And that was Monday!

Helping to make sure a conference goes off smoothly.

It is only Monday and I think one of my legs is about to fall off - still I have got another one, so nothing to complain about really!

The route of my trip in 2013 has just had a big spanner thrown into the works - looks like one of the people I am hoping to meet up with might not be in the same place by then!  Trying to work out how far south I can can go and still have time to stop and enjoy the sites!  Ah well, plenty of time to think about that sort of thing!

Off to London tomorrow with the conference - should be fun!

More soon.

Brain Dead

That is me today, Brain Dead.

This morning arrived far too soon, ending a broken night.  I had a couple of beers with a friend on the way home - the stuff was called Blackadder.  Great name for a beer, huh?  It was amazing stuff, just slid down while we chatted about anything and everything.  But once inside it turned nasty.  My insides have never been so clean...

OK, TMI, I know.  Maybe I should delete that last paragraph.  I mean, who wants to read that?  OK, I will wipe it.  But if I do I will only have two and a half lines of writing and will have to think of something else to write about.

Nah, my brain is too tired to think of anything else, so it will have to stay.  Sorry guys.

Have a great weekend!  Not sure what is in store for me yet, but whatever it is it won't include more Blackadder!

Did I really eat all that?

Had a great birthday yesterday.

As I have probably said before, I never work on my birthday.  I nearly had to do it a few years ago, but in the week before my eldest daughter was with me doing work experience and she persuaded my boss to give me the day off.

Woke up early to get the dogs walked, then had the morning out and about with Mrs RC and our younger daughter while the boys slowly woke up.

Opened my presents - all well chosen - my family knows what makes me happy.  There wasn't one particularly big present as I had already had my new guitar (must do a video to show this off!!!!)

Then I called a taxi to take us to dinner.

Looking at the menu I saw what I wanted, but it was something that was supposed to be shared by two. Ribs, half a chicken, wings, battered prawns...  Mrs RC told me that it was my birthday and that I should have it anyway.  If I had trouble she was sure that I would have help finishing it all.

So I ordered it.

The waiter looked at me in a strange way, I must say.

But, apart form 2 ribs which were stolen from me, I ate the lot, much to the waiter's amazement.  It was so delicious I just kept on eating.  The kids said it was like watching Man vs Food.  I even found room for a large sundae for dessert. 

Yes, I  am a pig.  OINK OINK!

Then we went home and I played guitar for a while and then went for the evening dog walk, which helped things settle nicely.

The evening was spent watching a totally gross movie - Rutger Hauer in "Hobo with a Shotgun".  This was like a cross between Deathwish, Robocop and Mad Max (with a touch of Running Man), but with much more blood and guts.  If you like that sort of thing you will love it - if not, stay well away.  You have been warned  :-)

Then it was off to bed for an early night - I need my beauty-sleep you know  :-)

Going to the dogs...

As you have probably seen on TV, Britain is going to the dogs - riots, looting, burning buildings.  Not a pretty site.

Of course, saying that the country is "going to the dogs" is being unfair to the dogs.  I am sure that dogs would not make such a mess of the place.

There are people out there who are saying that the rioters are mainly poor, unemployed, disadvantaged young people with no prospects for the future.  Well somehow these poor people seem to be coordinating their movements on their Blackberries!  Now I certainly can't afford to give my kids Blackberries, so it looks like I am even more disadvantaged (and poor) that the rioters!  Maybe I should get out there and burn a few cars and loot PC World or something too!

(No, I am not being serious - if you are a Policeman please do not come around and arrest me, but please feel free to raid the drug dealer in the next street - thanks.)

I feel really sorry for the Police in all this - they are expected to protect people and property but recent court cases have left them powerless and unable to tackle violent people with the necessary force.  They know that if they hit someone they will end up in court on an assault charge or worse!  There is a time and a place for a bit of Police violence, and the place is here and the time is right now!  How will people coming to see and take part in the Olympics feel safe if we don't crack down on this stuff? Of course, having the Police budget cut by around 20% is not helping either...

******************************************

I am not around tomorrow - I will be off celebrating my birthday. 

I will be thirty-eighteen.

Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to ME!
Happy Birthday dear RC
Happy Birthday to me.

Back to it...

Had a great couple of weeks off. 

The camping was excellent, with the weather turning really hot on our first day.  After a few days of this the kids (and I suspect the dogs) were saying how nice it would be if we had some rain.  Sure enough, the next day say an inch and a half of rain...

On the hottest day we went for a walk that was a bit longer than we intended, and about a mile from camp Custard laid down and refused to move.  The girls decided to stay with him while me and the boys headed for home.  As we walked I was thinking up plans for getting Custard back - he is too heavy to carry!  My best plan was to use one of the campsite wheelbarrows, but there was no need.  A we approached the campsite, Custard and the girls caught up with us - after having a breather, Custard was back on form and had dragged Mrs RC along to catch up with the rest of us!

During the hot spell there was a nice addition - an ice cream van visiting the site each evening.  Very welcome, but this was upstaged when we realised that our trusty village butcher also sold ice cream.  Not cheap, but the best we have ever had, especially the honeycomb one...  Mmmmmmm.

Custard was his usual wonderful self while we were there, but Frou Frou just wanted to chase the chickens who wandered through the site freely, looking for any tasty bits that we had dropped.  It is great having the animals around like that, although having a cock crowing right outside your tent at 5.30 is a mixed blessing :-)

So back to work for 2 weeks, then off for another week, which includes a trip to one of the Universities that Number One Son is interested in going to.  That will be interesting!  Choosing a Uni can be so hard - there are so many things to take into account...

Morning break over - getting back to work now.  Will catch up on blog reading soon!

Holiday

Having a great break so far.

Frou Frou seems to be having a phantom pregnancy - making nests and producing milk!

Let's HOPE it is only a phantom...

5 Songs for Summer!

OK, I am demob happy, so here are 5 songs for the summer.

The first one is a classic from my childhood - I hated school and always hoped that my school would indeed be blown to pieces...



This one should need no introduction - summer in a can!



No band says "Summer" like The Beach Boys...



Another one from my childhood - we had this as a 45!



Every summer there is a song that gets far too much air time - this is one of those from a couple of years ago.



Have a great summer!