So I’ve decided to experiment with DailyBooth for a while, and stuck a big picture of myself in the sidebar. While I get the impression that I’m about ten years too old to join in the DailyBooth phenomenon, I have been thinking for a while that I should stick a picture in the sidebar since I’m trying to make the site seem a bit more ‘personal’, with the handwriting and all… And this way, I get to play with a new website, and don’t have to stare at the same picture of myself for too long. The implementation is clearly a bit slapdash at the moment (and I know my collar’s wonky in the first picture), but let me know your thoughts – is this a change for the better, or does my face make you want to...

toilets - would suit hunchback link | Comments (0) | toilets...

At Bond Street Tube @LJRICH saw a rather unusual form of time measurement on the Eastbound platform. Luckily she had a camcorder and when her eyes popped back into her head, was able to record: She said: "Deep underneath London, at Bond Street Station, there's a wonky clock on the Central Line. Either that, or there's a rip in the space-time continuum. No wonder the trains are so unpredictable."Another example at how time on the London Underground is in a dimension all of its...

With the postponement of the regional trials which were due to take place on Sunday, we are holding a Letchworth Saracens training session at the Saracens ground. Please meet at Letchworth club by 11.45am to travel to Saracens for 12.30pm. If you are travelling direct to Saracens, please let Wonky or Mike...

Wonky will be conducting our first training session of 2010 starting at 6pm tonight. Given the snowy/frozen/flooded nature of the grounds we may well be indoors - so please bring indoor footwear as well as...

link | Comments (0) | letter boxes...

Photo: NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response. Seen on the BBC website (amongst other places).I'm really just posting this for posterity, it's been shown all over the shop but yes, this is Britain (minus Orkney and Shetland, grr) at the moment.  We've been dealing with snow for several weeks and it's freezing.  We're not used to this kind of weather here, although we get snow it's usually for only a couple of days, thanks to the Gulf Stream.  Most people don't think about the Gulf Stream much, but it's the reason Orkney and Shetland aren't significantly colder (and don't get as much snow) than mainland Britain, and why there are palm trees on the north-west coast of Scotland.I do wonder how much more of this type of weather we'll see with climate change and global warming, extreme weather...

Yes, after the best part of four weeks undergoing repair for a wonky mouse wheel, I am reunited with my beloved BlackBerry.This means that I have e-mail on demand, the ability to blog as I walk or ride the Tube, and all sorts of other things that are terribly exciting.On the flip side, the display is completely different, all my settings have been lost, as well as my contacts, and there are some new features that, to be honest, I don't understand yet.However, on balance, it's good news. Next task, to find out how Twitter...

Subrosa has highlighted the fact that Murdoch is looking to remove his news content from Google and place it exclusively on Microsoft's Bing search engine. Personally I think this is a retrograde step even if he is going to have pay only content on his news websites (another retrograde step).   During the expenses scandal in May I changed the details on my Jim Devine Google alert. I sent...

Josh Harris, according to the introductory blurb of this flawed, fascinating documentary, is 'the greatest internet pioneer you've never heard of', says Xan BrooksJosh Harris, according to the introductory blurb of this flawed, fascinating documentary, is "the greatest internet pioneer you've never heard of". A dotcom millionaire with Warholesque ­aspirations, he engineered a grand art installation in a New York bunker in which 100 volunteers were filmed around the clock, eating, sleeping and having sex in their bunk beds. ­Director Ondi Timoner makes the case that ­Harris's 1999 project was "a physical ­prediction of life online", anticipating the rise of Big Brother and social networking. All of which sounds fair enough. And yet her film – cobbled together over 15 years – has...

This Sunday sees both girls teams travelling to Chesham for matches against Bucks Jesters.An unusual feature of these games is that we have morning kick-offs so will all players please make sure that they are at the Letchworth club by 9am. If you are travelling directly to Chesham, please make sure that Mike, Potsy or Wonky know what you are doing.The venue can be found in Chartridge Lane, Chesham HP5 2RG. Please be there by 10.10am at the...

jane and i headed up north a bit yesterday and found some more absolutely gorgeous beaches.  i'll stop posting pictures of them soon, but the novelties not yet worn off. incredibly windy (and therefore cold) today as can be seen from jane's wonky hair link | Comments (0) | beach...

Podcast 47 wouldn’t have been podcast 47 without an in-depth review of the biggest story of the week, Gordon Ramsay’s plastic surgery. We also discuss boggle-eyed lard face Nick Griffin, and his comedy turn on BBC Question Time, Teddy “Don’t call me Teddy” Roosevelt, and those really, really nice people in the Scientology sect. And this week only: VIDEO SPECIAL – WATCH VIDEO OF THE PODCAST HERE   Also, Ben has been to see a film about goats, and I haven’t sworn at anyone for a whole week. You can follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/angryandcliff or join our Facebook group to be notified of live shows which happen at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Angry-Cliff-Podcast Download the podcast and subscribe with Itunes by clicking here. You can hear the podcast by...

Podcast 47 wouldn’t have been podcast 47 without an in-depth review of the biggest story of the week, Gordon Ramsay’s plastic surgery.  We also discuss boggle-eyed lard face Nick Griffin, and his comedy turn on BBC Question Time, Teddy “Don’t call me Teddy” Roosevelt, and those really, really nice people in the Scientology sect. Also, Ben has been to see a film about goats, and Cliff hasn’t sworn at anyone for a whole week. iTunes users can subscribe by clicking here or you can listen to the podcast by pressing the play button below. Clever people can subscribe in their player of choice with the feed which is here. Twitter updates and the opportunity to be in next week’s show will be found if you follow us here. Or, you could join our Facebook group...

This Sunday (11th October) we have league matches against Middlesex for both U15 and U18 teams. The matches are at Grasshoppers RFC which is at :Macfarlane Lane (off Syon Lane), Osterley, Middlesex TW7 5PNand can be found by :Taking the North Circular to the Chiswick roundabout;taking the 5th exit onto the A4 (Great West Road) heading towards Houndslow/Staines;at the 1st roundabout continuing on the A4;turning right onto the B454 (Syon Lane);turning right into Macfarlane Lane.Please meet at the Letchworth club by 11.00 am at the latest to travel to Grasshoppers for 12.20 pm.Please let Mike or Wonky know if you need a lift to the match or you are travelling there...

The USA'S Ultimate SandwichesBolton's amazing 10-egg big breakfast challengeNational Flags Made Out of Food10 Weirdest Celebrity Food Commercials (via)Unbelievable Carvings and Sculptures Out of Cheese (via)Wonky Veg: Nature's odd mistakes compete in Garden Organic's funny-looking vegetable contest10 Record-Breaking FoodsThe 50 best things to eat in the world, and where to eat themFaces in jalapeno peppers: photographBacon jam recipe: make it at homeGardener digs up five-fingered carrot10 Dirty Little Restaurant Secrets (via)7 Foreign Objects Found in Food (via)Mole Rat CakeWorld's biggest burger weighs 13 stoneMcDonald's Lamp Post Makes Me Doubt My Sanity Even...

Ageing televisual sex-puss Anne Robinson has come in for some stick in recent days, some of it necessary, the rest of it utterly vital. Her crime has been to oversee the revival of Watchdog on BBC1, turning it into an end-of-the-pier parade of complete and utter shite, with Anne fronting the show while wearing what seems to be a wonky death mask of consumer revenge. But this ad from 1991 should go some way to restoring her credibility. In it, she plugs the share flotation of Mirror Group Newspapers by interviewing pig-ignorant comic strip character Andy Capp. Don’t forget, this is 1991, when fat crook Robert Maxwell was still in charge at the Mirror – wonder what happened to the cash that the flotation raised. Or indeed what happened to the share price when Fat Bob fell off his boat a...

Another Steaming and fragrant addition to the Political Memoirs book club will be deposited on us shortly when Liberal MP Mark Oaten publishes his autobiography “Screwing Up”. The down side is that he’s inflicted his downfall on us – even Geoffrey Archer saved us from that particular horror. On the plus side Oxfam books will solve wonky table leg issues the length and breadth of the country, and I’ll bet he knows somebody that could do translation work for the Eastern European market.I remember the shock and horror when on the 21st January 2006 I found out about Mr Oaten’s disgusting antics. I mean the niche crapping hobby was bad enough. But who the hell owns anything as Gauche as a glass coffee table these days? They went out with Bell Bottoms (No Mark, that’s not another...

Yesterday evening, I changed my header picture again. I’m not happy with it, but then the one of Valetta that I had before looked slightly wonky to me. Besides, that was so last May, darling, and the world has moved on! I need to keep up with the times (whatever!). So, I’ve put up a picture I took yesterday at Southerndown. Or at least, I’ve put up a sliver of it. I always mean to take pictures specifically with this in mind; pictures with interesting centres, and discardable edges, and I never remember. Then I get bored with my header picture and make do. Boo. If I were still in school, my blog presentation card would definitely read “Must do better. Makes minimal effort”. Hmm. I really should look into some alternatives, taking a leaf from Jo’s book...

Pre-season training begins THIS THURSDAY at 6pm. Don't be late or you will risk the wrath of Miss Kelly, your new U15 coach, not to mention Wonky et al.Bring along your friends too - now is the time to get new players involved - after all what else are they going to be doing on a summer evening?...

Ooh, crikey! 2009 is all going right for Esther Rantzen. First, she stepped up to volunteer herself as a sleaze-free independent prospective MP for Luton, railing against the expenses scandal in the House Of Commons. It led to a disturbing performance by her on BBC1’s Question Time where she nakedly displayed as much raw ego and self-regard as the politicians she claims to be against. Now, the very heartbeat of her old hit show That’s Life is back – we’re talking of course about wonkily-shaped fruit and vegetables. The 20 year-old EU ban on odd-looking plums and carrots that strongly resemble men’s cocks has been lifted in a bid to reduce bureaucracy. Amazingly, in a world where children die of starvation, around 20% of produce is rejected by shops across the EU for failing to...

Out-going South West MEP and Conservative PPC for Tiverton Neil Parish hasn’t quite kicked the Euro-soil from his shoes and got in touch to tell us about the repeal of the EU’s wonky fruit and veg laws Neil is also the Conservative chairman of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee and he told us about the changes to the fruit and veg law. Marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetable, which governed the size and shape of many products and prevented healthy food being marketed, will be scrapped entirely. For a further ten types of fruit and vegetable standards will remain in place but they can, however, be sold so long as they are clearly labelled as mis-shapen. He said: “Wasting healthy food simply because of its shape or size is immoral at a...

Meet Pabst, a boxer-mix who was recently named the world's ugliest dog 2009.His under-bite, scrunched face and wonky ears might not make him a natural beauty, but Pabst was the star of the show at the World's Ugliest Dog contest in California this weekend.The former rescue dog beat off stiff competition to take the dubious title - and $1,600 in prize money - at the annual Sonoma-Marin Fair.Owner Miles Egstad of California had a beaming smile as he said how proud he was of his pooch ... not so much when people started discussing how dogs look like their owners. Miss Ellie, a blind 15-year-old Chinese Crested Hairless, won the ugliest  pedigree dog category.LINKSSonoma-Marin Fair      Images courtesy of World's Ugliest Dog Contest, Sonoma-Marin Fair...

Yes, it's from France:"If you had a son who wanted to be a priest, would you be happy or unhappy?"Only 50% of practicing Catholics would be happy, 15% unhappy, 28% indifferent and a mouth-breathing 7% could not muster an opinion. For the overall population, the figures break 24/36/32/8Asked what are the most important things a priest does, serving a parish followed by teaching the faith leads for practicing Catholics, then spreading the gospel, comforting the bereaved and only then giving the sacraments. Some pretty wonky theology at work there, I think. For the overall population it is comforting the bereaved followed by serving the parish.Elsewhere, regular mass goers are les in favour of married men taking holy orders than are the backsliders - 74% /85%, likewise priests marrying...

All this hot weather is not conducive to mucho blogo I'm afraid. Who wants to stay indoors punching a keyboard...anyway...Had to go to Stratford Hospital today to have my wonky eye looked into. I have a damaged nerve which has left me with hardly any peripheral vision which means I could be taken advantage of by a Ninja if he or she should approach from my left side. The last time I was examined was a couple of years ago and I was told at the time they didn't expect my condition to change anytime soon. I'd made an appointment this time because I thought I should have it checked out again...sorry am I boring you. Stay with me on this one.You boy, at the back, wake up.My appointment was at nine of the clock which meant as an out of work person with no need to time-keep anymore I had to make...

A great spot by the Croydonian while out and about yesterday.I remain unconvinced that the BNP are "poised for a breakthrough" - this is what we are always told. (Mind you, the same people who warn that they may siphon off Labour votes in working-class areas also insist on labelling them as "far-right" - explain that to me, someone.) What inevitably happens is that one guy gets on a council somewhere, proves himself to be even more incompetent, venal and psychopathic than your average politician, and fades quickly into obscurity. Not much fun if you're one of his constituents, I suppose, and particularly disturbing if your skin does not have the requisite BNP-approved Nordic hue; but hardly the second coming of fascism.That said, if they cannot make an impact now, with the country in the...

This Sunday both U15s and U18s are playing in the Herts 7s at Old Albanians RFC.As both teams are scheduled to have their first games at 1pm, we need all players to be together at OAs by midday.We will meet at the Letchworth club at 11.05am to travel to St. Albans. Will anyone travelling directly to OAs please ensure that Mike or Wonky know that you are not going via Letchworth.Old Albanians RFC is at : Woollam's Playing Fields, 160 Harpenden Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 6BB and simple instructions on how to find the club are given on -http://www.oarugby.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=98A map of the area is shown on...

Yes; I am a Mug. A complete Mug and Lemming to boot.I've read all the nasty reviews which suggest that this is all just uber-Middle-Class-vom-inducing smugness BUT there is just something about this programme that just appeals to my inner wannabe domestic goddess.Quite apart from the fact that I have had a big bag full of material swatches intended for a patchwork quilt secreted away in the back of a cupboard for the past 10 years along with two half-finished cushions with wonky seams, I just love the idea of being able to effortlessly conjure up charming, stylish home accessories.Unfortunately though, the reality never quite measures up.I'm just afraid that at my 1980s convent school, Sr Christina's home economics classes, replete with shonky sewing machines and A line skirt patterns was...

Podcast 27 is live as Cliff and I discuss the latest thing that will end civilisation as we know it, the events of the Wonky Donkey party, and my first ever ‘celebrity’ autograph. If you want to see the pictures I’m referring to in the podcast, you can find them here. iTunes users can subscribe by clicking here or you can listen to the podcast by pressing the play button below.  Clever people can subscribe in their player of choice with the feed which is here. Twitter updates and sneakily-taken photos from during the show can be found if you follow us here. Or, you could join our Facebook group here and drop us an email at podcastREMOVE_THIS_BIT@iamlivid.com....

So I was flipping through a notebook, looking for something else, and I came across a scribble. Learning, as a writer, to get out of your own way/light was all it said. I can't remember what prompted me to say that, nor decide what exactly I must have meant. And then I was talking to an aspiring writer who's hit the ugly duckling stage, where their knowledge and skill in writing have gone up a step, but they have yet integrate that into their writing, so everything's awkward and self conscious, and in lots of ways the new writing seems worse than the old. And I suddenly remembered the story of the Wooden Duck Making Kit. Inside the box are a knife, some paints, a block of wood, and an instruction leaflet. The leaflet says, "Cut away everything which is not a duck". Quite....