This is going to be a long post, and is definitely my most ambitious communications with the world wide web to date!

- By source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46754912
This is a difficult Photographic Challenge. It is based on the lyrics of the 1979 song, “Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3” by Ian Dury and The Blockheads, and was the last single released by the original band line-up. I still love this song and I unearthed the 12” translucent green vinyl copy that I purchased 37 years ago for my daughter to play on her “new” record player very recently. What goes around comes around, I guess, sometimes literally!
Anyway, I wanted to launch this challenge for myself (and to anyone else who wants to participate) before the summer is over where I live. This is simply because that word is the first “reason” challenge of the song.
So, here we go:
Rules:
- Be creative and have FUN.
- Images can be taken in any order.
- There are no more rules.
It would be nice if you would use hashtag #r2bcheerful and/or #r2bcheerful followed by the number to help people find your images. For example, if you have a picture of yellow socks use hashtag #r2bcheerful21 to help find images. Remember, cheerful has only one letter l.
At some point, assuming that others take this up, I will feature some of the entries on this blog, and on my current twitter, facebook, and pinterest accounts, as well as anything else I set up.
It will be really interesting to see if anyone can actually finish this challenge, as I think it is extremely tough. For that reason there is no order to the list – so go at it as you see fit. Also, I am quite happy to allow interpretation. For example, I realise most of us are never going to get an image of the Bolshoi Ballet, so get creative, play around with the words, create a pun, use your mind, just please explain it if it’s too existential…
Here’s the list in it’s full glory:
Why don’t you get back into bed? Why don’t you get back into bed?
Reasons to be cheerful, part 3...
- Summer (Some of*)
- Buddy Holly
- The working folly
- Good golly, Miss Molly
- Boats
- Hammersmith Palais
- The Bolshoi Ballet
- Jump back in the alley
- Nanny goats
- 18 wheeler Scammels,
- Dominecker camels
- All other mammals
- Equal votes
- Seeing Piccadilly,
- Fanny Smith and Willie
- Being rather silly
- Porridge oats
- A bit of grin and bear it
- A bit of come and share it
- Your welcome we can spare it
- Yellow socks
- Too short to be haughty,
- Too nutty to be naughty
- Going on forty
- No electric shocks
- The juice of a carrot
- The smile of a parrot
- A little drop of claret
- Anything that rocks
- Elvis
- Scotty
- The days when I ain’t spotty
- Sitting on a potty
- Curing smallpox
- Health service glasses
- Gigolos
- Brasses
- Round or skinny bottoms
- Take your mum to Paris (*Taking mum to Paris)
- Lighting up the chalice
- Wee Willie Harris
- Bantu Steven Biko
- Listening to Rico
- Harpo, Groucho, Chico
- Cheddar cheese and pickle
- A Vincent motorcycle
- Slap and tickle
- Woody Allen,
- Dali,
- Dimitri and Pasquale
- Balla, balla, balla
- Volare
- Something nice to study
- Phoning up a buddy
- Being in my nuddy
- Saying okey-dokey,
- Sing-a-long a Smokey
- Coming out of chokey
- John Coltrane’s soprano
- Adi Celentano
- Bonar Colleano
- Yes, yes, dear, dear
- Perhaps next year
- Or maybe even never
- In which case
- Reasons to be cheerful, part 3
Have fun and don’t forget to tag your work as #r2bcheerful and #r2bcheerful with item number added and pop back here once in a while!
Update (22-Jan-2017): since discovering the book “Hallo Sausages: The Lyrics of Ian Dury,” edited by his daughter Jemima Dury, I have had to make a couple of corrections – as noted by the * above. The most surprising one to me was “Some of Buddy Holly” rather than “Summer, Buddy Holly.” Personally, I still think that Summer is a good reason to be cheerful so I’m keeping it in as an editorial error on my part – call it artistic interpretation is you like!
~Richard
Like this:
Like Loading...