Trick Or Treat? - 31 Oct 08 21.57pm

Halloween has come back once again.

There seemed to be alot of trick or treaters about tonight - much more than usual. I was in the house by myself until about 6pm and the doorbell was going every 5 freakin' minutes.

In all honesty though, it was quite nice. I liked greeting the excited little kids at the door, all dressed up, and giving them the old "oooh very scary!" routine - then letting them plunge their sticky hands into the bowl of goodies that we prepared. It maked me feel good to be a part of it. As corny as it sounds, their little smiles make me feel warm inside, like im doing a good thing.

It's occured to me that a year or two ago, I probably would have wound down the blinds, hidden away and ignored the knocks and the ringing of the bell, just to avoid having to go through the forced, awkard process of communicating with strangers.

Such a teenager-ish way to behave. I can see that now, and it makes me realise that I must be growing up.

Dead Man's Shoes - 31 Oct 08 19.32pm

I have just watched Shane Meadow's amazing film Dead Man's Shoes for the second time in 24 hours.

I am convinced it possible the greatest film I have ever seen. Paddy Considine and Shane Meadows are an unstoppable force when working together.

I'm so pleased when I see films of this standard made by british directors - There's not many great british film makers now days, but Meadows is definately at the top of the pack.

If you havent seen any of his films, I would definately recommend them - The best in my opinion being Dead Man's Shoes closely followed by A Room For Romeo Brass (both have Paddy Considine as a central character).

Good stuff.

Just got in from a run - 31 Oct 08 12.50pm

I decided to take a long weekend by having yesterday and today (Thursday/Friday) off work. Since I am trying to get myself in shape, I thought i'd grab my ipod and go for a run. I ran the track that winds round the back of Halstead, starting at the top end close to my house and ending at the bottom, then right back up the big hill again and home (that probably doesn't make sense). At a steady running speed, it would take about 40 minutes, but since I have only just started up my running again I had a few stops to catch my breath. It took me about an hour. but I now feel great :) hopefully I can keep this up. Now I'm off to have a shower and then maybe some lunch.

Russell Brand finished at BBC - 30 Oct 08 20.00pm

I saw on the BBC news website today that Russell Brand has resigned from his Radio 2 show over the incident with Andrew Sachs' grandaughter.

I am a huge fan of Russell's. I could spit venom for hours about this, but all I will say is that I think it's such a shame that some people have nothing better to do than to complain and be miserable. Russell's career has taken a huge blow because a few people take life way too seriously and blew the whole thing out of proportion. I think it's disgusting.

I've listened to Russell for probably about 3 years now, since his days on BBC6 Music with Matt and Trevor.

It's the end of an era. Some great memories though :)

First post - 30th Oct 08 19.40pm

I have decided to start an ongoing diary in blog form. I have always wanted to keep a diary and have started numerous blogs in the past only to abandon them a few days later when the whole idea of blogging becomes monotonous and dull. Not this one. This one will last. I will be be drafting up notes whilst out there living my life, using the handy Notepad function on my Ipod Touch (This introductory papragraph was actually concieved last nite, hence the date and time in the subject header).


A quick summary of whats going on in my world at the moment:

Moving on 1st December, to a large white house in Braintree (about 8 miles away from my current dwelling with my parents) with 5 friends - I can't wait. I have lived away from home before but this will be different - This is the sort of place that will actually become my home rather than just a stopping-off point. This house is bloody massive! And the garden stretches back further than my eyes can see (ok so i'm short sighted, but you get the point). My friend Jack wants to grow fruit and veg in the garden, and maybe keep some chickens! At first i mocked him a bit but now i'm really starting to get into the idea...The sense of accomplishment at actually growing your own food must be great.
Initially, I was a bit worried about the cost of getting to work and back (about £10 a day) but luckily Karen at work has offered to give me lifts to and from work as she also lives in Braintree. We've agreed on £40 per week, which I think is very reasonable.
There's going to be a lot for me to fork out for once I've moved - For one thing, the heating system in our soon-to-be house runs from a large tank which needs filling with oil every couple of months to keep it burning. I get the feeling from what our Indian landlord and landlady said that this may be quit expensive. On top of that we'll have phone, internet, TV license, electricity, Water rates, (no council tax as the owners have agreed to continue paying this), and not forgetting rent to pay. I do feel though that this whole experience will teach me about looking after my money better and budgetting for necessary costs (something which I have been notoriously bad at up until now). I'm look at the as not just moving house but a project in self-improvement.


I have decided to get back into shape by running and excercising once again - I have gone through speights of doing this in the past but, much like my efforts to sustain my previous blog attempts, these speights have soon wilted and died. not this time.

I suppose you could say the decision to start this blog signals a turning point in my life. I want to emerge as a new man, as I can't I am particularly a fan of the man I have been up until now, at nearly 21 years old (i won't go into detail). But now my eyes are open.

Time to grow up.