All about Me

Sunset over Nottingham

2012-01-16T14:35:00.002Z

When Brian and I got back to his flat after our trip out, from the window we could see the most amazing sunset on the horizon.

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Nottingham (PT2)

2012-01-16T14:20:00.004Z

Here is the continuation of my Photography trip to Notts this weekend.
Nottingham Train station

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Our next destination was a nice stroll to the Victoria Embankment and Trent Bridge.
So I could take more pictures of DUCKS!

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Around the House - Zoom, Flash, Macro & Video

2012-01-13T18:53:00.002Z

So I'm often sat here at home with my camera in hand and I just snap away at the things I like to look at around me.
This is our cat Miney

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My ship in a bottle that Bret brought me back from France years ago

The little Angel thats sits on my TV watching over us. (It was a gift from a friend in Sweden over 10 years ago!

A Jelly baby...

My Orchid Tealight holder

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My gorgeous spinning Angels tealight holder

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Some Macros of the tiny little Angels

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Ashbourne

2012-01-13T14:45:00.002Z

So I got myself a new Camera with my Christmas money. I previously owned a Fuji s5700 but I have been having some problems with it so time to upgrade methinks.
As a test drive I took my s1730 along on a daytrip to Ashbourne to see just what it can do.

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The Optical zoom on this baby is 15x which is a 5x improvement on the last one.

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I found the local Memorial Park

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Trying out the zoom and manual settings

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DUCKS!

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This was a very friendly Goose. I love the reflection image.

Had to get on to my favourite photography subject which is Macro and particularly macro photos of flowers.

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I found these quaint little tiny cottages. I would love to live in one of these :)

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Another favourite subject to photograph - Churches!

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Wednesday Observations

2011-12-14T17:23:00.002Z

I have been out this morning to Tesco in town and I realised that if I keep my wits about me there is lots going on to write about.
First of all as I waited to cross over Mercian way, A car stopped and the driver berated me because I was stood waiting and wasn't crossing over. I wasn't crossing because the lights weren't on Red and the Green man wasn't showing.

Further on my travels I saw 1 taxi driver smoking a cigarette in his taxi - with all the windows wound up! I wouldn't want to be his next passenger...That should be illegal!!

I saw my next Taxi driver driving whilst on his mobile phone. Now I KNOW that's illegal! He was setting off from parked! Couldn't he just wait a few minutes more until he finished his conversation before he set off?

In town as usual, there were Charity collectors all the way down St Peter's street. You could see people trying to avoid them. If you spot them early enough you can formulate a plan so you can avoid them altogether or have something ready to say or you could just ignore them. Why should we have to though? Why do we allow these people to encroach on our lives??

My main visit to town was for Tesco. I picked up everything I needed except for Catfood. Now what kind of Supermarket doesn't sell single tins of Catfood?? It meant I would have to make a further stop on my way home to pick up a couple of tins from Spar or Londis.

I got to the checkout and was disgusted at the level of Customer service - ZERO! No smile, no greeting just a miserable young girl who was very rude and couldn't get me out quick enough, She tutted when I said I had a load of coupons.

I won't be recommended her for any awards any time soon!

It doesn't end there, I got home and settled down to a cuppa and a good Christmas movie and the phone rang. I went to answer it and it was an automated voice telling me I have a message for some company or other. I hung up and the phone has rang non-stop since. In fact I had to unplug the phone as I just had enough! What did I say about these companies encroaching on our lives?!!!
So Happy Humpday to me!

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Buy My stuff on ebay!!

2011-11-06T20:55:00.001Z

Desperate Times bring Desperate Measures and all that.

I've still not managed to find work and now my savings have gone so I am selling stuff on eBay to try and make some money for Christmas.

Please feel free to pass the links on to anyone you know

Thank You!!

Here's My Sales right now!

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Port Sunlight - Lady Lever Gallery

2011-10-27T15:56:00.001+01:00

These are all the photos I took of the exhibits and Artifacts in this wonderful museum.

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There are 2 wonderful Domed rooms with these great statues around the edge.

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Liverpool Lambananas

2011-10-26T20:02:00.001+01:00

As part of Liverpool's Capital of Culture celebrations, 125 two metre high replicas of Superlambanana were commissioned and located throughout Liverpool and the surrounding areas. The mini Superlambananas were developed in partnership between the Liverpool Culture Company and Wild in Art, with each one being sponsored by a local institution or business and designed by local community members. The miniature Superlambananas were on display for ten weeks, from the June to August 2008.^[17] The Liverpool Echo partnered with the event, releasing a location map and guide of every mini Superlambanana to encourage locals to get involved.^[18] All but two of them were located within the Merseyside area. Lovemedoodle was located at Euston railway station in London for a short while until it was moved back to Liverpool Lime Street station^[19], whilst The Highest SuperLambBanana was located on top of Moel Famau in North Wales and was sponsored by Denbighshire County Council.^[20]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superlambanana

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This is Mandy, She resides at the Museum of Liverpool

These ones stand outside the Museum.

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Eye in the Sky

2011-10-26T14:31:00.001+01:00

I am writing a full blog post about our trip to Merseyside. I know though that there will be too many photos so I am breaking them up into categories to make smaller posts.

Here are all my photos from our trip to the Liverpool Eye which is alongside the Echo arena at Kings Dock.

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Here are the stunning views we had whilst stuck at the top of the Eye with the wind whistling around us.

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When you are getting on the eye there is a photographer there to take a photo of you and you can buy a pack for £20 when you get off.

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Blinding Lights - Alistair Griffin released today!!

2011-10-10T22:02:00.001+01:00

Blinding Lights - Alistair Griffin

You can BUY IT NOW from iTunes

Follow Alistair on Twitter

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Blinding Lights - Alistair Griffin released today!!

2011-10-10T22:00:00.001+01:00

Blinding Lights - Alistair Griffin

You can BUY IT NOW from iTunes

Follow Alistair on Twitter

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Nottingham Goose Fair 8/10/11

2011-10-09T15:12:00.001+01:00

Although he doesn't remember, Every Year I moan to Brian that Ive never been to Goose Fair so as I was in Notts today, He suggested that we go down and have a Gander (ha! Gedditt!!)

I have to say I was completely Overwhelmed by the whole thing.

It is very big and very busy!

Nottingham Goose Fair

If you can imagine about 8 different fairs all on one site. It is just completely mad!!

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It was quite emotional to see the old Runaway Train from the American Adventure right in the middle of it all

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We walked around the whole park which was massive. Brian even had some minted Mushy Peas - I think they are GROSS!!

After an hour of walking my feet were about to drop off plus the fact that it was pouring with rain. It was a short walk home for Brian but I still had to get a half hour bus journey so we called it a night.

At least now I can say I have experienced Nottingham Goose Fair.

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Jason Manford Book signing Nottingham - 8/10/11

2011-10-09T01:31:00.001+01:00

I only just found Jason's Facebook this week but I am so glad I did. It was only a couple of days ago that he posted on there that he was doing a book signing in Nottingham. So the first thing I did was to text Brian and ask if he would come with me. 2 reasons - 1) He would know where to go and 2) to be my official photographer.

Luckily for me, Brian wasn't working this weekend and so he agreed that he would be up for coming with me.

My alarm went off at 7.15am as I wanted to get up and dye my hair. However I just couldn't drag myself out of bed and stayed for another 2 hours. I did finally get up at 9.30 and got my hair sorted.

I told Brian I would be in Notts for 2pm but gthat wen out the window firmly when I got to the Bus station and found out that all the buses were delayed because of the roadworks on the A52 as well as Goose fair holding the trafic up at the Nottingham city end.

I met the boys at the marketplace and we walked up to the Waterstones store to see if there was a queue yet but no there wasn't so we took a walk around town to while away the time.

We went back later so I could buy the book ready and I asked the assistant what time was best to come and queue. He told me 4-4.30pm so that is what we did.

We got back to the store about 4 and had a wander around then when we noticed there was a queue forming we went to join it.

As we stood waiting I was getting more and more nervous. Id never been to a book signing before and although I have been to plenty of album/single signings - They had all been for Alistair. This was a new celebrity I was meeting for the first time and I didn't know what to do. As I stood there my left leg started shaking. I was quite embarrassed, I don't know if anyone could see but it felt like they could.

Brian was counting the minutes down for me..."4 minutes to go"..."3 minutes to go"..."Only 1 minute to go"...But then as the Town hall clock chimed 5pm, Jason was nowhere to be seen!

However when he did arrive Brian noticed before me...

As Jason came in he was very understated in his Blue checked shirt as he just said "Alright" to everyone waiting

He took his seat and the signings began.

It is all pretty much a blur for me as I was so nervous

I remember Jason saying to the first couple in the queue "so do you want me to sign it or what?" No Idea what was going on but they did have 4 books to sign. I didn't even realise that Brian was taking all these lovely photos - Thanks Brian :)

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While we had been waiting one of the assistants came round and wrote our names on sticky notes which is a good idea as sometimes spellings can be tricky.

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As I reached the front of the line. They stopped while the local paper photographer took some pics. The PR woman took my book from me ready for Jason to sign and asked me if I was going to the gig later. In a fashion I told her I was going to Derby next month. (My mouth was so dry and I just stumbled over my words.)

When Jason was ready, The PA put the book down in front of him and said "This is Jen, she is coming to see you in Derby"

I can't remember exactly what happened but it was something like this...

Jason - Derby, I love Derby, a great little town

Me - Yes but I guess you have to say that don't you

Jason - (puts finger to lips) Don't tell anyone I said that. I probably won't be saying it tonight in Nottingham

Me - Well thats OK as I won't be here to hear you (giggle).

Then after he had signed my book I asked for a picture. There was a chair next to him where everyone had sat for the photo op. He poited at the chair and said something along the lines of "Hop round here" (Not sure of his exact words as I was concentrating on not knocking him flying)

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Brian even had a little chat with him while I was positioning myself. Then as I got up to leave he said "Ill see you at The Assembly rooms"

YES! Yes you will Jason :D

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More Skegness photos

2011-10-03T21:00:00.001+01:00

I couldn't fit in all my photos so I thought I would do a seperate post to Highlight some great photography by me!

The Wind farms just off the coast.

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Views from the Pier

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Its sad that the Pleasure Beach was closed. Someone said that it was because of an accident on one of the rides but I'm sure it was just the end of the Season.

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I experimented with the B&W setting on my camera

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Took lots of photos of the Beautiful Blooms is Skeggy

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The Glorious Lincolnshire coastline[[posterous-content:pid___0]]

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Oh I do like to be beside the Seaside

2011-10-03T15:13:00.001+01:00

With this Indian Summer we are having I thought I should make the most of it and take myself off to the Beach. Well I say the Beach, I don't really enjoy sitting on the beach, I find it boring.

I got up a little late as my alarm didn't go off when It should. That may be because I forgot to set it. So I thought I was going to have a shorter day. Instead of the 9.10 am train I caught the 9.24am train but when I got into Nottingham station I was still in time for the 9.55am train to Skegness.

The train was quite packed but it was mostly Pensioners apart from the seats in front of me. Typical I picked the seats behind the screaming baby! It was quiet for part of the journey but just when I was getting comfortable it would wake again.

There is no doubt where you are when you walk down the main street and see this...

I arrived in Skeg at lunchtime. Just in time for Fish and chips on the beach

I think Fish and chips always tastes much better by the sea. It might be that the fish is fresher or that as you are breathing in that sea air it tastes richer. I don't know but there is nothing better.

As always I had a wander round the RNLI and put some money in the box. My Mum was born and raised by the sea and had lost friends and family in the past who worked on the Lifeboats.

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It was so hot and for saying it was the end of September, the place was packed. It was mostly pensioners and families with pre school children but there were also quite a few children who should have been at school.

I took a walk down the pier too but I really wanted to have a sit down. There was nowhere to sit on the pier which shows how busy the place was. I fancied just sitting there and gazing out over the sea

It wasn't to be though so I walked up the pier and back again before heading off.

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I really wanted to go to Natureland and take some pics of the animals so I took a long walk down the Parade toward Natureland. When I got there though and found it was £7.20 I just couldn't afford that. I only had £15 in my purse and needed to save taxi fare for when I got home so I just went and took pictures of the flowers along the Parade instead.

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I walked back along the beach to get myself an ice cream and sat on the sand while I guzzled it all down.

I couldn't really sit eating it all ladylike as the weather was so hot the Ice cream was just melting so fast, I had to just slurp it as fast as I could.

I have to admit, as hot as it was and compared to the last time I went to Skeg when it rained, by about 3.00 I was so bored. I tried several times to just sit on the beach and watch the world go by but I couldn't. I must have ants in my pants as I just had to get up and walk.

I tried to take pics of the Donkeys but was difficult. They were very busy and there were lots of kids around and I didn't want to look like a pervert.

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I went and had little play on the arcades

Then I took a slow walk back up to the train station. Stopping to buy fudge and Candy Floss on the way.

In the town I spotted these Statue people. Should I have given them money after photographing them??

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Igot to the train station and the train was in already. There was a line waiting but not that many. I thought this would be less busy than the next one at 5.10pm as I think most people prefer to go home around 5/6pm.

I got on the train and found myself what I thought would be a nice quiet seat. HOW WRONG WAS I??! A girl of about 18 got on with her mother and boyfriend. She was so loud. She was only sat next to them yet she seemed to be shouting at the top of her voice. I learned all about what she had been doing, what she had eaten and about her Kickboxing class she was going to later. She also called a taxi firm to book a cab for later and shouted at the top of her voice to them too. This was all in a very quiet train carriage so its not as if she needed to make herself heard. Her mum was as bad! I heard people behind me giggling about it. The girl was talking about her mum's Phantom of the Opera obsession and the people behind me starting singing the Phantom song (Quite loudly). I couldn't help giggling to myself.

I thought at first that maybe this was a family of actors and the rest of the passengers were being set up but I realised they were just deaf!

Thank God they got off at Wainfleet otherwise I would have to have moved. Also across the aisle was another person who didn't know the concept of keeping your voice down. I thought it was a man but over the course of the journey I discovered it was in fact a woman. She sat at a table seat on her own and at Wainfleet some young girls got on and asked if they could sit there. Over the rest of the journey she was talking at them non stop. Although I didn't have much battery left on my phone, I had to put my iPod on as I couldn't stand it. I don't know how the girls felt but I didn't want to know her complete life story.

By the time we reached Notts station I was desperate to get off this was the longest journey In History!!!

I was Home Sweet Home by 8pm.

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The Derby Big Wheel

2011-09-27T19:01:00.001+01:00

Ive not been on it yet but I thought I would share all the photos (Both edited and unedited) that I have taken of it so far.

All of these have been taken with my trusty iPhone and the editing has been done by the various apps that i have on my phone

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September 11th 10 Years on

2011-09-12T22:58:00.001+01:00

This is one of those dates that you will always remember what you were doing even if (Like me) you can hardly remember what you did yesterday.

I can remember it so well. I was sitting down with my lunch and switched over to BBC1 to watch Doctors. It wasn't on. There was some news coverage instead. I Cussed a little and then as I was about to switch over the second plane hit. I stood there with my mouth wide open. Shock isn't it. It couldn't have been a movie, Why would they take off Doctors to put on a movie like this at lunchtime?

Then it became clear that this was real. That is New York and what I just saw really did happen. From that minute I was glued to the screen. I didn't eat my lunch it just sat there as I was sobbing away. Soon it was time to go pick up the kids from school. On the TV they said that all the airports in and out of The US had closed and the UK were closing airports in and out too. Then the realisation that we were meant to be flying out on our first family foreign holiday the day after came. We had payed for it so long ago and been looking forward to it for so long.

In the school playground everyone was talking about it but I decided that if there is any chance we get to go on holiday I don't want to scare the kids as it was their first flight in an aeroplane and they were a bit worried about it anyway.

I don't know how I managed it but I didn't let on to the children what had happened at all. I let them watch kids TV channels all night. It wasn't until they had gone to bed that I put Sky News on to catch up on the situation.

The next day Rob had been calling the airport regularly for updates and we were told we could make our way to the airport. The security had been ramped up 1000% The queues were massive as rthey were checking everyone and we weren't allowed to take our hand luggage on. We had to take everything out and put it in clear plastic bags. Joe was just a little baby then and they even checked his buggy and his Nappy!

Once we got to Fuertaventura we calmed down but at the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder what would happen next. What if it escalates and War starts?? We would be stuck in the Canaries. Which OK would be nice but we would have no money and nowhere to stay!

Every day we bought the English papers and they were full of it. You know what though. My kids never caught on and I told them all about it as soon as we got home 2 weeks later. They said theyd had no idea but they were glad I didn't tell them.

I really can't believe that was 10 years ago but Joe is in Year 6 now so that's where the time has gone...

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England Legends Vs Wales Legends (For the John Hartson trust)

2011-09-11T02:57:00.001+01:00

Thursday night was the night of ITVs big annual charity Legends game. This year it was in aid of the John Hartson trust for Testicular Cancer. The other big bonus was it was to be played at Pride Park Stadium. Former Rams Captain Robbie Savage was coming back to PPS for one night only to captain the Wales team.

Luckily Joe and Abbie got given some free tickets from their football training at DW. So we didn't have to buy tickets. I am a bit worried though that as the club gave away so many free tickets, Just how much money did John Hartson make for his charity?

Debz and Carl picked me up about 6.30 and we drove to PPS supposedly early enough to get a place in the DW car park but there were queues as it was and there weren't actually any free spaces but Carl managed to find somewhere to park that wasn't actually a proper space but it wasn't impeding on any other spaces. When Ange & Rob and Emma and all the kids arrived Ange wanted to go eat. Id already had some tea so I just stood and waited while they scoffed. I am no good with Subway anyway I would go as far as saying I have a phobia - Im not phobic of the food but the actual ordering process. I had panic attacks the last time I tried to order a sandwich in there myself. When they finished eating we made our way over to the ground.

We were seated in the East stand upper parallel to Ange's normal seats.

There wasn't many people there. They were only using the East Stand. In the west stand were a few people but they would have been families mascots etc. Of course all the Exec boxes were full. As we were taking our seats there was a Gospel choir assembling to sing the national Anthems and then it wasn't long before the announcer announced the teams and they were coming out of the tunnel

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The Gospel version of God save the queen was a bit unusual

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Our only problem was I am obviously in need of new glasses as I couldn't hardly make out who the players were and Debz had forgotten her glasses so she was no good. We also couldn't hear the announcements properly so that didn't help with who the players were. I could make out Sav obviously and Gary Speed also for Wales.

It was a good match. Very competitive and no one was going easy. Mind you as for taking it easy - Ian Wright proved that he certainly didn't have it anymore. Remember his great pace? Nuh! He could hardly run 5 yards without falling over exhausted. Where as Steve McManaman and Stan Collymore loked like they were still in there Spice boys heydays.

The Ref was Dermot Gallagher. He got some boos. And randomly the lino on our side was Colin Murray. Now, this wasn't announced and we didn't even notice - It was the guy sat behind. Much to my own surprise I actually Squeed a little and then got all excited. Thing is Colin was so busy doing his job that he never actually turned our way and as I was so excited this is the best photo I could get of him

There were lots of changes during the game. John Hartson himself kicked off but then went off again. He came back on briefly when Wales were handed a penalty to take it but as I said no one was giving anything away and Dave Beasant in the England goal easily saved it. I think he could have let it in if he had wanted to and maybe he should have.

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At half time Harry Redknapp came out to choose someone from the crowd to play in the second half. They chose 5 lads who had brought their boots but I am sure only one of them played. He was really good and for saying that he was playing with and against top celebs and legends He did himself proud.

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There were 6 goals scored altogether. All for England. Which is great but I think that Wales should have at least had 1 goal. I am not sure exactly who scored the goals. I think it was 2 for Collymore, 2 for Seth Johnson, 1 for Ricky Whittle and 1 for Darren Campbell. I may be wrong though. I have yet to watch the TV coverage that I recorded to see what I missed :)

After the game Ange and the kids planned to go round to the players entrance. They went off quickly but as I am not able to climb down over the seats I got left behind. When I finally got out of the row, I had no idea where they were so I decided to just make my own way round to the players entrance. I then bumped into Rob and Carl outside the concourse and Ange rang me to ask where was I.

I made my way round to the Players' Entrance where there was already a hefty crowd waiting.

RANT ALERT!!!!!

The one thing that stopped me being an In Person Autograph collector is the Professional Autograph hunters - Traders! They have no consideration for the real fans and kids that really want to to meet their idols. They push and shove people out the way, kids, adults and old people alike. Then they shove their books in the faces of the stars whoever they are and then "Can you sign these 10 pictures" I just got so angry that I wanted to punch them or push them all over. This is why I no longer have the motivation to get in there anymore. Yeah there is a little bit of regret that I came home with nothing but I wasn't going to get pushed around and hurt for it.

RANT OVER!!!

There was a lot of waiting. We could see the stars inside. I spotted Jeff Brazier going upstairs and I spotted Savs boys several times. Then while we were all looking the other way, Steve McManaman sneaked out the main entrance but soon the crowd was all over him. Thanks to Beth for her persisitance Steve stopped with the crowd and they all got their stuff signed photos taken and Ange got a book signed for her boss.

Joe Calzaghe got mobbed to the proportion that he couldn't get into his car. Several of the welsh team walked past me without me even having a clue who they are. Then Jamie Baulch walked past me and it wasn't until 30 mins later I realised who he was. Then I felt bad. Gary Speed stayed true to his name as he tried to make a quick getaway. he did sign and do some pictures but I don't think he actually stopped walking once. I tried my hardest to get a picture of him...

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Dave Beasant was very good but no one seemed interested - was it cos he is a former Red Dog?? (See later, I don't think so)

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As I said, I didn't amke an attempt to get autographs or photos with the celebs but I was on hand to get photos for the others.

Colin Murray was lovely chatting and signing and having a laugh with people as well as having phots taken. Debz got him to sign her ticket and I took this lovely picture

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Dean Saunders made me go a bit weak at the knees. He has improved with age. I met him before - In 1989 in McDonalds where I worked but at the time he was with Mark Wright (The real one) and I was rather star-struck (Ooooh Mark Wright) Today though Dean Saunders is really a bit of alright (oo-er)

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One star that caused a stir was Stan Collymore. This I don't get. He was booed on the pitch even though he was an England player and scored 2 games. He was also a Red dog That should be enough to give him a wide berth but for some reason my sister loves him so we fought through the crowds and she persisted in poking him until he had his photo taken with her

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Darren Campbell came out of the main entrance on the phone and refused to sign for anyone. Miserable git! Idris Elba came out with an entourage but no one bothered him - I guess they didn't know who he was. I didn't until I watched some of the ITV4 footage after. Now Ian Wright went down in my book cos he got his big massive car brought all the way up to the entrance so that he didn't have to deal with the fans BOOO! thats not good!

One thing I haven't mentioned was Being shafted and thinking my hero was there but he was a big fat Fake!! I was promised England and DCFC Legend Oooh Mark Wright but all I got was a wannabe from Essex. At least someone was happy

I didn't get the chance to compose a proper photograph that Emma could treasure and use for FB because he was being dragged off by some Bimbo Bodyguard. I do have to admit it he was quite handsome and he did seem a little overwhelmed by all the attention - don't worry lad, You'll soon be wallowing in it.

We stayed until about 11pm. It was late enough and the kids all had school the next day. Ange had work and I had to be up for my course.

It was a great night out though. A great match and hopefully they made a lot of money for John Hartson

(Please read part 2)

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Hey Robbie Savage Haters

2011-09-11T02:54:00.001+01:00

Yes I was one. Along with most of the Football fans in the country I hated him with a passion. When He signed for Derby I really thought the world had gone mad. When Ange and the kids came back from the games and were all talking about how wonderful he was I thought they too had gone mad. Was there some kind of Jedi Mind trick that Savage had used?

Over time though I could see what an asset for Derby he was becoming. The couple of times I saw him play live he was awful but I could see what an influence he was as a captain to the rest of the team. I still couldn't understand why everyone loved him so much. In interviews on TV and radio he was so arrogant but He stood up for Derby County.

The Whole time Savage played for DCFC he was 100% committed and did a lot of good things for the club as a whole. We certainly got a lot more airtime on main stream TV. He was a regular on Soccer AM and sometimes he made a bit of a dick of himself but you had to be happy cos he is Derby now.

He also did a lot of charity work. His Dad suffers from Alzheimers so he does a lot for them and all of the sales of his recent book went to them but he does a lot of hospital visits etc too.

I was still really happy when Savage announced his retirement.

However, all that said I suddenly found myself warming to Robbie Savage on Thursday night. He was another player who tried to sneak out. We had seen his boys inside going from one room to another and Id seen his wife too but suddenly Sav was trying to sneak out with his hoodie up. No one was fooled though and suddenly he had drawn a huge crowd. I think of all the top celebs, He drew the biggest crowd of all. However instead of just rushing off he signed autographs and had photos taken with everyone. Debz and me got a bit concerned as at one point he was at the edge of the doorway then he was pegged right back against the glass doors. Some of the singers from the Gospel choir tried to get out but they couldn't and went back in (They should have gone to the other entrance as no one was there anymore)

At the same time he was chatting away. People were trying to get him to reveal who his dance partner is (He is doing Strictly this year) but he wasn't giving anything away.

See the full gallery on Posterous

I have to admit I got a bit carried away and was caught up in the excitement of it all. Ange wasn't bothered about pushing into the crowd she said we should hang back and wait as he wouldn't go without making sure everyone was happy. It was like he was Brad Pitt or something All of these people adored him!

The crowd thinned out a little and Emma said to him that she loved his Pink shirt on the tv advert with the Ram on. Then He Said he had some pictures on his phone and proceeded to flick through his phone and show us these pics of him in a Blue shirt (The one from tonight's show) This is the point where I realised my opinion of him had changed. He had no problem with showing us the photos and joking about his tan and the whiteness of his teeth. As he thrust the phone in my face I noticed how Blue his eyes are.

Everyone got great photos with Savage - Taken by me of course they are! He wasn't bothered about how long it took me to compose or how long the flash took to work.

Debz

Ange

The Kids (I was taking it from the side as Ange took it from the front)

Emma.

So when everyone had got their piece off he went...

OK So I am not going to become the biggest Savage fan or declare my undying love for him but I did see a bit of what everyone else sees.

I was really interested in seeing him in Strictly tonight. I think this is going to do wonders for Robbie Savage as you are going to see a new side to him. He looked so nervous and vulnerable and he really didn't say much at all which is a change as you normally wouldn't shut him up.

So Haters join me ;) Forget the Robbie Savage Footballer alter ego and see the new Ex-footballer Media persona.

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Trying out Hipstamatic

2011-09-03T19:01:00.001+01:00

Thanks to @RichardMackney I get a lot of heads up on great iPhone photography (iPhonography) apps but then I find I download them but then do nothing with them.

During my trip yesterday to Alvaston park I got the chance to try out the Hipstamatic app. Its quite cool as it has the appearance of an old Kodak Instamatic camera.

These were taken using lens - John S and film - Blanko

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I realise I should have taken more time and tried the different lenses and flashes but Its a start...

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Alvaston Park

2011-09-03T16:52:00.001+01:00

This place holds lots of memories for me.

The college I went to after school isn't around any longer but the grounds it used to sit in neighboured the vast grounds of Alvaston park. This meant that it was always a place to escape to.

I hated college. I thought it was going to be so grown up and cool. I thought it would be less judgmental than school and I would make loads of friends but I was wrong. I couldn't make any friends and I really struggled with the classes. So whenever I could escape I would go sit in the park and watch the world go by. I would feed the ducks and enjoy my own company.

Also fast forward to when my children were little I used to take them up to the park as a free day out. We would go feed the ducks and have a picnic and they would play on the play area while I sat and read a magazine.

So it was lovely to go back there yesterday. It has changed a lot. There is now a brand new play area with lots more activities for kind of all ages. There is also a purpose built tea rooms and toilet/changing area too.

There seem to be hundreds more ducks than I remember and whereas they used to have boats on the lake, they don't seem to do boats anymore. The pathways were coated in Duck poop so much so as you couldn't walk without having to tread on it.

I took a slow walk around the lake stopping to feed the ducks and rest a while.

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There were more than just your normal Mr & Mrs Duck. There were Geese and Moorhens and Swans and loads of Seagulls. There were also some larger ducks out there and even a few Crows came to get in on the Bread action.

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There was quite a bit of Flora and Fauna too although I got annoyed because the batteries I purchased for my camera only lasted about 20 minutes and I didn't get to photograph half as much as I wanted.

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Tramlines Music festival - Sheffield 23/07/2011

2011-08-14T16:22:00.001+01:00

I never heard of Sheffield's Tramlines festival before but I was dead excited when I heard Alistair was playing there. He hasn't come this close to my home since 2008 when he played in Notts with Ivyrise.

Bret and I got up quite early Saturday morning. Although it didn't start until 2.30pm the website warned of long queues to get in anywhere. There were lots of line ups in lots of venues all over the city.

We arrived in Sheffield about mid-day and although I lived there for nearly 3 years, I couldn't recognise any of it. Bret kept reminding me it was 20 years ago so I guess it has changed a lot. Even the outside of the station had changed and it's all modern now.

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After some frustration when I couldn't get a signal on my phone I finally was able to connect and find our way using Google maps. I am sure it took us the long way round though as we were walking for ages. When we finally got there we were met by this huge queue. It was just after mid-day but there was already 100s of people there and we queued for half an hour.

When we got in the place was packed. There was fair rides and all kinds of stands and stalls. Lots of food outlets too and Beer tents. The stage was at the far side of the green then there was a bank that went up. The green was 3/4 of people but I saw a patch of grass free on the bank and claimed that. I didn't really fancy being right down in the front anyway as we wouldn't be able to move for the toilet or refreshments etc...

It was a lovely atmosphere. People were sat on picnic blankets with food and drink and there were families and groups from all ages. There was a huge queue behind us and as time went on lots more people were stood behind us but the feeling was still great. There had been black clouds overhead and rain was forecast but it was red hot all day and there was me in my coat as usual. I love to be prepared but I ended up being sun-burnt as I wasn't prepared with the suncream.

The first act on were a girl group called Duchess. I guess they aspired to be Destiny's Child but there was confusion on which one wanted to be Beyonce. They were alright but nothing special.

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Next were SixD. I had only heard of them because they were on Scott Mills' show a few days before. They are supposed to be like Flawless with singing but to me they are more like S Club 7 but for the 21st century. A lot of the kids liked them. So far though we could still sit on the grass and listen and see the stage perfectly.

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The Reason 4 were a bit more popular and people gathered and more people stood up to see them. They did 3 songs and were very good at getting the crowd going. They are all very ripped and toned and I bet there were a few swooning women (and men) You may remember them from X factor last year.

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Ivyrise were next on the bill. As I said, I have seen Ivyrise before when they toured with Alistair and Paper Heroes so I knew how good they were and thought it was time to stand up. They were quite popular with a lot of others too. They did a good set of 4 songs. It was the first act who performed good music - ll the rest had been just singing along to track but Ivyrise were a proper band with proper instruments and they really rocked it.

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Rizzlekicks were next. I had no idea who they were but I had heard their hit "Trumpet" before. They were actually great fun to watch. they have loads of energy and were just jumping all over the stage. I had a job getting pics of them together. Lots more people were standing now as they all wanted to see what was going on.

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Down in the front it was getting really raucous. I was so glad we stayed where we were as people were throwing bottles and pints of beer and food. It was nasty down there. Each time the Hallam FM presenters came onstage they warned of ejections but that didn't really work.

It got a little crazy from here on in. As soon as Pixie Lott was announced on stage hundreds of people appeared from nowhere. So far I had a perfect view of the stage but now all I could see was this

Luckily Bret was able to take my camera and hold it above his head to take some good pics. Pixie did a short set of 3 songs but she was good. She had a band and didn't just sing along to a track like most of the other acts.

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Olly Murs was up next and unfortunately I still didn't get to see anything. He was great live from what I could hear. Great energy and banter with the crowd. He didn't have a band just sang along to a track but it didn't matter. I did manage to get some pics from over my head (and Bret's head) Rizzlekicks came back on as Olly's new single (heart skips a beat) features them.

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There was a half an hour break after Olly and suddenly the crowds dispersed. I was happy in a way as it meant I might actually get to see Alistair's spot but I was sad in another way as all those people weren't staying to see him. They were going to miss one hell of an act.

Bret and I moved down to the top of the bank. Bret suggested we move down to the front of the stage but I didn't want the risk of being pelted by bottles or worse. Where we were was fine.

Al came on to great reaction. He looked great too. He had posted on Twitter that he was going to wear the tightest trousers he could find and boy did he just!!

He did a great set. The longest set of the day of 6 songs. (Not sure if this is the order - It went by in a blur)

Blinding lights

Chemistry

Blown away

Save This day

All these dreams

Just Drive

Alistair really did rock the crowd and they seemed to like it. There was a lot of jumping up and down and waving of arms down in front and there were still a lot of people around rocking the the sound of The Griff.

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We left after Al finished. We were hot and tired and it was a long walk to the station. I was also hungry. I hadn't thought about bringing lunch or drinks at all. I also hadn't brought money either. Earlier on I had given Bret some money to get a pizza - which wasn't a bad deal really £2 for a 7" pizza but I thought I could wait till I got home.

We were home by 9PM and I made Sausage Sarnies YUM!

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Fab Saturday Morning

2011-08-06T13:21:00.001+01:00

Had a fabulous Saturday Morning. I met a former work colleague and now friend - Denise for coffee. She even brought me flowers which made me feel so special.

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We had a lovely couple of hours putting the world to rights and catching up on all the gossip. I can't wait for next time!

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A Day out in Skeggy

2011-07-10T16:31:00.001+01:00

The end of my last week off from work (Before I finish next week) I decided I wasn't going to let the rain hold me back anymore so me and Bret headed off to Skegness for the day.

We arrived in Skegness at noon after a really noisy journey. The first train was dominated by a very noisy family of kids in the carriage next to ours and then the 2nd train was full of loud people and kids.Why do people on the phone on trains feel that the whole train wants to hear their conversations?

I was sad to see that they are refurbing and modernising Skegness station. The archway is gone and there is modern glass automatic doors there now. It spoils the experience of the excitement when you first arrive off the train.

I really wanted to sample some Fish and chips by the sea but we were quite hungry so went to KFC for lunch instead. After eating we headed off through the town.

It was your usual Seaside outing of Donuts

Spending all my 2ps in the amusement arcades

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I tried a grabber machine for a Giant Chuppa lolly

and for a Giant cuddly cupcake...

...and felt like I was being followed around by Noel Edmonds???

I was disappointed at the prizes in the machines this time around. In fact I only won 2 little keyrings. 1 was a little glass Snoopy and the other a rather sad looking one-eyed voodoo

We had a wonder down the Pier. It was very windy so we didn't make it all the way to the end as I was scared I would be blown off the end and out to Sea.

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We had a wander through the amusements on the pier and when we came out the rain was really coming down heavy so we went back inside until it calmed down a bit. I don't think it ever did for the rest of the day. We headed over to the Pleasure beach and went and sat in the bar for a while.

Bret even did some card tricks to pass the time

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Once the storm passed over and the rain dulled to a light shower we took a walk around the Pleasure beach.

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It was a bit sad as the place was deserted there was only us wandering round and hardly any staff either.

It was getting on for 5pm when we decided to head back to the train. Not before picking up some Skegness fudge though.

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Oh yeah, Had to take a pic of the ole Jolly Fisherman

I love this also but never understand why it is there...

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Take That Progress live tour - The Main Event (pt2)

2011-07-04T22:10:00.001+01:00

...Pretty Things was lovely. The 5 of them stood singing on the stage as a pretty Ballerina danced around them. As the song ended there was a bit of Banter. "I'm Gary, I'm Jason, I'm Mark, I'm Howard and I'm Robbie and together we are TAKE THAT" A bit of a stand off between Robbie and Jason (YAWN) and then they attempted the old Boy band jump photo opportunity. I just missed the jump though...

The next set was a lovely treat. They all sat around the piano and a beautiful lady brought a tray of drinks.

Gaz:- Ahhh The last time a beautiful girl brought us drinks, she ended up as my wife. Here's a Red wine for you Howard, A red wine for you Jay, A nice red wine for me and Mark and Rob - Milk for you 2 :-)

There was a little bit of "Come on Come on Come on Come on Take That and Paaaarty" A bit of Do what you liiiike (Do what you like) Some Million love songs, Everything Changes, Babe and the whole of Pray with full dance Routine (Including Gary!) then they sang Back for Good.

I didn't take any pictures of any of this because I was so engrossed.

All of a sudden the last song. Love Love.

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There was an encore. A bit of a weird ending really I thought to be honest

- Never Forget

- No Regrets

- Relight My Fire

- Eight Letters

Yes Take That singing No Regrets, the Up Yours song that Robbie Williams wrote aimed at them 15 years ago...

Never Forget was amazing though and I shed a tear. Remember they recorded it with Rob for the Nobody Else album but they never got to perform it together back then. Robbie's lines were never as good sang by Mark.

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I am obsessed with Eight letters now. I hadn't really listened to Progressed enough to notice it before but I wish they were releasing it as a single instead of Aliens.

Anyway, All too quickly it was over and we had to join the hoards of people leaving the ground. It felt like we were in one of those movies where they are evacuating the cities. There was about 5000 of us all walking in one big crowd towards the train station. You had to keep up otherwise you would end up being trampled.

When we reached the station there were police directing everyone to make sure they gopt to the right platform. We were told to join the queue however we didn't really know where the end of the queue was. We walked up this dark narrow alley for what felt like miles with many people behind us. When we finally found the end of the line it was a relief but then many people were still walking past us saying "Where's the end of this line?" There was even nearly a punch up when the women behind us thought some other women were pushing in. We were getting a bit worried that we wouldn't make the train but, we needn't have worried as it was very well planned and when the train came in and we started moving the staff were making sure that it was full before it went out.

It was just after midnight when we got back into the car and by 1am i was tucking into toast and drinking coffee and looking through all the photos I have just shared with you.

I so wish I could go again to Wembley this week. There are tickets left...

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Take That Progress live tour - The Main Event

2011-07-04T21:25:00.001+01:00

There was a bit of time after Pet shop boys finished to catch our breath and get ready for the Take That boys. There was a lot of activity on stage from Roadies etc...

There was also a last chance to get Merchandise

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Then the Nutty Professor appeared onstage again...

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There was a countdown and the before you knew it the boys were there on the stage. I could hardly believe it! We had been waiting so long I had got to that point where I thought that was it lol.

It was like 4 different sets. The first set was the Four - Gary, Mark, Howard & Jason. They sang the hits from the last 5 years.

-Rule The World

- Greatest Day

- Hold Up A Light

- Patience

- Shine

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Shine was AMAZING! It had a theme of Alice in Wonderland

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Then the next set was Robbie as he came hurtling out of the screen into Let me Entertain you

- Let Me Entertain You

- Rock DJ

- Come Undone

- Feel

- Angels

Whilst he sang "Feel", Robbie was suspended above the standing crowd on a platform dangling down and touching hands with them.

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I wasn't that impressed with Robbie's set to be honest. There is no need for all the swearing for a start and he is really labouring the point of the break up and the make up. Just get on with it! I will admit I was jumping about and singing to Rock DJ and yes, I was waving my arms and singing along to Angels, oh and I did the Do Da Doos along to Lola.

At the end of Robbie's set he fell back down through the stage and we were treated to a fascinating display of climbing and abseiling.

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Then the music started and there they were, All 5 members of Take That standing in the cages right at the top of the stage.

I admit here that I kind of gave in to the emotion of the moment. I am not one of those happy to see Robbie back but 15 years of hurt and it was quite emotional seeing all 5 standing there together in the flesh.

- The Flood

- SOS

- Underground Machine

- Kidz

- Pretty Things

It was a pretty energetic little set. Lots of running about and jumping around. Kidz was my favourite from this set. It was war of the chess peices. Half way through, they broke off and Howard and Jason had a Dance off while Robbie rapped. That was amazing!!!

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Looks like Ive run out of space again...on to Main Event pt2

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A walk in the park

2011-07-04T14:38:00.001+01:00

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On realising I was wasting my time away on my arse on the sofa I decided to take a walk.
I take it for granted so much that I have this big open space right on my doorstep.

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Take That Progress tour (pt2)

2011-07-04T12:05:00.001+01:00

In front of us were several rows with stewards checking bags. I thought I was going to have my bottle of squash taken off me but they were only interested in cans and alcohol of which I had neither. We showed our tickets and were given red wristbands to prove we were in the standing areas.

It felt like being at a Theme park. All around us were food trucks selling everything you could imagine. Very expensive though. It was all part of the experience. I did have to nip to the loo though and that meant on of the hundred or so portaloos. It was a bit of a tight squeeze but I had been desperate since we got on the train at Blake street.

Once we were all in and wrist-banded up, we decided the best thing to do would be to go and find seats and then we had plenty of time to go find food and drink and merchandise.

The view as we went through into the ground was breath-taking

Of course I had seen pictures of the staging already but seeing it for yourself with your own eyes is something different altogether. It was amazing.

Our tickets were for standing or unreserved seating and we found the perfect seats with a great view facing right on to the end of the walkway. We were in the Holte end for all those footie fans out there ;)

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We had a good 3-4 hours to wait until even the Pet Shop boys would be on stage. There was a lot of milling about. It gave us a lot of time to soak up the atmosphere and also to do a bit of people watching.

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There was also a bit of entertainment. This Nutty Professor type character kept appearing on the stage with the giant computer and in amongst the crowd. He had his magic bag with him and he seemed to be counting the people.

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Also right up above the stage were some cages where if you were looking up, dancers kept appearing. they were waving and dancing to get the crowd going.

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I am not sure what time it was but sometime between 7 and 7.30pm the nutty Professor appeared onstage again. He plugged in the USB lead to his giant keyboard and a message appeared on the giant monitor screen on the stage.

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And the Pet Shop Boys were on. Its amazing actually the amount of hits they have had and the amount of their hits that everyone knows. There was still a lot of hustle and bustle going on but the majority of people in the stadium got up and danced and clapped and waved their arms around. It was a great set. There were dancers with big coloured blocks on their heads and even Neil Tennant danced the routines rather than the myth that "The Pet shop boys just stand there on stage"

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The PSBs were on for about an hour. Part way through I couldn't wait any longer. I had to nip to the loo. I was amazed at how much activity ws going back on the forecourts. There was lots of people milling about, queuing for food, looking at the Merchandise stand. The queues for the toilets were huge so I decided to go out and use the portaloos again. Even though there wasn't enough room to swing a flea in there it still meant relief.

On my way back to my seat I stopped off to buy a bottle of pop. £2.50 for a diet coke and they took the lid off me. We couldn't quite get our heads round that. They take the lids off plastic bottles but they still sell glass bottles of alcohol. I also treated myself to some cake. A Billionaire's slice which is the same as a Millionaire's slice but with honeycomb in the chocolate and a Yummy Delight which is essentially Chocolate fridge cake. They were £2 a slice but absolutely heavenly and worth it.

Go to pt 3 for the main event...

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Take That Progress live tour (pt1)

2011-07-03T23:56:00.001+01:00

It is 15 years since the last time I saw Take That live in concert. I had bought the tickets as a 16th birthday pressie for my sister. I got a tour deal so we got a coach to London 1 night stay in a hotel and a day out the next. The worst thing back then was that just before we were due to go see them Robbie left and so on the night at Earl's Court we only saw a 4 man Take That.

Fast forward to 2011 and this is the reunion tour we finally get to see all 5 of the original line-up. I didn't really relish the thought of Robbie coming back to the band after all this time if I'm honest. I think there was some kind of closure needed though from all those years ago. I loved the original 5-piece Take That and after a while I even loved the Solo Robbie Williams but I haven't been a big fan of the new album Progress. It has too much of Robbie's influence and is not so much of the gorgeous melodies and lyrics that we've come to know and love from Gaz and the boys.

It was so long ago that we bought the tickets that excitement had time to build. By Friday I was counting the hours and by Tuesday morning My stomach was doing all kinds of acrobatics. I knew then I was in the right place as this is the old feelings of gig excitement.

We all met at Ange's house. The plan was for Zoe to drive to a small station just outside of Brum and we would catch the the train to Aston.

We parked up at Blake street station and bought our return tickets. £3 - bargain!

There was a group of 4 people waiting for the train too and I guessed they were going to the same place as us. The journey was about 25 minutes. There was a big shock when we got off at Aston station because at least 100 people got off obviously all going to see Take That. I was unsure of where we were going from there. You get off the train and the steps take you right onto the street but we just followed the crowd. It was about a 15 minutes walk to the Stadium.

Along the way there were many businesses that were offering their Car Parks for a tenner a time for Take That parking. I don't blame them really. They probably open as football car parking on Match-days too but for less. One small housing development had a sign up saying Car parking £10 - All money goes to Homeless charity. Well that is good if it is true.

We went round a corner, under a bridge and suddenly we could see the stadium and LOTS of people. There was a big queue that followed a wall around a church. After walking on for 5 minutes we realised we had to go back and join that queue.

There was a woman sat on the wall with a sign asking for a ticket. We all said "Yeah Right!"

The line was moving quite fast as lots of people left it - We were in the Blue line. There was also a Green line and a Yellow line.

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We followed the line in front until it went round a corner and there were the gates...

Pt2 Coming soon

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Elvaston Castle 14/06/11

2011-06-20T20:23:00.001+01:00

Having lived in Derby for the last 30 years It is shocking that I have never actually visited Elvaston Castle. I have visited the grounds. When I was younger my Dad always liked to go to the Elvaston Castle Steam Rally. I loved this and always looked forward to it but we never actually went and had a look round the house.

So while I have a few days off work I decided to change this. I thought at first that without out my own transport this would be out of the question but Google maps told me that I could get a bus part of the way and then the walk wouldn't be too crippling.

So I got up Tuesday morning and walked into Derby to get the bus from town.

I got off the bus at Borrowash as the map indicated. It told me that it should take 20 minutes to walk to the Elvaston country park. I popped in my earphones and turned up my ipod to help me on my way.

It actually took me about 40 minutes altogether but I think this was because I kept stopping to take photos along the way.

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The grounds are beautiful. To get from the Entrance and car park up to the house itself you have to walk through a wonderful wooded area.

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Once in the actual grounds of the big House itself I felt like I was in one of those period dramas. It is perfectly kept and looks gorgeous. It is so wonderful too that the public have complete run of the area. You are free to wander round and sit down where ever you want to have a picnic or just take in the beautiful scenery.

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I took a wander around taking a bunch of pics of the house.

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24 hours with Jembie & Sibri

2011-06-07T22:30:00.001+01:00

It all started Monday morning when I headed off to Derby bus station to meet Brian off of the old Red Arrow bus.

Brian was suppoed to text me when he was on the bus but I started to worry at 11.30 when I hadn't heard from him. It turned out that he had texted but I hadn't received it yet.

I tried not to rush as it was warm out and I figured that even if Brian's bus got in before I got there he wouldn't mind waiting for me. As it happened the bus wasn't in when I got there and I was waiting for about 10 minutes.

Once Brian arrived we headed towards the Westfield for a wander round. To be honest its not that interesting and neither of us has the money to spend so we found an empty sofa and sat down for a bit to chat and watch the world go by.

After a while we were both getting peckish so we headed to our favourite eatery when Brian is in Derby which is May Sum.

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First thing we did was order a nice cold pint each. It wasn't very busy there was only about 5 other people in. This is probably why a lot of the food trays were nearly empty and there wasn't a lot of choice compared to other times we have been at lunch. I piled a plate of finger foods for my starter. My favourite was the Pizza and the samosas. There was no prawn toasts or crispy seaweed which I think just comes out at night.

For my second course I piled on noodles, chicken and vegetables. I had a bit of salad then went for dessert. I got a good bowl of whippy ice cream (No choc fountain at this time if day) along with a piece of chocolate cake and Strawberry gateau.

Fully satisfied with food. We paid our bill and headed out. I had mentioned to Brian about a new store in Derby called Made in Thailand It sells all the kind of things that he likes. We had a wander round the store. There was only us there and the lady working there was hovering but a lot of the items were way out of our price range. I did get a good few ideas for Bri's birthday though and as it isn't until October, I have plenty of time to save ;)

We got back to my house and spent a few hours just chatting and chilling. When Bret got home I cooked his tea then I made tea for me and Brian. I had planned ahead. Jacket spuds with Egg and Beetroot Salad and lots of cheese.

In the evening I made up 2 of my speciality Vodka Smoothies.

Then we broke open the sweets and chocolates and settled down to watch Valentine's day. I could watch it over and over. It is a lovely movie with a great star-studded cast. I love RomComs me!

It was around midnight when we turned in for the night. I gave my bed up for Brian and I slept on the sofa with my new duvet that I haven't used before. The funny thing is I didn't get to use it as I rolled it out on the floor and the cats descended on it. So no cover for me but It was so warm in the front room that I doubt I would have needed it anyway. I did attempt to catch up on Pschoville 2 but as soon as I put my head down I was asleep.

Tuesday morning we were awake by 9am. I made us a cuppa and breakfast then we chilled some more before Brian realised it was nealy 11am and time to make a move. WOW 24hours were up already...

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My eBay store

2011-06-07T15:55:00.000+01:00

I have some items for sale in my ebay store at the moment.
I have just uploaded a load of iPhone 3gs covers and there is more to come soon as well as some iPhone 4 cases also.

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/jembie2002

Please have a look and share the links with friends who you think may be interested. Thanks

Alistair Griffin live in London.

2011-05-25T00:42:00.001+01:00

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My gig schedule used to be about 1 a month back in the day. Now unfortunately it's more like 1 a year. So the chance to see Alistair in an exclusive little gig in London was snapped up by me.

I managed to book First class train tickets for £12 cheaper than Standard and at 1pm I was in my seat London bound.

I arrived in London at 3pm and decided to head towards Oxford street to get something to eat and buy a couple of gifts.
I found a little Mall called The Plaza that had a food court. Inside there was KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway and a couple of other outlets. I was very surprised that there was plenty of spare tables so I ordered myself a grilled panini (BBQ CHICKEN) and took z seat. Very nice it was too.

I wanted to get over to Great Portland St in plenty of time to find the venue so I headed back to the tube at 4pm.

I walked out of Great Portland street station and spotted the venue opposite so had quite a bit of time to kill. I knew there was a Starbucks further down so I headed down there.
When I walked in there, a couple recognised me from previous gigs ( Gill & Frank) so I asked if I could tag along with them. We sat chatting and drinking for about an hour.

At about 5:30 We left Starbucks to take a leisurely walk back up the street.

When reached the club I thought there would be people waiting but there wasn't so we hung out there waiting and listening to Al sound-checking.
Oh and we got a chance to take photos of The car from the Just Drive video
As we waited Al's mum arrived and said hello.

Finally at 6.15pm we were allowed in. Jo and Emma were on the door so they knew who we all were and we got our hands stamped.

It was only a tiny little place with the stage at the front, 3 tables down the side and a sofa in the middle. At the back there was a mini F1 track set up and at the side a table of Lemon curd. We sat down at the furthest table.

As we waited for the show to start we watched the room fill up with all kinds of industry people who all seemed to know each other.

Finally around 7pm Mr Jake Humphrey took to the stage with a fabulous heart warming introduction. He told us how Just Drive came about and got a mention in for The BAFTA.

Then the music started. They started with Blinding Lights. OMG! I was transported straight away. Singing along and tapping my feet it was like there was only me and Alistair in the room.

I can't remember the exact order but he also sang Save the Day, Chemistry and Just Drive.
When he finished it was way too soon and the room erupted with cries of "More!" so he absolutely blew us away with Blown Away.

Another wonderful thing happened today. I was reunited with wonderful old friends Caroline, Maxine and Carol. Back in the day Caroline had been my Griffin tour Partner in crime and I really have missed having her in my life.

I was then torn. Caroline invited me to go eat with them. I so wanted to go and catch up with them but in the back of my mind I wanted to stay and maybe get to chat to Al and he does still owe me a drink after all. Anyway I made the right decision and went with them to Pizza Express.
As we were walking in Jake and his wife were coming out and I couldn't resist thanking him for his great introduction.

We did have a laugh. Lots of chat and catching up was achieved. I am very happy now!

So it's 30 after midnight and I'm on the train home to Derby where I'll have to be up for work at 6am. Let's hope it's an easy day tomorrow.
Thank You Alistair and all involved for a great evening! I hope there is more to come!

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My new POD store

2011-05-20T22:35:00.001+01:00

Custom T-Shirts by Wordans

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Found a new POD site

2011-05-20T20:42:00.000+01:00

Birthday lunch

2011-03-16T10:39:00.001Z

15th March is my birthday, 41 this year. My lovely friend Lisa took me out for lunch at Bistro Pierre which is a very Posh French Restaurant in town.

The menu was in French but there was an English explanation which I needed.

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For starter I had the potted Duck

For main I had the Braised Beef. Sadly I didn't take a picture of it as when it arrived I was so excited I just started tucking in. It was gorgeous. It was in a gorgeous Gravy with Bacon bits and Rocket. It also came with fries in their own little bowl but I just tipped them into the plate.

For dessert I chose the cherry Frangipane Which also was Heavenly

and Lisa had the Lemon tart

Both of them looked too good to eat, like little pieces of art so I took my time and savoured every mouthful.

It was a long leisurely lunch and we left the restaurant at about 3.30pm. I had a great time.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH LISA! xxxxx

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Rewarding day

2011-03-11T20:48:00.001Z

After already feeling all special when presented with an early birthday pressie, I was given this. All of the members of our team were rewarded this month for reaching an important target. I don't feel like I did much work upwards this so decided to go for a frivolous gift - a £25 iTunes voucher!

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Pancake day

2011-03-08T22:36:00.001Z

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So it's Pancake day - Shrove Tuesday. I use packet mix because I just don't have the patience for measuring out etc.

The packet should have made 16 altogether but I managed to get 10 out of it. That's 3 each then the last one extra for me :D

A bit of sugar and lemon on and there you have it. They were gorgeous. Not a sticky pan in site and 10 perfect round pancakes!

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Look what Bret bought today

2011-03-01T20:50:00.001Z

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My Cafepress store jembiecreations.co.uk has become very profitable in the past year but mainly for Bret. This is what he has bought with some of his £100 cut of this month's check.

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I cooked Roast Beef for the first time

2011-02-13T19:05:00.001Z

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I had to google to find out how to but it came out ok. It could be a bit more tender but it wasn't as chewy as I had feared.

Now I'm stuffed!!

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What Santa brought me

2011-01-03T19:02:00.001Z

Although I am 40 years old I always get excited about Christmas and feel like a little child when I am opening my pressies on Christmas morning. I think I am so lucky as I still get quite a few presents every year from my sisters and Nice and nephew as well as from my adorable children and my lovely friends.

So here's what Santa brought me this year.

These cool slippers were from my children. They are so comfy and warm. I do forget I have them on though when I go outside.

I also received the Take That calendar for 2011 but that is already on the wall showing my Gorgeous Gary for the next 4 weeks.

This is the interesting gift I got from from my Secret Santa at work this year...

I wonder if I mentioned to anyone of my love of VW vans (Even though I don't drive yet) Now it will be fun to save all my spare change. I don't have a clue who my Secret Santa was this year.

Oh and I have just put up my David Tennant calendar in my bedroom so here is the gorgeous January page...

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Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T20:45:00.001Z

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Up at 9am, open presents, cooked breakfast - all the trimmings, get dressed, meet the family for lunch.
Starter - Pate
Appetiser - Smoked Salmon
Main Course - Turkey and all the trimmings
Dessert - Christmas pudding with Custard
Mince Pies and coffee.

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Festive in Nottingham 2

2010-12-12T13:39:00.001Z

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It's looking really Chtistmassy in Notts now. We even saw Carol singers in the Vic centre.

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Getting festive in Nottingham

2010-12-12T13:35:00.001Z

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Christmas Breakfast

2010-12-08T13:40:00.001Z

Every Christmas the management cook breakfast for us. It was delicious. There are lots of choices I didn't opt for Baked Beans for obvious reasons.

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Untitled

2010-12-01T13:13:00.001Z

I was late for work this morning because I was too busy taking beautiful snowy pictures.

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Walk home from the pub

2010-12-01T00:37:00.001Z

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It was lovely walking home tonight through the snow.

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OldPhotoPro app

2010-11-20T18:29:00.001Z

I've been playing with my new iPhone app OldPhotoPRO. It's lots of fun lol

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Christmas pretties

2010-11-16T06:31:00.001Z

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I was walking home tonight and saw these delightful light decorations in the light shop window.
They are expensive though so not really in my Christmas budget. They are pretty though.

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In town with Brian

2010-10-30T16:29:00.001+01:00

Brian came over for the day for the first time since my birthday in March.

I met him off the bus about 10am and we headed to the Westfield for a wander round. We headed towards Costa coffee and I had a lovely big Hot Chocolate with Cream and Marshmallows.

We had a look round the shops. I don't really visit the shops in Westfield as I have no need to so it was nice to discover new things.

The Glittery Penguins were quite cute in Paperchase

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The Purple Jesus was a bit weird,

but I really like the cute pink Bambies and the Purple Reindeer

We had a gander round Next. It isn't ever somewhere I think to look when shopping for homewares and it is very expensive so I won't really hurry back

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I got quite depressed with the amount of Christmas displays everywhere. We looked in M&S for christmas lights and it was a right old Christmas Wonderland

Exhausted by the shops we headed for May Sum for lunch. Surprisingly I wasn't that hungry when we got there so I had a plate of the normal starter favourites then a few favourites from the mains and for some reason I fancied some Chicken curry so I had a couple of mouths full and some rice to go with it. Then the obligatory bowl of ice cream with Marshmallows and choc from the fountain.

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When we were full to bursting we made our way home to my house where I convinced Brian to watch Kick-Ass and he enjoyed it!!!

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Autumn

2010-10-25T16:13:00.001+01:00

Took this beautiful autumnal photo of our local church on my way to the shop. It's a beautiful day today.

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Brian's 40 birthday meal

2010-10-16T01:02:00.001+01:00

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David Tennant Looking HAWT!!!

2010-10-09T10:34:00.001+01:00

These are stills from David on Last Nights Paul O'Grady show. Doesn't he look so Handsome?!!!

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I can't wait to see the first episode of Single Father tomorrow night on BBC 1...

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Our new Cat tree

2010-09-22T19:28:00.001+01:00

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Looks like Ronno has made himself at home on the new cat tree already

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This is Stanley

2010-09-19T00:53:00.001+01:00

He is the brother of my cat Pica and belongs to my sister Ange. He doesn't look 10 years old at all.

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Chez Sibri

2010-09-05T15:06:00.001+01:00

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I fancied seeing the new Disney live action version of The Sorcerer's Apprentice but my 2 kids didn't fancy it so I asked my old friend Brian if he would like to go with me.
He has an unlimited pass for Cineworld in Notts so it was a nice excuse for. Weekend away.
The film is Brilliant and I would urge anyone to go see it :)

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Safety on the Banks Art Prints by Jennifer Maskill - Shop Canvas and Framed Wall Art Prints at Imagekind.com

2010-08-28T15:52:00.000+01:00

Safety on the Banks Art Prints by Jennifer Maskill - Shop Canvas and Framed Wall Art Prints at Imagekind.com