11.30.06
Posted in General at 22:16 pm by Guy
Tonight at midnight marks the start of the most festive of seasons, as December rolls into our lives once again. It is truely a time to celebrate and be thankfull, and in the spirit we will once again be ‘ushering’ in the festive season this year.
Traditionally held on the 30th November in order to crack the bubbly at midnight, for logistical (and damn right sensible) reasons, we in London will be hitting the town tomorrow night. The Durban event will be held at the same time, with the JHB and Brisbane gatherings to follow at a rapid rate. Since its conception 6 years ago, the Ushering event, has grown from the original single DBN gathering of approximately 20, to 4 events scattered around the world and touching over 100 people!
Being the 6th anniversary, this years events will be celebrated in the traditional way with a ‘touch of swetness’ and gifts of candy. It promises to be yet another memorable evening to be shared by all. Thanks to Kam for making all the necessary arrangements again this year!
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Posted in General at 22:03 pm by Guy
Bit of fun pommy bashing. Although it is by the Aussies which lessens the impact somewhat……..
http://www.tribalddb.com.au/ashes2006
Cheers to Toby the Willow.
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11.28.06
Posted in General at 20:16 pm by Guy
No, not the name of a dodgy sci-fi movie or a shallow novel, but the annoying, irritating, frustrasting, painful, thing which has taken control of my body over the past few weeks. I have endured bouts of cold, flu and bacterial infections in the past, but trust me, a virus is not something you want to allow fester in your system. Despite a seemingly endless barrage of blood tests, no one seems to know what it is, but hopefully, fingers crossed, I may just be shaking it off. Its only been 4 or 5 weeks! So the post rate should pick up again in the build up to our trip back to SA for Christmas!!
Now, to all you medics out there, come on, there must be answer to virus’s, there must be some chewwy swets you can manufacture that will cure all viral infections….. surely.
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11.19.06
Posted in General at 21:08 pm by Guy
I have been intrigued by Dean Karnazes‘ attempt, and ultimate success, in running 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days in 50 different states of America. It is obviously a super human effort, but its certianly not the first time he has broken world records. His 81 hour continuous run comes to mind. Most amazing however, is that he completed his 50th marathon at the New York marathon in 3:01, an incredible time in itself. Most unbelievable though in all this, is that on completing the NY marathon, he’s not taking it easy and walking around like all the other penquins - he’s running home. To San Fransisco.
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Posted in General at 18:41 pm by Guy
Had a legend day yesterday at the rugby, even if South Africa managed to contrive a loss in the encounter of the two out of form teams. To be honest it was a pretty poor game of rugby with both sides playing without any ideas and the ball skills of a slug. Speaking of slugs, I have no idea how Jean De Villiers didn’t dot down in the corner after intercepting and running 3/4 of the length. He is seriously devoid of gas - seriously. And for a bloke who is supposed to be our vision and creator, why he did not set Ndungane free on the inside wll haunt him for many a game.
Butch James had one of his best games in the green and gold, and his loss on sixty minutes, replaced by Andre Pretorius, signalled a complete change in the tide. Having scored one and created another, as well as racking up an impressive tackle count, James was our best player on the park. There is no doubt in my mind that SA would have held out for a victory had James not be substituted or succumbed to injury, whichever turns out to be the case. The general consensus after the game is that White subbed James, in which case White threw the test match, however we James was limping noticably afterwards.
Enough about the ‘rugby’. We kicked off our Twickenham experience (neither Rog nor I had been to Twickers) by meeting Kirk et al at a pub in Richmond for a couple of swift wetties, before joining the 82,000 on the journey to the famous stadium. The weather held up its end of the deal and it was a cracking late autumn day. We had seats on the lower tier, with a great view of the stadium and game. It is an impressive stadium once inside, but it has to be said that the engineering has left a lot to be desired - Its a ghastly sight from the outside. The guinness flowed all day, and following the rugby we managed to catch the two teams making their way to the post game dinner, and of both teams, only Butch James and Bryan Habana bothered to wander out into the freezing cold to sign autographs. Bryan Habana was particularly impressive and stayed outside for ages smiling for the endless flash bulbs. We then embarked on a pub stop tour of the stadium and local establishments such as the ‘Cabbage Patch’.
The only negative aspect to the day were the moron South Africans who continue to own and wave the old South African flag. You would be astounded, especially those of you in South Africa, how many wankers there are that haven’t got rid of the old flag and embraced the new South Africa. I must have seen about 5 old flags. It is completely unacceptable and inexcusable to own the old flag. Even more rediculous, is the fact that these morons actually defend owning one. We were joined in the train by a tosser with the old flag, who was confronted in a light hearted manner by another South African as to whether he had forgotten that the country had a new identity. The chap, who was straight out of the Free State, then proceeded to defend himself in a seemingly indefencable situation and explain that the flag is part of his heritage and that he has the right to hold onto the old South Africa. The banter carried on for a while, but the loser from the free state was not worth our energy.
Overall it was a great experience, and one which I wil try and repeat next weekend. Unfortunately the South African image continues to be tainted by a select few idiots. One bloke who has risen considerably in my books is Bryan Habana.
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11.15.06
Posted in General at 19:53 pm by Guy
I just had to get the full title in the heading! Went to watch Borat last night, and it was about asgood enough for the half price Tuesday tickets we paid. It certainly wasn’t the ‘falling out of chair’, ‘rolling in the aisles’, ‘painfull stomach muscles’ kind of hilarious, but it was certainly funny in parts - although toilet humour always kills me! Perhaps better suited to the short episode format in favour of a feature length movie.
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11.14.06
Posted in General at 23:32 pm by Guy
So the Boks lost on the weekend to Ireland, and Liverpool lost again on the road - not a great weekend sportwise for me then! Especially losing to the gooners, and by three goals to nil, AND all three goals to a defencive midfielder and defenders! I’m getting a bit tired of Liverpool self-destructing away from home, we’ve done it now vs all three main challengers to the title, Chelsea, Man U and the Arsenal. Sucks. Oh, SA losing also sucks, but I somehow saw that one coming! This weekends rugby should be really interesting - not the rugby, just the result. Given Englands current form, its our best chance in a very long time to beat the poms at fortress Twickenham, but as luck would have it, we’re out of form, injured, not interested, and have a coach who has completely lost his marbles! Seriously, the dudes brain has fried! Won’t be at Twickers on Sat, but I do hope that SA can pull off an ugly victory, not because it will mask the fact that we are in serious trouble ahead of World Cup 2007, but just cos I would love my Sunday paper even more if SA won!
Non-the-less, it was a cool weekend, and (this time in my favour) as luck would have it Kam has described everything in graphic detail, so I don’t have to retrace my steps! Just add to Friday night that there was Tequila involved (why?), Sat we cleaned Kingston out (well Kingston cleaned my wallet out), and Sat night was as hilarious as described. Mike kills me with that Yorkshire humour - same as my old man - too funny. And Sunday we didn’t do anything with Kam and John at all, so….. only really need to read the Fri and Sat night bits then!!
UPDATE
If you’ve read the comments, you’ll see that Dave has come to the rescue, and I have managed to secure tickets for the big game on Sat for Rog and I!! WOOHOO! Credit actually to Phillipa Spicer (nee Martin) for getting me the tickets - thanks Phillipa! Some of you may remember Phillipa as well as hubby Ryan from the varsity years in sunny Durbs. For those of you going to Twickenham, give us a call and we’ll see you there!
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Posted in Entertainment at 10:14 am by Guy
Popped into Chez Gerard last night for dinner - as you do on a Monday night - and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have heard mixed reviews, although the majority of negative reviews were more based on the price and inferred high expectations. Jo and Ryan managed to get hold of some vouchers through someone who knew someone, which lessened the financial blow, but having said that, the price list isn’t as exorbatant as I thought it might be. The food was exquisite, we all had steak, and well worth the money. Service was slick and quick. Not your every night sort of place, but fantastic if you’re in the mood for a treat.
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11.09.06
Posted in General at 20:22 pm by Guy
Interim post, with thoughts in mind of greater things to come.. but in the meantime, thought I’d chat briefly about Battersea Power Station, on the south Bank, London. Dave wrote earlier in the week, which partly promptd this, and its worth checking out his post as Dave was lucky enough to get a tour around the structure, voted Londoners favorite landmark. I too love this iconic property.
I have been following the proposals for redevelopment of this famous building and priceless piece of land closely, and tonight is the night plans goes before a Wandsworth Council planning committee for detailed planning permission. The latest proposals, which are expected to be approved, include hotels and apartments, offices and galleries, commercial and leisure spaces. i.e. about as much as you can try cram into a non-conventional space. Although the picture above shows the chimneys in tact, it is also widely expcted that the chimneys will be demolished, perhaps as soon as the next 6 months. I think it will be a pity if the building superstructure does not remain as it is at present, as the power station forms as much a part of the London skyline as Big Ben, Westminster, St Pauls Cathedral, etc.
Interestingly, you can take a virtual tour (in pictures) of the power station by logging onto the BBC website.
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11.08.06
Posted in General at 20:22 pm by Guy
I knew that last week and this one would be well chilled out, with a bit of extra time to get round to doing all those things you never seem to get time to sort out - like posting to the website. I though that I actually stepped up my posting average, but I have just realised that its Wednesday evening already - WTF? Where’d the week go?
Was gonna write about Guy Fawkes or ‘Bonfire night’ as its otherwise known - allegedly - but Kam has already posted and uploaded some photo’s so I will direct you there for details. Very briefly though, Sar and I joined Jo Thomason and friends to watch fireworks on Sat night at Battersea Park, and roped in Kam, John, Danyel and Rog. We hit ‘Fish in a Tie’ for dinner beforehand cos we hadn’t been in a while - it was as good as always - and then wandered to the spectacular. And it was just that - a spectacular. More of a lights and fireworks show, than just fireworks. Well worth the fiver.
Oh, and Kam is right, the fillet on Sun was unbelievable, even by my lofty steak standards - we were cutting it with a knife.
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