July 12th, 2008

The next Post Of The Week will be announced on Sunday evening.
Please note that nominations for next week cannot be accepted until then.

If YOU would like to vote on this week’s shortlist and be part of the decision making for the Post of the Week this week, please pick your 5 favourite posts from the list and award them 5 points for the favourite, down to 1 for the 5th favourite and mail your votes to peacharse@yahoo.com no later than 6pm on Sunday night.

1. Bete de Jour: Speed Dating, Part 1 :: The Seduction Line
Nominated by Angelalala

There were ten women and ten men, which meant ten dates each in two and a half hours, with the women assigned their own table and the men moving from date to date like giant, knicker-sniffing wasps. It was quite an ordeal, and basically a production line, the males slowly paraded in front of the females like incomplete consumer durables, holding up their shoddy personalities to the light of quality control, trotting out their stories and their questions and their jokes like tramps emptying their pockets looking for pound coins they know they’ve already spent. It was a seduction line.

2. blah, blah, black sheep: Random Acts
Nominated by Bob

I am a philanthropic misanthrope.

It’s not that I hate humanity. The inner core of me is truly bright and full of hope. My sarcastic outer layer is mostly posturing and the result of my intuition needing an outlet.

3. Blonde Moments: In which travel broadens the mind. And the luggage…
Nominated by Ben

There are certain things one anticipates when taking a holiday with one’s best mate, and when one’s best mate is Best Mate, these include a frighteningly well-stocked case and German-like efficiency in organisation.

4. Get In The Car: Everyone Was a Baby Once
Nominated by Barb

Late this afternoon I walked onto one of the ICU floors to get some paperwork filled out by a patient. The first thing I noticed was the grim-faced police officer sitting outside of his room, clacking away on a small official looking laptop. I did a double take on the patient’s chart - oh. Meth overdose. No wonder.

5. mumbojumbo: The letter I want to send to John Lewis but probably won’t
Nominated by Maurice Mcleod

Dear John,

What’s going on with you? Are you having issues? You’re not breaking up with Peter Jones, are you?

I’m so disappointed with your service recently, I can’t tell you. Everyone has bad days but this is beyond a joke.

6. Sometimes funny is all I have: My One Track Mind Thinks About Kittens
Nominated by Angelalala

I sat on the tube, hugging my cardboard box on my knees and trying to wipe the tiny smile from my face. Nobody, I knew, would be shocked or would even care what the innocuous-looking box contained, so it didn’t warrant even the smallest of scandalized eyebrow raises from me.

7. The Other side of me: The Art of Insomnia
Nominated by Zinnia Cyclamen

As children we were given purses with pennies to play with in our cots to wile away the wee hours, a wicked wheeze my mother learnt from her mother who learnt it from her grandmother. Of course with the advent of decimalization that went out the window as a pastime, the modern penny being rather too small for prudent child play. I can however still remember the taste of an old penny if anyone is interested. Cloth books replaced them but frankly they weren’t half as satisfying. They lacked that metallic bite.

8. ’til the cows come home: Wonder Woman Toddler
Nominated by Bob

Several weeks back I got a phone call from my sister, L. When I answered the phone it sounded like she was sobbing.

“What’s wrong?” I asked nervously. “Who’s dead?”

9. Travelling, but not in love: Euston Station. 21 March 2002. 4.45pm
Nominated by Ben

21st March 2002 and I’m in London for the day. I’m working and have been in and out of a succession of meetings all day. Luckily, I finish early and head to the station.