Thursday, June 30, 2005


lets all adopt the euro bear! Posted by Hello

If you go down to the woods today...

I am continually surprised at how much I forget. I forget people’s birthdays, I forget where I put things (Sometimes). And I forget all manners of bits and pieces that have happened in my life. That’s why I like Steve’s blog so much, there is no way I could write with such detail about my life so far. And then to get it in the correct order and sounding interesting is fantastic. But most of all this week I have been reminded about how much I had forgotten about France.

You see I went with my wife and a couple of friend to see another friend who lives in France. Paul went to live permanently in France about two years ago and has not looked back since. Paul is not there as some ex pat British retired holiday house owner. He lives as a Frenchman in the middle of a very French community. Unless his friend come to visit (Sorry spoil the idyllic life as he continually told us when we threatened to come back next year) he can go without speaking English for weeks at a time.

Anyway going back to mainland Europe I had forgotten how much space there is. It sounds stupid but I’m always struck by it whenever I’m there. You can drive down a main road and apart from the fact that they’re better-maintained, better-lit, and have better lane discipline, and drive at a decent speed you can go for miles and mile and miles on strait open and uncluttered roads. I forgot how nice the food is. Not just the restaurant Cordon bleu, but the service station snacks. And every little cafĂ© bistro and coffee shop has fresh bread and local ingredients that the owner is proud to show off. The bread shops will even do two lots of baking each day so the lunch bread is as fresh as the breakfast.

And if you come over to dear old England its hard work to find decent food at half decent prices let alone people that actually care about customer service. There are so many thing about the French that I like, better health care system, plentiful supply of decent Dentists, cheap electricity to name but three it makes me wonder why we as nations are supposed to dislike each other so much. All the French I meet are very kind and happy to pass the time of day. Indeed the ones I met over the last weekend were very charming and polite and said they owed their current life to the British. Sixty years ago the town we were in was one of the main landing beaches for the British invasion on D-day.

The French have also adopted the extra hour on top of BST something we should do, actually we did during the war so why we dropped back god only knows. It means you get that lovely extra hour of daylight in the summer. Look at your watch next time you notice it getting dark and think how much better you would feel if it got darker an hour later.

And don’t even start on the Euro. Why the fuck have we stuck with the pound. Funnily people say its because the people want to keep the pound and the Queens head etc. If you actually ask people, especially those who travel and have a modicum of intelligence what they want you get a different picture. Single currency fantastic. I think its just that the Little Englander jingoistic fuckers shout louder than the more intelligent and literate amongst us. Lets face it almost all Sun readers can do is shout they don’t have the mental subtlety to argue a point rationally. I have said it once and Ill say it again if you read the Sun and it’s ilk you should be not allowed to breed, vote, and should be treated like the second class people you are.(here here! -blogmaster)

Ok now I have that off my chest Lets talk a little more about the positives. We as a nation have much more in common with the rest of Europe than we like to admit. As a nation we think behave and react much more like the Germans, French and Italians than our current flavour of the month the Americans. Now don’t get me wrong I like no love America and the Americans I have met like us but they really are on a different continent to us. People make the mistake that if you speak the same language you must be the same underneath. All that get up and go culture and the money is good greed is good society is bad approach to life is alien to us. Whether we like it or not the British are much more laid back than that, and our genetic routs are in mainland Europe. The Romans, Vikings, and any number of invaders from the mainland have for centuries-mixed blood with us as we have with everyone else. Interestingly if you look at the D.N.A there is no such thing as a pure bread Brit. Or Scott or Frenchman, Italian, or Spanish etc. We are all part of one great melting pot of bits from all over. When you think of it like that racism is just silly. It’s like having an irrational dislike of your left kidney.
T, T, F, N. Matt.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Get me to the Mosque on time!

Hi all you bloggers


I was going to start a rant campaign going on all things big brother – but I got myself so mad I thought I might say things that could be used against me in a court of law! Lol. I have to say that Big Brother have done it again shoved a lot of no hopers in a house with nothing in common and then let them simmer. And boy has it been simmering with have in one corner team saskia – team chav and in the other team madozi or the dark side as they are so humorously called by some. You just knew that there were going to be fire works and there have been at times I have had to change channel as they got so annoying and the bitchiness is at times pure evil – I don’t think Vanessa can do anything else but bitch, she had nothing nice to say about anything or anyone except Madozi who has a brilliant game plan and has no respect for anyone in there, she is playing them all. I mean she was obviously thinking of the viewing public when she voted in Orlaith and Eugene I was so looking forward to seeing Kinga the Minger in action but she would have turned to team saskia and not the dark side so she was a no hoper from the first time Madozi laid eyes on her.

The `cidergate` was the best bit of telly for a while all that name calling and shouting it certainly stirred them up again I don’t think they have managed to get through a day without arguing or shouting if I had been in there I think I would have gone in the diary room and said `I am a normal person get me out of here! `

Anyway my slight rant is over I don’t have time to write anymore as I am to busy at the moment Neil has informed me that I need to be taking something white and frothy to Egypt with me so I am on Billy Smarts website as we speak seeing if they do anything in white ………….. catch you all soon I could do with a nice pint! Hint hint Lisa xxxx

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

The missing link...

Hi Neil

It's Friday evening, no pub this week, so I thought I would start my blog entry. Hey, have I finally mastered the art of forward planning........probably not.

It's been a strange week for me, there have been many high's and low's, it's been a very happy week but also a week when I have shed more tears than I care to think about, and let's not forget the two very amusing phone calls about a swimming pool.

I would like to type/talk about communication. Most of the population by now have a pc or at least access to one, and even more people have a mobile phone. We all send text messages and emails by the bucket load, but when was the last time you sat down and put pen to paper-you remember it's called writing a letter.

7 year old did not send thank you cards for the birthday presents he received, he sent emails. I never write a letter anymore, I aways type them, I personally find it quicker and easier to type and of course there is the added bonus of spell check. I don't send many Xmas cards(bugger, it's only June and I've mentioned Xmas)because I hate writing them, and often they are meaningless, I of course send a donation to charity, it's less time consuming and in my view money well spent.

One of my high's this week(and as you know I'm easily pleased) was to receive a hand written letter. Forget the content and who sent it, that's not the issue, the main reason for sharing this with you, is it made me feel really, really special. Someone had taken the time to put pen to paper and send me a letter. They could have sent an email or text, but to be honest it would not of had quite the same effect. I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I received a hand written letter, can you?

Does this mean we all communicate better with each other, no it does not! How many times have you sent and email or text and the recipient has misunderstood and taken it out of context. I have, several times. As you type your smiling, it is meant to be light hearted, and funny, but could also be interpreted as rude and abrupt. So although we text/type more often it does not make us any better at communicating.

I was sent these facts about communicating, a study on communication showed that 70% of communication was through body language, 23% was how you spoke ( the meter and timbre of the voice) and only 7% was what the actual words were. If that holds true you should only be able to understand any written communication 7%. The rest is lost in the translation!

Because I know my skills are limited, and this is not my usual topic, can I clarify that this entry is supposed to be light hearted, and my soap box for once is securely locked away!!

Just incase anyone is confused, this was meant to be last weeks blog but I failed to send it to Piddy. I thought I would cheat and use it this week as I have nothing else that I am able to share with you! I have decided after today I will refrain from describing my life in detail, because as I have discovered, you never know who could be reading!

Gx

Monday, June 27, 2005


Richard Whitely RIP Posted by Hello

Pookie's gone AWOL!

First of all today I would like to say god bless and god speed to Richard Whitely who unfortunately passed away yesterday...'Countdown' will never be the same again.

oh the weather is so beautiful today and i am full of summer joy...I was on the course today with a sick person, they managed to get to lunchtime, stuffed their face and then decided to go home because they didn't feel well...its amazing what ailments the sun brings on isn't it...

Did anyone see the sublime play about the G8 summit on Saturday (The girl in the cafe), it starred the wonderful Bill Nighy and it was written by Richard Curtis as a pre-curser to Live8...it was wonderful, a lovely bit of tv which made me cry in all the right places!

Spent the weekend watching most of the Glastonbury festival, there were some legendary performances, especially Coldplay who were incredibly good and Rufus Wainwright whom I wont write about for fear of dribbling. (wow..as I was writing this sentence Rufus came on the radio, how strange is that). Brian Wilson played an amazing set and Babyshambles were just amazingly shambolic!...the most miserable sod award has to go to Van Morrison who wouldn't let anybody televise or radioplay his set, but from what Edith and Colin said he was shite anyway. Elvis Costello was a great live act as usual and it all added up to one of the best Glastonburys for ages...unfortunately its not happening next year as Michael Eavis and the village are having a year off.

Been having a few problems with the pool since the rain came down on Friday...water turned a bit cloudy and i've had a few problems clearing it...not too bad this evening so may go for a swim to test it out.

Fun tommorow...huge crane visiting the homestead to place some building materials up here on the roof...15 storeys up, will take photographic evidence if possible...

Please don't vote Kinga out of Big Brother, we need her to go in, cause chaos and shag everything in sight!...can't wait to see what happens with a cucumber!

I think that will do for now...if i think of anything else I will add it later

Ciao babies!

Saturday, June 25, 2005


this gives you an idea... Posted by Hello

stories from steve

i passed my motorbike test at the first attempt in 1983 on a Yamaha YB100, i had bought it brand new from john stewart motorcycles in barrow in furness for £800 i was totally thrilled as i could actually now do 60mph (going down hill with the wind behind me!).

I started hanging around with the local biker club which gathered on the car park behind my nans house there was about twenty of us all together, the older members would like to tell us their stories of road trips they had been on and the accidents that they'd had all us younger ones were in awe of these guys, we all enjoyed going to bike rallies, travelling in convoy and having races with each other along the way, one such occasion we were riding along holker mosses near Cark in Cartmel towards Haverthwaite it was a damp day and the roads were a little wet and my mate rob decided to speed off into the distance which meant that he wanted a race so i accelerated after him as we got to Haverthwaite the road turns left then immediate right under the old railway bridge rob got round the corner safely but as i leant over to negotiate the turn my back tyre slid out from under me and i was soon skidding along the road on my arse with nothing to stop me except a dry stone wall, which was coming up fast, after the impact i got to my feet to find rob pissing himself laughing i said whats so funny? he said your arse is hanging out of your trousers!, i had worn out my jeans and undies skidding along the road and badly grazed my butt cheeks! anyway when i checked the bike all that was wrong was a bent front brake lever so we got back on the bikes and rode home with my arse on full view to all other motorists on the road who when they overtook me would sound thier horns or shout things at me as they went passed, Janet, my girlfriend hated me having a motor bike she used to say "you like that thing more than you like me" and "why don't you get a car?, they are much safer" i would just stop bloody whinging cars may be safer but you don't get the same sensation in a car as when you are on a bike, it's exhilerating!.

After a few months Janet wore me down and i started taking driving lessons, the instructor was an ex policeman and was quite strict the car that i learnt in was a 1969 Triumph Herald 13/60, after a few lessons i was put in for my test, finally the day came and we had to travel to Barrow in Furness to the test centre where we met the examiner, we did the pre test reading of a car number plate then we got into the car, all went well, the hill start, the 3 point turn, reversing round a corner and even the emergency stop went without a hitch(i had always had trouble with this in my lessons) i could tell we were getting to the end of the test cos we were driving down abbey road towards ramsden square (see flickr) where the test centre is, now just before the roundabout there is a zebra crossing as i approach all of a sudden the car stopped with a screech and the examiner shouted you are supposed to stop when people are crossing the road on zebra crossings, at the end of the test the examiner told me that i had passed up until the zebra incident. My second test was with a different examiner who had a reputation for failing people his surname was findlay and was known as fail 'em findlay nothing unusual happened but i failed again, 3rd test came around and i had the same examiner as my first test, he remembered me as he said your not going to run anyone over today are you i said i hope not!, must be true what they say about third time lucky cos i passed with flying colours, when the examiner looked at my liscence he gave me a bollocking for taking three tests as i had already got a full bike liscence, i did not care and as soon as i got home i got into my first car a P reg peugeot 204, nice little car which came to a sad end, i'll tell you all about that next time
see you,
steve

Friday, June 24, 2005

Post-modern wallowings at the South Bank

What a great day was had in my latest expedition to London...I was a tad excited about the concert in the evening (more of that later) but wasn't quite sure what i wanted to do in the afternoon..so...i decided to go and see the new 'Batman Begins' film at the Imax cinema in London...not only the biggest screen in the country but the image is so sharp you could cut with it and the surround sound was absolutely stunning!...but i guess thats just a boy thing! lol. The film itself was great, wasn't quite sure about the renewal of the Batman image but it works, it definitely works. Christian Bale was great as Batman, quite nasty and very very dark indeed. Cinematography and story were also excellent....go see it, go see it...now!

After that, I had an hour to kill before the evening events started so i went and took tea amongst the bohemains on the South Bank..it was a glorious atmosphere where people of artistic integrity mingled together in an oupouring of collective idealism... the coffee was good too! I spent the time listening to a band from the West African region and then trundled over to the Royal Festival Hall to see 'Stand Bravely Brothers' which was part of Patti Smith's Meltdown Festival. The concert was one of the last to take place at the Festival Hall before it shuts until Jan '07 and what an amazing event it was...all the artists sang the songs of Bertol Brecht and Kurt Weill. The line up included the mighty Marc Almond (first time singing since the bike crash that almost killed him..god he was magnificent). Patti Smith, Martha Wainwright, Antony and the Johnsons, and the fantastic 'Sparks' who have evolved to godlike status. The whole evening was just stunning with the capacity crowd left stunned as Patti Smith waved and waved and wafted slowly off the stage...

The journey home was funny as I got on the train and sat next to Joseph (off non celebrity dancing winner Joseph and Sadie)...he is such a jerk (allegedly) he was just so up himself and decided to hide behind a pair of huge pimp sunglasses covered in diamontes. What a wanker. He is also very small and this no doubt added to his arrogant outlook...funny but i know someone else like that.

A great day which ended as peacefully as it began...

So be it...

french letters...

I have actually got a gripe this week to talk about. I have to confess I am a bit of a petrol head (that’s car nut for the green veggie eating tree hugging bearded amongst us) and I have been driving since 1982 and enjoying it ever since. Ok the roads have slowly got full and there are times when I wish the front of whichever transport I’m in had a battering ram or better still a battery of fully armed Exercet missiles. But on the whole I like the open road. It’s a myth that you can’t enjoy a fast drive because of speed cameras and Volvo’s moving slower than the Tory party to reform.

I’m not even going to talk about Speed cameras, although I could probably write a whole book of rants about them. No I have much bigger fish to fry. And they come by the name of Darling and Ladyman. Or as I shall call them from now on sweetheart and Ladyboy.

You see these two prize twats are at the front of New Labour’s assault on the poor motorist. And as you know I’m one and they have pissed me off. After failing to get people to use public transport (surprise surprise) mainly because it does not go where you want it and never when, the dynamic duo have decided on another tact. Under the direction of Tony where is the weapon of mass destruction Blair Ladyboy and Sweetheart are going to try to get the car driving masses paying by the mile. This is how the proposal will work or not as we will find out. Instead of a yearly road fund licence and duty on each litre of fuel it is proposed to make you pay for each mile you drive. Different roads will have a different tariff depending on the time of day you use it. Ok so far.

So for example the main A road into a town will be charged at £3.30 per mile during peak i.e. rush hour. But when the rush has died down the same bit of road will only cost 20p per mile. Sounds good doesn’t it? Read on. The idea is to encourage people to use the roads at different times to stop congestion. Problem one. Most people travel along the roads at rush hour because that when they need to get to work or school etc. Nobody sits on the roads in rush hour if they don’t have to. The shops open at nine and most companies start around then. I can see it now “I need a pay rise sir because I can’t afford to drive to work”. Or “can I start at ten and finish at three because I need to get away before the price goes up”. Ok so we understand that the price to go to the Library in the middle of the day is less than going to work to earn money. This of course just means that the roads are going to be full of old ladies in second hand metro’s. All moving at 22mph in second gear.
Creating a new rush hour.

Problem Two. How and who is going to monitor all this. How will Ladyboy and his sidekick know I’m driving on the A30 at 8.30pm and should be paying in blood to do so. Well they have thought of this as well. Every car will have a box of electronic bits under the bonnet that will tell Sweetheart and Ladyboy when and where you’re going. And at the end of every month you will get a little bill drop through your letterbox asking for payment for the privilege. And of course if they know when you’re on the road and which road it’s not a million miles to knowing how fast your going. That part of the circle is already in place. In Italy home of the properly fast cars toll roads are set at intervals in the main roads. You arrive pay the toll and take a ticket. Now the ticket has a time on it. So when you get to the other end if you arrive to soon you must have been speeding.

Now let’s not get on to the subject of making the rest of this technology work. God Where I work we can’t even get a reliable photocopier that works every time you want to reproduce a piece of A4.Think what an unholy pile of shit the country will be in within a month of this coming into effect. And who will pay for all these bills and technology and departments to collate it all? You and me, its going to take thousands of pencil pushing civil servants to make even a half-decent attempt at making it work. Then theirs the green lobbies who will love it. They’re going to come around to your house and offer to have your babies and nurse your sick mother, not. They’re all going to get out of there 2cv’s and run around the common over this. Why well let me tell you. At the moment if I drive a big nice car that has a V eight engine and uses petrol like a prostitute goes through condoms I pay more because I use more petrol. And if I drive a small little car that is kind to flowers it cost me less so there is an incentive to go green or at least greener.

Now under this new proposal of Ladyboy and Sweetheart I can cruise around all day long off peak of course, for virtually no cost at all using all the petrol I can find. I like big cars with big engines so perhaps this is a bloody good plan after all. Funny I never thought Tony Blair would go down, as the PM who thought the environment did not matter. Just as an ending to this I hear on the radio today that the railways have said they could not cope if these plans come in they don’t have the infrastructure to cope with more people. Good example of government joined up thinking.
Matt

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

All Things Arsenal...with Lisa

All things Arsenal

As most of you are aware I am a huge footie fan I love watching footie and the team of my choice is Arsenal – I have supported them since I don’t know when, but I just remember having a crush on Charlie George a long haired forward who won us the `double ` in the 1971 with his blistering goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup Final.

So I was so excited when my family paid for a Stadium Tour of Arsenal with an ex-player in my case Kenny Samson.

Well I set off last Wednesday on the Train to Finsbury Park and I don’t know what it is with London and me but after lovely weather the day before it decides to pour down with rain!

Anyway the train journey was incident free ( I went from St Neots as it was more direct and the trains were much nicer and cleaner – thank you WAGN).

I arrive at Finsbury Park and as you come out of the station the first thing you see is a shop `Arsenal – World of Sport Shop` and this massive picture of the team in the new kit for next season – for those of you that don’t know Arsenal are moving to a new bigger stadium in Ashburton Grove a stones throw from Highbury this is because they have outgrown the old stadium and will allow for more fans to enjoy watching the team play,

For those of you wondering what will happen to the old stadium don’t worry, because the east and west stand are listed buildings they will be turned into luxury apartments. The north and south bank are to be turned into affordable housing. Apparently there is a waiting list for the luxury apartments already!
I then made my way to the stadium and the famous marble halls, as I arrived there was a small group of people waiting outside we all walked up the stairs and into the main entrance where we were greeted by Kenny Samson who welcomed us all, we then had to sign in and get our visitors badges we were a small group only eight of us usually the tours have around twenty people on them so it was really nice, Kenny then showed us the FA Cup that we had won on penalties against Man Utd not a few weeks before.

We were then taken on a fantastic tour around Arsenal it began with a tour of the various trophies we have won, to the press conference room where new players are introduced to the media or managers answer questions from the media about the performance of the team that week.

We were then taken out to where the rich and famous sit in the directors boxes where the likes of Sven Goran-Eriksson sit to watch the game – they had just re-laid the grass on the pitch and it was the most greenest of green. As next season will be the last at Highbury all season ticket holders will be offered their seat.

Next came the best part of the tour a look round the changing rooms not because I am a perv but because you get to see where they all get changed for the game. Sitting in front of Henry and Bergkamps shirts was something awesome.

We then got an even closer look at the pitch as we left the changing room and made our way through the players tunnel and out into the stadium to where Arsene Wenger the managers sits for the game.

All the time we are being shown around Kenny Samson is telling us the lots of interesting stories and facts about Arsenal.

Did you know……………………
Arsenal is the only football team in London with an Underground Station named after them.
This is largely down to foresight of Herbert Chapman, who pushed hard for the Tube stop just behind the North Bank to be re-christened. “Whoever heard of Gillespie Road,” he said at one point in the talks. “It is Arsenal around here!”
The idea had first occurred to Chapman when he visited the newly relegated Arsenal in 1913 as manager of Leeds City. It took months of lobbying and the change meant that thousands of tickets, maps and signs had to be replaced. Even machinery had to be re-configured.
Eventually, on November 5, 1932, Arsenal made its debut on the London Underground.


Arsenal provide seven players in the England team 14 November 1934
The foggy afternoon of November 14, 1934 saw Arsenal provide seven of England's starting XI for a friendly against world champions Italy, a record contribution that still stands today.

Last game in the red and white kit v Everton 11 May 2005
The final home game of the 2004/05 campaign was a poignant occasion for a number of reasons.
The Club's decision to mark its last year at Highbury with a commemorative 'redcurrant' strip meant that the famous red and white shirt was making its final appearance at the famous old stadium. The next time red and white shirts will be seen is at the new stadium.


Ian Wright breaks Cliff Bastin's goalscoring record 13 September 1997
'Wrighty' cemented his place in Arsenal history on a magical day at Highbury. Ian Wright broke the record against Bolton in a 4 – 1 stunner in which he scored a hat trick and took home the match ball.
Few would bet against Thierry Henry doing likewise when the final season at Highbury gets underway. Wright ended his Arsenal career with 185 goals; the French striker finished the 2004/05 campaign just four short of that mark.

I left the tour on a high my purse lighter but with the biggest smile on my face

Saturday, June 18, 2005


Cartmel and foresty area... Posted by Hello

Saturday sayings with Steve...

The story continues...

wow!, here come the eighties, not much happened in 1980 that i can remember apart from the odd concert or two, UFO and the Scorpions spring to mind!,so on to 1981, i met a new girl this year her name was janet she was two and a half years older than me and lived on a farm about two miles out of ulverston, it was quite a walk for me cos i suffered a lot with asthma at this time, janet and i were always together walking in the fields on the farm or canoodling in the barns it was great, we used to go to my house on sunday evenings to play cards with my nan and doug, it was a laugh cos doug always used to flirt with janet and my nan would hit him with a cushion and tell him to behave himself.

In 1982 Dad and uncle Barry had started a haulage company exporting Charles Wells beer and importing fine wines from italy, one time when dad was out of the country janet and i got engaged much to the dislike of my dad, who, when he got back had the first of his many falling out sessions with me saying that i had not asked his permission and that i had been very sneaky obviously, i disagreed and we had a blazing row in which i threw everything up about him splitting up with my mum and abandoning us kids to tell mum the news, you can imagine he was chuffed i mentioned that, not!!.

I left school this year and started working for a forestry contractor in the village of cartmel, the boss was called bob and he was a psycho, he would tell stories about when he was supposed to be a mercenary in africa,( i just thought he was full of shit) he would dress up like Rambo when we went into the woods to fell trees and try and sneak up on you from behind but he always failed dismally, honestly he looked like an extra from apocolypse now, he would also lose it big time at the drop of a hat he had no self control. He was quite the ladies man though always chatting up people and telling me of his conquests( funny thinking about it now but he probably was not getting any as he was talking about it all the time) bless him!.

After i had been on the forestry for about a year Janet decided i was not on enough money, well it was poorly paid on the forestry iwas on £35.00 a week, so i started looking for a part tme job in the evenings, eventually i saw an advert in the evening mail for a Bingo caller/ barman at the Roxy Bingo and Social Club, Brogden Street,Ulverston. So i applied and got invited to go for an "audition" so i turn up at the interview and was asked why i had applied for the post and replied " i need a bit more money as i am saving up to get married" (yeah right) so i got the the job and even though i say it myself i was a bit of a maestro at the old bingo calling and all the ladies in the crowd thought i was ever so posh when i called the numbers out and very smart in my tuxedo and bow tie.

One night the club put on a game for £1000 and guess what i missed the claim, the place was in uproar but i had to carry on to the end of the game to find a winner i did not miss this one as the shout nearly tore my ears off, at the end of the nights bingo we were having a drink in the bar and this woman came running up to me and battered the living daylights out of me with her handbag and umberella i ended up with a black eye and a split lip, but i did remind her that the onus is on you to stop the game at which she said i'm not coming to this club ever again(she came in the next night!)

feeling a bit tired so i'll see you next week, Steve........x

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Master Matt and his amazing mongooses!

Do you know for the first time since I have been writing this I can’t think of anything to rant about. Somebody suggested that I talk about long distance relationships and whether they can work. My view is they can if you want them to. So that’s the end of that.

I’m not going to have a go at the people who were lucky enough to win tickets to Live 8 and then are trying to sell them on Ebay. I don’t blame the sellers although I think there mad. As the memory of the day will last for years to come, and is going to be worth much more than the money your going to get for them. I don’t even blame the people who will bid to buy them. For the same reasons as above the day will be such an iconic memory. That being there is probably going to turn into one of those moments that people talk about forever. I remember exactly where I was when John Lennon was shot or Princess Diana etc. In fact just as the original Live Aid has slipped into popular cultural history. I can’t blame Ebay for allowing the said tickets to be listed. Once you have been allotted your ticket and picked it up it’s yours. And as you own it if you wanted to roll it up into a tight tube and insert it up your own arse you can. As they say “possession is nine tenths of the law”.

If I were going to blame anyone for the sale of the tickets it would have to be the people who organised the ticket give away in the first place. To think that people would not try and sell them. And that people will not offer to pay a vast amount for such a media hyped event is just naive. Its just a reflection of the way people are in today’s “buy it sell it” culture. But lets face it the “buy it sell it” culture and the greed that goes with it is one of the major reasons why we need to help Africa now.

I could rant on about the British Summer or total lack of it so far. But I can’t be bothered. Because you see I have spent the last few weeks taking pictures of the area I live in. Mainly doing so as a result of the BBC’s Digital Picture of Britain. For those of you who don’t know there is a major retrospective of British landscape in 2005. One of the big partners is dear old Auntie with a big new series on a Sunday night. It’s well worth a look comparing the old painted and photographed views of Britain with the way the landscape looks today. And there is a fascinating program immediately after on BBC 4 about photography. To be precise about using various digital media to capture an image instead of the old familiar film. They’re then asking people to submit new images of Britain that reflect their personnel view of out island today in the Twenty First Century. Anyway as a result of this renewed interest in my little part of the world I have started to realise that there is much more of interest to me than just hot sunny days. Yeah the sun is fab I love it. But as a Photographer I am also interested in cloudy skies, and wind and rain. In fact any of the dramatic climates that we have. Pictures can be much more interesting with a dramatic backdrop. Some of the great masterpieces are the most fantastic record of our diverse weather.

Anyway I don’t know why we are surprised the summer has gone west. Our dear blog master has just filled his pool on the strength of one hot Friday.(tomorrow there will be a pool story to blow your minds - blogmaster) The same thing happened last year. No sooner had the sound of foot on pump stopped than the heavens opened. And to be honest the British climate is so unpredictable that it’s best not to worry too much about the weather. Make the most of every day regardless. You’re a long time dead as my Grandma used to say. Or as Billy Connolly has said “Buy a decent rain coat and live a little. There’s no such thing as the wrong weather just the wrong cloths.”
What I actually want to talk about tonight is…………… Oh bugger no more room sorry see you next week.
It has been brought to my attention that since we went to print Ebay has indeed suspended all sales of Live 8 tickets. Yipeee.
Matthew (aged 40 and a bit)

Wednesday, June 15, 2005


Narberth High Street Posted by Hello

Team Gina....

After a recent conversation, my thoughts have turned to my childhood. I have lived most of my life in Bedford and for me this is home, but also spend a year or so in Wales and about the same amount of time in the North East.

At the age of 11, my family moved to a small village in south west Wales. We kept the house here and also bought a large double fronted Victoria house in Narberth High Street, (Narberth is a few miles from Tenby)

The house had many(now sort after) original features, 3 steps lead up to a large stained glass front door, once inside was the beautiful tiled floor, with a large dark oak winding staircase. Upstairs were 4 huge bedrooms and a connecting door leading to a self contained 1 bed flat. It was an enormous house and family that stayed often said they could feel a presence, and sometimes a sweet smell of perfume.

Looking back my time here was very happy, We lived about 4 miles from a gorgeous beach, I can remember we all wrapped up and walked the dogs along the beach on Christmas day. It was fantastic. We were free to roam without fear. I wonder if that would still be the same today.

We left there and moved North, Lanchester Co. Durham, back to my Dads roots(his family lived in Hebburn and Consett). This time to a more modest property, a modern semi, which backed onto a large green, accessed only by the properties surrounding it(today they would have built another 50 houses on there. I'm not sure if it would be a pleasant place today, I should imagine it's now an area for kids to hang around and drink etc. Although the house was modest, we still had two vehicles, the Landrover for work and a navy blue Mercedes for family outings-our new neighbours thought we were very posh, thinking about it now, why did we need two vehicles, mum could not drive!

Until Friday I had forgotten about the summer spent in Lanchester, on my friends farm, it was a couple of miles outside the village. I would often walk there alone(can't see me doing that now). You could say I moved in for the whole of the summer holiday, I helped(well as much as an 12yr old could) with bringing the cows in for milking, the taste of the warm creamy milk was like nothing I had ever tasted. As a reward, I was once allowed to drive the tractor and plough a field. It was just the most amazing time, we were free, no restrictions, no worries, we didn't care about fashion, make-up, boys etc, it really was the good life.

Why had I forgotten about these wonderful times? With all that's going on, it feels really good to remember and smile about these fantastic early years. So a big thank you to the people who reminded me of these really happy times.

Now I am beginning to think, should I return one day, walk around the villages, go back to the beach, the farm, my old schools? The thought is so appealing, but would the reality shatter the dream? Would I still be able to find some of the places that were really special to me. For now I won't worry, I will just keep thinking of those happy times and smile.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005


The Gambia (see Lisa's blog) Posted by Hello

Gusset thoughts with Lisa...

Well I have to say I was amazed and disgusted when I found out that people who have had the privilege of being confirmed tickets for the Live8 concert have put them up for sale of Ebay when I checked last night at 23.21pm I was amazed to see 128 items were found under Live8 – I clicked on a few and a lot are saying they are unable to go to the concert – ok so why bid then why not send the £1.50 it cost to send the text in an envelope and send it to the cause. Oh no they knew they couldn’t go but still thought they would send the text anyway and if they were fortunate to get tickets they could make a tidy profit on Ebay some of them are up for £1000 nice price when it cost them £1.50. Bob Geldolf has come out and called them `scum` I could think of worse but I think we all can. If I had been lucky to win tickets and could not go I would have asked my family or friends to have them but I could not live with myself by selling them on Ebay to pocket in someone’s misery. It makes me feel sick.

I am sorry if I am offending any of you but I am sure most of you would agree with me on this – if Ebay had any decency they would stop it – they have issued a statement saying that there is nothing wrong is selling charity tickets but come on get real,

Well the carnival is over the verdict is in and Michael Jackson has been found Not Guilty so he will be starting his comeback tour in Las Vegas and paying off his 200 million pound debt I somehow don’t think he will be rushing to the CAB for advice on his debts. Still I am not sure this story will ever go away and we will never know the truth whatever it is. So if you still want a cheap Michael Jackson CD I would rush out now as I am sure the price will go up – but check out Ebay first I am sure they will be going for a song!

Anyway on a lighter note I have to say I had a fantastic meal the other night if any of you have the chance to check out a restaurant in Bedford I seriously recommend `Jainbi` seafood Restaurant in Midland Road (www.jainbiseafoods.com) you bring your own bottle if you want something alcoholic. The food was fantastic and if you want a taste of the Gambia then this is for you – Neil loved it and said it was like being in the Gambia again.

Monday, June 13, 2005

a bit of a chat

hi all...just some bits and pieces that i have thought about over the last couple of weeks...

excitement of excitement...PINK FLOYD have reformed to play at the Live8 concert..now those are tickets worth getting your hands on.

Well the pool is up and filtering...and we have had the coldest June on record for years and years and years...last year after the pool went up it was the wettest July and August we had had for a long long time...what does that tell...(answers on a small postage stamp please!)...will the pool get usage this year?, mind you it was lovely when we did get the searing heat last year.

I'm off next Thursday to The Royal Festival Hall to see a modern day variety show featuring amongst others Marc Almond and Sparks...it's all to do with Patti Smith's Meltdown Festival which is going on...should be a most entertaining evening!

I have decided that Red still is my favourite colour...i was being swayed over to purple but i have snapped back to Red again...I don't really know why i am telling you that, but it makes me happy to do so.

I have been listening to some marvellous music at the moment...an incredibly good album by some singers from Mali, beautifully rythmic....the new Coldplay album which stuns me into silence on listening...The live Kraftwerk album which has just been released is pretty marvellous...and a beautiful singer called Linda Mistovsky who sounds like Fleetwood Mac and as such the album demands your attention.

Went with Lisa to see 'League of Gentlemen - Apocalypse'...6/10...it was funny but could have been a lot better by using some of the other characters as the main protagonists. Lisa fell asleep for quarter of an hour, decending into snore city but i managed to tap her on the leg before the drooling session started!...and this was at 11.00 in the morning!

Well today is the day that they start to dish out the tickets for Live8...so please God, i don't ask for much but i woukld really really like it if you could swing this one for me...amen.

Saturday, June 11, 2005


Sir Bob Posted by Hello

Live8

As part of our run up to the event I have transcribed part of Bob Geldof's interview that he gave on Jonathan Ross's chat show last night...an amazing and moving bit of rhetoric that stunned the audience and Jonathan himself...Mr Ross had just asked Bob Geldof the question "Why do we have to do this" (with relevance to the Live8 concert)...this was Bob's reply...

"Last week in Italy I was looking at the front page of 'la republica' and i asked a mate if the front page story meant what i thought it did...The mayor of Laupaduza (sp?) (near Scicily) had contacted the mainland to ask them to send out cargo ships to pick up the dead bodies of African children that washed up on the shores as he had no room to bury anymore, not just in the cemetary but on every piece of physical land on the small island. The mothers, fathers and children were washing up on the beaches daily after trying to find a new life away from Africa, thousands of them, and they were sending cargo ships to pick up all the bodies...

This can't go on, it just can't go on. It's a broken world and it's a political fracture, and Live8 and all you watching this, and these stupid text messages that we have to do, these stupid ideas about sending boats to pick up the French are wholly unnecessary. These 8 guys around a table should just do this thing and we shall make sure they do it because if 50,000 children died today in Bolton and 50,000 tomorrow in Cincinatti and another 50,000Turin and another 50,000 in Tolouse and 50,000 more on Friday in Ludwigshaven (sp?) then between the breakfast room and the meeting room those men would have stopped it...and then your question is correct 'Why don't they?'

Well it's a question we should ask as a country, together on that day, up in Edinburgh...and if they don't do it then it will be a triumphant and glorious failure for us but it WILL be a miserable defeat for them, and on election day they will know exactly how miserable they should feel...

(rapturous applause and ovation from the audience and jonathan ross)

all hail Sir Bob Geldof...

Friday, June 10, 2005

Saturday Steve on a Friday!

"Eat shit and die you bastards!!"
Well here we are june 2005, weather is shit so far this "summer" apart from the last couple of days, forecast looks bleak for the weekend i think it's because neil 's pool is up and me uttering the immortal words "lets have a barbecue on friday night" and guess what the people who were invited have just cancelled {brilliant}, well it's just typical of my life at the moment, the other week, i played cricket at blunham and had a brilliant game, had a 50 run partnership batting with Chris and took a blinding one handed catch in the gully position unfortunatley we lost the game but on a personal note it was quite good, after the game we went to a pub in the village called "the horse shoe" had a pint and some friendly banter with with the other teams players and watched a bit of football that was on tv, i left after an hour got into the car and set off home, i got to Gt barford crossroads to turn left to Bedford but the fuckin road was closed due to them building the new by-pass so i had to go through Wilden all well and good i thought just wiil take a little longer to get home, right so i'm driving along this country lane singing along to thin lizzy and all of a sudden there is an almighty crunch underneath the car, i stop and get out to find that the back box had dropped off the car and wedged itself under the back axle {great} it's pitch black i'm on my own and stopped on a blind bend what do i do now? i said to myself, tried to pull the exhaust out with my hands and nearly suffered third degree burns, in the end i had to jack up the car and use my cricket bat to force it out, when i got it out i threw it in the boot and drove home sounding a bit like a tank, after finishing work on the following saturday i took the car to a local exhaust centrei said can you fix it ? he said yes we can! so they look under the car on the lift and come back with the news "err the exhaust is going to cost £233.50" when i got up off the floor i said "well you better fix it then" then he said "you need four tyres as well" i said "fuck off" he said "no" , "come and have a look" so i go and look and the front tyres had wire poking out from the inner wall, my heart sank, so he priced up four tyres which came to the princely sum of £175.00 making a grand total of £408.50 fantastic, so the next day was WORLD MOBY DAY and i had to raid my savings to go, oh! and i was ill but i have told you that haven't i, ha! ha!

Two weeks ago today some drunken wankers trashed the front garden of my house, it was 3am and i was sort of asleep or having a dream or something when i am awoken by Claire saying "the bastards, thats our pot they have just smashed" i looked out of the window and there is about ten people running down the street, then i realised Claire was outside too! then after a few minutes she came back in demanding i get out of bed to clear the mess up, me being half asleep i was not forthcoming but eventually i reluctantly got dressed and went down stairs to assist in the clean up, as we were doing this the same ten people came wandering by eating burgers and the like sniggering, amazingly i kept my cool and carried on clearing up the soil and broken pot but i did give them the stare, when they got a bit further on one of them pulled out a mobile phone and took a picture of us clearing the mess up {pissed up fuckin' chav} , so went back to bed and got no more sleep as you can imagine i was really happy about that.

today as i am writing this Edward is in bed asleep and i'm happily typing away when the calm is broken by an earsplitting scream from next door, yes the fuckin' loudmouthed chav bitches are at it again, but now there is another species living with them, the boyfriends, who for some reason do not like using the conventional method for vacating a property, instead of using the door like normal people they climb out of the bedroom window onto the roof of the kitchen jump off the roof into the back yard then vault over the back gate, Edward thinks its hilarious!, i did try and warn him that he could fall through the roof tiles but he just grunted at me and went on his way.

sorry if you were eagerly awaiting the next installment of my life story but i just needed a bit of a break from it and thought you may need one too, hopefully i will write the next part next week, hope you are all having a super weekend see you next week......................love steve...x

Palais de Chaillot from Eiffel Tour. Paris France

just my friend stuarts shot of paris, which i thought was magnificent

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Tinkerings of a trilobyte

Well now that summer is just around the corner, well it’s the Seventh of June and for once the sun is out. I’m actually sitting in a pair of shorts as I write. Yes I know what your thinking It’s amazing bare legs and no jog pants. I say summers around the corner as if we know when its going to start. But judging by the performance so far this year the lazy days and hot hot nights could be postponed until next year and no one would be surprised.

Perhaps I’m getting old and I know this seems to be a reoccurring theme this year as I write. But the clothes people wear are getting worse. And by worse I mean less suitable, with more pasty flesh on show. I see hundreds of young girls (and unfortunately some not so young girls) going around with slightly flabby stomachs stuffed into a pair of faded designer jeans. Well mostly not quite stuffed in, sort of hanging over. With a belly button bar thrown in for good measure. And if you’re really lucky a bit of Elastoplast to cover the fact that it’s weeping. These young girls (lets from now on call them Chav’s as I think this social class needs to be ridiculed as much as possible) nearly all hang around in small groups with one good looking one ruined with too much make up. And a couple of fat friends who think that hanging around with good-looking people will some how rub off. The boys aren’t much better. Why does every body think it looks good to dress like a black rap artist. It just does not work without the Afro hair dark skin and a second hand BMW to deal drugs from. Look in the mirror you’re a Pratt. These people are going to look back on the way they dressed in the first part of the Twenty-first century and die of embarrassment. I know all kids aren’t like this, but the proportion is rising at an alarming rate.
I have just had a fantastic idea. The hunting lobby are desperate for something to shoot and we have a growing population of Chav’s. Put the two together and its supply and demand. You heard it hear first folks. I’m going patent that one. Ok time to stop picking on the young and mentally unstable (sorry I mean Chav) lets go for the more middle aged in society. Every year during the warmer day between May and September. You can go to any park shopping centre street etc and see a certain type of man who thinks its ok to wear sandals with socks and shorts. The sandals are usually brown Jesus types. And the socks are pulled up to just below the knee and white. We have all seen them, do these poor misguided souls a favour and tell them next time they come into view.

The Thong now there is a piece of clothing to get the imagination of every man going. I guarantee that all the heterosexual men reading this will have a mental picture in their minds the minuet you mention the T word. It will involve bending over and about two inches of flesh between low cut jeans and the top of a thong. That’s ok and it can be viewed most days in most high streets in the country. But I bet the reality is different on the majority of most real women. In the good old days back when pants were an item of clothing to be feared, and Helen Fielding was forming opinions about that sort of thing the pant had an important job to do. And the most important of jobs was to cover the arse of the wearer. Let me put it like this. Most normal real women don’t have a super model bum. They have jobs and kids and sit on the bus etc and cellulite and there arse reflects this. The idea of the thong was to stop the VPL that most people spend their spare time enjoying looking out for. And VPL is bad, and I’m sure the majorities of people who have it don’t know how they look from the rear and would rather die than think they look like that.

Now I might be on my own. But I think that a pair of traditional arse covering “mummy pant horror” jobs look far better even with a bit of VPL than a thong on the wrong bum. And fucking hell aren’t there some horrendous sites out there. Along with it has to be said the odd vision of loveliness in skin.

The Thong lets all those imperfections show. Some of our more mature ladies who are trying to hold on to there youth end up with a map of the moon traced on the outside of there trousers. You know the type early fifties thinking there eighteen still. I just wish people would act their age and not hang on to youth. Getting older does not mean behaving like your OAPs. Society the paper the media all seem to be pushing younger and younger. If you don’t believe me look at the average age of the acts in the charts or TV presenters, or any number of other areas I could mention. Funny as it’s an ageing population. There are going to be more and more disenfranchised people. And as ageing is inevitable we are all going to feel that way at some point. Just a thought.
Matt

Tuesday, June 07, 2005


wanderlust... Posted by Hello

lisa's longings!

Well after the last few thought provoking and well written blogs it seems hard to write anything that is remotely inspiring or personal.

But as I was sitting at my desk earlier today looking out of the window at the beautiful weather outside and hearing that Neil had at last started to get ready for summer and actually put water in his pool thoughts turned to holidays – Gina as we know has been away sunning herself with her now he is 7 year old. She will come back relaxed, maybe with a tan and feeling ready to face a few days at work before she is looking in the brochures for the next get away from it all holiday.

As many of you know Neil and I are off again in September to Egypt for some r and r, and anything else we can do that is free lol.

I wish at this moment that it was September now and I was packing to go, a good holiday is what is needed at the moment, being able to relax, swim, and sunbathe or even go off on some adventure, taking in the sights and sounds and culture of somewhere new. Not having to worry about shopping, driving, the morning rush hour, neighbours or anything that you have to face week in week out.

Still lets hope that Neil throws a beach party real soon and we can all chill in the pool with a tall glass of Pimms and something sizzling on the barbeque! Ok its not the same but at least it’s a small piece of heaven.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Steves story

my stay at my nans house became permanant towards the end of the summer holidays, this was down to the fact that my mum decided i was "better off with my nan" and as it turned out she was right, because living with my nan was like a breath of fresh air, no pressure from my dad to go and live with him and no fear of rejection anymore from my mother, I never laid eyes on my mother again until 1985 but we will cover that on a later date.

At first i used to sleep on a put u up bed in my nans lounge and her dog Kim used to lay at the bottom of the bed as if to keep me company, then Doug did out the store room as a bedroom for me which was fantastic as i now had my little bit of privacy back, i took great pleasure in plastering the walls with posters of my favourite bands and playing music really loud until i was told to turn it down, it was always quite surreal to come out of my room to get a drink and find my auntie Mabel singing along to bat out of hell, i used to say do you like this one Mabel and she would say "yes it's one of your nicer ones" , not bad for a lady of 60 odd years old!.

Around late 1979 we as a gang started experimenting with different substances like gas lighter fuel, evo stick glue, cannabis, speed and acid, we thought it was really great getting high and halucinating, we did this mostly at weekends but sometimes we would skive off school and go to the local d.i.y. store and steal some glue and gas then go to a place called Gill Banks and get really wasted, this went on for about a year until two girls at school died, one from solvent abuse and the other took an overdose, this really shocked us all and we were given lectures in assembley about the dangers of glue sniffing and butane gas abuse, this really hit home and we gave it all up apart from the odd joint or two at the weekend.

I got dumped by my girlfriend just before christmas 1979 she had decided to find out what being a "MOD" was all about and could not be seen with a "Grebo" "local slang for a Rocker" i was absolutely gutted, i had dealt with my parents break up and thought that was hard but this felt like total dispair and did not go out for weeks afterwards.

When i emerged to the world once more there was talk of going to live rock concerts but we had no idea of how to get tickets, until one day tony and i went to Barrow in Furness on the bus to do some "shopping" for sew on patches for our denim jackets, on the way to the badge shop we went past EARTHQUAKE RECORDS a fantastic shop that had all the latest singles and Lp's so we went in and they were advertising coach trips to concerts, one of which was MOTORHEAD at Manchester Apollo if i remember rightly the cost of the tickets were £2.50 each plus £4.00 for the coach so, we put a deposit down for eight tickets so our mates could go as well, so,we were going to see motorhead we could not wait, we got to manchester about 4hrs early dad and mary had followed the coach so they could keep an eye on us in the city it was great fun mingling with all the other Grebo's that were around you felt like kindred spirits even though we did not know each other, anyway concert time finally arrived and dad and mary saw us into the apollo then went for a meal while we were in the concert, i seem to remember being very scared as motorhead had such a reputation for being eventful gigs, but i need not have worried as it was brilliant this was total raw motorhead just before thier peak, they played some old hawkwind tracks like "the watcher" "lost johnny"and the seminal track "motorhead" i have seen motorhead three times since but none can compare to this it was just electric.

Christmas this year was interesting as it was the first christmas i spent in the company of my stepmum Mary, she was very excited to have me at the dinner table along with the rest of the family, she was trying so hard to be the perfect hostess, After we had dinner Mary started offering around cake and biscuits, Tony and I were still at the dinner table but she did not offer us anything, Auntie Fernanda said "are you two not having any" we said that "we had not been offered any" not wanting to appear rude, with that Mary spun round and said "they have got bloody legs haven't they, they can get it themselves" to that we said no thanks, later that night Tony and I had a few joints and got the munchies, we went to the kitchen and ate all the fucking cakes and biscuits we could find, she always offered after that episode................
see you next week, steve...x

Friday, June 03, 2005

blakeney2


blakeney2
Originally uploaded by stone cold steve.
just a test...not much longer...steves blog to follow on Saturday...

flower


flower
Originally uploaded by piddy77.
just be patient little ones...the blog is moving house this afternoon...you won't notice any difference but i have a bit of tweaking to do this end...don't cry little ones, daddy will be back soon!

Thursday, June 02, 2005


something has to be done... Posted by Hello

Matt's Moments

Hmm it’s a funny thing life. Well that’s what I thought as I watched the beginning of this years Big Brother. All those hundreds of people who queued up for a chance to bare all quite literally on national television. What makes a person want to go through Eleven weeks of humiliation in front of the nation? I can hear you all shouting The Money the Money the Money, but I’m not sure I think they would all be there if there were no money. And some would turn up if they were told they had to pay for the privilege.

In recent years it seems that more and more people have become obsessed with being famous. And in return fame has become more accessible to all. We spend more time looking at what people wear and how they look rather than who they are and do they need help.

It just so happens that I am writing this on the day that. Sir Bob G has announced a number of concerts around the globe on the 2nd of July to highlight what is happening in Africa. Just to put it into context the Tsunami that happened on Boxing day last year killed one hell of a lot of people. And the world rallied around to help, and so we all should. But that number of people is dying every year in Africa and has done for the past Thirty odd years. And we are more interested in what Victoria Beckham has covering her stretch marks. Come on people get a sense of proportion. When I first heard about the concerts I was very pleased I thought “That’s great we can all focus on what is happening to the poor. I also thought about all those bands that will be in the same place at the same time. The thought of being there is quite exciting. The band line up is impressive and it’s not just happening in the well off south. So all those who bang on about the inequality of the divide between the North and South can shut up. And I am very happy about the way tickets are being allocated. Using mobile phones and text messaging to a special line and quiz. It seems fair and won’t depend on just a few lucky people getting through and booking blocks of tickets and reselling them on Ebay. It all starts on the Sixth of June, go on give it a go if you are lucky you can tell your Grandchildren in years to come. I like lots wear one of those white bands, and this blog has the stripe across the top right of the screen. Make Poverty history is the slogan and it’s a very worthy cause. But then I thought about it and I got quite cross and angry. Actually very cross and quite pissed off. Why? Well let me tell you. Michael Burke’s original report about the famine in the Sudan hit our screens back in eighty-four. It’s now Two thousand and five and we are still looking at this problem. People are still dying and governments are still not committed to ending the deaths in Africa. It’s not as if it’s come as a surprise. “Oh look Africa is in the shit people have started to die lets do something about it”. No this has been in our faces for the last Twenty years.

Now I’m not saying I am a saint, I like seeing what the fashions are as much as the next mans. And I can sit down and watch Thirteen wannabe’s copulate for the public for hours on end. But I do think we need to do something this time. Twenty-year is plenty of time to have started to solve the problems. Even some of the problems of the third world. Actually any of the problems.
The fact that governments don’t do what is right until they are made to take notice is quite appalling. I say made to take notice what I mean is shamed into some sort of action. And its not the big multi nationals or a body like the UN that gets thing done. Its ordinary people like you who voice their opinions about a subject that matters. The only reason that governments change things is if they think the people who put them in power aren’t going to do it again. We the people can and should act. It’s a moral issue and above all that it’s just the correct thing to do. These people are your neighbours, this planet is very small. “There but for the grace of God go I” as the saying says. Lobby your MP, March on the summit in Edinburgh, the Third World needs our help and we in the west can afford it. But what we can’t afford is not to do it.
Matt

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Gina's Postcard

HAPPY BIRTHDAY-Wed 1 June 2005(soon to be 7 year old, will be 7 at 18.40, tonight)

Don't worry folks, I am not going to talk about child birth, that's because, I have never had the experience, just call me, Gx-too posh to push! Or lazy bitch that can never get anything right, and liked the epidural too much!

Sorry but whilst writing this, something really funny has just happened, soon to be 7 year old has just started to pack for our holiday, he's a good lad, he has gathered his socks and pants(glad to see he can prioritise), tee shirts and shorts, he has now gone downstairs to collect some food, he is raiding the food cupboards as I type, I hate to admit that I do take English food with me, only because he is so fussy! I don't eat it, but he does.

As I am out of the country at the moment, and will not face the music until I return from my holiday, so lets talk about sex and surveys!

As you all know, I have led a very sheltered life! Well call me old fashioned etc but until I reached the fab age of 35, I think I was still fairly naive and shy. Oh how things change! Today, I know what I want and I am not afraid to ask, show, tell. Some people(or should I say, men) do not like this direct approach, or do they?

I was shocked the other day to discover that a friend of a friend, was texting a "loved one" with explicit details on what they would do with to them when they next met, oh no I cried, don't do that, it will not have the desired effect-WRONG! After conducting a survey(ok, so we only interview one man, he will remain nameless, but I think he is honest and typical)to my surprise he really liked the thought of his woman texting dirty.

Honest answers only please, if a "loved one" texted you the following message, would it be a turn on, or a turn off

"I am wearing a skirt, today is different, I am not wearing any knickers?" Would he be thinking next time he saw you, is she, isn't she?

"When I next see you, I am going too..........................................................." would it be on his mind all day?

Is a man turned on by the thought of having sex outside?

If you text details about what you will do, how will you do it etc, do you need to follow it all through, or do you, do some and then keep some in reserve?

I started this entry a few days ago and I can honestly say I really thought that I was right, but as usual, I was very very wrong, and not frightened to admit it.

How do I know this? After a few pints, and lots of laughs, we sat in the pub inventing and sharing our messages. Unfortunately due to the explicit content of these messages I will not be quoting any on here, so if were not at the pub on Friday you have missed out.(some of you maybe very pleased about that!) My first attempt was ok, my second was (I think I can safely say) mind blowing! So thanks to all of you for allowing me to experiment. It's strange but whilst typing this I'm thinking the second message was too explicit.

Of course, if I had thought about how I would feel if I received a "sex text" then this survey would never have taken place. I will just quickly say that I would also want to send and receive a few nice, gentle, loving messages. I'm not taking my phone away with me, so looking forward to a full inbox on my return!!!!!!!