Merry Hoffmas

At some point in the distant past (presumably whilst drunk) I clearly found Facebook, Twitter et al. a touch bromidic and went hunting for alternatives. A wild night (again, I presume...I really have no recollection of signing up for and using this, but definitely did) later I was a fully fledged member of Hoffspace.

Hoffspace is a bit like Myspace, or Facebook, or other similar social networking sites, but with much more of a focus on David Hasselhoff. This is a refreshing alternative to the aimless, meandering approach of traditional social networking sites, and also leads to a much more vibrant and open community, open to meeting strangers and making new friends to undertake Hoff-related activities with.

I was only reminded of this by a couple of Christmas emails from HoffSpace (clearly David's just found out he has a mailing list, I've been on this site years and never got a mail before). In the festive spirit, I thought I'd share the benefits I'm reaping from my exclusive HoffSpace membership with you, enjoy!

1. 10% Off at the HoffShop
I think I know where I'm getting all my Christmas presents from this year. The HoffShop has "everything from HoffBags to t-shirts". I think they could do with a marketing department to write better slogans though. Just enter 'hoffshop09' to get your discount.

2. A picture of The Hoff with your own personalised message in His handwriting!
Frankly I can't say it any better than The Hoff did in his mail so:

"Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Deck the halls with
Pics of Hoffy,
Fa la la la la, la la la la."

Why not send your loved one a nice picture of me, you choose the name and write the message (nothing too naughty!) and it will appear in an exact replica of my handwriting and autograph on a unique personalised photo print. Check it out here.

On Italy

I learned two key lessons on a recent holiday with Julie-oh to Bologna and Ravenna:

1. The fact that I'm on holiday, in the sunshine, has no bearing whatsoever on the temperature of the sea in mid-October.

2. Italians really do just sit around drinking espressos and wine all day.

I particularly liked the concept of 'cocktail buffets' that pervaded most of the cafes and bars we visited: buy a single cocktail and help yourself to the range of oft-replenished, gorgeous little savoury & sweet delights placed around. Then, get another cocktail, rinse, wash and repeat.

Although the aforementioned sun was a treat in October, I did manage to acquire a slight sunburn, about which I was inexplicably embarassed and self-conscious on my return to rainy London (I mean, really, sunburn in October? How pretentious). The looks we got from Italians as we walked down the beach were priceless (the sandals I inadvertently left there, unfortunately not).

Finally, pro-tip: plenty of food in Bologna is labelled as "..alla Bolognese" and none of it is remotely like the Bolognese sauce we get over here. In fact, most of it is *way* better :)