Retroexposure

Chapter 13 - Football, Titles and Clock Changes

Thursday 25th October 2007 3:16pm
So, Gary Megson's left Leicester City and joined Bolton as their new manager. I think that's disgraceful. He's only been manager of Leicester for six weeks. How can Leicester be able to get a decent manager if we employ managers with a lack of loyalty? Maybe I should apply! Ok, so I don't have the practical football experience that Milan Mandaric is obviously looking for, but at least I'd be loyal to my home team! A question that all Leicester fans will now be asking, is who do we have as manager now? We shouldn't have sacked Martin Allen in the first place. I wonder if Milan and Martin could resolve their differences, and hope that Martin comes back. Sadly, I doubt it. 3:19pm
4:39pm
I was just thinking of book titles and what to call this little piece of history. As it stands, I'm calling this, The Diary Of A Humorous Photographer: The Life and Times In The Year Of... as I'm keeping my identity secret at the moment. 4:42pm
　
10:45pm
Forgot to mention earlier that Mum went for her dentist appointment today and she has successfully had that problem tooth removed. She needed four shots of local anaesthetic. Why they didn't just give her a general and be done with it, I'll never know!! Since the anaesthetic wore off throughout the day, she's been feeling tired, poor soul (!) So it looks, and I might be wrong, – and I hope I'm not – that I'll be doing the shopping on my lonesome again! I really enjoyed doing the shopping on my own, a week last Sunday.
News of the day: Two kids aged six and seven were killed crossing a motorway. Three cars had hit them. Now that's what baffles me. I can understand one car hitting them, but three? Unless, of course, it was in quick succession, so cars two and three didn't have enough time to react. The kids were pushing their scooters across the motorway. Again, why? Didn't their parents teach them not to play near the motorway? As I understand it, the woods that they were playing in, is near to where they live and the motorway runs along the back of those woods. Apparently the safety fences that divided the motorway from the woods are either too small, i.e. very climbable, or they were broken in some way. The local council would have a lot to answer for, especially if I was in the parents' shoes.
Now, I know it's half term this week, but, coming back to the safety point, the children, primary school children should not have been allowed to play near the motorway in the first place. As I said, it's half term, so it was likely that the motorways are going to be busier than normal, right? I'm not going to bleat on, cos, in all fairness, I shouldn't judge on what was a terrible tragedy, that I don't know enough about.
On another note, after Kate and Gerry appeared on a Spanish TV program, and gave their first interview since they were made official suspects, today released an artist's impression of what Madeline's abductor may have looked like. It's a description that one of their friends gave to Portuguese police. I haven't seen it yet, but I imagine that it will be all over the papers tomorrow. Maddie's been missing 175 days now. Next Thursday, she will have been missing for exactly six months. I hope this artist's impression is a good likeness for the scum that may have taken her. If Maddie is returned before Bonfire Night, Rothley is going to have the biggest firework party in that village's history! Might I suggest that if they catch Maddie's abductor, can they turn into a Guy Fawkes for the night so we can shove his carcass on the bonfire! 11:09pm

Friday 26th October 2007 7:57pm
Did the shopping on my own again today. Mum is definitely getting cheesed off! Because, without certain added extras, it was a little cheaper today than it was a week last Sunday! The added extras (i.e. things that we don't buy every fortnight,) were a large jar of coffee, Trainers (I wreck them very quickly!), shampoo, light bulbs and deodorant. There were things that I didn't buy this week that is normally regular thing, only because I bulk bought them last time. What I can't seem to fail to do is buy a DVD or a magazine of some kind, be it Gamesmaster or DVD Review. I mean a bought a cheap PC game when I was in town on Tuesday, and today I bought the special 'family fun' edition of Big starring Tom Hanks. I love that movie. When I was younger, I wished that I could've been like Tom's character! That way no one could bully me. I see the film in a different light now. I just wish I had Josh's (Tom's character) job! My favourite part of the film, without question, has to be the dance/music sequence on the giant floor piano! Even now, I'd love to do something like that myself! I wonder if FAO Schwartz still has that piano in their New York store?
After wanting to wish myself out of a childhood, I want to go back to it! How strange is that? I'm nowhere near middle age, yet I'm talking as though I'm having a mid-life crisis! I've always acted older than my age (though, I'm sure, sometimes, Mum would disagree!), and I've been around people much older than me. So maybe I am going through an earlier mid-life crisis! Jeez! I do talk a load of shit sometimes!
In the papers today I saw the artist's impression of Maddie's potential abductor. What the hell was that?! A faceless figure with an outfit that looked like they'd just stepped off the set of TV show Life On Mars? A police spokesman said that the man's shoes were a significant part of his description. Not to mention the long greasy hair. It was a terrible drawing! I'm sorry to say this, but that won't help Kate and Gerry's plight at all. Without distinguishing facial features, there could be a lot of mistaken identities made, which would surely cause more stress on the family.
Speaking of Life On Mars, someone bought the car that was used in the show for £10,000! More money than sense! Then again, someone bought an original, signed copy of Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone for almost twenty grand! Now that is a collector's item that can be kept safe, and protected in a discreet place, but where on earth could you keep a 1970's beige/burnt orange coloured Ford Cortina?? 8:22pm

Saturday 27th October 2007 4:26pm
I went to a meeting at church today, which was about helping readers conduct themselves in a slightly better way when reading from the lectionary and when reading the bidding prayers. In the church's bulletin last week it asked if someone could bring a camcorder with them, and so I brought mine. I did ring ahead first to check whether or not it was a serious request. Apparently it was so that we could look back on people reading and make any observations (in the end we didn't do that, and I'm not sure that it was truly necessary). People had to read certain passages, and although I tried to volunteer, I didn't get to read 'on camera'. That was fine by me. Afterwards, Fr. R thanked me and said that he was quite impressed with the camera's positioning when filming! It was just a natural position, not much thought went into it really!
One reader had a real swine of a reading to read. It was subtitled 'The Genealogy of Jesus Christ' and listed who was the father of who, and who was the father of that father. What made the passage difficult were the names of all these people. The reader stumbled on one name, but other than that, they did brilliantly. I really must find that passage for myself and see if I can read it! Fr. R said that it was a reading at Christmas that he tried to avoid reading, as it was actually a Gospel reading, which ordinary parishioners don't read. However, after the reader so well with this particular passage, should Fr. R decide that that reading should be used this Christmas, then that reader better be careful that Fr. R doesn't nominate them to read it! 4:41pm

Sunday 28th October 2007 12:20am (BST)
The reason I've put BST on the 'entry' clock is because that tonight is when we put our clocks back. So technically it's still before midnight on the 27th October! But I can't be bothered with technicalities. At 2am BST that is when the clocks go back officially. But, unless you want to stay up till 2 in the morning, you put your clocks back when you go to bed. What I want to know is, who on earth suggested that clocks should be put backwards or forwards at 2am?!? If anyone is unsure about when the clocks go backwards or forwards (and until 10 years ago, I was often confused by the process!) remember this phrase: Spring Forward, (Autumn) Fall Back. It must be an American phrase as us British don't refer to the autumn season as the fall. I feel like I'm about to launch into a flaming lecture about the four seasons, so I'd better stop now before I start babbling! Oops, too late! 12:31am (BST)
4:31pm (GMT)
Just signifying that the clocks have now gone back an hour to GMT.
At mass today the Gospel was about the Pharisee and the tax collector. Basically, the Pharisee boasts while praying to God that he is very holy and deserved to be recognised for it, and the tax collector was apologetic while he prayed to God, saying that he was sorry for treating people badly, which is what tax collectors did in those days. Because The Tax Collector apologised, God accepted his apology. However, God decided to punish the Pharisee for being proud about what he did because he expected to be rewarded. So God exalted the one who humbled himself to Him and then humbled the one who exalted himself to Him.
The reason I wrote about this is because I think, I was exalting myself a bit with giving myself a pat on the back just for doing shopping! I must learn to be a bit more humbling. Do things without expecting a reward. A bit like helping that landlord, across the road, with his worktops. He needed my help, I offered, and he rewarded me, even though I wasn't expecting it! You know, it's true what some people say; the Bible may be old and based around the time of Jesus, but you can still find references to the Book in today's society! 4:56pm