In the world of waste, the pace of change has been just as bewildering. A veritable slew of legislation in the last fifteen years has led to innumerable disposal practices that were commonplace in 2002 becoming outlawed – each requiring a more professional, more regulated technique of treatment. It may be ‘only fifteen years’ but in truth, it’s easily enough to warrant an entire re-telling of the official story of CSG.
When it’s not thrilling funfair riders on a Saturday night, centrifugal force has a day job – and it’s one that we really couldn’t do without: separating solid matter from water. Many industries use large quantities of water to carry out a number of processes, whether it’s washing potatoes or to apply a glossy coating to some types of paper. Having completed its process, the watery substance can’t simply be flushed away. It needs to have the solids removed – which has the secondary benefit that the water is left in a re-usable state.
CSG were recently pleased to present the River Bourne Community Farm in Salisbury, Wiltshire with a funding boost of £20,000.
The contribution was made via the Landfill Communities Fund, an innovative scheme, which incentivises operators of landfill sites to work closely with and provide financial assistance to environmental projects in nearby areas.
With a few days to go until the Windermere swim, I’m delighted to reveal he’s now passed that notional target of £500. There are so many people who have already said some wonderful things about him and pledged their hard-earned money to support a cause that they may only be aware of because of Charlie’s efforts. It really is humbling stuff to see and we’d like to thank everyone who has already donated.
Earlier this year, Dan, now 22, completed the programme and gained his Level 2 & 3 qualifications. Three years into his career with CSG, he’s come a long way from the quiet lad who joined the company.
Marketing is a field which has attracted some strong stereotypes over the years, with many still believing it to be the domain of brash, risk-taking ‘Mad Men’ types, too often full of their own self-importance. In fact, in most companies, day-to-day marketing has undergone something of a quiet revolution over the last decade. Since the arrival of the Internet, search engines and, more particularly, social media, it’s now a department awash with very detailed performance data.
here lies the essence of the problem: it’s a vicious circle. Riding is simply not welcoming enough to boys, therefore it’s unpopular with boys, which inevitably skews it towards girls. This has the effect of marking it out as “a girls’ sport” to the mainstream, which acts as a further disincentive to any boy who then dares to cross the Rubicon.
This was one of a number of training initiatives undertaken by CSG this year, demonstrating our commitment to continually raise our standards by investing in our fantastic team.
Of course the reason Brett can be so elusive is that he’s simply just so busy. As Engineering Supervisor for CSG, he brings an extensive knowledge of pumps and pumping – an ideal specialism as moving liquids is a mainstay of our services. He alternates his time, seemingly daily, between our Head Office in Fareham and any of a number of sites that he oversees.
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on April 21st 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/customer-service-ask-the-experts/ The data is in and we’re pleased to see our customer service targets (for our domestic customers) being met and in some cases, exceeded! Being a customer-focused organisation, we’re keen to see what we do well and where we can improve so we make a point of asking the …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on April 19th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/475-2/ CSG acquired two more tankers in March, bringing the total number of tankers in our fleet to 46 across all our brands. Four more will be added this year to bring the total to 50 and will bring to a conclusion the £6million roll-out plan of new vehicles we’ve …
I recently came across an article on LinkedIn, rather provocatively entitled ‘Marketing in the Equestrian Industry – Why it Really Needs a Shake-up’ by a lady called Isobel Witts. Reading it, I raised at first one and then both eyebrows as its author describes how poorly you’re all doing at connecting with ‘the customer’ – …
Continue reading ETN: Criticism – Are You Shaken or Stirred?
I’m sorry if this sounds like a combination of ‘Mein Kampf’ and the American constitution but a visit to America provides so much insight as to what we in Britain lack. It is only through reflecting on the successes across the pond that we can be made to fulfil our own potential.
The sun has gone down now; only a red hue exists over Chicago — and the vapour trails of another plane as presumably, others are going home too. The seat-belt sign is on, the (video) emergency performance is about to begin and we’re asked not to use electrical instruments until we are in flight.
Last night, we went to Double Dave’s again. In a bout of wanton decadence, I bought us two huge pizzas – unlimited toppings. We all but demolished them, leaving enough only for breakfast this morning. Ahhh, wake up and smell the pizza!
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on March 31st 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/looking-good-for-comic-relief/ The team at our site in Cadishead, Manchester were invited to brighten up the office on Red Nose Day 2017 and once again, they didn’t disappoint – the office was certainly brighter!! The twist this time was to ‘dress from the decade you were born in’ – so there …
Imagine the bar in any Burt Reynolds film, the bar out of ‘Terminator 2’, the bar off the Carlsberg ad: (“You English”?), blur them all together and there you have it; a stereotypical American bar.
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on March 29th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/exhibiting-our-knowledge/ CSG were out and about recently, when we exhibited at Southern Manufacturing & Electronics, one of the biggest events of its kind in the UK. We were one of around 800 exhibitors promoting goods and services to thousands of visitors from dozens of industries from 21st to 23rd March. …
Today I got my first real “gee you have a really cute accent — are you English?”. This is a much stronger form of accent recognition, more than the generic “Are you from England?”, especially in this case where the woman in question asked me to say her name — presumably so she could hear it pronounced properly!
Friday, we walked to the Holiday Inn and had the Mexican buffet (‘Fajita Friday’) — damn hot and only $3 for the pleasure of having one’s internal organs systematically corroded. We came back and caught a bus into downtown Austin. It was Friday night and we checked out Emo’s, a live act night spot, one of many on 6th Street, for which Austin is apparently quite famous
Ch 2, 3 and 4, there are the usual crappy soap operas that all seem exactly the same; flicking through them, you see an identical man/woman scene with a sort of strained silence, with slightly different variations in the room and in the faces.
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics.
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics.
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics. Sunday 20th March 1994, 11:39 (CST) PAUL’S FLOOR, AUSTIN, …
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics. Saturday 19th March 1994, 08:39 (CST) PAUL’S FLOOR, AUSTIN, …
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics. Synopsis: I call this account “a video diary in …
Willacy Oil was established in 1989 by George Willacy to clean the parts of the oil industry that other cleansing companies couldn’t reach. If you’re familiar with that part of the world, you’ll know it’s dominated by the huge Stanlow refinery, the second-largest in the UK. It’s not surprising that as specialist a service as this should have flourished in such an important petrochemical area.
Despite the impressively forward-looking venue (you can’t deny it, ‘proper’ industries have their trade fairs at the NEC), it seemed to me to be a collective populated overwhelmingly by a certain ‘type’: white, middle-aged, land-owning men – mostly decent chaps of course but very much of a particular sort.
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on March 2nd 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/45-years-on-csg-to-the-rescue/ 1972 was a hugely significant year for the waste industry. It was a year when operators were forced to act far more responsibly in their disposal of hazardous waste. It took an incident that made national headlines to bring about these changes, an incident that CSG helped bring to …
If you have a property with a septic tank, there are some upcoming changes to the law that may affect you – and time is running out for you to comply with them.
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on February 23rd 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/a-greater-focus-on-health-safety/ CSG recently welcomed Kevin Mooney to our ranks, in the role of Health & Safety Manager. It’s an appointment that highlights the paramount importance of the health and safety of our staff, our trading partners and everyone else with whom we come into contact. Kevin joins us from Pentalver …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on February 17th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/creature-comfort/ ‘It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good’, as the old saying goes but in the world of recycling, such a sentiment is little short of a mindset. Any form of consumption or manufacture that produces a by-product or other waste is simply an opportunity to provide a …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on February 14th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/kind-hearts-this-valentines-day/ Whatever happened to Valentine’s Day? Do you remember the special thrill of an unknown admirer professing their anonymous, unrequited affection? Remember how such a simple gesture meant so much more than any flowers or cuddly toy? This year, CSG decided to make Valentine’s Day mean something more than just …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on February 9th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/how-a-septic-tank-really-works/ You may not have given much thought to the way your septic tank works – which is fine as long as it is working – but knowing just a little can help you ensure that it remains in good order for many years to come. Okay, here’s the really basic …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on January 18th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/the-erimus-star-where-oil-and-water-mix/ One of CSG’s more unusual oil disposal services can be found in Middlesbrough, on the river Tees, performing a valuable task at any time of day or night. The Erimus Star started life as a Dutch barge, converted from her previous life carrying fuel to barges on the Rhine …
Continue reading CSG: The Erimus Star – Where Oil and Water Mix
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on January 13th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/csg-turns-83/ On 12th January, we celebrated our 83rd birthday – the anniversary of the date when our founder Edgar ‘Bunny’ Hart started trading as the Hampshire Cleansing Service. As a company, that makes us eight days older than Fujifilm, who were ‘only’ formed on January 20th that year, in Japan. …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on January 9th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/the-annual-csg-tea-party/ Earlier in 2016, the annual CSG tea party for retired employees took place, our chance to recognise many of the people who have served the company so well over many years. The tea party is one of a number of services the CSG can offer retired employees as a …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on December 22nd 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/merry-christmas-from-all-at-csg/ As the year begins to come to a close, it’s time to offer all our customers and friends the compliments of the season. As you can appreciate, we’ll be operating slightly differently over the festive period but rest assured, we’re still on hand to help for part of the …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on December 16th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/all-in-another-good-cause/ Fresh from their recent Children in Need contributions, CSG’s Sales team went one further, today by supporting Save The Children’s ‘Christmas Jumper Day’. Together, they raised £160.00 – just by wearing their favourite festive knitwear to work. What a great effort! It’s one of a number of ways that …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on December 13th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/welcome-to-csg-louis/ In October, we were pleased to welcome Louis Spencer to our Sales team at CSG Lanstar at Cadishead, Manchester. A recent Biochemistry graduate of Manchester University, Louis brings a level of technical expertise to our sales function. Louis’ main responsibilities are outbound sales calls and handling queries from existing …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 30th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/317/ If have a Small Waste Oil Burner (SWOB), aware you aware of the changes to the law permitting their use? Since 1st April 2016, DEFRA (The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) changed their classification of SWOBs, ruling that they now fall under the Industrial Emissions Directive. …
Continue reading CSG: Small Waste Oil Burners – Are You Legal?
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 22nd 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/autumn-leaves-its-problem/ Autumn has certainly arrived and as a result, it’s a good time to think about interceptor cleaning for all businesses required to have one on their forecourt. After a mild start to season, in which the leaves tended to stay on the trees, the recent downturn in the weather …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 18th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/csg-the-movie/ It’s an exciting time for CSG’s Marketing team – not only are we about to publish a much-anticipated revision to our very own hardback corporate history Waste Matters but we’ve decided to add the ‘film’ to the ‘book’ and create our own corporate video too! In reality, the two …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 11th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/confessions-of-a-septic-tank-novice/ We’re often called to help when someone has had a problem with their septic tank. Our advice to know a little about your system and follow a few simple steps and you should never have to call anyone out to deal with a problem. Here’s an example from one …
Hey America! Hi there. I’m a friend of yours from way back. In fact, I come from the same place as Myles Standish so I guess I may even be related to a whole lotta you guys. Anyways, I just wanted to say something to you, you know, ‘As A Friend’… We in the rest of the …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 8th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/itea-and-biscuits/ As you’ll know if you’re reading this blog, waste matters but at CSG, we also know that so do a few other things, such as being a good neighbour – which has led to yet another example of our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. We were delighted to be …
My Skills, Experiences and Values I’m well-qualified I hold a degree in Marketing from Lancaster University, consistently ranked as one of the leading Higher Education establishments in the country, whose Management School is one of the most prestigious in the world. While experience within a specific industry is always helpful, the reason a good qualification …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 2nd 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/waste-matters-more/ In 2002, CSG did something rather amazing and we’re about to do it again! Fourteen years ago, we commissioned Nigel Watson, a respected corporate historian, to write a definitive ‘History of Cleansing Service Group’. In 2016, we’re about to launch the updated version! The original book was (and …
Posted on http://www.csg.co.uk/blog on October 17th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/csg-attend-high-tide-foundation-ball/ In September, CSG were proud to attend the prestigious High Tide Foundation Fundraising Ball in the opulent surroundings of Wynyard Hall near Middlesbrough. Created to improve learning and employment opportunities for the young people of Teesside, the High Tide Foundation hold this annual event as an opportunity …
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Mark Haddon) This tale of a boy with Asberger’s Syndrome and his daily struggle to understand the world around him was a truly ground-breaking novel and came highly-recommended to me. The eponymous dog is found stabbed to death in the opening paragraphs and despite (or actually, because of) his …
Continue reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Shakespeare: The World as a Stage (Bill Bryson) I love reading Bill Bryson’s work. There, I said it. Some works of his I have loved more than others but I can’t say I’ve ever read anything he’s written that I haven’t enjoyed. Enjoyment is therefore a minimum expectation when it comes to Bryson. The real question I …
The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History (Boris Johnson) Perhaps the biggest problem that can befall any tome with a ‘celebrity’ author is that it’s difficult for the reader ever to get beyond the context of the writer’s identity in all that is written, when the subject matter is (or should be) the main reason …
Continue reading The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History
For once in English football’s long and undignified history of ‘hitting rock bottom’ has come a scandal that I’ve actually welcomed. Proving that sometimes, two wrongs actually do make a right, Sam Allardyce has come to the rescue of all those who thought him woefully under-qualified and over-rated to lead the national team – by …
I’ve always loved to read. At times, my interest in reading has lapsed and at others, I’ve wished I had more time to read more often. Whenever I’ve found myself with enough time, like on holidays, I found I always rediscovered the simple pleasure of reading. People talk about ‘binge-watching’ of entire TV series as …
First, thanks for all your expressions of sympathy after we lost Sam, last month. He really was a once-in-a-lifetime dog and it amazed us how many others thought so too. We were therefore thrust into the state of being a one-dog family for the first time in 8½ years – something which saw the household considerably, …
– Oh, he’s not going off one one about the BBC again, is he? Well, yes I am, I’m afraid. Normally, I’m motivated to assault my keyboard (and your attention) by the need to defend dear old ‘Auntie’ in the face of some current slight or attack on her being. This time, it’s slightly different. My …
We never knew Sam’s real birthdate but as he joined our family on March 31st 2005 at the age of “10 months”, as far as we were concerned, he was born on May 31st 2004. He died on August 31st 2016, aged 12 years and three months. Sam came into our lives in March 2005. At the …
A photograph from my archives, every week, marking something that happened this week, a multiple of five years ago.
To Mr Colothan, Mrs Kneale and all the staff and PTFA at St. Wilfrid’s, Today was Charlie’s last day with you and I want to thank you all for everything you’ve done for him and the rest of the Class of 2016. In 2008 (two minutes ago), I remember visiting the school’s open day to …
Continue reading An Open Letter to St. Wilfrid’s Primary Academy
If I’ve learned anything over the last few weeks of pitiful so-called ‘debate’ leading upto today’s EU Referendum, it’s that politics is even more of a sham than I had previously dared imagine. Whichever way the vote goes, the most depressing conclusion is that due to the forces that have led to this conclusion, such …
Since Muhammad Ali’s death was announced yesterday, there’s been a flurry soundbites, platitudes and #RIPMuhammadAli hashtags floating about on social media – and I confess, I’m responsible for a number of them. What can this blogpost possibly add to such a weight of collective emotion? Well, this, I hope: It’s an understandable reaction to the loss of an icon of our …
You may or may not know that I have a wonderful god-daughter called Amelia. Amelia is seven and has a rare combination of learning difficulties and spectrum conditions which mean that she doesn’t speak and has a mental age well below her actual age. You may think this defines her but it doesn’t. She loves swimming, …
Earlier this year, we weren’t happy with Marley‘s health. He was becoming less active, drinking more water than before and just looked less happy with life. He’s always been a ridiculously active dog and, with his 9th birthday not far off, we knew he’d have to slow down at some time but this… …this seemed …
Not Just a Pretty Face
11. JULY 2011
paul.bentham@robinsons-uk.com Behind the Scenes (0)
First published on 17th October 2012 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com …or ‘Who on Earth are Feefo and Why are they Emailing Me?’ If you’ve placed an order from Robinsons this year, it’s likely you’ll have received an email from a company called Feefo in the days and weeks that followed to ask you to rate the items and …
First published on 15th December 2008 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com If you’ve received your Sale Catalogue and you’ve found something you like, I invite you to go to bed early tonight, just like I’ll be doing. As you’ll no doubt already know, our Winter Sale starts online tomorrow morning at the less-than-Godly hour of 3am and we all …
First published on 9th November 2012 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com Sometimes, the success of something is all about being in the right place at the right time. We could never have predicted the success of such a silly product as the Horse Head Antler which first appeared in a Robinsons catalogue in 1992. This ‘silly’ product has since stood …
Continue reading Archive: How ‘Antlers for Horses’ Became Popular
First published on 11th December 2012 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com Robinsons, the UK’s number one equestrian provider is pleased to announce the launch of a new customer points programme to help riders get the most from their horsey purchases – and we’re calling it ‘Rider Rewards’. We’re all familiar with the idea of so-called ‘loyalty schemes’, many of …
First published on 15th October 2009 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com As you may have seen on the news, the country is about to face a period of strikes by postal workers. Naturally, you’ll be concerned that all mail order will therefore become totally unreliable and to be honest, who could blame you? If you’re still reading at this point, …
Continue reading Archive: Robinsons and the Royal Mail – What You Need to Know…
First published on 23rd April 2008 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com As seasoned readers of this blog may attest, much of my information from the outside world comes from the BBC website. On one of my many forays there recently, I came across a story which made me grimace. The story was (believe it or not) ‘Riot Fears Absent Ahead …
First published on 13th March 2010 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com Before I talk about our forthcoming store at Basingstoke and our reasons behind the way we do store openings, let me apologise for neglecting to write an entry on here for about three months. Yes, it’s been a busy three months but I like to post something on here …
First published on 4th March 2011 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com It’s a Friday afternoon and I’m very conscious that I haven’t blogged yet about our forthcoming new website, in the way that I have about our forthcoming new Cardiff store. There’s so much I’d like to say about our new website, what’s going to be better about it and …
First published on 23rd March 2011 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com What an incredibly mad couple of months it’s been! We don’t seem to like doing things by halves and here we are about to open a new store in Cardiff and launch a brand new website in almost the same week! I’ve been promising a blog on our new …
First published on 15th December 2014 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com Since we announced an intention to open our fifth store in Hunslet, Leeds, we’ve been inundated with questions about when it’ll open. I guess that’s not surprising but it’s still great to see how warmly we’re being welcomed by the local equestrian community. While we’ve needed a few weeks …
Continue reading Archive: Our Leeds Store Will Open… …As Soon As We Announce It!
First published on 25th March 2008 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com One of the pitfalls of being involved in any sort of publishing is that you often forget what the time of year is. The relentless need for monthly magazines to produce next month’s issue (often with the following month shown on the cover) by the end of this month …
First published on 7th February 2013 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com As HMV, Blockbusters, Jessops and many others have found recently, if something can be downloaded these days, there’s far less demand for the physical version of it. While we’ve certainly noticed that we don’t sell the same proportion of books and DVDs that we used to, thankfully, most of …
Continue reading Archive: The World of the Smaller Catalogues
First published on 28th June 2011 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com Last week, we were concerned to read a thread of comments on the Horse & Hound Forum in which we were the subject of some criticism. Our new website was the topic and it received most of the comments but other points were made which were not …
Continue reading Archive: For Those About To Complain – We Salute You
First published on 22nd January 2008 on http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com Joining the Blogosphere One of our New Year’s resolutions for 2008 was to continue to present a more human face to Robinsons, and I hope you find that to be the case. One way to do this is for us to write a blog. If you’re new to the …
Today, I worked my last day at Robinsons. As a family, we’ve chosen to sell our remaining stake in the business. I’d like to say more about why that is but, legally, I can’t. Robinsons is a name I’ve been involved with for as long as I can remember; as long as it’s even possible …
Today, I decided to clear out the garage in order that it serves its primary function as a storage area for my car – something I’m habitually keener to do in Winter than in Summer. As I picked my way through the year’s accumulation, strewn about the floorspace, my first act was to flick on the …
We may all know why we vote, we may have decided for whom we’ll vote but have you given much though to how you vote – that is to say what your role as a voter entails? It’s a right viewed as so important that countries have gone to war to protect it, and yet …
Here we go again… It’s General Election time and once again, a bunch of people I’d normally cross the street to avoid are all suddenly intent on ‘engaging’ with me and ‘gaining’ my vote. To be honest, I’d rather they all leave me alone and let me find out for myself what I do and …
Continue reading 2015 Election Pt I: Suffering for Suffrage’s Sake
Picture the scene. It’s Sunday evening, just before eight, around the time when, for the last decade or more, upto seven million people start to think about gaining tactical possession of the remote control. For many, the highlight of their televisual week is about to start. Over recent Sundays, these time-honoured manoeuvres have been unnecessary. Why? Because the …
Continue reading Why It’s Still Okay to Admit Liking ‘Top Gear’
Originally published as a FB Note, on 5 May 2010 at 21:45 Winston Churchill once said “democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried”. Considering it was the very system that he so famously fought to defend, it seems odd to see that he would damn it with …
Continue reading Archived: Why our future should keep you up all night
Originally published as a FB Note, on 17 July 2008 at 00:06 Inflation, oil price rises and public sector strikes. Turn on the news and you’d be forgiven for wondering if you’d suffered the same fate as Sam Tyler in ‘Life on Mars’ and woken up in the 1970’s. Even the England football team are joining …
Continue reading Archived: Life on Mars or Dark Side of the Moon?
Originally published as a FB Note, on 7 July 2008 at 22:27 Rampantly rising oil prices, a swathe of unchecked knife murders, the credit crunch, falling house prices, rising inflation, international terrorism, overflowing prisons – the list of the UK’s current woes goes on and on. Yes, it’s no fun being Prime Minister right now but …
Originally published as a FB Note, on 8 June 2008 at 13:05 http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/index.html Back in November last year, England lost to Croatia at Wembley and we failed to qualify for Euro 2008. The hapless Steve MacLaren was duly fired (although that may have been a smarter move much sooner) and we realised we would be facing …
Originally published as a FB Note, on 20 May 2008 at 22:19 So, the local elections have come and gone, Labour has taken a proverbial kicking and Our Glorious Leader, Mr. Brown, has faced calls from all quarters about his suitability for the role and, once again, even his mandate from the electorate. Instead of providing …
Originally published as a FB Note, on 28 May 2008 at 00:19 Two weeks ago, I was very close to writing a post on the disgraceful trashing of Manchester by Rangers ‘fans’ during and after their appearance in the UEFA Cup Final. Exasperated in equal measure as I was by all concerned, I saw no real injustice, so I …
Originally published as a FB Note, on 20 May 2008 at 22:16 It’s the usual friend-of-a-friend story: We got him after Easter from a couple in Crosby, Liverpool. He was giving the lady allergic reactions and, much as they loved him, they decided to give him up. Having seen him and decided that he was just …
Originally published as a FB Note, on 20 May 2008 at 22:12 Every so often, a story arises that supports my own adage that ‘common sense isn’t that common’. Here’s this week’s new entry: As you may know, last Saturday was a wall-to-wall Six Nations day on BBC1. Having expensively acquired the rights to cover …
Continue reading Archived: If You Must Complain, Do The Math(s) First!
Originally published as a FB Note, on 20 May 2008 at 22:09 So, it’s Friday night, Johnathan Ross is back on and his big guest is one time skin-beater Richard Starkey. As you’d expect, he’s got an album out so it’s hardly like he’s on there because he wants to be anyway and boy did it …
Continue reading Archived: Ringo Starr, Man of the People Or What?
Well, the decorations are down and the spare bed is about to be folded away for the last time in this Christmas and New Year break. The house has been full of fun and laughter more times than I can remember over the last two weeks or so and it’s been wonderful to see. If …
Continue reading What a Great Christmas – Let’s do it Again!
There’s a lot of crap written and spoken about football, and more particularly the England team whenever a major tournament comes around so with the assurance that there is safety in numbers, it’s probably the safest time to venture my own opinions on the matter. The problem, I believe, is that for a few weeks …
Continue reading England Should Expect Less and Understand More
Just looking back at my photostream on FB, it did tend to crop up a lot, like a catchphrase on ‘The Fast Show’. You know what? I don’t care. It’s worth the potential ridicule to get pictures like this: Charlie picking stuff up off the bottom of the pool Me swimming underneath Max Charlie emulating …
Here’s a rundown of the latest notices on my parish noticeboard… HM Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022) Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born to the Duke and Duchess of York at 2:40am on 21 April 1926, the eldest daughter of the second son of King George V. Third in line to the throne at birth, she …
In addition to extending you a frankly lame welcome to yet another blog space, I’m really putting up some trial content to help me format the page. Sneaky, eh? You are of course very welcome, though. Just to clear up any confusion. Oh yes. 100%. I’ll, er, get me coat then…
Things I’ve endeavoured to learn over the years – on the guitars I’ve collected in that time. ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ (arr. Kiss) A friendly message to our friends over the pond as you vote to decide your next President. It’s ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ on a Fender Stratocaster by someone in a Gap sweater and …
“All those who remember the war; They don’t forget what they’ve seen” Okay, perhaps a little inappropriate to segue from Vietnam veterans’ PTSD to football, but then I am quoting a pop song, hardly the most solemn of matter. My point being that I spent almost the whole of the 1980’s (from the point I …
Resonation 