Baby O's first birthday !!!
I can't believe it. It was a year ago that my wonderful princess was born. Time flies, eh?
So much has happened since then. She's had stomach bugs, eczema, banged her head, bitten a girl at day care, gone on holiday, the list goes on and on.
But one thing doesn't change. Her smile always melts my heart. :)
Ireland was told by FAI officials shortly after Saturday's 2-2 draw in Slovakia that his maternal grandmother, with whom he was particularly close, had died. He was still under that impression when he flew back to Manchester the next morning.
It was not until he arrived back home in Cheshire that Ireland discovered it was in fact his paternal grandmother who had passed away.
In the meantime, the FAI issued a statement which led to the wrong grandmother being named as deceased in the first editions of some newspapers.
"When the game in Bratislava ended our manager Stephen Staunton took me outside the dressing room into the corridor, along with the Ireland team doctor.
He told me that they had taken a call from my girlfriend, Jessica, and she said my grandmother had died.
I was deeply shocked because I believed it was my maternal grandmother who had brought me up from when I was five.
The manager went back into the dressing room to get my phone and when I got it I immediately rang my girlfriend to get more details.
My girlfriend was distraught and explained that she had just suffered a miscarriage.
Jessica said she was very lonely and wanted me to come home. She said she thought they might let me home quicker if they thought my grandmother had died.
When I finished the call I told the manager and doctor that my grandmother had died and because we were very close I wanted to go home immediately.
The manager said that was no problem and he would get the FAI to sort it out.
The FAI hired a private jet to get me home and I flew out of Bratislava the following morning. Before I left I told the FAI media officer that the name of my grandmother was Patricia Tallon.
Early on Monday morning I got a phone call from Stephen Staunton telling me that the FAI had discovered my grandmother in Cork was not dead.
He wanted to know what was going on and I told him that there had been a mistake and it had been my father's mother. I told him her name was Brenda Kitchener, that she lived in London.
Jessica and I were still very upset over the miscarriage so we flew home to Ireland for a few days.
On Thursday, I got a phone call from Manchester City stating that the FAI had discovered that my grandmother, Brenda Kitchener, was also alive.
I decided at that stage that I must tell truth and admit I had told lies. "
1. Anitbiotics - Penicillin. Take 2 tablets 4 times a day. Must be taken on an empty stomach, or at least one hour before eating
2. Painkillers - Aspirin and Paracetamol. Two tablets every 6 hours. Must eat before taking these, as Aspirin on an empty stomach can lead to stomach ulcers.
3. Lozenges - To keep throat lubricated, and treat the worst sore throat I've had in my life.
4. Water - Good old H20. As I'm not eating properly I need to make sure I'm not dehydrated. I've been told to drink SO MUCH water, that my piss should be clear, not dark.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm suffering from a throat infection. The pain from my sore throat was so severe that I had to see the out of hours doctor on Sunday morning.
I've been told to rest for 7-10 days. And take drugs. Loads of drugs.
Nigeria won the U-17 World Cup yesterday in South Korea for the third time. A new generation of world beaters.
Watch out, the NIGERIANS ARE COMING !!!
Following the murder of Rhys Jones in Liverpool, politicians have gone into 'soul searching' mode, and everyone has come up with their own solutions to the perceived epidemic of gun and knife crime in the UK. And as usual, one of the usual suspects is in everyone's firing line, video games.
Last week, opposition leader, David Cameron decided that it was time to clamp down on video games. Some excerpts from his speech are below:
"We are never going to deal with crime unless we look at the broader context and say, 'Yes, tough laws, strong action on the police, but also action to strengthen our society'.
"And that includes, I think, video games and things like that where we do need to think of the context in which people are growing up."
Then today, the Prime Minister himself has decided to jump on the bandwagon. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Brown said he was "aware of growing concern about the effect of screen violence on youngsters", adding that he wants to draw up new legislation for the promotion and sale of video games.
"Parents are concerned about whether children are exposed to harmful violence and sexual imagery in games and on the internet."
Ok, whenever I hear these arguments, it really ticks me off. And one thing is blindingly obvious. Neither David Cameron or Gordon Brown have played a video game in their lives. I don't blame them. My generation grew up playing games, and most of us are now in our thirties now at most. Our so called leaders are of a generation that grew up thinking that video games are for children.
Well, one thing needs to be said. While we grew up, video games grew up with us. I remember a long time ago playing 'Midnight Resistance' on the Commodore 64 all those years ago. You ran around shooting people with a gun. It was a classic shoot-em-up, like many others at the time like Super Contra. This was the age of innocence, when you shot people in the game, they just turned to dust.
Then in 1992, along came Mortal Kombat. Unlike it's rival at the time, Streetfighter 2, Mortal Kombat brought something to video games that changed the entire industry. Blood and wanton violence. When you beat people up, blood splashed everywhere, and after winning you could execute a 'finishing move' like tearing their heart out of their chest, or chopping of their heads. I might be wrong, but for me, that was when video games grew up.
So today, violence, foul language and sometimes, sex are commonplace in video games. And politicians, who remember the age of innocence have decided that enough is enough, and it's time to clean things up.
My argument is that what is needed is not new legislation, or censorship, but EDUCATION. Let's look at one of the games that comes up whenever anyone wants to talk about how video games are poisoning the minds of the youth, Grand Theft Auto. In the most recent release of this game, you can among other things, kill policemen, have sex with prostitutes and then kill them afterwards to get your money back. You steal cars to get around. It's violent, and I agree, kids should never play such things. But let's look at the game cases.
I've included the covers of both the UK and US versions of the games. Now, look at the bottom left hand corners.
UK - (18) The game is rated 18
US - (M) Mature 17+
Just like movies, video games have been self regulating for years. In theory, you cannot buy this game in the UK if you're under 18. And to be honest, most of the time that works, most retailers won't sell a game to you if you're under the limit. However, there is one problem that is often overlooked. Parents.
I cannot count the number of times I've seen parents buy games for their kids that are completely inappropriate. And they have the same problem both David Cameron and Gordon Brown have, they have never played video games before, and as far as they are concerned, it's 'kids stuff' and there can't possibly be anything in the video game that can corrupt the minds of their young ones.
So once again, I put it to you that the solution to this problem is EDUCATION, not of the kids, but of the parents. Just like the Internet, parents need to take an interest in what their children are doing, and make sure that their children do not view or use material that is inappropriate.
There is most definitely no need for new legislation, all that is needed is to enforce what we already have in place. Make sure parents know that just like they wouldn't knowingly let their children watch a porn flick, they have to knowingly keep their children away from inappropriate video games for their age.
The government can do nothing about it. It is in the hands of parents.
Marrying a woman with the same name as your mother may seem like a romantic idea. However, the following activities will keep you on your toes:
One simple lapse of concentration could give your mother several sleepless nights after reading a (romantic) email that was intended for your wife. Or a quick text to your mum could leave your wife wondering why she married a mummy's boy.
My only consolation is that my dad and I are also namesakes, so I'm guessing my wife is being kept on her toes as well.
