So i've finally finished the whole lot of The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. 7 books. All 3712 pages. It's taken me a year. Of course i've read other books in between but it's been just over a year since I opened The Gunslinger to start the journey with the opening line "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." And what a journey it's been.
I have to say, when I finished the final book last night I laid awake in bed for maybe an hour saying my goodbyes to the characters in my mind. Sounds crazy, I know but if you've read these books you'll understand how much these characters become a part of your life and you become a part of theirs. I'll give you a brief introduction to these characters;
Roland Deschain- The original gunslinger. A kind of Clint Eastwood meets Aragorn. Roland is the most important character and it's his long journey to find the dark tower that we follow from the start.
Eddie Dean- A New Yorker from 1987 who is drawn into mid-world in the second book and with Roland's help overcomes his heroin addiction before becoming Roland's humorous sidekick.
Jake Chambers- A New Yorker from 1977. A young boy who we meet in the first book but is reintroduced later and becomes an important member of the group eventually calling Roland his father.
Odetta/Detta/Susannah Dean- A New Yorker from 1964. She joins us in the second book and has a multiple personality disorder. She has both legs missing and gets around using different methods in mid-world. Her and Eddie fall in love and become husband and wife.
Oy- A creature from mid-world called a billy-bumbler. Joins our journey in the 3rd book. Billy-bumblers are described as a cross between a raccoon and a dog and have a limited speaking ability. He joins the others to form what's known as
Ka-tet.
A ka-tet is a group of beings brought together by ka (fate).
After a year of having these characters in my life and being a part of their ka-tet, I said my goodbyes with a degree of sadness after the deaths which occur in the final book.
Right, if you are reading this series but haven't finished or you haven't read them yet but are going to, I suggest you skip the following because I am certainly going to ruin the story for you. I know this will drive my girlfriend mad because she'll really want to read my blog but she is only on book 6 so she'll not want to read on and find out the ending. Sorry babe.
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!
Eddie Dean is the first to die causing the breaking of the Ka-tet. After freeing the breakers (humans being kept prisoners to use their psychic powers to destroy the universe) and saving the world, Eddie is shot in the head by a warden and suffers a slow death with his wife Susannah at his side. While she prepares his body to be buried, Roland and Jake must travel to our world to save Stephen King's life so he can continue writing their story. As they find King walking along the side of a road with a speeding vehicle heading straight for him, Jake jumps in front of him and takes the impact himself. He lies dying at the side of the road with his best friend Oy by his side. Roland carries his lifeless body away from the road, buries him and says goodbye to the boy who he calls his son. Him and Oy make their way back to mid-world to meet Susannah. Oy is never the same after Jake's death but continues his journey alongside Roland, even after Susannah returns to New York leaving Roland to climb the tower alone as she believes he was meant to. She offers Oy the chance to go with her but he chooses to stay perhaps knowing he still has one last thing to do to before Roland can make his climb to the top of the tower. Later that night after Roland falls asleep his real son, Mordred, who is fathered also by a demon, comes to the camp to kill his father. Oy attacks Mordred who has transformed into a giant spider and although Oy has his back snapped and then is impaled on a tree, in this time Roland has awoke and kills his demon son. He goes to Oy who is still alive. Oy whispers Olan (his way of saying Roland) and licks his hand once before dying.
I can't make you understand how heartbreaking this stuff is unless you have made this journey yourself and felt the loss.
After so much despair you expect that there must be a happy ending for Roland when he finally reaches the top of The Dark Tower. Not really. King don't work that way, I guess. Although he does give you the opportunity to leave the book after Roland enters the door at the foot of the tower and consider it a happy ending and not venture inside the tower with Roland. But seriously, after coming so far with him you have to know what will happen. And I do. And although i've read so much criticism about the ending, i'm actually really impressed with it. You would never see it coming. So if you are one of the people, although I doubt there are any at all, who didn't read the final part of the book, i'd doubt you'll wanna read this bit.
Roland climbs to each floor where there is a room containing an item from his past that represents certain events. As he gets higher and finds each room reminding him of the sadness he has encountered, he decides to look no more and just make his way to the top. When he gets there, he finds one final door and prepares himself for what he might find. As he opens the door, he realises he has been here many times before and is then sucked through the door to where the story began in the desert with no memory of what just happened. The book ends with the infamous opening line of the first.
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed"
To me, that is genius. Especially considering I will be reading the series again and although i'll start from the beginning, I will also be joining Roland at the same point that I left him in the final words of the final book. Back at the beginning. Although this time I will know what has already happened and what will ultimately happen. Unfortunately, Roland won't.
At the end of the book Stephen King includes a letter to the readers explaining that he wanted to leave us to draw our own conclusion about what happened to Susannah but was brow beaten into adding in the ending of what happened to her.
After she goes through the door that takes her to an alternative New York, she finds Eddie and Jake but they are also alternative versions of themselves and are now brothers with the surname Toren (coming from the dutch word for tower). They don't know her but have been dreaming of her and Eddie tells her that he is somehow falling in love with her even though he has no memory of her and the events in mid-world because it was another version of himself that it happened to. So Susannah does have a happy ending and she's the only member of the Ka-tet that doesn't die somewhere along the road to the tower.
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!
The story doesn't end there. Apparently, King is writing an eighth book of the series and there are many of his other books, in fact most of his other books, that have a connection to the dark tower. He spent 34 years writing this series so it's no surprise that a lot of his other work includes elements of it.
There is also a short story about Roland that I haven't read yet and I have a book called The road to the dark tower which is a book exploring the whole series and everything there is to know about it.
Also there are a series of graphic novels about the dark tower which I have yet to read.
It was recently announced that The Dark Tower is coming to the big screen. A trilogy plus a miniseries for tv. The first one hits cinema in 2013 and I urge you to get the books and read them before then because there is no way the films will be able to include the entire story. I hope the films do the books justice but i'm well aware that many, many, many films never come close in comparison to the original stories in a book. Lord of the Rings for instance is an epic film and runs at around 10 hours altogether but so much is left out and in fact, i'd say the films are quite loosely based on the books.
Rumour has it that the role of Roland Deschain has been offered to Javier Bardem, probably best known for playing the kiliing machine known as Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men. It's being directed by Ron Howard who directed The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. I've read both those books and the films are actually really good so I hope he can do the same for The Dark Tower.
For now I am going to take a break from The Dark Tower and if any of you could see my home, you'd see I certainly have plenty of other material to get through. Next on the list is the first in another long series but of a completely different genre. It is the first of 13 books by Andy McNab about the character Nick Stone. An ex-SAS soldier now working for the British Intelligence. I will eventually read the whole lot but for now i'll get the first one out the way so a certain friend of mine can stop nagging me to read it.
"Go then, there are other worlds than these" -Stephen King
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Nice One FIFA.
Well, it's been a while since i've blogged. Haven't had much i've wanted to share but i'm back now and will try to keep on top of it.
A blog wouldn't be a blog without a bit of a rant and it has to start with the news of Russia winning their bid to host the 2018 world cup. I'm not particularly happy about it and would have loved to have it held here in England. Thanks partly to the BBC that will sadly not occur. What has really got my goat is the result of the 2022 bid. Qatar? Seriously? A country half the size of Wales. A country with laws such as;
It is a punishable offence to drink alcohol or be drunk in public. Offenders may incur a prison sentence or deportation. You should not carry alcohol with you, including in your car (except to take it on the day of collection from the warehouse to your home). Us brits are in a spot of bother with this one. Football and drinking go hand in hand. I can't see thousands of english football fans flocking to Qatar to show support to our boys and not have a few beers.
Or there is this one;
You should dress modestly when in public, including whilst driving. Women should cover their shoulders and avoid wearing short skirts. You should behave courteously at all times. Any intimacy in public between men and women (including between teenagers) can lead to arrest. Homosexual behaviour is illegal in Qatar. So guys, this means no going topless during a summer with an average temperature of 41 degrees. And ladies, no bikini tops or heaven forbid, a vest. And also girls, be prepared for harassment from local men. It may not be threatening behaviour but you can certainly expect plenty of unwanted attention. And my fellow brits remember the following. It is extremely offensive to show the bottoms of your feet whilst dining, and no eating or shaking hands with your left hand.
So to sum up, if you want to show your support for England in Qatar, ladies should wear a hijab, men need to buy a thobe. Don't expect a fry up because you won't get hold of any bacon or sausages. Stay sober at all times and don't get too close to a member of the same sex during goal celebrations.Or the opposite sex for that matter.
Qatar World Cup 2022. Looks to be great fun for us brits.
So once again we have been hit by 'heavy' snowfall and once again the country goes into meltdown (pardon the pun). It's a little embarrassing really, how useless we are when we have a few inches of snow. Schools close, public transport becomes a living nightmare, panic buying and snowman thefts. I shit you not. I recently saw an article about a woman in Kent who called 999 to report a theft from outside her house. I quote "I haven't been out to check on him for 5 hours but I went outside for a cigarette and he's gone." When police asked the identity of the 'he' she was referring to she revealed it was a snowman.
Have we really gone that bonkers? I guess it's just a part of the eccentricity of our beautiful country that I know and love.
Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
A blog wouldn't be a blog without a bit of a rant and it has to start with the news of Russia winning their bid to host the 2018 world cup. I'm not particularly happy about it and would have loved to have it held here in England. Thanks partly to the BBC that will sadly not occur. What has really got my goat is the result of the 2022 bid. Qatar? Seriously? A country half the size of Wales. A country with laws such as;
It is a punishable offence to drink alcohol or be drunk in public. Offenders may incur a prison sentence or deportation. You should not carry alcohol with you, including in your car (except to take it on the day of collection from the warehouse to your home). Us brits are in a spot of bother with this one. Football and drinking go hand in hand. I can't see thousands of english football fans flocking to Qatar to show support to our boys and not have a few beers.
Or there is this one;
You should dress modestly when in public, including whilst driving. Women should cover their shoulders and avoid wearing short skirts. You should behave courteously at all times. Any intimacy in public between men and women (including between teenagers) can lead to arrest. Homosexual behaviour is illegal in Qatar. So guys, this means no going topless during a summer with an average temperature of 41 degrees. And ladies, no bikini tops or heaven forbid, a vest. And also girls, be prepared for harassment from local men. It may not be threatening behaviour but you can certainly expect plenty of unwanted attention. And my fellow brits remember the following. It is extremely offensive to show the bottoms of your feet whilst dining, and no eating or shaking hands with your left hand.
So to sum up, if you want to show your support for England in Qatar, ladies should wear a hijab, men need to buy a thobe. Don't expect a fry up because you won't get hold of any bacon or sausages. Stay sober at all times and don't get too close to a member of the same sex during goal celebrations.Or the opposite sex for that matter.
Qatar World Cup 2022. Looks to be great fun for us brits.
So once again we have been hit by 'heavy' snowfall and once again the country goes into meltdown (pardon the pun). It's a little embarrassing really, how useless we are when we have a few inches of snow. Schools close, public transport becomes a living nightmare, panic buying and snowman thefts. I shit you not. I recently saw an article about a woman in Kent who called 999 to report a theft from outside her house. I quote "I haven't been out to check on him for 5 hours but I went outside for a cigarette and he's gone." When police asked the identity of the 'he' she was referring to she revealed it was a snowman.
Have we really gone that bonkers? I guess it's just a part of the eccentricity of our beautiful country that I know and love.
Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
I haven't blogged for a couple of days because sunday I had a busy day and yesterday I had to have two teeth out and was feeling a little delicate. I have never been so scared of the dentist before. I didn't sleep the night before and felt ill all morning knowing come 11am i'd be in that chair. I don't know why I was so nervous this time but I actually very nearly walked out of the waiting room cos I was so shaky. I finally got into the chair and even told the dentist how scared I was (which anyone that knows me will know that's not like me. I would rather bottle it up inside than admit to someone that I am petrified of something) and she was really reassuring and I managed to endure the whole ordeal without any problems. I got home and spent the rest of the day on the sofa. I don't mind admitting that I was quite traumatized by this point and needed lots of comforting which I thankfully received from my better half.
All of this has had me thinking today about how I had a tooth out about 5 years ago and went on my own and then straight to work afterwards and it never bothered me in the slightest. The thing is that I have changed so much in the last few years and although i'm a more responsible and mature person now I think i'm more open about my feelings and in a way I think it's made me weaker than I used to be. Or has it? I'm not sure if me being a more emotional, sensitive person is necessarily a sign of weakness. Maybe it takes a stronger person to be able to be more open because instead of hiding things away in a deep, dark corner of my mind, they are out there and have to be dealt with. I admit I do feel a bit exposed by doing this but it's only really my girlfriend that i'm this open with and I feel quite safe doing that. It takes me a long time to be comfortable with someone so most people never see anything more than the jokey, playful side to me. I don't like people getting past that exterior because that's risky and although I see myself as a pretty strong person, when I do go down, I go down hard.
There are one or two people in my life that I know without a shadow of a doubt I could count on to hold me up when I start sinking but it's admitting that I need help that I find a problem. So instead of asking for help I try to manage on my own. That's when I clam up and find it hard to have any emotion. I know I will eventually fix this problem. I have with other things. I had a furious temper up until a while ago but after nearly completely destroying everything I had I managed to sort it. It was hard and even now I still sometimes feel that familiar rage inside of me but I know how to stop it becoming destructive now.
To be honest, I think this blog is just a load of rambling because if I read this back I doubt it would make much sense and I would probably delete the whole thing and start again. That's why i'm just gonna press 'publish post' and i'll read this back to myself at another time.
You can close your eyes to things you don't want to see but you cannot close your heart to the things you don't want to feel.
Anon
All of this has had me thinking today about how I had a tooth out about 5 years ago and went on my own and then straight to work afterwards and it never bothered me in the slightest. The thing is that I have changed so much in the last few years and although i'm a more responsible and mature person now I think i'm more open about my feelings and in a way I think it's made me weaker than I used to be. Or has it? I'm not sure if me being a more emotional, sensitive person is necessarily a sign of weakness. Maybe it takes a stronger person to be able to be more open because instead of hiding things away in a deep, dark corner of my mind, they are out there and have to be dealt with. I admit I do feel a bit exposed by doing this but it's only really my girlfriend that i'm this open with and I feel quite safe doing that. It takes me a long time to be comfortable with someone so most people never see anything more than the jokey, playful side to me. I don't like people getting past that exterior because that's risky and although I see myself as a pretty strong person, when I do go down, I go down hard.
There are one or two people in my life that I know without a shadow of a doubt I could count on to hold me up when I start sinking but it's admitting that I need help that I find a problem. So instead of asking for help I try to manage on my own. That's when I clam up and find it hard to have any emotion. I know I will eventually fix this problem. I have with other things. I had a furious temper up until a while ago but after nearly completely destroying everything I had I managed to sort it. It was hard and even now I still sometimes feel that familiar rage inside of me but I know how to stop it becoming destructive now.
To be honest, I think this blog is just a load of rambling because if I read this back I doubt it would make much sense and I would probably delete the whole thing and start again. That's why i'm just gonna press 'publish post' and i'll read this back to myself at another time.
You can close your eyes to things you don't want to see but you cannot close your heart to the things you don't want to feel.
Anon
Saturday, 16 October 2010
And Another Thing
I know i've already blogged today but I feel I have more to say.
Any of you that know me will know that I used to think of myself as a bit of a musician. I haven't played a guitar for quite some time now and feel that i've lost my mojo. I can't get back into the flow of it. I know that it will come back to me with much perseverance. I need to rough up my fingers again because at the moment they are painful after a few minutes of playing. I've also very recently bought a new guitar and finding it hard to bond with it. Maybe because it's an acoustic Fender and i'm more used to harsher sounding electrics. I've wanted to switch to acoustic for ages but now that I have i'm not sure I can play it as well as I can an electric. Also, my flat has high ceilings and extremely good acoustics so when I play, it's loud and I can hear all my mistakes which infuriates me. I'm quite a perfectionist and if I do something wrong, I come down hard on myself.This isn't just when I play the guitar. I'm like this in life with most things and tend to give myself a hard time whenever I think i've made a mistake.
I need to try to relax and unravel the stiffness that I have. The best way for me to do that is to do the things I love which is firstly going to be to get a strong relationship going with my guitar so I can play properly. I think I want to learn another instrument too. I'll wait til i'm back on track with the guitar and then i'll think about what other instrument I want to learn. It's most likely to be the piano. I sometimes hear a piece played on a piano and get the most intense shiver run through me. Music is my biggest passion. I couldn't imagine my life without it. It has the ability to hold memories within a single song. There are some songs I find very difficult to listen to because they hold emotions for me that are far too intense to handle. They bring back memories of times I either want to forget or that have unresolved issues that i'm not ready or strong enough to face right now. But there are other songs that hold brilliant memories of times in my life that I have thoroughly enjoyed. Most of my memories are somehow linked to a certain song. Some songs remind me of people in my life, some of places i've been, some of certain events. Music for me makes the world go around. I think it's the only thing in my life I couldn't live without. In the words of Frank Turner "If music was the food of love, i'd be a fat romantic slob".
Or maybe it's one of two things I can't live without. I'm not sure how long I could last without books. Other than the past week, cos I was away, I make time to read every single day. I've always liked to read but over the last year and a half I have read far more books than I the rest of my life put together. It's probably because my girlfriend is a writer and reads a lot more than anyone else i've ever met so I don't feel guilty if I bury myself in a book for a few hours because she knows exactly how it feels to get lost in a fictional world. I tend to immerse myself into a book as much as she does with her own writing. I stay out of her writing because I think it's a personal thing while it's in the delicate stages of a first draft but she did share some of it with me tonight and i'm looking forward to seeing where it will go. I think if she can throw herself into it this time she'll be more successful than she would expect. Without being biased I truly believe she has what it takes. All she needs to do is start believing it too.
I'm thinking of tackling some classics as the only ones i've read are gothic horrors like Dracula, Frankenstein and a few Jane Austin type novels at school which don't really count. I reckon i'll go for Moby Dick. It won't be yet though because I have a load to get through. I'm on Wolves Of The Callah, book 5 of the Dark Tower series at the moment and there are two more of them to get through. I have The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo as well that I haven't got round to reading yet. Between us we have at least 500 hundred books and there are quite a lot that I haven't read yet. I've also been recommended another series which I will eventually get round to reading. Stephen King is probably my favourite author and I think anybody that has read one of his best pieces of work such as The Stand or The Dark Tower and entered the worlds of Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg or Roland Deschain and Eddie Dean, will know that he has the most incredible mind. I have read a lot of his work but there is plenty more and I plan to read every single one of them.
There is also a series of books aimed at children but enjoyed by many adults called Percy Jackson and I know some of you will have heard of the film but I saw that after waiting a long time for it and it was such a let down. The books are incredible and I have read them all more than once. There is now a new series by the same author, Rick Riordan, that is set in the same place and with some of the same characters. I will certainly be reading it as soon as I get my hands on a copy.
I'm watching Life Stories: Russell Watson. What an amazing man. As if one brain tumour the size of two golf balls wasn't enough for one man to survive, he gets a regrowth and has to have a second removed. It's just not right is it? A gifted tenor at not even 40 years old with two little girls to leave behind. Against the odds he fought back and is now well and living an almost normal life. I don't know if I would have the strength to fight so hard against so much tragedy. I'd like to think i'd give it my all but I think it would be hard not to give up. I don't know very much about this man but I do know that he will be a massive inspiration to people in the same or similar circumstances to what he endured and will give hope to those who reach the point where they get tempted to quit fighting. A brave man in my eyes.
Music is the shorthand of emotion.
Leo Tolstoy
Any of you that know me will know that I used to think of myself as a bit of a musician. I haven't played a guitar for quite some time now and feel that i've lost my mojo. I can't get back into the flow of it. I know that it will come back to me with much perseverance. I need to rough up my fingers again because at the moment they are painful after a few minutes of playing. I've also very recently bought a new guitar and finding it hard to bond with it. Maybe because it's an acoustic Fender and i'm more used to harsher sounding electrics. I've wanted to switch to acoustic for ages but now that I have i'm not sure I can play it as well as I can an electric. Also, my flat has high ceilings and extremely good acoustics so when I play, it's loud and I can hear all my mistakes which infuriates me. I'm quite a perfectionist and if I do something wrong, I come down hard on myself.This isn't just when I play the guitar. I'm like this in life with most things and tend to give myself a hard time whenever I think i've made a mistake.
I need to try to relax and unravel the stiffness that I have. The best way for me to do that is to do the things I love which is firstly going to be to get a strong relationship going with my guitar so I can play properly. I think I want to learn another instrument too. I'll wait til i'm back on track with the guitar and then i'll think about what other instrument I want to learn. It's most likely to be the piano. I sometimes hear a piece played on a piano and get the most intense shiver run through me. Music is my biggest passion. I couldn't imagine my life without it. It has the ability to hold memories within a single song. There are some songs I find very difficult to listen to because they hold emotions for me that are far too intense to handle. They bring back memories of times I either want to forget or that have unresolved issues that i'm not ready or strong enough to face right now. But there are other songs that hold brilliant memories of times in my life that I have thoroughly enjoyed. Most of my memories are somehow linked to a certain song. Some songs remind me of people in my life, some of places i've been, some of certain events. Music for me makes the world go around. I think it's the only thing in my life I couldn't live without. In the words of Frank Turner "If music was the food of love, i'd be a fat romantic slob".
Or maybe it's one of two things I can't live without. I'm not sure how long I could last without books. Other than the past week, cos I was away, I make time to read every single day. I've always liked to read but over the last year and a half I have read far more books than I the rest of my life put together. It's probably because my girlfriend is a writer and reads a lot more than anyone else i've ever met so I don't feel guilty if I bury myself in a book for a few hours because she knows exactly how it feels to get lost in a fictional world. I tend to immerse myself into a book as much as she does with her own writing. I stay out of her writing because I think it's a personal thing while it's in the delicate stages of a first draft but she did share some of it with me tonight and i'm looking forward to seeing where it will go. I think if she can throw herself into it this time she'll be more successful than she would expect. Without being biased I truly believe she has what it takes. All she needs to do is start believing it too.
I'm thinking of tackling some classics as the only ones i've read are gothic horrors like Dracula, Frankenstein and a few Jane Austin type novels at school which don't really count. I reckon i'll go for Moby Dick. It won't be yet though because I have a load to get through. I'm on Wolves Of The Callah, book 5 of the Dark Tower series at the moment and there are two more of them to get through. I have The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo as well that I haven't got round to reading yet. Between us we have at least 500 hundred books and there are quite a lot that I haven't read yet. I've also been recommended another series which I will eventually get round to reading. Stephen King is probably my favourite author and I think anybody that has read one of his best pieces of work such as The Stand or The Dark Tower and entered the worlds of Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg or Roland Deschain and Eddie Dean, will know that he has the most incredible mind. I have read a lot of his work but there is plenty more and I plan to read every single one of them.
There is also a series of books aimed at children but enjoyed by many adults called Percy Jackson and I know some of you will have heard of the film but I saw that after waiting a long time for it and it was such a let down. The books are incredible and I have read them all more than once. There is now a new series by the same author, Rick Riordan, that is set in the same place and with some of the same characters. I will certainly be reading it as soon as I get my hands on a copy.
I'm watching Life Stories: Russell Watson. What an amazing man. As if one brain tumour the size of two golf balls wasn't enough for one man to survive, he gets a regrowth and has to have a second removed. It's just not right is it? A gifted tenor at not even 40 years old with two little girls to leave behind. Against the odds he fought back and is now well and living an almost normal life. I don't know if I would have the strength to fight so hard against so much tragedy. I'd like to think i'd give it my all but I think it would be hard not to give up. I don't know very much about this man but I do know that he will be a massive inspiration to people in the same or similar circumstances to what he endured and will give hope to those who reach the point where they get tempted to quit fighting. A brave man in my eyes.
Music is the shorthand of emotion.
Leo Tolstoy
Live A Lotto
I have wrote loads of random stuff on here today but it's mostly jumbled nonsense so I just keep deleting it all. It still amazes me that I find it easier to share my thoughts with the world on here than to talk about stuff to my nearest and dearest but I really am trying lately to not be such a closed book and to let people see what's beneath the surface.
A lot of today has been spent talking to a friend who, if i'm honest, is concerning me. She seems to be in a bad place at the moment and I wish I knew how to help but I have a feeling that this is something she'll have to figure out for herself. All I can do is be here and offer my time and strength whenever it's needed. I'm sure she'll be fine though, she's a very strong person.
On a lighter note, the same friend told me a story about how she has misplaced a lottery ticket before she was able to check the numbers. The thing is that so far, a jackpot winner from that draw has failed to claim their winnings. Could it be the winning ticket? We're not just talking about a couple of million either. This is over a hundred million. Imagine that. It'd be driving me completely insane. I would love that amount of money. The more, the better. I'm not one of those deluded fools that claim that 'money wouldn't change me'. Don't be ridiculous. Of course it would. I know it would change me, anyway. As much as I would like to be able to help all the worthy causes that are always fundraising to help people and animals in need, I would rather give one large amount of money to a single charity to make a significant difference to one group of people than smaller amounts to many and only make a slight difference if any. There are a few people in my life that I would like to help have a more comfortable life but I wouldn't help everyone and that might earn me a few enemies. The thing is that there are a handful of people that I know would not think any different of me whether I gave them a fortune or nothing at all and they are the people that would get my help. I believe that if you want to be rich, you should count the things you have that money can't buy cos I know that it's those things that make me a very wealthy person indeed.
I decided that from now on, I would end each blog with a quote.
No matter how rich you become, how famous or powerful, when you die the size of your funeral will still pretty much depend on the weather.
Michael Pritchard
A lot of today has been spent talking to a friend who, if i'm honest, is concerning me. She seems to be in a bad place at the moment and I wish I knew how to help but I have a feeling that this is something she'll have to figure out for herself. All I can do is be here and offer my time and strength whenever it's needed. I'm sure she'll be fine though, she's a very strong person.
On a lighter note, the same friend told me a story about how she has misplaced a lottery ticket before she was able to check the numbers. The thing is that so far, a jackpot winner from that draw has failed to claim their winnings. Could it be the winning ticket? We're not just talking about a couple of million either. This is over a hundred million. Imagine that. It'd be driving me completely insane. I would love that amount of money. The more, the better. I'm not one of those deluded fools that claim that 'money wouldn't change me'. Don't be ridiculous. Of course it would. I know it would change me, anyway. As much as I would like to be able to help all the worthy causes that are always fundraising to help people and animals in need, I would rather give one large amount of money to a single charity to make a significant difference to one group of people than smaller amounts to many and only make a slight difference if any. There are a few people in my life that I would like to help have a more comfortable life but I wouldn't help everyone and that might earn me a few enemies. The thing is that there are a handful of people that I know would not think any different of me whether I gave them a fortune or nothing at all and they are the people that would get my help. I believe that if you want to be rich, you should count the things you have that money can't buy cos I know that it's those things that make me a very wealthy person indeed.
I decided that from now on, I would end each blog with a quote.
No matter how rich you become, how famous or powerful, when you die the size of your funeral will still pretty much depend on the weather.
Michael Pritchard
Friday, 15 October 2010
God Save The Queen
Well, i'm back. The last few days have been interesting. The caravan was situated in a perfect location with the beach to one side and huge hills to the other. It's the first time I had to been to that part of Wales and I must say it is stunning and my time there certainly relieved some stress. It's hard to be too tense when your surroundings are so relaxing. I wanted to spend some of the time there thinking about making some changes to my life and I did that.There are some people I need to make an effort to keep in my life and there are a few I need to evict from my life. I've already started to do this. One person is gone and there are a couple more to follow. So hopefully things will start looking up without the added stress of the few losers that get right on my nerves.
Anyway, enough of that. On wednesday the 33 men trapped down a mine in Chile for 69 days were finally brought to safety. Astonishing news. It seems they are all physically well and some have been allowed home already with the rest expected to go home the end of today. They have been promised six months of aftercare which I think is vital. They may well be physically fit enough to get back to normal life but mentally this may not be the case. Let's all hope that psychological problems will be minimal.
The scenes above ground when all 33 men reached the surface was incredible. The pride among the people of Chile is inspiring. When was the last time England came together in that way? Okay, we all mourned Princess Diana and there was a sense of unity among us but when have we celebrated anything together as a nation? The only thing that springs to my mind is the end of World War Two. Britain was united under the same flag and celebrations spilled out of peoples homes onto the streets. 65 years later our country is a mess. We are worried about being branded as racist or hooligans if we have any pride. In june of this year a 7 year old little boy was attacked by a grown man in Scotland for wearing an England shirt. In march, our troops returned home from duty in Iraq and paraded in Watford. They were faced with a group of protesters holding placards branding these men 'Butchers of Basra' and that was only one incident. It was happening all over the country. If we fly the St George's Cross we're accused of racism. I for one fly my flag because i'm proud to be English. That includes our customs, history, heritage and patriotism. That doesn't mean I hate anyone who is from a different country. I think we should all be proud of who we are and where we come from and fly our flags whenever we want to, not just to show support to our nation's sporting teams.
It shocks me that many English people don't even know the first verse to our national anthem. Shouldn't we be teaching this to our children? Shouldn't they be learning it at school? Yet, at primary school, young british children are taught about other nations and even songs in their languages. I know our national anthem is long with it's 6 verses but couldn't we at least teach them the first and most commonly used verse? I've heard kids singing Star Spangled Banner. How do they know the USA's but not ours? It's time we start taking things into our own hands and teach our children that this is their country and nothing should ever make them feel ashamed of who they are.
And for any of you that wants to know, here are the 6 verses.
1. God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble Queen
God save the Queen
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over us
God save the Queen
2. O Lord our God arise
Anyway, enough of that. On wednesday the 33 men trapped down a mine in Chile for 69 days were finally brought to safety. Astonishing news. It seems they are all physically well and some have been allowed home already with the rest expected to go home the end of today. They have been promised six months of aftercare which I think is vital. They may well be physically fit enough to get back to normal life but mentally this may not be the case. Let's all hope that psychological problems will be minimal.
The scenes above ground when all 33 men reached the surface was incredible. The pride among the people of Chile is inspiring. When was the last time England came together in that way? Okay, we all mourned Princess Diana and there was a sense of unity among us but when have we celebrated anything together as a nation? The only thing that springs to my mind is the end of World War Two. Britain was united under the same flag and celebrations spilled out of peoples homes onto the streets. 65 years later our country is a mess. We are worried about being branded as racist or hooligans if we have any pride. In june of this year a 7 year old little boy was attacked by a grown man in Scotland for wearing an England shirt. In march, our troops returned home from duty in Iraq and paraded in Watford. They were faced with a group of protesters holding placards branding these men 'Butchers of Basra' and that was only one incident. It was happening all over the country. If we fly the St George's Cross we're accused of racism. I for one fly my flag because i'm proud to be English. That includes our customs, history, heritage and patriotism. That doesn't mean I hate anyone who is from a different country. I think we should all be proud of who we are and where we come from and fly our flags whenever we want to, not just to show support to our nation's sporting teams.
It shocks me that many English people don't even know the first verse to our national anthem. Shouldn't we be teaching this to our children? Shouldn't they be learning it at school? Yet, at primary school, young british children are taught about other nations and even songs in their languages. I know our national anthem is long with it's 6 verses but couldn't we at least teach them the first and most commonly used verse? I've heard kids singing Star Spangled Banner. How do they know the USA's but not ours? It's time we start taking things into our own hands and teach our children that this is their country and nothing should ever make them feel ashamed of who they are.
And for any of you that wants to know, here are the 6 verses.
1. God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble Queen
God save the Queen
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over us
God save the Queen
2. O Lord our God arise
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall
Confound their politics
Frustrate their knavish tricks
On Thee our hopes we fix
God save us all
And make them fall
Confound their politics
Frustrate their knavish tricks
On Thee our hopes we fix
God save us all
3. Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour
Long may she reign
May she defend our laws
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen
4. Not in this land alone
But be God's mercies known
From shore to shore
Lord make the nations see
That men should brothers be
And form one family
The wide world over
5. From every latent foe
From the assassins blow
God save the Queen
O'er her thine arm extend
For Britain's sake defend
Our mother, prince, and friend
God save the Queen
6. Lord grant that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring
May he sedition hush
And like a torrent rush
Rebellious Scots to crush
God save the King
On her be pleased to pour
Long may she reign
May she defend our laws
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen
4. Not in this land alone
But be God's mercies known
From shore to shore
Lord make the nations see
That men should brothers be
And form one family
The wide world over
5. From every latent foe
From the assassins blow
God save the Queen
O'er her thine arm extend
For Britain's sake defend
Our mother, prince, and friend
God save the Queen
6. Lord grant that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring
May he sedition hush
And like a torrent rush
Rebellious Scots to crush
God save the King
Sunday, 10 October 2010
It's my life
So today has been a little hectic. Had lots of last minute stuff to do as we're going away tomorrow for a few days and I can't wait. The last few months have been so stressful and I certainly need this break.
A friend said to me recently "It's your life. Take control" It's stuck with me since and I think I will use the time away to evaluate my life and make a few decisions about what I want from it. For instance, my job. I know i'm lucky to have it and for the last few weeks i've been getting paid to practically do nothing but it's not enough for me. I need some sort of challenge cos at the moment i'm bored.
Also, I think I need to think about certain people in my life and whether or not they are good for me. I have some amazing friends and family but there are a few people that just grate on me and zap my energy. It's time to think about me and not worry about everyone else anymore. By the time I get home from this break I will have decided what to do and I think there will be a few people that I will be ejecting from my life for good.
Speaking of ejecting, thank god Nicolo is out of X Factor. I really didn't like him. He exudes arrogance.
So, anyway, i've also been thinking a lot lately about eventually moving back down south. Definitely not back to London but somewhere nice in the south. The thing is that I don't know if I even want to be down there anymore. Since I moved up here to Liverpool I have missed it down there. But I have now got used to it here and I like it. I live in the heart of the city in the middle of everything. Could I ever afford to live somewhere like thsi down there? No chance. And what do I have to go back there for anyway? Nothing. A few friends, yes but I go down to visit when I can and there is nothing stopping them coming up here to see me. I don't think I have anything left down there to justify moving back. I feel like i'd be taking a massive step backwards so for now, i'm gonna stick it out up here.
If i'm honest I have grown to love this city and some of the people in it. Life is very different here, a lot louder to say the least. Scousers do tend to shout a lot but i'm used to that now. One thing I must say is that the women up here look after themselves. Most look stunning but the accent is annoying on them. It's not so bad on men but when it's a woman with a high pitched voice it goes right through me.
Right, i'm done for the time being. I'm sure i'll be back next weekend with lots to say but for now it's adios.
A friend said to me recently "It's your life. Take control" It's stuck with me since and I think I will use the time away to evaluate my life and make a few decisions about what I want from it. For instance, my job. I know i'm lucky to have it and for the last few weeks i've been getting paid to practically do nothing but it's not enough for me. I need some sort of challenge cos at the moment i'm bored.
Also, I think I need to think about certain people in my life and whether or not they are good for me. I have some amazing friends and family but there are a few people that just grate on me and zap my energy. It's time to think about me and not worry about everyone else anymore. By the time I get home from this break I will have decided what to do and I think there will be a few people that I will be ejecting from my life for good.
Speaking of ejecting, thank god Nicolo is out of X Factor. I really didn't like him. He exudes arrogance.
So, anyway, i've also been thinking a lot lately about eventually moving back down south. Definitely not back to London but somewhere nice in the south. The thing is that I don't know if I even want to be down there anymore. Since I moved up here to Liverpool I have missed it down there. But I have now got used to it here and I like it. I live in the heart of the city in the middle of everything. Could I ever afford to live somewhere like thsi down there? No chance. And what do I have to go back there for anyway? Nothing. A few friends, yes but I go down to visit when I can and there is nothing stopping them coming up here to see me. I don't think I have anything left down there to justify moving back. I feel like i'd be taking a massive step backwards so for now, i'm gonna stick it out up here.
If i'm honest I have grown to love this city and some of the people in it. Life is very different here, a lot louder to say the least. Scousers do tend to shout a lot but i'm used to that now. One thing I must say is that the women up here look after themselves. Most look stunning but the accent is annoying on them. It's not so bad on men but when it's a woman with a high pitched voice it goes right through me.
Right, i'm done for the time being. I'm sure i'll be back next weekend with lots to say but for now it's adios.
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