Diana, film & sagger against the law?

Ok, it's been a few days since I was last here with a lil update, so let me just get on and do one, I've had a good long shift at work. It's been rather ok actually, we've amanged to have a bit of a giggle really. You know funny little things, that outside the context of the situation would seem stupid and silly, but in context, they cause much laughter and merriment. It's basically been one of those fun weeks, well if work can ever be FUN.

There's a guy that I see at work very briefly and I seem to have developed a little soft spot for him, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by my cohorts. I try to be as cool as King Cool of the cool people each time he comes down, but I end up being the most un-cool person on the floor, which inself has cause much of the laughter in the office! Oh well, such is life, well my life anyway.

Last night was the first night off and I managed to have a completely relaxing day, I basically dozed on the sofa for a little while and then watched trashy TV for most of the morning. Well actually, the morning turned ionto the afternoon and I was still watching telly, a right lazy sod I was, but you know there are some days you just need to chill and have a lil bit of 'Me' time!

Jake poped round and we watched a rather deep Spanish film called 'El Bola' that I got from 'Love Film' it's a haunting Spanish drama that tells the story of Pablo or Pellet (played wonderfully by Juan Jose Ballesta), a tough, hostile, abused 12-year-old whose life begins to open up when he's befriended by the new kid in school, and sees in his loving family an alternative to the cruelty he's become accustomed to. Jake and I have a little passion for foriegn language films, I'm not sure if it's the fact that you really have to concentrate a little harder when you watch them, or if it's usually the darkness or gritty realism, or what they makes me like them more. El Bola was actually a really good movie and hauntingly sad. While the end credits where rolling up the screen, tears were rolling down my very own screen. Jake gave me a hug and told me I was just beeing an over emmotional softie, but hey I cant help it, I always cry at sad movies and weddings.

I like Love Film, it's one of these online DVD rental stroes, you pay a monthly subscription and then you get to watch DVD's, they send them to you, you watch them, send them back, they send you another. There's over 60,000 DVD to see, which is a rather lot of telly watching if you ask me. Plus, there are loads of films on there that I guess you wouldn't find in your local 'Blockbuster' or whatever. Another thing I really like, is the simple fact that I don't prioritise the order they send me DVD's, so each time one of there little envelops arrive, I have no idea what's inside! OK, yes I know it's a DVD inside, but I don't have a clue what the film is going to be, it's like a little surprise, a little trip in the unknown, it could be good, it could be great or it could be a complete waste of time! What's that, simple things please simple minds? with that, argue, I can not!

Here's a little treat for you, click on the LoveFilm logo below and when you sign up you'll get one whole month free!

It's been 10 yeas since Diana, The Princess Of Wales, died in that car crash in Paris and in London Princes William and Harry held a special service at Guards Chapel. Harry gave a moving speech about his mother, how she ws a fun loving person, ful of many gifts who made them and millions of other people very happy. She was an icon of our time, a true global celebrity, even 10 years since her passing, she is still remembered with fondness, love and respect. Missed? Of course she is missed, not only by her two son's but also but the countless others whose hearts she touched with her charitible work, he kindness, her smile, her warmth.

Apparently sagging is to become illegal in the US, well actually not all over the states, just in Atlanta. But where one state makes a stand, the others usually follow.

But what's sagging, well, it's more something that happens over that side of the pond, we do have it here in England, but not to such an extent, perhaps our climate has something to do with that, or it could be the price of clothes that prevent Sagging being a wide spread problem.

OK, so sagging is the wearing of baggy trousers, usually jeans, that hang way below the belt and expose what the wearer has on underneath could soon be banned in the southern US city of Atlanta, a city council spokesman said last Friday. "Many youngsters are walking around with their pants (trousers to us Brits!) way, way below their waists, and you can see everything. Some people call it a fad or a fashion statement but it is simple indecency," Dexter Chambers, the communications director at Atlanta City Council, told the media. "A proposal to change the city code in terms of indecency will go before the public safety legal administrative committee on Tuesday for discussion," he said. This pic left is Joe from Chicago, with a little sag!

Apparently there have been many complaints to various council men, teachers and the like about this fad of wearing low hanging/saggy pants which exposes ones underwear is becoming a major concern for communities, cities and states around the country! The officials are trying to add a clause to the code on public morals, this already bans real or simulated sexual intercourse, indecent exposure, or the touching, caressing or fondling of genitals or women's breasts in public. So now they are trying to make "the indecent exposure of undergarments" unlawful.

But, Atlanta is not the first to have this kind of law, nope, saggers or baggy trousers are already banned in the southern US city of Delcambre, in Louisiana, where offenders' cheek (hehe) can earn them a fine of $500 or up to six months in jail. That's a high price for low jeans!

Where is the heart?

There are times when I am proud to call myself British, proud of my country, yet there are other times when I am not, times when it's hard to have faith in the 'goodness' of being British. I have that feeling now, over the mindless shooting of that little 11 year old Rhys Jones, in Liverpool on Wednesday. This young lad had been playing football in the park and was walking home with a couple of other lads, when along came a teenager on a bike who fired three shots, 1 hit a car, 1 missed everything and 1 hit little Rhys in the neck, ensuring his parents would never celebrate his twelve birthday.

His parents gave such a heartfelt appeal on television for information to help catch his killer, they told of their huge loss, a loss that one can not comprehend. They said their football mad son, was their pride and joy, a good guy, a smiley happy lad. I had tears stinging my eyes as I watched as his father told of his pain going into his sons room and seeing the brand new school uniform hanging up, never been worn, the unopened books, pens and pencils, the new shorts and kit ready for a new term at a new school that his son has never got to wear, along with those new shoes and new trainers. My eyes still sting with salty tears even now as I type this, he was just a boy, just 11 years old, a whole life ahead of him, a life full of promise, a life cruelly snuffed out by this gunman's bullet. I say gunman, that's not strictly true, the description of the person who cycled up and fired those three shots is said to be a lad between 13 and 16.

I'm not ashamed to be British by the fact that Rhys was shot and killed on the streets of my country, as vile, horrendous and devastating as this crime is, it can happen, it's so rare in the country but it can happen. Its not the valiant attempts by the medical professionals who battled for an hour and a half to revive the small boy that shake my faith in being British. Nor is it the actions of the police, whose numerous appeals for information have been screen almost hourly on TV. The thing that shames me is the wall of silence that has followed from the community, the community where the killer comes from, the community that knows who did it, that knows who fired the shot that ended this youngsters life!

Another thing that has attracted my eye today is the strange appearance of Gerry McCann, father of the missing toddler, Madeleine in Edinburgh. He wasn't there for a break, he wasn't there to see the sights, he wasn't there because of a sighting of his little girl. No, he was there to give a speech at The International Media Festival! He complained that the media coverage of his daughters disappearance was becoming intrusive, irresponsible reporting and not a lot of good. This is the coverage he and his wife courted, requested and in a lot of cases arranged. He and his wives TV and Media agents, yes they do have them, have gone out of their way to achieve publicity. Hypocrisy on a grand scale me thinks, mind you, right from the start I think they've handled the whole thing badly. But perhaps, the McCann's now want to stop the media coverage because the media is starting question and critics them?

A teenage geek is causing a few red faces and worried frowns at electronics giant Apple! George Hotz, a 17 year old American nerd, has unlocked Apple's iPhone and used it on T-Mobile, a rival network to its sole US operator, AT&T. The teen hacker says the unlocking takes about two hours and involves some soldering and skill with software. "Some of my friends think I wasted my summer but I think it was worth it" the teenager said to the media after he revealed his achievements on his blog over in the States. Hackers and security researchers have been poring over Apple's much-coveted, much in demand phone since its launch in the US in June in an effort to discover vulnerabilities in the handset. Top of their list has been cracking the code that ties the phone to AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive network. And now a 17 year old lad has done just that, his claims have been confirmed by the press association. AT&T and Apple have not yet commented on the news!

It's been Gay Pride up in Manchester today, and loads of poofs and lesbians have been enjoying the day, amoung them my friend Jakey. He said it was just like Brighon's pride earlier this month only not in a park and not as good. The police lead the parade, just like in Brighton and it was a good day apparently, according to the rather odd texts I've recieved from the younger man. His spelling is getting worse by the text, which may very well be as his intoxication increases! Have fun Jake!

So, it appears that Big Brother is on the way out! I'm oddly proud of the fact that I have not watched a complete single episode of this current series, I don't know anyone who has been a regular viewer of this once popular show. But it appears that it's coming to an end, well OK, maybe it's just the star's version of the show. The 2008 series of Celebrity Big Brother is being axed in the wake of the race row which engulfed the shows last run, Channel 4 has confirmed. A decision about a return for the reality show in 2009 is expected to be made next year, but according to some people at the production company Endemol, it's unlikely to come back in it's present form, the same may very well be applied to the 'non' celebrity version of the show. Still those at Endemol are not that concerned, they've got the contract until 2010, so they'll get paid regardless, if it's on or not!

Thta's ya lot for today, more soon, but just before I go, I want to say thanks to Tom for the comments, you're a font of knowledge! Always good to get your comments!

At last a paddle!

Ever had a day where everything goes wrong, where nothing is easy and you feel like giving up? Yeah I am sure you have, we all have days like that, day's when you wish you'd never opened up your bleary eyes, swung your legs out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. This is dedicated to days when things go wrong and you're heading up shit creek without a paddle, because as the following photo proves, you do now have a paddle, at least you can get one. So chill, it's not that bad, there is hope!

As a veggie, I'm always keen on keeping an eye out for new products and recipes to make my diet as a committed vegetarian more exciting. However I did have a little chuckle and wonder what possed the makes of the V Pud to make such a thing when I saw this in the local grocery emporium! It's a vegetarian version of Black Pudding!! OK, so I guess some of you may not know what a traditional English Black Pudding is, and no, it's not some dark chocolate sweet for afters. It is in actual fact a delicacy? made up of fat, lard, onions and ermm blood! Yeah, it's an animal blood pudding, with the main ingredient being the fresh blood of either a pig, sheep or cow. So a vegetarian version of this is shall we say a little on the strange side of things. So strange that I'm going to try it out, I'll let you know what my non blood blood pudding tastes like after I've sampled it, although I can honestly say the mere idea of noshing it down is not filling me with joy!

The V Pud!

A vegetarian black pudding!

OK, so the V pud, is actually kinda nice, looks a bot odd, taste nice though, I'll have to have more of it for a recovery fry-up breakfast after my next big boozy session, it's the perfect fried thing to fill you up after a massive session on the beverages or those alcohol variety!

It's been a long hard shift of four at work, really difficult to copy with, but hey it's over now and thank fuck for that! I've had a very do nothing kind of day today, which has been nice and relaxing. I'm going to go cycling tomorrow, if the weather is agreeable. It's about time I got back on the bike and god knows my bad leg needs a work out. It's a bit sore and stiff just lately and it's also a lil bit swollen around the knee, so I think a work out is in order. It'll either make it better or it will give me reason to go to the doc's and fix up the next op!

I've just watched England play Germany in a friendly European footie game. I know, how butch, how manly and straight, but hey, one cant be a mincy poof all the time! It was good, except, England lost 2 - 1, still my fav player lil Alana Smith was playing, which I enjoyed. Sadly he's not got his trademark dyed blonde hair at the mo, just his natural dark colour, but, he;s still a hottie and still a good player. I sunk a few cans of beer whilst watching the match, god I feel so straight!

Apart from the ride tomorrow, I've not got anything major planned, just Jake coming around for a bit of nosh and to do his washing, however to be honest, I think after nosh, we'll head out and have a bit of a booze up! I think I need it! David is down in Wales to see his mummy, the other David is so wrapped in his boyfie I don't think he'll ever come out to play!

It's a shame it's coming up for winter, OK, so it's still August, but with the weather recently you'd never know it, all rain, doom and gloom. I could so do with some more sun, in fact a lot more sun. I'd love to be living some place hot and sunny, where the weather is a lot kinder to me and far more beneficial to my health. Perhaps I should do what record number of Brits are doing and that's moving overseas! Yeah, more and more Brits are now leaving the country to live in places like Australia, New Zealand, Spain or even America! They are blaming many things, but towards the top of the list are weather, tax, employment, crime, immigration. Indeed, there are times that it does not feel like England any more, I'll give you a couple of examples, England's most common family names? Patel & Singh. England's most popular dish? Curry & korma There are shops in my hometown of Brighton where all the products are Polish, all the signs are in Polish and the only language spoken is, yep you got it Polish! In fact in this town, according to local research, over 80 % hotel employees come from Poland and other Eastern European countries. England, our once great nation, our once world leader is now fast becoming a cesspit of Europe, there are some many people from other countries here that you can walk from one end of town to the other and see only two or three real Brits!

Maybe that is the sign of things to come, we will no longer be a single country, just an island outpost of central Europe. Perhaps we are less European than those on the mainland, but will that last for long? Hope long before we have to have the Euro? How long with we stay British and not be Europeans, but more so, is there and pride left in being British?

Fry just a little japs and too much Cotton!

I've had a lazy day, full of well, very little actually, I got up late for no other reason that I could, took a brief walk outside, looked at the sea and the prom as I have done every day of these four off. I just love living by the sea, no matter how I'm feeling, one look at the sea coming to kiss the shore, relaxes me and dare I say without sounding like a pompous twat, enchants me! So thus enchanted, I got on an bus and went to see my brother over in the less enchanting, Portslade. My brother is hosting students from the EF language school, so these days he's always got at least one foreign student in the house. At the moment, he's got a young Japanese boy called Dieki, who is a very quiet and polite young man. What struck me about this visitor to our shores from a land far far away is how pretty he was, if a boy can be pretty this young student was, at least before he put on his milk bottle thick glasses! Such a sweet and gentle face, never before have I ever felt or thought of an oriental chap as attractive, but little Dieki, is, sweet and attractive, skinny as a string bean, like a twig, but sweet all the same. Shame his English is not good at the moment, however, I sure I could give him a lesson or two, but sadly he's young, just a mere 20, far too young for me I fear!

After taking a walk and a bus back from my brother's I wondered through the TV channels as one does when one has time without demands, and happened upon the start of a programme on BBC4 entitled 'Stephen Fry - 50 not out" all about Stephen Fry. Now, I'd bet you'd never had got that from the title, I've I hadn't have let the cat out of the bag! I like Mr Fry, I think he's amazingly talented, yet it was only the show tonight, or rather last night as I write this, that made me stop and think for just how long I've enjoyed his performance, his entertainment, his well, being. For example, I'd not really remembered that as a schoolboy I'd enjoyed the show 'A bit of Fry and Laurie' or a little afterwards 'Jeeves & Wooster' which I've enjoyed a second time thanks to the re-runs on UK Gold. Or even the wonderful films such as 'Peter's Friends' and the, enchanting, yes that word again, enchanting 'Wilde' that's the one about Oscar Wilde of course, mind you it probably goes without saying that I'd enjoy that movie, me being a poof and all. Anyway, it was a great bit of TV on the Beeb, a trip down memory lane, a complete potted career history of what is a wonderful man. I mean, during the show, there was various friends of his, such as Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie and so on saying wonderful things about him, included among that collection of stars was HRH Prince Charles!

Anyway, after that programme finished, I felt compelled, nee desired to say thank you, now I very seldom do this, in fact I cant really remember a time when I have done this, but, without the fear of sounding again right nob head, I wrote him what can only truthfully be describe as a fan letter! OK, so it started off as a simple 'thank you' note for the years of entertainment he has given me, but after reviewing it, it's pretty much a fan letter. In fact yes it's a big fan, but I'm not ashamed of the fact that at my age I'm sending the odd fan letter! I mean, in these days when it's so easy to get criticised and put down, how nice is it it get a compliment and also, surely it's polite to thank someone when they've done you a good turn? In Stephen Fry's case, he's entertained me many many many times, he is what that business they call show is all about! So thank you from the bottom of my bottom Mr Fry!

X Factor, the TV talent show headed up my Angus' neighbours son, Simon Cowell makes it's fourth return visit to out telly screens this weekend, and already it's hitting the headlines! OK, so we are all awear of the Luise Walsh sacking and then re-instalment story which has gone on in the tabloid newspapers for the last few months. I for one think that was just a pre-show publicity stunt, to keep the show in the headlines and talked about while it was off air, but maybe I'm a cynic! This TV talent show is also in the news today because it's been suggested that the true queen of pop will make a one-off appearance on the prog, yes, Kylie is going to be on! Well her sis Dannii is on the judging panel and we all know the Minogues are a close family. There has also been claims that they 'staged; some of the shots about Louis coming back, but rather than this being and expose by the British Press, the show producers said it when they were doing the press launch, something about being upfront on the current media speculation of fake TV that has dogged other shows! Well done X Factor I say.

I don't know if you've managed to catch 'That Antony Cotton Show' on tea time telly with ermm Antony Cotton? Well, I know I'd say it was going to be a giggle, well sadly it's not quite hitting the spot, indeed it;s a bit of a damp mess. They've got this silly DJ person on it, which neither fits and is not funny, it's format is a pretty standard one and could work, but the show needs to move faster, have less of a studio audience and little Antony, who is a really nice guy, needs to stop trying too hard. It's like he's trying to be a master showman, when really what we want is a down to earth camp lad that he is when he;s on Corrie and what he was like in Queer As Folk, "Australian - very nice!" So Ant, please don't try too hard, relax a little and be yourself, after all it's you being you that we've tuned in to so, not you taking on the part of some TV presenter showman, oh and also drop the singing bit, unless you make it a gag and funny.

That is ya lot for today, I need to go to be pretty soon, but remember, what ever happened today, it will be tomorrows yesterday and we all know that's the past and we should live for today!

A level, Elvis & social networking!

Congratulations to all those in England who got their A level results today, apparently it's been the best year ever with as many as 1 on 4 getting top marks, one of those 1's was my mate Jake! So well done Jakey baby, only the degree to work on now! I've always believed in the positive power of education, even if perhaps I don't excel at it, I can clearly see the benefits of proper education, after all knowledge is key, unless you happen to work for the same company that I do! Oops, I've promised not to mention work haven't I? Oh well!

It's 30 years since Elvis died, to make the occasion there has been a mass vigil at Gracelands with thousands of fans passing by 'The King's'' gravestone (complete with the miss spelt name!) Over here there has been various Elvis impersonators doing their thing up and down the country, one of which was a mass performance on BBC's the One show on BBC1, which I have to say was very good. Imagine if you will, 50 Elvis impersonators all dressed up and all singing the same song in their very best Elvis voices! Now that's entertainment I'm happy to pay my licence fee for!!

Hardly a week goes by these days without me getting an automated email informing me that I have a friend who wants to add me to their list of people classed as a 'friend' on various social networking sites. It seems we are being bombarded and persuaded to become more social on the net than were ever are in the flesh. I've been invited to join various friends on, Bebo, Myspace, Facebook, Faceparty, Ziopia, Fitlads and various other social networking groups and sites. OK, so I've joined a couple of them and have a growing list of 'Internet' friends - people who I've only ever met online, after all we live in a digital technological world. What's worrying about this trend to be social on line is twofold, firstly, all that personal information that is now places out there in the open of webspace, which is not always a good thing. And secondly, are we encouraging a more solitary life for the next generation, are we becoming a less social bread of humans, who are happy to socialise on the internet and less likely to socialise outside, in the real world.

I find it so hard to actually keep track of all the friends I've got on my Bebo, Myspace, Faceparty, Fitlads and other social networking sites, I mean can you really have a meaningful friendship with person number 75 on your friendship list. Maybe you can exchange an email or onsite instant message or three, but does that really count as friendship, I mean you can't borrow a tenner from them the week before payday can you! And what about the person that is number 184 on your Mysapce or Bebo or whichever social networking site you favor, do you know anything about them really? I doubt it, well, OK, perhaps that should be do you know anything about them that's not on their profile, which would be more correct. I have lots of 'Internet friends' on the various networking sites I subscribe to, yet only two of them bothered to wish me a happy birthday the other week, so is this growing list of people my friends, or just people I know (albeit not very well) or just really a collection of people, whose public face and persona I quite like and vice versa? I think it's probably the later, but perhaps it's still an ego boost when someone invites you to be their friend or asks for your friendship, OK so it's only online, and they have absolutely no interest in meeting you in the real world, but still, they wanna be your friend and that's always nice. So to all my Myspace, Bebo, Faceparty friends, I say hello, and ain't it about time you sent me a message!!!

There is also another danger of this type of networking, you just never know whose going to be reading what you put on your profile or page. Take for example the case of the house that was wrecked after the girl had a party, it was advertised on myspace, gatecrashed by thousands and left the girls parents picking up a bill for £20k to clear up and repair the once smart family home! Or the students from a certain university, who have been well and truly told off by the university faculty after they places photos of their social actives on Facebook. Or, perhaps it's a job or promotion your looking for, well maybe in that case it's better to leave your profile blank. A growing number of companies are doing online searches on perspective employees or those seeking promotion, for their suitability. Indeed there are companies out there (OK at the moment mainly in America) that specialise in online searches for companies looking in on staff's personal lives and potential employees suitability. Remember, what goes online, can be read, digested and spat out by virtually anyone. For example, when I started doing my blog, I never expected it to be read by people in Iran and Jordan for example, but it is! I never expected to have it inwardly digested by a regular reader from Vancouver, but every now and then I get emails from her (Yes it's a girl) making sure I'm OK, and asking for definitions on certain English words like, totty and strumpet! So what you put on your social networking site could and can be used against you, but what should you do, what should go up there? Well, someone once advised me that you should never put anything online that you would be embarrassed about saying in front of your mother! (If I'd taken that advice, then perhaps a quarter of this blog would never have been published!!)

Right, that's ya lot for now, more before the weeks out!

You cant give it away!

The sun is shining down on Brighton this afternoon, unlike yesterday when it was tipping it down, there was even some thunder, great August weather - not! I'm on my four days off after a long and strange night shift, I have no plans this time off so I'm just gonna completely veg out, this is like me time. I'm just tottling along I guess, although right now, I'm having a mini mid life crisis! I feel I'm just wasting away my time, I know there is more to life and more I should be doing, although I'm not completely sure what it is I should be up to. I think perhaps it's about time I should be doing some writing, not like the blog, but propper story, fiction type writing, I love doing it, I love the whole creative aspect, it suits my solitary notions, it fills me with joy, I just don't seem to have enough time for it, which is a bit of a problem.

I've had a load of thoughts and creative kinda dreams just lately, you know ideas for stories, dittys, and even a play and a couple of screenplay ideas for telly. I really have no clue, how to go about that whole thing, but I know that I'm happiest when I'm writing. (Ok, I'm probably happiest when I'm having good sex, but you know what I mean!) So, I need to earn some decent money, so I can give up work for a while and set about finishing that novel and plotting that screenplay and let those creative juices flow.

The UK football season is now underway, and OK, so I'm a poof and I'm not what you would call a hardened footy fan, I still do have an interesting in the sport. Yeah, I know, it probably has something to do with 11 fit guys running around in shorts and getting all hot, sweaty and muddy more than this game itself, but hey, what do ya expect from a lil poofy lad like me? This year I've even surprised myself, I've loaded in a coupkle of teams in the fantasy football league game - http://www.dreamteamfc.com/ I've had to pick a couple of teams, from their list of players and we'll see how I do at the end of the season. I'f you're interested, I'll update you on my progress throughout the season, the top prize is a couple of hundred thousand pounds and a few other prized along the way, so you never know, I could be giving up work and becoming a writer on the back of such a macho sport as football. Mind you, I havn't really picked my players because of their football ability, I've gone for guys I like the look of, which probably isn't the way to win the competition, but hey how, at least my way was more fun!

Plus it give's me just a little excuse to put up some pics of the top totty footballers, like those on my dream team, just for the sake or.. errmm well... I like looking at them really!

There has been some very odd happenings going on in Japan, it's a mystery that's baffling the Police, spooking out residents and generally causing a bit of a stir to say the very least.

Yet, from what one hears, it's not a bad thing that's been going on, it's a good thing, at least it would be if it was happening to me! This is the mystery of money! Well, to be nmore accurate, it's the mystery sweeping over Japan over anonymous cash gifts has taken a new twist. Residents of a Tokyo apartment building are completely baffled after a total of 1.81 million yen (that's round about £7200) was found in 18 mailboxes by Saturday 28th July! The money was in identical plain envelopes, which were unsealed and just contained the cash, no letter, no words, just the notes!

But residents became "spooked" rather than pleased with the anonymous gifts, and were too upright to pocket the money secretly. "Some people initially suspected they were fake bills. When they realised the bills were real, they reported them to us," a Police spokesman said.

The predominantly middle-class apartment building in Tokyo is not alone. An envelope with one million yen was left in the mailbox of a 31-year-old woman in the western city of Kobe on Wednesday 25th July.

Police admit they dont have a clue, if it's one person, a group or even a really bizarre notion that Japan is witnessing a craze of copycat benevolence of the anonymous kind. Since June, dozens of city halls and other public buildings across the country have reported finding neatly packaged envelopes full of cash in men's toilets, however the bathroom money has come with identical letters asking people to do good deeds!

These Japanese cash drop offs are not always so neat and tidy, also on Wednesday, notes worth 960,000 yen were inexplicably seen "falling" in front of a convenience store. Again the Police don't have a Scooby Doo (clue) who dropped the money "We can just say the money came from the skies," a puzzled police official said. "There were other passers-by outside and customers in the store but the incident caused no confusion," he said, then added "People thought it was too eerie to touch."

The largest single dropoff so far was in the ancient city of Kyoto on July 23, astonishing a 67-year-old woman who found an envelope containing 10 million yen of neatly stacked notes in her mailbox.

Jap media tallies suggest more than four million yen, including some found last year, has been found in the public bogs and the like. With the police are holding most of the money in case the rightful owner eventually decides to reveal their identity. As most of the people who have found the cash are too upright to keep it.

So, there you go, proof that in some places in the world you cant even give cash away! It wouldn't be like that here, oh no, if I found someone had left me a big wedge of noyes in my mailbox, I'd be keeping that dosh. Wouldn't you?

Ok, that's ya lot, be good and remember, it nice to be appreciated but it more appreciated to be nice!

Sunny world and distant views!

The south has been bathed in a blanket of warmness and sunny skies and little breeze over the past couple of days and it's been so nice to be off and be able to enjoy it for a change. Today I took a walk along St James Street, Upper St James street and through Kemp Town and then back along the prom, some times it's just so wonderful to watch the world pass by. I was so relaxed, no rush, just doodling and enjoying the stunningly hot weather. I love looking out to sea and walking along the prom is perfect for that, plus just once in a while you get to see some nice totty walking along. Ahh I love living in Brighton! Next time I take a walk, I'm going to take my camera and snap a few of the sights along the way.

I was shocked looking through the local newspaper yesterday, I was glancing at the property section and saw and ad for a little garage, just 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, in Hove for sale for £25,000! I guess I shouldn't really be surprised at the cost, when tiny 1 bedroomed sea front apartments are going for £390,000! I don't think I'll ever be able to afford to buy a decent sea front pad at these prices, not unless my numbers come up or I marry some hunky sexy rich handsome millionaire. And the changes of either of those happening are about 50 million to 1!

Troubled singer Amy Winehouse or Amy Wineglass as I tend to call her, has been admitted to rehab following her recent hospitalisation, according to various media reports. The 23-year-old was rushed to University College Hospital (UCLH) in London on Wednesday suffering from "severe exhaustion" according to her record company. But tabloids are hinting her illness may have been caused by drink and drugs instead, with the Daily Mirror claiming she checked into exclusive London clinic The Priory on Thursday to battle her demons. This is not the first time she's been to rehab and to be honest I don't think it's gonna be the last time either. She seems to have one of those addictive personalities that just need to have some kind of crutch. I'm going to see her this December with David down at the Brighton Centre, that is of course if she turns up and is not in rehab or pissed as a parrot in the gutter along St James Street or high as a kite flying above North Laines!

The things people do, I saw this on the net and found it kinda hard to believe, but apparently it's true. It was under the headline, "US man has thumb surgery to use iPhone" That's going a bit far, I thought to myself and read onwards. It's true, 28 year old Thomas Martel, from Bonnie Brae, was struggling to use the touchscreen keyboard on his iPhone so he did what any red-blooded gadget lover would do and got his thumb chopped about so he could use the device better. Apparently his thumb has been altered in a revolutionary new surgical technique known as "whittling." Basically, the thumb is slimmed down and shortened and made smaller. "From my old Treo (what?) , to my Blackberry, to this new iPhone, I had a hard time hitting the right buttons, and I always lost those little styluses," explained Martel in his local paper, "Sure, the procedure was expensive, but when I think of all the time I save by being able to use modern handhelds so much faster, I really think the surgery will pay for itself in ten to fifteen years. And what it's saving me in frustration - that's priceless." I doubt I'd have surgery just to use some new piece of electrical gadgetry, but is this now a case of things becoming too small to use? Or maybe he just had really fat thumbs!

OK, so just last week we had Brighton's gay pride, which was a wonderful exciting day, but if you are a red head, a ginger hair'd boy or girl, then there is one place you will definitely want to be later this month - The Ginger Festival! Oh my god, yes, there is one and if you are ginger or a red head you'll be offered free entry to a festival celebrating all things ginger. The National Botanic Garden of Wales claims the event on August 26 will be the country's first Ginger Family Festival. The day will celebrate the opening of the new Tropical House at the tourist attraction in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, which features many exotic examples of the Zingiberaceae plant family, also known as the ginger family. Gingers of the world unite!!!

I'm kinda used to the prices down here in the bar's of Brighton, Jake's mate Adam, who has been down for a few days bulked at the price of a pint in Legends at just over £3.40. Adam is a northern boy, pints of the same beer back in his home town are £2.10 which is a snip. Here in Brighton, the prices are the same, and sometimes just a little more expensive than London. I'm used to it, however, I wish I could go to a bar and spend, spend, spend like that businessman did in London the other day. Did you hear about that? This guy, A Middle Eastern businessman spent over £105,000 in a five-hour, champagne and vodka drinking spree in a London nightclub at the weekend. Crystal nightclub in London said the big spender entered Crystal at midnight on Saturday with friends, 9 women and 8 guys, first ordered a £24 bottle of white wine. But before long he was ordering magnums of Dom Perignon at £700 each and then called for a Methuselah, that's 8 bottles in one, of Cristal Champagne at £30,000 and the party spread. The festivities ended with a "night cap" consisting of a Methuselah of Belvedere vodka, which cost £1,400 "He basically just said, 'keep the drinks flowing,'" the club spokesman said. When the party left at 5 a.m., the bill was £81,471.50, which with tax and service added amounted to £105,805.28. A costly night out for sure, next time can I come!

We don't get them very often, but when we do, they tend to make the news, even if they are very mild, it's still exciting to know that Manchester has had another earthquake measuring 2.5 on the Richter scale. There were no reports of any injuries in the city, but experts said the impact was felt by a number of people across the city "We expect about eight earthquakes of this magnitude each year in the UK," a British Geological Survey spokesman said. The reason it has been felt by more people than usual is that it is quite shallow, about 5km, and it appears to be in a built-up area. It appears to be right in the centre of Manchester, the same location as a series of earthquakes in October 2002." Feel the earth move under my feet, sounds like a song to me, god, I can't remember the last time the earth moved for me.

Looking for a different holiday destination? Want something a little more unusual? How about a hotel with the best view in the universe? Well you'll have to wait until 2012 for it, but it could just be that place were very few have gone before. "Galactic Suite" the first hotel planned in space, expects to open for business in 2012 and would allow guests to travel around the world in 80 minutes. Its Barcelona-based architects say the space hotel will be the most expensive in the galaxy, costing $4 million for a three-day stay. Fancy going? How about a nice romantic long weekend away, during that time guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman. Company director Xavier Claramunt says the three-bedroom boutique hotel's joined up pod structure, which makes it look like a model of molecules, was dictated by the fact that each pod room had to fit inside a rocket to be taken into space. "It's the bathrooms in zero gravity that are the biggest challenge," says Claramunt. "How to accommodate the more intimate activities of the guests is not easy."

When guests are not admiring the view from their portholes they will take part in scientific experiments on space travel. This far out Galactic Suite began as a hobby for former aerospace engineer Claramunt, until a space enthusiast decided to make the science fiction fantasy a reality by fronting most of the $3 billion needed to build the hotel. I'm packing my bag already!

Right that's ya lot for now, I'm going to have a little snooze before I have to go to work tonight for a full shift of four on. Oh what crap! Nope, I mean what fun don't I?

Clubbing with the girls!

I don't remember what time I came home on Saturday night/ Sunday morning, but I know I had a good time. I rested a little bit, when for a walk and mouched down St James Street before I came home and rested again and then it was time of Mo, Nadine and Samantha to come round./ We were off clubbing down at the Volks nightclub, just along the parade from the Sea life centre. Mo's son, John, runs the night down in that little boxy club, so we headed down nice and early and well, clubbed at little bit till some time after 2!

It was rather nice to be clubbing with Mo, something we haven't done for a long time, she has this amazing amount of energy, just dancing all night, always moving and always having a laugh and a blast. The music was proper banging, really good and hard, which is what we both love, so it's always fun clubbing with Mo. She had her camera with her, which is always a bad sign because it means there's bound to be odd pictures of me in various states of intoxication! Sunday night was no exception as can be seen here in the following slide show. It starts off with Mo, Nadine, Sam and me at my place, then moving on up to the club!

Thanks ya lot for today, but before I pop off here's another tale from the mouth of the young!

A little boy was doing his math homework.

He said to himself, "Two plus five, that son of a bitch is seven. Three plus six, that son of a bitch is nine...."

His mother heard what he was saying and gasped, "What are you doing?"

The little boy answered, "I'm doing my mathhomework, Mom."

"And this is how your teacher taught you to do it?" the mother asked.

"Yes," he answered.

Infuriated, the mother asked the teacher the next day, "What are you teaching my son in math?"

The teacher replied, "Right now, we are learning addition."

The mother asked, "And are you teaching them to say two plus two, that son of a bitch is four?"

After the teacher stopped laughing, she answered, "What I taught them was, two plus two, THE SUM OFWHICH, is four."!

Pride Piccies

On the parade

Sea of people in Preston park

Cute line dancer (Rob was in there some place!)

Loads more Pride Pics (check Mo out!!)

Happy Pride! & It's a funny old world!

Well, what can I say, it's been a few days since I last plopped a few words on the blog. Jo and Carolyn came down on Tuesday and let's just say a nice day was had, then a very eventful evening, which ended in the most mega row of epic proportions, the like of which I hope I never see again.

My birthday came and went and now I'm another year older, yes, I'm now facing the last couple of years of my thirties! Oh fuck, it's all down here from now on then! I mite as well be dead, for every poof knows that 40 in gay years is 80 and well past it! It's gay pride in Brighton today, an amazing celebration of diversity and spectacle. I watched the Parade with Angus and three of his lovely friends, one of which was over from Hong Kong! Then we walked up to Preston Park, which is where the biggest free festival Europe has ever seen takes place. The sun was burning down and I did feel a little frazzled as I sunk into my tinnies!

Jake was there as well as a few others, so met up with him for a little bit and had a boogy in the Wild Fruit tent. Then after chilling for a while with Angus it was homeward bound for me. So here I am, doing this while I'm waiting for some nosh to cook and then after that I'm heading down St James Street. The street at the bottom of my road has been closed for a bit of a street party, so no doubt there will be much drinking and merriment on the streets of Brighton. I'll take some piccies and share them with you next time. Oh and a full report of all the action, which I'm sure there will be plenty of!

It's a funny old world you know, there are so many different cultures, beliefs and customs that it sometimes boggles and confuses the mind. I mean there I was walking along St James Street here in good old Brighton the other morning and I thought how simply cosmopolitan the little world at the end of my road is, for example at the bottom of the street is an exotic grocer, selling all manor of things from all over the world. Then a little way up is a traditional continental Deli and further up is a Polish coffee shop, complete with Polish products and Polish signs.

It got me thinking as I perused the shelves of various pickled things, the like of which I would never in my wildest nightmares of dreamt of pickling, of how various nationalities have such different customs from one another. I mean, for example if your in Turkey, Brazil or even Germany, don't do the little OK sign with your thumb and forefinger in the shape of an 'o' to show you're fine, because in those countries it's a sign of well, lets just say an orifice of which you are most likely sitting on right now!

In most parts of Africa, including Morocco it's considered very rude to shake hands or eat with your left hand, because in their culture and history the left hand is used only for cleaning the above mentioned orifice! The thumbs up signal in Iran would get you in trouble, over there it has the same meaning as the finger! It's unacceptable in India for a woman to initiate a handshake, it's also considered rude if you clear your plate when invited as a guest to dinner. It means you're still hungry and your host hasn't fed you enough. Here in England a nod of the head means yes and shaking it left and right means no, it's the complete opposite in Bulgaria, Greece and former Yugoslav countries.

If you eat nosily and belch afterwards here in Blighty you're considered common and uncouth, yet in Japan slurping up ya noodles is a good sign as is belching after a meal in many Arab lands. It's all very confusing if you ask me, in some countries it's good form to offer a kiss, others it not, do point here and don't point there, it's a wonder we don't get in to more trouble when we're travelling overseas. Mind you, it's not hard to see how visitors get completely mystified when coming to England, after all we find it hard to comprehend each other half the time!

For example, my friend David has some pretty strange sayings that until he uttered them I'd never heard before and we come from the same country. Indulge me for a moment as I take you into David's world where some of these sayings and phrases are common place. The first indicating extreme tiredness "I could sleep on a chickens lip" and onwards "Might as well get hung for a sheep as a lamb" another one that has my mind boggled "No need to spoil the ship for a h'peth of ta" or even this one - "If if's and and's were pot's and pan's they'd be no need for tinkers" But it's not just David I sometimes have difficulty understanding, at times when I'm on the phone to Si up in Newcastle, or James in Glasgow, I have to ask them to slow down their speech by half so I can understand them. With such a wide variety of regional accents in such a small country it's a wonder anyone from outside can understand us. But hey, that's gotta be changing, I mean, the most common last nights in England are Singh and Patel and the most popular dish - curry!

Sometime over the last weekend I read that TV Chef Antony Worral Thmpson has his fingers and his tongue insured for £500,000. That's a lot of money in any ones world, mind you I'm sure there are a lot of people, just like me that would club together to give him that amount of dosh to have his tongue cut out. He don't 'alf go on and on sometimes, but his food's not bad. I also read that David Beckham's legs are insured for £40 million, which is a little much I fear, surely his face earns him more than his legs do these days. It's strange the variety of things you have have insured, for example when I was working on radio and doing voices I had my on voice insured, after all it was my way of earning money. In those days it was good, if I had a cold and sore throat and couldn't work, I got paid for being sick more than I would have done if I'd have worked!

Right that's ya lot for now, just time to leave you with another last word from the mouth of babes. Young children say the funniest of things!

It was that time, during the Sunday morning service, for the children's sermon. All the children were invited to come forward. One little girl was wearing a particularly pretty dress and, as she sat down, the pastor leaned over and said, "That is a very pretty dress. Is it your Easter Dress?" The little girl replied, directly into the pastor's clip-on microphone, "Yes, and my Mom says it's a bitch to iron."