18 January 2017: Gandalf is spotted kissing a Golden Snitch

Homes Under the Hammer finds Bamboleo

Scott and Chris received videos of Homes Under the Hammer using “Bamboleo” during a feature about a Spanish property developer. The programme was famous for choosing songs with extremely literal links to the action, but playing their Wednesday anthem on the correct day made the intrusion more acceptable.

The show repeatedly returned to the clip before Radio 1’s own Bamboleo Wednesday. Listeners were still warned that using the song on any other day would remain an offence.

A prime ministerial costume

Scott believed he had solved his usual fancy-dress anxiety after seeing Theresa May in a tartan trouser suit. He ordered a similar outfit online and planned to use it whenever the next compulsory costume party arrived.

Chris doubted that anybody would recognise the reference and remembered a university party where his 1990s Justin Timberlake costume was mistaken for Noel Edmonds. A successful outfit needed to be obvious without requiring an explanation, particularly if the wearer hoped to attract somebody during the evening.

Superheroes, Smurfs and a Snitch

The discussion became a collection of romantic encounters between people in unrelated costumes. Chris had kissed another Smurf at a party full of Smurfs, while callers remembered Wolverine, Maid Marian and several superheroes.

The strongest image came from William, who had seen his friend dressed as Gandalf kissing somebody dressed as a Golden Snitch. Scott preferred these strange crossovers to two matching characters, imagining a nightclub full of improvised meetings between otherwise incompatible fictional worlds. Clara Amfo later returned for Real or No Real.