Come on Italy.

Always my bet to win it and I haven't given up on them , although they look a bit old just now.

If there is anyone out there who has stumbled upon this by mistake I urge you to read My Dark Friend. This a book of blogs by a lad who died of cancer just after last Christmas, and spent the last months of his life writing about his ordeal, and some stuff from before he was diagnosed. It is a wonderful, spontaneous, insight into a courageous mans struggle. It's only fifteen quid, a huge book really and you will feel better for having read it. You can get it here.

I only hope that when I am put to the test in anything like the way that Hazey was, I can remember some of the inspiration I have received from reading his blogs at the time and now his book.

I might buy another copy with my winnings when Italy lift the cup!

In the Kitchen for the footy.

My topper wife has , quite deservedly, requisitioned the big telly tonight to watch a film (Atonement), and I'm in the kitchen watching Holland struggle to match Russia, although I imagine they will prevail due to the Ruskies dodgy defence. She is as good as gold about the footy, as there are three of us keen, so she deserves some peace to watch a film.

I'm having quite a bit of bother containing my disgust at the sight and sound of these fat Eurocrats trying to work the way around the no vote that the Irish delivered to their grandiose plans for organising us all. A visit to Old Holburn's blog is a must for a look at Friday the 20ths video of the fat , disgusting , complacent, pigs with their snouts in the trough. These bastards are not even undemocratic; they are anti democratic.

1-0 to Russia, I'll concentrate on that now, I hope they win as it happens.

Plod.

Today , cycling near home, I was pulled up by a copper and asked if I thought I would be better off with a helmet on. A bloody helmet! I told him that I didn't think of very much at all when cycling, that being the point of it. I was then treated to a mini 'elf and safety lecture delivered in such grotesque English I dearly wish I could have recorded it somehow. What an absolute and utterly brain dead wretch he was. He will have been about twenty five I reckon, so another thirty years of this semi literate, automaton wandering about the place bothering people. If he can be bothered that is, after all we wouldn't want him to suffer from stress after dealing with dangerous cyclists. Bastard.


Am I a magnet for these people?

Fortunately, this and other frustrations will be swept away this evening when I intend to go out with a few mates and drink enough beer to kill small horse. I will hopefully drink about twenty five bloody units, and bump into that plodman again. Perhaps they will allow me internet access in my cell.

I have this evening been to look at a new Electric Cooker. The bloke in the shop asked me, as they always do , "Can I help you?". I replied that he could if he could match a price I had found on the internet for a product they had on display. "Can't do that mate", he said. I asked him why not and the poor (very young) salesman just grinned, shrugged his shoulders and made off sharpish. It was a saving of about 20% on £500 so no prizes for working out where the cooker is coming from. But what price the hight street ? Or in this case retail park. He made no effort at all to make a deal. This shop , Curry's , will not last long if my experience tonight was a guide.

I've been looking at this Times archive site. I could spend hours loitering among stuff like this, I hope all the papers make more use of their archives and do something similar. Maybe they have and I've missed it.

I've also been talking to my son about what I might put on this blog. He has unnerved me!

Maybe I'll do what he says.

Late again.

I'm late again, so no sense again.

I've been talking to a few people at work and have been absolutely staggered to find out how much they drink! I don't know how they do it , and to be honest I wish I could drink as much. There was such a time of course, (although some of these guys are in their sixties and so ten years or more older than me) , but no longer. I now find myself in the faintly disgusting position of (unintentionally) more or less obeying government guidelines on this matter; I will have to either up the ante or stop .

Why do they publish these "guidelines " in any case? On drink or anything else. Can they possibly think , for even one nano second, that anyone in the real world - very clearly not the same one from which these edicts pour forth - takes the slightest notice? Perhaps they do, and it's only me and a few desperate other souls who rail against the wind.

As I say , late anyway, so bed and a book. Unbelievably for me , as I'm hardly a monarchist , I'm reading a very good history of the monarchy. It hasn't changed my view at all, on the contrary, but it has highlighted my ignorance of the subject. I will now be able to stand as a bar room expert on the matter next time I hazard to take a few "units" of course.

I will atempt an earlier ramble another time.

They just say I am.

I'm not really awkward, although I can take some time to be persuaded of things. I expect it's the certainty I can't stand. So I thought I'd start this blog to unload some of the rubbish which regularly ferments in my napper, not particularly in the expectation of anyone reading it, (sorry if you've blundered into this by the way), more that it will make room for some more.

I'm just watching the news at the moment, quietly seething at the sight of bloated looking fat eurocrats pretending that the Irish voting no (HOW DARE THEY!), in their referendum doesn't really mean no. I fear for my children if the people of this country and those of others are continually driven away from the idea of influencing their rulers by the ballot box. We in this country are especially used to voting idiots out and when that looks like it isn't working we can expect it to all end in a terrible vale of tears.

Bastards.

I will, if I can get this business to work again, try some more of this again shortly. I'm tired and probably should not have attempted this in the evening as I will probably not remember how to do this next time.