...However I now have a shopping basket full of presents on Amazon already. I'm not going to say what's going to whom, but I thought you might like to know it includes:
- A map of Doncaster
- A book about shepherds (honestly)
- Bob the Builder
If this was a list for me, rather than from me, it would be soooo different.
Hang on, maybe I'll put one together on Froogle...
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
What millionaires drink
Millionaires drink booze. But not just any booze, oh no. They drink Champagne, Burgundy (white and red) and Hamilton Russell. They quaff only the most expensive Australian wines.
This was proved by us last weekend at our platinum-plated, starry-eyed, gold-fingered Millionaires' Supper, where we quaffed all these beauties (click pic for a bigger look) and then retired outside, well-refreshed, to check the pre-Bonfire Night firework activity across Highbury.
I say "our" - I mean my lottery syndicate: there's five of us, and we've won three times in the past few months. Never won more than £44 in a single draw, but still, our small total made for a good haul on the fine wine front.
Highlight of the evening was the meat though. Oh! The meat. We got a Chateaubriand from the Highbury organic butcher. It was red all the way through, and to call it perfect would be woefully inadequate. Thank you, TJ.
On a side note, we had a discussion in the newsroom at my work the other day about whether the verb 'to booze' was really suitable to describe what posh people do with fine wines etc at swanky occasions. The consensus was, if you've got a drink in your hand, you're boozing, so there.
This is particularly poignant at the moment, since the Ministry of Stopping You Having Fun is currently considering banning all booze on trains. No doubt there will be exceptions for passengers in first class though, proving as suspected that where posh people think they are above common-sounding verbs like "to booze"... the Government agrees with them.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Magdalen drinks, doesn't it?
What exactly is happening here? Is it important? Does it demand attention, or even deserve it slightly?
The answer to all these questions could either be 'no' (although that wouldn't make brilliant sense for the first question), or it could be blowing in the wind, as the song says.
Me, I'm honestly unaffected by considerations like these. These are Magdalen people. Good people. People who want to go to a swanky West-End bar in the evenings and just bloody drink.
Let's not knock them for that, eh? Let's not be too critical or ask too many questions. Roll out the barrel, instead; pour yourself a large gin and watch. It's worth it: they're entertaining when a couple of sheets to the wind, if you follow me.
Click on the pic to see Jon Stanley, Will Brown, Claire van den Ring, and many more...
The answer to all these questions could either be 'no' (although that wouldn't make brilliant sense for the first question), or it could be blowing in the wind, as the song says.
Me, I'm honestly unaffected by considerations like these. These are Magdalen people. Good people. People who want to go to a swanky West-End bar in the evenings and just bloody drink.
Let's not knock them for that, eh? Let's not be too critical or ask too many questions. Roll out the barrel, instead; pour yourself a large gin and watch. It's worth it: they're entertaining when a couple of sheets to the wind, if you follow me.
Click on the pic to see Jon Stanley, Will Brown, Claire van den Ring, and many more...
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Team Ashurst
On Sunday Julia and her work colleagues ran in aid of a children's cancer charity - the Terry Fox Run, I think - in Hyde Park, central London.
Her mum and I had a leisurely breakfast and strolled down to meet her after the run. Then we took a gentle tour of some of London's more famous landmarks, without really committing too much of our precious time and energy to any of them, before going home for a dinner of slowly stewed lamb shanks (bloody marvellous) and botched German hash brown-style potato cakes.
Julia's mum is with us until Wednesday. I swear we will get the potato cakes (called 'Reibekuchen') right before then, but Julia has bought a bag of frozen hash browns in case. Not the same though...
Her mum and I had a leisurely breakfast and strolled down to meet her after the run. Then we took a gentle tour of some of London's more famous landmarks, without really committing too much of our precious time and energy to any of them, before going home for a dinner of slowly stewed lamb shanks (bloody marvellous) and botched German hash brown-style potato cakes.
Julia's mum is with us until Wednesday. I swear we will get the potato cakes (called 'Reibekuchen') right before then, but Julia has bought a bag of frozen hash browns in case. Not the same though...
Monday, October 03, 2005
Poor car!
I'm so behind. This picture is actually about a month old. Maybe a bit more.
Anyway, Julia was in Germany, pootling about getting wine and *more* glasses from Ikea and whatnot, when she was in a car crash.
She's fine, by the way - and the glasses she had bought remained unbroken on the front seat, but...
...this is the state of the car when she had finished spinning about in the rain and hitting the side of the road and stuff.
I'm so glad she's fine (oh, and she is *fine*). She's home again now, and so is the car (which is fixed too), and she's working too. But more of that next time.
Anyway, Julia was in Germany, pootling about getting wine and *more* glasses from Ikea and whatnot, when she was in a car crash.
She's fine, by the way - and the glasses she had bought remained unbroken on the front seat, but...
...this is the state of the car when she had finished spinning about in the rain and hitting the side of the road and stuff.
I'm so glad she's fine (oh, and she is *fine*). She's home again now, and so is the car (which is fixed too), and she's working too. But more of that next time.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Chris and Hilary get married
This is Chris and Hilary's wedding day. Doesn't Hilary look gorgeous? Just the best dress ever. And Chris wore a suit too. And, well, it suited him.
My first London wedding - and it was so pleasantly easy (and unusual) not to have to travel for hours into the country and spend two hundred quid on petrol and hotel rooms and eating out in order to be able to attend.
We just got dressed, went out, caught the bus (taxi, actually) down to Islington Town Hall... and there it was.
Then there was the reception, which was at The Ivy. More photos here. I made a speech. As they say, the less said the better, which was the rule-of-thumb I stuck to.
Thanks Chris and Hilary. And congrats!
My first London wedding - and it was so pleasantly easy (and unusual) not to have to travel for hours into the country and spend two hundred quid on petrol and hotel rooms and eating out in order to be able to attend.
We just got dressed, went out, caught the bus (taxi, actually) down to Islington Town Hall... and there it was.
Then there was the reception, which was at The Ivy. More photos here. I made a speech. As they say, the less said the better, which was the rule-of-thumb I stuck to.
Thanks Chris and Hilary. And congrats!
Monday, July 25, 2005
Rain, rain, go away...
...or don't go away, actually.
Because this photo might not be the best composition in the world ever, but my god does it sum up this weekend just gone.
The rain may have stopped the cricket (though not for long enough to dry off and dust down the England cricket team's hopes of victory over the Aussies), but it didn't stop us.
This is a photo of my barbeque, which continued despite the rain, and produced some magnificent food, and a certain amount of jolly inebriation.
Barbeques should.
So much has happened in London in the past three weeks - it hardly bears repeating, but well, Olympics, bombs, more bombs, G8, Live8, Ashes, you get the idea - it's worth remembering the things that matter, and carry on regardless:
friends, home, rain.
Because this photo might not be the best composition in the world ever, but my god does it sum up this weekend just gone.
The rain may have stopped the cricket (though not for long enough to dry off and dust down the England cricket team's hopes of victory over the Aussies), but it didn't stop us.
This is a photo of my barbeque, which continued despite the rain, and produced some magnificent food, and a certain amount of jolly inebriation.
Barbeques should.
So much has happened in London in the past three weeks - it hardly bears repeating, but well, Olympics, bombs, more bombs, G8, Live8, Ashes, you get the idea - it's worth remembering the things that matter, and carry on regardless:
friends, home, rain.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Bungle boogie
It's so unfair, isn't it? You get a hilarious photo of someone, that they'd rather no one see, and you go and publish it to the whole world.
London was subject to attack again today. So on this day of sad events, and serious discussions, and recriminations, and consideration of whether going to war on the Arab world might have led to some Muslims being a bit pissed off with Britain...
...I'd like to show off this photo of my friend, Bungle, doing his 'slut face' (you make the connection, I can't) in my lounge at a Barbeque last night.
No, we are not afraid. (Although I'm prepared to admit we shouldn't have attacked Iraq.) However, we are certainly not afraid. In fact, we are holding barbeques, and doing bizarre slut faces, to be honest.
More photos from the barbie (but you'll have to beg me to see the photo of Sian's slut face) at my flickr photostream
London was subject to attack again today. So on this day of sad events, and serious discussions, and recriminations, and consideration of whether going to war on the Arab world might have led to some Muslims being a bit pissed off with Britain...
...I'd like to show off this photo of my friend, Bungle, doing his 'slut face' (you make the connection, I can't) in my lounge at a Barbeque last night.
No, we are not afraid. (Although I'm prepared to admit we shouldn't have attacked Iraq.) However, we are certainly not afraid. In fact, we are holding barbeques, and doing bizarre slut faces, to be honest.
More photos from the barbie (but you'll have to beg me to see the photo of Sian's slut face) at my flickr photostream
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
This be the girl
Me and Drell moved house recently.
She's here, with her sword. Yes. She has a sword. She doesn't use it on me.
Drell's a compulsive sportswoman. She runs, and rides a horse, and she can fence.
She wants to become a professional athlete, I think, and there's no reason why she shouldn't.
Currently she's torn between marathons and swordplay. This is a choice I will never have to make. Am I missing out? I don't think so.
But am I?
She's here, with her sword. Yes. She has a sword. She doesn't use it on me.
Drell's a compulsive sportswoman. She runs, and rides a horse, and she can fence.
She wants to become a professional athlete, I think, and there's no reason why she shouldn't.
Currently she's torn between marathons and swordplay. This is a choice I will never have to make. Am I missing out? I don't think so.
But am I?
Good slap needed
You may have noticed I missed a few days here. This was probably pretty damned stoopid of me, because, like, they were the most important news days in London EVER.
So sue me.
Please.
So sue me.
Please.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
We won! We Won!
Unbelievable. No one in London was expecting to win the bid for the 2012 Olympics. The Brits are so good at losing things: this was just going to be another one to add to the list. But we won it. London is the best city in the world to be living intoday. The morning started cloudy but, and I swear this is true, the clouds have parted, the sun's out, and the pubs are calling. Well done, Lord Coe! Well done, Barbara Cassani! Well done all! Let's get pisswed. As my friend Chris said this afternoon: "la la la la la la. On n'ecoute rien, hein! Parles-tu avec le main, M. le grenouille. "
Go on, London2012
The big day is here. The day we've all been waiting for. Not becauseof the G8, not because of the possibility of an end to world poverty.Oh no.It's the day the host of the 2012 Olympics will be announced in Singapore.The IOC is voting now. The BBC's blog from the voting centre is excellent.We're on tenderhooks here. The Wembley & Kingsbury Times is ontenderhooks - it's my local title which is following the bid (becausethey've got the new national stadium, you see).I can't stay. But I'll be back.We must beat the French. We must beat the French.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Moving, we're so moving
Today I'm working from home. There's a project I'm working on for my manager that he doesn't want anyone asking questions about. Thing is, my girlfriend and I are currently in the middle of moving house. So the place is a mess. It's carnage in here. Amid the boxes and bags strewn around the floor with the guts of the weekend papers, all screwed up for packing, are the bare essentials for life: Plugs, TV, kettle, toaster, coffee maker, two bottles of wine. Goodbye, sweet flat. You have been good to us. But we're off to a better place. This morning PCs on ebay cost £380.At Curry's they cost £475+.Savastore still hasn't sorted out my digital camera. Life is not up to scratch.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Yellow London
Today’s the day after London’s busiest weekend ever, in which I missed everything while moving house. For those who have been asleep, I missed (in ascending order of importance):
- The men’s finals at Wimbledon
- The women’s finals at Wimbledon (I stood to make £24 if Davenport had won. She didn’t. This tells you something about my luck.)
- Live8
- The final of the Natwest one-day international series between England and Australia at Lord’s
- Hornsey Carnival
I did, on the other hand, manage to make it to Alex Brown’s housewarming party just east of Brick Lane in Bethnal Green.My girlfriend has been chiding me for a while about being annoying while drunk. So I was on best behaviour for Alex’s party. I reckon it all went off pretty well, but it turns out I disappeared for 45minutes when my girlfriend said she wanted to leave, and then introduced myself to the taxi driver on the way home. Personally I don’t see much wrong with that. Maybe it’s something that comes with age and responsibility. Why shouldn’t I be a bit stoopid when I’m drunk? I guess it’s the drip-drip effect. She’s had three years of silliness to put up with, and it’s probably wearing a little thin. Then again, I’ve been hanging out with me for 28 years, and I still like me.
- The men’s finals at Wimbledon
- The women’s finals at Wimbledon (I stood to make £24 if Davenport had won. She didn’t. This tells you something about my luck.)
- Live8
- The final of the Natwest one-day international series between England and Australia at Lord’s
- Hornsey Carnival
I did, on the other hand, manage to make it to Alex Brown’s housewarming party just east of Brick Lane in Bethnal Green.My girlfriend has been chiding me for a while about being annoying while drunk. So I was on best behaviour for Alex’s party. I reckon it all went off pretty well, but it turns out I disappeared for 45minutes when my girlfriend said she wanted to leave, and then introduced myself to the taxi driver on the way home. Personally I don’t see much wrong with that. Maybe it’s something that comes with age and responsibility. Why shouldn’t I be a bit stoopid when I’m drunk? I guess it’s the drip-drip effect. She’s had three years of silliness to put up with, and it’s probably wearing a little thin. Then again, I’ve been hanging out with me for 28 years, and I still like me.
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