IT'S UPS AND DOWNS: Okay, frankly it's now been an unforgivably long time since my last update and I really don't have a good excuse other than I just couldn't be bothered to put aside enough time to do it properly. Therefore I'll do what I usually do any fire off as much as I can remember in the hope that some of it sticks.

I suppose first I should cover the world cup. While the weather in Vancouver was glorious throughout, the English football was less so. A series of stunningly average performances interspersed with the occasional wondergoal that did nothing but raise our hopes that maybe the team had finally got it together. Alas this was not the case. This feeling culminated during the England v Equador game which was possibly the least exciting England victory I've ever seen.

After many months stealing photo's from other people's blogs (mostly Paul's) I finally put
some batteries in my camera and started snapping. To be fair due to a not so good zoom function on my camera and too many cans of Colt 45 (don't even ask) some didn't come out so good. But dammit at least I'm trying! We all got up bright and early confident of an impressive England victory. Unfortunately as the pictures below suggest, this expectation was not entirely met.

Another game of mixed emotions

The English perspective at half time...

And the Scottish

Of course within the week it was all over. We watched the last game in a cinema on Commercial Drive with a mix of English and Portugese fans and had to listen while, inevitably, England crashed out on penalties. However, it's not been all bad. The weather has been great and we've spent a lot of time at the beach. We even had a couple of fires after sunset until "the Man" reared his totalitarian head once more and shut us down for breaching park regulations. Admitedly the beer cans strewn around us didn't look good, and the guy from the nearby group who literally couldn't stand up (he tried. A lot.) really didn't help. Then Liz stole Gav's iPod, tried to beat me up and then fell over. It was then we decided to get a taxi. HERE COME SOME MORE PHOTOS!

Here's another one of those scenery shots

Why is nobody looking at the girl??

The wreckage of a houseboat washed up on the beach once...

...and cut off Gavin's legs. He's fine about it though.

Mugsy, Two-tone, Stabber, Hotlips and Knuckles before the Big Greek Job.

Also, Ian's girlfriend Jade left a couple of weeks ago and is sorely missed- primarily by Ian but by us all one way or another. So just to remind everyone what she looks like, I'll stick up a photo. I chose this one because it's the only one I've got. I don't think it's even mine.

I think Chris is trying to show his nipple. This was just before he started running through rental signs and climing poles. Oh, Chris...