Anyway, I had no idea it was happening until Saturday morning when my Autie complained about the noise (she lives even nearer than I do). I had a quick look in the local paper and discovered the The Fratellis were on at 5.10. I'd have thought that they were a bit big to be on that early, considering all the radio play they've got recently, but still.
I went up there and watched them, and they were amazing, so I thought to myself I'll hang around and see what the rest are like. I paid a visit to the delightful toilet facilities, and went and got myself another drink (or two). By the time I had done that, there was a huge queue to get back into the tent so I stood in it for a while. I got back into the tent just in time to see The Cooper Temple Clause's set. That was really good too, but unfortunately, I missed a chunk of it because I had to go for another piss which meant queueing to get in again.
The final band on were Mercury Rev. They didn't grab me instantly the way the other two did, but they gradually sucked me in and by the end I was bouncing up and down quite merrily. Bizarely, even though I was right on the barrier it seemed like there were more people in front of me than behind. At one point I did quick head count and there were 30 people between the barriers and the stage, not counting the orange-T-shirted security staff. At least I managed to last the set without needing to go to the bog again.
Then it was a short walk home with ringing ears and off to bed.
James.
]]>
I got a Desmond in the end. I'm a bit ambivalent about the result. On the one hand, a year ago I was still hoping for a First, or at least a 2-1. On the other hand, after the nightmare that has been my final year I am relieved to have passed.
Anyway, I'm bloody glad that it's over, and I don't to have to do any more coursework. Hopefully, I should have more time for blogging now. 
More soon.
James.
]]>No this time I really am going back to the coursework, since I need to get some stuff done this morning as I'm having the afternoon off to celebrate Englishness.
James.
(listening to 'Suck My Kiss' by RHCP on Kerrang Radio)
]]>
The have just announced on the radio that The Smashing Pumpkins (my all-time favourite band)are back in the studio! 
Billy Corgan had announced a while back that he wanted to put the band back together, and I got very excited about it for a while, but then it all went quiet and I had to think 'I'll believe it when I see it'. But now, it's really happening.
OK, with that out of the way, I'll go back to neglecting my blog until I have finished my Final Year Project for uni. See you in a couple of weeks!
James.
(listening to 'Rebel Rebel' by Divid Bowie and Kerrang Radio)
]]>I'm actually sitting in the Uni Library at the moment, using the full 54Mb bandwidth of the wireless network (during term time you get about 1.2 Mb). I only came in to check my email.
Anyway, Cov beat QPR last night, 1-0. That's our first away win, and three wins on the bounce.
Gary Mac scored with a with a penalty in about the 87th minute, so I'd imagine the QPR fans were a bit annoyed, especially as they also had their keeper sent off. I thought the sending off was harsh, although it was definately a penalty.
I'd better go. I'm running on betteries, and there are a couple of other blogs I want to check out before I go.
James.
]]>A girl came into the pub and sat at a table nearby who looked remarkably like someone who I used to share a house with (lets call he A). I decided quite quickly that she probably wasn't who I first thought she was (she was prettier than A), a view that was confirmed when one of her friends called by a name that wasn't A -lets call her B.
So I go home to change and have a break from drinking, but in turns out to only be a very short break and I'm back up there in just over an hour. I'm a little disapointed to discover that B isn't in there, although one of her frends still is.
Anyway, I'm delighted when a little while later B comes back in in slightly different clothes and looking even better. I figure I might as well go and talk to her anyway; I'd probably rather talk to her than the real A anyway.
Unfortunately, the group of people I'm stitting with has grown now to include 7 or 8 people, including my brother and his girlfriend and I don't really want to approach her with that much of an audience. But when she and her mate stand up and put their coats on I figure 'it's now or never', and (unusually) chose 'now'.
('I thought I knew you, but I realise I don't' is less lame than 'Don't I know you from somewhere?', right?)
So I go over to her as she is on her way out and say something like 'Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you something?' She doesn't so a start by confirming that she is the same girl who was sitting there earlier, and she has changed her clothes. She is and she had. So then I ask her if I was correct in thinking she was called B, and she said yes. I explained that looked a little like someone called A, but obviously she wasn't. Bizarrely, her friend turns out to be called A.
Anyway, after that I told her 'in fact, on closer inspection, you're a shade prettier than she was', and she smiles. And then I can't think of anything else to say so I say 'nice to meet you' or somesuch and let her go on her way.
Almost immediately, I realise I should have said something about wanting to know who she really was, and suggested we meet up, but it's too late.
I'm crap!
James.
]]>We decided to go over to the local centro commercial, with a view with getting something to eat and watching the Doncaster-Villa game. It was only just across the main road from the resort, but it was just a bit to far to walk so we got the girl on reception to call us a cab.
It was dead and nowhere was showing the football, so we found another cab and asked him where he thought the best place was. He suggested Marbella town, so off we went. We walked around Marbella tow for something like 40 minutes not finding anywhere before we remembered the sports bar we had been in in Pueto Banus, so we got in yet another cab and went there. It was shut!
By this time, we'd missed the first half-hour already and we were getting a little sore-footed and very hungry by this point, so we decided to giveup and get some dinner. The first place we came to was TGI Fridays, of all places. We went in, and we couldn't believe it: they had the match on!
After a very nice meal, andexcellent football match, and several bottles of Budweiser, we headed down to the marina to find somewhere for a nightcap. There wasn't much open, but we found a nice little bar. This being Pueto Banus, a round of drinks for 3 of us was twenty euros, but that didn't stop us having half-a-dozen of them, including (for me) four vodkas. Spirit measures in Spain tend to be on the large side...
Anyway, the place shut at about 3am, and although lots more places had opened up by this time, we decided to head for home.
We were on our way to find a taxi when I hear a voice nearby say something about sex. This obviously gets my attention, so I turn towards the voice and see an attractive young woman in a very short red skirt, fishnets and black calf-high boots, and a white jacket. Seeing she's got my attention, she says 'very good sex!', and adopts a pose, putting one of her legs forward and opening her jacket.
By this time even my Absolut addled brain had figured out that she's a hooker, and she figures I might like to take advantage of her services. What she doesn't realise is that by this time I only have about 10 euros on me. So I put what I hope is a reasuring hand on her shoulder and say 'I'm sure sex with you would be amazing, butI'm equally sure I couldn't afford it!', and leave.
I really don't know if I would have taken her up on her offer if I'd had the money. And I'm not sure whether I'm relieved that I didn't or disapointed. 
You see why I saved this bit for last? 
James.
]]>Sunday evening we had a drank and ate in the resort's own bar and restarant. I had cordero de something-or-other (lamb in some kind of sauce); it was gorgeous.
After Sunday's mammoth effort (we were all up something like 20 straight hours), Monday was very restrained. During the day, we went out in the car and visited Feungirola and Cabapina.
On the way back we found a supermercado and stocked up on snacks and a few bottles of beer. Monday evening we stayed in the apartment and played 13-card brag. I won 4 Euros!
Tuesday during the day we went to visit Gibraltar. Of course, since we were passing into British territory, it decided to bucket it down all the time we were there. The sun came out while we were queueing at the border tyo come back and, by the time we were through, it was shining from an almost cloudless sky.
I'm saving Tuesday evening for it's own entry, so on to the rest of the week. Wednesday I stayed in the apartment and read (I was very tired and a little hung over from Tuesday). Wednesday evening a friend's sister and her husband, who live in the area, came to visit. We bought them dinner in the resort restaurant. I had a pork dish. It was OK, but according to the 'locals' it wasn't done the way it should be. I knida wished I'd had the lamb again.
Thursday we went to Benalmadena. It was the most touristy place we'd been. No touristy isn't the right word: it was the most English place we'd been. The cafe where we had lunch didn't even bother with Spanish on their signs and menus, just English!
It also had the world's most bizarre toilet. It had both a urinal and a concventional WC within the same enclosure: This is quite common in the area, presumably because the urinal uses less water. Unfortunately, there wasn't really enough space for it and the WHB, with the result that the basin was actually over the WC pan. To actually sit on the toilat you had to squat to one side, and then swivel in under the basin. Weird!
Thursday evening we stayed in and played cards again, because of the flight on Friday (and because I hadn't got a lot of money left!). Friday was raining, so we just went straight to the airport as soon as we were ready. There was a bit more waiting and queueing than on the outbaound flight, but no problems with passport control (no guns!) and we were back in the UK by tea-time.
James.
]]>Before I get onto the holiday proper, I'll just mention the Saturday afternoon before. Coventry drew 2-2 with Norwich. An acceptable result, if we hadn't been 2-0 up with great goals from McSheff and Dele. The best part of the afternoon, though, was that we found a new (to us) pub. A few minutes walk from the Ricoh, and with decent beer, batches, and best of all a free carpark for patrons.
I went straight home after the match, because I had to pack that evening, and be up at 4am the next morning. Cab picked me up at about 4.30, and we got to the airport at about 5am for a flight at six. As you can imagine, at that time the place was pretty deserted, so there was no queueing, so we just walked straight through everything.
And then I was on my first ever flight! Takeoff (or rather the rapid climb just after) felt a bit wibbly, but apart from that it was fine. I just sat and read until it got light, then looked out the window for a bit (it's weird having clouds below you!). Then I went back to reading, pausing every-so-often to see if there was anything different to see.
Landing in Spain, I had a bit of a tense moment at passport control. My mates just walked straight through, I was the last of us. The oficial took my passport, looked at it and went to hand it back. Then he changed his mind and gave it another look. He was very large and had a gun, and I don't speak Spanish, so this made me a little nervous. Of course, the more nervous I looked, the more scrutiny my passport got. Eventually, after what seemed like about a week he decided he couldn't find anything wrong with my passport and gave it back.
We collected the hire car, and made our way to our appartment. We had fun trying to figure out what the various signs meant. I correctly identified the first on as 'Caution! Side winds!', but some of the others are still a mystery.
The apartment was amazing. Marble floors (although as I found out later, in southern Spain even the car parks are marble), lounge-dining, kitchen, utility, and three bedrooms and three bathrooms, each with a shower you would have fitted a five-a-side team in!
We had lunch in an Irish bar, of all places, in Pueto Banus. The barman/waiter thought we were from New Zealand, bacause on of the guys had a Lions' tour of New Zealand shirt on.
Wow, I've waffled on! That'll have to do for now.
James.
]]>Weird!
James.
]]>I got up at 6am on Thursday, and 5am this morning and yesterday as a sort of practice for tomorrow. Which means that it's only 9.17 and I'm already knackered. On the bright side, it also means I have already done the bit of coursework I needed to do before I left.
Anyway, it occurs to me that my blog is not really living up to its name, so here for your enjoyment is a random (completely useless) fact:
The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry is so named because during WWII, Coventry sent ambulances to Belgrade and after the war the people of Belgrade sent timber for the theatre construction as a thank you. Unfortunately, a lot of the timber warped in transit and had to be thrown out, and the only bit of the theatre actually from Belgrade is the auditorium roof.
This will be my last blog entry before I jet of tomorrow, so I hope you liked it!
James.
]]>I (obviously) didn't have much of an idea of what was expected. Why would I, I've never done one before, and there doesn't seem to even be a coursework handout (or if there is, I've never been given one -I suppose I should ask, but I feel like a bit of an idiot asking for something like that eight weeks into the term).
Still, as long as I do better with the other 95%, I'll be OK.
James.
]]>Even stepping away from real students, the stereotypical student is both potless and lazy. Two further thing that mitigate against paying by cheque: they require you to have money in the bank, and they're a hassle to fill in!
So, where does this idea come from? Anyone have any explanations?
James.
]]>Cov lost again last night, 2-0 to Palace. We've got Norwich at the Ricoh on Saturday. Maybe I should kill two birds with one stone and go home to bed at half time!
James.
]]>I watched it from the relative comfort of corporate hospitality rather than my usual season ticket seat, but not even the 'Platinum Club' could do anything about the temperature. Although the padded seats probably helped.
I hadn't quite finished my half-time pint by the time the second half kicked off, and the stewards wouldn't let me watch from the lounge window, so I missed Ipswitch's goal. Not there fault -it's illegal to consume alcohol within sight of the pitch- but it's a bloody silly law in my opinion.
I stepped back so I could see the scoreboard but not the pitch, and asked if it would be OK to watch the replay, but apparently it doesn't do replays yet. Still, it's the first game we've actually had a scoreboard, so things are moving forward. Maybe by the end of the season the ground will be finished.
And if we keep taking points out of the likes of Ipswitch, maybe we won't have the nicest ground in League One.
James.
]]>The current plan is to wear them around the house for a few hours a day to start with, then gradually up the time oiver the course of the next week or so.
When I went into the shop this morning, the staff were all in fancy dress, presumably for Children in Need. Most of them seemed to be dressed as faeries (or possibly angels -they looked more like faeries but they had halos), but the woman who (eventually) found my lenses was dressed as a cowgirl; 'Well, thank you kindly, mam!'
James.
]]>Is it just me, or is that kinda obvious?
Not only can you get out of debt without borrowing money, but the only way to get out of debt is to stop borrowing money!
James.
]]>Having repeated the process once more, much more easily, the woman doing the teaching was satisfied, and I could finally take some lenses away with me, if they had any in stock.
Which they didn't.
James.
]]>http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/
James.
]]>But hangover or no, I'm still in the office, working on coursework (in theory -in practice I am reading and writing 'blog entries, obviously).
James.
]]>After all that, by the time I had finished my workout and showered and changed, it was twenty to nine, so rather than cooking I had a nice healthy jumbo sausage and chips from my local chippy. And they had put the price up!
I was supposed to do a proposal yesterday for my Final Year Project at university too, but after all that (and a full days work) it was too late and I was tired, so I had too get up early and do it this morning.
It's been a rough couple of days, and there's plenty more like it on the horizon. Ah well, I'm off to Spain in a couple of weeks. Can't wait!
James.
EDIT: I did get my draft proposal done on Thursday morning, and taking on board my tutor's comments, I handed the final version in on Friday, so all's good on that front.
]]>I managed to get them in with only minimal trouble, but then could I get the bloody things out again? I eventually managed to get one of them out, after about 40 minutes of fiddling about with my eyes, but we had to give up on the other and call an optician to get it out (it took her all of about three seconds... why can't I do it like that?)
So, I've got to wait another week and then go back for another teaching session. Hopefully I'll do a little better next time. In the mean time, I'm stuck with my glasses.
James.
]]>But -you new that was coming, didn't you- it doesn't open in the morning until 8.45. Which means if you have a 9am lecture, it's really pretty much impossible to go to the library before it.
I, of course forgot this, so I'm standing outside like a wombat at 8.25, so I'd thought I'd come and moan about it.
Gotta go, it's 8.44 now, so it's about to open.
James.
BTW, CHP = Combined Heat and Power
]]>On a (slightly) related note, as there was no game on Saturday I thought I'd check out the shops at Arena Park. I needed some bit and pieces from Tesco's, and With nothing going on at the Ricoh, I didn't think it would be that busy up there.
Yep, that's right, I went to Arena Park Tesco, which is the largest supermarket in europe, 7 weeks before Christmas and I didn't expect it to be busy. Doh!
Not surprisingly, I was ready for a pint after that, which lead to the events later in the day which lead to the events my previous entry.
James.
]]>Oh, and I met her fiance too. He seemed nice. They are hoping to get married in July.
James.
]]>'Now Open Sundays, 10.30 am - 3.00 pm
'For All Day Breakfasts'
Well, it made me smile.
James.
]]>At least, I am according to the Dante's Inferno test at http://www.4degreez.com/misc/dante-inferno-test.mv
I would post my exact results, but the HTML the site gave me to copy doesn't seem to work with the blog software.
James.
]]>Apparently the gearbox had given out (although from the description it sounded more like the clutch, I'd have thought a gearbox failure would be more dramatic), and the car was stuck in the middle of the road outside my flat.
At first the car wouldn't budge. We checked that it was out of gear and the handbrake was off, and tried again. Still nothing. Then one of the kids who were waiting at a nearby bus stop pointed out that the wheel was wedged against the kerb: No wonder it wouldn't move. I felt like a bit of an idiot.
Anyway, with the car disengaged from the kerb and a couple of schoolkids helping with pushing too we managed to get it moving along the road, and once we got a bit of momentum up, getting the car up the kerb and out of the way was no problem.
I never was a boy scout but it did cheer me up a little to do my 'good deed for the day', even if I did get rained on . Of course, after last night a need cheering up more than a little 
.
James.
]]>We played great for the first 20 minutes, and had loads of chances of which we managed to take one. Then all the confidence seemed to just drain out of them. Two goals for stoke and two very strange substitutions later and we've lost again.
We'll have the best stadium in League One next season!
James.
]]>Then I get back to the opticians and they haven't got anyone available to teach me how to put them in, take them out, etc, so I'll have to wait another week before I can explore that new world further.
James.
]]>