World Cup 2010 - South Africa

It's not long now, really it's not that long...

I've started the Thirty Day Challenge!

Just to let you know, I've started the 30DC. You can read about what I'm doing, in a sort of Virginia Woolf style stream of consciousness (not as good as her, obviously). I'm now 40 - I feel grown up and in charge of my destiny at last; I'm moving into teaching, but I need to have something to focus my mind - to get it into training if you like, for my teacher training. So step forward 30DC.

Why not visit cosmicjellybaby.com to find out how I'm going along?

How to sell on eBay

To be perfectly honest selling on eBay is as easy as 123 or ABC. The primary skill or quality that you need is perseverance. Oh, and momentum, you definitely need to build up a good head of steam. My wife is very good at selling on eBay - she perseveres and has built up quite a nice business thank you very much. I on the other hand have not been able to persevere to quite the same extent. However, this is changing, as following the Christmas period, I have attained Power Seller status. Now, before you (I) go slapping me on the back, can I just make a little confession? I can, good. I managed this at the same period last year but managed to let things go to such an extent that by the end of February I was 'back in the pack', so to speak.

Last time around, my elevation to Power Seller status was based upon a jolly fat man with a big beard in a red suit. Lots of suits to be precise. I sold around 500 Santa suits in the period October to December rose to Bronze Power Seller status, but then I didn't find anything else to sell and it all fell away. My wife, on the other hand, took my achievement and used it as her own spur - as I lost Power Seller status, she gained it and hasn't looked back since. I was flailing around looking for 'cool' things to sell, whereas she looked around for things that people wanted to buy.

So why is it going to be different for me this year? Well, during the Christmas just gone, we suffered from a shortage of Santa suits. I think that I sold no more than 250 of the things and around 30 of them were sold at a loss to a charity. So the items that I sold to get to Power Seller status were not just Santa suits. An awful lot of what my wife sells is given to us. Yes, given to us. Friends & Family just give us things because they don't want to throw them away or whatever, and 'ah, Mr & Mrs Cosmicjellybaby, you sell on eBay don't you? Here's a big bundle of clothes that I no longer fit into etc etc blah blah BLAH'.

Another great source of stock is the humble car boot sale. The phrase, 'don't knock it 'till you've tried it' must surely apply to this little secret. People will get up at ridiculous times on a Sunday morning to entice you into giving them pennies for things that they no longer want. What they should do is spend an extra couple of hours, get up at a more sociable hour, maybe even have some breakfast and then settle down to listing those self same items on eBay. It's true that one of us has to get up to go to the car boot to hand over these pennies, but it's no great hardship when you realise just what value hides in items bought from car boot sales.

So, I have started to sell some of these things. And the thing that I have realised is a truism - YOU CAN SELL ANYTHING ON EBAY. It's amazing. I can only think that it's the size of the market. It seems that there is someone out there who will buy almost anything - the Universal eBayer if you like. I say almost anything because I have one particular line that I thought was a sure fire winner, spent a good £150 on stock and in 12 months plus, I have sold precisely two units. But then again, I bought them when I was trying to sell cool and trendy stuff - my mistake eh?

Anyway, if you wanted to take a peek at what we, collectively, have for sale, you could do worse than pop along to my eBay shop at cosmicjellybaby's Emporium of Things and my wife's at Cabbagegreens.

The Art of Humour Postcards

Almost as soon as pictures started appearing on postcards towards the end of the Victorian era, humour has featured extensively. In fact amongst the myriad types of postcards, the comic or humour postcard is perhaps the most widely collected. The range of them is immense. They start with the satirical - almost cynical end and finish up with those offering the richest of belly laughs. Perhaps the master of the saucy seaside postcard is Donald McGill. Born in 1875 McGill was originally a naval draughtsman until in 1904 after drawing a get-well card for a sick nephew, he was persuaded to take his artwork more seriously. Within twelve months he was making his living from producing comic postcards.

McGill was feted by George Orwell who published an essay, 'The Art of Donald McGill' - although the novelist did confess that he wasn't quite sure if McGill was an artist or a trademark! McGill's designs were always eye-catching, with bright, bold colours and his humour was always graded by vulgarity into soft, medium and strong - the more vulgar, the better his cards sold. Of course not everybody was a fan - the MacMillan purge of the 1950's seemed to spell the end for McGill's career. Poor Donald never did have it quite as good again, he died in 1962. It's just a shame that he couldn't have waited for a few more months in order to witness the Profumo Affair unfold.

Read more about humour postcards and many other types of postcard at www.postcardmania.co.uk.

80s Fancy Dress

If the 60's were the most hip and happening decade and the 70's were the decade that style forgot, what does that make the 80's? For me, spending all of my teenage years between 1980 and 1989 they were a special time. I think that a big part of my sepia coloured memories is the fact that I didn't (have to) worry about a thing. I chose my O Levels pretty much on a whim, my A Levels came along just because that's what you did after O Levels and my choice of degree was pretty much, oh well that'll do... I didn't ever have an ambition you see. Apart from going to University that is. But that was very much an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. But that's enough about me, what about 80s fancy dress clobber? Well if you remember the 80's as well as I do, you'll know that there were some great films, some great music and some cutting edge TV. Any of which lend themselves to your getting togged up to go along to an 80's themed party.

So, you could go as Princess Leia, or Han Solo. Or Michael Jackson, or Madonna, or whatabout Mr T, or DangerMouse or even Penfold. What about Loadsamoney the 'orrible Ancestor of Chavs? Failing that, if you could get hold of a pair of bleached jeans (as skinny as possible), throw on a white vest, then get hold of something to use as a silver coloured mic stand, draw on a fake moustache and voila, Bob is very much your mother's brother - Freddie Mercury. Or you could just see what 80s fancy dress ideas there are on I Heart 80s.

80's Madonna - 7 UK Singles

A pop sensation ever since the 1984 release of Holiday, Madonna released 22 singles in the 80’s and failed to make the UK top 10 with just one – her second release Lucky Star. She scored a total of 6 UK number ones, with Into The Groove; Papa Don’t Preach; True Blue; La Isla Bonita; Who’s That Girl and Like A Prayer all reaching the coveted number 1 spot.

I bought seven of these offerings, starting with Like A Virgin, and going through to Live To Tell. During this period of about 18 months there was only Gambler that I didn't buy. I did however buy Like A Virgin, Material Girl, Crazy For You, Into The Groove (Madonna's first UK number 1 single), Angel, Dress You Up and Live To Tell.

But what was it about 80's Madonna? Well, she was fresh, original and really had us boys in a bit of a tizz. She was an important part of my growing up, maybe she was for you too?