[blogfocus marathon] pre-hiatus bumper issue

Vale, Tin Drummer. Sadly missed and exhorted to reappear and grace us again with his frustrations and Dr. Who and cricket musings - maybe he'll post here next week, maybe not.

Blogfocus this evening is a bit different.

As you know and as I've been telling people ad nauseam, from Monday, June 18th to Friday June 29th, the blogger known as Higham has a hiatus but the long-suffering blog itself does not.

The Debonaire Baker's Dozen below have agreed to guest post when they're feeling creative and look what an august body of writers it is!

# The Last Ditch's erudite, if curmudgeonly Tom Paine, who, in his last post, wrote of the coming Blogpower extravaganza:

Ruthie Zaftig was there, practising transcendental meditation, as were Theo Spark, NotSaussure and Delicolor. After a long chat in my office (see pictures of us around my meeting table), Jeremy Jacobs finally arrived - providing a real psychological insight by his choice of avatar, a dark and brooding youth.

# The castigator of all that is rotten in the kingdom, Martin Kelly, who, in his last post, wrote:

And so Oleg Gordievsky, ex-KGB resident in London, one-time false wigs and beards model, all-round live rat and intimate of Boris Berezovsky who, along with the late Alexander Litvinenko, might have been up to good less than two years ago in making uncorroborated (and uncorroboratable) allegations against Romani Prodi, has been made a Companion of the Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George for "services to the security of the United Kingdom".

# The peerless "cross-me-at-your-peril" Trixy, who, in her 2nd last post, wrote:

Trixy is a bit miffed, so she's going to have a rant. Why am I so miffed? I hear you cry? Because of this greasy, orange, contemptible canker who has taken it upon himself to tell our defunct outgoing Prime Minister to 'ignore popular opinion in the UK'.

# The stunning Nobody Important's jmb, who, in her last post, gets into live blogging:

I had a lot of trouble coming up with something for this post ... I actually took my camera to the hairdresser's ... thinking I would take a photo of a wig in for service or the huge array of products for the beautification of hair. Still not inspired. Then this idea came into my mind ...

# One of the best and quirkiest writers going, Bryan Appleyard, who, in his 2nd last post, wrote:

Choosing the right - in every sense - breakfast cereal is a daily crisis for us all. Do we go for virtue - Kellogg's 190 per cent Vindaloo Bran with senna pods and plum concentrate - or vice - Nestle's Frosted Chocolate Bacon Nuggets with butter and beef dripping? I have, finally found the solution. John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal is so much more than just food, it is an education.

# The inimitable [thank goodness] Devil's Kitchen, who, in his 2nd last post, wrote:

Look, government agencies are one of the very worst for encouraging the culture of "presenteeism"; if flexible working is such a very good idea then, instead of legislating, how about leading by example? I suggest that if this is such a wonderful idea, the state should introduce flexible working throughout all departments.

# The curmudgeonly and erudite Deogolwulf, who, in his last post, wrote yet another opaque fewtril:

Imagine, for a humble instance, being ideologically committed to the idea that there are in modern Britain millions of people living in poverty, and yet discovering that a third of such people are as fat as country-squires. One’s commitment demands that one still see them as poverty-stricken, whilst reality appears to mock the idea.

# That Lothario, Praguetory, who, in his last post, wrote:

Politics has such potential for humour as evidenced by Spitting Image, Yes Minister, The New Statesman and some of the gags over at Iain Dale's. Although making people laugh can be a huge political asset, being humourous involves taking risks and so it's not surprising that few politicians are known for their humour.

# The incomparably different Flying Rodent, who sometimes deigns to revisit earth with posts like this:

The nation is in shock this evening following the unexpected abdication of the Queens of The Stone Age. "It is with great sadness that I must announce that the Queens of The Stone Age have decided to step down," announced a Royal aide, reading from a prepared statement.

# Liam Murray, our ghost poster, who will return from the dead [but not at night].

# The Greek G-d, Mr Eugenides, who makes every word count, with typical Scottish expansiveness:

The new honours list is out, and to be honest it's a bit vanilla. I wonder whether the next one might not be a little more... lavender?

# The Croydonian, who, in a recent post, wrote, about Russia:

"The new provisions also forbid the use of weapons against visibly pregnant women, disabled people and minors unless they are armed and present a threat". So if one is none of these things and do not present a threat one's life is potentially forfeit? I would recommend that Tom Paine, James Higham and other bloggerati in the Rodina invest in walking sticks for when out and about.

# The always creatively designing Southern resident, Lord Nazh, who, commenting on the Blogpower Awards category where he polled remarkably well, wrote:

Unintentionally Humorous Post: This category should have been scrapped, people voted for who they wanted to win, regardless of humor [intentional or not] of said post).

Lord Nazh, incidentally, has started featuring a blog of the week [just under his banner] and it's live - I commented at Not Saussure through this facility today and will certainly think about this in terms of the Blogfocus in future.

Other blogging luminaries I have invited so far fell into these categories:

Agreed in principle but still thinking what to post

Chris Dillow

Invitations extended but yet to be taken up

Fabian Tassano, Zaftig, Reactionary Snob, L'Ombre, The Select, Imagined Community, Mutleythedogsdayout, Not Saussure and Westminster Wisdom

So, dear reader, if this is not enough to whet the appetite, then maybe the six or seven I'll add tomorrow will finally satisfy. If even half of these worthies post even once, what a bumper read is coming up in the next two weeks. Tom will have his hands full and I'll be missing a treat.