Sad sad news today that Bobby Robson has died. I saw someone on the news describing him as the grandad you never had, that seemed like a pretty accurate phrase to me. To me he always seemed to be a real gentleman of the game, he was hugely passionate about the game at every level and had a real flair for developing homegrown talent. He will be missed.
Friday, 31 July 2009
Another sad day for football
Sad sad news today that Bobby Robson has died. I saw someone on the news describing him as the grandad you never had, that seemed like a pretty accurate phrase to me. To me he always seemed to be a real gentleman of the game, he was hugely passionate about the game at every level and had a real flair for developing homegrown talent. He will be missed.
Monday, 27 July 2009
Geeky weekend
Weekend before last it was my turn to entertain rather than being the one who was being entertained. Emma came for the weekend and Gemma spent Saturday with us too, so much geeky chat ensued.
We began Saturday at Kenilworth Castle. They've recently reopened the gardens that have been 'recreated' to look like they original had done when the Earl of Dudley had them created. They were nice to look at, and the whole castle was an interesting mix of eras. I didn't do all of the wall walk that was available - I wasn't sure my ankle was up to it, but the others climbed all of the relevant bits.
The rest of the afternoon was spent sat by the river in Stratford where we were joined by a while by my cousin and his girlfriend for a while. It was lovely to be able to sit and chat, and the three of us were able to beginning plotting and planning for our trip to Vegas.
In the evening we went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I was pleased that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting; a few really odd choices of material to cut and material to add aside it all worked pretty well.
Sunday saw me and Emma heading down to Bromyard to visit The Time Machine Museum. This is a collection of primarily Doctor Who memorabilia (though it also contains a few pieces from Red Dwarf, Captain Scarlett and Star Wars amongst others). The collection is a mixture of classic pieces and more contemporary stuff - I think the creepiest moment was noticing the gas mask wearing child hidden amongst the Daleks.
From there it was a short trip back to Witley Court, where we explored the house and grounds and watched the 'Deeds Not Words' performance. This was outdoor theatre performed with its fingers crossed - the rain threatened for the half hour that the three actors were recounting the tale of the Suffragettes. Thankfully the only water in the air was the spray that came off the Perseus and Andromeda fountain when it was fired up.
All in all a packed and brilliant weekend!
We began Saturday at Kenilworth Castle. They've recently reopened the gardens that have been 'recreated' to look like they original had done when the Earl of Dudley had them created. They were nice to look at, and the whole castle was an interesting mix of eras. I didn't do all of the wall walk that was available - I wasn't sure my ankle was up to it, but the others climbed all of the relevant bits.
The rest of the afternoon was spent sat by the river in Stratford where we were joined by a while by my cousin and his girlfriend for a while. It was lovely to be able to sit and chat, and the three of us were able to beginning plotting and planning for our trip to Vegas.
In the evening we went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I was pleased that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting; a few really odd choices of material to cut and material to add aside it all worked pretty well.
Sunday saw me and Emma heading down to Bromyard to visit The Time Machine Museum. This is a collection of primarily Doctor Who memorabilia (though it also contains a few pieces from Red Dwarf, Captain Scarlett and Star Wars amongst others). The collection is a mixture of classic pieces and more contemporary stuff - I think the creepiest moment was noticing the gas mask wearing child hidden amongst the Daleks.
From there it was a short trip back to Witley Court, where we explored the house and grounds and watched the 'Deeds Not Words' performance. This was outdoor theatre performed with its fingers crossed - the rain threatened for the half hour that the three actors were recounting the tale of the Suffragettes. Thankfully the only water in the air was the spray that came off the Perseus and Andromeda fountain when it was fired up.
All in all a packed and brilliant weekend!
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
This month I have mostly been reading - May and June
Yes, its a double whammy this time, I realised I'd forgotten to do May so late into June that I thought I may as well just do a bumper post with both months together. I don't remember which books belong to which month, so it'll just be one list.
1. 'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R. Tolkien
I read LOTR years ago as a much younger reader, but never got round to re-reading it as an adult until now. It goes without saying that its an epic read, but one worth almost every page turn (naturally the Tom Bombadil section doesn't fit into that description!). Not sure there's much that I can say that hasn't been said a million times before about the books! They'll definitely be getting another re-read sooner than this time though!
2. 'Doctor Who and the Mutants' by Terrance Dicks
This was the first of the Target novelisations that I read, I had it free with a magazine and chose it purely because it was the only one that the shop I was in had written by Terrance Dicks. The story features the Third Doctor, and the biggest thing that struck me was how many similarities there were between this incarnation and the modern ones that I was familiar with. An enjoyable read, even if it was a little briefer than the current BBC book series volumes.
3. 'Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll' by Terrance Dicks
A second magazine freebie, this time chosen because it was the only one on offer in the shop I was in. Starring the Fourth Doctor, the story is part of the Key to Time story. I quickly got into this book and found it really hard to stop reading - a good job it was a nice thin book!
4. 'Essential X-Men volume 1.
The first installment of the Marvel Essential X-Men series, this book really helped to remind me of just why I love the X-Men. With a great combination of exciting plots and developing characters I found myself saying "just an issue more" every time I was reading it. I really can't wait to read the rest of the collection.
5. 'Wishing Well' by Trevor Baxendale
6. 'The Pirate Loop' by Simon Guerrier
7. 'Peacemaker' by James Swallow
I've lumped these three together, books 19 - 21 in the Doctor Who 'New Series Adventures' books, I bought them and read them all together. Each book features the Doctor and Martha in a contemporary story, futuristic story, and historical story (something I think that happens in each batch of three books that is released). I think of the three my favourite was probably 'The Pirate Loop', with 'Wishing Well' the weakest of the three but nevertheless an entertaining read.
8. 'The Bone Garden' by Tess Gerritsen.
This book isn't in the Rizzoli series, but instead the first standalone book Gerritsen has released this decade. I'm a big fan of the Rizzoli series, and have enjoyed a couple of the earlier standalone books. This one was well written and had a decent plot but it didn't really feel like her book, it was missing something.
9. 'Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur' by Gary Russell
The first IDW comic all collected in one volume was an entertaining read, though all the blurbs mentioned a mission to find the best chocolate milkshake in the universe which made up a sadly small part of the story. I enjoyed it but then I read...
10. 'Doctor Who: The Forgotten' by Tony Lee and Pia Guerra.
This IDW comic was a thoroughly brilliant read, I had to resist the temptation to constantly text or tweet to tell people how much I was enjoying it. The story cleverly takes in every version of The Doctor, I really wished I'd had enough time to sit and read it from cover to cover - once I had realised the format the anticipation was just huge. One of the best things I've read this year.
I think that that is it. Looking back over the list it amuses me that all bar one of the books are 'genre', knowing the books I've bought to read in the coming weeks I think the balance might be slightly different next month.
1. 'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R. Tolkien
I read LOTR years ago as a much younger reader, but never got round to re-reading it as an adult until now. It goes without saying that its an epic read, but one worth almost every page turn (naturally the Tom Bombadil section doesn't fit into that description!). Not sure there's much that I can say that hasn't been said a million times before about the books! They'll definitely be getting another re-read sooner than this time though!
2. 'Doctor Who and the Mutants' by Terrance Dicks
This was the first of the Target novelisations that I read, I had it free with a magazine and chose it purely because it was the only one that the shop I was in had written by Terrance Dicks. The story features the Third Doctor, and the biggest thing that struck me was how many similarities there were between this incarnation and the modern ones that I was familiar with. An enjoyable read, even if it was a little briefer than the current BBC book series volumes.
3. 'Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll' by Terrance Dicks
A second magazine freebie, this time chosen because it was the only one on offer in the shop I was in. Starring the Fourth Doctor, the story is part of the Key to Time story. I quickly got into this book and found it really hard to stop reading - a good job it was a nice thin book!
4. 'Essential X-Men volume 1.
The first installment of the Marvel Essential X-Men series, this book really helped to remind me of just why I love the X-Men. With a great combination of exciting plots and developing characters I found myself saying "just an issue more" every time I was reading it. I really can't wait to read the rest of the collection.
5. 'Wishing Well' by Trevor Baxendale
6. 'The Pirate Loop' by Simon Guerrier
7. 'Peacemaker' by James Swallow
I've lumped these three together, books 19 - 21 in the Doctor Who 'New Series Adventures' books, I bought them and read them all together. Each book features the Doctor and Martha in a contemporary story, futuristic story, and historical story (something I think that happens in each batch of three books that is released). I think of the three my favourite was probably 'The Pirate Loop', with 'Wishing Well' the weakest of the three but nevertheless an entertaining read.
8. 'The Bone Garden' by Tess Gerritsen.
This book isn't in the Rizzoli series, but instead the first standalone book Gerritsen has released this decade. I'm a big fan of the Rizzoli series, and have enjoyed a couple of the earlier standalone books. This one was well written and had a decent plot but it didn't really feel like her book, it was missing something.
9. 'Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur' by Gary Russell
The first IDW comic all collected in one volume was an entertaining read, though all the blurbs mentioned a mission to find the best chocolate milkshake in the universe which made up a sadly small part of the story. I enjoyed it but then I read...
10. 'Doctor Who: The Forgotten' by Tony Lee and Pia Guerra.
This IDW comic was a thoroughly brilliant read, I had to resist the temptation to constantly text or tweet to tell people how much I was enjoying it. The story cleverly takes in every version of The Doctor, I really wished I'd had enough time to sit and read it from cover to cover - once I had realised the format the anticipation was just huge. One of the best things I've read this year.
I think that that is it. Looking back over the list it amuses me that all bar one of the books are 'genre', knowing the books I've bought to read in the coming weeks I think the balance might be slightly different next month.
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