Safety advice

Apparently, this lighter shouldn't be given to Tintin when he's grumpy

750 up

Yep, my 750th post to STTR.

It's fair to say I've kind of limped towards this particular landmark, with posts appearing sporadiacally if at all over the last few months - the summer of '09 has been a busy one and as I've noted before, the more blog-worthy events that take place, the less likely I am going to have time to post about them. Ooh, the irony, eh?

Anyway, things are ticking along very ...

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The demise of an insitution....

Ok, so maybe the title's a tad melodramatic (and, well, untrue), but it was with a fair degree of sadness I read the other day that London freesheet 'The Londonpaper' is to be closed down as it's not making enough money.

Putting aside the bare fact that I think it shits all over its tabloid comic rival, 'London Lite', I do have a personal reason for lamenting its demise - this is the rag that, ...

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More helicopter based park action

Our tranquilitly shattered when the local copper chopper arrived to hover virtually 50ft above us looking for naughty people

Amazing what you can do with a drunk Pole and some salad

Brockwell Park, today.

Complete with airborne "There's only one Freddie Flintoff" banner in the distance over the Oval

Stuck halfway through day two of the great Sicilian Odyssey

We were in Italy for a week. At my current rate of documentation, it will take over 5 months to post about our experiences.

I make Stone Roses, Salman Rushdie and Charles Darwin look like Twitter users in comparison.

Melting

It's with great pleasure I can report that I am uncomfortably clammy and itchy. My windows are open, the mozzies are buzzing around and I am looking forward to a night's fitful sleep.

All it takes is one comment from someone north of Watford (monsoon, freezing cold, windy) to make me realise that I'm much more of a warm weather person. For now, anyway.

I almost got put on my hoop by a small dog this evening

I was leaving the park after jogging round a couple of laps, in a fair degree of pain, when a puppy came bounding towards the hedge. Didn't notice me - had eyes only for some indeterminate glittery / feline thing in the bushes. It became clear that if we both stayed on our current route there was going to be a collison, so at the last minute I skidded to a stop and tried to skip round the back ...

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Perseid meteors

So, anyone south of Watford see any meteors last night? A combination of southwest facing windows, central London location, heavy cloud cover and general laziness succeeded in ensuring we saw nothing whatsoever.

Are they still going tonight? The clouds are gone, my view is perfect, but alas, still facing the wrong direction and gazing out at an orange, light-polluted sky. I keep thinking I see shooting stars but it turns out to be just another flight on final approach to Heathrow. You'd think the flashing red meteors would have given it away sooner. Ooh! There's another one! Oh. No. That'll be the police helicopter shining its search light on Brixton.

Can tell it's Thursday

...as I crack open a second beer of the evening at the ungodly hour of 11pm. This is living, my friends.

Pink knuckle ride

Some called us crazy. Some gazed at us with misty eyed awe. But all agreed, the Log Flume at Harbour Park, Littlehampton ("where the Fun never sets!") is second only to going over Niagra Falls in a barrel when it comes to water-related bravery.

We tamed the beast and walked away with our heads held high. Women fainted. Men nodded in gruff respect. I toddled off to take a photo of the sheer scale of the trial we had just endured (below). And everyone chipped in for the souvenir photo once they'd picked themselves back up off the floor and wiped the tears from their eyes.

Shiny happy people

Back from a marvellous trip to the seaside at the weekend. The sun shone, the skin sizzled, the lobster look was everywhere, and at least one humiliating photo of me was taken when my guard was down at the sea side. Admittedly, by a photographer who wouldn't even take his shirt off, never mind the plunge into the glistening English channel.

Camping is the shizzle. What's more, have convinced 'er ...

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MLIA

Genius website - but be warned, horrendously addictive (see below post re: interview prep / horrendous performance link). Funny, touching, the whole nine yards of human life laid out anonymously for your entertainment. One day I'll think up something good enough to post on the site. MLIA.

Thanks to my compadre forgetful_chimp for remembering something other than where he's stashed his bananas for long enough to tell me about it.

My Life Is Average

The more observant amongst you will have noticed a lack of blogging from me this week as job interview prep took precedence (it was today - don't ask. I like my current job anyway).

Alas, your breath will have to be baited for a little while longer, as I'm off camping in Hampshire this weekend to celebrate the lovely Laura's birthday.

I shall return next week to continue the sporadic 'adventures in Sicily' series, and fill you in on what bin a gwan (in the local parlance) in my 'hood' of late.

Have a good weekend all......

Procrastination of the highest order

Things to do tonight:

• find notes for my interview on Friday
• write a blog post about La Rosa dei Venti Villa D'Arte - the amazing farmhouse we stayed in for a night in Sicily
• finally put the photos my mum has been asking for for months onto a CD
• sort out a duff battery to send back to the supplier for a replacement

What I actually did tonight:

• played about with photos on Yearbook Yourself

Love it!