Busy day today.........

A loud knock woke us up at 11 this morning as Sam announced that he had once again cooked us breakfast. Another welcome surprise, thank you Sam!

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith was our movie of choice this morning, you can't beat a bit of Star Wars!

Following breakfast it was time to paint more Warhammer models (will post some pictures soon, well maybe as mine aren't as good as Sam's!)

Next up was colouring of a different kind as it was time for hair to be redone. I had got bored of red and so have now returned to the wonderful Mystic Violet once again. Gemima had a streak of Mystic Violet put in her fringe and Toni stayed with the red. Sam is growing his out as a friend of his said she prefers his natural hair colour (hopefully more on this story soon)

Roast dinner was accompanied by Epic Movie for silliness......... then ice cream and Buffy followed before hitting the pit

Metal, models and The Reader

After breakfast we stuck on some great music, The Poodles and Motley Crue, and spent hours building and painting out Warhammer models.

We then had dinner and settled down for the evening with yummy ice cream and watched The Reader. It was a fantastic film and one I would definitely recommend to you all.

Find out more about it here at IMDB: The Reader

Unfortunately by the end of the film I was suffering from a funny tummy (so I will spare you the details) so I ended the day going to bed feeling very sorry for myself :o(

Up early, bloody car tax!

Car tax runs out tomorrow so we were up before 10 to go the Post Office to get it all sorted. Was weird being up so early but also quite nice to be getting things done. Afterwards we popped to Asda and were delighted to get home to discover that Sam had cooked breakfast for us. It was a very unexpected but welcome surprise.

Rise of the spicy hot lycan wings

OK, I'll admit it, I am being silly now!
A very tired out Toni was treated to the rarity of me sorting out most of dinner: salad, rice and spicy hot chicken wings.
We sat down and munched and enjoyed Underworld 3: Rise Of The Lycans

Have I ever mentioned that I love vampires? Have I ever mentioned that I love the Underworld movies? Well consider that little matter now cleared up cos I do. Although sadly lacking the delicious Kate Beckinsale Underworld 3 still stands its ground as a requel and fills in some history very well.

Vampires and Werevolves on a Friday night, RESULT!

Transfomers + Terminators =

IGN Video: Black20: Trailer Park Video - Transforminators

Good workout at the gym

Sam and I had a great workout at the gym tonight. He was still taking it a bit easy but I threw myself back into things and worked up a good old sweat (not that you needed that image LOL). Thank goodness for mp3 players, SLUT music of gym people! I had SPiT LiKE THiS cranked to 11 for most of my workout and it is great music to get fit to!

Hollywood Doll are looking for a new singer

Hollywood Doll are looking for a new singer
Do the Crue, Guns N Roses and Velvet Revolver make you moist? Then read on..........
Formed in 2008 by K.T.Glitz, Charlie Webster and Matt Rowe, Essex based Hollywood Doll are looking to bring their own brand of sleazy rock n' roll to the crowds.
We're looking for someone with the voice and stage presence to front the band. You don't have to sing like an angel but we need someone with attitude and a great vocal delivery to complete our line up and perform original material.
If you interested or know any one who might be come and have a chat with us
info@hollywooddoll.co.uk

TotalRock.com - with Cyndi Rott

Cyndi Rott of SPiT LiKE THiS was standing in as a DJ on TotalRock.com this afternoon. I was delighted to get a shout out as a friend of the band and also to have Poison's "Look What The Cat Dragged In" and also "Up Around The Bend" (the Creedence version) played for me. Go Cyndi, you played some killer tunes!

Good luck Toni

Good luck Toni on your first day back at work.
Hope you have fun and all goes well

No Girls Allowed

Due to feeling really meh and tired today I ended up NOT going to see Girls Aloud as i really didn't feel up to dragging myself all the way across London to Wembley to see them. I would probably have gone if it had been at The O2 Arena but Wembley was just too far. I was kind of gutted as I really really wanted to see them but I was just not in a gigging mood and know that I wouldn't have enjoyed it and would have been totally exhausted.

On the plus side there was one girl allowed as me not going to the gig meant that Toni could come over much earlier and we could spend some time together (rather the original plan of her picking me up after the gig and then driving me back to SWF, as she needed some bits for starting work tomorrow, and going to bed and not spending time together). We had a light meal and watched Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines and then had an early night.

Evolution RIP

Tis a sad day!
Just found out that Evolution has now closed. Although I didn't really frequent it once management changed and Katie left it was still a great place that had great potential. Through Evo I have made some amazing friends and thankfully I still have them even though the club is no more.

Had some really fantastic nights there, especually at Vendetta. I have some very fond memories!

Happy Birthday Pete

Happy Birthday Pete McDonald

You might have kept it quiet in the office but I know it's your birthday.
Hope you have a great day, at least once you leave the office LMFAO

Meh!

Meh! Crap night, feck all sleep, knackered before I have even started work, feeling generally run down, not good :o( *grumble grumble*

Back to the gym and rasslin'

Sam and I returned to the gym for the first time in a few weeks (due to Sam's back being out of action). It was nice to get back into it again, albeit at a slower pace than we were used to. We have both committed to going at least 3 times a week from now on, where possible.

Once we were home and relaxed, we grabbed a bit to eat and then settled down to catch up some WWE, namely Friday Night Smackdown and Monday Night Raw. Sad it may be but we enjoy it and its a great way to veg!

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:

Mega 40K battle!

Today was mega battle day. After a morning of eating a hearty breakfast and then preparing our armies we got down to 40K business. This battle was slightly different to the norm in that we agreed that Sam could field a 2000 point Chaos/Necron army and Toni, Aaron and I would field a combined 2000 point army against Sam comprising of Witch Hunters, Orks and Eldar but we would all be together on the same turn.

It was still very long (partly because we were clarifying some rules as we went along) but it was much more enjoyable than our last big battle as everyone seemed more focussed.

Sam had a pretty convincing victory but it was still great fun.

Following our warfare we then had some gorgeous chicken and rice and watched Futurama "Bender's Game"

Shopping, lunch and modelling

We went to Games Workshop in Chelmsford today to pick up some more Warhammer 40K stuff. Sam met us there, with Sophie, Scarlett and Shane, as he had been staying with Sophie since Friday. Following our shopping we descended on Pizza Hut to grab a bite to eat before Sophie, Scarlett and Shane went off and we headed back to SWF.

Once home we then got stuck into building our Warhammer 40K models. I was delighted as I managed to get nearly all of mine built, some of which had neen hanging around for months. All of this modelling was in preparation for a big battle that we had planned for bank holiday Monday.

Singalong Rocky Horror Picture Show

Tonight was a big fun dressy up night as we headed into Chelmsford to the Civic Theatre for a Singalong Rocky Horror Picture Show.

9 of us went: Toni, Sophie, Sam, Aaron, Hazel, Sandra (Hazels' mum), Mark and Sam Grimwood and myself
Nearly everybody dressed up (boo to Mark LOL)

Civic Theatre Statue:


Civic Theatre Statue after we Rocky Horror-ised it:


Sam Grimwood:


Sophie:


Aaron:


Toni:


Hazel:


Sandra:



Sam:


Me:


Toni and I:


The gang's all here:


The evening was a total scream with 90% of the audience dressed up and more than happy to sing and dance along, heckle and use the props that were provided.

Nandos

Got picked up after work tonight and Toni, Aaron and I took a detour to Bas Vegas to go and get something to eat at Nandos




After a yummy meal we popped over to Hazel's for a short while before going home to chill and have an early night!

Today is National Goth Day!

Have a great day!

Pass or Fail?

It was an interestng day at work today. I hate places that have a blame culture. It seemed like there was a bit of a witch hunt going on when people should have been looking at process and procedural errors rather than finding someone to point the fetid finger of doom at! We spent ages trying to sort things out to pacify people that was just wasted time and effort. Hopefully that is the end of it now although I have a sneaky suspicion there might be some comments tomorrow grrrrrrrrrr. We worked out what happened, and why so hopefully that will be enough.

On a lighter note, my job is a quality control consultant (tester) and so the concept of PASS/FAIL is vital. This made me chuckle although I am not sure I should send it to our developers when things don't pass..............

Sam's William de Ferrers end of year class photo

My baby boy is all groweded up and on the verge of leaving school
Second from the right on the back row for those of you that can't spot him!

Hollywood Doll meet potential new drummer

Matt and I went to The Alex in Southend with Becky and Katie tonight to meet Steve, a potential new drummer. Unforuntely Charlie was ill and so couldn't attend. We all seemed to get on really well and had LOADS in common. It was quite amazing to discover that Steve and I were probably at the same London gigs and clubs at the same time 20 years ago and now here we are possibly about to be in a band together. The good news is that we have loads in common musically and so the way forward is that Matt and I will send him some of our riffs and as long as Steve likes them we will book some studio time and go and have an audition/jam with him and see if we want to work together.

It all felt VERY positive and I really hope this goes somewhere so we can then just concentrate on the search for a singer.

Hard day, yummy and Role Models

Was a hard day at work today, loads to get done but productive nonetheless and it felt good to get back to the grindstone after being off sick yesterday.

Toni picked me up after work and we drove to Galleywood to go and collect Sophie as she and Scarlett were staying the night. When we got back we popped to Asda for some bits while Sam looked after Scarlett. Toni then took over feeding duty and I cooked steak and chips for everyone. It was very yummy even if I do say so myself LOL

After dinner we watched Role Models which is an absolutely hilarious film and I would definitely recommend it to people. When I say we, it was actually really just me as Sam had bailed out as he wanted to watch Underworld 3 (which Sophie didn't) and then Toni and Sophie also disappeared for most of it to put Scarlett to bed. I enjoyed it though and it was nice to suggle on the sofa for the last few minutes.

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:

Off sick, revision and Scarlett

Today I was still ill when Toni got up stupidly early to do the school run and so I ended up taking the day off. Although I still felt rough at least the temperature had gone.

Spent the morning trying to help Sam with some Maths revision (as best I could with me forgetting most of it plus not firin on all cylinders)

Sophie popped in with Scarlett which was very nice. They are coming to stay tomorrow night but it was still nice to spend a little bit of time with them. As I wasn't particularly active I did manage to give Scarlett a feed and then she fell asleep on me.

I don't feel very well so no Psychic TV for me!

............on top of playing Warhammer today I started to feel unwell. I had a ticket to go and see Psychic TV in London but was feeling so rough that I decided I wasn't really well enough to go and see them which I was totally gutted about as they are one of my all time favourite bands. Hopefully I'll catch them again soon as I really wanted to go :o(

Warhammer madness

Today was a crazy Warhammer day. We got up and started making models (and slotted in some breakfast) before embarking on a mammoth 750 point skirmish between, Eldar, Witch Hunters, Orkz, Chaos Daemons and Tau. We started playing at about 13:30 (NOT 21:30 as i previously typed - see comments) and were still going at 20:30. We stopped for dinner and then started up again. The final results are now in...........

WINNER: Chaos Daemons with 2 models remaining (after getting their butt kicked by the Eldar)

and the runners up:

2nd: Eldar
3rd: Tau
4th: Orkz
5th: Witch Hunters

That game lasted over 8 hours............it was a bit much but fun anyway!

Happy Birthday Mike Stevenz

Happy Bithday dude,

Hope you have a great day

Geeks and nerd *sniggers*

*sniggers*
So we all got back safely from Thorpe Bay and now the geeks are building their Warhammer models (well Toni, Sam, Aaron and Gemima are) while the nerd uploads photos and blogs!

We are so sad HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA

Family gathering

We went to Thorpe Bay (near Southend) this afternoon to attend a family gathering. Toni's Aunt got married in Florida and couldn't have everyone there so she arranged a get together of lots of friends and family to celebrate. It was really nice to meet Aunt Sue and Kenny (the happy couple) plus lots of other people that I hadn't met before. Toni's mum Gail and nan Pam, and sister Leanne (plus Shivaani)were also there. Jamie and Jade were absent due to other commitments.

Sue and Kenny:


Katie, Peter and Pam:


Leanne, me and Toni:


Aaron:


Gail:


Toni and Sam (in pain):


Toni and I:


Toni and Sue:


For some reason we didn't manage to get any pictures of Gemima, probably because she was quite happy going off and playing with all the other kids that were there. I did try and get a picture of her dancing but someone gave out a camera alert. I did manage to capture her on film though:


The cake:

Games Workshop

We are all a bunch of geeks LMFAO! We set off for Chelmsford today and went to Games Workshop to make a few purchases. Everyone came away with something so we are all as sad as each other LOL.

Here's a quick rundown (for those of you that this might actually make some sense to):
Sam - new Chaos Daemons Codex plus 2 boxes of Chaos Daemons (Bloodletters)
Toni - Witch Hunters Inquisitor & Retinue
Aaron - Ork Grots
Gemima - Tau Codex plus Tau Fire Warriors
Me - new Eldar Avatar and Striking Scorpions

Oh dear........................ *sniggers*

Sleepy people....

... it must have been a hard week as everyone seemed to be sleepy tonight. After dinner Toni popped upstairs and ended up crashing out. Gemima got tired and out herself to bed and I was shattered so sent everyone else to bed. It was really weird, everyone was in bed by 22:30, most unusual for a Friday night LOL

Well done Toni

Well done Toni for dazzling your interviewers with your brilliance this afternoon and getting offered the job. I had no doubt that you would get it but well done for doing well and being chosed above the others.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First celebrity fatality due to swine flu!

Good luck Toni

Good luck Toni for your job interview this afternoon. I have no doubt that it is just a formality and that you will get a job offer straight away!

You can't beat a good quote....

"Ah yes, divorce, from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet" - Robin Williams

"I believe that sex is on of the most beautiful, natural, wholesome things that money can buy" - Tom Clancy

"You know 'that look' women get when they want sex? Me neither." - Steve Martin

"Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand." - Woody Allen

"Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances of a date on a Saturday night." - Rodney Dangerfield

"Sex at age 90 is like trying to shoot pool with a rope." - George Burns

"Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole relationships." - Sharon Stone

"My girlfriend always laughs during sex - no matter what she's reading." - Steve Jobs (Apple CEO)

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." - Jack Nicholson

"Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is." - Barbara Bush (former US First Lady)

"Women complain about premenstrual syndrome, but I think of it as the only time of the month I can be myself." - Roseanne

"Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place." - Billy Crystal

"According to a new survey, women say they feel more comfortable undressing in front of men than they do undressing in front of other women. They say that women are too judgemental, where, of course, men are just grateful." - Robert De Niro

"Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and just give her a house." - Rod Stewart

"See, the problem is that God gives men a brain and a penis and only enough blood to run one at a time." - Robin Williams

Killing With Style @ Riga

After chilling out with Sam and Toni and a gorgeous tandoori chicken meal Toni and I drove to Southend to go and see Killing With Style at Riga.

They are a relatively new band and this was their first gig. Toni and I discovered them by accident due to our trip to see SPiT LiKE THiS last weekend. Stevie Ward, singer of Killing With Style, added Toni on MySpace and it turns out he was at the Nottingham gig as he is friends with Lakis (Nemhain guitarist). A few message exchanges later and we make the decision to go and see them.

It was defintely worth it, Killing With Style were very good. We didn't stay for the other bands but had a quick chat with Stevie and Beka before we left (and also Lakis). Was nice to see Peter Carey there too, no seem him since Hellfire!






See all the pics here: 140509KillingWithStyleRiga#


Check out Killing With Style on Myspace: www.myspace.com/killingwithstyle

Shii - the next revolution in gaming!

I think I might get one of these for Toni *sniggers*

Happy Birthday Angie

Happy Birthday Angie

Hope you have a great day

Tidying up madness

Well I bit the bullet tonight and decided to complete what I had started and have a mad tidy up session as the house was looking a bit of a state and it was really starting to get me down. Sam got stuck in with his Warhammer stuff and got all that sorted out whilst I did the clothes and various other bits. I all looks much better now and I felt much happier once we were done. Madness it might have been but it was certainly worth it.

Am knackered.........

....... sorting out my paperwork was a really bad idea. Didn't finish it all until stupid o clock and so I ended up getting naff all sleep so feel like crap now and am totally knackered. Oh well, off to work and drink lots and lots of STRONG coffee!

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:

Sorting out the filing........

.........I had a great idea. The idea was to sort out all my paperwork. Once I had started I couldn't stop but I suddenly realised that I was surrounding by piles of stuff and although I wanted to stop it was no longer possible so I had to complete it. To make matters worse I have no looked at the rest of the house and am thinking that needs sorting too..................

Gotham 10 @ O2 Academy

After a brief bit of rest and a snack, Toni and I headed into London to the O2 Academy to see the return of the Gotham festival (this year billed as Gotham 10) as we had enjoyed Gotham 9 so much last year.

The flyer:


Us:





DEAD HEAVEN
Dead Heaven played old school guitar based goth, a la Sisters Of Mercy with some Cure overtones and very Eldritch inspired vocals. Musically they were good although the keyboard player looked bored and the guitarist was torally miserable.




See all the Dead Heaven pics here: 100509DeadHeavenGotham10


CRYOGENICA
Cryogenica were a very good band, good band, a lot of Nine Inch Nails musical influences with strong female vocals. It was very nice to see the return of the comedy bass player, Cryogenica's was superb: think Brian Molko (from Placebo) but wankered!





See all the Cryogenica pics here: 100509CryogenicaGotham10


LILYGUN
Lilygun were almost out of place on the bill today with their All About Eve style hippy goth rock. The singer had a great voice and the band sported another comedy bass player. What was really impressive though was the fact that the guitarist and drummer quit the band 3 weeks ago and the two people playing today had stepped in to fill the breach and you would never have known that they were new to the band. It was nice to see a band really enjoying themselves.




See all the Lilygun pics here: 100509LilygunGotham10


MALEFICENT
Maleficent were one of the disappointments of the day. Despite some amazing PR pics they turned out to be a bit more style rather than substance. They were plagued with bad sound which probably didn't help. Mastini's outfit was sparse in place and I have to admit that I didn't like having to avert my eyes in case breakfast was displayed. It was more irritating rather than titilating although I am sure lots of the males lapped it up (if you'll pardon the pun) but Belsen Chic just ain't my thang! . The best part was the rope/boondage display at the end. To be honest, Maleficent would probably be better off performing at something like Antichrist rather than the Gotham festival. Visually they were impressive (hence the number of photos in my gallery) and made full use of the stage. Their cover of Nick Cave's "Where The Wild Roses Grow" was very good though, I will give them that!






See all the Maleficent pics here: 100509MaleficentGotham10


ALL LIVING FEAR
Pretentious goth guitar hero alert! These guys weren't bad at all but the guitarist was so up himself it was unreal! They were cut short which was a shame but timescales are tight at these things and I am not sure how much more of the guitarist throwing shapes I could have stomached LMFAO






See all the All Living Fear pics here: 100509AllLivingFearGotham10


HELALYN FLOWERS
Wow! How did that happen? Where did they come from? I didn't actually know the name of this band, Helalyn Flowers, until after the gig but they were fantastic. At the time they were the best band so far. They were full of energy and were totally enjoying themselves. They had a great Vis Kei visual style and some fantastic tunes to boot. The singer looked like a cross between Kate Bush and Toni Basil which we both find mildly amusing. Great band and one to watch out for.






See all the Helalyn Flowers pics here: 100509HelalynFlowersGotham10


VENDEMMIAN
Trad goth heroes return with a rusty but good performance. Chaos seemed to reign supreme with the guitarist having power problems as they set up (caused in part I suspect by the fact that he was spilling bear left right and centre on the stage). Comedy moment goes to the singers descending mike stand and the drunk guitarists slow reactions to kick the DAT off between songs (much to the growing annoyance of the singer!).





See all the Vendemmian pics here: 100509VendemmianGotham10


GOTHMINISTER
Gothminister were the only returnees from Gotham 9 and they once again successfully entertained us and were pretty damn awesome. Toni wasn't too impressed that the singer kept launching himself over the press pit to stand with his crotch basically right in her face (I think he did this four times). It was amusing as there were a few women around us who would quite happily have received his groin in their face but for some reason he kept doing it where Toni stood LOL. The final insult came at the end though when he launched himself into the crowd only to find that they weren't receptive to this and moved so he kind of collapsed on Toni's shoulder, got thrown on to the floor and then stomped off when things didn't go as planned. Unfortunately the incident did quite hurt Toni and we will be sending them a snotagram at some point. It didn't ruin things though and they were still fantastic.






See all the Gothminister pics here: 100509GothministerGotham10


DAS ICH
And last but not least came German legends Das Ich. I really liked them but they weren't Toni's cup of tea (although she did readily admit that a combination of tiredness and hurting from the Gothminister incident might have made her not see them in right light). Das Ich are a weird looking duo but have some pretty catchy tunes (and sung in German which was even better in my book). Unfortunately we did ahve to leave before the end as fatigue was setting in on both of us and Toni need to get some painkillers.






See all the Das Ich pics here: 100509DasIchGotham10


All in all Gotham 10 was a great success, it was wonderful to see a load of bands that we wouldn't normally have even listened to and just partake of more live music. Can't wait for Gotham 11 next year!