Life through the Square Window

The Healing Power of Cheese

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:44:38 -0800

I eat a lot of cheese. So much so that I decided to give up eating cheese for Lent. I haven't had a single pizza for three weeks. (I haven't had a double pizza either, so that's definitely an innovative idea to bear in mind for Easter Monday!)

A quick update

Mon, 21 May 2007 01:00:28 -0700

I haven't written for a long time. I'm sure none of you has actually noticed, but I'm telling you anyway.

I've been in Australia and New Zealand. I had eight weeks in Oz and then only three weeks in NZ, which is nothing near long enough I can tell you. For the full story of my trip, look here and on my flickr site.

My new chain of men's clothing stores

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 04:03:53 -0800

As I am away from home for a few months and will not be earning for that time, I had to find a different way of getting income.

I spotted a gap in the market in Australia for designer men's clothing and so I started my own chain of stores and stands in department stores.

They have been doing quite well so far, as you may be able to tell from my delighted grin in this photo, taken from my stand in Melbourne's flagship Myers department store:

I'm off

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 14:55:59 -0800

I'm leaving on my Big Tour of the World on Sunday. I don't know if I'll have time to write before then, so I thought I'd say my sad farewells now. I've enjoyed being part of this community over the last few months and I've come to regard you all as... people ... I've met. Which is weird, because I haven't met most of you.

I'll probably keep an eye on this site from time to time, but I will be doing most of my blogular posting on my new blog during the time I am away. You may recognise the title of the blog. I can only have one good idea per year, and I've used up this year's one. When I had the good idea of cutting my toenails with a scythe.

Doughnuts and cookies on my desk

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 03:11:02 -0800

Yes, I'm another year older and deeper in debt today, so to celebrate I've brought in some cakes and some sausage rolls. You'll all have to imagine how delicious they are. The cookies are not as delicious as the ones Brian has been eating, and the doughnuts are not Krispy Kremes!

Before you ask, 29.

I'm feeling left out too

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 05:43:50 -0800

I was born here:

In the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.

I lived here for the first eight years of my life:

Children's TV

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 02:06:39 -0800

I'm a big fan of nostalgia, although it's not what it used to be! *GROAN*

Anyway, these are some of my favourite TV programmes when I was growing up, can anyone suggest any others?

He he he, all brilliant. Looking back on it now I think Danger Mouse was the best!

Well then

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 14:39:59 -0800

I'm now counting down the days until Gaz Man's (and Pol's) Big Tour of the World. Only three weeks to go - where has the time gone?!

So I thought, what could be the least sensible thing to do before going away on three months' unpaid leave? Yes, buy a house. So that's exactly what I've done. (Some of you with more vivid imaginations can probably think of far less sensible things to do, possibly involving a bath full of baked beans and/or custard.)

Quiz champions

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 01:44:01 -0700

On Monday night at the Melton Mowbray, the Four Stooges defeated all contenders to win the £80 top prize! In usual 'ironic' style, there were six of us in the team.

This means that the [insert a number between one and six, or the word 'magnificent' if there are seven in the team] Stooges have now taken on and defeated the following Monday night pub quizzes:

Back-handed compliment of the decade!

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 05:09:51 -0700

"You'll make someone a great boyfriend one day."

Why do I only hear this from girls who are already accounted for...?

Translation:
"You'll make someone a great boyfriend one day, but not me. And hopefully not any of my friends either."

Seeking a blog entry

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 05:35:35 -0700

I recall at the back of my mind an aboutlife blog entry which had a lot of statistics on it relating to love and friendship. It spoke about the number of people who think about you just before they go to sleep, for example (although not quite sure how they work that one out). I think there was also a statistic about the number of people who pray for you on a particular night without you knowing.

Good news!

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 01:02:13 -0700

I wrote a few weeks ago about my flatmate (see Tricky questions) who has cancer.

There has been some good news recently. He went for a scan and apparently the cancer has cleared up due to the chemotherapy he's been having, and the tumour he had has shrunk to small enough to be operated on when he's got enough strength.

Snooze Alarm

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 01:20:37 -0700

I was struck this morning, as I try to blink my way through my tiredness-induced blurriness, of the fact of the snooze alarm of my clock radio being a metaphor for all temptation (and maybe for life too).

I press the snooze alarm to maximise my short-term gain (another seven minutes in bed, whoopee!), but in the long-term I feel rubbish. Isn't that true of all temptation (obviously, I don't know about this myself, somebody else will have to help me out ;-) )? We are all tempted by the devil to go for something with short-term benefits, but we should remember to look to the long-term - and you can't get more long term and more beneficial than an eternity with Jesus Christ.

The GM Music Awards

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 06:11:08 -0700

The Gaz Man Music Awards took place in the early hours of this morning in an exclusive location in the Baron's Court area of London.

Here are the winners:

* Best use of a saxophone in a pop song: Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty
* Best use of a classical sample in a pop song: Natural by S Club 7, using Faure's Pavane. Runner-up: I'll see you when you get there by Coolio, using Pachebel's Canon.

A New Menace on our Streets

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:59:27 -0700

London has been a difficult place to live for the past five or six years, as you can't walk along the street without some well-meaning person wearing a fluorescent jacket accosting you and asking for your bank details. The normal response is to shrug your shoulders and say, "Sorry. I don't have a bank account." Or maybe, more likely, when they ask for a minute of your time, to say that you'd love to stop and chat, but you're in a rush to get your nose hairs plucked / get your haemorrhoids removed / have a hot date with someone who used to be on Celebrity Love Island, or something equally plausible.