Basking in the glory of the mini heatwave this week, I’ve only been one donut away from going full Homer Simpson and writing from the comfort of the paddling pool and an inflatable ring.

Chilling in the garden on a hot, lazy day is one of man’s greatest pleasures, and it was the world’s favourite Springfieldian that first taught me that lesson, oh so many moons ago.

I can’t believe The Simpsons has now been going strong for an incredible 36 years.

786 episodes in and counting, it remains the animated king of the hill – unlike, ironically, King of the Hill, which ended with 259.

Family Guy currently sits on a respectable 424, with South Park at 328 and Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening’s sci-fi yarn, Futurama, resting at a gentleman’s 140.

Since I was old enough to tune in to the First Family of Evergreen Terrace, Homer Simpson has been something of a spirit animal to me – a purveyor of truly wonderful philosophies including the iconic ‘if something’s hard to do, then it’s not worth doing’.

In the hearts of proud couch potatoes across the land, Homer........

© Shropshire Star