Darth Maull's mind dump

Fully Functional Bikes Shocker!

2012-02-13T11:19:00.004Z

Unbelievably I now have 4 fully functional bikes! You will see above my new 7-speed luxury going to work bike (my first ever mountain bike no less!), which works fine, despite being a little small and having a slightly disturbing clunk around the bottom bracket or pedal bearing area at low speed.

My Orange Clockwork now runs without the chain tensioner trying to change to a non-existent 'other' gear, and even the Whyte is working (prior to brake change). The Epic has had a new front shifter cable installed, although could eventually do with the shifter pod replacing as the return spring is going on the lever.

Now all I have to do is ride them!

New Brakes

2012-02-05T22:03:00.002Z

I got so fed up with the constant problems arising from the Avid Elixir 5s on the Whyte that despite them now seemingly working without breaking every time I take it out, I accidentally bought some Hope Mono M4 Evos...brand new too. That should give me insane amounts of stopping power, although I'll still inevitably crash by doing something stupid.

Lets hope (not intended) that they don't vibrate too!

Download 2012

2012-02-05T21:58:00.002Z

I genuinely don't think I've ever looked forward to a festival this much. There are so many must see bands, quite apart from Metallica playing the whole of the Black Album, the album that turned me on to metal and into the slightly strange person I am today. Slash, Fear Factory and Machine Head on day 1, Steel Panther, Tenacious D and Metallica on Day 2, Kyuss Lives, Megadeth, Soundgarden and Sabbath on day 3. AND Anthrax at some point. Even Terrorvision will be worth a watch. Unbelievable.

If Motley Crue, Weezer and the Anti-Nowehere League get added (highly unlikely) it would make it the event of a lifetime.

Children of the Gambia

2012-01-10T19:25:00.001Z

There is something deeply satifying when your own song comes on your iPod.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04VWnaDjYqE

The end of the world is nigh (2012)

2012-01-10T19:06:00.003Z

Well, its getting on for a year since writing on this thing. Sadly Facebook is slightly too invasive and easy to access.

With luck, patience and cash (and a large number of trips to several bike shops and 5 warranty repairs), the Whyte seems to be working without falling apart after each ride. Even Paul aka Harry has taken up mountain biking. I'm sure something will break soon - I'd better fix that sticky gear cable on the Epic before it breaks.

In other bike news I've stripped and rebuilt a lovely early 90s Orange Clockwork into a single speed (Pace RC-35 forks) - although my lovingly applied paint job may just fall off if it actually gets ridden. I've also decided to rebuild my old Carrera as a work bike with actual gears. To cut a long story short, I wanted the exage sti shifters for the Orange....only to find they were a) a brake/shifter unit and b) canti brakes only. That cut that idea short so I figured a geared work bike with a rear rack would be useful. Just need to get the BB out now - that should be interesting as its been sat in the garage in Swindon since 1991.

Otherwise 2012 is starting in mostly the same way as 2011 - I'm still fat and unfit, although am at least trying to get fitter this time. I have also caved to the lure of the Smartphone and bought an HTC - whose mobile inteweb I am writing this on whilst on the way to London for a conference (I should really be writing module proforma guidelines).

One gets to the point where very little happens in a year, notwithstanding a trip to New York. Either that or my increasingly poor memory means that I just forget everything, which is also likely. It does seem that increasinly Facebook is supplanting memory. One doesn't need to remember when ones antics are pasted all over the internet. Skynet is becoming an increasingly real threat.

Oh yeah, I did learn to drive this year, which is nice I suppose. Still don't really enjoy it, but that is more to do with FUCKING MORONS on the road. How these idiots, many of whom are uynable to use roundabouts effectively, passed the very simple 'test' granting them a licence to control a large metal vehicle capable of killing and maiming is beyond me.

I would write a whole section on people I've met this year, but given that I have just told some of them this exists I won't. Instead I will just say thanks :-)

Although the exploits of one of them in Malia really does need to be discussed at some stage.

£797.50 per ride is perhaps not quite justifiable

2011-03-07T19:26:00.002Z

OK so I've been very lazy - it's not my fault, I'm fat, unfit and lack motivation. I've ridden my lovely new bike twice, despite perfect weather this weekend. Rubbish. On the plus side, I have been doing some gardening.

I really must get out there - hopefully my posse of other 'nearly' riders will be able to join me now the winter nights are easing. Getting ready for Rough Ride in June now!

Although a week in New York might make riding a challenge that week!

New Bike No. 3 - Whyte 905

2011-01-30T19:42:00.002Z

Well, I've finally bitten the bullett and bought a new hardtail - after much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Just got to ride it now once my manky leg gets better.

Toilet Graffiti

2010-10-28T16:24:00.001Z

I just saw an awesome piece of toilet graffiti. It read simply "Beastman Fucked Skeletor". Retro-nostalgic and purile. Love it.

Decisions...

2010-10-25T18:30:00.002Z

I still can't decide what bike to buy. Booked a test ride for the Whyte 19 in Bristol on 6 Nov so looking forward to that. Will also try out the Whyte 19 Steel and 905 while I'm there. Still fancying the Lapierre Zesty 314 though. I even made a spreadsheet:

Bike	Trek Fuel EX8	Spec. Stumpjumper Comp	Lapierre Zesty 314	Whyte 905	Whyte 19 A
Specs
Price	£2,300	£2,000	£2,300 TBC (2010 £1850)	£1,600	£1,995
Weight	12.6	12.26	12.9	11.3	10.9
Travel	120mm	140mm	140mm	120mm	120mm
Head angle	69	68.5	68	67.5	67.7-68.2
BB Height	338	335	TBC	322.7	322.7
Wheelbase	1141	1147	TBC	1127.6	1111.1-1128.3
Fork	Fox 32 FRL 120	RockShox Revelation Dual Air 140	Fox 32r 140 Open Bath	RockShox Reba Race 120 Maxle QR15	Fox 120 RL QR15
Shock	Fox Float Rp2	Fox Triad II	Fox Float R	NA	NA
Headset	FSA no 57E	Integrated	Integrated	FSA Orbit ZS	FSA Orbit ZS
B-Bracket	Shimano Press fit	SRAM GXP	Shimano SMBB7141A	SRAM Press-fit 30	SRAM Press-fit 30
Rims	Bontrager	DT Swiss X420SL	Fulcrum Red Metal	Mavic XM317	Stan's Notubes BST
Hubs	Bontrager	Specialized HiLo	Fulcrum Red Metal	Hope Pro II/Alloy 20mm	Sunringle Black Flag Pro
crank	Deore xt triple	SRAM s-1250	SLX	SRAM x9 10speed double	SRAM x9 10speed double
F-mech	SLX 10	SRAM X7	SLX	SRAM x7	SRAM x9 10speed
R-mech	Deore XT	SRAM X9	XT	SRAM x9	SRAM x0
shifters	SLX 10	SRAM X7	SLX	SRAM x7	SRAM x9
Cassette	Shimano HG8110 - 10	Shimano HG81 10	Shimano HG81 10	SRAM PG-1050 10	SRAM PG-1070 10
Brakes	Avid Elixir 5	Avid Elixir R SL	Formula RX	Avid Elixir 5	Hope X2
Saddle	Bontrager evoke 2 CrMo	Specialized BG Henge CrMo	Fizik Gobi	Fizik Gobi	Fizik Gobi
Seat post	Bontrager	Specialized	Lapierre	Whyte	Thomson
bars	Bontrager	Specialized XC	Lapierre	SRAM Stylo	Easton EA70
stem	Bontrager	Specialized XC	Lapierre	SRAM Stylo Race	Thomson

.....which as it turns out doesn't reproduce well but you get the idea!

Just a quick one...

2010-09-23T19:19:00.002Z

First ride for ages tonight - got about 4 miles in and was already dying - managed 10 miles round Clyne in the end. Losing fitness is waaay too easy!

With a bit of luck I might get out to Tredz on Sunday to check out the Trek and the Lapierre. Going to the Cardiff Cheese Festival with Matt and Shell on Saturday though so may well be too full of cheese and tea to bother. Also need to ring shops in Newport and Abergavenny re: the Whyte 905 2011.

Stumpjumper Comp

2010-09-21T15:00:00.002Z

Hmmmm - they have a Stumpjumper Comp in Wheelies reduced (slightly) to £1500. Looks quite nice, reasonably light...would need to change the tyres and front mech (and possibly brakes) but little else. Also looked at a low spec P7 and a Crush - P7 seemed quite heavy, so looking forward to seeing the Whyte asap.

Trip to Tredz to look at Trek and Lapierre methinks.

So many bikes, so little time

2010-09-20T22:24:00.003Z

Choosing a new bike is not easy - I don't even know if I want a Hardtail as a straight replacement, or a full sus. As my Epic is full sus and most of my riding is XC, I'll probably go for a HT. The current leaders are:

Orange P7 pro http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/2010/p7_pro/

Whyte 905 http://www.whytebikes.com/2011/bike_page.php?ModNo=W-1-012-11

Pipedream Sirius (steel or Ti) http://www.pipedreamcycles.com/sirius_ti_2010.html#BuildKits

Trek Fuel EX8 http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/mountain_full_suspension/fuel_ex/fuelex8e/

Lapierre Zesty 314 http://www.lapierre-bikes.co.uk/lapierre/all-mountain-bike/2010/zesty-314-2010

Specialized Stumpjumper Comp/Elite http://www.specialized.com/gb/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=39191&menuItemId=0

I am very drawn to the Whyte (weight, price, kit), but also to the extra travel and custom build kits of thr Orange (plus I've always fancied an orange Orange, although they don't seem to want to custom paint the P7s)

Hmmm....will probably not buy until Christmas, but that gives me plenty of legitimate perving time.

Also, got theinsurance through for the Hardrock, such as it was. Still, something is better than nothing.

I'm back - and boy, am I pissed!

2010-09-15T16:17:00.002Z

Why am I pissed, I hear you cry? Some of you may remember I completed rebuilding my Hardrock a year ago....about the time of my last post (sorry about that!). Well, on Friday 10 September 2010 some cunt nicked it from outside the Grove Building. MASSIVE pain in the arse. Hopefully I'll get about half it's value back from insurance, but its all such a lot of faff.

I aim to be a more regular blogger this year after my laziness (and mentalness), so let's see what I can do. Despite saying I wouldn't, I have rather fallen into the Facebook trap.

I can hear some of you say "what is the point in this blog? Why do you do it?". Well, as almost nobody reads it, it's quite a nice place to rant about stupid things, and perhaps entertain the odd interested party. To those of you who don't blog - give it a try, you might enjoy it.

More posts soon....

New Bike 2 - Specialized Epic '05 Custom

2009-09-02T20:45:00.002Z

After a few false starts, refacing and a new headset, my new Epic is finally complete and ready for a test ride (if it ever stops raining!). The brakes, which are the mono minis switched from the HT are due a service, but that should be pretty quick.

Specialized Epic 2005 frame with Fox Float R rear shock with Brain
Fox F100 RL Forks
Hope Mono Mini brakes (180/160)
Truvativ Stylo chainset with GXP external bottom bracket
Crank Bros Egg Beater SL pedals
Sram X-9 front and rear mechs with X-7 shifters
Sram PG-991 chain and PG 980 cassette
Transfil flying snake shielded gear cables
Race Face Evolve XC Seatpost and bar
SDG Bel Air Ti saddle
Mavic XC717 rims on Hope Pro II hubs laced with DT comp spokes
Panaracer Fire XC Pro tyres

Nigel II

2009-08-23T21:19:00.002Z

Nigel II (The Revenge)

We have acquired our very own Nigel (in fact we also have Nigel III, a black and white cat - pics to follow). He likes to run in and eat Lenin and Roxy's food. He's quite friendly now and will let us stroke him and pick him up. He has yet to try to pound/claw my groin or sleep on my couch. Like Nigel, Nigel II also has a disability in that he is distressingly ginger. Nigel III has yet to manifest any such retardation.

York - UK Medical Schools' Secretaries Conference 2009

2009-08-23T21:12:00.009Z

York Minster

The worst restaurant name I've ever seen.

Heslington Hall - yes, its the University!!

Part of the immense lake at the centre of the campus

Hotel 53, York. Very nice

Bands - Ade Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds and Goldblade - The Globe, Cardiff

2009-08-23T21:08:00.008Z

Goldblade - 16 April 2009 - I even 'sung' on a few tracks. Wicked gig.

Ade Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds - 28? March 2009 - another awesome gig. Who doesn't like classic punk played on folk instruments!

Matt Related Amusement

2009-08-23T21:05:00.007Z

Matt likes to wear clothes which explain his syndrome.

Matt and Shell's rabbit. It makes a lot of noise and may be a homosexual.

Endless fun in Homebase. Although images of Matt poledancing not so good

Like Harry Potter n shit. With less gingers.

Always a good idea.

Admiral Ackbar really should have realised sooner...

2009-08-23T21:03:00.000Z

Summer Randomness

2009-08-23T20:57:00.014Z

Carreg Cennen Castle

View from outer wall down into the valley.

No idea. Cats are dumb.

Tortoise in Plantasia.

Tits.

When digital switchover happened I thought I had to wave goodbye to Ceefax. It's still there, making this post pointless.

Don't they read this stuff first?

Ditto.

Bike 1 - Specialized Hardrock '07 Custom

2009-08-22T18:23:00.005Z

Just finished putting my hardtail back together while the Epic frame is in the shop getting refaced and a new headset (bearings rusted through!). What a pain in the arse installing those flying snake shielded cables is, especially when you don't pick up that the rear derailleur is a rapidrise for 2 days! All done now, following a lot of swearing, shouting at cats who find rapidly fraying gear cables are a fun toy (think rocket firing boba fett fun), and a replacement for the brand new front cable. Joy.

Indexing on the rear still isnt perfect, but with oldish and unmatched components I dont expect miracles (only Zool).

Specs:

Specialized Hardrock 2007 HT frame
Rock Shox Recon 351 Air forks with poplock (100mm)
Race Face Evolve XC chainset
Cranks Bros Cobalt Bottom Bracket
Cane Creek Tank II Headset
Specialized stem, bar and saddle
Race Face Evolve XC seatpost
SRAM X9 front and Shimano XTR rear derailleurs off XT Shifters
SRAM PC951 chain and 980 cassette
Hope Mono M4/Mini brakes (180 & 160mm)
Mavic 219 F and 519 rear on Hope hubs wheelset
Panaracer Fire XC (single compound as I'm too cheap) tyres
SPD pedals (probably will replace with Crank egg beaters in due course)

weight: 12.98 kg. Not bad.

New Bike - Specialized Epic

2009-08-09T15:52:00.003Z

I treated myself to a new bike (sort of by accident) for my birthday - won off eBay from some bloke in Manchester for something of a steal. It's the first full sus bike I've ever really wanted (quite liked the Lapierre Spicy/Zesty but not really for XC) - HT performance with the advantage of a rear shock for rougher bits. For me it seems ideal - I was also looking at the Whyte HTs, but these were £1500 upwards. I went for this particular one (it's a 2005 frame) as the guy had obviously looked after it and upgraded a lot of the components - it came with:

Hope mono mini/M4 brakes
Fox F100 RL forks (standard) and Fox + brain rear shock.
Race Face evolve XC xhainset
Crank Bros cobalt BB
XTR rear mech, LX front, XT shifters
Mavic rims on Hope hubs
Race Face Carbon seatpost, Hope/on one stem/headset and RF alu bars.

I have already switched the grips (ODI lock-on) and saddle (SDG Bel Air Ti) and modified the control layout as the previous owner seemed to have smaller hands. Shortly I will be taking the whole thing to bits and rebuilding it!

Truvativ Stylo EBB + Crankset (will probably upgrade to a Hope ceramic EBB once this one dies)
X-9 groupset with X-7 shifters
Flying snake shielded cables
Crank Bros Egg beater SLs
Might switch my newer mono mini set up onto this one
New Mavix XC717 rims on Hope hubs

I also splashed out on some new Fire XCs for it - thought about some Nobby Nic but Fire XCs are tried and tested around these parts.

Had two test rides so far - once around Clyne in the Mud (fun but probably not the best test bed - although predictably the LX front mech did stop shifting the minute it got damp - its going first!), and one up at Afan on the Wall on Saturday. First impressions - accelerates very quickly, lighter than my HT and handling is improved by the back end being stuck down more. My legs felt a lot fresher at the end too. At Afan on the descents it was positively scary it went so fast (and I tend to take it easy!) - confidence inspiring handling and the forks and shock suck up so much my arms and legs weren't nearly as sore. Still cocked up the rock garden in the Graveyard and stacked it on the zig zags near the bottom, but at the top of the zig zags it was mental.

Still not really tested it on a decent XC ride, but plenty of time. First impressions are good!!

Hardrock HT is being rebuilt with components switched from this as a fun/trails bike, hence why I'll probably put the M4 front on that bike!

We are now officially a 4-bike household!

New Star Wars

2009-08-09T15:46:00.004Z

Star Wars Guess Who? Did your character once save Ephant Mon...?

Clone Wars collection

41-Back ESB carded Rebel Trooper

77 ROJ Back Luke (Hoth)

Clone Wars Children's fold-out couch/bed (inflatable)

GI JOE - The Rise of Cobra

2009-08-09T13:56:00.002Z

I'd been looking foward to this with a mixture of excitement and trepidation (after Transformers), so wasn't expecting much, but hoped to enjoy it. We went on preview day (6 August) and whilst it probably wasn't great for anyone not into GI JOE as a kid, I thought it was actually a pretty decent movie. It had a plot (better than Transformers already) and really was a set-up film for the franchise. The reveal (towards the end of the film) of who Cobra Commander is was fairly suspenseful and an interesting twist, which threw the admittedly currently rather 1 dimensional characters into some new positisions. Despite deviating from the standard background and storylines for the characters somewhat, I didn't really mind and found it added to the story of the film. Some good in jokes (kung Fu grip and realistic hair!) and Star Wars references (particularly from Ray Park as Snake Eyes) stood out for me. I think my favourite, and perhaps most true-to-cartoon character was Joseph-Gorden Levitt as Cobra Commander, although with some interesting twists. The major downsides for me were that the character set was limited (although in retrospect this is probably good) and that at the end it really did feel like a 90 odd minute set up for the franchise, despite being a reasonable film in its own right. Nothing particularly wrong here, just want to see the next one! Oh, and the annying shakey cinematography on everything did give me a bit of a headache.

Plus points - Night Raven, nod to Dr Mindbended, genesis of Cobra Commander, Destro, Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow, links into the (admittedly terrible) prequel book.

Negatives - intra-relationships between main characters may have been overdone somewhat, constant flashbacks to Storm Shadown and Snake Eyes' youth got a bit tiresome and seemes shoehorned in somewhat.

Continuity error spotting - Heavy Duty's earring changes side in one shot of him piloting a Shark on the assault on the polar base.

Overall - given that is was called "The Rise of Cobra" it did what it said on the tin, and for a movie based on action figures was actually really entertaining and not annoying! I would have happily watched another 2 hours of it to see what happened next. PLEASE don't let Brett Ratner anywhere near it.

30th Birthday Bonanza Part 2 - The Gifts

2009-08-09T13:34:00.008Z

Genuine Jeremy Kyle autographed Autobiography from Matt and Shell. Nice.

Birthday cake from Phil and Sof

AT-TE in bits...

AT-TE built (an afternoon of Lego and Young Indy)

Republic Gunship

AAT from Claire

In addition Cath got me Segway rallying(!) and some other bits and pieces, plus the seminla Kung Fu/Basketball crossover movie Kung Fu Dunk (following the success of Shaolin Soccer). Sweet.

30th Birthday Bonanza Part 1 - The Party

2009-08-09T13:10:00.013Z

Kunt & the Gang headlined the night - here performing Wank the Dog

Kunt and A101 Backstage

Food theme for the night - Chips or Tits?

A101 in action

Our touching tribute to Michael Jackson (or should that be ...tribute to Michael Jackson's touching?)

My Special Limited Edition birthday hair

Me and Kunt

Me looking almost cool for a change

A101

Shaun and I enjoy a Status Quo moment during Fucksticks

A101 – SETLIST – 09 JULY 2009

ECSTACY OF GOLD [ENTRY]

HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN

CHILDREN OF THE GAMBIA

BLITZKREIG BOP

NO FUN

STREETS OF LONDON

TERRITORIAL PISSINGS

KIDS IN AMERICA

ENGLISH NATIONAL ANTHEM BASS SOLO INTO…

TURNING JAPANESE

SO WHAT

--- ENCORE---

ANARCHY IN THE UK

FOR YOU

WHISKEY IN THE JAR

--- A101 & KUNT & THE GANG---

FUCKSTICKS

Well what can I say - what a night, and what a way to celebrate turing 30! Thanks to everyone who turned up, A101, Kunt, Cath for doing the food, Myles@Moloko for the venue, Shell for making me plentiful tea at 3 am and Rach for being hot ;-).

Given that we hadn't really had much of a chance to practice together, we weren't too bad, although I'm sure many people would dispute this. We accept that the impromptu Kids in America was terrible, and Whiskey probably wasn't that great, but Andrew as guest drummer won some fans. The highlight for me was playing Fucksticks with Kunt, 'cos I really like our version of it (see it on You Tube (under A101) and Facebook). Anarchy sounded pretty decent too. Hell, we made a drunk bloke and a tramp outside dance and we played So What on Wind Street, so I was happy. Blitzkreig is also on You Tube I think, along with Fucksticks http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Fizzwizz1&view=videos#play/uploads. Coming on to Ecstacy of Gold was entertaining for me, although I'm not sure who else got the joke. The Michael Jackson riffs (smooth criminal, Billie Jean, Beat it) seemed to fill some time and be sort of appreciated I think. For You was a bit pants as the cable was loose on my pedal so we had to restart. But hey, we got to play it 1.5 times! We had actually decided to scrap Kids, Hey Mickey and Blitzkreig, but managed to wangle all but Hey Mickey back in, much to Shaun's ire.

I think Cath should get special mention for making my Chips or Tits? food theme a reality, although neither of us want to make tit shaped food ever again.

More pics on Facebook.

METALLICA @ The O2 Arena, 27 March 2009

2009-03-30T18:21:00.017Z

O2 - quite a good venue 'cept for the fact that some twat built it on what is essentially a fucking island, with only 1 tube line which was down. Got off at Canary Wharf - of course it was the other side of the river and there were no bridges. Wank.

Jaymez. I think it might've been Nothing else matters.

More James.

Blurred James.

Kirk looking like a little mincing paedo. He isn't though.

Kirk and Lars = note the return of Lars' drumming gurning.

Kirk with flying V (blurred).

Rob. I've touched him - I own his soul.

More Rob - slightly less in focus.

Lars doing...well I'm not quite sure. Posing as a tea pot?

You know the bit in Silence of the Lambs...

Setlist:

- That Was Just Your Life
- The End Of The Line
- Harvester Of Sorrow
- ...And Justice for All
- One
- Broken, Beat And Scarred
- My Apocalypse
- Sad But True
- The Outlaw Torn
- The Judas Kiss
- The Day That Never Comes
- Master Of Puppets
- Fight Fire With Fire
- Nothing Else Matters
- Enter Sandman
Encore
- Overkill
- Hit The Lights
- Seek & Destroy

Great gig - SHIT crowd. Seriously, ever mother fucker there pretty much might as well have been watching the Chilli Peppers. CUNTS. Absolute Cunts.

Sword apparently opened but missed them as the gig started ridiculously early due to the tubes not running. Got in with about 3 Machine Head tracks left to go, who were pretty ace - although some guy did turn to me and go 'Linkin Park would have been better'. Fucking cunt.

Big ass coffin lighting rigs dangling from the ceiling were quite cool, gave us something to look at other than the rigger getting his ladder tangled until the first chords of Ecstacy rang out. Instantly I was shocked by the lack of response from the crowd, although the singing from those of us who weren't cunts made up for it. It was like they didn't know what was going on. Metallica came on in their usual style and launched into That was just your life, a great starting track from DM, and it was amazing being so close to the stage (it was in the round) - I was about 8 feet from James et al for the whole gig. I really liked the new stuff, and the set was balanced between old and new nicely. Nice to hear Outlaw, Harvester and Fight Fire, and awesome to get Hit the Lights and Overkill in the encore, but the crowd really fucked me off, in a way I've never felt at a Metallica gig before. The power, enjoy and sheer excitement pouring off the band was palpable, and should have whipped the crowd into a headbanging frenzy with a decent crush/mosh element. Nothing. Not even to Sandman where I've been at the front at Reading to experience 100,000 people jumping on me (not literally). Wankers. Some guys obviously knew their shit, and I'm not against new fans as long as they know the old stuff, but loads of people there were obviously there because they thought it was cool, taking up floor space from true fans. I'm not sure I can go on enough about how cunty they are. Not to mention that on the message boards the day after people were complaining about moshing(!) TWATS. Don't go to to a fucking thrash metal gig then tosspiece, go back to watching your Coldplay DVDs with your tiny cock in your hand. They even managed to not join in with Seek and Destroy, which was fucking impressive. Too many kids, girls and CUNTS down the front. Fuck off all of you and buy a copy of Kill em All and learn the words (yes there are some) to Phantom Lord before I find out where you live.

Some extra pics and 2 shit videos on Facebook. Nothing better since as I may have said I'm not a CUNT and didn't spend the whole gig videoing it so I could wank off over it later. Enjoy the fucking gig spanner pussies and stop living in your fucking digital oh-what-a-cunt-I-am universe all the fucking time. Personally I think there should be an entry quiz to gigs and only those that actually can prove they are fans and aren't going to bitch about them all the time can go.

I did however get a sort of high-five/hand slap from Rob and just missed James. Well worth it.

But still full of cunts. Fucking pansy-assed-Dani-California-is-a-great-song-and-Californication-is-their-first-album CUNTS.

The Kunt is Back in Town

2009-03-05T19:12:00.002Z

The next installment due on March 31 - be there or be slightly less entertained elsewhere.

Entertainment Whilst Shopping

2009-03-05T19:08:00.004Z

Well done - you don't look nearly as fat as you used to, chunky...

Who comes up with this? Why isn't it me?!?!

An unfortunate curvature for any Charlottes out there. probably true though.

Fancy Dress by the Mentally Gifted

2009-02-20T12:14:00.002Z

Whilst I don't know these people, I applaud their genius as if it were my own.

You are clear to launch!

2009-02-14T17:49:00.002Z

My desk now resembles launch control at NASA.

Andy got a brand new Car

2009-02-14T17:48:00.000Z

Really Andy, personalised plates are so vain.

Long time no blog!

2009-02-14T17:22:00.022Z

Woolworths - going, going....

Gone...Forever!

Snow in the Brecon Beacons

I'd forgotted how entertaining sleddding was...even on a bodyboard.

Getting into work was problematic - but at least I bothered to make it!

Somehow I got into this pose which reminded me of a bit in the Darth Maul - Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan duel in EPI.

Deco braches out into aquarium paraphenalia.

Bought Cath a new Car for Christmas and we got a SatNav so took it for a test run. My photography skills seem to get worth with age.

Drive towards the light....

Sof doing her bit for all those Spaniards who like to make monkey noises at black players - Sof, you aren't helping...

Eddie Izzard's new show at the Lyric in London (December 2008) - outstading, fully back to his very best.

...Although I didn't actually manage to take any photos of him!

I was impressed and perplexed by the need for binoculars in a tiny theatre. Also, I didn't have 50p...

Paul Gray played a few songs with the Damned in December 08 at the Point, Cardiff.

My traditionally stupid Christmas hair went a step further via the use of cunning props purchased from Camden.

My very best Jason Lee impersonation...

Sorry about that - what with this and that I have been AWOL from blogging for a goodly number of months - mostly through laziness, but business and illness have played small parts. Anyhow, here is a brief summary of the life of a Sith since the last post.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-21T19:31:00.001Z

Rancid@ Cardiff uni 6/11/08

2008-11-08T18:02:00.003Z

Opener - the Exposed

OKbut just sounded like the wanted to be Rancid really

Second Act - Argy Bargy

Proper UK punk - most of the songs sounded the same but loved it all the same. 4 old fat blokes onstage - can't beat it. Only downside - was staying out of the pit cos of my ankle but though "one dance can't hurt". A minute later I was on the floor and limping away with my left hip and elbow and right knee screaming in agony where they had hit the floor. Very painful nights sleep and next day at work!

Headliner - Rancid

First half 0 two-thirds of the set was brilliant, with Olyimpia WA, Roots Radical, Journey to the end, Listed MIA, Wars End and Old Friend the stand out tracks (mostly cos I know OCTW the best). Final third was dominated by b sides or new tracks and to be honest got a bit samey. We left a bit early for the train as we were both tired and my hip was hurting. Great gig all round though.

Happy Birthday to Sof.....

2008-11-08T18:01:00.001Z

When a picture says a thousand words...

Steve Coogan@ the Millennium Centre - 1 November 2008

2008-11-02T22:28:00.006Z

I didn't realise those letters were windows. It's pretty cool inside. Still a bit bent outside though.

I really hoped this red light wasn't going to be in our eyes all night. Fortunately it wasn't

Metallica: The Honorable Thing

2008-10-26T17:14:00.002Z

Well I have done the honorable thing and resorted to ebay for the first ever time (for myself at least). Won a pair of standing tickets to the 28/03/09 O2 Arena gig for £127. Whilst still irritating, I didn't think this was too bad considering the tickets at face are over £100 with P&P etc. Just waiting for the confirmation email before paying now so fingers crossed - he seems like a good seller anyway.

Either way, it beats worrying about getting tickets for the next few months.

Oh yeah, I also borrowed £7,500 from the bank in an unrelated incident.

Metallcia - SOLD OUT

2008-10-24T08:28:00.002Z

How fucking not happy am I? This is the first time I, me(!), have not been able to get tickets to something. That means Ebay and probably double the price. Fucking bastards. Oh well, its not like I'm not gonna go I suppose.

Fucking touts. This is the downside of presale. I mean I was on the presale list yesterday and they had sold out standing. This pisses me off. Why don't they just put some tickets aside for me. Turds.

Metallica Announce UK Shows

2008-10-21T21:42:00.000Z

Metallica will be playing a full UK tour in February/March 2009 - tickets onsale Friday!

For some reason the London venue is the o2 - I really hope they don't have a crappy gold circle thing again like Wembley. That sucked.

Belarus 1 - 3 England

2008-10-15T21:47:00.002Z

Well it could only get better after the appalling performance against Kazakhstan...or so I thought. Gerrard looking less the the lump of turb he was on Saturday, hammered home a great 30 yard opener after just 11 minutes, and things looked like they were looking up. Typically however, England then stopped playing. With Gerrard allegedly on the left of a 4-4-2, yet continually drifting ineffectually infield there was a huge hole on England's left hand side, yet we still continued to attempt to attack down that flank. This drew Heskey wide, leaving Rooney isolated in the box and Heskey with very little to aim at. The midfield were hopeless for the whole of the first half, not competing, allowing Belarus to skillfully play through them and heaping pressure onto the back four. This resulted in a deserved equaliser for Belarus just before the half hour, and England offered little up to half time. Capello obviously had some words and reorganised a little, as England came roaring back in the second half, with heskey bursting down the left and pulling back for Rooney to slot home. A few more half chances came and went, but England dominated, with Lampard sitting back and playing a quiet but effective role. Gareth Barry went missing for much of the game and I barely remember him getting a touch in the second half, and Walcott barely got the ball, England yet again failing to utilise his pace which was so devastating against Croatia and has subsequently been largely ignored. As the game went on, with still no balance on the left, some lovely combination play between Bridge, Rooney and Gerrard led to Rooney's second and England's third on 74 minutes, which killed the game. Gerrard should have scored fourth late on but after rounding the keeper and with the goal at his mercy, he poked his shot against the post from 5 yards. On the whole a much better performance from England against a classy side away from home, but there is still a long way to go.

England Player Ratings

James
Solid and could do nothing about the goal as Walcott lost his man and Brown ducked under the cross. 6

Brown
Made some good forward runs and provided some useful cover at the back, but his ball usage wasn't great, especially in the first half, and he was at least partly at fault for the goal. 6

Ferdinand
Strong defensive performance and built well from the back. Seemed more up for it than against Kazakhstan. 7

Upson
Much better performance from Upson who defended well and won a few headers in the Belarus box. 7

Bridge
Looked strong defensively and provided some width and cover on a woefully unbalanced left hand side, but not the same attacking proposition as Cole. 6

Gerrard
Scored a great goal and set up the third, but otherwise offered very little. Passing and possession was a massive improvement over Saturday, but in my opinion Lampard is much more effective for England with a proper left sided player like Joe Cole. Still, Gerrard is better than Downing I suppose. 6

Lampard
Not as busy as usual but was quietly effective in the second half holding the midfield allowing Gerrard to get forward. Some good forward runs and careful passing, but needed the freedom to attack to be at his best. Drop Gerrard. 6

Walcott
Another disappointing performace from Walcott, but again mostly down to the fact that England simply didn't get the ball to him. He is not getting enough touches or the right balls played to him which he can run on to. Looked dangerous when he could run at defenders, but again confidence seems to be ebbing away. 5

Barry
Was he even playing in the second half? Apparently he drifted over to the left but I can't remember him touching the ball. Lampard did most of the anchoring in midfield. 5

Heskey
Superb performance holding up play, winning headers, driving at defenders and creating the second goal. Probably deserved to score the header which hit the side netting and gave Belarus all sorts of problems. 8

Rooney
Great performance from Rooney - typically industrious, especially in getting back in the first half when the midfield didn't bother. Two well taken goals, the second was brilliant. probably just pipped Heskey to MoM. 8

Wright-Phillips (for Walcott)
Some great direct driving runs gave England a slightly different outlet on the right, although end product wasn't much of an improvement on Walcott. 6

Crouch (for Heskey)
Continued where Heskey left off, winning headers and putting himself about. Some nice touches too and had a half chance in the box after a Wright-Phillips run. 7

Beckham (for Rooney)
Only had a few minutes but did dig out a great cross to the far post from the byline, just missing Crouch.

England 5 - 1 Kazakhstan

2008-10-11T18:25:00.003Z

On the face of it a respectable scoreline with just one or two notable exceptions. Firstly, Kazakhstan 1??!?!?!?!?? What the fuck is going on? A country ranked below Hong Kong and "New Caledonia (according to David Pleat) - scored, abeit with an able Ashley Cole assist, against England. The other tiny problems were a) England were shit and b) Steven Gerrard was playing. I don't know what it is with England coaches, but you'd think by know someone would ahve twigged that Steven Gerrard is fucking awful in an England shirt. He's fine for Liverpool, but can't even piss himself properly with three lions on his scouse chest. Mind you, Lampard was only moderately less awful in this game. Barry, the best of the three starting midfielders was taken off at half time and replaced by an uninspiring Shaun Wright-Phillips. The best midfield performance of the night (from and England player at least) came from David Beckham's 10 minute cameo - now that says something. Walcott, after a bright start was simply ignored by the rest of the team, and the occasional pass he did get aimed at him, particularky by Gerrard, was terrible or left him with nowhere to go. He was completely wasted and the confidence built up against Croatia ebbed away, despite the fact that it was obvious he had the beating of half the Kazakh team if only he could get the ball. Rooney, despite his 2 goals and boundless energy was ineffective, wasteful and generally not very good, yet Jermaine Defoe, unused until the final 10, came on, looked sharp and scored. Heskey played reasonably well but should have grabbed a hat-trick (suffered from Heskey syndrome - unable to hit barn door and fell over a lot), but did link play well. Generally however, a poor performance by England against a team they should have delivered a footballing lesson to. kazakhstan, by contrast, passed crisply, quickly and accurately and created a few chances, I was more than impressed by them, especially given most of their players were so young and inexperience. England were sluggish, seemed to have rediscovered their inability to pass to each other or keep the ball, didn't create many chances and generally looked like they would struggle if they were playing Swindon Town.

England Team

James - didn't have much to do except deal with an awful Upson back pass and pick the ball out of the net. 6

Brown - Played reasonably well and made some good forward runs, and provided cover at the back for what was a shakey looking central partnership. 6

Ferdinand - Scored the opener and played reasonably well in defence, but did not seem to spur the team on in his Captain's role. 6

Upson - looked shakey and overawed, causing several dangerous moments in defence. 4

Cole - Played a dreadful ball across his own box to gift kazakhstan a goal and generally defended flimsily - looked better going forward but some passes and crosses went astray. 5

Gerrard - TERRIBLE - misplaced almost every pass, lost possession whenever he had the ball, didn't get forward enough - I could go on. As far as I'm concerned there never was a Gerrard-Lampard debate - Gerrard CANNOT play for England. 1

Lampard - Made to look better than he actually played because Gerrard was on the pitch. Some nice touches but some wild balls to nobody. 4

Barry - A few unusual misplaced passes but looked ok going forward and kept the midfield together (even with Gerrard's drag factor). Unlucky to be substitued for Wright-Phillips at half time. 6

Walcott - A bright start gave way to being largely ignored by the rest of the team for some bizarre reason - balls were not played early enough or to the right space for him to turn and run at the defense (which he easily had the beating of). Lack of ball-time seemed to affect his confidence as the game went on and his touch deteriorated in the second half. Not his best game, but not of his own making. 5

Heskey - Played reasonably well and led the line well, winning balls for team-mates - it was a pity not may of his team-mates were there to receive them! Unlucky not to score 2 or even 3, but still lacks the edge of a top finisher. 7

Rooney - Scored two goals and got Man-of the Match in a typically industrious performance, but struggled to get into the game from the left in the first half. As guilty as Gerrard on occasion of squandering possession and frequently came too deep looking for the ball, leaving Heskey isolated. Looked better up front in the second half but again failed to release the ball quickly enough several times to Walcott. 6

Wright-Phillips (for Barry, HT) - Full of running but to little effect. frequently made the wrong choice of final ball, although did win the corner which brought the opener. Like Walcott, underused by the rest of the team and looked uncomfortable on the left. 5

Beckham (for Walcott, 80) - Confident on the ball, accurate with passing and put in some excellent crosses which led to Rooney's second and almost created one for Heskey. England's best misfielder by far. 8

Defoe (for Rooney, 82) - came on, drove into the box and almost created a goal immediately. Looked much more effective than Rooney in the striker role and scored an assured and deserved goal a few minutes later after being put through by Heskey. Probably his best England performance for a while. 7

Jeremy Kyle is no better than his fucking brother who is a heroin addict*

2008-09-16T21:54:00.003Z

This "thing" goes beyond chewing a wasp and into Julien Speroni territory of sheer ugliness. Yikes.

Remember - Jeremy Kyle is a Fucking Cunt/Parasite too*

http://jeremykylewhatacunt.com/

* I don't know if the brother bit is true, but he's definitely a cunt. He can't sue for that.

Ankle. Ball. Chao. Pain. Hospital. Crutches.

2008-09-16T21:51:00.001Z

Ow. I'll put some photos up soon. Its only a sprain fortunately and completely accidental. Still hurt like fuck though. Now I'm hopping about like some outcast paralympian. I has to resist doing Stephen Hawking impressions in the wheelchair in hospital though lol.

Siandy's Wedding

2008-09-16T21:50:00.000Z

I'll put up the rest and write something later - in the meantime, entertain yourselves with Facebook.

Philpotts Cafe, Bristol

2008-09-16T21:49:00.002Z

Ace. It was shut.

Celebrity Food Gone Mad

2008-09-16T21:43:00.003Z

Why? I thought Paul Newman salad dressing was random! Are pickled onions a cinema-going requirement amongst the aged? If so, don't help them.

Shell Throughout History

2008-09-16T21:42:00.000Z

First she's a photographer, now she was popular in Ancient Egypt. Whatever next!?

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

2008-09-16T19:10:00.003Z

Ace - pity there were only 8 new figures - more to come though! Oh yeah, that and the big AT AT thing was £100. Gay.

Reading Festival 2008

2008-08-26T20:22:00.026Z

Reading 2008 is over.....now you can buy 09 tickets (without knowing who the bands might be - yeah that's pointless).

Nice sunset near Swindon on the way down to Reading.

Al went for the record of hat wearing while the Dropkicks were playing.

Rob taking a piss in the reeds

Harry (Paul)'s sausage and profanity based pulling tactics seemed to be paying off

He certainly does

I turned him into a mobile Kunt poster boy for the weekend

I always said Paul's mother had a cunt like a tent...

Paul models the latest in Kuntwear using all of his catalogue modelling (and child flashing) experience

Our attempts at boosting Paul's baldness affected self-esteem proved pointless

Strangely no one wanted to be licked out by me all weekend. Maybe the only interested ones were chubbers...

Shameless promotion continued to be the central theme of the weekend.

Evidently I can't spell. Arse.

Matt woke up with a Kunt smeared all over his fist. Again.

Al decided to make Matt up. Gay.

Gayer. Although somehow scary. What is he hiding?

Al decided to Dance outside the bar. No idea why, but we stared at her boobs for a while.

This girl was pretty blatant about her love of anal.

The best Shock I saw this year. Pity about her face though.

Tenacious D - the best Metallica support band you could have hoped for (except ANL)

Stephen Lynch - he was ace even though he only managed to get about 4 songs in between rants!

The Manics closed the NME stage on the Saturday against the Killers - they were the only band I saw all day and they were ace - one of the best Manics gigs I've been to. Met a guy who was essentially Steve Glass in there too and was chatting to him for a bit.

Rage were awesome, opening with Bombtrack and getting Guerilla Radio and Sleep Now in the Fire into the set. I got a two man pit going with some other bloke. Ace.

Kunt at Reading '09 - now there is something we'd like to see! Go on...just this once.

Bands/Acts:

Friday
Anti-Flag

They opened the whole thing and they are supposed to be reasonably political. To be honest they were a bit generic but ok.

Get Cape, Wear Cape, Get Bored.
Didn't even realise they had started. Wandered off after about 2 songs.

Phill Jupitus, Steve Frost and their improv group
Wicked - really enjoyed the whole bit, especially at the end where they were doing each other's voices.

Serj Tankian
Really good, although still a sort of toned down System (as I guess you'd expect)

Stephen Lynch
Awesomely funny. Especially "I think you're a Nazi"

Queens of the Stone Age
Pretty much only played post-Oliveri songs which I didn't know or care about. Boring as shit and Homme's a fat ginger cunt. Worst performance I've seen them put in. Bring back Nick.

Rage Against the Machine
Opened with Bombtrack and only got better. Guerilla Radio and Sleep Now in the Fire are two of my favourites and they didn't disappoint. Morello was awesome. Zack has my hair. Got a two man mosh going. Fucking ace.

Saturday
Matt's house
Nigel
Cups of tea
Nigel

Manic Street Preachers
Probably the best Manics gig I've been to (and I've been to six or so) - actually really enjoyed it and even Cath and the others left the Killers to come and watch a much better band perform a much better set. Liked being in the tent too - got down the front and met a couple of cool guys I was jumping around with.

Sunday
Henry Rollins
Brilliant - funny, enlightening - legendary. YOU MISTER CURVE! WHAT'S YOUR LIFE?

Plain White Tees
Saw these cunts by accident when they shifted the lineup after Slipknot and Avenged pulled out due to being too gay and shit. Holy fuck what were they thinking a) putting them on the Sunday and b) not macheteing them to death for producing such god awful tripe. Cunts to a man.

Dropkick Murphys
Enjoyed the set but probably not enough to buy any albums. Sounded too much like the Clash and a couple of other proper bands.

Crystal Castles
Paul made us go and see these - think rape victim screaming over fighting cats. Utter UTTER noise pollution. Complete Wank. We lasted one 'song'.

Tenacious D
Wasn't quite sure how this would pan out but immediately as Jack and KG came onstage wearing a wizard and lizard costume respectively you knew it was going to be ace. All the classics D tracks were there, but it was the sheer charisma of the front two that made the show. Genius - even down the the metallica logo Tenacious D sign. Ace.

Metallica
From the Ecstacy of Gold straight into Creeping Death, through Harvester, Justice, Ride, No remorse, Motorbreath all the way through to Sad but True and Sandman, with the obligatory pyros for One, you didn't think it could get any better. Then they came out and thrashed throughLast Caress and So What, closing with Seek and Destroy. I almost shot my boat.
Unfuckingbelievable. Pity half the crowd didn't seem to think so. Cunts. I even liked the new stuff - Cyanide I think one was called. We shall see on September 11th. Tour in Feb '09 apparently. Sweet. Can't think of a better way to close Reading.

Setlist

Creeping Death
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Ride The Lightning
Harvester Of Sorrow
Sanitarium
Cyanide
And Justice For All
No Remorse
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Motorbreath
Nothing Else Matters
Sad But True
One
Enter Sandman
Last Caress
So What
Seek And Destroy

In general we had a great time....but I can't be arsed to write this now I fucked.

Bonekickers - the best thing on TV

2008-08-01T14:37:00.001Z

Has anyone seen the new BBC series Bonekickers? No - watch it! Yes - it ISN'T that bad!

Part of it's genius is in the terrible plot, flimsy premise and dire acting. The other part is in this:

http://bonekickers.com/?p=31#comment-1450

People bitching on the internet makes so many things worthwhile.

What gets me is that so many people can be bothered to do this, and be quite so mind-numbingly racist while they do it!

Enjoy!

One Man Star Wars - Swansea Grand 21/07/08

2008-07-23T20:41:00.003Z

Charlie Ross took us through the original trilogy, playing all characters and doing all the sound effects and music himself. It was ace.

It also may be a TRAP!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

2008-07-23T20:40:00.003Z

With the animated film due out in August the toys are set to hit the shelf at 12:00am on 26 July 2008 - sadly Swansea isn't doing a midnight opening but I will be there at 09:00. Sweet.

What are the chances?

2008-07-23T20:38:00.002Z

My singlespeed and a mint version of the bike it started out as originally randomly next to each other! I was briefly excited.

Another day, another dollar, another degree...

2008-07-23T20:29:00.009Z

I seem to be asking for more money...or perhaps offering lesser mortals with only one degree to tocuh me...

Paul Robeson Jr. got an honorary fellowship...he wasn't allowed to speak.

It was all held in a big ass tent since the council strikes closed the Brangwyn. I suspect all the members of the Facebook group bemoaning it feel pretty silly now - it was quite good.

Here it is - the first graduation for the GEP Medics - I'm so proud.

Martin so needs to get one of those hats to drum in.

Zoe, Phil, Ian and a load of others marshalled some of the ceremonies - I got to lead up the honours GEP guys so I can say I was on stage with the first ever graduate from the programme I helped to write!

We all went out for a few after the evening event too - this is my favourite photo (although I have to credit Mel for taking it or she will kill me - thanks Mel). Man, I'm such a sex pest.

ORANGE!

2008-07-23T20:28:00.002Z

Orange shirts are so fucking in.

It had to be true somewhere...

2008-07-10T15:58:00.001Z

http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/flyer.do?personId=9308

Genius.

Death cyclist fine angers family

2008-07-09T20:35:00.002Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/7496757.stm

Whilst I am sympathetic to the family (even though the facts as to whether the guy was cycling on the pavement or not are unclear), it pisses me off when suddenly one death means that all cyclists should be regulated and laws should be changed. What about the thousands of cyclist who are killed every year by car drivers who don't bother to look, or for that matter the hundreds of thousands of car-related deaths full stop. From one freak accident suddenly cyclists are evil, when it is car drivers who are the real menace. If the guy was riding on the pavement, its because asshole car drivers forced him on there (I'm not condoning it). Whilst on the subject, fucking pedestrians don't look for cyclists either they just wander around in a daze. Cunts.

Crimson Tide?

2008-07-06T20:27:00.003Z

Someone put red in the fountain. Quite cool - makes a change from soap anyhow.

Singlespeed conversion - parts 2 and 3

2008-07-06T15:56:00.003Z

Frame spraying complete, crankset and seatpost installed. Shiney.

The project completed. Specialzed BG saddle off the Hardrock, my road tyres that I never use, 16t rear cog and anti-rust BMX chain, new cables and brake blocks (now Kool Stop as Wilkos ones didn't work), new flat pedals, spesh grips and reflectors - jobs a good 'un. Only slight issue I have had is in tightening the rear QR skewer enough to stop the wheel being pulled forward under tension. That and the pain is a about a resistant as a receptionist's nails. i.e. not very.

Gower Bike Ride - 6 July 2008

2008-07-06T15:51:00.007Z

28.09 miles to Llanrhidian, back to Kittle then back out and back again down to the front. Pissed with rain for about 15 mins near the beginning which got everyone soaked, but thinned the field out a bit. Thankfully the route avoided almost all of the major hills (Parkmill and Oxwich most particularly). Got back to St. Helen's in 02:09:50 which I though was pretty good, although my sprint finish only succeeded in taking one place - although it wasn't a race anyway. A nice morning out if not particularly challenging, although I was pushing the pace so my thighs are aching now. I beat a far few guys on road bikes though on XC tyres, so I was more than happy.

the Brophy Courtesy Car Adventure

2008-07-06T15:45:00.008Z

Gay.

Gayer.

Gayest.

Some interracial hoodie rape on a hill. I don't mean raping hoodies, that would be wrong.

A tiny problem when we went to leave...

...at 9:15...

We went for a ride in Phil's courtesy car before they took it back (a lorry drove into his parked Fiat) - somehow they gave him a Peugeot convertable although God knows why. Gay isn't the word. It was so crushed with 4 of us at one point my head was wedged between the headrest and top of the windcreen. Plus it was diesel. A diesel performance cabriolet? No, you are right it wasn't. Still a marginally entertaining drive to Langland, some fish and chips by the beach and then a walk aroud the headland and over the golf course. Getting back to the car was easy, but leaving that car park wasn't - as we discovered the gates had been locked at 8:30 for some bizarre reason. Fortunately Phil went to the local restaurant and they had a key and let us out. Not really that exciting really.

I Wanna Go to the New Belsen....

2008-06-22T18:39:00.018Z

Continuing the theme of all but invisible wildlife photos - here are two baby seagulls on top of Caernarfon Castle.

I was intensely excited by the Vickers machine gun in the WWI exhibition in the museum at Caernarfon. They had some cool Nazi stuff too.

Sof, Cath and Phil posing in front of Snowden. As you can see I was leading the race back down. I was cheated from my victory at the top as I didn't want to go up that precarious looking pile of stones.

Phil and Cath atop the precarious pile of stones.

I was well impressed by the building work atop Snowden. I don't think the woman who I passed on the way down, who I overheard thanking God that she could take the train back would be happy though, as the trains weren't running. Hahahahahahah.

Cath tried to get a Mexican wave going but to no avail.

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

I had so much time waiting for the others to catch up at the end I had time to take artsy photos.

During a game of Scrabble (what else would one do at a 'holiday' camp - I didn't have a baseball to bounce against the wall?), Phil proved once and for all that he had two eyes.

A nice ice cream from the dairy in Harlech. We wouldn't have had these at all had the 'award-winning tea room' not been shut. Crap photo - it's hard to take a picture when your ice cream is rapidly menting in one hand.

At last we know what Dave was visualising when trying to write his novel.

A ginger cat we befriended at Harlech Castle. Big ginger slut.

Some old balls at Harlech.

Harlech Castle - a 5-star Castle? You decide.

Trying to be artsy at Harlech.

We had a beach BBQ on Saturday. Sof and Cath grumbled incessantly about getting down the 3 or 4 inches of mild hill to get down to the beach. Phil and I made a fire and we all got wood. heheheh. Annoyingly, ASDA in Belsen didn't have any veggie food (discontinued due to all their customers being chavs and chavesses) but we got some from the mighty Co Op. All worked out rather well in the end. We all smelt of smoke.

So this is what Evil Lyn did after she finally retired from Snake Mountain. I find this funny if no one else does. I am looking out for Merman's Used Cars or something.

Scenery on the drive up. We stopped for sof to take a dance...

Well, I guess she's blacker than Michael Jackson. They both interfere with kids though.

Health and Safety medieval style - "danger - no karate"

Danger - migraines may be triggered in this area.

Danger - electromagnets in ceiling (Knights wear armour see)

Caernarfon Castle. Excellent castle - only ranked a 4 on some gay castle website though!
There are loads more Caernarfon pics on Facebook.

This is how all women should be.

Sof finally came home...

I swear if I hadn't known it was supposed to be a holiday camp I'd be looking for the incinerators. Holiday camp? I have a number tattoed on my arm now!?!

I mean for fucks sake - a combination mock fire and tv stand??? Who the fuck would buy these things? probably the same people who buy mock french parlour furniture and think "oooh thats classy innit". Cunts. All of them.

I think this was mine and Phil's highlight. We wanted to go in and ask for something hot and steamy...

North Wales Holiday - Belsen 'Holiday' Camp, Llyn Peninsula

Let me remember this correctly - it was the morning after the talent show, I had to get up at 5am so we could leave at 6am. That was hard. Then we drove for about 45 hours until we stopped for a picnic and for Sof to have a dance and me a piss. Still the scenery was great. Another 25 hours in the car and a bit of hunting and ringing for directions and we drove up to what may well have been a former Butlins, and is now even worse. We got the kets and drove past acres of chavs in caravans and found we had a little chalet thing which wasn't actually too bad - I REALLY hate caravans. Sof seemed disappointed(!). So we settled in and had some tea then went back out to visit Caernarfon castle (after some lunch, more tea and a wander round the market(which was shit)). The castle was ace though, although some towers were a little high for me and the windey staircases too windey. Spent ages there, although Phil didnt get his furry hackey sack from the gift shop. I thing then we drove to Asda in the hope of having a beach BBQ - opnly to find Asda in whatever hellpit that was didn't stock veggie food any more due to chavs. So we found a Co-op then drove for hours so Phil could find some desolate beach somewhere. We finally got there and there was a bit of a climb down, which Phil and I loved but the girls weren't too fussed on. We built a windbreak and fire then cooked our stuff. It was great - not quite Isle of man standard but we didn't have an axe or a Jimmy to hand. That was enough for one day so we went back to chill.

Sunday we went to Snowdon - I was all up for randomly wandering around but I was outvoted (everyone else thought we might die) so we went up one of the plotted paths. Long walk but staggeringly beautiful scenery - well worth the effort and I got to do a bit of climbing in places too. Got to the top after about 3 hours (which was very high, but I was impressed with the building site they have up there) then headed back. I really enjoyed that. I think we went back and watched the Euro Champs game then (which may have been Czech Rep v Turkey - blinder) and I cooked. Can't quite remember if we did anything else but we were pretty knackered.

Monday was time to escape Belsen so we handed out keys in and headed for Port Merion as I really wanted to go there....until we found out it was £7 each and I couldn't be arsed, so we went on to Harlech castle. Another great castle built on a hugh rocky bluff - much more castley than Caernarfon, if not as big. Some nice ice creams and tea then it was time to head home. We stopped for lunch in a woody glade in Snowdonia for a while and then continued home. A quick stop at a random beach Phil wanted to look at for surfing and 70 hours later we were back in Swansea. A great break - aside from being in a death camp.

A101 - Gambia Link Talent Show

2008-06-22T18:30:00.014Z

This was my terrible jump (no 2) - I swear it hasn't been photoshopped, I genuinely look like a twat.

Shaun's youngest two were proud of their Dad...although perhaps not ultra punk...we should have spat on them.

You can see and hear our debut performance now on You Tube and Facebook - add us as an iLike and become our fans! http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=8439348172

A101 rocked out the talent show, despite bricking it all day previous and not really having finished or rehearsed "Children of the Gambia" properly until backstage. Nevertheless we nailed it - no one noticed some dodgy notes or even Sean stopping playing during House of the Rising Sun. We were buzzing when we came off - just a shame we couldn't get in Hey Mickey or Turning Japanese - still I'm sure we will roll them out for the next Open Mic.

The only slightly poor thing in the whole set was my dodgy jumps to Pretty Vacant (if you excuse my dodgy backing vocals) - they really have to be seen to be believed.

Setlist:

House of the Rising Sun....White Riot
Holidays in the Sun
Children of the Gambie
Pretty Vacant

Kunt & The Gang - Cardiff 09/06/08 and Swansea 11/06/08

2008-06-17T21:12:00.005Z

Here is Kunt with my gang. The long haired bearded weirdo was stalking Kunt all night - a mate of Charlie's I believe. Still, he was ok. Paul was simply drunk.

What are they hiding?

Kunt and Little Kunt in Barco, Swansea

As we had always suspected, Sof actually is a Kunt.

Kunt in Cardiff with Casio

I love this man - I don't even need to write reviews since its impossible to be bad. Spent most of the time before both gigs chatting to him too, a really nice bloke. I'm so gonna book him for my party next year.

Cardiff - Buffalo Bar

Setlist (Fuck knows the order):
I'm Gonna Lick you out
Perverts on the internet
Men with Beards
You're a Pervert
Chips or Tits
Fred and Rose
Wank the Dog
Carol Vorderman
Shaven Haven
Gentleman's Wash
Fucksticks
Use my Arsehole....

Swansea - BarCo

Setlist (fuck knows the order):

I'm Gonna Lick you out
Perverts on the internet
Sit Down Wee
Chips or Tits
You're a Pervert
Men with Beards
Fred and Rose
Wank the Dog
Carol Vorderman
Use my Arsehole...
Have a Wank
Gentleman's Wash
Fucksticks
Shaven Haven

Paul "Butcher" Lewis

2008-06-10T14:21:00.000Z

Does what it says on the tin.

Rough Ride 2008

2008-06-10T13:58:00.023Z

Matt's official Rough Ride photo. Andy and I got missed.

Andy experiences Kington's famous narrow pavement.

Andy, for some reason, bought peas and performed his never before seen 'praying mantis'.

Andy decided that watering his bike might aid his chances.

Andy's racing picnic. Only three tins of makerel, andy?

Rough Ride 2008 - Start 10:00

Team P.I.G. (well, Matt forgot to register but never mind)

More waiting around to start

This was the worst hill of the day - almost nobody managed to ride it aside from a few nutters. Hard even to walk up!

Split point water stop. The cut off for the long route was 13:00 - I made it by 12:20. Decisions, decisions. Fuck it, I'll bottle it and take the short route.

Up the hill (familiar story) to the Split point water stop

Fortunately this bit was downhill. Very quickly.

Some riders manage to negotiate the downhill without the need for the ambulance!

Sadly that was inevitably followed by more long grassy climbs. I got cramp several times at this point.

Finally back to some Thai Green Curry and cup of tea. Perhaps not ideal on a hot sunny day. Although the tea was welcome in any weather.

Waiting around for Andy and Matt to finish. I ate my food, drank my tea, checked out my prize cycling shorts, had a massage and lay in the sun for a fair while before I saw Andy.

Matt got some impressive Helmet burn.

Report here. I will write one, I promise.

Finish Times:

Team P.I.G. (Short Route, 48km)
Me - 04:38:54
Andy - 05:33:15
Matt - 06:09:08
Martin - DNS (homosexuality)

Singlespeed conversion

2008-06-10T13:54:00.002Z

Stage 1 priming - do you like my 'shed'?

Afan Forest MTB

2008-06-10T13:51:00.003Z

Phil and I went up to Afan for the first time to do the Wall. A nice track - fairly short at about 17 miles with some nice singletrack sections, more challenging on the way down though but actually good fun. Phil managed to come off and take a chunk out of his arm and of course I had forgotten to bring any bandages. D'oh.

Cage Rape?

2008-05-20T20:21:00.002Z

http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/3320022

Thank fuck it wasn't just Matt and I. I particularly liked

"By "cagerape" that would mean tieing him up and bundling him into a large birdcage just big enough for him so hes doubled over. Then you stick your porker through the holes into his orifices and jizz all over him."

Ring Guard

2008-05-19T21:50:00.000Z

Speaks for itself really.

Isle of Man - Riding Day!

2008-05-19T21:41:00.008Z

This is the Isle of Man route we rode - only 17 miles or so, starting and finishing by the TT Grandstand in Douglas, but with some resonably tough climbs, not steep, just irritatingly tricky terrain. We probably could have done it faster if we'd been racing for something but we were just taking it easy and soaking up the scenery. Some great tarmac on the TT course sections though, really smooth.

Part way through a 3 mile rocky climb - not steep, but hard to go more than about 5 feet at a time without hitting something or clipping a pedal. Matt fell off several times, once in a ditch, fortunately all soft landings but it was a frustrating bitch. Not very tiring though as there was very little cycling involved!

Nice view though.

Cutting our losses and having a break before finishing the climb. With no speedo or time constraints it was a leisurely ride and quite enjoyable.

Terrible gulleys mid way up made riding even more tricky, with wedged pedals almost kicking me off repeatedly.

Looking back down a relatively smooth section of climb.

Same again.

Trek 3700 which served as out steeds for the day. Shitty RST forks and mediocre brakes made the downhills less enjoyable than they should have been and wrists ache.

Right at the top of what could have been a wicked downhill section had we had forks and brakes that worked. As it was the loose rocky surface limited my speed (as did the fact that I almost stacked it about 5 times on the way down just the first section! And it got worse!!)

The ride was excellent and I really want to go back and do some more. Some nice country roads with 3 fairly long off road sections meant that it felt like the roads were there as a means of transport rather than a major part of the ride and didn't detract from the trails. The second and third o/r sections were mostly downhills with the second having a very loose gravelly surface at the top, degrading to large stones, making it a tricky descent at speed (especially with dodgy braks and very little suspension). The final o/r section was pretty straightforward and a lot more fun - God knows how Matt did the whole thing sat down though I almost crashed several times without being sat down as well! The first and longest o/r section was by far the trickiest, which covered the major climb up into the mountains, about 3 miles of rocks, gulleys, gravel and more rocks. The most frustrating thing was trying to pick cyclable paths as water had cut some areas away so much that the paths were not wide enough to pedal through without jamming your pedal and having to stop or get thrown. We got there though, eventually. The downihll on the other side should have been more fun than it was, but again the narrow gulleys made it more dangerous, not that that slowed me much(!)

The End 2 End race sounds like a major challenge though, apparently there is a section right at the end like a wall. Great. Some of the route I think follows the Millennium Way also only the other way, which might be interesting to say the least! Defo need my own bike next time though - forks, brakes and tyres that grip are a must.

Jim and Shell's cats

2008-05-19T21:35:00.008Z

Maynard checking me out and thinking "Who the fuck is that weird bastard trying to fuck me?"

"Maybe I should claw that cunt's face?"

Hobbes was a little aloof but still very cute (especially behind glass where I couldn't actually touch her) "Fuck Off! Leave me the fuck alone, cuntface".

"I may play with you but don't you dare fucking touch me ass machine".

"Seriously now, fuck right off."

Isle of Man - 15-18 May 2008

2008-05-19T20:49:00.039Z

Leaving Luton Airport - 10:45 am (this meant getting up at 06:30)

This was to be our plane. "that's not a plane" seemed to be the general reaction.

Onboard shortly before takeoff and overpriced cups of tea.

Safe landing at a very sunny Isle of Man 45 minutes or so later.

This is what we were greeted with. 3 Legged bastards. And they have foreign money! I ask you. Still everyone seemed very nice about it and you could hardly even see them walking funny.

Well in the absence of the ANL...

Granville!....

The Castle at err Peel I think - that is Matt heading for the piss cave.

The beach where we sat eating our fish and chips bought, grudgingly, from the shop that tried to close at 9:00 on a Friday evening?!?!?!

There are, trust me, two seals in the sea here. And Adamski.

A coffee shop in Douglas served tea and coffee in the following sizes - Small, Regular and Bowl. BOWL!??! Genius. Shell tucks into the bowl of Hazlenut cappucino that made her feel sick.

Matt went for the small cup and almost fell in and drowned.

My Bowl of tea. Ace. Below gives you an idea of size.

Matt tried out a midget chair in Woolies.

Shell and I built the fire pit on the beach and what seemed to be called Port Maull

Mmmm onions and smashed pallett.

Jimmy took an axe to the beach - still, there was no one around to ask questions. We played baseball with it and some potatoes. Mostly I was just trying to impress a 14 year old Emo girl (Shell's neice I believe). What? I was on my best behaviour, I didn't get my cock out even once.

Jimmy searching for wood and looking like some weird ass hobo. Not that he has a weird ass that I know of. I dunno, maybe he does?

Ring of fire.

This one I have titled "Anakin's demise".

Matt was determined to get into the sea.

I'm not sure he fully grasped paddling though.

This was the result of me trying to dry my socks using fire. I'm not bright.

There is a tiny miniature castle in Douglas harbour to help stricken sailors. If they are all Matt's size presumably?

We played a fair bit of music in the evenings as Jimmy plays guitar, drums and bass. Here he played drums and guitar. Git.

At the Creg-Na-Baa pub (I kid you not) where the TT course runs - look, a real motorbike and sidecar!

Matt had some desire to get Shell - I'm not sure this can't be classed as cage rape. I suspect his battle against cancer gave him the necessary courage.

Bloody tourists. I could have been checking out girls in bikinis!

Below - a tower at wherever we were that may have been Port Erin?

The castle at Castletown. Shortly before this I farted so badly that Shell could taste it. I rock.

Leaving the Isle of Man behind.

We were sat next to the Emergency Exit on the way back so we studied the pictures in case something went wrong and we needed to be heroes.

Report will appear here, Teletext style.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-09T15:53:00.001Z

I have advance tickets for the midnight screening on 21st May :-D

Go me.

MTB - Brecon, The Gap

2008-05-05T19:54:00.023Z

Getting ready to set off...only 3 hours behind schedule

Ballet?

Carful

Handy

Matt

The Gap - allegedly 24 miles until you let me navigate. The blue circle and line show roughly where we took a wrong turn and ended up 5 1/2 miles off course in Ponticil or somewhere. As Andy said - "there shouldn't be another reservoir on our left should there?"

Andy in his shades looking a bit of the gay

Pretty.

Pretty gay.

God knows.
Bike rack.

Matt fixing the first of two front wheel punctures. He was getting good at it by the end of the day. A lesson in checking the tyre for thorns though.

Sweaty Back.

Matt can also multi-task it would seem. As he was down there...

Too late. No it wasn't spunk or piss. The nozzle off my sack was leaking again.

You can just see Matt in the distance negotiating a technical downhill section - the light was fading fast and we were starting to get a bit worried.

Matt after a tricky and very rocky downhill section.

Matt rides past...

Just over this ridge we finally saw Brecon as the light faded - the lights were a fair way off but it was some comfort. This was my favourite section of the whole ride, a lovely undulating track, if rocky, followed by a long and reasonably tricky but fast downhill. Hard on the calves and a lot of concentration needed not to crash, but well worth all the hard work.

Finally back at the car - it was about 9:30 - we had left at 3:30 expecting to ride for 4 hours max. The parking ticket had run out at 8:30 but a ticket was the least of our worries.

Matt checked the late night business.

Clean bike. Now it just needs a bit of a service after a bit of a battering - functioned perfectly though, although I think I could have gone with the summer tyre and short finger gloves.

Well, after talking about it for ages we finally went up to Brecon to do some riding. We selected the Gap as I had heard good things about it and it looked a good distance without being a killer. We aimed to get there for 12:00, but ended up not getting there til 3:00 and them Matt and I had a cup of tea first, so we didn't set off until 3:30. We had planned it to be a 3-4 hour ride, but fate evidently had other plans for us. The early sections along the Taff Trail next to a canal, then some quiet roads were easy. Up a shallow incline for a while onto a gravel section of the Taff Trail for quite a way (first puncture for Matt included), then forking down a steep rocky descent which was a bit of a challenge but great fun (second puncture at bottom). Another downhill through some forestry, across a ford then a bit more road. Up a massively steep long hill, past a stillborn lamb and then we must've gone a bit wrong. Through a couple of forest sections and out onto the road again, and just as Andy and I were discussing how much harder we had expected to be we pulled up in Ponticil. Now, we thought we were about 4 miles from Brecon. As it turned out we were 4 miles from Merthyr and nearly 20 miles from Brecon. This was 7:15. We quelled the panic, figured out where we went wrong, retraced out steps and picked up the route again, ominously mostly uphill. Then the hard bit came. Over what I assume was the gap, which was essentially unrideable, up about 2 miles of the most sapping, rocky ascent I have ever tried, then an almost fun set of very steep, very rocky downhills that demanded intense concentration and were hard on the calves. Matt and Andy had to walk down some of it - I rode most of it, but Matt was on his reserve bike and Andy's brakes were a bit dodgy to start with. Then Andy managed to collide with a rock, stayed on his feet but buckled the back wheel so badly that we had to loosen the brakes as the bulge kept hanging up. Finally, just as the light was failing, we made it back to the country lanes and facefulls of midges that took up all the way back to Brecon, stopping briefly to look at some Whyte bikes in the LBS. Tiring but excellent. We phoned Cath to get us some food from Wasabi which was there when we got back. Line of the drive back:

"what was that? Something ran in the road - it was about the size of a rabbit." "errr was it a rabbit?"

Indiana Jones Figures

2008-05-05T19:43:00.005Z

With the impending release of Indy IV - The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a new line of 3 3/4" action figures has been releases. The first 8 figures are from ROTA and feature 2 Indys (one with whip cracking action), Sallah, Marion, Monkey Man, Cairo Swordsman, Belloq(robes) and a German Soldier. There are also 3 2 packs - Two more German soldiers, Indy and the Ark of the Covenant, and Marion and a Cairo henchman. Inside each pack is a secret treasure from across the movies, and a little sticker. 6 stickers gets you a free mail away crystal skeleton on throne. I've already completed the form lol. The Indy figure is pretty cool with nice articulation and both a colied and extended whip, as well as a holsterable pistol. The only improvement I would have made would be a removable hat and a better Harrison likeness, but its not too bad. The cards are nice too, with nice attention to detail on the edge where it is cut like an ancient carving (ie not straight), and with the whip detailing framing the figure and forming the hanger.

Meet & Greet

2008-05-05T18:59:00.004Z

We met and gretted the new GEP students for September. We went for a long bus ride and 'tour' over Gower. The tour was provided by yours truly. Yes it was dull. Still, they were excited by the castles and the information about small field agriculture...

Claire Cowell

2008-05-05T18:58:00.003Z

Claire got married - Congratulations. We took over the reception and started playing punk and heavy metal, along with some A101 stuff. Oh dear.

On the theme of amusingly named places...

2008-05-05T18:57:00.002Z

Can you only imagine? Still, at least the picture of him is accurate.

Andy's Hairhut

2008-05-05T18:55:00.002Z

I'm gutted - I thought this said 'Andy's Haircut' - it had been around for so long someone had named a shop after it. Still, this is nearly as entertaining.

One Man and his Phone

2008-05-05T18:52:00.003Z

http://photo-journalism.blogspot.com/

I found this blog recently whilst looking for the opening hours for Cafe Ole. genius.

Diamond Head Live @ Sin City 02/05/08

2008-05-05T18:34:00.007Z

Nick Tart and Brian Tatler (the lone original member)

Eddie the Bass plater and 'abbz'

The drummer - who looks disturbing like mid-80s fat Ozzy.

Rollin Thunder - looking like a girl

Rollin Thunder - all looking like girls...or paedos...

Cath and I went to see Diamond Head on Friday and Matt and Andy were coming down, so we figured we'd get there early as they might be on around 9:00. They weren't, they were slated for 9:45 and there were two support bands, so as the first band, Winterburn, came on looking like Pantera wannabes we thought it was going to be a long night. Not so - not only did they look like Pantera (a bit), they also sounded quite like them too! The bassist particularly impressed me playing a 6 string ProjectBass, with a clarity of tone underneath the roaring guitar riffs which took their stylish retro-thrash to a level above the usual local bands. The next band on looked like a right load of nancies, but turned out to be an absolutely awesome 80s hair-rock style band called Rollin Thunder. Cath and I both loved these guys, to the extent that I bought and album and got it signed! Ace.

Diamond Head were, surprisingly, absolutely amazing. I was expecting a gig where I could be aloofly interested at the back, but I was immediately headbanging over the monitor down the front and The Prince and Lightning to the Nations were belted out by the 'new' singer, Nick Tart (who incidently has very tiny nipples). The rest of the set did not disappoint, even though I didn't know some of it, with It's Electric and Am I Evil proving real crown pleasers. It was fairly obvious many fans knew them through Metallica, but it was nice to see some older guys there too. Overall, one of the best gigs I've ever been to, and the band really seemed to enjoy it too, getting involved with the crowd a lot (I had a fair amount of singer sweat on my). Wicked.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=271848138
http://www.myspace.com/rollinthunder22
http://www.diamond-head.net/

Heroes Season 2

2008-04-28T22:54:00.003Z

I promise I won't spoil this if you haven't seen it yet (after all the BBC have only shown episodes one and 2), but here are some points to think about while you watch.

1. "Created by Tim Krings" - no, created by Stan Lee, ripped off by Tim Krings. Also George Lucas (this will become more obvious later in the series). But seriously, this is just X-Men really blatantly. I mean really - Stryker is even in it essentially.

2. What the hell point do half the characters in this series have except for as plot devices - especially the south american brother and sister?

3. Hiro is great - by far the best character. Peter Petrelli remains sidelined and pointless.

4. There are some good twists, but it is far too short due to the writers' strike and they tried to force the pace to finish it in 11 episodes. Doesn't work.

5. Last episode - think Great Escape and Indiana Jones. You'll know what I mean.

6. Also, and another one for the final two episodes - wouldn't healing ability heal poor eyesight too?

Isle of Man

2008-04-27T10:04:00.001Z

Oh yeah, also Matt and I are going to see Jimmy and Shell on the Isle of Man for a bit of cycling. Also, by sheer coincidence, the Anti-Nowhere League are playing two nights in Douglas! Sweet.

Cycling Update

2008-04-27T09:56:00.004Z

With a cycling weekend planned for next week I thought I'd put some miles under my belt - its amazing how quickly you lose fitness if you haven't cycled for a while, and I realised that it was probably a year since I'd done this sort of distance. Anyhow, the plan was to follow the Clyne path and turn off along the bridleway to Dunvant, cut over to Penmaen, up over Cefn Bryn then try and find a route over to Rhossili downs with as little road as possible. Then back through Mill Wood and home. I was debating whether to go up and over Rhossili rather than round the side, but when I got there I took one look at the hill and decided it was going to be around. I ended up covering 46 miles, a fair amount off road although not as much as I would have liked, and a lot of that fairly sapping, and my av speed was 9.5mph, which, considering the distance, hills and terrain I didn't think was too bad considering. I did get sunburnt arms though, and also somehow angered a load of bees who took a real dislike to me and proceeded to get stuck in my helmet and call their mates, so at one point I was running up and down the side of the road taking my clothes off and windmilling my arms around whilst being repeatedly stung. Still, I think they fuckers all died in the end. I also, at some stage, must have swiped off my glasses trying to get rid of the bees, and it took me about 20 minutes to find them at the side of the road in the verge. I hate bees. Whether or not it was related to the venom, I also proceeded to get severe cramp in my thighs and hamstrings, which was also enjoyable. I finally made it back home feeling a bit rough, but recovered pretty quickly. Maybe Brecon next week?

Kunt & The Gang

2008-04-27T09:54:00.001Z

A T Shirt beckons me thinks

Kunt in Wales

2008-04-21T20:31:00.003Z

Did I mention Kunt and the Gang are playing in Wales - 9th June in Cardiff (Buffalo Bar, near Capitol Centre) and 11th June here in Sunny Swansea. We've already got tickets reserved!

Get yours now- I've invited everyone I know, and people I dont, so hurry up!

A101 Update

2008-04-21T20:28:00.005Z

Well it's coming along...sort of. Had a session in a proper rehearsal space and got some decent recordings - White Riot sounds pretty good and some Pistols ones we did there sound cool. Some more work needed though! Hey Mickey is still sounding a bit dubious but I'm sure we'll get there!

Check out the latest at www.fizzwizz.net/band

Prophetic Store?

2008-04-21T20:25:00.006Z

Photographer of the Year?

2008-04-21T20:25:00.002Z

Shell has hidden talents it would seem!

Veggie Chinese in Archway

2008-03-25T16:15:00.004Z

Cath tucks into her sizzling 'ficken' with ginger and spring onions

Crispy Chilli Feef - oh how I have missed you

Ice Cream....with a parsley garnish...

Lychees.....with a parsley garnish...OK I think the chef might be a bit confused about English presentation...

Jo put us on to a Vegetarian Chinese Restaurant in Archway and once we walked past it for about a mile then found it on the way back it was ace. All the usual chinese food - but vegetarian! Even crispy duck, although we didnt have it. Vegetarian Spare ribs were ace, and I had veggie crispy beef. It was awesome. The veggie prawns were weird though - I don't like hot prawns anyway, but hot fake prawns didnt float my boat. Pity about the parsley with the dessert. Not a clue what was going on there. Oh and I had about 15 cups of Green Tea cos the lady brought me a huge pot full and insisted on refilling my cup - it was excellent tea though!

The Cure - Wembley Arena 20/03/08

2008-03-25T15:27:00.005Z

You can almost see the band...

Our Hotel room at the Jurys Inn, Islington. Quite why we had a spare bed instead of breakfast I don't know.

Well I have finally seen The Cure, and after a nearly 3 and a half hour long set, I certainly got my money's worth! i think Cath got a bit bored and lost in the gloomy middle section, which I would prefer to describe as atmospheric - although even my REM back started to play up towards the end. They were great though and played almost all of the songs I love - even, strangely enough, Wrong Number. The Boys Don't Cry Encore was probably the highlight for me, when they played almost the entire album including Fire in Cairo and 10:15 on a Saturday Night! Outstanding. Naturally Killing an Arab let Sof in for some stick...

It was just brilliant all the way through - In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, Hot Hot Hot - even slightly odd versions fo Why Can't I be you? and Lovecats. Superb. One moment of realisation as we were stadning watching from the rear - this was a 'concert', not a gig, and I am getting far too old when I describe music events as 'concerts'. Back to ANL on the Isle of Man with a bit of luck!

Oh yeah, they also played that song I really love and can't fucking remember the name of now -will add when I find it!

Sports Relief Staff v Student Match

2008-03-14T15:28:00.002Z

Be there or be errr....dry and better entertained probably.

Cat Train

2008-03-10T16:21:00.002Z

Phoebe, Bentley and Chewie seek heat. Several of them were sleeping on my on Saturday night. Daisy and Bruno escaped a decent photo.

Marlborough's top stationery display experts

2008-03-10T16:18:00.003Z

Well if you really are bored I suppose it beats suicide. Maybe we should issue loads of Pritt sticks to teenagers in Bridgend?

Swindon Cycling - 8+9 March 2008

2008-03-10T15:47:00.009Z

Ow - the results of a rather foolish 'crash' - scroll down to find out what happened!

Al at Appleby's cafe where we stopped for lunch in Marlborough on Sunday. Two pretty cute waitresses.

Muddy bikes - later badly washed by Al.

Nice helmet.

This was supposed to be a 2-day cycling weekend with a gig in the middle. Here is what happened.

Saturday:
Went out - it started pissing down. Headed up for pre-ride breakfast at Barbury Castle - up a steep, long, wet hill in the driving rain on off road tyres into a major headwind. Nice.

Got to the cafe had some food and tea (Andy had chicken burger and chipe for some reason - probably homosexuality). Set off again. Wind on the ridgeway was so insane it was difficult to ride in a straight line without getting blown off course. So we decided to abort and have a longer ride on Sunday. Got back to Croft car park where someone had set up a small (about 2ft) ramp over a mud bank. Al went over fine. I took my run, hit the ramp - then something went catastrohically wrong and I was sent face first into the ground - fortunately it was rather yielding grass but it knocked me about a bit. Somehow I had gotten mud on the top of the bars, so no idea what happened. Bruising and much entertainment for Al and some passing kids followed. Alas no picture or video.

Home, ice pack, cup of tea, Town, Toys R Us, food, gig, pub. Matt got loaded, Al wasn't far behind.

Sunday:
I was up at 8:30 - took 3 or so hours to pry Al out of bed and longer for Matt. Had breakfast. Matt didn't even pretend he was going to make cycling so Al and I went out together. Up the ridgeway, missed Avebury, got slightly lost, found Marlborough, had some lunch, came back. 32 miles. Not too bad, not brilliant though. Nice weather, if still a little windy.

Got slightly worried that the trains were going to be fucked up by the storm, but everything was fine and I am back in Swansea.

2 Sick Monkeys@The Furnace, Swindon, 8/03/08

2008-03-10T15:44:00.004Z

Another sweet 2SM gig - albeit slightly tempered by the fact that the first band were awful and the headliners, 4 ft fingers, were even worse than awful - still we left soon after they cam on and went to the pub. Rumours are the ANL may be playing in the Isle of Man in May....

Merchandising, Merchandising...

2008-02-27T22:12:00.000Z

Oh yeah.

Darth Maull's mind dump

Fully Functional Bikes Shocker!

New Brakes

Download 2012

Children of the Gambia

The end of the world is nigh (2012)

£797.50 per ride is perhaps not quite justifiable

New Bike No. 3 - Whyte 905

Toilet Graffiti

Decisions...

Archives

Just a quick one...

Stumpjumper Comp

So many bikes, so little time

I'm back - and boy, am I pissed!

New Bike 2 - Specialized Epic '05 Custom

Nigel II

York - UK Medical Schools' Secretaries Conference 2009

Bands - Ade Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds and Goldblade - The Globe, Cardiff

Matt Related Amusement

Admiral Ackbar really should have realised sooner...

Summer Randomness

Bike 1 - Specialized Hardrock '07 Custom

New Bike - Specialized Epic

New Star Wars

GI JOE - The Rise of Cobra

30th Birthday Bonanza Part 2 - The Gifts

30th Birthday Bonanza Part 1 - The Party

METALLICA @ The O2 Arena, 27 March 2009

The Kunt is Back in Town

Entertainment Whilst Shopping

Fancy Dress by the Mentally Gifted

You are clear to launch!

Andy got a brand new Car

Long time no blog!

Merry Christmas!

Rancid@ Cardiff uni 6/11/08

Happy Birthday to Sof.....

Steve Coogan@ the Millennium Centre - 1 November 2008

Metallica: The Honorable Thing

Metallcia - SOLD OUT

Metallica Announce UK Shows

Belarus 1 - 3 England

England 5 - 1 Kazakhstan

Jeremy Kyle is no better than his fucking brother who is a heroin addict*

Ankle. Ball. Chao. Pain. Hospital. Crutches.

Siandy's Wedding

Philpotts Cafe, Bristol

Celebrity Food Gone Mad

Shell Throughout History

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Reading Festival 2008

Bonekickers - the best thing on TV

One Man Star Wars - Swansea Grand 21/07/08

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

What are the chances?

Another day, another dollar, another degree...

ORANGE!

It had to be true somewhere...

Death cyclist fine angers family

Crimson Tide?

Singlespeed conversion - parts 2 and 3

Gower Bike Ride - 6 July 2008

the Brophy Courtesy Car Adventure

I Wanna Go to the New Belsen....

A101 - Gambia Link Talent Show

Kunt & The Gang - Cardiff 09/06/08 and Swansea 11/06/08

Paul "Butcher" Lewis

Rough Ride 2008

Singlespeed conversion

Afan Forest MTB

Cage Rape?

Ring Guard

Isle of Man - Riding Day!

Jim and Shell's cats

Isle of Man - 15-18 May 2008

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

MTB - Brecon, The Gap

Indiana Jones Figures

Meet & Greet