Bets on the next two weeks going at double speed?

Made it to Christmas! There were a few times back there that I thought I wouldn't but here I am. I'm slowly getting over my bad mood that my darling form class managed to put me in today and I am very excited about the next two weeks. We have some good YF stuff coming up, there's Coldplay to see, and of course Christmas. Right now I'm watching 'Walk the Line', it is one of my most favourite films ever. Although I did just have to fast forward through the bit with the saw.

Anyway here are the two 'cultural' events of late.

1. The Feeling

Who doesn't like this band? Who doesn't get into a better mood when a song of theirs come on? It was a brilliant gig. Oh I sound like a Radio 1 DJ! They played all the songs I knew and a few bonus extras, and they finished with my most favourite song, 'Love It When You Call'. For the encore, with it being Christmas and what not, they did a few Christmas songs. And there was a surprise 'special guest'. Who did they manage to get for this special performance?! Sinead Quinn! No really, the actual runner up to Fame Academy a billion years ago! It made more sense when they explained she was about to marry the drummer from the band. They sang the Pogues 'Fairytale of New York' which was brill!

The only bad thing about the whole thing was the fact one of the fellow concert goers had obviously eaten something entirely disagreeable a few hours beforehand and keep letting the most gut wrenching sulphuric farts every ten minutes or so. One woman in front of us kept on turning around and we were at pains to show disgust on our faces so she wouldn't think it was us.

One thing I did forget to do was bring ear plugs. I know, so rock and roll, me. But for most of the next day I couldn't hear anything my students said. I felt like I was underwater or something. 

See, it's so loud my mobile couldn't cope with it.

The drum proves it was The Feeling. But really, who else could pick them out of an identity parade?

2. Sex Bombs

I get emails from the BBC about audiences for their shows. They're always, always in London. Except for the odd Ulster Orchestra one which are usually full up. The exception to this was 'Sex Bombs', a pilot panel show of men against women hosted by Ed Bryne. Ed Bryne is funny so I thought I'd apply. 

It really wasn't what I expected. For one they expected audience participation in the form of voting on little key pads. Then they would potentially come to you and ask you why you voted the way you did. Oh. Die. But worse still, because of all that they wanted us to sit alternate boy-girl. 'Fine', I thought, 'sure it'll be a bit of craic'. That was until I ended up at the end of a row, with the world's biggest man sitting up between me and Ruth. Seriously, and I really don't want to be rude, but he blocked me off from seeing three quarters of the audience. Half the joy of a joke is sharing it with someone else but I felt like I was watching on my own.

This was my first 'recorded' TV show. 'The Kelly Show' was live, and 'The Daily Show' was as live, straight through, no retakes. To be honest, it would put me off another one. There was lots of Ed having to say certain lines again, the autocue messing up, us having to laugh at the same line, applaud at the same point, don't applaud, vote again...you name it we did it twice. By the end of the 2 hour record (for presumably a 30 minute show) my butt was d.e.a.d.  But still a free night out and reasonable craic!

Even with the retakes and the dead butt though, it did make me want to go see 'Have I Got News For You' because it's actually funny. I'm no TV exec but I wouldn't commission 'Sex Bombs'. I can't see where they can go with it. There's only so many jokes about men being lazy or women gossipping. Although, now that I've said that, it'll be the TV sensation of 2009. 

Good service

I really hate bad service in shops and restaurants. I think it's incredibly rude and unhelpful. Just because I'm having a bad day doesn't mean I take it out on my students. I'll often vote with my feet and never go back. A case in point, Frasers (or is a Z? See, I never go. It is dead to me. I am as stubborn as my grandfather sometimes.) in Belfast. I haven't darkened the door of that shop since the mid-late 90s after bad service. Obviously this ploy hasn't worked so well as it's still standing. But not because of my money. Ha.

Anyway, as the Christmas shopping season has hit, I, like many people, buy things online. Well this one idea (let's just say it was a 'keyring', they read this) I had for my nearest and dearest really required a conversation with someone. I called one company and the girl couldn't tell me the answers to my questions, and even though it was 4.15pm she said she couldn't let me know until tomorrow, therefore potentially missing the Christmas deadline delivery. It was so much that as her unhelpful nature when she spoke which was annoying.

I called another company and it couldn't have been more different. She knew the answers to most of my questions and promised to find out the ones she didn't know in five minutes. When she called me back they weren't quite as I hoped, I still felt a certain sense of comfort in ordering said 'keyring' with her. Ten minutes later she called me back to say that she'd messed up and delivery would be slightly more I didn't mind because she was so apologetic and polite about it.

When Christmas is all over with and the 'keyring' goes down a storm I'll maybe put a link on then incase you want to order a 'keyring'. Good people like this deserve to have their name known.

New home

I mentioned a while ago that I had moved to the big smoke. Travelling into school was becoming all too much for me. I worked out, not long after I moved, that it would take me four school weeks to travel as far as I was travelling in one day. So a move was definitely in order.

As is now tradition when I live somewhere else I put a few photos up. So here they are:

This is me doing the dishes for real.

But I am fake reading.

As well as fake sleeping.

Definitely a fake visit to the toilet.

I seem to never have seen this scarf before.

Proof

As if it were needed.

None of the things I said I need to blog about

I'm at home with the parents today, always good times. Today's started when we realised my dad's winter hat (an old ski hat of mine or David's) was the exact same colours of our hoover. No, really. If that's where it started you can only imagine how it went downhill from there. By the end of lunch we were all sitting modelling our winter hats which just seemed normal until we realised what we were doing.

Now my dad and I are writing Christmas cards. There's lots of 'what is his wife's name?...'Carol! Not Anne at all!'...'Where would I get the address for them?'...'There's another geek I better write to. Pants, pants, pants!' I promise that last one was from my dad and exactly as he said it!

Every so often we'll break into one of those round robin Christmas letters your acquaintances (took me forever to spell that right!) so loving send you...'We can hardly believe another year has passed...we have had a wonderful year... X continues to work hard at the office (and at the Golf Club!)...Whilst X has taken up the new hobby of soapmaking...the grandchildren continue to provide much amusement [insert witty grandchildren story here]...so friends as another year draws in, join with us in appreciating all this year has brought.'

Actually, you probably won't be surprised to learn we get a bit excited when those come in so I shouldn't mock.

The other day though, I got an insert way better than a Christmas letter. Oh yes! No really. It was a scanned in article from a local newspaper's around and about section. As my scanner is up in the big smoke I shall try to recreate it for you.

Rocky Mountain News Gazette Wed, November 12th, 2008

Community Eye

BEARLY VISIBLE

XXXX had a late night visitor when a bear came calling. "I thought this might be a good public service reminder to bring one's bird feeders, or at least place them out of reach" said XXXX. The family lives near Rocky Heights. "Hopefully, he/she is now hibernating."

See! Informative, newsy and funny! That's how they do round robin letters in Colorado my friends!

I need to mark

It's been a while and there's been a fair amount I have been up to but I am in the middle of marking Christmas tests which is particularly dull, uninspiring and makes me wonder what I have been teaching the last number of weeks because most seem to have forgotten it all.

At a later date I will detail here:

-my new living arrangements

-my day as a tour guide

-my exciting night last night

But for right now it's back to read about how Martin Luther was an English priest who went round different churches in England and put up a big poster to say what was wrong with them.

Close but it's not right.