Lndline txt 4 u

How do you send a text message to Mum who doesn't have a mobile phone?

You just do. BT Text. Clever.

It's good to b3 back

I feel as though I've lost touch with b3ta, going from visiting to daily to now hardly ever. So, it was nice to see a few great pics on the front page, namely

The Hob
1900's Tourettes
Open 24 Hours (dammit, I'm still only 4 hours in. Sorry Wrighty, you'll get the box set back one day...)

You Can't Drink A Pint Of Bovril!

Yes, it's that day again. However, this is the first year that I've actually been a Guinness fan so I managed 4 rather than my usual token (and forced) one.

I enjoyed some good food at the Khukuri Nepalese Tandoori Restaurant (thanks, CurryPages) before returning to Guildford for a few at the King's Head, wore a tacky green badge so as to not upset a drunk man's feelings, and wore a daft large hat for a while. Well, you have to really.

With a Courgette and a Whip

On Wednesday March 16th, Stephen Frost was the man with a lisp who wears Michael Flatley's G string and turns the London Eye with a courgette and a whip.

That was the night I was at the Comedy Store, London for the first time. Wednesday's are in the style of Whose Line is it Anyway? (remember that cool theme tune?) when the Comedy Store Players do their thing. It was good entertainment, very funny at times, but improvisation can be hit and miss and I don't think overall it was on par with Jongleurs which also had tables to eat at (rather than off your lap in the dark) and the transformation of the stage into a dancefloor at the end of the evening.

At least I got to dispell the rumour that Richard Vranch went to my old secondary school. Perhaps I should have talked to him about Lemon Jelly instead.

Remon Jerry

Last Friday I went to see the excellent Lemon Jelly at Brixton Academy. The music was cool, the light show was cool, and the atmosphere was cool.

The day until then had consisted of work, a pub lunch at the Fox and Hounds, eating the horribly addictive Poppycock that a colleague had won on the Comic Relief tombola, more work, and then up to London for a quick drink at the novel Prince Alfred, where you have to duck to fit through the little doorways seperating each snug.

On the Saturday night, after an annoying amount of waiting around in the cold for other people to turn up, I was at the Grand Bazaar in a 23-strong group for a birthday meal. The food was excellent and very reasonably priced, and we ended up spending three and a half hours there before a relatively rushed exit when we realised we didn't have long to make it to Waterloo for the last fast train back to Guildford. We needn't have bothered really as we ended up stuck just short of Guildford station for 40 minutes whilst South West Trains tried to find a driver to move the train that was stopping ours from reaching the platform. At least I got to watch a girl lose all her dignity, going for a pee between two rail coaches into a plastic cup. "Classy", an overheard comment from another passenger, summed it up for me.

Pub Grub with Eggs On

I've just got back from a work night of drinks and food at the Volunteer in the exciting village of Theale. The food was excellent, and it has to be the first time I've ever seen a menu where the ham or steak comes with "as many eggs as you like". I'd like to go back some time and just see exactly how true to their word they are...

On the train home I saw a mention of The Knights' Tournament in the Metro. I want to go.

Weekend Round-up

Friday night: a great meal at Piccolo Diavolo (that waiter just wouldn't stop singing!) follow by a few drinks at The Soho round the corner - bad phone reception being underground, the atmosphere was good and the layout was cool, lots of little booths tucked away around various corners.

Saturday night: the last night of the Vagina Monologues at The Cricketers in Kingston. Due to rubbish trains we missed the first hour or so, but managed to arrive in time to see the people we knew doing their bit.

Sunday: I finally got invited along to a meal at Tootsies on Holland Park Avenue with friends (after hearing several times how great it was) where I experienced the confusion of a family called Nom, Nom and mini-Nom, and the wonder that is a Burger with the Works. After managing a Caramel Macchiato and shortbread from Starbucks on the walk back, there was truly nothing else to do but crash out and watch a film, which had to be The Blues Brothers in the absence of the promised but non-existent Lost In Translation which I still haven't seen...

Big Al, the Albertasaurus

A colleague accidentally went here when looking for my blog, and was understandably quick to inform me of the novelty value of Jim Shepherd's Dinosaur Mask, Model, and Puppet World.

I suddenly feel the urge to make something of equivalent merit to Big Al. Now where did I put that sticky back plastic?

Join, Catch, Motor, Drink, Lunch

The last two books I read were Join Me and The Catcher in the Rye. Currently I'm about half way through The Motorcycle Diaries, the film of which I avoided because up until this moment I incorrectly though the main actor (Gael García Bernal) was actually that dopey Jake Gyllenhaal from the overhyped and rubbish Donnie Darko.

Going by that track record, I run the risk of aspiring to be a cult leader, an assasin, and a revolutionary. At least I have no intention of becoming a scarred, specky oik.

Next up are Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (one of the staff wrote a rave review in the Guildford Ottakars and then told me again how great it was when by chance it was her that served me at the till) and Naked Lunch where I will find the origins of the name of one of my favourite bands.

zero5.org

I've just finished the majority of work on a website for my forecoming cousin's wedding. OK, it's very simple and to the point, not exactly the snazziest one out there, but rest assured there's no OTT video footage to watch.

At My Parties, uh-huh

The last two Saturdays have involved 2 parties of very different kinds.

19th Feb was a rather obscure Action Man and Barbie anti-valentines party. I used it as an excuse to get dressed up in army gear, camo my face, and buy a BB gun (my mum never let me have one.)

Last Saturday was Sam's 25th where I enjoyed a plethoral of cocktails, including several White Russians, made by barman Dan. He's a good man, and thorough. It was also pretty random to sit listening to Tim Vine lounge singing Wonderful World (minus the psychedelic visuals) and generally being funny.

A nights days ago I was at my old students' union for a friend's birthday and got an invite to a Japanese Party some time soon. Not quite sure what that's going to entail...