Dean's Blog

I don’t usually get caught up in the hysteria of things such as this but on this occasion I have to blog about this.

This World Cup has not been the most memorable, no one player has stood out as the star of the tournament and most games have been predictable to choose the winner. As we approach the end of a World Cup that England would rather forget there is one England star that is becoming something of a sensation.

Paul the “Psychic” Octopus.

The animal has become the most unusual celebrity at this year's tournament after correctly indicating whether Germany would win or lose each of their six games during the tournament.

His keepers at the zoo in Oberhausen claim he is psychic, and help him make his predictions by offering him mussels from two containers - one adorned with the German flag and one with that of their opponents. Whichever vessel Paul chooses to eat from is held to be his tip to win the match - and his choice of Spain for last nights semi-final added further weight to his burgeoning reputation.

So far he has a 100% record and I cannot wait to see who he is going to pick in the final. On paper Spain should win but will the fate of the Octopus prove to be totally accurate? If not I fear me maybe on the Paella menu for many a Spanish restaurant.

What a star this Octopus is!

Well the time has finally arrived. What began as a simple idea in 2006 is now a dream fulfilled. It’s been a dark and trying time with so many problems I had to overcome, but through will and determination it just had to be done. Even in the darkest days when it seemed that all would fail, just the mere thought of this becoming a possibility kept me moving forward.

It was back in October 2006 that it began. I had just ended a five year relationship, my ex had fleeced me of nearly every penny I had. Left me in a house that I could not afford paying. My last writing job had come to and end and I was taking on any menial job going in order just to survive. That was not for long, in April 2007 I was evicted from my house by my rather gloating (and vastly overweight landlord).

In my early 30’s I had to do something that I could not ever imagine doing even as a teenager and for the first time in a while I moved back to Bristol. I had left Bristol some eight years earlier and though the fields and buildings were all the same, it was a shell of a former place that I once called home. The people I had known had long moved on, the good times that I had lived were nothing more than whispers in the wind. I was home, but the home no longer existed.

During this time that I was away from London I began to miss everything about it. The simple things that I once hated suddenly had a longing for, the tube, the parks, the shop that offered 5 beers for £6, but most importantly I was missing the friends I had made there. Who was to blame seemed to change every day in my mind, at first it was my ex, then it was me, then it was anyone that just made me feel better. Whomever it was that took the pain of turning my life upside down was the victim of my wrath.

It was then that I got a phone call out of the blue from one of my closest friends, Marie Eriksson. A lovely Swedish girl who had become a very good friend of mine towards the last few months of London. She invited me over to stay with her and her family for a few weeks in the summer and I jumped at the chance. Just to get out of Bristol was something I was not going to say no to.

I stayed just outside of Goteborg and spent two of the most enjoyable weeks of my life. Now I’ve been all over the world, to many places and seen many life changing moments. But something happened during these two weeks, something that would change my life forever. I cannot put my finger on it, maybe it was Marie showing me a different side of her during this stay, and perhaps it was the culture that I fell in love with. But I did know that the minute I landed back in the UK I would be one day moving to Sweden.

2007/8 saw little change in my life. I was lucky to get a really good deal and began doing some freelance writing that financially saw me get back on my feet. Then in 2008 a decent opportunity took me back to London where I have been since. Alas London, like Bristol, is a city that never stands still and friends come and go like passengers on a train and those I did leave the previous year had gone.

The last two years saw me putting my dream of moving to Sweden into overdrive. I began working and writing more than ever in order to financially sustain the move. Stepping up learning the language, the history and the culture of the country took up the majority of my spare time. It was like going back to school but unlike learning something that was forced upon you, this was essential, it had to be done.

Now here we are in 2010 and my move to Sweden goes ahead in just eight weeks time. Thinking back to that day in October 2006 when I had drank a full bottle of whiskey fearing for my entire future and even existence here I am. What started out as a dream became an objective that was fuelled by desire, passion, love and want. I could not let life keep me down, I simply refused.

No matter where you are in life, whatever it is you are doing if you have a goal it can be achieved. With the love and support of friends and family nothing is impossible. My adventure has only just begun. If you have one I will support you all the way.

Dreams can come true.

So another four years of hurt, another four more years of dreaming. England crash out of the world cup and the press are gathering around The FA HQ like vultures eyeing a dying carcass.

"They should never wear a shirt again" cries one paper, "Embarassing!" reads another. Yet who is to blame for England's exit? Capello? No. The players? No. The answer is the press themselves.

Yet another world cup and another world cup exit. England were not just beaten they were totally outclassed by a young and passionate German team whose average age was 24 compared to Englands 29. It really was a case of men vs boys and the boys won. The 25,000 England fans who made their way to South Africa stood with heads bowed, looking down as to find the reason why England could not qualify.

Most of the English players were at the end of a very long season, some playing close to 70 games without a break, tiredness was a factor. Rooney was absent for most of the game and the defence were torn apart by a ruthless German attack. But Capello nor the players should take the blame. This lies with the absurd hype from the English press that the players must certainly feel. The way that the English press ridiculed the German team was unfair and rather embarassing. Let's be honest football is not coming home, England do not have the right to win the world cup simply as they invented the game and the level of criticism thrown Capellos way is down to the press themselves overhyping what is in truth an average team.

This was one of the weakest England teams to ever enter a wprld cup. Only Rooney and Ashley Cole stood out as what I would describe as a world class player. Sure Capello's tactics were not spot on. Why Matthew Upson was playing was a mystery.


The English fans will no doubt argue that Lampards goal should have been given, and rightly so. But the truth is England were all over the place. It was the old story. Put England in against a half-decent team and they lose.

But this was more than a defeat - it was an apology of a performance. Since 1966 England have never beaten any team of any quality at the knockout stage of a World Cup. The only successes have been against the might of Paraguay, Belgium, Cameroon, Denmark and Ecuador.

So, no more excuses, please. It's about time the English Press laid off the team and let the manager get on with it. There is nothing wrong with patriotism and the English are one of the most patriotic teams around. But hanging a manager by a noose creted on the press's expetency to win is unfair.

The Truth of Englands tournament is simple. Drew against a decent USA team, then a poor draw against Algeria. A victory against Slovenia and suddenly it was "Were on top of the world!", "England to win!". On these performances I think England got as
Yes,far as they deserved and were thoroughly outplayed by Germany.


Germany played a totally different brand of football. Modern football, moving the ball round the pitch at pace and with technique that shamed England, who looked slow, dull and witless in comparison.


There will be calls for certain players to be packed off into retirement.

And yet where are the replacements? The cupboard is bare.

Capello had a look at Theo Walcott, Micah Richards, Adam Johnson, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young & Co and plainly didn't think them up to it. Those few England supporters who will still rally blindly to the cause will, no doubt, claim we are no worse off than Italy and France.

But, at least these two countries have had a recent glorious past. So it's time for the press to be honest and truthful. But that will never happen.

I have just read that Michael Jackson has generated over $1 Billion since his death almost a year ago.

A magazine says Jackson's album sales have generated about $383m (£259m), while revenue from the film This Is It has hit nearly $400m (£271m). Profits from publishing rights, licensing and touring are also included in the total. A new recording contract is estimated to have made $31m (£21m) so far. The Sony Music Entertainment deal will see 10 albums of the late singer's music released over the next seven years, including one of previously unreleased material.

This is all great news for the Jackson estate and probably most importantly it will set his children up financially for the rest of their lives and ensure that they live a life of comfort which of course would be any parents wish.

Now I am not a huge Michael Jackson fan, I am certainly not obsessive. I have his greatest hits, Thriller, Bad on my Iphone. But this report has raised some sense of anger within me. No matter what his personal life entailed Jackson was one of the greatest performers of all time. His music, choreography and voice pleased millions of fans for decades. Seeing Michael Jackson perform live was something I will never forget. I was a toddler when Elvis died; I was born after the Beatles. He was the icon of our generation.

So why in his final years did he end up a penniless artist living of donations and living in a rented apartment? Why did those music moguls who took him for millions of dollars abandon him in time of need. Where were all the business men that promised they would look after Jackson? They simply bled him dry and left him. Many famous people end up losing their self made fortune and Jackson was one of them. Yet Michael Jackson was an intelligent man who knew how to handle business. He was no airhead, he was a smart man. I do feel that at the end of his life his financial state could only be described as desperate. Forcing a performer who was vastly underweight, not in good health and had not performed on the levels that the “This Is It” tour demanded was unfair.

Jacksons legacy that he leaves behind is the memory of his music to the legions of fans and if this report is to be believed a financial blanket to his family. It is just a shame that he could not have ended his days reaping some of the rewards his genius talent gave us.

Forget all those fictional fairytale romance stories you might have heard as a child - because Sweden has hosted the real thing.

Crown Princess Victoria has married her fitness trainer boyfriend, Daniel Westling, in Stockholm after a long romance.

The unlikely match was made in an even more unlikely setting.

Cupid was unleashed when the Swedish heir to the throne started working out at Mr Westling's gym in Stockholm in 2000.

In a TV interview, the Crown Princess said their affection for each other started as a little acorn but it soon became a mighty oak.

"Daniel and I had a very beautiful and grounded friendship. We were very good friends before, and it was a friendship that grew and became love," she revealed.

Mr Westling has already been groomed to take on a more ceremonial role in Swedish life, ditching the dumb-bells for a big title.

He will now be known as Prince Daniel Duke of Vastergotland - a huge leap for a boy who grew up in a modest house in a working class community.

In his hometown of Ockelbo, where the population is just 6,000, they are celebrating their most famous son.

Mayor Magnus Jonsson is swollen with pride, saying Daniel has put the town firmly on the map.

"I think this historical moment means a lot because when you think about it we are about to become part of history," he said.

"Daniel is from here, he was raised here and now he will become Sweden's Prince."

The union has also gone down well across Sweden where the couple are viewed as the epitome of a modern aristocracy.

The blue-blooded Victoria has fallen in love with a "commoner", meaning that social boundaries no longer have a place in society.

But it has also sparked an even bigger debate, with many Swedes questioning why the country - which is known for its egalitarianism - still needs a royal family.

Dignitaries and royalty from around the world attended the ceremony, which cost about £1m.

Well the waiting is over and the Royal wedding is finally upon us. It’s been strange to be caught up in this media frenzy and to witness first hand how another country, the country I will soon call home has viewed it.

Now if this was the UK the media would be in overdrive now and it would no doubt be even more popular than the World Cup. I can barely remember when Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married but I can recall the whole country coming to a complete standstill. But that was then and this is now and of course times have changed.

Like the UK, Sweden seems often divided between the royalists and those who think that a royal family is an outdated system that is a burden on taxpayer’s money. My own opinion is that having a royal family is a good thing providing it benefits the country in some way. Here in the UK the Queen not only sits on the throne but also is head of the Commonwealth, albeit with minimal power.

This year has seen The Crown Princess Victoria and her soon to be husband Daniel Westling overcome a lot of adversity and issues surrounding his background and I have admired the way that they have stuck together. Then we have the younger sister Princess Madeleine whose fiancé had an alleged affair with a Norwegian student and there own wedding was cancelled.

It just goes to show that being part of a monarchy does not change who you are as a person. You will still have the ups and downs to deal with in life, still have the issues about being loyal and true to the person you love. So to Madeleine I say “Plenty more princes in the sea”

To Victoria and Daniel. Congratulations and may you have a long and happy marriage.

Standing on a mountain I view the crimson sun
Thinking of where I’ve been and how this all begun
Escaping the world of darkness, longing to be free
Etched my dreams into my soul for all eternity
Those that tried to stop me, those who said “Just die”
Dare you now have the courage to look me in the eye?
My heart is on fire now it’s free from your remorse
No matter how much you doubted me, I’m a pure unstoppable force
Nothing hits harder than life and all the trouble that it brings
Yet it cannot keep this raven down even with clipped wings
I refuse to be a rat in life, running circles in its race
Failure is not an option; just look me in the face
For what you see is what you get but you cannot keep me down
Because I will be victorious and wear my golden crown.

So here we are. The day before the biggest sporting event in the world begins.

The tension and atmosphere surrounding this World Cup is one that I cannot recall feeling. In my lifetime I can remember back to the Mexico 86 World Cup and each one has always played it’s part in making football what it is today (apart from 94!)

I remember watching the 1990 World Cup when the late great Sir Bobby Robson’s men bravely reached the semi-finals. I remember the epic semi final against Germany when we had the tears of Gazza, the dreaded penalty shoot out and the expected exit. Never before has the whole country come to a complete stand still. With an estimated audience of 31 million only Charles and Diana’s wedding has provided a larger audience.

But here we are some twenty years later and the World Cup is heading to South Africa. In 1990 South Africa was a completely different place to what it is now. Nelson Mandela was released from prison. There was a vast overhaul in the political climate when the National Party took the first steps towards ending racial discrimination. This was by raising the ban on opposing parties including the ANC. Mandela’s 27 year imprisonment ended and he was a free man. In 1994 South Africa held it’s first ever multi-racial elections and Mandela became president with a landslide victory. But the country would not change overnight, unprecedented levels of crime, high unemployment and one of the highest HIV recorded cases around.

Twenty years ago it would have been deemed impossible to hold an event such as the World Cup yet miracles can happen. Tomorrow when a frail 91 year old Nelson Mandela addresses the world it will not only be one of is last public speeches but it will be closure for a country that has come full circle.

Just like the Olympics in China in 2008 the expected troubles and violence did not happen and we were given possibly the best Olympic Games in history. Whilst the world’s eyes of scrutiny will be watching South Africa I feel that this may also be the greatest World Cup ever.

I travelled up to Manchester last night for a meeting regarding a TV pilot. I don’t know Manchester that well but was fortunate enough to catch up with an old work colleague form several years ago. We made our way to a nice but not too extravagant bar for a few cold beers and a bite to eat.

It was one of those bars where the staff looked immaculate. The sort of waitresses that look like Leona Lewis and the bar staff like Abercrombie & Fitch models. One of the waitresses looked what many would define as “normal”. There was little striking about her appearance, tall, glasses, polite manner and she was kind and courteous throughout the time I was there.

In the corner of this bar were several business men obviously out on a corporate evening. They were the sort of businessmen that I tend to avoid going near, loud, obnoxious and the conversation that was obvious to everyone focussed solely on how much their annual bonuses would be this year. I would say from appearance they were in their mid 30’s yet looked ten years older, overweight and obviously unhealthy.

I was present at this bar for around two hours yet in that time this poor waitress was subjected to the level of harassment that nobody deserves. They were calling her names that I don’t want to describe. I could only tolerate so much and went to speak to the management. After speaking to the manager I was rather stunned to hear his reaction of “Don’t worry mate she gets this kind of thing all the time”.

Excuse me?!

Just because she had a normal appearance she has to be subject to verbal abuse in her place of work? Since when did any management use that as an acceptable argument? Of course myself and my friend could not tolerate this for much longer and were about to go up to the men serving the abuse when my friends girlfriend beat us to it.

What happened next can only really be described as being like a teacher telling off a crowd of naughty schoolboys. Lisa, my friend’s partner, laid into these men with so much verbal force and energy I think they turned white with fear. She gave them an absolute hammering and I was rather stunned when the men paid their bar tab and then left. I’m not sure what happened to the waitress as she seemed to have left, so if here shift was over or she finally had enough I guess I will never find out.

During my adolescence I was subject to being bullied in school but it only made me more determined and stronger to succeed in life and now when I sometimes get friend requests on Facebook I somehow take pride in realising that the drive and determination that they forced on me as a child has provided my life with far better rewards than theirs ever will.

Bullies are just people who are trying to fill their own empty lives with a sense of purpose and that is done by taking it out on those who are lesser than them in some capacity. My advice on anyone who is being bullied is that these people are weaker and less than you. Don’t take it; don’t be afraid to speak to someone in authority that can help. The example of the manager above is a bad one, but there are always people who can help.

Bullies are weak, shallow and empty people and always will be. YOU are a hundred times the person that they ever will be. You have one life to live, don’t let those bullies keep you down.

As usual on a Monday morning I found myself on a Eurostar train bound for Paris. Following spending the majority of Sunday afternoon in the pub I can say that my head was not as fresh as it usually is. Fortunately on this journey I was not placed behind a loud businessman or anyone who had a repetitive drum and bass tune that would effortlessly eat away at the sub-consciousness. For on this trip I was behind a woman and two rather well behaved children.

About a quarter of the way to Paris the little girl who must have been around seven or eight years old turned to her mother and said “Mummy what is it like to be a Mummy?” strange question to ask at such a young age but id did get me thinking. For a reason that I cannot explain I immediately began looking through my Facebook profiles. The reason for this is that a fair few number of my female friends on Facebook have children. Some have just became mothers, some are in the process of raising their children and unfortunately in some cases some have lost their children. It also got me thinking of my friend Jessika who tragically along with her baby daughter died during childbirth only two months ago.

There were many photographs to view from all over the world. Some very interesting some not so yet it got me to ask the very same question as the little girl on the train “What does it feel like to be a mother?” now that is a question that I cannot answer but I can provide my own definition on what a mother means for me. What exactly a mother is in the eyes of a man who has a mother he hardly sees. My definition is this.

A mother is not just a stage in a woman’s life when she has a child for the very first time, nor is it just a definition to describe the process of brining life into this world. Being a mother is simply the most powerful position that exists on this Earth. Producing a child takes two; I think anybody that has transcended adolescence would acknowledge that fact. Yet whilst the male’s role in this process of evolutions seems fairly straight forward what the mother has to endure can only really be described as remarkable.

Carrying a child for nine months creates more than just a physical bond; it creates the most powerful force on this planet. A parental bond. The spiritual and physical connection between mother and child is simply too difficult to define and describe. A connection is created that will bond two living forces together in a way that cannot be broken, either physically or emotionally. When the baby is born the only thing that matters in the eyes of the mother is the health and nature of her child, the world that existed is now only in the tiny hands and heart of the gift of nature that they have just brought into this world.

Through the child’s infantile years the mother will be the provider, the carer, protector and teacher. The entire progression and development of the child’s early years will be in the hands of the mother. As the child grows older into a young adult its needs will change and vary yet the role of the mother is always there, never leaving, forever caring and always protecting. There will at times in the child’s adolescence when it will feel that it no longer needs the protection of the mother and can see this as being a burden at times, yet the mother knows this and will give the child space in order to fulfil it’s transition into adult.

Yet even when the child is fully grown their will be times, many times, when it will turn to its mother in order to overcome a problem. Why? Because it is the child’s primary instinct to turn to the very person that provided, cared and loved them for all of their lives.

As I sit and now listen to several businessmen argue about salaries and how much their raise at work will this year I look at the mother whose daughter who asked this question is asleep in her arms and I realise one thing. Being a full-time mother is without question the highest paid job in the world. Because the payment that is given, not just each month, but each day is a payment of pure love and it’s not an annual increase but daily.

I would go so far to try and dare answer the eternal question. “What is the meaning of life”, to be the meaning is simply on word.

Mother.

One thing I have learnt lately is that you’re never too old to lose friends in life. When we are young we often see life as an endless journey that shows us death on a very infrequent basis. Look back to your youth you will find that the only funerals that you attended were mainly family members of friends of the family.

In my thirties I hear my mother say all the time that her friends seem to be “dropping like flies” and we should be grateful for the time we have with our friends. She could not be more far from the truth. There is a difference but it’s that very difference that concerns me.

Whilst my parent’s generation and indeed my parent’s friends seem to die of natural causes or “old age” I am also losing the same, if not more friends, than they are. This year alone I’ve lost friends due to childbirth, suicide, car accidents, overdose and even manslaughter. I’ve long passed the stage of questioning why, one thing I have realised is that we are all taken for a reason at a certain time and when our time is up, it’s simply over.

I have learned the value of life and how it should be lived. Not in a reckless fashion as each day would be my last but more of a lasting legacy to the testament of those I have been lucky and fortunate to share happy times with along the way.

Losing friends in life is something that we are all going to have to deal with at some stage in our lives I just guess that for me it’s happening more now than ever before. Yes I will cry, yes I will feel anger and raw regret. But once the tears have dried and the pain has sunken away the lasting feeling I now have is one of remembrance.

They are gone and I am here. The best I can do is live life in their memories.

R.I.P. Scott and Jay. BBQ’s will never be the same without your beers, burgers and bickering

This weekend saw the end of two TV series. Lost (USA) and Ashes to Ashes (UK). Both were series that were iconic in both countries, surrounded with mystery, hard to predict plotlines and a moral behind the cause. I’ve followed both series closely and those who know me will testify that I love a mystery.

I don’t like predictable endings. David Lynch has mastered this down to a fine art with shows such as Twin Peaks and also David Knaufe was another master with one of the finest TV shows ever Carnivale. Yet in the last two days I’ve seen both sides of script writing.

Lost had more twists and turns than Route 66. Even I got disillusioned and confused with the plethora of clues and mysteries that were displayed on the six seasons of this show. Were they alive? Were they dead? What was the meaning of the polar bear? Why was there a hobbit there anyway (joke) yet at the end all was revealed (no spoilers here) and in my mind it was one of complete disappointment. Too many questions were left unanswered and I feel that the scriptwriters were lazy in their efforts to reward the fans with a fitting finale.

Now compare this to Ashes to Ashes. The plot was less complex than Lost as it focused on one central character that had gone back in time to a place where she could either stay or return. Yet in one hour of sheer TV brilliance the scriptwriters tore up the rule book and left us with a finale for the ages. A wonderful script, brilliant acting and a plot so simple yet so meaningful it almost brought tears to your eyes.

When writing any script the focus has to stay on your audience and not what you think will be right or wrong. Lost certainly became “lost” as a victim of its own success where as Ashes To Ashes was a simple script that ended with an unpredictable storyline. It just goes to show that when writing any script or novel that the ending is how people will judge and remember you work. In the cases above the BBC hit the nail on the head. Superb scriptwriting.

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What is love? Quite possibly the most difficult question we can try to answer.

Since the dawn of time our primal emotional feelings have grown from a bond of human attraction to the most affluent of displays of affection to prove to the person that they indeed own our heart. To some people love is a friendship, to others it is the bond of a family, and to those lucky ones it is the most meaningful person in their lives. Indeed love can easily be described as the pure essence of happiness. But do we fall out of love as easy as we fall in.

Can you remember the time that you saw the person that you love for the very first time? Oh those feelings! The butterflies in your stomach when meeting them for those very first times, the actual physical pain when you were not with them and the very thought of them being the first and last thing that you thought of each day. They were the very essence of your own existence and everything else just was deemed to be immaterial and non existent.

Yet can that emotion remain?

It is human instinct to change our own behavioral patterns over time. The more familiar we are with something the less it seems we are fond of it. It becomes routine, the norm and soon the mind embeds it into its own sub-conciousness and begins to want to move on to the next thing. After five, maybe ten years can we as human beings still feel those initial feelings of those first few days? Yes we can on an occasion such as an anniversary or birthday yet do we owe it to those we love to remain on that same level of emotional consistency?
They say that “Love is patient, love is kind.” It is void of jealousy but does not become arrogant; it offers itself in a manner that those we know feel but those we don’t cannot see. It revels in triumphing over adversity and that is the best feeling.

Can we remain on that level of emotional consistency? Yes we can!
Always remain truthful in love, don’t rush it, and don’t fall into it confusing it for lust. Love will come when you when it is ready not when one demands it. It is akin to all your emotional dreams coming true at the same time. Love can be felt by more than just two people; it’s a collective emotion that can bond with many.

It connects those with a level of trust, loyalty and intimacy that you simply cannot define. A relationship is forged from the binds of our own existence and a fire is lit that cannot be extinguished. Love needs to be experienced and shared, not just felt. It is so deep its immeasurable. Take parental love as an example, the bond between mother and child changes the minute a child is born. It’s a pure unconditional love, unbreakable no matter what is thrown it’s way.
Love can be defined in many different ways. Romantic love is powerful based on the foundations of a physical and and interpersonal bond. Family love is more platonic, being defined from the people that gave us love in the very first place. The physical love becomes a parental love and the definition of the word continues to grow. Love will be felt on an individual basis depending on the person and will no doubt change over time but we owe it those we love to continue providing the emotion. Until the end of our very lives.

So please the next time that you see someone you love, partner, parent, child, sibling or friend don’t be afraid to say those three words “I love you”.

Because since the beginning of time, no three words have ever been so powerful.

So Pirate Bay, the torrent site, is offline again. Following a German court ruling its current ISP provider was forced to turn off the hosting. In the past Pirate Bay has bounced back very quickly each time it has been taken offline and I think it will be the same again.

File piracy, P2P, online sharing or whatever you want to call it is big business online. Billions of pounds are being lost from illegal sharing of music, videos, software, games and applications each year. But my real question remains “Is Pirate Bay being specifically targeted?”

Pirate Bay is one of hundreds of illegal sharing websites that people can easily obtain files via a torrent. It is arguably the most well known but certainly not the most used. Sites like ISOhunt and Bittorrent attract more visitors yet are targeted less by the music industry as being a site that they demand shut down.

Piracy is never going to go away. Were living in a world of ever increasing broadband speed and PC’s are getting faster, the days of waiting a day to download a movie are long gone. It can now be done in minutes with a fast enough connection. The fact is that governments are out of touch, too slow and uneducated in the fight against piracy and their laws are just farcical. Even the software giants such as Microsoft, Apple and EA Sports are falling behind times when it’s coming to online piracy.

No amount of fines are going to stop this and it will continue. Already Pirate Bay have backed up their database ready to move to another provider. I’m not saying that online piracy is right but I also have an issue with the prices that some musical and entertainment websites charge for media.

This is one war that is never going away.

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Often in life we will come across people that hurt us, people that abuse the very essence of the trust that we place in them as friends or loved ones. When those people decide to remove themselves from our lives they simply forget we ever existed whilst we are left to pick up the pieces, wonder what went wrong or what we could have done to make things better. Whilst the victim carries that torment forwards the bully simply moves on to their next victim.

The human soul is a very precious emotion. It can be raised so high that we feel like flying yet at the same time can so easily be destroyed in the blink of an eye. It allows us to feel love, be happy, optimistic, hopeful yet it can also fill our hearts with pain and despair.

During the low times in our lives there are days when it feels that there is absolutely nothing that can take the pain away and no matter how comforting our friend’s words are they just don’t seem to mend the gaping hole that has appeared within our hearts. But there is always hope.

During those bad times try and block out all the negative thoughts that your own mind is creating, try and empty yourself of all emotions. As the old Chinese saying goes “In a heart free from all emotions not even a tiger has room to insert its fierce claws”. When you are removed of all emotion those wise words from your friends will seem to make sense and whilst it won’t mend a broken heart it will momentarily lift it into a higher state of consciousness that will make you feel better.

We are always going to have those that make our lives a misery and unfortunately these people will never stop at doing their very best to ruin the heart of someone that they have no care or love for yet through the lies they will make those people believe that. But if you surround yourself with friends and family that you know love you. Well then the tiger really cannot scratch away at your heart.

So here we are.

One week after the election and the usual mess of UK politics rears its ugly head once more. Over the past few months we have had debate after debate (They are all mass-debaters in my mind), countless press and TV coverage and the endless party political broadcasts yet we still have no clear winner in the election.

The current method of voting in the UK is nothing short of farcical. Why cannot we have a system with the party with the most votes’ wins power? Oh no we have a Victorian outdated system that is nothing short of meaningless. As it stands the Conservative party are 21 seats short of an overall majority of 326 which is required to become the leading party. Labour have around 260 some 60 seats short.

During the campaign the Liberal Democrats came over as a party that surged in popularity but surprisingly they under performed when it came to voting and they only managed just over 50 votes. Yet here they are speaking to both the Conservative and Labour parties about forming a coalition government. So in reality the party that got fewer votes are dictating power to the party with the most votes. It’s beyond a joke.

Our country has been run by a spineless government and the voters chose a new option, a new party yet they cannot get in power due to the ridiculous voting system the UK has. Over the past few years our politicians have not only been abusing the system they have been abusing our country and it’s time for it all to cease.

The UK deserves to be run by people who have the public’s best interests at heart. If the Conservative party have the most votes then let them run it the way it deserves to be run and not by a party who only achieved 56 seats. When the world watches our MP’s stand up waving paper at each other and jeering like bullying school children it’s a wonder our politicians have any respect at all.

For the love of god sort it out.

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Ok let me be blunt last night was STRANGE.

I am sat here rather busted and bruised. My nose is almost broken yet my only crime of injuries was enjoying myself. So here is the story.

I’ve been working very hard the last few weeks, over the last 4 months I’ve been to France, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Sweden, Jersey and all over England so last night after flying back from Berlin I decided to go out and have a bit of fun.

Not far from the airport is a rather strange little pub, it reminds me of the bar in Star Wars you get all sorts in there and I mean all sorts! Last week I heard the place was shutting down so imagine my surprise when I had a text message from a friend of mine saying it was open. The bar/club was owned by an 89 year old guy who is a self admitted schizophrenic man who had over 20 years of psychiatric treatment. Yet last night was his final night of ownership.

The night was going slow until the Polish DJ turned up and informing us that there was about to be a “Polish Gypsy” evening. Now I had no idea what the evening was about but within 20 minutes the place was full of Polish women in traditional gypsy dress and a lot of Polish men who just sat at the table drinking a lot of vodka whilst the women were up dancing.



Around an hour into the evening the DJ (who is now the new owner) played some old school break-dance music. A few of the polish men got up and began to dance. My friend who is not a bad dancer decided to get on the dance floor and show them how it is done, but the true horror was about to unfold. When I was a teenager I was an avid break-dancer and would be often found spinning on my back or head and I’m rather proud to say I can still pull of a few moves.

So I decided to join my friend on the floor. Oh I was good! Windmills, spinning on my back, crazy legs, you name it I did it! I even got a round of applause from everyone. But the real tragedy was about to unfold.

After two double Sambucas I tried to do a “Face your fear” which is basically where you throw your body in the air and then arch your torso so you move backwards and looks a lot like the caterpillar move. It’s been years since I had attempted one at it showed as I fell flat on my face nose first. Good job nobody was filming as it would have been an instant YouTube hit; do you remember that guy with the Nunchucks who fell on his face? This was ten times more painful and to those watching no doubt funnier.

An ambulance was called they checked me out and said I was lucky not to have broken my nose and I had badly bruised it (It’s currently purple). Anyway by the time I got back in I had realised that I had missed my last tube home so I tried in vain to find a hotel. Eventually the 89 year old owner said that “As I was such a good customer over the past year” I could stay at his house.

I have had little dealings with this man but from what people have said he is rather old fashioned and strange, yet always welcoming and happy. I was too drunk to refuse and the last thing I recall is falling asleep on a rather uncomfortable bed.

Around 9am I was awoken by the sounds of a grandfather clock chiming. I did not know where I was nor how I got there but the night began to piece itself together slowly. I needed the toilet so spent the next 15 minutes wandering around this massive west London mansion trying to find the loo. Now when people said that he was old fashioned I had NO IDEA how correct they were. This man had no cooker, microwave, television, internet, fridge or freezer. The kitchen had a mangle from the 1950’s and an old fashioned cupboard. The front room had this old radio and that was it! I then looked up and saw a rather large collection of guns.





Now I am not saying it was the best decision in the world but when you wake up in a house of an 89 year old schizophrenic who has guns and live ammunition in the house, with a broken nose, you don’t hang around too long.

I eventually got home and realised just what a night it had been, injuries, dancing, drinking, playing pool and then to top it off waking up in a strange mansion surrounded by stuffed animals and guns.
Life is never dull with me.

I look up towards the heavens
Amidst a sky of grey
And ask the eternal question
Why did you go away?
Heavens gained an angel
Yet my life is empty and devoid
Memories flood through my mind
A heart abandoned and destroyed
My eyes have tried through crying
I no longer have the tears
Just a feeling of abandonment
That will last for many years
And now our journey it is over
I guess I will never understand
Why your no longer with us
Did god have this planned?
I take hope we will meet again
Until that day your name lives on
My life will never be the same
Simply now your gone

In less than 72 hours time the madness of The General Election will begin. The way things stand it will seem that we are heading for a hung parliament as the Conservatives will not have the overall majority required to be outright winners. No doubt the Liberal Democrats will be the real winners as they could form a coalition government with David Cameron.

I don’t really care what happens just as long as the incompetent Labour party are out. The last thirteen years has seen this country spiral downwards into an eternal pit of despair. Healthcare is at an all time low, unemployment at a twenty year high, immigration is spiralling out of control and the country is almost a trillion pounds in debt.

I’m not saying that the other parties will do any better but they simply cannot do any worse. Memories of the Labour party all holding hands singing “Things can only get better” and the launch of “Cool Britannia” send a cold shiver down my spine. They have had their chance and they seriously fucked it up.

David Cameron it’s over to you.

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Those who know me will agree that I love travelling; it’s one of the only perks I enjoy in life. To travel these days is cheap, affordable and if you plan it in advance something of a joy. However there is such thing as overkill.

The past three weeks I’ve only been in my home four nights (not including weekends). Paris, Liverpool, Ireland, Birmingham, Nottingham...the list goes on. Now some may think that this is a life they would like to lead but I would not want them to live in my shoes.

I’m in Paris again for the third Monday in a row; I’m sitting in yet another strange hotel overlooking a place I do not know listening to a language that I simply cannot understand. A sense of confusion, entrapment and a longing for a Subway are all floating around in my head somewhere. Tomorrow it is another destination and then a 6am flight out to Sweden.

At least I can relax in Sweden, though I do not officially live there yet it’s like my second home. I can relax, not do anything too much, walk down to the pub for a beer or just watch TV in the comfort of the apartment.

Travelling is a luxury that not all have, and I am grateful and thankful for ever place, every person that I know. I just wish as times I did not have to travel so much.

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Being a Pagan moving to a new country is always a difficult thing to do. Usually when people say “What religion are you” I tend not to answer as if I say Pagan I usually have to spend the next three hours explaining the difference between Wicca and Pagan and also then correcting the most commonly known facts that are always incorrect.

I don’t have a witch’s hat, I don’t sit in a pentacle chopping up bits of dead cat and no I don’t own any of the Charmed series on DVD. Being Pagan is something I have been since a child and it’s my own personal path and belief and as I respect all of my friend’s religions including Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, Wiccan, Rastafarian etc I would also want them to respect mine.

The last few weeks I have been reading a lot about the history of Sweden and it is quite refreshing to know that Pagan history played quite a major part of the countries history. Now if you question anyone about Swedish history the majority will have no knowledge of anything between The Vikings and Abba. But it is good to see that the country is indeed full of Pagan related history.

So imagine my surprise when I found out about Valborgsmässoafton or known by it’s more common name Walpurgis Night. Not only is this a celebrated Pagan festival but also a public holiday. It is basically a spring festival to celebrate the new season, bonfires are lit to keep away the dead that were believed to walk among the living this is followed by the return of light and the sun as celebrated during May Day.

One of the main traditions in Sweden is to light large bonfires, a custom which is most firmly established in Svealand, and which may have begun in Uppland during the 18th century: In Linköping the students and public gather at the court yard of Linköping Castle. Spring songs are sung by Linköping University Male Voice Choir and speeches made by representatives of the students and the University teachers. There are also newer student traditions in Gothenburg, like the carnival parade, The Cortège, which has been held since 1909 by the students at Chalmers.
I will be in Sweden on the 30th April and though I will not be attending any of these events just being in such an historic country makes me proud to be Pagan. I am sure that I will be attending next years and it will be a new experience for a British Pagan.

From Gizmodo.Com

Last week we brought you grainy pictures that purported to show the next generation of iPhone - the 4G.

Now a well-respected technology website has claimed they have got their hands on a working prototype.



Gizmodo.com said the phone had been 'found in a bar in Redwood City', camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS.

Writer Jason Chen said: 'We got it. We disassembled it. It's the real thing.'

While the outer packaging of the phone was rather rough and ready, Gizmodo have insisted that the hardware is anything but.

They said that unlike the 3GS currently on the market, the new smart phone has a front-facing video chat camera. It also has an improved back-camera with a larger lens and flash.



The screen has an improved display with a higher resolution so that individual pixels are not discernible.

At the top they found what looked like a secondary microphone for noise cancellation as well as split buttons for volume. All the buttons were metallic.

he phone measures 4.5"x2.31"x0.37" and weighs 140 grams. The 3GS weighs 135 grams.

The battery 5.25 WHr at 3.7V, compared to the 3GS battery, which is 4.51 WHr at 3.7V.

On the back of the phone, it said it was XX GB, but Gizmodo were unable to see how large the memory was as they believe Apple had killed the phone's 4.0 operating system after it went missing.



It fits in rather neatly with a number of rumours that were circulating about the device. Apple are notoriously secretive about new products so this could be quite the technology coup.

Gizmodo are certainly convinced. Mr Chen said: 'We get false tips all the time. But after playing with it for about a week - the overall quality feels exactly like a finished final Apple phone.'

Some bloggers have questioned whether the strange set of circumstances was too convenient and yet another example of Apple deliberately generating good publicity.

The iPhone 4G is expected to hit stores worldwide in June, according to the latest blog speculation and will be on the Verizon network in the US.

This was given some credence by the CEO of Canadian carrier SaskTel, who said in an interview: 'The good news is that (Apple) is coming out with a new version of the iPhone in the June timeframe and they're going to put us on that. So we're quite excited about that.'

Another tantalising piece of evidence that the iPhone 4G is nearing release is the new 4.0 operating system, announced last week, which would incorporate features such as multi-tasking into the current iPhone 3GS model.

Last week Apple announced the UK launch of the long-awaited iPad would be delayed by a month as demand had outstripped supply in the US.



The software engineer was reportedly drinking in a bar in California last month when the phone, disguised as a 3G version, was either lost, misplaced or stolen.

It was then handed on to the Gizmodo website which published the claims and accompanying photos and video. Shortly afterwards, an emailed letter - that appears to be from Apple, was sent to the editor of the site.

So far there's been no comment from Apple and no independent confirmation of the story. Predictably though, the rumours have been spreading quickly among iPhone fans desperate for any news about the next version.

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One week following the volcanic eruption in Iceland and the travel chaos continues. It’s kind of an eerie feeling at the moment as there are no planes flying over London and it’s immediately noticeable. I feel a bit selfish at the moment; I am worried that I might not be able to fly to Sweden on the 29th, selfish purely in the thought that there are millions out there in a worse position than myself.

It’s hard to fathom that one volcanic eruption can cause so much devastation; the volcano has caused minimal damage on the ground but utter chaos in the air. It’s the largest shutdown on European airspace in history. So far all flights from the UK have been suspended and several experts have said this could last for months. But what about the people who are already overseas? Those on holiday with nowhere to go or stay, those who are planning to come her for medical treatment and of course there are the imports that we so heavily rely on medicine, food, water, drugs, fuel etc. The list is endless.

The UK is an island that relies heavily on the import of products from overseas and the current scenario is not helping. The governments of Europe have been too over cautious with this ban. Rather than listen to what the airlines have said they have just imposed a complete no-go zone. KLM, SAS, Air France and BA have all conducted test flights and have said there were no problems at all. So why don’t the governments listen to them rather than ignore?

It’s a joke when governments never co-operate with the people that really matter in events like these. Of course passenger safety is the most important factor here but if the airlines are saying it is safe to fly then it should be. Instead we have the Royal Navy ferrying people across the channel costing millions, we have families buying second hand cars and driving across Europe just to get home.

The Airlines need to have the decision here. Not the bureaucrats in charge.

Five weeks ago I lost a friend through suicide. It was yet another friend who had departed this life far too early. Yesterday I was sat in the Swedish pub “The Harcourt Arms” watching a game of football when I received a text notification that I had a facebook message. I opened the message and it read like a thunderbolt.

“Have you heard about Jessica’s death?”

I have five friends on Facebook named Jessica but I immediately knew what this was referring to. My friend Jessika had gone into hospital last week to give birth to her first child. The baby was several days late and as the news was quiet people were just wondering what had happened. When the news came through via that due to complications both mother and child were dead my hand began to shake. When I say shake I don’t mean a little, it was like a crystal glass on a table during a force 8 Earthquake.

I had to make my way through London to get home and left pretty much immediately, gazing out at the window into the London I tried to make some kind of sense in the world I live in. Looking at all the people running around like headless chickens, people full of ideas, hopes and dreams only to see them diluted by normality. Though the journey only took one hour I think I covered a multitude of subjects, faith, friendship, life and death. I thought of the people I have loved, the people I have lost and asked the eternal question “What is the meaning of this, why are we here?”

Jessika was one of those people that never took life too seriously, her attitude was mature yet juvenile, optimistic yet realistic and she always had an answer for whatever life threw at her. It is that very attitude that many of us lose somewhere along the way in life, we forget what our dreams were and we age, gracefully yet end up blending into some form of routine. I don’t want that.

I think about the last words we ever said, the times we would be up all night trying to put the world to rights via facebook or text. Then I think about how lucky many of us are, we get to watch our children play everyday, we get to see our loved ones faces, the beauty of nature and the joy that life can bring. Then there is the sadness, Jessika will never get to see her daughter, never get to be a mother and never get to share anything that we all take so much for granted.

I’ve lost too many friends lately, maybe that is a sign of the society and times that we live in, or maybe I am just the most unlucky person there is. But when I read that line I know that statement is foolish. I am lucky, very lucky. Life may throw challenges at me but the very essence of being alive is what makes it all so worthwhile. Like those I viewed I will have days where normality takes over I will have days where I will spend it daydreaming. Yet Jessika’s death has taught me a valuable lesson.

The lesson is that I am so lucky to have the ability to be doing what I love. My writing is no longer an ambition for me, it is my destiny. My friends that have left this planet will never be forgotten, I will ensure that. Through my writing their names, memories and lives will live on as long as I have an audience. Someone once said to me “When a loved one dies, live your life in celebration of theirs” and that is exactly what I am going to do.

We are only here on Earth for a brief moment in time yet we all have the ability to leave an impact no matter how little it maybe. If the lives we live touch the hearts of just one person then that is the most wonderful legacy we can leave behind. Some maybe famous, others fade into the wind but there is one lesson above all that I am going to carry forward. That lesson is simply this

Life is the most precious thing that we possess, never waste a second, and never stop believing. Once you do it’s over.

R.I.P Jessika Peach. Thank you for being a true friend, your name will live on in my work for eternity.

We all love you

Well what a fun weekend that was. After all the cleaning up was done I was faced with a mass of paperwork and forms to fill in for the insurance. I don’t know what is worse really actually being broken into or the amount of paperwork you need to complete in order to get a replacement item.

Then of course on top of all that is starting all over again, I have to rebuild my ITunes, my Mac. There was a bit of good news though, I had managed to backup all my music, writing and photos up until the end of March so all I have really lost is the early draft of my new screenplay “Departure”, this is still fresh in my mind so I will begin to write this again today. The two things I am missing the most are my cash card and my passport, replacements are on the way but will just be a very inconvenient week until they arrive.

Overall when I think of the person who broke into my apartment I have a lot of sympathy for them, they have stolen a passport that has almost expired, a cash card that they cannot use, A Mac that is securely locked so that cannot be used and a PS3 that was already broken. The effort it must have taken to steal and sell that is equal to the effort I had filling in the paperwork this weekend.

I am sure deep down that we both could not have done with all this hassle this weekend. If the reason behind this break-in was to fuel a drug habit then I really hope that they seek the help they so obviously need.

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I must have one of these



Look closely and guess what they could be...



Are they pens with cameras?



Any wild guesses? No clue yet?

Ladies and gentlemen... congratulations!
You've just looked into the future... yep that's right!

You've just seen something that will replace your PC in the near future.

Here is how it works:




In the revolution of miniature computers, scientists have made great developments with bluetooth technology...

This is the forthcoming computers you can carry within your pockets




This "pen sort of instrument" produces both the monitor as well as the keyboard on any flat surfaces from where you can carry out functions you would normally do on your desktop computer.





Can anyone say, "Goodbye laptops!"

Looks like our computers are out of date..again!

Time is certainly going quickly this year. I stepped out today into the warmth of the spring sunshine and realised that we are now far rid of winter and the warmth of spring entwined with summer will soon be among us.

My rather tired vlog last night did not really get into the grasp of what I was trying to say, then again after travelling on a train for 4 hours even getting my own name out of my mouth would have been an achievement. But it really has hit me that time is running out for me, and fast.

At the end of 2009 I made the decision to move to Sweden after the winter of 2010/11, it gave me ample time to not only complete my learning of Swedish but also research as much as I could about the county, make new friends, a new network of professional writers and then move with everything in tact.

Now here we are less than ten months until my move and I am panicking like a fish about to be eaten by an alligator. Whilst my reading and writing is fairly up to scratch I have had little in the way of speaking. Around two years ago I was more than converse, I was nearly fluent but it’s like driving a different type of car, after a while you just forget. When I am watching SVT I can sometimes understand every word, then there are the other times where I cannot understand a thing.

My knowledge of the country is at a good standard. The friends are beginning to grow, but I am far behind with so little time to complete this all. I’m in the middle of writing a script; I still have “Highland Equinox to finish” and on top of that launching my own business in August.

So the yellow and blue flag is rapidly approaching to say “Valkommen!” but I am really swimming uphill backwards in order to be as ready as I would like. This is a true race against time.

A chapter in my life is shortly coming to a close and a new dawn beckons. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted of my shoulders and with it leaves a lot of pain. Time is the greatest healer a human can possibly experience.

It was a decade ago that I decided to make the biggest decision of my life and relocate to a world I did not know. Being disillusioned with my life back in 2000 I was not a happy person. I had moved to a house where I never saw my flatmates, I was in a job I was not happy in and also at the end of a terrible four year relationship. The decision was simple, run away. So I did, to London.

Starting a new job in a city where you don’t know anybody is a challenge enough, moving into a new house with people you never met is frightening, but to start a relationship with a complete unknown is the biggest challenge of all. It was far from easy the years of 2001/2, they were financially tough. I was living in a house where it seemed there were more people than could possibly be contained, work was dull and my social life was hardly one to write home about.

The years went by and I finally felt settled in London, the relationship grew stronger, the work got better and though I moved at least twice a year I finally settled in a nice house by the river. But as usual with my life nothing was ever going to be easy and half way through the decade I found myself out of work, out of a relationship and almost homeless. So I made the temporary decision to run home with my tail between my legs.

Moving back in with your parents after eight years away is never an easy decision but it did allow me to become financially settled again and after several months of home cooked food I decided it was time again to return to London. Possibly the biggest mistake of my life.

The friends I had made were gone, all that remained was a shell of what my life once was, and the eerie laughter of days spent in pub gardens had turned into whispers in the wind. Places I used to frequent either torn down or transformed into an unrecognisable unwelcoming sight. Only the river offered any form of recognisable stability.

So here I am, ten years on from my move and the chapter of “London” is closing. I’ve lived, laughed, loved and lost since I first stepped foot into Elephant & Castle. I have felt highs and lows never experienced before. But through all the madness and sadness I would not change a second of it as it has made me who I am.

Sweden now awaits, a new chapter in my life begins. I am no longer the guy in his early twenties who moved to London to find that the streets were not paved with gold. I am wiser, smarter and more resilient. I know that Sweden is not a kingdom laid with treasure and heavenly days. It is going to be the biggest challenge of my life, living in another country where the language, laws, lifestyle and history is all so new. Making new friends will not be hard, and a relationship is already here. What makes this one such a challenge is that it really is delving into the unknown.

Physically I have not changed much in the last ten years, a few more lines on my face but mentally I’ve grown a skin tougher than a Rhino. Sweden is going to throw a lot of challenges my way yet as always I will face them head on.

A new decade, a new chapter. Let The Sweden Tales commence.

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This year is just going too quickly for me. It’s almost April and though they say that the years move faster as we get older then I don’t think that I want to grow that old. The fact that it only seems like last weekend when it was New Year’s Eve make it even worse.

I have so much to do this year, plan my move to Sweden, complete the writing of “Departure” and “The Street” and somewhere in the middle live a life. I’ve been neglecting a lot of my friends lately, each time I see them they make comments about me being absent and “Have not seen you in a long time”, maybe this is a good thing, and maybe it’s a bad thing.

One thing that I will always make time for is my family and love ones, no matter how much I write or how many endless nights that I stay awake trying to rack my sometimes creative brain it is not always that easy to balance a life between writing and socialising. How mothers cope with babies is something I can no relate too!

But it’s not all hardship as I have always been a believer in karma and what you put into life you will also get out of it. I am sure that all this writing and working will pay off in a few years time and that things in life will be a lot better. The only things I have ever strived for in life are to make my family proud, my own self belief a reality and of course the bank manager very happy ;)

So sorry for being so absent. I will try harder.

Russian architects Arch Group have designed a booth for taking a quick nap in busy urban environments.



Called Sleepbox, the units could be rented for between fifteen minutes and several hours.



The architects envisage them installed at train stations, airports and shopping centres. Between users the bedding would be automatically changed, with sheets wound from one roller onto another.





SLEEPBOX

Imagine the situation that you are in the modern city, where you are not a local resident, and you have not booked a hotel. It is not comfortable situation, because in the modern, aggressive cities there are no opportunity to rest and relax. If you want to sleep, while waiting your plane or train, it may cause many security and hygiene problems. We believe that urban infrastructure should be more comfortable for people. For this purpose we have developed a device SLEEPBOX. It provides moments of quiet sleep and rest from the city without wasting time searching for a hotel.



Here are the possible locations for SLEEPBOX:

* Railroad stations
* Airports
* Expocentres
* Public and shopping centers
* Accommodation facilities

In countries with warm climate SLEEPBOX can be used on the streets. Thanks to SLEEPBOX any person has an opportunity to spend the night safely and cheaply in case of emergency, or when you have to spend few hours with your baggage.

SLEEPBOX is a small mobile space (box) 2mx1.4mx2.3m (h). The main functional element in it is a bed 2×0.6 m, which is equipped with automatic system of change of bed linen. Bed is soft, flexible strip of foamed polymer with the surface of the pulp tissue. Tape is rewound from one shaft to another, changing the bed. If a client wants to sleep in maximum comfort, he can take the normal set of bed linen for an extra fee. SLEEPBOX is intended primarily to perform one main function – to enable a person to sleep peacefully. But it can also be equipped with various additional functions, depending on the situation. Application of the device can be very broad, not only in the form of paid public service, but also for internal purposes of organizations and companies.

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A campaign to get the Wurzels, the West Country band who had a hit with I am a Cider Drinker, back into the charts gathered pace. Various Facebook pages, set up to hijack the charts and topple Lady Gaga with the Wurzel's distinctive folky sound, had received at least 3,000 followers.

Meanwhile the Leave Our Cider Alone campaign had attracted 21,000 followers by yesterday afternoon, with many vowing to make Sunday "Cider Sunday", to celebrate the last day before the duty takes effect.

Simon Russell, of the National Association of Cider Makers, said: "They burned effigies of Lord Bute across the west country in 1763 when he introduced a tax on cider and perry. He was a dour Scotsman too.

"I wouldn't want to be Alistair Darling if he dared venture down to Bristol. There is real anger around here."

Mr Darling announced, during the Budget, that cider duty would increase by inflation plus 10 per cent, equating to a 13 per cent rise in duty, adding as much as 10p to a 750ml bottle of cider.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, on a trip to Devon, said he supported a duty increase for the high alcohol cider such as Diamond White, but not on the traditional apple drink. He said: "The Government has

made a mistake. They don't understand the West Country, they don't understand this part of our country and they've got it wrong.

"Of course we need a higher tax on the dangerous high strength, things like White Lightning, which have as much relation to an apple as I do with Gandhi.

"But proper cider that people like to drink down the pub, we shouldn't be having a great tax hike on that."

Also in the West Country was Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, who was in Somerset and described it as a "smash and grab tax on an industry which is immensely important to many people here".

"They say [in Somerset] this sudden tax, this 10 per cent tax, has come out of the blue with no warning, no proper explanation, no proper thought given to the consequences. It is not the way you treat an industry which has done extremely well, particularly in the West Country, to suddenly whack them with a smash and grab attempt to get a bit of extra money for the Treasury."

In the Commons, Conservative MP Bill Wiggin asked environment minister Jim Fitzpatrick how he had "the nerve" to talk up agriculture, while the government hiked up duty on cider.

He added: "There are 600 businesses in Herefordshire alone producing this exclusively British drink. How are you ever going to persuade anybody to take anything you say about British agriculture seriously again?"

Mr Fitzpatrick said there was a "small cider makers' exemption" to the increase for firms producing less than 7,000 litres a year – he estimated it meant nearly 400 UK cider makers would not be affected by the duty rise.

I am a Cider Drinker reached number three in the chars in 1976, but it would be an achievement if it were to make a comeback. However, a successful internet campaign last Christmas helped Rage Against the Machine's protest song Killing in the Name beat the hot favourite, The Climb, sung by the X Factor winner Joe McElderry.

Mr Russell said: "I'm not entirely sure that the Wurzels being at number one will be entirely good for cider's image. But we are thrilled at how much popular support we are getting as an industry."

I have just read that The Times are, like The Sun, going to start charging people to use their news websites this summer. In the past ten years since the explosion of Broadband internet and WIFI the sales of newspapers has dropped dramatically and the Newspaper companies are now beginning to charge online.

Personally I am against this due to the fact that the news is something that should be available free of charge to any web visitor. I have total sympathy with the newspaper companies for the decline in profits but is this really necessary? News websites are the most updated available and I am always checking the BBC website to see what is happening in the world.

I can see this really going one way and that is people abandoning news sites all together. With social sites such as Twitter being a constant source of news will people really need to visit a papers site to catch up on what is happening? I am not too concerned that they are taking this approach as some papers are still stuck in the 19^th century towards their attitude to the internet.

Lately I have been getting the travel bug again. As the weather is getting warmer I always tend to drift off thinking of warmer climates. I have been very lucky in my life and have had the fortune of travelling Europe, America, South America, the Far East and Australia and it has not broken the bank.

With enough pre-planning travelling can be a very cheap experience and offers us the chance to see new parts of the world that we would not normally get the chance to see. I know that one day I will return back to Australia and South America but right now my heart is really set on Scandinavia which might sound odd as I will be moving there in a year.

But the more I research the more I want to know. The history of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark is as old, if not older, than most European countries yet it’s a history that is so unknown. Moving to Sweden I know that I will have the chance to explore much more in my time there so this year I’ll be travelling a lot to the other Scandinavian countries to find out more about this illustrious history.

I have not had a hot holiday for several years now but will have the fortune of visiting Japan this August when I know the weather is going to be warm, but it’s not all about the weather. The world is truly an amazing place and as people we are so lucky to live in times where travel is fast, affordable and not too much of a burden.

We have beauty within our own countries that we can also enjoy but there is little harm in hopping on a plane to a new location that we have never been to before. That’s the real beauty about travelling, it’s going to a new place, facing the unknown and learning something new to improve ourselves as people in both knowledge and culture.

Now where did I put my suitcase?

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Each day goes by where we think of you
Beauty shone in your heart that much was true
Only the heart of an angel could provide this love
Now your flying with wings high up above
Your brief short life will live on in within our heart
J ust because your gone we are not far apart
All your family and friends ensure your love lives on
In our hearts you remain but in life your gone
Destiny means we will meet again one day
Endless memories make the pain go away
Keep a place in heaven my friend until we meet again
Always you will smile through the sun and rain
Till that day I celebrated your life through mine
On and on your heart will shine
Now sleep tight dear friend and I think of thee
An eternal angel you now have heaven's key

Sometimes it is not all about me, me me. Often life will grant you an opportunity where you can possibly make the difference in the life of another. It does not have to be anything monumental or life changing, in fact it can be something so trivial that you might not even realise how important it is.

Taking the time to talk to a friend of mine today on Facebook ended with them saying "Thank you that has really made my day". Now this dos not mean a lot to some but knowing this person they actually meant this with sincerity. In our ever-increasing busy lives we often forget that friends are there for us in times of need and though they may drift in and out of our thoughts over these busy times the fact is they are always there.

From now on I am going to make a new resolution in my life and that is to take at least five minutes out of each day to speak or chat to someone who I may not see that often. We surround ourselves with those we work with more than we do our own friends, families and loved ones. So why not make that effort to put a smile on someones face?

It is hard when we lose friends. However they choose to leave this life they leave behind a void that cannot just simply be filled. It’s a time where they are at peace yet there is still turmoil and anguish in our own lives. The emotions begin to run through our minds at a hundred miles per hour, what, why, when and how.

The hardest part is knowing we will never see them again alive, that is the thing that hurts the most. Suddenly the trivial moments that we once shared become cherished memories; the small things that seemed so insignificant become lifelong treasures. It is only at times like these do we realise that life is precious and we should be grateful for what we have and who we are.

We can never turn back the hands of time; we cannot change the feelings and emotions of those who are gone. All we can do is take stock of what we have and try and celebrate the lives of those who have gone through our own happiness. In our lives we will meet people that will come into our lives for a reason, those that touch us deep at every conceivable moment. Some will briefly enter our lives; others will remain with use forever. Let’s never forget them.

I will leave you with a quote from The Sheltering Sky (James Bowles)

“Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well, yet everything only happens a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon so deeply a part of your being that you can't imagine living without it? Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you see the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty; and yet it all seems so limitless.”

R.I.P Ebony Katona 1990-2010

Eternally grateful for our chats and talk. Thank you for all the inspiration.

Gone far too soon

Is it me or did this winter seem like the longest ever? As the temperature hits a warm 15 degrees today the sky is filled with blue.

The ladies are dusting down their summer dresses and heels and the guys seem to be ditching their winter coats. Just having the warmth on your face as you get on the train feels so refreshing. I love snow, in fact it was fun to see so much this winter but when you have to rely on one of the poorest transport systems in the world it’s not a nice feeling. Endless break downs and cancellations of trains is never a nice feeling.

I went out yesterday and actually purchased some new summer shirts, it feels that I have been living in heavy winter wool for an eternity. It would be pointless to pin our hops on having a decent summer this year, it would not be practical nor worthwhile even doing so as the weathermen never seem to get it right.

However for now I just want to enjoy the sunshine and let it melt the last remains of a rather dark winter.

Why are so many people just pure idiots? Life is not all about rushing around like headless chickens. We often do tend to fall into a routine of living everyday life and becoming part of the “rat race” but do we all have to take life so seriously?

There are occasions where life can seem frustrating and get us down but those who tend to take it out on others are to me just very sad individuals. I’ve encountered two such people today both thinking that they are more important than they actually are. One reduced a girl to tears but it’s not her fault that unlike this rather rude and obnoxious man that she has her whole future ahead of her where as he’s has already passed him by.

These bullies that can make or break people have a lot to answer for and the answer clearly lies within their own inability to make their lives better. For not pushing yourself to realise your dreams and full potential to me is a waste of life. Life is the most precious gift we have so why abuse it and possibly hold down the dreams of others just because they failed?

Some days do you wake up and just wonder “Why do I bother?” Today is one of those days.

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I don’t hold many possessions in life, in fact over the last decade I have managed to remove a lot of clutter and crap. In the two long term relationships that I have had I have erased all memories of them the minute they end. That means destroying photos, gifts, clothes, shoes in fact anything associated with the memory of being with that person.

My last ex girlfriend I hated with a vengeance after we broke up. I removed all traces from my life and it felt good to thoroughly cleanse myself. The other day I realised that I still had some items that she purchased me, namely a PSP, PS2, games and controllers.

So I have decided to put these on Ebay. I don’t care about how much money they raise. All will go to a Domestic Violence charity. Knowing that it’s the final reminder of a terrible relationship is a burden lifted from my mind. Some say my methods are drastic, but for me a clean start is a must after a relationship ends. I just hope this time that this relationship is for keeps.

Yesterday was a very good day indeed. The sun was shining; the Chelsea fans were out in force. But not just for that, it was also my dad’s first live game at Stamford Bridge in over 25 years.

Chelsea did not disappoint, they won 2-0 and the smile on my dads face after the game was priceless! I did not attend myself, had too much to do but hopefully we will attend the FA cup semi final at Wembley together and this will be our first Chelsea match together since 1986.

I hate to think how much money I spent yesterday (going to check it later!) but it was worth every single penny. My dad had a great time even though he had to be back at work at 5am this morning. I eventually crawled home and fell asleep listening to Alphabeat.

One thing I do recall is my father and I sat underneath a large TV in Brogan’s bar and there were so many people looking at the TV that it felt like they were staring at us. My dad and I were being watched so of course we had to start singing “We f**king like two goldfish, feel like two goldfish, we f**king feel like two goldfish”..good times.

Here is my dad (in the green) mingling with the other Chelsea boys.

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Some think we live a simple life, I really do not care

Yet in my kaleidoscope heart, your love is always there

Spring turns into summer, the rain replaced by sun

My heart is always raised by you, you truly are the one

When the floods descend from heaven, you protect me from the rain

Life can hit as hard as it wants, you shelter me from pain

Distance may divide us, yet you whisper love into breeze

It echoes through our garden of love, a symphony among the trees

Each time I rise from the night and embrace the day so blue

My heart beats the rhythm of a drum, a song from me to you

So let’s walk this life as one, we take each day together

Entwined as one pure beating heart, united in love forever

I usually avoid fast food places as they tend to make me feel ill just smelling this shit they produce. But after only a small bowl of cereal this morning I still had a little hangover so went to the nearest Burger King. I always laugh at the customers and though I was only there for twenty minutes I, along with the staff, had to giggle at these two customer comments

Customer 1

Staff – “Can I take your order sir”

Customer – “Yes can I have a Three Cheese Angus but without The Cheese”

Customer 2 – “How big are your Cheeseburgers?”

Staff showed them the burger

Customer 2 – “Hmmm they are a bit small, that won’t really fill me up. Can I have four Cheeseburger Meals with large fries”

Staff – “Drink?”

Customer 2 – “Diet coke please, trying to slim for summer”

Priceless!!

Let the video do the talking.

Rising from the ashes, you spread your wings to fly

Reaching for all your dreams the belief will never die

Beautiful and so glorious, the eternal red bird of fire

Soaring up into the sun, leaving behind the pyre

Dreams are now your destiny; reach with all your might

You’re a powerful inferno, ablaze and in full flight

Yesterday is over, today has just begun

The sky is now your playground your home is now the sun

Destiny is in your grasp, forget the doubts and fears

Your flame will burn eternally for all remaining years

There will be times of doubt, and moments of pure sorrow

But one thing that is ever true, you’re the angel of tomorrow

Those who know me well will testify that I cannot stand watching reality British TV shows that involve “celebrities”. Shows like “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here” and “Celebrity Big Brother” are compulsive viewing for some but not for me. The mere thought of people that were once famous being paid for making complete fools of themselves and shattering the general illusion of just how they really act is not what I pay my TV licence for.

In the last few months I’ve caught some American equivalents of shows that we have here and found varying differences between the two. The first that struck me is that the celebrities were actually well known people, unlike the UK who seem to pick people that are so past their sell by date you have to look up on Wikipedia to find out exactly who they are.

This years Celebrity Apprentice which begins on March 14^th is a show based on The Apprentice that was made famous by Sir Alan Sugar. Among the contestants this year are Sharon Osbourne, Bret Michaels,  and Michael Johnson, . Also there is a certain Maria Kanellis.

One thing that I have always been a champion of is those who are involved in Sports Entertainment (Wrestling). Myself being a martial artist of over 25 years I know just how hard it is to train and compete and a world class level. These athletes not only train constantly through the year they are often on the road for up to 300 days per year. For the likes of other where they may have to travel for one day a week away from home, these dedicated people are away nearly five days a week and how they balance their home lives and work is astonishing.

Maria is taking part in this years Celebrity Apprentice for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a charity that has given hope, strength and joy to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Maria is also one of the most hardest working people around (if not the hardest!) and her determination and ambition to succeed outside of Sports Entertainment will keep her dreams going from strength to strength.

So please all support and vote for Maria on The Celebrity Apprentice (Season 3) which starts on March 14^th on NBC. (For those outside the USA contact me and I will find some sites that will be showing this, or TV stations that will be airing the show)



Good luck Maria! We are all behind you.

I’ve been a loyal Iphone owner for around two years now. Not that I queued up for hours in the cold to be one of “the first” just to have the latest fad, I waited. Technically the 3G was inferior to the phone I had but the Apple App Store made it all the better to have, some of the apps became essential to my life, as sad as that sounds.

The Iphone has it all except one thing, Flash.

It is more than annoying to view a website and not be able to play Flash videos or presentations, at first I did not mind but even with the launch of the Iphone 3GS and the Ipad Flash is STILL absent.

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona saw the launch of software aiming to try and solve some of the bigger issues such as handsets not playing Flash videos. Despite the majority of video, animation, and many games on the net being Flash based, the system is not yet fully supported on handsets.

Currently 19 out of the top 20 manufacturers have signed up to support the video and animation platform. The update will not be available on the iPhone because Apple has decided not to support the software.

The excuse that Apple provide is that they claim it drains the battery life of the phone, which is one of the worst I have ever seen. But in all honesty they are going to be left behind very quickly. The Iphone is the dominant handset on the market and will be for many years to come purely due its popularity. However smart phones from HTC, Nokia and LG are slowly catching up and with Flash enabled they would be close if not equal to the Iphone.

In my opinion Apple are purely being stubborn. I would have expected the Ipad to have Flash, if they launch a 4GS Iphone with Flash without an upgrade for Ipad owners this is going to SERIOSULY piss off a lot of people, myself included.

So my message to Apple is, sort it out swallow some pride and just sign up with the other 19 developers. Otherwise I maybe an ex-Iphone owner very soon.