 ( 1:23 PM ) Matt |
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It's been a few days since my last blog. Flat out with work as per usual. The most significant thing that has happened has been the fact that Eirene came downstairs this morning to find Felix on the cbeebies website. Eirene asked - "Did Dada set you up on that?" - "No" was his reply, and he told Eirene how he clicked the blue 'e', went to Felix Favorites and selected the cbeebies link! Well done Felix! - Only 4 and he can do that. I'm very proud of my little man. He's great.
Jaygo nearly broke my nose this morning with a drop kick. He's a tuffy. He likes kissing at the moment. (and squawking and wrecking stuff as per usual)
So - I've been to London on Wednesday. The train was delayed on the way back so GNER provided taxi's back to Harrogate from York. Shared with an investment consultant who told me about a new financial buzz word in the city. Instead of a 'lump sum', they are calling it a 'shape'. Tisk. The conversation started with
"Windy in London Today" said I.
"Yea - and full of people" Said he
"Full of windy people" (chortle)
Went up North to Billingham yesterday. The Weather was terrible. The A19 whited out for a while. It was a hard blizzard, spreading a layer of thin very skiddy snow on the road. I saw cars spinning off the motorway, one right in front of me. Got a bit scary for a while. I counted 11 spun off cars on the way up. I was very appreciative of ABS that day! Anyway - must crack on with some work. Supposed to be going out tonight on an ex works night out (a load of people I used to work with)
Saturday I have a gig with Danny Whitehead amongst others at Bar Med in Harrogate. That should be cool. Going to try and borrow my mates Korg Wave Drum... should liven it up another level! (Jim.. if you are reading... urm.. can I borrow your drum please ??)
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| ( 7:50 PM ) Eirene |
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Hello. Hurray I have figured out how to use the spell checker on blogger so hopefully no more typos for me. The kids and I have had a very interesting day. The morning went very smoothly with Felix making it into nursery before registration always a good start. Then it was off to the airport to drop Chris off on his maiden voyage to Dublin. I seem to be doing lots of airport drop off and not so much flying at the moment must do something about that. I received a text from him tonight as he was sitting down to his first pint of Guinness, lucky boy. We then had a bit of a fiasco outside Denise's with me locking my keys in the car. it was cold and wet and the baby didn't have a coat and I had no house keys so Denise took us to work with her and looked after us there till the AA turned up in a huge pick up truck much to Felix's delight .Five minutes later and a ride in a pick up truck we were back in the car and safely on our way .Phew..... it could have been so much worse. Home now and happy. It's a cold evening and is supposed to get down to minus 6 later on so I think this week I shall be mostly staying in nice and warm.
Ciao
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| ( 9:12 PM ) Eirene |
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Hello. Living with two blokes certainly has its draw backs. Especially when they have both been on the beer. It is definitely safer to be sat in a room with good ventilation ;) I have had a great weekend, went kite flying with the kids on Saturday on the Stray (a patch of grass land covering 2 acres ). Felix and I tried to launch the kite while Jaygo tried to run off in the opposite direction. Luckily he had so many layers on that he more rolled then ran like a little Ewok in Thomas the Tank Engine wellies. Today we built the biggest train track out of Brio seen ever (honest). complete with suspension bridge and ferry port. I really like building with Brio. It is like an enormous track puzzle and you have to figure out how to use all the pieces to make the best track ever before Jaygo stands on it or eats it or does a Godzilla on it. Then we went out to visit a friend in the afternoon and then back home to Matt making scampi and home made chips. Fantastic and many brownie points awarded to the man himself.
ciao
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| ( 3:15 PM ) Matt |
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Played a gig last night at Club Med in Harrogate. A lot busier than I expected I think about 700 turned up. It was a special night called 'Flaunt' - a charity do for the benefit of the NCPCC. Played alongside Tom Taylor, and Buckley. Tom was great. Buckley - "so so" in my humble opinion. He only played for about (what seemed like) 20 mins. I don't know. These hot shot DJ's think they can get away with what every they want ;o)
I have another gig there next week - it's a retro night (90 - 95 House / club classics etc.) called bring it back. Danny Whitehead is billed - quite a legend. Looking forward to banging out some congas over his stuff.
Right - I've got to collect my kit from the venue now.
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| ( 5:22 PM ) Matt |
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It's been quite a classic Monday. Getting back into the swing of things at work after a memorable weekend. Life has so many flip sides. Got the new Sim City game today (Sim City 4) Quite a fan of the sim city's games. For those of you who have not come across these - they are great.You get to build a city from scratch - you get to position the types of area, and then "sims" build up buildings. You plan and build road, electricity, public transport and water systems, parks and shopping centers - the whole lot. You get to watch it all from blimp eye view, or zoom right into building level to see what's going on there. Constant tweaking and building, changing and modifying. (bit like real life!) Have been playing them since they first came out. This one looks cool. I can't wait to give it a go.. Eirene will be so pleased (urr.. not!)
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| ( 3:11 PM ) Matt |
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The call of the full moon brought some great vibes to our gig last night. Dharma was tops - big thanks to Al who helped us get the PA and kit sorted. Just the right amount of people - loads of dancing, smiling and frivolity. We did stick the last 90 mins on DAT, this may get dumped to a CD at some point. It was great playing with Dharma again. Missed it - used to do every Friday with him. More giggage next week for me - Bar Med in Harrogate with Tom Taylor (Poo Naa Naa's ) and Buckley (Mint Club, Leeds). Should be interesting. Have not played there before.
My hands are killing me today from bashing hell out of my congas for several hours last night. Well worth it ! Had a few people back here after the gig, and now, there's Eirene and myself, with Dave, Chris and Mark, Just about to eat a big fry up. the kids are milling about. Feeling a bit rough - I'll sleep well tonight !
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| ( 7:03 PM ) Matt |
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Went out for some scoops with the freshly returned and freshly peeling Dave, who is back from Australia. Myself, Dave, Mark and Ben. Tap and Spile real ales to give Dave something about the UK that is nicer than Australia!. He's got the bug now. Reminded me of a very common conversation "Alright mate.. D'ya like my country ? When you gonna move out here then ?" - All Ozzy's seem to say that to us as well when we were out there. So now I'm round at Dave's with him (Finchy as we have just been calling him - Re: The Office) with Jamie and Ben. Going out for a quick pint, then a bit of a foodage is planned.
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| ( 7:13 PM ) Matt |
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Felix's first day at primary school pre-school today. Sounded like he loved it. He made cookies and ate them. His first thing that he did when he got there was to head from one of the computers (That's my boy!). A teacher came up and started to explain.. "this is a mouse.. you move this about.. you put your finger on the button with the smiley face on it... " Felix was like.. "yea yea yea - Can you get me onto the cbeebies website please" Bless him!
Misty has got a load of matted fur. She is off to the vets tomorrow to get shaved. (poor thing!) It's either a dreadlocks cat or a skinz cat. Hmm - as long as she doesn't get any tattoo's of a swallow on her neck we will be fine.
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| ( 9:14 PM ) Matt |
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Musical Date for your Diaries -
I'm doing a gig (me on't conga's and bongo's and what ever else I can be bothered to carry) At the Stalls bar - (bottom the Harrogate Theatre) This Saturday (18th) I'll be accompanying the wonder tastic DJ Dharma on the decks. It'll be raw,It'll be smooth, It'll be smokey. Get yourselves along. Free entry, cold beer.
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| ( 7:13 PM ) Matt |
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Pretty even free couple of days so far. Swapped (company) cars with my colleague Andy for his ford focus for a bit. He needs to do some big mileage this week, so my car's better (suited from an economic standpoint) for that. Focus - nice motor. I had to go home to collect the vectra - It was so strange getting back into it after driving the S3 for a couple of weeks. It felt so sloppy, and unresponsive. Almost dangerous! Anyway - family have just got in so I'll be off.
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| ( 2:32 PM ) Matt |
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Just got back in and the house is deserted. Family out to lunch! This morning I went fly fishing with Al for grayling ("the lady of the stream")
Nowt biting.
Live update - family returned - they had been out for lunch with Mum and John (Show's what faith my family had in me returning with a feast! ). So - last night, went round a couple of pubs in Grassington. Hatched a plan to go on a Snowdon adventure sometime this year. Also tried to figure out how many countries, apart from Wales, do not have a national spirit - or do they ?. Hmm - so - stayed at Jamie's in Conistone, went fishing in the Warfe. Nice peaceful thing to do. Feel very chilled now. standing in the middle of a clean flowing river, with nothing around but nature. Immersed in nature feeling from being in the middle of the river on a cold (ish) winters day. Saw some rutting rams as well. This is the only time a sheep looks vaguely cool.
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| ( 6:57 PM ) Matt |
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So.. we did indeed go and watch the planes from Leeds Bradford's intergalactic airport. It looks like they are re-doing the upstairs bit of the airport there. You can't get to the upstairs pub bit at the moment, and the toilets are now a collections of portaloo's outside.
Anyway - the 'observatory crest' as I have christened it is a top spot, only recently discovered. If you want to get there : from Harrogate, head for Bradford. Under the runway bridge straight on. At Murgatroids traffic lights, hang a left. Take the first dirt track on your left. Careful - there's some massive pot holes !
Drop marks the spot
Image source - multimap
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| ( 1:33 PM ) Matt |
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Funny old week. Back to reality. 2003 three's first proper week. Went to Luton, in't sezza. That was great. Got a new stapler. A highlight for me. Messing about with the boys today. We are about to go and watch airplanes from a crest that overlooks LBA
Dave get's back from Australia next week (the 16th I think) - He's kept his blog fairly up-to-date. It's been a cold week here. It's crazy to think that Dave and Snoozie are in +30 deg C temperatures.
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| ( 6:18 PM ) Matt |
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New watchcam collection added..
Snow In't Dales
Click here to visit it.
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| ( 3:44 PM ) Matt |
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Just had an email from a friend who was also up in't glorious Dales yesterday.. she captured the vibe and her view of it all and packed it off in an email to me.... to nice not to share...
I didn't go for a pint yesterday, but steered my car in the direction of
"Dales" too, and ended up walking the length of Littondale (well, parked
somewhere really snowy then Walked!) Read you last blog, and I totally saw
what you saw! Unbelievably blue sky - like it was summer in the tropics-
behind craggy old hawthorn trees, a man pulling his two year old behind him
on a sledge from his tractor as he went to give three (tame?) sheep hay on
Arncliffe village green, and I got caught out by a bit of snow before
driving back through Grassington and almost driving off the road 'cos the
sky just needed me to look at it! The best bit was when the pink turned to a
really luminescent mandararin before seguing off into a turquoise so light
it was almost transparent..
Also saw a huge trout from the bridge at Hawkscliffe which scarpered (in a
fishy kind of way) as soon as it saw me looking down at it. Clear, clear
water.
I'm back home... aah.
Anna Lilleengen
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| ( 2:00 PM ) Matt |
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Yesterday was nice. I took the boys up into the Dales with Al. They looked fabulous.We went to Jamies cottage, then to Bartons house. We went for a little walk through Bartons village, saw ducks, Swaledale Sheep, horses, and some tractors, and quad bikes which Felix really likes. The fresh snow on the hills is a joy to see. Sunset over the dales from the tops was magical - the light was fantastic. It went from searing cobalt blue sky into a golden warm watery wintry sun glow, crisp and sharp air. This gave way to a bright pink sky, which flicked off the snow capped hills and made every view a special sight. I wished I'd had a proper camera with me. I snapped a few watchcam shots, but they do not do any of it justice. I guess I'll just have to revert to the memory banks!
Today, it's back to work, normality, the party is over :o( Ahh well - life goes on. There must be gloom to make the boom seem better.New watchcam collection coming soon..
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| ( 1:26 PM ) Matt |
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(As Eirene said!) We went to see the Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers last night. What a fantastic film that is. I think that the film, or in fact the trilogy will go down as "Amongst the greatest films ever made". The main thing that strikes me is the attention to detail. The set, the costume the animation - no shortcuts, no half baked substitutes. We bumped into friends on the way to the cinema. I was asked "Have you read the book recently" - "No" said I. Her theory was that if you have not read the book recently you would enjoy it a lot more. I enjoyed it immensely. I remember hearing an interview on Radio 1 the day after it was released in the States. the interviewee said "It's a lot bigger and a lot darker" (drawing a comparison between this and The Fellowship) - It didn't make that much sense at the time, now, it makes perfect sense.
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| ( 12:50 PM ) Eirene |
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went to see The Two Towers last night with Matt. I was so worried that it wouldnt hold up to "The Fellowship'' and it would be a big dissappointment. But it was amazing. So very dark and enchanting. It held us enraptured for the full duration of the film something you dont usually say about a sequal. I think part of the reason it still has the same magic as the first is that they were all filmed at the same time. The background is amazing and makes me want to go to New Zealand so much. the high peaks and rollling landscape and if you look very carefully above the Ents you can see the Southern Cross a reminder that magic and fantasy are still around. Im off iceskating today with denise and Matt and the kids are off with Al to Grassington for a lovely stroll out. I hope they have a great time in the open air and we come together for a chill evening.
ciao. ;)
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| ( 10:57 AM ) Matt |
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A light sprinkling of snow has graced Harrogate. Not enough for sledding or boarding, but perhaps.. Enough for a couple of snowballs.
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| ( 6:56 PM ) Matt |
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Eirene's had her hair done! No longer the blonde dreads, now it's long fringe, short back, black and reddish straight hair. It looks nice.
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| ( 2:18 PM ) Matt |
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Well it's Friday again, and it feels more like a Tuesday. It's quiet on planet corp. We have taken our Christmas decorations down here at work today. Giles (my cousin) has just wandered over to show off his new toy. It's an XDA. It's a true PDA phone hybrid. well designed. Rather annoyingly exclusive to the O2 network only.
So - this weekend - no plans really. Take it easy. The bank hates the idea of me going out again anyway. Quite fancy watching The Two Towers though.
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| ( 7:57 PM ) Eirene |
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Had a lovely chilled out day. Got Felix back at 10.30 from Granmas where he had spent the night. Really enjoyed spending quality time with Jaygo. Its important to spend time alone with each of them so they can have me all to themselves and dont have to share. We watched 'The Grinch' after we read the book. Felix enjoyed it and so did I ( I do think prehaps he enjoyed the out takes and seus set design more though) .Ahhhhhhh the pleasures of DVD. Matt brought Shaft home for us to watch. I cant wait to hear the music at the begining and watch Samuel. L .Jackson yet again being the man. Viva carpet picnic too.
Ciao
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| ( 7:08 PM ) Matt |
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Finally fixed the looping problem. (phew) That was a bit of a mare. I have stuck a load more random pictures in the random picture generation badger thingy (top right hand corner of the home page). Right - I'm off to the video shop now.
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| ( 1:20 PM ) Matt |
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Still can't figure out why this blog is 'looping' its very strange. Perhaps it's something to do with the 'drop' links to individual posts. I have not got the time to sort it at the moment :o( - please stick with it for now!
Today is "The day after the day after" -I always feel a bit down in the dumps on such a day. Ahh well. It feels like a Monday, but it's an actual Thursday. Time and what day it is are all over the place for me (i.e. I think it's Monday around 3 in the afternoon, when in fact, it's Thursday lunchtime.). Christmas does that to me as well!
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| ( 8:33 PM ) Eirene |
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Happy New Year. Had a fantastic night around at Jamies, it even snowed. Made lots of resolutions will keep you updated on how many I've managed to keep. The most important news is that i have printed offf my first letter to a literary agent so fingers crossed. Have a great year a clean slate and enjoy.
Ciao
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| ( 6:35 PM ) Matt |
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Happy New Year !
Well - I've got Jaygo on my lap as I type, and it's New Years Day. We had a nice night last night. We were up in't Dales.. (Near Conistone )
There we 9 big people and our 2 little people at Jamie's cottage. Nice company. Nice night. Warm cosy NYE. It even snowed for a while. Jaygo has got bored of sitting on my lap now. I'll be off then..
PS =- there is a bug on DragonDrop at the moment, you may notice the content loops on the home page. I'll erm... look into that.
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me photos...
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