Tis the season to be frosty

At last, it feels like Christmas. It has been so mild lately I couldn't bring myself to feel the remotest bit festive. Even looking at the receipts of horrendous expense failed to convince me it was Christmas. Until, that is, the heavy frost descended and the walk to work became more of a challenge.

I am now walking home after an excessive lunch, three pints of Fosters and an afternoon of dwindling productivity. I did, however, manage to obtain a game from my childhood. Frustration by MB Games was for sale by a colleague at County Hall for a fiver and I couldn't help myself.

That takes my new game tally to three in two weeks after PC World's inability to deliver to me a Nintendo Wii before Christmas. Two weeks ago I bought Pirates Of The Caribbean and a great game that is. Similar to my favourite of all time, Lost Valley Of The Dinosaurs, you take command of a ship, port and crew setting sail for Isla de Muerta in search of treasure.

On Tuesday I went into town to do a bit of shopping and picked up Uno Extreme. I am yet to play it, but I have fancied it for a while. Uno has long been a favourite anyway and a version that has a machine that spits out indisciminate numbers of cards at the touch of a button has to be a winner!

A Strange Weekend

I spent most of last week at home with a cold that the boss didn't want to catch. I did work from home on Friday, however, making a draft design and a few select updates that the office sent me.

On Saturday it was a lovely sunny day and as fate had it, it was a golf competition. We were on the first hole when the air ambulance started circling the course. It flew over the trees of the back nine and we thought no more of it until it landed on the 11th fairway. We made it to the 3rd hole when the claxon sounded, signifying that the course was closed and all players should return to the clubhouse. It turned out that the chap the copter came for had dropped dead during a heated argument with his playing partners.

So we missed out on a quality day of golf and to cap it all off Chelsea dodged an Evertonian bullet before Curbishley and West Ham came together in their respectively bad records against Man Utd to claim their first victories in the Premiership. Buggery.

Desperate for a Wii

I have just been sent home from work for being ill. Everyone is scared of catching a cold close to Christmas. Suits me fine. I can go sit in comfort, supping tea and watch some movies.

What I really want though is my Nintendo Wii. I have one on pre-order with PC World but missed out on the launch day allocation. So now, like thousands of others, I am left wondering if I will get mine before Christmas. I have to be honest and say I think it highly unlikely. It is truly frustrating that console manufacturers don't produce enough gear to satisfy demand.

As it happens, this weekend Jon managed to blag someone's unclaimed pre-order from Game in Wellingborough on Sunday. We played all the Wii Sports and I can tell you now that the Nintendo Wii is the best console ever. It may not have the HD graphics of the Xbox and PS3, but it makes up for it in sheer fun and enjoyability. It's the end of chubby arse, lazy gaming. We are in the Wii-zone now.

A Fish Called Wanda

Megan and I spent the weekend in Northampton with two of my very best friends. Before heading up on the M5 we stopped at Darts Farm Shop for some xmas shopping. I managed to finish all but two presents and discovered a new line of wines from my favourite vineyard, Down St Mary. All in all a good decision to stop.

On the way out, however, we were overwhelmed by the smell of freshly cooked fish. On site is a fish and chip shack. That was it, thought we, we shall stop here for lunch. I had plaice and Megan had cod. Also on the menu were fresh sea bass and skate. Anyway, to cut this long story short it is easily the best fish and chips I Have eaten. Fresh, crispy beer batter around succulent, tasty fish. I shall definitely be going back.

Closer

Since I last posted about crappy Christmas lights they have spread like wildfire on the former council estate. Within days there were countless numbers of houses with coatings of gaudy, expensive tat. If Gordon Brown is looking for more targets for taxation can I suggest starting with these. Obviously they can afford the gear and the not inconsiderable running costs.

In other news my credit card took another hit last night. At the weekend the hoover broke. We were intending on waiting til the new year to buy a new Dyson, but the one we were looking at on Amazon went up £70 this week. The exact same one we same in Sainsburys for the original Amazon price and so we made the decision to get it while we could. A detailed opinion will be formed in the coming days to decide which sucks more, the cleaner or the price.

Flashdance

It's my mate Emma's birthday tonight and we are out in town.

I am in the infamous t-qualiser and as ever its a raring success... with all the blokes!