What Planet are you on?

That is a question that I have heard many times.

Well, now I have an answer .....

You Are From Pluto

You are a dark, mysterious soul, full of magic and the secrets of the universe. You can get the scoop on anything, but you keep your own secrets locked in your heart. You love change and you use it to your advantage, whether by choice or chance. You don't like to compromise, to the point of being self-destructive with your stubborness. Live life with love, and your deep powers will open the world to you.

What Planet Are You From?

Travels Abroad

I am just off on a cruise.

I have been .....

Speedway World Cup

Monday Night is Speedway night as Sky Sports usually serve up a delight.

This Monday it was World Cup Night and we watched the second event of four. Great Britain and Sweden were in contention for first place and automatic qualification for the final. USA and Russia were competing for third place and qualification for the third event on Thursday. I was very glad to see the USA team beaten by an emerging Russian unit. It seems that there is Russian support using U-Tube as well. Here is probably the best race by a Russian:



So, with the Race-off on Thursday and the final on Saturday we have to fill the other three nights. Friday night we will watch live Speedway at Somerset as they race against Newcastle. That leaves Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tonight, Tuesday, we elected to go and watch the new Harry Potter film at the cinema. I was led to believe that the production was average and having been disappointed by Shrek 3 I kept my hopes down. My wife and daughter were ready for the film and immediately got into it. I was able to start believing in the "Good v. Evil" battle again, and the child in me came out as young Ron Weasley was accused of having the emotional range of a tea spoon. My wife wants one of those plates with living cats in. My daughter was happy with the large bag of sweets and came out inspired by the film.

SO, now the week is almost full maybe I should leave Wednesday free. Actually I am hoping one of the 5-a-side footballers will drop out as I did not get my money to the organiser in time to guarantee a place. That fills the week and prevents me worrying about all the things around the house and garden that I should be doing and need to do.

The final Harry Potter book comes out at midnight on Friday and as we will be driving back from Somerset that night we may just stop off in town to pick up the book.

A Weekend Away

We have been away for the weekend visiting mother so I will share a few experiences with you.

Our favourite stopping off point at the moment is the Somerfield store at Solstice Park in or near Amesbury,Wiltshire. The Countess Services used to be the halfway stopping off point but as they knew they had a captive audience the standards of service dropped well below acceptable and we vowed never to go back. Solstice Park opened shortly afterwards and we found service there much better including a coffee bar inside the Somerfield store. That coffee bar is no more but they have a new coffee making machine that is well worth a try if a little expensive.

Our local store of the same name has earned the nickname Scummerfield as in order to turn a profit they have employed all those who would be unemployable in any other organisation. Although all the staff are keen to help we have watched them pick stuff off the floor and replace it on the shelves indicating a lack of proper training by the lack of proper management. We have also followed staff around the whole store searching for the item that we asked for.

Over the weekend we visited Hurstmonceux Observatory and were impressed by all the child friendly exhibits. There was plenty for children to do and enough plaques for the adults to read, so we can recommend it for an afternoon. Before that we stopped at the Brewers Arms in the town and enjoyed excellent service as I put away a Gammon Steak, my wife consumed a Goats Cheese and Vegetable Pie, and we both enjoyed the dessert, her ice cream and my Belgian Waffle savoured their way through our bodies.

I found a new name for my place of employment. My wife was wearing one of the company T-shirts when my mother asked "Who is Ed Fenergy?". "Well, Ed is currently on a world tour and is very popular with younger people." I responded before Brian pointed out that the T-Shirt is in fact an EDF Energy one. I shall be using this bloke, Ed Fenergy, when I get back to work.

Our friends just got back from Spain and we will be joining them in the pub shortly. They should have plenty to say as they started out in Switzerland and travelled through France. We can talk about Old Telescopes and Ed Fenergy. Still, we always enjoy the end of each weekend.

5-a-side Football

I can still do it.

O.K. These days I restrict myself to keeping goal but I saved a few and my distribution has improved from the first match two weeks ago.

The lads I was playing with have improved markedly since that first match and there was some good football played tonight. A few private battles were evident as the evening went on but that is all part of the fun.

As a reward to my family for waiting till I got home much later than usual I decide to buy the traditional English dish of Fish and Chips. My wife likes pickled eggs and mushy peas so I added that to her menu and I got myself a jar of cockles. Both I and the daughter like barbecue sauce so I picked up a couple of those as well.

Now we are watching my family's favourite viewing - Big Brother - Charley is arguing once again and she is so easy to wind up that one of the lads is winding her to her limit. Now they are throwing water at each other. This is what passes for entertainment on TV these days but in one way it is good to see people with nothing to say and nothing to do passing the time of day on our screens. It can make the rest of us feel superior.

Tomorrow we head for Worthing. It is Mother's birthday.

Weekend Visitor

We adopted a nephew of the wife for the weekend.

I hope he had a good weekend as we started out visiting one of the Aunties before heading on to Somerset Speedway. He seemed pleased that he could tell his friends he had DSD'd. We asked what he meant by that and he said 'did something different'. He will not be aware that he watched the home team, the Somerset Rebels, go to the top of the table with the win that they produced. They have never been top of the table before so it was a momentous occasion.

On Saturday morning we had some shopping to do and it was all complete after a quick trip to the local shopping square and a few minutes in LIDL. I asked if we needed anything at Makro only to hear from the back seat "Makro? I love Makro" so off we popped to Makro and by the time we had finished walking around we had £70 worth of goods in the trolley.

After the shopping we visited another Auntie and found the usually boisterous dogs penned in at the back of the house instead of all over us as on past visits. The other reason for visiting was to pass on a birthday card to another nephew. He seemed pleased with his card and relaxed about life as he is training to be a chef.

In the afternoon we insisted that he help us with the garden. I am trying to landscape our hill to make it a little more accessible and the process is to turn the steep slope into a set of terraces. Dawn opted to strim the grass and showed off at one point by somersaulting down the garden with the strimmer in her hands. It turns out that this was involuntary and she had actually slipped but as soon as she reached the bottom she was on her feet again looking for the next patch to strim.

In the evening we organised a barbecue and that was what most of the money spent at Makro went on. Peppered beefsteaks and peppered pork plus lamb kebabs and scallops. Four of us had a feast to remember which included some jerk chicken which we exchanged for some scallops with next door. Our guest indulged in the Coke with Lime that we had bought a tray of from Makro, Jess decided to try the Oasis and I found myself thoroughly enjoying my Hoegaarden, my favourite Belgian beer.

After that we watched a bit of the Live Earth concert before retiring for the night.

Sunday morning started slowly but we agreed to head out onto Dartmoor. The day was dry if cloudy but as we got up on the moors it turned cold, wet and windy. We drove further than we normally do and eventually settled at a place called the Warren Inn. We heard that the fire had been burning for 150 years, summer and winter. There are two fireplaces and when they want to clean one chimney they lift the fire on its grate into the other fireplace. Nice tale whether it is true or not. We enjoyed an expensive meal before heading the long way back home.

In the afternoon we played a borrowed DVD, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, with some marvellous scenes of escapism as we watched some marvellous scenes of escape. Davy Jones' locker really exists and there is really a beating heart in there. The ending is not a proper one but sets things up for Pirates of the Caribbean 3. We shall have to watch.

Sunday Nights are 'Our Time' and we invited some friends round for beer and conversation. The conversation was clearly not appealing to the lad but he endured it manfully and commented when spoken to. He enjoyed two more coke and limes as well as a couple of J2Os.

He left this morning with my wife. We hope he had a good time but we may not find out until (or if) he gets in touch again. The weekend is over now but I always look forward to the Speedway on Sky Sports Monday nights as the real end of the weekend.

Arsenal TV

My wife must love me.

I got home today and she said .....

'Look on the computer'

and

'Check your Bookmarks'

I looked on my computer and checked my bookmarks and there was a new one at the bottom of the list.

Arsenal TV

I checked in using the name and password that my wife had set up and I have access to all the matches from last season and the one before that.

She said "Now you can watch all the pre-season matches".

Is she trying keep me occupied?

I think my wife must love me.

My 2007 High Point

This is the race that won "Our Boy" the British Grand Prix at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. I was enjoying the race and was happy to accept second place as that is one better than he has ever done before, but just look and see what happened. I lost my voice as a result of that final corner.

You Too?

This is the song that I have used time and again to remind me how angry and passionate I was as a young man determined to right the wrongs in the world. I have learned since my youth that you cannot change the world because there are too many people that like things just the way they are.

Surgeons need wound victims so they can practice their skills, detectives need crimes so they have something to solve, carers need handicapped so they have someone to care for. We are all here for a reason although the reason is not always clear.

Anyway ..... Enjoy my all time favourite song of all time.

Best Weekend of the Year

For any fan of Speedway the British Grand Prix at Cardiff is the best weekend of the year because all of the best riders in the world gather to compete for the Grand Prix prize. There are usually two meetings in a Scandinavian country and two meetings in Poland but there is only ever one meeting in Britain and that is at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

This year a young Brit from Cornwall by the name of Chris Harris is competing in the Grand Prix for the first time and he has provided an exciting display of racing coming from behind in several races but he saved the best for last. Having reached the final of the competition he gated last and that is often enough to guarantee defeat, but he fought back and in one corner passed two of the other riders then set about chasing the leader. He got closer and closer corner by corner but saved the final pass until 10 yards before the line. It does not get any better than that.

So Saturday proved to have a perfect climax but the weekend started well on Friday night when the best pairings from the Premier League gathered in Somerset at the Oak Tree Arena to compete for the national championships. Some of the favourites were beaten back early on and this left others with a chance of victory. Overtaking moves came at crucial points in the meeting but the final proved to be a very exciting one as for two laps Glasgow held the lead by taking first and third places, then on the third lap the Isle of Wight leading rider Chris Holder overtook Shane Parker, the leading Glasgow rider, and shortly afterwards Jason Bunyan, the Isle of Wight number two passed Craig Watson, the Glasgow second. I was delighted to watch this turnaround in fortunes. A great evening.

Now, on Sunday morning, I have a chance to rest and bring you all up to date with my recent adventures. It has been the best weekend of the year so far.