My Photobucket Quiz

I'm borrowing this from another Blog out there (Hey Firefly mom if you're tuning in).

So the deal is:

1. Answer the following questions

2. Type the answer into Photo Bucket

3. Post a picture from the first page of results.

Simple huh.....so here's mine

1. The age you will be on your next Birthday.....Twentynine.

2. A place you would like to travel.....Africa

3. A place you would like to live.....Australia

4. Your favourite place....The South Downs

5. Your favourite object.....Jesen Ackles (what....technically he is an object ;-) )

6. Your favourite food....Chocolate....preferrably smothered over my favourite object.

7. Favourite animal....Dolphins

8. Favourite Colour.....Azure

9. The town in Which you were born.....Bognor Regis, West Sussex (K so I was born in Chichester Hospital but I'm a Bognor girl by heart)

10. The town in which you live.....Worthing West Sussex

11. Name of a pet....Henry (my gorgeous cat whom I miss terribly)

12. A favourite celebrity....David Hewlett (how predictable am I....and can I say how utterly fabulous he looks in this particular picture...hehe)

13. Your name/nickname/screename.....Hmmm since Emma and ekidd79 came up with nothin' of any interest I used my other screename Spacehopper79

14. Favourite song....well depends on my mood but I'm quite partial to Rule the World, Take That at the moment (that and the fact that Gercha by Chas 'n' Dave, unsurprisingly, came up with no results)

15. Your middle name....The parentals never bothered with a middle name....apparently coming up with 'Emma' was taxing enough...though if I chose I'd go with.....Philadelphia

16. A bad habit of yours....snacking on junk food (I blame the pretty packaging and the cleverly appealing advertisements....;-) )

17. How do you feel about your life.....Hmmmmm....I'll go with frustrated (It would've been 'meh' but photobucket again let me down)

18. One word describe you....another hard one....Um....wordy is all I can think of (mainly coz I liked the picture which came up)

19. Favourite TV show....now that's just mean, as there are many which I adore for lots of different reasons....I'm going with two shows, one British and one American and this is an 'as of this minute' kind of thing....Torchwood and Stargate: Atlantis.

20. Favourite Movie....jeez another toughie, yet again this usually depends on my mood, but The Goonies never gets old.

So that's me in photo bucket piccies.

Just Because

Leap year...yadda, yadda....extra day in February, blah, blah....

I got turned down for another job today...apparently my answers were thorough, my IT skills were excellent and my general attitude was great....however, I apparently don't have the essential qualifications of the ability to sing nursery rhymes to a group of babies....I perhaps should have laid off the following rendition of:

Hey diddle diddle,
the cat took a piddle,
All over the bedside clock.
The little dog laughed to see such fun.
Then died of electric shock.

Or:

Georgie Porgy Pudding and Pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry.
And when the boys came out to play,
He kissed them too 'cause he was gay.

And in retrospect this one might have been better kept to myself:

Mary had a little pig,
She kept it fat and plastered;
And when the price of pork went up,
She shot the little bastard.

Meh, like the originals were all sweet and innocent anyway....personally I blame the writings of Roald Dahl....and my fathers slightly twisted humourisms.

Shaken not Stirred

Crikey...I'm proper excited...I just felt my first earthquake....there I was, watching a bit of late night/early morning telly and then my bed moved sideways and the wall shook twice...it wasn't anything massive, nothing fell over, books didn't fly off shelves and to be honest had I still been in the flat in Southampton I wouldn't have thought much about it considering a stiff breeze used to have the same effect (amongst other activities from next door neighbours, which don't need to be explored at this juncture)....hell I only realised it was an actual honest to goodness earth rumbler when I moseyed on over to the BBC news website to check the morrows/todays weather....according to the report Lincolnshire was the epicenter with a 5.3 quake at around 1am...I think that's pretty big by the UK standards...and no doubt every car alarm within several miles woke the residents, that is of course if they slept through the quake itself.....how could a person sleep through an earthquake I hear you ask, well I asked the same of certain people who slept through a certain 'non' hurricane 20 years ago...you know who you are ;-)

I and if you don't believe me here's said news report link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7266136.stm

Suck on this Cupid

Here's something way more exciting than a bit of recycled cardboard and the over priced reproductive structures of plants.....ladies and gents I bring you a trailer:

A Worth While Amble in Worthing

Since today's weather turned out to be non-sucky I decided to put my newly obtained aversion toward shingle aside to venture along the beach front for an exploratory amble.

I stopped for lunch.....well, a packet of quavers and a twix.....at a patch of grassland somewhere between Ferring and Littlehampton. This was marginally quieter than other areas along the beach where say the road runs parallel and people drive and park and then walk around 400 yards to let 'Pootles' defecate on the path, pick up the steaming turd and then wander back to their car via the ice cream van nearby.

But I digress....my view stretched all the way to High Down Hill to the north (and I'm pretty sure I could see Beachy Head to the East) and oodles of sea in front of me. People were certainly making the most of the lapse in winter conditions; cycling, walking, kite flying...some even braving water based activities.....One fella had taken the whole kite flying thing to another level, apparently half inching the office extractor fan, which he had strapped to his back, and swooping around under a parachute across the common and water......Although it looked like fun, I would suggest the chap was quite mad.

After a few minutes of sun worshipping I made my way back along the path to the prom in the Goring area I rested my wearies at one of the shelters and, as it was out of the breeze, watched the world go by for the next couple of hours.

It was at this time that I observed a couple of advanced age trying to get to grips with a piece of technology. Now this is always a fun mix....'Cotton Tops' and new fangled thingy-me-bobs....in this instance the baffled pair were attempting to use a camera (not a video camera....or even a digital camera for that matter, but a common a garden click and wind on camera with apparently one picture left on the film).

The following conversation went something along the lines of:

Husband (posing next to sea wall) "Put me in the circle and press the red button"
Wife "What circle?"
Husband "The circle in the middle of the viewfinder....so that you can fit me all in"
Wife "There is no circle.....I can only see your shoulder....maybe I have it the wrong way up"

Wife turns camera from landscape to portrait, but has the same problem....Husband takes camera and presses button (at a guess I'd say the zoom), hands back camera to wife and returns to pose.

Husband "Now press the button"
Wife "What button?"
Husband "The red button"
Wife "What red button?"
Husband "The RED button.....at the top"

Wife finds the red button and is about to take the picture when a group of children on roller blades skate past and get in the way (there had been no-one in the vicinity until that moment). Kids leave.

Wife "I can't see anything.....the sun's in my eyes"

Husband moves two feet to his right and wife takes picture (into direct sunlight)

Wife (looking at camera) "It says 35......there's still one left"

Moving on.....the small sea wall which runs much of the length of the prom, obviously, makes a perfect walkway for those somewhere between the ages of 5-13 (and apparently Worthing's spritely 60+ contingent)...though where I was situated an entrance to the beach meant a 4 metre gap. Some bright spark named Esme (should have been about 65 with that name but was closer to 10) decided a plank of wood (one of the many still strewn across the beach) was just what was needed to rectify the situation and, with the assistance of other urchins, dutifully bridged the gap.

It was when she was halfway across that Esme discovered that 4m long plank plus weight of child equals 'bendy middle'....cautiously all daring doers wobbly completed the obstacle without injury.

Young Fabio (Worthing is apparently a paradox of alternative kids names)who ventured across moments later however was not quite so lucky.....mainly as when he discovered the bendy middle his 8 or 9 year old boy brain decided 'trampoline'. I won't go into detail but the seconds following this genius decision involved snapping, splintering, screaming and life lesson learned for poor young Fabio.

And this leads neatly into what I myself learned from my little excursion today:

Toys which are electronic or involve batteries are not a patch on sea washed flotsom in terms of entertainment value.

Wrapped up old people can fall asleep anywhere...and it will take at least two attempts for them to go from a sitting to standing position

Prolonged bench sitting invariably leads to 'numb arse' syndrome

Boys with a baseball bat and pebbles are not a great mix when you factor the sudden appearance of a low flying seagull

Wolf Peagasus Three Part 2 - Better Get Comfy

I thought it was about time I wrote up the rest of the event....since time is whizzing and if I don't hurry up we'll have had P4 and I'll have to start all over again.....yes that does mean I have bought my ticket already....a whole year in advance......I like to plan ahead......well ahead, get all things in order etc....aka, I'm not so much with the will-power.

So, in no particular order and again just by what I can actually remember the last three guest of Wolf Pegasus Three:

Kavan Smith....yes I am a fan of Major Lorne so I was more than a little excited when I heard Kavan would be attending (who wouldn't be the man is very easy on the eyes). He was incredibly funny and seemed a natural story teller keeping the audience engaged and in gales of laughter for both talks of which the highlights were;

Growing up a prankster he and his brother would play up in front of their Grandmother at the family home. One day he and his brother were playing fighting in their bedroom and when said Grandmother came in to break it up Kavan launched his brother out of the window (they were one floor up at the time). Their friends had placed a mattress underneath the window for his brother to fall on and this was removed and ketchup squirted everywhere to look like blood. At this point Kavan said something only the lines of "We realised at that young age that old people have problems with their hearts. Cos she almost died on the spot!"....very funny, crowd in fits of giggles, especially since Kavan was doing the voice for his Gran.

At one point in the talk he was asked for a story...one obviously sprang to mind straight away and Kavan toiled with telling it to the eager crowd before saying it was too rude (obviously hadn't gaged the low mental standards of the room yet) we all begged and pleaded until Kavan said he'd tell a cleaner version of events.

He was filming in a river and was setting up for a stunt (one of the few he has done) which involved rapids....to create the effect of the white water a couple of jet boats were used (I know, it's all an illusion in film isn't it?). Kavan had to be in the thick of the action and was hoisted into the white water...apparently he ended up a little closer than he should to the jet boat engines and the jet stream ended up cleaning out an area of anatomy which usually "stuff only comes out".....crowd roared with laughter, especially when Kavan went on to say than his panic stricken look so impressed the director that he asked him to keep up the scared apperance...to which Kavan retorted "yes, I was scared.....I was having my spleen cleaned." So funny, and Kavan doubled checked himself which he realised he shared an enema story with the audience.

The other story I remember, which was triggered when people had to leave for a photoshoot causing Kavan to comment that "people will be so upset they missed this....the enema story was nothing compared to this" (hehe, what a meany), was when Kavan was in a stage play.

Basically Kavan did a scene and the lights go out....the stage was raised and when he should exit, his way would be marked by a special tape which glows in the dark...."so the lights go out and no glow tape".....a couple of thousand people in the audience and poor Kavan is stuck in the pitch black on a raised stage needing to get off before the next scene starts up. At this point Kavan mimed what happened next(whilst remaining sat in the chair I might add)....moving off the stage he runs smack bang into a pole and breaks his nose "Shiiiit".....managing to get off the stage he makes his way to the stairs which are also supposed to be glow taped....."no, glow tape.....so I hit the stairs (mimes falling down the stairs) and Shiiit....Owwwwww"......Needless to say we all reveled in the poor guys misfortunes and the way Kavan mimed out what had happened added to the hilarity.

So that's the stories I remember, I'm sure there was much more but here's the other snippets I recall:

Kavan has been through Vulcan (Canada) on a Vulcan (which is a motorcycle I believe...as opposed to a alien with arched eyebrows, which is where some of you were going with that)

His only Cocktail trick is "throw it up way high....and walk away"

According to Kavan, Canada don't have military they have a bi-plane and shoot em up guys

He was raised in an igloo on Polar Bear meat

His eyes are grey but change colour depending on his attire

Is afraid of Sharks and Splunking (?)...(summit to do with caves)

His worst review read....Kavan Smith. Gay.

He can mime piano playing better than an actual piano player, miming piano playing

He was a little worried coming back as, Lorne since he'd played the character slightly different in SG-1, and heard "fans watch that stuff kinda closely"

"Paul is gay"

Oh, also when I went to the get my autograph we had a brief discussion about the adventure activity oppotunities in New Zealand, particularly the Queenstown area in the South Island (which I went on my travels some years ago....whole other blog entry there)....And finally, when I had my picture taken I was a bundle of nerves....(I've mentioned that the man has been repeated struck upside the head with a handsome stick right?)....but had enough gumption to ask for a hug which he quite happily posed.

So, who next....Oh I think I'll go with Dean Marshall....now Dean I obviously knew as Sgt. Bates from the first season....a recurring character just like Kavan, but not seen in several seasons....and it was his very first convention (bless) so we didn't know what to expect really. I can say whole heartedly that he is a very genuine and plesant chap who, although a little nervous, entertained the crowd.....now, upon asking me what he said...I unfortunately remember very little.

I did actually ask Dean a couple of questions first "What was you most memorable or funniest moment while filming SGA?" (I know, get me...in front of about 500 people). To which he replied that working with Robert Patrick was a lot of fun.....and went on to tell a story which the man himself had told about meeting Mike Tyson...Robert had asked him for his autograph and Tyson...being a tad inebriated at the time...had taken one look at him and started saying "Terminator!" in a slightly excitable fashion before saying something along the lines of "I have $5,000, I want your autograph"

The other question I asked was "What has been you worst job, either in film or otherwise?".....I can't remember what Deans' whole reply was (and it's now also mixed with Kavan's glow-tape story) but it was a theatre produciton he had done where nothing had worked right, as in the lighting, and had been a bit of a shambles.

When asked how Bates would have run Atlantis if he'd had the chance Dean said he/Bates would have been much more cautious with the Athosians and other alien "allies".....someone here shouted that Bates may have slept around less too....(hinting to Sheppard's "Kirk" like habits)....Dean laughed and said "I can't believe you just said that".

What else did Dean do, talked alot about his family, who are from Trinidad & Tobago and mentioned that he plays steel drums (how cool is that?....next con Dean's at I shall remember to pack the steel drums just in case)....he also told a story about a photo he has of his father standing in Trafalgar Square, which he brought with him to recreate (how sweet is that) and he does a fabulous West Indies accent which turns "beer can" into "bacon"....hmmm, Bates with a West Indies accent, now that would've been funny.

Other snippets from his talks include:

According to Dean, Bates has a brother, is a LA Lakers fan and his first name could possibly be Damien

Does a great impression of Kermit the Frog singing "It's not easy being Green"

When he was 7 Dean destoryed his brothers Stretch Armstrong

Realised at an early age that Goldfish don't need heating...which didn't turn out so great for said goldfish.

Was in the Miltary

If he wasn't an actor he's be a scientist......or a stripper

Dean was actually the first person I had a photo session with....I hadn't planned on getting a picture with anyone other than Kavan and Paul, but upon hearing Dean's talks I warmed to him instantly and again asked for a hug......what can I say I love a good hug.....Dean was lovely and did a full on two armed hug during which he giggled so much my head bounced around on his chest (not that I was complaining).....speaking of the giggle, Dean really does have a great laugh and at the autographs I told him he had the dirtiest laugh I had ever heard in my life.....he promply giggled at which point i said "yep...that's the one" more laughing....Apparently at his high school he had been voted "the person with the most infectious laugh"....Dean's such a sweetie. Wonder if the PTB will include Bates in season 5, here's hoping.

Now then that pretty much wraps up the whole convention thing *mentally checks off* activities, talks and guests...yup that's the lot....oh wait...how could I possibly have forgotton...(how did Bryan put it?) "The man with the nicest legs in Scotland.....Paul McGillion"

Obviously Paul got the mostenthusiastic and raptuous applause of the entire weekend and this continued pretty much every time he put in an appearence and whenever he said the words "Scotland" and "Thank-you"....we con fans are a simple bunch and obviously easy to please.

Now, Paul has the most fabulous stories and I hope I can do them a little justice here, though I can't do the Scottish accent so you'll just have to use your imagination there...yes I know, didn't realise there would be cognative involvement in the reading of my blog there did ya.....well I'll start with the question I asked first Iguess (I know...I was on fire this year)....which went something like this:

"Last year Kate (Hewlett) mentioned she had kept some of her wardrobe from A Dog's Breakfast and I was wondering if you kept anything....and more to the point who got the blow up doll?....I understand the latter part may be a little flummoxing to those who haven't see ADB....but then again I've been on about enough in the last year so seriously watch it!

Now Paul's reaction consisted of.....suitibly surprised, amused and alarmed...he commented that "he wouldn't make a very good looking woman." and that he had kept the track suit and the Star Crossed outfit, as to the blow up doll he said that "David has it in his trailer"...I had expected such a remark and commented that "David said you would say that and that you'd be lying"....much hilarity from the audience and Paul, quick as you like, asked "Are you channelling Daivd....coz it's kinda creepy"....amongst the gales of laughter I mentioned David had said as much at the autographs last year and as I returned to my seat Paul called for "Security to escort her out"....the man is very funny indeed.

Ok, well Paul was asked to describe his fellow cast members in one word and say why which went:

Jason......Cool.....Because he is.

Rachel......Sexy....Because she is.

Tori.....Classy.....Because she is.

Joe.....Hair....Because of the gel!

David......Creepy....Because he kissed me!.....Seriously though.....funny.....Because he is.

Now, stories...one which is particularly funny is when he got the news that he had the part of Carson Beckett on Stargate: Atlantis and the conversation he had with his elderly and Scottish parents...it went something like;

Paul...."I've got a part on a TV show"

Paul's Scottish Dad...."Och...that's great"

Paul....."I'm playing a Scottish Doctor"

Paul's Dad....."A Scottish Doctor, Och, that's brilliant...What's the show?"

Paul..."It's called Stargate"

Paul's Dad...."What?"

Paul....."Stargate"

Paul's Dad....."Star Trek"

Paul....."No, dad Stargate"

Paul's Dad...."Star Trek"

Paul....."No dad, Stargate Atlantis"

Paul's Dad...."It's no' Bloody Stargate...it's Star Trek, wit'ya Scottish Doctor, I've bin watchin' it f'years"

Paul..."It's Stargate...I'm the one on it"

Paul's Dad..."Hey, dunne raise y'voice t'y' old man....(to his wife) Paul's got a part on the Star Trek"

Paul's Mum...."That's lovely....are you on Star Trek?"

Paul....."Yes, yes I am"

So funny...there was even more hilarity, as Paul has recently got a part in the new Star Trek movie (though unfortunately not as Scotty) and when he informed his parents the conversation was remarkably similar to the above, though in reverse. His parent beliving that he was brought back to play Carson Beckett in a Stargate Movie.....bless his wee confuzzled parents...something with which many of us no doubt can empathise.

Paul...who was wearing a kilt....didn't I mention the kilt? jumped up onto an examination table (which had been placed on the stage) to lie back and relax...he then realised he was wearing a kilt.....I have heard on the grapevine (aka those lucky enough to be seated in the front row) that Paul Scottish heritige was safely underwraps....there was quite a roar of laughter, wolf whistles etc from the 95% female, and at that point understandably flustered, crowd.

Right another story....and my personal favourite since the tale was instigated from my own humble township of Bognor Regis (Can tell ya, I whooped ultra loud upon hearing those two words come out of Paul's mouth)...so the story...he had been attending a convention at Butlins (oh, poor, poor Paul) and had gone to a nearby village for a pint.....the barmaid had recognised him and a gent on the next barstool overheard the conversation that Paul was on Stargate.....the rest of the conversation went as follows (oh, and imagine if you will Paul putting on a relativly passable cockney accent for the guy)

Paul..."this big guy's sitting at the bar with his buddy....I think you might call him a chav (lol), he had a white tank top on, shaved head...all his knuckles kind of scarred and basically just got in a fight...huge, muscular guy and he looks over and he goes....(slightly dodgy Britsh Chav-like accent)....are you on the Stargate mate? (Paul) and I'm like yes, I'm on Stargate....(Chav)your on Stargate?....(Paul) yes....(Chav) it's my mate, it's my mate off the Stargate right there...listen mate if anyone give you any trouble, you on the telly?...(Paul) yes....(Chav) anyone gives you a hard time, I'll smash their fuckin' head in" (gales of laughter)....Paul continues "So I'm like...thank...thank-you, you don't really need to do that...(chav guy)....no, you're my mate now...you're my best mate off the stargate...anyone gives you a hard time...smash, smash, smash...their face yeah....I'm gonna be with you all night now mate yeah....(Paul)...I'm like "Oh, my God....what am I giong to do....I'm trapped"...so he sits beside me and is like (Chav) when are you from? (Paul)....Canada....(Chav)....I'm gonna come visit you in Canada mate...you're my mate off Stargate....the guy eventually went off for a slash and Paul's friend said "what are we gonna do?"...(Paul) "well we've got no choice...we've got to out drink him.....and we did!" (huge cheers and a massive round of applause)

During the autographs I had to comment on Paul's tale from Bognor....I told him "I have a bone to pick with you" Paul looked up looking a little scared "my hometown.....Bognor Regis" he back peddled saying that he'd said nothing bad about Bognor and that the incident had happened in a nearby village.....soon realised I was jesting (and didn't this time call for security) unfortunately he couldn't remember either the name of the village or the pub in which he had met "his mate"....I also said to Paul that he told the funniest stories and gave the best hugs.....at which point he said thanks and signed my picture "many hugs"....Oh, and yes the hug was at my final photo session at which he commented on my cool Goonies T-Shirt.

What else for Paul....

He commented on the "Save Carson Beckett Campaign" which had been successful in getting the character back for an episode in the forth season (and now also 5 episodes in the 5th....*does happy dance*) and had much praise for the fans in general which was nice to hear.

His apartment is bursting with toy turtles.

He does a fabulously funny impression of Joe Flanigan

Says he makes a hideous looking woman

That kissing David was creepy....and that "he kissed me by the way"

Loves Jaffa Cakes and Nutella....particularly what one highly embarassed fan wanted to do to him with the Nutella....don't worry love I think we're all with ya there! ;-)

So, there you go, a complete and total write up of my, ever-so-slighty mad but also dreamy, weekend in London....the guests were great, the fans were great....even Bryan was great....(My dad was great also and incredibly patient)......there is but one thing left to answer......

What in the name of all that's richeous is Kavan Smith up to in this photo?

Modern Living

The job I wanted to get found a better and more experienced candidate.

I have a blister on my heel for my troubles.

I will run out of money in approx 3-4 months.

I intend to spend the rest of the day eating my weight in Chocolate

Quickie

Just a quickie since I appear to have caught a head cold (I blame the dastardly Jonathan Woodward) and am currently sitting here with my nostrils plugged with tissue....attractive, and yet also slightly comical (no picture sorry, you'll have to use your imagination)

Torchwood Episode 3....Awww how sweet for Tosh and Wowzer at about 34 mins and 34 seconds....somebody throw a bucket of water on 'em (second thought make that chocolate sauce and whipped cream..... *whistles innocently*)....and by the way was this episode made at the end of the filming schedule....big end of the world scary time rift thingy = very, very bright light in face of actor...c'mon beeb, who you trying to kid!

For those who missed it earlier (and dad look away)

Wolf Pegasus Three, Part 1

So, now that I am all caught up with my beauty sleep I thought I might share with whoever cares just how my weekend went.....for that matter how did your weekend go...get all those odd jobs done which have been nagging since forever? visit family/in-laws/friends? did sod all and watched Dancing on Ice?....all the while I was meeting and laughing with some of the nicest and entertaining people I have ever met.



Yes people it was convention time again...has it really been a whole year?...and with the ever dependable, yet slightly befuddled, father in tow it was off to London for Wolf Pegasus Three.

This year we both had tickets under the 300 mark so I shall start with the meet and greet which was on the Friday night.....you sit at a table with around 8 or 9 other people and guests are shuffled round the room spending, in theory, 5 minutes with each table. This is when I learnt that it pays to be a bit more outspoken than I usually am, else you'd never get a word in edgewise.

I guess this would be a good time to mention who the guests actually were: Andee Frizzell, an amazingly tall woman who plays the Wraith Queen (s) on SGA and had stepped in at the last moment when Kate Hewlett had to cancel, Dean Marshall (Sgt Bates), Torri Higgison (Weir), Kavan Smith (Major Lorne), Paul Mcgillion, (Carson Beckett) and bonus guest Jonathan Woodward (mostly known for being in Buffy, Angel and Firefly).

I soon realised, during the time which our table spent waiting in between guests, that to have any quality time to talk you need to bring lots of 'party' stuff and 'hog' said guests so that the time spent with other tables is dramatically reduced.....A snippet of conversations I managed to have:

Dean Marshall will be returning as Bates and has woken up from his coma and is now NID, Andee Frizzell loves British comedy especially Little Britain and plans on looking up The Mighty Boosh, Paul Mcgillion hinted that Carson may pop up in season 5 and thanked the men at the table for showing up (95% of people at the con are female), Kavan Smith finds travelling in Europe with a five month old baby more sucky than he thought he would, Torri Higginson had fun making an episode of NCIS and Jonathan Woodward...well Jonathan was a little worse for wear (he had already spilled a full pint of beer over himself and his chaperon as he attempted to drink it from a crutch)....he asked everybody's name round the table and upon hearing my name was Emma stood up, walked all the way round and gave me a hug with a double cheek kiss (leaving me somewhat flustered)....not quite sure why he decided I was so special, but I'll take what I can get.

The whole process went on for around two hours (ish) and then the room emptied to make it ready for the first party of the weekend. Dad and I vacated to the bar where we ran straight into two lovely ladies who I'd met and chatted with much of last year (they helped me out with rules and regs being a con-virgin last year). I hadn't seen them before I'd left last year and hadn't exchanged details...but there they were.....seated with a Bacardi Breezer in hand, much like they had been when I'd last seen them when I come to think of it...Nicky and Ann (absolute legends and a couple of devils when in possession of a pack of balloons in a crowded room).

Much fun was had with these two and Jo at the parties...people watching, learning dances (I apologise to anyone I crippled during the Doctor Who dance and the ultra fast and difficult Swamp Thing dance) and generally behaving like a bunch of kids on Hairbo....and fawning/drooling over the bar staff and security guards...as if there wasn't enough good looking blokes on the guest list.....but I digress.

Which leads me smoothly to; the guests....I would attempt to write a full account of what each guest had said during each of their talks but between the taking pictures, rushing out for photo shoots and all the laughing I can't remember so I will do little write up of each guest.

Andee Frizzell - What an incredibly energetic and naturally funny lady. I didn't know anything about the woman except for that she plays the Wraith Queen, but as soon as she got out on the stage she had the room in the palm of her hand. She seem surprised that so many people had turned out to see her on the Sunday, expecting everyone to still be in bed with a hang over and had planned on teaching some yoga moves...she did display some amazing feats of flexibility which if I had even partially tried out would have ended up in A & E with limbs being prised apart with a crow bar.

She talked about the make up process and that many of the cast a crew have no idea who she is when they have the wrap party, until she growls and does the Wraith hand thing. One particularly funny story involved her bumping into Joe Flanigan (John Sheppard) and his wife one day and saying hello...no recognition from Joe, Joe's wife asking him if he knew her...and Andee saying "we spent the weekend together....I had you on your knees...."

Toward the end of her talk, on the Sunday, there was much hilarity which she let slip a bit of a spoiler for the the season four finale....she realised what she'd said straight away and the look of shock and surprise on her face followed by some mock "while that's me fired" and skulking towards the door had the room roaring with laughter....sorry though the spoiler stays at P3.

Someone asked her who she'd like to suck the life out of and she said she'd have to think about it....later she was asked about her role in Supernatural (Folsom Prison Blues) at which point she said "I'd like to go back to the sucking the life out of question....but in a good way" (referring to Jensen Ackles)....lady after my own heart there.

What else do I remember about Andee...Oh, she loved my Goonies T-shirt (the woman has great taste in films then), she fell asleep in her room Saturday night when she meant to go the party and woke up still clutching her camera, pronounces it "arse" instead of "ass", used to hate being so tall as a kid until she got given a alcoholic drink meant for her cousin at age 11 and refers to the Wraith feeding thingy as a "hand-gina".

Next up Jonathan Woodward - The bonus guest as he was in town for a Buffy/Angel con next weekend.....hmmmm, now what to say about Jonathan....I personally found him highly entertaining mainly because he was completely off the wall and the insanity of it all had me in stitches. It's safe to say he was a little worse for wear during his talk on the Saturday (Jet lag/hung over/still drunk...delete as appropriate) but I have to give him props for appearing in front of a crowd the majority of whom didn't know who he was. He was fascinated by the lady doing sign language at the front of the stage and tried to catch her out by saying difficult words and messing about behind her...until she pointed out that she could see everything he was doing in a very large mirror at the other end of the hall....very funny.

My funniest moment with the bloke has to be when I was getting an autograph....whilst in the queue he was giving everyone a shot a whiskey...the poor guy in front of me is obviously not a whiskey drinker, especially neat, and I did giggle to myself when he coughed and his eyes watered....the next two people didn't take up the offer and when it got round to me I dutifully downed the shot (closer to a double I might add) ever the professional alcholic student.....I pondered for a second before announcing "Mmmmm, Bells" at which point Jonathan looked up agog saying "Wow, that's amazing" shaking my hand impressed that the, innocent looking, lass in front of him had guessed the brand just from the taste (I neglected to mention I had seen the bottle when the glass had been refilled from the guy in front).....bless him....he was also partial to my Goonies tee, actually offering anything I wanted in exchange....was I tempted?......No bloody way...The Goonies T-Shirt is sacred.

What else from the delightfully mad as a hatter world of Jonathan....well he apparently hates the abomination that is Roast Chicken flavour crisps, gave us a sermon as the Rev. Johnny Wallet (Johnny Cash was already taken) and finally......ahem....."Caaaaaaan Yooooooou Diiiig It!!!"

Okey Dokey....moving on and finally for my post today me thinks....Torri Higginson - Obviously there was a huge cheer for Torri when she came on stage, due to the recent decision by TPTB to remove her character from the show....a controversial decision in a year of controversial decisions in SGA...Torri was quite adorable, thanking a group of fans for their 'red shirt' campaign to bring back the character (well it worked for Carson).

I did miss some of Torri's talks due to the inevitable photo shoots and there appeared to be many people interested in Torri's opinion of the moralistic issues in the story lines of SGA, which did become a little tedious, but a couple of funnier moments were Torri talking about her nervousness when first filming with Richard Dean Anderson (I mean it's Macgyver for crying out loud) and that her education in Britain had caused her to pick up a few choice phrases. When filming a scene in a corridor Torri flubbed a line and exclaimed "Bugger me," at which point RDA dutifully threw her against the wall and attempted to do just that.....I'm sure his actions enabled Torri to then work fluster free for the rest of the day......next time I bump into RDA I may try a similar thing and see what happens, the phrase I utter may be a little different to BUGGER me however.

Another funny moment was when Torri was asked to describe her fellow cast members in just one word...something which proved quite difficult until aided by the trusty hyphen......can't for the life of me remember what the words were for each cast member in the end, but when describing Jason Mamoa (Ronan) she mentioned about how fit the man is exclaiming "I don't know just how that boy keeps it up.".........Queue room full of women with mind in the gutter bursting into raucous laughter...Torri, realising what she'd said, quickly tried to move along the conversation by saying that she meant his energy when he's constantly "jumping over Joe"....Queue more gutter induced hilarity. Torri again tried to rectify the situation by saying "I said jump over him not ON 'im".....Torri my dear the fans will hear what ever they wish to hear if you plant the seed close enough.....or a mile away for that matter.

What else can I say about Torri....Oh, she was incredibly pleasant at the autograph session and we spoke about her dog, she asked me if I had any pets and dedicated the autograph to my cat Henry, who died two years ago aged 20....she can do the splits (see pic) and does a terrific impression of Flipper.

So, that's it for today folks...writers cramp has set in...will write up the rest in a couple of days

Worthing's Wood Invasion

Got my computer back...well sort of...it's running ridiculously slow which is very, very frustrating and the story of my life at the moment.

In case you didn't see it on the news earlier in the week Worthing experienced an invasion by the lesser spotted plank creatures...who nearly made a successful attempt at a complete invasion of the town centre until gallant locals took it upon themselves to defend the coast and defeated the invaders armed with saws and hammers capturing and turning them into sheds, decking and occasional tables.....Worthing lives to fight another day.

The only casualty appeared to be...well, me actually...when a huge rock....and by rock I mean shingle....and by shingle I mena pebble.... was thrust unexpectedly into my path...causing a complete balance malfunction.....I have since been nursing a badly sprained ankle and a jean burned knee....and possibly an ego deflation, though I'm sure the builders nearby were laughing at a particularly funny anecdote and had nothing to do with my spectacularly un-lady like display of gravity theory....just what I need the week of P3.

Viruses and Cons

The job hunting continues and I am currently keeping my fingers crossed on a couple of applications I recently put in, but more pressing matters are interfering with my new life in Worthing....namely a warthog of a virus which has invaded my computer.

I've never had a virus before and it has been an annoyance to say the least. I'm fortunate that my files don't seem to have been corrupted thus far and it's a general 'can't use internet'/ 'make computer run really, really slowly' type of virus. Not entirely sure as to why I am worthy of some 'basement living', star wars action figure collecting, geek-a-zoid's attentions as I have little money to sponge and surf nothing more interesting than TV gossip sites and forums rather than the infinately more interesting 'minute by minute on Britney's breakdown' or 'find your secret government codes here' type websites.....I guess the notion that I am special has leaked to the masses and they feel threatened.

So I'm back in Bognor, at least for the night, and hoping that 'da man' can fix the problems so I can return to my meager existence......on the plus side I have read more pages of my Wilbur Smith book in the last few days than I have in the last two years, so every cloud....etc

In other news Wolf Pegasus Three is a week Friday....how quickly has that come round?.....and I am approaching 'excited' mode...though a little less when surrounded by people who have never heard of the guests whom I'm incessantly wittering on about, but what a class act they are to me and other sci-fi geeks like me....top billing has to go to Paul McGillion - the incredibly sweet natured Dr Carson Beckett (on SGA), but credits also include: Smallville, The X-Files, Stargate SG1 and not forgetting Sliders, Next Tori Higginson (Elizabeth Weir, SGA), Kavan Smith (Major Lorne, SGA) and also The 4400, Battlestar Galactica, The Outer Limits, Dean Marshall (Sgt Bates, SGA) also Smallville, The Dead Zone, Da Vinci's Inquest and Tommy Boy (!), Kate Hewlett (Jeannie McKay, SGA) also A Dog's Breakfast, Kevin Hill and Dark Water and, just announced, is Jonathan Woodward who has appeared in Firefly, Third Watch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer...but probably mostly known as Knox in Angel......quite a line up you must agree.....and if you don't *blows big fat raspberry*

Snippet

Decided to pound the pavement for jobs in the town centre today....ended up buying a new bag and a top in the sales instead.....then again I did see a Chav spit into the wind and get a face full of flob so the day wasn't a total loss.

Another Year Over

Happy New Year.....thought I'd get that out of the way nice and early....It's not really a big deal for me these days....paying extortionate amounts of money to sit in a pub, eat lots of carbs, listen to dodgy DJs play crap music and pay over the odds for a rum and coke lost its appeal many years ago....so i stayed in. As per usual mum was in bed and settled before the 'big event' and I watched the last ten minutes of a completely shambolic live BBC 1 show....It was very cringeworthy television with missed links, randoms blundering into shot, vox pops with people who didn't speak English and others who obviously couldn't give a monkeys and a couple of live performances from people who A) I'd never heard of, B) looked about 12 and C) couldn't hold a note if their life depended on it.......Should've tuned into the Hootnanny on BBC 2 but I only wanted to see the fireworks....which were actually pretty damn good.

So here's to another year.....in which I have already discovered that I appear to be allergic to the special anti-viral tissues mum bought for dad's (man) flu....yep, only I could be allergic to something which is supposed to improve you condition....figures.

Ding-Dong-Merrily

It's been a while since I enlightened the world on my daily happenings so I thought an update was in order. Firstly, and in case you hadn't noticed, it was Christmas last week. A family affair for me.....back to the homestead in Bognor with the rents and added sibling.....no skiing, log cabins/fires or building snowmen for me....nope, and the extra chilly weather which we had been experiencing at least could have provided something in resemblance to 'Winter Wonderlandish' for extra Christmassiness (it can be a word), but this was replaced with the usual dark, cloudy and soggy on the day itself....yep traditional British Christmas weather right there.

As with most people Christmas traditions are upheld each year in our house (decorations, lights, listening to Christmas songs, arguments, ingestion of way too much chocolate and the need for Gaviscon) , the main one is to turn off the TV (not the whole time I hasten to add) and observe some quality family time in the guise of participation in 'fun' card and board games (non-optional.....unless you're mum, well she is in charge of the food provisions so if she wants to be the festive Grinch there's no argument from me). Cribbage, Uno, Trivial Pursuit and, the newly purchased, Underground: The London board game were the top choices this year. Fun and frolics were had by all, even though some, so called, family members lowered the wholesome tone by cheating, none too discreetly either *coughs* Sarah *coughs*....tables were turned however when father and I ganged up and gave her an arse whooping in a later game.....yep, like I said honest, wholesome family fun.

So, further to my Christmas round up another observed tradition is, or at least should be, watching the top Christmas TV line up, which this year equated to BBC's Oliver Twist (which was actually pre-Christmas), ITV's The Old Curiosity Shop, Eastenders (because absolute misery is a must for Christmas viewing) and Doctor Who (of course).....the latter was excellent even if it bore more than a passing resemblance to The Poseidon Adventure, but in space and with less Gene Hackman and a little more Kylie Minogue. Apart from that I was very thankful for the 11 DVDs I received from Santa, as the traditional Christmas TV fare was beyond pants....I mean seriously as pants go this was a choice of either grannies frilly pantaloons or discarded 1960's woollies, ripped and with skid marks.

So, the New Year is on the way....I'll soon be returning to the new postcode and hopefully may even find employment, if i can convince some silly bugger I'm worth it....for now though there's just enough time for me to whoop dad at Cribbage one last time.

Club Mercury's Final Christmas Do

Crikey, I've been busier in the last couple of days than I have been in the last six months. Visited the old haunting ground of Southampton yesterday, meeting up with Alison (times 2) Elin and Dan (the bat) for lunch and mass gossip session.

The poxy train took much longer than expected/advertised, which meant that the shopping I was going to do in the town had to be scrapped. Still, I had a decent chat with Alison, much laughs with Dan and when the other pair finally showed up (who knew it would be difficult to park in S'ton the week before x-mas) we ate food and made a mess with wrapping paper and envelopes. I'd gone with fluffy venereal diseases for Elin and Ally (Herpes and Syphilis to be exact) the gift which keeps on giving and can be shared with loved ones. (http://www.giantmicrobes.com/) thanks to the attached leaflet we all learnt something useful and tried to remember which monarch had gone doo-lally with the pink worm....I'm going with Nigel Hawthorne.

So, after our meal, and due to our current location being cold enough to freeze off brass monkeys (or however the phrase goes), we descended on a well known coffee house for hot chocolate and cake.....hmmmmmm. Not long after this I realised I was about to miss my train and hi-tailed it to the station....where I arrived just in time to see said train pulling out of the station and, subsequently, the rush-hour (which isn't rushed in any sense of the word, nor does it take an hour) journey took me just shy of 3 hours and 3 changes to get home.....by which time I was officially an Ems-sicle.

Today I wandered round pretty much every side road in the Worthing area shopping, seeing to appointments and generally getting my bearings (which was a little trial and error....with emphasis on the error), hopefully I'll be all over the direction stuff when I venture out tomorrow.

Irn Bru Christmas Ad

New Diggs

Officially got all moved into my room in the shared house in Worthing yesterday.....It was a relatively simple process, even if there was panicky moment when we thought that the TV wasn't going to work ( I hate technology it should be press button, switch on, does everything automatically, done)....but crisis was soon averted and my fabulous Viera switched on in all it's Technicolor glory.

Still need some storage, mainly for my excessive dvd collection, curtains (thankfully it's proper dark in the mornings at the moment) and some lamps to make it cozy. I also need to move some more stuff in, but since I'm back to Bognor next week for Christmas, that can wait.

One of my new housemates, Emma, had invited a couple of her friends round to watch the finale of (Fi)X-Factor and had prepared a bunch of tasty munchies. I decided to forgo the (Fi)X-Factor part of proceedings, retiring instead back to my room with a plate full of food to watch Robin Hood.

Speaking of, quite impressed by last nights episode....plenty of expected action and adventure, complete with a treasure hunt....who'd have thought it'd be the Oxo mum.....a randy Oxo mum apparently too. Marian got herself into to a right load of doo-doo....actually feeling sorry for Guy of Gisbourne, not only is he being led a merry dance by the young maiden but he seems to be the only bloke in Nottingham who can't recognise lady lumps under a tunic.....for heavens sake man, do you not have eyes!

Anyway, the Nightwatchman was revealed to Guy and then he and Alan covered it up to protect Marian in front of the sheriff....is Guy doing this out of the good of his heart or to manipulate Marian in the future.....hmmm it's a puzzler.

???????

The incomprehensible has happened....I just don't know what to do.....how will I possibly cope?......I just keep pinching myself hoping that it is in fact some kind of terrible nightmare, but then I open my eyes and see something which chills me to the core......

"No satellite signal is being received"

I'm not going to panic, nope...panic.....me....not going to happen....I can manage without television, it's not like I'm addicted or anything.....is it me or is it getting hot in here, my palms are getting awfully sweaty.......I'm just going to sit in the corner on my own for a while, hug a pillow and rock gently for a few hours......but not because I'm panicking.

T-Minus

I move house in four days....four days people and there's a whole bunch of stuff that needs to be sorted before then.....TV licence, wrap Christmas presents, arrange DSS appointment in Worthing Branch, get a job, write and post Christmas cards....and , um, well pack everything. Notice my priorities there, hmm maybe I should work through that 'to do' list backwards.

I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff which I've forgotten about which also need to be taken into consideration for the move....like why the heck am I moving house this close to Christmas....but certain parental factions are sure to have the slack and will probably be whipping me with it before long.....personally I'm of the 'chuck everything into a box and sort it out sometime in the future' vain of moving, but I'm not too sure how successful that will turn out...meh.

So the countdown continues and I'm sure there's something constructive I could be doing right now......Ooo, is that a split end...better sort that.

Robin of Muttley

Still finding Robin Hood relatively entertaining, it seems to have found a decent enough balance of swashbuckling, comedy and postmodern referencing. Though the other week Allan-a-Dale, after wrestling a nun into bushes (could have turned into a whole other show right there) was guilty of delivering the, ever-so-slightly, dodgy line of 'say a little prayer for me' before pegging it.

This evening I must admit I nearly laughed up a lung due to the gratuitous Hanna/Barbera ref.....I guess it was only a matter of time during an episode where the principle plot device was a pigeon...could have been worse, Little John could have sparked up a long distance relationship with Clara or perhaps Djaq could have had a Tet-a-tet with Dr Glossop while Much took his pet squirrel to see the wondrous and knowledgeable Macadoo.

In case you missed it the ref I am referring to is the sheriff's dialogue of 'Catch that pigeon.....Now!'

While I'm on dialogue there was some corking stuff in an episode a few weeks back delivered by the fantastically funny Josie Lawrence (whatever has she been doing since Who's Line....It's a puzzler), highlights included; 'Hello baldy' (to the sheriff), 'Slimey little snothead' (descriptive of Guy) and my personal favourite....'Hairy pig witted fox turd I’ll pluck your eyeballs from your bony skull and squelch them into cesspits'....a phrase which surely deserves to be integrated into modern societal dialect....for example when dealing with cold callers, mad drivers, chavs......and carol singers

My So Called Dad

My dad made me laugh today....we have the same puerile and sarcastic sense of humour and more often than not these days its the frequency of senile moments which has me in stitches, his joke telling is usually about as successful as a Tommy Cooper magic trick and not usually for the ears of the young and innocent like my good self.

While watching Are You Smarter Than a Ten Year Old? (I know but he’s retired and I’m unemployed) a contestant was asked a question which involved knowing numbers in French. Dad, who took some classes several years ago, dutifully rattled off 1-20 in French ( I think I was supposed to be impressed) and I said ‘but what about in German?’ dad paused a moment before retorting with Vun, Too, Sree, Vour etc….ala Allo Allo...poor old dad, growing up in the 50's what chance did he really have…Larry Grayson, Benny Hill and Tommy Cooper….I rest my case.

Buffy Fest '07

Visited Alison yesterday for a complete fest of all things Buffyverse...with a smidgen of Barrowman thrown in for good measure.

With junk food in abundance we got through a carefully selected 5 episodes of the hilarious fantasy series, one from each season: Nightmares, Go Fish, Band Candy, Superstar and finally Once More With Feeling. (time constraints meant skipping season 5 and 7 episodes for the delicious musical edition)

Revelling in the top notch action/drama, inventive/addictive dialogue, out dated SFX and a surprising amount of flashes of buff (the male kind not the character and mainly from Nic Brendon, but with added Marc Blucas, Wentworth Miller and David Borenanz) I gorged on Peanut M & M's and delved into an intellectual debate on the progression of 'meh' as a descriptive in modern language, as well as the obvious academic 'Buffyverse' debates....well reminiscing really...well I supposed it could be considered a flitting of trivia between two fangirls...at a squint....yes, I am that sad.

In all a good time was had by us both...and I was only slightly bothered that on my return journey my train was delayed by 20 mins putting me smack bang in the middle of rush hour on a train consisting of two carriages and nowhere near enough seats, sandwiched between a loved up couple incapable of orifice separation, a gaggle of chavs involved in the life changing conversation of Westlife or Boyzone and a middle aged woman who seemed unaware that mobile phones have a microphone, for 1hr 1/2....like i say, 'slightly' bothered.

You know what Doctor....You were MY Doctor

In the depths of the cheesiest excuse for entertainment which is Children in Need this evening I was treated to 8 minutes of pure genius from the pen of Steven Moffat. I am of course talking about the one off special Doctor Who: Time Crash which aired this evening.

Not only following on directly from the end of the previous series but incorporating a double helping of Doctor madness. The incorrigibly delightful David Tennant was joined by Peter Davison complete with Cricket jacket and accessorized vegetable on his lapel for 8 minutes of screen gold.....so good in fact that I hopped straight over to the website to watch again to make sure I hadn't missed anything.....and basically bathe in every utterly brilliant second.

Fast paced and utterly ridiculous dialogue, with some special self aware moments from Mr. Tennant, since like myself Peter Davison was my Doctor, the pair avert the end of the universe via a paradoxical impossibility only manageable in the realm of the Who.

Best quotes include:

'Fair play to you, not many people can carry off a decorative vegetable'

'Hey I'm the Doctor. I can save the universe with a kettle and some string....and look at me I'm wearing a vegetable'

'End of the universe butter-fingers'

If you did miss it, and it's understandable since you would have had to sit through a couple of hours of mind numbing pseudo entertainment disguised as a fund raiser, I bring you the direct link.....all hail me:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/onthenight/article_doctorwho.shtml

Graduation

Okay, I'll get it over with because it's all very embarrassing....Graduation day was last Friday which involved dressing up in pompus, ill fitting, outfits and sitting through boring speeches and monotonous waiting for you name to be called to then experience a minute of utter terror in front of friends, family , lecturers and a couple of hundred complete strangers whilst trying to keep a mortar board balanced on your nogging and not be the person who trips on their gown to fall flat on their face.

It all went accordingly and was followed by a few minutes of posing for a gazillion photos, see above, before enjoying a meager buffet and chatting to friends and their families as well as catching up with lecturers Claire and Darren.....who called me a geek, ah how little he knows me after three years....as I am a total TV nut and nerd and proud of it.

Later I met up with the Club Mercury crowd for a reunion, of sorts, at the cheapest pub in Southampton. Lot of fun and merriment was had by all and I'm sure there are plenty of pics, due to me being nearly blind from the flash, and even a video out there somewhere in YouTube land....not giving you the link though.

Dad's Little Carrot

Not quite sure what to say about this root vegetable which my father has grown at his allotment....mum thought it was hilarious, but then again she always had a filthy mind....naturally I had to have the logistics of the 'funny' explained, because as you know I am as pure as the driven snow.

Movie Night

Had a fabulous time at my very good friend Clogs' place watching a mass of movies over the weekend. First up, in keeping with the forthcoming Halloween thingy coming up, we trolled through Final Destination 1, 2 and 3. Lots of gore, hilariously ludicrous deaths reminiscent of the utterly wonderful TV series Dead Like Me...what happened to Dead Like Me, were Americans worried it's individuality would cause them to engage some brain activity I wonder....after the back-to-back death, blood and 'ick factor which is the Final Destination films poor Chloe squeaked that fluffy bunnies and Disney should be the way to go next so we borrowed.....House of Wax (2005) from her housemate.

I've not seen the original but I fear it is better than this remake...blood, squeamish moments of both gore and the casts acting ability (Paris Hilton? WTF), stupid teenagers doing stupid things...copping off one moment and being impaled the next....blah...blah....blah....house of wax has mass meltdown....last surviving teens rescued and the complete unsurprse 'there is another murderer' conclusion.

From there we watched Disney's Aladdin and.....Annie, proper cheese, but magnificent production, when compared to what is classed as a musical production these days...don't even get me started on High School Musical....grrr arg!

Robin Hood this week continued to please..Robin actually showing a little menace and being all 'Douglas Fairbanks' down a flag on the outside of the castle (OK so it was mainly CGI but meh)....Was nice to see Will Scarlet have a bit of gumption for a change, reminiscent of Ray Winstone's portrayal of the character in RoS way back when (although not quite as utterly crazy). The only bit which was a tad annoying was the time it took for deathbed girl to be back to full of beans...bloody miracle cure that...still I suppose there was much to fit into the 45 mins this week. And next week it looks like the mole...aka Alan-a-Dale....has been rumbled, potentially a good angsty/action episode...I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Hey, Matthew

Bloody hell, this song is a blast from the past...some when around 1987...and yes I remember every single one of the shows mentioned.

Allusive Trophies and Plot Lines

Another day another England defeat, this time at the hands of South African in the Rugby World Cup. I'm not really into to Sport in general, I find the whole thing about as exciting as the blue rinse parade in Tesco on Pension day. Since there had been much 'hoohar' about this particular game, and the fact that Saturday television has seriously slim pickings these days, I thought I'd give it a go.

It was a very stop/go affair with seemingly endless rules and regulations to abide by during the play and endless scrums which don't really seem to achieve anything. England put in a fair effort....I think, it was sort of difficult to tell half the time since the ball spent most of it's time air bound....and at least we didn't get completely stuffed. Ultimately the game for me was 20% 'c'mon England' 40% confusion 15% 'we was robbed' 15% totty (well let's face it cauliflower ears and broken noses 'aint that attractive) and 10% triage. I think I'll stick to what I know...which brings me to.......

Robin Hood. Not a bad episode all told, though a bit lackluster in terms of action, bar a couple of fights between Guy and Robin. One or two funny one-liners, even verging on the risque at one point which was a surprise. A continuation of the 'turning' of outlaw Alan-a-Dale...still seems a bit far fetched considering that his own brother was murdered by the sheriff, but I'm interested to see where writers are going with it, since it's new to the story. And when are the sheriff and Guy going to realise that Marian is always going to take Robin's side...for heavens sake it's presented itself often enough, but the bumbling duo continue to give her a reprieve. A ladies moment...Guy with his shirt off looking slightly oiled and all pecked out....they can certainly continue with that particular line of presentation. The series continues to be fairly mediocre in terms of story, which is a shame because there is potential there if only they'd bite the bullet and run with it.....

Now with the BBC is serious financial discomfort I wonder whether Robin Hood will be a casualty in the near future, and then what will we have to look forward to...repeats, repeats and repeats.

Twenty Years On.....The Great Storm

Bloody hell, time does fly...apparently it's twenty years since the 'hurricane'/Great Storm/very high winds....to this day nobody can quite make up their mind....caused havoc across the country.

I was 8 years old at the time and so the memory here is a little hazy. What I do remember is being a little anxious about the huge pine tree which stands nearby as the winds outside became more and more ferocious. For several years after, every time high winds hit our area I would sleep on my mattress on the floor of my parents room, still convinced that the Pine tree would collapse onto the house....It's still standing to this day.

All I really recall is the sound that the winds made...a whistling which could have made my ears bleed.....Having since lived on the 13th floor during some severe stormy weather I don't envy the people who were living in Bognor's only tower block back in '87. My sister, ever diligent and aware of incidents happening around her....slept through the whole thing like the proverbial baby.

The morning after was a school day, dad had somehow managed to get to work and had phoned to say don't bother sending the kids in as the roads were pretty much impassable. Yes, my school was open after the worst storm in over 200 years....fools.

Us kids spent our day checking out the nearby damage. Several large trees had fallen across Aldwick Road near The Pound, windows were impossible to see through due to the layer upon layer of crap covering them, the dividing fence between us and the neighbours was demolished and the back gate seemed to have disappeared....we got off lucky in the area I guess, considering Sussex had seen some of the worst damage in the country.

Generally, I remember the potential for fun after the storm, due to the amount of felled trees which were so much easier to climb when horizontal. The family took a trip to the nearby Eartham Woods shortly after the storm and we were all disappointed as to how much had changed. A huge portion had been completely destroyed and I've only recently returned to the woods which once again resembles a proper woodland area.

More famously, large Estates became unrecognisable, roofs were ripped off flats in Littlehampton and other areas, caravan parks flattened, Seven Oaks became One Oak, power lines were down all over the place and Gordon Kaye (Renie from 'Allo 'Allo) was very nearly killed when a tree struck his car. It was all a little odd for an 8 year old to take in really, but I'm guessing it was the start of my fascination towards weird weather.

Cashback (2006)

Watched this fabulously brilliant, original and funny film last night. It mixes the banally mundane with a touch of romance with an intriguing fantasy twist, capturing in detail the observations of the main character Ben, played uncompromisingly well by Sean Biggerstaff (probably best remembered as Oliver Wood from Harry Potter). Why can't more films be this honest and pleasurable?

Robin Hood....Episode Two

I have to admit that tonight's episode of Robin Hood wasn't too bad....well that was less difficult than I thought it would be to say. Apart from the glaringly obvious green gaming tables in Nottingham Castle and a few contemporary phrases chucked in willy nilly it was actually rather entertaining. And if you think about it so much could have gone wrong in this episode.

So the premise was rather similar to three/ four (if you count the original) well known Hollywood heist movies and Jonas Armstrong can in no way be compared to the sex god who is George Clooney, but things moved along quite nicely, there was a little tension and a couple of good 'cor blimey' moments, which has previous been difficult to capture in the series due to the continuing theme of Robin the action hero....with 'PC' action.

Also Dexter Fletcher, yes, him off Hotel Babylon (for the youngsters)/Press Gang (for the over the hill mob) was better than expected as the German Count....when he first opened his mouth I inwardly groaned thinking the accent was going to be cringe worthy camped up (aka not unlike 'allo 'allo)...but instead it was passed off very well, pleasing mainly because Keith Allen has the monopoly on camp in this series.

So, in all a vast improvement on last weeks antics...now if the art department would actually sit back and look and the completely contemporary wardrobe and tone it down a tad then this series would actually stand a chance.

Sony Bravia - Play Doh

Bless those people at Sony who so some of the best adverts on the telly....bouncey balls in San Francisco, Paint Fireworks in Glasgow and now Play-Doh Rabbits in NYC...Genius.

Robin Hood....Seriously What Are They Thinking?

Since I just wrote a whole dissertation on the subject I thought I give the new version of Robin Hood another go. During the repeated viewing of the first series for my studies I realised there were parts which were actually quit good. However this was not a strong episode and had some pretty farcical moments too boot.

I know that it's supposed to be contemporary and that it's been a while since the target audience had something to compare it to but even so I'm pretty sure that descriptive word such as 'skanky' and 'manky' were not part of the slang in medieval times. Also post-modern popular cultural referencing can be funny and clever when used in the right scenario but I don't think 'It's goodbye from me...and it's goodbye from him' when leaving Nottingham Castle is it.

So the themes of the thing were that Robin is captured while carrying out some derring-do to protect a mother and her two young children from the evil Sheriff...and by 'evil' I obviously mean camp as hell. The 'mother' actually turns out to be the sheriff's sister who had used prosthetics and a wig to disguise herself...now what is (once again) wrong with that statement....PROSTHETICS.....there is absolutely now way I can justify that one....yes I know Robin was always disguising himself in the tales but it was always things like straw stuffed down his jumper, mud on his face (which I might add is something else missing from this medieval Britain) and a hood....not synthetic substances several hundred years out of date...grrr.

Its a shame really as there was some interesting themes...I like the idea of a turncoat within the midst of the 'outlaw' gang and that there was some actual use of the forest in hiding and making escape from a robbery...as is tradition. Unfortunately is the production continues with over compensating with the contemporary referencing fans will probably turn off in droves and a season 3 won't see the light of day....and therefore the family drama on a Saturday night will be lost again until the far superior Doctor Who returns.

In terms of Robin Hood...If its a enjoyably delicious, dark, moody and funny show full of swashbuckling action that you're after, then buy the box sets of Robin of Sherwood and watch repeatedly.