scottsdad

TLC. The basic premise is about Americans marrying foreigners. Middle aged, overweight Americans marrying slim, attractive foreigners half their age and telling anyone who'll listen that it isn't for the green card/money.

Anybody been watching 90 day fiance? Mrs Scottsdad was watching it but it is weirdly compelling. Must admit it has hooked me a wee bit. The guy Caesar, a middle aged, slightly chubby, flat broke American man has been "in a relationship" for 5 years with a blonde half his age from the Ukraine. They have never actually met (he is clearly being catfished). He sends her every penny he has. He wanted her to come to the US to meet him, but she said Mexico. So he booked a holiday in Cancun (she is dropping heavy, heavy hints that she won't actually meet him there). Caesar has brought along his engagement ring...and boxes and boxes of edible underwear. Hopefully tonight we'll see if she arrives.

Jupiter's Cock! Scrolling for something to have on while I work from home, and found all the Spartacus series. What a show this is. Aside from all the plus points (violence, gore, crazy storylines, nudity) you get John Hannah as a Scottish Roman, and (my ultimate fantasy woman) Lucy Lawless in the scud. That, and the language used in it is so stilted and odd, it is weirdly compelling.

I loved the first two thirds of Darkness, until it turned in to a Wrath of Khan parody.

It could be, but I always got the impression that she was of an older generation (say, at least a decade older than the boys).

"Today I celebrate my forty-fifth birthday" OK, so her nephews are just a couple of years younger than her, then?

Star Trek Nemesis With the arrival of the new Picard series soon, I thought I should get back to grips with the latest point of time in the Star Trek universe, which is this. And this is a steaming wreck of shite from start to finish. Tom Hardy plays a clone of Picard who has taken over the Romulan Empire, and needs Picard's blood to live. So to lure Picard he "found" a prototype version of Data and scattered it's parts round a random planet. Some stuff happened in the middle (I think Hardy is trying to invade the Federation, too) but to be honest my attention always wanders in this movie. In the end there is a Picard v clone fight. Data comes along and saves Picard, sacrificing himself. So we are left with no Data. There is a prototype B-4 who has his memories (is it Data or B-4 we saw in the Picard trailer? That is the question). For a decade this movie sat happily at rock bottom of my list of Star Trek Movies, even below The Motion Picture. It is now in a scrap with into Darkness and Beyond for the title of word Star Trek Movie. 2/10.

At my brother's wedding, my nephew fell in to the hotel swimming pool - whilst wearing his (hired) kilt.

Been on an Alistair MacLean binge from when he was at his peak (late 50s/early 60s). The last one was a bit iffy though and I suspect it's on the downhill from here. Apparently his drinking caught up with him in the 70s and 80s and his writing became dross.

On the "back to work" front, I had my snip on a Saturday and was back at my (desk) job on the Monday. I can sit behind a desk as easily as at home. Back in 1999 though I had a cyst on my right epididymis (the tube off the baw). I had it removed under general anesthetic. I was in hospital from 9 till 3 on a Friday. My baw swelled to double its size and was rock hard. On the Monday I went back to work as a door to door salesman and it wasn't all that bad. No stories of bloody clothes or anything I'm afraid.

Ah yes, my in-laws. My wife's parents are divorced and it was acrimonious. Her mum didn't come to our wedding because her dad was coming. Her step-mum was there but didn't say a word to anyone, as she had fallen out with my wife's sister a decade or so before, and insisted that she and my new father-in-law go home immediately after the ceremony. There is always one, but the upshot for my wife was that her dad walked her down the aisle, which was the main thing for her. This all carried on to our children's naming ceremonies. Childish behaviour from people in their fifties.

My own tale: In 2004 my then fiancee and I lived in Wales. We didn't have a date or a place or anything planned at all. We'd been engaged for about a year. Anyway, in November we were talking about Christmas. We planned to come to Scotland for the week between Christmas and New Year - the reason being, nothing happens in that week. The most boring week of the year. On the spur of the moment I said, why don't we just get married while we're up there? So we got it all organised in the space of 5 weeks. The registry office was available and didn't cost too much. My mum was friends with the woman who owned a nice hotel, so we got the catering and a night in the honeymoon suite sorted. My daughter and niece were bridesmaids, and we bought nice Chinese-style silk dresses for them online. My brother couldn't make the wedding - the only real downside - but my sister stepped in as my Best Woman. We hired a limo which picked us up, along with the bridesmaids and my nephews. We invited folks and their kids The wedding itself was good, but strangely I can't remember all that much about the ceremony. Then we went to the hotel for a dinner and speeches. We timed the day for ourselves - the wedding was at 2 pm, the reception ran from 3 till 6, and then my wife and I went to the Playhouse in Edinburgh to watch a show. We didn't want one of those wedding receptions that turned in to a long drinking session (many folk went from the reception in to town and carried on in to the wee hours without us). We were back at the hotel for about half past midnight. It was great. Some folk say marriage is just a piece of paper but it isn't that for me. I remember seeing my new wife sleeping and feeling more love for her than I ever had before. Somehow things just felt right, like things had fallen in to place.

Just watched Episode 6 "Cilla Black". least action of all the episodes - now starting to build towards a big finale, I feel.

I didn't know this. You have just made my day.

No - Rosehall in Polmont. Seemed pretty good and no spurious additions either.