And now for something largely the same...despite the added bacon

Fans of classic comedy will no doubt be aware that the five remaining members of Monty Python recently reunited for a series of live shows at the O2, the first time the team had performed together onstage for 30 years. Given that they have a combined age of 361, it seems likely that this will be the last occasion too (unless they are still short of money to pay for their various legal bills and divorce settlements, in which case the Monty Python cash cow might get another milking yet).

I wasn't at all surprised to learn that the shows sold out in a matter of minutes, but while it would have been a great experience to have been there, I wasn't hugely disappointed, given the crazy prices of the tickets, and the fact that the O2 is a cavernous hole of a venue. When it was later decided that the final show would be broadcast into cinemas across the world though, I jumped at the opportunity and bought a ticket straight away, feeling pleased with myself that I had only paid £15 as opposed to many times that amount, and would most likely get a better view than those seeing it live. And then of course it was announced that it would be being shown on television anyway on Gold, putting an end to my smugness.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable evening's entertainment; not exactly groundbreaking stuff, but I don't think anyone had expectations in terms of new material - the show was always going to be very much a final revisit of the most famous sketches, a little like going to see an ageing rock band do their last 'greatest hits' concert.

"Spam, spam, spam, spam..."

I feel an occasion like this demands recognition in some way though, and given that one of Python's best-loved routines features a certain brand of tinned meat product, it seems only right therefore that I write a post about...SPAM. You couldn't really say that the sketch champions SPAM as such, but it has certainly done much to seal it within the public's consciousness - indeed, it is the sketch's suggestion that SPAM is ubiquitous yet unwanted that years later led to it giving its name to the emails that clog up inboxes across the globe.

#disappointing

I have been meaning to do a Brazil-themed post in honour of the World Cup host nation since the tournament began way back in June. Recent weeks have passed me by in a flash though, and now it really is all over following Deutschland's triumph over Argentina on Sunday night. 

While they may have put on an excellent championships, the Brazilians are still licking their wounds after that complete and utter trouncing in the semi-finals by the Germans, and their third place play-off match against the Netherlands where they barely did much better. They really did make a complete and utter hash of their later matches...so, given that Brazil is one of the largest exporters of beef and related products, including a significant proportion of the corned beef shipped and sold around the world, it only seems appropriate therefore to mark their defeat with the classic corned beef hash.

Proof that it does indeed come from Brazil

NOT available from your local Tesco

I won't be hashing up any prime Brazilian corned beef myself though, because did you know you can actually buy tins of ready-made CBH? What a world we live in. Well, I say you can buy tins of it - perhaps 'could' would be more correct - I got this tin from Tesco a few months back now, but they seem to have stopped selling it now. I assume it's just a discontinued line rather than something Seara have stopped making - otherwise I may be inadvertently opening and eating a collectors' item. Or maybe not.

Beans means points and points mean...prizes!

At the checkout at Sainsbury’s yesterday, I was rewarded with this voucher offering me 60 bonus Nectar points when I spend £1.60 on canned fruit, vegetables and beans before 28^th July.

Just a coincidence that they should give this voucher to a tin cannoisseur, of course – I’m sure Sainsbury’s would never dream of using my customer spending data to look at what I have been buying recently and then try to tailor their offers and deals accordingly...

Frankly a money-off voucher wouId have been nicer, as I never really think to redeem Nectar points, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers. 60 points is worth 30p, apparently, which if I ever get round to using would buy me a 198g tin of Sainsbury's Basics Sweetcorn in Water, with five pence to spare. "All sizes, juicy and sweet", it says on the tin. So, rewards are indeed sweeter with Nectar. But slightly saltier too, given that they have salt as well as sugar added to the water.

Catch this if you can...

This weekend is your absolute last chance to get to see The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, the latest promenade-style theatre production by Punchdrunk, the doyens of immersive theatrical experiences. If you're quick, there may be a handful of tickets left, bookable here through the National Theatre's website. They don't come cheap, but I can assure you it will be worth every penny.

Wearing carnival-style masks to maintain their anonymity, audience members are left to wander at their own will around the four floors of an abandoned building next to Paddington station, which has been transformed into a mysterious 1960s Los Angeles film complex named Temple Studios. As the NT website says, "Your curiosity is key. The more you explore, the richer your experience will be. Delve in, be bold, and immerse yourself".

The show is a reworking of Georg Büchner's play Woyzeck, brought forward to the 20th century to explore "the darkness of the Hollywood dream, where celluloid fantasy meets desperate reality, and certainty dissolves into a hallucinatory world". As you roam around the building, you may only catch snippets of scenes and glimpses of characters, but your experience will be no less astonishing for that. You may be fortunate enough to be taken aside by one of the characters for a unique one-on-one experience.

And if you are really lucky, and a little cheeky, you may even leave with a tin of peas.

Intrigued? You'll have to catch one of the remaining performances and explore yourself to find out more...

http://punchdrunk.com/

Alternative uses for tins no.2

On a recent visit to Newcastle, I spotted this innovative use of tins in the most unlikely of locations - a shoe shop, to show off their stock to better effect.

I didn't ask the sales staff what was actually in the tins themselves, but Scorpio Shoes have been quite creative in making their own labels with a Heinz-style layout on the front ("50 countries worldwide" replacing "57 varieties"), a list of all the brands of shoe they sell in the 'Ingredients' section on the back, and the following paragraph under 'Dietary Information':

"Suitable for the fashionably late. Definitely contains nuts! Not suitable for those with an intolerance to creativity and individuality. Please consult your wallet if you experience a desire to purchase."

Unique, memorable and a bit of fun - it's the sort of nice little touch that smaller independent companies do so well. Whether Heinz would be be particurlarly amused if they found out remains to be seen, but maybe Scorpio could win them over by telling them that all the tins contain Heinz beans, and that they wouldn't dream of using anything else in their stores - whether or not that's actually true!

World Cup success still pie in the sky for England

With the 2014 World Cup in Brazil now entering its latter stages, it feels an awfully long time since England were knocked out, following extremely disappointing performances in their first two matches against Italy and Uruguay. Not knowing much about football, I can't offer much more comment than that. I had though Italy were supposed to be fairly good, so that defeat was perhaps inevitable; as for the Uruguayan team, I know that one of their players sometimes gets a bit peckish out on the pitch, but I have absolutely no idea whether they're considered to be a decent side and hence whether we should have done better or not.

In fact I can't really say that I know all that much about Uruguay as a country either - I might just about be able to place them on a map of South America, but I couldn't tell you what their flag looks like, or even what the capital is. I can, however, name another place in the country - the city of Fray Bentos. You can probably tell where I'm going with this already.