Random Irritations and Joys No 112

Random Irritations of Life: Having to get a new graphics card 'cos mine's getting obsolete now....Windows suddenly not recognising my soundcard but also saying everything's fine Having to wait 'till spring for the new series of Lost.... The fact that it seems I will never reach the top of my pay grade....The inccessant self-promotion and programme trailing on Sky (and creeping into other channels) the plus point is that it saves watching the actual programme....People smoking skunk on the buses -a headache really starts the day off....

Random Joys of Life: The new series of House on Five and reruns of Due South on ITV2... (I've noticed that I seem to be watching an alarming amount of American TV at the mo....) The satisfaction of doing a job well....England Rugby winning (well done to the Scots too, even though they'd never return the compliment....)

Ay ar kid, did yow se uz on telly las wik?

As a Wulfrunian born and bred I always get a sense of trepidation when I hear Wolverhampton mentioned. Usually it's coming from a comedian who needs a punchline and knows the name will get a laugh, or from the classified results on Grandstand to say that Wolves have lost in the second half. Again. Or we've been lumped in with Birmingham and the Black Country. We are not - repeat - NOT - part of Birmingham, and there is a continual battle as to whether Wolverhampton is actually part of the Black Country. So it was pleasing to swtich on BBC breakfast news to see someone sticking up for the city recently. Wolverhampton was chosen as one of five places that were deemed to have unfair press from nominations by viewers. A short film was made for each place and viewers voted for the place
that was thought "a hidden gem". Wolvo won, the prize being a poem written by the Bard of Barnsley, Ian Mcillan. For the full story; with videos from all the five nominees and Ian Mcillan reciting his poem, check here. For more on Wolverhampton - or Woolvuramptun as it's pronunced locally - check here. There are some execllent aerial shots of the area here, and translations of the local dialect here.