I've found the perfect cure for insomnia. Two pints of lager, a glass of sherry and a plate of turkey dinner.

Evening all.

The day started early today, my daughter waking up early in the morning and prbably not getting back to sleep.  At 0600, we gave in and let her come out of bed.  To say that she was excited was an understatement.  And when she saw ther size of the present that Father Christmas had left her!  My son was the same, but later in the morning.

My Mum and two brothers came up from London for lunch.  I had made a late breakfast for the kids while my wife had been cooking lunch and they had a great time.  The kids however were shattered towards the end of the day, more so my daughter who spent the first few hours as if she had a sugar rush.  I think that the last time I had seen her with so much energy was when she was very little and I had given her a sugar straw to play with.  I turned away for five seconds and when I had turned back, she had managed to bite through it and had eaten all the sugar.  But that rush did not last the several hours this did.  All in all, a good day and one where we finally finished a bottle of Whiskey thanks to my brother.  Once upon a time, when one of our friends Tony, lived close by, in the years before kids, we did go through a lot of drinks.  The whiskey though has been untouched since he left the area.  Afer ten years, it was finally drunk!

Anyway, Merry Christmas all.  Take care.

Christmas Eve

Christmas is almost here, it almost being the night before Christmas.
The kids are excited, and they are on extra special good behaviour.
And we are going to go out to a Christmas eve meetup before going to our local Church for a Christmas Eve service.  The kids have loved it each year so far.

But I can not help but think of those for whom this is not a good time.  There are those who have lost loved ones both nearby, as well as those abroad, and of course, those in the Holy Land.

For the record, I am in favour of a just peace for all those in the Holy Land.  One that does not mean living under threat from bombs, missiles and one free of injustice and oppression.  Israel has been accused of behaving like Nazi's and I think on the whole, this is not a fair comparison.  Even though I feel that they are stealing land from the Palestinians for Living Space, they do not murder in the manner that the Nazi's did.

While I do think that Israel should exist, and that people of the Jewish faith should have the right to return to Israel, that should not be at the expense of the people who have lived in Palestine before.  The Holy Land is being tainted by violence against Jews, Muslims and Christians, which is sad when all three religions preach peace.  Arabs in Israel had more rights comared to Muslims in most other 'Muslim' nations, but the Arab Spring has put and end to that with democracy spreading.  The sad thing is that democracy should have come about in Palestine.  But after Hamas won the elections in Gaza, Bush the second with the PLO plotted to over throw the democratically elected officials in Gaza.  Mahmoud Abbas was elected into office but from what I understand, he has held onto power beyond his term, and therefore like Hamas who have refused to hold any elections, is in essence, a dictator in name.  And while this goes on, more land is stolen from Palestinans and the world watches.

Tonight I will be saying a prayer for all those in the Holy Land.  A prayer for a just peace for all.

And I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

I don't understand, why everyone was getting so worried about the apocalypse. If the Mayans where that good at predicting, there would still be Mayans today.

Okay, I will admit that the title is not right are there are Mayan people still around today.  But you know what I mean!  Well, it has been a while since my last post.  Let me update a few things.  My daughter had her nativity play.  Last year she was a narrator, this year she was in the choir.  My son who last year sat with his arms round two girls just wanted to spend the time singing all the time as he knew all the words as well.  Both love their advent calenders which are helping them work out how many sleeps it is till Christmas.  I did threaten them earlier today that I was going to leave a message for Father Christmas so that when he came, he would just leave knowing that they were naughty.  And then today, when I was at work, they did do something.  Something bad.  So bad, that they might not get a present!  My son is convinced at the moment that he has a box from Father Christmas with nothing in it.  He knows this because he has shaken the box and could not hear any noises.  While I have told them that Father Christmas will allow them to be a little bit naughty, I have also told them that I was too naughty when little to get a present from him.  I have been told by then (after telling them off) that I might be on his naughty list this year.  They loved watching the Strictly Final.  My daughter wanted Louis to win, my son prefered Dani to win.

Anyway, Arsenal have won a game, thanks once again to some dodgy decisions from the referee.  Time to go.  Good night.  The song is for my daughter who loves it.

Inspired by Movember I decided to get my prostate examined. I got two thumbs up.

Well it is Movember, or rather, it is coming to the end of it.  I was going to take part, but kept forgetting to not shave my moustache off!  One of my friends however has managed to keep his and while he has yet to update his photo on his page, I have been sent an updated image from my spies.  As you can see, he has just been told that at the end of the month, he is to have every hair plucked out one by one...

If you have not donated to this cause, click on the link and make a donation.  It is for a good cause after all!

MISSING: Tottenham Hotspur's defence, last seen at around 13:00 at the Emirates Stadium. Please return to Andre Villas-Boas if found.

Evening all.  Just a quick post.  Arsenal are playing again, this time against Montpellier, a game I think we could lose. We can not afford to. I do not want to be in the position of Chelski or Man 5hitty (at the time of this post) and have to depend on the results of others in order to get out of the group stages. Mind you, Chelski are now on a new manager, Rafael Benítez being the ninth manager that Chelski have had while owned by Roman Abramovich. I do have a lot of respect for him, though if he will last or not will be interesting. As everyone knows, Roman Abramovich is waiting for Pep Guardiola, though I think that the only reason a manger would go to Chelski would be to get the payout that they will be entitled to if they are sacked.  Mind you I do think that he is one of the few managers I would have at Arsenal.

 Anyway, this week at work, on Monday when I went in, I did have to make a cheeky comment to the manager at work. I mentioned that I had been looking for the score on-line, but they kept on showing last seasons score! It was an interesting match, one which we may have lost, but for Emmanuel Adebayor, our old striker, and now someone that many people hate. I do not think that he deserved any abuse while wearing an Arsenal shirt. When someone is playing for us, we support them for they are wearing an Arsenal shirt. Now, that he is playing for the Scum, yes, he deserves the abuse. Anyway, it was a match I was dreading. After letting in so many goals I do not trust our defence.

On the topic of work, still loving it. Was doing paperwork today when I was asked to step up and see patients to cover illness. The thing about this place is that everyone does work as a team. Unlike my old place. There when there was illness, others would want to help and cover, but there would always be a reason why they were not able to. Here, that is not the case. Yes I am working a lot harder than before, but I am a lot happier and not as stressed.

 Now, the kids, I guess I really must post about them! Since my last post, my son has been at a party. When there a girl kept trying to kiss him. He decided that he had enough and decided to move. Rather than move his chair though, he got the girl who wanted to kiss him to move it for him! My daughter has been to the Ipswich Transport Museum and loved it there this week. And the two of them are now being taught the basics of chess. I have to try and do it when they are not tired as when they are, they only can deal with winning.

Anyway, take care all.  I will try to post more about the kids the next time.

This year, for Halloween, I'm going to dress as a character from Scooby Doo and run around taking people's masks off.

Three years after the death of Michael Jackson I still find it hard to cope with the realisation we'll never know if Annie was okay or not?
Well, it has been too long since posting about the family.  Since my last post, we have had Halloween as well as Fireworks.  Halloween was great.  The kids loved knocking on doors getting sweets.  This being half term, they loved it even more as they not only got to stay up late, but eat some of the sweets.  And for bonfire night, they went to a fireworks party.  That week, I also set off some fireworks in the garden.  They loved that as well.  Anyway, time to go to bed.  Sorry that I have not posted more on the kids.  Night all.

"And I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling minorities, women and gays!" - Mitt Romney

Apparently Mrs Romney is overjoyed at Obama's victory, as now she won't have to move into a smaller house.

David Cameron: "I look forward to working with Barack Obama for the next four years."
Two years, Dave, two years.

"It doesn't matter if you're Black or White, Hispanic or Asian, Gay or Straight young or Old..."
Obama's turned into Michael Jackson.

After spending over a billion dollars to get reelected, I wonder if Obama will get the Nobel Prize for economics this term.

Mixed messages from two black role models last week.
After a long battle against millionaire Mitt Romney and the racism of America, a victorious Barack Obama stood tall.
After a little tug on his shirt, Mario Balotelli fell over.

How could I note make a post about the election victory? I did mean to post it last week, but to be fair, I just have not had the time. But better late than never!

Arsene Wenger in his last conversation with Alex Ferguson asked if he could borrow his watch for the game against Reading.

Got back from work and have just finished listening to the Arsenal game.  What a game.  4-0 down before half time, thank god Theo scored just before the break.  And then thanks to some dodgy decisions from the referee (again) we not only had all our players on the pitch, but also scored in the last minute of time added on, when the added on time should have finished a minute ago!

On Saturday we were lucky to win.  QPR played a great game against us only to be undone by a stupid kick and a disaster by the referee in allowing our offside goal to stand.  I do not mean to sound like I am having a go at referee's, they have a hard job to do and the goal was a very untidy one, one where I can understand how the offside was missed.  It makes a change to get decisions going for us.  It will not last, but hopefully, I will be able to remember these occasions when it comes to the times when decisions do not favour us.

When it comes to the kids, they are on half term now.  Which is great as today I got to have lunch with them and of course, my son gets to wind down.

When I die I want my body donated to science, but more specifically a scientist who is working on bringing dead guys back to life.

Evening all. Have been to watch Madagascar 3 with the family today. I have to say I was dreading it, but I liked it. Not the end, it had become much to sentimental by that point, but all in all, it was a good film. Loads of laughs both for adults and children and true to the way films should be, a fun film for all the family. Each one of us liked a different character the most, my son liking Mort the small big eyed creature, much like the bushbaby toys that he loves. Me, I loved the King! It is the begining of the half term holidays now. Which is a welcome break from school. My daughter has been doing well during the last few weeks, and to be fair, so has my son, but at the end of each day he has been very emotional and tired and this has got worse as the half term has gone on. This week, away from school is going to be a much needed and well deserved break for the two of them. I am not too sure what my wife has planned for the two of them, but I suspect that they will have a good week away from school and should be back quite rested and ready to impress Father Christmas with how good they are. Anyway, time to post some of the songs from Madagascar 3 and I hope you like the jokes.
I told my blonde girlfriend my grandad was a kamikaze pilot.
She can't wait to meet him.

I currently own a system that is 14 times better than Windows 8.
I call it Windows 7.

I was up every hour during last night... to put the clock back at every 2am

The UK is officially out of recession. Or to put it another way, the start of a treble dip recession.

I have to say I am so proud of the children today. I think that they have done really well. This week I went to a parents day. The kids are amazing. My daughter and her use of language when it comes to they way she writes amazes me. And my son when it comes to maths just blows me away with how good he is for his age. I know that both are good at maths and at reading, but the ability that they both showed was breathtaking. The only thing that they need to improve on is the handwriting that they appear to have got from me!

I phoned the doctor and said, "I blew my nose and now my vision is all blurred. What should I do?" "Stop cleaning your glasses with your hanky," he replied.

Evening all. All tired out. My Mum and by two brothers were up yesterday. Well, my mother was actually up on Friday, my two brothers coming up on Sunday.  The kids loved it.  Especially as my daughter ended up with three Nerf guns.  One fires discs, one already is now in next door neighbours garden.  The other two fires bullets.  So yesterday I was the target.  And some of the bullets stick to clothes.  Which they loved even more.  Now, I can understand the kids loving shooting me, but my two brothers did as well.  To be fair, they owe me.  Of the two, one fine moment I remember was when I got the cat to run up my brothers leg.  We was wearing jeans, and it was a kitten.  Still hurt.  I laughed, and he did not talk to me for two days, so double result back them.  Now, if my kids tried that well, I would be angry to say the least.  Of course, we would need a cat first which is not possible as my wife starts wheezing around them.

Today, it was a birthday party.  My daughter loved having loads of people around, and Steff and Nonsense were great.  She says that seven is the oldest she refers doing a party for, and the kids were a lot more aware that somethings can be tricks.  But they loved the show, she was great with them, ending with a series of songs that we all danced to.  As the parents of the kids came in to pick their klids up saw when YMCA was on!

Anyway, I am not going to mention the football but insead am going to get ready to go to bed.

Felix Baumgartner seems like a very down to earth guy

The title is a reference to the jump by Felix Baumgartner to earth. A long way up, taking ages to get there, and ten minutes later, he is on the ground. And no, I have not watched it. Yet.

I survived the day. I was was knackered. Though if that was due to a late night on Friday and Saturday as opposed to spending time with the kids remains to be seen. It was good to have them to myself though. Not that I did much. After my wife left (I could not tell if she was laughing and rubbing her hands with glee) I just relaxed and was a bad father, letting the kids watch television. My excuse is that there was a lot of Spiderman episodes taped and I needed to clear space on the Sky box and I am going to stick to it. The both parties were great. The first one really was one my son was meant to go to, but my daughter, along with a few other children from her year were invited. As one mother of a child in my daughters year was saying that she needed something more sophisticated for her birthday, the two girls cycled past on some tricyles. There was a great bouncy castle which I did not get to go on (just to check it was safe for the children) as well as lost of soft play. But it was a 5th birthday party. When it came to feeding the kids, I helped a little bit, but lots of kids gave me wary looks, after all, some strange man is offering them sweets and they have been told to say no to strangers! During this time, I helped guard a door from a boy and a girl who wanted to leave the crowd and play elsewhere. The boy even punched me in the stomach in an attempt to let me open the door! Some kids eh?

Afterwards, it was to Colchester Zoo for the party that my daughter had been invited to. I took my son to see various animals. He was just interested in the big park near the entrance to the park, but soon took to seeing the different animals and even got to feed an elephant! With going to school, he has been more aggressive in the evenings recently and this has resulted in a few arguments. Today was a great day for the two of us to bond together. I think that happened and hopefully, one day he will remember the time that he spent with me there. Fortunately my wife arrived at home soon after we got home. I had allowed the kids to gorge themselves on the sweets and cake that they had been given and she got back before the sugar rush made them high. All in all, despite not seeing my wife as much as I would like, it was a good day.

Alan Pardew has told his Newcastle United players to forget all about the club's new sponsorship deal with Wonga.com. He's told them to just get on the pitch and give it 4107%.

Doomed. That is what I am. The kids are to go to a party this morning. Well, my son is, I am allowed to take my daughter as well. And then I am going to another one for my daughter. And my wife is away for the day. Doomed I say.

My wife doesn't think she can trust me. Well that's what my girlfriend told me.

Evening all.  Just a quick post before I go to bed.  My wife has had the bookgroup round.  Which meant I was banished upstairs with the computer, beer and football!  What a shame, have to get her to get the book group round more.
At work, I have seen two people who cheated on their partners and now Karma has appeared to bite both hard.  The moral of this week is never cheat on your partner.
The kids have been good, within limits.  My son is very tired when he gets back from school and screaming ensues when it comes to putting him to bed.  It takes a lot of patience not to snap back, but to be fair, it is not his fault.  My daughter was very proud for getting a reward in class for being kind.  And playing football today, she scored loads of goals.  All in all, a good week.  Take care all.

A young hot couple had a perfect marriage. one day the husband leaves his phone at home and not one to miss an opportunity, the wife has a look at it, and to her dismay, she finds dirty messages from her husbands secretary. She was curled up on her bed crying when the maid found her and asked her whats wrong
"My husbands cheating on me with his secretary!"
The maid was appalled, "The lying git! he told me it was over with her!"

A husband and wife are in bed together. In her sleep the wife yells quick my husbands home. Her husband jumps out the window.

Kopapa review

It has been a busy day today.  I had the flu jab on Thursday, felt ill yesterday and had not recovered fully this morning.  And we had to get up early.  I had a course in London and then we were to meet up with my family for a late lunch.

First of all, the late lunch, and then I will talk about everything else. My wife picked Kopapa and we made the decision to eat there last night. We rang for a table, and although they did not have one for seven, they literally squeezed us in at the time we wanted (well, half an hour late) which was really good of them. When we got there, I have to say my first impressions were not that good. The service was lacking and it took time to get the menu's. But the food came quickly and while my wife was not 100% happy with hers, I loved my choice. This applied to both my main course as well as my pudding. The thing that makes me think that they were short staffed was the attention we were given once the restaurant was starting to become less busy. Then the same staff had the time to give us the attention which, to be fair, was lacking when we arrived.  When I have eating places where the service is poor because the staff do not care, it does not matter if they are busy or quiet.  Here, once the staff had the time, then we got great service.  So all in all, while this review may come across as being negative, I do not intend it to be.  I would recommend eating here and I would be more than happy to return.

Anyway, the kids went to the British Museum.  A brave decision on the part of my wife considering that she has not been that well in the last few days, and in addition to this, my son was been knackered and very ratty at the end of each school day.  The kids have been there before and did love it when they were there before.  As my son was knackered, while they enjoyed bits of it, my son, bless him, was not able to enjoy it as much as he did previously.  Meeting up with my family was great as well.  As noted, while there were things about the meal that could have been better, it was a very enjoyable experience and one which was family friendly.  The kids got to spend time with both my brothers as well as my Mum, and she loved buying them things.  They do not just love her for the presents that she buys as they love it as she spends time playing things with them, the joy on their face when she gets them things is almost as great as the joy on hers as she sees how much they love them (and her).  The kids, when they are lifted onto my brothers love being able to look down on me, which reminds me, I have to ban that...

What's Abu Hamza's least favorite Eddie Murphy movie?  Coming to America. It concerns me that I can't fly to Ireland with a pair of tweezers in my bag, yet Abu Hamza can fly halfway around the world with a huge hook attached to his arm.

The North Hill Noodle Bar

How could I forget!  Yesterday, after coming back from a course in Cambridge I managed to get home.  The day before, when I had got home, it was late and I had to cut short the story I am reading to the kids (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe), which meant that I promised to read two chapters on Tuesday.  So I got home after a long drive at the end of a long course, to find two hyperactive children.  Both were really happy to see me, which is really nice.  I even got a hug from my son who does not do so everyday.  Both then wanted to play on me, so I told them that I would go upstairs while they had jelly and when they finished, I would read to them as promised. 

They did come up, and I did manage to calm them down, to read them the rest of the chapter, but not the otherone as my wife and I had to go to my daughters school for the "Year ahead" meeting.  That was good as it gives us an idea of what is coming up in the next year.  Afterwards, it was a quick meal at The North Hill Noodle Bar.  I have posted about this before, and again, we had a great meal.  We just wanted something quick and good, and it was both.  Prompt and attentive service, the food not taking too long.   Bear in mind, this is a restaurant, so no, the speed of the food coming out will never compare to McDonalds or the like, but for a restaurant, the food was brought out fairly quickly.  And as before, the food was brilliant.  Full of flavour, and if you wanted a change to a dish, they would accomdate yoru wishes, as my wife found out when she wanted her dish to be a bit hotter.

Anyway, have to go, take care all.

The Innocence of Muslims

Yes, this is a post about what is happening across the globe.  Notably a film and come cartoons that have caused offence.

Let me start by stating my position on this.  I think that freedom of speech is important.  I think that we should be free to speak our minds, and if doing so, in what every form, is considered an act of blasphemy, so be it.

I also think that with great power comes great responsibility.

And free speech gives us great power.  And some are using it for good.

Needless to say, I think that it is wrong for people to demonise Islam and try to stir up hatred.  Just as I think that it is wrong for (a minority) of Muslims to attack and kill and destroy things that are linked to America because of a video.  Of course, saying this, it is not just about a video, it is about the way that many in the Muslim world see America.  But let us face a few facts.  America can be worse, far worse.  It has been in the past, and if Romney is elected, can be so again in the future. While many people have died in Iraq and Libya, thanks to the actions of the USA, one thing that they do have is the right to vote.  (I do not include Afghanistan in this due to the problems that have been present with Putin like elections there.)  I understand the frustration that many have towards America, especially the way it has backed oppressive regimes but two wrongs do not make a right.  Islam is perverted by extremists and idiots, and it is wrong to judge all Muslims on the actions of a minority, however much damage that minority causes.  And the same should hold about they way Muslims look at others (again, please note, I am aware that it is only a minority that are being violent).  I have not watched the Innocence of Muslims, and unlike one of my friends (who felt it to be a terrible YouTube clip) I am not going to.  It is my choice not to do so. I am not going to look at the cartoons in Charlie Hebdo either.  Again, that is my choice.

One of the many things that Islamophobes use to castigate Islam is the claim that one wife of the Prophet was nine when the marriage was consumated with the marriage taking place when she was aged six.  Not everyone agrees with this claim.  Even if true, it has to be considered in a historical context.  I was born in England.  I live in England.  And my nation has had many child Queens.

Ealdgyth was the wife of Harold, it is recorded that she was born in 1057 and married in 1066, which means she was married at the age of thirteen.
At the age of twelve, Isabella of Angoulême became Queen in 1200, married to King John.
Queen to Henry III, Eleanor of Provence was queen at the age of thirteen.
Eleanor of Castile was Queen aged thirteen to Edward I being born in 1241 and married in 1254.

But Isabella of Valois was only aged eight on getting married to Richard II before her birthday in 1396 being born in 1387.

This is just looking at the Queens of England.  I have not looked at the ages of Queens of other European nations at the time but I am sure that there are many child brides there.  I am proud of the history of England, but there are things that have happened in the past which are not acceptable now.  People who wish to 'bash' Islam need to learn history and learn that nations and cultures that the far right consider 'civilised' have a history that is not whiter than white.

I do not judge all Catholics on the actions of paedophile priests.  I do not judge all Israeli's on the actions of Israel, just as I do not judge all Jews on the actions of a few.  I do not judge anyone based on the actions of a minority, and no one should this applying to Muslims as well as Hindu's and any religion.  I judge people on who they are, just like I would like to be judged.

Below is a quote from a famous play.

"Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs,
dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with
the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
to the same diseases, heal'd by the same means,
warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer
as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?
If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us,
do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.
If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility?
Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his
sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge.
The villainy you teach me, I will execute,
and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction." (Act III, scene I) The Merchant of Venice

In summary, we are all different, but we are also all the same.  We should respect each other and the differences between us.  The past can teach us what happens when he let fear and hatred fester and breed.  Let us not let that happen again.

An Iphone 5 user walks into a bar... or was it a bank... or was it a hotel. They're not sure really.

Right, since the last post on the kids, they have played another game of football.  They both liked it this time, though my son has this urge to pick up the ball and run with it...

On the weekend, took them to see my mother and my wife's parents.  While at my Mum's they have a great time with her, and also with Dougal, the dog.  When I say dog, I mean horse.  He is huge.  You could put a saddle on him and get the kids to ride him.  My daughter has always been nervous of him.  When she was a baby and we brought her round to the house, he had to be shut in the kitchen as otherwise he would have licked her to death.   He barked, after all, he wanted to see everyone and did not want to be in the kitchen away from everyone else.  She cried.  He barked to let her know he was there to protect her.  She cried more.  He barked louder...  You can see where I am going.  Anyway, the relationship between the two has stayed the same.  He loves her and wants to lick her, she screams...  My son sat on my brother when there and played with Dougal.  She wanted to, and we did try to kick the ball.  My son did it, but my daughter kept hesitating, which meant that Dougal would pick it up, which made her nervous as she did not want him to bite her leg by accident (which he would never do).  But, she did get to play with my mothers cat. She loved making it purr and I think, to the horror of my cat allergic wife, that my daughter is going to be a cat person!

Anyway, also spent time with the in-laws.  They are great at making me feel welcome, and they lvoe the kids as well.  The kids played hide and seek, my mother-in-law hid too well and ended up having to make it very easy for them to find her by sitting on a chair.  Only even then they could not find her!

At school today, my son, who I am trying to teach non-violence to was attacked by a girl who was hitting his head against concrete.  Something that she had been doing to other kids.  Apparently.  That will be sorted out tomorow I think.  My daughter had a teachers evening were us parents got to find out what the basic plans are for the up coming year.  For the record, she is better than the picture above when it comes to writing.

Anyway, time to go.  I hope you like the jokes below.

Liverpool signed Fabio Borini who spent 2011 at Swansea when they were in the Championship. They also signed Jonjo Shelvey from Charlton, who are now in the Championship.
They're just getting a team together ready for next season. 

So John Terry has retired from international football..
The only internationals he'll now be appearing in are his Chelsea team mates wives.

Lukas Podolski "I'm thinking of getting an Arsenal tattoo"...
That'll be a bit awkward when he goes to Man City next year.

The new iPhone 5 is great news for Liverpool supporters.
They can see where they're on the table without scrolling down.

John Terry retires from international football to spend time with other players families

So are Man City planning on paying for Theo Walcott with their Arsenal club card points?

Well, time for a quick post about football. I missed watching the demolition of Southampton last week, just as I had to miss the European cup victory over Montpellier in the week. With the Southampton game, I was at work and had forgotten to tape Match of the Day. I did watch the highlights on Yahoo! With the game against Montpellier again I was at work so only watched the highlights on ITV. The Saint's had played well against ManUre as well as Man5hitty and some would argue that they were unfortunate not to get a draw against both teams. It could have been a hard game, but we were fortunate. An own goal helped us before we went onto score two more and another own goal really killed off the game. Gervinho opened his account for the season and Podolski scored again. The main shame was letting in a goal.

We may not have played in such an emphatic manner against Montpellier but a win is a win. And then of course, the game against Man5hitty, a team I once had a soft spot for. Before they started stealing our best players. The highlights on Yahoo! do not really do the first half justice. It was mainly Arsenal who were playing well, 5hitty not having as many chances as I would expect. Mind you, I was expecting a thumping and to watch the team play so well reminded my of the way we played the last time we won the league. It is too early to say that we will win the league, but watching that game and they way we played against the League champions coming back from that goal down, it gave credence to the way that Arséne Wenger had talked about us having a chance of winning the title this season. A lot though depends on Cazorla staying fit and playing well until Jack Wilshere is back. Our midfield looks a threat and in a strange way, not having RVP in the squad means that the team is looking at everyone to score goals. Anyway, time to go, while looking forwards to our next match.

I just been on the BBC Sport website, they really need to sort these glitches out, not only has it showed Aston Villa have won a game but it also shows they scored two goals

Afternoon all. It has been a football based few days. The kids were taken to football training on Friday. My daughter did really well scoring two goals and was given a Magic Messi sticker. She has yet to know who he is though. My son did try, but was annoyed when he did not get a sticker. My wife managed to blag one, but he knew that it was not one that he had won. But he did try, and the trick with him is to encourage him to keep trying. Both now want football tops, and rather than waiting Arsenal tops, they want them from the local team, Colchester United, which I think is great. We have shown them the tops on the internet as well as the England ones so that they can think about them before they chose which ones they would like.  Unfortunately, I did not get to watch the football last night, and now am waiting to Match of the Day 2 as I forgot to tape it last night, and worse, had forgotten that I had not taped it, so I did not watch it in the morning. Which means that I have yet to watch our victory. I am annoyed that we let in a goal, but considering the way people have been talking about our defence, they were jinxing it! Anyway, today we had a kick around in the garden. The kids did get quite tired quite quickly, but it was fun for all of us. I hope you like the song, it might get to number one...

I spy, with my little i, a lawsuit from Apple

Morning all. I have been a member of Facebook now for about a month. This weekend, we went ot Mersea and my daughter had some prawns at the West Mersea Oyster Bar. She loved it, and sucking the juices out of the prawns heads grossed me out. She loved both the taste of the juices, and the effect it had on me. I took a photo and a video and have posted it on my profile, and got loads of comments which I have shown to her, which she loves. My son is doing well at school, and yesterday was star of the day. The day before he had told my wife that is what he was going to be. She tried to let him down gently. He proved her wrong. What she will be proved right about is that he will not be star of the day today. I hope! My daughter got a book from her teacher from last year, The Twits, which is my favourite Roald Dahl book of all time. She got it yesterday and this morning, she came into our room stating that she had finished it!

Anyway, am now resting from my morning bike ride. A few years ago, I bought a bike. My wife insisted that I took someone with me who knew about bikes. I wanted to buy one for £80. I ended up with one which cost a lot more. I have not ridden on it that much since, mainly because my wife is convinced that I am going to kill myself on it. Also, I am waiting for, as you may guess, is the new iPhone. My contact expires next week, which means that I will be able to get the new one! Though the last time I got one, I got the version which you can not make calls with! The song is for my brother, who may be starting to like Guns and Roses thanks to playing Grand Theft Auto. Me, I am still addicted to Oolite, but that is another story.

A former Navy Seal has a book out that claims Osama Bin Laden was unarmed when he was shot. The book is called 'Who Cares, He's Dead.

Eleven years ago, I remember coming home from work before going of for some training for lunch.  I switched on the television to hear that a plane had flown into one of the World Trade Centre towers.  At the time, it was thought to be a terrible accident.  And then I saw the second plane fly into the second tower.  And then everyone knew that this was no accident.

I went to the training, and I remember telling people that two planes had been flown into the World Trade Centre towers. I did not think that people really took that much notice of what I said at the time. I suspect they, like the rest of the world, realised that this was an important event that night. I remember the bravery of those who ran into the towers to save others, and instead died when the towers collapsed or lived and still suffer the ill effects of the collapse. I remember seeing those above the burning floors on both buildings, those on the second tower knowing that after the first tower collapsed, that they were about to die. I knew things had changed, but like so many people, I had no idea just how much things would still change. 

So tonight, my prayers go out to those who died in the twin towers, those rescuers who died or are ill now, and of course, those who died fighting for freedom and democracy, and the many civilians who have died when caught in the resulting crossfire.

West Mersea Oyster Bar review

What a great day and great food.  Worked last night, coming back home late.  In the morning, my wife kindly let me stay in bed and took the kids to do the weekly shop.  When she came back, the kids and done the best to drive her mad.  After a bit of time to calm down and some food we decided to go out, and went to Mersea Island.  It was great there.  We have been there several times before and the kids love it.  After a very relaxing morning, we went to the West Mersea Oyster Bar.  It is somewhere that we have been on many an occasion for many years.  Being a sunny day, needless to say it was a tad busy.  Might be something to do with the weather, might be something to do with the great food, or even the mention in the Telegraph today or of course, the face that today was a brilliant sunny day.  Anyway the kids loved the food, as did my wife and I.  Which is no surprise as the only thing wrong with the place is sometimes the food portions are too large! 

I think Labour are being a bit unfair to David Cameron over his minimal reshuffle. The PM did try to move Eric Pickles, but even with the whole cabinet pushing it was hopeless

Politicians of all parties claim that the BBC is biased. Those on the left complain that most of the media is biased but me, I think that they have missed an important political point this week. Prime Ministers Questions this week, I feel, was a resounding victory for Ed Miliband who asked question after question which the Prime Minister did not answer. But, this was not really reported. My wife stated that this was due to the voice of the younger Miliband. Me, I do not think that our politicians should run for the X-factor. Fine, Miliband is not the most charismatic of politicans, but he has done a lot for the Labour party. To be fair, the government has made things easy for him with a lack of recovery and flip-flop after flip-flop. The shame is that even the left wing media have not really reported on this, the media instead commenting on the way Flashman responded. Anyway, the picture is about easyJet and seats, a change that means that I am more likely to fly with them in the future.

My last day with my son before he starts school

I have spent today with my son.  And wife.  Normally on a Wednesday, I go into work to catch up with paperwork, but today is the last day I will have with my son before he goes to school.  My daughter has already started in her new class yesterday and enjoyed the day, other than falling in the playground when she was accidentally pushed when balancing.  I got into trouble with my wife as I told her that her teacher was a witch who had previously turned a child into a frog for being too naughty.  I think she realises that I am not telling the truth, but it is fun making up stories.

Two years ago when she started at school, I was the moody one.  Today both my wife and I were sad.  I do not know how she is going to be, but I know that I am going to be sad.  As I have said before to my wife, they are only with us on loan, not my comment, but one that I was told by a midwife that I used to work with (and a damm good one).  They drive me mad at times, they drive each other mad at times, and there are many times I wonder how I survived to reach adulthood considering that although they play up at times, they really are good kids.  Whereas I did cruel and evil things like get the cat to run up my brothers leg (something I have to say I am still proud of).  At the moment, while I am typing this they are playing shops together.  As I have stated before, they are angels.  Though at times they forget that.

Anyway time to go so I can spend more precious time with them.  The top picture is one that I have taken from this post on the internet.  I hope some of you take time to read it.

Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal: Slick Arsenal storm to Anfield victory

Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal: Slick Arsenal storm to Anfield victory / Sport / Home - Morning Star
First of all, the picture, posted on Facebook, apparently it is for noodles.  It brings a new term to the use of sex to sell items! 

Right, Arsenal.  We have finally won a match.  I think that we have done well to keep three clean sheets, something that hopefully will last.  After all, I was brought up on the 1-0 to the Arsenal days and it is good to see no goals against us.  We were lucky, there was a penalty that was not given that should have been give against us.  But Diaby has been playing well, and being Black and tall, there are the obvious comparisons being made with Viera, comparisons that I made years ago, but comparisons that due to injury he has not built up on.  Olivier Giroud has been given the vote of confidence by Arsène Wenger and I have to agree that I think that he will do well.  So long as he is given a chance and is not played out of position.  And we have Wilshere to return as well.  While things may not be looking good at the moment, I have faith that things will get better.

Arsene Wenger has just won his first title in over half a decade
Superseller on eBay  

One Direction   The reason we should have killed Justin Bieber before he layed eggs. 

David Cameron, giving Paralympic gold medals with one hand, taking away disability benefits with the other.  

"Dad, why did you & Mum split up?" "To improve your chances on X Factor son!"

Evening all.  The end of the weekend and sometime spent with the kids again.  Today we got some of the things that my son will need before his first day at school this week.  Tomorrow is my daughters last day of the holidays, and then she is back to school.  My son starts on Thursday.  At first, it will be short days, then the days will become longer.  One big step for them as they grow up and I remember the words of Angela, a Midwife I used to work with, that they are not our children, but that we only have them on loan.
And yes, I know that the song is about a daughter, but it applies to both the kids.  Anyway, have to go and put the two angels to bed.

If this weather stays like this, they will have to start paying OAPs a summer fuel allowance payment.

Of course, saying that, summer is over.  Yesterday was the last day.  And to be fair, we have had a few days of summer.  It is just that compared to the week we spent in Malta, it was not that many compared to the last few years, and of course, going across the Channel to France, seeing blue skies in France and grey skies in the UK that rubbed it in.  The night before last was freezing, and last night was cold as well.  I made a bet with my wife that we would have a warmer December night.  I say bet, she agreed with me! Anyway, still on a high from last night watching Red Sky July.  My wife woke up having a dream that they came over to play at home!  I suspect that is related to her eagerness to listen to them again, assuming that they do come over again next year, and the conversation that she had with all three of them.

I have to say that thanks have to go to my mother for coming up to babysit the kids.  Not that I think that she minds spending time with them.  And they love seeing her as well.  Yesterday she brought up a bow and arrow from Brave for my daughter and she loved it.  She brought up a Spiderman mask for my son, only he refused to wear it despite him asking for it.  He tried to have fun with his toy Nerf Gun, only found it hard to fire it and instead shot himself on the nose when he was looking down the barrel at it.  Just as well he do not have real guns.  (In case you are wondering, this is not something we encourage as we would like him to have two working eyes by the time he grows up.)

Red Sky July at Little Rabbit Barn

Just got back from seeing Red Sky July at the Little Rabbit Barn.  What a night! It was not just them, first of all, there was a young lady called Rafferty McKelvey who was supported by her brother and they ended with a brilliant version of Mr Brightside.After this, there was a group called Jakob Deist.  It was the lead singer, Jakob Deist who was supported by a bloke with a funky box and a guitarist.Needless to say, I loved it.  I will have to admit that the first two were great live, I am not sure how good it will be to listen to both when they are not singing in front of me.  What is a shame is that Rafferty McKelvey has not got any of her original stuff uploaded on YouTube at the time of posting, or has a CD. Apparently it is a work in progress and based on what I heard live, it is a work worth waiting for.

The great thing about listening to music live at the Little Rabbit Barn is that is only has seats for about 60 people, which means that you are up close to the performers and this is brilliant.  Live music is great, but being in a venue like this is even better.  My wife does not want too many people to know about this as she would like to go back there again, a view I have to say I agree with.  She is on a high from talking to the three members, Shelly Poole (from Alisha's Attic), Ally McErlaine (from Texas) and Charity Hair from The Alice Band.  So thanks to the Little Rabbit Barn, the three members Red Sky July and of course Rafferty McKelvey and Jakob Deist for a great night.

Got to be weird being a British Paralympian under this government, knowing that a medal means you'll lose your Disability Living Allowance.

Afternoon all. We are back in the UK! Yesterday we took the Eurotunnel back to the UK. The sky was blue south of the channel. I told my wife it would be grey once we were on the other side, and I was right! But saying that it is great to be back in Blighty. The kids miss both Malta and France but are glad to be at home, where they have all the toys that they love, cherish and leave for me to step on and swear!  Anyway, despite the rain, I love being home.

I've just seen on the news that France and Germany are having Greek talks, and it's no wonder the Eurozone is in such a state. Surely they would understand a lot more if the talks were in French or German?

Morning all. Those who link to this on Facebook will be able to tell that I am posting this from France. Yesterday we flew back from that much needed (and much appreciated) holiday in Malta and now we are in France for the day. My daughter has been at a French club and has been picking up a few words after school. Having a day trip to France is something that we have thought about for a while, and we thought that as we were flying into Gatwick, with passports and our driving licence, why not pop across the Channel? So the kids woke up yesterday in Malta and went to bed in France. We used the EuroTunnel to travel across, a new experience for all of us. I am not sure how much the two kids will learn from this, but at least they have had the chance to travel to France. Anyway, this is only meant to be a quick post. Enjoy the songs and goodnight. Text from Prince Harry. "you know that Lion I won in Vegas..." Police in Essex say that a lion is reportedly on the loose. They have marksmen ready to shoot anything that is orange and has a big mouth. The cast of TOWIE have been told to stay indoors, just incase. BREAKING NEWS: Lion on the loose in Essex Locals are urged to remain indoors until further notice. Police are however keen on all members of TOWIE to immediately join the search.

I got an e-mail saying 'At Google Earth we can read maps backwards!' I thought, "That's just spam."

I hate my new Premier League football sticker book...

For some reason, none of the Arsenal stickers will stay attatched. Evening all.  Right, the trip to Malta has finished.  And I have to say, we had a great time on holiday.  I did not make use of the internet when on holiday, so I will make the post about it now.  The kids did not know that we were to go there.  We stayed at Gatwick overnight, the kids being told that it was a surprise for my wife for our anniversary.  They fell for it!  Anyway, they were excited about the room.  And it was a good one, two single beds for the kids, a sofa bed as well, and the double bed for the two of us.  Although the service in the restaurant that we ate in was not perfect, the food was good enough and the kids had a great time.  It would have been a better choice to eat at one of the other places that served food, had we arrived earlier, but that fault was with me.  I had stayed at work in the morning trying to clear a load of overdue paperwork before leaving.  My wife and I have stayed at the hotel before, and other than the service at the meal not being as good as we would like, it was great and we would certainly stay there again.

Come the morning, and we had to wake early, we took the kids into the airport.  It was only when we were waiting for the check in desk that they realised and needless to say, more excitement. As we had woken up a bit later than we should (and to be fair, I had wanted to wake later, it was the wife who had said that we needed to get up as early as we did) we did not get to spend a lot of time in Duty Free.  A rush to the plane but EasyJet were great.  My son being only four allowed us to board early (otherwise being small, he would probably be trampled otherwise), something that happened both on the flight to Malta, and the flight back.  Of course, Malta meant nothing to the kids.  It meant loads to my wife and I.  We had stayed there in the past, BC (before children) at the Westin Dragonara Resort, but could not remember when.  Back then (the staff told us that it was probably in 2003) we had arrived at the same time that a conference for an Italian petrol company was being held.  Unfortunately, our room had been double booked.  We were to be moved to a different hotel for a day or two, the Intercontinental, or as I called it after our first night, the Incontinental.  We had paid for an upgraded room at the Westin and were given a Club room at the new place.  I thought that would mean that we could take advantage of the club lounge.  This was not to be, and we were kicked out when we went there for complimentary drinks.  The Westin had arranged for us to have a meal at their best restaurant, and when we were there, the manager came over to see how we were.  You see, we had arrived on my wife's birthday.  We had wanted a sea view room, and ended up with a view of a car park.  Anyway, we got a free bottle of wine, and a promise that things would be better when we were moved back to the Westin.  When we were moved back, I thought that we would have a room upgrade, and we did.  To the penthouse!  And we had booked to stay there for two weeks!  The penthouse was bigger than our house at the time!

Anyway, this time, I have to say that the kids loved it.  And just as we had in the past, so did my wife and I.  We ate at the different restaurants there, and while we did not have as good an experience at Palio's (in fact it was a fairly bad one), others who ate there liked it and when the hotel found out about it, we had the bill removed from our bill.  The service at the hotel was brilliant almost all the time, and when it was not, other than the night in Palio's it was still very good.  Eating at Quadro, which was the Compass Rose when we were there last was amazing.  Excellent, patient and understanding service, the like of which it is hard to find anywhere on the planet as the people there retained the warmth for which the Island is famous.  And the food there!  I lost my watch, and the cleaning lady who found it had seen us waiting to be picked up in the lobby and came and found us before we left (I do wish we had given her a bigger tip).  It is somewhere I do think that we will be returning to. While there we met up with some friends who had come over on holiday to see family.  We did not get to see much of the island as we did not think that the kids, being so young would appreciate it, and my wife and I had seen most things when we were there before.  So instead, they spent time in the pool.  Loads of time and gained more confidence in the pool.  On most days, around lunch in one of the pools, there is a 'Kids club' which the two took part in.  On the first day, it was not that inclusive, but there was a wide range of ages there and the older kids dominated things, but on the other days the two had charmed the young ladies who ran it and took part in the activities.

Anyway, time to go, as usual, take are all.  And I hope you like the jokes.

RIP Neil Armstrong. The man responsible for the United States' most unique achievement: planting the Stars and Stripes somewhere without having to kill anyone.

Police have reported that with further observation, it turns out the lion in Essex is just a snow leopard with a spray tan and hair extensions.