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    January 29

    Out Dogging

    With a location like Henlow and a seedy car park as a starting point for the evening it could quite easily have been the real thing but instead it was a night out dog racing with the guys and gals from easyJet.  It was in the end a bit disturbing to see that by mid point in the evening the yield management team were no longer betting after exhausting their funds and the route management team were having similar bad luck.  I am hoping their management of the real deal is somewhat more rosey.  It was left to the operations and IT teams to bring home the winnings.  I won some cash on the first race and then had to wait till tha latter races to claw in some more cash.  My reading of the form guide was far from perfect but returning home with the same money you left with is at least an ok night out.
     
    I am left wondering now where the term dogging comes from?! 

    Just found my Cats blog

    I have always wondered what my cat is thinking so was lucky enough to find his blog http://barneythecat.spaces.live.com/
    January 28

    Nothing on television

    Somedays are just for sitting on the sofa and chillin, especially when feeling shit with a bout of man flu.  Managed to watch Federer continue to be unbeatable; Chelsea to show that while they are the most expensive side around they are fairly dull to watch and Shevchenko really needs to get fit and actually learn to shoot; viewed a bit of Ski Sunday and bowls; followed with the Last Kiss which I downloaded/stole from the internet.  Watched Top Gear return with Hammond crashing after some jokey remarks about going to die and also the usual father christmas meets the tooth fairy story about relaying a road in 24hrs.  Makes for good tv though.  New series of 24 continues with Jack escaping China and looking like he had been on holiday eating pies.  He has definitely put on weight since the end of the last series.  To end the evening it is Dawn of the Dead and maybe some channel hopping to see who wins Big Brother, but to be honest I don't really care.  Other observations for the day, Match.com has some of my best friends on it (makes for some searching fun, its like pokemon, gotta catch them all), those who are not on Match are thinking of doing so, cheap Tesco chocolate tastes good, you never get bored of tea when ill, Telford is 3 hrs and 128 miles away, I have eaten 12 oranges today, cats are never full, The SunRunner in Hitchin does the best Sunday roast, especially when ill, the Tesco christmas party sounded fairly eventful with one stomach pumping, one dislocated shoulder and a burst appendix and finally my finger is much better.  Time for one last cup of tea...
    January 24

    How hard can it be to play football!

    I knew it was going to be one of those days when i woke to go to the airport and there was a few inches of snow sitting on my car.  I was due to go to Edinburgh and had made sure I got the early flight back to make a few meetings and then get to football in the evening - important game against the second place team in our league.  Anyway the roads were not too bad considerng the snow fall, once on board the plane the plane is then delayed as they hadn't defrosted properly.  Had to wait while they found a brush in the terminal to sweep the snow off, you sometimes wonder how planes manage to land themselves!
     
    Had a good meeting in Edinburgh and get a taxi back in plently of time to make the flight only to find the airport closed due to a bomb alert!  Some fool had put a new bag in the bin cue a full scale bomb squad having to pop over and attempt to blow up the bag 3 times!  This went on while I was left freezing in the cold outside the terminal for 2 1/2 hrs.  Note to self, remember that Scotland is a cold and wet place, take a jacket next time!  It was looking for a time that I was going to miss the game!
     
    Eventually get on board the flight around 4 only to be delayed on the runway for a BA flight (boo hiss) but made good time back to Luton and got a free hot drink out of easyJet which was good.  Get back to Luton and quickly check my mail before getting in the car only to find the Airport road completely blocked!  Really have upset someone big style, maybe karma is after me for not living up to all my environmental pledges made at the start of this blog!  However, I did make football although we lost our main game.  Hammered the second team though, karma is good sometimes!
     
    On a seperate note Angus has found a headquarters for my Random society! 
    January 22

    Wireless is great especially when unsecure!

    Supposed to be signing in after changing to Sky but it is not working at the moment, so luckily I have a kind neighbour who has lent me his unsecure wireles network for the evening or as long as he can't be arsed securing it and I don't have Sky.  Bit scary that I have to borrow someone elses connection and can't last a night without the internet.  Kind of stuck in a box with no contact with the outside world, no gaming, messenger, random sites or fantasy football to explore!
     
    Not much else to write except it is f*ckin freezing outside.  Really fancy some some snow, sledging and snowballs but think I need to wear some more clothes outside otherwise might freeze and turn into an ice cube.  I am not an eskimo you know! 
     
    I was also told today that i use the word random alot, possibly like this blog!
    January 21

    Old gaming is the best

    Saturday 20th January:  London Again
     
    The old games are always the best, spent the weekend (well a few hours) at the London Science Museum at the gaming exihibition.  It is funny though how the games i was most drawn to were the old ones, really wanted to play the likes of pac-man and space invaders but wasn't really fussed in the end by the wii or PS3.  In fact by far the most addicitive game of the day was Missile Command a game where you have to defend a number of cities from missle attack. 
     
    Spent much of the rest of the day proving my sporting prowess in both halves of London playing killer pool in South Kensington and round the clock darts in some scary (well not really) Kings Cross pub.  Managed to leave my keys in South Kensington only to remember while listening to an impromptu Irish folk music session in a pub in Barnsbury.  The music was really cool consisting of some poeple sitting round a table drinking and playing music.  By the end of the night it had turned into some pub singalong, kinda got the feeling this was a fairly regular thing, must some learn some Irish numbers and go back sometime.  Anyway as for keys, for the first time I decided against a mad against the clock dash accross London to rescue them and stayed the night in London.
     
    Sunday 21st January : Nationwide sucks!
     
    Recovered my keys only to get home and spend 2 hours on the phone to Nationwide trying to get some help filling in the forms to sort out my mortgage only to get put on hold by two different people who couldn't help with the form i was completing and then getting transferred to a department who wasn't even responsible for mortgages, who then put me back in the queue where I was then told all the lines were now shut.
     
    At least Jack Bower returns to save us all tonight!
     
     

    Famous in Germany

    After playing Stelios recently at table football it seems that my fame has spread even further.  In the German version of The Economist along side a photo of Andy Harrison or chief exec is another photo of myself, Kim, Danny and John playing table football.  All I can say is watch out David Beckham!
    January 17

    R.I.P Aygo!

    A two minute silence will be held at midnight tonight to celebrate the great Aygo that has returned to the garage.  I think the Mazda is going to take alot of getting used to again plus the increased petrol consumption.
     
     

    Tagged!

    I've just been 'tagged' by a guy called Anders (http://ljusberg.se/blogs/smorakning/archive/2007/01/13/tagged.aspx) who i worked with while at Tesco.com.  In being tagged I am supposed to tell you 5 things you probably don't know about me!  Not sure it will be that insightful but here it goes:
     
    1)  I was actually born in Liverpool, believe it or not, no accent but that was becasue I grew up in a place called Formby sandwiched between Liverpool and Southport which makes you neither a scouser or a woollyback and fair game to either party on a Friday night out.  I ended up at Lancaster University (where i studied Geography and Environmental policy) where my parents promptly moved as far away as possible, to Dorset.  After university I lived in Poole for nearly 2 years where...
    2)  My first job was working in a random guys office (also his home) in Bournemouth, he had recently split up from his partner but wanted me to help design a website to provide home buying services.  He pretty much went off the rails and most of my day was spent watching a stream of half/fully naked strippers wandering past the office door.  He seemed to be a regular at the local strip club and had made many friends.  Before all that...
    3) My first kiss was at the age of about 7 to a girl called Claire Shaw.  We were both teased to death about the kiss (we were forced for some reason into doing so at school by a load of other kids) and it scared me off girls for about the next ten years, well almost.  I used to visit her after school for some reason but got hid under her bed so her sister didn't see me.  These are pretty much my only memories of her as shortly after she moved to London.  I got a letter from her to say she had been kissed by another boy but she still liked me.  I regret not having kept the letter now.  She moved back to Formby but to another school.  I have never talked to her since.
    4) My best friend is a guy called Simon Bond.  We were in pretty much the same class through school and have kept in touch ever since.  He got me into indie music and Ride who we were obsessed with for a long time.  I never actually got to see them play live until it was too late!  My musical return was getting him into Mogwai who he intially thought were rubbish!  How wrong was he!  Besides music...
    5) I used to write game reviews for a Apple user group magazine.  They were not very good but got me a few games for free.  My first computer was an Apple IIe followed by an Atari ST, Playstation, Playstation 2 and now own an Xbox 360 (gamer tag 'hornbyrob').  I also own a Gameboy and PSP.
     
    Anyway as a result of being tagged I now have to tag a further 5 people (I think) and in doing so continue the chain!   I think this is actually going to be quite difficult as dont know many bloggers!
     
    The people are:
    Paul Curtis - blogging location and I am sure he has one still somewhere will hopefully follow
     
    Shame that so few people have blogs!
    January 16

    Car Back Tomorrow

    Car is scheduled to be back tomorrow, touch wood!  Going to miss my Aygo!

    Karaoke in Hitchin!

    Not your typical Sunday and it started off so relaxed with drinks at a really nice country pub called The Fox in Willian.  Was out with Jo catching up and then went into to town to meet Ash and find some food.  Everything after that is entirely Ash's fault and involved some of the worst karaoke in living memory in a bar with about 12 people in it.  Actually can't remember what we sang but can guarantee it wasn't good!  The only one I really remember was the first one, Rock DJ chosen by Ash.  Can there be a more difficult song to pick!  Think my DS Brain age has been increased to about 80!
     
     
    January 13

    Challenges

     There is nothing like a challenge and this year looks to be no exception with the following challenges planned:

    Kim to each 3 crackers in a world record time.
    Rob to eat 6 cream eggs in 10 minutes, this is unlikely to be a world record time but is likely to be slightly more than my recommended daily intake of sugar and possibly a sugar eating world record.
    Ike to run the 400m in less than 60 seconds!  If you run regularly this is easy but Ike isn't built for sprint running (not fat but just a big guy).  Ikes unflinching belief in random things is admirable and the source of much hilarity in the office.  The last challenge Ike involved us proving that it was not possible to use a mobile phone to unlock a car door (something he believed possible).  Basically taking place in the easyJet car park I stood at one end with my mobile and the keys to my car.  Ike stood next to my car with his mobile.  Everyone else stood nearby to him as an audience.  I phoned Ike and started to press the unlock button on my car keys, Ike answered and spent the next 10 minutes placing his phone in different place around my car trying to unlock the car door.  Upon Ike ducking behind the back of the car in a desperate attempt to unlock the car for a final time I put my sprint skills into action running the length of the car park without him seeing me, standing with the rest of guys watching Ike desperately trying to get the phone to unlock the car, I pressed the unlock button to the car.  Cue the car door unlocking and Ikes face looking the picture of revelation, like he had witnessed the second coming.  This was short lived however as he turned to see me standing next to him.

    Roll on the next challenges.  How crazy are we at easyJet

    Catch up 2

    Saturday 13th January - Spaced
     
    Finally getting to watch Spaced after about 5 years of wanting to, currnetly watching the paintball episode and the revenge on his ex-friend who stole his girlfriend.  Far too funny to try and describe, just watch it!
     
    Roll on Hot Fuzz, the latest film by the creators of Spaced, check out the trailer! http://www.jointhefuzz.com/indexnew.php
     
    Saturday 13th January - Recycling
     
    Trying to recycle more stuff and took the plastic to Tesco,  they have a cool new machine there that sorts everything for you so no need to sort out your bottles in colours as this machine somehow does it for you.  You shove each item into a single hole and the machine works out where to put it!  How cool!
     
    Saturday 13th January - Flats
     
    10am flat viewings after a night out ending with falling alseep in a drunken coma at 2.30am is not a good idea.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to buy Steph out of the house so had arranged some flat viewings for places in Hitchin.  There are some nice flats in a old BT exchange in the town center and I have always wanted to view them so thought now was as gooder time as any to have a look.  Went to see two places there, both really cool, two bed, two floor loft style places with a first floor mezzanine overlooking the lounge.  Also managed to find out the cute girl showing me round was single, lived not too far away, had also recently split up with her partner and has a cat.  I think I found out more about her than the flat.
     
    Friday 12th January - Oceana
     
    The drinking competition is hotting up, Kim has become the next victim to the powers of drink!  Just the hardcore drinkers of Paul and Angus to go now.  Went out clubbing to Oceana in Milton Keyenes, discovered my continued inability to speak after a drink accidentally asking for a VD instead to a VK to the barmaid,  casting no aspertions on the residents of Milton Keynes.  Also managed to interpret two Latvian girls jobs incorrectly, my hearing is rubbish in clubs and tonight was no exception as I heard that they worked in the service industry, cue mind conjuring up mirrored ceilings, cheesy music and half naked girls, found out later they worked in the service industry at a service station on the M1, not really the same.
     
    Friday 12th January - The Arcade Fire
     
    Logged on at 9am to buy Arcade Fire tickets along with half of London.  A few of us were trying to get tickets and managed to end up with 3 seated, 3 standing, 2 further standing another 2 tickets for another night and 4 tickets for the final night.  This was for 5 people!  Got to avoid profiteering on eBay however tempting...
     
    Got news that my car might be back next Thursday!
     
     
    Thursday 11th January - Cereal Box Challenge Again
     
    Instead of a non-drinking competition I think there is a need to not play the cereal box challenge game!  This time the event took place and Jo and Ash's flat in Welwyn.  I have a feeling I am getting more bendible as managed to get fairly close to a flat box beating both Jo who does yoga and Ash who doesn't (I will resist posting the photo taken of Ash trying to pick up the cereal box - think I would probably be killed).  I think they had their revenge in the form of a Nintendo DS and my fairly poor brain age of 60 achieved through my inability to remember 4 letter words, the DS interpreting my 9's as 8's and y general poor reactions.  Adictive stuff though and much better than the PSP.  Really want one now.
     
    Also found out the Dominos web site doesn't work after ordering a pepperoni pizza with cheese and changing the double to a single I get a phone call ten minutes later asking if I want my pizza without pepperoni and cheese.  Yes that is excatly what i want a pizza with no toppings!
     
    My knee is screwed!  Think the cereal box lunge is not a good idea!
     
    Wednesday 10th January - Football and sleep pain
     
    Woke up in the early hours after football in complete agony, only to fall asleep or pass out under the pain.  Still not sure whether I dreamt it or whether my knee is once more screwed.  Still managing to stay top of our league though (http://www.playfootball.net).  Hopefully a league winner medal will come this year and I can finally have claimed to have won some sporting event.
     
    Tuesday 9th January - Great North Run
     
    Having decided not to do the London Marathon due to everything going on at home I have now entered the ballot for the Great North Run!  Really hope I get in as could do with a fresh challenge and am regretting not doing the marathon. 
     
    January 11

    Gaming!

    It is 1.20am, the promotion is off the site and we are still on Xbox Live.  We now have scanned each of our faces into the game... Game on!
    January 09

    Your Toilet Partner

    Have you ever noticed that you often end up in the toilet with the same bloke over and over again, casting the gay aspersions aside I always seem to bump (not literally) into Paul Simmons when going to the toilet at easyJet.  This is a fairly regular occurance, probably about twice a day.  Given the amount of times that we have ended up in the toilet at the same time due to similar bladder retention you would think our conversations would be a bit further along than just hi or a casual nod or just generally ignoring each other - actually maybe he wonders why I am always there at the same time.  So the question is who is your toilet partner in the office? 

    Why we should all love Apple!

     Apple really does have the most amazing well designed small gadgets ever invented!  They just make the Microsoft Zune player look like an antiquated brick.  Like comparing a cell phone from the eighties against one today!  Check out the link below.
     
    January 06

    Rough Trade Records - Music Club

    I am since my birthday the proud member of the Rough Trade music club.  This means that each month depending on your membership you are sent a number of CDs of Rough Trades choice which arrive in a minimalist album club box.  For those who don't know who Rough Trade is then check them out here, http://www.roughtrade.com/.  I have been sent 6 Cds to date, the latest arriving yesterday...
     
    Month 1:
    - The Ruby Suns - The Ruby Suns
    - Aluminium - Aluminium
    - Trainwreck Riders - Lonely Road Revival
     
    Month 2:
    - Johnny Boy - Johnny Boy
    - Fujiya Miyagi - Transparent things
    - Tap Tap - LanzaFame
     
    I'll have to see what month 3 brings....  Its an interesting if pricey idea, you can send back anything you don't like and they'll send you something different.  Just wondering how many albums I can rip and send back before the catch on.
     
    Two of the CDs are also fairly limited edition, the Aluminium alb is limited to 3000 copies worldwide while the TapTap album comes wrapped in a hand stamped, string sealed sleeve.  The question is do I open the pack and listen to the music or retain its limited edition nature and save it to sell on eBay one day for loads of cash.  Its always been something I have contemplated as I have a few rare CDs that are worth a bit... but the one that is worth most is my Radiohead Drill ep.  It is worth about £100-200, i never listen to it as it is fairly crap but it makes my music collection slightly more cool.  Maybe one day it will be worth thousands but like most indie bands things come in and out of fashion - stuff that i could have once sold for tens of pounds is now only worth a few.  Is the satisfaction of owning it forever better than selling it for money when the band are at their peak?
     
    Will it be the same in the future as everything becomes mp3?  It already feels different, I can download any album whenever i want, there is no satisfaction any more of going to your local indie store and buying that cd that is going to change your life, the one with the really cool cover and sound.  Instead I now struggle to listen to everything and rarely get into a band like I used to.  Is this where it all goes wrong.  I promised when I was 16 to always buy NME and to always be buying the latest coolest stuff.  Now NME just seems like Smash Hits, but is that because tastes have changed and music is no longer what I want it to be, have I turned into my parents?  Will I stop buying music?  My dads music collection ends with the demise of the Beatles. 
     
    A few years back I pretty much stopped buying CDs, most of the bands I followed had either died or split up.  I was becoming my parents with the music collection that ended with the demise of Oasis or Nirvana but mp3s have saved my love of music.  I can download anything I want and try out new stuff.  So maybe I don't go out to the record store to buy that great album but i get the chance to listen to loads more stuff and broaden my tastes.  When I was younger I lived in a blinkered world, dance music was crap, chart music was dull and indie music rulled the world.  Now I listen to eveything from Bon Jovi to TV On The Radio.  Its a great new world and it doesn't stop getting better, new sites like www.pandora.com and www.musicplasma.com keep me searching for new sounds.  It is like being in  the classroom again sharing music through that single headphone, discovering new stuff.
     
    I buy alot more music than I did a few years back, so saying that music piracy is bad is just wrong, it is like the days of tape and recording stuff off your mates that in turn means you buy the latest album by that band.  I made a promise - music that I like I will always buy on CD but stuff that I like but can't bring myself to buy I will download.  In doing this I hopefully stay in touch while feeding that secret desire for the cheese that is Girls Aloud every so often.  The world of music has changed but its not the end it is just the beginning, I might not have the satisfaction of browsing the local music store but now I gain alot more pleasure finding new stuff on the web... just wish I had more time to listen to it all!
     
    Looking forward to All Tomorrows Parties this year (www.atpfestival.com/) and the discovery of live music again!  Just been inspired after watching 9 Songs.
     
    First concert - Smashing Pumkins/The Verve
    First festival - Glastonbury 1994
    First cool alb - Ride, Nowhere
    First music autograph - The Boo Radleys
    Best record shop - Probe Liverpool (the old one that turned into Ted Baker)
    First time backstage - The Charlatans (Poole Arts Centre)
    First music video - Suede
    Coolest bands discovered* - Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian
    Concerts - Belle & Sebastian, Low, Verve, Oasis, Stone Roses, Blur, Garbage, Arab Strap, Ash, Bluetones, Charlatans, Frank & Walters, Strokes, Snow Patrol, Teenage Fanclub, Suede, Cast, Radiohead, Spiritualized, Boo Radleys, The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, The White Stripes, Pavement, All Tomorrows Parties (04), Glastonbury (94), V-Festival (04)....
     
     
    *Found through buying random 7 inch in record shop in Preston.
     
     

    Drinking Failure!

    I am a non-drinking failure, after laughing at the ease of beating Paul, Angus and Kim for the longest period of non-drinking, i have failed after only 5 days.  My only defence is I am weak willed and sucumbed after being paid by the people at Andrews birthday last night to drink.  The pub we spent the night at was fairly random hidden down an alley that a few years back would have ended in a hospital.  You can check out where we ended up here...
     
    6 St Chad's Place - www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/64/6485/6_St_Chads_Place/Kings_Cross
    January 05

    Catch Up

    Dec 8th - First of the christmas parties
     
    Well the first of the parties and to kick it off it was the IT do, always been really dull affairs at tesco with a curry at the end of the road for lunch.  easyJets party though was far more entertaining despite the lack of women there.  A rousing night of karaoke in Londons Cousin Jills.  Had a really good night and even managed a song with daydream believer, sang with Binny.  Hopefull more good parties to follow.
     
    Dec 9th - Crashed Car!
     
    Had to happen at some point but have finally pranged the mazda!  Must not drive when sun is low in sky and can't see where going!  The bumper is cracked and bonnet has been squashed but the rest of the car looks ok.  hope it doesn't take too long to fix.

    Dec 18th - christmas party, best hotel room
     
    Another day another party, christmas really does seem to bring them out.  Anyway decided to book in last minute into a hotel in London.  Requested the highest room int he hotel as a joke but managed to get a room with the view below - only wish i had my proper camera.
    Party was great, held at the RoadHouse with a really good live rock band playing a load of cheesy covers from Queen to Bon Jovi to franz Ferdinand!  Cue much karaoke and dancing!
    Back to the hotel for more view watching and another round of the cereal box challenge!  Getting a bit stupid now!  Pretty much ended with Karen indenting the room table in her forehead!
     
    Dec 19th - Hotel Bill
     
    How does a kit kat cost £2!  It wasn't even a chunky one!
     
    Dec 20th - Batchwoods
     
    Final christmas party of 2007 and a good one to end on.  It was a good night fuelled by more free drinks than expected and an explanation from the easyJet party organiser steve Evans about his fear of dwarfs and chinese men, apparenty runs in the family!
     
    Dec 24th - Christmas Eve
     
    Back home for christmas which is really needed.  Just returned from midnight mass with at the salvation army (my brothers wife is a member).  It was a nice service and really unstuffy.  Safety announement now done at all services went something along the lines of "if you see a fire, run, sure you all know where the doors are, I am not going to wait around for you!". Yes, really.
     
    Christmas Day!
     
    Nothing like being at home for christmas and eating loads of turkey and then watching tv with a glass of wine!
     
    Went to my brothers in the evening and met his other halfs family, all really nice - the bonus was they had the worlds biggest and loudest fireworks which we used at a local field to disturb the curtains of the local residents!
     
    Dec 29th - Barnsbury
     
    Out in a pub again, this time in Barnsbury in London.  Some really nice pubs in London if you go off the beaten track and try out some of the local ones, my friend Si drew up a bar crawl round the local area.  Would be a great area to live in!  some of the Pubs I remember below:
    The Albion
    The Drapers Arms

    Jan 1st - New Year
     
    Had a good new year in Milton Keynes at Alainas & Seans house.  Kim came as well and managed to defeat me in Pro evolution soccer 4-0, at least my revenge was to come later that evening as the cereal box challenge raised its head again!  After  a few dodgy cocktails and a load of party snacks the suggestion of the cereal box challenge was again made.  Cue the usual i am not playing that! 5 minutes later everyone was practising their techniques and the competition element kicked in!  Sean introduced a new hen pecking technique to early success but it wasn't to last!  In the end Alaina won, along with her friend claire who was bendy enough to balance her head on the floor while picking up up the box, cheating, probably but quite fun to watch ;-).  I managed to beat Kim though which was all important.
     
    Jan 1st - New Year Resolution
     
    3 things:
    1)  To be happy and do the things I want to do and enjoy doing
    2)  To learn a foreign language
    3)  To practise all the environmental promises I made last year!
     
    Jan 2nd - Not drinking
     
    Another new Years resolution, I have entered a pack with a few friends at work not to drink, the loser gives £20 to charity.  I am feeling this is a safe bet when up against the likes of Paul and Angus.
     
    Jan 2nd - Online gaming with friends!
     
    Finally started playing xbox live with some friends from work! Linking up and playing 3 player with voice over the web is simply brilliant, hence us playing till 2am.  You also learn a few things about your friends.  Paris i have discovered really shouldn't go back and do his military service in Greece as is likely to be killed on day 1 for his gung-ho tactics.  Must say that playing with people you know is far better than playing stoned southern state yanks or 10 year old children who kick your arse on a regular occasion and then gloat in a squeaky voice!
    Anyway roll on getting a camera and putting our faces in the game, the characters already lip sync when you speak - badly but really cool!
     
    Jan 3rd - Money & football
     
    Been working out how much money I spend a month as given my current situation i need to take account of what i spend and decide whether to take on the house.  Won't go into it all but realised that i spend nearly a grand on playing football a year.  I play 2/3 times a week and each time it costs about a fiver, the games are pretty much every week for the whole year.  Simple maths say 52 * 15 = 780.  Plus as i run one night each week if i don't get enough people then end up paying more!
     
    Jan 4th - Walk London!
     
    On a course in London this week but it finishes early and so have been wandering the streets of London!  Amazing place to wander and full of contrasts.  Managed to walk from Moorgate along the southbank stopping off at the Tate for coffee and another amazing view of London before walking up through Covent Garden, Soho and then upto to King Cross via Camden - took a wrong turn and ended up wandering through some very dodgy council estates!  Never again!  Not sure how far I walked but was better than the tube!
     
    Jan 5th - Guilty Pleasure!
     
    Big brother is a guilty pleasure, very few people say yeah I'm watching that but everyone does!  No real surprises but reckon the following:
    Ken - first man to have a heart attack on camera!  Harsh but not unlikely!
    Donnie - Thought he was from a made up band, even the songs seems made up, 'Air Guitar' anyone!  Sadly not!
    Face - Will either turn out to be cool or very very dull
    Can't be bothered with the rest - forgotten their names already.
     
    Jan 5th - Still no Car
     
    Still no car, amazing how the smallest part can take so long!  Awaiting a bonnet catch which has been on order for three weeks now!  Stuck for another week with my Aygo, starting to get used to it now, plus it got me to my parents in Dorset on £7.50 worth of petrol!  Environment-car, environment-car - think i am testing a new year resolution to its limit already!

    Cereal Box challenge 1 - December 06

    In the jungle  gorillas fight to be the dominant animal through strength and agression.  In the human world the alpha male is determined by the cereal box challenge.  Well that is what happened last night at Pauls party.  As the night drew to an end the cereal challenge was initiated by James.  As the women backed off the men rose to the challenge and the game began.  For those who have never heard of the cereal box challenge the rules are simple.  You need one simple cereal box, rip the top off and place on the floor.  You then have to pick up the box using your mouth with only your feet touching the ground.  Sounds easy?  Well it is to start with but then after the first round the box is reduced in size by ripping the top off the box by a further few inches.  Eventually it gets very low to the ground and very painful to pickup.
     
    Anyway the first few rounds passed quickly and the numbers reduced as those who had spent the day drinking and losing their balance collapsed head first into the box.  In the end two people remained, kim and James.  At this point the game turned into battle to become the alpha male.  With the box now flat against the ground with no height at all, Kim left the room only to return moments later sporting Pauls sports shorts.  Game on...  Not sure how he managed it but at one point the battle turned into a competition for james girlfriend.  Anyway Kim rose to the challenge of possible female company and won the day.  He is now sporting the cereal box on his desk as a sign of victory!  I was happy with third and I think Paul was to drunk to even bend!