We were supposed to go to the theatre in London today but I have had a really bad cough for over a week now and couldn't take the chance of whooping like a constipated moose at some quiet moment during a play!

05.07.08

Another trip to the cinema tonight. This time to see 'Hancock' starring Will Smith.



I had high hopes for this film but the "twist" didn't really entertain me. The trailer had basically represented the first half of the film, pre-"twist", and from there it was a little downhill for me. Disappointing.

02.07.08

We went to see "The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian" today.



It was a special screening today, which had sounded like a good idea when we booked! After a LOT of adverts we were "entertained" by a short film of one of the female lead actors from the film reading a chapter from the book. Mmmm? Hardly thrilling or even logical. When this finished the lights went up and we were told there would be a 15 minute break before the film would start. This allowed the numerous kids to be taken to the toilets or to buy sweets and then have to be re-settled into their seats again!
Luckily the film was really good and quite spectacular to watch in places. It was funny to note that every time "Aslan" the lion appeared, Gareth had a little cry!

29.06.08

We travelled up to London today to see two plays, cos we're sophisticated like that!
First stop was the Trafalgar Studios just off Trafalgar Square (oddly enough!) to see the new Neil Labute comedy "Fat Pig".



 It's quite a small theatre with no actual stage. The seats just stop and then there is a big space where the action takes place. As we were sat in the second row it was almost like being in the play itself. It was really difficult not to just stare at the actors when they came close! A really enjoyable play.
After enjoying a nice meal we walked over Waterloo Bridge to see "Harper Regan" at the National Theatre.



I'd really been looking forward to this play as I think Lesley Sharpe is a great actor, and as we were sat in the front row I got to watch in great detail just how good she really is. It was quite a dark play and my lack of understanding of anything with depth really showed with the confused look on my face when it finished. One lady in the row behind me summed up how I felt when she loudly exclaimed "is that the end?"!

28.06.08

We've been negotiating to buy a flat for at least a month. Having paid for valuation fees and searches we found out today that it has now been withdrawn from sale. Not a great day. Hopefully our solicitor can sort some kind of compensation so at least we can recoup some of the wasted money.

27.06.08

Still feeling numb today, but a big thank you to all friends and colleagues who've given me support.



I've had time to reflect and remember all Bonnie's funny little ways.
When she got excited outdoors she would run at high speed in a figure of eight with her tail tucked underneath her, eventually ending by running towards me and then avoiding me at the last second. This used to drive Lily mad as she tried to keep up! If Bonnie got excited indoors she would try to run around the house, though every room, under furniture, in a circuit until she was worn out. When Lily was alive Bonnie and I would often sneak upstairs for a really rough play as Lily never quite got the hang of this game and would bark or try to get us to stop, so we learnt to play quietly! Bonnie also loved to play on the stairs, a few steps up from me, so as I tried to touch her front paws she would either move or try to nip me. If she did catch me she always just knawed at my fingers, never biting. If I ever said "Ow" she would always look really guilty!
She was such a special dog. In 1997 when I saw the advert in the newspaper for a 3 year old westie for sale I had to telephone, mainly just to find out why anyone would sell a westie they had for so long. To find it was a puppy farm and that Bonnie was unable to breed made me even more determined to rescue her from the horrible existence she was enduring. It took a lot of discipline not to tell the woman who eventually sold Bonnie to us what I really thought of her and her farm, but the priority was to get Bonnie out of there. We were warned she'd never been in a car or lived indoors, but she quickly adapted to such luxuries!
Soon my social circle began to expand rapidly. I couldn't go anywhere with Bonnie without people stopping and talking to me so they could make a fuss of her too. I suddenly found I knew every dog in the neighbourhood by name, and their owners became friends too. When we moved to Ludgershall in rural Wiltshire I soon knew every dog owner in the area, quickly settling in a lot easier than if I'd been without her help!
Her intelligence never ceased to amaze me. She knew lots of words and would always react if I said the word "friend" as this signified another dog close by. She would put her head on one side as if she was trying to understand me if I used a new word, but she'd soon catch on.
Let's not forget her own personal contribution to global warming either. Bonnie could clear a room with one of her emissions. Less of a carbon footprint, more of a methane stamp!
It's clear from all of the above that I have lots of wonderful memories of the time I got to share with the Westie that was Bonnie!

23.06.08

We had our friends Rob & Andy over for dinner tonight. All was going well until there was a crash and some swearing from the kitchen which was a result of Gareth dropping the bowl of freshly cooked rice. We managed to clean most of it up but I reckon we'll be finding grains of rice for weeks!

20.06.08

We started the day by visiting the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden where we learnt about the way transport in London has evolved in recent centuries. Gareth even got to use a tube train simulator, further confirming his desire to be a tube train driver!



And I got to see some interesting advertising!



Next stop was the fascinating Cabinet War Rooms, then something to eat before we wandered around the Embankment and then onto Westminster.







Next stop for me was back to the Hammersmith Apollo to see Yazoo. It's a really great venue but it does have one drawback. The gents toilet is quite small so there are always queues. I took my place in the long line and eventually got to use the facilities. Next challenge was to wash my hands. Easy enough, but then I realised that all the hand drying facilities were the other side of the queue so it was a case of rigorous shaking of hands to disperse the water. At this point I heard a familiar voice, one I've heard many times in the last 27 years. There in the queue was Andy Fletcher from Depeche Mode. My initial reaction was the need to go over and shake his hand, until I realised that my hands were quite wet and this may not be an ideal way to introduce myself! As I pondered this dilemma Andy was able to avail himself of the facilities and I missed my chance! I decided that loitering outside the loo's would also be a bit dodgy and as the bells were ringing in the bar to indicate the show was about to start I quickly went to my seat.
Once again Vince and Alison played a brilliant show!









It was definitely worth the 26 year wait!

19.06.08

We travelled up to London tonight and booked into a hotel so we can spend a day sightseeing tomorrow. The other reason is so that I can see two Yazoo concerts!



They are playing two nights at the Hammersmith Apollo and tonight I was sat in the third row... well I say "sat" because everyone was on their feet from the second the lights went down! And by "everyone" I mean a complete cross section of European and American fans too. I couldn't hear any English being spoken in my row!
Alison and Vince were absolutely brilliant once again and the crowd were amazing, dancing and singing whenever an up tempo song was played.



The reaction for the instrumental part of "Too Pieces" confirmed that the goosebumps I had in Bristol when I heard it was a common feeling!




 

18.06.08

I got to spend time with Bonnie today which would normally fill me with great joy, but as she has got older she has lost her hearing and it really affected me this time. Her joy at hearing various sounds has been taken away from her and what upsets me is she probably doesn't know why. She can no longer hear the post arrive which used to send her into a guarding frenzy. She used to be able to hear a bite being taken out of an apple from anywhere in the house, or the sound of food landing in her bowl but now she sometimes doesn't even wake up when there is noise around her. I shed a few tears.

We went to see "The Happening" tonight. The latest film by M.Night Shyamalan. I've really enjoyed some of his previous work, particularly "Sixth Sense" and "The Lady In The Water" but this film didn't really go anywhere.



Mark Wahlberg is really wooden and I got to the point where I really didn't care if he made it to the end of the movie or not. I was just happy that I did. Not a film I can recommend.

15.06.08

Tonight I went to 'James' play at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth.



It's the smallest venue I've ever seen them play and the crowd really appreciated the intimacy of it all. As it was a warm up for the bands appearance at the Isle Of Wight Festival they played a crowd pleasing set with lots of singles to keep everyone singing along!



 

14.06.08

I've been joking all week that every time I say the word "Yazoo" I wet myself with excitement. Well it almost came true at 9pm tonight when the house lights went down at the Bristol Colston Hall and Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke walked onto the stage. As I heard the first notes of "Nobody's Diary" I realised just how long I'd waited to see this band play live; twenty six years. And through the following 90 minutes they reminded me why I'd missed them so much.





 They were absolutely amazing, and even with quite a restrained crowd they still gave it there all. Highlights have to include "Nobody's Diary", "Too Pieces", with Vince really emphasising the instrumental outro, "Only You", this list could go on and on...




 

13.06.08

We travelled up to London tonight to see the play 'God Of Carnage' at the Gielgud Theatre. We nearly didn't make it as a train had broken down as it was just leaving Waterloo Station and was blocking the platform we were due to alight from. A few tense minutes on the train as I imagined us still being sat there as the play began, but luckily all was soon sorted.
 I was looking forward to seeing Ken Stott on stage as I've always enjoyed any film or TV show he's starred in. He was joined by Ralph Fiennes, Tamsin Greig and Janet McTeer in what turned out to be a really enjoyable play.





The theatre was full of people I call "Rar's". The kind of people who talk very loudly with very posh accents, so before the play began there were lots of 'Ruperts' and 'Felicitys' all trying to talk louder than their friends. When actress Helena Bonham Carter took her seat I knew I was mixing in posh circles!

11.06.08

I travelled to Camden in London tonight to see 'Lorraine' play at the Barfly. Their UK gigs are rare these days so it was great to see them again.







Despite the fact that it is a really small venue I still found myself sat next to someone on the train home that had also been to the gig, was also a fan of 'Kent', and lives in Basingstoke! Small world!

10.06.08

As the weekend weather continued to stay so sunny I sat in the garden for the afternoon and was completely ignored by the birds visiting the feeders we have hanging out there. This meant I was able to take some really close up photographs.







Tonight we went to Oxford to see stand up comedian Simon Amstell.



I really enjoy his sense of humour when he presents "Never Mind The Buzzcocks" on the BBC but as a stand up comedian his comedy is much more self critical and for want of a better word, deep. Some of his material leans towards darker emotions which I wasn't expecting and I came away almost disappointed.

08.06.08

We were in Gosport today with Gareth's mum at her new allotment. At the moment it's just a large area of recently rotivated earth but she has great plans for it. We spent time there today forking over about a third of it, removing old roots and weeds etc.



 After yesterdays work in our own garden my body wasn't best prepared for more manual labour, and by the time we finished I was aching in places I wasn't aware could ache!

01.06.08

Due to the fact that we've either been away on recent weekends or its been raining, the lawns to the front and back of the house were in real need of being mowed. As the sun was out the time had come to take on this mammoth task and as the grass was almost 18" high in places it took quite a while. Maybe not the best task to take on considering what's planned for tomorrow!

31.05.08

I never win anything. Or I should say I never used to win anything, as I recently won a ticket to see the band 'Scouting For Girls' play tonight in Bristol.
The Trinity is a venue I'd never been to so I wasn't quite prepared for the old church that it turned out to be.



The band were on great form and the audience were really into enjoying themselves,





so an excellent gig!

30.05.08

I planted various different things in the garden last year and most remained green and uninteresting, but now they have become more established I have been pleasantly surprised as some beautiful new flowers have begun to bloom





as well as some old favourites.

28.05.08

We travelled up to London today and enjoyed walking in the sunshine.



 We came to see the matinee performance of the show 'Spamalot' at The Palace Theatre.





which was really great fun!
As soon as it finished we got the train home to Basingstoke and then went to a party at our good friends Mark & Mark's house. They were hosting a 'Eurovision' party and everyone was allocated countries to support and had to bring food or drink linked to that country. I was lucky enough to get Greece and Spain and Gareth got the UK so it wasn't too hard to find stuff! We had a great time despite not agreeing with the winner!

24.05.08