Birthday treat

Hello and welcome to my blog!

This week has been quite a good one, especially in the footballing world as Man United sealed the deal with Arsenal to sign Robin van Persie! This transfer has strengthened United's attack so much so that people are now comparing the current strike force to the one we had in 1999 (When we won the treble!). Since then, rumours about a loan deal for Kaka to join the Red Devil's for a season have been circulating and Sky Bet have massively slashed the odds so things are looking good!

On Friday Bangor City played the first league game of the season, at their newly named The Book People Stadium against Connah's Quay. me and my friend Declan went with my Dad on his birthday to see if Bangor could get the best possible start to a league campaign. Things started well with Chris Simm putting City ahead inside 10 minutes and the first half hour of the game looked like Bangor were on to a comfortable victory, but a bit of complacency set in and a few minutes before half time they conceded and so went in level at half time.

At this point, the only people in the ground who were pleased were the fifteen away fans. I wriggled a few pounds off my Dad to get a nice chicken and mushroom pie from the refreshments and must have been stood there queueing, in the rain, for at least twenty minutes of the second half. All I could see was Bangor dominance and getting unlucky to not have taken a lead when all of a sudden Connah's Quay had a break and a shot fantastically saved onto the bar by Lee Idzi. When I finally got back to my seat with the rather satisfying pie again I was seeing City chances. The goal eventually came when sub John Owen pinged a ball into the box which bounced up and struck their defender on the arm, this caused the stadium to explode into cries of 'HANDBALL!!!', the referee obliged and we were awarded a penalty, with three or four minutes to go. Up steps Dave Morley who confidently tucked the penalty away and has increased his Bangor status as a match winning hero.

We drove home happy overall at the victory, and a late goal is always special. The day prior to this, as a birthday treat, me and Dad went to see Expendables 2 on its first day of showing in the UK. We were thoroughly entertained and can confirm it is definitely as good as the first, Chuck Norris even makes an appearance! To celebrate the birthday further, my Nan and her husband Ian gifted him with three crates of strongbow cider, something that will keep him busy for sure!! Yesterday we went for a Wetherspoons meal again due to the birthday, and for the first time in too long I had the beauty that is a chili con carne.

Thanks for reading!
-Andy.

Super summer!

Hello! Sorry about leaving yet another sizable gap between posts, I've just been a bit busy recently.

So, on Tuesday 31st July I went to the Greenhous Meadow again with my Dad and this time my uncle Phil to watch and support Shrewsbury. This match was another pre season friendly and was against Wolverhampton Wonderers (who last year were relegated from the Premiership). In the first half, Wovles had a weaker side out and Shrewsbury were miles better and had a nice 2-0 lead at the break thanks to goals from Terry Gornell and Marvin Morgan. Second half, Wolves switched the majority of their team and managed to pull two goals back so it finished up 2-2 which was a fair result as each team had moments of dominance and were rather equal overall. The highlight of the game would probably be the Shrewsbury fans chanting "Are you sure you're not Wrexham in disguise?!", I'm glad I went and am looking forward to attending more games this season.

I have spent most of time either playing FIFA, playing football or watching football so far this summer and we've had suitable weather for it; day after day of clear blue sky and luminous sun. Also, as long as the weather stays good, I can predict this pattern continuing right until the start of college. I am eagerly awaiting the end of September, for the release of FIFA 13 (which I have pre-ordered), all the screenshots and clips I have seen of it look amazing and a big step up from FIFA 12!

This Saturday, I am going with my Dad and Declan to watch a Bangor City pre season game against Chester in the day, then rocking hard with Declan in the Ironworks watching The Misty Blue Trio by night! We saw this band a few months ago when the Miners Arms pub in Morda put on an all day event and were very impressed so I'm very much looking forward to that, my best musical discovery so far this summer has been Lower Than Atlantis; I've got their World Record album and every time I listen, it gets better and better. I highly recommend you give them a listen and perhaps even see them live this October, as they are touring the UK at the great price of £10 a ticket!

Thanks for reading!
-Andy.

Sun!

Hello world!

Last Saturday - a week ago today - me and my family were touching down at Manchester Airport and driving back into Oswestry after a week in the extreme sun in Corfu. We had a lovely holiday altogether, just at some points the heat was unbearable - we went into Corfu town via bus and on the return journey I was so sweaty I couldn't hold on to the support bars as my hands were slipping!!

Since being back in Oswestry, we've had some great weather (sunny, dry but not too hot) and remarkably I wasn't burnt once in Greece but here I have been burnt on my shoulders and neck! On Tuesday me and my Dad went up to the Greenhous Meadow to watch a Shrewsbury Town pre season friendly against Birmingham City. This was my first ever Shrewsbury match and it was a very enjoyful experience, Birmingham won 2-1 but had a better side especially in the second half when they brought on 7ft Zigic up front! We were impressed with the striker Marvin Morgan, Matt Richards in midfield and versatile defender Grandison and are going to attend the friendly against Wolverhampton next Tuesday!

Now, I am enjoying the sun playing football, relaxing and seeing friends, here's to a great summer!!

Catch up

Hello, sorry about how late this post is, I just haven't got round to doing it.

First of all, I'VE FINISHED SCHOOL FOR EVER!!!!!
Monday 25th June was my last day, doing science lessons and a science exam to end it. So I'm currently enjoying my huge summer and am glad to be away. The night before that, I watched England suffer yet again to the evils of a penalty shootout with disappointment in my eyes; we played well against the Italians and even looked like we were going to win the penalties but that didn't last. It is a shame to see us go out, but I think Roy Hodgson did a decent job - we did finish top of our group and are now ranked #4 in the FIFA World rankings. This means we're supposedly the 4th best team in the world. Whoah.

Last Tuesday (26th June), me, my friend Declan and my Dad went to watch Bangor City play Cefn Druids in a friendly which Bangor won 2-0. This experience reminded me how much I miss going to Bangor and how much I'll miss Farrar Road as they now have a new ground. Bangor played well in the game and a 2-0 is probably a fair result, both teams looked rusty but that's understandable as it was a warm up friendly. This game was preparation for the UEFA Europa League match at Nantporth on Thursday (5th July) against Moldovan side Zimbru Chisinau. Again, me and Declan accompanied my Dad and his friend Matt to attend and support the Blues. The game was good and Bangor were unlucky to not have taken a lead with them as they will travel to Moldova for the 2nd leg. Also, because of that match, Zimbru's manager has been sacked - this sounds like good news. The highlight of the game had to be a Bangor fan shouting "Gypo on!" when one of the Moldovans was closing down on an unaware Blue.

I've spent most of my free summer holiday time so far playing a lot of football with friends and for the majority, we've had suitable weather. Hopefully it will remain sunny / dry so this can continue, no one likes a rainy day.

That's it for now and I will make sure the next post is not as far off as this one was.
Thanks for reading!
-Andy.

The Euro's and Down!

So, it's the Euro 2012 competition and England are looking good to progress!

I have been impressed with Roy Hodgson's faith in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and the successful tactic he's set up. The 4-4-1-1 that we've seen a few times recently with Ashley Young playing as a support to Danny Welbeck / Andy Carroll. Also, it's very nice to see Danny Welbeck - a player I have watched progress through the Man United Youth and Reserve teams - fronting England's strike force and performing well. Just 1 point is needed to get through to the quarter finals and I am hopeful that we can do that, considering that Wayne Rooney is eligible for this game.

Some excellent news that I was recently greeted with was that metal supergroup Down are playing a few gigs in England in October! I will most definitely be attending one of these dates and cannot wait! Down feature frontman Phil Anselmo who I love from being the Pantera singer back in the day. Down are a great band, with sludgy, funky, chilled vibes that can do no wrong in my eyes - have a listen to this and tell me what you think!

Thanks for reading!
-Andy.

Half-term!

So, as the title suggests, this past week I've been on a half term from school (A week off) woo!

Overall it wasn't anything special, just a welcome rest from hectic revising and exams. On Monday (4th June - Diamond Jubilee) The Miners Arms pub in Morda put on a day of music - 2pm til 12pm - in recognition of the Jubilee and to raise money for a little girl called Evie Lou who needs money for an operation. I arrived promptly at 2pm with my good friend and dancing partner Declan, kicking off the day was Tom Stedman with an acoustic set. Tom is my friend Jamie (Silent Blackout lead guitarist) 's guitar teacher and he plays Andy McKee style music, where he produces mystical and dreamy notes and taps the strings and body of the instrument at the same time to provide a real chilled, intense and calm effect to his music. I thoroughly enjoyed his set and look forward to the next gig!

Another of the highlights and early in the day performers were a band from Welshpool called The Misty Blue Trio who I hadn't seen or heard of before Monday. They played some really cool funky styled stuff, lighter than what I usually listen to but it was truly entertaining, some simple but effective guitar playing, a very powerful and soulful voice, a dominant and electric bassline and solid drums. Excellent stuff! The only real downside to the day was probably and old school teacher called Mr Jandrell who performed a rather dodgy set, the less said about that the better.

If you're curious, check out both Tom Stedman and The Misty Blue Trio on YouTube and Facebook now to see what I'm getting it and let me know what you think! The rest of the week flew by, Tuesday I stayed at my Nan's and with the company of my Nan and Ian watched a very informative and entertaining Che Guevara film about how the Cuban revolution came about, then the ever brilliant Bad Boys. Wednesday took me, Tom and Declan to Wrexham in rather sour weather, I obtained a few cds, had a day full of 'funnies' and ate exquisitely at the plush McDonald's. Thursday I decided to brave the rain and play football, a decision that saw me returning home drenched from head to toe, still good fun though! Friday I watched Transformers 3 for the fist time, I was a little disappointed as it's far more slow to kick than the other two and is too long.

The only upside of going back to school is of course seeing friends and every day brings me one day closer to June 25th (the day of my final exam)!

Thanks for reading!
-Andy.

A summary of recent events!

Hello bloggers, today I have a few topics to indulge in:

First of all, on Friday night, the Ironworks hosted an evening consisting of good sets from Stray Bullets, Cool Kids Write In Blue and Silent Blackout. This event cost a mere £3 and for 3 bands and a night of good entertainment, there really is no complaining. Stray Bullets opened things up marvellously with a fantastically electric rendition of Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name Of - a song I could not resist going mental to! Cool Kids Write In Blue were in my view the weakest act, playing covers of Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias and New Found Glory aren't things that appeal to me and I was pretty bored. Silent Blackout performed consistently and you know what to expect. Unfortunately I left before the end due to feeling very dehydrated - The Ironworks was sweltering and I was dying for a glass of water.

That wasn't the only thing that made last weekend fantastic - especially from a sporting point of view. This was because we had the Harlequins v Leicester rugby union Premiership final, the England v Norway friendly, the England v West Indies cricket, the England v Barbarians rugby union match, the Crewe Alexandra v Cheltenham League 1 Play-off final, the Monaco F1 Grand Prix AND Soccer Aid 2012! At some points, it got a bit too much as we were so spoilt for choice! I managed to soak up moments of everything and was impressed with the majority - the biggest highlight has to be Nick Powell's stunning strike in the Crewe match, he was the main reason for me wanting to watch that game as there is a lot of talk of Man United being interested in signing the 18 year old attacking midfielder and that goal proved he has a lot of confidence, initiative and can perform on the big stage (the game was held at Wembley). The only disappointment was Lewis Hamilton's performance in the F1, seeing him finish 5th isn't too impressive.

The big news from my point of view today is the release of my rap group - Rat Soup's first song on line!! The track 'Legacy' has been posted on YouTube and can be viewed below. It is the first track we wrote and we are extremely proud of it. Progress with other songs, merchandise, interviews and even a music video are under way! Please tell me what you think of the track and subscribe to us on YouTube if you enjoy!

To finish off, today (Thursday 31st May) is my sister Sophie's second birthday! She's had a set of play food and a cooker to keep her happy and relatives are set to visit to ensure a good day for her and all involved.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the track!
-Andy.