Another day, another beer...
I was born on the 15th of November 1966 in a small town in the south of Lancashire, England. I am 5'8", which is exceptionally tall for a dwarf, I have black hair (with much grey), brown eyes and live with Kerry, my wife and our two dogs, Blue (a German Shepherd)* and Tessa (a Lurcher crossed with a terrier of some description - she is unbelieveably scruffy) I have two young daughters by a previous marriage who both appear to be growing up at an alarming speed. It won't be long before they are telling me about new stuff...like what new alcopops there are...
*Tara, our original German Shepherd unfortunately died on 20/09/05. She is sadly missed but happily remembered.
I work as a gardener for the local authority, perhaps a result of never listening to the teachers at school, although I can recite the latin names of various plants...something that never really seems to impress anyone. Mind you, slipping the words Metasequoia Glyptostraboides into a conversation can be nigh on impossible.
I like to drink Jack Daniels, and drink it a lot whenever I can; I like the Monty Python films, Douglas Adams & Spike Milligans books and I watch the Discovery channels from time to time, though I've never met anyone else who does. I like to mess around with paint programs (which is why this site is peppered with my paintings) and I like to take photos of landscapes and skyscapes. I'm interested in local history and occasionally using forums and chatrooms, though I don't use them so often any more.
The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy was the first novel I read. I was about twelve at the time and it was to me unique in being the first story I had ever read where the Earth is blown to pieces at the beginning. Sadly the author Douglas Adams died suddenly in May 2001 at the age of 49. His creativity will be celebrated for generations. I have not as yet seen the 2005 film of the Hitch Hikers Guide. Possibly I'm not too keen, being a bit of a purist when it comes to knowing where my towel is.
(I have since seen the movie....it left me feeling very depressed)
Something else I grew up with was the music of AC/DC, to my mind the best rock band on the planet. I saw them for the first time on the 13th January 1986 at the Apollo in Manchester. Until I saw Motorhead later that year they were the loudest thing I'd ever encountered. AC/DC produced the most raw type of rock music, the type that, in the words of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, "Makes your balls vibrate". They were, and indeed are, a tremendous live act, and though I've seen countless gigs, they remain the best I've seen to date.
I also grew up with the influences of Monty Python and some of The Goons stuff. Once you accept a view of the world like that that then things are never the same again. However, it could be argued that things were never the same before...I also like recording songs in the guise of Jethro Floyd, a musical alter ego. You can listen to an instrumental I did called "Kerry-Marie", which I wrote for my wife, by clicking here get song
Another day, another beer...