At first sight this profile of the Alcohol Free Shop paints a picture of a fairly harmless, if obsessive, crank. Alcohol free beers, wines and spirits may have a place in the scheme of things, but has anyone ever got drunk on a deodorant spray?

The Alcohol Free Shop’s pitch fails to present a case for banning alcohol from body sprays, so I was going to share with you an anecdote from my pub promoting days. It was about some silly parents who tried to sue a drinks manufacturer after their kids got drunk on pure fruit juice that was way past its sell-by date. But something better came along…

Alcohol free PitRok Natural Spray Deodorant, its manufacturer explains, harnesses ‘all the power of PitRok natural crystal deodorant… PitRok’s bacteriostatic action works by inhibiting bacterial growth’.

I don’t know to which ‘natural crystals’ they refer. But I did notice that the product contains 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol, which doesn’t sound very ‘natural’ to me. Also known as bronopol, it does have an antibacterial action and is supplied as crystals. Created in a laboratory belonging to Boots the Chemist in the 1960s, it’s classified by the EU as harmful, irritant and dangerous for the environment. In a WWF profile of toxicologist Dr Samuel Epstein (‘exposing the links between cancer and the environment’), bronopol is named as something that, ‘although not carcinogenic… break[s] down to release formaldehyde, a potent irritant and carcinogen’.

I reckon you’re better off spraying your underarms with a little alcohol than that stuff.

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With its never ending stream of statistics football’s something of nerd’s sport. But one of the most interesting stats is one chucked in by Amnesty International: 40,000 prostitutes expected to travel to Germany to meet the demands of fans.

‘The World Cup is a great opportunity to make money,’ says Katharina Cetin, of Berlin’s Hydra prostitute advice centre. ‘We expect some great revenues. It’ll be good business.’

These women form part on an unsavoury fringe of workers that keep Western economies going by doing the jobs indigenous populations would rather not. And not all of them will be in Germany by choice: many are slaves and they can earn their masters £36,500 each year.

International problems like this require international solutions, yet the UK is dragging its heals. Unlike Germany, we have yet to sign up to European Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings, which gets barely a mention in the Home Office consultation for a UK action plan beyond, ‘concerns that some of the provisions, such as the automatic granting of reflection periods [a couple of weeks to get over one’s slavery] and residence permits for trafficking victims [who have been enslaved, forced into prostitution and may be at risk in their own country], may act as “pull” factors to the UK.’

Government has been cowed by the extraordinary hysteria that surrounds immigration issues. So scared is it of being seen to make the slightest concession to the economic migrants upon whom much of our prosperity depends, it turns its back on the victims of this trade.

Find out how to take action by visiting Amnesty’s World Cup Statistics website.

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It’s good to have some quality time with Arthur. All our commuting to Leicester has meant the little feller’s been left out a bit more than usual.

Fortunately, he’s an outdoor tyke who cries and rips up carpet if he’s not immediately released into the wilds of Chorlton Brook upon completion of a post-meal wash-up.

Critter, his predecessor, really didn’t like it when we sat outside. It just didn’t sit right with him. But he was a little older and more set in his ways. Arthur seems to be enjoying the novelty.
This posted via mobile via Flickr and so not so closely proofread. Click the pic to see it large (there’s an ‘all-sizes’ tab for really large).

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Talking of repetitive radio stations (as I was) hearing that Shakira’s ‘Hips Don’t Lie,’ is not only the most played song ever in the USA, but also, ‘the latest proof of [New York’s] multicultural musical taste,’ reminds me of holidaying in Maine a few years ago.

America has a truly great pop culture, but to listen to its radio – endless Shakira – you’d think it sub-Eurovision; the hips do lie.

And that Shakira has claimed this crown so soon after Gwen Stefani, implies things have gone from bad to worse. I don’t know how Wyclef survives the embarrassment (‘Oh baby when you talk like that / You make a woman go mad’), but perhaps he needs the money to fund his other projects.

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It may no longer be on the on the Radio 1 playlist, but that doesn’t mean they don’t manage to slip KT Tunstall’s Suddenly I See on so often you’d think it the only thing she’s done. It’s clearly someone’s favourite record and it’s okay for a pop song with a country lilt.

She must have been dead chuffed when they stuck it on the playlist months before it’s release and kept playing it while it was in the shops… but long after it had left the shops too? By the time I saw her at V, it was ever such a familiar little tune. But they still haven’t stopped. And they never play any of her other stuff, which is just as good. A whole album and a couple more singles.

So wherever KT goes people must stop and ask, ‘Oh yeah, Suddenly I See. Isn’t it time for a follow-up? You don’t want to become a one hit wonder.’
John Harris & Britpop

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I can think of nothing worse than sitting through a whole football match, but you’ll find me in virtual seat N4R9C7 at Control Arms’ World Cup Stadium.

I tried to pick a really bad seat, so as not to disappoint those who might actually want to watch the match, but the middle back row had been pretty much taken by people I imagine to be of the type that dominated the back of the school bus. Consequently I’m in a fairly random position.

It’s a petition in support the joint Amnesty International, IANSA, Oxfam campaign to Control Arms. Feel free to sit next to me (or as far away as you can get).
Previously: Control Arms’ million faces petition

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I’ve been hitting the take-aways a little hard lately thanks the need to commute to Leicester with punishing frequency and a client’s annual report refusing to write itself. Tonight was pie, chips and curry sauce (separate).

Blogging is not the only activity to have suffered. I didn’t make it to the gym until yesterday and so I’ve felt almost immovably sluggish. Getting on the cross-trainer with no go reminds you how quickly a little fitness deserts you.

Miraculessly, weight has remained stable at a slightly fat 85kgs.
This posted via mobile via Flickr and so not so closely proofread. Click the pic to see it large (there’s an ‘all-sizes’ tab for really large).

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It’s the FIFA World Cup 2006 and everyone’s gone football mad. I’ve brought you spread betting reader offers before, but this one’s a corker. Open a Sporting Index account, place five sports bets, and claim a free £200 supremacy bet or £100 total goals bet on any World Cup match. Each qualifying spread bet must be able to win or lose you £20. If you need to know what these things are, see Sporting Index.

Spread betting allows you the option to do much more than bet on a winning team. There are indexes for each group, spread bet markets for top goal scorers, opportunities to bet on how long it will take each team to score, how many games until the first hat-trick and much more.

And you’re not confined to football or FIFA World Cup spread betting. If you’re prepared to put off your bonus – and let’s face it, you’re spread betting fiends – and place another five spread bets, the offer is a £25 match bet on any Flat or National Hunt race, a £10 golf finishing positions bet on any tournament Sporting Index cover (does not include no max finishing positions), a £10 first 15 overs bet on any live One Day International match, a £100 first innings bowler’s wickets bet on any live England Test or a £10 total points bet on any live rugby union or rugby league match. (This offer is subject to terms and conditions as well as credit and suitability checks. See Sporting Index for details.)

Spread betting is high risk and you should only bet if understand those risks and that you can lose more than your original stake (check with Sporting Index for details).

Alternatives for betting on the World Cup include exchange betting with Betfair and if you’re looking for a traditional bookie, why not have a FREE £25 bet on Totesport.

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