Thursday 30 November 2017

#Intoxicated once again at The Toxic Avenger The Musical

The Arts Theatre West once again played host to Toni, Sam Zoe and I as we made another return to watch The Toxic Avenger The Musical. This was 8 for me, 12 for Sam, 2 for Toni and 5 for Zoe. We do rather like it if you hadn't already gathered!

The props were out tonight and it was another amazing performance from the cast. It just seems to get better and better every time we see it and tonight everything was very polished.

After the show Sam and I had to get a shot with Oscar who plays the Folk Singer (and 12 other characters) donning our wigs and banner raised.

Our efforts were appreciated

Wednesday 29 November 2017

Day off, not a day off, Runaways, Despicable Me 3 & Avengers trailer

Today was planned as a day off. Had to do some stuff with Toni in the morning and was going to then relax for the rest of the day. Made the mistake of checking a few emails and then realised that there things I need to have in place before I can take some time off. My day off turned in to not a day and became a half day off instead.

Oh well, on the plus side I did get to work from home and managed to clear off all the things that had been cropping up in the morning. Despite not being quite as I had intended I did end the day feeling slightly rested.

The evening was spent watching the latest episode of Marvel's Runaways and then the totally awesome Despicable Me 3.

I'd better give an honourable mention to the Avengers Infinity War trailer that dropped today too. Can't wait to see this next year! Damn, that new Spider-Man suit!!!!!!



Tuesday 28 November 2017

Controlled explosion at The Gherkin (Suspect Device)

Well it was all go at the office today. Everything was busy as usual and I was just about to go and start doing a review when we received an internal alert instructing us to all stay away from the windows and to immediately head to the basement.

Turns out a car had been left unmanned outside the Gherkin and the situation was being taken very seriously. History: The Gherkin stands on the site of the Baltic Exchange and Chamber Of Shipping which were extensively damaged by an I.R.A. bomb in 1992 so potential terrorist threats are always treated with due diligence.

While in the basement there was a muffled bang. I suggested it as a controlled explosion (much to the disbelief of colleagues) but I've heard enough of them over the years to have an idea what they are like. After much waiting we were informed that the police had indeed conducted a controlled explosion on the car. It was all over in just over an hour and we were allowed back to our desks. Lots of good photos came from surrounding buildings including the robot:

Here's one of the new reports


Brings to mind the 'good old days' of the suspect device threat

Monday 27 November 2017

Busy day and early night

It was busy at work today, it just never seems to stop. Still, better than being bored I suppose. I got logs of done and am slowly working my way through new processes to try and come up with a better way of working.

It was a lazy do for cooking so kebabs were ordered and we watched the first two episodes of Stargate SG1. Everyone was tired though so it was early nights all round.


Sunday 26 November 2017

Morning work, Penn & Teller, Stargate and Rangers win

Well there's nothing quick like having to do a bit of work on a Sunday to start it off in a bad way. It was something I could have done without but it was sadly a necessary evil. *sigh*

After the working it was back to the chilling again (with a large mountain of toast and bramble jelly).

We've started watching a great little show called Penn & Teller: Fool Us. The premise is that magicians have to perform a trick/illusion in front of a live studio audience (and Penn & Teller) and Penn & Teller have to work out how it is done. If they can't do it then the magician gets an all expenses paid trip to Las Vegas to open for Penn & Teller at their residency there. It's actually quite fascinating especially when they get fooled by some of the more unlikely candidates.

Next exciting thing for the day was watching the Stargate movie. I always forget just how enjoyable it is. It was also funny watching something with James Spader in that was The Blacklist.

This has now given us incentive to watch all ten season of Stargate SG-1......

The evening closed out with us checking out our first New York Rangers game in a while. We tuned in at the start of the first with Rangers trailing 0 - 1 against the Vancouver Canucks. Second period ended with Vancouver leading 1 - 2 and we were wondering if we'd made a mistake tuning in. At the start of the third the Rangers drew 2- 2 before Vancouver went 2 - 3 up. It was definitely starting to feeling like one of those games. A beautiful combo play from Vesey and Nash had the level at 3 - 3 with 13 minutes left. Despite some good chances neither team could get the win and so we went to overtime! Overtime was very frantic and then we went to penalty shots. Aaaarrggghhh! After much butt clenching the Rangers managed to win on the 7th shoot out round! PHEW!

Saturday 25 November 2017

Godless, The Punisher and Star Trek Discovery

It was a goggle box day today as we kicked back and chilled.

We watched the first episode of Godless, a new wild west TV show on Netflix. It shows lots of promise so it will be interesting to see how things develop with this one over time.


This morning we finished The Punisher. What a brilliant ending to a fantastic series and a great setup to Season 2 if things go that way. Marvel really did excel when they put this series together and it is the best one so far. Not bad for a spin-off from the Daredevil show. I am glad they did it though as The Punisher has always been a favourite of mine so it was good to see something that actually did the character justice and this was head and shoulders above any of the films.


We then embarked on a journey into space with Star Trek Discovery. My interest in Star Trek TV shows has always been a bit hit and miss. I liked some The Original Series stuff, The Next Generation was good and I quite liked the different angle that Deep Space Nine took. Voyager started well and I loved Janeway's character but it started to fizzle out and Enterprise was awful so I had no real excitement about a new series. Toni had watched some of it and said it was worth a shot.

Colour me impressed, the new take on things is pretty good. I like the new characters and it has a fresh feel to it despite also managing to maintain a very clear Star Trek blueprint behind it. Ended up binge watching the whole season! Check it out:


Friday 24 November 2017

Marvel's Runaways

Tonight we ventured into new territory as we checked out the first three episodes of Marvel's Runaways, a new TV show.

We knew nothing about Runaways and opted to watch it blind rather than hit Google for the inside scoop. Other than knowing it was a Marvel comic, that was it.

The show is very good. It was nice to watch something with no preconceived ideas and the story builds up nicely with little surprises popping up as it goes along.  It's a simple premise: Six teenagers from different backgrounds unite against a common enemy — their criminal parents, collectively known as the Pride.

Here's the trailer if you fancy a taster.

Thursday 23 November 2017

Goodbye dad, great sign and eye tests

First thing it was time to say goodbye to dad as we dropped him off at Eltham station for his journey home. Toni, Zoe and I then headed to Eltham High Street to go to Specsavers. On our way I spotted this wonderful sign painted on the wall of one of the buildings. We need more things like this!

All three eye tests resulted in changed prescriptions and the need for new glasses which we will be picking up in a couple of weeks. Strangely my eyesight has actually improved, no idea how that happened but I am not complaining!

Wednesday 22 November 2017

Family meal at Ziyafet

After work tonight Toni, Zoe, dad and I went to Ziyafet for a meal as it was dad's last night with us. Good food is always pleasing and tonight was no exception. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the evening.

Tuesday 21 November 2017

Three generations get #Intoxicated

Tonight we had three generations of family visiting the Arts Theatre West End to see The Toxic Avenger The Musical. This was my 7th time, Sam's 11th and a debut for dad.

As usual it was an amazing performance. We were front row and so the props came into effect with additional ones being made for dad too. He didn't let us down and participated. There were cameras in tonight practicing a taping that will be made soon.

We had another folk singer inspired surprise tonight which went down well.

Sam and I left delighted and dad had a really good time too. Here's what he had to say on Twitter. "Absolutely terrific night out. What a show! What a cast!".

Sad to say it will all be over soon with the final performance being on Sunday 3rd December.

Monday 20 November 2017

Shooting the breeze

Tonight dad and I had a chance for a proper catchup as we spent the evening shooting the breeze. It was nice to have some time just to talk for a few hours about all sorts of things. We don't often have some quality time together so tonight was most enjoyable.


Sunday 19 November 2017

Snuggles and snooze, fire and dad visiting

There was no rush to get up today which was nice. Snuggles and snoozing is the best way to start the day :)

Breakfast and more episodes of The Punisher was followed by having a bit of a tidy up in preparation for dad coming to stay for a few days. This included sorting out the fireplace so that we could actually have it on. It's so nice to have real flames in the living room.

Dad arrived safe and sound we had a good catch up. Food was provided from Rannah and we then enjoyed much tea and many episodes of QI.


Saturday 18 November 2017

Cafe Delicio, Specsavers and The Punisher

Today did go quite as planned. We went out for a lovely breakfast at Cafe Delicio and then booked eye tests at Specsavers. We spent far too long messing around and trying on glasses. When we got home we really didn't feel like doing much tidying up and so we watched Hell's Kitchen instead LOL.

This afternoon we started watching Marvel's The Punisher on Netflix. Wow, talk about raising the bar! Daredevil was good and I also liked Jessica Jones and Luke Cage but The Punisher is the new gold standard. For me this representation of Frank Castle matches closely my hero from the comics.

All thirteen episodes were published on Netflix yesterday and today we binge watched eight of them. It really is a great series and if you like Marvel shows or The Punisher then you should really take some time out to watch this.


Friday 17 November 2017

Happy Anniversary

Today was our 5th wedding anniversary and also marked 10 years of being together. Time flies when you are having fun. It's been an amazing journey so far and I can't wait to see where things take us next.

Toni was delivered some lovely red roses and we went out for a meal together at Ziyafet to celebrate.

Life is GOOD!

Thursday 16 November 2017

Toxic for the win

I won tickets to go and see The Toxic Avenger The Musical so we were back again for more Toxic fun. This was my 6th time and Sam's 10th.

It was another brilliant performance and now Ben has really settled into his role as Melvin/Toxie and is owning it big style. The wigs were out again tonight which was appreciated by the director who we talked to after the show. It all just never gets old and we have two more return visits plan before it all ends.

Sam and I managed to get Sophia's autograph tonight and gave her the card that we made for the 100th show (we missed her that night).

There's only two and a half weeks lift of the run so if you want to go and see it you need to get your skates on or you will miss out. Seriously, it is well worth going to see!.



Wednesday 15 November 2017

The Last Jedi countdown is on with new trailer

The countdown is now officially on as we approach the release of The Last Jedi!

To help that excitement build we have another International Trailer for The Last Jedi with a couple of new snippets in it. Avoid if you don't want to know anything!



Tuesday 14 November 2017

Happy Birthday Zoe

Happy Birthday Zoe, hope you have a great day!

Sunday 12 November 2017

Loads of sleep, Empire At War, SQL analysis and TV catch up

I didn't get up until after noon today. It was wonderful! There was so much needed sleep and it was so nice to wake up feeling much less stressed than I had been.

Although we haven't managed to play Star Wars Destiny for a while Sam and I finally got around to sorting out our collection and getting our Empire At War boosters catalogued. We can now proudly say that we have a full set of Destiny Awakenings, Spirit Of Rebellion and are only a few cards short for Empire At War. Now we eagerly away the release of the Legacies expansion set.


I briefly popped into work mode to do some SQL Server memory analysis before falling back into relax mode. The rest of the day was accompanied by The Blacklist, Hell's Kitchen, Inhumans and The Shannara Chronicles. Oh yes, I and I got some laundry done too :)


Saturday 11 November 2017

The Toxic Avenger The Musical round FIVE

This evening it was off to see The Toxic Avenger The Musical for a fifth time (and ninth for Sam0 along with Aaron and Zoe (their second time) and Tara (her first). This was the first time we had seen new Toxic main man Ben Irish.

Sam and I have seen both Mark Anderson and Peter Bindloss portraying Toxic and both were excellent. Ben Irish started this week and already looks like he has settled in very well. He plays the role very well and like the other two also brings his own unique touch to the character. As usual Oscar Conlon-Morrey, Ché Frances, Natalie Hope and Emma Salvo were awesome as were all the musicians.

As usual we hung around to meet some of the cast afterwards and had our first chat with Ben Irish. Show director Benji Sperring took this lovely photo of Zoe and Tara showing off their Toxic merchandise with Ben.

I never get tired of watching this show and will be going at least two more times before the run ends on 3rd December.




Up early and working - mission accomplished

Today I was up early and started work at 07:30 as the Wave 3 migration continued. No rest for the wicked as they say! Things went fairly smoothly and most of the small hiccups we encountered were easily rectified. Thank goodness this was the last migration weekend. No doubt there will be plenty of  troubleshooting things next week but the main hard work is now over.


Friday 10 November 2017

Work, work and more work

Today was mostly made up of work!

I was in the office all day working hard, fighting fires and prepping for the Wave 3 migrations. Got home, had some dinner and then it was time for more work as I commenced the Wave 3 migrations. It was a LONG day but it got me well ahead of the game for tomorrow even though I was knackered at the end of it all.


Thursday 9 November 2017

Busy day and then Aaron's birthday meal

It was another busy day today. It just seems relentless and I am just about managing to not collapse from exhaustion. Just as well I manage to sleep pretty well otherwise I would really be in trouble LOL.

After leaving work much later than planned it was home in time to head to Ziyafet for Aaron's birthday meal. Along with Toni and I we had Aaron (obviously), Jade, Zoe, Ryan and Callum. Food as usual was superb and everyone had a great time. Aaron was delighted with the birthday surprise at the end.

Wednesday 8 November 2017

Busy at work and an underwhelming Chinese meal

Today was no different to most days, we were busy at work, very busy LOL.

As a novelty tonight we ordered a Chinese. We haven't had Chinese for months and months. The idea was a good one but we've moved since we last had one and sadly the one we ordered from tonight was woefully underwhelming. Nothing worse that really having a hankering for something and then regretting the decision afterwards.

Tuesday 7 November 2017

Cancelled train, sad news, late trains

Went in a little later than planned today due to not wanting leave the new mega comfy mattress. Aiming for the Blackfriars train I was excited at the prospect of picking up a delicious bacon roll from Piccolo's en route to the office. Blackfriars train was cancelled so I was bacon blocked!

Preparation for the weekend continues and there are now very few problem left over from previous migrations. I'm still hopeful I can crack them all before I start Wave 3.

In very sad news it was announced today that David had resigned and won't be back. This is a big loss to us and he will be missed very much.

The curse of the trains continued later on as everything was delayed when I got to Cannon Street to head home. My train ended up leaving nearly 25 minutes wait. Could have been much worse and at least it wasn't cancelled but it was something I could have done without.

My evening consisted of Indian take away, Lucifer and some more episodes of The Magicians.


Happy Birthday Aaron

Happy Birthday Aaron. Hope you have a great day!

Monday 6 November 2017

No rest for the wicked and a new mattress

Work continues to be busy, there's just no rest for the wicked sadly!

Yes it's busy busy busy but that beats being bored I suppose. I did at least manage to close off some more niggly left over migration problems and then get some preparation work done for the Wave 3 migrations this coming weekend.

Got home just in time for our new mattress to be delivered! Can't wait to see how good it is. It's really high and looks mega comfortable.


Sunday 5 November 2017

Midday start, Shannara, hair, The Magicians and Star Wars Battlefront II video

We didn't get up until midday today. How frightfully indulgent of us LOL.

We prepared brunch and then burned our way through the first four episodes of The Shannara Chronicles season 2. The second series is much better than the first with better scripts, acting and visual effects. This is definitely a series to watch if you like sci-fi/fantasy shows.


After Shannara it was time for some mutual hair clipping as we both needed our undercuts brought back under control. It was quite nice sitting in the garden doing hair even if it was a tad nippy LOL

Next it was time to binge watch season 2 of The Magicians. Season 1 was a grower that was compelling viewing by the time it reached it's finale. Season 3 is due in 2018 so we thought we'd better get up to date in preparation.


We did pretty well, burning through 9 of 13 episodes.

It's not long now until the release of Star Wars Battlefront II so here's a nice video of all the main characters in the game in action:

Apparently Finn and Captain Phasma will also be added to the game! I can't wait!


Saturday 4 November 2017

Sleep, TV catchup, ice hockey and chill

Lots of sleep was had overnight and there was no rush to get up this morning. That's the perfect way to chill after a hectic week.

Not doing very much was the plan for the day. We did about of tidying in the living room and made some plans for the garage to finally get that sorted out.

The rest of the day was spent watching Hell's Kitch, Star Wars Rebels, and then a mega catch up on Marvel's Inhumans.

Throw in a bit of ice hockey and you have a nicely chilled day and a relaxed feeling. That's the way to do it!

Friday 3 November 2017

Busy at work, problems decreasing and an early night

Work remains busy following two weekends of migrations and we are still ironing out the last few little glitches that remain.


There was a change of pace at lunchtime as Toni came up town to meet Sam and I. We hit the nearest Nando's for a spot of lunch. It was really nice to do this. We had been talking about it for ages but never got round to it. Hopefully we will do this more often now.

Thankfully at the end of today it looks as though one of our persistent issues has finally gone away with clients reporting that things were good today. Fingers crossed that this remains true on Monday. One more migration weekend to go and then I can start to relax a little.

By the time I got home I was knackered and so I had a much needed early night.

Thursday 2 November 2017

The Toxic Avenger The Musical 100th show

Sam and I were back at the Arts Theatre  again tonight for my 4th and his 7th viewing of The Toxic Avenger The Musical. As you might have gathered, we like it quite a lot!

We were front row tonight and had planned some Rocky Horror style audience participation. We had wigs, hearts and Oprah posters all to fit in with various parts of the show. It was all well received by the cast who we spoke to afterwards. We bought them cake and gave them cards and awards as a token of our appreciation for the great performances they give and delight that we receive.

There was a bucket collection in aid of Acting For Others http://actingforothers.co.uk

I'll be seeing the show at least two more times as will Sam although I suspect he'll also add a couple more on top of that. It will be a real shame when this run ends.



Wednesday 1 November 2017

Star Wars The Last Jedi 'Awake' Trailer

Another little trailer has been released for The Last Jedi. There is some new footage in this one, I won't post any spoilers, watch the video below if you want to! Oh that excitement is building!