Sweep

In the office we currently have a sweep stake for the forthcoming England v Germany match in the World Cup. We've each picked a player we hope will be the first to score on Sunday. German players are excluded since they don't stand a chance. Obviously LOL.

I've picked no 7 Aaron Lennon.

I'll let you know Monday if I'm in the money, although I doubt it very much.

Tooth Fairy

After a fall this past week at school LL now has a lovely toothy smile. Not sure if the tooth was loose already but it seems to have come out cleanly.

To console him, we went to see the Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson film this afternoon. Not too bad if a tad too long with a nice turn from Stephen Merchant, stepping out from under the shadow of Reading born "comedian"* Ricky Gervais.












While I mention Reading, it's nice to see The Royals goal keeper Adam Federici is out in South Africa with the Australian national squad at the FIFA Football World Cup. It's a pity they're not doing so well. Then again if they actually played him, rather than leaving him on the bench... Mind you the England team are not doing that much better. On Friday night's effort you might conclude a Sunday league 7-a-side team would have tried harder and performed better. Ho Hum...


*No, I'm not a fan of his particular style and brand of humour.

...And It's A...?

The pot I hinted at here came home tonight, finished and looking lovely. Or at least to me anyway.

I've uploaded some more images to Webshots, in case anyone is interested.







Glazes used are: Vellum White Dolomite, Bright Orange Red and Yellow Brown.




Recently I've started listening to Radio 4. Find it rather interesting, if not challenging and stimulating. Must be getting old LOL.

Corporate

Four years ago I finished working for a large US corporation, instead being employed by two companies with under 100 employees each. Recently the small (but successful) company I work for was taken over by a very large American company.

Guess it's back on with the suit and tie then. Oh but I never really stopped doing that, did I LOL?






Dilbert by Scott Adams. Visit here.

Sneak Peak

But what on Earth is it? LOL

Captain Slow

Loyal readers may recall I was recently caught speeding in my little car. As a result I was offered the opportunity to attend a Driver Awareness course, or pay a fine and receive points on my licence. Bit of a no-brainer that one.

Anyway having spent one afternoon this week (with a number of other law breakers), I have to say what an informative and excellent course it was. All be it a tad sobering. So it seems my work colleagues now have a new nick-name for me: Captain Slow. This is the same nick-name given to James May from BBC's Top Gear because of his rather sensible, sedate driving style.

The boys from BBC TV's Top Gear: (L to R) Jeremy Clarkson, James "Captain Slow" May and Richard Hammond. 'Tame' race driver The Stig declined to pose LOL.










Gonna drive a bit slower and pay more attention all round from now on. Guess that means I'm not in such bad company after all!







Dad has announced he is to remarry. Not too sure how I feel about that.

Small Ships

Today marks the 70th anniversary of Operation Dynamo- the evacuation of Dunkirk. Over 300,000 allied troops were rescued from northern France during the period 27 May to 4 June 1940. Around 50 of the original surviving small ships made the trip across the English Channel today to mark the occasion. Read about it here and take a look at some images here.

Some have argued that without this heroic rescue the war may well have ended differently or at least lasted far longer.



BTW: Five hundred blog posts. Not too shabby LOL.

Gene Genie

The final episode of the fabulous Ashes to Ashes has aired, bringing to an end a 5 season mystery-cum story-arc that started with Life on Mars. With it the truth has at last been revealed regarding Sam Tyler and Alex Drake's travels back to the 1970's and 80's respectively.

I won't spoil the end but I will say I for one didn't see it coming and yet now I look back all the signs were there right from early on. Great TV, well plotted and ending with the audience wanting more.

Philip Glenister is the "Gene Genie", DCI Gene Hunt, snake skin boots and all. Brought to you by Kudos/BBC Wales.









Elsewhere US TV execs have axed both Heroes and FlashForward this past week. Both had exciting and promising starts and at times I've enjoyed watching them but to be honest they each lost direction and focus rapidly and needed putting out of our misery. Perhaps the writers/creators of both should look to Mars and Ashes for hints and tips on making good, gripping (almost sci-fi) drama..?    


Oh yeah one other thing: the weather was lovely today. Spent quite a bit of time outside playing What's the Time, Mr Wolf? with you-know-who. Great.

For Arts' Sake

Latest offerings from college...

18cm bowl in Yellow Brown glaze

Blue Grey small pot

Yellow Brown slotted bowl













And the reason for the slots? Because it's Art LOL!

Sixty-Five

Victory in Europe, 65 years ago today.

X

Tomorrow, Thursday 6 May, will be a very important day in the United Kingdom.

We have local council elections and also a nationwide General Election to elect a new government and Prime Minister. Turnout in recent UK elections has been disappointingly low and according to the news this evening, as many as four in 10 people are yet to decide their voting intentions, if they vote at all. Some may even opt for a random selection once inside the polling booth.
 

Polls are open from 7am until 10pm. Go on: get yourself out there, make your voice heard and put a simple X on your vote.

Season High

The Royals finished the season yesterday with a win at home to Preston and in a very respectable position. Who would have thought earlier this season they were facing the real prospect of relegation.

Reading 4 - 1 Preston

Championship table
Sunday, 2 May 2010 15:08 UK

		P	GD	PTS
1	Newcastle	46	55	102
2	West Brom	46	41	91
3	Nottm Forest	46	25	79
4	Cardiff	46	19	76
5	Leicester	46	16	76
6	Blackpool	46	16	70
7	Swansea	46	3	69
8	Sheff Utd	46	7	65
9	Reading	46	5	63
10	Bristol City	46	-9	63
11	Middlesbrough	46	8	62
12	Doncaster	46	1	60
13	QPR	46	-7	57
14	Derby	46	-10	56
15	Ipswich	46	-11	56
16	Watford	46	-7	54
17	Preston	46	-15	54
18	Barnsley	46	-16	54
19	Coventry	46	-17	54
20	Scunthorpe	46	-22	52
21	Crystal Palace	46	-3	49
22	Sheff Wed	46	-20	47
23	Plymouth	46	-25	41
24	Peterborough	46	-34	34