Voice of the Vale

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2009-07-15T14:24:00.001Z

Open publication - Free publishing - More wantage

An Album A Day

2009-03-13T18:02:00.001Z

It's been a musical afternoon with several plays of Elbow's A Seldom Seen Kid, some Muse, some Turin Brakes and other assorted tunes. But the album of the day today is:

March 13th: Foals - Antidotes
I missed seeing Oxford band Foals at Truck a couple of years ago because they were in the barn and it was full past capacity and I couldn't get in. Amazingly though I've heard the odd track by them since, I've never got round to listening to the album. it's an interesting one, this - very hard to categorise, quite dancey, very quirky, definitely artrock. I reckon it will take a couple more plays but this could soon become a favourite.

Reply from Ed Vaizey re: Axe the Beer Tax campaign

2009-03-13T18:01:00.000Z

I'm impressed - Ed Vaizey MP has replied to my Axe the Beer tax email already! Here's my original email (auto generated by the site), his reply and my response:

Dear Edward Vaizey,

I am writing to you to make sure you are aware of a campaign to save the
British pub. As my MP, I want you to sign up to the campaign to show
your support for pubs up and down the country. I would also ask that you
write to the Chancellor requesting that he stops the planned rises in
beer tax which could ruin the brewing industry and sign up to EDM 10
"Campaign to save the British pub".

This is the last time to be considering tax hikes. The current rate of
pub closures is running at 39 per week, nearly 6 a day! Pub landlords
are facing a fall in beer consumption, with beer sales at their lowest
since the Great Depression. And, the Government already takes a third of
a pint in tax.

Yet, despite the economic slowdown the Government plans to further
increase taxes on beer! A nine per cent beer duty increase was imposed
in the 2008 Budget, and through a tax 'escalator,' the Treasury wants to
impose above inflation tax increases on beer in each of the next three
Budgets. On top of this the Chancellor has recently announced a further
duty increase. This takes the total increase in beer tax to 40% over the
next four years.

This could well be the final nail in the coffin for many more of
Britain's much loved pubs.

The Axe The Beer Tax campaign has five demands:

1. Axe plans to increase beer tax by a third 2. Enforce existing laws,
not create new ones, to deal firmly with irresponsible drinkers and
premises 3. To end the irresponsible promotion of alcohol in
supermarkets, pubs and elsewhere 4. To trust responsible adults to make
informed choices about what they drink, not to punish them for the
actions of an irresponsible minority 5. To support the British pub as a
vital part of social life in local communities

I hope you will support these demands. To do so, please visit the
campaign website www.axethebeertax.com to register your support and help
us save the Great British Pub.

Yours sincerely,

Alison Neale

--
Dear Alison Neale,

Thank you for your recent correspondence about public houses and the
difficulties faced by pubs.

I agree that British pubs are an important part of our communities and
our heritage. A survey carried out by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
found that 84 per cent of people feel that a pub is as essential to
village life as a shop or post office. Pubs are, however, under
extraordinary pressure at the moment, and the most recent figures
suggest that six pubs close every day.

Instead of looking at what can be done to save traditional British pubs,
the Government has added to their problems by increasing taxes and
regulation. You may be aware that a third of the price of every pint
goes to the Chancellor in beer tax, a figure that ministers plan to
increase even further. This penalises responsible drinkers and
landlords, whilst doing little to tackle the dangerous binge drinking
culture that is developing in our towns and cities.

Conservatives are committed to helping the pub industry through this
difficult time, and have launched a campaign entitled 'Save the Great
British Pub'. We are urging communities to get behind us by signing an
online petition to show how much we all value our local pubs. For more
information on this, visit www.conservatives.com.

Our campaign also calls on the Government to save pubs and safeguard
jobs by cutting tax on low alcohol beer and cider, paid for by
increasing tax on problem drinks (principally high strength ciders and
alcopops). This would target binge drinkers, but ensure that responsible
drinkers and traditional pubs are not penalised.

I believe that the Conservative approach is a better way to tackle
problem drinking and offers greater support to traditional British pubs.
It is for these reasons that I do not feel able to sign Early Day Motion
10.

I also understand your concern about the operation of 'pubcos'. A
number of organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses,
accuse them of charging high rents and high stock prices through
contractual 'beer ties'. In contrast, the pubcos argue that they offer
their tenants a number of benefits, chief of which are lower rental
rates than those paid by tenants renting free houses.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigated this issue in 2002 but did
not recommend remedial action. It is my belief that, as an independent
body, the OFT is best placed to deal with such issues. On this basis, I
am unable to sign EDM 715.

We propose enforcing existing laws to deal firmly with irresponsible
drinkers and premises, trusting adults to make informed choices instead
of punishing them for the actions of an irresponsible minority and
making clear that we support the role of pubs in local communities.

Thank you once again for writing to me.

Yours sincerely,

Ed Vaizey
Shadow Minister for Culture and MP for Wantage and Didcot

--

Thanks for your reply. I knew you were on board already because I've had a sneak read of your April column in Community Times magazine ;) but thought it was worth contacting you anyway.l It's a shame you're not willing to sign up to EDM 10 though - this is an issue that would benefit from having support from all parties, rather than fragmented support from each party individually!

Glad to hear you are in support in principle though
Alison

Axe the Beer Tax - Axe the Tax

2009-03-12T18:16:00.001Z

Nice to see my magazine got a head start on something that has become a national campaign ;)

I ran a feature in the January issue about The King and Queen pub in Longcot, Oxon. Having been empty for several months a new and enthusiastic landlady had taken over the lease and ploughed her life savings into the pub. Pubco Punch Taverns made her all sorts of promises about support and investment but it wasn't forthcoming and less than 6 months after opening, they put the pub up for sale and gave her 30 days notice. Broken hearted, she shut up shop and moved out before the deadline, leaving the village publess. Fortunately another brave soul, Ian "Smithy" Smith has taken over the lease but on terms that give him only 7 days notice to leave if a buyer is found. It's a crazy situation, especially as this pub is the only one in a village with no shop, post office or community centre. (For full details see the Feb and March issues of Community Times in The Vale magazine.)

So when I came across the Axe the Beer Tax website I could hardly not respond. This site is campaigning for government to reduce the tax on beer in order to encourage more people to make the most of their local rather than staying in with a supermarket can. Fill in your postcode and the site will generate an email to your local MP. I've done my bit and sent an email, though I'm pleased to say that my MP, Ed Vaizey, is already on the case - look out for his column in the April issue of CT In the Vale!

An Album A Day

2009-03-12T17:39:00.003Z

I've fallen behind a bit in recording what I've been listening to, mainly because I've had the lurgy and haven't been online as much as usual. So here's the last few days' albums:

March 12th: VNV Nation - Futureperfect
I love this band. This particular album is a few years old now but still one of my favourites. I'm looking forward to their new one which is out later this year.

March 11th: Placebo - Once More With Feeling: Singles 1996-2004
Placebo are much underrated in my humble opinion. This singles collection proves just how strong their particular sound is.

March 10th: The Race - In My Head It Works
The Race are most definitely my favourite band at the moment. They're from Reading and In My Head It Works is their second album and was out on Monday (though I'm a stakeholder in the band and got my special copy a few weeks ago. It's fantastic - and this band are even better live. A standout track is Moorwood, which almost makes me cry ...

March 9th: Elbow - Cast Of Thousands
Woop woop I'm going to see Elbow next weekend! About time I caught up on their back catalogue. Love this album, especially Fugitive Motel.

March 8th: Doves - The Last Broadcast
I haven't listened to this album for years and had forgotten just how good it is!

March 7th: My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Okay, this one is a bit of a cheat - we went up to MK for a family do and listened to my MP3 player on the way - my daughter was choosing the music so we probably had about half this album, but I have heard the rest of the album a few dozen times too!

An Album A Day

2009-03-06T13:53:00.006Z

March 6:MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
I've heard this band's name mentioned so many times but only knew one song by them, Time to pretend - though having listened to the album now I also knew kids but didn't realise it was the same band! Hmm not sure what to make of the album - the singles are definitely the stand out tracks but I would listen again.

March 5: Portishead - Dummy
Another of my bargain buys in the Woolies closing down sale. I never really got into Portishead at their prime but saw Beth Gibbons at Glastonbury in 2004 (I think) and was blown away by her. This album was a great showcase for her haunting vocal.

An Album a Day

2009-03-04T13:23:00.006Z

I just stumbled across a blog where a guy was listening to a different album every day for a year and that sounded like a really cool idea, so I thought I might give it a go. Except that I know I won't manage it every day - when I'm out and about I listen to music but my MP3 player tends to be on shuffle rather than a specific album. But I see no reason, especially now I've found the awesome Spotify site, why I shouldn't listen to an album every day I'm in front of the computer for any period of time - which is generally at least 5 days a week. So I'll keep a list and perhaps comment now and then and we'll see how this goes.

The full and updated list is here - and all albums are, of course, available to buy on Amazon unless otherwise specified!

RULES:

1. Listen to a different album, every day, for a year.
2. Of those albums, 50 of them have to be ones that you haven't listened to before.
3. Of those 50, fifteen of them have to have been released this year.

Feel free to recommend any particular albums you think I would like to listen to!

Bold means I haven't listened to this album prior to this year
Italic means it was released this year

The first four days:

March 4: Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
I heard the current single "I'm Not Going To Teach Your boyfriend How to Dance With You" on XFM and loved it and the album, on first listen, doesn't disappoint, I'll definitely be adding this one to my collection.

March 3: Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
The latest album from one of my favourite bands is stunningly good and they definitely deserved their recent Mercury prize. I'm going to see them at Wembley next week, can't wait!!

March 2:Kid Rock - Rock N Roll Jesus
I bought for £2 in the Woolworths closing down sale! Hmm, quite entertaining as far as sweaty honky tonk rock and roll goes, don't play it with the kids around though as some of the language is a bit coarse, to say the least!

March 1: Mew - Frengers
Mew are Danish and I simply adore them ... the singer's voice is haunting and magical and this album showcases it superbly.

The Teenager Audio Test - Can you hear this sound? Created by Train Horns

2009-03-04T13:01:00.000Z

The Teenager Audio Test - Can you hear this sound? Created by Train Horns

Created by Train Horns

Win a wedding!!

2009-03-04T12:24:00.001Z

I'm running an amazing competition in the March issue of my magazine, CT In The Vale* - the prize is an entire wedding worth over £15,000! More details of the prize are available here or visit the CT In The Vale website and click the link on the right to enter. Good luck!

*The competition is also running in all the other CT magazines ... so the winner won't necessarily be from my area.

Gym Sunday 26th october

2008-10-26T17:37:00.002Z

Sundays there's an hour when kids can go in to the gym so the three of us went in. Luckily Katie and Dan were fairly sensible so I was able to do pretty much the whole CV programme, plus a couple of weight machines!

Treadmill - 10 mins at 5.5km/hr, gradient 5
I concentrated more on my breathing today and was able to keep my heart rate below 161 so no nasty warning lights, and I actually felt a lot more comfortable doing this than i did two days ago! I think I'll go for 12 mins next time. Amazing how much easier it feels already.

Cycling - 7 mins, programme 6, effort 3/4
Felt much easier than on Friday - in fact, I actually increased the effort level from 3 to 4 for the last few minutes. I'm meant to keep to about 60 rpm but find a speed of 70ish more comfortable - but for the last minute I really went for it (in a bid to beat Dan distance-wise!) and touched 100rpm! Next time I'll go for the full 10 mins on level 3.

Rowing - 1000m
The kids and I "raced" the 1000m and all finished about even - they had a faster stroke rate but I covered more distance per stroke. As with the other exercises, this also felt a bit easier and I didn't really start struggling till the last couple of hundred metres. Next time I think I'll try and go for two lots of 750m.

Lat pull down
3 lots of 12 reps with 15kg

Leg ??? (have to check the name of this one)
because of the problems with my right knee I do each leg separately on this one and managed the 3 sets of 12 with 5 kg on the right and 15 kg on the left. Scary how clicky my right knee is though.

Wave - 1.5 mins
Pathetic!! I find this machine difficult anyway and was pretty knackered by now. I think I need to do this one much earlier on in the routine in future.

First proper workout Fri 24th October

2008-10-26T17:19:00.003Z

My first "proper" go in the gym, squeezed in while Dan was at footie training.

I did the cardiovascular programme and it went like this:

Treadmill - 10 mins at 5.5km/hr, gradient 5
I was keeping an eye on my heart rate, trying to keep it below 160bpm but towards the end it was getting really high, 164+ and I got a warning "HIGH HEART RATE" flash up!!! Scary ..... I think I need to keep an eye o this and concentrate on breaqthing properly to keep it lower.

Cycling - 7 mins, programme 1, effort 3
This felt alright though I was pretty tired by the end.

Rowing - 1000m
Exhausting - I was fine up to about 600m but then really struggled to do the last 400. No way I could have done another 1000m afterwards!

Wave - 3 mins
I conked out on this one and only managed 3 mins! Shocking. I found it really difficult though.

Came out feeling good though - tired but good.

Gym progress - start at the beginning

2008-10-26T17:10:00.005Z

I've recently won three months gym membership and as this is my best opportunity ever of losing weight and getting fit, I'm going to do the best I can! Thought I'd plot my progress here.

So, I'll post each trip in a separate entry, starting with this one - my fitness and goal setting session on Mon 20th October.

Hmm, very unfit. I did a test on the treadmill which monitored how much of my full heart capacity I use doing exercise and on a scale of 1 (almost dead) to 12 (super fit) I'm a level 3. Definitely room for improvement! I was also weighed - 96 kg (15 stone 1lb) - and my blood pressure was very slightly higher than it should be.

I returned on Thurs 23rd and Dave, my trainer, gave me my personalised programme, aimed at weight loss and general fitness. Two days of cardiovascular exercise and one day of toning on the weight machines. We went through every exercise and he noted down all the adjustments I'd need to make to seats, weights and effort levels. he's given me goals but I need to work up to them rather than feel disappointed if I don't reach them instantly. I have a review booked in 4 weeks time - so let's see what I can do between now and then!

So - the programme I'm aiming for is:
CV days -
Treadmill - 15 mins walking at 5.5km/hr on a gradient of 5
Cycling - 10 mins on programme 1 or 6, effort level 3/4
Rowing - 2 x 1000m, resistance 5
Wave - 10 mins, level 3

Toning days:
10 different machines (I think) to give full workout. 3 sets of 12 reps on each. Weights range from 5kg to 20kg depending on machine

Paddington gets second helping of Marmite in new TV ad | Media | guardian.co.uk

2008-09-26T15:20:00.000Z

Paddington and Marmite ... it's just wrong.

Paddington gets second helping of Marmite in new TV ad | Media | guardian.co.uk

Clegg's conference speech

2008-09-17T11:55:00.003Z

BBC NEWS | Politics | LIVE - Clegg's conference speech

I rather enjoyed Nick Clegg's speech, but wish he'd gone further on taxes. His comment on reducing the tax burden for 9 out of 10 families implies that there'll be tax cuts for all but the highest earners - which, don't get me wrong, is a good thing - but why not go further? I've long been of the opinion that a 50% tax rate for all those earning over, say, £250,000 would put enough money into the system to help the poor, schools, hospitals etc. whilst not affecting the rich too much.

Maybe that's a very simplistic view, I don't know .... I guess I just get angry that some Premier League footballer earning £50K a week is paying the same percentage of tax as a fairly average earner working hard for £35,000 a year. Seems very unfair and I'm sure a higher rate tax bracket would help.

Ding dong ...

2008-09-03T11:23:00.000Z

As of yesterday, I have another string to my bow - I am an Avon lady!!

I do like Avon products, especially the moisturisers, and though there is apparently someone working my road, I've never received a book - so I've signed up to work with Avon myself and will be distributing my first set of brochures later today.

In My Head It Works

2008-07-11T15:14:00.000Z

Went to a fab gig in Camden last night - one of my favourite bands The Race were playing, and they did loads of stuff from their forthcoming album, plus old favourite Comfort, Comfort. All sounding very very good, polished despite this being almost/possibly the first public airing of the new tracks. If you're free next week and fancy seeing them live they're at a mini festival in Reading - I shall be at Truck so will miss it but will definitely catch them again soon. In the meantime, there are some tracks, a blog and more goodies at their new website: In My Head It Works

Get Paid To Search!

2008-07-01T14:58:00.003Z

If you're like me you'll probably do lots of internet searches every day .... and here's a chance to earn a few pennies for them! Sign up here and you'll be able to add a search box and earn for each search - and what's more, for every friend you refer you'll also earn for every search they do!

Sounds like a no-brainer? It is ... only problem is that they have recently switched from Google to Yahoo for the searches, but so long as you can cope with that it's definitely worth a go!

Goodbye Ben

2008-01-04T12:51:00.000Z

BBC NEWS | England | Oxfordshire | British boy killed skiing in US

Ben Trichler was at Uffington School, the one my son goes to, till the summer, and then moved on to King Alfred's in Wantage (I think), in the same year as my step-daughter. His mum is also the teaching assistant in Dan's class. Ben was very bright, clever, very sporty - a striking-looking boy who everyone knew.

This is really sad. I don't know him or his mum more than being at Dan's school but feel so upset now. 11 years old ... what a bloody waste :(

Goodbye Ben - we'll never forget you.

NYE vandals strike close to home

2008-01-02T22:26:00.000Z

I drove through our local town, Wantage, at about teatime on New Year's Eve, and later Ulen asked me I whether I'd noticed if the statue of King Alfred had been boarded up - apparently in previous years it's been a target for drunken vandals and was normally boarded up, but it ended up more dangerous as the idiots just threw bits of broken noarding all over the square so for the last few years there had been police keeping watch instead.

Presumably it wasn't boarded again this year, otherwise this wouldn't have happened: BBC NEWS | England | Oxfordshire | King Alfred's arm left in pieces.

Disgraceful, and very sad to read. Yet strangely, I was in Wantage this morning and didn't notice the damage. I guess when you see something every day you don't really take it in.

Happy New Year ..... let's hope it gets better than this.

Books I read in 2007

2008-01-02T05:02:00.000Z

I set myself a challenge at the beginning of 2007 to read a book a week ... didn't manage to do it but I got to 45, which isn't bad considering I've spent a big chunk of this year setting up my own business and dealing with Dan's increasingly difficult behaviour. maybe I'll manage it this year - though I think the challenge for this year is a book by an author for every letter of the alphabet, not necessarily in order ... just to get me reading a wide variety.

Anyway, here's my top ten books that I read in 2007 (in no particular order):

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak
The Crimson Petal and the White - Michael Faber
Daniel Isn't Talking - Marti Leimbach
Emotional Geology - Linda Gillard
George and Sam - Charlotte Moore
The Boy in Striped Pajamas - John Boyne
A Lifetime Burning - Linda Gillard
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling

my hubbie's running the London marathon!!

2007-10-05T13:40:00.000Z

My lovely husband Ulen is going to be running the 2008 London Marathon to raise funds for Volunteer Reading Help. This charity trains and supports volunteers to go into schools to support disadvantaged children who are having reading difficulties. If you can, please sponsor him, however little - it all helps!

Ulen's never done anything like this before so preparing and training for the marathon is going to be a huge challenge for him - you can follow his progress and leave him a supportive note in his blog at madasaboxoffrogs

You can also sponsor him at JustGiving.com/madasaboxoffrogs

Gig review - The Winchell Riots, Zodiac, Oxford

2007-10-02T07:25:00.000Z

The Winchell Riots are fast becoming my new favourite band. Rising from the ashes of the magnificent Oxford band Fell City Girl, The Winchell Riots have a harder rockier edge but vocalist Phil's voice still has its softer sweeter moments that make this a band full of passion and variety.

Their second gig was at truck Festival and was marred by some dodgy acoustics in The Barn, but their third gig - at the newly refurbished Zodiac, supporting iLiKETRAiNS, was far better and really demonstrated the talent this band has. One to watch out for!

Incidentally, I didn't take to iLiKETRAiNS at all - too little variety in what they did, which was, on the whole, deeply depressing and dull, if professionally performed. Not one for me, I'm afraid, and neither was the other support band, A Girl Called Calla, who were too experimental in that some of what they did worked but most didn't. What's with the screaming because you've dropped your harmonica, FFS?!

And while we're talking music, check out The Race's new stuff ..... I'm really looking forward to their second album!

Keep on Trucking!

2007-09-25T14:18:00.000Z

The weekend was fab, we went to the rescheduled Truck Festival and it was ace! Saw lots of really good bands, some I already knew (like Goldrush and Electric Soft Parade, who were both amazing) and some new ones (including Low Fi Culture Scene, a group of 13 and 14 year olds who ROCKED!). The weather was good, sunny all Saturday and a bit drizzly Sunday evening but not enough to get us wet. The kids were well behaved, Katie loved the bands, Dan spent all his time in the playbus or learning Diablo and Loz made crafty things in the kids tent. A bit weird being at a festival so late in the year but well done to the Truck boys for getting it on!!

Truck Festival, woohoo!!

2007-09-21T15:03:00.000Z

This should have been a free weekend, but because of the video above, we're off to the Truck Festival, for what looks like being a really good weekend - so long as it doesn't rain!!!

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Real Story | Recyclers' rubbish dumped abroad

2007-09-21T14:53:00.000Z

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Real Story | Recyclers' rubbish dumped abroad

I found this story, about recycled waste from the UK heading to a false address in Indonesia, very shocking. We meticulously sort through our rubbish each week to make sure that everything that can be recycled, is. What's the point, if unscrupulous councils are just shipping it off to be dumped across the sea somewhere?

Aargh what a cock up

2007-09-20T13:50:00.001Z

Aaaargh I am so angry with myself.

It just occurred to me this afternoon that the company that prints my magazine hadn't let me know when the proofs were online for me to check - I only thought about it now because I had an email from them on a vaguely related matter. So I decided to have a quick look anyway, even though the magazine has already been printed, waited ages for the file to download (I send individual page PDFs which are put together into one big file) and then discovered that for some reason the logo on one of the ads (full page, new client) has disappeared.

My fault entirely - it's happened somehow when I re-did all the pages to add my new phone number and I've not looked at the top of the page, only the bottom - where the number was - so it means Blakes Wine Bar now have this lovely ad that doesn't actually mention their name.

Oddly no one at the printers picked it up and I've just asked them why I didn't get asked to check the proofs as usual and apparently because I sent the pages through a bit later because of changing the number there wasn't time for the proofing process - although they said it was fine me sending things a day late.

AAAAARGH!!!!!

So now I'm going to have to go in to see the client and grovel and offer them a full refund (well, not to pay as they haven't yet) and promise faithfully to get it right next issue.

Gutted ....... can't believe I've screwed up so badly. :(

NobodyHere

2007-09-20T11:47:00.000Z

I did post about the amazing site NobodyHere ages ago, but it deserves another mention. I don't really know what the point is - maybe there isn't a point, that's the point - but it's a great place to have a play around in if you don't want to actually do anything meaningful!

The Wispa is coming back!

2007-09-20T10:25:00.000Z

BBC NEWS | Business | Web campaign prompts Wispa return

Saturday nights are never going to be the same again!!

I LOVE Wispas! When I was a teenager Mum and I often treated ourselves on a Saturday night to a good film and a Cadbury's Wispa. Since it disappeared nothing has quite come close to it in terms of delicious fluffy chocolateness but it's coming back!!!

Apparently its return, in October, is due to an internet campaign (power to the people!) but it's only back for a limited period (23 million bars) - unless sales are high enough to justify its permanent return. So guess what I'll be buying by the boxful next month .......

Rail deaths, very sad

2007-09-20T10:22:00.000Z

BBC NEWS | England | Essex | Probe over second railway death

This is such a sad story. I heard about the disappearance of Natasha Coombs when I was on holiday in Cromer - it was one of the few news stories of the summer that stod out for me because we used to go through Manningtree on the train on the way to Cromer every year on our family holiday - my dad always used to joke about us looking out for "Man in tree" as we went through.

I actually cried when I watched the press conference with Natasha's parents - being the mother of a beautiful teenage daughter I could really empathise with them - and followed the story through to the finding of Natasha's body.

For her mother to die at the same spot is tragic. Presumably she killed herself - what mother could carry on living without their child? - but I feel so, so sorry for the father.

Gutted :( Mourinho leaves Chelsea

2007-09-20T10:15:00.000Z

BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Chelsea | Mourinho makes shock Chelsea exit

I am absolutely gutted. Not since Vialli was sacked have I felt so sad about what's happened at my club. Okay, so Jose is arrogant, but he brought something to Chelsea that Abramovich's millions could never bring - team spirit, camaraderie and fun. So we haven't played the most entertaining football but we've been winners and that's something that every Chelsea fan has been crying out for for years. And I know that the last few games haven't reaped great reward, but you can't win every game, can you?

I'm very very sad today :(

Restarting my blog

2007-09-20T08:18:00.001Z

I'm starting to find my private diary site a bit tedious (nothing exciting happens in my life any more!) and am confused by the complexities of Facebook so I'm going to try and use this blog more to comment on news, sport and websites. There's been so much going on lately that I've got an opinion on but I haven't recorded my thoughts. I know no one actually reads this stuff anyway so what the hell, I can say what I like!

--
Alison

My favourite places:
www.uk.freecycle.org
www.bookcrossing.com/friend/chelseagirl
http://chelseagirl1.multiply.com/
or find me on facebook.com
--------------------------------------------
We can't all be heroes: someone needs to sit on the kerb and clap as they go by.
-------------------------------------------

Boris Johnson tackle

2006-05-04T19:21:00.000Z

First Germany, next the world .... we only caught the end of the celebrity England vs Germany match the other day but Boris Johnson's tackle is the funniest thing I've seen in ages!

Champions!!

2006-04-29T22:55:00.000Z

Woohoo!!!!! *smile*

BBC SPORT | Football | Premiership | Blues revel in title celebrations

The Natural Selection - Products

2006-04-28T08:39:00.000Z

Following on from our encounter with the crocodile in Zambia, we picked up this postcard while we were away - seems pretty apt!

The Natural Selection - Products

Home again

2006-04-24T10:26:00.000Z

Well, we're home again, in one piece, and I'll get round to writing up the full report at some point - though it could take a while, as I made notes while we were away and it will probably run to several thousand words!! But to sum up, we had a fantastic few days in Cape Town - Table Mountain was amazing with fantastic views (and I found a BookCrossing book up there!), we spent time at the V&A Waterfront and in the Two Oceans Aquarium, we went on a township tour which was fascinating and depressing and inspiring all at once, and had our trip to Robben Island cancelled because of gale force winds. We also had to miss out on going to the District Six museum, which was really sad as it was one of the things I was really looking forward to, but I made the mistake of booking our trip on Easter Monday and it was shut!!! We did a day's tour of the winelands and another day going down the peninsula, which is really beautiful even at this time of year. Then we rounded off the holiday with a rescheduled trip to Robben Island which was really good, though we didn't have nearly enough time there - in A Section there was an exhibition of memoirs and artefacts left by the ex-political prisioners and we only got ten minutes there but could easily have spent an hour wandering round. But all in all a fantastic holiday all round, crocodile notwithstanding!! And now back to the reality of life ...

Greetings from South Africa!

2006-04-14T20:23:00.000Z

Hello from Cape Town! We've just arrived here from Zambia and for the first time in ten days we've got internet access ... so guess what Ulen and I have been doing for the last half hour!!! I'm not going to ramble on too much though, the full (and extremely lengthy) reports(s) will follow once we're back home, but here's a quick update on what we've been doing.

We've had a fantastic time so far. Our holiday started just outside Kruger where we stayed at the wonderful Hippo Hollow Hotel (where there really are hippos!) in our own thatched chalet, and we spent a day and a half in Kruger Park where we saw loads of animals including lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhino and the very rare wild dog. Highlight was going in at night and hunting for animals with spotlights, and we had four lions walking alongside our car!!! Also went to the Blyde River Canyon and some ancient caves, and attempted to see the amazing views along the Panorama Route, but the weather was rotten :0(

Then back to Joburg for a night where we hid out in the hotel, and on to Zambia where we had a very, erm, eventful time! First evening was a relaxing cruise down the Zambezi where we saw an elephant that had swum to an island and an enormous crocodile. The next day we went canoeing down the river - completely nuts idea, obviously, but it was really really lovely - until a crocodile attacked our inflatable canoe, puncturing it, deflating it and and sending me half into the water. Ulen saved my life by grabbing me before I fell in completely, and we drifted into a tree which we clung on to till our guide could rescue us. Truly the most terrifiying moment of my life, I really thought my time was up. We were meant to be sleeping overnight on Sekuti Island in the middle of the Zambezi but decided to go back to the hotel (which looked like a giant sandcastle!) as we were both unhurt but really shocked and shaken. Thankkfully we can laugh about it now and it's an tale that we can tell our grandchildren, but it was really unpleasant at the time.

The following morning cheered us up as we went to see the truly AWESOME Victoria Falls ... if you ever get the chance to visit, do. They are unbelievably amazing. That was followed up with an elephant-back safari, a really interesting experience. Another visit to the Falls the next morning, and then today has been spent flying to Cape Town.

Our next few days will involve wine, townships, Table Mountain, a prison island, the meeting of two oceans, some penguins and good food - and probably more wine. Can't wait!!!

Feeling like I'm 17 again

2006-04-04T14:56:00.000Z

We went to see Depeche Mode at the newly refurbished Wembley Arena last night - my not-so-surprise wedding present from U, as he had to tell me about it also we made sure it didn't clash with our honeymoon! They were really good, did 21 songs including an excellent acoustic version of Shake the Disease, and Dave Gahan can still strut his funky stuff!! Looking a bit wrinkled round the edges now though :0(

I was a bit confused because I thought the new Wembley Stadium was being built on the site of the old one but it's right next to the conference centre and arena and I'm sure the old one was a little distance away. All very confusing. Still there's a square being laid out between the arena and stadium and it's got a pretty fountain thing and lights and the building changes colour - all very lovely.

Tomorrow we are off on our honeymoon, hurray!!! Four nights just outside the Kruger National Park with some safaris booked in; one night hiding in our hotel in Johannesburg ;0) three nights in Zambia where we'll be canoeing down the Zambezi, going on an elephant safari, camping out and visiting Victoria Falls; then we finish with five nights in Cape Town. I'm so excited! I'm just trying to work out what to take ready to pack, I collected the currency and travellers' cheques this morning, U is out having a holiday haircut and this time tomorrow we'll be on our way to Heathrow!!!

Don't know if we'll get any internet access while we're away but if we do, I'll probably post here - so keep an eye on it!!

Industrial food

2006-03-23T11:45:00.000Z

These are a bit pointless but quite clever at the same time - and provided an interesting diversion for a few minutes!

Justgiving - Morton Up A Mountain: Ben Nevis 2006

2006-03-13T20:26:00.000Z

One of my best friends is about to start training in preparation to climb Ben Nevis, in aid of Epilepsy Action. Go and sponsor him now, please!
Justgiving - Morton Up A Mountain: Ben Nevis 2006

chelseagirl's moblog

2006-03-08T09:57:00.000Z

My latest project! I set up an account here ages ago but couldn't get my phone to send the pictures - but I've got a new phone now and it all seems to work okay. Mind you, I haven't worked out how to get text with my photos yet ....

chelseagirl's moblog

Vale Photos Ltd. Alison & Ulen

2006-03-04T10:42:00.000Z

I married the man of my dreams on Saturday 25th February - here are the photos!

Vale Photos Ltd. Alison & Ulen

One happy hen!

2006-01-30T19:20:00.000Z

Just had my hen weekend which was absolutely fantastic. The pics are here:
Hen pics

Thanks to everyone who came along, it was wonderful and so are all of you :0)

Escapa!

2006-01-30T19:19:00.000Z

Cheers to Mum for showing me this ... I think ... as I've just wasted way too much time on it! Best I can manage is about 15 seconds but apparently Mum did 35! Can you beat her?

Escapa!

I'm so excited!!!

2005-11-14T08:14:00.000Z

We're hoping to book this for our honeymoon :0)

What Age Do You Act?

2005-09-24T10:52:00.000Z

You Are 28 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

And I swore I was always fifteen :0(

Yahoo! Groups : valewhitehorsefreecycle

2005-09-23T08:23:00.000Z

My newest project is another local Freecycle group, for the Vale of the White Horse area. Freecycle is such a great idea and I missed it when I moved house, so I've been keen to get this new group off the ground and it finally got approved on Wednesday. So far we've got 36 members already :0) Just need to find a way to encourage them all to be proactive now ...

Yahoo! Groups : valewhitehorsefreecycle

All in all it's been a really good week. I got the job and found the childcare; our new washing machine arrived; my Freecycle group got off the ground; and my car passed its MOT first time. Amazing!

I got the job!!!!

2005-09-23T07:41:00.000Z

I got the job at Alamy, have sorted out my childcare and start on monday. Woohoo :0)

Boxed In

2005-09-19T12:34:00.000Z

Just been down to the garage to rearrange the boxes left over from our house move... I have FIFTEEN boxes of books. Eeeek!

I'm through with LiveJournal!!

2005-09-15T13:24:00.000Z

Obviously having a bored moment, hence the posts. A friend commented that she prefers LiveJournal as she has friends there, and I do too ... or so I thought. I visited with the idea of putting more personal stuff there and links here - only to find that all my entries and my friends list have been totally wiped out! Don't know if you have to post there every so often to keep the account active, but as I'm so lax at actually keeping blogs up to date I think I'll just stick to this one from now on.

Thursdays. I never could get the hang of Thursdays

2005-09-15T13:09:00.000Z

My fiancé's got a Blog now. Wonder if he'll update it more regularly than I do??

Thursdays. I never could get the hang of Thursdays

Fingers crossed ...

2005-09-15T13:06:00.000Z

I went for an interview with Alamy Images yesterday. I so so so so SO would like that job .......

Here We Go Again!

2005-09-08T11:59:00.000Z

Seems like this is a fairly key point of my life - having just graduated, moved in with U and now looking for a job - yet I'm not recording what's going on. My personal diary is feeling sad and neglected, as is my LiveJournal account (can't get on with that at all, even though I know loads of people there), so I'll try and pop the odd comment on here - more for my benefit than anyone else!

Breakthrough Generations - The UK study of the causes of breast cancer

2005-06-17T23:26:00.000Z

For women only :0)

I recently signed up to take part in the Breakthrough Generations long term study into the causes of breast cancer. It aims to observe patterns in 100,000 women in order to try and find some common factors and eventually the causes. At the moment only about 15,000 women have signed up, so I'm posting to try and encourage you to join.

If you do get involved you'll be studied for the next forty or so years, but there's really not all that much to it. Initially you have to fill in a detailed questionnaire about your lifestyle, health, medical background, and there's some quite personal stuff in there too, but it's manageable. You also need to give a blood sample. You'll then be contacted every few years to find out if you have had any major lifestyle or health changes; you may also need to give more blood. But that's it - and you could be helping your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren ....

Any woman over the age of 18 can take part. I really hope you'll follow the link and find out more.

Breakthrough Generations - The UK study of the causes of breast cancer

Ewwwww ...

2005-06-14T22:15:00.000Z

Now I love unusual foods and Thai green curry is a particular favourite of mine - but Green Curry Crickets are just going a little bit too far for my liking ...

Edible Limited

Something of an obsession ....?

2005-06-13T06:31:00.000Z

Now those who know me may say I'm a little obsessed with books .... but this chap is taking the obsession a little too far! I love the furniture, especially the table and chairs, but the kitchen is a little disappointing.

Livio De Marchi

the perfect wedding gift?

2005-06-10T13:12:00.000Z

I considered this idea for wedding rings for, ooh, about two tenths of a second. Think I'd prefer white gold for ours!

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Rings of bone grown for couples

chelseagirl on 43 Things

2005-05-13T08:57:00.000Z

chelseagirl on 43 Things

Have you got a list yet?

Who Should You Vote For?

2005-04-29T16:56:00.000Z

Who Should You Vote For?

Not sure who you should be voting for next week? Or just want to check if the party you choose actually represent your views? This site proved pretty bloody accurate for me!

Schnappi das kleine Krokodil :-)

2005-02-02T07:37:00.000Z

What on earth is going on with Europe's taste in music? We have an old rock star who's been dead for thirty years at number one .... and Germany has a four year old girl singing about Snappy the Crocodile!

Schnappi das kleine Krokodil :-)

Supper With The Stars

2005-01-27T09:53:00.000Z

"Supper With The Stars is an exciting new service to make your party sparkle with an elusive touch of Hollywood glamour. Imagine having your favourite friends round for dinner. What would really make you party go with a bang? All your guests have arrived, now imagine their surprise when a top TV personality walks in and joins the party!"

So how much "Hollywood glamour" does Keith Harris have?* How much extra do you have to pay for Orville? And how on EARTH does Schnorbitz (the 4th) play Pictionary??!!!

Supper With The Stars

*It's obviously VERY elusive!

The Aftermath

2005-01-20T16:30:00.000Z

In case you've forgotten why you need to be donating money to the Tsunami Fund ...

Geoff Mackley's Site Directory

www.clean-your-screen-for-free-now.com

2005-01-15T18:35:00.000Z

www.clean-your-screen-for-free-now.com

Tsunami Earthquake

2005-01-02T10:41:00.000Z

On Boxing Day 2004 south east Asia experienced probably the worst natural disaster since man existed. Hundreds of thousands of people have died and millions left homeless. If you haven't donated already please do, now.

DEC - Tsunami Earthquake

And while you're at it, have a look at Make Poverty History and buy an armband. Between us, we CAN make a difference.

txtbux.co.uk

2004-12-07T21:49:00.000Z

Thanks to mark for this link .... the idea of txtbux.co.uk is that you can text any book's ISBN number to the service and get a message back telling you how much the book is on Amazon.

That's great for anyone who regularly buys new books, but where I'll find it useful is in keeping a record of books I've seen that I'd like to read - there've been so many occasions where I've seen a book in the supermarket or Waterstones, haven't been able to afford it but have scrawled the title and author down on a bit of snotty crumpled tissue or old till receipt so I can look for it in the library or on eBay or (more likely!) on BookCrossing - and have then thrown away the bit of paper. Now I can text the ISBN and get both a text and an email to remind me what that fab-sounding book I saw was called!

Not a Blog

2004-11-29T21:37:00.000Z

More a space for me to plonk all the links I come across that might be useful for college!

LookSmart's Furl - The sapphire Archive

When Your Co-Worker is Away

2004-11-23T07:36:00.000Z

When Your Co-Worker is Away

How Not to Do Things #1

2004-11-22T07:47:00.000Z

How not to retrieve a car from water ...

Depanneren

Rainbow

2004-11-11T18:31:00.000Z

I've heard about this legendary episode of that fantastic kids show Rainbow but have never had the pleasure of seeing it ... until now ....
Rainbow - Twangers Clip

Sorry Everybody -- How Can We Make It Up To You?

2004-11-05T18:25:00.000Z

Sorry Everybody -- How Can We Make It Up To You?

Chelseagirl's Book List

2004-11-03T10:19:00.000Z

I've just set up a new page where I can record all the books I've read this year - I have been keeping a list of names and titles on my profile at BookCrossing.com but I've also been keeping a slightly more detailed list offline - thought it was time to make it go public!

Chelseagirl's Book List

Legendary radio DJ John Peel dies

2004-10-26T13:46:00.000Z

Very sad news today: John Peel has died suddenly whilst on his holiday of a lifetime. RIP.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | TV and Radio | Legendary radio DJ John Peel dies

Welcome to Sapphron!

2004-10-20T10:52:00.000Z

In a bid for world domination, I've decided to play the politicians at their own game and create my own nation, in the hope that I can do better than them!!

Come along for a visit and set up your own nation state while you're at it!

Jennifer Government

(Ta, Michelle, for getting me into this!)

Yahoo! Groups : guildfordfreecycle

2004-10-14T16:11:00.000Z

Freecycle is a wonderful idea .... people who have stuff they don't want offer it up for free for other people to claim. All for free. The ultimate in consumer recycling - upgrading your telly/stereo/sofa? Old one not worth selling but too good for scrap? Then Freecycle it. Simple.

Only problem was my "local" Freecycle group was in London, so people were offering loads of stuff that was fifty miles away from me. So I set up a more local group - Guildford Freecycle - and in less than a fortnight it's already got 34 members! Now I'm just waiting for that elusive bargain to crop up ...

To church I must go

2004-09-17T14:19:00.000Z

Mystery shopping's been around for a while now but whoever thought of Mystery Worshippers?

BookCrossing exists, it's official!

2004-09-04T13:26:00.000Z

Next time anyone asks me what this BookCrossing lark is all about, I'll point them in the direction of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary:

bookcrossing
n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

NobodyHere

2004-08-26T18:24:00.000Z

Clever. But weird. Very weird. Very very weird.

NobodyHere

Steam vs.Diesel

2004-08-26T11:05:00.000Z

Now I love travelling on steam trains but can't find it in me to share my fiance's passion for diesels. So when he was desperate to travel on a diesel train after we'd had an afternoon steaming on the North Norfolk Railway, I went along but wasn't over the moon - until I realised that it was a Class 101 DMU, which is the very train we used to travel from Norwich to Cromer on when I was a child!

Not on the Label

2004-08-05T07:28:00.000Z

"Then there was an unexpected pause. The chickens from the factory's own slaughterhouse had stopped winding through ... We were given an early break. When we got back, a couple of dozen Belgian and blue Dutch crates filled with vacuum-packed [chicken] breast fillets had been pulled in. We were set to packing those instead.

The crates were labelled GMB Meats [a company that imports meat from mainland Europe], 'use by 25 November'; the vacuum packs said the same ... The vacuum packs were cut open and tipped onto the conveyor belts. Several chicken fillets fell down through the gaps and stayed at our feet while we packed into Sainsbury's trays for the next couple of hours ... Further down the line workers were sticking a Buy One, Get One free label on each pack as it emerged from the wrapper, before it trundled on to get its British red tractor logo and a new Sainsbury's label with a ... 'use by 27 November' date stamp."

The extract above is taken from Not on the Label: What Really Goes into the Food on your Plate, a staggeringly terrifying book by Felicity Lawrence. I've read most of it with my mouth hanging open at the total arrogance that supermarkets show. They are in total control of our lives and we don't even realise.

I'm quite seriously considering giving self sufficiency a go, a la The Good Life. All I need is an allotment, a cow and a couple of chickens. And some co-operative neighbours :0)

Seriously, this book describes a frightening future and a more terrifying present, because it is happening now. If you only buy one book this year, make it this one.

preparingforemergencies.co.uk

2004-08-03T11:00:00.000Z

I'm sure everyone's already seen this site, but in case you haven't, visitpreparingforemergencies.co.uk.

It's one of the best spoof sites I've seen for a while, and in fact it makes so much more sense than the official one!

The Infinite Cat Project - Cats watching cats watching cats. Hey! It's a concept!

2004-07-07T19:59:00.000Z

I don't know why, but "The Infinite Cat Project - Cats watching cats watching cats" makes me think of Alice in Wonderland. Sometimes I'm a bit weird, I know. Now all I have to do is find a way to get Peaches to pose for the camera ...

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

2004-07-01T18:11:00.000Z

As you can see, I've been making a few changes around here, in the vain hope that I'll actually remember to post in this thing a bit more regularly (Fat chance of that, methinks!)

Only problem is that in changing the format I've managed to lose the comment facility that I used. Which is okay, because Blogger now has its own comments and it would have got very confusing having two comment links, but it does mean I'm rather lacking in froggy references. Could anyone oblige and provide a few new ones, please?

Glastonbury Observations ... warning, long and winding ramble!

2004-07-01T17:51:00.000Z

And so we return home from another fantastic time at the Glastonbury Festival. This year felt very different from last year, very much more chilled rather than a manic rush from stage to stage, and of course the weather played an important part … but it was still the most amazing, fantastic, incredible weekend I’m likely to have this year!

So much to write about but it’s all a bit jumbled, so here’s some random thoughts on the last five days. By no means a definitive review of Glastonbury and probably won’t make much sense to anyone, but I know what I’m on about!

Last year we had a list an arm’s length of the bands we wanted to see, but this year I was happy to see anyone so long as I got to see Snow Patrol and Muse. So we were much more selective and went for quality rather than quantity, but we still managed to see getting on for thirty bands! For the truly anal (and as a record to myself) the next entry will detail everyone we saw but highlights were Snow Patrol (of course!), Keane, Franz Ferdinand, Elbow, Muse, The Divine Comedy and Longview. And The Others, who sound like a Buzzcocks/Cure hybrid. And Simple Kid, who was the first performer to make me smile on a wet day.

Lazing around (and dozing) in the Greenfields on a sunny Sunday afternoon, shortly before the heavens opened, guitars strumming in front of us and drums beating behind.

In fact, I love the Greenfields so much more than the areas round the main music stages; they seem to be the spiritual home of Glastonbury, people are friendlier there, the grass is (literally) greener.

The moment during Keane’s set when the sun finally showed itself after hours of rain, and the whole crowd cheered.

Sitting in the stone circle watching the world go by.

The staggered, amazed, joyful looks on the faces of the singers of Keane, Snow Patrol and Hope of the States as they realised just how many people were there to see them.

On the Sunday U and I were already suffering from sore feet (not easy standing for hours when I’m too fat for me feet!) so decided to set up camp at the back of the Pyramid field and watch Supergrass and Morrissey before Muse. During the Supergrass set we watched a rainstorm move in from the rear of the Pyramid, it swept across Glastonbury Tor and everyone braced themselves and huddled under raincoats, carrier bags, bin bags, brollies … we sat really still while the rain moved in and pounded on us for a good twenty minutes, but in the distance we could see the clearer weather and blue sky and when the clouds parted and the sun shone through everyone cheered and it was a really magical moment!

Bursting into tears when XXXthousand people sang along to “Run” … Hard to believe that less than a year ago we saw Snow Patrol in a tiny venue in Northampton, along with probably about 60-70 other people … how on earth did they get so big? And when is Gary Lightbody going to stop looking so surprised that everyone knows the words?!

Mud, mud, glorious mud …. Mud like you’ve never seen it, three or four inches deep in places, liquid mud like a fast flowing river in places, sometimes sticky and sucking up your boots, sometimes so slippery that even an Olympic-standard ice skater would have problems staying on their feet. Watching people skate down the muddy slope near the New Tent. Slipping up the slope on the way to our campsite, and then slipping back down the very same hill on the return journey. God, the mud!

Muse were singing about “this is the end of the world” and I looked around at the apocalyptic scene about me. Gaggles of people wrapped in blankets, sitting on muddy stools or plastic sheets or standing round in huddles around candle flares, everyone muddy and wet, the ground churned up and muddy and littered with rubbish … it certainly looked like a post-holocaust scene.

The toilets were much cleaner this year … apart from the long drop I visited where someone had done an enormous dump ON THE TOILET SEAT!!! Ewwwwwwwww. The flushing loos were bearable, even the portaloos were a lot less full and less smelly than last year. And we tried a couple of novelty loos too … the African pit latrines run by Water Aid, where you squat over a hole in the ground and then rinse away any spillage with a pot of water, and the much-debated ShePee, a pretty pink female urinal. Nice idea, shame about the mechanics … it involves standing against a basin with a cardboard funnel between your legs, and although some people loved it I just couldn’t quite coordinate holding down my trousers and holding up the cardboard funnel without squashing it and trying not to fall over, and I was so terrified that I’d pee down my leg that I got stage fright and just couldn’t perform! Think I’ll stick with the long drops…

Best cover version ever … The Divine Comedy did Queens of the Stone Age’s “No One Knows” complete with piano accordion!

Make sure you buy Elbow’s single “Grace Under Pressure”, which is out next Monday. It includes U and me (and several thousand other people) singing “We still believe in love so fuck you”!

Engaging in some culture .. We packed up the tent to the strains of the English National Opera doing Wagner’s Ring Cycle (Think “Apocalypse Now”)

Being cold and wet and miserable and tearful and tired and wanting to go home on Saturday morning … I’m so glad I didn’t :0)

Things on sticks … no Stuart Pearce this year but Tigger, Spiderman and a penguin.

Frisbees at the Other Stage (I found one in the mud and brought it home for Dan!)

Naked men with balloons in the Cabaret Tent … very bizarre.

The Dance of the Dying Swan, performed by a tattooed hula-hooping Australian girl wearing frilly underwear that made her look like a sexy sheep

Barbecued toast and marmalade

Longview … I just closed my eyes and soared while they sang.

Boogieing to the bhangra band in the Gaiaspace Dome

Sneaking away to get changed and have a quick shag in the tent ;0)

The Frank Sinatra singer in the Church of Love and Loathing in Lost Vagueness

Glastonbury smells wonderful (apart from the loos) – around the markets your senses are bombarded with a hundred different sensations, and you’re never far from the sweet scent of cannabis. Just wish I’d had some to smoke!

The flags at the Jazz World stage

Seeing Goldrush, our hoped-for wedding band, performing in the New Tent. Ostensibly they were there as a backing band for Mark Gardener (ex-Ride) but to me they were Goldrush.

Feeling part of something amazing.

Watching the England game on the field at the Pyramid stage – actually, we saw most of the game from our tent and didn’t realise for ages that England’s second goal had been disallowed (why? I still haven’t seen it properly!), but we did wander down for part of extra time and the horror of the penalties, and shared the moment with 60,000 other people.

Laughing at the crapness of Oasis (why did they bother turning up?) and Paul McCartney – his Beatles songs were okay but the rest was dreary. So glad we watched from the tent and not the field.

But the best thing about Glastonbury was just wandering around with no agenda, never knowing what to expect. And although at times we were cold and wet and miserable, I had the most amazing time, and I’ve probably only really realised how good it was since we came home, and I can’t wait to go back again! Roll on June 2005 – and thank you, Mr Eavis, for a fantastic time on your farm.

---

Images of Glastonbury

2004-07-01T11:49:00.000Z

I never fail to be fascinated by the flags at the Jazz World Stage at Glastonbury. There are more of my photos from the festival here.

Genuine Glastonbury 2004 Mud ! Fresh this morning !!

2004-06-30T11:23:00.000Z

I wish I'd thought of doing this ... could have made a fortune the amount of mud on me!

eBay item 3824508716 (Ends 01-Jul-04 15:25:35 BST) - Genuine Glastonbury 2004 Mud ! Fresh this morning !!

Our wedding :0)

2004-05-14T09:26:00.000Z

It may be 67 weeks away but we are already making plans for our wedding, and will be putting all the info in a website that Ulen is putting together ... there's nothing on there yet but keep checking www.alisonandulen.com for all our plans!

Global Rich List

2004-05-14T09:13:00.000Z

Never again will I moan about being skint ... theGlobal Rich List is sobering stuff.

Wedding plans

2004-04-02T10:08:00.000Z

Hah, no bog-standard wedding band for us, oh no!!! My gorgeous husband-to-be has only gone and provisionally booked this lot for our reception! And they only happen to be one of my most favouritist bands in the world!!

:0)

GHOST TOWN

2004-03-30T17:22:00.000Z

Apologies for the absence, I've been far too busy being obsessed with weddings! I've finally managed to get the blogger tool to work in Opera (my usual browser) so expect much more regular updates from now on!

This site is well worth a visit. It's by a Russian woman who is a biker. One of her favourite rides takes her through Chernobyl, and the site is a series of photos of the abandoned city, and it is extremely poignant, especially the last couple of pages.

Good news!

2004-03-03T21:34:00.000Z

Ulen and I went to Paris at the weekend. We had a wonderful time, and on Sunday evening, at the top of the Eiffel Tower, in howling winds, I proposed to him and he said yes!

Snow Patrol Official Website

2004-02-01T19:43:00.000Z

Best band in the world at the moment, IMHO. Up till August last year I'd never even heard of Snow Patrol, but then I went along to a gig in Northampton with Ulen and his friend. Started off thinking they were okay, nothing special, just another guitar band but as the evening wore on they just captivated me. Since then we've seen them three more times (Reading fez Club, Oxford Zodiac and Reading Uni), I've bought the albums and the Run single (no.5!!!), got two tshirts, won a signed album and am going to see them again next month. I suppose you could say I'm just slightly Snow patrol-obsessed!

Anyway, check out the band at the Snow Patrol Official Website, buy the album and discovoer what's so good about them for yourselves.

2004-01-11T00:37:00.000Z

If you're ever tempted to go and see a band called I, Ludicrous, don't bother!

Merry Xmas

2003-12-24T16:24:00.000Z

Take a look atWelcome to Ugly Christmas Lights.com!if you want to be put off your Xmas dinner ... mind you, they don't even compare to some of the appalling attempts at "festivity" around here. i did vaguely consider setting up a sight featuing manky lights, but obviously someone beat me to it :0(

Anyway, have a wonderufl Xmas and a fab new year!

So true!

2003-12-05T09:39:00.000Z

Make sure you try this ... type "miserable failure" (without the quotes) into Google and hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button ....

BookCrossing Documentary

2003-11-28T10:38:00.000Z

Most of the last few weeks have been taken up with recording and editing material for a college assignment - a 15 minute documentary on BookCrossing.Com. Well, it's almost finished, and a member of the UK Yahoo BookCrossing Group has very kindly put it online for me. It's quite a big download - 7.5MB or 14MB depending on which quality you choose - but I'd love to hear what you think of it!

BookCrossing Documentary

Oh, BTW, if you decide to join as a result of listening, can you stick chelseagirl or hey-miki down as your referrers! Thank you!

Glass Marble Magnets

2003-11-18T09:40:00.000Z

Guess what everyone will be getting for Xmas this year .... ah, come on, I'm a poverty stricken student!

Glass Marble Magnets

Do you believe we were lied to about Iraq?

2003-11-18T09:24:00.000Z

I'm hoping you will join me by going to Our World, Our Say now to sign a petition calling for a FULL independent, judicial, public inquiry into whether parliament and the British people were misled about the threat from Iraq.

The Hutton Inquiry is limited to just a small area of the conflict. It is absolutely scandalous that an illegal war, which has caused loss of life and immense misery along with making Britain one of the most hated nations on Earth, has been justified on the basis of half-truths and deception.

On September 24, 2002 Tony Blair stated: 'His (Saddam's) WMD programme is active, detailed and growing. The policy of containment is not working. The WMD programme is not shut down. It is up and running'.

Tony Blair described the intelligence upon which his assertion was based as: 'extensive, detailed and authoritative'.

The dossier which he was quoting from went on to say: 'Some of these weapons are deployable within 45 minutes of an order to use them'.

The whole war was fought on the basis that Iraq posed an immediate threat. We were told when war started that Iraq had deployed chemical and biological weapons to use against British and US forces. No such deployment took place. A whole series of allegations were made in the build up to war and throughout the war that have been shown to be at best inaccurate and at worst blatant lies. To date, no weapons of mass destruction have been found.

Sign the petition to Tony Blair now at Our World, Our Say and get all your friends and colleagues to do the same.

This is part of a major new Our World Our Say campaign to ensure that politicians are made accountable to us for their actions.

2003-10-29T23:30:00.000Z

Dave Gahan .. Legend!

World Beard and Moustache Championships Carson City 2003

2003-10-10T18:15:00.000Z

I'm not sure why it is that I'm not surprised that the majority of competitors to the World Beard and Moustache Championships Carson City 2003 are German .... the photograph evidence is amusing.

Angle-Grinder Man

2003-09-17T13:20:00.000Z

My new favourite superhero!!! I can't wait till I get clamped in the station car park now ;0)

Angle-Grinder Man

Crazy M

2003-09-13T10:13:00.000Z

Dan has decided he'd quite like his favourite clown Crazy M to do the entertainment at his birthday party next month, so I did some investigation on the internet. Turns out she and her "silly" boyfriend (her words, not mine!) got married recently ... he's a clown too ... ever been to a clown wedding? The photos are well worth seeing!

Crazy M's wedding pics