It was Bal and Iain's 34th birthday celebrations this weekend in Bournemouth. Everyone had a good time and plenty of booze was consumed.

At nighttime the streets of Bournemouth were littered with very drunken young people and none of the pubs served alchohol in glass containers.

This is a picture of our hotel. It looks bad but it wasn't too bad inside and provided a decent English breakfast to soak up the grog.

I am currently involved in a online rugby world cup prediction game with James (left) and Stefan (right). I originally thought that it was going to be a light-hearted bit of fun. However it now is getting personal and sledging has become a daily activity. As the table currently stands James is in second place, myself third and Stefan a lowly fifth. But Stefan is a sleeping giant and we are expecting the phoenix to rise from the ashes (metaphorically speaking of course).

Beth Cakes gives her Grandma Stringer a lovely smile. Smiles are getting more and more frequent now.

Live In Ramsgate / Work In London

I have noticed that there are now 4 London commuters on my train each morning. This is proof indeed that Ramsgate is fast becoming a commuter town.

It pissed down this morning and the streets of London hosted the usual titanic battle of the brollies. People use brollies like medieval weapons on the streets. I would be very surprised if someone hasn't had an eye removed...

The 20-20 Cricket World Cup has been everything that the other World Cup earlier in the year wasn't. This is a picture of myself and Beth watching one of the games last weekend. I thought the game was great but the picture doesn't agree.

That's what I love about the Monty. Andy always serves up cracking grog and there are plenty of cracking chicks drinking like the one on the left. I approached this particular lady; she said her name was Parkes and she is a fan of real ale. I said I was too and I managed to get her phone number, a dinner date and a kiss on the cheek. It's amazing how real ale brings people together.

It must be great being 9 weeks old. You can spend the whole day horizontal pinging boss-eyed toys around. What a life!

Paella Day At Steve And Tan's

Steve and Tan invited Parkes, Beth and I over for afternoon paella and refreshments. Beth was very well behaved. The paella was cooked outside and was very tasty - in fact probably the best I have eaten. Everyone had a good time and the conker action was intense. I look forward to the next one.

Steve attempts to shatter Mikey's conker with an intimidating glare.

Mikey about to finish off Dean's lame conker with a powerful swipe. In the background the chef tucks into the booze whilst cooking.

Mikey and Dean check their conkers for blemishes and cracks. It's a game of hard knocks.

Insania

Well I watched the rugby and it was crap. Fortunately I also watched the football and I think the players may well have read my posting last Friday.

Beth and I spent lots of time together this weekend. I bathed her for the first time (which was a white-knuckle ride) and she gave me a 'coo' as she played with my hair. Good skills.

This weekend sees England's football and rugby teams kicking off their respective games at 17:00 on Saturday. Who planned that then?!! What a dingle! The England football team are sure to give us the usual passionless performance we have got used to over the last ten years. Maybe it doesn't mean anything anymore to pull on that famous football shirt when you are paid zillions of pounds a year. It is sad as it does mean alot to the rest of England's football-watching public who work hard all week and mostly don't enjoy such riches.

I think I will watch the rugby.

This is a lovely picture taken by John Stringer Snr. It was taken of a flower behind some spooky glass.

Carnage

The last couple of days has seen industrial action from London Underground people. This has led to no tube trains and unbelievable numbers of commuters walking the streets at rush hour. On my walk from London Bridge to Broadgate I have been shoved, pushed, clipped, bonked and clonked and all of it is very unnecessary. If people just took their time no-one would get the hump. There was even talk of fights breaking out at bus-stops and queues for buses departing from Liverpool St Station stretching right the way around the station. C'mon guys, where's the love?!!

Uncle Matt getting to know Beth. He's definitely got the technique.

Auntie Rosie on babysitting duties.

Weekend's Events

My Dad and his wife Liz spent the weekend with us and very nice it was to. We had a nice walk on Saturday and a professional photo session and a nice relaxing chat on the Sunday. Both of them were looking well despite the 300 mile drive. Photos from the session will be put on the Blog very soon.