Nominations

'Yeah I'd like to nominate Dave... '

Classic moment on BB last night. Well done Pete - one of the few with a sense of humour.
We salute you!

New stuff!

I have new swipe card and new imagery on said card!!! I look less alien now and bit more professional!!


And the counter starts here! Which as someone pointed out could be really depressing! hey ho - we'll see. As they say on the TV it's a numbers game!

The main news - erm there's no football today! So the last eight are decided.

Friday, 30 June 2006
Germany v Argentina, 16:00
Italy v Ukraine, 20:00

Saturday, 01 July 2006
Brazil v France, 20:00
England v Portugal, 16:00

Who's your money on?

My sweepstake hopes are all out so now the testy times of being an England fan truly kick in!

I'm supposed to be hot footing it back the parents this weekend - so I will be able to watch the game with my pater - hope mater has some earplugs. Always makes me chuckle, watching football with my Pops is the one time I can swear legitimately. Sort of! Bonding they call it!

Lonely Hearts Ad

Crazed walker seeks intellectual bloke whose carbon footprint bears no resemblance to my size 8's.... re-uses their plastics bags and is prepared to wear an extra jumper as opposed to having the heating on all the time. Gorgeous smile, infectious laugh & broad shoulders optional, but would be very much appreciated, as would a passing interest in football, beyond the premiership, and radio programmes and literature. Best one liner wins it!?

Walking Proficency Test...

well there is one for cycling so why not walking.

I am sick of people stopping in front me. Walking all over the pavement whilst on thier phone, reading a book or newspaper, or listening to a walkman and losing their sense of balance. I am also getting fretful over couples who seem to know you are behind them and thus move to the side on which you are trying to over take them on. Basically I want the pavement to myself so I can walk at brace neck speed!!!

Just some simple awareness lessons would be brilliant!!

Good Luck JB

It is with heavy heart I have to report that the Gills goalie has left the club. Jason Brown (knees up Jason Brown, knees up Jason Brown) with his pre match ritual and general all round safe pair of hands has gone to Blackburn.. look after him Sparky and make sure his international career flourishes.

Thanks Jason for your efforts whilst with us. You will be missed.

We now have a serious task ahead of us - finding a worthy replacement - because we failed miserably with our 2nd GK last season....

Domestics...

okay so now I have boiler sorted and assisted plumber with careers advice for his daughter, next moves with his band and generally played the part of all round nice flat dweller..., can anyone give me some advice with my oven? I have found the model I want. And found it cheapest on the Sainsbury appliance web site - BUT for them to fit it the old one has to be disconnected... the wire disappears into the wall.... HELP!?!?!?!? The last time my 'electrician' 'friend' helped with a household item (the shower - last flat) it blew up second time it was used. Somehow I managed to have been the first to use it that day. So I am loathe to ask him.

I finally graced work at 12.45 2 and a half pounds lighter than I was last week and in good spirits. Except my swipe card had stopped working. SO I couldn't get into the building. The first thing that goes through your mind is that you have been sacked and not yet told.

I have not been sacked.

And with any luck I will get a new card with a NEW PHOTO on it so I no longer look like a freaky alien - pic to follow...
Oh yes - this photo has haunted me for 5 years and 6 months on our intranet and on my swipey card. I think I totally deserve a new mug shot!!!

Sad news. 90th minute. Aussies out to the Italians. And this evening's game was by all accounts tres dull. The more I ponder it the more I think England will blunder through to the final. If of course Nostradamus and his Spanish prediction is not proved correct.

"The leader is not fit for purpose" Great News - so we can we take him back and change him? Sorry recycle him?

PMT update... 3 tabs of evening primrose oil seem to be doing their job... any major mood swings which follow will of course be reported in full graphic detail. You have been warned.

Plumbing - Part 2

Well its Monday morning. Plumber has been round already at 9am to check manual. Again. Before going to pick up part. So at 10.15am I am sat here reading Software Estimation and wondering where he went for part and exactly how long I am going to be here today. At least I have avoided the Hip Hop line chaos that no doubt was taking place at 8am this morning!

Aah he is back here we go...

England 1 - Ecuador 0

is about all I can say. Well played Beckham. Well, for a free kick. The rest of the 90 mins were painful to watch.

And it seems to have been the weekend of vomiting. D Beckham and BB's Glyn all sharing their lunch with us. Cheers guys!

Plumbing

Well the plumber is here. And what I thought would be a quick 5 minute job - ie allowing more water into the system, is turning into a full scale strip down of the boiler. Which bearing in mind it was checked earlier in the year (at a cost of 60 quid) makes me wonder. Looks as though another major item inside the thing has got too old. I wish the plumber wouldn't stand on the sink unit - I'm not convinced it is built for that sort of thing. In fact if it's like the other units it certainly isn't built properly.

Anyway this little escapade is no doubt going to cost me a fortune. Bit like the replacement oven I have been tasked with finding. I have found a Zanussi - energy efficiency grade A, fan oven, self cleaning and ceramic hob. Currys deliver and remove the old one for recycling. Which is all I really ask for.

Well at least I had half an hour longer in bed this morning. The sun is shining and I have decided to wear a dress today. A colleague is coming in with her baby this lunch time. So I will need to fight all my maternal instincts! There does seem to be a lot of women-having-kids programmes on the TV at the moment. Should they, shouldn't they? When is the right age? Birth rates dropping, so come on girls get out of the work place and have a brood. The thing is, what exactly are kids born today being born into? Impending environmental doom. A schooling system which changes every term and for many the prospect of a broken home or if fortunate to have 2 parents, being seen as odd. I debate this with myself frequently. Do I want children? Should I have children? To be honest there is no right or wrong answer. I just rent a flat and don't have a boyfriend - so the question answers itself. But for those who do have had kids I can see how it has lots of plus points. Well sort of!!!

Oh dear, plumber has asked to refer to manual...I am thinking this is not going to be a quick job. And I still need to have a quiet word with the Council Tax people about some credited money they seem to have mislaid.... Karen's quest. Watch this space for future instalments.

Fixtures..

... my question/wish if I was on BB and in the diary room. How are England doing and what are the Gills fixtures for next season specifically first & last game and the ones over Xmas time?!?!

Well I am not in BB so I can say the answers I seek are here!

Unfortunately rumours abound that Jason Brown is off to Swansea City. Our one solid player and defender of the faith, and, lets face it, our player of the year allowed to leave... What let us down most last season when JB was out injured? - the lack of a proper replacement.... rotten. STAY JASON STAY!!!!

And while I am here - Go Ghana!! Good luck lads! And the Czechs out?! Well you drop P Berger what do you expect?

AND another thing why is ALEX DEAKIN no longer doing the weather on the 10pm news?! He is my one ray of sunshine of an evening. He's lovely... lives in Sutton apparently... 470 bus anyone??! :-) Ah he has been moved to BBCi, News 24 and Five Live - overnight and early morning - so he'll be free for lunch then. Mmmm.

Mr Poll..

dishes out 3 yellow cards and ruins my chances of winning a sweepstake booby prize. He also ensures the Aussies proceed to the next round. Not sure why but I get a strange feeling about that. The Ashes in 90 minutes?! Did amuse me that the road to Temple Walkabout was heaving this evening at 6pm. Go Aussie Go.

Lack posts at the moment due to domestic issues I must sort - boiler fix, council tax incompetencies and the search for a new oven. Meanwhile work is tiring my brain. I'd rather be busy and stretched but I forget sometimes that I need to balance it with some me time. At least now I realise my value and whilst not a bride I am at least not a spare part of the wedding - rather the key half of the whole brain. Mind you after last night's fiasco I did wonder if I was actually a stool pigeon. But with my 'New Manager' 'BB' 'Roffey Park' skills I was able to get a positive outcome from a negative situation. Not sure said developer realised that this morning...

Hey ho.

ooh 'great' news story on BBC London ... US reckons a terrorist plot to wipe out Heathrow and Canary Wharf. deep joy. It's getting close to a year since 7/7. That's going to be a tough day.

Been walking very fast and listening to music over the last few days. No change there really. Just sometimes it's a deeper experience than others. Songs/albums which for me used to be a plaster to cover the sores when I was hurting the most. Funny listening to them now and get those really violent flashbacks. The total feeling of loneliness and sense of drowning and wishing I could make other people hear the song the way I heard it. The sound track to our lives. That said they are culling TOTP... who would have thought it... anyways my eyes are droopy and my expected hopes for my fun evening dashed once more. Oh well. What's meant is meant. The rest will follow.

postscript - Saturday Star Gaze

I forgot to mention I sat opposite Huw Edwards on the tube home Saturday afternoon. He actually looks very dashing in real life. He got off at Clapham South. Sure enough he had been commentating on the Trooping and was flicking through a brochure of the day. My fame tally is mounting!?!?!

Sweden 2 England 2

Great first half. Shocking shame about Owen. Hate seeing players get stretchered off. Rooney looked confident and Cole (J) had the left hand side sewn up. Cracking goal by Cole - finally the flight of the ball is being mastered... oh sorry I think I speak too soon, Lampard still has yet to get on that gravy train.

Half time. Optimisim. But the nagging question - with Owen off and Crouch on when would Walcott get a look in? Could he replace Owen? Was the Crouch/Rooney partnership ever going to be a winner? And actually what was Crouch giving the side? At times he looked like Pinnochio. At others, a man pretending to be a goalpost/corner flag.

Needless to say our set pieces let us down - both attacking and defending them. 1 all.

Second half became a tale of woe. There was no passing. Sweden had all the play - more corner kicks than you could shake a stick at. Rooney tiring came off (he did not like that - but come on kiddo you need to rest!) and on came Super Stevie G. He scored. Against all odds. And Engalnd should have been able to play out 6 minutes and hold onto the lead. But this is England and doing the obvious is not on their agenda. Why make it easy when you can play it hard?! Defensively shocking... at one point Sweden had a free kick and our defence thought they were lining up for a Union line out... and so as is often the case we conceded a late goal. Weird one at that. 2 all and so many more questions than answers.

Next up Ecuador 4pm Sunday... who ever we had got next round it should not be an issue. If we are to win this tournament, then we should not be fearful - no opponent is going to let us win.. so lads peckers up - let's see some fighting spirit - in fact some of you - let's just note your presence on the pitch...

All the best to Owen - and to Defoe if you are watching I'd book yourself a ticket... England needs you.

Balls!

I left work at 6.15pm feeling like a spare part at a wedding..all day I had been a deaf go-between - or rather over looked as being someone who needed to know to know facts. Web site deployments are always stressful - but if you're getting no feedback its pain. I had a Partner breathing down my neck and when its your balls on the line you need to be kept in the proverbial loop. So having spent ALL day inputting data into said new website (yes a university education taught me to cut and paste - not type free hand) I finally submitted and left taking an extra aggressive stomp to Waterloo.

Boy does that help clear my head.

By the time I had got on the train I was feeling less wound up. The prospect of football on the TV - sitting at home watching it by myself was quite alluring. My little grey book has been side lined whilst I read jPod as my bag physically couldn't cope with all the shrapnel in it (bottle of water/shades/brolly/book/MP3 player/purse/camera) but as I have now handed the banton of the jPod onto my chum Furry the bag is much more spacious and the notebook has returned. So on the train i took some time to jot. I guess if I had a Blackberry I would have mailled it. Jotting allows time to reflect.

I begin with an observation - started day perky - left work feeling like a pile of attractive stuff for flies. Noted that people I liked had come onto MSN over the course of the day but not bothered to say hello (when you are entering data a brief distraction is heavenly). And I was berating my lack of blogging recently. However there are some gems I will post shortly.

So I got the odd stare - why is that bird writing on the train. These poor chaps had obviously been to the cricket and watched England get a knock by Sri Lanka (again) and I wondered if that was to be the tone for the England game against Sweden. Trains are great - at least you get a view and can ponder. Tubes can be a bit a isolationist - but ideal for burying yourself in a good book.

Wimbledon. Voicemail. Returned call only to miss another caller and get another Voicemail. I never get voicemail. Let alone two. In fact apart from the odd text I do wonder why I have a mobile phone. It rarely rings.

Result of calls - invite to local pub to watch said game. And acknowledgement from Thesp. My evening was looking up... and the smile I had been wearing earlier returned with a vengeance. As the saying goes be positive... ;-)

at last..

famous for more than a passing comment by Arthur Smith in the London Walks book and a revamped Sava Centre...

Bad Buildings!

Queen's Birthday - Flypast

Finally got my lardy into gear and managed to assume my fly-past position on Waterloo Bridge in time for the 1pm flypast. I didn't even know what was going to fly over - apart from the Red Arrows. As it was there was a really good show of what remains of the RAF. The Battle of Britain Memorial flight came first - Lancaster flanked by two Sptifires and Hurricanes. Followed by (in no particular order!) 9 Tornadoes in diamond formation, GlobeMaster, Tristar, Typhoons, Jaguars, VC-10, Nimrod and more Tornadoes. The end of the show was a joy - the Red Arrows and the long serving Canberra - due to go out of service this year. So it was a pleasure to see them all and hear the noise of jets and piston engines fly over the city. These are the only pictures I took with the digital camera, mainly as these show its not the best way to do these planes justice hence the rest are on proper film and when printed I'll try and get a few scanned - see how the old Praktica and 300 zoom lense fared in my oh so rusty hands...

Here they come! (that white arrow shape in the middle!)

Aah - the wonderfully shaped Canberra and the Hawks - a tingle down the spine....

The Queen looked as though she to enjoyed it when I saw the highlights later on TV. Bouyed by the sound and the pride of being British I went for a wander along the river.. photos and walk review to follow.....

Aeroplanes!

Well more of walk post seeing the Red Arrows drawing me to Royal Air Force related monuments... The Battle of Britain Memorial. A truly fitting tribute - full of 3-D images you can almost hear and feel the sound of Merlin engines...

And its river side predecessor...

All in all a fitting time to mention my Dad. Happy Father's Day Pater - thank you for enriching my life in so many ways and teaching me some extremely sound values.

Post Match Tiredness!

Okay so England won. Did they play well? Not really.

My lager induced evening was made tolerable by a half time break form the stuff to swill two pints of diet coke - unlike some I could mention I feel as fresh as a daisy this morning! We were extremely fortunate with our venue - large screen, comfie seat and no drunken idiots singing stupid songs - and just the right amounts of banter and beer! After the game we moved onto the local pub - it was heaving - looked like a hurricane had swept through the patio. Drunken England fans after a win make me cringe.. but that's just me. I am intellectual fan, which is never a good thing to be on these occasions.

I must have felt semi-excited as I called my brother mobile to mobile to let him know the result and my 'unbiased' view of the game! It went to voicemail - so for the first time I heard how the Aussie networks deal with it - I laughed out loud at that. No wonder people were looking at me strangely as I cantered to Bank tube.

I had another PMT this morning - Post Match Trains/Tubes. The Hip Hop line had severe delays last night and this morning. Last night wasn't so bad by the time I wanted a train it was 11pm and I got a seat and stayed awake (unlike the hoardes around me) but this morning it was like being a sardine. Ah the smells and after effects of everyone else's night on the town..

However two more games of football should tide me over until the real season begins!

England Expects...

And so do I!! I moved it from the bathroom - now in my back window...

PMT

PRE MATCH TENSION!

Woke up at 6am to get to work early so I can leave early. Been frantically trying to get a site ready for deployment and a demo to the partner for sign off. That's all completed and sign off been granted so it can go live. And we got an invite to the launch party! So it better get to the live in one piece! But the go-ahead means a semi relaxed afternoon.

Lunch time was therefore the beginning of the countdown to 5pm. I have my t-shirt in tow - and a few of us are very enthused by the event. However I have some concerns. (Apart from the fact the game is on ITV this afternoon - grrr.)

Trinidad and Tobago is a side made up of lower league players (the mighty Brent Sancho to name but one!). For these guys they are bouyed by a 0-0 result with 10 men. They will know the England team well. They will be like a minnow in the FA Cup - eager to raise their game and prove a point. I have heard all the bragging and predictions - England to win 4-0 etc. etc. But cometh the hour cometh the team. Don't get me wrong, I do want England to win - but I want them to raise their game and deserve it. I want to come away at the full time whistle and know that I have seen the start of a World Cup run. Currently I feel nothing. News that Rooney is fit helps of course - but are we still putting too much store by one players' performance? And can Lampard and Gerrard ever be effective when they are on the pitch together?

If T n T can keep possession and pass properly, take their chances when they come - then anything is possible. I am a pessimist - or maybe I have watched too much football - but my prediction is 1-1. Sorry folks - but IT is possible - that's the nature of the game.

I hope England do win and win well... but its for them to prove it - stop talking a good game and get on with it...

Kids!

It's hot - so open the windows on the tube - it helps!
The pavement - it's meant for walking - not reading a book and dawdling!
Brazil - are not unbeatable - so beware the Aussies!
Owen Hargreaves - give him a chance - just because he doesn't play in this country and you haven't been indoctrinated about him by the media - he is still a tops soccer player !
Watching BB makes you realise that being made to feel odd at school happens in all warps of life - be strong and you will find yourself!
If you can - read jPod - it is very amusing and will transport you away from your day to day!
Sleep well and drink plenty of water!
Smile - it makes people wonder what you've been up to!
Be kind to your parents!
I bid you good day.

Satan's Pit..

And I don't mean my office!

This is to comment on the brilliant episode of Doctor Who this Saturday - which took me to a new level and restored my faith. I meant to mention it earlier but the weather has clearly addled my brain! (No comment).

The sight of the Doctor falling into the unknown was scary indeed and when he finally came face to face with the Beast I was as far back in my seat as the room would allow and hidden by a cushion. The only pit fall (excuse the pun) was the squeaky Tennant voice...
Good to see a ex Casualty star sporting some symptoms as opposed to curing them huh! Evil Toby... what a voice! Shiver down the spine. But he got his just desserts - flung into a black hole by a bolt gun. Superb. The prefect entertainment post 90 mins of dross...

Hot! Hot! Hot!

And I don't just mean the Australian football team!! ...fears abound that they will progress further in the tournament than we will. Let's see how Brazil do this evening before we get carried away.

The office now has a mobile air con unit. Which after 4 days of ridiculous temperatures is perhaps a relief. Shame it is at the other end of the office! Yesterday we were given permission to open the windows AND close the blinds. How thoroughly modern and green. And now a mobile fan is at my side... maybe this is the famous person which according to my horoscopes I am due to meet today?!?

Speaking of green issues why is it whenever I go to Tesco/Boots etc etc I have to tell them three times that I ALREADY HAVE A BAG!! They can see me holding it open ready to put things in and STILL they start putting items in one of theirs. A weaker person would let them - but no, I am on a mission to give shop assistants a conversation outside of the one they are programmed to use. Club Card/Nectar Card/Advantage Card? Cash Back? Instead its eh? you don't want a bag? NO!!! I have enough of the things at home - especially since SavaCentre removed the recycling bin for them.

And so with the heat high guess what else went went choatic last night? You guessed it. London Transport. I walked to Waterloo smug that I would be avoiding the severe delays on the Norhtern/District and countless other lines. I checked the web before leaving so was happy to walk to Waterloo.

As I entered the station the new flat screen timetables were resembling a screen from Casualty. Lots of colourful rows of information. Pink in this case for TRAIN DELAYED. A fire at Raynes Park meant not much was coming in or out of Waterloo. With gritted teeth I braved the Northern Line. I was warm. And it was filling up by the minute. what grates me is the lack of information. No train came for 10 minutes and the platform was heaving. All I want is to know. People were piling off the tube obviously thinking they'd get a train as no-one had told them on the tube that the trains were next to useless. I finally got a tube. Got back to SW19 and spent a very rewarding 45 mins in Sainso's cooling down! Slept better than last night and waking up to a breeze and the sound of the rain falling was really pleasant. Ah.

Neighbours

This weekend I have had to consider how much I want to stay in my current abode. A number of events have made me wonder.

It started Friday evening when I had walked home and was ready for my sofa and cool lounge only to be unable to open the front door. The key was not turning and I suspected the latch had been dropped.
My upstairs neighbours have a door bell - activated by a pully. The pully has lost its tautness so pulling it doesn't seem to do anything. I suspected they were in - car outside - top windown open, but a nose through the letterbox told me the lady of the house was out - no bicycle. SO I called my landlord for their phone number.

I got my landlord's wife. I have never met her and I can imagine that at 8pm on a Friday evening it was the last thing she wanted to deal with. She didn't know their phone number either. So I got more and more frustrated. I just wanted to get into my flat. So I yanked the pully. Hard. Surprised the ceiling didn't come with it I soon realised it obviously had worked as the young boy opened the door. He just stood there looking at me. So I had to remind him I lived downstairs and asked if he knew why the latch was down. He just stared. So in the end I had to ask him to move aside so I could get in.

I fear for the lad - he lives in a weird place with bohemian parents who lack providing him with any proper discipline. I know I should not judge - I have no children and he is at least fortunate to have both parents at home. But frankly any parent that lets their son open the front door on a Friday pm is slightly worrying. Mind you he (the Pater) is a lazy so n so. Last week he left pints of milk on the door step cos the lady of the house and lad were away for half term. So day by day they piled up until by the end of the week their were 7 very hot pints of milk on the doorstep.

So Friday evening got back to normal. Until Saturday morning when at 8.30 the tinkly of ivories started. The blessed kid was 'playing' the piano. I am a patient person but random notes aove my head do NOT help me start my day the way I would like too. It was Saturday - I wanted to wake when my body was ready not when junior Beethoven decided to have a go at being my alarm clock. Later int he evening he played his favourite trick - elephant impressions. I have never known a small kid sound so heavy. Sometime living downstairs isn't all that.
The one plus of these events - my landlord rang to check I was ok - so I mentioned upstairs' leaky washing machine and today he came round - said he'd pop in and fix my dodgy light fittings and would replace my oven! So kids I will be able to bake at some point in the near future!! The choice of oven is mine - any recommendations for energy efficient fan assisted ovens? I have never bought an oven before.... that said its like an oven outside at the minute - so no urgency - just yet!

Super Sancho

Well to make England's group more interesting the Trinidad boys managed a nil all draw with Sweden. And who kept popping up - well second to Shaka Hislop? Yes the boy from Gillingham FC! So well done to Number 5 Brent Sancho! Certainly a more entertaining game than the one some minutes before...


"Defender Brent Sancho has become the first Gillingham player to play in the World Cup Finals. The 29-year-old, who made 17 appearance for the Gills last season scoring twice, made his 60th appearance for Trinidad and Tobago playing the full 90 minutes in the fantastic 0-0 draw against Sweden." taken from Gillsconnect

England 1 - Paraguay 0

it was an own goal. We showed very little to inspire me. The entire game I wondered if we would score. Some incline of hope with the set pieces. But Cole and Lampard kept shooting miles high. No doubt the heat and the new light weight balls will be to blame. And still I ask - Why leave Defoe at home... yesterday when Owen came off there was no comfortable striker to replace. So Sven did not. We should have won that 2-0. We didn't and but for some saves from Robinson we would have drawn.

Mm - lily white legs - put them away before they get mistaken for goal posts.

All I can say is at least I didn't have to stay up until 1am to watch it. Sorry Stu - hope wet and cold Melbourne made teh experience a bit more like an English game of footie!? It was rather warm and bright here.. perfect for tennis/air shows or sitting under a tree reading a book.

Drinking Carlsberg is naff. The pub was full of strangers. Wonder if they will be there next month?

Red n White

And so the country is ready for the WC to begin..


And my first game will be viewed the Nelson. Tops picture for the week. Must check out the old column one night next week when I wander to Waterloo.

Pleased to meet you..!!

What a difference a week makes. Today I feel fit to burst. Just genuinely happy to be me and where I am and who I am. Not sure of the exact cause of this - I suspect its the accumulation of several positive events. The sun helps. Walking 31 miles since Monday probably helps - feel so up beat. The anticipation nearly being over and the World Cup finally starting also adds to the vibe. The flags. The pride. The banter amongst the non-English types.

Last night ended up being one of those totally unplanned events which turned out to be totally brill! A few glasses of something cold after work was good fun. The 'beer garden' afforded us a seat. But £9.10 for 2 large Pinot Grgio - I ask you?! Can get two bottles for that price in my local newsagent... That aside I did have to have a diet coke to re-generate my head and prepare me for my walk to Waterloo. The city at that time of night is lovely. Walked along the river and watched as the sun started to descend. Fewer people about too. Said my hello's to the IKB statue. Watched as other women were over taken for wearing inappropriate footwear - I learnt my lesson! Sent a text to my thespian friend from the Golden Jubilee Bridge - something's you have to share. Then I was going to get the tube - but it was a 15min wait - so I pegged it back up to ground level and got the cooler over land train - which was empty. Smirked my way through several pages of jPod and got to Wombledon(SIC). I was going to get a bus. But none were forthcoming - in fact by the time one passed me I was practically home.

And so I passed the Nelson. It was open. (Their website lacks any sense of the newness I'm afraid). Saw Adie and waved and kept walking. I had but 3 pounds in my pocket. As I passed the bouncers I said 'Hey what have you done to my pub?!' And more to the point I was slightly miffed to see bouncers. Outside the Nelson. On a Thursday?! Anyway at BK I checked my phone (its ok I wasn't in BK) and had a message. This was a plea for me to go to the Nelson for a pint. So I back tracked and grovelled to said bouncers to let me in. They did. And the pub looks fab. Like a proper pub. And it was music night. And everyone was there and like all long lost souls there was much hugging and kissing (ok I kissed Bruce twice - in that friendly hello, good to see you way I am so famed for...NOT!!! The way I mean - not the kisses - they were way too real!)

Music night was brilliant. And I managed to get home at 1am. I feel a bit light headed today - but it was so uplifting to see so many people pleased to see me and for some bizarre reason telling me I had lost weight - erm must have been the vest/trouser combo I was wearing!! Makes me look slim! Ha ha!!

So its Friday and anything feels possible... and this is the rollercoaster which is my life. Two poles... let's hope England can score through two posts!! ttfn

24 Hours to go..

and they have included Rooney in the squad. I still feel really apprehensive about this. I can't help feeling he won't be able to participate until the knock out stages and without him and to be fair Defoe I suspect our abilities to reach these stages. There is also some question over whether Gerrard will be fit for the opening game on Saturday. Am I a pessimist? Of course I am. Or you could argue I have watched too much football and know only too well how fine the line between brilliance and failure. Perhaps my mood will change. However my more immediate concern is where the hell am I going to watch the games and more to the point - who with?!?!

Don't they look raring to go....?!?!

That said the news is full of rioting fears - both in Germany and here in the UK as the other British Isles rebel against the influx of St George's cross flags. Best keep mine in the bathroom then...

There was a really good interview with Martin O Neill on the radio last night (Five Live of course) and it seems he would have taken the job had it been offered to him. Can't help feeling that the FA have missed a trick there. We shall see.

And to top it all my footie text service has told me that currently the Gills lie 12th in the league with a grand total of 0 points - which puts us above the Swans! Again!! Ah the beauty of the alphabet.

So with the excitement mounting I have installed the full schedule into my Outlook calendar so I know at all times which game I am missing and Mini Motty is keeping up-to-date with all the latest news.... need to check out my sweepstake hopefuls! Go forth footballing fans and enjoy the next month - no doubt we will be entertained, emotionally drained and who knows perhaps for once moderately surprised...

Kingsferry Coaches

I have a new mental game when I walk along Embankment - spot the Kingsferry coach. These are who we travel with when we go on our away days with the Gills (no news on Jason yet, for those of you concerned!). Tonight was poor - only saw one - so only one away game to ponder.. any one but Bristol! The other day I saw four PLUS the silver VIP coach! Where are the lads?!

Not many flags today - or maybe I am now immune.

There's a prog on at the mo called Big Spenders... one girl has got into 90 grand of debt and her mum shrugs and says Oh well - sure she'll sort it. All she needs is to find herself a nice young man. And lets hope he is rich. STOP RIGHT THERE WOMAN!!! When did strong women who can spend that sort of cash suddenly need a bloke to bail them out?! Cripes - she made her bed - let her lie on it. ITV - what's that all about then? Ok I am a channel snob. Except C4 for Green Wing, (And BB - how uncool), I never touch the ad channels....

But the one advert I do like - Pizza Hut and Michael Owen - I am a true football supporter!! I bid you farewell.

By a thread

Walking to Waterloo this evening in search of the plaque for Sir Joseph I had the misfortune to see the conclusion of an accident outside Embankment tube station. Some small child had obviously been knocked over and the para medics were doing their best to look after her on the stretcher. It did not look good. And there but for the grace of God go I.

Train home. More jPod. By the end of the day I felt better than at the start. Think my lunch hour helped! Nice baked spud, tops company and the Best of David Bowie in the background. Perfick!

And I guess clearing the air is always better than hoping it will go away. I do tend to get myself in a stew about things. Things which I should be able to deal with. I am old enough and ugly enough. To be honest I am in a good place - just need remind myself I can still do the things I want to do - with some discipline and planning.

Had a recruiter on the phone this afternoon and we ended up spending 20 mins talking football... he was at least a ST holder at Spurs! Think by the end of the call he was pro longing it so he could talk to me a bit longer. Bless.

Me and a mate are researching speed dating options.. well the sun is out and I fancy meeting some new people - something for the weekend Sir?! Just a change of subject - outlook. CONVERSATION!

Ah yes and the sweepstake - I got Holland and Serbia & Montenegro. Boy isn't Gary Neville an articulate young man?! As for Rooney the wonder-man-ment continues. He'll go and some ten ton Paraguay player will stomp on his foot... talking of which my deemed 'unsuitable for work' new sandals hurt like hell once I had completed my 7 mile stompings today..so I won't be wearing those to work again. Case solved.... !!!

Bloated Salmon?!!

Ok ok - so I am always self depreciating myself - but look at the bloat on that.. thank heavens for the slim arms! Or maybe its a rose between two thorns (sorry Gary and Paul!). I jest of course! Look at their head gear tho!?!

So how does my tooth job look now?!

Ah the theatre of Ball's.

Horoscopes..

My stars yesterday summed up my general mood...

You may get frustrated when you find that people who have taken shortcuts are gaining on your position, K. You believe that hard work is necessary in order to get where you need to go, and you aren't afraid to put in the blood and sweat that is necessary to be successful. You have planned well and you are right on track. Try not to get upset or jealous because of those who have taken the easy route. Even though it may seem that they are gaining on you, the truth is that you are light-years ahead.

And today's:
Today is an excellent day for you, K. You should be encouraged to take action in any sort of artistic realm. Cook yourself a scrumptious dinner and share it with a loved one. Give your heart a chance to speak and act on what it says. The feminine and masculine sides of your being are on the same page now, so take this opportunity to bring these two sides of your psyche into balance. You will find that you are a magnet for anything having to do with love and romance.

I do currently have a sense of affliation with the Big Brother contestants (oops - there was a confession I was holding on to until much later in the month!! Hoping the WC will cure me of the addiction I currently have) group dynamics changing. Stars shining elsewhere. Do I have mug written on my forehead? Or am not so much lonely as sick of the same old same old. Where the Sam Hills am I going?

I guess its always a rethink your life moment when you discover a mutual friend is in hospital on a life support machine having fallen down some stairs. It could've been me in January. It's all so tenuous. Makes you look at all your relationships differently. Who would I visit in hospital? Who would visit me?

So this blog is the current extent of my creative output. Writing mindless drivel to appease my frustrations. And reveal too much, to too many. Frankly its not enough. I need more stimulus....!!!!!!

Oh yes I bought jPod yesterday - and its BRILLIANT! I was laughing on the train last night and again on the tube this morning. Excellently well observed. Congratulations Douglas! Shame the book itself is the size of a breeze block!!

More photos of the ball have been circulating and there are some corkers - to be displayed at an appropriate interval.

And erm well yes. Ok rant over. ttfn

England 6 - Jamaica 0

which makes me wonder what the point of the game was. Listening to the first half on my walkman as I walked to Wimbledon, Terry Butcher and Alan Green kept telling me players were looking injured. Anyone would think the drought crisis had peaked. But no. The woe of Becks, Terry, Rio and Cole all look now to have been over the top precautions. In a 'perfect' build up to the tournament, how come I still feel very uneasy about the whole thing. I suspect it has something to do with the hype and media. Calm down everyone - we have yet to do well in our group. I so want us to do well but I have seen/heard it all before and this year the circus surrounding the game makes me wonder when football became such an economical commodity. Where did the romance go?

However in the sanest move yet Sven is at least taking Defoe tomorrow when they fly from Luton. And so the build up begins.. Tuesday I sort out an office sweepstake. And a predict-a-league has been set up too. Can we all cope with the excitement?

Think I may boycott the whole thing and go for long walks during the games while listening to it. Then I can jump up and down like a loony when we score wherever I happen to be. Be intriguing to see how the world carries on or not as the case maybe when each game is on. Quiet streets? No queues at the check outs? Empty tubes and buses? Who can say. Oh well this time next week we will start to have a more realistic idea of how well we are going to do... Speaking of which Freddie is going to need some essence of brillance tomorrow to get a victory at Trentbridge.... Come on England!

Race for Life

Seems the whole world is running their 5km's. My mum completed her's this morning and then went off to make cricket teas. Well done Mazza!

Meanwhile my friend Lisa is doing one in July. Any willing sponsors can do so here: Race For Life

The Doctor

Finally Doctor Who has produced a decent episode. Oh to be an Ood. They look like they have barrister wigs on backwards and they carry ball-cocks.... But wait the tardis has gone and Satan is on the verge of domination. Brilliant.


All we need now is Crouch doing his robot dance three times. Oh blast he already has.

Table 83

This year's Summer Ball had the theme of Carnival. Held at the Arterilly Club near Moorgate the fair came to town. So I came as a Pikey Princess.

When I arrived there was a queue to get into the venue. Thank heavens it wasn't raining. The evening compared to previous years' felt somewhat flat. Not sure why. Perhaps it was the fact we were in a huge tent - or maybe it was just my general mood magnified by the rest of the firm. It was jolly pleasant to be able to satnd outside for a while before the meal. But the aura was made worse by the same music being on loop for the first 3 hours of the evening - so each song was aired at least 4 times - either over the PA system or by the men on stilts who were dressed like the Beatles but whom played non-Beatles tracks.

Here I am doing my best pensive look.

Thankfully I was on a table of amusing people.

Which was lucky as the time between courses was somewhat lengthy (average 50 minutes) - but the food was very tasty. Salmon to start, perfect steak and mash for main and a chocolate pyramid scoffed by some in record time to avoid the dessert and coffee conflict. There were times when 8 waiters and waitresses bounding down the aisles made the floor shake some much it was a bit like being on a cruise. The marquee was huge and there were vast spaces of not much going on. Most of the guests hovered around the dodgems - at times it was like watching the morning tube rush as couples tried to secure a car before the exitting dodgem go-ers had yet to catch their breath and exit. Funny watching the high heels and suits act no better than the fair ground usual.

A table which apart from me was all men.

As you can see even the napkins were the same colour as my dress. A dress which a week earlier felt less tight! At least my shoes did not rub and I got home unscathed by 1am. No-one on the tube batted an eyelid. Had a slightly peachy head next morning - but I am putting that down to the fact that the white chardonny was not a patch on what I used too....

June 2nd 2001

5 years ago today I met M Greene. Fitting then that I should bump into him this morning as I walked to the tube. He on his return from night work. I said hello. He ignored me and made to cross the road. By the time I got to work he had texted me to say it was a f-ing joke. Not sure I see the funny side of acting like a spoiled kid but there you go.

Strangely, though I write this as if I am upset - still tied to it/us, that is not how I feel. I feel sadden he feels that way and bemused that he still blames me for everything wrong in his life, oh and is still actually only worrying about himself...and all this sparks from me not being in London on Sunday.

Anyway spandex tights ahoy - I am out for a bop tonight in a proper dress and with people I can have a proper conversation with. The do will follow as an entry shortly! You know I could've gone to see Gary Numan tonight...!!

Hooray!

New Douglas Coupland book out on Monday.... jPod - great to see an update of 'Microserfs' - may need to get a copy for the development team!!

Welcome to June 2006..

and I have had to put my vest back on. Grey. Clouds. Drizzle. Not exactly the start of summer I was hoping for.

Today I have been mostly pondering the many options for the letters PMT

Post Modernist Theory
Project Manager Today
Popular Mince Tart
Play My Thang
Pre Millenium Tension
Pints Mean Thirst
Points Mean Trinkets
Practice Mud Throwing
People Must Try
Poor-Man's Templates
After watching Sir David last night - Plant More/Many Trees

Why I hear you cry? Well being female brings with it some weird mood shifts depending on the moon in the sky and the tidal timings.

Okay Okay no point being euphemistic - I had/have PMT. I felt like staying in bed this morning, curled around a hot water bottle and drifting in and out of sleep while listening to the radio. As it was I got up. Puffy eyes, brain like a scrambled egg breakfast, feeling like I was a size 16 and not a 12, and the distinct feeling that I was best out of harm's way - namely my own from self inflicted accident and others' from the point of view I was likely to offend. Needless to say inertia meant my walk to work was laboured - the several Panadol's still taking their time to kick in. I was a bit late and made the executive decision to read the Software Estimation book. Head down, low profile and yet still so productive. It worked. Since lunch time I have felt much brighter. I know people think its all a myth - but there is definitely a dark cloud which descends for a few days. The 5am wake up was the sign - fit of activity followed by dulled senses and the general feeling of doom.
I feel less depressed than last month - crikey last month I was paranoid - this month I just feel moderately tired and irritable. I can't explain it any more than PMT. It hits unexpectedly and in many different forms. Makes life for those around slightly less predictable. I have found that fair and short honesty about the matter mean that people who know me can keep a wide berth - or if brave try and coax me out of whatever mood I am in. Generally after 2 days it passes. So I am hopeful that come tomorrow I am up and ready for some fun and frolicing and projecting an air of powert and confidence... its there somewhere. All I need to do now is get home in one piece and have an early night.

Discuss...

'The World Cup is a footie tournament enjoyed especially by people who don't really like footie?'

My friend Zig made the following observation and as my St George's Flag count goes into over drive (25 yesterday) I have to agree..

I do have to say there are some pretty good blogs about the subject where like minded (sort of!) people are discussing said tournament:
- The Beeb
- Meat pie, sausage roll - come on England, give us a goal!

and others as I find them!