Saturday 31 October 2009

Panthers 5 Capitals 3

Went to the NIC tonight to see Nottingham Panthers v Edinburgh Capitals. I love the NIC it's a great venue to watch ice hockey at. The game was really good. Capitals got off to a great start ending the first period 0 - 2 ahead but unfortunately it was 2 - 2 by the end of the second. It looked like it was game over when the Panthers went 4 - 2 up in the third but then the Capitals grabbed a late one to make it 4 - 3. As expected Doug Christiansen took a gamble and pulled the goalie for the extra skater but unfortunately the Panthers snuck the puck out and finished the game 5 - 3.


Warhammer World

Our first day in Nottingham began with a trip to Warhammer World.

We had booked the Fortress table to play on all day which was totally awesome.



Once we had set up ready for a 1500 point battle we were given the guided tour of the Citadel Gallery. This was different from last time as we were allowed to have some of the cabinets opened so that we could get a better look at some of the models and take photos (some were were even allowed to hold)

My personal favourite, the Forgeworld Avatar:


Sam's favourite, Mars Pattern Titan:


The the fun began as we got to hold a Space Marine Bolter:





Sam was delighted when the cabinet containing Horus v The Emperor was opened:


Our final part of the tour was indeed an honour as we all got to hold the Slayer Sword, a piece that is only brought out for exhibitions:





After the tour we then commenced an epic battle, Necrons v Eldar v Orks/Witch Hunters. Unfortunately the Necrons won (well done Sam!)

You can see all the pictures here: 311009WarhammerWorld

Samhain blessing to one and all



Samhain blessing to one and all

Be lucky

Friday 30 October 2009

Stupidly early start, Nottingham here we come!

Got up at a ridiculous hour this morning to rush back to London so that Toni could meet Nick and get Gemima and then pick up Aaron.

Had breakfast at Dee Light again before doing a little bit of shopping and then heading off to Nottingham. We went via Cotgrave to drop Sam off at Steph and Sophie's. We were invited in for a cuppa which was all a bit weird. Was lovely to see Scarlett though, she is a right little madam and is crawling now.


Once we had dropped Sam off we went to the Holiday Inn to check in (well we got there in the end, was a bit of a trek as my map reading skills completely let me down LMFAO). Got checked in and then headed over the road to the Bar & Grill for yummy food. Fully stuffed we "slowly" walked back to the hotel again to chill out and which a bit of telling vision.

Thursday 29 October 2009

Fog rolls in so plans changed

Was supposed to be going to see Trash Monroe tonight. Had a really mad day at work and was looking forward to it. Toni was picking up Sam in London and dropping him over at Livvy's before coming home to get ready for the gig. She arrived really late as the fog started rolling in and traffic was crawling due to bad visibility.

We decided instead to miss the gig and have a Chinese and watch crap on TV. Opted for episode 1 of Sanctuary which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Sam returned and we had a chat for a bit before heading off to bed whilst I prepared some new CDs for the car journey to Nottingham and back this weekend.

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Meh, not well

As the title says, wasn't well today :o(
Have been fighting off something all week and it finally took its toll this morning. Had a horrible irritating cough, felt warm and very run down. Had to phone in sick as I just did not feel up to going in today.

Felt a bit better by the time I went to bed so hopefully all will be OK in the morning and I can go back to work. Want to be better as there is a Trash Monroe gig tomorrow night that I would like to go to plus we are off to Nottingham this weekend.

Tuesday 27 October 2009

Three new tracks on the boil

Had Matt Rowe come round tonight to work on some new Hollywood Doll material. We were on fire, managed to come up with three solid new tracks to be worked on in rehearsals with the full band. We click really well and ideas just seem to flow. It was a most productive evening!

Monday 26 October 2009

Winter cleaning

It's like an early or late spring clean.
I have just had a bit of a manic tidy up/clean around the house. Must be a winter nesting instinct thing, or something like that!

Not finished by a long shot but it's looking nice already, am most proud of myself!

Can I get a transfer here?

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:






Top weekly artists:






Overall top tracks:






Overall top artists:




Sunday 25 October 2009

Moving stuff, building stuff

Yesterday we loaded up the car and carted off a load of stuff to Toni's new house. Spent two days unpacking things, sorting stuff out, building things, moving things, putting thinsgs away etc. It's all starting to look good now, only a few more bits to move and/or be delivered and the house will be compelte.

Friday 23 October 2009

Pink Toothbrush, Florence & The Twats & party

A group of us headed off to the Pink Toothbrush tonight. Roll call: Toni, Mark, Hazel, Sam and lil ole me!

Evening started well with the traditional metal/punk fare that Friday night at the Brush serves up. We were aware that Florence & The Machine were doing a guest DJ set but figured that would be fine as it was metal/punk night. The warning signs started to appear when dance floor fillers started appearing 1-2 hours earlier than normal. we also noticed that the usual metal/punk regulars were absent tonight. Then things suddenly got a whole lot worse........... Florence & The Machine member started his DJ set and played indie stuff! Hello, Pink Toothbrush, SATURDAY night is indie night, Friday night is metal/punk night! Whilst I didn't mind a "couple" of the tracks the jangly guitar nonsense quickly became too much for Toni and not longer afterwards Sam went postal and we decided to leave.

We went back to Hazel's drank loads of vodka and listened to some "proper" metal and rock tracks. Well most of us did, Toni curled up on the sofa and went to sleep. It was a good laugh and just after 2am we bailed out and headed back to our homes (well Hazel politely suggested it was time to go LOL)

What the BBC didn't show last night!



Thursday 22 October 2009

HOLLYWOOD DOLL rehearsal

Off to Nightfly Studios tonight for a HOLLYWOOD DOLL rehearsal. Unfortunately Charlie couldn't be there as he had to go to hospital after coming off of his bike. Rehearsal was awesome, it went really well, we are gelling well as a band and the songs are working well. Marie came up with some new lyrics and melody for one of Matt's tunes and it fitted just perfectly and we were delighted with the result.

Can't wait until the next one, the more we rehearse the more excited it gets.

Stupid fecking BT

Had a problem with BT last night.
All my web browser traffic was intercepted by BT and replaced with a message saying that my service had been suspended. To remove this suspension all I had to do was pay an oustanding amount. Simples! I did that and guess what, service remained suspended saying that I had to make a payment even though following the link again acknowledged that there was nothing now owing. It was too late to ring customer services so I had to wait until today to try and resolve things. Strangely it was only web browser traffic that was stopped and I still had full access to email, ftp, newsgroup, P2P software etc.

Called them first thing to say that my service was still suspended. Was told it could be "up to 48 hours" before it came back! I hit the roof and said this was completely unacceptable. I was then told that they had to raise a reconnection request. I politely pointed out that I hadn't actually been disconnected, I was just (partially) suspended. Getting nowhere fast I then went on the BT website from work and raised a formal complaint about a system that promises an immediate restoring of services which then turns out to be a potential two days later.

Had a call later on from someone saying they were calling about my complaint. They then told me what I had already been told. I hit the roof and pointed out that dealing with a complaint is not repeating the words that you complained about in the first place! I was then referred to a manager who I continued to grumble at and demanded that if it was going to take 48 hours to restore my service then I wanted a discount for the missed period as I would still be paying a monthly fee even though the service was off. I was then told that I would be referred to a senior manager so I waited for another call.

Another gumble later and I was told that they would do a "manual reconnection", something that previously I was told could NOT be done as it was all automated. I asked how I would know it was done and they said they would call me. 10 minutes later I got a text from Sophie saying that someone from an 0800 number had called for me. At that point my services at home were restored! So after lots of time making complaints and grumbling, and BT calling me back to MY mobile three times they then topped off their incompetence by restoring my service and then notifying my by calling the WRONG mobile number! Priceless!

Happy Birthday Amanda

Happy Birthday Amanda

Hope you have a fabbo day

From your twinkly friend

Tuesday 20 October 2009

Catching up with old friends

Went out to the Town Crier this evening to catch up with some old friends, Vikki, Stu and his new girlfriend Sprite (Nic).

Haven't been out with Vikki and Stu for almost a year (since Vikki left Hollywood Doll). Since then they have split up but have remained good friends which was bit strange although they pretty much behave like they used (you would never have known they were a couple back then anyway).

It was a nice night, good to catch up on so much stuff and I had a really good time. Have promised ourselves that it won't be so long next time..... will probably be next Thursday for the Trash Monroe Halloween gig.

Office silliness (don't ask!!!!)

Probably best not to ask, it was a strange day at the office today!

Orange peel rudeness invades Nick's chair!


Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the new Mark 1 Aerial Pool Table!

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:






Top weekly artists:






Overall top tracks:






Overall top artists:




Monday 19 October 2009

So proud of Sam the baker

I was most impressed with Sam today. He sent me a text to say that they had made soup and bread at college today.

Imagine my surprise when I got in and he walked into the kitchen and revealed this, lovely handcrafted bread rolls:



They were absolutely delicious, I am so proud of him.

Sunday 18 October 2009

Shopping and stuff

Today was not quite as hectic as yesterday was!

Got up at a reasonable-ish hour and just chilled out a bit. We then went to Asda to get some stuff for dinner before dropping Sam off in Danbury as he was going to see Mia. After this, Toni, Gemima and I went to Chelmer Village to have a Pizza Hut lunch before popping in to Argos so that Toni could pick up a load more bits for her new house. I just got myself a new knife block as I couldn't decide what I want to do with my bathroom yet.

Got home and tea and biscuits. Gemima disappeared upstairs with Toni's laptop to watch The Simpson Move whilst I prepared for the Capitals webcast and Toni got dinner on the go and then read.

Watched a reasonable match with the Capitals losing 2 - 4 to the Cardiff Devils. Sam came him and introduced us to Mia (her parents had kindly dropped him back). He stood at the door waving goodby to her before announcing that they were now going out (which he was delighted about)

Finshed the evening off with a brief stint on Uncharted 2.

Saturday 17 October 2009

Moving Toni's stuff and silliness

It were a busy day today. Got up early and headed off to Eltham to help Toni move some more stuff into her new place.

We started off going to Dee Lights for a cooked breakfast.
Spotted this little gem en route, I didn't think that sort of thing was legal!:



Had a lovely breakfast at Dee Lights and was most impressed with the tea inside the table effect!



Got lost of stuff moved from Toni's mums house to Toni's new place and she started straightening a few things out. It is a very nice place and will look lovely once all the furniture is in.

Once we had had enough we headed back to SWF via TGI Friday in Bas Vegas for some much needed refreshment before heading home to watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit and then crashing out for much needed sleep.

Friday 16 October 2009

A celebratory chinese with Xena

Nobody could be bothered to cook tonight so we decided to have a treat in honour of Toni getting a new job and ordered chinese take away, YUMMY!

This was accompanied by lashings of Xena: Warrior Princess!

Well done Toni

A BIG well done to Toni.

Job interview at 14:00 today, told she would know by Monday.
Offered the job TODAY provided she can start on the 26th October. She said that's OK but she needed the 30th off and the said fine, the job is hers!

Well done!

Thursday 15 October 2009

Hugely busy day and Mr Shouty Pen

Work is insane at the moment. Hugely busy.

I got a "well done" from the boss after I had managed to get a "Thank you....Superb!" comment from one of our clients today in an email. It's all a bit political so he was delighted that the client was happy.

Not sure if it was related but he also gave me a gift today. He had picked up a pen at a recent finance conference and gave it to me. If you press it's head it shouts at you. This is it:

Wednesday 14 October 2009

Steak and Hollywood D-rinkies

Toni picked me up from work today and I insisted we go home via Asda as I had decided that I was cooking steak for dinner. It was DELICIOUS. We had steak, chips and I did some large mushrooms with a cheese topping. Toni was delighted at not having to cook and also at getting treated to a yummy dinner :o)

After dinner we had a great night out tonight with Hollywood Doll, accompanied by Becky. Didn't do anything special, just went to The Cricketers in Westcliff for a quiet drink and a chat.

It was nice to get out and just mix socially with everyone.

I have been meaning to take this picture for ages and finally got around to it!

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Essex Is Crap!

Clag-gone



LMFAO!

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:






Top weekly artists:






Overall top tracks:






Overall top artists:




Monday 12 October 2009

LONG day, friends and stuff

Start off with the grumble. My jammy son had the day off college today because the buses were on strike! He was delighted, strangely enough.

Today was a VERY LONG DAY. Work was absolutely mental and was rally crazy by the time I left, almost had to stay late which never happens. Just to cheer me up the train was cancelled which then added another 45 minutes to my journey home which I was obviously overjoyed about!

I hadn't been in long before I ended up on the phone for nearly 1.5 hours having a general bitch and moan about all things Capitals :o)

After that Mark came round to share some news and we ended up chatting for hours and watching the latest episode of Stargate Universe. Was nice to have a chat and talk about stuff. Have a feeling this will be the start of a good relationship between us.

The night ended with an MSN chat with Toni to update her on things and find out how the house move was going. Pleased to report that things are going well.

Ended up going to bed at 00:45, knackered after a long but, overall, productive day!

Saturday 10 October 2009

Tigertailz & SPiT LiKE THiS @ Borderline

Tonight Toni, Sam and I went to a gig that we had been looking forward to or a very long time. Our friends SPiT LikE THiS supporting Tigertailz at Borderline in London.

It was one of those dress up affairs.

We started out having dinner at Pizza Hut on Cambridge Circus before strolling up Charing Cross Road to the venue.






SPiT LiKE THiS
OK, there's isn't a lot that I can say about these guys that I haven't already said a million times. They are awesome and never have an off night. Tonight they were in their element with a really great and enthusiastic crowd. An awesome set that unfortunately ended too soon.





See all the SPiT LiKE THiS pics here: 101009SPiTLiKETHiSBorderline#


TIGERTAILZ
Tonight was a special night as Tigertailz were performing the whole of the Bezerk album back to back plus some of their greatest hits. It fair brought a tear to my eye as I remember them performing bits of the Bezerk album back in the day!





See all the Tigertailz pics here: 101009TigertailzBorderline#

Friday 9 October 2009

Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge (1969 - 2007)

Today marks the second year since the passing of the wonderful Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge, wife of Genesis P-Orridge)

You are missed and the world is a sadder place without you.



Thursday 8 October 2009

HOLLYWOOD DOLL a-gogo again

Had a great rehearsal tonight. Things are really coming together and gelling. Each rehearsal we take a song/idea and deconstruct/reconstruct to come out with a definite structure and it's all going very well so far.

Although we are a fair way off of being able to gig I am still really looking forward to that moment when we are ready to.

It's been a long time in the making but the time and effort is really starting to pay off now.

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Chilling and Stargate Universe plus good news

Had a nice relaxing evening tonight.

Got in and watch WWE RAW with Sam and had dinner.
We then watched the first two episodes of the new Stargate series, Stargate Universe. It certainly started in a very promising manner and I look forward to seeing how it develops.

There was also some good news today as Toni has been told that she has the flat that she was after and all being well she will be signing the paperwork next week.

FAIL FAIL FAIL!!!!!