May 22, 2013

I heard a new term recently – Bromance – and if I was to define it I’d say it’s the act of two men adoring each other and communicating like a couple of teenage girls (giggles included), all-the-while being comfortable in their manliness and heterosexuality. I like it. It’s a nice term, because there’s nothing sweeter than two fellas having a little Bromance. Available for Bromance, interested parties please apply in writing Steve is due a new Bromance. He had one with our pal Michael Mullaney – an introduction I made and was then quite firmly excluded. Thanks. Both Steve and Michael are unusually chatty men and when they get together, the women-folk don’t stand a chance – which is saying something. I loved seeing Steve have a Bromance, and was super-sad when Ali and Michael decided to abandon us for better career opportunities in Boston. Steve still hasn’t found a replacement. He will. So male readers of Without the Bollocks – anyone prepared to admit to a satisfying and rewarding Bromance? Or ladies, your fella in the Bromance game? Cute? Annoying? While we’re talking of Bromances, it links quite nicely to something else that men just need to get over. It is now the time of the MANBAG! There is absolutely no getting away from it, and no, pockets are no longer the answer to all of your accessory needs. In fact, while we’re at it, neither is your wife’s handbag. Notice her sloping shoulders? Yeah, that’s the  weight of your shit she’s been lugging around. It’s time to get tough and carry your own stuff. It’s also time for a reality check – this day and age, you are no longer carrying a wallet and a set of car keys. You have a wallet, car keys, mobile phone, laptop, and tablet – at a minimum – and if you don’t, you soon will. Not to mention, a lot of you are all metro-sexual types these days with hand sanitizes, breath fresheners, and all sorts of other nonsense to boot. So it’s time for a manbag – get one and change your life. In fact, I was in Gucci the other day, and while I often find this brand over-the-top in the bag department, it seems they’ve gotten very elegant and simple in recent times – perfectly in-line with my manbag prediction. If only I could convince Steve to get one… But I can’t convince him to go for a manbag. Being a manly man, he just can’t get his head around it. So I went into stealth mode recently and got my little loves manbags. With both now sporting mini-tablets (for education purposes of course, not to keep them quiet in the car, what a shocking thing to suggest) I insisted they had to be responsible for their devices and got them a bag to carry them around in. The rules are they must be in a bag before they leave the house. It’s not really working yet…. As such, my little boys have manbags and one day soon, I know my big boy will too. It is time. Who’s got a manbag and was there resistance? Yours, without the bollocks Andrea