Musings of a Muppet

Those of you know that James and I know that we are not fans of dressing up in fancy dress, but last night we attended my cousin’s 60th birthday bash which was a fancy dress do on the theme “Strictly Come Dancing through the ages”.
In the spirit of Pammy, we gave it a go! She would have been proud of us I think.

We spent most of yesterday scouring shops for the right look but we ended up at the fancy dress hire shop.
James went as a Disco Stu without the afro – which he was quite upset about, and I went in 50’s rock n roll garb.

James had the full outfit – white suit, frilly shirt and the all important platforms – not his favourite bit of the costume, it has to be said!

It was a really nice evening and I got to catch up with Jo, Clare’s friend from France, who I met when staying with Clare, and we got to meet her sister who was really nice as well!

Mum got up as soon as the dancing started and was on the dance floor throwing some moves…well less throwing, more, erm, Mum dancing! But she enjoyed herself so that was good! In fact there was a nice family contingent there!
Happy Birthday big cuz!

Since my laptop hard-drive decided to crap out on me, I have been back working on my PC. However, back at my flat I had a massive desk with a comfortable office chair and I felt right at home!
At James’ we have 2 PC’s sharing one monitor on a (sorry James) crappy old computer desk with slide out keyboard drawer – woohoo!
I had one of those desks for my very first PC’s and I hated them then as well!

So last night I decided that enough was enough. I wasn’t getting anything done because I just couldn’t concentrate as I couldn’t get comfy. I moved my Tower to under the dining table while the monitor, keyboard and mouse – oh, and external hard drives as well – are now sitting on top of the dining table.
Unfortunately this means James can’t really use his PC now as he doesn’t have a monitor! But his laptop works at the moment so he can work on that!

Now I just need my comfy chair and I’ll be all set!

Another weekend has passed as the year is accelerating towards summer. How can it be nearly April already?

Well we have had a very nice, sociable and relaxing weekend.
Friday evening was spent unwinding, and playing about with Window’s Movie Maker – it’s fairly rubbish, but it’s free and easy to use for a beginner.
I decided to take a short phone video and use that to practice on…quelle suprise when I tried to import my MP4 movie into Window’s Movie Maker – MP4 format isn’t supported.
I then spent the evening trying to find some free software to convert it to AVI – first try at importing into Movie Maker – apparently I don’t have the right codecs installed. After checking online and discovering I have all the codecs I need, I managed to get the import working.
Shame it took me all night, so I haven’t had a chance to try editing anything yet!

Saturday morning was spent looking at cars. With the work on James’ mondeo mounting up, we thought we’d see what was available. The answer to that is – nothing! So we have decided to stick with what we know!
We then popped over to mum and dad’s, and my brother showed up while we were there as well, which was nice.
Then in the evening we met up with Vic and Jason for a meal at the Warehouse in Colchester. Absolutely yummy! A perfect goats cheese and red onion tartlet to start followed by a perfectly cooked guineafowl! All washed down by a nice Pinot!
Nice food and great company made for a very enjoyable evening!

Sunday was really just a chillaxing day with not a lot really getting done. We were both a bit lethargic and after a bit of cleaning, the sofa beckoned!

A very nice weekend, thanks for asking!

So yesterday was Pammy’s funeral and there were a tonne of people of there. Why do they make crematorium chapel’s so small? We couldn’t all fit in, and to be honest, as I couldn’t see her coffin, it doesn’t feel like I’ve had my closure.

The service was non-religious and as such, was quite short, but there were some lovely tributes read and sung by her longest known friends.

As we hadn’t been invited to the wake, we met up with Kerry, Craig, Leanne and Caleb in Baroosh to have a final drink to Pam.

Goodbye honey, I still can’t believe I’m never going to see you again. xx

The recent death of my close friend Pammy has brought out my need to write poetry again. It’s my own style and it’s written for me so accept it for what it is! Thanks!

This is my little poetic tribute to one of the best friends I have even known.

I’ve had a very nice relaxing Sunday without a hangover – woo hoo!

We met Charlie and her friend, Ben, at the Bar House in Chelmsford last night – possibly the coldest and most deserted bar in Chelmsford on a Saturday Night! Having gone on the train, we had to make sure we didn’t miss the last train home – at 12:30. And they wonder why people don’t want to use public transport! In keeping with my new vow, I took photos – although due to the lack of flash on my Hero (HTC take note please), I couldn’t take any photos in The Barhouse. So I only have photos of me and James on the train!

Anyway, miraculously I didn’t wake up with a hangover despite not having any dinner last night. Enjoyed the first half of the Reading v Aston Villa match and was ecstatic when Reading were 2-0 up at the half-time whistle. Then got rather pissed off when they were 2-3 down after 10 minutes of the second half. But the lads did well and it’s the furthest we’ve gone in the FA Cup since 1927 so the boys’ done good! I’m sure it was down to tiredness that Ingimarsson conceeded the penalty in the last few minutes and that made the final 2-4 scoreline sound a lot more one-sided than it was. Reading still played well after 20 odd minutes of the second half, but lady luck seemed to have deserted them.

Then we went out for a chilled out early dinner at the Anchor in Rowhedge. James knows the guys that run it, and it’s a lovely location – although parking there can be fun! We managed to choose the only evening of the month that they hold a quiz on, so we didn’t get much of a chance to chat to the landlords. What a shame – I guess we’ll just have to go back!

So, counting meeting Caleb for a drink after work on Friday, all in all we’ve had a fairly sociable weekend – for us! I’m looking forward to spending less time on my computer and more time in the real world!

Jon Venables, one of the murderers of 3 year old Jamie Bulger, has been returned to prison for a breach of his parole conditions.

BBC story

I am still at a loss to understand how these two kids were ever released in the first place. To me, kids that can be as evil to a three year old boy as Venables and Thompson were don’t deserve to ever have their liberty. The legal system is twisted – life should mean life.
There are certain people that should never be released from jail regardless of their age at the time of the crime. Myra Hindley was denied parole on many occasions, and Ian Brady will never be released. I imagine that Ian Huntley will also never be released. Fred West would never have been released had he not committed suicide. Harold Shipman would never have been released. I would also imagine that Peter Sutcliffe (the Yorkshire Ripper) will never be released.
The nation were shocked when Venables and Thompson were released after serving just 8 and a half years. I find it hard to believe they are not evil twisted people who still don’t understand the gravity of what they did. After all, 8 and half years for murder in young offenders institution is not what I call justice.

These kids have new identities at the expense of the taxpayer – when most taxpayers wanted them both to stay locked up for ever. I believe there are some people that are inherently evil and pose a constant threat if released. If Venables has violated his parole terms then I think a life sentence should be invoked. And life should mean life.

It’s now nearly 2 weeks since our good friend Pam was taken from us, and life has to go on. We have a tribute set up on our fridge in magnetic letters but it still seems unreal. I don’t think I will feel the full emotion of what has happened until we attend her funeral.

However, I am trying to adopt a more ‘Pam’ style of living – we used to chat about a lot of things including my need to make some new friends and generally get out more. James and I spend far too much time on our computers and we should go out experience life a bit more. So, we have been arranging meeting up with as many friends as possible lately and we intend to make more of an effort full stop. Photos as well – we need to start taking photos of evenings out and places we visit – we hardly have any of our own of Pammy.

But amid all this, I keep feeling a sense of guilt. I know that Pam would approve, but it feels wrong to be going out and enjoying myself when she’s only just gone.
It’s a strange one for me as of all the people I have know who have died, apart from Pam they have all been at least 30 years older than me, and I could say, they’ve had a good life. Pam still had so much ahead of her, and because of her bright and outgoing personality, it’s difficult to find any phrase to provide a bit of comfort.

I suppose I just have to ask myself what would Pam say to me if she were here – I know the answer, so I should hold onto that advice when I start to feel guilty.

I miss you gorgeous. xx