Ben and Una

Ben Foden, when not playing as full back for the Saints, is going out with Una Healy from The Saturdays. What do they get up to? Well, it appears, singing:



He has got a lot of flack from this. I think that is the little geen monster kicking in for some people. He actually sings better than most people on the X Factor!

Lost

If I can't
Make you,
Can't open your eyes,
To see the me
Waving, shouting, screaming
From deep within

Then

I'll open
My skin

Sharp

Scalpel

Slice

Finding a path
Through multitudinous scars

One more wave
As I lie
Drowning
In crimson waves

Churned Up

Sitting down to dinner tonight at a Rose Croix meeting I asked for the butter as I do like something spread on my roll. The plate was passed down and on it were a number of little individual butter packs. You know the sort of thing I mean, the ones packed in the kind of papery foil (I so wish I knew what an individually packed cuboid of butter was called). Anyway, turned it over to open it. And there was a warning. The warning read "Warning - Contains Milk"!!!!!!!!!

Now I have one of two options here. First is that they have to protect themselves because someone would sue them if they didn't say it. The second is the possibility that some people don't know that butter comes from milk. Neither possibility makes me think much of the human race. I despair at where our progressive society has got us.

Who'd Have Known - Lily Allen

My Love - Steeleye Span

Fireflies - Owl City

Please Sir

This made me smile. The school newsletter has just come out. It gives us information about the school, what the pupils have been up to etc. One section starts off by telling us that the school fish tank is getting rather aged. O-Oh the hardened parent thinks. This sounds like a plea for money. But no, read further. Because the curriculum has come to rescue us. As part of their litercy work year 6 have all (yes all) written letters to a local aquatic store to tell them of the schools plight. And, this is the great bit, they were successful and have been given a very nice, very large, and very expensive, fish tank. So now, on school time, our children are being taught how to beg, just right to prepare them for a life on the streets!

Flying High

Honestly, I tried to resist, but after a day of it playing on my mind I can't help it - so those involved with the space shuttle were all flying high then. As if space isn't high enough, someone had to go a it further. Cocaine has been found in a restricted access hanger for the Space Shuttle. Now what really concerns me is if they are careless enough to drop their bag of coke then what else might they have forgotten, someone had better check the wheels are screwed on.

It's A Riot

This is so unfair. There the police were just having some fun and they got in trouble for it. I mean, come on, it's snow, we all should have a kid hidden somewhere inside of us just waiting for snow so you can get out there and throw snowballs or go sledging. And if you have a nearby hill then you HAVE to find the nearest thing at hand that can double as a sledge. I thing using riot shields shows initiative. And just look at how far they go, this is wonderful. I really really really don't think that they should have been admonished. This showed a willingness to be part of the community, to have fun, to share. If anything I think they should have been congratulated.

I blame myself, really I do. People were asking me yesterday how the A5 was coping with the snow and I said fine, no problem. It was
almost predictable then that I would have a problem today. I say I almost got stuck, it was almost because I did manage to get away without assistance, but it took me approximately half an hour, with a seven year old in the car getting agitated.
We set off for ridin this morning at about 0815 hrs, there had been a light dusting of powdery snow which made the roads slippier than usual. As I approached the stable I slowed and braked but the car kept going. I had to make a choice, to try and get through the gate anyway or to overshoot. I took the overshoot option. The problem being that the stables are on a hill. I couldn't get enough purchaser to reverse up the hill to the stables so I went down a bit further, hoping to find better grip. A futile hope it transpired. So I stopped in the lay-by and went riding.
On finishing riding I now had the dilemma if how to get away. And instead of getting away, every attempt saw me go further and further down the hill. I finally ended up in the bottom of the dip, faced with a steep climb. I decided to try it and almost made it but feet from the top lost grip. So back down again. I managed to turn the car and went back at the original hill. Almost made it but then a car was coming towards me, and he wasn't going to stop so I had to move over and again lost traction. This time trying to get away from the verge things went really wrong and suddenly I was straddlled at 90 degrees to the road. At the point "A" kind of lost it a bit, and I have to say that really did not help! Anyway managed to get pointing down the hill again and off we went. Another run at the hill. Almost to the top. Wheels starting to spin. Me desperately swinging the steering from side to side in an attempt to find any grip that might be there. And suddenly we were passed the worst. Still a slight incline but OK. Until another car started coming down the hill and again wasn't going to even try and stop. Trying not to swear in front of my daughter was not easy. But we made it.
I used every trick I knew plus a few. My daughter thinks I am a great driver because we got away. Personally I am annoyed with myself because I don't think we should have ended up in the problem anyway.
But something I have noticed over the last few months. It used to be etiquette that the car coming down a hill should give way. Even more so when the road is snowy or icy. But somehow no-one does that any more.

Brass Monkeys

It is often difficult to get succinct and yet understandable explanations of things. I was thus very pleased listening to the news, when they summed up concisely why we can have global warming and the great freeze at the same time. So simple:

"the great freeze is "weather" while global warming is "climate", weather is day to day and climate is over 30 years"

Ta daaa

Sparkle

If I could harness
The lightning
From a thousand storms
I'd use them
To light your way
With giant
Disco balls

Get The Garlic

I hear rumours that "Being Human" is coming back this weekend. Finally, something worth watching.

Odd One Out

So the bookies are finally moving to decimal. Personally I am not a betting man, at least not on the horses, but I am disappointed by this change. Not because it is tradition or anything. But the reason why. It is because younger people can't cope with fractions. Hang on, let's hear that again, yes, when interviewed this morning a spokesman said that people had problems with fractions. What are we teaching in school if people can't do fractions! There seems to be some confusion between the fact that currency went decimal and the fact that they are going to use decimals. This is different use of the word. The fact that currency is decimal does not mean that fractions are no longer relevant. In fact, anyone with a basic understanding of maths is able to work it out for themselves. Education is going to the dogs!

Quantum

Well, the solace comes from having watched a good film a few days ago, namely Star Trek. It certainly doesn't come from having watched the latest Bond movie. It would be wrong to say I had been waiting for Quantum of Solace with anticipation, I had found Casino Royale disappointing and don't consider Daniel Craig a credible Bond, but maybe I had been waiting with interest. I had hoped this would be better. A splintered story line, frenzied and frenetic filming, and weak screen presence all lead up to a film that it was easy to pause while going to make coffee, or any other distraction that came along. I don't know if there is another Bond in the pipeline, if so I hope for a new actor and a stronger story next time.

This compares sharply with Star Trek. I have never watched any of the previous films, and really mostly enjoy Deep Space 9 which is a bit of an aberration in the Star Trek universe (more like Babylon 5, and I was a fan of B5 well before I was of ST). But I thought I would give this one a go. And very glad I am too. This time a strong story, strong characters, and a liberal splicing of comedy, made this a film that passed by quickly, no thoughts of pausing for coffee with this one. The two films are chalk and cheese.

Biffy Clyro - The Captain

I can't decide if I like Biffy Clyro or not