tickled me and confused me at the same time.

Confused? Because I didn't know what Grape-Nuts were! I really had no idea. Are they something you feed your budgie? Are they some sort of aid for indigestion? Perhaps they help with bowel movements? I just assumed that they were a foreign kind of nut (I did know that there are no grape-nut bushes in this country, at least).

It turns out that Grape-Nuts are a breakfast cereal. And all the thousands upon thousands of hours I've spent in supermarket cereal aisles...I'd never ever noticed them. No 100% crunchy goodness for me.

The other thing I noticed about this shopping list is that the person who wrote it can only have been buying all this random stuff so that s/he could follow a Heston Blumenthal recipe. Poached loo roll, drizzled with a Weetabix and cat food foam, anyone? Washed down with a tinned grapefruit juice and bleach cocktail?

Don't try this at home, kids!

Pop Quiz Number Five: 1981

Humpty Dumpty climbed up a tree...

It's time for another Pop Quiz! This one is based on a single year, 1981. All the featured songs were first released in that marvellous year for underground sounds, and what's more, all the artists were based in the UK - which cuts down the options a little. Some were SMASH HITS! Others are a tad more obscure.

Press PLAY on the player below. There are ten song intros of between 15 and 30 seconds, with gaps of approximately 5 seconds between each - time in which to PAUSE the player, make a nice cup of tea and reflect on what you've just heard, if you wish to do so.

One point each for the song and artist. A score of 12 or more will make you a POST-PUNK INTELLECTUAL.

Go!