...to my website which is undergoing a makeover to turn into a nice blog type thing. Haven't quite decided what yet though.

http://www.pjharding.co.uk

See you there

I really must write something in here again. It's been a long long time.

I don't think I ever shared my 3D graphic of Thunderbird 1 that I made.

I'm no artist and I struggle with scale and things but it took me days to make this and I put a lot of thought and effort into it. I'm proud of what I created so I thought I'd share.

The video quality is crap and there are errors that I can see. It was the first time I ever used 3D Studio Max and I had a crap lecturer and didn't quite discover everything I really wanted to. Perhaps you'd like to play with the files and improve this for me? Nah I didn't think so either.

Enjoy. x

My poor granny isn't having a good time in life right now. She's almost 82 and up until the last month or so, I would have said she was about 73 and now she's more like 97.

What scared me was the fact I phoned my gran up a couple of weeks ago and she sounded so depressed, I was shocked into silence. I have never heard my gran as anything other than happy. Even when she moans about how badly her latest baking session went or how rubbish her house is. I love my gran and I hate to see this happening.

Old age is what's happening. For a while I guess I've looked past it; I understand my gran isn't as mobile as she was or can hear and see as well as she could but to me, she was always the granny I knew when I was growing up. Kind, loving and so thoughtful and generous.

It kind of sucks a lot to find that she's so vulnerable and actually old. This might sound odd, over the 21 years I've known her surely I would have noticed? But no, I didn't really.

She's been through some nasty stuff recently and poor her, it's continuing. My Gran went to Crufts with (my Aunt) this year; something she's always wanted to do. However, she fell over while she was there and although to you and me, it wasn't a major fall but to an elderly person it's like breaking your leg. The result of this meant my Gran had to walk with a stick for a wee while but it also shattered her confidence and sent my family into overdrive as to what happens next. After she returned from Crufts, my Gran went to see her optician for a routine check up and was told there was nothing more they could do for her eyesight. She's going to go blind in the next couple of years.

Now my poor Gran has gone on what will probably be her last holiday ever with my aforementioned Aunt and Uncle. My Aunt sadly broke her ankle on the first day so they've done nothing and everyone is having a terrible time.

I would love to take my gran on holiday somewhere but my selfishness kicks in and I don't think I could actually do it. I mean where would I take her? What would we actually do?

It's a bit of a mess. Anyway she's back in the UK from her "holiday" on Saturday so she'll be back home soon. Shall think of something to do but it's all so sad. My poor Granny.

I love whoever runs the Keane website; they have an ace sense of humour!

Keane are on tour in South America and they are getting the guys and their crew to write up short 'El Blogs'.

Rob Sinclair who is their lighting dude (he's awesome!) has written the latest. Anyway he included a photo he took of his preview monitor (he has cameras set up round the stage ready to project on a back screen; it's very cool. He pioneered this with the Hollies before Keane). Anyway this is the picture of the preview monitor....

And this is the thumbnail chosen to advertise the blog:

I wonder how many people notice the ASBO titling? Hope everyone else finds this as amusing as I do...

At last…!  Another blog entry!

Sadly it’s probably not going to be that interesting for many of you.  I just need somewhere to ramble away.

Every day when I get the bus in, I start thinking about amazing blog reflections I could write and by the time I get home at night I’ve forgotten what they are.  Dear me, but at least I’m writing today.  I’ve had a couple of extremely fun and helter skelter weekends; now I finally get to catch up on a lot of missed sleep and life. 

Last weekend I was out and about seeing the Goodies and meeting up with Jess and Liv for that.  We had a great time and I’m still thinking about the firemen.  It was great to see Tim and Graeme again as well; last chance for a few months which is a shame but there’s going to be some Clue shows… I can’t let a tour like that pass me by!  Shall write more about Derby soon.

Saturday night, I was out in Newcastle with the girls for H,S & J’s birthdays; had a good night but sadly my tiredness caught up with me and I slumped in Revolution.  Don’t think I dampened the night though and it was great to chill out with the Newcastle chicks for a few hours.  Hopefully we can do it again soon when I’m more on form!

Sunday was funny; despite going to bed at 4am, we all randomly woke up at 8am!  Luckily we got to sleep again by J, H and I all left around 10.30 – 11am.  Yes early I know, but J had to pick up her dog from somewhere and as H lived near her, she gave her a lift and I had a further 70 miles till I arrived home. 

Absolutely lovely weather when I got home so I took the opportunity of airing my sun lounger and having a rest.  Then on Monday it was back to work.

Work is improving on me mind, I love the division I work in; just need to get over my strange fear of using the phone.  Don’t know why I struggle with the phone at work – it’s weird.  But as I have a whole load of phone calls to make next week, I better start improving fast!  I can handle phone calls in other situations but I guess it’s because I am still not entirely sure what I’m talking about with regards to my division so I feel a bit inadequate that way.

Anyway work is going well; have more things to do now and it looks like I have some more training to go on in the future so that’ll open up even more work to me.  Just wish they’d make me permanent it would really help because I’m starting to get involved with long term projects and I would feel so much more secure in life.  

Had a great week as well; on Tuesday I gave blood (finally) for the first time ever.  I have a great fear of the unknown but the experience isn’t half as bad as I thought it would be.  I got more bruising from the plaster cute Dave stuck on after giving the blood.  I went home that night and asked my mum if I looked a pint lighter.  

On Tuesday I also met up with K for lunch; it was great to see her again (well it had been over a week!) and we had some awesome chats.  We went to BHS for lunch and my god did they pile the plates high!  I had a PJ smoothie with my lunch purely for the name.  After a quick venture in Fopp we walked to my work and agreed to meet for a coffee the next night after work.

Coffee was great; in Costa except I had a massive hot chocolate (I actually wanted a small one) and K and I chatted for ages.  Edinburgh is the home of Wrong Conversations.  I can’t wait to live in Edinburgh properly with K; we’re going to have such a laugh. 
 

Anyway one really nice aspect of my life is being slightly tarnished right now which is a shame.  Before I carry on it might be easier to establish the groups of people:

Group A – the poor people this who problem seems to revolve around

Group B - Me and my friends

Group X – the annoying people

Group X seem to think they are really liked by Group A (and Group B ) despite a lot of subtle bitching and hints.  Group X seem to be a bit (deliberately?) oblivious to this and carry on trying to make out to Group B and others that they are actually becoming chummy with Group A.  Group B aren’t stupid and cringe at their embarrassing messages.  Group A, who most certainly read these messages as well, must surely shake their heads in despair.

Still following me?

One member of Group X in particular seems to want to be a member of Group B but really has endeared herself to anyone in Group B and wouldn’t fit in anyway.  This particular member seems to be wanting to create a competition out of the whole situation.  Group B, although irritated, aren’t all that bothered as Group X have no clue and based on past and present behaviour would never have the same rapport as Group B do with Group A.

It’s hard to describe here without naming people but I really don’t want to name and shame because it’s not very nice.  I don’t think Group X will actually realise who they are if they read this… they seemed to have missed every hint so far.

On a nicer note, I’m part of a group of Goodies fans called ‘The Giddies’.  There are 6 of us; two Aussies and 4 UK based.  Tim B-T asked at Darlington where the name came from and, after a lot of um-ing and ahh-ing, we think that we started using the name around about the time of the Edinburgh Festival, possibly before.  As our Minx pointed out, there is actually an episode of the Goodies where they are called ‘The Giddies’ but we couldn’t remember which one it was.  Anyway a bit of research (I love saving emails some times) provided this:

30/07/06 Me to J: We should call ourselves the Giddies if anyone asks!

30/07/06 J to me: Hahaha, The Giddies, perfect! I will definitely be giddy in front of the boys, just like I was at ISIHAC. That will definitely have to be our name, "Giddies... Giddy Giddy Hee Hee"

So sometime after that, the name seemed to stick.  The word ‘giddy’ describes our little group incredibly well –

Giddy: Attended with or causing dizziness

Frivolous and lighthearted; impulsive; flighty: a giddy young person.

 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/giddy

Depends on how you interpret ‘dizziness’…

Anyway the name has stuck with my friends and I and we’ve been using it since September as we swap messages between ourselves.  It wasn’t meant as a way of singling ourselves out from other fans or anything like that; it’s just a bit of fun.  Why am I justifying the use of our name?

Anyway, an UK tour of ‘The Goodies Still Rule Ok’ has just finished and just before it took place, we launched a UK fan site called ‘The Saucy Gibbon’

We basically set it up because we were alarmed at how little hype there was on the official site for the tour.

Anyway we decided to set up the site combining the knowledge and skills of all 6 of us within our time constraints.  I designed and built the site with the co-operation of the other Giddies and between us all we created and are still creating pages for the site.

We cover all sorts of info – about the Goodies (TV shows, music, tours etc.), ISIHAC, ISIRTA, Hamish and Dougall.  We’ve created biographies and information on significant shows they worked on before the Goodies and we’re currently developing pages on shows the guys have done since or during the Goodies.  They’ve been bloody busy I’ll tell you that.  In amongst all that are some fan contributions; fun things people have done as well as photos and the like.

Something that tickled me pink with pride was that during a radio interview with Graeme, forget which one, but the DJ quoted from the Internet and I thought; I recognise that sentence!  Sure enough, I logged on and there in Graeme’s biography was the quote.  

Anyway, what has been interesting since we started the website, has been the surprisingly many people who seem to know about us.  It feels quite odd.  One of the memories that sticks out in my mind was of the last night of the Edinburgh Festival.  For a laugh my friends K, J and I went to the show dressed in dungarees dresses with a white ‘G’ on the front; like female Funky Gibbon Goodies/ Giddies. 

Anyway towards the end of the night, we asked for a group photo with Tim and Graeme and it was bizarre.  The 6 of us were stood in a line and we looked around and suddenly the bar area we were in was full of people looking at us and in front of us were probably only 3 cameras although the number of flashes that went off made it feel like more.  It felt very strange indeed; I’m not sure I liked it – the eyes of the room were upon us.  

Anyway something happened at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre that reminded me of this episode.  We met two Australians as they were leaving the stage door area having met Tim and Graeme.  It transpired they knew one of the Australian Giddies and had only gone to the show in Edinburgh because they’d seen an advert in the paper that morning and known this Giddy loved the show.  

Anyway once we called to them we knew their Australian Giddy friend, they demanded a photo of the three of us.  So we stood, rather self consciously as a threesome with Tim and Graeme standing to either side of us.  That was odd in the first place because they’re the famous ones!  Then a voice says

“And you two.  Tim and Graeme get in the photo as well!”  It was the way she said it that made the whole scenario even stranger.

Those were perhaps two of the strangest nights in my life.

Any blog readers, I’m afraid I’m going to have to split.  I am so tired and I have a lot to do this weekend.  But if I can point you towards the Keane website www.keanemusic.com just go and read El Blogs – they are so fun.  Keane’s website is an excellent example of how an official fan friendly website should be run; a lot of people could learn lessons.

Toodles!

So here we are, a lovely bright sunny Friday… I mean Thursday – the long weekend has me confused already!  What have I got planned?  An exciting weekend really but more on that later.

I’m on the bus quite a lot these days and I get very bored… er reflective and recently I’ve been thinking about all the exciting things I’ve ever done at Easter… well apart from three friends who have their birthday’s with two days of each other that sometimes coincide with Easter, there is only one really fun Easter I’ve ever had…

A week/ end of a lot of firsts!  Including my first Zutons/ Rufus Wainwright and Keane gigs and indeed a band featuring my mate Nathan Persad which has changed slightly into the Fruit Machine Blues (I think).

Other firsts included: Thai food, the Reeperbahn, Hamburg, German McDonalds strawberry milkshake (tasted of real fruit!), a classic fan moment.

This Keane weekend really sticks out in my mind because I had an amazing time!  I went down a few days before the Easter weekend to stay with my friend Helen.  She had got us on the guest list to see the Zutons – they were brilliant and we had a great time.

The next day we were fairly slow in getting up; I think we played a trick on our friend Bruce when we spoke on an online messenger.  We then took a trip into London with Helen showing me the theatre where Carl Wayne (http://www.carlwayne.co.uk) appeared as the Narrator in Blood Brothers and the Virgin Store where she had recently seen and met Rufus Wainwright.  We then met up for a drink with her brother and I remember how warm it was as we sat on a river boat bar.

Next we headed off to Lewisham (amazing how I remember such trivial stuff) to meet up with Nathan Persad (http://www.nathanpersad.com) and see his band.  They were great and we really enjoyed ourselves.  I can still remember Todd mid-song with his arm held out looking for his pint which he had left in front of us.

The next day we were off to Cologne in the afternoon.  We watched Helen’s Travis DVD (they’re ace!), ordered in pizza and then set off for Gatwick.  While we were killing time, we spotted in Smiths they were doing Cadbury’s Cream Eggs – 3 for £1!  So we bought 6; one for each of Keane, 1 for Rufus and 1 each for us just as a nice Easter token.  We jetted (ha!) off to Cologne, arriving fairly late but still able to check into our Thai hotel and then remove ourselves downstairs for Thai dinner!  Yummy!

The next day we did a short river cruise of the Rhine – basically up to the chocolate museum and back down to the cross river gondolas.  We then thought it would be cool to visit the chocolate museum but we stepped inside and it was so hot!  We were surprised there wasn’t a river of chocolate running out of the building!

We then went and ate Schnitzel at a lovely restaurant before returning to the hotel via the impressive cathedral.  We had arranged to meet a few fans at the hotel and we did so.  One fan in particular was great; we got on with her really well – a fellow Backstreet Boy fan!  We started to make our way to the venue as we had no idea where it was nor what the queue might be like and for my first Keane gig (and because I’m too short for these crowds) I really wanted to be near the front.

We only got lost once and soon found the venue; a huge warehouse in the middle of a warehouse district, but hey.  We heard Rufus and his band doing their sound check and when we were finally allowed in, we were front row – score! 

Rufus was amazing!  I will never forget the bastard performing ‘Vibrate’ – just him and a piano and he plays some pretty complicated piano… does he looks at the keyboard?  Does he, hell!  He has his eyes clothes, he looks round the room and doesn’t miss a single note!  That’s why I love him.

Keane were amazing as well; their first album (which must have been out for a year or so at that point) really translated well to stage.  I wrote a review/ notes somewhere; I must dig them out.

I will remember this moment for the rest of my life as well; some fans had given Tom a huge extravagant basket of Easter goodies.  He was looking through saying, ‘oh… thanks… wow.’  And then we gave him a Cadbury’s Cream Egg ‘Oh wow!  My first one this year!  Hey guys, guys look what I’ve got!’ *waves Cream Egg like a trophy*  Tim and Richard wave theirs back ‘We’ve already got ours’.  Oh it was a good moment. 

After meeting the guys and getting (terrible – me not them) photos with them, we headed to a pizzeria on our street before turning in.  Helen and I had an early start to catch a train to Hamburg and the clocks went forward that night!

The next morning dawned far too early however we made the train, I purchased a pretzel – German pretzels rule.  A mixture of dozing and chatting got us through the 3 or 4 hour journey.  That and laughing at the bright pink girl with the neon yellow stain on her trousers! 

I remember before we left on the trip, my mum said to me ‘when you’re in Hamburg don’t go near the Reeperbahn’ so I said of course not, little knowing that the latest venue for the Keane gig (it had been changed twice already) was now on the Reeperbahn and we were staying in a hotel bang on it.  Oh well.

We checked in and the hotel was fine (not the brothel we’d been expecting); it was just what we wanted and a great price (and I think it included breakfast) and about 5 – 10 minutes walk from the venue.  We found this out when we did our recce of the area and bumped into a couple of lovely fans who we shared fajitas with (as I said to K last night; there aren’t enough fajitas in the world but that’s probably because people keep eating them!).

The gig was fantastic fun and we even sacrificed our near front positions to meet Rufus as well – which maybe wasn’t worth it cause there was table between us and him and it caused an obvious physical barrier.  But on the positive, we were up next to Rob Sinclair at the lighting and seeing the entire show from the back where the sound tends to be more balanced was worth it.

After the show, we were able to meet the guys again and we got them to sign our European tour posters created by David Lupton and purchased for a bargain price of 5 Euros!  We had a few more chats with the guys before leaving and realising we were hungry so we popped into the only open place we could see; a McDonalds.  I usually avoid these but there were no other options and I ordered something with a strawberry milkshake and my god; the milkshake tasted of real fruit!  A first.

The next day we walked round St Paulis taking in the sites before we got the bus to the airport and the arrived back in London.  After a train and bus ride, I was home and the fun over, but it was a fantastic time.

So after that incredibly long ramble, what was the point of this blog?  Well partly because I did actually want to write all that down, but it does lead me into another quick (promise!) pre-chat about this weekend.

After a long month and a half, I am finally having a wee break.  Starting tonight!  Although when I say ‘break’, it’s a break from paid employment largely.  Tonight I have a chance to catch up on all the household tasks I am behind with; cleaning, ironing, washing… *yawn* anyway if I catch up with them tonight, I can relax tomorrow yay!

On Saturday, after a quick detour to Edinburgh, I am off with my friend K to Darlington to meet up with J and C (the M!).  We’re off to see a show…  They’re all coming back to my place which will be nice on the Saturday night so that we can start afresh on Sunday.  On Sunday we’re off to a show in Edinburgh.  On Monday we’ll probably head to Edinburgh yet again to say good bye to everyone till the next time.  So the holiday yeah…?  Time flies far too quickly but it’s worth it.

Finally, hello to all my friends reading this who I haven’t chatted to for ages!  I shall be online tomorrow (Good Friday) (outside in the sun hopefully) and possibly bits of Easter Monday to catch up with you if you’re online.  If not; have a lovely break and I shall be in touch soon. xxx

God and I really don't think I'm living it now.

I have fallen into a Routine. This Routine has been the same everyday with one variation (the time I get up in the morning):

05.45 - 06.10 Alarm rings and by 06.10 latest I get up
06.10 - 07.00 Get dressed and ready to leave
07.00 Open curtains, feed cats, leave for bus stop
07.15 Arrive too early for bus
7.25 Get on bus
08.30 Curse crappy Edinburgh traffic and roadworks and non inventive bus drivers
08.35- 08.50 Arrive in work
09.00 Get Latte
09.05 - 13.00 Read everything on BBC news website, maybe do some easy task, drink a load of water
13.00 - 13.30 Wander round Edinburgh
13.30 - 16.30 Read latest developments on BBC news website, maybe type some personal letters or lists to be worked on later.
16.30 Leave work
16.45 Get bus
18.00 Get home
18.00 - 22.00 Quickly check emails, update website news, do any house work required, have tea, have bath, deal with anything, fall out with mum about something I haven't had time to do.
22.00 ZZZZZZZZZZZ!

I love where I'm working right now (Civil Service!) and I hope they'll take me on permanently once I've shown them my web portfolio. At least on flexi time I can chose when the hell I will work. Also there's a gym at the office! I really could do with some exercise but when do I have time to take it?!

Can't wait to move to Edinburgh because then travel time and costs will be reduced massively and hopefully I'll have more energy to live.

So what has happened since I last wrote here? Well not much; nothing worth writing about. A few things have managed to irritate me such as poncy idiots who think my friends and I are too dumb to realise she's playing a sneaky (and pathetic) trick online. My mum and I keep clashing on issues which I keep meaning to write blog entries about 'cause they're interesting points but I can never find the time. Might write some at work next week.

I'm very sad to read in the BBC news of the situation in Iran and the 15 hostages. On the one hand being the media etc. I wonder (as usual) if we are being told the full story. Then I see how Iran is acting and I just think that they know they have acted wrongly and are just being difficult now to try and save themselves somehow.

For example these 'letters' written by the female member of the group that say things like 'isn't it time we removed troops from Iraq?' Now come on! That is not something she is going to have written herself is it? It might be a personal viewpoint but it isn't the issue here.

I just hope that Iran will back down and release these people or at least follow protocol and allow consular access. But they must have something to hide I reckon and they are so quick to say it's different to a similar incident in 2004...

On a different note, I bought Tim Burton's Corpse Bride today; been dying to see this since it was in the cinema. It is brilliant as usual; I love TB's style and the music by Danny Elfman is brilliant; can't stop dancing around to it!

Anyway I've probably bored you all now so ciao for now!

Been a long time since I wrote in here *sigh*

The first thing I want to note is a couple of links for you to check out...

The Saucy Gibbon - A Pirate Website

Bring Back the Goodies! - a petition to ask the BBC to repeat the Goodies

A really good Goodies Myspace

Just a new UK fan site for the Goodies that I've had a hand in creating. I might come across as obsessed but I'm not lol it's just nice to have a fun UK site for learning about the guys. Take a peek it's a bit of fun.

Sadly since the site went live the motherboard or video card (although we reckon it's the motherboard) of the PC broke and the computer doesn't work. So I've been relegated to this crappy laptop which is very dodgy. Anyway because we've got the computer through the IBM computer hire scheme IBM have to fix the computer so we've now been waiting for over a week while they get their act together! It's ridiculous.

Also something that has slowed me down was the fact I started another temporary job at the Scottish Executive. I started last Monday and will work till at least the end of March (hopefully longer). Sadly with the job based in Edinburgh and me bsaed in Galashiels I've had to get up at 5.20am every morning to catch a bus for Edinburgh. So I was finally able to catch up with my sleep yesterday.

Nothing much to reprt really apart from that. I wish I could have seen Keane in Edinburgh on Thursday night but no joy although I did see Tim R-O walking down a street toward North Bridge. I hope their tour went well for them it certainly seems to have gone down well with the fans and critics (well except the critics who have a general dislike for Keane).

Some school friends have been in touch this week which is nice; I've been so tired recently I haven't had a chance to talk to many people. Apologies for that to everyone in general. At some point I'll find a balance somewhere but life seems to unsettled right now and I really need to watch pennies that I struggle to see everyone as much as possible. Sorry guys but it will improve eventually - minor blip at the mo but it will pick up I promise.

In the meantime, I am going to finish watching the amazing Casablanca featuring Humphrey Bogart.

"Play it again Sam..."

p.s. congrats to the Fore for winning their XFM competition

I have just heard about the most... unlikely musical ever: Lord of the Rings: the Musical.

What?! It took Peter Jackson (a fellow PJ) near 8 hours (approx.) of DVD to do justice to the film and I don't know many people who would sit and watch that all in one go.

Somehow this musical has been edited down from almost 4 hours down to 3!

This has got to be a pretty adventurous production.

The news report I read had the title Director visits Tolkien's grave to get approval. I kid you not; the director (I think) knows he's probably upsetting Tolkein as he went to "to seek the author's posthumous blessing for staging the cult classic -- and he apologised in case the writer disapproved."

I would certainly be turning in my grave if my work of complex and dark genius had been given the musical makeover.

"As actors playing deadly orcs skipped, bounded and somersaulted across London's historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane" - fearsome eh? I bet they wear tights as well.

"The trouble in Toronto was that we were getting too much of the story on stage." I somehow get the idea the finished result really isn't going to resemble much of the Lord of the Rings except for the characters.

The idea of an all singing all dancing army of orcs is something best left alone... or give to the Goodies to make a great show out of.

Whatever will be thought of next? Star Trek the Musical sounds good...? No takers on that one? I'll go back to my work then.

Source:

Reuters News Report Here