After a flying visit to Burger King ( a quick Whopper, fries, coke and strawberry ice cream) we went to the cinema to the see the new Brtish film 'Millions' starring James Nesbitt.

It was a typical British film, high in morales, low in special effects and action. They 'keep it real' throughout the film and the story does make you think that there are more important things in life than money.

'Millions' focuses on two young brothers who mysteriously acquire a bag full of sterling on the eve of Britain's conversion to the euro.

I would probably not watch it again but it was a pleasant Bank Holiday Monday heart wrenching film. I would say it was middle of the road film for a middle class audience.

In fact the highlight of the film was when I thought it was safe to let a quick trump out with devasting effects. The smell made my eyes water and Chante threw me a look of disgust. Goodness knows what the other cinema go-oers thought.

I am a fan of Daisy donovan who was in the film. She was ace!

6.5/10

Everyone loves sweets! Or Used to love them when they were younger. But what is your favourite sweets of all time? I've trawled through my favourite sweet site:

www.aquarterof.co.uk

and chose 10 of my favourite sweets. They are in no particular order. Some of these sweets I still eat now others I do not but just have fond memories. My list ends with the King of All Boiled Sweets in my opinion - Fox's Glacier Fruits

Fruit Pastilles

Assorted Mo Jos

Lion Sports Mixture

Fizzy Cola Bottles

Baby Comforters

Strawberry Foam Mushrooms

Original Drumsticks

Liquorice Cream Rock

Assorted Jelly Beans

Fox's Glacier Fruits

I'm sick to death of that Crazy frog ringtone advert. It annoys me so much I have to turn the channel over or put the Tv on mute. Just who pays for this annoying ringtone.

I'm against harming animals for no reason but if I got my hands on that bloody frog grrrrrrrr!

I hear that they have now released the song as well! It may even get to Number 1.

I can tell you exactly who is buying this song and ringtone - chavs with an IQ below special needs level, council estate mums and cheeky kids who want to annoy their parents.

I would guess that the person who invented it is a filthy rich slime ball who preys on the vulnerabilties of the working classes

I'm a working class kid and don't personally have anything against these people but I'm sure this must be a fact.

If you do want to her it go to:

http://www.craziestfrog.co.uk/

Rant over!

My career has been slightly disjointed since I left school. I went to University as a mature student to study Computing but I have never worked in Computers.

This is quite boring but it's a list of the jobs and places where I have worked so I can look back in the future.

Warehouseman (Morrisons and George Turnock Ltd)

Glass Collector (pub in Aldridge and Barr Beacon in Walsall)

Barman (147 Snooker Club and The Royal Casino)

Croupier (Royal Casino and Rainbow Casino)

Casino Inspector (Royal Casino and Rainbow Casino)

Purchase Ledger Clerk (Hartvale Plant)

Foreign Exchange Order Processotr (American Express)

Customer Services Officer (Natwest Bank)

Account Manager (Sonopress Media)

Hire Desk Co-ordinator (Portakabin)

Admin Supervisor (Wilson UK)

Sales and Service co-ordinator (WIlson UK)

Promotions Manager (Xequted.com) (non-paid)

So I've worked in Banking, Media, Gaming (both gambling and computer and console gaming), Hire, Distribution, retail and plant hire industries.

I wish I could find an industry that I could settle in!

My worst job must be a barman. I really was the worst barman. The job I had at 147 snooker Club lasted about 2hours. The manager left me in charge of the bar and a rowdy group of girls entered. They asked for a cocktail (I can't remember what it was now). I said that I didn't know how to make it but they insisteed that I found out. As I was young and naive I left the bar unattended and went to the manager's office to ask him. His face was like thunder as he asked me who was looking after the bar.He said 'For God's sake have you really worked behind a bar before'. I said 'No'. I'd gotten the job in an underhand way. My brother had phoned up on my behalf and had told the manager that I had 2 years experience working behind a bar.

I hope that one day I can find a job that I really do enjoy. Where to go next I have no idea!

I've been following this year's American Pop Idol and hoping that rocker Bo Bice would win.

Unfortunately the winner last night was:

Carrie Underwood for Oklahoma

They actually had 1/2 billion votes throughout the series which must be a record.

The Americans voted for the clean cut country singing, clean living Carrie - what a suprise.

The new Big Brother has begun and the nation will be glued to their TV's for 3 months. I'm not that obsessive but I am definately a fan.

It's strange how we form opinions from the beginning on who we like and who we dislike. Often first impressions are incorrect so it will interesting to see if certain people grow on me.

We've already seen Big Breasted Lesley display her melons in the pool.To be honest it looks like it's the only thing she has going for her.I hate that sort of attention seeking!

Lesley in the pool

My favourite person in the house has to be Mary, the psycho looking witch. I think there is more to her than meets the eye. She has crazy eyes and is quite an odd character but I think she may be insecure.

Starey Mary

I'd guess at Cockney Max being an early favourite.

The final of The Champions League which took place last night was breathtaking.Although I'm not a Liverpool fan I felt their pain at half time after the 3-0 head start by AC.Milan.

Who could have predicted such a comeback. I was out of my chair screaming with joy when they equalised.

It was a great night for English football and one of the best finals I have ever seen.

I just wish Walsall F.c could achieve it one day!

Well done Liverpool!

The cup!

Today I finished reading 'The Crew' by Dougie Brimson.

The book is totally different than the books I normally read but as I have an interest in football I though I would give it a try.

The Crew follows a group of notorious hooligans supporting England on a trip to Italy. The hooligans act as a front for something totally different.

The book struggles to keep the reader's interest and often tends to 'overdo' conversations between characters. The book is written by a former hooligan and to be frank, you can tell.

Mark: 5/10

It may seem slightly bizarre, and perhaps could act as a catylst to igniting a fiery argument, but at home we like to mark each others efforts at tea-time.

We always give a mark out of 10 and then an appraisal of our food at tea-time, stating the good points and the bad points.

For example: Chante served up Steak, Salad and potatoes.

My Mark may be: 8/10.

Good points Perfectly cooked Steak, beautifully seasoned potatoes, nice variety of salad.

Bad Points Not enough Steak, no seasoning on the salad.

Therefore for every bad point we take a mark off.

Today's Dinner

Cooked by: Steven

Dish: Cheese and Potato Pie with Sausages and Beans

Chante's Mark: 10/10!!:D

I don't often get a 10/10 but this is her favourite dish. She did say the mash was slightly watery but not to merit the loss of a mark.

From now on I will list our other marks at the bottom of blogs. At least that way if we have an argument over who's turn it is to cook I can always refer to this site.

The Winning Dish

Not the actual pie I cooked just a slight resemblance

Chante (my fiancee)decided to buy a Rock Polisher this week. She is forever getting involved in strange things - like spells (nice ones), colour healing, meditation and hoppy ear wax candles.

She bought this contraption from ToysRus called a 'Rock Polisher'. The rock polisher polishes rocks to make them look all shiny. They will then emerge from the process ready to use as a gemstone or make into a necklace or piece of jewellery.However what I didn't realise is the machine makes a louder noise than the washing machine. The worst thing about it is that it takes 2-4 weeks to polish them. The machine has to be switched on, day and night, in order to complete the process.

The noise is driving me mad so we have put the machine in the porch. Luckily we can only hear it from the kitchen now but I'm sure any passer-by may think that we have an industrial digger in our house.

A Rock Polisher

This is not Chante's polisher but a more expensive version. If you ever need your rocks polishing you know where to come!

Enjoyed the film very much I did.

I sat in a packed Showcase Cinema in Walsall to watch Star Wars Episode 3 today.

Despite the queues and the cold temperature in the audatorium the film was superb.

Obviously it helps if you are Stars Wars fan but the story line led up beautifully to Star Wars : A New Hope (the original Star Wars film) and everything just dropped into place. I now know why Darth Vadar turned into Darth Vadar.

Yoda was excellent in the movie but Ewan McGregor was once again clouded by bad dialogue and what appeared to be bad acting. Ewan has been in many excellent films and we all know he is a good actor but the English accent coupled with an expressionless face doesn't help. I presume the director has told him to behave in this way. There was definately a lot of action and some superb lightsaber fights.

Obviously you can't beat the original Star Wars film but I do feel that this film has put everything into place for me so I would rate it amongst the best of the 6 films.

For everything Star Wars head to:

http://www.starwars.com/

May the Force Be With You!

I thought I would put this pic up! This is e at the Star Wars Republic Commando launch party.

I sat down last night for the Sparkly extravaganza that is Eurovision. I watch it purely for the comedy value and Terry Wogans' sarcastic comments. However I do use a score sheet to guess the winnner.

Once again there were some bizarre entries, stupid costumes and ridiculous choreography. It was fantastic once again!

The scoring really gets on my nerves. I had Javine (representing the UK)in a respectable 3rd place. Where did she end up? Just above France and Germany. All the western European countries were bottom. In fact the only votes we had were from Ireland, Malta and Turkey.

Most countries voted for their neighbours or with whoever they were politically engaged with.

Let's face it, UK are never going to win because everyone hates us. I think we should pull out and leave them to get on with it.

I did get the winner correct for the first time!

GREECE - 'You are my undercover lover' or somehting like that.

View all the contestants here:
http://www.eurovision.tv/english/index.htm

Here is the lucky winner:

What have I done?!

There was some spare cash from the sale of our Vauxhall Corsa so I decided to treat myself to...............a BMX!

Maybe not the sort of behaviour you'd expect from a normal 30 year old, but then I never said I was normal.

Perhaps it's a midlife crisis. Chante (my fiancee)has ordered a mountain bike so now we can go for rides together. I'll be bunny hopping all the way to the park!

Yeehoo!

Woohoo I sold my Vauxhall Corsa in record time to my sister. Keep it in the family, that's what I say!

I sold it for £900 and can now use the money for a holiday in Turkey in July.

I am so pale! I'm not sure whether to risk a sunbed before I go.

This is my lovely sister, although the picture didn't come out to well.

Despite being 30 years old I still make time to play on my Xbox.

I have been fortunate to work with an online gaming company for a while and attended some cool events as a result of gaming. I'm currently helping to run a gaming tournament alongside 'The Last Man Standing' Tournament'.

I am also the captain of an Xbox Live Clan, a team of friends who play competitive matches against other clans worldwide. We even attended the Elite Gaming Championships in London this year. The clan is now sponsored and we run a successful clan website.One day I hope to get paid full time!

The website address is:

http://www.alphasiege.com

Here is our logo:

I visited the job centre. What an unpleasant experience! I have spent a number of times at various points in my career visiting this place and it doesn't get any better.

The Job Centre appears to be a breeding ground for all those groups of people in society who are discrimated against. These people are not the citizens who are looking for jobs but the staff. It appears to me that the Job Centre is equal opportunities gone mad. One definate pre-requisite of a role at your local job centre is to be rude, ignorant, patronising or just plain stupid.

The place reminds me of an episode of'The League Of Gentlemen'. This may sound cruel but it is purely for comedic purposes. There is the lady with a limp, the wonky eyed lady (I didn't know who she was looking at, the guy with spectacles like Mr McGoo, the indian boy on reception who could hardly speak English(not racist just fact), and the bouncers (which consist of two British Bulldog type women who prevent anyone from heading to the second floor without an appointment).Now I don't begrudge any of these people a chance in life, but for God sake they must have a brain and manners to work there as well as an unfortunate disability.

Having trained people in Customer Service skills this kind of thing really gets my goat.

A member of staff barked her orders at me in the most patronising manner and the interview I had was extremely patronising. I dread to ever have to go back.

I spent this weekend down in Essex. I went to collect a new car from my fiancee's father.It's a long story but basically he won't be driving for a while due to some bent coppers, so he has let us have it. I missed my friend Evo's 31st Birthday as a result. I think this is the first birthday I have missed of his for some considerable time. It was the first time my parents have stayed at my fiancee's house as we are from Walsall.

A happy drunken time was had by all and I had a few for my mate Evo!

Our New Car

Me and Evo

Here are the notes taken from my other Past Life reading. These notes are written by the expert and I have a tape to back them up.

'1890 was the first date you gave to me and you said the door was a standard white door with a silver handle.
I asked you to look down at your feet and what could you see you were wearing. You said you had nothing on your feet, your legs were also bear below the knees, but you had something on that was brown. You also said that your hair was long and black and you were about 28 years old.
You were not sure what sex you were or your name, but felt it began with “G”.
I asked you what you could see directly in front of you and you replied “sunshine and a field”. To your left there was work going on in the field, people picking stuff off the floor. There were animals; cattle. To your right was a grey house, with white fencing all the way round, but nobody was about at the house. I asked who owned the house. You said “the boss” and his name was John Sanders/son. You said your occupation was running errands on the farm, collecting things. I asked if you had any family and you said no. I then asked what country you were in and you said France, and when I asked you which area you said “providence” (this is more than likely Provence). I asked you what kind of life you lead and you said “hard, empty and boring”. I asked you were you were born, but you couldn’t tell me, but it was not in the Providence/Provence region. I asked if you were married and you said yes, but couldn’t give me your wife’s name, and you also didn’t have any children. I asked about other employees around you and you said they were all employed by the same person. You said he was a big, hard man and horrible. When I asked you why, you replied that he had done some horrible things to people like beating children as he had children also working on the farm. I asked where you lived and you said in a small room, with just a bed, but you also said you lived alone and didn’t know where you wife lived.
I asked you to move forward in time:
Your first images were of black shoes, black trousers, white shirt and you said you thought you were now a waiter and your name was Gerald. You were still the same person above but had left the farm and working in a busy café in a town beginning with “B”. You said you were no longer married and your wife had died, eventually you told me that your boss above had killed her, but you couldn’t tell me how or why, but he did it on purpose and for no reason. You said the café owner is your current father in your current life as Steven and he helped you in this past life.
I asked you to move forward in time:
You said you were at a party, there was laughter and about 50 plus people. You were in a big barn. It was not a lavish party, but there was dancing, girls dressed in long dresses. I asked if you recognised anyone in the crowd from your current life and you said a lady there called Margaret/Marguerette who was wearing a cream dress, had long brown hair and had a flower in her hair. I asked who is was and you said Chanté. You said she was in her 40’s and a good friend, you had met her there. You then said you could hear Irish type music playing; a violin. I asked what the celebration was for and you said nothing, just a celebration.
I asked you what your occupation was not and you said you were working back on the farm in Beloyne. I asked what you were wearing and you said braces, brown trousers, a white shirt and you had a cap on your head and you were aged 40-50, and you then said you hands looked old. You then said you wanted to marry Marguerette, but she was already married.
I asked you to move forward
You said you had nothing on your feet, but something bad had happened. You had your hands over your head, everybody was “lost” they were all crying. People in the street were crying it was a dark day. You said you were shouting “its’ not my fault”. Margeurette had died, you felt in total despair and thought you may have killed her. She had blood on her head and was lying on the floor and was naked. I asked where the floor was, you said a wooden floor. She had come to visit you, it was your house, but it wasn’t your fault. I asked what you were wearing and you said, boots, socks, trousers to your knee. Then you said you think you found her like this, and you couldn’t understand why the people out on the streets were screaming and crying. I asked you what year it was and you said about 1904’ish. The other people were the townsfolk. She was not the only one who had died. People were comforting each other in a cobbled street.
I asked why she was naked. You then said “it’s not my house, it’s her house”. I asked who may have done this, and you said it wasn’t her husband as he was a good man.
I asked who had done all the killing and you said 10-15 people had been killed by some gang who came and killed and the others. I asked if you knew who the gang were, you said they were like soldiers, wearing hats and uniforms and they had killed her for no reason. I asked where they were from, and you said you couldn't understand their language and were possibly from another country. I asked you to describe them and you said they were wearing blue uniforms, with big black belts, peak hats that were flat'

I felt very emotional at points during this regression.

Following on from Cathead's comments on my last blog entry I thought I would share with you my experience of Past Life Regression.

Back in December we decided to have a Past Life Regression session.I'm totally open to most things and willing to try anything once.I do have a spiritual side which I would like to develop and I do feel I am tiptoeing up the path of discovery.

I headed towards a small village in Leicester and upon arrival at the rather creepy looking house I was greeted by a charming lady who shook my hand firmly and gave me a warm smile. I was extremely nervous but I suddenly became totally at ease with the situation.

We headed upstairs into a small room where the curtains were drawn, music was playing (whale noises I think!), a candle was burning that smelt like roses. I browsed through her collection of books on the shelf containing literature by David Icke and other conspiracy theorists. I signed a form to say that I agreed to the session and chatted about what I hoped to achieve. I didn't have any specific questions but stated that I just wanted to discover if we do have past lives or not.

I sat back in a comfy chair and rested my feet on a cushion. She then began to read the following script (roughly)whilst I had my eyes closed.

THE SCRIPT

Imagine you are on a roof which is surrounded by a small wall. In one of he corners of the roof is a hut. Walk towards the hut, open the door and walk in. You will now see a set of stairs leading down. I want you to stand at teh top of the steps. Okay now I will count to ten and you are to walk down one step at a time until I reach 1 when you will reach the bottom and feel totally relaxed. Whenever I say the words calm or relaxed from now on you will feel totally at peace. 10.9..8..etc.

You are now ready to begin your journey.

PAST LIFE NUMBER1

She then told me to imagine I was in a great hall and there was a fire with an armchair next to it. She ask me to sit in the armchair and imagine I could feel the warmth of the fire and hear the crackling noises. This was wierd because I could see this icture as if I was actually there!

She aske me to move from the chair and head down a corridor which was never ending. down the corridor were doors on either side with each one showing a year. she asked me to keep walking down the corrior until I see a door that stands out. this took some time but eventually I seen a large red door with a sort of silky material on it and a large gold knob. She asked me to read the year on the door, open it, walk through and then close it.

THIS IS WHERE IT WENT WIERD!

The year on the door was 1758. I walked through and she asked me to look at my feet and tell me what I was wearing. I looked down and I was wearing big solid black boots then came to my knees, I felt they were very heavy. She asked what else I was wearing. I was wearing a jacket which was long at the back, a white frilly shirt and all of a suddden I was in a scene. I was standing on a boat. Although I still could hear the lady and I was conscious of what I was saying I started saying things that just came out for no reason and I couldn't stop them. My name is Captain John Hughes I said. I'm very proud of this boat. This will be it's maiden voyage. She prompted me with questions and I reveared the following information. I was in Bristol Port possibly travelling to Gambia or Australia. I was going to pick up something illegal although I didn't knwo what. I felt llike a powerful man but was apprenhensive about the reasons I was going to Gambia. The boat was called the mermaid and I could see the mermaid on the front of the ship. I carried on describing what I was seeing.

RESEARCH

When I got home I went to Bristol Port website and I could not believe that there was a ship called the Mermaid that travelled from Bristol to Gambia in the year that was mentioned. It was to pick slaves up and bring them back to England for the rich English folk. I can't clarify whether John Hughes was the captain but they still have the muster role at eh docks so I may check this out. I kid you not this is true! Before this I didn't even know that Bristol was a port.

I experienced another life which I won't bore you with now,which was even more revealing.I will post this one shortly as it truly was a stunning experience.

Perhaps I could have imagined all this and I was making up the story in my mind but it was too wierd, I could feel I was on a boat and even hear the other shipmates talking. It was too real for me to dismiss it. Make up your own minds.

I did feel strong energy flowing through my body throughout the experience and my emotions changed between joy and despair in a surreal experience.

Would I do it again? You bet!

A picture of the Mermaid

My Australian cousin Shoena McGonigle emailed me today. We started emailing each other when I was back at University and I was having a realy hard time and felt quite down. Shoena gave me words of encouragement which undoubtebly helped me through University. I remember one day I was 100% going to walk out but I had an email from Shoena which changed my mind. She probably doesn't know that but I've invited her to my blog so hopefully she'll read this.

I think since that day I have felt a strong connection with her and was delighted to meet her when she came to the UK a couple of years ago.

It's strange that sometimes when I need help I think about Shoena and wonder what she would do in the situation, she still gives me strength although she doesn't know it. She must be a very special person to be able to have that sort of power even though she lives so far away.

Well I've told her now so God Bless you Shoena.

Miss you.

Last night I watched the above film. I have never read the books or watched the series. It appeared that it was always the people from the school chess club who watched this series so I associated it with being pretty uncool at the time. A show associated with intelligent kids and adults alike, not pea brained individuals like me.

Anyway, the movie was very surreal.I found myself feeling slightly embarrased by some of the jokes they were that bad. The acting was superb and the plot was an Intergalactic love story.I was pleasantly suprised by the special effects and the Vogans were cool.

Although I didn't particularly enjoy the film it did have something that kept my interest but I don't know what it is.

I do want to read the book now.

Movie Rating

6/10

Since I gave up smoking in January early this year I've found it very hard. I've missed smoking so much, so my brain tells me. I've started smoking the odd cigar. It just doesn't feel lie you are smoking. I hear that cigars are far worse than cigarettes but they don't have nicotine do they.

I'm finding that I'm becoming a bit of a cigar connosieur. King Edward's are divine and have a woody,fruity aroma but Hamlet cigars are so smooth with a cup of coffee.

It could well be a new career!

Well it was all quite predictable. A very small turnout at the polls. I wish more people would vote, perhaps we may possibly see the right party in charge - if there is such thing. I see George Galloway (Saddam Hussein's mate)gained a seat for the RESPECT party. Nothing suprises me any more.

I think people forget that Mr Galloway was thrown out of the Labour Party after being accused of having "incited foreign forces to rise up against British troops".

For those who don't know George Galloway had numerous meetings with Iraqi military dictator Saddam Hussein which bolstered the military regime and dismayed many Iraqis. He was seen laughing and joking with Saddam Hussein. What exactly was so funny?

More corrupt people within government would not be a wise move would it?

I changed my mind twice and then decided to spoil my paper but still hand it in.

Wonder what Bush has up his sleeve for Mr.Blair over the coming months?

I hate the DVLA! It's taken me three days to get through to speak to a human being.

I sent my driving license and identification in the post to them two months ago just to change my address.

I eventually managed to get through their ludicrous automated service to be told they haven't received it. Now I have to pay them £20 because I have lost it!

I'm sick to death of these stupid call centres. Having worked for Natwest in a call centre I can empathise with the general callers frustration. The majority of these people are undertrained and don't want to take ownership of the problem.

As for the banks! The banks call centres are mostly abroad. I was asked how to spell Walsall 4 times by one person. They can speak very good english but they have no comprehension of English. How can these people help me with my enquiry?

The state of customer service in this country is appalling, and why, to increase profit margins for the fat cats whilst they pay foreign workers pittance.

I have to give my overall worst bank award to Nationwide. I hardly ever get through to them no matter what time of day it is.

My fiancee came home from work early yesterday to sort out some problems with the Gas and Electricy board, she spent half the night trying to get through. Something needs to be done.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

Today I finished reading:

'The Five People You Meet In Heave' by Mitch Albom.

It is an excellent book about the life of a fairground worker who dies in a tragic accident. In heaven he relives crucial parts of his life and meets five of the most influential people he encountered in his lifetime.

It is a very powerful book and often very moving. It does fill you with hope about life after death as well as encouraging you to analyse your life on earth in the present.

I would highly recommend it.

Author's Website

What a weird night! I woke up at 2.50am thinking that there was an earthquake. It was the loudest thunder I have ever heard. The lightning started and the thunder got closer. We both got out of bed and watched through the window. Everything looked so still. There wasn't even a slight breeze. It was boiling hot too! We hardly slept for the rest of the night.

I spoke with other people today and they were the same. They couldn't sleep and some were frightened of the unbelivably loud thunder noises.One friend looked out of his bedroom window to see people running in the street outside as if it were the end of the world!

My girlfriend recalled something in the morning. She remembered that May 1st was May Day - a huge day in the pagan calender. Also known as Beltane.Now Beltane is a time of "no time" when the veils between the two worlds are at their thinnest (according to Pagan tradition). Many white witches would have been casting spells in the early hours of May Day. Some would even be holding rituals throughout England. Could this have anything to do with it.'When the veils are so thin it is an extremely magical time'. There was definately something in the air last night. Today is a beautiful warm sunny day and the beginning of the summer. I wonder if there is more to this magical day.

When the veils are so thin it is an extremely magical time, it is said that the Queen of the Faeries rides out on her white horse.

I'm not sure about that but the pidgeons were acting rather strangely today.

Who cares anyway! Summer has begun and I feel optimistic about the future