Back from Gravesend

Hi everyone,

I am very sorry for not updating my blog recently. I have been to Gravesend, a town in the south of England, just near London so about 250 miles from Billingham. I have been there to see the football/soccer team Ebbsfleet play which was yesterday. They were playing against Dartford which isn't far, and E'Fleet won 2-1. Right now I am listening to Ceejay on 1radio.org. It is his 56th birthday today and 1 year since he's been on 1R. After that I am Skyping with him from 7:15 PM until 8:30 PM. I was quite tired going down to Gravesend yesterday because I had been Skyping with him the previous night and didn't get to bed until 2am. I had to be up just after 6am, so I only got just over 4 hours sleep.

Anyway it's nearly the end of 2010 and it's been a wonderful year. I am Skyping with Ceejay on New Years Eve through until after Midnight, and I might broadcast on Justin.tv, so if you want to listen to me Skyping with Ceejay, I will be on December 31st sometime in the afternoon, which is probably morning in America. The link is www.justin.tv/livefromuk or just click Webcam on my website.

Speaking of my website I do need to update it, first I am taking the Xmas background down and replacing it with a "Have a nice new year" themed background and then I need to add and remove a link in the links page. I will be removing a link to a hosting site because they have been liquidated and I am going to add a link to Ebbsfleet's website so you can get more info about them. Click here to see their website.

I've been having a problem with my laptop so I am heading over to Currys in Stockton tomorrow to get that sorted. Click here to see the problem.

Thanks for reading guys and I hope you have a great start to 2011.

UKGetDiscovered.com

UK Get Discovered is now available, basically it is a free service created by Ceejay for unsigned bands and artists in the United Kingdom. I am now an admin of the site and help out where I can. It has a Forum and a Facebook group. I am an administrator in the Forum and looking forward to working on UKGD. We expect it to be very popular in the future so check out the site for more information, www.ukgetdiscovered.com

In response to Derrick, who commented on my previous post. I really do not have an opinion on the riots which recently happened in London. I don't live any where near the capital so they don't actually affect me. As for the university fees which are rising, this again, doesn't affect me yet because I don't go to university, I go to college which is free.

Website Update - 14th December

I have just updated the website, the few things I have done are updated the text on the front page, I have also updated some information on the "About Me" page and also the links page, removed the links that are now invalid and edited some links that have changed. The text on my site was outdated and it did need updating so I'm glad I've now done that. Not much else to say really, there was snow outside but it's all gone now. Also, me and my friend Chris (Ceejay) are going to be working on a new project called UK Get Discovered. I have been promised an admin position on the site's forum and we are going to do work on that on Saturday. I am really looking forward to it. Most schools are on their final week now before they break up for the Christmas holidays. Middlesbrough college finishes on Thursday and I am off Friday. Northfield School, which is the secondary school I used to go to in Billingham, finishes on Friday and their holiday begins Monday 20th December until Monday 3rd January which also happens to be the 2nd birthday of my website.

Granddad has died

Sorry for not updating for a while but I've been very ill recently, I am much better now, just had a cough. Now for some bad news, my Granddad has died. He was very ill in hospital, had heart problems, this was the granddad from my mum's side, so he was my mum's dad. The sad thing about it is he was only 64 which is still very young. He died on Thursday 9th December 2010 just around 8:00 am. Funeral arrangments have been made for next Thursday (16th Dec), however I will not be able to attend due to college. It will be a non-religious funeral with his favourite music played, the songs he enjoyed was "New York New York" and "My Way" by Frank Sinatra. He was a nice guy anyway, and may he rest in peace.

Ugh, Sunday :-( The worst day of the week

Well it's another boring Sunday, I can tell you that I HATE Sundays. I really do. They are just boring, I think the main thing that made me dislike Sunday is the fact that everything is back on the next day - work, school, college. Well okay I don't go to college on Monday or Tuesday so I don't know lol. I should enjoy Sundays really, no I hate them. I do have some college assignments, well one of them has to be in Thursday so I'll probably work on that when I go back to my mum's house. I have another assignment but that doesn't have to be in for 2 weeks. At the moment as I write this I am just waiting for my lunch/tea to be done while listening to Galaxy on 106.4 FM. Some good tunes on that station. Dave has been to work today and he listened to BBC Radio 2 (88.1-90.2FM), boring in my opinion. Anyway sorry about not updating the blog much lol. I promise I will try harder, everyone who's reading if you haven't already please become a follower of the blog. Also please sign up to the forum. Just go to www.jack-bromby.com and click "Forum" on the nav bar, if you have any problems contact me and I'll try to fix it. Also keep leaving your comments on the front page of the site and on the blog.

Thanks for reading :-)

- Jack

Forums - WORKING NOW

Hi,

Just a quick update, there WAS a problem with the forum but it is fixed now so please sign up. If there is any more problems please contact me (or Ceejay - The guy who sorts the problems out)

- Jack

Official Forums Now Available

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update to tell you that the website now has forums. Just point your browser to www.jack-bromby.com/forum and you'll be able to sign up. Right now I only have a few boards as only a few people are signed up but if we grow I will add more discussion boards. I will also be recruiting moderators and admins in the future (this position is only for people who I trust the most). Anyway please sign up, contribute and advertise ANY way you can. I will also be performing some website updates soon.

Thanks,

- Jack

Saturday Night

First off I'd like to thank Javier and TMC for their lovely comments on the previous post. It has been nearly a week since my Mum had her wisdom tooth removed and she is still unable to eat hard foods, she has been eating soft foods recently, today she had a bowl of cereal, ice cream and a packet of chips that melt in your mouth so you don't have to chew them. It must suck to only have cereal while I am sat their having waffles and bacon for breakfast! I will keep you all informed of any progress on that.

I did mention in the previous post that it is half-term next week so all the schools/colleges in the UK are now off. That gives me time to work on all THREE assignments which I received as well as my website. I have done a little bit of work on my Software Design assignment but it was very difficult. It is all about programming paradigms of such etc etc. I won't go into detail. Anyway I started a little bit of work on my Installing Computer Software assignment which is a little bit easier. The first part of this assignment covers software licensing. Why is everything to do with a computer so difficult? :( it sucks. Okay the software licensing isn't too painful but programming paradigms, WTF?

I have had a letter from my orthadontist this morning, I will be getting my braces installed very soon. Okay I know it's a painless procedure but I don't want to go into it right now. Anyway I can't think of much more to write, weather has been raining today and a bit cold, still according to billinghamweather.com we have only had 7 rain days in October, so it's not too bad. Could be worse. I hope we don't have a cold winter. Snow is quite rare in England and even more rare in my area of the North East so I probably don't need to worry much. Just that the snow was quite heavy last year, even though it was only for a couple of days. In 2007 and 2006 we didn't get any snow at all. Highest recorded temperature in Billingham was 32.2 C which is 89 F. Very hot.

Oh, a new show started here last night (Friday) on Channel 4 called "The Event". I enjoyed watching that, it is on every Friday night here now. I will be watching it.

Website Updates are being done!

I am just taking a quick break in working on my website to say that the updates will be coming to the site very very soon. I won't release too much just yet. I am hoping to have them done by Sunday but I am not sure if I will, web design is very time consuming, believe me. And it's guarenteed that if I am doing the updates SOMETHING will go wrong no matter how small. Anyway if you want to check on the progress of the updates then check back here as I will try to update about them. I begun the updates at about 7:30 PM and it's now 8:30 PM! All I have done so far is worked on the navigation bar but I will get more done, hopefully Friday. I don't think I am staying at Dad's on Saturday because he is working but I will on Sunday. So I hope everything will be done by Sunday. Check out some screenshots from my iPhone :)

Nearly 600 days! Website Updates (Coming Soon!)

Hi Guys,

it's been 597 days since Jack-Bromby.com has been on the web which means on Friday it will be 600! Truthfully I never expected my site to be on this long but, well here we are!! I am also going to be doing a few updates on the website and hopefully have them done by the end of the month. Jack-Bromby.com is not an extremely popular website but I do get at least 5 visitors on it per day, a few of them do return and read this blog often and I will credit them at the end of this blog post. As much as I want to update the site I am very busy with college at the moment, I have an assignment that needs doing and I am getting another one tomorrow. I also have to give a presentation about me on Thursday which I'm not really looking forward to, but everyone else in the class has to do it so whatever, I am sure I'll get through it. Rest assured though I will make time and get these updates done, I will probably work on them Sunday night when I have lots of time. I am also off college next week, all colleges and schools across the country are off because of half-term. I will get the updates done. I won't give too much away but there will be a new section which will be updated on a regular basis. Thank you to everyone who has been on my website and left me positive feedback on the shoutbox, thank you to everyone who reads my blog regularly and thank you to my blog followers.

My most regular returners to the website:

-AKRON, OHIO (6.20%) although I am not sure who that is. Please leave in the comments who you are so I can thank you properly.
-ALLEN PARK, MICHIGAN (6.20%) again I am not sure who you are so please let me know.
-REDONDO BEACH, CALAFORNIA (3.20%) don't know who you are either! Please contact me.

These seem to be my most regular visitors, thank you, the people who are above ^^

Top 5 countries:

-UNITED KINGDOM (56.60%)
-UNITED STATES (30.00%)
-GERMANY (4.20%)
-POLAND (1.00%)
-TURKEY (1.00%)

I did have a few visitors from Turkey recently, and Iceland and Mexico, I haven't had those countries on my site before. Well there's a first for everything.

Thanks everybody,

- Jack

Nice Monday

Well today was a nice Monday. I got up at 10am and watched half of Jeremy Kyle. A few minutes after that my mum came home, unexpectedly. Apparently she had been in pain all night with her tooth, she was awake all night and did not go to work today, she had been to the dentist to have the tooth removed! Now I had teeth removed recently as you will remember, it's not a painful procedure but it's not very nice. She isn't going into work tomorrow either, so I was thinking "great, the two days I am off college, ruined". Well it wasn't that bad. I still got to have my chip butty (English term for chips and a bread bun), I watched Everybody Loves Raymond. I did, however, leave at 2:45 PM to go to my dad's. Although first I went over to the school to see my friends Sara and Estelle. THEN I went to my dad's house. I got there at about 4:30 PM. While I was walking to my dad's I put my earphones on and listened to Skyrock radio (French rap radio station) on my iPhone via 3G :) I enjoyed the music. When I got there I cleaned my room. I picked up some papers and other junk on my floor and stored it in my cabinet, I also picked up some junk near my bed. I vacuumed the floor and dusted the furniture (e.g. stereo, TV, cabinet). My room does look nice and clean now. Pictures are posted at the bottom. At 7:00 PM my dad had a phone call work-related that he had to drop something off at a sub station in Wolviston Services (street view). I didn't realise he had a key to this building. I then found out that he has a key to every sub station in Newcastle, Sunderland, Teesside, and all of Yorkshire (Leeds, Sheffield etc). So if he wanted to he could cut the power to every town and city in the North East and Yorkshire! And lose his job lol. He can shut the power off for the entire town of Billingham too. I asked if we could do it, he said no :(

Oh, another strange thing happened today - I got 47 friend requests on Facebook, in 5 minutes !

New Website Updates

Hi Blog followers,

I have done a website update tonight. Well a few actually. There are 2 brand new pages on the "Extra" area of the site. First one "Photos of Billingham" and second "Old versions of the site". On "Photos of Billingham" you can see some photos I have taken around my town with my iPhone 3GS. I will be updating this page very regularly. Second one "Old versions of the site" I have included old screenshots of the website so you can see what my site looked like on the previous versions and layouts. There's only 3 on there at the moment but there will be more in the future. The last update I have added a countup on the bottom of the front page which shows you how much time has elapsed since my website first came online on January 3rd 2009. Right now it has been up for 587 days. I am hoping to keep this website running as long as possible, the renewal is in January 2011 and hopefully it will be renewed for another 2 years, I could renew it for only 1 since it's a .com domain. Anyway enjoy the new features and let me know what you think. The updates took approx 2 hours 15 mins to do, from 8PM to 10:15 PM.

Got on the wrong bus :(

Okay, now this is what happened to me today. I woke up, had a shower and got dressed, went online for a bit and left to go to the bus stop to go to college at 8 AM as the bus was coming at 8:10 AM. The bus came and I got on, however I didn't realise I had got on the wrong bus, I had got the 52 instead of the 34 so I didn't end up in Middlesbrough, I ended up in Stockton! Well actually I panicked before it got to Stockton and I actually got off the bus at Norton village, just outside where my mum works. I panicked, and rung Dave and he said to get the bus back to Billingham and then get another one to Middlesbrough. Since I was in Norton I had to walk up the village and into Stockton town centre on the high street. I wandered up the town centre then went to Greggs, bought a Coke and then caught the bus back to Billingham which was late!!!! When I got to Billingham I discovered didn't have enough for the bus to Middlesbrough so I went into Billingham town centre, bought another Coke and went back to the bus stops where I waited for the bus. The 34 eventually came and I got to Middlesbrough. I arrived at the college for 10:45 AM and everything was fine. Still, it was my own stupid fault for not reading the bus number in the first place. However, this happened after I lost my bus pass and so approximately £6.60 (approx $10) out of a £10 (approx $15) note has gone down the drain this morning. God really does hate me, still at least we had some nice warm weather today, it got to 19 C (66 F) today in Billingham.

Happy 1st.... Uh 2nd of October!

Fellow blog followers and Jack Bromby fans, HAPPY 1ST OF OCTOBER! Although I'm updating on the second of October I apologise for that. I forgot to update yesterday and I haven't updated in nearly a week because Dave has been in France since Tuesday. Anyway, college has been going great so far. Yesterday I got my first experience of computer programming. On Friday's, 2nd period I have Software Design, usually it's quite hard to follow but actually doing the coding is quite easy. We are working with VisualBasic which seems to be easy. I was also let out of college a few minutes early because I was the first to finish. I got let out at 5:05 PM rather than the usual 5:15 PM. Next, the weather, last night was warm strangely enough. Strange for October, it seemed to be warmer at night rather than the day which I find happens in winter sometimes. Anyway, time to get on with Saturday, it's going to suck spending Saturday at mum's house, at least I get to live with my dad for a week when he comes back from France because then my mum goes to Egypt with her friends for a week. She is going to Sharm El Sheik.

Saturday - Fence Painting Day

Well I must say I was quite surprised that I ended up painting the fence today. I went to Dave's house at about 4 PM or so and started work on the fence a few minutes after I got there. Well I got about an hour's worth of work done before it started raining :( I had to stop. It rained for about 30 seconds then stopped. Okay I had a lot to do and I didn't expect to finish the job on the same night, but still, I could have gotten more done. I think I must have finished at about 6PM or there abouts. Anyway here is a link to the highlight. It lasts 58 minutes so thats how I know how much work I got done. Okay so I did about 5% of the fence in 1 hour. I made progress :-)

But seriously I'm going to try again Sunday morning (tomorrow) and hopefully get some more work done. I am just hoping the weather is nice. On a better note my website has been really popular lately, especially in my local area (see screenshot).

Bad News - Dave and Dawn split up

I have some very bad news which I just found out last night. My dad and his girlfriend, Dawn are splitting up. I am not 100% sure why at this point but I do know that today, Wednesday, she is packing up her things and moving out of his house. I think she's going to live at a friend's house for the time being. I asked Dave why and he said "she thinks I neglect her". I think I know the reason why they have decided to split up. Basically my Dad, Dave works alot. He works Monday to Friday and most of the time he works overtime on weekends Saturday and Sunday. On Friday nights he goes to the pub (bar, for my American readers), and he is out late until about 12 AM or so. Saturday and Sunday he usually works and Sunday when he finishes work he goes out to the bar again. The weekend just gone (18th) me and him were in Gravesend, Kent to see Ebbsfleet (football my dad follows) play. Basically I don't think there was alot of communication, and every relationship needs communication. Although I do sympathise on that one, I agree that my dad goes to the pub often. I'm not saying he's a drunk, I'm saying he could spend more time with his family rather than going and getting pissed whenever he's not working. I don't know. Although one thing I will say - Dave used to go out with Dawn years ago but she left him due to the fact that he was visiting the pub too often. So short answer - YES I suppose he does (did) neglect her in that way!

My next concern is that I have made great friends with Dawn's family, that is her sisters (Debbie and Janice) and everyone else there. I probably won't lose contact with them as I pass Debbie's house quite often when I walk to my dad's house. Janice sometimes has nights in the backyard with her family and they have a burner (fire). I have been told that I'll still be invited to those. Only thing I will miss is the trips to France with Dawn, Debbie, Debbie's husband and their grandchildren/niece. I pointed this out to Dave and he said he will still take me to France in the summer or maybe go somewhere else. Speaking of holidays, Dave and Dawn were suppose to be going back to France in 2 weeks. He is going on his own now.

What I do find strange about this is Dave doesn't seem to even give 2 craps that he just lost his girlfriend. I find that quite strange. I told him this and his response was "Jack, I've been through it all before, if she wants to leave me what can I do about it?" I then told him that he'll die alone and his response to that was "I don't care if I die alone as long as I die happy" I asked him "are you going to die happy?" and he said "yes".

Truthfully I didn't expect any of this to happen yesterday afternoon when I walked to Dave's house, well I guess relationships don't last forever. Nothing gold can stay. I'm not bothered so much by this but it is a shame. On a lighter topic I begin my computing course at college today. I'm also hoping for some nice warm weather at the weekend so I can paint the fence in the back garden (a job I've been putting off for a while now). If I do do it I will put my webcam on Justin TV and you can watch me live. It will of course be after Dave finishes work at about 3PM UK time.

Bye guys.

First Day At Middlesbrough College

As most of you know today was my first day at Middlesbrough college. I was having trouble getting to sleep the previous night but I eventually got there after 12am. I had to be up at 7am this morning but I woke up at about 6:50am. I had my breakfast, got dressed and listened to some music. My Dad's girlfriend Dawn came for me at 8:15am. I got there for 8:30am. When I first arrived I was nervous but was directed over to the computing group. Around 9am we all went upstairs to the IT department. We haven't begun any work this week and probably won't until next week, everything that happened today was just to get ready. I have a timetable but it's only for this week. I was in all day today, same tomorrow, half day Wednesday (12pm finish), then I'm off Thursday and Friday. Tomorrow I am going bowling from 9am-12pm. That should be fun. I also met a nice kid who is into web design and hosts other people's websites on his own server. At one point he asked me if I knew any languages, I replied "yeah I know a little bit of French" and he said "no I meant computer languages". Hahahaha. Seriously, that did happen. Been a great day anyway. I've also noticed there's been alot of traffic on the website lately, including one from Iran! Anyway if you do read the blog, please click 'Follow'. Thanks.

First Day At Middlesbrough College

As most of you know today was my first day at Middlesbrough college. I was having trouble getting to sleep the previous night but I eventually got there after 12am. I had to be up at 7am this morning but I woke up at about 6:50am. I had my breakfast, got dressed and listened to some music. My Dad's girlfriend Dawn came for me at 8:15am. I got there for 8:30am. When I first arrived I was nervous but was directed over to the computing group. Around 9am we all went upstairs to the IT department. We haven't begun any work this week and probably won't until next week, everything that happened today was just to get ready. I have a timetable but it's only for this week. I was in all day today, same tomorrow, half day Wednesday (12pm finish), then I'm off Thursday and Friday. Tomorrow I am going bowling from 9am-12pm. That should be fun. I also met a nice kid who is into web design and hosts other people's websites on his own server. At one point he asked me if I knew any languages, I replied "yeah I know a little bit of French" and he said "no I meant computer languages". Hahahaha. Seriously, that did happen. Been a great day anyway. I've also noticed there's been alot of traffic on the website lately, including one from Iran! Anyway if you do read the blog, please click 'Follow'. Thanks.

Saturday - Haircut

Hi everyone,

well I am just updating the blog quickly. This morning I got a haircut and I look so much better now. After I had my haircut I came home, got in the shower and then when I came out, got dresesed I went to Dave's house. I have just been surfing the web since I arrived. I am also broadcasting on Justin.TV. I have also been looking at my stats and I have had nearly 60 visits today, in total I've had 134 visits since Tuesday! I'm doing really well. Anyway that's all for now.

9 years since 9/11 ✈ ▌▌

Friday - Final Teeth Are Out

Hello Jack-Bromby.com fans!

This morning I had 2 more teeth removed but it was the last ones I am having out (Thank God!). When I went in they first put some strange orange sticky stuff on my gum where they administor the injection, this is to ensure that it goes in with as little pain as possible. After that they have a needle and inject novacain I think it is, into not just one part of my mouth but about 5 different parts. The first injection I found to be a little bit painful, even as I write this I cringe at the thought of it again. It wasn't alot of pain but it did hurt for about 5 seconds. Once they had administered the injection in all parts of my mouth the dentist began poking my teeth to make sure that it is completely numb. Once it was the dentist then had another instrument to push down on my teeth to loosen it before the final part where they had a pair of plyers to pull out my tooth. Then they did the same with the other tooth. I'm just glad it's all over. I am having my braces installed in 2 months I think. On a lighter note I start college on Monday. I am looking forward to it. Oh and I downloaded some more music earlier. French rap, some oldies and just some other music. There is too many to list all but here's some:

Rihanna - Hate That I Love You
Rihanna - Take a Bow
NTM - Pose Ton Gun
NTM - That's My People
NTM - Police
NTM - Tout N'est Pas Si Facile
La Fouine - Immortelles
Heinz - Just Like Eddie
The Drifters - Save The Last Dance For Me
The Crickets - Oh Boy

and many many more.

Very Late Update, Sorry :(

Hi Guys,

Sorry for not updating in a very long time, firstly I'll start this blog post by mentioning my recent trip to the dentist which was on the 31st August. Okay it wasn't bad at all, the injection in my mouth did hurt a little bit, well it didn't really hurt, just stung a little bit for 2 seconds so it was nothing really. The worst bit was hearing the teeth crack when the dentist was removing them. Also my mouth felt like it had swelled up for a few hours but it was nothing really. I am going back this Friday on the morning to have 2 more removed. I thought I was going to get the 4 out at the same time but as it turns out I didn't need that so I requested to just have 2 removed. Well my teeth are all crooked so I guess it will be good once my brace is on which should be before Christmas. Another thing I mentioned was I was going to be painting the fence in the back garden, well I haven't got onto that yet so I guess I'll have to try and have that done sometime in September, hopefully by the end of the month. Today I walked to my Dad's house at about 1:15 PM and got there just before 2 PM. I went on Skype with Ceejay (Chris) from 2 PM until 9 PM and we talked about everything, that guy is awesome and we are going to Skype again on Thursday. Also Ceejay/Chris has posted a link to my website on the BHBFC (Brierley Hill Bullets Football Club) which he does the website for. So hopefully he will increase my visitorship. At the same time I have installed a code tonight on the website which will now allow me to see all the visitors to the site, where they are from, their IP address and their ISP. I have also noticed I have had 24 visitors from London, 23 visitors from the United Kingdom and 11 visitors from Billingham, so even locally I am popular. This data came from the guest map on the front page. One last thing, my website may be getting translated into Spanish, so hopefully that will also increase my visitorship. Well that's my update for the start of September. Please leave comments.

Upcoming Events

Hey guys, I know I haven't updated in a while but I'd just like to inform you all of some upcoming future events:

Painting the Fence - I will be doing this sometime this week, I will be painting the fence in the back garden, I am thinking I may even put the webcam on Justin.TV and broadcast it. I will give you updates before I do it so you can tune in.

Going to Dartford - I am going to Dartford on the 28th August because Ebbsfleet are playing away so it will be a great DXing opportunity!

Getting teeth removed - I have to have braces and so I need 4 teeth removing :( I know it won't hurt but I worry alot. I'll let you know how it goes.

Te Amo

Enjoy Your Life!

Bored? Okay, here is a few ways to enjoy your life and really experience things normal people wouldn't do:

1) Clean out your fridge of all those old doughnut crumbs and other processed foods and dance with them in the street! This is something I wouldn't even think of doing but you can have a really fun and enjoyable time doing it. It also helps the fridge.

2) Take an axe to your furniture. This can be anything and can range from your living room sofa to your television set. It turns out I didn't really like it, but maybe you will enjoy doing this more than I did. After all, it's really liberating to be free of all that junk.

3) Turn on all the taps in your bath, sink and shower and watch it overflow. This can really make your house unique from everybody elses, along with the axed furniture. Who needs a carpet anyway? This is way better, I call it Waterfloor. Another advantage is you no longer have to vacuum. The closest I ever came to doing this was flooding the garden, with a hosepipe, there's a video of Dave (my dad) getting really pissed off about it, just type "flooding the garden" into YouTube, it's pretty obvious which one it is.

4) Piss the neighbours off. There are many ways to do this. Try purchasing a large stereo with big bass speakers, mounting them correctly so they face towards your neighbour's house and play some loud rock music all night and day (Note: AC/DC is best recommended for this with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, but tuning into your local classic rock radio station should do the trick). You could also try phoning for unwanted pizza deliveries to their house.

5) Eat a plant. It is best recommended that you eat a cactus (you know, that small, green, spiky plant found in the desert). If you are going to flood the house and smash the furniture you might as well eat a few plants too. Alternatively, if you don't have a cactus then a houseplant will have to do.

France Trip - Day 12 - Birthday/Trip To Italy

Day 12 - Birthday/Trip To Italy

Well, as you all know today is my birthday. I had a few presents and cards, including The Simpsons season 11, which I already have, but this is in French lol. Anyway this morning Dave said he was taking me out on a trip in the car, just me and him, we were heading East towards Monaco. Anyway I had no idea where we were going but we went into Italy, over the border. We visited a small town called Ventimiligia near the border, so I got to DX in Italy and visit this country which I have never been to. Two new countries in one year - Bulgaria and Italy, not bad, eh? Once we crossed the border into Italy we came to a toll but we had to take a ticket, Dave was panicking because he didn't know what to do. Well we came to another toll about 2 minutes later and they stamped the ticket or something, not sure what they did, can't remember. We parked in a car park but didn't know how to pay so we went up to this bus driver and asked him, well we couldn't communicate but he was either saying we didn't need to pay as it was free or you couldn't park here, at the end Dave said "merci" then realised we weren't in France he said "thank you" but that's still wrong he said "gracias" (Spanish, similar to saying thank you in Italian), I then had to point out that the correct word was "Grazie" lol, quite funny really - Merci, Thank You, Gracais, Grazie. Dave referred to himself as a "man of International tounge" haha. We went to a cafe, had lunch, had a Coke and went back to the car and drove back to France. Dave was a bit worried because if you park and don't buy a ticket your car can get towed. It was a good day out anyway, you can't really get many French stations over the Italian border for some reason, must be something to do with the hills. So I really enjoyed the day and I got to visit a new country. Best birthday ever. (oh also Birthday Sex came on Skyrock last night at 11:30 PM UK time).

Now then, I can't say I am too happy about the lack of E-Cards I have received today, in fact no one has even left any comments on the front page to wish me a happy birthday, disgraceful, on the other hand I have had a load of messages on Facebook who wished me a happy birthday, so I will list these people now. Before I do I will mention that Ceejay (Chris) sent me an E-Card, I appreciate that. These are the people I'd like to thank (for wishing me a happy birthday on either Facebook or somewhere else):

Gracie
Gabi
Ryan
Tina
Alex
Ceejay
Ben
Drew
Charlotte
Hannah
Sara

Thanks guys, I love most of you. I will of course edit this list should I get anyone else wishing me a happy birthday. I must say I am surprised TMC and Calvin aren't on this list.

France Trip - Day 11 - 16th Birthday Tomorrow!

Day 11 - 16th Birthday Tomorrow

Hey guys, sorry about not blogging but I have been going out with Ian and some new friends we have made (16 year old girls). Anyway, I went to Monaco a few days ago and I also went to the Aquapark in Frejus yesterday. Well I am just blogging quickly now to say it is my birthday tomorrow (28th) and it would be very appriciated if you would send me an E-Card (Not yet though, tomorrow), if you do, you will be credited on this blog tomorrow. Of course those who have my address please feel free to send me a real card, then again I am not sure if it's a good idea, although I don't return until the 31st I don't think it would arrive even for then. I will not be returning until quite late on the 31st, I land back in Newcastle around 11-11:30 pm. I have asked my Dad to buy me the video game ' Red Dead Redemption ' on XBOX 360 so I look forward to playing that (in HD on my big TV :)). Anyway today we are just hanging around the pool, I will probably be meeting my new (girl) friends tonight, but the thing is I never arrive back until very late (up to 2AM), well anyway that's my blog post done.

France Trip - Day 5 - Barbecue (7/21)

Day 5 - Barbecue

I woke up this morning sometime between 5-6 AM, I heard someone moving around outside, I think it was Dave getting a drink so I waited until he went back to bed before I got up, went to pee then went back to bed and back to sleep. Then I woke again at about 10:30 AM. I heard Dave and Dawn outside talking, I continued lying in bed and I heard Dave say he was going to wake me up, he was unaware that I was already awake. He came in my room at 11 AM, found out I was awake and said he and Dawn were going to the pool and I could join them when I was ready. After they left I got up and got straight into the shower for about 30 seconds. Got out, got dressed, brushed my teeth and left. I couldn't find the bread so had nothing to eat. I walked over to the swimming pool and seen the whole family there. I went straight in the pool and spent most of the day there. I did come out sometime during the day and went back to grab something to eat, there was alot of good songs on Skyrock and so I came back to the pool late. I spent another couple of hours in the pool before going back up, getting another quick shower, getting dressed and walking over to D&L's caravan. I trimmed their hedges because they were too long. Dave and Dawn came about an hour later. Dave and Lesley went to the supermarket to get some stuff for the barbecue which we started when they came back. We had pork, rabbit legs and beef, I enjoyed it. After that we just hung out for the rest of the night. I need to be up early tomorrow because we are going out to a market to get the 'French experience'. Well I will blog all about that tomorrow night.

France Trip - Day 4 - More Arrivals (7/20)

Day 4 - More Arrivals


Today I woke up listening to Alors on Danse by Stromae on 105 FM, an Italian radio station. I like that song. I switched over to Skyrock eventually, I switched my laptop on, replied to an email from Ceejay and read some very old emails. Eventually I got up, got in the shower and then had breakfast, I had bread and butter, but it wasn't just any bread, it was one of those long French sticks. After breakfast we went out to the supermarket across the street and got some supplies in, then after that we went to another store down the road. We came back then dropped some things off at Debbie and Lesley's caravan then went to the pool. I spent a few hours there, but I did at some point go back to our caravan for some food. I then looked online while eating and noticed D&L's flight had taken off from Newcastle. I went back to the pool but left early while Dave and Dawn continued to relax by the pool. So I came back by myself, had a shower, got dressed, grabbed a bottle of Coke and my laptop and went over to D&L's caravan to get ready for their arrivals. I went online and listened to Skyrock while waiting for them. About an hour later Dave and Dawn turned up and a few minutes later D and L (and the kids) arrived. Maybe half an hour to an hour later Dave and Les went to the pizza shop over the road and ordered a pizza but it was taking ages to get here so Dawn sent me over to see what was taking so long, I ran over to the pizza shop and found nobody there, running back I noticed Dave and Les having a drink in the bar, so I asked where the pizza was and they said it was late and wouldn't be available until 9:15 PM. I ran back to their caravan and eventually they came with the pizza. I enjoyed it but it burned the hell out of my mouth, it was very spicy, the same problem I had with a different pizza the previous night, it was then that we worked out it was the ketchup we were using and not the pizzas. I had never had such a bad experience with ketchup before and hope to never again - why do they allow these things to happen? But I did enjoy the pizza. At about 10 PM I went off the computer and joined the group and we all had a good laugh. D&L and the kids were tired because of the long journey so we left just after 11 PM. Since then I have just been hanging around online. That's todays update, I also heard Dr Dre (Still Dre) on Skyrock last night.

France Trip - Day 1 - Arriving (7/17) and Day 3 - Trip to St Tropez (7/19)

DAY 1 - Arriving at Nice Airport and driving to Frejus

We took off from Newcastle airport at around 5 PM, when taking off I remember seeing the Pontop Pike radio/TV mast and it was quite low compared to how high we were, makes me wonder why TV masts like Pontop and Bilsdale need the aircraft warning lights. My Dad had his cell phone (HTC Desire) with FM radio so into the flight I managed to do some DXing and heard France INFO on 105.2 from Lille at 400KW when flying over the Channel. This is a very strong signal and can be first picked up around Maidstone, Kent. I expect to receive it in Dover in January. I also flew over Paris but couldn't see the Eiffel Tower. We arrived at Nice (Cote D'Azur) Airport just after 8 PM, collected our bags and headed over to the rental office to pick up our car which is a Ford Focus. Dawn then drove from the airport over to Le Dattier camping over in Frejus. About an hour drive. I enjoyed listening to French radio such as Skyrock. When we arrived at Le Dattier we got to our caravan to discover there was no electricity as it had been switched off and Dave was hunting around for the electric box to switch it on but we couldn't find it. We even rang the caravan owners in Liverpool but they weren't much help. A Dutchh man in the caravan opposite helped my Dad try to find the electric box but had no luck. We eventually just had to go to sleep in the dark.

DAY 3 - Trip to St Tropez

Today we went to St Tropez, which is a small town at the end of the Cote D'Azur. Me, Dave and Dawn left in the car at exactly 12 PM (Dawn driving). It took over an hour to drive to St Tropez, but I enjoyed listening to Skyrock, my favourite French radio station. I heard songs from the French artists Canardo (Je ne perds pas le nord), Sexion D'Assaut (Desole/Wati By Night) and Nessbeal (A Chaque Jour Suffit Sa Peine) and American/English speaking artists Rihanna (Te Amo/Love The Way You Lie (ft Eminem)) and Sean Paul (Hold My Hand) - Love that song :) oh and Usher (OMG), and not forgetting B.O.B and Bruno Mars (Nothin' On You). When we got to St Tropez the first thing we did was walk along the front and saw some boats leave the port. Dave and Dawn got a squishy type refreshment, after that I got a can of Coke. We then walked along the beach and up to the castle, but when we got all the way up I didn't want to go any further so my Dad (Dave) gave me 5 Euros for another can of Coke and I went back down, I got a bit lost but I managed to get back on track. I went to the shop we went earlier and bought another can of Coke, I also spoke in French, the conversation went something like this:


Cashier: Bonjour
Jack: Bonjour, deux Cola s'il-vous plais
Cashier: deux Cola?
Jack: Oui
***Jack hands money and gets Coke***
Jack: Merci

I went back to the beach because that was the meeting point for Dave and Dawn, I drank my Coke then went back. I sat down but wasn't sitting too long as Dave and Dawn came back about 10-15 mins later. We went back to the car and surprisingly, Dave drove all the way back! When we got back I went in the shower and then had tea, I had pizza and fries (Nothing new there then lol), me and Dave also watched a game show called 'Mots de Passe' on the TV channel France 2. 'Mots' means 'Words'. I enjoyed that. We have been Debbie and Lesley's caravan at night just to check on it, then have a drink there. Debbie is Dawn's sister and Lesley is Debbie's husband, they are coming over tomorrow with some kids from the family. Anyway that's all for now, please comment, I do read all comments, Merci et Au Revoir.

Note - Any times mentioned here are in French time (CEST +0200).

Going to France today/New Website

Hi guys, well I had a great time in Bulgaria, I am now going on holiday AGAIN, this time I am going to Frejus, the south of France with Dave and Dawn. Then on Tuesday Debbie (Dawn's sister) and Lesley (Debbie's husband) and some of the kids from Dawn's family are coming. Then on Thursday Ian and Katie (Dawn's nephew/niece) are coming. It will be fun anyway. Ian is actually driving us up to Newcastle airport at 2 PM and our flight takes off at 17:25, although I am not sure what time the gates open. We will probably arrive in France at around 9 PM but we have a rental car so I can DX, like I did in France last year and listen to Skyrock. Oh btw Alors on Danse by Stomae was quite popular in Bulgaria. Anyway, enough about my holiday I would like to share something else with you. I have created a brand new website, www.livefromchicago2.com, check it out and let me know what you think. I want it to be a sucess. I actually think it's quite good considering I am crap at web design. I created it in Fireworks and Dreamweaver. Just one last thing, I am sure all of you have heard of the Raoul Moat incident 2 weeks ago in Gateshead, Newcastle and Rothbury, well personally I think this country is getting worse, this is the second gun incident in the UK this year! Why do they allow these things to happen?

Final blog post before I go to Bulgaria

Hey guys! Okay, most of you know that tomorrow I am leaving with my mum for a one week holiday to Bulgaria. I am really looking forward to it as this is a new country which I have not visited before. My mum's cousins (Susan and Janice) live there. Just so you know, the area I am going to is called Sunny Beach which is near the town of Nessebar in Eastern Bulgaria, it is a coastal town. My flight is from Newcastle Airport (EGNT) to Bourgas Airport (LBBG). Departure is at 6:40 PM (UK time) and arrival is at 11:59 PM (Bulgarian time, 2 hours ahead of UK). My mum wants to get to Newcastle airport early. After we have checked in I'll probably be getting a Burger King. Oh, and the airline is Balkan Holidays, I have never flown with this airline before. Most of my holidays I have flown with Thomson Airlines or EasyJet (I will be flying with this airline when I go to France, 1 week after I have returned from Bulgaria). Anyway, guys, I guess I will see you all in a week. My return flight is the following Saturday, I will probably blog about everything I did when I get back. Still, I think there is a good chance I will be able to get a connection at Susan and Janice's house. I think they have the Internet. Anyway, remember to leave comments both here and on the website, I enjoy reading them. Oh and I am going to Dover on January 29th 2011 with my Dad and I am really looking forward to it, most of you know I enjoy DXing and Dover is a great place to receive lots of French radio. Okay, bye guys, love you all, see you in a week!

Plane Crash Dream

Hi Guys, I would like to share something on this blog regarding a dream I had this morning:

In my dream which I had just a few hours ago the weather was really bad, dark, clouds and wet. Anyway I was at my mum’s house and I remember I was talking to a friend on MSN but I can’t remember what we were saying, I was in my room. I went downstairs and opened the door, a few seconds later it started to pour down with rain. When I say pour down I mean pour down. I just stood there watching it. A van went past that said “OMG OMG”, some girls who I recognise from my school walked past and looked at me. I then looked at the newsagents shop (I live next to a newsagents, but most of you would already know that) and saw a road sign that hadn’t been there before on the right. It was directing towards the Billingham town centre, I think it was anyway. Next thing I look up and there is an airplane flying really really low. It was a passenger jet, I could see the airline “EasyJet” but the aircraft was white and the letters were in blue. EasyJet have an orange theme in real life. Anyway, it’s still raining and the plane swerves violently towards my house but keep swerving and crashes into some houses in the street in front of my house. I shout “OH SHIT” as there is a massive explosion and slam the door shut, I quickly run into the living room and pick up the phone, I try to dial 999 to report it but couldn’t get the numbers right. I eventually manage to dial it. A few seconds later a woman answers but I can’t make out what she says, then nobody spoke after that. A few seconds later I woke up.

So that's my dream, I have spent the entire morning looking it up (it's 11:57 AM now!). It seems to be that this could be related to something stressful or something over which I have no control over. Although at the moment I have nothing stressful in my life. It could also mean that I have set goals that are too high, again, not me. So I can't possibly think why I had this dream. I have been reading on a blog where people have been posting their similar dreams, and they all seem to be having the exact same dream in which a plane crashes a few hundred feet from themselves or their house. A few people say they tried to dial emergency but couldn't get any help, same as I couldn't. One thing, a friend of mine (Ceejay) thinks the bad weather could represent something very negative and I should watch myself in the next few weeks. I am going to Bulgaria in 2 weeks, flying from Newcastle airport with a Bulgarian airline. Then in July I am going to France, also from Newcastle airport, guess which airline I am flying with? You guessed it! EasyJet! I am just hoping that this dream has nothing to do with my holidays.

Can you guys please let me know what you think about this in the comments, I will be checking them a bit later. I really want to know what you guys think about this, I may not update the blog for a couple of days because I want this to stay at the top for now and I really want to know what others think.

Foreign Radio Stations from Spain, Slovenia and Croatia

Hey guys, it was crazy on the FM band yesterday with radio from France and Spain and other countries. It had quieted down today but now I have received a few radio stations, I have managed to ID a few, but I can only ID them if the RDS comes up. (RDS is the station name displaying on the screen). I managed to get a few foreign radio stations and sucessfully ID them. I have had:

87.6 - COPE - Spain (picture below)
87.7 - HRT-HR 1 - Croatia
87.8 - Salomon - Slovenia



Also, check out my Uncle Derek's new car, he is rich, this is a TVR, not sure about the type:

Fake Email from Google

Just had this email:

Due to the congestion in our Gmail servers,there would be removal of all unused Gmail Accounts.You will have to confirm if your E-mail is still active by filling out your login info below after clicking the reply button, or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.

Account name:  
Password:                     
Country :  

Note: This email is only for Account owner.
Thank you for using Gmail ! 

The Gmail Team

A header trace goes to Nobis Technology Group and Ubiquity Server Solutions in Dallas, TX. This seems to indicate it's a fake since Google have their own servers anyway. Please ignore this email and do not reply to it - delete it. The IP address is 173.208.122.197 based in Dallas, Texas.

COME ON ENGLAND!!!!

This is an emergency blog post which I am writing just before kick off of the England - USA match on Saturday 12th June 2010 at 18:30. I am going to ask everyone who reads this blog to pray to our Lord that England will beat the USA on tonights match. This is nothing against America or it's residents and I apologise to anyone who is offended but I live in England, it is my country and I do support it in football. Me and Dave will be watching this match live on my 32" LCD screen in my bedroom, as you can see by the photos below I already have decorated my room with a few England flags, the second one is in my bedroom window for the duration of the match and there is one visible at the front of the house outside Dave and Dawn's bedroom window. Actually, a few people have England flags outside the window on their houses, well good to know that those people will be supporting us in tonights match. I will say, to anybody from the USA reading this blog that England WILL kick your asses in tonight's match. I ask everybody to now pray for America's defeat. I am going to do that after I've written this. COME ON ENGLAND! YOU HAVE MY SUPPORT! The trophy is ours! So, in conclusion here is the results of previous matches so far:

Mexico 1 - 1 South Africa
Uruguay 0 - 0 France
South Korea 2 - 0 Greece
Argentina 1 - 0 Nigeria
England 5 - 1 USA

Lastly, here are the photos:





COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great week for FM DXing!

Yep, it has been a great week for DXing as we have had alot of Es and tropos. I have, over the past couple of days had FM radio stations coming in from Norway, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Poland and Russia! I have had 88.0 Retro FM and 103.7 Europa Plus from St Petersburg in Russia. I have had too many radio stations to mention but I received NRK P1 and NRK P2 from Norway, LR-1 from Latvia I think. Had one this morning from Spain with the RDS "COPE". I think it was on 87.8 FM. Also had "Radio Polskie Dwojka" with a scrolling RDS on 92.0 FM. I also read on DigitalSpy that some people had FM radio from France and North Africa. More warm weather and high pressure is forecast which is the perfect conditions. Anyway, I watched the final episode of FlashForward on Monday night (that's when I first got Norweigen radio). I think the ending was weird, same as Lost. It was good though, tbh I can't see there being a second season, just the way it ended I don't think there will be. I do hope I am wrong, any comments regarding whether there will be a season 2 of Flashforward would be great. Weather has been great recently here in England, it's been very warm today with temps above 20 C. I did go out today, with Dawn and her friend Katie, we went to a town called Saltburn, near Redcar. The beach was quite busy and a few people swimming in the North Sea. It is forecast to be hot this week. At the moment I am listening to music. I also watched the movie Hostage last night, and parts of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Tomorrow I might be going out with Dawn and her family again, this time up to Carlton Bank in North Yorkshire. It is on the North side of the N. York moors, near Chop Gate and the Bilsdale transmitting station. You get great views of Teesside, including Middlesbrough, Stockton, Billingham, Hartlepool etc, and if clear enough right up to the Penshaw Monument near Sunderland. I was up there on Monday evening, it is nice up there. That is when I first discovered the Norweigen radio stations coming in. Anyway the plan is to wake up around 9 AM, watch Jeremy Kyle on ITV 1 at 9:25 AM (finish at 10:30 AM), get dressed and Dawn is coming at 11 AM. It is perfect. Alot of people are coming with us, but luckily we have 2 cars. I will update on this tomorrow night, which is daytime in America. LOL. Subscribe if you haven't already, and don't forget to keep leaving comments, I enjoy reading them and even reply to them sometimes.`

Great Weekend! Finally Finished School!

Well, it's been a great weekend as I went to a wedding and I left school on Friday, anyway here's what happened.


Friday

Friday was my final normal day of school. It didn't finish at the normal time of 3:20 PM, instead it finished just after 2:30 PM. There was a final assembly and it was all really fun. Also the school's current headmaster, Mr Dave Youldon is retiring, he has served the school since September 1989. The school is Northfield School & Sports College if anyone is wondering. Yes, it's in Billingham. I also shaved for the first time. My Mum told me to, didn't want me looking scruffy at the wedding on Saturday. Dave showed me how to shave, it was fun, I think.

Saturday

Saturday was the wedding between my Auntie, Debbie and Nigel who I guess is now my Uncle. I have also had a letter from the dentist saying I am able to get my braces fitted on the 12th July. I don't think it will hurt but it's a scary thought. I had my breakfast, waffles and bacon with bread. I also watched Judge Judy, had a shower all of that. My Mum went to the town centre and got me a new pair of shoes, they fitted perfectly. Around 1 PM we walked over to Debbie's house, about a 2 minute walk from my house. It was quite busy in the house. The limo arrived about 20 minutes after that, it was an American Ford with left hand drive! Most of us got in that and we headed off to St Cuthberts Church on Station Road in South Billingham. The service was suppose to start at 2 PM but people were late so it started at about 2:15 PM I think it was. The service was interesting and finished at about 2:45 PM. After that we went to the after party just round the corner from the church at the Billingham Social Club on Chapel Road. It was really good. I spent most time on the stage where the DJ was, I had a look through his songs and he did have alot. We left at about 10:30 PM and came home. Me and my mum watched the end of the Eurovision song contest on BBC 1. It was hosted in Oslo, Norway. Germany won this year's contest. United Kingdom were unfortuently at the bottom, overtaken by Belarus I think. I went to bed sometime between 11 PM and 12 AM.


Sunday

Okay Sunday (today) has been quite a boring day, as all Sundays are. My Dad was working. I have spent probably most of my day expanding my music list. Last year, Ceejay sent me a DVD with music from the 1940s to the 1980s. I copied most of those tracks to my main music folder. I now have 1582 music files. I also downloaded 'Working My Way Back To You' by 'The Detroit Spinners', that's a good song, I heard it yesterday at the party, but I've also heard it before on BBC Radio Newcastle 95.4 FM. Another song I downloaded was 'Moonlight Serenade' by 'The Glenn Miller Orchestra'. An interesting piece of classical music. That's about it really, not much else happened. I'd also like to thank Adam for posting a comment on the previous blog post about fancast.com. I will definetly check that out. Also, we do get all those shows you mentioned. Speaking of that, the final episode of Flashforward is on tomorrow night at 10 PM on FIVE, it's usually on at 9 PM, Monday nights, but it's on at 10 PM tomorrow. Does anyone know if there will be a second season? I hope there is, but I am not holding my breath. I am aware that viewers have been dropping on that show. One last thing, I have made an update to the website, well okay on the front page you know those pictures to the left? Well I removed some of the old ones and put some new ones at the top. They are pictures of me standing next to the limo I travelled to the church in yesterday.

Well, that's all for now, any comments regarding Flashforward would be awesome. Thanks.

Lost Finally Finished :(

I am writing this at 7:25 AM which is 10 minutes after the final episode of Lost has finished ending the program all together. It was simulcast with the U.S. so both UK and U.S. got the program at the exact same time. I woke up at 5 AM which is when Lost started. I tuned in and before the program even started it said "Technical Fault" (channel, not satellite). I thought "great" but it did come on 3 seconds later. I don't know how they manage to simulcast from a country thousands of miles away, they must use satellites in space or something. I must say the final episode was really interesting, when it started raining I thought the island was going to flood like Locke had said he was going to! The ending was really sad when Jack died. However I did hhave a theory that everyone was going to die and I was correct. There is going to be more screenings of the final 2 episodes on SKY 1, tonight, Tuesday night and Friday night. There could be more but those are the ones I know of. My Mum still needs to watch the final episodes, but tonight FlashForward is on so she is watching it tomorrow night. Well, it's been a great show and I really enjoyed it. It's very sad to see a TV show end when you've watched it for 6 years, but there you go. One streange phenomena has occured. The first time Lost started showing in the UK I was just a few weeks away from starting at the school I am at now. Now, Lost has ended and I am just 4 days away from finshing at that school! How weird is that?

Any comments regarding your thoughts of the final episodes and the show would be good. (It was also simulcast in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Turkey and Canada).

Weekend Update

Friday

I have been feeling quite ill with a bad cough and I still was feeling ill, so I stayed off on Friday for half day. The original plan was to stay off full day but I discovered I had an exam so had to go in at 12 PM! I also discovered that all channels on our Sky Digital was displaying "no satellite signal is being received" which sucks because Lost is on on Friday nights. I arrived at school at 12:20 PM, which was when lunch began. I was just wandering around for an hour, at 1:20 PM lunch finished and I went straight over to the sportsdrome for the exam. The exam was P.E. and I must say I think I did pretty well, considering P.E. is one of my weakest subjects. The heatwave is still continuing in the UK. I had to stay at Dave's overnight so I could watch Lost on Sky 1.

Saturday

I woke up and was feeling quite hot, I had slept on top of the bed the entire night as it was too warm, we also got our highest temperature this day of 30.6 Degrees Celcius. I ust spent the day watching YouTube videos. I watched some of The Simpsons and GTA San Andreas walkthrough videos on YouTube. Dave bought some Coke, and we went to McDonalds drive thru, when we got back he let me eat in my room, the heat must be making him crazy!

Anyway I am too lazy to update, sorry. On a better note, actually on a worse note, I am on my FINAL week of school. I can't believe how quick it's come. I used to think the day would never come!

Who said the weather isn't nice in England?

Saturday 15th May - Fire behind house!

There was a fire at the back of Dave's house today, I'll write about it in a minute. I woke up at around 7:30 AM but lazed around in bed until about 8 AM, got up and switched the TV on. I watched Supernanny U.S. until I think 9:40 AM. I ate breakfast at around 10:50 AM (bacon, waffles and bread). Then I watched television some more. I watched Everybody Loves Raymond on Comedy Central and then the channel had a problem when the commercial break came on (see picture below). My Mum has now booked tickets to Al Murray's gig in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on the 30th November. If you don't know who Al Murray is, he is a British comedian. After that I got my laptop out and went online until 3:02 PM when Dave rang and said he finished work. I logged off and got my clothes and things ready. In the car going to Dave's house I listened to Skyrock and heard "Sur La Tete De Ma Mere". When I got to Dave's house I installed The Sims 3 on my Windows 7 which I have been meaning to do for ages now. It works really well. I looked out my window at 7:35 PM and noticed there was some smoke coming from the ground near the farmer's field. I told Dave and he came and looked at it then we went outside and saw a fire, it was only a small one but spreading. We didn't know if it was the farmer just burning crap or kids starting fires but it was getting big so Dawn rang the police while I ran around the back of the street and closer to where the fire was. A Cleveland Police van was there by the time I got there. A few minutes later fire engine came and managed to put it out, as it was getting big and the fence had caught on fire. The fire engine left at 7:55 PM so it was all very interesting. I have no plans for tonight but I'm listening to 97.2 Stray FM from Harrogate, I can receive it easily with that circular antenna on the roof, since it beams to the south it nulls Metro out on 97.1 MHz.

Saturday

Saturday, I woke up around 10 AM and went into Dave and Dawn's bedroom and for an hour. I came back to my room around 11 AM, made myself breakfast (bread and butter with cream crackers) and watched three new episodes of The Simpsons not shown yet in the UK. I watched them on WTSO.net. During the second episode I ate some bacon with ketchup. After that I switched Skyrock on and went in the shower for about 10-20 minutes. I heard some good music, but I listened to Skyrock until about 5 PM and heard the exact same songs every hour or so, but they are good songs anyway. I've heard "Nothing on you" by "B.O.B" 7 times today, although I bet it's been played more than that. At about 5:30 PM, me, Dave and Dawn went out and drove to North Yorkshire and drove around the N. York moors, I really enjoyed it, I went to a nice, small bar in the middle of the moors at about 7:20 PM, can't remember what it was called, The New Inn or something like that. I had chips and 4 slices of bread. I didn't finish the bread, I left 2 slices but luckily Dawn finished them. We left there at about 7:50 PM and just drove around the rest of the North Yorkshire moors, and visited some caravan sites. We actually visited a caravan site because Dawn is staying in one over there a few weeks from now and she needed to know where it was. I got some nice pictures of the moor which were taken at about 9 PM. We also passed through the village of Goathland, which is where the nostalgic 60s police drama, Heartbeat is filmed. It was a great evening. We didn't get home until just after 10 PM, I think it was about 10:10 PM. It is now 11:40 PM and I am tired so going to bed after I write this. Since I got in I have just been hanging out online and listening to Skyrock, which I will continue to listen to through the night. In a few months I might be going to Paris for a weekend with my Dad, I am really looking forward to it. Will be fun, I can visit the Eiffel Tower and everything. I think it will be during the summer holidays, although I would have left school long before then anyway. Anyway that's all guys. Btw the first photo is of the Missile Early Warning Station on the Fylingdales Moor. Click here to see a close up in Google Street View.

Friday's Update

On Friday I woke up at about 6:30 AM and listened to the radio for a while. I got up at 7:30 AM and watched the results of election day on GMTV (ITV 1), the BBC was too political. The results were still coming in. (Just so yoou know, the results were a 'hung parliament', this is where no party got the majority of 326 seats). I had my breakfast (egg with bread and butter). After that I got dressed, and went to the shop next to my house and bought a bottle of Coke and bar of Aero chocolate (yummy!). I ate my chocolate and watched VH1 for 5 minutes (the "80s at 8" was on), then me and my Mum left the house. When we got to the town centre my Mum needed to go to the cash machine but the time was almost 8:20 AM so I went to the bus stop. Bus came at about 8:25 AM and I just spent the day at school (of course). Nothing interesting happened so lets just skip the day at school. 3:20 PM my final lesson of the week finished, the lesson was English. I walked home and got changed beecause I was going out with Lewis again that night. I watched TV, and a few mins later the phone rang, I answered it and it was Dave asking if I was ready, I said yes. I was staying overnight at Dave's that night because I was going out with Lewis. When I got to Dave's I went in the shower for a few minutes, came out, got dressed again and had tea. I think it was about 5 PM at this point. I listened to Skyrock both in the shower and in the kitchen while eating. I went back upstairs and just hung out online for a while. I set the VCR up to record my TV programmes while I was out. I recorded The Simpsons from 7 until 8 PM and again at 8:30 PM until 9 PM. Then I recorded a new episode of Lost from 9 PM until 10 PM. I went out with Lewis to the Wynyard Planetarium (I don't know why it's called the Wynyard Planetarium when it's actually miles out of Wynyard village. The show we watched was called "Wonders of the Universe". It shows us what was in our own galaxy (Milky Way) and the other galaxies. The show started at 7:30 PM and was on until 9PM. It actually finished at 9:15 PM. We left there and as we went home the taxi broke down in Billingham. Just outside Bonnington Crescent. The driver had to call for another tazi to come pick us up. So I got home at about 9:20 PM. I switched my laptop on when I got home and got a call from my Mum asking if I was watching Lost, I said I wasn't because I missed half of it but I was recording it anyway. I stopped recording at 10 PM, rewand the tape and watched it. The Simpsons and Lost at 11 PM. Fast forwarding through the commercials of course. After that I think I sent an email, switched Classic FM on and went to bed. So it was quite a good day I guess. Damn I can't believe I'm leaing school in a couple of weeks, I don't know whether to be happy or sad.

Thursday

I woke up at about 4:00 AM and went back to sleep. I then re-woke at 7 AM and went downstairs and switched on the TV. I watched GMTV on ITV 1 and ate breakfast, I had Coco Pops, that's cereal. I went back upstairs and got dressed at about 7:35 AM. I left the house just after 8:10 AM and walked over to the bus stop at Billingham town centre. When the bus came I realised I left my bus fare in the house so I had to walk to school but still managed to make it on time without being late. When I got to school I had a drink and then a few mins later went to tutor group. These were my lessons today:

#1 (9:20 am - 10:10 am) - Business Communications - We did an exam paper as practice for the real exam next week.
#2 (10:10 am - 11:05 am) - Geography - Managing resources, tourism in an LEDC, etc
#3 (11:25 am - 12:20 pm) - Geography - Same as above
#4 (1:20 pm - 2:20 pm) - P.E. Theory - Revision/Studying for the exam
#5 (2:20 pm - 3:20 pm) - Science - Space, the universe and telescopes

I walked home in the rain after school and got in at exactly 3:45 PM. I got changed to go to the Main Project, I had tea, chicken and yorkshire puddings, finished off my chocolates and then watched some T.V. Dave rang a few mins later and said he was coming to get me to take me to the MP. In the car going there I used my iPhone and mini FM transmitter to listen to Skyrock and heard my favourite French song, which is Sur La Tete De Ma Mere by L'Algerino (translation: on the head of my mother). I was at the MP until 5:50 PM and then got the mini bus home. I photographed 2 posters, one for the social group rules and one for managing anger, I thought it would be interesting so I just got my iPhone out and photographed them. I came home and watched The Simpsons at 7-8 PM and Futurama from 8-8:30 PM. I am now listening to Classic FM and about to go home. So here's the photos:

Tuesday - Severe Traffic on A19

Hi guys, this is Tuesday's update. I woke up at around 5 AM and listened to the radio for a bit before falling back asleep and my Mum woke me at 7 AM. I ate my breakfast (coco pops cereal), then went back to bed, just to rest as I was still tired. I got dressed at 7:45 AM and left the house at 8:10 AM. I went to the shop next door, bought my drink of Coke and headed off to the bus stops at the town centre. The bus came at about 8:25 AM so I got on that and went to school. Summer uniform has started so we can now wear school t-shirts with our black jumpers on but we can remove them if it is a hot day. I arrived at the school and just hung around until 8:50 AM when the bell went for everyone to go to their tutor groups. At 9:10 AM the bell went for first lessonn, which for me was P.E. theory. Probably one of the most boring lessons for me. I started to feel sick and had to put my head on the desk. I did survive until the end of the lesson at 10:10 AM, I think the room was too hot. I went outside and quickly drank some Coke and headed off to lesson #2 (Science). I began to feel sick in that too so had to put my head on the desk again but it soon passed. I sit next to my cousin in Science and P.E. theory anyway. I managed to get my work complete and break time came at 11:05 AM. I just ran around outside. Lesson 3 starts right after break at 11:25 AM. Uusally I would have guidance but instead we were in the hall and someone from the Cleveland Fire Brigade was there giving us a presentation about car crashes. He showed us alot of videos, I think they were like TV commercials. Some were quite upsetting as they showed idiot drivers crashing cars and people being killed. After that it was lunch (12:20 PM). Period 4 (1:20 PM) and 5 (2:20 PM) were not very interesting. It was History and French. School finished at 3:20 PM. Uusally I would have Geography revision class but that has finished now. So I walked home and got in at 3:55 PM. I got my chocolate cake out the fridge and switched the TV on, 2 minutes later the phone starts ringing and it's Dave saying I need to get changed for the Main Project in Ingleby Barwick. Btw that is a social group I go to every Tuesday and Thursday after school. Thursday is in Stockton, not Ingleby. I quickly got changed and ate my chocolate cake. Dave came and we left. We got onto Station Rd, Billingham but there was a train coming so the gates were shut, we went the other way and got onto the A19. However as soon as we got on there we noticed traffic was very heavy, of course it was too late to turn back then. This was good for me of course as I dislike the Main Project. I was loving it and kept saying "HAHA this is a miracle" and "this is just like the M1 or the M25!". We were sat in the car on the A19 for about 15-20 minutes, I tuned into my local radio station, 96.6TFM and heard the traffic report. Two vehicles had collided and the A19 had to be closed (noticed how I mentioned the presentation in lesson #3?). I got a video of all the traffic. The radio recommended people to divert through Stockton which is exactly what we did. Of course since many people were doing that we got into Stockton and yet more traffic. Dave got sick of it and said "right that's it!". Then he turned the car round and I said "what are you doing" and he said "going home". So we went home, but avoided the A19 for obvious reasons! Instead we went through Norton village and got back into Billingham. Then we arrived home and I just hung out online, had tea, watched The Simpsons at 6. Now I am listening to Thessaloniki's 93.1 Heart FM and talking to people on MSN. Anyway that's it for now, bye guys!

Weekend Update

Hey guys, sorry for not updating in a while, I know, I know I am lazy. Today I woke up at around 9:30 AM and went downstairs, checked email etc and watched TV. My Mum was already up and had the BBC breakfast show on, but when she left I turned on Sky and watched an 80s show on VH1 until about 11 AM, when I switched over to True Entertainment and watched the first episode of "Roots", about the African's who became slaves. I ate breakfast sometime between 11-12 and had waffles, bacon, bread and fried egg, which was awesome. I love Saturday morning breakfasts. I just went on the lappy for a good few hours after Roots finished (12). I went to Dave's at about 2 PM, but before that we went to the Billingham Recycle Centre and got rid of some crap. I hung out online for a bit. 9 year old Libby was round (Dawn's niece). A few minutes later me and Dawn went to pick up Dawn's Mum, Lisa (Part of Dawn's family) and Olivia (Lisa's daughter). Them three were all cramped in the back seat but didn't affect me in the front lol. We drove back home and Dawn's Mum and Dave did some gardening, putting new plants in at the back of the garden, while they did that I mowed the lawn. Got that done then watched Lost for a bit. It was season 1 on DVD. Half way through me and Dave went out and I got a McDonalds. I ate that and hang out online, at 8 PM me and Dave went out to the bar and I got a Coke. Dave went on the karaoke and sung "Drive" by "The Cars". I got it on video. I got kicked out of the pub at about 21:30 so we went home then and I have just been watching music channels and on the Internet since then. I have also been watching South Park on MTV Shows. That's all for now.

Tuesday

I woke up at 7 AM, had breakfast, watched a bit of the news (GMTV), got dressed and went to school, I had the following lessons: P.E. (Theory), Science, Guidance, History and French. Our Science teacher is currently stuck in a foreign country because of all the flight cancellations. I stayed back after school for an hour (Geography revision). Then I went home, Dave picked me up in the car, he arrived just a second after I left the school. I went home, had my tea and went to the Main Project over in Ingleby Barwick. I arrived home at 7 PM and just hung out on 1Radio. Until now (21:21) when I am updating the blog.

Weekend & Monday - Back To School

Saturday

I woke up, had breakfast (waffles with bacon and bread and egg). I watched Frasier, Eeverybody Loves Raymond, The Simpsons. Then me, Dave and Dawn went over to Middlesbrough to get a new license plate for the car. We got that, came home and drilled it onto the car. I hang out online for most of the day, and watched a new episode of The Simpsons on WTSO.NET

Sunday

I woke up, went online, ate crisps and a chocolate muffin, we went to Chester-le-Street, and had sunday lunch in a bar. I enjoyed it very much. After that we went to the Pontop Pike TV/Radio transmitter. I took some photos of it. Dave and Dawn went into a greenhouse nearby and bought some plants for the garden. When we got home I used the hose pipe to water them. The I hung out online for the rest of the day.

Monday

I woke up, had breakfast, got dressed and went to school, came home, watched the previous episode of Flashforward and hung out on 1Radio.

Friday - Trip to Derbyshire

I woke up at 6AM, got in the shower (it was cold) and updated the blog for yesterday's events. After that I put a few episodes of The Simpsons on. Dave and Dawn got up at 8AM. I got dressed at 8:15 AM. Had breakfast at about 8:30 AM and we left just after 9AM for the Heights of Abraham, Matlock Bath, Derbyshire. We went through Yorkshire. The drive was 2 hours but we got there eventually. Dave drove there but Dawn drove coming back. Matlock Bath is a nice picturesque village in Derbyshire. We had some food, I had a plate of fries with burger (chip butty in other words). Seriously that's all I have ate all week, I am sick of them. Not to worry, I return to school on Monday. I also had a can of Coke. After that we looked around some shops, Dave got some money out of an ATM machine and headed over to the other side of the village and me, Dave and Dawn got on a cable car to take us up to the top of the hill. You get great views of the entire village and Matlock town. I would have video recorded going up on the cable car but my iPhone battery was low, I had it plugged in in the car but for some reason it wouldn't charge. Anyway there was also some French tourists at the top of the hill. It was quite interesting. After that we were going to go explore the caves but didn't have time. Dawn took the cable car back down to the village but me and Dave walked down. That was very tiring. We headed back to the car, at this point it was about 2/2:30 PM, about that. Dawn drove back, but when we got into Yorkshire, Dawn made a stupid mistake. Instead of continuing on the M1 "THE NORTH", she went onto the M621 which took us to Leeds! Dave was sleeping in the back of the car so I woke him up. The whole incident was quite funny. Not alot of traffic going into the city centre though. Dave started to give Dawn directions to get out of Leeds and back onto the M1. She made another wrong turn (back to the city centre) so we had to pull up and Dave took over the driving. He managed to get us back onto the M1, the rest of the car journey was good. I listened to a good show on Radio 1 on the way back. But when we got near Thirsk (North Yorkshire town), Dave accidentally ran over a pheasant! The problem with these animals is they have tunnel vision so they can only see in front of them, not to the sides. Poor thing probably died instantly. I was sitting back eating some candy, but I did feel the bump, scared the crap out of me!!! Not only did it kill the animal, the license plate on the car also fell off with it! We had to drive 25-30 miles back to Billingham without a front license plate, it's a good thing we didn't get pulled up by the police. We didn't know it fell off after we hit it though. There was a birthday party of one of Dawn's relatives so we dropped a present off at the restaurant near Wolviston services. Was quite warm when we got back to Billingham. Pretty much all of Dawn's family was there at the party. Anyway we dropped the present off and when we came out we inspected the damage, that's when we discovered there was no license plate! All we could do is laugh. We drove home illegally and I managed to get a picture of the car without the plate, I have posted it at the end of this blog post. Not to worry though, Dave is getting a new license plate tomorrow. Hopefully. I stayed at Dave's for a while, I went home at about 6 PM, but had to go home in Dawn's car. I was quite tired when I got home after everything that went on today. I didn't even finish my tea, I was too full and just not feeling good. I watched Lost at 10 PM and now it is 22:42, I am updating this and listening to music. My Mum is currently doing the same in the living room, only difference is I am using earphones, she is blasting her music out of the stereo, it's a terraced house too, hope it doesn't wake the neighbours. It's rude to play music loud at this time of night. Anyway, next update is tomorrow. Awwww back to school soon. CRAP.

Friday Morning - Update for Yesterday

Well, it's currently 6:20 AM on Friday morning as I wirte this. I have just showered as I am going to Derbyshire today. I didn't update last night so I will do the update now. I woke up and saw Dawn and Libby (Dawn's niece) was here. I got dressed straight away because they were going out. When they left I played GTA IV until about 1:30 PM. Then Dawn came back in my Dad's car. I got in and saw Libby and Janice (Libby's Mum) sitting in the back. Dawn came out and we went to Seaton Carew (Hartlepool). I DX'd in the car and got some long distance radio stations from the East Midlands (thats where I'm going today). I got a chip butty and ate that in the car, after that Dawn took us home. Then she got her car out and drove it to the MOT garage. I played more GTA IV until that got boring at around 4PM. I just hung out online for most of the night, I did get in the shower. Me and Darryl agreed not to speak to each other for 2 years, I agree with that and think it's best. I watched The Simpsons around 12 AM on DVD and when that finished at 12:20 AM I headed off to bed. Oh and I was Skype with Ceejay and Timmy for a few hours. Anyway it's 6:26 AM now, I had a shower, but it was a bit cold. Then I logged in to write this. Well that's all for now.

Fun Wednesday!

Well I had a great night. This morning I woke up a bit later than usual, I think it was about 9:30 AM. So I missed a bit of Jeremy Kyle, but not much. I listened to music at 10:30 AM, got dressed and got out the house at 12 PM. I went to the town, got my chip butty, came home and ate it. I watchd South Park while eating this time. I went back to the town centre after my lunch at about 12:55 PM and was there until 1:30 PM I think. I walked home with my cousins who I bumped into at the town. My house and their house is only a short walk anyway. But it was quite chilly today, otherwise I would have stayed at the town until 3PM. Anyway when I got home I logged onto the computer and just messed around online, chatted to some people, listened to Skyrock, etc etc. I went to Dave's at 4 PM and had a visitor round the house at 4:30 PM. It was a woman from one of the support services, I don't know, I spoke to her once before when she came to the house. Anyway she didn't stay long, left at about 5 PM. I got in the shower after she left, washed my hair, brushed my teeth (yes, in the shower LOL). I got out, got dressed and just messed around online until 6PM, I then watched The Simpsons on Channel 4 (Wild Barts Can't Be Broken). My friend from the Children's Society, Lewis came at about 6:25 PM so I greeted him downstairs and watched the final bit of The Simpsons downstairs while waiting for the taxi. The taxi came at 6:35 PM and took us to the Teesside Retail Park in Stockton. First thing we did was go to Burger King. I had fries and a plain hamburger with a Coke. I can't remember what he got. I enjoyed that, we left there at 7:30 PM and headed over to the cinema and watched Clash of the Titans which started at 8:00 PM and finished at 9:25 PM. After that finished we headed over to the bowling alley for a Coke while waiting for the taxi to take us home. I had alot of fun. It was great seeing some of the names people had put into their screens (Test Tickle, Iva Bigun, etc lol). We left the bowling alley at 9:55 PM and the taxt arrived to take us home. I got home for 10:10 PM and now I am just working on a site update to the about me page which should be released in a few minutes. Anyway it's 23:55 right now so I just wanted to get this posted before 12 AM. I had a great night and look forward to the next activity me and Lewis do. I think we are going to the Wynyard Planetarium next. I will keep you all updated on that, now I have to finish the site update. Forgot to mention, I have scrapped the Spanish version and will just keep the French version. Also can you please leave comments on the blog so I know people are actually reading this? Thanks.