victoria

Today has seen the first visit to my city of the 90,000 tonne Cunard liner "Queen Victoria". Isn't she gift?

You're probably thinking, "good pics, Andy, you're getting better!" But, alas, I can't take the credit. I pinched them from the Liverpool Echo's website, naughty me!

I did go out tonight, after 11pm, when the ship left the port. It was a lovely night down on the dark beach, plenty of people around waiting for the ship like me. But not one single photograph I took turned out any good. They were all blurred or shocked. The video I took was fantastic, but I can't be bothered putting it up on YouTube yet.

Strangely enough, an unnamed member of staff from work, and his lady wife, were down at the Pier Head this morning watching "Queen Victoria" dock. By lucky chance, I'm quite sure the photographer from the Echo has snapped the couple, seen below on the left of the picture.

It's a small world, isn't it...........Ron?

titbits

Some titbits......

(Huh-huh-huh, I said "bits", huh-huh-huh, that was cool!)

I've changed my car insurance from Direct Line to Esure - they were at least £100 cheaper for my annual premium. I paid the lot in one go, therefore bypassing a lot of extra charges that these companies charge at their whim. Because I'm generally a stupid person, I never cottoned on to the fact that because I was paying them monthly, they charged me the annual premium as a credit agreement with 10% APR on top of that, plus a "administration" charge for paying monthly. All very legal, and all ethically and morally bankrupt. Which is how all these insurance firms should end up!

Secondly, and again because I have less brains than a chicken sandwich, I've finally ridden myself of the £19 per month I was paying for Personal Loan Protection insurance on top of my bank loan repayments. There's a whole industry in the U.K (and elsewhere) to sue banks over mis-selling PLPI, and I'm sure there's folk out there who have a case. But I knew I was taking the insurance out when I got this bank loan, and I would never try to make out otherwise.

Even when I was on the dole, I never used the insurance, which I doubt they'd have paid out anyway, so there was little use having it. Even so, I'm sorry to say I've paid a lot of money over the years that I shouldn't have. I'm embarrassed more than anything, so I'd rather brush it under the floorboards, spank my bottom, and get on with my life.

A word about my bank loan. It finishes next March. I will then, for the first time in many, many years, be a free man who doesn't owe anybody a penny. Some of this debt goes back to Irish times, and I'm particularly keen to see it end.

incalculable

By a series of bizarre coincidences, I passed a couple of places in my city steeped in musical history. The first one, below, is obvious.......

A little further down Penny Lane is the Dovedale Towers. Unless you're in the know, it's a little known fact that a very young Freddie Mercury spent a couple of months in the late 1960s living here whilst fronting a Liverpool band called Ibex. And both Brian May and Roger Taylor were visitors too.

By the way, a happy 63rd birthday to Brian today. Your "May Axe" will see you out, mate!

I walked across town, over Queens Drive, through Calderstones Park to Beaconsfield Road, to pay a visit to Strawberry Field......

Whatever your opinion of the Beatles, it's simply incalculable what the tourist trade in monetary terms has done for Liverpool. They are still our greatest asset and do for my city what Shakespeare's done for Stratford, and what U2 currently do for Dublin.

Don't knock it until you've tried it!

genetically

The kind of picture that's a bit of a rarity nowadays - three generations of genetically-linked family - me, Mum, Jay and Mick at mine and Jayne's BBQ today. Boy, was I stuffed!

funniest

"The IT Crowd" - Channel 4 - 10pm GMT.

The funniest and most infantile show on television at this moment. More childish than "Top Gear" which is saying something,

Recommended.

liverpool

Possibly one of the most life-affirming photographs I've ever seen, and I wish I'd had it the other day for the World Cup blog post, but no matter......

Fernando Torres. World Cup. Liverpool scarf.

Chelsea, Manchester Utd/City, Inter Milan, Barcelona, etc, KISS MY HAIRY SCOUSE ARSE!!!! EL NINO STAYS - LIVERPOOL F.C WATERLOO YNWA JFT96

college

I was talking with Jayne (the nicest person ever, really, unbelievably sexy and blond!) about possibly doing a part-time college course in the Autumn. And it's a really practical idea full of possibilities. Unfortunately, left to my own devices, my thoughts return to the nightmare that was Chesterfield High School.

I mostly blame myself, slightly less some of the knobheads I was there with, but never could I attest fault to any of the teachers. They cared - a hell of a lot more than I ever did. They encouraged - only for me to throw it back in their faces at every opportunity, sometimes deliberately, other times not.

I can't remember a single happy time at "Chezzy" for the entire five years I was there. The only things I learnt was how shitty people could be to each other. The verbal bullying I endured was horrific, and I've never really completely got over it. Part of me is eternally grateful I very rarely lost my temper and lashed back, because if I'd have used that course of action on a regular basis, I'd have been in jail now. But, even now, there's another side to me that has no confidence to speak up, or answer back, and it all goes back to bloody school. Consequently, I've been regularly accused of being walked all over at times, having no bottle, or whatever.

So the "mission statement" from Chezzy's website at the top of the page has a certain amount of irony for me personally.

I just wish I had an idea of what to do, a better attention span, and a slightly better backbone than a jellyfish!

Doing a college course might help me to overcome a lot of preconceptions of state education that I have? I've tried before, twice, and walked out a few weeks into the courses. I can't remember what I was doing, but I thought whatever it was was beneath me, the all-knowing fart I am!

onlined

Further leaving the antiquated ways of the old firm, we're going online in work.

This was something we, as employees, always talked about when we were G.B, but the management could never lose their ancient ways of doing things the old fashioned way, which might have served them well at one time, but me wonders if lagging behind this new fangled technology wasn't another nail in the coffin towards the end?

So many of our suppliers and customers have bemoaned the fact they can't deal with us electronically. It's not all true, because both me and Ron have done stuff for work at home using our own internet connection, but it galls me we can't do our computer stuff for work at work.

Sod's Law, I was handed the task of sorting out an internet package for us, and surprisingly it only took one phone call. I was fairly satisfied there and then that we'd get a good deal. So Ron and Mandy have given the go ahead to get us connected.

I did a website for the Liverpool branch of G.B without the management's knowledge and set up an email account. Even though it was awkhard to manage from home, it was all very straight forward, and I hope I can build up something more worthwhile in the near future?

walk

I went on a mental walk over on the Wirral today, from Hooton to Prenton - the not indirect 10 mile route was a test of stamina over stupidity (or vice-versa) by the time I'd finished it!

I started at Hooton station, and took the Wirral Way country path as far as Williaston, where the preserved Hadlow Road railway station stands......

....and onto Williaston village itself. It had that English-ly village feel - full of 38 tonne trucks and 4X4 Cayennes driven by designer-sunglassed housewives in their mid-30s with bog all else to do until Poppy and Tristan need picking up from private school in the afternoon......

Like last week, I passed through the leafy village of Raby again, before going on to Thornton Hough....

As I said on the last blog, Thornton Hough is beautiful con, because the houses are mostly all Tudor-esque in style, giving the impression this an old village, yet they were all built towards the end of the 19th century by the Lever Brothers of Port Sunlight as residences for the senior management of the company.

After Thornton Hough came Brimstage. By now fatigue was setting in and I could've happily waited at a bus stop, except buses didn't pass through the village until after 6pm......

...so I staggered on, (short of oxygen, hurtling towards a bright light and welcoming faces) under the M53 motorway, to Storeton before finishing in urbanised Prenton, where I picked up a bus back to Liverpool. If you're wondering where the pictures are for the latter stages of my walk, the simple answer is your author was too bolloxed by take any!

Jayne thinks I'm mad doing a walk like this, she feels I should work my way up to doing things like this. And she's probably right. Because although this is the sort of thing I like to do in my freetime, there's little point going gung-ho at them if I'm gonna feel shattered and no use to no one at the end of them.

insurance

I got my insurance renewal for Anya3 today. I've been with Direct Line Insurance for the last seven years, discounting a few problems with some inept staff, they've been okay and have left me alone.

Until today.

This year, I'm gonna pay my car insurance in one lump sum, rather than monthly because they put all sorts of admin and interest charges on a policy holder that way, and I'm damned if I'm gonna put up with that again.

However, Direct Line have surpassed themselves this time by putting my insurance premium up from £334 per year to a staggering £456! This is despite that fact I've got seven years no claim bonus and a clean licence.

How do they justify such an obscene increase in my premium? Has it got a lot to do by the fact that they're owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland - an institution in so much financial shit it's untrue?

Or are they just robbing bastards hellbent on huge senior staff pay bonuses?

Probably a bit of both?

So Andy went on the insurance comparison website, Go Compare, and has seen some policies slightly less expensive than I'm paying now. It can be done. So why are Direct Line so intent at ripping me (and others) off????

wonder

The wonder of bus photography! I went to the North West Museum Of Transport in St.Helens yesterday to have a poke around some perennial old favourites. Here's a few highlights...............

MERSEYBUS 1301 - a 1973 Alexander-bodied Leyland Atlantean AN68/1R in process of possible repaint?

ARRIVA NORTH WEST 8702 - a 1971 Marshall-bodied Leyland Panther, new to Southport Corporation, transferred to Merseyside PTE in 1974, onto Merseybus in 1986, then onto Arriva Merseyside in 2000. Finally withdrawn from service in 2009.

WALLASEY CORPORATION 6 - a 1959 MCW-bodied Leyland Atlantean PDR1/1. Withdrawn from service by Merseyside PTE in 1973, then served until 1986 as a mobile clothing store for the PTE. Looks very tatty, even has the short-lived "Merseyside" logo from the mid-1970s intact, but apparently still starts first time and happily moves around the museum under its' own steam!

Now I know nobody apart from me gives a rat's bottom about any of these old buses, but tough. I like it, it keeps me out of trouble and please believe me when I say I've never had the inkling to try and have sex with an old bus!

jayne

Jayne has been pestering me to do a blog post about her. So here it is. Love you loads xxxx

spain

Despite a woeful World Cup personally, it was fantastic to see Fernando Torres holding the World Cup last night. Well done to Spain! The flag I've had up for the last month has definitely done its' job.

The competition itself wasn't the best I've seen. Certain players, rather than teams, stood out. Forlan had a brilliant tournament, ditto Schweinsteiger of Germany. But my man of the competition was the legend that is Xabi Alonso.

Now I know I'm biased, and the worst decision Liverpool ever made was selling him, but he was the fulcrum knitting the whole Spanish team together. People raved about the excellent Xavi, and he was very good. But Alonso gave other players the space and opportunity to do so much.

The only problem with Spain was they tried to walk the ball into the net sometimes. Their paltry eight goals in the entire World Cup showed how badly they missed an out and out striker like Torres, who was just not fit before or during this entire campaign.

I hope El Nino wasn't badly injured last night. He has three weeks off to rest and hopefully get the rest and recuperation he needs for next season. Regardless what the papers speculate, he'll be at Anfield for at least another year.

Last night's final - a word about Holland and Howard Webb. One had to wonder why the Dutch, who had paved a flawless route to the final, were intent on kicking the shit out of anything Spanish? They are a far, far better side than that. Three of their players (De Jong, Van Bommell, Robben) should've been sent off in the first half. On saying that, I felt Howard Webb had a good game, all things considered. He's not my favourite referee, but with Holland on a self-destructive warpath, he gave them the benefit of the doubt - probably more than he should've?

proms

Last night, I went with Jayne, Bethany, Carol and Ged to see Aaron perform with his school band at a "Last Night Of The Proms" event at the Philharmonic Hall.

Again, it was really good fun. Excellently compared by Radio Merseyside's Roger Phillips, it was a credit to the kids and staff involved putting on such a seamless production.

The dexterity and feel the kids showed for their art was just incredible.

I kind of felt jealous in a way. Back in my day, I never, ever got involved in any after-school activities such as this. I really wish something at school fired my imagination in a way similar to what these kids are achieving?

raby

Raby Village - the quintiessential English village complete with thatched-roof pub not advertising live football/rugby/cricket/darts/etc or "two for one meals on Thursdays". Bliss.

You may wonder why I came here? Because it was a nice walk from Bromborough station along single track roads with no pavement. And aside from crossing the M53 motorway, there wasn't a urban sound to be heard. Plus the fact, I was stopped for directions by a lost German campervan. Which made my day really!

waterbuckets

A little video I took on my travels yesterday - the wonderfully-pointless waterbuckets on Brunswick Street in the centre of town!

church

Yesterday, I did something I haven't done for the past 32 years - I went to a church service in a church.

It wasn't something I would choose to do with my Sunday mornings personally, but both Aaron and Bethany invited me to this gathering as part of a special service for their Sunday School, and I couldn't really refuse.

I kept respectfully silent throughout the entire service, because even though it isn't my cup of tea, I'm not in a position to question other people's.

The thing is, like Lennon said, "the Kingdom of Heaven is within you, so I can go to my own little Church inside my head whenever I like to speak to Him."

Or, as Queen's Roger Taylor put it, "I don't like the word "religion", it tends to f**k people up."

However, I'm quite into the religion below though........

slabs

I spent the weekend at Jayne's and did a spot of camping in her backyard with the kids. Aaron's tent, on the left, was an impressive piece of work. My tent, on the right, is a bloody miracle that it could be put up again. I stuffed it in a bag, rather quickly, when I left that campsite in Wales last September and have forgotten about it ever since. Until now!

Unfortunately, the gazebo we found in the shed and put up, anchored to the floor on the patio, blew down yesterday during a rather strong gale. We'd had a couple of mini-barbeques around it in the last fortnight and were hoping it would be okay for a party we're hosting in a few weeks time. Sadly not, and the only thing the frame was any use for afterwards was scrap.

I cleaned up Jayne's front garden over the weekend too. We borrowed a jet washer from her brother, Phil, and I spent most of Saturday afternoon degunging paving slabs on the drive. It turned out rather well. So yesterday I totally knackered myself by lifting a lot of the paving slabs and putting a membrane sheet down to stop weeds coming through. Jayne and Bethany gave the front fence a repaint too. It was worthwhile, fun, if very exhausting.

I don't like hanging around - I need to do things. This weekend certainly didn't disappoint.

bog

Another in our series of "Photographs That Should Never, Ever In A Million Years Be Shown On The Interweb" - Saturday morning on the bog with Andy.

roy

A big welcome to Roy Hodgson - new manager of Liverpool Football Club.

I can't figure out whether this appointment is good or bad. Good in that the club have taken their time and kept their mouths shut until an announcement can be made. Good, also, because we have a vastly experienced international manager with Premiership pedigree.

But it's bad because I'm not exactly leaping from the rafters with joy. This news is a little like the Everton chairman, Kenwright, telling the press they'd be "pleasantly surprised" at their new first team coach and finding out it was Howard Kendall for the third time.

For all his kudos, Hodgson has never really cut the mustard at the top level to this point. He had a disastrous spell as manager of Blackburn, and was caught in the headlights whilst coaching Inter Milan. So one has to wonder........

I hope I'm being too pessimistic for my own good? Good luck, Roy, try to do us proud.