May Already?

Took a wee trip down to see the parents at the weekend. Nice to see Father P out of hospital and the weather was good enough to sit out the back and have a few glasses of wine. We went to the local Woodland Centre at Winlaton Mill on Sunday afternoon which was quite nice. Lots of child friendly activities and lots of walks to be had – although with a wheelchair, some accesses proved difficult to negotiate. Will head down again in a few weeks if I can manage it.

What is going on with the Ferrari F1 Team, I don’t know. All credit to Jensen Button who’s having a good season so far (despite not knowing if he would ever get an F1 drive again after Honda put the team up for sale), but he’s doing a great job for the Brawn Team in their maiden season. Hopefully Ferrari will be better placed to gain some points in the latter half of the season. World Championship this year for us? Not a chance!


Was planning on getting the grass and the hedge cut last weekend, but the torrential rain on Saturday meant that this wasn’t possible. Really nice weather today, so I’ve decided to leave work early and get it done tonight. I can’t do it this weekend as I’m off to Aberdeen. Finally set about arranging a trip to the Doctor Who exhibition at the Kelvingrove – looks like it’ll be 26th June. That’s the day the school’s break up in Glasgow so hopefully we can be in and out (and on the way to the pub) before the place is invaded by children.

The Blaze 500.

I am now officially one of the Blaze 500 – “what does this mean?” I hear you cry. Well, it’s all very simple. The Blaze Bayley Band released a new DVD recently ("The Night That Would Not Die") and there were 500 limited edition versions available where you got a special wristband and exclusive t-shirt along with a copy of the DVD fully signed by the band – all for just £20. Nice actually because the standard DVD will be costing £20 so to get the extras (unavailable anywhere else) is nice.

So everyone who got this limited edition version also got the magic number – the number being the bands’ mobile phone number! Quite amusing really but I don’t see the point of calling it as I’ve nothing to say to them – it’s just a very novel idea.

Anyway, the rear diffusers on the Brawn, Toyota and Williams’ F1 cars are legal then are they? Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo must be furious that this has been missed by their designers and they are now lagging behind as they have no points from two races, and will have to redesign their current diffuser in order to be competitive. Hopefully they’ll be more competitive for the European races starting in June.

AC/DC kicked off the first part of their UK Tour last night at the O2 Arena – judging by the set list, the Hampden Park gig on 30th June will be fantastic – even though this may be the bands' last tour.

Set List (O2 Arena):
Rock And Roll Train, Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be, Back In Black, Big Jack, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Shot Down In Flames, Thunderstruck, Black Ice, The Jack, Hell’s Bells, Shoot To Thrill, War Machine, Anything Goes, You Shook Me All Night Long, TNT, Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock, Highway To Hell, For Those About To Rock (We Salute You).

Malaysian Grand Prix/Status Quo.

Yesterday was, of course, the Malaysian Grand Prix. I was planning to go on and on about how great Ferrari are doing this early in the season, but with two races gone and not a single point scored by the team – I don’t think I will say anymore about them. What I will say, though, is that it’s good to see Jenson Button and the Brawn GP Team doing so well. All those years at Ferrari have taught Ross Brawn to master the art of strategy within a Grand Prix, and this is paying dividends. The less said about Liar Hamilton – the better!

So, today is the 6th April, and I realised over the weekend that today ten years ago, I was all excited after meeting Status Quo (the whole band) for the first time and was waiting to see them play live in The Solid as part of their “Under The Influence” Pub Tour to promote the album “Under The Influence” (pub – “Under The Influence” – geddit?). I do remember the day very well. I became an honorary member of The Solid’s bar staff that day and was even allowed to stay in the pub after the band asked for it to be closed so they could eat their lunch and do a sound-check in privacy. To commemorate this occasion, I’m wearing the t-shirt I bought that day. Yes, I know its ten years old, but I’ve only worn it once and it looks brand new! Maybe I should go down to the pub after work for a beer?