My pictures

I have uploaded lots of pictures to the ArtWanted website. This is one example. It's a drawing I did a Loooooong time ago of a friend I shared a house with called Mark. I haven't seen him for years. He was a major U2 fan before anyone else was.

If you want to see more please click on the link here:

ArtWanted

Pardon my French

Today I have been learning how to put accents and stuff on my writing. It turns out that it is very simple to change my UK keyboard into a French keyboard - except of course the letters are all printed in UK stylee on the keyboard, so I have to get a visual 'keyboard' on screen. Which given my arduous typing is pretty hard: I normally look at keyboard and screen, now I will have to look at keyboard, screen and keyboard on screen. But anyway, let me practice:

Bonjour, je m'appelle Gary. C'est très difficile de utiliser le clavier français; parce que lettres certains est dans positions différante sur le clavier: par exemple, le m est où la ; devrait être et le q et où la a devrqit être etcetera et c'est très difficile de trouver les signes de ponctuation.

Enough of that. I had to change the keyboard back to English to find a full stop. Maybe that's why French sentences seem so long. It's especially the a and the q that do my head in. The m isn't much better.

Anyway, here's a nice I took picture of the Tate modern (even if I say so myself), which I think I mentioned we went to yesterday. They are having this amazing exhibition of fun slides at the moment. But is it art? probably not, but looks fun. J was very disappointed that the queues were too long for her to have a go. A picture on the left of the slides. Wheeeeeeeeeee!

Warbrobe parked by Wardrobe Terrace

Warbrobe parked by Wardrobe Terrace
Originally uploaded by Gary Socrates.

We all went for a walk today by the City, St Pauls and across the wobbly bridge to the Tate Modern, then up the Thames towards London Bridge. It was a lovely sunny day and I took some pictures. Including this one. It is of a van amongst a whole row of vans which were part of a big film crew. This is the wardrobe department, parked just by Wardrobe Terrace. I wonder if they did it on purpose?

We went for lunch at a pub by Southwark Bridge just next to the Golden Hind, and Ipswich v Luton was on the telly. Alan Lee scored a hat trick. Hard to believe. But of course I always liked the song: "Alan Lee, Lee, Lee , won't you score a goal for me, me, me, Alan Lee, Lee, Lee , won't you score a goal for me. With your left, with your right, with head or with your knee, Alan Lee, Lee, Lee , won't you score a goal for me." Never did. But he has now scored loads for Ipswich. Oh well.

I wonder if Magilton's managed to get hm off the (alleged) booze and fags?

Money in the City

I'm sure - well in fact I know - I'm not the only one who has been thinking about the Ridsdale deal to take over City. The more I think about it the simpler it becomes and the less it makes sense: So put simply - some City people will put up money now (approx £25-30m) and then in a couple of years will float the club on the stock exchange (or whatever) on the basis they will get a lot more.

Simple, see, except it's hard to believe that this is a worthwhile risk: the development of the stadium, promotion to the premiership etc. Football clubs don't make money. Also, who will own the stadium? City don't own their stadium now...

There's something extremely worrying going on. None of this believeable, none of this stands up to examination.

So back to the mascot discussion. I think this one is worth looking at
:

No I don't know what it is either.

Mascots

One of the exciting things Mr Ridsdale is promising City fans is a new club mascot. So here are some for you to think about:




Aee also this: sports-mascot.com

MR RIIIIDSDAAAALE!!!!!

Meanwhile back at Ninian Park the takeover continues. Sam Hammam is quietly being written out of history (Sam who?), and Peter Ridsdale (surely it was him Norman Wisdom was always shouting for: "Mr Ridsdale? MR RIDSDALE?") carries on the takeover and reinventing history. Of course all City fans want to be in the Premiership visiting Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and the Emirates Stadia, and of course we wouldn't mind a new stadium ourselves - but why must we always be run by a dodgy second hand car salesmen with a permatan that no one trusts - and I mean no one. Why does the club's fate have to be linked to dubious business deals in the city? And come to think of it I don't mind Ninian Park, actually. And really it was quite a lot of fun away at Cheltenham Town and Gillingham and Oxford United with about 100 supporters, now I come to think about it.

Screw this, whatever happens us City fans will still be there singing.

"We've been to Halifax, we've been to Hartlepool, we've been to Crewe, we've been to Burnley too (spit), we've been to Gillingham, we've been to Wrexham, and all because, Cardiff we love you".

And if we go up to the premiership we'll still sing it. Except they'll be a load of new people around who won't have ever been anywhere near any of those grounds, so we can sing "Where were you when we were shit?" at them. Which will be fun too. I suppose. And I guess if City do go up and we're in France I'll be able to see a lot of games on Sky.

Confused? Me too. But then again I don't feel well.....

In sickness and in health

Being ill is boring. Both K and I have not been feeling great the last few days. me after my gastroscopy - I think they left something inside - and K's picked up a cold - which I seem to have got a bit now. It's so boring. Mind you this hasn't stopped either of us working, nor going to the football on Saturday, or to the pub on Tuesday.

Take painkillers and carry on! That's our motto.

Great, this must be the most self-indulgent moany blog post: as if all blogs weren't self indulgent.

What's that coming over the hill?

Not Luigi Glombard, who on Saturday was horribly reminiscent of Andy Campbell. I don't get it. This is his big chance. Chopra out for one game, so Glombard has a chance. What has he got to lose? Not a thing - if he tries. What does he do? He hides. A cross coming his way.. where's Glombard? Hiding behind a defender. His reputation is that he is fast. But it would be hard to tell from that performance - he hardly ran, and when he did, he started his run far too late. And as reported accurately by Will Buckley in the Observer, he made the best through pass of the game - for Norwich, to Earnie: who should have really scored. I think he felt sorry for Neal Alexander. Glombard got taken off at half time, which was the right thing to do. But that is probably his career at Cardiff over: finished before it started.

Of course withy all the exciting news and the piles of money heading into Ninian Park (see Green Eggs and Hammam below) we'll have half a dozen new strikers by the end of January, and Glombard will be back in the French second division. I look forward to watching him next year at Montpelier.

I do not like Green Eggs and Hammam

No I do not like them Sam I am.

So what on earth is going on down at Ninian Park? Hammam out, Ridsdale in. Complicated deals with share options, hedge funds and god knows what else. Rumours are there's a 'consortium'. Rumours are is that its just some investment bankers (cockney rhyming slang, surely?) It's mandaric. It's Sullivan. It's the Chuckle Brothers. Debts will disappear like magic. The stadium will bebuilt City will have funds to buy players in the transfer window. The promised land will come to Cardiff. To me, to you. The River Taff will turn into wine. Why does anyone expect any of us to believe anything?


Supporting Cardiff City is never straightforward - even on the pitch. (Saturday at Norwich a case in point - but that's another story). It gets even less straightforward behind the scenes than out on the pitch. The reality is we've swapped one owner (who sold his last club's ground to god knows who, and the club to some idiot Norwegians) for another - who pushed his club into near bankruptcy. We've swapped Sam "I am" Hammam for Peter "Green Eggs" Ridsdale. I do not like them on a train, I do not like them in the rain. I do not like them with a goat, I do not like them on a boat... I DO NOT LIKE THEM SAM I AM.

Tuesday was three days ago...

Yes I had the less than exciting gastrocopy. Which revealed a hiatus hernia, which I guess explains a few things. As you can see from the diagram this is a fun procedure. "A procedure?" shouted the woman in the next bed. "I'm having a procedure? I thought it was just tests!" Unfortunately it means I have to have some more tests, more drugs, etc. The sedatives were pretty cool though. I remember nothing about a camera going down my throat, which is as it should be. Actually I remember very little about Wednesday at all.

Yesterday felt a bit knocked out still, so took it easy most of the day until the evening when we went to see Marley in his school play - Pride and Prejudice. He was really very good, playing Mr Bingley. Some of the other kids were good too, but Mr Darcy stood out. In the way a an oak tree might stand out on stage, except without the emotional range. Jeeeesus he was bad. The whole audience cracked up when he came out with the line "This is too much" with less emotion than a dalek. Poor boy - got the part based on looks alone. But otherwise the play was great. And I didn't boo Mr Darcy once!


This morning the doorbell rang early. Who is it? I asked, bearing in mind the knock on the door we'd had from the old bill a few days a go telling us that burglars had struck in our street at 7am. But it wasn't a friendly burglar knocking, but a delivery: a mitre football. I have no idea why. Did I enter some competition I can't remember? Why am I being sent a football? Weird. Whatever, a great long ball: superb delivery, but a bit telegraphed.




Tomorrow we are going to watch "top of the league" Cardiff City play at Norwich. Unfortunately "What's that coming over the hill?" - Michael Chopra is suspended, so we may be seeing the great Luigi Glombard. Shame we can't borrow that Earnie bloke Norwich have got. Notice the irony of the shirt colours.

My Tuesday Blog

So what did I end up doing on this exiting Tuesday?

Got up at 7.20pm, five minutes after the alarm went off. Went downstairs to kitchen, Emptied dishwasher. Made Coffee. Made toast, Got bread out of freezer for J's lunch. Ate breakfast - toast, banana, coffee and various bits of medication (Oh you want to know? Ozemaprole, Metformin, Lisinopril and Aspirin). Went to loo. Said goodbye to K and j as they left house. Did some work - mainly finishing off stuff for afternoon meeting that I can't write about given there could be future legal repercussions. Went to meeting - long drive to Willesden where meeting was. Meeting happened. Went well (Can't say more). Started to drive back home worried i wouldn't get home in time to leave to go to my picture framing class at the Mary Ward Centre. At Kentish Town had the brilliant idea of driving to K's work at Euston and leaving car with her. Phoned K, she agreed - happy she didn't have to take bus home. Time to spare popped into paperchase at Euston. Bought a sketchbook. Did some drawings of cats. Walked up road to Queens Square to class. Class was good, even though I realised I'd left print at home I'm working on. Instead mounted small picture of cat for mounting in small test frame. Sanded the frame for preparation. Learned about staining - tried a few out and then decided i preferred natural wood. Took the bus home. Spoke to Marley, who's rehearsing hard for his school play tomorrow night (Pride and Prejudice), and listened to my ipod the rest of the 91 bus journey. Most enjoyed: "holiday" by Green Day. Fitted my mood. Got home at 8.45pm in time to say goodnight to J and eat a tin of beans. And take some more metformin. Then turned on my Mac to listen to the second half: City v Southampton. Thompson scores winner 5 minutes from end...Bloooobirds, We are top of the league, say we are top of the league etc. Then deal with emails. And remember I should do this blog.

Tomorrow won't be so much fun. Tomorrow morning at 8.30am am going to the Whittington for a gastroscopy. Whoopee.

A Walk on the Heath

Heath Pond
Originally uploaded by Gary Socrates.

K and I went for a nice walk today on the heath. It was a lovely mild, sunny autumn day. We started at Southend green and meandered up to Kenwood. We stopped by the pond at Kenwood and watched people feeding the ducks and swans. Then we saw a rat. K was convinced it was not in fact a rat, but a water vole. It looked like a rat to me, but K stuck to her guns and explained it was a not rat but a water vole to a couple with their young son, who were impressed with K's knowledge of wildlife. We wondered then up to Kenwood house, and had a cup of tea in the cafe, and a look at the new shop there which sells interesting stuffed toy animals and things. Including books. Including a guide to the wildlife of Britain, with photos. Including a very clear photo of the 'water vole' - or rather, the common rat - Rattus Norvegicus (as Stranglers fans will remember). We walked back home across the heath, imagining the happy couple we met describing how they'd seen a water vole at Kenwood.

Anyway, here's a photo. And more on my flickr site, including a picture of the 'vole'.

City wipe smug smile off Jordan's ugly face

Went to watch City play at Crystal Palace yesterday with my old man. Which means we sat in the home end with Palace fans. My dad insists always in sitting in the grandstand at every game he goes to, which means I have years of experience in sitting in the wrong end listening to fans of the other team. Palace are the worst, no question. A bunch of moaning wall-eyed idiots with about as much understanding of football as George Bush. Although without the wit and wisdom. Illustrated perfectly by the idiot who reported for the Palace website in the Observer saying the match could have gone either way, and that the referee was terrible because he gave a throw in the wrong way before Cardiff scored their second goal. I hope you watched it again today on the Championship, you fool, and see how wrong you are. Second half City outplayed Palace from start to finish, playing the best football I've seen from them for donkey's years. We were great. Palace were never going to score and if we'd scored four it wouldn't have flattered us. Scimeca had a great game, Chopra is class and many others in the team, especially Parry and McPhail, looked great. We kept the ball moving, to feet, and completely outplayed them. We looked a division apart. Which left smug Palarse Chairman Simon Jordan looking less happy under his new blonde syrup than he'd done before the game, on the big screen, announcing he'd bought Palace's grotty stadium, and now could all Palace fans praise him like he is Jesus arisen, please. Twat.

Of course it won't last. We can't possibly keep up this form, but boy is it fun at the moment.

'Mass blog' to capture UK Tuesday

See this story at the BBC: Mass blog

I wonder if I'll remember. Tuesday could be an exciting day. I might go to the gym. And do some work. And that's about it.

Paul Robinson show

Nothing beats slapstick like this. Top entertainment. I can watch it time and time again. It doesn't get old. I love the comment "That'll have to go down as a Gary Neville own gial, but that doesn't tell the whole story". Class.

I've got a cold

And am therefore feeling sorry for myself, and am an even more grumpy old bastard than usual. Just thought I'd let you know.

Wales worst ever defending

How can you defend a defensive performance like that? Jesus. That Duffy is too slow. That Edwards is too slow. Nyatanga is too naive, and Bale's got a lot to learn too. Robinson, certainly adds no pace. But Toshack screwed up most of all. He picked the formation, then picked the players. And they weren't up to it: He doesn't recognise his squad's limitations enough. Oh well, at least England were poor, that 0-0 helped cheer me up. Shame Macedonia didn't  score, though. But I am worried by Cyprus. My Cypriot mate Barney always reckons that the Cyprus team is full of donkeys. But Ireland made them look more like race horses. Roll on Palace, and back to a normal football life where I watch a bunch of annoying South Londoners singing "Glad all over" as they scrape a dodgy one nil win over City. And I have yo put up with it in the wrong end with my old man. Could be worse - I still have nightmares about the game two years ago where we had two players sent off, including useless Campbell. At least he's gone.

Jones not manager of the month award

Excellent news in that as well as being top of the league, Dave Jones has NOT been named manager of the month, thus beating the well known “Curse of The Manager of The Month Award”. Whilst City fans were celebrating this news, rejoicing in the likelihood that this would contribute towards the Bluebirds’ continuing good fortune, Dave Jones himself was less happy. “I’m a better manager than that Geraint Williams bloke any day” said a down hearted Jones “Now I’ll have to buy my own bloody whisky. What? It’s not whisky any more? It’s coke? Well stuff that for a game of soldiers, Williams can keep it. I’m off down the pub.”

Airdrie Klan Scum

Airdrie fans dress up as KKK to shout racist abuse

Can you believe it? I had enough of the scum at Ninian Park singing "You're just a town full of Pakis" at the Wolves fans last week. But this, this is unbelievable. They ought to kick the fuckers out of the league.