The world of Nick Denny

In response to "Heaven knows we’re miserable now" by Tom Harris MP

2008-06-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

First read this British Government Minister's blog and the BBC's coverage

You're right, we are a miserable bunch. We've lost our joie de vivre.

I moved to Seattle from Manchester two years ago and I must say that the locals here are a lot happier generally. In fact, I've married a local girl and have taken her to visit the UK a couple of times now - she enjoys it, but has noticed that everyone seems miserable.

I must admit that she first mentioned it when we were in a service station off the M6, so probably not the most enjoyable place to be, but it's definitely noticeable wherever you go.

I can't put it down to consumerism, the US has got to be more consumeristic. Not only that, but also the gap between the rich and the poor is undoubtedly greater here. I can't put it down to Iraq or politics in general, Seattle is definitely as unhappy about the policies of President Bush as the UK, probably more-so, as we've got to put up with his domestic policies too.

People do seem to be stuck in a rut. There is a sense of hopelessness, that there's nothing you as an individual can do to make things better. I used to work with people who'd complain about their jobs every day, but would never look for a new job. I'm pretty sure the job market wasn't that bad at the time.

I also think that the British malaise is catching - if you work or live with people who are miserable, then you're likely to become miserable yourself. On the plus side, if you work or live with happy people, you're much more likely to be happy, so it can be overcome.

I don't really have an answer for "why? though. Looking at the comments, the miserable people complaining don't even have much to complain about in the grand scheme of things. Over 40 million people in the US don't have health insurance, for example. Petrol in the US may be cheaper than the UK, but it has increased in cost at a much quicker rate than in the UK. Also, you have to remember that the US is a big place - the average commute is more than double the UK's average commute and there's not a lot of public transport to use instead.

So, perhaps the British people have lost their sense of perspective. Everybody is doing okay, there's no "well, at least we've better than those people". I suggest you compulsory send the entire population of the UK to various different countries around the world to live for a year, to see if they want to come back. I bet nearly all will, with a renewed sense of optimism. Just don't send them to Seattle, I left to avoid that bunch of miserable whiners!

Weddings Playlist

2008-05-24T00:26:00.001-07:00

Hello - at the wedding of the year, the music was supplied by iPod - no chatting DJs for us!
Here's what was played:

As the wedding party walked in: Like a star - Corrine Baily Rae
As Jenni walked in: Canon in D
As we walked off as a married couple: Just Like Heaven - the Cure
First dance: No One's Gonna Love You - Band of Horses
Scroll down for the whole list...

As the wedding party walked in:
Like a star	Corrine Baily Rae	?
As Jenni walked in:
Canon in D	Various Artists	Ethereal: Classics For A New Age
As we walked off as a married couple:
Just Like Heaven	The Cure	Galore (The Singles 1987-1997)
During Dinner, you heard:
Crazy Love	Van Morrison	Moondance
Sowing the Seeds of Love	Tears for Fears	The Seeds of Love (Bonus Tracks)
Stand By Me	Ben E. King	Ultimate Soul
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay	Otis Redding	Ultimate Soul
When A Man Loves A Woman	Percy Sledge	Ultimate Soul
Aquarius /Let The Sunshine In	The 5th Dimension	Alternative 60's
Tonight Tonight	Smashing Pumpkins	Rotten Apples: Greatest Hits
Close To Me [Closet Remix]	The Cure	Galore (The Singles 1987-1997)
Tainted Love	Soft Cell	Biggest 80's Hits...
Romeo and Juliet	Dire Straits	Making Movies
When Doves Cry	Prince	Purple Rain (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
In the Waiting Line	Zero 7	Simple Things

Nothing Compares 2 U	Prince	Ultimate (The Very Best of Prince)
I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)	Meat Loaf	Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell (Deluxe Edition)
Drops of Jupiter	Train	Drops of Jupiter
Glory Box	Portishead	Dummy
Moondance	Van Morrison	Moondance
Crooked Teeth	Death Cab For Cutie	Live At KEXP Volume 2
Lazy Eye	Silversun Pickups	Carnavas
Fidelity	Regina Spektor	Begin To Hope
Lovesong	The Cure	Galore (The Singles 1987-1997)
Pictures Of You	The Cure	Galore (The Singles 1987-1997)
In My Place	Coldplay	A Rush Of Blood To The Head
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away	Eddie Vedder	I Am Sam
Blackbird	Sarah McLachlan	I Am Sam
The First dance was:
No One's Gonna Love You	Band of Horses	Cease to Begin
And then the party songs were:
For Once in My Life	Stevie Wonder	Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection
Don't Stop Believin'	Journey	Journey: Greatest Hits
Waterloo (English Version)	ABBA	ABBA - Gold - Greatest Hits
Billie Jean (Single Version)	Michael Jackson	Now That's What I Call the 80s
We Built This City	Starship	Now That's What I Call the 80s
Le Freak	Chic	The Very Best of Chic
Brown Eyed Girl (Single Version)	Van Morrison	Bang Masters
Blame It On the Boogie	The Jacksons	Essential Michael Jackson
Let's Stay Together	Al Green	Let's Stay Together
Take On Me	a-Ha	I Love 80's (Disc 2)
Baby Got Back	Sir Mix A Lot	Mack Daddy
Play That Funky Music	Wild Cherry	Wild Cherry
Nobody Does It Better	Carly Simon	Reflections
Dancing Queen	ABBA	ABBA - Gold - Greatest Hits
Ice Ice Baby	Vanilla Ice	Platinum Underground (Clean Version)
Bust a Move	Young M.C.	Stone Cold Rhymin'
Smooth Criminal	Michael Jackson	Essential Michael Jackson
Too Much Time On My Hands	Styx	Styx: Greatest Hits
Macarena	Los Del Rio	Fiesta Macarena
The Way You Make Me Feel (Single Version)	Michael Jackson	Essential Michael Jackson
Uptight (Everything's Alright)	Stevie Wonder	Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection
I'm a slave 4 u	Britney Spears	Greatest Hits
My Girl	The Temptations	My Girl: The Very Best of the Temptations
Soul Man	Sam & Dave	Ultimate Soul
What'd I Say, Pt. 1	Ray Charles	The Best of Ray Charles - The Atlantic Years
Let's Get It On	Marvin Gaye	The Very Best of Marvin Gaye
Logical Song	Supertramp	Breakfast In America
Love of My Life (Feat. Carter Beauford & Dave Matthews)	Santana	Supernatural
R-E-S-P-E-C-T	Aretha Franklin	Ultimate Soul
And the rest is songs that we were going to play and may have missed...
Let Go	Frou Frou	Details
The Underdog	Spoon	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Bonus Track Version)
Young Americans	David Bowie	The Best Of David Bowie 1974-1979
Don't Stop Me Now	Queen	Greatest Hits I
Romeo and Juliet	Dire Straits	Making Movies
Ramble On	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
Good Vibrations	Loleatta Holloway & Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch	Radio Waves of the '90s: Pop Hits
I Melt With You	Modern English	After the Snow
Try Again	Aaliyah	Romeo Must Die (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
Never Gonna Give You Up	Rick Astley	I Love 80's (Disc 2)
Days Like This	Van Morrison	Van Morrison - The Movie Hits
Stronger	Kanye West	Graduation
Any Way You Want It	Journey	Journey: Greatest Hits
White Wedding	Billy Idol	New Wave Classics (Disc 2)
Ayo Technology	50 Cent / Justin Timberlake / Timbaland	Curtis
Domino	Van Morrison	His Band and the Street Choir
Don't Lie	Black Eyed Peas	Monkey Business (Special Edition)
Harder to Breathe	Maroon 5	Songs About Jane
Y.M.C.A. (Single Version)	Village People	Disco Gold
The Way You Do the Things You Do	The Temptations	#1's
Ain't Too Proud to Beg	The Temptations	Anthology Series: The Best of the Temptations
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)	Styx	Styx: Greatest Hits
Renegade	Styx	Styx: Greatest Hits
I Was Made to Love Her	Stevie Wonder	Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection
Stuck in the Middle with You	Stealers Wheel	Pure 70's
I Wish [A Capella] / My Gigolo / Cannonball	Skee Lo / Fulton, Maurice & Stress / Breeders	As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt. 2
Hold On I'm Coming	Sam & Dave	Ultimate Soul
Paint It Black	The Rolling Stones	Hot Rocks 1964-1971
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction	The Rolling Stones	Hot Rocks 1964-1971
Under My Thumb	The Rolling Stones	Aftermath (UK Version) [Remastered]
Do You Remember the First Time?	Pulp	The Best... In the World... Ever! Volume 1 (disc 1)
Sexual Healing	Marvin Gaye	Midnight Love & the Sexual Healing Sessions
Summer In The City	Lovin' Spoonful	Alternative 60's
Celebration	Kool & The Gang	Funk Essentials: Celebration - The Best of Kool & the Gang 1979-1987
Cheap and Cheerful	The Kills	Midnight Boom (Bonus Track Version)
Faithfully	Journey	Frontiers
Smiley Faces	Gnarls Barkley	St. Elsewhere
Gone Daddy Gone	Gnarls Barkley	St. Elsewhere
I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) [Stereo]	Four Tops	The Four Tops: Greatest Hits
Suspicious Minds	Elvis Presley	The Essential Elvis Presley
Girls On Film	Duran Duran	I Love 80's (Disc 1)
I Believe in a Thing Called Love	The Darkness	Permission to Land
Let's Get It Started (Spike Mix) [Bonus Track]	Black Eyed Peas	Elephunk
All That She Wants	Ace of Base	Singles of the 90s
Friday I'm In Love	The Cure	Galore (The Singles 1987-1997)
You Really Got a Hold of Me	The Beatles	Beatles
Toxic	Britney Spears	Greatest Hits
She Moves In Her Own Way	The Kooks	Ferny's Faves
Naive	The Kooks	Ferny's Faves
Heaven Is A Place On Earth	Belinda Carlisle	I Love 80's (Disc 2)
19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)	Gorillaz	Gorillaz [UK]
Enola Gay	Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark	I Love 80's (Disc 1)
Good Weekend	Art Brut	Bang Bang Rock & Roll
You Shook Me All Night Long	AC/DC	Back In Black
Mardy Bum	Arctic Monkeys	Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Denis	Blondie	The Best Of Blondie
La Pastie de la Bourgeoisie	Belle & Sebastian	3.. 6.. 9.. Seconds of Light
I Got You (I Feel Good)	James Brown	20 All Time Greatest Hits!
Boys Don't Cry	The Cure	The Cure: Greatest Hits
Love To Love You Baby	Donna Summer	The Very Best Of Donna Summer
Build Me Up Buttercup	The Foundations	The Very Best of the Foundations
Proud Mary	Creedence Clearwater Revival	Bad Moon Rising - The Best Of
I Would Die 4 U	Prince	The Very Best Of Prince
Take Your Mama	Scissor Sisters	Scissor Sisters

The saddest, funniest, most tragic and uplifting thing I've ever read

2006-12-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

Well, not the uplifting part. That's a quote from Chris Morris' Blue Jam, by the way. I've spent my evening watching the Ashes cricket, reading the Guardian's over-by-over, getting more and more depressed, and eating pizza.

That's right - eating pizza. I had a blood test for coeliac sprue, but it came back negative, so I've gone to a full gluten-filled diet before I have an endoscopy in mid-January. Fun, fun, fun.

In other news, I appear to have been listening to a lot of Lily Allen, The Trucks, and Lady Sovereign recently. Apparently being a male musician is a bit too passe these days for my liking.

Finally, gig news... I went to "107.7 The End's" Deck the Hall ball. Basically a mini-festival in the evening in the Key Arena. The atmosphere was awful - I think most of the 15 year old majority either only wanted to see one of the bands, or had never been to a gig before. What I can tell you is that Angels and Airwaves are awful and their lead singer has a potty mouth. Oh, and the Shins are a bit dull, but Snow Patrol are good. They played Run, so I'm happy. Gnarls Berkley was quite entertaining, dressed up as characters from Austin Powers. The show was a dry one, because it was an all-ages show and America is crazy with it's alcohol laws, so we escaped to the pub and missed a few of the other acts.

In better gigging news, I saw Death Cab for Cutie's end of tour gig a few days later. Two thumbs up, although I feel that they suffer as a live band because their albums sound so good and are so well produced, you're kinda better off with an expensive hi-fi in your living room. I was high up in the nose-bleed seats of the Key Arena, so perhaps I'd have had better acoustics on the floor.

Anyway, back to being depressed about the cricket. I fly back home for a few days on the 20th, landing on the 21st.

Important news!

2006-11-05T19:53:00.000-08:00

Me and Jenni
Originally uploaded by Nick Denny.

The news is that me and Jenni are engaged! We're currently aiming for a wedding on March 21st 2008, so there's a bit of time to sort things out, encourage people to buy flights over here, etc etc.

Just what the internet was missing

2006-11-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

My sister has got herself a blog. Currently, it's dedicated to her cat.

Gig gig gigs

2006-10-30T11:20:00.000-08:00

I've been to a few gigs recently:

Ghostland Observatory
Seeing them for the second time this year. The Croc was packed and they were great. Full of energy, even though this was their second gig of that evening... they're the hardest working guys in electro-rock/pop (or whatever category they are)! Now I want to be in a band and wear a big cape. Of course the band I'd be in would sound like:

Art Brut / We are Scientists
An awesome gig at Neumo's. Art Brut makes me wanna rock out. Possibly my favourite gig ever. Only way to improve it would be to have the crowd crammed in like at the Croc with Ghostland Observatory. Disappointingly, We are Scientists didn't arrive with kittens.

Muse
Biggest venue (the Paramount) for the biggest band. Lots of twiddling on guitars, as you would expect. Great lighting. I was most amused when playing the chorus of Knights of Sedonia, featuring huge karaoke-come-Orwellian style words behind them, them very clearly singing "going to" when the words behind them said "gonna".

Doodle on Monkeys For Money

2006-10-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

In discussion about the adverts that appear in gmail:

John said:

NO FREAKING WAY!

Did you see that sponsored link
"write on cats for cash"
what's next: doodle-on-monkeys-for-money.com? spraypaint-the-white-bits-of-cows-for-cash.org.uk?

Megan said:

ok so i actually tried those two links before i realsied they weren't real!

Darren said:

Someone has to buy doodle-on-monkeys-for-money.com. Nick?

Errr. So, yeah, welcome to the home of doodle-on-monkeys-for-money.com.

Mt Baker Snowboarding!

2006-05-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the last day of the season at Mount Baker, so it could only mean one thing - snowboarding! We left Seattle just after 6am, and we were coming down the side of the mountain by 10am. While it quite a long drive, it was well worth it - the snow conditions were still great. Having not been for boarding for over a month it was great to get back on the slopes and actually be able to do it without falling on my face.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches!

2006-03-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

I feel another milestone has just been reached in my American assimilation: I've just had Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches for lunch. And what's more, I enjoyed them. A marvelous combination of sweet and salty.

In the past few weeks I've been to more gigs than I probably have done in the past two years. It started off with a bit of luck on a Sunday night; me and Pat went out for a quiet post-Oscar-night beer in Belltown and ended up in Rendezvous. Two bands were playing in the attached Jewelbox Theater, so we thought we'd help out the local music scene. The two bands were Trespassers William and The Stares. Both played quite mellow, chilled out music with female-led vocals. Of the two bands, I seem to remember being more impressed with Trespassers William. Good soundscape.

On the back of that success, and through talking to a friend of the one of the bands we found out that Isobel Campbell (formerly of Belle & Sebastian) was playing the Triple Door later in the week. So, we went.

To be honest, Isobel wasn't that good. She didn't talk to the audience until right near the end of the gig. It's like she doesn't really want to be on stage. However, her support act was Magnet, who is just a Norwegian guy with a guitar. But he also had some magic looping boxes which means he builds up songs... it's very cool. And he also talked to the audience, he's quite a cool bloke. I was guessing that Magnet might call himself that because he was called Magnus, but I've just read that his name is Evan. Never mind. Anyway, if you like KT Tunstall and/or Coldplay, you should check out Magnet. Oh, and a word about the Triple Door. It's not some inch-deep urine filled indie-dive, it's like a combination of a posh restaurant and a theatre. So, you get waiter service to get you beer. It's all very couth.

Hmm.. This is got to be my longest post ever, but I'll carry on... Right, next on the gig list was the Stranger's Big Shot, a battle-of-the-bands style thing for local up-and-coming bands. It was held at Neumos, which is a proper gig venue, although not urine-filled, luckily. The four bands up for the prize were The Emergency, Romance, Tennis Pro, and Speaker Speaker. The night ended with a set with, presumably local stalwarts, Visqueen.

The Emergency are a heavily 70s-influenced rock band with more than a smattering of the Darkness about them. Except better. The US-flag flares on the lead guitarist were something special.

Romance are basically Interpol with strong Joy Division influences. Don't get me wrong, they were good, but they were nothing new. "Paris is Burning" seemed to stick in my head, though.

Tennis Pro were probably my favourite band of the night. They're like an American version of the Kaiser Chiefs, except more tongue-in-cheek. They were a lot of fun. "We put the Punk in Punctuation", "Taking your mom home tonight". You can't help but smile!

Speaker Speaker were the deserving winners of the night. They're a Weezer-esque geek indie-rock band. And also very good.

Right, briefly at the end, I'll just mention that I saw the Ian McFeron band at the Triple Door last night. He's quite country, but not in a bad way. Disturbingly, he's younger than me and has a CD out. I hope the time to start my rock career hasn't past me by!

Snowboarding skillz... or not

2006-03-11T17:05:00.000-08:00

I'm off to see the Stranger's Big Shot battle-of-the-bands style thing at Neumo's tonight... and then tomorrow it's an early start, as we're going to go down to Crystal for some snowboarding action. Let's hope that I do a bit better than this:

SeattleTrafficSucks.com

2006-03-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

Okay... There was the idea that we'd go for a bit of after-work snowboarding tonight. So we could leave early, Pat and I got into work at 6.30am this morning. Unfortunately, due to the first picture, it looks like heading up the mountains would be a bad idea!

Now, apparently it's got windy this afternoon, so much so that the SR520 bridge has closed! Looks like we're going to be stuck in Redmond for good bit longer now. Dammit!

Snoqualmie Falls

2006-02-28T18:36:00.000-08:00

Snoqualmie Falls
Originally uploaded by Nick Denny.

Well, I've been in Seattle for a few weeks now, so I thought I'd better send an update. I've been working hard, but in between the 10 hours days, I have managed to get some more Snowboarding in - mostly at Snoqualmie, which is only about an hour away from Seattle. On one of the recovery days we visited Snoqualmie Falls, the waterfall featured in Twin Peaks, apparently.
Apart from snowboarding, the other regular feature of my visit so far has been the Sunday Brunch. So far, we've tried Mecca in Queen Anne, Julia's in Capitol Hill, and most recently High Life which is in an old fire station in Ballard. Expect some brunch reviews sometime in the future!

Ready to hit the slopes?

2006-02-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

Ready to hit the slopes
Originally uploaded by Nick Denny.

I've entered the gnarly world of snowboarding with a trip yesterday to Crystal Mountain, which is 80-odd miles South-East of Seattle. I'm feeling a tad sore and bruised today, but I'm sure practise will make perfect!

Lisbon

2006-01-28T07:07:00.000-08:00

Lisbon
Originally uploaded by Nick Denny.

I've had a hectic week! As you can see, I was in Lisbon from Monday until Wednesday (just - I left on a 0550 flight). That was so I could apply for my visa to go to the US. The reason for this rather weird situation was that the Lisbon embassy is a lot quicker than London. Not that you're meant to apply for visas in the wrong country, mind you. Anyway, the trip was successful, I've got a non-immigrant work visa for the US, so I fly out to Seattle on Monday morning! So far I have no definite plans on when I'll be coming back, but we're looking at least 6 months.

So, Belltown beware!

My car is for sale!

2006-01-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

My car is for sale!
Originally uploaded by Nick Denny.

I'm selling my car - it's a Peugeot 206 1.4 Quiksilver with AC and a CD player. You can read more on autotrader. The reason I'm selling is because I'm going to be returning to the US for some more Seattle-based high-jinx. Or work, to be more accurate.

Halloween Party

2005-10-30T10:47:00.000-08:00

halloween party 05 019
Originally uploaded by v j l.

I dunno... kids these days! You go to a fancy dress party and when you wake up the next day, before you've even got up and checked all your limbs are all in order, there's a picture of you looking fairly stupid on t'internet.

Stefan Dennis

2005-10-17T04:36:00.000-07:00

If you search for Stefan Dennis on the MSN Search page, my webpage is the 5th result!

http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=stefan+dennis&FORM=USNO

Now that's weird! Those looking for him, should probably try here instead.

Offbeat

2005-10-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm off to this tomorrow:
Woo!

Trip to Yorkshire

2005-09-28T04:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend involved a pleasant day out in Yorkshire, so Darren could pick up his shiny new car (it's a VW Polo GTi, for those who care). Whilst we were there, we visited Mother Shipton's Cave (or Mrs Miggins' Pie Shop, as we called it) to see the Petrifying Wall and marvel at the extortionate entry fee (£5.75!). We also had a wander about Knaresborough, which is a pleasant town with a surprisingly large number of shops. Rob also had the pleasure to discover that nowhere in Knaresborough does any shopkeeper know how to use an apostrophe correctly.
After that we carried on to try out a Maize Maze (and yet more splashing of cash). We didn't do it properly - we didn't read the leaflet due to it being in Darren's pocket (d'oh), but it was fun nonetheless.
Finally, we came home to Wilmslow to grab a curry at Barinda, and have a few pints at the Oakwood. All in all, a good day out. Some photos taken on my phone are on Flickr, as usual.

The Ashes

2005-09-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Huzzah! England won the Ashes. And you can download a 5 minute highlight MP3 from the beeb.
Here are a few of the texts I sent/received yesterday:
Me: "It ain't a coincidence that Gilo rhymes with hero!"
Rob: "So does Benaud, and that's no coincidence either."
Noz: "And Kevin Pieterson, get him up here, he's a true Pretorian hero."
Darren: "I was having kittens at lunch. There has to be follow up WG adverts."
Liam: "Stefan Dennis, Rolf Harris, Kylie Minogue, Dame Edna, Ned Kelly, Men At Work, Bouncer... Your boys took one hell of a beating!"

Hmm.. probably all in-jokes there, but you get the picture...

Long needed update

2005-09-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Right, yes, I realise I've basically said nowt about my holiday and my recent activities.. Apologies to those who, for some reason, hang onto every word I blog. Oh, and thanks for the comments on here and Flickr.

Anyway, lets start at the beginning... Greece. A fortnight in Kefalonia. The first week was scorchingly hot, which was a bit much for my Northern climatised body, but luckily it cooled in the second week, so I could think and sleep. Highlights, in no particular order, included:

Fiskardo, a picturesque port in the North of the island.
The Melissani Cave... It looks just like the postcards, amazingly enough.
Seeing a real-life wild turtle in Argostoli.
The huge waves on Myrtos beach.
Driving on the wrong side of the road (not a highlight for my poor passengers, sorry guys!) and seeing the whole island generally in the week we had the car. Luckily Paul drove mostly, so we all could relax.
Eating plenty of Greek food. Feta and Olives, you say? Don't mind if I do!
An Aussie telling me how the Edgbaston test ended. Gutted. Hahahaha!
And, of course, the company. Cheers!

Once back from Greece, I have spent a lot of time gripped by the cricket. It's the Ashes, you know... I was at the Sunday and Monday of the Old Trafford test. Since then, there's been a bit of work, but more importantly it was my 25th birthday... to celebrate, I invested in a nice shiny new iPod, amongst other things.

The weekends around and including my birthday have included a few barbeques combined with playing a bit of back-garden cricket (or back-field cricket at John's). Unfortunately my hand-eye coordination is as poor as always, so it looks like my Scotland call-up isn't on the horizon... yet.

Finally, I've made my first steps towards being a rock-god worshipped by thousands of adoring fans, in that I've been to a practice as the drummer for a band. The other members are Myk and Memories (Mems for short). 'Nuff said.

2005-08-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Finally, back to normal... I've returned from the intense heat of Kefalonia, been to Sunday and Monday's days play of cricket at Old Trafford and I'm now back to work, refreshed and ready to go...

See the Flickr thingy at the side for some photos from my hols...

I'm back!

2005-07-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

I had a few hours sleep this afternoon, but before that I'd basically gone 69 hours straight being awake with only a few little naps on planes. The second leg of my trip home between Newark and Manchester had a few too many screaming children for my liking.

Anyway, everything is still rather weird and surreal looking here. The cars are small, number plates are yellow, I don't need to take my passport with me everywhere I go, in case I need to buy booze... It was very surreal sharing the flight back with so many Lancashire-accented people.

Anyway, pub time in a little bit!

2005-07-22T03:28:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. This is the last few hours of my time in Seattle.. I'm currently trying to push through to the early morning when I have to catch my flight. Luckily, I can listen to TMS and catch the Ashes. In fact, I've even managed to get a mention in the Guardian's over-by-over coverage (over 47).

Apparently Thorpe has retired from international cricket. A shame, I feel. England will surely need his steadying influence in the middle order during the Ashes. Wow, that was almost a sensible sport-related comment. Seems unlikely, dunnit?

Go Mariners!

2005-07-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoons were made for this - sun, baseball and a few brewskis. Currently the Mariners are 1-0 down in the middle of the second. Hope I'm not a bad luck charm for the M's! 5 days to go in Seattle. NO SLEEP 'TIL AUGUST! Woo!

Lego

2005-07-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Statue of Liberty in Lego!

2005-07-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hmm.. I seem to be getting some, shall we say, lip from certain quarters that my blogging is a little terse and content poor.

In order to correct this, I'm going to have to write something here that sounds witty and intelligent. Unfortunately, Jarold has pre-empted me, so read his one. Well, he's written a whole load of stuff, so some of it has to be witty and intelligent, right?

Actually, I do have something to say, afterall... The fireworks were very cool, especially the ones that exploded in cube shapes. Yes, yes, before you say, that's the geek's choice of firework, no doubt. There were also smiley faces, hearts and planets with rings. Anyway, I now understand how America gained it's independence - they scared us off with a huge firework display. It was reminding me of my time back 'Nam for while there.

Oh, and I've added more photos to my flickr account - check out the new slideshow thingy on the left, or go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/nick-denny

4th July

2005-07-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th July from Elliot Bay Park!

Poker win!

2005-07-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

Read 'em and weep, baby! I won a game of poker! $20 up on the evening... Next week - Vegas.

Baseball

2005-06-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

You, Beltre, hit a home run... I told him to do that.

Crocodile Cafe

2005-06-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

Crocodile Cafe
Originally uploaded by Nick Denny.

The Crocodile Cafe on 2nd Avenue. Nirvana played here before they were big.

Pike Place

2005-06-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Pike Place Market

Mountain

2005-06-17T07:24:00.000-07:00

That's Mt Rainier it's more impressive when not taken from my phone, honest. I'm currently on my way to work.

2005-06-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

Send enough software engineers away from home and what do you get - lots of websites! To save me from repeating everyone else, you should just go and read San Diegon / Dieagite / Diegoer Jarold's very funny blog and follow the links to see the University of Washington (U-Dub) campus. They've got many car parks. Oh, and some really new - meant to look like really old Cambridge University-style buildings. Perhaps Warwick should have tried that before building the Rootes halls... You can also read about when two Police officers told us off for J-walking. At least I could pretend to be an ignorant forgeiner, but Jay had no excuse. All in all, a memorable Saturday night.

Also, after many an evening slaving over a hot laptop, my flatmate Matt's website is finally updated complete with pictures of school buses and yet more Space Needle pictures. I bet you can't wait.

2005-06-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

I've added a few more pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nick-denny

Oh, and go over to Pete Cudmore's pages for his view of being in Seattle.

U-dub

2005-06-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

George W at U-dub

Supermarket

2005-05-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

Finally made it to a supermarket today... We're off to a bar to celebrate!

Space Needle

2005-05-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

Space Needle
Originally uploaded by Nick Denny.

My favourite photo I've taken so far in Seattle

2005-05-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

I've put some photos up here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nick-denny/

This weekend I've been mostly exploring around downtown Seattle, apart from today, when we went to the museum of flight... as you can tell from the photos above. Oh, and I've been eating lots of Thai food, which is always good.

2005-05-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

Hello from Seattle!

Join Teleca, see the world...

2005-04-15T02:17:00.000-07:00

To follow on from yesterday, I suppose I'd better get my politics out in the open:

Who should I vote for?

Your expected outcome:

Liberal Democrat

Your actual outcome:

Labour -4
Conservative -21
	Liberal Democrat 31
UK Independence Party -12
	Green 4

You should vote: Liberal Democrat

The LibDems take a strong stand against tax cuts and a strong one in favour of public services: they would make long-term residential care for the elderly free across the UK, and scrap university tuition fees. They are in favour of a ban on smoking in public places, but would relax laws on cannabis. They propose to change vehicle taxation to be based on usage rather than ownership.

Take the test at Who Should You Vote For

2005-04-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

It's election time!

2004-12-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

Long time no update in this. Oops. The trouble is, in my new found young, free and single lifestyle, the papparazzi are always following me... Take this extract from next weeks Heat magazine:
"Guess who was spotted in Manchester's trendy One Central Street Bar on Tuesday night."
Be sure to vote for me as best looking bloke, though.. haha!

2004-08-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

2004-07-12T01:22:00.000-07:00

As you may have guessed, I've just taken the villian quiz

2004-06-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

Why's it always rain on me, is it because I'd bought tickets to the cricket?

2004-06-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

Check out over 44, I'm famous yet again!

2004-05-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

Greetings, long time no new post.

I should say hi to those who left me comments. Not a lot to report in my life. We did go to Paris for Jo's birthday, which was fun.

Oh, and I've been getting my geek-fix by putting together a mini-ITX system for watching DivX and the like through the telly. But that's enough from the grey haired geek.

Oh, and from now on, you'll be allowed to leave comments on my bloggings. Lucky you.

2004-04-19T02:10:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to announce a first for my website - the West Didsbury webcam! It only works when my computer's running, so apologies if it's not working!

Also, very exciting photos now online of Chester Zoo. See all the animals for the comfort of your chair!

Finally, you can see my nice new shiny computer case and Darren's haircut from earlier this month. Note the textured look by chopping into it.

2004-04-07T04:42:00.000-07:00

Been having a few computer problems. So, to cheer me up, I've bought this case. It's just arrived and it rocks! Definitely is the bees-knees.

2004-03-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

Finally - I've put up the pictures from New Year's Eve 2003/4. Well, some of them, anyway...

2004-03-24T16:19:00.000-08:00

Been to Prague - check out the photos here:
Prague Trip - Places

If you want to see who I went with, see here!

2004-03-18T01:36:00.000-08:00

:: how jedi are you? ::

Just took the Jedi test - as you can see, I'm the chosen one. Hoo and indeed ha.

2004-03-12T02:39:00.000-08:00

In additions to yesterday's excitement, I've got a mention too!

Woo and indeed yay.

Guardian Unlimited Sport | Cricket | West Indies v England - second session LIVE! (see the 26th Over)

2004-03-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

Long time no new messages, but just this bit of excitement (if you're Richard or Rob, anyway) from Guardian Unlimited Sport | Cricket | West Indies v England LIVE!: Check out 3.03pm..

2003-12-24T11:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas greetings!

If I've not sent you a card, sorry!

There's a picture of our tree on the front page. Print it out and write "To <your name>, Merry Christmas, from Nick and Jo" on it. As that annoying cook would say, "Pukka"!

Off to pub now...

2003-12-12T04:04:00.000-08:00

Been quite busy again - last weekend we went to Leeds to see Jo's friends from Dijon and this weekend we're off to see Jo's parents and catch up with Leah and Siv..

Anyway, I've just been for a haircut and while I was there I met a former Man United FA Cup winning player. His name is John (Johnny) Anderson and he played (and scored) in the 1948 cup final at Wembley. Apparently he got paid a whole 12 pounds a week whilst he was there. He later moved onto Nottingham Forest and then Peterborough United. Unfortunately for him, he was having his hair cut by a die-hard Manchester City fan...

A Reds trivia note mentions him:
20/12/1947: John Anderson made his debut against Middlesbrough. Anderson scored in the 1948 FA Cup Final, becoming the first post-war player to gain a winners medal in his debut season. An assured Half-back, he made 39 appearances and scored 2 goals between 1947-49 before joining Nottingham Forest in October 1949..

2003-12-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

Woo. I've just got 8 out of 10 correct on the BBC Quiz: "How's your punctuation?".

Other news... we saw Turin Brakes (supported by Joy Zipper) at the Apollo on Thursday night - for free! Jo managed to get the tickets as her boss didn't want them any more. They were quite good, apart that most Turin Brakes songs sound the same...

Friday was "drinking with people from work and then going for curry"-day, and Saturday was "celebrating Liam's birthday"-day, which left Sunday as recovery day.

2003-11-27T05:27:00.000-08:00

"Some of the most common symptoms of caffine withdrawal include headaches, sleepiness, drowsiness, impaired concentration, decreased motivation for work, irritability, decreased sociability, muscle aches and stiffness, hot or cold spells, nausea or vomiting, blurred visions, depression, anxiety and impaired psychomotor performance"...

That was me, yesterday... Let this be a warning to you all - keep your caffeine levels topped up!

(More info here...)

2003-11-20T11:49:00.000-08:00

Long time no post, yet again.

Don't suppose there's a lot to report. Jo's been working hard at Adept for over a month now.

We did go and see Mark Steel at the Lowry at the beginning of the month. He was good, although a lot angrier than you'd imagine, if you've only read his book or heard him on Radio 4...

We've just bought ourselves an early Christmas present - a Gamecube with Mariokart. Good fun, although Jo did find herself dodging a banana skin on the way to work, yesterday...

Anyway, in a bit of shameless promotion, if you want to earn me some "star points" from Nintendo, you can click on the banner below. I think you need to sign up for a VIP pass by buying a Gamecube or game first, though..

2003-10-29T08:36:00.000-08:00

I've just discovered that if you go to www.nickdenny.com, you are sent to ostrich & ostriches on line. Weird.

2003-10-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

Good evening,

I've just tided my website up a bit - the photos are a bit more organised, and I hope I've persuaded MS Frontpage to do the tedious navigation bits on it's own.

Anyway, hopefully I'll add some more photos soon, but for the time being the pics of John's haircut and the last ever Arthur's Departure gig are now here.

2003-10-01T04:30:00.000-07:00

I fear I've not been keeping this up-to-date..

Good news to report - Jo's got a job.

Apart from that, in the past month or so I've been to see the Touring Car racing at Donington Park, and gone to Center Parcs in Elvesden Forest with Teleca. Woo and indeed yay.

2003-09-12T06:41:00.000-07:00

Got forwarded this today:

Interesting Fact.
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
ceehiro

2003-09-08T02:23:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this can be combined with King of the Moon?

2003-09-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

Yesterday, I added some new pictures - firstly John's haircut. Must get a proper end result picture to add to the collection.

Secondly, Arthur's Departure's last ever gig pictures and video clip with sound! Rock, as they say, on.

Finally, hello to whoever viewed my website from Hungary. That brings Hungary up to my joint 4th most viewed nation, with one visit...

2003-08-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

Just been to see "Good bye Lenin!" at the cinema - a very good film indeed. Or "sehr gut".

Anyway, I've finally uploaded some new pictures... see them here.

2003-08-12T04:26:00.000-07:00

Before I forget...

I've got a new phone. It's a rather tasty Sony Ericsson T610, which I got free on an O2 contract.

So, from now on, please call, text and send picture messages to +44 7793 547777.

I'm off to Nice today, for work. I'm back again tomorrow night. Which is nice.

2003-08-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

My dad has the honour of being mentioned on Wogan this morning on Radio 2. His mention was immediately after the 8 o'clock news, under the pseudonym "Peter Out". You can hear it today via the "listen to todays progamme" option from the website.

For those who can't be bothered, what was said [paraphrased] was:
"A message from Peter Out of Wilmslow here. He says "Did you see the news last night? They announced that the Italians have created the world's first clothes horse. But they can't have done, because we've had one for years"

Oh the honour!

2003-08-06T06:43:00.000-07:00

Just a quick link...
My tip of the day

2003-08-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

I've got the new car! Yay!

Oh, and today I received an email sent accidentally to me from someone else called Nick Denny. Which is a bit weird, since I'm reading "Are you Dave Gorman?" at the moment...

2003-07-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Good evening!

Exciting news first - tomorrow I get my new car. It's a 51 reg Peugeot 206 Quiksilver 1.4 with a CD player and air con and a shiny spoiler. If you hadn't guessed, it's silver coloured. Being a Quiksilver car, this makes it gnarly, with a capital 'GN'. The good people at Abbey of Sale are providing it for me.

The only other news of importance is the interesting housewarming present that John provided for us on Saturday evening. It was a whole cooked pig's head. Luckily he didn't expect us to eat it, only have a few more drinks then pose for pictures with it. Said pictures will appear once I've sorted out my web site hosting...

Happy now, John?

2003-07-25T03:27:00.000-07:00

Long time no post!

I've spent most of the past 3 weeks in Berlin (working, I'm afraid), so I've been a bit busy.

Anyway, I found out earlier this week that my car has been written off. My car is dead, long live my car, etc. This nicely increased my stress levels whilst being in Berlin, and I now have a confirmed large hatred for so-called "Sports Utility Vehicles".

I'm now on the prowl for a new car. Or will be, when I get back to Blighty (later today). The current favoured choice is be a Peugeot 206. Slightly bigger than a Clio, so other drivers can see them and stop in time... Although, I'm obviously open to suggestions.

Not a lot more to report at the mo. One of these days I'll post some pictures to the website.

Oh, and finally a big hello to those readers in Australia.

Or should I say g'day?

No, I shouldn't.

2003-06-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

The car... right...

I was coming home from Warwick, on the road from Holmes Chappel to Alderley Edge. We'd just got past the junction for Goostrey when we came across an old man in one of those invalid carriage things. The woman in the Golf in front of me passed him, and then I passed him.

The woman in the Golf then decided to turn right down the road to Swettenham, which came as a slight shock to me, but I braked and stopped without incident.

Meanwhile, the guy behind me was doing his best to avoid the old guy, didn't stop and ran into the back of me. Unfortunately the guy behind me was in a Suzuka Gran Vitara 4x4 thing, so his truck barely had a scratch. The Golf in front of me had a slight scratch on the bumper. My car has a smashed front right, a twisted back right and a totally smashed in boot. Even the spare tyre is damaged!

Oh, and to top it all off, the old guy in the invalid carriage just pootled along and turned down the Swettenham road.

If elected, I shall be banning all 4x4 vehicles from the road - they are off-road vehicles, after all AND I shall be banning old people. I commend this to the house.

2003-06-28T09:04:00.000-07:00

Short wheel-base Clio
Had an "eventful" trip home from Warwick - I won't go into details here, but unfortunately my Clio is not looking very well. Oh, and before anyone asks, it's definitely not my fault! The full story, to whet your appetite will involve an old man in a motorised invalid chair thing, a woman in a golf, and a guy in a 4x4.
Photos will follow - eventually.

2003-06-27T02:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say that Jo's graduated from Warwick with a 2.1 in International Business. Hurrah!

We celebrated by having a curry at the marvelous Ali Baba's in Leamington.

2003-06-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

hello!

Have just sorted out my nice new shiny fast ADSL connection. The nice people at Zetnet are pumping the internet into my computer, or however it works.

Me and Jo have moved into our flat in Didsbury without too much hassle. We even managed to go to Ikea on Saturday to get a chest of drawers, and didn't get stuck in a queue! Amazing! Although I obviously take no pride in that, as I am not middle aged. I'm listening to Kerrang radio, I can't be!

For those who want to know, I have my shiny blue computer connected via a Wireless LAN to a D-Link DSL-604+ Wireless ADSL Router. I am a king of geeks in my own home. I shall start consulting, so for a small fee, you too can have the network of tomorrow in your own home.

More news later...

2003-06-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I'm moving in tomorrow! Bags all packed (kinda), etc etc. Still no photos.. I may be quiet for a little while until I sort out my own shiny (and hopefully fast) internet connection.

Next time I write this, it'll be from Clyde Road, Didsbury. All very exciting, I assure you.

Off to pub now, to calm down...

2003-05-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

Still not updating this website as much as I should...

Must be quick, about to go to pub. Anyway, all looking well for moving to Didsbury on the 14th. Shall try to put up some photos for the nosey ones soon.

Saw the Matrix: Reloaded - I liked it. Watched a Korean action thriller last night called "Shiri". Was quite good.

Tomorrow marks the last ever Arthur's Departure gig. Surfers Bar, Westwood, University of Warwick. Be there or be a thingy-shaped carrot.

Sorry about the Bridget Jones-esque sentences.. really must go to pub now.

2003-05-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Ooh, I've got tickets to see the Matrix: Reloaded next Wednesday. Yay!

2003-05-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

We've decided on a flat! D-Day is 14th June. Didsbury here we come!

2003-05-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

One more thing before bed - I've just been to King of the Moon - which is disturbing...

2003-05-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

It's been pointed out to me that I haven't been keeping this up-to-date...

I've been out on a work curry night, been on holiday in Bakewell, been to Berlin with work, and this weekend I was visiting Jo at university for her birthday. We had curry. At the marvelous Ali Baba's.

As well as all that, I've been looking for a flat in Didsbury. So far, I've looked at one with Wren, and one with Lewis Phipps.

2003-03-26T14:14:00.000-08:00

A new exciting feature for the World of Nick Denny. There is now video!

There are 5 videos in WMV format, so should play in Media Player or similar.
(Celebdaq latest: £925567.43, pos: 2388)

2003-03-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

Good evening,

Me, Jo, Liam and Jemma all piled into Paul's car and went to Sheffield to visit Darren this weekend. Naturally, drinking ensued. Less naturally, we gave Darren a mohawk. He did ask for it... Anyway, see my weekend in it's full glory here.

I've just noticed that of all the films which had an actor nominated for best actor at the Oscars, the Pianist was the only one I hadn't seen. I bet Michael Cane would have won it if he had said "I told you to only blow the bloody commies up and not a lot of people know that" in the Quiet American.

(Celebdaq latest: £757466.82, pos: 5907)

2003-03-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

At last... there's a picture of moutarde de dijon on the dijon picture pages. Also, there are now some random pictures of stuff I've taken with my camera. I shall add more if and when amusing things occur when my camera is to hand.

From those pages, you may note that my hair has changed colour - it's now "Cosmic Blue", which is basically black. A bit like dyeing your hair with Quink. .

For those who are equally addicted to Celebdaq, I my total worth is £149795.80, position 8390. Gawd bless Ruby Wax...

2003-03-14T07:09:00.000-08:00

Still not keeping this very up-to-date, am I? I have an excuse - I've was in Berlin from Sunday night until yesterday evening, for work. All good fun. Saw the Reichstag (sp?) and the Brandenburg gate from my taxi.

Hello to all the people who've visited my website in the last week and left me a message - I'll get back to you all soon.

2003-02-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

Guten abend,

I'm trying to keep my blog up-to-date, honest. Not much to report, really. I'm off to see Jo at Warwick this weekend, so I'll get to see my old university haunts and worry how young the first years look.

Tonight, am going to the cinema in Didsbury. Probably seeing Punch Drunk Love. Review to follow...

Oh, and I've been spending too much time working on my portfolio on Celebdaq. Good old Les Denis is making me money at the mo, but Charlotte Church is going down! (phnar phnar) And I can't understand why Tony Blackburn is rock bottom. It's a disgrace!

Finally, have installed Opera. It's a web browser. It's Norwegian. It's good. It's not Internet Explorer.

2003-02-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

Mantra for the day.. keep the blog up-to-date... keep the blog up-to-date... keep the blog up-to-date...

Have had a busy few weeks, I shall go into further detail later...

Good news: I've bought a digital camera. It's a Canon IXUS v2 for the geeks out there. I bought it from internet cameras direct, which is a very good website with cheap digital cameras. Expect random photos of my day very soon.

Bad news: my computer's broke. Am going to give it a nice clean install of everything. I think the power supply is going - it randomly reset itself the other day, and managed to corrupt something important in windows.

Other news: I flew to Berlin on Tuesday, and came back on Wednesday. It was for work, so didn't see much of Berlin, but I can thoroughly reccomend the BA Business lounge in Manchester and Heathrow. There was a shocking lack of Socialist Worker newspapers available, though. They barely had any Guardians!

With that, I shall say Auf Wiedersehen for now. Tchus!

2003-02-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a long post today, I've got a couple of things to share with you...

Firstly, Jo came up to visit me this weekend, so I've now got updated pictures from New Year's Eve. Now with higher resolution large images if you click on the small thumbnail images..

Secondly, a few days ago my local MP felt the need to write to me (and every other "young person" in the area - I'm insulted!). Living in the Tatton constituency - one of the safest Conservative seats in the UK - my local MP is George Osborne. Apparently no relation to Ozzy, shame.

His letter read as follows:

"Dear Nicholas
What do you think about paying student fees? Do you think the laws on drugs work? Should we be helping Third World countries pay off their huge debts? Probably no one has ever really asked what your views are on these issues. That is why I am asking now. As your Member of Parliament, I want to know what you think we should be doing about some of the problems in our society. It's only by letting me know what your views are that I can do my job of making sure that your voice is heard by those who run our country.
I am writing to you especially because of the opinions of young people on things liek politics are often ignored. As the youngest Conservative MP in the country, I think that is so wrong. What you think about education, for example, matters at least much as anyone else thinks. So let me know.
I have enclosed a special questionnaire for you to fill in, as well as a pre-paid envelope so that you can send it back to me free of charge. Please take just a few minutes to fill it in. Your views matter, so don't keep them to yourself!
Yours sincerely
George Osborne MP

My favourite sentence is "As the youngest Conservative MP in the country, I think that is so wrong". He is so right. And the over-use of so is so hip and youth and trendy.

Also the signature is not from a high quality fountain pen, nor is it even a nice Parker biro. No, it looked like it was poorly scanned from a fax sent 10 years ago. Shame on you George. Shame on you the Conservative Party.

The mentioned questionnaire was all very interesting - multi-choice thing. I particularly like the leading question "Should there be tougher controls against those who abuse the asylum system?".

All very exciting, I assure you.

2003-01-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

No more news on the pothole incident, but good news - I've got the first few pictures from New Year's Eve. Not too exciting, but at last they're there.

2003-01-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

Good news on the car and chasm front.

On Friday, I got a new wheel (the tyre was okay, so that saved me a bit of money). I also got the promised form from the council, which I've now completed and posted back. Now I have to sit back and wait for a reply.

Hopefully, I'll get some money - the alloy wheel (before labour and VAT) was 95 quid..

2003-01-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

New news from the incident involving my car and the chasm of Alderley!

On the 5th I sent the following email to the nice people at Macclesfield area Highway maintenance. (engm@cheshire.gov.uk). I'm slightly ashamed not to manage to get the phrase "imagine my surprise" into it somewhere...

"I am emailing you with regards to a large pothole in the centre of Riley’s Lane, Alderley Edge, just before the road becomes Chelford Road. I had the misfortune of driving into this pothole on Saturday evening at about 9pm, which not only caused a flat tyre, but also has bent the wheel. This pothole also affected at least two others that night – one car just minutes before me, and another I saw when I drove past later that evening.

I returned to view the pothole in daylight today, just after midday to find that the pothole was still there. I enclose a few photographs to emphasise the size and depth of the pothole and how dangerous its position in the road. Note that the pothole is well over 6 inches deep and that there has clearly been work done fairly recently on the road either side of the pothole. I also include a picture showing the damage to my wheel.

Please can you ensure that this pothole is filled in very soon and inform me on whether I have grounds for compensation for what I believe is negligence by Cheshire County Council."

Anyway, I got a reply today!

Dear Mr Denny

We acknowledge receipt of email, a copy has been forwarded to our head office and they will be sending you a claim form for completion.

Yours sincerely
Mrs P Moore
Technical Admin

Which is nice.

In other news, we (Darren, John, Liam, Paul, Noz, me), failed to win another pub quiz at the Royal Oak in Disley. Lost out on a tie-break though, so not a complete disgrace. Our team name was "Talk to my horse while I finish your ironing". (Insert advert for the Framley Examiner book here). It was better than our first, disallowed suggestion - which I won't repeat here... yet.

2003-01-05T11:26:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year and all that jazz!

I spent my evening in the Royal Oak. Photos to come soon.

My poor car has got a bent wheel after some slight excitement on Saturday evening - all the info and (boring) pictures can be found here. The first reaction from Jo was "I especially like the ruler". Her second is "Nice shoes in the ruler shot".

On better news, we won a pub quiz last Thursday. At the end of the evening, two teams were tied with 48 points each, so after all that mental stress, the tie-break was an arm wrestle between a poor girl from the other team and John. Luckily, for our sakes, John manage to triumph over her, so we won a bottle of wine. Me and Noz were glad we didn't go up...

P.S. I've bought the Framley Examiner book. It's amazing.
P.P.S. Watch my horse while I do your ironing.

2002-12-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

In the past few days two marvelously addictive games have come to my attention:
The first involves a monkey piloting a spacecraft around a jungle.
The second involves penguins orbiting planets.
'nuff said.

2002-12-12T17:01:00.000-08:00

I suppose this marks the official opening of my homepage. Much more blue and snazzier than my old one. In the forthcoming months, I hope to bring you more random photos and URLs to entertain and amuse you. Well, only if you know me, or are easily entertained or amused.

Oh.. for most of this month I've had this song going round my head... well, more precisely, the lyrics... genius!

2002-11-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

This is where I'll start rambling.. presumably.. sometime.