The random happenings in my life during March 2010. The names of the guilty have been changed. But they should know who they are. I might even be subject to some retribution…….
Firstly I have to start with a massive “thank you” to everyone out there in the webby world. I started this little blog venture at the end of August 2009. I have now had over 1,000 blog site hits. I’m utterly gob smacked. I set myself a target of a 100 hits a month. I’m now regularly getting 150+. Wow. Miles above my expectations – and who knows where this is going. The main thing for me is fun. Making someone smile comes free of charge……..
Oh, and if you are interested, I rarely publicise my blog site. The hits are all down to copious amounts of “tags” in my postings. So people find me via searches. And I suppose loads of jokes help the cause!
Right, I guess everyone in the UK is well and truly t’eed off with the weather. Enough’s enough and time for a tactical change. I propose that a weather announcer is ritually sacrificed every week. Yes, folks lets get back to Pagan Rituals!!
And as we know, it has been a truly awful winter. And yet, much to my surprise, my herb garden is in full flow. It has survived. Yippee!
Chives and Coriander growing well after the harsh winter
Having succumbed to a football match burger, I was called Burger Boy 2. Oh, the ignominy!
Whilst on the subject of food, I need to have a moan about hot cross buns. Yes, they are not hot, and that is because it has become the custom to have them cold. But this year, how many have you seen any with something resembling a decent cross? Very poor show in my book. I mean, just how difficult is it to put a cross on! Should I be tootling off to Trading Standards?
And after about 20 odd years of me badgering away, The Boss finally succumbs to having hearing aids. You would never guess that she’s experiencing a whole new world now. Like she can actually hear me on the phone. And she no longer has a silent flush on the loo. In fact she cannot believe the level of noise a flush makes! Big sigh of relief on my part. She’s 83 by the way.
Are you worried over the price of fuel? Well, don’t forget that 75% of the pump price is tax. Prices have risen recently and this is due to increases in the price of oil – which is bought in $ and £ has depreciated against the almighty $. Now Stirling has depreciated because of the poor state of the UK economy. Got that? It has nothing to do with oil companies. Now go out into the streets and spread the word!!!.
I bought a step counter and this proved conclusively that excessive tea drinking is good for you. It keeps my step count up for all the trips backwards and forwards to the loo. It is this sort of thinking that got me where I am today!
Omron Step Counter. Just put it in your pocket and it counts your steps. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
And also bought gel insoles for my trainers. Wow, do they make a big difference. No more foot pain after an hours walking. Great!!
With the rubbish weather, I only managed to cycle 40 odd miles in the month. But at least I managed a longer trip to improve my endurance side. Having built up my fitness again, now is the time to get off the tarmac and onto canal towpaths, forest trails etc. To this end I bought a Garmin Edge 605 MTB, so the bike now has SatNav. The blurb tells me I’ll never get lost. As I’m never one to shy away from a challenge….
And a couple of cycle incidents to report. I was attacked by a terrier dog, snapping away at my left heel. Dog and owner not overly impressed with the sharp kick I handed out either. And no, the dog was not on a lead and the owner’s vocalbary was limited to four letter words!
And then a young mum with pushchair aimed her buggy at me on a very wide pathway to deliberately block my way, so I had a last minute manoeuvre to dodge them. She obviously wanted me on the road in the heavy traffic. For goodness sake, the path was wide enough for at least three double buggies to be side by side! She obviously was not into sharing “her” pathway. And of course she was perfectly happy to put pram and baby in the way, therefore totally relying on me to brake and swerve. Nice!
The Northern expression is “nowt so queer as folk”. Yes, indeedie!!
Keep smiling folks. It’s good for the soul, honest.
General Randomness
No major new articles written this month. But lots of jokes for your enjoyment and I now have a separate cycling section. There is lots on in April, but mainly sporting related as we have the magical crossover of football, rugby, cricket and motorbike racing. Yum Yum.
Another attempt is being made on the round the world cycling record. Alan Bate is trying to do 18,000 odd miles in…..wait for it…..95 days. You can follow the nutter here: http://www.worldcyclingrecord.com/
Sports News
Now where do I start? Lets do Rugby for a change. Bristol are now in the promotional play off system and I went to the first game. They duly beat the Cornish Pirates. I was given a free ticket. And had a free pint. And a free pasty as well. And yet I felt cheated. Yes, really, I did. Bristol should have put the knife in and romped home to a big victory. But they didn’t. The coach said afterwards that the players were nervous. Well, this is all irrelevant in my book. You are in the entertainment business. So entertain! What encouragement have I got to keep going back?
And on the football side, there was one, very important game. Arsenal v Barcelona at The Emirates. Anyone who knows football looked forward to that one. Now I know someone with a ticket. I offered £500 and was turned down. So he’s a proper football fan then. Bravo.
On a smaller scale, Bristol City sacked their manager. Strange goings on behind that one I think.
And on an even smaller scale, Mangotsfield are on a great winning streak with the team playing as a proper unit of players now. Good to see. It’s a shame more people don’t pop along to watch.
Moving onto cricket, England toured Bangladesh and won all their games. Big deal. But Bangladesh are touring the UK this spring, so whose going to pop along to watch them when they cannot even win a match in their own country? Do I spot a financial disaster looming?
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