Micky Flanagan, the Cockney comedian, has studied the very subtle differences involved in the procedure of ‘going out.’ There’s a fine line between ‘popping out’, ‘going out’ and ‘going out out’. Here’s a clip to explain further:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5k8Su_ek2k
According to MoneySupermarket, ‘staying in is the new going out’. To prove it they have given a number of bloggers the chance to enter their MoneySupermarket’s Big Night In competition. I have been given £50 to buy what I fancy to show there is just as much fun to be had being in as being out.
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| Made ‘in’ but consumed ‘out’ |
My plan was for a Wimbledon Tea Party: to buy Pimm’s, wine, beer, strawberries and cakes then watch the men’s semi-finals on the TV with my husband and son. Definitely staying in. Of course Friday proved to be a scorcher of a day so the lure of the patio and the garden meant that the ‘staying in’ wasn’t really ‘in in’ but was probably just about ‘in’. However, as the games became exciting, the family veered wildly between being in and out.
Rory, being a teenager just home from school, was probably the only one playing by the rules:
“You coming out?” I asked, waving a glass as I popped my head round the patio door.
“Nah, I’m staying in. I’ve been out today already.”
Dougie, the husband having a half day, stayed in during the Djokovik/Del Potro match but, being Scottish, the rollercoaster match that was Murray/Janowicz became too much for him at times.
“I can’t watch this. It’s torture. I’m going out.”
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| Tennis watched ‘in’ |
Me? I was ‘in’ making glasses of Pimm’s, then ‘out’ to drink them. ‘In’ to take washing out of the machine, ‘out’ to hang it on the line, ‘in’ to watch some of the tennis, ‘out’ to tell Dougie the score.
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| The lure of being ‘out’ |
It was satisfying, supping on my drink, to think of the money we’d saved watching the tennis at home. To go to London to see the tournament live would have involved a huge expense for travel, tickets and hotel. Even then, would we really have been ‘going out’? Of course, I hear you say, Wimbledon is definitely ‘out’. In fact Micky Flanagan would say it was ‘out out’ – a proper, planned event.
Ah but is it always ‘out’? What about the roof over centre court? Janowicz wanted the roof on, obviously keen to be ‘in’. By 8.30pm the referee and umpire definitely didn’t want to be ‘out’ any longer. But Andy Murray, on a roll after the third set, was having none of it.
“I don’t want to go in! I want to be out!” (I’m paraphrasing)
But the roof went on regardless and, thankfully for Andy, he continued playing just as well ‘in’ as he did ‘out’ and won the match.
Which just goes to show that MoneySupermarket were right all along. ‘Staying in is the new going out’ for both Andy Murray and the Burgess Family even if it’s only a retractable roof or a patio door which determines whether you’re in or out.
Was our Big Night In a success? Absolutely! Was it in or out? One for Hawk-Eye, methinks.
Wait, wait. I'm confused. I thought being openly gay was the new out and being cool was the new in. Am I behind?
Yes. Do keep up.
Where does the 'shaking it all about' come in?
Cocktails?
Of course in cricket when the batsman goes out he is then in until such time as he gets out then he walks back in again. Sometimes now when he gets out it is reviewed on the TV screen. He stays motionless whilst it is decided whether he is in or out. If the appeal is successful then although he was out he is in fact still in. He then stays in until he is out. If he is the last batsman he can come in at the end as not out. The ins and outs of cricket are still a mystery to most people.
I followed all of that! I know my ins and outs. Mind you, I didn't understand half of what I had written myself.
So confused by Troy I've forgotten what I was going to say. cheers! Hic…
Shame, I will never know what pearl of wisdom you would have uttered. Have one on me, CQ!
In the "olden" days the batsman should walk in (to the pavilion) when he knows he's out – I understand Troy!
I think Pimms and strawberries are the order of the day today, along with the men's final of course.
Ah, Troy will be pleased.
No need for a roof today so at least the players will be out. I think I might come in for more Pimms though…
My mum said you got to be in by dark. But if you popped in late enough that she considered it nearly dark then you weren't allowed back out. The nearly dark by-rule is an important consideration in many things in life. Andy's mum clearly came from the same school as mine and he was going to hang on to the 'staying out', whereas Janowicz WAS my mother and felt it necessary to stop any 'out' early in order to prevent being out after dark. Life is very simple, as Freud said, it all boils down to our mothers!
Andy must have remembered his mother's cruel ways as he nearly forgot to give her a hug when he won the final today. All those years of having to come in before it was dark….
I didn't realise I was so "in". I hardly ever go out out.
But I bet you pop out sometimes and then end up being out?
I like going out out, I also like staying in. Last Friday we could have gone out but it was hot and we felt lazy so we had a soirée pizza, rosé in the cool. Then on Saturday I went out out to an evening in of zumba entertainment with a thousand odd other inners.
I sure was shakin' it all about!