Tim's Blog

Bad Grammar

2009-01-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

Russ and I went for a day out in Birmingham and found this on a shop! Not impressed. This is a classic mistake and offenders should be made to run across hot coals until they learn how to use apostrophes. End of.

Savings and crunch (rant)

2009-01-18T04:10:00.000-08:00

Firstly, happy 2009!

Now I need to address an issue about money. I don't usually like talking about money because too many other people do, and it can be a bit of a sensitive issue.

On this occasion the government is beginning to annoy me. Due to the recession we're all being encouraged to spend every penny we have to help the UK economy. It is funny that a couple of years ago Tony Blair was encouraging us all to save.

I heard on the radio yesterday that some bright spark in the labour party wanted to tax money that goes into your savings account BEFORE it goes in! The money has already been taxed when it is paid to you and will be taxed again when the annual interest on the account is given!

I take a dim view on this. I know this statement will spark a reaction but IN MY OPINION this credit crunch/recession/economic downturn has come about due to a combination of greed of people who play with large amounts of cash, and a government that is incompetent of handling a national economy.

I put a chunk of my salary into my savings every month as I am trying to save for a house (I would also like to point out this leaves me with the bare minimum for the rest of the month.) I do not see why I should empty that account........... for what exactly? I am now 26. Due to house prices rising (greed) I have not been able to purchase a house. I'm not prepared to 're-start' my savings.

The government and greedy folk have dug their own hole and created their own mess. Now they can get themselves out of it.

Serious Issues

2008-12-01T03:03:00.000-08:00

Well sorry for such a long time between posts - it's now December 1st!! Not long now.

You'd think at a time of a national financial crisis people would not only value the fact they have jobs but do everything possible to prevent them from losing them. Some people in the country are not as fortunate, having lost their jobs at a time when finding a new job is hard.

Crawley Borough Council workers are an exception however. The refuse collectors who collect our rubbish every Friday seem to have an issue with us. Now don't get me wrong - I really appreciate the job they do - I couldn't do it, and I do respect them a lot. On the other hand, whether we've done something to upset them, if a fox has been at our rubbish bags, or if quite simply they couldn't be bothered to tidy up after them, there is absolutely NO excuse for this:If I dumped rubbish on someone's front garden like this I would most probably (and quite rightly) be arrested! I would love to hear the excuse they come up with. It'll probably be some health and safety related tripe because the dustbin was most probably a few pounds too heavy for a couple of grown men to lift. Bless their cotton socks. I do think that the issue of respect for other people's property comes into this! This is all mentioned in the complaint I have sent to the council.

On a similar note, the next day I got up early and sleepily walked down the stairs to make a cup of tea. As I looked out of the landing window I was shocked by what I saw. The lady up the road was letting her poodles use our front garden as let's say a "dog toilet." I was so shocked I was speechless. I banged on the window and I saw her quickly get a "poo bag" out of her pocket and clean it up. She then walked away very quickly indeed.

I chose not to go outside and say something as I'd most probably regret what I was going to say! Giving the lady the benefit of the doubt I assumed that she would have probably cleared the poo up had I not banged on the window, but that's not the point. Why couldn't she make the dog use the gutter or the pavement if it was going to be cleared up anyway? I would say letting a dog use a front garden as a toilet is disrespectful in every way possible regardless of one's intentions to clean up afterwards!

On a lighter note, I've just been trained onto the Airbus A319 and will start flying to places such as Belfast Glasgow and Edinburgh. Bring it on like Donkey Kong!

October Life

2008-10-17T02:09:00.000-07:00

An amusing observation yesterday. I pulled up at the Gatwick Tesco and parked the car. Opposite my car and slightly to the right was a taxi. On the side and on the roof it said "Helen's Taxis." I thought it was unusual to have a taxi firm named after anything that doesn't begin with the letter 'A' or the number '1' for the sake of the race to the top spot in the Yellow Pages.

This was all very interesting until I discovered that "Helen" was a rather large skinhead bloke with a beard reading The Sun. This made me chuckle.

If anyone finds a "Heute" shoe cleaning machine (preferably the "Calypso" model) for sale for under £50 let me know! It would look good on my landing.

The trees are turning, the weather's colder, so it's time to do something mad. I haven't decided yet, but I think it may involve a bike.

Leaf Blowers

2008-10-17T02:04:00.000-07:00

I mean........ why?

What Happened To The Friendly Postman?

2008-09-04T03:10:00.000-07:00

The title says it all. As does Royal Mail's slogan. The post arrived as per usual this morning, and one package could not be pushed through the door, so the postman rang the doorbell. I answered, said "good morning, thankyou very much" and he said........... absolutely nothing. Not even a nod or a smile.

Welcome to Crawley.

Embarrassing Moment In Flight

2008-08-17T02:40:00.000-07:00

Here's something that happened to me on yesterday's inbound Sharm El Sheikh flight;

I was selling drinks and snacks to passengers and one lady requested to pay by credit card. One rule we have for this is that passengers need to present their passport for the number as our credit card machine is not connected to the bank at 35,000ft!

After processing the lady's card she handed me her passport and I looked at the photo to confirm it was her. I said "thankyou madam, I do require your passport as you're the card holder - not your husband's passport." She then said "that is my passport!"

I wished the earth had opened up and swallowed me there and then, bit hard when you're 6 miles above it! All I could say was "I do apologise madam, er, the lights are very dark and I can't see very well - it's been a long day" etc etc........ The passport photo did look just like her husband sat opposite, even though it wasn't. The poor lady looked most offended and then hysteria kicked in and I tried not to laugh!

How embarrassing.

The 'Credit Crunch'

2008-08-17T02:26:00.000-07:00

We hear this word a lot at the moment, I'm not writing about the 'credit crunch' itself but simply the words 'credit crunch' themselves. So many people have commented that they do not like these words - not so much because the prospects as the result of a 'crunch' are scary but because the words are simply cheesy.

To me 'credit crunch' sounds a bit like a 21st century breakfast cereal. I do think the media is exaggerating the problem a little, but let's all stay positive!

I booked some tickets to go to Taunton on 26th August to help my gran deal with the effects of bogus workmen. Not good. Fortunately most issues have been resolved but not all. Not nice.

Sunday Roasts

2008-08-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Today, I am going to eat a Sunday roast. This is something I haven't done for a very long time - a good few months infact. Toby Carverys are great places!!! Jagshemash.

Annoying Mobile Conversations and........Is the future orange......?

2008-07-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

....... A question I am asking myself at the moment. Anyway, enough of that. Just thought I'd update the 'blog from the comfort of the family home in Cheltenham. Been a bit wet today with a bit of sun, so managed to get a few things done.

Met up with 70's Russ last night for a couple of drinks. We went to a pub in Cheltenham I'd never been to - St Georges Vaults opposite St Matthew's Church. It was great because if you sit by the window you can control the exterior coloured advertising lights by flicking various plug sockets on and off! Wild life I lead.

What have I done recently? A Malaga nightstop, and a few unusual flights. I found a live chamelion on one flight and had Channel 4 filming on another! Too much of a long story to expand - I'm sure if you ask me I'll explain.

Sat in the 'quiet coach' on the train here simply because of a businessman who decided to communicate his day's agenda to the whole of coach B. It's so annoying when you can hear someone shouting down their mobile sentances like "I'll just look at today's agenda and tell Paul to get his figures emailed to me 'aaa-sap' - yeah - I'll have to reschedule a meeting about that." SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!! No-one cares or wants to hear it! Go to the vestibule or talk more quietly!

Another annoyance are career minded girls who try and sound important on their phones by saying "yar, yar - well I'm on my way to Larrrndon." Again JUST ZIP IT!!!!! Stop trying to impress everyone, because everyone else just looks out the window and thinks "please end that call, PLEASE hang up."

The Rising Cost Of Fuel

2008-05-21T00:37:00.000-07:00

Petrol is now at record high prices. I was reading in the local Cheltenham newspaper how the 'credit crunch' is affecting people, and for those on lower incomes the message is not good.

Petrol is going to be the main topic of this post because without the risk of sounding self indulgent (this is a personal blog afterall) petrol prices affect me the most.

Now I do not know the 'ins and outs' of what goes on in the middle east, but what I do know is that somebody somewhere is getting rather a lot of money and laughing all the way to the bank. Before I say "this is wrong" - this fuel price rise has come at a time when reducing one's carbon footprint is a cool thing to do, also the threat of oil reserves running out is ever present.

Is the government really getting much more money from this? As always I'll use myself as an example. Take my little Citroen AX. I rarely fill it up to full, I usually put in about £20 worth of unleaded. I'm now putting in £15 and not even using the car as much. In this fine weather I usually take the moped or cycle. Just as an example, the government is not getting any more money from me. I'm sure I'm not the only person doing this, however, as soon as it rains I'll probably be back in the car again!

What else can we do to combat this? One thing I find helps is adapt my style of driving. Get in those high gears quicker, don't use harsh acceleration, and adapt a generally smoother driving experience - this has saved fuel in my experience!

The government wanted to encourage people to leave their cars at home. Now it seems they're forcing them to. We're going to see a lot of changes come about to combat global warming and it really is an 'inconvenient truth' - this is just the start.

Amusing Train Announcements

2008-04-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

I was on the train travelling to Cheltenham today. I had to change at Bristol Parkway as there were routine engineering works on the Golden Valley Line between Swindon and Gloucester.

I'd just settled into my seat, the train set off and the funniest PA came through. As you read this, imagine the strongest Bristol accent......

"Ello therre Ladies and Gentlemen, moi name's Noigel, and oym the bloke in the shop onboarrrd. Let me 'ave a look at what we can offerrr you today. Blaaaaast...... the loight's gone out in the fridge.....oh no, it's come back on again....... Ham and cheese panini! That's what we've got forrr yer.

Neow - the proices arrrren't as dearr as you may think.........well they moight be, but 'oil let you make yer own moind errrp..... come and foind me in coach B, 'oil be staaandin 'ere ready to serve you a selection of drinks, snacks and bits and pieces. Thankyou."

Well as you can imagine the train's passengers were in hysterics. I respected this guy because he let his unique personality and character into his work and brightened up everyone's day. It's amazing how something that is so monotonous such as a train journey for some people suddenly become an amusing experience just by a human touch - not jobsworth robotic staff.

April 5th

2008-04-05T01:02:00.000-07:00

I'm celebrating with some Talk Talk music this morning. From their "Colour Of Spring" album there's a track called "April 5th" which describes in a slightly eccentric way the transition from winter to spring.

As today is April 5th I thought it would be appropriate to crank this tune up - and what a perfect spring day!

easyJet

2008-04-03T00:59:00.000-07:00

Well it finally happened. On the 29th March easyJet took over GB Airways. T'was a sad moment, but better than GB not being rescued at all. All our planes are painted white at the moment as they needed to be neutral for the changeover. I now wear a delightful orange uniform (which is actually very smart compared to the old one) and operate an easyJet service!

Having done a couple of flights it's great fun!

We said goodbye to GB with a farewell party in the Flight Tavern which is situated next to Gatwick's runway!

Mobile phones on trains and other public places....

2008-04-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to update my blog while on the train coming back from Cheltenham because I thought of an annoyance there and then, but my mobile internet wouldn't let me sign in.

That's not my issue though, - my issue is why has it suddenly become socially acceptable to play music through the loudspeaker on one's mobile phone? There is nothing more annoying than sitting in a quiet train carriage and hearing a tinny version of 50 Cent's 'P.I.M.P' coming from a 'pay and go' belonging to some spotty youth who wears clothes that are too big for them. It would be hypocritical for me to say 'why does no-one say/do anything?' - because I don't. I usually move to another carriage. If anyone said anything they'd probably get knifed!

What annoys me the most is the attitude that goes with it. An attitude that says "if I want to listen to my music loud, I will - I don't care if I'm annoying you - what are you going to do about it?"

I was blessed when I found a 'quiet coach' at the front which prohibits the use of mobiles. There are regular inspections by the staff to ensure this rule is adhered to.

Getting off the train at Reading I lowered the window to open the door. As I poked my head out to grab the handle the window sprang right back in my face cutting my eyebrow open. With blood pouring down my face on platform 5 I thought to myself 'maybe this is the price I pay for a bit of peace and quiet' - it's hard to find in this busy world, but sometimes it comes at a cost!

A Citroën moment

2008-03-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm obsessed with old Citroëns. Here's a video dedicated to the beautiful Citroën DS in Berlin. I absolutely love the music too!
Check out my friend Miss Goodwin's blog (link on right.)

Potential Virus Links in Blog Comments

2008-02-27T14:34:00.000-08:00

Hey all, here's a rant....... I keep getting links from random people in my blog comments with links saying stuff like "click HERE and HERE". I never click them as I'm suspicious it may be a virus. These people's blogs will be about something completely random for the sake of having a blog.

Here's a message to those of you who put these links in my comments...... get a life, stop doing this you sad morons. If you can't think of anything better to do than try to mess up people's computers then quite frankly I feel sorry for you. Say what you like, but I can only imagine the majority of the world would agree with me! There's so much to do in the outside world (unless you live in Milton Keynes) but you choose to sit around in your sad world creating viruses. Not cool!

There. That's made me feel better. I've had a busy day at work and the last thing I need is to get messages on my blog from saddos with nothing better to do!!!

A Regency Moment.....

2008-02-24T13:12:00.000-08:00

I've been in Cheltenham, and I have this urge to recreate old photos of Cheltenham found in a book in my parent's house. Here are a few examples:The Queens Hotel

Lansdown Crescent

A local fellow takes in the Regency atmosphere

An Evening At the Hillside.......

2008-02-15T02:34:00.001-08:00

The title says it all. From left to right - Constan, Stef, Grant and Steve. A good night was had by all. From there we didn't mean to go to Bar Med, it just happened!

Constan's Mullet (a year on)

2008-02-15T02:27:00.000-08:00

Last year I did a post about Constan's mullet. Every winter it grows, but in the summer he cuts it. This year it's even better than last! He avoids the trainers at work otherwise they'll tell him to cut it. He's in dangerous territory now, if it gets any longer he'll need to buy sweat bands and a "Frankie says relax" T shirt! Here he is:So there you have it. Goodness knows what it'll look like next year!

Vibing........

2008-02-09T02:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was quite amusing. I checked in as normal for my flight and was told I had to fly as Purser! First time I'd done that, but it all went very well and there were no problems fortunately! Much tea was drunk by all. It has to be said I didn't actually fly the plane though :-)

Quite often when I go to bed I lull myself to sleep by listening to my iPod. Here's a bit of useless information....... if you take the headphones out and flick through the tracks quickly you can hear the iPod click like a computer's hard drive and a tiny fan starts up to cool it down! I never knew that until yesterday!

easyJet Post

2008-02-07T04:13:00.000-08:00

Some post arrived for me this morning. A big orange envelope with my name on it. I couldn't remember ordering anything or buying anything off Ebay. As I opened it imagine my surprise to find that the package had arrived from easyJet! The company I work for (GB Airways) has just been bought by easyJet so today I have been sent a DVD and a booklet about 'delivering the easyJet brand.' The best bit is on the front of the booklet.... it says "Read me! Watch me! Keep me!"

Only easyJet could send mail in an orange envelope!!!

The Claws

2008-02-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

In the winter of 2002 Grant Harrison ('Gwaaant') and I did a trip into Crawley town centre. T'was there I walked into BHS and found THE CLAWS (grey ones in picture.) Impressed by this purchase, Constan decided to follow my example and purchase brown ones. The claws are getting on a bit now, and our plan is to cut some chamois leather and make new soles.

New claws are out of the question because I can only find ones with 3 claws not 4! Mine are still in surprisingly good condition despite their age. If anyone finds some 4 clawed 'claws' please let me know. Better still, buy them and I'll give you the money (I'm size 9) preferably in grey.

New Cameras, and Citroën AX's

2008-02-06T04:22:00.000-08:00

I'm on the lookout for a new digital camera. I think I know which one I'm going to get, but it should improve the quality of pictures on the blog!

It's a nice day today, so I might go into town shortly. I think some damp got into my car's electrical system yesterday because it took ages to start. It had been sitting outside unused since Friday and the weather's been pretty awful. When it did eventually start it was firing on 3 cylinders, then it got going on all 4. I replaced the spark plugs a few months ago, so they're ok. Maybe it's the distributor. It's been fine since though! 'The Beast' has never let me down so I'm putting it down to a 'one-off' glitch.

Taunton. Exeter, and Light Up Lozenges

2008-02-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

I've just got back from Taunton...... nice smooth journey both ways. I had a relaxing time without going square eyed in front of a computer!

On Monday I went to Exeter to see Will (as mentioned in a previous post.) Him and Rosie have a magnificant abode that smells herbal and has a nice courtyard. After attending Exeter car auction and eating lunch at the quay we headed into the city centre and I came across this......This statue is simply known as "The Blue Boy." It doesn't take a genius to work out why, but I couldn't understand the significance of it. After reading the plaque I was still left confused as it didn't really explain much. Who was this boy? What did he do?

As mentioned in the title, the 'light up lozenges' are pieces of contemporary glasswork in the newly developed city centre in Exeter. They glow green at night and from above (in Debenhams 'Cathedral View' café) they resemble giant throat lozenges.

We also found possibly the worst example of 'how not to chav up your car:'Adding a piece of aluminium sheet metal to your roof will not make your car go any faster!! The whole point of spoilers is to stop high speed cars from lifting off the ground, particularly rear wheel drive cars where the traction is at the back, the rear wheels need to be in constant contact with the road. A Ford Ka however, will not achieve the speed needed for this (and they're front wheel drive.) It's not a complete waste of money for the owner though, as it provides the public with some entertainment!

Classic.

I like the South West. It's somewhere I've always visited. Cheltenham is bordering on South West and Midlands but Taunton's only 90 minutes from there. I leave you with this amusing picture of Will in Guildhall Arcade.

The Doughnut Maker

2008-02-02T01:44:00.000-08:00

I went to Brighton yesterday Just before going home I headed to the beach because I fancied some doughnuts.

Those doughnut making machines you could watch all day, they're so relaxing! Anyway, I asked the man how it worked. I'm not sure where he was from, but he stood very proudly next to his doughnut making machine, smiled and said "I call her Angelina." I found this quite amusing and proceded to ask "why?" It turned out that because he considers Angelina Jolie "hot" it would be a good name for his doughnut maker considering it gets very hot also.
Sometimes when thinking of names we miss the simplest of reasons. When choosing names for babies couples may spend days, even weeks deciding. Go back to basics.

Taunton

2008-01-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

I'm off to Taunton on Saturday to see my gran. The house is a classic. Sunday or Monday will see a visit to Devon where I'll meet Sir Barron of Exeter. The West Country has always appealed to me (Cheltenham isn't far from it.) Here is my gran keeping it real in her kitchen.

Today's been cold, wet and windy. I think it's calming down a bit now. My chair has started squeaking when I lean back on it. I went into Crawley today to go to the bank. Not a bad experience this time! For those of you who have had a hectic day I'll leave you with a calming image of Exeter.

50 Cent VS Thomas The Tank Engine

2008-01-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

I stole this off Naomi's old blog, it had me in stitches! It's so well done. Enjoy!

A trip down memory lane........

2008-01-30T06:20:00.000-08:00

In Cheltenham the other day I decided to do a pilgrimage on an old 1970's racing bike which I bought second hand when I was about 16. I decided to do a "tour of the 80's" and cycle past all the places I regularly went to between about 1983 and 1987. The fact that the journey was done on 'period transport' made the experience more realistic (and uncomfortable.) I felt like I was living the 80's again!

My route took me around Lansdown, Bath Road and Leckhampton. Upon reaching Naunton Lane I took a photo of our old house (attached) which is the second from the left. The tree I used to climb in Naunton Park is still being climbed by the youth of today. It's nice to see that in such a fast moving world some things never change..........

Apologies and bad grammar

2008-01-30T05:32:00.000-08:00

My sentences always start with an apology for not writing for such a long time. Here's another. Let the blog continue.......! 2008 here we are. 2007 got me hooked on FaceBook. My sister Naomi introduced it to me, but if she didn't I'm sure someone else would have. FaceBook is probably the reason why many of you got to read this because of a link I put on my profile! Welcome to my world.

I'm on leave at the moment which is a welcome break considering how busy I was over Christmas. I've just been to Cheltenham for a few days. I have a few days here in Crawley then I'm off to Taunton to see my grandmother and Exeter to see Will.

This post does 'flit' from topic to topic a bit, however, I was in StarBucks (Cheltenham) the other day and saw this on a napkin.Now forgive me for being a bit sad, but should it not say "Fewer napkins?" I absolutely hate bad grammar. Now I make mistakes in this area but my mishaps are not printed on napkins across the UK! Someone's probably going to tell me I'm wrong - maybe the word 'less' can be used in this context, but I have my doubts.

Crawley Town Musings

2007-10-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

Well Crawley town centre really is chav central. I was in Argos the other day (castle of dreams) and I overheard from the jewellerey counter "shall I get a sovereign for Chanelle?" Nuff said. The Argos jewellrey counter in Crawley gets so many customers that a "take a ticket" queueing system has been put in place. No doubt this is because Burberry clad citizens have probably fought to the front of the queue in the past. Blood and war in Argos!! Haha.

This picture made me laugh:

The weather's getting colder, but the moped doth not protest. It'll soon be time to start Christmas shopping!

Visits From Russ, Regency buildings mixed with Talk Talk

2007-10-09T02:46:00.000-07:00

So there you have it.

Life's going well down here in Crawleyshire - but I have been working like a packhorse. An increase in tea has seen me through this run of about 6 flights so all has been good.

I've been taking advantage of a month's free travel on the Gatwick Express, so plenty of visits to the big smoke have been achieved allowing me to walk around instead of taking the tube in order to get more bearings. Got a few interesting photos........As the title would suggest Russ came to visit for the day on Sunday. The day was spent mostly watching Jimmy Saville videos on YouTube.

Regency buildings and Talk Talk remind me of driving through Cheltenham in the 80's in the back of our Austin Maxi. Unfortunately I believe old "Green Max" has gone to ye olde scrapper du ciel. What an era.

And you thought I'd gone..............

2007-09-12T01:40:00.001-07:00

Well I haven't!! I'm back for a new season of blogging. When those winter months draw in sitting here with my tea and my blog brings a feeling of warmth. Like porridge.

The summer months and Facebook have somewhat decreased my blogging motivation but that's about to change.

So, what have I been up to? Well....... I don't touch the M25 any more! That evil road to nowhere is no longer graced with the tyres of my AX. So how do I get home? I take the train. If I book in advance it usually comes to £15 return which is cheaper than the car and I don't get stuck in traffic! My now usual 'ritual' is to drink tea and listen to my iPod while watching the world go by.

Work's going ok, been working as AP this summer after being taken off the Boeing early.

So what has this summer presented to us? Rain, floods, kidnaps, shootings. Not the nicest combination there but there have been some positive things too. I've been flying families back from various destinations who have clearly had a good time away and when we have had sunshine it's been pleasant.

There is just one thing that REALLY REALLY bugs me though. A lot of you will disagree I know, but it's Big Brother. How many have we had now? Come on Channel 4, give us break!!!!! Yes, it gets lots of viewers, yes C4 makes lots of money - but that says it all. The only thing as a 'proud' nation we can get excited about is watching a load of morons gather in a so called 'house' and create problems for themselves because they're bored. We take pleasure in watching people being bored. Then we wonder why the nation's in a state among young people. I'm sorry, but for me life's too short. I do watch TV (sometimes) but I like to watch comedies which have been painstakingly written by someone with a certain degree of intelligence.

So I'm going put it like this, and I really mean it. If another Big Brother gets shown I'm going to sell my TV. I have just had enough. I don't even watch BB and then I hear about it on the radio!

Rant over, I do think that we don't take pleasure out of the more simple things in life. When was the last time you went to a lake (not a virtual one) to watch ducks? I passed one on a bike ride recently and it really gave me a reality check. Naomi on her blog mentions how everything is done though a computer screen now to the extent friends don't meet each other because they can be messaged on FaceBook. How true!

Let's get out there, forget reality TV programs and be the reality ourselves, and enjoy it!

Surprise!!!

2007-06-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't left you all! Facebook has been taking up most of my internet time, but with so much time at work (being summer) there hasn't really been much to write about!

I'm Assistant Purser now so I'm mostly down the back of the aircraft eating cheese and drinking tea.

I flew with Jon Hill yesterday who decided to incorporate a Michael Jackson style "Aiirrr - haaiiirr" into his sales PA. I couldn't stop laughing. On the way home he did an amusing attempt at a Scottish accent which turned out to sound really aggressive! How we laughed.

Well what's been happening here? Not a lot. I've just had an apology from Kwik Fit because they advised me I needed a new catalytic converter on my car and I don't. Fortunately I never bought one!

Off to Nantes then Palma later.

If anyone has a use for this 2CV headlight shell (preferably to keep a 2CV on the road) £10 it's yours.

"Lightning Never Strikes In The Same Place Twice" - well it does.

2007-05-11T03:32:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd update my blog by telling you about an interesting day I had yesterday........ As we descended our Boeing 737 in Paphos, Cyprus we got struck by lightning. Not a particularly big deal, as this happens to aircraft all the time. What was interesting though was the fact it happened again when we took off! The theory "lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice" is questionable.

It wasn't the same place geographically, but I was IN the same place - does that count? I was sat on the same seat, I was looking at the same door. Lightning therefore does strike in the same place twice if you simply 'move the place'. Here are a couple of slightly amusing photos of engineers checking the wings for damage in a rather wet Paphos. They could have easily slipped off, I'm surprised they're allowed to do this!

Stra - hetas!!

2007-05-05T03:58:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time again. Our quarterley Stra - heta night! Here's some pictures that really do pay homage to the best fajitas in town.

The Sun's Out, Clothes Are Dry

2007-05-01T01:12:00.000-07:00

Well much time has passed since my last post, and this is largely due to the fact the weather has been so great, and still is!

Recently I've just been doing a combination of flying and, well nothing really. There is a steady breeze outside and two birds have just flown by realising they're not achieving good ground speed. If anything significant happens I'll let you know!

The Potion.........

2007-04-23T01:01:00.000-07:00

It's still there. My sister Naomi and my cousin Louise made this around 1992/1993 as a "potion to make our gran more active.........." I've just come back from Taunton and it's STILL behind the shed! It consists of many unusual ingredients and was intended to be left to "mature" for a number of years. My guess is that it's now ready to use.

Congratulations Will and Rosie!

2007-04-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in Taunton to go to Will and Rosie's wedding in Exeter.......... Congratulations! Here are a few pictures:

The Sims

2007-04-16T01:17:00.000-07:00

It's suddenly struck me that living in this house is like a 'life like' episode of "The Sims". The Sims is a computer game where you provide for and 'mentor' simulated people. You make sure they have jobs, build their house, and generally keep them happy.

Sims generally work unsociable hours, for example I got up to go for my Faro flight yesterday and around 7am Steve returned home from his nightshift as an aircraft cabin engineer. After saying a quick "mubadella rumadumba addisool....... deg deg" I went to work and Steve went to bed.

Flying Gardeners!

2007-04-13T01:48:00.000-07:00

Monarch have a few contracts up their sleeve, but imagine how surprised I was to see this! It will be 'wet leased' to the BBC and will be based in Manchester to operate an ad-hoc service to Funchal, Madeira. The aircraft will carry the green fingered types to the island which is famous for its exotic plants.

When reading about this aircraft the Monarch colours will be 'toned down' (as shown in the artist's impression) in order to present a more calm 'botanical' image to the customers. Expect to see it flying around in July apparently!

Screenshot of BBC news - proud of their "green 757!"

American Comedies

2007-04-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

The guys I live with love American comedies such as Frasier, Will and Grace etc. The trouble is, I just don't get the humour! I have enough trouble trying to understand what they're talking about, I can see where the jokes are coming from but they're just not funny! Anyone else find this?

Whatever Next......?

2007-04-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

Just been looking on the employee online newsletter for my previous airline, - I like to keep myself informed about what's going on. A good few years ago I once joked and said "imagine if Monarch turned one of their aircraft into a club for the Ibiza flights...."

Low and behold they have done just that. I am shocked! Monarch have teamed up with "Hed Kandi" (a big nightclub chain) and a section of one of the poor old Boeing 757's is literally being turned into a club with bigger seats, disco lights, music and some sort of non airline related "lady of the night" serving drinks. Hmmmm......... Well just to prove how ridiculous this looks I've enclosed a couple of pictures.

Doing A "Nino Quincampoix"

2007-04-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

I confused a number of people recently when I said I'm going to do a "Nino Quincampoix". Nino Q is from the film "La Fabulouse Destin D'Amélie Poulain." He rides a mobylette (a French type of scooter.) As a result I refer to going out on my scooter as simply "doing a Nino."

As an attempt to clear up any confusion I've probably added to it. Never mind. Here's a couple of pictures of Nino Quincampoix.

Smoothie Bars

2007-04-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Smoothies are very tasty, they're also very healthy and can be made relatively easy without costing much.

Once upon a time we were dreading where the next Tesco was going to spring up, or what building was going to be distastefully converted into a new nightclub. Now I can't go anywhere without seeing tiny shops that sell smoothies! If there aren't enough shops a counter is erected in the local shopping arcade which gets in everyone's way.

What is this sudden craze? These shops are run by young girls who are hand selected by 'who looks the healthiest', told to wear the loudest clothes possible and wouldn't look out of place in a playgroup.

Now there's nothing wrong with shops that sell healthy alternative refreshments, - it's a welcome relief. The main reason I have a gripe about these places is because of the prices they charge!! A bit of fruit mixed with some yogurt and a cheesy smile comes at a shade under £2. I must also add I have only seen the said bars appear in affluent areas. Hmmmm..........

No Flights, Bring On Cheltenham!

2007-03-29T04:29:00.000-07:00

Well here I am in Cheltenham as work have been quite generous and given me 5 days off! I have my 737 course next week (an aircraft we're leasing off Excel to cope with summer demand) so that should be exciting. I've always wanted to work on one of these. Here's a picture of the actual aircraft I will be flying on, but it will be painted in our colours when it gets to us. I might have to make a rap about it like I did with the Monarch 767:
I cycled into town earlier, fired up my old racing bike from yesteryear, then realised I'd left my wallet at home....... once I had arrived in town. I figured the exercise did me good so it wasn't a wasted journey! Now for some lunch....... not too sure what to have. I think it may involve bread, - I know a good olde cheese et pickle sandwich sounds good, - easy to make too!

Zed the 'ped is going well, it's very useful for my ride to work. On a nice day I'm contemplating cycling (keeping to my morals) but I just worry about the oily chain and my uniform (which is meant to stay immaculate!!) On the moped you don't come in contact with oily parts and on a nice day taking the car just isn't an option any longer (well it is, but I'm trying to cut down its use.)

Moving on. Spring is upon us. It's quite a bit warmer now. Having said that it'll probably go cold and rain! The loud flower selling woman outside Beechwood Place Cheltenham can once again say "On yer Daffs, on yer daffs, three for a paaaaand." What on earth is she going on about? What's on the daffodils? It's the same scene every year, and I can never crack the code.

Papa J is teaching the piano downstairs and it's now clouded over (what did I tell you!?) Time for some tea.....

A "New Family Member"

2007-03-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

Meet Zed the 'Ped (not my choice of name!) Zed is now responsible for getting me to and from work. Zed saves me half an hour on what should be (and now is) a 5 minute journey. We've changed crew check in facilities at work to a building next to the North terminal and now have to park cars on the other side of the airport, then get the bus to the office!

(In the words of Clouseau) "Not any more." Next to the North Terminal is a motorcycle parking bay. I can once again get up an hour before check in, and this machine does 100 mpg! This is 'loose change' motoring at its best! Jagshemash!

Congratulations In Order!

2007-03-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Strat and Tash. What can I say. Mr and Mrs Strat I should say............ are expecting a baby!!! This is wonderful news!!! Strat is one of my blog fans and is a good friend, so here's a post dedicated to you! All I can say is congratulations! :-)

Flying and more flying!

2007-03-18T03:28:00.000-07:00

Well it's certainly been a busy few days! If I haven't been flying I've been doing...... more flying! The other day I was fortunate enough to go up in a light aircraft! All arranged through a friend of a friend's friend. We took off from Old Sarum near Salisbury and flew to Sandown on the Isle Of Wight. After lunch on the Isle Of Wight we took off again back to Old Sarum via The Needles on the west side of the Isle. We flew below the clifftop and people could see us flying below them! Bizzarre! I've included a few photos.

A Day On Two Wheels

2007-03-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today's been great. The weather has been amazing so I was delighted when Mike phoned me to ask if I fancied going out on the Harley Davidson. We went round Crawley then up to the airport and surprised a few people with its extremely loud noise!

When I got home I fancied some exercise so I decided to take the non-motorised pushbike out for a ride. Andy jumped at the chance of coming along so I convinced him it was a good idea to cycle to East Grinstead along the Worth way (about 7 miles each way.) We got to East Grinstead and had a pint in the local Wetherspoon's. We knew full well it would be dark when we cycled back - we had lights so that was fine. What we didn't realise was the Worth Way cycle track is unlit....... all 7 miles of it!!

All the way back we depended on my front light which was quite bright but only illuminated the odd pedestrian at the last second, so a lot of swerving was involved. What I can't understand was the fact we got back in only 32 minutes! Does the dark make you cycle faster? Riding in pitch black is great fun, - I highly recommend it - but take some lights!

This is a new chapter in the "JiggyCon" adventures.

ConstanVince and Neil

Sorry (again!) But time for a rant.

2007-03-05T03:59:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow blog readers! Apologies again for a delay in posting, - I've been quite busy with flying and various things have happened in the past week which has meant a decline in my blogging frequency.

I was doing a few flights and one thing I came across on a flight to one particular destination is this current trend among people aged, say, 24 - 40 being 'unecessarily pretentious'. Let me make this clear now that not ALL people in this age bracket are like this! An example - Me: "Would you like a drink sir?" Passenger: "Yeah I'll have an OJ".

This came from someone who didn't appear particularly "hip" or "cool", but it irritates me when people call orange juice "OJ". I mean, how hard is it to say "orange juice?" It's not like it's a particularly trendy drink either! I think we're having a 'yuppie revival'.

It upsets me when people feel under pressure to live a 'style over substance' lifestyle, - by that I mean trying to live beyond their means. There is so much pressure from the media these days to be like the celebrities in magazines. I feel men are affected by this also. Credit card companies tempt people into debt by showing them what they can have and they 'soften' the part which tells the vulnerable customer how much they'll need to pay back. The UK now has a massive debt problem among young people, possibly the biggest in Europe.

All this is probably no news to anyone, but I'd be interested to know at which point did it all go wrong?

On a brighter note I was going to say it's a really nice day - but it's started raining! Oh well. I'll delay my bike ride until later.

My cousin Louise must have been reading my blog because she randomly told me in an MSN conversation "we've just started recycling in our flat." How groovy.

Taunton and Virgin Voyagers

2007-02-24T09:43:00.001-08:00

Taunton is my favourite place on earth. The atmosphere there is very personal, and I'd never be able to explain it. It's like me and Taunton have a "connection". I would never try and convince anyone that Taunton IS the best place on earth because to them it would just be another town.

Anyway, the reason I go to Taunton is because my gran lives there. She's been in the same house since 1962 (that's 45 years!!) and the house hasn't really changed much. As a child I moved house quite a lot, even to different areas of the country. The house in Taunton has always been there. It's solid and well built from the 1930's era.

I went down there in my parent's car (they stayed for a day and I stayed for a couple of nights.) I came back to Cheltenham on the train. I went on a 'Virgin Voyager', but I don't think I would have wanted to voyage much further in it! It felt a bit cramped, but it did accelerate nicely.

I've been going to Taunton on the train as far back as I can remember and I used to get excited because we travelled on the Intercity 125. I loved that train. It had about 8 carriages and each carriage was spacious with comfortable, springy(ish) seats. The Virgin Voyager carries the same amount of passengers on the same route with only 4/5 carriages so more seats have to be crammed in to compensate. Here's a 125:
From an economy point of view the Virgin Voyager makes sense because the engine(s) power a lighter train therefore they don't have to be as powerful. This obviously reduces fuel consumption and is better for the environment. The IC125's unfortunately guzzle more fuel, but it's worth it! The two engines are at both ends leaving each carriage to glide smoothly and silently (you wouldn't imagine the screaming noise they make unless you're stood outside!) The 125's engines can quite easily be compared to the sound of a jet engine. The Virgin Voyager's engines are placed underneath the floor of the carriages making for a much noisier journey, and on the outside they don't sound half as exciting!

To sum up, the Virgin Voyager makes sense. It's cheaper to operate, it's more reliable, probably safer, and quieter for people living near a railway line. It just doesn''t have that X factor the 125 had though. Fortunately, First Great Western, Midland Mainline and GNER still run the 125. Let's just hope they continue to do so!

Sorry to go all geeky on you, but these machines were something I loved as a child!

The Virgin Voyager:

Ouch.

2007-02-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

I cycled from Cheltenham to Cirencester and back today, and I am now aching all over! I'm not used to it!

The River Churn looked great in its wooded valley as I rode down the Cirencester Road. It was a nice day for it too.

I'm off to Taunton tommorrow for a couple of days. I'll try and take some pictures (!!!)

Events and Days Off

2007-02-20T11:41:00.000-08:00

Well well what a great few days I've had! The highlight was last night when we went to The Daffodil restaurant in Cheltenham to celebrate my parent's 50th birthday and Keith and Clare's 50th who are friends who live over the road.

The Daffodil is a converted 1930's cinema which is now a retaurant. As a listed building it retains it's art deco features, and jazz was played as we ate our food!
In this picture (from left to right) Me, my mum, my dad, Naomi (my sister) and JT (my bro in law)

Today I went to Beaulieu motor museum in Hants. There was an Art Of Citroen exhibition with 2CV's and DS's........ mmmmm......... One day when I have a house with a garage I'll have a 2CV again. I do miss them!

I would like to point out one thing that really gets my goat when driving - people in the car in front throwing out lit cigarette butts - especially if they hit your car!! Just think of all that fuel in the tank as the car goes over fire.

Right. I'll sign off now. :-)

Cycling In Cheltenham

2007-02-18T01:42:00.000-08:00

If you need to get from "A to B" in Cheltenham it is officially quicker by bike. For example, my house to town took less than 10 minutes but then I didn't have to look for a parking space, I saved money on parking and petrol, and I smelled a fresh bakery. Nice.

Dangerous Equipment For Sale

2007-02-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

While visiting Cheltenham, my mum has just commented on the fact you can buy pneumatic drills and cement mixers from Aldi. I'm not sure if she's getting ideas for destroying things - maybe "a new lease of life" as a demolition worker? She did say she didn't like the new houses down the road.

Can't really see her loading a cement mixer though.

The Humiliation.............

2007-02-15T06:24:00.000-08:00

Beechwood Place in Cheltenham is a nice place to browse. It has a calming atmosphere with running water going through it, it's like an oasis in the desert. Mike Waller can be seen in his white coat making people's glasses in Vision Express, and the shops are generally of a chilled nature.

Imagine my surprise (having just had a cup of tea with my dad) when I saw a table placed in the middle of the centre's main concourse selling "Dead Sea salt hand treatment." Anything goes in Cheltenham, but what I didn't expect was a smiling Spanish girl come up to me and give me a wooden rose. "Er, thanks" I said.

She then physically led me to her "salt treatment hand works" table and said "let me see your hands, - don't be shy." My rough hands were on display for her to inspect. She then said "I can make your hands feel so smooth" - my response was "I really have to, er, go - my pushbike's about to, um, get clamped because I've only got an hour on it."

The girl pretended not to understand me - and said "how old are you, - 17? 18?" - Well I was utterley insulted. "No!" I said "I'm 24!!!!" She looked a little shocked and was very apologetic, as I was probably older than she was! I had a last attempt to try and escape but before I could think of anything to say my hands were covered in a strange slimey, grainy, salty paste. "Now rub your hands" she said while dousing my hands in some dodgy looking liquid out of a garden centre plant sprayer.

So there I was in the MIDDLE of Beechwood Place having my hands "manicured". I was extremely embarrassed and kept looking around hoping I wouldn't see anyone I know.

Afterwards she tried to sell me some of this Grimsby Fish in a pot. My reply was "it's ok, I'll send my mother down to see you tommorrow."

Petition Link

2007-02-14T02:45:00.001-08:00

For those of you who want to sign this the link is:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

You may call me a hypocrite as I am calling on us to be "green" but all we need to do is cut down our use of cars, not pay through our noses just to see our families!!

Road Pricing

2007-02-13T12:45:00.000-08:00

Environmental action is going to affect me. I know it is. It's going to affect everyone. Unfortunately, the government seems to have got a little over enthusiastic with their latest "road pricing" plan. I can't help thinking that only a little thought has been put into this.

A better plan would be to limit the size of engine on cars available to the public. This would enable the people of this so called democratic nation to keep their freedom.

Let's look at the facts. Road pricing is supposed to be priced around £1.28 per mile on major routes. This means that a return trip to Cheltenham will cost me over £330 before petrol and general wear and tear!!!! I was shocked when I found this out.

Now technically I am fortunate enough to be able to live without a car. Some people can't. How about those who HAVE to be available to drive to sick relatives who don't live near a public transport route?

I was sitting at home pondering this morning. Such an extortianate cost of motoring will force much of the country to sell their cars. Will they be able to sell them? No - because who will want (or be able) to buy them? This will cause an abundance of dumped cars on the side of the road - which in turn will cause its own ENVIRONMENTAL problem. The governement could potentially be creating their own environmental problems with this ludicrous policy.

Let's think of other ways of sorting this out. Sign that online petition!

On Leave!

2007-02-11T14:17:00.000-08:00

He said. I now have the rest of February off! Yee - ha! Some people celebrate by going "on the town". I on the other hand have my own methods as this picture will show.

Having got that out of my système, I had a cup of tea.

So..... what a week! We had some more snow earlier in the week, I then did a nightstop in Bristol and a couple of bumpy flights in between - the weather's been a bit dodgy recently.

Song of the week: Alphaville - A Victory Of Love

Latest Developments

2007-02-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

Again sorry about the length of time since my last post - I really have been busy, but as always I know that's a rubbish excuse!

I've been busy studying new drills and announcements because I have received a promotion at work! :-) The plan of changing back to my original company has now been laid to rest i) because of this promotion and ii) my original company messed things up with paperwork and I lost faith in them! Oh well. A promotion couldn't have come at a better time, although after the training course I will be "put on hold" until I can be made into Assistant Purser properly. A step in the right direction I'm sure you'll agree! I'm sorry if I have kept fairly quiet about my plans, but this is now the official end result :-)

I went to Cheltenham recently for a couple of days and chilled out. I went to a local basement record store (as you can see I've ceased to mention company names on my blogs!) and bought (for £1) the Alphaville album from 1984 on vinyl. It's great if you like synths!

I apologise if I'm not making a lot of sense - I've been thinking in emergency procedures all evening!

I managed to cycle 10 miles today which felt good. I'm trying to cycle a lot more so I can "train" for my Normandy trip in the summer. Me and Constan are going to do a Crawley - Brighton ride in the near future so if anyone's around, come and meet us on the seafront for a drink!

Right I'm going to sign off now because I need to go to bed, and I need the loo.

David Attenborough's Programme

2007-01-28T01:41:00.000-08:00

Last night I watched a rather alarming programme about global warming (it had been taped so it wasn't actually on last night.) I know I keep banging on about this but NOW is the time to do something! The hippies have warned us for years but we haven't really listened to them. Now it's time for everyone to make a difference (I'm half quoting the programme here!)

I've often thought that if the icebergs melt it shouldn't make a whole lot of difference. Water expands when it becomes ice, therefore the sea levels should already be high. When ice melts back into water the area taken up by ice should shrink causing sea levels to drop, as water takes up less space. I'm not going to question top scientists but it's something that's playing on my mind.

Anyway it's the other effects that'll cause flooding - storm surges up the Thames, more rain (as more water is evaporated), hotter summers (yay!), but unfortuntely breeds of wildlife will vanish because during winter they'll believe it's Spring!

Anyway, enough of the gloomy side of this. I thought to myself "what can I really do?" I drove home and did 60mph on the motorway. For some odd reason I didn't lose any time from when I'd normally do 70 mph. I felt a bit weird at first as I was always tempted to put my foot down and do 70, but I 'restrained myself' and actually enjoyed cruising at a more steady speed. The engine revs were lower so the car was quieter (apart from that concrete bit near Guildford), and I was aware that I was saving fuel and cutting emissions (albeit only slightly.) More surprisingly I DID actually save fuel!

This is just an example of a very simple way we can contribute to making a difference without necessarily adjusting our lifestyle in a dramatic way. Obviously we will have to adjust to a great extent in years to come, but if we gradually adjust it'll be a lot easier for most of us!

So back to the question "what can I really do?" I know I need to use public transport more, but it's cheaper (and quicker) for me to drive to work. I can't cycle to work because I wear a uniform that's meant to be immaculate and have a big bag. When I drive to Cheltenham I chuck out the most emissions. The coach and train is always more expensive, but after a little research online I came across this.

You see, where I'd usually get a coach from Gatwick to Heathrow then change onto the Cheltenham one the price has gone up to £34 return! A return from just Heathrow to Cheltenham costs around £26.50. However, if I get a return from London Victoria it'll cost me £2 return, yes, £2 RETURN!!!!!!!!

The coach company offers what's known as "fun fares". Basically they're plugging coach travel in and out of London and trying to get more people out of their cars. Ironically I will go past Heathrow on the journey, but at least I'll have an extra £24.50 in my pocket! Megabus.com do amazingly cheap fares, but the bus goes to Gloucester first. National Express drops me off within walking distance of my parent's home.

Back to the point, £2 return to Cheltenham is now definately cheaper than taking the car! The only thing is I need to get a train to London first, but that's not expensive.

What else can we do? Any suggestions, please let me know. Sorry this has been a bit of a boring post.

Terence The Snowman, Born 24/01/07, Died 24/01/07

2007-01-25T01:22:00.000-08:00

Me and Andy had great fun building a snowman in our front garden yesterday. We named him "Terence" for no particular reason. He had a carrot for a nose, a clothes peg for a mouth and 'spice jar' lids as eyes. Sporting a cowboy hat and GAP scarf he really looked the business in the world of snowmen. We rolled a ball so big that it took up all of the snow in the front and back garden!! Here he is.

Anyway, during the day the snow on the ground cleared but Terence remained. I thought to myself "that's British engineering for you." As night fell Terence stood there all alone. About an hour later I looked out of the window to check on Terence and he had NO HEAD!!!!!!!!!!

I rushed outside and saw a hat on the floor with scattered snow around it. Somehow I don't think this was an accident. If the head had simply fallen off it would be a little mound of ice, - besides it wouldn't have fallen off due to our ingenious building skills. Ahem. I feel that poor Terence was vandalised by a passing tyrant. His head had clearly been karate kicked.

Well imagine the scene. Andy went livid as we mourned the loss of a character who brought such happiness to an average suburban housing estate.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-01-24T00:25:00.000-08:00

........... and I wonder if the country actually has come to a standstill! Probably. There's no tyre tracks on my road yet, so clearly people could have taken a day off. Well...... it is only 8am, but I am so excited I'm up already!!! Every day of winter should be like this!!!

Brighton, The Sea, and Russ

2007-01-21T11:52:00.000-08:00

Russ came to visit for a couple of days and went home yesterday evening. We paid a visit to Brighton, and along with every Russ event an element of hilarity occured.

The train journey was on time and uneventful so we arrived in Brightonia by about 11:30am. From the station we walked to the sea. The sea was quite rough so in our infinate wisdom we decided to stand on the end of a concrete wave breaker jetty. After witnessing a few waves crashing against the jetty, my attention was drawn to a rather bigger wave that came hurtling along. A sensation of "oh pants" suddenly came over me, as did the English Channel. As the wave crashed against the concrete it kind of went upwards, then downwards........ on us! To add to the humiliation several members of the public just stood and laughed at us! You live and learn. Here's a picture of Russ moments after the 'event.'

The sea was rough! Note how wet the ground is as a result. Here are a few more pics:

We took a walk along the beach and I came across this starfish. I'd never seen one for real before!
After the beach we went for a pizza at an Italian restaurant. Then we explored the "Lanes" and I bought a Talk Talk LP. Nice!

Hey You! Up in the sky!

2007-01-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

Is what I said to every passing aeroplane today. Today is one of three days that come every year where I have to "refresh" my cabin crew training. It involves loads of revision and practical exercises. I passed everything today, so I hope I can say the same for tommorrow! Just feeling a little stressed at the moment.

Song of the week is Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody. It gets better everytime I hear it!

Off to bed soon for some much needed sleep! Goodnight!

Ooooh It Must Be Global Warming!

2007-01-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

Or not. I saw an article in the newspaper the other day....... the subtitles said words like "Wind and rain hits Britain.... global warming to blame" and "Gales Slash Scotland - Global Warming."

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but - er, it's winter. We've ALWAYS had gales and even heavy rain in winter!!! In fact the worst gale I can remember was that of 1987 when I couldn't go to school in Surrey because there were seven trees in the road! Global warming didn't get the blame there, Michael Fish did. Poor bloke.

Of course there is a problem with global warming, and things need to be done, but I do think the media blows things out of proportion. I'm sitting here typing about things needing to be done - "what are you doing about it Tim?" I hear you cry. Well, I recently bought a decent bike. I now go shopping on the bike with my rucksack and earn Tesco green points for not using a carrier bag!

A few months ago I stated that I need to take this environment thing more seriously. Now I am. It's a start!

Anyway, that blew the cobwebs away. Word on the street is "Electric Goose." Who is Electic Goose? EG will remain anonymous but contact Naomi if you want to download EG's debut single for just 79p! It's 79p that'll make you smile. Pass on the message :-)

Interesting Xmas Gifts

2007-01-11T03:01:00.000-08:00

In response to Naomi's post, I thought I'd share a few gifts from Grandma. One of them is actually from last year but just as funny. So here goes.

Gift No. 1 is a "This Is Gloucestershire" calendar. I'm still looking for somewhere to put it, - the bathroom doesn't have a calendar in it, maybe I'll surprise my housemates and put it there! It'll look great in my bathroom in, er, West Sussex!

I have to be clear for a moment, - we do actually love to receive these unique presents as it causes much hilarity on Christmas Day. Christmas wouldn't be the same without the "great G-Ma pack."

Anyway, gift No.2....... continuing the numerical theme last year I received another calendar made exclusively by the friends of St. Mary's Church, Charlton Kings. What a classic!! It was so 'different' I never actually hung it up as the sunlight may have faded it. It features different scenes in C/K taken on what seems to be a 'Snappy Snaps' camera. C H E C K I T O U T.

Finally, (hold your horses) this year G-ma went futuristic and bought me a DVD! I actually really enjoyed watching it, - it's entitled "Heathrow - The Early Years." It showed great original footage of people doing my job in the 1940's/1950's.

So there we have it. Classics at Christmas. We're now well into January and I realised I never made any new year resolutions. Maybe my main NYR is to put into the practice the ones I made last year!

It's very windy here in Crawley at the moment, I can see trees swaying even without leaves. Looks a bit dangerous actually! It's amazing how birds still try and fly when the weather's like this. A pigeon has just flown past clearly being blown with the wind at about 45 mph - how it'll manage to land is anyone's guess!

I Won Something!!!

2007-01-08T03:43:00.000-08:00

Wahay!!! I won a Samsung MP3 player at work yesterday for getting the highest bar sales on a flight I did where I was operating the bar. I don't usually win stuff so I was quite chuffed.

I do hope you all like the new colour scheme, - Naomi (my sister) said it looked a bit like tea! If that's the case it's staying!

I was going to take the bike out today but once again....... it's started raining. Everytime for the past 4 days I get ready to go out on it and some drizzle arrives. Moments later a monsoon appears! Grrrrr.....

OK. The monsoon is now arriving as I type.

I'll let you know if I get anywhere on it today! I doubt it will happen.

New Look For 2007

2007-01-06T04:20:00.000-08:00

Well I thought new year, new look. It's important to have changes once in a while. Also it's a "treat" for everyone as I have not updated the blog for a while. Please enjoy!!

APOLOGIES!!!!!!!!

2007-01-06T01:31:00.000-08:00

I got an anonymous text this morning saying "update your blog, don't keep your fans waiting." I got the hint. I apologise for not updating for a while, I've been busy!

I wish a belated happy new year to all, I hope your 'holidays' were relaxing and fulfilling. I've got back into cycling as I bought a nice new bike. I intend to go cycling round Brittany in France on it in the summer. Should be good.

Work have been working me hard, I actually feel like an aeroplane sometimes in the sense that I don't make money for the company whilst on the ground!! I'm sure they're sitting there now thinking "ooh Tim's not in the sky, - right someone get him up there!"

Well what does 2007 hold? (Wow, 2007! Time flies.) Environmental issues, more immigration issues, tax issues, basically the same problems as 2006. These issues never seem to get resolved. Let's get them sorted for 2007! Easier said than done though. That's always the way. The saying "easier said than done" is a great way to get out of doing something if you're feeling lazy. Think about it, anything is easier said than done apart from breathing and sleeping!

2007. Let's think about what I was doing 10 years ago in 1997. I was in my first year of GCSE's at school designing a box to make herbal tea appeal to a younger generation. Where on earth do schools get these ideas from??!! I would have cycled to school every day on my "Townsend Volcanic" bike, my rucksack was always dirty because our tutor room was in an art room where ceramics and clay models were made. We had a 1970's gas fire, and I had just joined the Air Cadets. Can't believe that was 10 years ago!!! Oh and the 2CV was the 'apple in my eye.'

Ten years on, things are obviously different. I'm on the bike again though. Happy 2007!

Happy Christmas!

2006-12-26T04:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas to all! I know it's Boxing Day but as far as I'm concerned there's 12 days of Christmas. This is day number two. I've just got back to Gatwick having spent a few days in Cheltenham. I was going to go straight to the airport for my flight but I'm running early (!!!) so I've popped back home for an hour or so.

I feel put out that I've had to fly on Boxing Day simply because I'm not used to working on this day. I've left all my family (including AJ Juliana and Louise) back home and I can't come back up tommorrow because I have two standbys over the next couple of days. Oh well.

Vibe out.

Potential Development Update

2006-12-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know the said development is awaiting the verification of a medical form at present. The potential development cannot procede further until the form has been checked then an 'offer' can be made. The secrecy surrounding this is killing me, but as soon as I have positive news (or any news) all will be revealed! Some of you know anyway, but I wouldn't want to get my hopes too high!

BHS

2006-12-16T08:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went for lunch at BHS. The staff were amazing! They smiled, they enjoyed their job, they chatted, and even said goodbye when I left! You wouldn't get that in some expensive restaurants.

Wright Family Christmas 'Traditions'

2006-12-15T01:35:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to Ikea. It's open until midnight so I drove up to Croydon and had a look around. I didn't have long but I bought a few bits and pieces (nothing particularly interesting I'm afraid!) On driving home I was listening to some Christmas music by John Rutter. Classic. It made me think of some of the 'comforting' scenes at Christmas.

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" - not many people do this these days, although I have in the Winter of 1992.

There seems to be much talk of families sitting around fires in Christmas music. It's still not cold enough for December!!! I'm saving money on heating though. In one of my previous posts about global warming Will left a classic comment: "global warming = warmer planet = less heating needed = less pollution. everyone's a winner baby." I suppose it's true!

Anyway back to the point. Slade said "Are you hanging up your stocking on the wall?" Well my answer is "no." I always used to hang my stocking on my bedroom door because I was told it was easier for Santa to get to! Naomi used to leave a carrot for the reindeer and my parents would say "er, I'm sure reindeer like sherry and mince pies too you know...." Hehehe.

Smokey Johan - He stands there and makes sure Christmas runs efficiently. He doesn't do much mind you, he just stands there and smokes a pipe pretending to be a 'night watchman'. You're no doubt wondering what I'm going on about. Smokey Johan is one of many wooden Christmas figures you can buy from a shop in Lechlade. Made by German craftsmen he literally smokes a pipe. You pull him apart and put an incense cone in him, light it and put him back together. He emmits a sweet smelling Christmas smokey smell.

The goose calendar - An advent calendar where you put a goose in the appropriate numbered pocket for the day.

Sheba - Tosca always gets Sheba on Christmas day!

Striped Jumpers - My dad always wears his classic 'dark blue and white' striped jumper.

The Dyson - On Christmas morning without fail!

Matchboxes hanging from the tree wrapped in wrapping paper - Things I made at playgroup in about 1985.

Carols From King's - On Christmas day (or is it Christmas Eve?)

There are many more and I could go on! Enjoy the weekend.

Christmas Tree

2006-12-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

We put the tree up in the hallway....... there's a few pictures, even an aerial shot!

The Party

2006-12-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

Well it's that time of year...... Christmas? Well yes...... but 11th December coincides with Dan's birthday!!

The party went very well, only one glass broke, and if by looking at the pictures you're wondering what sort of party it is the theme is "Pimps and Ho's" - (Dan's choice.) Of course dressing as a 'Pimp' isn't something I do on a regular basis, nor does my wardrobe present such a costume........ until I investigated my work uniform further. You see if you turn my work jacket inside out it has a sort of red satin finish. "Perfect" I thought. Here are some pictures.

Me and Strat.

Constan looking surprisingly like Boy George.

These pictures were taken before everyone's arrival. My job for the evening was to provide music, so that I did. iPod playlists are fantastic!

Dan (a.k.a. "Heff")

Jenny and Claire

Guy, Richard, Susannah and Berty Bert Bert Bert

Strat and Tash (they do know each other, you know)

Mike Macherakis, Jenny and Jason "FlyJet" Bodley

The best costume - Andy and Emma. Incidentally, Andy didn't have to dress up!

A Potential Development

2006-12-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

I have had a productive day today. Some people may know why, but I'm awaiting news right now. That's all I can say! I will update one and all when news comes through.

Christmas Thoughts and Vibes

2006-12-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

Well I've just got back from Cheltenham, the online shopping is going well and I'm feeling the Christmas spirit and not getting stressed! Groovy. I'm enjoying this.

Firstly, an important feature of Cheltenham at Christmas time is the 'walk through' tree in the Regent Arcade. Now, this could be my imagination but has it shrunk this year?I've just been to town with Constan for a present for Dan - it's his birthday on Monday. A visit to KFC was also paid. Whoops, it goes against my attempt at healthy eating at the moment!

Meet Mozart.........

Just to round up this post, I managed to capture a typically winter "homely" scene at my parent's house:

Finally I'll leave to with this picture of Monty with "the claw."

You Can't Get Better Than A Kwik Fit Fitter

2006-12-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

I've had a productive day here in Cheltenham. I've been a little dissapointed over the past few days because my Renault's exhaust has been 'blowing' underneath the car. This was particularly annoying because I only replaced the exhaust in the summer.

I took the car to Kwik Fit in Cheltenham for a free check so they could tell me the problem. I would then take it up with the branch in Crawley with receipt in hand!

After waiting a little while in reception they said to me "job done, the car's ready, it was just a clamp that needed replacing, we re-sealed the join at the same time."

"Fantastic" I thought. Problem solved. They didn't even ask for proof that I bought the exhaust at Kwik Fit, and fixed it for free! Groovy.

Cheltenham is looking good but it's been constantly windy and wet here. Driving down Mill Lane is like crossing the channel due to extensive flooding.

My Christmas shopping is coming on, - I've never been so organised and ahead with it, and there's been no stress as yet (see my Xmas shopping post.)

Still looking for amusing carol lyrics for my previous post!

The Geese Are Getting Fat

2006-12-04T01:11:00.000-08:00

.........and indeed they are. Not too long to go now, and with all the "classic" records coming out Christmas will soon be upon us. I always consider December 1st to be a starting point from where it's OK to play carols, WHAM! and eat mince pies.

Let us take some lyrics from well known carols and examine how odd some of them are. Here goes:

"Please put a penny in the old man's hat" - I'm assuming the old man is possibly homeless, but if you have nothing God will bless you anyway :-)

"In fields as they lay" - Shepards sleeping on the job?

"A pig went out to dig" - Now this is odd. Did the pig "dig the vibe, man" or did it really go out on a mission to build foundations for a green belt housing estate?

"I saw three ships" - Take a trip to Dover you'll see a lot more!

"God rest ye merry gentlemen" - Is this God's way of saying "you're too drunk mate, go to bed?"

The Coventry Carol's lyrics are "Loooo Leeee Loooo Laaarrr this tiny child" - Maybe the composer couldn't understand the Midlands accent in the first line. Perhaps Slade should do a cover to deciper it?

Well there's a start. If anyone has any more please post me a comment and I'll put them up.

Hope your Christmas cake is maturing nicely folks!

Naomi wrote: " One that has always had me stumped me was the Virgin's slumber song... Was Mary a sleep-singer??"

Strat said: How about these lyrics from a Christmas song to get you into that festive spirit: "You scum bag, you faggot, you cheap dirty maggot...... " - This was from The Pogues of course, a more 'real world' view on things. Ironically it was actually a Christmas song!!

DECEMBER 1ST!!!

2006-12-01T03:23:00.000-08:00

Oh yes... forgot to mention it's December 1st!!!! Have you noticed how we never write "December the 1st?" Light your candles, open your calenders, eat your chocolate make a Blue Peter advent crown - the countdown is ON!!!! Yippeee!!!

Books and memories of around 1984

2006-12-01T02:50:00.000-08:00

I sit here remembering books that used to be read to me when I was younger. Three particular favourites stand out - two of which I still have! My three favourites are:

The Elephant and the Bad Baby

The Tiger Who Came To Tea

The Hungry Caterpillar

This one is the best. A baby goes for a walk (as they do) and meets an elephant. The baby manages to sit on the elephant and they both go for a run down the road stealing food from various shops. Disgruntled traders chase the elephant until the elephant stops because of the baby's poor manners. The baby's mum ends up feeding the shop owners pancakes. - Bizarre!!

This book is about a tiger who rings on the doorbell, comes in and eats the contents of someone's house! Father comes home at 6 o'clock and says "what shall we do?" They all go to a restaurant, naturally!

I think we all know this one. It's about a caterpillar who eats his way through the book - literally, it's full of holes!

Well there we have it. Have you noticed how all my favourite books are about food? Funny that. It conjours up memories of living at Naunton Lane in Cheltenham (I was very young but my memory stretches way back.) My dad's green Austin Maxi would have been sitting outside, the Intercity 125 was still something of a revolution, and we'd make regular trips to places such as "Bejam" (where Iceland now is on The Strand - remember?) We'd go to Lee Longlands on Bath Road to look at the rather educational toy department, and I always remember hearing my first Moog synthesiser playing over the PA in B&Q (even though I didn't know what a sysnthesiser was then - hearing one at a later stage in life brought these memories back!)

I love the 80's.

National Express

2006-11-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

"When your life's in a mess take the National Express" - The Divine Comedy.

I heard this song on the radio and thought to my myself "what a good piece of advice." Maybe going somewhere on a coach will relieve depression. Next time work gets on top of you I advise all of you to take the National Express to somewhere random.

I'll certainly try it if I need to!

Carl Land

2006-11-27T07:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a classic. Oh yes. I went to Feltham to visit Carl, a friend from University who doesn't live too far away in the Feltham massive. Innit. I enjoyed having a go on his new Apple computer, it was very neat. The weather has been really awful recently so the drive to Carl's was like driving a speed boat across the channel and arriving in Dieppe with, um, a wet boat.

We had a drink and a bite to eat at the "General Roy" pub.

This morning Claire went off for a flight so I thought I'd do one of my own on a 757. Here's some snapshots of my flight from Gatwick to Lyon and back.

Christmas Shopping :-)

2006-11-26T01:25:00.000-08:00

I have decided to (try) and do some Christmas shopping online this year. This is because I get very stressed shopping in public at this time of year! I'll set the scene:

County Mall, Crawley or Regent Arcade, Cheltenham: In a need to get from one shop to another quickly before they close (usually because it's Christmas Eve - only joking) people suddenly stop in front of you for no reason, and there's no way round them. You end up stopping too and you think "why? why? why?" When I eventually make it to a shop I get no inspiration whatsoever for presents, but somehow end up buying stuff that people seem to like! Funny that.

In the shop a mum will cry out "Kelisha, PUT THAT DAAAAHN NAAW, innit." The child usually refuses her command then you hear "Kelisha, Mummy's going to get very cross in a minute!" This is a somewhat strange 'threat' considering the mother's blood vessels are already popping out the side of her head becuase she's trying to control Kelisha and the handbrake's just been let off Chardonnay's buggy as it's rolling towards a china cabinet in Athena. The mother eventually loses it and storms off. Ahhh to be in Britain!

I do get the feeling people are buying more presents these days than they ever did before. Every friend needs to have something (a card simply won't do!) You watch old Christmas films such as Scrooge - just the family received the most basic of presents (usually one each.) Little boys got an engine, girls got a doll, dad got a new hammer, and mother got a new rolling pin. My guess is that the phrase 'disposable income' hadn't yet been invented.

Imagine the Victorians receiving gifts such as "a day's absailing experience" or "HMV gift vouchers".

So, where were we? Oh yes. Christmas shopping - it could also be raining if you're out shopping! The advantages of online shopping are:

Shop from the comfort of your home
Dry and warm
No screaming mums and kids
It's usually cheaper shopping online
Your wares get delivered to your door
Can choose a present for females without feeling an idiot buying it
Can spend as long as you like browsing without shop assistants saying "can I help?" or in Cheltenham - "can I HAALP?"
No cheesy music or promotions PA's (actually I will have cheesy music playing but it will be of my choice!)

and the disadvantages......

Someone told me there's no Christmas "spirit" to online shopping. Rubbish. I'll have a few carols on the stereo, decorations around me and mulled wine on the side.
Um...........

Well there we have it. Online shopping is the way forward! I've always loved Christmas, and now I'll love it even more!!! :-)

Constan's Mullet

2006-11-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

Limahl, Howard Jones and Simon Le Bon eat your heart out! There is a new mullet in town.

Constan, my housemate is growing a mullet as a sort of dare/because he wants to and he's living on the edge in his work as he'll need to cut it off before long. We're thinking of placing bets as to how long this will be! It's more 'pronounced' when he's off to work. Rock on.

Do We Know Where We Live?

2006-11-23T03:34:00.000-08:00

"On the outskirts to nowhere, on the ringroad to somewhere" - a quote by Marillion from their 1985 album "Misplaced Childhood."

I feel this quote applies to many people in the country who simply do not know where places are on the map!! I was thinking about a story a Monarch Airlines First Officer told me of a passenger who after an hour of flying to India asked "if they were nearly there?" 9 hours later he arrived! I was shocked to hear this.

In the news fairly recently Jade Goody was asked about East Anglia. She though "East Angular" was abroad somewhere! I've spoken to many people recently and not many people seem to know about what I feel are fairly obvious places in this country. Has anyone else noticed this?

Cheltenham

2006-11-20T00:58:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Cheltenham!

I am currently sitting in my parent's "computer room" looking out across Glenfall field over to Charlton Common. The sun has just come over the hill as it's 08:52 in the morning. Everyone's arriving at the school over the road. Cars line Glenfall Way as parents walk back home talking to each other about their new wood laminate floor.

The ground is damp from last night's rain and strong wind. The weather is now calm and sunny. Two jet trails make their way East through the clear sky. The leaves have nearly gone from the trees now - the "fire of summer" has burnt out as we look forward to colder weather. What else can I say? I've been here since Friday. It's now Monday and I'll be going back to Gatwick later on today.

The plumber has just phoned to say he'll be round between 12pm and 1pm to fix the clunking boiler. Yaggers.

On Saturday I chilled and saw "rapping gran" (aka "Grandma") known for her ability to actually rap! I met up with Russell Gould and saw the Borat movie (again!) On Sunday Naomi and JT came round and we had a roast dinner. In the evening Mike came round and we went for a drink in the newly refurbished "Dobells" on the Promenade.

I can't leave this computer until I've mentioned the new kitten "Monty" which came to stay over the weekend! He's very small!

I'll once again update you all as things happen.

No Swimming Trunks Anywhere!

2006-11-16T10:39:00.000-08:00

I've just been on the rampage around Crawley's out of town developments looking for......... swimming shorts. I fancied a swim and I had left my existing shorts at Claire's - I only wanted a cheap pair!

I realise that it's possibly not the time of year where sales of the said items rocket, but with the increase of "winter sun seekers" I would have thought that the Gatwick Tesco Extra would have stocked at least one pair considering you can buy just about anything else there! After 45 minutes of searching I decided to give up.

Moving on, it's been wet and miserable weather wise, but warm and comfortable in just about every other aspect.

This week's new phrase: "Were you born in a barn?" = "Shut the door, you're letting the heat out." I honestly didn't know about this piece of coloquial anglais, but apparently it's quite traditional! Shows how much I know.

Computers, Strajitas, Kittens.........

2006-11-16T01:49:00.000-08:00

Good morrow to all. I thought it was time to update one and all about what's going on rather than political musings. Strat came round last night and he actually reads my blog!! Must mention my fans otherwise they might get upset.

Strat has an extraordinary skill of making the best fajitas in Gatwick. So good, we've had to rename them "Strajitas" in case anyone "hacks" into his secret recipe. They really are like no other. He even comes all the way from Worthing to make them! Thanks Strat!

A Fajita. Real Strajitas could not be used for copyright purposes.

Guy also came round (aka "Bueno Falcon") and he's aquired the job of making sure all of our computers run in tip top condition. Cheers Guy!

Guy a.k.a "Bueno"

Right then. I've just about finished another standby - I seem to be having a week off as crewing are not calling me for any flights. The one flight I was rostered this week got cancelled because the runway in Tunis was closed for resurfacing. Why can't the Sharm el Shiekh runway ever be closed?! Tunis is a nice flight, Sharm isn't as nice.

I'm going to Cheltenham tommorrow, which brings me nicely onto the next subject - Naomi's (my sister's) new kitten! As mentioned in a previous post one of her cats unfortunately died recently at a very young age. A new cat can never be a "replacement" I guess, but I hope it will certainly soften the sadness of losing Sparkle, and give Twinkle some company. Anyway, meet "Montague Aristotle Turner" (Monty) a ginger tomcat. How lovely. To give you some idea of how small he is Twinkle (the black cat) is still quite small!

Christmas or Winterfest.....??!!

2006-11-14T01:06:00.000-08:00

Time for a rant, - I feel many of you will be with me on this one.

I am fed up with the over-political correctness of this government and society. Every day we have to be careful about what we say in case it "offends" anyone. It's like walking on eggshells sometimes.

The 'straw that broke the camel's back' for me recently (too many cliches I know!) was local councillors trying to remove the Christian element from Christmas and re-name it "Winterfest" in case "Christmas" offends other religions who are in a minority. Pathetic. It made me furious. We seem to be living in a country where values that we, our parents, and our grandparents held close to us, are just vanishing before our eyes.

Now obviously Christmas wouldn't exist without the birth of Jesus. So for those who don't believe and want to change the meaning of Christmas - why have a Winterfest?

Correct me if I'm wrong but we wouldn't try and 'hush up' Ramadan or Divali would we? Oh no. There would be an outcry. Last month in Tesco I saw "Ramadan Coundown Calenders." I didn't feel offended, but it made me realise that people could be quite scared of all this PC stuff. Tesco could feel pressure to sell these calenders so they can be seen "doing their bit" towards an almost dictatorship PC country.

I realise Britain is becoming more ethnically diverse - but it's still only in the big cities on the whole. We have had more and more people from Eastern Europe come into the country but I'd expect them to celebrate Christmas more than anyone else!

If these local councillor's rules are attempted to be put in place I hope there will be enough of an outcry to stop them. We are a predominantly Christian country and for any councillor who gets offended by Christmas, - don't celebrate it, and don't ruin it for the majority of us who want to keep our values safe.

Right. I'm glad I've let that out.

Happy Birthday Granny!

2006-11-12T01:14:00.000-08:00

'Tis my grandmother's birthday today, - Taunton will be living it up later! (Cue some 'drum 'n' bass' at this point.) She won't read this but "Happy Birthday!!!!!!"

People who call themselves "drivers"

2006-11-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those days where I think to myself "can anyone see me?" or "do I exist?"

I was driving around Crawley posting some stuff for Ebay and I was waiting at a junction with one car in front and one car behind. The guy in front suddenly decided he was going to park ON the junction and proceded to try and reverse into me. I couldn't go backwards (I couldn't go anywhere) so I blew the horn about 3 times before he registered.

He opened his window and shouted "what?" I opened mine and said "look where you're driving, mate, you're about to lose your no claims bonus as well as mine" By this time I'd managed to manoever around his Mondeo and I drove off as he shouted something which I'm glad I didn't hear.

A few minutes later some teenage girls in a Polo pulled out straight in front of me causing me to do an emergency stop. Off went the horn again. What is wrong with everyone??? It seems the definition of Saturday is "park wherever you want and do whatever you want because no-one's going to stop you, and no-one really cares." On two occasions today someone hasn't seen my car when they should have done. It's not the smallest car, but should I paint it flourescant orange? Suggestions please.

A Visit To The Big Smoke With Will

2006-11-07T13:18:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a great weekend in many ways, but not in others. Bad stuff that's happened is Naomi's (my sister's) little cat 'Sparkle' passed away on Saturday night so she's been really upset about that, and today I learned that a great aunt of mine recently passed away at the grand age of 85. I didn't know her very well at all but she lived a good long life and died peacefully at home.

On the flip side Will came to visit at the weekend with some news about a wedding - yes him and Rosie are engaged! Congratulations to them both :-)

On Saturday we looked round Crawley and rode the monorail at Gatwick Airport (why not?!) On Sunday we went to London which was only 40 minutes on the train. T'was a day of train changing, plenty of food and 'culture'.

After disembarking the "First Capital Connect" service to London Bridge we walked to Tower Bridge:

Following this we took various tube journeys and I admired the 70's interior of one of the trains. London Transport - Please don't refurbish them! They're beautiful!

I also have a strange fixation with these grab handles that appear on some tube trains. I guess it's because I remember them from a young age. but they have a certain degree of style about them I think. Again, very 70's, but they're quite severe looking.

We looked around various places including Covent Garden and Leicester Square where Will amused the staff of a French café by saying "Bonjour" in his best Del Boy-esque accent.......... but only when we left the cafe and they were saying "goodbye" to us. Nutter.

Later on we headed to Clapham Common to visit Will's Uncle and Aunt. They were most surprised to see us as we turned up with no warning! On Clapham Common I took these atmospheric photos:

Just had the car serviced today, and it's the first time in my car ownership history there's been nothing wrong with it!!! I've only had Réné the Renault since May so it's a relief everything's fine under the hood.

Just stumbled across a great song from 1983 - Ryan Paris - "Dolce Vita". It has a great blend of synthesisers and over exaggerated reverb effects from that era. Quite rare I believe, but as I always say"the rarer the better." Check it out.

The Cool Cold Weather

2006-11-03T02:24:00.000-08:00

Yes! He said. It's finally got cold! I love cold weather because somehow a cup of tea tastes nicer (see August archive), and you receive images in your head of "old Gubbins and Ruperrrrt sat round a fire, it was a mighty winter night outside, but they were ok because they were warm with their cocoa." Love it.

I hope we get some snow and lots of it. It's always cold enough for it, but we need more. Now as soon as we DO get it, the country will come to a standstill. Examples of this are British Rail stopping trains because of "the wrong type of snow", schools closing down, and people pretending they're stuck to get a day off work.

Time for a rant. During a snowfall people will say "oooh I'm not going out there, I won't get down my driveway" or "oooh we're going to starve I can't get to the shops." Rubbish. Let's take Switzerland. A mountainous country that has guaranteed deep snow for four months or so, - the buses run on time even with snowchains on their wheels, people don't starve, they're faced with the risk of driving off cliffs, steep mountain roads, avalanches, and girls smoking pipes.

So why oh why does Britain stop everyday life when there is a layer of snow on the ground so thin you can't even scrape up a snowball? There are of course a few exceptions to this. Elderly people who don't drive do need constant access to shops, and I guess if you are genuinely stuck in a snowdrift then you have a right to moan. But the majority of us........ get over it and enjoy the white stuff!!!!

The Earth and Tony Blair

2006-10-31T02:24:00.000-08:00

Now I'm not going to go all hippy on you all, but I've just been reading the paper and all this stuff about global warming and these "if we don't take action now, it'll be too late" warnings are all a bit scary!

There's a possibility of "green tax" which for some families could be up to £1,300 a year. This is no bad thing but it comes at a time when we're paying through our noses for everthing else.... eg. petrol, council tax, tax, tax, tax!!!!!!!!!!! But something does need to be done.

I sat back and thought I actually lead a fairly 'green' lifestyle. Every light in our house has energy saving bulbs, we're very strict about when we use the heating, we never leave lights or electrical equipment on when not in use, I turn the tap off when I'm brushing my teeth, and if I use the car for a short journey I plan my route as efficiently as I can. So why should I be victimised by these potential new laws? This is how they could affect me:

Green tax, adjustment to lifestyle, and worst of all (for me) the government wants to stop low cost flights. I don't work for a low cost airline but the impact this would have on the industry as a whole could see a lot of us out of a job, especially as our airline now advertise low prices!

So suddenly I contribute greatly to CO2 emissions by giving passengers their meals, pouring tea and coffee and generally looking down on the world! I can't argue against aircraft chucking out harmful greenhouse gases because they do. A Boeing 747 flying to Australia will pump 6 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. I guess I just have to continue being 'green' at home to counter balance the damage I'm contributing elsewhere. It actually makes me feel a bit guilty!

If you're wondering where all this is going, the sort of moral behind this is no matter how green you think you are, there's always something you do that causes pollution, man. Even the use of this computer is probably powered by a coal fired power station in Newbury. The thought of using my bike instead of the car when it's tipping with rain isn't very appealing, but I know it's right. Maybe I do need to take this more seriously!

A Strange Object In The Kitchen

2006-10-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

I'm on a day off today and I woke up in good time so I went downstairs to make a cup of tea (see August archive.) On the draining board a still object caught my attention.........

Let's just get this straight............ this is a house four males inhabit, I haven't noticed anything 'different' about anyone recently....... SO WHO ON EARTH DOES THIS BELONG TO????!!!!!!

I'm finding it hard to "break" the question....... "er.... hi guys, um, who's 'Mermaid' flask is that in the kitchen?"

Whoever it belongs to is never going to forget it entered this house! ;-)

Current favourite song: "Orange Juice - Rip It Up"

The Washing Machine

2006-10-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

Oh dear. What an evening! I'm supposed to be having an early night, but it's not happening.

It all started when I put my work shirts into the washing machine. Unknown to me, there was a yellow duster sitting on one of the drum's "ridges" - invisible unless you decide to spin the drum round with your hand prior to washing your clothes.

The wash finishes, I open up the machine and wonder why my shirts have gone yellow!!!! Fortunately, one shirt still looked OK. The collar had jaundice so I set about it with some 'Vanish'. At the same time, crewing phone me and say "Hello, we're just letting you know we'll need you for the Malta at 6am tommorrow." My humble reply (in a very calm voice I must add) was simply "thankyou, I'll endeavour to be there." AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So the situation at the moment is I have a shirt in the airing cupboard with a damp collar which should hopefully dry by the morning. "How interesting" I hear you wail. Incidentally, I'm battling with a strange 'drum and bass' noise coming from an upstairs bedroom. On further investigation Steve (my housemate) is trying to impress a girl he's found with his music collection. Unfortunately his CDs keep skipping. Whilst trying to explain that "buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh" is the latest track from P Diddy I'm slowly tearing my hair out. Literally. I shaved it all off earlier!

The Alps

2006-10-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

I got called out for an Innsbruck at 0340 this morning! Normally I find it hard talking to a voice on the phone when I'm woken up from a deep sleep, but as soon as I heard the word "Innsbruck" I leapt out of bed!

Innsbruck is one of the most beautiful airports in the world. It is in the heart of the Austrian Alps and even the airport seems to look part of the immense scenary. Landing there is fun too as the aircraft turns onto short final approach a couple of hundred feet above the ground! In the winter everywhere is covered in snow.
Today we had no snow but after take off we flew through a high level snow shower which covers the tops of mountains. Even though INN was cloudy it still looked good. Here are a few pictures from my day in the office:

37,000 feet, 569 mph - start of our descent into Innsbruck.

Notice the ice crystals forming on the window.

What nice passengers! We only had 40 which enabled me to sneak into a row of seats to take this picture.

Arrival at Innsbruck

The fresh air, local teenagers smoke pipes.