Neil's Slightly Random Wiblog

…and tired and very smelly.

Some highlights this year musically were the supurb Duke Special (they play a cheese grater), Juliet Turner and Jim Moray 4 (who devided opinion). Other highlights were the new Organic Ale Tent (Brakspear was my tipple of choice), Steve Tomkins condensing 2000 years of history into an hour, the amazing Pies (Hmm, spicy Thai chicken), the 3rd wiblog party (more about this another time) and who could forget the late night campsite fire at the Ship camping area – sadly extinquished by the site fire crew.

The real highlights were the people I met, some new such as Wibloggers Tractor Girl, Dave (librarians tangents), Excited Rainbow Girl, Ramblin’ Folkie as well as old friends, and new Ship of Fools people such as Da Musician, Manda, Marvin, Auntie Doris (and friend Bronwyn) and many others!

at greenbelt, things have moved, i feel lost! have found the new organic beer tent though! will be meeting ship of fools website people soon for a drink.

…Off to Greenbelt in a moment, I will be camping over the night before with a few friends as usual (a few of whom are wibloggers!) and then into the festival tomorrow. The forcast looks good, and I am stocked with wine and beer. Lets just hope the Panda makes the journey, and that I don’t get too lost.

Might text an update in, or try and use the net cafe to update, but if not I will update on Tuesday (or see you at the festival if you are going!)

…There are 3 major roads in Exeter closed at the moment for roadworks, this made my riute home impossible last night, I almost desserted the car and walked. It was not the volume of traffic that was the problem, it was simply the logistics of planning a route home. Everytime I thought I had worked out how to get back I would hit a closed road and have to follow a diversion that took me in the wrong direction. One time I thought I had cracked it, but it turned out the road I wanted to use was one way while they dug half of it up, it was going the way I didn’t want to go.

I need to think carefully tonight about my route, I don’t want another 40 minute drive home again.

… I forgot to mention that the other day after work I wen’t with a friend to find, what he calls, the best cider in Devon. We headed across town, over Readhills, past Nadderwater and almost into Whitestone. On the right hand side is a small sign saying “Farm Cider”. My friend knocked on the farm house door and was greeted like a long lost brother by a little old lady, I could tell he drinks a lot of this cider.

We were taken to a small shed with barrels of sweet, medium and dry cider. After trying a bit I decided to go for the dry. A 5 litre container was then filled from the barrel tap and a “Snells Farm – Dry” label stuck on the side. The price… £4.70!

It is indeed great cider, and as that much will last me weeks it is very good value, so if you are passing Whitestone be sure to stop off for a litre, or five.

…nothing at all on TV tonight, for the first time for ages I don’t need to set the video. I suppose after watching 3 hours of TV from last night my eyes need a screen break. Watched the Simpsons (episode I have seen many times before from a series I have hardly seen anything from, frustrating), Meet the Magoons (It looked american, but felt British), Whatever that Peter kay thing is called, Balls of Steel (Dennis might be in it as an extra, so i have to watch the drivel now just in case he is in it) and Bloomfield High, which I did enjoy very much (Typical quote “Not having children is for gays”).

The reason all this was taped was so we could go and see Martyns band in Exwick last night, despite swapping drummers again they sounded fairly on form, although I have never heard a speed version of By the Way before, perhaps they were desperate to get to the bar.

… I have not really felt 100% since last week, various stomach upsets and headaches seem to hit me without warning. The glands in my neck (whatever they are called) seem to have been swollen now for about 2 weeks as well. Hope it all clears up for Greenbelt which is less than 2 weeks away now! I have already bought the box of wine to take.

Trying to get to the bottom of my pile of books that has been slowly increasing, at the moment Ivonne has lent me a few which means the pile is growing faster than I can read them. Perhaps I need to read through the night?

…A small die-cast model of a Fiat Panda arrived on my doormat this week, an Ebay bargain for £2.00. I have decided to buy a model of each and every car I own.

My week may sound boring, but I have been feeling a bit ill and so have spend most of it in front of a screen of one kind or another. Watched Lost which was excellent (It is repeated again tonigh on C4, watch it if you missed it on Wednesday!), Big Brother final (I think justice was done), Charlie and the Chocolate factory at the cinema (suprisingly creepy, but really good), and Danny Wallace’s excellent How to start your own country on BBC2, which may well be the funniest thing on at the moment.

…Have been looking at my blogs for this time last year, and suprise suprise it was the end of BB5. A year later and not a lot has changed. I have not been quite so absorbed this year and within reason I don’t care who wins (as long as it is not Craig). the directors seemed short of material to show last night and the series seems to be grinding to a halt.

It feels like a strange inbetween time in life, usually Greenbelt signals an end and a start for me, a Neil-New-Year. This year the end seems to have happened, and the start is still 2 weeks away leaving me in a no mans land.

Had a lovely weekend in Poole, Went for a meal on the harbour on Friday night, walked to Swanage on Saturday, and visted the (rather boring) town of Wimbourne and the more interesting Badbury Rings this afternoon. On the way home I decided to take a de-tour to Lyme Regis for a drink overlooking the coast, and was suprised to find I could clearly see the Isle of Wight from there. Our coast really is fantastic, and I must explore it more!

Need to prepare myself for a new week now, looking forward to seeing Lost on Channel 4 this week, looks like it might be one of the only things worth watching on TV, and hope to see Charlie at the cinema despite some variable reviews from my friends, and of course Big Brother final on Friday. very much a week of the screen ahead.