VER I ♥ U

VERA I ♥ U

VERDI I ♥ U

VERILY I ♥ U

VERBALLY I ♥ U

VERMOUTH I ♥ U

VERACIOUSLY I ♥ U

CONVERSELY I ♥ U

VERONICA I ♥ U

AVERSELY I ♥ U

VERGIL I ♥ U

VERMIN I ♥ U

VERY I ♥ U

Now it’s St Valentine who’s impatient to make his entrance – and an elevated one at that. A billboard is already up on the way to St Julians (the town, named after the man who slaughtered his parents) advertising teddy bears as an ideal gift for the 14th February. What exactly does this furry soft toy say to your romantic partner on the day? “You’re ever so huggable darling” or “Isn’t it time you got an all-over epilation done?”. What I’m really looking forward to are the restaurants’ special menus – essentially bog-standard meals but with over-the-top prices – that will soon make an appearance in the newspapers. You know the sort: a tomato soup starter is renamed Romeo’s Bleeding Heart; a main of chicken breast with chips becomes Juliet’s Welcoming Bosom; for dessert, Arouse My Passion,  two scoops of ice-cream with a strikingly erect wafer tube.

Or so goes the advertising slogan of Mediterranean Bank, which I’ve been hearing on the radio recently.

From the financial angle, this catchphrase is not the wisest that could have been chosen. Look at Greece, a bankrupt country without even a national consensus on how to pull itself out of the deepening hole. Spain, with unemployment hitting a negative record of 21.3% in the first quarter of this year. In the southern Med we have Libya, an economy shattered by exploding bombs and gunfire, and Egypt, where the cronyism of the Mubarak regime allowed for untold millions of dollars to be siphoned off from the economy. To the east, Syria‘s ruling elite of power-hungry money-mongers is imposing too bloody an exchange rate for the freedom of the inhabitants.

So, is it really that great to be Mediterranean?

This is to inform you that we have already sent you USD5000.00 dollars through Western union as we have been mandated by United Nations and ECOWAS which are are supporting individual due to the worldwide economy meltdown, to transfer to you the full compensation sum payment of USD1.800,000.00 via western union by this government.

In this regards, We decided to email the relevant details for you to be able to pick up this USD5000.00 to enable us send another USD5000.00 by tomorrow as you know we will be sending you only USD5000.00 per day.You can track at http://westernunion.com before going to pick it up.

Mr. olufemi Dickson

Chief Operating Officer

Western Union®

Tell: +234-805 368 8316

Email: western-union@vf.vc

call or email the above details once you picked up this USD5000.00

Here is the western union information to pick up the compensation

Pick Up Information

MTCN: 241 172 5360

Sender First Name: Obeche

Sender Last Name: Sylvester

Amount Sent: $5000USD

Please fill this form below,

Receiver’s name:….

Address:….

Country:…..

Phone number:…..

Attached copy of your Identification…

I am waiting for your call once you pick up this transfer

Regards

Mrs Bourdain  Douglas

Western Union Agent Announcer

Miniatur-Wunderland

In my previous post - Another Two Bites - I mentioned that my latest hobby is sending and receiving postcards, to and from complete strangers.

The first to arrive depicts the Miniatur Wunderland, in Hamburg. This is the site for the world’s largest model railway with 12 kilometres (!) of track, 890 trains (the longest being 14 metres), 11000 wagons, 200000 figurines….you get the picture. Now watch the official video.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_oDdGmKyA

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBPWV1j2SqU

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i6PyboUkc8

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAy3OYUzey4

Anti-Mubarak protest, Malta, 07 Feb 2011