BLOG
18.10.06 ~ 18.02.07
WELCOME TO MY OCCASIONAL BLOG!
18.02.07 |
I just got back from seeing the superb 'Amy Winehouse' play at the Southampton Guildhall. A brilliant gig with highlights "Back To Black", "You Know I'm No Good" and "Rehab". |
18.02.07 |
16.02.07 |
It's been one month since Gareth and I started our fitness programmes at the gym and we've both been eating a great deal healthier too. The consequence for me is that I've lost 8 kilos (over a stone) and I'm 2 kilos away from the ideal weight that was set as part of my fitness assessment. |
16.02.07 |
14.02.07 |
Congratulations to my friends Morgan & Caroline on the birth of their
daughter Jasmine this morning!! A sister for Tim! |
14.02.07 |
12.02.07 |
Whilst at the supermarket yesterday I saw a recipe card for a smoothie that included crumbling a weetabix biscuit into the mixture. So for breakfast this morning Gareth prepared one for me and it was delicious. Banana, strawberry, soya milk and one biscuit all smoothied up! |
12.02.07 |
08.02.07 |
Snow
swept across most of the UK overnight resulting in this view from our
bedroom window |
08.02.07 |
06.02.07 |
Another
beautiful morning in Basingstoke |
06.02.07 |
04.02.07 |
Another
cloudless day so we started by climbing the bell towers of Notre Dame |
04.02.07 |
03.02.07 |
Woke up
to a beautifully clear day, perfect for sightseeing! We started off by
going to the top of the Eiffel Tower |
03.02.07 |
02.02.07 |
When
Gareth's sister Laura was 21 at the end of last year we said we would
meet up with her in Paris for a weekend as her birthday gift. |
02.02.07 |
31.01.07 |
I
thought when I moved from the countryside to a town that I would miss
the beautiful morning light that I enjoyed when walking Bonnie some
mornings, but this picture shows that not all is lost in the town. |
31.01.07 |
28.01.07 |
Gareth
and I went for a walk at Stokes Bay with Bonnie today. |
28.01.07 |
27.01.07 |
Gareth
and I went to the Anvil Theatre in Basingstoke to see a sold out show by
comedian Jimmy Carr |
27.01.07 |
26.01.07 |
Finished
yet another autobiography, this time "Growing Pains" by Billie Piper. Did you know
she was from Swindon? I did and you'll never forget it after reading
this book! |
26.01.07 |
24.01.07 |
First
snow of the year here in Basingstoke! |
24.01.07 |
21.01.07 |
At this rate we are going to wear out the smoothie maker! I can't get enough of them, and have started to use rice milk instead of dairy to make them even more healthy. My current favourite is a handful of summer berries, a banana and some fruit juice, usually pineapple, all mixed together. Delicious! |
21.01.07 |
19.01.07 |
I attempted to create Mulligatawny Soup from a recipe in the low fat cook book that my niece Jo got Gareth and I for Christmas. And it turned out brilliantly too! That's my lunch sorted at work for the next few days! |
19.01.07 |
16.01.07 |
Gareth and I were taken through our fitness programmes at the gym tonight. At least I only have to start with 20 minutes of something like running or rowing. Gareth has to do 40 minutes! The plan is to go at least three times a week, do the running, then the weights and then have a swim. Time will tell so watch this space! |
16.01.07 |
14.01.07 |
Finally,
a sunny day here in Basingstoke.. as we set off for a day in Wales! |
14.01.07 |
11.01.07 |
I
finished my first book of 2007, the Peter Kay autobiography "The Sound
Of Laughter". |
11.01.07 |
08.01.07 |
Gareth and I went for our fitness assessment at the gym tonight. The guy who carried out the diagnosis was very professional as he checked through my results. He made everything sound positive but he could have saved himself a load of time and breath by just saying that I am in fact just a fat b*stard! |
08.01.07 |
07.01.07 |
Oh the irony of yesterdays comment. It's been raining all day again and tonight we noticed that our telephone landline wasn't working. We contacted the telephone company via a mobile phone to report the problem, to be advised that the cables were flooded! Believe me, any day now I'll start reporting sightings of animals, walking in pairs, and I plan on following them! |
07.01.07 |
06.01.07 |
Does
anyone know how to build an ark? |
06.01.07 |
05.01.07 |
We went
to the local cinema tonight (it feels good to say that at last!) to see
'Employee Of The Month'. |
05.01.07 |
04.01.07 |
Gareth and I joined a gym today. It's part of our New Years Resolution to get fitter and lose weight. We appreciate that there must be a huge rush for membership every January, but believe me, the gym we joined aint cheap so we'll definitely be making use of it to justify the monthly cost! It does help that it is about 2 minutes drive away, so we may even walk there sometimes! |
04.01.07 |
31.12.06 |
So it's
time to say farewell to 2006! |
31.12.06 |
30.12.06 |
Congratulations to my good friend Morgan, who is the |
30.12.06 |
29.12.06 |
I
finished yet another book today. The third autobiography in as many
months. This time it was Julian Clary's "A Young Man's Passage" which I
had expected to enjoy as I've been a fan for many years. |
29.12.06 |
28.12.06 |
Gareth
and I went to see the film "Night At The Museum" tonight. |
28.12.06 |
26.12.06 |
We
decided to take a long walk to work off some of the excesses of
Christmas Day, so we took Bonnie down to Stokes Bay with Gareth's Mum. |
26.12.06 |
25.12.06 |
I'd like
to wish everyone that takes the time to read this journal a very Merry
Christmas! |
25.12.06 |
22.12.06 |
What
seems like months ago we ordered some leather settee's as part of a deal
which guaranteed delivery by Christmas. I think delivering this
afternoon was cutting it a bit fine! |
22.12.06 |
17.12.06 |
I've often read posts on Depeche Mode internet forums about some fans
fascination with the bands home town of Basildon. How bizarre, I used to
think. Today Gareth's Mum drove us to
Colchester for a family gathering and as we travelled the M25 we passed
signs for Basildon... and I was genuinely excited! I know. I need to get
out more! |
17.12.06 |
09.12.06 |
It was
great to wake up knowing we had the whole day ahead and we were already
in central London. As we were near Euston I took Gareth to small cafe I
know where they do amazing breakfasts. It is a real down to earth place
frequented by rail workers, cab drivers and bag ladies! The look on
Gareth's face was brilliant. 'Horror' would be a good word. He ordered
his breakfast from the set menu and then added the list of items he
didn't want, so I asked that they be put on my plate instead. What a
feast I had!! |
09.12.06 |
08.12.06 |
Today
Gareth and I travelled up
to London for a few days which would include me attending a few gigs. We
didn't have the best of starts as we decided to get the bus to the
railway station. Considering we only live a few minutes away we thought
it would be easy. Wrong! We took over an hour to get there after waiting
for the bus and then going on a round trip of Basingstoke. We vowed it
would be a taxi to get home! |
08.12.06 |
05.12.06 |
Finished
another book today. This time it's the autobiography of Gary
Barlow from Take That called 'My Take'. |
05.12.06 |
03.12.06 |
We were
invited to Sunday lunch by Gareth's Mum & Dad today. As they live close
to the coast we took the dogs for a walk to Stokes Bay on a very windy
afternoon with waves crashing onto the beach! |
03.12.06 |
01.12.06 |
Gareth
and I went to see Flushed Away tonight. |
01.12.06 |
30.11.06 |
I went to the Portsmouth Guildhall tonight to see 'The Charlatans'. It was always destined to be a great gig as they are touring to promote their latest Greatest Hits package, so numerous classic singles were played tonight! |
30.11.06 |
19.11.06 |
Gareth
has worked really hard putting together all the Ikea flat pack
furniture. I think it looks really good! |
19.11.06 |
17.11.06 |
Whilst
we still had a van on hire we set off for Ikea in Bristol. It's a good
job we've been saving money these last few months in readiness for the
move as we spent a lot today! |
17.11.06 |
16.11.06 |
Having
lived in Ludgershall for over 6 years the day has finally come when I
move to somewhere new. Gareth and I are renting a house in Basingstoke.
It may not sound that exciting to you, but the thought of living within
a few minutes of a decent shopping centre, supermarkets, reasonably
priced fuel, a railway station and two cinemas fills us with glee! There
is also the added convenience of various fast food delivery options and
to help counteract the possible excess we also live near quite a few
gyms too (a New Years Resolution perhaps!) |
16.11.06 |
13.11.06 |
I'm
doing well in my resolution to read more books this year. I just
finished 'The Gospel According To Chris Moyles'. |
23.11.06 |
08.11.06 |
I
travelled up to London tonight to see 'Lorraine' play at the Metro club
in Oxford Street. The band were on excellent form and played an extended
setlist too! As I was on the guestlist I was entitled to stay after the
gig for drinks with the band, who were as friendly and chatty as usual! |
08.11.06 |
31.10.06 |
So the
day has come when I have to accompany Gareth to see the 'Scissor
Sisters' at Brixton Academy in London. I rang the venue in advance and
they confirmed that the band would be onstage at 8:30pm. I needed to
know this information to ensure I spent the least amount of time in the
company of 'Scissor Sisters' fans. We arrived at the venue at 8:25pm
which would have been great if the band could tell the time. They
finally honoured us with their presence at 9:45pm and for just over an
hour I got to stand with a forced grin across my face. I did actually
enjoy it when they played 'Laura' but once that momentary lapse of
musical taste passed I got back to the task of hating every minute! |
31.10.06 |
28.10.06 |
We
travelled over to Wales today to stay with our great friends Scott and
Jon. A hilarious time was had and I have to commend Jon on his culinary
skills as his curry was gorgeous! |
28.10.06 |
26.10.06 |
I've
spent the last 3 days attending the first part of a Management
Development Course organised via my employers. I have to say that all
the other delegates are a brilliant bunch and we have had a great time
and learnt loads. Prior to attending the course we all had to complete a
psychometric-like test that analyzed behavioural style. I'll quote a few
statements from my report: |
24.10.06 |
22.10.06 |
Gareth
and I travelled to Newport in South Wales tonight in terrible wet and
windy weather. It was worth it thought to meet up with our friends
Scott, Jon and Mark to watch 'Lorraine' play a brilliant gig. |
22.10.06 |
21.10.06 |
A trip
up to London today to attend the UK wedding party of our friends Robert
and Julie. I emphasise the UK bit because they actually got married in
Las Vegas!! As it was going to be a late night we decided to get a hotel
and booked one near Tower Bridge with views from our room that made it
worth every penny! |
21.10.06 |
20.10.06 |
Gareth
and I went to the cinema to see "Marie Antionette" tonight. Once you get
past the selective accents (some try to sound like the country their
character comes from and some just sound American!) it is a really
enjoyable film. |
20.10.06 |
18.10.06 |
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY GARETH! |
18.10.06 |
For previous 'Blog' entries go to the Archive here