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Thursday 14th July 05

Clubbing, Overpriced Beer and Sudoku

 

 

So Bar, Jo Jo’s Bar, The Reliance, Café El Paso

OK. I was quite looking forward to going to a club again. A friend of mine, Jamie Twyman, a former DJ at the hayfield before he fell out with Ahmed, was playing a set at Turnmills, one of the more popular clubs in London. I have passed by turnmills many times but never been inside as it not really my scene because the vibe seems to be a drum ‘n’ bass / urban / hip hop thing. However, I thought I would go as Jamie had given us free tickets and I hadn’t been clubbing in ages. It was also to be Dean’s first visit to a nightclub. After playing some pool earlier in the new snooker club, (and losing 10-7 to Dean), I went home to have a shower and get changed. I wasn’t sure if Turnmills carried a dress code, but I thought you can’t go wrong with the old black striped shirt, trousers and shoes combination. I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived. Turnmills had a bit of a reputation as a trouble spot, but I saw no evidence of that as we walked in. Despite being an urban music hotspot, Turnmills interior was decorated in the style of a futuristic gothic-style palace which gave the place a rock ‘n’ roll feel, which I really liked. One day I will buy Turnmills and turn it into London’s best rock / metal scene. Everybody else in there seemed to be dressed casual. We found Jamie wandering about the bar and were disappointed to learn that we had missed his whole set, as apparently he ran the event and was only the warm up act. However, he told us to hang around for a bit as the next DJ was supposed to be quite good. Dean found a corner to hide in and I went to the bar for a drink. This is when Turnmills slid down in my estimations. 

Okay, now in my experience, nightclub bars are generally more expensive, but I could usually put up with paying a little bit more. But the prices in turnmills are ridiculous. For a start, the only lager they had on draught was Red Stripe, which they also sold in bottles, and to my surprise, cans. I asked how much a can cost and thought I had misheard him when he said “Four pounds.” But to my amazement, they were actually charging four quid for a can!! (For four quid I’d expect the can to be made out of solid gold and refill itself automatically!!) Still, they had a special offer on Coronas, 2 for £3.50, so we stuck to those for the time being. After a while it got quite boring in there – the music was not really my thing at all and all sounded the same. At about half past 11, they stopped the deal on Corona so we left in search of a decent pint, and ended up in Café El Paso. Now, from the outside this place looks really promising, especially to me, a lover of Mexican food and culture and of course, tequila. The front looks very authentic Mexican, but this fades as soon as you get on the inside. However, it is still a very good place and they do serve Mexican food although I have never tried it. They also have the Desperado Beer, which is an interesting concept: Tequila flavour beer. It is quite strong (about 6 percent I think) and actually tastes quite like cider. There is something about it though, it has character but the taste, although different, is nothing special. Another thing is that you never seem to find it cold anywhere. Dean scared a brazilian lady who was quite happily sitting next to us doing one of those fucking annoying sudoku puzzles which have suddenly appeared in every newspaper and magazine. I tried to chat up the barmaid in Swedish and was red-faced when she turned out to be Danish. However she was impressed with my Edgar Allen Poe quotes. Not impressed enough to sleep with me, of course. Afterwards we made out way back, disappointed to find no takeaways open on the way, so I went home to a pot noodle and a pint of water.

Friday 15th July 05

 My head hurts. 

Saturday 16th July 05

 

Bad Pints, Bad Language and Slovenian Shooters

 

 

So Bar, Jo Jo’s Bar, The Reliance, Café El Paso

Called round for Dean at about half past 8 as he claimed he had to go to his brother’s to pick up an MP3 player. Turns out he had fallen asleep on his sofa – Lazy Bastard!! Started off in So Bar, only been in there once before. Interior in there is nice, it is clean and air conditioned and run by three nice young ladies. However, the quality of the lager is terrible. It is a rare occasion, as Dean pointed out, when Raven Garcia abandons a pint. But it happened today. Thus, we continued to Jo Jo’s bar, which always seems to be empty. Another TERRIBLE pint…. (must be an epidemic). Beat Dean at pool and then took the long walk down hackney road – seems to be the only exercise I get nowadays, other than lifting pints. Went to the reliance which is one of our newly discovered places. It is quite nice inside and reminds me of being at the seaside in Britain, without the seagulls. Trouble is, they only serve this Czech lager called Litovel, which comes in either blue label (weak) or red label (stronger). It is alright but leaves a funny, slightly stale aftertaste. Raven’s Beer Rating: 6.1. Another thing I like about the Reliance is that they serve cockles, which reminds me of the old days when my grandad used to take me to the pub. It was pretty un-eventful in there but I did manage to frighten two young ladies sitting near us as well as offending the barmaid with my clumsy Spanish. We then took the short walk to Café El Paso, where I went a bit overboard, ordering more pints and some Tequila Slammers Slovenian Style, which involves a shot of tequila in a half pint glass topped up with a little bit of soda water or lemonade. The Slovenian barman who patented the drink then bangs the glass on the bar, so it all fizzes up and then you down it in one. An interesting alternative to the old salt, shot and lime. It was an okay evening, if not a little slow to start off with. Trouble is, I payed by card twice which I really shouldn’t have done as I am in danger of going overdrawn yet again. Dean also had a football match the next day and was supposed to be in bed by 12.00, but it was just gone 2 when we got back. Came home, ate shepherd’s pie and watched Catch Me If You Can on DVD.  

Sunday 17th July 05

Poker, Paprika and Polish Sausage

Dean's team lost 10-2. On the way to the snooker club he told me he is thinking of quitting Acton Town. I woke up late this morning with a slight hangover. My mum and stepdad got back from thier weekend away in Cambridge earlier than expected, which meant that I had no time to do any of the housework etc. I went to the supermarket in the daytime to buy some ingredients for my dinner. (Chicken, paprika, onions, olives, rice, tomatoes, flatbreads, an orange pepper and some fresh tarragon. I also stopped by my favourite Eastern European delicatessen and bought some polish sausage and two cans of Utenos. Went out to the snooker club with Dean, he beat me 6-5. :-( Came back home and played texas holdem with my mum and stepdad. I won £210.00 - shame we were only using plastic chips and not real money. Katy (My ex girlfriend's best mate) rang me up and said they were going out on the town and asked if i would like to come but i declined thier offer. I now sit writing this whilst munching on a polish sausage and drinking a lithuanian beer, whilst listening to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant play Bring it on Home. Brilliant.

MONDAY 18th July 05

Opportunities, Oversleeping and Oxtail Soup

The search for employment continues. I went across the road this morning after waking up late again and bought an Evening Standard. Flicking through the jobs section i found nothing of interest except for an administrator's position at MI5. The trouble with these type of ads though is that you must apply by way of the application pack. My pet hate...my nemesis!! I have a perfectly adequate and easy to understand CV, yet they specify in thier ads "No CV's please." Fair enough...i guess, but then they send you this "application pack", with sections such as: Please specify all of your previous employment experience and qualifications. IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME FUCKING THING!!! oh, and then they ask you stupid questions like: Do you have experience in working within a diverse environment? What do they expect me to do, jungle survival? Of course i fucking have, this is london for christ's sake, the most multicultural metropolis on the face of this planet. Only in London could you be served a pint of bitter by a devout Palestinian Muslim whilst being hassled by a bald-headed white bloke in orange robes who is convinced he is the son of Krishna. 

Application packs are, in my opinion, a complete waste of time. That's why we have CV's, think about it...you along with 3000 other unemployed persons see the advert in the ES and each spend about 20 minutes filling in the application pack. One person out of 3000 gets the job. That's 59,980 minutes of people's time wasted. STILL enough of my tedious ranting, i decided not to apply for the position at MI5. Instead, my attention turned to a small booklet which somehow landed on my doormat. Closer inspection revealed it to be a brochure for courses in Tower Hamlets - adult education and all that. I was about to dispose of it and return to my oxtail soup when it fell open at a page of contents. I had a brief look and was shocked by the kinds of courses now available in our colleges: Crystal Healing. Argentine Tango. Bricklaying (!) but the one which nearly made me spit my oxtail soup all over the carpet was: Computing for the Terrified. So, i take it that this is an IT course for people with paranoid schizophrenia. Maybe they dim down the lights and stuff...no sudden movements...tranquilizers on standby!!!

This job-hunting lark is getting on my tits. Maybe i'm not trying hard enough or maybe i just have too much free time to sit here writing this shit that nobody will probably ever read anyway...i think i'm turning into a Hedonist.

Tuesday 19th July 05

Pint-Lifting, Perfect Fried Chicken and Purple Haired Women

The Hayfield

I received a call this morning from a woman who had somehow come across my CV. (Not literally)! she works for a recruitment agency called Jonathan Wren. They specialise in banking positions and she said she thought i would be suitable for a post at a Chinese bank. She asked me to come down to her offices in Liverpool Street. I did so, and although i was put off at first about working in a bank, the position sounded okay. The company are interviewing towards the end of this week and she wants me to go back before then so she can prepare me for the interview. Looks good so far. 

Thought i'd celebrate the first jobseeking success i'd had in ages  by going out and getting pissed. I rang around a few of the lads to see if they were up for it, but they were all busy. Adrian was chatting to some bird online, Blessy refused to untie Fox, Alfie was working an evening shift but did invite me to go out with him tomorrow. Only James said he would turn up so i went and grabbed Dean and the two of us made our way to the Hayfield to meet him.

On the bus on the way there i saw a woman with purple hair and a purple tracksuit. When our stop came she took ages to get off and wouldn't let us past. While walking to the hayfield I bombarded Dean with a series of terribly bad jokes about the incident - for example when i asked the woman to "mauve" out of the way or i would become "violet". I said she put me in an "orchid" position, and that i would like to get off the bus in the near "fuchsia". Brilliant. I almost made Dean turn around and go home.... of course, not on "purples"!! James had been on the tube at the time of the bombings last week, in fact on the train behind the one which got bombed. He was ok, a little shaken up as you would expect. However I told Dean not to do his jokes about the train fare costing an "Arm and a leg" and that the bus prices have gone "Through the roof!"

James was waiting for us as we arrived. He spent the first half an hour telling us all about his band. I am well happy for him - apparently they are going on a tour of Canada next year as the drummer is from there. He had recorded a track on his phone and let me listen to it - a track called "Matter of Time". I have to say that i was not expecting much but i was amazed - it was brilliant!! I asked him to contact me if he needed any album cover artwork done or stuff like that.

On the whole, it was a good evening. I have missed pound night at the hayfield since i have been barred and it was good to be back. I had a lot of people asking me where i had been. We did some more shots - Slovenian Tequila Slammers the same as the other night - i banged them on the bar just as the barman had done before but they did not seem to fizz up as much. Des was around as usual and was involved in an incident - as usual. I'm not quite sure what he was supposed to have done but John the Doorman asked him to leave and come back another time. So we all decided to call it a night and go to the chicken shop just down the road. On the way there Des met Scribble and they started arguing - Des was saying stuff like "I didn't do anything" and Scribble was protesting that he had done something. Again, i'm not quite sure what went on but Scribble walked off and was well pissed off, as was Des who was a little upset as Scribble and Des are supposed to be great friends. In the chicken shop I nearly had a fight with two asians who were sitting opposite and laughing about something. At this point James was absolutely paraletic (If that's how you spell it) and we took him outside and waited with him until his bus came. Des in the meantime was chatting up a girl - as usual - so we left him to it and then me and Dean walked back home singing and being stupid and doing the Heidenreich walk and stuff like that. It was a good night.

Wednesday 20th July 05

Curry for Breakfast

Woke up this morning with a splitting headache. I blame it on the stress of being unemployed - of course it has nothing to do with the eight pints of lager and five tequila slammers i drank last night. Put the telly on and watched some cookery programmes which made me feel hungry so i went to the kitchen to make my breakfast (Chicken Korma). It is now half past 3 and i still haven't heard anything from Nicole at Jonathan Wren about the job, i should ring her after this and find out what's happening. I am cooking a Moroccan Chicken Stew tonight so i need to go out and buy some ingredients. (Garlic, tomatoes, Chicken stock, Ground mixed spice and of course boneless chicken thighs.) Other than that it has been a pretty un-eventful day so far. Alfie did invite me to go out with him tonight, but i'm not sure if i feel up to it. I really should try to save what little money i have left for Hong Kong day at the weekend. Right, i'm gonna sign off now and unless anything worth writing about happens, see you tomorrow.

Thursday 21st July 05

Doldrums

There was another terrorist attack on London today. Not on the same scale as 2 weeks ago, but still enough to remind the whole city that nowhere is safe. I rang Nicole from Jonathan Wren today, she informed me that the Chinese bank are interested in me and will be interviewing next week. I hope i get the job as it is 18k and a good opportunity. Nothing really interesting happened today - I drank too much ouzo last night and ended up throwing up in the toilet - Hope my mum doesn't read this bit!!! Sorry mum. My room is a mess. I'm in a wierd mood today - might go out to the hayfield tonight but on the other hand i should really stay in and save money. I feel like my life has entered the doldrums. What i wouldn't give for some excitement. Still, there is hong kong day at Newbury racecourse on sunday to look forward to, as well as Saturday night when Dean has said he will buy me a few drinks on account of how i sorted him out the other week. And, if things go well then I could have a job this time next week.

Friday 22nd July 05

Weekly Shops, Bus Rides and one Great Comeback

The Edinburgh Cellars

I was looking forward to the weekend. I was due to go to Camden market (one of my favourite places in the world) tomorrow with my mum, and then i was out tomorrow night with Dean, followed by an interesting day out on Sunday to Hong Kong day at Newbury Racecourse. I had never been to the horse racing before, so naturally was looking forward to that. The whole day today went by sort of un-eventfully, i slept most of it and then went to asda with my mum for the weekly shop. When I got back, i decided to ring Alfie and ask what he was doing on Saturday so that hopefully he would join me and Dean on our weekly pint-lifting session. He said that he was busy on Saturday, but he was going down the Edinburgh Cellars for a quick one this evening. He invited me to go down. As I hadn;'t seen Alfie for a couple of weeks, i went. The bus trip there felt wierd: Every time somebody got on the bus carrying a satchel or bag they recieved dirty looks from the rest of the passengers.

The Edinburgh Cellars is located just off of Newington Green, door to door about 20 minutes from my house by bus. It is a nice pub with a good atmosphere, and especially on Fridays which is Karaoke night. I arrived dead on 9'o clock, (just as my grandad used to do every night at his local) which is also the time that the karaoke was due to start. However, i learned that it had been cancelled tonight cos the guy was sick or something like that, but Alfie and a few of his mates were already there, and we weren't going to let that stop us from having a good evening. I met Alfie's younger brother Jack for the first time, and was surprised to learn that he was only 16, as he was a lot taller than Alfie and looked about 25. He looked a little like a lead singer from a heavy metal band. Also was Wes, a black guy who i have met once before briefly, and two guys called Guy and Bart. (The Hospital Brothers?) Me and Wes teamed up and beat Guy and Bart at pool, we were losing by seven balls as the others were on the black, but i potted six balls in a row to turn the whole game around before Bart missed on the black and Wes capitalised to win the game for us. I celebrated by getting a round in. Also there were Alfie's mate Jamie who i'd also met before who works at Highbury (Good man),  and these two girls called Rose and Jodie. They were both quite attractive although Jodie seemed more sexy where as Rose was the pretty type. (They were both my type but i wasn't sure i was thiers) We all had a good laugh, i introduced everyone to the now famous Slovenian Tequila Slammers and we all got quite drunk. As i was walking home with Alfie and Jodie, Alfie said he was now up for tomorrow night, and as my bus came i said i would give him a call tomorrow. 

Saturday 23rd July 05

Camden Capers, Army Surplus and some Free Popcorn!!

Urban Bar, Q-Bar, The Hayfield

Today i went to Camden Market with my mum. It is the kind of place where everyone who is anyone is represented in the vast crowds that brave the hustle and bustle of the huge market every Saturday morning. Goths, Rastas, Punks, Skaters, Drug Dealers (plenty of those), Tourists, Buskers, Football Hooligans, Homeless, Blacks, Whites, Asians, Gays, Lesbians and just plain wierdos. Our first stop was the Camden Square Market, one of three markets in Camden, along with the much bigger Camden Lock market, and Inverness Street market which is more of a day-to-day market with fruit and veg stalls etc. Camden Square Market has just about everything you can find in the other markets but packed into one small space. I had a shopping list in my head: I wanted an army camo jacket, a System of A Down T-shirt of the new album cover, a Chinese shirt for tomorrow's Hong Kong day, some more patches to go onto my trousers, and some Swedish snus (Tobacco in pouches that you put under your lip.) Oh, and of course, i wasn't going to come to Camden without sampling some of the great food on offer. 

So, we looked around the Camden Square market and found the SOAD t-shirt straight away. (A snip at a fiver) then we made our way down to the Camden Lock market and to a little shop i knew just across the bridge that sold all things Chinese. This is where i was hoping to find my shirt for tomorrow. They had all manner of chinese-style shirts, with dragons and things on them, and i couldn't make up my mind. However, when i saw they cost 35 quid each, i made up my mind to wear a shirt and tie tomorrow instead. Next door, my mum went crazy over a pair of quad rollerskates (She has been after a pair of quads for ages) and purchased some for £105.00, plus an extra £20.00 for yellow wheels. - A fool and her money easily parted. I remember waiting for nearly half an hour for her to actually try on about 14 pairs and speeding around the shop in them before she actually bought one. I felt like the kid in the Actimel advert. Next, we made our way to the Army Surplus shop, owned by Leroy, a friend of Mark's from the Hayfield. On route i purchased a delicious burrito from a mexican food stand, and some marinated olives which i always buy when i come to Camden - they are the best i've tasted so far.

I spent a good 15 minutes in Leroy's shop, Leroy himself wasn't around, but i quickly found what i wanted, a beautiful army camo shirt/jacket, also a fiver and a great bargain. We walked back to the bus stop, on the way i bought some donuts and asked everyone i met along the way if they knew where i can get some snus. (There is not a thing on the face of the planet that you cannot find in Camden Market) but Snus today seemed to be the exception. I was offered everything from Magic Mushrooms to LSD, but nobody seemed to have heard of snus apart from one guy who suggested i try the newsagents next to Camden Tube. On the way back i picked up some patches including a union jack which would look great on the breast of my new jacket, and had no success in the hunt for snus at the aforementioned newsagents. We decided to call it a day, still i was pleased with my finds. 

That night I was due to meet Dean for our weekly drink-up. I forgot to phone Alfie - I wasn't sure what time he finished work anyway as he usually goes out quite late in the evening. We started in the Urban bar in Whitechapel, which is the only place i know that has Led Zeppelin on the jukebox - that makes it worth drinking in by itself. They also give out free popcorn (Salted, clever if you ask me as it makes people thirstier.) However, the beer wasn't as fresh as it usually is, so we went across the road to the K-bar, a pub frequented by russians and poles. I spent half an hour chatting up the gorgeous Polish barmaid, Korina, and bought a burger from the BBQ they had out the back. Delicious. After we had drunk four or five pints in there, we made our way down the road to the Hayfield. John was on the door with Antonio, my former quiz team partner, and i was surprised to be charged £3.00 entrance, despite the fact that i am a former employee and have been drinking regularly in there for the last 2 years. Still, undeterred, we paid the 3 quid and went inside. I remember little of the rest of the night except that it involved a lot of tequila shots and quite a few pints. I remember talking to Old John at the end of the bar and playing the quiz machine very badly. I also remember seeing Michael Everest, a guy i knew from secondary school. I will never forget NRA day when he was the only person who didn't wear a suit - instead he wore a deadman incorporated t-shirt and jeans and got laughed at - but he didn't give a shit! - Top bloke! If i was in the kind of frame of mind then as i am now it would have been the sort of thing that i would have done. I do not remember getting home but it was past 3'o'clock. That was a good start when we had to leave the house at 10 the next day.

Sunday 24th July 05

Hangover at Hong Kong day Races

Newbury Racecourse

I was woken up early, suffering from a monster hangover. After lying in bed like a dying swan for a half-hour, i dragged myself into the kitchen and ate some chicken soup, then had a shower and put on my red shirt, dragon tie, trousers and shoes. The car journey took over an hour and half, accompanied by my mum's friend Paula. The place itself was quite nice, although we missed the first race and opening ceremony of the Hong Kong day celebrations. There were five races left in all, and I quickly recovered from my hangover until i went to the gents and came back to find that my mum had got me a pint from the bar. I've never turned down a pint and wasn't going to start now...but it seemed to help my hangover. (The old "Hair of the dog" cure??) The day went past really fast - It was really quite enjoyable!! Both my mum and Paula had a couple of wins. I didn't win anything although i was within a photo finish of winning £156.00!! I remembered putting money on a horse called "Everest" as I had met Michael Everest the night before. Out of 8 horses, i think it came....eighth. Near the end of the day i bumped into Richard Rampling, head of estates and facilities at the Institute of Child Health where i used to work. I recognised him instantly but it took me a while to remember where i knew him from. After a little chat with Richard, I had some chinese food and an ice cream and watched the kung-fu display, and decided that i liked horse racing and would go again, although i think on the whole i enjoy the greyhounds more.

We got stuck in traffic on the way back and the journey took nearly 3 hours! I was glad to be back but very tired so i went online for a bit then had an early night.

Monday 25th July 05

The Crunge

I think i have just about enough money left to go out on a major piss-up tomorrow night at the Hayfield. I am worried about drawing out too much money on my card as they need to debit my account as a penalty from going overdrawn last month, so i am worried i might take out too much, but im sure 20 quid should be alright especially on pound night at the Hayfield - a pound a pint is not to be scoffed at, as Dean would say. This morning i woke up with a large list of housework waiting for me, all of which i still haven't finished. I have still got to go out as well and buy some pizza bases as i think i might make pizza tonight. I need some more money. I got in touch with Nicole, my agent, and she informed me that the Chinese did not get back off holiday till tomorrow so they probably wouldn't see me till the end of the week or perhaps next week. Oh well, back to sitting tight and waiting. (And doing the housework)

Tuesday 26th July 05

A Good Old Fashioned Piss Up

The Hayfield

An uneventful day again. Went to the Hayfield this evening on my own, as Dean had to go to a committee meeting at Acton town to hand back his kit and make it official that he was leaving etc. However, he said he might come down to the hayfield straight from the meeting. I got there at 8, it was quite dead for a tuesday night - (Don't people like drinks for £1.00? Do they taste better when you pay £2.70 down the road or something?) Bumped into Anthea and Nicola, two girls i knew. Nicola i knew from primary school but she doesent remember me, Anthea i have known for a bit cos she used to have a crush on me. I'm not quite sure if i like her or not, there was a point when she bordered on being a stalker. People think it's cos she's black, but it isnt - the real reason i'm a bit put off is cos she has a daughter. Now i don't mind kids - i went to school with a lot of them. but, you know...i don't wanna get involved and besides she has a new boyfriend now anyway. (Anthony Goodall, who also used to go to Morpeth) 

ANYWAY. so Dean didn't show up and i was just about to go home when Anthea and Nicola invited me to go and sit with them. I don't remember what we spoke about but by closing time we were all drunk - i made a Flatliner for Anthea and Nicola - it's a lethal shot which can erase memory!! Seriously!! - the recipe is on the "Raven's Beer Guide" Page. I remember little about the rest of the night except for getting the 277 bus home from Mile End as I made sure Anthea got on the bus alright cos she was going a different way to everyone else. As i got on the bus she kissed me. I was a little shocked - but it soon passed as i took the short bus ride to the edge of Vicky Park and walked the long way round back to my house. It was raining lightly - i find this sort of rain quite pleasant, refreshing - and it helped me to sober up a bit. For some reason I had the rolling stones song "Angie" in my head and was singing that all the way home. I made myself a chinese microwave meal and watched Billy Connolly on VHS. Then i turned in for the night.

Wednesday 27th July 05

Nothingness

Nothing interesting happened. 

Thursday 28th July 05

Underworked and Overdrawn

It is my mum's birthday today. I don't have a lot of money with which to buy her a present, and i feel bad cos i didn't have enough foresight to put some away for this occasion, but as long as i get her a card at least she will know i haven't forgotten. I have just phoned Natwest and i have been informed that i have £32.00 left in my account which is all i have to my name - apart from the £150.00 i have saved for when i start a job - which my mum won't let me touch. Also, the thieving bastards at Natwest are going to take £14.00 at the close of business tomorrow, as a penalty for going overdrawn. (Which is some feat when i don't actually have an overdraft facility). So, i am going to use the last of my money to do the right thing and buy my mum something half decent - probably just a card and some flowers. I know she'll be happy with that, but i feel bad that i can't get her more than that. When i am rich I will take my mum to Niagara Falls - where she's always wanted to go, and buy her her dream car - (For some reason, a yellow Volkswagen Corrado. Each to their own and all that...at least it's cheaper than a Mercedes CL500.) Anyway, i'm off out now to sort out Mum's present in time to get back and do all the housework.

Friday 29th July 05

No Money, No Fun.

I am officially skint. I have about 10 quid left in my bank account and about £2.50 in my wallet. This i will use for a piss up on Tuesday night where it will buy me 12 and a half pints. So, I will not be going out tonight or for the rest of the weekend. 

Saturday 30th July 05

Whatever.

Went to Asda's today with my mum. Saw Chris Buck, who used to be in my class at school. It is the first time I have seen him for 3 years. He has a missus now and his own place i think he said it was in Hackney somewhere - never mind. He has put on quite a lot of weight but then again I am one to talk. Other than that - nothing much interesting happened - my mum and stepdad went out to a chinese restaurant with the rest of the family in the evening and i stayed at home with a four pack of carling and watched Trading Places. 

Sunday 31st July 05

Whatever. (Part II)

Did a lot of housework this morning, cooked Tempura Vegetables and Yakitori Chicken for dinner. Quite adventurous, and was a big success although it made quite a lot of mess and it's the sort of thing you only do once in a while. Had an early night.

Monday 1st August 05

Whatever. (Part III)

Acton Town WON!! Yes! They defeated Greenford Hotspur 9-3 at the weekend, and Dean got man of the match. Basically the situation is that he quit, then went to a meeting on Tuesday where he agreed to keep running the website for them, and to keep playing for them until they find a replacement for him. If i were him i would just quit and find a team nearer to home. but anyway he was well chuffed about that. He did inform me that he was also skint and therefore would not be joining me tomorrow night. I offered that I would pay for the drinks as I only had 12 quid anyway and it would be enough for six pints each, but we will see what happens tomorrow. This morning i phoned CID and told them i want my mobile back. They have had it now for nearly three months. Forensics my arse. I also rung round all three of my beloved agencies and gave them all some abuse about not finding me a job, and phoned loads of other companies listed in Thursday's East London Advertiser and applied for some jobs there. Fucking hell, if i go out tomorrow night i might actually have something interesting to write about!!

Tuesday 2nd August 05

Drunken Antics

Went round to see my nan today. I only went round to give her her pension book and washing but she kept me there for around 3 hours, telling me stories about the war and things. It was alright actually. She gave me a fiver. On the way back I saw Des walking down Roman Road and we had a brief chat about football and stuff. Told him i'd see him down the hayfield tonight, and went home to have a shower and something to eat.

I had 10 quid, plus the fiver i got from me nan, and i found 55p in my jacket pocket. So, i had enough for fifteen pints. Dean was skint so i guessed i'd be buying his drinks as well but i didn't mind as we would be going out on Saturday when I would be skint, and Dean said he would pay for all the drinks then. Adrian turned up. I haven't seen him for ages. Fucking hell, he needs to cut his hair!! Played some cards with the boys, and one of Des's mates, Fabian, joined us. Then trouble showed up in the name of Anthea and Nicola. I was told by Nicola that Anthony Goodall (Anthea's boyfriend) found out that "I kissed her" last week (although im sure it was the other way around) and wants to talk to me. Fuck him. and fuck her too. If he wants to fight i will fight him. I'm fed up of all this shit anyhow. Dean got chatting to some bird who we later found out was autistic. Walked home and managed to prevent Dean from damaging any cars, signs or roadworks. Watched Ali G and ate the last of the chicken in the fridge.

Saturday 13th August 05. FOOTBALL SEASON STARTS!!!

Drunken Antics

Lee Hurst's Backyard Comedy Club, The Hayfield

OK, so i haven't updated my "Blog" - (Thanks, Dean) in a long time. This is not because i have got a job or won the lottery or anything like that i just couldn;'t be asked. But i haven;t been up to much - went to the comedy club last night with Dean as he had free tickets and was very kind to sort me out all night as I had absolutely no money at all (Well...correction i had 15p, not that it got me anywhere) the comedy club was very good, especially the feature act, Jared Christmas. The headliner wasn;t as good. We should definately go there again. After the comedy club we headed for the Hayfield, where Dean got in a few rounds. We played cards with Queer Keith and Wierd Tim. Then, just as we were about to leave, I saw an old friend, Harpreet Chagger (Yeah, i know - we laughed at college too.) An old mate from my days at Redbridge college, instantly recognisable by his turban and long beard. We reminisced for a bit (Not too long as Dean had to get up for training the next morning) On the way home some kids shouted stuff at us, and after we got about halfway down the road Dean went back and had a go at them, unbeknown to me as he said he was going for a piss. The tit. Well actually, i admire him for doing it, it's just that i saw at last five of them and they could have had knives and stuff. Anyway - i went home and continued work on my book before eventually falling asleep at the computer at around 5am. 

Sunday 14th August 05

Arsenal.................2                                                             Newcastle..........................0

Henry 80 (Pen), Van Persie 86                                                                       Jenas s/o 30

Redcurrant Raiders!!!

Arsenal made a great start to the new season today by playing the Toon Army all over north london. Wigan totally played out of thier skins in thier first ever premiership game and came within a hair's breadth of beating Chelsea until Crespo turned up and scored a brilliant goal in the last second of play - Wigan deserved three points in my eyes. And i tried my hand at fusion cookery, where you incorporate two different styles, in this case, South East Asian chicken satay with Cajun spiced potato wedges. Other than that, fuck all happened.

Monday 5th September 05.

What do i feel, what do i say....in the end it all goes away

Again, this is my first blog in ages. I must try to update this regularly so that when im old and wrinkly i will have more than a few weeks to look back on. I have been working at my uncle Graham's driving school the last week or so, and have worked quite hard there updating all thier computer databases and designing the webpage and stuff like that. I am going to the hayfield tomorrow and I will make the most of it as I will probably not be going out for the next couple of weeks after that. It is Adrian's birthday on the 17th, Blessy's (Fox's wife) on the 24th and Dean's on the 26th. As the 26th is also a tuesday we will be having a triple celebration in the Hayfield then and everyone is coming down which is great cos i havent seen them all in ages, especially Fox. Adrian will be coming down tomorrow so it will be good to see him and I will try to make the most of it and save some money for the guy's birthdays.

Sunday 16th October 05.

Welcome Back!!

Again, this is my first blog in ages. This is becoming a nasty habit. Since my last blog I have joined the army, Fox is going to be a father, David is already a father, Wigan are above Arsenal in the league, Togo and Angola are in the world cup and Dean's team are in the quarter final of a cup! And no, it is not 2017. It is in the run up to Christmas and speaking of Run-Ups i have my medical appointment on Wednesday and it will be four weeks from then that I go away to Pirbright in Surrey for 13 weeks of intensive army training. I am still single...although last week the hottest girl in the Hayfield, Verity, said she would go out on a date with me before i left for training...well i hope so! In related news, One of my oldest friends, in fact my oldest female friend, Anna, who used to live next door to me before I moved to another block on the estate and she made the slightly shorter journey to Chile and then on to New Zealand, has returned to the UK for a few months. It is great to see her again...and she looks quite hot!! I am trying to get her out for a drink so we can lose our inhibitions and our clothes. (Not in a pub though, the last bit can wait.) MEMO TO SELF: Must remember to change this entry before i give the website address to Anna when she leaves... anyway gonna sign off but i will try to update more often for all of our devoted listeners.

PS : CHECK OUT THE HAYFIELD MURAL!!  A work in progress but you can see below (From left to right: Terry on his crutches; Wayne, Quddus; Ahmed the guvnor behind the bar; Big John, Desmond A.K.A. Magnolia Slim, John & Padder at the end of the bar, Scribble with his ladies, Ali on  the X-Box, Antonio playing pool and A.J. by the gents....remember this is a WORK IN PROGRESS people so small details like Wayne's feet and Antonio's opponent on the pool table will be added in later. PEACE OUT!!!