Dolmen Grove Essex Moot

It was off the Scout hut in Grays for our monthly Dolmen Grove Essex Moot. Today we were honoured to be joined by Trevor Rawson who was giving us an overview of Tai Chi including some basic exercises. It was really interesting to learn more about it. The exercises themselves were actually quite fun and left me feeling like I had just been meditating. Toni and I will be looking into some local classes when we get back as it's definitely something we would like to investigate further but Essex is a bit far for regular sessions.

We had a great day and it was fantastic to catch up with everyone again. Lots of catch up and nattering afterwards plus we now have plans for both the December and January moots, talk about organised!

Ziyafet, Rangers beat the Flyers (again), Papa John's & Maleficent

We had a lovely lazy start to the day before Toni and I took Pam to Ziyafet in Eltham to meet Jade for lunch. We had a lovely meal before we took Jade home (via Jamie's to collect some parcels).

New York Rangers v Philadelphia Flyers round two, this time at Madison Square Garden. Rangers were short a few players: Kreider (death in the family), Boyle (flu-like symptoms), Glass (mumps). Will be interesting to see if they can shuffle the lines to deal with this. Derrick Brassard gave the Rangers a 1 - 0 lead on the power play at 02:50. Rangers dominated the play despite being down a number of key players. Flyers turned the tide though and made it 1 - 1 at 13:46. First period ended 1 - 1. Shots on goal were NYR 15 and PHI 7.

The Flyers upped their gamer in the second and took a 1 - 2 lead at 08:45 on the power play. Fast scored his first NHL goal and even things up to 2 - 2 at 11:38.Lots of pressure from the Rangers but the Flyers defended well with some impressive saves. Second period ended 2 - 2. Shots on goal were NYR 14 (29) and PHI 4(11).

Flyers started strongly in the third but in a run against the play the Rangers took a 3 - 2 lead. Derrick Brassard got his second at 03:07. After that it was all Flyers once again with the odd counter from the Rangers. J.T. Miller then goes for a wrap around after a turn over and takes the Rangers lead to 4 - 2 at 09:54. Lee Stempniak put the game out of sight with 24 seconds left with an empty netter and Rangers lead 5 - 2. The game ended with the Rangers winning 5 - 2 and a sweep of the Flyers. Shots on goal were NYR 6 (35) and PHI 12 (23).

I think that maybe this Rangers team could be finally coming together! Well, fingers crossed anyway.

Aaron treated us all to Papa John's for dinner (as he had just received his first wages) and we watched Maleficent..

WFH, The Force Awakens trailer and New York Rangers blank the Flyers

It was a bit of impromptu WFH today as Zoe told us last night that she has an INSET day today. We knew she had one on Monday which was in  our calendar but the school had craftily snuck another on in. Not a bad working day over all but not as much was accomplished as had been planned by the team.

BIG highlight of the day was finally getting to see the Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens trailer.

Talk about emotional, it brought a tear to my eye. I am so excited now, only a year to go before the film actually hits the cinema! If you haven't seen it yet then here it is:

Due to it being holidays in the good old USA there were lots of matinee ice hockey games so we got to watch New York Rangers v Philadelphia Flyers at 6pm rather than midnight! Rangers started with Cam Talbot in goal giving Lundqvist the night off as presumably he will be starting tomorrow night in New York. The game started with a lot of pressure from the Flyers which was a cause for concern. Rangers went on the power play and Dan Boyle made it 1 - 0 with a wicked slap shot. Almost immediately afterwards the Flyers were on the power play but the Rangers killed it off. Rangers then failed to take advantage of another power play opportunity. There was lots more pressure from the Flyers but the Rangers defended well. First period ended with the Rangers winning 1 - 0. Shots on goal were NYR 10 and PHI 8.

Second period started with the Flyers putting on the pressure again. Rangers successfully killed off another Flyers power play. Martin St. Louis then scored his 1,000th career point as he extended the Rangers lead to 2 - 0. There was then a surge from the Rangers seeing them really start to dominate the play. Period ended with the Rangers still leading 2 - 0. Shots on goal were NYR 11 (21) and PHI 7 (15).

Third period started well until the Rangers gave up a stupid high sticks penalty resulting in a four minute penalty (due to drawing blood). I was worried but I needn't have. Rick Nash popped in a beautiful short handed goal giving the Rangers a 3 - 0 lead while on the penalty kill! The Rangers were good on defence and and the end ended with a fantastic Rangers 3 - 0 victory and shut out for Cam Talbot. The Flyers fans booed their team! Shots on goal were NYR 3 (24) and PHI 11 (26)

After the hockey it was time for kebabs and How To Train Your Dragon 2.

Who am I? #MyNameIs...

Well today was a most odd day. It was frustrating, upsetting and distressing.I opened Facebook to find that they had deactivated my account. I got the following message:

There was no opportunity to dispute things. I was just given a form that would allow me to change my name with a link to what was unacceptable. Here's the list:

The form (well Facebook) was quick to reject nearly everything I typed immediately. I then added something in out of desperation which was accepted. Sadly there was no a"re you sure you want to use?" verification step. There wasn't a warning that what I was about to enter would then be locked for the next sixty days. What I ended up with as an immediately accepted Facebook name that I most certainly did NOT want to use. I was not happy with being lumbered with a Facebook identity that wasn't me based on who they think I should be. Nearly everyone I know calls me KT and knows me as KT Glitz. This is who I am.

Frustrated and upset by Facebook's hard line approach I decided to deactivate my account. I felt really flat. Although Facebook isn't reality as such it plays a big part in my life and my interactions with other people with similar interests. I was starting to question who I was and felt like my identity had been invalidated. 

My next step was to set up a completely new Facebook profile. I started adding friends from my old profile and Toni shared what had happened on hers and my friends list started to look a bit like my old one. On the plus side my newsfeed was now slightly less chaotic than the old one. I do have a solution that could get my old profile back although part of me is tempted to just continue using the new one. Not 100% sure what I am going to do at this moment in time.

There is a petition on change.org challenging Facebook to reconsider its current draconian view on real names. If you feel so inclined please pop over to this link and sign the petition:
https://www.change.org/p/facebook-stop-forcing-users-to-display-their-real-name?

So in short I am really mad at Facebook at the moment. I know a lot of people who have also been victims of this crazy policy. As far as I am concerned it is war and I will actively campaign to get them to reverse their things. It wasn't that long ago that Facebook made a public apology after trying to force drag queens to re-badge their profiles with their real names.After that was done we had assumed that all this silliness had gone away. It appears not!

Star Wars stuff

It's been a while since I made any Star Wars related posts so I thought it was time to do another one. I'm always keen to do my bit for charity where I can so recently I decided to make some purchases from the R2-KT Fan Club site to get some cool stuff and support great causes. Here'y my stash of patches:

 

The trailer for Episode VII: The Force Awakens is due to debut at selected cinemas in the US this Friday. It has also been confirmed that it will be released on iTunes on the same day so that's a result for me! If you can't wait that long then here is nice little fan made trailer to whet your appetite.


..and here is Malcolm Tucker describing Star Wars:

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:

WWE Survivor Series 2014

Tonight we watched WWE Survivor Series. I had been dreading it thinking it would be the usual set of matches rebadged for the umpteenth time. I was delighted to be proved wrong, at least in part :)

Fatal Four Way Tag Team Championship Match
The WWE Tag Team division hasn't been great for a long time due to the lack of any real tag teams. Most teams are just singles wrestlers who get paired up. It's getting a little bit better slowly. The Usos are clearly a legitimate team, The Matadors are alright despite the shite gimmick and Goldust & Stardust make an interesing pair but Mizdow don't really work other than offering comedy value. The match was OK though with all teams putting in some good work although the ending was a bit crap with Mizdow lifting the gold. I guess this one is leading to an expansion of the Mizdow storyline rather than being designed to further the Tag Team division.

Cameron, Summer Rae, Layla and Paige vs. Naomi, Natalya, Emma and Alicia Fox
The Divas division is in a worse state than the Tag Team one. This match was dire. Layla, Natalya and Paige are able to wrestle well but sadly this match did not give anyone a chance to shine.

Dean Ambrose v Bray Wyatt
Ambrose is one of my favourite wrestlers at the moment. He excels in his loose cannon role following in the footsteps of people like Terry Funk and Brian Pillman and his unpredictability makes him interesting to watch. This match was pretty good. Wyatt isn't a technical wrestler and both he and Ambrose kept slugging things out. Ambrose got himself disqualified to start bringing weapons into the ring which is clearly a BIG lead up to their scheduled match at Tables, Ladders & Chairs next month.

Titus O'Neil & Heath Slater v Adam Rose & The Bunny
This was one of those shite novelty matches that we all loved/cringed at back in the day. Is it relevant in this day and age? No not really. Is it fun to watch? Err, kind of. It was mercifully short but I do feel sorry for the wrestlers who have to do this stuff. The Bunny won by the way and upset Adam Rose in the process....

AJ Lee v Nikki Bella Divas Championship
See my previous comment about the state of the Divas division. This match was no exception and was over before it began. Brie Bella distracted AJ Lee and Nikki pinned her to win the title. I suspect AJ Lee is on the way out of the WWE given the speed with which she lost the match.

Team Cena vs. Team Authority
This match made the night. It was really good. The stipulation was that if Team Authority lost then Triple H and Stephanie McMahon would lose their jobs
Big Show eliminated Mark Henry in seconds with a knockout punch, Rusev eliminated Ryback. Rusev was counted out after he knocked himself out putting Ziggler through the announce table. Harper pinned Rowan after Rollins hit him with a flying knee. Rollins pinned Cena after Big Show turned on him and knocked him out. Big Show is counted out as he just he walks away. Ziggler pinned Kane and then Harper. Ziggler was in the ring for a lot of this match and took one hell of a beating. I was really impressed with his work ethic and put in the performance of a lifetime. My heart was racing as we had so many near pins towards the end as he and Rollins were the remaining two fighting for the win.Triple H then got involved and had the match turning in his favour until we had a BIG entrance from the legend that is Sting! OMFG! I almost had tears in my eyes seeing Sting walk into a WWE ring, confront Triple H, have a long stare down before taking him down with the Scorpion Death Drop. WOW is all I have to say! Perfectly scripted! Sting then placed Ziggler on top of Ambrose and walked away at which point the ref registered the three count and Team Cena won.

Now that last match is how you do it right. Ziggler is another of my favourite wrestlers and he excelled himself tonight. He deserved the praise that he received at the end of the match. As for Sting, well what can I say. He's been hinting at actually get in the ring for a while now and he has sure as hell done it style. Well done WWE, I can't wait to see where this storyline goes. WWE programming might just have become interesting again!

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part one

Wow, what a film....I enjoyed The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire but Mockinjay part 1 is much better than them. We are spare a third return to "the games" and instead the film focuses on the building revolution as all the Districts start to band together against the Capitol. It's different to the first too and much better for it in my opinion. My only grumble is that they've made it a damn two part job so I now have to wait another year for the conclusion of this bit of the story. I am sure it will be worth the wait though.

If you haven't seen the first films you should definitely check them out. As for this one. for me it's a must see and you don't really have to have seen the others for it to be enjoyable (although it does help)

Wicca Moon School Of Witchery

Today was a good day! We both passed modules one to three of our Wicca Moon School Of Witchery course. The day was spent commencing module four. It was quite an intense day of workshops that left me quite drained by the end. It was all good stuff though and some interesting stuff was learned and experienced.

New tools were provided for future working (amethyst and quartz):

Although I had a brief period of losing motivation during modules one to three I'm glad that I stuck with it as I am now really enjoying everything and am focussed and motivated. So much more to learn over the next ten months and I am really looking forward to the final results that will start to manifest themselves.  

WFH, freezer, Cafe Rouge and Bruins v Blue Jackets

It was an impromptu working from home day today due to the delivery of a new freezer. Not that I am one for getting excited about a kitchen appliance but it is quite impressive. We had fun and games reversing the door though. We chose this unit because it was possible to reverse the door but it could have been a little easier LOL. After a bit of grumbling and stomping it was all done though and it looks very nice where it sits. It was good timing too as the meat man came today and we bought a phenomenal amount of frozen meat from him.

...and as part of this process I managed to slip on the decking, which was lethal due to the wet, and hurt my right knee and wrist. That wasn't part of the plan!

The working day was a little slow and I ended up writing an idiots guide to doing something for someone who is paid to do it anyway but had failed to get it right twice. It was a severe *sigh* moment.

After work and the freezer installation Toni, mum, Sam, Pam and I went to The O2 to go and have dinner at Cafe Rouge. STEAK! That is all! Well it wasn't the only thing but it did form a major part of the plan!

Sadly due to several feet of snow falling in the Buffalo region the New York Rangers v Buffalo Sabres game was postponed which was a damn shame as I'd really been looking forward to it to see if the Rangers really have started turning things around. Instead we ended up watching Boston Bruins v Columbus Blue Jackets. Things didn't start so well for the Bruins with them trailing 0 - 2 at the end of the first. Things weren't look good for the Bruins as the second period remained at 0 - 2 although they did out shoot the Blue Jackets. 1:28 into the third and the Bruins pulled one back to make it 1 - 2. Ten minutes in the Bruins tied things up 2 - 2. Two minutes later they scored again and were 3 - 2 up. Then the Blue Jackets answer and tie the game up 3 - 3. Third period ended 3 - 3 so it was overtime bound..... and then to a penalty shoot out. Seven rounds later and  the Bruins won 4 - 3

Trains, good day and Rangers back to winning ways

Today started off with a cancelled train which I thought might be a bad omen and the sign of a bad day. As Sam and I played sardines on a very packed train I received an email saying the boss would be working from home today. Seems it wasn't going to be a bad day after all LOL

It was a good day overall. Got lots of stuff done and started formulating plans for various things going forward. Next on my list is to work out why my office PC keeps going on a go slow.

Evening was spent chilling out, watching a couple of documentaries and then catching up on the New York Rangers v Philadelphia Flyers game from last night. We had planned on watching it live but we were all knackered so gave it a miss. It was like we were watching a different team from the won that lost on Monday night. It was good to be back to winning ways with the Rangers walking away as 2 - 0 victors.

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:

WFH and a Bruins hockey game

It was a working from home day today. Oh the wonders of modern technology and the mobile office. Saying that, I do miss the banter with my colleagues when I am out of the office.

In a desperate attempt to wash away the foul taste of the New York Rangers shocking 1 - 5 loss to Tampa Bay Lightning last night (I didn't even bother blogging that shambles) we decided to watch a different team instead. Boston Bruins v St. Louis Blues was a good game to watch and was a vast improvement on the Rangers game. Bruins won 2 - 0 so Toni was very happy as they are her favourite team.

Anniversary meal @ The Tudor Barn

As it was our Wedding Anniversary Toni and I decided to head back to The Tudor Barn (the place where we were handfasted) for an anniversary meal.

After we had arrived and had been seated the waiter announced that they had some complimentary fizz on ice for us as it was our anniversary! A lovely gesture and a great start to the evening.

We started things off with baked Camembert and vegetables to share for a starter. It's usual to take a food picture so just to buck the trend this is proof that it was delicious....

The main course was something else altogether. We opted for the surf and turf, 22oz T-bone steak and a lobster. The steak was so big that they actually carved it for us

It made sense to have hand cut chips with this delightful feast:

This was accompanied by a nice bottle of Running Duck:

As you can probably have guessed there was very little left...........

We had a wonderful time. It was so nice to get away and share an intimate meal in a venue with so many happy memories for us. Here's to many more.......................

Happy Anniversary!

Seven years ago Toni and I become one. Two years ago we got married. Two years of marriage and seven years of bliss!

Thank you for being in my life. It's been an amazing journey so far and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us! I love you so very very much!

Late start, homework, mum arrives and ice hockey

Today started quite late due to Toni and I both being knackered from Witchfest yesterday. We mobilised the house and then went round the corner for a full English. On our return home Toni and I settled in to do some Wicca Moon coursework. This didn't go quite as planned but we got stuff done and have a plan for the final bit(s).

Mum arrived in the afternoon and is staying for the week. So nice to see her again, it's been quite a while. 

Dinner was provided courtesy of Rishta and some hockey was watched. First up was a very exciting UK game with Edinburgh Capitals beating arch rivals Fife Flyers 4 - 3 after Richard Hartmann avoided overtime with ten seconds to spare. We then watched a couple of condensed replays from last nights NHL games, namely Avalanche v Devils (3 - 2) and Wild v Stars (2 - 1).

The evening finished watching live NHL with the Sharks v Hurricanes game. It was a novelty watching more as a neutral and not really caring which team won. It was a good chance to watch a game with the blinkers and rose tinted glasses off and just appreciate the hockey. Big thumbs up to Sharks netminder Troy Grosenick on his NHL debut. He faced 45 shots and got his first shut out! Outstanding!  

Witchfest

It was off to Croydon for Witchfest today see friends and bands. Toni looked absolutely stunning:

We had a fantastic time. So wonderful to meet up with friends once again, some we hadn't seen for ages. Spriggan Mist and Damh The Bard were great as usual good sets. The Dolmen were absolutely amazing with a very special magicakl set. It was an honour to once be able to get up and drum with them at the end once again! 

Happy Birthday Zoe

Happy Birthday Zoe, hope you have a great day

Krishna Night

After work today Toni and I ventured off to Wicca Moon for a Krishna Night. The session was run by Adi Krishna. We had an overview of Krishna and then there was mantra singing and chanting. It was a mind blowing experience for me as I started meditating during one of the chants and had a transcending experience. Just amazing, I can't even put into words exactly what it felt like.

Although I am not necessarily heading to become a full on devotee I am definitely going to be researching more and will use at least one of the chants in some of my personal meditation time due to the deep spiritual connection that I made. 

Here's a take on one of the songs that we sang: Jaya Radha Madhava

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: