Barcelona - Michelle and the Grand Prix

Thursday

• taxi to airport
• check in
• security
• flight ok, land barcelona
• michelle working, make own way to sabadell
• free train to barcelona from airport
• cheap train barcelona to sabadell
• taxi, station to airport
• text michelle have arrived
• drink beer on veranda, read book in sun, turn pink
• michelle finished work, exchange greetings and hugs
• go shopping
• have food, eat, chat and drink

friday

• michelle working, day to self
• shower, sun cream, still pink from yesterday
• walk to masquefa, train to barcelona
• arrive city, metro to columbus statue
• walk along beach, eat food
• walk up ramblers, take pictures 0f living statues, make donations
• metro to sagrada familia, more photographs
• train back to sabadell
• out for meal with mathew and guy from lufthansa, all paid by top fly
  
• home, beer

saturday

• belly dancing class, read book while waiting outside
• local market, buy new white shirt
• home, eat, watch F1 qualifying
• michelle go to extra belly dancing workshop
• make food, eat, more beer

sunday

• very early start
• load car, drive to circuit
• unload, find good spot to sit
• meet up with vanessa (michelle workmate)
• 1st race - formula renault, practice high speed photography
• 2nd race - GP2 - more practice speedy photography
• 3rd race - porsche - even more practice, have it now
• drivers procession, parade lap, hamilton booed
• race starts, hamilton overcooks it, spanish cheer
• more photo's getting good at it now
• heiki crashes close to us, little scary, he is okay
• 3.15 alonso retires from race, small english cheer
• lots spanish go home
• race finish, hamilton not win, but points finish
• small picnic after race, go home
• rewatch race on video, beer, sleep

monday

• lazy day
• dog walking
• little shopping
• eat, drink, laze about

tuesday

• diy day
• michelle working
• do odd jobs around house
• secure single bed in small room
• fix gutter on patio
• fix washing hanger in house
• get barked at by dogs all day
• plenty cups tea
• enjoy sunshire
• michelle home, eat drink be merry

wednesday

• up early
• goto airport
• fly home
• taxi
• curry
• end
  

A Pendle walk for Kieran's Birthday

Kieran had decided he wanted to celebrate his 40th by walking up Pendle Hill and being one who enjoys a good walk, I would accompany him along with Sandra T, and Jos, little Robin and Holly the dog.

After being picked up we proceeded to Kieran's for a quick cooing over baby Taliah, a quick hello to Sharon and a handing over of presemts to Kieran. Not his birthday for a few days, so was under instruction not to open until the correct day. His present from me being a miniature Jimmy Page double neck Gibson guitar.

So off we did trot, walk and be carried.

For most of the day the weather stayed fine, that was until Jos and Sandra headed back, whist me and Kieran with Holly continued upwards and onwards. The sky turned black and we got a soaking. Despite that the summit was spectacular, with views all over Lancashire. Descending back into the village via the rocky steps was somewhat akin to Frodo and Sam taking the ring to Mount Doom, only we were heading back, and are real people and not characters from a book.



We returned to the car park only to see little Robin chasing ducks, trying to feed them. Eventually he gave up and ate the bread himself. Kieran headed home with Holly, and I got a lift back with Jos and Sandra, stopping breifly at my house to have a quick look at my much improved yard / garden.

April - Birthday Month No. 1

And so it is April, and what have we here, a month of birthdays, 4 to be precise. What is it with me and my friends, of all the months of the year, we congregate our birthdays around 2 months. Firstly April and secondly September. Obviously there are a few exceptions, but on the whole most of our birthdays occur during those 2 months. Horrorscopes, too vague and abstract, its a sim0le fact, our parents really enjoy 2 points during the year, summer and christmas. Check your calendar.

Anyway those having birthdays this month are as follows, Michelle, Kieran, Sharon and Sandra T.

Also this year there will be many 40ths, the first being Kieran.

Marching into March

Had kinda arranged to go for a curry on Saturday 1st March to celebrate Lee's birthday, but somebody (Lee), started the day before and was feeling a little fragile, and so was unable to continue on Saturday.

So that left my day free.

Ice skating, what a bad idea. A good one at the time, but whilst and after, BAD BAD BAD.

A good friend of mine who I had arranged to meet on the afternoon of the soon to be cancelled curry, asked me if I wanted to accompany them in a spot of ice skating, now that I was free all day, I thought what the hell, why not. First few laps were ok, but after, oooh, there was so much pain in my ankles. So sitting this out was the best option. My friend continued making circles around the rink. But for me, my ice skating career was over.

After, we adjourned to the pub, as I said previous, plans had changed due to someones over indulgence the night before. The rest of the day was spent in the pub nursing my sore ankles, drinking beer, and why not.

What of the rest of the month, well nothing spectacular, few more nights in the pub, a couple walks in the park and some creative musical evenings. Apart from that, a quiet month.

That One Final Surprise

A heavily pregnant Sharon and Kieran are not so any more. Baby Taliah entered our world this very morning.

A leap year baby, many congratulations.

Taliah born today, February 29th 2008

Curry Beer and Wigs

So what events punctuate this month.

Firstly I had invited Peter and his girlfriend Kate (Kasia) round to my house for a homemade curry and an evening of drinking. The evening started quite civilized with ginger and lemonade, then followed with a huge pan of curry and rice, lager, more lager then whiskey and ginger topped up with lemonade.

It was at this point the silly wigs made an appearance along with my camera. Hilarity ensued and lashings of whiskey ginger and lemonade filled any gaps. At some point Kate decided she HAD to go home and so it all HAD to end right there.

Michelle makes a trip to England

Got a surprise phone call from Michelle, not that a phone call from Michelle is a surprise, as we chat all the time, but the surprise was the fact that she would be visiting England to celebrate her mothers 60th birthday. So arrangements had to be made so that we could all meet up at the same point. It's surprising what can be achieved with very little notice, but a triumphant success followed, accompanied by a set of strange coincidences.

As it happens (insert Saville reference here) I was talking to Pla and he mentioned that Kirsty and the kids would be in Blackburn the same weekend as Michelle. So the Saturday night ended up with a grand meeting of old friends. Those attending were as follows. Woody, Michelle, Sandra, Gillian (Sandra's sister), Kirsty, Lee, Stuart (Michelle's brother) and his girlfriend Angela. A veritable fullhouse of loveable funsters making merry in Blackburn. It's strange how quickly and readily we can get together, yet most of the us hardly see each other, and we only live a few miles from each other.

Yet again beer is the lubricant that oils the evening, conversations ebb and flow as quickly as the drink can be purchased. Many establishments are visited this evening, ending up at The Napier, for obligatory 'Welsh Disco' (ask Lee he knows why). More arrangements are made for the following day's walk, and as night follows day, day follows night and it's Sunday already.

Today's the day the teddy bears have a picnic, but we are devoid of teddy bears and we have no sandwiches to picnic with. That being said, or written, we are together once more, but this time in Ribchester. A slightly different line up for today, missing is Stuart and his girlfriend Angela, and also Gillian is not with us.

Joining us today is a heavily pregnant Sharon and Kieran, along with Holly. Lee's youngest daughter Eleanor has brought a friend with her, and Kirsty's monkeys are also in attendance, along with Robin (Sandra's son). Most of us have a little fuzzyness about us (last nights drinking) so walking is prohibited and replaced with plenty of standing around and the taking of pictures. For all we can manage is to hang around while the kids enjoy the playground. Jos turns up unexpected to surprise us, it's good to see him, it's been a while.

After much standing and swaying the children are requesting ice creams, so purchases are made, more hanging around made, but at the shop this time. We return to the playground so the kids can burn off the sugar previously ingested. As the afternoon draws to a close, we all go our separate ways, a great weekend, but the final surprise awaits us at the very end of the month.

Second Month

Second month of the year, and still I continue to try to go out more often and try new things. So this month had many drunken conversations with my new Polish friends. Not sure if I have mentioned this before, but since December, me and Peter (Polish guy from work) have been attempting to jam together with just 2 basses and a drum machine, thus we are drum and bass and bass. It's all sounding a little rough, but a few ideas are beginning to form, at least it gets us doing something rather than trawling through the internet.

Dunc's visit from Germany

Obviously we would not be alone in our outing to the pub, so phones had to be rung, messages left and arrangements arranged. Barzooka would be the venue for the night, well until we had to leave (closing time arrived far too quickly) and find another drinking establishment.

So we the merry men (and woman) made merry for the evening, for many of us had not seen each other for quite some time. Tales were told, no songs sung, but merryment made non the less.

Attendee's for the evening went as follows. Woody, Lee, Stu D, Tony, Pete, Dunc and Sonia (merry woman as previously indicated).

After leaving Barzooka, more beer needed to be found and a second place of beer selling required. The Napier still has signs of life on this cold Thursday evening, so we the very merrymen and woman entered by the back door (ooer) and took refuge by the bar, for it was karaoke night. Fortunately none of us had the urge to make fools of ourselves any further, and so we drunk our final drinks, made our goodbyes and went our not so separate ways.

Seeing that I had work the next day, and my head would probably be of the banging kind, I decided that I would throw a sickie, and ring in feigning illness.

Following that, January remained relatively uneventful. So thats it for January.

New Beginnings

New year, new beginning, new starts and time for a change. Or so they say, what does the new year bring, nothing new, same old same old. An arbitrary date for an arbitrary year. Mr Gregorian has a lot to answer for.

Time is constant, unyealding inflexible and always in constant motion, forward. So not one for making resolutions, a kind of promise is made to myself, that being to get out more and stop vegging infront of the TV watching endless episodes of old sci-fi series.

So it was a nice surprise to have a message on my answering machine from Dunc, telling me he was over for a week from Germany, and was wanting to go out for beers.