Stratford upon Avon day 1

We got up really early today and headed off to Stratford upon Avon to see my mum. It was a really good run and we got there earlier than expected which made a pleasant change. Mum and Sam were out though so we ended up sitting in the car for 15 minutes while we waited for them to get back. This was just enough time for Gemima to almost drive us insane LOL

When we got in we had a buffet style lunch and then had a round of Yahtzee. We then took a gentle stroll into town so I could get some Euros for our Wacken trip. Mum, Toni and Gemima then went off for a cup of tea while Sam and I disappeared to Games Workshop to investigate the new Warhammer Fantasy rulebook. Half an hour of geek talk later we met up with the others clutching our newly bought rulebook, measuring set and magic cards. I had great fun winding Sam up telling him he couldn't read it *grin*

After another cup of tea we went back to mums and relaxed for a bit before the subject of dinner came up. It was decided that we would go to a buffet restaurant called Jimmy Spices which offered a good selection of Indian, Chinese, Thai and Italian dishes. It wad delicious and we rolled back home having eaten way too much. As we were all stuffed it was decided that we would all go to bed as tomorrow we'll be driving back to SWF and then preparing for out trip to Wacken in Germany.


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Long day, holiday, Holy Grail

Today was a looong day! Got in early as usual and set about starting to clear out all outstanding tasks so that Stuart isn't left with any additional crap when I am on holiday next week. The day seemed to conspire against me as more stuff kept appearing just as I thought everything was almost finished. Things were compounded by having to operate tasks across two networks and a painfully slow connection between them.

I did finally get out of there an hour later than planned but at least I got everything done that I needed to. Still not 100% sure about how things will pan out at WSS as everything seems to switch between good business as usual and frustrating corporate bullocks with alarming regularity.

On the plus side, it's time to switch to holiday mode as I'm now off for a good break before having to return on the 10th August. You never know we might only have to use one network by the time I return!

Anyhoo, that's enough work talk, it's holiday time. This weekend we are off to Stratford upon Avon to see my mum and pick up Sam and then next week Toni, Sam and I are off to Wacken in Germany with SPiT LiKE THiS for the Wacken Open Air festival. Awesome times ahead!

Before the madness begins we watched Monty Python & The Holy Grail before hitting the hay early.


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Chilling, band stuff, Wolverine and song

After a hectic day at work it was time to kick back a bit. I was the first one home so just took some time to have a coffee and relax.

No rest for the wicked though as I had a load of band stuff to catch up on, photos to upload etc.

We watched X-Men Origins: Wolverine whilst enjoying a cracking meal.

The day was rounded off with a last minute email containing the first of our recorded tracks in a very roughly mixed form. Although the mix needs work I am really pleases with the way it is sounding and how good Hollywood Doll actually sound when committed to recorded media. Can't wait to hear the final mix and all the other tracks. They'll be coming soon folks!


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Hollywood Doll @ The Twist

Took the day off today to go back to SWF and prepare for the HOLLYWOOD DOLL gig at The Twist. Got tarted up, crimped hair etc and the Matt picked me up and we headed on out

Me posing outside when we arrived:


There were supposed to be 5 bands on the bill but for some unknown reason PP Dog failed to show up so that left just the four.................

MINNIE BIRCH
I felt really sorry Minnie Birch, they are a talented trio who play some lovely melodic chilled acoustic music Sadly they crowd just weren't interested and as such talked very loudly over the set. It was a damn shame as the girls put on a really good show with some amazing tunes. I'd love to see them again in an environment that was more receptive to their style.





See all the MINNIE BIRCH pics here: 280710MinnieBirchTheTwist


BUDDY LEE DICKENS
This guy was hilarious. He started off well with an impromptu "how many people does it take to change a guitar string" gag (not that he realised this but we thought it was funny!)

Buddy Lee Dickens was performing without his band tonight and gave us a nice set of country/acoustabilly songs. It was a good nice blend of Cash and Presley and genuine rock n rolling.



See all the BUDDY LEE DICKENS pics here: 280710BuddyLeeDickensTheTwist


HOLLYWOOD DOLL
Next up it was us. It was so nice to have a large appreciative crowd to play for. The sound on stage was terrible although I was informed that it sounded really good out the front so it wasn't all bad. It's funny that although this was probably a gig where we were best received it was probably our worst performance so far, due to the bad stage sound. Still, people enjoyed it and that's what matters and the venue have said that they want us to come back.




See all the HOLLYWOOD DOLL Live pics here: 280710HollywoodDollTheTwist

We also took some time out to do some posing pics which can be seen here: 280710HollywoodDollPosingTheTwist


THE OVERWROUGHT
These guys weren't bad, even more so for the fact that it was their first gig. Indie pop tunes were the order of the day and I think a few artists might want to sue if they hear the melodies but they were a good band nonetheless. They finished with a cover of You're Gorgeous by Babybird. It was quite amusing as he suggested everyone would know it and most of their fanbase would probably have been aged between two and six when it came out so I'm not sure how that works!




See all THE OVERWROUGHT pics here: 280710TheOverwroughtTheTwist

Warning, don't eat here!

A new Indian take away has just opened in Eltham near Toni. Although the food might be delicious there was definitely a lack of thought put into the name of it LMFAO





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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:

Slow day, Victoria coach station and stuff

Today was one of those slow days. It was quite productive but just seemed to drag on and on. To make matters worse the air conditioning seems to be set to NHS as the office is always way too warm and you end up feeling sleepy, just like being in hospital.

I shot out sharpish tonight to get to Charing Cross to meet Sam and then hit the tube to get him to Victoria coach station as he was off to Stratford upon Avon to see my mum.

Once his coach has departed I headed back on the tube and train to Eltham back to Toni's. Thankfully it was window success today and the new double glazing looks fabulous.

Jacket potatoes with chicken and honey/mustard sauce was enjoyed while watching The Wedding Singer and then it was time to knuckle down and do some band related things.

Europe & Foreigner @ iTunes Festival

Yup, I did it again, I won more tickets to an iTunes Festival gig. As Toni loathes Europe and Sam wasn't supposed to be around this weekend I offered my spare ticket to Armitage Smith (he of Paranoid Squirrel podcast fame, and one time Howling Mad guitarist). We met at London Bridge and made the journey to Chalk Farm where we stopped off for a quick snack, I only had chips as I was still pretty full from the noodles earlier on. When we got to the Roundhouse they still hadn't opened the main area doors so we had a quick drink at the bar and then skipped the enormous queue (naughty naughty!)

EUROPE
Gone are the poodle perms but these guys can still rock. They played a very mature set with most of the material taken from their later albums. It was material that I was unfamiliar with but it was very enjoyable and I shall definitely be going to see them when the tour properly in February 2011. Needless to say the final number of their 50 minute set was The Final Countdown. Knowing how much Toni loves that song (NOT) I tried to call her so she could hear it but sadly it was a communication fail in the wind up stakes LOL







FOREIGNER
I have to admit that the reason I applied for tickets to the gig tonight was to see Europe and I was not really bothered about Foreigner so it was with an open mind that I waited for them to hit the stage. I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. I never really acknowledged how many good songs they have in their catalogue (other than THAT song) as they rolled out hit after hit all mixed up with some very old and also new material. The sound was superb and they delivered with great energy. By the end of the night I was left wanting to go and delve into their archives and listen to more of their stuff.






And hear is THAT song, played at the end of their set (surprise surprise)


They put on a great show and took the time to thank the fans:



All in all it was a fantastic night out spent in good company (thanks for tagging along Armitage)

Greenwich Park, doing something different

We did something different today, we went to Greenwich Park for a walk around. The weather was lovely and it was nice to just get out in the fresh air and have a walk in nice surroundings.

I managed to get some really good photos while we were out.





We stopped off at a noodle bar for lunch and had some delicious food. Some of the menu items were interesting *sniggers*:


We ended up in a bit of a rush due our parking ticket being about to expire so Sam and I helped polish off Gemima's meal. Aaron was still taking his time so it was all hands on deck with straws to help finish his soup!



See all the Greenwich Park pics here: 250710GreenwichPark

Washing, Hollywood Doll song writing and more washing

Bit of a busy day today. We got up and had a cooked breakfast before heading back to SWF for the day.

I had to re-install some recording studio software in preparation for a HOLLYWOOD DOLL song writing session and Toni had lots of washing to do, and using HER tumble dryer that is still at my house.

Matt and Graham came round and we made some good progress on a couple of songs. Marie and Steve then turned up and we added a third song to our productivity. Writing songs with these guys is so easy and we get so much done, it's great.

Washing continued and we chilled out while Sam played (and completed) the king of all cut scene games, Metal Gear Solid 4. I don't think I've ever seen so many consecutive, and long, cut scenes in a game. While visually impressive it did get a little bring after a while LOL. In the midst of all this we managed to fit in some chicken kebabs and cheesy chips before we headed back to Eltham.

Window fail & YouTube silliness

Despite our efforts to get Toni's house ship shape ready for the windows to be replaced it all turned out to be a spectacular fail in the end.

The workmen turned up and had to announce that their supplier had failed to deliver everything that was needed and so they would have to do the whole house on Monday rather than over Friday and Monday. The poor guys must have been really cheesed off as it meant that they won't get paid for today and will have to work longer on Monday to make up the time even though it wasn't their fault.

The evening was spent indulging in some YouTube silliness. So here's a few snippets from the mass of junk that we watched....



This one is my personal favourite

Productive, X-Men, moving furniture, X-Men 2

Had a surprisingly productive day at work today. Our inter-network issues are not resolved but we have at least found a way of getting some work done and with today being, thankfully, meeting free lots got achieved.

Today also felt a little more settled and I didn't feel quite as much of an alien as I had been. The only real downer was that we were informed that our servers won't be getting moved this weekend so we'll be experiencing issues for at least another week *grumble grumble*

Got back to Eltham after a good journey and we all sat down and watched X-Men accompanied by a lovely home made curry that Toni had cooked. After the film it was all hands on deck as we started shunting furniture around in preparation for the workmen coming tomorrow to start replacing the windows.

Following the shunting we then watched X-Men 2 before having an early night as the workmen started on a flat above at 06:45 the other day.

Tiredness, stir fry and True Blood

Was absolutely shattered after work today. The change in travelling and extra walking really takes it out of you. Am sure I'll get used to it soon but I was seriously flagging.

It was an interesting day, the way WSS and CF do things are a billion miles apart and I wonder if we'll ever find any common ground to walk upon.... watch this space.

Journey home wasn't as bad as I went back to Eltham rather than SWF. I got in and crashed out while waiting for Toni to get home (with Sam who she was picking up from NG).

Evening consisted of a yummy stir fry and then chilling out and watching two episodes of True Blood season 3.

Meetings, meetings and Hollywood Doll preparing for gigs

Second day and so far so good I guess, travel has been thankfully painless. I think I might need to arrange a meeting to plan my blogs from now on as pointless meetings seems to be the order of the day at WSS. We managed to have lots of them today, which was nice! It's a wonder that anybody gets anything done at all here with the number of meetings that they have, most of which don't even end up with a proper plan of action to carry forward. Even the great global machine that was IBM had sussed out that you should only ever hold a meeting if you actually need to have one!

Thankfully trains have been running well and so I got home in good time to get changed ready for a HOLLYWOOD DOLL rehearsal. This is the last one before our next three gigs and we seem to have everything bolted down very well now. I can't wait to start gigging again next week and don't forget that new songs are coming soon!

Our current gig schedule is:
Wednesday 28th July - The Twist, Colchester
Friday 13th August - Chinnerys - Southend
Friday 27th August - The Box, Chelmsford

Please try and come along if you can

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:

My first day at Wall Street Systems

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's time to start work in London *sigh*
Nick turned up for the use if my drive way and we did the wonderful trip to Liverpool Street together. Sadly it was as grim as I remember it!
Met up with Mike and Stuart at Liverpool Street and we then all skipped together to the Wall Street Systems (WSS) offices (or something like that!)

As expected, my first day was pretty much a write off, my machine was out of action for most of it. We did manage to get in lots of meetings though, you gotta love meetings for the sake of meetings!

One positive though is that I do at least have permission to get in early and leave early (like I used to at Shenfield) so at least I won't be getting home really late every night. Sadly it does mean I will have to get up MUCH earlier :o(
The evening was spent just slobbing out and Sam and I caught up with our wrestling fix, including the Money In The Bank PPV which was really good. Go Kane!

Much needed chill out

Following the rehearsal, recording and fun at the Specimen gig it was definitely a day to do very little. We got up at a reasonable hour and did very little. In the afternoon we went over to Gail's (as she was home alone and bored) and had a bit of a chill out. I did take some time out to review my new contract which was interesting to say the least! Methinks some amendments will be in order!

We then had a lovely chicken and salad dinner before heading back to SWF. It was pretty late by the time we got back but Toni very kindly did my roots and generally made me look presentable ready for tomorrow.

BBQ in the sun

Despite being knackered from back to back rehearsals and then recording we were up quite early and headed off to Eltham. The journey took forever as there was a nasty accident on the motorway which brought everything to a stand still. Multi car pile up and burnt out wreck was a very sobering sight for us. When we did finally get back we had a quick rest before going over to Gail's for some BBQ fun. Lots of lovely food although Toni and I took is easy and didn't drink as we were off out later in the evening. We left Sam and Aaron to it and went off to get dressed ready for a gig in London.

Hollywood Doll in the studio recording

The location: Midnight Studios, Southend.

It's been a long time coming but this was one hell of a night. There is something very satisfying about working with a good sound engineer/producer and getting some tracks laid down. Michael Lawrence was fantastic to work with and he not only knew his stuff but also managed to really draw out the best of all of us.

We started at 18:00 and finished at 01:00, seven hours well spent and four tracks in the bag. Michael will be mixing them over the next couple of weeks and then we'll be able to unleash them on the world. The rough mixes sounded fantastic so I can't wait to hear what the finished mix is like.

End of an era

Today was a very sad day. For the very last time we all entered the Shenfield office. Not a lot of work was done before we all boxed up the last of our equipment and waited for the removal men to arrive. Turned out we were on a half day which was a bit of a result.

HOLLYWOOD DOLL rehearsal

HOLLYWOOD DOLL were back at Midnight Studios this evening for a rehearsal prior to having a recording session tomorrow night.

It was one of those nights where we just didn't want it to end and we would have quite happily gone straight into recording after the rehearsal if we had been able to. All the songs are sounding very polished now and I can't want to start recording them and letting people hear what we sound like properly, rather than audio ripped from dodgy live video.

All our gear was locked in the studio when we left which was a really strange experience as we are so used to having to pack it all away at the end of rehearsal. It would be really nice to have a place of our own that we could rehearse at and always have our gear set up and ready for us. Maybe one day............

Work contracts and how to SPARKLE!

Well work FINALLY started some movement on the new employment front. Contracts are STILL nowhere to be seen but at least we have now had notification of what the salary uplifts will be so that is one worry out of the way. Wonder how long it will be for the actual contracts to turn up?

This little gem appeared out of the corporate machine today.............. corporate bollocks!

How to Reduce Stress - SPARKLE

We all encounter stress in our day to day lives and a small amount of stress is good to keep us motivated, but we also need to learn how to deal with it when it becomes too much. Using the ‘sparkle’ advice below is a good place to start!

S – Sleep well.
Your bed is for sleeping. When your head hits the pillow, it’s time to sleep, not think. Your bed should NOT be for: watching television, balancing your checkbook, planning the next day, arguing with your spouse, checking your e-mail, or making phone calls. When in bed, books are OK, laptops are not.
P – Plan every day.
Create a to-do list every morning. This gives you a) a roadmap of what you need to do at the beginning of the day, b) a reminder of what still needs to be done throughout the day and c) a place to check off your accomplishments at the end of the day
A – Anticipate less.
Recognize the false assumptions you make that lead to anxiety. Will things really turn out to be as bad as you think? Probably not. When you look to the future, visualize success rather than failure. After all, you really don’t know which it will be. So why not expect the best?
R – Relax.
Breath deeply when you feel stressed. Get up and change your environment, if only for a short time. Go for a walk at lunch. Relaxation means taking a break from what you were doing, not just “vegging out.” For instance, watching television isn’t always relaxing; it can be dumbing and dulling. Find activities that calm your body and stimulate your mind. Create a time for your own kind of meditation. Find a quiet space and a quiet time that’s just for you.
K – Keep Anger under control.
Be empathetic and forgiving to others when they make mistakes. Like you, they’re trying to do their best. Learn to give constructive feedback rather than destructive criticism. When someone makes you angry, remember that you have a choice in how you react. Instead of yelling at that bad driver who cut you off, do a running play-by-play on his erratic driving techniques. It’s more fun.
L – Laugh.
Use positive affirmations to keep yourself on track. Affirmations should use the 4 P’s; personal, positive, passionate and present. For instance, “I am a confident and successful manager who always runs an amazing team.” Find time to share a joke. Laugh at the curves life throws at you rather than fretting over them.
E – Eat Well and Exercise.
Your body needs to be a well-tuned machine to manage all of the stresses that act on it. Avoid eating packaged snacks – anything that comes in a wrapper or plastic bag. Try natural fruit instead. Add more colored vegetables to your meals. Reduce caffeine in your diet. It’s a stimulant and can exacerbate physical symptoms of stress that you may already have. Choose water instead. Avoid the escalator or elevator and take the stairs. Find opportunities to go for a walk. Ideally, get exercise that causes you to sweat for twenty minutes at least three times per week.


What a load of old shite. One of my colleagues rewrote it and came up with this.......

How to reduce stress- SPARKLE

S - Schaudenfreude.
Find someone who's worse off than you and have a f*cking good laugh at them

P - Pornography.
Wank yourself to death. You know you want to ! You might go blind though, and make sure you clean up afterwards. No one likes a person with jizz down their trousers.

A - Anger
Go on ! Reach out and communicate !! Especially with the c**t who's wound you up all day.

R - Resignation
Tell your friendly HR department to stick their job and their acronyms up their arse !!

K - Kleptomania
Help yourself to the contents of the stationary cupboard and make a killing on ebay. They could spare a few computers as well, I'm sure...

L - Lager
Drink yourself into oblivion. Makes you feel crap in the morning, but hey, when you're starting off in the gutter, the day can only get better

E - Excitement
Mind you, you're not in any danger of getting much of that round here.....

I Need A Handjob!

Now these show some awesome advertising............

Tiredness & the Meaning Of Life....

..... was flagging abit today after the excesses of last night.
Managed to struggle on through the day, still no sign of new contracts!

Met Toni at North Greenwich after work and we headed back to Eltham, I had a brief nap before waking up for chinese and then we laughed our butts off to Monty Python's Meaning Of Life!

Girl - Hollywood Tease

The next installment of "Those Were The Days: Glam/Sleaze/Trash Blasts From The Past".

It's that Phil Lewis bloke again, this with Girl performing Hollywood Tease

The Last Supper

After a less than motivated day we all headed out for our Shenfield Last Supper. Friday marks the end of an era as we are all leaving the comfort of the bunker that is Whitegates and moving to the 'delights' of the static and sterile environment that is Wall Street Systems in London.

We all headed to The Hutton where we met up with Dave and Shaun who sadly won't be part of the London adventure. Lots of drinks and laughing before we staggered up the road to Lot 75 for more drinks.

As Steve announced that he was going to pay for the curry (with his 30 pieces of silver) we changed location from The Shenfield Tandoori to the more up class Tandoori Nights LOL.

Meal was good and the stories and laughter continued. Although the move to London could well be a positive event for us it was still sad as we drew a close to the Shenfield era. We are all quite a close group and so the change will be odd.

It was a great night out though and I'm glad we did it.

After the meal Mike gave me a lift home, after a detour to deposit Mr Whalley safely back in Blackmore.

As Mr Manson said, bring on the 'New Shit'!


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Location:Railway Parade,Brentwood,United Kingdom

The Gunslingers - Shake Some Action

The next installment of "Those Were The Days: Glam/Sleaze/Trash Blasts From The Past".

The Gunslingers on ECT perfoming Shake Some Action

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:

Back to the gym, knackered!

Today was a big day for me as I went back to the gym for the first time since way before my operation. It was a bit of a slog when I started but I was soon back in the swing of things. I even managed to do my longest ever run on the treadmill which amazed me. Really glad I went and although I am knackered now I have resolved to make it a much more regular thing.

As an added bonus it turned out I was also less heavy than when I did my last review which was a serious boost for me as I thought that I would have put more weight on.

On the way back I bumped into Mark Grimwood in the SWF station car park so stopped to have a chin wag and a catch up before heading home for food, a shower and relaxation.

The Ghosts Of Lovers - That Girl (live)

The next installment of "Those Were The Days: Glam/Sleaze/Trash Blasts From The Past".

The Ghosts Of Lovers perform That Girl. This is a great song although I'm sure about that drummer (eh Mr Doll LMFAO)

Sometimes it is nice to do.....

.... absolutely nothing and that weekend trend continued today.

Got up early and watched The Exam, this is a fantastic film and it's amazing how well it works with eight people in one room for the whole film.

We then had breakfast and watched the original 1981 version of Clash Of The Titans. It was as fun and cheesy as I remember from my youth.

Following a brief trip to Asda we then watched the 2010 remake of Clash Of The Titans. Not sure why this received such harsh criticism as I thought it wasn't a bad film and actually seemed to stick a little closed to mythology than the 1981 version.

The evening was rounded off with a nice dinner and Stardust before Toni and Gemima had to head back to Eltham.

Sadly I then had a load of chores to do so I couldn't relax completely before bed LOL

Torme - Star

The next installment of "Those Were The Days: Glam/Sleaze/Trash Blasts From The Past".

Phil Lewis with Torme singing Star!

Busy doing nothing, free money & films

Today was spent blissfully doing nothing, just as well really as it was too bloody hot!

I did end up earning some free money today as I was on standby for work (with a client doing a live upgrade) so had to stay in anyway to monitor my emails. The downside of this meant that sadly we were unable to attend a party that we had been invited to.

To make up for doing nothing we lounged around, ate ice cream (and some real food) and watched films and TV shows: Daybreakers, The Gates, South Park, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus followed by True Blood.

Sadly the temperature is not going down and I am getting really annoyed with it now, it's boring, not comfortable and I would really like for it to get cooler again and soon!

Tarazara - Behind The Mask

The next installment of "Those Were The Days: Glam/Sleaze/Trash Blasts From The Past".

Tarazara performing Behind The Mask on ECT! Singer Danielz is also Mr Bolan in T-Rextasy

Angry Birds, kebabs and Up

I have a confession to make. I appear to be addicted to the iPhone game Angry Birds! Ryan introduced me to it yesterday and I haven't stopped playing it since. I got in from work and ended up playing it for a couple of hours without even realising what the time was. I was amazed when Toni arrived to find that I had been playing for so long.... oooops!

Due to the heat, and lack of desire to go to Asda, dinner consisted of kebabs, cheesey chips and watch Up which turned out to be quite an amusing film!

Glamour Punks - Hollywood Holocaust Babies

The next installment of "Those Were The Days: Glam/Sleaze/Trash Blasts From The Past".

Glamour Punks - Hollywood Holocaust Babies

HOLLYWOOD DOLL rehearsal

Had a great HOLLYWOOD DOLL rehearsal tonight. Things are sounds really tight which will be great when we get in the studio to record next Friday night. Although we hadn't rehearsed for 3 weeks we only really had to work on two minor parts of our arrangements which was very encouraging.

We even managed to knock out a half decent version of I Hate Myself For Loving You by Joan Jett, which wasn't bad as not everyone had practiced it LOL

More rehearsing next week, including two new songs and then recording on Friday, I really can't wait!

Dust In The Wind

I love this song and I love the Scorpions so it seemed fitting to add this one into the mix today. OK it's not strictly in the "Those Were The Days: Glam/Sleaze/Trash Blasts From The Past" category but I couldn't resist slipping it in there!

So here we have Scorpions performing a wonderful acoustic version of Kansas's Dust In The World as part of their Acoustica performances.

Spot the difference!

Oh my god this is awesome.............

Matt discovered that perhaps the £1 coin that he had been given by the Co-Op was perhaps not a genuine one. Not only is one of the coins below a fake it is a very BAD one! The font is crap, the finish is crap, the engraving round the side is off centre.........

Can you tell the difference? LMFAO