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Saturday 30th September 2000
    Last day of September and deadline day for U.K. tax returns. I didn't post mine till last night so I am in for a £100 fine as it won't arrive till Monday, two days late. Today I went out on my motorbike for a bit to take a few pictures around Ellesmere Port I have Gliwice, Shanghai and Pattaya on my page so I thought it was time to show the world where I'm from rather than just places I've been. Hey! It seemed like a good idea to me.

Thursday 28th September 2000
    Today it is exactly one month since I returned from Thailand. The sun-tan is fading fast but the memories are still there. I feel the need, the need for a weekend on Koh Samet. Unfortunately it's 6000 miles away and the minibus doesn't collect from this far away. Autumn is here and it does nothing but rain. Flood warnings were issued over the last couple of days, what a bloody awful climate.

Tuesday 26th September 2000
    Yesterday and today I have been in Luton. I drove down early on Monday morning and got back tonight. Jack was also out on an overnight visit yesterday. He went to Delamere Forest with the school and stayed over in a small dormitory and spent his  time walking through the forest learning about woodland animals and various trees and flowers. He saw  a badgers set, young rabbits and lots of insects. Jack told me all about it tonight when I got back. The factory I was at in Luton is next to Luton airport, every two minutes a plane takes off over the town centre. If one of them had problems it would probably land on top of the town and wipe it out. I live in hope!! It is a dour place.

Sunday 24th September 2000
    Today was yet another birthday party. As there were so many children in Jacks class at school with a birthday in September, all the Mums got together and decided to have a big joint party. The party was held at The EPIC (Ellesmere Port Indoor Centre) It's a sports hall in the town. You can hire a room and they put a bouncy castle and soft toys in it. I had almost forgotten about the party and was reminded last night. I took quite a few pictures and here they are:

The bouncy castle. It was in permanent use throughout the afternoon.	Some of the soft toys available. There were also thousands of plastic balls which became ammunition.	Jack in the plastic ball bath. I had a ball fight with all of the kids against me.	This girl looks like she is being carried by the invisible man. A total accident. You can't plan these sort of pics.
Jack and Robert.	Rebecca looking very hot and sweaty.	A cake for 8 birthday boys or girls.	Jack blowing out the "seven" candle. Each of the kids took turns to blow it out. You had to sponge off the spit when they'd finished!

The ball fight lasted all afternoon and I was knackered when we left. It was a good laugh though and the kids all seemed to have fun too. (But not as much as me)

Saturday 23rd September 2000
    Today I went to see Blackburn Rovers play Bolton Wanderers at Blackburn. It was the first time I had been to Ewood Park, a very nice, modern stadium. I went with Stuey and Ralph and we sat in the Bolton end of the ground. It was a local derby game so there was a fair bit of animosity between the rival fans. The game itself was a dull one. Blackburn scored after 1 minute and Bolton equalised with 3 minutes to go. The 86 minutes in-between weren't inspiring in any way, shape or form. But the good news is Chester won in London against Kingstonians, 3 - 1 was the final score. We have a home game on Tuesday night against Nuneaton Borough, there's a good chance I'll be there. I haven't updated my web page all week due to problems uploading but they seem to be resolved now.
    Niki starts work tomorrow. She will be working at "Toys R Us" A Children's toy shop in Chester. Because she will work in the evenings and Saturdays it will have a knock on effect on my football trips, someone has to look after the kids (me). She hasn't worked for 12 years and is a little nervous about it. She'll be OK though.

Sunday 17th September 2000
    I have finally finished updating Rebecca's birthday page. I didn't realise I had taken so many pictures. But they're all posted now. Today Rebecca and Jack have been to a toy shop to spend their birthday money. It was burning a hole in their pockets and they just had to spend it today.

Saturday 16th September 2000
    Today has been a disaster so far. I dropped my motorbike on the path outside the house this morning. Nothing seriously damaged, just a few scratches but it really pissed me off because it was such a stupid thing to do. Then I went and filled my motorbike up with petrol (15-20 minute wait in a queue) I met Stuey in the pub but the Chester game had been postponed because the Safety officer (Eddie Riley) resigned on Tuesday evening after the Chairman punched him!! The sooner this American tosser fucks off the better, what a complete arsehole.
    Rebecca's birthday page has been updated as I didn't have time to include all the pictures yesterday. There's a good picture of Jack and Rebecca on dino the dinosaur from the Flintstones.
    My CV started the relatively short journey to Rolls Royce today, I'll see what happens..... A slightly different version has gone to Erricson too. If there is anybody out there looking for a Quality Engineer my e-mail address is on the index page. I'm experienced in new plant/model start up's too. Over to you world, but I won't hold my breath.

Friday 15th September 2000
    Today is Rebecca's birthday, she's a big nine years old. See the link for details of her party yesterday. Also today I have included a picture from work. One of the Thai blokes I worked with in Thailand (Khun Thawee) bought some T-shirts as presents for people in the plant in England where I have returned to. He also bought me one. Thawee was in England last year for training, this was his way of saying "thank you".

Tuesday 12th September 2000
    Yesterday was Jack's Birthday. Obviously a page dedicated to that occasion is available for world wide viewing. Tonight I'm going to watch Chester play Northwich Victoria in a Nationwide Conference league match. There should be quite a few there as it is our nearest rival, only about 20 miles away. Tomorrow I'm off to Luton in the south of England on business. Due to the petrol shortages at the moment I had to fill up the car in work as there are no garages in the north-west of England with petrol!! I'll have to take it a bit easy as I probably won't be able to fill up, so maximum speed 56 mph. But I'm right behind the people protesting. It won't bother me if the country has to grind to a halt before the politicians relent and do something about the cost of petrol in the UK. It is the most expensive place in Europe to buy petrol by a long way.

Sunday 10th September 2000
    Not a lot to report this weekend. On Saturday I went to watch Crewe Alexandra versus Norwich City at Gresty Road, Crewe. It was a pretty tedious nil - nil draw. Chester were playing at Yeovil in Somerset, much too far to travel. Having said that I have traveled further to watch Chester but I just couldn't motivate myself this time. Whilst I still like Chester I can't bring myself to take an interest in amateur football. I had no idea who played who or where each team is in the league table. Tomorrow is Jacks' birthday, he will be seven years old. He's very excited and asked to go to bed at 3:00pm this afternoon so his birthday will come quicker! Expect some pictures of him playing with his presents tomorrow. Friday is Rebecca's' ninth birthday so expect more of the same.

Wednesday 6th September 2000
    It was Kimberley's first day at high school today. She was a little nervous about it last night but when I got home from work I asked her how it went and she said she was fine. She only got lost once. Rebecca and Jack went back to school yesterday. Also today Jack managed to tie his own shoelace for the first time.

Kimberley in her new school uniform. Taken after she came home from her first day at her new school.	Kimberley in her new school uniform taken before she went to school.	Jacks shoe complete with "self tied shoelaces".

    I wore a pair of Paul's socks for work today. They were the first pair I pulled out of the drawer. The last time they were worn was during a party I had in Poland when I was outside shoeless in the snow watching fireworks go off!! If he finally gets the go-ahead to work in the U.K. I'll give them back. Right now Paul is en-route to Naxos. It's a Greek island where Paul and Rosi hope to have a house built. Live football on the telly tonight, Chelsea versus Arsenal

 Monday 4th September 2000
    So much for "just like starting a new job". After 2 and a half years I have returned to almost the exact same job I left. I have to say it was a big kick in the balls!!
    On Sunday we took the dog for a walk in Eastham woods. There are some playing fields nearby and there were some local kids playing football. They were of a very high standard too.

This is my dog Ben running across the grass.	Niki and Ben keeping look out. Hardly a cloud in the sky you may notice.	Liverpool skyline. Eastham is on the opposite side of the river Mersey to Liverpool.
Kids football in the park in Eastham.	A horse and cart outside "The Tap" a pub I used to go to when I was at college in Eastham.	And finally a traditional English Sunday dinner, complete with Yorkshire pudding.

Sunday 3rd September 2000
    Not much of a diary update today, however I have a new page dedicated to yesterdays football activities. Firstly Chester versus Southport then France versus England. The 6 - 1 score-line from the England versus Georgia game was not repeated in either match yesterday but it was still a good day. Back to work tomorrow.

Saturday 2nd September 2000
    A big football day today. Chester play Southport at the Deva Stadium and England play France at the Stade de France. Earlier in the week the England under 21 team played Georgia and beat them 6 - 1 some more of the same would be nice. I'll be taking my camera so I will post some pics tomorrow. My legs are still giving me a lot of trouble. Yesterday I was in the local building supplies shop and the bloke behind the counter commented on my limp. When I told him it was caused by laying a laminated wooden floor he told me of a bloke that he knows who ended up in hospital for a month with blood clots in his legs after fitting a laminated wooden floor!!
    Here's a picture I took this morning. It's a Vauxhall Agila that was parked down the street. After spending 7 months doing part approvals for this car it's nice to see one in the flesh. The bloke who owns it used to live down the same road as my Mum and Dad. Now his sister-in-law lives opposite me, small world.

    One final picture for today is a picture of me and Paul on my last night in Thailand. The flower garland I am wearing was given to me by a Thai lady in the hotel bar.

Friday 1st September 2000
    My first update of September. But seeing as it's the first today then it would be wouldn't it? I am in agony today. Yesterday I was putting a new floor down in an upstairs bedroom. I nearly killed myself trying to get it all done in a day. I went to bed last night absolutely knackered. This morning my legs are as stiff as a board. The job is 95% done but I have to get back on my knees to finish it. I'll take my camera to football with me on Saturday and post some pics on Sunday. Hopefully a Chester win for all to see.