Keith (also known as Brollachan)

The weekend

2008-08-10T21:52:38Z

I thought I'd do another weekend summary with this entry, as the working week is rather dull and I try not to blog about it.

Saturday I managed to get up at a reasonable time and for once went into town. I try to avoid Saturday shopping if I can however whilst picking up one pair of shoes I brought another. In the afternoon I was at the football club by the entrance in my 'glamorous' reflective jacket, in my role of stating the obvious (being near a 'car park full' sign). Whilst it was rather wet I don't mind as I get to chat to those arriving to watch the match. For the curious the result was St Neots Town 3, Newport Pagnell 0, in the first league match of the season.

In the evening I was at the Falcon taking part in karaoke and chatting to a few people I know. Inevitably you get the one or two prats (to put it politely/mildly), one of whom decided whilst I was singing 'It must be love' (Madness) to initially stand about a metre in front of me and just stare, before then kissing me on the cheek. Now whilst I don't have a problem with hugging people (be it male or female) when it comes to people I've not met / spoken to before kissing me (in this case a male) I'm not particularly comfortable with it. In my mind I felt like telling this person to 'go away' (well something strong to that effect), however I opted to ignore it and turn to another monitor to continue singing. Fortunately the DJ's wife (presumably spotting this persons antics) indicated for him to sit next to her, unfortunately that was were I had been sitting, and the prat knocked over my pint and spilt what was left in it (less than an 1/8 I think). I opted to wait near the DJ's desk before he'd gone, as I didn't wish to speak to the prat and wasn't going to loose it in the pub, the DJ wasn't too impressed either as one of his song books had got soaked too. Anyhow ignoring that I had a good evening and that's all that matters.

So on to today, and it was a late breakfast for me at 11am, and thankfully no hangover due to drinking carefully the night before. The carefulness was due to me (along with my parents) going off to Thurleigh for some more scuba diving training. I think I may have mentioned it before however I'm currently doing a Padi course, and I'm getting the confined water stuff done before I go on holiday, and hope to do an open water dive (or two) in Australia. I'm getting rather used to having foreign objects in mouth, and my that I mean my regulator and snorkel, though gripping them does ache a bit after a while. The buoyancy jacket does squeeze you rather tightly when fully inflated. Also had the fun of having to do full mask floods (ie. it fills up with water and has to be cleared) and breathing through a buddy's emergency regulator (I can't think of the proper term off hand). Though we had a tea break I was there for just over four hours. After we'd finished we drove up to Risely to visit 'The Five Bells', a pub now owned by a landlady I know well. After a pint and a half along with some chatting we returned home.

Well that pretty much sums up the weekend for me, and now I'm off to bed.

Past week and stuff

2008-08-03T21:40:56Z

Last Thursday I went for a 'try dive' in one of the nearby villages. This was to decide whether I wanted to take a Padi diving course. As in order to complete the course two open water dives are required I'll only have a 'referral' when I go to Australia in September. I first tried scuba diving whilst on a Scout camp in a freezing cold pool about 10 years ago, and then a couple times a few years later whilst out in Kefalonia. Not breathing through your nose and using a mouthpiece to breath compressed air can take a bit of getting used to, however I enjoyed it. The only side affect was that it makes you rather thirsty, and this was apparent by the rate at which I drank my pint when stopping at a pub on route home.

On Friday whilst in another pub (this time in town) I caught up with someone I hadn't seen since school. By his own admission he was someone who had messed up in school, however from talking I rather admire how he appears to have turned his life around. He's since retaken his GCSEs, has a full driving licence, and is off to Afghanistan in the army. Whilst messing about in school isn't something to be encouraged it shows with determination you can still turn things around.

Saturday was notable for it's rain during the morning and part of the afternoon. From talking to someone (whom I know) the previous night I gather the majorettes were performing in the Riverside Park. Seeing how heavy it rained I feel sorry for them, I certainly wouldn't want to be stuck out in the pouring rain.

Finally I met a very happy person today whilst in the pub. I hope that their happiness wasn't on a quota system, as a lot of happiness was present. Still it's always good to be happy and smile every so often.

Catching up from the past month

2008-07-13T19:39:14Z

Well the past month has been a rather busy one, at least at weekends. I thought I'd take a look back over them.

So lets roll back to around to just before 21st June. On Friday 20th June there was the club's official opening. In the week leading up to this I spent a few evenings along with others sorting various bits out. On the day it was smart dress (there is a photo online of me in shirt + tie + jacket), drinks and lunch. Off-hand in the evening I stayed at home (not wishing to drink more), though Saturday I was out in town.

The following week on Friday 27th June there was the Rolling Stones gig at the football club. I really enjoyed watching & listening to them, the costumes were fitting. I didn't get around to using my glow stick, purchased after the 'hard sell' by Thea & Liam ;), I think it's somewhere in my room. The next day was a long one, as along with my dad I was at the Gransden Blues & Souls gig (you may have seen me wearing the t-shirt). For many years now my dad has sorted out the power supply from the marquee to the pavilion. These days it's a fairly simple process and two generators are also used, compared to once where everthing ran off an extension lead which had a nail in it instead of a fuse. Towards the end of the concert I rested in my dad's van whilst the loud music continued, I think I may have even fallen asleep. Once the concert was over we had to disconnect the power and return the cables to their 'storage location'.

The next week from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th was Godspell. I must admit during the tech I had slight doubts as to how the show would go, perhaps as techs tend to be stop-start & skip a bit. Come show time though it was brilliant and I was very impressed with how well everyone did. Speaking to other people they were equally impressed, including a former teacher I know (who can still recall pupil's names from over 10 years ago when I was in year 6). For me the worst bit was during one bit of follow spotting on the Sunday when I had a bad coughing fit due to swallowing some water the wrong way, thankfully with a tightened spot I was able to take my hands off it (whilst the light was in use) and it didn't move (nor did the performers). For reference I tend to stand behind the spot, with my left hand on a side handle by some shutters, my right hand is on a handle at the back. Unrelated in the evenings when at the Falcon the land-lady informed me that she was in the process of moving pubs, taking over a new one Tuesday and running this one until Green King buy her out.

So onto this weekend and what's gone on. Well Friday night I was down at the Falcon to watch a keyboard-singer (is there a proper word?) called 'Brian G.' perform. I've seen him perform a few times now, and I quite enjoy it. Two young ladies I know where trying to get me join in dancing with them. Now I struggle to dance at the best of times, after three pints whilst I perhaps have more energy / less hesitation my dancing still isn't any better. Anyhow I tried and had a laugh before going home at gone midnight. Yesterday was rather busy at it was the football club's first pre-season friendly, against Kettering. In the afternoon I was out by the ground entrance in a hi-vis jacket, the main car park was full by 1:30pm and the overflow by about 2:15pm. At kick-off I went in and after changing to shirt & tie to watch the match. The reason for changing to smarts was so that I could go into the board room at half time. In the evening it was a return to town for the fun of a bit of karaoke.

So that's pretty much the past month summaries, and quite some time spent writing this entry. Who knows what the next few weekends will have in store.

Official opening & Water main

2008-06-22T19:18:02Z

Well Friday was the official opening of the new ground for St Neots Town F.C., which being involved with the club I attended. Those watching Sky Sports News on Saturday morning may have spotted the report filmed by them, as John Gregory was present at our opening. For reference the Gregory family have been involved with the football club, mostly before my time. The previous two nights myself and others had been at the ground tidying up and adding finishing touches. The day essentially consisted of a reception in the main bar (named 'Reedmans' after a former player/manager) before having lunch in the newly named Gregory Suite. There are photos online at this site taken by the resident photographer.

Skipping ahead to this morning, when my parents went outside we found the garden rather flooded, or at least the grass was waterlogged and the patio had become a pool. At first we thought it was due to heavy rain, however upon later spotting a digger in the alley we found out that a water main had burst at 5am a couple doors from our house. As the alley is on a slope the alley effectively became a stream, so fortunately for us the bulk of the water avoided our house, though unfortunately did flood a couple houses at the bottom of the alley. The unnerving thing is that according to the workmen the pipe is old & metal, and could burst again at anytime & anywhere.

I took a couple photos of the hole where the pipe burst, the first whilst they were digging, the second from this evening when they'd finished for the day...

...At present the alley is still sealed off at either end. I hasten to add the second photo was taken by sticking my camera around the metal fencing.

Parents away, looking after self

2008-06-17T21:22:09Z

As I write this entry my laptop is currently running on my bed, downloading backup files from a DVD, so that I can frantically start work on something for Friday morning. In my defence of seemingly leaving things to the last minute this is something that was only decided upon earlier today (via email). Essentially its a slide show showing the building/development of the new football ground, which will be used for Friday's official launch.

Well this week my parents are away on holiday, and I'm at home looking after myself. I've been returning phone calls left for my parents, and once again when returning my dad's calls some people mistake me for my dad (a sparky) as apparently we sound the same. Funnily enough when taking chiropractic calls people don't mistake me for my mum.

So as for the week so far, I've decided some cooking instructions are rubbish. In the end I opted to ignore the instructions and leave it until it looked cooked through. My sleeping has been a bit mixed as I just go to sleep when I feel like, and not have it disturbed, except for the weekday alarm clock. I must admit the emptiness does get to me a bit at times, and feel a bit lonely having nobody about. To pass the time I've taken a couple photos, sung along to a few songs (as nobody's about), and watch quite a bit of Whose Line.

And below is one of the photos taken in town, looking across the river at sunset...

Well that's about it and looking at the time I think I should end this entry.

Silver

2008-06-12T17:53:55Z

Well tomorrow my parents go off on holiday for a week, celebrating their silver wedding anniversary which is on the 18th. Earlier on I gave them a present I've brought them which is a silver digital picture frame. I'm aware the tradition is to buy something silver, this was slightly stretching that however is something which they'll actually use. For a few years they've been meaning to print out their photos however never have, and I'm pleased to say they were delighted with it.

So from tomorrow for a week I'll be looking after myself, cooking my meals. I'll probably spend more time out, as it'll be a bit quieter when at home. I'm probably more organised when my parents are away though due to following a loose routine for getting things done. As both my parents run their own businesses I'll be replying to answer phone messages left as well as answering the phone (in my 'phone voice') when in.

At work I'll be glad when I finally am able to complete a very large price increase which myself and others are currently doing, which I find tediously boring. It'll be great when the server gets upgraded some time in the future, as I believe the newer software allows for price updates to be made via spreadsheets instead of manually.

Ah well roll on the weekend.

Weekend so far...

2008-06-07T16:19:48Z

A bit of a mix so far this weekend. On Friday I managed to get home before the rain came down heavy. As my parents had gone out for the evening I decided that I'd go into town. By chance in the Falcon a musician I quite like 'Brian G' was performing, for reference he's a keyboard player who sings. There were also some people whom I hadn't seen in a few week as they tend not to be in Saturdays.

On a loosely related note I gather the Wrestlers has been issued with a 'winding up' order, meaning it has to shut. Apparently about a month ago a new person took over, and has been closing the pub early. I noticed from looking out of the window last night by 11pm the pub was shut, which for a weekend is financial stupidity in my opinion.

This morning hasn't been so great, when I was going downstairs at about 10am I slipped and fell down the stairs, having been about half way down at the time. Though I went onto my back which wasn't too bad I managed to twist my left foot whilst going down. At present my foot is rather achey, I'm hoping just due to bruising and nothing more serious than that. I'll probably still go down town tonight, though will strap up my foot a bit first as I generally walk into town.

Hello IT, have you tried...

2008-06-03T19:09:52Z

...shoving it up your a***? For some reason IT problems at work only occur when the MD is away. So far I've had 1 dead computer, and 4 customer's machines develop problems which required me providing support, one of which resulted in a 45 minute phone call going through my lunch break (which I took later).

On a happy note I've got my invite to the football club's official opening later this month (yes I know it's been open since mid-April). I've already got the day booked off work as it's includes lunch at the club. Was up at the ground this evening, chatting to Patsy (club steward) and Rob (groundsman). I gather the steps by the astro-turf were resembling a waterfall due to the run off from the top of the slope, where I think they're building a footpath.

I think I've had my dad's cold for the past few days, or at least a mild version of it. My stomach went out-of-sync meaning that I had been struggling to eat much (which isn't great). I stupidly managed to burn my shoulders last night with the wheat bag. I'd sprinkled water on it before putting it in the microwave to heat it, and the water molecules left were boiling (I think). I had wondered what that tingling pain was, it was only went I looked in the mirror when getting ready for bed I noticed the numerous red marks, ooopsie.

Darkness and light

2008-06-01T12:37:16Z

I know this comes soon after my last entry however I feel like writing another one. Darkness is mentioned partly after watching last night's Doctor Who, Steven Moffat does make great episodes I think. I think the mind can be a powerful tool as well as a scary one. Sometimes taking something that's close to reality and twisting it can be scary due to the element of reality.

I must admit if I did everything my mind thought I suspect I would be rather injured at best. Some of the stuff my mind has thought about rather freaks me out, and at times rather tortures me. In my mind I've seen circular saw blade flying out of walls and floors, which may have been India Jones connected. I've also had a re-occurring mental thought of returning to my room during the night, and closing the door to find someone jump out from the gap between the door & a cupboard with a knife. There's also been a few thoughts of cutting myself, often when I've been feeling frustrated with myself, I hasten to add this is a mental image rather than a thought of doing it.

Thankfully I still have sanity and particularly with the later I've never ever carried out such thoughts. My younger cousins mean a lot to me, and when feeling down I use them as a 'pick me up'. To be honest I dare say I need to get help as keeping stuff to myself instead of telling others seems to cause me more trouble in the longer term.

On a lighter note a while ago I signed up to Facebook and the other week I added myself to a Longsands and St Neots group. It's been amazing how many people I know but haven't seen in a long time have added me as a friend. I'm fairly certain one of which I'd been chatting to in the Falcon the other week, and though she knew who was I didn't recognise her, though I think I do now.

My aim for the next couple months is to move myself on, following the saying "the only way is onwards, there is no turning back" (Knightmare). I've already started on my room, however there is a significant part of my childhood I need to say goodbye to, in that I have a drawer of cuddly toys tucked away which are still in new condition. I need to accept that I'm 22 and an adult (albeit still living at home), something which I dare say I've tried to ignore. I probably need to get out more on Fridays as well as Saturdays, and stop being so shy and be more confident.

As this looks like it could go on forever I best call a halt to this entry.

Something for the weekend

2008-05-26T13:58:42Z

Prior to writing this entry this morning I was watching a fairly large spider start to make its web by my calendar a few metres away. At which point I decided I probably should get rid of the spider, so using a spare mug and paper I carefully caught it and released it onto the extension outside my window.

It seems that weather wise Saturday was the best day of this bank holiday weekend. In the morning I was having a bit of a clear out to remove some stuff and archive other bits. In the afternoon out of boredom I went up to the football club, where as I suspected they were showing the Championship play-off match on the big screen. I can't say football matches particularly interest me, however I wanted to get out. I also managed to have a chat with a few people, including the acting-chairman.

In the evening I went down to the Falcon. The person who normally does the karaoke is on holiday for a couple of weeks, so it's being run using some of his kit by one of the landlady's daughters. Rather inevitably this meant I was going to have to sing 'Baggy Trousers', and before I could ask for the song the mic was passed to me to sing it.

On Sunday I didn't do much in the morning (a bit like this morning). in the afternoon I was at the football club as usual for RTC. Popping through to the club bar it looked like not much had been moved since Saturday, as a poster was still across the main bar top along with some stickers on the table by the sofas. The groundsman's mug was also on the bar from where we'd had fresh coffee the previous day.

Looking out the window it's currently raining, which is a bit of a pity. I've no plans for today, though I guess with this weather I'll have to find something to do around the house. So far I'm in the middle of a big clean/tidy in my room. My floor has been vaccumed fully (by putting chair + boxes on bed), something that was much needed. I'm currently going through boxes and drawers getting rid of old stuff which I haven't / no longer use.

Various Emotions

2008-04-20T20:19:49Z

Well I thought emotions was the best way to link the various parts of this entry.

The first emotion is sadness. On Saturday morning I walked up to the new football club, and as I got to the roundabout I saw what was left of the old football club. The bulldozers are on site and all that is left as of this post is the function room and back part, the rest is now a heap of rubble. By next week I imagine it'll all be gone, though I think the archaeologists are looking for an old road which goes across the old pitch.

The next I guess is reflection. I can't go into precisely what or why just yet, though I think I can say keep your eye out for a press release. This press release will most likely be found on local sites/forum and in the local rags by the end of the week, or even by tomorrow.

The third is happiness, something we all need to have in our lives. Though tiring I've enjoyed the past week of follow spotting for the VAMPs production of 'The Adventures of Mr Toad'. I think it's important to have something in your life other than work (or college). Whilst it can be activities, being with people can also make you happy.

The final is unknown, I know that's not an emotion but I can find how best to describe it, though I guess it's changeable at times. My mind seems to keep thinking about the same subject regularly, and whilst in a way it bugs me in another way I don't mind. At times it seems to take over my body, though at other times it's not there and there seems to be emptiness. I know this paragraph is kind of weird, but hey I guess I am weird, so in a way it makes sense, though this sentence probably doesn't.

So as to this week, there's not much planned. Will probably have to go up the football club some times once the heating is sorted to re-programme the boiler. Unrelated next Saturday is RTC awards night, meaning I've a week to find something that I look smart in.

End of an era, new beginnings

2008-04-13T20:42:39Z

As I sit in my blue chair, wearing my blue hoody I feel somewhat exhausted, yet at the same time slightly empty.

On Saturday I was down at the old football club at 9am to pack the final items. The previous night there had been a final function, so beer & wine glasses had to be packed up along with other items. So after much boxing and lifting later much was in the back of the vans. Some items weren't taken, much furniture going to Eynesbury Rovers, various other bits to others, and the rest has been left to the developers/bulldozers. After the stuff had all been loaded the place seemed rather ghostly with its emptiness, after fourteen years at that ground.

Still as one era ends there is a new beginning, with the new ground. I was up at the ground on Thursday when the main bar was functioning, as illustrated in a couple pics I uploaded to the gallery. Much of the furniture is new, I like the leather sofas in the main bar.

On the 'end of an era, new beginnings' note the same can also be said for RTC. For a very long time (I can't remember how far back) the Priory Centre has been the main location for PPA/RTC. As of May RTC will make St Neots Town F.C. it's new home, hopefully by then everything will have been unpacked and sorted out.

Changing topic something has been bugging my mind since last night. For those not aware I tend to be in the Falcon for karaoke (and drinking). Getting on for around 11:30pm I filled out a 'ticket' for a song which I planned to do with someone whom I thought would be mad enough to sing along, with this particular song. Anyhow Pete (the person who runs the karaoke) told me I was up next, and it was only a couple seconds in I realised that it was a completely different song, though one I'd sung before. Now personally I like 'It must be love' by Madness, however the mystery is who put me up to singing it. I know the DJ has stitched me up once before, however he insists it was written down on a ticket, so I'm left wondering who in the pub wrote it.

Oh well, life is full of mysteries and I guess that'll be another one. Still as I end this entry I find myself humming along to the tune, I'll avoid any puns with the song/lyrics.

Fairwell old Rowley Park

2008-04-05T12:03:16Z

Well this weekend marks the start of the final week at the current site and today the stripping out and packing has begun. The clubhouse, or at least the parts which lead to the function room are relatively unaffected due to a final function on Friday, though noticeboards have been removed. This morning I've been in the 'players lounge' (main bar) stripping out the various computer cables which were in the ceiling linking from the office to the projector & 'saintly text' monitor. Outside the metal standing areas are now pretty much dismantled, and the railings around the pitch perimeter have been removed along with the dugouts being demolished.

The floodlights are being collected during the week by their new owner and similarly the main stand will also be. The turnstiles are unsold and will be going with us to sell later I believe. A turf ceremony will take place to take some turf around where two sets of ashes were scattered to the new ground, I believe one of the local vicars will be overseeing that. Also some turf from the pitch will be going onto our former groundsman's grave, which I think is a nice touch. The rest including the portacabin will then be handed over to the developers after next weekend, who'll presumably take anything left of value before bulldozing it and covering it up in quite a bit of soil (large 'hill' of sound waiting nearby).

I've already been up on the roof and around the building this morning to film the place. It feels somewhat emotional as the place has been 'home' for many years with lots of time and work going into the place. Still I've been up the new ground quite a few times including this morning and it is indeed so much better than what we currently have. I'll miss the old ground, and I dare say when I see it being demolished I'll shed a tear, however the new place is a place for new beginnings.

Oh and I'm informed there's to be a few tweaks to the function room from when the Riverside Singers were in it on Monday. The carpet is coming up next week and being replaced, and the wooden border around the dance floor is being switched I believe to metal, as the joins weren't great.

UPDATE: I've included some photos I took, though added in a snippet...

Bananas

2008-03-24T22:08:30Z

...thought I'd start by being random. Did you know it's easier to eat a banana by pealing it from the other end (ie. away from the stork)?

Well now on to the entry proper, and a jump on an odd tangent to the question of 'looks or personality'. I thought I'd answer that question for myself, and for me I think personality is more important. I'm sure at this point someone will say "well with the way you look you don't have much choice", so I thought I'd say it. I think personality defines who a person is, and generally can tell you what a person is like. That's not too say someone with good looks isn't necessarily nice, however appearances can be deceptive. I find I've more time for people will nice personalities and am more willing to help them out. I guess the next thing would be to define the word 'nice' as I've used it quite a bit, however I'm struggling to define it so I shan't (for now anyway).

I may as well add a bit about my Easter weekend now. I've spent the past few days mostly relaxing, as the weather has been rather wintry. On Friday I went to visit my Aunt whom I haven't seen in six years, the less said about the cups of tea made probably the better. Saturday I was down at the (current) football club just as it began to snow, to the groundsman's frustration (who'd been there since 7am) a heavy burst of snow meant the match was postponed. On Sunday I woke up to see snow had settled overnight, I don't think I got much actually done though. Earlier today I visited an 'internet services' company (ie. ISP & web hosting etc.), as well as visiting both the current and new football club.

Well as I'm running out of things to say I'll end it with the word... ...beans.

A photo update

2008-03-18T20:20:25Z

Following on from last night's entry I thought I'd take a couple new photos, though this time I took my glasses off and pulled back my hair. I've put them in a snippet as they're a bit large...

What the fox?

2008-03-17T22:41:10Z

Racism complaint over Basil Brush
An episode of TV programme The Basil Brush Show is being investigated after police received a complaint of racism.
Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/northamptonshire/7300167.stm

I wonder whether the police will next be interviewing Sooty, Roland Rat, and Kermit the frog. :P

The sands of time

2008-03-17T21:28:49Z

Well first I start this entry on a bit of a downer, that way I can get it out of the way. The downer for the past few weeks being my hair, or more to the point it's following my dad's in that it is receding at the front. Being taller than my dad it seem more noticeable depending on how I have my hair, though I don't think it'll get to the extent of Bill Bailey. It's something which I've foolishly tried to keep it to myself, which has made me feel worse inside as well as aching.

So I've decided I may as well publicly mention it, as it's something I can do nothing about except accept the fact and get on with living life. It may not match that latest fashion, but since when did I start following fashion. I prefer personality is far more important than appearance and that you have to try and find some positives, even when you're feeling down. Perhaps why 'bright side of life' is one of my favourite songs. As my mum pointed out to me it's better my hair follows my dad's than my uncle's, so I guess I have to remember that when I get bothered by it.

Still onto other things, and amongst those things is being involved with shows. I find I tend to sleep better when doing the shows, as though I'm working until later I sleep more heavily. The most recent show 'Cargo' has also given me the chance to chat with people I haven't seen or spoken to in a long time. I chatted to two now retired individuals whom for at least the past ten years or so have seen me grow up.

Well Easter is nearly upon us, and I half wonder whether at work we'll get a visit from the 'Easter bunny' as per last year. The Easter bunny in question being now an ex-colleague, though did leave us pressies at Christmas, and knowing this person I wouldn't put anything past them. I think I'll miss not being able to go to RTC this Sunday, it'll be about just under a fortnight before I see most of those involved when it resumes.

And here ends this entry. :)

The end of one, a new dawn of another

2008-03-09T21:40:56Z

Well there's about a month left until the official handover of football grounds, with the due handover of the new ground on Friday 11th April. Assuming this date doesn't change on the Monday afterwards we'll need to have completely vacated the current ground for the developers / bulldozers to move in. In some respects it'll be sad to see the old ground being torn down (houses going on that site) as it has quite a few memories.

The current ground though is rather showing its age and is in need of quite a few repairs, were we to be staying there. The place is already beginning to feel empty, the computer gone (I dismantled it as it broke), projector dead, and many trophies already boxed up. On Saturday myself and the groundsman were taking down the 'Build a brick' plaques, these contain names of people who paid a £1 back in the 90s, and the plaques are going to the new ground. The wall where they were on is now giving a 'ghost' effect, as you can see the holes where they were secured and the space behind is lighter due to no cigarette smoke landing on it.

The new ground is very nice, the club's been fortunate as it was paid for by the developers. The function room is at least double the size of the current one, and overall is a much bigger ground. I didn't get up their this weekend, however when I looked through the window last week the dance floor was being laid. The function room also has a movable stage, much better I think than the original plan which was for a fixed stage. I gather the bars and kitchen are starting to be fitted, so should be interesting to see how they progress if I get up their this weekend.

In the news this week I'm follow spotting for the Christian Performing Arts group with their production 'Cargo' (hopefully spelt right). .

A good nights sleep loud bang to end the day

2008-02-27T20:35:20Z

Well I'll start this entry by saying that I managed to sleep through the earthquake that occurred overnight. I don't particularly like my sleep being disturbed, so presumably had no intention of letting an earthquake spoiling it.

This evening just around 5pm as I was leaving work there was a fairly loud bang which could be heard from within our offices (probably as the building is metal). On getting outside to go home it the cause was noticeable, as an industrial unit on a nearby estate had gone up in flames. As I walked pasted the entrance to the estate there were a couple police officers stopping traffic and within a minute a fire engine went along the opposite side of the road to get into the estate. I opted to walk home instead of wait for the bus, as I took the assumption traffic was likely to be held up for some time, and as I walked home I could hear more sirens and later saw the police helicopter flying in that direction.

For anyone curious I did manage to video a bit from nearby via my mobile...
http://stneotsfc.com/temp/080227

The fire has also been reported on the local news and at least one of the local paper's website.

Oh well that's another day over. :)

New words for 2008 (Pinched from another site)

2008-02-24T21:59:41Z

I should point out that the bulk of this entry isn't my words as I've pinched it from another site. Anyhow enjoy....

* TESTICULATING.
Waving your arms around and talking b******s.

* BLAMESTORMING.
Sitting round in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed
or a project failed, and who was responsible.

* SEAGULL MANAGER.
A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on
everything, and then leaves.

* ASSMOSIS.
The process by which people seem to absorb success and
advancement by sucking up to the boss rather than working
hard.

* SALMON DAY.
The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream
only to get screwed and die.

* CUBE FARM.
An office filled with cubicles.

* PRAIRIE DOGGING.
When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm,
and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going
on. (This also applies to applause for a promotion because
there may be cake.)

* SITCOMs.
Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What yuppies
turn into when they have children and one of them stops
working to stay home with the kids or start a "home business".

* SINBAD.
Single working girls. Single income, no boyfriend and
desperate.

* AEROPLANE BLONDE.
One who has bleached/dyed her hair but still has a 'black
box'.

* PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE.
The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device
to get it to work again.

* ADMINISPHERE.
The rarefied organisational layers beginning just above the
rank and file. Decisions that fall from the "adminisphere" are
often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems
they were designed to solve. This is often affiliated with the
dreaded "administrivia" - needless paperwork and processes.

* 404.
Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error message
"404 Not Found" meaning that the requested document could not
be located.

* OH - NO SECOND.
That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that
you've just made a BIG mistake (e.g. you've hit 'reply all').

* JOHNNY-NO-STARS.
A young man of substandard intelligence, the typical
adolescent who works in a burger restaurant. The 'no-stars'
comes from the badges displaying stars that staff at fast-food
restaurants often wear to show their level of training.

* GOING FOR A Mcsh*t.
Entering a fast food restaurant with no intention of buying
food, you're just going to the bog. If challenged by a pimply
staff member, your declaration to them that you'll buy their
food afterwards is known as a Mcsh*t with Lies.

* MILLENNIUM DOMES.
The contents of a Wonderbra, i.e. extremely impressive when
viewed from the outside, but there's actually naught in there
worth seeing.

* AUSSIE KISS.
Similar to a French Kiss, but given down under.

* GREYHOUND.
A very short skirt, only an inch from the hare.

* SALAD DODGER.
An excellent phrase for an overweight person.

* SWAMP-DONKEY
A deeply unattractive person.

* MONKEY BATH.
A bath so hot, that when lowering yourself in, you go: "Oo!
Oo! Oo! Aa! Aa! Aa!".

* MYSTERY BUS.
The bus that arrives at the pub on Friday night while you're
in the toilet after your 10th pint, and whisks away all the
unattractive people so the pub is suddenly packed with
stunners when you come back in.

* MYSTERY TAXI.
The taxi that arrives at your place on Saturday morning before
you wake up, whisks away the stunner you slept with, and
leaves a 10-Pinter in your bed instead.

* BEER COAT.
The invisible but warm coat worn when walking home after a
booze cruise at 3:00am.

* BEER COMPASS.
The invisible device that ensures your safe arrival home after
booze cruise, even though you're too drunk to remember where
you live, how you got here, and where you've come from.

* BREAKING THE SEAL.
Your first pee in the pub, usually after 2 hours of drinking.
After breaking the seal of your bladder, repeat visits to the
toilet will be required every 10 or 15 minutes for the rest of
the night.

* TART FUEL.
Bottled premixed spirits, regularly consumed by young women.

* PICASSO BUM.
A woman whose knickers are too small for her, so she looks
like she's got 4 buttocks

Body Crash

2008-02-22T08:10:17Z

Well today like much of yesterday I'll be off work, after yesterday having to go home from work not feeling too well. My body essentially crashed on me, probably from a build up of exhaustion.

When I went into work yesterday I felt fine. However around 9am whilst in front of my computer I noticed a sort of flashing light in my eye, it's hard to describe the colour though I think it was a darkish green, just off-centre. As minutes it became harder to concentrate on the screen and though the 'flashing' went away it seemed to be replaced with a 'ripple' effect which rather screwed by vision as I needed to switch between looking at the screen and the (paper) order on my desk. I nipped out to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water, and a couple of glasses water my eyesight was back to normal, however one heck of a headache was starting to set in. Despite taking a paracetamol it was still noticeable, and as my eye issue had rather worried me my stomach wasn't feeling too good either, thus walking about did make me feel a bit dizzy.

So after 10:30am once our delivery vans had departed (the busiest part of the day) I told the MD (and then the office manager) that I was going home as I wasn't feeling well. When I got back home I feel asleep for about two hours solid. Thankfully *touch wood* I've not been sick, and my appetite still seems to be with me.

I'm off work today still not feeling too good. Unfortunately for me this does mean I shan't be out tonight, I don't want to undo the rest I've had, and I don't think it would look too good if I bumped into one of my colleagues. I shall now be leaving my computer alone for the morning at least and returning to bed for a bit more. :)

The 'achey hot drinks song' entry

2008-02-10T20:18:33Z

...Well it's a random collection words to describe this entry, and how I attempt (and possibly fail) to explain it a bit.

Firstly the 'achey' bit, and currently my legs are rather achey. The reason being that after this afternoon's R.T.C. at Jubliee Hall I walked home, which is over 2 miles (near Spar shop). Though I didn't check what time my watch said when I departed I arrived home at just gone 6:35pm, admittedly I opt for a relatively fast walking pace. As I did almost the same route home from work on Friday my legs are aching, though on the plus side it's a good bit of exercise.

Next 'hot drinks', and by that I mean tea and coffee. I've noticed over the past few months I seem to be able to make fairly good cups of tea & coffee. It's probably due to on Saturday's (and midweek) for 1st team football matches at St Neots Town I make the half time hot drinks for club & visiting officials, similarly on Sundays I often make the drinks at RTC. Reminds me I need to get the tea and coffee pots at the club replaced as the current ones have seen better days. I thought I'd bring the drinks theme to my profile, for now at least.

Finally the 'song' bit, or to be a bit more precise 'karaoke'. Last night I was at the Falcon taking part in the karaoke, singing various songs, and I didn't get home until gone 1pm. For one of the songs I was going to duet, which was 'Summer Nights', I was somewhat stitched up. I was going to be singing it with the land lady as I've done before, however the person running the karaoke (Pete) had other idea, and decided I would be singing it with him... ...and I'd be singing the female vocals. So I decided 'what the heck' (or something similar) and opted to sing it in a very camp style. Unfortunately one of my work colleagues was in and decided to film some of it on her phone, she would have filmed more but it (thankfully) stopped recording. So tomorrow at work I expect most of the office will see the footage, though if they joke too much I'll be challenge them to sing a song next week with me (after Peter Pan finishes).

And that is the end of the entry. :)

New St Neots Town F.C. and whatever else comes to mind

2008-02-07T20:44:53Z

Well I'll start this entry by mentioning the new football ground for St Neots Town F.C., partly as Richard mentioned it at RTC on Sunday. For those not aware the land opposite the railway station in town is being developed and will eventually have around 1250 houses on it. As part of the 'Loves Farm' development the football club is being relocated on site, and having a new ground / club house built up near the railway station by the developers.

It's amazing how in just over a year that area and the football club have changed, in more ways than one. Since around May 2006 I've been taking snapshots of the development, with the photos being place onto http://stneotsfc.com/development. ; Looking onto the land from just past the railway bridge the change is noticeable, where once where there was a straight road there are two roundabouts, and the old access road to the current football club is long since gone, buried (along with the sign) under soil. I probably should mention at this point that I'm involved on the club's committee, as well as designing & maintaining the club's website.

Rather conveniently at this point I'm going to mention / shameless plug the new football club website which I've been working on for the past few weeks. As the new football club will have a third generation astro-turf pitch and a much larger function room (seems to be of similar size to the Priory Centre's guest hall), the site needed to focus a bit more on the commercial aspects. The general design and layout of the site had remained essentially the same since August 2005, albeit many tweaks and an overhaul of the code (from accessibly unfriendly table layouts to nice CSS based layout, and converting to PHP). To cut a long story short the new website is currently in testing and available via http://goth.stneotsfc.com

In other news I'll either be sponging a lift off my parents or pumping up my bike tyres in order to get down to Eaton Socon for Sunday's RTC. Just got to remember to stop when I get to the bottom of the cycle path by the church, else I'll find myself cycling to where I work which is only a couple minutes further. I probably should do more cycling, particularly as some days it would be quicker to cycle home than wait for the bus. Occasionally it's quicker to walk home than wait for the bus, which takes about 45 minutes.

Oh and though Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday / Pancake day I didn't have (or attempt to make) any pancakes.

And on that note I'll end this entry.

Dodgy Psychic?

2008-01-28T07:33:33Z

Watching this week's TV Burp I couldn't help noticing Sally Morgan been featured. Admittedly the selected extracts used are one-sided however it does make me think some of her psychic abilities may be questionable.

Just a warning the sound in the clip is rather loud, and slightly out of sync.

The week so far and random stuff

2008-01-24T22:05:25Z

Well as I write this entry I'm feeling rather tired, having got only back from working at 9pm, and I start work at 8am. For the past three days I've been out with my MD at USAF Lakenheath installing a large tool vending system. The set up consists of two 'Robocrib 2000' (like a food vending machine) and many lockers, info about these can be seen at http://autocrib.co.uk/ if curious.

It's been interesting being involved in this project and its location, being where it is I have to have photo ID on me as well as USAF Lakenheath pass. Where I'm working is fairly near one of the runways, so every time a plane took off or went overhead you could hear the rumble, and if outside you'd be deafened. Whilst I don't have any photos from the airbases I'll see if I can get some photos my MD took of just the storeroom I've been working in. One of the Sargent's has said that he'll take us up to one of the planes, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed to see if that happens.

And now for something completely different... ...reading the BBC News website this morning one particular news story caught my eye. It's about a couple of goths who've been 'hounded' off of the bus http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/7204543.stm