Top of the league for New Year!!!

The mighty reds march on towards their nineteenth title, top of the league, three points ahead of second placed Chelsea going into the New Year!!
Parts of the game at Newcastle yesterday were so one sided, Liverpool could easily have scored eight or nine, but for the heroic efforts of their goalie, and my man of the match, Shay Given. Newcastle for the most part of the game were extremely poor, I think they have very serious problems for the remainder of the season ahead. No premiership team should concede five goals at home, no matter how good the opposition. Yesterday Newcastle's defence was non existent for the majority of the game.
Even Lucas had a good game for the reds. In my view yesterday was the best he has played for Liverpool, he has rightly been criticised in the past, however yesterday he put through some good piercing passes, and was very unlucky not to score on two occasions.

christmas 2008

Well there it was gone!!! Christmas 2008!!
I really enjoyed a restful Christmas this year, even though on Christmas day I did all the cooking, and made a round trip to Runcorn twice (superman or what??) to bring my sister to my house and take her home in the evening. Everybody enjoyed the food I cooked, only a basic Turkey crown for Christmas day lunch, but it was really juicy and tasty. Toby finished the last of his this morning.
The only negative was trying to set up the wireless router for Davids new laptop.
It was partly my own fault. I have been with a new Internet provider since mid November, and I left the router in the box, having no need for it. When I tried to set it up yesterday, I discovered a fault on it. A very helpful guy from Virgin talked me through the fault finding for three quarters of an hour. The upshot is the router is faulty, and he has ordered us another one. Hopefully we will have it Wednesday, and David will be online.
The other downer was I nearly sliced my thumb off last night opening a tin of Corned Beef!! My thumb was cut really deep, and it bled for ages, but it will be fine in a day or two.
I am now looking for some me time before new Years eve, going to the gym, swimming/sauna and relaxing.

Merry Christmas from Scouseboy

Can I, David and Toby the dog wish my readers ( or reader, which ever category fits!!) in Liverpool, the U.K. and worldwide, my friends and enemies( of which there are only political ones!!) a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year to you and all your families.

my christmas table.

Had my mum round for lunch today. She laid my Christmas table. I do all the cooking and driving on Christmas day and boxing day. This year I am bringing my sister from Runcorn. For several years my mum has come round on the sunday before Christmas and laid the table. She enjoys doing it, and she feels she is making a contribution to the Christmas.
It is also the only time of the year when my bone china dinner service comes out. I received it as a twenty five year long service present from my firm. I have had it for six Christmases, and so far it is still totally intact!

the recession deepens

Today the firm I work for announced it was cutting its shift pattern from two shifts to one shift due to lack of orders surrounding the credit crunch.
If this single shift pattern remains in place in my workplace for a full year, I estimate that this would equate to around a £6 million loss to the Merseyside economy in lost wages alone.
That is just from loss of earnings from my work colleagues. When you take the suppliers and service industry that provide us with goods and services into account, you can multiply the loss to the Mersey economy several fold.
The devastating effects of this to our region are becoming more apparent on a daily basis. Just look at the banking sector and see what is happening at the Alliance and Leicester in Bootle.
I hope some of the government initiatives that are currently in place reap dividends soon, or some far sighted individual comes up with a solution to this issue, or else I fear Merseyside will take a long time to recover from the worst effects of this recession.

Sunday lunch

We went to the Mersey Pride (formerly the setter and vine) for our lunch today. I spotted an advert for sizzling pubs, and so decided to try it. I went there with some slight trepidation, as the setter and vine had a less than salubrious reputation.
I needn't have worried. I was pleasantly surprised. The food was good and plentiful, the service efficient and the cost was reasonably priced.
The new manager has taken a stand against the people who dragged the pub down, and the result is a pleasant, family orientated pub. We will definitely visit again in the new year.

Saturday night out

Went to town last night with a mate of mine from work, Churchy. We started off in the Liverpool arms on Castle St, then went to the famous Grapes on Mathew Street, a pub made famous by the Beatles. We then went to Tess Rileys, and ended up in the Big House on Lime Street. There was an excellent group called the Detroits on there, and they performed all the Motown and Soul classics. A very enjoyable night.

a crisp cold morning

This mornings walk with Toby was the coldest of the year so far. The sun had been up for more than an hour, yet the grass in the park was very thick crisp icy white. The air was lovely and fresh, I found it particularly relaxing as I took in the sights and the fresh smells of the woods.
It could have been a Labour Party convention, as I bumped into a Labour councilor and two party members walking their dogs also on this freshest of mornings.

the saga with David!!!

David gave me a fright on Saturday night. He had been to visit someone in Rainhill, and I said I would meet him in my car at Lime Street, I didn't like the idea of him using Merseyrail on his own at around 10/11pm at night. He phoned me as his train pulled out of Whiston, about twenty minutes from Lime Street, so I left home to pick him up at the agreed place. I waited for around three quarters of an hour. I saw the Empire theatre audience let out. Still no sign of David!! I then realised I had left my phone at home!!
I had no alternative but to drive home and retrieve my mobile!! When I got home and phoned David, he had just arrived at the meeting place. He told me the train was delayed due to an incident. I then went back into town to collect him.
A happy ending despite the worry and stress it caused me.!!!

liverpool one

Went to town shopping on Saturday. I take back what I said on my blog the other week, town was jam packed, right from the standing room only on the train into town!! (Credit crunch??? what credit crunch???)
Had my first proper look around the new liverpool one development. The last time I visited, only phase one was open. I was totally blown away with the development, I had to remind myself I was actually in Liverpool!!!
Manchester, the Trafford centre and Cheshire oaks now has serious competition!!!

walton park cemetery/the city farm

Went for nice long walk with Toby yesterday afternoon. We took in the city farm which is based in Walton Park cemetery. We saw the sheep and ducks on the farm, and there were several families with young children there to see the animals. We took a walk on a path through the back of the cemetery. It was so quiet and peaceful, it really chilled me out, and Toby had lots of new trees to sniff!!!
That part of the cemetery is quite interesting in the fact that there are headstones there from the original church from church street. The bodies were reinterred there when church street was developed for shopping.
I have decided I am going to learn a lot more about my local history in 2009.

my new certificate!!

Did a night school course last year at Holly Lodge. It started as a ten week course"basic listening skills" which turned into a thirty week course "introduction to counselling skills."
I picked up my certificate this week, and was very proud of my course work, and the fact I completed the course, despite being on shift work.
Thanks should go to my tutor, Chris Burns, and the friends I made on the course, notably Irene and Elaine.
I would have liked to carry on with the intermediate course, but my work shift patterns make this impractical. Maybe next year!!

I'm back online

I am now with another internet provider. I have been over two weeks without internet access. It is amazing just how much you miss being online. Lucky enough, I have a library at the bottom of my road where I could access the internet. The one useful by-product of all this was it forced me to join the library!!! Normal service has now resumed!!!

rememberance service

Went to the cenotaph yesterday for the remembrance service. I go every year. This years service was particularly poignant as it is ninety years ago this year that the armistice was signed. We should never forget the sacrifices made by others for the freedom we enjoy today. It was particularly good to see so many Young people there this year. Each year I feel truly humble when I see the veterans march past. I got soaked, but that is small sufferance when you think people laid down their lives on our behalf.

my internet service

Having trouble with my internet provider at the moment, have been offline for nearly a week, no fault of mine!!! The company are in denial, am going to get a new provider very shortly, I have lost patience with my current provider. Thank goodness I have internet access in the library at the bottom of my road!!! Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!!!

my lad is full of surprises...

My son David, who I have previously told you , has moderate learning difficulties and ADHD.
I came home from work today, and I was really proud and surprised when he proudly showed me a button he had just sewn on a pair of my trousers that had just been washed.
People underestimate his talent. He is a very special person, and I am immensely proud of him, and despite him (often) stressing me out and us often arguing (he is Aries and I am Gemini) I love him to bits!!

Leighton Dene, the aftermath...

Just bumped into an old friend in Sainsbury's who I have not seen for several months.
She was employed at Leighton Dene in Fazakerley, but has now been redeployed, along with the rest of the staff.
For those who don't know, this was a day centre in Fazakerley which fully met the needs of it's users. The Liberal Democrats, in their wisdom, decided to close this facility at the last round of budget cuts in April.
My friend tells me the users are getting nowhere near the level of provision that they had at Leighton Dene, and amongst all the staff that have been redeployed, stress levels are high and morale is at an all time low.
The fib dems should hang their heads in shame for making this particular cut to a much needed service.

the week just gone...

Oh well, another week past, another week wiser!!!
Had a very quiet week (told you my life was boring!!) The weather on Saturday morning was lovely and crisp before the downpours came, and I took Toby for a lovely morning fresh walk. It really chilled me out. Watched Liverpool's excellent victory at Chelsea on Sunday, then went for a late lunch with my mum just off Penny Lane, where I was brought up. We went to the Richmond, on Church Road, and I had a mixed grill and she had Scampi. We like going there, but we waited ages for our meals to arrive for some reason this time. This week is the first week of non production at Halewood, my team is in every day carrying out audits, so I look forward to picking up just basic pay a week on Thursday! The only other thing of note is both my son and my sister have said they would like a laptop this Christmas.

chrismas is coming fast!!!

Went to Everton park gym and baths yesterday, but struggled to get a parking space. The spaces were all taken up by shoppers at Paddys Market. The market itself was jam packed, a sure sign that Christmas is on the way!!

visit to HMS Illustrious

Went down to the cruise liner terminal today to see the warship HMS Illustrious before she departed. Now we have the new terminal we get to see a lot more big ships, both cruise liners and naval, close up.
I am looking forward to seeing the giant aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales when it is built in a few years time if god spares me. She is going to be affiliated to Liverpool, and so should be quite a frequent visitor.
The terminal should come into its own next year, with a lot more ships visiting. When it was opened this year, a lot of cruise firms had already planned their 2008 itinerary without their ships calling at Liverpool, but many have included Liverpool in their schedules for 2009. Not many ports in the world can provide berths right in the city centre, with the added majestic backdrop of Liverpool's three graces. We have a really unique selling point.

Taster day at Rice Lane City Farm

Have received this mailshot from V involved. It is aimed at 16-24 year olds interested in voluntary work
Fancy a day on the farm? A taster day is being held in Rice Lane City Farm on 1/11/08 from 10am till 3.30pm.
The site comprises 224 acres of woodland, 11 which are managed.
It is a working farm with a variety of animals.
Contact paul at V involved by e-mail: paul@vliverpool.org or ring him :0151 709 5006

my mum is 84!!!

It was my mums birthday last Thursday. Myself and my son David took her to Damons on the old Speke Airport site for her tea. The portions are huge there, and was even too much for my large appetite!!

My mum has had a rough last couple of years. She has been in hospital three times with a mild heart attack, angina and pneumonia.

She got her first passport when she was 79. Since then she has visited Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Paris, Berlin , Turkey(twice) Malta (twice) and Poland.

Globetrotter or what???

The picture was taken the other week in Krakow.

Happy birthday mum!!!

my routine

This weeks "back in the old routine" has not gone according to plan. I have not been able to make the gym at all yet this week, I have been operating as an unpaid taxi for my son David and our dog Toby. Will try harder next week I promise!!

The Credit Crunch

Is it me, or am I just imagining it? I got off the train yesterday at Central Station, and walked through to St John's precinct. Town felt really empty. I have never seen St John's precinct and market so empty on a Saturday! I also was later by Lewis's and Central station, and had the same feeling of a lack of shoppers. I have never known town to be so empty on a Saturday only 11 weeks before Christmas. Has the new Liverpool 1 shopping development moved the shoppers to that side of town , or are we seeing the real tangible effects of the credit crunch?

back in the old routine

Not looking forward to returning to work after my week off. I am on earlies this week, need to be up at 5am, so may have to tape the last part of Peter Kay tonight!!
I work a week of earlies (6.30-2.45) then a week of lates (2.45-11pm) with an early finish at 1.30 and 8.30 on Friday respectively, however we don't currently work Friday late shift as we are trying to re balance production due to the weakening sales related to the credit crunch.
From work at 2.45, I will hit the gym. I only do 20 minutes on the cardio stuff. I then swim half a mile in the pool . I aim do do this 3 times during the week, and also Sunday. I usually achieve this schedule. Since January 2007 I have lost 19kg, (almost 3 stone!!!) (official statistics from my doctors) however, it must be appreciated that I started off as an extremely fat person(I have moderated my language for this blog!!!) to just a fat person!!! I have set myself a goal of being 17stone by the new year. I feel I can , at 6 feet tall , carry that weight whilst aiming to lose more. I put on weight very easily, I only have to have a couple of pints or a decent meal and my waistline grows!! My job in work helps. I walk 6 miles per shift, and I walk our dog at least two miles every day. Here's to a slimmer, new me soon!!!

Auschwitz-Birkenau

This was the real reason for our trip to Krakow. I have been wanting to visit for several years, but had not quite got round to it. When my mother asked would I take her it was too good an opportunity to miss.
Auschwitz-Birkenau is about 40 miles into the forest, about one and a half hours drive from Krakow. You could not get a bigger contradiction: unspeakable atrocities carried out in beautiful picturesque surroundings. The reason for this soon became clear: The Nazis wished to keep their atrocities very secret.
Everyone has heard the maxim "no birds sing at Auschwitz." This saying is true, I heard no birds sing, despite being in the middle of a forest.
Over one million one hundred thousand people died at the hands of the Nazis in the death camp that is Auschwitz. That is a known figure it could have been as high as one and a half million, nobody knows the exact number as the Nazis destroyed the records.
On the trip itself, nothing was hidden from us, the true extent of the atrocities were put right in front of us.
We saw the barracks where the prisoners were held, and their unspeakable living conditions, the punishment blocks, the gallows and the wall where prisoners were shot. We saw the room where experiments were carried out on fertile women to find the "best method" of sterilisation. We went into the gas chambers and saw the furnaces. 700 people at a time were placed in a room not much bigger than a landing of a semi detatched house, and they took up to an unimaginable horrific twenty minutes to die.
We also saw some of the most shocking exhibits of all: We saw some of the seven tons of human hair that was found, property stolen from the victims on their arrival including artificial limbs, glasses, crutches, and most distressing of all, children's toys. We were shown the zylon B capsules used to gas the victims, and the containers the capsules were stored in.
Everybody was visibly moved by what they saw. It was shocking, but it needed to be seen.
We then went two miles further to Birkenau. This was a concentration (slave) camp as opposed to the death camp at Auschwitz.
The prisoners were made to work hard for twelve hours a day, and get by on starvation rations of 1500 calories a day. They slept 400 at a time in dormitories that were designed as stables for 56 horses. We saw the "toilet facilities"- holes in stone slabs which the prisoners were allowed to use for no more than ten minutes a day, before and after they went to work. There was no separation, privacy or dignity, men women and children had to use the latrines at the same time.
At the end of the war, when the Germans knew they were losing, they tried to burn Auschwitz down to try to hide their atrocities from the world. They failed, and the world could witness their atrocities.
We should never forget, or allow things like this to ever happen again, but sadly, and to the worlds shame, it does in places like the Balkans and Eritrea. When will the world ever learn?
I feel a better person for visiting, I felt I needed to show solidarity with the holocaust victims. On a positive note, I was very pleased to see so many young people visiting.
On a slightly lighter note, I have now made my pilgrimage, I am glad I did, but I can head for the beach next year!!!

Visit to Krakow

I have just returned from a short trip to Krakow. I took my mother along. She is 84 next week, and got her first passport when she was 79. Her first trip in a plane was 12 hours to Los Angeles!!!
The purpose of the trip was to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau , more of this in my next blog article.
Krakow is a very beautiful and cosmopolitan city , the architecture blows you away.
We stayed in the Jewish quarter, an area steeped in history. Oskar Shindler operated from there, helping to save many jews, however 65,000 jews from Krakow alone perished in the holocaust, and there is a memorial garden and stone to comemorate this in the Jewish quarter.
The main square is also lovely, we saw the cathederal where Pope John Paul used to preach from when he was the Bishop of Krakow.
Krakow has a very extensive tram network, something Iwish we had in Liverpool!!!
Where Krakow loses marks are total lack of provision for the disabled. At the railway Station in particular, there are steps everywhere, but no lifts or ramps.
Overal, apart from the sobering part of out trip, it was a lovely city to visit.

Hello!!

Hello and welcome to my brand new blog. I will report from time to time on my otherwise boring existence.
A bit about me. I am male, 52 years old, reside and was born and bred in Liverpool. I am divorced, and my 23 year old son lives with me. He has moderate learning difficulties and ADHD, and can present quite a challenge for me at times!! Oh, I nearly forgot!!! Toby the dog lives with us also. He is a beautiful yorkie crossed with a pomeranian. He is 15 months old. Myself and my son each seperately take him for a walk each day, sometimes to the beach at Waterloo.
I have worked in the car industry on Merseyside for 31 years. The credit crunch is now starting to have a big impact on our industry, with a lot of unscheduled downtime.