January 2007 – University & Unicorns

25 January 2007

BirdWatch 2007.

Well…

I have to say I’m getting a little excited. This weekend is the annual BirdWatch weekend. This is a chance for people in the UK to take an hour out of their normal weekend schedule to observe the numbers of birds visiting their gardens. I partook in last year’s survey and am really looking forward to this weekend.

It’s just a good excuse to sit back and observe the birds for an hour. Not that I need an excuse. One of the daily newspapers helped to get me in the mood by giving away a set of birdsong CD’s in their weekend papers. There are about 50 bird calls on each disc. It was lovely listening to all the different sounds. Some are very familiar like blue tits and robins and blackbirds, but others like the capercaillie are not ones you hear everyday, unless you live in a part of Scotland where they reside.

I feel sorry for birds in winter. It must be tough. It’s so bloomin’ cold out there at the moment, and all they have to keep warm are some feathers, poor little blights. Food is tough to come by at this time of year too. We do our bit, putting out fat balls and seeds and peanuts, and any food scraps that are bird friendly. We put out bread some times as some birds love it as a treat, but it serves no useful purpose for them. It’s like us eating a plate of chips, no real value to it, other than it tastes nice. But the fat balls give them energy and help to keep them warm. Poor little birdies!

I am loving blue tits at the moment. I think they are my favourite birds. They are so little and cute and agile. They always seem to be flying about all day, stopping here and there for food, hopping along tree branches, being very active. I love their little calls and they look tough, like they’d try and give you a little peck, given half a chance! lol I just think they are adorable.

Maybe I should buy myself a t-shirt emblazoned with “I LOVE TITS” on it…just to give people with sordid minds the wrong idea!!! lol

17 January 2007

Iiiitttttt’s Wooollllffffiiiieeeee!

After 14 years of trying, Martin “Wolfie” Adams won the BDO Lakeside World Darts Championship 2007. Congratulations to Wolfie and his wife Sharon. He won the final of a best of 13 sets, 7-6, after his opponent Phil “Nixy” Nixon was down 6-0 in the match. Yes! Wolfie only had one set to win and then Nixy put on a monumental comeback performance. Not really helped by Wolfie becoming very untidy with his “finishes”. Nixy clawed his way back to make it 6-6. In a way Wolfie really didn’t deserve to win it as Nixy made such a fightback. Nixy had been trying for 20 years just to get TO the World Darts Championship and it was his very first success at getting through to playing. He was at odds of 150/1 to win the championship – and for a time it looked like a lot of people were going to be making some tidy sums of money. He would have been the bookies best friend.

But finally, Wolfie came through and won the deciding set without the need to go into a tie-break situation. His wife Sharon was in pieces. She has wanted this for him for so long. She lives every dart. She was an emotional wreck when they went into the deciding set and had to leave the viewing area because she just couldn’t take it anymore! I get the feeling that although Wolfie won, he might be in the doghouse for turning Sharon into a plate of jelly! lol

(Martin “Woflie” Adams with the trophy for the winner of Lakeside Darts Championship 2007.)

11 January 2007

Typical Me.

I accept my “Person of the Year” from Time Magazine for my blogging, and then proceed NOT to blog for three weeks. Although I at least have the excuse of it being the Xmas/New Year period.

It was a quiet one, hence me having time to actually WRITE an entry for December 26! We stayed home and just had a nice dinner here. I felt bad as Em had had the opportunity to buy me a couple of little surprise presents. I wasn’t able to get her anything. Not even a card.

New Year’s Eve again was quiet. I had a few Bailey’s with a hint of caramel drinks. Em actually managed to stay up after midnight (just), which was a feat for her! We saw a bit of the London fireworks on TV (and saw a bit of Sydney’s earlier on in the day) and watched the rest of Jool’s Hootenanny. I went to bed around 1am. Then listened to the radio for a while. I couldn’t sleep and so at around 3am made a request for a song via text. I was still awake at 4.15am to hear my name being read out, so that was cool.

After the New Year, it was just a count down to the Embassy World Darts which has been on TV since Saturday. I just SSOOO love the “walk-on’s” of the players. Sorry, but there is NOTHING on YouTube, I’ll have to try and get something up myself. My favourite player is Martin “Wolfie” Adams. The announcer/MC, Martin Fitzmaurice announces Wolfie’s arrival by calling out “Iiiitttt’s Wooolllllllffffiiiieeee!!!”…and creepy-like music plays, with a howling wolf, which Wolfie mimes to. Then Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like The Wolf” starts to play. It’s just brilliant!

(Ted “The Count” Hankey)

(Martin “Wolfie” Adams)

No New Year’s resolutions. What’s the point? Maybe one (although not officially given) is that I will really rope in spending this year – it won’t really be hard, as we have next to nowt anyway.

Well, that’s me for now.