Dunworking’s Domain

Just doing his job….

So…Prince Harry may be serving in Iraq….He’s a soldier…it’s his profession…and he’ll be doing no more than any other of the brave men and women do in our armed forces each and every day. The media outcry is ridiculous. He is one of the heirs to the throne, but he’s also a serving member of our army. So, what do we do ? Ensure he stays at home tied to a desk job ? Best of luck to him, and I hope to God he returns safely. But let’s get things into perspective…too many of our soldiers from ordinary walks of life are already out there - where’s the sympathetic media coverage for them ?

Sporting mishaps

Both Pagham and Portsmouth managed to make a mockery of their league positions this weekend. Pagham lost 3-1 at home in a very poor match (only enlivened by the sight of the new tea lady at Pagham….:D ) Whilst Portsmouth lost 3-0 at Blackburn today. I’ve no illusions about where either will finish at the end of the season, but hey lads, lets not blow it now !

Bookworm

Having some rare spare cash on me yesterday, I bought “The Independent”, not for the newspaper, but for the copy of A Clockwork Orange that they were giving away. It’s a book I’ve never read, and one I’ve always wanted to read. With the days starting to draw out round here, the walks to the beach are moving closer, and the solitude by the sea is improved with a good novel.

Nature Notes

The wildlife round here is extremely vocal in the mornings now. I walked down to get the paper this morning to be assailed by the usual blackbirds and blue-tits, but there were also some Dunnocks singing their hearts out. Unusual sights of the weekend were a male pheasant with no road-sense whatsoever wandering down the middle of the road, and a Green woodpecker drilling into a telegraph pole.

The bluetits are inspecting the nest boxes, although a contingent of magpies has also moved into the area, which is a concern. Good looking birds, but murderous.

Looking out at a new Vista

The miscontent over Windows Vista continues, with complaints now becoming commonplace about drivers for various hardware not being Vista compatible yet. So…remind me, how long did Microsoft have to develop the code, and work closely with the hardware companies ? A complete joke, and I’m pleased to be staying with XP for the forseeable future.

Birthday wishes…

My birthday less than two weeks away now, and as It’s a special one, I plan to (a) celebrate with friends in the absence of family and (b) either buy, or drop hints for something a bit special….contenders are;

1) The Nokia E61 - a mobile to replace my trusty 6820. A decent keyboard, 3G, quadband, no useless camera, MP3 player, wide screen. Just the thing for those match reports I need to e-mail in a hurry. I might even use it for phone calls !
2) The Tassimo coffee maker So I can make cappucino without too much faffing around.

3) The X-Box 360 I can’t afford to upgrade the PC, so one of these will help to fill the gap until I can. With the price dropping, and Sony having royally stuffed up over the European release of the PS3 I’m certain that Bill Gates deserves my money more than Sony.

4) The Honda Integra Type R - well, I can dream, can’t I?

The shout outs…

“R in Her Ka”….Messenger until 2.30 this morning…hope you had a lie in !
“Titch and Mr Titch”….it was grim wasn’t it ! Pleased the printer works ok.

“Lou-Lou”…thanks for phoning just after your third gallon of Malibu…you’re right, your accent DOES come out more when you’re tipsy !

A very quiet week here at “Castle Dunworking”….Highlights include the continued presence of the “Pirate Princess (A.K.A ‘R in her Ka’) ” who is always ready to make me smile…which is a good thing given the events at Westfield Football club yesterday…

Pagham went there top of the table, looking to increase their lead. Anyone who knows will tell you Westfield FC is a place you only want to visit once. In your lifetime. We went, we saw, we were conquered. On a pitch which was a little uneven to say the least. We also had six first team players out. Still, it’s out of the way now, and if we get promotion we won’t have to go there again.

Dominating the news in Britain this week has been the tragic shootings in London. “Gun Culture” is something that no-one really wants to become the norm in Britain. We don’t arm our police force as a rule, and there are strict laws about gun ownership. Doesn’t stop there being a plethora of small arms on the streets, and I for one can’t see a way round it.

Gun amnesties are all very well, but you need to trust people to actually hand in their weapons. If you knew your neighbour was carrying a gun, wouldn’t you want one too, if only to defend yourself. It’s the old “M.A.D.” (Mutually Assured Destruction) principle, but at street level.
The fall-out from the release of WIndows Vista continues…it’s overpriced (in the UK at least), and already I could get a fully working copy on “Peer-to-Peer” if I so wished. I don’t wish, as I’ve already experienced the delights of a new O/S and the early bugs which needed ironing out. Not only that, reading in both PCZone and PC Gamer this month made me realise that the PC I’d need to run all the “bells and whistles” properly would cost an arm and a leg. It’s something I’ve mentioned before, and not something I’m too happy about.

Decided that this weblog needs a bit of a tidy up, and over the next week I hope to change a few things (although going by my previous record, I wouldn’t hold your breath!)

To finish, MASSIVE thanks to “Titch and Mr Titch” for one of the most entertaining journeys to an away game I’ve had. I’m still smiling about the “Aerobics” image even now!