tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55742112012-02-19T12:16:59.527ZBlogging since 2003Paulnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14831100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-41945712827433960532012-02-19T12:16:00.000Z2012-02-19T12:16:59.534Z

This is Marie from Petersfield showing her playing technique with a Les Paul something or other, I'm sure Shy can identify it. She used to play in a band and rather than ask to he smile I said, "can you  give us a D?" to which she replied "not sure about that, will a G do?" - No idea if that is what she is attempting but she was fun to photograph.  In the shot below she is obviously trying to

Paulnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-51909815473940899452012-02-18T18:53:00.000Z2012-02-18T18:53:25.937Z

This just pisses me off to be honest and the saga of Box Hill gets more surreal everyday. Everybody with an interest in attending the part of the race that goes through this managed site knew that numbers would be limited, that was clear from the outset but how does making the 15,000 possible spectators help the event? The  whole thing just gets more tawdry and the suggestion that the money will

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-21307213384592365472012-02-16T09:00:00.000Z2012-02-16T09:00:26.237Z

Stoke City v Valencia. (Europa League Round of 32)

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-56000510692484955262012-02-15T16:37:00.000Z2012-02-15T16:37:28.003Z

According to the BBC Southampton equalised late in the game at Upton Park last night thus depriving us of two points. Late? The goal came after 75 minutes, that means 15 minutes (+5 stoppage) remained, sixteen per cent of the game was left. Applying that sort of mathematical logic I couldn't help wondering, do BBC journalists go to bed at 8 p.m because it's late in the day. 

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-49622821158521266212012-02-14T09:10:00.000Z2012-02-14T09:10:00.068Z

Current work pressures and a database rebuilding project in my 'spare time' means that posting on here is something of a luxury at the moment, however I wanted to share something before I forgot about it. Part of our audit brief is to review employers handbooks and contracts of employment, with regards to the former the most recent piece of important legislation is the Bribery Act 2010, which

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-65233062388672701352012-02-12T09:10:00.001Z2012-02-14T09:12:17.392Z

Life has a habit of repeating itself, none more so than at work where jobs reappear at the same time year after year and the moment that you open a file and see that it's  exactly a year to the day since you last opened a file to begin the audit of a particular client always raises a smile - yes I know, who said accountancy was dull.  This week I've been out on audit, out of the reach of staff,

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-80016683999425834042012-02-05T13:41:00.002Z2012-02-05T13:43:06.319Z

I love this story from the Irish city of Kilkenny. Apparently an Irish based film company were given four tickets for the Oscars and decided to run a competition for a George Clooney look-a-like, the winner being given a ticket for the show. Well no wonder one of the main thoroughfares is called Maudlin Street because if it wasn't for the crying they'd be crying with laughter at the winner.

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-82212704005485712112012-02-04T08:46:00.000Z2012-02-04T08:46:56.812Z

-8 this morning down here in the beautiful south, I expect up north you are still in your t-shirts though! Anyway, despite it being too cold for a brass monkey to venture outside the sun is shining and here are The Vaccines from last summer.

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-17721106765859696312012-02-03T21:32:00.003Z2012-02-03T21:33:24.241Z

Daily Mail in "right wing are bigots" shock. Calm down everybody it's not as bad as you hoped or indeed think.  I often wonder how small a sample is necessary to actually prove a theory but it's the sort of thing that gets everybody excited. It comes as something of a shock however that Crystal Warren is actually a man. What I find slightly disturbing however is the abuse this poor woman seems

Paulnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-36609910566200210322012-02-01T18:05:00.002Z2012-02-01T18:06:37.093Z

Walking PR disaster, humour free zone and pie lover Eamonn Holmes has struck again, this time asking a female sex addict why she hadn’t considered prostitution. The chubby co-host of ‘This Morning’ was interviewing Crystal Warren, who claims to have slept with more than 1,000 men and says she is unable to keep a job due to her addiction, she didn't say whether or not this was due to her being

Paulnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-20985752880951544552012-02-01T14:41:00.000Z2012-02-01T14:41:28.627Z

Remember the episode of The Simpsons called Bart The Genius where little Bart finds himself in a class of over achievers and has to give an example of a truism, he chooses, "You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't." Well I couldn't help thinking of Springfield's most famous age resistant resident when the news emerged that Sir Fred Goodwin had been stripped of his knighthood. The

Paulnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-6032427873828659812012-01-30T11:30:00.020Z2012-01-30T11:58:59.398Z

Okay so quoting a Grateful Dead song title may seem a strange way of beginning a review of an oral history of 'grunge' music but Mark Yarm's 542 page oral history of Seattle's third most famous export (after computers and coffee shops) 'Everybody Loves Our Town'  is just that. It is a journey from small beginnings to world domination and then slow death. Where this book differs from most tomes

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-59726144457681982562012-01-29T13:33:00.001Z2012-01-29T13:34:42.410Z

Sometimes it's hard for the man in the street to understand what is happening in the financial world simply because there is a huge gap between our experiences and expectations on a day to day level. Most people relate the cost of living and wages to, well the cost of living - petrol, food, beer etc. This week there have been two stories demonstrating how far removed the man in the street is from

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-69072901028962390992012-01-28T11:05:00.000Z2012-01-28T11:05:04.543Z

The Africa Cup of Nations has produced its usual balance of flair, poor goalkeeping and bizarre spectator costumes but what it does produce in fewer quantities with each passing tournament is naivety. It's not that long ago that watching the competition was akin to watching a group of children playing with a balloon in a wind tunnel with the balloon being pulled on a string by some unseen hand.

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-14492236569419056662012-01-26T17:31:00.000Z2012-01-26T17:31:31.829Z

                       Kevin-Prince Boateng's injury hit career at Milan has been explained by his  girlfriend, model Melissa Satta, who admitted this week that, "The reason why he is always injured is because we have sex 7-10 times a week." She then added, with probably a little too much information for some footie fans, ""I hate foreplay, I want to get straight to the point. My favourite

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-2275672331248660402012-01-25T17:27:00.000Z2012-01-25T17:27:45.022Z

This is Lucy. Lucy is twenty one and a University student studying psychology, she wants to work with mentally challenged children at the end of her degree course and at the moment she is on a one hundred day placement working in a secure unit with schizophrenic patients. She's the complete opposite of the oft-portrayed young person for whom anything is too much trouble. In addition to her

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-64992925789915335412012-01-22T18:23:00.000Z2012-01-22T18:23:29.258Z

You know for years how a certain airline was econmical with the truth regarding its adverts: fly to Paris for £39, well actually it's not Paris it's Beauvais which is about 55 miles away well cruise companies are no different. Whilst there was a break between Manchester clubs beating North London clubs this afternoon, I switched over to the Travel Channel and there was a puff piece for a '

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-19584301466305811592012-01-21T12:08:00.023Z2012-01-21T12:23:11.578Z

So was this a case of being cut off because you can't pay your bills or something more sinister. I suppose that really depends how you perceive bias in your news reporting and consumption, the BBC are biased and Press TV are 'Mad Mullahs', blimey how far right are those guys at Biased BBC? Press TV has been portrayed by some, see above, as a throwback to the bad old days of Pravda, or the right

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-9290681165524420922012-01-21T07:10:00.005Z2012-01-21T13:54:15.093Z

Who would have thought it eh? The last big television advertising campaign of 2011 and the first major campaign of 2012 featuring songs originally written and recorded by The Smiths and The Pixies respectively. Just as Slow Moving Millie reworked "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want," for the John Lewis Christmas holiday so we have Guy Farley reworking The Pixies classic "Where is

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-27256270683511468292012-01-20T17:49:00.000Z2012-01-20T17:49:55.483Z

Etta James died today, four years to the date from when one of her most famous songs was uploaded onto Youtube. "I Just Wanna Make Love To You," has become a firm favourite of ad men (it was used in the U.K in Diet Coke ads), television directors and the people responsible for the compilations of blues records/cd's. Jamesette Hawkins, as she was born in 1938, had one of the truly great voices

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-17927652589316811382012-01-19T17:50:00.000Z2012-01-20T17:50:47.922Z

I had a meeting with a client yesterday who I took over last year from the retiring Bob but this was our first face to face meeting. He runs a family business with his wife and son and they are one of only four such businesses in the country and people come from all over the country to his showroom, whilst I was there he had a potential customer from Newcastle in who was spending two nights and

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-10986210726341291982012-01-15T13:16:00.000Z2012-01-15T13:16:34.712Z

One of the criticisms we, the voters, have of our politicians is that they tend to be rather myopic in their planning, rarely seeing beyond their statutory term in office. There have of course been three leaders during the last thirty years who have sought to leave a legacy and to some extent have done so to a greater or lesser degree: Mrs Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair all looked beyond

Paulnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-62405835171651334392012-01-14T11:10:00.003Z2012-01-14T11:12:04.784Z

This is one of those bizarre synchronicity moments. Listening to Radio Four on the way back from the gym this morning an American lady had chosen the sound of crows for her musical tapestry, saying that she forever associates the sound of crows with England because it was one of the first sounds she heard on arriving here. Crows are clever birds, Nathalie has one that stalks her which does

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-46736082672611614052012-01-14T10:58:00.003Z2012-01-14T11:00:11.599Z

The man who was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr (what a great name by the way) on the 14th January 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky celebrates his 70th birthday today as Muhammad Ali. Without getting too nostalgic again it would be wrong not to mention how much pleasure he gave me in my pre-teen years when boxing was quite a large part of the televised sporting landscape. After the boxing came the

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-81941037686997648842012-01-12T17:43:00.000Z2012-01-12T17:43:50.991Z

I meant to post this around Christmas but it slipped my mind only to be rediscovered after Span's comment about his first TV back in the Sixties. The BBC have been showing Top of The Pops in order from 1976, they've now reached 1977, and just before Christmas was the show from November 1976 when the name of the dance group who would replace Pans People was announced. The name, Legs and Co., 

Paulnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-39269622750818332642012-01-10T17:51:00.003Z2012-01-10T18:03:21.581Z

Les Aventures de Tintin the series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist Georges Remi (pen name of Hergé) first appeared in French in Le Petit Vingtième, a children's supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le XXe Siècle (the 20th century) on 10 January 1929. The success of the series saw the serialised strips published in Belgium's leading newspaper Le Soir, collected into a series of

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-37611348243512353872012-01-09T16:31:00.001Z2012-01-09T16:39:44.008Z

It's almost a year ago since the BBC's Mark Easton reported on the study about attitudes towards immigation by Transatlantic Trends. The main points were: "The British are easily the most hostile on the question of immigration and immigrants - even though five of the nations polled have a greater proportion of foreigners in their population. According to the research commissioned by US and

Paulnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-65731231714997937652012-01-08T12:40:00.003Z2012-01-08T12:43:43.337Z

A study published in the British Medical Journal and reported in the Independent concludes that the decline in cognitive skills begins earlier than previously believed. And just to prove that reasoning does indeed begin to decline after forty five David Cameron opens his mouth and proves a point. Still he has said sorry, so anybody with Tourettes can stop feeling offended. Of course this was

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-81494174185607446592012-01-06T04:56:00.000Z2012-01-06T19:24:28.215Z

There is one subject that is guaranteed to divide messageboards (which I have given up for 2012) and that's the private sector v public sector pension debate. One of the more interesting posts (BBC site) to appear last year when the public sector workers day of action took place was from one poster who said that they had forgone a possibly higher salary in the private sector to work in the

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-11868615656586056722012-01-05T16:16:00.000Z2012-01-05T16:16:21.437Z

How bizarre is this weather at the moment. One minute it's blowing a gale the next it's brilliant sunshine, then you have the rain and then a little while later all three are combined creating some sort of maelstrom where you need to be aware of falling masonry whilst wearing factor ten sunblock. At one point yesterday morning I couldn't actually see across the road from my office window because

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-59055335189999062332012-01-04T17:48:00.000Z2012-01-04T17:48:27.096Z

The album Adelphi Has To Fly was released last summer by the Derby born folk singer Lucy Ward and I hadn't heard a track from it until Christmas Day when I was giving it as a present. I don't think it matters whether or not you like folk music when you hear this young woman's voice because it transcends all genres. The above clip is from last years Sheppey Festival and is her version of a

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-59173880227500127502012-01-03T17:45:00.000Z2012-01-03T17:45:01.589Z

At this time of the year I spend a little time looking backwards before concentrating all my energies on the year ahead. Reading through all of the 'look backs' in the magazines and newspapers it was the stories that involved the 2012 Olympics that took my eye. The post Olympic legacy looks a good one but there were several aspects of how the 'village' is going to be utilised as part of this

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-20933228246224651862012-01-02T00:01:00.000Z2012-01-02T00:01:01.263Z

A list of twelve beautiful people appeared yesterday online, they are apparently the stars of 2012. One of the dozen was Tulisa Contostavlos. The blurb next to the photogenic Ms Contostavlos said that she "is set to have an impressive 2012. She became a household name thanks to her new role as 'X Factor' judge, and has now broken away from her N-Dubz bandmates to forge a solo career. An

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-15293389400190852452012-01-01T12:40:00.000Z2012-01-01T12:40:17.001Z

I blogged on 3 January 2007 that I had disturbed a frog whilst doing some gardening, I thought at the time that it was too early for that particular amphibian to be up and about, well last night its record was beaten by two frogs calling out to each other through the wind and rain as the old year came to an end. 2011 was apparently the second warmest since records began, even though the summer

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-15934509598999852342011-12-31T14:13:00.005Z2011-12-31T14:13:01.054Z

As with every year 2011 saw the deaths of many of the great and good as well as those of people who weren't famous or 'celebs' but whose lives had more of an impact than those who basked, however briefly, in the glow of public affection.  For anybody who did lose a loved one during 2011 my sympathies are with you, I know it probably isn't much consolation at the moment but things do get easier

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-32550302681715735342011-12-30T10:28:00.001Z2011-12-31T12:30:48.216Z

David Millar is one of the most engaging, intelligent, witty and outspoken sportsmen of his generation. He tells it as he sees it and whilst we are in Clicheville he is certainly one of those who can talk the talk and walk the walk. He remains the only British cyclist ever to wear the yellow, green and polka dot jerseys in the Tour and he is the only British rider to win stages in the Tour,

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-65786186304046757372011-12-28T13:53:00.000Z2011-12-28T13:53:06.281Z

A Czech national was nabbed in Argentina for trying to board a transatlantic flight with 247 live animals including poisonous snakes and endangered reptiles packed in a bulging suitcase, reports said Monday. This is how it was reported by AP: "The man identified as Karel Abelovsky, 51, was caught while trying to board a flight for Madrid when shocked baggage X-ray technicians and staff at the

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-16176421251786329332011-12-28T00:28:00.000Z2011-12-28T12:15:37.874Z

Moving on from my experiences of playing Joseph in a French speaking version of the Nativity I always wonder at this time of year what the Christmas experience actually means in terms of religious significance to the majority of us. Of course it's easy these days to dismiss the whole religious aspect as being something of an intrusion into a Pagan festival but until the advent (no pun intended)

Paulnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-12438019661212677012011-12-27T15:13:00.002Z2011-12-28T12:05:12.916Z

Voted number one song of the year (it actually came out in October 2010 but who cares?), this will either annoy or delight you ( I think I know which camp Span will fall into!). For me it's a classic sound of summer and I love the way it's been used in this video. Of course being such an ear worm its found its way during the year into everything from MOTD to the Impressionists Show and anything

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-45454822694035231742011-12-26T12:04:00.000Z2011-12-28T12:04:40.813Z

We, I am talking about us Brits here, have this reputation amongst ourselves of being 'rip off Britain' and amongst our European cousins of being 'Treasure Island' - the people who will pay whatever price is asked regardless of quality or service. Well it's reassuring to report that we aren't alone in this and that in Germany businesses are quite prepared to increase prices in search of profit as

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-54056970470544603572011-12-25T08:39:00.000Z2011-12-25T08:39:07.927Z

Happy Christmas to my 'regulars' and anybody that's stumbled across this page by accident

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-81469057128372882332011-12-23T14:07:00.003Z2011-12-23T14:08:09.484Z

2,977 People killed in 9/11 terrorist attacks on America 4,474 American soldiers killed in nine-year war with Iraq which resulted

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-82823358905331549602011-12-22T22:44:00.001Z2011-12-23T00:19:01.918Z

Cav won the Sports Personality of The Year Award for 2011, not bad considering it wasn't an Olympic year, who knows he might repeat the triumph next year. He's had a fantastic year in which he won two stages of the Giro, two stages of the Tour of Britain, five stages in the Tour (over a course that wasn't supposed to be suited to sprinters) and topped it all off with a memorable win at

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-71530937359959126672011-12-22T19:15:00.000Z2011-12-22T19:15:34.698Z

I can't be the only person who found the solidarity among the Liverpool players last night at Wigan a little distasteful. Okay it's not on the same lines as going to a mates stag do in France and finding out it's a Nazi fancy dress do but it still seemed to display a complete lack of respect for the decision to find Luis Suarez guilty of racist language. Putting to one side the case for and

Paulnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-85246605180000032852011-12-21T17:47:00.000Z2011-12-21T17:47:40.989Z

As the cold winds start to bite it's worth remembering that we lose as much as 45% of our body heat through our heads, Therefore wearing a hat in adverse weather conditions is always worth considering and as Tasha above demonstrates you can look cool in a hat. Of course if you step out of the house in just a hat you may find your collar felt by the old bill, although of course you won't be

Paulnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-69393703084412008972011-12-18T14:34:00.000Z2011-12-18T14:34:11.774Z

I witnessed road rage at close quarters yesterday, it was directed at me. The funny thing though was that my instant reaction was to aplogise even though I wasn't the one in the wrong! Coming out of Salisbury on the A36 I was hooted at by a twenty something who was waving his fist at me and his face all contorted with anger because I had moved from the middle lane to the inside lane as there was

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-76816395329556793962011-12-18T13:02:00.000Z2011-12-18T13:02:50.572Z

The last time I watched a match taking place in Yokohama a Brazilian side were handing out a footballing lesson to the top European nation, that was Brazil beating Germany in the 2002 World Cup Final with 'Fat' Ronnie being the star. This morning the top European club side gave the best South America could offer a footballing lesson, Barcelona beat Santos 4-0 and it could have been seven or

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-83640007109834960052011-12-17T18:03:00.000Z2011-12-17T18:03:43.211Z

Without wishing to make light of the writer/commentators death it has to be said that there is something wonderfully ironic about the timing of his death, coming as it does in the middle of wonga festival - the time when we are easily parted from our cash and credit cards all in the name of a religious festival. Hitchens was a writer who polarised opinion, I've seen him described over the past

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-8854714921858257472011-12-14T15:43:00.000Z2011-12-14T15:43:42.923Z

You can't helping smiling as the winter air is filled with the sound of children laughing and shouting as they make their way to and from the Christmas Service held in the Parish Church in town. The long crocodile of Primary and Junior School kids, their teachers and class assistants make the mile or so walk through the streets and then return an hour or so later only to be followed the next day

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-7805378624428547202011-12-11T13:12:00.001Z2011-12-11T13:13:54.229Z

I was driving to Southampton on Thursday night for a photoshoot and through the wind and rain the reassuring sound of Radio 4 discussing the EU talks came as something of a welcome relief from being blown into the New Forest. Fast forward some twelve hours and I was awoken by the news of David Cameron's decision to play this years Panto villain and pull up the anchor and untether us from the rest

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-41121437909540803942011-12-11T10:48:00.002Z2011-12-11T10:50:00.827Z

Walking through Poole High Street yesterday the sound of the Christmas National Anthem was drifting, well stomping really, out of one of the shops, as the song came within earshot two men in their late fifties, early sixties happened to be walking past me. "Hear that?" "Yeah." "That's Slade isn't it?" "Yeah, think you're right. Yeah, it's Slade."

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-21257770113772462432011-12-10T19:15:00.000Z2011-12-10T19:15:15.847Z

It's a hectic time of the year for many reasons: work, Christmas, work and Christmas and family related matters that make posting as regularly as I would like impossible, even visiting other peoples blogs has suddenly become harder and to be honest if it wasn't for The Week I'd be behind the times on a lot of issues. It's because of those things that relaxing away from work and even getting away

Paulnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-65554688051745741642011-12-03T00:41:00.000Z2011-12-03T00:41:15.820Z

We were recently discussing, both at home and at work, the lack of students who had approached the firm this summer looking for either summer placements or asking about the possibility of a training contract once formal education had ceased. It is the first time since the early 1980's when there hasn't been at least one letter or one phone call from some bright eyed student looking for a career

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-73216991281034020452011-12-02T11:52:00.001Z2011-12-02T11:53:16.335Z

It's taken a while but I have finally reached the end of Life by Keith Richards (with James Fox). It is a real page turner, all 547 pages of it. It's interesting that it takes Keith some 480 pages to trace from his childhood in Deptford through to the Stones 1989 'Steel Wheels' tour and then under a hundred to cover the next twenty years a reflection perhaps that the Stones contribution to

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-55170228745683574602011-12-01T15:35:00.000Z2011-12-01T15:35:50.889Z

I'm still alive! Just snowed under by work and also the fact that November is not my best month in terms of my mental state due to past events. Anyway just to let anybody out there who is passing that I am trying to get round to actually posting again shortly. In the meantime here is this weeks testcard: This is Nessa who works as a barmaid in a Southampton social club whom I had the pleasure

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-46832903585539478742011-11-12T12:56:00.000Z2011-11-12T12:56:33.654Z

Finally got around to watching Made in Dagenham last night, the British film (partly sponsored by the National Lottery and BBC) about the strike at the Ford Plant in Dagenham in 1968. The strike, for those who don't know or who haven't seen the film, was about woman machinists being paid the same as men for skilled work. It was a very good film, Miranda Richardson as Barbara Castle was excellent

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-89761827755711596032011-11-12T12:13:00.002Z2011-11-12T12:13:54.443Z

Went into one of our offices yesterday and remarked to the lady in it how dark it was, "Yes," she replied, "It's as dark as somebody's anus."

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-43403043897194815352011-11-11T11:11:00.002Z2011-11-11T11:11:00.479Z

There are people who no longer donate to the Poppy Appeal at this time of year in exchange for one of the small red flowers. It seems a shame to hold onto some small change simply because you do not agree with the idea of a 'war on terror'. As a nation we have always treated our soldiers shabbily on their return from war. Every soldier from every war from the First World War to the current

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-85146665569205696652011-11-10T22:30:00.000Z2011-11-10T22:30:09.634Z

Whilst idly browsing the Interweb I came across an advert for a reel-to-reel Sony tape recorder for sale, there was a picture of the recorder followed by the following description: This is a Vintage Sony TC-907 Reel to Reel Recorder Player. This unit has obvious battery leakage problems. I cleaned up some battery residue from the battery compartment but there is still some left and some on the

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-45031836456877806002011-11-06T13:08:00.000Z2011-11-06T13:08:48.850Z

I promised Shy that I would reply to his very funny  'shaky hand' comment on the photograph of Monica on the bed by telling the back story to it. We were doing a 'rock chick' shoot in Southampton which was set around the idea of a musician in her hotel room, nothing to raunchy just a girl, her pet lobster, guitar and champagne - oh and a bottle of Jim Beam. It was a really good shoot and I was

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-49001214484804981632011-11-04T21:19:00.000Z2011-11-04T21:19:20.333Z

So I'm sat at work and my mobile phone rings, a fairly unusual occurrence as I will explain later, I don't recognise the number and it's not one of my contacts but I can see it's a 'proper' number so I pick up. "Hello is that Paul?" "Yes." "This is Barry from O2 and I want to tell you about some of our current great offers." "Okay." "We've got loganberries, strawberries, aliens, the whole lot. 

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-15398303337322782912011-10-31T18:09:00.000Z2011-10-31T18:09:34.198Z

No, not fellow bloggers I mean road users. First morning after the clocks went back and the daily commute was quicker than normal. The only other road users were a tractor and a pheasant. Always a slightly depressing time of year when the clocks go back, the last thing I need at the weekends is an extra hour in bed, I can't stay in bed too long as it is without laying there looking at the

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-81464747254529777742011-10-14T21:37:00.000+01:002011-10-14T21:37:23.254+01:00

Was Oliver Letwin just unlucky in addition to being just plain stupid? I mean how many days must you hang out in one of London's parks just hoping to take a photograph of a Government Minister dropping papers in a bin before you get lucky - five days in a row? I've always thought that Letwin had a decent brain in his head, certainly I think his 2001 plan for the economy was something that

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-36860225012913310092011-10-14T21:30:00.002+01:002011-10-14T21:30:31.834+01:00

I've been keeping an eye on your blog but haven't posted anything until you give the all clear!

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-37302379419659273392011-10-09T13:13:00.002+01:002011-10-09T13:45:52.817+01:00

After the piss poor rugby that England played yesterday faith was restored in the professional game before breakfast this morning by the serving up of eighty minutes of full-on contact sport. This was attack v defence for most of the game with the South African's racking up a Barcelona type of stat with 76% of possession and yet unlike the Catalans they ended up losing and going home. The

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-10593196119275344552011-10-06T17:42:00.000+01:002011-10-06T17:42:40.038+01:00

I met a celebrity today and I couldn't stop looking at her. No I won't name her due to client confidentality but I was like a schoolboy with a crush, how embarassing is that? I spoke to her on the phone on Monday for half an hour and couldn't wait to blab the news when I got home and today sat across the table from her I was simpy awestrck. I can't explain what it was but she just had an aura

Paulnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-18497459661175803572011-10-05T16:49:00.000+01:002011-10-05T16:49:56.697+01:00

Last week I took delivery of the Super Deluxe Box Set 20th Anniversary Edition of Nevermind by Nirvana. It's a wonderfully lavish package, a box containing four CD's, a DVD, a double sided poster and a ninety page booklet - or at least that's what the sticker on the back says. Unfortunately I just can't bring myself to open it. I didn't buy it so it would stay wrapped up, I've never been one

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-39794976922898499862011-10-04T14:50:00.000+01:002011-10-04T14:50:32.296+01:00

Some more lunchtime research shows that between 1st May 1997 and 31st December 1998 118 Acts of Parliament were passed. Of those 118, 10  were for Scotland, 2 were for Northern Ireland and 12 were repealed before 2000. Since May 2010 55 Acts of Parliament have been added to the statute.   No, I don't know what it means/proves/illustrates* either.     *delete as inappropriate

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-54041389529929358402011-10-02T11:31:00.001+01:002011-10-02T12:08:42.645+01:00

One of the more interesting aspects of British political life over the last decade or so has been the movement of the two main parties towards the centre,  it has as much to do with not upsetting all of the people all of the time as far as I can see. Well that combined with the acknowledgement that Britain has spoken out so much against extremes in politics, from South America to South Africa to

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-24328112376261287832011-10-01T22:07:00.000+01:002011-10-02T12:08:05.341+01:00

Went to look at a new photographic studio in Southampton today and on the way decided to stop and take some photographs of St.Mary's. Well St.Mary's is set in an exclusion zone as far as car parking goes and whilst there are car parks on the site itself I was aware that there was a home match against Watford and didn't think there would be much chance of a freebie before hand. Anyway, nothing

Paulnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-70847420539565120472011-09-28T18:11:00.001+01:002011-09-28T18:11:36.746+01:00

So the argument wasn't about not wanting to play but about not wanting to warm-up, how strange is that? One of the oldest professional tricks in the book is that a player will start warming up to attract the manager's attention in the hope of getting himself on the pitch. Carlos Tevez seemed to have adopted the opposite approach and decided that he would ignore his manager's idea about warm-ups,

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-33055068118539946942011-09-27T20:48:00.000+01:002011-09-27T20:48:29.877+01:00

Just a quick follow-up on the 'Greece thing'. Doing some research during the lunch hour today its seems that Britain and the States aren't so immune should Greece be allowed to default, which I don't think it will for now, the French and German banks took out insurance policies against the possibility of Greece not being able to fulfill its obligations and those insurance polices are with British

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-55998530700089665082011-09-25T23:19:00.001+01:002011-09-25T23:21:56.439+01:00

The phrase 'Greek bailout' is very much part of the current financial lexicon but ultimately the potential bailout is for the French and German banks who have loaned the profligate Greeks the money to burn in the first place. Now given that increasing the bailout fund requires changes to EU law and that state subsidy is supposedly frowned upon by the EU, there are of course notable exceptions

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-57005127476245360792011-09-25T23:18:00.000+01:002011-09-25T23:18:10.969+01:00

There aren't too many reasons I can think of for sitting in front of a television screen on a Sunday morning for close on six hours but today was the day to do it. Mark Cavendish has become Britain's first world road race champion for 46 years as his team rode a near-perfect race in Copenhagen. Apparently there were plenty of people using various social networks to attack the teams tactics but

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-56357091243824792632011-09-21T17:30:00.000+01:002011-09-21T17:30:44.984+01:00

Having a couple of days off work due to sinus problems isn't a whole heap of fun but watching Bradley Wiggins this afternoon competing in the World Road Championships in Copenhagen did relieve the boredom some what. Wiggins was fantastic and would have won the Gold Medal but for Tony Martin riding the time trial of his life on what appeared to be Germany's first nuclear powered bicycle. I've

Paulnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-72700928405958580882011-09-17T16:56:00.001+01:002011-09-17T16:57:39.068+01:00

Another day another bank fraud and just like the last couple of times it seems that it comes as a surprise to those whose job it is to police such matters. We've even been here before on this blog in 2008 when I seemed to have the touch of mystic Meg. Just as an aside, the Independent's internal name for the photograph is 'naughty banker'.

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-36027893457957090612011-09-15T18:06:00.000+01:002011-09-15T18:06:10.916+01:00

So I'm sat at the computer about to work on the photos from last Saturday's shoot and think, to celebrate P J Harvey winning the Mercury Prize for the second time, I'll listen to Let England Shake. But there's silence. The light on one of the speakers isn't lit, must be the fuse, okay let's get the plug take out the dead one and replace it. Thirty second job? No. Two hours. I haven't a clue

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-1676525529381006302011-09-14T17:53:00.000+01:002011-09-14T17:53:36.977+01:00

In a discussion about the impending doom across Europe caused one way or another by the Euro crisis I happened to offer the opinion that at least two major French banks wouldn't be able to ride out the crisis. This was on a par with claiming that England would struggle in the opening match of Rugby Union's World Cup in terms of outrageous prophecy but somebody had to say it. And so we woke this

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-54829602629207961312011-09-13T18:12:00.001+01:002011-09-13T18:16:50.830+01:00

I've only just recovered from the shock that a short arse is going to play Jack Reacher but the news that Point Break is going to be remade has been banging my head on the desk Basil Fawlty style. Along with Thunderbolt and Lightfoot this has to be one of the great Homo-Erotic movies of all time. It's Keanu Reeves best performance, it's Gary Busey's best performance as an adult and it's the

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-35118519969410787182011-09-13T17:32:00.000+01:002011-09-13T17:32:29.493+01:00

Is there an easy way to make a sausage sandwich? One that actually stays together long enough for you to take hold of it, bite it and not have the remaining contents drop onto your plate/lap/newspaper (delete as appropriate). Bacon sandwiches are easy, the bacon lies flat on the bread just waiting for your favourite condiment, even fish finger sandwiches don't put up much resistance to being

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-67126971052379345902011-09-10T18:21:00.000+01:002011-09-10T18:21:11.701+01:00

They say that you can often gauge the strength of a club by who is sitting on its subs bench. Well tonight, Barcelona away at Real Sociedad has the following: Pinto, Abidal, Puyol, Iniesta, Mascherano, Villa nd Messi. So that's: 3 World Cups, 3 European Championships,  12 Champions Leagues,  20 La Ligas, 1 Argentina Championship, 1 Brazil Championship, 3 French Leagues, 3 French Cups, 18

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-36516297126633371922011-09-08T18:23:00.000+01:002011-09-08T18:23:35.493+01:00

Talk about David and that big bloke, where will this end? Will a certain North London club sue a well known holiday destination in in Mallorca because it has six letters in common? I would have thought that the North London club would have been delighted to be mentioned in the same legal document as a business that is obviously enjoying success more recent than 2005!

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-72689491827149534352011-09-07T17:54:00.000+01:002011-09-07T17:54:40.423+01:00

“In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” Orson Welles said that after The Third Man had been shown in Switzerland a man came up to him and

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-85516885824986321212011-09-05T17:58:00.001+01:002011-09-05T18:00:35.932+01:00

After the apparent warm wind of optimism that August brought comes the first cooling breeze of autumn as the realities of too many hospitals in London is realised. The NHS and education are the two main political footballs in British politics with an almost constant rotation over the past forty years of ideas and ideologies, initiatives and interference. Labour with it's union support: UNISON (

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-4276641385000033992011-09-04T10:01:00.000+01:002011-09-04T10:01:50.839+01:00

This is Andreya a model with whom I had a three hour shoot yesterday, split between a studio and the New Forest.  As well as being very professional and a fun person to be with she is also a great story teller, recounting her exploits during her time as a model. She also managed to answer a question that is related to a post I started working on a fortnight ago and which I will post shortly,

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-27154599695627735712011-09-02T22:00:00.005+01:002011-09-02T22:11:13.295+01:00

And to prove the 1980's weren't all naff! Many things to enjoy here visually plus it really is a very good pop tune. Wendy Smith in the Sprout was a bit like Candida Doyle in Pulp or Linda McCartney in Wings in that it wasn't always easy to see what they brought to the party. Well Wendy "La La's" perfectly here, Candida was responsible for the keyboard riff on Common People and Linda took some

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-72524935333477805512011-09-01T16:39:00.000+01:002011-09-01T16:39:49.692+01:00

I would urge anybody interested in the EU, politics and finances to read this, courtesy of Span. As the linked article points out just because we aren't in the Euro doesn't mean we aren't party to this. Politics eh, bloody hell!

Paulnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-86921645191369175262011-08-31T18:38:00.001+01:002011-08-31T18:39:08.677+01:00

You can tell it's the end of the summer when the Bisterne Scarecrow Festival takes place and this year it has twenty seven entries. Much like the Go-Kart race that happens in Ringwood this event divides between those who are having a laugh and doing it simply to raise money for the local Village Hall and those who see it as an artistic challenge. I think this year there were a far higher number

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-3614804236774660132011-08-30T19:20:00.000+01:002011-08-30T19:20:41.551+01:00

So that's three games, two goals and two trophies so far. Even with all of the defence watching from the stands and playing a 3-4-3 formation with three midfield players in the "back three"  Barcelona were too good for one of Spain's other Champions League representatives last night. It was as if Real Madrid's demolition of Zaragoza the night before had annoyed the Spanish and European

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-42360027497100044372011-08-30T19:11:00.000+01:002011-08-30T19:11:57.611+01:00

We always have Sky Sports News on in the morning whilst I'm having breakfast, it's light relief after waking up with John and Evan. Anyway this morning the Arsenal search for new blood was likened to a supermarket dash at which point Janis said, "But there's only dented tins left." I know I'm not an Arsenal fan but I do admire what Arsene Wenger has done to football in this country and indeed

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-9155307556540618162011-08-29T18:25:00.000+01:002011-08-30T19:21:39.792+01:00

Whilst carrying out some family history research over the Bank Holiday weekend I happened to look at the Old Bailey Online website, in particular the records of proceedings for the period 1674 to 1913. I was searching in case one of my long dead ancestors or family members had actually featured in any cases either as defendant, witness or jury member. Like a lot of the Internet you can get drawn

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-29640139568109205582011-08-28T17:06:00.000+01:002011-08-28T17:06:45.208+01:00

I know this is going to sound a bit like the guy who took one look at 17 year old Pele and muttered something about him being 'quite useful' but I predict that 19 year old Australian Darcy Ward will be World Speedway Champion within the next five years. Last night at the fantastic Marian Rose MotoArena in Toruń, Poland we saw riding and racing of the highest quality as the 2011 World

Paulnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-81176880139083665252011-08-28T00:01:00.002+01:002011-08-28T16:26:01.824+01:00

This week I took delivery of the re-release of the album Back from the brink:Pre-Revolution Psychedelic Rock From Iran 1973-1979 by the Iranian artist Kourosh Yagamei. Yagamei makes some beautiful haunting music and I have linked to the track Khaar below: We are all aware of how artists can be crushed, imprisoned or simply 'disappeared' if a Government fears that they are in a position to

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-71964367674422839812011-08-27T11:34:00.002+01:002011-08-27T11:34:50.714+01:00

Sir Alex Ferguson said yesterday that Manchester Unuited had produced more England players than any other, but since 2000 Arsenal have developed the most. Nine - Arsenal (Tony Adams, David Bentley, Jay Bothroyd, Andy Cole, Ashley Cole, Kieran Gibbs, Martin Keown, Ray Parlour, Jack Wilshire) Eight - Manchester United (David Beckham, Wes Brown, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Kevin

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-7823289916741900442011-08-27T10:10:00.001+01:002011-08-27T10:13:59.718+01:00

Not only does Cesc have more hair but he now has two medals after two subs appearances. Okay so last week may have been the Spanish Community Shield and this week was the European Community Shield but hey, he never got the chance whilst at Arsenal to compete for the rewards for the previous seasons success. Porto were the better side for a long period, possibly due to them having played two

Paulnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-35622698422930855782011-08-25T18:22:00.000+01:002011-08-26T17:33:19.206+01:00

The LIAF takes place at the Barbican from August 26th to September 4th. I've always been a big fan of animation and Sky have been showing a series on the history of Russian animation recently, narrated by Alexi Sayle (well who else could they get), and it's fascinating to see how art form after art form can be used to subvert Governments -for a while at least. Below is a five minute Czech

Paulnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-67529164074126750432011-08-24T17:46:00.001+01:002011-08-24T17:46:57.515+01:00

I went to see the surgery nurse today and she told me to stop masturbating. When I asked why, she said, "because I'm trying to examine you."

Paulnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-38255154064045539002011-08-23T18:26:00.000+01:002011-08-23T18:26:41.540+01:00

"Which, if any, of the following types of exercise do you do regularly (i.e. 30 minutes or more a week)? (By exercise we mean any activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve your health or wellbeing." That was the question asked by yougov representatives to 4,209 people during the week ending 11th August 2011. You can read the four page report here . The usual suspects

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-46227828277850819902011-08-23T18:03:00.000+01:002011-08-23T18:03:24.643+01:00

Jerome 'Jerry' Leiber, who died yesterday, was responsible for the lyrics to some of the 20th century's most iconic pop tunes. Whilst his partner Mike Stoller's music added flesh to the bones it was the way that Leiber's lyrics painted pictures that captured the imaginations of generations of radio listeners and music fans. Responsible as a pair for some of the great, and I mean great, songs of

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574211.post-53030961545752308082011-08-21T13:15:00.000+01:002011-08-21T13:15:50.319+01:00

Well there it goes, wearing it's knotted handkerchief on its head, this years two week holiday. The first we've spent at home since 1994 and what an interesting fortnight it has been: riots in London and other parts of the country, Cooky scores 294 against India, record prices for gold, record drops on various financial markets, tough sentences for rioters, record passes in A levels, Barcelona

Paulnoreply@blogger.com2