This week marks two real landmarks for the blog. The first is that it passed ten million official blogger views. That number is beyond comprehension to me. It never occurred to me when I first started writing it, that anyone would be interested. But this week we passed ten million views, so we must be doing something right. In the past, when I celebrated such events, certain nairsayers made comments about "Google stats being inaccurate". That may well be the case, but it is the only real measure I have and the nairsayers generally have blogs that only get a fraction of that number of views. Another criticism of the nairsayers is "You've published so many blogs on so many different subjects that you get lots of hits from people juts brosing on Google". To me that is a compliment not a criticism. Anyway, I think it is an achievement. I hope any dislexics out there, who were told at school that they'd amount to nothing take some sort of inspiration from this. I am proud of my blog and F--- the nairsayers!
Anyway, here's a couple of interesting (to me anyway) charts. Ever wondered where people who read The Barnet Eye live? Here you go
Another thing that intrigues me is what Browsers they use. So here you go
I find it fascinating that it's had over 83,000 views from Mexico! I do hope they've enjoyed reading it,
And we mark another milestone today. Fourteen years ago, almost to the day, I published the very first Saturday List. It was ten things that don't live up to their promise. Today we publish the 500th List. I was originally just going to do a list of lists. However I decided that would be a bit boring for such a landmark.
So what was the first list?
1. Every England football team world cup and euro campaign since 1966.
2. Everything the Rolling Stones have done since they released "Start Me Up".
3. Every film Sequel, apart from Godfather II.
4. The remake of the Producers.
5. Flying home business class from Washington on US airlines.
6. Barnet's Jubilee Beacon, which failed to light.
7. Every dodgy establishment I've ever staggered into in Soho when drunk on a stag night.
8. Every recording ever made by Annie Lennox.
9. Chinese eat as much as you like buffets
10. Audley Harrison.
So would I choose the same list? Well I don't think of them are any less of a disappointment. Oddly the list has several things that are fairly topical. At the time England were embarking on an unsuccessful World cip campaign. England went on to finish bottom of their group and went home early.
The Rolling Stones have released a new album recently. Like many of their recent albums, it's OK, but nowhere near as good as Start Me Up. I can't think of any sequels made in the last 12 years that contradict that. The original version of the Producers was one of my favourite films, the remake was awful, but TBH I'd more or less forgotten it until I reviewed the list. I had just been on a business trip to the USA on American Airlines. It was a disappointment. I am glad someone else was paying. I don't do such things anymore! I'd forgotten Barnet's dodgy Jubilee Beacon. It seemed to sum up Barnet's dodgy administration at the time. Now we have an even more dodgy one! A Labour regime propped up by The Tories, to thwart a solitary Green Councillor. It really is in the realms of "You couldn't make it up".
I am sort of past the stage where I go on Stag nights and stagger into Dodgy Soho establishments. In truth, Soho has been gentrified and sanitised. Some may say it has been ruined. As for Annie Lennox, some people took this as a criticism. It is actually a compliment. I think she is a great singer, who has never really been given the production and material that she deserves. I'd love to make a record with her. I am really not a fan of the production on many of her numbers.
I avoid Chinese eat as much as you like buffets. That holds. I'd probably delete Audley Harrison from the list. He'd been over hyped and he's been largely forgotten.
So I'd delete the Producers, The Jubille Beacon and Audley and I'd add the following
8. Watching live music at the Millenium Dome, or whatever it's called now.Awful
9. Cornish Pasties from outlets at London Mainline Train Stations. Alwasys look delicious and disappoint
10. Democracy. Donald Trump, Keir Starmer. Need I go on.
Apologies if you expected a list of more than three entries today
I never dreamed that the blog would get 10 million views. I never dreamed that I'd manage to produce 500 lists. You can see all of the lists here. They are not in the correct numeric sequence, as when I got to 499, I realised I'd missed 361-381 out!
I can't finish without some music from The False Dots. I was trying to work out which of our tracks was most appropriate. I decided to go for Wacky Races live at London talent week. This is a song that for me eemplifies the spirit of the band and also the blog. It tells a few stories.
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