Friday 31 December 2010

Goodbye 2010.....

Time flies when you are having fun and in the blink of an eye 2010 was gone!

So the sun sets on 2010 which just happened to be a pretty awesome year! Gigs galore, trips aplenty (including a very memorable Wacken excursion with SPiT LiKE THiS and a Halloween Whitby Goth Weekend), the removal of my gallstones and gallbladder, life, love and laughter. There were dodgy bits (with City Financials being bought out) but even that turned put OK in the end, sort of LOL

Not going to name names in case I miss people but a big THANK YOU to all my friends for being there for me in 2010.

Special love to my gorgeous girlfriend Toni :o)

A big highlight was with Hollywood Doll as we started gigging and recording which was a total blast and led to some great nights and meeting some great bands. More for 2011 please!

Sadly the plans to party hardy tonight fell through as childcare arrangements went wrong due to illness and despite mum stepping into the breach Toni also succumbed to the lurgs so it will be a quiet one at home tonight.

See you all on the other side, I hear it goes up to 11! *grin*



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It's A Trap!

Just watched the final instalment of the Family Guy Star Wars trilogy. Whilst Return Of The Jedi might not have been the strongest is the Star Wars films, It's A Trap was certainly the weakest of the Family Guy versions. The jokes were a little thin this time round which was a bit disappointing. PIE Fighters did raise a guffaw though!








Overall it closed thing off nicely and was worth adding to the collection but I'd recommend Blue Harvest and Something, Something, Something, Dark Side over It's A Trap.


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Meeting dad & Stephanie

Toni, Gemima and I went to town today to meet dad and Stephanie to exchange Xmas presents. We met outside Asda and then retired to the comfort of Costa for coffee and catch ups.

Was good to see them again. It won't be so easy next year as they've now relocated from Wimbledon to Northumberland.

Wednesday 29 December 2010

Clear vision ahead

The TV started to show some horrible lines on it the other day which I had hoped would go away bit didn't. As I had forgone a 40th birthday present due to sorting things out for Sophie earlier in the year mum very kindly offered buy me a new TV as an early birthday present.

We all headed to Chelmsford today to make visits to a local electrical retailer (OK it was Comet) and we can back with this beautiful beast: a Sony Bravia KDL 40EX403U



I am now blessed with a fantastic 40" TV (a serious upgrade from my 26" one) that has fantastic sound and picture quality. PS3 games look totally awesome and television programmes aren't too bad either!

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Last.FM 2010 round up - Devilish Presley are #1

Well here we are with my last Last.FM post of 2010.
Congratulations to DEVILISH PRESLEY who overtook Psychic TV in the last week to take them to the top and they became my #1 artist as we exit 2010.

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

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

Tuesday 28 December 2010

Looks like it was all to much...

... for some people anyway! LMFAO




Monday 27 December 2010

Post Xmas chilling

Today was spent doing not very much at all which was most welcome after the excitement of Xmas Day and Boxing Day.

Got up and chilled with the babies. Toni took Sophie, Shane, Kenzie and Sam shopping and mum and I were on babysitting duty for Scarlett.

The only hard work done today was by Shane who went out and washed the car inside and out and even gave it a T-Cut. Mum went out and had tea with her friend Kathy and the rest of us watched Scrubs.

The day was rounded off with Chinese take away. Bliss!

Sunday 26 December 2010

Boxing Day in Eltham & SWF

Today was a mad one but very enjoyable.
Toni shot off to pick up Sophie, Shane, Scarlett and Kenzie and delivered them safely to SWF. Sam went off with Livvy to see Carol and Toni, Mum, Aaron and I went off to Eltham for round 1 to meet Toni's family.

Drinks and nibbles were followed by another marathon present session. Had a great time but we couldn't stay too long as we needed to get back to SWF for round 2 with Sophie etc. and more present!






It was a busy day and we all flaked out quickly at the end of the day!

More food! More drink! More great times!

Saturday 25 December 2010

Xmas Day in SWF

Had a fantastic Xmas. Woke up with very little morning left and had a lovely breakfast. We then had Bucks Fizz before it was time to do the whole present thang!

Had great fun giving presents this year including the climax which was a mini treasure hunt for Toni *grin*.







It was a good haul for me this year (here's a quick, but not exhaustive, snapshot):
Keep Glam mug
Warner Brothers 4 DVD cartoon set
Throbbing Gristle Death Factory poster
Jack Daniels
Madfish boots
Forge World Avatar
King Lizard CD
DIY Incense kit

Needless to say there was LOTS of lovely food and drink consumed.

Seasons greetings to all my friends and family

Seasons greetings to all my friends and family.
Hope you all have a great time with your loved ones



Here's a couple of songs that have to be brought out this time of year!




Happy ChriFSMas!

Don't forget to put the FSM back into ChriFSMas!

Sending love to all my friends and family!



Friday 24 December 2010

Don't forget people.............


Final preparations for the big day

Waking up at 10:30 today was so nice! Shame I can't do it everyday LMFAO

In the final countdown to Xmas there was lots of things to do. A couple of trips to George and Asda had to be made to pick up last minute things but thankfully it was nowhere near as mad as we had feared. We even managed a trip to Costa for coffee and a snack.

The last of the presents got wrapped and put under the tree and I think we are now set for the 'big day'. Toni and mum have started preparing some of the food, the ham and beef has been cooked. It smells lovely, can't wait to eat it!

Livvie arrived in the evening and we all chowed down on some gorgeous ribs and chips and chilled out watching My Family, QI and Have I Got News For You before having a round of Old Maid (a card game before any of you start having wrong thoughts)!

I think I might actually be looking forward to tomorrow *grin*!


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Thursday 23 December 2010

It's goodnight from me.........

Another good day at work today! Jovial last day at work that also involved a nice trip to the pub with colleagues and an appearance from Steve Whalley! Although things have been improving of late I have to admit I am really looking forward to the extended break and not having to go back until 4th January 2011!


Tonight was Two Ronnies night on BBC2 which meant much hilarity and memories of the good old days! There is something completely timeless about Two Ronnies shows and the comic genius on offer is without question. We were treated to a Two Ronnies Xmas Special a documentary on Ronnie Corbett and then the BAFTA Tribute To Ronnie Barker. To top things off nicely we were then enjoyed an old Goodies show as well. It's good to laugh!

So, as the man says, and finishing off the subject off this blog entry.....

............. and it's good night from him!

GOOD NIGHT!

'tis the season to be a border collie!

Wednesday 22 December 2010

Good day & Devilish Presley

Today was a good day. Things were ticking over nicely at work with nothing to grumble about for once. We've started re-evaluating automated testing tools which is fun to do (and will hopefully see us favouring Test Complete over QTP. Dom even tool Stuart out at lunch time for a drink and something to eat, a most welcome gesture *grin*

Went back to Eltham after work to help Toni pack up the car for Xmas and then we headed back to SWF.

The icing on the cake came in the evening though when it was confirmed that Hollywood Doll will be supporting Devilish Presley at Chinnerys in Southend on Sunday 13th March. They are a great band to watch, great guys and it is an honour and a privilege to be working with them.




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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:

Happy Birthday Mike

Happy Birthday Mike Babb

Hope you have a great day!

Tuesday 21 December 2010

Blessed Yule to all my friends



Brightly burns the Yule log tonight
Magic dances in firelight
Hold my hand and join the song
Raise the Sun King bright and strong
Dark is giving way to light
As brightly burns the Yule log tonight!
---Akasha



From the beginning, the end comes
From rest, movement comes
From life, death comes
From light, darkness comes
From darkness comes light
From death comes life
From movement comes rest
From the end comes the beginning
---Patricia Monaghan

Monday 20 December 2010

More train misery and chilling

I spend a lot of time talking about snow and trains at the moment!

Imagine my joy this morning when it transpired that all the trains I wanted to catch to work were flagged as cancelled! Instead of a nightmare journey I decided to take the working from home option which I am not a big fan of but it beat the hell out of changing numerous times and disrupted journeys. Thankfully things are looking better for tomorrow.

After my day of WFH I chilled out with mum and Sam. We watched some TV, caught up on a bit of wrestling, had an Indian and watched a wonderful program called Open Connect. It was novelty watching TV as Sam and I haven't tuned into a real channel for months and months. No doubt more will follow through Xmas until we return back to normality in the New Year.

I finished the day fighting PC backups and the dire performance of Windows Live Messenger before finally conceding and heading for bed!

Sunday 19 December 2010

Coaches, trains and failed system (again)

We apologise for the delays due to adverse weather conditions.....

Shouldn't that be we apologise for the delays due to YESTERDAY'S adverse weather conditions and our inability to cope with things that our European brothers just take in their stride!

Ooops we did it again! The snow came and the UK spectacularly crashed and burned! National Express coaches all cancelled. Trains cancelled left right and centre. Airports closed. *sigh*

Mum was supposed to make a very simple journey today, from Stratford Upon Avon to Chelmsford. Two coaches and then we were supposed to meet her and drive her home. As if.....

With all coaches were cancelled mum decided to try and get to us by train. She got to Stratford Upon Avon rail station and despite the next two train to Birmingham being listed as on time they were both cancelled. She ended up sharing a taxi with people to get to Birmingham.

We had agreed to meet her in London to help her get across the tubes and to get to SWF. She rang me at one point to say that she could stay in a hotel in Birmingham if this

Another cancellation later and she boarded a train from Birmingham to London Euston which was then delayed to detour via Rugby and Milton Keynes. With 30 minutes added to the journey it then got stuck outside Watford due to frozen/failed points!

In the end mum arrived at Euston safe and sound albeit 1.5 hours late. The spirits smiled on us on the return journey as we made all our connections with seconds to spare!

All in all it was a total of five and a quarter hours door to door but at least what had seemed like Mission Impossible became Mission Successful despite re best efforts of the weather, coach and rail networks!

When we got home it was time for a lovely roast dinner that Sam had prepared while we were being intrepid explorers and a bit of Carry On Dick to chill to!




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Saturday 18 December 2010

Snow Again, cancelled evening, Carry On & TV catch up

It snowed again today! It snowed a lot! We went out in it for a bit and had some fun, Sam made snow angel.






See all the snow pics here: 181210SnowAgain

The downside of all this snow was that we had to make the decision not to go to Colchester tonight as the roads looked pretty risky.

As a substitute Toni and I snuggled on the sofa and watched Carry On films, much to Sam's delight as he loves them.

The rest of the evening was spent watching the remainder of Merlin Season 3 and then catching up with Vampire Diaries. Not quite what we had planned but we had a good time anyway. Just have to hope that the weather improves tomorrow as mum is supposed to be coming down from Stratford Upon Avon.

Friday 17 December 2010

Lunch with Mr Daniels, snow and Vampires Suck

A load of us went to the pub at lunch time today where I spent a very enjoyable time in the company of Mr Daniels! It started to snow which was worrying although it didn't settle too much at the time.

After worked I popped over to Toni's so that we could travel back together to SWF. By then lots of snow had fallen on the ground but thankfully it hadn't continued. After much fannying about we finally got mobilised and dropped Gemima off at Nick's and then Aaron off with Toni's mum.

We went to Asda for some essential supplies and Toni was suddenly hit with the start of a migraine. She took some drugs and sat down while I finished the shopping and then we headed home via the kebab van. We then snuggled up on the sofa and watched the incredibly funny Vampires Suck. I have to say that I am really glad that the truly awful Twilight Saga does exist or we wouldn't have had such a great film! We then caught up on a couple of episodes of Merlin before hitting the pit for an early night.

Thursday 16 December 2010

Tigertailz Xmas Bash @ The Scala

Tonight was a night that Toni and I had really been looking forward to. The weather started off being most unreasonable with rain giving way to snow so we armed ourselves with hot chips and headed to London.

We got to the Scala just before the doors were due to open at 19:00. It then transpired that one of the bands had cancelled and that we weren't now going to be let in until at least 19:30! This would have been fine except it was freezing and snowing!

We did finally get let in, some time after 19:30 but couldn't access the stage area as they weren't ready in there yet! This was pretty outrageous considering that we should have been let in at 19:30!



With one band (Starscream) now absent from proceedings we enjoyed three bands instead of four.


PECKHAM COWBOYS
What happens when one of the founding member of The Quireboys starts a new band? they sound like The Quireboys, that's what! Guy Bailey's band of South London gypsies took us through a short set of good old trashy bluesy rock n roll with foot tapping sleaziness. The singer looked like Russell Brand and the drummer looked like he couldn't stand the singer LOL. I did enjoy the songs and despite the technical hitches they pulled off a good set.




See all the Peckham Cowboys pics here: 161210PeckhamCowboysTheScala


KING LIZARD
This is where the party really started as King Lizard blasted through their set and took no prisoners. The audience may have been small but King Lizard worked them hard and were rewarded for their efforts.




See all the King Lizard pics here: 161210KingLizardTheScala


TIGERTAILZ
I absolutely LOVE Tigertailz but tonight was not one of their better performances. I am not sure what was missing, maybe it was the fact that there were about 60 people there and the place was empty and not rammed as things have been on previous occasions. I have to admit that (although I am probably in the minority here) I am not entirely convinced about the addition of Sarah Firebrand. She is glam enough and looks the part but she didn't seem to totally fit. Maybe it was the fact that she struggled to move fluidly on stage when she was wearing heels or maybe it was Kim's slightly unhealthy amount of inappropriate touching but something just didn't seem to fit right! I'd like to see her perform without the heels and see what she is like (will be interesting to compare things if she performs with Fuzzbox at Whitby Goth Weekend in March). Saying that the songs spoke for themselves, and we were treated to the usual set of greatest hits that we all know and love.





See all the Tigertailz pics here: 161210TigertailzTheScala


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Wednesday 15 December 2010

Mad day of good stuff followed by train fun, a chinese and The Experiment

It was a mad old day at work but in a good way. Lots of things seem to be happening but for once we seem to be completely in control of our destiny. Am sure it won't be long before someone comes along to piss on our parade but I'll have fun and enjoy the good stuff while it lasts thank you!

Got to Liverpool Street afterwards to find my train was cancelled so jumped on the first one to Southend with a view to getting off at Wickford. Just before it was due to leave they announced that the rear four coaches would split off at Billericay and the front would continue to Southend and then rear four would go to Southminster, RESULT! NOT!

As we reached Billericay they then announced that the rear four coaches would now NOT be splitting off and we'd have to get off at Wickford. On the plus side a Southminster train was only three minutes away! NOT!

It did finally roll in ten minutes or so later and was absolutely rammed as the platform was already packed at Wickford when we got off and then got even busier as we all disembarked. On the plus side I didn't get home as late as planned even though it was total chaos and nobody seemed to know what was happening!

Got home and Sam decided to treat me to a Chinese and then we watched a fantastic film called The Experiment. A very interesting film that I would recommend to you all.

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: