Lion Invasion

Northampton has been invaded by lions.  This is wonderful.  Called the Pride of Northampton, 40 lions have been designed by artists to grace oour streets.  Now, there have been a few detractors, those who complain about the money spent, but I see this as a vision, an attempt to scale the heights.

I didn't know this was happening.  On Sunday I went in to town for a jazz night only to find myself confronted with these lions.  And I was so impressed.  They are beautiful and so tactile (and in case you wonder, this was BEFORE I had had a drink).  You are drawn to them and to admire them.  They bring life and colour to the streets.  Things of wonder.

Art is not of value in itself.  Its value is in what it does to your soul, how it makes you feel.  This is a project designed to ift us above ourselves and, as such, I love it.

Crying

What can I say
To take the pain
To dissolve it
Like salt in water
Until only
A few
Tears remain.

Cool (?)

Sunny day. Cruising along in the Audi A5.  Both windows down.  Tanned arm nonchalantly out the side.  But maybe the street cred blown slightly by "The Archers" blaring out!

Ok, OK,  I know. But I was two episodes behind.

Vanishing Trick

Have you ever had a friend just disappear off the face of the world.  Email, phone, everything suddenly appear to be switched off or disconnected.  It is disconcerting to say the least.  Especially when it's a good friend.  You are left wondering if there is a major earth shattering disaster in their life, or whether it is simply that you have done/said something wrong without realising it.  It's a horrible feeling, it's as though some filaments holding you to the world have been severed and are waving loosely in the breeze.  Not recommended.

When The Pigeon Comes Over The Tree....

Somewhat hard to believe, and sparking a thought that maybe India has April Fools day today, it appears that police are currently holding a pigeon under armed guard.  The pigeons rights are being looked after and there is no torture - it is in a locked but air conditioned cell - but the pigeon is being held for spying.  The pigeon was found in a Punjabi districtneighbouring Pakistan.  As the pigeon had a tag with a Pakistani number on it the police immediately lept to the conclusion that it had been sent in on a spying mission.  I've heard of Pigeon Pie before, now we have Pigeon Spy.

Geobite

Geocaching has suddenly become more popular in the household.  I don't have to sneak off.  This probably has something to do with one of "A"'s friends being a geocacher so suddenly "A" sees it as a cooler activity than when dad wants to do it.

Yesterda after the IRB Sevens "A" wanted to do some caching.  We found one next to the Thames in a lovely spot - recommend a visit to Marble Hill park.  The went for a bit of a drive.  After a while I stopped to see if there were any nearby.  And there was.  In a wood.  We set off, followed a good path.  And discovered that this wood was quite marshy.  The path was OK but if you strayted off then there were overtones of episodes out of Lord of the Rings.  We were successful in finding the cache, which is good news.  Possibly not so good was that there were mossies the size of zeppelins, very hungry mossies the size of zeppelins.  Now, I have always been one of those people that mossies, midges, and any other blood sucking bug, think look like meals on wheels.  They home in on me, whcih is good news for any companions as they are left alone.  Today my legs are one inflamed mass, and there are sore marks on my back and my arms.  I was eaten alive.

Mind you, I ge the last laugh.  I'm still on warfarin.  I wonder what a mouthful of that stuff does to a mossie!

Maybe This Explains It

Co-ordinated

I had a three day trip to Scotland with work this week.  I decided to squeeze in a bit of Geocaching. One of the many advantages of the iPhone is that it has a Geocache app.  And this is very handy as it can show you if there are any cahces nearby.  The actual GPS itself isn't quite accurate enough so a dedicated GPS is important (and I want to upgrade to something even better) but it makes a good starting point.  Over the 3 days I managed to get 10 caches, including some in Roslin alog a nice walk to a viaduct.  One of the things I like about Geocaching is that it gets me out and looking around rather than staying in the car.  It's a fun way to explore.

Eeeek eeeek

There I was this evening happily sitting down watching the recording of the Blues vs Wasps when I suddenly saw some movement.  I quite calmly said "should there be a mouse wandering across the floor".  A comment which elicited a small scream from "J" as she rapidly moved her feet off the floor.  I'm gueesing that the dear cats brought the mouse in earlier and it had been hiding under the hi-fi stand waiting for the cats to leave the room - note that thes weren't cats that had been scouring the room searching but had simply been asleep on the chairs".  Once they left he decided it was safe to come out.  As I was trying to work out how to catch him the cats came back in.  Mouse ran under the gas fire - luckily not on.  Cats managed to catch aforesaid mouse - with not a small amount of hissing at me, very possesive of their mice these cats.  Cats then ran into the garage with mouse.  I left them to it.

An hour later going in to the garage it was clear that the cats had managed to lose the mouse again.  I tried to help by tipping up the washing machine and moving things but couldn't see the mouse anywhere.  So I decided to leave them to it.  10 minutes later cats are in the daughters bedroom.  And one of them has a mouse in his mouth.  Which he then drops as I approach.  Great.  Rogue mouse in daughters bedroom.  Daughter asleep.  Cats hissing and growling.  Give the cat a clip round the ears for growling at me.  Spot mouse.  Mouse dives behind Mickey Mouse.  Move Mickey, mouse moves behind horse.  Cats leave room.  As I move the toy horse I wish my daughter didn't have so many cuddly toys on the floor.  Manage to corner mouse.  I say corner, he was trapped between a pad of paper, the bin, a koala and a hat box.  Squash mouse between wall and small collapsible storage thing.  Mouse climbs up and falls into storage thing, which is also full of little soft plushy toys etc.  Drop lid from a tin on top and carry entire thing downstairs, praying that mouse is still in the small collapsible storage thing.  Take it outside, remove lid.  One mouse looking at me, which I tip out on to the ground and it bounds off into the night rain.

Now I am hoping that both sightings were one and the same mouse.  The other possibility seems to be that the cats have decided to keep a mouse in every room for those moments when they get bored!

Oink

I don't normally watch Watchdog.  And I'm quite pleased with that.  Unfortunately it was on in the background this evening as I was cooking my dinner and waiting for the leader debate.  And they had an item about mini-pigs.  These are small pigs that people can buy as pets.  Buy as pets to sit on their lap.  Now apparently these pigs grow a bit bigger than people expect.  Then they do things like pull the radiator off the wall.

And I end up yelling at the TV "THEY'RE PIGS, THEY'RE BLOODY PIGS, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT!!!!!!!!"

Support Me

Thanks to the DVT I now have to wear stockings for a couple of years.  Thankfully they are of the "below knee" variety so really are just long socks.  When you are first diagnosed with a DVT you are told that starting to wear stockings within the first 2 weeks of the DVT is important as it reduces damage to the valves in the veins, any longer and long term damage can set in.  So it is a little disappointing to find that it takes the NHS 3-4 weeks to get the stockings for you.

Anyway, the NHS will only provide 1 set of stockings, if you want more then you have to pay for them yourself.  Which is fair enough.  And as the weather warms up then more than one set seems a good idea.  So I rang the supplier today to order some more.  The lady at the other end of the phone is very pleasant.  Takes my order.  Then tells me they will be with me in 2 days.  2 days I say, don't you mean 2 weeks.  Gosh no she says, it doesn't take us that long, 2 days.

Can anyone PLEASE explain why therefore it takes the NHS 3 weeks?

Camerons Debate Notes

Flying High

I'm trying to work out if you can be "too cautious" when thinking about flying planes through ash.  After all, if you get it wrong it isn't just your ice-cream dropped on the floor is it!

This is one of those "damned if you do and damned if you don't" things.  A similar thing happened with the FMD outbreak in 2007.  The then CVO was put under massive pressure by the industry to lift movement restrictions, being told that she was too cautious.  She responded and lifted the restrictions, only for a new outbreak a week later and further spread of disease.

Now, especially if I was going to be 30000 ft in the air, I would like to think that people WERE being over cautious.  It seems all very well saying that the planes can cope with small amounts of ash in the air, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it isn't spread evenly up there.  What if there's a thicker cloud of it, the pilot would only know when he hit it.  And past experience has shown that ash CAN take engines out.  So overall, caution seems a good thing.

When The Saints

"A" decided that she wanted to write about the Saints.  It seemed an opportunity to set up a new blog.  So we spent some time yesterday designing it, basic ideas from here and I just add the artistic direction.  Then started posting.  She is the author.  I am editor (with varying levels of editing depending on how it is going).  Anyway, I went for a shameless plug on the Saints forum, and this evening we have had 75 hits!  Not bad going.  And some positive feedback whcih is great.  You see the more I can get "A" interested in all things rugby then the more chance I have of continuing to go to matches.  Yes, there is an ulterior motive, but it keeps me happy!

Soul Mercy

We all do it.  We all buy things on the web without reading all of the user agreement first.  Tick the box to say yes, with a faint nagging feel that it's wrong but not enough to spend the necessary 5 minutes!  Well, on 1st April, if you bought from GameStation then there is a reasonable chance you just gave away your living soul.  Hidden into their terms and conditions was the following:

"By placing an order via this Web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant Us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul. Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your immortal soul, and any claim you may have on it, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from gamestation.co.uk or one of its duly authorised minions."

It appears that around 7500 people made purchases on the day.  It seems hardly any contacted the company to say that would rather not surrender their immortal soul.  If you bought from them on that day and you see letters of fire standing six feet tall in front of your house then you ahd better not read them, it won't just be the bailiff.

Saints 38 - Gloucester 23

I had a hard decision today.  I was supposed to be at a Greenbelt ops meeting.  But it is still rugby season and we had a home game against Gloucester.  Compromise time.  I didn't go riding (a big decision) so I could get to the meeting in the morning but I left at lunch time so I could make it to the match.  And, although I miss you all dearly, that was the right decision because it was a great match.

The Saints have been playing an attractive brand of rugby this season, running the ball, counter-attacking.  And some of our opponents have risen to the challenge.  Such a match was today, both sides running, attacking, lookng for the breaks.  Which lead to a match which went from one end of the pitch to the other in the blink of an eye.  An attack, a gamble, lost ball, counter-attack.  Great to watch.  Gloucester supporter behind me said at the end we deserrved to win, but they gave us a run all right.

And at the end a wonderful selfless moment.  Bruce Reihana is the most loved player at the Saints, he has already made sacrifices for the club in that he could have gone back to New Zealand with a chance to get in to the All Blacks, or he could have gone to Munster, but he stayed with us in the lean times.  We all love it when he gets the ball, and cheers of "Bruce Bruce Bruce Bruce" resound around the stadium.  At the end of matches he comes back out and claps us, the fans.  He always has a moment for the children.  A great man.  Today he played as well as ever.  Then, with only 2 minutes to go, he made a break down the wing.  A great run, he stepped passed, or over, tackles.  He made it to the Gloucester try line.  He went over the Gloucester try line.  Then, in a moment no-one believed, rather than take the try himself he passed to Chris Ashton so that Flash could get his hat-trick of the match.  There is no question that Flash deserved the hat-trick, the first two tries being great reading of the game and perfect lines, but Bruce is only 6 points away from scoring 1000 for the club.  He always puts others before himself and is, in every way, a true gentleman who I am proud to have seen playing rugby.

A Rounded Picture

It looks as though, come June, Sony will be launching a 3D TV. I have never really understood all the fuss about 3D films anyway. I don't think that it adds much to a film and, in fact, the current trend suggests that the film makers get overly distracted with the effects, trying to ensure things come rushing out at you, and forget the virtue of have a good story with strong acting.

So, with little enthusiasm for 3D films you might imagine that I would not be swept away with the idea of a 3D TV. And you would be right. Despite being a gadget freak and loving the up to date toys, this one is not for me. The idea of having to sit in the privacy of my own house and wear stupid glasses does not grab me. And then let's think it through fully. Considering what is on TV. And I have suddenly thought of the election debates and actually having Gordon standing in my living room. Well there's a horror movie for you, right there. And I have never liked horro films.

Bang

While truly sorry for those trying to fly out tomorrow, I have to say I am extremely releived that it was this week and not last.  I would have been very upset not to go to Munster.  It was last Friday at 1100hrs that we flew from Cardiff so we would have been right in it.  Extremely selfish I know.

On Off

Thinking of going for a pee in the middle of the night.  Stop right there.  Apparently it could give you cancer.  So glad that the Daily Mail are on top of this.  I hadn't realised what a risk I was putting myself at.  Now I have to work out whether I want to fall down the stairs in the dark or simply wet the bed.  Except, IT'S NOT TRUE.  The science editor for the Daily Mail should be taken out and shot at dawn for completely misrepresenting some scientific findings.  The University of Leicester have been quick to explain that the report is a load of tosh (scientific term there).  It looks as though going to the toilet for one hour and using a bright light MAY be a risk, but that doesn't describe what most of us do at 3am if we are unfortunate enough to ahve to go, when we stagger to the bathroom, keep our eyes half closed, and get it over with as quickly as possible.  So we can rest easy, go when we want, and not have to wake up to a wet patch.

Munster Mash

Well what a weekend trip.  Immense fun and a good example of why rugby union is such a good game.

Northampton Saints managed to get through to the Heineken Cup quarter finals a month or so ago.  We were the only english team to get through but we were at the bottom of the 8, so we were drawn against Munster at Thomond Park (their home ground).  Tickets were scarce but one night, with a rush of blood (or whisky) to the head, I entered the ballot.  And we got three tickets.  I then realised just how much the trip was going to cost, what with flights, hotel, car hire etc.  But in for a penny etc etc.

Last weekend was the trip, and we got back today.  And it was so much fun, despite losing.

First off we were flying from Cardiff to Cork.  We went from Cardiff because I had some work over there.  We arrived at Cardiff airport on Friday morning and checked in.  Then we went up to the departure gates.  Only to realise that we were surrounded by Ospreys players who were off to Biarritz.  I am not a great Ospreys fan, mainly because of their supporters, by they do have some players that I greatly admire.  So to find myself sitting having a cup of coffee while the table next to me had James Hook and Mike Phillips also having a drink, to watch Adam Jones shopping in duty free, to stand next to Ian Gough, was like a dream.  There were all the others as well, names you would know well, but these were the names that I was in awe of.

A good start then.  Arrived in Cork, hired the car and started the drive to Charleville where we were staying.  Only to find that we were driving past Blarney Castle.  So we had to stop there didn't we.  And yes I kissed the Blarney Stone (and no, I really don't care if locals have pee'd on it).

The next morning we got up and took a taxi to Limerick.  And was duly stunned at the number of Munster flags everywhere.  This is a city that lives and breathes rugby.  And the Munster fans were already wandering around in their Munster tops, and we were wandering around in our Saints tops, and everything was so friendly - and this is where rugby scores so highly above football, we could mix and mingle freely and happy to see each other.  We went to Clohessys bar where all the Saints were meeting, and picked up our flags.  We wandered around the city for a while before making our way to Thomond Park.  Of course we fitted in a Guiness or two as well.

The match itself was something else.  Thomond Park holds twice as many spectators as Franklins Gardens,  The noise was incredible.  You cannot begin to believe it until you sit there with Munster fans shouting from all around you.  The noise fills your body.  In fact it scared the life out of my daughter, so much so that we told her we could go, but she didn't want to.  And though we lost in the end, at half-time the Saints were ahead, and for a moment, a brief moment, the Munster hordes were silenced and 6000 Saints could be heard singing.  A glorious moment.  We left defeated but still proud to be Saints, and swapped flags with Munster supporters on the way out.

The next day we made a trip to Tipperary (which is, of course, a ong way to go).  Then headed back to Cork ariport.  As we were standing to board the plane I noticed the guys ahead of us had WRU clothes and bags.  I pointed them out to "J" and said I thought I recognised them.  Turned out they were the ref and other officials from the match!  So "A" had to speak to them when we landed and waiting to collect our bags.  She even got Nigel Owens autograph, and he gave here a WSRUR pin batch, which she can wear on her hat with all her other badges.

Yes we lost.  Yes it cost a lot of money.  But the experience was priceless!