Super Fast Rail Travel

Check out this video that I took on a simulator with the family. Its a steam train travelling at about 750 mph between London and Brighton. BTW I know I sound irritating, I was just trying to make it interesting and exciting for my daughter that was complaining at the time.

Bring me Sunshine.....

We had a great time as the Wedding in York. The bride and groom themed much of the wedding and indeed the ceremony too on Morecambe and Wise. We had humour and tricks galore based around the antics of arguably the best comedy duo in British history. As best man I thought i'd join in on the theme. Pete and I worked a short Sketch into the speeches based on Eric Morecambe's character with the cap and mac holding a shopping bag. He interrupted my speech for a spot of banter at the expense of the groom. (we wouldn't want it any other way)

We were all given mock glasses to wear during the ceremony which was fun. These antics even made it into the York Press....have a look here!

Congratulations to the happy couple!!!

All boys love trains

I've never thought of myself as especially a lover of locomotives, but after today that has all changed. Our family trip today included the 'National Railway Museum' in York. Out of us all I think I was the kid gawping at the huge engines. We got friendly with the staff and one of them let us onto the legendary 'Mallard' and esplained abouts dual controls and record holding speed, a massive 126 mph from a steam engine!!!

York has proven to be a real hit for us all. You should check it out.

Jorvik or York

I didn't realise until today that York was a thriving Viking community for over a decade, and was given the name Jorvik. It seems they did better during this time than under the Saxon's. Trade was good and properties were being improved.

York today seems to be doing good trade. My favorite purchase of the day has to be the 'scratch & sniff' postcard we bought from the Jovik Center. It has distinct sniffs, one of sweet food and the other is of a latrine. I hope the recipient enjoys the toilet humour..har har..

Cadbury World

Question. How do you make a good day out with the family even better?
Answer. Add chocolate! And when you have finished that lot, eat some more!!!

.....oh and there was stuff to look at too.

Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody

I can say nothing more than stick with it, and when Beaker joined in I loved it!

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody @ Yahoo! Video

Top 5 Singles

So i've been thinking a lot for various reasons about music lately. One of the thoughts has been about my top 5 singles and the fact is that I can't produce a definitive list as there are at least 20 songs that could make the top 5 depending on my mood.

So what I am going to give you is A list of 5 Singles that are favourites. (also take no notice of the order)

1) Heal the Pain - George Michael

2) Don't like Mondays - Boom Town Rats

to see video click here

3) Ain't Nobody - Chaka Khan

Chaka Kahn - Ain't Nobody

nick | MySpace Video


4) Different for Girls - Joe Jackson



5) How Deep is Your Love - Bee Gees

That's my list.....now i'm going to be a pain and am gonna TAG YA! So I want your comment on my choices or rate them out of 10. Then post your 5! Easy as that.

Is there anything worse than a bear with a sore head?

Well apparently there is, Me.....and this fella.

We share one key thing in common.......Toothache. I've been nothing less than grumpy, moany, winey, miserable and grouchy......5 of the famous 7 !
I've been to the dentist 5 times in the last 2 weeks. It started with one night my tooth broke whilst eating some popcorn. (why lord why make something so lovely yet so dangerous) I have had the tooth dressed, filled, refilled and dressed, treated and finally the nerve removed. At last I have had a day without masses of painkillers effecting my ability to function. How is it that its the smaller bits of our body that always seem to hurt the most? I've had it with pain this year, I think its someone else's turn now.

How that i've come out of the fog I will try and post a little more again about what I'm up to and what I've been thinking about (a very dangerous pass-time). I have read loads of books this year and should give a heads-up on the good ones...so I will. Also I have been trying to learn Linux recently, which hasn't been painless, but I am thinking about installing Ubuntu on an old laptop. (a desktop version of Linux) I'm only thinking about it, because you seem to have to throw loads of power at Microsoft systems nowadays, and that's just to do the simple stuff like ebaying and keeping up with email. You need so many levels of protection and security to go anywhere near the internet, its too bulky and too expensive! It's time to check out the opposition, even though I suspect I will be back with windows within a couple of weeks.

I realise it doesn't look like I'm fully over the groaning and moaning, but I will be soon.

Just testing

Move on people there's nothing to see here. Rumours of a man with a personality are merely that, and as such it can be neither confirmed or denied.

Just move along and take your dog with you.....oops sorry madam.

I'm a Numan newman!

As far as music goes, one of my biggests desires has been to go to more 'gigs'. I mean gigs rather than concerts. The main reason for this is that i've been to so many larger events and came away feeling it was all a bit....flat. In part I reckon that is because the venue is too big and you don't pick up on the chemistry from the performance. Well hopefully that is changing. I've booked myself to see the Electronic Music God himself, Gary Numan on 17th November. He's doing a night at the Brighton Dome, which is a smaller venue. I thought i'd warm myself up by looking up some clips from his previous concerts. Now to be honest and yet a little gross I'm wetting myself with anticipation. The clips I've seen are genuinely awesome! It's different to what I was expecting, much much heavier, but better for it. See what you think! I'm up for suggestions on who to see next.

A good day

...thats what my son said about yesterday. Well in full what he actually said 'we have had a good day today dad'.

To break the negativity of work I decided to walk into town do some stuff that needing doing but hadn't got round to it yet. the day was proving to be beautiful outside, so my son decided to join me. We walked and talked our way into town. I did the things I had to and said lets go get a coffee, so we ended up below De La Warr Pavillion next to the sea having a 99 flake whilst sitting on the stones. It was blissful, we talked, we listened to the waves coming in, threw some stones, cuddled up and talked some more. It was only 30 mins I guess but probably the best 30mins we've spent together for weeks.

I know not everyone lives by the sea like this, but we should all take a break from what we are doing. Even just 30 mins, so that we can all have 'a good day'. If we don't then we just end up allowing ourselves to be victims of circumstance. People that get to the end of the day and huff, just glad that its over and that we can go to sleep and forget it all. It shouldn't be like this, everyday should be a good day, but we just have to chose to step away from the mundane so that we can make it one. What made the difference to the day wasn't that I had less work stress or that I'd had a financial windfall. Things are really bad for everyone in those areas at the moment including me. What made the difference was stepping out of it for a bit, being with my son and enjoying our little life together.

thanks son! This post hasn't turned out how I had expected. Originally it was just meant to be a note saying we had a nice day.....funny how thoughts evolve.

Tomorrow's World today!

Good news ! The BBC have release some of their archive of the TV show Tomorrow's World on the web, including full episodes!

Something that struck me as I watched an episode was how firstly this technology show was on prime time TV, not stuck on some obscure channel at 3 a.m. Secondly, how although they explain the technologies in simple terms, they didn't dumb it down. For a media that seems to cater for the Sun readers and the Vicky Pollards, it was good to see that they expected people to have some semblance of intellect. Thirdly I thought this show is a wonderful way of reflecting the ideas, aspirations and fashions of the 60s 70s and 80s. Lastly it reminded me what a corker Maggie Philbin was! (a right sausage)

Use the links in this blog to have a look. You could view it as a history lesson, with insight to the opinions of the future from the past. (oops headache) It could be a review of changing techology and seeing the start of things we have come to accept in recent years as normal. OR, just a plain laugh at the fashions, believe me its worth your time to have a look.

Cracking fun lad!

Had a family trip to London yesterday. What was different this time was that the girls did the girly things and went to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) while the boys went to the Science Museum. My son had a purpose to pursue aswell, and that was to go to the Wallace & Gromit exhibition that was on. I wasn't so keen to be honest, and I felt that way right up until we got to the ticket stand and they said for this next hour entrance is free!! Can you imagine the change I felt? Just saved myself 16 quid, which meant I was now the biggest Wallace and Gromit fan in the whole place. Eee by gum lad I was reet chuffed! (sorry...its the best I could come up with for a kid born in Surrey a place you spend your life apologising for...."what are you sorry about?"...."no I said Surrey" - it only works with the accent)

There was some clever exhibits, and the detail on the sets they had on display was astonishing! I even naughtily went down the kids tube when the officials back was turned. Getting a freebie does lift ones spirit don't you think?! ha ha

I do think the general exhibits in the Science Museum need a bit of a refresh and maybe changing some too. I did look at some things closer this time than I had previously. For instance when we looked at the aircraft, my son and I spent just as long at looking at the display of aircraft engines, all be it with little more knowledge of what we were looking at than ooo aaaahh thats a big one! All in all a good place for boys to go and boys be I reckon, while the girls went off looking at costume and furnishings in the other place, YUK!

Broom brooooooom ....beeeep!

I haven't shared with you my almost perverse interest in mechanical things. Be it planes or cars I have an interest and a certain desire to be sitting in these things swooping or turning to my hearts desire. I've always had a love for the Spitfire. I love how it looks, its sounds and its history and the fact that they took the speed of this plane almost as fast as is possible without it being a jet. If there was just ONE thing I would do if I could ever have the chance, it would be to fly in a spitfire. A possibility that is even less likely due to the fact that there are very few 2 man spitfires in the world. Ashamedly I must admit that when I can I go to airshows and yes I have binoculars around my neck whilst I oooo and ahhh at displays. When I was a kid, liking the red arrows was not cool, but now I love watching them!

Funny thing is this post wasn't meant to be about planes, but rather it was meant as a lead into the fact that I went to the Bexhill Classic Car Show on bank holiday Monday. My wife and daughter couldn't be bothered with it, leaving it up to me and my son along with a friend to get nerdy with the classic car set. I'm going to just show you some photos from it now, along with my comments. Please do not think badly of me, rather understand I have a problem and that as i'm maturing it seems to be getting worse. Oh and yes i'm looking into getting my own classic car for next year...........what a loser!
This is my mate Paul and this is his Morris Minor. Five of us turned up at the event in it, I really don't know how it was possible. I have spoken to him by the way about his attire and how he looks like someone who owns a Morris Minor. That looks like a flat cap to me!! Sorry Pad


My personal taste in cars is more to do with appearance and design outside and in, rather than the performance, this is true with this car. I had some fun with this fella. The car is a Lancia Beta Montecarlo. I was taking a photo when the owner turned up and wanted to go. Firstly I asked if I could get one more photo, to which he said yes. Secondly, I then cheekily asked if I could sit in it with him for the photo above. Finally, I thought stuff it and asked him for a go, to which he said alright then! We went a couple of miles down the road to Cooden Beach where we could listen to the engine rumble as we went under the railway bridge. Excellent! Thanks again to the Mister Man for taking me out in his car. It pays to be a cheeky boy sometimes.

Ahh the Daimler Dart, as modelled by our sons! Genuinely a beautiful car to behold. I can't get over the fact it was a Police pursuit car. You can tell the man who was going to drive it chose it. If he had left the decision to the bosses he'd have ended up in an old Model T Ford. The photo does not do it any justice, you need to look at it side long and you then can see why it was called the dart. If you look at the front you can see the bell that would have been used in a chase...how cool is that!

Can you believe this beauty is a Volvo? What happened to them? They went from this, to making boxes with wheels. This one was used for the original series of The Saint, and would have been driven by the lead character himself. I can't see Volvo being used on any TV programs today other than maybe Countryfile. What a waste of what could have been!

Nuts about Bolt

Can you believe the man Usain Bolt did it again! He didn't just win the 100 meters mens final in Berlin this last week, but also thrashed the world record. If you watched the final the other day like me you'll know what I mean when I say he didn't even look like he was trying that hard. Certainly not if you compare it against his competitors. I can't help but feel sorry for them as they struggle to do what would in ANY other decade been a world defeating time. He just humiliates them. Maybe i've got a 'give up now' attitude, but really why bother? It doesn't matter what you do, you just cannot come close to someone who can run like that. I'm not knocking Bolt. He will be a legend in athletics history like Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis of that I can be sure. He is astounding....WOW!

Did you see Michael Johnsons reaction on BBC television.....click here

I dont cause quite as big a splash anymore!

Why is that I hear you say?

It's nothing to do with my diminishing popularity, although that may be a little true. What I'm speaking about is the fact I'm just a little less......big, than I was. I did lose 28lbs a little while back, but because of my emergency treatment for stones and the upheaval that caused my eating regime, it meant I put some of that weight back on.

The good thing is that I didn't put on as much as I thought I had, and my determination to get back on the saddle and rid myself of the ripples is still in tact. In fact it's very good. As of today, as well as making up for the weight gain from before, I have now lost some on top of that. So my total weight loss to date is about 30lbs, which ain't to be sniffed at.

Thank you, but you can stop staring now...ha ha

Friday Fun

I pronounce myself as the Friday Fun Facilitator for this week. Here are some videos that I guarantee will make you smirk just a little bit.

We haven't had this advertisement in the UK yet, but i'm sure we will..... enjoy!



A really stupid dog! Anyone can see that the foot is just being friendly, it wouldn't dream of touching his bone.



RE: Michael Jackson, am I the only person who isn't that bothered? If I mourn it would be for the genius of 30 years ago.

What does it say about me

I recall a personality test I did for a job about 20 years ago, done by some chap called McQuaig. It asked you to rate what you thought of yourself and what you believed your friends thought of you. I think in principle it was saying that, what you think your friends think of you is more like you really are, and what you think of yourself, is your potential, what you could become.
Does that come across clearly enough? err ...hope so.

Anyway it was with this thought I was thinking what do the cards my friends sent me when I was sick say about what they think of me? For instance this one.......


Then there are the 2 I got via Moonpig.com (obviously their advertising is working), that seem to suggest that the brewer industry would be suffering whilst I was ill and unable to drink.

This goes back to my point, what does this all say about me? I like to think it says I have a good sense of humour and enjoy a sherbert with my friends.

Whats the worse that could happen?

Ha ha that's what I was trying not to think about before the operation. As a man we have definite views on what's the worse that could happen. It was because of this that I purposefully didn't ask the surgeon on Saturday to explain the procedure for my operation.

Although he wasn't explicit, he said something that alarmed me. It was when he smiled and bragged, "i've not have to cut someone open for kidney stones since 1985!". Although i'm sure he intended the comment as reassuring, it wasn't. You see all that made me think was, 'if he isn't going to cut me, how is he going to get to the stone?". Any guys reading this i think will get the relevance of the question. All I could do was try to ignore any thoughts about any of it, although that isn't easy whilst they are jabbing and prodding you in pre-op.

I recall in my prevous post that my main concern about the operation was if they were going to incert a catheter, the idea of that and the soreness made me feel sick. Little did I know that was the least of my concerns. I will try not to be graphic and crude. It wasn't a catheter that I had to deal with as I came out from the anasthetic...oh no. It was the realisation that the whole tool kit had been used 'THERE'. (I hope you fellas are starting to wince a bit now) I had this great urge to go to the toilet, and they passed me a container under the sheet. I couldn't go but when I brought my hand up, there was a lot of claret on it. Oh no what have they done! It took me 2 hours before I was brave enough to have a look. I shed a tear, things will never be the same.

Now its a couple of days later, and the burning has died now. I feel a little bit sore still and I am on painkillers, but thankfully I have calmed down. All I try to concentrate on now is the fact that I had a great meal in hospital and the potato and leek soup was possibly the best thing i've tasted in years. Believe me you have to try and think of something optimistic about a situation that may have left me with an emmotional scar for life.

btw to any women reading this I will say 2 things. 1) yes I am a moaning softie BUT 2) general concensus is that kidney stones are the closest thing men can get to labour pains.

A Rolling stone .......

When it comes to Kidney Stones the saying that 'a rolling stone gathers no moss' may be true. BUT, instead of gathering moss it gathers the screams of a million peoples agony, and maybe some blood. (hmm nice)

So I thought I'd just add this update as I've not been able to until now due to being 'poorly'. As I'm going under the knife tomorrow I wanted to say so long and it's been nice knowing you.

Think of me during the daytime hours. Don't be surprised if you can hear an inhuman scream or wale. It's probably just me having the catheter removed. Or worse still, they haven't got the amount of anaesthetic quite right.

Doesn't smell like mine

Got back from our holiday to Ireland on Sunday evening. All of the family were looking forward to getting back home as we had had an extended journey with 'essential engineering works' causing delays to trains, and also meaning we would be doing a large part of the journey on a smelly bus on our way back from the airport.

Although the bus smell was awful, that is not the smell I'm talking about in this post. It was the smell of the house! You may not be like me, but, if I've been away there is something reassuring and familiar about the smell of your own home. You walk in through the door and the smell as much as anything tells you that you are home.

The thing was the house didn't smell like mine. It smelt odd. Not nasty, just odd. It had a sort of mango-ey tropical niff, not a scent that I associate with our home. Over the years I've come to appreciate the sense of smell. I always check fruit out for ripeness by sniffing it. Then there was the big one, 'baby whiff'. This is the smell of your baby that has an almost hypnotic reaction in a parent. The smell seems to come from the back of the head and confirms what the eyes can see, that yes this child is mine. It can make you feel everything is ok, even when you are tired and worn out. I guess in the animal world this happens all the time, and is more important than physical features.

Back to my house. Do I know why the smell was ...wrong? Yes I do. Although it wasn't MY smell I did recognise the smell. It smelt like my mother-in-laws house before she moved into ours. I'm not going to complain about it, but my job now is to ensure our niff is the most prominent one again. So I have primed the wife and kids to rub our scent on everything like house cats. I have said no spraying your scent like cats do, but it is ok to leave the bathroom door open until I feel the balance has stacked back in our favor.

Ouch!

After an alarming trip to the toilet yesterday, my doctor has confirmed I have either a urinary infection or kidney stones. I'm hoping its the infection. Apparently the latter is the closest a man can get to the pain of childbirth. What adds complication to this is that i'm on holiday with the family as of tomorrow. We are off to not-so-sunny Ireland for 10days. I'm looking forward to it as long as I do not have any health 'issues' during that time. I have been given antibiotics so hopefully that should clear it all up. If not! You may hear the screams of a man in great pain blowing over the waters to England or wherever you may be. It wont be next doors cat, or foxes mating, no, it'll be me trying to pass a pebble.

As a change of subjects. I have been asked about what I could do for this Bexhill talent show I was in last year. Apparently we are doing 2 shows this time. I'm all up for a some sort of performance, as just standing there singing is a bit dull. I will likely sing but it has to be fun or interesting. Any thoughts? I was thinking about asking one of the young ladies who sang solo last year if she'd like to do a duet, but I recon she'll say no and anyway she's good and i'm not. I don't mind comedy if you can think of anything.

Anyway speak when i get back eh!

weighing it all up

This post is a bit mundane, of which I can only apologise. I had to tell someone though, because it is good news. You see when it comes to losing weight I'm always sceptical about myself and that I will keep it up. That chocolate and ice cream will make me fall. That crisps and cakes will dissolve my resolve. (ooo poetry) But after realising that unless I did something drastic about my weight and do it now, i'd only be able to weigh myself on HGV scales when the operator was at lunch. Knowing how it is for me i'd bet he'd take sandwiches that day and be working through lunch anyway.

To be honest I have felt so sickened and disgusted with myself and my weight, that the wrong sort of food just makes me grimace. Thing is that isn't a negative feeling for me. I'm really pleased it has made me feel like that. I have come to realise that any half-hearted approach to weight loss just doesn't work. I can't be moderate or modest or even controlled because they are just excuses to eat rubbish from time to time. To do that would be the end of it for me, and i'm now getting to a point where I think I'm going to do this right and sort myself out once and for all!

So, let me talk results to date. Well i'm very pleased and a bit shocked that I have lost only half a pound shy of 2 stone in weight (thats 28 pounds!). That means i'm half way through my first target of 4 stone. I'm really please with that. I'm also pleased that I don't feel the urge to celebrate with fish and chips! Nope i'm happy as I am for now, and i'm not going change anything as its working.

Sorry to bore you.

Its started!

I know I know, i'm sure you told me so.

Poor Linda (mother-in-law) and I have locked horns a couple of times already. I've got to stop being pig-headed I guess. I don't want her to feel miserable here, but I think at the moment she hasn't felt like its a barrel of laughs either. I can't say much more as it wouldn't be fare, but I do want to try harder to help her to settle. This was made more difficult when she twisted her ankle yesterday and spent over 6 hours in A&E (ER to some of you) in Hastings. So now there is an invalid hobbling around with crutches. (reminds me of Kermit the frogs reaction in the movie when he saw the poster for frogs legs) As far as the hospital is concerned, that place was diabolical! Some people were there for more than 8 hours, with broken limbs waiting to be seen. It felt like the middle ages, I never thought i'd wish we could use St Peters again. (must be bad)

Life

Oh dear......let time slip again between posts doh!

Never mind, let me tell you bit of whats going on. For a start I've started a diet. I've had enough of the fatman living my life for me. There is another slimmer guy inside whom the big man ate a long time ago, and he feels its his time to rise.

Watchmen, the movie experience of the year. It was a let down on the whole. Who wants to see that blue fella with his blue fella on show? Thats not entertainment. It's even worse when you see it on IMAX!

The real biggy at the moment is the moving in of my Mother-In-Law. We are initially looking at her staying for a year but we shall see. Now you and I know there are millions of Mo-In-Law jokes out there, but I have lost my right to say any of them, as it was me that suggested she move in. It has its plus sides I recon......such as going to IKEA for a shopping trip with her. You can never have enough storage! Also there's the baby sitting 'potential'. Meaning me and the Mrs can get out for some us time which doesnt happen often enough. Also think of the blogging possibilities of the extra madness that will now exist in my families life.

The Moon as Observed

This is the image of the moon that I promised on my previous post.

Taken using a smaller telescope by a friend when we were at the observatory on Friday. Not as good as the image I was looking at through the bigger telescope, with its clearly defined craters, but it gives a great idea of the image I was looking at. This is still so awesome. (i'm almost jumping about like a school child - ha ha)

may I make an observation?

Aha! Don't worry I'm not going to complain about Facebook and its mates again. My observation is linked to tonights trip to the Herstmonceux Observatory and Science Centre. It astounds me how many interesting places we discover in our area, and this is another case. We've been to the science centre as a family a couple of times in an effort to educate us all. It reminds me much of the Lookout Discovery Centre in Bracknell, with its hands on science experiments, although colder and with more concrete. It is fun enough I guess...well the kids enjoy it.

The place really comes into its own when once a month they open up the Observatory to the public, or at least 3 observatories out of the 5 they have within the grounds. If its a clear night and you have no issues with going out when there's a bright moon (you know who you are) then this is the place to go! I have tonight seen things i've only seen on film or photograph. For instance I saw the moon, and not just bigger than we can see normally, I mean see the moon, the craters and landscape, it nearly took my breath away. We viewed Saturn on one of the smaller telescopes and it looked just like it had been drawn onto the lense. Lastly and perhaps more impressively was a closeup on Orions Nebular. I'm not one of those guys who can pick out groups of stars in the sky, it all looks the same to me. After seeing it tonight and talking to the on hand expert (not sure of the qualification, but he was definately an egghead with a brain the size of a planet...ahem excuse the pun) I can pick it out. I now know Orion is a whole constellation of which 'the Belt' is only a part. It is marked out by 4 prominent stars with the 'Belt' and the 'Sword' within. We had a close up on Orions Sword and saw it was like a cloud, and within it 4 stars had been created over the millenia. This might sound a bit boring to read but it wasn't when you saw it! My kids where captivated.

We didn't hang on much longer, just had a drink at the cafe and went home as it was gone 10pm. We could have seen this time but didn't was Venus, which has been shining brightly lately as you may have noticed. We had arrived at 8pm and it was too low in the sky at that time for it to be picked up by the telescope. The other they were viewing/tracking was a comet, which would have been a great experience if we hadn't had to go.

Here's a photo taken with the kids and there grandmother next to the smaller observatory where we had seen Saturn and the Moon . A friend got a photo of the moon taken through a telescope lense there (unofficially) which as soon as I am sent it on email, I will post it up on blogger.


Before I go always remember to cherish and love your blog.....yes blog not dog ya numpty!!

Where have all the Bloggers gone?

A question I must ask! Whats happened to bloggers and blogging?

Is it a virus? (the flu type I mean) Or is it something more sinister? I know its a problem because I too have started to dry up on postings over the last 3-6 months. I thought it was just the year end wind down. That's not true, I've struggled to get the cogs running again since the new year and its March now! I think I know why. Facebook!

Let me explain what I mean. I started blogging as a social yet creative way of communicating to people. A chance to say things my way, and talk about my experiences good and bad. It also became a scrapbook and diary of my experiences. I admit i'm not the best writer, but I genuinely love the opportunity and find it stimulating. Like many, I have been contacted and pestered to have an account on Facebook Along with its vast array of applications, all of which keep you locked into their world, but don't really use the brain. Social networking sites are good but just don't offer creativity. It started with Friendsreunited, but Facebook seems to have taken over and made it much easier to reacquaint us with old friends and family. All this has just led to me (and maybe all of us) being distracted and caught up in the mundane. I can't help but feel I'm being sucked into something that is imbecilic and moronic, not stimulating at all. I spend time checking out people status and trawling through quizes about senseless things. Why would you or I be interested in what each other is doing every minute of the day? Whats so wrong with my life that I spend it looking at everyone else's life? If I carry on like this I'm concerned that I will become a texting teenager, who has the social skills of a skunk after eating a very hot curry.

I know I know, I sound like an old fart, and maybe thats true, although I hope not. My resolve is to gain back control of my on-line life. Facebook and its friends like Bebo, My Space and that new one called Twitter (surely the name gives us enough of a clue that this is for the brain dead?) have their place, and I am glad to have the opportunity to keep in touch with my nephews and nieces and others. There was an episode of the IT Crowd that parodied the subject with the pretendy site Friendface. My point is this sort of social networking, doesn't need to be a daily thing, and it certainly shouldn't stiffle things that are more interesting. My blog needs my attention again, and i'm going to give it. I realise that so few read it nowadays but that's no longer why I do it. I do it as it's an outlet that refreshes my being and allows me an opportunity or genuine expression. (all very heavy sounding)

Very ranty I know, but stuff it, it mine! Its how I feel, and I think other bloggers will catch my drift. I hope it strengthens your resolve too.

xxx Chux :)

Ain't snow pretty?

Even a man who suffers from an alergy to nasty winter weather has to admit this snowy snap we've had has been delightful.

My daughter and I had great fun creating our new friend here. The ideas for the eyes, nose and clothes all came from her, and I think she did a great job. Any suggestions for a name?

Surely it can't get colder!? Brrrrrrr.........

The English and talking about the weather, it seems to be our speciality. I'm no exception to this as the weather is definately my main subject of conversation at the moment. Ok Ok so it's not the Arctic here, but the cold seems relentness none the less. Apparently we are going through the milder spell right now. (I hadnt noticed it myself) According to this BBC report though we are due for an even colder snap with temperatures in the South East hitting as low as -6 C which is blooming cold!!!

I'm just desperately looking forward to the spring now, where it'll be warm enough to go out the house again!! I expect our friends in Sweden, will laugh and say this isn't cold like they get. Which is true enough I guess, but for some reason us English are just never prepared enough for the variety of weather we get. Maybe thats the problem. Our climate is such that we need too much equipment to cope with the weather differences in a year. I was in a DIY shop on Tuesday and they were selling sledges for the kids to ride in the snow. Do I buy one, or don't I? Will the snow last long enough for us to try it out? Problem is even if we get snow now, we probably wont see anymore for about 10 years. By that time we'll need a new sledge as the old one has crumbled.

Oddly last night in bed I was thinking about things I can do when the weather is milder. Something my daughter has pestered me about for a couple of years now is to camp out in the garden one night with her, something my son and I did a while back. It'll be great having a feast in our tent and reading the Beano. I bet She'll want me to tell her stories too. So I must do that, along with thinking about other positive things to look forward to when it warms up AND stays dry for long enough.