Saturday, August 12, 2006
Mixing with the stars
Kat had quite the VIP guest list - here she is with the last but one Miss New Zealand...
In ice
Here are a few pieces entombed in ice. These buggers took 3 days to thaw out in the garden...
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Quiz
Mid table again. The victory went to a team consisting of 15 members. Well done, you can be very proud. And I'm sure you'll really enjoy the $5 each bar tab. Will just about buy them a small lemonade each.
Madfury
I had a visitor on Sunday evening....
Mr Stuart Bradbury and his girlfriend Claire. Claire is over here for a while on midwifery matters and Stu has come over for a 2 week holiday. Spectacular weather greeted them so they came round to our place and had a few drinks. We even got a roaring log fire going on. It was interesting to catch up on what Watson Wyatt life is like these days. Say no more.
For those of you who know Stu it will come as no surprise that he randomly lowered the tone of the conversation in some style. I'd pre-warned Rob of his ability to do this and he didn't disappoint. From a normal subject topic he somehow went off on a tangent about the unkempt state of 19th century women. When questioned about his knowledge of this subject he replied with "well put it this way, I wouldn't expect to see any lightening bolts".
Classic.
Mr Stuart Bradbury and his girlfriend Claire. Claire is over here for a while on midwifery matters and Stu has come over for a 2 week holiday. Spectacular weather greeted them so they came round to our place and had a few drinks. We even got a roaring log fire going on. It was interesting to catch up on what Watson Wyatt life is like these days. Say no more.
For those of you who know Stu it will come as no surprise that he randomly lowered the tone of the conversation in some style. I'd pre-warned Rob of his ability to do this and he didn't disappoint. From a normal subject topic he somehow went off on a tangent about the unkempt state of 19th century women. When questioned about his knowledge of this subject he replied with "well put it this way, I wouldn't expect to see any lightening bolts".
Classic.
Football latest
It's been a hectic few days and I've finally got a quite night for an update. Lets go back to last Sunday....
The final league game of the season took place in torrential rain that had been pretty much continuous for 48 hours. The only word suitable to describe the pitch is quagmire. Anyone who's played football in those conditions will know that it's great fun. We were playing top of the table for the 2nd time in 3 weeks as it was a rearranged game from earlier in the season.
We did very well to take an early lead and hold on to it for most of the half until one of the dodgiest goals you're ever likely to see brought them back into the game. After some tricky wing play the ball was cut back from the by line, however are entire defence had stopped playing as the ball was about a yard over the line. The linesman didn't raise his flag and the goal stood. Things got a bit heated naturally. The main problem is that although the refs are provided by the association, the lines are usually run by one sub from each team. Funnily enough it was their sub that didn't give the ball out. Still, our fault for not playing to the whistle.
The same linesman also gave me offside in the 2nd half. It was still 1-1 and I would have been clean through - I was watching the line and was DEFINITELY on. I turned round and gave him a piece of my mind. The air turned pretty blue for a while (I'm not proud of it, swearing isn't big and it isn't clever but it was in the heat of the moment!) and the lino told the ref he didn't want to do it any more. So they swapped him out. Result.
However, he later came on and scored one of their goals as they won 3-1. Not such a good result.
So Greenhithe's final record looks like this:
P W D L F A Df Pts
GREENHITHE 1 14 3 2 9 34 44 -10 8
with 3 points deducted for messing up a team sheet.
In the 8 games since me and Rob started the record is P8 W3 D1 L4 F22 (of which me and Rob have got 10) A19 Pts 10
Roll on this Sunday when Greenhithe take on Waitakare Rangers in the Plate semi finals...
The final league game of the season took place in torrential rain that had been pretty much continuous for 48 hours. The only word suitable to describe the pitch is quagmire. Anyone who's played football in those conditions will know that it's great fun. We were playing top of the table for the 2nd time in 3 weeks as it was a rearranged game from earlier in the season.
We did very well to take an early lead and hold on to it for most of the half until one of the dodgiest goals you're ever likely to see brought them back into the game. After some tricky wing play the ball was cut back from the by line, however are entire defence had stopped playing as the ball was about a yard over the line. The linesman didn't raise his flag and the goal stood. Things got a bit heated naturally. The main problem is that although the refs are provided by the association, the lines are usually run by one sub from each team. Funnily enough it was their sub that didn't give the ball out. Still, our fault for not playing to the whistle.
The same linesman also gave me offside in the 2nd half. It was still 1-1 and I would have been clean through - I was watching the line and was DEFINITELY on. I turned round and gave him a piece of my mind. The air turned pretty blue for a while (I'm not proud of it, swearing isn't big and it isn't clever but it was in the heat of the moment!) and the lino told the ref he didn't want to do it any more. So they swapped him out. Result.
However, he later came on and scored one of their goals as they won 3-1. Not such a good result.
So Greenhithe's final record looks like this:
P W D L F A Df Pts
GREENHITHE 1 14 3 2 9 34 44 -10 8
with 3 points deducted for messing up a team sheet.
In the 8 games since me and Rob started the record is P8 W3 D1 L4 F22 (of which me and Rob have got 10) A19 Pts 10
Roll on this Sunday when Greenhithe take on Waitakare Rangers in the Plate semi finals...
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
New job (again)...
So I'm 2 days into my new job and things are much better...
PROS (I'm ignoring the fact that I don't like working in offices)
* Bright, open plan office, windows and aircon.
* Clean traps.
* Full email and internet access - majorly important as the odd couple of minutes every 2 hours or so definitely makes me work more productively for the rest of the time. Fact. Honest.
* My desk backs on to a wall so no one can see what I'm doing - you know, all the hard work and such like.
* The girls on my desk are nice and friendly - conversation topics to date have included fizzy haribos, skiing, quality english pubs and jaffa cakes.
* I can walk to work and back - about 45 minutes per trip. Saves me $6 per day and gets me active before and after 8 hours on my backside.
* The job itself is fairly complex, reasonably challenging and fortunately not data entry. It also includes talking to other humans which is a bonus.
* Pay is good, so I can have a decent life over the next few months whilst simultaneously saving for the big aussie trip.
* Regular morning teas apparently, which consist of, if today is the benchmark, sausage rolls, mini pies, scones, muffins and chocolate cake.
* Free ice cream every other Friday afternoon.
* Dress down Fridays.
* Incredibly fit receptionist.
* I don't get called Oven.
CONS
* I don't get called Oven.
PROS (I'm ignoring the fact that I don't like working in offices)
* Bright, open plan office, windows and aircon.
* Clean traps.
* Full email and internet access - majorly important as the odd couple of minutes every 2 hours or so definitely makes me work more productively for the rest of the time. Fact. Honest.
* My desk backs on to a wall so no one can see what I'm doing - you know, all the hard work and such like.
* The girls on my desk are nice and friendly - conversation topics to date have included fizzy haribos, skiing, quality english pubs and jaffa cakes.
* I can walk to work and back - about 45 minutes per trip. Saves me $6 per day and gets me active before and after 8 hours on my backside.
* The job itself is fairly complex, reasonably challenging and fortunately not data entry. It also includes talking to other humans which is a bonus.
* Pay is good, so I can have a decent life over the next few months whilst simultaneously saving for the big aussie trip.
* Regular morning teas apparently, which consist of, if today is the benchmark, sausage rolls, mini pies, scones, muffins and chocolate cake.
* Free ice cream every other Friday afternoon.
* Dress down Fridays.
* Incredibly fit receptionist.
* I don't get called Oven.
CONS
* I don't get called Oven.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Fame at last
So I googled ARCTIC MONKEYS AUCKLAND SET LIST yesterday and this very site was the 5th one on the list.
Not bad that eh?
Not bad that eh?
Quiz time...
Better late than never. Been a fairly busy week but here are a selection of questions from Tuesdays quiz. We had a couple of new team members and finished 9th - a big improvement on the week before.
Most answers right gets a special prize...an embarrassing picture of a person of your choice posted on my site (not me).
1. When was the Beatles' last live performance? (The studio rooftop one)
2. Who composed the music to Jaws and Star Wars?
3. Germany's most northern land border is with which country?
4. What's the maximum number of riders on a Tour de France team?
5. The fashion label Kookai was born in which country?
And here's the special double points bonus question....
Who played Egon in Ghostbusters?
Most answers right gets a special prize...an embarrassing picture of a person of your choice posted on my site (not me).
1. When was the Beatles' last live performance? (The studio rooftop one)
2. Who composed the music to Jaws and Star Wars?
3. Germany's most northern land border is with which country?
4. What's the maximum number of riders on a Tour de France team?
5. The fashion label Kookai was born in which country?
And here's the special double points bonus question....
Who played Egon in Ghostbusters?
Monday, July 31, 2006
Match of the day...
Hopefully this works, proof of the incredibly high level I perform at on the football pitch...enjoy...
(I had to find some way of passing the time - Monday night is Desperate Housewives night)
(I had to find some way of passing the time - Monday night is Desperate Housewives night)
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Who the **** are Arctic Monkeys?
I could do this quite succinctly by saying "Wow". But I don't half like a good ramble, so I'll go into a bit more detail.
What an amazing gig that was. Me, Rob and Dave had a few oranjebooms at home (tradition) before making a move into town to meet up with Si, Leanne and a couple of her friends. Everyone was pretty damn excited - even Robs parents who we met up with in St James (the venue).
I quite enjoyed the Grates who were supporting. The lead singer bird was a bit of a mentallist but a good laugh, the songs were pretty good and the drummer girl was a total nutter.
Anyway, to the business end of things...we made our way right to the front where it was starting to get busy. After the heckling of the sound checkers and some wait the lights went out and the band came on.
I was a bit suprised when they started with Riot Van, but it worked well. I intended to try and remember a rough set list, but there was no chance of that. It really was like winding back the clock to December '94 and Oasis in Sheffield. I was 17 then, and 12 years on I was moshing (a word I don't like but have to use) like a kid again.
By the end I was soaked through (5% beer, 5% water, 90% sweat), but it was totally worth it. I'm pretty sure they played every song off the album, and about 3 or 4 others. The venue was pretty good too - an area at the front, then a raised standing area, then two tiers of seating.
There was no encore, but they finished with A Certain Romance which I hoped they would do.
Top notch performance and a bit of banter with the crowd made it a great night. I was a fraction of a man by the end, and today I feel terrible. I'm hungover, not through the booze (which I unusually didn't have that much of), but through sweating out every last drop of fluid in my body.
Just read this back and it's rubbish. Definitely not NME material. But I'm far too tired to do it all again.
In summary - this knocks Oasis '94 off the top of my best gigs ever list.
What an amazing gig that was. Me, Rob and Dave had a few oranjebooms at home (tradition) before making a move into town to meet up with Si, Leanne and a couple of her friends. Everyone was pretty damn excited - even Robs parents who we met up with in St James (the venue).
I quite enjoyed the Grates who were supporting. The lead singer bird was a bit of a mentallist but a good laugh, the songs were pretty good and the drummer girl was a total nutter.
Anyway, to the business end of things...we made our way right to the front where it was starting to get busy. After the heckling of the sound checkers and some wait the lights went out and the band came on.
I was a bit suprised when they started with Riot Van, but it worked well. I intended to try and remember a rough set list, but there was no chance of that. It really was like winding back the clock to December '94 and Oasis in Sheffield. I was 17 then, and 12 years on I was moshing (a word I don't like but have to use) like a kid again.
By the end I was soaked through (5% beer, 5% water, 90% sweat), but it was totally worth it. I'm pretty sure they played every song off the album, and about 3 or 4 others. The venue was pretty good too - an area at the front, then a raised standing area, then two tiers of seating.
There was no encore, but they finished with A Certain Romance which I hoped they would do.
Top notch performance and a bit of banter with the crowd made it a great night. I was a fraction of a man by the end, and today I feel terrible. I'm hungover, not through the booze (which I unusually didn't have that much of), but through sweating out every last drop of fluid in my body.
Just read this back and it's rubbish. Definitely not NME material. But I'm far too tired to do it all again.
In summary - this knocks Oasis '94 off the top of my best gigs ever list.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Boring work thoughts of the day...
So I had a bit of time at the end of my working day and thought I'd peruse Chubb's intranet. Pretty dull, especially the incredibly short list of acceptable websites to view. It was a fairly bog standard list, but I was surprised to see that Leeds University was on it. What the hell is that about??
After reading reviews of bars and clubs in Leeds and getting nostalgic I had a look at the list of famous ex students/staff. Here are my top 5....
5. An exchange student in the 80s this guy has climbed to the top of his tree...it's the President of Mongolia
4. Fit, fit, fit, husky and fit....it's Sky Sports News' Georgie Thompson
3. One of the literary greats, studying English in the 60s...it's Mystic Meg
2. Almost up there with Meg...it's JRR Tolkien
1. And studying Spanish, which helped him with the immortal line "Piff, paff, pooff"...it's the Great Soprendo - Geoffrey Durham
Bet you're glad I shared that with you eh?
After reading reviews of bars and clubs in Leeds and getting nostalgic I had a look at the list of famous ex students/staff. Here are my top 5....
5. An exchange student in the 80s this guy has climbed to the top of his tree...it's the President of Mongolia
4. Fit, fit, fit, husky and fit....it's Sky Sports News' Georgie Thompson
3. One of the literary greats, studying English in the 60s...it's Mystic Meg
2. Almost up there with Meg...it's JRR Tolkien
1. And studying Spanish, which helped him with the immortal line "Piff, paff, pooff"...it's the Great Soprendo - Geoffrey Durham
Bet you're glad I shared that with you eh?
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Quiz night
In response to last weeks answers... China has the highest railway and George was not left-handed.
Tonight me, Miller, Si and for the last couple of rounds, Kat, took part in the quiz. It was a disaster as we finished mid-table. But here are a couple of questions I'd like to share with you...
Which Coronation St characters got re-married after being divorced for 15 years?
Which event in France on July 16 did a victorious German hold aloft an Italian flag?
How many syllables are in a Japanese Haiku?
The most frustrating part was a Beatles song getting played and not being able to get the title....it was The Ballad of John and Yoko.
By the way, for those who'd forgotten I'M GOING TO SEE THE ARCTIC MONKEYS ON FRIDAY NIGHT!!
Tonight me, Miller, Si and for the last couple of rounds, Kat, took part in the quiz. It was a disaster as we finished mid-table. But here are a couple of questions I'd like to share with you...
Which Coronation St characters got re-married after being divorced for 15 years?
Which event in France on July 16 did a victorious German hold aloft an Italian flag?
How many syllables are in a Japanese Haiku?
The most frustrating part was a Beatles song getting played and not being able to get the title....it was The Ballad of John and Yoko.
By the way, for those who'd forgotten I'M GOING TO SEE THE ARCTIC MONKEYS ON FRIDAY NIGHT!!
My job
I was sat at work today and felt the need to describe what my day entails at the moment.
Fonterra have postponed my start date to August 7th. Which means I don't finish at Chubb this Friday, I finish the Friday after.
The office I work in at Chubb is a small room in the middle of the building, it has no windows and there are 6 other people in there. None of them are under 40 at a guess and there's an Indian guy who can't pronounce his w's so he calles me Oven.
What makes things worse is that no one speaks - hardly a word gets said all day. I don't get it, I can barely stand it and I know I'm leaving next week, but these lot are here every day of the year. Baffling.
I'm not a big fan of office life and I'm only doing it till Christmas to build up the savings, but there are certain circumstances where it's just about bearable. WW in the early years was quite a decent laugh for example. But I presume positions become available at Chubb on a regular basis due to suicide. I'm there from 8.30 to 5 with a mere 30 minutes for lunch and, get this, NO EMAIL OR INTERNET!!!!
Fonterra has to be better than this...one of NZ's largest companies. Please be better than this...
Fonterra have postponed my start date to August 7th. Which means I don't finish at Chubb this Friday, I finish the Friday after.
The office I work in at Chubb is a small room in the middle of the building, it has no windows and there are 6 other people in there. None of them are under 40 at a guess and there's an Indian guy who can't pronounce his w's so he calles me Oven.
What makes things worse is that no one speaks - hardly a word gets said all day. I don't get it, I can barely stand it and I know I'm leaving next week, but these lot are here every day of the year. Baffling.
I'm not a big fan of office life and I'm only doing it till Christmas to build up the savings, but there are certain circumstances where it's just about bearable. WW in the early years was quite a decent laugh for example. But I presume positions become available at Chubb on a regular basis due to suicide. I'm there from 8.30 to 5 with a mere 30 minutes for lunch and, get this, NO EMAIL OR INTERNET!!!!
Fonterra has to be better than this...one of NZ's largest companies. Please be better than this...
Monday, July 24, 2006
A funny old game...
After a crushing 6-2 home defeat to the Chinese Star Sports, who were just above us in the league, things were looking ominous as we lined up against the runaway league leaders Bohemian Celtic. Our manager gave us a rousing team talk which included such inspirational gems as...
"We'll have to watch out seeing as they started warming up 30 minutes before you lot lit your first cigarette"
"We're playing Owen, Rob and Pete up front"....which I thought was a clever attacking ploy until.... "and everyone else in defence."
The best was being told.... "and you 3 stay on the last man. Don't come back into your own half at all."
To which I commented to Rob, in true Creegan-hybrid style.... "that's like words to my ears"
The game plan almost worked until we went 1 down within 2 minutes. But we fought back and equalised with a quality goal - I flicked the ball on to Pete who centred from the left to an onrushing Rob who side-footed in to the top corned, postage-stamp style. A great goal to open his account for the team. The 3 up top worked wonders. Shame the 7 in defence couldn't match our prowess as a cocky little tosser (confusingly also called Owen) waltzed through to score about 30 seconds later.
We equalized again in the 2nd half. A long throw flicked on to me, one touch to control, one to finish and I had my 5th goal in as many games.
They must have had about 99% possession and 20 corners but it was Greenhithe, and me, who had 2 good chances to go back ahead. Aaaaaaanyway it stayed 2-2 until late on when the defence finally caved and we lost 3-2.
Not really sure why I did such a long match report as no one but me is bothered. The gaffer did tell us something else exciting though - apparently the team have a big end of season booze up/presentation AND they go away for a weekend for another booze up and a couple of friendly matches. Sweet.
"We'll have to watch out seeing as they started warming up 30 minutes before you lot lit your first cigarette"
"We're playing Owen, Rob and Pete up front"....which I thought was a clever attacking ploy until.... "and everyone else in defence."
The best was being told.... "and you 3 stay on the last man. Don't come back into your own half at all."
To which I commented to Rob, in true Creegan-hybrid style.... "that's like words to my ears"
The game plan almost worked until we went 1 down within 2 minutes. But we fought back and equalised with a quality goal - I flicked the ball on to Pete who centred from the left to an onrushing Rob who side-footed in to the top corned, postage-stamp style. A great goal to open his account for the team. The 3 up top worked wonders. Shame the 7 in defence couldn't match our prowess as a cocky little tosser (confusingly also called Owen) waltzed through to score about 30 seconds later.
We equalized again in the 2nd half. A long throw flicked on to me, one touch to control, one to finish and I had my 5th goal in as many games.
They must have had about 99% possession and 20 corners but it was Greenhithe, and me, who had 2 good chances to go back ahead. Aaaaaaanyway it stayed 2-2 until late on when the defence finally caved and we lost 3-2.
Not really sure why I did such a long match report as no one but me is bothered. The gaffer did tell us something else exciting though - apparently the team have a big end of season booze up/presentation AND they go away for a weekend for another booze up and a couple of friendly matches. Sweet.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Weird...
Got excited when my hotmail told me I had 30 new comments on this site. Sadly they were all from an anonymous spammy type thing with links to internet adverts.
All gone now though and the comment cupboard is back to being almost bare again.
All gone now though and the comment cupboard is back to being almost bare again.
Friday night blow out...
I had my first job interview in over 6 years today. And I got the job too. Woo-hoo. As of a week on Monday I will be working for Fonterra on a contract which will take me up to Christmas and my eagerly anticipated holiday to Australia.
To celebrate, Miller and his flatmates were having a party. Ok, maybe it wasn't to celebrate me getting a job, but a party's a party. Me, Rob and his brother Dave had a few pre-matchers at home before giong to the Kingslander (home of our pub quiz) to meet up with a couple of their mates. After that we made our way to the party, drank, talked and danced with a few randoms then a few of us ended up in a not-so-bad club called Ink.
And that's pretty much all I remember of the night.
Rob, Kat and me.
To celebrate, Miller and his flatmates were having a party. Ok, maybe it wasn't to celebrate me getting a job, but a party's a party. Me, Rob and his brother Dave had a few pre-matchers at home before giong to the Kingslander (home of our pub quiz) to meet up with a couple of their mates. After that we made our way to the party, drank, talked and danced with a few randoms then a few of us ended up in a not-so-bad club called Ink.
And that's pretty much all I remember of the night.
Rob, Kat and me.
GREEN SHIRT ALERT
It was time to bring out the green polo again. Sorry Lunt, I had to do it, it's been ages since I last wore it.
Long-haired Miller and me.
Long-haired Miller and me.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
End of the road...
...For Clive The Tourist.
Playing the top team in the league in the cricket proved a step too far for us as we were tonked. The opposition even had 2 "girls" in their team. Although they both apparently play for Auckland Womens cricket team. Disgrace.
We managed about 50 odd runs then restricted them to about 180. Bugger.
There was a good moment for Sonia Ave though as my offcutter was edged behind for Rob to catch behind the stumps, then run out the non-striker galloping through for the attempted run. A double play and -10. This almost made up for me and Rob being -15 after 2 balls of our batting partnership (we did recover to get 19 and the 2nd highest score for us).
2 sporting disasters in a week. Roll on Friday and Miller's party - I need to get drunk.
Playing the top team in the league in the cricket proved a step too far for us as we were tonked. The opposition even had 2 "girls" in their team. Although they both apparently play for Auckland Womens cricket team. Disgrace.
We managed about 50 odd runs then restricted them to about 180. Bugger.
There was a good moment for Sonia Ave though as my offcutter was edged behind for Rob to catch behind the stumps, then run out the non-striker galloping through for the attempted run. A double play and -10. This almost made up for me and Rob being -15 after 2 balls of our batting partnership (we did recover to get 19 and the 2nd highest score for us).
2 sporting disasters in a week. Roll on Friday and Miller's party - I need to get drunk.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
38 days...
...was the length of my sweet, sweet period of unemployment. Today it came to an end as I took up a role doing office stuff in an office for some money. It's only till the end of next week whilst I search for something more interesting to take me through to the end of the year (which will be office stuff in an office, but hopefully one with attractive females in).
Pub quiz tonight - a poor, poor effort by the team. We finished 10th on 83 points and there were 8 of us.
Quite enjoyed this question (mainly because I was the only one to know the answer).... Which of these beatles is NOT left handed...Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr or George Harrison?
But this is the question to sort the wheat from the chaff....In which country is the world's highest railway?
Answers in a comments box please. And for those thinking of using t'internet to find the answer - you'd be letting yourself down. Think on.
Pub quiz tonight - a poor, poor effort by the team. We finished 10th on 83 points and there were 8 of us.
Quite enjoyed this question (mainly because I was the only one to know the answer).... Which of these beatles is NOT left handed...Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr or George Harrison?
But this is the question to sort the wheat from the chaff....In which country is the world's highest railway?
Answers in a comments box please. And for those thinking of using t'internet to find the answer - you'd be letting yourself down. Think on.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Notices
Happy Birthday Mum!!
It took a while to find a picture where we're sitting down (ones where we're standing would take up too much room given the height difference).
She seems to be surprised I'm pulling a stupid face....surely you're used to that by now mum???
American Graffiti...
When searching for a good picture of me and my Mum I came across this old classic. This great piece of graffiti was found on a stairway of an ancient church in Florence.
Is nothing sacred?
I think the question mark was added, cleverly, at a later date.
Is nothing sacred?
I think the question mark was added, cleverly, at a later date.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
A mixed day...
A first today - football with no hangover whatsoever. It worked too, kind of. Now many of you won't believe this, not only did I score again (4 in 4) but I also had the energy to leg it back after the opposition broke from our corner. I pretty much sprinted back to our area to cover a break, then turned and ran back up front. Even better was that I was able to keep running for the whole 90 mins too.
Told you it was hard to believe. We lost 6-2 though. Which is probably easier to believe.
On a more positive note, the World Cup was finally laid to rest tonight. Before the tournament me and Rob picked 16 teams each out of the hat with a variety of rewards for winning games/groups etc. The final reward was that the winner of the tournament had a meal cooked for him by the loser. The dish had to be from the winning nation.
Italy won, which was Rob's team - I decided to cook Lasagne. This was the outcome, don't be deceived though, presentation isn't everything...it tasted great...
Told you it was hard to believe. We lost 6-2 though. Which is probably easier to believe.
On a more positive note, the World Cup was finally laid to rest tonight. Before the tournament me and Rob picked 16 teams each out of the hat with a variety of rewards for winning games/groups etc. The final reward was that the winner of the tournament had a meal cooked for him by the loser. The dish had to be from the winning nation.
Italy won, which was Rob's team - I decided to cook Lasagne. This was the outcome, don't be deceived though, presentation isn't everything...it tasted great...
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Sports update
Didn't play football or cricket last week due to being away. The mighty Greenhithe limped to a 3-3 draw without me. Cricket had to default as it wasn't just me missing. So that put us out of the race for the semis, or so we thought.
2 short for last nights final game, we recruited 1 from the sidelines and went out to bat. As we were one short the other team got to pick and extra batter and guess who that was....yep - me. Bugger. I'd had a bad first innings so it was no surprise. But this meant I had to bat for half the innings which was pretty knackering with all that running. Did a lot better 2nd time out and scored 21 which is one of my best knocks. We posted 176 which was pretty handy and won comfortably despite a pretty poor performance in the field.
Then, as a welcome bonus, we heard other results went our way and we're now in the semis! Get in.
League table
Our results
2 short for last nights final game, we recruited 1 from the sidelines and went out to bat. As we were one short the other team got to pick and extra batter and guess who that was....yep - me. Bugger. I'd had a bad first innings so it was no surprise. But this meant I had to bat for half the innings which was pretty knackering with all that running. Did a lot better 2nd time out and scored 21 which is one of my best knocks. We posted 176 which was pretty handy and won comfortably despite a pretty poor performance in the field.
Then, as a welcome bonus, we heard other results went our way and we're now in the semis! Get in.
League table
Our results
Egg Heads...
A few weeks ago I suggested doing a weekly pub quiz on Tuesday nights to get the house out and about instead of midweek tv watching. Me and Rob were the only ones who made it out previously finishing 2nd bottom in the Cock & Bull quiz or rather the quiz AT the Cock & Bull. Rubbish quiz with stupid questions.
The week later we tried the one at the Kingslander - much better, all the questions are on the big tv screens, with music and video clips and everything. Plus you didn't have to pay to enter. We finished 11th out of 30 which wasn't so bad considering we were a team of 2. And we were the only ones to get the Ponderous Puzzle right on the first go. The PP is where at the end of each round they give you a clue. The clues get progressively easier and if you get it at the end of the first round you get 10 points, end of the 2nd round= 9 points and so on.
This one was "I am a landmark that has been visited by the Queen, Fidel Castro, JFK and Lassie the dog". Answer here (lucky guess by me)
This week we got a bigger team together...me, Si, Leanne, Hamish and 2 of us mates - Marcos another Hamish.
We held the lead for the first few rounds, then dropped back slightly only to fight back magnificently to 3rd place and a $25 bar tab. This, between 6 of us, equates to about a small lemonade each. We only missed out on 2nd place by 1 point and can put this down to talking ourselves out of Fiat Punto (had to get make and model of a picture of a car) and also crossing out London for where Hendrix died and putting New York instead. Dummies.
Although we did unexpectedly well on some other questions, such as Hamish knowing Prince Harry's actual first christian name and Si knowing that Rihanna has a song out with the same name as the Abba song played (S.O.S)
And we got the PP first time again through good teamwork between me and Hamish...This one was "I am an event, wasn't held in 1917, 1918, 1942-1945, the prize money is over NZ$15 million and was held for the 90th time this year." Click here for answer
We'll be back for more bar tabs...
The week later we tried the one at the Kingslander - much better, all the questions are on the big tv screens, with music and video clips and everything. Plus you didn't have to pay to enter. We finished 11th out of 30 which wasn't so bad considering we were a team of 2. And we were the only ones to get the Ponderous Puzzle right on the first go. The PP is where at the end of each round they give you a clue. The clues get progressively easier and if you get it at the end of the first round you get 10 points, end of the 2nd round= 9 points and so on.
This one was "I am a landmark that has been visited by the Queen, Fidel Castro, JFK and Lassie the dog". Answer here (lucky guess by me)
This week we got a bigger team together...me, Si, Leanne, Hamish and 2 of us mates - Marcos another Hamish.
We held the lead for the first few rounds, then dropped back slightly only to fight back magnificently to 3rd place and a $25 bar tab. This, between 6 of us, equates to about a small lemonade each. We only missed out on 2nd place by 1 point and can put this down to talking ourselves out of Fiat Punto (had to get make and model of a picture of a car) and also crossing out London for where Hendrix died and putting New York instead. Dummies.
Although we did unexpectedly well on some other questions, such as Hamish knowing Prince Harry's actual first christian name and Si knowing that Rihanna has a song out with the same name as the Abba song played (S.O.S)
And we got the PP first time again through good teamwork between me and Hamish...This one was "I am an event, wasn't held in 1917, 1918, 1942-1945, the prize money is over NZ$15 million and was held for the 90th time this year." Click here for answer
We'll be back for more bar tabs...
Monday, July 10, 2006
Wellington
Despite the setback of the indie night being a week later, we had some recommendations on where to go out from Hamish who is from there. What a great night out. There were loads of places we went to with plenty of variety. After a few snakky b's at the hostel we went to a bar round the corner called The Establishment. It was a very swanky place so we almost didn't go in, but once inside it was clear what the difference between Wellington and Auckland is - people actually enjoy themselves in Wellington. No one was stood around just out to be seen, it was only 9pm yet people were up dancing and having a laugh.
From there we must have been to about 10 other places with the highlights being Good Luck Bar where the review on the link can describe it better than me. But it felt like a real northern england venue. Other highlight was a bar which looked like a strip club or brothel or something. It was barely bigger than someones front room but the walls were totally covered in mirrors and there was a big pole in the centre of the room. The barmaids assured us it was nothing dodgy, probably slightly offended by the question, and it was surprisingly good.
Waking up in the hostel tv room at half time during the Germany Portugal game was amusing, especially for the couple of people in there for the football.
Summary - 2 of the best nights out I've had in New Zealand have been in Wellington (albeit separated by 2 years). Just walking around the town the next day put it straight to the top of my destination list should I leave Auckland. It's clean, people are friendly, loads of great restaurants and bars and there's plenty to do. Only negatives are the weather being a bit Auckland like and the prospect of the earth swallowing the entire city in a huge quake at any time.
And it's got an English bar. By the way, for those who know that I only ever drink lager, it's all changed. I've developed a bit of a taste for Boddies and Tetleys bizarrely enough. I presume it's an old man thing.
From there we must have been to about 10 other places with the highlights being Good Luck Bar where the review on the link can describe it better than me. But it felt like a real northern england venue. Other highlight was a bar which looked like a strip club or brothel or something. It was barely bigger than someones front room but the walls were totally covered in mirrors and there was a big pole in the centre of the room. The barmaids assured us it was nothing dodgy, probably slightly offended by the question, and it was surprisingly good.
Waking up in the hostel tv room at half time during the Germany Portugal game was amusing, especially for the couple of people in there for the football.
Summary - 2 of the best nights out I've had in New Zealand have been in Wellington (albeit separated by 2 years). Just walking around the town the next day put it straight to the top of my destination list should I leave Auckland. It's clean, people are friendly, loads of great restaurants and bars and there's plenty to do. Only negatives are the weather being a bit Auckland like and the prospect of the earth swallowing the entire city in a huge quake at any time.
And it's got an English bar. By the way, for those who know that I only ever drink lager, it's all changed. I've developed a bit of a taste for Boddies and Tetleys bizarrely enough. I presume it's an old man thing.
Hobbittssess
There was a Lord of the Rings exhibition at Te Papa museum. A mere $12 to get in (£4) and I spent a good hour wandering around the paintings, costumes and models from the film. Some really interesting videos playing too which made you realise just how massive these films were.
No photography allowed so this is the best I can do...
No photography allowed so this is the best I can do...
Mad ferrit
Having searched high and low for an indie night in Auckland, we were delighted to see this flyer in Wellington.
Incredibly frustrating that it was for next weekend. Bugger.
Incredibly frustrating that it was for next weekend. Bugger.
On the road again...
Ohakune was an interesting place. Very 'local' is probably the best way of describing it. There are only about 3 bars worth going to and they're mostly empty. It was early in the season, and school holidays, so this would explain the incredibly young crowd who were out on the Tuesday night (resort staff night out).
Then the big funky 70s disco night on Thursday in the Powderkeg seemed to be mainly staff too. It was all a bit inbred as they all stood around in their own groups without any real interaction. All in all, it's good for short bursts so hopefully I'll get back there a couple more times this winter. But I couldn't have stuck it for any extended period. So when I was considering doing the season and didn't bother....correct decision.
Off to Wellington then. We arrived late on Friday and due to the big Thursday night we kept it quiet. The YHA in Wellington is a great budget place to stay. A little boring (the nature of the YHA's versus the other backpacker places), but we couldn't get in anywhere else. The Saturday night was going to be a biggun so we did a bit of sight seeing during the day. First up - the zoo, and more importantly....the chimps....
Some real quality action here as they clapped and gestured for food to be thrown to them by the keeper then caught with the sort of skill that would put the English slip corden to shame.
Then the big funky 70s disco night on Thursday in the Powderkeg seemed to be mainly staff too. It was all a bit inbred as they all stood around in their own groups without any real interaction. All in all, it's good for short bursts so hopefully I'll get back there a couple more times this winter. But I couldn't have stuck it for any extended period. So when I was considering doing the season and didn't bother....correct decision.
Off to Wellington then. We arrived late on Friday and due to the big Thursday night we kept it quiet. The YHA in Wellington is a great budget place to stay. A little boring (the nature of the YHA's versus the other backpacker places), but we couldn't get in anywhere else. The Saturday night was going to be a biggun so we did a bit of sight seeing during the day. First up - the zoo, and more importantly....the chimps....
Some real quality action here as they clapped and gestured for food to be thrown to them by the keeper then caught with the sort of skill that would put the English slip corden to shame.
Some lucky sods are going to enjoy this powder when it's sunny...
Thursday, our 3rd and final day on the mountain was again incident packed...getting up wasn't a problem this time. But the weather was - it snowed relentlessly which meant great powder but total whiteout so you couldn't get up any speed for fear of flying off a blind cliff face.
More mountain road accidents meant most people were stuck up the mountain until it could be cleared. Our bus was at 3.30 but we finally got back to the hostel at about 7pm. Conditions had slightly improved when I took this photo...
More mountain road accidents meant most people were stuck up the mountain until it could be cleared. Our bus was at 3.30 but we finally got back to the hostel at about 7pm. Conditions had slightly improved when I took this photo...
Snow joke
Tuesday was ski day no. 1. Except we didn't go up the mountain - bad weather meant most of it was closed so we spent our day moving to a better hostel. Apparently this is common in nz ski fields (the weather, not the moving. Although given the standard of the Matai Lodge that's probably pretty common too)
Wednesday was much better, so we got a full day in. Almost. We didn't get up there until about 12pm as there was an accident on the mountain road so no one could get up there.
Wednesday was much better, so we got a full day in. Almost. We didn't get up there until about 12pm as there was an accident on the mountain road so no one could get up there.
I'm back baby...
I suppose your lives have been pretty empty in the absence of my updates. Although it probably would have taken a week to read my World Cup rant.
So, what have I been up to? Me and Si went on a road trip is what. We got the coach down to Ohakune for a few days skiing on Mt Ruapehu (NZ's largest ski area), then on to Wellington for a night out in a different place. We checked in to our YHA hostel, the Matai Lodge (NEVER stay here) on Monday then checked out the next day and found much better accommodation (do stay here). This is the outside communal area...
...seats ripped out of the back of an old ute no doubt. In addition, the room wasn't cleaned when we turned up at 4pm, we had beers stolen out of the fridge, the people running it were real dummies and the other guests were weirder than us.
So, what have I been up to? Me and Si went on a road trip is what. We got the coach down to Ohakune for a few days skiing on Mt Ruapehu (NZ's largest ski area), then on to Wellington for a night out in a different place. We checked in to our YHA hostel, the Matai Lodge (NEVER stay here) on Monday then checked out the next day and found much better accommodation (do stay here). This is the outside communal area...
...seats ripped out of the back of an old ute no doubt. In addition, the room wasn't cleaned when we turned up at 4pm, we had beers stolen out of the fridge, the people running it were real dummies and the other guests were weirder than us.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
World Cup...my verdict
Where to start? I'm still fuming from last night so this may not be the most impartial of views. But now England are out I'm going to give my verdict on the finals.
It's been talked about as one of the best tournaments ever. I have to disagree and say in my opinion it's been quite the opposite. There have been some amazing goals, but the large majority of these have been from long distance. And when you look at them as a percentage of long shot attempts it's no surprise a few have gone in the top corner.
The standard of football has been pretty poor. Not one team has stood out for more than one or two games at a time. Matches between two 'big' teams have typically been dull, defensive affairs with neither team wanting to push forward for fear of losing. Most teams play 4-5-1 and there is little wing play - the focus is on funnelling everything through the middle which would explain why players such as Ronaldinho have failed to make an impact.
Argentina were lauded after the group stages but in reality the game against Holland was a bad one, against Mexico they were the poorer team and against Germany they rarely threatened. Brazil have been poor too. They qualified at a stroll from a dreadful group and would have possibly gone out against Ghana had the Africans had a decent striker.
The only teams that have impressed me in any way at all have been Italy and Germany. Both have actually played some good attacking football which is surprising. But, Germany also had an easy group and 2nd round game (helped by the ref) and didn't create a great deal against Argentina.
The Italians did well to win their group, helped by the ref though, as was the case in the 2nd round.
Which brings me on to the refs. The standard in this tournament has been an absolute embarrassment. The question is, who's to blame? As per usual, FIFA and Blatter decide, in their infinite wisdom, to bring in a whole host of new 'directives' to improve things. This leads to confusion amongst the players and refs alike and we've seen some utterly bizarre decisions.
The new directives appear to be outlawing any form of contact and at the same time encouraging diving, time-wasting, bad sportmanship...in summary, cheating. Barely a game goes by without a screeching player hitting the ground clutching his knee/shin/ankle (whatever he grabs first) whilst his teammates surround the ref demanding a fellow professional have his World Cup ended by a sending off. All this despite the 'offending' players challenge being impeccibly timed and utterly fair.
The three most honest teams in the Cup (USA, Australia and England) can all point to shocking decisions which contributed to their downfall. Will they be rewarded for their honesty though? Unlikely. Will Michael Owen be congratulated for crawling off the pitch despite suffering a horrific knee injury just so play could go on? Unlikely. Will Figo be punished for headbutting an opponent, then later throwing himself to the floor to exaggerate contact and get someone sent off. Unlikely.
What can be done? Maybe have FIFA appointed independent physios to attend to stricken players on the pitch? They could then make a call on whether he is injured or not. Maybe an instant yellow for anyone who simiulates a waving yellow? Or a diving committee to review games and give post match red cards to anyone feigning injury or not punished for diving during a game?
Probably none of the above. But something needs to be done as this is destroying the game. It's no coincidence that the 3 biggest cheaters in the cup are in the last 4. How did France slip through the net? Despite not exactly being saints themselves, it was nice to see them beat Brazil. Although I daresay that ref has ruined his chances of being awarded the final by allowing the golden boys to get knocked out.
I'm sure FIFA are happy though - the hosts in the semis, no silly teams like Turkey making it through and those nasty English thugs have gone home. Ratings must be through the roof.
Finally, I missed this during the game but a quote from the beeb website is:
"Television pictures appeared to show Ronaldo winking towards the Portugal bench as Rooney made his way off."
Not sure how true this is but it wouldn't surprise me. Rooney is his club teammate for flips sake. Not sure how Ronaldo can show his face in Manchester after this. So wonderfully typical that he should score the winning penalty.
I'm glad I'm not in England as I can now go skiing and try and forget about it all. I presume the nation is in mourning, Rooney is being slagged off by the Daily Mail and the Sun is offering a free white van to the first person to bring them Ronaldo's gay head on a spike.
It's been talked about as one of the best tournaments ever. I have to disagree and say in my opinion it's been quite the opposite. There have been some amazing goals, but the large majority of these have been from long distance. And when you look at them as a percentage of long shot attempts it's no surprise a few have gone in the top corner.
The standard of football has been pretty poor. Not one team has stood out for more than one or two games at a time. Matches between two 'big' teams have typically been dull, defensive affairs with neither team wanting to push forward for fear of losing. Most teams play 4-5-1 and there is little wing play - the focus is on funnelling everything through the middle which would explain why players such as Ronaldinho have failed to make an impact.
Argentina were lauded after the group stages but in reality the game against Holland was a bad one, against Mexico they were the poorer team and against Germany they rarely threatened. Brazil have been poor too. They qualified at a stroll from a dreadful group and would have possibly gone out against Ghana had the Africans had a decent striker.
The only teams that have impressed me in any way at all have been Italy and Germany. Both have actually played some good attacking football which is surprising. But, Germany also had an easy group and 2nd round game (helped by the ref) and didn't create a great deal against Argentina.
The Italians did well to win their group, helped by the ref though, as was the case in the 2nd round.
Which brings me on to the refs. The standard in this tournament has been an absolute embarrassment. The question is, who's to blame? As per usual, FIFA and Blatter decide, in their infinite wisdom, to bring in a whole host of new 'directives' to improve things. This leads to confusion amongst the players and refs alike and we've seen some utterly bizarre decisions.
The new directives appear to be outlawing any form of contact and at the same time encouraging diving, time-wasting, bad sportmanship...in summary, cheating. Barely a game goes by without a screeching player hitting the ground clutching his knee/shin/ankle (whatever he grabs first) whilst his teammates surround the ref demanding a fellow professional have his World Cup ended by a sending off. All this despite the 'offending' players challenge being impeccibly timed and utterly fair.
The three most honest teams in the Cup (USA, Australia and England) can all point to shocking decisions which contributed to their downfall. Will they be rewarded for their honesty though? Unlikely. Will Michael Owen be congratulated for crawling off the pitch despite suffering a horrific knee injury just so play could go on? Unlikely. Will Figo be punished for headbutting an opponent, then later throwing himself to the floor to exaggerate contact and get someone sent off. Unlikely.
What can be done? Maybe have FIFA appointed independent physios to attend to stricken players on the pitch? They could then make a call on whether he is injured or not. Maybe an instant yellow for anyone who simiulates a waving yellow? Or a diving committee to review games and give post match red cards to anyone feigning injury or not punished for diving during a game?
Probably none of the above. But something needs to be done as this is destroying the game. It's no coincidence that the 3 biggest cheaters in the cup are in the last 4. How did France slip through the net? Despite not exactly being saints themselves, it was nice to see them beat Brazil. Although I daresay that ref has ruined his chances of being awarded the final by allowing the golden boys to get knocked out.
I'm sure FIFA are happy though - the hosts in the semis, no silly teams like Turkey making it through and those nasty English thugs have gone home. Ratings must be through the roof.
Finally, I missed this during the game but a quote from the beeb website is:
"Television pictures appeared to show Ronaldo winking towards the Portugal bench as Rooney made his way off."
Not sure how true this is but it wouldn't surprise me. Rooney is his club teammate for flips sake. Not sure how Ronaldo can show his face in Manchester after this. So wonderfully typical that he should score the winning penalty.
I'm glad I'm not in England as I can now go skiing and try and forget about it all. I presume the nation is in mourning, Rooney is being slagged off by the Daily Mail and the Sun is offering a free white van to the first person to bring them Ronaldo's gay head on a spike.
Monday, June 26, 2006
On my way to the golden boot
Thankfully subbed after 80 minutes, my work done, I display a thumb for each goal.
Green is the colour
Having pumped so much poison into my body it was probably a good idea to sweat some out.
Although after 80 minutes on the football pitch I didn't really think that. Inspired by last weeks victory the mighty Greenhithe romped to another 3-1 win. I got 2 and set up the other, so maybe a stinker of a hangover is the way forward. I might suggest it to Sven.
Nice action shot of me and Rob here...
Although after 80 minutes on the football pitch I didn't really think that. Inspired by last weeks victory the mighty Greenhithe romped to another 3-1 win. I got 2 and set up the other, so maybe a stinker of a hangover is the way forward. I might suggest it to Sven.
Nice action shot of me and Rob here...
Impromptu party
After getting in at 7am, getting up at 3pm we all headed off to Rob's parents place for a bit of a knees up as his parents were out of town. They live about 45 minutes south of Auckland in a nice part of the countryside and here is a picture of the view. ..
Very nice.
So me, Robin, Rob, Mia, Rob's brother Dave, a couple of his mates, his sister and one of her mates drank our way through some kiwi beers and the majority of a bottle of Jim Beam whilst watching Max and Paddy's and Bo Selecta. A typical pommie night in. I tried to stay up for the Germany game but fell asleep at half time. I did manage to wake up for the 2nd half of the Argentina Mexico....the sombrero wearers were a bit unlucky.
Very nice.So me, Robin, Rob, Mia, Rob's brother Dave, a couple of his mates, his sister and one of her mates drank our way through some kiwi beers and the majority of a bottle of Jim Beam whilst watching Max and Paddy's and Bo Selecta. A typical pommie night in. I tried to stay up for the Germany game but fell asleep at half time. I did manage to wake up for the 2nd half of the Argentina Mexico....the sombrero wearers were a bit unlucky.
If your name's not down...
We met up with Hamish and a couple of his friends in O'Hagans in the viaduct. From there we went to Spy Bar - a place notorious for being members only. Or at least, very difficult to get in to. Despite there being a big group of us and several being rather heavily under the influence of the booze we all had no problems getting in. This is everyone trying to do my arm rotating/leg swinging move....
Beer O'Clock
Another action packed weekend. Rob's mate Robin is visiting from England so after a kick about in the park on Friday afternoon we got into our drinking stride. Here is the official sponsor of the 2006 World Cup.... Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrranjebooomies
Monday, June 19, 2006
Match report
2nd Sunday league game this week. The simple fact of the matter is that I need to get some fitness back. Running up the slope, into the wind in the second half left me struggling. I was cynically tapped for a penalty, but more importantly the team romped to its first win of the season.....a 3-1 away win.
Greenhithe are starting that long climb up the Premier League
Everyone enjoying the World Cup?
Greenhithe are starting that long climb up the Premier League
Everyone enjoying the World Cup?
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Park Life
Me and Rob made our Sunday League debuts on, well, Sunday obviously. After Rob posted our availability on the Auckland Sunday Football Association, we were quickly snapped up by Greenhithe in the Premier League.
Unfortunately we couldn't turn around their poor start to the season as we lost 2-1, but I did manage to score our goal.
Having had a pretty heavy night and getting home at about 5am it was no surprise our fitness wasn't up to much. Rob was subbed at half time from his midfield role, but I managed to last the 90 minutes - however, this was entirely the result of playing up front in a bottom of the table side...lots of time to stand around and recover.
We got invited back though, so expect to see me topping the golden boot charts within a few weeks.
Unfortunately we couldn't turn around their poor start to the season as we lost 2-1, but I did manage to score our goal.
Having had a pretty heavy night and getting home at about 5am it was no surprise our fitness wasn't up to much. Rob was subbed at half time from his midfield role, but I managed to last the 90 minutes - however, this was entirely the result of playing up front in a bottom of the table side...lots of time to stand around and recover.
We got invited back though, so expect to see me topping the golden boot charts within a few weeks.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Out like a light...
Power was out for about 6 hours in NZ's biggest city today. Here is the story, although, in summary a cable snapped. That's all. Some bad weather, a cable snapped and the whole city was drenched in darkness for most of the day.
This was my first day off work and I was enjoying Portugal vs. Angola, with the Serbia Holland and Mexico Iran replays to follow. Only for the day to be scuppered.
Bugger.
This was my first day off work and I was enjoying Portugal vs. Angola, with the Serbia Holland and Mexico Iran replays to follow. Only for the day to be scuppered.
Bugger.
Seoul revisited
A few weeks ago I met up with friends of my parents, Helen and Toby. After a couple of whiskies (extremely large ones courtesy of Toby), we headed to the nearby Korean restaurant.
James, you would have been proud of me...we had the bbq and I led the way with the creating of the parcels, including the spicy kimchi. Of course, all washed down with some Makoli. It was a really fun evening and you wouldn't have known I hadn't seen them since I was a youngster. Last week I also met up with their son, Andrew, who was on his own round the world trip.
The World Cup has started...
The Germany game kicked off at 4am on Saturday morning, so me and Rob got in the beers, the pizza and limped through Friday night telly to the big game. Very entertaining too.
Saturday night was my birthday night out. We went for a meal in a nice Italian in Parnell then on to a bar or two in town before ending up at Fox's for the England game. Loads of big screens and absolutely packed with English....it was almost like being at home.
Great atmosphere, big chorus of God Save the Queen, Three Lions, Arctic Monkeys, World in Motion.....ahhhhhhhhhh it was fantastic. Pity the England team didn't inspire much. Still, a win's a win.
Saturday night was my birthday night out. We went for a meal in a nice Italian in Parnell then on to a bar or two in town before ending up at Fox's for the England game. Loads of big screens and absolutely packed with English....it was almost like being at home.
Great atmosphere, big chorus of God Save the Queen, Three Lions, Arctic Monkeys, World in Motion.....ahhhhhhhhhh it was fantastic. Pity the England team didn't inspire much. Still, a win's a win.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
All hail Princess Caroline...
Caz has found the full version of the Boots ad I did extra work for. And it turns out they didn't use any of the stuff from the day I was there.
There are a few park scenes. I turned down the park day because I had something else on. Good choice.
Here's the link to the Boots Summer Rush advert in full in case you haven't seen it already.
There are a few park scenes. I turned down the park day because I had something else on. Good choice.
Here's the link to the Boots Summer Rush advert in full in case you haven't seen it already.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Birthday boy...
It's a day of worldwide celebration, sorry I can't be in the UK to share in the joy with you lot.
Another year older, another year wiser, another year of increasing popularity.
Happy birthday Prince...
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Read, then peruse the pics below...
This weekend is being spent nursing my body and my wallet. That's why I stayed in on Friday night and watched America's Next Top Model followed by the morning session of the 3rd England Test. It's also why I'm spending my Saturday afternoon in an internet place updating you all.
There is a valid reason for this soft-arsedness, and that reason is last weekend.
Well, it started on Wednesday really. We decided on a bit of a flat night out, to celebrate Kat getting back from her work trip, Rob moving in and the fact that it's a cheap student night in Parnell. After a few drinks at home we got a taxi to Parnell at about 11.30pm (this doesn't sound good already, seeing as I get up for work at 6.15). We went to an Irish pub called the Bog and watched the end of a rugby game, then moved on to George where the ladies danced and the lads discussed the merits of Sambucca.
We got back home at about 3, me and Rob had a couple more beers, and I finally went to bed some time after 4. Unsurprisingly I ignored my 6.15 alarm, although I did wake up at 8 and made it into work for 8.45. Productivity that day was fairly low.
After a quite 36 hours, I met up with Si after work on Friday and we set off on a mini road trip to Rotorua... the town of geyesers (in the non-cockney sense), and hot pools. And, it stinks of rotten eggs. We went out for a couple (turned in to 7) drinks on Friday, generally mooched around all day Saturday then went out for a big night. Drink of choice...Long Island Iced Teas.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this but over here drinks are served in double measures (30ml) and you have to request singles (15ml). The first LIIT we had was served using singles, so it was effectively an English treble. The second one we had used doubles....so 6 English shots in one glass. It wasn't long before I was up on a table in the middle of a crowded dancefloor, shaking my booty to the Pussycat Dolls whilst the locals looked on. In awe, no doubt. Although I don't remember, we got back to the hostel at about 5am. Fortunately, there are no pictures of this night...I unusually didn't take my camera with me.
So this brings us, dazed, nauseous and shaking to Sunday. We're not done yet. Sunday night was the Lewisham awards. These are the Auckland hospitality industry's Oscars and Leanne's brother, Shane, was up for most innovative Chef. We went along for the ceremony in the Sky City conference centre, where unfortunately Shane missed out on the award. I'm convinced these people would make the Ukrainian political system look good.
After the ceremony (spit), we went on to Float, a fancy place in the Viaduct, and the magnificent free bar. It was $60 a ticket (£20), but this was recouped in about 20 minutes and it was profit all the way after that.
There was a great band on, and a great (Funkademia style) DJ, but surprisingly most people seemed to have left by about 1. Undeterred, a few of us stayed on until being kicked out around 4.30. Hard core. After this I remember Shane giving me and one of his mates (Liv) a piggy back at the same time...strong get. I also remember eating a mince and cheese pie (could be the national dish here) and waking up at about noon the next day feeling shocking. I'd cleverly booked the day off work.
So here I am, 4 working days, 1 (triumphant) indoor cricket game, 200 gallons of water and about 3 meals later....just starting to feel vaguely human again.
Only a few days until my birthday night out and England's first game - it's a race against time to be 100% for that.
Now see below for a small selection of pictures from last weeks excessses...
MUM...I PROMISE I'M NOT AN ALCOHOLIC
There is a valid reason for this soft-arsedness, and that reason is last weekend.
Well, it started on Wednesday really. We decided on a bit of a flat night out, to celebrate Kat getting back from her work trip, Rob moving in and the fact that it's a cheap student night in Parnell. After a few drinks at home we got a taxi to Parnell at about 11.30pm (this doesn't sound good already, seeing as I get up for work at 6.15). We went to an Irish pub called the Bog and watched the end of a rugby game, then moved on to George where the ladies danced and the lads discussed the merits of Sambucca.
We got back home at about 3, me and Rob had a couple more beers, and I finally went to bed some time after 4. Unsurprisingly I ignored my 6.15 alarm, although I did wake up at 8 and made it into work for 8.45. Productivity that day was fairly low.
After a quite 36 hours, I met up with Si after work on Friday and we set off on a mini road trip to Rotorua... the town of geyesers (in the non-cockney sense), and hot pools. And, it stinks of rotten eggs. We went out for a couple (turned in to 7) drinks on Friday, generally mooched around all day Saturday then went out for a big night. Drink of choice...Long Island Iced Teas.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this but over here drinks are served in double measures (30ml) and you have to request singles (15ml). The first LIIT we had was served using singles, so it was effectively an English treble. The second one we had used doubles....so 6 English shots in one glass. It wasn't long before I was up on a table in the middle of a crowded dancefloor, shaking my booty to the Pussycat Dolls whilst the locals looked on. In awe, no doubt. Although I don't remember, we got back to the hostel at about 5am. Fortunately, there are no pictures of this night...I unusually didn't take my camera with me.
So this brings us, dazed, nauseous and shaking to Sunday. We're not done yet. Sunday night was the Lewisham awards. These are the Auckland hospitality industry's Oscars and Leanne's brother, Shane, was up for most innovative Chef. We went along for the ceremony in the Sky City conference centre, where unfortunately Shane missed out on the award. I'm convinced these people would make the Ukrainian political system look good.
After the ceremony (spit), we went on to Float, a fancy place in the Viaduct, and the magnificent free bar. It was $60 a ticket (£20), but this was recouped in about 20 minutes and it was profit all the way after that.
There was a great band on, and a great (Funkademia style) DJ, but surprisingly most people seemed to have left by about 1. Undeterred, a few of us stayed on until being kicked out around 4.30. Hard core. After this I remember Shane giving me and one of his mates (Liv) a piggy back at the same time...strong get. I also remember eating a mince and cheese pie (could be the national dish here) and waking up at about noon the next day feeling shocking. I'd cleverly booked the day off work.
So here I am, 4 working days, 1 (triumphant) indoor cricket game, 200 gallons of water and about 3 meals later....just starting to feel vaguely human again.
Only a few days until my birthday night out and England's first game - it's a race against time to be 100% for that.
Now see below for a small selection of pictures from last weeks excessses...
MUM...I PROMISE I'M NOT AN ALCOHOLIC
Lewisham's...3
Liv (Leanne and Shane's mate) and me. Despite the impression my eyes give, I didn't fall over after she let me go...
Wednesday...2
Liz and me. I was a nanosecond away from posing normally for this picture. But I just couldn't help myself.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Lost in translation...
For those of you who occasionally have problems deciphering Yorkshire speak, help is at hand courtesy of my home town NHS...
Only in Donny...
Only in Donny...
Friday, May 26, 2006
The beautiful game...
A bespectacled Jimmy Somerville informs me that there was a Leeds vs. Manc office football match recently. Did the goals dry up for the Manchester team in my absence? Was Lunt on the losing team again? Match report please...
Thursday, May 25, 2006
News...
Ryno has moved out, and despite interest from Nightshade, Cobra and Zodiac the room went to Rob, a Man City fan from Preston. Finally, a flatmate who understands why I'm not going to be working from June 9-July 10.
The big story in the news here yesterday was a stricken British climber who was passed by 40 people making their way to the summit of Everest. No one stopped to help him and the poor sod died. Pretty shocking really.
Just imagine what state the galaxy would be in today had Han Solo not gone out in the freezing storms of Hoth to search for Luke. He didn't care that the odds of surviving were 7283 to 1. A lesson for all of us.
The big story in the news here yesterday was a stricken British climber who was passed by 40 people making their way to the summit of Everest. No one stopped to help him and the poor sod died. Pretty shocking really.
Just imagine what state the galaxy would be in today had Han Solo not gone out in the freezing storms of Hoth to search for Luke. He didn't care that the odds of surviving were 7283 to 1. A lesson for all of us.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Anticipation has the habit to set you up...
The Boots ad should have been on in the UK by now and as my phone has a distinct lack of texts congratulating me on my performance, I can only presume I failed to make the final edit. Bugger.
To cheer me up I have a picture to share with you. Disgruntled by Creegan passing me one of Heyes on his backside after his birthday celebrations (see post on Monday April 17th), Heyes has fought back with this photo from Breeny's phone. You should just be able to make out the familiar Creegan sozzled expression...
This was from Breeny's birthday night last week...Happy Birthday to Breeny and Mike, who (although not twins) both celebrated their birthdays on the 13th.
To cheer me up I have a picture to share with you. Disgruntled by Creegan passing me one of Heyes on his backside after his birthday celebrations (see post on Monday April 17th), Heyes has fought back with this photo from Breeny's phone. You should just be able to make out the familiar Creegan sozzled expression...
This was from Breeny's birthday night last week...Happy Birthday to Breeny and Mike, who (although not twins) both celebrated their birthdays on the 13th.
Friday, May 19, 2006
PARTY PICTURES
I've kept you waiting long enough. Here are a few snaps from our Dirty Disco party last weekend. Enjoy...
George Orwell would be turning in his grave...
Just had a quiet moment at work so I thought I'd cast my eye over this years UK Big Brother contestants. Oh dear. It would have been painful to spend the next 3 months watching round the clock coverage of those tossers. Which, I'm big enough to admit, I would have definitely done.
I'll just have to settle for spending a couple of hours a day reading about it on the interweb.
Groome, have you finished your giant heart-shaped Shahbaz banner yet? Or is Richard more your cup of tea?
I'll just have to settle for spending a couple of hours a day reading about it on the interweb.
Groome, have you finished your giant heart-shaped Shahbaz banner yet? Or is Richard more your cup of tea?
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
To kill a mocking bird...
Due to technical difficulties there's been a delay in getting my photos up from the party at the weekend.
So, to keep Boz from having to do too much work I'll babble on about my latest sporting excursion...indoor cricket.
Hamish (Kat's fella) asked me if I fancied a game on Sunday evening, so I went along to try and quench my thirst for competitive sport, with absolutely no idea what happens or how it worked. In summary, the game is 16 overs per side on a full size pitch, there are 8 players on each team each of whom bowls 2 overs and bats for 4. The court is about...hang on, I'm boring myself. For those who give a rats batty about how big the court is, how you score runs etc then look HERE
We bowled first and the opposition scored 122. Fielding is quite tricky - the game moves pretty quickly and it's quite an enclosed space. I was suffering with a horrendous hangover from the party and hadn't eaten since lunch time on the Saturday. So my performance in the field was more Sends'emback than Collingwood. I did however keep my bowling surprisingly straight and only went for 6 runs in each of my overs.
Our run chase started spectacularly well, then went spectacularly wrong, so by the time me and Hamish went in as the 3rd partnership things were looking bleak. It took me a while to get my eye in but I ended up doing ok scoring 10 of our 37 runs together.
We ended up losing, but it was a good laugh and something I'll hopefully be doing regularly. They really should have something like this in England - you don't need pads or any equipment...bats/balls/gloves are provided and they have several courts in one indoor place (about half the size of jjb). Maybe a business idea for some of you over there - cash in whilst the public is still riding on the waves of last years ashes euphoria.
So, to keep Boz from having to do too much work I'll babble on about my latest sporting excursion...indoor cricket.
Hamish (Kat's fella) asked me if I fancied a game on Sunday evening, so I went along to try and quench my thirst for competitive sport, with absolutely no idea what happens or how it worked. In summary, the game is 16 overs per side on a full size pitch, there are 8 players on each team each of whom bowls 2 overs and bats for 4. The court is about...hang on, I'm boring myself. For those who give a rats batty about how big the court is, how you score runs etc then look HERE
We bowled first and the opposition scored 122. Fielding is quite tricky - the game moves pretty quickly and it's quite an enclosed space. I was suffering with a horrendous hangover from the party and hadn't eaten since lunch time on the Saturday. So my performance in the field was more Sends'emback than Collingwood. I did however keep my bowling surprisingly straight and only went for 6 runs in each of my overs.
Our run chase started spectacularly well, then went spectacularly wrong, so by the time me and Hamish went in as the 3rd partnership things were looking bleak. It took me a while to get my eye in but I ended up doing ok scoring 10 of our 37 runs together.
We ended up losing, but it was a good laugh and something I'll hopefully be doing regularly. They really should have something like this in England - you don't need pads or any equipment...bats/balls/gloves are provided and they have several courts in one indoor place (about half the size of jjb). Maybe a business idea for some of you over there - cash in whilst the public is still riding on the waves of last years ashes euphoria.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Lousy, talentless, wouldn't know a good extra if he came up and slapped them in the face...
I received my cheque from the film company today. Although I was delighted to get quite a decent chunk of cash for doing not all that much, it was only the flat rate.
What this means is that I'm not going to have an elongated close up on the ad and am probably not in it at all.
Bugger.
What this means is that I'm not going to have an elongated close up on the ad and am probably not in it at all.
Bugger.
England squad announced...
Not much to say really as I'm pretty happy with the selection.
31 and a half days to go...
31 and a half days to go...
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Boom, shake shake shake the room
Panic and confusion hit New Zealand this morning but fortunately nothing else. The strongest earthquake of the year hit off the coast of Tonga in the early hours. Apparently NZ civil defence was told about this but decided not to mention anything and left if to foreign media sources to break the news that a dangerous Tsunami was scheduled to hit the NZ coastline at 6.20am.
As it turns out there was no Tsunami but it's good to know the authorities are on the ball.
Luckily there doesn't appear to be human casualties other than someone in a Tongan hotel who, when the tremour struck, panicked and threw himself out of his 3rd floor window. He's now in hospital.
As it turns out there was no Tsunami but it's good to know the authorities are on the ball.
Luckily there doesn't appear to be human casualties other than someone in a Tongan hotel who, when the tremour struck, panicked and threw himself out of his 3rd floor window. He's now in hospital.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
End of a goal-den age...
Sad news recently, the legend has announced his retirement from the professional game. No, I'm not talking about myself, I mean the one and only Alan Shearer. No longer will we see the famous celebration...
(This was after scoring in the 5-0 against Man Utd)
By way of a small tribute to the England player who's given me the most footballing joy since I was old enough to care, here are my top 3 favourite SHEARER related memories. Feel free to comment, contest or offer your own if you will. But be warned...any blasphemous comments will be deleted (and I'm talking mainly to the faux-Mancs like Millhouse and Smaje, and the faux-Welsh like Lunt)
3....England vs. Germany (Euro 2000 group game)
A group of us (me, Andy, James, Pete, Groome, Mike and Boz) were at the airport early on the day of the game as we were flying to Amsterdam for a couple of weeks touring Holland and Belgium during the tournament. Disaster struck though, and all flights we grounded due to some computer glitch.
After a couple of hours of mad panic we got ourselves on flights for the next day and managed to crash in Liverpool with the uni lot (Haggis/Merv/Jose/Dunc I think). We made it to the boozer in time for the game too - a load of us decked out in England shirts, carrying flags. The locals didn't seem to mind though and we got a free sausage and chips feed before the match.
Captain, number 9 and hero then headed the only goal of the game and the resulting party in Liverpool was one of the best ever. My last memory was watching a few of the group conga-ing round the dancefloor with the St George's flag lofted high.
2....Kavos, Corfu (1999)
I think this followed an England game but I can't quite remember. The location is Kavos High Street, in a bar called TJ Hookers, the people were me, Andy, James, Pete, Mike, Chris, Breeny and Raz and the drink was a pint of headfrigger (although the bar gave it a slightly different name). With DJ Tourette spinning the tunes and MCing in his own special way..."How you bloody f-ing doing tonight you virgins??"...someone came up with a drinking game. We had to take it in turns to sing a football song about Shearer, and if you couldn't manage it then you had to down your pint in one. Considering the ingredients for this pint were about 9 parts various spirits, 1 part mixed fruit juice, this was a strict punishment. And rightly so.
Round the group it went, with a variety of the usual songs, adapted to fit Shearer's name in, until someone (Breeny maybe) managed to invent a song. Probably not in the original rules of the game but it was so good it had to count (I think I'd need permission of the composer to post the lyrics). I think I was last (again, can't remember), and I'm fairly sure I was panicking but by the time it got round to me no one had used the only chant that ever gets sung about him...."SHEARER, SHEARER" so I survived.
Funnily enough, I don't think anyone pulled that night.
1....England vs. Holland (Euro 96 group game)
We gathered to watch this match in the greatest pub in Britain - the Tut'n'Shive in Donny. It was the final group game and a draw would have been enough to see us through as group winners. However, the Dutch were third favourites for the tournament and we hadn't played all that great up to that point, so tension was high. England went on to put in arguably their greatest ever performance as Shearer's impeccably taken penalty spurred them on to a magnificent 4-1 win.
The highlight of the game was England's third goal. On 57 minutes, Gascoigne received the ball from McManaman before passing a Dutch defender on the left wing - he passed the ball inside to Teddy Sheringham who squared to an unmarked Shearer. The legend duly crashed the ball into the top corner, grazing a post on the way and sending the whole nation into a frenzy. This was typified in the Tut'n'Shive where a local simply threw his hands up in ecstasy releasing his full (plastic) pint glass which looped in a high arc and landed perfectly on to Dave Santiuste's head. I can still hear the commentator (Martin Tyler I believe) scream "SHEARER!!!!!!!!" when he hit home. Thinking about that split second makes realise what Martine McCutcheon was making such a fuss about.
(This was after scoring in the 5-0 against Man Utd)By way of a small tribute to the England player who's given me the most footballing joy since I was old enough to care, here are my top 3 favourite SHEARER related memories. Feel free to comment, contest or offer your own if you will. But be warned...any blasphemous comments will be deleted (and I'm talking mainly to the faux-Mancs like Millhouse and Smaje, and the faux-Welsh like Lunt)
3....England vs. Germany (Euro 2000 group game)
A group of us (me, Andy, James, Pete, Groome, Mike and Boz) were at the airport early on the day of the game as we were flying to Amsterdam for a couple of weeks touring Holland and Belgium during the tournament. Disaster struck though, and all flights we grounded due to some computer glitch.
After a couple of hours of mad panic we got ourselves on flights for the next day and managed to crash in Liverpool with the uni lot (Haggis/Merv/Jose/Dunc I think). We made it to the boozer in time for the game too - a load of us decked out in England shirts, carrying flags. The locals didn't seem to mind though and we got a free sausage and chips feed before the match.
Captain, number 9 and hero then headed the only goal of the game and the resulting party in Liverpool was one of the best ever. My last memory was watching a few of the group conga-ing round the dancefloor with the St George's flag lofted high.
2....Kavos, Corfu (1999)
I think this followed an England game but I can't quite remember. The location is Kavos High Street, in a bar called TJ Hookers, the people were me, Andy, James, Pete, Mike, Chris, Breeny and Raz and the drink was a pint of headfrigger (although the bar gave it a slightly different name). With DJ Tourette spinning the tunes and MCing in his own special way..."How you bloody f-ing doing tonight you virgins??"...someone came up with a drinking game. We had to take it in turns to sing a football song about Shearer, and if you couldn't manage it then you had to down your pint in one. Considering the ingredients for this pint were about 9 parts various spirits, 1 part mixed fruit juice, this was a strict punishment. And rightly so.
Round the group it went, with a variety of the usual songs, adapted to fit Shearer's name in, until someone (Breeny maybe) managed to invent a song. Probably not in the original rules of the game but it was so good it had to count (I think I'd need permission of the composer to post the lyrics). I think I was last (again, can't remember), and I'm fairly sure I was panicking but by the time it got round to me no one had used the only chant that ever gets sung about him...."SHEARER, SHEARER" so I survived.
Funnily enough, I don't think anyone pulled that night.
1....England vs. Holland (Euro 96 group game)
We gathered to watch this match in the greatest pub in Britain - the Tut'n'Shive in Donny. It was the final group game and a draw would have been enough to see us through as group winners. However, the Dutch were third favourites for the tournament and we hadn't played all that great up to that point, so tension was high. England went on to put in arguably their greatest ever performance as Shearer's impeccably taken penalty spurred them on to a magnificent 4-1 win.
The highlight of the game was England's third goal. On 57 minutes, Gascoigne received the ball from McManaman before passing a Dutch defender on the left wing - he passed the ball inside to Teddy Sheringham who squared to an unmarked Shearer. The legend duly crashed the ball into the top corner, grazing a post on the way and sending the whole nation into a frenzy. This was typified in the Tut'n'Shive where a local simply threw his hands up in ecstasy releasing his full (plastic) pint glass which looped in a high arc and landed perfectly on to Dave Santiuste's head. I can still hear the commentator (Martin Tyler I believe) scream "SHEARER!!!!!!!!" when he hit home. Thinking about that split second makes realise what Martine McCutcheon was making such a fuss about.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Strike a pose...
Not content with being the drunken photo star of 3 barely read blogs I've now got my mug (along with 2 other reprobates) on the website for the big swim race that went on last weekend...
last one on 12th row
last one on 12th row
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