The darndest thing happened to me the other day.   

I was sitting on the train, minding my own business, when I was approached by Kevin Bacon, who said, “Hey Julie, why do you think it is no one wants to play my game anymore – Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?”

Well, he really had me there, and I apologised to Kevin for not having an immediate response.

People, it’s this simple: the game will not work with any other name. It can’t be called Six Degrees of Lindsay Lohan, or Six Degrees of Dieter Brummer or anything else you might have in mind. It must be Kevin Bacon.

I think you’ll agree with me that we owe it to Kevin to keep this game alive. Kevin brought us such memorable films as The River Wild, Apollo 13, Footloose and The Air Up There. It is his illustrious career and prolific body of work that makes this game possible at all.

For those of you unfamiliar with the game, it is based upon the premise that everyone in the world can  be traced back to Kevin Bacon via six degrees of seperation. It’s most likely to work if you use celebrities though. So, you take a celebrity (Emma Bunton) and link her to Kevin Bacon.

Ok, Baby Spice with Meatloaf in Spiceworld, Meatloaf with Susan Sarandon in Rocky Horror Picture Show, Susan Sarandon with Natalie Portman in Anywhere But Here, Natalie Portman with Ewan McGregor in Star Wars Episode One, Ewan McGregor with Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge, Nicole Kidman with Meryl Streep in The Hours, Meryl Streep with Kevin Bacon in The River Wild.

Maybe that was seven degrees but I think you get the picture.

So folks, play, play, play!! Play like a five year old two minutes before bedtime! And hopefully if Kevin asks me this question again, I’ll have some better news for him.

Really, it’s the least we can do. AND it opens up your neural pathways – five years ago I could have smashed this in, like, three degrees.

Hmm, let’s see…..

Nope, can’t be done. Or can it?!

The challenge has been issued. May the true champion of Kevin Bacon win.

Julie