Mutterings for the Minority

Tyre valve cap

Today’s mutterings are all about a magic tyre valve cap on my car - which bizarrely ends up on a different tyre each day! I’ll set the scene, about 7 days ago the front drivers side tyre valve cap went missing and was presumed stolen. I forgot to replace it and certainly wasn’t going to ‘lift’ one from someone elses car - although in a ‘what goes around comes around’ moment of thought I did consider taking this course of action. Anyway, upon returning to my car today I find that now the rear drivers side tyre valve cap is missing BUT the front one is now back. Now is that bizarre or what? The only explanation I can think of is that someone is playing a prank on me.

I spent this evening continuing with the garden overhaul project and I have to say that finally things seem to be taking shape - although there is still loads to do. When the job is finished it will mean that we would have effectively doubled the size of our garden and in particular lawn - so there’ll be plenty of room for DDWT Junior to run around to his hearts content. It’ll also mean we won’t have to keep telling him to keep away from the plants, shrubs, etc every 2 minutes!

Well my world cup sweepstake entry came to a cruel end tonight when Germany beat Argentina 4-2 on penalties. Although judging by the after match reaction, I think Argentina won the handbags at dawn contest *smile*

Traffic and travel

I decided to venture up to Fendrod lake for my lunchtime ride today and avoid the crowds that flock along the promenade to Mumbles when the weather is this hot and sunny. Perhaps unsurprisingly (given the nearby enterprise zone) there were loads of people walking around the lake, so it was still pretty much a case of avoiding the pedestrian traffic. Anyway, another 10 miles were added to the tally.

I took a few snaps of Fendrod lake when we visited there back in March of this year and it really is a pleasant destination for a walk or jog and well renowned for its coarse fishing (if that kind of thing is your bag).

I seriously considering biking into work as a matter of routine from next week as the traffic situation in Swansea seems to be getting worse by the day - and the various road improvement projects obviosuly aren’t helping in the short term. Still, you can’t have change and improvement on any road without disruption - so I guess it’s worth the hassle in the short term.

Quote of the day goes to DDWT Junior with “Ows bout dat” and “Or maan” - he’s obviously been watching too much Dora the Explorer as that’s where the latter phrase comes from. He’s such a character though and a continous source of amusement (and frustration sometimes!).

Taking the Kit Kat

I started reading Terry Yorath’s autobiography today - “Hard Man, Hard Knocks” and it certainly grabs your attention in the first few pages by describing how he saw his son - Daniel - lose his life in front of him in their back garden. I have to say it touched me deeply. Being a Dad myself, and parent for that matter, it really does make you realise how precious life is, especially that of your offspring. Yorath always played football wearing his heart on his sleeve and I’ve no doubt his book will have the same frank expression of feelings.

Did another lunchtime ride down Mumbles today and added another 9 or so miles to the total amassed so far in 2006 (if only I’d managed to keep count!). If I get a few spare minutes and the inclination, I’ll try and tot up my total mileage from my bike riding blog entries. I love stats and always have done - even though I was/still am crap at maths!

DDWT Junior mades us all laugh at teatime tonight with his request for a “Git Gat” (AKA Kit Kat). I’d asked Mrs. DDWT to pass me one from the cupboard (to accompany my lovely large cup of kenco coffee) when in true mimic style his “Git Gat” interpretation came out - classic.

Please sponsor me

I finally got back in the saddle today after an enforced absence and thoroughly enjoyed the 9 mile lunchtime ride down to Mumbles. Suprisingly I didn’t feel rusty and it was great to give my legs a workout in preparation for the upcoming 29 mile BHF Gower bike ride on Sunday. I’m still on the lookout for sponsorship if anyone would like to donate something to the British Heart Foundation. My sponsorship total is currently £42 - so please help a worthy cause and boost this total.

It was an eventful day all round actually as I also moved offices and changed line manager - the result of which means that I’ll be moving from managing operational issues to strategic ones. Scary stuff indeed!

DDWT Junior was in full verbal flow today with numerous new words being spoken - “Notodike” (motorbike), “War bout dat” (what about that) and ramblings of “Itsy Bitsy Spider”. He really going to be quite a chatty charlie if his current mutterings are anything to go by.

After several months of reading Piers Morgan’s autobiography - “The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade” I’ve finally finished it. It’s an interesting read which at times made me shudder to think that certain people (i.e newspaper editors) have such easy access to the powers that be. In Morgan’s case the prime minister - Tony Blair. The book also makes you realise how powerful the media are in this country - which given the people in the media driving seat is scary stuff.

Brand spanking new

Enjoyed a day off today and made the most of the time with DDWT Junior and the Mrs. Not even the continous rain could put a dampner on what was a good, fun day all round. In fact it was like being back in play-school with the amount of time we spent drawing, painting, making all sorts with play dough.

I finally treated myself to a new mobile phone this morning after months (yes months) of thinking about which one to get. I finally parted with £39.95 of my hard earned cash in exchange for a brand spanking new Sony Ericsson K300i which I thought was an absolute bargain price for all of the features it has. It’s a camera phone which can also record video and plays MP3’s as well and I’m chuffed to bits with it. It’s certainly far better than the bottom of the range Nokia 1100 I used to have!

After being on the receiving end of some pukka nosh from Mrs DDWT over the last week or so, I decided to resume my cooking duties today (seeing as I had the time) with a ‘ranch’ barbeque beef dish. I diced up two sirloin steaks (I know that’s criminal) and added them to some sliced potatoes, mushrooms, ringed onions, carrots, spinach, a dash of herbs and added a ranch barbeque sauce on top.

Some 1hr 45 minutes later (middle of the oven at 200 degrees) I served it up with some microwaved baby corn just to finish it off. It was very tasty and well worth the effort.

Back to work tomorrow and hopefully back to training as well - so watch this space.

100 up

Well this is the 100th post on my blog, which is a milestone for me but small scale compared to those bloggers out there who’ve been at it for donkeys years (blogging that is). Still I intend to look back at this post in years to come and think “I remember that”.

Went out and did some retail theraphy today with Mrs DDWT and for once actually came back with something other than food - which made a refreshing change. I bought some new briefs (Next) and two new shirts (Next and M&S). Mrs DDWT ended up getting some jewellery (Next), t-shirt and two skirts (Next and M&S). As usual I was outdone in the clothes purchasing stakes! DDWT Junior for once missed out altogether (a rare occurance I hasten to add).

Did the usual weighing thing today and was pleased to note that I’m on 17st exactly again. I’m really looking forward to getting back into the swing of training this week - I’ve missed it a lot over the last 12 days or so.

Swans footage

Today was by in large an uneventful day on the whole, mainly thanks to a 5am wake up call from DDWT Junior. The result of which meant that were were all (a) very grumpy (b) very tired and (c) extremely short fused - a recipe for disaster as you can imagine!

Anyway, we ventured into Swansea to do some shopping and ended up getting even more agitated with each other. Even a visit to the M&S food section failed to raise our spirits - purely because most of the goodies seemed to have been snapped up prior to our visit. We did however manage to get some of their croissants though (which really are the dogs nadgers) so I’m really looking forward to Sunday breakfast now. At least next time we’ll know to get there before 2pm to make damn sure we get those special little treats that only M&S seem to produce (albeit at an inflated price).

Upon returning home and DDWT Junior falling asleep on the way - the Mrs and I also decided to take the opportunity of having an afternoon nap. This worked a treat and we all woke some 3 or so hours later in much better spirits.

In fact the evening proved quite productive as we all ventured outside and had a good laugh in the garden (although seeing the garden you could say we had a good laugh at it as well!). I also took the time to dig up some more unwanted plants and rolled about on the lawn in true goalkeeper style whilst playing football with DDWT Junior.

Talking of football, I’ve ventured into the world of ‘YouTube‘ tonight and loaded some footage of some Swans games that I have. You can see my effots to date on my YouTube channel.

Structured mind

Well day two of the performance management course came and went rather quickly and without much thought I hasten to add. Whilst the course was interesting and useful in some parts, the subject matter was/is rather erm, dry (to say the least) and there was a tadge too much ground to cover in two days I felt. A couple of things worth a mention from today though were Belbin’s approach to team structures (very interesting and thought provoking) and one important lesson - NEVER become a risk assessment manager (as it appears so bloody boring!).

Anyway, at least I got to flex my scribing skills and according to the tutor (Simon Faulkner) my mindset was even considered as ’structured’ - which I’ll take as a compliment I think! In a funny kind of way I surprised myself on the course, as I’m not really one for wanting to lead from the front or express my thoughts too much - but in some instances that’s exactly what I did over the two days. Maybe I’m not out of my depth after all (as that’s what I sometimes feel) with all of this management stuff after all *smile*

When I got home, I considered adopting a project approach to our garden overhaul - but thought bugger it and just got out the spade and fork, and set about my task with gusto. Some two hours (and two full wheelie bins) later I decided to retire to the comfort of the house (after a shower of course!) and amuse DDWT Junior with some locally adapted stories about the 3 bears.

Whilst on the subject of the garden, I’ve also taken down the gazebo that was in the garden, as since I put it up last Sunday it seemed to put the keibosh on the warm weather we were having - not good. So here’s hoping.

I’ve finally admitted defeat in my efforts to take part in Sunday’s Llanelli 10K and have notified the organisers accordingly. I’m obviously disappointed but it wasn’t worth the risk given that the Gower bike ride is just over a week away.

BHAGs

Attended a project management course today - well the first of two days worth anyway - which was at times at interesting affair, but by in large was very bloody boring (or perhaps not very stimulating would be a better description).

The tutor described the course as PRINCE2 - the lite version, which I suppose was his way of saying “I’ll show you in two days, what you really should be shown in 5 days”. Having said that, I’d already taken the position that project management (in whatever guise) was always going to be a case of ‘horses for courses’ in terms of it’s application to certain jobs. Nevertheless, I learnt a few useful bits and bobs through the day which will no doubt come in handy with the day job.

One funny acronym that cropped up today (which apparently BT use) was BHAGs - Big Hairy Audacious Goals!! I can honestly say that I’ve NEVER heard that before. Perhaps any BT employee reading this blog (yes some people do read it!) would like to comment?

It was Nana DDWT’s birthday today, so we paid her a surprise visit this evening to give her a little treat - as she’s not one for much fuss on such occasions and always says “oh you don’t celebrate birthday’s when you get to my age”. Her face was a picture when DDWT Junior started his rendition of “Happy Birthday to you” and made his Nana’s day without a doubt.

The Swans fixtures for the 2006-2007 season were announced today and were of particular interest to me, as (a) I’ve got a season ticket and (b) the house of DDWT could plan weekends away to coincide with some of the away games. It’s something we’ve done for many years and has always been great. We set off on the Friday, do a bit of shopping, watch the game Saturday and take our time returning home on the Sunday. It’s very relaxing and is a great way to explore this wonderful country of ours - as we never do seem to really appreciate what is on our own doorstep do we?

Awards dinner

The year’s longest day and I’m burning the midnight oil with today’s post as I’ve only just returned from an awards dinner at the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea. It was an enjoyable evening on the whole and made even better by having several pints of strongbow with ice. This definately made up for having to miss the Argentina v Holland football match.

Missed the opportunity to climb mount kilvey today with the usual biking gang (and some local newspaper coverage at the same time) to mark National Bike Week - all because of my darn leg wound. Not impressed and very disappointed and much to the amusement of the others!

I’m having a mental block whilst blogging here, so I might re-visit this posting when my brain cells are working in tandem with my body movements.