So what is it with the Church? Last week we were hearing about a paedophile choirmaster who was sent to prison for abusing boys, and then this week, it's a parish priest.

Over the years, we have had to listen to the Church pontificate as to why church numbers are dropping off, and they don't see a link. Despite it's pleadings to the contrary, the Church still has dirty old men involved at a grass roots level, dirty old men (and young men) who like children. Worse than this though, is the fact that the Church is doing a good job at covering it up!

As right-minded individuals, shouldn't we be saying no. If the clerical hierarchy is incapable or unwilling to act, surely the Government and the judiciary should be getting involved and thoroughly investigating. If the Church is found guilty of protecting these perverts, surely the Church itself should be sanctioned?

In my view, the sanctions should be limitless. Time after time over hundreds of years, the Church has operated above and outside the law. Now it is time for this to stop. It's no good the Bishop of Bath and Wells telling us that the Church has to take some responsibility for the priest in Clevedon. The Church has to take all the responsibility for hiding this sick man and allowing him to commit child-abuse. Surely the Church is commiting this abuse by proxy?

After the elation of last week, I'm totally gutted this week. We went out of the European Cup with a whimper to Milan. I haven't seen such a spineless display form United for so long. Not one player really fired. Defensive mix-ups cost us the first two goals (well taken by Kaka and Seedorf) and it was inevitable we would conceed a third when we were playing so far up the pitch.

Normally when United have a bad game, there is at least one player who can take the game by the scruff of the neck Scholes and Fletcher came close tonight, but even they looked half-hearted compared to Gatusso and Kaka who just ran the game for Milan.

I hope this isn't a taste of the next few weeks. We need to get back to winning ways on Saturday against City and then sell the title next Wednesday against Chelski.

I'd like to wish Milan all the very best in the Champions League Final. Hopefully, they'll stuff the Scousers out of sight.

With a little luck and a few good signings, we can go two better and win the damn thing next season.

Now I love baseball. I know it comes in for a lot of stick on both sides of the pond, but i do genuinely love it.

My team is the New York Yankees. Like Manchester United, most people seem to hate them. They've started badly this season, not like most years, and are some way behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.

However, the revalation has been Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod). He has produced average numbers during his first 3 seasons in New York, but this April, he's numbers have been awesome. In a season, a good player hits 40 - 50 home runs. A-Rod has hit 14 in April and the season lasts until October. I know he can't continue to perform at this level, but with a little luck, the Yankees will start to pick up.

With a little more luck, Roger Clemens will sign back with the Yankees in May. Even at 44, he would be a hell of an addition to the bullpen.

Take me out to the ballgame.

I'm seriously thinking about taking up smoking.

Why?

Because it's being recommended that smokers get paid leave to let them attend therapy to help them quit. So this will get paid for by the NHS, and I will also support them through my NI payments. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a card-carrying member of the Labour Party and a Socialist, but this seems more than a little wrong. Smokers have exercised their freewill to smoke. I fully support any smoker who wants to quit, but there are better, and more deserving causes than people who toke on Cancersticks everyday.

In the same vein, who are Alcohol Concern to tell us that no child under the age of 15 should be allowed to drink alcohol? Granted, they shouldn't be drinking much, but a little wine / beer with a meal now and again shouldn't be a problem, and certainly shouldn't be made illegal. The French let their kids drink and it doesn't cause a problem. Alcohol was available to me and all my siblings, and never caused a problem for any of us.

This is just another example of the PC Brigade sticking it's nose in where it isn't needed and finding something else to bleat about. Enough is enough.

I can't let the passing of Alan Ball go without comment.

Granted, he was a World Cup winner before I was born, but I remember his later playing days from when I first got interested in football.

Here was a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve and played the game with dignity. His bearing on the pitch was something that a lot of today's self-absorbed players could learn from. You didn't see Alan Ball go down under the slightest challenge or dive over an opponent's leg to win a penalty in the box.

It's a shame that his managerial career never reached the heights of his playing career, but Alan Ball always displayed his passion for the game, and I hope that this weekend sees people paying tribute to the man in a proper way.

Alan Ball 1945 - 2007. RIP.

So there'll be a new holiday destination soon?

I love the fact that we are always exploring beyond the realms of what we know. The discovery of a new planet, Gliese 581c in the Beta Librae system, gives hope to those that believe we are not alone in the Universe. This makes 231 extra-solar planets that have been 'discovered'.

I have to laugh though when it's so casual presented by newsreaders. It's a bit like "Monday - Pick up Dry Cleaning, Tuesday - Discover new planet that might support life."

Hang on a second. These discoveries are potentially enourmous. Here we have planets that might support life, and more importantly, might support human life. As Stephen Hawking has put it recently, the only future for the human race is if it can break out beyond the bounds of this planet.

Let's face it, we have managed to bugger up the environment with potentially catastrophic results. Nuclear proliferation is on the rise. This is the dawning of the age of not-giving-a-fuck, and we have politicians paying lip service to Climate Change and Third World Aid.

This discovery, for me, is major news. As a planet, we need to be looking at ways to get into space. Not in some Star Trek/Warp Speed way, but in terms of getting permanent dwellings on the Moon and beyond.

Hopefully, even in my lifetime, we will see manned missions to Mars, and possibly even further. This is an exciting time for mankind. There should be a spirit of discovery in the same way that there was when the New World was discovered by Vespucci, Columbus, Magellan et al. We should be striving to push forward the realms of our knowledge, rather than trying to impose our own ideals, customs and mores on others. This is a chance for mankind to do what it does best. I only hope that we don't fall short.

What is it with some people? Sarah, my other half, was driving to the Bransholme Centre in Hull this afternoon to return a pair of trousers which she'd bought for George, my step-son. As she got towards the centre, she heard an almighty crash behind her, and discovered that the off-side rear window of the car had been put through. This resulted in a detour to get the window fixed, rather than getting the trousers returned. The original cost of the trousers was only £4, but the new window cost £50. £54 is certainly the most expensive pair of school trousers I've ever heard of.

Looking at the resulting damage to the car, the most likely cause for this seems to have been something fired at the car, such as a stone or an air-rifle pellet. Surely the idiots that do this kind of thing realise the consequences of their actions. If they had hit the front window, then Sarah would have been covered in glass at the very least and more importantly could have been seriously injured. If George had been in the back, the same result might have happened.

If it was an adult, then they need locking up, but what bother's me more is the thought that it's a teenager. Have they been so badly brought up by their parents that they don't appreciate what happens when they do something as stupid as this? I don't want to start on a "Kids Today" rant, but sometimes I really do despair. I only hope George doesn't grow up like this.
Some of the kids that I see around and about these days really don't seem to give a shit. Should we, as right thinking adults be prepared to accept behaviour from today's young people? We would have been disciplined and made to behave. Have we gone too far as a PC society? Answers on a postcard.

What a game. With a patched up defence, I never thought we would keep a clean sheet. Brown was superb, playing in the middle alongside Heinze. He's had his critics this season, but he has proved in the last couple of weeks that he deserves to be in the squad. He's not as good as Ferdinand or Vidic, but he's a United player for sure.

Scholes' flick for Rooney's first goal was sublime. You just know that if he was still playing for England, they'd be no look-in for Frank Lampard. I saw some rubbish recently that Scholes retired because he was scared of Lampard. Lampard isn't half the player the Paul Scholes is.
Rooney's second goal was sheer class in it's own way too. I was sure that Giggs was going to take the ball into the corner, but he took the defenders away instead and then when Rooney hit it first time, I flew off the bed and nearly took myself out on the radiator! Still, no-one ever said being a football supporter was easy.

Kaka was outstanding for Milan. It's just a pity that we saw some more cynical challeges later in the game from players like Bonera.

I'm sure we will go to Milan and score, and hopefully we will be in Athens in 4 weeks (and hopefully playing the Scousers).

Anyway, roll on next Wednesday.

Boris Yeltsin

I can't let the passing of Boris Yeltsin go un-noticed on this blog. I was listening to various politicians wax lyrical about President Yeltsin on the radio last night. Douglas Hurd described him as "not having a great intellect.". Hmm, way to go Douglas, you certainly picked your words well. Isn't there something about not speaking ill of the dead?

I'll always remember Yeltsin. I studied East European Studies while he was in the Kremlin. In fact, his stand against the Soviet authorities in 1991 was one of the influences on my decision to go to SSEES in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, I admire the decision that Gorbachev took to modernise the Soviet Union and break with years of hardline dogma, but Yeltsin made Sovio-Russian history interesting again. Standing on the tank facing down the military during the attempted coup of 1991 will be one of the enduring memories on the 20th Century for me.For me, during the course of my studies, Yeltsin was a larger-than-life figure who dragged a country to the edge of the 21st Century with some radical reforms which didn't always work, and faced down a second coup when Congress tried to impeach him. It's a pity we don't have many politicians with his passion and drive in power now.

Boris Yeltsin 1931 - 2007

Well, another 3 points towards (hopefully) another title.

That said, I thought the referee, Rob Stiles, had a poor game. He missed a dodgy challenge from Colin Kazim-Richards on Patrice Evra which left Evra on the ground, some challenges from Chris Morgan on United players which were rough to say the least, and a very late challenge from Heinze on Shelton which should have seen United reduced to 10 men. It was the kind of match which made me question why this guy is a FIFA-listed ref. He wasn't consistent in how he controlled the game.

Sheffield United are a physical team, but they seemed to go over the top in terms of agression. There was no attempt by Kazim-Richards to play the ball. He went over the top of the ball and into Evra's knee. Surely this should have been a yellow card at the very least? Chris Morgan led with his elbow more often than not and seemed desperate to take Ronaldo's shirt from him before the end of the game.

Don't get me wrong, gentle reader, I still hope Sheffield United beat the drop, I just think that they were too aggresive against United. Aggression born of desperation? Almost certainly, but that was too much and a better referee would have been using the red card.

Personally, I'd like Fulham, Charlton and West Ham to go. I have a soft spot for Watford. However, I think they are doomed to the Championship. I think Fulham will join them, and (hopefully) West Ham, but only because I'd like to sign Carlos Tevez in the summer.

It's certainly going to be an exciting few weeks.

What is going on? I've never been so embarrassed by the England cricket team. The performance against South Africa was shocking. Vaughan should stand down as captain. Whether he survives in the team or not would then be up to the selection committee. Personally speaking, I'd appoint Strauss as the new ODI captain. I think he has earned the right. I'm not sure who would be a good vice-captain. Pietersen maybe?

There haven't been too many England players at the WCC who can hold their heads up and say they've played well. Collingwood, Pietersen, Nixon and Bopara with the bat and Flintoff with the ball. I think Mahmood and Anderson did OK, and Panesar showed potential but they weren't at the races at this WC.

As for the rest, Strauss has started to show some form again (in the SA game at least). Bell and Joyce were disjointed and Vaughan would be shot if he was a racehorse.

As I said in an earlier blog, the team that lines up against the Windies in the summer should be

Trescothick
Bell / Joyce
Strauss
Pietersen
Flintoff
Collingwood
Bopara
Nixon
Mahmood / Anderson
Jones
Panesar

Oh well, at least with Ireland an official ODI side now, maybe we could start our own version of the Tri-Nations with Scotland and Ireland. Maybe we'd even win something then!

OK, so I'm not a food critic, but I can really recomend you never, ever, visit this place.

When I visit a Tapas Bar (or any kind of restaurant), the music that is played should definitely be in the background. Sadly, this wasn't the case here. The music was so loud that even on a table of 4, we had to shout to be heard.

On top of that, we sat next to the DJ booth. Not a problem normally, but the jerk in the booth insisted on smoking throughout our meal, so everything came with that nicotine after-taste. In the end, I had to ask him to stop smoking around us.

Now, on to the food. We ordered 6 dishes and a side order of bread. The bread was massively over-priced. Five pieces of sandwich baguette cost £2. In the same vein, the meatballs were also over-priced. Three meatballs cost £5, and they weren't large. The garlic prawns were tasteless. The chorizo weren't chorizo but chipolattas. The seafood paella was made with a cheap version of Batchelor's Savoury Rice. The potato wedges were a cheap product that was under-cooked and the creamy, spicy dip which it came with was mayonaise with a hint of jalapeno pepper stuffed in to try and give it some kick! Finally, we got a chicken and ham salad, which I can't say I have ever seen on a tapas menu before and certainly didn't fit with the idea of small dishes. The main feature of the salad was lettuce, with some reformed chicken and ham thrown in.

Considering these 6 dishes cost us £30, I really was seriously underwhelmed with the whole experience. I've written to Fusion to complain, and I'll update you when I've had a reply.

Well, that's got to be some kind of record. 4 months and no posts in here. Oh well, so much for good intentions.

So, I better start with some updates.

Firstly, Sarah and I bought the house. We completed on 18th August, so we've now been living together for about 3 months. Living together is great. It's the daily commute to York that is killing me. I leave the house at 6.20am to catch the 6.40am train to York from Cottingham station. I catch the 5.27pm train home and generally get home around 7pm. Roll on the weekend.

The house has been OK, although we've not had a cooker since we moved in. We've now got a new cooker from Stoves, but we need to get some remedial work done on the gas pipe before the cooker can be fitted. Since we've got friends coming for Christmas dinner in about 3 weeks, the clock is definitely ticking!

I've also been having an on-going problem with Sky. We got Sky+ and Sky Multiroom fitted when we moved in but the Multiroom box has never worked. More on that another time.

I've taken over as the Musical Director of the Cottingham Band. I'm enjoying standing in-front of a band again. It's far more rewarding than playing has been for a while and I'm looking forward to hopefully taking the band to the North of England Area Finals in March next year.

I've also left the East Yorkshire Motor Services Band. I haven't enjoyed playing for a while and I think having a bit of time out is going to be in my best interests. I'm not sure what my next playing move will be (there have been a few offers), but I would hope to be contesting again as a player next year. I'd like to wish the band all the best for it's assault on the Areas and the Senior Cup next year.

I'm over the moon that United are top of the league. Their league form this year has been fantastic in the main, and I'm sure that they can build on the good start they've made. It's a pity that this form hasn't carried over into Europe, or the League Cup. I can't describe my anger at them being knocked out by Southend. No disrespect to Southend, but they shouldn't be beating a side that features players like Heinze, Ronaldo and Rooney and there were several players who must now be surely playing for their futures at Old Trafford. On a positive note though, I do hope Freddy Adu comes over to the Theatre of Dreams. He's one hell of a prospect and I'm sure he will only improve the team.

I'd like to pay tribute to the 20 years that Sir Alex Ferguson has been at United. That's a long period of time in any job, and especially one which is as high profile and as stressful as the manager's role at United. He has re-built the club from nothing to one which has consistently challenged across the board for the last 15 years. It would be truely fitting that United win a trophy in this historic season.

Well, I’m starting to slip again aren’t I! It’s about two and a half weeks since my last entry.

The concert at St Matthew’s Church went OK. There were a few hairy moments especially in the cornet solo, La Belle Americaine. However, we emerged unscathed.

Band-wise, it’s been a busy time. There was the Whit Friday marches, followed by the Christmas CD, followed by this concert. I missed a concert the following weekend (25th June) as it was my dad’s 60th birthday and we all congregated in Leicester to celebrate. However, this weekend, it was a return to form as we spent the weekend in Cockermouth opening the annual Cockermouth festival. It wasn’t the greatest timing in the world, given that it was the quarter-final weekend of the World Cup, the 5th One Day International at Headingly and the middle Saturday of Wimbledon, but the audience was appreciative enough. The venue was the United Reformed Church in the town centre which was a hot place to play in with an average acoustic, but the concert went well. The soloists were in good form and the playing from the band was good in the main. The programme was a varied one, ranging from the candyfloss of “Pop Looks Bach” or “Hello Dolly” to the virtuosity of “La Belle Americaine” and the power of “The Pines of Rome”. The band celebrated in traditional style afterwards, heading out for beer and curry, despite the football result.

Football seems to have dominated the agenda over the last couple of weeks. I suppose that’s not really that surprising when you consider that it’s the World Cup. I can’t begin to describe the anger I feel towards Cristiano Ronaldo. His behaviour towards Wayne Rooney, considering that they are team-mates at Untied, was unforgivable. The kid might be a good footballer, but he’s not the finished item by any stretch of the imagination. He’s too cocky, too arrogant and it’s about time United sold him. I’d rather have the £25 million in the bank than a blood-bath at Carrington anyday of the week. I can’t see Rooney forgiving him in a hurry, and I suspect a lot of the other United players will feel the same way.

Personally, I can’t blame Rooney for England’s defeat. Yes, it was an indefensible action, but if he’d gone down, he would have won a free-kick and maybe Carvalho would have been booked. Instead he sees red for a stamp that isn’t an acceptable part of his game. However, the blame doesn’t lie there. Nor does it lie with the inept penalty taking of Lampard and Gerrard, or the over-enthusiasm of Jamie Carragher. For me, the blame for England crashing out of the World Cup lies with the English media. For weeks, they have built up pressure on the team, especially concerning penalties. How many times have we seen Lampard and Gerrard bang penalties away for Chelsea or Liverpool without a care in the world? However, because we have such an appalling record in penalty shoot-outs, the pressure is immediately applied by the journalists. You can see it in their body language the minute they stepped up to the spot. They were absolutely terrified of writing themselves into that book which already contains the names of Waddle, Peace, Southgate, Batty, Ince, Beckham, Vassell etc. They envisaged failure before they struck the ball, and as such, were always going to miss.

I dislike the sports journalists in this country anyway, because they would rather attack our sportsmen and women than sing their praises. This from overweight, pompous windbags who know nothing more about sport than your average arm-chair fan but who get paid to write about it. This World Cup campaign has really sealed the deal for me though. I think in future I will read ESPN.com more closely. At least I can get well-balanced views there!

On a final note about England, what a waste of time picking Theo Walcott was. Michael Owen got injured, but instead of using two strikers, Erikkson dropped any extra man into midfield. Thank goodness he’s gone, and thank goodness Beckham has stepped down as captain. I’d like to see Gary Neville take over. I think he’s got the tools to do the job. He’s done a great job at United and I’m sure he could lead England as well, especially when he’s appeared in nearly 100 games. However, I think McLaren will give the job to Terry or Gerrard. I do think that most of the squad will stay in contention though, with the possible exceptions of James and Campbell. I’ve been really impressed with Owen Hargreaves during the competition. He’s taken a lot of stick from England fans and the media but did a great job for England during the tournament.

Now that the World Cup is coming towards an end, I’m hoping that United will buy a player or two. I’d like to sign Torres, but given that he has a release fee of £41m in his contract, I’m not sure that will happen. I’d also like to sign Hargreaves, Carrick or Maschereno. We need to challenge Chelsea next season, and given that they have added Ballack, Kalou and Shevchenko to their line-up, that will be a hard task.

On the house front, we’re hopeful that we will move into our new house in the middle of August. I’m really looking forward to being a family under one roof. I’m also looking forward to our holiday to Majorca which will give us all a chance to relax and unwind. I’m hoping to get some diving in and maybe take my Advanced Open Water certificate. I’ve just started running and exercising a little bit. I’m running in the Sport Relief Mile in a couple of weeks and it would be nice to do the mile in about 8 or 9 minutes.

Big Brother ticks on. I’d like to see Pete or Glyn win. I’m glad Grace and Lisa have been evicted, and I’ve been really amused to see Grace, who slagged off Nikki for posing in Zoo, has been getting her tits out in the mans mags. The sooner she disappears of the face of the planet the better. A sexual Ferrari? More like a Renault. She reckons she’s experienced when she’s 20 and has slept with 6 men!?! Get real dear.

Anyway dear reader, stay tuned and I’ll write more soon.

Well, I certainly wound the clock back last night. 11 years ago, I went to see Bon Jovi at Wembley Stadium. They were supported by Van Halen, Thunder and Ugly Kid Joe. I’d toyed with the idea of going to see them play at the new Wembley when the dates for the “Have a Nice Day” tour were announced. However, I decided against it and didn’t give it a second thought until it was announced that they would play at the KC Stadium in Hull. Since Sarah only lives about a 15 minute walk away, I bought a ticket in the standing area. I don’t listen to Bon Jovi quiet as much as I used too and I certainly don’t know the tracks on “Bounce”, “Crush” or “Have a Nice Day” as much as I do on the earlier albums.

Anyway, the gig was last night in Hull. I missed the opening act and only caught a bit of the second act. Bon Jovi took the stage at about 8pm and all of a sudden I was 21 again. The band and I have grown old together, as Jon Bon Jovi reminded me. Tico Torres now looks middle-aged and Richie Sambora has certainly put some weight on. Mind you, I suppose I now look middle-aged compared to the teenager who discovered “Slippery When Wet” on a coach en-route to France in 1987. The only reason I had the cassette was because I’d taken a shine to “The Final Countdown” by Europe and a friend had copied the album “The Final Countdown” on one side of a C90 and “Slippery When Wet” on the other. The first half of the album was an instant hit for me and “Wanted Dead or Alive” is one of my favourite songs of all time, along with “Beds are Burning” by Midnight Oil.

The rain eased off just after Bon Jovi took the stage amidst a fully illuminated display. They opened with “Last Man Standing” before heading into “Rockin’ Around the World” by Status Quo and following it up with “You Give Love a Bad Name”. A lot of the classics got an airing tonight including “Living on A Prayer”, “Runaway”, “Raise Your Hands”, “Blood on Blood”, “Keep the Faith” and “Bad Medicine”. They also played some of the songs I don’t know so well like “Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars”, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and “Have A Nice Day”.

The tempo didn’t drop during the night and neither did the lights. The band kept going right to the end and I have to say that it was the best gig I’ve ever been to and I’ve now got to decide whether I go to see any of the other gigs I’d like to see before the end of the year; Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Status Quo, Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings or Billy Joel.

I’d forgotten who good a good gig is and I can’t wait for the next one.

Anyway, tonight sees me playing at St Matthew’s Church in Hull. I’m sure the audience will be massively different, even if the venue is only a stone’s throw away.

Friday 9th June saw the Greatest Free Show on Earth once more in Saddleworth and Tameside. The annual Whit Friday Marches attract bands from all over the country. I guess it was because I never took banding seriously until 1999, but the first time I ever played at the Whit Friday Marches wasn’t until then. Since then I’ve only missed one Whit Friday, in 2002 when Imps played at the Masters two days later. This year was a first for me though, as it is the first time I’ve played for a scratch band.

Back in February, I played at the Brass at the Guild contest for Jackfield Elcock Reisen and was asked if I fancied playing at the Whit Friday Marches for a scratch band which was being put together. I agreed and also volunteered to guide the band around Tameside. I guided the Ransome Band around Tameside last year and we managed to play at all 11 venues. The scratch band was born and swiftly named Hawaiian Brass.

Friday saw 44 of us marching around Tameside dressed in Hawaiian shirts, hula skirts and sandals. We marched to the theme from Hawaii Five-0 and played the march “The President” on the stand. At the time of writing, I’ve not heard of any of our results, but we certainly entertained people. We were the fourth band to play at Denton Cricket Club, traditionally the start of the Tameside contests. After that we played number 2 at Dukinfield. As the night progressed, we brought the audience onto our side, with our antics on the march. We got huge cheers as we marched down to the stand and this translated into big cheers when we finished the contest march. Sadly, I’m sure this won’t translate into great results, although we may get a few good places.

We arrived at Broadoak, our last stop for the night, at just after 10.30pm, the closing point. However, the reputation we received all the way around meant that we were able to talk our way onto the contest card, playing the last band and getting a great cheer from the crowd. Talking to some of them, they had been waiting from 6pm to hear us play, which was a great testament. It wasn’t that they thought we were a top band but they had heard that we were something to watch on the march down to the stand.

Friday was also the start of the World Cup, I’ve managed to catch some of the games, most notably the England / Paraguay game. I’ve seen parts of a few other games, but I have to say that I haven’t been impressed with England so far. There seems to be too much hype and not enough action. Cote d’Ivoire impressed me, but I still fancy Argentina to win the tournament. The Czechs are dark horses for me, but it’s still only 3 days in.

I’ve spent most of the weekend recording a Christmas CD with the band. It’s got fifteen tracks on it, including “Ukranian Bell Carol”, “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Fanfare of the Bells”. It will be out later in the year and although it’s been a little surreal recording a Christmas CD in the middle of the year, especially when it has been so hot, I’m sure it will go down well. That said, our last CD still hasn’t been released. If I can get some excerpts from the tracks, I will try and put them up on my website later in the year.

Anyway, it’s quarter to midnight, I’m at work in the morning and “The Dirty Dozen” is about to start so I’ll sign off for now. Hasta luego.

OK, so I’m slipping back into bad habits. It must be about 6 weeks since I last made an entry into my blog. I say 6 weeks because I’m not online as I write this.

There is a simple explanation for why I’m not. Basically I don’t have ‘Net access at home anymore. I sold my house at the start of May (May 5th to be exact). Technically I’m now homeless; at least that’s what George keeps telling me. Most of my worldly goods are packed in boxes and stuffed into one room at my parent’s house. Sarah has also sold here house and we have had an offer accepted on a house in Cottingham, just outside Hull, so with a little luck, we will be all together under one roof before the start of September.

The last couple of weeks haven’t been the best in my life, and I’m looking forward to a break at the end of July. I’m not going to dwell on that too much, suffice to say that I don’t want to be back here again in a hurry.

The band went over to Blackpool in the second week of May to compete in the Senior Cup. As I’ve said before, the test piece was Phillip Sparke’s “Harmony Music.” I’ve played it before and going into the contest, I felt that our performances promised something extra special on stage. We hadn’t had a perfect run-through but there were glimpses of something extra-special. However, one player in the band decided that contesting wasn’t really a team sport and made such a bollocks of the beginning of the piece that I was surprised when we managed 6th. To be honest, I’m not sure that I can ever forgive him for his attitude. He resigned after the contest but asked to be allowed back the next morning. Personally I wouldn’t have let him back in. Jim Davies is a far more forgiving person than I am. The band played a concert at the Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe a couple of weeks later, which I missed (see above). We go back into the studio this weekend to record a CD of Christmas music. I find this a little ironic when our last CD hasn’t been released yet.

Anyway, moving on, it’s also one of my favourite days of the year on Friday, with the annual Whit Friday marches taking place in Tameside and Saddleworth. I’m playing for a scratch band this time, “Hawaiian Brass”, which is mostly players from Desford, GUS and the CBSO. As well as playing, I’ll be guiding the band around Tameside. I did it last year from Ransome and I’m looking forward to it again this year. Hopefully we can get around the circuit as quickly as Ransome did last year and then we’ll have some time to do some of the contests over in Saddleworth as well. That said, there are 11 contests in Tameside so maybe we won’t have anything left by the time we get to Delph.

The Whit Friday marches are the same day as the start of the World Cup. I can’t believe how quickly it has come around again. I met Sarah just after the end of the last World Cup, which reminds me that it will be our 4th anniversary on 2nd August. I do think England have got a better chance this time than at any point that I can remember (which is 1982). The defence is solid, but the midfield is truly world class. I’m backing them to reach the semi-finals at least, possibly even the final if results go their way. However, I think Argentina will win the World Cup. I know that’s not the most patriotic thing to write here, but since I don’t see myself as totally English, what does it matter. The truth is that my grandmother is a German Jew who immigrated to the UK in 1932. I also have a Welsh grandfather and an Irish grandmother, so apart from being the living embodiment of the United Nations, I always find myself with mixed emotions at the start of international tournaments.

I must confess to finding myself a little baffled by Erikkson’s selection. I would have selected his original 3 ‘keepers, although I would have picked Ben Foster over Scott Carson when Robert Green got injured. My real gripe is up-front. I don’t think Crouch is an international calibre striker. Sure, he can get a hat-trick against Jamaica and a goal against Hungary but I don’t think he has what it takes against the better sides. Personally, I would have selected Andy Johnson ahead of him. I also wouldn’t have taken Theo Walcott. In four years time, he will be a class act, but the fact of the matter is that he is only 17 years old and has not played one minute in the Premiership for Arsenal. Yes, Michael Owen played in France aged 17, but he had played for Liverpool in the 97/98 season. Wayne Rooney played in Japan aged 17, but he had played for Everton in the 01/02 season. Walcott is not ready to go.

Sticking with sport, I’m please that the John Obi Mikel saga has come to an end. Personally, I wouldn’t want a player playing for United who is so fickle as to swap clubs as soon as a bigger contract is on the table. Yes, he may be an exciting prospect but he is also greedy. That said, Chelsea are fast assembling the best squad on the planet. For me, Barcelona was the side of the 05/06 season. They have the best squad in Europe, but I think they will be pushed hard by Chelsea in the new season. A squad that can boast of Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko, Cech, Terry, Essien, Drogba, Robben and the possibility of Roberto Carlos, will be hard to beat, and even if United can sign some world class players, I suspect they will still be playing for second place.

I hope Ferguson will sign a goalkeeper (I do think this lad at West Brom, Kusczak would be a good back-up for Van der Sar and will push Howard). I’d also like us to pick up a couple of midfielders. Diarra from Lyon would be a good one, as would Beckham or Joe Cole. I do hope we hang on to Van Nistelrooy. I know that he’s had issues with Ronaldo and vice-versa but he is also a proven goal-scorer and if one of them has to leave, why not Ronaldo who keeps talking about a move to Spain.

I’ve been watching a lot of Big Brother recently. I have to admit that I voted for the first time ever. I voted to evict Sezer. The guy is a complete arsehole. He has no redeeming features and I hope that the UK has seen him for what he is. The arrogant wanker should be left to rot now. There are a few others in the house that should go the same way. That little group of never-be celebs is irritating in the extreme. I’d love to evict Grace, Nikki, Imogen and Mikey before the programme goes any further. They don’t deserve the chance to inflict their self-centred, proctological rantings on the rest of the world. The sooner we get rid of them, the better.

Anyway, that’s my musings over for now.

I'm never moving again after this time. I've got a headache from the stress of selling. My buyer is wanting to come and measure up, but he's not even signed the damn contract yet. This whole process has been a pain in the arse from start to finish. Let me tell you, you know whether you love somebody or not if you are prepared to sell your house for them!

I've spoken to the Estate Agents, who tells me that he wants to come tomorrow and measure up. He also wants £2k off the asking price because the surveyor reckoned it was over-valued. Sure, the surveyor also reckoned that the chimney breast needed supporting properly and that the chimney stack needed repairing. So, I'm paying for the chimney stack to be repaired, and a structural engineer looked at the chimney breast and reckoned there was nothing wrong with it, so how does that equate to a reduction in price?

On a more positive note, I took George to see Hull City play Preston at the weekend. Considering he is only five, he really got into it. City were unlucky not to win the game. As a neutral, I really wasn't impressed by Preston. I can't see them even getting past Leeds in the play-offs. God help them if they got promoted to the Premiership. They won't last five minutes and will come down with fewer points that Sunderland got this season! Anyway, George led the DeVries family stand in cheering. There were so many sullen faces around the stand it was untrue.

On the way back, we passed the cemetery. George asked me whether I believe in Jesus. I answered that I didn't and was rewarded with "Why not?". How do you explain relative theology to a five year old?

Band last night was more enjoyable. The band are making steady progress with Harmony Music and I've every confidence that we can get a good result. There will be some other bands there who are capable of doing well, especially Newstead Welfare and Jaguar (Coventry) who did really well at the recent Midlands Area Finals (coming 1st and 2nd) and Wingates who came 4th in the North West Area Finals against a very strong field, but I think we will surprise a lot of people and I'll be disappointed if we don't get back into the Grand Shield next year. Apparently, we will be going to the Leicester contest in the middle of November which will be strange since it is held at Guthlaxton College which is my dad's old school.

Speaking of my dad, he ran the London Marathon yesterday in a little over 5 hours. We're all very proud of him, especially George who has been telling people that he is going to win it.

On a sporting note, I see that the Habs won their first playoff match against Carolina 6-1. What a a great start. Most of the other series' have been levelled at 1-1 in the the second game so here's hoping that we don't go the same way tonight. The Yankees did well though over the weekend, winning 2 out of 3 against Baltimore (who are top of the AL East). Maybe the Bronx Bombers are kicking into life? I certainly hope so as I need something to cheer me up over the summer, with United's season effectively finishing in February (OK, so one cup is better than no cup at all.).

I can't believe West Ham will be in Europe next season. They need to spend some serious money if they want to progress. I was really surprised to hear that they beat Boro, as Boro are a far better team. Maybe it was a case on one eye on Europe?

No posts in two months and then two in a day. I've just re-read some of my early posts, and I think I better tidy a few loose ends up.

I'm delighted that the Habs have made the post-season. It's looked like they would for the last couple of weeks, especially when they were winning games. For a while, I thought that they may be unlucky and end up meeting the Ottawa Senators in the first round, but we'll meet the Carolina Hurricanes instead. I've every confidence that the Habs will win, albeit in 7 games.

Speaking of form, I'm pleased with the form that United have shown in recent weeks, even if they couldn't beat Sunderland on Good Friday. They've started to show some of the character of former teams, and with a couple of good signings during the summer, I'm sure we will be challenging for the Premiership next season. I can't see Ruud Van Nistelrooy leaving Old Trafford in the summer. He's a class act, and I think we will only be successful with 4 strikers in the squad. With Solskjaer coming back from injury and Rossi in the wings, I think we have more than enough class up front, although who would turn down a fit Ronaldo from Real Madrid. Personally, I'd like to see us sign a couple of midfielders. I like Riquelme, who's with Villarreal at the moment, Nolan (Bolton) and Makelele and Joe Cole (Chelsea). I'm only hoping that Sir Alex Ferguson shows some of his flare in the transfer market and that we don't end up going after dross (like Djemba-Djemba or Kleberson). I'd love to be at the Roy Keane testimonial, but sadly, it's the week before the Senior Cup and I'll be at band almost every night that week, so I think I'll spend my night off with Sarah and George rather than 70,000 people at Old Trafford.

What has been disappointing is the Yankee's start to the season. To be 7-7 after 14 games, having lost series' to Oakland, Los Angeles and Minnesota is not how a lot of Bombers fans had envisaged it, I'm sure, especially with Damon arriving in Centrefield. He's only hitting 0.293.
I'm sure things will improve, but we need to at least make the AL Championship final this year.

On a banding note, since the concert in Wigan, I played a concert with the Northern All Stars at the Sage Theatre in Gateshead. What a concert that was. There was a very receptive audience, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The highlights for me had to be Joe Cook's solo (Czardas) and Gregson's "The Age of Kings". I've been asked to be a member of the band again next year, and provisionally I've said yes, as long as EYMS don't have a concert on that night. EYMS have also played two concerts; one at the New Albermarle Centre in Hull where I thought we played well, apart from a few small slips, and one at Wakefield Cathederal, where we played well, even if the band sounded a little tired. Our next concert isn't until the 27th May when we are playing at the Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe. We also have a CD recording coming up (even though our last CD isn't out yet!) and I'm playing at the Whit Friday marches with Haiwaiian Brass.

I'm also working on some more arrangements. I gave Jim Davies (our MD) a few scores to look at and hopefully one or two will make it into the EYMS concert programme. One of my arrangements (a version of Noel Rawsthorne's wonderful Hornpipe Humoresque) was played last October by the band. Some of the other pieces include "Ben Hur's Chariot Race" (Paull), "Prelude" (JS Bach), "Three Little Maids" (Sullivan) (this is a bass trio) "Deus in Adetoreum" (Monteverdi) and "El Diablo" (Cezar). Fingers crossed eh!

Well, I've done it again, I guess. 2 and a half months without writing anything. Now, write out 1000 times, I must update my blog.
OK, punishment over. Let's bring the last few weeks up-to-date.....

I've agreed to sell the house, for nearly the asking price. Actually, the sale agreed weeks ago, but with one thing and another, it's taken it's time. Hopefully though, I should be out of there in a little over two weeks. Sarah's house has also gone on the market, so with a little bit of luck, we could be buying somewhere by the summer. We've seen a couple of houses which we like, but neither of which was "the one". We'll keep looking though, and I'm sure we will find the right house.
That said, it's amazing what some people are asking for their homes. I saw one property the other week which I reckon was £20k over the asking price. It does make you think.

The band played at the North of England Area Finals in the middle of march. We played very, very well on the stage and came 3rd. Sadly, this means that we miss out on a place at the National Finals, which was very disappointing. There were a lot of people in the hall who thought we should have finished higher up the placings, but that's competitions for you. We're now looking forward to the Spring Festival and the Senior Cup in Blackpool on 13th May. Hopefully we can finish in the top 4 and get promoted back to the Grand Shield for 2007. The test-piece is Harmony Music, which isn't easy. It will certainly sort the wheat from the chaff.

I spent a large part of March on the road with work. The end of March sees the end of our Financial Year, and so I was busy with stocktakes. I covered about 3500 miles in 3 weeks, covering sites from Millerhill and Portabello near Edinburgh down to Westbury in Wiltshire and Eastleigh on the South Coast. I did see some fantastic scenary. I'd forgotten just how beautiful some parts of our country can be. That said, I was happy to hand the car keys back at the end of it all. I'll be starting my travels again in the middle of next month.... I can't wait!!