Week Twenty One

Unbelievably it's 19-2, but not without a week of close calls.

As mentioned before my brother is still in Cornwall as we both went to our friends' wedding this weekend. During the week I saw my brother four times - standing next to a fridge, when he took my son out for a drive around Falmouth, at the wedding and on the day he went back. On the first occasion he asked me if I wanted to play golf, an invitation I didn't hesitate to turn down. It was too hot to drag a bag of clubs around a dusty field and, even if it wasn't, I would rather stick my legs into a blender than suffer the hours of torment that golf brings.

On the second occasion my brother came back from his trip with my son and asked if I wanted to play poker that night. I wasn't keen as I'm not much of a gambler and rarely play card games but agreed as it was an opportunity to spend time with him and the groom-to-be. While he was there I showed him something on my computer, realising that the shortcut for this blog was at the top of the screen. How he didn't see "Postcards to my br..." and put two and two together I will never know, however his lack of focus has cost him dearly. We never did get to the poker game, leaving me drinking with another friend while he chilled out at our parents' place.

The wedding was absolutely brilliant and we managed to catch up with a lot of people, some of whom read this blog. Nobody mentioned it including my brother, leaving me with just one more meeting to get through. He turned up at my house this morning to say goodbye to everyone and had a cup of tea with us as we discussed the events of the night before. I feel confident that I can post this and accept the point, leaving the path clear for a nail biting eight weeks. If I can get to 27 points I win overall and will send some cheery postcards suggesting a win before revealing all later in the year. Naturally it could all go wrong and, if he finds out about this, I'm toast.

He told us he may be down in July for his birthday which means I've got to go through this stressful period once more unless he makes it down just after week 29 and doesn't mention the postcards in between then and now. 

This week's postcard comes to you from @TinkSaid's 70's hunk collection...

Week Twenty

It's been a busy week.

My brother and I grew up in Helston which has an annual tradition known as Flora Day. In short, there are four dances during the day and every year my brother applies to dance in the first and last of them. Last Sunday I had a non-postcard related phone call; he had the flu, didn't think he would be able to dance and asked if I would step in for him. Although I would have done so I advised him to get fluids, rest up and get better (being a medic he knows how to get better from flu so this probably just antagonised him). Although he missed the rehearsal on Tuesday he made Flora Day on Thursday and I was able to watch him before going out for a well earned drink at a local establishment.

The following day we both went for a meal at a fantastic Chinese restaurant in Camborne - China Town. The last time we took people there it was mutually agreed that nowhere else does food as nice and so we returned. The night went off perfectly - there was beer, food, laughing and not an utterance of postcards.

On Saturday he came to my house for a couple of hours as, despite having viral bronchitis (not flu as he self diagnosed earlier in the week), our parents had decided he had littered the house for long enough and wanted him to get some fresh air. We spent the time watching The Other Guys, a film I can heartily recommend. While he was here he must have seen the big stash of postcards I've acquired but, fortunately for me, there is an envelope on top of them making it look like I hoard post. With no mention of postcards for the whole week I get the point. 18-2.

He is down for another week until next Sunday as friends of ours are getting married so I'm still on a knife edge. He can easily win a point just by quizzing me but this point is one I wasn't counting on so I'm happy for this week at least.

Week Nineteen

I became aware of Beck very early in my Twitter days as he puts clever Tweets into cartoons in a way that makes people, including me, think "I want a Beck cartooned Tweet one day". Having a postcard for my brother is even better so this week I am realising the next step up from my dream. You will not be disappointed by following him - @new_toon.

I think my days of easy points are numbered as he is down this tuesday and, if you were a 31 year old man living away from your brother and he all of a sudden started sending a postcard a week, you'd probably ask about it when you first came face to face. I have a few issues to deflect his questioning as I put up a bathroom cabinet for my Mum and a shelf for my Nan this week and asked both of them what they would be asking him to do when he made it down so I will be making that same suggestion to him.

This tactic won't work for the whole week though as we're definitely out for most of Thursday and are going for a meal with some mutual friends on Friday, some of whom know about this blog and have been following along since its inception. I know they won't give the game away but with so many people in one place aware that this site has been viewed over 2,000 times without his knowledge it might be hard for us not to give each other sideways glances and smirk a bit.

17-2 is the score, I am definitely expecting to lose next week but I'm hoping all will be forgotten on his return and I can get to the magical winning number of 27 before the end of the year.

Week Eighteen

We are proud Cornishmen. Although my brother lives hundreds of miles away in the big smoke of Nodnol (ish, he's actually more Middlesexist now) he is always happy to wear the flag of St Piran or a Cornish Pirates rugby top when the occasion suits. I'm sure he'd dress down for the BAFTAs or similar events but you get what I'm saying.

The announcement this week that the Cornish will get the same minority status as other Celtic regions is superb as it means we might be able to have two pints of a weekend instead of just the usual half. I'm hoping I can get an Arts Council grant and sit around during the week, getting up around midday and refusing to go out unless it's pitch black. The only downside with this is that, as minorities, the press may get us confused and try to send us back where we came from when, ironically, we are where we came from. That's not to say we don't welcome others in Cornwall. Do come down. Do.

The score is 16-2, however his arrival is very soon. I think next week will be dangerous as he may well phone ahead. Saying that, he never has before. Also the chat has to be to do with the postcards or he's not getting any points. I really, really want to win this.

Week Seventeen

When I went to watch Filth it was a magical day. I'd only been introduced to Trainspotting two years before and I was thrilled that another Irvine Welsh book had been transformed into a talkie picture movie. I rarely go to the cinema but I made this a big night; popcorn, drinks, beers afterwards and was not disappointed by the film itself which featured great acting, a wicked plot and some genuinely funny moments despite the context. Whenever I think about that film it takes me back to my big night out. The next film I want to see is Frank and that is mostly due to his appearance in Filth and my subsequent reading of his life. Giving this postcard away will be tough but it's for a good cause.

My brother doesn't know any of this.

15-2 is the score. I was visited recently by my other brother who is sort of a mutual brother of ours and certainly a good reason for him to get in touch yet I'm quite happy to keep the point for myself.

Week Sixteen

Nothing beats colouring in a @MooseAllain original. It might be obvious what I've done here, going for the 'superb brain (snigger)' motif, yet I'm pretty sure he will take this as a massive compliment. Watch out for the ego next time you're crossing the Tamar.

It's been confirmed that he will be down in May for around half a week and he will be down the following week for a mutual friend's wedding so the extra early points are managing to calm my nerves. It looks like he's going for a promotion at work so there's no way he'll be thinking about his little brother when he has so much to prepare for. Whether he gets the job or not, he's dropping vital points with his current strategy.

The information provided on the back of the card is a little embellished. Who would call their child Razor? He's actually called Brutus and he offered me no such contract; not written, anyway. 14-2 is the current score.

Week Fifteen

This postcard is another gem from Julia's tacky postcard collection. Say Hello on Twitter - @Tinksaid.

Things got a bit edgy this week as my son had to be X-Rayed after a horse trod on his foot. I publicly thanked my Dad on Facebook for taking him to the hospital and my brother commented to say he was glad my son's foot wasn't broken. As this wasn't postcard related I can't give him the point, much as I would like to. He also said Happy Mother's Day to our Mum, again on Facebook, and again un-postcard related so not point-worthy.

This takes the score up to an unlucky 13-2 with just five weeks until he ventures down to Cornwall. If all goes well I'll be 18-2 up when he arrives and I'll avoid postcardy chat until he leaves, which isn't very likely. Fingers crossed...