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October 11 Something nice Hi All Been a while since I have spent any time here, I have been very busy lately. I'm pretty much busy with something most nights at the moment. Been going to gym every oppertunity, seem to be having midweek band practice at the moment too. Have started the course at college, so far it is looking really good. Well they haven't lost me yet is what I mean. So that is Thursday sorted, but I still managed to pop up to the Centurion afterwards for a singsong. Although, it did end prematurely last Thursday when one of the fridges went up in a puff of black smoke. So I had to finish my beer outside then head home. Been around the house most of the weekend, not feeling 100% at the moment. There's been a sore throat and gooey sinus thing going round at work, seems it's my turn now! So I have taken advantage of the quiet time and made myself some nice grub, haven't done that for a while. I'll add the pics nextdoor. I made a Salmon en Croute, basically a Salmon in a pastry puff pastry case. Had some leftovers, so I made a Prawn and cream cheese 'en Croute' too. Thanks for your messeges and so on. I do appreciate them, so I'll take this oppertunity to Hi back to you all and hope everyone is well.  September 20 Save yourselves, it's too late for me!!!! I have become a slave to the Book of many Faces!! July 27 War and Peace Attention!! Hi all Back from the War and Peace event over the last 4 days. It was a blast!! If you'll pardon the pun. You wouldn't believe the amount of historic hardware at this event. I think I have seen every type of vehicle, weapon and uniform from as far back as the First World war onwards. Unfortunately, I don't have any photographs at this point, because some lovely person nicked my camera within 5 minutes of me arriving there......!! But I will get some from the rest of the guys that were there with us over the weekend. I have posted one pic that was taken on my phone. The guys decided I looked like a dead ringer for a Sergeant Major, so I was quite happy to play along. I met loads of people, as this was also bit of a P.R. thing for the guys from the 'Living History' group. We were representing the bush war in SA from 1966 to 1989. Not many people knew that South Africa was at war for 23 years against the Communists. I think I learned loads about it while I was there. Well I'm off to go look for a new camera online now Fallllll....out!! July 11 Roll call.... Hi All It's been a while since I have cooked myself something nice. I had these pieces of Duck in the freezer and thought I fancied some Aromatic crispy Duck. Dug through my books and found a recipe and immediately decided I'd do it my way. I roasted off the duck portions (2x duck legs with thighs attached ) for an hour. The book wanted me to steam the meat for about a year.... life's too short for that. Once that had done, I let them cool and then deep fried them in hot oil for about 5 min. Ten hauled them out and let them rest for a bit. Duck is a wonderful meat to cook with and any time you put into it is worth the results in taste. Earlier today I headed out to my local Chinese supermarket, I love that place, and bought the 'pancakes'. I wanted to make them from scratch, but could find a recipe for them..... Once the duck had rested for a short while, I pulled the meat apart with two forks, which is easy as the meat is really tender. I forgot to mention that whilst at the Chinese super market I bought some Plum Sauce, wasn't gonna make that from scratch, I not that good. Sliced some spring onion and cucumber and Bob's your Uncle, job done. This is one of the easiest things I've ever cooked, maybe in future I will marinate the Duck over night in the spices they recommend and that should add more flavour. I've just finished the plate of pancakes I made and they were scrummy...... I recommend you guys give this a go next time you have a friend or two over. It's real easy to do and doesn't take much time, you can get on with other things. Ten minutes before serving is all you need really. And most importantly, the Duck portions were under £3 to buy and will easily do for two as a starter or part of a buffet. As usual I have added some pics, yep it's Saturday night and I have nothing better to do. Go forth my gastronomic friends.... June 27 Silverstone 2009 Hi All It's been almost a week since I've been back from Silverstone, which was an absolutely awesome experience this year. The reason I'm only blogging now is, I have been absolutely stuffed this week, I'm talking knackered beyond belief. I went up there the Tuesday before the race and set up camp. Went by myself this year, due to various reasons, but had a ball all the same. I pretty much instantly made friends and found some drinking buddies and I was set. The campsite laid on some really good entertainment this time round, bands and a Karaoke. The beer tent was humming the whole weekend. I met some really cool folks at the circuit on the weekend and hung out with them there, enjoy a few bevvies with them. Met a really nice lady called Kat, she was awesome, one of the nicest people I've met in ages. Sadly, she lives way up north, but we are still in contact. So as you can guess, I partied most of the week away. Drank more than my far share, but it was fun. I think I made it to 8pm on the Sunday after the race and collapsed in my tent, weekend over. Up early the Monday morning and headed home. This week has been a struggle. I think I only regained my power of speech around Wednesday, been in a haze til this morning. Had to go see a physio on Tuesday as I pulled a muscle in my calf on Sunday after the race, think I became dehydrated over the weekend. That can be a real bugger. Also came back with really bad ear ache and soar throat. Everything seems to be feeling better now, but have to see the physio on Tuesday again. But I tell you something, I'll gladly suffer all that again for another week like that. I'm really hoping that there will be another F1 race at Silverstone next year, and all indications are looking good right now, as Donnington doesn't look like it will be ready in time. If that's the case, I'm there!! Well, I'll post some pics of the sights and views. June 05 Mature StudentHi all
It's official, I'm now a mature student. Signed up for a 'Live sound and Music production' course yesterday. So I'm off to college later this year on a year long course. Looking forward to starting and getting my hands on their kit. That has sorted out my Thurday nights, just need to find something to do with the rest of the week.... May 17 No rest, but loving it.Hi All
After one of the busiest weeks I've had at work for a while, there was not much chance for rest on the weekend. OK, I lazed around a bit on Saturday afternoon. But that was to get my mind in the 'zone'. Did the sound for a band called 'Leverage' down in Gosport on Saturday night. First time I've worked with them and they were pretty hot. It was a long night, they did two full sets and then finished with a set of 6 songs. In total they played for about 3 hours, which is pretty long compared to some bands I've seen. Managed to get home about 1:30am, that's late when you're my age. I also had the oppertunity to get my hands on their mixing desk, a Peavey FX24. I've been looking at a PV 20 for a while, then I got to work on their FX24 and I was mighty impressed. It is packed with awesome features, far more than the PV20. The only problem, there is a difference of £250!! Kinda had my heart set on the PV20 at £350, I could stretch myself to buy the Fx24. At that price I start moving into Allen&Heath territory.....Big Bucks... Do I sound like I'm trying to convince myself here?
Anyways, now I've bored you with my inner most ramblings, I'll wish you all a good week. I posted a few pics of the gig at the weekend, one of that beautiful mixing desk too. I know, I need to get out more..... April 22 Thumbs upSmall update on the thumb. Definite nerve damage, may or may not repair itself. If it doesn't it won't be too much of a problem. I was more worried about not being able to go to Thruxton this weekend for Touring Cars. But wasn't that bad after all.... April 20 Annual A&E visitThought I'd get my annual A&E visit out of the way tonight..... I managed to slice my thumb whilst opening a can of plum tomatoes. Not just a nick, enough to turn the kitchen into something that looks like a murder scene. So got a taxi up to the A&E, two hours later Doc has look and thinks there is some nerve damage, but the tendon looks fine. Yep, you could actually see the tendon in all it's glory. So it's off the plastic surgeon in the morning to get their take on it. The loss of sensation in a small area may sort itself, but they want to look to be sure.
 April 06 Disappointing weekendHi All
Well, what a weekend that was..... Firstly I find out I'm not going to be a multi squillionaire form various sources. Yep, I had more offers over the weekend to become Super rich...not. Then I found out that if I was going to have any hanky-panky it was gonna cost me..... Then to top it all, yesterday, my main hard drive did an award winning dying scene, and expired, taking with it the last 6 years of photography with it and all my music and everything else that hasn't come to mind yet. So here is a lesson for you all, if you haven't backed up your precious pictures to disks or an external hard drive( even these are prone to dying), you'd better do it before you to suffer the same fate.
April 04 I should be so lucky.....Hello again.
Well this must be my lucky week for attracting conmen and wierdo's. Yesterday was the elaborate story of a long lost 'relative' who met a grizzly end (see blog below), and today I made the mistake of responding to someone saying hello out of the blue that asked joined my network recently. Now I like to think that I'm a fairly nice, friendly guy. And if someone sends me an invite, unless it looks totally dodgey, I'll always say yes. Then usually you never hear from them again. There are a few of you, who I'm happy to say. correspond with me. And, if anything, I could really work harder on keeping in contact with you more often than I do. But this is all besides the point, just a note to myself really. Getting back to this morning, there I am watching the F1 Qualifying session online. This is because I don't have a TV in the house. And this 'person' called Pearl pops up on messenger with 'Hi'. The qualifying had come to an end and it was just the blokes reviewing the action. So I decide to answer and say Hello..... We go throught the usual Blahdie blahdie blah....... Then this person says 'it's my birthday soon...... what you going to do to make me happy'? Seeing that this is the first time I've spoken to them, I said I'd send them a hug, as you do round here...... Up to this point I'm thinking this is an extremely friendly person..... Then the tone turns just a little....... ' will you send me money for naked pictures of me?'.... My answer was 'Ahh', meaning, I know what this is now...... They asked the same question again...... I say, 'that's ok thanks'...... 'Will you send me money?' What, no naked pics this time LOL. 'I want to see my beautiful body'.... Now I'm looking for the exit button..... So I block, delete contact, and remove all traces of this person and put a silver stake through it, just in case. And after a reboot, I'm happy to report the coast is clear, but I'm hiding under the covers a little longer to be sure..... April 03 I'm a multi-millionaire!!!........NOTHi all
I like a good joke like the rest of us, but this one had me rolling on the floor. I opened my email this morning and this was in my 'Private Messege' in box. I know that there are people amongst us that would be taken in by something like this. But even me with my two remaining brain cells knows a con when I see one. I've put the messege below, with a few edits for obvious reasons......
Dear Richard P***e ,
I am Barrister Lawson Eji , a solicitor at law,personal attorney to Engr.P.B . P***e ,a national Of your country,who used to be a contractor and importer here in Lome Togo. Here in after shall be referred to as my client. On the 21st of April 2006, my client,his wife and their only daughter were involved in a ghasty motor accident along Nouvissi express Road. All occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost there lives. Since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy here to locate any of my clients extended family relatives, this is to no avail. After these several unsuccessful attempts,I decided to track his last name over the Internet, to locate any member of his family hence I contacted you. I have contacted you to assist in repartrating the fund valued at US$10 million left behind by my client before it gets confisicated or declared unserviceable by the Security Finance Firm where this huge amount were deposited. The said Security Finance Company has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or have his account confisicated within the next twenty one official working days.Since I have been unsuccesful in locating the relatives for over 2years now, I seek the consent to present you as the next of kin to the deceased since you have the same last names, so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you. Therefore, on receipt of your positive response, we shall then discuss the sharing ratio and modalities for transfer.I have all necessary information and legal documents needed to back you up for claim. All I require from you is your honest cooperation to enable us see this transaction through. I guarantee that this attract no risk at all for it will be executed under legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. On the receipt of your response i will furnish you with detailed clarification as it relates to this mutual benefit transaction.contact me on my line:002289484***,kindly reply to my alternative email address:( their email was here ) Have a great day. Best Regards, Lawson Eji (ESQ) How f*kn thick do they think people are? I hope, if they do managed to con some simpleton, that they at least spend some of the money on English lessons.....
Esquire my arse!!
March 27 YEEEEHAAA!!!!!!Hey all
Brilliant! Brilliant! F1 season starts this weekend. Watched some of the free practise this morning, me thinks it's gonna be a brilliant season. Looks like it's not going to be a procession as in previous years, not the usual two teams dooking it out. Even better, I'll be at the Silverstone this year to watch the last GP there, before they move it to Donnington. So you won't get much out of me this weekend, and the bathroom is going to have to wait for a little while. Bring it ON!!!!! March 15 Spitting FireHi All
As the blog name suggests.....I'm not a happy bunny. Since yesterday I've been trying to figure out how to upload my pics in the order I would like them to be. I select them in the order I want them to be, but each time they appear out of sequence. To be very blunt.....this is starting to piss me off, big time. I cannot find anywhere where I can rearrange the order of the pics. The reason I would like to have the pics in a certain order, is to show the progress of my toil in order of start to finish. If you take a look at my last album it's all over the place, makes no sense at all. Right now I'd like to give old Bill Gates a swift kick in the nuts....after a short run up... So if any of you, my well informed friends, have any ideas on this. Then Please, please tell me how the Fu....r coat you do this. I need a Jack Daniels now to help me calm down to a panic.... March 08 Doom Raider....Evening all
Had another busy day, started off with a band practise this morning. Latest there is, we lost the rhythm guitarist, Dave, before last weeks gig and then the drummer quit this week too. Says he wants to devote more time to his other band, but I know he became frustrated with the slow progress we were making. It's a bit unfortunate really, he had confided in me that he was in two minds about staying and said he would think about it after our gig. The shame is that I hoped he'd stay around to meet the new guitarist that joined us this weekend. He'd been in the wings, as he was aware of the problems with our other guitarist, so he was ready to step in when Dave finally threw in the towel. Brian is pretty cool, he knows a lot of songs, but said he is rusty as he hadn't played for a while. He did pretty well with us today. We got around the drummer problem by Ian programming the drum beats in one of his programs and putting them on CD as a backing track. Strangely, it worked out quite well, once we got the hang of it. But we are actively seeking another drummer for the band. We had a lot of positive feedback from our gig and we were offered a gig in Kent, Ian turned it down, but if all goes well, it may still happen.
Other than that, I've been back in the 'Bathroom of Doom' getting on with the wood work. Made good progress, finished the main unit and fitted the flusher handle. I designed the unit so that it can be easily removed to get access to the maze of pipes down there. All I need to do now is make the lid, fill and prepare the wood for painting. It looks a little rough right now but once it's been prep'ed and painted (white), I think it will look really good. I'm really chuffed with the old stylie flusher handle I bought. I've posted some updated pics of todays progress with those from yesterday. I need to start stripping and preparing the walls and ceiling for painting. The ceiling is reall bad and the wooden window frame has damage due to the shower. So that needs stripping right back and getting a coat of sealant and a new paint job. I'm gonna do the bathroom in white, decided against the Magnolia. I've also decided to do the cladding on the side of the bath and paint it white. Once I start on that one I'll put up some pics so you can see the transformation. I wish I could get rid of the slime-green bath and basin, but that not an expense that I'm willing to go to. Have to keep reminding myself that I'm only renting this place. So if all goes well, I've set a target of end of March to complete the bathroom. Then it's onto the landing, that entails laying a carpet, which I'll do myself too. I have the piece of carpet already, just need to finish the painting and ceiling first.
Well, I'm knackered now. Gonna play a few games of Cod 5 online and drink a few Jacks. then it's off to the land of nod. Night all, Hope you all have a great week
Cheers Back to life....Hey all
After a weekend of rock 'n Roll last weekend, it's back to earth this weekend. Carrying on with the many chores that make life so blooming dull. A quick spring clean this morning, well more like a moving all the junk from one corner to another... Then onward with the DIY. Yes, the bathroom looms heavy on my mind. Started working on it beginning of the year then various things, people and occasions slowed progress. So today I started again, so I've posted a few pics of what I'm up to in the 'Bathroom of Doom'. I know what you're thinking..... It is prob'ly the most minging bathroom you've seen, that's why I'm working on it.....init. The pics are next door, look at your own peril... Flush... March 01 Sex, Drugs and Rock n' Roll...or in my case, some tea and some awfully nice music....Hi all
Sorry I haven't been round much this week, it's been a busy one. On Friday night I did the sound for The Tune Raiders, that's Jeff our drummers other band. That was a gig and a half, about 150 folks in attendance. And then this evening The Stray Toasters and me did a little gig for a birthday party. So it's been a week of rehersals and learning how the other bands kit works and working with them. And not to mention a whole horde of birthdays this week inside and outside the family. One day I will remeber that Geoffs Birthday is on the 21st, the same day as my Pa. I really had a great time doing the sound for the Tune Raiders, I must have done something right, coz they asked me if I'd do their sound at their next gig.....
I took some pics of their gig and I got someone..... well actually it was Mark the former singer from the Toasters, to take some pics and video of our gig. So take a look at the pics next door under 'Tune Raiders' and 'Toasters'. Leave a comment if you like, My comment would be that I look like Elvis just before he croaked. All I need is the jump suit...lol
Gotta go..... The groupies are calling February 16 Ek is nou lis vir 'n lekker braaivleisHey all.
What a nice day out there today? Double figures on the old thermometer in the car. Kinda got me to thinking that I'm really looking forward to having a braai ( that's a BBQ for my English chums), really soon. I'm off to Thruxton at the end of April for the Touring cars, but I hope to get one in before then. Last year we had a few, but this year I want to have a good old fashioned wood fire braai, none of this gas stuff!! I need to get the Potjie pots out of the garage too this year, I've forgotten how good they taste.
I've added a few videos above to remind me of the good times. I never thought I'd hear myself say that I miss hearing Boere Musiek, memories of all the 'sokkie jols' I used to do back home. February 15 E=MC2Hey all
Well where do I start....? It's been a busy week at work and I've felt like hell all week. Met up with Jeff, the drummer from our band, this week and it's looking like our band is about to implode. He's fed up, I'm fed up, mostly coz we have one guitarist that doesn't want to play the music we are doing and the other guitarist is, well, to be honest, .....is crap! I like most of the stuff we do, but we don't seem to have direction. Spending almost one month on one song isn't practical. If I ever hear the song 'Pretty Woman' again.... I may just throw up!! It's a hard song to play due to the time changes in the song, but it's also a very distinct vocal in the song. I think I've cracked that no problem, but it seems that we can't decide on exactly how to play it!! Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad to be in a band again, but the lack of progress is causing me great concern.
So, Jeff the drummer and myself went to an 'open mic evening' at a local pub. If you're not familiar with an 'open mic evening', it's where you turn up with your chosen instrument and jam with other musicians. I met some really brilliant folks that night. I stepped up and sang a few songs with people that I've never met before and it turned out just great. And I find myself thinking, why can't the guys I'm playing with right now get through a song without loads of trauma? Jeff says to me that he's thinking of quitting..... So I say that if he goes, I go!! So we discuss the possibility of looking for two new giutaist. So as it stands right now, I'm feeling really unmotivated in my music. But on an up side, one of the people I met in the week does her own original music and I approached her and said we should perhaps get together and see if we can maybe work together on some of my original lyrics and songs that I've recorded in the past.
Anyway, I didn't get around to wishing some of my favourite ladies here a happy valentines day, sorry for that..... I must be slipping. Hope you all had a wonderful day, just another day here....
February 01 New picsHi all
Well, I've been busy with some stuff around the house this week. Apart from that I've been thinking of al the oppertunities that have opened themselves to me this year. I'm looking at getting back into the sound business, so it's gonna be an expensive year too. But hell it's gonna be worth it!! I've added some pics from a band practise and some of my mate Geoff who is spending a week with before heading back to SA on Saturday........
P.S. It's got a bit quiet around here, you lot not speaking to me anymore? LOL....
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