Sunday 31st October 2010 11:30

Today was Halloween and I was in some kind of horror movie, suffering from a festering cauldron of a hangover stomach. It felt like I'd been kicked repeatedly and watery mouth syndrome had reared its ugly head. Other than that, I felt like shit. Movement was difficult, even down to opening and closing my eyes and Tanya wasn't any better.
I can honestly say that it wasn't until about half past two that I finally started to feel slightly Human again
and managed to eat some cheese on toast; up until then, life in general was somewhat touch and go.



Other than worry about whether my life was going to come to an abrupt end for the best part of the day, I did manage to watch the Premiership clash between Bolton and Liverpool on Sky Sports 1, although I really wished I hadn't, especially as Bolton had had the upper hand for the majority of the match and lost to an 86th winner, toe-poked home by Maxi Rodriguez which was totally against the run of play. Bollocks.
The only good thing about today was that I didn't die.

Saturday 30th October 2010 12:45

During the week, I'd received an invite from Malcolm Irving, director and brewer at Irving & Co. Brewers Ltd, to attend their third birthday party at their brewery in Farlington. I replied, asking whether I could bring Tanya, Damien and Jamie as guests. The answer, delightfully, was yes. Tanya had had reservations last night about going, especially as she thought she may be the only woman there and the apprehension was still on her face as we made our way from Havant to Cosham on the train.



Once there, it was the small matter of phoning for a taxi to take the four of us from Cosham station to the Railway Triangle Industrial Estate. We had one booked in no time at all, especially as AquaCars have such a huge presence in Portsmouth, in actual fact the company is that large now, it's the largest taxi and private hire company on the south coast with a fleet of over 650 vehicles, with these averaging over 75,000 jobs a week.
To find out much more, please click on the logo above.

As we approached the brewery, we saw several Morris Dancers outside, suddenly realising that Ken, another one of our drinking buddies, was probably there… and he was. How brilliant! The place was absolutely packed, probably around 75 people there, may have been more. I found Malcolm and introduced him to Tanya, Damien and Jamie and we decided on our first drink of the afternoon, the superb 4.6% ABV 'Invincible', especially as Malcolm had loved my pump clip design so much.
Tanya now felt completely relaxed, lots of people, many of which were women and had decided that 'Invincible' was her tipple. We stood outside and chatted, whilst enjoying the great beer, great company and great atmosphere. We all knew that this was going to be a fantastic day.

Malcolm had five of his collection of real ales on, two of which I'd never tried before, so it was time to sample one of those. Since there were four of us, I felt it necessary to ask about paying for our second round of beers, when the news came from Rich Smith (the gentleman kindly serving the ale) that all the beer was free between 12:00-16:30! I have to say, I was dumbfounded, this was incredible, so I shared my joy with Tanya, Damien and Jamie. Damien, almost with a tear in his eye, said, "This just has to be one of the best days ever". We all nodded our heads in agreement.
Not only was the ale free, the food was too. It's totally obvious that everyone has utter respect for Malcolm, so much so, they're all willing to chip in here and there, and the quality of the food showed that; the chicken curry was one of the best I'd ever tasted.



Okay, so back to the ales. As I said earlier, there were two I hadn't tried before, 'Admiral' and 'Vanguard', both, I have to say, were exceptional, although 'Invincible' takes some beating for me.
'Admiral' is a 4.3% ABV stout and, as most stouts are, it's dark mahogany in colour. Its bitterness supersedes its sweetness, like a stout should and it has a roasted aroma with subtle coffee and rich fruits. The coffee continues through to the taste, yet the sweetness almost becomes chocolatey. Excellent stuff.
Of the two, 'Vanguard' had the edge though, and at 5.2% ABV, it certainly has a kick. This superb fruity, yet bitter strong ale attains its full-bodied, balanced flavour with a mixture of Fuggles and Sovereign hops. To encourage the development of fruity ester notes, this ale is fermented at slightly elevated temperatures. Both ales are an absolute must.

Seven pints later and we hit the traditional pub crawl that proceeds the brewery birthday party. At the time, I hadn't taken how much I had drank into account, in fact, we all just went with the flow, despite the fact that we'd actually bought return train tickets earlier.
The crawl comprised of ten pubs, although we only managed five of those, and twelve pints later (sounds absolutely shocking, doesn't it?) and whatever equivalent Tanya had accumulated, we decided enough was enough and caught a taxi home. As a matter of interest, we had a drink in The Fountain Inn (North End), Thatchers Bar (North End), The Dolphin (Old Portsmouth), Monks Bar (Old Portsmouth) and the Hole in The Wall (Southsea). An absolutely brilliant day.

Friday 29th October 2010 12:41

During the week, where I freelance, I've been working on some England national football team t-shirt designs and, to keep them as authentic as I possibly could, without stepping over the copyright line, I was looking to find the font used for both the numbers and the player's names.

Some fonts, such as the Paraguayan national football team uses something similar to 'Russel Square' yet it isn't the same font, however, Real Madrid uses an exact copy of 'Peignot''. I noticed that Linotype were about the best font foundry for directing designers in the right direction and the only thing I had to go off was that their font was similar to 'Gill Sans', but for me, that wasn't good enough - I wanted the exact font.



After further hunting around, I stumbled upon a website called 'Switch Image Project', owned a ran by Azmie Mie, a Malaysian gentleman based in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. He has spent hours upon hours, meticulousy drawing a plethora of football fonts and creating exquisitely detailed drawings of their whole kits, including squad numbers and names. On his Blogger website, he's stated his list of things to be done and his aim is to publish all his kits collection, as both graphic images and fonts.
To see just how passionate and remarkable his work is, please click on his logo above.

Thursday 28th October 2010 18:00

Earlier this month, the 15th to be precise, I spoke about the fact that Irving & Co. Brewers Ltd, based in Farlington, Portsmouth, contacted me about designing some pump clips. It just so happened that 'Invincible' was the first one he needed urgently and, after a few emails, I was absolutely over-the-moon to receive this one today…

"SUPER!!! Yep thats bang on Ian love it!!"

And here's the design which made me feel quite 'Invincible'. To say I'm delighted is an absolute understatement.

Wednesday 27th October 2010 12:42

It was another one of those internet discoveries today, although I'm fearful of how legitimate some of these sites are, nevertheless, as long as they're around, it makes finding certain files, songs and the like, very easy. Basically, AccurateFiles.com is a fast-growing file share search engine which has a database that is replenished daily by their robots that crawl through free access internet resources such as blogs and forums.



They currently support Uploading.com, Rapidshare.com and Megaupload.com, working hard to comprise the other ones available. The site does not provide passwords nor does it agree with copyright infringement either, they categorically state that they're a search engine only and do not upload, store and share files.
To find out more, please click on the logo above.

Tuesday 26th October 2010 21:07

Today's blog goes back to my fascination with art, this time focusing on possibly one of the most famous surrealist painters ever, René François Ghislain Magritte. The most famous of the Belgian man's work had to be his witty and thought-provoking paintings, where he would challenge the observer's preconditioned perceptions of reality, almost forcing them to become hypersensitive to their surroundings.

Magritte's early paintings, dating from around 1915, were Impressionistic in style and several years later, he explored Futurism and Cubism, with most of his works of this period being female nudes. His first Surrealism painting, 'The Lost Jockey' was painted in 1926 and a year later, he held his first exhibition in Brussels which was met with complete abuse from critics.



It wasn't until the 1960s that Magritte's work generated a huge increase with its public awareness. His works were then frequently adapted or plagiarised in advertisements, posters, book covers and the like. Album covers such as 'Beck-ola' by The Jeff Beck Group reproduced 'The Listening Room' and Jackson Browne's 1974 album, 'Late for the Sky' used artwork inspired by 'L'Empire des Lumières'. Sadly though, at the age of just 68, he died on the 15th August 1967 (just months before I was born) of pancreatic cancer.

On 30th May, 2009, The Magritte Museum opened to the public in Brussels. It displays some 200 original Magritte paintings, drawings and sculptures including some of his instantly recognisable and iconic work such as, 'The Portrait' (1935), 'Not to be Reproduced' (1937), 'Time Transfixed' (1938), 'Golconde' (1953), 'The Mysteries of the Horizon' (1955) and possibly one of his most famous, 'The Son of Man' (1964).
To find out more, please click on the Foundation Magritte logo above.

Monday 25th October 2010 08:45

Two things worth talking about today, one very funny, the other not so funny at all. So, rather than tar this 'ere blog with doom and gloom, let's get the unfunny thing out of the way first… during the cold spell last week, my car gradually began to struggle to start in the morning, to the point where it only just mustered enough energy to do so on Friday.



Having not driven it throughout the whole weekend, by the time I tried to start it last night, there was literally nothing left, so it meant me getting up early enough to jump start it from Tanya's. It started instantly, so I knew full well it had to be the battery that had died. I dropped it off at 2uTyres in Petersfield and they had it sorted in less than half an hour.
They'd fitted a Schnapp Battery, a company I hadn't heard of before, and after a quick internet search, I found they are an Israeli company, established as far back as 1951. To find out more about the company and what they have to offer, please click on the logo above.



Okay, so now for something funny… Dave Gorman to be precise, and his hilarious BBC2 series, 'Genius'. Tonight's episode featured guests Tim Minchin (superb Australian comedian/funny song man) and Alexei Sayle (madman from the 80s who had a hit with "Hello John, Got a New Motor?") So, what's the programme about? Well, the whole audience comprises of people who have suggestions which may be inventions or a scheme or policy. They then share their idea and it's then up to the panellists to decide whether they're 'genius' or just plain stupid.
Past suggestions have included, 'Making the Isle of Wight symmetrical to encourage tourism', 'Helium-filled bubble wrap to make parcels lighter and postage cheaper' and a 'Microwave/CD player that selects a tune of the right duration to go with the required cooking time'.
Just genius… please click on the logo above to watch the latest episode.

Sunday 24th October 2010 11:30

As usual, the time spent with my parents had drawn to a ridiculously quick close. We'd purposely not tried to cram too much in, so that a good deal of time was spent chatting and relaxing, yet it still went way too quick. I could see the apprehension on both their faces about the journey back, not the distance, more the time they were travelling; nevertheless, Tanya and I were hoping that today's excursion would take their minds off it, at least for a few hours.

We'd chosen to take them on a familiar walk, only adding more interest to it and, once completed, we could all sit down and enjoy a Sunday Roast at The Royal Oak in Langstone. We started our walk from Warblington, home of a 'castle' and the ancient St. Thomas à Becket church. From there, the walk takes you through the well-kept grounds of the graveyard and down to the shore, where you can enjoy views of Langstone, Hayling Island and even catch glimpses of the Spinnaker Tower.
During our way around, we realised that we were making very good time and didn't want to spoil the surprise of a Sunday Roast for my parents, so we took a little detour, taking us back up towards Havant, so we could then join the Billy Track and make our way back down to Langstone. It was a beautiful morning and when the sun was out, it was unbelievably warm for the time of year.



Once we were there, we ordered a round of drinks and sat on the one remaining free bench outside the pub. With great company, a Old Speckled Hen beer, the sun beaming down, the tide right up and lapping against the wall of the pavement outside the pub, who could ask for more? I could've stayed there all day, no problem. By 12 o'clock though, we thought it best to order our meals, especially as we'd been pre-warned, the week before, that if the weather's nice, there's every chance we could end up being disappointed if we didn't arrive in good time. The great thing is, because you can't book a table, it means it's on a first come first served basis which, in my mind, works out far better than the possibility of the same people booking week in week out.
My Dad chose the Beef Roast, whereas the rest of us chose the Pork Roast and we all thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as it was a really decent helping, with everything cooked to perfection. We'd also managed to sit next to a window in the restaurant part of the pub, so we could enjoy the views out as like-minded people were enjoying the sun also. With finished with a dessert that we all just about managed to fit in. A perfect end to a perfect stay.
To find out more about The Royal Oak, please click on the image above.

On the way back to the car, we were slightly delayed (not that it mattered particularly) by the tide still being up, which meant that part of our journey was inaccessible. Once we could pass through, we carried on, although my parents took a slightly different route to avoid the first stretch which was still immersed in water, whereas Tanya and I just waded through it because we had our walking boots on. This slightly different route resulted in an incredibly funny incident which would never look good on paper but nearly resulted in Tanya wetting herself. Definitely a video moment.

Before heading off home, we noticed that the church at Warblington was open for visitors, so we took full advantage of it, especially as my parents had never been in before. At one time, Warblington was a more important place than Emsworth, both having churches without the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth. Both the castle and the church date back to Saxon times, with the church originally being dedicated to St. Mary, however, during the 18th Century, it was changed to St. Thomas à Becket at the whim of the Rector!

From there, we came home, had a couple of cuppas and chatted before going to the train station. Had we not been there, there may have been every possibility that my parents would have caught the wrong train. On the way down, they caught the Victoria-Havant train which follows a south-western route, whereas their return train was Havant-Waterloo which follows a north-eastern route… luckily though, with minutes to spare, we all realised which train they should have been catching.
So, that was it, their time here flashed before our very eyes and, once again, it was time to say those awful goodbyes. I do find it very difficult saying goodbye, especially as they've both played such a huge part in my life and now I see them very little in comparison.

Saturday 23rd October 2010 10:24

Today focused on Portsmouth, Old Portsmouth to be more precise. We wanted to share our relatively recent discovery with my parents, that being the Millennium Walk, taking you through historic parts of the city. It was a bitterly cold morning, yet beautiful and still, although there were some very dark and menacing clouds around.
Before we joined the Walk, we took my parents to one of the two cathedrals found within the city, this being Portsmouth Cathedral (the other is the Roman Catholic one). Until this visit, I was totally unaware that the building had started life as a church with two extensions being added, 800 years separating the original church and the last extension which was added as recent as 1991. Architecturally, the building is stunning especially as the two extensions are in-keeping with the overall feel.



From there, we then joined the Millennium Walk which runs very close to the Cathedral, it's marked out with a series of chainlink paving stones although with several developments going on at the moment, it would be quite easy to lose your way, especially if you're not familiar with the area. On our way around, we had a pitstop at a Fuller's-ran pub called 'The Still and West', situated on the banks of what's commonly known as Spice Island. The pub is an iconic landmark in Old Portsmouth and is famed for its fish and chips, very much a seaside favourite.
To find out more about the pub, please click on their logo above.



After refreshing ourselves, we then continued on the Millennium Walk, following it around to Gunwharf Quays, stopping off at the Aspex Gallery on our way. Last time we were down here, we'd thought it be a great idea to go on one of the Harbour Tours, taking in views of the Spinnaker Tower and many of the iconic ships that grace Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard. We'd looked into how much it would cost to go on the actual Historic Dockyard tour and it worked out to be £18.50 each for Tanya and I and £16.50 each for my parents. Bollocks to that, how on Earth can they warrant such fees? I know some of these ships are incredibly old and that they obviously need continual restoration but £18.50 each? Come on!
For more information about Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, please click on the logo above.



So, as I said earlier, we decided to go on one of the Harbour Tours, approximately 50 minutes journey time (which includes about a ten minute wait by the side of HMS Warrior 1860). The superb thing about this tour is that you see the ships from the water, where you'd expect them to be, as well as seeing ships such as HMS Ark Royal, not included on the Historic Dockyards tour. Having lived in the Portsmouth area for almost five years now, it almost felt as though we should have done this trip much sooner than now, and for £5 per head, it was incredible value for money.
Please click on the Solent and Wightline Cruises logo to find out more.



Before we set off back home after a thoroughly energetic day, we stopped off at Sallyport Tea Rooms on Broad Street, just a few minute's walk from where we'd parked and enjoyed tea and cakes. The premises are done in a very authentic and inviting way and they sell a wide range of food and drinks from breakfasts to pastries and desserts. Well worth a visit to wind down after a hectic day.
To find out more, please click on the logo above.

Friday 22nd October 2010 10:45

Well, it was almost three years ago to the day that we first visited a beautiful area called Waggoners Wells, owned by The National Trust. The reserve comprises of heathland and a series of man-made ponds with a connecting stream set amongst woodland in a steep valley near Grayshott in East Hampshire, England. We had a leisurely walk around the three ponds, taking in the beautiful autumnal colours and the woodland aromas. The whole area is dedicated to the memory of Sir Robert Hunter (1844-1913) who was a founder of the National Trust.



The stream-fed ponds may have originally been constructed as hammerponds for the local iron industry in the 17th-century. They appear never to have been used for iron production and today these ponds are important for wildlife and contain a variety of fish.
Pockets of semi-natural sessile oak woodland occur along the valley sides and the mature trees alongside the ponds harbour fascinating lichen communities with other plants characteristic of ancient wood pasture. Redpoll, Wood Warbler, Woodcock, Spotted Flycatcher and Tawny Owl use the marginal woodland and Kingfisher, Coot and other wildfowl inhabit the ponds.
For more information about Ludshott Common and Waggoners Wells, please click on the National Trust logo above.



After our walk, we'd decided to call in on Midhurst again, especially as we'd paid it a flying visit last time we were there, and after all, the town is idyllic and a very welcoming place to visit. We had a walk round before calling on at The Coffee Pot, found on Knockhundred Row, away from the hustle and bustle of the town, with the library just seconds away. Open from 9:30 - 16:30, Monday to Saturday, it's an ideal place to stop off and chill out in, and the leather sofas are the comfiest I've ever sat in.
For further details, please click on the logo above.



Once we'd stuffed our faces with cake and a hot drink, we continued our walk through the centre, only for me to discover that Harveys Brewery had a brewery shop. I had an idea that one existed, just wasn't quite sure where. All in all, including four that my parents bought me, I left there with eight new ales I'd never tried, making me a happier man than I was already. For some reason, Harveys website didn't have the label for 'Sussex Golden Ale', 4.0% ABV, so I've included the other seven, which were, 'Elizabethan Ale', 8.1% ABV, 'Imperial Russian Stout', 9.0% ABV, 'Bonfire Boy', 5.8% ABV, 'Old Ale', 3.6% ABV, 'Copperwheat', 4.8% ABV, and finally 'Tom Paine Ale', 5.5% ABV. More about these at a later date no less.
To find out more about the oldest brewery in Sussex, please click on the logo above.

Thursday 21st October 2010 15:58

After a very hectic day, we both finally finished work for the week and could relax and enjoy the next few days with my parents. I'd received a text earlier in the day from my Mum saying that they'd both caught the bus to Chichester… I was expecting this to spell disaster, yet they'd both thoroughly enjoyed themselves around the city centre, visiting the Cathedral once again and also the incredibly impressive Bishop's Palace Gardens.

As per usual, I'd ended up overrunning my usual freelancing time, due to the fact that I absolutely detest leaving anything that could compromise my 'he never leaves any shit for others to clear up' reputation. Luckily though, it wasn't until I was back that we received a further text saying that they were on their way back from Chichester to Emsworth. It gave Tanya and I enough time to chill out and have a cup of tea before meeting my parents in The Blue Bell, our favourite pub in Emsworth.

Once there, we ended up having a couple of halves of Sharp's 'Doombar', one of our favourite real ales. It was great to actually sit, chat and relax, knowing we had three full day's worth of entertaining and exploring ahead of us. Rather than just go home, we had a walk around Emsworth Mill Pond (it's a must whilst my parents are down - we couldn't possibly do without a trip there). On our way back to the car park, I had to pay Oddbins off licence a visit, just to see if they happened to have any new real ales in… amazingly, they did, a box set of four 'Historic Ales from Scotland', all brewed by a subsidiary of Williams Bros Brewing Co., 'Heather Ale Ltd'.



Heather Ale Ltd started as a crusade to revive the Scottish tradition of brewing ale from malt and heather flowers. Brothers, Bruce and Scott Williams started brewing 'Fraoch' in the West Highland Brewery in 1992. During 1998 the Craigmill Brewery in Strathaven was developed to keep up with demand. The latest expansion meant that the brewery moved to central Scotland's ancient brewing capital, Alloa.
Heather Ale Ltd is keeping a whole range of traditional ales alive, brewing them in Scotland, often with raw materials that have been picked by themselves.
Please click on any one of the bottles above to find out more.

Wednesday 20th October 2010 16:45

Today, my parents were making a train journey down to stay with us until Sunday. We had a few last-minute things to do in preparation, one of which was I needed to drop some artwork off at Rob Paul Studios in Havant for a six-sheet poster to be produced by them for Havant Camera Club's forthcoming exhibition. Once we were both organised, we drove to Havant Station to pick them up.

Unfortunately, after the whole of the journey had ran like clockwork, their final train from Victoria to Havant was delayed, due to a slower train, so they arrived some twenty minutes later than schedule - nothing really, when you take the length of journey into consideration.



Apart from sit, chat and catch up on everything, as well as eat one of my world famous Chili Con Carne, we did little else, except make sure we watched the BBCs, 'The Apprentice'… Shibby was fired, and deservedly so.
To find out more about the programme and this series' contestants, please click on the logo above.

Tuesday 19th October 2010 19:24

In light of the release of the new romantic comedy, 'Life As We Know It', the Press Association Ltd commissioned a survey of 2000 young Britons, aged between 18-25, to find out what their beliefs were about the facts of life.
The concluding report was more than disturbing, with 20% of them thinking a pregnancy lasted a year, with 10% believing that eating red meat influenced the baby's sex and half of the assemblage expecting a baby to walk and talk within the first year.



To me though, the most ridiculous conclusion was that 20% actually thought an umbilical cord was a musical note… these young adults are apparently the ones who are gaining more GCSEs as years progress… help us, please, if these are going to be the future generations running our country!
To see the full report, please click on The Guardian logo above.

Monday 18th October 2010 16:12

Some time has passed since I last spoke of an artist who I have great admiration for, so I'll buck my ideas up and talk about an Austrian one who was born on July 14th 1862. He was best known as a Symbolist painter and was one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. I am talking about none other than Gustav Klimt.



His major works include paintings, murals, sketches and other art forms, with his primary subject being the female body, particularly seen in his numerous pencil drawings, for example, 'Mulher sentada', sketched in 1916. His famous paintings include 'Judith and the Head of Holofernes' (1901), 'The Three Ages of Woman' (1905), 'Danaë' (1907) and 'Avenue in Schloss Kammer Park' (1912).
Much of his work is often distinguished by elegant gold or coloured decoration, with spirals, swirls and phallic shapes used to conceal the more erotic positions of the drawings upon which many of his paintings were based upon.

In 1911, his painting 'Death and Life' received first prize in the World Exhibitions in Rome and that was his last major piece before he died, although numerous paintings were left unfinished. On February 6th 1918, Klimt died having suffered a stroke and pneumonia, at the age of 55.
To find out more about this extraordinary painter, please click on the logo above.

Sunday 17th October 2010 09:44

Now then, there are many questions that cause huge debates, such as Mac or PC (although that's a really easy one to answer), tea or coffee, blondes or brunettes, Canon or Nikon and there's one that always seems to have a distinct divide… dogs or cats?

During my teens, I'd have said cats any day of the week, mainly because I suffered dreadfully with Cynophobia, the fear of dogs. It's easy to talk about now, because I've forced myself to overcome my fear, yet even into my twenties, I had major problems dealing with dogs, especially as I love walking. Luckily, when my parents bought themselves a West Highland Terrier, I took 'Hamish' out for many walks and was often confronted with at least one dog on any given walk. Over time, this helped me come to terms with my fear and get to know the different traits of various breeds.



Tanya and I would love to have a dog, yet it would be too much of a tie for us at the moment, especially as we're both out for the best part of the day. Tanya also prefers the larger breeds whereas I'm not particularly keen on anything above the size of a Springer Spaniel, particularly as Hamish used to jump up on the settee and share my hangover Saturdays with me. The other great thing about Westies is that they don't moult, whereas some dogs are vile for their fur getting everywhere.
Anyway, if you're thinking about taking the plunge and buying a dog, click on the logo above to check out the many different breeds…

Saturday 16th October 2010 08:45

What a beautiful autumnal day - so much so, we had to get ourselves out for a walk. Since neither of us could really decide about where to go, we eventually walked the Billy Track that goes from Havant to Langstone, stopping off for a drink at The Royal Oak along the way. We'd both taken jackets with us but the sun was that warm, we ended up sitting outside the pub with our t-shirts on… in actual fact, I'd have been more-than-happy to sit there all day and get slowly mellow.
To find out more about the pub or the Greene King Old English Inns, please click on the logo below.



During the afternoon, I kept an eye and ear out for the Premier League results, particularly the match between Bolton and Stoke, as well as keeping a close check on Pompey's progress, especially as their rivals were Championship high-flyers, Watford.

Portsmouth went 1-0 up after a stunning 30-yard strike by Hayden Mullins and that's how the score stayed until well into the second half when Martin Taylor headed in Watford's equaliser in the 67th minute. Some three minutes later, Stephen McGinn fired home Watford's second goal from just six yards out and it seemed that Pompey's hard work had amounted to nothing. However, two minutes later, Dave Kitson helped claw back the scoreline to 2-2 with a 20-yard low strike. Then in the 80th minute, Michael Brown sent the Fratton Park crowd crazy with a pinpointed shot from the edge of the box… the game ended 3-2 to Portsmouth, having now taken 10 points out of their last 12.

I was more than delighted to hear (and watch on Match of the Day later) that Bolton had somehow managed to beat Stoke City 2-1 at the Reebok, despite Ivan Klasnic scoring an injury time winner and then being awarded a second yellow card, only to be sent off. Great result for Bolton which meant they climbed some eleven places to 7th in the Premier League.



Later in the day, I realised we were nearly out of milk so nipped around to our local shop to buy some… whilst there, a bag of Cadbury's Giant Buttons started to shout at me, almost ordering me to buy them, sure enough, I did and Tanya and I devoured the lot whilst watching television. Every now and again, I can be a sucker for chocolate but I really have to be in the mood, especially as it usually does nothing for me other than make me feel quite sick. Having said that though, there was just enough for the both of us and making Giant ones was an ingenuous idea.
To visit the Cadbury's Buttons website (it's really aimed at kids, although the background music is very therapeutic - I could listen to it all day), please click on the image above.

Friday 15th October 2010 10:44

You may well recall that about this time last year, I was asked to look at redesigning some promotional material for Irving Brewery in Portsmouth. It may seem a little strange that I bring the subject up once more, only this time it's official and essential that Malcolm, the owner of the brewery, has something as soon as.



There are three ales that need special attention, especially as he only has a handful of pump clips to use now for 'Invincible', 'Type 42' and 'Frigate'. Others will be needed in the not-too-distant future but it's fantastic that he's 100% about taking this forward.
For the moment, I'll provide the three clips that he's designed and, once my designs have been approved, I shall show you what I've designed. Clicking on any one of them will take you to the Irving Brewery website.

Thursday 14th October 2010 19:15

My busyness continued today for one of my clients had asked that I create three cartoon characters based around Easter… a chick, a rabbit and a lamb.



Now then, the trouble I often have as a graphic designer, (as I'm sure every other graphic designer will testify), is that it's incredibly difficult to be original, so rather than face any sort of flack from fellow designers, I'd sooner spend a good hour looking through the Google Image Search to avoid any such conflict. Quite often, I'll single out certain parts of several designs, creating my very own in the process.
Anyway, I hope you'll agree that what I created has an 'awww' factor and that the kids who buy the products with these designs on will think the same.

Wednesday 13th October 2010 21:00

Having worked my arse off all week, I thought I'd take an hour's break to sit and watch one of my favourite television programmes. Some may think I watch an awful lot of television, yet there are only a handful of shows that I will religiously watch, Channel 4's 'Grand Designs' being one of them. In case you've never heard of, or watched the series, it's an hour-long episode (sometimes with emphasis on the word episode) that covers unusual architectural house-building projects, sometimes major renovations, other times completely new builds.

The first episode of the show was aired as far back as 29th April 1999, running for a further nine series since then, with the tenth series having started on the 15th September this year. The show was created by Talkback Thames and Fremantle Media and has starred Kevin McCloud throughout.



Each episode follows the same format yet, depending on the progress of the build, the pattern may slightly deviate from this format. At the beginning of each programme, Kevin McCloud meets with the clients taking on the build and then visits the site with them, usually before any form of preparation has commenced. A 3D computer visualisation accompanies their plans along with the discussion of the budget involved. From there, once work commences, he visits the site periodically, showing the progress as well as covering any hitches or delays. He never beats about the bush, especially if the building materials or the design isn't to his taste.

Finally, once work is complete or near completion and the occupants have moved in, he'll visit them where they'll give them a tour of the house where he often delights in the architecture and then brings the episode to a close by summarising his thoughts about the construction. The show then ends with an enchanting piece of music called 'Grand Designs' by David Lowe (of no relation to Tanya).
To find out more about the fascinating series, please click on the logo above.

Tuesday 12th October 2010 20:00

Rather than go to Camera Club tonight, I chose to stay in and watch the Euro 2012 Qualifier between England and Montenegro, to be played at Wembley tonight.
As well as having an interest in the England football team, it was an invested one tonight because Fabio Capello had picked Bolton striker, Kevin Davies as part of his squad. Even though Davies has been a consistently good player for Bolton since 2003, the 33-year old could well have been earning his first cap for England and I wasn't prepared to miss it.



Sorry to say this, but England's performance was rather uninspired, although there were a few good moves though nothing came to fruition, especially as Rooney is just so out of form. Once Peter Crouch was substituted for Davies and Ashley Young for Shaun Wright-Phillips, the dynamics of the game changed quite a bit, yet the Montenegro defence just seemed too hard to break down. The game ended in a lacklustre 0-0 draw which wasn't the best result for England, nor was it the worst. In true fashion, Davies was booked, yet what do you expect from the most booked Premiership player of all time?!
To find out how each country's team is progressing in the qualifying rounds, please click on the groovy Euro 2012 logo above.

Monday 11th October 2010 16:47

Busy as a fish at present - I'm in the midst of revamping Straightpoint's Price List, ready for November. I've just completed an urgent photographic job for a company in Cheshire and, somehow (not that I mind), I've ended up designing the main cover, the posters and a banner for Havant Camera Club's 40th National Exhibition of Photography which runs between 6-14 November.



Anyway, today's blog is short and sweet - just thought I'd share the location map of the Meridian Shopping Centre that I've drawn for the back of the Catalogue cover for the Exhibition. I was hoping to approach all the businesses located within the Centre in the hope that we could have generated some extra sponsorship… sadly though, it would have made the map way too small.
To view a PDF of the map I drew, please click on the image above.

Sunday 10th October 2010 14:10

Spent the majority of the day painting Abbi's old bedroom. Tanya was using the large paint rollers whilst I was doing all the fiddly cutting in around the coving, skirting boards, door frames, radiator, window frame, plug sockets and 'phone socket. Despite it being far less energetic, it certainly takes time and patience… something that Tanya will freely admit to not having an ounce of.

Mid-afternoon, having completed the first two coats of cutting in, I took my weekly trip to Morrisons to buy my bananas for the week, along with our bread rolls. Morrisons sell the best bananas by far, especially as they actually last all week without going even slightly mushy and they also have the best supermarket bakers, producing bread that actually stays fresh and tastes delicious. Whilst there, I also filled up with petrol because Morrisons fuel is one of the cheapest around.



Anyway, yesterday, I said I'd talk about some of the ales I bought, so without further ado, I will. I'll concentrate on the Wiltshire-based Wadworth ones, especially as one of them was absolutely superb.
'Henry's' Original IPA, named after Henry Wadworth, is what ale drinkers would consider as a relatively weak 3.6% ABV, yet surprisingly, this golden brown ale is full of flavour with a long-lasting biscuity aftertaste. Combined with a slight aroma of malt and a subtle hoppiness, this makes it an excellent session beer.
'Horizon' is another light, golden, easily quaffable ale, brewed with 100% pale ale malt and a blend of Fuggles, Styrian Goldings and Cascade hops. The zesty, citrus and hop aromas leave a crisp, tangy finish making it a superb refreshing summer session ale, especially at 4% ABV.

So, it leaves me with the best of the day, the patriotically named, 'St. George and The Dragon, an absolutely superb ale, no question. This copper-coloured 4.5% ABV ale is full-bodied, leaving a crisp and tangy palate which then leads to a long dry wheat flavour with hints of orange and blackcurrant flavours. Will definitely become another favourite of mine… money well spent.
To find out more about Wadworth & Co. Ltd, please click on their logo above.

Saturday 9th October 2010 13:58

Had quite a busy day today, flitting from one place to the next. It all started with a trip to the local tip to dump a load of crap that had been lying around for quite some time. From there, it was then a trip into Portsmouth so that Tanya could pick up the varifocals she'd ordered from Vision Express last week. The car park fee for one hour at Cascades Shopping Centre, just off Market Street, is £1.50… we couldn't have been in the store any longer than 20 minutes… fucking rip off if you ask me. For the life of me, I cannot understand how or why anyone can charge such an extortionate amount. Robbing bastards.



The car park is owned and ran by NCP, an acronym for National Car Parks (Wow, that's clever shit - Ed) and the company was founded by Colonel Frederick Lucas as far back as 1931 as a small operation in West London and by 1959, after the amalgamation with Central Car Parks, the company began to grow. It is now the UK's largest private car park owner, with over 200,000 spaces across more than 700 locations in towns and cities, railway stations and airports.
Please click on the logo above if you fancy being ripped off at any of their car park locations.

From there, we then headed off to Wickham (where last month's beer festival was held) because whilst we were in the Co-op choosing what to soak the first session's ale up with, I spotted a few beers I'd never had before, and today was the day to go and buy those beers. They were as follows… 'Hambledon Bitter' a 4.5% ABV ale from Itchen Valley Brewery and the next three are all brewed by Wadworth, 'St. George and The Dragon, 4.5% ABV, 'Horizon' another 4.5% ABV and finally, 'Henry's', 3.6% ABV… more about these beers tomorrow.

On the way back home, we stopped off at 'Mick's Monster Burger Van' on Portsdown Hill and enjoyed a thoroughly healthy lunch and then made our way to Wickes for a big tub of white paint. Tanya had decided (therefore there was no way out) to redecorate Abbi's old bedroom, for two reasons; firstly, it would be covering two shades of pink, one shocking, the other a sort of baby pink and secondly, my parents are due down at the end of the month and it would be nice for them to wake up without too much of a shock.



Wickes is one of the largest D.I.Y. retailers in the United Kingdom. The chain was originally founded in 1854 by Henry Dunn Wickes in Michigan, USA and in 1972 Wickes Corporation, along with British builders merchant, Sankeys, opened its first store in the United Kingdom. Now owned by Travis Perkins, it has more than 190 stores nationwide, focussing on supplies and materials for both homeowners and the building trade.
For more information, please click on the logo above.

Friday 8th October 2010 23:05

This may sound utterly ridiculous to some, but today was a real struggle coming to terms with the loss of Timmy. I guess I hadn't helped matters by choosing to photograph his empty hutch as today's 365 project. The thing is, 'What ifs' kept running through my mind… what if we'd kept regular checks on him, what if we'd noticed his condition earlier, what if we'd moved him closer to the house sooner? Apparently, five and a half years old is a very good innings for any rabbit, so why should I be overly concerned? Well, because you want things to be forever, yet sadly they're not.
One thing I have to keep telling myself is that at least he went painlessly. The euthanasia drug works in three stages; first, it makes the animal unconscious then it cuts out their breathing, which finally causes cardiac arrest, all within about 30 seconds.



It seems weird though, one minute he was here, the next, not. It's the daily routines that I'm struggling to put out of my mind, especially giving him his tea, usually one cabbage leaf (of some kind), along with a bowl of fresh water, a few Woodlands 'Carrot Patch Crunchies' and a maximum of five Rotastak 'Yoghurt Drops'. Just before going to bed, I always gave him a carrot to eat. It's the gaping hole that's been left, especially as the last two nights I've been going to the fridge to get him a carrot; suddenly realising he's not there. How a small furry animal can have such an affect is crazy.
Anyway, in true rabbit-fashion, here's a great little website for the spirit of Timmy, totally devoted to carrots, including quite a lot of very interesting information. Please click on the Great British Carrots logo above to find out more.

Thursday 7th October 2010 17:00

Today started off like any other and then became one of the worse days of my life. Once home, Tanya had decided to move Timmy (our resident rabbit) and his two-storey hutch more towards the back of the house, especially as the winter months are just around the corner. At about five and a half years old, Timmy isn't as agile as he used to be, plus he's completely blind now and virtually deaf, nevertheless, he's still happy… that was until today.


The last ever photo of our Timmy

Whilst Tanya was moving his fencing around, she started to stroke him and considerable amounts of fur came out, despite the fact that he'd recently shed his summer coat to reveal his winter one. Clumps were coming out of the bottom of his back and Tanya noticed eggs within the fur… Blowflies were constantly landing on him and it became immediately apparent that these Blowflies were laying eggs in his fur.



I quickly Googled this, especially as he'd eaten very little and had hardly touched his water… the realisation that 'Fly Strike' had kicked in made his condition an absolute emergency. Without going into too much gory detail, the eggs can hatch within 8-12 hours with the maggots quickly devouring the rabbit alive. To say my stomach turned is an understatement. The very thought of that happening to any living thing is incomprehensible, let alone an animal you dearly love.




Tanya quickly 'phoned Abbi to let her know the situation and then went on to book Timmy for an appointment at the vets. I realised that there just wasn't any hope for the poor chap and decided that I had to take one last photograph of him alive because the most humane thing to do would be to have him put to sleep. Once Abbi arrived, they went off to the vets, whilst I had chosen to stay at home - I couldn't bear saying goodbye.



Ten minutes after they had left, I had a change of heart and, tears rolling down my cheeks, I drove to the vets in Havant, hoping and praying I wouldn't be too late to say my goodbyes. As I arrived, Timmy had just been taken into the other room to have his ear shaved so that a very high dose of a euthanasia drug could be administered intravenously via his ear. I was so pleased I'd made it in time, and although it was harrowing to see him drift off, it felt right that we were all there. As he passed away, it was as if he knew his family were there and he understood why he was there.
The staff at Harbour Veterinary Group were absolutely brilliant for understanding that Timmy needed to be seen immediately and for conducting themselves in a very sympathetic and heartfelt manner. To find out more about their group of practices, please click on the logo above.

One of the saddest days of my life. RIP Timmy, you'll always be in our hearts and memories, you were a one in a million rabbit.

Wednesday 6th October 2010 15:54

Since having a chat about the catalogue cover for Havant Camera Club's National Exhibition, I suggested that we offer advertising space on the back cover, for a nominal fee. Today I chose to drive into Havant and hopefully speak with one of the Meridian Shopping Centre's employees, in the hope that I could ask him to accompany me around the stores in the hope that each one would be interested in being included on the catalogue cover.



Unfortunately, he wasn't there so I took it upon myself to list the various nationwide and local businesses who all have a presence within the Centre. As with many town centres at the moment, there were quite a few vacant premises where businesses have folded, yet full credit goes to the centre, they offering some of these to be used for free, in the hope that exhibitions such as Havant Camera Club's generate much-needed interest to both Havant and, more importantly, the Meridian Shopping Centre. At the moment, there are 25 businesses there as well as Havant Library.
Sadly, the Centre doesn't have its own website so if you click on the logo above, it will take you to the Wikipedia page about it.

Tuesday 5th October 2010 22:55

Rightfully considered a British icon, not just of the 1960s but one that epitomises British cars, the Mini is a small car that was originally built by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from1959 until 2000.
Originally designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis, the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th Century, behind the Ford Model T.



Now manufactured by BMW, the very first Minis were not allowed in the United States because they didn't meet their government safety standards - now it does. Despite its size, the Mini Cooper S is surprisingly fast, managing 0-60 mph in 6.7 seconds. One last bit of trivia is that it has been seen in many movies, making its 1969 screen debut in, "The Italian Job".
So, why all this blurb? Well, I couldn't resist but share the latest Mini Countryman advert with you, plus the fact that it's March since I last talked about an advert… anyway, this one's brilliant… please click on the logo above to view.

Monday 4th October 2010 16:48

Some time last month, I noticed a new real ale in Tesco that I'd never heard of. Not only did I recognise it as an untouched ale, the beer label was rather sassy looking. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that this ale was called 'Phoenix'… what a damn cool name for an ale. The brewery read, 'Tolly Cobbold', a rather unusual name, founded at the Cliff Brewery in Ipswich. It happens to be an amalgamation of two family names that owned the Tollemache and Cobbold Breweries.



The Master Brewer at Bury St. Edmunds-based Greene King Brewery decided he would resurrect the Tolly Cobbold name, hence the ale's name, 'Phoenix'. At 4.2% ABV, this ale is a perfect copper-coloured session ale which is as smooth as silk. It includes both oats and wheat, possessing a biscuit-like flavour, with sweet toffee aromas. Its rich fruity flavours linger resulting in a rich, moreish flavour making it one of the most exceptional ales I have tried for quite some time.
It appears that Greene King haven't yet added this to their website, so the link from the pump clip artwork above will take you directly to the Greene King website. All that remains for me to say is a huge thank you to Ikenna Lewis Miller for sending over the image.

Sunday 3rd October 2010 16:00

Started the day with an immense spring clean of the house which I later rewarded with watching the Premiership clash between two of 'The Big Four', Chelsea versus Arsenal, played at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC.

I hate Arsenal, so I don't really care who plays them, so long as they lose. I guess it's a damning opinion of one football club, yet it's just that they always seem to sign arrogant bastards, most of which are French. As a sort of neutral, it was a great match to watch, full of fast attacking football and some sublime passing, by both teams.



As the match went on, it looked as if the defence of both teams would be impenetrable, that was until goal machine Didier Drogba scored in the 39th minute with a superbly improvised goal. Ashley Cole passed first time to Drogba with the ball ending up fractionally behind him; somehow Drogba managed to pirouette, sidefooting the ball behind his standing leg with the ball deflecting in off the near post. Game on and I was delighted that Chelsea had gone in front, especially as Arsenal were enjoying far more of the possession. Into the break 1-0 up and the crazy news came through that Blackpool had beaten Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield!

So, the second half had much the same script as the first; Arsenal dominating the possession with Chelsea having some good counter-attacks… especially Nicolas Anelka on the hour mark… how on Earth did he miss. Diabolical!! Just as I was expecting the scoreline to remain the same, Chelsea were awarded a free kick after a reckless challenge by French arrogant git, Laurent Koscielny. At first, it appeared as if Drogba was going to take it, until Brazilian Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa stepped up to the mark… apart from Ronaldo's free kick against Portsmouth a couple of seasons ago, this has to be one of the most amazing goals I have ever seen. How anyone can create such power and velocity from a dead ball, 25 yards out, is incredible. The score stayed at 2-0 and Chelsea were the deserved winners.



Later on in the day, I started to look through my blog, mainly because Tanya asked when we'd been somewhere, and so long as it's been within the last three years or so, I've usually talked about it. From there, I then started to ponder about just how many words I'd actually typed since starting my blog on November 22nd 2007. The answer, excluding today's offering, was 270, 940… quite incredible really.
You're probably wondering how I managed to find that out, well, I just happened to find a great online 'Word Count Tool', probably very useful for anyone writing a dissertation or wanting a certain amount of copy to fit within a design…
Anyway, a link to the site can be found by clicking on the logo above.

Saturday 2nd October 2010 13:21

I'd arranged to visit one of the members of Havant Camera Club today and Tanya suggested that we have lunch out. Since Peter, the camera club member, lives on Hayling Island, it seemed common sense that we eat out at The Ship Inn in Langstone, situated at the Havant end of the bridge that leads on to the island. We'd originally opted for some sandwiches with salad, that was until Tanya spotted some of the food being taken to people's tables and went for something more substantial.
Tanya had Scampi and Chips and I went with the 8oz Gammon Steak and Chips. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals and just didn't have the room to fit a sweet in. I did, however, enjoy a pint of Gale's 'HSB' with mine though.



Whilst waiting for our food, I noticed a chalkboard sign in front of me and something was awry… a particular word was sort of making sense, yet I knew it didn't exist. A quick check via Google on my 'phone confirmed that my suspicions were correct. I do feel that a dictionary might well be a perfect 'accompliment' for the staff at The Ship Inn… they then may realise that an accompaniment is the word they're looking for...



Once we'd finished our meals, we then drove to Peter's house and had a cup of tea and a chat. Not only does Peter have a fantastically interesting face, he smokes a pipe and is very house proud, especially the work he's put into his garden. With him being very 'hands-on', it meant that I could take several different views of him in and around his garden, whilst he smoked his pipe. Very easy-going and an easy model to photograph, plus the fact that I was delighted he'd agreed to let me take some shots.
I've included my favourite shot of him above.

Friday 1st October 2010 16:18

How the hell has it got to October?! One thing I do know, the weather has certainly let everyone know that summer is officially over. Remarkably, at the end of this month, the group of us who started the 365 project will be half way through, and that really is an achievement for all concerned.



Anyway, earlier in the week I commented about having designed a new Havant Camera Club logo and, since it had been passed, it was now down to me to design a front cover for the Catalogue of winners, highly commended and accepted prints. There was one particular image that had caught my eye during the judging last weekend and I was delighted to find that everyone was happy with the fact that I'd selected it as being my choice for inclusion on the front cover.
You're welcome to view a PDF of the cover if you click on the image above.

The exhibition is being held at the Meridian Shopping Centre in Havant from Saturday 6th – Sunday 14th November 2010, Monday to Saturday 9.00am – 5.30pm and on Sundays from 10.00am – 4.00pm. I shall announce another reminder nearer the time.