RIP

Helen Turner.

A lot of football fans, and especially those who frequented Maine Road would have heard of Helen, she used to sit behind the goal in the North stand and ring her bell. As a kid standing on the Kippax I would join in the chants of "Helen ring your bell, Helen Helen ring your bell". She always did.

She died on Friday morning and will be sadly missed.

New music in a different kitchen.

I’ve been trying some stuff that was recommended by a certain dodger of tax.

KT Tunstall.
John Legend.
Antony and the Johnsons.
Arcade Fire.

Tunstall was mediocre at best, there’s too much of this stuff about at the moment for her to stand out, she also looks a little like Holly Hunter, which is never a good thing.

John Legend is not for me, he’s a bit too R&B, and not in a good way. I always thought rhythm and blues was like early Stones and others of that ilk, apparently not.

Antony and the Johnsons….. what can I say about these except utter wank. I like my dour warbling with a bit of humour and some decent music to back it up – Smiths and Radiohead to name two. Give it up Tony, you haven’t got it.

Arcade fire. My opinion is based on an ep I downloaded, it was crap. They have a lot of work to do. You never know, if they stick at it, they may one day be a really good second rate McFly tribute band.

It has taken longer than I thought but I think finally my music taste has become detached from that of my son. I seem to remember being about thirteen, sitting in the kitchen listening to charts on a Sunday night, the Sex Pistols had Holidays in the sun in the charts, and my dad was ranting about how they should be shot. I think he also had a special place in hell reserved for Tom Robinson; he despised 2,4,6,8 motorway with a passion. This is the beginning of the end, next is grand children, then senility and a care home. I’m not forty yet… …..

Hi ho hi ho, it’s off to work…..

That’s the first week in and so far everything is going well.

Monday:
I met so many people my head was spinning, I’ve have never had a brilliant memory for names so by dinner time my brain was full. I used to work with a bloke who called everyone Roger 'cos he had a crap memory for names…. I can’t see me getting away with that here.

Tuesday:
I did a PowerPoint course, I’m pretty much self taught on this, so I thought it may be a good idea… especially as I will need to create some presentations in the near future.

Wednesday:
This is when it started to get interesting; I sat in on one of the training courses that I will be delivering when I get accreditation. I wanted to jump in and be up there, but I had to sit at the back and bite my tongue. I’m sure when I eventually get to stand in front of a class I will be shitting myself.

Thursday:
I got my office, complete with a desk and a computer. I have a window to look out of; it has a stunning view of the Cumbrian fells. The building is angled in such a way that my office window never gets the full effect of the sun, there is loads of natural light but none of the intense heat and light that can dazzle and make you too warm. I also started my teaching course; I should get accreditation in a couple of months.

Friday:
The honeymoon period lasted four days. Today I had meetings, made arrangements, set targets and deadlines, ordered things and generally moved around the office with a purpose. I love it.

I need to think of a name I can use to refer to them, without actually giving away who I work for. I know some other bloggers do this but they seem mostly to be negative. I need a positive one, one that suggests that it’s an ideal company……

Willy Wonka’s pie shop.

Master plan.

Bush has finally revealed his plan for all the people affected by the Hurricane. He's going to get everyone to pray, then he's gonna bung em two grand. Again one of the world leaders shows just why he's in the hot seat and we're not.

September morning.

Yet again the muse has fucked off and left me, it’s been over a week since I could be bothered to write anything. I think it’s a touch of excitement about the new job, coupled with decorating the bedroom.

Some things that have made me go hmm this week:

Blair mumbled something about bad parenting being responsible for the poor behaviour of children. Fucking stunning piece of deduction from our leader, I don’t begrudge him a cent of the cash we pay him to come up with this shit.

The hurricane that ravaged the southern US has caused some serious damage to people’s lives. But what amazed me was the speed that society degenerated into chaos. You know that Bush won’t admit he was wrong not to sign the Kyoto agreement, instead he will declare war on weather.

Sven Goran Eriksson, master football tactician and true Renaissance man, picked Bradley Wright-Phillip’s brother to start against Wales, thus shunting Beckham to centre midfield. When Brad’s brother sported a sky blue shirt he was used as a bench warmer for England, but now he plays for Chelsea he gets a start. This may sound unpatriotic, but I wish Sven would fuck off, and if that means England loosing a few matches, so be it.

In our search for accoutrements for our newly decorated bedroom I have had cause to go hmm twice. First we saw a cushion in a shop, yes I know I hate cushions but Tracy doesn’t and I’m nothing if not accommodating. Thing is, this cushion was £25…. Twenty five fucking pounds for one cushion, do these people live on Mars ? Speaking of Mars, I have finally discovered the location of the legendary MFI warehouse, it must be on Mars. A Martian week is about double ours, that explains the long delivery times. I asked how long it would take to deliver an ottoman, “about two weeks” the bloke replied. “Is that MFI weeks ?” I asked, “No, 2 real weeks !” he said, with real feeling. I laughed out loud.