Stacy Hedger

Never heard of her ? Neither have I.

But my Mum has.

She seems to think that because I "go on the internet" I've seen everything on it. She heard something about Stacy Hedger being on the internet and thought I would have seen it. Apparently, according to Mum, she's a violinist. Close - but not quite Mum !

One google search and a few seconds later and I know all about her now.

Here she is in all her glory. Enjoy ! :-)

Found One !!!

I went out of the back gate today and there lying on the pavement was an eighteen inch long slightly scorched stick in otherwise pristine condition.

Yep. I've found my first "back down to earth" rocket stick of the year.

As kids, the competition to see who could find the most spent fireworks on the morning of November 6th was often more exciting than the big night itself. The bigger the better. And today's stick would have been worth at least 5 points. It's a shame that bonfire "night" nowadays seems to be bonfire "fortnight" but it means I have a couple more weeks to score as many points as I can.

The Golfing Bug

Just eight short weeks ago I played golf for the first time for ages and ages. Yesterday I had my fourth game in 8 short weeks.

So far there's been no real improvement - a 3 point spread covers my 4 round totals to date - but I'm determined there will be. Two consecutive good shots would be a start.

Yep, the bug has well and truly bitten. At least it makes the "what can I get you for Xmas" question a bit easier to answer.

Film Of The Year

Last evening we went to the cinema to see Stardust. With Mrs W and the 2 L'il Wurzels I just went along for the ride, there was no way I was going to like it.

It was a fairy tale - they're for kids.

Set in a fantasy world - I hate those.

It was a romance - they're for girls.

So I sat through 2 hours plus - and loved every minute of it !!!

This is one of the best films I have ever seen , certainly the best this year.

Certainly not aimed at young kids, the PG rating should have indicated that. It's a long time since I've seen a cinema so full, and full of men and women of all ages (and a few kids as well). All I can say is it was a great story, which unusually for fantasy adventures was easy to follow and made total sense. Some great performances from the likes of Robert de Niro, Clare Danes, Rupert Everett, Sienna Miller, Peter O'Toole to name but a few. And funny? Certainly not an outright comedy but there are real laughs all the way through.
I defy anyone to see this film and not enjoy it and come out feeling good (if you don't then you must be a heartless old fart with no sense of humour but you probably can't help that) EDIT: 5 minutes after typing this my brother and family called in - they'd just seen it as well, they enjoyed it, he didn't, say no more. ;-)

Oh and one other big reason to see it.

Did I mention Michelle Pfeiffer is in it too?

Confessions Of A Rugby Virgin

Ok I gave it a try (pardon the pun).

On Saturday evening I sat through my first full 80 minutes of televised rugby to watch England reach the World Cup Final for the second time in a row.

Now don't get me wrong, I can recognise pride passion and commitment in any sport, and was obviously pleased that we had beaten "Les Bleus".

But I must confess, as a game ruby simply leaves me cold.

I can't help but compare it with "proper"football. In that game the ball is always clearly visible, and even a newcomer watching the game should - with the exception of offside - have a pretty basic grasp of the rules after 15 minutes or so. But I found myself watchig 80 minutes of a major sporting event and not having a clue what was going on.

Half the game seemed to be spent with the ball out of sight under a pile of players, which would end with the referee blowing his whistle for a penalty, semingly awarded (to the novice eye) totally randomly. In football part of the attraction of watching the game is to shout for a fol, then cheer or ridicule the referee depending on his decision. In rugby it seems to be sit cluelessly watching untill the referee makes an unfathomable decision.

I could only make out two discernible tactics. One was for the team to advance forward en masse, passing the ball from one to the other across the pitch. This, whilst looking exciting only seemed to have two possible outcomes, either for the player with the ball to change direction and run into an opponent or for the whole team to simply run out of space and/or men to pass to. The other tactic was to catch or pick up the ball and kick it into the crowd.

No doubt some of my rugby loving friends will be reading this with disgust. I'll give it another go for the final, after all it is England whatever the sport. But before then, will somebody, please, explain it all to me. !

Wreck On The Hamble

Walking along the banks of the River Hamble recently this impressive wreck caught my eye.

Whilst the river is dotted with wrecks of old boats and riverside docks, this was by far the most prominent. A quick google search found this site, but I couldn't find any detailed information. A quick e-mail brought this response.

At present I only have a small amount of information about the wreck. I have talked to a few local people who have informed me that it is the remains of the Brixham Trawler ‘Terminist’ . Although I must admit I am not 100% about this identification as this vessel’s registration number was BM321 and the hulk appears to have the number BM123 on its port bow. Hopefully future research will throw some light on this. We have entered the vessel on our website (HAM044), but at the moment there is little information there, something I aim to address in the future.

The recording of these vessels is an ongoing process, with the results being entered in the local archives. This project relies on the assistance of volunteers. So if you have the free time and would like to be involved with archaeologically recording the vessels and maritime structures of the river you would be more than welcome.

A great example of how the internet is able to spread knowledge and share it quickly, although the knowledge in this case is, by the author's own admission, far from certain. Next time I am down that way I'll do my best to get some more detailed photos. Maybe they could go towards solving the mystery.

First Of The Year

I went to the doctor's this morning. (No, that's not the first time.)

I don't have to go back for three months.

So when I left today, 8th October, she became the first person this year to ........

.... wish me a Happy Christmas !!!!!!!

(and there's me still waiting for the Summer to start)

New Cats / Old Cat League Table

Dumps On Living Room Carpet League

Salem - Lifetime Record - NIL

Hubble and/or Bubble - After One Week - FOUR*

Carrier bags and bricks are ready, Itchen Bridge here we come.

*(includes one all over my cable tv remote control)

Every So Often ....

... I fell the need to share one.

Out of the dozens and dozens of funny e-mails dropping into my inbox every week, most raise a smile, some raise the question "Why send me that?" and then the odd treasure now and again that,literally, makes me "Laugh Out Loud" and just has to be shared.

The New Kittens - Hubble & Bubble

Not the easiest to photograph, either sound asleep cuddling each other or awake and not staying still for a second.

And Ok, maybe they're growing on me.

So Off I Went To Woolworths ...

Me: "Are you stocking the Sex Pistols' single ?"
Woman behind counter: (pointing vaguely to the cd section) "Um is it on the list ?"
Me: "No, that's last weeks chart, it's only released today"
WBC: "Is it in the stand ?"
Me: "No that's for cds, it won't fit it's on 7 inch vinyl"
WBC: (looking at me as if I have just spoken in Swahili) "I'll check in here, who is it by again" and starts rummaging through a drawer full of cds .
Me: " Sex Pistols. But it won't fit in there either, it's on 7 inch vinyl "
WBC: (now looking at me like I have escaped from some sort of looney bin, but still searching through a pile of cds) " Nah, don't think we've got that one "

No further comment necessary.

Loss Of A Loved One

On Friday afternoon I received a garbled tearful phone call from Mrs W. Could I come straight home, Salem was dead.

I raced home to find her and the youngest L'il Wurzel in tears. Salem, the family cat, had indeed died, just a day or so before her first birthday. We've no idea what happened, a neighbour found her dead outside their back gate. She appears to have simply died on the spot, her body frozen in a walking pose. No apparent injuries, no cuts, no blood, eyes open. I've read of cats simply dropping dead on the spot due to some sort of heart defect (one to the extent of jumping from one chair to another and dying in mid air) and really hope it was something similarly quick so that she didn't suffer in any way.

It's amazing how quickly you can get attached to animals. Anyone sad enough to still be visiting my blog from almost a year ago will recall how reluctant I was to even get a cat . Yet less than a year on I haven't lost a pet but a little friend.

Mrs W was distraught and felt a need to immediately go and get another cat - not as a replacement as nothing ever will, but without Salem the house felt empty. I still can't understand her way of thinking - whilst I still wake up expecting a little black face to nuzzle into mine a new pet in the house seems just too soon. But with the little Wurzels on her side off they went and now we have not one but 2 new kittens, little white boy twins. As yet no definite names, I'm sure there'll be photos to post later.

Just as I did with Salem I'm sure I'll grow fond of them but at the moment I still miss my little mate.

Accounting ?!?!?!

I have just noticed that my profile stated that I am a member of the accounting industry !
@%*# knows where that came from .
Needless to say it's not true .