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... what with the vagaries of the weather @ Whitby (i.e. Stalybridge NOT getting a draw up there and replaying tomorrow) and Bury (i.e. FCUM v Boston called off, so FCUM not @ Woodley on Tuesday) - and County Cups (Leigh Genesis in't' Co-op Cup so not playing Ashton United tonight) - I find myself stuck for footy this week - other options include crazy train connections that might just .... fail (i.e. Guiseley v BPA tomorrow) ....
... so what to offer the masses this week ?? If I mention the word Todd Rundgren, it tends to get millions of hits (I'll be honest, during yesterday's "mass tidy" I DID find the ticket stub from the 2004 gig at the Bridgewater Hall - might "snap" that one day !) - but today's ticket stub/s (unused as yet) is/are ..... Power Quest !
(suitably de-coloured and blurred to avoid ..) - yep, after several false starts, I finally met "Sophsky" tonight and exchanged money for tickets - many thanx for that - it's always good to have a gig to look forward to (remember it's not just football !!!) ... and if anyone else is interested in tickets - Satan's Hollow - 8th December - contact via
powerquestmanchester@googlemail.com
for £7 tickets instead of £8 on the door - and mention my name - I like kudos !!
I then got the train to Stalybridge - and these days it's too dark at night to see what's going on with the Conservatory re-build (although having had words tonight, it may be in my interest to "do a dash between trains" at 0730 tomorrow morning - we'll see how we do !) - HOWEVER - there's been an upgrade in the main bar at the Buffet - witness ....
...a new floor !!! It does feel more comfy (and a "touch warmer" someone said tonight - he had his shoes on as well !) - there's even little felt pads on the bar stools/chairs so they "slide" rather than "drag" !!! I may stick this pic on the Conservatory rebuild site (as I'm reliably informed that the wood does go through the door into the conservatory - but not very far, as there are - apparently - quarry tiles waiting to be laid in there....)
Tomorrow is another day - or as George Harrison once put it, "Yesterday, today was tomorrow - and tomorrow, today will be yesterday" ........ go on .... name that tune !!!!!!!
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.. a comfortable win in the end against a team who I thought peformed much much better at Lancaster 7 days ago ... some pix at
My fingers got very very cold !
... can't say much else at the moment - we're on a "mass tidy" in house in preparation for ... you'e guessed it ... Christmas - well it did snow last night !
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... I bought this in Somerfield Cheadle Hulme today - now if I was someone who would take offence at inferences in an earlier blog post about trains in Second World War Germany, I feel it only fair to offer this filth up to the intolerant masses - who should really be watching "I'm a Railway Executive - Get Me Out of Here (in a car)"
I give you .... MY PURPLE ONE (oooh err) - and all the double entendres that go with it - disgraceful ...
Where do you start - don't worry this is going to be a fully justified attack on public transport - libellous even....let's go for it ... Network Rail - incompetent; Northern Rail - complete crap; First Trans-Pennine - useless- feel free to mix'n'match - that's a start anyway - I wouldn't trust any of those three "profit centres" to organise my Christmas party - they couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery !!!
Go back to Monday when the first train is over ten minutes late - this naturally has the "knock on" effect leaving me arriving at work over 30 minutes late - and therefore playing "catch-up" on my hours before I've even got to work - and what makes it worse is that I know this before I've even left Stalybridge !!!
Trains in the evening have been dutifully "late" - one thing that p*sses me off at Stockport is that you cannot board a Virgin Train heading towards Manchester - it's set-down only - and NO-ONE has ever given me a valid reason for this - whether it's Branson's arrogance/power trip (he should NEVER be allowed to forget that if it wasn't for Mike Oldfield and "Tubular Bells", he'd still be a "one bit" record shop owner in Notting Hill Gate) - but as such he's become a powerful w*nker who similarly appears to care little for his customers - "New Virgin" if you like - something like "New Labour" - nice people who suddenly get the power trip and become greedy bar stewards - remember Jack Straw and Harriet Harman (just two examples - there are many many more) who were once quite radical - look at them now ...... xenophobic fascists by any other name )
Meanwhile back on the platform ... so I'm down on hours even before arriving at work on Monday ... and Branson's Pendolinos (phew the speed ....) slow me down coming home - cus they get in the way of the trains that I AM allowed to catch (sorry this is me who spends over a grand a year on season tickets)... and then we get the absolute cr*p that is platform 13 on Manchester Piccadilly and the trains to Stalybridge - mostly the 1712 - an interesting time that is NEVER MET - EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK - EXCUSE MY SHOUTING BUT THIS TRAIN IS LATE EVERY DAY .. aah that's better - in fact today it was SO late I wandered off to catch the 1725 - because that left earlier .... late last week there was something in the papers about First Trans-Pennine having a 12% rise in passengers - it's just a crying shame that the size of their trains remain the same - they were overcrowded before this rise - now they're little more than cattle trucks in peak hours - our local paper this week shows our local MP - James "Photoshop" Purnell - suffering on a peak-hour train and saying "It's unacceptable" - sorry little Jimmy it's been unacceptable for many many years - 1995 ??? - John Major ??? - don't take this the wrong way, but I often think that the passengers on the 0735 to Auschwitz had a better ride (and it was probably on time) - and before the pc/moral high ground people start to whine - I'm talking about the train ride - not "what happened next" (I put this rider in because there are so many people out in "real world" today who are looking for something to hang their self-publicising hat on (think the Russell Brand/Jonny Woss/Jeremy Paxman type thingies - you get my drift) - so trains to Man Picc vs trains to Auschwitz is probably a handy hanger for these same sad people ....just get back to your John Sargeant petitions or something equally vital to the state of the nation ....)
To return to trains - the beauty of some of these late late trains is the "automated robowoman" - the guard can press "Button A" and we get the monotone/really emotional (ha !) announcement that "First Trans-Pennine apologise for the delay and the inconvenience caused" - that ALWAYS makes me feel better/comforted that they really really care ... my arse .... 'tis much the same on the platforms with these new "multi-million pound" high-tech passenger information systems - that say that the 1712 train is "on time" - despite the clock saying 1715 - and then - all of a sudden - the train becomes due at 1721 - I particularly like the one at Stalybridge where trains can "change places" regarding what comes in next ... I look at these things and think ... money well spent - a bit like the improvements to Stalybridge Booking Office - due for completion in July 2008 - still nowhere near finished - or the revamp of Greenfield Station that's ground to a halt because the contractor has allegedly "gone bust" - which naturally brings me on to the ... CONGESTION CHARGE ......!!!!
For those outside Greater Manchester ... the idea is to bring in a Congestion Charge - a little like Ken Livvies Greater London thingy (OK I guess it's Boris's Baby now) - but in Manc it's "Vote YES for the Congestion Charge - and we'll spend £3 billion on improving public transport". Now I - as a public transport user/sufferer - feel that the Congestion Charge is an absolute disgrace - because it's far too low.... I know many people who are opposed to it -they are the people who worship at the altar of the internal combustion engine - they are the people who make Mrs Smiffy's parking of our one car next to impossible when you live on a terraced street where two people - one house - two cars is the norm - on a street where I often think 70% of the people only ever leave the street on four wheels - they never walk !!!
However my support for the £3 billion public transport "sweetener" is tempered by the "view of the cynic" - how much of that £3 billion will actually go into public transport improvements - how much will be wasted on "consulatative exercises", "consultants fees", "meetings", "publicity exercises" and other such crap - my cynical guess is a good chunk - we will not get £3 billion of improvements - they talk of extra carriages on trains - that means that some of the £3 billion will go into private "profit making" companies - and the people who own the rolling stock are as much "profit centres" as Northern Rail/First Trans-Pennine etc - naturally the same goes for the deregulated (i.e. private profit based) bus companies - Stagecoach/First Bus etc etc.
So really a great idea will end up improving the lot of private companies - no doubt the people who run the congestion charge hardware/software will be some subbed-out profiteers on behalf of Greater Manchester Council - emphasis on the "on behalf" - they'll be in it for profit - and bollocks to the customers.
So yes the public transport users will get screwed for profit - as will the car owners/congestion charge payers - there'll be many many people making a few bob out of this on both sides.
Oh and before I forget - talking about useless tossers who don't give a monkeys about the customers - check out the new Northern Rail timetable (starts 14th December) - at present trains leave Mossley at 0654, 0724 and 0757 for Manchester - the new timetable shows me 0654, 0724 and then 0807 !! Yep - if you miss the 0724 - you've a 43 minute wait - at peak time !! My guess therefore is that more people will go for the already overcrowded 0724 - and God help those who get on at Ashton (two stops down) - it's already full at Mossley ! No doubt there will be copious apologies for the overcrowding - but never mind, Northern Rail will be able to post a good percentage increase on passenger traffic next year - with actually giving a toss !!! Magic isn't it ....
Just in case you've forgotten - the idea was to point out - Network Rail - incompetent; Northern Rail - complete crap; First Trans-Pennine - useless. I guess tomorrow I will be using the trains in my leisure time - no doubt they will be similarly p*ss poor (that is of course assuming they've not been replaced by buses - it is the weekend after all and no-one travels by train on Saturdays/Sundays do they ???)
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in the usual place - you'll see paint - no plants - and a yellow ladder
now with a roofy painty bit - and this link now works !!
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It's 2147 (don't care what it says after the "publish"...) - here's last night's pix from Curzon Ashton vs Garforth in the Unibond Challenge Cup ...
Another wet night game !!
Curzon play second-placed Bamber Bridge on Saturday - and at 2145 I was reliably informed that Mossley have gone to second-placed BB tonight and whupped 'em 2-0 - now that's a shock after the Lilywhites' abject surrender against bottom club Salford on Saturday ....funny old game and all that b*ll*x. Wonder how everything else is doing tonight (Droylsden, Alty etc) - we'll find out later ....
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....but it's too late to do justice to pics - yes "Curzon Ashton 0 Garforth Town 1"was the match of choice - twas a bit of "smash and grab" that won it for Garforth rather than "Brazilian samba" - blimey that whole Brazilian thing is one load of toss - I reckon the only link is Simon Clifford and Socrates - the link being "smokers" ... anyways you'll get some pics tomorrow evening - I won't be doing owt else this week - after tonight the kit is drying out (hence the delay on the pics..)
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.... straight to pix at ..
Lancaster City vs Woodley Sports pics
Woodley started the better side - and thoroughly deserved the 1-0 lead ... however the equaliser has to be put down to keeper error, and I felt heads seemed to drop after that - Lancaster's second (from what I could see at the wrong end) was another defensive error - and the third goal was a sublime free kick - no messing - the second for Woodley came too late really...
Evening - stayed over in Lancaster - to see boy and lady friend - went to the "Latinos" tapas bar (buena comida !!) followed by some Harviestoun "Bitter & Twisted" in the "Merchants" (actually I'd had a pint in there pre-game - oh yes and one in the "John of Gaunt" (Black Sheep Bitter !!).
Today - a walk around Slaidburn and Easington Fell on the way home - pics from that ... here goes a couple ... the cairn on Standridge Hill
Sunset over the River Hodder - near Dunnow Hall
Football this week - no idea - certainly will not make Bamber Bridge v Mossley on Tuesday night - or Droylsden v Darlo FA Cup replay ... let's wait and see for now ...
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You can now see the roof - and there's stuff going on inside - either I'm on the wrong platform during the light or it's always too dark and locked away when I get there in the evening .... hey ho ..
There's roof beyond blue and white plastic !!
Lancaster calls tomorrow ...last time I came back from there, I ended up appearing on Youtube - for those who havent, I offer up
I was NOT drunk !!
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.. as in Cheshire Senior Cup ... OK 2-0 to Altrincham but apart from the first ten minutes there was next to nothing between the two teams (but I guess scoring two early goals makes it a bit simpler) ... another wet one for the snapper - but enjoy what you can from these ...
A wet November night in Stalybridge
Plans have changed for the weekend - early thoughts (after doing the previous round at Calverton Miners Welfare) were to go to Glossop for their FA Vase game against Biddulph Victoria - but a 'required' trip "oop far north" to see boy at University has scuppered that one - thus you will find me watching Lancaster City vs Woodley Sports on Saturday ...
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... OK it started on Thursday evening and ended about 0300 this morning !! Slightly less hectic today - drop our Michelle at station - she has the future of rock'n'roll to sort out - again - in the morning (and she's been up and down from Stoke to Manc to see both Todd and Airbourne); some shopping; some cooking (sooooooo rock'n'roll - the potatoes tonight were a hybrid of Dauphinoise and Lyonnaise - with added leek - ever the rebel !!)
Work tomorrow ? Nope - training course in Manchester with an 0930 start - a veritable lie-in ...
Football this week will probably be Stalybridge Celtic - again - on Tuesday against Altrincham in some County Cup thingy. Both Ashton United and Curzon Ashton (sorry "Cup Heroes Curzon Ashton") are at home later tonight - but it's ju-jitsu for small boy ... and Mossley have nowt till Saturday. Saturday throws up even more options - I need to "ummmm" and "aaahhh" about that ... meanwhile ... for posterity ...
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Now that was one powerful play - might have been written 2,500 years ago but so relevant to 21st Century society/living/attitudes ... greed, arrogance, "power corrupts" and all that kerfuffle. There was some totally pointless "dancey bits" (why ? why ? it was a short play but short does not necessarily mean "not good" - just unnecessary padding ...) Some good performances as well - for Creon read George Bush/Tony Blair....apres play some drinkies in the bar followed by a late 192 down to friends in Longsight - more drinkies till about daft o'clock. Home to this - off to Stalybridge very soon to check out the Buffet Bar Conservatory construction progress, before Stalybridge Celtic v Tamworth (they're top y'know) - home - then back to Manc to meet our Michelle ... and Airbourne - the "credit crunch AC/DC" - and I mean that in the nicest possible way !!!
Whilst on the music slant I got an e-mail today (thanks to Sophsky !) - PowerQuest WILL be playing Manchester - 8th December @ Satan's Hollow £7 adv or £8 on the door ... also .. 143 hits on this site yesterday following the Todd posting (some kind of record for me that) but now ...to football ...
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Didn't drink - as was driving into Manc for the Todd gig (remember Manchester - 24 hour city - unless you need to get home after an evening out - ha !!)
Drinking now mind - hence the "late late show" - two more pix on the Buffet Bar diary
Now with me being "out" tomorrow , we'll wait till Saturday as I'm down for the Celtic v Tamworth game ....can 'catch up' then ...
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Starting on some of the "internals" - like ceiling - and insulation ... see the latest 'additions' at
Buffet Bar Conservatory as @ 05 Nov 08
(note I have to keep changing the file name as I've yet to work out how - if at all - I can just add to an existing 'project')
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A grand night out - apart from the result !! Go straight for the pix if you desire ....
hey hey it's the Shay...
Straight from work - and a stop in Huddersfield enabled a pint of Copper Dragon (drank in the "Head of Steam") and a bottle of Coach House "Blueberry Bitter" (purchased in the "Head of Steam") for the short hop to Halifax.
Off the train and into the "Three Pigeons" - a belting boozer indeed - and just a spit from the ground. You can see the floodlights through the window ... some Ossett Brewery "Pale Gold" was quaffed ...
What made the ground that much more impressive - apart from the decent floodlights for the snapper - was that the ground belonged to the club ... many are impressed by a trip to FCUM - but that's someone else's ground - last night I was at Halifax's ground - and yes ... go for finishing it off, because you will move up - just like Telford have done - kept their ground and started on the long road back .....
The game - hot on the heels of the 0-5 reverse on Saturday - wot I missed - you (I ??) could have expected far worse - but Mossley came out of last night really well - a hard-working performance, a couple of impressive debuts from Hirst and Berkeley... and all that seperated the teams was a dodgy pen (and that's from the Halifax fans as well) and a 92nd minute "extra"...if only that shot from Matty Berkeley had gone t'other side of the post (apparently the Halifax Courier "on-line" report called it a "sh*t" - that's some typo !!)
Thanks to Stu for a lift home across the foggy M62 - allowed time for a small tincture in the "Brit" !!
Tomorrow sees a pilgrimage ... yes it's Todd Rundgren @ Manchester Academy - Todd was one of my childhood heroes - and remains so, cus he keeps pumping out product - and good stuff too - check out "Arena" - it is a return to the good old stuff indeed...in true "You can't take professional..." mode - I'm back to "BabyFuji" for the evening - it really would be grand to just - one day - wangle a "press ticket" to a gig and take the big bugger and lenses - as my "BabyFuji" is pretty "old hat" as compacts go (only 5.1 MP - positively antique !!)
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It's been a bad week fror death - Simon's stepson, - the guy I saw at Quorn on Saturday (yes despite my mate Dave's best efforts, the guy passed away on Sunday afternoon) - tonight I hear that Brooks Mileson - ex Gretna FC benefactor - has gone as well ...
Sh*t happens ...not nice ...but it happens ......
Late Edit from Unibond site ..ref the Quorn game where I was ....
http://www.unibondleague.com/news.php?nid=7026
Sh*t continues .......
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..well small boy decided against ju-jitsu - first day back at skool , tired I'm sure !!! Gave me a little extra time to take pix of the Conservatory roof before getting home - see :
we have roofpix !!!
Tomorrow - Halifax ...........
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One week off - you can guarantee that various lumps of sh*t have hit various fans (ventilation not football) - probably take all morning to clear the e-mail backlog (might have a quick webmail peep after this !)
Plenty to look forward to this week: Monday - taxi service for Mrs Smiffy (salsa) and small boy (ju-jitsu); Tuesday - a trip to the Shay to watch Mossley play FC Halifax Town on Tuesday - pix to follow natch; Wednesday - working on it; Thursday - Todd Rundgren at Manchester Academy with our Michelle; Friday - Royal Exchange to see "Antigone" (Sophocles) with Mrs Smiffy followed by party/p*ss up at mates in Longsight; Saturday - Football in afternoon (either Trafford v Mossley or Stalybridge v Tamuff) followed by Airbourne at Manchester Academy with our Michelle; Sunday - that's next week innit ?
Still need to update the Stalybridge Buffet Bar Conservatory "diary" from the No roof pix yet !! position ... being away from Thursday to Saturday this week meant I missed the roof going on (I was suitably txtd with the info - cheers Graham !) - will check it out tomorrow morning at about 0730 (from the "other platform") and then later on the right side .... Sylvia said it would be all ready for Christmas - it'll be interesting to see if they've "opened the door" ...
..but first some sleep I guess .... but first - a couple off the "babycam" from the weekend ...
A ride on the 'Waltzer' at Belper Fair on Friday night was followed by a few scoops in the Mucky Duck and a walk down to the "New Ming Court" (ex "Spread Eagle") for some seafood - from that walk ....
Saturday on the way to Quorn - honest we were at a red light when I "whipped out me compact" !!! A bus in Loughborough implying nuns are NOT eco-friendly ....!!!
Now sleep ... when this can is empty .....
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I've been away a bit - OK got back from Belper on Wednesday morning after the Droylsden game - back to Belper on Thursday afternoon (Mother-in-Law has had central heating fitted - and the house was in rather a mess so it was a couple of days of hoover/duster/paint and general "tidy")
Today was a trip to Leicestershire to see Quorn play Belper Town - as I was driving back to Mossley tonight I assumed the role of "Des the Driver" ferrying Darlo, Penfold & Jordan to the game .... the game ... Belper should have been, if not home and dry, but certainly "indoors and towelling themselves down" by half-time - but it was only 1-0. When the penalty was missed/saved in the second half there was almost an air of "you know exactly what's going to happen" amongst some of the Nailers' faithful - sure enough on 85 minutes-ish, the equaliser arrived - two points lost I'm afraid ... some pix at
Quorn unsuitable for Vegans - unlike Tofu
I kept getting scary messages on my phone - "One Down" - "Two Down" - "3-0" "Now it's four" - "It gets worse - five" - if you've checked out today's scores you'll know these msgs came direct from Seel Park Mossley ..... looks like I was lucky today (to miss it that is) - Mossley off to the Shay on Tuesday night to meet FC Halifax Town. While Mossley did beat Halifax at the beginning of September the newly-formed club finally seem to be finding their Unibond feet - so we look at this trip with a soupcon of trepidation I feel - one for the "train crew" I hope - something for me to check ....
One final mention from today's game at Quorn - at half-time an old guy collapsed in the Social Club (heart attack) - Penfold (see above) has the St John training and together with the Quorn FC physio helped to keep the guy alive until the ambulance arrived - let's hope the guy pulls through ...
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Tuesday (pre game) was busy - up early, recycling to tip the train to Manchester with Mrs Smiffy and small boy to see the reptiles (amongst other things) at the Manchester University Museum .... lunch @ Tampopo then me home to get car go to vets bring our reptile (skink) home (abcess removed) before driving to game - problems - skink not ready so I couldn't take car .... time to improvise ... to Stalybridge to catch train and get some photos of the walls going up on the conservatory - then train to Buxton and catch bus from there - twas at Piccadilly where it all started to go wrong with signal failures on Platform 14 - hey ho - got to the game on time - see previous post - and got back to Mossley for 0950 today.... here's the bits and bobs...
The Buffet Bar Conservatory "Diary" - updated 29Oct08
A lizard thing from the morning ...
Two engineers helping to bring Platform 14 to a complete standstill (thus cocking up Platform 13 as well !!) ...
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One bridge too far for Belper I'm afraid - and if you add up the two games the better team did win over the 188 minutes - so that's two of the "Six Tame Sides" into the 1st Round Proper - this is the place to be watching non-league football - not Gigg Lane !!! A healthy little run for Belper mind - and some well-earned - and well-needed - money into the bank - I've "had a sniff" about where it might go - can't tell natch ...!!
Some pictures to be found at
written by Cornelius Ryan - film starring Sean Connery, Dirk Bogarde, Michael Caine
(you get the idea !)
I had fun getting there - and getting back was fun too - I'll say NO MORE !!!!
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get voting (you may need to register first) ....
more useful than a Scottish by-election
... otherwise it's Wakefield on 2nd December ...unless you live in other places ...see:
... for Curzon v Hinckley updates ... try....
this link 'ere
...or wait for unibondleague.com to put the results up .....
2115 - 1-1 last I heard !!!
2140 - looking like ET
2145 - ET
2215 - Second Period of ET begins ..
Pens ..............and Curzon win 3-2 on penalties to set up a home tie against Exeter City on November 8th ..... it could have been Mossley ....onto tomorrow .... Droylsden or Belper to get the gig up at Darlington ??
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... extra hours kip - no walk (painting to do in the downstairs loo) - FA Cup draw ...
... completely forgot to carry on in "crapsnap" mode to get the Curzon (or Hinckley) v Exeter City picture ... I was too busy leaping for nationalfail.co.uk to see if it was feasible to do the Belper game AND get back to Manchester in time to do the Airbourne gig with our Michelle @ the Academy - and YES - it's a goer !!!! Just leaves the "slight" problem of turning up for a gig with a large bag of camera stuff !!! A minor detail ....!
Well has everyone seen that amazing bit of "non news" that's filled the TV for the last 24 hours or so ??? I mentioned possibly going up to the Lake District for a couple of days as well. OK - it rained a bit - it was a bit blowy - people who go on these kind of things tend to "go prepared" - hey it's England - it's October - that bloke criticising the organisers must be one helluva self-publicist - what a prat !! Someone else who was interviewed was asked about this criticism and they said words to the effect that "I think you'll find that 100% of the people on this event see this critcism as .... wrong" ! It was when the "ticker tape" came across the BBC News24 screen saying something like "Penrith Hospital has had no admissions from the Lakeland kerfuffle", you thought - that was news ?????? When it went from 1,700 unaccounted for... to 44 ... to 17 ... to 0 .... it made perfect sense - people had been getting on with it - sorting themselves out - while some hysterical loons were "wobbling on" all over the TV - in point of fact some of it was actually better than some of the progs last night !!
So - a week's holiday ...what will Monday bring ???? Not the Lake District that's for sure !!!!!!!!!!
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Well that was some game .. the Droylsden fans bemoaning their poor performance whilst failing to acknowledge a belting second 45 minutes from the Nailers - ironic in a way that the two MOMs in the club afterwards went to the two keepers !!!
It was good that the visitors from Derbyshire were welcomed with some typical Manc weather (!) - the first half has to been seen as Droylsden's - there was one moment when the Belper keeper Paul Pettinger (fondly remembered up here as a Stalybridge keeper who "leaked a few") was throwing himself from one side of the goal to another. Not that Belper were fazed by the opposition - they put some good stuff together - while Anthony Wilson had a "quiet" game (in my opinion anyway), both Lee Stevenson and Ben Walker "made themselves known" up front ....
If the Bloods shaded the first half - Belper came out after the break with all guns blazing - and made the team from two divisions above look really poor - OK it could have gone either way towards the end - but the Conf team certainly knew they'd been in a game (and in the club after it was good to see Unibond Curzon Ashton had snatched a draw at Conference Hinckley as well )
So .... the draw for the FA Cup 1st Round "Proper Like" is apparently on the telly tomorrow lunchtime - it will be interesting to see what comes out of the bag for all teams "still in it" - while Droylsden might fancy a local bash against Oldham or Rochdale, Belper might look to Leicester or Notts County....the Tuesday replay looks like a "goer" for me - we're on holibobs this week anyway - the car is "in dock" on Wednesday a.m. so .....
Plus today we had a "meeting of togs" - Droylsden snapper Carl, Belper snapper Tim - and the "neutral" (viz moi !) .... you now get the holy trinity of pix ... !!!!
Carl from Droylsden ...
http://www.bloods.fotopic.net/c1600943.html
Tim from Belper ...
http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/DrylsdnAFAC0809/album1.html
And ....
http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/DroylsdenBelper/
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... well I'm sure you knew the date anyway !!
I'm on holiday - for an entire week - so b*ll*x to the imbeciles that run Northern Rail / First TransPennineExpress / Simon Carves etc etc - I don't care ! I only hope that Bertie the Bus will get me to the Butchers Arms Droylsden before 1500 tomorrow - yes Mossley have a game @ Chorley (travel made all the harder by the complete "shutdown twixt Mossley/Stalybridge and Manchester) - Stafford Rangers are back "up our way" after a 7 day break (they'd better play for 90+ minutes rather than slacking off like they did at Hyde last weekend) - and all this despite the fact that I do have a certain affinity with Stalybridge Celtic - but no - tomorrow it's Droylsden v Belper Town - for rasons outlined earlier in the week...
Basically I'm just a football team "slag" - but I have many reasons - all perfectly valid - so nerrrrrrr !
As regards the "holiday" - nothing concrete planned yet - there'll be some walking done, no doubt - possibly Lake District for a day or two .... at this moment it's "one day at a time" - and tomorrow is FA Cup...
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After work today - slipped into big city Manchester and finally purchased the new Todd Rundgren album "Arena" ... and we're back to the "good old days" - can you say that - I like the "No World Order" era as well. Anyroad up - "Arena" - with guitar, guitar and more guitar - track 1 - "Mad" very reminiscent of some of the later Utopia stuff ("Oops Wrong Planet" - ish) yet still showing some of the "individual" stuff ("MountainTop" could have come off side 2 of "Faithful") - natch on this album, the master does the lot .... and does it very very well ! Incidentally Track 3 ("Mercenary") contains what is to me the "ultimate rock riff" (at about 2.00 minutes) - one that crops up in all sorts of places from "More than a Feeling" by Boston to "Hamburger Concerto " by Focus - there's even bits of Ronnie Montrose/Sammy Hagar on the track "Gun" - I love it ......
It will be interesting to see what the line up is on November 6th - last time I saw Todd on the "Liars" tour @ Bridgewater Hall in Manchester (July 2004 - can't believe it was that long ago) he'd got former Utopia bassist Kasim Sultan in the band .... wouldn't it be nice to see those two with Roger Powell and Willie Wilcox - and them all do a version of "Singring and the Glass Guitar" - but it's late and I'm rambling/old/dreaming out loud ........after last night/this morning's finish, I think it wise to exit stage left .....
While I'm in anorak mode - about 6 minutes 14 seconds on Track 2 ("The Fire Still Burns") on the new DragonForce album "Ultra Beatdown" - "China in Your Hand" by T'Pau - that riff - honest - check it out !!!!!
Did I promise myself an early night tonight ?? Well 'tis earlier than yesterday .............so far .........!!!!!
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...in glorious video ......GASP - as the plastic flys up in the wind.....
APPLAUD - as first Mandy - then Mick - go for the "supporting role" roles ....
Keep the brolly - there's no roof yet - hang about - there's no bloody walls either .....
We wait for REAL movement - naturally .....
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Too bloody late for much more - nearly two o'clock ! Comfy 3-0 win - here's some pics - and it DIDN'T RAIN on me !!
http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/MossleyChadderton/
Nighty night ....
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Well - had our nosh in Longsight on Friday night (venison no less !!) - back home for 1000 Saturday then hot foot to Ashton for hair cuts (me & Peter). Home - trip to tip (downstairs bathroom all but finished) and got dropped off in Ashton (Mrs Smiffy having hair cut) and a bus down to Hyde arriving in time for a pint or two at the "Sportsman" - BUT NO !!!! It's shut "until further notice" - eek !! (found out later it's only for refurb - so all you CAMRA peeps - don't panic !!) Went straight to the ground instead.
First time I've seen the old "home town team" since April 2007 @ Altrincham - a mixed performance from both teams - I'm sure Hyde are the happier with the 1-1 draw - always helps if you concentrate and play for 90+ minutes - where Stafford slipped up - a golden chance to make it 2-0 went begging - and on 92 minutes Hyde equalise - I've no idea where the 4 extra minutes came from - word was timewasting - but I've seen far worse punished with far less. Pictures at ..
http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/HydeStafford/
Rochdale in the evening for more food (moussaka) and home today - to this ... I know Mossley won comfy (well so I was txted !) - now I need to find out what else happened yesterday ...
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God it was wet last night - it's taken a good while to dry everything out (including me !!) - but .. the right result in the end - God knows what damage it's done to the pitch with home games on Saturday and next Tuesday - let's hope for the Indian summer this week ..... oh yes ...pix at
http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/MossleyRadcliffePCup/
Remember - I got rather damp for these ...... !! (and here's a little STS exclusive as well - "aquatic handbags" ....)
Are England playing tonight ?? I must check the score - no rush mind - not that important ....eh ?
Almost forgot - the Mossley Message Board is "down" at the moment - some cock-up during an upgrade (sounds soooo familiar !!!!) so you'll have to make do with this and mossleyweb and SJNRs blog and ...etc ...
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It was WET - be patient - stuff WILL come ....(and I had to do Ashley first !!!)
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After 32 years "on the rails" Ashley has finally finished - many will know him from his time on Stalybridge Station - others will know him from his work carrying the Madonna on Whit Friday in Mossley - many many others will just "know him" ....
Tonight - a "bit of a do" at the Buffet Bar - it may have got livelier later - but I did have a Presidents Cup game v Radcliffe to do ... but best wishes to Ashley in his retirement ...and some pictures from "babycam" from the early doors stuff...
http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/ByeByeAshley/
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... a trip to Hinckley United - a place last visited by Mossley for a 6-1 thrashing in the FA Cup back in 2004, a couple of years before the "Knitters" moved to their nice new stadium (leaving the amazingly balanced wooden Social Club to .... fall down maybe ???
Still it's Curzon who get the trip to the Marston Stadium - you'll notice little in the way of Smiffy comment from last Saturday - having only seen the last 20 minutes or so, due to far more important commitments elsewhere, I don't feel sufficiently "knowledgeable" to pass any sort of judgement. All I will say is that, from the little I saw, there wasn't the urgency and pressure that I'd seen in the second half against Bamber Bridge, and that the substitution just after getting the equaliser at 3-3 implied "hang on for the replay" - not a good move when there are players like Mickey Norton about .....
So as cups go for Mossley - down to the last two, one tomorrow (Presidents Cup at home to Radcliffe Borough - who've already beaten us on our patch) and the Manky Premier Cup a week tomorrow at home to Chadderton (who beat us in this competition at their place last season). It will be good to get "back on track tomorrow" night before getting back to league action on Saturday. The other 4th Qualifying Round game that naturally caught my eye was Droylsden v Belper Town - on 25th October - when Stafford Rangers come to Stalybridge Celtic and Mossley are away at Chorley - minds will be made up at a later date, but - this being the "Six Tame Sides" site my two outstanding grounds this season are Droylsden and Hyde (who are at home this Saturday to .... Stafford Rangers !!).
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..and finally - car had a bit of a car wash yesterday - and Mrs Smiffy mentioned tonight that the temperature gizmo on the panel was a "bit off" - looking at this .....
..as that is actually 157.1 degrees Fahrenheit (!!!) I'd tend to agree (and before anyone makes a smart-ass remark about Radio 2 - tonight was "taxi night" (Mrs S here, Small Boy there) and I'd been listening to the "Rhythm and Blues Show" with Paul Jones, containing a live acoustic set from Walter Trout - don't laugh, Google him). That's all folks ...
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Christ it's late - a 2-2 draw which on the second half performance should have been a win, but hey-ho - happy with a point after the horrors of the first 20 minutes .... some less than special pix at
http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/MossleyBamber/
(well it is late - and the weather was REALLY crap !!)
Here's a bonus "condensation" pic - poss a reason NOT to go in the club at half-time and fiddle with bits - because you come out and you get this ... eekk..had to hide under the stand and take things apart (lens/filter etc), polish and put back together again - hey it's just like work, viz "Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again ???!!???"
Talking of work - computer/database still shyte - we're now into day 8 of trying to sort stuff out - but we are getting there - now I need sleep (finished really late today - needed taxi home from Ashton in order to say "Hi" to Mrs Smiffy before going straight out) - tomorrow I need the 0654 train - and its 0130 now ...aargh ...
A busy weekend awaits - tell you more later ........
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You're going to have to wait ... turned up all prepared - and then along came "The Man from the Chron" as they say, so I bowed to the professional (even though he was a Nikon Man !) and left him to it. All I can offer you is ....
Tee hee ... we went walking instead - might put some pics of that up later - the might of the River Tame and all that - it was certainly powering down the valley at Scout Green this afternoon ..... but now - a bath !
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It's 0200 - so don't expect miracles at this time of the morning !!
Here's some pix ..
http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/MossleySPSTrophy/
I'm late because ...there's life beyond football - that was one crazy/stupid/ridiculous last 10 minutes today - OK we were dreadful in the second half ... but 5-1 ???? Everything they touched in the last 10 turned to gold/goal - it was just unreal .....
I drank several (changed nowt !!) came home and watched "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" with Mrs S - weren't the Germans a bunch of complete bastards ?? OK war = war, but not content with killing the locals - they turn on their so-called allies as well - how to make friends and influence people eh ?? (We're not innocent either if we look back through history - and I'm sure it's happening as we speak in many many countries) First time I've seen the film - when it came up at the end - "Dedicated to the THOUSANDS of Italians EXECUTED by the Germans ..." - very very moving.... makes you think about the "friendly fire" stuff when the Yanks are killing ours .....
Other footy - I've done the Hattersley FC pix this morning - not looked at them yet - time / mandolins / Mossley etc etc - we'll see how it looks... and the irony is ... tomorrow is "Chairman's Lunch" at Mossley and due to unavailability/non-arrival/general SNAFU (look it up !!), I've been asked to go and do team photo tomorrow/today betwixt 1200 and 1300 !!! Falling - as it does - on "walking day", Mrs Smiffy not too impressed (!!) - however if she drinks some of the Bucks Fizz while I take the pix - we'll toddle off straight away for a local walk...(I did have an invite to the "do" itself - but these sort of things are not my cuppa tea ...
To Tuesday then - Bamber Bridge also leaked 5 goals today in the Trophy - so it should be a tale of two football teams ...
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What a week - where do you start ... death - Neil @ Woodley, obit for Sean from Stalybridge was in the paper this week - and I also learned that Leek Town had lost a big fan in August - Paul Smith - there's a really lovely and very moving tribute to this guy on youtube from his daughter Kelly - see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVQ1d2b7ABM
All the above pales the rest of my week into "bleurrrrgh" really - I've had serious sh*t with Sun hardware, Unix operating system and Oracle database this week - at 1600 today we thought we'd sorted it all - at 1630 we realised all was still "not well" - something for Monday by then - I was thirsty (even though it was Friday !) - and we'd all had enough this week - you sort the disks - you sort the corrupt files -and then just when you think youve ....... grrrrr
Football - tomorrow - well it should be Mossley v Stocksbridge Park Steels in the FA Trophy - but having seen the weather this week - and not having seen the weather forecasts for tonight/tomorrow ... back to "bleurrrrgh" I guess - obviously there are other options (first would be Stalybridge v Redditch United - yes the team that got stuffed by Belper Town last Saturday !!).
Also doing a photo favour tomorrow lunchtime for a mate at Stalybridge Buffet Bar - now need to "gen up" on the tricks of the trade for taking "team photos" - and having seen this link this week on the Belper board - I'd best be on my guard, although I believe I'm doing the youngsters ... and just offering my services all of a sudden became a bit of a minefield - with Mrs Smiffy working in education with youngsters all the "legal this that and t'other" came to the surface - thankfully all cleared up - you read all this stuff about school nativities and parents with video cameras - so much needs to be taken into account these days - sad but true I guess ...
What else this week - I'd thought about doing something about overcrowding on trains - took some pics with babycam, but they weren't brill - just take it as read - cattle trucks (sorry "standard class") morning and night peak....
Mrs Smiffy out tonight with sister (just passing through) so I get the chance to use .... the record player which is just behind this pc !!! I'm onto my second Steve Hillage album as we speak ("Motivation Radio" - done .... "Open" part way through side 1) - isn't it quaint - "sides" seem so short and you have to physically do stuff like lift arm, flip disk, put arm back on - those were the days - and still will be in this house with the amount of vinyl we've got !!
Must go - time to put side 2 on ...!
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