Unlucky for some

I notice that there is talk of the introduction of a new sign of the Zodiac, Ophiuchus, which would bring the total number to 13. I am not sure the fanatics who run their lives by the star signs would be overly excited about being star sign number 13. They would be forever cursing their luck, be faced with a raft of glasses each half empty, and searching out black cats to try to maintain the equilibrium.

Now Ophiuchus, the serpent slayer, has been known about for centuries, so I do wonder if it was a slow news day that pushed its discovery into the limelight, or whether some mad American journalist was having a bad day.

Imagine being down on yourself and deciding it was all in your stars. Guess what the answer is, lets create a new Zodiac sign and move into a more compatible astrological plane. That will also mess with the head of any partner who is trying to work out somebodies compatibility characteristics.

Now Ophiuchus is not entering the charts at number 13, oh no, they sneak in at number 12 pushing Sagittarius down to 13, happy Christmas to them then.

Now on a personal note I am Pisces, a female water sign. I have an addictive personality, am a dreamer and eccentric with some creativity thrown in, well at least I was. Now, I am a male air sign, Aquarius, aloof, scatterbrained and a know it all.

We, actually, if you read ten definitions of each birth sign on the web, you would be pretty much anyone and anything you wished to be. It all in the stars you know.

2011 - food heaven

It really is frustrating trying to find sensible constructive comments about restaurants by searching on the Web. One is never sure whether the owner is posting, or whether you only get to hear about the one or two bad experiences, and rarely about the good times.

A lot of basic information seems to be missing as well. Can you park, is it on a bus route, and if so, which one? What are the staff like? Is it a 'regulars' place and do they make you feel like one? Is it child and dog friendly, and should, therefore, be avoided by the dinkies and grey pounders amongst us?

So, I am going to try to be a restaurant critic for the Wirral, and see if I can produce a useful web site based on my experience of restaurants, take-aways and pub grub. I am not a foodie, or a wino, so don't expect specialist comment on there. It's really about whether I like somewhere and more important whether it likes me.

I could start with a few reviews of the regular outlets I use , but I won't. I am going to slip those into the Blog as it starts to get established. So watch this link, I will try to do a unit a week, and see whether I develop a following and see some of the comments I get.

If people do not like what I say or have a different view of a place, it could get lively, bring on the starters!!!!

Is it plugged in Sir?

The highlight of Christmas Day TV has often been the double act Christmas special. Morecambe and Wise were the pace setters, with the Two Ronnies inheriting the mantel further down the line. Del Boy and Rodney took the tradition to the next level in Only Fools and Horses, after which Christmas television had deteriorated to such an extent that reality TV is seen as worthy of one of the prime slots.

I was, therefore, encouraged to see that an 80th birthday tribute to Ronnie Corbett was scheduled this year. It was, however, a poor imitation of the Two Ronnies format, with only a tinge of humour being evident in James Corden's attempt at a Ronnie Barker monologue, and this quite brilliant restyling of the 'Four Candles' hardware store sketch.

It was the first sketch of the programme so see it here and it will save you the pain of watching the rest of the show.

Lets hope its a permanent good night from him.

Deep and crisp and even

We were only in the pub about 90 minutes on Friday night,

but it was nearly enough time to get snowed in. There was not a flake when we arrived, but we then had the surreal experience of watching the landscape turn silky white before our eyes.

Yes we could have stayed longer and maybe experienced a lock in, but sense prevailed and we trudged home to our traditional take away curry. That in itself was almost a no go as the lads in the shop were very reluctant to deliver it, however, as we are regular users and not too far away from the restaurant they did the biz.

The weather scuppered our plans for a game of golf though.

What did you say?

One of the joys of linking modern technology and working practice is the ability to work from home. I do it a lot myself , and to be honest I go stir crazy when, for long periods of time I have no face to face contact.
The postman tries his best to pass the time of day, as does the lad in the paper shop, but at the end of the day there is no substitute for water cooler conversations. (Another Americanism to quietly infiltrate the English language)

I wonder whether, if I were to install one in the front wall of the house, people would stop and have a chat about interesting day to day matters like the X Factor results, Coronation Streets 4 deaths and a wedding, or the student riots. It may become famous as the 21st Century answer to the horse trough.

Without such a vehicle around which to base my daily people time I am forced to use the medium of conference calling to communicate with people. This clip shows the problems that can throw up.

So I hear you cry, I really must get out more, however, with expense cutbacks limiting travel, the local Post Office closed down, and my health being such that a visit to the local surgery would be seen as lead swinging, I am resigned to talking to myself, and we've had a good day today haven't we old son?

Itchycoo Park

Waterloo bridge has a series of metal plaques indicating to tourists, the sights they can see as they stroll across it. Sadly they are targeted quite regularly by vandals, and that is a pity, as Waterloo bridge is a micro climate for London street scenes.

as i wandered across the bridge last night though, I realised that I didn't really need the plaques as an aide memoir. There to the left were the obvious ones, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. They were then easing the eye into the MOD and MAFF buildings.

I have danced on the roof of the MOD when it was a regular after rugby haunt for us, and our connections. This was around 1980 so I suspect thirty years on it would be a harder feat to achieve. I remember Stan the Man answering the 'Batphone' when it rang in the toilet, which nearly caused a major diplomatic incident.

The MAFF building, which is probably called Defra now, has been regularly photographed from St James Park, where it gives the impression of a Russian landscape akin to those seen in Moscow.

Further round still on the left are the Savoy and Shell Mex house. Then facing you on the right hand side is Somerset House with its magnificent skating rink, Kings Bollege as Monty Python fans call it, and then the whole panorama of the City of London and Canary Wharf.

Closer to home is the OXO tower, Alan Sugars IBM building and the National Theatre.

There is a Wellington pub not too far from each end of the bridge, and with the station to the South and the delights of Covent Garden on the North side, it really is a thoroughfare to grace any major City.

Its just a swine to navigate at rush hour when you are going the 'wrong' way!!!

Heave....

Goodness me its a bit chilly up here in Scouseland. That said, it was definitely brass monkey weather in London on Saturday. I am seriously in need of a spot welder.

I took it on myself to take the lads to Twickenham en masse, as the opportunity presented itself. So both sons, Tim and Kieran together with my nephew Matthew wrapped up warm and set off.....except Matthew but more of that later.

First stop had to be the Prince Blucher to allow the two boys a beer before kick-off. Then it was the standard hike through the Stoop to the ground and a chance for Kieran and Matthew to see their first England international game.

England got battered up front, and seemed unable to do anything about it. I still do wonder whether a plod at the helm is the right intellectual leadership criteria, and maybe new chief executive, John Steele , may think Johnno and Rob Andrew need some more help. It seems, though, that the latter is in more danger of dismissal.

With the game over it was back to the Blucher for more amber nectar, some friendly chit chat and back to our respective abodes.

So, Matthew was having his first taste of Twickenham and indicated that he had a good time. I did wonder though. The lad is only 12 and was at an all night party on the Friday ( well 22:30 which probably seemed like all night, I know it is for me these days!!), then he went to a paint ball party at 09:00 Saturday morning in Swindon, then to the match, then home.

He turned down the opportunity to wear his coat at the match as it is not cool to be so dressed up, I can't help thinking there is a Newcastle United supporter in their waiting to get out. That or he was hoping to catch a cold and have a few days off school in the snow.

Anyway, a good time was had by all, and when Matthews dad MSN'd us on the Sunday morning from Afghanistan I was able to tell him his son had been Bluchered, but the chance of turning him from a Wales fan to England had not worked so well due to the result. He indicated that it was good training for following the Dragon in the coming season of 6 Nations games. We shall see.

As part of the evening entertainment we searched out a few YouTube video's. Check out this one, a history of music in 3 minutes.