Author Archives: Alan

So yeah, I’ve been busy.  Actually, that’s not strictly true – well, it is – but should I have really fancied updating bloggage then it really wouldn’t have been even vaguely beyond the realms of possibility.  Not at all.

House is less building-site like, the bathroom however is a definite work-in-progress.  We have a working bath and toilet, and a very enticing looking shower enclosure/wetroom area which is not particularly close to completion – I’m looking forward to that.

Downstairs is grand though, pre-Christmas painting kind of ground to a halt, so there’s finishing up to be done, although I’m tempted to see how the finances sit when we’ve finished bathrooming to see if we can ‘get a man in’ to finish off the fiddly bits, as I’m rubbish at painting.

Thanks to Andy and Kat I was compelled to buy a Wii, which I then proceeded to hack, meaning I have more games than I know what to do with – but Mario Kart is king, although I have also acquired a Wii Fit, which I am also enjoying.  It perhaps explains the lack of blog activity!

Work’s been pretty busy too; I’m moving roles and have been busy with handing over stuff and helping my existing team with a few things – but ‘the move’ should take place next week, which naturally I’m looking forward to.  What with having no shower at home, post-football visits to Mum & Dad’s to get freshened up takes up a chunk of time too.

The other thing that consumes time is Forest – thanks to LTLF folks I’ve inadvertantly ended up going to loads more away games than I probably would have anticipated going to!

Ho hum!  Two updates today, more than I managed in all of January!

.. or rather, was Christmas!

And given that I’ve lost a lot of fondness for the festival of capitalism as in the past couple of years it has proven rather a portent of ill-tidings rather than good; and given Granny and Dad’s recent heart issues, this year could’ve proven tricky.

Happily, things turned  out pretty well.  Lots of gifts were given and received with fairly resounding success – the dinner was ace, and ‘operation Spinning Wheel’ went according to plan as well*

Boxing day was spent lying in until it was time to meet some of the good folks from LTLF to take in the pitiful showing Forest put on against Doncaster, a 4-2 reverse was enough to cost the bronzen Colin Calderwood his job – I’m sad in a way, but well, going to watch Forest has been like visiting a dying relative at times under his tenure.

Tomorrow I’m off to Naaaaaarwich to watch the now managerless Nottingham Forest take on the Canaries, I am sharing this pain with Andy, Kat, Rachel and Drei – so that at least will make the experience fun, as will plenty of alcohol!

Aside from Christmas and Forestness I’ve had some misfortune in that I knackered my ankle playing football a few weeks back, indeed, to the point where I was signed off work for almost two weeks!  I’m back on my feet now although there’ll be no running about or kicking things for a while still.

Thanks to some help from Rob, though, Cat and I have now got an operational downstairs – not least thanks to some heroic painting efforts from my Dad.  We have managed to scratch the new floor already, which is annoying, but aside from that, everything’s hunky dory and it’s good to be back downstairs again!

* Operation Spinning Wheel was a mission to acquire a Spinning Wheel, funnily enough.  This is something Cat had expressed a desire to own, but typically isn’t simply a ‘thing’ you can just buy, well, it is, but there are different kinds – and they suit people differently.  So we went to see someone ostensibly to set up lessons for spinning, but actually to test out the different kinds.

Little was I to know they came in flat pack form – so I also ended up having to assemble it; the wood also came untreated, so I had to varnish it too!  It does look ace though, and judging by stuff that it has been producing that looks suspiciously like yarn, it seems to work as well!

Yesterday was the unveiling of the Brian Clough statue in the city centre of Nottingham.  This is a pretty monumental event regardless, with a bit of personal interest since my esteemed brother Rich was a member of the committee that both came up with the idea, and have now finally delivered it.

A great day (aside from a few obnoxious photographers and a strangely heated debate with Gary Newbon about referees), and a great statue which is a fantastically appropriate memorial to Nottingham’s most famous adoptive son.

I’m not remotely convinced as to the accuracy of these images; but well, it kept me entertained for a bit!

Try it for yourself!

Things that will make it all nice again, eventually – hurrah!  Mainly in the form of plaster, plasterboard and bits of flooring by the looks of it… nonetheless, it’s all a welcome edition.

The kitchen is up first for attention, it’s actually mildly exciting that slowly but surely were are edging our way closer and closer to some semblance of starting to put things right!  Hopefully t’will speed by as all other aspects of time seem to, and we shall be habitable downstairs again!

It’s 2am in Nottingham
And we all had the strangest yearning
Let’s go to Sapna’s for a curry
Now my poor old arse is burning

Just ten minutes in the Cookie Club
And soon our fate was sealed
Chutney’s was closed, back down St James
To Sapna’s charms we must yield

Lager brings about amnesia
As I’m sure I’ve been here before
Writing almost these very words
On a uni cubicle door!