Rob, Rambling - A lot of things interest me...

I’m off to Venice tomorrow for a long weekend with the girlfriend, and am thoroughly looking forward to it. I’ve been before, once when I was really young with my family, and then on a whistle-stop day or two as part of a longer road-trip with some friends a few years ago.

She’s never been, and has been mentioning that fact for at least the last 12 months. Shortly before Christmas, I bought a guide book for the city, and booked flights and a hotel, without telling her.

On Christmas Day, one of my presents to her was the guide book, which she seemed a little surprised at. She asked “Are we going to Venice?”, and I told her to look inside the book. There, waiting, were the flight bookings and hotel reservation, ready to go. She had tears in her eyes, which I think is a good sign.

I admit it, I’m damned good at this relationship stuff sometimes.

Unfortunately, the weather is conspiring against us this weekend. Rain, rain, and more rain. Just like being in London, but with water below as well as above…

Anybody have any tips, restaurant/bar/sights-wise?

I’m off to Venice tomorrow for a long weekend with the girlfriend, and am thoroughly looking forward to it. I’ve been before, once when I was really young with my family, and then on a whistle-stop day or two as part of a longer road-trip with some friends a few years ago.

She’s never been, and has been mentioning that fact for at least the last 12 months. Shortly before Christmas, I bought a guide book for the city, and booked flights and a hotel, without telling her.

On Christmas Day, one of my presents to her was the guide book, which she seemed a little surprised at. She asked “Are we going to Venice?”, and I told her to look inside the book. There, waiting, were the flight bookings and hotel reservation, ready to go. She had tears in her eyes, which I think is a good sign.

I admit it, I’m damned good at this relationship stuff sometimes.

Unfortunately, the weather is conspiring against us this weekend. Rain, rain, and more rain. Just like being in London, but with water below as well as above…

Anybody have any tips, restaurant/bar/sights-wise?

I do enjoy this time of year for the general spirit of goodwill around. I was just in McDonald’s, grabbing some lunch, when an example presented itself.

NOTE: I generally avoid McDonald’s other than for the odd Double Sausage & Egg McMuffin, which is pretty much like the ambrosia of the gods in muffin form. I’m not massively impressed by the usual burgers there, especially Big Macs of recent years. Oh, and the Big Mac has gotten a little smaller, right?

I’d ordered a Quarterpounder With Cheese meal, and then a Cheeseburger on the side. What?! I’m a growing lad, and in any case McD’s burgers have got smaller over the years.

Evidently, the time at which I’d ordered a cheeseburger was the wrong moment, as I then had to wait for one to be prepared. It took forever, during which those cheeseburgers which made it down the chute were swiftly grabbed by workers a little quicker than the girl who was serving me.

After waiting for at least five minutes (I know, a whole five minutes. The horror!), the girl serving me leaned over and asked if I’d “like a double?”. Hell yeah! The chute of double cheesburgers was piling up, with nary a single one of the, erm, single variety in sight.

She popped a double into my bag, and I walked out a very chuffed customer.

Thanks, random McDonald’s server on High Holborn. You made this guy’s day!

Who’s got two thumbs and burnt his lip on a fork from his new fondue set last night?

THIS GUY!

I nipped down to Gatwick airport yesterday to pick up my parents’ car, as they were heading off on holiday for the Christmas/New Year period and are letting me borrow it. It saves them parking costs, and it’s a whole lot easier for me to get to/from the girlfriend’s parents’ house for Christmas itself.

As I wandered through the terminal to their hotel, and also whilst sitting in the hotel bar with them, it struck me just how happy everyone around me looked. Yes, travelling can be stressful at this time of year, but the smiles on people’s faces showed that they were prepared to cope with it for the reward at the other end.

Some, like my parents, were escaping to sunnier climes for a week or two. Others, no doubt, were about to cross great distances to be with family for Christmas. Either way, the whole place was relentlessly upbeat and jovial.

‘Tis the season…

Although I’ve already watched The Muppet Christmas Carol this year, I really have a hankering to watch it again. Definitely my favourite Christmas film.

Although I’ve already watched The Muppet Christmas Carol this year, I really have a hankering to watch it again. Definitely my favourite Christmas film.

Rage Against The Machine gaff on BBC Radio 5 Live (via joncoe0)

Classic radio, are you ready for the media blizzard over this?

Buy it for 28p at Amazon: http://bit.ly/4x1pnD

(Despite reports, it DOES count to the chart. Amazon are selling under the price they pay rights for)

tomdavenport, via mudisland

Just to fill in on the backstory of all of this, there’s a campaign running to get RATM’s Killing In The Name Of to be this year’s Christmas Number One, in an effort to show that manufactured Cowell-pop isn’t necessarily the only way to go. The last four chart-toppers at Christmas have been from the winner of that year’s X-Factor, and this year looked like it’d be no different.

That was, until a grass-roots internet campaign started a drive to get this song to number one instead. It started on Facebook, where the main group now has over 850,000 members, and has started gathering some media attention this week. The Facebook group is making a point of highlighting a charity (Shelter), and the members of RATM have also said that they will donate their proceeds from the increased sales to charity.

I’ve no idea why Killing In The Name Of was picked, but I reckon it’s probably got something to do with the “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” lyric. There’s a generation out there that is tired of having manufactured schmaltz-pop shoved down their throats for 3 months of the year, culminating in the Christmas number one.

BBC Radio 5Live’s morning show had the bright idea of getting RATM on the line for an interview and live performance of the song. It went very, very well…

The interview is great, with some insightful comments from the band. Of course, the presenters tried to make it a case of RATM v Simon Cowell, which it’s really not, rather than exploring the idea of a pissed off grassroots movement.

And then they played live. Amazing stuff. RATM have still got it, and I love that they told the producers/presenters that they wouldn’t swear, before proceeding directly to shout “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” at the top of their lungs.

Seriously, were the radio staff expecting anything else?! They were naive in the utmost. RATM are one of the most anti-authority and deliberately disruptive bands out there, and you expected them not to swear?! Sheesh.


Reblogged from: mudisland
Originally posted on: Tom Davenport

Just had a present for the girlfriend delivered to the office. The only problem seems to be how the hell I’m going to get it home, because it’s bigger than my bag.

She’s a lucky girl…

Just had a present for the girlfriend delivered to the office. The only problem seems to be how the hell I’m going to get it home, because it’s bigger than my bag.

She’s a lucky girl…

I feel very sneaky whilst buying Christmas presents for the girlfriend and having to keep everything hidden/secret from her.

It’s going to be so worth it though.

I’m very pleased with myself for having almost all of my Christmas shopping done and dusted already. Usually, it’s around the 20th before I even think about it, and then I end up rushing around. Not this year, though, no.

My parents are off on holiday over Christmas and New Year, so they came up to London on Sunday for an early Christmas. This meant I had to get their presents sorted by then, and I figured I might as well get the girlfriend’s as well.

Saturday was thus spent wandering around the shops (hell on Earth for me), and I think I did alright. I had some ideas whilst I was out and then jumped online back in the flat to get the last couple of things. Organised, for once.

All that’s left is to get something for my sister, which should be easy enough. And then it’s time to put my feet up and crack on with some mince pies!

This evening marked the official start of Christmas for me, with a viewing of The Muppet Christmas Carol. I love this film!

And yes, I own it on DVD.

This evening marked the official start of Christmas for me, with a viewing of The Muppet Christmas Carol. I love this film!

And yes, I own it on DVD.

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Londoner, thinking and writing far too much about far too many random things. Wannabe photo-/videographer of my life. More likely to be found propping up a bar somewhere.

I also write about football.

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