It has just taken me 15 minutes to breakl my way in to the plastic packaging that surrounded some new lights for my bike.
I eventually resorted to using a whole punch to break my way in.
One day plastic will take over the world and me and you will be powerless to stop it.
DEATH TO PLASTIC!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
If nobody seaks of remarkable things
I have been reading this book for some time. It's not particularly long or difficult to follow but I have been very busy and it is also worth taking time over.
It is the story of one ordinary street on one very ordinary day. The characters that populate this book are very ordinary and lead very ordinary lives.
And that is the beauty of this book. The writer has used prose of almost mesmeric beauty and created something that is almos poetic. It has a book that cuts to the heart of what it is to be human, of our underlying failings and sometimes heroic ability to deal with those failings. The passage that recounts how a badly scarred and ill single father deals with his lively and playfull 5 year old daughter, despite the pain he is in moved me to tears.
This is a wonderful book that I simply cannot plug enough.
Read it. Read it now.
Wednesday
1.08 pm
I have been reading this book for some time. It's not particularly long or difficult to follow but I have been very busy and it is also worth taking time over.
It is the story of one ordinary street on one very ordinary day. The characters that populate this book are very ordinary and lead very ordinary lives.
And that is the beauty of this book. The writer has used prose of almost mesmeric beauty and created something that is almos poetic. It has a book that cuts to the heart of what it is to be human, of our underlying failings and sometimes heroic ability to deal with those failings. The passage that recounts how a badly scarred and ill single father deals with his lively and playfull 5 year old daughter, despite the pain he is in moved me to tears.
This is a wonderful book that I simply cannot plug enough.
Read it. Read it now.
Wednesday
1.08 pm
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Sat here channel hopping while waiting ot head off to the footy and there's show on called the great British menu.
It consists of top chefs entering a massive competition to put their food on the menu at the Queen's brithday party.
FOR FUCK'S SAKE!
What is the point? Why so much effort for one family? When are we going to grow up as a nation, get rid of these parasites that GET PAID LOADS OF OUR MONEY FOR DOING JACK SHIT and get a proper constitution and a democratically elected head of state?
It consists of top chefs entering a massive competition to put their food on the menu at the Queen's brithday party.
FOR FUCK'S SAKE!
What is the point? Why so much effort for one family? When are we going to grow up as a nation, get rid of these parasites that GET PAID LOADS OF OUR MONEY FOR DOING JACK SHIT and get a proper constitution and a democratically elected head of state?
Friday, January 26, 2007
What it's like to be a man.
The fact is that men are obsessive individuals. Despite what many women would have you believe we are very different to each other. We are NOT all egotisical, sex crazed, sexist, testosterone fuled animals, although there are some. (And frankly most of us have our moments).
We do tend to have one thing in common though and that is our ability to be utterly obsessive about things. I have one friend who spends every waking moment with his under the bonnet of a land rover. Its his passion, his obsession. I know yet another who spends every moment that he's not at work taking photos. It goes beyond a hobby, it goes beyond a passion, it is utter obsession. Another one spends absolutley every waking moment either climbing or talking about climbing.
I tell you this so that maybe you understand why right now I am very twitchy indeed.
Tomorrow my beloved Barnet FC, possibly the most unglamorous, most rubbish, most ridiculous little club in the world, will play for the first ever time in the 4th round of the FA cup, the greatest cup competition in the world. And yes, like many others I rank it above the world cup or European cup.
And we are playing Plymouth Argyle. Compared to Barnet they are a big club but still we're not exactly talking Man United or Real Madrid here!
So infact this is a very low key, unglam tie that shouldn't really be get any normal individual wound up. But my obsession you see is Barnet FC. Its been that way since I was 13. the game is more or less sold out. A quick glance at the message board on the club website (see link at the side) will show the mad scramble there is for the handful of tickets that are still floating around. So I'm not alone.
I am so twitchy that I cant eat and cant sleep and cant concentrate on anything. I know it doesn't matter, I know so many things are more important but that isn;t where my mind is right now.
I love football, I love Barnet, and until this tie is settled (hell, it might go to a replay!) I am going to be utterly obsessed.
That is what it is like to be a man.
Friday, 6.15pm
The fact is that men are obsessive individuals. Despite what many women would have you believe we are very different to each other. We are NOT all egotisical, sex crazed, sexist, testosterone fuled animals, although there are some. (And frankly most of us have our moments).
We do tend to have one thing in common though and that is our ability to be utterly obsessive about things. I have one friend who spends every waking moment with his under the bonnet of a land rover. Its his passion, his obsession. I know yet another who spends every moment that he's not at work taking photos. It goes beyond a hobby, it goes beyond a passion, it is utter obsession. Another one spends absolutley every waking moment either climbing or talking about climbing.
I tell you this so that maybe you understand why right now I am very twitchy indeed.
Tomorrow my beloved Barnet FC, possibly the most unglamorous, most rubbish, most ridiculous little club in the world, will play for the first ever time in the 4th round of the FA cup, the greatest cup competition in the world. And yes, like many others I rank it above the world cup or European cup.
And we are playing Plymouth Argyle. Compared to Barnet they are a big club but still we're not exactly talking Man United or Real Madrid here!
So infact this is a very low key, unglam tie that shouldn't really be get any normal individual wound up. But my obsession you see is Barnet FC. Its been that way since I was 13. the game is more or less sold out. A quick glance at the message board on the club website (see link at the side) will show the mad scramble there is for the handful of tickets that are still floating around. So I'm not alone.
I am so twitchy that I cant eat and cant sleep and cant concentrate on anything. I know it doesn't matter, I know so many things are more important but that isn;t where my mind is right now.
I love football, I love Barnet, and until this tie is settled (hell, it might go to a replay!) I am going to be utterly obsessed.
That is what it is like to be a man.
Friday, 6.15pm
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
To be honest I'm not quite sure where to start when writing about the last few days.
First of all I was despatched to Nottingham with work on Tuesday for 3 days.
It was a strange experience being away with work again and I spent much of it people watching (when I wasn't working, we were all worked like dogs!) and concluded once again how unhappy people are. Most of those at a city centre hotel in January are business folks. And you just had to look at them to see how unfulfilled most of them were, even if only in the short term. So many of them looked lonely and over worked, and I include myself amongst them.
There is nothing wrong with being by yourself but there is a difference between when you chose to do so and when it is forced upon you. That is the difference between solitude and loneliness.
And now I start to understand the pressures that so many relationships are put under in such circumstances and its really quite sad, and I mean that genuinely.
So then there was the journey home through some of the worst storms the UK has seen in quite some time. The train system was in chaos and I was forced to travel by a very convaluted route that took 21 hours! (Although that did include kipping at my parents house for a night). Two things to point out about this.
Firstly I simply cannot praise the staff of Central trains, Midland Mainline and First Capital Connect enough. They simply bent over backwards to help me and many others in very difficult circumstances. At the end of the day if trees have fallen on the line then trees have fallen on the line, there is nothing they can do to help that and some very bad tempered passengers would do well to bare that in mind.
Which is my second point, in the circumstances I realised what I had got out of being a scout as a kid. It was hard slog getting home, at times frustrating and tireing but at the end of the day you have to do the job that is put in front of you. It's no good wingeing and moaning about things, you just have to get on with overcoming them. If you want to overcome them AND winge then be my guest. But to simply bitch and moan? What's the point? And that is what I realised that I got from scouting as a kid, just getting on with it.
And so to Big Brother.........
The papers and TV news have been full of comments about the apparent racist abuse hurled by Jade Goody at Shilpa.
Well here is my view on it.
The vitriol hurled by Jade at Shilpa was vile, vindictive and she should be utterly ashamed of herself. For her and others to gang up on someone like that is appauling and indefensible.
However, it was not, in my opinion, racist.
If it had been the case that Jade had picked on Shipla because she was Asian then it would have been, even if no racist terms were actually used. What happened however was that an extremely stupid and ignorant individual was involved in a personality clash with someone who is clearly cultured and educated. This caused a row and racist terms were used simply because the different skin colour, nationality and accents between them were the most obvious features in which they differed.
Yes typically racist comments were used but that does not in itself make it a racist attack.
Ok so this is only a game show and maybe there are many more important things to worry about but think of it this way. This is an issue that has received massive publicity and that is worrying. If non racist issues are classed as racist and large numbers of people can see that then it undermines those that are trying to tackle genuine racism.
Secondly the pig ignorance of Ms Goody is a frightening indication if just how badly educated some people are, in a supposedly wealthy civilised country, surely we can turn out people from school of a higher level of intelligence than this?
First of all I was despatched to Nottingham with work on Tuesday for 3 days.
It was a strange experience being away with work again and I spent much of it people watching (when I wasn't working, we were all worked like dogs!) and concluded once again how unhappy people are. Most of those at a city centre hotel in January are business folks. And you just had to look at them to see how unfulfilled most of them were, even if only in the short term. So many of them looked lonely and over worked, and I include myself amongst them.
There is nothing wrong with being by yourself but there is a difference between when you chose to do so and when it is forced upon you. That is the difference between solitude and loneliness.
And now I start to understand the pressures that so many relationships are put under in such circumstances and its really quite sad, and I mean that genuinely.
So then there was the journey home through some of the worst storms the UK has seen in quite some time. The train system was in chaos and I was forced to travel by a very convaluted route that took 21 hours! (Although that did include kipping at my parents house for a night). Two things to point out about this.
Firstly I simply cannot praise the staff of Central trains, Midland Mainline and First Capital Connect enough. They simply bent over backwards to help me and many others in very difficult circumstances. At the end of the day if trees have fallen on the line then trees have fallen on the line, there is nothing they can do to help that and some very bad tempered passengers would do well to bare that in mind.
Which is my second point, in the circumstances I realised what I had got out of being a scout as a kid. It was hard slog getting home, at times frustrating and tireing but at the end of the day you have to do the job that is put in front of you. It's no good wingeing and moaning about things, you just have to get on with overcoming them. If you want to overcome them AND winge then be my guest. But to simply bitch and moan? What's the point? And that is what I realised that I got from scouting as a kid, just getting on with it.
And so to Big Brother.........
The papers and TV news have been full of comments about the apparent racist abuse hurled by Jade Goody at Shilpa.
Well here is my view on it.
The vitriol hurled by Jade at Shilpa was vile, vindictive and she should be utterly ashamed of herself. For her and others to gang up on someone like that is appauling and indefensible.
However, it was not, in my opinion, racist.
If it had been the case that Jade had picked on Shipla because she was Asian then it would have been, even if no racist terms were actually used. What happened however was that an extremely stupid and ignorant individual was involved in a personality clash with someone who is clearly cultured and educated. This caused a row and racist terms were used simply because the different skin colour, nationality and accents between them were the most obvious features in which they differed.
Yes typically racist comments were used but that does not in itself make it a racist attack.
Ok so this is only a game show and maybe there are many more important things to worry about but think of it this way. This is an issue that has received massive publicity and that is worrying. If non racist issues are classed as racist and large numbers of people can see that then it undermines those that are trying to tackle genuine racism.
Secondly the pig ignorance of Ms Goody is a frightening indication if just how badly educated some people are, in a supposedly wealthy civilised country, surely we can turn out people from school of a higher level of intelligence than this?
Monday, January 15, 2007
You may have noticed the link to Hecate's blog. She's an American White witch (If I have understood it right) who normally has something pretty thought provoking to say. Can't say I agree with everything she has to say (but hell this world would be pretty dull if we all agreed with each other) but today she has drawn my attention to the fact that it would have been Martin Luther King's 78th birthday.
Being a wannabe writer I would like to write something eloquant about him but I don't think I can find any better than hers.
"We are all so much poorer for his loss."
Being a wannabe writer I would like to write something eloquant about him but I don't think I can find any better than hers.
"We are all so much poorer for his loss."
An ode to a glow worm.......
A YL sent this to another leader a few days ago who was feeling a bit grumpy and depressed, given that he is miserable sod and a squady to boot and it made him grin like a big girl I'm sure it will make you all nice and happy........
I wish I was a glow worm
A glow worm's never glum
Cos how can you be gloomy
When the sun shines out your bum?
A YL sent this to another leader a few days ago who was feeling a bit grumpy and depressed, given that he is miserable sod and a squady to boot and it made him grin like a big girl I'm sure it will make you all nice and happy........
I wish I was a glow worm
A glow worm's never glum
Cos how can you be gloomy
When the sun shines out your bum?
An ode to my iPod.......
Now before you start, yes yes yes I know ok! Apple are evil and are taking over the world and must be stopped because of the funny things they to MP3 files that make life difficult and mroe expensive for every one. The fact is though that Akela's sister bought him one for Crimbo and I'm very happy with it.
I've been uploading my record collection (which is starting to get slightly out of control) on to it bit by bit and have been rediscovering it. The fact is that I forgot just how gloriously chilled and blissed out the Bluetones were, the first few bars of Home Fires Burn and suddenly I was back on Newcastle Quay side on a summer night a few years back getting soaked to the skin (My God it rained!) but singing my heart out and loving it :-). I'd forgotten just how much early Oasis rocked and how fresh the Ordinary Boys sounded before one of them decidedto go reality TV, or how scary it is that Ash were just 16 when their first album came out and just how strange The Divine Comedy can actually be.
All in all I like my iPod.
So there!
Now before you start, yes yes yes I know ok! Apple are evil and are taking over the world and must be stopped because of the funny things they to MP3 files that make life difficult and mroe expensive for every one. The fact is though that Akela's sister bought him one for Crimbo and I'm very happy with it.
I've been uploading my record collection (which is starting to get slightly out of control) on to it bit by bit and have been rediscovering it. The fact is that I forgot just how gloriously chilled and blissed out the Bluetones were, the first few bars of Home Fires Burn and suddenly I was back on Newcastle Quay side on a summer night a few years back getting soaked to the skin (My God it rained!) but singing my heart out and loving it :-). I'd forgotten just how much early Oasis rocked and how fresh the Ordinary Boys sounded before one of them decidedto go reality TV, or how scary it is that Ash were just 16 when their first album came out and just how strange The Divine Comedy can actually be.
All in all I like my iPod.
So there!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Akela's nightmare day
So the plan was to get up and go for a run but I ended up sleeping in and not really having time.
Lost the Cubs paying in book.
Had lunch and they brought the wrong order and some selfish bint kept blowing smoke towards me.
It rained.
Was forced to buy some pyjamas (much prefer sleeping in shorts).
Got an upset stomach.
Lost a contact lens in the street.
I've had enough of today.
Also been a strange today, every now and then I keep thinking back to a few days that I hadn't thought about for ages, probably years. It was a few days during the summer holidays when I was 16 or 17. It was an impossibly perfect few days when a gang of us from Ventures were utterly inseperable.
The weather was blisteringly hot and we did all kinds of random stuff. We went on a night hike through this wonderful summer night when the glow worms were out and the crickets were making a racket. The smell of summer was all around. We ended up kipping on a golf course!
We went to a climbing wall in London, we just hung out in my friend Trev's garden, we did stuff I can't even remember now.
All in all it was utterly perfect.
The kind of time that doesn't come very often, the kind of time we all long for I think.
Just not sure why it's popped in to my head now.
So the plan was to get up and go for a run but I ended up sleeping in and not really having time.
Lost the Cubs paying in book.
Had lunch and they brought the wrong order and some selfish bint kept blowing smoke towards me.
It rained.
Was forced to buy some pyjamas (much prefer sleeping in shorts).
Got an upset stomach.
Lost a contact lens in the street.
I've had enough of today.
Also been a strange today, every now and then I keep thinking back to a few days that I hadn't thought about for ages, probably years. It was a few days during the summer holidays when I was 16 or 17. It was an impossibly perfect few days when a gang of us from Ventures were utterly inseperable.
The weather was blisteringly hot and we did all kinds of random stuff. We went on a night hike through this wonderful summer night when the glow worms were out and the crickets were making a racket. The smell of summer was all around. We ended up kipping on a golf course!
We went to a climbing wall in London, we just hung out in my friend Trev's garden, we did stuff I can't even remember now.
All in all it was utterly perfect.
The kind of time that doesn't come very often, the kind of time we all long for I think.
Just not sure why it's popped in to my head now.
A couple of slightly odd things to consider.
Firstly caressing the wireless adaptor on my laptop makes it work better when the internet connection is struggling. I have no idea why it works but it does.
Secondly, this was discovered by a German student we had staying with us for a few days. So how the hell did she find this out??????
Firstly caressing the wireless adaptor on my laptop makes it work better when the internet connection is struggling. I have no idea why it works but it does.
Secondly, this was discovered by a German student we had staying with us for a few days. So how the hell did she find this out??????
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
High's and Lows!
Last night saw my beloved Barnet progress to the 4th round of the FA cup for the first time ever. It was a proper cup tie, mid week, fast and furious, brilliant goals, cracking atmosphere and of course a win for the bees! It was incredible, I was sending all kind of random text messages on the way home, not through being drunk (which is the normal reason!) but because I was absolutely buzzing!
So now on today and I found that I have now lost 3 cubs since the end of last term. I'm gutted, I've never lost kids at this kind of rate before, kids have moved away and so on but before this I had had just 3 kids quit in 3 years, now its 3 in 3 weeks!
I'm not happy.
Last night saw my beloved Barnet progress to the 4th round of the FA cup for the first time ever. It was a proper cup tie, mid week, fast and furious, brilliant goals, cracking atmosphere and of course a win for the bees! It was incredible, I was sending all kind of random text messages on the way home, not through being drunk (which is the normal reason!) but because I was absolutely buzzing!
So now on today and I found that I have now lost 3 cubs since the end of last term. I'm gutted, I've never lost kids at this kind of rate before, kids have moved away and so on but before this I had had just 3 kids quit in 3 years, now its 3 in 3 weeks!
I'm not happy.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
When we were Scouts.
I am utterly appauled. The show on BBC2 tonight was an opportunity for some fantastic PR instead what we were treated to was a whole load of cliched bollocks. All the gags about toggles and knobbly knees came out, one after another, totally predictable totally rubbish.
There are thosands of scout and guide leaders out there who work their arse off for no money and often no thanks to do something for kids and they get repaid with that piece of shit. Bet they're all feeling really good right now. And the best bit is that the people hwo produced it will be expecting their kids to go to scouts or guides next week and not think for one minute how much they have upset the people that run in. Remember them? The people that take their kids away on camp, using up their leave from work, probably spending their own money.
Words fail me to explain how angry I am right now.
Let me tell you about S. S came to scouts when she was 17 to help with Cubs. She loved it and before she'd left for uni had signe dup for network in the town where she was going. She's done a parachute jump to raise group funds. She good looking, intelligent and all round good egg.
Where the hell were people like her?
There had better be one hell of post mortum at HQ over this one. This year is the big one PR wise. We are only going to get one bloody shot at this and thus far its been a cock up.
SOUGHT IT OUT!
I am utterly appauled. The show on BBC2 tonight was an opportunity for some fantastic PR instead what we were treated to was a whole load of cliched bollocks. All the gags about toggles and knobbly knees came out, one after another, totally predictable totally rubbish.
There are thosands of scout and guide leaders out there who work their arse off for no money and often no thanks to do something for kids and they get repaid with that piece of shit. Bet they're all feeling really good right now. And the best bit is that the people hwo produced it will be expecting their kids to go to scouts or guides next week and not think for one minute how much they have upset the people that run in. Remember them? The people that take their kids away on camp, using up their leave from work, probably spending their own money.
Words fail me to explain how angry I am right now.
Let me tell you about S. S came to scouts when she was 17 to help with Cubs. She loved it and before she'd left for uni had signe dup for network in the town where she was going. She's done a parachute jump to raise group funds. She good looking, intelligent and all round good egg.
Where the hell were people like her?
There had better be one hell of post mortum at HQ over this one. This year is the big one PR wise. We are only going to get one bloody shot at this and thus far its been a cock up.
SOUGHT IT OUT!
Well after all that being psyched up for the centenary year the first bit of news I get in the new year is that one of our sixers has quit without giving a reason. We were overcrowded and needed to lose one or two but I still hate it when that happens. To make it worse he was the kind of lad who probably needed what we able to give more than most of the kids in the pack. He didn'thave much self confidence but always seemed to get a kick out of what we do.
I'm frankly gutted.
I'm frankly gutted.
Monday, January 01, 2007
HAPPY CENTENARY!
Well it's finally with us, the centenary of scouting. This year has got the potential to be complete and utter magic. For every scout of every kind it is an oportunity to leave our mark on the world, to make it sit up and take notice and actually make a difference.
On 1 August I'm going to be on camp withmy Cubs in the New Forrest and will be surrounded by my closest friends, that for me will be far more of special moment than last night's New Year celebration.
It's going to be a year to remember.
Well it's finally with us, the centenary of scouting. This year has got the potential to be complete and utter magic. For every scout of every kind it is an oportunity to leave our mark on the world, to make it sit up and take notice and actually make a difference.
On 1 August I'm going to be on camp withmy Cubs in the New Forrest and will be surrounded by my closest friends, that for me will be far more of special moment than last night's New Year celebration.
It's going to be a year to remember.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)