Did I ever mention....

The time I met JONNY WILKINSON.....??????

Is he the nicest guy in the world, OR WHAT????

Natalie Portman

Girls with guns...does it get any better than this?

FACEBOOK

I finally made the leap and signed up. 44 "friends" already!!

Seems to be quite good fun, not sure where people find the time though...

In case you didn't know, it's at http://www.facebook.com/. What next? mySpace and Bebo??

Gutted - again....

Zoe left Blue Peter. OK, it happened a while ago, but I'm still in shock...!!

Shopping

Anyone need anything?

Anyone want to raise some cash for a little known charity instead of all the big guns for a change?

Take a peek at this link:

www.buy.at/sclerodermasociety

It's all technical wizardry, but somehow or other the shops know who's buying what and what charity they support and a little bit of cash goes to the charity instead of their profits.

It's a win win for everyone really!

For more information on "Scleroderma" and the Scleroderma Society check out this link:

http://www.sclerodermasociety.co.uk/newsite/index.php

Scaling the Heights

Not content with the thrill of indoor flying (see earlier post), we also like to have a pop at a bit of rock climbing every now and then. You can have a go at Milton Keynes where they have some cool walls, but it's generally harder as they use fancy automatic belaying devices. All well and good, but if you need a rest to shake your tired hands you can't stop.

The preferred place for us is Craggy Island in Guildford. http://www.craggy-island.com/ They have hundreds of routes spread out over many walls that get switched every three months or so and they cater for all levels of ability and experience. And take it from me, the manual belay makes it a whole lot easier!!

Death Star Movie

Here's the full movie for the Death Star conversation.....

Happy Christmas 2007

What better way to celebrate than having a bit of a dance?

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1297928572

Happy Christmas to everyone.

The best clip ever?

Ok, this is probably more suited to the Star Wars fans out there (although is there anyone there who isn't one?), but even if you're not, take it from me, this is a very funny clip!!

http://www.kewego.co.uk/video/iLyROoaftYxB.html%22%3eDarth

Aluminum Falcon......

Missed Opportunities

So it turned out that Zoe from Blue Peter was one of the hosts at the Scouting LIVE07 celebration at the O2 Dome last weekend. And I declined the invitation to go.

Gutted.

Better Than Larsen?

If you're feeling a bit cynical and want to stay in the mood, but be cheered up at the same time, try a couple of cartoon strips from The Perry Bible Fellowship, these artists have truly got it going on. Either see their work weekly in the Guardian G2 supplement (Fridays?) or on line at http://www.pbfcomics.com/.

Try a sample of my personal favourites below.

"Baby"

"Wishing Well"

Shocked and Outraged

I won't go into the gory details, but the eldest had her Blue Peter badge and ID card stolen a couple of weeks ago, naturally she was pretty fed up. No probs we thought, the crew at the BBC will have the details and be able to issue a new one. Think again though, apparently this not possible and the only way to get another one is to earn one in the usual ways. Not that this is a problem, but I thought it was a bit tough on a wee lass who was already devastated at her loss.

Anyway, what next? Well, an email to Nicky Campbell at BBC's Watchdog for a kick start - maybe they have some insider contacts, but more importantly, I won't be voting for that Gethin bloke on Strictly Come Dancing anymore!!!

Actually, I think I was probably more gutted that they didn't send any signed photos like what I asked for, especially of Zoe, the latest in BP totty. In case you need it for "research" purposes, here's a link to her blog:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bluepeter/zoes_blog/index.shtml

Requiem in Blue

Our younger one wowed us all when she took part in a performance of Requiem in Blue by Harvey Brough. Described on the interweb as "an amazing amalgam of classical, jazz, blues and folk styles that combine to give voice to an outpouring of deep emotion", it both stirred the soul and provoked a few thoughts. It's probably not one for the out and out purist, it's written for all ages and abilities, but if you're keen and fancy something a bit different then go to Harvey's site http://www.harveybrough.com/, click on the Requiem in Blue link, scroll down and take a listen to a couple of the samples. Unfortunately we couldn't really see our girl so don't study the attached clip too hard, but trust me, she's in there somewhere....!!

Good Game Good Game

Fears of missing out on the final due to a poorly timed slot on the 6 yard rifle range at the National Scout Air Rifle Competition were unfounded. The organisers not only saw to it that we could reschedule our events, but they also provided the technology to let us watch on a 30 foot screen Fantastic!

Was it a try? Opinions are varied as always, we must always assume the Australian 3rd Referee doesn't hold any grudges. However, at the end of the day it wasn't given so we have to move on. Unfortunately we couldn't stop handing out penalties, but at least we prevented SA from scoring any tries, in fact the only game that SA played where they didn't score tries and it was also their narrowest margin of victory. All very positive in it's own way.

England move into 4th place in the rankings, ahead of France and Australia.

Roll on the 2008 Six Nations, fingers crossed that the tickets come through in the supporters club ballot!

Something to ponder

1) New Zealand are the best team in the World.

2) France beat New Zealand.

3) England beat France.

So does whatever happen on Saturday 20th really matter....?

Simply because.....

.......we need to see it again.....and again.....and again.....and again.....and again......

A Chicken and a Frog are in a Library.....

The chicken picks up a book, turns to the frog and says, "Book book book booook book book book book".

And the frog says, "Reddit, reddit".

Possibly my favourite joke of all time?

Ghost Joke

Q: What did the Doctor say to the Ghost?

A: Say aaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHH

Admittedly it works better live........

Cheap Shot

I'm sure we've all seen the incredibly funny (sic) variety of England shirts zipping around on email in the last few weeks.

Here's one I found that I liked.

Apparently none of our Antipodean buddies made it in because they were all sick.......as parrots......

Where Next?

Gobsmacked.
Stunned.
Amazed.
Happy.
Smiling.
Laughing.

Six stages of mood following an arguably unlikely English win over the Australians which was then repeated 6 hours later when the Kiwis were dumped out of the cup by France.

Word on the street is that both teams were so confident of a win that they hadn't booked their return flights back down under. Pity then that the only connection they could get was through London Heathrow, that must be hard to stomach.

A few of the more polite choice comments before the match included:

"They (England) definitely aren't the team of 2003"

"We don't fear England with him (JW) in the team - we don't really fear any of their players,"

"I don't like to say it, but Robinson is probably their only world-class back, the only one they've had playing in form."

"We're pretty confident in our defence,"

It's been said before and I'll say it again now, the four years in between are nothing but practice for the main event. If you can't cope when the pressure comes on and try to rely on some easy group stage games as a warm up for the knockout stages then think again.

In the meantime, get some practice in for 2011......