Halloween reunion

I've had a terriffic Halloween this year, mostly because we spent it with some old friends and their children. I'd like to thank Emma and Gavin for having us over and making us feel so welcome in their home.




I must have seen Emma only once or twice in the last ten years but it felt like both days were just last weekend. It's such a shame that we lost contact in the first place and such a blessing that we've been reunited after all this time.
Good friends don't come along everyday.

Take That Tour

It was on the radio all day that tickets for the Take That tour were on sale and the phone lines were jammed and the Internet sites were crashing all due to the sheer demand for these shows. The mrs is a devoted Take That fan and has been doing everything in her power, including begging, threatening, calling in old favours and blackmail, to get her hands on a pair of tickets.
And why is this tour so special? Could it be because Robbie Williams has been reunited with his old (boy)bandmates again? I think it is. What Take That fan wouldn't sell her wardrobe to see the boys back in action one last time? It may never happen again.
Needless to say, she got her own way and is currently a very happy bunny.

Desperate for Discworld

I love reading, I do.
Mostly it's humour, mixed with fantasy or Sci-Fi and it's always escapism. Except when it isn't. By that, I mean it's always escapism except when it isn't...
It is when I'm sitting down, losing myself in an intriguing plot and laughing at the funnies.
It isn't when I'm reading other peoples blogs and catching the latest F1 news in my iPhones RSS app, which I can do anytime.
What I can't do is read any book of my choice, until I've finished the book I'm currently reading. I made a promise to myself. It won't be much longer but until then, Terry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight, will sit on my bookshelf, teasing me.
I love reading Pratchett, I do.

On his feet

Today, Freddie stood up on his own for the very first time. It was great to watch because we didn't encourage him in any way. He just decided that he wanted to stand up. And he did. Before promptly falling on his behind with a bump. But that didn't stop him from trying again and again and etcetera.
I'm dead proud of the little fella. Look out world.

Rain, rain, go away

Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day

Ok, so it's been wet recently but, you've got to admit, we've had a really good summer. It hasn't been a scorcher and it hasn't had endless days of glorious sunshine. What we got instead was a few good weeks, here and there, of sunny days that didn't burn the skin off your face.
For me, the temperature was the best part of summer 2010. I can't bear the cold, my body just shuts down, and most people I know find the heat uncomfortable. So, these past summer months have kept everybody happy. It's only now, in October, that the weather has a bite to it.
I can live with that.

Christmas. Yes, already.

It's that time of year again.
New albums and greatest hits compilations are being released, along with blueray and DVD movies, games and consoles and a whole multitude of wonders that catch your eye and steal your breath away. But I'm not getting any of it. At least, not yet. I'm compiling a Christmas list of (almost) everything I'd like this year because I've always been stuck in the past when friends or family ask what I want.
Well, not this year. I'm going to be prepared. I used to be a cub scout when I was a boy.

F1 BlogTwit

#f1 Waiting for the race to get going at the Korean Grand Prix.
Twitter for iPhone • 24/10/2010 07:24


Sums up the moment... http://twitpic.com/30dfn4
Twitpic • 24/10/2010 07:26
retweeted by @LeesMyth
24/10/2010 07:36


#f1 The Korean fans are having fun with the TV cameras *waves & smiles*
Twitter for iPhone • 24/10/2010 07:38


LMAO RT @charlie_whiting:Sigh. Rubens is now complaining that Michael blocked him on the way to the toilet. Stewards are looking into it #F1
Echofon • 24/10/2010 07:41
retweeted by @LeesMyth
24/10/2010 07:42


#f1 I could have been tucked up in bed instead of this!
Twitter for iPhone • 24/10/2010 07:46


“@charlie_whiting: Ok, raise your hand if you want me to bring in the Safety Car? #F1” Consider my hand raised.
Twitter for iPhone • 24/10/2010 08:25


#f1 Safety car in this lap. Yaaaaay!!!
Twitter for iPhone • 24/10/2010 08:41


Webber & Rosberg both out of the Korean Grand Prix. #f1
Twitter for iPhone • 24/10/2010 08:47


#f1 More safety car action(!) at the Korean Grand Prix.
Twitter for iPhone • 24/10/2010 08:52


One of the title contenders was always going to do that...
web • 24/10/2010 08:48
retweeted by @LeesMyth
24/10/2010 08:53


“@eddstrawF1: What Vettel just said is German for "Now I've got full points stop this race asap"” ha ha ha.
Twitter for iPhone • 24/10/2010 10:22

F1 TweetBlog

Got up at 6:45, Rain for 1&1/2 hours, safety car parade laps, Korean Mark Webber crashed out taking Nico Rosberg with him, safety car out again, tyre choice crucial, cars flying off all over the track, more safety car action(!), Sebastian Vettel still leads, Adrian Sutil moves up the field then drops back down again, race moves over to BBC2, Vitaly Petrov crashes big time, getting dark, will we reach full race distance before the race is stopped, 10 laps to go, Vettel's engine blows up handing lead to Fernando Alonso, love the final corner before pit straight, Jenson Button spins but keeps it on the track, final lap, chequered flag.

Race results:
1st Alonso
2nd Hamilton
3rd Massa

Driver's Championship
1st Alonso
2nd Webber
3rd Hamilton

Constructor's Championship
1st Red Bull
2nd McLaren
3rd Ferrari

Black and white

I'm sitting at home, watching Sin City, all black and white with little splashes of colour and everything. This reminds me of childhood memories, watching old black and white movies and new colour movies and coming to the conclussion that the whole world used to be black and white "in the olden days". To me, at such a young age, this seemed reasonable because all the black and white movies were set in the past and all the colour movies were set in the present. Thank god my train of thought never included silent movies(!)

The red button

I was going to bed late last night, just after 02:00, when something made me check an F1 app on my iPhone. Imagine my surprise to discover that the first free practice of the new Korean track was currently in session. As quick as a flash, I was back in front of the TV, watching it live.
And it's all thanks to the BBC red button.

Kicking The Hobbit

I'm reading J. R. R. Tolkien's classic, The Hobbit. I have been for some time. Years, in fact. I started the book in primary school and still haven't finished it. I've got about a hundred pages to go and it's real slow going.
Just to set things straight, I'm not a slow reader, it's just that I barely read the first couple of chapters when I was a child before being tempted away by something shiny, I imagine.
Years later, I came across the book in Waterstones and resolved to finish what I started when I was small. And here's the problem, the book just doesn't grab me. I could put it down and say I was right first time but I'm determined to reach The End.

eBay

We're trying to set up an eBay account. There is much swearing and cursing. I fear for our sanity.

Grrr!

I had decided upon the subject of today's blog around lunchtime, but it went completely out of my head after I got a text from my ex. I won't go into the details of the text here except to say that it involved me having to travel to Orpington and back, twice, if we wanted to spend any time with Tom this weekend.
From Harrow, that's no small ask. It's more than a couple of hours, there and back and that's not even taking into account things like tube work being carried out and having to take a rail replacement bus or two.
I'm telling you, things are gonna change.

Monday... Again?

I really didn't feel like going into work this morning but then again, who does? I do it to myself every week. Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, all well and good until, Da Daa Daaaa...
Monday Morning.
Why does it surprise me every week? It's not like it's never happened before, is it? We all know what's coming. But for me, Monday morning always catches me out.
Well, it's over now. I'm going for a long, hot soak in the bath.


;-)

A grand day out

I've had a really nice day with the family. Lou and I took Freddie to see the swans, geese and ducks at the Ruislip lido.
We made a small detour on the way to a craft market that we spotted from the bus.
After taking a few pics at the water's edge, we climbed aboard this little train, which Freddie loved, that took us to a carvery and our Sunday roast.
We plan to do this again when Tom is with us.