Once upon a time in the Imagination of an Idiot

2010-01-18T02:04:00.001-08:00

has made it to Hoddesdon

2010-01-13T06:22:00.001-08:00

feels a bit blah!!!

2009-12-31T01:31:00.001-08:00

has a coff and a cold

2009-12-23T07:07:00.001-08:00

is looking for train times

2009-12-09T07:46:00.001-08:00

thinks........It's bloody cold in that warehouse....my nipples are like bullets and hurt like hell!!!!

2009-12-09T02:27:00.001-08:00

is in need of a nice beer :)

2009-12-08T02:33:00.001-08:00

wonders if Chritmas can be cancelled in favour of a lock in at the local pub?

2009-12-02T08:11:00.001-08:00

has a hurty head

2009-11-19T01:26:00.001-08:00

thinks that part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.

2009-11-02T01:07:00.001-08:00

has just about recovered from the weekend!

Troublesome Times

2009-10-17T14:53:00.001-07:00

I am in a quandry. Do I record Question Time on Thursday night? (I am away in Germany).

Do I allow a rascist bastard to influence my habits by making me NOT watch QT, or do I watch it anyway and add credence to the ridiculous decision to allow an openly rascist organisation to be given a platform for their extremist views?

The BBC's decision to allow Isiah to appear on the programme is a bad one. One can only hope that the man is made to look the bigot that he is and that the questions posed leave him open to ridicule and derision.

Oh, and if you wondering who Isiah is...It's Griffin...cos one eye is higher than the other!

2009-10-15T01:40:00.001-07:00

is thinking

2009-10-14T02:46:00.001-07:00

burps!!!!!!!

2009-10-08T03:11:00.001-07:00

is NOT in need of more beer

2009-10-07T01:54:00.001-07:00

has blocked sinus's's's's

2009-09-24T02:57:00.001-07:00

is gonna get a BIG gun..................

2009-09-18T08:32:00.001-07:00

is about to head home....to sleep....

2009-09-17T06:53:00.001-07:00

could really do with a beer!

2009-09-15T02:16:00.001-07:00

thinks that when things change, it's not always for the better!

2009-09-10T07:38:00.001-07:00

is about to embark on an epic journey back from the village of orcs to civiliation in the fair city of Mancunium

2009-09-07T04:59:00.001-07:00

is worried. Nobby has been missing for a week? :(

2009-09-04T04:54:00.001-07:00

is full up...

2009-09-04T04:17:00.001-07:00

is eating kebab.....this new food place that has opened across the road is NOT a good idea.

2009-09-04T02:53:00.001-07:00

is still "darn sarf!"

2009-08-17T06:30:00.001-07:00

is very confused!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-09T05:20:00.001-07:00

has just bought "The Stone Roses, The Remixes" and is of the opinion that I am the Resurrection by Jon Carter is the biggest pile of crap I have heard in many an age.

2009-08-06T02:19:00.001-07:00

has a nightmare trip home as the trains are on strike....again!!!

2009-08-05T06:28:00.001-07:00

thinks "bad beer....bad bad bad..."

2009-08-04T02:18:00.001-07:00

can't help feeling that the company sending out an e-mail about the "E-Mail Reduction Day" seems a little perverse.

2009-07-31T07:24:00.001-07:00

is wondering if a pint may be in order

2009-07-23T02:37:00.001-07:00

thinks that, after weeks and weeks and weeks, and about 75 deaths...the PIGEONS are back!!

2009-07-22T00:53:00.001-07:00

Is burping after the diet coke went down the wrong way!

2009-07-21T00:44:00.001-07:00

Wonders how people behind bars in London make a living. When you try to tip them they look at you like you have 2 heads.

2009-07-20T06:49:00.001-07:00

is full up after lunch

2009-07-07T01:07:00.001-07:00

burps!!!!!

2009-06-24T09:36:00.001-07:00

What a pisser!!!!!!!

2009-06-23T01:25:00.001-07:00

is burping!!

2009-06-16T08:32:00.001-07:00

wonders how long you get for killing a rottweiler!

2009-06-16T03:23:00.001-07:00

has popped his blister....now my finger hurts lol

2009-06-16T01:33:00.001-07:00

has a blister on his finger...boo hoo

2009-06-11T08:51:00.001-07:00

is now wondering how to negotiate London in the middle of a tube strike...Wish me luck!

2009-06-10T03:51:00.001-07:00

head is spinning!

2009-06-10T01:44:00.001-07:00

is listening to Hayseed Dixie anddoing credit type things

2009-06-07T15:34:00.001-07:00

is shattered after UK games expo

2009-05-28T03:50:00.001-07:00

is feeling tired and in need of a long doze, but hey ho, can't happen....

2009-05-20T09:51:00.001-07:00

is now in need of food

2009-05-20T04:01:00.001-07:00

is wanting mussels and garlic bread!

2009-05-20T01:25:00.001-07:00

has eaten his breakfast

2009-05-18T09:33:00.001-07:00

KNOWS we shot 61 pigeons last week....obviously the ones that have returned are now armed and dangerous, or believe they are immune to bullets!

2009-05-18T08:22:00.001-07:00

wonders if a beer may be in order this evening?

2009-05-18T04:59:00.001-07:00

thinks that trains are a fab way to travel....if you don't have train managers who don't know what they are doing!

2009-05-14T09:01:00.001-07:00

is gonna head home tonight rather than tomorrow morning

2009-05-14T05:40:00.001-07:00

thinks..>YAY....Chicken found!

2009-05-14T05:07:00.001-07:00

has lost LOTS of Chicken!

2009-05-14T04:30:00.001-07:00

is nearly done :)

2009-05-14T00:13:00.001-07:00

thinks that early morning starts are BAD!

2009-05-05T01:59:00.001-07:00

is upto his arse in work!

2009-05-01T03:35:00.001-07:00

is about to set off back to sunny Manc :)

2009-05-01T01:45:00.001-07:00

obviously spoke too soon .....the bloody urban terrorist of a pigeon is back....and appears to have met Mrs Pigeon

2009-05-01T01:36:00.001-07:00

Appears to be Pigeon free!.....hmmm wonder if Mr Rent-O-Kill has been to play

2009-04-30T09:48:00.001-07:00

thinks that the pigeon in the roof should meet Mr Big Shotgun....really soon!

2009-04-30T03:42:00.001-07:00

has eaten dead pig and chicken ovulation and now feels human again.

2009-04-30T02:11:00.001-07:00

has a teeny weeny bit of a hangover!

2009-04-29T02:47:00.001-07:00

thinks that it's a nice sunny day....

2009-04-28T05:04:00.001-07:00

thinks...It looks like rain....but they still charging £3.00 a pint for it!

2009-04-28T01:01:00.001-07:00

The eagle may have stopped flying and constructed a perch!

2009-04-27T23:27:00.001-07:00

is now trying to be a smart arse

Galaxy Quest

2008-06-04T12:12:00.001-07:00

Am currently watching Galaxy Quest and, it's SOOO true to life. No really, Sci Fi conventions ARE like that!

It's freaky!

Honest!

Home

2008-05-23T11:44:00.001-07:00

I have been at Lichfield all week. When I am down there I have been staying at a pub at a place caled Muckley Corner. The pub is wonderful. Each bit of furniture is different, makes the place feel special.

Last night I had a superb meal. It was called Zapone. It is Salami, covered in pigs trotters and boiled or steamed until the trotter melts and turns the salami gelatinous. This is served on a bed of pui lentils. It was superb. Very tasty, slightly sticky, and the lentils set it off wonderfully.

I got a life back to Manchester with ian and, afer getting stuck in only a couple of Bank Holiday traffic jams, I am now home and Nobby is pleased to see me. Well, apart from playing me up for the last 15 minutes.

Oh well. As I went out on Wednesday night to watch Man Utd, and I get up very early whilst away, and am currently shagged out, I'm off to bed..

Once more into the breach

2008-05-20T22:47:00.001-07:00

Current Tune (And the Band played Waltzing Matilda by The Pogues)

Back on the 5.20 am train to Lichfield. Had to go home last night as I had forgotten anything that would allow me to pay for my hotel room or get cash…Doh. Also, I had forgotten to put enough food down for Nobs, well, he had food, just he would have been hungry by the time I got home on Friday.

Current Tune (Steady as she Goes by The Racontours )

For some reason the train on the last 3 trips has been swelteringly hot. It’s a nice brisk day outside, but when you step on the train it’s like there is no air. However, I think I have cracked it this morning. Same train manager. Obvioulsy she is one of these cold blooded women who insist on having the central heating on, even in the middle of Summer, when there is a heat wave, and still feels the need to put on a thicker sweater!!!

Current Tune (I am the Resurrection by The Stone Roses)

The current play list on the laptop is set to random, but I can’t help thinking that the laptop is copying my recent choices as I played bother of the above tunes yesterday. Maybe it’s just coincidence. E are just arriving into Crewe. The outskirts are all very 1980’s housing. Can’t help wishing there were still streets of 2 up 2 down terraced houses. There are a few left, but once upon a time there must have been streets and streets. People keep pushing for newer and newer, and more and more. Apparently the average American man, if he was still willing to live to the standards that his Grandfather lived to in the 1950’s , would only have to work 1.5 days a week. The rest he could have as leisure time, but he has to work the way he does because he wants 2 cas, a pool, an ever bigger house, etc etc. If he was happy living a 1950’s lifestyle then he could live it on 18% of his income. Then again, a large percentage of the population of the USA believe they have been kidnapped by Aliens sometime in the last 10 years. See the sort of crap you pick up when you read Bill Bryson??

Current Tune (Dirty Old Town by The Pogues)

I think the laptop is a secret Pogues fan/? I am going to reset it and see what the next tune is on Random!

Hmmmm The Sound of North America by The Beautiful South. Could have been worse, especially given some of the music I have on my laptop. Meatloaf at 6 am doesn’t really appeal? I will have to go through my music tracks and give them some sort of rating, that way, everything rated as 2 stars could = morning music? I lke all the albums that I have on here, but only at certain times. I want to but a portable hard disc and hive all the music off to that. I was looking at some in Argos the other day, there is a 500 GB one for about £80, but there is a 1 TB one for about £120. I am tempted. A TB , I mean.,,,that’s more memory that anyone had ever heard of 15 years ago!.

Current Tune (William it was Really Really Nothing by The Smiths)

Christ…The Smiths, on a sunny bright happy day like this? It’s enough to make you throw yourself off the platform underneath one of those 125 miles per hour Virgin trains. According to the guy at the station one of these things went through the station on Monday night and tore down miles of overhead wire. Trains were being diverted all over the place. Glad I wasn’t travelling by train THAT night!

Current Tune (About Time by Elbow)

Current Tune (False Alarm by Cherry Ghost)

Lol. I think I must have nodded off during the Elbow track. Not exactly the best morning music. It’s much more a late night/pissed kind of track. Oh well, Cherry Ghost is more my sort of style anyways. Anyway, time to bugger off again. Tonight we are off to watch the match at a pub near to Darrens. Hopefully Man Utd will not panic. There have been times when they have played football of the Gods, and there have times when they may as well not bothered turning up. I think Fergie will put the fear into them. There is so much that this match means. 50 years after Munich etc. It almost makes you believe in destiny!

Current Tune (Homely Girl by Chi-Lites)

Have just arrived at Stafford where , once again, we have been informed that there in engineering works, so we are delayed. No idea when we will arrive, but if it’s over an hour late I will be claiming my fare back!

Ho Hum. Bloody trains!

Apparently

2008-05-13T11:07:00.001-07:00

There is a British Stammering Association.

It's website addres is www.www.www.www.www.www.www.www.www.www.www.britishstammeringassociation.org

noooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-12T22:05:00.001-07:00

Why the hell did I wake up at 4.30 when I am not due in work until 8.30? As I said earlier in the week , I think my body clock is screwed.

I am currently watching News 24. The weather is looking reasonable for the next couple of days, and then it turns showery. I think people are rushing the gun by saying that Summer has arrived. When I was a kid they always used to say "naer cast a clout till May is out"..i.e, still wear a coat when you go outside othewise you will catch a chill. I never believed it then and I don't believe it now, but thats what they used to say.

I am off to Burton this weekend for a games con. Back to Manchester on Sunday as I am teaching Excel to the CS girls. I have spent a week or so writing the presentatons, the spreadsheets and the quizzes for them to do Excel basics. Hopefully it will be worth the trouble.

I ate some potato cakes for supper last night, this morning I feel all phlegmy. Wonder is there is any sort of link. I suppose it could just as easily be hayfever. There is a link between me eating cheese and how my stomach feels the next morning. If I eat cheese late at night, the following day my tummy rumbles like nothing on earth.

Pull my finger

2008-05-10T09:55:00.001-07:00

Finger is a little less swollen today, but I still have my ring on other hand. It feels very strange.

I was walkng through a shopping cenntre this morning as saw one of tose pick and mix stalls, and I thought, hmmm, maybe I will pick a few. Then I noticed the price. £1.35 pe 100gms. That's 313.50 a klo...thats, (does the maths) £6.00 odd a pound, i,e £1.50 a quarter. Hmmm, I think they can get stuffed. People get taken in because they don't do the maths.

Am I alone in doing something this anal? Do most people just go up, pick sweet, then seem a little surprised when their bag of sweets has just cost the £8.00?

I am currently watching The History Channel. One of the better things to come from Satellite TV. Fascinating documentry series on 20th Century Battlefields, presented by Jon and Dan Snow. I missed it the first time around when it was on the BBC. Am watching the entire thing one after another. It's been a very informative day. Currently we are on Stalingrad.

Am having chicken for teawhen I get home. Dunno how I am going to cook it, might make curry, or might make mexican. Not had mexican in ages, but I will need to go and get some stuff from the shops.

Sulky Cats

2008-05-09T11:49:00.001-07:00

Amazingly enough, given the fact that he has been out all day and has led the life of riley, he has been sulking since he came in for some reason.

The 3rd finger on my right hand has swollen up for some reason, I have had to take my ring off. It was painful, and trust me a painful ring is not a lot of fun..lol. I will leave it on my other finger for a while and see if it has any effect.

I havn't taken the ring off for 20 years. It belonged to my Grandad, and is a signet ring. It's the only piece of glitter that I wear. I am not really a fan, but I wear it because it was his.

A question

2008-05-07T22:08:00.001-07:00

Can cats get sunburnt?

Nobby was out all day yesterday and when he came in he seemed to be very pink around his eyes and nose? the only thing I can think of is that he has been lay in a sunny spot and caught the sun? it wasn't bothering him, but do I have a tanned cat?

OMG he is becoming a sun worshipper. Pretty soon he will be asking for tanning sessions under a sun bed, and wanting spraying! What have I created?

It was a nice enough day yesterday, but bloody hot when you are wearing a bright yellow freezer jacket. I carried it in the end. Got home and had a sandwich. I can't be bothered cooking when I get in, I just eat at work at lunchtime instead. Work does quite nice food, and there is no need for 2 big meals a day.

It's 5.45 am, and I have been awake since 4.30 am. Like I said the other day, my body clock is very strange. It probably thought I was going to Lichfield. Oh well, it can catch up on sleep later as I will be home at a normal time rather than working late at Lichfield.

Ever since HR banned Facebook at work there have been so many work people joining that it seems like everyone I know I pretty much work with. This time last year there were about 4 of us..lol It's a bit like banning alcohol in the US in the 20's. That probably turned more people to drink than just allowing them to buy it whenever they wanted.

A friend of mine was telling me that, in some booze stores, everyone in the group has to be over 21 before you can buy booze. Why does that bother me? Well, if you are a parent and you pick the kids up from school, it's against the law to keave the kids in the car alone so you have to take them with you. You walk into the shop to buy wine for dinner and they refuse you because you have the kids with you. Fucking fundamentalists! Trust me, there is more to fear from the Fundys in the USA than there is from an whole army of Osama Bin Ladens! They will be banning Disney next!

Last night Griff Rhys Jones had a doc on BBC2 on Mountains. Quite good it was a s well.GRJ has always amused in his bumbling way and I have always been fascinated by mountains. There is a special feeling you get from looking down on a world from along way up. The scenes, te fact that you are so alone. Apparently there are more people living in 1 square mile of London, than live in the whole 2000 square miles of the Mountain region that he was walking in. You are not going to see anyone. Imagine having an area 3 times the size of Manchester and not seeing ANYONE! Must be a fabulous feeling.

Oh well, it's nearly 6 am. Time to get up and have shower, feed Nobs, kick Nobs out to get sunburnt again, get dressed and head for the bus stop. I forgot my book yesterday, so I ended up reading The Metro. It's an adult comic. Games, stories about who is sleeping with whom, and a little bit on the new estaurnat scene in Manchester. The were reviewing the new restaurant bit of Dukes 92. To be honest, it got a little bit of a slagging. While Dukes 92 was ok for a beer whilst you were taking a break from de-percussion, it's not really somewhere I would want to go and get a poshish meal, but apparently they are trying.

This morning the BBC are leading with the amount of food that s thrown away each day? If they only knew!! At the end of the day people these days are too concened with sell by dates etc rather than if the food looks,tastes or smells bad. Why does wine have a sell by date? I'm confused? People these days are too sterilised. There was a customer th other day who complained that there was a caterpiller in the lettuce, so they threw the lettuce away..FFS! Just wash the damn lettuce! They are so used to buying lettuce that comes pre washed in bags that they have forgotten how to wash a bloody lettuce. Caterpillers in lettuce are not a bad thing. It shows that the caterpiller has good taste. When I was a kid we used to grow veg in the garden. Pick a cabbage, chop it up, put it in salted water in the sink and wash it. Why? To make sure you kill any of the insects that may be in there. Insects LOVE veg. You honestly think that the veg you buy from the supermarket has never been in contact with any slimey slugs etc. You are fooling nobody but yourself!

Oh well, that was a 5 minute jump up and down. Time to go.

Early Morning

2008-05-05T21:49:00.001-07:00

It's 5.40 am on the Tuesday after the Bank Holiday, and I am awake. I don't know what the hell my bodyclock thinks it's doing but there is very little chance of any more sleep.

I will get up soon, even Nobs is asleep so there is no need to wake him up..lol.

Apparently it's going to be a nice day today, which is a bit of a pisser when then bank holiday weekend was a bit of a washout. It was hot and sunny all day at Lichfield, but then went a bit rainy when I was waiting for the train to Birmingham. It was sweltering during my walk to Hagley Rd, but then started drizzling after I got showered and changed. Saturday was a washout and Sunday was drizzly. Monday was cold and damp.

I don't think I have a very busy week scheduled but these things change at a moments notice. Hopefully I will not have to goto Lichfield until next week. We will see.

Oh well, better get up and have a shower. No point in lying here waiting till the last minute. :)

:)

2008-05-04T13:17:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow, Bano Holiday, and a chance to have a bit of a break. There are a couple of bands playing outside Urbis as part of a music festival so I may pop off and watch them, depends on the weather really.

Cherry Ghost played in the same place previously.

Manchester is starting off on it's annual round of festivals. they are regular events and last until Octoberish. We have the food and drink festival, various music festivals, Queer up North, Opera, Arts festivals, loads and loads of stuff. The food festival is usually very good. Lots of chance to try unusual stuff and drink the night away.

Am currently watching Indy...why does it have to be snakes :)

I went down to the shop earlier, bought some food. Last night I looked and found 1 pack of crackers, 1 tin of tomatoes and a stack of cat food. Nobby is eating more than I am.

Anyway, I bought some ham, cheese, beef, some bread, milk and biscuits. Potatoes and veg and some corned beef. I made corned beef hash for tea (hash, for our American readers is NOT drugs).So, after being hungry at 11.30 last night, I finally made some food at 14.30 today. Oh hum, It's not like I don't have several weeks worth of food stored on my arse!

I let Nobby out as I was going to the shops. he would normally stay out for 4 or 5 hours, but he was waiting at the back door when I came home 20 mins later. Obviously he was less than impressed with the weather. Anyway, as is the nature of cats, as soon as I let him in, he wanted to go out again. He is currenly asleep on the spare bed as this is how he sulks with me. If he is talking to me he is usually snuggled up against my legs. So...That's ME told!

Knackered

2008-05-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

Set off for Lichfeld early yesterday morning, with a truly crap job to do. Unloading 72 pallets in order to find some paperwork wasn't how most people would choose to spent a hot Friday, especially as I was sweating like a camels testicle whilst wearing a hi vis freezer jacket.
Part way through this task, I received a phone call to say that the paperwork had been found elsewhere. Needless to say, I was not a happy bunny. So, back up in the air for the pallet, and time for Geoff to feed himself with a huge amount of dead piggy and deep fried chicken ovulation sandwich from the burger van across the road. Burp!
Last night was Emma and Stuart's leaving do. It was to be held in Birmingham, on Broad Street, so after Darren and Colin had dropped me off at the railway station, I headed into Birmingham.
One of the problems of wearing hi vis jackets is that everyone and their mother automatically assumes you work for whichever service it is they are having a problem with.
"I don't understand the trains, therefore the man in the bright yellow coat MUST be able to solve my problem"
So, when the loud shouty woman comes upto me as the train is arriving and says in a loud voice "is this the train to Longridge?", my response of "thats what it says on the front" was not the answer she expected. Her response of "Young man (ha! she was younger than ME!!) you should treat your passengers with more respect otherwise I will report you to your bosses" was greeted with an "ok, off you go" It's not like I don't have "FIRST FOR FOODSERVICE" written across the damn jacket in foot high letters. See, yellow jacket...MUST be a train man!
Anyway, I arrived at New Street (the station from hell) and, as I didn't have a hotel, I deided to pop into the Britannia and see what price I could get. so, off I head, and enter into the reception area. "Whats your cheapest walk in rate for bed & breakfast please" says me. Expecting the usual "£98 sir", only to be offered £42. Hmm thinks me, thats ok. "Thats without breakfast sir". But I just asked for a breakfast rate?
She goes away, consults her manager and comes back at £55. I tell her to keep it and walk out. As we are all going out to play on Broad Street I decide to head upto 5 ways and seek a hotel on the much cheaper Hagley Road. Half way along Broad Street I come across a Premier Inn. usually around £50 at weekends, however, because they have built it next to Birminghams big play area, they decide to try and rip off the customer for an extra £20 quid and it comes in priced at £69. They can stick that too and I keep on walking.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I find a place at £25 a night (as I knew I would) and unloaded all the gear. Had a shower, and decided to head out. I walked down Hagley Road and thought I should eat before we went drinking. A purveyor of kebabs was offering a kebab on Nan Bread for a very reasonable £4 and so I opted to test the water. It was probably the nicest kebab I have ever had in my life. The Naan was hot, freshly cooked. The salad was crisp, very fresh, and the chicken was marinated and cooked in a clay oven. Superb value for money. One I had eaten it, I headed off to catch a bus to Broad Street. I phone Emmas and she said they were in the Wetherspoons at the far end of the road. I had walked once already and couldn't be bothered walking back, so I caught the bus. 10 mins later I was sat next to Brendan and Emma drinking beer.....at £1.59 a pint....WHOO HOO!
After Emma and Brendan had finished eating we headed downstairs, only to find most of the comfy sofas occupied. As we were about to be joined by about 15 people we needed a base. Therefore we forced ourselves on some poor bloke who was sat on a sofa on his own. Amazing how people joinging people in pubs can force said people to run away very fast (ok, when I say WE I actually me ME). We therefore had a base where everyone could meet up. Over the course of the next 45 minutes we were joined by various members of the team, both from Lichfield and from Royton. Beer flowed, some of Emmas friends arrived, along with her Brother, and a the party seemed to be going well. Then we hit problem number 1. One of the guys couldn't get in. He looked under 21!!!!
Off I go, chat to the bouncer who is having none of it. "it's more that my job's worth" etc etc. We get the manager. I explain that INSIDE his ub are 25 people all drinking HIS booze. Outsie his pub is one person who is over 21 but looks about 18. Now, did he want the 25 people to move to another pub so we could be with our frined, or did he want to let out friend into the pub? he pondered...he pondered for about 10 minutes and then decided he would refuse the chance to take lots of money over his bar and he would refuse entry. it was all done very amicably, and I really DID see his point, but it meant that we were all trooping off to the pub next door but one.
Onc we were in there, drinks flowed, we danced, we partied, I was talked into going and asking the DJ for a song by The Pussycat Dolls???? I also asked for the Stone Roses, not that he would ever play it, but after asking for the Pusstcay Dolls I had a need to re-establish my street cred! The DJ's response of "The who?" gave me the chance to respond with...."No...The Stone Roses" which left him more than a little puzzled!
Went for a pee, and came across the NICEST gents I have EVER seen in a club. Very clean, nice fittings, security bloke sat there, offering you hot towels, aftershave, deoderant, ....eally nice. And a very friendly chap.Makes the loo's you et in rock clubs seem so.....eeeeewww. Wading through 2 cm's of stale urine in order to find a toilet with no seat etc. Makes you almost wanna give up rock music...but not quite.
Anywa, off we go to another bar. Once again, same polish guy, same problem, but this time no amount of talking is even gonna get the bouncer to consider it, so we are one down. In we go to a packe 1980's bar, selling overpriced drinks, but playing loads of music that everone knows. We are falling like flies however and it's time for people to head off home. Nite nite's to one and all and back to my £25 a night hovel. Actually, it was ok. It had a bed, a shower, a tv and served a continental breakfast. Really, it was fine. No...really :P
Finally got to sleep around 2. Woke up at 5.30. Ho hum. My body clock is in serious need of reprogramming!
Anyway, I headed into Birmingham to catch train home and made it back for around 12. Time for a nap...That makes me sound like Nobby..lol

Thought for the day!

2008-05-01T14:15:00.001-07:00

Sex is like poker. You either need a partner....or a very good hand!

Burp

2008-05-01T14:11:00.001-07:00

Finally got home around 7 p.m. I stuck a frozen (homemade) shepherds pie in the oven and ended up eating at arou nd 8. I am heading off to Lichfield tomorrow, should be a dirty day as I have a swine of a job to get on with. Tomorrow night we are going out into Birmingham. As I am working down in Lichfield it should be no problem.

Saturday I will mainly be sleeping and on Sunday I need to relax. I have spent the last 3 weekends out on the piss and, at some stage, I need to slow down. Like I said last week, I can still party like an idiot, but it takes longer to recover these days!

Lazing on a Sunday afternoon!

2008-05-01T09:04:00.001-07:00

ok. A thursday afternoon.

It's 10 minutes before I am due to finish. There is only me in the office, and not a thing is stirring, not even a picker!

I have just eaten a snickers and drank a can of diet coke and burped a lot, but there is nobody here to hear me burp, so that's alright then! I had a cheeseburger for lunch along with chips and copious amounts of Mayonnaise (NOT salad cream). Salad cream is the work of the devil, along with poodles (indeed ANY yappy dog), garden peas and annoying pisshead who try and chat up your girlfiend.

Oh well, it's now 5.02 so time to go and get the bus and then tomorrow I am heading off to Lichfield. We are going out drinking in Birmingham tomorrow night so it means I will be close rather than a 2 hour trainride away.

Byeeee!

They used to say that come the day!

2008-04-30T08:14:00.001-07:00

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1047539_20_killers_jailed_for_life

The man killed was Jim. Jim was the security guard at work. A nicer, more kindly, gentle man you would be hard pushed to ever meet.

The article had it exactly right. SOmeone of my generation would hand over the cash, walk away, THEN call the police. It's doubtful Jim would do that. He came from a generation that didn't give in to bullies, didn't expect anyone to stick up for him, and it killed him.

If you are prepared to hold a knife to the throat of a teenager, then you will have no qualms about beating up a pensioner. All I do know is, even amongst prisons, there are some crimes that people won't accept. I think those 2 guys are in for a very rough ride, and they may have to prove that they are hard men, because some of the hard men in the prisons are going to be less than happy.

I already feel sorry for them!

Somewhere there MUST be a key to the treasure chest

2008-04-28T11:18:00.001-07:00

I spent most of Sunday dozing and watching the Grand Prix. Terrible crash from Kovaleinen, but he seems to be a very lucky man. The rest of the day was spent doing a little shopping, teasing the cat and watching the updates on Facebook.

I am off to Lichfield early tomorrow morning and so tonight will be an early night. No poker, no annoying FB contacts and no staying up late reading.

Hopefully I will have a place to stay.

The last 3 weeks have been fun. The place I normally stay has been full. They refuse to allow you to book a room for 1 night (because they would have to change the sheets every night) so they hold out to make you book a room for 2 nights. Anyway, I have discovered a fantastic pub about 3 miles away. Nice people, nice beer (draught Peroni at £3.50 a pint) and all the food is Italian. Now, I am not an Italian fan, do't like pizza and don't like pasta. But this place doesn't do either. It's all seafood and steak. I had seabass and it was fab. Fresh, tasty, and not pizza!

I have always believed that pizza was merely a cheese and tomato sandwich with added ham. Nice enough, but would YOU pay £10 for a cheese and tomato sandwich?

Hungover

2008-04-26T23:57:00.001-07:00

Went out on Friday night bwling with work. Had worked all day, eaten very little m abd probably should have drunk less. However, we had a good time and the buffet that the bowling place supplied was excellent.

The £20 cab ride home was a pleasant surprise as well, as I was expecting it to cost about £30.

This is being posted to 3 different blogs via a new FACEBOOK application that allows me to update them all at one...yay!

2007-08-11T03:33:00.001-07:00

Most of all, I love Manchester. The crumbling warehouses, the railway arches, the cheap abundant drugs. That's what did it in the end. Not the money, not the music, not even the guns. That is my heroic flaw: my excess of civic pride."

Hmmmmm Tony Wilson died last night. Tony who? Tony Wilson!Some may know him as Anthony H WIlson (made up name ! made up name!) but to everyone of my generation who grew up with him on the telly he was Tony WilsonTo be honest, if you came from Manc and are around 35 - 45 you knew him as the presenter of Granada reports and not a lot else. He started out as the roving reporter, the madcap one, the one they sent to do the "funny" story at the end of the report. I remember he did a story once about stunt men and how to get hit by a car. In those days news reporting was a hard life and they actually filmed him being rolled off the bonnet of a ford escort heading towards him at speed. If they had got it wrong at that point then the entire history of Manchester could have been changed. I never really liked him much. I always thought that he had an arrogance that was annoying. I doubt he would have disagreed with me. There were times when, on some of his chat shows, he came across as a supercilious twat. Look at me, I can be "Mr Controversial" and have an argument with people in a TV studio. Big deal

Then, somehow he managed to bring together some off the things about Manchester that I love the most. He was behind the Dry Bar on Oldham street, not a place I went to often, but it was one of the defining moments in the history of the Northern Quarter. The Northern Quarter is an area of manchester that is about art, music, people etc etc

Then there was the music. The Happy Mondays, Joy Division, ....when you look at the list of bands etc, this WAS Manchester, as well as the Hacienda

He never made any money, apparently. The Hacienda closed, Factory records went bust, but he still stayed here. There was something about him that loved Manc. I remember being at the restaurant of the year awards a few years ago, it was at The Pacific restaurant and was held by "City Life" He was sat in the corner and had a gaggle of your journo's from the magazine crawling up his arse so much it was embarassing.I expect he loved every second of it

In the film "24 hour party people" he was played by Steve Cougan with a small cameo appearence by himself. The film tells the story of MADCHESTER at it's height.

People die...that's a fact. You can own all the bands in the world, all the nightclubs you could ever imagine, do things that people hate, that people love and that people admire, but you can't beat death. He was diagnosed with kidney cancer last year but died of a heart attack

Even though he was full of flaws, that he came across like a bastard who never knew when to stop, and that those traits were made worse by the fact that he knew he had them, he was, at the end of the day, someone who really loved Manchester....and that makes him more than worthy!

Castle Rocks Cancer

2007-05-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

CASTLE ROCKS CANCER!! Category: Music
WHAT?
20 of the best unsigned bands and artists from the Manchester area getting together to try to raise money for Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie Cancer Care

WHEN?
Saturday 30th June and Sunday 1st July 2007, both days first act on stage at 2pm

WHERE?
The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1LE, just up the road from Night n Day

WHO?

SATURDAY 30th JUNE-
2pm- The Star Fighter Pilot
2.45- Bleedinghands
3.30- The Words
4.15- Amida
5pm- Monster Island
5.45- Edward James Bass
6.30- Colin's Godson
7.15- Harrington
8pm- Tin Pot Dictators
8.45- Superkings

SUNDAY 1st JULY
2pm- The Man Amp
2.45- Dry Riser
3.30- Richard + The Replicants
4.15- The Joint
5pm- Duty Now
5.45- Blacklands
6.30- Native State
7.15- Merry Men
8pm- The Beagles
8.45- Aristocrash

WHY?
Because every year far too many people die from cancer, and we want to do something, anything, to help.

COST?
Believe it or not, this is a benefit gig with FREE admission.....

HOW DOES THAT WORK?
It works, (hopefully), by people coming along and making donations, as opposed to us charging you all to watch people you've never heard of. Come along, have fun, and if you enjoy yourself then get your hands in your pockets and support two very worthy causes.

ANYTHING ELSE?
Yes, spread the word, pass this around, and nag the hell out of people to try to get as many bodies down as possible. Download the picture from my page and set it as a default image so people get reminded about it every time they view your profile

CONTACT?
Damien @ the Castle, usually sat at the bar with a laptop, or call him on 07969 618357, e-mail him @ Damiensatanspawn@aol.com, or send him a message on here, www.myspace.com/spawnmeister666

Many thanks in advance for your support

2007-05-07T02:55:00.000-07:00

Today, being a bankholiday,I had a bit of a walk around the city.

I decided to take some pics..

This is of an alleyway near St Annes Square. You can see why American film companies all want to use Manchester as settings for1970's New York. You can just imagine Starsky's car turning around the end of that alleyway.

This is St Annes Church. The Church,at the end of St Annes Square is very old. St Annes Churchyard is one of the oldest areas of the city.

Alot of Manchester hsitory tookplace within site of that church.

This is St Annes Square.Was once a market square ,but these days is used for relaxing,street entertainment etc

Weekend of games

2007-04-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

Went to the games club this weekend. I had done many hours whilst away working and, after arriving and choosing to play a light little card game to open up, I had a wind up merchant in the form of Frank, which was less of a problem than you would imagine, but I also had C**** who winds me up loads at the best of times, and on Saturday managed to wind me up to such an extent that I said "sod it" and took my game home.

he took the huff, tough!

If I ruled the world...well. If I ruled a bit of it!

2007-04-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

I'd sent lots of people to a big hole and let them fight it out for air.

Bankers,Lawyers, Generals, Dieticians, Kids, people with Ipods, people with annoying phone tones, Politicians, Local Councillors, People who dont stand up on buses for old ladies, arrogant telesales people, non arrogant telesales people, barmen who ignore you, barmen who charge you too much, takeaways that take longer than the 40 minutes they promised, etc etc

2007-01-08T03:39:00.000-08:00

Just spent the week-end at Stabcon with about 150 other people all playing boardgames, drinking, chatting and generally having fun.

Friday wasn't too much fun. I have a serious amount of stress at present, and my neck was hurting like the proverbial bastard, so I needed to drink copious amounts of alcohol.

Saturday was a bit hung over, but what helped LOADS was that Huney came to Stabcon and proceeded to give me a massage. You would not BELIEVE how much better I felt. We went out to Kismet which is a nice curry house about 10 minutes walk away, and we had an OK meal. Not as nice as the one we had last time in my opinion, but hey, it's not like we have worked our way through the menu or anything.

Sunday was a day for playing games that were merely ok, and didn't tax our brains to a huge extent. Nobody was in the mood for any sort of gaming epic so we just toodled away at little stuff.

All in all a seriously fun weekend.

2006-12-08T01:09:00.001-08:00

Essen

2006-11-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

And people wonder why the church has such a BAD reputation!

450 Years and still going

2006-11-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

The local church is 450 years old this year.

People walk over these gravestones everyday without really looking at them. This one is from 1747 and shows the death of the wife of a local man, and also of his 2 sons. Joseph in May 1747 and Charles in Oct 1747.

Obviously 1747 was a bit of a bad year.

The stone is too badly worn to be able to see much else. Shame really. Maybe next week I will go and take a further look to see if I can get any better pictures.

2006-11-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

Years ago, whilst browsing a book stall I came across a book called the Tao of Pooh.

It was a book on Taoist ideals based around the Winnie the Pooh characters. In essence everyone falls into the character traits of one or more of the characters. While you learn to accept who you are, you should essentially aim to be Pooh, because, you see, Pooh is happy with his lot. He’s not jealous, evil, nasty, spiteful, he’s just Pooh!

In fact, the only thing Pooh wants to do is be happy and help his friends. I myself am considered as Owl…. Maybe with Tigger tendencies., but I have spent many a happy hour slotting friends into their Pooh characters without them even knowing.

So my life is inhabited by Piglets, Eeyores and Tiggers, with the odd Rabbit, Roo and Kanga thrown in. The great thing about the idea is you can switch genres. Star Trek works well, so does Lord of the Rings. You can do it without anyone knowing and chuckle to yourself when they do stuff that is totally like their character on Star Trek

I am coming to the opinion that Nobby is a maybe a Piglet with Tigger tendencies. He is all huggy one minute and the next he is bouncing around like an idiot. Maybe he will calm down as he gets a little older.

Speaking of him getting older, today is his nominal birthday. Because I got him from a cats home and he was a stray, we have no idea when his birthday is….we guessed that he was about 8 months old when I got him, and today it is exactly a year since I adopted him. How one little cat can make someone change their life in a year is beyond me…..but he has! I now get up at 5.30 every morning cos the little sod thinks it’s time to get up. I think Eryn was right when she said that the cat was training me rather than the other way round.

In other news, last night was good fun. I went to the games club in the afternoon, played some new games from Essen and then decided to stay for an odd beer with Colin, Siarl and Jooby. The odd beer ended up being 4 or 5 and I left the pub at around 10.30. A quick dash to Sainsburys to pick up some cat food , bread and some steak and in a cab home.

We spent the evening in the pub looking at all the youngsters who were inhabiting the pub. Maybe I’m starting to sound old, but some of them were dressed very strangely. Apparently, wearing a sack is now considered the height of fashion, as is a haircut that makes you look like something out of Space 1999. This, of course, turned the conversation to sci fi and “who was your favorite Dr Who”. My theory is that your favorite is the one you grew up with. So mine is John Pertwee. I liked Tom Baker too. I was shocked when Colin said that HIS was Peter Davidson…..not someone who I personally rated at a good Doctor.

It’s a bit like Star Trek Captains. My favorite is obviously Picard, with Kirk and Janeaway being far far down the list. Then again, I know people who argue for Kirk….obviously they are the strange ones with no friends.

2006-11-02T00:39:00.000-08:00

It started to get windy for the first time last night (I know...you can take tablets!!) and it's the first real sign that we are getting into my favourite season. Autumn has always been my favourite ever since I was a little kid.

Winter, even with fun things like snow, was always too cold, too miserable and more often than not too wet. Spring is little more that an after fart of Winter. In the UK again it tends to be rainy, miserable if it's wet and coldish.

Even the new Spring like things that are going on around you don't seem that intresting..While Autumn has really good stuff like bird migrations and hedgehogs and tortioses hibernating. I remember when the Blue Peter Tortoise used to be put in a box to hibernate, and I always thought what a fab time it would be to sleep for 3 months. Except that said tortoise managed to get a garden fork put through it which is why they started painting it's name on it's shell.

Summer is, well too hot. I'm a big lad and I don't DO heat terribly well. I wilt like a 10 day old orchid that hasn't had a sniff of water since it arrived from the garden centre. Summer was also the time of long holidays, and truth be know, I got bored. Even when I became older I was never one for holidays. I am fine for 2 or 3 days but after that I start to pace. I have always been one for doing stuff, and the idea of lying by a pool and getting sunburnt never appealed. well, maybe the watching the girls in bikini's appealed ..lol

So, we are back to Autumn. Bonfires, bird migrations, the leaves turning a fab shade of red/brown as the start to die. One of lifes secret ambitions is to drive through the Appalachian Mountains in the Fall,playing Aaron Copelands Appalachian Spring...merely because it would be funny. Well, I would laugh at the juxtaposition of it. Most people would think "there goes that mad Englishman in his open topped Morgan"....err the Morgan is in the dream too.

Now there is one thing, one NEW thing that has arrived in Autumn that I am not too keen on. Halloween. An American export to the UK that should, really, have stayed in America. I can see the point for the Pagans, after all, it's an important holiday for them....and I can SORT of see the point for Christians as, it's All Hallows Eve, and tomorrow is All Saints Day. If you don't know what All Saints Day is then let me explain. All Saints Day is the day for anyone with a name which doesn't HAVE a saints day.See...easy innit! Mind you, I can't help feeling that it's a bit of a cop out by the church just giving everyone ONE day.Anyway, back to Halloween. Pagan festival, stolen by the Christians and all...so, what the hell does it have to do with children knocking at the damn door at all hours of the night demanding "trick or treat".

I'm sure that, in the USA, the children all dress up in costumes, only go round to the next door neighbours, and that their parents are stood at the end of the pathway with a benevolent, slightly embarassed smile on their face as "Old Ma bennet" hands out the "vittles" to the "young uns". However, is this the case in the UK ....no. In the UK you have gangs of thuggish little bastards , bullying old ladies into handing over part of their pension because "it's alloween innit". Try fobbing those little gits off with a handfull of candy and see how far you get. Are their parents stood at the gate waiting for them?.No!. Is their drug dealer around the corner waiting to sell them another handful of smack?....More than likely! Do they dress up in costumes like they do in the movies, not a chance. You are lucky if one of the cuts the top out of a bin liner and walks like a zombie not because he is trying to, but because of the smack! Not in the UK people dressed as vampires, in the UK children think that halloween is about dressing in a hoody, with it pulled up so far over you face nobody can recognise you as you scrape your key down the side of someone's car or chuck a brick through their window cos the stingy old bastard only gave you 50p.

rant over!!!