My 40th birthday party

After months of organisation, the day suddenly arrived. It had been 'hairy' with a lack of acceptances to my invites at first but bit by bit, the numbers accumulated until it was 90 plus.

Debs and Mick came down on the Friday and were a great help all day Saturday with all the food we had to prepare. John went totally overboard with the shopping, doubling and even trebling up on stuff. I tried to tell him that people don't eat that much at parties but he wouldn't listen. Typical man. Should leave it to the women!

Late afternoon, my 'long lost' friend Denise and her hubby Pat came to the house to say hi before going to the party. I hadn't seen her for 26 years since school - she moved away with her parents who were/are publicans. Denise contacted me on Friends Reunited a couple of months ago and we've been emailing ever since. It was so wonderful to see her again and she's still as lovely as I remember, but even taller than ever! We just had time for a quick chat and a cuppa and then we drove to the rugby club. I went in Pat and Denise's car so as to continue the catch-up. They were staying in a hotel in the same road as the venue.

Once we got to the hall, John and Keith set up the disco equipment, John and Maria, Debs and Mick helped me to decorate it with banners and balloons and we filled three long tables with the food. There was enough there for about 300 people! Mum and Dad turned up about 7-ish to lend further hands and then there was just enough time to get changed into our fancy dress costumes. The theme was Film and TV characters - I was Cruella De'vil, John was Andy Pandy, my Mum was Charlie Chaplin, and Dad was supposedly one of the musketeers, Poor Debs - when she put her saloon girl dress on, the zip busted and so she couldn't wear it. She had to change back into her normal clothes and she seemed quite down about it. I told her not to worry, the most important thing was that she was there at the party.



Then my guests started to arrive and it was great to see what they had dressed up as. There was a Dorothy Gale, another Charlie Chaplin, Pocahontas, Willy Wonka, Dark Knight, Fred Flintstone, several Snow Whites, Buzz Lightyear, a few Woodys and random cowboys, two Mini Mouses, Capt Jack Sparrow, Indiana Jones, Elvis, three Pink Ladies, Lilo (from Lilo & Stitch), an Officer and a gentleman (my brother), Captain America, Superman, Super Girl, Bat Girl, Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Vicky Pollard, a wicked witch, Silas the monk?, Dennis the Menace, two Spidermen, Sleeping Beauty, another Andy Pandy, a couple of medieval looking characters, Henry VIII and one of his wives, Daisy Duke, a flasher (losing the theme a tad!), a rock n roll teddy boy, a ladybug, a fire girl, and lastly another Cruella! Of all people, it was Denise. After all those years, we are still thinking the same! How ironic. I think she made a better Cruella than me as she is so tall and the false eyelashes looked great. My work mates didn't dress up but they were pretty much the only ones, so it was a great effort!

Keith stepped into the DJ shoes for us as a favour. John and I gave it all up a few years ago but kept all the equipment as something to fall back on if John lost his job. I'd already created a playlist of songs that he could choose from, just to narrow it down a bit and make it easier. Most of the music was from the 80s (my era) and the 60s and 70s. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I stayed on the dance floor most of the night barring about 10 minutes I'm told! Well you have to make the most of it don't you? The night went so quick and it was all over before I knew it.

After all the packing up and clearing, we got home just after 1am. Then there was the problem of finding room in the fridge for the left over food, which there was a fair bit of (I told you so John!).
Several piles of washing up and clearing took us to 2pm and time for bed. At this point it was like someone flicked a switch because my nose starting streaming and the cold which has been brewing for several weeks, suddenly came out. Thank goodness it waited until after the party. Now I have to get rid of it before I go to Australia this Friday. I am dosing myself up like mad, believe me!

Well, I may have celebrated my 40th with a fab party but I'm not at that milestone until Friday.
I will make the most of my last few days as a 30-something. :(

White Hart pain

Spurs 0 Wigan 0

"We are bottom, we are bottom, we're still bottom, of the league"....That's my new chant. It goes to the tune of "We are Tottenham, we are Tottenham, super Tottenham, from the Lane". Whilst the rest of the stadium were trying to gee the lads up today, I was singing my own version. I just wasn't feeling positive one iota. It was diabolical - possibly the worst patch of football (football is debatable) that I've witnessed for many a year. The club have spent £67m pounds on new players but what for? We can't even grasp the basics of how to kick a ball to one of our own teammates. This is a far worse start to the season than last year and we know what happened to Mr Jol. I don't suppose the club would even contemplate doing the same to Ramos and I'm not saying that's the answer at all, because we've had so many managers I've lost count. The thing is, the style of football since Juande's introduction has gradually diminished so that now it is nothing more than 11 players running around achieving nothing, creating nothing and providing no entertainment value whatsoever. I feel really cheated out of the money I pay for tickets. The club put the prices up every single season and I'm getting to the point now where I'm going to think twice about buying them, especially whilst they are playing this badly.

Anyway, just for the record, the last few results have been as follows:

Chelsea 1 Spurs 1
Spurs 1 Villa 2
Spurs 2 Wisla Krakow 1

Earning a point away at Stamford Bridge was a minor miracle after the first two losses. Villa were just much better than us - Martin O'Neill being the good manager that he is, has created a really strong team all over the pitch and would be my tip to finish at least 5th this season. And finally, yes, we managed to actally win a game, albeit scraped it, against the Polish champions. However, it was dire apart from 20 seconds of the game when quick one touch football ended up with Bent putting it in the net, only for the referee's assistant to rule it out for an offside, which was clearly not there!

Whilst I'm angry and disappointed at the way things are going, I have retained my sense of humour at the jokes that are flying about at the moment. Well you have to don't you?

I got this text from my brother today:

Did you know that there are no trains going in or out of White Hart Lane Station at the moment? This is due to points failure.

:) hehe

George...I think YOU'RE amazing!

So Monday arrived and it was another busy day. The sun refused to make an appearance at all; well what more can you expect of a bank holiday? It was breezy too, not really barbecue weather but being British and all, you just carry on and brave the elements with plenty of layers! My friend Suk was the host but with Elena away and Sunita having an apparent better offer (?), the guests were just John and I, Ellie, Simon and the boys, and Ellie's niece also tagged along. I had a light lunch but asked Suk if I could have a bite later as well, as I was going to see George Michael at Earls Court that evening, leaving straight from hers. I wouldn't survive without an evening meal of some description; as my eating habits are as regular as clockwork.

Alice, my gigging partner in crime, arrived at 5:15 outside the house to pick me up, despite me giving her a bogus house number! Intuition or what?! We drove to Rayleigh station and picked up a train to Liverpool Street. I can't remember the last time I was on the Victoria line, but man it's slow! We cocked up slightly on the tube taking a circle line train instead of district and so had to change twice instead of once, but we got there in the end. I was glad we took the 5:34 train instead of the one half an hour later as it took longer than anticipated. We just had time to buy a drink, have a wee, take a quick look at the merchandise before taking our seats (which were better than expected) ready for the 8pm 'prompt' start according to the ticket. However, we should know by now that it's a ploy to get bums on seats before it actually kicks off, which in this case, was 20 minutes later.

And then the lights went down and George's voice was heard. One minute went by before he emerged from a door in the middle of the stage, to an uproarious reception. He opened with Fast Love which led into a funky version of I'm Your Man. George then said "you don't think I'd do that to you, do ya?" and the intro to the old and great version of I'm Your Man' was instantly recognisable. Whoop whoop! Wham was my era; I loved them in the 80s and I still love their tunes to this day. It's a great sing-a-long party song. However, George only went on to perform one more Wham song (Everything she wants), to my slight disappointment. I'm sure the fans would have gone wild for a bit of Club Tropicana, Freedom and Wake me up before you go-go. A lot of the songs he chose were mellow and moody, and although fantastic, I would always prefer to be up clapping and boogieing to an upbeat tune. I couldn't possibly name all the tracks George performed; there were a couple I didn't recognise but of those I can recall, these included:

Fast Love
I'm Your Man
Jesus to a Child
Amazing
Too Funky
Father Figure
One More Try
Faith
You Have Been Loved
Roxanne
My Mother had a brother
Outside
Careless Whisper
Freedom 90

I don't know what track he was singing at the time, but in the first half of the show, a very large inflatable George Bush appeared with a British bulldog sucking his dick (sorry to be so direct!). George isn't known for exactly being shy about views and issues, political or otherwise and this said it all. (See pic below)

He announced during the show that he was doing a Christmas single which would be available to download free on Christmas Day. He performed the accompanying song, Nina Simone's Feeling Good.

After he came on for his first encore, he did Careless Whisper as a duet with the fans. I don't mind saying so myself, but we sounded pretty darn good! That song has been in my all time top 3 since forever. I was hoping and praying he would perform any of my other favourites of his which are A Different Corner, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Praying For Time and Queen's Somebody to Love, but it wasn't to be :( I shall have to have words with Mr Michael.

After the second encore he performed an upbeat song which I didn't know and then finished the evening with Freedom '90 (as requested by the majority of fans), but I guess he was expecting that response. Not the one I would have requested (see previous grievances above!) but nevertheless, it was still very enjoyable.

George did say that the reaction of the fans and the atmosphere in there that final final night had absolutely made it for him, and thanked everyone for their support over the past 25 years. What an incredible career. To have longevity in music these days is an amazing achievement. At the end he said this had been the longest gig of all of them which was 'great for us [fans] but fucking knackering for him'! lol

We got out of the venue at 11:10, and were shepherded like sheep through the gates of the tube station opposite. It was a bit unnerving being pushed along by the crowd; if someone had fallen over, they would've been trampled on. It's a hell of a trek to and from Earls Court, and Alice and I eventually got back to Shoebury at 1:30 in the morning. Lucky Alice had the next two weeks off work so no worries, but I had to be up. I got to bed just before 2am, tossed and turned for ages, woke at 4:30 to go to the loo, then managed a solid 3 hours sleep. I was so knackered this morning; I just don't function without sleep. I've gotta say it was so worth it though. It's a one off. I wouldn't have had to go through the sleep deprevation if it hadn't been for the false advertising on ebay when I bought the tickets. It said in big bold black letters SUNDAY 24TH AUGUST but when I received the tickets, it had Monday 25th printed on them! I contacted the seller telling him how aggravating that was, how arrangements had to unmade and rearranged for that weekend and that I purposely chose Sunday as I wouldn't have to get up for work the following day. He profusely apologised and after my suggestion of suitable compensation he offered £30, which I accepted.

Couldn't resist this pic. Look at the hair George! Aah, the good ol' days of Wham. I only wish I'd seen them in concert

My aunt & uncle's Ruby wedding party

Sunday 24th August 2008. It was 40 years ago today that my Auntie Annette (my Dad's sister) and Uncle Brian got married at St Andrews church in Rochford. Ironically, this was the exact date and venue that my Mum and Dad had booked for their wedding; however, a bit of a mishap occurred in the form in me popping into my mummy's tummy at the wrong time! Hence, my parents' wedding was brought forward to March 1968 and my aunt and uncle took their slot!

They've both aged so well; they hardly look any older. My uncle has just turned 65 - guys of his age usually have grey hair and are bent over with walking sticks and hearing aids! Thinking about it, most of our family look much younger than they actually are.

It was a garden party and obviously a bit of a gamble knowing how past bank holiday weekend weather has turned out. Most of the day was gloomy and grey with rain looking likely. However, come 4pm, the clouds parted and the sun tried its utmost. There was plenty of coverage in case of rain but it wasn't warm enough for short sleeves (not for me anyway). Later, the patio heater was turned on and the chiminea was lit, which a bunch of us ended up huddled around. At one point, my uncle Mike (my Dad's brother) was going round the tables finding anything that would burn - he even put blue cheese in it - gawd, it smelt so bad burning! Him and my dad are so alike with their mannerisms but Mike has a less obvious and quieter sense of humour, if you get my drift.

At dusk, after the food had been served, a makeshift painted dance floor was planted on the lawn for the evening's musical entertainment. I didn't partake but instead intermittently did a few moves around the table, which was closer to the heat! My dad was hilarious - he is the ultimate 'dad at a wedding' dancer and his specialty is 'Staying Alive'. You have to see it to appreciate how funny it is. I look forward to the repeat performance at my forthcoming party!

Spurs: deja vu?

After a 100% winning spree pre-season, once again Spurs crack up when it comes down to real business. It's like deja vu; last season all over again when we won just one game in the first six played. So far, we've lost against Middlesbrough (away 2-1) and Sunderland (at home 1-2). Thank God we haven't got Newcastle next coz we clearly don't like playing the Geordies! I was at the Lane on Saturday to watch the lads fail miserably against a very average side. Three of the Spurs side signed for Sunderland in the transfer window: Chimbonda, Tainio and Malbranque. Of those, only Steed played, and he was applauded by the Spurs fans I'm pleased to say. I was sorry to see him leave the club after having such a great season for us.

What I want to know is, how is it that whatever players we have and whoever the manager is, we always play the same way? The style never changes. I feel aggrieved that the ticket prices have increased YET AGAIN when other clubs' stay static, and I'm forced to watch a load of shite and listen to them being booed off the pitch.

I am also furious with a certain Mr Berbatov for his behaviour. He's like a baby spitting his dummy out of the pram. I just wish he'd leave now so we can all move on. He's done himself no favours at all because if he wants to leave the club so badly, no-one is gonna be interested in a sulky puss who doesn't know how lucky he is. I read in the Mail today how the club are fed up with him but are still looking for a £30m transfer fee. If it doesn't come and Mitta doesn't sort himself out, he will be forced to 'rot' in the reserves. I think he is more likely to chuck football in than do that but he needs to learn his lesson. I feel bad saying all this because he has been my all time favourite Spurs player who I have hero worshipped for the past two years. However, I'm not going to be a hypocrite because if it was any other player, I would be telling it how it is.

After Keano leaving, it's all been a bit of a downer and we have Chelsea away next game. Yippee! (not).

Impressive pre-season

It was nice to be back at the Lane today after the summer break, although I had pretty much cut myself off from football for the past couple of months. After meeting up with Debs & Mick at the Coach n' 'Horses, it was the final friendly before the new season, with the opponents being AS Roma. On paper this would be a test but it was far from it. Spurs were 2-0 up within four minutes and it was a stroll. Throughout the whole match Roma did nothing so resorted to playing dirty. After Mexes used the V sign on the ref, he then went on to gesture to the crowd (more fool him) because he then made a fatal error and Spurs scored. He was of course branded a wanker for the rest of the game. Next, a punch landed on Zokora who stupidly retaliated and it was our man who was yellow-carded with the opponent getting away with it scot free! Following this, Lennon got hacked down and this time a red was shown. Roma were truly shocking, whereas Spurs had some great spells with the new signings Bentley, Dos Santos, Gomes and Modric looking impressive. Darren Bent scored another two, Bentley also two and Lennon the other.

Line up: Gomes, Assou-Ekotto, Woodgate, Dawson, Zokora, Jenas, Dos Santos, Modric, Bentley, Berbatov, Bent

Subs used: Jansson, Bale, Gunter, King, Huddlestone, O'Hara, Gilberto, Lennon

The fans were successful getting waves from Gus, Gomes & eventually Juande Ramos, after someone on the bench must have translated for him! The usual chants were heard but I must say, I was very disappointed to hear a lot of jeers (to put it mildly) for Keano who left for Liverpool a couple of weeks previous. How a player can be a fans' favourite one minute and then hated the next is beyond me. Yes, I was really upset that he transferred but it's his career we're talking about - I say good luck to him and he will certainly get a good reception from me when he returns to the Lane with Liverpool.

Poor old John turned up in his Keane 10 shirt and had a few laughs directed his way. He's now talking about getting a black away shirt, the same as mine. All the Spurs shops had the longest queues I'd ever seen outside so it will have to wait until another day.

So the completed list of pre-season friendlies is as follows:

Norwich 1-5 Spurs
Leyton Orient 1-5 Spurs
Celtic 0-2 Spurs
Borussia Dortmund 0-3 Spurs
Spurs 5-0 AS Roma

The first game of the new season started with a trip to Boro. Let's hope the lads can keep up the good performances and not repeat what happened last time!

Tears for Keano

Yesterday, it was confirmed that Spurs legend Robbie Keane had completed a transfer to Liverpool for £20.3m. It had been rumoured for a while that Liverpool had made advances and that if a bid was made, Keane would accept as they were the team he supported as a child. It was a shock that he would even contemplate leaving as he's been a loyal player for the past six years and it seemed that he would be there for the rest of his career, as he'd hinted previously. He had, as us fans says, Lillywhite blood running through his veins and no-one could see him playing for any other team. Always the fans' favourite, the chant 'there's only one Keano' would be sang at every single game.

When I heard on the radio yesterday morning that he was going for his medical at Anfield, that's pretty much a done deal so I was absolutely shell shocked. I felt tears welling up and the terrible sinking feeling you get when you get bad news. I know on the scheme of things, in reality, it's only football (a game!) but Spurs is a huge part of my life and this was the worst news possible, jointly with the expectation before the transfer window ends, that Berbatov will also leave. One of them going is enough to bear but both strikers is agony, as they are my all-time favourite players.

When the news was confirmed of Keane's departure and I read his statement on the internet last night, the floodgates opened. I've never cried for a player before (although I did shed tears when manager Martin Jol was sacked unceremoniously last year). Here' what he said:

"I would like to place on record my thanks to the board, players and fans of Tottenham for the past six years, which were the best and most enjoyable of my career to date."

"I will never forget them. I would specifically like to thank chairman Daniel Levy for understanding, that, as a fan, joining Liverpool is a lifelong dream of mine and one I couldn't let pass me by.

"I hope one day the Spurs fans, who have been brilliant to me, can understand this too.

"I have only good things to say about my time at Tottenham and expect them to go from strength to strength under Juande Ramos and Daniel Levy."

I've just watched his press conference and oh God, the blubbling has started again. What a baby I am. What can I say? I love Robbie; I will never forget the good times he brought to the Lane, his brilliant goal tally, his loyalty (because 6 years in this day and age is a long time), and his unique charisma. I will look back with pride that he played for my beloved team.

I wish him good luck and happiness at Liverpool and thank heaven that he didn't sign for one of the scum teams. He will most certainly get applauded by the fans when he comes back to the Lane in his red shirt.

"There's only one Keano"!

Busy family weekend & stuff

John's cousin Marie, her hubby Tony, daughter Shalina, son Darren, his partner Nyrie & their one year old baby Jasmine, arrived from Australia last week, one day later than planned. What a fiasco and complete nightmare! The story is that we had their flight info and John's brother Chris viewed the website to check the flights were still on schedule. It stated that the connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur was cancelled so John decided to ring Marie to find out the new flight details. It was 05:30 in the morning their time and John woke them up but good job really. To cut a long story short, it turned out that they should have been on the flight that left 00:15, five hours earlier! Well, poor Marie was in bits, so upset at the thought that they may not be able to even make it over here, having to book another flight for 5 adults and a baby. Fortunately, they managed to get on the exact same flight the following day and the aeroplane turned out to be virtually empty! That was one hurdle sorted but as they also had a flight to Rome arranged for the Wednesday, they missed that too and this also had to be changed. All that extra cost has now left them with little spending money and John reckons this is worrying Marie a lot. The purpose of the whole trip is to get Shalina to a twirling competition in Dublin at the end of this week. She is one of the top performers in the world and at 22 years old, is probably a veteran in her field. What she does with a baton is truly amazing!

Saturday was a hectic day. In the afternoon John and I went to a kids' party. Dylan, my friend Ellie's oldest son was 5 and the garden was all geared up for a fun day with two paddling pools, a trampoline and a sand pit. The weather couldn't have been any better; in fact it was too hot and I found what shade I could. Unfortunately we could only stay a couple of hours as we had to get back to ours to host a family barbecue. Seventeen of us in all: Chris, Sandy & the kids, Marie, Tony, Shalina, Darren, Nyrie & Jasmine, Jacqui and Kevin, Paul, my parents and us. As usual, John didn't let the coals cool down before he put the food on the grill and promptly we had black burgers and bangers! He will never learn and he certainly can't take criticism. Clearly a man's barbie is his castle!!! Lots of hints were flying in and eventually my dad took over and the food became edible! I'm so glad I don't eat meat so everything on my plate is the right colour! Anyway, we sat outside till dusk as it was so warm, then adjourned into the living room for some games. Some played Dingbats, others were on the wii and we were also introduced to an Aussie game which Marie brought along, which apparently, is no longer available and no-one can get it anywhere - not even on the internet! I can't remember what it's called but it was very good. It involved several large pictures which were made up on hundreds of objects, scenes and events. On each picture you had to list as many things as you could see starting with a certain letter of the alphabet, but you only had a minute to do it. Once the minute was up, you pass the picture to your left and so on and once everyone's seen all the pictures, you do the scoring. For every unique word you've written, you gain a point. Very simple but very good.

On Sunday, I had a lie-in after the late night, caught up with some TV I'd recorded Friday and Saturday including the Celebrity MasterChef final. I was pleased that Liz McClarnon won it as before she entered the competition she'd never ever used an oven! There's hope for me yet! I spent the rest of the day in the garden, reading, chilling out and falling asleep! Another amazingly hot and sunny day. We were invited to Chris and Sandy's for the evening and dinner which we took in the garden as by that time, it was a tad cooler, and certainly less stuffy that sitting indoors. The bugs were biting at dusk and John and Paul were the victims; they didn't touch me! I don't know what they were, nothing like gnats, but come Monday, Paul's foot had swollen right up and puss was oozing out of one of the bites. Yuck. I made sure he went to the chemist this morning to get it sorted- Lisa's orders! Anyway, back to Sunday night, and we had a return match of the Aussie game I can't remember the name of which took bloody ages when it came to the scoring as there were ten of us playing. John was drinking stronger lager than he's used to and got hammered. When this happens, he gets louder and louder which I have to admit embarrasses me, even if we're around family. The funny part was that he couldn't read hardly any of the words he'd written down and couldn't focus to read them anyway! It wasn't until midnight that we finally finished! We got home half an hour later; poor John had to get up for work just after 5am although actually, I have no sympathy for him because he got hammered and then kept me awake with his snoring for ages. He had a hangover which was self inflicted so hahaha!

My week off

Well I suppose I can't complain too much about the weather this past week. The first half was cracking, and as soon as I got up last Saturday morning I was raring to have a clearout of some sort! I decided on one of the sheds and after a couple of hours it was transformed to something of beauty and ordiliness (is that a word?). During the rest of that day, Monday and some of Tuesday, I spent on more garden projects, thus also making the most of the sunshine: clearing leaves, weeding, trimming ivy, going to the garden centre and planting a few patio pots, sweeping and getting rid of rubbish. It looks so much nicer now and I felt well and truly accomplished.

On Tuesday evening John and I went to see Mamma Mia the movie at the Odeon. John's seen the stage musical about half a dozen times, myself twice, and so we were eager to see how they'd managed to convert it into a film. Unbeknown to me, John had downloaded it from the internet and watched it earlier on in the day - WHY WHY WHY would you do that if you're seeing at the flicks?! Anyway, the film far exceeded my expectations. It was so much fun I immediately wanted to see it again. We were both perplexed when we heard that Meryl Streep had been cast in the role of Sophie's mum but she was great! Julie Walters was a blast as per usual - she could quite have easily stolen the show but the filmmakers were clever. Pierce Brosnan's singing would probably appeal to an audience somewhere...? bless - shall we say a good attempt? The end credits were a hoot and Colin Firth's costume had me in fits. If you don't come out of the theatre singing and smiling, there's something wrong with you! 10/10 and easily the best film I've seen in an age.

Wednesday morning, John and I went to see my Nan who had a fall a few days beforehand. She's been having dizzy spells (she is a long suffering vertigo sufferer) and she fell against a stool which had an exposes screw in one of the legs; unfortunately she caught her leg on it and now it's all bandaged up. She has paper thin skin as it is so any damage to it is really bad. Nan didn't look well at all; in fact she's looking very old and frail now. However, her mind is as active as ever and she'll always have enough strength to give her opinion (and the only opinion) on current affairs.

The rest of the day was spent looking around DIY stores for a replacement for the rotten wooden shelf around our raised rockery - I wanted slabs but couldn't find anything suitable. Typical. They probably don't make what we're looking for. We bought a few more plants and then did the food shopping. Boring but essential.

We went into London on Thursday afternoon. The weather wasn't great so visited the Science Museum first of all before heading to theatreland, having something to eat and then taking our seats for the evening performance of Les Miserables. I haven't seen this show since 2000 when we were in New York, whereas John is probably in double figures. The seats were great - 4th row right in the middle. Great! It's such a brilliant show and the music is fantastic. I enjoyed it so much more than previously and found myself getting really tearful at the particularly sad parts.

With the weather a bit grotty on Friday, I started make a list of people to invite to my forthcoming 40th birthday party on 27th September. Also, I started designing invitations on the laptop, including making suggestions for fancy dress which has a theme of TV and film characters. I spent hours scouring the net for costume ideas for me; there are so many sites dedicated to fancy dress it's unreal! So much choice - too much in fact. I'm not really any closer to making a decision - I think it will be best to go to a few shops and actually try stuff on first. If I find the perfect costume using this method, then I will hire one, otherwise, I will buy one online.
In the evening, Tina and the kids came round for a couple of hours, at the same time, collecting some empty cardboard boxes for her move to Pitsea in August. Dave will be staying at the house and renting out a room to a mate to help with the mortgage. Shame the kids will be further away, not just down the road like they are now but Tina doesn't have much of a choice. You should see Ronnie playing on the wii - he comes straight in and asks to play 'boxing'. He doesn't know exactly what he's doing but does the motions and thinks he's knocking down daddy even when it's him that has been knocked down by Kasey! Kasey always wants to play hide and seek with my fake fruit and she always forgets where she's put it. I found a peach amongst my soft toys when I was dusting yesterday! (yes, me dusting!) lol

I spent most of Saturday in the garden reading and falling asleep and reading and falling asleep. Well you get the picture. A very lazy day.















Today, John and I and my Mum and Dad went for a day out visiting Scotney Castle near Tunbridge Wells. Not so much a castle but an old house with a rotunda and a fairly large pond all the way around it (not really a moat). This was really pretty and looking even nicer when the sun came out. There was also an old house in the grounds which you can also have a nose around - it wasn't anything special. As it was only 3pm when we'd exhausted this site, we travelled 20 miles down the road to Battle in Sussex (1066 and all that), and had a cream tea. It was the biggest scone I'd ever seen and only managed half of it. Stuffed for the rest of the day, I only just managed to eat a jacket potato at my parents' house on our return. The rest of them had a roast dinner!

So that's it; a fairly uneventful week. Back to work tomorrow.

Double booking

Thank God, it's all done at last - our flight to Australia is finally booked for the evening of 3rd October (my birthday), together with the internal flights. So the itinerary will be as follows:

Arrive Melbourne early 5th Oct
Fly to Sydney 12th Oct
Fly to Townsville QLD 14th Oct
Fly to Darwin 21st Oct
Depart for home 25th Oct

It's only cost £5680 for four people. ONLY! John and I are taking my parents this time (we were previously there in 1994) but of course, it will be the holiday of a lifetime for them and for my Mum, extra special because she will get to see her beloved brother. It will be lovely to see family and John also has 'rellies' in Melbourne and Townsville. We have a rough idea of what we'll be doing but organising the car hire and accommodation still has to be done. Matt (my cousin) and his girlfriend Suzie intend to travel around with us but they now have the difficult task of trying to get the same internal flights as we've booked. Fingers crossed, otherwise it could get messy.

The other booking I've managed to secure at last is the venue for my 40th birthday party. It was looking desperate as everywhere I enquired was not free on either 20th or 27th September.
If I couldn't get anywhere a week or two before my birthday (as I'll be on the plane on the 3rd October) I was starting to think about having it in November which would have been a bit silly. However, the good news is that Westcliff Rugby Club was free on 27th September so I can relax a bit for now. The hard bit will be getting the room all decked out before the party as we can only get in there at 6pm. We still have all our old disco equipment so we'll use that; we just need someone to do it for us so that John is able to mingle, and we hope that our old mate Keith will do the honours (must contact him soon!) I plan to do the buffet myself - or at least rope a few people in to help. It'll be a nightmare storing everything in fridges beforehand and then getting it there but we'll think of something. I will be a wreck leading up to it but hopefully it will be a success - I'm especially looking forward to the fancy dress part of it!

Gosh - almost 40. I can't believe it, surely that's not right? I still think like a teenager and act like a 6 year old! lol

My week off

Only having booked this week off the previous Thursday, it was so nice to have a rest - it's been so manic at work lately. Not that a week off helps the situation because when I go back I will have a week to catch up on!

The first weekend, as planned, I had my nieces to stay and Ronnie was here until the evening (I don't think he's old enough yet to sleep in a different house). Saturday wasn't the best of days weather wise so I had an idea to bake a cake. It's always something kids like to get their hands dirty with. Actually John took over the role of chief baker as he's not a disaster like I am and anyway, someone had to keep Ronnie occupied. Not satisfied with one cake, three types were created: a standard chocolate sponge sandwich with chocolate goo on top, some brownies and rice crispy cakes. If you didn't like chocolate, you were in the wrong house at that moment! Mum and Dad came round a little later as well, and we organised some painting in between wii games, playing top trumps and various other stuff. After dinner Tina came to collect Ronnie and whilst Kasey was amusing herself, I helped Ebony create a better myspace page and showed how to put stuff on there. Both girls had a later night than usual but hey it was Saturday night and who wants to be the uncool auntie?!

Sunday was a much sunnier day and as such, John and I took Ebony and Kasey to Adventure Island on the seafront. Yeah so it was pretty expensive but it's worth it when you can see they're having fun. They are both adrenalin junkies. You can understand it from a 12 year old but Kasey is 6 (almost 7) and loves the rollercoasters. She's just not quite big enough for the blue wrist band which will mean she can go on everything, so at the moment she's a little limited and you can see her frustrations! We spent just over 3 hours down there but had to get back so John could go into work. After tea, I took them both home and I must say they were both very well behaved. I look forward to having them over again sometime.

On Monday John had to go into hospital for a carpal tunnel operation on his left hand. He only had local anaesthetic so was able to come home at midday. He's doing fine albeit bruised and the stitches will dissolve in about 14 days. He was advised by the surgeon to have 6 weeks off work. Most people would lap it up but not John! He said he can't do that and asked what was the minimum time he could take. The surgeon said 2 weeks. "So that's what I'll have" John said. Not being able to drive, there's not a damn thing his boss can do about it. Personally I would have taken the 6 weeks!

The next day (Tuesday) John and I and my Mum and Dad took Ronnie down the beach at Westcliff for a couple of hours in the afternoon. It was fairly warm when the sun was out and we found a patch where there's a good deal of sand for Ronnie to play in. The sea was out at the time but soon came in, but we were ordered not to throw stones until the water had arrived! Ronnie was happy to paddle despite it being pretty cold and also loved playing basketball with the fishing net. Grandad, of course, became the chief architect of several sandcastle creations and even Auntie Lisa was seen digging a moat. Ah! The simple pleasures in life!

Wednesday evening, John, Paul and I went to see 'We Will Rock You' in the West End. My fourth time, or is it my fifth? (I must be losing count). It's my favourite show and I love it every time I see it. On Saturday evening, just myself and John went to see another one - Mamma Mia. Only my second time for this one but John's seen it about half a dozen times already! It's a good show, especially the finale (I have to get myself one of those Abba costumes!) but I found the volume wasn't high enough, particularly during the dialogue.

In between all the above, I've just been pottering about, finished reading two books, playing word games on Facebook, and watching a couple of dvds. As it's Father's Day, we have my parents over this evening for a roast.

Oh...AND....I'm going to see George Michael at Earls Court on 24th August! YAY! Tickets sold out as usual but just secured a couple on eBay for £150 each. Daylight robbery really but the seats aren't bad and if the rumours are true that this may be his last live gig, I DO NOT want to miss out. I've loved him since his Wham days and have wanted to see him ever since. This falls on the same day as my Aunt and Uncle's Silver Wedding Anniversary party; however, as their 'do' starts at 4pm and they live in Benfleet, we can eat and just go from there.

And the winner is.....

.....Us! Our team called 'The Premier Leaguers, all dressed up in our footie shirts, won a quiz last night. My Mum & Dad, my brother Dave, John, his brother Paul, and me. Hoorah! We achieved 12 points more than the second placed team. I haven't been to a quiz night for years and it was a lot of fun.

When we got home, we watched back the final of Britain's Got Talent and although I tipped Faryl Smith and John and Paul tipped Escala to win, surprisingly neither made the top three. When it came down to George Sampson and Signature, I felt sure the latter would get it as the hits on YouTube have exceeded 8 million. However, it was 14 year old George who won with some street dancing to a modern remix of 'Singing in the Rain'.

This afternoon, we all watched back the other TV final: I'd Do Anything to find the Nancy required for Oliver in the West End. Unfortunately, I accidentally happened to be on the net and saw a photo of the winner but I didn't let on to John or Paul who it was (I'm not a man after all, I can restrain myself!) At the winner (Jody) was the one I wanted to win out of the final three. Tickets for the show are already hard to come by and it doesn't start until December. However, I hope to be able to go at some point as I've never seen Oliver on the stage, and it's one of my favourite musicals.

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.

Missing Maddie - one year on

Hardly believable that it is a year ago since little Madeleine McCann went missing from a resort in Portugal, days before her 4th birthday. Much has been speculated, particularly the innocence of Maddie's parents Gerry and Kate and their possible involvement in their daughter's disappearance. Although you can't rule it out, you'd hope that it isn't true - I mean, how could anyone do anything sinister to their own children? Ask that of the monster Josef Fritzl , surely the most sick of all fathers (if he can call himself that). When his daughter Elisabeth turned 18, he bundled her into the cellar where he kept her prisoner for 24 years. That's bad enough but continually raping her and producing 7 children from him makes your stomach turn and brings tears to your eyes. Just when you think you've heard the most horrific incident possible, you hear of an every worse one.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7371959.stm

Anyway, I digress. I would imagine the chances of finding Maddie alive after such a long time are very slim, but I get that feeling that just maybe she is. You can't imagine what her parents are going through and they won't be able to rest until they know what has happened to their little princess.


The photo on the left (above) turned out to be a red herring but you can see the resemblence to Maddie. How hopes must have been severely dashed.

Naturally there will be plenty of press on the 1st anniversary of her abduction but there can hardly be any complaints from Gerry and Kate (even despite the allegations) because there are plenty of other children and adults who go missing every single day, and no-one hears about them.

http://www.findmadeleine.com/

We are the 1-all kings!

Spurs 1 Bolton 1

For the first time in 2008, we could wear our footie shirts without four layers on top! It must have been 20 degrees warmer than last week at Wigan - what a difference. It was so nice to sit out in the Coach & Horses' beer garden and catch some rays in the company of friends.

Team: Cerny, Hutton (Huddlestone), Woodgate, Dawson (Bent), Gilberto, Zokora, Malbranque (O'Hara), Lennon, Jenas, Keane, Berbatov

Spurs had pretty much all the possession in the first half, had a reasonable amount of shots but were unable to capitalise once again. Bolton came out with bombs up their arses just after the break and caught Spurs off guard and managed a scrappy toe-poke over the line from a yard out after it looked like Cerny had managed to save it. Still, maybe it was better we went one down than one up because we can't hold on to a lead to save our lives. Spurs continued to press and Bolton really didn't manage to create anything more. We came close a few times - either side of the post, a couple over the bar, a couple of headers but it was Malbranque who got the equaliser running on to a cross (possibly miskicked) on the left side of the goal from a few yards out. STEEEEEEEEEED! My man of the season but why was he subbed yet again? Berba could've won the game in the dying minute when his head met a good free kick from O'Hara. You would have bet money on him scoring. And so it was another one of those days when it didn't quite pan out right, and the fourth consecutive 1-1 draw. Are we going for a record? Jeez, it seems so long ago since Spurs won a match....only two more to go.

On a non-Yido note, the race for the Premiership title took a turn for the worse today when Chelski beat Manure 2-1 to level on points. It's likely to go to the last day - exciting for the neutral but let's just hope the blue scum don't win it. At the bottom, it's equally on tenterhooks as to who will go down with Derby.

Any dream will do

John and I went to see Joseph at the Cliffs Pavilion last night. The artists and shows appearing in our local theatre has improved over the years and no more so that this production, which is touring all over the country at the moment.

Three of the contestants from the TV programme 'Any Dream Will Do' appeared in this show. Craig Chalmers played the lead, Keith Jack had the part of the narrator and Chris Barton was another one of Jacob's sons (pictured left together with Elvis). All the kids you can see sat on the steps either side of the stage all throughout the show and provided background singing - very good they were too.

The whole thing was extremely entertaining. I'd never seen the show before but knew most of the songs which are so catchy, you come out still humming them. Although Craig was a good singer, he didn't have that edge to his voice, neither was it strong enough to overshadow the rest of the cast. I guess this is why he didn't win the leading role in the West End. The numbers performed by the Elvis character were really fun and got everyone clapping and there were quite a few humerous moments including blow up sheep! It built to a great finale to a standing ovation before the encore, which left everyone in a great mood. Definitely one I'd recommend but I'd still like to see the West End show starring Southend's Lee Mead.

Weekend up north

Thank heaven for Friday off work - I really needed it. Our plans were to drive up to Oldham to stay with friends Debs and Mick, who we normally meet pre-match when Spurs are playing at White Hart Lane. We left home at around 11am and it was plain sailing until a section of the A1 brought us to a stand still due to roadworks. After getting through that it was okay until the m62 when the sheer volume of traffic slowed us down to a maximum 10mph for about an hour. We finally reached our destination at 5:30; a ridiculous 5 and a half hours on the road. After a revitalising cuppa, we took the tour of Debs and Mick's new bungalow, had a chat and then called a taxi to take us to the pub next to the Indian restaurant. I was starving by this point and really shouldn't have had alcohol before eating because I felt a bit light-headed. Anyway, the meal was yummy and man I was ready for it! John provided most of the banter and told stories and jokes I'd heard 25 million time before (and I'm not exaggerating!), however, it was a good laugh.



Saturday was match day. We'd already pre-booked tickets for the Wigan v Spurs game. Makes a change to pay only £20 for a ticket as opposed to £39, £48 or £61! I hadn't been to an away fixture since Charlton shared Selhurst Park with Palace - I think it was 1989/1990. Craig drove over from Leeds to join us for breakfast, and then we all walked to the station and instantly froze. This part of Shaw in Oldham is surrounded by hills and the wind chill factor must've made it zero degrees. It might as well have been December or January. We got the train which took us to Manchester then had to change for the one to Wigan. Oldham sounds and looks fairly close to Wigan on the map but I was surprised how long it took to get there. It was another fairly lengthy walk to the JJB stadium once we reached Wigan station, and I can't emphasise enough how bloomin' cold it was. We took a couple of pics outside the JJB for the 'scrapbook' (see above).

They'd closed the Marquee bar due to a private function so fans were herded to a footie bar in the shopping centre nearby. It was like sardines but at least it was warm. At 2:30 we headed back to the stadium, ready for the 3 o'clock kick off. I must say I was impressed with the toilet facilities - loads of cubicles and no queuing, compared with White Hart Lane where there are only 2 cubicles in the ladies and always a long queue! Something Tottenham can definitely improve on when they rebuild.

Unfortunately, none of us were seating near each other because it isn't possible for one person to book 5 tickets; each season ticket holder or member has to buy their own. John and I were fairly close to the pitch to the left side of the goal. Spurs were attacked the goal at the other end in the first half and with only five minutes gone, Berbatov scored. It looked as though it was going to be a breeze but as always they couldn't hold onto a lead and the Wigan equaliser soon followed. After that Spurs went downhill, pretty much the same way as they have done in every match since the cup final. It stayed 1-1 in the first half and no goals were added in the second. It's just so disappointing watching your team not able to create anything, especially down the Spurs fans' end of the pitch in the second half. Wigan perhaps should've won but we also should have had a penalty when Melchiot had both hands on Berbatov's shoulders, dragging him down in the box. This wasn't too obvious at the time because it happened up the other end, but was very clear watching the highlights on Match of the Day. So it wasn't really worth getting frostbite for but at least we didn't travel all the way up there just for the game.

On the way back, we stopped at a pub and I refuelled and warmed myself up with a cup of tea! Then onwards to the train station again. We stopped in Manchester for an evening meal at Yum Yum's - a Chinese buffet style restaurant which Debs and Mick had frequented before. All you can eat for a tenner. On the way out, I took the stairs whilst the others took the lift (lazy buggers) but I had a idea to take a photo - Soccer AM style. Actually John took it. Anyone for some lift fun? You may see it on the telly once I've submitted it - who knows? lol

Once we'd got back to Debs and Mick's place, Craig drove home and the rest of us just crashed on the sofa, completely knackered.

After a late-ish breakfast on the Sunday morning, John and I set off for home at around 11:30. The return journey only took three and a half hours this time, two hours less than on the way! Anyway, it a lovely weekend spent with good mates and great to get away for a couple of days.

Run out of words...or have I?

Spurs 1 Boro 1

Thank heaven for meeting friends pre-match to make it more of a day because once again the game was a major disappointment, and a waste of money.

The first half (I suppose) wasn't too bad - average at best though. Spurs looked far superior to Boro, however, without fear of becoming a cracked record, I have to say that the lack of chances created was a big worry. It's like they don't know what to do with the ball once they get it near the opponent's box! I lost count of the amount of times I heard myself shout 'have a shot'!!! Even Berbatov is guilty of this and surely he must know his own ability? He is too busy trying to find that perfect pass and being unselfish despite being in shooting range himself. Of course I will always be harsher on the players I admire the most. Well, I have to make the most of Berba; it's hugely doubtful that he's be wearing the Lillywhite strip next season (unless a miracle happens). The same applies to Robbie Keane (except for the last bit). He's lost a bit of form the last 4 or 5 games with the goals drying up. However, on a positive, this was his 250th appearance for the club and he remains a workhorse for the team. AND, he wasn't subbed!

Talking of substitutions, surely the worst one in history took place when Steed was replaced by Huddlestone. The thing is Steed was having a pretty good game (as usual) so I'm not sure what the tactics were but Tommy's performance was abysmal. Every time he had the ball, he lost it or the pass went wildly astray. Anyone who was there will give testament to this - I just don't know what was wrong with him. He was shocking! Never been a fan of him - I won't be sorry to see him go if he's one of the casualties in the summer transfers.

Anyway the game boiled down to an own goal in our favour and a goal out of nothing for Boro.
The second half turned flat and Spurs fell apart again (similar to the Newcastle performance - or should I say lack of it?). We gave them chance after chance and really they should have scored three more; Alfonso Alves was guilty of a glaring miss more or less one on one with Cerny - a top class Brazilian would certainly have scored with his eyes closed! :)

So more disappointment with the performance as well as the scoreline. I'm off to an away game next week in Wigan - YES I DID SAY AN AWAY GAME! John and I will be staying with our mates Debs and Mick who we usually meet pre-match - they live in Oldham so it's just 'down road' (said in a northern accent). We'll be travelling up on Friday so I'm looking forward to it.

Even Steven at Ewood

Blackburn 1 Spurs 1

All I can say is that was 100% better than last week's dismal effort!

Spurs dominated the first half hour and played some neat football. Berbatov scored after 7 minutes with a tap in and the team should've made the most of the possession with a second or third but squandered chances. Blackburn's equaliser came as a result of bad defending, in fact no-one was anywhere near Pedersen on the edge of the box when he took his shot. Soft goal to give away yet again. However, I'm happy with the point; at least Spurs didn't embarrass themselves this week.

Tottenham - a disgrace

Spurs 1 Newcastle 4

It started out such a lovely day, having a laugh with friends Debs and Mick in the beer garden of the Coach & Horses but that was all washed away in one of the worst 90 minutes of football at the Lane for some time.

I don't know why I'm even wasting time blogging about it; maybe I need to get it off my chest! The stadium was like a morgue today. For the second game in a row, the singing was very limited and the Toon Army put us to shame.

I was trying to think of a different way to sum up the performance so here's an A-Z list:

A is for appalling
B is for boring
C is for crap
D is for disgrace
E is for egg on ya face
F is for f***ing waste of money
G is for grim
H is for hopeless
I is for incapable
J is for joke
K is for katabatikos (Greek word for 'going downhill')
L is for lazy
M is for muppets
N is for not trying
O is for ordinary
P is for pityful
Q is for quality heap of shite
R is for rubbish
S is for shocking
T is for terrible
U is for useless
V is for very very very very disappointing
W is for woeful
X is for xtremely poor
Y is for you suck!
Z is for zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


An utter disgrace is probably the most accurate adjective to use in this case. I honestly don't think the players deserve to get paid this week because apart from the opening ten minutes and the goal, they didn't even try. I'd like a refund too.

Mum & Dad's Ruby Anniversary

In this day and age it's quite an achievement to stay married to the same person for 40 years and I'm very proud of my parents for getting there and still being as happy today as they always were.

There wasn't a big bash arranged to mark the occasion as that's not what they like, but just a simple table for eight at our favourite restaurant: Alvaros. Unfortunately my Uncle Brian was ill so my cousin Debbie took his place which was lovely because we haven't seen her for years - she lives and works in South Carolina and is over here for three weeks because of visa regulations.

Anyway the meal was fabulous as per usual. It's pricey but well worth it and the staff there (Portuguese) are so friendly. My dad has known the owner for donkey's years because he used to supply the restaurant with meat when he worked for a wholesalers. They decorated the table with ruby red roses which were given to my mum when we left. A nice gesture.

It's funny but my parents just don't seem old enough to have been married for 40 years; I suppose that's because they are still young at heart. Congratulations Mum and Dad!

America's No.1

Well done to Leona Lewis who has shot to No.1 in the U.S. charts with Bleeding Love. What a massive achievement - the first solo Brit artist to reach the top spot since 1987. The last person to do this was Kim Wilde with a cover version of 'You keep me hanging on'. Goes to show how tough it is over there to gain popularity; you really have to put the time and effort in and make your face known. Considering Leona only won the X-Factor 15 months ago, she must feel like she's in dreamland. It couldn't happen to a nicer girl.

Heartbreaking

A few weeks ago, we brought our external hard drive down from the loft where the PC is located, into the living to plug straight into the laptop. It was working fine, then all of a sudden it started making a funny noise and no files or anything could be accessed from it. The drive contains holiday photos from the last four years (approx), all the family photos including ones of my nieces and nephews since they were born, my thousand or so Spurs pics saved, itunes music library which contained over 12,000 songs, and all other documents saved in Word, Excel etc.

John's brother Paul was over for the weekend a fortnight ago and has just found himself a new job. He said he would take it with him and have it examined in the lab there which he very kindly did and reported back that it was hopefully they would be able to retrieve the data from it. However, devastating news received today revealed there were complications and would cost £300 to fix the problem. John wasn't keen on spending that amount of money (blokes aren't as sentimental about photos as females) but I was tempted because I couldn't bear the thought of losing precious memories. I will just have to get over it.

Obviously a lot of stuff can be rebuilt and recompiled, in fact John has been working for two days now on the itunes library. I couldn't care less about the music, I want my photos back! Luckily, I always have a selection of photos printed and they are safe in albums, so all is not lost. A new external hard drive arrived by post this afternoon and is firmly rooted to the floor tucked away between the two armchairs. Apparently John read somewhere that if they are moved or bumped they are prone to breakage. Great knowing that now!

Anyway, a lesson learned from this mishap is that everything but everything will be saved to disc in future as I am not going to run the risk of losing more photos.

Bugger!

Dates for the new Queen gigs have just been announced and can you believe they've put them right smack bang in the middle of October when I'll be in Australia? Argh! They are in Europe during September as well but it's kind of a busy time for me what with my 40th birthday and going on holiday, plus the extra cost and taking more days off work, it just can't be done. I'm so disappointed because even without the late and great Freddie Mercury, I'm betting it would be a fantastic experience.

I watched the Queen live in Montreal dvd today and I'm always totally in awe of them, especially Freddie. What an amazingly talented entertainer he was - would be hard to beat in my eyes (except maybe Elvis)! I wasn't so much of a fan when he was alive sadly, so I very much regret not seeing Queen on stage back then. Funny how artists come 'alive' and strike such a chord with you after they have passed.

Hopefully there'll be another chance some other time.

100 up!

Congratulations to David Beckham for finally achieving his 10oth cap for England. Well deserved. He has been our most consistent and inspirational player of the last 10 years.

Unfortunately tonight in the friendly against France in Paris, despite his enthusiasm, England didn't turn up. It was such a dreary game that I gave up watching.

Did Capello know what he was letting himself in for? The phrase 'flogging a dead horse' springs to mind.

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! <----- me yawning

Oh and the score was 1-0 France, a penalty in the first half. Blah.