Tomma the Bommer's site

New Alex Ross Graphic Novel

2007-08-29T19:30:00.000+01:00

I'm going to risk being called a geek (too late) but I've just found out that Alex Ross has finished a new comic series, Justice. The guy's one of the best comic artists around, if you've never read one of his books, check out Kingdom Come for a dose of loveliness.

AVP2

2007-08-25T13:21:00.000+01:00

This first one was utter shite but at least this one looks a bit better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E5yIi96RLM

Virgin 2007

2007-08-19T19:33:00.000+01:00

10 years after first going to V, a return visit was due. This time it was a little different, since I was going with Lucy and not a group of blokes. As it turns out, I was able to watch similar groups of blokes from my collapsible chair, and realise what a fucking annoying bunch of arses we must have been. Still, I guess if you want a nice quiet time, your first choice of venue wouldn't be a massive music festival.

Highlights of the festival for me were the Happy Mondays and Kasabian. Also seen were Kanye West (he of big white teeth), Kooks (wish we'd seen the Foo's instead), Babyshambles, Primal Scream, Fratellis and the Killers.

The camping wasn't too heinous, although the hour long walk from car to campsite with all our gear almost got the better of me ("Shall we just sell the bloody tickets"). The guy in the tent next to us snored ALL night, which almost led me to get out of my tent and set fire to his. But his screaming probably would have been louder and hence defeated the object I guess. Thanks to Alex and Laura for the loan of the tent, it was magic.

I'm not sure about those temporary urinals. It's a bit weird when you're standing opposite another man, facing each other and having a piss. Making eye contact whilst pissing is never good and I know I was making sure to wear an expression that couldn't be misinterpreted as "Nice cock". Also great is when your foot squelches into something as you stand in front of the urinal and you realise its not water ("Those aren't pillows!!").

Main bedroom - almost done

2007-07-17T02:15:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since there was a DIY update - main bedroom decorated.

Boyes win big at Ascot

2007-06-24T07:46:00.000+01:00

Boys in winning at gambling shocker! Our usual sorry performance at Ascot was raised hugely by a spectacular first race win by Mr Boyes (£900+ from a £10 bet) followed by some other tasty wins. It led to an afternoon of the cheapest champers, followed by the usual drunken stumblings around Reading. The Vet managed to shirk off our repeated attempts at corrupting his plans and headed off to the Isle of Wight for an early start sailing with Whitehouse (much respect). I should have realised a club called "The Reflex" was an 80's club - I think I lasted about 2 songs before slinking off (like a cat) to my bed - in order to re-energise myself for Eleanor's christening the next day.

Borderline

2007-06-17T11:02:00.001+01:00

To 'celebrate' the fact that you won't be able to smoke bloody anywhere in the UK anymore, we went for a final booze up down at the Borderline. It went much as expected although turn ups for the books were Sam (I thought he was dealing dope in Colombia), Chris and Ben booking out early (pussies). A top night (they don't seem to change the playlist at all) although I did have to have a little hide where I had a word with myself to keep going (as opposed to slinking off like a cat). A cab back to Ealing is alot cheaper than a cab back to Maidenhead.

Sunday lunch

2007-06-10T11:03:00.000+01:00

Niccy P and Emma popped over for Sunday lunch which was nice.

Chicago trip

2007-06-03T10:53:00.000+01:00

Another jaunt to Chicago, this time for a meet with the big wigs. It was a chance to sit in and find out what my elders and betters talk about and it was much as expected. Went to see a Chicago Cubs game, the stadium was cool but the team were shit. It was just like a game of rounders with lots of stops and a song at the seventh innings - at which point they stop selling beer - bad show.

It was good to meet some folks who I'd I'd only emailed before (Panicos is a legend) and spend some quality time with some other folks - Stephen Kerr was on good form. Low light was travelling back with Dave who at the end of the overnight flight showed me the sleeping pills he used which were excellent - as evidenced by him sleeping like a log and me being left to watch shit films. Git. :)

Loud and stupid

2007-05-18T14:58:00.000+01:00

As long as they explain where Optimus' trailer goes, I'll be happy.

Wot I been up to?

2007-05-12T12:58:00.000+01:00

Marilyn & Doug were up last weekend, and we tripped out to Windsor Park, walked about and looked at trees, children falling off bicycles and posh people on horses.

Been having a bit of a cinema fest at the moment - so it must be the start of summer season. Went to see Sunshine - very good, not exactly original but for the budget it looked amazing. Spidey 3 was alright, although it did seem a bit packed with too many stories. Watching Heroes at the moment and its well wicked - one episode (the 5 years in the future one) was better than the whole of X3.

I love this trailer - totally bonkers anime stuff but so imaginative, I love this stuff. Paprika Other trailers for films that won't be as good as the trailers
- Fantastic Four 2
- Bourne Ultimatum
- War Inc

Also went to see 28 Weeks Later yesterday, which was excellent. The first 5 minutes were insane - way too tense and the bit with the helicopter in Regents Park was off the chart. I can't see the political allegories that are being drawn with the film, since the last time I checked, the insurgents weren't blood-vomiting lunatics who want to bite your face off. Not even Fox News portays them as such. There was a handy hint for any insurgents watching though, if they get themselves a Volvo estate they can outmanoeuvre an Apache gunship.

Well done the Hammers for escaping relegation - just a shame they had to cheat to do so.

As a postscript, a doctor told me the other day that my arse was "hairier than most" - I suppose its nice to get official confirmation of this.

Alex's 27th birthday

2007-04-30T21:37:00.000+01:00

Met up with Alex and Laura and some of their mates at Digress before heading over to King's Cross to The Key, which is an actual dance club. The tunes were wicked and I could dance like a spazz amongst other spazz's, luckily Alex was dancing like a MASSIVE spaz, so that was quite fortunate, nice for someone else to take responsibility for a change. Lucy is currently drawing up a letter of complaint after being offered "pills of some kind". We made it until 3 and then packed up, the youngsters went off to their pit whilst Lucy and I got a nice £70 taxi home, which was tom-tom-tastic. Anyway, mid-life crisis put on hold for a few months more. Made me look forward to the Borderline bash in June.

Congrats to Bops and Chris for completing the marathon, although Chris did look like shit in the photo i saw. He stilled looked significantly better than what I would've looked like though.

Ever been this drunk?

Some people have too much time on their hands - and thank god for them

2007-04-17T11:32:00.000+01:00

I loved Resident Evil 4 on the PS2 - it was awesome. The way this guy has sync'd up the headshots is magic.

Jamie's 30th bash

2007-04-16T18:58:00.000+01:00

Up to Biggleswade for Jamie's 30th bash. Jamie and Rach laid on a fine spread as always and were great hosts. The food cooked up by the Israeli chef was smashing - Guy restricted himself to just the two heaped plates - and also perfected his sword-swallowing technique of eating Magnums - the most powerful ice cream in the world.

The breeders were there in force as well, which was great to see. All of them look remarkably well, although Armstrong looked more bewildered than usual.

Photos will shortly be available once Mr Earl pulls his finger out and posts them in his Picasa album - although he was shown how to do this by Scally so I'm not holding my breath. There's also some video footage of some muppets mincing about on the dancefloor - I'm only putting this here in the interests of fairness. There was also some worrying business with lip gloss which makes me wonder what Guy & Ginette get up to behind closed doors.

There was some top pinata action and Jamie's acceptance speech at 1am was legendary "It would be shit if you weren't here". Nice one Jamie. :)

For those of you who aren't aware, David Blaine is a time travelling demon. My car has now developed a new and exciting rattle - but I've checked the wheels and there's still 4 of them, so I can ignore it for a while longer.

Good luck to Bops and Chris for the marathon, although I hear Chris might have injured himself in Canada......

Easter weekend, which must mean DIY

2007-04-08T12:29:00.000+01:00

As tradition demands, Easter weekend was spent travelling and decorating. First off to the Perry's to see the new and improved Bryan. To be honest it was a bit of a let down, he's still a lairy scouser. Luckily he won't be reading this, since it would be below him. He's already traded in his XBox 360 for a PS3, so perhaps him and Scally can share some tips, although the day when they can beat me at Tekken is still far away.

After that it was off to Alex & Laura's to join in the 'we've trashed our house, can someone please help' event of the weekend. It was quite a laugh with the "can-do" Chidley attitude fully on display. The Changing Rooms pace was all a bit much for Doug, who had to go outside and watch the boat race. Still, they've done a good job patching up the place after ripping out the air conditioning, so hopefully they'll be back to something habitable soon. Eleanor still has no teeth.

You could eat your dinner off it

2007-04-05T17:32:00.000+01:00

We've finally bought a dining room table and chairs, so the garden furniture can actually now go back out into the garden, where it'll probably get nicked.

We got it from a seconds place out in the middle of nowhere called Get Furnished, which is pretty much just a barn with lots of furniture in it.

Boarding in Breckenridge

2007-03-27T18:16:00.000+01:00

A top time was had in Breckenridge. It was great to see Bruce and Kathleen, haven't seen them in ages. They were on top form and way more energised than us, who were feeling the effects of altitude and jetlag. My guts were bunged up for at least 4 days at the beginning but a couple of Sennacott tablets soon sorted that out.

There wasn't much new snow, resulting in packed piste only action. This had a rather detrimental effect on Guy's coccyx, but I guessed if you smack anything down on a hard surface with 17st of wieght behind it, its gonna hurt. I hope this doesn't stop Guy from doing what he loves i.e. human cannonballing.

Day Watch Trailer

2007-03-27T13:01:00.000+01:00

Smart trailer for the sequel to bonkers Russian vampire movie, Nightwatch, which is called Day Watch. The final part of the trilogy will feature Bill Oddie.

Floor down

2007-03-07T17:32:00.000Z

If you like dirty green carpet you may not want to read the following. Mark at MPM Flooring has done another top job in the dining room and hallway. Sliding around in socks is a great way to pass time in the evening.

The green carpet was taken outside and ritually burned for crimes against humanity.

Parents over

2007-03-05T19:29:00.000Z

Mum and Dad T came up to visit, which of course involved making Dad work for his supper. The wiring in the void room at the back of the house was ventured into, floorboards were raised and diagrams were drawn. Floorboards were quickly replaced and I quickly convinced myself that yes, one single plug socket would be enough for that room.

Pudneys over

2007-02-26T19:26:00.000Z

Had the Pudney's over for an afternoon of rugby (watching England get done over by Ireland) and then headed into town for a meal at the new Italian restuarant, Forenza. It was reet nice and we'll probably make all of our friends and family go there and at the last moment forget to mention that all my credit cards had been stolen.

Loose nuts

2007-02-21T17:53:00.000Z

Here's some motoring advice... always check all your wheels are securely fastened to your car before driving. After noticing a bit of a judder on Saturday, I thought I might have a problem with my front shocks. After it started getting worse on Monday, I booked the car into the garage for today. On my way to the garage, along the M4, it got much worse. It got to the point where a nice man on the roundabout pointed out to be that my front left wheel was 'about to come off'.

So I pulled over into the middle of the roundabout and had a look. Upon taking off the hub cap, four nuts fell out onto the floor, leaving the only the special nut remaining. Second motoring tip. Don't try to jack your car up on wet grass.

So a lucky escape, since the wheel coming off whilst chuntering along the M4 would have been exhilarating to say the least. At least that didn't happen and no-one was hurt.

On a separate point, Boyzee texted earlier to say Jude was going into hospital to be induced, so best of british to them all. Fancy getting induced that late at night, looks like the Boyzee's won't be getting their beauty sleep tonight. :)

This is what my best friend thinks of my blog

2007-02-20T15:48:00.000Z

"I would never, ever, read your Blog. In my most worrying and bored times on the Internet, I would rather happily vandalise the Wikipedia Entries of Kris "awooga" Akibussy and Daley Thompson than read about your life.

Monday - Got up. Some hair Fell out.
Tuesday - Got up. Some hair fell out.
Wednesday. Got up. Went to work. Went to see Hot Fuzz. Some hair fell out. Hot Fuzz good. Hair Loss, not so good.
Thursday. Some hair fell out.
Friday - Whoopdywhoo - Some hair fell out.
Saturday/Sunday - Did DIY. Some hair fell out."

I think I still have some convincing to do. Just to note, not much hair has fallen out today. At least it gives Bryan an outlet for his vitriol, which would otherwise be directed to his colleagues. And its spelt Kriss Kezie Uche Chukwu Duru Akabusi you twat.

I doubt this test's veracity

2007-02-20T15:02:00.000Z

Your results:
You are Robin

Robin		63%
Superman		55%
The Flash		55%
Batman		45%
Catwoman		45%
Iron Man		45%
Spider-Man		40%
Hulk		40%
Green Lantern		30%
Supergirl		23%
Wonder Woman		23%

Young and acrobatic.
You don't mind stepping aside
to give someone else glory.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

No title springs to mind

2007-02-20T09:28:00.000Z

Watched the Prestige on Friday night and It was one of the best films I've seen in a while. I love the fact that I can't figure out film twists, its such a nice surprise when the unexpected happens.

What else? Lucy's almost finished the staircase after 19 woman-years of effort. Jude still hasn't hatched her baby AFAIK. Went to see Hot Fuzz on Sunday. Was it damn funny? Yaarp. My cars has started juddering again and it sounds like an expensive judder. So that's be another unbuckle-drop-pantage at the SEAT garage then, oh joy.

Today's word of yesteryear is bobbins. That's bobbins.

No bodies found under floorboards

2007-02-17T14:37:00.000Z

The lesser known sequel to Edward Scissorhands is Andy Lagginghands. A final check that all pipes are lagged before the floor goes dahhhn.

I am aware that I look like a twat in this picture, so no need to leave any comments to that effect.

Check out Scally's blog to see what happens when you post images of yourself on the Internet and you have friends who a) have time on their hands and b) a computer and are not afraid to use it. Nice one La. :)

Drilling over women in bed

2007-02-17T09:46:00.000Z

Be careful when drilling outside your house. The last time I did it, the guy across the road (we call him 'Capt. 33 years' cos he always reminds us that he's lived in the road for 33 years, well done, have a cookie) asked me to pop in and fix a curtain rail that his lodger had pulled down. Luckily this was a 12 ft curtain rail attached to a 14ft price of wood. Even more bizarre was that that I had to drill new holes into the wall, whilst standing on the lodger's bed, whilst his wife was still in it. Throughout the weird DIY sequence the lodger kept supplying handy hints like "It would be better if you moved it 6 inches to the left" and "I think you're going to need longer screws". This was in amongst the entertaining Rigsby-like banter with the landlord, discussing the state of the room and the newness of the fittings. All in all a bit weird but at least now we have a little sign outside the house saying number 7 (the reason I was out there in the first place) which'll make it easier to remember where I live.

The rub is that I've put up a curtain rail in a complete stranger's bedroom yet in my own we still have a bedsheet twisted around a plastic pole. Put that in your song Alanis, cos that's irony.

Friday fun

2007-02-16T09:26:00.000Z

Quality trailer for Jerry Seinfeld's new movie. And I want to be able to say "Grindhouse" in the same voice as the voiceover man for the new trailer.

Any film that has cast members called LA Boomstick, Mr Pump, Cold Steel, The Bitch, Tat-a-Tat, MC Hammer and Judge Bullets is alright by me.

Jimmy Jangles is very rude, but very funny.

Chidley's at Center Parcs

2007-02-10T10:36:00.000Z

Just got back from a mid-week break at the Center Parcs at Eleveden in Suffolk. There was Alex , Laura, Eleanor, Jean, Charles, Doug and Marilyn. The villa was very nice and pretty cheap (worked out at 250 sheets for the 4 nights) and we managed to pack in loads of stuff like tennis, golf and swimming. We avoided all species of wild fowl and shot anything that came with 20 yards of the house, thanks to the rabid news coverage about bird flu that is in no way intended to alarm the populace. Doug and Alex popped their golfing cherries.

Watched The Queen and The Departed over the last week. I was quite surprised that I found the Queen interesting, given my apathy towards the royals. The Departed was excellently sweary and pretty violent but it had lots of good actors in it and some cracking dialogue.

Breckenridge beckons

2007-02-03T17:45:00.000Z

After an out of the blue call from the Vet on Wednesday, we're now booked up for a week in Breckenridge in March. Despite blowing Nic out for not having enough money to go at New Year, something in me just made me agree to shell out the readies to go in March. I think it was because Nic said he had a good time, I really wanted to go and it may be the last time we can go for a while.

Removed a radiator today. Christ, the tension. Plus wallpapered the hall ceiling. A true test of any marriage.

Pre head wetting session with Boyzee

2007-01-31T07:03:00.000Z

Met up with Nick, Nic, Boyzee and Gareth last night in the Maple Leaf. Great to see the fellas (seems like a while) and as a result, a group excursion has been planned for New Year, which the Earls will be organising (nice one Danni). A firm promise was made to get Nic, Em's and Tsar over to Maidenhead, which must be followed up (memo to self). They had gas problems at the pub and so were unable to serve Guinness, which just shows the Canadian lack of respect for good service.

Good luck with the delivery Mr and Mrs Boyes!

Team meeting in Chicago

2007-01-31T07:00:00.000Z

It was that time of year again where men and women from around the world congregate in one place to supposedly do some work and bond with each other.

A delightful trip in economy on the way over (The Departed, The Gridiron Gang) wasn't too grim and Lou and I arrived on Saturday afternoon. We were dead on our feet but luckiliy Greg arrived and kept us up until 6am our time.

Sunday was spent avoiding Greg and ended up with a nice meal with all the team. It was nice to meet Anu for the first time as well as get everyone together again. Chih-Ming still looks like he's 23 years old, he's a poster boy for clean living.

The week went pretty quickly, apart from every night from 3am until 7am, which kinda dragged, listening to the lifts go ding-ding. I had a squirly tum-tum for the most of the week, so the combination of those two things meant I wasn't feeling on top form for most of the week (apart from Wednesday with was the traditional Fogo/Fado double whammy).

The last two days were a bit hairy but I think everyone's back to being happy again (hopefully)which is a relief.

Upgrading to premium economy for $80 on the flight back was definitely a good move, although its still pretty hard to sleep, even with chemical assistance. All in all an eventful week, although I'm glad I'm going on holiday next week, I need to get some chillout time.

Rocky Balboa, what a film

2007-01-06T01:21:00.000Z

I've recently watched Rocky Balboa and wow, what a great film. After the shitfest that was Rocky V, I was thinking that the films were dead to me. But after watching what felt like a heartfelt apology for the last film, this film is a great bookend to the series.

These films ain't about boxing, they're about life.

"It ain't about how hard you can hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"

Anyone who loved the first two Rocky films should see this film. It doesn't take itself too seriously and is aware of Rocky's situation i.e. that he's thought of as past his prime and that the thought of getting back in the ring is a bit of a joke. The film spends lots of time on character and his journey to getting back to the ring. You really feel for the guy who is at a loss and doesn't think his life should have panned out as it has. The way the actual fight is portrayed, with intercuts of Adrian and Mickey, really reminds you of the history of the character (surely one of the great movie icons of the last 30 years) . Forget every shit film you've seen with Stallone in (Stop or my Mom will shoot!, The Specialist) and go and see this film.

Skype details

2006-12-22T15:50:00.000Z

So I've installed Skype and for those that are interested, my Skype name is tommabomma.

Transformers trailer is up. Grindhouse trailer for those that like Rodriguez and Tarantino stuff. And this is a very scary haunted house movie. And this a good choon.

Get ready for some man crying....Rocky's back

2006-12-21T10:06:00.001Z

Despite how ludicrous the premise is, this will probably be great. After resolving the cold war, Rocky takes on ageism.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/mgm/rockybalboa/trailer2/

World's whitest room

2006-12-20T20:03:00.000Z

The dining room project continues and is currently papered but not painted (because Lucy's changing her mind on the colour). As such, the room is completely white and has the effect of making you think you've walked into some kind of lab, which is novel for a dining room.

Maybe we could just have a big surgical slab in the middle of the room to complete the look.

The whiteout effect is complete once we switch on the 5 200 Watt halogen burst lamps. Y'know that bit in the matrix where they access all those gun racks? Well, its nothing like that.

Ethel's light is now installed

2006-12-20T19:58:00.000Z

As part of the ongoing renovations to the dining room, we've gotten rid of the 18th century Gothic chandelier, which depressed anyone who entered the room. Lucy's Nan palmed off some light fitting that she didn't want, which we've gratefully received and have now put up. The sheer wattage change in the room (from 40W to 300W, now means that I'm going to have to go out a buy a dimmer switch (typical) or risk severe retinal damage for any unfortunate dinner guests..

Doug drums for Jesus

2006-12-20T19:49:00.000Z

Trisha & Ian's wedding vow renewal service (which was very nice) was held in a little church hall in Iden Green, which happened to have a drum set (obviously). Unable to resist the temptation, Doug felt compelled to have a bash on it. Despite my offer, he felt it would be a bit too much to pose with a fag hanging out of his mouth, what with it being a house of Gawd and all.

New Transformers Trailer

2006-12-20T19:46:00.000Z

The latest trailer for Micheal Bay's Transformers movie is available. Good popcorn nonsense, loads of stuff being blown up, the entire world being in peril but strangely the action will only take place in America. Y'know, the usual drill.

Recent stuff

2006-12-11T12:51:00.000Z

Put an outside light up outside (funnily enough) which lights up the alleyway when you approach. It's all a bit Narnia and hopefully it won't attract any flea-bitten fauns. It also has some interesting settings, including:

a "you're stealing from old people and spastics" alert that is triggered by any depositing of bogus charity clothing binbags
a "fuck off pikey" alert that is triggered if a shammie leather or ironing board cover comes within 50 metres (of course I have to disable this feature if I know Bryan is visiting)

Bryan has also put me onto Mike Strutter's latest show, which he billed as "the most angry, sweary show I've ever seen" and I have to say he's not far wrong. Great to watch after a crap day at work, although certainly not one to put the parent's onto.

Watched "Little Miss Sunshine" at the weekend. It was pretty funny and avoided being too cheesy.

Also started watching 'Dexter', which is a show that's on in the US about a forensics serial killer who kills bad people (as coached by his Dad). It's based on a book, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Not as grim as it sounds, it a novel take on the whole deluge of CSI shite that makes up most of Five's evening programming.

Latest trailer for 300. Boy does this look good.

Latest trailer for Hot Fuzz. Boy does this look good.

Brother and Bond at the weekend

2006-11-27T21:44:00.000Z

Kerry was attending a 'hot stone massage' course in Windsor on Sunday, so Croyde, Kerry and Charlie came down to stay over on Saturday.
We went to see Casino Royale on Sunday which was double boss. I really like Daniel Craig as the 'blund instrument' Bond and the title sequence was pretty cool. I thought the theme music was a bit naff before I saw the film but the graphics somehow made it some much better. I do miss the tales of the unexpected style bimbo silhouettes though. :)
Charlie also made some jam tarts, mainly to keep him occupied :) , which was a great success but not as good as my mince rolls (oooo ducky).

Fireplace in!

2006-11-22T18:30:00.000Z

Well the fireplace crew eventually remembered who we were, what we'd paid for and when we'd like it fitted, so the fireplace is in. It looks very posh and warms up the dining room nicely, which I guess is a primary requirement for a fire.

Had a good night out for Paul Morgan's leaving drinks. Mark & Simon dragged themselves away from Swindon and Jim 'Botox Ramsay' Kendall put in a brief appearance.

The service at Cumins was up to usual standards, I think I saw one couple actually age 5 years whilst waiting for their starter. The night was rounded off with a hunt for a late opening bar, and we found one at the Bully and then the Zodiac, within which I cut some fine shapes on the dancefloor.

I've created some stools

2006-11-14T20:46:00.000Z

Just to finish off the kitchen, we found some kitchen stools on eBay that go over by the breakfast bar. Just need to install the optics and the bar will be complete.

Bryan and Lucy popped over last weekend which was alright I suppose. I had the most boring pizza ever at The Ferry but apart from that it was a lovely evening, marred only by the rather shit Crank.

Also watched A Scanner Darkly, which was very interesting to look at but kinda made me feel like you don't have to make a film of every Philip K. Dick story. Can't decide whether to go and see Bond or Borat next.

Kitchen floor dahhhhn

2006-11-09T19:42:00.000Z

Well, the kitchen floor has finally gone down and it looks reet nice. Fireplace next week, oh the excitement. Looking forward to meeting the chimney sweep on Tuesday, I hope he looks like Dick van Dyke.

Not much else going one. Had the in-laws up last weekend, so we spent some quality time with Eleanor, which was nice. She still doesn't say much though.

I am currently considering my next pudding to master, all suggestions welcome.

The PhilF is 50

2006-10-18T11:51:00.000+01:00

Took a trip up to London on Saturday to Phil's 50th birthday party at Bentley's Oyster bar in Piccadilly. It was great to see Phil again, he hasn't changed much, still whirling around like a dervish. It was shame that there weren't some other familiar faces there but still a good time was had.

For some reason, I can't help thinking that this what life would be like if Bryan and I became coppers.

Lucy's dresser makeover

2006-10-01T20:26:00.000+01:00

Despite the illusion that I like to promote, Lucy also does lots of stuff around the house. Case in point, her most recent labour of love has been restoring the dresser we used to have in the kitchen.

Its all done now and it looks very good, so it looks like we'll be keeping the one we were given for free and chucking the one we paid 200 quid for. Typical.

Does anyone want a nice big Welsh dresser? Let me know otherwise we'll give it to charidee. Goes by the name of Glynn. Ho de ho.

I also made a bakewell tart. It was lovely but I don't think I'll be making another one as it took around about 6 man hours to make.

Behold my mighty threshold

2006-09-30T11:30:00.000+01:00

After much sawing, gluing, sanding and varnishing I have finally finished the threshold between the kitchen and the dining room. I'm quite proud of it and have hopefully saved a few quid.

Here's a piccy of the kitchen, all done apart from the flooring which is due to go in at the end of October.

Had a call from the PhilF, who's having a 50th birthday party in Londay in October. Great to hear from him and hopefully it'll be a chance to meet up with some old work friends and network for a 100k job in the city.

Check out this Dutch TV presenter who just can't stop laughing. Apparently the guy getting interviewed has been castrated and the interviewer loses it when the guy starts talking in a high pitched voice. And I mean really lose it. :)

Guido's 35th birthday

2006-09-26T22:44:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday was Guy's 35th birthday party, so we went out in St Albans for a few cheekies and a curry. Nothing too crazy, given Guy's advancing years, it wouldn't do for him to get too excited.

Sunday was spent doing sod all, apart from blitzing through the remaining episodes of 24 series 5. So at least that's another one done.

I varnished my threshold today, which was very rewarding. Pictures to follow, although I realise this may not be as exciting as recent patio / kitchen related antics.

Finally got rid of Scally

2006-09-22T09:53:00.000+01:00

Well, after what seemed like his 9th leaving party, we had final farewell drinkypoo's with Scally and Rachel last night. It was at the Cos Bar at Blackfriars and after a very sweaty journey on the tube (I'd forgotten how dire it is in the summer) the fun began. Cue:

banal games like 50/50 (which must have been a riot playing for 9 straight hours in the Dam)
bundling
breast grabbing (males only)
scrotal displays (Scally and Chris - shock!)
Mr Sam Buka paying an unwelcome visit
continued assurances to Scally that I don't 'make bombs'

It was great to see Matt (x2) and Mick again and I'm sure things went from bad to worse after I scarpered around 11 ish. Matt was particularly impressed with the retort to the question about whether kids were forthcoming, which was along the lines of "Yes, they're on the way but they're still stuck in my penis" which he though was the funniest response to that question he had heard and for that I thanked him.

Anyway, Scally and Rachel leave on Saturday and I wish the all the best for their new adventure, I hope it really works out for them - I'm sure it will. If I ever get to NZ with work Scally, I'll drop in. :)

Jamie's also done a bonzer job with some pictures here.

Also, check out this trailer for 300, it's another adaption of a Frank Miller novel (like Sin City) that looks suitably cool as opposed to the cockless, pretty boy adventure that Troy was.

Loving these guys from the Daily Show - Even Stephen

And the unresolved question still remains. Muslims or Jews?

Scott Matthews gig

2006-09-09T11:12:00.000+01:00

Went up to Oxford to see Scott Matthews at the Zodiac. It was a pretty cool gig although the place was baking. Scott has a leather jacket on so he must have been sweating like a bastard.

I'm really liking his album, but am also getting into Ray laMontagne and the Guillemots. Plus DJ Shadow's new album, the Outsider, is pretty good as well.

Doug's 60th birthday bash

2006-09-01T11:05:00.000+01:00

It was Doug's 60th birthday last weekend, so there was a gazeebo-fest at the Chidley household. Doug and Marilyn were excellent hosts as usual and it was great that the extended Chidley family and friends were there. Doug's on a jogging gig at the moment, so he got some decidely 70s jogging gear, I just hope he can keep the boy's in the barracks otherwise he'll be up on an indecent exposure charge.

Back from holiday in France

2006-08-20T19:09:00.000+01:00

We're now back from a week in the ol' Dordogne. We made it there despite Bryan taking a wrong turn at the beginning that could've ended us up in Lyon - the knobber.

It was very nice and relaxing although the weather could've been hotter. Despite my best efforts at sunbathing I have not yet achieved the mahogany tan I so desire.

It was still nice enough to go out and about or sit outside and read. Every night was spent feasting on good food and good wine. The old media drive came in very handy, since there was no English TV, even if half the films didn't work or were missing subtitles (in which case we could've just watched French TV).

All in all, a very relaxing break, which also got me out of the Amsterdam carnage (although I really wanted to go). From the photos it looked like the usual 'men stand around and drink loads' which doesn't come as a massive surprise. A very funny video of the Vet though. :)

Hannah and Jason get married

2006-08-06T19:16:00.000+01:00

The final wedding!! After a fenzied drive down to Wiltshire and after asking a geezer in a tractor where the bloody church was, we made it to the wedding of Hannah Elizabeth Barnett and Jason Edmund Brian Kneen.

It was also great to see Paula and Arnaud, what a blast from the past. I had to restrain myself from rushing to the nearest terminal and heading N,N,W,W,N,E,N,E and start plundering the pit.

After an 6 in a Golf trip back to Andover, it was off to sample the highlights that Andover had to offer. Emma tried a novel approach to navigating the always tricky "Getting past the bouncer when you're pissed" dilemma. Her strategy was disarmingly, if ineffectively honest. "How much have you had to drink?"........."I've had alot and that's my perogative". Outstanding. Still 3 weeks and 4 days to go before we have to stop taking the piss about that one. Not that my tactics when dealing with meatbag, little-hitler doormen are much more successful.

Emma also cried because the people in the kebab shop were being so horrible to the staff there, which I think is just testament to what a lovely person she is and also to the mental delinquency of tits who frequent kebab shops in small towns after midnight (ourselves excluded of course).

Boyzee and Jude also look to be going official about the successful union of man juice and lady egg, so congratulations to the Boyes!! Here's hoping that it's a trouble free pregnancy and that the child gets the looks from Jude.

Visit to see Croyde and family

2006-08-02T23:03:00.001+01:00

We whizzed up to Ashby with a bit of Zouch on Saturday to see Croyde and the rest of the family. It was really great to see them and made me think we should make the effort more often. Both Charlie and Elysia seem to have grown so much since the last time we saw them.
We had a nice BBQ on the Saturday night and then on the Sunday went over to Rutland Water for a bike ride.

Guy & Ginette popped round

2006-08-02T23:03:00.000+01:00

The Pudney's (or is it still the Pudney and the Kennedy?) popped over on Friday night for a luxury barbecue, complete with modern art installation in our back garden.
Sounds like the Vet has landed himself with a bit of a learning curve at T-Mobile but I reckon he's up to the job. As P.T.Barnum once said, when asked for a comment following the demise of his human cannonball, he said "We will never meet another fellow of his calibre".

Kitchen almost done

2006-08-02T23:02:00.000+01:00

After two weeks of watching other people graft, our kitchen is almost nearing completion. All the cabinets and stuff have been done, the tiling's just been finished and all that's left is just the decorating and the floor.
Given that we're doing the decorating ourselves (because we're cheap) that'll probably blow out the timescales of the project somewhere into September.
Pretty happy with what's been done though and dishwasher's are the most awesome invention ever.

Caught by the fuzz

2006-07-14T09:51:00.000+01:00

Our next door neighbours were raided by the cops yesterday morning, probably on some kind of illegal alien thing I imagine. Lucy was very sweet and thought that maybe they were just delivering some bad news about someone in the family. I suggested that they don't tend to cover all the exits when delivering bad news (unless its really bad news like "Fuck off back to Russia".

Rob & Grace's wedding

2006-07-10T19:25:00.000+01:00

Sped up to Thaxted on Saturday for Rob and Grace's wedding. It was the usual 4 weddings scenario, screaming around B roads and motorways, diplaying the sort of driving style that I usually refer to as 'driving like a dick' when I see other people doing it.

It will a lovely do, with Grace looking stunning, even more so when stood next to the unshaven bum she was marrying. :) Actually, Rob looked very dapper as well although I can't remember the last time I saw him in a suit that wasn't a DJ.

Rob's speech was delivered in true Dr. Bob style and Chris's was excellent, despite a tough, multinational crowd. :) I was particularly impressed by the poem and Chris's mastery of the Cantonese dialect (if not the region's geography / ownership). I'm also hoping Bops & Nia escaped from their B&B OK, it was a bit too remote for my tastes.

In other news, congratulations to Alex & Laura, for having a little cutie by the name of Eleanor May Chidley. She weighed something and was 5 weeks early, so she's a bit tiny but all are well.

Oh, and we also went to see Pirates of the Carribean 2 : Dead Man's Chest last Friday. It was pretty good fun and that's about it. The Kraken was cool and Johnny Depp was up to his old japes again, the scallywag. Keira Knightley does look like a big pouty fish at the start though.

Our toolstore has also arrived and is now one of my proudest erections in the garden. Ithankyou.

Kitchen cleared and proper use of garden furniture

2006-07-02T23:05:00.000+01:00

Well, after much ado, the kitchen is all cleared and ready for the builders to come in a start reimagining it tomorrow.

We've also realised that garden furniture is actually supposed to be used outside (anyone who's ever had dinner here will know what I'm talking about).

Charity Ball for Lyn's school & Jack's birthday

2006-07-02T22:53:00.000+01:00

Took a trip up to chez Haines for a charity ball in aid of Lyn's school. We all watched the England Portugal game on Ben's spiffy new flatscreen TV and suffice to say everyone was fired up and suitably gutted about the result. All holidays to Portugal have now been banned.

The ball itself was great, although the room was a wee bit hot. It didn't stop Gi eating his own bodyweight in potatoes though. The Puds loves his spuds for sure. Ben and Nia's friends Jo & Graham put us up for the night which was very nice of them, especially as it allowed us to have a lie in. :)

Sunday was Jack's birthday so everyone went down the local park to watch the little smashers play footie-type games. A brief practice session resulting in a bizarre double thumb injury for Boyzee and myself. I don't know about you Boyzee but my thumb's still killing me!

Anyway, the photo's are here.

Garden piccies

2006-06-24T12:32:00.000+01:00

Lucy's taken some piccies of the garden, which is coming along nicely. I even planted some of the flowers myself, so they'll be the ones that are dead in a week then.

Ascot back at Ascot

2006-06-24T11:15:00.000+01:00

A good day out with the usual Ascot team at the new and improved stand and stuff. It looks really snazzy and is pretty impressive. I didn't win any money (as usual) but a fun time as had. Saw the Queen but she didn't say "Hi".

The evening shinnanegans continued into Reading and despite no eating anything was managed to last until about 11. Boyzee, Guy and Freeman got into a club whilst Matt, Max at a club in Reading. I clearly wasn't that pissed (they let Boyzee in for chrissakes) but they weren't having any of it. Having said that, after looking at the photos, maybe I did look a little tipsy. I was thinking about writing a letter of complaint to the owners of the club but I've decided against it, since it would just be a waste of time and something a 70 year old woman would do.

Meal at the Ferry with Lou & Lou and Lucy too

2006-06-15T07:39:00.000+01:00

Had a meal out last night with Lorraine & Louis at The Ferry at Cookham. Since it wasn't as hot as it has recently we only spent about 2 minutes out on the decking by the river but other than that it was really enjoyable. The food was great and the two Lou's were great company. Lou and Lucy hadn't met each other before so this was a good opportunity for them to size each other up. Luckily Lorraine didn't mention Lucy's obviously fake tan* and Lucy didn't mention Lorraine's bad hair, so that was good*. Phew.

Shed arrives on 3rd July, just in time for my birthday!! What a lucky boy I am.

* These are obviously jokes

I missed the second half - or did I?

2006-06-12T07:07:00.000+01:00

It was great to see everyone up in London this weekend at the Bok Bar. Its been a while, since I keep missing out on meet-ups for some reason, but it was cool to spend some QT with me old chums and have some drunken conversations about Radio 4, Big Brother and of course, top 5's of various things.

Also good to see Sam again, who was there with his friend Elona from Horsham. He's going to be off travelling in South America soon, blowing all his redundancy money on grade-A cocaine. Or he'll become a missionary. Or both.

Looks like things are also getting set for Scally & Rachel's big move to New Zealand. It sounds like they'll be setup for the first few months but then Scally'll need to con some company into employing him.

Also watched Ghost in the Shell 2 on Sunday. What a pretentious load of toss. Very pretty to look at but after the 29th quote from Milton or Descartes or whoever I lost interest. Helloooo, you're a cyborg - do some cool shit with leaping about or guns, don't just stand around discussing the definition of 'self' or 'awareness'. I can listen to Front Row if I want to hear that sort of guff.

Albums I'm loving at the moment - The Life Pursuit (Belle & Sebastian), How we operate (Gomez).

Path-ological hatred

2006-06-05T23:52:00.000+01:00

Well I've finally finished the path, sided by a mighty two-course wall. I did manage to get a nice but of sunburn due to my obligatory builder's arse whilst building the wall, but I'll hold back on supplying a photo of that.

I've also just listened to the new album from The Feeling, which is awesome. Hardly a duff track on the album and the songs are really happy-making, so I may even buy this CD. But I probably won't.

Cracking Big Brother tonight, talk about making me glad I'm a bloke. The women are all so bitchy, especially Lea, who's quite frankly terrifying the way she randomly focusses her outrage onto whoever seems to be the latest person she's been told said someting bad about her. What a bunch of bullies, although it does make for great tele, I don't think I've seen such a fucked up bunch of people on this show before.

Friday YouTube links

2006-06-02T17:57:00.000+01:00

I know everyone thinks I'm a great dancer :) but this guy is fantastic.
I though Morgan drove fast but this guy takes the biscuit
Kinda doofy but clever beatbox stuff
and to finish off, an oldie but goldie.

I love YouTube on a Friday.

Latest patio pics

2006-05-24T20:27:00.000+01:00

Here's some newer pics for your viewing pleasure. 7 May. 14 May.

Latest Superman trailer

2006-05-23T00:46:00.000+01:00

Here's a link to the latest Superman trailer.

Scouses who use mouses

2006-05-22T23:19:00.000+01:00

Apologies to anyone who may have read some of the comments on this site. Bryan, unable to resist a deep seating urge to post filth on any website that he encounters, enlisted the help of Scally to post some hilarious comments. I think this proves that Scousers are rightly thought of as the most intelligent ethnic group in the country.

One bonus of their visit was the leaving of a link to lost stag video footage. You can view it and marvel at blokes standing about, looking uncomfortable at being on camera. It's quite fuuny to relive the fact that they gave us guns though. All you need to do now Scally is sort out my wedding video. :)

More soiling action

2006-05-22T00:36:00.000+01:00

Another weekend on the garden which involved the joyous task of getting rid of a skip full of soil.

Watched Wolf Creek which was an excellent tourism film for travelling in the Australian outback, if you like getting tortured. Mmmm, head on a stick. Lovely. The 'You call that a knife? This is a knife' rip-off of Crocodile Dundee was pretty funny though, in a kind off "something funny being repeated in a far from funny" type situation.

Also watched the Libertine, which was alright but a bit slow. although it did have some funny moments. I'm sure Lucy enjoyed it for the Johnny Depp side of things although he wasn't looking too pretty by the end of it. A lesson for us all, constant drinking and knobbing will catch up to you in the end. Venereal disease doesn't look like much fun.

Patio finished!

2006-05-14T23:43:00.000+01:00

Doug & Marilyn were over again to help us finish off the patio. The last slab was laid just in time to watch the FA Cup final so that was a result. Cracking game, although I can only imagine the depth of emotional depression now being experienced by Sansom. I'm sure Nick will be there to comfort him when they next meet. :)

It was also Doug & Marilyn's wedding anniversary, so we went out for a meal at the Bel and Dragon in Cookham which was OK, although Doug wasn't too impressed by the chef deciding what type of potatoes you should have with your meal. Ask hime about it the next time you see him, I'm sure he'll fill you in.

On Sunday it was onto the path as the next stage, which will be another biggish job. I also finished Resident Evil 4, which is a cracking game.

Mum & Dad flying visit

2006-05-14T23:40:00.000+01:00

Another flying visit from Mum & Dad, this time on their way through to Great Yarmouth for Uncle Bill's son's retirement party.

Of course!

2006-05-09T01:39:00.000+01:00

The second course of bricks has been added. View it's magnificence!
Of course Lucy had to point out to me that you actually need to finish the job by doing the pointing but I say, screw pointing, it looks fine as it is. Anyway, its done, the quicker a shed gets put in front of it the better. Next, skirting board in the lounge, the challenge awaits.

Baltic Restaurant, Southwark

2006-05-07T12:36:00.000+01:00

We met up with Lucy and Bryan last night for a meal at the Baltic Restaurant in Southwark. It was pretty swanky and the food was very nice. The Lagavulin we had to finish off was very smooth (one to try Greg!). Had a few drinks in the Ring next door, where I was surprised to hear that Bryan was intending to replace his stairway with a fireman's pole but then he's always been partial to a bit of pole action. We managed to get the midnight train home, which stops at about 20 stations and takes a bloody age. The temptation to just screw it and get a dirty cab for 50 quid is pretty high.

What a bunch of punts

2006-05-07T10:53:00.000+01:00

Jeff was over in Oxford this week, meeting up with Bob F. Jeff wanted to experience the white-knuckle ride that is punting, so we went to the Cherwell boathouse and hired a couple of punts. Conclusion: punting is a pretty stupid way of getting about on a river and should be banned, replacing the punts will those big-fan airboats that they have in the Florida everglades, as shown in Gentle Ben.

Maximum strippage!

2006-05-07T10:04:00.000+01:00

Another Bank Holiday, another load of DIY. After spending Saturday doing sod all (which was much needed to recover from Guy & Ginette's wedding), we decided to get rid of the cryptalike, purple wallpaper that had dazzled all visitors to our dining room. No more sitting in gloom, we now have bare plaster instead, which you'd think would be terrible but is, in fact, a massive improvement. I'd hoping we can just leave it like this and not have to wallpaper the room but it's unlikely that that will be allowed.

The Pudney Wedding v2

2006-04-29T13:30:00.000+01:00

Just got back from Guy & Ginette's wedding, which was fabulous. Ginette looked really stunning (she scrubs up pretty good) and Guy seemed pretty happy as well. Everything went really well, the setting was really nice and all three speeches were spot on. The usual wedding reception antics followed and luckily this time there was no discotheque, so no demands for my spaccy dancing. Anyway, photies are here.

Flying visit from Dad

2006-04-29T13:26:00.000+01:00

Dad was up in the big smoke so he stayed here on Wednesday night. Didn't manage to get any DIY work out of him so must make him stay longer next time.

Iccle brickle wall

2006-04-23T17:09:00.000+01:00

Given that we needed something to block up the gap under a bit of the garden fence, plus the fact that it was going to be out of sight, I thought I'd build a little brick wall. This is my first brick wall and I'm very proud of it. You can look at a picture of it and marvel at its levelness.

Easter Weekend - It's patio time!

2006-04-23T16:52:00.000+01:00

What better way to celebrate the ascension of the Son of God than by mixing lots of cement and pouring it into your back garden? There's some photos here, please contain your excitement when looking at these. You may think from looking at these photos that I did absolutely nothing to help on this little project. This would not be accurate, since I did quite a bit actually.

Team Christmas do in Chicago

2006-04-13T15:38:00.000+01:00

Senor Galvan has kindly sent out his piccies from the last team trip in Chicago. There are some great moments in there, so enjoy. Believe it or not, we did actually get some work done as well.