Memories of You

I sit and think of all my days

Forgotten now in many ways

My childhood dreams, my hopes and fears

The laughs we shared, and cried the tears

The times I spent with you and your family

Now come back in the form of memory

To me I have lost more than an aunt

Never forget you, in my heart I cant

The images I keep in my heart and head

Replace the things I cant see instead

I want to reach out and call you and talk

Visit you again and to the shops walk

I want to see you smile when you see me

Cringe when I joke and know you can hear me

The days they have flown and the seasons have passed

But the memories I have for eternity will last

So goodbye to my aunt and also my friend

Take with you my love and all the memories I send

Jason Cotton

24/06/2013

That month has flown

Well what a month it has been.  I have been on a complete emotional roller-coaster.  In my last post we had recently lost my Uncle Tony through illness, well only five days later it was a double tragedy as my Auntie Pauline also died (his wife).  I was very close to both of them as for three years (1995-1998) i lived with them.  They were more like a mum and dad to me than an aunt and uncle and the loss was immense.  We attended two cremations within nine days and that made three funerals in nine weeks.  I hope that we are done with funerals for the rest of this year at least.

I was asked to write a poem to place in the coffin with my auntie and this i did (see my latest poem).  Both occasions went ok and it was nice to see that most of the family turned up.  I got to see some of my relatives that i don't see too often, my Uncle Phil and Auntie Linda, my cousins Nikki and Lee, also my second cousins Sarah and her husband Craig and her brother Michael.  Its sad that the only time i get to see my relatives these days are at funerals.

This will change next year as ..................drum roll please.................We have finally booked our wedding for Tuesday 25th March 2014 and we are both over the moon.  We have been together 13 years this year and want nothing more than to be married.

Also since i last wrote I have aged................lol
I am now the ripe young age of 41 (yesterday to be precise).  I had a wonderful surprise about two weeks ago when i was told that Sarah (sis from Leicester) and Janet (Leicester mum) were coming up to spend the entire week of my birthday with us.  They were going to leave it as a surprise but wanted to give me something to look forward to after the recent bereavements.

They arrived on Sunday and we spent the evening just chatting and catching up with each other.  On Monday 15th we did a bit of grocery shopping and then after lunch we spent the afternoon in Blackpool town center taking pics and general larking about.  It was a great afternoon and we were all worn out by the time we got back.  Tuesday and we spent a lot of the day in Fleetwood, including the market.  They all bought craft items from various places and we had a good meal at the Thomas Drummond just of Fleetwood high street.  Very nice pub and highly recommended (especially as they do a Jack Daniels Tennessee Steak Burger, yum yum yum).  Wednesday it was a chill day and we all just did our own thing really.  We did emails, chatted, socialized and got our energy back.

Now we start on my birthday and man what a day !!!!!!!!!!     I was informed at the start of the week that we would be going to Liverpool for the day and that i was going to be let loose in the LFC store (mistake !!!!!!!).  I got up at about 8.00am and after the usual pleasantries and cup of tea (i cant live without my first brew) i opened my cards and my prezzies.  I had the DVD boxset of Rock and Chips and Ian Rush scrapbook journal of Sarah.  I had the new Liverpool home shirt of Janet and also another Liverpool top as well.  I had a Dads Army piggy bank and a Dads Army mug (DONT PANIC, DONT PANIC !!!!) of Tony, Kieran and Mick (next door neighbours and good friends), a pack of four John Smiths of another Janet.....lol (Tony's mum).  Deb had got me the dvd boxset of Boardwalk Empire 1 and 2 and later in the day also got me a awesome Liverpool jacket, a Liverpool dogtag necklace, a Liverpool scarf and a Liverpool phone sleeve (Coutinho shirt design)......................Liverpool being very much the thing here...................

Well we set off at about 9.30 and had a nice pleasant journey with the minimum amount of traffic.  I had never been to Liverpool One and could not believe the size of the place.  I am from Stoke on Trent and always though that the potteries shopping center was quite big.  Its like a flea market in comparison to Liverpool One !!!!.  There are literally hundreds of different shops that range from your typical high street shops to your boutiques (you can always tell them because nothing in the window is ever priced !!!!!!!).  It was an absolute scorcher of a day and we found the shade wherever possible.  After walking through the town centre and dodging in and out of various shops we went in the first of two LFC stores.  This one was quite small and all on one level.  It was while i was in here that i saw my jacket (see photo album) and immediately fell in love with it.  I didnt buy it there and then as I was unsure of spending the amount that it was.  Sarah took a picture of me wearing it and all three of them agreed that it suited me and i had to promise that if it was in the LFC superstore that i would buy it..........grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

We stopped for lunch at a lovely little cafe type place called Shiraz and although it was central to town it was very reasonably priced.  After lunch (we managed to eat outside but in the shade), we once more ventured into Liverpool One looking for the LFC superstore and found it two doors down from the Everton shop (ironic).  They had my jacket in and though i protested i was over the moon to finally own a LFC jacket and this is also when i picked up my dogtag, and phone case (the scarf i picked up off a market stall).  All in all it was a fantastic day and the only frustrating thing was trying to find the car park at the end of the day (not very well signposted !!!!!).  The journey back was ok and we narrowly avoided a traffic jam on the motorway.  Later in the evening i was presented with a birthday cake and Deb filmed me blowing out the candles (41 or 5 ????    LOL).  The rest of the night we spent drinking, chatting and laughing.  A awesome birthday all round !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its now almost 1.00pm and Deb, Sarah and Janet are at the Hunkydoory shop in Preston buying craft supplies..................

Catch breath and will write soon.

Enjoying the warm weather?

Wow its definitely been a nice warm month.  Its also a miracle that twice so far this year i have had to apply sunblock to stop me looking like a tomato (last year it didnt get used once).  I am not a sun bunny by any stretch of the imagination but even i have been enjoying the recent spell of warm weather.  Ok it hasnt been tropical or anything like that but we have reached 20 degrees on a couple of occasions and that is warm enough for me.

Plans for the wedding are well under way and arrangements are being made.  We have lots to do and sort out in the coming weeks.

I am sorry to say that we lost a very dear relative in the last week.  After a long battle with illness my Uncle Tony passed away.  I lived with both him and his wife (Auntie Pauline) from 1995 to 1998 and i will always have those memories that even now bring a smile to me as i am typing this.  We will really miss him as we shared some good times and they were there when i needed someone.  R.I.P.  you will be sorely missed.

The days where it has been sunny we have been out and about, either town, cleveleys or just the local village.  On those days we have usually met up with my mum and ended up either going for a meal or just walking and doing shopping.  In the evenings we have been going for some nice walks with our ever faithful and daft as a brush dog Jess (who almost wrapped Deb round a tree last night........lol).  On the days where the weather has been bad i have done my usual surveys, emails, forums, blog and general surfing the net.

Havent really done a lot of gaming other than a couple of hours on Call of Juarez and i am still undecided if i like it yet.  

Film wise i have been watching quite a lot.  The other night i wanted to watch one of our older horror films so i picked 13 ghosts (excellent film).  Last year for my 40th my fiancee Deb bought me the Bourne Trilogy on Bluray and the other day we managed to buy the Bourne Legacy so the quadrilogy is complete.  This being the case we finally sat down to watch them a couple of nights ago and after seeing the first one and finding out how good it is i am looking forward to the other three.  Last night we watched a very clever and intense horror film called Cabin in the Woods.  I will avoid spoilers but needless to say that it isnt your ordinary run of the mill horror.

Deb bought me Boardwalk Empire season 1 and 2 on dvd for my birthday so i will be continuing from where i left of real soon.  I love the show and its got me completely hooked.  Its great to see Steve Buscemi on our screens as i think he is a very under-rated actor with immense talent.  On that note i was shocked to hear about the death of James Gandolfini at the age of 51.  I have heard a lot about the Sopranos series and its on my list (which grows every day) of television programs i want to watch (thanks to Sarah i am also edging towards Person of Interest as it sounds like my kind of program).  Going back to the James Gandolfini comment, it just goes to show you how easy life can disappear and that is why i am always living for today.  

I had a bit of a bee in my bonnet earlier this week and decided to confront some things that had been getting on my nerves and eating away at me in the last week or so.  Its always good when you get things sorted and show people that you are not just there as a convenience friend.  I think of myself a lot more highly than that these days.

I will leave you now and will keep you informed as to what happens in the next week or so.

Another two weeks almost

Ok so i set it in my mind (my diary) to keep this blog updated every two or three days and yet i find myself here and realise that its been almost two weeks since my last update !!!!!!!!!!!!

I know they say time flies but no one said that it went super sonic !!!!!!!

Ok not much of an update other than the wedding plans are going ok.  A lot will be sorted in the next couple of weeks (fingers crossed).  The weather had been really good for the last few days and even though there has been a lot of rain in the air and an awful lot more has been forecast for the next few days, the temperature seems to be holding out at about 15-16c (which isnt too bad).  Not been a lot happening other than going town a couple of times and walking the dog.

Had a lot of free time in the evenings and we have been watching some good movies lately.

Horrible Bosses - A very funny and engaging comedy that literally had us both crying with laughter.  Seeing Jennifer Anniston as a sex-mad dentist just about sealed the humour.  Jason Bateman once again was the best thing in the film and he is definitely one of my favorite actors at present.

Identity Thief - Not as funny as i thought it would be but still a good laugh.  Once again Jason Bateman starred, this time with Melissa Mccarthy.  Its a good road trip kind of movie and with the added bonus of Robert Patrick playing an old but wizened bounty hunter.  Good film but have seen better.

Dante 01.  Ok this wouldnt be to everyones taste as its a French film that has been dubbed in english.  Its a sci-fi horror about a mental asylum colony that is floating in space.  A ship is rescued and the newest inmate appears to be something more than human.   I would give this a go if you like out of the box - sci fi.

Now this last film really surprised me and to me its the best film I have seen in years.  Its a brazilian film called Elite Squad (The Enemy Within).  Its a fantastic action film that also has a lot of political agenda in it.  The violence is realistic and the story (though fiction) is scarily realistic.  I was hooked from the first five minutes and just lately have been giving foreign language films a go as its nice to see what other countries are capable of outside of Hollywood.  Its in Brazilian but the subtitles are really easy to follow and not intrusive. I picked this up from Poundland and its the best value from a pound that i have had.

On the gaming front i am still playing Bioshock Infinite and i am hoping that i am getting close to the end as i am getting a little bored with it now.  Its the same situation in different locations.

On that note i will disappear and will update soon

Wow has it really been that long ???

I cant believe that its been over 3 months since my last post..............sheesh time flies.  Well in that time we have lost another family member.  My late dads wife passed away recently and although in the beginning we didnt really get on with each other by the end we were definitely friends and she will be deeply missed.

Family wise not a lot has happened.  My sister is still looking for a new house to move to.  My mum has settled into her new flat and is loving living in Blackpool.  My time has been taken up with gaming, watching tv and oh erm....................planning a wedding yeyyyyyyyyyyyy

We are definitely getting there and the plans are coming together nicely.  We have made a couple of stipulations and if people dont like them.........tough LOL

We have decided that we want it to be a child free day.  No one under 18 (this will cause some problems) but its a matter of practicality.  We need to arrange the catering and to do that with children included will times the amount by 1 and a half and we would rather put that extra money towards the day itself and not on a pile of food that will get wasted.  The other thing is we want the adults to be able to relax and enjoy the day without having to keep checking on their kids every five minutes to see if they are misbehaving, sick, bored etc.........

Anyway its our day so why should we compromise ???

Me and Deb will have been together almost 14 years next year and we have been through a lot.  We have been broke to the point of no return and come through it.  There have been health scares (particularly me last year) where it didnt even look like i was going to be here.  So i think we deserve to have the wedding that we both want.

A lot more will be sorted in the next few weeks and i will keep regular updates for those that are interested.

Well in the last three months i have played Dead Island and Riptide, Darksiders 2 and am now on Bioshock Infinite.  Out of the games so far i would rate Bioshock 3 stars, Darksiders 4 stars and Dead Island 4 1/2 Stars.  All three have their good points and they are all worth playing.  Dead Island is sort of Rpg with first person as well.  Darksiders is a hack and slash but also with a Rpg sytem of advancement and bioshock is a sort of adventure/first person action game.  Will let you know what i play after.

On the film front i have watched literally dozens in the last three months, from Dark Skies to Last Exorcism 2, from Stranded to Chernobyl Diaries and from The Firm (not the Tom Cruise one) to Black Swan.  A varied choice of films you must agree and there are even more on the agenda too.

I have finally succumbed and joined Twitter (my best friend is over the moon at the news and has already recommended me to her cronies        lol).  I actually joined by accident while signing up to be notified of upcoming Lionsgate films.  I thought i was signing up for a newsletter, I was wrong.

Also during the day I have been listening to a lot of music and my personal favourites are Delta Machine by Depeche Mode and Euphoric Clubland.  Delta Machine is a superb cd and its Mode at their best.  The cd contains a nice diverse choice of tunes from the mood songs to dance hits.  Euphoric Clubland is my kind of music.  While i am not a fan of hardcore music i do like the more melodic euphoria or trance tunes and this compilation has the best of the last twenty years.  Some superb tunes from Darude, Fragma, Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk etc............  Well worth a listen !!!!!!!!!!!

On the football front I was quite pleased with the way my beloved Liverpool finished the season with a nice unbeaten run and also happy that despite being without Luis Suarez (bite meeeeeeee) that we actually can still score goals and a lot more than people thought.  I think Sturridge is a class player and the way that he has filled in for Suarez is a credit to the player.  10 goals in 14 matches is not a bad return so far and long may it continue.  Coutinho is a world class player and at Liverpool i can see him going from strength to strength.  Downing and Henderson have really improved in the second half of the season but whether they stay, who knows.   I think we do need some more quality in the team and what with all the rumours in the press i am surprised that we have any team left for next year............lol.  One thing i will add that is driving me nuts is to do with Suarez.  Yes he is a class player of that there is no doubt, but he isnt bigger than the club.  If he wants to leave, then leave, if he wants to stay, stay, but please sort it out one way or the other.  Every day there are new stories about it and its getting a little tedious now.

Good and Bad

Well first the bad.  Poor Deb is only just getting over her chest infection and has now been left with a rather nasty cough that is getting on her nerves.  The weather doesn't help as the temperature has dropped again and last night it was -2 (not cold for some i know).  Been having a lot of back pain and its now become a mystery as (GOOD NEWS) my scans on the base of my spine have come back and they show that there is no problem (good but now i am baffled as to what is causing it.  Been told by various people that:

a: could be my condition (doctor and mum)
b: could be old age (sister and tony)
c: could be dry rot (Thanks mick)

On better news my Ipad3 arrived the other day and I have been playing with it, downloading apps and stuff. I really like it and once the cover I have ordered of Ebay arrives then I will feel safer transporting it around.  One of the great things I like about it is the amount of apps that are available for it.  My other devices for apps (Blackberry curve 8520 and Amazon Kindle Fire) are very limited in the number of apps available, but after doing some searching on the net I have found that there are literally thousands of apps available for the Ipad (the majority of them free).  So i have been downloading everything from wallpapers to sports apps, from tv players to skype.  Like a kid with a new toy...........lol

I like where Liverpool FC are going at the moment and I can see a lot of potential in the team.  I am not saying we are going to win the league anytime soon, but we are building a team that can fight for its rightful top four place.  This season has been a washout concerning trophies and even attempting to win them but i think that Brendan Rogers needs at least another season to show us what he can do.  The players I liked the look of over the last week (the 5-0 hammering of Swansea and the impressive 3-1 defeat of Zenit last night in the Europa League) are the the new signing of Coutinho.  He looks a pacy player who gets in to good positions and can finish too as he proved scoring on his full debut against Swansea.  I also like the look of Assaidi who showed last night that he too has pace and ability and fits in with the way Brendan likes his teams to play.  I have to say though that the player that I think will make a big difference to us is Suarez's new upfront partner Daniel Sturridge.  I always knew he had pace and ability when he was at Chelsea and he has brought that to Liverpool.  He can make a good partnership with Suarez and has already found the net several times.  I thought we were really unlucky to go out of Europe last night and was over the moon with how the lads performed after going 3-0 down on aggregate (dont worry Jamie we all make mistakes, ask Martin Skrtel............).  Suarez was on fire and his two free kicks were world class, especially the second one.  It was nice to see Joe Allan score as well and if Shelvey had scored then it could have all been so different.  Ah well no point on dwelling on what might have been, we have to cement our place in the top 6 by beating Wigan away at the weekend.  Come on the Poooooooooooooool.

We finished Grimm season 1 and I have to say we thoroughly enjoyed it.  There was just the right amount of gore, violence and humor to make it really involving and we are looking forward to watching the second season.  Tonight we start on a series that was recommended to us a while ago but was never at the top of our viewing agenda.  Game of Thrones.  Both me and Deb have heard good things about it either word of mouth or social media comments and are looking forward to seeing if it is as good as people say it is.

Book wise I have finally finished Eric Sykes biography and have now started on a totally different book altogether.  Miranda Hart - It it just me?.  So far I am loving it and it has me giggling to myself the more i read.  For anyone who has watched and enjoyed her Tv show then this is a must read.  The anecdotes and stories from her life are hilarious and sometimes its just like watching an episode of Miranda.

Well not much else to say other than hope our Nephew Shaun makes a quick recovery and is back on his feet in next to no time.  He has had an operation on his foot that took three hours. ouchhhhhhh !!!!

Bye for now and will update again soon.

Start of the year illnesses

I suppose that if you are going to get ill then the January/February time is the best time to do it.  I think that most of us get ill at this time, whether its a simple cold or full blown flu.  I had a cold for a few days that thankfully didn't turn into anything more serious.  A couple of days of nose running and fuzzy head (including a 36 hour headache that drove me nuts) and after taking some Beechams the symptoms subsided and I made a recovery.  Deb wasn't so lucky.  She got the full chest infection that lasted over a week and has left her with a chesty cough that she is only just getting over.  As we have both been under the weather we haven't got out at all (except for the doctors, medical center and chemist).  The one thing I will say is that being ill lets you catch up on your TV programs or films that you have wanted to watch.

We finally finished Lost season 6 (final season) and all i can say without giving too much away is it leaves more questions than answers and to me was just a big cop-out where it looks the writers have just run out of ideas.

We have also managed to watch the final season of Fringe and in contrast this actually had an ending that made sense and wrapped up the series nicely.  I will miss this series as it has been one of the most gripping sci-fi dramas for a long time.

If anyone is thinking of buying the Universal Playback series of the UKTV series Bread i would think twice as they have completely messed up the series.  Series 1 and 2 are fine and run in order without any mess up, however series 3 is down as being 6 episodes and series 4 as 7 episodes.  After checking this i have found out that series 3 should be 13 episodes and the 7 episodes of series 4 are actually episodes 7-13 of series 3.  What a mess up.  Well unfortunately they didn't bring out any more series on DVD (as of yet) and if they did I have no idea how they are going to do it because series 5 will in reality be series 4 and so on.  As there were only 7 series made I cant imagine how they will get away with it.

Started watching another two series.  First one is called Once Upon a time and to be honest i am having a job getting into it.  Its got a good story and good characters but to me its the kind of program that could be on in the afternoon, there is just no suspense in it (maybe i am getting old...........lol).  As i have only watched three episodes i might be a bit pre-emptive in my judgement.  Will let you know.

The second series is called Grimm and is right up my street.  Its got a good story line, great specials, good cast and credible situations.  We are watching the first series at the moment and are up to episode nine or ten (cant remember).  I would recommend it to Supernatural fans as some elements are similar.

Also been watching more of the excellent series Boardwalk Empire and am one episode away from the end of the first season.  I have season two on standby.

I have not bought much of the internet lately although i have pre-ordered the new Depeche Mode album and single that come out in March.  The single is called heaven and this is the youtube link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy7FzXLin7o

The new album is called Delta Machine and comes out on 25th March.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delta-Machine-Depeche-Mode/dp/B00B69UQEO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361027610&sr=8-1

Also managed to get the last four Pet Shop Boys singles to add to my collection as i have fell behind slightly.


Not done a lot else with being ill other than lots of surveys.  Also heard of my survey home company to let me know that i will get my Ipad 3 in two weeks. Yeyyyyyyyyyyy