The Circus is Back in Town

The new lambs have entered the abattoir of freak shows last night. Big Brother gets under way again and will no doubt enter into the conversations of the population as it infiltrates the consciousness. It doesn’t matter if you watch it or not, at some point you will be caught up in a discussion about it. For me this year, I feel that I might be watching it closely, especially at 4 o’clock in the morning when I’m up feeding one of my cherubs.

As usual there is an eclectic mix of freaks and egocentrics, covering a vast area of society, charging in to the house with the sole focus of being a star. On first viewing I would have thought that Chanelle will get close to the end for obvious reasons, and Tracey due to the fact that she will whip out her broomstick and start putting spells on people. Also, note the resemblance between Tracey and Fenella, the Kettle Witch, from Chorlton and the Wheelies.

Anyway, I will keep you posted on the events as they come about. Another issue on the horizon at the moment is the feeling of dread for England getting beat by Brazil and not qualifying against Estonia next week. When I read that we are resting Phil Neville against Brazil so that he can be sharp for the Estonia game, it is not surprising. I don’t think a giant pencil sharpener with a Phil Neville attachment would make him sharp… ever.

The speculation of Southampton getting bought is also interesting reading currently, although I can’t help once again feeling a sense of dread and imminent anti-climax when we find out that there is no one with deep pockets gazing longingly at St. Mary’s.

A Public Apology

After the last entry I feel that I should make an apology for the slander regarding the weather of Manchester. Yesterday evening I played a game of cricket underneath the orange sun. The birds were cheeping and there was a smell of freshly cut grass all around. All be it that the scene did lack some certain qualities that would make it dream like, namely a large glass of Pimms and a deck chair, but it was still in that general direction.

So after my outburst yesterday involving a ridiculous anecdote from Atlantis I feel that, in the spirit of fairness, Manchester should be represented evenly in the dock. The great cotton metropolis of yesteryear has its barmy evenings too and it does not just rain, rain, rain. Instead it goes rain, rain, rain, rain, sun, rain, rain. By the records, set by no one in particular, the next day like it will be near the middle of June. Also, in this wave of justice, it is worth noting for the prosecution that yesterday afternoon it was hailing at home, described by an eye witness as an “ice shower”. So there you have it, decide as you will.

We had our house valued yesterday, and the results were quite promising. The top estimate was £195k falling to a basement figure of £185k. If we get the top figure then this would mean that we could purchase a small castle in Marple, maybe even the Manor House. There is a lovely place I have seen that has a lake and a folly, and even one of those Greek replica ruins in the north wood. We might go for that. Or we could go for a 3/ 4 bedroom house with a small garden. Either or.

Magnificent Marple

Our first bank holiday weekend as a complete family, we pretty much did nothing except for get used to sleeping for two hours at a time. The last person holidaying in Atlantis was heard saying, “Ooh, it’s a bit wet here, isn’t it?” when the final wave came crashing over the castle turrets, and unfortunately for me that man could have said the same thing about Manchester. It is the wettest place in the UK on record, and never misses an opportunity of showing its masterful prowess for precipitation. Especially on a weekend like this when everyone is off work for an extra day and wouldn’t mind going outside.

However, we did manage to get out on Monday to visit lovely Marple. If heaven were dismantled and rebuilt on earth then surely this utopia would be a fair resemblance. Ironically it also happens to be the place that we want to move to. The house is getting valued today so we shall see the size of the pile that we can afford in the country. It would be lovely to get an idyllic place next to the canal so that in summer I can sit outside and listen to the cricket, whilst watching the gypsies go past on their barges. Bless ‘em. The reality unfortunately will be some crummy house down the road from the canal, but at least we’ll be close.

The kids are doing fine generally. Sophie is still putting a pea of weight on each week, which is frustrating, and I’m hoping that soon she has a burst and gets to at least 6lbs. At the moment we can’t let people touch her and most of our friends have not seen either of them yet because of infection. We need to be patient and let nature takes it course but it is hard to remember sometimes.

Today is also my first day in the office for about 2 months. So I am obviously filled with the glee of life.

The Beginning

This is my first post for a new blog that I am going to keep up from now on. It will inform those that want to know, any latest events in my world, and help those that I have lost touch with to keep touch.

Recently my life has changed quite dramatically. I have become a Dad of two lovely children, Dylan and Sophie, twins by birth only. Dylan is twice the size of Sophie, and poor little Sophie was the reason that for the last 11 weeks I have been going into the hospital every day to give her the love that she needed to grow. They were born 8 weeks early and I have become very emotionally attached to the Neo-Natal Unit at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport.

So, this is now a new chapter in my life. One that I am looking forward to immensely, but one that will bring up many new experiences, hopes and fears. I want to keep this as an online diary (a blog, then) for myself to recall one day when I am in my winter years, but also so that I do not have to keep repeating myself to family and friends that live elsewhere.

I like the idea of giving my thoughts on life so that one day I can go back and say, "see, I told you so!" I am not going to give you the pleasure of a boring monologue that welcomes you to my past and present, but I will drop valuable bits of information in as and when you need to know.

My theory is that your life takes the form of a collection of different chapters. So far, my chapters have seemed to fall nicely into five year segments, with little cameos in the middle of some. If I can keep this going for this chapter, then maybe the same emotions will be experienced at the beginning, middle and end of every chapter and I can learn to become a better man. It is often said that "Youth is wasted on the Young", and although I don't class myself as completely out of that category, I do not want to waste any other part of the journey.

Hopefully it will be entertaining enough to read each week or so, and keep you up-to-date with all that's going on.