Am I turning into a grumpy old man?

When I was a kid, I'd hear my father moan and groan about this and that, about the youth of the day, of the price of things in the shops, of the rudeness of shop staff, of...well pretty much everything really. I swore to myself back then, that no matter what I did in life, I would not be like him when I grew up, that I wouldn't moan and complain about anything and everything. I promised myself then, that I wouldn't be a grumpy old man when I was his age!

Funny how things change, when I was a teenager at school, I promised myself that I'd be a radio DJ, or that I'd travel round the world or that I'd be a published writer. Well, now, two years away from being 40, I can say that I've archived all three of those ambitions. Yes, I've produced and presented radio shows, I'm written features and fiction for various publications and I've travelled round the world twice. But, I've done something else as well, something I didn't want to happen has. I wasn't awear of it starting or creeping up on me, it's like it's only just slipped round the 'S' bend and bite me on the arse. I've become a grumpy old man! Or at least I'm on the way to becoming one, a thought that is both annoying and frightening!

I was walking down St James Street today and found myself grumbling to myself about a small group of teenagers, who were being loud and blocking the path, indeed they weren't doing anything other than being young, yet grumble, albeit to myself, I did.

The second realisation that I was on the theoretical road to attaining the grumpy old man title was the gripes, moans and complaints I had about a recent Tesco home delivery. I even drafted an email to the customer services department of the said supermarket to highlight all that was wrong with the service. Including the time of delivery, the squashed yogurt covers items, the fresh stuff that's already on it's use by date, the drivers swearing, indeed everything you could possible think of as the pitfalls of grocery home delivery were true and having to fork out £6 extra for it, really pissed me off. So, I spent an hour drafting a letter of complaint, well OK, and email of complaint if you want to be pedantic. Surely this is the act of a true grumpy old man, I'm sure you'll agree. So what can I do about it? How can I prevent myself from being like my father or is it pre-ordained, is it in the stars, is it just what's supposed to happen? Is that why I find myself watching the news on TV and thank whatever god there may or may not be that I don't have a child of my own, after all it's hard enough to watch the news let alone explain it to a child!

And whilst we're on the subject of being disgruntled, another thing that really has me angry at the moment is the fact that 5 weeks on and the Police still haven't caught the killer of Rhys Jones, the little 11 year old lad shot and killed on his way back from playing football in Liverpool. The killer, his family, his friends have not come forward and thus, out there right now, there is someone who knows who did it! Hopefully the police are a step closer to finding the perpetrator of this heartless crime tonight, there was a reconstruction along with CCTV footage of the young lad in black on the bike that they believe killed Rhys on Crimewatch tonight along , which may prick some consciouses! Rhys would have been 12 tomorrow, no age at all, his family don't have the luxury of seeing him grow up into a grumpy old man!

!Megastar Jennifer Lopez has fuelled rumours that she is pregnant after showing up at several public events in baggy smock dresses. The star wore a particularly loose fitting frock when she visited a school in her hometown of the Bronx, New York, with her husband salsa star Marc Anthony, (is it just me, or does he sound like a gay stripper from the 80's) David, my work mate thought she looked up the duff when she appeared on Parkinson last week. The couple are promoting their upcoming tour which kicks off on Friday. Jenny is rumoured to be about 12 weeks pregnant after two years of trying fertility treatments, although Marc's publicist has categorically denied the couple are expecting. I guess time will tell, about 6 months worth of time!!

Rejection is a bitch, except when it saves your life! Simon Cowell unwittingly saved a girl's life when he said her voice sounded "weird" on TV show X Factor - she got it checked and doctors found a potentially fatal lung disease.

Jacqui Gray received a withering put down by Cowell on the British talent show after she sang for him. He told her, "Something weird happens in your throat when you sing." Jacqui went to a specialist, who found the condition in time. The wanna be singer was told "if I had not caught it in time it could have killed me" She said "I am just so glad that Simon said something, and that made me do something about it." This has got to be the first case ever of a reality show saving someones life by saying they weren't good enough!