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... the job application is winging its way across the ether to Oldham Council - and I'v now managed to drag some half-decent - OK quarter-decent pix off "ye olde compacte camerata" ... but you'll get the picture. A fine set in front of a very low crowd indeed at Academy 1 in Manc - so low that even the bloomin' touts were not buying - so if anyone wants an unused DF ticket - I've got one ! Three support bands, but I didn't bother with the first two (a pint in the Kro Bar won the day - Deuchars IPA at some daft price !). However Sabaton I DID like - not too shouty and heavy enough for rock'n'roll. DF played an execellent set - and the sound was OK for my ears. "Valley of the Damned" is now 'included' in the set rather than an encore (which was "Fire and Flames") - but I still missed the last train back to Stalybridge meaning midnight bus and taxi from Bridge - hey ho that's the way it go ... oh yes pictures:
Dragonforce & Sabaton 11Dec09
Next gig - Wolfmother in January - also today bought tickets for the John Butler Trio in April for daughter + 1 (plus one for me - he's a very talented banjo player indeed - feel free to check out John Butler - Ocean - you'll see what I mean !).
Now - off to cook some basic tea (jacket spuds and be damned !).
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.. just the pix for starters ... a grim night for the Mossley faithful indeed ..
Salford City 4 Mossley 1
Now I MUST get back to a job application form - closing date tomorrow ... still a lot of catching up to do (Dragonforce anyone ?) after that ...
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... for a couple of days - big computer looking a little more healthy - although I'm now in a position to do everything on this laptop. Good to see Ashton United stopping the rot last night with a good thumping of AFC Kirkham and Fylde and Wesham. Bad to see Curzon losing in extra-time against Skelmersdale - buggered my chance of a Curzon v Belper semi-final. However .... very good to see the Belper Town board turning down Eastwood Town's "offer" for Lee Stevenson - I'm of the belief that all this uncertainty affected the whole team in their capitulation against Lincoln United last Saturday. Now it's all done and dusted they can take one step closer to Pride Park/Saltergate/Somewhere in Derbyshire by beating Glapwell tonight - who in fact beat Glossop in the previous round thus buggering my chance of a Glossop v Belper quarter-final (all part of a conspiracy to keep Belper away from the Manchester area I believe !)
Tonight - hopefully - it's Salford City v Mossley - heard nowt to the contrary at the moment, but Woodley Sports v Vauxhall Motors is alway a banker - or maybe Oldham Athletic Ressies v Preston North End Ressies @ Stalybridge Celtic. Weather looking OK for now however ...see what we can do with the lens tonight - looking for an improvement on Saturday (then again I'm always a little "intimidated" in the presence of "Sir Timbo of the Lens" (Belper snapper - he taught me all I know - I must have forgotten most of it on Saturday !!).
Jobs - I may have dropped a clanger today - but there's one good looking jobbie in Oldham to form-fill tomorrow - fingers etc suitably crossed.
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... after much effing about from one pc to another laptop - I'm not sure these are the proper pix - but don't worry - I wasn't overly impressed with my efforts anyway.. you decide
http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/BelperLincoln/
now bed - followed by some serious hardware/software sorting out tomorrow.
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... you don't want to know the the absolute sh*te that I've been going through tonight in the land of computer - it's just crazy ... crazy ... this is coming via the laptop - however the photo stuff still needs to come via the other bloody thing - and bloody thing is an understatement - dunno whether it's to do with it being the 13th - or just all the crap etc that small boy has on the machine.
Suffice to say getting the Belper v Lincoln pix began at about 1945 tonight ... and is still going on now (!) - all this for 16 sub-standard (in my eyes) pictures - and I've STILL got to go through the crap from babycam (as in Dragonforce on Friday night - tell you what mind, Sabaton are WELL worth a listen !), and also the pictures from "Grandma's Party" (which I know you're not interested in but .. still need sorting out). I'm now sitting, looking at a JAlbum startup logo/splash screen that is just "sitting there" - AAAARGH.
I can see me taking a day out of "job hunt" this week - just to sort out all this garbage - I've a pc upstairs that could be - nay will be - "snapper only" - no rubbish, no internet, just photography - and then I can use memstix to move stuff around ... because 5 hours for 16 pictures is just daft. Stay tuned ... or have a good night's sleep first !!
(And yes I DO wonder about virus/keystrokes as well)
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Got the unemployed equivalent of a "Dear John" letter from the DWP today - well early afternoon actually - so I will have to remain strictly the "wrong side" of the desk/bullet-proof window !
Panic ? Not yet ... I also got my second (of three) "Gardening Leave payslips" - and a credit card bill ... a real "roller-coaster of post" today !! Soon it's time to get ready for popular beat music this evening down in the big city - from the sublime of "Harp and a Monkey" last night to the ridiculous of Dragonforce tonight ... still got a spare ticket though I've put it up on www.scarletmist.com - the ethical option.
Tomorrow sees "Grandma's Party" in Belper and hopefully a fair chunk of Belper Town v Lincoln United (cries of "Stevo must Stay !!" go up around the Amber Valley - and Southport as well).
Then back to the job hunt on Monday ...
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..last night .. Liverpool v Fiorentina ('twas a "Christmas Wrapping Party" at home) - tonight was a "Hair Dye Session plus Christmas Deccies" party - so I got to go up to Mossley Social Club to one of Orpheus's "2nd Thursday" gigs .. and saw a rather good trio called "Harp and a Monkey" ... saw the harp, but .. no monkey !! I can't take big camera to DragonForce tomorrow (today ?!?) - and I failed to get on the guest/photographer list for Power Quest next week - Manuela from PQ was really nice about it, but because they're only "support" to Michael Schenker the options (passes if you like) were fewer - hey ho !! so I gave it a go tonight with big bugger ..
Harp and a Monkey - Mossley Social Club 10Dec09
Crappy compact tomorrow (today ?!?) folks .....
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OK last night for starters - got there - Bower Fold - late (yep the Parents Evening @ Salford College - which also confirmed my earlier blog post that "Steve Settle is unavailable for the Lancaster/Mossley game" - well work DOES come first - my excuse for missing out the 0-3 defeat @ Giant Axe was "Your kids come first") - but still in time to see Celtic go one down.
Panic ?? Nobody did (apart from me still desperately trying to get my snapper gear in order - it gets harder and harder "in the dark" - even under the Conference standard of "lux 250"). Celtic meanwhile didn't panic - played it around - even backwards at times - but it eventually brings results, and for me once the equaliser went in, Gloucester were seriously on the back foot - and Celtic knew it ! Number 7 Dave Hankin - who's moved up to Conf North from Unibond 1 North Clitheroe - was the key ... surging down the right and putting over 'dirty balls' both in the air and on the ground - an absolute nightmare for the Gloucester defence. In the end 4-1 was well-deserved - and to be honest, could have been more.
Today ... one of those "dolescum" days for me - checking emails in (2 knock-downs) and going round the agency websites - and putting house in order and cooking posh tea. Got "pass out" to watch fitba tonight - 'twas Liverpool v AC Fiorentina - and Florence certainly 'put one into the machine' with that late late winner from Gilardino .
Job hunt ?? I've started to write "a book" about this stuff - OK it would be nice to get something sorted before Christmas but .. I seriously wonder about the validity/honesty/usefulness of certain of these so-called "job aids" - I really do. There was a post a few months ago on here where I despaired of "being honest" because "being honest" gets you nowhere these days - I start to think a few 'tweaks' to job applications/date of birth etc might make a difference - who knows .. but if I ever meet a "banker" (with a £30,000 bonus - i.e crooked dishonest cheating scumbag who will further himself to the detriment of thousands of others) in the street, I may well become VERY VERY dishonest ...yes sh*t would certainly be k*cked out of said leech ... people like that put people like me where we are today ... just like being back in Maggie's recession - yep last time I got made redundant ...
Still - looking forward to Friday at this moment in time - DragonForce @ Academy .. and I found out last night that several of the (younger) Stalybridge Celtic Matchday Stewards will be there also - just a shame they won't have their hi-vis on - I might have been able to wangle "big camera" into the gig !! As it stands you will get only "AliceInChains" quality as the "baby camera" seems to be on the way out ..OK it has been for a number oif years but --has never been replaced - maybe a PowerShot A480 for Christmas (although my earlier hint for a Manfrotto 679 monopod has today been upgraded to a 681 - for the extra couple of inches ...)
Anyway DF ..
DragonForce 2008 is here
DragonForce Nov 2007 @ MEN Arena is hereBut their best ever gig in Manc (and even my baby cam was inspired that night !!) is hereOne day - one day - I WILL get my act together ref gig photography - it can be done, and I have done it at the lower level with big camera - see my pic of former PowerQuest drummer Francesco Tresca taken @ Satan's Hollow in Manchester last year (there is a colour version too !) .. 
They're supporting Michael Schenker next week (PQ that is) - we'll have to see - maybe I can swap my spare DragonForce ticket for a PowerQuest ticket - after all PQ's Steve Williams used to play in DragonHeart - the early version of DragonForce ...My God .. I've wobbled on a bit tonight - hope it was worth it ....
... pix only ... it's nearly two thirty !!
Stalybridge Celtic 4 Gloucester City 1
Promise some words tomorrow - good to see a team who don't panic after going 1-0 down - I'm told patience has its just rewards !!!
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... a cracking away win for the fillings, while crazily all 6 were scored by the Greek (?) "striker" Lampraki.
Another score today was NewSpex 2 Vision 20/20 ... while the Asda £50 option sounds tempting ... they were in the end 'trumped' by the "2 for £75" option at SpecSavers (the opticians of football officials country-wide !)
... which leaves only one more effing chest x-ray - OK I say one more - the three up to now have been 1 - "Clearish, but we'd like to check"; 2) "Shadow/inflammation on right side" and then 3) "OK on right side, poss inflammation on left side" - and my entire physical self should be sorted - pro-tem !
... which reminds me - "We must book the car in for an MOT before New Years Eve " .. ho ho ..
PS for those who fancy Lancaster City v Mossley on't'net tomorrow night - www.bailriggfm.co.uk is the radio station of choice - from 1935 onwards ...
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Pix from Sunday (it was a rare outing for the 19-35mm wide angle lens as well !!) :
HealeyDell - 06Dec09
Now to psyche myself up for the 1145 dental "event" ...
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Just to let you know - I've changed the blog settings for when peeps want to tell me stuff - I've added the "Word Verification" option to the bottom of the "Comment" page - because if you look at:
This blooming spammy post !!
You'll understand why !!
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Quick weekend ctach-up, which began @ Stalybridge Buffet Bar, meeting the boys (and girl !) from Ilkeston Town - well those who hadn't buggered off to the Wetherspoons anyway. Scabbed a lift on their coach up to Bower Fold as well !!
The goal certainly caught a lot of people "cold" - or still in pie queue - or still faffing with camera before walking round !! And after that ... the next 86 minutes were fairly evenly matched - although I reckon Celtic's Dave Carnell was the busier of the two 'keepers - and a little bit more composure in front of goal could well have seen Ilkeston win handsomely. But there you go - "win ugly" and all similar cliches. Celtic certainly looked a bit "ring rusty" - after all it was their first league game since the end of October - crazy, but that's FA competitions for you (work it through and you'll find it's the fault of the World Cup ... or Sky ... or both, because Sky told FIFA when to have the World Cup, where to have the World Cup, and also the kick-off times ... allegedly .. !!
Off to Rochdale in the evening - and this morning a wander around Healey Dell Nature Reserve - I've got some pix, but they're on t'other pc - and boy is watching "Bad Girls" (why ?) on it at the moment, so ... we'll have to wait on them.
This midweek is varied to say the least (!!) - Monday the dentist starts ripping my mouth apart - on Tuesday, the Salford College Parent's Evening means no Lancaster City v Mossley - so I'll probably try to catch as much as poss of the Stalybridge Celtic v Gloucester City game ... Wednesday .. hmm - Thursday .. hmm - and Friday it's DragonForce at Manchester Academy .. Saturday sees a trip to Belper .. party and hopefully a goodly chunk of football, and a chance to discuss the merits of ISO 3200 on an EOS 20D against ISO 3200 on the EOS 50D - it's bloomin important at this time of year when light is at a premium - and if I do - fingers crossed - get back into gainful employment before the "Gardening Leave" finishes - an upgrade to the 50D body is a distinct possibility.
And naturally in between all this "fun and games" - the Job Hunt goes on ...
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... some pictures for now (as in 1600 Sunday afternoon) - more later ...
Stalybridge Celtic 1 Ilkeston Town 0
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... DO NOT get bought out / taken over by an Indian Company ... it's bad for your health (allegedly) - and employment prospects (allegedly) ... or to put it into football scores ...
Punj Lloyd 2 Simon Carves 0
Tata 2 Corus Steel 0
At least we didn't get India in the World Cup draw ... USA, Slovenia and Algeria - the knock-out awaits, surely ...
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... in the "ROCK'N'ROLL" Department - jobs ... not yet ... but gigs ... oh yes !!! I give you this week's arrivals at Chez Smiffy...
(For those who can't quite see ... the DragonForce gig is next Friday by the way !!) 'Twill be interesting to see how the new Wolfmother line-up pans out ... but that's something for next year. Apparently tomorrow I'm due at Stalybridge Buffet Bar at 1215 - according to Sean (Ilkeston Town) !! God only knows what the plans are for the early part of the day (some serious recycling needs doing .. the can box is full of food cans - no room for my couple of Shandy Bass cans anywhere !!) - but the evening = trip to Rochdale (and Mrs Smiffy IS driving Mr PC "Christmas Grabbing I'm on Commission" Badger). Naturally my thoughts are up at Bamber Bridge tomorrow - which I miss due to the Rochdale jaunt - just hope there's "some" improvement after Tuesday's 'surrender' at Woodley Sports. Next Tuesday - Lancaster away - which I miss due to small boy's 'Parents Evening' @ Salford College (will this make Steve Settle "unavailable" I wonder ?) and then the Saturday after (12th if you've lost count !!!) ... Bamber Bridge @ home (and Mother-in-Law's Christmas bash "away" - so I do Belper Town v Lincoln United that afternoon).
But of course on the 11th ... it's DragonForce .
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... and I'm afraid Bamber Bridge v Mossley is a "no-go" due to family/friend requirements early evening on Saturday - so it's a trip to Bower Fold to see Stalybridge Celtic "wreak a local revenge" on Ilkeston Taarn - maybe. It also gives me a chance to meet the "Ilson train boys" in the Buffet Bar pre-match ... and tempt them up to the Hare and Hounds for a pint of Black Sheep as well !!
Today's job hunt - two applied for - no knock-backs - although with so many on-line" applications going in over the last week or so, it seems that if you've heard nowt within 3 or 4 days you should consider that a "knock back" - as I said earlier this week the whole jobsite/recruiter "thing" is not the greatest method - and as I also said - there is an "article" being put together on this subject - as well as the basic "I've been Cheated over my Working Life" article which is turning into a seven parter at the moment .... furthermore I'm now getting plenty of e-mails in the style of "Get Yourself a Job - Give Us Money and We'll Improve Your CV" offers, and "Why Not Retrain and Get a Job in IT ... but Give Us Money First" options ... hmmm...
Tonight me and Mrs Smiffy met up with the Northumberland Branch of the Mossley Supporters Clubs (Lynn and Andy moved up there a few weeks ago, but were down for the night) - curry and beer were the order of the day/night.
Let's see what Friday brings ....
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Cold ... if I remember nothing else about last night ... it was cold - must be something about all-weather pitches ... and cold ... Durham last season was ... cold. Even the beer @ Woodley was John Smiths ... Extra Cold (Yes, I had a couple for my sins - needed a "beer coat" last night because it was so ... cold - and I did have a pint of Robbies in the "Railway" pre-match !!).
Enough of this - what can I say about last night - in short a very poor performance by Mossley - in fact, I've said somewhere else that the reason for a lot of Woodley players being in the foreground of the pictures is because Mossley were second to every ball - not far wrong either ... pictures ...
Woodley Sports 2 Mossley 1
Strangely enough, by the time I got back to Mossley (2200 bus to Ashton, quick stop in Asda for cans, quick Robbies in "Prince of Orange" and last train back) ... it didn't seem that ... cold ... because it had definitely warmed up ... however the three points were in (cold ?) storage back at Lambeth Grove, Woodley ... bugger...
Job Hunt update - yesterday - 3 applied for, two other rejections - this morning so far - one e-mail rejection, and Postman Pat tends not to turn up much before tea-time !! Now the football is sorted, it's back to work ... looking for work ...
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... (for Dec 2nd) to Rod Haslam @ Woodley Sports - the entire Mossley team tonight decided to give you an early birthday present of three points ...
... and make my birthday (Dec 1st) not so much fun ...
Photos tonight ?? Get stuffed ... and I even managed to miss both Woodley goals due to equipment malfunctions ... malfunctions which - until I get a job - may well happen again during the sh*te weather time of year ... suffice to say a Manfrotto 679 (or 679b) is now top of the Christmas list (it's cheap - yet good - but contrary to some opinions, it's NOT for life !) for starters anyway.
All in all ... bugger ...
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