Forthcoming Wedding

So, lil Sis is getting married this weekend. I've just had my hair cut in anticipation. I'm also going to read - from the Song of Solomon. Good work.
TTFN.

Question Time

Dominic Grieve is not coming across very well. In fact, one might label him 'objectionable'. In the vernacular, he might be called a 'c**t'. Is he the new John Redwood?
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Bail-outs

Was watching Newsnight last night, and an interview with Alistair Darling. The interviewer asked, in light of the bail-out for the banks, where were the bail-outs for the individual?
Has she not heard of social security? There's already a system in place to deal with people win lose their jobs. And it already costs billions. D'oh!

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England Post a Win

So, England have won the first ODI vs. South Africa. I watched it in slow motion, thanks to Sky+ (tm), and I had a sense of dread as S.A. set off at a fair gallop in pursuit of 275. Luckily, we strangled them and cut off the runs. As they had 36 to score from the last three overs, I began to feel safe. Funny how a cricket match prompts a post... Camping update will be forthcoming.
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Big Bottoms?

So, yesterday morning I got up, had a shower & went through to the bedroom to get changed. TW was up and in the shower, and Monkey & Tiger were milling about, doing whatever it is that nippers do, when Monkey piped up: "you've got a big bot-bot, Daddy." "Thanks", I muttered. There was a big explosion of laughter from the bathroom as TW heard this exchange. "Your Daddy doesn't have a big bot-bot", she told Monkey.

It's the small things that keep me sane & smiling.

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Easy Like Sunday Morning

So, TW is off at a carboot sale, and I'm left holding the babies. Monkey & Tiger are dressed and fed, so score one for my 'mad' parenting skillz. Ma & Pa will be by in a bit, and we'll go and see TW and MiL. It's a lovely sunny day, but a bit windy.
Was at a party last night, & had a few drinks as per usual. Feeling a bit jaded this morning, but am planning a few days off the booze - at least until Weds. Only trouble is, TW is off to Brizzle on Tuesday, so I expect I will want a drink then. J is coming to decorate the front room, and possibly staying overnight, so we might get a few beers in... Life is a constant challenge, isn't it?
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Reporting Splogs

So, I'm quite pleased today. Back in the day, when I was more circumspect about blogging, I used to have a 'Treb1971' blog account. I moved to this one, and then found out the previous one had been taken over by a splogger promoting alopecia remedies.
I reported the splog on Thursday and find out today it's been taken down. Unfortunately it's not available for new blogs, but I shall be keeping an eye on it.
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Dr Horrible

You've not got long, but if you want to see a web-only superhero-based musical by Joss Whedon for free, check out Dr Horrible.
It may be too late, even now - if so, I apologise...
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Longest Lasagne Evah?!?

So, on Sunday I suggested to Monkey that we might make chocolate crispies. She was given a kids' cookery book by her great-grandmother, and the chocolate crispies recipe looked simple enough that I would be able to make it.

TW persuaded me that as she was going to be busy Sunday afternoon, it might be a good idea to make dinner for that evening, as well as chocolate crispies. I wasn't very open to this, but looked at a lasagne recipe and thought I'd be able to knock it together.

At about 11:30 a.m., Sunday morning, Monkey & I headed off to Tesco, the Great Satan, to line up our ingredients. Cue much dashing to-and-fro, as I did not shop methodically, as I had no idea where anything was. Once that was all done, I decided to get petrol as well - TW had previously obtained a 5p per litre discount, which I put to good use. However, the petrol forecourt was really busy, and we didn't get home until 13:00 - by which time I was starving, and Monkey had tried to get sweets and Cbeebies magazines off me for 1 & 1/2 hours. Luckily, TW had already cooked us pizzas, so we gorged like nation heads at a G8 summit.

I sat and watched a bit of the cricket, which was beginning to fizzle out even then, letting my pizza subside slowly, like a congealed mass of toxic carbs. Which is exactly what it was.

At 14:30, I roused myself and went to look at the recipe more closely, and start my prep. Like all good chefs, I assembled my ingredients, and read through the recipe. I chopped the onion, cut up the bacon (that took a while), crushed the garlic, and was eventually ready to start puttinmg it all together. I think the prep took about 25 minutes.

Then Monkey & I softened the onions, garlic & bacon, and browned the mince and added the tomatoes. Another 20 mins? And then we left it to simmer & reduce - 40 mins.

We didn't start making the bechamel sauce until the ragu was completed, which is where I think we went wrong. Anyway, suffice to say, I spent two hours last Sunday making lasagne.

TW said it was the best she'd ever had. So it wasn't a complete waste of time.
TTFN.

TFC (Telegraph Fantasy Cricket) - Endgame

So, for the second year, I've enrolled in Telegraph Fantasy Cricket. And, for the second year, I'm languishing at about 16,000. Which is rubbish. So I've picked this week to try to improve my position. It's the start of the Pro-40, and I'm going to change my team daily, to ensure I get double points tomorrow, Weds, & Thursday. It feels a bit 'not quite in the spirit of the game', but sod it. I'm bored with mid-table anonymity. I was up to 301 on Celebdaq the other day, for goodness' sake!
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An Interesting Start - England vs. S.A.

Hmm. I predicted, on Friday, albeit unwillingly, that this would end in a draw. If we found it easy to bat, I reasoned, the Saffas would love a bit of it. I should have had G Smith in my fantasy team, but I think he was too expensive. Instead I plumped for Amla, because that is truly an impressive beard. He's got his 50 up now, but was out for 6 in the first innings - shame.

Still, at least we haven't lost - yet.

TTFN.

Another Test Series Win

So, England won the second test series of the year against New Zealand. Anderson came good - which was a shame for my Fantasy Cricket side. Even more gutting was Vettori's non-appearance, especially as he was my trump player - d'oh! What are the odds on NZ coming back to win the ODI series?
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London Zoo

So, that was a busy weekend! It started on Friday night with a bottle of wine (I know...). Then, with no rest for the wicked, we were all up at 6.30 on Saturday morning to catch an eight o'clock train to London. Almost like a normal weekday - TW did a good job of marshalling the troops & preparing lunches simultaneously. At Victoria we headed for the zoo, in Regent's Park. We walked, which was pleasant but exhausting. Past Marble Arch, through Hyde Park, over Oxford Street and along Wigmore, turning left on Harley Street. We walked at pace, and got to London Zoo sweaty & blowing hard. Later (when we took a taxi back to Victoria...!), we found out that we'd walked about 3.5 miles. So of course we needed a sit down when we arrived.
I had a coffee that was so hot I had to spit it out, and my tongue still feels burnt, two days later. What is the point in superheating coffee like that? Still, TW's friend said she likes her tea 'piping', and she seemed to drink it okay.
London Zoo is really nicely laid out. A tad expensive on the entry fee (£15.50), but we paid using Tesco vouchers, so it was almost a freebie. And, looking at lions & giraffes, etc., you can forget you're in the middle of London - it was most restful.
We left at about 17:30, and got home almost 12 hrs after we left in the morning. Knackered, of course. But a brilliant day out.
TTFN.

London

So, was in The Big Smoke yesterday. I do like travelling up there - it reminds me why I don't do it every day. The extra wages wouldn't cover the inconvenience. And, in addition, I'd never see Monkey & Tiger, or spend much time with TW. I'd be exhausted all the time too. Anyway, that's it.

TTFN.

Come On, the Sussex!

Have booked tickets to see Sussex vs. Somerset at Arundel in the Pro-40 in July. Get in!
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D+1

So, had a whisky last night. Just the one (Mrs. Wembley). I have, after all, got that Jura to finish. I slept quite well, except Tiger woke and cried at 23:15, but apart from that, the night was fine. Feeling good today and looking forward to driving to Oxfordshire to see friends.
What a shame that England are playing cricket all weekend, and it's the He'ineken Cup Final today, as well as the Challenge Cup Final tomorrow. Still, there's no way I can sit in front of the telly all weekend. TW wouldn't allow it.
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General Richard Myers

I was reading this story in The Guardian yesterday, and one thing occurred to me. This general fella had to rely on politicos to tell him what was in the Army Handbook. He was a general, and 'chairman of the joint chiefs of staff'. Could he not have read the Army Handbook? Did he not have his own copy, what with being a general? A quick Wikipedia search shows he was in the USAF, but as the 'U.S. military's highest ranking officer', surely he would have access to such a handbook? Oh well.
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I've Joined the Tech Generation

...with an 80gb iPod Classic. The company I work for were kind enough to give me £300 as a ten year long service award. And since Sky don't accept my credit card, I couldn't buy Sky+ there and then. But I think next month we'll probably order that as well (Credit crunch? What credit crunch?). The only problem is that I can only import CDs at 2.3x for some reason... Which means it is going to take ages to load all my CDs. I'm trying to persuade TW that we need a new laptop in order to keep up. We're currently using my BiL's Armada M300, which is apparently seven years old, a PIII with a 12gb hard drive. So an upgrade to any sort of new PC would be a vast improvement... After three days of loading iTunes, I'm only up to 740mb - still a long way to go!
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Freddie Flintoff

On a happier note, I see Freddie might be returned to fitness. The big lad is hoping to play a part in the test series against NZ in the UK in May, which is promising. I think we have a good bowling line-up anyway, but what price Flintoff & Jones on the attack? Would there still be room for Ryan? If we've dropped Hoggy, I guess there would be...
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English Management

Well, once again I find myself out of touch with "the common man". It looks like Johnno is going to be the next England Rugby manager, despite the fact that Brian Ashton has done a good job to date. Is it because he's not called 'Ashto'? I did read that Mike Catt might be involved, which would be good - Catt is class. I also read that Wilkinson was considering a kicking coach position, but I think that might have been an April Fool. In my humble opinion, the RFU are woefully mistaken to replace Ashto (see? it could catch on...) at this stage. I also recall reading that club rugby is very structured, whereas Ashto would like to play a looser game, and players have a hard time getting that. I don't know. It's all second-hand gubbins to me, but I'd like to see Ashto carry on.
TTFN.