Friday, February 24, 2012

new mug time

hi there

well, as regular readers will be all too aware, a visit to the fine land of New Zealand by my Mum & Dad usually means that i get a class new mug to use at verk. this most recent trip of theirs was certainly no exception, and a most splendid one was indeed brought back for your humble narrator to use.

it is rather standard, too, for me to have images of me using it at verk and placed upon this site for your entertainment. myself and Trigger, my personal photographer, would not wish to let you down in this regard, so here are the images of the new mug in action. my apologies if there are not quite as many pictures as usual this time.

to get the most curious, if not the most interesting, one out of the way first, ladies and gentlement i give you Zama.

Zama, for some reason, has got it into his head that places like New Zealand and England do not, and there is no way to dress this up, "have any black people". he is then very eager to get to either of those places so that they may admire him. it is best not to disillusion him too much in respect of his views, although he does like appearing here so that people in NZ and beyond can "see what he looks like".




the design of the mug, featuring one black sheep, has led to Zama believing that the mug has been designed as some sort of tribute to him and the day that he lands in the country. it is proving to be rather difficult to just have a nice cup of team without him playing "where's Zama?" with it, but i am managing thus far.

somewhat (as in greatly) easier on the eye is Siphokazi.




i did briefly contemplate asking her to do a "foxy" pose for this picture, but as she always looks foxy there would have been little point; it would have rather been like asking the sun to shine.

next up is Sandy, who has a somewhat dogged history in association with my ace mugs from New Zealand.




the handle broke off one of my many fine mugs, i think it was the one from 2 or so years ago. this was probably down to over use, but as Sandy was close to me when it happened i accused her of breaking it. wisely or unwisely a number of people have accepted this as plain fact. i shall say no more.

onwards, then, to my dear friend Ronel. as she is, and i do not know why she or anyone should carry this burden, responsible and accountable for exactly what it is i do at verk it is very good ideed of her to take the time to pose for this picture instead of instructing myself and Trigger to stop taking pictures.




Ronel was somewhat concerned by the lack of time she had to prepare for this picture, so i once again had to assure her that natural beauty needs no time to "get ready".

happily, i was able to get a picture with some of my team here at verk. Viv was, alas, unavailable (she was busy with actual verk), but here i am with Leslie and Lance.




it was by pure chance that Lance was wearing his celebratory New Zealand shirt today, a happy accident if you will. it is rather strange, however, that Leslie is not wearing a shirt celebrating the red half of Manchester.

speaking of chance, Prudence came strutting down the passage as we were taking these pictures, and thus we were able to get a shot of her; a shot which for some reason Trigger thinks she has her eyes closed in.




i do keep meaning to play the fine song Dear Prudence by The Beatles for her, but just do not get around to it. i suppose i could try and sing it for her, but alas i dare say it would not sound as fine a song as it is. and yes, that is who you think it is in the background, but we shall get to Mr Glitter Vampire later.

who else should happen to be wandering down the corridor than my dear friend Nedine too, and thus she got roped in for a picture.




a very fortunate meeting, especially as she and i seem to spend a good deal of time in meetings together these days. for what? you are better off not knowing, to be honest.

what's that you say? you want a picture of me using a pregnant lady as a sort of table to rest my tea on? no problem, her is Michelle.




i must say that ever since she got pregnant she has been a considerably more stable table to rest a cup of tea on. this will come to an end soon, alas, as she is due to give birth to little Jose Ronaldo Figo Jorge Franco quite soon. i have no doubt that Leslie shall be able to arrange for another pregnancy soon so that i may place my tea on a most interesting resting spot.

since i mentioned the name, here is Ronaldo, the one who isn't me wearing spectacles, and Hedge, the dude in the middle, celebrating the new mug.




i am not quite as "down" on the "gangsta signs" the two of them are making, but they assure me that these gestures are positive ones about the mug. my apologies, though, if they are not and have quite by accident triggered a gang war or signalled a drive by shooting.

up next is the delightful Melissa, who very kindly cleans or otherwise polishes my glasses for me. on that note, they are a touch misty - will be back in a moment.




ah, much better - many thanks, Melissa, you clean them better than i could ever do! Melissa is quite the fan of that whole Twilight business, of course, but not quite as big a fan of it all as this next chap. here is a familiar face for you regulars, yes it is Medicine himself, Stefan.




Stefan does like his Twilight stuff, and presumably goes to watch the films in exceptionally comfortable shoes. i have no idea when the next one of them films is due to be out, but i would place a hefty wager on him knowing the specifics.

next up is dear Lungi, clearly fighting back the elation and pain of seeing me back at verk .




my day at verk is simply not complete without her good, heartfelt wishes being given as and when it is time to leave for the day.

of the people in the background there, both wearing red, one is Shaun and the other is Colin. Shaun declined the option to appear in these pictures directly, but you do get a couple of glimpses of him as he does managerial things. as for Colin, he was delighted to pose for a picture, on the condition that he could do his "sex face".




i am not at all well versed in what counts as a good "sex face", but i have no reason at all to doubt that Colin is doing a most excellent one here. nice one mate, the effort is much appreciated.

onto the more mature and sophisticated, and here's another dear friend in the shape of Knox.




Knox and i engage in many interesting conversations, often featuring matters such as mermaids and their affect on water filters, and indeed the complex problems posed by having to face Sunderland in the FA Cup. conversations with Knox daily means that one does as they should and invariably learns something new every day.

which all brings us to the desk of one of the dearest and oldest friends i have at verk, Iggy.




Iggy's desk has become exceptionally popular with the gentry here over the last few weeks. this has little or nothing to do with Iggy's charms, personality or striking conversation. it has, rather, has a good deal to do with the fact that the window behind her allows one the best view from our office of a certain group of ladies who appear to work in a freelance capacity on short term contracts with gents that have an urge to get something done, as it were.

moving right along and we get to Iggy's delightful sister, Cecilia, who is usually happier to see me than either Iggy or than Iggy is, if that makes sense.




much like Iggy Cecilia was at that thing which my dear wife informs me was the best and happiest day of my life, my wedding day. they were there, presumably, to make sure that i went through with it all. yay, thanks for that.

i did not, alas, know and work with the wonderful Claudia at the time i engaged in what apparently was the best day of my life, but if i did she surely would have been invited too.




in the mean time, though, having her consider me a friend and being happy to pose for pictures like this does my heart a great deal of good.

and in making a nice bookend for this update, no update could be complete without Trigger himself, with your humble narrator, doing out usual trademark pose.




this picture was taken by Zama, who was very excited by it for some reason and has asked to keep a copy of it. knock yourself out, lad.

and speaking of Zama, well, Gillian or Mum & Dad might be wondering what exactly happened to the excellent box that my shiny new mug came in. well, Zama is convinced that this Where's Zama? game has got "legs" as they say in the world of commerce, and is pretty sure he can make millions from it. to this end, then, he has taken the box and turned it into a sort of prototype packaging design for his class new game.




good luck there, mate, i hope it turns out to be a big seller!

well, there we have it. no doubt at some point in the future i shall get another excellent mug from New Zealand, but for the time being i am happy to celebrate this fine one!


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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