Venice of the North

Morning

A very quiet weekend all round. I took a sleeping pill after a night out with the boys on Friday night and woke up at 2pm on Saturday!

The team had a convincing 3-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday and I'm hoping they will beat them again on Wednesday night when they play them again, this time in the league.

Harriet and I both have a weeks leave booked in February so I booked a break in Amsterdam yesterday. We went a couple of years ago but that time we only had a day in Amsterdam with two nights on the ship. This time I've booked a night on the ship over, a night in a hotel in the city and then another night on the ship back. So we arrive in Amsterdam at 9am on Valentines day, spend Valentines night in the city and leave at tea time the next day which Harriet is over the moon with. All for £169 too, which I think is a bargain.

Last time we travelled on the Queen of Scandinavia but that ship is now on the Norway route. This time we'll be travelling on the Princess of Norway and returning on the King of Scandinavia.
I only discovered last night that my local was burgled on Wednesday night. They broke in through the cellar doors and triggered the alarm, which is linked to the police, but the the manager reset the alarm after 50 seconds. The alarm doesn't alert the police until 90 seconds. The alarm went off another half dozen times but the manager thought it was the wind and kept resetting it, until he decided just to leave it switched off, without investigating downstairs.

They have a state of the art safe which has all sorts of security devices attached including ink jets if it is forced, But the manager helpfully left the key in the safe and left the lights on so they could see where they were going. Early estimates are around £10,000 and obviously they aren't insured as the safe was left unlocked.

The manager has been suspended for a month pending investigations, but he is off to India for a months holiday next week anyway...

Today's blog is brought to you by 36 year old Denise Richards. I first saw her in the classic Starship Troopers.

On this day: Derek Bentley is hanged for a murder carried out by Christopher Craig (1953)

On the car iPod: Del Amitri - Waking Hours

Talk hard!
H.

Angry!

Hello

I wasn't going to post this morning but I'm so wound up I thought it may help calm me down.

Harriet Hard-On is a chef. She works for a company who own retirement homes, she is mainly based in one place but occasionally working in the others. She used to work Saturday to Wednesday with Thursday and Friday off but recently, due to someones retirement, she now works Monday to Friday with Saturday and Sunday off.

The source of my annoyance is that Harriet has always worked bank holidays. All of them. So I asked her to take 21st March to the 28th March as holidays this year, which included Good Friday and bank holiday Monday. She text me saying her boss said she couldn't have the Friday as it was a bank holiday, so I replied telling her that so was the Monday? I said she should at least take the Monday if she has to work the Friday?

Then she called to say her boss said she couldn't have the Monday either as there was no one to cover (Harriet chef's for 5 days and they have someone else to chef for the other 2, although her boss, the kitchen manager, chef's when someone is on holiday).

So I'm telling her on the phone that it isn't fair and that it's not her problem that there is no one to cover, why should she do all of the bank holidays... and I can hear her boss in the background saying "well does he think I should come in and work it, is that fair on me?" to which I'm replying "of course that's f**king fair! Both of you work one each".

But no... Harriet is not one for standing up for herself (other than when it's with me) and as such, has cancelled her holidays...

Today's blog is brought to you by 19 year old Tamsin Egerton, who I first saw in the brilliant film Keeping Mum and apparently was in the recent St Trinians movie.



On this day: Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates the U.S. transcontinental telephone service

On the car iPod: Radio 2

Talk hard!
H.

Sesame Street was brought to you by the letters PUTV & the number 7

Morning

How cold is it today! Brum had an inch of ice on it this morning...

The team take on Sp*rs this evening in the 2nd leg of the Carling Cup semi-final. I expect Mr Wenger to stick with the youngsters as he has done so far, and because of that I have a feeling that a full Sp*rs first team may just be a little too strong for them. But, having said that, I expect a good game and even if there is a defeat, it's funny to watch a full strength Sp*rs first team struggle against an Arsenal youth team.

The Nations Cup of Africa is on at the moment so I settled down in bed last night to watch Ghana v Ivory Coast as it featured 2 current Arsenal players and 1 ex Arsenal player (Eboue and Toure play for IC). The match wasn't bad but every person in the crowd seemed to have bloody musical instrument with them and the constant sound of African music was bloody annoying!! It nearly put me off the football, hehe.

You remember how Sesame Street used to bring you each program by a different letter and number... well I've decided to start bringing you each blog by a different pretty female (sorry Malcolm, hehe). They will be in no particular order, the only connection will be that I fancy the pants off each and every one of them. The honour of being first goes to 26 year old Emma Pierson who appeared in Time Gentlemen Please and Hotel Babylon amongst other things... you really need to hear her voice to get the full effect though.



On this day: First live commentary of a football match (soccer for our international friends) anywhere in the world - Arsenal v Sheffield Utd at Highbury. The match ended in a 1-1 draw (1927)

On the car iPod: It Bites - Once Around The World

Talk hard!
H.

*cough*

Morning

I feel as if I've been ill for ever! Nothing particularly bad, just a horrible sensation in the back of my throat and a bit of a blocked nose.

And I still can't sleep. The doctor gave me sleeping pills a few months back, a weeks supply. When they ran out my sleepless nights returned so I went back and he gave me another week. Once again when they ran out my sleepless nights returned.

The doctor has now given me a months worth and also a month of anti-depressant tablets. When I take a sleeping pill I tend to get a good nights sleep but feel terrible when I get up around 11, so I'm only taking the on a Friday and a Saturday night, I dare not take them on a school night. Also this way they'll last a lot longer and I should at least get decent rest on a weekend for the near future. As for the anti-depressants, I can't tell if they've made a difference or not? Having said that I've only been taking them for a week and the doc said it might take a couple of weeks for them to start working...

Harriet is still off work, hopefully she'll be back tomorrow though. There's nothing worse than having to get up to go to work when you're not feeling 100% when your other half is all tucked up under the duvet.

On a brighter note, the team won on Saturday. A convincing 0-3 win away to Fulham.

I'm enjoying the new series of 2 Pints of Lager. It's something I've watched for years but only the odd episode here and there. I've got to admit to being attracted to all 3 leading girls. Kathryn, Natalie and Sheridan all have something about them...

On the car iPod: Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
On this day: The first Monte Carlo Rally (1911)

Talk hard!
H.

Shameless

Hello

Harriet is poorly today. She can't have been at work for more than 30 minutes when I got a phone call to go and pick her up... which pissed me off as I was walking up the stairs at work which is 13 miles in the opposite direction from Happy Harry Towers. So off I drove, 13 miles back home then on another 6 miles to her work place, 6 miles to get her back home, then another 13 back to work. I wouldn't mind, she's only been back at work for 4 days after being off sick for the 2 weeks previous.

Went to see I Am Leg End last night. Wasn't bad I suppose, the very end bit could have been better, but not a bad movie. It made me think about it really happening, and I had some weird dreams about it last night...

There were some good trailers for forthcoming movies. A new Batman, Jumpers, Clovefield and I can't remember the rest... but they looked good.

By far the best thing on TV at the moment has to be Shameless. It's the highlight of the TV week at the moment for me, I can't help but laugh at it.

On the car iPod: The Cranberries - Stars
On this day: The strongest storm in the UK for 17 years kills 14 people (2007)

Talk hard!
H.

erm... Merry Christmas!!!

Hello and apologies for the longer than normal absence!

Let me wish you all a Merry Christmas (17 days late) and a Happy New Year (11 days late).

It's been a very busy couple of weeks, what with having to grab Harry Jnr from Madchester just before Christmas and get him home to Mummy for Christmas Eve, plus lots of stuff going on at work...

I hope you all had a good one and got what you wanted from Santa?!

I mentioned a few months ago that my company were looking to start moving more of it's operations to India in 2008. The news was announced to the employees just before Christmas, and as I also mentioned before, my account is the first one to be assessed. Our customer, a huge global company (recently bought by an even bigger consortium) was in India last/this week looking at our centre's over there. Not had any feedback yet, will be interesting to hear what they think, although I've heard a rumour from a senior source that they aren't keen... Whatever happens I can't see anything moving before May'ish time and besides, boss man says he has something for me anyway.

The footy team are doing well aren't they. Top of the league, in the knockout stages of the Champions League, through to the 4th round of the FA Cup against either Stoke or Geordie Utd, and the kids are 1-1 going into the Carling Cup Semi-Final 2nd leg against Sp*rs.
It's currently good to be a Gooner!

My good lady and I are off out tonight with my boss and her other half (my mate) for a bite to eat and a shandy or two... so here's to bad head's and stomach's in the morning!

On the car iPod: Shania Twain - Up
On this day: The first recorded lottery in England (1569)

Talk Hard!
H.