Sniiiif...

Still got a bit of a sniff from the cold yesterday. Lobby went well; will post more info when I've done the official biz...

Icicles in Willemsey

A historic day today in CAMRA history; (hash tag beardie weirdies), off to Westminster for the biggest demonstration in our organisation's history. It's bloomin freezing outside and snow started to fall while we wait for our bus. Our mission: to moan to our MPs about the rising cost of the Beer Tax Escalator. Full details are at www.saveyourpint.org.uk. But it's a lovely winter wonderland as our bus passes through the Cotswolds.

Newborns

Boy, do parents of newborns have it hard; knowing exactly what their child needs. It's the true test of patience.

Art of conversation

It's really hard when someone chooses naff music over the art of conversation. Like when they struggle to hear you at the bar; they've got no real ale and they don't want to engage as to why. Shame on you Golden Cross.

Déjà Vu Lost?

I used to keep a record of all my déjà Vu experiences but it seems they have all disappeared. Hmmm. Previous experiences include a baby being kidnapped in a soap plot and meeting a mate in a pub. Today's experience was covering for my manager on the shop floor while rushing around when she came back; however the outcome was different today.

Getting a bit bored with the beardy weirdy folk; some are stubborn and don't want change and to try new ideas. A bland beer from the Wadworth brewery too.

A cheesy ol Time

Hopefully I'll be posting more regularly now as I have the Blogger App!

I've been meaning to get to the cheese night at the Gate Hangs Well for some time. Often I'm working late or I'm at a meeting or I'm too tired. But last night was the night. I went to Sainsburys, spent three quid on a wedge of White Yorkshire Wensleydale with Raspberry Cranberry and Shortcake cheese and jumped in. And it was excellent. There was even a new beer; Black Sheep Progress (the pub puts on a guest beer every Tuesday). But I couldn't find someone to go with which made it kind of sad. And it was the Xmas special; which kind of made it more difficult. And so I had a great feast but was kind of shy; the group were friendly but also awkwardly so. So I felt it right to leave after an hour and can't return...on my own anyway.

But just down the road was a lovely pint of Landlord from the Woodland Cottage; straight off the barrel as it was too lively from the handpump. And after leaving my second contribution of the evening; I was able to sit behind the fruit machine and read my little book in peace. Sigh...

Time to get back into it...

I'm going round in  circles here; I need to get out of this place! A quick half of Banks's Bitter from the Golden Cross needs to get me moving...

Is TV out of sync?

Why do most TV channels have most of their commercial breaks at the same time? Surely they realise that most people channel surf during the commercials? Someone should really think; "I'll stick something really good on my channel that'll stop people flicking back again". And why the 'let's all start something new on the same hour?

The longest day...

...actually feels shorter when you've got loads to do! I actually had a day off to try and get everything sorted yesterday but things just kept happening. Do people not realise that they're not the only people in the world?

After watching Prometheus last night (which kept me entertained) I popped into the Rising Sun in Redditch for a lovely pint of Elderwych from Wychwood; it was the last pint of the barrel but still very crisp and refreshing.

e-books

I've just started reading Crime & Punishment by Dovesky; it's a Russian translation but so far is very boring. I found myself blanking out a lot of the text, but it's on an e-book so I find myself just sliding through pages and drifting off rather than actually reading them. Wonder if I would concentrate more if I had the proper book...Anyway story is really boring so far; I wonder if it's to do with the translation. It was similar with Anna Kavanna.

Pigeon Post

So I dream I'm in a Sports Hall and there are two pigeons flying around; it's my job to get them out of the building. For some unknown reason they next end up in my trousers. I leave the sports hall and walk down the corridor, trying to sneak past the doors to find the exit; as classes are taking place in the rooms I try to sneak past. After an endless walk I eventually end up in a Library with  a huge view that underlooks the bottom of a bridge for a motorway. As I get closer I notice there is no glass in the window and I walk to the edge and down some concrete steps; and underneath the bridge. I then release the pigeons into the wild. I then notice I'm standing outside a Doctor Who themed space building...if you can work out what this means then please let me know!

Am I a British Republican?

This weekend marks the 60th year of the Queen's Jubilee... or something of that sort. There is no bunting outside the house, I haven't been invited to any parties or care that that I have to attend any sort of dedication; other than the fact than I get more time off work. Long live democracy. However, the media seems to dictate that my house should be full of bunting; I should have a BBQ party on standby and that I should be drinking some sort of mass Pimms/booze product. Do I support the Royals? Well, since Prince Andrew announced that he's selling his land to a wind farm to make billions and upset the view of the locals; then no.

In the pub tonight, someone asked a friend if they were supporting the Jubilee this week-end; they said: "No, I'm a Republican". Now I do agree that we have a choice not to support the Jubilee, but does that make me a Republican? I usually associate Republicans with American politics, as we don't have them here in Britain. I don't agree with George Bush's antics; though I do agree with Obama's. But who is a republican? And can a British Republican be a different term?

The traditional definition of Republican (according to Wikipedia) is party that opposes anti-slavery; though with a few people that I know working in a capitalist environment I'd say that we haven't had a Republican Party in Britain for a while. So I was surprised to learn that Mr. Bush was one of them. Though the US is in a depression now; and Obama leads democracy; surely that say something...

Men in Black: Utter Crap

Was very disappointed in Men in Black 3 last night. Story was OK, but it could have been a lot funnier. K looked ancient at the end, as if he was way past it. And what a crap ending. Why are the 1960s motorbikes cooler than the present day MiB? And why the sudden interest in J's childhood? There needs to be more laughs in these type of movies and more in-joke moments.I'll have to get round to writing a decent script.

But Tommy Lee Jones did the same job as above...I'm watching the Fugitive right now and he fits the role perfectly. It's the other buggers with his years carried over.

Ultimate ending

I dreamed the ultimate ending for the Blink character of Doctor Who a couple of days ago; I finally managed to track down the cause of their time lock which meant I could set it alight and watch all the statues burn; which also was the cause of the Great Fire of London.

Went out for a sociable pint last night at the Woodies, met someone who'd just left his wife and was very happy talkative. Tonight I went to the Jubille which was full of miserable fat families stuffing curry down their throats; not much of a drinking atmosphere.

Tomorrow I'm off to the magic roundabout...one question is WHY?

Flower Power

The train from Barnt Green was delayed by 45 mins tonight. A vehicle crashed into a bridge which stopped trains from getting from Lichfield to Four Oaks. Fortunately someone came up with the bright idea of sending a train from Birmingham, but in between waiting for trains I went back to the pub.

One bloke I talked to said his main hobby was flower-bombing. This involved literally walking around with cheap packets of seeds from Aldi and planting them in weird and bizarre locations to see if they would grow. His mission was literally to brighten up the world this way. Fantastic!

Dig deep and charity you will find. Or just laziness.

So last week we went to see the Dictator; my friend has a card that lets us get discounts; it had expired. However, the team at the cinema couldn't actually be bothered to seek out the forms; hence the date wasn't checked and we were just waved through. Hooray for sloppy work.

As we were leaving the car park, I sat down in the car then remembered that the parking token was in my back pocket. So I opened the door, climbed out of the car, reached into my pocket, pulled out the token, placed it on the dashboard, then climbed back inside. The problem was that the token had slid over the dashboard and into the front recesses of the windshield. And I could not the fucking thing out. First I tried opening the bonnet to see if it had slid underneath (which it took me a while to remember how to do so). Then I pulled up the dashboard cover but still couldn't see it. After reversing a couple of feet I managed to get a bright light to shine over the dashboard and caught a glimpse of the chip. I then tried to wedge it out with a piece of cardboard but only managed to wedge it further down the hole. After pulling back into the parking space to let someone go; I finally set out to do battle...

But once I'd approached the barrier and rung up the Security team; they just said not to worry about it; and could we drop in the chip once we'd found it?

Just discovered that there's a load of food and club vouchers on my hard drive that have actually expired. Including 2 4 1 on films. Youch. Raw Deal is currently on the telly but I can't remember much of it other than Schwarzenegger cones to the Usa from the USSR. But what the fuck is the butch fat blob on the bar supposed to be? Then there's the flat breasted chick and the bloke they throw in the dressing room. Just what is the point of throwing red liquid over him then saying "that's what you're going to look like when you're dead"?

It's a mad mad mad mad world...

Am I mad? I wondered quite a bit about that yesterday as I stood outside Redditch Library eating a pasty. At least two people thought I was strange as I ate my lunch. But I suppose it's better to be mad than normal, as that would just be boring. Then inside the Library half of it was missing; though I did manage to find Great Expectations in the Classics section. However, it's getting close to the time that I actually need to find out where they actually keep their books. Maybe I should ask if they've robbed by the conservatives...

Great Gatsby wasn't so great; however I appreciate how short the book was. So I can move onto better things.

Found my first geocache today; but I'm not going to find any more until I get the next batch of Pint Takens; then at least I can leave stuff behind. Went for a meal with Steve at the Tardebigge; it wasn;t bad but we ended up in the kiddies area and had to wait fifteen minutes for a beer to arrive. Also went to see the Dictator, which was funny but needed more of the Dictator in power and less of the story. Would have worked better as a mocumentary. Is that a word - I'm referring to a mock documentary.

It's not fun to grow up...

You have to have so much self discipline... that's suddenly why I realise that I can't get anything done. Unless fate gets in the way...I've been looking for my Reddicard since Monday...

The Auton Revolution

I was walking past Burtons the other day and I swear one of the shop dummies in the window moved.

Seriously though, it would really freak people out if shops did make motorised shop dummies that move. And not just all the time; they should just turn just once every five minutes to really freak people out. O rmaybe they already have...

Mayday Mayday....?

So tonight we headed over to the less frequented pubs; they were all quiet but as usual it's difficult to ascertain whether usual service is provided. I was hoping for a rave session in the Enfield but as it was Sunday; it was very quiet. Headed into the cross; same thing where everything was closing early. But it's Bank Holiday so I was hoping that someone was making some effort but no luck...there wasn't even anywhere open for a bite.

No introduction...

I'm currently starting to read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby; what's putting me off is the long introduction to the book; it's an essay. Naturally, because I've not read the book before; the introduction refers to themes and characters that I've got no idea about; and I'm forced to read someone else's opinion before I can make up my own. So why call it the Introduction? Surely An Academic's View would be so much better...

Let's get this done now...

Often I come home with a view that tonight's the night, or today's the day that I try and get as much done as possible; but often get sidetracked or too tired. For instance, I had a great idea that today would be Mayday; the emergency day that I would get organised and come up with a basic plan for the rest of the year. Result: was shattered after work; came home, watched a film, dozed off towards the end and never even got close to switching on my laptop. I need some discipline from somewhere...

Never rains but it pours...

How real is that? Was rushed off my feet at work today while everyone else just seems to bum around and socialise despite asking people to do various tasks. It's about time I worked with a bunch of people that cared.

Why still in 3D?

Went to see excellent Avengers assemble last night, though once again the novel of 3D soon wore off after 10 minutes. When will people realise that if there's a 2D version; the 3D version won't all be in 3D?

New Blog!

I have started a blog to see how my life improves. Here I'll share my plans, where I've been, and other stuff. Hopefully it'll help to get me out of this mess!