...Pre Christmas Blues...

It's been a quiet time in my world recently. You could say that's a good thing, I mean, ok so nothing really exciting or rewarding has happened, but equally nothing bad has happened either. That said though, its not particularly the happiest of times. My health has not been great lately. I think my body is punishing me for coming home from Ibiza...It was a hard homecoming and the subsequent post Ibiza blues/depression could have a lot to do with it (Well that and the fact I picked up Gastroenteritis on the way home...). But everyone around me is suffering with their health too, in one way or another. We're a big bunch of poorly bunnies! :-) Its a naff time of year really. I'm sure there are people who love the onset of winter, the crisp, cold mornings, the golden leaves being trampled underfoot and the sweet anticipation of the festive period - but I've yet to meet any!! As far as I'm concerned, the summer holidays are far behind us - I desperately want to fly away to the sun before Christmas, but can't afford to because of all the whoopee cushions and other associated rubbish I've got to waste my money on for that very event! - the weather is cold and miserable, cant afford to go out (see earlier comment re whoopee cushions), don't feel like going out (see earlier comments regarding the weather and being ill) and there is nothing really to look forward too...

Forced smiles, now there's a thought. That's what this whole time of year is about! - Grin and bare it! From the enforced smile at your work Xmas do, to the enforced smile when you open yet another pair of socks on Xmas day, plus the whole grin-and-bear it attitude needed to the Winter weather! Yes tis the season to 'grin and bear it' :-)

On a more positive note, Dec 21st is the shortest day! After that the days are getting longer and you can try and kid yourself that spring is on the way! (Shame we have to get through the two most miserable months of the year first!) bah! Humbug!

...its been a while. (again)...

I'm sticking with it. I know these updates have been few and far between - i think we're down to monthly updates now (if you're lucky) - but I still like the concept and if I do move to Ibiza in January i'll have a lot more time on my hands to let you know how warm it is where I am ;-) Truth is, i've been busier at work and my home laptop has been 'closed for repairs' for too long. As a result, updating and developing this blog has been difficult.

Anyway, I picked up my laptop from the 'repairers and original vendors' yesterday and so far so good! It used to blue-screen within about ten minutes - barely enough time for the Gaydar logon page to load ;-) but last night I had it running all night without a hitch! Please pray for me that it stays that way as my mental heatlh cannot cope with more problems!

I only told them about the blue-screen issue, but miraculously, the faulty modem and battery have fixed themselves too! (I may have Sony to thank for the latter issue as the battery may have been replaced by stealth!) Anyhoo, it may actually be that the vendors concerned are living up to their alleged 'top customer service providers' accolade!

Provided I do have a stable laptop, I may be able to take 'Simon & the City' to the next level!

My fellow blogger Chig has mentioned the world record attempt in Cardiff tonight to get as many Jones' in one place! Unfortunately I am not there having only learnt of it today but i'm hoping my aunt, cousin and any other distant family will be there doing their bit! - Mind you, 'distant family' isn't that all Jones' ??? ;-)

Chig also mentioned a clever way of boosting hits to your blog so here goes -

Shane Ward. Kylie Minogue. Madonna, Baby David, Malawi. Global Warming. ASBO's.

There, that should boost the site stats a bit. May get a few offers of dates from like minded males to!

...the most perfect day...

It's intangible really but Tuesday the 19th September 2006 was probably the most perfect day ever. Now this may of course be dependent on where you were or what you were doing, but I was lying on Es Cavallet beach in Ibiza and I had a moment of clarity where I realised that everything, just everything was perfect. Now those that know me well will tell you I can be a harsh critic. There is rarely anything that I can't find fault with. I guess I can be a bit negative... yet at this moment, on this particular day, there was absolutely nothing I could fault! A gentle breeze brushed against my skin, the sky was clear and a perfect azure blue, the sea calm, warm and inviting. From the beach hut the sound of the Pituises soothed my soul and for the first time in a long time, my mind was at rest. If there really was a button you could press to make time stand still, that was the moment I would have pressed it...

Sadly, I had to watch as the sun set on that day and in time I had to return to this place called 'home'... Along with two tops and a pair of shorts, I left my heart behind, safe in the knowledge I would return. Never has a homecoming been so hard...

...big brother bother.

Well its all over and so I thought i'd add my 'ten penneth' worth...not as good as last year, Richard should have won, Pete was a worthy winner too though, and who was voting for Aishleen?

So there you go....

Actually, it got me thinking. I really did think that Richard was the best and yet looking at the percentages in 'new Heat' magazine it seems I was very much in the minority. Also reading other blogs and listening to commentators on the TV, Richard just didn't appear to be liked very much. Question is, what does that say about me? (I can hear my friends laughing right now as they probably think I bring everything back to me!) What I mean is, to like him, does that mean i'm like him? Are my values similar and therefore am I out of step with the rest of the population? Well the answer is yes. I already know I think differently to most people and i'm just arrogant enough not to be bothered. I actually like it that way! As the saying goes, 'its everyone else that has the problem, not me!' - Makes for a lonely life though...oh dear, i can hear the violins starting up. Time to sign off.

...is that Autumn i can smell??

Is anyone else thinking about the winter, or is it just me? We had a fabulous July, with loads of dry, warm and sunny days, yet here we are in August and it feels more like October. The chill breeze we've been having has reminded me we're on the slippery slope to yet another British winter. On the train this morning I was looking out of the window and imagining myself sitting there in my big winter coat, umbrella in hand, looking at the January frost on the trees. Brrr!

Question is, what will I do about it? Probably just moan... I would love to not be in England during the winter, yet, despite dreaming, I have been unable to come up with a viable plan to not be! Sure, I'll be into the second year of my Spanish course, which I guess is me trying to make the dream more of a reality - i'm hoping i'll wake up one day and realise I can speak Spanish, pack a bag and go - but I think i'm going to have to wake up and realise that yet another dreary British winter is all that's on the cards for me...

I'm off home shortly - was on the early shift today. Looks like it might rain. Did I mention how dismal British summers are too...?

...time to make a stand.

The BBC has recently caused a great deal of hurt to the gay community by supporting the use of the word 'gay' to mean 'lame' or 'rubbish'. The BBC considers that because the word is used 'on the street' in this way, then its use is justified as they are merely reflecting the language used by their viewers and listeners. I consider this an outrage.

I would expect to hear uncomfortable language in a drama or documentary that was attempting to accurately portray life in Britain. As an adult I want the BBC to tell me the truth and not 'sugar-coat' life or culture that I am not familiar with. However, the original complaint was made to the BBC over the use of the word in a wholly inappropriate context and I am dismayed that the BBC considers it appropriate.

www.rainbownetwork.co.uk is currently publicising a petition to pressurise the BBC to change its guidelines on the use of this word. I would urge anyone who agrees that the guidelines should be tightened to sign this petition.

To access the petition directly go here...

...absence makes the heart grow fonder (or is it stronger?)

If anyone has read this blog from day one then they'll know I predicted it would last about five minutes...and my prediction was pretty accurate! I am from the 3min generation after all! That said I do kinda believe in this whole blog thing. It's quite therapeutic really, given that I suffer from 'pent-up opinions' - There's a need there for me to express them, but as i'm not an 'in-your-face' kind of bloke, this way is ideal!

So what have I been up to and what's on my mind? We'll in brief, I've been away on training courses and had a nice holiday in the best place in the world - Ibiza - which is always entertaining! I did almost miss the flight home and decided in the taxi that if I were to miss it, it would be fate and I would stay...I got there with five mins to spare...

I don't want to lose Richard, Pete or Spiral from Big Brother tonight so please do not vote for Susie and Imogen!!!!! Poor Spiral, he was so upset to be nominated - I want to adopt him ;-)

Oo! The mobile phone saga has developed! - I've taken on a new contract with O2 and received a Samsung E900 phone. I have agonised for months over what phone to get. Basically there is not one out of the dozens available that ticks all my boxes!!! crazy! The Samsung on balance ticked the most but is still a disappointment. I once had a Motorola and I could set a different Text Message tone for each of my contacts. I then 'Upgraded' to a Nokia and found to my dismay that I could only set one message tone! This could still be anything though, including downloads. I now have this Samsung and again to my dismay have discovered that you can only have one message tone again, and it has to be one of the 10 naff tones installed on the phone!!! You can't even download your own!!!!!! For heavens sake! Every 'upgrade' I have is worse than the one before - what are the phone manufacturers playing at? If it wasn't for my desire to have an integrated 2 megapixel camera with flash (rather than carry one around in addition to carrying my phone) i'd go back to my old Motorola tomorrow!

...quick toilet update

Gourmet Burger Bar, Brindleyplace, Birmingham - While the gents toilets are small and not very appealing, the lock on the cubicle door was working and there was Boots liquid soap for handwashing. :-)

Titash - Contemporary Indian Restaurant, Rugby. - As well as serving excellent food excellently, the toilets were clean, pleasant and had fully functioning locks! - Highly recommended!

...another waste of time.

Don’t get me started on the weather. A recent test match in London between England and Sri Lanka was delayed due to rain. When play started later in the morning, the commentator announced that no further rain was forecast for the rest of the day. 2hrs later, rain stopped play. Last night I watched the weather forecast and looked forward to a dry, sunny and warm day. Instead I walked to work in the rain…Why, why, oh why in this age of the micro-chip and self flushing toilet is it not possible to accurately predict the weather a couple hours ahead? I’m not looking for a forecast for Christmas, I just want to know what the weather is doing tomorrow…If there is anyone reading this who lives in Dubin, could you leave a comment each morning detailing your current weather conditions. I’m sure this will be a more reliable way of predicting the weather for the day ahead!

….i’m probably super sensitive as I’ve just come back from a nice dry, warm week in sunny Spain…

what's on my mind...

Big Brother 7, Doctor Who battling with the Cybermen and Eurovision in one week! Can I cope? Well, yes actually, but blimey what a week! Much fun was had last night hurling incredibly cutting remarks at the Big Brother housemates as they were revealed one by one! Its amazing how we continue to fall for these formulaic shows - I mean, in reality (pardon the pun!) this year will be exactly the same as last year and the year before etc... all thats changed is the names, the wallpaper and diary room chair! But we loved last year and the year before etc, so were bound to love it again this year!!!

I'm hoping the conclusion to Doctor Who is better than part one which was sleep inducing!!!

Then its Eurovision! Such a scream! But I have to say, i do take it a bit seriously too - many countries see it as a bit of fun and their act's often reflect that, but some of them take it very seriously and as a result there are always a handful of good pop songs performed by talented people. I like to think I have a bit of respect for it therefore and trying to spot the talent amongst the panto is all part of the enjoyment!

Update - car industry woes...

Vauxhall (GM) have confirmed 900 job losses at Ellesmere Port. Comments from the management also convey ongoing concern about the long term viability of the plant - i.e. 'the need for further productivity improvements' - I hate being right about this...

whatever happened to 24hr drinking?

As Max Bygraves used to say on that factual documentary series conveying interesting facts about the British, 'Family Fortunes' - 'I want to tell you a story' ;-) I was in the Mailbox last night (for our international viewers, the Mailbox is an exciting mixed-use development consisting of shops, bars, hotels, offices etc...) with a couple of dear, dear friends looking for a relaxing sunday evening drink. Unfortunately we seemed to have gone to the wrong place. We arrived at 'Penny Black's', bought a drink and got comfy, yet within minutes the main doors had been pinned open, i'd got goose pimples and our conversation was being drowned out by the dragging of patio furniture in from the canalside. The time? 10pm.... At quarter past we downed our drinks and decided to move on. We headed to Bar Epernay as the rumor was it was open till 1am. Sadly this was not the case - 10:30pm to be precise... 'No worries' i said, 'we've still got ten mins till the bar closes and half an hour before they kick us out'. Plus they weren't dragging furniture around... Approaching the bar, the solitary barman looked at me and said 'sorry lads, we've closed the bar' (as he continued pulling a pint for another chap at the bar...also one of our party was female...) 'It's not 10:30 yet' I retorted (this is getting more exciting than a Jackie Collins!) 'Sorry, we've closed the bar...' he replied with a look that could easily have been fatal. Believe me I was close to combustion. Britain's biggest city with international aspirations and Tony Blair's controversial licensing reforms and here I am, aimlessly wandering the streets looking for somewhere that will serve me half a lager at 10:20 on a Sunday... Absolutely, bloody ridiculous!!! - And the Daily Mail was predicting a social meltdown with us all sat in bars 24/7 - yeah, right, chance would be a fine thing. Finally we gave in and headed to 'Liquid Fusion' at Zinc. Sure they were open and I got my drink, but the idea was to have a couple of relaxing beers and a chat discussing weekend happenings, rather than 'going clubbing'. But no, this is Britain, a country that clings to the past like a man to a cliff who earlier in the day was going to commit suicide but later changed his mind.... pretty much a daily occurrence for me. ;-) My days in the UK become more numbered by the minute... Cheers!

y'cant stop progress!

As 'Bill the Battler' said in that well known factual Australian documentary 'Muriel's Wedding' -you can't stop progress... ;-) And looking today at Birmingham's much loved Rotunda building, that's certainly true. Anyone who's lived in the shadow of that building and come to identify with it, cannot fail to be very slightly emotionally distressed at its current state. It's quite bizarre that despite being grade 2 listed, you can still strip a building back to its concrete core...what does listing actually mean if you can remove the majority of its fabric, change its use, and give it a completely new identity? The Rotunda that will re-emerge a year or so from now will essentially be a completely new building. I hope the designers, Urban Splash, do not let us down...

...the car industry and the British economic model.

You'll probably detect a slightly downbeat mood to this blog, which is to be expected. I'm a bit of a cynic and started this as an outlet for my frustrations with the way this world functions. One of these frustrations is mis-information and the way we are often only given 'half the story' - spoken to as though we are school children rather than adults. Where is this going? Well, i've read today that GM is looking to axe a thousand jobs from its Ellesmere Port plant on Merseyside. This is a third of the workforce. To cut a long story short, this is the beginning of the end for this plant. Although GM has made no such announcement, we know they are looking to axe 12,000 jobs in Europe and this will include plant closures. Peugeot has closed Ryton in Coventry using exactly the same approach - a slow wind-down. The reality is that Ellesmere, like Ryton for Peugeot, is a small satellite operation for GM. It has bigger plants employing far more people in Germany and Belgium and it makes perfect business sense to consolidate production there. So what is going wrong for the British car industry? I think we (or should I say successive Governments) decided to turn our\their backs on the car industry nearly 30 years ago. We were told that decline was 'inevitable' and that manufacturing could not compete with the 'cheap labour' economies of the new world. This argument was then used to change employment legislation in the UK to allow for lower wages and greater flexibility (i.e. the ability for employers to change your job or sack you with a moments notice). Again we were told this would ultimately safeguard jobs and attract new industries scared of setting up in 'high cost' Europe. For a while this seemed to be true. Indigenous car companies across Europe were struggling and our own continued to decline. Yet, at the same time, we were attracting Japanese car companies to open new plants here. The plan appeared to be working. However, at the same time governments in Europe (especially in France) continued to support their own car companies, providing much needed investment. Employment legislation too continued to offer greater protection than in the UK. If we fast forward to 2006 its clear we've been hood-winked.

Today 'high cost' Germany and France produce approx 6 and 3.5 million cars a year respectively, compared to a deteriorating 1.8 million in the UK and workers there enjoy greater employment protection and healthcare. I was shocked to learn that Spain makes more cars than we do at approx 3 million. Our high cost neighbours are home to four of the world's biggest, strongest and most profitable companies - Renault, PSA (Peugeot/Citroen), Volkswagen and BMW. So much for 'inevitable decline' eh? and the need to free up the labour market. After an initial surge thanks to the Japanese, expansion in Britain ground to a halt. We've allowed our indigenous car company to die (once the biggest in the world) and we are now nothing more than a satellite assembly location for several multinationals. Coupled with our weak labour laws, announcements like those at Ryton, Dagenham and Luton before and Ellesmere port to come, are - dare I say it - 'inevitable'.

I don't believe our car industries decline was inevitable 25-30 years ago, but today it is a fact. We were fed a line back then. Government's of both colour struggled with the trade unions and the car industry became public enemy no.1. In another 30 years there will be little or no car production in the UK. Have a nice day ;-)

...what a difference a lunch makes!

You know how I said nothing was happening in the world? Well a: I didn't mean it literally, obviously! and b: well i've just had lunch and read my paper to find that the HP sauce factory here in Birmingham is to close! This is the end of yet another era for Birmingham. HP has been synonymous with the city for over a century and its factory a landmark on the M6 approach. HP sauce was bought by Heinz last year and from now on it will be made in a factory in Holland. After the loss of MG Rover and now HP, let's hope Cadbury isn't the next to go!

...midweek status report.

It's a quiet week isn't it? I feel like nothing is happening in the world or in my life. Truth is though I'm still not 100% after my party weekend and have had a couple of early nights to compensate - not sure its working though. Tonight is the start of another weekend though so I have to pretend I'm fine. (Yes, i'm one of those modern city folk who thinks the weekend starts on a wednesday!) Spanish lesson first, that kicks it all off (haven't done my homework, again!) and what do you do when the lesson finishes? why go to the pub of course! We've been doing a bit of a 'crawl' thing recently, trying to have one in all those bars we've been promising ourselves we'll have one in one day! The night ended with us disturbing two 'hoodies' trying to steal a car at my local station...my car is parked there today so i'll let you all know tomorrow if its in one piece when I return!

If I was to make a social comment, it would be how these lads had an audience yet no one intervened. Sensible yes given that they may have been armed, but at the same time giving out all the wrong signals to these would-be crooks - do what you like and no one will try and stop you...Hmmmm....

what happened to the weekend?

Sometimes you can have too much fun. I've not stopped since i left work on friday and today i'm paying for it! My head is pounding and my eyes are sore...early night tonight for sure. As a result i have no idea what has happened in the world, all my angst about not knowing the results of the local elections has disappeared (thanks to Chig for filling me in!) - i'm quite looking forward to reading my paper this lunchtime to re-engage! All have picked up on is that the Labour party is about to comit political sucide by turning on itself - rest assured chaps, the british public will punish you dearly...

Global issues aside, a special mention to Chig who's 40th Birthday formed part of my blur of a weekend! - Check out his Blog http://chig.blogspot.com A good night was had by all and I especially enjoyed the Eurovision Karaoke!! - Shame I didn't get to enjoy the yorkshire bricklayer, but hey, you can't have everything ;-)

...on the third day.

Well its the morning after the local elections and i'm still trying to ascertain what has happened here in Birmingham. The BBC have let me down again as although they have declared Birmingham as NOC (No Overall Control) they haven't said who won what. So much for their up-to-the-minute web site! The result here will be interesting, as the local media have been very critical of the Conservative/Lib Dem administration. However, nationally the Labour government is under attack which seems to have benefited the Conservatives. Did Brummies vote on national or local issues? I guess I'll just have to wait and see...

In other news - Its official, on average I send 184 text messages and use 50 mins of talktime a month! My peaks are 253 texts (last month!) and 110 minutes of chatter. As a result, Vodafone Anytime 125 or O2 Online 50 tariff's seem the most appropriate - T-Mobile and Orange are just too expensive - haven't looked properly at Virgin or 3 as yet.... Getting exciting now eh?!

SOAPBOX ...and another thing!

1. Why is the Birmingham Post's only food critic a vegetarian that doesn't eat desserts? I think the idea of a weekly vegetarian review is a great idea, but as a meat eating, dessert loving restaurant goer, I think the paper is failing the majority of its readers and the establishments concerned, by not having more comprehensive reviews. If they would like to offer me an expense account i'd be happy to offer my taste bud's own written opinions!

2. Why, when I go to the toilet in a bar or restaurant, are the locks always broken on the cubicle doors? I must live in my own little niaeve world...what goes on for them to get broken in the first place and why are they never repaired? Perhaps users would like to update me? Drugs bust? Raids by the 'No sex please we're Brtish' police? Everywhere I go seems to be the same and frankly i'm sick of it. I'm paying a fortune for the bloody drinks, i expect locks on the door, paper in the holder and hand driers that work!!!! Is it really too much to ask? Ever heard of hourly checks??!! Its not rocket science!!

Phew...that's better. Lovely day! :-)

Day Two...to vote or not to vote??

Its local election day today...a chance to 'possibly' change who runs this fair City...as only a third of the seats are ever up for grabs, a change of political colour in the council house is usually a gradual thing. We've had a Tory/Lib Dem coalition in charge after years of Labour dominance and I have to say they're doing a pretty piss poor job. So when it came to voting today it should have been easy, however, things are rarely that simple. The incumbent Conservative Councillor has visited my home, left a leaflet and has his name on every lamp post. This guy actually seems to want my vote! He cares! - But by voting for him, i'll be supporting the current administration which I don't want to do... The Labour hopeful has done nothing... no visit, no leaflet, no posters...i only found out his name this morning when looking at the ballot paper!!! - Clearly this guy doesn't care whether you vote for him or not, so why should I? - Because Labour are the only party capable of removing the current administration... Arrrrgggg! Lib Dem? Again the candidate has done nothing and a vote for him is again a vote for the current crowd, so that's a 'no brainer'. The only other options are BNP or Green...Hmmm Fascists or Communists? - Again a 'no brainer'. I could just not vote, but I try not to do that. Turnout for local elections is always low and low turnout allows extremist parties to get a foothold - back to the Fascists and Communists again... So guess what? The Labour man got my vote....and I hope he's bloody grateful too. Infact if he's reading this, leave a comment and I'll meet you down the local. There you can say 'thank you' with a big box of Cadbury's Milk Tray (I always believe in supporting local industries! - Don't get me started on Rover) Apologies to the Tory guy - I really appreciate your efforts but the bigger picture here is the future of my city.

..the day the blog began.

Downtime at work and you find yourself doing all sorts of crazy things. My mobile phone contract is up for renewal next month, so much of my time will be spent analysing my annual usage and looking for the nicest phone with the bestest tariff...you can tell this is going to be an interesting blog ;-) Come back soon for 'hot' updates on the search for the perfect package! (see I can put a bit of spin on even the most boring of subjects...)

And so the blog began...10:31am Wednesday the 3rd of May 2006. How long will I be able to keep this up? I give it a week....