The Week Starts With An Ouch...

Today started with an osteopathy session so I'm feeling a tad twanged as I try to get into the new week. It's positively autumnal here today with that lovely clarity to the air that the first of those chilly September days brings.

In football news it would appear the TogoTosser is going to be charged for his assault on CF4 in addition to the charge for the one on RVP11 and that run down the pitch. A ban of more than five games is being mooted. And then he'll be off to the ACN so Citeh types might be starting to wonder just how good an investment he actually was.

Lots to do today. Busy busy busy.

New Harleys Revealed!

We're back from the Thornbury run. Very nice it was too, great weather, a really nice road and some fantastic scenery. We came back via Yate and Iron Acton, so got to explore some quaint countryside and all. Very fine.

Off, then, to Riders for the lauch of this year's (or is it next year's?) new Harley models. Decent rock band, burgers, tea and acres of shiny metal. Lots of hairy types gazing quizically at the various shapes of Harleys trying to figure out which are the new ones. You've guessed it: they look extraordinarily like the old ones...


Pigirontastic!
Now I think it's time for a beer. Weather's still really good, so I guess it'll be in the concrete beer garden. Fair play.

Good Morning All

Here we are at Sunday morning. Eggs and bacon eaten, second cup of tea brewing, I'm ready for the day. Predictable stuff in the footy pages this morning: calls from "angry fans" for AW to go, Rooney the greatest thing since toast and so on. It's still way too early in a badly interupted season to form sensible opinions about anything other than John Terry being a complele ****, IMHO.

Off up to Thornbury today, I understand: not far but very fine scenery. If I remember to take the camera I'll post piccies later.

Again?

The local news tells us that a 17-year-old kid has been stabbed to death just up the road from here. Part of an argument outside the World's End pub, they say.

It's beyond pathetic.

Give a moment's thought to the victim when you're breaking bread tonight.

What a ****ing mess.

Let It Flow

There'll be doom-mongers saying that's it for the Arsenal, lost two games in a row and to both sets of Mancs to boot. I have to say I'm not worried. If you'd looked at the fixture list before the season kicked off you'd probably have taken both of those games as home wins and the fact that we were unlucky not to win in both games is I think something we should view as a definite plus.

We're getting the crap games out of the way early. We *will* move on from here, I'm sure. The team is certainly playing well enough.

The Boss is doing the hubble-bubble thing in the kitchen at the moment, and I have to say I'm falling under the spell of the odour.

Saturday! Proper Football! Beer!

Just back from today's interview (very sensible day for them, IMHO, certainly makes travel easier) and have the rest of the day spread before me like an inviting banquet. So...

Off to the pub to watch football. Then, if my eyes are still focusing, I'll deal with my emails and that "stacked jury of correspondence".

Have a great day!

PS: Bristolians might want to remember it's the launch of the new Harley range up at Riders both today and tomorrow. Live music and BBQ, apparently.

It's Friday. Keep Telling Me It's Friday...

I had an interview this morning, a follow on from the session in Bristol last Friday. How did it go? How can I tell? I did the best I could, I really hope it was enough. Anyway, I've another tomorrow, so it's time to prepare for that.

After the interview I came home/went back into town for a tour of the agencies with Mad Dave, who's once again one of Gordon's Happy Clan. There are a couple fewer agencies than the last time we did the round and those that remain are largely hanging on by the skin of their teeth or by the sheer good nature of their staff. One of our fave places in the former category ("that's the job, there, in the window") is still just about there, but (like a lot of the others) is relying on the "outbound charity calls" stuff. It's awfully sad that that should be the sort of work that survives a Gordon Browning: it really does seem tasteless in the extreme to be pulling the "you may think you're badly off, but look at this lot" trick when you're only doing it for profit.


Don't let those other cards deceive you, this is "The Job".
But Mr Sun had us putting our hats on and surely it did shine on Mad Dave. We revisited one of the better agencies that we went to when he was last looking for work (one that doesn't deal with the likes of me) and they pretty much signed him up on the spot. There *are* openings out there, and indeed more than there were only a few weeks ago, but you've got to be the right shape to get through the holes, as it were. Limber up, dudes.


Dave'll be pleased, then.
I'm now about to start work cooking the most awesome burritos since time began, or at least since the last time I made them. Then an early night, I guess. For the rest of you, the weekend starts here. Enjoy. Make it count.

Here We Go!

Cool. With an emphatic 5-1 win over Croatia at Wembley England have secured their place in next summer's World Cup with a couple of games to spare. Even Don Fabio Capello is getting a tad carried away, claiming "we have one of the best teams in the world". Calm will descend when it dawns that even if this is true it's hardly the same as our name being on the trophy. Still, let's enjoy the moment.

Scotland are out now. Not much of a surprise there, sadly. Northern Ireland have now made it very difficult for themselves, but not impossible: let's hope they make it.

Elsewhere CF4 scored the opener for Spain in their 3-0 win over Estonia - that's their eighth succesive qualifying group win, too. Now Spain really *do* look to be "one of the best teams in the world"... NB52 scored for Denmark in a 1-1 draw away to Albania of all people (though any country whose national hero is Norman Wisdom is OK by me) and TR7 actually played for the Czeck Republic in their 7-0 stuffing of San Marino.

All good then? Of course not. AA23 is out for three games after picking up another injury whilst playing for Russia (3-1 winners away to Wales). Get well quickly, Andrey.

Lovely weather here today, I even enjoyed the drive up the A38 for this morning's interview. I dropped in at Curry's on the way back to see if they'd got a 3.5mm jack to 3.5mm jack lead. They had indeed, for £13.99! Are they mad? Maplin's next time I'm passing, then.

Food now. And tea.

Let's Be 'Avin' You!

England vs Croatia tonight. England will qualify for next year's World Cup with a win; a draw would do if Ukraine don't beat Belarus in their game in Minsk. There's a lot riding on England's qualification, IMHO. England in South Africa could be the final push we need to get us out of the mess in which more than a decade of Mr Brown's economic ineptitude has left us. Imagine: a new Government, England at the World Cup Finals, the pubs full of people shouting the lads on, the flags everywhere. Come on England, get us there.

On the team front there don't look to be any surprises likely to be sprung. This game won't be a walkover, but England *should* win it. Perhaps I'll wear my lucky magic pants.

Elsewhere, things carry on as usual. I've got interviews to prepare for and the Boss is ill, so I'm playing nurse, too. Sadly I don't get to wear the uniform. This afternoon sees the fortnightly visit to Gordon's House of Grey Despair. No joy there.

Don't Bogart That Vick's Vapour Rub, Dude

Sheffield United goalie Paddy Kenny has been banned for nine months for a drugs offence. His crime? He "knowingly ingested an over-the-counter medicine above the prescribed dosage without reading the accompanying package or leaflet". It appears no one disputes that all he was seeking was relief from a cold, not a competitive advantage of any sort. To some extent the current economic crisis is beginning to force the idocy of the New Labour "box ticking" mentality from our lives, but clearly it's hanging on in the anti-doping world.

This sort of decision does nothing to further the notion we are getting "drug free" sport as we really care about it - i.e. a sport free of performance enhancing drugs and "artificial" sportsmen and women. Are cases like Kenny's merely brought because they can't catch any "real" cheats? Or perhaps there aren't actually any "real" cheats and poor Paddy is suffering just so the anti-doping people can keep in work? Use some common sense, chaps, and don't deny a man his chance to work just because he caught a cold.

Not much else going on yet today. It would seem Don Fabio is starting with Hesky and not Defoe, but that he'll replace Wright-Philips with Lennon. Personally I think it would be rather amusing if the match ends up as a Rooney vs Eduardo dive-off, but I do actually want England to get to the World Cup so I will be rooting for a good 'un from the Three Lions. But that's tomorrow, after a tour of the agencies with Mad Dave and a visit to that awful place.

Happy Birthday To You! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you, Bridget The Midget The Queen Of The Blues!


Have a great one and thanks for the cake things! The Boss has now started on her round of "I haven't had a drink, honest" phone calls. I may have to tell the victims who to blame ;)

The Goats Are Facing North

A Norfolk native once tried to persuade me you can predict the weather by seeing which way the goats are facing. The only goat around here lives on a railway embankment and can only face in two directions parallel to the line of the bank or he'd fall over. I don't know if this has any bearing on the fact it's always raining here, but I don't rely on the goat method.

Living as we do on a hill in the east of Bristol I can look out across the city in the morning and see the weather fronts moving in from the sea. By around 10.00 am what's coming in tends to be what's set for the day. It's a tad early atm, and quite a lot could happen in the next half hour as they used to say on Stingray, but it's not looking good. The lawn won't be getting mown today, that's for sure.

There's quite a lot going on here this week, I've got a number of interviews lined up and the band are joined by a bass player on Thursday. Wednesday, however, sees another trip to Gordon's House of Grey Despair, which is *not* good, not good at all.

Also not good is news that Johan Djourou is out for six months following knee surgery on a an injury sustained whilst on international duty. Here's hoping he makes a speedy and full recovery.

Right, the new week is here, let's make it a great one!

Back From Avebury, Now For Beer

So Sunday morning and afternoon were spent out in the wilds of Wiltshire, and a fine time was had by all. Today's destination: Avebury and its stone circle.


Ben's on time for once.
Avebury was OK. Stones all over the place, and you can actually get up to the things. In many ways a more interesting place to visit than Stonehenge, I'd have said. And at least there's a pub, which Stonehenge lacks. Mind you, the pub charges £5 to park in its decidedly undersized car park.


Steve considers the car park charges.
They give you £2 back if you spend more than a fiver at the bar, but given that the place must get the huge majority of its custom from visitors to the hamlet it sits in this seems a bit of a swiz, frankly.

Have beer in fridge and will be taking a sip once the feeling returns to my extremities :)

Off To A Ring Of Stone

Avebury today apparently. Home of a rather splendid stone circle and a pub dedicated to UFOs. Sounds great. Weather looks OK, too - cloudy but no rain. I'll try to remember to take my camera.

An unconvincing win for England - who don't dive of course - in a pretty much meaningless match last night. Defoe was good off the bench and is looking like he's really trying to make it hard for Don Fabio to leave him out of the starting line-up come Wednesday. The defence, on the other hand, played with an arrogant laziness that somehow always seems to blight teams with John Terry in them when they're winning. This needs stamping on IMHO.

Weird sausages for breakfast today - giant Lidl's ones but I'd bought rendered turkey rather than rendered bovine and I have to say they leave a strange taste in the mouth. Still, there's only five of them left now. Perhaps Tig will drop round, I'm sure she'll eat them.

When Saturday Comes

Saturdays in a nascent football season should be about sitting in smoky pubs with a foaming pint of ale debating the important football issues of the day with your mates before wandering off together down to the match. But not any more. Mr Brown has taken away the delights (and bear in mind I don't smoke) of the smoky pub and has removed from a substantial number of us the ability to afford modern-day football tickets. FIFA and the FA have now conspired to add insult to injury by replacing a day's top-flight football with an international friendly after 4 games of the season. Pooh and more pooh, I say.

About the only excitement I can detect in today's match is figuring out how the goalkeeping pecking order might be affected by the game, James being injured and Foster quite possibly having deselected himself by a not-unreasonable trip home to be at the birth of his child. England really aren't too well-endowed in the GK department, hence the calls for MA1 to be get a call once he has his residency through. Seems a good idea to me (couldn't we have called up Friedel by now??), I can't see what all the fuss is about, have we forgotten Zola Budd or, indeed, half the England cricket team?

I could murder a beer right now, it's hot and muggy and it's been a busy morning, but I've a load more to do so it may have to wait until after biking tomorrow.

Really? United Too?

So I wasn't dreaming it. FIFA really have imposed a transfer ban on Chelsea. Good. Rumour (well, the Soaraway Sun) has it that the Manchester Red Devils may now face a similar charge. Let's hope they do: as I suggested yesterday, there will be no shortage of people round here to goad.

I've an interview this morning, so now need to go and get ready. Wish me luck. Have a really great day.

Gosh! Excitement!

Chelsea have been banned from signing any new players in either of the next two transfer windows - meaning no new signings until 2011 - following Lens' complaint to FIFA over the signing of Gael Kakuta in 2007. Terrific stuff!

Unfortunately, down here in Bristol most people are Manchester Red Devils followers, but I'm sure I'll be able to find a Blue Shirt somewhere to goad!

School's Not Out Any More

Schools are back, apparently. Oh joy. Once again for substantial parts of the daylight hours - diminishing as they are now - it'll be nigh-on impossible to drive around Bristol. But the sun is out. How perverse it that? A whole summer holiday of rain, then baking sunshine when they're back stuck in the classroom. It makes you wonder whether Gordon Brown has somehow taken control of the weather.

Arseblog has some excellent comment today about Man U's AW song and the growing reaction to it. Well worth a read if you've a couple of spare moments.

More later, much to get done this morning.



PS: Does anyone know of any good sites for selling old comics online? The ones I've put on EBay don't seem to be attracting a whole lot of interest, and I'd like to know that that's because they're not wanted and not because no one's looking there.

Oh Good Grief

It's even quieter today than it was yesterday, and threatening to be wetter too (and that'll take some doing). I suppose there are the joys of England vs Slovenia at the weekend to look forward to, but it's a meaningless match at a stupid time of day and I for one am unlikely to be watching it. If they'd put the thing on at 15.00, or even earlier, it'd be a different matter.

Today's challenges are (1) Focus for some drill bits and (2) EBay, the latter not being helped by Royal Mail once again being on strike.

Dare I eat a slice of toast?

Too Soon, It Would Seem

My bad. Transfer deadline day is today, it seems. How very silly. Never mind, no doubt there'll be absolutely loads to talk about later.

So, until then, time for tea.

UPDATE: It's 15.52 and precisely nothing has happened so far of any note...

FURTHER UPDATE: Well there you have it, the transfer window is now closed. No new players for us and a two match ban for Eduardo.