Manchester and Green Day!!!

I was so excited at the prospect of seeing Green Day, not being a huge fan of the 90's Punk icon's but loving the 21st century breakdown album was enough to snatch Mia's arm off the minute she said to me "do you want to come to see Green Day"

Anyway with the anticipation of seeing them i was up early........11.30am (early for me) when i was meeting Miss M at 12.30 pm for the train at 12.50ish, so immediately started rushing around getting my best emo outfit ready and panicking over the fact i had no emo shoes to fit the outfit, and no time to look in town beforehand (at this point i was thinking 10am would have been a better time to get up.....oh well). I was somewhat relieved when Miss M sent me a message to say she was running late and as the next train was an hour later this gave me the time I needed to dash around the shops!!

I found my emo shoes for a very reasonable 10 pounds and was extremely pleased with them, now i just needed to find new headphones for my Ipod...so bolted to hmv and curry's but couldn't find a suitable pair, so abandoned that idea and headed for the station!!

Once I had purchased my ticket and met Miss M, we headed for the platform and waited for the train.....it's a little worrying that it has now been 6years since i worked on the railway station in shrewsbury and could still remember the following by heart...."The next train to arrive at platform 4 will be the 12.53 Arriva Trains Wales service to Manchester Piccadilly, calling at Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly" ....in true arriva style the train was heaving and they only put on 2 carriages...you'd have thought they may realise that Manchester and Crewe are popular destinations and put a 3rd carriage on..but no that would be far too easy..so after 40min's of standing in the aisle and attempting to prevent my large Americano from spilling all over my fresh new emo outfit, Miss M and I finally made it into a seat for the rest of the journey.

We arrived at Manchester Piccadilly on time and made our way out of the station towards Piccadilly Gardens in the city centre, to meet a much begrudged Mia, who was coming from the venue to meet us, once we met Miss M and I decided we needed food and headed for Bella Italia, I had the pizza which was really nice......and felt rather uncomfortable at a convo that Mia and Miss M were having over wine and the amusing moment at which Miss M realised she needed to take her "baby deflector"! The consequences of the conversation, i would find out later!!

We then went shopping at which point i found a suitable pair of headphones and then we headed for coffee to wait for Stix, after he had arrived we hit BK for a double whopper cheese mmm and then headed to the venue.

after arriving at the Manchester Evening News Arena (MEN) and queuing for beer, i found out what Mia and Miss M had been discussing.... Eyeliner on me.....i protested for a minute then thought what the hell!!

The concert was awesome, Green Day are one of the most entertaining bands i have seen perform, 2hrs 15min's of rock brilliance!! after the concert and after a 2hr journey back, we all sat and reflected on the evenings events before falling fast asleep!!

Friday night......in the box!!

Jackdaws Giggage..... I was looking forward to this night all week, it had been a month since the gig at the public and I was geared up for a sing song!!

The first thing that put me in a good mood, was the fact that as 2 of my bestest friends arrived, I had to marvel at one thing, how both of them own the smallest cars in the world, yet need a 28 point turn to reverse said vehicle into a space.
Albeit one of them is better at it than the other (sorry EKB, but she is!!) it still is not that difficult!!

anyway we embarked on our trip to Soy Express, the fantastic noodle bar in Shrewsbury town centre, i love the place they do the boxes like they have on US TV shows and chopsticks (not that I use them....I'm ok with big stuff but rice...that is an art form that the Far East can keep for themselves!!) all for 2.99 or 4.99 if you like a large portion!

We arrived at the train station for the journey on public transport to Crewe, soon to notice that Arriva Trains Wales still haven't realised that Crustacean (Crewe Station) is one of the busiest stations in the country, and only ever put a single carriage on,which evidently at that time of day..was chocca block full of emo's or goths....not entirely sure of the difference...they could even have been gemo's or moths..i really don't know.....anyway we managed to get a seat just!!!

Now how is it.... that even though you buy a coffee from a coffee shop....it even has a lid to stop spillages, do I....manage to splash coffee through the smallest hole in the world... onto my lovely, clean on, grey t-shirt.....it wasn't possible, yet I managed it somehow.....thank god EKB was on hand with a cover up otherwise it would have stood out..... grrr

Anyway the journey continued and we arrived at Crewe, on time as well!! we then had to wait for The Radioo, I have only met her once or twice, and never really experienced her company for anymore than 2 or 3 minutes, this girl is nuts....in a fantastic way but utter crazy, the first thing she does in the station is open her suitcase, yes suitcase...(she was only staying 1 night).. and change her shoes....woman's prerogative I suppose, at which point I noticed her eye mask which had the words "Fuck Off" embroidered on the front.....absolute classic!!

we arrived at the Box and headed into the Bar next door for pre-gig drinks and a game of pool! You can tell you are in Crewe when you walk into a pub which states restaurant and meals, and approach the Bar to find the words "today's baps are".....cheese and onion, ham or...well I can't remember the third may have been egg!! To be fair though its not a bad pub and was reasonably priced too!

at 8pm we entered the Box and headed straight for the bar to obtain our free shots that we had been given a ticket for.....it was Vodka and Red Bull.....but not real Vodka or Real Red Bull, but Glen's Vodka aka Paint Stripper and XL Vodka, I am pretty certain that a bloke called Glen one day staggered into his local asda and said "excuse me.. hic...would ya sell ma vodka please?..." it is that bad!!!

The first band came on, they were a local band from stoke, not the best but listenable, they played their set.
Next the boys came on....they started playing and oops the sound guy had forgotten to turn the mic on....good start... but entirely the Box's fault and a couple of minutes later they got underway...what a set it was too, even though they completely stunned us hardcore groupies, by throwing in a completely new song that none of us including the drummer's fiancee and the bands "manager" so to speak, knew about...and what a track it was too!! throw in some drunken dancing made the evening even better!!

Next Lady Gaga came on, not the real one but a proper look-a-like (penis and all) and was actually brilliant, and really enjoyable to listen to, even if she did look a little odd!!

the final band to play were not really anything to shout about but at the this point none of us really cared because the alcohol was firmly in our system and The Radioo was topping us all up with Sambuca (never again urgh).

anyway...as the night progressed closer towards bedtime the inevitable need to forage settled upon us all and we went in search of a curry house, in Crewe that really extends to 1 as far as we could see, who happened to be closing, this saw The Radioo and I act out some hilarious rendition, in order to obtain the use of the toilets, I was fairly proud of my drunk northern accent, as we succeeded and they allowed her in!!

instead after we had managed to secure a taxi, by some dodgy back street deal, to take us all back to Market Drayton we hit the take-a-way and then finally our taxi turned up and we embarked on the journey home, and with The Radioo and I getting the taxi meter mixed up with the clock, (we wondered why a 15mile journey would only be £2.41)..and Sonic attempting to drunkenly work a Tom Tom to no avail, we eventually arrived at Market Drayton......suitably entertained!!

Starbucks......

Starbucks, one of the most popular coffee shops in the world, as I sit supping my 'Grande Drip to stay' that's a large coffee to you and me, I sit and watch the world go by.... it's amazing that I have noticed on my frequent visits to my local Starbucks the different types of people who visit said coffee shop!!

I mean right this very moment a couple in their 70's are in awe of the technology that is text messaging, with a joint effort they may just finish the message before I leave....
At this time of day endless amounts of students assemble in one corner, what's amazing is you can clearly distinguish the Shrewsbury School 'garls' and boys( say in posh accent) from the Sixth form college 'girls' and boys not only by dress but by the fact that they sit as far away from each other as possible!! I suppose Posh and Common don't really mix!! Then there are the weary 'working' class persons and shoppers, those that have dragged their poor spouses, siblings etc all over town all day and haven't bought a thing... Then those that have been subject to working in the shops and businesses before heading home. Finally, there are people like myself who just like the coffee (or are just single and have nothing better to do with their spare time)....

I do have to smile at some people though, just now a lady walked in and said 'do you do coffee'..... Then there was a mother and daughter who entered dressed exactly the same...it would have been cute if the girl was 6 and mother 26 but 25 and 50.....oh and the elderly couple have finally finished their msg bless them!!!

-- Posted From My iPod touch in Starbucks!!

the last 30yrs.......!!!

This week marked the 30th anniversary of the year i was born!! Many memories came flooding back....the various times i have accidentally attempted to cause my own death and the numerous scars i have to prove it.....for example:

Aged 2 - I was soooo desperate to have my cup of tea that i reached for it myself, not a good idea for a child who was no more than 1.5ft tall and could see over the handle of the kitchen cupboards let only the worktop.....so as you can imagine the cup came down and so did the boiling hot water.... all over my arm now at that time (1981) Hot water + 2yr old child = intensive care..........for a whole 2 weeks.....this set up the rest of my life to this point. (if i was to be a mister man which one would i be......comments at the bottom please!!!)

Aged 5 (approx) - whilst playing mindlessly at my grandmothers house i wondered what was beneath the skin on my knee, as kids do...so... what do you usually cut things with!?... scissors..... i have a 1 in scar on my knee to prove it however the only thing i found in there was a lot of blood and pain, oh and the desire to never do that again!!!

Aged 7 - Whilst again in my grandmother's care (I'm starting to realise why my father loathes her so!) i decided it would be a good idea to leap from a bridge, not in a graceful swallow dive but more in a crumpled heap type fall, only this time i came closer to death spending more time in hospital and breaking both wrists, i was starting to like hospital at this point, these days though child protection issues come to mind!! anyway......3months later after having my plaster off, first day back at school i fell on my weak arms and.......ended up back at the clinic being re plastered (any thoughts on the Mr Man character yet!! it should be obvious by now!!)

After this i had relatively little ailments and thought my clumsy days were over....until:

Aged 17 - I covered myself in Uranium 235 at college.....so i more than likely have a half life still at this very moment....i knew they shouldn't have let me do science at college!!

Aged 20 - Whilst starting a new job, on my first day.... i cut my finger open with a razor blade and was unable to sign any of the paperwork or even contract of employment!!!

Aged 21 - Whilst moving to a new place of work during my career, on my first shift, I slipped on oily stairs and landed on my neck ending up in A&E in traction whilst it was decided whether i had a broken neck or not.....thankfully no but the 2hrs lying on a stiff board unable to move was mind numbing and again i learned not to do it again!!!

Aged 25 - Whilst chasing youths.....I launched myself over a wall only to find the ledge on the other side was not level, i fell approximately 10ft landing on my side, if it had not been for my body armour i would have definitely broken a rib or 2... i got up winded and said nothing to save the embarrassment!!

Aged 27 - Three weeks after surgery to remove a bulge in one of the discs on my spine, I was at work once again chasing youth when i put my right foot in a hole and turned....the pain was excruciating and i hit the floor like a sack of spuds...my colleague Oz panicked and started shouting man down man down whilst i called for an ambulance....the ambulance arrived and the paramedics got to work as they approached my boot laces with a view to cutting the boot off my ankle......I aid "whoa what do you think you are doing.....they are not paid for, you know" so i made the poor person pick the laces....I'm not having my £40 boots cut off my leg for anything....anyway i went once again to A&E and was put in a corridor in a wheelchair as the hospital felt that being in the general population in uniform may upset the inmates and cause a riot! After four hours some locum a&e doctor diagnosed a broken ankle and i was plastered up to my knee!! the next morning i saw the surgeon who found it to be a sprain.....stupid locum doctors!!

anyway since that day i have been extremely lucky not to cause myself any further injury...i have had a few scrapes (such as throwing myself of my pushbike in the square in town on the busiest shopping day before Christmas) but nothing that has been lasting!!

So really i ought to thank myself lucky to have reached 30yrs of age, I do wonder how the next 30 will go!!!

More Jackdaws Giggage!!

The boys in action....at The Public, West Brom!!

The Wedding Reception.....

Sunday 30th of August 2009, the family wedding event of the year.....my cousin K got married!! Whilst most people relish the thought of a good wedding and an excuse to get extremely drunk, I was apprehensive....you see my cousin is a lewd, loudmouthed Chav who spent most of her childhood in a cell and has spent the last 10years moving around Shropshire to avoid bailiffs......I did wonder how on earth she paid for said wedding at Hawkstone Park and Historic Follies.....(one of North Shropshire's premium hotels).....only to be informed that a week before £5000 pounds went missing from the safe in the public house she runs with my aunt...at which point the barmaid got the blame....I find it highly suspicious myself!!!

Anyway, the evening came and I was determined to attend to show face and for a free buffet (I can tell you now I had absolutely no interest in the fact she got married......at all, I went for the food....bottom line!!!) my sister picked me up promptly at 6.45pm and we made a brief stop to pick my Bro and his better half up and made our way there, please note every attempt to hire a pair of Rockports to go with my trackie bottoms had failed so I attended in jeans bearing in mind we were attending the Chaviest wedding of the year....I didn't expect K to let me down either and sure enough as we arrived we were greeted at the sight of K swigging from a large bottle of WKD Blue on the car park...classy ;) as I greeted K with the usual formality of congrats and a good luck to the groom, I quickly followed with " where's the nearest bar?" once I obtained a drink I went in search of my parents for the usual hello and then after posing for photos for the wedding album, went in search of the buffet!!

I arrived at the buffet table early and as the hotel staff disappeared into the back, I quickly sampled a couple of chicken goujons that they had put out ready....wow they were fantastic, I joined the queue when the food was finally unleashed and as I approached the table I picked up a napkin off one of the plates (which were provided for guests) and headed for the goujons as I picked up the serving plate with the chicken goujons on and started to add sandwiches, spring rolls and battered king prawns, the hostess monitoring the buffet looked at me in disgust and disbelief at what she was seeing....however she never said a word, those goujons were mine....as I approached the place at which I was sitting my mother noticed my plate and promptly followed suit.....normally I would say it's where I get it from however on this occasion it was like son like mother.....the poor staff didn't know what to say!! :)

After that came the usual display of awful DJ'ing and the classic jokes from Peter Kay's wedding sketch came flooding back, as they were being extremely slow in cutting the wedding cake or providing us guests with one of the cupcakes she had made herself I in league with my sister who caused the necessary distraction sampled one... (leaving a really obvious gap in the cupcake tree) it wasn't all that so I wished I hadn't made the effort!!

Then the fireworks started.....not the pretty exploding ones......but a fight between guests erupted in spectacular style, once again my cousins were on form......I’m so surprised neither of them got arrested, as my cousin D cracked a racist joke directly at a police officer and K threatened to slash her friends face with a bottle and got threatened with looking at the back of a cell door on her wedding night!!!

Anyway all in all it was a good evening and my sis and I (who were bone sober btw) finished the evening with the YMCA and the Time Warp much to my brother's embarrassment!!
We left Hawkstone Park and Historic Follies thoroughly entertained!! :)

It's party time!!

after an extremely busy week at work, and i mean it was extraordinarily busy for me from my normal weeks, . I'm attending my brother in laws 30th birthday party today and i am in need of a little relaxation as it were.... it's going to be messy....look out for the morning after post tomorrow :) oh and the BBC's new advert with the animals....sooo funny!!!