Go Brighton Bears!

We got to see the Brighton Bears on Sunday evening courtesy of Nido Marketing. As you can see from this pic - the boys just loved it - shouting "Go Bears" at every opportunity. Bears beat Milton Keynes Lions quite convincingly.

This is my last day of paternity leave - going back to work tomorrow.

Bite size tourer - James Harvey

Vroom, Vroom......Taken on Brighton Pier yesterday. Disappointed that the dodgems were closed James took to two wheels instead.

Catch a cold

One week on and here she is - pretty much how she is ALL the time, sleeping. This is just fantastic...although we're sure this is just the calm before the storm. Louise Ellen Harvey has also caught her first cold - from her big brother.

Jimmy Hollingworth, Phil Dennis, Giles Frost, Ed Briggs, Dean Harvey, Nigel Brown

Just a few of the Wednesday night bunch out last night at the Caxton and the Yeoman up by Brighton station.

Auntie and Uncle now visit

My Sis and Brother-in-law travelled down from Nuneaton this morning to see Louise - they got a cracking deal at the Hilton West Pier and are staying there over the next few nights - loads of nice gifts and loads of clothes for Louise Ellen - great.

We're sure to go on Brighton Pier tomorrow as we haven't been out of the house all day today - cabin fever! 

Autumn leaves......

Took this of James at the weekend in Hove Park rolling around in the leaves...

Keycamp Holidays - Les Amiaux, Vendee France - 1989 - Dean Harvey looking for Steve Rope

FAO: Steve Rope, Lindsay (Lyndsay) Bearcroft, Biffa, Jason Wood (AKA Woody), Pete Rogers (Rodgers), Pete Flack, Linda Aplin, Milo - Vendee Les Amiaux, Keycamp Circa 1989

In the dim and distant past back in 1989 I did my first summer season as a Keycamp holiday rep. Otherwise known as campsite couriers this 19 year old (as I was then) had a ball in the Vendee in France. Based on camping les amiaux in St Jean De Monts our main duties were montage and cleaning tents and caravans.

Anyhoo, the point of this post is that there ws a chap called Steve Rope from Norwich. He had compiled a tape collection (as you did in those days) which became our stalwart party, cleaning, brushing your teeth and doing everything to tape......

I'm attempting to recreate this tape collection and am posting in the vain hope that at some stage this post will be read by one of the gang from those days a long time ago....

This is how far I've got with the collection:

Ace of spades - Motorhead
baby take your teeth out - Frank Zappa
Carry Bag Man - The Fall
Echo Beach - Martha and the Muffins
Eric The Half A Bee - Monty Python
Ever fallen In Love? - Buzzcocks
Everybody Needs Somebody to Lo - Blues Brothers
Give Me Just - Chairmen Of The Board
Happiness Stan AAC audio file The Small Faces
Happy Days Toy Town - The Small Faces
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
Me and My Shadow - Max Bygraves
Planet Claire - B52's
Pushbike Song - Mungo Jerry
Rock The Casbah- Clash
Soul Finger - The Bar-Kays
Tequila - Big Bopper
Theres a ghost in my house - R Dean Taylor
Three Little Birds - Bob Marley
When You're the Driver of a Train - Half Man Half Biscuit

Grandad and Nanny Doggies Visit Brighton

Hmmm! You see, the debate ran for sometime as to what our parents would be called by our kids.....Pink Nanny, Blue Nanny, Nanny Birmingham, Nanna, Nan, Nanny, Grandad, Gramps, Grandpa, Pops.........

It was settled some time ago - and out of our control...James started calling my folks Nan and Grandad "Doggies" (they have two pet dogs) and Sarah's folks are Nan and Grandad "Harry" (They have a ginger tom called ... you guessed it ... "Harry").

Does this qualify as the least interesting post ever?

Playtime in Brighton

It's been quite important to make sure that James is still very much at the "centre" of everything since Louise's arrival. Overall he's been brilliant since the arrival of his new sister on Tuesday. He's quite excited today as his Nan and Grandad are down from Birmingham - he always gets spoiled rotten when they're here.

Devil's Dyke

I took this up at Devil's Dyke earlier today - nice and colourful I thought...

1st trip out today.......

not very far, just down to Hove Lagoon. 

Amazing what a bit of photoshop can do......

Louise Ellen......

Is feeding fine, sleeping fine and crying just fine!

(If you wanted to leave a comment - just click on the the word "Comments" below.........)

It's a girl........

Baby Louise Ellen Harvey - born 2am this morning at 8lb 13oz. Mum and baby both fine and back home by 6am!

No news from Brighton

22.45 And no further news to report............ 

Sunny Sunday in Brighton

So with no sign of Baby no.2 (Now over 6 days late!) We took the opportunity to head on down to the seafront for a short while - just to get out of the house (going a little stir crazy at the moment!)

We'd met up with friends of ours for the stroll and James is pictured here with his little buddy.

As you can see it was a crisp Autumn day with a bit of sunshine.......Brighton really is top notch.

Brighton West Pier in November

Just thought I'd share this pic with you. Using the new stitch facility on my Canon Ixus 750, here's a shot of Brighton West Pier taken today in November.


(If you use this shot - please ensure you track back or link to my site - ta!)

Saturday morning in Brighton

Tiswas used to be the staple diet of all kids who are probably now "thirty somethings". The sight of Sally James in a wet T Shirt used to stir the Dad's interest as well! It broke the careers of a few people you'll remember - Chris Tarrant, Bob Carolgees, Lenny Henry - to name a few. I get all misty eyed for Saturday mornings when I see the logo - the phantom flan flinger was a LEGEND, as was the dance "the dying fly" and I have a vague memory about a guy who used to smash a tin tray over his head to music - ah! Saturday mornings used to be so much simpler....

Still no news on the Baby front - Sarah is now 6 days late - there's talk of using an accupuncturist....

All quiet on the western front......

A night without any disturbance.....

No new baby - it's been an odd week at work - you almost feel a fraud as everyone asks "any news yet?"

I'm starting to sound like a long playing record

But hey - it's Friday yay! Remember this programme .... and click on the link

Crackerjack
THIS LONGTIME kiddie mainstay of a gameshow went through several mutations from its original (relatively) sedate desks 'n' buzzers '60s roots (with a few muted sketches and the Crackerjack Pencils as prizes - you couldn't just write in and ask for one, y'know, you had to EARN it!) complete with EAMONN ANDREWS, PIP HINTON and LESLIE CROWTHER. First, there was the discovery of music hall slapstick with PETER GLAZE, DON MACLEAN, JAN HUNT, LEIGH MILES, GILLIAN COMBER, BERNIE CLIFTON and hosts MICHAEL ASPEL and/or ED 'STEWPOT' STEWART, making up a "mess" of fun indeed. This also included the ever-present and always-cringemaking point where the cast broke out of some whimsical sketch into a full-on rendition of popular contemporary hits, eg. "Golden Years" and, unforgettably, Sparks' "Something for the Girl with Everything" sung by MacLean as he assaulted Glaze with an old boot. Then, far more ominously, the descent of that sub-TISWAS word 'gunge', with the camp STU FRANCIS ("Ooh, I could crush a grape, etc.") and the godforsaken KRANKIES, that wonderful husband-and-wife-dressed-as-man-and-schoolboy creepy duo all right-thinking kids loathed and feared (and yes, we are well aware of THE KRANKIES' ELEKTRONIK KOMIK (1985-6), but it's not getting a separate entry. We have our limits). They even dropped Double Or Drop - that hold-the-boardgames-plus-cabbages-if-you-get-a-question-wrong thing (but other staples such as the giant tuning fork lingered on). Theme tune in the closing years by Chas 'N' Bloody Dave again (cf COWBOYS, THE HAPPY APPLE etc.) "Lumberjack? No! Steeplejack? No! Oh, Uncle Jack! No!"

Thursday and still no Brighton Baby

Now we're really on tenterhooks - the baby was due on Monday and now it's Thursday!

Bored and fed up - Sarah doesn't know what to do with herself.

James on the other hand is completely oblivious to it all and gives you a wave just before he heads off to sleep.

So - no news to report as yet.....keep watching this space.

Church sign generator

My good friend Tim just sent me this excellent link - click here - its a smasher.....

Tim's outfit Nido Marketing are certainly worth checking out too....just click on the link

Hotels in Brighton

I've been asked by my sister to find her a hotel in Brighton - so that when the baby arrives (still no news yet!) they can stay over.

I'm also typing this to see if the new adsense sidebar I've installed starts to serve ads on hotels in Brighton!!!!

Dean Harvey finds clock on line stunner!

click here

Tidy.....

Thirty Something Blog

Amazing isn't it - I started this thirty something blog some time ago. I decide this evening to type thirty something blog into a search engine and there's loads of 'em out there.

And there was me thinking I was unique in some way shape or form.....

Still no news......

Despite her best efforts - raspberry leaf tea, pineapple, spicy food etc there is no movement on the new baby front :(

It's been an awful day down here on the south coast - rain, wind and more rain.....

Ended up playing scalextric with James and completing a few things for work

Remember, Remember....

We went to a small bonfire at Shave's Thatch which is near Woodmancote in Sussex.

A tenner for food and fireworks - even a mulled wine!

James was thoroughly excitable and absolutely loved the fireworks.....he was one sleepy boy by 9pm and went straight off to sleep on the car journey home.

Still no sign of No. 2, although Sarah has felt a bit wobbly all day - it's 11.30pm now so it doesn't look like a Bonfire Night baby!

.....and she won't thank me for it....

And here she is for all to see - just a few days to go before we become a foursome!

Digi cam is here

And this is the one of the first pics I've managed to take with it - good dontcha think?

Still no mini-me....this weekend I reckon.....

....we shall see

Digi cam and new baby on the way.....

A few twinges today but it's still a no-show by the new Harvey family member.

Took the day off work and took James to Westows. Quite a laugh - although I always suspect that when out of sight James is thumping some poor random kid.

Ordered a new digi cam a few days back and looking forward to posting few here.

Still the novelty of the web hasn't worn off with the arrival of broadband......