Monday 12 April 2010

The last few days!

Well up to the weekend I hadn't really done much. Partly been working and partly at Beaver Scout Sleepover, which was more tiring than I expected. Note to self "Don't sleep near the water heater!". No Everton or Weymouth news to speak of, except Weymouth lost again. Scarily reminds me of Poole Town a few years back. Caught up with "Doctor Who", but miffed that no "Heroes" due to some badly dressed men hitting a tiny little ball around a series of fields, not fair I say. That's about it, oh I have a abscess in my right cheek, I apparently look like a lop-sided hamster, just the look I was going for... Not. Bye for now...

Friday 2 April 2010

What to write?...

Not a lot to say, not done much as been mostly working, although we did spend a ludicrous obscene amount of money in the supermarket on payday. Poor result for Everton last weekend and Weymouth's Financial worries took a rare turn for the better and they managed a draw. Not been out and not seen much TV or news lately either. I'm sure I'll have something to say soon though.

Friday 26 March 2010

Got off my butt, kick ass!


Got bored, so me and trusty Cineworld card went for a walk. I went and watched the latest graphic-novel conversion. I say conversion but I believe it spawned a comic at the conception of the movie. The movie I watched was "Kick-Ass" and it lived up to its name. Very funny in places, Aaron Johnson reminds me of a young Cillian Murphy and acts his part well. He's a competent young British actor who recently played a young John Lennon in "Nowhere Boy". Nicolas Cage's role is deliberately understated, and the young actress who played his daughter, Chloe Moretz is a future star. The action in the film is well paced and the relationships are believable. I will be watching this one again and will be joining my DVD collection in the future. I really enjoyed this one, as did the rest of the audience. Definitely not for everyone as quite violent at times but well worth a watch for fans of the graphic-novel genre. Not sure though if Nikki would like it, but she might!

Friday 19 March 2010

What's new!

Not a lot, very, very skint, so not a lot. Doing a little research on my Mothers partners family tree as a little stuck on mine. Not making huge progress, but some.
It's my long weekend this weekend so gonna be busy most of weekend. I've moved the computer into the lounge as requested. Nikki's not happy with the sofa's but not much room to do much else.
Right I better get ready for work!

Tuesday 16 March 2010

My first rant! Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO's)...

My first proper rant(ish) about something I have first hand experience of. There has been a lot of talk in the local rag (Dorset Echo) about Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO's) and for want of a better word "dodgy" landlords. This is personal to me as I suspect my previous landlord to come into this category. The main focus of the talk is in the infamous Park District of Weymouth, but I can tell it's not exclusive to this area or even Weymouth. The problem is caused initially by the fact the residents of Weymouth on average are not well off, with an average wage reported to be in the region of £17,000 and well below the national average. Once upon a time you were only able to borrow for a mortgage 2½ the annual wage of the loanee. This would mean the average person could only borrow £42,500. Now they offer up to at least 6 times the annual wage which is insane, but thats another rant I think. £42,500! What would that buy you around here? Answer, absolutely nothing. Well you may be able to buy a beach chalet, or a static caravan and both completely useless. Even if you have two people contributing you'd still only manage £85,000. Again what would get? Not a lot. Now it's my opinion it wasn't always this bad. What went wrong? Greed, pure and simply greed. Who's fed this problem? Estate agents pushing up and inflating prices, second home buyers taking homes away from the locals bringing the available housing stock down and the buy to let market taking perfectly good family sized homes and splitting them up into flats. This brings about the massive problem of the HMO issue. Landlords taking advantage of the poor working class and those on benefits who can't afford to do anything else. What's my problem with all this? Rents are reasonably low because of the large amount of flats and HMO's , so thats not it. My problem is that some landlords are breaking the law in what they are doing. To have a HMO you have to be licensed to do so. Failure to do so could result in I believe a fine of up to £20,000 and/or 6 months in prison. Also certain building regulations should be met and should have fire safety checks done. I also believe deposits should be protected in someway and all rent payments should be recorded in someway with a copy held by both landlord and tenant. My previous address never existed as an actual address when calling call centres to change my address for bank details, TV license etc, I would have repeated problems registering the new address. This was what first alerted me to the fact that something wasn't quite right. My landlord also at time of signing the contract (At least I can say he did that bit right) said that ALL bills were inclusive, including council tax (The next thing that raised my suspicions) with the exception of the a TV licence. The chances are that he wasn't paying council tax on the building, except probably his own and he may well owe the council thousands, this too has a hefty penalty. My next suspicion was the lack of working smoke/fire alarms and in date fire extinguishers which tells me they probably haven't been checked since it was a guest house. Lastly if the building doesn't officially exist as a HMO or flats then he's probably not paying tax on his earnings from the rent acquired from the building. Again the Inland Revenue take that sort of thing quite seriously. But what makes me laugh is that as far as I can tell and for what the councils talk is worth. They have not taken a single landlord to court for anything.
So in reflection, come on Weymouth & Portland Borough Council start showing your teeth and sort this mess out. I was definitely not alone in the problems I had with dodgy landlords. On our own we can't do much, but you're the council, grow some balls, stop talking about it and DO SOMETHING!!!

P.S. I have passed on my concerns about my previous landlord to WPBC and I'm awaiting feedback... If I get any that is!

Monday 15 March 2010

Happy Birthday!!!

Quick message to say happy birthday to my friends and colleagues Maria Gibbs, Rob Jones and Claire Black. Have a good one...

Sunday 14 March 2010

Happy Mothers Day

First of all happy Mothers Day Mum. You don't actually follow my blog but I'm saying it anyway.
I am really knackered, my Mum and Nan's popping around in a bit. Also a friend will be popping around also. Nikki and I will be having an early night tonight I think, cuddles on sofa with a DVD and popcorn, sounds like a good idea. I've got a split shift tomorrow with a birthday lunch for a colleague at work in between. So busy, busy, busy!!!

Saturday 13 March 2010

My day!

I lounged around today, worked a little on the family tree and watched old school Doctor Who. I couldn't be arsed to do much else. This afternoon though was the opposite. Flipped bedroom around, much more space now. Vacuumed, done some washing, tidied and done washing up. Also made time to watch the rugby, although I wish I hadn't. Of course being part Scottish I couldn't really lose. Of course Weymouth managed to do, again! To cap it off, Everton threw away a 2 goal lead to only draw with Birmingham City. Not good for my teams but at least I'll be in Nikki's good books. So not all bad!

Friday 12 March 2010

Near weekend off...

What to do this weekend. Not a clue, barring a few chores which I'm sure will need doing. I could pull my finger out and start working on my NVQ. The problem is I've allowed myself to get miles behind. I have no inclination to do anything to it, I am pathetic when it comes to that sort of thing. I have the knowledge thats not a problem, I may be many things and I'm sure I've been called many things, but I'm not thick. My problem is I'm terrible at transferring it to the written form. I'm so far behind that i'm probably gonna getting a telling off for it. I wish there was some way of getting myself to do it. Another problem is that it's dull, seriously dull. I can't understand my colleagues that even find it slightly interesting and throw themselves into it. I'm not alone on this one. but the sad thing is I have to do it. But I can't believe how much I don't. So do I start doing it or do I pull out? I stand a better chance of promotion in the future if I do it. But I need more than that, maybe I need someone standing over me making me do it. Would Nikki stand over me making sure I do it? She's already done her NVQ so maybe she would, I'll ask. Are there any distractions this weekend? Hope so!!

Thursday 11 March 2010

What's what!...


What's what? Am I happy? Am I in love? What does the future hold?
First of all I'm laying in bed writing this thinking about where I am with life. I would love to not have to worry about money. Nikki often tells me to not worry but is really difficult sometimes. I know it could be worse, so I shouldn't.
I am happy, I am in love, it genuinely is a wonderful feeling. We are very different in some ways but it really works for us.
The future, things are getting quite exciting at the moment, don't want to say much yet but I am very excited about it. So all in all, what's what? it's good, that's what!

Monday 8 March 2010

Yummy!

I must say Nikki has astounded me with her culinary skills today. I already knew she could cook, thats not it. She made a lovely chicken soup from scratch for lunch and an amazing chicken, leek and sweetcorn pie for dinner. Very very nice, good-times!

The last week or so...

Been working a few extra hours, trying to get a head a little in the bank. Fed up of struggling to get to the next pay day. I get a lay in tomorrow, not had many the last week or so. Had a busy and a little stressful at times weekend. Managed to get floored by a child nearly a third of my size, I would be impressed if it didn't hurt so much.
On a lighter note, what a fantastic result for Everton yesterday. 5-1 and Arteta got a brace, nice! Europe still possible but Villa have a couple of games in hand. I can still dream though.
Made some interesting finds in my family tree research. Found someone who appears to be my third cousin. She is also my cousin's daughters key worker at nursery. She is Also my cousin's third cousin. Neither aware they were related. It's a small world after all (Sorry Disney but I just borrowed that one!).
Not much else to say for now.

Friday 5 March 2010

Forgot to post, sorry!

Forgot to post for over a week, not used to this. So since the last post (last Tuesday) I have made numerous frustrating phone calls to Dorset County Council. This is because of their useless new computer system for paying wages. Which is in use but not ready and staff not trained properly. Because of this they have managed not once, but twice to mess the same wages period up, I was not amused but it is finally sorted... I hope!
On a happier note my brother came around for dinner last night. It was great to see him and we had southern fried chicken, good times!
Not much else to say, a few things in the news I would like to comment on put probably won't.
Weymouth FC are still struggling, debts running a muck and all that. Fingers crossed that Everton can work their way up to 5th, big ask but would be nice. Not gonna get my hopes up though, it will only disappoint me.
Of to work this afternoon, with a double shift tomorrow. Eek but need the money, worth it in the end. Nikki wants a 2012 wedding and 2012 she shall have. Just need to save for it.

Thursday 25 February 2010

Since Tuesday...

Since Tuesday what have I done, to be honest I've done very little and I've taken rest days. I do have a few things to do but i'm not back to work until Friday late. It's my long weekend and i'm likely to be quite busy. Of course it's pay day tomorrow and it couldn't come any sooner. Money has been really tight this month. It's a blip and it will improve. Ok, better get up and do something I guess...

Tuesday 23 February 2010

Weymouth 1 vs 1 Braintree Town


Hmmmm... What can I say, I went to the match with Nikki's father. First time we'd been to a game for while. I went tonight because it was free, no other reason. The draw of the fact it's my home town is not enough anymore. They need to play better to bring the crowds back.
I seriously have to question Jerry Gill's tactics for the first 72 minutes. Weymouth went behind shortly before this and he decided to bring on Jake Reid as a result. Up to the this point Weymouth were strangely playing 4-5-1. A tactic only fit, big and physical teams can really pull off. Weymouth deployed the smallest man in the stadium, let alone the pitch to play on his own up front. He had no support, every time time he got near the ball 3 Braintree players were on him in a flash. On comes Reid as an extra forward. Now they're 4-4-2 and Weymouth are back in the game. The last 15 minutes Weymouth had a string of chances. Why oh why didn't play this from the start. Who was the home team, you'd think it was Braintree. Maybe it's a lack of confidence. Maybe they gave Braintree to much respect, but you've got to support the wee man up front. Start Reid from the start he has a presence and looked lively. Weymouth will probably get relegated and probably deserve to. Maybe it'll do them good to drop one more division. No more than that though please. The Echo tomorrow will probably hail that as a good performance. If they do I must question what game they were at. Get the tactics right though and maybe, just maybe we can still turn it around. NO MORE 4-5-1!!!

Followers...

The good news is I have followers, the bad news they are Nikki and I. I want more...

Monday 22 February 2010

First an apology...

First an apology, sorry Nikki for my procrastination and not actually doing my chores until you returned home from work at 3pm, but I decided to have a duvet day.
Because of my deliberate procrastination I never made it to the cinema. But as Nikki was ill, it probably wasn't a bad thing that we never went out. On the upside Nikki now appears to be mute. On the downside I'm really struggling to understand her signing. Wish I made more of an effort to learn BSL.
Tomorrow evening I'm off to the footie with Nikki's Father. I've not been since the night we lost to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, whenever that was, 2005 or 2006 I think. Must wrap up warm because I'm randomly allergic to the cold. Now that's not one those lame made up allergies like allergic to work or washing up, but proper hives, itchiness and swelling. Not nice, plenty of layers tomorrow. Quite looking forward to the game and must remember to charge my camera. There will be photo's on the next post. Night all...

Sunday 21 February 2010

My weekend off, so far.

Mixed weekend for my footie teams. What a fantastic result for Everton, I really enjoyed that one. Super subs Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell to the rescue for that one. But Weymouth lost again, serious problems there. They can't afford to go down again, it's the 80's all over again. Come the Terra's, I will make the effort to go to the free game on Tuesday. Bit cheeky but I'm skint. Thought there would be some international rugby this weekend but it's their weekend off. Mine too, so would have been able to watch if on. Also been watching Olympics and the Athletics. Got some chores to do but off to cinema this afternoon, so i'd better crack on...

Saturday 20 February 2010

Everton 3, Manchester United 1...

Oh my god, listened to second half and I didn't see that coming. Thought we'd struggle without MoFro and Cahill. I'm plesantly surprised, bring on Sporting Lisbon again...

Friday 19 February 2010

This 'n' that friday...

I was on the same shift as Nikki today, but hardly saw her at all, as we were at oposite ends of the building. Another non-eventful shift, well it was in my unit at least. I had stuff to do in another unit a couple of times. We popped to ASDA on way home to get some veggies and stuff. Also to cash in some coppers etc. Made nearly £11 from it, not bad.
We've had a bit of a tidy on return and a tip run to get rid of the last boxes from our recent move. Nikki's preparing dinner and watching tv whilst ironing. Nikki's Mum is coming around later for dinner, that'll be nice.
What to do this weekend, Cinema or watch rugby? Or maybe both! I'll decide in the morning. Everton, my team, are playing Manchester United at the weekend. Just heard we've no Tim Cahill, won't be easy, what without MoFro (Marouane Fellaini) as well. It's gonna be tough, but you never know. Weymouth, my home town are playing tuesday night with free admission for all. This is because they were so awful during their last home game. So it's an appology gift to the fans. I've not been for a few years so it's a bit cheeky, but what the hey! It's free and i'm skint...