Cat sings (July 8)

The beautiful Catherine got to flex her vocal cords at, I guess, some kind of talent showcase. I went last year too when she sang a song by Corrine Bailey Rae, but this year she sang an original song and as usual, she was amazing! She was one of the last acts on, and the pattern that emerged for the evening was that as each act finished (mostly youngsters) their parents would up and leave. By the end the doors were locked otherwise there would of been no audience left!

Sarah came along for support too; also Denita and her boyfriend. Afterwards me, Cat and Sarah went out for a drink and then what turned out to be something to eat as we got hungry later.

Cat has said that I can be her groupie when she's famous so anyone else has to form a line behind me!

The tooth and nothing but 2/ JT in the O2 (July 7)

With my Barbados holiday approaching I decided to attend to my cracked tooth. Not wanting any unnecessary medical expenses whilst away. It cost £180 for what turned out to be 2 filings; one to repair the crack, and one for a cavity the dentist found. I had intended to use my credit card to pay for the work but as it hadn't yet received my new card, after the cloning saga, I was forced to use cash, which reduced my spending power for the rest of the month.

That evening me, Sarah and Cat (it was to be Sarah's cousin but she cancelled earlier that day) headed down to the O2 Arena, formally the Dome, to see Justin Timberlake in concert. He was supported by Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. It was my first visit to the Dome; a building I have loved since its inception (I must be the only person), and arriving there was a magically exciting moment. The building is huge and in its new guise houses 2 arenas/halls, numerous bars and restaurants, and a cinema.



But back to JT. I've have never been to that many concerts but Justin was brilliant. Timberland also put in an appearance and did a little DJ set. Fergie, too, was exceptional. I'm not a fan but really enjoyed her performance. The Black Eyed Peas also showed up for 'Where is the Love'. Way cool!
I'm glad Sarah convinced me to go because it was a great night out. I will definitely be visiting, the O2 Arena again, if only to see a movie in the cinema there.

The beer festival that never was... (July 6)

Gregg had invited me to join him at a beer festival held every year in Chelmsford. I had been there once before but actual swore off beer festivals after getting hugely hungover after going to a massive one held in Olympia. I decided to go, but not drink as I was going to drive. I had a pitstop to make first though.

Luan was kind enough to help me freshen up my resume as it was now 4 years out of date. So straight from work I journeyed round to to her place. Dave was home too and we all ordered Chinese for dinner. Sadly the resume writing fell flat as there was compatibility problems with computer and software. Basically I don't own a copy of Word, owning a Mac computer was the other opposite. I did get some tips and a template though. Thanx Luan x

From Grays I rushed over to Chemsford and waited around for over 30 minutes, giving Gregg a couple of calls, which he didn't answer. So I decided not to hang around all night and head home. I'd heard that there might be some folks out in the Fairlop Oak in Barkingside, and sure enough, sis (Sarah) and Vicky were there.

This was the night where I arranged 2 future events. One was to see Justin Timberlake in concert the next evening the other was to go to Ibiza the following weekend, for the weekend. Melissa (Honeybee) had won the holiday on Kiss radio earlier that evening and I got one of her invites. Yay!

10 months in the making!

No, I'm not talking about a baby. I on about my meeting up with an old friend who I met when I first started my job. Samantha was also a new starter based in another region and office, but training during the first year is held centrally for the year with the same people each time. So we became friends despite not actually working together. Sam left the job after about a year and soon after we lost contact, until last summer when Sam, found an old email and thought she'd see if I was still on that address. I was! and decided to arrange a meet up. As the title suggests, it took 10 months to achieve that goal and we went to the 'Fox' in Stratford.

It was a great night out and we spent the whole time gassing. Sam says it had been about 3 years since we last saw each other but I don't believe it because it only felt like 5 minutes! Hopefully we don't leave it so long next time to meet up.

I'm back!!

Hi squish pages fans. Mucho apologies for to lack of recent updates. Its been a mad few weeks with 3 weekends totally occupied; 2 of them with consecutive weekend breaks, and the other with just being out. My days off had been shunted into those weekends away, removing most of my disposable free time and the evenings snuffled up into being out, down the gym or packing!

Today is the first day in 3 weeks that I've had nowhere to be on my day off which is a bit of a relief because I am exhausted and need to update both my blog and Facebook. Needless to say I will not be able to update with all my antics over the last few weeks, but the major highlights will get the squish pages treatment.

I've been 'cloned'

I discovered late last week that I had been a victim of identity theft. Whilst out at Wimbledon last week I made an attempt to use my credit card and found it had been blocked, which surprised me because I was up to date with my payments a was a long way from my credit limit. I called the card company to find out why, and the first thing they said was that there where a few transactions on my card recently that they wanted to discuss with me.

They went through a list of retailers and transactions and dates, seeing if it was me. A few were, but the majority were not. So it was quickly apparent that someone else was using my credit card! My account was immediately cancelled and a new one opened up, moving my balance across, plus a new card and pin. The inconvenient thing is I had a few things on order which has since been cancelled and with a 2 week wait for the new card it might look dodgy again when I do get it; buying up all the stuff that got cancelled!

At least those scumbag ain't getting a free ride outta me anymore!

Wimbledon

Exactly one week ago I visited the Wimbledon grand slam tennis tournament; an event I visit every year. Unfortunately my new tennis buddy Lucy had for the second year in a row booked a holiday during the tournament so I had to go alone. For those who have never been before, tickets for each day work on a first come first served basis, which is why one has to queue up from very early in the morning. (Incidentally, the reason why some choose to camp overnight is because there are limited tickets for the show courts available each morning, which are at extra cost)




As outlined just now, entry just get you into the grounds and not the main show courts, but you do get access to the lesser courts where the lower ranked players play and where you get to see the future stars and maybe some fading lights. With this Wimbledon being the wettest since 1982 I was only able to see 2 ladies matches but one of the matches featured Martina Hingis, former number one who had come out of retirement last year. I was very excited at seeing her as I was a big fan before she retired.




Unfortunately the rains came again and by 5.30 play was suspended for the day.

Jojo at Six Flags America

It's been a long time since I had photos of the droolsome Jojo on me blog. She doesn't seem to be spending much time this year in front of the camera but is touring all over the globe promoting her album. These photos were taken resently at a consert at Six Flags. I am assuming in her dressing room before the start.





I've said it before and I'll say it again; God sure know what he was doing when he asked Adam to give up one of his ribs!