Vive Escocia

Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland // 4.55 pm // Partly cloudy 2ºc / 36ºf

It's the weekend, and I'm spending it back home in Scotland. Had quite a good week, with only two days at work. I managed to book Wednesday off at the start of the week, and had Thursday and Friday booked off already for the trip to Scotland.

On Wednesday, I did something that I wanted to do for years. Unfortunately I had to do it alone as everyone else that could've come with me was working. But that wasn't going to stop me doing a 20-stop pub crawl up and down the Northern Line on the London Underground network. Eventually I want to have half a pint of lager at or very near every single London Underground station. I managed 17 of the 20 on Wednesday, as follows and in this order:

Edgware, Brent Cross (couldn't find a pub), Hampstead, Mornington Crescent, Highgate, West Finchley (couldn't find a pub), Finchley Central, Kings Cross, Old Street, Bank (couldn't find a pub), London Bridge, Morden, Tooting Bec, Balham, Clapham Common, Kennington, Charing Cross, Goodge Street (where Elle joined me after work) and Warren Street.

I had 15 half pints, and two full pints, altogether and it took me about 10 hours. It was a really interesting tour of London at the same time, which was part of the attraction. I went to a couple of Irish pubs, one gay bar and one Indian restaurant alongside some traditional pubs and modern bars. There are a lot more stations on the Northern Line, before I move on to another line, so I'll do them at some point. I don't think I'll do as many as 20 at a time, as it was quite an effort! Maybe 10. And the stations where I couldn't find pubs will be revisited, but I'll do some research online in advance and find the nearest pub that way.

While I was coming to the end of the pub crawl, all hell was breaking loose in Mumbai. I don't know how I manage it, but I always seem to miss the breaking news at work. I've got mixed feelings about not being at work this week. In a way, I'm glad I'm in Scotland and relaxing, especially as my colleagues have been working overtime and also through this weekend. On the other hand, it would be good experience for me if I was there, and it would be an interesting time to be working.

Instead, I just watched the output when I got to Saltcoats, and it has all looked great - they've been doing a brilliant job. The flight on Thursday was fine, and I got to the house at about 2pm. I didn't do anything for the rest of the afternoon, but in the evening I went to Stephen and Ian's brand new house in Ardrossan. They were busy putting pictures up and fitting the washing machine in the kitchen, but we had the chance to have a few beers and a chat later.

Yesterday was a really lazy day, until about 3pm when I went into town for a stroll, a pie and a walk along the beach. Every time I go down there, and see the sea, it's just brilliant. I say it all the time, but I really miss living so close to the sea. I would always head down there if I had to do any thinking, or just wanted to relax and clear my mind. I never took it for granted, even when I had been living here for 18 years, and I still miss it now.

Last night I went round to Stephen and Ian's again, with Stephen's sister Lynsey and her boyfriend. We had a good few drinks, and late in the night I managed to persuade Stephen to come out in town with me. Which we did, going to Wetherspoons for a quick pint then across the road to the Metro club where, once again, I immediately felt twice the age I actually am. I really don't know why we do it to ourselves!

Felt a bit rough this morning, mostly because I didn't drink anything yesterday that wasn't beer, wine or dark rum. Watched the second half of the Hearts v Rangers game this afternoon, and had a bath earlier while listening to the Celtic game on the radio. We won, Rangers lost, meaning we now are 7 points clear are the top of the Scottish Premier League!

Tonight me and Stephen are going out in Ayr, via a pub in Kilwinning that has just re-opened.

This week on TV I've been watching CNN International, BBC One, STV, Sky News, Living 2 and Setanta Sports 1

On the radio I've been listening to Kiss 104.1 (Atlanta), Solar Radio, Kismat Radio, 3TFM, BBC Radio Scotland and Soul Central Radio

Radio Times

Colindale, London, England // 1.50 am // Mostly cloudy 5ºc / 41ºf

The last week or so has been busy but it does feel like it has all gone really quickly. Last weekend Elle was back in the West Midlands visiting her mum and sister, which was when I was supposedly going to catch up with lots of the stuff I had to do, and have had to do for months in some cases. Granted, I did do some of it. However I got a bit distracted by creating my own online radio station.

It's something I've always wanted to do, but there are few ways to do it and make it affordable and legal. So I never got round to it before now. Plus, I already had other radio shows at the other stations to keep me occupied at the time. This isn't the case now.

So last Saturday night I spent 5 hours, and £250, and created Soul Central Radio. I opened the service with Live 365 as it's relatively affordable and I don't have to worry about royalities as they cover that as part of my subscription. I'm still tweaking the music quotas but essentially Soul Central Radio is a mix of classic and modern soul music, encompassing soul, funk, acid jazz, jazz funk and soulful house. The music is 40% classic soul, 40% modern soul and 20% soulful house. I have created four different playlists. One is what I call the "4 decades mix", and is a mix of all the tracks on the playlist. This airs mostly in 3-hour blocks, 6 times daily. I also have a classic soul and funk playlist that airs for 1 hour, 3 times daily. Similarly, there is a 90s and modern soul playlist which also airs for 1 hour, 3 times daily. Finally I have a soulful house playlist that airs for 30 minutes once a day. I really like how the station pans out - the different playlists break up the flow, which I think is a good thing in this instance. Plus there are more tracks on there than on most radio stations in the country, meaning less repetition.

I also bought the domain name and some professional station IDs from RPC Productions. Listening figures have been really promising so far, and already the station is 19th most popular soul station on Live 365 out of over 120. It is mostly for fun, but it still allows me to share some great music with the world which I've missed doing since giving up Grooveline and the Soul Cellar. It is also something that I do plan to try and develop as time goes on. The playlist will be updated weekly, and one of my first priorities will be on creating a better website.

Last weekend I didn't do much else than create the station and then listen to it! Had a good week at work last week. Was a bit busier than previous weeks. On Thursday morning before work I spent most of the time clearing the living room and hall of furniture and everything else so that the carpetfitters would be able to lay the new carpet on Friday morning.

They came just before 9.30am, three guys, and were quite happy to move the remaining furniture (a couple of units and the sofa) from one end of the living room to the other as they were laying the carpet. It took them just under an hour and they even hoovered up after themselves!

So the landlord is coming round in two weeks time to see the carpet, and just to meet us generally as we haven't met yet, despite living in the property for nearly 4 months now. Wow, 4 months. In some ways it feels like just weeks, and in others it feels like over a year since we moved! So much has changed this year. All of it for the better, I hasten to add.

This weekend has been great. Elle and I have spent it together from start to finish, which is rare these days. We had a mostly lazy afternoon yesterday, and went out for a meal in Hampstead in the evening. We went to a French restaurant, and the food was rather good. The service was great too. Then we headed to Camden for a couple of drinks before going back to the flat. It was bitterly cold last night, and when I woke up for a drink this morning I noticed a light dusting of snow outside.

We were rudely awoken at 11am this morning by our neighbour downstairs who was playing a trumpet, rather badly. They would play for 10-15 minutes and then stop for the same period of time before starting again. And again. And again. This actually went on for at least 6 hours, although we got up out of bed long before that!

I had the radio magazine to do this weekend, which I finished this afternoon. Otherwise, it has been a really lazy day, other than the hour or so I spent tidying the flat and doing the dishes. Had a bath tonight too, caught up with a lot of my emails (still catching up from when I went home in the summer!) and played some Fifa tonight.

Got a three day work week this week, although that'll potentially be 2 days as I am planning to book Wednesday off when I go in tomorrow. On Thursday morning I fly out to Scotland for a long weekend, returning on Monday evening.

This week on TV I've watched Setanta Sports 1, TMF, CNN International, ITV1 and BBC One.

On radio I've listened to Vatican Radio, CNR 1 (China), Radio Mauritania, Soul Central Radio, BBC Radio 6 Music, Capital FM, Traffic Radio, BBC Radio 4, Punjabi Radio, Kiss 104.1 Atlanta, talkSPORT, Jazz FM and Gold Kent.

Gaaaaaaarlic bread?

Colindale, London, England // 9.48 pm // Cloudy 13ºc / 55ºf

Halfway into the weekend and, surprise surprise, I haven't done anywhere near as much as I had hoped/planned. But I do intend to have a fairly late one tonight, so there is still a few hours in the day left.

I got home from work at around 1.30am last night, after staying to help test some new software. That was a lot later than originally planned, and I might well have to go back into work tomorrow and help test it again. The joys of being on call.

Determined to have some kind of Friday, I had a very late one last night while chatting to some friends and my dad on MSN and doing a good bit of DXing.

Woke up just before 3pm this afternoon. I had a message from our landlord about the new carpets being fitted. Looks like that is happening on Friday, so I'll need to make sure the living room and hall are completely cleared by then. It's really inconvenient, to be honest. We've only just began to really settle in the flat, and now I have to disconnect everything and move it again! It also comes during the editorial weekend for the radio magazine, which is also a bit annoying. Still, we'll have nice new carpets by next weekend.

Done a lot of DXing today, and I went out to collect a chinese takeway, which was an absolute beast of a meal in the end. I've never seen portions like it! I'll be working through that meal for the rest of the weekend, no doubt.

The plan for the rest of the weekend is to do more DXing, pay some bills online, make a start on the Tony Ryan tax and make up that CD for the producer of the Radio 4 documentary on home cassette recordings.

In the last day or so on TV I've watched only CNN International.

On radio I've listened to talkSPORT, BBC London 94.9, Shine 87.9, Radio Havana Cuba, Radio Cairo, Roots FM, OnTop, Radio Taiwan International, WHRI (South Carolina), Radio O1 International (Austria), HCJB Ecuador, SW R Africa, Voice of America and Vatican Radio.

Jungle es masseeev

Colindale, London, England // 11.56 am // Partly cloudy 14ºc / 57ºf

I'm typing this while listening to some quality drum 'n' bass from a less-than-legit radio station and some catastrophic noises coming from the washing machine. Those noises caused by my incompetence when it comes to laundry. I've put some light clothes in to wash, including several of my light coloured shirts. A few days ago I noticed I couldn't find my usual cufflinks, and figured they would be on one of my shirts in the laundry basket and either Elle or I would notice and take them off before putting them in the machine. Oops. So now with every cycle of the drum I hear the "clink" of metal on glass, and I'm waiting for the crunching noise of machinery dying followed by the gushing sound of warm soapy water cascading onto the two storeys below us.

Other than that, all is well. It goes without saying that I'm glad it's Friday. I've had a good week though, and made some advances with my training at work. There's still a lot to do, but I've been pretty pleased with how the week has gone. I feel like I'm really getting into it now. It's probably the first job I've had where I really feel like I've earned the money I'm given, and don't feel too guilty during the times that there isn't very much to do.

The on-going saga of the missing records continues. Despite several attempts to contact the local Royal Mail delivery office, I can't get to talk to anyone. So I've asked the sender to chase it up at his end and try to claim compensation. I hope he does. In the end, he has his money...from me. And right now I'm 50 quid lighter.

It doesn't give me much confidence in the postal system round here. Also a couple of friends nearby, Stu and Robyn-Leigh, have both had problems with the mail in the area. They're served by the same delivery office and probably the same postman. Despite that, I'm still continuing to add to my Earth Wind & Fire collection on Ebay. Thankfully, nothing of that has gone missing yet (touches wood). But I am definitely less reluctant to buy anything valuable online when it means it might have to come via Royal Mail.

So after staying at work a bit later tonight to do some tests, I'll be spending the weekend in the flat alone, meaning I'll be doing lots of DXing, catching up on stuff I meant to do ages ago, but minimal beer consumption as I'm on-call all weekend.

In the last couple of days on TV I've watched CNN International, BBC One London, ITV1 London and BBC Parliament.

On radio I've been listening to BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC London 94.9, Capital FM, Platinum 87.5 and Shine 87.9

Four points clear

Colindale, London, England // 1.01 am // Mostly clear 7ºc / 45ºf

Not a hugely interesting 36 hours or so. Been at work twice...really quiet day yesterday but alot busier today.

The next few days should see me working through my list of things to do. Particularly this weekend - Elle is going back up to her mums, so that'll give me the chance, and no excuse not, to spend the whole weekend doing things I should've done weeks ago. I'll also catch up with a bit of DXing. All being well, of course, as this weekend I'm on-call for the first time, and took possession of the on-call phone earlier today.

Went to Asda this morning before work to get some food and drink for the next few days. Couple of tins of curry, potatoes, beans, a snackpot and a sachet of soup mix. I've decided I should eat more soup. But then I couldn't decide if we eat soup, or drink it. Anyway?

Tonight Celtic beat Kilmarnock 3-0, and Rangers drew meaning we go four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League. And a shocker in London tonight as Burnley knocked Chelsea out of the League Cup, qualifying for the quarter final!

I was interested to hear that Sky and Virgin Media have settled their dispute that saw Sky pull their basic channels from the cable platform. I was all for this, and all for Branson being set in his ways, as there is no way they should've bowed down to Murdoch's demands. I've not seen the terms of the new agreement - I don't even know if they've been made public - but I can't help thinking Sky had to give in to some extent, and overall it benefits Virgin Media more.

And Galaxy Scotland has launched, replacing XFM Scotland, which in turn replaced Beat 106. I always thought Central Scotland should have had a dance station. It didn't quite get one with Beat 106, which oddly mixed dance with rock music. It's not really getting one now either, with Galaxy mix of dance and R&B but I definitely think it's more suitable than XFM.

On TV in the last couple of days I've watched, CNN International, Sky Sports News, BBC One, BBC Four, BBC Three, BBC Two, CNN.com Live, Channel 4 and E4.

On radio I've been listening to NOS Radio 5 (The Netherlands), Kerrang!, Capital FM, Choice FM and Rainbow Radio

Video blog: Ordinary man

Colindale, London, England // 1.10 pm // Partly cloudy 11ºc / 52ºf

For some reason, Youtube didn't truncate my video this time!

Since the last blog post I haven't watched any TV, and on the radio I've only listened to NOS Radio 5 (The Netherlands).

Greasy sausage

Colindale, London, England // 1.10 am // Mostly clear 9ºc / 48ºf

I'm still mourning the passing of the quickest weekend I've ever known. However I did spend all of Saturday drinking and most of Sunday sleeping.

Last Thursday I finally managed to do one of the main parts of my new job, and again on Friday and tonight. For all intents and purposes, it seems to have gone really well so far. But already I just want to have it completely sussed, and feel completely comfortable with it, but I know that'll only come with time. But I've really enjoyed it, and look forward to getting more into it each day. Haven't sweated as much in my life though!

Friday night I chilled with Elle, the TV and some fizzy beverages. Woke up at 11ish on Saturday to finish tidying the flat a little more in prepartion for the evening's activities, then headed to the local pub with Stu to watch the Arsenal game. Being 12.45pm, and knowing I would be going to another pub later to watch another game, then going home to host a party, I decided to take it easy on the beer, by having a pint of Diet Coke first. Then a pint of lager 15 minutes later, and so it began.

I had to leave there before the game finished so I could get to Kilburn High Street in time for the Celtic game at 3pm. But it was in vain, as the ridiculous traffic down the A5 meant that the bus practically crawled there, and I missed the first 10 minutes of the game. We won, but to be fair I can't remember much of the end of the game. This was bad.

I headed back up to the flat where the first guest had arrived, followed by another two. I had sobered up a little by the time I got home, only to be greeted with a case of lager, several bottles of wine, vodka, shooters, and the iceing on the cake - a full bottle of legendary Scotsmac. 

Messy.

To be fair, I held it together for a good while (I think). At least judging by the photos. Although I'm pretty sure my Buzz quiz and Singstar scores didn't reflect that. I don't remember getting to bed.

I remember waking up though. And thinking "fuck me, it's gone 4pm". There goes the weekend then. And my head was pounding. Actually, I was really pissed off. Although I did a lot with the Saturday, I completely wasted the Sunday. The weekend had gone.

Sunday evening actually went quite slowly, but I did go back to bed for a hour or so to stop myself being sick. When I woke up again I put the finishing touches on my annual appraisal for work, and was still tired enough to go to bed at the normal time.

I was gonna go to Asda this morning, but actually there was enough food and drink in the flat to go for another few days. Plus it was absolutely pissing down all morning.

As for the subject line, I tried out W1's newest chippy tonight when I was at work. Despite having the usual potato and tin of baked beans in my bag, I decided to go to the chippy for the first time, just to try it. I *did* have to wait almost 15 minutes for my food, but it was really good. Battered sausage and chips Although I felt quite guilty afterwards. I'm not on a diet or anything like that, but I do try to keep an eye on what I eat, and really tonight was just pointless!

Football-wise, Celtic are still 2 points top of the Scottish Premier League but Ebbsfleet are out of the FA Cup after losing to Crewe at the weekend. I've really not been up to speed with all things Ebbsfleet lately. I wouldn't say I've lost interest in the project, but I've just not been that active. I still think I'll renew my subscription and my part in the club.

So our landlord called last week to apologise for not getting in touch before, and to tell us that he wants to replace the carpets in the flat. This is good news, as they were left quite stained when we moved in, despite being professionally cleaned, and saves us having to try and prove which stains are and aren't ours whenever we move out. However, it is also a major pain in the arse only three months after we moved in, now we need to clear two rooms so the carpets can come in and out.

Finally, on TV since last Thursday I've been watching BBC One, CNN International, Sky Sports 1, Polsat Sport Extra, ITV2, BBC News, 4 Music, Channel 4, TMF, BBC Three and Five

On radio I've been listening to Kiss 100, Jazz FM, Radio Prague, Radio Bulgaria, talkSPORT, LBC 97.3 and Capital FM.

Video post: Changing times

Colindale, London, England // 1.10 pm // Mostly cloudy 11ºc / 52ºf

This week on the TV I've been mostly watching: CNN International, CNN, BBC One, UKTV History, ITV1, BBC News, E4, E4+1, Setanta Sports 1, TMF, Sky News and Sky Sports News.

On radio: Kiss 100, BBC Radio Berkshire, BBC London 94.9, Origin, BBC Essex, Voice of Turkey, WWCR (Nashville), BBS Radio 1 (Bhutan), BBC 3 Counties Radio, Smooth Radio, WJIE (Kentucky) and LBC 97.3