The Other Obsessions

Yesterday's realisation that blogging could become an obsession for me, has prompted a self-analysis of my other obsessions.

Vicster would claim that I am obsessed with:

Pipping my car horn - unnecessarily (and aggressively) at innocent motorists
Zombies
Magic - the silly card game

I cannot agree with the first two suggestions: Whilst I admit that I do enjoy a good honk now and again, and love the pure comedy value of zombies, I am not obsessed with them. I can't argue with the magic obsession - I'm just surprised it's taken me 8 days to mention it in this blog.

[Side-note: I enjoy zombie movies, zombie comics, zombie books, Resident Evil zombie computer games and minced beef lasagne and cottage pie. I also do a mean zombie impression. One day I would quite like a zombie as a household pet - there must be "101 Uses for a Zombie" around the home]

But magic isn't the only obsession I have. Rather embarrassingly, I am a SPOTTER. Not a train spotter, but a spotter of the following items:

Hubcaps
Neville Trays
The Ikea Snake

Before you disconnect in disgust, please allow me to explain.

Hubcaps: Our flat in Maidenhead was on the main road into the town. On my short walk to work I would always see one or two hubcaps littering the curbside. Every week they would disappear and be replaced by new hubcaps that had bounded off the wheels of some motor vehicle. Over the course of our three year stint in Maidenhead, I must have seen close to 150 hubcaps discarded along our road. For some reason I never picked them up. I did consider collecting them and then flogging them at a car boot sale for a fiver a piece, but never quite had the guts or magpie spirit in sufficient volume to swipe them. I clearly could have made a mint selling second-hand hubcaps, and now look back with some regret on passing by a such golden opportunity. The legacy of passing by the tempting silver discs day after day, is that when I'm walking along the street, or driving in the car, and I spot an abandoned hubcap, I cannot stop myself from pointing at it and shouting "Look! A hubcap!"

Neville Trays: Stasher makes trays, we spot them. Whether it's at your restaurant at work, a National Trust property tea room or a M&S cafe, if you look closely, you might spot a Neville UK tray. We're looking to turn our little hobby into a national fad. It's incredibly addictive. Stay tuned for further details.

Ikea Snake: This is already the third mention of the legendary Ikea soft toy in this blog. My obsession has its roots in Vic's refusal to let me buy one of these snakes, but has now gone far beyond this. I am paranoid that Ikea plan to take over the world, and the snake image is the first stage in their evil plan. A bit like the McDonalds Golden Arches, the Ikea Snake is an image that is invading our popular culture. Films, TV shows and adverts for random products all feature the damned serpent. This week I spotted it in BBC's My Family programme. The psychiatrist had one peering demonically over her sofa.

Don't tell me that I didn't warn you...