Timmays diary

getting stronger?

2007-04-11T17:46:00.000+01:00

ah, remembered my password! see, im sure i typed that in last time along with the several other possibilities i remember trying, but mr. google wouldn't let me get in. ah, i feel like i'm back in the fold now, ain't that nice! been listening to cbyd's latest recordings lately, and i must say, 'strong' is a corker of a song! I feel kind of ok saying that cos i didnt write it, ya' know - i don't want to boast - but its a fine line sometimes between saying you're pleased with what you've done, and then overstepping that and getting a bit carried away with yourself, know what i mean? so anyway, i love the song, its probably our best as a band, and the actual recording of it makes it sound better than our others too - rob did a good job of mixing it.

countryside to stir the soul

2007-02-27T14:43:00.000Z

this might be the shortest come-back in history. ah! I'm off to ireland soon - i've always fancied going. Dublin, in fact, home of guiness and u2. And ken doherty - current world no.1 snooker player -if you don't believe me check out www.worldsnooker.com! I'm hoping to get out of the city for a bit to see some of the proper irish countryside of yore - the hills and stuff, oh yeh. Thats what i would really like to see. Im not taking my guitar, but i can just imagine it would be the ideal place to sit/lie down and strum until your heart's content. Singing with the birds, underneath the bright blue skies, feeling the green grass beneath you- being 'out there' with nature. Y'know, its funny, but the more i start to hear myself talk like this the more i'm beginning to think ive either got that 'romantic' streak running through me, like those great romantic poets - keats, mills and so on, - or i'm a hippy.

The Return of the King - well, not quite, but you got me anyway!

2007-02-15T22:52:00.000Z

Hello the blogging world, i am back, yes i am , i am indeed. I have finally got broadband at home - the preceding generations of owens would havebeen proud - so yes i can communicate in real time instead of the days and minutes that you've all become so used to! Aha! Now then. Uh, first i suppose i'd better let *the administrator* have her moment of glory as i admit that yes, dial-up is naff and this broadband malarchy is far better. Bully to you!
I would just like to say to lindt chocolate, that their 'swiss double milk chocolate' chocolate is fabulous. I was quite taken aback when i tried some just now. It has to be the singular most nicest chocolate i have tasted in many a year. Its kind of like kinder egg, but for grown-ups - although there's no toy inside. And its flat, as is most chocolate or course, but seriously, it is good stuff, and drat! I've got some over the 'b' and 'h' keys.bbbbbbbbbbbbbhhhhhhhhhhhh, mmm, there, thats better.
You know, i've been reading this book of 'silly signs' recently, and there were quite a number of amusing examples given there. apparently they were all genuine signs hung in genuine places - heres one or two that caught my attention:

DIETING GROUP WILL MEET AT 7PM AT THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - please use large double door at the side entrance. (Notice on a church bulletin board)

TRY OUR LOCAL BUTTER, NOBODY CAN TOUCH IT. (On a grocery shop).

FOR BEST RESULTS START WITH CLEAN BATHTUB FOR USE. On a bottle of bathroom cleaner.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STOP CHAIN WITH YOUR HANDS. On a Swedish chainsaw.

Particularly good advice this last one, methinks.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. No, that wasn't more chocolate on my keys, thats me getting sleepy. Tebbly solli to leaf u, but i'm going to have to get some sleep. Nice to rejoin the blogging world though.

electric heating

2006-11-03T13:38:00.000Z

i have an electric blanket at home and its great. I turned it on yesterday for the first time this year, and boy does it make a difference to ones ability to get some sleep. ya'know i used to think they were a bit daft, but i got one for Christmas 2 years ago from my nan, and it has revolutionised my nights. No longer to i have to stack up 4 blankets on top of my quilt, i just switch the blanket on and ah...bliss! My advice to you - go and get one!

meaning...?

2006-09-14T15:33:00.000+01:00

Perhaps i could write
something that would mean something to someone.
Perhaps i could write
something that would change your mind.
Would you?
Would I?

* * *

Trees bloom and grow while war rages on
undisturbed they converse with the sky
as fanatical men rage and die, their plans as nothing
while trees grow steadily in peace.

Re-cap

2006-07-26T15:58:00.000+01:00

well, a lot has happened since the last time i blogged, and its not that ive failed to try and convey it all, its just that the internet has been playing up in both the office and the library, and then loz took a half day one time. oh woe is the blogging world, i know, its been a less bright place whilst ive been gone (please, dont correct me mid-sentence -) but now here i am, back and ready to go - Andiamo!

i got to do some building work a while back. when i couldnt get any overtime one week i offered my assistance to the builder, who took me up on my offer. so it was that on a beautiful july day, i found myself working outside, chipping cement off of about 150 old bricks so they could be re-used, and then using a half-size pneumatic drill to smash up some concrete in this persons front garden. nice!

band has been going quite well - we've had to practise in various incarnations, as different pepes have been away at different times, so its been interesting i suppose you could say. Acoustic sessions, just learning new songs really. the fun'll start when we all get back, oh yeh!

Had a birthday, phoned my sister in oz. now once more getting loads of overtime praise God, and hopefully even thrashing out a new contract in work for longer hours.

also, thinking of getting a new computer, probably a laptop. saw simple minds once more, at a gig down in ashton court, pretty good again, i'd say. jumping around a bit when the big tunes kicked in!

la-di-da. better sign off i spose, and go and buy another birthday card for the relevant person! ter-ah.

SOUL: YEAH!

2006-07-07T11:01:00.000+01:00

WOW! Thats all i can say. WOW! I got this album recently -cheap-£5-in WHSmiths - and its great. ive seen it around before, although not at that price, and i kind of thought mmm, that might be alright. Its Eva Cassidy, and i wasnt sure whether she was from recent times, or further back, say the 50s or 60s. The album cover is kind of brown so that didnt help much. I was also under the impression that she'd died or something, which after i read the inlay, discovered that she had indeed died in 1996. but anyway, i put it on and wasnt quite sure what to expect as id only heard one of her songs before, and that was a cover -brilliantly done mind you - of stings 'fields of gold'. So i thought she might be like a kind of acoustic person. Which she is partly i suppose, but oh goodness, she's great! The singing is fantastic. She's got SOUL man! Yeah! I couldnt help smiling at various points through the course of the album, her expressiveness and range are just awesome. gonna have to get me some more soul albums - anybody know any good ones?

'Ned' and 'Trotter'

2006-07-05T13:39:00.000+01:00

Ok, heres a recent rundown of my life at the mo then - not in its entirety, but just a general picture. Recently been getting loads of overtime, up until 2 weeks ago. now im not getting any cos sainsburys hasnt got any going cos they've overspent. so, last week i read a book - great stuff, highly interesting, although heavey going in places. lot of ideas and a few challenges. hmmn. this week ive been struggling with temptation a bit. ive been getting tempted to bang my head against a wall for lack of anything better to do. advice: dont cut your hours in work if you havent got a clear idea of what you're going to do instead. A vague idea just aint good enough. So yes, im looking out for the opportunity to once again, work close to full-time in sainsburys. bring it on!

i went out for a cycle last week, when the weather was nice and warm. just a short one cos i havent actually been on any cycles for their own sake since last summer really. so i stayed kind of local and went down to what i consider to be one of the most beautiful places i know, which is conham river park/walk. The river runs by on your right hand side, and on your left is a whole bunch of trees and forest-type stuff. Theres this narrow gravel path which can fit about 2 people side by side, and its really quiet cos no-one really goes down there apart from a few fishermen who are sat on the bank, and a few dog-owners. Every so often a train will come by through this tunnel in the cliffs on the other side of the river, and after about 200metres disappear back into the cliffs again. the river kind of twists and turns, and at tone point theres a little riverboat which can take you over to a cafe on the other side. Once you start cycling/walking past there theres even less people, the gravel path gives way to a dirt path about 2 feet wide and you're 'at one with nature'. Lovely! I was quite surprised actually, after going about 3/4 mile along that bit cos all of a sudden the bushy forest trees gave way to these trees which were about 100feet tall, and had really tall, thin, silvery kind of trunks. Quite something! Anyway, at the end of this track is a pub named 'the bull and finch', i think - or else im getting confused with 'cheers!'. But that looks out over the river and looks really lovely, only i dont know for sure cos i didnt stop in it. and then i just cycled home via the roads, which actually, at the at end of hanham, are quite nice as well. At the top of the hill from the pub i stopped by this field, and against the backdrop of the setting sun, two horses wandered over to me. so i kind of felt a little obliged to feed them. after all, thats what you do if horses wander over to you aint it? After about 5 minutes of that however i thought id best be getting home. So waving goodbye to 'ned' and 'trotter' i turned with a heavy heart, tears rolling down my face cos i knew id never see them again, and headed for home. mmm. That trip kind of refreshed my heart for cycling. The fresh air, the natural landscapes, its just all so beautiful. Thats what i like about it.

so thats me recently.

a blog

2006-06-27T10:47:00.000+01:00

Just thought id write a quick blog.

1 thessalonians

2006-06-20T15:36:00.000+01:00

Ive just read through the book, or letter, of 1 thessalonians lately. for such a short letter theres a lot of stuff in it. probably the 2 things that stood out to me the most were the fact that they were quite open with their faith - i think its in chapter 1 where it says that, 'from you the word of the lord has sounded forth...' to the surrounding areas. this is quite challenging i suppose - to be more confident in talking to people about God, although without throwing it at them, y'know, sensitivity is always required. And the second thing was that they 'became imitators of the churches of God...'. This was quite encouraging as it encourages us to follow good role models in their conduct and behaviour/faith. obviously not to the point where we just follow them, but only inasmuch as they help us to follow God.

shakin' all over

2006-06-14T14:34:00.000+01:00

firstly id like to congratulate those who organised the rhythm nation event - what a success! darn good i thought it was, with a great array of talent displayed. but i was very impressed with how smoothly it ran, without a hitch, apart from 2chokes 1st song, alas. But still, very good 2 all who took part.

just occasionally, its weird, but my thighs, or sometimes my knees, get the quivers. i first noticed this when i went to australia for the first time, 2 years ago. i was just sat there, in an armchair in the living room, reading patriot games, when it was probably my left, thigh just started quivering and i couldnt stop it. very bizarre. this however, wasnt the only time during the course of that holiday that it did so. quite frequently in fact, this occurred, whether the chair was in the reclining position or in the normal mode.

*aside* - *is this a library?!!!? kids running round, crying or shouting, workmen on the roof banging for britain, adults - grown, respectable members of society, sitting on the table next to me just chatting away as if we're in a park, the same running kid is now shouting as hes - SHUT UP!!!!! Please!!!!!*

Anyway, so yeh, on an infrequent basis my thigh just tends to go into mild spasms if im sat down. it would probably stop if i stood up, ive not really tried that, hmmn, its not major but a tad weird. anyway, i was having my dinner earlier - a lovely toasted cheese sandwich - and both my thighs started quivering. gosh! what can you do?!

monumental monday

2006-05-26T14:30:00.000+01:00

i had a monumental experience on monday. very emotional. i had to fight back the tears that were threatening to choke me up. yes, i took down the the map of bristol that had adorned my bedroom wall for the past 7 years. it left marks on the wall where the blu-tac had been holding it up too. it kind of pulled the wallpaper off in those places leaving the fibre side of the paper exposed. good job the wallpaper's white otherwise it would look even worse than what it does now. and i didnt even stop there! no, i even pulled down my other map - of the world - that was on my other wall. i actually managed to get the blu-tac off without causing too much damage - id kind of developed a bit of a technique by then. and so i then had 2 empty walls without anything on. although, i must admit, i still have one small map of adelaide on the wall below where the map of the world used to be.

why did i do this? why engage in such random acts of desecration which would only cause hurt? well, because i recently acquired a certain painting by a certain artist which demanded a blank wall from which to shine forth its rays, a backdrop which would give light to its boldness, a surround which could illumine its brilliance. it cried out to me so that i could not sleep, until it had truly become a focal point in my room. And hence i removed the maps which had been my walls for the past half-decade, to create the space for this masterpiece.

in support of the umbrella

2006-05-22T15:45:00.000+01:00

hurrah for the umbrella, an invention even better than sliced bread.

silence - the greatest inspiration of all?

2006-05-15T15:16:00.000+01:00

if i had a bit of silence i might be able to think of something to write. i was all set to blog about something or other, and then i got interupted by jen putting on some 'lamb' music and andy blount coming in and chatting to me about some 'curly' password for his laptop! please?! loz did offer me a cup of tea though so all's not bad news.

ok. so i think the changes to the sunday night services are quite good. it should be interesting with a greater emphasis on teaching and stuff. the tables and coffee are also interesting points.

and i didnt go to an interview i wa scheduled for this morning with natwest. decided i didnt really want to join them. so thats that really. i did phone them first to let them know i wasnt going to go. i might just stay in sainsburys if i can - hopefully.

having fun with my new pedal by the way. oh yeah.

a barmy barney in the bakery

2006-05-10T14:25:00.000+01:00

I just went into the bakers in staple hill - not greggs, the other one - and theyre usually nice enough folk, but today i asked for a piece of shortbread - with cherries - and the woman got it. Nothing wrong with that i know. But the other woman, who was just standing there, looked at me kind of funny, sighed, and goes, 'i just mopped that.' I looked at her, somewhat puzzled, and asked, 'what?' Giving me one of those i-can't-believe-you-just-did-that looks, she rolls her eyes towards the floor and looks at a trail of soaking wet, flat cardboard crisp boxes leading from the front door to the cake counter. Her glance then shifts to the dirty footprint marks that now stand beside this trail of sodden boxes. Oh no! Shock! Horror! what has the world come to?! A set of dirty footprints on a lino floor! Her eyes, her silence, and her hand on her hip all accuse me of the heinous crime. I almost expected the police to come bursting through the door any moment with their cs gas cannisters ready. Honestly! what do you say to someone like that? The customer is always right? Well, i just left the shop, cheerfully calling out 'sorry' as i went!

?

2006-05-02T11:35:00.000+01:00

life.......hmmn.

post-kebab blogging

2006-04-26T13:32:00.000+01:00

mmm.mmmm, mmm. That was delicious! Chicken shish kebab with a lil bit of chilli sauce. The chargrilled flavour of the chicken, the spiciness of the sauce, perfectly complemented by the freshness of the lettuce and tomato, all encased in a warm pitta. mmm. perfect!

That has quite possibly been the most eventful thing of my past week, and i dont mean that lightly!

Nah, this weeks been cool actually, just been working loads, getting the overtime in like. also gone investigating effects pedals for guitars and that - thats been interesting. there are some really great sounds on those pedals so its just a case of playing on a few and seeing which one i like best really.

the weeks also been great cos theres been some pretty good stuff on the tv lately - every afternoon and evening. oh yes. its back. the snooker world championship live from sheffield. oh its so good. im constantly amazed by how these guys can move the cue ball (the white ball) around the table, and position it wherever they want after taking a pot on. like they'll swerve it/spin it, put on topside, or backspin, or left or right-hand side, theyll bounce it off of 2 cushions, or 3 or 4, all in order to get their position for the next ball. Fantastic. I only wish that watching it would make you as good as they are but i guess you just cant have everything. Ah well!

easter review

2006-04-18T12:38:00.000+01:00

well, id like to do a review of the easter celebration. ahem, :all good, except one monolithic catastrophe somewhere in the middle. i could not believe how bad we sounded on sunday night, it was far and away our worst performance ever. it was so bad in fact, that we could tell from half way through the first half of the first verse! it was so bad i just wanted to stop playing and leave through the back door. Something seemed majorly out of tune and i wasnt quite sure what, but after checking my guitar after the nights performance, discovered that it was majorly out of tune. - sorry, thats 'majorly' twice in one sentence, shouldnt do that!- how had that happened? well, i put it largely down to the fact that someone - who shall remain nameless cos after all it dont matter and really it was just an accident - tripped over something near my guitar and sent it crashing to the floor and then little ol' me - me of the oh-so-accurate ear for tuning(!) picked it up after this, gave it a few strums and declared it 'wasnt too bad'. in defence of my ears i couldnt actually hear the guitar very well when i checked it, as there was a whole bunch of other noise going on, but i guess this just indicts my brain for thinking it would be alright and not checking it properly through a tuner. so really i should have checked things before playing. sorry all! Apart from that, im not quite sure how we would have sounded, quite possibly we would have been alright, but i dont know. the only other thing that wasnt sounding good frm my point of view was that we had a terrible mix upon the stage, too much of this and not enough of that etc. ah well, that was a performance to consign to the dustbin of history i think, the only thing i guess we can learn is that i really should double check my guitar before playing!

The rest of the night was pretty good though, dancers doing their usual good quality stuff, i must say, i think the dancers, particularly the older ones, are growing in confidence and stuff cos their dances really are of a better quality than a couple of years ago. not that they werent good thn, just that theyre better now.

also, the sermon was pretty good, and i guess it must have touched something in a few people cos it led to what was the best and most signifgicant thing of the night, which was that 4 people - correct me if it was more than that - put their hand up to ask jesus into their lives. And thats what it was all about. So praise God for that result.

back 'ere

2006-04-11T10:32:00.000+01:00

hey all, got back yesterday mornin, nice and early. 2 degrees, 2! couldnt believe it. I was in shorts and t-shirt last week. ah well, there we go. you know i just discovered that theres a massive 6,500 strong church in adelaide, well, that is to say, i discovered it on friday when i was on the murray and chatting to the boat driver and he mentioned it. by then it was too late for me to actually go on sunday cos thats when we left. hmmn. next time.

once again i did quite well for sleep on the plane - slept for 5.5 hours and dozed for anopther 1.5. that has gone quite some way towards mitigating - now theres a word you dont see on a blog everyday - the effects of jet lag. which i still have - for instance, i am not quite sure that when i stand up i will remain on my feet or not. i will have to risk it in a bit.

you know its funny, but i was just thinking the other day how its not a conventional hoiliday, but how with part of my family being over there and all, its actually a part of my life.

hmmn. its a bit deep for this time of morning isnt it. theyve got new computers in the library now. theyre groovy flat screen jobs with new boxes etc, and for some reason, the time youre allowed on the net has jumped from 45 mins to 2 hours. fine with me. not that im gonna be spending 2 hours here but its handy if you need it i guess.

down under, part 2.5

2006-04-05T08:30:00.000+01:00

g'day pommes! i got a hat! oh yeh, a genu-ine australian hat with no corks cos i didnt want to look like ralph harris. i saw this didgeridoo busker in the town the other day, it was really cool, he was just sitting there like all good buskers do, playing away. great sound on they things, i love it.

My nephew spewed on me for the first time today. so far ive managed to avoid it, like ive just given him back to my sister and then he spewed, for instance. but today the little tike got me! nah it wasnt too bad really, hes done much worse on other people. yeh im going to miss him really, not being around as he grows up. *bawls! sob sob!* ah well. guess ill just have to come back at some point in the future. not sure when though. anyone fancy coming? think ill go and see a few more places next time, probably get in a trip to sydney or something, perhaps even uluru.

planning on going to the murray river on friday, taking a boat and getting in a bit of a cruise down australias longest river. planning on starting from murraybridge if youre interested in looking it up on a map, and if youre not then you dont need to read that last sentence!

well this is tim from oz, signing off with the last blog before i get back. see you soon. over and out!

from down under, 2

2006-03-31T09:20:00.000+01:00

Ok, so the kangaroo was great. it was a little on the 'well done' side, but nice and meaty like. tonight we had pizza for tea, from pizza hut - you know its funny having these multi-nationals all over the place, like mcdonalds and burger king etc., its actually quite comforting - particularly as i found after 12 hours on a plane with its naff food, it was great to just land in kuala lumpur and see a familiar restaurant. not that i normally go to these places, its just nice to see a bit of food you know is going to be half decent. Anyway, these pizzas cost $20 for 5 large ones. that works out at about 1 pound 80 each. lovely!

we went to the centre of adelaide yesterday, and i kind of gave my mum and dad a partially 'guided' tour. not that i knew anything much about the place, its just that i had looked up the place in the map before we got there and planned the route we were going to take! there was a funny moment when we got off the train and stepped out onto the main street on the north side of the city centre and some australian guy with a map came up to us and asked if we knew what street this is? - and i could actually tell him cos i knew! bizarre. we wandered round the different markets and malls they had there, my parents buying loads of 'australia' t-shirts, i was kind of looking for a hat - not one with corks - but didnt really see any decent ones i liked so didnt get any. all ive got so far is a shirt, general t-shirt, and a cd of u2, which was about $12. so thats cool. but what are possessinos though anyway? they are not much really when alls said and done. much more important are the experiences, the friendship and the memories!

im supposed to be acting in some big brother style play thing that some guys from my sisters church are doing tomorrow. theyre going to be filming it and then putting it on the internet and maybe using it for films of something else im not sure. my sister and her hubby have recently joined with another 2 folks and set up an internet based theatrical company, who specialise in short productions with a christian message. apparently im going to be the butt of all the jokes in this play cos theyre portraying me as an english dude who as a result of his english accent is therefore unintelligible and requiring of subtitles. okaaaay. my instructions were to 'mumble audibly'. hmmn.

from down under

2006-03-29T05:28:00.000+01:00

dear blog, how are you? are you well? good. well, firstly, ive only just rediscovered this 5-point mission that loz has assigned me so its a bit like drat! Cos ive done most of the thingsd on it but i just dont have the pictures to prove it. shes just gonna have to be convinced by my pictures which almost show thewse things, but which are like a scene away from the actual thing. oh well.

Dear blog, the weather that we have here at the mo is the best ive experienced over the course of a week since the summer before last prob. we had a high of 35 last week - lovin it! we had quite a scary happening the other nuight when we got back from somewhere. we got back to our house and as i was cooking up some pasta for tea i heard this slightly bizzarre noise which sounded like a house alarm in the distance. so me and my mum went outside in the back garden after a bit - and boy is it massively overgrown - and discovered that the noise was actually coming from our garden, from somewhere near the ground. We decided that the thing it sounded most like was crickets, but as this sound ws rather loud, consistent and it was still light outside we were in a little bit of doubt. Anyway, we walked into the middle of the garden and the noise ws unbelievable. it was so shrill it was actually hurting my ears. The decibals must have been 120 at least - louder than the speakers on a sunday morning, no joke. I located an area which appeared to be the hub of the noise and stamped on the ground, immediately it stopped in that area but continuede elsewhere in the garden. eventually we realised there must be loads of these things all over the garden. man, it was unbelievable to think that so much noise could be generated by a virtually invisible insect no bigger than a joint of my finger. i put my head down to the ground after a bit, to see if i could actually opull away some leaves and see one, and my head started vibrating with the noise. fortunately they moved off by about 8.20 so we werent in any danger of having our sleep disturbed.

Speaking of which i had virtually no jet lag when i arrived. i was thankful for that - mainly for the 7 hours sleep i managed to get in on the way over on the planes. i was tired, sure, but not hanging like the last time i came.

seen a few things like, but the main emphasis of the holiday has been to spend time with my sister. this sometimes means not doing an awful lot cos shes got her baby like, which is obvoiusly half of the reason were there. He takes an awful lot of feeding too - like 6 times a day or something - so we cant always get out very far but hey, the suns still shining!

We have been out on a vineyard that her father-in-law works on, and plucked a handful of merlot grapes off the vines and chomped away on them, before spitting out the skins and pips. that was cool. weve also been to glenelg, which is just a short way up the coast from where we're staying - and got a parking fine for facing the wrong way! Can you believe that? it was a legal place - no lines or anything - but we were facing with our headlights towards the oncoming traffic, not that there was much in this little sidestreet. Apparently, thats technically illegal in england too, so my sister tells me!

The beach just down the road from my sisters is quite nice, well, very nice actually - seas in nice and close and the waves are a decent size too. we're planning on going to the main town centre tomorrow, and just pottering around there looking at shops and whatever things of interest they got there. kangeroo for tea tonight, yum! Anyway im off to the beach now.

82 days

2006-03-17T14:10:00.000Z

uh yes, im still here ive not gone yet. But thanks for all your lovely well-wishing messages anyway, i feel very special that you took the time to comment!

this blog is about chocolate - now loz, dont get tempted here - and the sack of it i had for christmas. Yesterday, finally, i finished off all the chocolate and bags of sweets i had given for christmas. 82 days it took to munch my way through it all, an average of a bag a week i think. I never want that much chocolate again, ever! i've decided to ask my sister - the one in kingswood- and my parents to not get me an egg this year for easter. which is a good thing anyway cos easter aint about chocolate anyway. i thought of doing that a couple of years ago but didnt have the bottle. ah well, now the thought has come round again i'll capitalise on it this time! The last bag of christmas chocs i had by the way was a bag of revels. I have never had these in my life, although they're my sisters favourites, its just that chocolate in general doesnt appeal to me an awful lot - give me a bag of haribo anyday. Anyway, i started these on monday and the first one i had - cos theres 6 flavours - was awful. it was this really sweet horrible orange flavour. now normally i like orange but this was just so sweet it was gross. anyway, they also do coffee ones, which are not quite as sweet, but as equally disgusting because theyre coffee, and well, who has ever made a decent coffee flavoured sweet? They do some decent caramel flavours though. Theyre these little hard round ones which are really chewy. now, theyre nice. Also as nice are the chocs which are maltesers, although theyre not maltesers cos theyre revels, but really they are maltesers, so theyre good. the other good ones - but only in comparison to the nasty ones really - are the chocolates which are so blatently minstrels. They are minstrels, but just posing as revels. Honestly, this bag of revels is such a rip-off of other chocolates its unbelievable. The only originals its got are the disgusting sweet ones which are going to force you to wear false teeth about 10 years early. anyway, the only other ones in the bag are the chocolate-covered raisins, which are okay, but nothing exciting really. they were one of the ones which, when you put in your mouth and tasted it was like phew! its not an orange or a coffee. With every chocolate in that bag it was 50-50 whether you were going to like it or be absolutely disgusted by it when you put it in your mouth. Cos of course, the thing is with revels, theyre all covered with chocolate so you cant actually tell what it is until you eat it.
82 days of chocolate, and they had to finish like that. No more!

oz beckoning

2006-03-15T15:33:00.000Z

well, off to oz soon, lucky me! I dont know if ill get to post again before i go or not. i might be able to on friday actually. hmmn. well if i dont, bye for now, and hopefully ill be able to keep the world updated on my expedition from over there.

The new tagging job

2006-03-14T13:59:00.000Z

The 7 fave songs?

1. Always - bon jovi. Perhaps the greatest love ballad of all time. the words speak of an eternal timeless love which is really powerful.

2. with or without you - u2. Great anthem, dont really understand the words but its a great, passionate song.

3. sweet child of mine - guns n roses. the most distinctive guitar riff in the world! Great song!

4. agnus dei - really big song of worship, it just builds and builds.

5. uncontained?! come on, you know its good!

6. 'gabriels oboe' from 'the Mission' soundtrack - ennio morricone - this soundtrack has to be the best ive heard off any film ever. hardly any singing but the music is absolutely beautiful. its all done with orchestra and solo instruments, like oboe and spanish guitar, but its really haunting. its actually much better than the film itself.

7. frosty the snowman - whoever - yeh not really, i cant stand this song but i cant think of what else to write, theres just so many decent songs ive not written about!

inspired?

2006-03-13T11:24:00.000Z

Id like to dedicate this post to the youth service last night. I thought it was by far the best yet and it was great to see so many people doing stuff. i was especially impressed by the sermon and the dramas which interspersed it. Cracking job! Keep going charlotte, and the same to you aspiring actors!

God in the wine aisle

2006-03-10T11:50:00.000Z

God sometimes just does little things that make you feel a whole lot better. like yesterday morning for instance. there i was in work, and just starting to get really worked up about my whole job sit and the lack of clear direction, when at 8:20 or so as i was standing in the bws (wines) aisle i just though id quickly pray. so i did, and i just felt a calmness afterwards, and much more chilled than i had been feeling over the past 2 days. Praise God that he is with us everywhere.

The rain lashed down

2006-03-07T14:32:00.000Z

it was raining as i walked up to the library in kingswood. I stepped out of the house at about 1.30 with an apple in my hand and saw the rain falling from the sky, grey clouds stretching out across the horizon............hey. I ought to be an author! anyway.........so i called out to my mother, who was inside watching the tv, and i said, 'its raining.' Immediately i ran upstairs to get my umbrella, and then i marched bravely down the stairs, called out 'bye' one last time, and then stepped out into the rain. By the time i'd finished my apple my right hand was freezing. By the time i got to the shops in kingswood my jeans were damp. By the time i reached the library my right hand, which had been holding my umbrella for the past 10 minutes after finishing my apple was so cold it started hurting, almost, when i got inside the library and put my hand on the mouse, which was radiating some electronic warmth.

The rain, much needed but sometimes i wish it would just rain at night!

the choir

2006-03-01T13:23:00.000Z

I got called into work yesterday, and i was so glad! I mean, something to do!! I havent been in 3 weeks nearly, cos i had 2 weeks worth of holiday to take.

I would just like to say how impressed i was with the choir on monday night. I went down into the storeroom just to get a speaker out, and as i was passing through i was surrounded by the entire choir singing a song at full blast. It sounded good. Ive never quite been able to appreciate the chouir at full volume in the main church, cos obviously the sound just disappears in the hall, but down there in the little youth room on monday night - Sounded good.

curry

2006-02-27T13:36:00.000Z

I would just like to report on another decent homemade curry job i had last friday. This time the sauce was a korma from homepride, and that tasted pretty much like the real thing too. Man these jar-ed sauces are good. got to get some more.

i would also like to take this opportunity to say congratulations to those who were brave enough to indulge in a bit of karoke at the weekend. Loz and cath went out of their way to inject a bit of life into a night which was mostly taken up by strange old men singing depressing italian dirges with an accordian playing in the background. The host-guy was sufficiently moved so that he then started pole-dancing in the background. im just glad it was in the background. Tom and ad then got the call about 3 songs later, and brought tears to our eyes as they sang their way through an emotional 'kiss from a rose'. I wont say why we had tears in our eyes. Mind you, tom got his first taste of stardom after we took our seats again. one of the older female patrons, passing by our table on the way to the lavs, caught sight of us and began gushing praise all over tom. She continued gushing praise on her way back from the lavs, and got so excited that she slapped an innocent punter who was leaning against the bar to tell him that here, indeed, was a star.

Frantic speculation swiftly followed as to how much she'd had that night.

The 4 thing.

2006-02-23T15:22:00.000Z

The 4 thing
Four Jobs I have ever had in my life:
1. paperboy - early mornings for 3 months - it nearly did me in.
2. worked in roys chip shop for 5 weeks when i was 14 - communication problems with roy meant that instead of gently placing the chicken in the deep fat fryer, i threw it in from a height of about 2 feet and jumped back in horror as the fat exploded in front of me.
3.worked in oasis when it was a bookshop as well as a cafe.
4. sainsburys - for thlast 5 and a half years

Four Movies I can watch over and over:
1. A few good men
2. Indiana jones - well, i used to be able to
3. romeo and juliet - i like the way theyve juxtaposed the old language with the contemporary locations
4. Bill and teds excellent adventure.

Four Places I have lived:
1. Kingswood
2. kingswood
3. kingswood
4. kingswood

Four TV Shows I love to watch:
1. match of the day
2. have i got news for you
3. QI
4. the apprentice

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Australia
2. boston
3. lake garda
4. isle of wight - love it man

Four websites I visit daily:
1. blogger.com
2. yahoo.com
3. ?
4. ?

Four of my favourite foods:
1. Chicken curry - most sorts
2. chilli
3. roast
4. moussaka - its got to be done norm

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. somewhere warm
2. somewhere hot
3. any place is ok as long as Gods with you
4. although some are better than others

Four people I am tagging:
1. dunno whos been tagged so here goes - sara
2. kt
3. Daz
4. Just

l-plates

2006-02-23T15:10:00.000Z

To the blog world at large, is anyopne learning to drive? You see, i have 2 L-plates - the magnetic variety - used only once! - so if anyone would like to take them off my hands then do say.

2006-02-23T14:45:00.000Z

Ha ha! The timings should be right! This'll put an end to all that middle-of-the-night nonsense!

Drowning in kingswood, and sweet spuds!

2006-02-23T14:11:00.000Z

Right then, i can finally settle down and write a reasonably long entry again! I know ive kept you all waiting but hey! Absence only makes the heart grow fonder!

Just for gem, who thinks i've got a bit of a fixation with checking my blog in the middle of the night, i repeat my last message - i do not, repeat do not, check my blog at any time between 10pm and 10am the following morning. Now, can we move on please?!

So, to recent events. Well, i think one particularly noteworthy thing of recent days has to have been our church services on sun. That may sound a bit funny but i think they were seriously good. God just turned up and i for one was seriously blessed to have been there.

Suppose yesterday threw up an unusual event for me; the dentist!! His room is on the top floor (out of 3 floors) in the kingswood dentist place. Hes quite an interesting guy really. Hes prob about 35, looks like a student, wears jeans, is quite lanky but looks quite intelligent, and hes also got a friendly sort of manner. Reminds me of phil actually. He didnt do much to my teeth except scrape a bit of plaque off at the bottom on the front and at the top on the sides. It cost £15! To have your teeth cleaned! Cost me £5 last time. When he was scraping the plaque off though he got his assistant to squirt this stuff into my mouth at the same time, kind of like some cleaning liquid i imagine, and then it kind of gets sucked back up using the same nozzle thing that it comes out of. This time i handled it all quite well. But i remember last time i went back in the summer, and i'd never had it done before and so i didn't have a clue what this woman was doing, pumping loads of water stuff into my mouth, i was a little bit all over the place cos, well, to be quite honest, my mouth can only contain so much water before i have to start swallowing, and i was kind of getting near the stage where id have to either swallow or drown on the dentists chair. I actually spat it out, much to the disgust of my then dentist. But honestly, they could warn you couldn't they? I mean, i dont really expect to have to deal with the possibility of drowning at 9.oo in the morning in my local dentists.

What is the best way of eating a sweet potato? Mashed. Definitely. You dont really want to be eating the things on their own. I had one the other day, sort of next to the normal potatoes on my plate, and it was just a bit much to stomach really. But then yesterday my mum mashed it with some corned beef hash stuff, and you just couldnt tell it was there! Great stuff. Come to that, thats my key to eating foods which are on your plate which you really dont like - cut them up really small, and stick it with a bit of spud, or something else on your plate that you like.

2006-02-20T14:05:00.000Z

hello once again. For all those of you who think i get up early to write my blogs, the time is now 2.06 PM, i stress PM. the sun is shining and my heart is warm with affection for you all. well maybe sort of. i was going to write something else but ive ran out of time again

2006-02-17T13:45:00.000Z

uh, i'll write something a bit more interesting when ive got the time.

thanks lozza!

2006-02-17T13:42:00.000Z

Hey folks. The appearance of a few groovy new links on my blog are due entirely to the handiwork of loz, who kindly put them there for me. Ive got to get a few more on there but ill do that when ive got more time. Thanks to the queen of the blog!

I hope im not going overboard here.

no dinner?

2006-02-14T13:03:00.000Z

well, things are going kinda well lately. in some respects. not everything though. ive been doin a bit of tidying lately in the storeroom and stuff so its a bit easier to find things now. i cant believe loz just left and went up the road for her dinner without asking me if i wanted anything though. some people!

(only joking loz, im not that offended!)

2006-02-10T13:48:00.000Z

Hey there folks, back again. i'd just like to comment upon my day yesterday. I got up. I had breakfast. I went to work, which was actually quite alright, certainly a lot better than sitting at home all day. and then after work i went to a simple minds gig. Oh yes. Thats right. A simple minds gig. In birmingham. Very good it was too. The place was actually packed out and i can understand how the tuna feel when they're packed in together. It was in the carling academy somewhere in the middle of town, and the actual place inside is very similar to the one in bristol, only a bit bigger. If the one in bristol can hold say, 750 people, this one can probably take about 1000-1200. It was a decent size. But the gig itself was actually great. the support band who were on first of all - whose name i dont know cos they didnt bother to introduce themselves-duh! - weren't all that great actually, and so its probably just as well i dont know their name cos now i cant warn anybody not to go and see them. They did alright i spose, there was only 3 of them - drums, bass and guitar - who also sang, usually in tune. They had quite a respectable sound, - which is encouraging for me - but no great tunes really, and no musical magnificence to shout about either. Really, i think they were probably picked as support because they just made simple minds look good. That is to say, simple minds are good anyway, but this other band just highlighted actually how good they are!

They did a good amount of their older stuff, as all good bands do - eg delirious! - as well as their stuff from their latest album. so i knew a good amount of the songs and could really start moshing on stuff like 'dont you forget about me' - even andy blount started moshing on that one! All in all, it was a cracking night and a great gig, all the more so as my ticket was free!

the quote that id forgotten

2006-02-06T14:45:00.000Z

ha ha, im back at the computer again, and this time im ready to inflict my 2nd hand wisdom upon the world! That quote thing that id forgotten last week? well, theres no getting away that easy! Here it is:

'The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God. They look for a feeling, and if it happens, they conclude that they have worshiped. Wrong! In fact, God often removes our feelings so we won't depend on them. Seeking a feeling, even the feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship.'

This is not to say of course that we dont or cant have feelings and experiences in worship, its just a challenge as to where our focus is.

good eh?

2006-02-03T13:26:00.000Z

Hi there. just like to say thank you to all the lovely people who took the time and trouble to read this blog. You make me feel soooooooooo special! You know, i was actually going to write something useful on here today, inspired by the cs lewis quote that t has on his home page thing, but i've forgotten it. it was something along the lines of...................dang! Oh well.

I will say something else which might be useful though. I had this curry last night and oh! It was great. Just out of a jar like pretty much any curry sauce you can get, but golly gosh. It surely has to be one of the best tasting sauces ive ever had in my life! It was a tikka masala from - get this right - from lidls. oh yes! That exquisite supermarket well known for its fabulous culinary dishes! It was great though seriously, you got to try it. Its got this kind of black label on it.

2006-02-01T13:29:00.000Z

hello again! this is so far probably not the most ineresting blog in the world but who reall y cares anyway?! you know, i just read a joke off some advertisement thing that just came up on my screen and thought it was pretty good. it goes a bit like this
Dave: whats better than metal?
John: dunno, what is better than metal?
Dave: more metal!

Great stuff!

2006-01-26T14:56:00.000Z

i think that may have worked, hmmn, perhaps i ought to get it checked by a pro? T, did that work?

2006-01-26T14:54:00.000Z

i wonder what will happen if i start writing stuff on this page - will it just turn into a blog?