Livingston FC

1974 - 2009 .... Looks like my favorite Scottish football club Livingston is going down the tubes, reason money (Or the lack of it should I say). Many a time I travelled home and away to games (When I say home I mean Livingston in West Lothian, or Hamunaptra to those who know the place well) A great family club were I made lots of friends over the years and I have to say I'm sorry to hear of the clubs financial crisis.
I was on their website to find out what the latest bizz was and noticed that the main advertisement is for....well, I'll let you see for yourself......

Debt Advisory.... I wonder did they give them a call ???????

Shopping Games

While I'm out shopping with my little swamp duck I would normally entertain myself by people watching. Yesterday we were out at Forestside and M&S got a visit... I got bored with "What do you think of this, what do you think of that" (Not that it ever maters what I think)... Anyway, as I said "I got bored" walking around ladies fashions mostly filled by the blue rinse brigade.. I thought I'd have a bit of fun by a huge mirror, I lifted a skirt off a nearby rail and held it against myself in front of the mirror, I gave it the up, down side to side look with a wow look on my bake.
The look on the faces of close by BRB members was just priceless.... Happy days a new shopping game to play now, may try footwear next. (Bring on the stilettos)

Oh What A Gay Day

Went into the city centre yesterday for some shopping and lunch. The annual gay pride parade was taking place so I thought I'd check it out as there should be lots of colour. The PSNI were out in force (No, not in the parade) I asked a PSNI officer what time the parade would pass and he said "Who knows" (On the ball or what) Anyway, heard the whistles and vehicle horns blowing and spotted the parade coming so I said to the same PSNI officer "Here they come now" (Just in case he wasn't sure) Colourful it was, some lorry's and trailers decorated and loads of people waving and blowing whistles from the trailers, people walking around with signs saying things like Free Hugs (I never asked for one in case you were wondering) The parade lasted around 15 minutes with lots of the Saturday shoppers watching on, some with their approving smiles and some with their disapproving growls, others just went on about their business...

I always have my camera with me and I love to see carnival like parades in the city centre (Orange, Green or Pink, I don't care what colour) There was lots of colour in this parade but I have to say there was the odd one who spoiled the day by either carrying a rude sign (In my opinion) or displaying a rude gesture.. Does their cause no good....

Oh yes and there was the odd dog in the parade... (Woof woof type that is)

Pet Names

Close to 30 years married my little swamp duck still to this day loves to shower me with gifts, and those who know me can understand why. She loves to buy me things that not only reflect my personality but also replicate the pet name she has for me..

I have to say "She struck gold this time with this bottle of Shiraz"......

Here I was

So here I was sitting upstairs on the bus waiting for it to leave it's stop by the City Hall. More passengers started to come up to the top deck and this young guy sat down in a seat just in front of me. I felt safe from being biten by vampires as the stench of garlic coming from his direction was awful.. I did consider moving but thought I'd sit it out and cough for a while.... This dame sat behind me and it wasn't too long before her 80's ring tone started to blast out from her handbag. What ever happened to "I'll call you back, I'm on the bus" .. she went into this full conversation about people in her office at a volume I'm sure the driver was able to hear (And he was on the lower deck), at one point she lost the signal, and the person rang her back... How often have you lost a mobile signal and when you get reconnected the first thing you ask is "What happened there?" That sort of question is ok as long as you were talking to a mobile phone engineer in the first place. She answered the phone with... you got it..."What happened there.. the dame was still on the phone three miles later but did tell her caller to hold on as she was about to get off the bus. I'd love to know where she worked as I'd call the office and tell them the gossip.... As for garlic bake I noticed the paint on the roof above him starting to blister as I my stop approached

BACK SOON

Happy Snapper

I just love taking photos... Got a new snapper (Camera) so, I'm button pressing at whatever. My cat tigger is getting fed up with me snapping her (I can tell) this is the latest pic... Looks like she 's asking "What now?"

It's Saturday

Saturday has arrived so I thought as the weather forecast was for heavy rain hill walking was out. As I wanted to get some exercise in and still have plenty of time left to enjoy the day I thought I'd get up early and go swimming. (Seeing I had a few last night) Up at 6 ish, looked out the window and it looked nice but damp. Got showered and dressed and on the cycle by 7am. It was amazing how many people haven't even made it home from their Friday night out. On the way into town going past the old cricket ground, there were trainee thugs still drinking and making merry (I decided to pedal faster in case they wanted to include me in their merriment) and cycling up Royal Avenue there were bodies lying on city benches with their empty carryouts close by.. (Ah, those were the day's).....

Police Appeal

Way to go.. Photos, then name and shame. Here is a link to a BBC News website page, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8097911.stm the PSNI have appealed for the names of persons (Morons) they want to talk to in relation to riots in the so called Holyland.
Please visit the link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8097911.stm and read the story.
If you recognise anyone in the photograph (Some butes I have to say) get on the blower to the PSNI..... Could be wrong, but it may do the Police some good if they look around Queens..... As I said, I could be wrong though!

A Little Humour

Three men married wives from different countries.

The first man married a woman from Italy . He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.
The second man married a woman from Sweden . He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. The first day he didn't see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done and there was a huge dinner on the table.
The third man married a girl from NORN IRELAND . He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal.

He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher.

TAKE HEED GUYS

Nice Car Shame About The Blonde

Could not believe it (OK I do) I was walking through town tonight during the evening rush hour when I spotted this blonde texting while driving at a main intersection in the city centre, and she continued to text while she drove and negotiated a right hand turn at traffic lights. What a bimbo..... Nice car though

It's Getting Harder

I'm finding it harder to find the time to blog (Or so it seems anyway) but I'm still alive (@ the moment) in case you wondered where I was. With all the good weather lately I've been out and about, and last week I ventured up to Belfast Zoo (Don't entirely agree with zoo's but went anyway) It has been years since I've went and the first thing I saw was the whole new entrance, looks pretty well may I say. After entry I saw the old Floral Hall... Looking at it, it was hard to imagine the place use to be a dance hall before it was used as an animal shelter...(Although knowing some of the clampets who use to go there, it may have been one from the very start)
The place is so far up the hill I'm sure people were done out before they even got their first dance or their 99.... There must have been an ice cream van parked outside? as I heard my brothers say a few times that when they got to the Floral Hall "It used to be, get the girl, go twice around the dance floor, then outside for a poke" (I was too young to go, so I wouldn't know)

What I did laugh at was a sign in the car park saying "Please remember where you park" Really ?... It is worth a visit I have to say.. Oh yes! there are some beautiful animals there...

Bank Holiday Monday

Day off work, yeah but only in the employment sense. I'm still in the process of getting the area ready for my new greenhouse. I have already started by building the base for it and the door (Just to get things moving) The area for it will need leveled but I'm unsure if I went flag stones, bricks or just the straight forward earth... Whichever I choose it will still need leveled. So I'm using the garage to store the pre-built stuff.
What I have got as a new addition to the garden is a solar powered bird bath (More like a bird shower) but is nice and if we get some sunshine during the summer we will have loads of clean birds flying about my garden (If the cat allows it, that is)

May Day Parade

Today my LSD and I decided to hit the City Centre for a dander and some lunch. Thought, bank holiday weekend there shouldn't be much traffic. Great clear roads until we hit the centre. The PSNI had roads around the centre closed as the Union's May Day Parade was taking part. It didn't take long. a few bands a few people walking behind them carrying banners and flags and one guy carrying a Russian flag (I have to say he looked like he wasn't old enough even to work, let alone be in a union)

The City was also hiving with street entertainers, from the Dirty White Rabbit playing the keyboard at Cornmarket to comedy groups, musicians and this musical trio I saw in Victoria Square... The City Centre is the place to spend a Saturday believe me......

Bill Posters

I wonder which one of these two defacers is called Bill?. As if the city isn't bad enough with litter bugs, we also have to put up with guys like this who have nothing better to do than stick up posters usually for unknown music groups that you need to blocked to listen too, and more than likely the posters end up blowing around the streets and left for someone else to clean up.

Anyway, if guys like these are caught breaking the by-laws of the city, they should be not just fined but made to do community service by removing posters from around the city centre for a start.

Speaking of Squareports

After yesterdays post, I've now read, from today the George Best City Airport is not allowing motorists or taxis (Not based at the airport) to drop off or collect passengers outside the main terminal. A £1 surcharge will be imposed on taxis based at the airport. People hiring a taxi based at the airport will have the £1 surcharge past onto them through the fare. The £1 surcharge has been imposed by the GBCA. What will be interesting is, will they charge each passenger a £1 or is it a £1 per fare. (See also: Drop off ban arrives)
I have stopped using the airport taxi's anyway, as I found them unpleasant and in my experience they make you feel like a hindrance if you are only going into the city centre instead of further afield. Maybe now they'll be glad of any business.... (Still wont be mine though)

Belfast International Squareport

A news item regarding Belfast International Airport caught my attention today while surfing the BBC News website. The security staff at the airport had "a complete lack of consideration for those with mobility problems". Read the article
This happens all around the place. I witnessed a lady (Who has mobility problems) ask an outside security person at the terminal building at the George Best City Airport if she could get her local taxi to pick her up outside the building. She was told no and she had to walk to the portacabin at the short stay car park and wait. Not even a chair in the portacabin... How considerate
Anyway, I'm off to BIA tomorrow morning to pick some people up. I haven't been at the airport in ages so I thought I'd visit their website and check for any changes in parking arrangements. I went straight for the FAQs section. I can only say that even I was surprised at the most popular FAQs: (Even for Northern Ireland) Can I pack my souvenir Samurai sword in my hand luggage?

Mystery Shopper

I have to say my LSD must be the best mystery shopper.. It's just a mystery to me how she knows how to get the bargains. We went to good old Tescos as she had to get some food stuffs and I had to get a little speaker for iPod's, mp3 players even works on the laptops.. In fact they work on any audio unit with a 3.5mm jack plug (You even get a 2.5mm converter, just in case) Anyway... they had been reduced in price last week from £19.98 to £ 9.98.. We were told tonight by one of Tescos staff that the speakers had gone back up to full price (I had seen them in a high street store in London last week at over £24.00) LSD said to me to lift one and use one of the in store scanners... Hey Presto.. it showed £9.98.. (Happy Days. I bought three, one for me and two for a friend)
I then fancied some North Belfast champagne to drink later, they had an offer on but none were sitting on the shelf. LSD once again gets a member of staff to go and look "Out the back" as she calls it. (Kitchen house reared you see) It's so refreshing not to hear the usual "If it's not out, we don't have it" they looked, they saw and I was amazed... out came the champagne... (Getting into it when this blog has been updated......

The Power Of The Sun

No, this it's not about the newspaper or global warming. It about how good the nice weather makes you feel. No mater who I was speaking to over the last few days it was evident that the good weather made them feel great.
I enjoyed sitting out in the garden, listening to the birds singing and of course having some sparkling water.... But I'm still Grumpy.
Is it any wonder after watching the football yesterday. One thing though, I'm glad I wasn't one of those supporters who paid a little fortune to travel to the game and pay in to see their manager put a, well lets just say it didn't do what it said on the tin team. It's like paying to see a top band in concert only to find out it's a tribute band.... and they're miming at that....

Wotsits Or Wine?

Read yet another interesting article online, but this one is of special interest to me (Seeing I'm trying to keep weight off, and I drink wine) The article headline says "Average wine drinker puts on half a stone of fat a year, says campaign group" Apparently wine does what it says in the headline. Here are some statistics that I'll try and remember.. Hic!
Large glass (250ml) of average strength red wine = 214 calories = one bag of Cheesy Wotsits.
A bottle of average strength red wine = 644 calories = 14 jaffa cakes or McDonald's Cheeseburger and medium fries.
Large glass of medium dry white wine = 190 calories = two and a half digestive biscuits.
One pint of premium lager = 330 calories = one four ounce fillet steak
One pint of cider = 200 calories = one KFC chicken drumstick
source: Human Nutrition Research and weightlossresources.co.uk
Scary to read... Anyway I'm off to pour myself another glass of Cheesy Wotsits. followed by a glass of McDonald's Cheeseburger and medium fries...Hic!

Space Cadets

We meet space cadets everyday of our existence, but have you ever given time and stopped to think what it must be like to be a real live Space Cadet... (Nah, me neither)... I just needed some sort of a lead in to the web link I'm going to post. It shows the time scale and the building of the International Space Station. Whether or not you're interested in space, this is worth a look.... Who knows perhaps someday it could be trundling earthwards towards you and a least you'll know what the hell is coming...... (CLICK ON THE PICTURE)

Wedding Dance

This is for all the in love people who are planning their wedding. You've picked the date, picked the venue, picked where the reception is to be held and possibly even picked the grub everyone is going to eat. What about the entertainment? two piece band?, group?, karaoke? or Disco?. If you have chosen the later, "CHECK THIS OUT"
Go on, you know you really want to do it at your wedding..... If you are going to do it I'll bring my camcorder........

A Green Day Today

My LSD bought me a greenhouse today. It's something I've wanted since moving to our present address. I opened the flat pack to find the instructions.. (AGGGHHHHHHHH) hundreds of parts to be checked.... It took me ages (Not the brightest you see) Hooray, all parts present and correct. Now to find the time. and a sunny day or two to put them all together.
(Fun times ahead, but I know she can do it)

Please Be Quite

This post goes out to those of my friends and colleagues who think I've lost the power to put weight on.

LAST WEEK, A HALF POUND ON

THIS WEEK, FOUR AND A HALF POUND ON

There, thanks for your concern now, please back off and leave me to it.......

Dumping Dogs

Spotted these two dogs running around a common in Cambridge, they had their two big white husky looking pets with them. The common is a place by the river where families walk and play, considerate dog owners carry poop scoops and plastic bags for you know what. These two couldn't have give a crap themselves, the dogs just dumped their winalot and ran off to play. One of the humans with them walked over to the drop zone and I thought she was going to do the right thing and pick it up, but alas, she just stopped, studied the deposit for a lot of seconds then merrily dandered off. Perhaps she goes to Cambridge University and is reading you know what.....