Wouldn't It Be Loverly?

As I pointed out in the previous post, Matthew Coniam of The Marx Brothers Council of Britain bestowed the "One Lovely Blog" award on this blog. One of the conditions of the award is that it be passed on to other blogs. This presents me with a bit of a dilemma. Am I secure enough in my gender identity to bestow upon another blogger an award with a badge composed of a teacup full of pink roses, wrapped with a matching ribbon? Matthew can be forgiven because he received the award, and its requirement to pass it on, from a female blogger. At least he incorporated the masculine touch of riding a tractor into the conditions of the award.

Then there's the title. "Lovely" isn't a word often heard in male conversation in the U.S. I think the word is less gender specific in the U.K., where Matthew lives. Just this morning, I heard a commentator at the British Open refer to a hole on the course at Turnbury as "lovely." Other examples that come to mind are the British songs "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" and "Lovely Rita Meter Maid." Well, there is that line in "Lovely Rita":

And the bag across her shoulder
Made her look a little like a military man

But this is later negated by:

Took her home and nearly made it
Sitting on a sofa with a sister or two

I think I would be more comfortable if I could modify the title and badge of the award. I would be happy to give an award with a badge consisting of a foaming stein of beer and a title like "Blog and Suds." How about a "Silent But Deadly" award with an atomic mushroom cloud as a graphic? This would probably be best given as a followup to the "Blog and Suds" award. Perhaps my fellow male bloggers would be more accepting of a "Blog of the Month Foldout Award." I will leave the graphic to the reader's imagination.