bob's your colourful uncle!

Uncles, eh? They're great. Mine turns purple when you get him laughing.

Tickles my cousin pink, it does ;)

And everyone needs a bit of colour in their lives, right?

Some might say that the great wombling icon, Uncle Bulgaria, is the cream of the crop when it comes to uncles brightening up your day.

But lest you forget, he is not the only telly uncle to dazzle us with his charms, not by a long shot.  I mean, on a grey day, is there anything better than Uncle Traveling Matt to put a smile on your face? Remember him?

We especially love how his interpretation of the phenomena he encounters is a little skewiff. I often wonder if humanity's really got its facts straight, or if maybe we're misinterpreting life a little, too. A debate for another time, perhaps.

Anyway, I'm very happy to share with you news of my very own Uncle Traveling Matt!  Well, I mean, he's not actually an uncle, and his name's not Matt, and far from being scatty, he's pretty clued up about things, but, he does write surprise postcards to me from different corners of the globe.  And I happen to know that Uncle Matt's a bit of an aspirational figure of his.  Yes, Pablo has good taste.

Pablo (if you're reading this): I don't have your address.  And if I did, precedent tells me - and friends and family'd be all-too-ready to confirm it - that I'm unfortunately not so likely to get my writing-back arse in gear.  It always was you guys that were the Superstars, though, wasn't it? A title well-earned if ever there was one.

Back to the rest of you... The fact is, I always feel like such a lucky hobo when one of Pablo's postcards arrives. The latest one, from Budapest, has not long been forwarded, and there are also surprise cards from the lovely Jo, Suzy and Kunal (yes, that's just got here, too! Happy day!) and our fabulous families amongst others currently adorning our fridge.  It's such a joy!  It's such an inspiration.  Truly.

exciting destinations through my letterbox

So, I'd like to ask - when was the last time you received snail mail that wasn't advertising or bills? Oh, that feeling of receiving a special tangible something, with dimensions and shapes and sides and colours and handwriting and, yes, a little bit of love.  When did you last feel it?  And when did you last cause it?  Worth doing more often, would you say?  Now that you think about it?  I'm right, aren't I?

Wombles aren't that great at complying when they feel the black weight of something expected of them.  (Or is it just me?).  But maybe I'd have more luck paying it forward, instead and surprising someone who's not expecting it with a little missive-out-of-the-blue.  Scribbly Sunday. Thoughtful Thursday.  Or something.  What do you think? Will you join me?  We're going to need pretty pens and lots of stamps :)  There are some ace ideas for making cards here, and these letters of note might offer some ideas, you never know.

While we're on the subject of famous travelling Matts (which we almost still were), here's a special clip dedicated to Pablo.  You've probably all seen it before, but can you ever really get enough?

And for Matt F, who followed in his dancing footsteps, an update.

Wow. There are so many easy ways to make the people around us's lives more enjoyable, huh?

I'll leave you with another splash of colour that any fraggle would adore. For a certain Debbie Harry fan I know, and his very talented cousin Lavinia..

Here's hoping someday we find it.

Almost forgot to tell you - according to the results of the kitten naming poll, it seems that although Bob might be your uncle, he is, in fact, not your cat.  The masses (all 2 of them) have spoken, and their verdict is 'Smokey Joe'.  Can't quibble with that. The 'Robert' story was so, so ace, though (and remains my only comment to date), so maybe there's scope for a middle name in there somewhere (when I say somewhere, I mean - in the middle).

Anyway, now that poll's over, it's time for the next one!  This time I'd like to know who your favourite uncle is.  Check out the poll, top right of the page, and do join in by adding any more you can think of in the comments box for this post. Thank you!