5 years on..

X's dedication to me on a very special day

The Man Cave is out of commission now. As techno chirps that emanated from my PC have become pained shrieks, I type this at the kitchen table instead. Things have been incredibly busy of late, y'know birthdays, holidays, anniversaries and the like. It tends to put non-essential things on the back burner. At work we were filmed for a spectacularly awkward addition to the nursery website, click on the pictures on the bottom left hand side of this page and see for yourself. I have received polite comments but feel I look particularly frantic, which staff member looks the best in front of the camera? What do you think?

E and I have been together for 5 years now so I felt it was time to pop the question. As to whom is making an honest person out of whom, I'll leave that up to your judgement too!  When E reported how huge the bouquet of flowers I bought her was it felt like the omens were good and X had given his blessing too (see the picture above). Wedding Day is set for June 27th and preparations are in full swing. E is like a pitbull terrier with it's jaws clamped round a tennis ball, when she sets her mind to something she isn't prone to be discouraged. She has delegated the task of ring-finding to me, and spends her waking hours planning everything else.

In the meantime life swings into even fuller gear than before. On top of everything I now need to think about getting into shape for the Big Day (BD) - us blokes worry about that too, y'know! Months of fatherhood have taken their toll on my chiseled physique (ha!) and I feel alot doughier than used to be. The funny thing is, walking for hours on end to keep in trim no longer appeals to me. The alternative of a gymnasium full of Sky Sports screens isnt too appealing either. I (only half) joke with E about a wearing a corset for the BD, but it might come to that if Im not too careful.

D continues to grow in her charm and cheekiness. She berates passing dogs for scaring her brother and tries to put her hand in the toilet with equal cuteness. In fact, I reckon it was D who scored me the killer bouquet. She joined me at the florists and charmed the staff with her sweet ways. I've gotta look

Sleeping Beauty 27th April 2013

out for her when I'm taking a pee though, if she's nearby she looks up from the floor with a glint in her eye which says 'I'm going to put my hands in that water fountain too!'

When she's quiet you know there's trouble brewing...

Dizzy channels Mr Burns..

The cat didn't know what was coming. April 2013

of Body fluids and Bitcoins (!?)

It seems my blog has become a log of parental musings and gross out tales of late.

And thats ok. No time to spare directing my energy anywhere else, I reckon. Diz has reached the age where we spend chasing her around the floor, clearing tables with a nonchalant sweep of her arm. Babies seem to be like that, dropping food with a flourish from their highchairs. Pocket sized chaos personified. Nursery next, I will be dropping her off tomorrow morning and look forward to see how she fares without Mummy and Daddy.

As you may know my other hobbies are sport and money. The former has given me a few quid in matched betting terms,  as the nice people of William Hill et al paid for my holiday and a new pair of trainers this month. The latter involves me checking out the financial pages and trying not to bore people when they ask my opinions on economics and gold. Precious metals have taken a real hammering recently - losing 10% in the last few days! The new thing people are buying up is called Bitcoin, which has been plastered across the clever press and media in the last month. Apparently BTC (as the computer nerds call it) is a 'cryptocurrency' which cannot be violated by the whims of The Man so keeps its value. Well thats the theory. It was at $15 in January, $266 in March and $70 right now so seems to be all over the place. I'm tempted to pick up a Bitcoin just for the hell of it. Will it be the new money we'll buy stuff on ebay with or will it be the next bubble? Will it be the next tulip perhaps?

Brod, Kaise und Wurst

X leaves a note at Natural History Museum - April 9th 2013

X was performing out of shot.. the only way surefire way to get a smile from her!

Diz chows down at lunchtime

My third visit to Berlin and I love it more on every trip. The place is similar to London, but that sense of German-ness keeps sneaking out in charming little ways. For instance the chilli shaped gummi sweets you can buy are actually chilli flavoured (much to X's shock and consternation)! English speaking people will still get funny looks on the bus (much like Germans will do in London), but folks we spoke to were kind, well manners and almost universal English speakers. I gamely tried using my school German with little success, more often than not Berliners would effortlessly cycle to English for my benefit. Still, my year of deutsch did help, a little. I managed to string some semi-competent sentences together on a couple of occasions, and these [shock horror!] were actually understood. On our next trip I plan to learn some more  as being the complacent Brit abroad who relies on 'Do You Speak English?' disgraces both me and my countrymen.

When it comes to food, German life is streets ahead, even the humblest combinations of cheese, meat and bread are absolutely delicious. Most street corners host a bakery that sells pretzels, schnitzels or other goodies which just melt in your mouth. With the carb overload normally comes discomfort and guilt, but not in Berlin! You can graze through pizza, chips, potato salad or bread without any problems. The only culinary fail in my eyes is the currywurst - chopped up frank with tomato sauce and curry powder (a hold-over from the cold war perhaps?) When even the humblest eating house can serve up food which is inexpensive and very hearty, something akin to student food from my Coventry days is disappointing to say the least. 

X turns 8

Darth Vader at Legoland Windsor

I don't get into the Man Cave much anymore. A combination of Arctic weather and an insistent one-year old have meant the attic has been ill used of late. Still, now the a springlike thaw has started, I've ventured up to look about: get rid of the dust, scare the bats away, y'know that sort of thing ;)