Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Inconsequential Football

Been busy, too busy to blog. Saturday decided to head off to the footie on what was a beautiful day, for an inconsequential game. It looked good to start with, a remark from the 2 gents behind us who noted that it looked like Real Madrid versus Argentina. Killie played in all white and Dundee in Light blue and dark blue stripes. The football sadly didn't match the aesthetic, frankly it was pretty shit, we had a few chances and had the ball on target a number of times. What was lacking though was velocity. Had the keeper not been in front of the ball, it was unlikely it would have made the back of the net of its own volition. With the customary 10 minutes remaining, the intellectual giant of football tactics Jim Jeffries decides on a double substitution taking both front players off and replacing them. Nothing unusuaul in that except one of them, young Wales, was doing rather well and easily best player of the game and the only one looking likely to score. Again from behind there was the cry of "one duffer off, two duffers on." There were also a lot of boos ringing out at the ineptitude of manager. Would you believe it when four minutes later one of the subs scores what is certain to be the winner. A stunned silence from the two gents behind and fear on our part that perhaps Jeffries may think he made the right decision. Best player on the pitch? That would be Eric Skora the Preston North End player who was on loan to us last season. He made the half time draw to an almight cheer. Who knows maybe he was up for "talks."

Saturday evening and we had the Harbour Street retirees down for dinner. Pork Loin on Rhubarb, we've been cooking with Rhubarb for the past 4 weeks, its in season you see. Followed by Strawberries Romanoff and a wicked quantity of wine.

Sunday no quiz because of another football match, which has a tendency for after match mayhem in assorted bars across the West of Scotland. We nevertheless had an enjoyable dinner withe Lady El and a signatur pudding with alcohol. Her lad came in halfway through quite pissed and on very fine form having been to watch the match with his mate in the Water Sports club. Half twelve kick off and its now after 7.00pm. Seemingly he and his friend had upset the entire club by junmping up when Celtic scored first. Including his father, Jim Stewart a new recruit to hunnery. Must've been funny in a dark sort of a way. Anyway he reminds us that we shouldn't remark on his drunken state given the last time we were there, I was asleep at the table, thewife was asleep on the couch and Lady El was asleep upstairs.
posted by timesnewroman at 6:01 AM  

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Return of Torquemada

What an interesting day. Starts off badly when someone at the station kiosk hands me a bank card which had fallen from my wallet. What I never noticed immediately was that another card and my Visa had also fallen out along with it. It suddenly struck me when I am on the train that perhaps I should check said wallet and do so, only to discover Visa is missing and possibly another card which I might have had with me. Bollocks! So I get to work and make the necessary calls to cancel said cards. thewife phones later to say that she popped into the station to find out if anyone had handed a card in. Indeed they had, too late though as I had already cancelled them. Nevertheless a big thank you to the honest commuters of Irvine.

I'm not a Roman Catholic (I'm an Atheist) so I really shouldn't be at all bothered by the elevation of a former Hitler Youth member to the papacy. What bothers me though is that he's the kind who's unlikely to keep his fucking nose out of other peoples' business. Just for a change here's the Washington Post angle on him.

Just for fun why not type "liar" into a Google search and hit the I feel lucky button.
posted by timesnewroman at 9:24 PM  

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Saturday, April 16, 2005

Bloody questionnaires!

Reidski did a meme and made me do it to. So here it is: Steve and Alan if you read this, I am passing the baton onto you.

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?

thewife and I weren't sure about the meaning of this question. I haven't read Fahrenheit 451 (Should I soon?) so looked it up here (Mmm speed reading huh last year's stuff, just pop in the book title and get a quick synopsis in minutes, no need to read whole bulky books ever again!) Anyway is it what book you'd like to see burn? Easy anything religious, or is it - What book should save the world? maybe To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Mary Ann Singleton, before she became a mega broadcaster. Although it may have really have been Laura Linney.

The last book you bought is:

The Wisdom of Crocodiles by Paul Hoffman (Second Hand from Oxfam) It was a monster, gripped me to start with but lost me towards the end, thewife says they made it into a movie which was every bit as confusing as the book!

The last book you read:

Jonathan Coe's the Closed Circle. The follow-up to his excellent 70s based The Rotters Club, which was recently serialised brilliantly by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais for the BBC.

What are you currently reading?

High Society by Ben Elton, I've just opened it so that I can answer this question. I'm a terrible reader, I don't read anywhere near enough then I'll do nothing else but read. To be honest, I'm a victim of binge reading.

Five books you would take to a deserted island:

I was tempted to take Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City Series, but I would have had to leave one out and I'm not sure which one it would have been. So instead I'll take Tales of the City itself.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, I loved it so much and it was perhaps THE book which most evoked extremes of my emotions.

Reidski mentioned The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks. I'd have to take something by Ian Banks, but it would be between Espedair Street and The Bridge and I think the Bridge might just edge it on account of the complexity and the three books in one so to speak. That and the odd fact that with the exception of The Skids, I have every single track mentioned in the book on vinyl. I always had the feeling that he looked through my albums before writing it. Oh and not forgetting that it introduced me to Laphroaig.

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Strangely, Manuel introduced me to lots of books and I think perhaps that this was one of the first, possibly the only book I introduced him to. Possibly because he'd moved to Manchester at that time and it was a Scottish thing to start with. Anyway I would often get in from the pub of a night and have a lengthy passage from the book left on my answering machine. Classic.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson I read it for the first time fairly recently and mentioned it just after Hunter S. Thompson died. See post on 22/02/05.

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?

thewife for one and I'll put the results here. Steve from Occupied Country because it'll give me a reading list for the near future when I get my reading act together, and Alan from Gen X at 40 for an overseas perspective.

posted by timesnewroman at 5:19 PM  

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Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Sun whorernalist gets comeuppance

This was a hoot. I just wish they'd sent the bastard to Kosova.
posted by timesnewroman at 6:35 AM  

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Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Pythonesque

They're off then. Its nice to see Tony and Gordon so close again, almost defies belief. Its interesting for starters to see how keen they are in getting the disaffected back into the fold so to speak. Simply butter us all up with fabulous international development titbits and we'll whore ourselves silly. On the other hand we could remind the bastards why we are anti-war in the first fucking place!
posted by timesnewroman at 6:03 AM  

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Sunday, April 10, 2005

Whoosh

I love these things!

Busy week past. Helped along nicely by a visit from the bold Reidski with lad in tow. Meant drinking mid-week which I don't do any longer. Perhaps it's an age think but when I overindulge during the week I just can't get away with it they way I used to. So, when the wine ran out and I opened the Havana Club, well next morning I felt like shit pretty much unitl lunchtime. Made worse by the fact that everybody at work was on holiday, going on holiday or off sick. Reidski was on fine form though, despite having had a work related prob, which seems to have been overcome to some extent. Following the footie, the young'un gave up with Civilisation 3 and came to join us playing some music. He was most impressed with his dad's bass playing virtuosity from a 15 year old tape I had put onto CD. Then in a short music quiz made a pretty good stab at guessing that Robin Trower was Jim Hendrix - scoff you might but I think it was shit hot for an eleven year old.

We've been glued to Masterchef over the past few weeks and were at a loss last week as it has finished. So to compensate we've been doing it ourselves so to speak. Bloody camera batteries have fizzled out on me otherwise I would have been able to show off my starter of duck breast on black pudding and rhubarb with a salad on the side. Bloody outstanding as was the lamb casserole with roast potatoes and purple sprouting brocolli - get it while you still can.

thewife can cook most things but claims she just can't bake cakes. This weekend she's decided she is going to have another go as it's Lady El's birthday and a cake is forthcoming. Pottering away all afternoon in the kitchen and out she comes with...............two flat sponges. Seems she can't bake cakes after all. You should try her lemon and blueberry loaf though!
posted by timesnewroman at 4:24 PM  

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Thursday, April 07, 2005

Hiatus Over

Letting the cat out of the bag

Right, I have been a lazy bastard and its time it stopped. I've not been on holiday, thewife is out of hospital and well, and the absence is simply down to me being too lazy to post and there being nothing exciting happening to post about. Well if you omit the excitement of the past week I suppose.

First up, the cat in the bag is Charlie. The bag is the one the wife had her overnight stay in hospital stuff in. We're convinced that by sitting in the bag Charlie is convinced she won't piss off and leave him again. Don't scoff, he is that smart, our Charlie.

Secondly I did have a rant against certain religious organisations and leaders prior to a certain Pole popping his clogs, but unfortunately the computer crashed prior to posting. I think that was probably a major contributing factor to the lack of posts since.

A quick resum� then. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O' Connor, or should that be Mister Bastard, decides to get in on the act following the influence of the right wing fundamentalist religious zealots across the Atlantic. He decides the time is right given the forthcoming general election to re-establish a debate on abortion, with the express aim of reducing the time limit on abortions from 24 to 22 weeks - or as he'd probably prefer zero weeks.

Morality huh? From the piece of shite that knowingly promoted a paedophile priest! Give us a break.

And next he is going to be a key influence on the election of the next Pope. So who's he going to promote then?????? No jokes please about Cardinal Sin!

Not that the Anglicans are proving any more liberal. Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams also thinks it's time for the abortion debate to be looked at again. Why don't these people just fuck off? Suitable cases both, for retrospective abortions!

Sheeesh once I get started. All this and an election too!
posted by timesnewroman at 6:44 PM  

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