- X-Men: First Class (2011)
philmarsay rated this 8.
- Gangster Squad (2013)
philmarsay rated this 6.
Digest powered by RSS Digest
Category : Film Reviews
Category : Film Reviews
- Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
philmarsay rated this 7.
Digest powered by RSS Digest
The scene of my 17th Stereophonics gig was a somewhat odd one. Sweaty folk fresh from a game of badminton mingled with the crowd at the bar and water gushed above us through the pool flumes (not log flumes..) in the Doncaster Dome leisure centre.
The main auditorium was actually relatively large. Bigger than I had expected, having thought this gig would be somewhere along the lines of the intimate affair in Carlisle.
Warming up the crowd was support act “Jack Weller”. In the flyers for his E.P., he promised us he “wasn’t shit”, and to be fair, he wasn’t. Really quite good in fact!
The Phonics opened with “We Share the Same Sun” (the opener from the new album) and then treated us to a medley of new and old, playing all but one of the new album tracks and a scattering of songs from throughout their now 8 album strong back catalogue.
The only album to fail to get a score on the board was Pull the Pin.
On the whole it was a good gig. I felt some of the new tracks were lost a bit in the smaller surroundings – they felt a bit “big” for the occasion. That’s not to say they weren’t good, but perhaps they will have better affect in the bigger arena shows.
The old favourites went down a storm but I couldn’t help but think – apart from the new stuff – it was quite a “safe” setlist – Vegas, Have a Nice Day, Mr Writer, Just Looking, Thousand Trees, Local Boy, Dakota… it was a little predictable. And I really don’t understand why they insist on playing Doorman or Could You Be The One – they have so many better songs.
Catacomb was the surprise of the night. They totally rocked it and indeed in this slightly smaller venue, it was these heavier tracks that sounded the best.
So all in all, great but not the best of the 17 
7/10
Some photos are over on Paul’s site here.
Setlist:- Encore:
Category : Boarding Blog, Boarding Resorts, Boarding Sessions
I had decided to go to Fernie after years of following it’s epic snowfall on Twitter and having heard good things from friends who had gone before me (@andybell79 and @pkryder). Naturally then, me and @andybell79 went there with great expectation and excitement.
Sadly, in terms of snowfall we were to be disappointed. Seems the Griz had decided to coincide his two week holiday with ours (The Griz is a legendary creature who is said to fire his gun in the air and cause it to snow). Although we had a few inches slowly accumulate in the first week and one overnight dump of 7 or 8 cm, that was as good as it got. We did get some powder on that day but certainly not the snorkeltastic waist deep fun we were hoping for.
There was however full mountain coverage and some decent conditions to be found with a bit of hunting.
There was lots of varied, steep and challenging terrain, but the resort is let down a little by a lift system which results in a lot of traversing in order to hit the whole of the mountain, and having to do a loop of 2 or 3 slowish lifts in order to hit the same area again.
Polar peak on the 2 or 3 occasions we managed to get up there showed it had epic potential. The double diamond run we did when we couldn’t see more than 10m in front of us was particularly memorable! Unfortunately the lift and area did spend a large portion of the holiday closed due to either low/no visibility or bad conditions.
Some other favourite runs included Big Bang, the Knot Chutes, and the runs off the Elk Chair, which although a green had lots of trees and features to have some fun with! There are also a couple of short hikes directly above the lifts which are worth a walk if they aren’t fenced off for avalanche risk.
There are lots of tree runs which is great when visibility isn’t the best (which was quite often). A run to avoid is off the left side of the Timber Chair (as you go up) into Siberia Bowl. The black might be fun, but the massive, mostly flat blue traverse back certainly is not!
We took in a skiing lesson on our last day as about a week of no snow at all had left conditions scrapy, icy and no fun on a snowboard. I actually really enjoyed it, especially the eventful and slow run off the chairlift just before handing the equipment back. We are now officially green runners though, so that’s pretty much expert, right? I look forward to tackling something a bit more extreme next time I slap on a pair of planks!
The town itself is great with a number of decent bars, restaurants and shops. You can even take yourself for a drink in the Canadian legion if you want to chat to a load of old ex-pats (I don’t think there were any Canadians in there!), and get yourself down to the Fernie Hotel Pub the first Saturday of every month to help judge (or even take part in!) their monthly cook-off competition. If you happen to see Giselle, be sure to say Hi from me!
The ice hockey is also a worthwhile night out, and, as @andybell79 would testify a great opportunity to rest tired eyes and catch 40 winks 
In summary, it was a fab holiday and I did love Fernie but the lack of snow was a real shame. I’d definitely go back, but I’d be checking in with the Griz next time to see what his holiday plans were
Text: Finally made it home. Shower and then bed methinks!
Created At: Sun Feb 17 19:51:13 +0000 2013
Text: Apparently it was too foggy to land and we didn’t have enough fuel to keep circling! Made it now though and on the road home!
Created At: Sun Feb 17 13:24:12 +0000 2013
Text: I’m sure Birmingham is lovely but the car’s in Gatwick :-S
Created At: Sun Feb 17 09:40:09 +0000 2013
Text: Let it be known to the world that @andybell79 has just poured beer down the sink!! #disgraceful
Created At: Sat Feb 16 06:07:07 +0000 2013
Text: @StephenShutt @pkryder @andybell79 so who’s up for a skiing trip to castleford next weekend. We’ll show you how its done!
Created At: Sat Feb 16 04:54:13 +0000 2013
Text: Not sure where we are going for our final meal in fernie, other than nowhere fast! Powernap may be needed. Oh, and the cable is broke!
Created At: Sat Feb 16 01:54:25 +0000 2013
Text: …but with a much higher potential for catastrophe!!
Created At: Sat Feb 16 01:52:47 +0000 2013
Text: So my experience of learning to ski is that it was much easier and less painful than learning to board was…
Created At: Sat Feb 16 01:52:29 +0000 2013
Text: @Lil_Miss_Lis can totally see how u broke your knee. Pretty sure on several occasions i had more than 2 legs pointing different directions!
Created At: Sat Feb 16 01:45:13 +0000 2013
Text: @Lil_Miss_Lis deffo sticking to the one plank but will throw a pair of skis on again at some point. Be good to be able to do a bit of both!
Created At: Sat Feb 16 01:21:34 +0000 2013
Text: @Lil_Miss_Lis it made a fun change! Conditions not been great for the boards for a few days now.
Created At: Sat Feb 16 01:19:39 +0000 2013
Text: Had a good night at the brick house last night. Good food, good music and good booze!!
Created At: Sat Feb 16 01:14:04 +0000 2013
Text: Good last day. Enjoyed skiing and even tackled a chair and a proper green run! Gnarly! http://t.co/I1nAGBpk
Created At: Sat Feb 16 00:37:36 +0000 2013
Text: @pkryder @StephenShutt we are having a half day lesson!
Created At: Fri Feb 15 14:44:13 +0000 2013
Text: @Rola_Cola mmmmm with your tweet you make me want to go to Tim Horton and buy 12 doughnuts x
Created At: Fri Feb 15 07:20:34 +0000 2013
Text: http://t.co/uSnZ81SH I am pretty sure Jim Beam will help me ski (backwards).
Created At: Fri Feb 15 07:12:47 +0000 2013
Text: I fricking love music. Canada. England. Ghana. Its all groovy. #neilyoing
Created At: Fri Feb 15 07:10:43 +0000 2013
Text: @Lil_Miss_Lis if a bear wears a hat on a Monday then does Ricki lake see it poo in the woods whilst skiing in secret?
Created At: Fri Feb 15 07:08:15 +0000 2013
Text: Really fun day after a slow start. Got some good vids! Now me and @andybell79 are off out for a nice romantic valentines day meal!!
Created At: Fri Feb 15 00:07:33 +0000 2013
Text: Snow snow everywhere! (except here!)
Created At: Thu Feb 14 18:25:49 +0000 2013
Text: I think I’ve been nacho’d http://t.co/USVuNyPV
Created At: Thu Feb 14 00:13:01 +0000 2013
Text: The only way things are going to improve here tomorrow is if there are hot girls riding in bikinis. #fernie #thegrizisonholiday
Created At: Thu Feb 14 00:03:46 +0000 2013
Text: Who needs pancakes?! RT @andybell79 Yum yum. Chocolate coated cheesecake on a stick! http://t.co/2ixKYVLv
Created At: Wed Feb 13 05:12:10 +0000 2013
Text: Action shots!! @andybell79 http://t.co/M6ylCIjI http://t.co/mWe7fucW http://t.co/JIIiboMO http://t.co/9kvbhU7A
Created At: Wed Feb 13 01:26:17 +0000 2013
Text: Chairlift Mo-bot! http://t.co/aYHayBz1
Created At: Wed Feb 13 01:10:35 +0000 2013
Text: I seeeeeeeeee you!!!!! http://t.co/L7XoIjGL
Created At: Wed Feb 13 00:59:45 +0000 2013
Text: Another fun day on the hill. Still no new snow but practising jumps, switch and carving instead
Created At: Wed Feb 13 00:25:38 +0000 2013
Text: That’s so weird. I dreamt just this morning about a chairlift being blown over. Hope everyone in the Lecht incident is OK!
Created At: Wed Feb 13 00:23:09 +0000 2013
Text: Dear everyone, please come to Canada so I don’t have to come home. Thank you please. X
Created At: Tue Feb 12 06:09:13 +0000 2013
Text: So much pizza… #elkvalleypizzashoppe
Created At: Tue Feb 12 06:03:32 +0000 2013
Text: PLEASE SNOW!! @skifernie @pastordavemorton
Created At: Mon Feb 11 23:55:26 +0000 2013
Text: Goggles turned up at lost property.. anyone want to buy some goggles??
Created At: Mon Feb 11 00:58:51 +0000 2013
Text: Rather fancy some “slackcountry” before the holidays out. Don’t tell @andybell79
Created At: Mon Feb 11 00:57:44 +0000 2013
Text: Turns out drinking lots of beer & going to bed late isn’t conducive to a productive days snowboarding! Easy day and early finish!
Created At: Mon Feb 11 00:57:20 +0000 2013
Text: http://t.co/u0Ioevr8 Off for a drink in the legion! With mostly English exiles!! @andybell79
Created At: Sun Feb 10 06:10:17 +0000 2013
Text: http://t.co/ywe0px0C Kraft cheese contest in the pub!
Created At: Sun Feb 10 06:08:36 +0000 2013
Text: A small snack for breakfast… http://t.co/nsj1zCso
Created At: Sun Feb 10 06:05:38 +0000 2013
Text: and Southampton beat man city in the face with an axe. Wtf!
Created At: Sun Feb 10 06:02:06 +0000 2013
Text: Door doo doo dooo doo doo doo!
Created At: Sun Feb 10 05:57:22 +0000 2013
Text: Bought some goggles. Drunk in the Canadian (British) legion. Talked to wigan fans, watched @andybell79 fall asleep at hockey.. #funtimes
Created At: Sun Feb 10 05:54:20 +0000 2013
Text: So where to start? Had one meal, a gigantic breakfast at Smitty’s, drunk beer, judged a maccy cheese cook off won by crazy Giselle…
Created At: Sun Feb 10 05:52:04 +0000 2013
Text: @StephenShutt yes, they fell off my head. No, as yet there is no snow pummeling our faces in the face.
Created At: Sun Feb 10 05:47:46 +0000 2013
Text: @pkryder haha! Was actually going to get gloves but might not have the budget now!
Created At: Sat Feb 09 17:14:27 +0000 2013
Text: So a day of food, beer, shopping and later, hockey. Need to replace my goggles which went missing somewhere on the slopes yesterday!
Created At: Sat Feb 09 16:14:50 +0000 2013
Text: Having a day off the slopes today. Novel for me on a snowboarding holiday, but looking forward to an easy day after weeks of madness!
Created At: Sat Feb 09 16:13:25 +0000 2013
Text: Polar Peak today. Awesome until the sun came out and fair weather skiers, tourists and sightseers skied it out! http://t.co/6VYbSDc9
Created At: Sat Feb 09 00:34:59 +0000 2013
Text: @MagnumJK d d d danger out to find you…!
Created At: Thu Feb 07 13:45:23 +0000 2013
Text: Pretty sure at approaching 32, I shouldn’t be watching Duck Tales, but what you gonna do? #awooohhooo
Created At: Thu Feb 07 05:49:07 +0000 2013
Text: “knot chutes” even! Polar peak double diamonds on the hitlist for tomorrow! Woop!
Created At: Thu Feb 07 01:04:23 +0000 2013
Text: @pkryder apparently a group of noisy kids are arriving and it wouldn’t be good for them to see us wandering about in our pants
Created At: Thu Feb 07 00:04:23 +0000 2013
Text: Perfect day – snow in the morning, blue skies in the afternoon. Hiked up to the “knot shoots” for sweet deep double diamond thrills! #fernie
Created At: Thu Feb 07 00:04:21 +0000 2013
Text: Traversed and explored the bowls to find good snow yesterday and some ace tree runs. Snowed most of the day!
Created At: Wed Feb 06 14:55:52 +0000 2013
Text: @pkryder we have been moved to a suite with two floors!
Created At: Wed Feb 06 14:49:59 +0000 2013
Text: There’s outrage in Canada this morning because they have replaced the iron with a cat in #monopoly #whocares
Created At: Wed Feb 06 14:48:13 +0000 2013
Text: On the plus side its snowing like buggery outside. A day to sit in the cafe, drink alcoholic coffee and watch it snow?
Created At: Wed Feb 06 14:46:53 +0000 2013
Text: @pkryder did you not see? Its DAM good!
Created At: Tue Feb 05 15:13:21 +0000 2013
Text: Also got sideways air today when trying to slow down after straightlining it. Didn’t see the bump. Pretty funny!
Created At: Tue Feb 05 06:08:35 +0000 2013
Text: On the plus side pistes are fast and true and getting lots of switch riding in!
Created At: Tue Feb 05 06:06:32 +0000 2013
Text: @skifernie where’s the snow? Any tips on finding something fresh? Will do snow dance in return!!
Created At: Tue Feb 05 05:57:47 +0000 2013
Text: Took a short hike today to find some good snow. From top of the white pass quad. Well trodden routes quite sketchy now. #snowplease #fernie
Created At: Tue Feb 05 05:56:34 +0000 2013
Text: Beaver Buzz. Its dam good!! http://t.co/jxfzReZi
Created At: Tue Feb 05 05:53:27 +0000 2013
Text: @Lil_Miss_Lis yes! In Fernie. In my defence though, I did at least a years worth of work in January!!
Created At: Tue Feb 05 01:32:29 +0000 2013
Text: Right, look. Stop fannying around and just get snowing properly!! #fernie
Created At: Tue Feb 05 00:02:06 +0000 2013
Text: First day, first lift to last lift and last on the bus out of the resort! #hardcore
Created At: Mon Feb 04 02:08:17 +0000 2013
Text: Up and ready for day one. Feel surprisingly good. Must have been the awesome curry! Bring it!
Created At: Sun Feb 03 15:15:17 +0000 2013
Text: Home for the next couple of weeks. Nice, even has a balcony. No doorbell though!! http://t.co/ndB3rlls
Created At: Sun Feb 03 01:31:42 +0000 2013
Text: Wow, feels great to have had more than 3 hours sleep even if up at 6am! Bye bye Hotel Europa! Hello Gatwick..
Created At: Sat Feb 02 07:42:02 +0000 2013
Text: This hotel is awesome. We’ve even got a doorbell! #fawltytowers
Created At: Fri Feb 01 22:13:53 +0000 2013
Text: Uh oh, need more pants and socks – hope there’s a C&A in Fernie??!!
Created At: Fri Feb 01 12:01:12 +0000 2013
Text: When packing for holiday, most important is to make sure your tech is sorted out.. especially with a 8hr flight to look forward to! 
Created At: Fri Feb 01 10:59:09 +0000 2013
Category : Film Reviews
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
philmarsay rated this 6.
Digest powered by RSS Digest
Category : Film Reviews
- Paul (2011)
philmarsay rated this 7.
Digest powered by RSS Digest
Category : Blog, Cycling, Cycling Blog, Cycling Routes, Sport
My first proper bike ride of 2013 did not exactly go to plan! When my phone and therefore GPS mapping carked it less than half way through the route, I tryed to carry on regardless. I ended up turning off the road too soon as you will see on the map, and going along a bridleway that suddenly stopped and turned into a boggy, snowy Moor. As I could see Hamsterly forest in the distance, I trudged on, but after a while of no path appearing, I was feeling rather exposed, so doubled back and took a detour along the road.
Though I was never truly entirely lost, it’s safe to say I also didn’t really know where I was. I’ll be taking paper copies of maps next time I go somewhere I don’t know!!!
Although epic, it was still an enjoyable ride. There was snow on the higher ground which made life interesting, but also pretty, and the run down the brilliant Hamsterley red run was fun albeit rather tentative one after a 4 hour ride!
Category : Film Reviews
- This Means War (2012)
philmarsay rated this 7.
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
philmarsay rated this 8.
- Lawless (2012)
philmarsay rated this 7.
- The Campaign (2012)
philmarsay rated this 6.
Digest powered by RSS Digest
Category : Film Reviews
- This Means War (2012)
philmarsay rated this 7.
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
philmarsay rated this 8.
- Lawless (2012)
philmarsay rated this 7.
- The Campaign (2012)
philmarsay rated this 6.
Digest powered by RSS Digest
Category : Film Reviews
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
philmarsay rated this 6.
Digest powered by RSS Digest
