Countdown (24)

Those of you who know me from Instagram probably have seen my Aliens. They have accompanied me throughout my Instagram journey and whenever I go live from a different location everyone asks where they are.

Do not get me wrong. They are not real aliens. If they were, they would be very uncomfortable since they only have a neck and head and nothing much besides.

These Alien heads are actually plastic wig stands made in the 1960s. My wife and I bought a couple for her online shop a year or so before the pandemic and they sold out immediately. We then had the chance to buy a lot of twenty or so just before lockdown. The gentleman we bought them from said someone in his family had a hair salon in the 60s and 70s and they had been in his garage ever since. I imagine the salon looked pretty cool.

We decided to buy the whole lot. So at one point point there were 20 or more of these heads all around the house.

During lockdown I didn’t want to have a boring backdrop whenever I had online meetings so I decided to place three of these Aliens behind me. They were an instant hit.

Whereas everyone else had serious looking bookshelves behind them, my Aliens always stole the scene. They were a definite ice-breaker.

When I started taking part in Instagram lives it was natural that the Aliens would join me online. I think my early love of science fiction books and movies may have subconsciously had something to do with it too.

I always try to add to the mystique of the Aliens. Whenever I am online I always state that if I say anything untoward it is because the Aliens control my mind. I don’t think anyone really believes it but you never know.

I have since added to the Alien theme. An oil painting of Aliens spotted in a Dutch vintage shop found its way into my tiny home office. There is also a student model of DNA for the Aliens to study.

The latest rumour is that I will get one ear pierced to celebrate my sixtieth birthday and that I will have a silver Alien earring. Some even say the earring will actually be a miniature radio which the Aliens can use to communicate with me at all times. All I have to say is No Comment.

It is natural that people asked if I actually believe there is life on other planets. To be honest the universe is so big that I would be surprised if there wasn’t. I don’t know what form they would take but I imagine it would be very different from anything we know.

I often wonder if there is another “intelligent lifeform” which had the technology to reach us. I imagine they would take one look at how we treat our planet and each other and leave as quickly as they arrived. Currently the picture we paint is rather bleak.

Or maybe they are already here. Among us. In the form of plastic wig stands. Who knows?

This blog is the twenty-third in a series of 30 leading up to my sixtieth birthday. Please consider subscribing to my blog to keep up to date with my posts.

You can also subscribe to my Instagram Channel here: