For the man who has everything?

A knitted lobster!

Can you spot the difference?

Tainted Glove - the video

So during the cold and snowy winter months, intepid softballers take themselves down to Brixton for the indoor season.

This finished a few weeks ago, but was an absolute blast. It’s a fast and frantic version of the outdoor game. Innings are timed, balls bounce and can be caught off the walls and points are won and lost at a rate of knots.

Our captain, affectionately known as Gobby, brought along this video camera to a couple of sessions. This is the result. As I was operating the camera for most of it I only make a few fleeting appearances, but judging by the state of my ‘girlie’ throw, perhaps that’s a good thing!

Accentuate the positive

A few of my recent posts have been less than positive.  It’s when I’m feeling down that the urge to blog takes hold of me.

So, I thought it was time to redress the balance and send out some positive vibes.  I’ve been feeling much more positive for the last few days.  Isn’t it funny how things can turn around so suddenly?  Maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s the morning runs along the river in the sunshine, maybe it’s a few things that have gone my way recently, or maybe it’s just something in the water.

Whatever it is, I hope it lasts and I hope the positive hopes for the future that I’ve been daring to believe in recently come to something.  Don’t worry, dear reader, you will be the first to know if they don’t!

In the meantime, here is a picture of a happy duck - cos we all like ducks don’t we?

Image linked to from the BBC Gloucestershire Webpage.

The wait is almost over!

The comedy genius that is Snuff Box will be out on DVD from June 16th!

Who is your favourite muppet?

Mine is Rowlf

A Thousand Cuts

So I’ve returned to the murky world of internet dating.

I tried it a few years ago and had a great time. I meet some lovely people, had some great nights out and although my heart suffered a few cracks along the way, I came out the other side more or less unscathed.

It is turning out to be a slightly different experience this time. Suddenly the spoof news report that was put onto The Onion website for this Valentines day just passed, doesn’t seem so amusing…but strangely poignant:

It doesn’t matter how many of my friends and family say things like, ‘you’re great’ ‘anyone would be lucky to have you’, ‘it’s his loss’ or ‘I really can’t understand why you’re single’ etc (that last one is my personal favourite - as if there has to be a reason?) it doesn’t make the drip drip drip of rejection any easier.

Each time I decide to be proactive and send out a couple of messages it gets a little bit more depressing as they read my message, view my profile and click delete. Like the news report says - now I can get rejected on my own terms!

When I did it before it did wonders for my confidence as a myriad of men paid me compliments and attention. Not so this time. I’m kind of regretting having signed up for another go now, but I’ve paid my money, and goddamit, I’m going to get my money’s worth of rejection!

And so Easter has come and gone again.  An excuse to each chocolate and to dust off my Jesus Christ Superstar CD.  Yes, I know I blog regularly about being an atheist, but I love a bit of Webber and Rice (that could go a long way to explaining why I’m single!) and it’s a good old story.

This year I also decided that I’d give the new dramatisation on the BBC a go - The Passion.  There were lots of familiar faces amongst the apostles and filmed in Morocco it was a attractive and intriguing retelling of the story.  Unlike the musical version, this one unfolded in almost ‘real time’ spread over Holy week and portryed events right up to the discovery of the empty tomb and the resurrection.

The final scene made me think that perhaps those with faith are in some respects the lucky ones.  The final scene showed the risen Jesus reassuring one of the disciples (Peter?) that he would always be with him.  How reassuring must it be to feel that you always have a companion?  We all get lonely from time to time, but those with faith always believe that there is someone with them, watching over them, perhaps guiding them.

Of course, appreciating how something could be comforting doesn’t change my beliefs (or lack of them).  Just as wanting to believe something doesn’t make it so.  I am perfectly happy with my approach to life, but occasionally it’s interesting to have a glimpse into how the other half sees things.

Thoroughly Shameless

I try not to blog about television programmes very often, as I don’t want any passing readers to think that I just spend my time in front of the goggle box (in fact I spend most of it in front of the google.co.uk box!). However, every so often a programme comes along that blows you away in the same way that a brilliant book or theatrical production does, and I feel that that deserves some comment.

This happened a few years ago with the first series of Shameless. The second series was equally as brilliant and then James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff moved on to bigger and better things and I felt it lost its edge for the next couple of series.

However, the current series is bringing it right back to its rightful place as the best thing on TV. The plot has now escalated beyond the long-suffering Gallagher family, although many of the original characters remain. We have watched Debbie and Liam grow up and the older members of the brood move off to different lives. However, the heart of the series still has that warm warm mix of tragi-comedy that makes you laugh whilst subtly breaking your heart.

Of course, it is possible that the standard has never dropped, but that it’s my perception of it that has changed. It suddenly struck me that the standard seemed to drop during the three years when I was in a settled relationship. Many of the storylines are about love, loss and heartbreak. From Ian finding the man of his dreams only to find out that it can’t be, to Debbie’s unrequited love for the wrong lad, to this week’s heartbreaker with a sober Frank finding true love only to have it snatched away by circumstances. When you are happy with someone, these sort of plotlines don’t register with quite the same poignancy as when you are your own. They aren’t relevant to your life in quite the same way. They don’t touch you quite so deeply.

So if you are one of those many people spending this Valentines day wondering why everyone else but you seems to be clutching a bunch of flowers, if you feel somehow defective whenever society assumes that the default option is to have someone, or if you ever envy those people whose existence is seemingly validated by the fact that someone loves them, then I recommend a hearty dose of the Chatsworth estate.

Skipping through my playlist

I’ve been finding myself pressing ’skip’ on my mp3 player in shuffle mode more and more lately.  Nothing I have on there seems to suit my recent mood.  It got me thinking about the songs we write and listen to.  I’m not really in the mood for loved up romantic songs - mainly just because I’m not at that position in my life.  However, I’m also not sad about any past relationships or angry about the people I was in a relationship with.  It seems that most of the songs on my playlist fall into one of those three categories; loved up, heart broken or angry.

My A-level drama teacher used to say that ‘Happiness has no story’.  It seems to be that this isn’t quite right.  Happiness, at least when it is love induced has plenty to say for itself, but it’s that kind of general contentment that I’m experiencing at the moment that has no story…or at least no songs.

If anyone can suggest some tunes that might coincide with my current inbetweeny mood, then you might be able to make my tube journeys a little more musical.

Big Garden Birdwatch

This weekend sees the annual Big Garden Birdwatch take place across the UK. Organised by the RSPB this is the biggest bird surevy in the world. Participants (and that can be you!) are asked to record the birds that visit their garden over the course of one hour at some point this weekend.

Now unfortunately I don’t have a garden. I can see plenty of birds from my flat, but they are mainly waterfowl, and I’m not sure that Canada Geese, Swans and Moorhens is exactly what they are after. However, this morning as I walked through my close I had the pleasure of seeing two very healthy looking robins just outside my flat.

I like the fact that robins are terriorital. I feel that I am getting to know the little fella who sits in the tree outside my block, and his flash of red and cheery tweet brightens up my morning on the way to the station.

So, if you fancy a nice hour of hanging with our feathered friends in your garden or a local park, visit the website and get the lowdown on how you can take part.