Monthly Archives: August 2008

Manchester City fans: Am I missing something here?

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A good few years ago, when I was still at university, I ended up watching a lot of Manchester City on TV. One of my best friends was a huge Man City fan, and often after lectures or at the weekend we’d head down the pub for a few drinks and the football.

When Thaksin Shinawatra brought the club a couple of seasons ago I asked said friend what he made of it. “Not best pleased,” was the response.

My friend’s response wasn’t typical. By and large, Man City fans embraced Thaksin “Frank” Shinawatra, reasoning – not necessarily incorrectly – that his money could take them into the top four.

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Gary elsewhere (and a quick apology)

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Soccerlens: Stevenage’s struggling start to the season.

Also, in my bold predictions for the new season, I thought Cambridge would take a while to get started this season and Barrow would seriously struggle in the Blue Square Premier.

Goes to show what I know.

Especially as I also tipped Oxford and Torquay to be in the top five and currently both of them are doing their best to prove everybody’s pre-season predictions wrong.

I did, however, think that Woking would struggle. So at least I’m not a complete idiot. Just a partial one.

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Ultra-ultra local: for the people, by the people

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Restoring an old Devon flour mill to full working order for the first times in decades may not have been headline news, but it was big enough to attract about thirty visitors from the surrounding villages on the day, possibly more.

On a bank holiday visit to my parents, we’d stopped off on the way home as my mother wanted to have a look around. Watching a couple of people videoing the mill got me thinking about local news and those who use it.

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So, I was going to write stuff, yeah…

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And I’ve got a whole of host posts in my draft folder to prove it.

But then:

1. I got very busy with work.

2. I’ve been feeling a bit run down and not great.

3. I finally had the root canal done. This morning. Thank God for neurofen.

4. Tonight was provisionally pencilled in to do household chores, relaxing and blogging. But then a friend of mine mentioned her new flat didn’t have a working cooker.

If there’s one piece of pain I truly feel after spending three months with a barely functioning Baby Belling, it’s being without cooking space.

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Pet hates: Prestigious

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Every editor, sub-editor and writer has a list of words they detest seeing in copy. Words that range from meaning nothing to desperate padding by the author, or just a plain misunderstanding of the context. Words that will induce apoplexy if repeated too far.

My second least favourite word is prestigious.

I was trained in the school of journalism that encourages the striking out of unnecessary words, usually adjectives. Not all adjectives, as you’d end up with a few peculiar sentences, but long words that add nothing to the copy. Unless you’re a very good colour or feature writer, or possibly Russell Brand. I’ll let you off then.

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Why every journalist should be using Twitter

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It’s always difficult to gauge exactly how widely Twitter has extended outside of the tech and social media crowd (and, to a certain extent, the media). On one hand, I have Twitter on in the background every day at work and find it increasingly useful. On the other hand, I went out to dinner the other night with a couple of friends who I did my journalism training with and neither of them had heard of it.

But just when I learn to the other hand and start to wonder if it generally has a wider application, something like this comes along.

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The appointment is at tooth hurty

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I view it as karma of sorts. For the vast majority of my life I’ve avoided any kind of teeth-related problems. I brush well, I floss, I use mouthwash, I avoid sugar as much as possible. Dentist check-ups used to last about 30 seconds before sending me off with a clean bill of health. And although I’d never gloat, I did feel slightly smug when friends would list the fillings they’d gone through.

Bad me.

Then three months ago, I broke a tooth, which then got infected and I got my first experience of root canal surgery. Woo.

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A somewhat ranty Gary elsewhere

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I’ve also had a bit of a soft spot for Manchester City. One of my best friends at university was a fanatical City supporter and I’d frequently become a de facto Blues supporter when watching them down the pub. In return, he got the dubious fare of the likes of Exeter v Accrington and Exeter v Grays.

Thankfully, said friend has never been too happy at Thaksin Shinawatra’s takeover at Eastlands, unlike the majority of Manchester City fans, who were happy to brush corruption charges, frozen assets, questions about cash flow and a poor human rights record to one side in pursuit of a place in the European Big Cup.

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