"On any given Sunday you're gonna win or you're gonna lose. The point is - can you win or lose like a man?"

- Tony D'Amato

The Sunday stereotypes were well & truly explored today.

The early morning, Sunday League football match was where it all started, with another match-up against the wonderful Edcase United. Pouring down rain, swamp-for-a-pitch, against a bunch of lads who just love kicking people; definitely my kind of game. It turned out to be one of the strangest games of football that I've played in for quite some time. The first half was quite closely fought, with both defences struggling to keep the opposition out. By the half hour mark, the score was 3-3, with Edcase having taken the lead on two occasions, before they had to equalise to nullify our 3-2 lead. By half time, it was 6-3 to us with a particular nod to debutant Leo, who was gelling really well with John 'Scouse' Manning upfront, scoring twice & assisting another.
We didn't know it at the time, but the game had been pretty much killed when the sixth goal went in. We were adapting to the ridiculous excuse-of-a-pitch better than the opposition & were playing the better football. When the second half kicked off, we ran riot & found ourselves 11-3 up by the 62nd minute. Scouse had five goals to his name, along with goals from Leo (2), Danny Latham (1), Tom Fair (1) & James 'Reno/super sub' Rengozzi (2). After the eleventh goal, & a few attempts at strong challenges from the Edcase boys, the referree brought the two captains together & was basically trying to say that, due to the rain, the pitch was deteriorating & it was becoming dangerous for both sets of players. I have to point out that he was being assessed by the Somerset Official Referree's something or other, which I can't help but feel played a big part in the whole thing. Anyway, after asking if both teams were happy to continue playing, we'd agreed to continue but Edcase didn't really fancy it (understandably), so after some confusion & debatable decision making, the referee abandoned the match. As you can imagine, we were not happy & I'm sure the whole thing will leave Coach Max Gibson with an interesting bit of paperwork to push through to ensure we get the points & not an unnecessary replay. 

Although I could carry on, I'm going to move on to the rest of my day, as I appreciate the women reading this, in particular a certain Miss Parker who voiced her 'lack of interest' when it comes to the football-related blogging, will be losing interested drastically... & that's just bad for business really.

Next on the list of typical Sunday rituals was, of course, a Sunday Roast. At the end of the day, what's a Sunday without a roast? So me, Danno & Scouse headed off to Wetherspoons to bag ourselves a cheeky roast, which went down an absolute treat.

Following the majesty of the roast, I retreated to my humble abode to indulge in a lazy afternoon, lying in my bed watching, as you may have already guessed, Any Given Sunday. Timeless classic & just an all round great film really; Al Pacino stealing the show as always with a killer trademark, thought-provoking speech. The man is easily my favourite actor of all time.

Finally, my night was topped off with a brilliant game of football between my adopted Italian side, Juventus & the red half of the fashion capital, AC Milan. It epitomised a day of good results, with the Old Lady coming out on top with a 1-0 victory.

A fitting end to, in my eyes, the perfect Sunday.

THD.

"Living in your head, without anything to numb you."

- Sia Furler

'Candor - 1. whiteness or brilliance. 2. freedom from prejudice or malice. 3. unreserved, honest, or sincere expression: forthrightness.' This was today's word of the day on my evermore inspiring word calendar.

I opted to embrace the 'brilliance' part of it's definition, hoping to be enlightened by what the city of Bath had to offer me. There are just so many little alleyways that haven't been explored or enjoyed. The sun was out, but unfortunately it had brought with it an endless stream of hopeless romantics, dashing around to find the perfect Valentine's Day gift for that special someone. Safe to say I kept myself swimming in the opposite direction.

Today taught me a lot about appreciation. I've never really taken the time to just put some music in my ears, walk around, breathe in the air & enjoy my new habitat. It sounds painfully cheesy when I put it like that, but it's so true. I don't think I ever realised how lucky I am to be here & be part of such a beautiful, cultural city.

Anyway, after hours of embracing my self-proclaimed 'philosophical epiphony', I headed home happy & full of enthusiasm. I used the rest of my day to relax & did end up falling asleep, with a day of walking taking it's toll. A cheeky late-afternoon nap did me the world of good & I decided I wanted to go out & enjoy the night-life, almost in stark comparison to the day time I had experienced hours earlier.

Me, Tom & Vinny ended up going out on a miniature pub crawl, with the boys enjoying their spirits while I dabbled between cokes & cranberry juices. It turned out to be a good night, with the three of us just enjoying a good bit of socialising. Makes a nice change from shouting over the top of each other in overpacked, overrated nightclubs.

For fear of spoiling, what was very nearly, the perfect day, I opted for an early night. I think I may have found my new formula for my Saturday's from now on.

THD.

"We line the streets like soldiers daily, to let them know that we ain't fading..."

- Rob Harvey

Today was the return of my Writer's Workship seminar tutor, Mimi Thebo. She had been otherwise occupied & unable to make our seminar for the last two weeks, so it was nice to have her back. I think my pleasure her being back isn't to do with her teaching abilities though; I think it's more to do with the fact that I feel like I'm getting my money's worth, because at the end of the day, I'm there to take as much of the knowledge from her literary mind as I can.

We had an interesting seminar exploring the schematics behind various styles of poetry, which isn't my favourite style of writing but I find, much to my disappointment, that I have a bit of a knack for it. I also got the feedback for a piece of writing that I did, which pleased me; got a 2:1 out of it & the potential for improvement excites me.

That usual Friday feeling hasn't really been as potent recently, but I think we all know that the alcoholic incentive plays a massive part in that; & today was no exception to this new lack of excitement. After coming home & enjoying the piece & quiet of my room, I decided to see what the boys were up to. I wasn't in the mood for a massive party, but I did fancy socialising. So a couple of the lads came round & we just had an easy-going evening, which ended up being a good laugh. Who knew it was possible without beer?

Then, as I returned to my quarters around oneish, I got a request from Lady Parker of Charlton Court to come & visit, to which I happily obliged. Funny really, I hadn't actually scene her properly for about a week & it felt like it had been that long since we'd spoke that the whole 'pop over for an early-morning chat' business almost seemed like a foreign idea, but as soon as she came round, it felt normal again. Was nice to see her & the good thing about Ellen is that we always seem to pick up where we left off & the conversation just flows nice & easy.

After about three & a half plus hours, we called it a day at about five. Great preparation for the early start I was planning to have tomorrow! Definitely worth it though.

THD.

"I am puzzled by people, loving isn't easy; you can't Google the solution to peoples feelings."

- Mike Skinner

As you may have noticed from my recent opening quotes, Mike Skinner is back in my life. His two new albums, Cyberspace & Reds/Computers & Blues, have taken my playlist by storm & are refusing to leave; & I couldn't be happier.

I convinced myself to take 'a personal day' today, to basically chill out & casually get on with my creative project, avoiding any unnecessary rushing around. I've never been much of a rushing around kind of person; don't really care much for it. At the end of the day, I'm a gentleman & as Mr Sting once said, "A gentleman will walk, but never run."

The only thing I did really was headed in to uni' around 17:00ish to meet up with my Creative Project group & get the latest progress update. We've finished writing the general storyboard, we're hoping to be finished scripting our individual scenes by Tuesday, with any corrections or edits being completed by the following Thursday, which should mean we can start taking photos by the weekend. It's all happening! Nice to see it beginning to come to life.

There's nothing else to report really, it has just been one of them days. I do think it's necessary to complain about the total unprovoked groin injury that I seem to have acquired doing nothing. It seemed to happen during my Creative Project meeting & it's just been plaguing me since then. But, in typical student fashion, I'd rather limp for the next few weeks then pay the physio any of my 'hard-earned' cash. I guess it won't matter in eighteen days, when I can just numb the pain with some good ol' fashioned alcohol. Ten days in & still going strong.

Now leave me alone, I have precious 'Streets material to indulge in.

THD. 

"Cause life moves pretty slow; if you don't even show up for the show, you might never know..."

- Mike Skinner

Life's been fairly quiet recently with this whole 'not drinking' lark; my social life seems to have been nipped in the bud for the time being. This isn't a bad thing though, because I've been able to concentrate a lot more on the important aspects of my life. I think it's also causing me to make some better decisions.

Take university for example: I've finally made the conscious decision to stop playing football for the school on a Wednesday, because it's interfering with my studies. I think if I'd been drinking through the week, I would of opted to play football instead because the thought of struggling through study after drink is a lot less appealing than the thought of playing football through it.

I made it to my seminar today & because I'd had the chance to endulge in the prep. work the night before, I felt like I was on top of my game. It's always better when you actually want to be there too.

The rest of my day was spent hammering away at work for my Creative Project. I can't remember a time that I've actually felt so keen & passionate about a project before; I'm really taking it seriously & I'm excited to have the opportunity to take part in something like this. I would probably go as far to say that it's almost become my latest addiction, in the absence of alcohol. The group are pulling together well & I think if we pull it off, we're definitely looking at 1st material.

My evening was sort of split into two seperate parts really; the first wind & the second.

The first wind was me chilling in my room watching the football - no, not England vs. Denmark - France vs. Brazil. Many would consider this to be unpatriotic, but in all honesty I've just lost interest in England. I don't see them as 'my team', it's just like watching from a neutral perspective. So I decided, from a neutral perspective, to watch a game which promised to be more entertaining, in the from of the France/Brazil game. I'll start being passionate about England when the team starts showing a bit of passion & picking players who would die for the shirt, as apposed to picking players who just get in the team because the money dictates that they should be there.

Then, as my night began to fade, I got my second wind. Went over to chill with Jamie & Vinny at Vin's for a bit, but ended up coming back to mine to watch the Banksy documentary I watched a while a back. Vin's doing graphic design, so I felt like it was something he needed to see, & I just knew Jamie would love it cause he's just an all round appreciator of cool stuff. We ended up staying up 'til about half two in the morning just chilling & chatting about the possiblities for collaboration between us, given the fact that we all have specific, artistic talents.

Another exciting project could well be on the horizon...

THD.

"I only got out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone."

- Lord Byron

'Carnage - the savage and excessive killing of many people'.

At first, you would look at this definition & wonder how it is exactly that a UK student party organisation could possibly name themselves this. It makes absolutely zero sense at all. I have to admit, this was not that definition that I was expecting, as I feel as though the perceived meaning of the word has been altered over time, where by people seem to hold it in the same regard as 'pandemonium'. In that context, which I think is what the organisation were aiming for, it would make sense. Ironically, however, I think it highlights everything that is actually wrong with the event. The whole thing just reminds me of the massively pretentious 'pretty-people-scene' from back up north & that was one of the many reasons I left in the first place. Yeah, I might sound like a grumpy, anti-social, square of a human being, but I guess I'm not really interested if I do. It's just a money making gimick which is basically designed to bring a bunch of people who want to get pissed & shag their way to happiness together, as well as throwing in a few people, who would only usually go out once a year, & making them feel pressured into going because 'everyone else will be doing it & you're boring if you don't'. Obviously there are a the minority who are just out with their mates for a laugh, that's always gonna happen. These are the people who would just be out anyways, so fair play to them. But other than that, the whole thing just doesn't seem to appeal to me at all. I don't need to go out once every 3 months to feel socially secure. *aaaaaaand exhale...*

Anyways, no marks for guessing if I went to Carnage tonight.

Going back to the start of my day, I had a lecture 13:00-14:00, then got together with my Creative Project group to try & finish our storyboard so we could get on with the 'hands-on' stuff. We had a really productive meeting, & we managed to reach a point where we only had one segment of the story to work on. So we decided we'd all go away & take a stab at coming up with our own interpretations of that part of the story & then just have a brainstorm (or whatever the politically correct term is) with all our ideas. Progress was the word of the day! Progress indeed...

The rest of my day & night was pretty much spent chilling with my housemate, Katy McSparron. Two of the others, Tom & Isobel, had gone home & we would both usually socialise casually with one of them two, respectively. So we had a bit of a bonding session & just chewed the fat of life all night, which I've missed a bit recently, cause we've both kind of taken solice in our same-sex equivalents, me with Tom & her with Izz. Nevertheless, I had a nice, easy-going night & I would be fresh in the morning, which is more than could be said for about half of the uni' that was at Carnage.

Small victories, I guess.

THD.

"A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled."

- Raymond Chandler

Today was one of those days where I felt like I had done so much, but looking back I actually haven't really.

I'd decided I was going to really get ahead on my university work, so I went through the handbooks for all my courses & I bought a bunch of books in advance so that I just had them all ready for when I needed them & so I wasn't having to buy them one by one as I went.

I'm the kind of person who likes to write lists. I like to be able to visually look at the things that I need/need to do & be able to check them off, because otherwise they get lost in the labrinth of my brain & someone, usually me, ends up getting let down. So after buying my books, I wrote done all the things were relevant to me for the next week or two & I shall be scoring them off throughout the week.

With regards to uni', I'm currently in the middle of a really interesting group project on my Creative Writing course. Me & four others were put into a group last year & we were basically asked to 'do anything that takes creative writing out of the classroom'. It's pretty much exactly what you want to hear if you're a creative sort of person. We've decided to go for a film noir style graphic novel, only it's going to be a digital presentation, with voiceovers, sound effects & a soundtrack. We've decided to label it a 'still film', because it's just easier to say, really. I'm really looking forward to it, because it gives us a real chance to show off our talents. I'm hoping we all pull through on it & achieve what we're aiming for; it really has got some amazing potential. More on that as we go...

After getting the important stuff out of the way, I decided to reward myself with the latest episode of Californication. It's cliche to say it, but it genuinely does just get better with every episode. I like how they're really testing Hank's character this season, because for the majority of the last four season, he's just waltz his way through life without any real sort of, consequences. This season, we're being shown a side of him that we, as an audience, aren't really used to seeing, where everything has just gone completely south for him. Every time it looks like we're just going to fall back in to the old ways of him getting off scott-free, something else happens that brings him back down to Earth again; it's a really good contrast from previous seasons & I'm enjoying it so far.

The rest of my day consisted of going to collect the moneygram my Dad sent me, part of a delayed Christmas present, from the Post Office & then having the discipline to not spend it.

On a final note, I'm finding this sobriety to be more rewarding than I first thought. It's been a week now & I feel like I'm really being able to concentrate on the creative aspects of my life, which was one of the main factors behind it. I'm starting to think that the alcohol may well have been responsible for stiffling my progress slightly, because I was obviously a lot lazier & lethargic through the day, even though it would also be responsible for me missing the majority of the daylight hours anyways. I appreciate that the social side of my life has been put on hold slightly, but it's a small price to pay for the work ethic which is coming out of it. I've got my best years ahead of me really & come a few months time, I won't even remember what I supposedly missed.

The feeling of contentment is certainly a refreshing one.

THD. 

"The prettiest people do the ugliest things, for the road to riches and diamond rings..."

- Kanye West

I was really looking forward to today's game for the 2nd team. We've been on a good run of form recently & I think we've really started to gel together as a team. Fortunately, we continued in a similar fashion, winning today's game 5-1. Interesting game, which is always expected when you're playing a team who are, no joke, called 'Edcase United. We played some good football, but when it came down to it there was no denying the fact that half of their team was more interested in kicking people than they were in actually playing football. Third win on the bounce & we're finally picking up the momentum that our performances have deserved in recent weeks.

It was another day of football-orientated behaviour as we headed to the pub to watch the much anticipated Liverpool/Chelsea match. After all of the drama brought on by the Torres transfer, this was definitely a match we weren't about to miss. It was made all the more interesting by the fact that my good mate John was with us; a lad very much of Scouse origin who's Liverpool through & through. Although the game didn't really live up to the hype, it was nice to see justice being done as Liverpool won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, with Raul Meireles scoring moments after Torres had been subbed off. John was a very happy boy, as you can imagine. It wasn't as good for me, because all the lads were sitting drinking throughout the game & the spirits were high by the end of it. But, as I've said before, I guess I can't really complain given that it's my choice. I'm pleased I'm managing to weather the storm though.

Not much else to report after that really, mostly because it ended up being an early night, as all the lads were too pissed to stay awake!

A quiet hour in front of the PC was all I needed to unwind, then I opted to hit the sack myself.

THD.

"The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and faith to believe it is possible."

- Richard Devos

(The Great Blog Catch-up of '11 - post for 05/02/2011)

'Game cancelled'. These were the first words I read this morning, as my blurry eyes struggled to pick out the words from the text which had just woken me up. It was the 1st team coach letting us know that our afternoon football match was off. Disappointing, but the small child inside me who wanted to stay in bed was wearing a cheeky smile.

Little did I know, & some what ironically I might add, this was to be the start of a day which would provide me with quite possibly the greatest ever game of Premier League football that I have ever witnessed. Forgetting about all the corruption & loss of integrity that has come to plague the business side of the game, it was days like today which reminded me why we put up with all those ridiculous inconveniences.

Today was a big game for Newcastle United; we played host to the Gunners at St. James Park & I have to admit, I was not looking forward to it. I had a feeling we were going to get absolutely turned over, given the circumstances of the last week. After about 42 seconds of the match, my feelings seemed to be pretty spot on. Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle. Shit. After about 26 minutes, my feelings weren't only spot on, but I couldn't help but feel as though we were about to go down in history for the biggest home defeat ever in the Premier League. Arsenal 4-0 Newcastle. No, that's not a typo: 26 minutes played, 4-0 down. We managed to get to half time without conceding anymore, but it was hardly a consolation for a first half of football which was nothing short of abismal from Newcastle & brilliant from Arsenal. It was going to take some hellish words from Alan Pardew to have any sort of impact on this one.

Both teams emerged for the second half & it didn't look like much had changed. Arsenal started the half the way they'd ended it, continuing the all out attack which had served them so well in the first half. I remember hearing the commentator saying 'Newcastle haven't made any substitutions at half-time, which suggests they're just going for damage limitation this half.' Oh, if only he knew how wrong he would end up being.

Newcastle had picked up their game after the first 10 minutes of the half & were starting to pressure Arsenal. There were a few collisions starting to take place all over the park & the game was beginning to develop a real edge to it. Then, around the 50 minute mark, it started. There was a 50-50 challenge in the middle of the park between Joey Barton (shock) & Abou Diaby, with Barton winning the ball & his momentum taking him through the challenge, clattering Diaby in the process. As a result, Diaby lost his cool & grabbed Barton by the back of the neck, thrusting him to the ground. It had 'red card' written all over it, & sure enough Phil Dowd didn't disappoint, brandishing the red card from his pocket. Turning point, perhaps? We'd soon find out...

After 18 minutes of pressure from a revitalised Newcastle, the next chapter in the story unravelled. Leon best was brought down in the penalty area by Koscielny & we were awarded a deserved penalty. All of a sudden, I was starting to get that feeling of 'what if?'. Up stepped Joey Barton to take the spot-kick. Whistle blows. Barton takes. Goal. Newcastle 1-4 Arsenal.

If the seed of optimism had been sewn after the penalty, it was being well & truly watered 7 minutes later when, after having a previous effort disallowed for an incorrect offside decision, Leon Best popped up in the penalty area to slot home a Jose Enrique cross at the second time of asking. Goal. Newcastle 2-4 Arsenal. All of a sudden there was only one word on the lips & minds of every Newcastle United fan across the world: comeback.

Newcastle were all of over Arsenal & were winning every battle on the pitch. It took 8 minutes of battling before the next chapter was written. I have to say, if this was turned into a book, I'd call this part 'The Controversial Penalty'. Having now seen this penalty decision numerous times, it's safe to say that there is no way on this Earth that Phil Dowd should have ever given a penalty. But, having said that, I couldn't have actually cared any less at this point. Joey Barton was on the spot again, waiting to take the spot-kick once more. Deja vu wasn't even the word. Whistle blows. Barton takes...

... GOAL! Newcastle 3-4 Arsenal. In the words of Chris Kamara, 'UNBELIEVABLE JEFF!' That seed I was talking about earlier had suddenly sprouted from the ground & was making a break for the clouds in a desperate attempt to be showered by sunlight. I think everybody in the whole of Waterside Court (my uni' halls) must have heard me screaming & shouting. I just had that feeling that surely we were going to do it now. The momentum was there & Arsenal just didn't look up for it at all.

The next 4 minutes felt like 4 days if I'm honest, but I would happily endure them all over again just to see what happened next. 86th minute & Newcastle were awarded a free-kick over by the right hand touchline & once again it was Joey Barton who stepped up to deliver. The Arsenal penalty area was full of black & white shirts for Barton to aim at, as he swung his right-footed free-kick into the area. It seemed anti-climactic at first, with Arsenal heading the ball away at the first time of asking. As it started to fall out of the air though, it looked like it was putting itself on a plate for someone to strike from around the 25 yard mark. Having had my eyes fixated on the flight of the ball, I hadn't noticed Cheik Tiote setting himself up for the shot. He swung his lesser-favoured left foot through the air & as it connected with the ball, I took a deep breath. Baring in mind he had never scored for Newcastle & he was right-footed, I think I would have all but ruled the possibility of a goal out if I'd had the time to do so. The ball zipped towards the goal & all I could see was the back of the net move. I don't know if it was because I was streaming the match online, which didn't provide me with HD viewing by any means, or whether I just couldn't believe that what I had just witnessed was possible, but there was a brief moment were I paused, because I didn't know if we'd scored or not. Exhaling & watching the rest of the team running away in celebration, it was official. GOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!! Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal! For the next 5 minutes I proceeded to scream with joy, while laughing my head off in sheer disbelief, at what had just happened. How the hell does a football team come back from being 4-0 down in the first half to draw 4-4? It's absolutely unheard of. The plant that had sprouted just 4 minutes earlier had now blossomed into a

I would tell you about the rest of my day, but based on the fact that nothing else really happened, as well as the fact that nothing could top this experience, I'm going to choose to end this post on the high that was Newcastle United 4-4 Arsenal, 5th of February 2011.

All I will say is that watching Match of the Day has never been a more enjoyable experience.

THD.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Here's a little number I tossed off recently in the Caribbean."

- Noel Coward

(The Great Blog Catch-up of '11 - post for 04/02/2011)

I think it would be fair to say that my actual day didn't start until about three in the afternoon. 

I had nothing on, mainly because my seminar tutor was off for our usual 13:00-15:00 seminar. It really was a day full of meaningless activities, which mostly involved PES 2011 & various episodes of TV programmes that I was catching up on.

The flat itself was pretty empty. Three of my six housemates were away either at home or visiting their respective partners, which meant it was only me, Tom, Isobel & Jesse left in the flat; this still really only meant there was three of us, as Jesse had a tendency to go back to his home in Bristol so that he could get to work over the weekend. Fair play really.

After a day of nothingness, the three of us decided to have a quiet night in with a film. We decided to watch Monty Python's 'The Meaning of Life' because we were in a bit of a comedy mood. Danny ended up coming over to join us, but that was about as exciting as our night got. Unfortunately, we did all realise that it wasn't as good of a film as we remembered. I had some pretty funny individual moments, with the sketches of the Grim Reaper & Mr. Creosote being funniest, but other than that it did seem to drag in parts.

We followed that up with a few episodes of Flight of the Conchords, & some cheeky pancakes courtesy of Miss Lindsell, but we soon grew sleepy & the combination of ambience & general tiredness got the better of us all. We decided to call it a night.

A good preparation for tomorrow's football match, if nothing else...

THD.