Immaculate....my arse

Following on from recent form, daily blogs are becoming less and less frequent. So today's musings will be a summing up of the last few days

Thursday will be known as 'V5' day. I finished my early shift at 2 and was straight home to inspect Postman Pat's delivery. My V5 had arrived, a V5 is a vehicle registration form, for the uneducated.

I was straight on the phone to the Skoda dealer to make an appointment and was soon on my way there, spare keys in hand, to wave goodbye to the best car I've owned

Back home, via the post office and the bank, and we were straight to the pub. Here, we proceeded to consume copious amounts of alcohol based spirits....not sure there's another type

As people who know me well will confirm, I love drinking a lot.....hmmm....not really, but we had a few and an enjoyable time was had. The majority of the drinks were bought by my friends dad.....until then I didn't realise how much I liked him ;-)

Friday morning rolled around and, slightly hungover, we made our way to Frankie & Bennys for a big breakfast. It was delicious, with the only uncomfortable moment being the waitress, whilst in conversation, telling me that they survive on their tips.......

I hadn't tipped


And the 25p I had in change seemed too little, too late


Knowing how to really live, I left F&B's and made my way to Asda. And what exciting purchase was I there to make, some new clothes, a DVD, even a new television......no. A pack of night time pyjama pants for Amelia......now now....jealousy is an ugly thing

I was on late shift yesterday and had been invited out to the pub afterwards, however, I didn't think it would be appreciated if I was hungover again this morning.....nor would my bank balance have been too happy

Today was the day to buy myself a new car, I was collected just before 9 and we made our way down towards Poole, stopping 3 or 4 miles past Ferndown. Unfortunately, whilst the car looked, and was described as immaculate, it was actually far from that. It had been touched up more times than Katie Price and had more signs of crack damage than Daniella Westbrook

So here I am sat at work, the car search will continue on Monday with a trip to High Wycombe where hopefully I shall return in a different car to the one I arrive in

My Saturday evening promises to be one of non stop excitement, who know what wonders await. What I do know is I have some pictures to share....a cat with a faultless hiding place, a worrying sign of how Tesco treat their products, and a 'cool' polar bear

Bye bye for now

When will I, will I be famous

Today I experienced 30 seconds of fame when I was 'live' on the Capital FM Breakfast Show

It all started innocently enough, I was at work and having grown bored of Classic FM, and bypassing Grave 105, I flicked over to Capital FM for the breakfast show with Emily and some other fella. They were playing the new Pitbull song (feat Christina 'I've got a bottle full of genies' Aguilera) and at the end the female presenter was moaning that she was desperate to know which track this song sampled

Being the nice guy that I am, I text in informing her that it was in fact sampled from the musical geniuses (genii) that are Aha and their masterpiece 'Take On Me'.....take me on

Anyway, within 30 seconds my phone was ringing and upon answering I was greeted by the voice of 'radio presenter man' scolding me for revealing the details of the song. Apparently before the song started, he had specifically stated that he didn't want people to text in....how was I to know

Anyway, we ended our 'private phone call' and less than a minute later, as the conversation was played on air, and I was announced as the most annoying listener of the day.....a title that I feel I hardly deserve, especially when you consider how annoying the presenter is

That was pretty much the 'highlight' of my day. The 'lowlight'....is that even a word in this sense....being when I 'accidentally' fell asleep in the car at work and was rudely awakened by a member of the public with some inane complaint. Couldn't he see I was trying to sleep.....the cheek of some people

A relaxed afternoon was followed by squash this evening. Now to put things in perspective, the last time I played squash I was wearing a 10kg weight vest and doing 25 press ups between games. Today, walking after the games was the challenge. I've honestly never played worse....and I've had some bad games in the past. It's definitely highlighted to me the importance getting back into training....next week

Bye bye for now

Move your body close to mine

Well....what a day. Knowing that I'd be getting a call either today or tomorrow to say my cheque was ready and I could bring the car down to finalise the deal I thought I'd get all the paperwork together.

Everything was easy to find, except my V5 registration document, next to the keys it's the most important thing of all. I spent about 30 minutes looking for it but to no avail

At 10 o'clock Amelia and I had arranged to meet a friend and her daughter, for a fun packed day. We started with a trip to Ikea where Amelia was quickly into the crèche...her choice not mine...she loves it in there. To be fair it does look pretty cool

I was visiting with one main aim, the acquisition of a sofa bed, or at least some advice. Their website said no stock in Southampton and after speaking to 3 members of staff I had confirmation....that the website was correct

The one I wanted has been discontinued and in its place is one that is exactly the same just with a different colour cover....oh...and a £30 price increase......engineering genius bastards

Anyway, an ice cream was consumed and parking 'illegally' validated, oh, and 3 washing up brushes purchased and we were on our way home

Once home I decided to relax, by spending a further 40 minutes looking for my V5....no luck

Then it was time for lunch, a romantic meal....for 4....lol. Frankie and Benny's never fail to deliver.....a burnt pizza. Still, Amelia loved her sausage and beans. It should have been mash as well, but she informed me that the space required for mash was still occupied by ice cream ;-)

After lunch I added 2 more lovely ladies to my hareem...that's not really the word I wanted, but posse just sounded worse. So it was on to Monkey Bizness, or Gambado as some people call it.....and much fun was had

However, the main event awaited us back at my place.




We all searched for my V5.




Still no luck. It's amazing the effect losing a piece of paper can have on your plans, it's certainly buggered up the next few weeks for me

I was treated to a chip supper in an attempt to cheer me up, it certainly fattened me up anyway :-)

And I shall finish the evening with a bath....currently listening to Mysterious Girl...and I don't think the excuse that it's part of a pop compilation album helps my case...still....you can't beat a bit of Bubbla Ranx.........."Well I've been sitting by the phone hoping you'd call. When time me hear your voice I feel 10 feet tall."

A relatively short blog tonight, much like my temper....I've lost my V5 you know

Pictures....you'll get what you're given

Bye bye for now

JUMP....for your love(d) ones

Yesterday I experienced a 'sales' tactic that frankly amazed me. As some of you will know, I'm currently selling my car, so as well as having it on auto trader I have also spoken to a few garages

On Autotrader I have priced the car at a midway point between private sale price and retail trade in, thinking I may get a bit more money whilst also giving someone a good deal. Well, yesterday I visited a dealer to see what they would offer me for the car. I was firstly amazed to see that he gauged his prices from Autotrader but my flabber was well gasted when he used my own 'for sale' advert to determine his offer. Apparently I had 'set the benchmark' for pricing.....I'm now thinking about increasing the price to 50k and then offering it to him at a very reasonable 30k.......sound fair?

I worked a late shift yesterday, and it was very quiet, not a single job in fact, but that I was still a little angered/amused when upon returning to the outstation we were questioned as to what we'd been doing all day......and the answer.....driving round aimlessly, like we do on so many occasions.....now what answer can a manager give when you openly admit to effectively doing nothing.

Today is my first of 3 rest days, or at least it would be, I've offered to work overtime tomorrow....just to help out the business need, obviously....what's that? They'll pay me....really?.....oh well ok if they have to

Typically, as my first day off, what happens, it snows in North Hampshire.....these are the days we love...when we get to make more of a difference.....and...some people 'apparently' do doughnuts in the 4x4's....but I think that's just a rumour and is disgraceful and reckless if true

Saturday morning is Amelia's ballet class and since I took her last week, Jac has taken her today. As I sit in a warm, clammy puddle......in the bath....I haven't wet myself....this time......Jac texts me to say its 'watching day', which as the name suggests is a day when parents can watch their children dance....and of course I've no chance of getting there in time to see anything :-(

I'm racking my brains for something to moan about but I genuinely can't think of any burning issues, nothing has especially annoyed me this week, so I'll finish today by using my 'celebrity status' lol, to promote a very worthwhile event that my sister in law, and my sister in law's sister in law are participating in.

Some of you will know that we lost our brother in law Alan Bannon, 3 years ago in the Shirley Towers fire, and they are both taking part in a charity abseil from the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, in his honour, with the money raised going to the Firefighters Charity. This may not be a charity you've heard much about, but the help they have given to everyone involved has been second to none and this is some way of giving them the recognition they deserve. The websites below are where you can donate money, it sounds cheesy but genuinely any donation, big or small, is appreciated

http://www.justgiving.com/teams/Bert



Oh and while I'm here, buy my car

FOR SALE - LAST CHANCE - REDUCED PRICE

SKODA OCTAVIA vRS, 2011 (11) Diesel, DSG Automatic, 24,000 miles, 12 months MOT, 6 months Tax, Leather interior, otherwise standard vRS spec, Full main dealer service history (2 services), being traded in over the weekend/early next week

£12,500 OVNO

Email bencummins35@googlemail.com

So, pictures, an unexpected picture of Catwoman, a text message based theme tune and a windswept squirrel

Bye bye for now

Once more and the teddy bear gets it

To be pretend the last few weeks have been the best of my life would be ridiculous. It is at times such as these that I wish my blog was anonymous, though I realise this would mean no one would read it

I apologise for being vague, but appreciate that this is not something to be discussed through this medium. I am merely offering an explanation as to why my blogs may be more sporadic and possibly less humorous....'is that even possible?' I hear you say....we'll see

A lot has been going on since my return from New York last week, which again I can't go into, but I thank everyone that knows the situation for their support

So, back to today. Amelia woke at 4:30 this morning, this will be the 3rd or 4th night in a row that she has woken at odd, and annoying times. Is it nightmares, no, bed wetting, no, any sort of irrational fear....no. It is of course that her cuddly toys are not in the same position they were in when she went to bed....they've moved...and she can't line them up the way she wants.

Now if you haven't got children, you can't fully appreciate the joy of a 4:30 wake up call to lament over the difficulties caused by rambunctious cuddly toys. You cannot reason with a 3 year old with this problem, you cannot bribe or blackmail, it just doesn't work. So you find yourself, half asleep, and half naked, desperately attempting to tame the feisty fellas and return them to their desired location.

After around 5 minutes, and after reminding your child that the toys are not real, they don't get cold, or uncomfortable, and feeling like the worst dad in the world, you just tuck the covers back in, explain that it's too early, leave the room and keep your fingers crossed tighter than a nun's......habit

The only plus side today was that the 4:30 interlude meant a sleep in until 7:20....this is a strong contender for the latest Amelia has ever slept :-/

Into the bath and after 15 minutes, the suggestion put to Amelia that she also needs a bath, I'm happy enough to tell her that she smells and needs a wash. But today she wanted a 'girly bath' with Jac. Unfortunately there wasn't time for this, so bathing was postponed until after Jac had left for work

All plans for the morning went out of the window as Amelia had a refound vigour for the joys of health and hygiene and spent probably the best part of an hour in the bath, swimming, playing with toys and generally bubbling around. In fact by the time she was out we only really had time for a chocolate mousse and she was off to grandma's.

I had an hour or so for some errands I needed to run, expensive ones at that, but productive all the same, then it was a quick lunch and off to work

And work is where I am now, at Fleet Services....for a change....as my colleague purchases a McDonald's. I on the other hand have had a sandwich from Tesco

My sandwich caused much amusement, we're simple people. It's called 'Just Ham'. Now, what would you expect from a sandwich with that name. Well...I would expect some ham, that's a given, there's even bread, which to be honest goes against the description, but if you've got ham and bread you'd surely expect some sort of butter or margarine spread....oh no.....it's Just ham....a point to Tesco for actually quite accurate labelling.

Please note, I fully expect the meat for my ham to have come from a crocodile or similar....don't worry....I'm just horsing around

Who knows what excitement the rest of the evening holds, it's a magical mystery tour, but believe me, if its interesting, I'll share it with you tomorrow

I'll leave you now with a picture selection, a religious decision, a flawed method and an illustration of the future of the world

Bye bye for now

Sleeping Beauty and Snow White

Second early shift back at work today and still feeling the effects of tiredness. To be fair I'm always tired in earlies, I get a second wind around 10pm so therefore can't get to sleep until midnight, but I'm still up around 5ish

Out today with a guy that likes to drive and likes to talk, managed to squeeze in a McDonald's, but barely had the opportunity for a sleep.....what's that about :-/

We have a new vehicle at work on a weeks trial. We get a lot of negative feedback for driving 'expensive 4x4's' and people suggest we could use vans. So we are trialling one....in fairness though it is a Mercedes, so I'm not sure if we meet the 'cheap' transport option. On the plus side though, there's gotta be room for a hammock

No big jobs this morning, just routine bits and pieces, did help out a partially deaf woman with no mobile phone though, arranged some recovery for her and got her on her way. It's a small thing, but she felt a lot more reassured and safe, especially since a friend of hers had been killed after breaking down on the motorway

Home from work, quick change, then pick up my car and off to my parent's to collect Amelia. She was in great spirits which is always good, brightens up a dreary day. It's the only time she's generally excited to see me as well, I guess because Jac isn't there

I'd already made plans for the afternoon but having asked Amelia what she wanted to do, it was pleasing that she wanted to do what I'd arranged, so it was off to a friend's house, a friend of mine and her son, Amelia's first 'boy' friend. They had great fun together, dressed as Snow White with butterfly face paint, and Spider-Man, complete with webbed face.

Amelia continued with her great appetite for the day by polishing off a big plate of pasta and vegetables, followed by 2 ice lollies.

I really enjoy my catch ups with this friend, we don't always agree on everything, but have similar thoughts on a lot of things....plus it's always a great chance to have a good whinge and moan about anything and everything

Home just after 6, left Amelia with Jac whilst I had a quick bath, then Amelia was off to bed....with some frustration....overtired I think

A steak dinner has been followed by a chilled evening, with a surprise visit from 2 friends, we didn't hear them knock the door, just became aware when they were in the hall....luckily I was fully clothed....not that I make a habit of sitting around naked

Tomorrow should be a good day. I think I know who I'm working with and I have some things planned for the afternoon. Oh, and a trip to the pub in the evening....Happy Days

To finish tonight, I shall include a screenshot of my sex tape, some 'masculine' flowers and some friendly bananas....oh and a picture of my highlighted hair

Bye bye for now

Birthday Swingers Club

Have just had the realisation that I haven't blogged since Wednesday, how have you all coped without it....I'm guessing you're all in a state of depression and wondering what to do with yourselves

Thursday was spent flat hunting, for investment, having realised how incredibly wealthy we are....yeah right....we decided to look into investing in a 'buy to let' property

I managed to view 7 flats in 3 hours...and a few of them were either nice or had potential....in fact I even put an offer on one.....I'm still waiting for a response....I think it's a no

Moving on to last night, it was the evening to celebrate my birthday. We went to the local pub, well, not my local as my local is only 50ft away and I wouldn't go there. So we went to a semi local pub where we had a table booked for 14.....who'd believe I know that many people

My sister in law had kindly given me a 20% off food and drink voucher which came in very handy, saving about £35 on the total bill, plus after being asked to itemise, we were only into it for about £27...though granted we weren't 'drinking'

Some of the group got a little more tipsy than others...and I imagine are feeling a little worse for wear today ;-)

As always, I was the last one to want to leave the pub, and was practically dragged out at about 11:45pm, still, it did take about an hour to walk home so i guess it made sense to leave then

My good friends clubbed together, as we have for previous 30th birthdays and bought me a very generous present of golf lessons, I'll repay them of course once I'm on the PGA Tour, I'll be earning a few quid then

Today has been a day of Daddy Day Care, some ballet, soft play, shopping and I also fitted a black out blind in Amelia's room. She's been waking to early as the sun is coming up, so fingers crossed this will see her sleep until noon.....though to be honest I'm up at 5 anyway tomorrow so I'm not too worried

Tonight is Secret Cinema Club and the first rule of the club is.....

Bye bye for now

Happy birthday to me

So, 30 today, well I'm only 25 really but I prefer to say 30 so I look young for my age....in fact people are always complimenting me on how young I look.....ok....they are generally sporting a blue rinse or very dark glasses, but it's the thought that counts

I was very kindly treated to a lie in today, and then woken up with breakfast in bed, bacon & eggs, Amelia even joined me with her apple.

Then it was time to head downstairs for cards and presents. Loads of cards, some with money in :-)

Amelia got me an engraved glass, perfect for my new plan to increase my water intake, try and cut down on sugary squash as well.....a little ironic as I've just finished my 2nd 170g box of nerds....they're all gone now though

A relaxing morning was followed by more cards and presents from the inlaws, and then lunch at Frankie & Benny's. Unfortunately our lovely lunch was ruined by the fact that lunch took 45 minutes to arrive, short staffed apparently, but why not mention that when we're there with a 3 year old

Anyway, by the time the food arrived, Amelia had gone into a bit of a meltdown, hungry and tired are not a good combination at that age. Unfortunately this resulted in having to bring Amelia home early. Jac stayed to pay the bill and was met with a comment from the waitress along the lines of 'did the little one have a bit of a tantrum'.......not the best move when it's caused by your inadequacies. So a £10 voucher is now sat next to me, to use next time I go

Amelia had a little sleep and then Jac took her out to see her cousins, so I caught up with some admin then met them at my mums for dinner

I know my mum reads my blog, so i'll say that the roast was lovely.....it actually was....but she'll think I'm just saying that anyway. But it's worth noting to make it the same next time ;-)

This evening has just been chilling in front of the TV, eating nerds, so no exciting stories, but a relaxing end to another birthday.

I'm off work until Sunday now, so I have the next few days to myself, Amelia is at nursery, I'm sure ill stay relatively busy, starting with breakfast with a mate tomorrow, but I'll do my best to squeeze in some relaxation

Now, a panda having fun, Karl saying what we were all thinking and a reminder of the problems of alcohol ;-)

Bye bye for now

Fags, Drugs, and a bunch of Wonka's

As I write this, I have been away for 38 hours....except for 2 half hour naps, so I apologise if the spelling is worse than normal or the content is of a lower standard

I wrote yesterday's blog at around 10pm New York Time, which was 2am here, so I guess in a way this is my second blog of the day, it'll certainly be the second one I post

We boarded our flight last night around 11:30, and I thought I'd go straight into a movie and with that sleep, but this was not to be.

We had chosen the seats near the exit, it gave us more leg room. Unfortunately what it also meant was our screens were foldaway and therefore couldn't be up during take off. After taking off I thought movie time could start, but then they brought out food, which to be honest I wish I'd slept through

So, take off done, food done, ready for a film and a sleep. As I was just dozing off, I was woken by the flight steward issuing a warning to the bloke behind us as he had decided that the toilet was a great place to light to a cigarette.....the word 'dickhead' sprang to mind at this point. Every time I started to doze off after this, a certain female to my right kept nudging me with her elbow...so that was my sleep done for the night

The best time to be British has to be when arriving at a UK airport, no queuing, no uncomfortable frisking, just straight through without problem. I assume this is why Brits are chosen to be drug mules.....I certainly saw a fair few men that would be happy to have something put where the drugs would go...in their case, why? What were you thinking?

Having been up a day and a half I thought I'd best have a bath earlier, and that is where my second sleep came.....I know what you're thinking, but don't worry I couldn't have drowned...I fell asleep before I'd put the water in. That's not true of course, I think it was whilst running it. I may not be an athlete, but boy can I run a bath

Amelia was very excited to see us tonight, well I say us, more mummy than daddy, though I did manage to bribe her for some love with a selection of presents....remember people, money can buy you love...as the Beatles once said....oh, they didn't say that, well it was 60% correct

As I type this tonight, I am slowly, though not too slowly, downing a box of 'Nerds'. They may have been £3 a box, 10 times the price when I was a young lad, but they're at least half as nice

I'm not sure what pictures I have to add today, so you'll just get what you get

Bye bye for now

New York - Part 4 - Accidental Racism

Monday 11th March

Our last day in New York and I perhaps didn't plan it very well. We had to check out of hotel by 12, and our flight isn't until 23:55, so I'm sat here, with no wifi, writing my blog

We did try to change to an earlier flight, there was plenty of space on the 21:55 flight, and they were happy to change us.....for $170 EACH!! When I booked the late flight, I figured we'd maximise our time here, avoid rush hour in London tomorrow....I just didn't consider how long the 12 hours would be....or how much I'd spend shopping trying to waste time

So, as I said, we checked out of the hotel at 12 and started on our mission for the day. I am still trying to get some Nike Romaleo weight lifting shoes, they didn't even have them in the Nike shop and couldn't order them in so recommended another shop, 40! blocks south

We walked all the way down to 17th street, to Paradox Sports and.....they didn't have any. They had some Reebok shoes which to be honest would have been ok but......they didn't have my size, they had a 7.5 and an 8.5, but seemingly I am an exact 8

I'd like to say this was our only wild goose chase of the day, but alas it was not. We walked all the way back up 7th Avenue, and found our way to the M&M shop, and then onto Broadway for the Hershey shop. Then we started our search for the Superdry shop.

We walked up Broadway, looking for 718, but we were at 1700ish. So, we walked 16 blocks down Broadway before managing to get free wifi where I decided to check google maps. Not only were we 30 blocks away from the store on Broadway, we had only been about 50feet from the other store on 7th Avenue.....the numbers don't carry across streets as Broadway is so much longer....just a 17 block walk back then....you can guess how pleased Jac was by this point. Still, I think it cheered her up to watch me buy a new jacket

I may have mentioned previously that we brought a pre pay credit card with us, and we were anxious as to whether we would spend all the money, saving the hassle of transferring it back when we get home. When it was rejected for a $4.99 purchase the anxiety passed

We were trying to work out how we'd managed to spend so much money in 4 days, then we started adding up all the stuff I'd bought and it became a little clearer....don't worry, I still let Jac eat whilst we were here....and the occasional drink...I'm not a monster

Overall it has been a brilliant weekend, just a very tiring one. We were quite pleased to see the flight home was only 6 hours....until we realised that although the clocks have gone forward an hour in New York, they haven't in the UK...so it's still a 7 hour flight :-(

After 4 days of anything up to 10 hours walking, I'm looking forward to getting home for some sleep, some normal food (I've had enough chips and baguettes to last me a while) and most importantly to see my beautiful little girl...who I'm fully aware won't have missed me at all, a point that will be most apparent when we collect her tomorrow and she runs straight past me to Jac....as she always does....still, I'll be happy to see her....at least until she wakes me up early on Wednesday

If you're reading this in the UK, it's most likely around lunchtime as I'm not going to be able to upload it until I have 3G tomorrow, something you don't fully appreciate until you've been without it for 5 days....see earlier story of getting lost without maps

Oh, and for anyone travelling back from New York to Heathrow, with British Airways....JFK Terminal 7 is crap, perhaps we were spoilt with Terminal 5 Heathrow, but either way, it's still very poor....not what you want when you've arrived 3.5 hours early for your flight

Oh and one more 'oh', I almost forgot Jac's accidental racism, let me explain. When you walk through Times Square, you cannot help being harassed by people trying to sell you tickets to a comedy club 'do you like to laugh?' etc etc, constantly. So I said to Jac, the next time they ask me, I'm gonna say 'no, I hate laughing, I strongly dislike enjoying myself....maybe even mention an uncle being killed by a clown or something, but they didn't ask me they asked Jac.

Man: 'Do you like comedy?'
Jac: ...........
Man: is it comedy you don't like or black people?
Jac: er, both
Man: you don't like black people?!?
Jac: errm, errm, that's not what I meant
Man: hey guys, that white lady hates black guys'

Me: just keep walking



Bye bye for now

Just a few random pictures today

New York - Part Trois

Sunday 10th March

On our penultimate (second to last...I know you know that, but just in case) morning in New York, of course we slept until 9 o'clock ish, though the clocks changing helped. My body has decided to adjust just in time for going home

Today was my first bath with a new plug in place, this one, as a novelty, actually stops the water from draining from the bath......how very quaint. The bath was a total success with the water level staying constant, and me generally becoming cleaner as the bath went along

We tried Grand Central for breakfast again today, but on not finding anything suitable we decided to pound the pavements (sidewalks) to look for an alternative. We ended up in a little pizza/panini/salad/etc/etc place where Jac had a ham & cheese bagel (which looked amazing) and I went for a bacon, egg and cheese roll....mmmmm








We carried on our walk, heading back to the Rockefeller Center (centre) for our NBC Studio Tour. The tour was very good, I had no idea just how many shows NBC made until realising they are NBC Universal...I think we all agree though that their proudest achievement should still be Saved By The Bell

I'd never heard of Jimmy Fallon until a friend recently posted a video of him and Justin Timberlake on Facebook performing a medley of rap songs.....which I'm listening to as I type....live on his show. Well I can now say I've been in that very studio, along with that of the Dr Oz show and Saturday Night Live.

The highlight of the tour was probably purchasing some 'Nerds' in the shop afterwards though....mmmmm

We can now say we've been to, and through Harlem, I'm now officially gangster.......don't think I'd rush to walk through there after dark mind. We have also
travelled the whole perimeter of Central Park and passed landmarks like the Guggenheim Museum, and the building where John Lennon was killed...and Yoko Ono still lives there.....apparently. We also saw the place where a young Michael Jackson got his first big break....apparently
















After the tour we went to the box office to collect our theatre tickets and then went on to Madame Tussaud's. The waxworks were all very impressive, though the best would have to be that of the woman photographing the spice girls....we waited for a good 2 minutes....so as to not walk in front of her shot....before realising she was effectively a candle without a wick

We followed Madame Tussaud's with a dinner at Ruby Tuesdays on Time Square....the ribs were the sort people write blogs about....delicious, the meat just fell off the bones, so as well as great good I managed to not end up with sticky fingers...saucy

We topped off our last evening in New York with a visit to Broadway, and if I had to sum up the show in one word, that word would be.....Expensive. But seriously, it was fantastic, and we had outstanding seats...if you ever get the change to see it, then do it....though it won't ever be coming to The Mayflower

Lazy morning planned for tomorrow, hotel check out at 12, then midnight flight home so an afternoon of shopping awaits :-)

Bye bye for now

Location:E 42nd St,New York,United States

New York Part 2

Saturday 9th March

Today was another 4am wake up, my hope is that my body will now just stay unadjusted and I'll be fine when we get back to the UK on Tuesday

When I could rouse Jacqueline, around 8am, which she keeps reminding me was 'too early', we went for breakfast at Grand Central Starion, a place called Juniors

I had French toast and bacon, and the bacon was lovely. The French toast was...well...put it this way, it was no Hovis Best of Both.

Today was the day we'd decided to head to The Rockefeller Center, partly to do a tour of NBC studios. That tour was sold out for today so is booked for tomorrow. However, whilst there we did the tour of the Center itself, which I have to say was very interesting.....across the 21 (I think) buildings there was $1 million dollars of artwork, commissioned by Mrs Rockefeller....it doesn't seem excessive now, but remember this was the 1930's...she was also the only person allowed to go over budget during the build, $885,000 over budget in fact







After the tour we took the elevator up 67 floors to the viewing platforms, and the only word to describe the view is breathtaking, it truly was astounding, as you can see from the pictures....though they don't do it justice






We left the Rockefeller and headed for 57th Steet for the Nike shop, I'm trying to pick up some weightlifting shoes, though this is proving tricky since even the Nike store doesn't stock them....the search continues

By this point we were very close to Central Park, and you can't sensibly go to New York and not visit Central Park. We went for a horse drawn carriage ride around the park and then walked down to watch the skaters on the ice rink. It's no Eastleigh Rec, but it is pretty impressive all the same









Ok route back to the hotel, we saw the holy grail for Apple fans, the glorious glass box in the middle of the street, it seemed rude not to visit...and buy a couple of things as well :-)



After a quick change back at the hotel we were off to meet friends for dinner, by sheer coincidence they had booked to visit New York at the same time so it seemed silly to not meet up, they also joined us for the basketball this evening

We were in good company at Madison Square Garden, with both John McEnroe and Phillip Seymour Hoffman present, and it was certainly an impressive spectacle. We've decided we're not really cut out for American sports...our visit to the baseball in Toronto a few years back was not a great success, but it was still a very enjoyable evening and we can now tick it off the list of things we wanted to do...well, more my list than Jac's in fairness



Back to the hotel properly just after 10pm, just under 14 hours after leaving this morning, we've certainly done our share of walking for today...and tomorrow....and next week

The plan is an early ish bus tour tomorrow so we shall see what the day brings

Bye bye for now