The Adventures Of Glennjamin In Europe

Monday, October 24, 2005

Today's postcard

Nice one, Alastair... you almost had me...


Hi Glenn,
You didn't reply to our emails, but we came anyway! We are having a great time here and have already done some of the 'touristy' things like Windsor and Big Ben. Saara & I can't wait to see you, are you coming to meet us at Lottie's?
Love Ally & Sah.


OK. This was funny. But I was highly suspicious...


(a) It's a London postcard, with a UK stamp.
(b) The text says "Saara and I", so Alastair wrote it.
(c) But it's not his handwriting.
(d) "Ally & Sah" is what Saara would say...
(e) So it might be Saara's writing, but see (b)
(f) Who does he know in England that would send this for him?
(g) Could they afford to fly to England to surprise me?


After a bit of confusion receiving this today at lunch time, I rang Lottie. She had no idea about Alastair being in England. So I called Mum on SkypeOut.


Me: "Hello. Could I speak to Alastair?"


Mum: "Well you could if he was here."


Me: "Could I speak to him if he was in the country?"


Mum: "He's at Saara's. Ha ha, did you get a postcard?"


Turns out Al found a guy on eBay that will do this... you tell him what you want written, and the "to" address, and this guy does it for you. Talk about niche marketing


Then I hung up, and Mum signed onto the computer so we could continue talking for free. Partway through the conversation, Alastair came home... so I was able to congratulate him on his almost-successful prank.


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The back of the postcard... explanation is on the way. Posted by Picasa


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The front of the postcard... I'll explain in a bit. Posted by Picasa


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Saturday, October 22, 2005


Here you go Larissa... Nelson's Column, in Trafalgar Square. Posted by Picasa


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Sunday, October 16, 2005

For a good laugh...

This was just too funny not to nick and re-post...


Want a link? Here you go... a link.


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Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Fun fun fun

I just thought I'd do this for fun...



Jenny's parsley palm-frond case.


Know her? Blah... a spaniel.


See: semi-keys were Healey's? Ah... nuh.


Yawn. You gave a writ, peruse key.


Yay! Snack... er... ick... "A" nosh.


You're taller... into Sven's car!





Comment with translations please...   


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Sunday, October 09, 2005

Revolution is now in African football

8 October 2005
by FIFAworldcup.com




Saturday 8 October 2005 will go down as a key date in the history of African football. For on this final day of qualifying, four nations clinched their places at the FIFA World Cup™ finals for the first time. Courtesy of this wind of change, the flags of Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Angola will flutter proudly in German skies next summer.

Tonight, the scenes of mass hysteria in the streets of Lome, Accra, Abidjan and Luanda could scarcely contrast more starkly with the funereal mood gripping Dakar, Praia, Douala and Lagos. The verdict of the qualifiers may seem harsh to some, but the balance of power on the continent is clearly shifting.
View the African standings

Group 1: Hawks soar towards new horizons
The duel for top spot between Togo and Senegal finally went the way of the former. Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor had promised his nation a victory in Brazzaville and he and his team-mates were as good as their word. Courtesy of a brace from Kader Toure in a stadium with a reputation as Congo’s fortress, the Hawks homed in on their FIFA World Cup perch.

Consequently, the goals scored by Henri Camara (2) and El-Hadji Diouf in a 3-0 defeat of Mali proved insufficient to take Senegal to a second FIFA World Cup. With seven wins, two draws and a defeat, Stephen Keshi's Togo finished top of Group 1 on 23 points, thereby demonstrating to any doubters that their qualification is well deserved.




Group 2: Blacks Stars in limelight at last
For what seems like an eternity, the entire continent had been awaiting the day when Ghana, one of the leading nations in African football, would earn an invitation to football's greatest global gathering. Their wait is now over, as by triumphing 4-0 in the Cape Verde Islands the Blacks Stars have finally managed to avoid having their pockets picked at the last minute.

While a draw would have sufficed for Ratomir Dujkovic's men, they instead claimed a resounding victory in their opponents' back yard. Having dominated all of their Group 2 rivals throughout, the Ghanaians now reap their reward for their near-perfect campaign (six victories, three draws and a single defeat).

With a final tally of 21 points, they have left Congolese and South African FIFA World Cup dreams in ruins. And by cancelling each other out in a 2-2 draw, the Simbas and Bafana Bafana both ended up five points adrift of the deserved group winners.

Group 3: Elephants trumpeting with joy
Prior to this last day of qualifiers, even the most inveterate of gamblers would have thought twice about placing a bet on Côte d'Ivoire qualifying. Indeed, on the evening of their recent defeat by Cameroon, the tears of disappointment seemed sufficient to swell the country's Ebrie lagoon. Even as they romped to a 3-1 victory in Sudan, Didier Drogba and his team-mates could scarcely have imagined that Egypt would reopen their seemingly closed road to Germany.

But by snatching a 1-1 draw in Yaounde in the final minutes of their encounter with the Indomitable Lions, Egypt destroyed Cameroonian hopes of competing in a fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup. If Pierre Wome had converted the penalty awarded to his side in added time, Cameroon would have made it. Instead, the 'green tide' which had filled the terraces of the Ahidjo stadium remained rooted to the spot well after the final whistle, as if unable to take on board what had just happened.




The image of an inconsolable Samuel Eto'o will no doubt remain forever etched in the darkest annals of Cameroon's football history. Justifiably proud at having out-roared the Lions, the Ivorian Elephants have already begun proclaiming themselves the new kings of the continent.

Group 4: Black Panthers show their claws Nigeria had been widely expected to emerge victorious from this group, but in the end, Angola held their nerve to qualify in their place. After keeping their fans in suspense for over an hour, their captain Akwa finally struck the goal that afforded them some precious breathing space. At the same time, a false rumour began to circulate on the terraces of Nigeria's Abuja National Stadium that the Angolans had lost to the Rwandan Wasps.

But with the final whistle came the painful truth, rendering the five goals scored by the Super Eagles immediately meaningless. This time around, they will have to follow the FIFA World Cup from their sofas.

Group 5: Fourth appearance for Carthage Eagles
Of the five African teams who took part in the last FIFA World Cup, only Tunisia will be repeating the feat on German soil next year. Roger Lemerre's men nonetheless suffered a few scares in their hotly-contested local derby with Morocco.

They were on the back foot almost immediately in fact, when Marouane Chamakh struck an opportunist goal for the visitors after just two minutes. Tunisia drew level thanks to Jose Clayton's penalty, but the Moroccans went in front a second time through Chamakh. The footballing gods were smiling on the Tunisians, however, and they sealed their ticket when Morocco captain Talal El-Karkouri netted an own goal.

The 2-2 draw was enough to keep Selim Benachour and Co at the top of Group 5, despite the luckless Atlas Lions managing to go the whole campaign without losing. As a result, the Carthage Eagles can now look forward to appearing in their third consecutive FIFA World Cup finals and fourth overall.

New order emerges
If Tunisia are old hands having first appeared at the FIFA World Cup in 1978, the quartet of newcomers from Africa suggests a new order has emerged and the supposed continental powerhouses have been its first victims. In the wake of their painful fall from grace, those nations need to realise quickly that tomorrow is another day. In the meantime, the football flame is burning brightest in some hitherto unfashionable corners of Africa.


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Saturday, October 08, 2005

GHANA ARE GOING TO GERMANY!

Howdy everyone!


I'm just so excited... just got back from a party and checked out the World Cup site...


In African Group B, South Africa drew with Congo. That meant that Ghana only needed a draw to remain in first place, and go on to Germany '06. Well, the game just ended. Cape Verde NIL. Ghana FOUR. :D


Four countries from Africa have now qualified for the World Cup finals in Germany 2006... and none of them have made it to this stage of the competition before. The fifth country will either be Tunisia or Morocco, who are playing each other later tonight.


The four are:


GHANA




TOGO




COTE D'IVOIRE




ANGOLA




I'm so excited... now if I could just find a Ghana jersey on eBay I'll be set... :D


*dances around the room*


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Saturday, October 01, 2005

Paul's Financial Report

Paul's Financial Report

Trading got off to a rocky start today as investors got up late, couldn't get their cars started, and then were kind of grumpy all day.

Things improved in the afternoon as the cute girl across the hallway made eye contact - I think she's flirting.

Late in the day, the Canadian dollar jumped to sixty-three cents U.S. following the discovery by foreign investors that if you make a few simple alterations to the five-dollar bill using a pen, Sir Wilfrid Laurier can look just like Spock.

In the Asian markets, people were buying bok choi and green tea, while in the Canadian markets there's a special on toothpaste in aisle seven.

Rain fell, the chips are down, Seven-Up and internationally, Indonesia remains very far away.

The T.S.E. Composite Index was confusing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average means nothing to me, and little birds go "tweet tweet tweet".

The bank rate was five percent, the prime rate stayed at six and a half, prime rib is on special, a prime number is eleven, and pi held firm at twenty-two over seven.

In the bond market, Pierce Brosnan is at an all-time high, Sean Connery is holding steady, Roger Moore took a dip, and George Lazenby is nowhere to be found.

Silver fell, uranium exploded, and gold was taken away pending a drug test.

I'm Paul Mather, I won't be back tomorrow.


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