Monday, 30 March 2026
Saturday, 28 February 2026
From The Mind of Merc - About Time
Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about 'About Time'.
While I was writing last month’s Mind of Merc post, it reminded me of another Richard Curtis film with slightly problematic messaging – About Time.
I really wanted to like this film – I’m a Whovian so I like time travel, I like (most of) Richard Curtis’s work, I like love stories – it seemed like a win-win.
The film has a good cast, promising premise, and I loved the bit about the actor forgetting his lines and Tim’s improvisation to fix it.
However, the issue I had – which I cannot get past – is after Tim and Mary have had a baby girl and his sister gets into a car crash. Tim goes back in time to prevent this but this means his baby girl becomes a baby boy. Tim apparently can’t cope with his child being different to how he remembers so he goes back again and allows his sister’s crash to happen so that he gets his first baby back. Now that, for me, is seriously twisted. It says he would rather his sister get hurt than his child look different. To take it further, it could be said he would rather his sister be seriously injured and potentially die just so his child doesn’t change gender. See the problem?
The rest of the film has some lovely messaging about appreciating your family/those around you and learning to accept you can’t hold on forever but where was that when he chose his sister ending up in hospital just so he wouldn’t have to look at a different face in the morning at the breakfast table?
(It could also be said that the whole premise is to manipulate women but let’s go with the less creepy interpretation of second chances and correcting mistakes.)
Friday, 27 February 2026
Popular - !!!NEW!!!
With our poor mistreated country in such a dire state
Well, he sees this and claims that he can make Britain great.
When his real plan is a scam for greed
And as our lives aren’t wrapped in clover,
He thinks it’s time to take over
He says that he’s exactly what we need
Even though every time
Elections come he’s last in every line
He won’t stop, he’s determined to succeed
He just won’t leave
He won’t take heed
And yet he’s
Popular
Why’s Farage so popular
He spews all the racist slurs
With which he concurs
Because it’s how he feels, yes!
He wants to remove our rights,
‘Cause it suits his plight
He is nothing but a heel
Yet he’s
Popular
He shouldn’t be popular
He hangs with paedophiles,
With their private isles,
We should treat him as our foe
Because trust me his world
is something we don’t want to know
Don't be fooled by his fake show of humility
That man is so completely devoid of all pity
He should not be given power at all
If we want to avoid woe, we should just tell him no
And not let him be
Popular
It sucks that he’s popular
He loves that the NHS is in such distress
So he can sell it off – the cur/bastar…
Too far?
That’s why we should all stop him from becoming populer... —lar!
La-la, la-la
Please do not make him popular
Think the world’s depressing right now
He’ll still make it worse – boy, and how
Yes - his success we cannot afford
There is just nothing that can be below him.
Trust him as far as you can throw him.
Think that he wants to help us?
Check his record
Yet he’s
[Elphaba:]
Popular
[Galinda:]
Right!
Stop him being popular
He has zero aptitude, and with him we’re screwed
So let us be shrewd not dim
He should not be popular, not him
We cannot ignore
And we should deplore
All that he is, you see
We cannot grin and bear it,
His sudden popularit-y
Woo!
La-la, la-la
La-la, la-la
La-la, nooo
Why’s he popular
Shouldn’t be popular - not him
Sunday, 1 February 2026
Oh Yes, Oh Yes - !!!NEW!!!
Start drinking today
It’s February
I got through the whole part of it
Oh yes, oh yes
Though it caused dismay
I wanted to flee
Made it right through the whole of it
Oh yes, oh yes
Wanted to wake up
With a head that didn’t pound
And feel I wouldn’t be sick
Sure of the ground
I didn’t give way
Though it caused no glee
Now I can be so free of it
Oh yes, oh yes
Now I have made it through
I'll have this
Drink on you
So here’s to Feb
Oh yes, oh yes
Oh yes, oh yes
Wanted to wake up
With a head that didn’t pound
And feel I was AOK
Sure I won’t fall
And won’t be sick
So AOK
I didn’t give way
Though it caused no glee
Now I can be so free of it
Oh yes, oh yes
Now I have made it through
I'll have this
Drink on you
So here’s to Feb
Oh yes, oh yes
Oh yes!
Saturday, 31 January 2026
From The Mind of Merc - Love Actually
Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about Love Actually.
Love Actually is one of the most popular Christmas films
ever. And personally, I can’t stand it. I like it when it first came out (who
doesn’t want a bit of romance at Christmas) but, the more you think about it,
the more problematic all of the relationships reveal themselves to be.
As I heard it described, it “treats infatuation as love… most
of the characters want sex and romance …rush into those with the hope of filling
in the relationship afterwards”.
Although some problems are more obvious than others, I’ve
listed them below to highlight just how wrong (or perhaps Disneyfied) their
associated messaging is.
Billy Mack & Joe
Story: Famous
singer treats his devoted manager terribly but then realises he’s in love with
him and surprises him with a spontaneous declaration
Message: You always get who you want regardless of how
you treat someone
Better journey:
The singer is respectful towards his colleague so any relationship between them
has a healthier basis (Unlike the majority of the other relationships in the
film, they have known each other for years)
Juliet, Peter &
Mark
Story: Man reveals
his secret crush on his best friend’s wife which she seems to reciprocate
Message: Be creepy
– it works – even if the object of your affections is married
Better journey:
Juliet shuts the door on Mark and tells Peter everything
Additional note: Keira Knightley
thought this was creepy and had to be repeatedly told by the director not to
reflect that in her face
Jamie & Aurelia
Story: Man and
woman fall in love despite not speaking each other’s language and, although he
leaves, he then goes back to propose to her
Message: Abandon
your family for a crush because love transcends the language barrier
Better journey: They
teach each other some of their own language (or ask for help to communicate) while
they’re together and build a relationship from there rather than going back
several months later (& hoping they’re both still available) and basing
your whole future prospects on that
Harry, Karen &
Mia
Story: Woman discovers
her husband has (at best) been flirting with his secretary – she keeps this
secret and stays with him
Message: Adultery
is acceptable although it might hurt your spouse
Better journey:
She leaves him (or better he reveals he didn’t succumb to the secretary’s
flirting)
Additional note:
Emma Thompson based her emotions in THAT scene on how she felt upon discovering
her 1st husband, Kenneth Branagh, cheated on her. Spoiler Alert: SHE
LEFT HIM!
David & Natalie
Story: Man and
woman develop mutual feelings but when she is approached by another he blames
her. Then we he realises he was wrong, goes and tracks her down (rather than
call???)
Message: If you
see your girlfriend with someone else, assume she’s cheating and punish her. Oh,
and fat shaming is ok
Better journey: He
asks her what happened so there’s no big declaration needed or track down required
and they can decide whether or not to pursue a relationship (if so, they can’t
work together)
Sam & Joanna
Story:
Young boy decides to impress his crush and when that fails chases her to the
airport
Message:
Pursue your crush and eventually they’ll notice you
Better
journey: Talk to her – that’s what he ended up doing anyway and it revealed a
shared attraction
Daniel & Carol
Story:
Widower meets the doppelganger of his celebrity crush
Message:
You get rewarded for being a good step-dad with a major hottie
Better
journey: The widower could just be a good step-dad (it’s just a year after his
wife passed away)
Additional
note: Liam Neeson’s wife, Natasha Richardson, sadly passed away in 2009 when
they were 57 and 45 respectively and he hasn’t found someone else – it is not
mandatory
Sarah & Karl
Story: Woman gets
a chance at a rendezvous with her crush – which is prevented by her brother
Message: Relatives
with mental health issues are cockblockers
Better journey: They
actually try to get to know each other so she can either realise he’s not the
man she thinks he is or he can decide to support her family situation
Colin & the girls
Story: Sex-starved
man goes to America and hooks up with multiple girls at once
Message: Objectifying
is rewarded (and trafficking is acceptable)
Better journey: Learn
his excuses for a lack of relationship in the UK are baseless and become a
better, more respectful person as a result
John & Judy
Story:
Extras on an adult film develop a romantic relationship
Message:
Love can found where you might least expect it
Better
journey: Hard to better this without being puritanical because this
relationship is based on communication rather than sex
Headmistress & Geraldine (Deleted
Scene)
Story:
A school headmistress is in a relationship with a terminally ill cancer patient
Message:
Love comes in many forms and can last for many years and through many tests
Better
journey: Include it in the film – it’s one of the least problematic relationships
and it was the one that got cut!
Friday, 30 January 2026
Oh No, Oh No - !!!NEW!!!
Stop drinking today
For January
Don’t want to be a part of it
Oh no, oh no
Though I often say
It’s not good for me
Don’t want to get rid of it
Oh no, oh no
I want to wake up
With a head that doesn't pound
And feel like I won’t be sick
Sure of the ground
I know it will pay
But oh can’t you see
I don’t want to let go of it
Oh no, oh no
(But) If I can make it through
I'll feel much
Better too
I said I would
Oh no, oh no
Oh no, Oh no
I want to wake up
With a head that doesn’t pound
And feel I'm so AOK
Sure I won’t fall
I won’t be sick
So AOK
I know it will pay
But oh can’t you see
I don’t want to let go of it
Oh no, oh no
(But) If I can make it through
I'll feel much
Better too
I said I would
Oh no, oh no
Tuesday, 6 January 2026
Twelfth Night - !!!NEW!!!
One
day while they were travelling
Viola
and her darling twin
Hit
a large swell
Did
not do well
Lost
everything that they had
Viola
felt her best shot
Was
quickly to throw in her lot
With
the grand Duke
(To)
avoid rebuke
She
told him she was a lad
The
Duke who was called Orsino
Believed
this young Cesario
Was
just the person he needed
To
win the girl he loved
This
was fair Olivia
Who
though she lived fairly near
Had
sworn off love and romance
And
all that other stuv
Her
brother had recently died
And
for this reason Livy cried
And
said no-one
To
her could come
Til
seven years was gone
Orsino
sent Viola to
Livy
in an attempt to woo
Her
for his hand
If
she would stand
To
let his envoy come
This
ploy while seeming so easy
Was
not completed so freely
There
were two points
That
could disjoint
Orsino’s
master plan
For
one although Olivia
Allowed
Viola to see her
It
soon was clear it wasn’t
Orsino
who was her man
For
when her eye alighted on
This
new and handsome young person
She
wanted more
Of
what she saw
Which
wasn’t meant to occur
For
two Viola had chosen
To
serve the Duke for a reason
She
couldn’t say
But
his mad sway
Had
bowled the maiden over
So
they were in a tricky spot
A
nice and convoluted plot
With
romance abound
But
not around
In
fact a triangle
While
all this was now happening
Livy’s
servants did drink and sing
Sir
Andrew, Maria, Fa-
Bi
an and Livy’s uncle
The
noise made by this happy band
Upset
Malvolio and
He
told them plain
They
should refrain
From
making such a fracas
The
group who liked hullaballoo
Did
not take very kindly to
This
pompous man
And
formed a plan
To
make him a jackas
Maria
told them all with glee
Of
her skill with calligraphy
That
with her pen she could pretend to be
Their
fair mistress
The
team quickly agreed this and
Using
Maria’s skilful hand
Soon
crafted a brief epistle
To
cause Malvy some distress
The
steward soon the note espied
He read
it and aloud he cried
In
joy for he
With
certainty
Thought
Olivia loved him
The
next time he saw the girl
He
put her into quite a whirl
But
not with lust
Instead
disgust
For
what was on his limbs
The
letter that the steward found
Did
very clearly expound
The
way to go
Was
wear yellow
And
so that is what he did
From
hose right down to ankle he
Had
covered so painstakingly
To
win her heart
Yet
for her part
She
just wanted to get rid
Malvolio
was dragged away
And
in a prison made to stay
Where
Feste the fool
Being
rather cruel
Continued
the mock’ry
Meanwhile
Viola’s brother Seb
It
turned out was not really dead
And when
he now
Appeared
in town
This
caused yet more mischief
Sir
Andrew upset that his suit
Of
Livy had still borne no fruit
Challenged
Cesario to fight
Cos
Toby said to do it
Unfortunt’ly
for this blockhead
It
turned out to be brother Seb
That
he soon faced
And
in disgrace
Failed
to land a single hit
Olivia
now she arrived
And
when Sebastian espied
Resolved
to trap
This
handsome chap
Into
true love’s shackle
She
grabbed him and then hurriedly
With
her beloved stranger she
Got
the lot
And tied
the knot
In a
nearby chapel
Just
then the appearance of young Vi
Caused
everyone to rub their eyes
Could
not believe
What
they did perceive
How
could there be two of them?
The
truth was then revealed to all
Which
caused the two siblings to bawl
They
weren’t deceased
They
were so pleased
For
this reunion
Each
of them now became wed
To
the right person they wanted
The
church bells rang
For
the whole clan
Only
laughter could be heard
Despite
all of the confusion
They’d
reached a happy conclusion
They
all felt glad
No-one
was sad
Except
perhaps the steward
