blogville

Is anyone still reading this???!??!?!

2010-01-19T22:21:00.004Z

Well don't! I have a new blog! http://www.si.themaples.net/blog. It's being hosted on our new site, http://www.themaples.net.

Enjoy... This site will be terminated shortly.

I have great plans to blog this year, including my lejog/jogle training, and of course my 100 press up and 200 sit up fun :o) All to be revealed!

What a total dick!

2009-01-12T19:26:00.005Z

-->> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7822574.stm

So Prince Harry doesn't think the terms 'Paki' and 'Raghead' are racist because they were said in Jest. What a penis. It's just as racist as any other term used to slag off another race, regardless if they were in jest or not!

Then on the way home, I heard loads of people on the radio saying they don't think it's racist because... "People in Britain are called Brits and people in Scotland are called Scots, why not call people from Pakistan, Pakis". I can't believe there are people about who think that the work Paki is just an abbr. rather than a racist term. People are genuinely offended and history has made the word a racist. In fact, why not take the rudest word (C) and say that is the same as the term 'lady garden'? Well surely they're equal in offence? They mean the same thing! Oh that's right, society and history has deemed one offensive, so it's not used! IDIOT.

So Harry, I'm sure you'll read this post... For the record... wog, coon, raghead, Paki are racist words and can cause offence. Stop being a twat. Stop making Prince Phillip look good.

Training week 2. T-22 weeks till London Marathon

2008-11-23T17:01:00.004Z

Second week completed! Yay - the smaller runs are getting a lot easier, although today did push me quite a bit. However, assuming I haven't picked up any injuries from it, I think it went quite well.

Here are the details of my long run I did today, from a great site called EveryTrail

Trip Story
Schedule is a 90 min jog/walk

I tried to average a slowish jog of about 10 mins per mile so that I could last the time. I started a bit quicker and later decided to run 2 sets of 4 miles, with a 1 mile walk in the middle. You can see this from the speed stats quite clearly :o) Here are my detailed stats...

Mile1: 9:13 mins
Mile2: 10:13 mins
Mile3: 10:03 mins
Mile4: 9:15 mins
Mile5: 14:57 mins (walk)
Mile6: 9:23 mins
Mile7: 9:10 mins
Mile8: 9:46 mins
Mile9: 9:33 mins

9 mile jog 23/11

Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS Geotagging

Here is the up-to-date schedule.

Thanks to everyone who has sponsored me so far... it really is making it easier to train knowing I have so much support! If you want to support me, either check out the just giving widget on this page or go here. £850 so far, at the time of writing! Wooooo :o)

Training week 1. T-23 weeks till London Marathon

2008-11-16T16:06:00.004Z

First week in is gonna be a tricky one, although looking down the line of my schedule, probably not the hardest one.

You can find my week's work in my online schedule here

My new gadget I'm using is awesome! So useful for working out when to go for jog to walk and back to jog at specific distances. I can imagine it will be equally good for jog/sprint interval training later too, etc.

I'm trying out some new energy bars and recovery fuel drinks to see if they're any good. Gave me lots of energy for my 5 miler, although that might just have been down to the uber-carbs I had the night before.

My appetite has gone through the roof just in a week also! I'm trying to eat carbs and fruit when hungry, also drinking squash and water much more.

I've lost just over 3 lbs this week which is probs half weight and half water as I'm still rehydrating after my longer run.

Early Birthday Pressie!

2008-11-13T20:08:00.003Z

Liz gave me an early birthday pressie today (She's great ;o) ) as I'm now starting my marathon training. Well almost started ;o) Update will be at the end of the week! I got a Garmin Forerunner 201. To track my distances, times, speeds etc. I can also later download all info from the forerunner to my laptop and analyse my runs to understand where I'm doing badly, when I could do with energy gels/snacks etc. Could be very interesting. I'm really pleased with it :) I gave liz an idea of a watch (cheap digital one) so I could track any laptimes I do, but this will give me lots of fun things to play with and look at. One good thing also is the ability to download the route I have done and overlay onto google maps or the like to see on a map my travels :) Just for fun!

Right... I've got a 20min jog to go out and do while you lot are sitting about relaxing in the warm! This is very hard work and deserves lots of money! Thanks so much to everyone who has donated so far! I'm up to £719 now! Still a long way to go though!

For those who haven't sponsored me yet... stop being cheap! I'm really putting myself out for this, so go here now while you don't have an excuse! :P

London Marathon training schedule.

2008-11-04T21:41:00.008Z

So, my first marathon run is next year. I'm aiming to get under 4 hours, but for that I will need a good training scheme. I've knocked one up from a runners world website. They typically do 14 week schedules, so I've combined the first 8 weeks of the "First marathon" schedule, and tagged the full 4hr->3.5hr marathon schedule on the end with a couple of weeks duplicated in case of injury etc.

Here is the schedule.

I'll keep it updated with my actual distances ran and injuries picked up on the way... I'm currently nursing a groin injury which should hopefully be gone by next week when I start. I also like the fact that my first day is rest :D

I still want to buy some running trainers (will go shopping this weekend) and maybe a pair of undershorts. There are some around that support all the muscles including the groin, or adductor (no smut please) and also there humerously names groin straps I could get... suggestions welcome. Quite expensive... maybe Santa will treat me :)

And for anyone who wants to sponsor me :) click here!

London Marathon!

2008-10-30T18:09:00.002Z

Woohoo!!!

I've got a place in the London Marathon 2009! :o)

Please Please Please sponsor me to run 26 miles... It's a very stupid thing for me to do, but I'm doing it for a very good cause. I'm running for Ronald Macdonald House Charity (RMHC), who provide accommodation for parents with children in hospital. This is a very important charity to me as they helped my brother and sister-in-law stay close to their lovely daughter Nicole on two occasions for weeks at a time when she was very poorly in hospital. Nicole has since made a full recovery and is a darling little Niece :o) So I'm really proud to run on behalf of RMHC and would love for people to donate to them, even if it's just a few of pounds if you think I've run enough to deserve a beer, then put it towards the charity.

You can sponsor me online here -> http://www.justgiving.com/simonmaple

If you can spare anything at all, I'd really be grateful!

Thaaaaanks :D

Upside down dogs!

2008-10-16T09:08:00.002+01:00

I've sent this photo...

To this website... http://upsidedowndogs.com/

Let's see if it gets in :o)

DIY done and DIY todo

2008-10-15T20:52:00.002+01:00

We've been very busy with lots of DIY recently and have been thinking about other things that could be done next!

We've taken out the toilet and sink from the downstairs loo, put up new coving, prepped the walls with loads of plaster, filler and lots of sanding, put new isolation valves on the pipes (compression joints) ripped up the new floor, layed a new ceramic floor, put plaster coving up (one of the most irritating jobs I've ever undertaken as the walls are by no means square :oS) and painted lots of white paint everywhere as an undercoat. Liz's Dad, Terry, was great help with the DIY when he and Liz's Mum, Linda, came over to stay for a few days. Linda did lots of gardening and weeding and stuff with Liz when us men were grunting and doing manly things like plumbing.

So, that's what We've done so far. We still need to give another undercoat, especially over the new plaster, followed by the actual colour coat! tbd, install the new loo and sink, with plumbing and taps, new mirror, and wall tiles by the sink, then some other bits and bobs like glossing and stuff.

I thought today about a possible project: To convert the back of the garage to a fun bit of space. The bit I'm talking about is about 3m x 2.5m... As you can see from the detailed drawing below, It will contain, shelves to but beers on, a beer fridge, a pool table, a few stools, a dart board and a pool table light thing. It's gonna be fun :o) Now I just need to convince Liz... hmmm I'll tell her about the beer fridge first I think :oD

Went to South Africa

2008-09-12T14:52:00.001+01:00

Big Spider...

Silverstone and guests

2008-08-20T14:29:00.004+01:00

This weekend me and my brother, Gav, went to silverstone to watch some F3 and GT racing... awesome! It was a really great weekend. We managed to even walk out onto the pit wall and the grid! Here are a couple of photos to sum the weekend up...

Guests

We had some guests round recently... they're very rude. They stay in the loft and run around keeping us up at night... we've had to move rooms a couple of nights when they're noisy. I left a trap for them but they seem to have taken the food and forgot to shut the door behind them :( I'll reset it again tonight... Looks like they may not be squirrels after all, possibly mice?

N.B.New energy to post on blog = new template for blog.

Has it been that long?

2008-08-15T13:03:00.002+01:00

So, I was perusing other blogs using their RSS feeds and I thought - crap, no one has blogged, that's rubbish. I actually quite enjoy reading other people's blogs when I get the chance, especially Joe and Adam's as they're 13 and write some random and funny things that make me laugh.

Then I looked at my blog... well, I haven't posted for a couple of weeks so I thought I'd write an update... Looking down the previous posts I saw some humerous ones about me trying to lose weight... peaks and troughs... i'm currently in a trough although my belleh looks like a peak ;) I also saw a really nice post about the holiday me and Liz had last year which really made me smile :D

Any how, just thought I'd let anyone reading know I'm still alive! Since the last post, I'm still engaged :) Bought a lovely house (4 bedroom - blimey!) with Liz, which we're currently doing up, got two new additions to the family... Liam who is my lovely new Nephew and a brother for Nicole to play with! and Toby! our lovely dog :o) Lab X Springer. Here's a pic of Toby after I slapped my dusty hand on him after sanding a wall down... as you do.

Also just came back from a holiday with Liz and her Family to Norfolk, boating on the broads. Was great fun. Went with Liz, her parents, Hazel, Peter, Joe and Adam, and of course Toby!

Day 30

2007-11-07T21:58:00.000Z

Perhaps I should go to the gym tomorrow...

But i'm still losing weight:

Starting Weight : 11st 8 3/4 lbs
Current Weight : 11st 3 lbs
Total Weight lost : 5 3/4 lbs = 5 good pies (or 1 and a slice of Ian sized pies)

(click to enlarge)

Also GET WELL SOON to poor little Adam!

Day 21

2007-10-29T19:53:00.000Z

Well, it's been quite up and down and apart from that day I ate 200 bars of toblerone I'm still doing OK, and close enough to my target for me to feel achievement.

One thing I have noticed is that I'm quite a bit lighter in the morning compared to when I go to bed at night. I always weigh myself last thing before I go to bed. I don't know where the weight goes... I haven't noticed any deposits when I wake up in the morning... maybe some kind, intelligent reader will help me understand.

Starting Weight : 11st 8 3/4 lbs
Current Weight : 11st 4 1/4 lbs
Total Weight lost : 4 1/2 lbs = 4 good pies (or 1 Ian sized pie)

Day 10

2007-10-17T14:01:00.000+01:00

Firstly, due to a few people saying "you're losing how much in 6 weeks?!?!?" and me doing a bit of reading up, It seems its not healthy to lose such a vast amount of weight over such a small time scale... If I do the chances of me getting gallstones. After a but of research, the appropriate amount of weight to aim to lose in a week is 2 lbs. This unfortunately means that the date I can safely reach 10 stone is 21st December... the shortest day of the year.... how apt ;o)

Here is my progress so far, along with the projected weight loss if I am to hit 10 st on 21st December.
Starting Weight : 11st 8 3/4 lbs
Current Weight : 11st 6 1/4 lbs
Total Weight lost : 2 1/2 lbs = 2 good pies

Click the image to enlarge

Day 1

2007-10-08T11:08:00.000+01:00

Day 1 in the maple-sammé house... Simon is 11 st 8 3/4.. his target weight is 10st...

The question is, can he get to the dizzy depths of his 10 stone target before his birthday? 20th Nov. (42 days) It'll mean lots of gyming and running... maybe a bit of football :o) I'll keep you updated with progress!

Tips would be gratefully recieved ;o)

Holiday post! And some good news...

2007-08-31T17:44:00.000+01:00

Firstly the good news.... Reading managed to get a point from the champions at old trafford!!!! :oP

Holiday news: So we left for holiday about 3 weeks ago from heathrow and landed in Chicago. Liz hadn't been there before so I was showing her all the sights. There's still not a huge amount of stuff to do, but the bits we did were really cool. The parks are great. It was only about 30-33 degrees but about 90% humidity often made it a little uncomfortable and a bit sticky.

On the first Sunday we flew to San Diego, which turned out to be a really nice chilled out place. We kinda thought it was a bit like Balitmore and enjoyed a seal ride! Which was a part land part sea tour in the same vehicle. temps were around 30, and was nice. Liz's presentations went really well which was good. Coolest thing was going into the top gun bar one night... saw the piano and had a 'slab' of ribs!

Friday we flew to Las Vegas (Lost Wages) to temperatures of around 38-42 which was... hot! but a great change from home temps. The first full day we were there we took a tour to the West rim of the canyon. This meant taking a mini plane which would only hold 8 people + pilot over the hoover dam and mead lake and landed at the canyon. We got out and had a helecopter ride to the bottom of the canyon, followed by a boat trip at the base of the canyon along the colorado river - awesome!!! Just as we we're having our photo taken on the pontoon, I turned to Lizzy, told her I loved her lots, got down on one knee and proposed to her! Thankfully she said yes (I knew she would ;o) ) and I gave her the rock!

After all that, we went on a coach trip round part of the west rim and had lunch courtesy of a native indian settlement on the very edge of the rim which was great!

After another day or so in Vegas, we (won some money! and) hired a car to drive over the hoover dam and accross to Flagstaff, which is a nice little quaint place near to the south rim of the canyon. We stopped off at burger king (Yes, thats a TRIPPLE whopper... god bless america!)...

...We spent two nights/three days there and went on two day trips. Firstly to monument valley which was simply amazing!

The next day we went to the south rim of the canyon, which was extremely pretty, 18 miles wide and 1.5 miles deep - spectacular! Although lizzie didn't like the edge that much! ;o)

A 4 hr drive and a super sized McDonalds later saw us back in Vegas :o) (lost lots of money :o( and) we went on a day trip to death valley and at the lowest point the temperature was 55 degrees!!!!! ouch! even in the shade it was 50! It was these temperatures due to the depth below sea level. At the lowest point it was over 200 ft below the sea level... luckily there was no water there! Its so hot the driver has to pour cold water on the car door handle to open it to avoid burning his hands! Now thats hot :o)

Then finally got a plane back and am now just getting over the jet lag... We both really enjoyed the holiday, so now we're talking about our lives together, our upcoming marrage... probs summer 2009 we think, and of course the imminant house move! (Someone buy my house!!!)

All in all an amazing time!

Posty posty post

2007-07-13T15:18:00.000+01:00

So whats happened... well I've commented on Adam's blog, so I guess I should write something so he doesn't have a strong argument back ;o) So Adam... na na na na naaaaaaaa!

Also Joe has cried as my last post was a while back, so cry no more little ones! Oh and well done in the football.... It sounds like back when I was your height (gag here)... Goalie always played all the games everyone else got subbed. But then hey, who wants to be a keeper!

I've been a bit sportier than usual this week, with go karting on wednesday (I won! Yippee, and got a trophy! :o) ) they cricket yesterday (lost) then football today (lost one, won one), however I did score an AWESOME goal even by my low standards!

My house is up for sale, and Liz and I have decided to buy a house together, so things are going very well for us :oD We are still renting liz's and that can stay as it is. We're looking to move to south of Basingstoke... A little villagy place called Kempshott.

Thats all for now :) going to see a house later today, which might be a nice one for us!

bfn! Si

It will never end

2007-04-18T21:11:00.000+01:00

This time last year, I blogged with a post entitled "Where will it end?".

It is now clear to me, after watching a gillette advert that there will never be an end. Shavers will get more and more ridiculous. Here's a link to gillette's new razor, dubbed gillette fusion, a 6 (SIX) bladed razor. 5 on the front, 1 on the back.

I look forward to blogging again on 19th April 2008 about a 8 blade razor which also scratches your arse and makes the tea ;o)

A poem by me

2007-04-13T12:21:00.000+01:00

There was a young boy from Margate,
Who had neither a friend or a mate,
His hair looked a mess,
he liked to wear a dress,
and his face was always ORANGE!!!!

Mmmmmmm Ducky

2007-04-13T09:48:00.000+01:00

Went for a really nice all you can eat chinese yesterday with ben, lizzy and paul (and Liz of course). Had lots of nice starter which is by far the best part of a chinese meal, which included loads of duck courtesy of Liz. Well we all ate till we were struggling to move and then decided it would be good to work all that food off... so a pint and a couple of games of pool it was :)

Needless to say, Ben and I proved once again that boys rule ;o)

(Post dedicated to Lizzy -- for persisting with a slow blogger)

Bro's Birthday

2007-04-04T13:10:00.000+01:00

So my big bro, Gav, is 30 at long last! So at the weekend we went round as a surprise and took him out paintballing, which was great fun... if not a little painful! I do have a massive bruise where someone shot me from close range about 4 times! looooooser.

After that we all had a few drinks till the early hours :) The next day Gav wasn't looking too great, and Nicole was up bright and early playing. We took her to the park to go on the swings... Gav didn't fancy a go!

Its his birthday today... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! And we're going round later tonight for some food.

This weekend we're watching Reading vs Liverpool :D

Fun game I can't stop playing!

2007-03-29T11:17:00.001+01:00

My top score is 3620... I'm sure no one can beat it! :oP

Oops! Forgot the link!!! -> http://www.shaunthesheep.co.uk/games/onedog/

Congratulations!!!!

2007-03-05T23:11:00.000Z

Hoorah!

Yes, the rumours are true.... I did move a shelf in the living room.... and yes, the room didn't need a re-paint!!!!!!

From a very proud (and relieved) Si

Holiday over :o(

2007-02-26T20:05:00.000Z

So where was I.... after the everglades we got our hire car, very nice, although it didn't have a proper gear stick, only seemed to go up and down and not from side to side... anyway it was a comfortable chevy so can't complain. We drove all the way throught the florida keys, over the 7 mile bridge (6.9 miles ;o) ) to Key West - the hip hop and happenin' key of the florida keys. we did a nice long tour of Key West and stopped off at the southern most point of the U.S. although there are more southern points of Key West but they were man made... we didn't stop to argue.

I must share with you this photo which Liz took of me at southern most point, nice beard...

Key West is famed in the keys for having really pretty sunsets, and it did not dissapoint - photo below

After Key West we drove to Marathon which is a big city for the keys on Grassy Key. We went to the dolphin research center where we saw loads of dolphins and actually swam with one :o) Liz liked this a lot! The dolphin we swam with was Flippers grandson... well, thats what they told us anyway ;o) After that we went to the sea-turtle hospital to see some baby turtles and older ones who have had flippers amputated and all sorts. One was called bubble-butt. Yes, this did make Liz laugh like a little girl!

Finally we went to Key Largo which is where all the 'watersports' takes place. There was loads of snorkelling /diving/fishing/spearfinsing etc to do, we initially booked snorkelling and diving, but liz had a problem breathing though her mouth. I guess, she normally breaths through her nose, in case she needs to talk quickly. As useful as this is, its quite a hinderance under water. We both enjoyed it lots tho. We both saw a big baracuda - must have been about 6 ft easily, and later I saw a nurse shark! Initially I was scared, but once my fear bubbled away from me, I decided to stay and watch him swim away as the divers got too close for its liking!

One final photo is a photo we bought which is of me and Liz in parrot jungle with a baby bengal tiger and chimp as our friends... not sure if I mentioned this before or not but here's the pic... (I'm holding the tiger)

So thats it! We're back now. Jet-lagged and tired, just finished first day of work and been shopping. Watching Stoke v Barnsley.... not that interesting or good, hence me blogging :o)

Hope you all enjoyed our travelling story! :o)

Si

Update from Miami!

2007-02-17T20:45:00.000Z

Hello,

Had a spare few mins so thought i'd write and update you all on what we've been up to...

Flights were all fine so far, we landed in Miami and have walked around the surrounding area of south beach loads. They're really big on italian food here, and when I mean BIG, you know what I mean ;o)

We did a duck tour which is a car thing that can float too! Had a look round the aquarium, and saw killer whales and dolphins, manities and other cool things. Temperatures have been as high as about 26 and on one day abour 15 :(

We went to Tampa bay which is a nice little city to chill out in. Ybor city was our favourite place, cigars everywhere! Liz did her presentations fine.

Two highlights were the ice hockey games and valentines.... ice hockey - so good we saw two games! really exciting and great fights :) Valentines - took liz out for a romantic meal in Hooters :oD lovely atmosphere.... It was her first visit to Hooters, and mine too (with Liz).

Now back in Miami, we've just done a city tour and got back from the everglades... that was awesome. The fan boat ride was amazing, it was really fast! Didn't see Ben tho :(

An unexpected treat in the everglades was to hold a 3 year old gator! Got video and stills of it. It felt like I would imagine a snake to feel like... if that makes sense..... probs not... probs sounds mad eh adam? ;oP

We also felt hungry so ate aligator tail burger :) I took a couple of bites but couldn't really bring myself to eat it after holding it! Liz couldn't speak much as she was too busy stuffing her face with aligator!

Ahhh, and I think i'm getting fatter!

Si

When people compain, they get a load of arse...

2007-02-09T21:22:00.000Z

Title says it all really...

I can never really be bothered to blog, but given that every one *always* complains (you know who you are, Linda!) here is a proper post...

So what can I write about? *looks below a bit* Looks like I haven't blogged properly since November... So, I guess there was Hazels birthday... I think, although I can't remember as my memory has deteriorated so much.... maybe it was Lindas... or maybe they both had birthdays, anyway, it was certainly Christmas in november so lets talk about that!

On 23rd November was lovely Nicole's 1st birthday and she's lovely and cute. Liz and I went to her little birthday party and celebrated with Nicoles close family. Then we went to my mum and dads for the evening, when it happened..... Liz left me to go to see her family for Christmas... at first I wondered how I'd manage without her... but its ok, mum was there to make my dinner and open my beer ;o) (love u lizzy :oP)

Christmas was a lovely break both round mine and round Liz's. It was nice just to forget about work and enjoy life for every day, and not neccesarily go out intending to do something everyday but just to enjoy whatever happens... sounds crazy? you should see what i'm wearing.....

So then we got back to work and it wasn't actually that bad to return... i think its because me and Liz have spent so much time together that because we were still together at work and at home, there wasn't that void that there sometimes is after going away for a while... which was nice.

January... Mums birthday, had a good party round mum and dads house, and lots of pressies/bottles of alcohol were opened ;o) Don't think a lot else happened in January.

February... well we're really only just into this month and as I write this its 'holiday eve' so we're both packed for our holiday in Florida... details:

Sat 10th - Fly to Miami
Sun 11th - Miami
Mon 12th - Miami
Tue 13th - Miami. Travel to Tampa
Wed 14th - Tampa
Thur 15th - Tampa
Fri 16th - Tampa. Travel to Miami
Sat 17th - Miami
Sun 18th - Miami - Everglades
Mon 19th - Miami. Travel to Keys
Tue 20th - Keys
Wed 21st - Keys
Thur 22nd - Keys
Fri 23rd - Keys
Sat 24th - Travel to Miami. Fly to UK
Sun 25th - Arrive in UK

Things i'm looking forward to are... Swimming with dolphins, snorkelling, scuba diving... errr, fat fat foods and lots of it, pancakes, syrup, sun and stupid fat people with silly accents (and i'm not talking about people from Newcastle (Tactful, eh Ian ;o) ))

So thats me up to date... i'll try to blog more, but its likely something more important or fun will get in the way...

So long and thanks for all the dolphins...

Simon Maple - Blog King

New post?

2007-02-08T16:57:00.001Z

I wonder if anyone still reads this ;o)

Birthday blog!!!!

2006-11-30T16:35:00.001Z

Well, post birthday blog, but then I am 27 now so my marbles have been lost for a while now!

This post is all about the wonderful birthday I had courtesy of the one and only Lizzy bear!!! It all started on 19th Nov (birthday-eve) when Liz took me out to a location unknown to me at the time. Little did I know what would be in store for me :) We drove into Reading and thats when alarm bells stared going off, especially when we parked in the Madejski hotel car park!!!! :oD

The hotel was really nice... extremely plush, we had dinner in their restaurant, just a quick bite really, didn't spend long there.... let me think.... it was a 1..... 2.... ahh right I remember, it was a 9 course meal that lasted 3 hours!!!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, It had to be one of the nicest meals i've ever eaten!!!!

It all started after a port and nibbles course in the bar, when we went into Cilantro and started with our 1st course... it was sort of like a toast hor d'oerve with red peppers and asparagus and stuff.... very nice and not too filling, thankfully! The 2nd course was a mini soup which was made from carrot and parsnip, very tasty and it had a cheffy touch on the top as a frotthy head!

3rd course was Foie Gras.... First time i've ever eaten that, it was a very aquired taste, which I quite enjoyed. It was quite rich and very tastefull. Next was Saffron Risotto, beautifully cooked with wild mushrooms... now that was extremely tasty, but my fav course was the 5th, which was a Roasted Qual with avocado puree and vitaloc potato. Another first for me was to eat quail and it was delish. like a fragrant chicken... loadsa flavour.

6th was Tournedos of Scotch beef and creamed mash with veg and a Madeira Jus. Really nice cooked medium rare, and was the "main course" of the nine. Then a pre-dessert turned up! Liz really liked this one, as it was a kiwi cheese cake. To finish off the dessert section :) we had raspberry torte with shortbread and then 9th course.... coffee and petit fours!!! WOW!!!! I think i'm still digesting it all.

But one of the many highlights of the day was seeing the man himself, John Madejski, chairman of Reading FC walk into the restaurant with his +1, sit down a few tables away opposite me, and enjoy a meal in his own restaurant.... AWESOME!!! :)

The next day we had a good old walk around the ground and got around 6 or 7 autographs from the Reading players at the players enterance into the stadium. Got Murtys which made me very happy :)

Reading of course picked up 3 points in a very impressive style which made the day and weekend perfect, against a struggling Charlton side.

Sunday was a day of hosting by Liz and myself as my mum and dad, bro and Lou and baby nicole came round to visit for sunday lunch.... we had a blast as usual, all the silly games, somehow 3 bottles of wine!!! when only a few of us were drinking!!! and 4 bottles of beer!!!!! Anyway Nicole looked as pretty as ever and it was the most amazing weekend and birthday i think i've ever had!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

Thanks for all the cards and pressies everyone! Mum & Dad & Gav & Lou & Nicole & Lizzies Family & Martin etc :)

And last but by no means least, thanks a million my lovely Lizzzy xxx

Well... at least sometimes when I post I write a lot ;)

Some things have happened since my last post

2006-11-15T22:38:00.000Z

In summary...

Before the day before yesterday... things happened...

Yesterday, I cut Martin's hair!!!! After years and decades (well weeks and months really) of taking the p!ss out of Martin coz of his hair, below...

So.... I took it upon myself to do something about it.... so after a couple of white lies and a bit of persuasion, he agreed I could cut his hair.... They say the first cut is the deepest, and this was no exception... it could have been better and I was really struggling after I accidentally made a poor first attempt. However I'm pleased with the cut, and not bad for my first ever go at a hair cut!!! (don't read that bit Martin.... its one of my white lies!!!!) :oP

So anyway here are the results for all to glare at!!! Look at the freak, look at the freak!!!!!

So long for now.... speak again in another few years....

update

2006-10-02T16:39:00.000+01:00

Still back :oP

Back Now...

2006-08-29T14:09:00.000+01:00

posty posty post (+holiday plans!)

2006-07-25T16:26:00.000+01:00

hello hello hello,

Here's a little catch up on events that have been happening!

Went to my bro's and sis's to have a BBQ which was cool. Mum and dad were there also. We all ate lots of food and tried some lemony freaky drink that was sipped and enjoyed... bah, beer anyday! Saw Nicole eating solids for the very first time and helped to feed her (one spoonful) some petit fillou (sp?). Awwwww she's really cute! I can't wait till she's able to crawl and walk and talk! Its gonna be great :oD

Me and Liz hosted a poker night round mine a week ago which was great fun. We had 8 people in two groups of 4 playing in separate table for a £20 pot. The evental winners were Andrew and Dan who both played good (and lucky) hands ;o) The event was actually a fancy(ish) dress event where everyone had to wear one item of weird clothing... the results can be seen here. Mmmmm big fat cigars!!!

Went round to Liz's parents this weekend and had a good laugh, with another BBQ and lots of football with Joe and Adam. Tiring stuff, but it can only be good for you! :) Also saw a really pretty sunset on the way home... not particularly exiting now, but it was at the time!!!

Finally, we've booked a funky holiday in August which is gonna be a blast... here's the itinery!

Sat 12th Fly to Baltimore (leave heathrow at 13:00, arrive at 16:20)
Sun 13th Baltimore
Mon 14th Baltimore
Tue 15th Baltimore
Wed 16th Baltimore
Thur 17th Baltimore
Fri 18th Baltimore, leave at 11ish, train to DC
Sat 19th Washington DC, fly to toronto (leave at 17:45, arrive at 19:10).
Sun 20th Toronto
Mon 21st Toronto
Tue 22nd Travel to Niagara
Wed 23rd Niagara,
Thur 24th Travel to Toronto
Fri 25th Toronto
Sat 26th Toronto, fly to baltimore (leave at 16:45, arrive at 18:13). Fly to heathrow (leave baltimore at 20:55, arrive at 9:25 on sunday)

Wayhay!!!! let the bud lite flow ;o)

Breaking news just in.......

2006-07-16T20:38:00.000+01:00

Scientists today revealed they have acutally found the most disgusting foul smell in the world..... A few months ago Liz let one rip after a big bad 'hot and spicy' pizza. Initially, people blamed the unusual fridge smell on Liz, accusing her of locking the rather pungent wind in the empty fruit and veg tray. However, in recent days the smell has got worse to the extent that once someone opened the fridge door, neigbours were complaining of unusual rashes and that their eyes were randomly watering, so they kept asking if Liz could control her bodily functions. This increase in pressure (not gaseous pressure) made me dress up in all the neccesary breathing apparatus etc and fight the smell that had made a home in the fridge. As it turns out the culprit was a 12 year old piece of parmesan cheese.... Some non-believers still think the harmless piece of cheese only smelt bad as it soaked up all of Liz's almighty guff like a sponge.

On a less serious note.... well done on the run Liz, its a really nice thing you've done :o)

Stupid thing

2006-06-30T11:54:00.000+01:00

Copy and paste into the comment box,and fill in the answers...

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF
» I committed suicide:
» I said I loved you:
» I kissed you:
» I lived next door to you:
» I started smoking:
» I stole something:
» I was hospitalized:
» I ran away from home:
» I got into a fight and you weren't there:

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MY:
» Personality:
» Eyes:
» Hair:
» Clothes:
» Self:

OTHER STUFF
» How have I affected you?
» What do you think of me?

» What's the fondest memory you have of me?
» How long do you think we will be friends or enemies?
» Have I ever hurt you?
» Would you hug me?
» Would you kiss me?
» Are we close?
» On a scale of 1-10, how nice am I?
» Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it.
» Am I loveable?
» What was your first impression?
» What do you think my weakness is?
» What about me makes you happy?
» What about me makes you sad?
» What reminds you of me?
» What's something you would change about me?

Catch up!

2006-06-27T09:53:00.000+01:00

So it looks like once again I'm playing Ketchup... Lets see whats happened in the last *cough* *cough* days...

Dragged loads of wood back from B&Q (about £250 squids worth) and built a deck
Won a 5-a-side cup on 2nd June :o) Another trophy! yay!
Liz's birthday on 2nd June, went out in the evening for foody
Went to Margate to see Liz's family
Had a big BarBQ and party for the England v T&T footy game

So decking! Pictures to follow when its all stained (with wood stain!), but i've build a 4x3m decking in my back garden which i'm really pleased with and proud of coz it seems to be stable!!!! Still need to shape the lawn and put stones down the edges to finish the garden off. Also bought new garden furniture which was good as the other set I had were too small for the deck.

Won the 5-a-side outdoor cup for the second time in 2 years.... twas a hot day and a tiring set of games, but we played well to get to the final and then didn't play particularly well when we got there, but managed to get to penalties and won 4-3! :oD (I took the very first one... a bit a nervy but scored it)

Lizzy is 25 or 35 or something now, so we went out to a posh food place and grabbed some grub ;o) Twas nice, and she said she enjoyed herself lots which is the main thing.... and she really can eat a three course meal! ;oP

Went to Margate on a lovely sunny weekend and met Liz's parents and family who were very nice and fun. Played lots of football and learnt a lot of moves from Joe and Adam!! Friday night we went up and had a couple of beers with Liz's friends, then went back to Liz's mum and dads place... Saturday, got up and went to see lots of ugly women... *cough* cut Liz's hair and put pink in... then saw the England game against Paraguay, then had loadsa food and fun round Hazel and Peters with everyone, playing footy, table tennis and frisby... couple more beers. Sunday was a nice chill out day and drive back to soton.

Had a party for the second England game where they played poorly AGAIN!! Although they did grind out a win, phew... and had a bar-b-q on the new deck, which worked coz it didn't collapse when about 12ish people were standing on it! :oD

Well I think thats me up to date now.... I posted Liz to Corfu on Sunday second class, so she should get there on Tuesday! Dave is down this week so there'll be lots of football watching :oD and slobbing out!

*mice play*

Words, glorious words...

2006-05-25T11:31:00.000+01:00

I've noticed that in my recent posts, I've mainly been putting pictures up.... This is to satisfy my illiterete readers. However it has come to my attention that I should now devote a post to.........WORDS!!!!

So here are my word categories....

Favourite words

Liz
Thanks
Please
Well Done!

Words I like using

Monkey nuts
dwarf
bloody wolf!

Words/Phrases I wish I used more

Who have we got in the premiership this week?
Do you mind if I talk? It keeps the wolf from the doors
flib-a-lob
Its your round

Words I don't understand

Anachronism
Frowzy
Fussbudget
Don't shoot
Pass the ball
Its your turn to do the washing up

Words I can never spell

recieve
neccessary
anniversairy
illiterete :oP

Words I hate

Synergy
Cyber-*
Cricket
Championship Football
Alan Pardew

Words that should sound like boing when said

Doing
Boing

Funnah

2006-05-23T22:03:00.000+01:00

Photo crazy!!!!!!

2006-05-22T17:20:00.000+01:00

New lawn....

Looks different from above... if you fall over on your side...

look..... a shed!

Where you see mud, there will be lawn curvature and gravelly stones... the patio + about 1m ish will be covered in decking.... more photos to follow when I get it all back from B&Q!!!!

Photo crazy cont!!!!!!

2006-05-22T17:08:00.000+01:00

Football boots of this quality........

.... + skill..... obtain trophies of this quality....

4-a-side football league champions! :oD

Christening photos

2006-05-21T12:34:00.000+01:00

Here's a selection of photos from Nicoles christening from Sunday 7th May.

Nicole, with proud Mum and Dad, and god parents (I'm on the right next to my brother who looks nothing like me, but Liz is lucky she's going out with the good looking one! :P)

Awwwwwwwww, perfect family!

She can stand!!!! Just don't let her go! ;o) KJEMHoiemhfcuaiwrhtinrwhf igreuag she's so cute!

Wanna know what i'm laughing at??? You should see what i'm looking at!!! :oP

Just because...

2006-05-19T20:44:00.000+01:00

Hi! What you are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire email or paste it onto a new email that you'll send . Change all the questionnaire answers so they apply to you and then send this to a whole bunch of people, including the one who sent it to you.

1) what time did you get up this morning?
9.15am

2) Diamonds or Pearls?
Necklace?

3) What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
MI3

4) What are your favourite TV shows?
Green Wing, Bloody Wolf and Green Wing.

5) What did you have for breakfast today?
Nothing

6) What is your middle name?
James

7) What is your favourite cuisine?
Italian

8) What foods do you dislike?
Green peppers when fried, fish, stilton, smelly stuff

9) What is your favourite crisp flavour?
Pickled Onion

10) What is your favourite CD at the moment?
don't listen to CD's :o(

11) What kind of car do you drive?
a fast one... Astra Coupe Bertone 2.2l

12) Favourite Sandwich?
Chicken Salad

13) What characteristics do you despise?
rudeness

14) What are your favourite clothes?
comfy ones!

15) A place you would like to holiday?
Australia

16) What colour is your bathroom?
Jetstream Blue!

17) Favourite brand of clothing?
I don't like brands (Nike or Adidas)

18) Where would you want to retire to?
don't care

19) Favourite time of day?
Bedtime

20) Where were you born?
Frimley hospital

21) Favourite sport to watch?
FOOOOOOOOOTBALL or recently, Extreme dodgeball!

22) Who do you least expect to send this back?
a 67 foot muchkin called bernard who has black hair and no eyes

23) Person you expect to send it back?
a 65 foot muchkin called julian who has blue hair and seven eyes

24) Coke or Pepsi?
Pepsi

25) Are you a morning person or a night owl?
night owl

26) Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone?
not really

27) What did you want to be when you were little?
A vet

28) What is your best childhood memory?
can't remember

29) What are the different Jobs you have had in your life?
paper round, DIY person in a sports center, waiter in a rubbish hotel, barman in a rubbish hotel, waiter/barman in 2 good hotels, programmer for a small company, IBM monkey.

30) Nicknames?
Si boo, boo boo, Simondelia-tea-pee-brain-harry, ski-man, si.

31) Piercings?
On the very tip of my.... erm.......... none.

32) Eye Colour?
Brown

33) What colour underwear are you wearing?
white and toit

34) Been in a car accident?
nope

35) Favourite day of the week?
day off

36) Favourite restaurant?
Casa bodega

37) Favourite flower?
yeh, right

38) Favourite ice cream
Magnum

39) Favourite fast food restaurant?
KFC

40) How many times did you fail your driving test?
Once, but I'm an awesome driver now

41) Before this one, from whom did you get your last email?
Graham Spittle!!!!! We're good friends you know ;o)

42) Which store would you choose to max out your credit card in?
Reading FC online store, or B&Q sadly!

43) Bedtime?
depends how sexy I feel ;oP

44) Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire?
Ummmmmmmmmmmmm....... a clone of me

45) Last person you went to dinner with?
Liz, about 2 hrs ago!

46) What are you listening to right now?
the voices in my head......... mmmmmm voices....

47) What is your favourite colour?
Blue

48) How many tattoos do you have?
None, I dislike the idea of marking my body

49) How many people are you sending this email to?
89474638384747363849494737374647488393.2

Update

2006-05-17T23:22:00.000+01:00

Haven't blogged for a while.... here's whats happened...

Went to Christening... was good
Laid turf in the back garden... was good

Any questions? No? good!

Where will it end?

2006-04-17T22:52:00.000+01:00

I just saw an advert on the tele for a Wilkinson sword quattro titanium which is a FOUR blade razor.... how ironic I should talk about this now.... I can't see the point in there being 4 blades, its staring to sound dangerous! So my question is, where will it stop? Razor companies must make lots of money in getting people to buy the latest razor hence they bring out 1 blade, 2 blades, 3 blades, 3 blades that take batteries! and now 4 blades!!! Will there ever be 5 and 6 blades?!? or perhaps a face mask filled with blades so that you just put your face in it, sneeze and you've just shaved. I think they've reached their max number of blades now surely, and will try to work on gimicks like the battery one.

Rant over.

Back by popular demand.....

2006-04-16T20:32:00.000+01:00

Cutie one...

Awwwwwwwwwws...

"Who's this hairy bloke?"

Getting Old?

2006-04-14T22:17:00.000+01:00

About 8 ish years ago, I helped my mum and dad dig up their whole front garden which was about 2-3 times the size of my back garden.... yet today I felt really tired just digging up half of my back garden! So why? The only conclusion I can come up with is that i must be getting old, past it, over the hill.

Perhaps if I ask my lovely girlfriend Lizzy really nicely, she will help me put the new one down once I finish digging the rest of the old one up? I probs wont put a new one down for a couple of weeks, leaving there enough time to make sure there are no weeds left in the ground... I might put some weed killer down just in case too.

Happy Easter

2006-04-14T10:41:00.000+01:00

Some you win, some you lose...

2006-04-13T17:06:00.000+01:00

1) Starts bad then gets better..... After my horses performed like vegetables on the grand national, I found out that ladbrooks didn't actually have my details correct on the newly created account I used to make my bets.... so they sent me an e-mail asking for my billing address again... hehehe oops.... I might forget to reply to that one!!!! £30 not lost after all :oD

2) Starts good then gets worse..... After getting my free tea and hot cross bun today from work, I managed to put the tea bag in the bag that the hot cross bun came in and begin folding it many many times.... after chatting away, I noticed my trousers had tea all over them as I had managed to wring out the whole tea bag all over them! D'OH!!!

I think that confirms the pleasure/pain theory.... now time to use my power drill....

Whats your limit???

2006-04-10T18:47:00.000+01:00

Here's the clean version.....

For £1,000,000 would you kill a horse?

Pros
With the money you would be able to save many other horses! And even people from death, disease etc.

Cons
The horse will be dead and you will have killed it.

Remember, killing the horse is a bad action, but deciding NOT to kill the horse is another action, and that action would mean that you would not be able to put the money to something that could save many horses/people etc...

Personally, i'd kill the horse.

...oh yeah, and i'd give the money to somewhere that would actually save peoples lives.

Time for another post...

2006-03-25T11:23:00.000Z

Haven't blogged for a while now... just been a bit busy/lazy! So here's the catch up of shiney items, garden plans, how not to move shelves and football. Sorry for the Huge blog!

Some of my recent purchases have definitely been worth it and I can't believe I didn't buy them before, such as sky + and surround sound. I think sky + has actually made me watch less TV, because I can record loads of stuff really easily, so that I only watch decent stuff on the TV. I'm clearly watching loads more random football too! Surround sound is awesome, I just need to tune the system so that my back speakers are slightly louder, and the subwoofer needs turning down slightly as its knocking paint of the walls...... if only! The few.... larger bits I still want to buy is a new digi camera, got my eye on the nikon P3, Tom Tom (waiting for the new product line in April), DVD recorder for copying stuff from sky down, new shiney mobile with bluetooth headset (should get off old contract as its expensive and I don't use 50 free mins a day anymore!!!) , new bike so I can continue to improve my fitness and consider triathalons, huge external hard disk, to hold all my photos and mp3s and movies etc, maybe a digita camcorder, new bedroom furniture and possible rearrange the spare bedroom, huge rug for the lounge and other minor things too! phew.... i need a pay rise!!!

I now think I know what to do with my back garden... it involves taking a week orf from work, digging the garden up, putting decking down, relaying the lawn, putting a new shed up in the far right hand corner of the garden, and putting down big stones to the shed and gate in the other corner of the garden. I might then decide to dig out a couple of holes in the middle of the garden to put plants in or have shingle stoneys down the right side to put potted plants on.... anyway.... enough talk of gardening.... football talk soon....

Question.... How can moving shelves from one side of the lounge to the other side of the lounge require a complete room paint?
Answer.... Get me to move them.
What happened.... Well shelves were taken down.... rawl plugs removed from wall.... holes polyfilled and sanded.... then painted with what I thought was the right paint, but it was actually the old lounge paint mixed with a darker sample pot ages ago when I painted the spare room.... then go to B & Q to buy a small sample pot of the original colour.... paint over the patches and say to self, wow, thats spot on.... with confidence in paint overwhelming, paint other patches all over the lounge.... cry as when the paint dries, it dries far darker than the original.... hence whole room needs a re-paint :o(

Football: I'm playing loooooads of football at the moment, and my fitness is getting loads better, as is my actual playing. I'm going to Keele (between Manc and Birmingham) on 21-23rd April for a weekend football tournament which i'm really looking forward to.... finished 2nd last year which is the highest as yet. The mighty Royals will be playing today at 3 against the foxes knowing that a win would mean they are playing premiership football next year!!!!! Everyone must keep note of the Reading score and cheer when they make it..... BLUE ARMY!!! BLUE ARMY!!! BLUE ARMY!!! BLUE ARMY!!!

So off to B & Q to buy some paint to paint over the patches between my patches!!!!!! So long!

iPod car attachments

2006-03-06T22:55:00.000Z

I've been looking at some car attachments to play my iPod in my car, but unfortunately my best bet, the iTrip seems illegal :o( Might buy it anyway but the other options all seem a bit too much hastle or too rubbish.

Anyway, had a fun weekend, mostly doing D.I.Y round Liz's and mine, bits of painting, clearing up and shelf putting up. As well as time to chill out and laze around.

Well if that don't put the dink in co-inky-dink

2006-03-03T09:24:00.000Z

£50M stolen from Kent.... most of it has been found.... I go on a wild spending spree.... unrelated? Perhaps...

Spending spree: Wireless router, Sky+ subscription, 30GB iPod video, iStation, loadsa portable telephones!
Still to spend: Sat Nav, surround sound system for TV, iPod car accessory thingy, new shinier mobile with bluetooth headset.

Reasoning behind spending spree: Don't know.

All donations will be gratefully accepted.

Feeling like I'm coming down with a cold :o( Looks like I'll have to watch some TV at home :o)

Other news... My lounge is now the opposite way round to the way it was last week! Feels a bit strange now, but somehow there feels like there is more space! I'll have to find a gadget to buy to fill it up ;oP

Help Wanted

2006-02-23T23:02:00.000Z

Wanted: People who are hardworking, don't mind working for nothing, do what they're told, never complain and work 15 hours a day.

As the days get longer, and the evenings get lighter.... I can see the mess that is my back garden for even longer. I need some volunteers to dig it up and put something low maintanence down that looks good. I will of course be around for supervision and management issues, to ensure all goes well.

Thanks in advance ;o)

The rant begins...

2006-02-20T20:34:00.000Z

Sports that shouldn't be called sports.....

Snooker, Darts, Archery, Shooting, Baseball, American Football, Golf, Curling, Croquet, cracker eating, Cricket (questionable), pie eating and finally weight lifting.......whats that all about.

These should be called skills. Similar skills are knitting, flicking, snoring and sneezing.

Rant over... it had to be said.

33 games without losing.... and out

2006-02-19T21:10:00.000Z

Reading lost their second game of the season on friday :( Ahh well, we'll be in the premiership next year all the same! =D URZZZZZZZZ

Feeling a little ill at the moment, but still had a fun weekend! been doing loadsa gaming, eating loadsa pizza, and even did a spot of painting! (D.I.-Si). Geoff came over on Friday night which was really good fun coz we haven't had an evening of beer, pizza and gaming for a while now. Managed to win the world cup too...... which was nice ;o)

4th post.... I'm on a roll

2006-02-11T19:53:00.000Z

Been to see my little niece again today and my how she's grown.... in the last 7 days!!! Took her for a walk round to the lake with Gav and lou lou - twas really cool! Saw Reading play the saints on friday which was good fun, especially as I made more money out of them in two bets! (Lita to score first and reading to win 2-0) ;o) That brings my total earnings up to 140 squid! Felt lucky so bought a few lottery tickets on the way home. Hmmmm, its on now... but they're playing some silly game rather than pulling balls..... I'll update sometime later with my winnings :oP

Valentines night approaches... I think I'm gonna cook something really really nice, I've got my menu sorted, but who shall I share it with ;o) You decide...

3rd blog entry.... don't feel like my heart's in this anymore!

2006-02-06T13:46:00.000Z

Well quite a lot of things have happened since my last blog, only a few inches below this one! Most of which I wont go into but hey, there have been ups and downs. Biggest up has been a new arrival of my little niece, Nicole. Well thats enough for now... more to come maybe, if I can be bothered. See you soon.

2nd blog entry... starting to slow down already

2005-10-10T15:07:00.000+01:00

Well, this is my second blog entry, nothing really that interesting to talk about. Especially the football. Makes me wonder why i'm even blogging at all... Does anyone actually read this?!? Are they as sad as me for writing it? Who knows... Anywho, just thought I'd make an appearance.

One small blog for man, One giant trip for maple-kind

2005-10-07T13:57:00.000+01:00

Well then gelder made me do it.....

I've posted my first blog.... now i'm getting scared..... time to go!

Out to Lunch