here are three images from the british museum - three things that i liked

this one is one of the benin bronzes from 16th century africa (stolen by the british naturally) i love the detail on these guys and they would have been set on the buildings in benin city

this is a shield found in the river thames and presumably celtic - much earlier and for my money much more beautiful than anything the romans left here

finally this statue of aphrodite - in the room just outside the parthenon collection (more stolen treasures from greece) - its aphrodite (or venus if you are roman)surprised whilst bathing

all very different which do you prefer?

so mclaren has gone.. jimmy mack when are you coming back..err never i expect so long and thanks for all the dross, just wish he'd take lumphard and his ilk with him. anyway that's enough football its not what i want to talk about today

what i want to get off my chest is my frustration with some people. ok, so yesterday im out all day but as i leave work to head south for (v disappointing terracotta warriors..) i see the muppeteer and say 'ello', i get a weak smile and hello back. no email later, but there is one today apologising for the lack of contact and putting it down to being busy and stressed and ill and the like. well ok, work can get on top of any of us but when she was feeling crap and i was really busy i made time. i guess that means i care and maybe she don't - reality check sunshine - deal with it. today she said she'd pop over, she didn't, so before i left i popped over to hers. but hey, she'd gone already - no 'bye' or 'sorry not to make it'.. there i was sitting around waiting for godot or whatever. so now im home i have gone down to the armoury with the big set of keys, opened the store and have taken out my plate and mail and will wear this for the time being. i am now armoured against the worst the female kind can throw at me. this might all change if she pops over tomorrow but im not arranging my day around it like i did today.. she knows where i am (where i live even) from now on she makes the running.

as for She well, i am taking antlady's advice on that.. She (not the very lovely antlady i hasten to add) is having problems with her bloke and i perhaps she is finding out that it isn't always easy to spend time with old flames and not expect your current lover to get upset/jealous/possessive. whether she will ever acknowledge this to me or accept that i had to stop seeing her when j asked me to is quite another matter

so there you have it - women are trouble and best left alone - but i've known that since i kissed amanda in the playground aged about 8, im not about to change the habits of a lifetime!