Out with the old year and in with the new Part Two

Back again!!!

Phew, this was quite a lot to read wasn't it?  Well, it is a whole year isn't it - 2013!!!  The year that was.

Here we are again and I am starting this next part at just after eleven at night on New Year's Eve - I'm at work!  I don't think I will have finished every single part by midnight that is for sure...  In fact, I doubt that I will finish this part by then.  Let's see shall we?

Now, what events happened between January and March then?

Oh dear, plenty of wars started in January in the shape of the Syrian civil war, the war in North-West Pakistan, the Colombian conflict, and the Nigerian Sharia conflict.  A four-year old boy was killed by a stray bullet shot from a gun during New Year celebrations in the Philippines, and...  Crikey, dark dark dark!

I remember a few things during the year, and in a way I know that it skates over things to do so, but I don't really want it to be all doom and gloom.  There were some good things as well for crying out loud!

We saw the return of Justin Timberlake to the music world.  The guy who continues the poppy danciness (made up a word there) that was Michael Jackson's stock in trade released his first album for seven years in March in the form of The 20/20 Experience...  Only to be followed in September with The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2...  You wait all those years for a new album and he issues two in the same year.  Personally I like some of his songs, and I thought the 2006 album FutureSex/LoveSounds had some really good stuff on there.  I'd have liked to have seen what would have happened with the proposed album Michael Jackson was going to be working on with guest producers including Justin with his mate Timbaland, as well as others.

Anyway...

He's back!!!

In the film world, The Last Stand saw the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to being the main star of a film, and I really want to see it as well since I am a big Arnie fan (remember when I told you I was going to kill you last?  I lied!).  Ooh there's Parker starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez - that could be good?  A Good Day To Die Hard - any good?  Escape From Planet Earth - wow, why hadn't I heard of that before?  I also want to see Jack The Giant Killer because that sounds interesting.  I actually really enjoyed Oz The Great And Powerful, despite the obvious flaws.  It had incredible visuals, but there was just something that really jarred at me.  I will watch it again and see.  I'm a big fan of the land of Oz let's face it.  Olympus Has Fallen is on my Lovefilm list of rentals that we will be getting sometime soon.  That's the films from the first quarter that jump out at me.

Television?  Hmm, I think I will just do a generic "my year of telly" later...  I'm not Clive James, I haven't got the time ;-)

On February the 28th scientists created the first living lab-grown ear using a 3D printer from collagen and ear cell cultures from animals.  It's hoped that in the future they could create transplant organs and parts for humans and animals using this method.  Tests and experiments are ongoing!

A human ear created using cells
on a 3D printer..  Perhaps I could
get one to make guitars?

On February the 28th Benedict XVI resigned as the pope, and was succeeded by Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina who takes on the name Francis (they do that a lot don't they - weird.  What would be wrong with Pope Jorge the First or whatever?)

In a nutshell, so far I have the "bullet points" from the year...  I really wanted some things from my friends and family on Facebook and Twitter, but no response so far...  Oh well!

Ten to midnight... I'm taking a break.  This review will take a while :-)

Happy New Year everyone :-)

Anyway...  I think we have looked at the first three months of 2013 there, and now onto the next bit...

In April like many others I was absolutely shocked and lost for words by the explosion during the marathon in Boston, Massachusetts.  This is an awful thing and I will never ever understand why these people do these things.  To kill people without any actual reason other than to create terror is pointless and completely inhumane.  It is unfathomable and, for someone who very much fights for human rights (as a supporter of Amnesty International), that tests me to the point of saying that they don't deserve any!  I'm sorry, I wish in some ways that I didn't feel that way, but I do.

Milo O' Shea (RIP) in a scene
from the television series Frasier.

Anything else to do with world events in April pales in comparison.  If anything, these people have their fame for doing these things - the whole Andy Warhol quote about everyone getting their five minutes of fame or whatever it is.  For the wrong reasons though.

Irish actor Milo O'Shea died in April who played Durand Durand in Barbarella.  I haven't seen it, but it's supposedly a cult sci-fi classic, and the band Duran Duran named themselves after that character.  He features in the Duran Duran film Arena, which is what I remember him from the most.

I can't miss out that Margaret Thatcher died in April, but will leave it at that.  She did make a difference to society in the UK, but to go on about that would make this very political!

I can't believe that I had forgotten about Chris Kelly (rapper from Kris Kross) had died in May.  I remember the image more than the music, as well as the fact that both he and Chris Smith featured in Michael Jackson's music video for Jam (a song that was really flipping long on the Dangerous album anyway but was made even longer for the music video as well as featuring a lead vocal track that is much too low in the mix during the verse).

Ray Harryhausen RIP, with King
Kong, for which he created the
stop motion animation for.

On May the seventh the legend that is Ray Harryhausen passed away.  I have such great memories of the films Jason & The Argonauts, the Sinbad films, Clash of the Titans, and so much more.  He was one of the most visionary filmmakers that the world has seen in my opinion.

The American actor Steve Forrest passed away in May as well, and him I remember from the Mission Impossible series repeats here in the eighties and nineties.  British actor Bill Pertwee (actor in Dad's Army) died in May, his cousin was former Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee, who is the father of actor Sean Pertwee.

Phew... ... ... ... We're nearly half way through the year!  I'll push on and finish this one after June.  I think after this though I might leave it and carry on during the next shift at work ;-)

Scottish author Iain Banks died in June, famous for works such as The Wasp Factory and The Bridge.  We also lost the wonderful actor James Gandolfini in June, famous for roles in True Romance, Crimson Tide, The Mexican, and of course The Soprano's.

Writer Richard Matheson died in June.  He was responsible for writing the books I Am Legend and The Shrinking Man, as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone.  He wrote some great stuff!

Actor and martial artist Jim Kelly
(RIP) with Bruce Lee.

Lastly, but no means least, the actor/martial artist Jim Kelly died as well, who was one of the stars of the film Enter The Dragon (one of my favourite films).

In world news I was again crying for the many who died in the flash floods in India between June the 14th and 30th.  More than 5,700 people died as a consequence.  It was the sort of event that leaves anybody lost for words.  An awful tragedy.

Ooh, films...

The science fiction film Oblivion came out in April starring Tom Cruise.  I thought it was a decent film that had a lot of tropes in, but it plodded slightly.  It had the potential to be a classic sci-fi in the same way as Silent Running, I Am Legend, Planet of the Apes, et al...  It didn't quite hit that mark though for some reason.  The acting was okay, but could have been better.  Wow, an actual review of a film I saw (eight months later on DVD).  At least they changed the title from All You Need Is Kill, which was a ridiculous title for the film's premise!

I actually saw Iron Man 3 at the cinema and loved it...  For the most part!  i just didn't like the end bit with the fireworks type thing.  I'm not going to give it away, but I just hated that bit so much!  Both me and Louise enjoyed the Matthew McConaughey film Mud when we saw it on DVD together.  A decent "by the numbers" thriller, but the film The Big Wedding (starring Robert DeNiro, Diane Keaton, etc) that came out the same day over here was absolutely dire - one of the worst comedies I have ever seen in my opinion.  Me and Louise expected it to be great with the cast involved, but I think we laughed perhaps twice during the whole film.  Louise actually wished she had seen Iron Man 3 with me a week before when I saw it on my own!

I obviously went to the cinema to see Star Trek Into Darkness as well...  A film that I enjoyed for the most part, but perhaps it's just me but I got irritated by the borrowed dialogue from a previous Trek incarnation.  I did love the inclusion of Section 31 into the story though - a fantastic coup there in my opinion.  They were something that stemmed from the Deep Space Nine part of the Star Trek world originally that I thought were a fantastic idea.  After the film finished I was entertained, but peeved by the unoriginality in places.  I don't want to give too much away here, although I think "the twist" has been given away by so many already.  I won't be one of those people.  I would definitely watch it again though because for the most part it is a great reimagining of a character.

Me doing the "Spock brow lift"

The Great Gatsby came out in May, and we haven't seen it yet.  Louise wants to see it, so I think we probably will.  I am very much a fan of music from that era so I'm a little averse to modern dance and rap songs being used...  We will see.

I enjoyed watching Fast & Furious 6 in May at the cinema (again one I watched on my own - they have cheap daytime entrance at our cinema).  There were ridiculous bits in the film, but it goes with the territory.  I've seen them all (and own them on DVD), so I am used to it by now.  More on this franchise in a later post :-(

Ooh, I haven't seen Before Midnight yet...  I better hire it out since me and Louise have seen the two previous films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset (I can't remember which order they are in).  I thought that After Earth was sort of okay, but there was more wood in the performances than there is in a timber yard.  The stand out was the incredible scenery and cinematography per se (all digital of course).

The Joss Whedon vision of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing...  I enjoyed it and was fascinated by the bard's words in a modern world.  The odd liberty was taken sure, but for the most part the dialogue remained the same.  Amy Acker was the best thing in the piece for me, but as I said I enjoyed it.  It won't equal my favourite screen version of Much Ado, which is the Kenneth Branagh directed one, but it was good.  I think Louise got bored with the whole modern world with olde english language.

Man of Steel - both me and Louise went to see that at the cinema and loved it to bits.  Sure it wasn't Christopher Reeve, who to me is the greatest Superman/Clark Kent (yes, they're both the same person believe it or not - weird that they didn't hide that in this film).  It was action, great character development, and some nice moodiness in there to make it a "modern vision" of the Superman world (why are most superhero films nowadays so dark?).

We will be getting Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University coming through from Lovefilm at some point, as I have World War Z. And with that, the first half of 2013 is reviewed... Phew.

We will rest now before carrying on with Part Three of this exhaustive piece.

Thank you for reading, please take care.

January 1st 2014 (43 years, one month, and 5 days old).

Out with the old year and in with the new Part One

Hey how are you?

Well, I did say that I would try and get another post in.  Let's see if I can finish it before the chimes of midnight come (it's 7.40 pm here in blighty).

Let's have a look back at the year then perhaps?

Well, for me personally it has been an interesting year.  I have gone the whole year without owning a car, and that has really been difficult for me because it has meant my not being able to visit family as much as I would like.  That is awful to me personally because they mean a lot to me.  Some members of the family that I used to see a lot I don't, and I need to get back to meeting other family members who I wasn't seeing often.  Family is important.  We have our problems like all families, but it's still important.

Louise doesn't like me mentioning the financial side of things, but the year has been spent chasing the debts I had built up.  During 2013 though I have made sacrifices in my budget to make paying things simpler.  It hasn't always been easy, and my employers have often given me so little hours that it has made it incredibly tight.  Louise getting a job late on in the year has really helped a lot.  We're virtually there - should be sorted before the end of January :-)

In February I took part in the international songwriting challenge known as FAWM (February Album Writing Month), which was a lot of work but fun at the same time.  I always have fun writing songs and creating, and this was especially fun with writing with other people and listening to other people's work.  It made a change for me to be writing with other people - something I did more of for the songwriting challenge known as 5090 that is organised by the same people as FAWM.

Unlike the idea of FAWM which is to try and write 14 songs in 28 days, 5090 was to write 50 songs in...  Yes, you've guessed it, 90 days - July 4th to October 1st.  I didn't do much on October 1st because it was Louise's birthday.

Me with my glasses on researching!

An awful lot of people died during 2013 that I remember nostalgically.  When people like that die, it reminds you of your own mortality and makes me think that I really need to stop moping and get on - less time left than I've have so far and all that hey.  That's flipping deep!!!

Yes I am researching here and making sure that I don't get anything wrong!  Get the glasses on!!! ;-)

We lost the film director Michael Winner in January, who directed some fantastic films starring Charles Bronson (Death Wish and The Mechanic among them).  During the later years he was more known for being a critic and, well, a "celebrity", especially with the car insurance adverts where he would say "calm down dear, it's only a commercial", or whatever it was.  He really was quite a character!  The Mechanic is a film that I have always loved from when I first saw it on the television in the eighties I believe it was.  I have seen it many times, and I still think it's a fantastic film!

Not a name that many recognise, but Robin Sachs died in February, and those who are geeky (like me) would know his face (and voice) from things such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer (the series), Babylon 5, Galaxy Quest (a great film that I need to dig out), and the Mass Effect series of games.  Most people know that I was and still am a big Buffy fan, and I am a sci-fi geek as well.

We also lost Cecil Womack in February who was part of the Womack family of great singers.  So much soul, and an incredibly spiritual person who apparently was always so full of joy for everyone.  Most will remember him working with his wife as the duo Womack & Womack, specifically the song Teardrops (which my Louise absolutely hates - differing tastes you see.  Paula Abdul was right, because opposites can attract).  Anyway, one song I remember that Cecil wrote with his wife was the serenely beautiful song Lead Me On (on which Cecil and Linda both sing) from Eric Clapton's album Journeyman - possibly my favourite Clapton album from the late 80's period.  This song in particular has stayed with me since I heard it when the album came out in 1989, because the song is gorgeous anyway, and then there's that incredibly build with the orchestration and everything - fantastic!

We lost the very talented actor Richard Briers in February as well, and I remember him from playing Tom in The Good Life and as the voice behind the Roobarb & Custard cartoons, which were very much a part of my childhood :-)  I wrote a full on blog post about him I believe back in February?

Oh I just looked back and realised that I didn't.  Anyway, Richard Briers was a fantastic actor, and I have seen him in Shakespearean roles as well - a master of the acting world!

Phew, I remember now that last year's review was in more than one part!  I've just altered the title of this one to Part One now as well...

What I should probably have done would be to just list events in a sort of We Didn't Start The Fire style?  Maybe even played the music to the song on ukulele while I sing them?  I wouldn't want to do that to the song! ;-)  Just The Way You Are works on ukulele, but I don't think that We Didn't Start The Fire would work.

In March we lost the jazz trumpeter Kenny Ball, who seemed to be just about everywhere when I was a kid (Celebrity Squares and everything).  I don't for the life of me remember anything by him, but his name really does jump out at me.  As does the comedian Norman Collier who I only remember from the microphone gag and his walking like a chicken...  I will admit that the microphone gag is still funny looking back at it.  They all seemed to have something like that back then didn't they?  It was his equivalent to Bernie Clifton's sitting on an ostrich business (something he still does to this day, and did at the pantomime here in Newark over Christmas I might add).

The Stranger by Billy Joel - one of
many recording that featured
guitarist Hugh McCracken.

The horror writer James Herbert passed on in March, who was responsible for classics such as The Rats, The Fog, etc.  We also lost the actor Richard Griffiths in March, who I remember from all sorts over the years, most recently as one half of Harry Potter's foster parents.

Some people may not know about this guy, but we lost the wonderful session guitarist Hugh McCracken in March to leukemia.  Follow the link and you'll see why I've pointed him out to you.  He was an amazing guitarist and worked with some of the greatest artists of the last fifty years that include BB King, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney (he was going to be an original member of Wings at one point), John Lennon, Paul Simon, Loudon Wainwright III, Van Morrison, Hall & Oates...  The list goes on, but his work is impeccable.  Something to live up to in my opinion!  He played on Merry Xmas (War Is Over) by John & Yoko, which is possibly my personal favourite season song, even if it is a rip off according to my friend +Matt Blick ;-)

John Lennon to Hugh McCracken at the recording session for Merry Xmas (War Is Over) - "working on McCartney's Ram album was an audition to get to me.  He said you were alright." :D

I've just realised that Hugh played on Billy Joel's The Stranger, which features the song Just The Way You Are - I hadn't even planned that!

Phil Ramone (RIP) with Billy Joel &
Paul Simon - two people whom
he produced classic work with.

Actually, Hugh McCracken died on the 28th and record producer Phil Ramone died two days later on March the 30th.  Phil Ramone was a fantastic producer that worked with many the same artists as Hugh had (in fact, Messrs Ramone and McCracken worked on the same material a lot, including producing the album The Stranger, doing arrangements and co-producing Paul McCartney's Ram album, producing Paul Simon's album Still Crazy After All These Years, and so much more).  Wow, two greats that did such iconic work died within the space of a few days. :-(

Luckily we will see the Paul McCartney album soon that wasn't issued in the late eighties which was produced by Phil Ramone and featured the wonderful Once Upon A Long Ago (I never knew that song was never released in any form in the US.  I love the first verse of that song - "Picking up scales and broken chords, puppy dog tales in the house of lords..." then later in the verse "making up moons in a minor key" - wonderful stuff.  Sorry, I got carried away there - THAT'S THE OTHER BLOG SERIES MARV!!!

Okay, we've got through the first few months, and will carry on in Part Two...

In my life, FAWM was the big thing in these first three months.  I made a lot of friends (online) through taking part in it, and it gave me the "dream" of doing a road trip across America meeting people who take part in the songwriting challenges (FAWM is too short to fit that in, so it would have to be during 5090 sometime).

Catch up in Part Two...  Coming soon ;-)

The days after Christmas

Hey there, how are you?  Fine I hope. :-)

Anyway, here we are on Friday the 27th of December 2013.  In five days time it will be a whole other year, and time for many to make changes (resolutions), which in a way is a bit like this wish fulfillment idea at first supported and followed in the UK by people such as ex-DJ, TV presenter and producer Noel Edmunds.

Oops, I left this and forgot to get back to it.  Again!!!  I'll take a look again soon - promise!

Hmm...  Now it is Sunday the 29th of December.

Yesterday (Saturday) we decided to make it our Christmas.  We were going to have a dinner and everything (obviously without meat in there), but eventually went with a buffet style instead in front of the telly.

Among the things we watched, we watched three different variations of the short story by Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol.  Yes, a short story!  Not a novel!  Oh, on Wikipedia it calls it a Novella.  Oh well.

We will be watching more when we have time together again possibly after dinner tomorrow night when we are going out - the first time we will have been out for dinner since Little Frankies (which is just Trafalgar Square in London) back in November 2007 I think it was.  Yes, a long time.  What can I say - it's expensive.  The reason we're doing it now, and people might be irritated by this, but previous years I have spent money I've been given for my birthday in November and Christmas on the odd bill.  Now I know it should be to buy myself something, but times are hard and I feel bad if I owe something but instead bought a CD or something.  This year I have just though sod it and have booked a table at Rushton's here in Newark and do you know what?  We're going to bloody love it as well!  Sod the bills, sod the debts, I'm bloody sick of worrying about them and not taking my girl out because of it.  We're going to enjoy a dinner out together and to hell with it all!  We're nearly there with catching up with it all, despite my employers thinking that it is okay to drop my hours to only just enough to pay the rent.  We deserve a little reward and something good after the crap thrown at us!

Anyway, after that I hope that I can find the Patrick Stewart starring version of A Christmas Carol because yesterday it was the Albert Finney version, the Disney version with Jim Carrey et al, and the Blackadder version.  What can I say, I love the story.  Perhaps one day someone might make a film out of one of Dicken's other Christmas stories such as The Cricket On The Hearth or The Chimes?  Yes, he wrote more than one Christmas story.  Perhaps acquainting yourself with these might be an idea for what is left of this festive season or perhaps next time?  They are all quite quick reads, and I am almost certain that most people that read this blog are people that read.  His short stories aren't quite so extensively full shall we say as the novels (they're shorter and get the story told quicker).

I am someone that loves the whole atmosphere of Christmas when it's there, and we had it yesterday, which was great.  Next time we might even share it on the day itself.  Who knows?

So with that I think that I will leave this blog post and wish you a continued happy festive season.  For those who don't do Christmas, I apologise for this, but I enjoy it and love the whole music, media, and all of that.  The other day I sent a tweet to the wonderful songwriter Mike Batt explaining that I heard Wombling Merry Christmas on the radio and knew that it was Christmas.  There are certain things that do that to me - haha, I thought that I'd finished there but obviously my odd brain wasn't ready to stop.

Yes, there are certain things that give me that feeling.  Songs such as that one, A Spaceman Came Travelling by Chris De Burgh, I Believe In Father Christmas by Greg Lake, Stop The Cavalry by Jona Lewie, both Thank God It's Christmas and Winter's Tale by Queen, A Winter's Tale by David Essex (written by Mike Batt and Tim Rice), 2000 Miles by The Pretenders, the whole of Phil Spector's Christmas album, and of course Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl.  There are other songs and artists of course - Andy Williams, Bing Crosby, Tony Bennett (a great Christmas album by him), and now I will add the great A Very She & Him Christmas album by She & Him because it is a fantastic album after I bought it this year!

The same obviously goes for films as well, because there are certain films that I can't go through Christmas without seeing.  Unfortunately I fell asleep during Elf, so I think that we will have to watch that one again to make up for it.  The same goes for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!

Okay, that is it then. The end of this blog post, but I suspect that I will be posting up again very soon.  Also, it is less than five weeks until FAWM (February Album Writing Month), where the idea is to write at least 14 songs in the 28 days of February.  Last year I did that amount in the first few days.  Let's see what happens this time.

Take care, see you soon.  Thank you for reading.

December 29 2013 (43 years, 1 month, and 3 days old - what I'm going to do with this blog when I reach 50 is anyone's guess).

Christmas Day post

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, etc...

I'll just go right out there now and say "YES I DO CHRISTMAS!!!"  Political correctness.  Some people celebrate it and others don't!  Why should people be uppity about it all???  Not that I am trying to controversial, confrontational or anything, but just accept other peoples beliefs.  Not everyone is going to believe the exact same thing.  It is an absolute impossibility.  If it weren't, then there would be no such thing as free will, and we would live as automaton - "Yes sir", "no sir", etc...

That last comment isn't intended as anti-anything, but is just making a point that we are all completely individual.  Completely!

Anyway, here I am at work (as per usual for this time of the year), and I am shattered.  That is the price you pay for working night shifts and living straight across from a church on Christmas Day!  Well, the same goes for Sundays and days when there are weddings (diminishing in amount), christenings (a good few), and funerals (more of those around here now that there is no accident and emergency department here for about twenty miles)!  However, most of the time I have fantastic earplugs that blot everything out completely.  I've run out, so that wasn't possible UNFORTUNATELY!!!

Today then is/was Christmas Day per se, but for me that point is a little moot because I could only open a few presents that didn't have Louise's name attached as my sweetheart has been out at her parents house.  Well why not?  Boring security guard partner in bed between night shifts, what sort of Christmas Day is that then.  It was unknown that I would be awoken after only three hours of sleep (yawn).  Oh well, if only I could sleep at work, but I can't...  Best get the Pro-Plus then...

There we are...  I hope that kicks in soon.  Adding to it is a really strong coffee!!!

I got some lovely things off my sweetheart for Christmas, which include very useful little notebooks, a couple of nice pens, and some other bits from the stocking (yes, we have stockings).  As well as that she got me books two and three of The Complete Oz stories, of which The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the first story I think...  After seeing Oz The Great And Powerful, I was very much hopeful that Disney could carry on from there.  Easier said I know, but the idea is there.

L Frank Baum, the writer of the Oz books, wrote over thirty stories based in the land of Oz.  As children many of us have become lost in the Judy Garland film whilst watching it.  It is an enchanting story and it captures the imagination in so many ways.  This is really good considering that it is for the most part a very basic written novel, as all of the books are I believe.  The stories behind them though are incredible at pulling people in.  A fair number of children's books are like that - all of the Chronicles of Narnia books for instance.

She also got me a fantastic word game that could be played on my own, against others, or together.  I like word games, as does my sweetheart. :-)

There are of course other presents, such as the guitar plectrums from my brother, but I can't name everything that I have.  I've actually not opened everything because there is very little that is for me on my own (joint presents need to be opened together).

Anyway, that is very much rambling on, and I will leave it there.

I will get back to thinking about Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime, John's Merry Xmas (War Is Over), and all of the other stuff.  I'd have liked to have seen the Christmas Special Dr Who episode, but the mobile broadband is appalling this evening.

Thank you for reading.  Please take care.  Merry Christmas. :D

What? Another blog post about Christmas?

"What???  ANother blog post???"

Hello yet again...

I know, I am on a roll aren't I?

Very quick one this time...

So last week I did the inevitable and always rushed big Christmas delivery to get around everywhere, but not everything went according to plan.

First of all I had to hire a car again, which doesn't half irritate me as I would much rather have a car of my own so I can do everything a little more relaxed.  I could to one or two places in the first week of December, then one or two others in the second, and so on...

Hiring a car though means that everything has to be done in as little time as possible.

Day one then I thought that I would just go and visit my dad and his wife for a couple of hours, which is 36 miles each way apparently.  This was because Louise was working until the early afternoon, and I thought it would be nice to fit in a visit to her mum and dads as she hadn't seem them since the beginning of October.  We can't get to places very often - money and transport!

Day two was the day to do everything else if possible - it wasn't!!

Christmas Delivery Service - day two.

I started out late because, to be honest, I realised that I had missed a present for someone.  So I had to go and pick out something, then wrap it, bag everything up according to where they were going, and then make my way to Mansfield.

I started at my mum's, where I spent a lovely couple of hours, including a nice snack to keep me going (at about midday).

From there I went to my brother Richard's house.  I assumed that he would want to come with me to my aunty Ann's.  I was wrong, so another hour and a half or so there.  From there to aunty Ann's where my aunty Lynn was visiting (I knew that already - I planned that one), where I spent I think a little over an hour, and finally my brother Mark and his family's where no one knew where the Christmas card to bring home was, so I waited for Mark's wife to come home from an office party.  And waited.  Roadworks on the way back on the bus route stalled it, which was also the route I would have to take to my friends place.  I decided to post their cards just in time to reach there before Christmas, and let them know I will try to get there during early January.  Oh well, another day with a hired car.  I miss driving.

That is the Christmas Delivery service in a nutshell.  I know I missed people and places, but it's not easy to get everywhere.  Uncle Clive's present is in the post, and I hope that he likes it.  Salisbury is just too far to fit in that schedule.  I'm sorry :-(

Take care and have a wonderful Christmas.

Phew, three blog posts in less than a day!

December 23rd 2013 (43 years and 27 days old).

Thoughts about Christmas

Hello, I'm back again!

I am thinking of just seeing where the muse takes me this time from something that the run up to Christmas has brought to mind.

Every single Christmas I think about the fact that I'm reminded of family.  Back when I was a kid the family got together at my grandma and granddad's house for one of those sort of do's where everything was laid out on tables for people to put things onto their own plates - yes, a buffet type of thing.  It must have taken a lot of work looking back now, but I didn't think about that then.  No...  I just couldn't wait to get to the trifle! :-)

All of my grandparents have passed away now, but the memories remain.  In a way I wish these get togethers still happened because now we are all so distant and far from each other, and then it gave us the chance to get together.

Will Ferrell in Elf

If I am being honest I would actually appreciate these things now more than I did back then.  In some ways I haven't changed, but in others I have.

I think I was always someone that very much enjoyed the solitary thing, but now I also enjoy being with others.  I make music on my own sure, but I have an incredible amount of fun working with others.  I know I'm not "the big I am", but I've enjoyed working with people such as members of the bands SWIMMING, Alcohol, Savage, and well everyone I've worked with really.  It is something that I miss, much as I miss the whole recording thing in a studio as well.  It's a sign of the financial times I'm afraid...  Unless you're a politician who gets every single thing paid for but still wants an eleven percent pay rise on top of that.  Sorry, politics - oops. ;-)

Anyway, I think I would get more out of it now than I did back then.  That plus I would still enjoy the trifle :D

Albert Finney in Scrooge

I suppose that what I am trying to say is that Christmas is very different now in a personal way to what it was, but there are still things that stick with me.

I know that I have kept my love of "family movies", which are still shown to this day, but also added to by new films that add to that.  By the latter I mean that the Will Ferrell film Elf is what is called a perennial.  I know people that have problems with it, but the Albert Finney starring musical version of A Christmas Carol is a favourite too, as well as the Patrick Stewart starring version and the wonderful animation of the version that features the voices of such wonderful people as Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins and, I think, Imelda Staunton?  I'm not sure if I'm right with the latter one there, but me and Louise both enjoy it.  I also like The Muppets version, but then I loved The Muppets as a kid anyway.

Patrick Stewart and the amazing
actor Joel Grey in A Christmas Carol

Funnily enough, I talk about that but I still have never seen The Sound Of Music, and I think a few others.  We started watching Elf on Saturday night, but muggins here dropped off and missed virtually everything from ten minutes in to a little after an hour where Peter Dinklage (is that his name?) showed up...  At that point I noticed that my sweetheart had also dropped off and I suggested we forget it and go to bed...

We still need to watch it, which is tricky because I am not off now until Saturday the 28th...  We were thinking of having our Christmas then anyway.  Luckily it's an early finishing shift Friday night, so when I get in at around a quarter past five in the morning I can possibly get a good six hours sleep perhaps depending on the potentially noisy neighbours.

Disney's A Christmas Carol featuring
Jim Carrey and other great voices!

Speaking of noisy neighbours...  Because of these shifts I have suggested to Louise that she go to her parents for "the day".  Now because we live in the centre of town I actually sleep with earplugs in during the day because it's so bloody noisy with everything going on, and I can see Christmas Day itself being very noisy with all those pubs etc.  Because Louise is going out, I will have to sleep without them in because I wouldn't hear my alarm going off.  I am hoping that the neighbours basically bugger off somewhere so I can get a good sleep.

Anyway...  I have thought about the idea of sorting myself out with a nice salad to take to work with me on the Christmas Day night shift.  We will see how that goes because without looking properly, I noticed when I got home today from shopping that one of the items (a bag of baby spinach leaves I think) has Christmas Eve's date on them - tomorrow.  Wonderful.  We will see what they're like on Christmas Day then because it's not like I can go out and fetch a bloody microwave meal as a back up is it?!?

Sorry, Mr Moody there.

Me with my copy of The Puffin
Book of Christmas Poems

Anyway, I'm just going to put the kettle on at work and possibly enjoy a nice mince pie with my mug of tea, with my 'Puffin Book of Christmas Poems', Santa Claus tie (not official, but it's Christmas), and the decorating that I bought and put up.

Take care and, if I don't post again beforehand, I hope that you all enjoy the festive period in some way at least.  I know I will, even if I am at work.

I will most likely be posting again on Christmas Day I guess, but I doubt very much that any of you will be checking out the old internet while you're enjoying time with your families.  To all those security guard friends of mine - it's extra pay guys, we can still watch the stuff on the television that we're not supposed to be doing and walk off the calories in the site patrols.

December 23 2013 (43 years and 27 days old)

Thinking about Christmas

Hey there, how are you?  I hope that those who celebrate Christmas aren't too perplexed and haven't gone completely doolally from the shopping and everything.

Of course I know there are those who do everything in the last two days. To those people I say "too late because everything has gone that you wanted!"

Television schedules look particularly rubbish, and I suppose I should watch Day Of The Doctor before watching the Doctor Who Xmas special?  I want to see how Peter Capaldi gets on. I think he might do a good job with it.

I do have the plus point of being able to watch stuff on Netflix and lovefilm though while I'm at work thinking of those who will be busy enjoying time off. I know it's my decision essentially, but "needs must when the devil drives"!

I'm about to start on the fifth and last season of Breaking Bad, which I'm both looking forward to and not looking forward to because I've really enjoyed the show.

Erm, do you know what...  I'm lost for words for some reason.  I'll leave it and see if I can think of anything else.

TWO DAYS LATER...  Do you know what, I'll leave it there.

I'll have a go at another post during one of the following three days at least.  For now, I hope you are all okay and having a great Christmas time.  I'm going to be at work, a lot, but the money should hopefully make things better debt wise hey!  Here's to being debt free soon, so that they can cut down my hours at work again and screw it all up.  Yes, I am really that pissed off.

Take care, speak soon.

December 22 2013 (43 years and 28 days old)

PS - Humbug anyone? :-)

PPS - Don't forget that Santa Claus Is On His Way ;-)

Rhyming blog post

The "Movember" look

Movember has been and gone

I nearly carried it on

Through December and Christmas

But I thought better of this

And instead had a shave, it's all gone!

Though the beard and tash were quite cool

It made some things at work hard to do

With the net covering my face

So follicles stayed in place

Then I wouldn't look like a damn crazy fool.

...
...
...
...

Tumbleweed floats in the air
As I forgot that I had started this

All gone!!!

Rhyming type of blog, hey that's not bad
As you see though, it's not a piece of...
Cake

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...
...

So here I am back again
To carry on the rhyming blog thing
It's a silly idea
But I thought though my peers
I'd try something new for a change

...
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...
...

I've been watching the show Breaking Bad
On the Netflix, it's dramatic and a laugh
With Walt and young Jesse
I'm so far impressed, see
But unlike LOST, let's hope the ending's not crap

...
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So I'll leave this blog where it seems to be now
And wave cheerio to all you in the crowd
Thanks once again, for reading this blog post right here
From myself, the man whose aged forty-three years.

Thank you

December 11 2013 (43 years and 15 days old).