England Football Team??

18 June 2010

Just watched a disgraceful football match.

One of the worst games I have ever seen, and over the last two seasons at Home Park we have seen a few bad 'uns.

Just hope they can sort themselves out for Wednesday.

Can anyone tell me why various managers insist on playing Gerrard and Lampard together? It doesn't work. Make a decision and keep one of them on the subs bench!!

Rant over. Goodnight!

The old man is busy - watching football!

Hi all

Just thought I would hijack the old boys blog again. He is stuck with his rear end in the chair watching the footy on the strange window thing.

I thought I would show off my new shirt. Got it to support the lads out in South Africa.

I look pretty good in it eh? I have just come back from the park where I played football with a couple of Jack Russell's, I think I won but I am not sure. The humans with them kept kicking the ball away from us. I should have worn my new shirt - mum wanted me to - but old misery said it would be too hot!!

Look dingbat, not noticed the fur coat? A little shirt is not going to get to me is it???

Mummy Alice is in dance class so the old boy has to pick her up. He isn't amused as the Frogs are kicking off at the same time. I keep telling him to record it on his V+ box, I think he will this time.

Pizzas for tea as Mummy Cheryl is doing an extra couple of hours work and old misery guts said he isn't cooking as well as acting as a taxi. He reckons the world cup is important. Just as long as I get my food and walks he can think what he wants.

How do you like the photos? Even you Christian (my secret admirer).

Bye for now. I will try to get grumpy boots to write something soon. In the meantime

COME ON YOU ENGLAND

(And NZ with Rory in)

Love Disney xxxxxx

p.s. See the start I have made in the photos in the front room redecoration? Mum was really pleased but old grumps, well you can guess he wasn't happy. After all that work as well. No pleasing some eh?

Sorry, been away for some time!!

It appears that I missed the whole of April so really sorry about that. Nowadays I just seem to have very little time on my hands. Once I have done the "required of me" things we seem to be at about nine in the evening. That gives me an hour to settle in front of the telly and catch up on programmes we have V+ 'd. Val normally heads for bed and book at about nine so we pass each other like ships in the night!! We do try and catch some time together, mostly in front of said telly!!

Most times it goes like tonight. Al around to sleep as Ches started work at 11 this morning and doesn't finish until 8 tomorrow morning. Al has had sleepovers the last two nights so she has been very late to sleep. Tonight, therefore was a 8.30 to bed night. Val went up as well, she is hooked an Agatha Christie at the moment. I got her a 35 book set with two stories in each book for Christmas. Since then she has taken every opportunity for an early night!!

But back to tonight. I got back from walking Disney at about 7 ish. Banged on the news to see if we have a Government yet, Val had a spare 45 minutes so we put on "Defying Gravity" a BBC Sci Fi series recorded some time ago that we wanted to watch but haven't found the time!!!!

We V+'d "Lewis" and hopefully will get around to watching that during the week. We try to watch "Ashes to Ashes", "Midsommer" and "Lewis" together, it's more fun trying to work out the guilty one when there are two of you doing it. And I get a cuppa made by my wife's fair hand if I am lucky.

I am now up in the study doing my thing on the PC. I am lucky as Al has been on Facebook for the last couple of hours so I get to use my own machine late evening! Got to get a shower in the next half hour then head to bed. Work on the morrow. Good news is I have stopped the get up at 06.15 routine and only have to rise at 07.00 this week - hopefully.

The main news you missed in April was Alice's 12th birthday. She had a lovely weekend and got pressies from all over the world!! Unfortunately her PC picked up a virus at home and as we don't know where it came from the "Thank you" e-mails have not been sent. If it came in via an e-mail we do not wish to pass it on as it is a pain. "Windows security XP 2010". I think we may have got rid but I need to get out there and make sure before the e-mails start flowing again.

Things are going fine here in sunny Plymouth, the mighty Greens may win a few games next season as we will be playing weaker opposition. Yes, if you didn't already know, we got relegated. Kicked out of the Championship and into league one!! The board have a bit of a cheek as the price for next seasons season ticket appears to be remarkably similar to what I paid last year!! Must be my memory playing tricks as they wouldn't charge the same price for lower league soccer would they???

Talking about Argyle, I am now a shareholder. Shares in the Club are like the proverbial rocking horse doodah. Chap in Cornwall had them handed down from his Grandad via his Dad but decided he couldn't get to meetings anymore so was happy to sell. I was top of the waiting list so bingo. I now have 10 Plymouth Argyle shares!! I think I have been on the waiting list for 15 - 20 odd years!!

To change the subject. You know that cute little puppy that hijacked this blog to bemoan his situation. The cutie. Well he found either a bloody great big mouse or a rat up the park today. After a bit of a chase the little creature decided to fight back. That was an error because Disney switched from "oh look something to play with" to "Dinner!!". My puppy is a murderer. I caught up with him after the foul deed had been committed. Got him on his lead and pulled him away, but too late for the rodent. Got Disney to the other end of the park, played ball with him then I started walking home. He waited till I got halfway down the hill then took off back to the scene of the crime. Luckily birds beat him to it so I didn't have the pleasure of removing a rodent carcass from his jaws.

Well, 'tis nearly shower time. Before I go just a quick mention of a mate from the late sixties that we have tied up with again thanks to the wonders of the Internet and Facebook in particular. Mike Smith is now living in that land of strange people with a strange view on the English language, if indeed it is actually English they are speaking. I think they may even wear clogs up there. I am, of course, speaking of Barnsley. Flat cap capital of the UK. Mike, put something together for the blog mate. I don't censor at all.

Talking of putting something together for the blog. You will be pleased to know that HR is back. The plane picture probably gave you the clue!! Go to it HR........

Hiya , I just read the blog entry for march and felt guilty as heck !!
You can bung any of this is the blog if you wish.

I am sorry to have been so quiet and wish everyone well.
Life has been busy and not terribly positive,but overall it is OK.

I made a bid to get back my Group 2 medical that would allow me to fly with passengers and it worked !! I now have renewed faith in that part of the system !!

I then went back to Western Air Training at Thruxton to get "refreshed" and tested and flew two refresher trips (which blew out the cobwebs and honed my emergency skills) and then a General Flying Test.
I flew with Bob Cole who was the CAA test pilot and prior to that was a Lightning Pilot !!
I also flew with a mad Welshman called Steve Davis who was brilliant ! He covered up the instrument panel with a hi-viz jacket just as we commenced a forced landing (PFL) overhead at 5000`.
It really gives you confidence when you can land with no power,no instruments and just the attitude as a speed reference.
My gliding background proved its worth there.
Now I can fly the Pa 28 Archer II again but am anxious to get back in "TZ" the T67M Firefly.
She is without doubt the most beautiful aircraft I have flown and is fully aerobatic.
I am hoping to get airborne on Sunday if the weather lets me; then after some time in the seat i will ask to continue my aerobatic training.
I was cleared to fly loops solo and want to perfect rolls.
At the moment I "wander" once I have her inverted and coming up the other side !
I am right-handed but fly with my left and I think I need more power to complete the manoeuvre tidily ! So I may try using my right hand because that is more strong (!!!).
I have attached a picture of "G-SFTZ".
One day I will try to get one of the aircraft down to Plymouth for you to come up with me if you like?

I had better trot but I will write again soon.
Have fun.

My friends keep wanting to get me off the ground. One of my bosses in the RAF, Chris Rowntree, super bloke a really nice guy, mad as a hatter - he wanted to fly me in a Hawk.

The wonderful and sadly departed Chris Thorn aka Blueskies, I will be nice and say a little eccentric at times - he wanted to go one better. Get me up in the air and then jump out of an aeroplane that was very high and still working fine.

Now that nice chap but still a bloody nutter HR wants me up in his tiny little, has it enough power to get tubby me in the air, aircraft!!!!

What is it with people. Gravity is God's way of saying STAY ON THE GROUND!!!!!!

One sensible friend I have talked about here. The recently found Mike Smith. He wants me to walk over bloody mountains with him. For crying out loud people - what's wrong with going to a football match or walking the dog eh!!!!!!!

Just looked at the clock. 22.00 hrs. Val has brought me a cuppa so I will be up halfway through the night for a pee now!!!!

Ah well - goodnight folks.

Is it really that long since my last post?

Doesn't time fly.

My sincere apologise to one and all. The usual excuse of not enough time I am afraid.

Workwise we moved from Devonport JCP to Plumer House Land Registry on 25th Jan. My get to work time has changed from the quiet 10 minute amble to a 50 minute forced march or the bus!

The knock on effect is that I lose more valuable time and poor little Disney is really pushed to see his mates up the park. He has seen Bear Dog once this week and Frodo just the once. This is down from about four times a week - he is looking very sad. All together now - ahhhh! Just something else to blame the Government for.

I went out on strike earlier this week for two days. I actually voted against it as in the current climate the Government spin doctors will remind all how Civil Servants sit around all day getting in the way of private business, being incredibly inefficient and costing a fortune in pensions. Yeah right. Still the Union is a democratic organisation so the majority vote takes it, and I really do not like crossing any picket line.

Not sure why people fall for the smokescreen. We need both public and private sector. We could all do with a little less Government interference in this target driven culture of ours. Just let us get on with the job!! Rant over.

I have had the time do update this blog handed to me as Alice and her mates Izzy and Orla (probably spelt wrong - sorry girls) are enjoying a sleepover in my front room. Never worked out why it is called a sleepover - that is the last thing they do. Karaoke is on at the moment. Val has just shut our bedroom door!!

We have booked a cottage for our summer hols. Off to Cumbria we are. Val and I with Ches and Al plus the little bundle of white fur. Bit of a drive to get there. Will be my first holiday since I left the RAF in '92!! Just got to sort out visitors to keep the cats satisfied!!

I have a facebook thing now. Still not sure how it works. However it did bring Mike Smith back into our lives after a 38, or something like that, year absence. Funny how he doesn't appear to have changed his outlook on life too much in that time!

Must go, need to checkout hire cars and the cost thereof. May get a bigger wagon for the hols, make the journey there and back a bit more comfy. But, as always, it's down to the cost!

Will try not to leave it so long this time. Shows how much we miss Blue Skies and his articles. HR seems to be very quiet as well nowadays. We are all too busy!!!

Finally, I have added a link to the Dog Friendly Blog if anyone is interested. And if I got it right!!

Disney here to tell you about a cracking week!

Me, before it all kicked off. Blissfully unaware was I !!

Mum for her early morning cuddle

I love her, but look, a guy has to get a bit of kip.

Incredible. I was allowed to have a go at this lot.

They bought me something that made that weird window move

Mummy Alice told me it was a film for me to watch.

Didn't have a clue what she was talking about but there

were strange dogs in the window thing.

I tried to say hi but I reckon he was deaf.

It's very tiring looking out the weird window on two legs.

The pack leader said something about Dalmatians. An awful

lot of them I can tell you! Remind me never to go near one

of them bitches - no sleep time at all I would guess.

Really bad news. I am not surprised the guy is running. A really

bad human has stolen his kids. I tried to help but couldn't reach the

weird window.

I was right behind them. I told them who stole their kids

but they didn't seem to hear. Not sure if all the dogs are deaf in the

weird window.

I was yelling at her to let the guy off the lead. Tried again to

get in and help

Got a bit mixed up here. The pack seem to be happy about

something. Don't understand myself but I got to chew on the

paper and I found some great toys inside! The whole pack

was a ripping and tearing - brilliant.

Look at this. A brand new shoe that I got to chew. No one stopped

me at all. Didn't get told off, in fact they seemed happy to let

me carry on. Don't know why as it was the best shoe I have

ever had a go at!!!!

Oh yes. Before I move on I have to tell you that those

Dalmatians got there kids back. I am not good at counting

but there seemed to be a helluva lot there in the end.

They weren't deaf, just a bit hard of hearing. A lot of the guys

that managed to jump into the weird window were shouting

along with me, they heard when we all had a go. The other

guys didn't seem to get the whole story - so I told them all.

I was just glad I could help.

A bit put out that none of them would tell me how to get into

the weird window though.

The day after the paper tearing and me helping that couple

to find their kids we went to a place with no grass at all.

It was right beside the water, I mean really close. I get to see

the water every day from my walks up the Blockhouse but this was

really really close. Mummy Alice thought it was brill and just stood

looking out.

Some great smells. I got a crab to eat but the pack alpha male

took it. He didn't eat it, just threw it in the water. Not fair.

Mummy Alice again. I am just out of this one.

The pack spread out. Looking for food and keeping our eyes

out for the local pack. You can never be too sure. Keep your

guard up is our motto.

Sometimes that water chased me but I was always able to chase it back.

There were some humans out in the water riding on wood.

They never cease to amaze me. That water was freezing.

This is our number one bitch. She keeps herself warm by

lighting little firesticks. None of the rest of us do as it isn't

that good at keeping us warm - but we are all afraid to tell her.

Mummy Alice being chased by the water. I barked at it

and it ran away. I am always having to save her from

something or other.

Here I am tryin to work out what those humans are doing

on their bits of wood. They aren't succeeding as they keep

having to go back out and try again.

Water tried to catch me out but I am too switched on.

Mummy Cheryl whilst me, Mummy Alice and the old boy

are making sure the water behaves.

Mummy Cheryl and Mummy Alice didn't notice the water

trying to jump over that wall over there. I stopped it.

That water was getting angry and started jumping fairly

high. Just thought we should move on. I wasn't scared.

The water is getting really angry. They don't seem to have

noticed it. I will look after them though.

Boy have I had a great bunch of days. The whole pack has been home for a couple of them.

They all got excited one day and brought out a load of things wrapped in paper. I was allowed to chew on some and found some brill things inside. There were some new toys and a great shoe along with a new sausage dog.

The old boy turned up with one helluva turkey. I have been getting turkey for breakfast AND supper for the last few days- heaven, but I don't have to tell you do I.

Some time ago the chief bitch stared decorating again. But this time there were like - well you know when it's dark when you go for a walk and you look up. Those lights up there. Well she put them in the house. All over the place.

I now know what the lights up there in the dark are. Not sure who put them there, or even why, but at least I can tell the guys up the park now. It's just one of the things we have been chatting about recently, so nice to have it cleared up.

After the paper ripping day we went out in the car. Not a little drive like over to the park. I had to keep looking out the window to keep track. To be honest I don't think I would have found my way home so I stayed close to the pack. We went to a place with strange, but really nice, earth and no grass. Great smells. Huge amount of water that kept chasing us and got really angry when it couldn't get us.

When it got a bit cold we went into a pub. I spoke to a local there, he said we were at a place called "Hope Cove". It was nice and I hope we go back. The pub was nice and warm and I was allowed to sit with the pack and eat chips and sausage. It was brill.

Yesterday my alpha male took me out on to the moors with his sister. They told me she lived a long way away on the other side of the world. Not too sure what they were talking about but she must have walked for an awful long time to get here.

Right then, I must go. The pack are talking about the end of the year. Mummy Cheryl is out hunting so is going to miss it. Mummy Alice has brought her friend Jazzy over so I have had a great time chasing their feet and trying to chew their shoes. It is great fun and we all really enjoy it as they keep barking really loud with me. The old boy comes in every so often with his "NO!" so we stop until he goes back up to his room. Then it's fun time again with us all barking really loud!!

I have been told to tell you all to have a great New Year. If it is as much fun as the last week I just can't wait!!!

Love to you all. Disney and the rest of the pack. XXXX

bit of fun

Val in action

Me showing my potential

Ches as a pin up

Sorry about this posh!

Al getting carried away

Paris was looking for a new best friend

With many thanks to PhotoFunia.com

Update on Disney's leg. All seems fine, just got to get the insurance sorted!! He is running around with his mates again, but I have restricted him playing with the big boys. He has had a little run with Bear, but on the extender!

Talking about insurance. The ceiling is repaired, but of course the empty room was just shouting at Val "Redecorate me!!!!" Oh fun! The builder has to return to paint so I will give it until then to put photos on this blog.

Saw Big Frank in Morrisons today, his belly is showing signs that he is enjoying his retirement!!!!

I have a new mobile phone. The old one had £10 put on it some time ago and still had over £4 when it finally gave up the ghost! Don't understand the need for the over usage of the damn things!!!! I now have to come up with a ringtone for my new one, give me an excuse to mess about on the PC!!!

Argyle conceded a goal in the third minute of injury time to lose 1-0 away at Leicester. Ah well, Al and I will still be there in our seats next week. This time with an extra supporter as Shaun is over from the CI.

Look after yourselves, especially with the rather strange weather we have been experiencing of late.

LS&GCM. At Chivenor 5 March 1986

CinC Commendation 2 August 1983.

Val's sister Silv came over yesterday and brought the two photos above around. She has been having a clear out and came across them.

Who is the handsome young airman I hear you ask. Well he is now the KOS writing this blog. Hard to believe eh!!

Anyway. Couple of updates. You will be pleased to know that Disney appears to have made a full recovery. He went for his two walks today, a nice level quiet one with Val then his up the park with his mates one with me. His mate Ruby was up there. She is a Scottie so about his size.

They had a bit of a run and play, I kept my eye on his back leg just in case. All appears fine and no limping on the way home. Just got to complete insurance claim form now to get a bit of the cash back!!!

Talking about insurance. I cleared out the spare (Alice's) room yesterday as the workmen are coming to fix the ceiling tomorrow. They have to have it totally empty. So I spent all of yesterday clearing it out. And I had to use a days flexi leave to do it!

It is amazing how much fits in one room, you only find how much when you have to take it out and deposit it around the house!! Had to take the sofa bed to bits (real fun that!) and disconnect all the electrical kit. Really looking forward to putting it all back together.

Val told me yesterday it was the perfect opportunity to redecorate the room. Of course if the room is redecorated it just HAS to have new curtains.

This washer leak is costing me a flaming fortune!!

You all look after yourselves, no matter where in the world you may be.

Just to rub salt in the wound

And just to rub salt into the wound see pictures of my spare room above!!!

Slow leak and a beastie growing in the loft.

Again I thank the insurance industry. Without the strength of an insurance policy the last week or so would have proved very very expensive!!!

Got a day off tomorrow to empty out the room - oh deep joy!

Update on Disney : Limping a bit but not nearly as bad as yesterday, however he is on painkillers so they may be masking a problem!

Not having a lot of success making sure he has his bed rest!!!!!!!!

At least sister Mary is fixing his coat, now stop reading this Marms and get that sewing tin out!!