A sort of blokey questions though if a lady has the answer I'd be delighted to hear it....
Cement mixer lorries, you know the type, the ones with continuously rotating barrel on the back with the load of congealed grey porridge on the back around the spout.
How the bloody hell do they clean out the insides of these things? Ever mixed cement in a wheelbarrow and left it a couple of hours before trying to clean it? nightmare.
I was in a traffic jam behind one of these things thinking about that interspersed with thoughts of sex every few minutes (cause thats what we blokes think about, apparently....)
It really bothered me, do they just chuck a load of gravel and water in and swirl it round very fast before getting the barrel to spew it out again? if so doesn't that make a whacking great mess everywhere and isn't it bad for the environment?
So who knows how to clean out a cement mixer lorry........answers appreciated please........
Sunday 18 February 2007
Small irriatating observations....
Today I wandered out in the car to buy a newspaper at a local supermarket which is a couple of miles at most from my house. (I did wonder why I didn't walk up to the gargae instead which is nearer, walking being heathier and more useful for removing my extra half stone.
Anyway I got to the supermaket (the one with white lettering on an Orange background, part of my personal crusade not to use the one with blue lettering on a white background) and I lumbered around in the car, tousled hair, scruffy clothes, (unshaven for two days, part of my skincare regime, facial hair liberation, less burn damage from the razor), my son (8) bought me the Gilette Fusion for Christmas, its the one with 5 blades, I think he had some subconcious hope that I'd turn into David Beckham as he asks me at least twice per week if I'm using my new razor (he checks for facial smoothness), I confirm I am and I always see a fleeting look of disappointment in his face. (Nope he still looks like Daddy)
Also the bloody 5 blade razor is hell first thing in the morning if your face is tender, anybody ever get sore hair? well I get sore beard and then I drag a razor across it!! and believe me for some reason the 5 blade version is seriously more painful at this point than the 3 blade "Mach Turbo" (marketing dept getting double speed in the name there, clever bastards!) If I stop using the David Beckam model my son will disown me, if I keep using it I may turn into Becks and end up with Posh! now that would be a nightmare!!!!!! I like proper women me!
Anyway back at the supermarket, I'm lumberingly motoring round the carpark in baglady mode (had brushed my teeth though as I didn't want to cause fellow shoppers anguish and cause them to fall over on a Sunday morning) looking for a parking space, there were none.
Interestingly row 2 & 3 out 10 rows of spaces are all for disabled drivers, which is excellent and as it should be of course......but really 40 disabled spaces, occupied by 3 cars! is it really really necessary to have sooooo many diasbled spaces?
So there are 2 possibilities, either I've missed "disabled shopping" time which I always appear to have an uncanny knack for doing or proportionally they've allocated too many spaces for disabled parking.
Also the penalties are draconican, clamping is mentioned in abundance (individual signs every two spaces for those that are hard of seeing), fines etc, I stopped reading for fear of a threat of prison. I eventually got a parking space but was left wondering with some annoyance as to why there are so many disabled parking spaces in supermarkets when clearly they don't get used. Other than its down to legislation can anyone provide me with an answer?
Next week I might be brave and position my car across 2 or 3 of the spaces as protest, I wonder if I did this would it legally be classified as parking? If it is I might just say that Jeremy Clarkson left my car there.
and don't get me started on "Shop Mobility" anyone else notice these in covered car parks? again no issue with the principle, just the volume.
It is clear I'm turning into a Grumpy Middle Aged Man and I'm not 40.......yet.
Anyway I got to the supermaket (the one with white lettering on an Orange background, part of my personal crusade not to use the one with blue lettering on a white background) and I lumbered around in the car, tousled hair, scruffy clothes, (unshaven for two days, part of my skincare regime, facial hair liberation, less burn damage from the razor), my son (8) bought me the Gilette Fusion for Christmas, its the one with 5 blades, I think he had some subconcious hope that I'd turn into David Beckham as he asks me at least twice per week if I'm using my new razor (he checks for facial smoothness), I confirm I am and I always see a fleeting look of disappointment in his face. (Nope he still looks like Daddy)
Also the bloody 5 blade razor is hell first thing in the morning if your face is tender, anybody ever get sore hair? well I get sore beard and then I drag a razor across it!! and believe me for some reason the 5 blade version is seriously more painful at this point than the 3 blade "Mach Turbo" (marketing dept getting double speed in the name there, clever bastards!) If I stop using the David Beckam model my son will disown me, if I keep using it I may turn into Becks and end up with Posh! now that would be a nightmare!!!!!! I like proper women me!
Anyway back at the supermarket, I'm lumberingly motoring round the carpark in baglady mode (had brushed my teeth though as I didn't want to cause fellow shoppers anguish and cause them to fall over on a Sunday morning) looking for a parking space, there were none.
Interestingly row 2 & 3 out 10 rows of spaces are all for disabled drivers, which is excellent and as it should be of course......but really 40 disabled spaces, occupied by 3 cars! is it really really necessary to have sooooo many diasbled spaces?
So there are 2 possibilities, either I've missed "disabled shopping" time which I always appear to have an uncanny knack for doing or proportionally they've allocated too many spaces for disabled parking.
Also the penalties are draconican, clamping is mentioned in abundance (individual signs every two spaces for those that are hard of seeing), fines etc, I stopped reading for fear of a threat of prison. I eventually got a parking space but was left wondering with some annoyance as to why there are so many disabled parking spaces in supermarkets when clearly they don't get used. Other than its down to legislation can anyone provide me with an answer?
Next week I might be brave and position my car across 2 or 3 of the spaces as protest, I wonder if I did this would it legally be classified as parking? If it is I might just say that Jeremy Clarkson left my car there.
and don't get me started on "Shop Mobility" anyone else notice these in covered car parks? again no issue with the principle, just the volume.
It is clear I'm turning into a Grumpy Middle Aged Man and I'm not 40.......yet.
Sunday 11 February 2007
Went to see Arsenal play today....stange experience!
Today we went to see Arsenal play Wigan, at the emirates stadium. I've not been to a premiership match for many years. Myself, my partner (shes the true Arsenal supporter!) and our 8 year old son went. It was a surprise for my son and amazingly we were walking down Gillespe Road with all the other fans and he still didn't twig that we were going to a match. He thought everyone was out for a nice Sunday walk! Ahhh the innocence of childhood.
We had paid a friend of my partner's for the use of 3 season tickets from her family, we were seated behind the Goal where all three goals were scored, Block 07, rows 5 seats 220, 221, row 4 seat 220.
Now that the scene is set here come my thoughts on it...
Going down on the train we overheard a conversation (friendly banter) between an Arsenal fan and a sometimes Tottenham fan. The Arsenal fan was a proper fan, working class man attending his teams matches week in week out, truely loyal. Knowledgeable about the game, his team and indeed knew more about Tottenham than the man he was having the conversation with.
Anyway the conversation got round to the price of season tickets and it was clear that both men felt that they were too expensive, indeed Arsenal fan had clubbed together to buy his with a mate. Tottenham fan couldn't afford one and occassionaly borrowed his brothers. In fact Arsenal fan is not going to buy one next year as he doesn't feel it represents good value.
Tottenham fan left the train at Stevenage at this point and we continued our journey to Finsbury Park, us enjoying our sons blissful ignorance of the purpose of the journey, Arsenal fan lost in his thoughts as the train gradually filled as we stopped at the remaining stations on the rest of the journey.
So we get to the stadium and find our way across to the "orange quadrant", its all very impressive from the outside, in fact I'd even go as far as to say it has a majesty and presence that I felt was lacking once we were inside the stadium.
So we queued up to buy a couple of small bottles of water, a hot chocolate, and two kit kats.....little change from a tenner. Train journey £27, tickets £120. So then we went to our seats. I read some of the programme (£3, thought that was reasonable) and was astounded to discover that the band of seating that runs below the boxes and above the lower tier of seats is called the Club Level and costs per SEAT somewhere between £2500 and £4750 per annum!. Theres' over 7,000 of these seats and to get on the waiting list for one costs £250!
The seats we were in cost about £1000 each for the people who own them, (one of them waited 13 years on the waiting list to get one). The views are not great, one's eye level is about player hip level. There are probably cheaper season seats available but I'll bet they aren't much cheaper. So this is what's happened to the working mans game........its got bloody expensive. Wigans season tickets by comparison are about £350 per season.
On to the match itself. Overall I thought it was pretty disappointing and I couldn't lose the thought that a number of the men on the pitch were running around quite daintly for £75,000 plus per week! I could run around just as daintly for a lot less per week!
In particular a number of players appeared lazy and unfocused and to be fair the Arsenal fans were appropriately critical of their teams performance. Unfortunately our day out was marred by the abuse dished out at the Wigan Goal keeper by the chap in seat number 222 in row 5 block 07. He obviously didn't like Mr. Kirkland and in true gladitorial nature wished to make this fact known. Generally I've no problem with this desire, what I do have a serious problem with is the language with which this individual chose to make his feelings known. The air was lumious blue and laced with a violent intent that was over the top. All of this in presence of a number of children under the age of 10.
My son's jaw dropped a number of times and at others he was quite clearly frightened by the obviously violent intent he could see in this mans face. This man should be ashamed of himself, he was clearly not interested in the sporting spectacle merely in venting his latent inner violence. (He wasn't a regular in that seat either)
We went out for a day out to see the beautiful game, to give my son a taste of the exhilaration of a live mass audience event. Instead I certainly came away disappointed wondering what has happened to the football, it certainly appears to be drowning under the weight of corporate finance, the working mans game is now the business man's and greedy capitalists game.
It is a real shame and I hope my son will still enjoy his football and not be fazed by the attitudes we saw today. For me, well I dispair, the money is spoiling the game and preventing the working class people who invented it actually enjoying it live due to cost.
The last point to disgust me was the Arsenal senior squad of 25 players or so only consists of 4 English players, (Wigan have 11 in their squad). Maybe it is just me but I'd expect top flight UK teams to consist of a larger number of national players. FIFA should do something about this and the FA need to do more for grassroots football at school level to nuture talent and create desire to play football for one's country, when I was a kid that was the ultimate goal, that and winning the FA cup.
Nowaday's young boys are dreaming of all the money, the cars and the pretty girls, football itself seems to be something of an appendage.........NOBODY should be paid the silly amounts of money these guys are paid for kicking a ball on a rectangular piece of ground.
Its a shame the game itself and its spirit is disappearing before our very eyes. Arsenal don't have a family atmosphere anymore. Such a pity.
We had paid a friend of my partner's for the use of 3 season tickets from her family, we were seated behind the Goal where all three goals were scored, Block 07, rows 5 seats 220, 221, row 4 seat 220.
Now that the scene is set here come my thoughts on it...
Going down on the train we overheard a conversation (friendly banter) between an Arsenal fan and a sometimes Tottenham fan. The Arsenal fan was a proper fan, working class man attending his teams matches week in week out, truely loyal. Knowledgeable about the game, his team and indeed knew more about Tottenham than the man he was having the conversation with.
Anyway the conversation got round to the price of season tickets and it was clear that both men felt that they were too expensive, indeed Arsenal fan had clubbed together to buy his with a mate. Tottenham fan couldn't afford one and occassionaly borrowed his brothers. In fact Arsenal fan is not going to buy one next year as he doesn't feel it represents good value.
Tottenham fan left the train at Stevenage at this point and we continued our journey to Finsbury Park, us enjoying our sons blissful ignorance of the purpose of the journey, Arsenal fan lost in his thoughts as the train gradually filled as we stopped at the remaining stations on the rest of the journey.
So we get to the stadium and find our way across to the "orange quadrant", its all very impressive from the outside, in fact I'd even go as far as to say it has a majesty and presence that I felt was lacking once we were inside the stadium.
So we queued up to buy a couple of small bottles of water, a hot chocolate, and two kit kats.....little change from a tenner. Train journey £27, tickets £120. So then we went to our seats. I read some of the programme (£3, thought that was reasonable) and was astounded to discover that the band of seating that runs below the boxes and above the lower tier of seats is called the Club Level and costs per SEAT somewhere between £2500 and £4750 per annum!. Theres' over 7,000 of these seats and to get on the waiting list for one costs £250!
The seats we were in cost about £1000 each for the people who own them, (one of them waited 13 years on the waiting list to get one). The views are not great, one's eye level is about player hip level. There are probably cheaper season seats available but I'll bet they aren't much cheaper. So this is what's happened to the working mans game........its got bloody expensive. Wigans season tickets by comparison are about £350 per season.
On to the match itself. Overall I thought it was pretty disappointing and I couldn't lose the thought that a number of the men on the pitch were running around quite daintly for £75,000 plus per week! I could run around just as daintly for a lot less per week!
In particular a number of players appeared lazy and unfocused and to be fair the Arsenal fans were appropriately critical of their teams performance. Unfortunately our day out was marred by the abuse dished out at the Wigan Goal keeper by the chap in seat number 222 in row 5 block 07. He obviously didn't like Mr. Kirkland and in true gladitorial nature wished to make this fact known. Generally I've no problem with this desire, what I do have a serious problem with is the language with which this individual chose to make his feelings known. The air was lumious blue and laced with a violent intent that was over the top. All of this in presence of a number of children under the age of 10.
My son's jaw dropped a number of times and at others he was quite clearly frightened by the obviously violent intent he could see in this mans face. This man should be ashamed of himself, he was clearly not interested in the sporting spectacle merely in venting his latent inner violence. (He wasn't a regular in that seat either)
We went out for a day out to see the beautiful game, to give my son a taste of the exhilaration of a live mass audience event. Instead I certainly came away disappointed wondering what has happened to the football, it certainly appears to be drowning under the weight of corporate finance, the working mans game is now the business man's and greedy capitalists game.
It is a real shame and I hope my son will still enjoy his football and not be fazed by the attitudes we saw today. For me, well I dispair, the money is spoiling the game and preventing the working class people who invented it actually enjoying it live due to cost.
The last point to disgust me was the Arsenal senior squad of 25 players or so only consists of 4 English players, (Wigan have 11 in their squad). Maybe it is just me but I'd expect top flight UK teams to consist of a larger number of national players. FIFA should do something about this and the FA need to do more for grassroots football at school level to nuture talent and create desire to play football for one's country, when I was a kid that was the ultimate goal, that and winning the FA cup.
Nowaday's young boys are dreaming of all the money, the cars and the pretty girls, football itself seems to be something of an appendage.........NOBODY should be paid the silly amounts of money these guys are paid for kicking a ball on a rectangular piece of ground.
Its a shame the game itself and its spirit is disappearing before our very eyes. Arsenal don't have a family atmosphere anymore. Such a pity.
Monday 5 February 2007
6 Weeks since I last wrote on here!! disgraceful!!
Gawd, I broke my New Year's resolution before I even got to New Year! How awful. Christmas seems like such a long time ago, is it just me or does anyone else feel like they are living at warp speed or the female equivalent which is warp speed in parallel 'cause ladies can multitask and blokes can't!
Quick update on Mr. Litvinenko, did anyone see the panorama programme on the case? very interesting. 2 Russins that the CSI Vegas or New York crews would have wet themselves over. The nuclear versions of the poli-lites would have been blown across the room such was the forensic evidence that these guys have been carrying Polo 210. The programme named and interviewed them supposedly in the pub where they met Mr. Litvineko. They had beer, he had a cup of tea. The tea cup alledgedly was covered in Polo 210, the source of his ingestion. Interestingly they also had a proper real life representative of the KGB doing some PR for them, he wasn't overly convincing, his body language says he was lying through his teeth.
There was also a third russian mentioned, but he was focused little upon in the programme, one got the impression that further nvestigations very going on and he could well be involved, he was at the original meeting in the pub as well. The mystery goes on. Hard to believe in this day and age of mass media, all ultimately with a limited lifespan, shelf life or audience retention that someone would be killed because of a book they might write. Can't help believing there is still loads more to this than meets the eye.
Any comments or thoughts?
Quick update on Mr. Litvinenko, did anyone see the panorama programme on the case? very interesting. 2 Russins that the CSI Vegas or New York crews would have wet themselves over. The nuclear versions of the poli-lites would have been blown across the room such was the forensic evidence that these guys have been carrying Polo 210. The programme named and interviewed them supposedly in the pub where they met Mr. Litvineko. They had beer, he had a cup of tea. The tea cup alledgedly was covered in Polo 210, the source of his ingestion. Interestingly they also had a proper real life representative of the KGB doing some PR for them, he wasn't overly convincing, his body language says he was lying through his teeth.
There was also a third russian mentioned, but he was focused little upon in the programme, one got the impression that further nvestigations very going on and he could well be involved, he was at the original meeting in the pub as well. The mystery goes on. Hard to believe in this day and age of mass media, all ultimately with a limited lifespan, shelf life or audience retention that someone would be killed because of a book they might write. Can't help believing there is still loads more to this than meets the eye.
Any comments or thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
