Welshisms

This one made me laugh. Last night as I was being shown how to make desserts at my new job, my boss asked me to fetch the "squirty cream." i laughed and when i explained how my immature friends reacted to me calling whipped cream that, she was puzzled and didn't find it funny at all. Which made me laugh even more, you guys.

IT'S SQUIRTY CREAM

Check this out

You guys should listen out for a guy called Stephen Fretwell. I went to see him play with Cat a couple of weeks ago and was really impressed, kinda Coldplayish, mellow music. Now he's got a new song out on the radio, called Emily. Makes me think of Younks everytime it's played which is another thing going for him but he's pretty good, i think everyone reading this would enjoy his music.

Oh and Trailer Park Boys is now on over here which I think is really cool. Here are some photos I just remembered about from last months Wales v England game.

Less than 3 months till Australia!!

Dublin is awesome, what a beautiful city. The people are lovely and it is so Irish, they are very proud of their nationality and heritage and aren't afraid to show that. Also, as Dublin is such a tourist attraction, the traditions are emphasised even more. But it was great, you can't move for Guinness I swear.

They have green post boxes!!



They have Tim Hortons, I couldn't believe it!



They have Dub - Lois even said the guy painted on the wall looks like a Nazi, it must be true.



It is difficult to break into the Guinnness factory though.



Unless you sneak round the back



Then have your reward



Oh, and we saw some Irish 'Riverdance-Type' dancers as well, they were pretty cool.

My Welcome Home Party Photos!

Soccer's back, woo hoo!!

Yeah so tonight I played my second practice game since I got back. Actually these have been my first two games in nearly 18 months, so I'm a little rusty. However, these games went well, drew 2-2 and won 2-0 tonight so I'm happy. Exciting for the new season that we're unbeaten pre-season and have four or five new players who know what they're doing. Perhaps a first championship medal since I was 13ish (I think)? Nah, I won't get carried away but whilst I'm excited, I'll show off about us.

I was very proud of one of the new guys talking about my game today to my Dad, who turned up to watch. Apparently, 'the goalie is pretty mouthy, but he commands his box well and makes a difference.' I'm happy with that, I've always protected my box till the bitter end - pfft. And my mum agreed, 'You are a mouthy bugger.' Family support is critical for my ego you see, so it doesn't get out of control.

However my team will struggle for the opening league fixture on Saturday. Matty is going to Dublin and is very excited about that. Dan, when was the last time you visited your homeland?

I'll let you all know about Ireland soon, I hope. Till then, I'm gonna rest my tight hamstring and watch Pirates of The Carribbean which is on TV. Also on TV is One Tree Hill, which makes me miss Amanda. How I used to enjoy making fun of her! Oooh, a cup of tea is calling.

Later guys.

PS. Warney is still the man (cricket, duh).

I'm Welsh, didn't you know?!?

The thing I missed most about home when I was in Canada was being Welsh. What I mean by that is the passion and pride everyone from the green green grass of home has in being Welsh. It's hard to explain and describe, it can only be shown. I wish my friends from Canada could have been in Cardiff today. Today was Wales versus England in soccer. There were nearly 80,000 people in the stadium and apparently, at least that many in the streets and pubs. With me!

Today, my brother Gareth, myself and one of my best friends Catrin camped in the Walkabout pub, an Australian bar in Cardiff. We sang, we drank, we danced and this was way before the soccer started. Awesome music - Tom Jones, Stereophonics, the Welsh National Anthem, Tony Bennett, anything that got people going. And the noise was amazing. I'm talking hundreds of people cramped onto a dancefloor, all booing and slandering the English, cheering anything to do with Wales. No joking, I saw one England soccer shirt in this pub, the England fans stayed away from the city centre unless they were going into the game.

To put into perspective, England are one of the top ten soccer teams in the world. They aim to beat teams like Brazil and Germany. Wales are about 70th. We drew with Azerbaijan and lost to Austria and Poland. We are in a transitional period and have been for about 40 years I think! And for Wales to take on England requires a lot of guts and a hell of a lot of luck. We had guts, we didn't get the luck today and lost 1-0 to a deflected shot. We gave them a good game and came close.

When I see eleven guys busting their guts in vain, I feel proud to be Welsh. I felt this way last March when Wales won the 6 Nations Rugby Championship. I walked to Joes and could have cried, I just wanted to celebrate with someone. I had thousands of people to commiserate with today. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else on the planet. You guys should have been here to see it. Hockey? Nah, sport is life over here. And soccer will always be number 2 to rugby.