i love juice

Im away on business this week, stuck in the middle of the welsh country side entertaining my clients. However while they sit playing bingo of all games, iv sneaked away for a pint and to listen to the match.
Its funny how some people have very high expectations at such a young age, as we stand in what was a wwII activity camp for the children of the near by city, you can actually see how things have changed. The place in which i stand really has not moved with the times, the long dorms, perimeter fences and a very old swimming pool gives you the very esence of what it must have been like back then for the children that came to visit. Now with a few new additions to the camp the children are much more street wise and expect alot more for their money and time.
Stripping them down to the very basics you can see the children panic as they lose their Xbox, playstation and sky TV, all they really have is their imagination and a over excited instructor to entertain them. Its very sad to see a child panic at the thought of using their imagination. What happened here?

last night we got talking about our up coming trip to California and San Francisco, this got me thinking of that great Steve McQueen film, Bullitt.
So on returning home I downloaded the film for some Sunday entertainment, as TV is so crap. Well iv just finished watching it and having seeing it before it still feels like the fist time. Without sounding so cliche, it has to be the car chase that makes that film and unlike any other film the sound and the realism of the chase just cant be imitated in any modern day attempt.
Today's films rely so much on these CGI and special effects to make a film breathtaking and yet only few films manage this where as others just become over the top. Bullitt has none of these traits, along with most films of that time. Referring back to the car chase, you can feel the vibrations of those V8's and the heat of the tyres screaming up the San Francisco streets. There is a feel of continuous danger throughout the chase unlike the modern day car chases. In this, there were no computers to make it look more unrealistic, and one wrong move would end up in fatalities.
During the filming it is said that the cars were reaching up to 110mph during some scenes of the chase. There is no way that in today's films the actors would dare do this or film companies lets them with fears of anything going wrong. But back then to make a great film you would have to take the risks. It could not be more right when people say "they dot make films like that any more" .
Im downloading The Great Escape and Cincinnati Kid next. I think its time to reeducate myself in real living films and those actors and actresses with grit.

I should have posted Thursday but unfortunately i was rather busy putting the car in for an MOT. So this week saw the teachers go on strike over pay, this has caused quite alot of arguments in whether or not they should receive better pay.
Personally i feel that they should be given a better deal than the 2.4% rise that was negotiated however 4% maybe a little unrealistic. I have some mixed feelings about striking in that, this profession has a knock on effect that is wide spread, as parents need to take time off work or find sitters for their children it cost those parents money in some way or form. And for those parents that cant afford? well im sure one or two children were left home alone on Thursday which is concerning to say the least.
What i know is that teachers work 12 hour days and weekends to ensure that they keep up with their responsibilities as a teacher. I know that when i was an engineer i got paid overtime and by the hour but this is not so for teachers. The media reports that teachers earn on average £32,000 a year , well id have to say that this number can not be right as a majority of teachers in schools are on the main pay scale and that only goes up to £29,000. It is only when teachers take on management positions do they start to earn this kind of money.
Teachers do have very good holidays but this is not always a good thing as unlike those parents that take their children out of school during term time to go on holiday, teachers have to wait and pay the peak prices to go away. Also i am aware that this time should also used for planning to ensure our children are taught exciting new subject topics unlike those days of boring copying out of a book.
One out of the six unions took part in the strike to get better pay, however im pretty sure that if a better deal is negotiated that those other five unions will accept that money. Its just a shame they all didn't stand together on this as im sure this issue would be solved more quickly instead of it resulting in another strike in the near future.
And lets face it, their are not many people out their that truly want to spend their days with badly behaved children, you don't that's why your glad to get rid of them in the morning.
Plus as this government insists on filling our country with the filth, well this also must enter our school where teachers have try and teach modern day values to children that do not want to be taught and do not speak English. A typical School in Manchester or London can have up to 13 different languages and high level of pupils that do not speak English and that will be their one day and shipped out the next. All in all teachers have a shit job at the best of times with this government fucking this country up, so is it not fair that they at least get paid fairly? The job may not be rewarding enough as the novelty wares off and your left with the cheap unqualified teachers from eastern Europe teaching your children, but i guess that just another step into this countries inevitable future.

Happy St Georges Day to one and all, be proud to be British and celebrate this country because those politically correct shit heads don't want you too.
For all its problems, it is still England that runs through my veins and i feel its important that we try not to loose our English spirit.
Honor, Bravery and Gallantry, live by this for these were the reasons we chose St George as our patron saint.

Im enjoying the beginning of a week for a change, its funny because i usually do not find Mondays to be the most desirable day as i suppose many would agree, however it has been warm the the day has gone at nice pace where all work has been completed with minimal head ache just how i like it.
On anther plus note, to those that read my other ramblings my partner and i booked our holidays this weekend which has triggered a rather large burst of excitement in the monkey camp. After a head banging booking session (thanks Thud) we booked our flights and away we go, California here we come. We will be checking out San Fransisco and Napa Valley as well as taking a little trip down to Las Vegas.
I decided that i will buy a stetson when i get to the US and change my name to Hank or something along those lines.

With ever unpredictable weather we have here in the UK i read this little joke today which i chuckled to myself. It is right on so many levels that what we use to associate to be English is being lost. Even the weather.

I'm not sure whether you heard that the South African Weather Bureau were rapped over the knuckles recently for referring to last month's untimely cold and rainy spell as "English weather".

After a long bosberaad (meeting), a spokesman for the SA Weather Bureau apologized for offending his English counterparts and announced at a press release that the term "English weather" would never again be used to describe inclement weather. The new name for bad weather will be "Muslim weather". A baffled member of the press contingent asked the spokesman to please explain.

It is very simple, the spokesman replied. English weather is now referred to as Muslim weather as it is partly Sunni but mostly Shi'ite.

Thanks Free Market Fairy Tales.

I have always admired people who have collected comics, i know this may be a real geeky thing to say, but i actually enjoy reading and looking at the art of the older comics as well as watching the film industry try and imitate the excitement that these little booklets gave to millions of people young and old, with very little success. As a young boy i use collect cars in their boxes (i was told this would make them more valuable) however even though i have a passion for cars, collecting small model cars is completely boring and i lost interest.
So collecting comics and not in a major geeky nerdy way but just ones of interest is what i am in the very early stages of doing. I decided to start when i recently finished watching the first 3 series of the all new Battlestar Galactica and while being left wanting the next series i went searching the net out of interest for sites connected to the program. I remember watching the original series when i as very young but never really got into it but with modern twist and controversial plots it has been by far one of the best programs i have watched in its genre. It was while i was reading this site that i found there were comics released back in 1978 telling the original story, the comics only ran up to 1981 (this is my birth year) and produced 23 comics. This being a reasonable number and a story to which i which i am familiar with gave a great opportunity to start my little collection.
Well as you can see i started looking and found the very first issue and in amazing condition and for a very good price. I have already found issue 2 which is on its way and as i finish reading the first one im looking forward to next part. You get the understanding of why these booklets were so popular in their day as without TV series turning most people into couch zombies like myself, it gave great excitement to reading with awesome visuals.
The only downside to this is that my partner finds another reason to complain about all the crap i seem to collect and again this will get moved to the office out of sight, but that's OK, its boys stuff and as long as she keep to the agreement of not getting a flowered bedspread its a good compromise.

Not sure about being called a Bibliophile though.

A few other blogs that i read have reported today about their purchases for B.A.G Day, this if you didnt know is Buy A Gun Day. These Blogs are obviously based in the US where they are given the freedom to bear arms. As a country boy and always being aware of guns and gun sports it saddens me that our country dosent allow us to have the freedom to make our own choices.
I can name a few of my fellow buddies who would have indulged today in purchasing a fully loaded weapon.
Mind you im not sure i could resist ridding the country of our vermin infestation. They say your only a few meters away from them, in my case end of my road and turn right.

Early last month, the nation was again watching the news report on a young girl who went missing on her way home from school. The public held their breaths as they watched, waited and hoping that she would return and it would not be a repeat of the horrors of 2003 or more recently, missing without a trace like the little McCann girl.
But as the story started to unroll things didnt add up and question were asked, as the media went wild down in the council estate. The scum that live their all came out to catch their 15 seconds of fame, being seen on TV at 3 in the afternoon in their PJ's or standing on their doorsteps at 10 in the morning with a can of special brew is what they live for, oh how the other half live.
Then a few weeks later she was found safe in a near by estate hiding with a relative inside a bed, of all places. Since then, the council estate of Dewsbury has been the entertainment of the public and the media have excelled themselves to ensure we are informed about the underbelly of Britain. As we watch the family of poor Shannon Matthews arrested for kiddie porn, kidnapping, Child neglect, perverting the course of justice and benefit fraud the whole saga is looking like a complete farce to swindle money and fame for this low life scummy family.
Now like some sort of sick reality show the so called mother could be getting a part in the award winning "Shameless", if this is true or not it is still believable.
I remember sitting watching the news reporting from the council estate and these one tooth, benefit grabbing, dole munching, dirty, soap dodging, Asda shopping, council estate scratters fill the streets in the middle of the day pissed, when i am at work. It makes me sick to know that these people are allowed to live like this with so little if no self respect.
The family of Shannon await for her to come home and wonder why she has still not returned when really the fact is that she is better off not being around these people, her so called family and friends.
And just when the media have had a stomach full they start to uncover the many benefit cheats that live in the area, i can only imagine that the streets are quieter now that the fraud van is doing its rounds.
Now call me a snob call me for what you will but this to me is justice, and i hope that what ever happens the right choices will be made for this poor girl and she does not return to the estate and as much as i would hate to see a child split from her family at least she will be loved by people who do not expect anything in return.

Just read this and it looks like Saturday TV may just be about to get better. I use to love this program but it looks like we are missing one thing... where is Wolf?? surly he cant be to old to compete i mean he was old back then but im sure he could still stand his ground.

Contenders ......... Ready??
Gladiators ........... Ready??
3, 2, 1

I have been finding it hard to post of late. The past week has been a rough one at the office and today confirmed all my fears that last semester was not a good one. Its been at the back of my mind for a good month or so that things were not quite going the way they should be and i wasn't getting the results that i needed and when the final figures as such came in it was clear that things were going tits up.
So iv had a meeting today with the boss man, Captain Approachable, to discuss ways forward to change the the current path and the only cure is more time and effort and submitting to asking for help. This is not something that i do very well. I do feel that i could have put alot more effort in i and in true monkey style leaving things to the last minute or occasionally winging it has resulted in a back log.
New in the job has been a bit of a shock for me although iv nearly been at my current place of work for just over a year so i think even that excuse goes out the window. Time is i have to get real and start really putting in every effort if this is what i want to do. Iv already set my new goals and although these are along way away if i cant succeed at this level then those goals are hopeless.
So today was more of a wake up call and an understanding that although work is fine it could be alot better and it seems as though the people i work with believe in me to bring the results but are also there to bring me back down to earth. The first thing i think i need to do is learn one basic skill, ask for help.

Yesterday i found myself taking a trip into town, god i really do hate going to town on Saturdays however i really needed to go as i wanted a couple of books and a visit to the wine shop was needed, to stock up for the week.
Anyway while standing in the bookshop reading a couple of pages of a book i later didnt buy a member of staff came running through the store with a customer in tow. Next to the section i was in is the section on crime, which for this particular city gets alot of business i was later informed (usually by the tracky wearing scally wanting to read up on the local drug dealing gangster that got caught and wrote a book about it), and so the the member of staff with customer in tow made a bee line straight to the crime section and with some urgency start to search for a book. After a couple of moments the customer fell into a fit of gratitude for the staff member had found the book he was looking for. The customer full of pride proceeded to the pay desk and started to inform the intire store that the book he had chosen was written by a local heroin dealing gangster that got caught and wrote a book about it (surprise surprise), he then went on to say full of pride that he wast buying for a member of the family living abroad and that the book had his family name within it.
The guy paid is 7.99 and walked out store with a hop and a skip. At this point i was not only amazed buy the utter pride this guy had with the fame of his family originating from this particular book but also totally aware that the whole store was thinking the same thing.
Why would you honestly be proud of this? why would you want others to know that your name was voiced in such a book? i really had no answer to this and even now 24 hours later im still wondering why.