Yuletide log

Colindale, London, England // 6.01 pm // Mostly cloudy 9ºc / 48ºf

T'was the second last night before Christmas, and thankfully I'm now off work until next Monday, 29th December. It's been a pretty productive week or so. On the weekend after the last blog, Elle and I spent a long weekend together. To be fair, we did spend a good while of it in the flat doing not very much at all, but we rarely get the chance to even do nothing together, so it was quite nice. On the Saturday night we went to Brick Lane, the part of London famous for being full of Indian and Bangla restaurants. We found a really nice restaurant which was rather cheap and although it was unlicenced, they gave us a business card to take to the local off-licence to buy alcohol with 10% off! The food was really good, as was the service.

On Monday evening we went back to Hyde Park to the Winter Wonderland attraction there. The main reason we went there was because Elle wanted to go skating on the ice rink they have there. However, we hadn't booked any tickets in advance, and the next session was completely booked up. And we weren't ready to wait an hour and a half for the next one. The place is open until a few days after New Year so we may still get the chance to go, although I must be honest, I'm a bit apprehensive with the whole skating thing. I've only done it once before, and while I didn't fall on my arse once, it was a long time ago and I had less regard for my own safety then.

I had a real problem sleeping that night (not related to the skating!), and therefore had a miserable day on Tuesday. The rest of the week at work went well though.

On Friday I executed Part 2 of my Northern Line pub crawl, when I visited another 10 stations on the line, and had half a pint of lager at the closest pub to each. I managed to find a pub at each station this time, and I even managed to find a £1 half-pint, which is the cheapest I've found yet in London (barring Wetherspoons on a good day). I now have 20 more stations on the Northern Line to visit, plus three to revisit after research. Then I'll move on to the next line. The whole project is going to take years!

On Saturday I managed to finish all the rest of my Christmas shopping, which has to be the earliest ever for me! On Saturday night Elle and I went up to Edgware for a Chinese buffet. We started to lose faith in so-called "buffets" as they all seemed to become an "eat all you can" affair where you'd pick from a menu, they'd give you full portions, and you'd pay extra for anything you left. Whereas this one in Edgware is a proper "spoon it out of a bucket yourself" affair, and is 10 times better for it. We'll definitely go back again, although apparently there is a nicer, albeit more expensive one round the corner.

On Sunday I watched Celtic thrash Falkirk 4-0 and go 4 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League, before heading to my local to watch the first half of the Arsenal v Liverpool game with my friend Stu.

On Monday I sent all the Christmas presents that had to go home to Scotland, and yesterday I wrapped all the rest of the presents. Meaning that I had completely finished organising for Christmas presents 3 days in advance, which has never ever happened!

February next year sees the time for renewal of subscriptions for co-owners of Ebbsfleet United, of which I am one. However, as much as I hate to admit it, I am not sure if I will be renewing. I must admit that my interest in the club has waned. As unacceptable as it is, the novelty has worn off. And I've not been able to devote enough time to participating in the clubs affairs or even simply following the results week-to-week. I really hope I will be in the minority and that many people will continue to support the club.

Over the last week or so on TV I've been watching CNN International, BBC Three, ITV2+1, TMF, ITV2, Sky News, ITV1, BBC Four, BBC Two, BBC Parliament, BBC One, CNN.com Live, CNN USA, 4Music, The Hits, Channel 4, E4, Sky Sports 1, Channel 4+1 and ITV4.

On radio I've listened to Soul Central Radio, Capital FM, Kiss 104.1 Atlanta, BBC Radio Scotland, The Hits, Choice FM, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 2, Heart 106.2, Sunrise Radio, Radio Veronica, BBC Radio 6 Music and Jazz FM.

Doff (Day off)

Colindale, London, England // 7.01 pm // Mostly cloudy 4ºc / 39ºf

On TV in the last couple of days I've been watching BBC One, ITV1, Setanta Sports 1, CNN International, BBC Four and Sky Sports Xtra

On radio I've listened to BBC Asian Network, On FM, Soul Central Radio, Heat Radio, 2BR (Burnley) and Smoke Radio (Harrow)

Early bird

Colindale, London, England // 5.31 pm // Mostly cloudy 5ºc / 41ºf

My daily life has changed dramatically in the space of the last few days as I move from late shifts to early shifts at work. Friday night was my last late shift, which I've been on since I started the new job at the beginning of September. When I got back home on Friday night Elle's sister was here, ready to stay for the weekend, and her dad was at a nearby hotel.

We met up with him on Saturday and they all headed into the city to do the tourist thing. I had to stay in the flat for a while as our landlord was coming round to visit to inspect the new carpet. He arrived about 4pm with his wife - both of them seem really nice. He had a wee look around the flat, seemed quite happy with the condition. I raised a couple of things with him; the fact that we are still receiving mail for the previous tenants and the fact that the extractor fan in bathroom cannot deal with all the moisture from the amazing shower that we have. On the former, it looks like I'll be forwarding all the previous tenants' mail to our contact at the estate agent, and on the latter the handyman Tony, the one who fixed our washing machine, will pop round at some point and look at the options with the extractor fan.

I then met up with Elle's crew on Oxford Street, where we did a wee bit of shopping (buying nothing) before heading to Hyde Park and to the Winter Wonderland there, most of which had been imported from Germany! Loads of German fair rides, and a big German market which we spent some time walking round. Naturally, we had a German beer too, and some cherry mulled wine. Going on the rides was ridiculously expensive though, so we didn't. After that we headed to Piccadilly and Covent Garden for a couple of drinks before going home.

It's worth noting that I have never ever seen London so busy and so absolutely packed as I did on Saturday. Just mental.

On Sunday I made myself wake up after 6 hours sleep, so that I would be tired enough to go to bed at 9pm on Sunday night. I spent most of the morning reading emails and playing Fifa until Elle and Sarah woke up. Elle's dad came round later that day, and they all headed off to Camden Market while I watched Celtic lose 2-0 at Easter Road. So the gap at the top of the league is down to 4 points now.

I met up with the rest of them in Camden after the game, and we went for a drink. Their plan was to go to the South Bank, have a stroll and then go for a meal and maybe a drink before coming back. However, I really had to be back at the flat soon to get ready for work the next day, and go to bed at a decent time. So I left them to it and came back home. Went to bed at 9.30pm.

And woke up at 4am on Monday morning. My car into work is at 4.30am so actually I had too much time, so I've since changed my wake-up time to 4.15am. It's still bloody early though, by anyone's book! I now start work at 5am and finish at 3pm. It's been really good so far - the shifts are noticably longer, but it is nice to be out of work when it is still daylight outside. I also get the chance to see Elle for an hour or two in the evening, and have one midweek day off each week which will be really useful. It's been a taxing couple of mornings, just because I'm not familiar yet with how different things are done in the mornings, and I am also working with people I haven't worked with before, so adjustments have to be made there too. So far, it's been better than I thought it would be. And hopefully I'll continue to be disciplined enough to go to bed when I really should!

Since the weekend on TV I've been watching CNN International, BBC One, BBC Three, Setanta Sports 1, BBC News and BBC Two.

On radio I've been listening to Zee Radio, Soul Central Radio, BBC Radio 2, Chill, LBC News 1152, Solar Radio and Sunrise Radio.

The thick of it

Colindale, London, England // 1.06 am // Mostly clear 5ºc / 41ºf

Really really busy day at work today. There was a lot of other stuff going on besides, so I had to do a good bit of stuff pretty much on my own. It was pretty intense, and at one point I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, but in the end - in hindsight - it was bloody good. I was doing a shitload of stuff, and I was managing fine with it. I'm not completely on top of everything, but after today I feel that I really can do most of the job now. There are still a few things to do for the first time, and others to hone as close to perfection as possible, but I came away tonight feeling like a good job had been done.

Bloody knackered now though, and I'm just chilling out with a beer listening to my radio station, Soul Central Radio (dot com). Listening figures for it have settled now and I'll attempt to break some of it down now.

On average I'm getting between 20 and 25 individual listeners every day, although has peaked to 40 one day, and dipped to 3 another day. Total listening hours are all over the place. Yesterday the station was listened to for 9 and a half hours. Many listeners are tuning in for hours at a time. Overall I've had 338 listeners tuning in for a total of 176 hours. It's still the 16th best soul station out of 130.

The station is most popular in the UK, followed by the USA. It's also been really popular so far in Brazil and Spain. And 5 listeners in The Netherlands have listened for a total of nearly 11 hours. So far the station has been heard in 28 countries.

The most popular part of the USA that the station has been heard has been Atlanta by far, with 18 hours listened by 18 listeners. Next is Washington DC at 4 hours by 4 listeners.

It's gone much better that I thought it would, and this is with practically no promotion yet. I definitely intend to try and push the station come the New Year.

And to round off, on TV today I've watched CNN International, BBC One, Channel 4, BBC Three and Channel 4+1.

On the radio I've listened to Soul Central Radio, Jazz FM and Absolute Radio.

What a catch!

Colindale, London, England // 1.21 am // Clear 0ºc / 32ºf

The last update was written in Scotland. On Saturday night I went out with my friend Stephen to a few places in Ayr. To be honest, I've had better nights out in Ayr; the places we chose to go out weren't the best choices but it wasn't too bad. Went back to Stephen's new house after getting back from Ayr for a few beers so it was quite a late one.

I couldn't sleep too long on Sunday as I was meeting up with my dad at lunchtime. We headed back down to Ayr to see my auntie and her husband and two kids. The last time I saw the youngest one, my cousin Daniel, it was in July for his Christening. Now, he's practically walking on his own accord!

After that my dad and I headed back to Saltcoats for some food, then out in town for a night of beverages, meeting up with my Uncle John and Uncle Mark later in the evening. This is becoming a regular feature everytime I go home now, and usually ends up being the highlight of the visit.

On Monday I had a fairly quiet day, and spent most of the afternoon with my gran while my mum was at work. My gran, for being nearly 70, is doing pretty well for herself. She found a new man a few months back, and has since been halfway around the world with him, and has at least 4 other trips planned next year!

I flew back to London on Monday night, from Prestwick Airport to Stansted. The departures lounge at Prestwick has changed quite significantly since the last time I flew out from there, and now sports a very nice new Elvis Presley-themed bar. For those that don't know, Prestwick Airport in Scotland was the only place the king himself set foot in the UK, ever.

When I got back to the flat on Monday night, I had to fulfill a promise to Elle. So I helped to put up the Christmas tree and decorations. For those that think it was a bit early, it *could've* been done last Wednesday!

Back to work yesterday and it's been a couple of busy days. I have two more evening shifts, before everything changes and I start early shifts next Monday. That entails waking up at 4am and starting work at 5am, finishing at 3pm. I get one day off midweek plus weekends. It's actually going to be quite handy for Christmas shopping, as when I finish at 3pm I'm pretty much in the heart of London's shopping district to buy some Christmas presents. It also means I'll get to spend a good bit more time with Elle in the evenings. Although I will need to go to bed around 9pm.

Those that know me know that one of my main hobbies is DXing, that being the act of receiving distant radio stations, far outside the original target area. Tonight, in fact less than half an hour ago, I achieved my finest ever DX "catch", and something I've been trying to achieve, fairly passively, for the last 13 years. I received my first ever transatlantic radio station on the MW band using just my portable Sony radio. It was WEGP, from Maine in the USA, on 1390 AM. I've never had any real special setup for MW reception, so the fact I heard this on the internal aerial on the radio makes this reception even more fantastic! It will mean nothing to most other people reading this, but I know that at least *I* will always remember this night...

In the last few days on TV I've watched BBC One, UKTV History, BBC News, CNN International, Setanta Sports 1 and Channel 4.

On the radio I've listened to 3TFM (Saltcoats), Soul Central Radio, Jazz FM, Absolute Classic Rock, LBC 97.3, BBC Radio 5 Live, Kiss 104.1 (Atlanta), Capital FM and WEGP (Maine).