I hate Christmas

.....and every year I hate it that little bit more.

There are lots of reasons I hate Christmas but, surprisingly, religion isn't one of them.  If it were still a religious holiday it would be as easy as not going to church on a Sunday morning to avoid.

People change at Christmas and I don’t like that.  I’m a miserable git, I know, I’m told often enough. So to be told for four weeks at the end of the year to “cheer up, it’s Christmas” is going to make me do anything but cheer up.

The tacky decorations come out, not just at home but in the office as well.  People often go overboard turning their houses into a makeshift grotto.  Adults turn into kids with their so many ‘sleeps ‘til Christmas’.  Stop saying that...you’re not six!

This is also an excuse to wind down.  I know the schools do. Half of November and December is taken up with rehearsing for the school play.  What about my kids’ education?  Try taking them out of school for a family holiday and you risk getting a fine.

For my kids’ sake, I've tried to change.  I put on a mask every Christmas morning and pretend to be all happy but inside, I want the day to be over.

The mess is unreal.  I go from child to child picking up the wrapping paper as it hits the floor but I’m fighting a losing battle.  This is more practicality than OCD. It’s only a small room that has to fit 4 kids and (usually) 8 sacks of presents.  I would like to see the floor occasionally.

Then there’s the battle of getting toys thrown at you from all sides ‘cos they need batteries.  Each one more of a priority than the last.  At least this gives me an excuse to go to a different room to do the ‘technical’ bits.  Getting the toys out of the boxes these days is a challenge in itself.  Gone of the days of just using ties, now they’re screwed in!

Kids get greedy at Christmas.  Every single advert for toys on the telly and there’s the whisper of ‘I want that’, ‘I want that’.  How disappointed must my little kids be when they only get two sacks full of presents.  The older ones aren't too bad.  They don’t want toys anymore, they want concert tickets or shows in London which brings their own logistical challenges.

And of course, all this needs paying for.  In the current economical climate, this won’t be easy.  I’m sure I’m still paying off Christmas from years ago.

They don’t just get greedy, they get hyper and over-excitable.  And this is before the countless number of selection boxes are handed out.  After the sugar rush kicks in, it’s hard to get them down from the ceiling to get them to bed.

The television is awful.  Most of the decent stuff is put on hold until January and we’re left with the usual films and programmes dusted off from years gone by just to fill the slots.

You can’t even put the radio on ‘cos the same half dozen songs are played over and over again no matter what station you tune into.

The only saving grace is the multiple versions of “A Christmas Carol” but even this is ruined by the sickly sweet ending.  I must remember to start switching this off half way through.

Nah, you can stick Christmas where the sun doesn't shine. Roll on January when the deccies go away and people return to normal.

If I must wish you all a Merry Christmas so be it,  but don’t expect me to smile about it.

Unsung heroes of television

Twenty years after the first showing of 'The X-Files' on television, it is still talked about by fans and critics alike.

Ending in 2002 after 9 seasons, it is still regarded, in my opinion at least, as one of the all time classic TV programmes.

The fact it is still talked about by non-fans, usually in a negative light ("It was too slow", "It was boring" "I hate sci-fi") just emphasises the point it has ingrained itself into people's consciousness and there is no getting away from it.

Like it or loath it, there is no doubt about it, some of the best programmes to be aired post-The X-Files era should be credited to the backroom staff.

Breaking Bad - Created by Vince Gilligan who also wrote, produced and directed the show. With John Shiban (Consulting producer) and Michelle MacLaren (Producer and Director).

24 - Written and produced by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa. Howard Gordon will also be Executive Producer of 24: Live Another Day (to be released in 2014).

Homeland - Again, written and produced by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa.

American Horror Story - Written and produced by James Wong

It also deserves a mention that Glen Morgan and James Wong made it to the big screen with the cult horror franchise Final Destination.  Final Destination written by Morgan and Wong with Morgan as producer and directed by Wong.  Final Destination 3 written and produced by both Morgan and Wong with Wong again as director.

I'm sure there are other programmes that wouldn't be on our screens without the input of the former X-Files staff but these are the ones I consider / considered compulsive viewing.

To all those mentioned above, I thank you.

And remember folks, "The Truth Is Out There"....



Source: IMDB

Small world

People often say "It's a small world" but that is a huge understatement.

I came across this gif which shows just how insignificant we are....

How the (potential) mighty have fallen

He could have been a Liverpool legend. Instead Michael Owen went to Real Madrid under a cloud to win things. He won nothing.

He had the chance to redeem himself (slightly) and return to Anfield. Not happy being 3rd or 4th choice striker, he opted for Newcastle where he would have been first choice. Clearly he targeted an England recall. Always the man who put the National team over club football. Injury stopped that in it's tracks.

He really put the (football) boot in when he signed for Liverpool's most bitter rivals, Man Utd (Scum).

And just when you think he couldn't sink any lower, he's now writing for The S*n!

Spitting on the memory of the 96.

Michael Owen, you really are a vile little man. I hope you and Kelvin will be happy sharing stories together.

Edit : So it turns out, like many Liverpool fans, I may have been a bit hasty in jumping on the bandwagon in relation with my comments linking Michael Owen to The S*n.

For that, I apologies.  

I stand by the rest of this post though.  As far as I'm concerned, he will never be welcomed back to Anfield. His ties with the Scum (Man Utd NOT the rag) have burnt all his bridges with the Club and the fans 

Our Volunteer Day

On 25^th April 2013, Staff from United Biscuits and Jacob’s in Liverpool were invited to a ‘Team Volunteer Day’ with FareShare who are based in Hunts Cross, Merseyside.

Why us?

United Biscuits (UB) is a manufacturer of biscuits, savoury baked bagged snacks, biscuits for cheese and cakes through their Companies McVitie’s, Jacob’s & Carr's and are a founder supporter of the FareShare organisation.

UB pays FareShare £5,000 a year in support but due to the long shelf life of their products do not give them a lot of product, unless there is an exceptional situation where they have produced something that they could not sell but which is still absolutely safe.

Keen to build upon this relationship, they invited us to go along, help out and see first hand the work they do.

www.unitedbiscuits.com

Who are FareShare?

To quote from their official Twitter page @FareShareUK “UK charity fighting hunger and food waste by rescuing surplus food and getting it to people in need.”

Volunteers go out in vehicles packed with crates of food and deliver to women's refuges, homeless shelters and other similar organisations in the city.  

Their Merseyside branch can be found at @faresharemersey

For more information and details on how to Volunteer or Donate visit their website www.fareshare.org.uk/

Our Day

After introductions, inductions and a tour of the depot, it was down to work.  Two of our team jumped onto the van to help the driver with the deliveries.  The four of us who remained in the depot got down to sorting out the boxes of food donated by Manufacturers, Supermarkets and the general public courtesy of food-drives.

The majority of the stock comes in on pallets but, as we found out, there are also huge cardboard boxes filled with anything that a Supermarket may stock.

It was one of our tasks to sort through 2 of these boxes, putting similar items in crates by weight and documenting how many crates we’d sorted.  Each item had to be checked for damages such as ripped packets or dented tins and also by Sell By or Best Before dates.  Later, the number of crates we had filled would be inputted onto a database to make picking for the next days deliveries easier. 

It was a dirty (and sometimes sticky) job but somebody had to do it and well, that’s what we were there for. 

On a break with other volunteers

There were a number of other volunteers there, whether they wanted to be or not! We learnt some of these may actually have been carrying out community service.

Whatever their reasons for being there, they all worked very hard and worked well as a team.  They got the job done without any complaints.  Credit deservedly goes to them.

It was certainly a day of mixed emotions.  Shock at realising just how many organisations rely on charities such as FareShare.  Disbelief at realising only 1% of surplus stock goes to the likes of FareShare but overall satisfaction at knowing we did our bit to help out even if it was for only one day.

And Finally...

A short poem pinned up on the toilet wall...

Random Act of Kindness

I'm following an account on Twitter called "Capital of Kindness" and it has inspired me to write about an incident that happened to me.
It must have had a big impact as it happened almost 30 years ago when I was just 12 years old and I've never forgotten it.

In March 1984 Liverpool played Everton at Maine Road (the then home of Manchester City F.C.) in the Milk Cup Final Replay.  This was to be the first football match I'd ever been to so obviously was very excited.  I left Liverpool Lime Street on the Football Special with my 14 year old brother.  The proviso of us going to Manchester at such a young age was we were meeting our 19 year old brother who had travelled in the opposite direction from Sheffield.

The match ended in a 1 nil victory for the Reds so we were in good spirits as the 3 of us left the ground.  After taking us to the coach park, our elder brother left us as he had his own coach to catch.
What we witnessed then, I have never witnessed since.  Every coach we could see had all their windows smashed as fans, I'm guessing from both sides, climbed through in order not to be left behind.  Whether these coaches were heading to the train station or direct back to Liverpool, we weren't sure.  What we were sure about was that there was no way we were going to get on one of these coaches even if there was room.  It was pure chaos.

That's where this story really begins.  We started out on foot looking for the train station.  As we were in a strange city we started to follow other groups of supporters and really, hoped for the best.
After walking for what seemed like miles, we realised there were no fans in front of us and we were alone and lost.  For whatever reason, we made the decision to turn around and walk back the way we came.
Walking past some waste ground there was a group of lads who shouted at us to get out of the way.  As we ran they started throwing stones at one of the football coaches passing by.  It was at that point we realised we were in a hostile place.  Luckily they hadn't spotted my rolled up souvenir flag which was now shoved up the sleeve of my coat.  Our coats fastened all the way up to hide our scarves, we carried on walking.

By now it was getting late, probably around 11:00 pm but the road was very busy.  Still unsure of where we were going or how long it would take to get there, we flagged down a taxi purely to ask for directions.  We had no money, no phone (mobiles in 1984?) and running out of hope.  Random Act of Kindness (1) - knowing we had no money, the driver told us to get in and he would take us part of the way.  After he dropped us off and told us where to go, we gave our thanks and headed, now, in the right direction.

Not long after, another taxi stopped and asked us if we were going for the Football Special.  How he knew, we don't know.  Maybe by now I was carrying my flag again and he spotted it.  We said we were and - Random Act of Kindness (2) - he told us to get in as we would never make it in time.  Again we made it clear we had no money but it didn't matter.  We were soon at the train station.

Even standing in the queue we weren't sure if we would get on.  Rumours were going around that this was going to be the last Special and we were at the back of a very very long queue.  Not only did we get on but we had seats as well.  Not like the outbound train were we had to sit on the floor.

The train was due to finish it's run at Lime Street but made, if I remember this correctly, an unscheduled stop at Edge Hill.  As we only lived a 2 minute walk away we got off.  To our surprise there were our parents waiting for us.  I'm not sure how they knew the train was stopping off at Edge Hill, we were just glad they did.

There was talk of our mum writing to the local Manchester Newspapers to thank the two taxi drivers, like people often do in the Liverpool Echo.  Whether she did or not, I don't know.  I hope so.

This proves that although Liverpool to us is "Capital of Kindness", kindness can be found everywhere...and it's free.

Remember - It's boss to be kind!

Follow me on Twitter - @Degsy1013 but more importantly follow @RAKLPOOL and spread a bit of kindness.

Anyone out there?

Trying to explain to an 11 year old there has to be life on other planets is no easy task especially when she doesn't understand the logic.

Of course I can't prove there is but you'd have to be pretty naive not to believe it.

I'm no expert in space or astronomy but my understanding about life on Earth is down to proximity from the Sun.  At least that's one of the reasons.  Too close and the planet is too hot, too far away and it's too cold. It has to be in 'the Goldilocks Zone'...it has to be just right!

This year scientists are hoping to find 700,000 new galaxies to add to the billions already out there in the universe.

Our own galaxy, The Milky Way, has the potential to contain billions of Solar Systems. Only a few hundred have been discovered so far as it is difficult to spot a planet in the glare of its sun. 

Just taking into account The Milky Way, the probability of a planet having the right criteria to sustain life has to be quite high.

Multiply that by the number of galaxies, solar systems and countless number of planets, that probability (in my opinion) becomes inevitable.


Footnote: Just because I believe in life on other planets doesn't mean I believe in UFO's...except in the literal sense - Flying objects that are unidentified! Aeroplanes, light and  atmospheric anomalies are just some of the causes. Little green men?*...Nah! 

(*Possibly grey depending on what YOU believe in ;-) )

You can also view this on my YouTube page.