The Snowball

Mid day saw us on route to Wrexham for DC79's headlining thingy at the Snowball, a one day ACDC convention, hosted by that Krusher bloke.
We were staying overnight in a hotel, so it was a no holds barred drink fest (well it was for me...)
I went mad and wore a pair of fluffy red horns and dressed up like a schoolgirl but what the hell, you only live once.
They were excellent as ever, and did about 8 million encores, and we rolled into the hotel at 3am, up at 9am for a full breakfast and then the awful "drop people/gear/vans" off bit, which takes FOREVER. Consequently I am now VERY tired.
Sadly the photographic evidence is a little shaky, as my camera is rubbish at taking pictures in the dark, but here is one of the posters....

Christmas

Christmas day dinner theme was Argentinian, so it was a marinaded beef affair (something like chimichurri - I think that's how you spell it), with home made chips and carrots and Argentinian wine. Very nice indeed.
I got loads of stuff with faeries on, an ACE book about Free (signed by the author dontcha know), a biography of Kate Bush and some other good stuff.
Went to the Ma in laws on Boxing day and had a meal out, then got drunk on bizarre cocktails made by junior sister in law (provisions by senior sister in law, who was driving so couldn't actually HAVE any so it was very kind of her).
A lot was eaten and drunk, but not overly so, and I didn't have turkey once.

Tree Time!

Christmas begins

Today we went to the Christmas markets in Manchester. We had a german steak burger, a cup of something-wein (can't pronounce it but it was hot mulled wine with blueberries), then a cup of somethingelse-wein (as before but with cherries) and THEN a cup of cider punch which sounds vile but was so lovely we bought two bottles of the stuff. Also got some posh fudge, some dutch cheese ("for those about to rock - cheese!" as the dutch bloke selling it said when he saw my ACDC tshirt) and we kept the cups the something-weins came in as well.
The markets looked like the above (I don't know who the people are!)
Oh yes, and I also got The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on dvd, and Lionheart by Kate Bush. And a fantastic book of 60s adverts, more of which later.

Here is him indoors agog with desire at the huge pile of olives and garlic....

And the world's OLDEST baby Jesus....

A MASSIVE Father Christmas (sorry - can never get the hang of all this "Santa" business)

Some time has passed

I didnt say about the Barnsley Gig did I....It was very good. Rockaholics was the venue (staged at G and Ts club) and the journey there was very lovely. It was dark and the moon was out and there were no lights as we drove across the Woodhead pass. We didn't hit any sheep either. I don't recall the journey home, as I had been drinking Jack Daniels till 2.30am and I was "tired". So I wrapped myself in a blanket or two and went to sleep in the back of the van.
Chez office, the ceiling fell in the other day and I spent the morning in my new role as office cleaner. The builders from hell, it has transpired, have stolen the Christmas decorations out of the basement where we USED to keep our stuff, which has dually upset AND annoyed me. I have been shouting a lot at anyone in a hard hat as a consequence.
The band have finally got a new singer, and rehearsals for this little event .....http://www.acdcconvention.co.uk are in order. I can't wait!
It snowed a bit the other day, I broke the bonnet catch AND the window winder for the driver's side in my car (don't know my own strength!), and a Marshall stack has taken up residence in my front room.
So nothing to report really :-)

Some Sims....

Here's one I electrocuted earlier.....

My Life as a Sim

It all began so innocently. A few years back, I bought a pc game called The Sims. I was already a fan of point and clicky things like Myst (although Doom will always be my favourite pc game ever). It seemed simple enough. You make a family, build them a house, decorate it, furnish it, get your Sims a job, get the kids off to school each day, that kind of thing. May pass the odd hour or so once every so often. Except it turned out to be the most compelling game I have every played.... Add on games appeared - The Sims Makin' Magic was especially good, allowing you to get your Sims to cast spells, practice magic and so on. I also discovered countless sites out there where you can download objects and clothes and hair styles and so on, to make your Sims more interesting.
I spent HOURS and HOURS playing it. The original Sims was a 2d affair. And then EA Games went barmy and made The Sims 2 - in 3d. And my free time disappeared in a whiff of pc gaming....
Oh dear me but this game is obsessive. I have cheats and add ons and downloaded objects, and an Amish family that keep asking for a telly (they were pleased with the bookcase I got them though), and I have one family that make Charles Manson's look like the Osmonds. I kill the ones I don't like in inventive ways (get them in the swimming pool and then take the ladders away/I get them to set fire to things and then take the doors away so they burn to death/I starve them to death...says a lot about me I think)
I have even built a faithful model of myself and my own house.
When I can get some screenshots together, I will post them so you can all marvel at my sad life :-)

Day Out

We went to Barnsley today. Well, Hoyland actually. The band are doing a gig there next Friday so we went on a recce mission because they alledged they have an in-house PA and him indoors wanted to make sure it was up to the job. Its a funny place - one side is all PA and lights and stuff and the other side is like a little tiny snug, all dominoes and swearing. It should be good though.
On the way back we came via Marsden and stopped at a cafe up in the hills for lunch. I say lunch - it was geting on for three o clock and I hadn't eaten all day. I had a bacon and mushroom toastie which was lovley. Its great up there - sheep wander about all over the road and the scenery is gorgeous. Yes, I forgot to take the camera.
Called in at Oldham and I finally bought The Sims2 University. The Sims what I hear you cry? Well.....over to post number 2 tonight....

Engerrland

Well we beat Argentina. It was quite LOUD chez Faery, what with him indoors shouting and waving lager cans about, but we had a more civilised bottle of Pinot Grigio to really celebrate. With hotdogs. The tea of Kings.
The new office continues to be great. I have so much ROOM. Goth boy seems to like it too, probably because we got new tea/coffee/sugar cannisters and they are BLACK. What he doesn't know yet is we are getting desk lamps - BLACK ones. He is away this weekend playing D and D. What a trooper of the Goth community :-)
I am nearly at the end of reading THUD by Terry Pratchett. What to read next is up for debate. Its either "John" by Cynthia Lennon or a Phillip Pullman. The Cynthia Lennon thing is smaller and therefore readable in the bath, but i fancy the Pullman more. Except its massive and liable to water logging....

News from the frontline

Blimey, have I been busy. A coupla DC79 gigs , and on Friday it was a late one. I got home at 6.40am. The NEXT DAY. To say I was a bit shattered is an understatement. I was very good though - I kept being offered Absinthe and I kept saying no.
I have been playing the Sims2 to obsessive levels, selling things on Ebay, reading Terry Pratchett and losing weight. Not neccessarily in that order.
We are finally in the new office at last. Its smashing - very large, very high ceilings, digital radio reception is ok again, and there is NO DUST and NO BUILDERS. An END to builders!!!!
Goth Boy is turning out to be a smashing staff member, which makes things easier on me, so all in all things are going well at the moment.
Well, all apart from junior senior cat. Felix is going a bit funny in the head. Or more than usual. I think senility is creeping up on her. She is getting a little confused and forgets where she is. I think a trip to the vets is in order. But can anything be done for a mentally confused cat? She isnt physically ill - she is stuffing her face and fighting with the other cat, and she is washing herself and things. She just isnt RIGHT somehow.
The perils of old animal owning.

Jet

Very sadly, my mother in law's elderly dog, Jet, passed away on Friday. She was 16 and things were just a little too much for her. She will be sadly missed.

Just relaxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Have i ever relaxed this weekend or what?
Friday night, home from work early, peppery chicken burgers for tea, lots of cider, bit of telly, bath, reading, crocheting, bed.....
Saturday I didn't get up till 12pm. Quick shop then lazy afternoon playing computer games, then England beat Antartica or someone, then garlic and mustard turkey for tea, then lots of cider and plum wine and the film "A Shark's Tale".....
Sunday? Up at 10am and off to a greasy spoon for coffee and toast, then a quick jaunt to the ma in laws to visit her aged dog and drop a birthday pressie off for the niece, then a pint in a couple of pubs on the way home ( I wasn't driving!), then after a quick mooch about at home, a walk down the big hill to the pub at the bottom for tea. Smothered chicken filled with cheese, salad and new potatoes, and a couple more pints, and here I am, after a nice cinnamon flavoured bath, watching Heartbeat and becoming a vegetable.
AND I am about to buy a satin pencil skirt on ebay. Oh the decadence.....

Sexism is alive and well and ...funny :-)

If you didn't all know, I work in I.T. On the frontline as it were. We support numerous small to medium sized businesses and business centres, we are an ISP, we do telecomms systems, we do the lot in fact. My email address is sam@. Colleagues refer to me as "Sam". Soooo most people who haven't dealt with me think I am a man. They really do. I don't mind this at all. Because 99% of people, when they find out I am NOT, just think ok, not a man, and carry on. However, 1% (and sorry guys, but its always GUYS that do this) think "oh , not a man" and then SAY "I thought you were a man!" About 99% of THIS lot then just get on with it. But not some. Some (and again, its usually guys, and usually youngish guys who are ALSO in I.T) get on their high horse and try and out-technical me in sometimes quite unpleasant ways. They never WIN but they try. It's sooo amusing. I have a smashing boss who gives me leeway to be as rude or sarcastic as I like to those that try to demean me. The other day, I got a classic.
Technical man - "I want to speak to someone about pointing our website to a different place".
Me - " I can do that for you. Which domain is it and can you email the details please, plus authority from the domain registrant?"
Technical man - "It's ok, I will call back when someone in authority is in."
ME - "As its me who will be doing this for you, I therefore HAVE the authority. "
Technical man - "No its ok, I will call back when someone important is in".
Click....brrr....
That really happened.
10 minutes later, the owners of the domain call, full of apologies and its all resolved.
The click...brrrr hangup was ME, not him, if you were wondering.

A catalogue of happy times #4. Whitby April 03.

I can't lay claim to this one. Him indoors took it. Usually his photos come out blurry, black or disturbing. Sometimes he has flashes of brilliance.

Random Evening Image

Not a photo. Just a verbal snapshot. Mr me is playing a snooker game on the pc. I am half watching. I am on the laptop. On the settee. Cider by my side, cat #1 poking its feet in my back to make me move. Everyone is a bit sleepy and full of the tuna we had for tea. I just finished talking to my mum on messenger. As far as I know everyone I know is ok for now. Sleep well people. Simple things. Isnt that what life is?

A catalogue of happy times #2. Chester Dec03.

Its ivy, its stuck on a church wall, and later on there was a squirrel that posed for photos as if its middle name was Kate Moss. Without the drugs.
It was a cold day, we were shopping and eating and having fun.

A catalogue of happy times #1. Llandudno pier June 05.

Its a pier. Its art. I took it. We went for a weekend away to visit my old holiday haunts of my youth.

Monty

Sadly, mum and dad's dog Monty (who has graced these pages before) passed away last night.
He was 17 and a half and a feisty little thing with a smiley face.
He will be missed.

Happy Madron!

Maybe I should remember this is the time to forgive and let go, to release old arguments and prepare for the new season. Does this apply to the BLOODY BUILDERS AT WORK? I suspect, sadly, it DOES. So, final rant. They lie, steal, laugh and don't CARE about anything. I hate(d) them. I will have to STOP hating them now. It didn't stop me pulling the power on their little hut thing as I went home tonight. Karma owes me big time for their behaviour, and I had a little of the devil in me this evening. And THEY didnt have any lights, radio or working kettle after I had finished. :-)I managed to stop myself poking holes in the water pipe for their toilet block, but that's only because Goth Boy also uses it, and its where we get OUR water from.
I drove home with the setting sun. I have had pizza. The cats are asleep. I am going in the bath. I have cider. Time to relax. Its all uphill now - darker nights, colder weather, boots and cardi weather - hooray for me!
Peace, y'all. )O(

When Blogging Goes Bad

I knew it would trip me up sometime. I was looking through old posts today and I noticed that over 6 months ago, I mentioned beginning to paint the bathroom tiles. And i still havent finished!I did a few more this afternoon and now I have stopped again. Maybe the rest will be done in another 6 months.
Anyway, I am off now. Hex is back on at 9pm and I need to ensure I am lying down on settee, cider in hand, cheese and crisps near enough that I don't have to stretch too far to reach them, cats are at a safe distance (when I lie down they tend to consider me open season for jumping on from a great height), and I hope its as good as the last series (although as far as I am aware, there is only me that watches it in the ENTIRE WORLD).
Be careful out there!

When quizzes go wrong

You're like me! The intelligent loner. You're shy
at times but friendly, and you are never weak
and always independent. You are incredibly
intelligent (wise beyond your years) and have a
talent for many things (sports, music, art).
You have a kind and warm personality and enjoy
the simple things. Like hanging out with
friends and watching movies at home. But you're
sometimes quiet nature makes you a bit of an
outcast and a mystery to people. No matter how
pretty you are or smart or athletic, you just
can't seem to break into the crowd and be
noticed. Don't worry, try to be more outgoing
and speak out when you have more to say. Don't
hide behind your books and sports and computer,
get out there and get noticed. You also have
deep desires in life and feel vunerable and
alone at times. Don't feel sad either, What
helps me to express feelings and dreams that I
can't say to people, is through my writting.
Maybe you should try.

What kind of girl are you? (with pix!)
brought to you by

no, thats NOT me. Quiet nature? I think NOT..... Try to be more outgoing? What do they want? Bette Midler??

DUST

Ok, so those of you who follow this will know that I am currently working in a portacabin from hell in the back of where my office USED to be, while they build a new office for us to move back into. And the date of the move keeps getting put back. And I am getting VERY cross now. Its dusty, and when I say dusty, I mean I put my sandwich down on the top of my lunchbox the other day, went out for 3 minutes, and when I came back, it was covered in DUST. Its AWFUL. The dust swirls about outside, torando like, so we have to keep the windows closed, but it gets IN somehow, and covers everything. Our new person at work (from now on known as Goth Boy - hope he doesnt read this!), can do an enviable Nephilim impression without getting the flour out, due to portacabin dust from hell. And it makes me behave cross as well. I am sure I am acting like I am having nine menopauses all at once ; I must be colleague from planet Banshee at the moment. I can't wear anything decent as it gets covered in dust and concrete and mud, and my desk is a mess of grit and I HATE THE BUILDERS. Get this : I am up a ladder in what we affectionately know as "the void" ( a hole in the ceiling where some patch panels live) , with Goth Boy clutching the ladder in the vain hope I don't fall off and blame him, and I am trying to patch electrical bits and bobs in. In combats and a hard hat and a hazard jacket. Nice look. Eventually - mission accomplished, without me breaking anything/killing myself. And later I pass one of the more moronic builders. "You were up a ladder." he says. "Mmmm." I say. " Someone move your make up mirror up the wall a bit?" says builder. ARRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH. DEATH to them.
I want a nice new office. I want there to be no dust. I want my stuff back - my fairy lights, my fluffy animals, my crystals, my TACKY JUNK, and I DO NOT WANT DUST. And I don't want builders. Anywhere near me. Ever again.

Oh the early 90s - me and him indoors

Oh well

Your Inner Child Is Angry

You're not an angry person. But when you don't get your way, watch out. Like a very manipulative kid, you will get what you want. Even if it takes a little kicking and screaming.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Muddled in Macclesfield

Last night saw DC79 (and therefore ME) in Macc. As its an in house PA which mortals are not allowed near, I was on photography detail. It was a good night, and I seem to have ermm imbibed quite a lot because I feel a bit "tired" today. I don't have photographic evidence yet, as it wasn't my camera, and I am not trusted to take it home with me, but I finally got the ones from the Big Ball bash back in August, which will be on their website soon enough.
Amongst other things last night, I danced with a woman, NEARLY fell down some stairs, had an argument with someone who insisted that to leer at a pretty girl was to "OOgle her" (OGLE - its OGLE for deity's sake), laddered my new stripey tights, carried 4 pints of beer up two flights of stairs without dropping or spilling ANYTHING, got accidentally kicked on the thigh (MASSIVE bruisery) and fell asleep wedged between three speakers in the back of the van on the way back. And all hail to Barry M Glitter Dust eyeshadow - I put it on at 5pm yesterday and it was STILL on at 11am this morning!
Must go - Heartbeat has returned to ITV!!!!

Evil Spammers/Crewe Gig

I have had to enable "word verification" for comments now. If you look at the ridiculous comment on the wedding post (a robot spammer) you will see why.When you want to post, it will ask you to type in a word to make sure you are really YOU and not some idiot spam person.
Sorry guys.
Gig for DC79 in Crewe last night. Great gig. For some reason I appear to have totally mastered the feedback issue with the monitors so I was Queen of sound. Drank G and Ts, had a great time, ate ham and mayonaise sandwich in garage at 4am, nearly died of tiredness when I got in. Its all go on the gig front from now until December. I am soooooo rock and roll :-)
Oh yeah, and if you are reading this tonight ,the 3rd, and you have Sky telly with the sports package, put your TV onto Sky Sports News tomorrow from 11am. They will be ON it (due to ex Premiership footballing legend being their rhythm guitarist). Sky Sports reporters turned up and videoed them!

The Wedding

The wedding was good. We got there to find out we were in a different hotel to the actual wedding, due to some kind of mix up, and there was another wedding going on at our hotel. People kept asking us to pose for pictures , and we kept having to point out it was another wedding we were going to. I wore a pale grey skirt suit and a black velvet lace up top and faux snakeskin round toed stilletoes and black tights. Tacky! Him indoors wore the black suit, a blue shirt, a bootlace tie (redneck chic) and his brothel creepers. (Shoes, mother!)
It was a nice wedding and they did a Native American Indian blessing at the end which was a lovely touch. The sit down meal thing was nice, and then we cleared off back to our hotel for a change of clothing (yay - back in jeans again!) and then returned for buffet/bad disco/chat with drunken friends.
Had every intention of packing in at 10.30pm but 1.30am saw us sitting in our hotel bar drinking brandy with a gay millionaire, whilst admiring the lovely old windows and fireplaces and talking to a Pomeranian dog called Mrs Barbara.
Then I had to drive home the next day...
It was a posh hotel. And the breakfast was not a patch on any of the millions of B and Bs we have stayed in. The whole thing was "sir" and "madam" this, and very impersonal. Not to mention bloody expensive! Still it was worth it.
Lovely time.

Pre Wedding Jitters

...and its not even MY wedding. Next Saturday our friends' son is getting married (that makes me feel ancient. I remember one time they came round to party the night away and had to bring him with them - he was 12 - because he had done some evil child thing and couldnt be left alone, and he sulked all night and here he is, a post grad, 22 and getting married..)
ANYWAY, it's a posh do and I have no posh clothes. I don't have to wear a suit or formal gear for work so I don't have posh people clothes. And neither does him indoors, unless you count his 1980s Ben Elton suit. And even Ben Elton wouldn't wear it anymore. So off we go to Asda and this is how it goes....
Him (within 5 seconds of entering the shop) - there's a black suit, in my size. I'll get that.
Me - (after 3 years of solid browsing) - everything's horrible or old-lady, the wrong size, no shoes will go with that, why dont they have that in a NICE colour, go and read the magazines while I kill myself....
I didn't get anything.
Tomorrow is round two in the clothing war. Normally, clothes shopping for me involves "does it have a picture of a band I like on it/is it denim/will that go with my suede high heeled boots/that looks sturdy and unfazed by beer spillage". NOW I have to buy real grown up people's clothing for once and I can't cope.

I'm Miss World. Somebody kill me.

Post number two of the evening. And this one is about Courtney Love.I like her. A lot. I like the way she looks, I like her music, I like her attitude (although her voice grates a bit) . And I am a bit fed up of everyone slagging her off for being a bit chunky at present. So WHAT? So she has put on a bit of weight. Its all part of the build em up knock em down look at the freak culture that seems to exist in our media. Ok, so you could argue that she courts the publicity, that she sets out to be notorious, that she actively seeks the negative attention, but attacking her for looking a bit iffy (which incidentally I don't think she does - the woman is 41 for insert your deity here's sake) is not particularly constructive or helpful, and is just a bit sad really. Ok, we are all guilty of going "oh look at the state of so and so" expecially if its someone we dont like, but in Courtney's case I think people do it because they WANT to see her fail, see her down, watch the descent into hell of this month's favourite freak.What I most like about her is the fact that she doesnt seem to care what anyone thinks. Neither do I. My own is the only approval I need.Courtney for Queen i say. (oh, no I dont, I dont believe in a monarchical system. Damn.)

Updates

Hi guys. Last Sunday saw DC79, and by default ME, at the ACDC Convention in Wrexham, Wales. It was a last minute thing (another band dropped out and they were asked to play) - it was three days of ACDC tribute bands, workshops, stalls and things, and they were on at 3.30pm on Sunday afternoon. No rehearsal with the new singer at all. No soundcheck, just 1234 and into Riff Raff. It was brilliant! I (well its MY website, not theirs, so I am going to talk about ME) met loads of nice people, had loads of free beer and food, danced about a bit, took some photos and generally had a whale of a time.
Its http://www.acdcconvention.co.uk if you want to go and have a look at what happened.

I always knew.....

Which Rock Chick Are You?

The Attic

Today we bought a big ladder and went in the loft. Let my clarify. We bought a big ladder. Only one of us went in the attic, and it wasnt me.
We have lived here for 6 years, and this is the first time we have been up there. Its a very old house, the loft is very high up and the hole to get in there is very small. So him indoors goes up there (in his old mechanic overalls circa mid 80s - he is very pleased to note they more or less fit) and what does he find? The water tank that is overfilling (the reason for the journey up there in the first place), some old Christmas decorations which "you wouldnt like" so they didnt make it down. But then he finds some bags and boxes of stuff that isnt ours and down it all comes. Into the bath, as its all covered in layers of black dust, and what have we found? Someone's entire life, in cards and mementos. Well not their whole life but lots of cards and some Christmas wrapping paper from the 70s, and a pink plastic rosary, some Miners make up from the early 80s ; loads of things really. I think they belonged to the people we bought the house off but I dont know where they moved to so I can't contact them, and I assume (sadly) that they either forgot this stuff or didn't want it anymore.
When I can get near my scanner I will scan in some cracking 70s Christmas cards, and an amazing Avon "points" catalogue for Avon ladies from the early 80s. Yes, I have kept anything keepable and in decent condition. More to follow.
In fact, I will post them here http://www.faerywings.co.uk/Cards/attic.htm as there are lots of them. Here are a few to start with.

Those pictures I promised

Here is the dinosaur and the table legs from that club in Bolton.

Those were the days

Ok guys, my mum found this. Its me and him indoors circa 1991. He's the blonde. Hehehehehe.
The doggy is Monty, the parent's everlasting pom.

New Office

The new office at work is a portacabin in the middle of a building site. Its actually quite cosy. Very hot though. I have a hard hat. It looked a bit plain so its now got ACDC written on it in blue marker pen. And it says "Sam's Hat" on it as well. Its amazing what people will nick if you don't write your name on things.
What have I been up to? I watched the tribute band audition a new singer (watch this space), and I went to a Beefeater (not at the same time!). A Beefeater is a steak and chips type pub, only they seem to have gone up in the world since I last went in one as it has a seperate "dining area" and it wasnt that cheap. I had steak with stilton and red wine and bacon sauce, and chips, and him indoors had steak and onion rings and salad. Not very inventive but mucho 70s I thought.
Last night I went out playing sound engineer for the tribute band, and it was a good night, but a very late night, and I didnt get in till almost 6am. And today I had to ferry the stand in singer back to Wales where he lives, which I don't mind at all but I was VERY VERY TIRED and I still am.
Stopped for a Wimpy on the way home. I had forgotten that you could get a hot dog in bun meal thingy - I have never had one and it didn't look very appetising so I was boring and had a cheesburger.
I am too tired to think, so this is all for now folks. I did take some photos of the club from last night which I will post when I get them off the other pc. They had a dinosaur in the garden, and the table legs were ...erm... legs with stockings and suspenders on!

In my spare time....

Please go here:
http://www.faerywings.co.uk/
and click on the "vintage lounge" button. Its a work in progress.
See, I have hobbies....

Couldnt resist...

:-)
Me and my ma









And you know that film Total Recall? Where Kuato turns out to be that guy in the other guy's chest? Apparently I was the model for him.....

Memory Lane part deux

My mum and dad sent me a load of slides to scan in and convert to jpegs. I have done a few and here is a lo-res one for your delight. Its me and my mum in 1968. Isn't she BEAUTIFUL? If I was them I would have taken me back.
To make it fair, here's my dad (in improbable wellies) and me in the snow circa 1968.

Memory Lane

Today the builders cut all the cables to our office. It was a NIGHTMARE but a very boring technical nightmare to everyone NOT in our office, so instead here is a picture of my street in 1963.
The door above the smallest kid's head is my front door. I wasn't even alive then!
Apart from the lack of cars, and that nice lamp, its pretty much the same. Only its in colour these days.

Deconstruction

The building in which I work is a three story "managed business centre", which means there are loads of different businesses in there, and they have a shared reception and post people and a cafe and all that kind of jazz. Except it isn't now as the owners are turning it into flats and have turfed everyone out. Except US.
My company has firm links with the management and we provide services for lots of their OTHER businesses as well, so they deemed it prudent to keep us where they knew where we were, ie in the building. We are moving to the ground floor in August, into a new office (the ground floor is going to be us, their accounts department and a cafe/bar thing). In the mean time though the building is being demolished around me and as we are on floor one and floors two and three barely have WALLS anymore, its a risky business.
See this? See that black hole at the end? My office is beyond there....

See this? This was painted on the wall outside my office on Monday morning. To keep the builders from trying to smash it down apparently, but I must admit I came over all "The Village" when I saw it....

Snak Attack

I have managed to get through a whole day forgetting to buy cat food. This NEVER usually happens. Before I go any further, the cats had chicken breast for breakfast, and smoked ham and cat biscuits and a bit of tuna for tea, but I was anxious that there was nothing for their supper. And for some unknown reason, I forgot right up until 9.50pm and the shop shuts at 10.00pm and I had a glass of cider so I couldn't drive.Ok, its only round the corner, BUT I had just come out of the bath and was mid way through an MSN messenger chat with my ma, and I had to rustle up some clothes and quick. The result? Bag lady from planet grebo-hell. Rob Zombie would have run away from me.
1 x Rancid zip up hoodie, four sizes too big for me. 1 x pair of brown pants, three sizes too long for me. 1 x pair denim, backless slip on gardening shoes. Hair? Scrunched back on top of the head and held up with a cable tie...Oh, and one eye full of mascara, the other all clean ( I am fair and dont HAVE visible eyelashes normally).
Anyway, I made the shop and the pretty Asian eleven year girl old serving didn't bat an eye lid, not even when I spotted the Mexican Cheese and Chilli flavour potato skins. Mmmmmmmm. 10 bags of THOSE thankyou very much.
On the way home a man crossed the road to avoid me. Result!!!!

Evenin' All

My rear light is broken. I noticed it in Cost Co's car park, where we went today. For those of you who dont know what Cost Co IS, its a members only "buy loads of stuff in bulk like Mayonnaise in buckets" place. I have sellotaped it up but I dont know how it happened. Mr next door but one works for a scrapyard so he is going to look out for a replacement for me.
Last night we went to the pictures to see The League of Gentlemen film, and it was very dark, very weird and very funny. There were only about 6 people in the whole place and we had a really good time. I would be interested to know what (if anything) you American people people make of The League fo Gentlemen. Do you get it over there?
http://www.leagueofgentlemen.co.uk/newopen.shtml
I got a new pc chez Faery Towers and its very very very good. Natch, I got it through work, and therefore cheaporama, but I cannot describe how mega brilliant it is.
Bit of a drought on the gigging front at the moment, and no football now the season has finished, so I am hoping for some interesting weekends. Not this weekend though. The white van man's van developed a dead starter motor so that had to be replaced, at stupid cost. I don't mind though. I am a happy camper simply messing about at home, pottering about, doing nothing that has any purpose. I have never been the sort of person that feels the need to DO stuff at the weekend just because its thought that you should do constructive, day out, educational things in your spare time. Give me a garden to doss about in, some books to read, a kitchen to burn things in, some nice wine and the internet and that makes me happy. One of these days I may turn into a normal person. Just not yet.

Tuesday night's alright for fighting....

Ooooo high drama and rock and roll!
The ACDC band did a gig last night and the singer declined as usual to get in the van with the rest of the band, but went on the train. By himself. To virtually the other side of the country. En route he indulged in all manner of legal and non legal chemicals, and by the time he arrived, he looked like a wizened little garden gnome, and made as much sense as one as well. He then proceeds to have a right go at t'other guitarist for most of the night and almost doesnt do the gig. And when he DOES, he abuses the audience and sounds dreadful and all together mucks things up.
So, after the gig, he has one last go at the poor guitarist and then slinks out of the door and off into the night. At which point the other guitarist snaps and goes legging it off after him. Now, the singer is five feet four or so, old and dreadfully unfit. And the guitarist is 6 feet two of professional sportsman. The outcome could have been pretty bad but the other guitarist obviously thought the same, and managed . to not do anything to him.
On the way home, we saw the (now EX) singer wobbling down the road by himself, miles from home and its all his own fault.
Sooooo, they are now singlerless, so if anyone knows a northwest England based Bon Scott impersonator, let me know!
I am on my holidays this week, and there were two more gigs earlier in the week, and some DIY and today is him indoors 40th, so he is getting spoiled a bit. He is keeping it low key (especially after yesterday!). We went to the pub for our dinner and we had two starters rather than a full meal, as we are going to the fantastic Nawaab tonight, and I am glad we only DID have starters because the portions were massive! Crushed new potatoes with bacon and cheese, and spicy wedges, breaded mushrooms and other little fiddly things. Mmmmmm.

Retail Therapy

Well, thanks for your "where are you"s!
To cheer my miserable self up (worried about the health of she that bore me) I took a trip to asos.com and bought some totally useless but wonderful things.
In particular this... http://www.asos.com/product.asp?sku=CACBP1249
Its great!
Last night saw me in Chester, doing my sound engineer thang, and rolling home at 4.00am.
Last Saturday saw me in Ellesmere Port doing the same thing and getting in even later....
All seems to be on the up and up on the mother front, so everyone think nice thoughts in her direction.
I have been doing a whole lot of reading as well recently, mostly the Miss Read Thrush Green books. Now, this seems a very strange choice of literature for one so rock as myself (!), but they are very immersing in a lose yourself in a different world kind of way. I like them.

Dark day so I will make light of it

Stuff happened today which I won't go into. So, on the frivolity side, I still have a black "Barry M" eyeshadow I bought in Kensington Market in 1989 and there is still some left and I still use it.
Me, him indoors and a mate of him indoors once got told to leave "the whole of South Kensington" by a policeman one dark night. Our crime? We had had a few and were singing a bit. Seems quite innocent these days.
I need cheering up.

This Ole House..is falling apart

On Wednesday the bathroom flooded. Which flooded the kitchen below. Well, not really flooded but unpleasant coloured water dripped through the ceiling. I had to call a plumber. I then had to sit with two saucepans, holding each in turn under the cascade of water that was jetting out from under the toilet, emptying them every 2 minutes and so on and so on. I didn't know where the stop cock was. Eventually I found it, and turned the water off. Noah and his ark went away. The problem was due to a little rubber thingy at the bottom of the toilet perishing. The cost? £160. Insane. I should have been a plumber.
Yesterday, Mr Sam heroically replaced the broken ball cock thingy in the cistern all by himself! This is the man who claims not to be able to actually DO any home improvements, but this was one problem that wasn't going to go away, and we certainly can't afford to get another plumber out!
As I type he is fitting a new bathroom carpet as well! Its green, like the bottom of the sea (he says). I wonder what else I can find for him to do, now he has revealed his true colours....

Happy Birthday To Me!

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday dear meeeeeee
Happy birthday to me!

Dichotomy

or however you spell it...
I have developed an obsession with the Neil Diamond version of Chelsea Morning (Joni Mitchell).
Its GREAT. Help me.

Where's the feather then?

Ok guys. I told my mum and she believed me. I told him indoors and he went, hmm, yeah yeah, ok, let me tell you about how crap my boss is, so I am going to tell you all today's spooky story.
This morning I am driving along the motorway to work. Its darkish and pouring with rain and you can hardly see for the spray from trucks and things. I was in the middle lane, doing about 65mph, overtaking a lorry, when out of nowhere I hear a woman's voice say "isn't it dark? you would think they would put the motorway lights on wouldn't you? i'd get in the inside lane if I was you."
I was so surprised I actually looked to my left because I thought there was a woman in the car with me (no, I didnt stop to think how a woman could have GOT in my car...)Of course, there was no woman, but I was so freaked out I did indeed pull into the inside lane....and seconds later the car that would have been in front of me if I HADN'T pulled in ran right into the back of the car in front of him. If I had still been behind him, I would have run into the back of HIM and there would have been a bit of a nasty crash. But I didn't because I wasn't there because the woman told me not to be.
Work THAT one out.

Hi Guys

Well, its been a while. Life is that thing that happens when you are making plans. I have had a lot of life recently.
Truth is, I haven't been 100% on the emotional front. I blame it on all those full moons.
Nothing happened, I just felt a bit blahhhhh. Now I am coming out of it and getting back on track. Its rubbish really. I have my family, my health, my friends, a job, cheese in the fridge and wine in the bottle so I shouldn't feel so yuk, but thats female life I spose. Bet you wouldnt catch a man feeling like that!
SO, what have I been up to? More pretend band photography and sound stuff. An embarrassing video camera incident filled night (tip - never give a drunk woman in 5 inch heels a video camera to film your gig. She may take it to the toilet with her and forget to turn it off....nah, that didnt happen but it NEARLY did!)
Work rolls on in its usual indomitable, hectic fashion. I have been shouting a lot at work, but only in the direction of those that deserve it. Its a small team (eugh, I HATE that term) and everyone has their bit to do, so if you don't DO your bit, I shout. Its simple really.
My mum has had me a tad worried on the health front, so all think nice thoughts at her.
Mr Me has had it in the neck for the last coupla weeks, just for being a MAN, which isn't fair but understandable :-)
I taught myself to play some tunes on the guitar, I have NEARLY finished making a tank top (yes! a TANK TOP!)and on the whole its been a busy time, full of stuff and a muddled head.
A moment of clarity in bath this evening and I think I am back to normal. Sort of..

1 Very Blonde

Forget red - I did what I do best and bleached my hair. Now back to Marilyn Monroe brassiness.
Plus ca change, plus c'est la mem chose....

And its goodnight from him

Here's me and him indoors. In our usual pose.

Why I am not materialistic

Today we bought a van. Its an L reg (1994) Ford Courier and it cost the grand sum of £899.
The poor old Seat is consigned to the great breakers yard in the sky and we had to get new wheels for him indoors and as he carts about a lot of band gear (both OUR band and his other band) then a van makes sense. Its white, its old, and it is quite frankly great. It isn't new, it isn't top of the range, its a bit tatty, and I am sure it will be a good van for years to come.It has character. Thats what I look for. Character. I am not being all "i can afford the best and i want brand new" but I could JUST about have afforded brand new, but I didn't see the need to buy brand new when I could get a van that has been used to ferry a boys basketball team about and still has carpet in the back with footballs on and a Bart Simpson air freshener and a manual for a Ford Fiesta in the glove compartment. Its a van with a history, a van that has been used for things a van should have been used for. The heater works, the radio works, there are seats in the back, and I can drive it. Its got a long MOT and it just works and I love it. I suggested giving it a name. Him indoors said no, so I am calling it (him) Neville Staples. Although I will only call it that to myself.
It's very exciting really. A brand new van lurks outside! Until tomorrow we are a three car family! Jezebel (MY car) will be jealous.
I have always been a charity shop fanatic (thanks mum!) and a fiend for the second hand, and the feeling of carrying this on in a van is very rewarding.
Second hand rose......... :-)

Filling in the gaps

I have been a combination of busy and can't be bothered recently! I have been reading, and knitting, and my band bought a PA (a pa SYSTEM, not a personal assistant. Although I would like one of those very much!)
DC79 did a couple more gigs, where I helped by being a very drunk sound engineer and falling asleep in the van on the way home.
I got my broadband upgraded to 2mb and went fully wireless at home. I saw a kid run out in front of a car in Morrisons and then watched the same kid hurl the most incredible language at the driver, and the kid couldn't have been more than 7. I would have run him over, but that's just me.
Its been snowing. I sold some more stuff on Ebay.
I got a bass guitar stand. Errmmm, I can't think of anything else!
Oh yes. Shall I dye my hair red? Tori Amos red. Mum, you can't answer this question because you will just say YES.

Time

I don't seem to be able to organise my free time all that well. I have all these great thoughts during the day, along the lines of "I will cook myself a nice tea (when him indoors and his truck are away) /play the Sims2/watch a film/knit a bit/read such and such" and then I get home and I have a glass of wine and eat cheese on toast and mooch about on the internet, have a bath (a bath for me takes about 2 hours, involving as it does candles, magazines, more wine, cheese, Planet Rock on the digital radio, a cat or two etc etc )and I don't DO any of the great things I thought of during the day. Then I get all "oooo I work too hard" (which is rubbish really) and feel guilty because I haven't done any of the good things I said I would.
But then the stuff I do instead IS good stuff in its own right, so maybe I AM good at organising myself.
I dunno, its like I have all this time and I waste it doing nothing especially, but then I LIKE doing my "especial nothingy things", so maybe its not a waste.
It comes down to housework. There is washing to be done. Him indoors can't even open the door of a washing machine, even after nearly 16 years of undomesticated bliss, and the hoover makes his asthma worse (he SAYS), and I just can't get excited about housework. It will all be there tomorrow to do all over again anyway, but I feel sometimes that I SHOULD do more.
Ours in a very very old house, and its slowly falling apart. And I can't afford to have most of it fixed, and most of the time I don't bother because its warm and dry (ish) and I don't live on a pavement, but sometimes I wish I lived in a mobile home somewhere near the sea, where cleaning up would take, oh, 10 minutes and I could shove the washing in a launderette and go to the pub until it was finished.
That's today's rant over.

Je Suis Un Rock Star

Friday night saw me and my guitar at the Thatched House in Stockport, 3rd on out of 4 bands, and we were very good. The last band on were not good at all, which makes me wonder why they got paid and we didn't. This was a general opinion held by everyone there, and not just mine! Hey ho.
Saturday night saw me and my guitar at the Lion in Castleford. Again, we were very good, even with a pa we had to cobble together from various bits and pieces of our own, as the venue didn't have a pa.
The journey there and back was a nightmare. I was wedged between speakers in sub zero temperatures for over two hours in total, and now I think I have frostbite.On the way home (at 1.30am in a frozen northern wasteland) I made our drummer take all the stuff he sticks in his bass drum OUT and then I wrapped it around myself and was slightly less than freezing, but only just. So I used my old standby trick of falling asleep till I got home.
This may explain why I have a very sore leg and arm today ;-(
I also emailed a couple of pictures of Felix looking nasty to www.mycathatesyou.com but they haven't appeared yet. She is very disappointed.So here is a nice one of her so she doesn't feel too bad..

Psycho Sock..Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa

It had to happen. I work quite long hours and I got home, watched Corrie (ack, Katie Harris is HORRIBLE) and then...DID HOUSEWORK. Including WASHING. On a school night no less. And a pink sock got in with the whites. I say whites. I mean 2 multi coloured (but proven to not run) duvet covers, a Ramones shirt, a Laurel and Hardy tshirt, some knickers of dubious origin and a Leeds United towel (why is that in my house at all??? Nothing against Leeds, after all I work there, but this is a football = Watford FC house). And most important of all , three pairs of white school socks that him indoors/Angus Young wears on stage. And two of the pairs of Angus footwear are now pale pink. But not the other pair. Nor the white Ramones tshirt. Nor the knickers of dubious origin. So what's going on there then? Selective clothes dyeing.
Him indoors and his truck are away so he doesn't know yet, but I have never seen Angus in a pair of pink socks. I expect I WILL though.
Moral of the story? Don't do housework. As if I need an excuse ;-)

Thai-d up !

Last night 16 of us had a Thai banquet in Moseley. I have no idea what the courses were called but it was very nice indeed, and there was LOADS. Everything seemed to have fresh coriander on it, which I love, and the waitresses were dressed in authentic Thai costumes. Passing plates about between 16 people was a bit difficult though.
Aside from that, life has been occupying my time. My band played a gig (we were excellent, as ever), the other band played a gig (and I played sound engineer again), work rolled on, I have half painted the bathroom tiles, got a new Sky remote, killed one of my pcs with a screensaver (note to self - remember that you are an IT professional and don't download any more screensavers...)entertained a strange cat that invited itself in for supper, read a lot of books and just generally carried on being me. Nice.
Oh yes, and the back gate fell off and needs mending and the roof is leaking. When I was painting the tiles in the bathroom, I had to take the side off the bath, and at the back I found some very old wallpaper indeed, still attached to the wall. It must be pretty old because the layer beneath is green distemper! I will try and scan it in at some point, but its a bit tatty and aged. I am estimating 1950s or thereabouts.

The day the tree came down...

...was today. All the decorations are down and packed away for another year. I like Christmas and its sad to see all the glittery stuff come down but there you go.
And what did I do this Christmas? It was a lazy-fest actually.
Christmas Eve was spent indoors eating and drinking. Christmas day food was Russian themed this year. Chicken patties, cabbage and vodka. Neat. In a shot glass. Just the vodka I mean, not the food! You had to toast the food, then the plates, then the condiments, then the chef, then drink a double vodka neat in one go. Several times.
The vodka was FREEZING as it snowed a lot on Christmas day



and we stashed the bottle in a pile of snow.
Boxing Day we whizzed over to my in laws and went to the pub for our lunch, where I had something called "smothered chicken". The smothering bit was CHEESE. Lovely. Got very drunk on all kinds of wonderful drinks, and ended up playing "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" all night.

The rest was just eating and drinking and being ill - I have flu and I feel ATROCIOUS. Never mind, it will all be gone by the time I go back to work!

2 more days off and back to normality. The cats will be relieved. They haven't been able to do whatever it is they do all day when there is no one here, and they are getting a bit fed up of humans hanging around all the time.

I got loads of good presents, mostly things about or containing faeries of some description. My best one was this:



although I liked this one a lot as well:



See him sitting amongst the rubbish in my house! He waves his paw up and down (he has a battery in him) and the paper attached to his paw says "money". He certainly worked because him indoors found a pound in the pub and we cashed in all our loose change in one of those machines you get in supermarkets, and it came to £179.83!