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

Gareth and I went for a walk at Stokes Bay with Bonnie today.



 She loved running along the beach!

28.01.07

Gareth and I went to the Anvil Theatre in Basingstoke to see a sold out show by comedian Jimmy Carr



He was funny, but not really my kind of humour. Gareth really enjoyed it though!

27.01.07

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!



 Enjoyable though!

26.01.07

First snow of the year here in Basingstoke!



This is what the back garden looked like when I woke up.

24.01.07

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

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

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

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

Does anyone know how to build an ark?
We moved to Basingstoke on November 16th 2006 and I think it has rained at least once everyday since. It's even pouring down as I type this!
I tend to notice as the parking space outside the house has a huge puddle every time it rains, and it is very rare that I don't end up with wet feet going to or from the car!

06.01.07

We went to the local cinema tonight (it feels good to say that at last!) to see 'Employee Of The Month'.



It hasn't exactly had glowing reviews about its depth, but as a fun film it was perfect. I really enjoyed it and can recommend it too!

05.01.07

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

So it's time to say farewell to 2006!
What a eventful year for so many different reasons. In no particular order, Gareth and I moved to our own place, Gareth qualified as a nurse, we had a great holiday in Greece, I toured Europe watching 'Depeche Mode', I changed work locations and job, I first heard the band 'Lorraine', the list could go on and on! It's been a really busy year with little time to reflect or catch up with many of my friends, so sorry to any of you that I haven't seen for a long time. I'll redress that in 2007 (first resolution sorted!)

One of my presents to Gareth this Christmas was arranging for us to see Kylie at Wembley Arena tonight! What better way of seeing in 2007! I drove us up to London late afternoon so we had time to go for a nice meal before getting the underground up to Wembley. The gig was amazing and at the moment that Kylie appeared onstage the crowd went crazy and I felt the tears welling up! (No doubting my sexuality then!)



HAPPY NEW YEAR!

31.12.06

Congratulations to my good friend Morgan, who is the
5000th
visitor to this site!

We drove down to Gosport this afternoon and were passing Lee On The Solent just before the sun set. The wind was really blowing so the waves were crashing in!




 

30.12.06

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.



Oddly I found the way he delivered the story of his life to be very flippant and dismissive and I didn't warm to him at all.

29.12.06

Gareth and I went to see the film "Night At The Museum" tonight.



I absolutely loved it, a really fun film!

28.12.06

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.
In contrast to our recent visits, the Solent was incredibly calm, so much so that four swans swam by as we walked along the beach!


 

26.12.06

I'd like to wish everyone that takes the time to read this journal a very Merry Christmas!

Gareth and I travelled to Gosport for fabulous Christmas dinner with his Mum and Dad. A big thank you to them for providing such a great meal!
Later that evening we decided to take Bonnie for a walk and decided to go and find a local house where they had decorated a tree in their front garden with lots of white lights.



This photograph doesn't do justice to just how beautiful it looked!

25.12.06

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!



We can at last relax in comfort!

22.12.06

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!
It was great to meet all of Gareth's family and I was made to feel very very welcome, so thank you to all!

17.12.06

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!!
Next was a walk to Oxford Street and Regent Street for some Christmas shopping which lasted for most of the day along with various food stops and a wander around the National Portrait Gallery. Then it was back to the hotel so I could get ready for the gig tonight.

The gig being 'Gary Numan' at The Forum. The first record I acknowledge buying as a music fan was 'Are Friends Electric?' by Tubeway Army way back in 1979. Their next single 'Cars' was released in just Gary Numan's name and by then I was hooked on synth music which led me to Depeche Mode two years later. It was quite a few years before I got to see Gary play live and I missed out when he toured to promote his 1980 album Telekon. Tonight he is playing as if he was promoting that album, a concession to all his fans who yearn for him to play his early music at gigs.
From the moment the lights went down and the first notes of 'This Wreckage' blasted out I was like a child at Christmas. I was so excited! The next hour was like a blur as he played all the songs from the Telekon album as well as some other singles from that era.



Absolutely brilliant from beginning to end, with a crowd who worshipped his every move. I so can't wait for the DVD release!

09.12.06

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!
As we were only going for a few days we only packed one bag with clothes and toiletries and carefully stowed it above our heads when we got on the train. We arrived at London Waterloo station and got the underground to Euston station, next to which our hotel was situated. As we got off the underground train I asked Gareth where our bag was. He said he thought I had it. Wrong! Arghhh!
We got the next underground back to Waterloo station and then spent the next 30 minutes speaking to various staff who kept recommending we speak to other staff, who then sent us off to speak to other staff. You get the picture?! Eventually someone took our details and said they would call us if the bag was found on the train we had been on earlier, which was now on its return journey to the South coast.
Now in this age of heightened security we had images of the bag being taken off the train and blown up, just in case, or simply just stolen. Luckily our wallets and my concert tickets weren't in the bag, so a visit to some shops to buy new toiletries was our first priority before we set off for the hotel again. The way our day was going I had visions that the hotel would say my booking was not listed and we'd end up paying ridiculous prices somewhere, but at last thins seemed to be going in our favour as just as I was signing the hotel paperwork we got the call from the station saying that our bag had been found and was being kept safely for us to pick up. Yay! A slight hitch was that the bag was in now in Basingstoke and we were in central London, but hey, at least it had been found!

And so to the main reason I needed to be in London tonight. The second show from occasionally reformed 'My Life Story', one of my favourite all time bands! Thanks again to Jake for putting me on the guestlist for the show at The Astoria.



I got right to the front for what turned out to be a brilliant show which was ended with a superb rendition of 'Silently Screaming'.




pictures courtesy of phoenixfm.com

The aftershow party was really great too, particularly as for once I didn't have to watch the time and rush off for a train! It was great to catch up with my friend Nick and also get to chat with Jake after way too long! 

08.12.06

Finished another book today. This time it's the autobiography of Gary Barlow from Take That called 'My Take'.



A really enjoyable insight into the rise, fall and rise again of a boy band. I recommend it!

05.12.06

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!



In this kind of weather Bonnie has a real struggle running into the wind and sometimes she just gives up and stands still, fur blown back!


 

03.12.06

Gareth and I went to see Flushed Away tonight.



 Not a great film but we were happy just because it's our first cinema trip since living in Basingstoke and we were back home in a few minutes!

01.12.06

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

Gareth has worked really hard putting together all the Ikea flat pack furniture. I think it looks really good!


 

19.11.06

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!
Hopefully it will all look good when it's put together!

I took the (now short) drive to Winchester tonight to Lorraine play a gig there. The venue, 'The Railway' is basically a pub with a small back room for bands to play. Lorraine played a great set to a really enthusiastic crowd despite the size of the place. An enjoyable respite from unpacking boxes! 

17.11.06

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!)
A big thanks to Chris Ford for helping us load and unload all our stuff into the van we hired for the move. It'll take weeks to unpack everything!

16.11.06

I'm doing well in my resolution to read more books this year. I just finished 'The Gospel According To Chris Moyles'.



I listen to his show most mornings on the way to work and I've learnt a lot about him by reading the book. I recommend it.

23.11.06

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!
It also meant I got to meet a load of people who frequent the bands internet messageboard, so hello again to all!

08.11.06

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!
Gareth enjoyed it though!

31.10.06

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!
We all drank a bit too much and I for one am quite happy that I've 'lost' a few hours from the evening. Problem is that Scott and Jon remember it all, particularly everything Gareth felt he needed to tell the world. Oh the shame!

28.10.06

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:
"He will not be overlooked or uninvolved"
"When he has strong feelings about a particular problem you should expect to hear these feelings, and they will probably be expressed in an emotional manner"
Is the above the professional equivalent of 'drama queen'?!

24.10.06

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.



As if that wasn't enough we got invited to the bands dressing room afterwards to meet them. They were all really friendly and we're happy to chat with us at length!
My highlight of the evening however is my friend Jon's reaction to the band. Here is a short excerpt from a text he sent me after we had left Newport:
"Lorraine are officially going to be my new obsession. I f**king love them".
Knowing that someone else can get as excited as me about a band is a great feeling!

22.10.06

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!





An even bigger bonus was that it was within walking distance of the party and most of the guests were staying there too, allowing us to carry on the party in the hotel bar well into the early hours! We had a brilliant time so a big thank you to Robert and Julie!

21.10.06

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.



However my opinion is somewhat biased, as I love anything set vaguely around this time which is why my favourite films include "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Plunkett And Macleane"!

20.10.06

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARETH!
I must be mad, but as a special birthday surprise I've got Gareth two tickets to the special Halloween gig by his beloved 'Scissor Sisters'. Sadly he insists it's me that gets to accompany him. Damn! I really can't stand that band!

18.10.06