The Big Man and a RIGHT strop.

Now I don't want to get all religious on anyone because although I happily attend Church I find it very, very uncomfortable when people ask me 'Is there room for Jesus in your life?' I am inclined to say 'If he wants to, sure but my heating's a bit dicky and the bathroom isn't decorated'. Anyhow, my point is, enforcing one's religion on someone else is bad form in my book. I like what I like and respect whatever you might or might not like too, but wearing it on the sleeve is not my cup of tea, and if I do like it, I am not inclined to talk about it outside of a pretty small circle of people...that said, check this verse out for the Big Man in a RIGHT strop, and on a day you'd want to keep a v.low profile. This is from the Book of Zephaniah which is very close to the end of the OT and is only a page long - check this for wrath (I read this in bed a couple of nights ago and made a swift note to be nice to people the next day)!

This is well harder than Jules in Pulp Fiction before he quotes Ezekiel and he and Vincent shoot the room to fuck!

Here goes...

Zephaniah 1: 15-17


15 That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.


17 I will bring such distress upon people
that they shall walk like the blind;
because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.

PS God, if you are reading my Blog, you know I'm a respectful and happy fan, yeah?

Walshy's Fire Engine

At the office today I refined my presentation about our warehouses and our supply chain. I have been happily faffing about doing this project for 5 weeks and it was all pretty much in my head and in a rather verbose presentation I had written before Christmas. Yesterday my (quite foxy) boss asked me to present to her, our MD and our Store Managers at a meeting tomorrow morning, so I have been getting it into shape.

Tonight my audience is out for dinner which means they will get lashed while they are all together -this might make the room easier in the morning and the tricky questions fewer. We shall see.

New Hampshire Primaries this evening and hoping that Barack O gets a good run at it and gains momentum. I read a decent DT article about the chap already having had increased Secret Service protection for a year; as a black man who might go all the way he is (depressingly) assumed to be a target at higher risk of assassination as a black man. The Americans are a crazy lot. I will be in bed for the exit polls at 1am but I suppose the results will be all over the radio when I wake at 6.

Also in the news - my mate Walshy sent me a smart picture of a fire engine he had been messing about with. It was dead good and I shall post it when he sends it to my home email.

White House

Now here's a chap I'd like to see in the White House. For me he just has it and whilst John McCain has a bucket load of expereince and gravitas, I'd sooner see the Democrats in this time, and clean the stables after the awful George Bush.

Not sure on Hilary and she'd need the B-wires anyhow (it's a Shanghai bus thing).

Go Barack go - knock 'em dead in New Hampshire today!

Flat!

Oh Bugger! A flat tyre on the way home tonight which was irritating but not as irritating as missing circuit training which I had been looking forward to for aaaaages since the Christmas break! I had driven my car over a nail at the car park at work where I had left it for 4 days whilst having a pool car to visit other stores in the midlands. I shall be more careful when I park up this week to visit our store in Devon.

It was the rear tyre on this pic'

I stopped in short order at a garage on the way home and spoke to a lad of about 20 who not only re-flated (is that a word?) the tyre and found the nail in it but also swapped it over with my spare, jacking the car up and all that business. He didn't even consider charging me and he was at it for fifteen minutes or so.

This is the delightful benefit of working in one small North Somerset village and stopping in the next one to seek help. I bet you wouldn't get that in Romford (or wherever!) The chap who helped me established where I worked through our chat and his other half works there too so we had a right old chat about that. I think the least I can do is give him my business to replace the nailed tyre one day in the week. I don't think you get that level of willing help very often outside of rural Ireland!

I was home and had an hour on my hands ordinarily taken up by running, press ups, crunches and squats and so forth, so here I am ahead of myself. I am trying to read the Blog of a woman called Lynn whom Walshy randomly emailed having read hers whilst shandied up and having seen a similarity to mine (alas it won't load just yet).

Lastly, I have to hand it to Gordon Brown for being entirely more credible and genuine on 'Today' this morning (Radio 4) than Tony Blair ever was. That's sons of the Manse for you, although he is not perfect, just better.

Marking Time

The first full 5 dayer after Christmas and I bet the week will seem a real slog! It was certainly quite tricky getting up at half six today.

Blustery and wet outside but not cold. It didn't half chuck it down overnight and I woke up to the noise of the rain.

Circuit training later; I wonder how an hour's running and press ups will feel after a couple of weeks of absence!

My Dad..

My Dad, he's a top chap and he is still teaching me how to spell! One invites these things when sending one's (wiser) parents one's Blog.

Time for a bath I think.

Gregory Peck.

Church was jolly pleasant today with a thoughtful message about Epiphany and a jolly sing song about this and that (and a v.attractive woman in the band up at the front to whom I had every opportunity to say hello afterwards but as usual did not - useless bugger and failing on my NY res'6 days in!!)

I have been penciled in for another reading (my hat trick!) later this month so some practising will be required for that. My friend Leighton was leading today and some of the old hands find him a little irreverent, I suspect but I think his attitude is spot on and pleasantly light. It makes it smart.

Off shortly for a quick look in at The Swan With Two Necks in St Judes, known to one and all as The Gregories (Gregory Peck - Neck, you see). This is a picture of it. It's a fine little place just at the end of the M32 and two streets behind Staples.

As I post I am listening to The Last Atlanta ‘Twin Of The Sun (Original Mix)’ (Global Underground) - a fine bit of deep house, on a blinding label!

The Netham

An early Sunday run on the Netham today and it was pretty hard on the ground and frosty and all the road running parts were slippery. Luckily I am a genius of co-ordination, balance and poise and I was okay. The pic is the Netham from the air and running right round it feels less impressive than it might look.

Came home and faffed about a bit but have just finished taking down my tree and my decorations and my Christmas cards. The house looks a little forlorn but I will soon get used to it and it will look as fine as it normally does.

Usual Sunday routine now follows, I suspect.

It is bright and cold today. That'll do.

Runner

Went for my first run since just before Christmas today and to my pleasure and surprise, I was not a wheezing bag of exhaustion when I got home again; in fact I was in reasonable shape and not too shagged out at all! I'll go again tomorrow and hopefully as a result I will conduct myself with relative dignity and stamina at circuits on Monday.

I am off into town today with Trevor and Cas' as Trevor has some errand or other and all three of us agreed to a nose about and a pint in a city centre public house!

Later I will use the remainder of a chicken I cooked in the week and I will scratch up a curry from nothing which will be a pleasure to cook. I may indulge in a Saturday night movie.

Epiphany tomorrow and all the decs and the tree to come down, though I will not write Christus mansionem benedicat in chalk above the front door as is some people's Western Liturgical practice (not that it's a bad thing, I hasten to add).

The BS5 Ultimatum!

Not a bad movie at all and one I thoroughly enjoyed , though I need to watch it again with Greg! He too will see the Jason Bourne - BS5 (author) parallels!

I thoroughly immersed myself in this movie after a fine roast dinner, and in complete solitude, peace and tranquility, illuminated by the Christmas tree and with the days ahead thoroughly prepped and the days past thoroughly appreciated; fantastic!

And so to bed, happily.

A bird, a movie and some wine.

That's my self indulgent plan for New Year's Day. I am going to cook a top smart roast with duck-fat roast potatoes and a bottle of St Emillion and I will watch The Bourne Ultimatum to which I have just treated myself. Get in!

One idle evening on the sofa is a limitlessly effective re-charge on which to return to work.

I have really enjoyed my Christmas holidays hugely and cannot complain at all, Deo gratias to that.

New Year's Day

Well now, not a bad way to see it in! The Rhubarb was full of people our gang did not know and the atmos' was a bit flat but we pushed on until midnight and then de-camped to Cas' house where he knocked up a fine dinner and we drank wine and chatted for an hour or two. The Rhubarb put on a fine display of fireworks and everyone who was there was polite and in good cheer; we just didn't know many of them! (The picture is Edinburgh not Barton Hill but BS5 gave Edinburgh a run for its money on the fireworks!)

There wasn't the usual crashing of mobile networks and I had messages throughout the evening wishing a happy new year from Anglesey, Co Galway, The Czech Republic, China, Bristol, Stayly Vegas and a small village in Wiltshire. Oh and wherever D the V was celebrating her NYE too.

Off today which is top and massive and I am going to make an indulgent chicken roast with red wine gravy for one! I think I will watch some TV too. Actually I'd really enjoy a dog walk with my fine bro' today but I can see about that some time this month.