Posted 8:36 PM by Dr_Rock
As a weather-related aside, can any of Turned Out Nice Again's Hampshire-based passers-by answer a question for me? Is Bournemouth beach completely full of the most attractive young women cavorting topless in the surf at the first sign of sunshine? I ask because this is the impression I've been given this week by that well-respected organ of truth and family values, The Sun.
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Posted 8:07 PM by Dr_Rock
At last the weather desists from the recent temperatures that seemed to be an attempt to melt the thermometer, and so us whinging Brits can ease off our moaning about the weather, right?

Wrong.

Today of all days the heatwave disappeared in a cloud - no, make that several clouds, in fact a complete skyful of clouds - of torrential rain, accompanied by the sorts of winds that make you want to get off your bicycle and walk it to work before the local population of arthritis-ridden, zimmer-frame-supported old dears start overtaking you. And when exactly did the builders plan to rip a big hole in our roof to install the dormer window of Castle Rock's latest home improvement? Yep, today.

I hate this wet and windy weather...
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Posted 8:22 PM by Dr_Rock
The other seagull-related issue that we soon have to address shortly is that of the 'young leaving the nest'. You wouldn't think this would be of any concern to our average, everyday lives, but it is. Seagulls regularly choose our roof for their territory when bringing up their young. The first year this happened, we thought nothing of it, until one day we found the young bird in our back garden, flapping its wings in an uncoordinated state and failing to get off the ground quite spectacularly. Mrs Rock was concerned, so a phone call to the RSPB was considered in order:

"RSPB? We've got a young seagull in our garden, and it doesn't seem able to fly"
"Ah yes, that's normal - when it gets to a certain age, its parents push it out of the nest - it'll soon learn to fly"
"But won't it get killed by a cat? - the neighbours have a number of cats and they're always killing birds" (including a prize racing pigeon from Gateshead, but that's another story)
"Don't worry, the parents are never far away - the cat that takes on a young seagull is either very brave... ...or very stupid. And if I were you, I wouldn't go out into the garden until the bird has gone either"

And so we were held under house arrest by a baby seagull for 48 hours, until it learned how to use its wings properly. Now we understand the process, it doesn't bother us much - and the garden is out of bounds until the bird has flown. Question is, should I warn the builders working on our loft conversion...?
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Posted 7:57 PM by Dr_Rock
It's well known that we Brits will always complain about the weather, no matter what it's doing - so it would come as no suprise if I commented that it's too hot for me at the moment, and the thought of temperatures in the mid-eighties / high twenties for the next few days doesn't fill me full of enthusiasm. However, last night I came to appreciate a new problem with hot sunny days - leaving your windows open at night...

Last night I had to contend not only with #1 pebble's state of poorliness that meant he was up a few times, but also with passers-by who seemed to want to stand outside my house and discuss life the universe and everything at the tops of their voices, boy racers (with all that entails), but most annoyingly of all, the Eastbourne & District All-Comers Seagull Karaoke Finals. From the moment darkness was dislodged by the first rays of sun, it felt like every seagull in the town (and beyond) was perched on my rooftop squawking at the top of its voice. None of them were singing "Simply The Best" (everyone knows Tina Turner struts like a chicken, not a seagull), but now I know why the posher areas of Eastbourne are all in favour of a seagull extermination programme. Roll on winter...
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Posted 9:01 PM by Dr_Rock
A few months ago, I treated Mum to a day out. On Sunday, it was Dad's turn - though his "treat" was as much something I wanted to do as it was his. Though we've never holidayed on a cruise liner, it's something that holds an attraction for us both. My parents once crossed the Atlantic aboard the QE2, but Dad says that doesn't count. So Dad's treat - and by default mine too - was a tour of, and lunch aboard the P&O liner Oriana.

Two things stop us from living out our cruising dreams: one being the cost, the other being our respective partners. I know that cruising needn't be an expensive thing, but P&O is certainly more expensive than most. However, there's a certain reassuring "Britishness" about them that seems to make that additional cost worthwhile. As for our partners, well, Mum isn't hugely enthusiastic about the idea, and Mrs Rock has watched Titanic once too often and can't be convinced that there are enough lifeboats to go around.

And to cut a long story short, the tour of the ship showed us that it was everything we thought it should be. Chatting with fellow visitors who had cruised before, the one word that kept recurring was "hooked" - and I can think of worse things to be addicted to. Though a 3 gramme-a-day coke habit would probably be cheaper.

I have been dropping hints around Castle Rock that a cruise as a "surprise" 40th birthday present (coinciding with the year of our 10th wedding anniversary too, for added value) in 2005 would be nice, but the pebbles are too young to come with us, so the only real option for them would be two weeks with their grandparents. However that last remaining shred of hope was destroyed this afternoon, after the pebbles had engaged in a particularly naughty visit to Grandma. She announced that there was no way on Earth that she'd have those two for a fortnight. I think the phrase she used was "over my dead body". Anyone want to buy two naughty youngsters?
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Posted 8:30 PM by Dr_Rock
With this and the previous entry in this blog in mind, I seem to be becoming International King of Television. I've just watched something more obscure than Takeshi's Castle - the final of International King of Sports.

Eight men, seven events, six nations and more bizarreness than you could shake a stick at. Events included 200m Running Backwards, Underwater Shot Putt, the Headlong Dive, and (I kid you not) the Men's Individual Falling Down.

And in keeping with the bizarre, the Water High Jump event saw a new world record set by a bloke who can't swim. He just hurled himself over the bar, into the water, and waited for someone to come and rescue him before drowned. Honest. You couldn't make this stuff up.
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Posted 8:12 PM by Dr_Rock
I somehow found myself watching Top Of The Pops tonight, for the first time in years. I think I'm turning into my Dad, as I found myself watching and thinking "what the bloody hell was that all about?".

Case in point was Blazin' Squad (no link to their web site because it crashed my ancient PC. Revenge is mine, bwahaha) - or ten scrawny kids desperately wanting to be rap stars, by the looks of it. Two lines of rap each, and a competition to throw as many cheesy rap poses as possible in the three minutes of their performance. I could say that I thought the kid with his baseball cap on backwards was the winner - but that wouldn't really help, would it?

My Dad would definitely say "what the bloody hell was that all about?" about Metallica. But I've been a fan since the days of Kill 'em All - and what a reality check to be told that that was twenty years ago - so I'm not with him on that one. I haven't liked all of their material, but all power to them for developing and maturing their one-time cult sound into a massive corporation - and funny to see the TOTP presenters fawning all over their introduction.

For a critique of Evanescence, see VeryVeryBored here.

I think I'm missing the point with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. No doubt about it, I am definitely turning into my Dad...
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