Baker's Banter

So, I was in the bakers in town today when I turned and noticed the guy in front of me was none other than the actor that plays Eric Pollard in Emmerdale (ITV, weekdays, 7pm)

He lives on the outskirts of town, I've seen him before a couple of times, The actress that plays Edna Birch lives in a village nearby too.

As I order some bread, he orders some cakes and jokes with the very attentive staff he intends to munch on the cakes later in the car.

The two female staff remain really polite and are all smiles till the moment he leaves.
Then one turns to the other and says;

'My lad went to school with his lad, my lad says his lad is a bit of an arse!'

The people in the shop burst out into fits of laughter.

The Fab Two

Had a really good and erm... tequila filled night at my local last night, The Fox and Crown. Returning again to the Fox was a Beatles tribute band called the Fab Two, and being a fan of the Beatles I had to be there. I'd actually seen the Fab Two in the Fox before and enjoyed them immensely.

Last night was also a charity night where the 'tequila wheel of death' was out in action again. Basically the tequila wheel is a wooden wheel that holds plastic cups filled with either water or tequila, the wheel gets spun and you drink the nearest beaker to you, it was 50p for 2 spins of the wheel and all proceeds went to charity.

The Fab Two were even better this time, playing other stuff besides the Beatles they really showed how versatile they are, they have great vocal harmonies and can really play guitar, they also played my fave Beatles track 'I'll be back' on request.

It was a great night, I had a stinking hangover to show for it this morning, I must have had 8 shots of tequila and about 5 pints!

The Fab Two (apologies for the dark photo)

Cor Blimey Guv'nor

The second boys away day with Gary being over from Hong Kong was a trip down to London, only a brisk 1 hour and 2o mins on the train, have a cuppa and read the paper and you're pulling into Kings Cross.

My first mistake of the day was telling Gary about the Harry Potter 9 and something platform just outside one of the entrances of the station. I was harangued till I took him there for a photo under the platform sign pushing the trolly through the wall, just so he could show the Chinese Harry Potter fanatics back home. I joked a Brian Potter platform from the Tv Series Phoenix nights would be more to my liking.

After that we headed down to the tube and onto Oxford Street, Down Berwick street where there are some fab cheap cd shops before meandering around China Town for a while and taking some photos.

Then it was off to my beloved Camden for some really blister inducing retail therapy. We were definately on a mission and hit shop after shop in search of clothing. I bagged a lovely hoody top from Cyberdog and several t-shirts from the several markets. We had some lovely Chinese food from the Stables market area before sitting down for a coffee and the second round of shopping. Ideally I wanted to do Covent Garden too but we just didn't have the time.

Later I managed to fit in a quick coffee with my old friend Pat at Starbucks near Kings Cross before we both exhaustedly caught the train home at 7pm - I must do London more often, perhaps a weekend in Camden even.

Somewhere in Soho ;-)

Somewhere in China Town

Dragonfly wall in Camden

Gary at Camden Lock

Skegness and Swordfish

I went over to the coast last week with my friend Gary whilst he was over from Hong Kong visiting his family. We decided to do the nostalgia trip and visit Skegness, home of our misspent early drinking years, namely Easter and August Bank holidays.

The weather was really fantastic and we marvelled at some of the changes in the much maligned Lincolnshire resort, even in September it was still bustling with people. We ventured onto the famous 'Chip Alley' and had ourselves some swordfish, chips and peas with a steaming mug of tea - it was amazing!

Sadly the fairground is a shadow of its former self, the rides for most part seem empty and the whole area wouldn't look out of place in a zombie flick, it needs a massive make over to compete with the likes of Butlins and Funcoast world a couple of miles down the road.

Skegness for me will always be a place of childhood memories and drunken weekends camping in crappy tents and trying to sneak into Butlins! It may not be the best holiday place in the country but it holds nothing but happy memories for me..... and some very hazy ones!

The Big Wheel (with some added effects!)

The Jolly Fisherman

Gary by the sea!

Never Forgotten

The beautiful girl pictured below was my mum as a child, in happier days, she died 2 years ago today, she would have been 60 this year.

A candle burns for her memory this day, tears fall.

A son never forgets.

Love always and ever.

My New Love

Today I got my car, yep, my first car and I can't stop going outside and fawning over her.

I got her from a local farmer/car dealer for a really good price. I knew when I saw her online that it was the one for me. It's nothing special, just a Vauxhall Astra variant but I guess its the fact its my first car that I'm just excited, and for a cheap car its certainly packing extras.

Still a couple of things to sort before she's on the road proper but it won't be long.

Di

I'm not a royalist, never have been but there was no avoiding the news today about the anniversary of princess Diana. I guess her life was brief but in some respects she lived a life that some only dream about.

My thoughts were with the Princes though, on a base level of actually losing your mum, I know how that feels, and my thoughts are with them in that respect.

85th

It was my grans 85th Birthday today, a remarkable lady that's seen a lot of life ups and downs, I love her dearly.

I took some flowers and a card over and we had a good old chinwag and cup of tea. She's not as strong as she once was but she's as bright as a button.

Here's to another good few years for her!

Used Emotions

The friend

'This is your life, Right here, Right now. This is real time... not rewind. Do you understand what I'm saying... she doesn't love you. Maybe she did once, I don't know, but she doesn't now. These are used emotions. It's time to trade them in.'

My friends tone becomes more gentle.

'Memories were meant to fade. They're designed that way for a reason.'

I crumple a bit, I know I have to let go but it's so painful

Me

'Have you ever been in love with somebody who didn't return that love?'

The friend sighs and says in a low voice and says

'Yeah I have'

Me

'It didn't stop you from loving them Right? Or understanding them, or being able to forgive them...?'

The friend

'I guess'

Me

'And it didn't stop you from wanting to protect and care about them did it?'

The friend

'No it didn't'

Eyes brim with tears but nobody wants to wipe them away...

Once more unto....

I saw my consultant last Friday regarding the progress of my hip replacement.

Well to be succinct there's good news and sort of bad news. The good news is that the previous op has almost healed fully and to their mild surprise bone has actually grown around some of the metal fittings and kind of encased them. Why couldn't my bones have grown a bit more when I was bloody younger! So, anyway all is good with the new hip and it feels good too.

My right hip joint though has been causing me severe grief over the last three weeks, I use my right side for driving too and when I was last driving I really felt quite sore. On Friday they did more x-rays (that's how we knew the bone had grown over the fittings) and they showed my right him was fast deteriorating. So after a chat with my consultant it seems they want to operate within the next 18 weeks.

Deep down I'm happy about this, I want to be rid of the pain once and for all and get on with my life which is really coming together right now. The thing that makes me feel down is the fact I have to go through the ordeal all over again! Yes, I know its for the best and in a scant few weeks I'll be feeling really good, it's just it isn't a pleasant process and right now I really want to be getting on with things.

Common sense prevails though, it needs to be done, then both hips should be ok till I'm retired.

The pain I'm in now isn't nice, I don't like taking painkillers either, so I guess it's time to brace myself once more and ready myself for the letter with the operation date.

Blues Man

A few weeks back a band pulled out of a gig at my local, so instead of having no music at all some of the regulars rallied together to perform themselves, a sort of open night for anyone who wanted to sing and play.

My dad got up and sang three songs and went down a storm in what was his first real gig of sorts. He sang some Dylan and a song of his own and I'm sure we'll see him up there again in the near future strumming his guitar.

Drive

At around 10.55am this morning I heard those sweet words 'I'm pleased to inform you that you have successfully passed your driving test'.

I trembled, my heart raced and the adrenaline hit me, its taken me 4 attempts to pass.

It was a lovely day out, not a cloud in the sky and the light breeze on my face felt good.

It's been a long hard road though, I'd taken 2 hasty tests before my operation in March earlier this year, I really wasn't ready but I thought I'd chance it anyway, then of course there was the pain I was in before my operation, sitting still for so long whilst driving wasn't easy. I took my 3rd test about 6 weeks ago and nerves got the better of me, and like an idiot I got into a distracting chat with the examiner which didn't do my concentration any favours.

This morning though there seemed to be a change in the air, I really felt focused and ready, yesterdays lesson nerves had seemingly receded, usually I really screw up on lessons just before the test.

So, after a quick hours drive this morning before the test I felt eager, hungry to get on with it. I kept repeating the mantra 'keep calm, listen to the examiner and read the road ahead'.

I kept the chit chat to traffic lights, I concentrated, I repeated the mantra.

I passed. I hugged my instructor when I got out of the car, I shook the examiners hand vigorously.

Summer never felt so good.