Last of the Mohicans

On Sunday my fiancée and I attended the thirtieth birthday party of a good friend of mine. The theme was Wild West so first thing we had to do was pick up a costume. Despairing of the tat in fancy dress shops we went off in search of checked shirts on the high street and, as luck would have it, cowboy style jeans, boots and shirts are in at the moment - who knew? Not wishing to splurge on a whole new outfit we each picked up a suitable shirt in River Island.

We soon felt confident that we had picked the winning side since of the thirty-odd guests only one had come as a Native Indian. To compliment the costumes there was a bucking bronco and cactus lassoing. Slightly off-theme but just as much fun were the bouncy castle and trampoline - it's been years since any of us have had a go on a bouncy castle and we were all surprised by just how exhausting it is! The bucking bronco was a big hit too - even my friend's grandma had a go in the end.

Green Fingers

Well black actually from all the dirt. I'm tired and sore, but satisfied, because I've spent the last few weeks turning this:



Into this:



The recipe for this transformation is as follows: one whole lawn, diced , two tonnes of topsoil, two hundred litres of compost, and many generously donated plants.

Having removed rubble, excavate and smash concrete foundations (with pickaxe). Layer topsoil onto upside down lawn sections. Proceed to plant, mixing in compost. You will need two helpful parents and one willing fiancée.

Email Blog

Thought I'd try this email blogging lark out. Silly really as I'm sat at my computer, but I can never remember the address when I'm out and about.



Getting set for the start of term at the end of September. Have foolishly pursued my own curriculum over the summer so I have a mountain to read.



Got around to starting the Bible a while back but had to give up on the Old Testament once the painstakingly detailed descriptions for alter building and sacrifice began. Honestly, would a supreme being really care precisely how many cubits the edge of a curtain is?



The New Testament I'm funding much more readable and a good deal less cruel too. Next up the Qur'an.

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Culture Shock

Bangkok is massively different to anything I've ever experienced before. It's the noisiest, smelliest, most frantic and congested city I've ever been to. My fiancee and I have only been able to take the pace for a couple of days at a time. We escaped to a riverside resort in Katchanburi for three days and had a day trip to the ruins of the second city, Ayuthaya. Tomorrow we are heading to Ko Chang for some beach relaxation. Nevertheless we've seen and done some cool things in Bangkok; probably my most bizarre experience so far was getting an impromptu Thai Massage whilst urinating! More on that when we return...

AC/DC vs Michael Jackson

Saw AC / DC at Wembley Stadium on Friday. Driving down we listened to Bad to mark the passing of a legend. The news put a little bit of a downer on the start of the day, as did hitting a rain storm on the M40. By the time we reached High Wycombe though the sun had emerged, and after a 30 minute train journey we joined a festival atmosphere at the Ibis hotel bar outside the stadium.

The support acts were The Answer followed by The Subways and the crowd was pretty thin on the ground during their sets. Not having been to a standing gig for some time it came as a bit of a shock when the audience seemed to quadruple suddenly for the headline act. As the crush intensified I instantly regretted having my SLR in my backpack, and I recalled the familiar feeling of panic as you realise you cannot move in any direction - you just have to sweat it out, literally. Despite it being open air, hardly anybody was smoking, so the smell of armpit and flatulence was omnipresent.

Happily, a couple of chords into their first song, AC/DC obliterated all of these minor concerns with their balls out rock 'n' roll - thousands of people became one mass muscle, twitching along in time to the familiar sounds. The old, profusely sweating rockers delivered a blinding set with truly impressive stamina. Angus in particular seemed to have the boundless energy to match his schoolboy shorts - if not the legs any more! Explosions, fire, crashing steam engines, extended solos and topless women in the crowd made for an unashamedly juvenile and chauvinistic couple of hours - precisely what we want from our rock heroes.

Driving Pleasure

Today I paid to have my far-side front headlight bulb replaced, which cost just over thirty pounds. Next I drove to an appointment, after which I discovered a seventy pound parking ticket on my windscreen. To round it off, as I got out of my car at home, a driving instructor waiting for their pupil informed me that my driver side brake light was out. Best of all I'm due to renew my car tax and insurance at the end of this month.

Bumble Bees

Out and about over the last few weeks I've seen a worrying number of dead Bumble Bees. According to my neighbour, who telephoned a local nature reserve for information, they are dying in great numbers due to an imported virus. Let's hope it doesn't mutate or we'll all be a buzz over Bee Flu next.