Eurovision Campness

United Kingdom's 2007 Eurovision EntryScooch - Flying The Flag (For You)

*hangs head in shame*

Edinburgh?

For the past week or so me and Alan have been talking about where to go for a little break. Seeing as we probably won't be going anywhere abroad this year, we've said wherever we go we'll go first class and stay at a 5 star hotel etc. We've settled on the idea of going to Edinburgh for a weekend in June. It's somewhere we've never been before (well I went once about 20 years ago to the zoo). I know for what we will spend we could go somewhere abroad, but do you ever get the feeling when you just don't feel like going abroad? The UK has some fantastic places. I guess when you live on this island you don't really feel like visiting them.

Ham & Pease Pudding

I've just had something that I haven't had in a while - a ham and pease pudding sandwich. I used to eat pease pudding quite a lot when I lived back in Newcastle, but since moving to Manchester it's been quite difficult to find. I did however come across a tin of the stuff in Asda last week. Normally it doesn't come in tins, so I wasn't expecting it to taste great. It wasn't too bad!!

All I need now is the stottie to go with it - mmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Signed. Sealed & Delivered!

My essay is all handed in now. I just have to wait the week or so to find out how I did. I've just got back for a few drinks with a mate. I hadn't had anything to eat all day so they alcohol has had a quickened effect.

I did plan on calling in to Nando's on the way home for some chicken but it's been turned into a crime scene. Ah well, I had to settle out for a takeaway - mmmmmmmmm nice!! Got 2 days off to just relax now!!

I want to go to see the Doctor Who exhibition at the Museum, it looks pretty cool!

St. George's Day

Today is St. George's Day. I wonder how many people actually know what day it is today. Yet I bet they all know when it's St. Patrick's Day!

I think the country needs to spend as much money on celebrating our patron saint as they do when celebrating the patron saint of Ireland. Not that I have anything against St. Patrick's Day. At least they could make it a public holiday!

Oops!!

I've just been looking at my timetable from uni, and my essay has to be handed in on Thursday! I thought it was the week after. I better get writing!

Day Trip: Chester Zoo

I eventually got to go to Chester Zoo yesterday! The last time I was at a zoo was Edinburgh when I was a child - I'd say about 20 years ago! I was looking quite forward to it and was quite excited It's only a 45 minute drive out of Manchester, so didn't take too long to get there!

We saw a range of different animals - elephants, tigers, lions and giraffes to name a few. The chimps were pretty cool to watch. They were very entertaining and we stood and watched them for ages. It's amazing how human they actually are.





They had a bat cave there too. You could walk through it and have bats flying around your head. Alan wasn't too keen on that but enjoyed it in the end! (well after being dragged through by me - hehe).

The weather was pretty nice too - we had a really nice day in all. Glad we eventually got there!

More photos here

Update

I haven't forgotten about this blog! An update will follow later today :)

I'll leave you with something that made me laugh at work today. I overheard two patients talking. A guy had just had his dressing changed. Another patient turned to him and said "So were they hurting you when you were screaming 'Ouch'?".

Meme That I Stole

It's been a while since I have done one of these, so I stole this one from Jake.

1. What's the meaning of life?
I hate questions like this one. I was thinking of leaving it out, but I won't. Live it and have fun is a good meaning I guess.

2. You've climbed a really steep hill, what's the best way to get down?
Roll (or sled - weather pending of course).

3. Ever sang karaoke? Were you sober?
Yes and No. In fact I've never sang karaoke sober. I sang at a works Christmas night out one time and remember apologising as I was singing! Never again!!

4. How many hats do you own?
None.

5. Do you ever skip the last chapter in a book just to get a sneak at what the ending is going to be?
I try not to. I used to as a kid, but haven't for a while now.

6. Have you ever washed your hair before washing your body in the shower?
I don't understand how you can wash your body first without getting your hair wet. I go hair (shampoo), body, hair (rinse) and rinse all over.

7. Do you like beans?
Yum!

8. On toast?
Indeed. I like beans on toast with cheese and Worcestershire Sauce. Mmmmmmmm!

9. You're walking somewhere, your shoelace is undone. There's only a few hundred yards to go. Do you bother to stop in the street and tie your lace, or do you just try to hope no one notices and that you don't trip, and make it last until you reach your destination?
I don't have any shoes with laces in.

10. A huge demon monster thing is about to vapourise your home, but being the reasonable type he says you can keep one room. Which room would you keep?
Guess I would choose the lounge. It's all open plan in there, so it also has our kitchen in too. Plus it has the TV, DVD player, DVDs, CDs, Wii, X-Box 360 and the PC in there.

11. Given that god is infinite, and that space is also infinite… Would you like a Tunnock’s teacake?
No thanks! Give me a Custard Cream any day!

12. Which song would you like played at your funeral?
Like I'd be able to complain if I disagreed with it. Something happy I guess, nothing too dull and dismal (eg. Robbie Williams' 'Angels').

13. What’s your favourite type of tree?
Erm, an oak! *acts like he knows about trees*

14. You’re in the Big Brother house. How many weeks would you last before you’re voted out?
I did actually have the application form for the second series of Big Brother UK. That was when it was good though and not full of wannabes. You wouldn't catch me in there now! I'd probably climb out or demand to leave from day one!

15. What’s 8 multiplied by 12?
Do I look like a mathematician? No, seriously? My maths is pants. At work people tell me to work stuff out like I was taught to at school. I reply "OK. Pass me a calculator then!".

16. How many times a day do you brush your hair?
Depends. More when it's longer, hardly ever when it's short.

17. Ever had sex behind a bike-shed?
My school actually used to have a bike shed, but no I haven't.

18. Name two characters from Scooby Doo, except for Scooby and Shaggy.
The lesbian (Velma was it?) and Daphne.

19. Fingernails - cut them or bite them?
A bit of both. I go through phases of cutting them, but then I tend to bite them too. I'd say I cut them 25% of the time. It should be more!

20. You’re due to meet someone, but they’re not there yet. What do you do? And don’t say ‘wait’ because that’s just boring.
Play with my phone. Ring someone I haven't spoken to in a while. I HATE it when people are late. TAKE NOTE!

21. What colour of underwear are you wearing? (ah damn it, just had to slip that in.)
I'm in bed! (but it was black).

22. Who’s going to have Christmas Number 1?
Probably some shitty reality TV winner.

23. Do you pronounce the word tomato, ‘tomato’ or ‘tomayto’?
I'm from Newcastle, so I say "Te-mar-toe".

24. Have you ever left an obviously sarcastic picture comment on Myspace for someone you don’t like, but they completely miss the point?
Nope.

25. If you were a ghost, who would you go and spook first?
I wouldn't spook. I'd be a good ghost - Like Casper.

StatCounter Problem Sorted

The message I posted a couple of days ago about the problems I was having with StatCounter was picked up by StatCounter and they emailed me to discuss the problem I was having. Thanks to Jenni, it's now all resolved and is up and running again!

Superstitious?

My last.fm Radio Station

I've been a member of Last.fm for a couple of years now. I've just realised that I can tune in and listen to all of the music I've listened to without actually having to play it myself. Pretty cool uh? And it's not as cheesy as some of you may think! hehe!

Statcounter Problem?

Does anyone else use Statcounter? If so, does anyone know if there is a problem with it? Since April 7th it hasn't been displaying the "recent came from" visitors, yet still displays the total amount of hits.

Can anyone recommend a better stats service?

Hospitals!

I was working today. That's one of the disadvantages of working in the NHS, I mostly end up working the Bank Holidays. However, we do get the days back in our annual leave allowance. Work is busy - a bit mad really. We seem to go through busy and quiet spots! I think from what I heard today, it's going to get busier!

After work I was quite tired and came home and drifted off in a nap. Alan rang me and told me he had fell at work and couldn't move his hand. We headed off to Accident and Emergency to get it checked out. Turn out he fractured his wrist, so he no has his left hand in a plaster cast. He's left handed too - bummer! We were admitted, consulted, x-rayed, plastered and discharged in about an hour - I was quite impressed!!

Chocolatey Goodness!!

That's a photo of the Easter egg I got off Alan this year. It's from Hotel Chocolat - our new favourite shop. It was even better today, they were giving away free chocolate!



The egg shell is 2.5cm think and filled with lots of chocolatey goodness! Almost too good to eat!!

A Sign Of Things To Come?

I know the weather in Manchester can be a bit changeable, but I think the people over at Gooogle have it wrong today - I hope!

Bank Holiday Weekend!

I have this weekend off - woo! I don't normally get given a weekend off unless I ask for it. Maybe my boss was feeling generous when he was doing the rota!

I'm off out in town tonight with a few people from work. After the week we've all had, we felt like we needed to go out for a drink! Should be fun - they always are. Thank God the weather has stayed nice!

Anyway, just thought I'd do a quick update before I went out. Hopefully I won't do another drunken blog like last time!

Sandwich Robbery & Bombs!

Today is the first day of the year where I've been able to go outside without a coat on! It's been lovely outside - quite a nice day on the whole actually. I knew things where looking good when the meeting I was at this morning under ran and I got home an hour or so earlier. Had a mate come over this afternoon. It was his birthday yesterday so we decided to go out for coffee and cake. We weren't impressed by the cake selection, so it kinda turned into a coffee and sandwich afternoon. Still nice though! I still can't get my head around how they can charge £2.45 for a cheese and pickle sandwich! It wouldn't cost me that if I bought the ingredients myself!

I think I know the reason to yesterdays police barrier at the back of my flat. Apparently they had found an unexploded world war II bomb. I've tried looking on the net but haven't came across anything. I hope they killed the bomb and didn't just leave it!

It's 'The Apprentice' tonight. The past week has flown by!

Joost Me Up!

Thanks to Stuart, I've signed up to Joost. It's a progam which lets you watch TV through your internet. Thanks Stuart, I'm off to channel hop!

Chilled Day

Today has been quite a nice day. I was up earlyish this morning. Our landlord has sold the house, so a surveyor came around to have a look around. I was at work this evening so left about 12ish. I had to do some paperwork, so we in early to get it done. It was a bit strange when I left. I took a different lift to the ground floor as I felt like popping into Starbucks for a coffee to drink on the way to work. When I came out of the lift, the exit is on to a side street. When I stepped out of the door, it looked like I stepped straight into the middle of a police scene of crime investigation! Both ends of the street were taped off and had police vans at each end. I still don't know what they were there for. They had gone by the time I came home.

Well, that was my bit of excitement for the day! How was your day?

The Sun Is Shining!

It's such a lovely day! Me and Alan went for lunch and then decided to go for a walk about in town. The sun has brought all of the guys out to play! There were loads of them! Each one of them not wearing very much!

My main purpose of going into town was to get a new jacket to wear. I only really have a winter jacket, but I couldn't really see one I liked. I ended up getting a new jumper and pair of trousers for my work night out on Friday! I have a feeling it's going to be busy on Friday being the start of the Bank Holiday weekend and all - especially if the weather stays like it is (knowing this country, it could suddenly decide to snow).

Slight Problem

One thing I have noticed that could be a problem. When someone leaves a comment on my blog, it doesn't show up until I republish. Can this be fixed? Trying to speak to someone at Blogger is impossible!

EDIT: I've changed to Haloscan, seems to work

The March Chart: Results

So, that was March. Just like last year I've been monitoring various aspects of my life. The results are as follows.....

Miles driven in a car
Total in 2007: 265.8
I hardly use my car. Mainly this is due to living in the city centre. I guess the reason that it's up from last year is due to the fact of my travelling to Bolton every week for uni.
(2006: 179.1)

Amount spent on groceries
Total in 2007: £222.96
So I spent £1.69 more this year on groceries than I did last year. I don't think this is too bad considering we now have a MUCH bigger fridge than this time last year so we are buying more stuff. Either that or we're just greedy!
(2006: £221.27)

Total amount of hours spent online
Total in 2007: 176.3hrs
Not a significant increase from last year. Only 10 hours or so. I can live with that. I'll blame uni again!
(2006: 162.2hrs)

The total amount of alcohol drank
Total in 2007: 30 units (out of a possible 84)
The healthy average is 14 units for a woman and 21 units for a man per week, I didn't do too bad - and only one up from last year!
(2006: 29 units)

The total amount of hours slept
Total in 2007: 244.4hrs
They say you should get 8hr of sleep a day. So, in total over the course of the month I should have slept for a total of 248hrs. I guess I'm getting enough sleep then. I'm sleeping better than last year too!
(2006: 231.5hrs)

Total amount of public transport used
Total in 2007: 8
I was thinking of changing this section, as I knew this wouldn't be a very good topic now I live in the city centre. Anyway, I couldn't think of what to replace it with, so it stays.
(2006: 21 buses)

Total number of blog hits
Total in 2007: 984
A slight increase from last year, although the number of returning visitors has increased on the whole. I'm happy with that!
(2006: 979)

Amount of hours spent working
Total in 2007: 150.5hrs
The average for me (working 37.5hrs a week) would be 150hrs a month. So, I'm on target this year! Actually, I'll probably be over. I don't normally have a 30 minute break when I'm working in the evenings.
(2006: 167.3hrs)

Amount of tea and coffee drank
Total in 2007: 43 cups
22 less than last March. I've cut back on tea and coffee now. I've switched to green tea too - yum!
(2006: 65 cups)

Amount of tax paid on wages
Total in 2007: £286.73
That's the normal for me. My total deductions are normally £500+. I guess it's an increase from last year seeing as I got my tax free last year of £229.54.
(2006: -£229.54)

So, another March chart. Another 11 months and it'll be time to do it all again!