End thoughts

I would like to write something intelligent and insightful about the year but instead a myriad of trivial things come to mind more readily than anything else I could say. It's a shame. However, I am suffering from another cold and I'm tired today having spent much of last night awake coughing. Tomorrow is the final day of December in 2007 and a new year knocks on the door. I wonder what it will bring us? It would be nice to think that man will realise his limitations and wage peace instead of war. It would be nice if the sexes respected each other for what they both bring to the world. It would be nice if all ages respected the young for the future that they will become. An imminent new year always manages to fill me with hope, however desperate it may seem. I am hopeful for 2008. I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and lots of love!

Tech Gifts

Funny how times change, isn't it? The growth of the electronics industry has led to the the development of plenty related industries. Toy departments have been affected a lot by changes in the toy industry, not always for the best. I've seen quite a number of toy shops close locally. Those that continue less resemble a toy shop than an electronics store. It's a bit of a shame, I feel, when kids engage more with a screen than their imaginations. I had some electronic toys in my childhood but they were fairly naff and restricted by battery power and there was no world wide web to connect up to. I'm not a fuddy duddy, I love playing videogames and I love gadgets but I do wonder sometimes where it is all leading and whether it has got out of control for very young children. We've had to set our PC up for parental control recently because my kids are starting to use the computer now for school work and email. Knowing what's out if you look for it there makes me very wary.

I wonder how big the market for tech gifts is? My wife and I have spent a load of money this year on presents for each other. I think next year we should aim to be less tech-driven and give ourselves some good old fashioned stuff like clothes and books.

I saw a new shopping category in the catalogue this year: PINK GIFTS. Oh My God! Please shoot me if I ever buy anyone a pink gift: ARRGGGGHHH!! I ordered my wife something pink just the other day!!! (At least it wasn't from the pink gifts catalogue). BUT the pink gifts section must be a nightmare for catalogue publishers because there doesn't seem to be any connection between the stuff apart from the fact it is pink - so they have to duplicate the stuff again in their respective categories.

PS. We bought a really cheap keyboard some weeks back and the B key doesn't always work, so any typing usually involves proof reading to ensure I've not missed any Bs out - infuriating!!! OK, so I guess a new keyboard is some other new tech that we have to get. :-(

2007, you're nearly up

How was 2007 for you? I know it's not yet over but in general its been alright without being extreme in either good or bad terms. I feel somehow that I'm either entering a creative period or leaving one - I hope I'm entering one because I don't feel I've been particularly creative this year. I feel I've withdrawn into my shell over the last few months, certainly blogging wise I've found it difficult as I've had to be more focused at work, less relaxed and hence more organised. This affects what I do in my spare time, in order to balance things out I've become less organised in my social life - it's not been a conscious effort I have just been pondering things and came to that realisation about 5 minutes ago. So, in my head I've been thinking about next year. I am 40 in 2008, so I'd like to do something memorable. I've also been thinking about writing. Writing a novel is very demanding but I have been considering the challenge - without really considering what kind of novel I would write. I'll be thinking more about my achievements this year, I'm not sure whether I'll share them here or not yet. I started this blog in January 2005 and one of my considerations will be whether or not I want to continue it. There might be other vehicles for articulating my thoughts. I don't know. I'm rambling, so goodnight and I'm off to listen to some music....

The Simpsons Anniversary

Today in 1989, the longest-running US sitcom and longest-running animated series began with a half hour Christmas edition.

My favourite episodes are probably the Halloween related ones but The Simpsons can still make me laugh, I felt I should post something since its been a while and The Simpsons deserves some kind of anniversary statement from me since I've enjoyed the show so much over the years.

Dedicated to the moms...

Motherhood condensed into less than three minutes, she's nailed it for me.

Secrets

Have you ever kept a secret? I'm sure at one point or another all of us have. When someone asks us to keep a secret it's a burden they put on us. It's certainly a relief when the secret is lifted and you can talk about it but it can be very hard on the people sharing the secret while its still a secret - especially if it's good news. The difficulty is that some people can keep secrets and some can't - the burden becomes too great that they have to share it. Sometimes people even tell others that they have a secret that they can't divulge - its just attention seeking and the worst kind because they know they'll be constantly asked to reveal the secret and enjoy the anguish on people asking. Secrets between friends can be used to hurt other friends by excluding them, another horrible use of secrets. I don't like secrets, I don't trust people who burden others with their secrets.

In Praise of...

There is so much to be thankful for in life. The gift of music is just one of them, it's an important one for me. Here's a lovely little video of a soprano from the UK singing in a show usually broadcast on a Sunday at tea time. The show is called Songs Of Praise and I don't usually watch it but I turned on the TV and this song just started and I was captivated for a few minutes. I knew Lesley Garrett's name and could probably have guessed who it was. I listen very often to Classic FM radio when I'm in the car these days and she has a show on that. I like her voice and she seems like a nice person when I've seen her on the Children In Need show, I know she has done a lot for charities. I'm always amazed at how operatic singers manage to breath and flow with the song. She does a great job here and looks amazing.

End of Summer

Our clocks go backwards an hour early tomorrow morning, signalling the true end of British Summer Time even though the weather hasn't been very summery this year. I like having the extra hour but Sundays typically go fast and I hate the feeling that work starts again the next day. At least there are a few holidays to look forward to over the next few weeks - Halloween and Bonfire Night at any rate. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I have trouble remembering when that is - is it early December? So after the first week of November, its the last slow crawl to Christmas. Not that it is so slow, December whizzes past usually. Plenty of good music to listen to in the evenings, videogames, TV and films to watch when its too dark or cold to venture outside. The shops open late for Christmas shopping - have you got all your presents yet? I even heard Christmas music in one shop last weekend. I have not yet been tempted to buy one remotely Christmassy thing yet, although I was eyeing the seasonal aisle of the supermarket - lots of lovely food that is very likely to add a nice layer of fat to my body - perhaps I won't be having the usual Christmas food this year!

Nights are drawing in

It's getting darker earlier and earlier in the afternoon. My neighbour commented to me yesterday evening that she likes the fact that it is dark when she gets home. I guess I can appreciate some of that - it certainly makes the house feel cozy. The heating is on, the lamp casts a nice warm It also makes me think of the holiday season approaching, the shops are starting to stock Christmas items in the run to the end of the year. I have a lot of deadlines to meet before the end of the year, so I'm just going to get my head down and work through it all. I'll be blogging when I can over the coming months.

If you've never seen the show The IT Crowd, I'd recommend it. I've seen two series on DVD and have enjoyed it, a good laugh.

Segmentation

Another week and only one post! What's happening is that my time is being eaten up with cooking, washing up, video gaming seeing the children off to bed, work and trying (and usually failing) to get enough sleep. I need more segmentation or separation between my interests and activities. I didn't get a chance to do much blogging this week and I didn't get a chance to do any prep for the next series of my podcast, which begins next week. I'm also up against things work-wise, so the next few days, weeks and months are going to to get busy: hence segmentation is essential. Everything has to have a fair time-slice. So goodness knows how I'm going to do that, with Halo 3 being released this week (I got my pre-order in on Saturday and I'm secretly getting excited).

Shuffling Along

Has it really been a week since I last posted something here? It doesn't feel that long! I wonder if keeping a notebook has had a replacement effect instead of a supporting role in my blogging? I mean, perhaps I get out of me what I need to in my notebook instead of in these posts.

On Monday evening I started a guitar class. It's ok so far, I found I couldn't strum a simple pattern very well but I could form chords OK, so I could use the tuition. We learned the key of D and the key of G. A member of the group turned up a little late, a lady. She tried to enter the class in an unobtrusive way but because her guitar was strapped on her back (with the neck sticking out), when she turned to close the door she hit a chair making a loud noise. The class is in an art room, so there are papier mache models hanging up etc., and she tried to slip quietly past the tutor but turned again and hit the models hanging up. I bet she felt a right wally, I know I would have, but to her credit she got on with it and didn't play bad either.

I've got my Xbox360 online now, so I've been doing a bit of gaming with some friends, not real friends - like the kind you know on a face to face level - but internet friends: the internet is a new social paradigm isn't it?

I'm listening to a lot of music lately, partly in preparation for a new season of FWPL starting in October but partly because I bought my wife a new Ipod and have taken over using her old Ipod Shuffle. I love iTunes and the Shuffle, you can get several albums worth (as much as you can listen to on one trip) and hear the tracks in endless new ways. I love the serendipity of tracks shuffling - it's what I do when I decide the play order for my podcast. It keeps things interesting having that juxtaposition of styles and genres.

Hope everyone has had a good week, here's to another this week...cheers!

Daydreaming

I wonder how many words are typed on the average computer keyboard? The letters were disappearing on our old keyboard we'd done so much typing on it, so as I was shopping in the supermarket yesterday I noticed them selling keyboards for 3 pounds in the bargains section. On impulse I bought one. It seems to be alright, despite being so cheap it does what I need it to. It's a wired one, I toyed with the idea of buying a wireless keyboard and mouse pack but they were about 5 times more expensive and the keyboard wire doesn't really ever get in the way, so I figured we didn't need wireless. Also, with our wireless internet and mobile phones etc. I'm not in any hurry to bring any more airwaves into the house - I know they say there's no evidence of any of that stuff doing harm but you just don't want to increase the risk, even slightly.

I woke yesterday having had a bad dream, not sure it was classified as a nightmare. I was with a colleague from work and sort of informally got this offer to be interviewed for a great job. I was kind of disorganised and it was very last minute but even so I screwed up. Instead of accepting a lift and being a little late, or even driving myself there, I decided to go by bus. The bus didn't even leave until way after the interview and the guy wasn't there any more, he'd left ages ago but my colleague who offered the lift was there to tell me how p***ed off he was. It was all so informal that I didn't even have the guy's name or number so I couldn't call to say I'd be late. I just felt so cut off and embarassed about making a bad impression on someone I'd never met. That was no way to wake up. I was in a bad mood for the rest of day.

I've started carrying a little notebook around with me wherever I go. I use it to jot down ideas for blog posts or just to capture some thought here or there. It's quite handy, don't know why I haven't done it before. One of the entries records my surprise at how long my wife and I have been doing the GI diet. We're still on it and my wife has almost lost two stones, she's looking really good and is buying clothes again. I think a lot of women feel bigger than they are, I guess that's to do with the media presenting an ideal body image that's far from the norm. It doesn't appear to strike men so hard that way.

Run for cover

Life is a big, scary thing. We make decisions based on what we know to be true at the time. But it can turn out that decisions you make, are made because you want to get out of no-mans land into a foxhole for cover. Sometimes you realise that you are stuck for years in a foxhole that you thought would provide temporary cover and you need to get out. Climbing out of the hole and running through fire to get the next foxhole can be paralysing but you do need to act. Moving from one foxhole to foxhole is no way to live. You need to get off the battleground.

Bone of contention

I finished off the Blason de Bourgogne 2006 Chardonnay, which is a lovely dry white wine, tonight while watching the two remaining episodes of the first series I had to watch of the sitcom The IT Crowd. A series I've starting liking, the second series is on TV at the moment but I haven't managed to catch any of them - looks like another DVD catch-up job will be in order.

I also watched this show about two trainee hairdressers vying for a job with a top London hair salon. Reality TV strikes again, with a twist, the twist being that one candidate is 17 and the other is in their 60s. The younger having worked in a local salon for 3 years whilst the latter has been in the business over 40 years. The human side of story really focused on the man in his 60s, we learned he wanted to support his wife and that he had a good way with customers, that he enjoyed taking the reigns on a photo shoot, producing some stunning visuals interpreting the theme creatively but he was very set in his old, bad ways. The girl was sour faced, gave the impression of being stroppy and talked in a monotone voice constantly, showing no enthusiasm whatever. She bombed on the photo shoot assignment but did well in the final show as the finale of their 4 weeks in the salon. How humiliating for the guy to fail a hair washing test 5 times - not just any old hair washing because it had to be in the correct salon style. It was more a problem for him because he was tall and he had to bend to get the right angle for his hands. Whereas it was nothing for a nimble 17 year old.

Talk of washing hair reminds me that a few years ago I went into a small local barbershop I'd never been into before for a haircut. All seemed friendly enough but the shop felt a bit behind the times - a curtain across the shop window at shoulder height hid the clients from view. On the wall were lots of black and white soccer photographs. The radio was tuned to a sports talk station and it being a Saturday, there was a lot to talk about and the barbers (two of them, both male in their 40s/50s, passing comment occasionally). It was quite busy, I had to wait my turn on my foldable chair against the wall facing clients infront of the small mirrors. I had chosen to have a Wet Cut that meant having my hair washed beforehand, every time I'd had my hair washed in a salon before I was asked to lean back and the business was done with my face clear from water as my hair was washed behind. But in this barbershop, it was a different kettle of fish. I had to lean forward, water ran off my nose and I found it hard to get get my breath. I'm sure I must have struggled to get free but my head was held firmly in place - it was probably one of the most uncomfortable few minutes of my life (apart from a few times in the dentist office). Needless to say I never went back there, I didn't feel like I ever wanted to drown in a barbershop again.

Back to reality TV, no surprises that the girl beat the man to be offered the job. I think the reasoning was that the salon owners felt that they could bring out the personality in the girl and she was easier to mould into what they wanted. It must have been a terrible let down for the man though, the programme showed none of the aftermath of the judges decision which I felt was unusual - don't reality TV shows usually indulge in analysing every aspect of success and failure? It simply said in text in the end credits that the girl was still working at the salon and the man was still looking for a full time position. I felt he deserved something better out of the experience - I'm sure he learned a lot but if that doesn't translate into something material what's the point? Ah, reality TV doesn't have to have a point though, does it? I've answered my own question! Time for bed...

Thirty nine

Birthday's are strange aren't they? Thanks for my birthday shout outs people, nice to be thought of on such a day. It's near the end of my thirties and yet I don't feel anything much about that, perhaps it will be different as the year progresses. I already spent my birthday money on the Xbox360, but it was nice to get some new clothes to wear - and because I've lost weight actually fit into 32" waist jeans.

I've been thinking a lot recently about life and what matters. I'm going to start some guitar lessons in the next week or so, it's at a local art centre I used to go to pretty regularly many years ago. I think going out and interacting with people outside of work and home is essential - it's something I haven't been doing enough of since my daughter was born several years ago.

I'm listening to a lot of classical music lately. Mainly as I drive, I listen to Classic FM. I've also watched a documentary series I took out the library on The Great War. I wanted to understand more about how that war started, a lot of people only know it through the Blackadder Goes Forth TV comedy. Hope you enjoy the following clip, you'll see a younger version of Hugh Laurie from House fame (among many other things) in it.

Good start

Work has been hectic all week. I finished late today however, my wife had the foresight to load the oven with vegetables to roast - so we decided to take the kids to the park much later than usual. We had it all to ourselves. I'd been working indoors all day, so getting out into the fresh air to play with the kids in the park was great - it really blew the cobwebs out! I had awoken this morning with such a headache for some reason.

I just also want to thank all of you who read this blog and comment, I just want to let you know it means so much to me and it's probably not often enough that I say that.

Woods

We had a Bank Holiday on Monday this week. My wife is preparing lots of work at the moment, she monopolises our home PC, so I decided to take the children to the woods while she worked. My kids love to listen to Enid Blyton Famous Five audio books at bedtime, so while we walked through the woods they play-acted as the children from the stories. My kids love adventure stories and it makes me happy to listen to them playing. I remember doing similar play-acting as a kid. I actually think its good for learning improvisation techniques. There were lots of picnic spots and we set up our small pop-up tent in one, stretched out our blanket and I got the wine gums out and apple juice out. I played football with them and a noisy kind of tennis game (the rackets had a clear thin vinyl material stretched across which make a noise like a biscuit tin lin: infact I'll christian the game now - Biscuit Tin Ball! I lay on the blanket, looked up at the sky framed by the tops of trees and suddenly a glider swooped around low over the trees. It was a great sight. Gliders can often be seen when out walking on the hills near us, I even drive by the airstrip where they take off to see if I can catch a glimpse quickly. There are several nice things about having the day off and taking the kids somewhere like the woods: they get fresh air, they get to run around and use up lots of energy, they can be as loud as they like, they get a chance to discover things about nature, it gives them some dedicated time with me, they can watch other families and it all costs next to nothing. Finding something good to do as a family is not easy, most of the time pressures of life and work compete. But I'm glad that this Bank holiday we did something that was enjoyable for me and the children and got us out to experience some nature.

Room to Grow

Our house is full. We need to move. Individually, we're just a lot of hoarders and too many hoarders in one family is not good. I had to get something from the loft (attic) this week and I got up there and my heart just sank. Finding out how much you've actually got to move when you do decide to go for me has been deeply upsetting. I'm telling you folks, we've got issues to address and stuff to chuck out. House prices are ridiculous, there is no way we could afford a four bedroom house in the area - they're like 400,000 pounds. That's not far off half a million, I remember when I had to think of the largest number I possibly could as a child and it was usually a million. Well, a million ain't like it used to be (it's still completely unrealistic an amount of money though).

Changing the subject completely, I learned over the weekend that the Chupa Chups logo (below) was originally designed by Salvador Dali. That would make a great trivia question, perhaps its already been used but I'd have thought it was a joke before reading the truth.



Disconcerting
On another note, the wall clock in our dining room is running out of battery and nobody can be bothered to change it yet. It is disconcerting to realise I had less time than I thought to finish this post! Guess I'll have to change that battery now...

Gamer Days

This week has been fairly busy. I've still managed to find time to get some gaming in though, especially because last Sunday I used my voucher and reward points up at Game on buying the Xbox360 system bundled with the Gears of War and Forza Motorsport 2 games.



I'm going to try and use the Xbox Live service, haven't been that adventurous yet but I'll do it since I might as well take advantage now I've finally bought a next generation console. The games are brilliant, Gears of War just looks like a film to me the graphics are so good.

I'm still managing to find pleasure in playing my Playstation 2 games, I'm making progress with Conflict Desert Storm 2. It's not an exceptional game by any standards but I'm close to finishing the storyline and it's getting harder and more addictive. I was playing up until 2am this morning. This probably explains my current headache!

Fruity topic

Is a nectarine the same as a peach, except with different skin? They taste much the same to me. If I had to choose a favourite fruit it would be a pineapple because they are so juicy and mouthwatering.

I found this quiz on Tara's blog and what do you know?

What Kind of Fruit Are You?

You are a Pineapple...the traditional symbol of friendship, you embrace everyone as a friend...you are loyal, kind and always there for a friend in need...
Take this quiz!








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TV Thoughts

The new series of the UK version of X Factor began last Saturday, the viewing figures were something like 11 million. This is very good for a UK Saturday evening show these days, long gone are the days when figures were much higher for Saturday evening variety shows. My wife looks forward to the X Factor not for the show itself but the knowledge that it begins the run-up to Christmas (when the series traditionally finishes). The show itself began with a tension between the judges, Brian Friedman (US dance expert) was eventually replaced after the first week with Louis Walsh (who was unceremoniously sacked after the last series). We are led to believe that "the chemistry" is right again and miraculously the acts started improving and more were let through. I'm not sure I would have let some of the acts in that they did but they're the experts. What I didn't realise and what is never made clear is that the judges only see a proportion of the acts that are let through by the shows producers. This knowledge ruins for me the parts with truly terrible singers, it just feels exploitative: I know (newsflash: music industry exploits the young!) but combined with lowering the age limit to 14 year olds I feel more and more uncomfortable. Perhaps I'm just being a grumpy old fart.

Hello again, hello

It's good to be back! I feel refreshed and reinvigorated. It's probably down to spending a week away from work and home last week - we all went to the seaside for a week. Even though the weather was mixed we had a good time, did I mention we managed to walk about 40 miles in total during the week? Pretty good going I think. My left calf muscle has been aching a bit last couple of days but tonight it seems to be OK. It's good to be home but when you're away and the day when you have to return home is approaching there's a feeling you get that is half-glad and half-sad, sad because it's nice to do things different for a while. Even the small things like the changes you have to make in how you prepare your food can seem like quite big. It teaches you that changing behaviour is not that hard and that change can be good. Having to live differently is also good to demonstrate how adaptable you can be. Don't get me wrong, I'm talking about small changes here - we stayed in an apartment so the only major differences beside location for us were the facilities available for washing, cooking etc. It's not like we were living in a remote island or anything. Being somewhere else, in someone else's place without making it your own, is like living as a different person for a while. That's probably part of what I needed. Something to think about, anyway...

Recharging

Just recharging my body batteries....hence the lack of posts...

Feeling

I haven't been feeling very well lately. Hence my lack of posts. I've got some stomach bug I think, but yesterday I was asleep by 8pm. Today I looked after my son and we got my boxes of magic tricks out and I amazed and confused him with some of those I could do. I love magic trick kits: I urge you to go out and buy a cheap box of tricks for your own amusement in times of boredom, it works a treat when you need a diversion from any trouble or feelings you want to suppress.
The other thing I've been doing is reading my kids a new bedtime storybook, well actually it's not a new book at all. It's The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Graham, a book I know from my childhood but I don't remember where exactly I know it from. I mean whether my parents, or a teacher or myself read it. I started out encouraging my daughter to read a page while I read two but it quickly became apparent that there were some huge words in it that she had not come across and so needed explaining. This was in almost every sentence. I like the way it is written and the language but it uses so many grown up words and is complex in its use of language that I don't think it would make it as children's book in today's world. I may be wrong, my wife (who was a good reader as a kid) said she started it so many times as a kid and always gave up because the words were so difficult that she now hates it (and complains it is boring). It probably is a bit boring but is also fairly gentle and pleasant (at least so far), that I'm going to continue reading it as the bedtime story.
Lastly, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to our summer holiday at the seaside, it's coming in about 4 weeks time. Yippee!

Chill-out with a Chillow

I've just seen something that might be wonderful on Amazon. It's called a chillow. Nothing beats waking up on new clean sheets and moving your head to rest against a cold, fresh part of the pillow that has been cooled by a gentle breeze coming in through a window. Obviously, I am talking about the kind of coolness you only get on summer mornings. In the winter I hate cold.

Compose

It feels like a longer gap than it actually has been. I've had some great thoughts for blog posts but again when I am here I can't remember them. My potato and onion curry is cooking, it smells lovely and I'm starving! The diet is still going well, my tea and coffee consumption is down to just a cup of coffee per day now. I'm drinking more water and eating bananas. I'm resisting the temptation to eat crisps and biscuits. My one luxury is a bar of plain (dark) chocolate per week - this is over 70 per cent cocoa so is quite strong and bitter for chocolate - I would usually buy milk chocolate, which has more fat and sugar in it. I'm trying to lose a couple of stones and I'm 7 pounds lighter after three weeks. My wife has more to lose, traditionally she looses it slower than I do - she's probably a bit miffed by that. But she is also losing it gradually, which is probably the thing to aim for instead of sudden and dramatic weight loss.
My brother and sister inlaw were over in this country at the weekend, visiting parents. I took the kids up and saw them. It's been eight years since I last saw them both and it was a little odd at first but was good. It's too long to leave it really. I hope next year we can fly over to Boston and go visit them.

Finish the sentence meme

I've been tagged by L.B. to do this meme, its a day late but here goes:

Finish The Sentence Survey Meme

Maybe I should....: buy an Xbox360?

I love...: my new car (picked it up last weekend)

People would say that I'm...: not a risk-taker

I don't understand...: womankind

When I wake up in the morning...: wondering how long I can pretend to be asleep for

I lost...: All of my school friends

Life is full of...: people doing grown-up stuff I don't relate to

My past is...: sometimes embarassing

I get annoyed when...: I see people drop litter on the street

Parties are...: uncomfortable

I wish...: I was doing more to move house

Dogs...: are great friends but high maintenance

Cats...: like me better when I'm not moving

Tomorrow...: is a Friday Yay!

I have low tolerance...: for any sort of bullying or spiteful behaviour

If I had a million dollars...: I'd buy a big house

I'm totally terrified...: of dangerous drivers

Thanks L.B., I'm not going to tag anyone but if you want to do this one feel free.

Experience

For the past week and a bit, my wife and I have been following an online GI diet. I have also reduced my tea and coffee intake to just one or two cups per day compared to the eight or ten cups I was drinking. In place of tea and coffee I'm drinking water, semi-skimmed milk or orange juice. What effects is this having? I'm losing weight gradually, it's coming off me - my waist belt feels a little slacker. I'm a bit more relaxed in general, not as much as I'd like though. I know now that I can live without drinking copious amounts of tea and coffee. In terms of my sugar and salt intake, it's definitely gone down - I haven't drunk any fizzy drinks, or eaten any ready-prepared meals and because I'm drinking fewer beverages I'm not consuming the sugar that would have been in those. So, in general I feel a little healthier. The diet has also got me and my wife cooking again, our cupboard has now got some spice jars in it. I'm preparing meals I've never tried before - favourite meal last week was fried green lentils and onion topped with toasted ciabatta slices with goats cheese topping, I added a few salad leaves on the side just to fill the meal out a little (we had a guest staying with us). This week a block of plain (dark) chocolate is on the menu, so I've had a chunk of that each day while preparing the kids dinner. Doing the online diet gives us some variety each day and my wife sets the menu at the weekend for the week ahead. We are spending more on food but there is definitely an improvement in our diet - we're eating a healthy amount of fresh fruit and vegetables. This time of year, there are so many delicious fruits out there too. I bought limes for the first time yesterday for our dinner tonight, chicken and bean salad with avocado. I haven't really missed anything yet to be honest, I think I'll be able to keep this up. I just need to start doing some exercise next...

In quiet moments...

There are times during the normal week when I get a chance to have a sit and think about stuff other than work or the family. My times for doing this aren't usually planned or anything, they are spontaneous and are probably the kind of thing one does more of as one gets older. Over the past month or so one news story haunts me more than others - probably because it involves a child and I can empathise with the parents by imagining what it must be like for them, I can't of course imagine the full horror but its bad enough. I am referring to the case of the missing Madeleine McCann, the four year old who was snatched from a holiday apartment while her brother and sister slept nearby. Her parents where eating at a local restaurant only yards from the apartment and were checking on the sleeping tots every half hour. This happened while they were on a family holiday in Portugal, a time when they should be relaxing and having fun family time.
It is a heartbreaking story and the parents must be torturing themselves. The crime is so horrid I don't even want to consider the possibilities of what has happened to the little girl. To be so young and be snatched from your mum or dad is just so terrible and terrifying. In my few moments of reflection I do find myself thinking of the family and I pray that Madeleine is returned to them safe and unharmed. I also pray that whoever did this vile act is caught and severely punished.

Festival fever

It's that time of the year. I get envious of the young people who can disappear for a few days into the adventure of a music festival. I love music and watching bands perform live. I've enjoyed a few festivals in the past but there has never been a "gang" I could go with, I think festivals are better experiences if you go with your mates. I've never been to Glastonbury but I think it's probably the best UK festival, given the historic landscape and the calibre of the acts it attracts and its broad appeal. Last weekend the Download festival catered for the hard rock community, I like the music but I probably don't have anything in common with the rest of the audience and would stand out like a sore thumb. This weekend it's the Wireless Festival in London and Leeds. There are a few acts on the bill I like, especially the White Stripes and the Kaiser Chiefs. There are aspects of festivals I don't like: toilets being one, although they are probably better than ever. They stink in the hot weather, I hate queueing and would be completely embarassed if I had to stand there in a queue clenching my buttocks with fifty other bearded blokes holding a toilet roll while happy people walked past. I also don't like the cost of the food and drink inside the festival. You'd think that law of economics would allow prices to be lowered within the boundaries of the arena but no, the reverse is true. You end up feeling really hungry because of the nice smells and you wander from stall to stall not knowing which takeaway food looks nicest and which one you know will cause you severe bottom trouble. I've also wandered around festivals feeling really alone because I didn't have weird clothes, long hair, tattoos and body piercings - surely the uniform of festival goers. No, on the whole I enjoy festivals from a distance - either the TV or radio. In a way I'm quite sad about that.

Movies

Ever rented a movie that you didn't get around to watching? Its so annoying isn't it? I had to take a movie back on saturday, it was called Pan's Labyrinth and it looked really intriguing. I'm gutted I didn't get to watch it. Anyone seen it?

Full

The last couple of weeks have been so busy. At the weekend I put a deposit down on a car. I pick it up next weekend. My wife activated an online diet for herself but I'm going to be doing it with her to share the responsibility and hopefully save some money. It's nice food but takes more preparation and thinking ahead than our usual diet. It's a GI diet (whatever that means) and it includes chicken and salad and fish and yoghurt. My wife doesn't like yoghurt or cottage cheese, so I think she'll find it hard. I am not sure about brown rice and fish, I don't enjoy eating it although I know its good for me. The low fat cheese I bought is very rubbery - think of the texture of Swiss cheese - and I'm not sure about the taste. I'm trying to drink eight glasses of water a day and cut down on tea and coffee.

What is your seduction style?

Your Seduction Style: The Natural

You don't really try to seduce people... it just seems to happen. Fun loving and free spirited, you bring out the inner child in people. You are spontaneous, sincere, and unpretentious - a hard combo to find! People drop their guard around you, and find themselves falling fast.

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Big Brother

Big Brother is on again. It's been a very uneventful start except that there was a first today - a housemate was removed for using racist language. I haven't seen the footage because Channel 4 has not shown it but it sounds like it was more on the stupid and innapropriate side, rather than their being any race hate behind it. It does demonstrate that the Shilpa Shetty racism in Celebrity Big Brother and the resultant telling off Channel 4 received from the regulator has had a big impact. There are several housemates I'd like to remove, Emily wouldn't have been top of the list but then again I am not sorry she's gone.

What planet should you rule?

I did this thinking it would be fun, but actually I found it to be quite accurate.

You Should Rule Saturn

Saturn is a mysterious planet that can rarely be seen with the naked eye. You are perfect to rule Saturn because like its rings, you don't always follow the rules of nature. And like Saturn, to really be able to understand you, someone delve beyond your appearance. You are not an easy person to befriend. However, once you enter a friendship, you'll be a friend for life. You think slowly but deeply. You only gain great understanding after a situation has past.

What Planet Should You Rule?

Chip off the old block?

Having young children is great fun most of the time and sometimes the enormity of being a parent who your children love and "look up to" just hits you in a wave that almost knocks you off your feet. I love my kids dearly. My son might be showing some symptoms that are known as Asperger's Syndrome. It's hard to tell and at his age its even harder, since he hasn't started school yet. I was talking to a person recently who I mentioned this to and she told me about a relation of hers with the syndrome and it hit me for six, to think about my son being a young man and how it might affect his life. Part of me thinks that my son's behaviour might not be this syndrome and that it's related to diet or his age and just being a boy. How much do I know about myself at his age? Maybe I was like that?
There is some evidence to suggest this is true. I remember prior to joining school not wanting to sit down and do writing. I wanted to play all the time, I had no interest in doing writing exercises. My older brother was lauded as being more intelligent than I was at school. My mum told me recently she had asked my teachers when I was started school to stop showing me work done by my brother a few years earlier - I had no idea about this until she told me. I also heard that my mum didn't really know how to handle the fact that I was so not like my brother, who was always very studious. There were times at school when I was just not interested at all and played around and got into trouble. It was probably very embarassing for my parents now I think about it. Even now I am drawn so much more to things that interest me than other things I should probably be doing. My teenage school days weren't great for me. I didn't like the authoritarian ethos and I feared the teachers, I withdrew into my shell a bit and I think it made me distrustful of others. I was also a very self-conscious teenager and had poor self esteem. So if my son does have something, perhaps he has just inherited this from me. Even so, I don't think I've done too bad in life - I have a beautiful wife, two adorable kids and a good job. So I can't say it has been a severe setback in my life.
We're hoping to have my son assessed by a professional, who can help us to take the right approach to schoolwork and life in general to help him as best we are able to. It's the not knowing that I find troubling.

Beth Ditto's NME Cover

I see quite a few photos of Beth Ditto while reading newspapers and magazines and I get to read some of her opinions on the music and fashion industries. Most of what I read is reported rather than Ditto actually doing the writing, so it's not very easy to tell the truth from the journalistic speak. I listen to her wonderful voice and am transported to a wonderful place by the music. You can read some comments on this cover article here. Here's the cover:



I think it's a great NME cover. It's so refreshing to see a strong woman voicing her opinions and not being afraid to challenge an industry that makes a virtue of Bulimic teen models. Beth's nude cover challenges the conventional idea of High Street magazine covers (predominantly read by men) and demonstrates perfecty that a woman can be big and beautiful. I'm delighted that she came from the punk underground because I feel alternative, independent music made by bands today is some of the best music I've ever heard. It's great for young people to have inspirational role models who make us all think and a great time for music - The Gossip are an awesome band and Beth an awesome talent.

Wargaming

I have a bit of a yearning to get into wargaming. I like the thought of buying, glueing, painting the miniature soldiers and then creating the landscape and scenery in which to fight battles. Will anything come of this idea? I don't know. I am reading a Warhammer 40,000 graphic novel at the moment and am enjoying it. I even went into a Games Workshop hobby store at the weekend and the guy in there was really friendly and helpful - he showed me how to play a quick skirmish game and it seemed like good fun. It would be a nice, social hobby for me and the kids. The reason we were visiting a games store like this is that my daughter has entered a competition to design a small 3D garden - so we were visiting model stores for ideas and materials like shrubs or foliage. The guy at the store was so helpful I think I might write to their HQ and tell them how helpful and friendly the staff were.

Power

It's funny when something happens that make you realise how much more dependent we are in todays hi-tech world. I was with my wife last night when BLINK, the power went off. Darkness. Almost total darkness. The funny thing was, my mother in-law had had a powercut the day before and had our matches and candles. I was cursing because I love my Maglite torches but they get used by the family and the batteries were dead. After half an hour or so we were in a better position and had got things together a bit more but the power went off 10pm yesterday and wasn't restored until 5pm today, 19 hours without heating, lighting, hot water, hot food and hot drinks. I did make a few interesting observations:

• I missed the internet more than the TV
• I don't feel good if I don't feel clean
• Torchlight bounced off the ceiling gives a better light for moving about in than torchbeam
  
• It's nice to play a game together than do stuff separately
• We all got a bit stir crazy without our comforts at home

The one thing to come out of this was an educational lesson for our kids on the importance of having an emergency box with candles, matches and other stuff you need for when there is no power. Thankfully, this is a fairly uncommon event in our lives.

Motor Museum photos

Here are some photos I took at the motor museum with my cameraphone, I didn't take many at all. The model in question is a Hillman Imp: a car I've never owned, driven or been in and yet I do have some affection for the design. There were lots of much earlier vehicles on display, including Brum (the kids love Brum), and the resemblance of some of them to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was noted. I love those old cars, they're actually quite small and very sparse inside. I like the long bonnets and big headlamps that are mounted on the body rather than being an integral part of the car and I like the fact that there was a much greater mix of other road users (horse drawn carts, cyclists, etc.) - ah those must have been the days...

Kids laughter

My kids are in the bath at the moment upstairs, they're laughing at Home Alone 2. It's playing on my personal DVD player perched on a stool (it's ok, on battery power). We started watching it during dinner and just this once we've let them watch it while they bath just before bedtime. I love their laughter, its so infectious.

We had a great day today, despite it being really wet and cold. We visited a railway exhibition and a motor museum - photos to follow.

Our washing machine just tripped out the power. Everytime we switch it on, the power trips. It's seven years old now and had been getting louder and louder. It reaches the same volume level as a jumbo jet taking off from Heathrow Airport - I'm surprised the neighbours haven't been around to complain. I guess 7 years is a good long time for a washing machine these days - especially considering how much it is used with two adults and two kids.

Cassette Tape RIP

One of our largest highstreet electrical chain stores in the UK has decided to stop selling the blank cassette tape. The technology has long been out of date, no albums I know of are sold on cassette tape these days, and the cheapness of MP3 players that can store many more songs has made the poor old cassette tape obsolete. I have had several cassette tape recorders and tape players over the years, it has been a format that has been a great success.

The cassette tape epoch was not always a pleasant experience: I remember the problems taping songs from radio and waiting with fingers poised on Record and Play buttons, hoping the DJ would leave a little gap long enough for me to avoid his voice. The height of sophistication was using the Pause button.

I had experiences with bedroom recordings - either me playing my own songs or doing comedy sketches (that only I would find funny) and the novelty of hearing my own voice coming through the speaker - or at least something that could have been me - it was hard to tell through all of the tape hiss.

I remember too, my experiences with my first home computer (Sinclair ZX Spectrum) and the frustration of waiting for games to load from my cassette recorder - waiting five minutes only to have the load crash at the last moment.

My first personal portable cassette player with headphones was a Sanyo. A huge heavy reddish coloured brick with chunky white buttons and shoulder strap. The innovation was a tape counter that allowed me to fast forward and rewind to the songs I liked - great (except I never used it, the only way this would have worked was if I wrote down all of the numbers for all of the songs on a tape and ensured I started from the beginning of the tape each time: far too tedious ).

I only ever bought ready-made music tapes when they were on sale or were much cheaper than the vinyl or CD (later) equivalents. This accounts for a rather strange collection of audio tapes. The idea for this post came about because while clearing our shed I have come across my cassette tape collection and am now engaged on a project to transfer them to MP3 format. This is probably a project that will never get finished, already I am disappointed by the sound quality but I'd hate to lose some of this music.

The equipment for playing tapes can still be bought, so the death of the cassette tape will be a long and slow one. Many of us still have favourite mix tapes made by friends or by us for friends or lovers. I have several made for me by various girlfriends of the past, I don't have the heart to throw them away just yet.

Here is an example of one of my cassettes. I bought many of my commercial tapes in the 1980s (the height of highstreet gadgetry was a Sony Walkman), so this is probably why my collection is a bit odd. Debbie Bonham was the daughter of now deceased Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. This was possibly her first album and is classic 80s rock with guitar riffs, emotionally charged songs and the overuse of synthesizers (because you could do that back then). It's pity I can't play the songs to you, I don't think it was ever released in the US - it was published by Carrerre Records. You can find Debbie Bonham on My Space now, going under her name Deborah Bonham. While you can enjoy her songs on My Space, I'll be re-living the 80s with this album, For You and The Moon. Have a good Sunday!

My Top 3 Eurovision Song 2007

It's been a week since the final of the Eurovision Song Contest and it just occurred to me today that my favourite songs from the competition might be on You Tube. Well, wadda-u-know they are! Now I can relive the memory and you can enjoy my top songs from the competition this year, the web is a wonderful thing.

In order my top 3 are:

Hanna Pakarinen - Leave Me Alone (Finland)


Natalia Barbu - Fight (Moldova)


Magdi Ruzsa - The Unsubstantial Blues (Hungary)


Note for obsessives:
I know my scoring last week had Russia as the top song and indeed it was a catchy pop song, however the scoring included dance and outfit in there. I'm just going on song and performance only this week, so Russia would have come 4th on those things alone.

Bloggers Block

I've been suffering a bit lately from Bloggers Block: when I wake up in the morning I generally have an idea for a blog post or I'm at work or travelling and another idea comes up but somehow it just seems to vanish as I sit down at the PC and open Blogger. So here I sit desperately trying to remember what it was I was going to say and nothing comes...but this. So, my apologies folks. I hope normal brain function will be resumed soon. But do any of you have any tips for overcoming this affliction? And what's been your longest break from blogging since you started?

Board Games

A few weeks back we attended a few car boot sales and bought some board games. One of them was Monopoly (a classic) and another was the board game from the TV series The Crystal Maze. I've posted before about this show. The board game is devilishly hard to win because you have to complete small mini-puzzles before the sand runs out of the egg timer. There are a few of these that are impossible to beat in the time limit. The games looks better than it actually plays:

Eurovision 2007

I watched the Eurovision last night with my beer and my unhealthy snack food, it was great. The production just seems to get better and better each year - it must cost millions for the host country to stage. I enjoyed the songs and performances and my own scoring (I'm a sad, sad man - taking this far too seriously) produced the following top five:

1. Russia
2. Finland
3. Moldova
4. Hungary
5. Greece

I woud also have given points to Georgia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lithuania and Spain. My scoring is based on the official scoresheet and is a combined total score - song, performance, dance routine and outfit are also scored (just to add to the confusion). I tried to score fairly strictly concerning dance routine and outfit so that they didn't have a great impact on the total score, so I concentrated my attention on the song and performance.

Here are the actual results for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, but if you want a quick look at the top five here they are:

1. Serbia (268 points)
2. Ukraine (235)
3. Russia (207)
4. Turkey (163)
5. Bulgaria (157)

The winner was a complete surprise and Turkey's final position was good too. The UK came second last, drawing with France, and poor Ireland came bottom (they also got the lowest score on my scoresheet).

The voting usually follows a very predictable pattern with Western Europe and Eastern Europe countries voting within their own borders but sometimes the odd surprise vote comes along. Terry Wogan, the UK commentator, made some comments about the Eastern European countries "block voting" but, to be frank, I thought the songs from Western European countries were poor: with only Finland, Spain and Greece entering songs that were contenders.

Ah well, all the excitement is over for another year...

Collectormania 10

Here are some photos I took at this event on Monday. All Dr Who related, these were the most photogenic objects - if we'd been there on another day I think there would have been more to see. Ah well, there's always the October Collectormania to look forward to!
















Don't ask me what all these things are because I'm not sure I can answer (apart from K9 and the Dalek of course!).

Time

We have a limited run of life on this planet. Many of us will die of natural causes or illness and some will die because of those seemingly random acts of violence encountered through accidents or crime. Some of us will die because of our occupations. Thinking of these things often makes me pause and ask am I using my time on this Earth to the best effect? The answer is usually a "no" but I suspect it is the same for many: the hard bit is to recognise what would make life better for us and then implement a change process in our lives to achieve what we identified. Sounds all very simple doesn't it? Well, it's not really. What makes life better changes as life itself brings changes we couldn't contemplate into our reckoning. I was once quite a social person and seeing as many friends as possible on weekends and evenings was my goal. That changed a lot when first I met my girlfriend (now wife) and it changed even more when I married and then again with the arrival of children. Now, an observer would say I was not very social at all. I guess the point of that is to show how my goal of being a social person changed to be more family-centric. My goals now are about fun, love and care for my family and friendship is probably not a high goal at the moment but I know I don't want to ever lose that.

This weekend is the May Bank Holiday in the UK, which means I have a long weekend because Monday is counted as a holiday by my employer. We have several Bank Holidays in the UK each year and with every one of them so far I've not really capitalised on the extra time available: I suppose that's because it is only one extra day and weekends just seem to fly by anyway that it doesn't seem so big a deal when it comes down to it. But somewhere within me I feel I should be doing more on these days than I actually do. However, perhaps tomorrow will feel different than other Bank Holidays have this year because tomorrow I'm attending Collectormania again - last year was great, so I'm hoping for good things this year.
I'm looking forward to next weekend when The Eurovision Song Contest is on Saturday Night. I'm going to eat loads of unhealthy food and drink beer and enjoy the competition. I hope Scooch do well but the quality of performance and songs just seems to go up and up each year. I love it, even though I know lots of people hate it and call it naff. I love the little promo clips for the countries that take part. The only sad thing in a way is that there has been a move away from the traditional dress/song to a more generic Euro-centric dance beat, that's OK but it does mean there are less of the strange and bizarre acts than there used to be. Still good fun though.

Car

My car is getting pretty long in the tooth, which is OK for a runaround vehicle for the kids but I worry about it on the longer journeys I have to make for work (there have been more of those in the last few months and no sign of that changing). So I'm having a little trouble matching my expectations with my principles and my price range. I always drove small hatchback cars until my last one, which was a Honda family saloon: I love it because it's an automatic transmission and it is very comfortable for long journeys. Part of me thinks I should go for something smaller because it is going to be a little greener and will be less expensive to tax. On the other hand I want a car that matches up to my home and work needs - at home it needs to be comfortable and zippy, but at work it needs to make me look good (professional, stylish etc.). The practical side of my nature says I only need something that gets me from A to B safely and comfortably. I also look at the prices and my heart sinks. Why are cars so expensive? The other ambition I have is to buy a newer car than the ones I normally seem to buy. I know newness isn't everything and I don't think I'll ever be able to afford a brand new car, regardless of my income - it sounds daft to say that but that's a feeling I have. I know someone who has a car that cost 32,000 pounds and to me that's just INCREDIBLE: (a) I don't know how they found a car so expensive (b) why even contemplate spending SO MUCH on just a car is beyond me. I'm going to be thinking about cars a lot in the coming days, I just thought I'd pass on my worries since I've found little time to blog on other things the last couple of weeks.

Good Postman

A good postman can make a day. If a Postie has a smile, a sense of humour and greets you in a morning it's a win-win situation - even if the weather is drizzly. This morning, I was called out of my bath by my daughter shouting "Someone's at the door". I wrapped a towel around my midriff and rushed downstairs. (Now, a bit of back story might help: I was refunded only yesterday for a package off e-Bay that never arrived). I open the door and there's a happy, smiley postie - he asks if I'm waiting for an order off e-Bay or something and it turns out that my package was delivered down the road. The Postie was great, he made my day because I got what I ordered (I had resigned to it being lost) and he worked out where the package should have been delivered to. Postie's like that are worth their weight in gold.

US TV

When I moved up to secondary school at 11/12 I received my own TV, which I had in the bedroom. Over the next couple of years I had some favourite TV shows. The real treat was being able to "stay up late" to watch a few shows that my parents wouldn't have let me watch. I say "late" but it was probably only 9pm, it was a different time back then though. A show that was regarded by my parents as "borderline" watchable for my age was SOAP. I haven't seen it in years but I did find it funny and daring (for my age). It would be interesting to watch again to see what I feel about it today. The other show that was OK by my parents for me to watch was WKRP In Cincinatti, I loved this show more than SOAP. I've always wanted to work at a radio station like that. I love the way that the shows were based around characters, just like Friends is really. My other favourite US show as a kid was Mash, I loved the theme song and I thought it was witty, intelligent and was certainly not your straightforward comedy sitcom. I was surprised a few years later to learn that the show aired with canned laughter in the US, it doesn't work with canned laughter. It would be interesting to know which (if any) British shows were popular in American homes a few years back.

Energy and Memory

For some reason, I'm finding it really difficult to find any energy this week past 7pm. I'm sure there is something I should be doing about that but what?

A weird thing happened this morning. I got up at 6.20am (later than usual for this week) and made my daughters lunchbox up for her to take to school. The Thermos lunchbag from the day before was out and I got a couple of iced gel packs from the freezer to put in it and I put the lunchbox in and closed it up all ready for it to go. I knew exactly what I had made and as far as I was concerned it was all done and dusted. I went upstairs to start running my bath. I came down as the bath was filling and my wife was saying to my daughter "You'll need a fork". They had the lunchbag open and were looking at the contents. "Is this yesterday's?" my wife asked, "No, I've made today's and she's got a spoon in there - I put one in". The thing is this: in the lunchbag was yesterday's leftover pasta lunch and on the table was the lunch I had made this morning. When my wife opened the bag I couldn't believe it - I would have sworn I put the lunchbox I had packed in the bag and taken the old one out. I think I must be losing my marbles.

My family and I have been doing some brain training this week, with a DS game designed to stimulate your brain. There are different types of number and word puzzles. The object of it is do use it daily and track your own progress and compare your performance with others (it holds 4 profiles). My wife is quite good, she has a brain age score of 28 today while mine today is 48 (about 10 years older than I actually am). The brain is certainly a weird and interesting thing - I'm quite good at some types of puzzles and can score well without really feeling I'm trying but for some other types of puzzle I just end up guessing. There's a game that starts off with a set number of stick people and then a house drops on top of them and the occupants leave and new stick figures enter. You have to do subtractions and additions at the same time and at the end say how many remain in the house. The speed gets faster slowly but at the end is really too fast for me. I'm not very good at that game. Another game is where you have 6 or seven numbers that appear briefly for a couple of seconds and you have to indicate where they were by going from lowest to highest and tapping their location on screen. I'm not too bad at that one. My brain was operating at Train Speed it told me and a picture of train went past. It don't feel like it now though!

Sleeping....

Sorry folks, several "up at the crack of dawn" mornings this week has left me needing my bed over my need to blog. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

Without Thinking

Rachel's post about stuff she did as a child got me thinking about some of the skeletons in my closet from my younger days. One incident happened quite innocuously one summers day while I was spending time in the back yard with the daughter of a neighbour.

The houses we lived in at the time backed onto a field, which was actually an exhumed cemetary. Although I say we were neighbours there was one house inbetween us and the occupant had recently died, he used to have an old shed at the end of his garden but it had been pulled down by his surviving family to make the property more saleable. One upright beam had been left standing for use as something to attach a clothes line to. My friend was female and about 3 or 4 years younger than me, I can't remember exactly how old I was - probably 9 or 10 maybe. We were on the field near the upright beam and for some reason had a length of white plastic clothes line wire - the type to really sting if you got whipped with it in a fight with a brother or something. I don't remember the conversation but the game involved tying one end of the wire to the beam and the other end around the girl's throat with a knot that would tighten. Her task was to run as fast as possible to the trees on the other side of the field. The wire is probably between 30 and 60 feet long and is clearly not long enough to allow her to reach the trees. But we are a little more than just friends, she's smitten with me and would jump off a cliff if I told her to. So anyway, she's motoring on and I can see her running through the heat haze above the grass. Suddenly the wire is at full stretch and silently she is yanked backwards off her feet and onto the grass on her back. I race to her and she's in tears. The wire is tight around her throat, really tight and she can't get it undone and is struggling to breathe. I start desperately trying to loosen the knot. I know it was stupid. It was cruel. Now all I'm hoping for is to get the knot loosened, slip the wire off her neck and comfort her with the aim of stopping her crying and from telling on me to her mother. Time seems to stretch out into an aeon of despair when horror of horrors - her mother comes into her yard and starts calling for my friend to come in for lunch. I can't loosen the wire, she's crying, her mother's yelling and now getting angry. Her mother is a fierce woman. The one Saving Grace is that we're too far for her to hear the crying and they have a tree in their garden that obstructs the view. It must have felt like years but it must only have been seconds because I was able to get the wire from her neck without her turning blue. She went in for lunch, after the tears had subsided a bit (although her mum must have known she'd been crying) and as far as I know that was the end of it. She probably got a telling off for being late for lunch, how unlucky is that? A scary few seconds though and how stupid could I have been to do that? I'm just glad it wasn't a hanging prank, I would definitely not have got the wire off!

Post-Easter Catch Up

Easter is over, it was OK actually. The weather was incredible - sunny and bright and warm. We all caught the sun accidentally on Sunday, it wasn't red hot but was obviously hot enough to burn. I feel awful that my son and daughter had red skin where the sun had been because we didn't cream them up.

On Sunday the Car Boot season began again. Car Boot sales are run by entrepreneurs who own some land and they charge something like eight pounds for you to park your car and sell your stuff. Somewhere close by, controlled by what I would loosely term "wardens", there is car parking where the buyers park. If you pay a pound each you can get to the sellers before 11am but after 11am it is 30 pence to get in. People sell all kinds of stuff - I like to see stuff that reminds me of when I was a kid because either I had it or I wanted it or I knew someone who had it. Literally anything can be bought and you often see the same stuff for sale on lots of stalls - kids clothes are very common for obvious reasons and kids stuff in general come to that. You have to appreciate how some stuff must have sold in the millions for so many people to be selling it in car boots - like board games, exercise equipment, kids annuals, toys and so on. We came away with the game Monopoly (British version) and it was in good condition for one pound fifty. OK so the new version does do away with money and has a "banker unit" but the old version with sorting out the money by hand is just as good in my opinion - it's nice to get loads of 500s in your hands because you know its never going to happen in real life.

Speaking of business, making money and financial greed. The Apprentice has started again on the BBC and it's as entertaining as ever. Jadine and Tre seem to be the most irritating people so far but they have narrowly escaped being fired. It's about the only regular programme, other than re-runs of Friends that I watch.

The fine weather is expected to continue for at least until Sunday, which is going to be very warm. So I expect to be out in the garden mowing the lawn at the weekend. I have Monday off, so I'm looking forward to that. Not sure how I'll use the time, my daughter will be with me as her teachers have training on that day. We might have to invent a game. She loves the re-runs of the competitive fitness and body building show The Gladiators. So maybe I can come up with Gladiator style physical challenges for her at the local park's playground?

Dirty Weekend

It's the Easter break yay! The weather is going to be fine. No work for four days in a row. We're at home, so no rushing about (apart from me picking my daughter up from the grandparents today). So it's going to be a dirty weekend for me, yes you guessed it - time to go out in the garden and begin sorting it out for the summer. I don't mean the patio, my wife has done her part - planting the pots and stuff. Now it's my turn, that means mowing. I have a hover mower that was the cheapest model in the range and although it cuts the grass, if the grass is long you have to go over it twice at different blade settings. So, as a consequence of that, it takes twice as long to cut it. It doesn't pick the grass up either, so I'll have dirty green fingers at the end of it (I don't like wearing gloves). There may be other dirty jobs to do too, like sorting the shed out. I've put this off too long, now its time for action - unless I can find something else to suggest we do instead (like go to the zoo) ;-)

Whatever you get up to over the break, I hope you have a great time.

Forced Absence

In the past week I've had time off, hit several IT problems, enjoyed myself 10 pin bowling, been away from home and generally been forced to take a break from Blog World and my podshow. Although the sequence of events was something I didn't choose, in a way I had a good time despite the difficulties.


The photo above is of Sooty and Sweep, two characters who have been part of childrens television in the UK since the sixties. I enjoyed watching them as a child and we took my children to a live Sooty show this week. Some shows appeal to children and adults alike, like The Simpson's. This was definitely a show aimed at the kids. Fortunately, for the first time in what seems like ages we weren't sitting in the first two rows and were infact several rows back and to the side. There was A LOT of water going into the audience within the first three rows, so I'm especially glad we didn't get a soaking. I didn't enjoy it very much, the kids loved it and I think a soaking would have just made me annoyed (a Grumpy Dad attack), a little bit of a water is OK but there some very wet people by the end - who must have found it uncomfortable to sit in their clothes.


I don't go ten pin bowling very often but it is always good fun when I go. We went out for bowling and a Chinese meal this week, as a small group of couples, and it was great fun. So hopefully, we'll be repeating the event in May. I prefer a lighter ball, it had a number 10 on it but I'm not sure if that referred to size or weight or what. I didn't score a strike unfortunately but someone in our group managed to score 4 strikes in a row, which I just find incredible. I didn't manage to win any of the games, the boys beat the girls, and I didn't even score over a 100 in either of two games. I did improve with practice though, it's just that I don't think I can afford to practice very often. Nevertheless, I enjoyed myself and it's a good sport to enjoy with friends.

Muted

Teatime last Thursday our Internet dropped again and it only came back on this morning. This is starting to become a monthly occurence and I've had enough, so we'll be changing our Internet provider. I'm also experiencing problems uploading last week's podcast and lack of internet has meant I've not been able to follow the problem up and I've been unable to do the research for this week's show, which I would have recorded over the weekend. So it's not been a good week for me techno-wise. I feel like I've been muted. I'll post again later to today, I've got today off so have things to do now - catch you laters.

Shocked and appalled

I just read this. I'm just so shocked and appalled at the level of mysogyny and lack of restraint some men show to women. It makes me want to stop blogging and have nothing to do with the Blogosphere, it's a salutary lesson in the dangers of blogging. I hope this explains why I don't stray into areas of my life that reveal more about me than I'm comfortable with and to regular readers: I thank you from the bottom of my heart that you continue to come back and read my thoughts, even though I'm not giving out the full details of places and names.

What colour is yours?

My wife's anniversary present for me this year was a Ninentendo DS Lite, a truly wonderful present. It came with the game Bomberman, which is one of those maddening addictive games that transcends generations. I've never played the game before but I love it. The DS Lite makes my existing Game Boy Advance games look great too, the backlit screen is such a massive improvement over my old unlit screen. So I now have my first new game console since I bought my PS2 at the beginning of 2005. I was looking at the PSP and considering it but I'm so glad I went with the DS Lite, there are so many really good GBA games that I can play on it. Backwards compatibility was something I went for on my PS2. Over time, you grow out of the older games and move on and the double screen, touch screen, microphone input and wifi mean that the DS is going to be a console I keep well into the future. My wife and I are already discussing buying the baby pink version for my daughter for her birthday: the really fun part is called Pictochat where you can chat with friends by both typing and drawing pictures and sending them to each other. Also, you can play games wirelessly with friends - Bomberman allows up to 8 people to play with just one game cartridge! A terrific gift. Now I have to match it, which won't be easy.

The Wriggler

I went shopping with my son at the weekend and we ended up in Hawkins Bazaar, which is a shop I love because it has toys that remind me of my childhood. There are loads of little things that are very cheap, which is another reason I love taking the kids there because it's one toyshop that includes toys that require imagination. I ended up buying a few small items, one of which happens to be my daughter's new pet Melissa - see the Magic Wriggler picture above. It's just a bit of fluff and a strand of nylon but it's great fun to watch kids marvel at it in the playground. I remember really really wanting one of these as a child and I was so happy that after begging for one for days that my mom finally got me one. I think I played with it for a few hours after that and then got bored as kids do. I'm sure it was called something different to Magic Wriggler when I was a kid but I can't remember what it was.

I have to also mention the weather here. I cannot believe the weather in just one day:- it's got really cold and it changes from being sunny and bright to dark and pelting snow in what seems like an instant. Most odd. I have got to travel tomorrow and I don't think I'll have much time for checking up on the Blogosphere until the weekend unfortunately. Have a fun week though, whatever you get up to.

Losing Stuff You Never Meant To

Tara's blog post inspired this.

Every year for certain things, like car tax for example, you need to be able to bring together different documents: in this case an MOT certificate from a garage, an official form, your cheque and a valid insurance certificate. I have to hand it to my wife for instigating the introduction of "the grey box", which is a filing cabinet system to help organise our stuff. Some documents you have are not necessarily required annually. Documents like examination certificates, birth certificates and passports (we don't leave the UK that much in general) and so I think some stuff has been forgotten and just not made it into the "grey box". The other problem is that the "grey box" was getting rather full and it was getting harder and harder to put stuff into it easily, so she bought a set of drawers. So unfortunately now we have the "grey box" and "the drawers". But that's not all, we also have "the pigeonholes" that are part of our computer desk, my own "daddy's cupboard" which is where I just file stuff (ie. put it in a disorganised pile) and separate "car folders". This organisation crap has got totally out of control in our house and it drives me nuts!!! I can't find anything and the worst is I'll ask about something and even though I've been told where it is I still can't find it. I'll get all angry and hot in my frustration and I'm sure that this actually prevents me finding stuff even when it is under my nose because as soon as my wife looks again (in the same place) she usually finds what I was looking for: arrggghhhh! But what I don't understand is how someone who is as good at organisation as my wife loses her car keys everyday. We have a bowl near to our front door and I make it a habit to always drop my keys into it - I find the jangly clang noise satisfying in a "Honey, I'm home" kind of way even if its just myself in the house. But my wife just seems to drop her keys anywhere and then shouts "Has anyone seen my keys anywhere?" in a mild panic - arrgghhh!!!!!! The sooner they implant chips in us that bring together all this stuff so we can get rid of paper and keys and everything the better. There - that's my rant over with.

Have a simply wonderful weekend everyone :-)

Friday 5

I Got these from here.

1. What do you like most: Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays (and why)?

I prefer Friday's because I can look forward to the weekend with anticipation all day and really relax Friday evening knowing that I have two days of rest to come.

2. What was the best weekend of your life?

I've had so many good weekends, if I have to choose I'd say the weekend I got married because it was so wonderful and I'll never forget it.

3. What weekend of the year is your favorite?

This is a hard one. I think it would be the first weekend of the year when the weather gets warm and dry enough to stay out in just a T shirt and shorts all day and much of the evening.

4. Do you have any weekend routines?

Absolutely do, involving alcohol during the evenings and possibly takeaway food (though not every weekend), certainly watching a film or two and playing videogames, visiting our library and playing games with my kids. I have boring stuff to do too though, like cutting grass, visiting the dump, doing the weekly shop etc.

5. Describe your ideal Saturday night.

Spending the evenings laughing and talking with friends, listening to some live music, drinking beer, going for an inexpensive but really satisfying meal with friends and falling contentedly asleep with my wife .

Springlike?

The weather over the last few days has been bright but cool. In the car or the house you might think it was warm and Springlike. Outdoors though it is still a little too cold to gad about in T-shirts, not that that stops some people I see. When I see folks wearing just a thin shirt in cold weather I don't know what to think:

• don't they feel the cold?
• are they just concerned with the fashion of how they look?
• maybe they forgot their coat? Or it was stolen?
• maybe they didn't realise how cold it was, or they just came out of a really hot environment?

It does puzzle me.

It's the time of year when my thoughts turn to the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual TV song competition I've loved and watched since I was a kid. The British entry hasn't been chosen yet, it's being chosen on March 17: contenders include Justin Hawkins (ex-Darkness singer), Brian Harvey (ex-East 17 singer) and Liz McClarnon (Atomic Kitten). Unless I'm mistaken it seems this year that the individual performers in the selection contest are of a higher quality overall than in recent years, I hope this is good news for a good UK position in the competition proper but you never know what's going to happen with Eurovision, that's why I love it.

Mugshot

Here is the mug my daughter painted for me. It says "I (heart) tea" on it, very true - I do love my tea. The box it came in is behind the mug.

What's Your Personality Cluster

My phone went off yesterday morning, so I had no internet again for a day and a half. It's back today though.

Your Personality Cluster is Extraverted Intuition

You are: A true wordsmith - a master of words Original, spontaneous, and a true inspiration Highly energetic, up for any challenge Entertaining and engaging, both to friends and strangers

What's Your Personality Cluster?

Sunday Sunday Ah Ah, Ah Ah Ah Ah

I've enjoyed quite a good weekend. Shame its almost over. On Saturday I picked up my own copy The Sims really cheap, I bought it for my wife a while back and she loves it - her Sims are certainly enjoying the high life. I picked up my copy really cheap and its just the original version but it runs alright on my old PC upstairs, which is what I wanted it for. My Sim house is very humble compared to my wife's, she does enjoy lying on the bed telling me how I should run the world though bless her.
My daughter painted a mug I've had lying around since Christmas yesterday, it was a present to me. It came with some paint and you just paint a picture on the white mug and put it in the oven for half an hour to fix the paint. I'll have to post a picture of her handywork.
Today we went as a family to see a show, a sort of comedy/pantomime show. We went last year. I was dreading it slightly because I sat on an end of aisle seat and there's part where they come into the audience with custard pies and you can guess what happened. The custard is actually shaving cream and while its funny to watch, it is a little bit uncomfortable to sit with the dampness and the smell on your clothes. Well fortunately this year I only got squirted with water! I managed to cover my son with his coat before the water hit him, he cried last year when he got wet but he's older now and even the "baddie" made him laugh out loud - especially when his wig got pulled off. Kids laughter is very infectious.
The last act of the day has been to launch the second series of my podshow, the opening episode is a special longer edition with me talking to a friend who writes songs. Great fun to do, hope you have time to check it out.

Five on a Friday

Five in a Row

1. Name one thing you do everyday.

Drink tea. I'm a tea-aholic, I drink far too much tea but I do love my brew. I especially find it reviving after a shopping trip with my family and I get home, put the TV on and settle down with a cup of tea for 5 minutes peace (not that I ever get my 5 minutes).

2. Name two things you wish you could learn.

I would love to play guitar better than I do. The other thing has to be that I wish I could swim. I know I should take lessons, so I should probably do that. I just feel so stupid that I can't swim at my age.

3. Name three things that remind you of your childhood.

Penknives. I always had a penknife as a kid. I've never owned one as an adult.
Ice lollies. I like nothing more on a hot day than sitting down with a plain orange ice lolly.
The Stranglers. My first crush was the older sister of a boy I used to play with, she wore Stranglers T shirts and wore incredibly tight jeans.

4. Name four things you love to eat but rarely do.

Anything with prawns.
Malayan curry.
Thai food.
Strawberry pavlova.

5. Name five things that make you feel good.

Dancing
Making love
Jogging
Watching shoppers file past as I sit with a coffee and a paper in a cafe
Laughing and joking with my kids

Midweek Happy

This week started badly for me. A lot of things seemed to be going wrong for me on Monday, I was just glad to be able to get into bed and rest. Tuesday came and I knew I had a list of stuff to do to put right what had happened the previous day. This included taking a new headset back to a shop, it wasn't working on 3 different computers I tried it on and when I was given the choice of trying another or my money back I took the money. At least my old headset works and I'd rather that than a new one that doesn't. My daughter is having a bit of a rough time at school and I had to go and see the teacher about it. I had a lot of stuff to sort out for work but got all of it done. I did some more work for my forthcoming podshow and I'm pretty nearly all set for the new series starting on Monday. Today was fine, I allowed extra time for travelling past some roadworks on my journey but infact I turned up early for my appointment so I went for some breakfast. I was glad I did because it was way past lunchtime before I ate again. I did make myself a tasty sandwich though: ham, tomato, mayo, salad and sweet onion sauce on white bread but its somehow white wholemeal bread - I don't know how they achieve that but it tastes good. So the final bit of today was attending a private viewing of my sister inlaw's art. Some really cool abstract paintings, I like abstract art because there are so many levels to it. I like depth.
I'm also quite pleased it is midweek and that the weekend is coming up. I've also got to book some holiday time before the end of March to use my allocation of days up, I can't carry any unused days over unfortunately - which means I can't store them up. I hope you all are having a good day today too.

Meet Wilbert

My son had first choice and therefore the name of our first goldfish is to be Wilbert. Next weekend we'll get him a partner, they wouldn't sell us two at the same time - I hope Wilbert doesn't get territorial about his fishtank. He seems happy enough on his own but he could use some company.