Affimation - Kids today

If I was to say to you, that, I believe the sun should never set upon anargument and if I were to add, I believe that beauty magazines promote low self-esteem you'd probably think I'm a very thoughtful, introspective person.

Then if I told you I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned and that I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side and finished off by informing you I believe you don't know what you've got untilyou say goodbye, you'd probably be starting to wonder if I've suddenly becomebe a very contemplative intellectual, but you'd be wrong, all I'm doing is singing the lines of the Savage Garden song Affirmation!

This track still sounds as fresh to me as when I first heard it on the album a few years ago, its lyrics make still have the power to move and evoke true appreciation for the sentiment, created by Darren Hayes. Each time the line's swirl out into the ether I sagely smile and think to myself "how true that is" Such lines as I believe that beauty magazines promote low self-esteem are sosincere, yet we hardly ever think of that when we are flicking through the latest glossy and wish we looked like the slim sexy model. We aspire to the ideal yet are disappointed when we don't quite measure up. And how true is the emotion in 'I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned? And, I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye? I find it slightly ironic and rather sad that we, as humans, quite often don't really appreciate what we've got, until we don't have it anymore, be it possessions or people. If only we knew what we have when we have it, surely we'd take more care of it, treasure it and look after it with every inch of our fiber. I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality, sings our Darren Hayes breathlessly, I always used to say, and you fall in love with a person and not sexuality. And if you could choose sexuality, would any sane person choose one that's guaranteed to cause you to endure prejudice, discrimination, verbal and sometime physical abuse on an almost daily basis? It's also rather a pity that in those aforementioned glossy magazines they don't subscribe to the view that your most attractive features are your heart and soul? Life is unfair in that respect, why is it always harder to look passed the physical to the inner beauty than the other way round? How can it be that we can say so much without words and yet transversally we can talk for hours without saying anything at all?

Gosh, I think you can really appreciate what a slow night at work I've justs urvived! Anyway, here's the song:

Police in Hampshire are investigating allegations mobile phone footage of a "happy slapping" attack on a 14-year-old pupil was shown in his school classroom, by a teacher! Josh Wootton was attacked by eight youths near the Brune Park Community College in Gosport on 18th September. The boy's mother said the group filmed the attack and were allowed to play the video on a large screen in a lesson. The school said it was shown after the class finished by a teacher who was trying to identify those involved. But the first Josh or his family knew anything about it was when two girls in his class called round and told them. Kid's today, little darlings aint they?

Right oh fiolks, that's ya lot for now

Burma isnt working & posh isnt happy!

I've just completed the first of my shift of four nights on and I don't feel too bad really, all things considered. It passed by rather uneventfully, no major excitements or problems to contend with, which was all rather pleasant, well as pleasant as work can be at least. Straight out of work this morning I popped down to the prom for a brief walk and take a couple of snaps, the sea was like a mill pond, hardly a ripple on it's shimmering surface and just a gentle breeze coming from the east.

The view from the prom!

Before I went to work last night, I caught the news and like pretty much everyone I'm appalled by the shocking scenes of military violence in Burma. According to the official media 9 people had been killed yesterday, although with no outside media present, the death toll was probably much higher. Burma's security forces have sealed off the five main monasteries in Rangoon, the capital and declared them no-go areas to prevent anti-government protests. Some monks have been detained and loudspeaker trucks have been criss-crossing the city, warning people not to protect anyone fleeing arrest. Soldiers have blocked major intersections with barbed wire barricades. Some Burmese sources say internet access has been cut off in Rangoon and is only partially available elsewhere. The protesters have been making use of the internet to get pictures and video of the protests and the bloody crackdown to international news outlets. I'm sure these protests will continue for sometime and it's any ones guess how the situation is going to end, one thing is for sure though, there will be more blood shed.

When you see pictures and hear the stories coming out of the country it makes you thankful for the democratic way of life we are so privileged to enjoy. Life could be so much different, as is evident in Burma and many other countries around the world who don't share as much freedom as we have.

You love your job. Your supervisors give you top ratings. Then, one day, a colleague finds out you're gay. A week later, you find your desk emptied into a box. You're fired. The reason? Your sexual orientation. Here's the worst part: firing you for being gay was 100% legal. It's an outrage. In 31 states, you can be fired solely because you're gay – and if you're transgender, that's 39 states. Current federal law protects workers against discrimination based on their race, gender, religion, national origin, and disability—but NOT based on sexual orientation.

This is a fact of life right now in America, what are you doing about it? If you're an American, write to your Congressman, ask them to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Staying in the US for a little bit, I hear gossip that Posh, Victoria Beckham is increasingly unhappy out there in LaLa land. Despite the untold riches and the fact that David hasn't had to work that much recently, mainly due to injury, she's still not a happy bunny. A source unearthed by a couple of US tabloid type magazines, claim that things are not going well for them in LA. Victoria has been particularly upset and sobbed to David that their move may have been a mistake, no doubt as he counted his £25m a year wages. She's disappointed that her TV docucrap didn't go down too well that side of the pond and feels their future is rather unsettled. Could this be a case of big fish in a little pond going to a big pond and finding out their just Minos? And wasn't she unhappy and unsettled when they moved over to Madrid? Maybe it's a case of you can travel around the world, but no matter how far you go, you can't get away from yourself! Poor old posh, gosh can you just reach out and cut my sincerity with a knife!

Lily Allen has confessed that leading designers don't want her borrowing their clothes. Not because she makes them look crap, oh no, it's because she keeps damaging the designer goods before she gives them back. She told Cosmo, "I've been banned from some fashion places because I'm so crap with things. Christian Louboutin won't lend me clothes because my dog chewed the shoes he lent me. And I got mud on a Julien Macdonald dress, so he wasn't happy!" When I was told of this story, my first thought was, who the fuck cares? Do I still think the same? You bet I sodding well do!

More soon!!

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!

On the prom!

The weather today has been fine, if a little blustery in Brighton, not the same in Cove in Hampshire, where they had a mini tornado! I went for a walk, but the old right leg is giving me some pain so I came home and watched trashy films - oh the pure joy of not having to do anything!

I cant claim to be a big fan of Jack Penate, but I'm really liking his latest song 'Second Minute or Hour'' I'm not sure if its the catchy tune, the free guitar strumming or the fact that the video is filmed down here in Brighton that is dragging my attentions. But whatever, it's well worth a blast passed your lug holes! If you watch the following video, you'll see little Jack running for the whole song, pretty much all the way along the raised part of the prom between Black Rock and the Terraces! I bet he was plum tuckered out by the time the last notes died away as it's a pretty long way! I particularly like the fact that it's devoid of all people, never the case when I'm walking along that way and also how clever was he, to get a shirt that matches the railings and streetlamps! Pure class, Jack Penate - I salute you!

Staying with music for a little while, but have you seen the video of that pint sized pop puppet 'Lil Chris' singing a former Jackson classic, 'We don't have to take our clothes off to have a good time'? At first I thought it was clever, then the whole clothes being pulled off is soo over done that it makes me want to scream. But not only that, never before have I seen such over verbalisation of words being mimed in any kind of video as this little ankle biter seems to achieve in 3 minutes of audio torture! It's beyond cringe worthy, way beyond!

And does anyone know my Amy Wineglass doesn't appear in the 'Valerie' video along with Ronson? Is it because she was too drunk and lashed up?

It's freshers week at the moment and part of every years freshers week in Brighton is the pub crawl! This is when loads of strangers meet up, try and impress each other as they travel around 35 pubs and 4 clubs here in Brighton. Spending half their student grant in one night and then puking it all up at the end of the night! Which is one reason why I'm staying in tonight, mind you, with that many drunken students on the streets, I'd be sure to get a shag, but do I really need vomit on my shagpile? I think not!

Think it's all over in one night, then think again, tomorrow it's student night down the Zap, opps I mean Digital or whatever it's now called. Mind you, I hardly go there anymore anyway, haven't been for years. The Zap was a club from my youth and was always destined to stay there! But the biggest studenty thing will be the 2007 Freshers Ball in Thursday, OMG to use MSN speak. It's going to be wall to wall drunken, smelly, late teens doing all the things in one night that they will regret for the next term. Oh what joy, Jake get me a ticket!

Apparently, Canadian sex god, Haydan Christensen has once again denied the gossip that he is in fact a member of my gang, a raving poof. The rumors keep on popping up that he prefers men to the ladies in the bedroom department. Sometimes in a magazine, sometimes on websites, these stories just keep popping up. I'm not saying he is, or he isn't, just the fact that there is gossip about his sexuality is enough reason for me to put a photo of him up on the blog. I don't give a shit if he prefers front of back bottoms, he's just a fooking sexy man.

Wentworth Miller is another Hollywood star that's fighting off the questions about his sexuality. There are claims that the Prison Break star has been in a gay relationship for nearly a year with another actor called Luke McFarlane, this gossip keeps surfacing on gossip blog Perez Hilton. Hilton is always saying Wentworth is gay, Wentworth is always saying he's not and that he just hasn't met the right girl yet. I don't have a clue if he is or is not taking it up the chocolate starfish, but it;s a great excuse to put another piccie of him on here! God, all these hunky young men on one post of Sex & The Seafront, I might just cream my knickers!

Do you remember former Corrie star Adam Rickett? He dabbled in pop music for a while after he left the Street the first time. His single 'I breathe Again' did reasonably well, then he went back to Corrie for a little while. After that he wanted to get in to politics, for a while it looked like he would for the Conservatives, but nope that all failed. So then he popped on a passing 747 and headed over to New Zealand, he' now in another 'Street' this time it's a show called Shortland Street. But it seems he wants to get in to politics over there, that seems unlikely now, why? Well he's just been nicked for shoplifting! Apparently he forgot to pay for HP sauce and a jar of coffee. Turns out he's been under a lot of stress over a family problem and innocently forgot to pay for several items while he was doing a larger grocery shop in Auckland. He insists it was an accidental oversight but the red tape has to be followed. Stress can do funny things to you, so too can failure!!

X factor. Time flies!

I can hardly believe it's been a week since I was last here updating the blog on this here interweb thingy! But it has, and well, here I am, it's been a long shift at work, with each hour passing seeming like two! The night's have dragged on and on and very little has happened. Oh sure, I could moan on and on about this, that and the other, but that would mostly be about office politics and mismanagement and would ultimately be boring as hell for you to have to read through! Plus of course, I know the folks from work will be casting an eye in this direction, so I'll just leave it there!

Therefore I started my set of four this week, I popped over to Mo's to have a bit of a nosh up with her and her relative, the lovely Sheena! Mo filled me with food and sent me on my way with more - she's such a good sport! Was nice to chat with her at her house over a nice warming lunch, I always feel so fat and full are Mo's home cooking!

I've had a nice relaxing day today, finished at 8am, had a huge glass of red wine and a doze on the sofa. Now, I know having red wine at 8.30am may make me sound like I have a bit of a drink problem, but you have to take into account that my 8.30am is your 8.30pm, and hey that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

It was quite sunny today, so this afternoon I took a little stroll along the prom and up through Kemptown, it was so nice to do a Sunday afternoon walk, like normal people do at weekends. The wind was blowing into my face along the prom and I gazed out over the channel and thought what a wonderful place to be! Here's today's pics, same shots as before, just on a different day and a different time, perfect indication of how different weather conditions change my view and change my world.

I saw in the Sunday Times that Brighton University is ranked at 30 in the top 100 uni's in the country, which is good news as the town is filling up with new students for the new term. Lot's of new blood, new lives starting out in the adult world, growing up and experiencing new things! Oh the joy of freshers week and all those new shags, opps I mean new friends to make!

I've just watched the repeat of yesterday's X Factor TV show, as regular readers will know I'm quite into this talent contest reality show this year. I love the idea or searching out and seeking new talent, it's refreshing and entertaining. However, I did loose some moisture from my eyes a couple of times during the show. One of those times was when a young 14 year old lad called Luke, cried during the bit when the judges gave their thoughts of his little audition, he looked so scared, so vulnerable, yet full of promise. Simon gave him a chance to come back the next day, and the boy did. He didn't quite do it all, his voice a little weak, but was it good enough to go through? Watch the following vid to find out!

But this whole thing has made me think and question whether lowering the age from 16 to 14 for contestants may not be such a good idea. I worry that at that age, they may not be mature enough to cope with the crushing rejection and long term pain that may cause. Yet, on the other hand, it's also good to see a young talented person shine through, oh the moral dilemma of it all!

Obviously the emotional harder, more cynical of you out there, will laugh at other peoples misery, wont you Jake? But not me, although I do feel that this year, they've edited it to make sure that the more emotional auditions are shown, rather than just highlighting the best and their worst as they have in years passed. Cunning ploy by Simon Cowell, to reach into our emotions to create affection and affiliations to certain contestants to ensure continued high viewing figures. Oh what, even I'm turning in to a little cynic! Ohh wooo is me, hush my mouth.

Oh what the hell is going on with Britney Spears right now? She is so loosing the plot, hardly a day goes by without a new headline crossing the pond about this former singing star and now complete waste of space! Friday she was charged with a hit and run in a car park and driving without a licence, this follows that awful 'come-back-' performance, if you can laughingly call it that, on the video music awards in just her undies. It seem there's more and more gossip surround her in the tabloids each day. Now, with anyone else, you'd think it's just stuff made up by some bored journo, but with her, you know it's true! I mean, we've seen her get married in Vegas, we've seen her get drunk, we've seen her in her undies, we've seen her crack, we've seen her shave her head, we've seen her do pretty much anything except sing well. What are we gonna see her do next? It's like a bad soap opera, indeed her life seems to be one long edition of trashy tabloid TV!

I've tried my hardest to avoid news of The Sex & The City movie, I want it to be a surprise when I watch it on the big screen. But, it's ather like a festering dried scab, you can't resist having a pick or. So I've turned the page, had a gander and it's all good news from New York. Aparently the word on the street is the girls are getting on great, Mr Big plays a medium sized part in the forthcoming flick, oh my excitement is mounting rapidly. SJP is looking so wonderful inthe pics that have been snapped on the street in New York, oh I so can't wait.

OK, here's a question for you, how do you find your way to a secret bunker to escape a nuclear explosion? Answers pretty simple if you live in the north, you simply follow the road signs!

That's it for now folks!

Happy Hookers!

Yesterday was another sunny day in Brighton and I took the opportunity to cycle over to Portslade to my brother, Chris. The wind was in my face and blowing quite hard, which meant much more energy was expended in peddling the six or so miles out of town. I do love to cycle, especially along the front, on the cycle lanes, it's so nice to have fresh sea air filling your lungs and eyes being treated to what is one of the most wonderful aspects of this town!

The brother was fine, busy doing the ironing and after a wee rest and chat I was back on my way home, along the front again. This time the wind was at my back, therefore it was far more relaxing. Parked up in his huge American truck was Chris Eubank, Brighton resident and former boxer, enjoying looking out over the sea. It's amazing just who you can see down by the sea, just the other day my mate Jakey was walking along the front and almost bumped into Sid Owen, he was an actor once! And before that, another friend, Andrew, was in an Italian restaurant in Hove and a fellow diner was Chris Ellison, another actor! Brighton, home to many famous people!

After a long rest and some nosh I met up with the lovely Jakey and a couple of his pals for a couple of drinks down the road at Legends! I mist admit, for a little while I did feel like an older purveyor or boys, or king Pimp, I was the oldest at the table, by...well quite a long way actually. I was also in the company of not one, but two working boys, yes two of my drinking companions were escorts of the male variety! Now I know this sounds strange, but it was kinda like seeing myself as a younger person, chatting with these boys, they are doing now what I did back then when I was roughly the same age. They have the same hopes and dreams, desires, beliefs and ideals as I held dear at that tender age! Oh the shere beauty of youth, it's a wonderful thing, but my advise to them was enjoy it while you can, for youth is a mask, live it long and live it fast, never wait of hesitate to make your life extraordinary!

Another of my friends is doing something very extraordinary right at this very moment! On Saturday, he jetted off to far off climbs and in this case climbs is the most apt word ever! For Lee is off to trek the Himalayas for two weeks days or so, which is incredibly exciting and arduous! Lee, it's fair to say has not always enjoyed the best of health is trekking in the Indian Himalayas, not for fun, but for charity! He's doing all this in aid of his local hospice, St Oswalds, a place that offers specialist short breaks to children with progressive, life shortening conditions and provides specialist care for children, as well as support and advice for parents, within a relaxed, home-from-home environment. Lee has already completed two training treks up Snowdon as well as the Great North Run, also in aid of St Oswalds, so I wish him the very best of luck, well done Lee. If you'd like to help Lee along the way, then please visit. http://www.justgiving.com/leetrekshimalayas

While I've been in Brighton, David from work has been seeing Erasure up in some Northern Town, Apparently it was really jolly good, I'd have liked to have gone and seen Andy and Vince, as they were a good part of my youth, indeed you could say they were part of the soundtrack of my life in the 80's, but I suppose that would be a little melodramatic. I'm sure it was a good gig, and I'll no doubt have him tell me all about it when we're next at work.

Virgin's no longer Virgin! Shock news to some, but the Virgin boss Richard Branson has gone and sold the Virgin Megastores! It's hard to believe that, after some 30 years Richard will no longer be in control of the megastores that have shaped the way we used to purchase music. Ok, so things are a little different now, music is being purchased more and more in the net and downloaded straight to iPods and the like, so the need for music superstores is diminishing greatly. But, I really hope the new owners keep the Virgin Megastores name, it would be sad to see that go the same way as the Virgin record label.

I hear Kylie's got a new album coming out in November, I'm so looking forward to it, I'm sure it will be great, after all it is our Kylie! David and I were talking the other night at work, bit it's looking like Miss M has had a little work done, well OK, maybe not work exactly, just perhaps some botox, but maybe a little too much! Kylie my darling, no more please! You don't need it one jot!

Dozy sod, I saw this little bit of news when I logged on the old interweb thingy, I was pretty amazed, how one man could be so silly. This Turkish guy broke into a bank, but he didn't end up stealing anything, why you may well ask. So I'll tell you why, because the dozy sod fell asleep and was found by the cleaner in the morning!

Oh and if you're reading this after a mammoth internet session, just be warned, that a man in China dropped down dead after playing an internet game for 3 days solid! So just be a little careful out there, the internet could kill!

Right just before, here's today's pictures from the lovely Brighton coast. I've tried to take them at the same time and in the same position, just to highlight the differences the changing light has on the view.

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A bear movie star!

Hey, it's the first of my four off tonight, thank fuck for that, it's been a long hard shift at work, well, OK, not that hard but it;s been pretty long! 48 hours of work long to be accurate and correct! But hey, freedom for four now, which is one of the reasons why I do the job I do, to have some quality time off.

I am so hacked off with all the new stories hitting the media about the McCann's and all the hullabaloo surround missing Maddie. There's just so much of it now, it seem like the press and the public have turned against them, every issue of the daily papers have some new revelation about the case. So many different theory's about the poor 4 year old's disappearance, or questions the police want to ask, or secret evidence, hair in the boot of the car and all sorts, buried in the church, accidental killed with a drug overdose and so on and on. Whatever the truth is, I'm sure we'll find out eventually and I'm equally positive that those awful parents have something to do with it all. Enough already!!

I don't know if you've seen the news about the Northern Rock bank, well actually, you can't really have escaped it, it's been the lead story in all the papers and on all the telly channels. Thousands and thousands of nervous customers have queued outside branches for hours, yesterday and today to try and withdraw their savings after the bank announced it had got emergency funds from The Bank Of England.

Queues snaked round the block at most branches of Britain's fifth-biggest mortgage provider for a second day after customers were reported to have withdrawn one billion pounds on Friday. Thousands more jammed the bank's phone lines and Web site to try to get their hands on their money, raising fears that a "run on the bank" could exacerbate problems. Despite assurances that their cash was safe, some customers said they had lost confidence in Northern Rock after it went to Britain's central bank for emergency funds. It's so crazy, the government has said Norther Rock is solvent and do you think the Bank Of England wouldn't have checked that bank out before lending it a billion or so? Nope, Northern Rock has 23 billion quid on deposit and over 100 billion in assets, yet Joe public don't seem to understand that! They've seen people waiting to get their money out, so they've joined the line, stirred up by scaremongering media. Indeed on on broadcast on BBC News 24 they interviewed one of the customers in the que, asked why he was down there, he obviously said to take his savings out, but asked why he said "I dunno, cuz everyone else is" That just about sums up the mass hysteria that has swept the nation, the TV pictures are very reminiscent of a scene from Mary Poppins!

I so glad I don't live in Caracas, it seems that over there they have trouble telling the living from the dead! Yep this guy, who was declared dead after an accident on the motorway and was taken to the morgue. Medical examiners began an autopsy only to realize something was amiss when he started bleeding. They quickly sought to stitch up the incision on his face. "I woke up because the pain was unbearable," the 33 year old said, he was still alive!

I was going to go to Shoreham Air Show today, but, I dozed off on the sofa when I got in from work and didn't get to go. I'm kinda glad that sleepiness got the better of me. I'd have been shocked and saddened by the nose dive and crash of a World War II aircraft during the show. The historic aircraft had just taken part in a mock dogfight with other WW2 flying machines, the pilot died instantly. The air show carried on 20 mins later and two Spitfires carried out a flypast in the "man missing in action" formation. I love air shows, but as the years advance, today is a classic example of how dangerous it is to fly these wonderful, yet increasingly aged aircraft.

The biggest bowl of porridge ever made has been created in Edinburgh, breaking the world record. Weighing 81.2kg, the huge breakfast was expected to fill up to 2,000 bowls at the Edinburgh Farmers' Market. The feat broke the existing world record, which was set at 66.26 kg at a farmers' market event in Warwickshire in January. The only question I can think of, is, why?

Ever had a Marmalade sandwich? Ever worn a a blue dufflecoat or black floppy hat? Well the star of the a new film has done all three! Plus he comes from deepest, darkest Peru! Yes it's none other than Paddington whose gonna be the next big movie star! Who'd have thought it, years ago when I was just a sprog watching telly after school that a little animation about a talking bear with a passion for marmalade sarnies would be made into a multi-million dollar movie, but yes, it's going to happen apparently and I for one can hardly wait. Oh another trip down that lane they call memory!

I had a couple of letters today, both post marked 10th September, one with a first class stamp and the other had a second class stamp affixed to it, yet both plonked down on my mat this morning. I guess, that indicates that it doesn't matter which stamp you place on a letter, it still takes the same amount of time to reach it's destination. Strange really, things don't seemed to have improved very much since first and second class post was first introduced back in on this very day in 1968. I bet that somewhere, there is still someone waiting for a letter that was posted those 39 years ago!

Right, there ya go, that's ya lot for today, but before I leave you with a couple of pics taken this morning, at 8.30, well I live by the sea, so why not share my good fortune with you!

A book store coffee

Yesterday I went for a little wander up to the other side of town, well OK, I crossed the Stein, which is something us Kepmtowner's don't tend to do all that often! Some say it's because Kemptwon area of Brighton is like it's only little village within the city, but I rather think it's because we're lazy! Anyway I popped up to Borders the book store on the edge of Churchill Square and met up with David. We had a Starbucks, yes there is one in Boarders, a small one, and it was rather nice, we chewed the fat and nattered away. It was almost like a setting the world to rights over a coffee. We both told how sick to death we are of hearing about those awful McCanns and how we are some what vindicated in our early views that they had something to do with their missing daughter!

We talked about music and the MTV video awards and Britney's performance, or should I say lack if it, well when I say we talked, I do of course mean we bitched! But hey, we are a couple of gay guys, sitting in a Starbucks inside a book store in the camp town of Brighton, what did you expect we'd be doing!

Anyway, after a while and I purchased two new tomes from Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees, 'The Three Day Rule' and 'The Seven Year Itch' which I've been promising myself to buy for ages, just never getting round to it, well you know what I'm like! There's always tomorrow, which in fact is technically true, however, with the rapid approach of a milestone age, may not be true for much longer! God, I need a holiday! Anyway, I'll fill you in on the books at a later date, when I've read them of course, because until then, all I can really tell you is they have nice covered and whatever blurb the publishers have put on the back!

So after the stores David and I took a little stroll along the front and watched the world go by for a wee while. I can hardly believe it, but it's the only time that David and I have been out, on days off without having a drop or ten of alcohol! Strange, but true, but then again, poor David is getting over some flu like symptoms, so maybe it's just as well!

I came home and watched something on telly, which I have no idea what it was, it just floated passed my eyes in a blur of pixelated dots! I came on the computer and logged in and had a long chat with an old friend on MSN. It's so nice, sometimes to have an MSN chat, you can say so much more than you can in texts and do it faster. It's like being on the phone, but without having to worry about a little bit of silence and you can do other things at the same time. Always a bonus, but I basically spent a large part of the day surfing, chatting and doing very little. However, I did have a look at the first re-written chapter of my book that I'm struggling to write. I've had it on the back burner for a while, hoping the a rested and fresh set of eyes and mind power will enable me to get back in the swing of writing, after all that is the one thing in life that I love and hasn't let me down! Well at least not yet!

This morning I woke with the sun on my face, burning through the open window and the breeze gently flapping the curtains. So I jumped out of bed and took a walk along Upper St James Street and all the way towards the marina end. Then I crossed down and walked back along the prom. It's so nice when the weather is kind, I never tire of looking at the sea, something of a bonus living in Brighton. I'm thinking of doing an special set of photos, taking one a day of the say spot, so you too can see the weather change, the differences in the light and how it changes the whole view. Oh god, am I going into an arty stage again!

It's 9-11, as the Americans say, and it would be a little remiss of me, not to give a little mention to all the victims of the terrorist acts in New York six years ago. It's hard to believe it has been six years since that awful day of terror, but yes, six years have come and gone and what's changed?

Victory for England! European Union commissioners have ruled that Britain can carry on using imperial measurements such as pints, pounds and miles. Europe's Industry Commissioner Gunter Verheugenas said: "There is not now and never will be any requirement to drop imperial measurements." The decision will not affect current law on metric measurements, but means imperial equivalents can be used too. It follows years of wrangling between London and Brussels over metrication. Most importantly for me, it means the great British Pint is saved! The commission has kept extending the deadline for the UK to complete the full transition to the metric system, with the most recent deadline being 2010. This would have meant setting a deadline for ending the traditional delivery of pints of milk and the sale of pints of beer in the UK's pubs, but now we can keep our pint! Yippeee!!!

There is apparently a new series of Hell's Kitchen been going on which has pretty much escaped me, largely because motor-potty-mouth Gordon Ramsey is not the lead chef, Marco Pierre White is, whose about as charming and as French as my little tow. Anyway, there's been a bunch of has been's and x list celebs in the kitchen trying to impress a room full of free loaders! The only reason I'm commenting about it, that today it was on the news because ex-bankrupt and ex-alchy Jim Davidson has been sacked from it because of gay remarks! Yep, comedian (are you sure!) Jim Davidson has left ITV1's Hell's Kitchen after making, what the ITV called "unacceptable remarks" after he called gay people 'Shirt-lifters'. This upset fellow contestant Brian Dowling and some viewers of the show. An ITV spokeswoman said producers had asked him to leave the show. "ITV does not condone comments which could cause offence," she continued. Jim Davidson - offensive, well there's a surprise! Reach out and cut my sarcasm with a knife!

Oh, do you remember, a little while ago I told you that I posted off a letter to Stephen Fry, that king of the business they call show? Well, I did and yesterday, the postie plonked a letter on my mat from the very man. I hadn't really expected a reply, it wasn't a fan letter, more a thank-you for the entertainment kind of thing. But, respond he did, "Your charming and gratifying letter cheered me enormously" he wrote, proving beyond doubt, if ever there was any, that he is a thoroughly decent chap!

Stop Police!

Friday was a lazy day for me with very little of anything going on, I just need to chill for a while and unwind. Jake came round in the evening and we had a Chinese take out and a bottle of wine, well come on, it's me, what do you expect! Sometimes I think I have a drink problem, other times I don't, I mean sometimes I drink, I fall over - no problem!

Saturday dawned early, at least by my standards, the sun was bright and the sky a lovely shade of powder blue that gave me a morning spurt of energy and a will to do something with my day. So I busied myself with those domestic chores, that one usually saves up for days off, you know the washing, the dusting, the hoovering and all that. I whizzed round like a professional domestic engineer (cleaner!) and was all done by 10am. I wanted to go for a ride on the bike then, after all it's been a long while since I was in the saddle, but I had to wait for my Tesco food delivery. Two hours later he turned up with my goodies, after unpacking, I settle down to a coffee when Angus sent me a text asking if I was working that night. I replied in the negative and then he offered me that chance to see The Police playing at Twickenham Stadium, naturally I jumped at the chance!

We met at four at Brighton station and started out train trip to Twickers! It was fab to natter with our Angus as our anticipation ascended. I've never been to Twickenham before and I must say I was rather impressed with the rather huge stadium, the home of English rugby, it's big and was very well organised. We mingled with the gathering throng, complained at the price of official merchandise, sank a pint and took our seats in the North Stand, block 25, row 28. I'm really glad that Angus had chosen tickets in one of the stands and on one of the levels as the on pitch seating would have been a tad difficult to even see where the stage was! Sting's son was on first, but to be honest, we were outside having a pint, so comment about it I can not. Then there was a little break before Maximo Park took the limelight on the stage, now I can't claim to be a fan and indeed if you'd have asked me what they've done, I'd be hard pushed to name a single track of theirs, yet my foot was tapping and I quite enjoyed them. OK, so we were at the back and I'd have loved to have been closer, but we did benefit from being central and thus great sound quality.

Angus wasn't too chuffed with the musical abilities to entertain of Maximo, so we piddled about with sending texts and taking photos and being, well kinda silly really! I blame Angus, cuz you'd never get me being silly now would you? Oh hulloo James, nice pic from New York! Anyway after a comfort stop and a drag (for me) me were back in our seats, and after around ten waves of the Mexican variety the lights dimmed and wee got ready for the main event. Oh, before I go on about Sting and the boys, I just want to add that this is the first time I've been involved in a Mexican wave, that is on three different balconies with nearly fifty-five thousand people taking part!

The stadium lights dimmed, the crowd had a collective intake of breath, the stage spots shone brilliantly, the music started and the vocal stylings of Sting filled the air of Twickenham. I was surprised at how much I'd missed the sound of The Police, who have not had a track out for years, but hearing them play live, was a trip into audio wonderment. Having earlier said the sound quality was good for Maximo, on a couple of tracks from the headliners, the same can not be said, it did shake a bit, maybe it has something to do where we were sitting, so far back that it took half a second to reach us. However that gripe aside it was a really good gig and their classic hits shone through and really raised the roof. Roxanne was powerful, Do Do Do Da Da Da was played to the crowd with the obligatory audience participation. To say the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention would be a massively over used cliche, yet during Every Breath You Take and Walking On The Moon it was true. Sting was no bigger than my thumb nail, but thanks to the two stage flanking video screens we could enjoy seeing him perform and for a guy his age, he's looking pretty good and sure puts a lot into what is, to be honest, just another day at work for him! The Police live at Twickenham Stadium was a darn fine gig, very enjoyable, entertaining and a thrill. Getting out was a bit of a mare, but then again, with 55,000 people all heading out, it was never going to be fast, it seemed like a different day when we finally got back to the relative safety and normality of Brighton station at 1.14am.

This morning I rose with Every Breath tripping the light fantastic in my cranial cavern, I watched a bit of news - more on that in a mo, and then rode over to Portslade to see my brother, who wasn't there, so I rode back. Yes, indeed I got back in the saddle and yes, my legs are aching like fuck right now, well actually, just the right leg, the one with metal and screws on the inside, is giving me a throbbing pain, but hey, thems the breaks!

So breaking news all day was that following Gerry and Kate McCann's interviews by the Police in Portugal and being named as suspects, they've headed home, back to the UK. When little Maddie first went missing, Gerry and Kate said they would not leave Portugal until their daughter was with them, yet now they are official suspects, they've hightailed their sorry arses outta town! After the first week the toddler being missing, I've thought that there was something not quite right with those two. Something was amiss, the whole way they've carried themselves, everything about them has just the odour of insincerity about it. I'm not saying they are guilty of murdering the little Maddie, but they are somehow implicated in her disappearance. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens next, but I'm willing to bet good money that there are more police interviews to come for the McCanns and maybe even some charges! Bout time too if you ask me!

That's it for now! More soon!

Oi hands off my DNA, none shall sleep!

I've just done night 3 of this set of 4 and it's been a pretty busy old time, I know I complain about work, but sometimes I actually do enjoy it, this shift has been one of those times. I think I prefer it busy, but just don't tell the boss! One of the things about working a 12 hour night shift is that it leaves little time when you're not at work to do anything other than sleep during the day, it also means you spend so many waking hours with work colleagues than most normal job, plus there are only a few of you doing the graveyard shift, so you quickly get to know the ins and outs of each other - oh the secrets I could tell!

There has been a little bit of an uproar in England over the last day or so after a senior judge called for all UK residents and visitors to be required to provide a DNA sample to help police solve crimes. Lord Justice Sedley said this would make the present database in England and Wales fairer and less biased, the database currently holds details of four million people's DNA. Each month, some 30,000 more samples from suspects or DNA recovered from crime scenes are added to the database, making it the largest in the world.

It includes some 24,000 samples from young people aged between 10 and 17, who were arrested but never convicted! This silly judge said "Everybody, guilty or innocent, should expect their DNA to be on file for the absolutely rigorously restricted purpose of crime detection and prevention"

The Human Genetics Commission said creating such a huge database would be too expensive and prone to mistakes. Liberty, the civil rights group claim the proposal as "chilling" and "ripe for abuse". I quite agree, it's a step way to far, a massive infringement on my own personal civil liberties. Just think of what could happen if such details and the samples got into the wrong hands, to be honest it doesn't bear thinking about. It's just too much like 'Big Brother' looking over us and collecting way way to much information on us, our lives, our being and our movements.

The parents of murdered 11-year-old Rhys Jones have asked well-wishers to wear bright clothes or football strips for their son's funeral on Thursday. The schoolboy, a keen fan of his local side Everton, will be buried after a service at Liverpool's Anglican cathedral.

He died after being shot in the neck in a pub car park in the Croxteth area of the city on his way home from playing football on 22nd August. Another young, innocent victim of horrendous street crime that seems to be ever present here in England. So far 17 people have been arrested over his murder, but no charges have been brought. Somewhere, someone knows who did this crime and is saying nothing, someone holds the clue that could capture the killer, yet they are staying silent, I wont say what I think of that as I don't want to offend you with my colourful and expletive language, I not a fan of capital punishment, it's not something I believe in, however in this case I sure could make an exception.

The musical world has suffered a huge loss in the early hours of this morning when that giant of opera Pavarotti passed away at the ripe age of 71. This rather ermm rotund, bearded tenor, who was regarded by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, came to to fame when he made a stand-in appearance at London's Covent Garden way back in 1963. Soon this rather large guy with an amazing and voluminous voice had the critics and fans gushing.

Perhaps his biggest gift to the music world was when he teamed up with Spanish stars Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras at the 1990 soccer World Cup in Italy and introduced operatic classics to an estimated 800 million people in TV coverage around the globe, and 1 little person at home in West Green in Crawley!

Sales of opera albums shot up after the gala concert in Rome's Baths of Caracalla and strains of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" became as much a feature of soccer fever as the usual more raucous stadium chants and a favorite of countless millions of people the world over.

New iPods!! Fresh after you've splashed ya cash on a new iPod or iPhone if you're in the states, along they come with a new bit of high tech kit! Apple Inc. (I love the Inc part of US companies, much nice the the Ltd we have!) unveiled new iPods on Wednesday including a model with an iPhone-style touch screen and wireless Internet connectivity! Hopefully stopping rivals catch-up plans stone dead for a while!

Not only touch screens but also Apple introduced higher capacity versions of the original hard-drive iPod and added video and games to it's iPod nano, which stores songs and photos on flash memory chips. The iPhone-style iPod Touch will cost $299 thats £148 for a version with 8 gigabytes of storage and $399 for 16 GB. Those new nanos will set you back a cool $149 for 4GB and $199 for 8GB, which is not bad at all, I think. New versions of the hard-drive iPod will retail for $249 for 80GB and $349 for 160GB, which is a little bit on the steep side, but then again it is Apple so therefore it is more expensive than other makers. To a large extent you're paying for the name and the innovation, but also the style, after all there are pure Apple queens out there. You know the kinda chap, just has to have the latest 'i' whatever, regardless of cost. The kind of chap that will fork out a few hundred pounds on a iBook, iPod, iMac just because it's an Apple. The kinda person that would even buy an iVibrator if such a thing was available!

I could hardly believe it when I heard the news about billionaire Russian owner of Chelsea football club, Roman Abramovich, has ordered another private aircraft! It's not that he's ordered another one, but the type of aircraft that had my ghast so flabbered! He's only gone and put in an order for one of those new super double decker Airbus A380, the world's biggest airliner! A French newspaper released the news that Abramovich was the mystery buyer behind an order for an A380 VIP, which was revealed by Airbus at the Paris Air Show in June.

The double decker A380, which enters service later this year, is capable of carrying 840 passengers. It's first commercial flight will be from Singapore to Sydney by Singapore Airlines, yet you can't buy tickets in the normal way for unique flight. Nope, to get your mitts on a ticket you'll have to keep an eye on eBay, where the tickets will be auctioned off and all the profits going to charity. Big business does good for once, I've already registered online for my shot at snapping up a ticket, but I'm sure it's going to be well out of my price range! See http://www.a380.singaporeair.com/ for more details.

Time to sleep now, be good till the next time!

Scene Queen - moi?

I'm not at all sure why I have a headache this morning, I only had a couple last night! After a lazy day of doing very little I met up with David from work for a drinkie or two. Started in the Star, not one of my usual haunts, but David wanted to check out something or other going on there, so we had one standing in the doorway. Then headed to Charles Street. David was on top form, he hasn't been in that venue for five long years h said and was a little disappointed with the place. I'm not surprised, it has seen better days, the place looks rather grubby messy, tired and well down at heal. But, hey it's got an outside area, which for a smoker is a boon, that is if you can put up with standing in piles of fag ends that litter the floor. Then we headed up to Amsterdam, which is much nicer and a whole lot cleaner. We sat inside and then sat outside on the terrace, under the heat lamps, listening to the sound of Sunday Sundae blasting from Audio next door, it was almost Brighton's version of Thelma and Louise doing the south of France! A right old giggle and then finally we had a nightcap at Legends. It was good to paint the town a nice shade of pink and had a right old giggle.

Saturday night, I was out with Jake and a couple of his buddies from uni, yes, I was the oldest by about 15 years! Something about the oldest swinger in town was mentioned, and indeed Jake said that I was in danger of becoming a scene queen! The cheek of the lad, I'm not a queen and hardly ever out on the scene, but that's the young of today for you. We headed up to Kepmtown village for a drink in a bar, I can't remember the name, but it was a nice little place, then I was marched down to the front where beverages were taken in Amsterdam again, and then back to Legends. It wasn't a massive drinking session, just a little troll to make sure I'm not missing out on scene life! Plus it's been rather nice, having the whole weekend off, which is something I don't often have and plus I was awake, which makes a change!

Living in such a vibrant and accepting town as Brighton it's sometimes very hard to see and believe that not all places are as tolerant as my hometown. Sometimes it's other news from around the world that just thunders home how lucky we are in the town and indeed this country, that our rights's, lives and well being is protected by law. For example, here's just a tiny round up of homophobia and discrimination from around the world:- The President of Samoa banned all gay activity at the recent South Pacific games, straight activity was encouraged. There are 58 laws that need changing for Aussie gay and lesbians to have equality, so far about 25,000 people down under have petitioned John Howard, the PM, in support of those changes. In Texas, a church offered to host a funeral for Cecil Sinclair a navy veteran, but cancelled it at short notice when they saw a photograph of the deceased with his arm around his boyfriend. Staying with the States, the Virginia State School Board has granted access to children as young as 5 years old to PFOX. PFOX is non-profit organization providing outreach, education, and public awareness in support of the ex-gay community and families touched by homosexuality. They believe that 'ex-gays' make the personal decision to leave homosexuality through gender affirming programs, including secular therapy and/or faith based ministries, otherwise known as social pressure and brain washing! They fight to stop equality, they target schools with any kind of gay group, gay activities, gay association or a even school that simply has an open and understanding policy on homosexuality. Now it appears that they've been given the right to leaflet children as young as 5 in Virginia! A Brazilian judge insists that gay players don't belong in soccer and should not be accepted. Two French tourists were arrested in from of the Coliseum in Rome, their crime was, they were kissing! That's just a tiny little itty bit of homophobic news from around the world! I'm so glad I live in a country where we have same sex civil partnerships, where we have an equal age of consent, where it's illegal to discriminate against us because or our sexuality. There are many things wrong with this country, but at least this is one area where we've got it right!

A bit of love now, Nearly 7000 couples smooched late on Saturday in the Bosnian town of Tuzla in a bid to break the world simultaneous kissing record. the crowd kissed for at least ten seconds at 11pm local time with fireworks, a giant TV screen, confetti and heart-shaped red balloons as the backdrop, and yes, they broke the world record!

I hear Darren Hayes, that kooky singer from Savage Garden is playing Brighton Dome this 28th day of September, I'd like to see him, his voice is so sweet, just think of Savage Garden's wondrous hits 'Affirmation' and 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' and it evokes feelings of pleasure. Sadly I'm whoring that night, so I might have to try and pull some strings and get the night, or at least part of the night off. Mika is also playing Brighton in the not too distant future, might have to bag myself a ticket for that gig as well. Oh and also coming out, is the DVD of one of the best gay films ever to come out of Britain in the 80's, the Fruit Machine! It's a wonderful film, part of it set in good old Brighton and stars Robbie Coltrane - in drag!

Anyway, enough rantings from me for now, more soon no doubt, although it's back to work tonight and I'm not looking forward to that, but hey, it pays the bills!

Where is the love?

Phew, last night Big Brother 8 came to an end with more a whimper than a bang, it has been the least watched and least talked about Big Brother series of all time, sparking doubt into the future of the show. Edemol have already scrapped plans to do another celeb version of the show, so who knows what the future holds for the nromal plebs version of the prog. I'm sure we've not seen the last of BB, but in it's present format, I think it's had it's day! I don't even know whose won!

Tell you what tho, I have just been watching the X Factor, it's so funny, I love talent searching, fresh raw talent coming through from the masses. The X Factor always shows the best and the worst of the folks auditioning for a better life, so are surprisingly bad, that it's so hard to believe they're doing it for real. That some how they actually think they can sing, that they have a nice voice, that they have a chance. Other's surprise you with a voice that can only be described as heaven sent.

I'm not sure what's happened this season, but Simon Cowell, seems to be just a little tiny bit more, well nice! He's less cutting and rude as he used to be, perhaps he's mellowing with age, or myabe they've edited out his really nasty comments. After all it is his show, his idea, his production company make it and his record company that give the winner the record contract! I know he's a hit with the ladies,