Radio 1 have just announced that the best selling album of 2004 is.....

'Hopes & Fears' by Keane!!!

31.12.04

Gareth and I went to Wales today to visit friends and relatives. My great nephew Daniel particularly liked the new hat we got him,



and my great niece Ella was really getting into the swing of things in her Christmas outfit!



 

26.12.04

Happy Christmas! Hope everyone is having a good one! Father Christmas brought Gareth a pair of 'Donkey from Shrek' ears which he proudly wore when we took the dogs walking!



 

25.12.04

Gareth and I travelled up to London today for some last minute Christmas shopping and a few surprises.
 Gareth is a big fan of the film 'Chicago', so I got us tickets to see the stage musical in the West End. Much to my surprise I really enjoyed it too.
 We finished the day by taking a trip on the London Eye. Though I've been on it many times before, it was my first time in the dark. London really is beautiful at night.

20.12.04

A year ago today I first met Gareth, and my life has just got better and better ever since!

18.12.04

I went to Southampton tonight to see 'Snow Patrol' at the Guildhall. A really enjoyable gig!

15.12.04

I was supposed to see the Manic Street Preachers in Cardiff tonight and was really looking forward to it too. As I was driving across the Severn Bridge into Wales I received a text message from my mate Mark alerting me to the fact that the gig had been postponed as the lead singer is unwell. Roll on January 11th!

13.12.04

It was really foggy as I drove through Everleigh on my way to Pewsey this morning. The fog was just beginning to clear in the vale.



 

25.11.04

Travelled to Bridgend to meet up with my good friend Darryl today. We did our catching up whilst devouring great pizza! This trip has centred around stuffing our faces so it'll be back to healthy eating next week! Probably!

21.11.04

We did a bit of shopping in Cardiff before meeting my sister Glenys, niece Jo and great nephew Daniel for lunch. Jo and I both ordered delicious 'faggots, peas and chips' and when the waitress brought the food to the table she just said 'two faggots?'. Gareth and I were most offended!!
We spent the evening with our good friends Scott and Jon. We had a great meal in 'Diner 77', one of my old haunts from the days when I lived in Cardiff. A big thank you to Scott and Jon for putting us up too!

20.11.04

Gareth and I travelled over to Wales today for a weekend of catching up with family and friends. We spent an enjoyable evening with my Dad and his partner Pam.

19.11.04

I went to see Keane again tonight, this time at the Brixton Academy in London. When I booked the ticket I wasn't asked to specify whether I wished to stand or be seated, but it turned out that I had been given a ticket for the seated area upstairs in the venue. Initially I was disappointed as I usually like to walk around in the standing area and get close to the stage for a least part of a gig, but I have to say that sitting watching a gig is far more civilised!
 I know, I'm getting old!

18.11.04

I went to see Keane in Southampton tonight. The venue was packed and the crowd sang along to every song they knew. A fantastic atmosphere!

13.11.04

I received a letter today from the Metropolitan Police stating they had caught me committing a speeding offence in London in October. This was news I could do without, as I already have 6 points on my licence and this would mean a further three being added. Any more than eleven and it's disqualification from driving.
Once I'd calmed down a little, I noticed that the date I had allegedly sped through London did not correspond with any dates that I'd actually been there. Further closer inspection highlighted that the registration number listed was that of my Peugeot, the car I parted with in August!
It's great to see that at least the new owner of my old car is keeping up the tradition I set!

03.11.04

Met up with my mate Darryl in Cardiff tonight to see 'Bryan Adams' in concert. Fantastic gig, though standing up for such long periods is not as much as it used to be!
On the drive home in the early hours, a deer ran into the road in front of my car. Good job I was alert! It stopped in front of the car, looked at me and then ran off across the fields. A beautiful sight.

01.11.04

There are currently only two albums that have sold over 1,000,000 copies in the UK this year, and 'Hopes & Fears' by Keane is one of them!!!

26.10.04

23 years after releasing their first single, the latest offering from 'Depeche Mode' just entered the UK singles chart at No.7!
Not surprisingly, it is not included on the playlists for either Radio 1 or Radio 2, yet the new 'Travis' single is on both playlists and entered the chart at No.20.

24.10.04

You'll all be disappointed that you've missed the chav convention that must have been happening in Andover today, which would explain why there were hundreds of them in the town. Either that of there was a sale on at Elizabeth Duke in Argos!

23.10.04

Happy 21st Birthday
to my partner Gareth!!



 

18.10.04

After months of careful planning I surprised Gareth today by taking him to Paris for his 21st Birthday weekend. And as an even bigger surprise I took him to the top of the Eiffel Tower and asked him to marry me! And he said YES!!
We hope that those of you that read this will be happy for us!

16.10.04

Went to the Bristol Academy again tonight (will I ever learn!) to see 'Travis' play a Greatest Hits set. Fantastic gig!

13.10.04

Met up with my friend Graham and went to see 'Embrace' play at the Bristol Academy tonight. After such a long time out of the limelight it was great to see the band welcomed back by such an enthusiastic crowd. Shame the venue is so bad!

05.10.04

Went up to London tonight to see the band close to my heart, 'ExileInside'. Fantastic show made even more special by having legendary band 'B Movie' as support, their first gig in over 22 years!

30.09.04

I had an appointment today with a specialist, as I've been having trouble with my right foot. During the consultation I mentioned that I had never had my feet x-rayed as far back as I could personally remember. The specialist immediately sent me off to the x-ray department (as well as taking pictures so he could use them as examples in future lectures that he gives).
As those of you who know me will agree, my feet are somewhat 'unusual'. If you want to see just how unusual, click here to see the x-ray result!
 

28.09.04

My colleague Lesley complained today that our office was too hot. I pointed out that it was only her feeling the heat, so it must God's way of preparing her for Hell!

23.09.04

When did the evenings suddenly get so dark? And who turned the heat down? I had to put a coat on when I took the dogs out before I went to bed. I can't remember the last time it was that cold.

17.09.04

Got a text from Skid earlier today (Wednesday) as he'd just seen Craig David browsing at the Southampton Boat Show. I couldn't resist sending the following text back....
"You be careful of that Craig David! He meets people on Mondays, takes them for a drink on Tuesdays & he's making love by Wednesdays!! Watch yerself!"

15.09.04

Gareth and I just got back from a fantastic holiday in the Turkish resort of Olu Deniz. I've put some pictures in the 'Travel' section of this website.

13.09.04

Went to Oxford tonight to see the band 'Embrace'. An absolutely fantastic gig proving this band are well and truly back! I have to recommend their new album 'Out Of Nothing' to you all!

01.09.04

You have to check out the 'Chav Towns' website!! It is here you can check out just how 'chav' your town really is! I was thrilled to read the following about the place of my birth..

"Cardiff Chav's have the upper hand on other countrywide chav's. They can wear more cheap bling. This is because they have an extra finger and toe to hang things from"

I hope your town is just as nice!
 

29.08.04

Finally got to pick up my new car today!
 A big thank you to Gareth and my neighbour Ellie for helping me get the old one looking its best to hand back.
 The new one is a diesel Citrôen C3 and is 'sensodrive' which means it's both a manual and an automatic, with no clutch. One manual characteristic it has that I've never experienced in an automatic car is rolling backwards on inclines if I take my foot off the brake. I found this trait very quickly, much to the horror of the driver of the bus in Basingstoke that I nearly rolled into!



And the number plate is not really personalised, I just got a bit carried away using Paint Shop Pro!

28.08.04

Not that I'm one to go on and on and on...
but the Keane album has not left the Top 5 of the UK best selling album chart since it was released 15 weeks ago!

20.08.04

Went to the Liseberg theme park today with Håkan, Morgan and Gareth. I somehow managed to convince myself that my complete loathing of fairground rides could be overcome in such good company.
 I stupidly agreed to experience 'Balder', voted the best wooden rollercoaster in the world. With a 70 degree drop and speeds of 90km I maybe should have expected the worst!



I think the picture says it all!

 

12.08.04

Jamie Oliver. You other love him or hate him. I saw his book in a bookstore in Karlstad, Sweden today and the title says it all!



 

10.08.04

Gareth and I set off for a holiday in Sweden today. When we arrived in Gothenburg we met up with my good friend Håkan and went for a boat ride amongst the islands of the archipelago before travelling north by train to Karlstad to stay with Morgan, Caroline and Tim!



 

09.08.04

Gareth and I travelled over to Cardiff today to catch up with family and friends.
 Great to see Scott and Jon and heed their warning about attending the 'Big Weekend' celebrations in the city centre. It really was just an excuse for all the chav's and pikeys to parade around in their fake Burberry and bling! Don't forget to check out the 'ChavScum' website for all the up to date advice on dealing with this epidemic!

31.07.04

Not that I have a poppy fixation...but there is a beautiful field of pink ones just south of Andover that I took some pictures of today.
Check out my favourite picture in the 'Photography' bit of the 'Atmo 1' section of this site.

25.07.04

As I drove to work this morning I noticed that the beautiful field of poppies I photographed on 19.06.04 has been ploughed up.

05.07.04

I went to Andover today to meet Gareth for lunch. We went to McDonalds as it was closest to where he works. We then spent our time trying to guess the gender of the other customers as in most cases I would not have bet money on being right! 

04.07.04

The Keane album has returned to No.1 in the UK album chart!! I'm sure it wont be the last time it gets there!

06.06.04

I ordered my next car today!! Due to high mileage & ever increasing petrol prices I've been looking around for a small diesel automatic car. After almost giving up on finding such a car I've just ordered a Citrôen C3. Hopefully it will be delivered by the end of August.
Last year I bought a few Oriental Poppy plants in the hope that they would provide some beautiful flowers for the garden and this year they have done just that!





 

05.06.04