Hmmmm

I seem to do the same thing each night/weekend - think or experience something that I think is blog worthy, then when I get to the create post option, all sense and ideas desert me. Is that blogger's block? Or perhaps my subconcious telling me that it isn't relly worth blogging about? The weekend was spent mainly in our own garden, enjoying the sunshine whilst tidying the garden. I enjoyed sitting out with Mrs Zilla, once the godzookies were in bed, just chatting about life, reminiscing and drinking some good wine. Then again I also enjoyed the high powered water pistols we bought too! Sometimes I walk around the house and find it hard to believe that it's mine (well at least 60% of it is mine, the rest I still owe the bank for!). I guess it's because it's a grown up house if that makes sense. It's a family house. Yes, I know that I'm a family man in his 30s, but most of the time in my head I'm around 23, so it feels kind of weird to have the house, car, kids set up. This probably makes little or no sense, and I have no idea why I should still feel this way. Perhaps my own senses of achievement and accomplishment aren't strong enough for me to realise that I am crashing towards middle age. I don't think it's fear of assessing where I am at. When I sit down and coldly assess things, I'm happy with my children, I like my house, my surroundings and even my job for most of the time. My career has constantly moved on, I've been working at the same place for 13 years now, and been getting fresh challenges along the way. Perhaps my lack of awareness was highlighted recently by events at school. I was taking godzooky 1 to and from school due to Mrs Zilla's broken ankle. As a result I saw the fevered worry of some other parents as to their progeny's school report. A brief outline of the school structure might help here. Children start off in Reception class. Most then move to Year 1, although there is also an option of Year1/2. This is a class for the gifted Reception pupils and also a holding class for those not deemed bright enough to move from Year 1 to Year 2. So recent parental fears have focussed on whether their child will end up in Year 1/2 or move on to Year 2. I found myself amazed that what I had thought were rational, normal people were getting so concerned over which class their child ended up in. To me the utmost important thing is that Godzooky 1 enjoys going to school. If he's happy, then he will surely do better, that seems like common sense to me. The ultimate proof of this is a boy who went staright from Reception to Year 1/2. He has gone from being a top performer to being one of the worst. Does my attitude of caring more about Godzooky 1's happiness than his academic prowess make me a good or bad parent? As it happens he is near the top of reading, writing and maths anyway. I prefer him to be happy and near the top, than for me to push him and him be top in subjects and miserable. Perhaps again I am drawing on my own experiences too much. I was very able at school, but didn't push myself, to my parents annoyance. To me that seemed the right way to be. Watch me change my attitude over the next couple of years!

Dante's Inferno

So here's a little test I stumbled across, to discover which circle of hell I might well end up in: The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Second Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Low
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test Not sure what to make of all that, but it looks like I'm in trouble!

At Last

The camera finally works!

So here are picture from the zoo:

The kids love the lemur feeding, as the cute little critters take the fruit out of your hand. They have the run of the park, and they have priority over you (the lemurs that is!)

Any lying on the floor sunbathing should be left alone and negotiated without disturbing them. They form raiding parties to attack the picnic areas. If it isn’t nailed down they’ll have it. One made off with a green dummy that Godzooky 3 had! I guess it thought it was fruit. I have a lovely mental image of lemur still sucking on this everlasting grape! The tiger feeding is quite spectacular:

They put the meat at the top of the poles, not just for the spectacle, but because they want the tigers to work for their food, as they would in the wild. It’s a very ethical wildlife park. They have formed close bonds with Sumatra to help conserve the tigers and sell gifts from the area, to give the local people an alternative income to killing the tigers for skins/body parts.

It's Official

I am getting old. My body is starting to rebel against me. Or does that mean that my body is a teenager? Last night at football I managed to strain my thigh muscle. Ten minutes from the end. I NEVER get any major muscle injuries. I've tweaked the odd calf and hamstring, but by the next day been right as rain. Normally I can run off any niggles, and I did attempt this last night. I think I made it worse by attempting an audacious volley shot. Then I had to go in goals for the rest of the game. I put ice on it as soon as I got home, and that helped slightly. Today I still feel like someone is digging a blade into my thigh. I've checked under my desk for malicious dwarves, but the truth cannot be ignored: I am injured. My legs were certainly warm enough last night, it was scorchio in the sun. I now dread ending up like some of the older guys who play, they seem to pick up injuries on a constant basis, swapping ancecdotes about recovery times and the size of swellings (oo-er!) So it looks like a few weeks out for me. I'll just do a search for walking stick websites, I may be needing them shortly....

Sports Day

Yesterday was Godzooky 1's sports day. All families invited to attend, cheer on their progeny and partake of a picnic on the school field. The sports were the usual fayre: Egg and spoon race Sack race Running race Bean bag relay race Running with a Quoit on your head race (I'm ignorant of any technical term for this) Skipping race and finally the Crab race (not a competition to pick up the earliest recordrd STD, but two children link arms back to back, then run sideways down the course!) Godzooky 1 put up a respectable showing, winning the running race, the egg and spoon and the relay race. His dismal showing in the skipping race was matched by other male competitors. They lacked the natural coordination and grace required to excel at this one! The Fathers' race saw me finish in the top 10, which I was pleased about. Some of these guys had started having kids early, so were in their early 20s. Thankfully I am nowhere near the oldest dad, so there were easy pickings for me too! Of course at his age winning is everything, and he didn't share my happiness at such a placing. I like to think I am leading by example, and he will come to recognise my effort! One thing made a lasting impression on me yesterday. All the staff gathered at the end and I noticed (for some reason) that there were no male teachers. The only male members of staff were the Headmaster and the caretaker. The predominant characteristics of the teachers were that they were young blonde ladies. Call me cynical, but methinks the headmaster is cultivating his own personal harem. I prefer brunettes personally, but yesterday I was beginning to see how a smarter career choice could improve my working surroundings dramatically!

My Bumper Sticker

Your Bumper Sticker Should Be

I've made smarter things than you by eating fiber

What Bumper Sticker Should Be On Your Car?

That was the weekend

A good weekend was had by all at Grandma Zilla's. The worst part of the weekend was trying to resolve the results of Godzooky 1's bad hair day at school. A liberal amount of red hair colour was sprayed onto him Friday morning. When he came out of school he looked like an extra from a slasher movie. It had all run down his neck and face. Some persistent scrubbing at Grandma Zilla's removed most of the dye, leaving him with a reddish tinge, which made him look healthy and constantly out of breath! The weather was still ridiculously hot, despite being near the sea and up a lot higher. The zoo has had yet more alterations, and was thoroughly enjoyable. Even if you have to watch for lemurs stealing your food! Pictures were taken, but the camera now seems to be playing up. As soon as you switch it on it flashes "Warning Low Battery" at you and then switches itself straight off. Even if you put new batteries in. I suspect someone may have dropped it at some point, and is refusing to admit responsibility. So pictures may appear, depending on the camera co-operating. Rants about motorway driving may appear over the next few days, be warned. Tomorrow is school sports day, and I am hoping for a good showing in the fathers' race.

Quick One

before I disappear to the Lakes.... why is it that you can fall asleep in the sun when it's 75 degrees, yet at night time the same temperature keeps you awake? Right, off to have fun now!

Questions for Lord Tich Esquire

Ok Ticharu asked for some questions as well, so here are yours T my man: 1. Which one song would you like the whole world to hear? 2. How long do you think it will take to finish your house? Not including the pool of course! 3. Where in the world would you most like to visit? 4. What do you think your biggest achievement has been? 5. You can remove one thing from the planet - what is it? Hope these give you something to go at, and I look forward to reading the answers!

Bloody rubbish work server hasn’t let me get have access to t’internet. “So how are you writing this rubbish then?” Ah, well you see I can write this in Word then cut and paste it into Blogger when the stupid ISP sorts itself out. From previous comments (see below) I must admit to being intrigued as to how the other Brit Snav knows managed to piss her off. Further to Snav’s comments, I did have a list prepared with reasons for the 364 other days of the year when I post crap. But the dog ate it. We don’t have a dog, but the virtual terrier that is my delete button took it all away, probably to worry it in some dark corner of the ether. You can’t prove otherwise either! Anyway – what’s happened in my blogging absence, I hear you ask. Mrs Zilla’s cast has now come off, so she can start doing some thing to help round the house! In other news Godzooky 3’s weaning has started in earnest, and some of the solids are actually disappearing into his mouth, rather than getting smeared all over clothes, furnishings etc Unfortunately, he has chosen this point to learn how to blow raspberries as well. Often he chooses to start this during feeding time – must be something to do with the texture of the food hitting his mouth. He’s developed quite a spray range. He’s very talented for one so young. I can’t remember if I’ve posted a recent picture of him, so here’s one anyway: Hopefully, no, definitely, we are off to Grandma Zilla’s this weekend. This should mean less stress for me regardless of the fracture clinic results. It also means a chance to mix with psychotic emus and manic lemurs at the local zoo, although the warm weather might slow them and us down. Right, time to test the internet availability again. Oh look, it worked, I can post this now!

A new week

brings new challenges. Today I am mostly process mapping - detailing every decision and process we make to complete our jobs. Anyway here are 5 questions for G and Sessy as they asked for them: G: 1. You’ve talked about wanting your own house. What would it ideally be like? 2. How are the British perceived by Americans? (nice general one there!) 3. What skill or ability would you like to have? 4.What’s your favourite childhood memory? 5.What makes you laugh out loud? Sessy: 1. How did you end up doing a thesis involving mummy tissue? 2. What was your best night out ever? 3. What would your ideal man be like? 4. You can only ever play one game again, what would it be? 5. What single thing would you change about your life right now? I hope there's nothing too controversial there, and I look forward to the answers!

Picture

a whirlwind of paper and spreadsheets. Lots of money needing to be paid out. That's why there is no entertaining, witty post, or in fact any questions for G. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. The other 364 days of the year I've got no explanation for!

5 Questions

I asked Snav for 5 questions, following her answering 5 that had been set for her. Thank you for giving me the challenge, and there was certainly nothing there to offend me! I feel honoured to be one of the first three to receive questions from you. 1 Why do people in England insist on driving on the wrong side of the road? The short answer is we don’t, you do! Ok, the serious answer now. My understanding is that it arose from the days of horse drawn carriages. The drivers of those would sit on the right hand side, so that their whips would not hit passing pedestrians when they were wielded. This could be totally untrue, but would seem sensible to me. Being creatures of habit when the automobile came along the tradition continued. Having driven abroad I don’t think it makes that much difference, unless after a 10 hour flight you forget to change sides of the road, like I did! 2. Blood Pudding (or Black Pudding as it’s known round these parts) – why would anyone want to eat such a thing? This one seems to have provoked a large response on your blog Snav! I , for one, wouldn’t want to eat such a thing, but there are huge companies that make a lot of money producing and selling the things. It’s a very traditional foodstuff, and it’s popularity seems to be dying out with the older generations. Locally there are plenty of markets with stalls that specialise in the delicacy (I use the word advisedly) My boss is a great fan of the black pudding, and he insists it is delicious. Mrs Zilla had it as a child, then, when she found out what it was, wouldn’t touch it again! For more information visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_sausage Or for those who don’t enjoy blood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_pudding And if that’s whetted your appetite then why not try some tripe? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripe All these are available locally and eaten regularly by people of a certain generation and taste bud! 3. How does “a man of numbers” become Godzilla? Man of Numbers seemed a good name for a blog as I am an accountant, therefore work more with numbers than letters, so I twisted Man of Letters. Well I am fairly monstrous, not only in the looks department, but fairly tall and fairly broad too, so on one level it fits me. It’s also a username that I’ve had on a football forum that I use, so when prompted for a name on Blogger it sprang to mind. For once my first choice wasn’t taken! So, I guess a supplementary question would be, “why use it there then?” Well, the supporters of the team I follow, Middlesbrough, are known by their rivals as Smogmonsters or Smoggies, a derogatory term because of the large petro-chemical industry prevalent in the area. To reduce the barb of the slur, the fans actively embrace the term. One of the Godzilla films was Godzilla vs the Smogmonster, so it seemed quite apt to adopt it. Of course on another level it may be because I see myself as having hidden depths and rising to save the day when needed! 4. If they don’t rule, why have a monarchy? Technically the queen does rule. She opens parliament every year, after the summer recess. When the Prime Minister wishes to call a General Election, he must first inform the queen of his intention to do so. Before a law can come into effect it must receive “Royal Assent” – i.e the queen must agree to the law, even though it has been debated and voted upon by the Houses of Commons and Lords. In reality the queen is merely a figure head, and she is compelled to do the above actions. The passage of a law has never been hindered by the monarch. That’s why it’s only a technicality that she does rule – she can’t introduce laws or change the way the country is governed. Apart from that the monarchy is a good money spinning tourist attraction, they are supposed to generate a lot of overseas visitors. They also serve as a figurehead for the Commonwealth; all those countries we previously ruled, but didn’t manage to defeat us in a war of independence! What value they place on the monarchy is open to debate! Lastly the presence of a monarchy reminds us peasants of our place in society, and who we should defer to! 5 It’s tea time, besides tea of course, what are we having? This might well depend on where you live and whether you’re part of the monarchy! Where I was brought up, in the Lake District (in the North of the country) tea time meant the evening meal. As in “Mum what’s for tea?” However, what I think your referring to, is the custom of a late afternoon ritual involving ladies. As well as tea, it would be customary to have sandwiches and cakes, preferably served on a tiered stand. The choice would depend on personal taste, but stereotypically would be cucumber sandwiches (with the crusts cut off) cut diagonally, followed by a cream cake. There are still tea shops in existence, where such rituals can be found. These tend to be in touristy areas, such as York or other traditional English cities who trade on the tourist presence. Large, expensive hotels will still provide a traditional High Tea. I believe the Dorchester in London is one of the favoured amongst the high and mighty. Thanks for the questions Snav, I am more than willing to answer any areas of doubt or bits that I have not answered fully - so ask away.... This seems liek a good thing to keep going, so if anyone wants their own 5 questions let me know, and I'll try to make then as good as Snav's!

I am

still alive, but merely functioning rather than living. The grey skies are still above, despite the sunshine visible out of my window. Ho hum better get on with things...

Fings wot I ave lerned

In a lighter vein than the post below, having seen this on Lily's and Snav's blogs, I thought I would try and see what music has taught me: 1. The Clash told me Career Opportunities are the ones that never knock 2. The Wedding Present reminded me that You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends 3. The Rolling Stones told me to Paint It Black 4. The Blow Monkeys told me that choice is for some, but not for everyone 5. Violent Femmes taught me how to Add It Up 6. Spear of Destiny showed me that since you ask nothing of me, I give to you all my love 7. The Ramones grabbed me, so Hey ho, let’s go! 8. Joy Division lamented that Love Will Tear Us Apart 9. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds made me realise you are a little mystery to me, every time you call around 10. N.W.A. told me to Express Yourself 11. The Pixies asked Where Is My Mind? 12. The Mission showed me how you make me feel like a child again 13. Cud told me I’ve said it before, I should be glad, I’ll say it again, cos I’m feeling sad 14. Saint Etienne described how rain falls like Elvis tears 15. Talk Talk taught me Life’s What You Make It 16. Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction reminded me that I’m just a melted clown that let you down 17.ABBA taught me that The Winner Takes It All 18.Massive Attack reminded me that I should Be Thankful For What You’ve Got 19. Primal Scream taught me that a little piece of soul is worth more than gold 20. Pop Will Eat Itself advised me to Wise Up Sucker! 21. The Buzzcocks know that I’m an Orgasm Addict 22. Manic Street Preachers showed me that the less she gives, the more you need her 23. Kylie Minogue knows we all get hurt by love 24. The Stooges know that I’m so messed up, I want you here 25. The Killers taught me to Smile Like You Mean It

7/7

We've just had a national 2 minute silence to remember the first anniversary of the London underground and bus suicide bomb attacks. These were such cynical and calculating attacks - suicide bombers targetting rush hour public transport to inflict maximum casualties. They were not foreign terrorists either. These were all young men born and raised in Britain. Through studying Islam they became extremists, believing that they would be furthering their cause by murdering people going about their daily business. I struggle to understand this on a few different levels. If they had issues with the presence of British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, then why not join the militias in those areas fighting those combatants? The answer they would probably give is that they wanted to bring the conflict to our shores and to make the public think about the involvement we have in those areas. But their attacks were so random that they had no way of knowing who they were killing. Picking a soft civilian target only seems to harden the resolve of those who can make decisions to never capitulate to the extremists' demands. It also hardens the public's stance, and only seems to have generated mistrust and build barriers between communities. Yes they've instilled fear into people, but these are people who have no real way of changing events. All major political parties over here have backed the stance the current government has taken. What saddens me more are the results of an opinion poll published this week. A survey of muslims in this country revealed that 5% would actively encourage or support their children if they joined Al Qaeda. A further 12% would be indifferent if their children joined Al Qaeda. That's almost one in five muslims not particularly concerned that their children might get involved with a terrorist organisation. What chance do we have for peace and unity with those sorts of attitudes prevailing?

Uninspired

I'm feeling fed up, totally and utterly hacked off. So there's no joy here today. Hmmmm, nothing new there then.

4th of July Follow Up

My post yesterday raised a few issues, and I thank Snav and Sessy for taking the time to read it and post interesting comments. As I've got nothing else to offer today I might as well delve a little further into it. Sessy hits the nail pretty on the head when she says: "But I think that it is difficult for us as a nation to pull together because of our history. Wales is a conquered territory, people here can still fiercely protective of their national identity as Welshmen (or women. And I think the same can be said of the Scots." This is the real crux of our problems - our history divides us. Every constituent nationality sees the others as an enemy or rival. I was shocked with some of the reports in recent weeks surrounding the World Cup side show. How can Scots physically assault a 7 year old boy and a disabled man, just for wearing an England football shirt? That is surely taking hatred, or racism too far? I've always found myself supporting the Scots or Welsh when they are involved in any international competition. Obviously the same can't be said for everybody, and I have friends who will not support the other "home nations". To me that is just perpetuating petty rivalries, and who needs that? There are enough real issues in the world to deal with, we don't need to add insignificant ones to the mix. Snav comments: "Someone I know from England once implied that your country "let the colonies go" - I was never more insulted as an American. Whatever!!" To be honest there are people who do believe that. Some people find it hard to admit defeat, or to face up to the facts that cause such uprisings. It's easier to kid yourself that we didn't want to be inolved any more. Right, that'll be why we fought a war then? As a realist, I take the view that such an Empire was unsustainable, especially when the natives start taking issue with the rule from afar. Both Sessy and Snav make good points about trying to find a day that we can all celebrate: Sessy: "Britain is four countries in one, so I think that finding a day that all of us can pull together would be difficult. Celebrating war victories could be considered a reminder of the supression that the other portions of the island were subjected to." and Snav: "Regarding Trafalgar Day, LOL!! We've been celebrating the 4th of July for 230 years - you can't just pick a day out of a hat and begin embracing it! Too funny!" The real problem here is that the government are trying (for once) to create a new holiday that we can take pride in as a nation, and are clutching at straws with Trafalgar Day. They know that we need a focus that can pull us all together, as it seems that on a daily basis there are more fractures and cracks appearing in our society. We need a day that all of Britain can celebrate, as Sessy points out all parts of this Kingdom have been suppressed at one point or other. The best ideas I can come up with are still related to war though. Let's face it, it's the on ething in our history that we can look back and see some sort of success in! I was going to suggest the Battle of Britain - without the heroics of a few pilots the German Luftwaffe would have ruled the skies over Britain, but there is no single day attributable to this - it was a sustained defence over a period of time. The other idea I had occurred to me as I watched and read details of the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, this last weekend. So many young soldiers, concsripts mainly died in such a short space of time. Hardly a cause for celebration, I know. But the soldiers came from all corners of our country, to fight against a common enemy and to return peace to Europe, no matter how fragile it turned out to be. A celebration of what they sacrificed for others would be a fitting tribute, wouldn't it? Although, even as I write that, doubts creep over me. I know that we do need something to knot the nations together, but getting a relevant and coherrent answer seems to be quite tricky. It must be attempted though, because as Snavy ends with: "But, having something as a nation to pull you together is a truly amazing thing." I'd quite like to experience that

4th of July

I would like to wish all the American visitors I have a very Happy 4th of July. The history books we used at school undoubtedly differed enormously from yours in terms of how the events leading to Independence are recorded. Ultimately I look at the history of our nation with a slight bewilderment. How did such a small nation as ours manage to achieve the large Empire and colonies that we once had? I’m pretty damn sure it wasn’t through sweet talking, persuasion or bringing gifts. I don’t doubt that there was tyranny and injustice throughout the lands that we ruled. Man’s inhumanity to man always seems to surface too readily. I was watching a programme last night about the second world war, and it detailed some of the atrocities that took place. Such was the willingness of certain Baltic countries to align themselves with the German invaders, that some of them murdered their Jewish populations before the Nazis even arrived! But returning to the subject of American Independence, to me the disintegration of the British Empire was always going to be inevitable. How could any country hope to control so many different regions of the world, and act so aggressively towards them, without expecting some kind of revolution to take place? As is currently being demonstrated in various arenas of conflict, it is hard, even in this modern day, to maintain control over regions that contain militant dissidents. The Americans fought for their Independence and won, and deservedly so in my opinion. What you have shown us is how to celebrate an occasion. I cannot think of any event that we celebrate with even 20% of the effort you put into the 4th of July. St Georges’s Day (our national Saint) over here passes with a whimper. None of the unreserved celebrations that accompany St Patrick’s Day, for us staid English. We hope constantly for a national triumph to unite the nation, and this hope always seems to be pinned on the achievements of our national football team. They never fail to disappoint, so at least we achieve consistency, if not the success we need to spark something. There is talk of creating a day for us to celebrate. Trafalgar Day is being proposed in some areas – to celebrate our defeat of the French in 1815. Whatever gets decided, we need something as a nation to pull us together in a similar fashion as today does for Americans. I hope every American enjoys the celebrations, as the effort and belief put into them shames the pathetic attempts we have over here to raise national pride.

Where have I been?

I found this and had to give it a go. You can click on all the parts of Britain that you've visited. We live on quite a small island, yet I seem to have covered England pretty well, but the neighbouring Sctland and Wales remain to be fully explored.

I've visited the counties in yellow. Which counties have you visited? made by marnanel map reproduced from Ordnance Survey map data by permission of the Ordnance Survey. © Crown copyright 2001.

I feel slightly ashamed by that, and am no doubt missing out on an awful lot.