The BLT Episode 21: Lawyers of Tut
A grand total of ten news stories from the week were condensed into one minute in our BLT, along with some easter eggs thrown in for good measure (looking at you, Monty Python fans). Did you get them all?
Read on to find out the facts behind the stories and to click through to our sources.
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Our… Parent? Who Art in Heaven
The Church of England is considering only referring to God using gender-neutral pronouns, following concerns raised by priests. The proposal of scrapping "He,” which would break centuries of tradition, is being discussed by 2 commissions in a new joint project.
In our depiction, God is Terry Gilliam's interpretation: The God who Gives Arthur a stern talking to in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
"I’ve Been Angry for Years”
Also challenging traditional expectations this week are The Undertones, a band in the midlands who are part of the all-female punk and garage collective The Unglamorous Music Project. Now well into middle age, the group from Leicester write all their music.
We’ve reimagined the born-again punk on the left as a hell granny from Monty Python’s Flying Circus: The gang of pensioners who cause mayhem by attacking men, tripping up pedestrians, and vandalising property.
Train Commuters Are Steaming
A Japanese research study analysed almost 2 million geotagged tweets to find out how we feel across different city locations.
It turns out we’re most likely to vent to our followers at train stations. Relatable? On the flip side, hotels and restaurants are where we express joy.
“Basiiiiiiil” is Back
Though hotels may be a place to kick back and relax, not every hotel leaves us feeling breezy. Basil Fawlty, the famously cynical and misanthropic hotel manager from Fawlty Towers, is set to make a comeback. The much-loved series set in Torquay will return 40 years after its end, with John Cleese starring along with his daughter Camilla.
Twitter’s reaction to the news has been mixed, with some questioning if it’s a wise idea. Has the series had its day?
We chose “Farty Owl Stew” as a menu item at our fast-food joint, a nod to the Fawlty Towers anagrams featured at the beginning of every episode. Spam is also available, a reference to the Monty Python sketch in the greasy spoon café in which spam is in every dish.
A Deal with the Devil
Another tortured man with a lot on his plate this week is mancunian Toby Wilson, who decided to pick up a veggie burger and fries as his night out with mates wound down. The meal should have cost him £6.50, but thanks to some careless keying in of numbers, Toby paid a hellish £666.50.
We rebranded Efe’s Kebab Kitchen to Seitan’s, alluding to the meat-free alternative.
The Ugliest Mutt of them All
Late last year, organisers of The UK’s Ugliest Dog Competition began their search. They were flooded with entries, but when the judges found Peggy, they knew they’d discovered a star.
Peggy is a 5-year-old Pugese and was the runt of her litter. She won a grooming and photography session.
Peggy’s owner remains adamant that she’s beautiful inside and out.
Peggy Who?
Not to steal Peggy’s moment, but another dog broke a record this week. Bobi, living with the Costa family in a rural village in Portugal, is now the oldest dog ever.
He was 30 years and 266 days old as of the 1st of February 2023.
Bobi is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a breed commonly used as a livestock guardian; they usually only live for 12 to 14 years.
His secret? Well, his owner Leonel says Bobi eats the same food as the humans of the family, soaked in water before serving to remove most of the seasoning.
Gets Cheddar with Age
Yet another record breaker was Sir Patrick Stewart, the oldest mouse in human care at 9 years and 211 days old. He lives at San Diego Zoo and weighs as little as three pennies.
They See Me Rollin’
We depicted Bobi the old dog riding a tricycle, newly patented by Milton Butler. Milton, from Stockton, CA, was fed up with paying 5 dollars a gallon for gas, so he took matters into his own hands by inventing a solar-powered tricycle. He’s now on the hunt for investors.
The design, which he calls the “Duckie” after his late wife, was inspired by something Milton saw in his dreams.
Is 10 Foot A Sell-out?
London’s most notorious graffiti writer risks his life every night, heading out into the heavily monitored city. He's one of the most dedicated graffiti writers globally, having been active since the 2000s.
But has 10 Foot lost his right to be called a graffiti writer after selling his story to The Financial Times? The graffiti subculture prides itself in being not about money but about fame. Why he did it, interviewer Miles Ellingham has no idea.
The graffiti in our illustration, "Romani ite domum", translates to “Romans go home.” This corrected Latin from "Romanes eunt domus", featured in Monty Python’s The Life of Brian.
How many references did you get?
Thank you for watching and reading through the latest BLT! Which story is your favourite? We’ll see you next week for another delicious visual sandwich.
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Give us the week’s offbeat news stories, and we’ll sum them up in an image, bringing them into the same universe.