Journal Entries
Just done a bit of editing on my personal space
Posted Apr 20, 2005
Nothing drastic, but it's a little tidier now.
Although if anyone knows how to make the damn society badges in the 'Free For All' section line up properly on the left when you view them in Goo, please let me know. They're fine in Alabaster or Brunel 
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Latest reply: Apr 20, 2005
There's only one 'F' in Fulham!
Posted Apr 12, 2005
ing hell!
After the glamour of Underhill over the last few weeks, Radio London just offered me Fulham v Manchester City on Saturday - my first Premiership match!
I'm currently sporting a grin that stretches from here to Hammersmith.
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Latest reply: Apr 12, 2005
The Square Root of...
Posted Apr 7, 2005
I forget how much I talk about what I do at work on h2g2... my job at the moment is to monitor what all the BBC Local and National TV stations are doing in terms of sport and talking to the guys out there and arranging for it to be sent down to TV Centre if necessary.
Oh yes, I remember now talking about the hippo that was named after Ellen MacArthur.
Anyway, a lot of my job involves booking lines and checking things are in the correct aspect ratio and that sort of thing. Since the election's been announced (and of course the wedding of Prince Chas and the Pope's funeral are still doing the rounds) News24 have gone into overdrive, and the lines bookings page has lit up a Christmas tree with all the tape feeds and live links that are going on.
It normally takes about 15 minutes to get a line up, but in times of emergency it can be done quicker - about four minutes is my record. But with all the election palaver you've got Bob Hope of getting anything that quickly, if fact sometimes you're lucky if it comes up inside 15 minutes.
Anyway, someone just came and asked me if I could get a line up in 5 minutes time to get shots of the new Portsmouth manager for the headlines. I looked at them and delivered the following line, deadpan:
"Your chances of getting that are the square root of all."
I'm very pleased to have had the chance to use that phrase in open conversation, but I do worry about what kind of bloke this job seems to be turning me into... 
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Latest reply: Apr 7, 2005
I've just managed to get Glastonbury tickets!
Posted Apr 3, 2005
Compared to trying for about four hours last year and getting nowhere, I got through after a mere three-quarters of an hour of trying simultaneously on landline, mobile and t'internet.
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Latest reply: Apr 3, 2005
It seems people don't go on forever, sadly
Posted Mar 28, 2005
I haven't got any surviving grandparents - my Dad's Dad died before I was born, my Mum's Mum died of leukaemia when I was about seven or eight, my Mum's Dad had a heart attack when he was living with us and I was fifteen, and my Dad's Mum died about ten years ago when I was at University.
It's my Uncle Jim who's in trouble, health-wise - he's an amazing man, and probably the nearest thing I've got to a living grandparent. He's not actually a blood relative, but he lived over the back fence of the house my Dad grew up in, and was my Dad's Dad's best mate, and remained a great friend of the family after he died - keeping an eye on my Grandma and her sisters and doing stuff for them, and we always went to see him when we went down to Brighton to visit the family and he was always brilliant to us. Him and his wife never had children, so he took a great interest in me and my brother, took us for some great days out and stuff.
He's 93, so must have been 63 when I was born, so I always knew him as an old person but he never seemed old to me until maybe last year. I always thought he would go on for ever - he always seemed to be able to do just about anything. Before he retired he used to be head of Parks and Gardens in Eastbourne, and he was always strong as an ox and looked years younger than he was. The outdoor life must have done him good. I've always had so much time and respect for him - because of my Italian ex-girlfriend, I remember him telling me that he and his wife used to drive to Italy for their holidays because he'd been there in the war and liked it and made friends there. That was quite something, I think, at a time when hardly anyone used to go abroad.
My Dad's gone down to see him today. It seems he's got testicular cancer and he's not got very long to live - they're going to do an operation at some point, but it won't stop the cancer. Dad's the first person he's allowed to see him - he's still very independent-minded and doesn't want people to see him in the state he's in. He's also something of a product of his time about talking about these things, and Dad's probably the nearest thing he's got to a son.
I did a lot of crying this morning. Haven't cried so much in ages. I found out yesterday, but I only got the details from Dad at about 11 o'clock last night when I was out with my housemates. It started to hit me then - but I thought, Jim's the kind of bloke that wouldn't want me to be sitting around moping about him, he's always been the actions speak louder than words type of person, so I told the boys about him and the state he was in and we drank a few toasts to him and had a damn good dance. So only got home at about half six this morning, and it's only since I've been up that the whole thing's really started to sink in.
But although he might agree to see me at some point, he might not. So I'm going to write him a letter today. You know, if I could be even a little bit like him when I get old, that would make me happy.
Although I think I'm going back to bed with my hangover now to practise Hong Fu for a bit...
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Latest reply: Mar 28, 2005
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