blogging

I am writing this blog entry as I love keeping an updated diary, it's more therapeutic than anything else, but unusually I've found that people read this - a friend of mine; Adam, mentioned this to me today.

As much as I enjoy podcasting, I have to say that I enjoy blogging too. A lot of people just don't have the time to listen to the podcast yet lots more folks seem to check in to read the entries.

An old mate of mine from church; Mike Parkes who moved to Florida some months ago sent me a mail via the blog. It was great to hear from Mike, yet, so easy to see that a friendship like that could dissipate with the distance between us, yet maintained by something as simple as a computer diary.

I spent an evening tonight with some great friends - a dozen of us or so chomping our way through a curry. The kids were babysat and it was wonderful to just sit, chat and laugh.

I'm lying in bed on the laptop - not lying on the laptop you understand..... so I'll get off and get some shut eye now.

I've registered at podshow by the way - www.podcastpaul.podshow.com and also uploaded the CLC Band stuff to the podsfe Music network, f you're a podcaster, have a listen to 'em and if you play 'em report them, it'll be interesting to see if anyone plays em! Upload the music here

;-)

See you soon....

podcastpaul podcast127 - all on my own...phew

Download MP3 direct from here

Podcastpaul podcast 127

Hello from Paul alone - another serious about music show
Introducing slowhandrow, 'What if you' - via Garageband - www.slowhandrow.com / e: info@slowhandrow.com
Throw it all away - by Trapped in Paradise (PMN)
River of Joy Black lab (PMN)
Square One by Mister Vague (PMN)
Uncle by The Alice Project (PMN)


find us at www.podcastpaul.com and www.podcastpaul.podshow.com



all songs from the podsafe music network - www.music.podshow.com save for slowhandrow (Garageband.com)
send a mail: paul@podcastpaul.com

oooh dear,,,

The levels on podcast 126 are HORRIBLE!



I'll keep the show up as there are some good bits in there, but, sadly the levels are chronic - mainly because the studio headphones I usually use have been broken by the kids.

I'l do another this evening... sorry chaps / chapettes.

podcastpaul podcast 126

Download the MP3 direct from here



Show notes

Podcastpaul podcast 126
Hello from Paul and Sue!
Why - Steven Stewart; David Choi Mix
find us at www.podcastpaul.com and www.podcastpaul.podshow.com
from News of the Weird...the tranny lawyer
from the beginning: Emerson Lake & Palmer
I was taught to play Drums back in the late 70's by Steve Palmer, Carl Palmer's brother
Best ever television:
We both love Frasier - we still sit and watch the repeats on Paramount.
Cheers was superb
Only Fools and Horses (Adrian Pegg worked on that)
Friends - ambivolent
Hooked on Lost - nothing else much takes our fancy
kids programmes....
Never seemed to watch Magpie
HATED Animal Magic
Felt it was a duty to watch Blue Peter...
Book review:
Our favourite - The Righteous Men - Sam Borne.
I'm reading a good back called the Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly.
Flesh & Blood by Gary Moore

all songs from the podsafe music network - www.music.podshow.com
send a mail: paul@podcastpaul.com

podcast 125 we're back from holiday...

Download the MP3 here

Podcastpaul podcast 125

Hello from Paul and Sue!
Ain't nobody - Gary moore (PMN)
Back from holidays
Best holiday...
Explaining the trailer tent.
UK Holidays
Was it sunnier when we were kids?
Do you camp
Weeing on camp
Buying a caravan..
Emergency room in Burnham and he stenching folks.
Ridiculous instructions in an aircraft
music: Tuchachachcha - Antonin Bastin
Soundbyte i. Spain ii. Burnham
soundbyte iii. Entertainment - Magician.
European or British? Will we ever integrate?
Germans
Tattooed Brits.
Music: Shotgun - David Spak
email: Ben James.
my moaning on the pda - and all the lovely replies on the blog.
Podcastcon - 18th November 2006
Swaziland
Next break: the Ludlow food festival.
Bye!
Music: Wrong again - Louise Setara
all songs from the podsafe music network - www.music.podshow.com
send a mail: paul@podcastpaul.com

over analysing?

17th August @ 4.50pm.

I'm sat outside my folding camper in Somerset- that's southwest England for the uninitiated. The folding camper is half caravan, half canvas - a posh tent, or poor man's caravan, take your pick.

For the first time in 3-4 days, it's glorious sunshine and not horrendous vile driving rain.

Sue has taken Harry to Weston with her friends. Weston is a big seaside resort quite near to here. I can't abide shopping so I've agreed to hold the fort.

My mood is sanguine, accordingly I'm listening to blues, real blues; Gary Moore on my Ipod, while making notes on the pocket pc.

I can't work out if I'm getting more reclusive, rude, or just wanting my own space in my old age, but I just want to sit, without distraction and gather my thoughts while listening to my music.

The truth is that just sometimes I feel I need solace. I'm constantly working, rushing around and never sat still,always having some wretched deadline to meet and always doing things for oher folks. Don't get me wrong, I love helping folks, but folks are forever just popping in to say hello only as a pretext to ask for advice. Once I've helped out they're usually off like a shot... until the next time they need help.

The odd thing about my job, maybe it's just me, is that I have so many peripheral associates and no real deep friends.

Call it irony, but as I'm writing this, there are clusters of folks I know, sat around chatting and I'm here on my own. The mobile rang and it was a 'mate' in his own words 'just calling to pick your brains'. It's the 'just' that's the stinger for me.

I've often pondered this - is it a bloke thing as to why men don't seem to have deep friendships, or is it me over analysing things and just being a bit down? could it be that I hava a feminine side? Perish the thought.

It's a parodox that someone as overt and gregarious can often feel so lonely.

Time to cheer up now, the random play has just selected 'Cold as ice' by Foreigner...

update...back now!

podcast 124. Another great music show, and thank goodness I'm not flying!

Download the MP3 direct from here


podcast 124
Hello from Paul!
- Goodbye New York - the Shakes
- Craziness surrounding air travel
- The Shakes - these guys are going to be huge
- Email from Dave Manders - scary!
- Liberty Jones, the Shakes
- Lots of Muzo's listen to the show - check out podcastusermagazine.com
- Skidmarks - Peopod
- How do you listen to your podcasts / mp3's?, I've been using:
- my PDA - surgically grafted to my hand!
- my Nokia phone and a blue tootth dongle
- Say I - Jeff Coffey
- Bookmark 18th November 2006
- Exceptional quality in independent music.
- Ken Little - Hollow Horse
- Does my site crash your pc?
- On your Own - Rock Feller

all music from the podsafe music network.
all the spoken words from my own lips.....

Holiday Diary

Dear diary.



I am sitting in church with my pocket P. C. I love the versatility of this and the fact it really can be used just about anywhere

I worked out that I could purchase an S.D. card for just £30 and expand the memory slot to give me an MP3 player that I could use easily. My 60gb Ipod is great, but I get aggravated that it's tied into one p.c

We're off to Majorca, an island just off Spain in the Balearics. It should be a great holiday.

It's not until you sit back and look over the last however many months until you last went away that you realise just how tired you are and just how much you've done.

I'm taking my fully charged lpod and some good books away with me and I'm looking forward to a long needed rest.

I'm chucking a random picture of Harry in here after compiling my diary - I have no idea what he was doing here on holiday - but I do like the picture!

If you haven't listened to the podcasts, do have a listen to podcast 123, I'm planning to do far more music related shows, I know there are lots of these about already but they're seriously good therapy for me and I always feel great after doing them. What do you think?

Podcastcon 2006 is on its way, stay tuned for more information and bookmark http://podcastcon.co.uk/ I'm pretty sure that there will be more discussion on Britcaster too.

Time for me to sign off now. I'll see if I can get access to the net whilst away, otherwise I'll see you in a week's time.

Update

I've just hit on the bright idea of updating this diary particularly as I'm now on the plane and looking to kill some time. I'm sat between a group of a dozen or so early twenty/ late teen lads and girls and the testosterone is palpable. The thought of two to three hours of 18-30 japes from kids who are barely shaving is stomach churning, particularly this close to midnight . One of them is wearing aftershave that smells like a cross between Chalk, sweat and Hai Karate and making my stomach churn.

One of the flight attendants looks like Peter Cushing in a wig and I can't stop thinking about the Hammer House of Horror classic "Frankenstein must die"

Time to sign off now whilst I watch some kid with a voice like Aled Jones try to get off with a girl who would make my 2O stone 6'4" dustbin man uncle Roger look possibly feminine. From the look of her she appears to have been shaving longer than me, let alone Aled.

Update one and a half hour later.

I have to put pen to, er pocket p.c to write about two of the butt ugly youths who are now kneeling on the seat and trying to get off with the bearded lady and her even stranger cohort. One of the lads looks like a 14yr old member of the rolling stones with so many acne scars he appears to resemble an ordinance survey map.

Map's mate looks like the character in the fatsuit from "Big Mama's House" with Bo Derek's hairstyle From "10". There really is no accounting for taste.

I'm now updating my diary in the wee small hours of 3rd August.

We,re here and its been horrendously hot, with temperatures in the mid to high 90's. Humidity has been around 80%. The steady drone of a hired fan cuts through the heady night air.

the hotel itself isn't too bad, it's a very 7O's building that has obviously seen better days.. there are 3 pools that you certainly wouldn't describe as Olympic, but my lads are happy,so it stands to reason I am too.

Update

Friday now and tomorrow is our last day. We hired a car, or should I say lawn mower masquerading as a car. We had a 900cc Kia something or other,whatever it was. It had the strength of Liberace on a bad day and the pulling power of Bella Enberg at her most frightful.

We drove into Puerto Polensa. A beautiful and rather up market resort. Unlike ours, you couldn't count the tattoos.

You could tell it was posh because the toilets had locks on the doors and the soap smelt like aftershave.

In Puerto we met up with a really good old mate of mine; John Crofts. John was, in fact is, still is, until 31st August, the headmaster at the primary school where Harry attends and all 3 boys have been.

We had a slap up lunch and a great time with John and his mate at their lovely hotel and a very civil time. For the first time in nearly a week, I had a cup of tea.

The odd thing that I've experienced with John and another old chum who's the same sort of age at 60 is that I don't sense any difference in age at all between them and me.

Both Of my chums are slightly older than my dad, but I feel I have so much in common with them both. And me, so immature! Poor blokes. they must be developing early Alzheimers.

My 60 year old mate said to me once: 'I can't believe it when I look at your dad and then mine. I keep thinking 'why is my dad older than Paul's?' ''

update

It's 5.56 on Saturday our last day here. I made the mistake of calling into work on Thursday and asking if i everything was ok. It wasn't.

A 20 fax page to me later and 20 fax page back just about did the trick of holding the fort. Sometimes I feel I have the best job in the world, other times, the worst

Im already ruing the flight back. We Check out on Sunday at 12 noon and don't fly back until 3am Monday. I need to get into work at 7am Monday to handle some urgent business which means a few snatched hours of sleep if I'm lucky.

Did I mention how much I love this pocket pc? I really wish it had the capability of WIFI though, it really would be perfect then. Sadly GPS and WIFI don't come cheap and I've more than spent my gadget allowance for the year.

I really need another poo. The water here does strange things to your stomach. My bowels must be like stainless steel at the moment...and for the third time in as many days, I'm convinced I've seen the ghost of a small child in the room.

6.14am should really be the cue to go back to sleep, yet my mind is buzzing. I'll read my book instead. Update you later.

It's now 10.55 pm and the weather has been shocking - torrential downpours for most of the day. There really was nothing else to do but raid the local perfumery and gift shops. I just want to get home now. I've had a good break,buut I crave the mundane routine I left behind. I'm more a creature of habit than I ever imagined.

Sunday 5.27 am

what on earth is wrong with me? I'm awake at such an early hour and can't get back to sleep. I'll be arriving home in about 24 hours time and will have to plunge straight into work. What a horrible prospect.

Perrhaps I have to much on my mind. I devoured a superb book in just two days, finishing yesterday. 'The Righteous Men' by Tom Bourne was a great read, a long one at 550 odd Pages, but very worthwhile.

The Story takes place in the Haddishim community in New York and is a fascinating thriller laced with ancient Jewish tradition. I haven't read 'The Davinci code' (I've seen the hammy film) but some critics are saying that my book is better. I know I couldn't put the book down, so I heartily recommend it.

3.10 am I'm now sat on the plane with Christian in a vile mood, he's a good kid usually, but when he's tired he's a complete and utter nightmare.

Fortunately there's no sign of the lager louts who were on the flight out, goodness alone knows what they've been up to.

4.40 am GMT - we've just landed and I've hardly slept. I've a full day of work ahead and I'm whacked....

7.40 am - Arrived at work, strangely euphoric and running on adrenalin.

8pm GMT. I arrived home around 6.45 GMT. I'm tired but dead happy to be home - and chuffed to drink a decent cuppa.

Holidays... who'd have 'em?

missing home...

I really am useless holiday, I really am.

I´m missing home, things are happening at work so tast I need to be there...and I´m desperate for a nice cup of tea.

At present I´m in Si Coma, a resort in Majorca, which, for the uninitiated, is a small island off the coast of spain.

I´m presently using the hotels internet, it´s slow, clunky and altogether a bit rubbish. I´ve been using the laptop but can´t find a WIFI connection that will actually let me in.

Anyway kids, I´ve been keeping a diary and I´ll let you all read it when I get back - it´s all resting on my pocket pc at the minute.

Speak to you all soon.

Paul