Seaside bliss

Getting up this morning wanting to do something with my day, I decided to go for a walk down the beach. Having been off work now since the second week of May (I think), the days are just whizzing by and each one seems the 'same old same old'. It's a beautiful day with the large yellow blob in the sky permanently beaming, the sky is blue and finally, it seems we may be getting the long overdue summer weather we should be in July (and I've probably now jinxed the rest of the week)!

With only my ipod and house key, I headed out towards the beach at Thorpe Bay, which is barely ten minutes and two road's walk away if you take the shortest route. It was only 10:20 so all was fairly quiet. The sea was very calm, almost like a pond and just a handful of people wandering about. I couldn't tell whether the tide was coming in or not. I had an immense feeling of calm wash over me as I turned off my ipod and wandered along the shore on the pebbles, just listening to the sound of the water lapping up on the beach. I must say the scene looking around the bay towards the pier three miles in the distance made me sigh - aaah! I thought to myself actually how lucky I am to have been born and brought up in this area. Although parts of Southend are not what you call fantastic, I suppose it's like any other place where you have nice bits and horrible bits. The Thames Estuary it may be, but living on the coast certainly has its plus points. I feel for people who live in the middle of the country, places like Birmingham where you have to travel for hours to get to the coast. I'd hate that, but then again I suppose if you've known nothing else, it wouldn't bother you.

I sat on the pebbles for a while just breathing in the sea air - the English seaside which always has that hint of seaweed is one of the best smells in the world! I was thinking that I'd wished I'd brought my camera with me to capture the pleasantness I was seeing today so I decided to go back home, collect a few bits and return. I didn't have anything else planned so why not? A change of scenery always does you good.

I packed a bag containing a beach towel, book, banana, bottle of water and my camera. As the camera weighs a ton, I took the car this time - well I only drove half way and parked in a residential street to avoid the pay and displays. Once down the beach again, I was amazed how much it had filled up with families in the half an hour I'd not been there. Of course, it's the school holidays so people are going to make the most of the sunshine and take the kids down the beach. Still, I found a spot, relaxed and read my book. Just perfect! I could tell the tide was definitely coming in now and the water was not so calm. There's something about listening to the sound of water; people are always attracted to it whether it be waterfalls, rapids, babbling brooks, ponds or the sea. I am one of these people, although there's a big difference between watching it and being on top of it. I get so terribly ill on boats - I even feel nauseous on a lilo! Actually, just thinking about it makes me feel yuckie.

Whilst it wasn't quiet anymore, the sound of happy children is a lovely sound too. Seeing them filling their buckets with pebbles or water, digging holes and running to their parents when they've found a crab's claw just reminds me of when I was a child.

A threatening big grey cloud hovering somewhere between here and Kent on the other side of the estuary brought the wind up a bit and I decided to leave at that point (just in case). If it is nice all week, I think I will definitely go back for a couple of hours for the sake of getting out of the house.

So I suppose the moral of this story is to appreciate what is on offer right on your doorstep and USE IT!

Simply Berbatastic!

Okay, I think it's about time I got around to a seriously long indepth blog on the subject of my favourite Bulgarian, well to be honest you can drop the 'Bulgarian' - just 'man' really! I've been thinking about it since last week so there's nothing like a quiet Sunday afternoon to get started. I may well not finish it all today but here goes.

Full name: Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov (Димитър Бербатов)
Nicknames: Berba, Berby, Berbo. Also known as Mitko which is Dimitar for short like Bobby is to Robert.
Birth Date: 30 January 1981
Birthplace: Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Vital stats: Tall, dark and handsome (that's 6'2" & 82kg to everyone else)
Playing position: I could get smutty, but the standard answer would be striker
Squad number: 9
Youth club(s): Prin Blagoevgrad
Senior club(s): CSKA Sofia 1999-2001; Bayer Leverkusen 2001-2006, Tottenham Hotspur 2006-date
National team caps & goals: 58 / 35
Honours: Bulgarian Cup 1999; Bulgarian footballer of the year 2002, 2004, 2005; Bulgarian fans' player of the year 2006; Spurs club members' player of the year 2006/07; Spurs fans' player of the year 2006/07.

Career background:

Dimitar's father Ivan was a professional footballer with local outfit Pirin Blagoevgrad, and his mother Margarita was a professional handballer. His career began at the same club, and continued until he was spotted by legendary scout and coach Dimitar Penev and at just 17 years old, he moved to one of the most successful Bulgarian clubs CSKA Sofia, following in the footsteps of his father, who also played for the club as a left winger and later as a defender. He played for CSKA between 1998 and January 2001 making his debut as an 18-year-old in the 1998-99 season. He started to make his name the following year when he scored 14 goals in 27 league games and won the Bulgarian National Cup in 1999. However, Berbatov did not enjoy a good relationship with the fans of the club. He was seen to have missed chances in crucial games, one example being in May 2000 when CSKA lost to arch rivals Levski and also lost the title. Things went sour further after CSKA started the new season with a scoreless draw against Litex Lovech. The fans were further enraged blaming the misfiring youngster for the early exit in the UEFA Cup against MTK. Worried about her son's safety Berbatov's mother made a public appeal to the most radical fans.

A run of 9 goals in 11 games in 2000/01 was enough to persuade German club Bayer Leverkusen to sign Berbatov in January 2001. He had a slow start to his career in the Bundesliga with just 16 goals in his first 67 appearances for the club. He did however play a crucial role in the Champions League during his first season with the club scoring a memorable solo effort against Lyon as well as a goal against Liverpool in the quarter finals. He also played a part in the Final against Real Madrid, coming on as a substitute after 38 minutes. In 2001-02 Leverkusen were runners-up in the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal. During the 2002-03 season Berbatov established his place as the first choice forward but it wasn't until the following season that he really began to shine scoring 16 goals in 24 starts. The following two seasons saw him go from strength to strength, netting another 46 goals including 5 in the Champions League 2004/05, raising awareness of his talent and generating interest from teams throughout Europe.

In May 2006, Berbatov joined Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £10.9m making him the most expensive Bulgarian player in history. He scored two goals in two minutes in his first match as a Tottenham player against Birmingham in a pre-season friendly match. No-one seems to have a video clip of this and apparently Berba himself has been trying to get hold of it. He scored his first goal on his home debut in the Premiership game against Sheffield Utd at White Hart Lane. Although it took a few months for him to adapt to the Premiership, he gradually built up a rewarding partnership with Robbie Keane in the UEFA Cup until Spurs' departure to Seville in the quarter-finals, and, despite Martin Jol's rotation of his fellow strikers, Berbatov has firmly established himself as the first choice forward at the club . His experience in Europe is already reaping rewards for his new club. He scored five goals in four games during the group stage of the UEFA Cup, with his performances earning two man-of-the-match awards in the group stages against Besiktas and Club Brugge.

Tottenham fans got the first hint that Berbatov was not only highly talented but also different when he scored in the 1-0 win away to Bayer Leverkusen, his former club, in their UEFA Cup group B match in November. Instead of indulging in wild celebrations — and not wanting to hurt the sensibilities of the home team’s fans, he parried the hugs and embraces of his new teammates and hurried back to the halfway line. A rare example of thoughtfulness in the modern game.

He soon began to regain the great league form he had shown at Leverkusen with excellent performances week after week and soon became the fans' favourite with his name regularly being chanted from the stands. Berbatov came on as a second half substitute against Fulham in the FA Cup to score his first two goals in the competition. He scored his first away goal in the Premiership away at Everton. On February 25 2007, Berbatov earned one of many Man of the Match awards in a 4-1 win against Bolton, after putting on a sensational lone attacking performance when Keane had been sent off. This won him many plaudits, despite him not scoring in the match. In the month that followed he began to firmly establish his reputation as one of the most skillful strikers in the Premiership. Berbatov ended the 2006/07 season with 23 goals in all competitions and just as importantly, chipping in with 11 assists.

Berbatov was also included in the FA Premier League's PFA Team of the Season on April 21, 2007. The player of the month award was jointly won by himself and Robbie Keane in April.
Berbatov also won the Spurs Player of the Season award in 2006/2007 which was voted for by club members. He scored Tottenham's 100th goal of the season which helped to condemn Charlton to relegation. Berbatov is also one of the few people to have two goals included in the BBC's goal of the month competition shortlist, with his efforts against Wigan and Middlesbrough both being recognised. Unfortunately neither was chosen as the winner.

There has been speculation on the close of the season that Berbatov would be involved in a transfer to Manchester Utd, with fees of up to £40m being rumoured. However, he publicly stated that he is very happy at Tottenham and wants to win silverware with the club. “I am a happy man at Tottenham,” he said. “The club gives me everything I need to feel nice with them and I actually do".

Spurs have just recently competed in a mini tournament in South Africa involving Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates which Dimitar played a part and scored twice. Here is a pic of him in some silly headgear which shows he also has a sense of humour.

For his national side Bulgaria, he is now captain. His goal tally is phenominal with 35 in 58 appearances. Currently Bulgaria are in a fairly good position to qualify for the European Championships 2008 and I certainly hope they make it so I'll have another team to support as well as England (if they make it).

Random other stuff:

One of Berby's pastimes is drawing which to me, shows a sensative side to his nature. And from this picture I found, you could say he is very talented indeed. Certainly something he could fall back on if he didn't continue in football after retiring.


Showing his caring side, he is the UNICEF goodwill ambassador for Bulgaria. Not only does he naturally attend formal meetings but also goes into schools and interacts with children. He features on several TV adverts in his country, raising awareness for underpriveleged children.

In June 2007, Mitko received his glory star on the Walk of Fame in Sofia. This was the twelfth time that Bulgarians have been handed the honourable plate in a red carpet ceremony. "You tell me if I am famous! I have not changed at all from the time I played for CSKA FC and drove a Zhiguli," he jested after the ceremony! Again, being modest.

On a more serious note, Berba has shown his support, along with his mother who spearheaded the campaign, for the release of five Bulgarian nurses held in Libya on death row for allegedly injecting 400 children in a hospital in Benghazi with the HIV virus. The women, all of whom are married with children in Bulgaria, were arrested eight years ago and put in jail to await trial. It was widely acknowledged that the Libyan authorities were seeking scapegoats for what is seen as poor hygiene in the management of blood transfusions at the hospital. Yet despite international outrage, in December last year the original verdict in 2004 was upheld.

Berba has been wearing an armband most of the season saying 'You Are Not Alone' to show his support (see pic below). Dimitar's mother Margarita said “I had no idea Mitko was going to join the campaign. It was his idea, but he has always supported my work. I was watching him play for Spurs one weekend and there was the armband. It made me so proud.” Margarita attempted to get the whole Tottenham team to wear the insignia but was overruled by club officials. “The players still lent their support and so did the Spurs fans,” she said. “I would like to thank them and ask them to continue to give publicity to this terrible episode. “It was natural for Mitko to wear the band. He is a very compassionate man and football is not the only thing in his life. Whenever he is here, he comes with me to the orphanage I support and brings them gifts. Now the children all have shoes because of him. They love him.

She says that her campaign efforts go back several years, long before the death sentences were handed down. She gathered thousands of signatures but failed to attract sustained support from the Bulgarian Government. The fact that Bulgaria joined the EU in January may have helped the cause and finally, just last week it was announced that the nurses had all been pardoned and they arrived home in Bulgaria to be reunited with their loved ones. Great news!

Berbatov once indicated that, had it not been for football, he could have drifted into the Bulgarian underworld. Bizarrely, he learnt English by watching the Godfather films and the lure of the seamier side of life, as well as a love for nightclubbing that he is said to have enjoyed in Germany, seems to have passed. He is known in Bulgarian footballing circles as “the devil with the angel’s face” and was recently voted among the country’s ten Hottest Men of the Year (must be THE hottest surely?)

So finally, what's my story?

Well, to be totally honest I had never heard of Dimitar Berbatov when Spurs signed him. Despite my passion for football, I rarely take notice of what's going on in the rest of Europe and for other national sides. My initial thoughts about his playing ability were pretty negative to say the least. I recall myself saying at one point in about October 2006 whilst watching him at White Hart Lane, and I quote 'Get him off, what a waste of money'. I am ashamed of myself looking back on that now but that was my honest reaction at the time. He looked to me like a lazy player who didn't chase the ball or make tackles and I compared him to Freddie Kanoute, a former Spurs player. However, I soon learned that this was simply his own personal style of play, and once he'd got a feel for the Premiership and started to show his skill, vision, link-up play and dazzling goals, I soon changed my mind and he easily became my favourite player. I have to apologise to Robbie Keane who has been my fave for years but talant AND handsome good looks win every time! However, I didn't instantly think 'wow' this guy is gorgeous - it took until about January I think when the attraction suddenly hit me in the face. Now everything is Berby this and Berby that - I simply can't get enough of him. His blue/grey eyes are just amazingly dreamy - so large with long lashes any woman would die for. The way his hair curls up at the end when it gets long is just so cute, his voice and accent are sexy and his smile makes you want to melt. I could go on and on but feel I should stop there - I think I've embarrassed myself enough and it's only me who's read it so far!

Watching him play is just sheer pleasure and he never fails to make me smile. I've watched his goals a million times either on dvd or on YouTube, whichever's the closest to hand and I watch interviews of him over and over again. I have over a thousand pictures of him saved on my pc, I've joined a Berbatov message board which is great, my myspace page has him splashed all over it, I have a signed photo of him on the wall, and this coming season's shirt has his name on the back. I think I'm obsessed to the point of needing a shrink; maybe it's getting a bit stalker-ish! All there is to do now is meet the guy. I think of nothing else, but if it ever happened, what would I say? I'd probably just faint in a mess on the floor, blathering like an idiot! Don't get me wrong, top of my wish list is to meet ALL the Spurs players, but Berby happens to be my first choice.

I have it first hand from someone who knows Mitko personally (lucky girl) that he is really shy. You can always tell anyway from some of the interviews he gives where he's scratching his neck for no reason. Despite this, he always signs autographs for fans and poses for photos with them. I quite like shyness as a trait in a guy though; it sweet. However, when you look at this recent magazine cover of him, you'd ask yourself 'Is this man really shy?' He has obviously posed for photos in a countless number of Bulgarian magazines due to his popularity in his own country. When I first lai my eyes on this particular picture, my jaw fell open and my pulse rate must have gone off the scale!

He's incredibly modest too. When faced with compliments on how well he's played for example, he will always turn it around and talk about how good the team played, taking the emphasis off individuals. He's so passionate about the achievements of the team and really shows he cares. Sometimes when something goes wrong in the pitch, his body language clearly shows his annoyance.


Berby has a tattoo on his right forearm. Normally I don't really approve of them but if they are well done and not plastered all over a body, they are okay. Clearly I'm biased in this case because I just love it! (see pic). The Chinese symbols I found out from my Chinese friend, translates as 'touch wood' as in the superstition. Other suggestions have been that it means 'jackpot' or 'lucky one'.

Of the 23 goals Berby scored last season, my personal favourite was the one against Middlebrough at the Riverside Stadium. Ghaly crossed the ball in hope more than anything else as Berba was the only other Spurs player approaching the 18 yard box. The only thing he could do with the ball is hit it side footed on the volley which he did, and it amazingly flew into the far right hand side of the goal. Mitko himself chose his three favourite goals of the season and this one was his personal third. Second was the one against Charlton and his favourite was the superb free kick at West Ham when we beat them in that classic 4-3 game. Here is the video footage:








The excitement I get from watching my team has tripled since Berbatov signed for Spurs - that's how much of an impact he's had on me. It's almost torture being in the stands seeing him on the pitch and not being able to reach out and touch him (and I mean that in a non-smutty way, honest!). If he leaves the club I will be absolutely devastated, inconsolable even. I can't bear to think about it. All those rumours in the past couple of months of a possible transfer to Manchester Utd have done my head in but all is well for the time being. I just hope Spurs can win a trophy next season or qualify for the Champions League so there'll be more reason for him to want to stay. BRING IT ON!

The following video shows footage of Berba's goals from last season.

A flying visit

My Auntie Pat (or Trish as she now likes to be called) flew over from Australia just over a week ago. For everyone's benefit, she is my cousin Matt's mum and Matt and his girlfriend Suzie were over here in May/June. The reason she's visiting England is quite a long story but I'll try to summarise. She had a very traumatic childhood, and when she was just two, her mother deserted her and also her siblings, the youngest of which I believe was just two weeks old. She kept returning but continued to desert eight times (I'm unsure what happened with the father). She was taken into care and separated from her siblings and until just recently, never knew she had brothers and also half brothers. Not too long ago Trish looked in the Australian White Pages (phone book) and discovered four family names the same as hers and decided to find out if they were related. Almost immediately she was in contact with a brother, discovered another brother had died 2o years ago and the living brother had been trying to search for her all that time. This sibling only lives just over an hour from her house, and when you consider she was brought up in the Yorkshire area, the coincidence is quite amazing! She has now traced her mother who sounds like an evil bitch. Trish just wanted to find out some answers but it turns out the mother is a nasty piece of work when confronted with questions about the past and ordered her to get out of her house. Tragic as it is, Trish finally has closure and she's coping with it really well. The mother is 86 so hopefully won't live much longer. She has so many other people to visit while she's in England and only has three weeks to do it. Relatives are also in Manchester and Blackpool so that's where she's heading next, and the plan is to find out more about her father.

So that kind of explains why auntie is only here in Southend for the day. My cousin Sarah, who lives in Luton, picked up Trish in Milton Keynes, having taken the coach down from Yorkshire.
John and I arrived at my parent's house after 1pm to greet them. Unfortunately, my brother Dave was working so just Tina and the kids joined us later in the day. Also Sarah's new husband Gary couldn't make it either so it was a case of 'bits n' pieces' for a mini family reunion! My Uncle Rodge rang during the after to speak to Trish - he's missing her loads and it's a shame they couldn't afford for him to fly over as well. Mum would have been thrilled of course. Anyway, most of us had a chat with him and it was lovely to hear his voice from the other side of the world.

Dad made some of his famous curry dishes for tea which always goes down well. Sarah said she tells everyone about how good they are! Gary was so disappointed that he was missing out so we arranged to leave some over and a doggy bag was prepared for him. I'm sure he will be over the moon! Afterwards we took some photos in the back garden as a memento of the day which went oh so fast, and before we knew it, we were all bidding her farewell. :-(

Water

The last few years our English weather has broken a number of records including 'dryest' and 'warmest' and now I believe we are set to break another with the 'wettest' since records began, certainly between May and July (which isn't even over yet). Some days more than two months of average rainfall has dropped in a single day. No chance of a hosepipe ban this summer then? All this talk about global warming, most people think that this purely means the temperature is rising but it does also have adverse effects such as rainfall, storms, tsanamis etc. Whilst all this water is falling from the sky, people all around England are suffering from severe flooding - the area worst affected being in Gloucestershire. Despite the devastation, people battle on as only the English know how, wading through the water in wellies, using dinghys to get about and even bicycles - I can't get my head around how you can cycle through water but it seems to work! Many no longer have fresh running water or electricity - things that we take for granted.

However, with the rising water coming via the sewers, there is a threat of disease. Not a pleasant thought. The insurance companies will certainly be overloaded with claims (said to be approaching 1.5 billion pounds) but that won't be any consolation for all the thousands of people who have lost their homes and irreplaceable possessions. It's hard to imagine what it must be like to live through it; my heart goes out to all those affected and especially to those families in Tewkesbury who lost their loved ones after they tried to pump water from a flooded rugby club.

Another London day out

It might only be 'up the road' from me (well 40 miles-ish) but it's amazing how much of London I haven't seen. Whenever we have booked to see a show in the evening, we tend to go up there in the morning and make a day of it. Two of the tube lines were closed AGAIN and this included Tower Hill station so we walked instead.

The Monument was fairly close and as I'd never climbed it before, decided to start there. I honestly thought the 311 steps would knacker me but I was surprisingly okay. Not spectacular views when you compare it to the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and the World Trade Centre but the weather wasn't too bad so you could see quite a bit of the city. It's a bit of a squash up there so we descended after ten minutes. It's a case of wobbly legs syndrome on the way down and a bit of dizziness with the very tight spiral steps.

We found a tube station that was open and made our way to Tottenham Court Road which was the nearest one to the British Museum. Hard to believe I never went on a school trip here, never mind in all my years since then. I've had a fascination with Ancient Egypt since I was a child (I recall doing a school project on the subject once) so that was the first section to be explored. Having visited the actual country twice, there's no way you can compare a few exhibits to the the experience of 'being there' but the mummies were pretty good. I also have a bizarre fascination of weird masks, which my brother used to call 'funny mans heads' when he was little! We certainly found loads of those in the Americas section. Anyway, me being in love with my camera, I took heaps of pictures. You would think they'd be a restriction on photography but there was none whatsoever which was very pleasing!

After about three and a half hours, we moved on and had a mill around Leicester Square and nearby areas, went to collect the tickets for the show, and then the heavens opened. We dashed into the nearest establishment which happened to be a bar so that was okay. The rain was coming down in torrents. There was nowhere to sit so we literally had to prop up the bar. After 5pm the sun was back out and we went to find somewhere to eat. Usually, there are plenty of decent pubs to eat in but there seemed to be a real lack of them around Drury Lane. Getting bored of walking around, we ended up in an Indian restaurant right opposite the theatre. John said his was really tasty; mine was alright - nothing to write home about. Still cost £51 though! I couldn't believe it.

Anyway, on to the show 'Lord of the Rings'. This is totally not my thing - I watched the first film and fell asleep five times! I just can't seem to get my head around fantasy. I recall reading 'The Hobbit' at school and didn't have a clue what was going on! Even reading the plot act by act in the brochure, I still didn't understand it. However, I have got to say that even if you don't like Lord of the Rings, I would recommend seeing the show. The stage, the set and the effects were all STUNNING! I'll try my best to describe how the stage looked: picture an enchanted forest with tree branches growing and entwining everywhere (no leaves, just branches)...that effect was all around the stage, above the stage, and all around the balconies. When we first entered the theatre to get to our seats, the hobbits from the cast were all running around trying to catch fireflies (twinkly lights) with nets. They were also crawling under people's seats and walking over them too! Very funny.

The stage had several smaller platforms which rose out of it, all different combinations. The lighting and smoke effects were brilliant. At the end of the first act, they created huge gusts of wind as Gandalf was standing on a raised platform in the middle of the stage and thousands of pieces of paper went flying through the theatre. It was amazing! After the second act, the baddies all came out of nowhere around the audience, making people jump.

Large horses, actors on very high stilts being trees, a giant spider, actors being levitated....there were so many great effects, it's incredible how much they can do on a stage nowadays. The show won't be remembered for its songs - in fact, it's debatable whether it should be a musical at all.

Not having brought a map, finding an underground station which was open proved fairly difficult as we didn't really know what direction to head in! However, it only took about ten minutes and we came across Holborn. A few stops to Bank and then we had to walk to Fenchurch Street because of course, Tower Hill was shut.
Got home just before 1am, having really enjoyed the day.

Potty about Potter

What's all this about people camping outside book stores waiting for the last Harry Potter installment to go on sale? IT'S FOR KIDS for crying out loud! What is the big deal? I'm sure they won't run out so why not buy it next week? I just don't get it, especially with all the rain we've had overnight and today. They've still got until 00:01 tomorrow morning.

So I wonder which two characters die in the book? Haha! I don't give a monkeys.

No sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

It's 06:24am. Is there two of these in a day? NOT usually in my world there ain't! However, I have yet to get any sleep despite going to bed at 12:15pm. So I decided to get up and I'm now sitting here in my dressing gown with my laptop in front me of me writing this blog! I know why I haven't been to the land of nod....

1) TOTM. Girls will know how to decipher this code; men - it doesn't mean 'top of the morning'.
The hot water bottle helped but then there was the periodic symptom of gnawing hunger to
contend with. A handful of grapes crammed into gob at 3:30 in the morning didn't to the
trick on this occasion (worked the previous night).
2) Overactive mind. After watching Fonejacker last night, I kept replaying the pranks over and
over in my head for some unknown reason.
3) In an attempt to fall asleep, I try to name every Spurs player past and present from A to Z.
That just made my mind even more active! So I try to think of something more calming like
waves washing up on a beach and wind blowing in palm trees. What a loads of bollocks!
4) I was still seething from a comment made on Big Brother's Big Mouth last night. I don't
usually watch it but I hadn't switched channels after the afore mentioned TV show and I was
sitting here like I am now, on my laptop. That's when I heard the two presenters whose
names I have no idea, publicly calling Daniel Bedingfield a 'dick'. My mouth fell open in shock.
When I hear someone very dear to me and whom I admire being slated in that manner, I
take it very personally. What a couple of twats. Who are you again? I suppose ignorance is
bliss in the minds of these idiots as clearly they know absolutely nothing about Daniel.
What have these two arseholes done? Sorry, what are your names again?
I can't even find any reference to them on the internet. Everyone is entitled to an opinion
but this one should have stayed at home as it had no relevance to the show whatsoever.

Rant over. Just had to get it out.

It's now 06:48. I'm starving. I think I'll have some cereal and then curl up in front of the TV. Maybe I'll catch a few winks, else I'm pretty sure it'll catch up with me later on.

Fonejacker

I just had to comment on the new tv show 'Fonejacker' on E4. I have not laughed out loud at a TV programme in so long - it is so funny!

The call where the man wants to buy a dvd player and an LCD TV had me in stitches. The fonejacker pronounces dvd as 'doovde' instead of saying the initials D V D. I found this clip on YouTube - it wasn't the actual one from tonight and isn't quite as funny, but it'll give you an idea.



Then there was the man calling at art gallery complaining that the signature on the painting was all blurry. The receptionist tried to take his name and well I can't explain the noises he was making down the phone but it was hilarious. It's amazing how patient the people receiving the calls are. A regular prank call is the African man with an unpronounceable surname calling to tell the lucky person that he has monies to transfer and asks for their bank sort code and account number.



I suppose this isn't going to be everyone's humour, but I guess because they are real telephone calls and I love a good practical joke, it really appeals to me.

The following is a clip from last week's show:


Roll on next week for some more stupidity!

Is this a joke?

I've just heard on the Channel 4 news that a British grandmother, aged 51, has married one of Osama Bin Laden's sons and has applied for a visa to bring him to Great Britain.

With five previous marriages behind her, Jane Felix-Browne from Moulton, Cheshire, met 27-year-old Omar Ossama bin Laden in Egypt in September. Her husband is currently working as a scrap metal dealer in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia while she applies for the visa so he can visit Britain. Felix-Browne told the Times she had ''married the son, not the father'' and hoped people would not judge her harshly.

''He is the most beautiful person I have ever met. His heart is pure, he is pious, quiet, a true gentleman, and he is my best friend.''

Felix-Browne, already married five times, believes she met her new husband's father at a party in London in the 1970s, according to the paper.Omar bin Laden is his fourth eldest son, although Felix-Browne insisted her husband has had no contact with his father since they were both in Afghanistan in 2000.

I'll just say it as I see it. Has this woman gone completely mad? Not only for marrying someone related to that evil bastard, but for thinking that the authorities are going to grant him a visa! He may not be his father, but I'm sure they'll be a few people who'll quite happily hunt this man down and take revenge if he enters this country.

(originally posted 11 July)

They beat the rain in the end

And so the Wimbledon championships have come to an end, and despite the constant downpours (the worst in 25 years), the finals were all completed this weekend. Rafael Nadal's 3rd round tie with Robin Soderling took four days to complete. How that doesn't mess with a player's mind is beyond me! As the weather started to improve the end of last week, the schedule hit the players hard with matches having to be played on consecutive days. The most notable - Djokovic retiring due to injury against Nadal in the semi final.

I feel I have to mention the Oscar winning performance of Serena Williams when she screamed in apparent agony with cramp in her leg. Honestly, is it THAT painful? Mind you, the two sisters are very vocal anyway (to the point of complete annoyance) and I have no idea how their opponents manage to concentrate. I can add Maria Sharapova to that list too. Totally unnecessary noise. Yeah, so back to Serena's game where she played on with heavy bandaging. She was such a lucky girl with the rain delay saving her. However, how frustrating that her opponent didn't take the opportunity to make Serena run to get the ball. Of course, after every point one she would quickly return to limping - she may well have been genuinely in pain but she sure milked every moment of it! Fortunately, she lost to Justine Henin in the quarter final so that was one of the Williams out. There were a few surprising results in the women's draw - Amelie Mauresmo losing out to Nicole Vaidisova, Maria Sharapova losing to Venus Williams (seeded 23) in the 4th round, but most of all, top seed Justine Henin going down to little known Marion Bartoli of France. The latter was one of the best matches this fortnight - despite Henin taking the first set, Bartoli fought like a trooper to get back into it. She won the final set convincingly 6-1. And so the final was Williams v Bartoli. The underdog had moments in the match but couldn't overpower her opponent. Venus flytrap won 6-4 6-1, her 4th Wimbledon singles title (yawn).

The men's tournament went how I and many others must've predicted - Nadal v Federer, the top two players in the world at the moment. Last year it was the same match which I didn't rate much in the way of entertainment but this year was a different matter. Federer, almost predictably took the first set on a tie-break. Nadal levelled the match by taking the second 6-4. Federer then won another tie-break but something seemed to happen in the 4th and you can't say this very often, but Roger 'lost his cool'. Rafa won that set convincingly 6-1. And so a fifth set. I'd never bet against Federer in any situation, even if he was two sets down, and true to form he came through and won it. This equalled Bjorn Borg's record of five consecutive wins 1976-1980. I must say it does get a tad boring if the same player wins year after year, similarly Pete Sampras doing it seven times, but I guess it's impressive and you can only stand back and admire just how good these guys are.

However, the biggest joy of all to those of us who are British was the result in the mixed doubles. Unseeded Jamie Murray (younger brother of Andy) with his partner Jelena Jankovic of Serbia beat Jonas Bjorkman and Alicia Molik seeded 5 in three sets. It was lovely to see players enjoying themselves so much with smiles galore from the Murray/Jankovic side.

So the rain failed to force the championships into a third week after all. The centre court is due to have a roof fitted in 2009 and that will certainly help but Britain wouldn't be Britain if it wasn't for unpredictable weather.

Live Earth Concerts

Global warming is a huge issue. No-one can escape it and everyone is responsible. I do all I can to help the environment like recycling , saving water and turning power off and I hope the message gets across to as many people as possible but just a thought......

How much energy is being used during all these concerts?

ps. Was it me or did James Blunt look petrified?

Terrorism: can it be beaten?

Today is not only my niece Kasey's 6th birthday but the second anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in London in which 52 innocent people lost their lives. On that fateful day in 2005, three bombs on the underground exploded within fifty seconds of each other at 08:50 hrs, a busy time for commuters. There was a further attack on a double decker bus a 09:47 hrs which occurred at Tavistock Square.

Two years on and we find ourselves once again the target for terrorism. On 29 June, police confirmed they were investigating the discovery of two car bombs in the West End of London. The first Mercedes was located at 01:30 outside a nightclub in Haymarket. The bomb consisted of 60 litres of petrol, gas cylinders and nails. Police said the second device had been found in another Mercedes hours after the car was given a parking ticket in Cockspur Street and towed to Park Lane.

Clearly if these devices hadn't been discovered, there would have been complete devastation and significant loss of life.

On 30 June at 15:11 hours, two men crashed a vehicle into the main terminal building of Glasgow airport, shattering glass doors just yards from passengers lined up at the check-in counters. After crashing the green four wheel drive Jeep Cherokee, the driver set the vehicle and himself alight while trying to ignite explosives. An off-duty police officer hosed down the terrorist to extinguish the flames.

The driver and his passenger engaged in a scuffle with police and a bystander, and were then arrested, and one was taken to hospital. Both men were described by eyewitnesses as being South Asian - a term used to describe people from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries in that region. One of the men was wearing a vest packed with explosives. The car was crammed with gas canisters which would have caused large amounts of casualties if they had exploded.

Another narrow escape. Stepping up security at airports is obviously in the best interest of everybody. You hear passengers complaining about it but would they rather be blown to pieces? I think not. The trouble is, there is only a certain amount authorities can do to cut down the chances of attack; you can't possibly have eyes and ears everywhere on the planet. Whilst I would like to think that the worst atrocity ever committed (9/11) couldn't possibly happen again, the terrorists will continue to attack in other ways. Who knows what the answer is but my philosophy is that you just have to carry on as normal and not let the bastards beat you. Peace on earth and goodwill to all men - sadly I don't think it'll ever happen. Whether it's religion, race, money or politics, they will always stand in the way.

Let's save these wonderful creatures

Being passionate about wildlife and the environment, I understandably had to tune in to the BBC's 'Saving Planet Earth' which has been aired at 7pm each evening the last two weeks. I'm naturally glad to see the media concentrating on this subject, following on from the previous programme 'Extinct'.

The earth is being destroyed at an alarming rate by us, the humans, and the animals don't seem to have a chance (unless you happen to be an ant)! There are a huge amount of species currently endangered and to see these disappear from our planet would be devastating. Due to large areas of rain forests being cut down, global warming, methods of fishing and humans moving onto land where animals have lived for thousands of years, bit by bit, their numbers are diminishing. For example, Nick Knowles reported about the oran-utang tonight, and these near human beauties will be extinct in ten years time if the destruction of their habitat continues. They are disappearing at at unbelievable rate of 5,000 per year and their numbers have diminished by 50% in the last decade. Orang-utans have lost about 80% of their habitat in the last 20 years. Each one needs the equivalent of about ten football pitches of rainforest to live but every minute, the equivalent of three football pitches is being destroyed.

There are hundreds of orphaned oran-utangs being cared for in sanctuaries in Borneo. However, these are the ones that are found. Many more babies just perish without their mothers. It's incredibly sad.

The oran-utang is only one species in trouble; there are hundreds more. Amongst others desperately needing help are the mountain gorilla, tiger, siamese crocodile, Indian rhinoceros, albatross, turtle, elephant, Ethiopian wolf, polar bear, and panda.

Of course, it's all about money and human survival. Huge areas are being destroyed in order to plant palm trees from which palm oil is produced and sold. Whilst I understand people have to do all they can to live and feed their children etc, the world's governments and organisations have to quickly come to effective compromises in order to save endangered species.
















Just look at these pictures. Exquisite creatures on the brink of extinction. It's all so unfair - what did they ever do except try to live their lives? I get so emotional about it all, I'm often found sobbing my eyes out. I don't know why I'm like that; I guess I was born with that love in my heart.

As it stands tonight, the BBC programme has helped to raise over £1m which is brilliant but the animals need more. The ironic thing is, it's humans which are killing them but it's only humans which can save them.

A dying art form?

I was speaking to myspace friend Claire the other day about how good her blog writing is and that I admired the fact that her grammar and spelling are always spot on. A girl truly after my own heart. Most people who know me well are aware of how much of a stickler I am for the correct use of grammar and punctuation. It is increasingly making me scream inwardly when I read stuff on this site (bulletins, comments etc)and on other forums that fall short of the mark when it comes to the afore mentioned subject.

It's not just young people, which you can kind of forgive if they don't teach it in schools these days, it's people of all ages. What is the excuse please?

I try my hardest not to judge people by their grammar but it's certainly frustating. Even some of my work colleagues don't know how to use the fantasticly versatile apostrophe and this is particularly annoying when our section deals with writing letters to customers!

I wonder how many people are out there who are able to get it right. Probably people who don't often frequent these sites, maybe?!

So come on everybody, it's YOU'RE (you are) not YOUR!

nb. I have of course, read and reread this entry to ensure all my grammer is correct!!

Diana: the concert, her life

Sitting in front of the TV watching the concert dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales, I thought I'd blog the occasion and all that it represents.

Admittedly, it slipped my mind that it was being screened until just before 6pm which I must say annoyed me, especially as I missed the performance by The Feeling, one of the bands I currently enjoy listening to.

The princes have done their mum proud staging such a spectacular event to celebrate her 46th birthday at easily one of the most fantastic venues in the world: Wembley Stadium. After all, it did take seven long years to complete so it should be good, right? All the proceeds from the ticket sales are being donated to Diana's charities and 63,000 people were there to witness the show. It was said that 500 million were watching worldwide in 140 different countries. Wow! Surely that says it all about this amazing woman.

It is so great to watch the princes joining in with the mexican wave, clapping and dancing along to the music. So down to earth and smashing personalities - Diana would be so proud of them. Actually she would have been proud whatever they'd done with their lives, she was that kind of person. I still get so moved when I see pictures of her interacting with normal people on their level and making THEM feel special; I was actually in tears twice, firstly seeing her with the blind man who wanted to touch her face and also when she was at Thorpe Park with the boys just having fun like a normal family would. That photo snapped in the water shute is just beautiful.

Diana, as we all know, was patron to so many worthwhile charities, some of which other people wouldn't have given the light of day. She showed a caring sensitive approach, and always had a sense of humour. I'll never forget the times when she held the hands of dying AIDS victims; she never judged - all people were equal in her eyes. She especially loved children and you could see her warmth shining through. That's why she will never be forgotten - legends come in all shapes and sizes but this lady had something amazingly special.

Of course, there was another side of her life. Her loveless marriage, her loneliness and her 'secret' love affairs. I don't really want to delve into this as many people have written books about the princess and I fear I could ramble on too much. Anyway, I want the focus of this blog to be on the happiness, not the sadness.

As I type, the concert is coming to its climax with Elton John doing his stuff so effortlessly. I must see him live some time (I've been saying that for too many years). Take That were of course fantastic as they always are - can't wait to see them at the o2 arena in December.
Other artists which performed were: Duran Duran, Status Quo, Joss Stone, Tom Jones, Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, Jason Donovan, Donny Osmond, Lee Mead, Connie Fisher, English National Ballet, Will Young, Nellie Furtado, P Diddy, Lily Allen, Kanye West, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp, Fergie, Orson, Anastacia, Pharrell Williams, James Morrison, Natasha Bedingfield, and Rod Stewart. Many other famous faces appeared, having the job of introducing the artists.

Quite fittingly, at the end of the concert they showed old video clips of Diana when she was a child, right from her Christening through to early adolesence. This was played to the tune of Queen's 'These are the days of our lives' and that certainly got me emotional. William and Harry were back on stage to thank everybody and once again to pay tribute to their mother. That must have been a difficult thing for them to do.



I can hardly believe it is almost ten years since Diana's tragic death - where has the time gone? I still feel the incident was suspicious but I suppose we'll sadly never find out the truth.

England goes smoke free

1st July 2007 has finally arrived and from this day onwards, England goes smoke free. This means it's against the law to smoke in any public place. It's about time. I always avoid pubs like the plague because I hate breathing in other people's vile smoke. Even if you manage to avoid direct inhalation, you come home smelling like an ashtray - all your clothes have to be washed, as does your hair. Now though, I will not be so anti. That's not to say I'll deliberately start hanging out at bars etc but if I feel the urge to watch the footie on the big screen instead of staying indoors, I just might! Some restaurants have already banned smoking but it'll certainly be nice eating one's food in a clean air environment from now on.

I have never smoked; in fact I've never even tried a cigarette. It just isn't for me. I hope this new law encourages more people to give up the habit. I hate to see people inhale, it makes me feel sick and especially worries me if it's someone I'm close to.

The government, in this case, has at last got something right in changing the law. However, I'm sure all you smokers out there will not agree!