Gareth and I went to the opening night of the new "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" film and it was an evening we wont forget in a while!
 The family that sat in front of us included a girl who could have been crowned the Chav Queen! Not only did she have the obligatory coat with the hooded collar, she was also 'wearing' a skirt that could have been mistaken for a belt. To further enhance her desirability, whilst Gareth was taking a swig of his drink he also managed to cough which resulted in a mouthful of coke being spat all over her! She was probably thrilled as it was proper Coke rather than the cheap variety she is probably used to, and was wearing it like expensive perfume!
 Can't take him anywhere!

31.05.04

Gareth and I went to see the film "The Day After Tomorrow", drawn by the TV advert that warns it "contains extended scenes of peril"!!
The parts where the earth was freezing over were a bit difficult to comprehend as the cinema was absolutely roasting. Good film though!

27.05.04

Keane are still at No.1 in the UK album charts. Not bad going for a new bands debut album!

23.05.04

No. 1  !!!!
Keane's debut album 'Hopes & Fears' just entered the UK album charts at No.1!!
I've seen them play live 19 times in the last 12 months, meeting them many times. It couldn't have happened to nicer guys!!!!!

16.05.04

The final gig of the Keane UK tour tonight in London so I had to be there!! Met up with Dave & Martin again and we got to see a band at their best. Confident and happy! Onwards and upwards, especially as their debut album 'Hopes & Fears' was released today.

10.05.04

Travelled to Eastbourne today to see Keane play on their home territory. Met up with friends Dave & Martin at the gig, which was fantastic as always. Also got to chat with Richard & Tim from the band after the gig as well as Tim's charming parents. A great night!

08.05.04

Gareth & I went to Wales today to see my Dad as it is his 80th Birthday!! My sister Julie flew in from Holland especially and my nephew Leigh and his family also came to congratulate my Dad!


 

07.05.04

Bid farewell to my boss Tim today who left  the company after 12 years.

Who is going to understand my old comedy references now??

30.04.04

Gareth and I went to Wales today as it was the wedding of my niece Jo her partner Shaun

Jo & Shaun make it legal!

Gareth & I
 

24.04.04

A massive THANK YOU to Gareth for rebuilding my computer after months of problems with it.

23.04.04

Met up with my friends Mark & Sarah to see Duran Duran play at the Birmingham NEC tonight. Absolutely fab gig made even better by Sarah's acid wit. She summed up bass player John Taylor's new look by commenting that he looked like he'd been in a house fire! They played a mostly Greatest Hits set but managed some classics too, including my old fave 'Friends Of Mine'.

19.04.04

Our final day in Holland today so we headed down to Delft for a bit of sight seeing & shopping for souvenirs.



A MASSIVE THANK YOU to my sister Julie for putting us up and making sure we had a fantastic time!!

16.04.04

My sister joined us on a day out in Rotterdam today. We gave the shops a good going over before heading off to the Eurotower



from which the views across Rotterdam were amazing!!



When we got back it was time to take my sister's dog Chunkie for a walk. Gareth volunteered but it was debatable as to who was taking who!



 

15.04.04

Gareth and I went to Amsterdam today. How come I was approached by all the drug dealers yet Gareth gets a wave from a hooker?!! Maybe she already knew him?!!!



Note Gareth's response to the above slur on his character, or maybe the length of that finger is what made the hooker wave!!

14.04.04

Gareth and I travelled to Holland today to visit my sister Julie. When we got to Heathrow we were queuing behind the actress who played 'Madge' in 'Neighbours'. Then, when we got to Amsterdam Schipol Airport there were loads of girls with banners waiting for us. Well not exactly us, but 'Busted' who were on the same flight! I was more excited seeing and saying hello to Jamie Cullum who arrived just after us.
Julie picked us up and then after dropping our stuff at her place we headed to the beach



where meeting a 'Lego' elephant proved very popular!!


 

13.04.04

Congratulations once again to Gareth!
Visitor number 2000!!!
It's a good job I love him or I'd think I was being stalked!!!

31.03.04

Stayed over at Scott & Jon's for which we were really grateful! Then we went shopping again before visiting my sister and family and seeing just how much my great nephew had grown!



Next stop was to see my Dad and his partner Pam before ending our weekend by visiting my nephew and his wife and learning many animals names from my great niece Ella!

28.03.04

Gareth and I spent the day in Cardiff. We met up with my mate Mark in the afternoon for some shopping and posh coffee. A great time was had by all!
Gareth and I then headed to my friends Scott & Jon's for an evening of pizza and videos. I had totally forgotten that Scott once filmed Mark and I performing a song we'd written...well 'performing' is too kind a word, 'hamming' seems more appropriate. It was a real blast from the past as it was filmed in 1991.
Note to self: never try to blackmail anyone, as with that video in existence I will always lose!

27.03.04

Set off for a weekend in Wales today, and finally got around to getting my second tattoo! I'll be able to submit my own picture for 'Chav Of The Month' at this rate!



Look familiar?!!
I met Gareth from his train and we then had a great meal with his friends Mark & Gemma who also put us up for the night. A big thanks to both!

26.03.04

Went to Cirencester tonight to meet up with all my former Housing pals (see pic in my friends section). A big thank you to Neil for bringing the following website to my attention
www.chavscum.co.uk
Go check it out, it's both hilarious and scary at the same time!

24.03.04

Went to Swindon tonight for a meal with my mate Chris. I drove back home on unlit roads. What is it about other drivers and full beam? I can see an oncoming car well before it gets near me and am able to turn off full beam before I blind them, so why can't other drivers manage this simple manoeuvre??

22.03.04

Went to see Keane support Travis in Bournemouth tonight. Another superb gig! Managed to catch up with Tim from Keane and had a good chat. Lovely guy. During the Travis set I chatted for a long time with Richard from Keane, a completely charming bloke. At the end of the Travis set, Fran Healy thanked Keane and asked that everyone in the crowd buy their debut album as they are going to be massive. The word is spreading!!
I noticed at the gig that there were a lot of St. Johns Ambulance volunteers on hand to assist anyone who needed their help. Am I correct in assuming that none of them have ever refused a cake in their lives?!!

21.03.04

Went to see Keane support Travis in Reading tonight. Superb gig, especially the crowds reaction to Keane's recent Top 3 single. I was really tired when I got home, only to find mouse No.4, having eaten the chocolate and awaiting the free holiday. I had to go back out in the cold and release it in the countryside. Must be mad!

20.03.04

Released mouse No.3 this morning. It appears that the squeak on the street is that a visit to my house gets you chocolate and a free holiday!!

19.03.04

Went to the Royal Festival Hall in London tonight to see Kraftwerk. The show was absolutely amazing with incredible visuals throughout!


pic: www.kraftwerk.com

When I walked into the venue I spotted Daniel Miller, the man who originally signed Depeche Mode in 1981. I wonder if he heard me whimper 'thank you' as he passed by! As I walked around the building before taking my seat I stood next to a woman who was the absolute double of Grace Jones. Reports in the press have since confirmed that it actually was Grace Jones!

18.03.04

Got up this morning to find my little 'Snickers' eating rodent in the humane trap I'd set. The instructions said that it should be released at least half a mile from the house as it has a homing instinct, so I found myself taking a mouse out for a drive! As I released it in a local-ish field in the pouring rain I wondered if other people spend their weekends like this!

14.03.04

Last night I spent over two hours cleaning out a storeroom where the mouse I mentioned on 25.01.04 appears to be living. There was loads of nesting material in corners but I scrubbed the lot. Today I bought a humane mouse trap and was advised that the best bait to use would be some 'Snickers'. At the moment I'm trying to eat healthily during the week, lots of fruit and then a salad in the evening so imagine just how hard it was for me to put chocolate in that mouse trap!!
I also had a bit of an earache today. The pain got quite bad before lunch so I headed off to the chemist with my winter hat covering my ears as it was really cold. The chemist was no help at all and wouldn't give me any medication. In fact they were quite rude in their urge to be as unhelpful as possible. I got back to my office in a right sulk until someone mentioned that the logo on the front of my hat may not have helped...

11.03.04

Congratulations yet again to Gareth!
Visitor number 1900!! People are definitely talking now...

10.03.04

Whilst in London tonight at a 'Keane' gig I decided to buy a t-shirt, just in case there are some people out there who are undecided on whether I like 'Keane' or not.
What followed was one of those occasions where something is said innocently but just seems to come out all wrong...
I decided I wanted a red t-shirt, so I approached the merchandise stall and asked the young lady there
"Excuse me, do you have a large red one?"
There was a slight pause before we both burst out laughing!

09.03.04

Gareth and I headed over to Wales today. A massive thanks goes out to my family for making us so welcome! And I got to see just how much my great nephew, Daniel, has grown

29.02.04

I went to London tonight to see 'Keane' play what could be their smallest gig for a very long time. It was in a club in Highbury and not surprisingly it was somewhat fab! It was good to meet up with my mate Nick too, and one of these days I'm going to leave the car at home so I can join him at the bar!!

26.02.04

Keane just entered the UK singles charts at No.3!
Yep, No.3! And just in case you missed it, that's No.3!!!
I feel like a proud Dad! The temptation to say 'told you so' is killing me!!
'TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!'

22.02.04

Went to see 'Keane' tonight in Bristol with my good friend Graham. Am I starting to sound a bit repetitive?!!
The venue was absolutely packed and the band excelled! A big thanks to my friend Emma for the poster and chat!

20.02.04

Every now and again I have to remind myself just how lucky I am to have a job that involves driving around beautiful countryside. Today as I drove across Wiltshire I saw two swans in flight to the side of my car, almost keeping pace with me. Then I passed some horses being exercised around a racing track, obviously enjoying their gallop and at the side of many of the roads were crocus and daffodils just coming into flower. A great journey!

18.02.04

Went to see 'Keane' again tonight, this time in a tiny venue called the Underground Theatre in Eastbourne. It was a long journey but it was worth it!



I'm sure they wont be playing in such small venues for long!!

07.02.04

A miraculous thing happened today! My boss, Tim, worked out what the kettle was used for and was seen to be making the tea! Those who know him will be cynical that this happened so here is pictorial proof of the event.



He was heard commenting that being witnessed making the tea was nowhere near as rare as seeing me with my mouth shut. What does he mean??

06.02.04

Went to see 'Keane' do a special gig in London tonight. The tickets were made available via a link on their website and the venue was kept secret until earlier today. It turned out to be a small theatre under the arches of Charing Cross Station.



It was a fantastic gig that may be one of the smallest they ever do!
And thank you to my mate Nick for the company and the beer!

05.02.04

My colleague Lesley came out with the quote of the day today. She remarked that
"if ever I came into work and you were nice to me all day I'd assume that I was terminally ill and no-one had told me!"
Bless her!

05.02.04

Congratulations to Morgan!
Visitor number 1700!! That'll stop the rumours about Gareth.....!

02.02.04

I went for a 'refreshing' walk this morning at the beach on Hayling Island. I went on holiday there as a child but I didn't recognise a thing, and there wasn't even a blue plaque commemorating my previous visit!



Later on I went to Portsmouth where various historic ships are docked including



HMS Warrior.

01.02.04

Gareth and I had an eventful trip to London this evening. We walked around many of the sights



before getting something to eat.
It started to rain really heavily as we headed out of London and when we were on the motorway my main windscreen wiper broke down. It was a challenging drive having to lean sideways to see out of the left hand side of the windscreen!

31.01.04

Gareth introduced me to the joys of Cash & Carry shopping tonight!
I was like a kid in a sweet shop! Well to be more accurate I was like a kid in the sweets aisle! Try to imagine my face when he bought me a box of 48 Cadbury Creme Eggs!
What?
Eggs are good for you! I'm sure I read that somewhere.

29.01.04

What happened? I drove to my friend Chris' house to pick him up to go get something to eat. We weren't inside for more than 10 minutes but when we left to walk to my car it had snowed. A LOT!
After a failed attempt at driving to the restaurant we chose to walk there instead. At least we had the place to ourselves, but they still got our order wrong!
A big thanks to Chris for all his support when I decided to walk up a snow covered bank and fell flat on my face! For 'support' read 'hysterical laughter', but I get my own back on the 'Friends' page of this website!
It then took me four hours to drive home. What is it about this country that means a fall of snow and everything comes to a complete standstill? At least the bread and milk suppliers must have been rubbing their hands with glee!

28.01.04

The world has gone mad.
The Oscar nominations have been announced and 'Lost In Translation' is up for quite a few, including 'Best Film'! I can't seem to find any mention of the sound microphone being nominated for 'Best Supporting Actor' despite being the most entertaining thing about the film.

27.01.04

Went to see the band 'Haven' play in London tonight. Superb gig! It must be a sign of getting old that as I looked at some of the younger people in the audience I wondered if they had got dressed in the dark!
A big thank you to Skid for driving me there and back, though the journey home was akin to a rollercoaster ride, except without any of the pleasure!

26.01.04

Got up really early this morning to ensure Gareth got to work on time and as I took the dogs out I saw the most beautiful dawn



which was followed by a breathtaking sunrise.



Eventually ended up with the dogs at Stokes Bay on the south coast where the water was so very calm



which ensured a relaxing start to the day.



Unfortunately it didn't last, as when I stopped for petrol on the way home my dog Bonnie took the opportunity of me briefly being out of the car to devour the Cadburys Creme Egg I had foolishly left inside!
Then when I was tidying the kitchen I realised that we must have a rodent with somewhat exotic tastes! It had nibbled its way into a 4kg bag of Basmati rice and eaten the lot, every last grain! 4kg!

25.01.04

On December 18th the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) issued a statement that included the following:
"Album sales in the UK are at an all-time high with annual sales now in excess of 230 million units"
Erm, and there was me thinking that illegal downloading via the internet is killing music sales.
Obviously not.
With CD's available at such competitive prices its no wonder the industry is holding its own.
However, today the BPI have settled out of court with internet cd retailer 'cd-wow' who will now have to add a £2 surcharge to the price of all CDs despatched to the UK. The BPI has forced the retailer to increase the cost of its cd's by 25%. I will definitely be less inclined to purchase cd's at the higher price and will now be more likely to turn to the internet to download what I want instead.
"The grabbing hands grab all they can"

21.01.04

Following my comments regarding the film 'Lost In Translation' (see entry 10.01.04), my mate Scott would like it pointed out that I felt a similar reaction when seeing 'Cabin Fever' (see entry 11.10.03). I seem to be turning into some kind of cinema going Jonah. Maybe I should start turning up at premieres and see if they will pay me to go away!

17.01.04

Congratulations again to Gareth!
Visitor number 1600!! People are going to talk...

16.01.04

My day began with a very strange text from my mate Mark. He seemed to be admitting some kind of desire for someone called 'Mr Tickle'!
At first I thought he'd extended the range of London night clubs he attends and had found himself a gentleman lap dancer who did some 'extras' for cash, but on re-reading the text I found that he had just voted for his favourite character from the Mr Men books in a Radio 1 poll!
I'm not quite sure which was scarier!

16.01.04

Went to see 'Lost In Translation', the new Bill Murray film tonight. It was without doubt one of the most boring films I have ever had to endure. A pointless pile of utter sh*te. The highlights were various shots where the sound guys microphone was clearly visible at the top of the screen, but my favourite part was the closing credits!
Have you ever seen the Pope kiss the ground when he gets off his plane in a new country? That's what it felt like coming out of that cinema!

10.01.04

A rather disturbing allegation was made against me this evening. My mate Mark inferred that it was a bit strange that pop star Daniel Bedingfield had recently crashed his car in New Zealand, a country where the restraining order against me isn't enforceable. He added that it was also an odd coincidence that there is a new dent in my own car too. I don't know what he means!!
I should add that I was not too upset with this slur on my character as I'm not the one that is all excited cos McDonalds are doing Mr Men Happy Meals for kids and giving away a free Mr Men toy. Oh the shame!

07.01.04

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

01.01.04

Somedays you just need to go stand on a deserted beach in the winter sunshine and just listen to the waves...you don't? Well I do!

31.12.03