The Daily Tonic: Holmes Under The Hammer

Need a fun game to help pass the long evenings in lockdown? Why not try this one, invented by the original Girl Power band Shampoo? All you need to play is a bottle of vodka, a tumbler and a hamster.

Pouring out a sizeable measure, friends of the band would sit in a circle and take it in turns to pass their pet hamster around, placing it on top of their head – until it shat.

The chosen one would then have to down the vodka.

Following in Amanda Holden’s inglorious footsteps, Eamonn Holmes is the latest celebrity to start publicly fanning the flames of the 5G/Coronavirus conspiracy.

We shouldn’t be too surprised to learn that Holmes is into all this stuff. Eamonn regularly invited the UK’s premier lizard spotter, David Icke, on to his TalkRadio drivetime show to discuss what were billed as his “alternative theories”.

The more surprising bit is that Eamonn has been going in to the studio at all, as he usually takes any excuse he can to bunk off work. So much so that his nickname at TalkRadio was ‘Stay At’.

As in, Eamonn ‘Stay At’ Holmes.

We had a story in the weekly mailout a few weeks ago from someone telling us that Claudia Winkleman was the master of a drinking game that many of you knew better as ‘Dirty Penny’ (where you have to stick a coin between your bumcheeks and successfully squat and drop it into a pint pot). So we want to hear more.

Today’s Question: What’s the best drinking/drug-taking game you’ve ever played with a celebrity?

Send your stories of house party hi-jinx and barroom carnage to hello@popbitch.com and we’ll send a goody bag to our favourites.

G writes:
“I found myself exchanging messages on Grindr with a handsome guy who said he was Dutch and in my area on business, but was only about for a few hours.

“He later added Instagram to his profile and I realised it was Robin from the Vengaboys who was doing a gig in the area. Nice guy. And a BIG personality.”

In among all the stories you’ve sent us over this last month, we’ve received an uncanny number about two celebs in particular: Roland Gift from the Fine Young Cannibals and Lucy Liu.

Of the many Roland spots, our favourite was the one where a reader bumped into him on the fast train to Norwich. They blurted out “My mum loves you!” as he passed – to which Roland turned and said “All the mums do…”

Before fixing our reader’s other half with an eager eye and adding “…and the girlfriends.”

As for Lucy Liu, she seems to be the sweetest celebrity in town. Unrecognised by all of you until it was too late, between you she has asked for directions, passed you while running in your hometown – and has even gracefully endured one of you bending her ear at a theatre gala, asking her if she managed to find much work out in LA and if she did any theatre herself.

A line of questioning that went on for five minutes until it dawned on them they were talking to one of Charlie’s Angels. (She was lovely about it, FYI…)

Absolutely no rhyme or reason to this one. No theme, no throughline, just ten songs plucked from disparate corners of our record collection and spliced together.

You get a point for the song title, and a point for the artist.

[Here we go again]

A collection of Swedish slow TV shows
[24 hours of gorgeous Scandi views]

Denis Welch as Easter confectionery
[See on Twitter]

LOOK AT THIS ZONKEY!
[Zebra x donkey]

Would you like to take part in a research project about your psychological and social experiences during lockdown?
[Help UCL learn from this]