Indie's back!

The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (starring Harrison Ford, Shia LaBoeuf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winston, Karen Allen, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent)

With the lack of anything decent coming out of America at the moment movie wise (in my opinion), it was a relief to see an old familiar face return in the form of Indiana Jones. With a gap of 18 years since The Last Crusade, you would only think that Harrison Ford has aged a snippet of that but he is in fact almost 65 - a pensioner! Most women would say that they'd still 'give him one' though, none more so than my friend Elena, who along with Suk and I, went and saw the movie this afternoon. Best place to be when the weather has been so shitty; it's been blustery and wet all day, more like March than the end of May.

It's hard to beat the original 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and I don't think they've managed it with the fourth one. They had hardly any big effects or computer generated graphics back in 1981 but for me, that's the beauty of it. A simple plot, good action and a bit of light-heartedness in between is all you need. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull fulfilled the latter two but the storyline was over-complicated and some of the effects were too OTT. I liked all singing all dancing effects once upon a time, but now I prefer the down to earth, believable and deeper/emotional type films, with or without subtitles. Don't get me wrong, I still think the Crystal Skull was a good film, and there was plenty of the traditional Indie-style dark tunnels, cobwebs and old antiquities but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. There's far too much hype these days. However, there was one particularly funny moment in the film which involved Indie, quick sand and a snake - you'd have to see it to see what I mean. It was great to see Karen Allen back as well.

After the flick, we all went to The Golshan Indian restaurant to warm up and get outta the rain. It was very yummy (thanks Al - I suggested it because I know you love it there), and it was a big hit with Elena & Suk too.

The rest of the evening, I've just chilled out and watched Britain's Got Talent and caught up with Eastenders. It's not been a bad bank holiday weekend despite the weather. I visited my Nan on Saturday who's not been well again and frankly she just doesn't enjoy living anymore. Sunday saw a couple of hours of sunshine so I managed a bit a reading out in the garden. In the evening, we had a houseful for dinner: my Mum and Dad, Chris, Sandy and the two kids, Dave and Tina (despite being separated) and the three kids. There was a bit of flapping in the kitchen at the last minute but everything turned out okay. Anyway, it's back to work tomorrow and not another bank holiday until August, when it'll probably rain again.

Friends reunited

I had an email the other day via Friends Reunited which I haven't subscribed to for a couple of years so I wasn't sure how anyone could make contact with me. Having looked at the website, it says that it is now free to send and receive messages so I guess that's how! Anyhow, the message I received was from a Denise Richdale and I immediately dismissed it because I didn't recognise the name. A couple of days later I received a prompt stating that someone was trying to contact me urgently. I then decided to click on the link to the website and to my delight I saw that Denise's maiden name was Steel and I knew who it was immediately: one of my very best friends from Westborough High School. Apart from my old school mates who I still see regularly now (Suk, Ellie, Elena & Sunita), Denise was, as I recall, the only other person I was really close to and hung around with a lot of the time. I replied and gave her my email address so we could catch up. The same day I received a response telling me all about herself (well as much as you can in a nutshell). I sent a reply straight away doing the same and we both remarked how wonderful it was to be in touch again. To be honest I can't remember why we didn't stay in touch when she moved away. Denise was always in my mind whenever I walked past the Railway Hotel pub behind Southend Central station because that's where she lived during the time we were friends. I recall going into the flat above the pub one time and it was enormous! Anyway, she now lives in Sandwich in Kent which is a shame because I would've loved to get together, but it's not impossible - it's only in the next county and maybe one day we will see each other again.

The other mates who I referred to above came round for dinner last night, all with their other halves with the exception of Elena's Seb who doesn't 'do socialising' and so we always invite her sister Lianne instead. It's great to get together every so often as there's always so much to say, whether it's reminiscing about school, giving opinions about films, footie, or talking about work - the latter sounds boring but believe me when you have Elena in the room it's nothing but hilarious most of the time with the stories she has about her encounters in Lloyds Collections! Funnily enough, Sunita also ended up working for a bank (RBS), I work for HSBC, Suk works for RBS in the I.T. area and Ellie is the only one who went out on a limb and works as a receptionist in a opticians. It was a lovely evening and all the food John and I prepared was edible!

I am very lucky to have such great mates. As we always say, we may not see each other for months on end but when we do it's as if we've never been apart. Everything just falls into place. I don't know whether I'm making that very clear but I know what I mean! :)

Waifs and strays revisited

John's brother Paul almost came to live with us a short while ago (see previous blog 'Waifs and Strays) and then suddenly landed himself a good job and somewhere to live in Surrey. The latter is no more and so, rather desperate, asked again if he could stay with us until he finds himself a place. John was in Vegas at the time but I didn't hesitate. I've always got on well with Paul and family is family after all.

Not that I'm complaining but he's too damn polite! I don't know how many times I've said 'just help yourself' or 'just do what you want with the room' etc. John and I are so laid back; we just like people to relax and feel like it's their own home. I know one thing, this house will not be without chocolate for a while! Gawd, he gets through it like there's no tomorrow - it must run in the family.
Hehe. Happy days!

Season finale

Spurs 0 Liverpool 2

What a beautiful day - easily the hottest day of the year so far at 26 degrees. Pre-match meet up as usual at the Coach 'n' Horses. Debs and Mick came in fancy dress as the little group where they sit at the front of the south stand always do, and they were talked into it this time. Debs was Marilyn Monroe and Mick was a very tall leprechaun. They obviously stuck out like sore thumbs and were actually very brave to do it (see pic).


So the season ended in disappointment with only two players really turning up: Keano and Steed. Most of the others walked around in the sunshine not looking remotely interested despite all the hype on the website that they wanted to put on a good show for the fans. Pah! JJ was shocking and was brought off at half time; O'Hara kept getting caught in possession and was also subbed; even solid Super Alan Hutton wasn't himself. I don't think Spurs even had a shot in the first half and Berba was the only player who got one on target in the second. The game was really looking set to be a 0-0 as Liverpool weren't creating much either but we then gave away two very cheap goals and that was that. In fact, it could've got embarrassing if they'd taken their subsequent chances.

The usual awards followed the game with Jamie O'Hara winning Young Player of the Year and Keano the Member's voted Player of the Year. I knew he'd get it and I take nothing away from him, but I feel Steed deserved it more for the 100% effort he put into every game. The players then made their 'lap of honour' after Ledley came out with the Carling Cup. It was a bit anti-climatic with today's result. Last season's finale was more poignant as we secured 5th place but given the choice of that or winning some silverware, I'll take the silverware. Here's hoping we can achieve a far greater position in the league next season and progress further in the UEFA Cup.

Sadly, I think it'll be the last time I ever see Berbatov playing in a Lillywhite shirt. He looked like he was already on holiday today which was disappointing because I wanted to see those silky skills and go home on a high.

The highlight of the season no doubt is crushing Arsenal 5-1 and then going on to defeat Chelsea 2-1 in the cup final. However, there have been a few other memorable games: 6-4 v Reading. 4-0 v Wet Spam, 4-4 v Villa and 4-4 v Chelsea.

Well I've already pre-ordered my shirt for next season - I've gone for the black 3rd kit which seems to be a bit of a favourite amongst fans. I'll have to wait until 5th August though :( It's gonna be another boring summer without footie - not even an England team in the Euro Champs to cheer on.

A win at last

Reading 0 Spurs 1

Well I actually predicted the score correctly for this one - I didn't want to tempt fate and go for another 1-1 draw. Spurs played a hell of a lot better than in previous games; passed the ball well and created plenty of chances. The problem this week was finishing them. I suppose you could say that Reading flattered us a bit, especially in the first half when we had most of the possession. Keane got the only goal in the 16th minute. Reading pressed much more in the second half but didn't manage to get past Cerny who had a fabulous game.

So Spurs may have sealed Reading's fate as they go into the bottom three. It will now go to the last day of the season next Sunday to decide who gets relegated. I'm pleased for Fulham who beat Birmingham 2-0 today and they have a good chance to beat Pompey away, as they may be thinking more about the FA Cup Final and avoiding injuries.