Beer Festival

Last night I made it out with a group of friends from work: Nikki, Liz, Vicki, Lesley and her partner Mike and their friend Russ, and Denny and her friends. We started at the Saracen's Head, a pub down the road from the town hall where the festival was. After a few drinks there we headed to the festival. You paid 5GBP and got a glass (which I lost somewhere along the way that night); along the wall were various kegs and you had a guide to describe each beer and their percentages. I didn't drink anything below 6%. By the end of the festival, I had a big bottle of German lager in one hand and my glass in the other filled with "Last Rites" (11%). I also got the chance to see friends from the old Robin Hood and particularly got to catch up with Marine, who I hadn't seen in a few months. Also had a nice run-in with Steve and Jon. We danced away to the Irish tunes of the band and chugged our beers down when we were told to get out. Most of us then headed to the Civic in Wolverhampton for some Cheeky Monkey madness. Things gradually got blurry from there and I think Nikki had to drag me home to keep me out of trouble. All in all, a very fun night!

Towards the end of the festival, we made sure we had plenty of beer in each hand before they shut us down and enjoyed some traditional Irish tunes.

An attempted shot of the band and how much everyone was enjoying it, swaying (or swaggering) to the music.

As always, Lesley gives a very lovely pose for the camera . . .meanwhile Denny (to the left) keeps dancing away!

I think this was maybe taken at Cheeky Monkey's. It must of been because I don't remember taking it and that's when my memory kind of faded to black. . .
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Brief reflection on a bad day

A little girl I have never even known has been on my mind all day today as I watched her mother suffer with the details of her loss, feeling like I wanted to do as much as I could to support her, but knowing there was nothing. Following this, I was so distracted by my thoughts that I bumped into the back of another car. Fortunately, the person I struck was so kind and seeing how upset I was, let it go. I think I almost got in an accident two more times as I tried to get home. I got myself home and phoned my friend/manager, telling her I needed the rest of the day. I managed to eat my way through the fridge for a bit and just sat then, thinking of nothing and everything all at once. Thinking of how selfish I feel that I feel so upset when I never even knew this child. Thinking about my guilt of every little thing I complain about when I know I have one of the strongest support networks (albeit, they’re thousands of miles away) a person could possibly have; and then feeling guilty for making it about me. I actually had that fleeting thought I get sometimes that it would be nice to have a man around, at least for someone to cuddle up on the couch with- just wanting that contact in this quiet house that seems large enough to envelop me when I am alone in it. But I resolved that feeling with a very long bath and Sigur Ross. I have discovered Sigur Ross’ new one is also a perfectly emotionally evocative album for those days when you can’t think straight but can’t stop thinking.

Last Weekend

Just wanted to share with you all my most recent adventure, but first I think I should tell you about Brianna's first. Some of you know the story a bit already, but two weekends ago Bri decided to go up north, near Newcastle, to visit a host family she knows well from when she studied up there a few years ago. Her little Rover that she paid a whole 450GBP for had a tendency to overheat unless she put water in it now and then and her heater was not working. On her way back that Sunday, she forgot to put water in before taking off and somewhere around Carlisle (about 190 miles from here) she overheated and broke down. She waited a bit for it to cool off but the car would not start. Eventually she called breakdown coverage and it took them forever to find her as she stood on the side of the motorway, watching the sun go down. They eventually got to her and told her she had blown her head gasket and was told it would be around 500 GBP to fix. I was going to drive up and get her but once we realized how far away she really was and that it would take about three hours for me to get there, only to have to turn round and drive back another three, she decided to get a room for the night. The room she ended up in had no heat and she had to get up around 4:30 the next morning to walk to the train station and catch the earliest train back. Her car was proclaimed dead and left in Carlisle. Who knows what would have happened to us if I would have driven up there in 16 year old Rusty!




So, being without a car, I have been driving her partially to work, which has been no trouble at all since it is on my usual route. She was not happy about the fact that she is now carless, though and her friend Maggie was coming into town Saturday. I had planned to go to Wessex but decided not to after her experience and said I could drive to pick Maggie up at the airport in Birmingham. That Friday afternoon, my car started making some funny grumbling noises. Unfortunately, I had just cancelled my phone contract and had to buy a new phone to have pay-as-you-go with a different company. Those money issues like to crop up on me all at once, don't they! Since the noise had just started I wasn't too worried. I looked at it in the daylight Saturday and thought it looked okay to drive to the airport and back, and then I would take it in somewhere Monday. Well, on our drive to the airport, it seemed to get louder and louder. We got Maggie safe and sound, but on the way back, I went the wrong way on the motorway and headed toward Manchester on the M6 Toll instead of going through Birmingham. As we were discussing the best way to get in the right direction, the exhaust hit the ground! I pulled over and made a call to Stacy, who gave me a few numbers. I called the breakdown coverage but they said they could help me until I had the exact junctions I was between. "I don't know! We were lost when this happened." Meanwhile Maggie was enjoying the sights of the English countryside for the first time from the side of the M6 Motorway with cars whizzing by. I walked down to the closest SOS (emergency telephone box) and picked up the receiver to find out my location. The gentleman on the line told me to "stay on the opposite side of my car from the lanes- it's dangerous out there" and to make sure I "bundle up because it's getting cold." I phoned my breakdown cover back and we waited for an hour or so for the tow truck. We got lucky and got a very nice guy who took my muffler fully off and offered to tow us to a locale that we could get home from. He towed us to about twenty minutes from Dudley and we were on our way, car growling at the top of it's lungs. Sounded a bit like a loud prop plane struggling to come in for a landing.




We made it out Saturday night- the usual Wolverhampton crap that I am starting to get very tired of, but managed to have a fun time, regardless of the scary 20-21 year old males there. Sunday was a day of rest and back to work this week for the chaos! Fortunately, the only visit I had Monday was with the police and they usually drive so I was able to get my car in and fixed that day for a mere 75GBP! It's sounding much better now!

"Her mix tape's a masterpiece"

I always used to think that song line was all mine, but not so sure these days. There is nothing that quite compares to the days of the Doe-Marinara mixes, circa 1992-1996. Perhaps it's the fact now that mixes are too often put onto a CD. There was something special about those cassette mixes, blaring in Big Mamma or Whitey, with their handwritten messages, creative titles, and perhaps a collage or two. But, after much deliberation, experimenting with bit torrent and failing and finally resigning to the Itunes music store, I think I may have made yet another decent mix for five special people. Not my best, but it will do.

The Creationists have really gone for it this time!

I heard about this on Channel 4 news tonight and was blown away! A Creation Museum has been built in Northern Kentucky, not too far from Cincinatti (or my Indy home). The purpose of this museum is to speak out against "evolutionary indoctrination (that) has undermined the Christian foundations in America (Wait! I thought we were escaping religious oppression when the foundations of "America" were set? What about all those founding fathers that were separatists, even atheists perhaps?)" and what they consider to be "a wonderful alternative to the evolutionary natural history museums that are turning countless minds against the gospel of Christ and the authority of the scripture." How anyone could seriously believe the earth is only 6,000 years old, I do not know that I can ever understand that. Have we all heard of the geological time table? I have to say though, I am curious to check out this museum sometime and see the replica of the TRex that joined the rest of the animals two by two on Noah's Ark, I just don't think I could bring myself to financially support this insanity!

Bonfire Night

Guy Fawkes Day, or Bonfire Night as most people call it was last night. Brianna decided to go to Newcastle for the weekend and the rest that were supposed to go dropped off because of the rain, so just Stacy and I went. During the day, we went to Bridgnorth with Teri and got a strong head start on some Christmas shopping. I think we were both pretty worn out after that but we were determined to check this bonfire out. We went to the one at Himley Hall, being told by many people it was one of the best. When we got there, I was expecting a big wood fire and a bunch of people gathered round. Singing Kum bi yah, perhaps? But the fire was actually a built replica of I suppose the Houses of Parliment, which Guy Fawkes intended to set on fire. Notice the little man on top in the first pictures. It was a pretty amazing fire with a great fireworks display to follow, and a cruise through a cheesey little carnival filled with teens- making me feel very old!

I think it had just recently gotten started when we got there, and this was the view.

Just kept watching as the structure burned down, I was mesmerized by it for awhile. . .and then started fiddling with the new camera. . .









The fireworks display was set to War of the Worlds. There was also a laser show and narration that we couldn't really hear. The fireworks were very good- this is about the best picture I got of the display.

After the fireworks a lot of people bolted for the exit. Stacy and I strolled the Carnival which had your typical rides and games. We decided we would try the oh-so-exciting "Bat out of Hell" ride for a whopping 2GBP. We went in the little roller coaster trolley and through the mysterious dark doors to be faced with an old plastic store manequin in half with some red paint on it. We then were attacked by a big plastic spider and a paper ghost which we both swerved to avoid (Germs! yuck!...yes, we are getting old, I think). We came back out and were rushed in the most exciting five seconds down a little hill and then back in to be confronted by the scary man above yelling something in a very frightening British accent. And then the ride was over. . .we went home after that.

Today I was thinking I might finally make it to Malvern for a little hike but with the weather like this, I think I will be staying in.
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Midweek mumblings. . .

Well, I suppose technically it is not Midweek just yet, but it feels like tomorrow should be Friday! I thought I would just post a little blurb on here so you all know I am still alive and well. I have been posting on Myspace a bit but it is nothing worth full public viewing, hence the reason I posted it there. It usually involves boredom and or drinking. Anyways. . . Things have been fairly quiet on the UK homefront since I returned from the trip to North America at the beginning of the month. Following that trip and some much needed car repairs and renewed road tax, I was pretty much flat broke. So, I have not been out and about much at all. I managed to walk down our road to Baggeridge, a park and wooded area, and hiked there a bit. That may be the most exciting thing that has happened this month! Oh yeah, and we carved some pumpkins last weekend. . . But from that little hike and a few other meditative moments I jumped out of my homesick funk and got back into the happy-go-lucky boots I more often have on. I have reinvested into the gym (literally and figuratively) and have been getting in there at least a few times a week. I figure since I have no money I may as well take advantage of what's already paid for and try to work off some of this English beer I've been drinking. I think instead of putting how much alcohol there is by volume they should put how much fat it will add to you by volume!
I still have managed to get my drink in on the weekends, but it's been in the controlled environment of my own home where the only damage I can do is a few drunken emails (oops!). Otherwise. . . work has kept me very busy during the week. I have gotten a few new cases- one with some weird sexual crime history involved and recently just got a case involving adoption so I am definitely learning a lot. I had one child I work with get into some pretty big trouble this week which has kept me on my toes (hence, the need for it to be Friday!). . .But payday is Thursday and I will have some money to get out again. Hopefully I will have my replacement camera in the next couple weeks, too, and can post pics again soon. Have some fun weekends and roadtrips planned in November and December, so stay tuned. . .

A few random pics

Here are a couple pics of the High Street in Sedgley I took to finish off those damn disposables. . .and a random Mini pic.

The high street

"Bull Ring" at the High Street. Brianna and I often go to the Clifton (to the left there- used to be a movie theatre but now converted into a Wetherspoons chain restaurant) to start off our nights out. Very cheap drinks!

A mini Mini- I think at least a few people were asking me about car sizes, so here is about the smallest for ya!
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Fall sets in with a bit of nostalgia

Well, they call it Autumn here, but it is still Fall to me. I hit my snooze so many times this morning the alarm went completely off. I woke up to Bri talking through my door, asking if I was going to get up and you know how I can be in the morning. . ."Yeah, yeah, I have a training right near home, I'm sleeping in!" But then I looked at the clock and it was about 8:45! I thought it was about 8AM. As this late morning and early evening darkness sets in, I better get used to it- it's only just beginning. Before I know it, it'll be dark at 4:30p. Fortunately, I showered after the gym last night so I stumbled into the bathroom and refreshed and headed off to learn about "Equality and Diversity." As I was driving to work with my window down, I breathed in the cool crisp air that comes with the early days of Fall and became nostalgic for my Broadripple home. I was remembering leaving my lovely little apartment on the Monon, the courtyard filled with leaves and making a stop at my friendly Starbucks- saying hi to my buddy Pete and getting my coffee before making the short drive to work. I also thought of those lovely evening walks on the Monon, hanging out on Ryan's porch and pulling out the dark beers for the cool weather. . .among other great Fall memories. This afternoon, I took a nice drive and enjoyed the weather that way as I went to check out a restaurant for Christmas dinner. I then headed to Wolverhampton and proceeded to drive in and out of the ring road for an hour- trying to figure out the one ways in order to get to Waterstone's and maybe find and buy Dharma Punx. By the time I made it- Waterstone's was closed. I do not think Noah Levine and I were meant to be! But, I did not let that or the bus that tried to run me over ruin my great Fall mood! Sounds like you Indy folk are enjoying the weather setting in there too from a chat today with Julia. Have a nice evening walk and a stout on the porch for me!

The Haircut

Em asked for some posted pics of the new do. So, rather than make you wait until you see me at the end of this week, here's a few for your perusal. . . :-D

Just a peek!

See you weddin' folk in three-four days! WooHoo! I'll be sticking my tongue out even farther than this (as I love to do) and dancin' on the table. . .Thursday, Friday and Saturday!
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