The Soft Bulletin

I'm off to Finland for the World Air Guitar Championships!!!

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:42:24 GMT

So, I've been back for a couple of days now from mine and my mate Ed's Mongol Rally adventure for a couple of days. And it's funny, as pretty much everyone who I've spoken to since my return has said something along the lines of "Blimey, you must feel like you've come back down to earth with a bump."

As it happens, that's not really case.

Yes, the Mongol Rally was amazing. And yes, there was a big part of me that never wanted it to end.

But at the same time, I also jumped on the plane home from Mongolia knowing that I had a lot to look forward to when I got home.

For one, there were the obvious things - such as catching up with family and friends, and the start of the new football season that's just started.

What's more, the next few weeks will see me officially shake off the label of 'loser in his late 20s who still lives with his parents' - as I'm currently in the process of moving out and into my own pad!

And no offence to my mum and dad, but this is something I'm really excited about!

On top of all this meanwhile, the beginning of September will see me return to work and start my first year as a fully-qualified teacher.

Needless to say, part of me is absolutely cacking myself about this particular challenge! But in the main, I can't wait to throw myself into it...

So on the basis of all of these things, you're probably thinking that it's all go at the moment in the world of Rich!

However, I decided that the next few weeks weren't going to be QUITE eventful enough! Which is why, this coming week, I'm jetting off to Finland for a few days - to go and spend a few days at the World Air Guitar Championships!

Yes, you read that correctly.

The World Air Guitar Championships!

But how? And why?!

Well... it's possibly fair to say that I have a bit of a weakness for attending bizarre events! To give a couple of examples, my brother and me both risked life and limb back in 2005 by going along and taking part in the infamous Gloucester cheese race... while last year, my mate Andrew 'The Lothario' Best and me both attended the World Beard and Moustache Championships!

I also actually have 'previous' in the world of competitive air guitaring - as back in 2003, I went along to the UK Air Guitar Championships in order to write a feature about it for a music magazine.

Yet in spite all of this, I can honestly say, hand on heart, that it wasn't actually me who initiated this forthcoming trip to Finland.l

No, entirely to blame are three lovely ladies by the name of Sonja, Cecilie and Tanja.

Now those of you who were following mine and Ed's progress on the Mongol Rally will probably be able to put two and two together here...

But, for the benefit of anyone who WASN'T tuning in. Sonja, Cecilie and Tanya are the three Danish girls who we met in Budapest on a drunken night out - and who ended up squeezing into our car with us for the next few days as we drove across Romania.

If you happen to be reading these witterings on my blog site at www.softbulletin.co.uk, you can see some snaps of the girls in the photo section - as earlier today, I uploaded a gallery of over 150 pics taken throughout the rally. For those of you who are reading this on Facebook and want to see the pics - well, simply click here to be redirected...

Now of all the things that Ed and I got up to on the rally, the fact that we had three Scandanavian females on board was the one thing above anything else that seemed to capture the imagi nation of folk back home! And while Ed is happily married to the lovely Claire, speculation seemed to be rife among our families and friends - judging by some of the texts and emails I received whilst 'on the road - about what I may or may not have gotten up to with our glamorous hitch-hikers!

I must say, a big part of me has enjoyed being slightly vague about this - and in the process, fuelling speculation even further!

Hell, I'd be the first to admit that I'm hardly Don Juan - and as such, I'm quite happy for people to believe that I have it in me to charm three hot Danish chicks into joining me for a Roman-style orgy!

However, I hate to be a party pooper... but I can honestly say that nothing like that actually happened!

Yes, Sonja, Cecilie and Tanja were all gorgeous, and brilliant people to boot. They proved to be fabulous company for several days before we eventually bid them farewell in Bucharest, and part of me wants to marry all three of them and live happily ever after in bigamistic bliss!

Yet from the off, the dymanic between Ed and me and the girls was actually more like a family unit. This was something we all actually joked about, and it was all quite sweet really. We decided that if we had to shoehorn the five of us into conventional family roles, Cecilie and Ed would've been mum and dad, Sonja and Tanja would've been the two children... whilst I would've been 'Crazy Uncle Rich'!

Having done a fair bit of travelling for the last few years, I've become accustomed to the fact that you inevitably meet people 'on the road' with whom you get on famously, and end up spending quite a bit of time with... only to then go separate ways and then never see or speak to them again.

There were certainly a few such people who Ed and I met during the Mongol Rally.

With Sonja, Cecilie and Tanja though, it was different. The Danes aren't big on sentimentality so they'll probably rip the piss out of me mercilessly for saying this, but in the three of them, I honestly think that I've made some friends for life.

And this brings me back to the World Air Guitar Championships - as having heard about the event and decided it sounded like a giggle, the girls decided some time ago to arrange a trip over to Finland to check it out. This duly came up in conversation during one of the many hours we happened to spend sat in the car talking absolute nonsense - and on discovering that I too am deeply amused by the idea of grown men playing imaginary guitars, they immediately invited me to join them!

Cheap flights to Finland were duly booked - and so this Wednesday, at the crack of dawn, I shall be taking off from Heathrow on a plane bound for Helsinki!

I shall, needless to say, be dishing the full dirt when I get back on Sunday!

In the meantime, if any of you want to find out a bit more about the championships, simply click here to see the event's official website..!

Back home! And a special thanks to my nearest and dearest...

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:49:56 GMT

Well... I'm back home!

And much as a big part of me never wanted mine and my mate Ed's Mongol Rally adventure to end, it does feel good after four weeks of hardcore vagabonding to be sat in my own home, on my own bed - with my own laptop perched on my lap... and my own parrot perched on my shoulder!

It's also been great to catch up with my immediate family.

Both my dad and my brother were there to greet me at the arrivals gate after my flight landed - and at this juncture, I really would like to wax a bit of lyrical about the aceness of the Fisher clan.

But first of all, a bit of context!

Now throughout the whole Mongol Rally escapade, both during the preparation and during the actual trip itself, there was one thing that kept happening that really started to get on my tits. And that was the regularity with which people would make comments along the lines of "Oh wow, so you're driving halfway round the world, through Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia? It's a bit like Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in 'Long Way Round', isn't it?"

Of course, I don't doubt for a minute that most people were making these sorts of remarks meaning them to be a compliment.

Please let me tell you though - it was bloody NOTHING like 'Long Way Round'!

For starters, Ed and I are obviously far better-looking and more interesting than a couple of bloody thespians!

But joking aside, there were a number of significant differences between our trip and that undertaken by McGregor and Boorman.

First of all, despite the fact that they probably have enough money between them to buy the whole of Mongolia, McGregor and Boorman had all of the costs of their trip funded by a TV production company.

Ed and I, on the other hand, paid for all of our expenses out of our own pockets. We never actually kept a tally of how much the trip cost us. However, from visa fees to petrol to food to accomodation to a new gearbox that we had to buy after our car broke down in Hungary, I would say at a stab that our personal expenditure probably ended up being about two grand each.

Not that I'm complaining - it was worth every penny...

But my use there of the word 'complaining' leads me to another significant difference between our trip and 'Long Way Round' - namely, the fact that we didn't spend our whole trip moaning like McGregor and Boorman about how hard it all was.

Ultimately though, the biggest contrast of all was the fact that Ed and I, unlike McGregor and Boorman, managed to do the trip all on our own.

As you'll know if you've seen 'Long Way Round', McGregor and Boorman had an extensive back-up team following them throughout their journey, including a technical support crew and even their own bloody doctor.

In fact, I wouldn't be entirely esurprised if they even had their own Andrex bitch on board to wipe their arses for them!

Ed and I, on the other hand, pet off in our car with little more than passports, a Haynes manual, a compass, and balls of steel.

That said, as the trip unfolded, it could be said in a way that we did have an ever-dependable back-up crew - and this brings me back to my immediate family.

Now I'm sure there must be times when my parents in particular must wish in some ways that they could swap me for an altogether different type of son - a Chinos-wearing bank manager with an extensive collection of David Gray CDs, perhaps.

However, whilst I probably have given them more than a few sleepless nights over the years through various escapades that I've gotten myself embroiled in, my folks never fail to support me in everything I do.

The same goes for my brother Al - and when the chips are down and I need a helping hand, my immediate family are always the first people I turn to.

And no matter how insurmountable the problem I'm facing seems to be, they always seem to be able to pull a solution out of the bag.

There were a few such occasions during the Mongol Rally when my family provided invaluable help.

For instance, when I stupidly lost my bankcards, it was my parents who immediately sprung into action and wired me some cash so I wasn't stranded thousands of miles from home with no money.

And there were several occasions when Al bailed us out by adding credit to the pay-as-you-go international simcard we had acquired for the trip - something you could only do via the internet (and strangely enough, cyber cafes are few and far between in rural Kazakhstan!

I really do appreciate their dependability of my family. I think they know that. And I certainly know that they pull the stops out for me out of pure, unconditional love, wanting nothing in return.

Nevertheless, the thought lurked at the back of my mind throughout the last week or so of mine and Ed's trip that I'd like to get mum, dad and Al some kind of present to say thanks. And given the number of countries that we passesd through, there were plenty of gift opportunities - from Russian dolls in Russia (obviously), through to Genghis Khan-style furry hats made out of yak's wool in Mongolia.

Somehow though, saying thanks with the equivalent of a straw donkey seems a bit of a cop-out when the people you are saying thanks to are the people who've saved your neck.

I wanted something a bit more personal and special.

But what?

Well, as it turned out, it wasn't until oy very final stop-off on my way home from Mongolia that inspiration finally struck.

After completing the rally, Ed and I had decided to fly home via Berlin - and being someone who loves Germany and yet had never actually been to the capital before, I decided a brief stopover was in order.

Happily, this proved to be a very good decision - as Berlin proved to be a fantastic and fascinating place. If you're reading these witterings on my blog at www.softbulletin.co.uk, I've uploaded a load of photos from my time in Berlin to the gallery section.

For those of you, on the other hand, who are reading this on Facebook - well, simply click here to be redirected.

But what of this present, I hear you ask!

Well it isn't a conventional gift. Nothing was, or is, going to get handed over wrapped in shiny paper. In fact, if mum, dad and Al want see their present, they'll have to actually jump on a plane and fly to Berlin themselves, get a taxi into town, and then walk the mile or so from Alexanderplatz to the point where the city was once famously divided by bricks and mortar.

Yes, given that we share a unanimous love in our family of Pink Floyd - and in particular, their seminal album 'The Wall' - I'd decided it'd be a cool idea to pop into a stationery store and buy a permanent marker pen... and then use it to write notes to my parents and Al on one of the remaining parts of what is probably the most famous wall in the western world.

Just call me Banksy..!

Mum, dad and Al - if you decide that going to Berlin in person to see your messages is maybe just a tad too much hassle, simply go to the photos I've uploaded of my Berlin trip and skip to the last few snaps.

Enjoy..!

Preparing for the return to the humdrum after Mongolia madness!

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:21:43 GMT

So, it's 3.56am as I sit typing these words in an internet cafe in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia.

As most of you will probably be aware, my reason for being here is because my friend Ed and I decided it would be a good idea to spend a few weeks this summer taking part in the Mongol Rally - a crazy caper that involves attempting to drive a crappy old car approximately a third of the way round the world!

And I'm happy to report that we succeeded in this mission.

Well, sort of!

Basically, WE made it to Mongolia!

Alas though, our wheezing Peugeot 106 only managed to make it three-quarters of the way before it came a distinct second in an argument with a Russian lorry, following catastrophic brake failure! Undeterred however, Ed and I soldiered on sans car, making it the rest of the way via a combination of train, hitch-hiking and taxi!

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's been a memorable few weeks!

Some of you many have been following the ups and downs of our journey online - as we've got a webpage set up that we've been able to send updates to via mobile phone.

For those of you who haven't seen this - well, simply click here.

The updates on the site offer a reasonable summary of the main events of our trip. That said though, having been dispatched from 'on the road' as text messages, it's fair to say that are pretty short and sweet and don't really tell the full story.

But fear not - for Ed and me have spectacular plans to unleash the full dirt...

Yes, Ed and I have shot literally hours of video footage of the trip - and we have been having serious talks about getting to grips with some video-editing software and putting all our movies together as a feature-length film!

Granted, it will all be pretty lo-fi. However, we feel we have a very entertaining story to tell - and when it's finished, we're actually seriously going to look into hiring a cinema screen somewhere and having a proper premiere!

We're planning to keep our footage under wraps until then so the film has maximum 'wow factor' - however, I shall be sticking some photos from the rally online at some point in the next few days.

Watch this space...

Exciting stuff then - though in the meantime, it's now back to reality for both Ed and I.

Having reached the rally finish line a few days ago, we are now about to jump on a plane home and return to our normal lives.

That is why I am up typing this at such a silly time in the morning - part of a cunning plan of staying up all night so I'll hopefully sleep through most of the long and arduous flight!

Naturally, I'm sad in lots of ways that the adventure is over. However, having been away for nearly a month, I'm really excited too about the prospect of coming home and catching up with everyone.

See you all soon..!

Performing breathtaking heroics in a girl's bedroom (albeit with an Allen key..!)

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:21:28 GMT

If someone had to describe what sort of person I am, then I think it'd be fair to say that I can often be a cheeky so-and-so. And it's a tendency that sometimes gets me into a lot of trouble!

A good example of this would be a certain incident that ocurred about four years ago - when my big mouth got me into a situation where, for a couple of seconds, I honestly thought I was going to get beaten up by former Engerland goalkeeper Peter Shilton!

Of course, when you're a bit of a cheeky monkey, it's probably only fair that you get a taste of your own medicine sometimes. And this was a position I found myself in the other day.

Yes, enter my mate Emilie, who is officially the cheekiest person I know just at this moment!

Now earlier this week, Em asked if I fancied meeting her after work for a drink.

I duly rolled up at the bar in Nottingham city centre where we'd arranged to meet. However, it quickly became apparent that a pint and a catch-up had not been entirely on the top of Em's agenda! Oh no...

Basically, Em has recently moved house - and to be blunt, she needed a willing manslave to put together a flat-pack bed that she'd just had delivered from Argos. And apparently, I was just the knight in shining armour to fulfil that job!

What's more, could I try and do it in the next hour - because she had a rehearsal later with the band that she sings for!

Yes, I know, she's a cheeky minx! But I love her...

So then, beers were quicky downed, and we found ourselves thundering in Em's car back to her house.

It was probably the quickest time ever recorded for a boy ending up in a girl's bedroom after having shared a drink with her. And I must say, Em's boudoir was a sight to behold - like a slightly more grown-up version of the girl's room in the legendary 80s film 'The Labyrinth'!

So then, after a quick look at the instructions - which, as is par for the course with flat-pack furniture, were pretty incomprehensible, I quickly got to work.

And I'm proud to report that a disparate pile of screws and bits of metal very quickly ended up looking like a very sturdy bed indeed!

What can I say - I am pretty much a cross between the Milk Tray man and Handy Andy..!

What's more, Em made my efforts worthwhile too - as in return for my Allen Key wizardry, she wrote me a cheque for £10 to be split between the two charities that myself and my friend Ed have been raising money for as part of our entry into this year's Mongol Rally.

And she cooked me some tea too!

If you're reading these witterings on my blog at www.softbulletin.co.uk, the latest photo album I've uploaded to my gallery section shows a blow-by-blow pictoral account of my foray into the dark world of flat-pack furniture.

One of the snaps in the sequence is of the house where my parents lived up until I was six years old - a place that holds lots of happy memories for me of my early years - as bizarrely, it turned out that Em's new gaff is literally just a stone's throw away.

The album also includes photos from some other shenanigans that I've been involved in over the last few days - first of all, a flying visit to Stratford-upon-Avon, where I partook in a spot of Shakespeare.

In additon, there's a few snaps that I decided to take on a whim the other day when I decided to go for a pint in the White Horse - a pub in Nottingham that's famous for having been used as a shooting location in the iconic film 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'.

Yes, I know, I'm a right cultured motherfucker, me..!

Dolly Parton, lifesize cardboard cut-outs, and other stories..!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:12:00 GMT

Well, it's been a ridculously busy time of late in the world of Rich.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I've not so much been burning the candle at both ends as taking a blowtorch to it!

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that the two main things that have been taking up pretty much all my time of late have been my continuing efforts to get qualified as a teacher... closely followed by all the preparations I've been in the thick of for mine and my mate Ed's imminent Mongolia mission.

In hindsight, I think my decision to undertake these two things in tandem was quite possibly insane!

Still, I guess you live and you learn...

Happily, I think I've just about managed to keep on top of the two things. In terms of my fledgling teaching career, I'm planning to write a separate update in the next few days to update you all on where things are at on that score; while I've been documenting everything to do with the Mongol Rally in a seperate blog that you can view by clicking here.

Meanwhile, I've also somehow managed to fit in some other shenanigans too in recent weeks - some of which are depicted in the latest batch of photos that I've uploaded to my blog at www.softbulletin.co.uk. If you're reading these witterings on my blog, simply go to the gallery section. If, on the other hand, you're reading this on Facebook, simply click here to be redirected.

Anyway, without further a do, here's a bit of an account of the major events of recent weeks...

The magnificent woman in her flying machine. And an ace wedding!

A couple of Saturdays ago saw me have a ridiculously hectic day... but all for good reason!

It all actually began really last Christmas.

Now within my family, we take great pride in our ability to come up with great ideas for presents for each other. And one day last year, I happened to hear a great friend of ours - Andrea - make a comment about how she's always loved the idea of having a go at flying a plane.

A lightbulb immediately went on in my head... and after getting various members of the family to chip in towards the costs, last Christmas Day saw Andrea presented with one of those 'Gift Experience' packages - namely, the opportunity to have a go at flying a vintage Tiger Moth bi-plane!

Now as any of you have ever met her will know full well, Andrea is a hilarious character - so the chance to see her take to the skies was always going to be unmissable!

However, when Andrea arranging the date for her flight, I was presented with a bit of a dilemma. Yes, she ended up booking it for the same day that my friends Andy and Kat were getting married!

Specifically, the flight was booked for 10am in north Nottinghamshire... while Andy and Kat's nupitals were taking place at a church at 1pm in Norwich, some 130 miles away.

I decided that it was just about physically possible to take in both events - and so along with various other members of my family and Andrea's family, a very busy Saturday started with me at a windswept aerodrome.

I actually did the Tiger Moth experience myself a few years ago, so I kind of knew what to expect. Though on this occasion, there was the additional comedy element of Andrea being booked in for her flight by a gentleman called Michael Jackson!

Shamone, motherfucker!

Bless her, Andrea was quite nervous prior to take-off. Happily though, she ended up enjoying her airborne experience immensely.

What's more, after some Burt-Reynolds-in-Smokey-and-the-Bandit style driving, I did actually make it to the church for Andy and Kat's wedding with about five minutes to spare!

And a great wedding it was too - not least because I ended up going home with one of the bridesmaids!

I hasten to add however that this was not a case of my silver-tongued pulling techniques paying dividends! Rather, the bridesmaid in question just so happened to be the lovely Rachel - a really good friend of mine, who kindly let me crash at her house to save me the cost of a hotel.

Now Rach and I can kind of take a bit of credit for Andy and Kat getting together!

It's a bit of a long story, and a slightly terrifying reminder really of how your life can ultimately be changed drastically by seemingly trivial events - in this case, a train to Liverpool having been heavily delayed back in September 2000!

It's through having both been on this train that Rach and I first met. Basically, the two of us were both on our way back up to Liverpool. where we were both studying, having both been 'back home' for the weekend - 'home' for me having been Nottingham, and Norwich for Rach.

Now I'm not normally the sort of person to strike up conversation with strangers on trains - in this day and age, most people tend to look at you like you're some sort of sex pest if you even try it!

On this particular journey however, the train wheezed to a halt at Stockport station, where myself, Rach and all the other passengers proceeded to get stranded for seemingly hours.

In the mists of time I can't remember exactly how, but the two of us somehow ended up chatting - and I promptly discovered that, though she'd grown up in Norwich, Rach actually had family history in Nottingham and thus shared my passion for the mighty Nottingham Forest! And so a great friendship was duly born...

But where, you are probably wondering, do Andy and Kat come into it?

Well Rach had known Kat since their school days in Norwich; and then I got to know Andy around 2002 - once again, a friendship based largely on the fact that we both happened to be Forest fans.

Then, if you fast forward to around 2004, Andy moved to the East Anglia area to start a new job - and with him not knowing many people ouat there, I put him in touch with Rach.

Through Rach, Andy then got to know Kat - and the rest is history..!

So, big congrats to Mr and Mrs Cross! You guys make a tremendous couple, and I'm sure you'll be incredibly happy together over the decades to come.

And I still chuckle to myself quite a lot about the thought of the 'pew-slapping' during the church service..!

A flying visit to Liverpool

The weekend after Andy and Kat's wedding saw me hit the road again - this time, a trip to Liverpool for a night out to celebrate the birthday of my good pal Mike 'Ruddo' Ruddock!

The night out in question proved to be a most enjoyable one. However, my trip did see me have a bit of a fuckwit moment - namely, getting halfway up to Liverpool and realising that I'd left my bloody wallet at home!

Fortunately, I had enough petol in the tank to complete the journey - and my friends showed what great friends they truly are by subbing me for the duration of my stay.

The trip was tinged with an element of sadness however - because Ruddo is part of a group of friends who, in recent years, I've been going away with every year on an annual 'lads' weekend'.

The weekend in question is always a right giggle - however, I'll be missing it this year due to the fact that I'll be away doing the Mongol Rally.

That said, I will sort of still be going - for the decision has been made to replace me with a lifesize cardboard cut-out!

My trip up to Liverpool saw the lads ceremoniously introduced to my 2D doppelganger - something which naturally caused considerable mirth!

Meanwhile, my birthday gift to Ruddo was also something designed to bring a comedy element to the lads' weekend in my absence.

The weekend in question, you see, has usually seen us book exclusive use of the same six-bed dorm at the backpackers' hostel in the Somerset town of Glastonbury. After several days of being lived in by five or six beer-swilling curry-quaffing men, this small space starts to take on a particular aroma - and so recent years have seen

the dorm generally referred to as 'The Turdis'.

And to make this name official, I decided to present Ruddo with a fetching brass plaque engraved with the words, so he can stick it on the door after the lads check in!Again, this raised more than a chuckle..!

Meanwhile, my trip up to Liverpool also saw me catch up with numerous other pals, including the legendary Bray siblings - with whom I enjoyed a leisurely Sunday lunch on Liverpool's hip Lark Lane. This was made particularly entertaining by the presence in the bar that we were in of the singer from the Zutons, who was absolutely off his face and making a right spectacle of himself.

Mind you, in this age of Scrabble-playing geeks like the fella from Coldplay, it's actually quite refreshing to see rock stars actually behaving like rock stars...

Various gigs...

Recent weeks have also seen me go to a number of gigs. In particular, Ben Folds at Rock City in Nottingham was outstanding.

Most memorable in many ways however was the legendary Dolly Parton at Nottingham Arena, who I went to see with my great pal JHH.

Now Dolly is an artist who JHH and me both count as a bit of guiilty pleasure. And needless to say, as two men going together see her, we probably looked gayer than a Elton John and George Michael being caught together in a public toilet!

Naturally then, we decided there was only one thing for it - yes, we'd embrace the gayness and by both going to the gig wearing cowboy shirts for the full 'Brokeback Mountain' look!

The gig proved to be a very entertaining one, with Dolly not only a connsumate performer of her songs, but also a great storyteller too. We were however a bit disappointed by the failure of Kenny Rogers to emerge for 'Islands in the Stream'..!

Various book readings...

Lastly, recent weeks have also seen me meet a number of my favourite authors - who all seem to be falling over themselves to come to Nottingham to do book readings!

First of all there was Danny Wallace, one of the leading lights of the 'doing something a bit ridiculous and then writing a book about it' genre that seems to have exploded in recent years. He did a reading at Waterstones in Nottingham to promote his latest book 'Friends Like These'... and I'm pleased to report that he seemed a really nice bloke when I queued up afterwards and got him to sign a copy for me.

A few days later meanwhile, I went along to Nottingham's Broadway cinema for a similar event with Irvine Welsh.

Suffice to say, most of you will probably know of Welsh as the man who wrote 'Trainspotting' - a book which, like most of his work, is written largely in Scottish dialect... and is liberally peppered with rather 'industrial' language!

On this particular occasion, Welsh was doing a reading to promote his new novel, 'Crime'. Following the reading, Welsh took questions from the audience - and I duly took the opportunity to ask him what his memories were of Brian Rice!

Now for the benefit of those of you who don't share my footy anorak tendencies, Rice is a Forest cult hero from the late 1980s, who was signed by Brian Clough from Hibs... the Scottish team who Welsh happens to support! And for the record, Welsh's recollections were of him having been one of the better players in a struggling Hibs team!

What's more, he also said he wouldn't rule out the 'ginger ninja' - as Rice was known to Forest fans' - cropping up in one of his future novels!

You read it here first..!

Like Danny Wallace, Irvine Welsh came across as being a really top bloke. And this was affirmed at the end of the event when, Just as I did at the Danny Wallace reading, I decided to queue to get a copy of the book signed. This time though, I decided it'd be amusing to be a bit cheeky and ask the author if he could inscribe my book with something 'typically Irvine Welsh'!

This is why I now own a copy of Irvine Welsh's latest novel bearing the personalised inscription 'Rich - ya radge cunt! Best wishes, Irvine Welsh'!

Without doubt, this is definitely up there with my copy of 'The Best of New Order' signed by John Barnes as one of my most prized pieces of autographed paraphernalia..!

Rich and Ed's blog on the Mongol Rally website has been updated!

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:56:11 GMT

Quite terrifyingly, mine and Ed's departure for our Mongolia mission is now just a matter of days away!

Naturally, we've been incredibly busy of late trying franti cally to get things organised.

For full details of what we've been up to - and it's been a veritable smorgasbord of shenanigans ranging from pimping our ride to injections of expensive drugs - check out the latest instalment of our blog by clicking here.

Rich and Ed's blog on the Mongol Rally website has been updated!

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:13:22 GMT

Yes, Ed and I have just unleashed news of our latest rally-related activities - and in our humble opinions, it's actually exciting news!

First of all though, allo me to give you a bit of context...

Now whenever Ed or I ever tell people about the fact that we're taking part in the Mongol Rally, most folk generally tend to react one of two ways.

For a lot of people, it's pretty much a case of "You guys are bloody mental." And they possibly have a point!

Equally however, there are also a fair few folk whose reaction tends to be more along the lines of "Wow, I'd love to do something like that..."

And if you're in this latter camp - well, listen up... because our aforementioned piece of 'exciting news' is the fact that Ed and I are offering a chance for one person to join us for the opening part of our trip!

Yes, we've decided it'd be a cunning way to raise a bit of cash for our petrol fund if we were to auction off on eBay the opportunity for someone to come with us in our car for the first couple of days of the rally.

Granted, our winning bidder won't actually be getting to see Mongolia - as we aren't expecting to make it much beyond the Czech Republic in the time that they'll be with us!

Nevertheless, the first couple of days are actually looking like they could be among the most exciting. As well as the spectacle of the big departure from Hyde Park, the winning bidder will get to experience:

- The car being taken on a spin round Germany's famous Nurburgring racing circuit;

- An official 'knights and wenches' theme fancy dress party being thrown by the rally organisers in a mediaeval Czech castle!

This is a 'gift experience' type opportunity that Red Letter Days simply would never be able to offer! For more details, simply click here to be redirected to our blog on the official Mongol Rally website...

Alternatively, you can go direct to the eBay auction by clicking here...

Bit of a plug for some cool blogs written by friends of mine...

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:28:19 GMT

If you’re a football fan, then you will probably have spent a good number of hours in recent weeks glued to the telly watching Euro 2008.

Certainly, I’d normally be taking more than a passing interest – despite the fact that England obviously failed dismally to qualify.

As it happens though, I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve not even managed to see a single game.

This is in stark contrast to my great friend JHH – who has actually been out in Austria enjoying the action first hand. And being a sports journalist, the lucky sod has actually been getting paid to be there!

Specifically, JHH has been out in Austria working for Sky Sports.

As part of his duties, he’s been doing a daily blog from a spectator’s perspective – and it’s a cracking read.

If any of you are interested in reading an example of JHH’s stuff, then click here.

Of course, though Sky Sports have never offered to pay me to do it, I myself am someone who enjoys putting finger to keyboard and uploading my own ramblings to the web.

Indeed, the explosion of blogging in recent years is something that I find fascinating. Of course, JHH has been doing his Euro 2008 blog as part of his job – however, I also have various friends who blog regularly for the same reason I do… namely, for the pure enjoyment of it.

In particular, my pal Mick Ruddock is a man blessed with a tremendous vocabulary, and always writes really entertaining stuff; while, my brother Al has been doing a blog for at least five or six years.

In fact, I think he may have actually invented the concept of the blog!

Probably my favourite blog at the moment though is one that my friends the Smiths are doing.

No. not the Smiths as in Morrissey and co – rather, I refer to James and Tara Smith, a married couple who are great pals of mine.

Now up until January of this year, James and Tara were living in Nottingham – however, they then jumped on a plane… in order to fulfil a long-held shared dream of starting a new life together in Australia.

The two of them have settled in Melbourne, and have been doing a blog about what life is like for a British couple trying to settle into life ‘Down Under’.

It makes for a really interesting read – not only because of the subject matter, but also became James happens to be a journalist… and a very talented one at that.

Without further a do, I implore you to check it out their blog. You can view it by clicking here...

Rich & Ed's blog on the Mongol Rally website has been updated!

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:10:28 GMT

Yes, my pal Ed and I have been a pair of incredibly busy bees of late, with the two of us having been getting our hands dirty in all sorts of different ways as part of our continuing preparation for the Mongol Rally.

For the full dirt on what we've been up to, check out our blog on the official Mongol Rally website - which has been updated not once but twice in the last few days

The two entries - titled' Just a month to go! And some of the interesting people we've met through the fact that we're doing the rally...' and 'Rich and Ed set to inflict their dulcet tones upon the radio listeners of Nottingham..!', simply click here.

All my friends are getting married!

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:27:57 GMT

I must say, I’m never usually the sort of person who tends to get too sentimental whenever significant dates in the calendar year come round. And when I say ‘significant’ dates, I’m talking about anniversaries of things that have happened in the past.

For a huge number of football fans for instance, April 15^th is a day that will always be associated with the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

Now I have a friend who’s a Liverpool fan who was there at Hillsborough – and nearly two decades on, he still makes a point on April 15^th every year to take some time out, in order to reflect upon the events that led to the tragic death of 96 people.

This year in fact, April 15^th saw my friend actually drive down to Hillsborough to go and spend some time there quietly contemplating what happened that fateful afternoon 19 years ago. A keen blogger like myself, he actually write a very poignant account of his trip down to Sheffield – if you’re interested, this can be viewed by clicking here.

But why am I telling you about this?

Well like thousands of other people up and down the country – whether they were actually at the match or, like myself, watching the horror unfold on the live television coverage - I too was deeply affected by what happened at Hillsborough.

Yet every year when April 15^th comes around… well, to be honest, I don’t tend to find myself feeling any differently about it than I would really on any other day of the year.

I guess I just don’t really ‘do’ anniversaries.

Or at least I thought that was the case!

For on Monday morning, as I was stood in my classroom at work writing the date on the whiteboard, it suddenly struck me that the date – June 16^th – was actually quite a significant day.

Or at least it could’ve been!

Yes, had certain things worked out a bit differently for me over the last few years, then yesterday would’ve been my first wedding anniversary!

Now fear not, this blog isn’t about to descend into a load of self-pitying guff in which I bemoan the wretched state of my lovelife.

Far from it.

Okay, so I can’t deny that I was gutted for a short time when things didn’t work out between myself and the girl I was going to get married to.

However, one thing I think I happen to believe I’m quite good at is picking myself up and dusting myself off whenever life deals you a cruel kick in the bollocks. And with all the things I’ve gotten up to over the last couple of years – from travelling round the world, to changing careers and becoming a teacher - I really do believe that I’ve reaped the rewards from putting on a brave face and simply doing my best to get on with life.

That said, from the moment of I the significance of Monday dawned on me, I found my thoughts regularly drifting throughout the day into idle ruminations as to what might have been.

Still, though I never managed to make it beyond having a deposit paid on a venue and Chas & Dave booked as evening entertainment – true, I’m not making that up! - I’m pleased to report that lots of my friends are not having the same trouble in making it to the altar.

I suppose it’s an ‘age’ thing, but over the last five years or so I’ve been to more weddings than you could shake a brown pole at.

My next one is in a couple of weeks’ time, when my mate Andy gets married to the lovely Kat in Norwich.

It should be a great day – though before the wedding, there was the small matter this weekend of Andy’s stag do, which took place this weekend just gone.

Now Andy is quite an ‘outdoorsy’ sort of person – and as such, it was no great surprise when he decided his last weekend of freedom would involve going camping and taking part in all sorts of strenuous activities!

The plan was for everyone to assemble in Manchester on the Friday afternoon for a spot of snowboarding on an artificial slope there; before heading up to the Lake District for several nights’ camping, where we’d get the opportunity to have a go at various activities ranging from mountain-biking to kayaking.

Unfortunately, the fact that you can’t really get time off work outside of school holidays when you’re a teacher meant that I had to give the Friday snowboarding session a miss.

Instead, I decided to head up on the Saturday - driving straight up to the Lake District to join Andy and the rest of his mates, and then spending one night with them before driving back again on the Sunday.

Now I was actually quire excited by the prospect of going to the Lake District – as for my sins, I’d never been before. And I’m not sure why really - as it’s a place I’ve long wanted to go and check out. I guess it’s simply a case of having never gotten round to it…

That said, my excitement as I hammered up the M6 was tempered with lashings of anxiety – an anxiety that I always find myself afflicted by whenever I’m going on a stag do. Not being your typical alpha-male, you see, I sometimes find it quite hard work having to spend any significant amount of time in exclusively male company.

And a series of text message reports I’d been receiving the previous night from my brother Al - who is also friends with Andy – hadn’t made me feel a great deal better better!

In particular, Al had unleashed into my inbox a frankly revelation about one of Andy’s friends called Mike.

Now there’s no delicate way of putting this… but Mike had gotten so drunk that he’d passed out. And as he lay prone, several other members of the party had decided to entertain themselves by getting their cocks out - and slapping him round the face with them!

In the middle of a packed pub, no less!

I naturally started to have visions of spending my entire time in the Lakes enduring what sounded like the rugby tour from hell!

I needn’t have feared though - as happily, Andy’s friends, most of whom I hadn’t met before, turned out to be a top bunch of lads.

Of all the outdoor activities that had been arranged, the only one I did was the mountain biking. This saw a group of about six of us each get given a mountain bike and go off with a guide on a ten-mile ride around the local hills.

Though some of the hills were quite hard work, cycling proved to be a great way to experience the local scenery. And given that we were all resplendent in matching stag do T-shirts, it probably looked to passers-by like a really shit version of Tour de France – albeit one where the competing cyclists vote in unison to stop off at a pub for a pint some two thirds of the way round the route!

The T-shirts in question are well worthy of mention actually - as brilliantly, best man Andrei had decided to make reference to something that the groom and I have in common..Yes, like me, Andy has a massive love of the mighty Nottingham Forest – and so ‘Drei had gone to the effort of having names of a different Forest legend printed on the back of each of the shirts that were dished out to myself and the other guys present!

Given that Andy, myself and Al were the only three Forest fans present, I think we were the only three who fully appreciated the brilliance of this. The greats chosen though ranged from Marlon Harewood to Stuart Pearce to Wes Morgan! And I’m very pleased to report that I personally managed to bag the legendary Brian Rice..!

On a less happy note however, Andy, as the groom, had been bought Derby County shirt to wear – Derby of course being Forest’s deadly rivals.

To his absolute credit though, Mr Cross was having none of it, and refused to wear it. In fact, as I left the Lake District to head back to Nottingham on Sunday morning, bidding farewell to all the others – who were staying another night – plans were afoot for a sacrificial burning on the campfire!

So what else happened on the stag do?

Well naturally, there was lots of drunkenness. And I’m pleased to report that I made my own contribution to making Andy’s weekend memorable by going to great lengths to provide him with the opportunity to indulge in his favourite post-pub snack – a parmo!

Now a lot of you probably won’t know what a parmo is – so allow me to explain…

Basically, Andy did his degree some years ago up in Middlesbrough – and up there, the parmo is a revered local delicacy.

It’s basically deep fried chicken in béchamel sauce, with shitloads of cheese on the top. Andy pretty much lived on the things when he was a student – and so having been up in the north-east a few weeks ago, I’d decided to buy an authentic Middlesbrough parmo, freeze it… and then bring it along to the stag do!

There was however one slight problem.

Yes – how exactly was I going to defrost and reheat the thing when we were staying on a campsite?!

There was only one thing for it. Yes, when getting my car loaded up ready to head off to the lakes, I found myself packing the usual things – tent, sleeping bag, torch etc…

And then, having been on the website for the campsite where we were staying and discovered that it had a utility room with electricity, I also decided to pack… yes, my microwave!

Now taking a microwave camping is admittedly a bit ridiculous.

However, it meant that I was able to present a very hungover Andy with an authentic parmo for his breakfast on the Sunday morning – and I have to say, the look on his face was absolutely priceless..!

So then, cheers to Andy and all the boys for an excellent weekend! If you’re reading this on my blog site, The Soft Bulletin, then my photos from the weekend will be getting uploaded pretty soon.

For those of you meanwhile who are reading this on Facebook – well, simply click here to be redirected…

Rich & Ed's blog on the Mongol Rally website has been updated!

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:38:43 GMT

As the departure date for the Mongol Rally draws closer, the world of Rich and Ed's Excellent Adventure is becoming an increasingly busy one. Indeed, the last couple of days have seen the boys' blog on the official rally website updated not once but TWICE!

First of all, the latest entry tells you how you can get your hands on a pair of used footy boots worn by a Nottingham Forest player - and also help the boys' charity appeal as part of the bargain!

The entry in question is titled 'Rich and Ed's appeal for Nottingham Forest shirts for Mongolian orphans gets a rousing response!' To view it, click here.

Secondly, the other entry we posted this week is titled 'Rich sorts out his reading list for the excellent adventure... and also gets some sterling advice for the trip off a top TV celeb!'

To view this entry, click here - and then scroll down until you've reached the second blog entry from the top.

Talking of our departure meanwhile - those of you who are in the Facebook group for Rich and Ed's Excellent Adventure will already be aware of this... but for the benefit of those of you who aren't, we are hoping to get as many people as possible to come to Hyde Park on Saturday July 19th and wave us off as we set off for Mongolia in our trusty Peugeot 106.

With 299 other crap cars all scheduled to depart at the same time, including a hearse and a Green Goddess fire engine, it should be quite a spectacle!

Now for many of you, we appreciate that London is obviously be a fair distance to travel just to come and wave at Ed and me.

However, for those of you who do live near the capital, we'd hugely appreciate your support on their big day!

And hey, even if getting to London is going to be a bit of a trek - it's surely a perfect excuse to make a weekend of it down in the big smoke..!

Finer details of exactly what will be happening at Hyde Park and at what time are still being finalised by the Mongol Rally organisers.

What we do know though at this stage is that we'll be getting to Hyde Park with our car around 10am - and are expecting to be setting off sometime between then and 2pm.

For now, for those of you who are up for coming, just make sure you keep the date free! And naturally, more information will be winging its way to you as soon as it's available..!