Bah! (Christmas is coming!)

One thing that is really starting to annoy me is Christmas. Not the festive season, but the fact that everyone seems to be celebrating it early. A house on my paper round have already put up the Christmas lights, and although the house looks really pretty covered in fibre optics and fairy lights, with santas falling down the chimney e.t.c it is ONLY NOVEMBER.
To me, ‘Christmas’ is Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The roots of the festive season are from the Christian beliefs, as Christmas is a Christian festival. We count down the days till Christmas using Advent Calendars (hence the name), and Advent is a time when Christians prepare for the coming of Christ. (At Holy Trinity, one way people are invited to do this is to sign up the Christmas figures journey, which is where Mary and Joseph figures e.t.c come to the persons house for a set time. This person then takes the figures to the next person and so on, until the last person takes them to the church for the Christmas services). Christmas is the time that Jesus was born, which is why most primary schools get the reception class to re-enact the nativity play for the millionth time, and everyone starts wearing teacloths on their head to represent the 3 wise men. At Christmas, Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, but our ‘new’ Christmases are not reflecting this anymore. People are getting so carried away with presents and lights that they are forgetting the true meaning of the festival, and the significance of it.
One major part of the new Christmas is presents. Parents, relatives and doting aunties and uncles spend loads getting their spoilt brats Christmas presents, such as expensive TVs, Hi-fis, mobiles, game boys e.t.c. and even PS2s and other expensive game consoles. To most children, Christmas is about getting presents, but the tradition of giving presents relates back to the Christian beliefs. The presents we give each other are supposed to represent God’s present to us – Jesus, his son. Most children do not know this, or fail to recognise the symbolism, which means that more and more generations are getting dragged down the lane of forgetting, and remodelling the old traditions.
The shops are already advertising Christmas sales, printing loads of Christmas catalogues, all aimed at teens and kids who want the new Robosapien or a digital dodah under the Christmas tree. The garden centres/DIY stores are busy flogging Christmas trees to every Tom Dick and Harry, by reducing them by up to 20% and the shops themselves are already full of lights/wreaths and Christmas decorations. May I remind people that it is ONLY NOVEMBER. As I was saying at the start of this nitpick, I said that one house had already put up the Christmas lights. I spotted another house with a fully decorated Christmas tree in the window. It is ONLY NOVEMBER.
In the church calendar, the Christmas season begins when we get the yellow service cards out, i.e. at the start of Advent. Advent starts at the beginning of December, so it is not Christmas yet. In the old days, the Christmas tree was put up on Christmas Eve, (that was what Christmas Eve was for) and everyone helped to decorate the tree, put up decorations and stick numerous bits of paper together to make paper chains. In our house, the tree usually goes up about 2 or 3 weeks before Christmas day. In the old days, the pressies were put under the tree on Christmas Eve, and you opened them on Christmas Day. Now, the pressies can be under the tree from when ever you put the tree up, which is fine because most trees have a lot more presents than what they used to have under them.
However, I see no reason for us to start celebrating Christmas in November, because the festive season hasn’t started yet. According to A, B-wise has been playing Christmas music at the customers since September, which is ridiculous, and already the shops and supermarkets have put up the tinsel and the ridiculous red hanging things in Sainsburys. My friend’s mum has already done all her Christmas shopping. This can’t be right. I don’t leave my Christmas shopping to the last minute, but I normally do it closer to the time. Surely the fun goes if you do it so early?

Exams, Results, Mocks e.t.c (News Update)

Ok, so I was sitting in a IT lesson, and I had nothing to do because Bobby, the teacher hadn't marked our exam papers yet. Apparently, he went out bowling with his sons for his birthday, and hasn't had time to mark our papers yet. I basically was playing games all lesson, as I had nothing else to do. I then decided to type a post out for my blog, and I had started it. I then went back to playing games, and I completely forgot about my blog entry, so when Bobby closed down everyone's pcs, I lost the entry. So, here I am typing up what I had put, although it is now in the past tense.
I have started to get my mock results back. Mocks are the reason why I haven't been posting for the last 1 and a half weeks as I have been revising **ahum yes revising** so now I am making up for it. Anyway, back to the results. I have so far got my English Paper 1, my Food, and my Maths Paper 1 results back. I have passed all of them so far, which is pleasing. Food has been the best so far, as I got an A/A* with 81%. In Maths I got 51%, giving me a B. I am pleased with this, becuase I passed my Maths Mock, (only paper 1 though) which is very amazing. English, although I passed I was a little disapointed with, as I lost lots of marks in the Reading section. I got 13 out of 27, which is crap for my standards, but thats life. The writing section was much better though, surprisingly, as this is what I am really good at. Overall, (for Paper 1) I scored a B, which is OK. I would have liked an A, but never mind. There is still Paper 2 to go though, so I may score an A for both papers, which is what I am aiming for. I will probably post more mock results when I get them, and when I get the time to post them as well. Now, I have to go Home.

Great News: Im Back

Mocks are over, and I have decided to post again.

Im Back

News Update!

Hello again. You can probably tell that I am back at school, seen as I am posting again. I do have an internet connection at home, but i don't use it very often.

Over the half term, I have been bogged down in coursework, homework, revision and general school stuff, which has been fun. Allthough I did a lot, I haven't got very much done if you know what I mean. However, I have found the CBD of Stroud, broken it down into the Core and the Frame, done my physices homework, not learnt one french oral and a whole heep of wuestions, revised a tiddly bit for bio, phys, psy, and chem, played lots of games of minesweeper (yet i still can't beat the last level) and gone bowling three times.
I have not had time to type up any blog entries, although I was planning to, I have only written two poems this half term, I ahve not completed roller coaster tycoon two yet, and to tell the truth, i am only a bit glad to be back at school. I have mocks in a week and a couple of days, I have got my exam timetable, and i really need to start revising. I have not had time to whatch a single dvd, I have listened to most of my albums, my website still ahsn't been updated, and I am running short on things to put into these really random sentance stuctures. I am currently sitting in the school libary, staring at these nice looking new pcs that are actually really horrible, as they give me eye ache, although tehy do look good. Flatscreens indeed. I really dpon't like the purple tint it gives the windows, but never mind. Thats about all for now, apart from me to remind you to keep commenting, keep checking back for more about my very interesting life, and to thank the new posters for sharing theior thoughts with those who have internet access. Thank you.

A GREAT day at School.

Please note: It may be bad for your health if you do not spot the sarcasm in the title of this post.

OK, great news, hot off the press.

Today was a crap day at school. I had two lessons of maths on the same day, and one lesson of french. The good lessons were IT and games, although i wasn't very good in games. I did manage to catch the shuttlecock with one hand though. In French, I-saw-a-mitchell (mrs sorya mitchell) was full of bad news. Not only is she not going to be here for our mocks, (she is on some exchange) she told us of the avion bug.

Apparently, My Lock went to a conference yesterday, and heard about this bug that is going round. Its a bad type of flu, taht has been going round on a national scale, and due to statistical evidence and peoples opinions e.t.c they are saying that this bug is going to hit england around the time taht we are starting to sit our GCSEs. Oh Joy. It gets better. If we are absent for the examination, our mock results will be used to influence the examiner and tell them about us. This means that our mocks may be highly useful to represent our attainment levels in the real thing. It also means we have to do really well in the mocks, in case something happens. And with only one month and a week to go till mocks . . . . . . . . .

Blue Fire :::: The Story of my Life

I just thought that I might tell you about the title of my blog, as I think it is really cool.
Observant readers, who were reading my other blog will know that it used to be called http://www.lukewarner.blogspot.com/ :::: The Blog of Me. That went out the window as soon as it became my site new blog. When I set up this blog, I wanted the address to be www dot bluefire dot blogspot dot com (I have done it like this so it doesn't create a fake address) but it was taken or didn't work, so I got this one instead. So, to beat this problem, I just named my blog Blue Fire, but the address is http://www.lwgw.blogspot.com/. My friends will know that I love blue, as it is my favourite colour. My website, both blogs, room and most of my clothes are blue, as it is a colour that suits me, and I love it.
The name Blue Fire did not come to me when I was making this blog. I made the user name 'Blue_Fire' on Kings of Chaos, an excellent online game. I have always liked this user name, as Blue Fire just goes together do nicely; it is unusual and different, contains my favourite colour and sounds really cool. So, I named my blog 'Blue Fire'. The 'Story of my life' bit came about when I was editing the template of my blog, to make it look and feel better. This blog is the story of my life, so I wanted this in the title of it. However, the 'Blue Fire' bit was already in it, so I just added the 'Story of my life' bit on the end.'Blue Fire :::: The Story of my Life' also has lots of different connotations. It could mean that Blue fire is the name of my blog, and that the blog is telling my life story, that blue fire is the story of my life, or they could just be two random phrases that I have stuck together.

Whatever reason you think my blog is called what it is, I like it, I think it is cool, and Long may it continue.

Evensong and Andrew

OK, I said about the good things that have happened, and that one of the good ones was the evensong. A noticed that I hadn't posted about it very much, in one of her comments, and I commented back that I would soon. And here is that post. The first paragraph is part of the email that I sent to Michael and Sue, telling them my thoughts of Andrew. The second paragraph contains the promised (and overdue) thoughts on the last (first - ha confusing) evensong. I said they were coming . . . . . . !

I think Andrew is a big success. When he first had his audition, my first thoughts were that he was very loud, and I think everyone else in the choir will agree with me! However, he has got a lovely voice. From the success of the last evensong, i think he is working very well with us. He knows what we are and are not doing, and he is very good at pushing in the right direction to get us to get better. He is very good at leading us, he can conduct well and he can sing, which always helps. He seems to have a very good musical background, and knows a lot about what we are singing and how to sing it. I have certainly picked up some tips! Andrew is very good at encouragement, and he can talk to us normally as well, knowing what we want to hear and how to say it. I think that he is a very good choir director, because already the congregation have started saying that our voices are carrying forward, and that they can hear what we are saying (and singing). I know that these are only first impressions e.t.c but I think he is a great guy, and a very worth replacement for Mrs D. Judging by the great evensong performance that we did, I think that my thoughts are proved right.

We sung some great pieces, our voices carried, we were on the beat, we were loud, we were powerful and the rebound was at least 5 seconds. We had 16 people to sing to, we did amazingly and I loved it. Andrew conducted well, Rebecca played well and we sounded like Holy Trinity Choir. As I said to sue in a text, "The choir is back . . . . . ! :)" and with Andrew leading us, we can do great things. Of course, I will have to get used to singing from my belly, and all that means, but things change, and life goes on. But at the moment, Life is good, and so is Holy Trinity Choir.

Highlights of my Life (aka Week)

OK, so a lot happens in a lifetime. That is why I am blogging. To save time, I am going to post the highlights of this week. These include:

• Breaking a lampshade
• Having a leaf fight
• Singing a great evensong

OK, so on some random day (can't remeber), everything is great. I have a good day at school (although I was late by a farty bit) and I really enjoy the lessons. I have fun playing a great game on the PC's and probably blog a bit here. I'm walking home, with a big smile on my face, and walk in through the door. (I didn't walk through the door itself). For some reason, I decided to kick my shoes off, probably because the laces were undone, and I was in a good mood. Mum was in the loo. I kicked one shoe off, and, just by chance, the stupid thing flew up in the air at a ridiculously stupid angle (about 75 degree's) and hit the lamp shade on the light. This then dislodged it from its hanger, and it fell to the floor. The lampshade was made of a plastic, which was trying to be a glass, so it made a smashing sound when it hit the floor. The shock then crashed the lamp shade, and it smashed into a million pieces (OK so it smashed into 5 pieces. I lied.) Mum came out of the loo, and I just burst out laughing. It was quite funny, and what is the chance of me doing that again?!?!?!?! LOL!

The next highlight was on Friday. Ambies and me had jjst come out of choir practice, and we were waiting for my mum to come along in the car, so we could be picked up. We always drop A off, although she doen't like it (Hehe). Ok, so we are just waiting on the pavement, and we start kicking leaves at each other. It was so fun, and I probably won (not being modest) but only because i have "bigger feet". I got some good shots at A, by making massive piles, and then she did the same. OH, and then, Sue and Ben walked past, and A said lets get them, so we made a big big pile each, and waited for them to walk past. I got a good pile at Sue, and most of them went onto her arse. Oh, it was so funny. She said "Whatch it, you little rat!" A disadvantage was me finding out that I had some how stepped in a big plop that some irresisponsible dog/owner had left, which was smeared all over the bottom of my right shoe. In fact, it is still there, and is probably the bad smell that is wafting round the IT room at this moment. But, I only discovered it in registartion, when I smelt it for the first time, and at Break, I only managed to wipe off some of it, as it is stuck in the grips on my shoe. never mind, it's all good. Apart from the smell.

\EDIT: Ok, Ambies has asked me to specifially mention the fact that one of my great big piles of leaves went down her back, and i won the leaf fight becuase of my big feet. I did get some good shots on Amber, mainly becuase i made a big pile of leaves first, but partly becuase I can aim and kick them (unlike some people hehe (no offence)). Oh, and I didn't mention this before becuase I didn't want to insult A, but since she said "you didn't post. . . . . ." in hercoment, i decided to anyway. And the reason why I dodn't post about the evensong was becuause I wanted to put it on a seperate post, which I know I haven't done yet. Yet more to add to my "to do list." More to come.

The Email Icon . . . .

I have changed my blog template, so this is now displayed. It is the little white evelope you see in the comments section. By clicking on it, it allows you email taht post to someone. Very useful for Make Poverty History . . . . .

Badminton is my cup of tea (Sport Thoughts).

I spent 2 solid hours on Tuesday playing badminton, which was fun, if not a little tiring. This happened because I had a PE lesson before lunch, so I carried on playing through lunch after period 4 had finished.
I like badminton because it is a sport I can do; it’s pretty simple and doesn’t require much thinking. Of course, you get serves and areas and scoring, all of which have different rules and things to do and remember, but that is what makes it part of the game. I think that this is very annoying to me, as I just play for fun, to relax and enjoy hitting the shuttlecock over the net to the other person, and they hitting it back to me, so that the cycle can start again.
Badminton isn’t very tactical, unlike other sports, and even someone like me who is not a sporty person, can play, as all you have to do is to hit the shuttlecock over the net. Of course you get people who hit the damn thing all over the place, which takes the fun out of playing for me, but then some people are more competitive than others.
All though I am a creative person at heart – I love writing, (you should have guessed that by now) particularly stories and poems – I don’t see myself as sporty. This may be because I just don’t play sports – for many reasons – or just because it’s just not my cup of tea.

(Oh, this reminds me of a joke I made up some time ago, and I haven’t told anyone yet, so I am going to sidetrack at a tangent to tell the internet now. It goes like this:

Person A: Do you like hot chocolate?
Person B: It’s not my cup of tea.
Person A: What is then?
Person B: A cup of coffee.

Not exactly a really funny joke, but I did make it up, and I am really proud of it. Lol!)

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, sports and badminton.

In games lessons, I like to play hockey, (this may be passed down through my father’s jeans, as he played hockey too (woops sorry lol, I meant genes!) as it is so much fun. Although it involves all sorts of tactics (i.e. what to do with the ball) you don’t get hurt very much (if your careful). Sport is fun, as it allows you to relax and unwind, while being competitive with your mates, but it is only fun if you don’t get hurt in any way. Why do people like to play violent sports, like rugby? I suppose it allows them to let out their anger and violence, or else, thinking like the other pupils in y11, it allows them to hurt other people and take them out.
I despise, detest, loathe and hate rugby, all with a passion:

(Mathematical formula = Despise, detest, loathe, hate(rugby with a passion) = LWGW.

Work that out!) Yet I still have to play it. Rugby is so rough and violent. Do people play rugby to deliberately get hurt, or is because they want to show the world that they are really hard and play a mans sport?

Make Poverty History

I really think that this is such a great cause. Everyone should live like we do, but millions aren't. This isn't fair. To help change this, follow these links, and do what it says.

www.makepovertyhistory.com
This is the website where you can get all the information, and help the campaign.

http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/getinvolved/index.shtml
This is the opage you need to get involved. The links below are all found on this page, and are really important. Naviagte from this page or the links below.

http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/whiteband/
Get a white band. This shows that you care about the people who are dying in poverty, and that you support the campaign. It also shows the government that we want them to do more about the problem.
http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/mph/campaign.do?code=vtj
Vote for trade justice, by filling in the details, and clicking on the button. By ticking the box, you get updates on how the campaing is doing, straight to your inbox.

www.makepovertyhistory.org/mph/userprofile/keepintouch.do
Keep in touch by suppling your email address. This allows the etam to ask you do do more stuff to help out.

http://www.stopaidscampaign.org.uk/Blairometer.asp Stop aids campain. (Linked from MPH) Email your MP and tell him/her you care. They have the power to change this. I emailed Daid Drew from this Website, and got a smart letter back from the House of Commons. This really is such a good cause.

You can also put the MPH banner on your website, like I have done on every site that is mine (this blog, other blog, and site). A good way of getting people to notice is to send an email to all your contacts telling people of this cause. . . .

What are you waiting for? Help MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY!

Things that Make me Laugh - Part 2

Ok, so the above post was Things that make me laugh – Part 1. This is part 2. On this post, it’s conversations and random things that have happened that make me laugh. I am posting this because
a) A said she wasn’t mentioned on Part 1.
b) Nat said I was updating regularly, or something to that affect, so I don’t want to break this.

A falling into a bog. This was funny, (no offence) even if after it happened.

This happened when I walking home from choir with my friend, and there were some cows in the field. A random conversation, that went something like this:
“Is that a bull over there?”
“I don’t know, I think it looks more like a cow.”
“It’s got a cock.” (Said as if this ends all the problems in the world).
This was so random, and you just had to be there to make it funny.

A getting a random text message. We were taking her home in the landy, and she got a text message from her dad. She read it out and it was so random. It said, “Where is the umbrella?” It was a FIYT (funny if you’re there) moments.

This happened ages ago, but it is funny. Ok, picture the scene. There is a field, that it is on a hill, and it is the middle of winter. There is snow on the ground, perhaps 2 inches thick. At the bottom of the hill, there is a small ditch that runs along the bottom of the field, parallel to the road. Mum takes the sledge up of the to of the field. She climbs on the sledge, starts to go down the hill with the snow falling her, and when she gets to the bottom of the field, she forgets to stop and disappears right into the ditch! It was so funny. FIYT.

This is another one that concerns mum. We were walking in Robinswood Hill with my aunty. We got completely lost, and nearly fell off a cliff, because the path just disappeared. This involved walking down a steep hill that had trees on it. yum came down over the top of the hill, lost her balance and grabbed a tree to stop her falling. Her momentum carried around in a swinging motion (all while standing up). My aunty just burst out laughing. Mum started saying “It’s not funny” lots and lots of times, which made my aunt laugh loads more. FIYT.

Things That Make me Laugh [Part 1]

Ok, here are some quotes and phrases that I have collected in my red notebook that make me laugh. The initials are there so that the person is not embarrassed. I have also included a small explanation to each one, to explain how it came about. These are not in order of occurrence, because I have written them down in my mind or my notebook at random times and not necessarily when the quote occurred. I am also going to keep adding more, as and when the occur, and as and when I remember to post them, so keep checking this post!

1. "Get rid of the problem before it becomes a problem." [AL] (This was in an RE lesson. Al is quite mad!)
2. "It is wrong to kill. If you do, we'll kill you." [JCH] (This was in the same RE lesson, and although this is not funny, I think it is quite good. It is like "giving the death penalty to attempted suicides for a punishment").
3. "I am so clever, I should be the next Frankenstine." [LB]. (This was a popular misconception! (a slip up of the tongue)).
4. "Get out of my house". [RG] (This just makes me laugh!).
5. "Some people are proud of their onions." [JAW] (This was JW being herself really. Quite barmy!)
6. "Ben has a bra called Marcus." [ME!] (This was quite clever actually. I had posted on my other blog the sentence "Ben has a bro called Marcus". I then did the spell check. Throughout that post, I had typed "taht" for "that". I was just clicking on change all the way thorugh, as it was automatically changing the wrong word to the right word, and of course it picked up that bro was not defined. The spell checker, through me, then changed it to bra. LOl!)
7. "Frustum." [ASH] (This is a new word that I learnt in maths. It is a really cool word. Say it to yourself. It means the top half of a cone that has been cut away from the main cone.)
8. "You couldn't hang yourself with a piece of string if your life depended on it."[Me!] (It worked in my head. Ben was trying to strangle himself with a piece of string, and then he started to hang himslef. Those of you who know Ben would know that he wouldn't be able to hang himself with a piece of string, so this is why I said it).
9. "I played poosticks with Ben." [Me!] (Think about it!)
10. "Dads going to come home ranting and shaving." [JAW] (This was so funny. The correct saying is ranting and raving).
11. "I'm just going to the loobog." [JAW] (This was quite funny too. My mother (oops) is so funny sometimes!).
12. "Wouldn't it be funny if there was a budgie called Carrot?" [ALP] (She posted this in one of her comments).
13. "Wouldn't it be funny if there was a Parrot called Carrot?" [Me!] (My variation of A's comment).
14. "Wouldn't it be funny if there was a carrot called Carrot?" [Me!] (What I just typed for the above. Oh dear).

Smoking

Today, there are more than 1.1 billion smokers in the world, which is about 17% of the total world population. Over 6000 billion cigarettes are smoked each year. Why?

I cannot understand why people smoke. To me, it doesn’t achieve anything. I asked one of my friend’s friends why he smoked, and he said, “it gives me a good feeling.” Well, if he wants to get a good feeling out of killing himself, then that’s his problem.
I mean, there are plenty of other ways of getting a goods feeling in your life, and no, I wasn’t thinking of anything sexual. For me, when I’m listening to my music on my Walkman, (right now I’m listening to Lord of the Rings!) talking to my friends, (hello amber!) or smiling I get a good feeling. I am one of those people that have a really good outlook on life. When the sun is shining, and the sky is blue, then I smile. When I am running down a hill, with the wind blowing on my skin, I get a good feeling. Life is all good in my opinion, and I can’t see why people have to ruin it by smoking. Not only are they wasting their own life, but they are harming others peoples life as well. To me, this is a very selfish thing to do, because in my opinion, everyone has the right to live.
Do they know that they are damaging themselves and everyone else around them? I can understand peer pressure and everything, and that nicotine is addictive, and once you have one, you have to have another. But really, why? I mean, take a look at the facts a minute (taken straight from my GCSE RE text book, and “The Fag-Mag”, a free leaflet I was given by my doctor.):

• Smoking is highly dangerous.
• There are over 4000 harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke. These include aluminium, copper, lead, mercury and zinc, as well as ammonia, carbon monoxide, and nicotine. (Nicotine stimulates the body’s nervous system but can also cause blood vessels to become narrower, and the heart to beat faster and work harder. Nicotine takes 8 seconds to reach the brain, and is very addictive).
• Nicotine and carbon monoxide cause: heart attacks, strokes, coronary heart disease, angina, poor circulation, brain haemorrhages and heart failure.
  Smoking can also lead to: mouth cancers, impaired vision, infertility, throat cancer, lung cancer, gangrene, and a diseased heart.
• Smoking gives you bad breath, makes you smell and wastes your money.
• It is estimated that smoking causes 80% of lung cancer deaths, 80% of those who die from bronchitis and emphysema and 17% of all deaths from heart disease.
• Because of smoking, there are 31,000 deaths from lung cancer, and 13,000 deaths from cancers of the bladder, larynx, kidney and stomach each year!
• Every year, smoking costs the NSH more than £400,000,000. (Four hundred million pounds just to put that in context).
• More than 17,000 children aged less than 5 are admitted to hospital each year because of the affects of passive smoking. (Passive smoking is when you breathe in someone else’s smoke).
• This year, 3 million deaths will occur because of smoking.
• For every 6 smokers, 1 will die of heart disease or a stroke. For every 5 smokers, 1 will suffer from emphysema. For every 4 smokers, 1 will die of lung cancer. For every 2 smokers, 1 will die from a smoking related disease.
• Apparently, for every cigarette you smoke, you loose 5 minutes if your life.
• If you are a girl, smoke and take a contraceptive pill, you are 10 times more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke.
• A tree has to be cut down once a fortnight to cure tobacco for one average smoker. In the UK, that’s about 390 million trees each year.

Around 120,000 people die each year in the UK because of tobacco. That’s about 330 a day. This is the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing each day, and everyone on board dying.

If a jumbo jet did crash everyday, there would be a public outcry, the planes would get investigated, and would probably get taken down an put in a shed to rust happily into oblivion. So why doesn’t this happen with fags? Because the government gets taxed, that’s why. It is estimated that £7.4billion of tax was paid on cigarettes to the government in the UK during 2001 – 2002. This is about 2% of the government’s total revenue.
Not only does smoking give the government money that it shouldn’t get, it makes the cigarette makers rich, (in the last financial year, on major tobacco company made £463 million pounds of profit), it also wastes your money. 10 cigarettes a day is approximately worth 3 tickets to the cinema every week, new trainers or computer game every month, a new TV or sound system every 6 months, or a skiing holiday or a mountain bike every year. So why waste you money on smoking? What does it achieve, apart from half killing you, wasting your money, polluting the air around you and helping to effectively murder others around you?

If you are a smoker, then please
a) Consider the above facts, read then through and think about you, your health, and the health of others and what you are helping to do.
b) Post and tell me why you smoke, what is so good about it and whether you would like to try and quit.

If you are not a smoker, then please post your comments to me on this topic, as I would like to know your thoughts and opinions on this matter.

Bogstick / Bog Stick / Bog stick

Which is it? Coment below . . . . . .

Play this game!

http://www.miniclip.com/motherload.htm

Do it now!!!!!!!!

It socks my rocks off!

(I haven't got it wrong, I have changed A's saying to relate it to the game!)

Play it to find out!

Running down hills!

I went for a walk on Sunday with A. We walked all over the place, but mainly from Stroud to Selsley. We had to take a detour because there were some cows in the way of the stile, which was fun. We went through about 3 different fields just to get back onto the path again. The cows were all sitting down, and were sitting in a little group around the stile. This probably sound silly, but we didn't want to risk us.
It was quite funny actually, because although the sun wasn't out - it was one of those not cloudy not bright days - we still managed to laugh and enjoy ourselves. Walking is so great because we just walk, and if see a path and we don't know where it goes, we just explore it, We can also talk. It's great. Oh, and another thing to do while on a walk is to find a hill, and run down it, right to the bottom. It's so fun. Do it. Now. (But finish reading this blog first). Ok. Your done. Now run down a hill!

Bogsticks

One of A's more funnier sayings is "bless you with a bog stick."
Apparently her friend went to say bless you with a big stick (a saying from A's other friend Dude) which A uses regularly, but actually said bless you with a bog stick. This is so random it makes me laugh. (A would say it makes me giggle).
If anyone know what a bog stick is, or has a definition of a bogstick that they are willing to lend me, please leave me a comment and tell me, as I would love to know your thoughts on what a bogstick is, and what you think of a) the object and b) the saying.
Don't forget:

"Bless you with a bog stick."

----------------------------------------

What makes this even more funny for me (and A) is that this saying can be particularly linked to me and A, because of what happened on one of our walks. [I am considering putting this on another post, but as it ties in with the above, I'll keep writing it here. You can always imagine it as a new post anyway. (That is what the dotted lines are for; they separate one idea from the next - "the start of a new post")].
We were on one of our walks, going somewhere or other and we had walked up a steep hill and were looking for somewhere to eat lunch. In a field, there were a clump of trees, which looked like a good place to eat lunch, so we went down to them. This involved walking down a very steep hill. When we got to the bottom, we thought it looked like a nice place, to sit and eat lunch, but it was actually a bog. To cut a long story short, instead of going back round the bog, I decided we should go through it. I did this, by jumping to bits of grass that looked solid enough for me to stand on, and I got across. A went to go, but fell down into the bog. The mud went right up to her knee, and her shoe was covered in it.
So when I say "bless you with a bog stick", she replies "don't talk to me about bogs". lol!

Changes

I have just updated this blog's settings so that the title of my blog is now

"Blue Fire :::: The Story of My Life"

Pretty cool I think. And so many connotations as well.

I have also changed the font of my blog, which is a much better font and looks much better.

Go Tahoma!

A post a day keeps the doctor away (yeah right)

As this is my new blog, I suppose I had better try and post on it.
I have had a thought where I would like to make at least one post a week on my new blog. This may be just be one single one thing that happened to me, a funny moment, a thought or a dream, or alternatively (and this is much more likely,) I will compose a great big post that will be a snapshot of my life through the last week in general. I will not be able to include everything that has happened in my life like other people can, mainly for the reason that I a) do not have broadband at home (yet) and b) I am not online 24/7.
I have seen some blogs where they are posted on every single day, and the person records a step-by-step guide to everything that went on in their life that day, but I physically can’t do that, so this will have to do. I have so many thoughts, dreams, feelings, ideas, experiences and opinions it seems impossible to share everything with the Internet, and indeed I do not plan to. But at least I have posted something this week.

I love my mobile!

Oh my god, I love my phone. I have just used the hands free kit for the first time, which I found in the bottom of the box. It's great. It plugs into the top of my phone, (getting in the way of the camera!) and then I clip the cable onto my t-shirt and put the one, singular speaker into my ear. The microphone that it is built into the cable is in exactly the right place when it hangs off my shirt. I did a voice record and it is so much better because the mic is right underneath my mouth and so not only is the sound quality so much louder but it is also much better. This is a problem because the mic in my phone is pretty rubbish unless you are talking into it. But it has a camera, can do video, which I used at greenbelt, can do voice records, has access to the net (which cost a bomb) where I can download games, ringtones and anything else! It also has Bluetooth, which I used at the pub with flick, although it didn't work to well. I had hoped my phone was going to be blue and silver but it is black and silver, but never mind. It was £110 which everyone says is a lot, but I love my phone and I think everyone else does as well. Definitely a good bargain.

2nd extract from my diary

I have just finished reading The Supernaturalist, by Eoin Colfer for the fourth time. I couldn't remember how good it is, although it did seem to be over quite a bit. I had a good conversation with dad last night, and I related my thoughts to Artemis Fowl quite a lot. It is a good read, and he is a genius. I suppose this is leading to the fact that I want to get broadband and trawl the Internet and turn into a genius by downloading pages and pages of information. This is a good dream to dwell on, as I could find out lots of information, very quickly. Whether it is reliable and correct is another matter. Dad said that it won't be. Oh well. But, getting broadband is expensive. I am not even sure if they do it in this area. I want it for a number of reasons, but at the moment, when I am speaking deep down from my heart, and being sensible, I know that dad can't pay for it at the moment, and I don't really want to either. I have considered getting a new job at the Albert, but as it has just suffered a fire, I can't.
Paper rounds are starting to get boring, and I can easily see why woody has given his up. A couple of days ago, mum did my whole round for me, because her papers hadn't come yet. It was luxury, the feeling was brilliant, because I don't need to get up and go out. Instead I just stayed in the house where I was, and relaxed. But I do need the money. I can't wait for the time when it is paid into my bank. It used to be, but then Shavda took over and it all changed. When it gets paid into the bank, it will be much easier.

Diary Extracts

This is an extract from my diary, which is saved on my home computer. I thought that as this is my new diary (!) I should publish it here! I think that it is from ages ago, but still, it offers an insight into my life, which is another reason why I am posting!

I have just finished reading the Artemis Fowl books again. I haven't got the 4th book so far, although I have read the first couple of chapters, which I did in Otakars in Cheltenham, while we were waiting for the bus. It seems to be quite good, so I will probably get it soon. I am just waiting for it to come out in soft back, and in a cover design that suits the previous series, as it sticks out "like a prick at a wedding" (quote from Allen). On the subject of books, I have read the 6th hp book, and find it to be disappointing to say the least. Unsatisfactory is also a word I have used to describe it to numerous people. I hope the last book is going to be better, although it probably won't be. I think that the 4th and 5th books are the best, although I haven't read the order for a long time now.
I have also been buying a lot of new music for my life. I have now got the Scissor Sisters album - which I thought was awful when I first listened to it, but now I have listened to it a lot more I think that it is great, and there are some great tracks on it. Filthy/Gorgeous and Laura spring to mind. I have also got The Rasmus Dead Letters album, which seems quite good, although it is quite short compared to others, such as Green Day's American Idiot, which is brill.
I have also got Shania Twain's Greatest Hits album, which is brilliant, because it combines Come On Over, Up, and the Woman in Me, which I haven't got. I love it. Linkin Park has also found its way into my new collection, and apart from the screaming I quite like it. I got it in HMV and it was in the metal section. How appropriate!
Apart from Su Doku in the Western daily press, I have not been doing much over the holidays so far. Yes, coursework is there regrettably, and is being done slowly, but Su Doku seemed to be an addiction about 3 or 4 days ago. Mum is still continuing to buy me the paper everyday, 1) so I can get the next Su Doku, and 2) so I can get the answers to yesterday's puzzles - It is not just Su Doku they put on the puzzle page!
I have just brought the new Argos catalogue home. Well, actually, I brought 2 home, just in case. The new big one. Very heavy, but probably worth it. I have already browsed through it, and it seems to be quite useful. I will probably waste about £50 through it, buying useless junk or such.
On the subject of useless junk, mums complaining has finally got dad focused on the rubbish in this house, and he is considering throwing out an old tape player. Shock horror! I bet he won't though. I suggested the old idea of having a big household clean and throwing out some crap, but mum and dad didn't exactly jump at the chance to do it. Oh well. I can just look forward to the day when I get my own house and I can let into what I want and I will know exactly what is in my house and where it is. Everything will be organised and have it's own place. I have found this, as boy as I am, I do like things to be in a reasonably state, although I only tidy things up when I can be bothered or when there is nothing else to do.

An explanation or two.

Having posted this announcement:

"I have two blogs to do two different things. This blog, www.lwgw.blogpsot.com, will be used to tell my life story. It will also act as my diary, and you, the lucky readers will be able to find out what goes on in my life.
My other blog, www.lukewarner.blogspot.com will be used for posting news about my website www.lukewarner.tk. So, anything that I plan to do, updates, site news, changes, tweaks and stuff about www.lukewarner.tk will be posted on this blog. The link from my website that says "Site News" will link to www.lukewarner.blogspot.com as this is where all my site news is.
The website address for this blog is www.lwgw.blogspot.com but the title of it, (i.e. the text at the top of the page, and probably the title bar in your browser) will read "Blue Fire" (or "blue fire" depending on what I want to call my blog). Now, I did try to get www.bluefire.blogspot.com but some prat had already got it, so I couldn't. I tried multiple different addresses, but these were all taken as well, so I had to settle for something else, which I chose to be www.lwgw.blogspot.com. If you think about it, it does make sense. www.lwgw.blogspot.com is my blog, my life story and my diary. (In case you didn't know, lwgw are my initials). www.lukewarner.blogpsot.com will now be the blog for site news about www.lukewarner.tk. The names are the same for both my website and the site news blog, so it figures.

Ok, here is a quick reminder in case you are a bit confuddled by the above muddle.

This blog, www.lukewarner.blogpsot.com will now only be used to post site news about www.lukewarner.tk my website.
www.lwgw.blogpsot.com will be used as my online diary, where I will post my feelings, thoughts, experiences, opinions and everything else that goes on in my life. (It becomes my blog!) I am not saying I will post everyday, because I know that I won't for many reasons (not just because I might forget but because I actually physically can't), but I will try to post regularly.

Ok, that's about it. Oh, hang on, just one last thing about comments. If you are reading this, please leave some comments on my blog (do this by clicking on comments at the bottom of this post) and talk to me so that I know that people are reading this. Comment on what I have said, who you are, what you think e.t.c I can then comment back to you e.t.c. Thank you."

on www.lukewarner.blogspot.com, I thought I might just post it here, so everything makes sense to everybody. OK, so now we are all clear, I can start posting about my amazing life, and everything, which I am sure you want to hear about. **Editors note: There is absolutely no sarcasm in the last sentence. And there is no sarcasm in this sentence either. **

The First Post

Welcome to my new blog. As you can see by my profile, I already have one blog. If you can't see it, visit it here. Please do leave comments to tell me that you have been here, or that you are enjoying reading my blog (if you are reading it) e.t.c e.t.c. I will try to comment back, either by posting or by commenting. Thank you.

Testing Testing

This is a test post.

Edit:

Ok so now that I know that my posts are displayed (always good to check you see) I can now officially welcome you to my new blog: Blue Fire. Yes, I know that this blog addy is www.lwgw.blogspot.com but bluefire was taken so I got the addy then changed the blog name. Quite clever eh? Anyway, welcome to my new blog!