Independence Day

In more ways than one, today is Independence Day. For one man this is, indeed, a long-awaited day, as after 114 days in captivity, Alan Johnston has finally been released by his captors.
We may never know the whole story of his release, and no doubt Hamas will see this as a major PR coup, but nevertheless, this is a wonderful day.
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On another note, Mickey the (Gold)fish is doing really well, and I will be working to keep his tank clear. It always seems a little murky - which I can't understand. Still - it's not as bad as when he was in the vase. He seems happy, and swims about much more - so that's good news.
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I brought home the latest Nintendo Official Magazine yesterday, and Number One has been pouring over it - he even wants to take it to school. He was quite surprised there is a whole magazine dedicated to Nintendo games. This morning he was in bed, reading the articles. I'm not sure how much he actually understands, but he's definitely not just looking at the pictures.
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More Wimbledon today - although this is the wettest since 1982. Poor Rafael Nadal has been playing his 3rd round match over 4 days; he's not a happy bunny. It's not fair on the players (not to mention the spectators) and there is no momentum in the matches at the moment. How long will the finals take?
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Happy Independence Day

Music To My Ears

I am pleased to announce that Mickey the (Gold)Fish is moving. My Wife has bought him a brand new tank, complete with gravel, shrubs and pump with filter to keep the water clean and fresh.
He'll be moving in tomorrow morning. I hope to do the honours before I go to work. Let's hope he makes it through the night tonight.
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So, Great Britain has a new Prime Minister. It's 52nd. The 11th during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It was quite a day, and whilst I'm not a Labour supporter, it was interesting to see the events unfolding, and the traditional way in which the Queen asked Gordon Brown to build a government.
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Tony Blair as Envoy to the Middle East. He is a great orator. But, after stance on Iraq, is he really the man to broker peace between possibly the two greatest 'enemies' in the region. Notwithstanding that there is a split amongst the Palestinians themselves, so what hope is there for Israel to get involved. I hope he will bide his time and wait for the right moment, and not just barge in and try to start the process.
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Wimbledon was, again, a washout. Poor Tim will have to play for the fourth day in a row. This can't be fair, when others get a rest. He really is going to have to find something special to win the match.
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The Wife is now on Facebook. It's good fun, and messages have been back and forwards during this evening. I just don't think I have that many friends to really worry about it.
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Number One now has a CD player in his room. He went to bed listening to Horrid Henry stories. Well, I'm going to bed now, and on the way will get my iPod so I can listen to some soothing music as I drift off.

Sleep well.

Henmania Is Back...

Day Three.

Our Tim is through to the next round of Wimbledon, after a marathon 5th set against Carlos Moya(13 games to 11).

It's amazing.

He has only won one match, and already they're talking about how he can now win the Championship.

Come on guys. It's great to see him doing well, but he made hard work of the first match. He'll never win the tournament based on that performance. He needs to up the ante, dig deep and make every point count.

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I've also noticed that little is made of Katie O'Brien. She is Britains Womens Number 1 player, and she has also progressed to round 2. This is the first time she has made it past the first round. How come there isn't as much support for her? This is a report from the BBC website

Who knows, maybe one day we could watch her from O'Brien Heights. It sounds quite idyllic.

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Other news .... Mickey the (Gold)Fish is flipping his fins.

I don't want to tempt fate, so no further comment - except, the vase needs cleaning out.

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The first cut of the video has been completed. I didn't get to bed until 12:40, so am a little tired today. However, I'm quite pleased with the result, and will show The Boys this evening, to see what they think. It is just over 5 minutes long, which I think is just enough to remember the holiday.

It's Day Two...

No, I'm not referring to Wimbledon, although Tim Henman has got his work cut out against Carlos Moya to remain in the Championship. It's a shame that Andy Murray had to pull out.

No. I'm referring the survival of Mickey the (Gold)Fish. Once again he has beaten the odds (and the strangely shaped vase) to survive another night. Phew!
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Stopped at Tesco this morning to pick up some fruit and a sandwich for lunch. Also ended up with deodrant, Soreen, chewing gum and a 4-pack of J2O (Orange & Passion Fruit). Why can't I just buy what I need?
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I've been thinking about the video I'm putting together for Center Parcs. I've sorted through the photos, and this evening will create a montage. I might even put it on You Tube; as a sort of teaser to the full video.
I have my own channel there.
You can also get to it via my other blog at http://www.jetpictures.co.uk/. This doesn't get updated as often, but I still use it to link through to my videos.
I also need to work out the credits for the video. They're always fun to think up.
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Right - I'm at work, so I'd better look busy. Off to the machine to get a cup of coffee, then work out what I need to do today.
Don't work too hard.

Survival of the Fish Kind

It is with great relief that I can report Mickey alive and well this morning.

I was half expecting to find him floating at the top of the water, but, there he (or she) was, gently swimming around the vase.

Yes, a vase.

We don't own a goldfish bowl, or fish-tank, and so have resorted to a vase.

It's not round. But it is quite big, and should be sufficient for Mickey to have a good exercise.

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Whilst I'm here, I thought I'd update you on my shares portfolio. You may recall that I invested in some shares a while back, and have been keenly watching the value ebb and flow with the stock market.

Well, things haven't been going so well. Everything has fallen in value, with my darling, Stagecoach, being the worst offender. OK, so I had a return of £40 when the dividend was paid, but then the quantity of shares was consolidated, so now I have less, with a much less return. In fact, the value now is a paltry fiver!

Tesco has slid backwards as well, worth just over a pound, and even Standard Life has reduced to just over £200.

BSkyB is holding on around the £12 mark.

BT were doing OK, but have also slid back.

Still - as I've always maintained, this is a long term investment, so hopefully things'll improve with time.

A Little Fishy

It's Sunday. Another weekend over. They go so fast, don't they? Finish work on Friday, then in no time at all, it's back to work on Monday.
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It's been quite busy, even though the weather has been horrid for the time of year. It should be nice and sunny, preferably with a gentle breeze to keep the heat down.
Yesterday we stayed in for most of the day. Last night we watched a Sandra Bullock film; "Premonition". Not bad, but quite confusing, and from a continuity perspective; a nightmare to check. I've just checked on IMDB.com and there are 10 listed continuity errors.

Today - wet, wet, wet. Started with my niece's birthday party, then back home for a couple of hours. The boys wanted me to play my game on the PlayStation - Kingdom Hearts II.
I haven't played it for a while, and they were quite mesmerised by it.
Then, this afternoon, it was the school Garden Party. Now, it started at 12, but we didn't go until 2. We must have missed the best of it, because when we arrived, the heavens opened, and the afternoon turned into a total washout. I think everyone had a good time - and we came home with a goldfish - named Mickey?

We have had to manage the expectations of it's survival, with the children. The last one we had lasted about 3 days.
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Only one more week to the French Grand Prix at Magny Cours. I have been to that race - in 1994. My dad and I took the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre. Drove to the circuit, watched the race, the drove back to Le Harve for the return crossing. What a day. It must have been one of the hottest, and a fire engine kept driving around the track, spraying the spectators with water to keep up cool.
Not going there this year - got Silverstone to look forward to in a couple of weeks.
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Right - back to the TV and see what's on.
Have a good week at work. Will write again soon.