A Yorkshire blog

So, this weekend I met up with Marie for a kind of farewell, before she moves to London to seek fame and fortune. I took her to a lovely pub on the outskirts of Leeds, which I have long earmarked to take a special girl to. Marie fits this bill well. She was also really impressed with the CD I gave her, a late birthday present, with "Happy Birthday" written in Finnish... She also kept telling me what a great guy I was and how I would definitely find somebody else... So if I'm such a great guy, why does she only want to be friends?? Am I ugly? Do I smell? I would like to think the answer would be "no" to both them questions, but I am beginning to wonder. Why does it always work out for everybody else, apart from me?

Take my housemate, Scott for example. After the devastation of his split with Kirsty (when she cheated on him with one of his friends, back in April) he subscribed to a well known dating site (The one thats advertised on the telly) and within one month is now seeing another girl, called "Kate." I am pleased for him, because I spent the majority of May sat with him in local pubs while he cried into his beer and as always it was me who had to pick up the pieces. I am pleased for him that he has found somebody else, because of what he has been through recently, and Kate is a lot better girl than Kirsty ever was, but I cannot help wondering why it can never happen for me? Why am I the friend and never ever the boyfriend? Funnily enough, Scott had not had a girlfriend for about three years before Kirsty came on the scene and had been rather in the same boat as me. What is he doing any different?

Why is it every girl that I meet, there is always some stupid reason why we cannot be together... Ella it was age-gap, another girl, "Heather" I fancied for over a year, before she told me she was a lesbian (its true, she has a girlfriend of two years now, it's all on Facebook) Marie was because she was moving (but I'm not convinced that she would have even if she'd stayed in Leeds.) and there are countless others, throughout my life that have always wanted me as a friend, but never anything more...

Well I'm joining that dating site, if it worked for Scott, it can work for me too...

Goodnight xx

I had a good weekend. I DJed a bit at Beeston Gala, for the Community Radio that I volunteer for in the area. As I was walking into the gala, with two heavy boxes of CDs I was approached by an Indian lad, who asked me how many (shall we say it in polite terms) whether there were many people, who originate from Pakistan at the gala. Being a white, British Citizen and to to be honest more concerned with finding the stall of which I was supposed to be on, replied, "Don't know why yer askin' me mate." and walked swiftly along, fearing perhaps that I was about to witness some Beeston gang warfare, a tradition perhaps at the event since like 1973, but luckily I didn't witness anything that I shouldn't have, just yards away from a bouncy castle, where children were happily playing in the sunshine.

At night I did an absolutely cracking wedding party at my residency. The couple, had already tied the knot in Rhodes, but were throwing a night doo for their family and friends who couldn't make it across to the Greek Island. They were a youngish couple too, probably only a few years older than myself. They were into 90s dance music, which was great, as I suppose I could say that this genre of music is my DJing forte'. Tunes like "Rythmn Is A Dancer (currently back in the top 40 because of an advert involving a puppet), Livin' Joy- Dreamer, Bobby Brown - Two Can Play At That Game and a forgotten about classic, "Insanity" by Oceanic (No3 in 1991) went down a storm, coupled with some old "Madchester stuff from The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. Great! A nice change from playing The Macarena and "Come On Eileen!"

This weekend I am taking Marie (the Finninsh girl) out to lunch, as a kind of farewell. It will be sad becauise I really think that we could have been something special, if she was not moving away, but ces't le vie, as the French say..

Goodnight xx

It's beautiful weather outside. I really want to be outside today, but I'm stuck in doing a job application. I have until 19th June to do it, so there's no mad rush I guess, but while I'm concentrating my efforts on this one (it's a job at Leeds City Council, so it's along and drawn out application form) I'm preventing myself from looking at other jobs and..yes enjoying the sunshine.. Not that I really have anybody to really enjoy it with.. Scott hates the sunshine and is watching the tennis, Federer v Nadal in the French Open. I have no girlfriend (I hate being single on days like today) and no gigs booked either. I have many many acquaintences in this life, but not many people I can just call up and hang about with. They've either got partners of their own or live away from Leeds. I really hate just calling people up randomly, it sounds really desperate as well. My two best frieds live in Hull/East Yorkshire, so it is doubtful they can come round at the drop of a hat.

Marie got back in touch last night, just when I thought she'd gone out of my life as quickly as she'd come. We are currently arranging to meet, possibly next Sunday. It will be nice to say goodbye to eachother properly and I hope that we can keep in touch, but she is moving away from Leeds at the end of this month, and having already asked her out and been turned down, it's not likely that next Sunday will fill me with much joy either.

At least I will be able to give her birthday present, which was a CD made by me in the shape of the Finnish flag (she's from Finland, in case you're wondering) with all her favorite songs on it and a birthday card, which I wrote "Happy Birthday" on in both English and Finnish (the Finnish being "Hyvva syntampaaivva", but with lots of dots and accents over the "a's and i's. Do girls ever appreciate the efforts made by us men to try and impress them??

I hate to be depressing on a beautiful sunny day as today, but sometimes being "on your own" does hit home harder on days like this.

Till next time xx

Thursday evenings are the highlight of my week. I really love Thursday nights, and that is because Thursday night is salsa night. I've been dancing now for two years and (apart from DJing) is one of the best things I have ever done. I have met lots of people through it (and I hope) there might be a future..."Mrs Barnes" who also attends the salsa classes and club night at a well known nightspot in Leeds.

I find the dancing most interesting too! First of all the man leads (much to the disapointment of modern independant women!). In fact as one girl, who I know said last night, "Then dancefloor is the only place that I ever take orders from men!" I believe this, knowing her to be quite true!!

However, when I salsa dance, it makes me feel free and I free the shackles of everyday life. A fine form of escapism and great excersise too! It is also a great way of meeting people too, as it is a different form of "nightclubbing" to the normal everyday nightclub.

Firstly instead of approaching a girl in some grotty nightspot and dancing up to her (and her grinning set of buddies) and hoping that she doesn't turn round and give you a slap lol!, you have to ask the girl if she would like a dance. It is, I suppose how dancing is supposed to be. She is also personal to you, for the duration of the dance, with no off-putting friends getting in the way.

Whatsmore there are a certain set of moves and routines that you have to learn (as the man and leader), so the dancing is personal to you and an art within itself.
Secondly there is more scope for talking, as the music is not as loud as in normal nightclubbing, so it is possible to get to know somebody over the course of a few weeks, before (perhaps) asking them out etc. It is a great way of meeting people and I dream one day that the first dance at my wedding will be a salsa dance....

Goodnight xx

1. What I was doing 10 years ago:

I was 16 so probably being teased at school, (true for me as well) I was doing my GCSEs and couldn't wait to finish school and start 6th Form College in Hull.

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

1. FIND A NEW JOB

2. Watch the Cricket England v New Zealand

3. Tidy My Bedroom

4. Go shopping in town

5. Go for a wlk and think about doing the above 4

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Boost bars, Pepperami, Doritos, Crunch corners, meals for one..aaarrrgghh!

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:

Buy Farsley Celtic F.c and get them into the Football League, pay off student loan, get on the property ladder, pay for all the speed cameras in Leeds to be handgrenaded,

5. Places I have lived:
Market Weighton, Leeds, (that's it!)

Ok, so had quite a strange evening. Scott, my housemate, after his dramatic breakup with Kirsty has been doing some Internet dating, really in a bid to cheer himself up. Tonight he was invited by a girl called Alison, who he'd been chatting to for a couple of days to meet for a drink. He duly went, with the arrangement that he would text me to pick him up afterwards (if required)

I got a text just after 9pm from Scott, asking if I would like to join him as there was "Alison", plus a "hot single friend" called "Molly." I duly obliged, but stupidly took the car, meaning I could not drink.

After a while of chatting and watching music videos, it was suggested that we played spin the bottle..Great if you are half pissed, like the other three were, but to do it stony cold sober, for me was a little bit awkward..most especially when I had to kiss Scott..Eeeughh!!

While Alison was making it quite obvious that Scott was shall we say, was the person that she most wanted the bottle to land on, Molly and I sort of stared at eachother across the room. Apparently, I was told afterwards she fancied me, but I think she was just very shy or had a very funny way of showing it. I haven't played spin the bottle since I was a student, seven years ago and I certainly have not played it sober...bloody drinking laws!!

Anyway the kissing was nice (on the two girls) I suppose I should call it "good match practice." We may see them again, perhaps, but I'm not really sure about Molly really. I think though that Scott is over Kirsty now, which is a good thing for now..

Goodnight xx

I look at my watch and it has reached June 1st (can't believe it's reached that, where is 2008 going??)

Anyway, enough of that. I did a wedding tonight and all was going well, until there was a fight between two of the guests and then after that, perhaps fearing more violence people started to drift off home.

One guy (who was a DJ himself) assured me that it was nothing to do with my music, but more the fact that a lot of his family were "old and boring" lol! Still, The Mavericks- Dance The Night Away went down well, as well as the usual "Grease Megamix" and Billy Jean etc. Nothing really special on the music front, apart from a request for "Spagna- "Call on Me" which was a one hit wonder from 1987..

Throughout May I have been presenting on Community Radio in Leeds. It is here that I thought I had met the perfect girl, only for as ever to have my heart broken yet again.

Her name was Marie and to cut a long story short, she had volunteered to be my co-presenter. At first I did not really fancy her that much, but after the first show I asked her for a drink afterwards, of which she agreed. We went and just chatted non-stop for two hours. I really felt as if I had met my soulmate. We had heaps in common. She was really into music, was impressed by the whole DJ thing (she didn't even seem to lose interest when I told her that I was NOT a nightclub DJ), she liked salsa dancing, shared the same sense of humour (she did a hilarious Yorkshire accent) she was from Finland, so that added a new dimension to conversation too. Her body language was spot on and after the second show on May 8th she even mentioned the fact that she was single. All seemed good and on my birthday I wondered whether she would be my main present!

So it came to the third show on May 15th, as it happened, two days after my birthday and one before hers. I felt this would be the perfect day to ask her out, as this would be the last time we would present together, because she was going on holiday to Turkey with her parents, who were flying out from Finland.

We did the usual ritual of doing the show, before calling back to my house to drop off my CD boxes (I had to clean my kitchen at 1am Thursday for that girl!) and then down to a local pub for a drink.

Unfortunately the pub was full of drunken Leeds United fans, after their drmatic semi-final play-off win over Carlisle..hardly the best environment to ask a girl out..

I did anyway, but was met by the usual lines of-

1. I only see you as a friend
2. You were seeing things that weren't there
3. (and here's the killer one) I'm leaving Leeds and moving elsewhere in the UK, but she did not want to tell me where...

..well thats the end of that then.

We agreed to be friends and we exchanged texts on Thurs 22nd May. I texted her again last Saturday (24th) but am still waiting for a reply. She leaves in the middle of June and I really want to see her before she goes, but it is looking less likely by the day that I will ever see her again

Oh well, plenty more fish in the sea

Goodnight xx

I've really neglected this site, admittedly. I suppose I just got out of the habit of logging into it. I even had to refer back to my e-mail account in order to remember what my Username was! I even found a message from somebody called "binta" who turns out is a "scammer" on this site!

Anyway, here's an update on my life over the past two months.

Firstly I am now 26, as of May 13th (thanks blog.co.uk for the b'day message btw!)

Secondly, Scott, my housemate and best friend has split up with his (now ex) girlfriend Kirsty, after she ran off with our other "friend" Mark. Therefore, most of the past month has involved me picking up the pieces...

Thirdly, I did have a pub residency in Tadcaster, from April 5th to May 9th. All was going very well, until the morning of Thursday 15th May, when they rang me out of the blue at 8am in the morning to tell me that they no longer required my services, as the people who ran the pub, (their bosses) wanted live band on instead...

Fourthly I had another girl disappointment, this time with a girl from Finland I met, we'll call her Marie, for the purposes of this, (although I'm not sure there are too many girls knocking around from Finland)

I haven't contacted Ella since March, but have thought about her recently.

I'm looking for a new job. Working in a supermarket is well beneath my capabilities and is not earning me enough money. Secondly after the Tadcaster thing I have come to realise that DJing may only be a sideline (sorry to dissapoint you ladies!) so a "proper job" might be good right now.

Doing a wedding tomorrow night, and then I've got Sunday off, before back to the shelf-stacking on Monday.. Oh well I'll write some more later

Goodnight all!!

So after my minor dissapointment regarding Ella, I suppose I should enlighten you all on the other love of my life...Djing.

Ok, girls..I know what you're thinking..he's a DJ wow!, which nightclub do you play in? Can you get me in free at your next gig?, because yes, I have met girls who have asked me just that, when the subject of "job" comes up in conversation. (In fact one of my more attractive female work colleagues still thinks I do "Gatecrasher" in Leeds every Friday, but I'll let her think that for the time being!) Yeah, love, if I was doing Gatecrasher every Friday I wouldn't be working in a flippin' shop love! just stop and think for a moment lass!

The truth is, and the honest truth is that I am a mobile DJ, I do weddings, birthday parties, christening parties, bar mitzvahs, (if I'm in Alwoodley) (soz, Leeds joke) and the occasional pub night. I have a residency, which will remain anonymous, but give me a lot of work doing parties and I enjoy working there. The rest of my work consists of people who see my advert in the Yellow Pages and word of mouth. I DJ in Social Clubs, Working Mens Clubs, school halls, Community Centres, Golf Clubs, I even did one in somebody's living room! Each venue has their own unique character.

On Friday evening for instance I was in a lovely Community Hall, for a 13th party, just outside of Leeds, while on Sunday afternoon I was in a school hall on a rickety little stage, next to a piano! The thing I enjoy the most though is people having fun, and in a lot of cases the 13 year old parties are more lively than adult parties, where there is alcohol freely available. I don't know what they quite put in Tescos lemonade these days, but it seems to have an amazing effect on teenagers!

On Sunday I had to judge a "catwalk" competition. I'd never really seen this before, and me being a bloke and not really a follower of such things as catwalks I was a little unsure what to look for. In the end I had to enlist the help of two girls, who were not so keen on walking up and down the dancefloor like Kate Moss, to help me pick out a winner, while I cued up Scissor Sister, "I Don't feel like Dancing, followed by some Girls Aloud!

We had fun though and doing discos for teenagers is certainly more fun than it is doing ones for say 60 year olds.

Last Sunday I was booked to do a 60th party in the afternoon, and as you can imagine, trying to get people to dance on a Sunday afternoon is a bit like pulling teeth. In fact most of the guests spent the whole afternoon telling me to turn the music down, than actually make a request or dance and have a good time. Judging by the fact the music was already so quiet that the sound level barely registered a green light on my mixer, I was beginning to wonder why they went to the trouble of booking me at all! Still, it was all money in my pocket and they did dance a bit later on, when they'd had some food and had caught up on the last two years of family gossip!

Anyway, DJing is something that I do love doing..and yes ladies, maybe one day I will go into a nightclub, and if you HAVE reached this paragraph, perhaps you are not as shallow as I thought you were.

Goodnight xx

So, me and Ella had THE conversation on Saturday Night. She reckons that there is too much of an age gap for any relationship between us to work. In some ways she has a point. Although I want a girlfriend, I'm not exactly looking for marriage, kids etc just yet. I am, I suppose terrified of the big C word! Ella, being 36 is looking for marriage, kids etc and is something, however much I like her, that I am just not ready for yet. So we are friends and probably won't meet up as much. I think I want to dedicate more time to salsa, where there are plenty of girls present, more my own age. Ella and I just want different things. It's a shame, because we get on so well, and there's a definite attraction betwen us. I am more of a relationship person than just somebody wh has one night stands, and she is the same, so it is either a relationship or friends. Unfortunately it is the latter, but perhaps it is for the best.

Goodnight xx