Day 12

I was feeling a bit guilty yesterday evening. I was really mean about Mario in my last blog, and I was thinking – he can’t really be that bad. After all, I hated Imogen and Mikey in BB7, and they’re both lovely in real life.

But yesterday, Mario made my blood boil and my skin crawl yet again. On yesterday’s Highlights show, housemates were given the task of learning a musical instrument. For this week’s task, they must work towards a performance of Oh When the Saints Go Marching In, and the housemates will continue to study their instruments throughout their time in the house. Instruments included a violin, flute, recorder, tuba, drums and triangle. (For some reason, the descant recorder is in the bass section and the tuba in the treble section.)

It’s a really good task, and one I’m sure I’ve suggested on a Big Brother forum.

The housemates were very excited by this task. They were all talking at the same time, but not in an argumentative way. Maybe the quieter people hadn’t yet had the chance to air their views, but I’m sure someone like Rex would have ensured this happened. Rex is a prat sometimes, but he’s mostly fair. But then Mario had to get involved. He shouted at everyone until they all stopped talking, then said Mikey should have first choice of instrument. There were a few minor objections to this, which were probably more objections to Mario’s manner than his idea, but Mario insisted, and they finally agreed that it would be quite difficult for Mikey to read the music as it’s not in Braille.

Mario then turned to Mikey, and asked whether he preferred the drums of the triangle. Mikey mumbled something about the possibility of playing another instrument, but Mario talked over him. It was the drums or the triangle – with an emphasis on the triangle. Mikey chose – surprise, surprise – the triangle.

Mikey went to the Diary Room later, and said all the things I wish he’d been able to say to Mario’s smarmy face. He said, quite rightly, that there was no reason why a blind person shouldn’t learn to play an instrument, and he’d particularly wanted to try the violin. Mikey could easily have proved more musical than anyone else – a lot of blind people have better than average hearing, and the fact Mikey works as a DJ probably means he has at least some interest in music. Stringed instruments also have an advantage over wind instruments in that the fingering is much simpler and it might even have been possible for Mikey to work out how to play Oh When the Saints for himself without any help from the others. He certainly couldn’t have been any worse than Sylvia or Jennifer or whoever was playing the violin (all I know is that one of those two was responsible for breaking it).

Mikey also said he felt Mario might be the cause of all the conflict in the house. While this isn’t completely true – he wasn’t responsible for any of Alexandra’s arguments – he certainly has a point.

Some people might see Mikey as two-faced for objecting in the Diary Room rather than speaking to Mario. But I don’t blame him at all. Mikey is quite a nervous character, and Mario is the overconfident type. Even if Mikey did say something to Mario, I don’t think Mario would have listened because he’d be too busy talking.

Darnell rose considerably in my estimation in his attempts to make Mario see reason. It wasn’t an easy job. Darnell, having been named the Most Musical Housemate, is the conductor of the Big Brother Orchestra, so he is, in effect, the leader of the task, and gave several housemates his advice and opinions. But Mario didn’t like it. When Darnell came to speak to him, he did all he could to stop Darnell from speaking, and, when Darnell did finally manage to say something coherent – and also very reasonable – Mario decided one of the words Darnell used was insulting, and started going on at him about that instead.

However, when I say Darnell rose in my estimation, that doesn’t mean he didn’t sink in my estimation before that. Darnell is technically black, but, as an Albino, a lot of people think he’s white. Darnell sees things differently. He sees every non-Albino in the world as being coloured. Therefore, in Darnell’s opinion, it is acceptable for him to say something derogatory about ‘coloured people’ because he is talking about white people too.

I really don’t think I agree with that. I’m sure he only says these things in a jokey way, and he did only talk about using the word, rather than using it directly. But I think the way Darnell uses the word is at least as offensive as the way Emily used it last year. It’s fine for Darnell to say things like that to his friends, but it does sound completely different on TV.

Nominations took place for the first time today. The results will be revealed tomorrow, but the public are fairly sure who it will be: Mario and Alexandra. This is a great shame because the public's hatred of Alexandra almost certainly means we will have to put up with Mario for another week. If Mario does leave, the vote is likely to be close, and Mario will therefore not be leaving with the record-breaking percentage he deserves – although his row with Luke – yes, sweet little Luke! – this morning might help to swing things in Alexandra’s favour.

Alexandra has managed to win herself a few friends, although probably not enough to save her from going up for eviction. She is very close to Dennis, and she’s bonded with Mohamed over haircare. Sylvia won’t nominate Alexandra unless it suits her gameplan to do so*. But the rest of them could easily have nominated her - although she is in a slightly better position than Mario, who has probably been nominated by everyone except Lisa.

A week ago, I had a horrible feeling Big Brother might pull the same tricks with nominations as they did last year with Charley in order to keep Alexandra in for longer. Now, I’m hoping this is exactly what they’re going to do. But time is running out. The housemates nominated today. Billi (not that you’ll remember him) had his nominations cancelled last year, and BB6’s Vanessa (you know, the one who was asleep the whole time) was punished for discussing nominations after nominations took place.

It is easy to understand why Alexandra is unpopular with her housemates and with the public - her attacks on Rebecca, Rachel and Stephanie were vicious. But, since then, Alexandra has been making a real effort. Maybe I was wrong when I said she didn’t understand what she’d done; maybe Big Brother has taken my advice and made a better attempt at explaining it to her. But, at the very least, she accepts that what she did was wrong, and is trying not to let it happen again, and, as this probably wasn’t easy for her, she does deserve some credit for this. Even if she is only doing this in order to stay in the house, she is still trying hard to overcome an objectionable character trait, and make the house a more pleasant place for everyone.

Is Mario doing that? Not really.

Mario can occasionally be very amusing. Yesterday, Mario also claimed they couldn’t be sure of Rachel’s and Dennis’ motives in coming on the show because they are "Big Brother fans." He also feels that certain members of the house are desperate to win the show. Lisa then commented that some housemates are “digging holes” for themselves without realising. Lisa, I completely agree.

Dennis spoke again yesterday - in the Diary Room – but I do kind of wish he hadn’t. Having a game plan isn’t a good way of endearing yourself to the fans, but admitting you have given up your gameplan isn’t all that much better. Dennis really ought to have kept quiet about that – although the unnecessarily icy tones of the female Big Brother perhaps made him feel as though he had no choice. But claiming to have no gameplan could be a gameplan in itself, and I think that thought is going to be in a lot of people’s minds.

One housemate who does have a gameplan – and quite a similar one to the one Dennis was stammering about – is Sylvia. Or Slyvia, as she has become known on the Digital Spy forums. She spends a lot of time running about from one housemate to another, saying what they want to hear, and doing her best to ingratiate herself with everyone. No-one has confronted her over this, but I’m hoping it hasn’t gone unnoticed. If this is the case, perhaps Sylvia will take priority over Alexandra when it comes to nominations. A Sylvia-Mario eviction could easily give the un-super one a shock.