So much for more regular blogging!

Well, here we go again!

Lets catch up on the footie first, working backwards:

Semi-final.

Germany 0 v 2 Italy (aet)

Two goals by the Italians in the last 2 minutes of extra time take Italy into the final. An excellent game, by all accounts.

Quarter Finals

Germany 1 v 1 Argentina (Germany on pens)
Italy 3 v 0 Ukraine
England 0 v 0 Portugal (Portugal on pens)
France 1 v 0 Brazil

Same old, same old with England. Rooney was sent off, and 10 man England performed heroically, and even looked the most likely to score, but just couldn't do the job. (Yay for Aaron Lennon)

So, tonight, we have France v Portugal. Allez les Bleus! A France v Italy final is a mouth watering prospect.

**********

So, that's the footie news out of the way. What's new with me? Well, had a crap Sunday... nothing like the close to meltdown experience I had a few weeks back, but it still wasn't fun. Kitchen has been duly ordered.

Friday was good though... a round of golf at Hartswood with Alex and Mick, and Alex's pal John. I'd decided to count my 138 at Dunton Hills the previous week as my nominal best. (Some hot putting that day!) However, I took a 127 at Hartswood, and still way too much crap there. I think it's Dunton Hills again this week so it will give me a good chance to see if there is improvement, or whether it was just the course.

The evening saw me at the cricket, watching the 20-20 game between Essex and Hants. Very exciting though, and Ronnie Irani was excellent leading Essex to victory with a cracker of an innings. Essex v Kent this coming Friday.

Other news? Not a lot... though we have arranged to go and see Andy's parents on the weekend of the 15th. Should be good, they are lovely and always make us feel very welcome.

Culturally, last night I went to see Over the Hedge which was ok. Not a patch on, say, Shrek. Entertaining though. Just today finished off the Buffy novel Queen of the Slayers by Nancy Holder, and have started Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes. (Recommended to me by Kar.)

Oh, and I've ordered a Motherwell shirt from the club shop.

Well, today was my first counselling session. It seemed to go pretty well. The counsellor, Shelley, seemed pretty nice. It's a bit daunting though, having to talk about pretty much anything for 50 minutes, with someone listening and just interjecting every so often. But I'm sure I made the right choice in going along. Buzzword for the week... detached.

Tales of kitchens, friends and football

Aaaargh!

Another long time away from the blog. Partly due to a lot going on, and partly down to forgetting the password to get onto the blogging site! Irritating, especially since I signed straight in this morning without even thinking about it!

So what's been going on? Lots of trauma here... nothing that has had lots of long reaching effects. All is still the same... no break ups or undue hassle, but there was a near meltdown on the way here.

So, what happened? Well, it all started when Kar was away in Japan, and the receipt of some emails. Because of a lack of regular access to a computer, and also the time lag, I was caught up in some of her news, and unable to talk things through as both of us would have wanted. I got completely stressed out over it all, and went into that near meltdown. (Obviously, I'm not going to discuss other folks business. I'm happy to be as open and honest about myself as I need to, but not about others.) At the time, I managed to convince myself that I was more fond of Kar than I should be, to the extent of falling for her, and I was struggling to come to terms with what she told me, and with my feelings. Major trauma ensued, particularly when she returned, after a few intense emails and a couple of online chats. One Friday, I'd worked myself into such a state, I left work at 10 am, and went to bed for a couple of hours. That made a big difference.

I have had a few bad days since, but on the whole it's been much better. I've had lots of time to think things through. I've realised that I'm not falling for Kar. I'll admit I am a bit more fond of her than I should be, as a married man, but that's unavoidable, she's great! And gorgeous! I'll make no secret of the fact that if the both of us were single, I'd be interested, and that I could fall for her easily. (Though she did say she doesn't see me in that way, which would be a bit of a bugger really!) The problem was, I think, that she was so far away, and I was unable to help her out as much as I wanted. The stress of it all triggered a lot of things off, including worries over me and Sue, and loads of other things I've yet to work out.

The big step is that I start counselling sessions next week. While I feel goodish at the moment, I don't want any more episodes, and I need to sort out underlying problems too. The assessment for counselling was useful in itself, and the counsellor, Maggie, gave me a lot of food for thought. I hadn't talked so much for a long while, and it was an eye opener for me. My first appointment is with Shelley next week, and I'll keep the blog informed of progress.

Funnily enough, on the day of my counselling assessment, I headed off to Broomfield to have my skin tag/pedunculated naevus removed. That was relatively painless.

OK, kitchens next. Sue and I are getting a new kitchen done. The bits are coming from Wicks, with a new American style fridge freezer from Bennetts. One of those sexy side by side jobbies. Mick will be helping us with the installation so we'll be ok. The kitchen needs restructuring from floor to ceiling and is way to big a job for us on our own. Destroying the old one will be fun though!

And footie... the World Cup is in progress now, with two last 16 matches remaining. The current state of play is as follows:

QUARTER FINALS

Germany vs Argentina

England vs Portugal

Italy vs Ukraine

Brazil or Ghana vs Spain or France

I can't say I've been that impressed with the standard of football. The tournament has been marked by over zealous refereeing... too many bookings and sendings off. It's been enjoyable though. England have plodded to the last 8 with the following results...

vs Paraguay 1-0 (own goal)

vs Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 (Crouch, Gerrard)

vs Sweden 2-2 (J. Cole, Gerrard)

vs Ecuador 1-0 (Beckham)

We haven't hit the heights yet. Rooney is fit and awesome after the metatarsal saga. Owen is home after cruciate ligament damage, and Theo Walcott is causing controversy having been picked without a single Premiership game for The Arse. Sven seems reluctant to give him a run out. My main man, Aaron Lennon has made a couple of substitute appearances and looks awesome.

The team against Ecuador showed promise... lining up in a 4-1-4-1 formation as follows:

Robinson; Hargreaves, Terry, Ferdinand, A Cole; Carrick; Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, J. Cole; Rooney.

I haven't seen anything from the other teams which suggests an on form England can't win the cup. But we need to find our form, sharpish. Argentina looked unbeatable when dispatching Serbia-Montenegro 6-0, but struggled to beat the Mexicoans (thanks to Buffy's Andrew for that!) 2-1 after extra time. Brazil look unconvincing so far. (We are due a major shock... maybe Ghana overturning them will be that shock!) Germany are on a roll, and for once, Spain look to have attitude to go with the talent. The other remaining sides are all much of a muchness I think.

But last night's 0-0 between Switzerland and Ukraine... the term 'bore draw' was invented specifically for that game. The Swiss couldn't even score in the shoot out!

Well, back on track blog wise, but there is more catching up to do.

Mayday! Mayday!

So, I’ve been AWOL again. Not that it matters, as I know no one actually reads my words of wisdom.

So, what’s been going on? Not a lot really. I’ve been to cricket since I last blogged, and even been up to Spurs.

The cricket was the Championship game against Northants at the County Ground, which ended as a draw. The highlight was David Sales big hundred. My first live view of Alistair Cook who is just as good as everyone said. Over the years, I’m expecting great things of Monty Panesar, so it was good to see him live, and he looks pretty good. The other Essex prospect is Ravinder Bopara and he’s pretty tasty too. I’m expecting him to make the England side sometime in the next couple of years.

The expedition up to Spurs was great fun. I got offered a spare ticket by Keith, and I bit his hand off. Spurs were lucky in beating Bolton 1-0, but retain pole position for that magical fourth place. No matter what the Arse do, a win at West Ham on Sunday will secure it. I’ll be gutted if the Arse beat Barça in the Champions League final to dump us down into the UEFA Cup, but even if that happens, I’d have been happy with a UEFA Cup place back in August, so I shouldn’t be greedy. And finishing ahead of the Arse in the Premiership is a great result on its own.

At the game itself, the pressure was telling in the first half, but we looked a different team after the interval. The wonderful Aaron Lennon was just superb, and I’d like to offer him as an outside chance for the Germany squad, provisionally announced next Monday. I’ll give you my squad in another posting, and it’ll be interesting to see how close I get.

Talking of the World Cup, complete disaster for England. Rooney has broken his fourth metatarsal and is a severe doubt. Sven still talks of taking him, which is a worry. Sure, if we get to the final stages then, great, but what if we lose another striker in the meantime? Scary prospect that. Not that there is anyone to replace Der Wunderkind, but no idea who would take his place in the squad. Surely he couldn’t bring back Heskey. You have to expect Owen, Defoe, Crouch and Bent. Sure, take Rooney if he maybe fit at the expense of a defender maybe. But if you want a fifth striker there isn’t much choice. Names to throw into the pot… Vassell, Fowler, Harewood, Beattie. Me, I’d go for Harewood… he’s big and strong and honest and would give the willies to a few defences I’m sure. There’s always Andy Johnson too.

Other than that, there isn’t really very much to report. Had the odd bust up or two with Sue, which is very frustrating as it’s the last thing I want to happen. It was her birthday yesterday, and she hates it. We were lucky enough to both have the day off together, and I was hoping for a nice day, but she was like a wet weekend. Always looking back and ruing missed opportunities. I know we all do it, but naval gazing is very irritating, especially when you are talking about things you can no longer change. I’m pleased to say I’m not as bad as I used to be, but still do it.

Poor Kar has been off sick from work recently with chronic asthma. I think she’s getting better. She made me smile last weekend though. It was her birthday last week… the big 3 – 0. On Friday, she thought she was going to a fundraising event, organised by a friend of Ger’s sister. It turned out to be a surprise party, and her mam and brother were over from Ireland. She was completely gobsmacked and loved it all. Wish I’d been there to see her face. I’d have never expected to be invited, or even thought about, but I did kind of wonder if I might get an invite. A long shot to be sure. But hey, no problem. The main thing is that it went well.
I think that’s about all the news really. Apart from having sold more stuff on eBay. And feeling miffed that I missed out on Collectormania9. Never mind. Keeps the bank manager happy. But damn, I missed a whole host of folks!

Hi! Remember Me?

Geez, it's well over a month since I last blogged. I was a young man of 40 back then!

Mind you, it's not like too much has happened, but let me fill you in.

My birthday: a trip to Colchester Zoo with Neil, Andy, Neil, Amanda and Alex. Good fun. In the evening, Andy, Sue, and I went to Aroma in Braintree with Mum, Alex, A Vera and U Laurence, and Sarah and Andy. Nice meal. Folks were suitably impressed.

Prague: wow. Love the city breaks, but Prague was one of the best, somewhere I'd heartily recommend for anyone to visit. Lots to look at, lovely places to walk round. Sure, it was cold. (Fecking freezing on a couple of occaisions!) But the mulled wine sold on virtually every corner cut through.

MV Course: just last week, went to the RM conference centre in Rugby for a residential course. Was very unsettled after events I won't share even with this blog, and really didn't want to be there. But it was ok, and I learnt a lot.

Gym: the gym thing is finally underway. I'm going to the Riverside gym after being referred on the Live Life scheme, which is saving me cash! Had assessments and inductions from the lovely Jenny, and it's all quite technological and posh. The equipment is much better than Canons, though the setting, especially the changing rooms and showers, is reminiscent of The Brittas Empire. I hate communal showers... the idea of showing off my manly physique turns my stomach. It doesn't help that I'm more Mr Blobby than George Clooney of course. But I expect in a few months, I'll be able to strut around like the rest of them. (Yea, right!)

Footie: Spurs are still in fourth place, hunting down the Champions League place. The Arse, surprisingly, only managed a draw at Portsmouth. That means the game in hand has been played, and they are now 4 points behind. Even if we lose at Arsenal, that still gives us a point advantage. The big flea in the ointment though is that Arsenal are in the Champions League semi finals. Should they win the competition, and finish 5th, then they will knock us out of the next season's competition as UEFA have cleaned up the loophole which caused Liverpool to struggle to compete, even as holders. It's silly isn't it... I'll be gutted if Spurs are playing in the UEFA cup next season, even though I'd have been very happy with that back in August. The fact is, we've been sat in 4th place now since December and it will be a shame if we don't end the season there.

Cricket: England, despite being sans Vaughan, Trescothick, Giles and Simon Jones managed a creditable 1-1 series draw in India, under the excellent captaincy of Andrew Flintoff. (I absolutely refuse to refer to him as Freddie!) Essex boy Alaistair Cook got a ton in his first test, left armer Monty Panesar became the first Sikh to represent England, and while he didn't set the world alight, has given Giles the willies about getting his place back. Oh, and Owais Shah had a great debut too. After 6 one-dayers (with one abandoned) India lead the series 4-1 with 1 to play.

For my part, I've finally received my Essex membership doobries. The season starts this weekend, with the MCC vs Notts game at Lords. Essex are taking on Loughborough Uni at Chelmsford in a 3 dayer, and I'll be heading for the Saturday and Sunday, and maybe some of Monday too, if Sue lets me! Hopefully get to see some good cricket, and looking forward to the season proper getting going next week.

So, Easter weekend tomorrow. Nice to have a 4 day break. Sue has Friday and Monday, so at least we'll have a couple of days together.

Better go, hopefully will be back in less than a month!

Let your soul and spirit fly... Into the Mystic

The title is a line from the next song my mp3 player picks up at random, so it could be anything as I write. Will be interesting to see if there's any connection between the song and the contents of this post.

Well, as usual, nothing much has been occurring. I really have to stir my stumps and do anything. I have a few plans though. On Tuesday, I signed up for membership at Essex County Cricket Club, so the summer will see me watching more cricket than I have done for around 20 years!

(The Wallflowers version of Van Morrison's 'Into the Mystic' for all you song line buffs!)

After the cricket, I'll be looking to get a season ticket for 2006-7 for Chelmsford City. V2006 tickets are up for sale tomorrow, so I'll be investing I think. Line up includes Morrisey, Radiohead, Faithless, Paul Weller and the wonderful Keane. Oh, and who knows, there may be a chance to lust after the Sugababes, lol!

Went into town to get a few more Czech crowns for the upcoming Prague trip. Am so looking forward to it. Before then, for this old fella's 41st birthday, I'll be going to Colchester Zoo with Sue, Andy, Neil, Amanda and Alex. In the evening, Amanda, Alex and Neil will be heading, and we'll be eating at Aroma in Braintree with Mum, Alex, Aunty Vera, Uncle Laurence, Sarah and Andy. Can't wait to get my fangs into some duck and plum sauce, and those gorgeous prawns they do. Mmmmm!

41! I can't believe it, I'm so gorram old now! I had to get a passport style pic of me done for the ECCC mombership card. I know those pics are notoriously bad, but even so, shit. Something needs to be done about myself. Serious dieting, and more exercise. OK, not dieting, but sensible eating. Less crap and snacking. The only way I could have a worse pic would be to get arrested and get the police to take one for me!

On Tuesday, Andy and I went to the movies to see Good Night and Good Luck, the George Clooney movie, which he directed, co-wrote and co-wrote and co-starred in. Terrific stuff. Clooney played the wonderfully monickered Fred Friendly, along side David Strathairn, who beautifully played Ed Murrow, the guy who helped put an end to the McCarthy witch-hunts. If it picks up and Oscar or 3 it will be well deserved.

Happy Serenity Day!

So, today's the day that Joss Whedon releases the DVD version of the wonder that is Serenity. I really hope that the DVD sales do justice to the movie, whose critical and fan acclaim was immense. The box office takings were pretty poor and very, very disappointing. I would guess that's purely down to the fact that people were put off by the fact of Firefly being, to all intents and purposes, a failed TV show. Just so long as the sales of that shiny silver disc are enough to prompt the powers that be into making at least a couple of tv movies, if not an actual movie or a new season or two. (Although a season sans Wash and Book may be hard to watch.)

As much as I love Joss's work, he is a real bastard! (In the nicest possible way!) I've just about forgiven him for Jenny Callender, Joyce's demise still reduces me to tears, and Tara's messy end stings too. (And arguably Doyle too, though I hadn't grown to know and love him after only 8 episodes of Angel.) But what happened to Wash will live with me forever. That was just plain nasty and totally unexpected. Joss, you are a bastard, but I love you for it too!

So, apart from going on about last year's best sci-fi movie, what else is going on?

Believe it or not, I made a pilgrimage to the Lane last weekend to catch a 2-2 draw between Spurs and Wigan. Wigan were ahead twice, with Spurs equalizing through Mido's clever back-heeled flick, and a typical Defoe finish. Good stuff. A two-week break now, with the Blackburn game coming up on Sunday 5th March. A must win game for us, as Rovers beat the Arse at the weekend, and are now just behind us. Gotta love the table though, the Arse in 7th!

Still exchanging emails and chat with Kar... her bro got into a scrape though on Saturday. He is a Gardai in Dublin, and was caught up in the violence that erupted in O'Connell Street, and was one of the folks that was taken to hospital. It was all a bit of a worry at first, but he's ok now, out of hospital and resting. Unionists and Repuublicans... feck them all!

Talking of Kar, she starts a new job tomorrow, in Glasgow with Price Waterhouse Cooper, or whoever they are! Fingers crossed, and good luck to her.

Otherwise, all is ok. Had the odd spat with my lovely wife, but as usual, it's all very silly.

Went to see Walk the Line last week, the Johnny Cash biopic. A very enjoyable film, standard bipioc stuff, nothing exceptional. Cash and June Carter-Cash were played beautifully though. Joaquin Phoenix was excellent as Johnny, but Reese Witherspoon was wonderful, I never realised she was so good. I've only ever seen her in bog standard teen-flick roles before. She fully deserved her BAFTA the other week, and she'd be my tip for an Oscar too.

I'm hoping to see George Clooney's Goodnight and Good Luck tomorrow. I really like Clooney, he's great. As I said to Kar in an email earlier, it's probably down to the strong physical resemblance between the two of us! (I wish!)

Last episode of the Beeb's truly wonderful Life on Mars tonight. That's a cert for the DVD collection, if Auntie decides to release it

Nature calls, and them time to wander home.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentines Day... what a rip off. I was told once St Valentine was an arch misogynist so he's hardly a great figure to base the celebrations of Amour around! An other excuse for card and gift companies and the florists to rake in the cash. Lets make all the singletons out there feel bad again shall we, and throw in all those in unsatisfactory relationships too for good measure.

Who was that that called me cynical? Just because, apart from the wife and a girl I was dating for a few months over the Valentines period, no-one has ever acknowledged me on this day, that's no reason to be anti Valentines is it? Damn, I've been rumbled!

Seriously though, I do think it's a rip off, but for those in a position to enjoy it, I hope they make the most of it and enjoy themselves. I'm only jealous.

I did get a txt this morning from Kar... 'Happy Huggy Day to my great pal' she said. Gotta love that, made me feel pretty fine this morning. She's a good pal to me too, big hugs back to her! I'd have sent a card, but probably not appropriate for a married guy to send a Valentine to a very attached girl, however good pals they are!

So, any news? Well, nothing exciting. All the eBay stuff up for sale last weekend went, and was duly dispatched today after a busy hour or so packing last night. Just hope everything gets where it's going. Some of the proceeds were spent on Sue, some more stuff for her beading. Together with some choc and some flowers, she's had a pretty reasonable Valentine! (Apparently, I have a card and pressie waiting for me at home.) I'd rather have her tonight (fnar, fnar) but she's at work.

Last weekend, Andy and I went up to Amanda's for a beer festival. Only there was no festival, it was next weekend. Never mind, it was still nice to see her, she's pretty cool. She was away on Sunday, so I was back home early, in time to see Spurs get a draw at Sunderland. Damn shame... with the Arse drawing yesterday, a win would have been nice, to give us some breathing space. Yes, still hunting out the Champions League place.

O's drew at home to Carlisle to remain 5th, Chelmsford lost 1-2 at home to Maldon, the first home defeat of the season, while Motherwell won 2-0 against Dundee United, thanks to a Richie Foran brace. Good stuff.

Other than that, all is dull. Kar has got me into watching Charmed though, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm afraid I've fallen madly in love with Holly Marie Combs. That Amazon DVD rental is pretty good stuff. I have masses of TV to watch. Right now, I'm into Life on Mars, Battlestar Galactica, Bones, Boston Legal and Desperate Housewives. All good stuff.

Oooo.... nearly home time and I need to tidy the desk before I head.