Haringey's litter collection services have embraced a new ridiculous moniker for shovelling shit off the streets of London: “cleansing”. No, not street CLEANING, street CLEANSING. Yes, they are cleansing our streets of filth. Aggh. Was it really worth repainting all the lorries and ordering new sets of stationery, just to make it sound as if beautiful women in white coats are gently lifting grime from our pavements by rubbing in Camay using soft cotton pads? The answer, my friends, is no.

I knew the Boogaloo pop quiz last night was going to be a disaster when I arrived and saw no free spaces on any of the teams. was close behind me, and had the same problem. I eased myself into a chair next to “Syd Barratt Homes”. before two more regular members of “Syd Barratt Homes” turned up, so I had to slip quietly away to the sofa occupied by my friend Jez, and his team “Horse With No Mane”. But the members of “Horse With No Mane” were revising. Yes, revising. They had handwritten lists of the current top 40 singles and albums in front of each other, and they were testing each other. As the quiz began, their notepads were reluctantly shoved into their bags, and a series of questions began which had very little to do with the top 40 at all. Blank faces all round. “Horse With No Mane” play to WIN, but as I wasn't that bothered I just sat back and watched the “Libretto Heels” team, featuring , and , effortlessly get everything right as they dispensed cheeky grins around the room. I thought I was a fairly competitive chap, but I actually felt rather pleased for them. Maybe I won't go next week, and just play Patience at home instead.

I won a Hall & Oates video on eBay. It's a 1983 performance in Montreal. Everyone has the most gigantically frizzy, floppy hair imaginable, and no-one can dance to save their lives. But by far the worst moment is in the middle of “I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)” when Daryl Hall, in his wisdom, breaks out of the middle eight to lead the rest of the band – and those in the audience who aren't shuddering with embarrassment – in a quite hideous rap:

Now, listen to this!
There comes a time
When you gotta draw the line!
You can't do this, you can't do that -
You gotta put your foot down, and say:
NO CAN DO! Say what?

At which point the capacity crowd are supposed to shout back “No Can Do!” but they all seem to be engaged in the kind of conversations that were typical in early 80s Canada, e.g. “Oh, I like your legwarmers” or “I don't think much of Michael Keaton's performance in Mr Mom.”