In The Pink

We went to visit a very good friend this week and ended up getting together with a few other people for the evening. All good friends, some we knew and some new folk. It was a lovely evening. At one point I asked a few people what their highlights of 2009 had been. There was some groaning and the question was put back to me. I thought it was interesting as I generally think of 2009 as being a bit of a hard year that has ended well. I have had some worries and issues, nothing too huge but enough to stand out as a big thing for me for the year. Anyway they are things I would not discuss casually and so when the question was posed and I thought about it there were instantly several other amazing things that have happened this year. I sold my first photographs, I got a pickup truck, I started up my website, I saw BB King plus some other brilliant live artists, and I had some great moments with good friends and family. After listing them I realised personally 2009 has not been too bad at al...

Happy Christmas everyone! Well the big day is over and as we wing our way to 2010 we are already making plans for our first gig! I have just booked tickets for Porcupine Tree at the Royal Albert Hall! We saw them twice this year, that's four times altogether now, and as one of our favourite bands they are always going to be a great night out but the venue is the icing on the cake. I have been before and was down in the front row staring up at the Crash Test Dummies which was very good but PT's sound will suit the venue better and as we have better seats in the boxes it should be amazing. Only 289 days to go! We are also trying to get tickets for Jeff Beck in Birmingham however the tickets are platinum only at present and a little too pricey! We are going to wait for the cheaper seats and take binoculars! Image Credit: Julian Lloyd Webber

I have some dog pampering tips to pass on, well they are less pampering and more methods for dealing with goo and cleaning eyes. I have two large dogs and during play they tend to produce large amounts of sticky saliva which they then smear over each others faces as they ruff and tumble. I say saliva but it is more like industrial strength glue! Have you ever touched a slug? If so you may remember that the goo they left behind on your hand seemed impossible to wash, scrub or scrape off? Well dogs goo is similar! Anyway when they get back to the house it's nice to clean them up, besides if I don't then they come and walk through my legs rubbing it off on my trousers in the deliberate process! So I decided to pinch an idea from Indian restaurants who very kindly provide you with a warmed flannel to wipe your face and hands with after a meal, a custom I greatly appreciate. I run a towel under the hot tap, wring it out, and wipe it over their faces, ears and necks and they seem to ...

The last Christmas song I posted was Bob Dylan's new song and I love it. It's great to hear a new Christmas tune and heh, it is Bob Dylan! It also reminds me of a childhood game. I have thought about trying to explain which one here but it is not easy to do in text but I am sure you will guess it if you listen to the song. My clue is 'I went to the shop and I bought bananas.' This Christmas song is one of my favourites and never ceases to get me up dancing. I woke up this morning and my first thought was that Terry Wogan is not going to be on the radio in the mornings anymore and it made me sad, Shaky has rescued me from that feeling and made me giggle and sing! I hope he has the same affect on you!

Today marked the last broadcast of Wake up to Wogan . I am currently listening again via the BBC Iplayer as I had to go to work this morning before the show finished. You can listen to the last seven days of shows via the BBC Radio 2 website . Click HERE to listen to todays final broadcast. I have been mentally writing a farewell letter to Terry for many weeks now. In the end many many people wrote in and reflected my thoughts and feelings. So I have decided to save my letter until his new weekly Sunday show starts on Valentines Day 2010 and instead of dwelling on how much I will miss him, put my effort into welcoming him back to the airwaves! My Sunday routine is about to change! In addition to listening to the last few shows you can sign Terry's online card HERE . If like me you feel the need to reach out to the TOGMeister why not leave him a message. In recent years in particular I have become used to this Terry's wonderfully familiar and comforting voice getting me thr...

Well it is finally here, the weekend when we are going to put up our decorations! Quite a few people in the village went for it at the beginning of December and the office decorations went up last week. I have to say the office is a little over the top, in fact I think my exact words were 'it looks like Christmas has thrown up in here'! There are individual sets of lights around peoples desks, grotto's in corners, pictures of semi naked girls in Santa outfits and musical turkeys that sing when you press their tummies! I have tried to keep my desk area a little more subtle! And there are no pictures of semi naked chaps in Santa outfits! We have picked out our names for the office secret Santa gifts and I have got a lovely girl who got me for her secret Santa last year. She bought me some lovely candles and a Santa hat which I wore at the Christmas party. She is a huge chocolate fan which makes a gift for her nice and easy although I am not going to make my final decis...

I have to confess, even after my last post, I am feeling very festive at the moment. Since waking up to dark mornings in a warm house, which has been going on for the past few weeks now, every day feels like Christmas Day! Well at least for the few minutes before I remember I have to get dressed and go to work! If I had my way the decorations would be up and the Christmas play list my fella and I created a few years back would be playing! And speaking of Christmas songs, the Terry Wogan and Aled Jones Christmas song Silver Bells is now available to download from iTunes, and is also available at other stores for purchase or download. It is all for the very excellent cause of Children in Need and I am hoping that it becomes Christmas Number 1 this year. Aside from supporting the very worth while charity all TOGS (and TYGS) are hopeful that it can be achieved in tribute to the TOGMeister as we approach the end of the Wake up to Wogan show which will be airing for the very last time ever o...

I am a little disappointed with the number of posts I have managed this year. I don't think it will be near to or more than last year. I'm not giving myself a hard time about it but a blog can be a fabulous time capsule and trigger the memory of all sorts of small things with a picture or a word. There are a few big chunks out of this years log! I know now that Christmas is not a time for blogging. You are too busy having a wonderful time with friends or family and so is everyone else! And rightly so! I do hope though that next year I will become more frequent in blogging and maybe less demanding on myself in content. A brief word is better than no word right? You may disagree!!

My wonderful fella sent me these at work today. I give you 23 of Tommy Coopers finest! (In case you don't know he was a stand up comedian, sadly departed.) Enjoy! By the way, that's Tommy Cooper, not my fella. 1 . Two blondes walk into a building...........you'd think at least one of them would have seen it. 2. Phone answering machine message - '...If you want to buy marijuana, press the hash key...' 3. A guy walks into the psychiatrist wearing only Clingfilm for shorts. The shrink says, 'Well, I can clearly see you're nuts.' 4. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any. 5. I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 quid that he couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf. He said, 'No, the steaks are too high.' 6. My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli. A strong currant pulled him in. 7 . A man came round in hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, 'Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my ...