death of a disco dancer

After I finally got over the shock of Michael Jackson (I suspect Mr. Pharmacist with the white pills and syringe in the study) and being genuinely saddened at the recent death of Sir Bobby Robson, I’m not sure I can take any more. Just heard some really crap news. Benson, the world’s largest living carp, is no longer living. Benson, who loved disco dancing, weighed 64 lbs and was between 20 and 25 years old (apparently, Benson lied about his age a lot - similar to Jane Fonda) has died....

August 4, 2009

dumb, captive animals at Australia zoo

I’m not a big fan of zoos but in Brisbane, we visited Australia Zoo as it had beenrecommended by a few people. Also, we were keen to see some native Australian wildlife during our stay. I also assumed that Steve Irwin would ensure that the animals were kept in a natural and humane environment. We all enjoyed the day out. We saw crocodiles snapping at a white bucket, the kids fed pellets to kangaroos and wallabies and we cuddled sleepy koalas....

August 4, 2009

the month that never was

Since I started this blog almost four years ago, I have posted every month. Until last month - July 2009. To accentuate the radio silence effect, this blog was also completely offline for the latter two weeks of July 2009 (PHP/FastCGI configuration problem at Bluehost).

August 4, 2009

holiday statistics

Just got back from three weeks in Australia visiting family and friends. Countries: 3 (England, Singapore, Australia) Cities: 7 (Singapore, Brisbane, Hamilton Island, Perth, Broome, Kununurra, Darwin) Red rock formations: Too many to mention Best airport: Singapore - free gadget recharging points and Internet access Worst airport: LHR T4 - building site, long queues, surly staff Wildlife: Kangaroos, wallabies, crocodiles, spiders and, err, terrifying budgerigars States: 3 (QLD, WA, NT) Flights: 11 Airlines: 2 (Quantas, JetStar) Miles: 26,341 Music: ‘These wooden ideas’ - Idlewild Newspapers: Zero

August 4, 2009

where will it all end ?

Last year, I found an ancient 56Kb dialup modem lurking in a cupboard. I fondly remembered the days of dangling the extension cable diagonally across the bedroom floor (which often tripped unsuspecting visitors up) and mentally replayed the connection tone. And now Virgin Media announce 50Mb for £28.

August 4, 2009

Manchester City's title winning lineup

Exclusive - the Manchester City 2009-2010 Premiership winning lineup in full. Goalkeeper - Given Defence - Dunne, Richards Midfield - Barry, Ireland Attack - Tevez, Robinho, Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy Anyone spot the deliberate mistake ?

August 4, 2009

grunting at Wimbledon

Sorry but I just can’t help myself.

June 25, 2009

The Fall - Kentish Town Forum (10/6/09)

John Cooper Clarke recited punk poetry while The Buzzcocks performed some punk karaoke but the real stars of the show were, inevitably, The Fall. I just posted a brief review of the concert over on The Fall forum (blogging is so last year).

June 17, 2009

aftermath of flight AF447

I probably shouldn’t ask this question and watch a ‘CSI New York’ box set to find the answer but still… Bodies are now being recovered from the fateful Air France flight 447 that crashed in the Atlantic ocean and the authorities are requesting DNA samples from relatives in order to identify the deceased. So, what exactly does 7 days in sea water do to the human body ?

June 10, 2009

open letter to Bob Crowe

Dear Bob Congratulations on disrupting the lives of millions of Londoners by calling a two day tube strike. Nice timing, by the way. An England international at Wembley and more importantly; The Fall, Buzzcocks and John Cooper Clarke live at Kentish Town. Just a couple of quick questions before I set off: I would also like a 5% pay rise which would come in most handy in these tense, difficult times....

June 10, 2009