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For the second year in succession, we visited Bridport, Dorset for a bank holiday weekend of camping delights. Quite why we visited the exact same place two years running I am not too sure. But having fulfilled my organisation quota this year with Tenerife, I was steering well clear of the hornets nest that is Gomez-with-an-idea. We had slightly fewer men this time round but our location was vastly more horizontal, which is definitely what you want when you lying next to a South African ox. The neighbouring fields, which were empty last year, were full of bovine beasts this time and it is surprising just how much noise they make. Normally when I see cows it’s alongside motorways and they seem quite silent creatures. But spending a night in a field next to them you find they actually flood the night air with hideous sounds, one might associate with Gomez finding the fridge empty.
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As the more astute of you will have noticed, hopkins81 has had a facelift. I thought about making a few minor alterations to the old design, but thought sod it and decided to do something completely different. This was thanks mainly to thanks to a grand fellow by the name of MX4. It certainly is quite a fresh design and here at hopkins81 we like to give the reader the illusion that their opinion matters, so would love to hear your thoughts.

July 8th, it seems like so long ago now. Twas the date we set sail for the Canary Islands. Many people had said they would be coming with us, but in the end, it was survival of the fittest and six of us managed to make it. I have all but settled back into the daily drudgery, but thankfully, we have a few photos taken with some disposable cameras, to remind of us of a few quality nights out.

There are a few interesting stories I could tell but unfortunately we decided that it be best to not make those who wussed out feel too disappointed, so we introduced

Law-o-the-Stag

A pact that prevents us from going into detail about any event that occurred. We (I) have decided that it is acceptable to let everyone see the pics though! What happened on the island stays on the island. Read the rest of this entry »

So, Mr Fusco has turned 25. A full quarter of a century. He can now enjoy such pleasures as cheap car insurance and facial wrinkles. As we were aware of the man's fondness for scotch eggs, Gomez had the terrific idea to create the ultimate Scotch egg using an enormous ostridge egg. (That was too many eggs in one sentence.) He got the idea from here, and with the help of myself, Clara and Sykes, spent most of Saturday boiling and baking to create a masterpiece. So complete with candles and all, the super-egg was presented to him in the Byng, where it was cut with similar pride and jubilation to a newly weds four tier wedding cake. Read the rest of this entry »

With the commencement of Live8 this weekend, I think there was a kind of "Woodstock" feeling that swept the country. Attending the concert itself was never a real possibility but I certainly wanted to at least do something outdoorsy. And what with Miss Kirwan leaving us for the foreseeable, the ramblers got rambling to Trent Park for a day of barbequing, girly games and "free love". Read the rest of this entry »