Approaching a jukebox in a pub, gold nugget grasped in my sweaty little mitt is met with much trepidation. Choosing songs on a jukebox in a public place? Scariest of scaries. The wrong choice could lead to bedlam so it's vital that I make the right selection. Generally I find that my jukebox formula tends to work; a couple of 'credible' choices, a contemporary song and if I'm feeling brave, just one piece of sugary pop. This done I then hoof it back to my table and hope that the serious muso in the corner does not recall seeing me when he groans audibly at my choices.

Still, I carry out my task with bravado because tucked away in a dusty corner in the murky recesses of my mind, there is a little memory which makes me giggle whenever I find myself about to make this very public admission of my music taste...I remember seeing a Punt & Dennis sketch on the Mary Whitehouse Experience, where a geeky looking guy walks gingerly up to the jukebox, makes his selection and skulks back to his seat. Then when Kylie's locomotion comes on, a great big neon arrow comes out of the sky pointing at him, so that all and sundry know that he chose that song.

And when I think about this excellent neon sign from above, I can't help but wonder about how this would be a great thing, not just when choosing jukebox selections but also in terms of love agendas.

Wouldn't life for singletons the world over be so much easier if a big, red, neon sign came out from the sky saying THIS IS THE ONE, when you met the person you were meant to be with...?

|