Monty's Memoirs

Montgomery Guitars

2011-04-18T20:52:00.000+01:00

I have been playing the guitar a little more recently. This has mainly come from a need to do so for the church praise band.

To date I have been playing an Avalon Silver Series belowing to one friend or an Ibanez something-or-other from another friend. While I appreciate the graciousness of these guys to let me loose on their guitars I was thrilled when I got my own instrument.

And it is no ordinary guitar. This guitar was hand built by my brother. He has been building guitars as a bit of a hobby recently and the one I now have is the second off his production line. It is 100% solid wood. It has a Spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides. The fingerboard is ebony. It has a beautiful tone.

As I primarily play in church there was a need to install a pickup. In choosing a pickup I wanted one that performed well live on stage with minimal chance of feedback. It also needed to capture a least some of the natural tone and be fitted in a non-destructive way. I know nothing about these things so took advice from several quarters.

From the outset though I wanted an LR Baggs setup. That partly came from recommendations and also, admittedly, I just like the feel of their company and the look of their products.

Originally I wanted the LR Baggs Anthem system which looked like it could capture the guitar tone very well through their tru-mic setup. It probably could but I was put off for a couple of reasons. One, the preamp just wouldn't fit into the body of the guitar given the shape and bracing used. Two, microphones are more prone to feedback. But to be honest the main reason was just that it would not fit.

To cut a long story short I bought the LR Baggs M1 Active system which you can see just sits in the sound hole. In fact the only drilling or cutting required was for the strap jack which would have been necessary for just about any pickup.

The LR Baggs M1 Active is designed to give a balanced string and body signal so it should give a mic'd up sound without the mic.

First impressions are good but I need to try it in the church setting to understand if it will be ok. I bought it from Matchetts in Belfast who gave great service.

I'm really thankful for this guitar. It's production was a labour of love for my brother. I don't think I have received any physical gift that required so much work and craftsmanship. It is truely unique. My prayer is that it will be used to glorify God who gave the gift of music, made the raw materials and gifted the luthier to put it all together!

Wheaten Bread

2011-01-29T00:05:00.000Z

Had a go at a hand-me-down recipe for wheaten bread. The recipe is one my Dad uses but he learnt it by watching his Aunt do it. I did the same with my Dad a few years back but as we're in modern times I did so with my laptop open while trying to type in all the things he did.

It was a tricky. I thought I'd easily get all the measurements down into a fool proof method but the process began like this:

Mix 2 handfuls of course wholemeal flour with 1 handful of bran...wait now...how big is a handful? As it turned out Dad's hand lifts about 4oz of flour...which is also handy if you're baking a cake.

Anyway the rest went something like this:

Dry Mix

2 handfuls Course Wholemeal Flour

1 handful Bran or Plain Flour (Dad usually uses bran)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

Liquid Mix

Mix the following separately then add to Dry mix

2 dessert spoonfuls Molasses Cane Sugar (mixed in a little hot water to aid mixing), can be varied to taste

0.75 pint approx Butter Milk

2 dessert spoonfuls cooking oil

Add the final mixture to a greased and lined rectangular loaf tin.

Gas Mark 5, 45 mins approx

So that is what I followed tonight except I doubled everything. I couldn't bake my Dad's old recipe without making him a loaf and the other one is for the SWOT breakfast tomorrow.

Ricotta & Orange Tart

2011-01-22T19:35:00.003Z

While flicking through a colleague's magazine a couple of weeks ago this recipe stood out. I thought I'd give it a go.

Ricotta & Orange Tart

Ingredients

4 sheets of fill pastry

olive oil

500g ricotta cheese

zest of 1 orange

1tbsp of vanilla extract

100g caster sugar

4 eggs

(stewed fruit to serve)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.

2. Brush the insides of a 20-25cm round tin with olive oil. I used a spring form tin just so its easy to remove afterwards.

3. Use a brush to coat the filo pastry sheets and layer them up in the tin. Make sure you oil the edges as these will hang over the edge of the tin and may dry out while to do the remain next few steps.

4. Mix the ricotta cheese with the orange zest and vanilla in a bowl.

5. Beat the eggs and sugar together until fluffy.

6. Fold the beaten eggs into the cheese mix.

7. Pour the lot into the tin and fold the excess edges in. These will crisp up in the oven a look nice when you take it out.

8. Put the tin on the hob for a bit to crisp the pastry base. It'll take about 5 mins.

9. Put the tin in the oven for about 35mins.

10. Let it cool before serving.

As it was quite late when I made it I left it until the next day to eat. Unfortunately in the intervening hours it was placed in the fridge. Logically you would think that would help chill it and it probably did. But it also seemed to make the filo pastry a bit soggy.

The recipe suggested serving with stewed fruit. That might have been nice but I couldn't be bothered with that. Ended up just serving with tinned mandarin oranges!

All in all I quite enjoyed it. It reminded me a little of a dessert we get in Cyprus. But I think that because the pastry in the greek dessert is sweeter it made me miss that in this tart. Maybe some honey and rose water would add something to it. Also, if I actually made the stewed fruit then its sweetness would have come through.

I'd like to try the recipe, of derivative of it again. I'll either do the stewed fruit or the rosewater and honey in the pastry. I'd also like to try using a different cheese in the mix. The ricotta ended with a slightly graining consistency - a bit like semolina was what my Dad said. Maybe something like Philadelphia would work better?

I've got about half the filo pastry left. If I don't make this again straight away I think I'd like to make some kind of custard tart. Maybe with that confectioners custard and fruit.

Blogging Along

2011-01-22T19:30:00.003Z

It is hard to believe the time between my last post and this. Maybe its because after doing all that travelling back then that I didn't have much that was terribly interesting to share.

Be that as it may I thought I'd start recording a few things here. The first will be some of my attempts at baking but I might throw a few other things in now and then.

I'll see how it goes.

The Animals - Ngala Private Game Reserve

2008-05-17T23:44:00.005+01:00

Some of the animals I saw while on two game drives in Ngala.

The Lodge - Ngala Private Game Reserve

2008-05-17T22:46:00.011+01:00

While in Ngala I took about 450 photos! I want to share just a few of them with you to give a flavour of my experience.

In this entry I have included pictures of the place we stayed. That is, the Lodge itself.

It was a perfect place to relax. My phones simply did not work so for the first time in months I was unhooked! I could relax on a number of decked areas overlooking a watering hole or a pool or one that just let me stare into the distance.

The rooms were fantastic. My bed was really comfortable - not that I got to spend much time in it!

We fed well. The lunch was a sumptuous spread of salads and cold meat. I was a little disappointed to find out that what I though was a side of wild boar freshly caught that morning was just regular pig. But it and the chutney that went with it was superb. Oh, and there was an apple pie to die for!

Dinner was served in a lantern lit court yard. It was an idilic when to end the day.

Sweet Federal Air

2008-05-17T22:20:00.005+01:00

When Federal Air talk about a departure gate they mean a literal wooden gate.

Our pilot met us at the gate and walked the small group out over the tarmac to our waiting plane. If you are never sure if you would prefer a window or an aisle seat then this plane was made for you. With only one line of seats on each side you get to do both.

The in flight refreshments were selected from a cool box as we stepped onto the plane. This same box was then brought on board and used by the pilot to sit on while he pulled the door shut. No hot hostess required.

It was a fun flight. I felt like all the flying I had done up to that point had been kind of fake. This was cooking and all the other stuff was tv dinners.

But then we had to change planes. For this we had to land in the middle of nowhere. I still do not know where it was! We only stayed at arrivals terminal (if you could call it that) for a few minutes where we met a Ranger Trainer. I'm not sure that was his real job title but it turned out he was responsible for the training of the Rangers or Guides at the game lodge we were going to. So what was for us a trip of a lifetime was nothing more than a commute to him!

Then we moved to the second plane. It was even smaller than the first!
Again, the pilots walked us to the plane - all 3 passengers. I got in at the back of the plane and after hitting my head on the ceiling I crouched, took 2 steps and sat down behind the pilot.
This was fun. As well as just enjoying a more basic form of flying we lucked out by having the guide on board the flight. He drew our attention at various points in our small journey to different spots on the ground. As a guide he knew how to spot where the animals where - so before we even got there we were sighting Wilder-beast and Impala from the air!

Best Departure Lounge in the World

2008-05-05T21:58:00.008+01:00

I've done a bit of traveling lately but of all the departure lounges I have been in, the Federal Air terminal in Johannesburg has got to be the best!

Sitting in the open air always beats air conditioning. And it is hard to top a departure gate that is actually a physical wooden gate after which we had only a very short walk to get onto the plane.

We were on our way to Ngala Private Game Reserve for a great weekend of wildlife spotting!

Johannesburg

2008-05-05T20:45:00.011+01:00

Its not long since I returned from Johannesburg. It is the sort of place where people warn you to keep your eyes and ears open. But I found myself listening and watching, not just for the bad guys, but to all that was good and wonderful about the city and the nation.My time there was spent with a few South Africans but also with representatives of many other African nations. It was fascinating talking with those people. Everyone has a story about the problems in their home country, some claim to have a solution to those problems and others just voice their general acceptance that things will not change.

I went on a tour of Sowetto and Johannesburg while I was there. Such contrast.

The rich live well but they do so behind concrete walls and electric fences. They live in fear that someone will break into their fortresses and shoot them and there family just to steal the car. I'd love to comment on the beautiful houses in the 'millionaires' part of the city but I didn't see them behind their walls.

The poor do not have concrete walls, or bricks, or electric fences. But they do have Coca-Cola! Part of the tour took us on foot into one of the townships - I think we only got a flavour of what it was like. To be honest it didn't strike me as hard as the poverty in India.

Also, while being shown through this ladies home I felt a little odd. Maybe it was guilt for being so wealthy my comparison and not being as thankful as I should be.

Another thing that I have taken for granted is a good education. In 1976 a teenager called Hector Peterson died during a mass protest by students in South African. The then government wanted to restrict their teaching to the Africaans language - not learning English would hold them back.

You can learn all about it at the Hector Peterson museum in Sowetto.

The memorial outside the museum is pictured below. It was opened by Nelson Mandela in 1992 after he was release from prison.

In 2010 South Africa will host the World Cup (Fifa.com). Maybe a sign of the progress in this part of the world - or let's hope so anyway!

Victoria Square

2008-04-10T17:05:00.000+01:00

I haven't actually bought anything there yet but I did get a chance to see the view from the dome in Victoria Square, Belfast.

Again, only the iPhone otherwise I may have taken a few more shots.

Thanks to Matt for the coffee!

Dundrum Castle

2008-04-10T17:00:00.000+01:00

I have been to some wonderful places this year but I was glad of spending a day in good old Northern Ireland after returning from India.

We really do have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.
Sadly, I only had my iPhone with me but even with that I really like the shots I got.

Thank you India

2008-04-08T16:16:00.001+01:00

My third train-the-trainer session was in Mumbai, India. It was a fascinating experience.

Driving in India is not for the feint hearted. They cram at least 7 cars across a 4 lane carriage way and are constantly hooting their horns at each other!

The poverty is plain to see. People live on the foot path in make shift lodgings and spend most of their day sitting around the road. Some don't even have a roof over their heads. All this in one of the fastest developing economies in the world at the moment.

While there we had a tour of the City. Here you can see Dhobi Ghat which is where most of the city hotel's laundry is done. You can see it hanging out to try right below the overcrowded train!

Families live and work here. They move from their shacks to their concrete pens where they soak the linens in sudsy water before beating them on the concrete blocks to start the drying process. It is a hereditary occupation meaning that the same families have been doing this for generations.

We also visited a Hindu temple. It was a strange experience. Hard to believe that people spend so much time and effort bowing before idols they made themselves.
I discovered my cameras macro function at the hanging gardens. There is nothing hanging in these gardens. The name is given as the gardens sit on top of the main reservoir for the city.
This cheeky monkey was one of many we found during a trip to Elephanta Island. We took a boat trip to the island where we saw some ancient Hindu caves. It was a hot day so on the way back to the boat we got the little train. When we arrived at the dock the visitors who just arrived hardly gave us a chance to get off the train before barging on. They pushed on in a style not dissimilar to the way they drive. It was like it was the last train out of town.

Back at the hotel the restaurant staff got to know us well. So much so that when we left they gave us a cake which was iced with 'Thank you, come back soon!'. Here we are with the chef and a few of the waiters.

Hamburgers

2008-03-09T15:45:00.002Z

After Gothenburg and Genoa I had to go to Hamburg, Germany. My two weeks there were fun. The city is beautiful - I enjoyed just walking around and snapping at the architecture.
On one of the evenings we had a team event. We were introduced to the Segway which I discovered is a really great way to get around!

The Italian Job

2008-02-19T16:01:00.001Z

I had a chance to catch up with a few of my Swedish friends in Italy. Sounds a little odd but that seems to be the nature of the job! I bump into people all over the place.
Genoa is a lovely seaside city. Although only there for a few days it felt like a little holiday - but I was working! Honest.
Everyone seems to ride a scooter. These were parked right along the sea front!
The Italians are crazy. They served me chocolate ice cream with chilli! My mouth couldn't work out if it was hot or cold!

Where all good Ikeas come from!

2008-02-02T21:10:00.000Z

"It just doesn't flow for me" - something I think Matt and Dave will recall and understand more than any of you. Those were words uttered by a former employer while we were desperately trying to get him to record a few simple words to camera for a sporting event we were involved with.

That really has nothing to do with this blog entry. I just thought of it as I sat here staring at a black compose window in blogger as I tried to summon up the will and the 'flow' to actually start typing. Of course, now I'm falling into another trap that so often caught that same employer - I'm saying a lot but not actually getting to my point. But I blame it on yours truly. That last line also just for Matt and Dave.

And now to the rest of you. Thanks for sticking with me. This blog has been quiet for a while which is some ways is ironic. Usually people update blogs to tell the world about the cool things they are doing. Well, I've managed to fill my entire blog to date with not very much at all but over the period that I have been silent I have been very busy doing some cool things!

Like traveling!
This new job of mine opened up a few doors for me at the start of this year. Although I still work for the UK outfit I have been seconded at times to 'Centre' aka Copenhagen to fulfill the role of a trainer of trainers! Just to explain - that isn't to say I'm the best trainer out of a bunch of trainers rather it says that I am training others to be trainers. And nothing to do with footwear.

My first big trip was in the last week in January. I made my way to Gothenburg, Sweden for two weeks in the cold. So just like home then!

I had a great time. The work was fun as I got to try to enthuse people about a new way of working. Basically I got act like an idiot for two weeks so required very little effort.

As well as the work I got to enjoy some nice food. I discovered that typical Swedish food is well, Italian! You can't go far without seeing a pizzeria or ristorante. Another food phenomenon is what they call Filke (I think). On Fridays through an organised rota employees will bring a host of cakes and desserts to the office. Then in the afternoon the whole place grinds to a halt of half an hour as they all get stuck into coffee and cake and a general chin wag.

Speaking of phenomenal food I need to tell about the single most expensive meal I have ever had in my life. I don't want to go into all the details - you can ask me when you see me - but I want to tell you about one of the courses on this epic gastronomic experience. About 4 courses in, yes, 4 I found myself staring quite bewildered at a glass of ice. How stupid did I feel when I was told it was not just a glass of ice - it was a glass of the purest, oldest ice in the world. Impressed? Apparently I should have been. This ice was mined from deep underground (not the same place as River Rock though - I checked) in the most northerly parts of Finland. They say it is as close to pure frozen H20 as you can get.

You'd think that given the age and purity of this ice they would let me suck and savour it. Not a bit of it. They covered it in champagne making it the most expensive slush puppy I am every likely to consume.

Anyone who has been to Ikea will know that the Swedes are great at design, order and storage! In reality they are exactly like that which to my Aussie co-trainer and me was something to be admired and to rebel against. They have a device on the road side that counts the number of bikes using the cycle lane. A casual observation will tell you the answer is lots - this is what they would do in Belfast (and get it wrong) - but the Swedes have a dedicated counter. But one of my new Swedish friends couldn't understand why it was fun to try to run past this device to see if we could trigger a count. You guys understand, right? (We triggered it by the way, and not just once! We rock!)

A note to the lads: it is true what they say about Sweden. Oh yes, it is true. Nuff said.

I have spread a few pics around this post to break up the blurb. One is of us in another fancy restaurant where we had the privilege of learning how to taste wine. Its easy really, you just kind of swirl it around in your mouth. But what was interesting was how the guy demonstated how and why certain wines go with certain foods. We would try the same wine after eating honey, then sucking some lemon juice, then after taking some salt. After each item the wine tasted differently - in some cases a good wine tasted awful!

That night was a late one. The restaurant stayed open late for us but even when we left we didn't go home. We traveled to an Irish bar where I met a guy from Banbridge. He was one part of a two man band who entertained us with some great tunes.

Ok, this entry is very long now and I am shattered! I'll leave this for now an promise another updated soon. I have been to other places since Sweden.....

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T17:33:00.000Z

So the holiday period is most definitely over. Though we didn't get snow (Luke please note) we have had our presents, our tree, our turkey, our carols - yip we've had Christmas and it is time to get stuck into a new year.

I trust that as the sun has already set on the first day of 2008 (in Northern Ireland anyway) that you can already say that your new year is off to a great start.

I'm not normally one for resolutions but I do have a few things listed in my head that I'm going to try to do this year and others I'm trying to abstain from. We'll see how it all goes over the next twelve months anyway.

I want to wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope that I can play my part to help that happen!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T00:06:00.000Z

It's just gone midnight so it is now Christmas Day in the UK. So right now many children around the world are either too excited to sleep or too tired from excitement to stay away awake - but either way they wait in anticipation of a day when they hope all their dreams, conjured up over the past weeks and months, will come true in a wonderfully magical day.

But there was a first Christmas Day. And on the eve of that day it could not be said that the world was waiting with any degree of excitement. But what they were about to receive was worth more than all the Christmas gifts exchanged since that day.

In some ways the first and the current Christmas day stand in stark contrast with each other. But on the other hand it could be said we have a lot in common with the world back then. Like the Bethlemhem townsfolk over 2000 years ago so many of us will go to sleep this Christmas Eve with no thought of Jesus. The magnitude of the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise in Christ, God Incarnate will not enter our heads.

As we heard in Church at the Carol Service the Wise Men did not come the simply bring presents to Jesus - and they certainly didn't do so just because God wanted to start a new holiday season, or come up with something to boost the local economy during those hard winter months! The Wise Men and the Shepherds came to worship Jesus - funny how we tend to gloss over that bit and focus on the gifts!

How long will it be until we truely celebrate Christmas? See you at church in the morning?

More Geek Stuff

2007-12-17T21:11:00.001Z

As most of you already know and as alluded to in the previous post, I'm a geek. This is probably why I found myself reading an article from www.pcworld.com and finding it both informative and entertaining.

Anyway, I know a few of you are a bit like that too. So you might want to read the article about 'The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007'.

My favourite line so far from it is:

"In 2007, the words "Internet security" joined the ever-growing list of self-canceling phrases, alongside "business intelligence," "Congressional ethics," and "Microsoft Works.""

Christmas @ the Castle

2007-12-17T20:51:00.000Z

I'm still catching up with my blogging so you've probably already read all about this on Dermo's site.

Christmas @ the Castle took place from 7th to 9th December 2007. We spent the weekend at Castlewellan Castle enjoying some good craic and listening to Don Carson teach from the book of Jeremiah.

I must say that in learning from Jeremiah and in other recent conversations with people involved in organisations such as New Tribes Mission I have rediscovered the Old Testament. Its not just that it is full of cool stories but because it teaches so much about our God, his grace and his faithfulness to his promises. In the OT you learn quickly how serious sin is and why it took Jesus, the Son of God to die and rise again to atone (an old word, I know) for it.

Dermo (or David as he is now slowly becoming known) and myself had the honour of becoming the new @ the castle geeks. We sat with our laptops displaying Keynote slides (like PowerPoint but better - made by Apple, naturally), showing video, sorting the sound out and all those techy things that we enjoy so much.

The next '@ the Castle' is in June 2008. Check out www.atthecastle.org.uk for more details.

Manila

2007-12-16T18:04:00.000Z

Let me start with an apology or two or three. One for not posting for while. The second to Laura for taking ages to moderate her comments. And three, to all of you for posting a picture of my legs. That said, they aren't that bad!

This was taken on the Friday afternoon after we had finally finished our week of training. It was great to relax by the pool for a bit and do a spot of reading (thanks to Dermo of the book!).

The work we had to do there was interesting. I enjoyed the various sessions (even Campaign Management - that is for Katya) and had great craic getting to know people from various parts of the world.

It was an eventful week. There had been a typhoon on the island before we arrived. Then on Tuesday I felt the earth move - literally. Apparently there was a 6.0 earthquake a few hundred miles north of where we were. The building rocked and we decided to evacuate. We were the only ones. As we left the building it was clear that it was business as usual for everyone else. Unused to such tremors we had obviously worried more than we needed to.

Later in the week several gents who were on trial for an attempted military coup back in 2003 managed to escape and hold up a few people in the Peninsular Hotel. Basically they wanted to try again but the army weren't having any of it and barged through the lobby doors in a tank thus ending the protests rather quickly. At this point I should probably mention I was not staying at the Peninsular Hotel - we were in the Edsa Shangri-La.

The hotel was definitely in festive mood judging by the music and the huge tree in the lobby.

Just when we thought all the excitement was over it transpired that seven of us were hit with food poisoning. On the last night I was encouraged to try an oyster - something I had never tried before and based on what I experienced over the subsequent days something I should never ever try again.

I'll just say that the flight from Hong Kong to London was unpleasant for me. Actually it probably wasn't much fun for those queued outside the loo when I finally resurfaced!

Things didn't begin to clear up until Tuesday - that was when I returned to work to discover the wide spread effects of the contaminated oysters.

Sorry I don't have many pictures. I may have a few on my other phone so I may publish more in due course. None of them are of my illness - so you can relax.

iWait, iPhone, iBlog

2007-11-24T09:59:00.000Z

I'm sitting at Heathrow blogging on my iPhone while listening to the Zutons. They may be pretty quick to grab a gun rather than say, a wrench, but those Americans certainly know how to make some of the coolest stuff. Hope I don't offend any nation with that statement! But I guess if I am, an airport is the place to do it!

Only in America

2007-11-13T13:29:00.000Z

A guy in America has injured both his legs while trying to undo some stubborn wheel nuts on his car - by blasting them with his 12-gauge shot gun at close range. Kind of indirectly shooting himself in the foot I suppose. And there is no mention of the wheel coming loose as a result. Full story on BBC News.

Where else in the world would there be anyone stupid enough to try that?!

iPhondling

2007-11-13T00:13:00.000Z

I had my first encounter with an iPhone yesterday. The touch screen is brilliant both in the way it operates and in the way it looks. It is vibrant, bright, intuitive and boy does it look gooooood.

A couple of things are putting me off buying it. One is that it costs £269 and the other is that I have a feeling they'll bring out a 3G version next year.

Somethings worth considering and so far I haven't heard anyone asking:

What happens when they bring a new one out? Do we all have to buy it and transfer our contracts?
If we do that, will the our old handsets be of any use to anyone?
Will O2 continue to be the sole provider or will future generations of iPhones be open to all or maybe even exclusive to another operator?

But I think that even with the above taken into consideration I would have bought one - if I had the money to do so!

Wheely Good Day

2007-11-06T22:51:00.000Z

Today was my little sister's birthday. But for several reasons too dull to mention we did most of our celebrating yesterday. We went out of lunch and did a spot of shopping. Sarah seemed to like the idea of nipping into shops, picking up stuff she liked but leaving the bill to her big brothers!
But the main event in my opinion was the Belfast Wheel. For those of you who don't know, Belfast City council have erected a big wheel at City Hall. For £6 you can go to the top of the world! Well, not quite the top of the world but if you are a bit squeamish about heights it feels like that. The ride was good craic and the view was great!We ended up sharing a pod (no idea what the technical term is but they looks like pods) with some Eastern Europeans. The girl who appeared to be with her mother made a call from the top of the wheel during which she stated that all was ok - this was the point that we thought it would be funny to scream. So we did, and it was.

Manila

2007-11-02T13:38:00.000Z

Manila is a word used to describe those cardboard folders we all know and love but it is also a city in the Philippines. And that is where I have to go later this month!

I knew that my new job would entail some traveling but within a week of starting they are taking me half way round the world! While the journey will be tiring the trip should be a good experience.

What wasn't such a nice experience was my trip to the doctor today. I had to get two injections - vaccinations against Hepatitis A, Typhoid and a Tetanus booster. Actually I think that one injection contained a 3 in 1 vaccine so there is probably something I'm forgetting.

Anyway, my arms are sore and I now feel a tad groggy. I'm guessing that is some way I have a little bit of about four different diseases today so I suppose that was to be expected!

A Smashing Pumpkin

2007-11-02T12:44:00.000Z

I'm starting to feel part of the furniture in our London office. When I arrived on Tuesday I was asked to help my new team to design and carve a pumpkin for the 5th floor's Halloween competition. But somewhat lacking in time and inspiration this was the best we could come up with.

It's pretty obvious that it is a likeness of Bono (isn't it?) but what you cannot see is my mobile phone hidden in the 'hair' that is playing a version of 'One Love' which we adapted to 'One Bridge' - the name of the new sales initiative and also the theme of the competition.

We were under pressure - being the team driving the 'One Bridge' project - and we didn't exactly come through with something good enough to win. Although a cheer-o-meter style vote was cast my rather over exuberant efforts were not rewarded.

Toilet Humour

2007-10-25T21:46:00.000+01:00

I was in B&Q today. My vacuum cleaner hose split on me so I had to call in for some essential maintenance supplies - namely Gaffer Tape.

But two things happened on the way out. So small and insignificant in many ways but two things that indicate some personality traits quite possibly a few flaws!

One. I bought a battery stick on light thing. I could argue that I really needed it for my rather dimly lit cupboard - so I don't damage my vacuum cleaner in the dark again - but I fear that the main reason I bought it is because I'm a sucker for gadgets and I think I'm turning into my Dad. Just FYI - during a power cut you'd be forgiven for thinking my parents house is the place to be. Full of torches and lights and stuff. No batteries though!

Two. I saw a box that contained a toilet. No surprise there, I'm in B&Q and they sell all sorts of bathroom stuff. But the box was emblazoned with the words:

Toilet
To Go

For those of you who know me will understand why that got into my head and made me laugh. I laughed out loud at the till. The guy looked at me like I was crazy. Come on, you gotta see the humour in that. Its like saying 'TV - To Watch' or 'Chair - To Sit'. Explaining why I laughed didn't help to change that and I rather suspect that telling you all now isn't exactly making me look smart.

Remember Me! I'm a star!

2007-10-20T16:50:00.000+01:00

For decades various stars of the silver screen have been adding their mark outside Grauman's Chinese Theater (pardon the US spelling) in Hollywood. It is seen to be a great honour to be invited to place ones handprints, footprints and autograph in a slab of cement so that countless others can remember you in the years to come.

In a similar vain, others show their desire to be remembered by adding their distinctive marks in other places. This one, already mentioned in Dermo's blog was left by someone (and I'll not name any names) who clearly shows belief in their own stardom. And given where it was left - in our church, under the top lid in the old piano, in dust - it has the potential to be preserved for generations.

Belief is Free!

2007-10-17T20:34:00.001+01:00

I downloaded a John Mayer song from iTunes recently because it was free. Even though it was free iTunes still sent me an invoice. I have included an excerpt from it below because I found it interesting and a little thought provoking.

Can belief really be free?

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

2007-10-17T19:23:00.001+01:00

Apple have announced that OS X 10.5 Leopard will be on sale from Oct 26! I really want to get this as it looks sweet. But its £85 that I could do without spending. That said, when you consider that most versions of Windows Vista cost twice that and more, the new Apple OS is unbelievable value for money. And I dare say anyone upgrading to Leopard will not be disappointed. Compare that to the countless new Windows Vista users who are crying 'what?!' rather than the advertised 'wow!'.

Tempted to preorder now...mmmmmm

You can do so at the Apple Store.

Warning - fat person thinking

2007-10-17T19:10:00.001+01:00

Just thinking - not my fault by the way because I'm an individual. If individuals cannot be blamed for being fat then what happens if a few fat people gather together- can you blame them as as a group? Do they have to be eating junk food while they are charged?

Bottom line, in my case, a big bottom line, is that that I am to blame for my own condition. Just in the same way that I am to blame for every stupid and wrong thing I do.

We seem to be a society focused on our 'rights' and not at all focused out our responsibilities or in disciplining our children or ourselves to live up to them!

Its not my fault!

2007-10-17T18:32:00.000+01:00

Apparently I get to blame someone else for being fat. Isn't society great. Seems like the only person's behaviour I'm not responsible for is my own!

I'm off to to get a Kit Kat and its YOUR fault Mr Brown and everyone else around me including YOU reading this! But don't worry, its not your fault that its your fault. You could blame that on someone else - maybe even me. In that case, I'm sorry. But what am I apologising for?! I can't possibly take any kind of responsibility for this or anything for that matter!!

Check out the article on the BBC News site.

By the way, there would be a picture of some junk food, or Augustus Gloop or something in this blog but the picture thingy isn't working on Blogger today. Not my fault and probably not Blogger either. Its probably the government or YOU again!

Wispa

2007-10-12T22:58:00.000+01:00

The Wispa is back! I spotted this beauty in Centra near where I work. About 20mins later it was a gonner - snaffled up as a perfect companion to my post-lunch coffee.

Apparently Cadbury responded to some online petitions and brought the popular bar back. But it is only out for a limited period so if you want one, go get one soon! Maybe if we eat enough on them they will make it a permanent relaunch!

Note, just realised Dave has already blogged about this and his photos are better.

The Rufus on fire!

2007-10-12T22:42:00.001+01:00

I was at a Rufus Wainright concert on Tuesday night at the Waterfront Hall. I had been meaning to get and listen to his latest album so I could fully appreciate the live show. But I didn't manage to do that. As it turns out, it didn't really matter as it was a great show without knowing the songs!

I was particularly impressed when the band unplugged and Rufus sang without a microphone in tribute to John McCormack - a famous Irish Tenor who lived in the late 19th/early 20th century.

The Empress

2007-10-07T13:16:00.000+01:00

While in London last week I, along with a few colleagues decided to try out an Indian Restaurant that had come highly recommended.

In short, it was fantastic. From the moment we walked in the door a gentleman whose name badge indicated he was to be known as Kod made us feel welcome. He and his other colleagues, Mash (that's what his badge said) being one of them, continued to wait on us.

I'm a little unfamiliar with the cast array of options in an Indian menu - so Kod just asked me what sort of thing I tended to like and he rustled something up. It was beautiful!

So I can also recommended it. I will certainly be back with my newly acquired 10% discount card! Also, you may be interested to know that they offer an Indian Shepherds pie - something that has gained the interest of some major super market chains.

Check out www.theempress.co.uk.

Firefox for Mac

2007-09-30T14:33:00.000+01:00

I'm switching. Up until recently I used Safari for most of my browsing on my mac. Now though I use Firefox.

It was a pretty easy decision to make in the end. It just works better. There are a few features in Googlemail (Gmail) and even in Blogger that work with Firefox but simply do not appear in the Safari version.

Slightly disappointing as a usually hold Apple in such high regard.

So, if you want to unlock a few more bits and bobs on the web using your mac may I suggest that you...

Malteser Moment

2007-09-30T14:20:00.000+01:00

Last night I was at the Kerr's house. It was Sarah's birthday so it was another excuse for us all to get together and be stupid.

When the Maltesers came round it was only a matter of time before someone tried this.

Well done to Sam who demonstrated that they are indeed the lighter way to enjoy chocolate.

I should also mention that the soundtrack comes courtesy of a few others who were trying out the Singstars game on the PS3. Doing a great job making a bad song sound worse. I would apologise to Nickleback but really think they should do so first!

Giants TV

2007-09-27T22:59:00.000+01:00

Matt and Jo have been doing a great job the launch of the Coors Belfast Giants YouTube service. Here is one of the first videos.

This brings back good memories for me of when Matt, Dave and myself shot fun stuff at the Odyssey just for the heck of it! And then there was that Devil's costume!

Aaaanyway, think the YouTube idea is a great one. Keep it up guys.

www.belfastgiants.com

That after work drink

2007-09-25T19:57:00.001+01:00

I went for a drink after work today. Just a coffee.

But even in doing that I began to appreciate why lots of people do this. It was a great way to relax after a head hurting day in the office. It also served to postpone the drive home thus missing the rush and making the eventual treck much more tolerable.

It also served another purpose today. I hadn't had a coffee for two days! That is quite some time for me to go without. I'm normally a one cup....well, more one largish mug....a day kind of a person but going without even that began to take its toll on my head. I do get withdrawal headaches and feel pretty crabby. So I thought I'd do the world a favour and get my hit.

I think I viewed my after work trip to Starbucks a little like the picture suggests!

Blog anzeigen (in einem neuen Fenster)

2007-09-18T21:38:00.000+01:00

Any ideas why Blogger is speaking to me in German? This is what appears when I post!

Snow Patrol at Ward Park 2 - Run

2007-09-18T21:35:00.001+01:00

The new version of iMovie allows me to export straight to YouTube! Pretty cool but still takes a fair bit of time to get a result when to add up the encoding time and then the YouTube processing time.

But as promised here is the first instalment of the Snow Patrol at Ward Park. I give you 'Run' minus the first wee bit:

The Bad House

2007-09-18T21:18:00.000+01:00

I've been in Liverpool for the past couple of weeks. During the first week I stayed at the Radisson - which is the norm for trips to our office there. I like it because it is modern, comfortable and right across the road from work!

But for the second week a full Radisson meant that my company had to put me into the Malmaison. Knowing that the name translated roughly as Bad House I was a little concerned as to what to expect. But I loved it. Daring to be different is their mantra and they do that in a kind of cheeky way. Its kind of like a cocky wee so and so that you can't help but like.

The room was great with a kind of semi wet room style shower. The rest of the hotel was full of little nooks and crannies. It all felt just a little bit naughty which if I'm honest just added to its charm!

Snow Patrol at Ward Park

2007-09-06T18:43:00.000+01:00

At the moment I'm sat in the Radisson hotel, Liverpool, hungrily awaiting my dinner! We're going out for some Chinese food in a bit - I'll tell you more about that when I get back.

First let me update you on last weekend.

On Saturday I was at Ward Park, Bangor in the open air listing some great live music. When I arrived 'We are Scientists' were playing. They were pretty good but were topped by Ash who followed. Ash in turn were blown out of the park by the all conquering Snow Patrol who were absolutely fantastic.

As the light faded the light show added to the atmosphere. Great tune after great tune came from the stage. We were all oohs and aahs when fireworks went off in time with 'Light up, Light up' at the climax of run at the end of the set.

I'll try and YouTube-ify some video I took with my phone and post it soon. Although not the best quality you get a good feeling of the atmosphere. The crowd around me can be heard shouting all manner of things ranging from 'Healey! Healey!' to 'We're not Brazil we're Northern Ireland' to the big choruses in the songs. The funniest bit though was when Gary lightbody highlighted the Northern Irish tendency to sing the lead guitar bits - which we promply obliged with as he launched into the next song!

Hope they do it again next year. I'll not take my umbrella then as I had my old P&O Nedlloyd one conficated as it was deemed dangerous!

Slingshot Update

2007-08-26T17:22:00.000+01:00

Jacob's Digital annoyed me this week. After ordering my Lowpro Slingshot from them expecting to pay the advertised rate they contacted me to say they couldn't send it to Ireland for the normal £4.50 rate. Instead it would cost £18.50!

So naturally I told them that I was not happy to pay that siting that I could buy the bag cheaper elsewhere - and by elsewhere I meant Amazon directly. But after sending the message I logged to Amazon to order it from them and discovered that their price had gone up! More than a little irritated, I then added a second reply to Jacob's Digital (via Amazon's Marketplace) voicing further displeasure at the whole thing. They ended up just refunding my for the bag.

But the good ending to this story is that on the way home from London I called into the Dixons store in Stansted airport. There I found the same bag at under £30 and didn't need to pay delivery as I did that bit myself!

It seems like a pretty good bag and has been doing its job well so far - although it hasn't been rigorously tested yet!

The Fairer Essex

2007-08-26T16:50:00.000+01:00

I've been travelling with work again. Last week I was in London. Normally that would mean staying in the city but as my trip required me to train staff at an office other than main one I based myself in Essex at the Prince Regent Hotel (pictured below).

It was a pleasant stay with the staff and other guests proving very friendly. My only gripe would be aimed at the TV in my bedroom. Although impressed at the obvious upgrade over my previous stay some years ago the new 32inch LCD HD began to really irritate me. Basically, the volume control was knackered and continually turned itself up without any kind of input from me. Even removing the batteries from the remote control didn't help - the problem must have been in the TV itself.

Anyway, that was a minor irritation. I mean, its not like I missed much. Being in London I didn't even get to watch the Northern Ireland match - I had to put up with watching England getting beaten by Germany which was only small compensation.

The area I stayed in is pretty affluent. One taxi driver told me we were close to Alan Sugar's house. It was easy to believe given that we then turned to drive through Chigwell - home to a few footballers, snooker professionals and generally wealthy people. Huge houses, most tastlessly designed it has to be said with multiple cars, big gates and the odd security camera to protect these modern day castles.

Aside from the hotel and surrounding area, my trip went well. The training seemed to be well received and I survived the week in spite of feeling incredibly tired.

The Bourne Ultimatum

2007-08-18T23:56:00.000+01:00

Dermo, Mark and I headed to the cinema on Friday night to catch the third instalment of the Bourne series.

With a lot to live up to after the first two outings, 'The Bourne Ultimatum' did not disappoint. Some good action sequences, especially the one on one fight scenes and car chase.

Just be careful with how close to the screen you sit. The camera does not stand still. This does give it a more of a gritty reality but made me slightly queazy during some of the quieter parts! Probably best viewed from a little further back than we were.

Also, you gotta love that Moby track at the end. You can get Extreme Ways by Moby from iTunes.

Moby - 18 - Extreme Ways

Always wanted a Slingshot

2007-08-16T20:06:00.000+01:00

No camcorder is complete without a bag to safely transport it!

This one seemed pretty cool so I ordered it from Jacobs Digital through Amazon! This way I benefit from a cheaper price than buying from Jacobs directly but benefit from a faster delivery than Amazon promise!

Its a Lowepro Slingshot and if you check out the photos on Amazon you will see how handy it is. I know it is made more for SLRs etc but at the end of the day its a padded back with movable compartments - right?

We'll see how it performs when it gets here.

My New Camcorder

2007-08-14T22:06:00.000+01:00

Finally, after many years of wanting one I got a camcorder.

Firstly, I was really impressed with the service I got. I got it from UK Digital Cameras but ordered it through Amazon. I placed the order on Sunday afternoon, the camera was dispatched on Monday and it arrived at around lunchtime today!

Second, the price was excellent. Constrained somewhat by a self imposed budget I was keen to get as much bang from my buck as possible. The Canon MVX450 I got was as much as £305 on Pixmania but I got it for £235 delivered!

Thirdly, its a dandy we camera for the money. It uses MiniDV (none supplied) but I discovered I can also record to the SD Card (not supplied either) - with cards available up to 4GB! I can plug a powered condenser style mic into it too which helps eliminate the tape hum you get when the in-built microphone is used - something unavoidable in my price range.

There are lots of other features that I'll not bore you with. But I will, for Dermo's interest, point out where it differs from the MVX460. It doesn't have the wide angle feature and it doesn't allow analogue-digital conversion. The digital conversion is something I would have missed a few years ago but given it has been so long since I even saw a VHS I'm not too bothered. Mind you I would still like to get my Pirate of Penzance performance in the digital can at some stage!

Martha Wainwright

2007-08-14T21:51:00.000+01:00

Last night I had the pleasure of listening to Martha Wainwright sing and play guitar at a concert in Lisburn. It was just her voice and her guitar but those two together were enough to captivate and entertain.

I arrived not knowing any of her songs but left wanting to learn them! Except of course for the swear words which were, admittedly, a little to frequent for my liking.

Sadly I didn't get a photo of the performance as Eventsec were out in force ensuring none were taken. But I did get a couple of the signing session Martha did after the show. She's the one behind the table - somewhere! My brother is in the bottom right in blue.

Amazing Grace - music from the film

2007-08-12T00:03:00.000+01:00

No its not the Chris Tomlin one, which I also like.

I thought this was a fantastic version of the well known tune. Traditional sound with the bagpipes but also very moving. I love how it builds with the drums then finally with the brass section.

This is not present on the soundtrack album - disappointing, especially given its centricity to the story and title!

Some of you may prefer a Tomy Emmanuel take on things.

Just felt like a change

2007-08-11T19:10:00.000+01:00

Just felt like I wanted a brighter looking blog. What do you think? Its just one of the standard templates but I like it.

Also I removed the Adsense bit because it wouldn't let me colour it properly and lets face it, it probably wasn't used very much!

Amazing Grace

2007-08-10T23:23:00.000+01:00

I watched the movie tonight and to be honest was moved to tears.

William Wilberforce worked for decades before his calls for the abolition of the slave trade were finally heeded. Those who lived in slavery waited during that time, hoping and praying for deliverance.

Their freedom was finally granted 1807. How did that feel for Wilberforce after many years of pain staking efforts? How did it feel for those enslaved to be finally set free?

Then I thought of this:

"So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." Galatians 5:3-7

I was reminded that as hard as Wilberforce worked for the freedom of the slaves in the plantations, there is One who worked so much harder and paid so much more to free me from my sin.

In the movie Oloudaqh Equiano said that when sold into slavery he was branded by the person who purchased him. This he said was to show that he was now owned by a man and not by God.

But the Bible says:

"because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:4-10

The fact is, our sin condems us. But God in his mercy offers us freedom from sin that was purchased when Jesus died.

I'm that undeserving wretch that was saved by God's amazing grace!

The New Apple iMac

2007-08-08T21:53:00.000+01:00

You're drooling over your computer aren't you. Your now very old, very crappy, very ugly looking computer.

Visit Apple UK for more.

Time for a cold shower.

Life in the Fast Lane

2007-08-08T21:00:00.000+01:00

As you will already be aware, I have been travelling through JLA quite a bit recently. Everytime I head home I have to pass by this sign which I have to admit really annoys me.

They say I can avoid queuing if I pay £2.

To allow them to offer this facility the airport have paid out quite a bit of money to segregate us into paying and non-paying customers. Then there are the machines - a bit like parking ticket machines. The question I have is, would this not be better spent just getting the security right so everyone can get through in a reasonable time rather than making it super quick for a few?

From what I can see the fruit of this 'brainchild' is that the 'ordinary' line is getting worse so the overall service to the majority of customers has declined.

Is this a sign of things to come? Will Easyjet and Ryanair start up a fast lane at check-in, for a small fee of course? We already have speedy boarding!

Bar & Grill - Liverpool

2007-08-08T20:39:00.000+01:00

I couldn't remember the name of this restaurant the other day - probably because it was so simple! The Bar & Grill was the first we visited during the course in Liverpool and turned out to be a very good experience for the group.

As soon as you walk through the door of the Liverpool Bar & Grill you will be impressed. I found myself looking up, down and around for the first 10 minutes or so.

That said, having read reviews on the Restaurant Guide I'm wondering if we got special treatment because we were 'corporate' customers and therefore automatically friends of the manager!

Although the menu was limited the food was great. Friends around me ordered different dishes and they all looked fabulous. Those that I got to taste were very nice indeed.

We were there on a Monday night so it was maybe quieter than other nights therefore the tables being close together didn't really bother us. It may have annoyed other smaller and quieter groups!

Some Restaurants

2007-08-05T00:09:00.000+01:00

I ate out a lot when in Liverpool. Here is a run down on a few of the places that we tried.

Il Forno
It claims to be an authentic Italian restaurant and I guess it is - given that I couldn't read the menu. Even though I didn't get the pizza I thought I had ordered (I got it wrong - not them!) it was delicious. The staff were friendly and even put up with questions from people like me who don't understand the wine tasting process or what fork to use etc. (I can sense Dermo cringe reading this!). Also, a few helped us stage a fake happy birthday incident that embarressed the life out of one of our Danish contingent!

Christakis Taverna
This Cypriot run Greek restaurant feels like the real thing. Sitting with the group at the long table it took me back to good times spent under my grandmothers vine eating with the family. It was just like eating in Cyprus! I can recommend this to anyone - unless of course you are only into poncy, overly fancy food.

HA HA
Food and service so bad you'd think they were having a laugh. Do not go to this restaurant. Spend your hard earned cash somewhere else on something you have a better chance of enjoying.

Pizza Express
Sometimes it is good to walk into an establishment that you just know. You know what to expect from Pizza express and you get what you expect - decent food at decent prices.

The Olive Press
I found out what Gnocchi was when I ate here. I found out later it is part of the Heathcotes chain but it didn't feel like a franchise. Very reasonably priced, good food, top notch service.

Liverpool

2007-08-04T22:56:00.000+01:00

Laura is right, I've been neglecting my blog! I could use the excuse that I have been away in Liverpool for a while but given that I had my computer with me there and the fact that I have actually been home for a week it doesn't really stack up.

Anyway, I had fun in Liverpool. It was a tiring two weeks where I was trained to be a trainer as part of a new sales process overhaul that we are going through in work. It was challenging not least because I had to stand up in front of some very experienced people and try to convince them that change is a good thing.

After several days of this mental strain we decided to take in some live music. We heard some Irish music which unfortunately did not include the Mountains of Mourne, then a fantastic guitarist/singer doing lots of covers (including battle of the banjos on one guitar!) and then just a hint of a hint of what it must have been like to experience the Beatles live at the Cavern. We caught a tribute band which you can see below - they were pretty good!

Although many parts of the country were swimming in flood water we enjoyed a few good days in Liverpool. We even had some beautiful sunsets. This was the view from my room in the Radisson on one such evening - I'm just sorry I forgot to turn my lamp off!

I think I'd like to go back to the city as a tourist and take in more of the sights. Maybe I'll go catch a concert, see a few museums or catch a top class premiership match. Or I could go to Anfield.

Transformers - less than meets the eye

2007-07-28T21:33:00.000+01:00

Citroen set the bar quite high for this movie!

The special effects were great. The story, not so great. But I did get a strange combined sense of awe and fear as we shared in the young lads first encounter with Bumblebee in stand up robot form. And I do still secretly want a car like that! Quite a stupid statement to put on a blog on the world wide web. Think its time for bed.

Still haven't see The Simpsons but its next on the list.

Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea

2007-07-14T23:05:00.000+01:00

I wish I had taken more photos today.

My brother and I, after a hearty lunch at Blue Glass (pricey but delicious), decided to head to Newcastle, Co Down to meet up with Mum, Dad and little sister who had travelled down a little earlier in the day.

I think I found a new appreciation of the placed today. In spite of driving through some torrential rain on the way (you can see it in the distance in the photo below), the wee seaside town seemed to escape most of it and remained sunny. It gave us a chance to see the wonderful Mourne Mountains in all their splendour! I think we will go back soon to the mountains themselves for a good walk.

The new promenade is fantastic. Such an improvement over when I was there last. And when it comes to food ou can even find a few nice bistro style pubs and decent coffee shops. Newcastle has gone an got itself a new suit and wears it so well! Carrickfergus Borough Council take note!!

I also learned today that it was a William Percy French (1854-1920) who wrote 'The Mountains of Mourne' song. Some of the words are etched into a steel memorial to the man so I got a chance to read what it was all about. So for those of you who only know the last line of each verse - here is the rest of the song!

Oh, Mary, this London's a wonderful sight
With people here working by day and by night
They don't sow potatoes, nor barley nor wheat
But there' gangs of them digging for gold in the streets
At least when I asked them that's what I was told
So I just took a hand at this diggin' for gold
But for all that I found there I might as well be
Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

I believe that when writin' a wish you expressed
As to how the fine ladies in London were dressed
Well, if you believe me, when asked to a ball
Faith, they don't wear no top to their dresses at all.
Oh, I've seen them myself and you could not in trath
Say if they were bound for a ball or a bath
Don't be startin' them fashions now, Mary Macree,
Where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

I've seen England's king from the top of a bus
And I've never known him, but he means to know us.
And tho' by the Saxon we once were oppressed,
Still I cheered, God forgive me, I cheered with the rest.
And now that he's visited Erin's green shore
We'll be much better friends than we've been heretofore
When we've got all we want, we're as quiet as can be
Where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

You remember young Peter O'Loughlin, of course
Well, now he is here at the head of the force
I met him today, I was crossing the Strand
And he stopped the whole street with a wave of his hand
And there we stood talkin' of days that are gone
While the whole population of London looked on
But for all these great powers he's wishful like me
To be back where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea.

There's beautiful girls here, oh, never you mind
With beautiful shapes nature never designed
And lovely complexions all roses and cream
But O'Loughlin remarked with regard to the same
That if at those roses you venture to sip
The colours might all come away on your lip
So I'll wait for the wild rose that's waitin' for me
Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

Audi A5

2007-07-14T21:55:00.000+01:00

I have long been and Audi fan. Recently they had an advert running for the new A5 (pictured below). As you can tell from the image below it is a beautiful looking car.

To promote the launch of this car, Audi produced a lovely advert with some fantastic music. Do you remember the one with the ribbons/stripes gently forming a hint of the outline of the sleek design? Well, as is the case with a number of adverts I was attracted to the elegant music. I searched for it at the time but the best I could do then was to find it was called Prelude 2, it was composed by Dustin O'Halloran and that it was hoped it was to be released at some stage.

Even though my iTunes alerts let me down I was please to find (rather late!) that the track was released on 4th June. Both the original and advert versions of the track are available from iTunes. I have added the link below.

Dustin O'Halloran, Prelude 2

Enjoy!

Red Mist

2007-07-13T21:37:00.001+01:00

As I was uploading my previous post I noticed that my photos, taken with my Nokia N73, had a bit of a red mist on the right hand side. Could this just be a dirty lens or is this a problem with the phone/chip?

And it's colours they were fine

2007-07-13T21:28:00.000+01:00

The Causeway Coastline that is. I spent most of the 12th July with Dermo and Debbie. We travelled to Portstewart with the aim of doing a spot of fishing. But we didn't do much until we got to Portballintrae, and the fish didn't really do much at all. They must take the 'July Fornight' off too. Everyone we spoke to had similar luck but for me the day was not wasted. It was great to just be out in the open, breath the sea air and feast my eyes on some of our quite spectacular countryside and coast.

Sharp Suits & the Federer Express

2007-07-09T23:04:00.001+01:00

An alternative title to this post may have been 'Suit you Sir' but I opted for the above as it tied my two trains of thought together.

I wore my suit to work today. This is something I should probably do more often but my unwillingness to splash out on several new suits means that the one I have has to be worn on stategic occasions. Today was one such occasion.

As I was to meet with one of our larger clients I thought I would put a bit of effort in and wear my newest shirt and tie combo along with my trousers and jacket. Incidentally, the meeting went well!

My suit remained on until I got home tonight. That wasn't before I had to do a spot of grocery shopping in Tesco. When paying for the goods the girl serving me looked at me, then presumably taking note of the suit sat up straight, put on an extra wide smile and seemed to make a point of enthusiastically greeting me at the till. She also followed the till procedure to the letter. Referring to me as 'Sir' she helped pack my food and ensured I had my Clubcard before gushing a good bye before I left. I almost looked back half expecting a scene like the end of the Beverly Hill Billies were they stand at the doorway and wave continuously while the credits roll.

So did she treat me differently because I had suit? Did she think that I was a mystery shopper or a senior Tesco employee? Before any Tesco executives grow concerned I should say that the service in Tesco is usually of a very high standard (sometimes it is awful too though!) but this time I got a definite sense that she looked at me, did a quick calculation and then decided to be particularly thorough with her till routine.

Maybe it is the image of the thing. Does the wearing of a suit automatically attract different people and/or cause others to behave differently towards you?

Which leads me to Roger Federer. Although I liked Raphael Nadal and thought he played a blinder in yesterdays Wimbledon final I was glad to see Federer win. I was pleased he equalled Borg's record and to do so in such a thrilling encounter with his closest rival.

But what was the deal with that white suit?

I mean, he stepped into Centre Court looking like a cross between a James Bond movie and a Martini advert - not like a serious sportsman. I guess it could have been a tactic to cause the young Nadal to teeter. The poor guy probably spent most of the first set stifling a snigger! But that couldn't be the reason because he then put it on at the end of the match - over he five set scented body. It as a case of sublime tennis to rediculous dress sense.

Anyway, who am I to criticise the five time Wimbledon Champion. Someone who plays like that gets to wear what he likes I suppose.

Me, I'm just stuck with the same old suit and can only hope that someone thinks I have done something good enough to warrent the wearing of it!

Dance Tonight

2007-07-05T21:12:00.001+01:00

Everybody gonna dance tonight!

My brother bought a mandolin. It is an Osark 2250 and if you sat with it for 10 mins you could learn to play a Paul McCartney song! Its that one from the iPod advert from his new album. All you need to know is G, C, D and Fmaj7 (I think), put them in the right order and you are set.

But, and this is the slight frustration, Sir Paul detunes his mandolin by a tone so when he plays the G formation it is actually an F and so on. It means you can't sing and play along to the track while learning it.

So far I can strum it ok but my brother was getting down to REM's Losing My Religion earlier. It sounded cool!

Does your Dog(fish) bite?

2007-07-01T14:50:00.000+01:00

Well, yes, actually!

Dermo and I went down to Port Muck on Friday night to do a spot of fishing. I had never done it before so began by casting the line into a few rocks. But by the time we waited for some German's to leave the good spot I seemed to be doing ok.

I must say I'm not too good when it comes to worms, cutting up fish and all manner of stuff for bait. I'm also not great with the fish themselves!

But I got my first catch! As I reeled it in there was a point when I thought I simply managed to hook into another rock but as it turned out it was a dog fish. They are strong little fellas - apparently related to the shark family. As Dermo removed the hook (I wasn't for touching it) it squirmed and wrapped itself in a circle! Anyway, the pic isn't of my fish but of of one another fisherman got but you can see what I mean.

It was a lovely evening. The sunset that sillouetted some other fisherman on a rock was complimented by an equally lovely moon rise.

Dave Matthew's House

2007-06-28T21:13:00.000+01:00

Are you a Dave Matthews fan? Do you enjoy watching House? Well, if so, you are in for a treat - or to be more accurate, you could be missing that treat right now!

Tonight's episode of House on Channel 5 guest stars Dave Matthews playing a musically gifted young man. But this young man spends more time behind a piano than a guitar and so far there isn't even a hint of a DMB song! Actually, so far all the music has been at the start and the poor guy has spent the rest on a hospital bed undergoing Dr Houses' relentless tests as he strenuously pursues the cause and cure of the condition!

Not so good at multitasking so thought I'd get back to the show!

Going Handsfree

2007-06-27T20:10:00.000+01:00

As all you drivers should be aware, it is now illegal to even pick up a mobile phone while you are driving. You can pick up points and a fine if you caught. And what do points make? Anyone?

Anyway, I was thinking that I should find my Jabra Bluetooth headset and get it charged for use in the car. But I remembered how much I disliked the feel of it in my ear and how awkward it actually was to pick it up and put it in my ear before the caller hung up! So a rethink was required.

If you are a Nokia N73 user you will know that it, as so many modern phones, has a loudspeaker function. It works well but the problem is working out where to put the thing while talking. Leaving it on the seat next to me was no use as the speakers and mic were to far away resulting in a shouting match.

So all I needed was something to hold it, and this is what I got. It was only £5.95 in The Carphone Warehouse and I installed it on a vest right beside my steering wheel. The clip grips and easily holds my N73 which would be considered a reasonably heavy phone. Driving home today I conversed easily with my mother - who isn't renowned for her bat like hearing - so that proved to me it worked well.

Better still, you can buy the same clip in Tesco at the moment for less that £5. So if you have a decent loudspeaker system on your phone, this could be a cheap and effective way to go handsfree.

SWOT BBQ

2007-06-27T19:43:00.000+01:00

We were at Mark & Claire's last night for a BBQ. Dermo worked his magic on the grill and to the best of my knowledge successfully fed the troops with no reports of any food poisoning.

My contribution was some home made wheaten bread (my Dad's recipe, it turned out really well) and a chocolate swiss roll - where were you Dave & Cara?!? I made this thinking you would be there. I guess that the bright side is that although this first effort wasn't bad the next is bound to be better. Sorry, but you're going to have to wait a bit longer to sample it!

And just to prove it wasn't just the lads! Someone is enjoying their dinner!

I Predict A Riot

2007-06-26T17:40:00.000+01:00

Since I have been off work for a few days I had a good chance, which I took, to get through a book I have been reading. It is called 'I Predict a Riot'.

No, it isn't the life and times of Kaiser Chiefs, the band with a song of the same title. It is simply a work of fiction based around a few characters (and I say that in the way people from round here do ie. "He's some character him!") who live in and around Belfast. Both sides of our fractured community are involved as are many of our favourite past times as listed on the front cover!

It is funny and a bit of a dark side. The conversations remind of some that I have had over the years! Not by way of their content or subject matter but by way of the tempo, the rhythm and the intonation.

The writer, Colin Bateman, a local lad who for the sake of marketing has dropped his first name is also behind the well known TV series - Murphy's Law and has also written movie screenplays such as Divorcing Jack and Wild About Harry.

I have already ordered another of his titles, Belfast Confidential from Amazon Amazon. I even paid the extra 99p so the cover matches the one I have just read!

Ok, so if you want to know more you can visit Colin Bateman's Website. Note he uses the same blogger template as me!

Glastonbury 2007

2007-06-26T01:13:00.000+01:00

I was chatting to my brother today who was is a taxi along with a few other unbelievably stinking fellas on their way from the Glastonbury Festival to the airport. Although clearly mucked to the oxters and audibly smelly the now tentless group were in good spirits after enjoying a great few days of musical indulgence.

I only got to see snippets of the BBC's coverage. This was partly due to being busy (check out the wedding post below!) and also due to the fact that I've been staying at my folks house for a couple of days so have been reduced to 4 analogue channels!

But they do have a non-too-shabby internet connection. So, if you like me missed a lot of the great acts that some of your friends are starting to rave on about then you will like this link to the beeb's webcasts of some of the live sets!

Watch and listen to live acts from Glastonbury 2007!

Did you see or listen to any of the weekend's acts? Any favourites?

Of course, not satisfied with the offerings of the mud soaked Glastonbury fields my brother and co are now off to Amsterdam for a couple of days to get cleaned and rested before going to another festival in Denmark. Yes, Denmark, home to Carlsberg, lovely bacon, tasty pastries and the great Maersk (who I work for) host the Roskilde Festival.

Over 170 bands at that one running from 5th to 8th July with the amazing Muse finishing things off on the Sunday. I am ever so slightly jealous!

Ian & Olwyn's Wedding

2007-06-26T00:44:00.000+01:00

It has been a while since my last entry but what better way to return than with news of a wedding! Yip, on Saturday I had the pleasure of being a guest at the wedding of Ian McKinney and Olwyn Dowling. It was a great day with the couple adding their own special flavour to the proceedings.

Check out the sparklers! They handed one out to everyone. Then, in a scene that probably wouldn't have seemed out of place at Glastonbury (going on at the same time) we lit them in a circle and kind of danced around.

It looked fantastic and after a few minutes it wasn't just the emotion of it all that was choking! But the smoke made Lisanoor Castle look and feel very mysterious but was as spectacular as you could get without a full blown fireworks display.

Anyway, I had fun and I hope everyone else did too. It was great catching up with a few ex-Edinburgh Campers. Of course, now they have all grown up, and done a good job of it I might add!

In one of the quieter moments, which were pretty few, I messed around with the disposable camera they had left on the tables in a way only I could. See what I mean.

Blue is the Colour

2007-06-03T23:52:00.001+01:00

My brother's latest masterpiece. Done with a mixture of ink and acrylic, this is soon to take pride of place in his friend's living room.

I think it is fantastic!

Quote of the Day

2007-05-24T19:35:00.000+01:00

Maybe its a sign that I'm tired, but I found myself laughing at this rather random conversation today. To hear it the way I did you need to put on quite a broad Belfast accent. It went:

'£1.70 for a Battenburg?!!'

That accounted for the sound he made, but his face was as priceless as the cake. You'd have thought the guy at the till had farted in his face or something. Utter, utter disgust.

But the rather bemused part-timer wasn't for budging and his sweet-toothed patron left with nothing to have with his tea. Not, of course, before muttering '£1.70?!' to himself repeatedly on his way to the door.

People are funny. But isn't Battenburg expensive?

MoBible Phone!

2007-05-17T00:20:00.000+01:00

Ok, so Dermo beat me to it but I just wanted to let you know that I have now got the ESV Bible on my phone. I got it from Olive Tree. I struggled to get it installed from my mac to my phone - a problem that was easily remedied by reading the instructions. Who'd have thought it?!

We were studying the book of Jude (just before Revelation in the Bible!) at Home Group tonight - hence the photo. It was tough going but good and challenging. I had also downloaded the pdf of the study guide to my phone so was flicking between the two. I have a feeling that some of the people there thought I was just messing with my phone rather than listening!

The photo was taken with the built in iSight on my Macbook Pro - just FYI.

Commercial Breaks and Beats

2007-05-17T00:00:00.000+01:00

I have used this site (www.commercialbreaksandbeats.co.uk) quite a bit to track down (no pun intended) music from adverts. It also has links to iTunes and Amazon etc. But if you want to buy something from Amazon go through Dermo's site (www.dermo.co.uk) because he gets a kick back which helps fund his wonderful blog. Plus he bought expensive Macademia nuts the other day just so I could try them so he needs the cash to continue to do stuff like that!

So I hope this helps the anonymous person who lef the comment on the Saab advert entry.

Phone with Capital 'P'

2007-05-16T23:12:00.000+01:00

Hello world! Well, the little bit of it that reads my blog anyway. As it has been a while since my last entry I thought I'd begin with a bit of an embarrassing story.

This story begins and ends with a call. The first was that of nature. As I tended to that call I started to hear voices. I thought that maybe I had left that call a little too long and that maybe the toxins were playing tricks on me. But then I remembered I had my phone in my pocket. I took my N73 out mid pee to discover that it was fine - the keylock was on and there was no sign of anything strange. I continued with my first call.

But the voices, all faint and hard to distinguish persisted. I looked at air vents, pipes, anything that could possibly be linked to the outside world and provide a conduit for these strange sounds.

Then it dawned on me. I had my work phone, a sturdy Nokia 6230i in my other pocket. As I finished up I took it from my pocket. To my horror the screen was filled with 9s. It was at this point that the voices stopped and the screen told me that a call had ended. Ooops.

After washing my hands my phone began to ring again. The voice informed me (as if I didn't already know) that they had received an emergency call from me and they were checking that everything was ok. I apologised saying that I hadn't meant to call mentioning how the keylock doesn't protect against 999 and 112 calls. The voice then said 'You weren't going to the toilet, where you?' to which I had to admit, 'Yes'.

'That's exactly what it sounded like!', he said.

Choir as Folk, Killead Presbyterian

2007-04-27T23:59:00.000+01:00

No, I didn't know where it was either. But it was quite easy to find in the end. My Dad, one of my sisters and myself made our way to this little church on Thursday night for part of their 38th Annual Festival of Praise.

Dad heard about the event through a guy he works with who also happened to be conducting one of the many and varied choirs taking part. Basically, a number of churches within the Templepatrick Presbytery assembled their choirs for one night singing a number of tunes ranging from old classics to modern but soon to be classics!

I enjoyed it for the music and for a few other little things that just amused me. First, as the assembled choirs occupied the ground floor, we the congregation had to sit in the balcony. In the old cross shaped building this made for difficult viewing of the participants. Then, in a service that was to run unannounced the guest conducter proceeded to introduce just about everything.

But the bit that really made me chuckle was when, toward the end of the evening, the conductor address the combined choir prior to the benediction. She said something along the lines of 'I don't need to tell you how to sing a benediction, but if you can remember to start quietly and build....'. As I whispered to my sister next to me, I wondered how long she would have had to speak had she deemed it necessary to tell them how to sing it!

Please don't think I'm aweful for saying this sort of thing. These things just make me chuckle and bring a smile to my face. But regardless off all these things, what makes me smile the most is that the people both in the choirs and in the congregation took part in a night for which the aim was to sing the praise of Almighty God. We should be thankful the our Lord that has given us music and the ability to derive pleasure from it. But more importantly we should be willing, like the choirs that put the work into this event, to use the gift of music in the proclamation of the greatness of God our creator, our Saviour, friend and Lord!

Thanks to Killead and all the other churches that took part!

Oh, forgot to mention. One choir used a Djembe drum! Thanks to the Katie and Rachel for letting me know what it was.

Saab Song, Release Me

2007-04-27T23:40:00.000+01:00

Have you seen the recent Saab commercial? I just can't get the song from it out of my head. It is beautiful. A girl called Frida Orhn from a band called Laura sounds wonderful as she sings it. Here is a YouTube video of a promotional recording:

What do you think? Pretty good, eh? If you really like it you can buy the track from iTunes by clicking the link below. I have the feeling some people will be looking for it!

If you know this band and can recommend other essential listening by them or by others, please let me know!

iSync, Spanning Sync and Goosync Update

2007-04-25T23:06:00.000+01:00

I am pleasantly surprised. After blogging the last post I opened my Google Calendar to remove the offending double entries etc. I then ran Spanning Sync to update iCal. Sadly, iCal seemd to update Google again with all the entries I had already deleted.

So why am I still pleasantly surprised? Well, because there is more.....

I then deleted the duplicate entries from iCal and ran iSync to update my phone. I limited my phones access to my own calendars. As I did this, the Goosync application on my phone (forgot to mentiont that bit before) also activated itself. So in one action, that is, running iSync my mac updated my phone which in turn syncronised with Google!

I think this is what happened. I am pretty tired so maybe when I think about it some more I'll have to correct this. At the moment I'm liking Goosync a lot!

That Syncing Feeling

2007-04-25T22:17:00.000+01:00

Ok, so I know what happened. I must say from the outset that it had nothing to to with my mac! It boiled down to how the two programs I used and my n73 handle shared calendars.

First I tried a program called Spanning Sync. This is a little application for the mac that sits in the system preferences and places its little icon in the menu bar up top. Once I entered my Google account details it was able to pull my calendar entries down and place them in iCal. Thus my iCal and Google Calendar were beautifully syncronised! It even allowed me to download details of a shared calendar - placing it in iCal in a different colour.

So at this point my mac and my google were getting along just great but my N73 was a bit left out. Using iSync I was able to update my phone with my iCal detail. This, as per usual, was such a simple process. It transferred details of all my calendars to my phone BUT - and this is where is started to go wrong - it didn't separate the calendars. So whether the calendar event was Dermo's or mine they sat on my phone just the same. I almost started picking praise songs for church on Sunday because my phone said that is what I should be doing tonight!

Dermo had recommended Goosync. This works differently to Spanning Sync as it does not involve my mac. It works by allowing my phone to sync with my Google calendar using my mobile web connection. The benefit of this is that I can update my Google Calendar on the go. This seemed like a cool thing to be able to do so once I was signed up etc I tried it. Big mistake. Bear in mind I had managed to merge two calendars into one on my phone. This meant that when my N73 set about updating Google it placed all my events and Dermo's events (it couldn't tell the difference) to my own Google Calendar giving me the irritating double entries!

The good news is that Goosync can only update a limited amount at a time so the damage shouldn't take too long to fix. My trouble now is figuring out which of these systems to use. Neither of them do exactly what I want which is one package that syncronises Google Calendar, iCal and my N73 in one go. There must be a way to do this through iSync? Similar to the way it would link up with .mac? I don't know enough about it but hopefully someone out there will.

For now I'm going to continue to play around with these two packages both of which are pretty good in their own way. My first step would be to limit my phone access to my calendar only as the issue started with the way it handled multiple calendars. I'll keep you all updated if I work out anything else.

Everything but the Kitchen Sync

2007-04-25T00:34:00.000+01:00

Nightmare! I have been testing two methods of keeping my N73, iCal and my Google Calendar in sync. I now have double entries in Google and iCal. I fear that if I ran iSync right now I would end up with something similar on my phone! Grrrr

Ok, what should I do? Well, right now I'm going to turn this thing off and go to bed. This will have to wait until tomorrow. I'll let you know what I did, what I wished I didn't do (pretty much the same thing) and give me opinion on the software I used. Goodnight!

iSync and the N73

2007-04-22T16:38:00.000+01:00

One of the few drawbacks to my n73 was that it did not syncronise properly with iSync on my mac. I had used a few plug-ins in the past to overcome this but though they did work, they didn't have the usual slickness that I would associate with a mac.

Well, thanks to the Mac OS 10.4.9 update it now syncs natively. This should come as good news to Matt, owner of an n95 and soon to be owner of a new Macbook Pro!

Google to Go!

2007-04-22T15:44:00.000+01:00

I just set up my N73 so I can get my Google Mail on the go. While the downloadable gmail application (go to http://googlemail.com/app with your phone's browser) looks and works pretty well I decided to try and use the N73s own email client. Using the settings for 'other' devices as advised by Google, and making sure that my Google Mail settings were such that they allowed POP, it wasn't long before I got it working.

A point to note though. If you allow POP for all mail and then connect using your phone you may well find that all your old email, even the archived ones, are then downloaded to your phone. Probably best to set the POP bit up for new mail only or just ask your phone to retrieve only new mail.

So send me an email so I can pick it up on my phone!

Pink Chocolate

2007-04-21T23:35:00.000+01:00

In my previous post about Liasmon's Chocolate Fountain lights I ended by saying that the chocolate had to be brown. Well, my sister read it today and quickly corrected me. To be honest I felt kind of silly when she pointed out I had forgotten about white chocolate. But then she mentioned the availability of pink chocolate. 'Pink Chocolate??' I said, in a fashion not dissimilar to Peter Kay's 'Garlic Bread'. But apparently it is true and the cake thing in picture is covered in it.

So I must apologise to both Liasmon and of course to the Milky Bar Kid for that little mistake.

Tracy isn't 30!

2007-04-21T15:43:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday to Tracy who is still fortunate to be a couple of years shy of the big 30! She was in the above photo when I pushed the button on my Nokia N73 but spookily disappeared by the time the digital delay ran its course. So instead you see a number of dimly lit friends.

How'd you like them Apples!

2007-04-20T20:22:00.000+01:00

An apple a day is said to keep the doctor away. Guess it can't hurt at any rate.

But I have heard a few sad Apple stories this week. Well, they at least they started that way. First of all, Jim's (Jim's blogg) Macbook broke and then I heard that Matt's (Hararya) had his trusty old Powerbook stolen!

If you are reading this while using Matt's stolen Powerbook - shame on you!! I'd tell you to give it back but he's pretty made up now that he is getting a new Macbook Pro! Hope you enjoy it my friend - I have a feeling you will.

Jim's story ended well too. You can read about it on his site but he is to be credited for his persistence! Guess you could say he took a bite out of the Apple and it tasted goooooooood!

Bear Naked Ladies, Photos and a Drum

2007-04-20T20:02:00.000+01:00

This week I posed for a photo shoot that had something to do with Bear Naked Ladies. But before you all rush to my house to council me on the error of my ways let me explain. Matt and Joanne (Hararya Matt!) asked me to be the subject matter for their entry to a competition run by the band known as 'Bear Naked Ladies'. So relax guys, nothing too bad about that at all!

It was a good night. I enjoyed it because I got to be the centre of attention for a whole night, plus Matt bought me pizza.

Hopefully I'll get to show off the results of their hard work and my stunning good looks...ahem...soon enough!

Just to add a bit of colour to this entry I have included this pic of Matt and a drum. Incidentally, does anyone know what sort of a drum this is? Dermo? Any ideas? I know enough not to call it a congo or a bongo....anyway, answers on post card. Actually, better than that - just leave a comment.

Dermo is 30!

2007-04-14T21:16:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday to Dermo who hit the big 30 yesterday. The lads celebrated it in Trev's caravan and much fun was had by all. And being a bunch of young and energetic individuals we stayed up really late and everything!

But, after a lovely fry-up (thanks Asda!) and a round of golf (if I could be so bold as to call what I did on the course, golf!) we had to sit down to a nice cup of coffee or juice before heading home to get rested. Think we were kidding ourselves by thinking we were kids!

It was great craic and more that made up for my cold-ridden Easter! Hope you enjoyed yourself Dermo!

Eyes Wider Than Before

2007-04-14T20:39:00.000+01:00

Scott Matthews Gig

I want to begin by saying that this guy is not related to Dave Matthews of Dave Matthews Band. According to his MySpace page he is from Wolverhampton but on April 11th, 2007 he was in Belfast at the Spring & Airbrake. I was there!

Following on from his full band tour this rather cut-down affair comprised just the man himself and a percussionist. But the gig was still good. As I have said in previous blogs, you should check out his album 'Passing Stranger' and keep an eye out for the next one!

He was so passionate during one of his intense guitar solo parts that his head actually exploded in a blinding flash. A little unnerving but quite spectacular! Brilliant!

David Healey International Airport

2007-04-01T21:03:00.000+01:00

A notion suggested to me in a text message from my brother in the excitement following David Healey's second goal against Sweden. Just a thought.

Life, Science Fiction, Pantos and Soap Operas

2007-03-31T16:00:00.000+01:00

We had a problem with our fancy photocopier in work. And like in so many large organisations, what should have been a simple process of replacing a waste toner cartridge turned into a bit of a pantomime. I made several phone calls before I received one from the support people. A Douglas Adams called me. This amused me somewhat bearing in mind this guy shared a name with the famous writer of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. But this guy talked toner.

And so the process progressed in a manner not dissimilar to a scene from the previously mentioned book. First they said they didn't do it. Then the people they did say did it, well, didn't. Then the first people I called had to be contacted by another person to confirm they did do the thing that they should have done in the first place.....and so on.

In the end I spoke to Mark Fowler. He got it sorted and at the end of the call I paused and waited. What for? Well, a dramatic statement, a roll of a drum, and some tacky music....

You get some days like that.

Picture This

2007-03-31T15:40:00.000+01:00

My brother is the 'arty' one in the family. If you remember he created a mind bending picture for my Christmas present last year.

Well, while transferring some other images that I took with his camera I had the pleasant surprise of realising I had accidentally downloaded some of pictures he had taken of his own work. I think they are great and just wanted to share a few with you so here they are.

Liasmon Chocolate Fountain Lights

2007-03-31T14:33:00.000+01:00

I hate to disappoint all you diet conscious out there. My title doesn't refer to a new lo-cal chocolate fountain but rather the funky light-up base my sisters have for their machine. Doesn't it look pretty! You can basically choose what colour you want depending on your wedding colours or decor of whatever room your event is in. The chocolate still has to be brown.

Visit www.liasmon.co.uk for more details.

Jesus Says GO! In Dublin

2007-03-31T14:19:00.000+01:00

A week ago today the 'Jesus Says GO!' road show made it to Dublin. The recently renovated Grosvenor Road Baptist Church was the venue, encouraging young people in Christian Mission was the aim.

'A Baptist Church in Dubin?!' a confused Irishman asked us. He was what could be described as a little merry during our conversation in Dominos later that night. Clearly celebrating the 1-0 defeat of Wales he was rather bemused in talking to the Baptist boys from the North and another gent who claimed to be French at the time but if you ask me could sing 'Land of my Fathers' with the best of them.

The craic was great. The pizza was delicious.

Markethill

2007-03-31T14:14:00.000+01:00

Last weekend I had the privilege of once again play in Allan Ellingsgaards band in a little place called Markethill. We all had a good night and though the crowd was small in number they were big in hospitality and generosity. Allan sold a stack of CDs which was also great!

The guys (minus me) will be playing in Ballymena Baptist (aka Hill St Baptist but not in Hill St at the moment as they are rebuilding!) on 4th April. So you catch enjoy the music by getting along to that and enjoy it even more by buying a cd to listen to at home! Great gift for Easter too!

Petition

2007-03-21T23:18:00.000Z

This kind of thing gets my goat. Thing is, someday someone is going to make it illegal for me to get my goat. They'll say things like 'you can't have a goat, because you discriminated against a sheep!'. And I'll say something like 'but I wanted, no, I needed a goat and besides it is my back garden I want a goat in it - not a sheep'. Of course, I don't actually have a goat, but if I did I would go and get it right now and no on can stop me.......sorry, back to the issue...

Click here to sign a petition in an attempt to help Christian Union's control who may come into leadership of them. While the goat business above is a load of nonsensical ramblings there is a serious issue at stake here. A Christian Union should be exactly what is claims to be - a union of Christians. Therefore the union cannot have anyone in it, and certainly not leading it who is not united by the fact that they are Christians. A diversion from that will make it neither Christian nor a union!

Maybe the issue is that we have diluted the very meaning of what it is to be a Christian but that is a another debate entirely.

FYI, you have to be a UK resident to vote in the petition and you can only sign once - a bit like an election.

Jesus Says GO! Living the dream?

2007-03-18T20:08:00.000Z

You may have seen the trailer, but this is the first of the videos that Matt and I put together for the actual event. If you call back in a couple of weeks, you can see the second instalment. Of course, if you make it the event in Dublin or Belfast you can see the sequels before then!

Allan Ellingsgaard

2007-03-18T18:57:00.000Z

I made a brief mention of him below but thought I should dedicate at least one stand alone blog to the guy! You can link to his site here to listen to some of the tracks from his album 'Coming Home'.

It has been my privilege to help out playing keyboard in his backing band recently. Our next gig is in Markethill, Armagh on Friday 23rd March, so if you can make it why not come along for a listen. If you want more details, let me know.

Jesus Says GO!

2007-03-18T18:46:00.000Z

Hi, I haven't blogged in some time. That has been mostly due to having a relatively dull existance for the past wee while. But the movie trailer relates to something great that I have been involved with of late.

Catch the road show! You can still get to it at Grosvenor Road, Dublin or Newtownbreda Baptist, Belfast over the coming weeks. We were in Magherafelt last night and it was great!

Not only will you hear some encouraging and challenging stuff but you will also have the opportunity to hear Allan Elingsgaard play and sing. He is brilliant! You should buy his album. If you want one, let me know.

Crazy Men on a Building

2007-01-21T01:49:00.000Z

First I brought you 'Crazy Man on a Crane', but now be amazed by 'Crazy Men on a Building'.
Again I must apologise for the poor photo quality and ask you to squint at the picture. On a day were we had near gale force winds and the rain was pouring I watched these poor, senseless guys make a vain attempt to wash the windows of the building across the road. A case of misplaced heroism if you ask me!