Good Times

When all my friends had Donny Osmond or The Osmonds on their bedroom walls I had Michael Jackson on mine. I watched as he turned from a sweet black kid, to a light coloured music master with the ability to captivate my attention as he danced on stage. I followed the stories about him in the press, never knowing what was the truth and what was really going on behind closed doors. Not that ever bothered me as it was his music I liked and not him as a person.

The first album I can remember buying of his was Music and Me. On Sundays I used to do the Ironing for my mum and I would play the record over and over again, which used to get on my older brother's nerves as he was a heavy rock fan. (Smiling as I remember)

I remember waiting at my friend house, with her dad, for the Thriller video to come on the TV. We sat transfixed as it played; we had never seen a music video like it before.

Well all that was the good old days when I never had a care in the world. I had not yet met my husband (now my ex) I had no kids to feed and I still lived at home with my dad. All I had to do was go to work so I would have money to go out at the weekends.

It seems like those times are returning. I have no husband, my kids are not kids any more and the only responsibility I have is keeping a roof over my head. I work just to pay the mortgage, which luckily for me isn't a lot, and to go out and have a good time.

As I started this with Michael Jackson I had better finish with him. I've been trying to think what my all time favourite song of his is and it is a toss up between You Are Not Alone and With a Child's Heart, from the first album I bought. There are others I really like to but too many to mention so I won’t. To be honest I like most of his songs and really it depends what mood I am in to which one I like the best. I think I must be in a sober mood this morning as the ones I have named are slow ones.

I'm rambling now so I'll stop here.

It Just Happened

To say I didn't know how it happened would be a lie as would where it happened, but just quite when it happened I don't really remember. Was I drunk? Possibly. I know it would have been a weekend as I usually go out at weekends and when I go out the least I get is very merry. Which weekend? Well I could look in my diary and try to work it out but I'm not that good at putting things in there to start with, so the chances that I put this in there is quite minimal.

I know people say, 'There's no need for it. There's plenty of advertising out there to help you'' Also ''It's not as if you're a young teenager, you should know better''
The answer to all those people is, 'I know but it happened, just happened, wasn't planned'

Now I have to live with the consequences of my actions and make the most of it.

I Love My Cherry

I have a challenge for fruit farmers all around the world. You can buy seedless grapes and pip-less oranges so where are the stone-less cherries?

I love cherries but they are so awkward to eat in public or anywhere for that matter. The hardest bit about eating cherries is finding the right ones. They have to be big, juicy, sweet and not too hard. Then you have the task, after you have eaten them, to find somewhere to put the stalks and stones. This can be hardest when driving. Yes you can have a rubbish bag to put them but all to often, after you put the first one in, the bag closes in on itself leaving you trying to open the bag whilst holding the wet sticky stone and trying to drive on a busy motorway.

Please can someone grow a stone-less cherry?

3 Women and an Angry Man

Our seats may be great for a football match but not to see Rod Stewart who was the other side of the pitch. This is a photo of the stage from my seat and although I had a great view of the big screen behind Rod I really like to see who's on stage in person not via a film camera. All that said he was brilliant. I've seen him live about 6 times and this concert was just as good as the very first one I went to. The sound wasn't very good to start with but that was soon sorted out and not long into the concert the whole ground was singing.

The event wasn't without its side entertainment. In our row were an older couple and in front of them were 3 middle aged women. The women insisted on standing up giving the couple behind them only a view of their back sides to look at. The couple put up with it for the first two songs but then the lady of the couple asked the women to sit down so they could see. There was some discussion between, first of all the couple and the 3 women and then the 3 women. In the end the 3 women agreed to sit down. When the forth song started the 3 women got to their feet again. The man of the couple lost it now and grabbed the women, who was sat directly in front of him, by the shoulders and shoved her back down in her seat. The women jumped back up and turned to face the man. If it wasn't for her friends stopping her she would have landed a nice punch on the man,s nose. An argument ensued and the 3 women ended up going down to the seated pitch area where they were able to stand and dance to their hearts content.

Just after half time another women appeared in one of the seats formally occupied by the 3 women. She was very drunk and she spent the second half either asleep or waving her arms around frantically, I don't think she knew where she was or why she was there but in her own little drunken world she was having a whale of a time

Just before the final song a man came along the row in front of us. He got to the drunken women and tried several ways to get past her without having to physically push her out of the way. He was fashioning a large back pack which seemed to be full and this wasn't making his task any easier. He managed to get past her and then made his way, unsteadily to the end of the row. The way in which he was walking I thought maybe he was disabled as he seemed to have difficulty walking straight. When he got onto the concrete steps it became apparent he was very drunk.

His first attempt to step down one step was unsuccessful. As he lifted his leg to step off he changed his mind and tried to stop. His body didn't realise this was his plan and tried to carry on off the edge of the step. For about 10 seconds he teetered on the edge of the step with all around him looking on. He was standing on row O so he had 15 steps like these to go until he reached the safety of the ground. We all held our breath until he had managed to sway and stumble his way to the bottom. He made it without falling but I'm not sure how he did this. The man beside me looked to me and said '' Didn't think he would make it. Good job he did, now I can get back to watching Rod''

And with that we all turned our attention back to the stage where Rod was giving us an encore.

Rod Stewart and Argyle!

Only another 2 days at work for me this week, I'm off to see Rod Stewart on Thursday. And to top it all he's playing at Plymouth Argyle Football Ground 'Home Park' so double joy for me.

Mind Altering Drugs

I've been thinking about boredom and the different kinds there are. You can be bored because you have nothing to do or you can be bored because there's nothing good on the TV. Well I'm bored of my mind. I'm bored because it never changes what it thinks about. I try to make it think about different things but it seems to come back to the same subject each time. I'll start off thinking about something, say, going on holiday or the next gig I am going to, but it always brings the subject back to the same thing. I've never used mind altering drugs but I'm beginning to think may be now is the time.

More Thought Needed

Have you ever got yourself into a situation you wish you never? Well I am in one of those now. Not only do I wish I never got myself into it but I’m asking myself why I got myself into it in the first place. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Short lived and easy. Unfortunately it’s not been short lived and not always easy and now it’s almost impossible to get out of.

You would think I would know better at my age but I seem to have made the same mistake only usually reserved for young people in their teens. Those young ones who still have spots and hang out in the local park. The ones who wait outside the shop for an adult who is willing to buy them a cheap bottle of cider.

It seems the saying live and learn is not only for the younger generation but for me too.

Newmarket. Not Just Horse Racing

The other day I was listening to the radio and I heard that Simply Red were coming to Cardiff. Cardiff, only being about an hours drive from Bristol, I decided I would go and see them. I logged onto my Ticket Master account, found the gig I wanted and clicked on the 'Buy Tickets' button.

I couldn't believe the price that was displayed on my screen! £200 per ticket!

Well I decided I didn’t really want to go after all and forgot all about it. That was until my daughter told me about Newmarket.

I know Newmarket as a place where horses race which then gets shown on the TV. I have been to the races once before but that was only Bath races and I won about £8 after taking out the cost to get in and the food and drink I had while I was there.

Anyway, getting back to what my daughter told me. Every weekend in July at Newmarket they have concerts after the racing and on 31st July guess who they have there? Yes you got it, Simply Red. Now an evening of racing and then a concert all at Newmarket race course you would expect it to be quite costly but it isn't. I was surprised and thought my daughter had got it wrong when she said it was £25. I went online to check. Yes only £25.

So for less than the cost to see Simply Red in Cardiff I have an evening of racing, a night watching Simply Red and a room and breakfast in a hotel. Oh and the best bit about it I've booked 2 days off work!

Jesus...Are You There?

Last night, after going to a friends and having one or two too many drinks, I had a telephone conversation with a friend about Jesus The friend, M, had also been out drinking meaning the conversation was quite like one you would hear just before last orders in a pub.

He said he was an atheist and I am an agnostic so the conversation wasn’t that religious but more about who Jesus was.

M argued that Jesus was a person but not the son of God and I argued how did he know any of it was true. I suggested to M that the bible was just a story and there must have been hundreds of men called Jesus at the time it was written and Jesus was just a name the author choose to put in the book like one would do today with a name like Dave or Pete.

As you can guess the conversation, although lasting about an hour, got nowhere, but I did go to sleep thinking about the man on the moon!

This the link below is for M. I hope it give him much joy reading it.

http://www.atheists-for-jesus.com/

Bed.....Sleep or Think?

I have listened to the radio, when I go to bed, for several years now and I have often wondered why I do it. It’s not as though I really listen. I can’t remember what was on the night before when I wake up the next morning or even what presenter was talking.

When I look for a new clock radio I always have to have one with the sleep function so the radio isn’t playing aimlessly to someone who is busy snoring and I can go to bed with the radio playing and wake up to the buzzer. (I’m a really heavy sleeper and need the buzzer and the alarm on my phone to wake me)

About 2 months ago, maybe a bit longer, I bought a new clock radio (with the sleep function) and set about tuning in the station and setting the alarm. When I went to bed that night I pressed the sleep button and off I drifted to sleep. The next morning, to my surprise, the radio was still playing. I had slept through the buzzer and my alarm on my phone. I hurried out of bed quickly got ready for work and off I went.
That night I had a good look at my new clock radio and found out that if you go to bed listening to the radio, you can not have the buzzer as the alarm to wake you up in the morning.

Since then, up until last night, I have had to go to bed in silence, no radio, no boring voice sending me off to my dreams, just the quietness of the night and the occasional cat crying. Since then I have found it very difficult to fall asleep. With nothing to do but think, my mind goes into overdrive and I start thinking about anything and everything. Most of all I think about friends and what has been happening between us. My mind tends to exaggerate small things that may have been said or misinterpret what the actions of someone may have meant. By the time I do drift off to sleep most of my friends actions have analysed to such an extend that all I want to do is give them a mouth full of what I think of them next time I see them.

Last night I set my alarms as normal and then I got an old radio out and tuned it in. I turned it on very quietly and lay, waiting for my thoughts to take over. Before I knew it I was waking up, the radio still playing, but the buzzer on my clock radio going off too. It was time to get up and I hadn’t even remembered when I had fallen asleep. No thoughts kept me awake and my friends were still my friends.

Now I know why I listen to the radio when I go to bed.