Neighbours 24/7

I recently came across a YouTube channel that is kind of up my street. 

I suppose you could say it's kind of up Ramsay Street as well. For that's because the channel plays old episodes of Neighbours 24/7.

It has been five months since the Australian soap opera ended. Admittedly, I have managed to fill the gap Neighbours once occupied in my routine. This channel has been fun to catch for the small amount of time I've tuned in, but I cannot see it becoming a permanent fixture.

As you can see, the thumbnail is from Des and Daphne's wedding. To guess, I'd say that was in 1986. However, the episodes that are currently streaming are in the aftermath of Kerry Mangel's death. To make another guess, I'd predict that those events occurred in 1990 although it didn't reach British TV until 1991.

To close this post, I'll do some research to see how close those guesses are. 

Des and Daphne's wedding did indeed air on Australian TV in 1986. It wouldn't have been seen on our screens until late 1987 (Google says December 23rd 1987).

As for Kerry Mangel being shot dead while protesting at a duck hunt: Well, that made Aussie TV on September 7 1990. It aired on the BBC in October '91.

Damn, I'm good at this. Just as long as you don't ask me the years of some of the modern Neighbours storylines.

31 And Counting: World Cup Rambling

It is exactly thirty-one days to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off.

Why am I not feeling it?

By now, I would have dove headfirst into it all. I haven't done anything. Well, actually - that's untrue. To a degree.

My dad gave me a Panini sticker book the other day because they were handing them out at the shop he buys the newspaper.

Another thing I have done is purchased Lynx and Dove for Men deodorant cans bearing the World Cup trophy. Why? Because I love the look of that damn thing. It's the best sports trophy ever. 

Not even the winged-eagle WWF Championship belt could win against the World Cup trophy. Trust me, that states a lot.

Other than those things, my level of interest in the actual tournament itself is close to zero.

Will this change the closer I get to the opening day? I hope so. Kinda.

I Try Limited Edition Burger King-Themed Pringles

I've finally been able to find, and try,  new limited edition Pringles that are available in certain shops here in the UK.

I first became aware of the Pringles and Burger King team a month ago. I had been keeping an eye out for them ever since.

You'll never guess where I came across them. Amazon of all places. Plus they were £1.75 which is the price I've seen them advertised online elsewhere (at shops that aren't local to me)*.

These Pringles are amazing. I kid you not.

The Bacon Double Cheese XL is reminiscent of the taste you'd get from the real thing. I shared some of my tube with my nephew and he agreed that the flavouring was spot on.

I also gave my nephew some of the Chicken Royale Pringles and found myself surprised at his response.

He told me he had never eaten a Chicken Royale before. The fact he hadn't encountered one of those burgers irked me slightly because the Chicken Royale Pringles are the best of the two. 

The potato snack company captured the Chicken Royale perfectly. As I munched away, I got the sense of the chicken burger. But,  that's not all. There is a hint of the mayonnaise that strikes as an aftertaste. It was such a really cool experience.

So - yes, both Pringles flavours capture the real deal. However, of the two, the Chicken Royale variety is superior.

Each tube comes with a QR code so you can take up a Buy One Get One Free offer on the real burgers from the fast food chain.

Looks like my nephew is going to find out what a real Chicken Royale tastes like very soon.

*The price has risen to £2.50 since my purchase

The NFL's 2026 Schedule Will Be Released On Thursday May 14th

The NFL will reveal the full schedule for the 2026 season this coming Thursday.

That's a day later than I had predicted. 

This all means I'll finally be able to get Taylor's Pro Football Gambling Annual 2026 on track ahead of its publication date (TBA!).

There will be leaks made by the TV networks leading into Thursday's big reveal, so I suppose there's a chance I will be able to get some of the annual done beforehand. 

The NFL will also announce all of the International Series games on Wednesday's edition of Good Morning Football, so I'll also have those games added to the manuscript before Thursday.. or - in my case - Friday morning.

I'm excited to get everything pieced together and unleash the annual to the world.

To The Polls And Beyond

I am sitting at the laptop with the news on.

I've been waiting for the first results from the Welsh Senedd election to start coming in. Still nothing.

Yesterday's post was going to be about how this was the first election for my youngest nephew. I cannot believe how time has flown. It made me feel quite old to see him registering for his ballot and then working out where he had to go to cast his vote.

He chose to visit the polling station for his first time. It's the same thing I did. I think. If I'm not mistaken (I doubt I am!) I've only ever gone to a polling station once. Every other time since has been done by post. 

Ted Turner And His Contribution To Pro Wrestling's 90s Boom

I took a screenshot of the Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan contract signing, from the build to their 1994 match at WCW Bash at the Beach, this morning. I then placed the image onto Microsoft Copilot and asked the AI assistant to make it more cartoony for this post.

I wasn't happy with one of the characters in the final result.

'Could you make the man in the middle look more like Ted Turner? He is the most important part of this scene.' was my instruction.

It came up with this.

And he was the most important figure in that image.

Had it not been for Ted Turner, Flair and Hogan wouldn't have had this PPV meeting. Heck, pro wrestling wouldn't be where it is today had it not been for Turner.

This scene played out three years after Ric Flair had left World Championship Wrestling and headed to the WWF for what - on paper - was the dream match of Flair versus Hulk Hogan. 

The pair did meet up in one-on-one matches. However, those took place on the house show circuit. Hogan, Flair and those clamouring for the dream encounter didn't get that PPV bout even though, for a period, it looked locked in for WrestleMania VIII.

In early 1993, Flair left the WWF to make a comeback for WCW. That seemingly left any hope of a Flair versus Hogan Pay-Per-View match quashed. 

A little over a year later, The Hulkster shocked the wrestling world by signing for Turner's World Championship Wrestling.

Hogan's first match for Turner's promotion was a shoo-in for the promotion. 

Ric Flair, for the WCW World Championship. at WCW Bash at the Beach 1994.

The Turner-Hogan-WCW relationship blossomed from there. It wasn't perfect sailing by any means. However, by the late summer of 1995, Ted Turner had greenlit a new live television programme for his wrestling company.

WCW Monday Nitro went head-to-head with the WWF's flagship series - Monday Night Raw. Thus began a battle which saw Nitro and Raw wrestle each other for eyeballs between '95 and 2001.

The WWF won in the end. But, there was a period when WCW was the better product dominating its competition in the ratings for eighty-three weeks within that near six-year war. 

Ted Turner passed away yesterday at the age of eighty-seven. 

When it comes to pro wrestling, his contribution is Hall of Fame worthy. In fact, I would always ensure his name was on my Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballot when I used to be given a vote. I hope that Turner's passing now makes him a shoo-in for the 2026 class later this year. 

Turner's decisions, from a television standpoint, moved pro wrestling with the times. They're still evident today. 

If you're willing to look hard enough

'Mum, It's My New Number' Scam Text

I received one of those scam text messages claiming to be from an offspring the other day.

I've removed the phone number from the image to future proof it in case somebody ends up with it years from now. 

What they've done is sent the first text saying 'Mum, it's my new number'. I didn't reply for a few reasons. The main one being I'm not a mother. Nor will I ever be.

If I had responded, they would have told me they had lost their phone and that's why they're using a new number. They would then go on request monetary help due to some other calamity that has befallen them.

Sometimes, I have to shake off the devil on my shoulder telling me to respond. Doing so would open up my number to further scam texts. So - it's not worth it.