Week Twenty Five

I didn't start this blog looking for freebies but if @SpacemanSonic wants to send me Haruki Murakami's "What I talk about when I talk about running" then I'm certainly not going to turn it down. The fact that he sent this week's postcard is the icing on the cake.

I've never been to Lancing and I had to put it into Google Maps but I'm pretty sure my brother, with his superior knowledge of geography, will at least have heard of it. He moved away to study drinking at university and I stayed in our home town to keep his chair warm so he's aware that you actually have to pay to cross the Tamar whereas I have yet to learn this.

The score is evenly balanced at 23-2 although I'm sure he'll have some excuse as to why he's losing so badly when he eventually finds out. I should end this week's post with an advert, so I will:

Buy great books at The Big Green Bookshop.

Week Twenty Four

I've gone for a subtle link between the image and the writing this week. It's not completely obvious but when you get it, if it's taken any time, you'll kick yourself. I have a feeling my brother won't get it and will assume it's another weird anecdote that I've included for my own amusement. He's half right, I suppose.

This brings the score to 22-2, all the twos. I've heard very little from him recently which is the norm, hence the reason I started this blog in the first place. It won't annoy him too much as he loves getting post - who doesn't? - yet he will be annoyed when he finds out how many people have been in on this from the start.

If you want to have your postcard featured on the tense side of the debate there isn't much time left. If he doesn't get in touch in the next five weeks then I will have won, meaning all postcards featured afterwards will be gloaty laps of honour. I guess it depends on your personality as to which side you like to feed. Get them in regardless.

Week Twenty Three

Look who's sent yet another gem - it's Beck @new_toon! His cartoon is based on a Tweet by @HDKey so be sure to look them both up and give them a follow.

I realised last week that I nearly set myself up for a loss writing a note that antagonised my brother, almost forcing him into replying about his safe return. Fortunately my brother has been as reliable as ever and failed to even notice the hint, giving me the point for this week. Hooray. 21-2.

I still think I'm most likely to hear from him closer to July so the next few posts should be plain sailing. I've said that before and been tripped up but, with the score as high as it is, I'm quietly confident.

Week Twenty Two

Big thanks to @SandyFootwells who contributed this week's postcard. Now I can imagine Sandy's accent whenever I see a Tweet.

It's the first week without contact from my brother since the last week I didn't have contact with him, meaning things have gone back to normal. It's likely I won't hear from him at all until he next comes down, making me wonder if he has a phone.

Actually I did have one Facebook message from him but that's half the issue with contact these days. Some people think a message on Facebook for your birthday is the same as a card but I completely disagree. A message on a social media site is like a shopping list for your birthday. Remember that next time you write something on someone's wall that's designed to convey feeling. This is simply my opinion and I hate to bleat on about the good ol' days but...actually, no I don't. I love to bleat on about the good ol' days, even if you did have to go door to door delivering your blog.

The score is 20-2 and I am lining up events before and after week 29 so I know exactly when I will win. If this confidence seems out of character then it's simply because I have gained two points during the a two week holiday he took in which I saw him a multitude of times. I haven't quite printed the certificate and ordered the frame but I know what they should look like...

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.