Married Life

Still here

Still here, haven't gone away or given up. A lot has changed for us in the last year, we've been under a lot of pressure together, and are all the stronger for it. You know, you have to love your family, because at the end of the day, when it matters, they're the one's who are there to hold it all together, and I wanted to pay tribute to Kelly's mom - she's been so, so strong these last twelve months, quite how she's managed it I'll never know, but Ang, thanks, we love you so much, and thanks for being such a special person. Love you xxx My wife, of course, has been tremendous, again how she has managed to keep herself going through some very, very difficult days is a testament to the upbringing she's had, babe, I love you so much, I hate to see you hurting, it hurts me, but you know I am always here for you, even more so this week which I know is going to be one of great worry and fear - think of October, when hopefully we can get away for 9 nights xxxx I love you so verymuch my beautiful wife, you are the cornestone of my life xxx My dad, Carol and Mark have all been marvellous for me, showing a strength and love that humbles me to be honest, the care they have, the love they have, the patience they've shown through some horrible times is most gratefully appreciated, thank you all, I love you xxxx HAPPY 18TH BEC!! :) Get the beers in! Great day today with you and Mark, you too are a very special (well I was going to say girl but you're 18 now!) lady, love you loads xxx And finally, I know she reads this HELLO LEANNE! We love you very much, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! We hope you had a wonderful birthday and liked all your pressies! Have a lovely time in Cornwall, Spud, we're so proud of you xxxx Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 21.06.2009; 7:19:59 PM from the Married Life dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Happy 2nd Anniversary Baby!

Happy 2nd Anniversary Baby xxxxxx Thank you for being the best husband anyone could ever wish for and for giving me the best two years of my life as husband and wife xxxxxx Thank you for making me the happiest girl alive and for filling the last two years as husband and wife with so many special and memorable times xxxxxx I'm very proud of you darling and you mean everything to me, thank you for all your support especially over the last year, I couldn't and can't get through it without you honey, you're my heartbeat, my soulmate, my everything xxxxxx Most of all baby, thank you for being you and for us, I truly love you more than words can say xxxxxx All my love heart and soul always and forever xxxxxx Happy 2nd Anniversary sweetheart, hope you have a lovely evening tonight darling xxxxxx I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BABY xxxxxxxxxxxx Ah, thank you darling, Happy Anniversary to you too babe xxxx You are and have been the best wife I could have wished for, to have met and married my soul mate is more than I could ever have asked for, thank you for the best times of my life, for making me so happy and contented xxxx You are an absolute rock for me too, and I couldn't be me without you xxx Thank you for a lovely time in Torquay, and for a wonderful two years together, through all the good times and all of the hard times, we have always had each other and our love, our bond, a special strength and depth of love I never knew existed. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DARLING, I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY, HEART, BODY, SOUL AND MIND, YOU ARE A WONDERFUL PERSON XXXX I LOVE YOU XXXXXX Permalink:# Posted by Kelly on 26.05.2009; 11:16:45 AM from the Married Life dept. Discuss (2 responses) Comment [2] Trackback [0]

Happy Birthday Gorgeous.....

HAPPY 38TH BIRTHDAY DARLING.....XXXXXX I hope you've had a lovely day babe and I hope you've liked all of your presents xxxx It's been lovely spending the day with you sweetheart, thank you for everything you do for me and for always being there for me and for being the best husband anyone could ever wish for, you're so special to me and you mean everything to me, I'm so very proud of you baby and I love you more than words can say xxxxx Have a lovely evening gorgeous and Happy Birthday! I love you so much, all my love, heart and soul always and forever xxx Your Wife...Kell xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Ah, thank you my darling, I had a lovely day thankyou, and your pressies (and everyone else's - thankyou all!) were perfect. I can't wait to go and see Andrea Bocelli and to go on the steam train! :) I love you so much darling, thankyou for making my birthday so special, as ever. xxxx I love you so much, you are my wonderful wife! xxxx Permalink:# Posted by Kelly on 16.04.2009; 8:03:59 PM from the Married Life dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Happy Birthday to Mark! 40 today!

My big brother Mark is 40 today! 40!! Can you believe that? Mark Bourne is 40! Happy Birthday Mark, we love you very, very much and are incredibly proud of you. Here's to the next 40 years! Thanks for everything you've done, for being a great brother, for your love and support, and for being my big brother! xxxx <- Mark and I when we were little, such nice, well behaved children! <- Mark now Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 16.02.2009; 8:52:15 PM from the Married Life dept. Discuss (3 responses) Comment [3] Trackback [0]

Missing Posts!

No, not John Carew banging the ball into the back of the net, but our site host's server going up the Swannee and this site losing the last few posts. From memory (admittedly mine is poor) I can think of a Vicki update, a Normandy holiday update, the 46664 concert review, Kell's birthday wishes, a bit about the new season at Villa Park, and er, I can't remember. Please email me and remind me what else we need to repost, please. Sorry about the outage and data loss, folks. Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 28.10.2008; 3:30:03 PM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss (1 response) Comment [1] Trackback [0]

Back soon!

Hi folks, just to say I haven't gone away and forgotten all about our wedding blog, I'll be posting an update next week! Keep smiling... Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 22.08.2008; 10:10:44 AM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Spring Bank Holiday

So the season ended for Villa with a satisfying sixth place, and a spot in the Intertoto Cup. Another year of improvement, after an eleventh place the season before. A run in one of the Cups would have been nice, but never mind. We've now lost a few squad players, and new signings seem imminent, with the likes of Steve Sidwell, Brad Guzan, David Bentley etc all expected to sign for us. Here's hoping... On to us! We had a great morning at the Villa back at the beginning of May, for Football Aid. Our Craig played at central midfield, along with site host and friend Lee at, initially, left back before he moved to right back. That sort of versatility could get him noticed! The lads both played well in searing heat, and special mentions must go to the two Managers - Chris Nicholl and Charlie Aitken, along with legend Pat Heard who played a blinder. Sadly they narrowly lost but it didn't dampen an unforgettable event for them. Better luck next time! Here's a few shots of the match:        At the end of May, my gorgeous wife Kelly and I took a very much needed and well deserved break - this time, as ever, we went via the Eurostar and TGV, down to the South of France. This time we went from the rebuilt St. Pancras station - which was very nice if you like glass and shops. Not a lot of heritage left there, sadly, of the old interior, although the building itself remains iconic. We arrived in Aix En Provence on the Friday afternoon, after whizzing down through France at 200mph+ for three and a half hours. We picked up our hire car, and tootled off to our hotel, the Aquabella in Aix. We had three lovely nights here, with the weather being nice until we left on the Monday morning, by which time it had turned rather ugly. Here's my beautiful girl in the old town of Aix, chilling out, along with one or two shots of Aix and ugly me by the Rotonde!        Then we drove on to Cannes, home, of course, to the world famous Cannes International Film Festival, which has closed the day before we arrived, so we didn't get to see any stars. We did see the hotels bedecked in Hollywood paraphinalia for each film that sponsored the hotel, and the red carpet was still there, albeit somewhat soggy. We stayed at the Sofitel Mediterrane,which has a charm to it, but is a little dated in places. We didn't get to sample the outside pool, as it constantly poured with rain. Whilst in Cannes, we drove over to Grasse to visit the Fragronard perfume factory, and get a few gifts for the family, and then plonked ourselves in a local bar, the Equator, where we met some lovely people, Tim, who's a big Villa fan (this nutter and his Dad fly back for every home match and almost all away games!) and his lovely Mom and Dad, Rog. They are all lucky enough to have moved to the sunshine, with Roger & Cynthia recently completing to move up the road from Tim and his lovely wife Sandra - good luck on your new home folks, great to meet you! As it would be rude not to, we went out for a meal and several drinks with Tim & Sandra, and as I said to Tim the other day, me and him would still be sat there now, drinking, if it wasn't for our trusty wives! Anyway, great to see you both, hope to see you soon.      Of course, it was our First Wedding Anniversary on the 26th, and a year that has flew past. Kell and I had bought each other some little mementoes for our Anniversary, and we had a lovely night out too - thank you for a wonderful year babe, you are the best wife anyone could ever wish for xxxx I love you more with every passing day, if that's possible, and life wouldn't be complete without you xxx Thank you for making me so happy darling xxxx We ended our little break with a couple of nights back at our Honeymoon hotel - Kell couldn't resist seeing as we were so close to the area! So we checked into the Le Meridien Juan les Pins for the last couple of nights, and had a wonderful time, despite the weather still not having improved. It was lovely to see the place again, and lie in bed and see the sea! We had a great time, if only the weather had brightened up it would have been perfect. Anyway, we then went back to Aix for a night, before we got the TGV back to Lille on the Sunday, and the Eurostar back to London, before sitting in traffic for an hour and a half trying to get out of the place. Next time I think we'll go from Ebbsfleet International, give that a try. Just means going over that dreaded Jubilee Bridge! Finally, for this update, we were lucky enough to go to the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert at Hyde Park last week, and without any doubt the highlight was when the great man came on stage and spoke. I had a lump in my throat and a bit of grit in my eye, I think! More on that lovely night soon. Thanks for sticking with us, the hits on the site are as ridiculously high as ever! My next Q&A is coming up, this time with a Villa man, and a good friend of mine... Cheers! Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 06.07.2008; 1:11:15 PM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary Baby

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary Baby! Thank you for a wonderful, memorable 1st year as husband and wife darling xxxx Thank you for my card and my lovely gifts gorgeous, they are beautiful baby, thank you so much xxx I love you xxxxx Thank you for a lovely holiday too darling, if only the weather could be a bit kinder to us, but just to be here the two of us on our own spending some quality loving time together day and night is all it's about for me baby xxxx I didn't make a speech on our wedding day but I'll say a few special words now about my special husband from what is a day to celebrate our special day a year ago yesterday, and Villa's European Win!!! Baby, thank you for making me the happiest proudest girl alive and for being the best husband anyone could ever wish for, you are everything to me xx I'm the luckiest girl alive xxx Thank you for everything you do for me and for always being there for me xxx My heart aches when we're apart and bounces when we're together xxx Thank you for giving me the best day of my life on our special magical wedding day, I know it was the best day of your life from the beaming smile on your face, I'll never forget that beaming picture on your face baby when I walked down the aisle to you and looked into your eyes as I arrived and stood next to you xx I love you so much darling xxx Your my best friend, my lover, my soul mate, my husband and everything I could have ever wished for xxxx Here's to the start of another year with many more special, joyful, precious memories to treasure forever xxxxx Happy 1st Anniversary Darling, I love you more than ever, you're so special to me baby xxxx I love you with all my heart and soul always and forever xxxxxxxxx   Permalink:# Posted by Kelly on 27.05.2008; 12:47:23 PM from the Married Life, The Big Day dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DARLING!

Happy Anniversary darling, one year today! I love you more with each passing day, you are the sunshine in my sky xxxx I'm having a wonderful holiday, even though we've had funny weather! Thank you for my card and gifts, you are my everything xxxx I love you so much, all my heart, body and soul Babe xxxxx From my speech a year ago:  But I think our song sums up how I feel about you. I really “can’t take my eyes of you”, and I wouldn’t want to. You and my beautiful daughter, Leanne, are quite simply the best thing that’s ever happened to me - well, the European Cup win runs it close, I suppose! - And I love you more than I can ever, ever say. Thank you so much for being a part of my life, thanks for being my bride, and thanks for being so great with Leanne, and all of the kind things you do for me. She never misses an opportunity to tell me how much she loves me – so here’s the biggest stage I’ll get to say it:  I love you darling xxxx Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 26.05.2008; 6:52:05 PM from the Married Life, The Big Day dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

At last! A new Q&A, this time with the infamous Martin!

So, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Martin to you, aka Angela's chap. Martin is a very important person as he arranges our not-often-enough curries at the Ranga Matti (excuse the spelling, I'm not a Wednesfield walla!), giving him a unique social standing, as Chief Curry Organiser. Not only that, but he's a very nice bloke, who, like all, welcomed me into the family with open arms. Only trouble is, he kissed me aswell! Martin runs a couple of websites, that are excellent genealogy reference points. No babe, that's got nothing to do with jeans! You can see them here: http://www.rushtonspencer.info/ & http://rushtonspencer.wordpress.com/ Here he is, on his snowboard in The Alps. So, on with the Questions and Answers, I think you'll agree he has some very interesting replies:   WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE THAT YOU HAVE VISITED? I’ve seen many places usually from a coach at night, but I don’t think you can beat climbing Haystacks in the Lake District (the mountain not the bales of hay found on farms Ian) (IAN: I knew that, honest) and watching the sun set, although it does mean you have to "walk out" in the dark. NAME SOMETHING THAT YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? Well as the deadly sins now seem to be virtues I could say my arrogance my ego or my boyish good looks (Ian falls over laughing at this point), but at the end of the day, I am what I am and I’m comfortable with that. WHO WOULD PLAY ME IN A FILM? That’s an ambiguous question, if you mean who would play you then it would have to be John Candy as he was always good for a laugh, but having heard your cd then possibly Meat Loaf. On the other hand if you mean me then, Brad Pitt as people say that he looks like me, though I don’t see it myself – well may be a little. Unfortunately the only people to tell me I look like Mr Pitt are pensioners and men and that includes some lad who stared at me while I was making use of a urinal then looking rather awe struck said "you look like Brad Pitt" not the most comfortable of experiences, but better than the time an old man kept trying to stroke my inner thigh on the bus. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM CAR, AND WHY? Horses for courses I’m afraid, in an ideal world I’d have three. A Honda Accord, the 2.4 litre sporty version with the 18" alloys and sports suspension for day to day use. For rufty tufty countryside stuff then it would have to be a tossup between the Toyota Landcrusier Amazon and the Hilux Crewcab, I think the Landcrusier would win for comfort but I’d lose out on the load space of the Hilux. That just leaves the car for the weekend, long drives etc, and I suppose the dream car, it would be an Aston Martin DB9 but with the body work of the N24 as I like the silhouette of the N24 but the lack of aircon, radio, windows that open etc is a little off putting to say the least – remember James May driving naked in the Alps? That was an N24, so for me it would be the DB9 sent to prodrive for a bit of work on the handling, engine and that GT look. WHEN DID YOU FIRST GO TO A VILLA GAME? I’ve been to a few villas and played a few games, some of them at villas, but if you are referring to Aston Villa I have to admit that I dislike football and so haven’t been to one, and have no plans to do so. Sorry. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF OUR WEDDING? It’s difficult to highlight a single part as a favourite, the ceremony itself was moving, the meal was excellent and the magician was a nice touch, perhaps Craig making an ass of himself on the stage at the end of the night stands out in my mind, but then again. (Ian: this was proper wedding do hilarity as it should be!) DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING, AND IF SO WHAT? What a question this will make me look rather sad! Useless information is the main thing that I collect; the "did you know …" sort of thing is my speciality. Other things, and for the life of me I don’t know why, included corks from wine bottles & tops from beer bottles, but for God’s sake don’t send me any. I seem to have a lot of music, books & magazines lying about as well, as far as proper collecting goes I was into numismatics for a time and have an album of uncirculated South American currency. Perhaps I need to start collecting anoraks! WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE ALL-TIME FAVOURITE MUSICAL ARTISTS? Wagner, as I just love heavy opera. Justin Sullivan/New Model Army, I think that songs should have some sort of message and their songs do, although I feel that some of our views would be diametrically opposed when it came to hunting and the countryside. Chumbawamba used to have a good political edge to their music, but I feel that they sold out not long after releasing "Slap!" A third how can anyone make such a choice? Nirvana, Beethoven, Mother Love Bone, Carl Orff, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, I can’t make such a choice two was hard enough. WHAT IS YOUR ALL-TIME FAVOURITE SONG? I Wanna Be Your Dog, by the Stooges, it’s the sexiest song in the world! (Martin! I can never look at Angela in the same way again) WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD? I’d like to say my mother’s home cooking but it’s not, mine’s better, but seriously although I like Asian and fusion cooking my favourite would always have to be modern French/European. WHAT IS YOUR FONDEST EVER MEMORY? To personal to put online I’m afraid, you’ll just have to guess. (Ian: er, in that case no thankyou! :) ) IF YOU COULD MEET A FAMOUS PERSON WHO WOULD IT BE? As they say worship your hero’s from afar in case they turn out to be complete and utter w*rs that rules out most people. Having said that Marx & Engels would have been good for discussing social reform and philosophy – I totally agree with the first half of the Communist Manifesto just swop the ruling classes or corporations and it’s as relevant now as when it was written. Norm Chomsky would be good as well, his books are hard going but Listen to him on an audio book or at a lecture and he is very enlightening. The Duke of Edinburgh, to talk about conservation, the countryside, hunting and shooting, as I bet we share many of the same views on such issues. AS SOME MAY KNOW, YOU MAINTAIN AN EXCELLENT GENEALOGY WEBSITE, WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO START IT? Rebecca! She came home one day saying that Julie (step mom or dance tutor I’m not to sure which) was researching her family tree and she wanted to have a go, so while helping with that I thought that I would start tracing my family history, which is how I got started. The motivation behind the website is partially financial! Not to make money for myself though some funding would be useful, but to save people money. I’m lucky in that I live both close to Stafford Archives and within easy reach (about 1 hours drive) of the parish where my maternal Grandmother’s ancestors lived from the late 1500s, that is as far back as I’ve traced them so far, until the early 1900s. If I had to pay someone to carry out research for me it would be upwards of £20 per hour, and all the major websites require subscriptions to access their data. So being the rebel that I am I have taken the step of making as much historical information as possibly for the parish of St. Lawrence, Rushton Spencer freely available online. Partly as a thank you to the people who helped me with my research, to help others with their research and to continue my research.   Well as I said, that was very interesting, thankyou Martin. Feel free to add comments, all good, of course. Good luck with your research and we'll see you after the holidays, thanks again. Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 17.05.2008; 5:48:16 PM from the Married Life dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Sing When You're Winning!

Hello again! Nice to have had a bit of sunshine the last ten days or so, eh? Good end to the season for the Villa, I think we'd have all settled for a final place of 6th, after being 11th last season. Onwards and upwards, Martin O'Neill really is the Messiah! I wouldn't swap him for any other Manager in the world. We had a great trip to West Ham on Sunday for the last game of the season, and were delighted to each receive a 'Mellberg 4' shirt, with the compliments of King Olof the Great - Olof Mellberg, who's leaving us after seven years to go and play for Juventus. He leaves with every Villa fans best wishes, and thanks. A truly magmanamous gesture by him to give the 3,000 shirts out. The final game is always one for daft dressing up etc, and this one was no exception - we saw Cockney Barrow Boys, the Pearly King, Scooby Doo, a Convict, lots and lots of Vikings, a monkey, and a rubber doll! On the subject of Villa, two people had their dreams come true on Saturday by playing on the hallowed Villa Park pitch: Our Craig and Lee, our webmaster. On a baking hot day they both gave their all and took home many happy memories. More on this in my next update, with pictures. So, last post I touched on a recording session I had been treated to. Well, here I shall tell you all about one of the best day's of my life. My wonderful gorgeous wife Kell had very kindly bought me a recording session as a Wedding gift (I did get her something, before you ask!), which we booked for the weekend of my birthday. It was at The Beehouse recording studio in Wales, just over the border. The studio is run by exiled brummie Phil, and his wife, set in the rolling hills and beautiful countryside. We elected to stay over the night before, at the Pen-Y-Dyffryn hotel just outside Oswestry. This place I can highly recommend, it's absolutely superb, a real testament to it's owners. It is spotlessly clean, and the Coach House, where we stayed, are smashing rooms with their own terrace with killer views. The hotel, and it's surroundings. One of The Coach House rooms and it's terrace. We enjoyed a great meal and then spent an hour on the terrace, before retiring early to bed for an early start the next morning. We tried to put the studio address into the SatNav, to no avail - all that was listed was the village, unfortunately. Now, I'd say I'm pretty good with my sense of direction, but it took us two hours to travel the sixteen miles and locate the studio! :) We got there in the end, thankfully. Having had a cuppa (have to warm the throat up you know) it was straight into the studio. First up was 'Could It Be Magic' - boy, why did I choose this, there are too many high notes in this song! Being the brave soldier that I am, I carried on stoically! Next up for butchering was 'Easy' by the Commodores, which I felt didn't go too badly, I particularly enjoyed the "uuuuuuuuuuurgh" bit before the break! Then it was the turn of 'She's Like The Wind' to be murdered by me, Patrick Swayze would've been proud because he's no singer either!  'Angels' got the treatment next, a song that has always been associated for me with my dear Mom, who I hope would have been proud. Of course she would have been, she'd have been proud if I'd spoken it, she was like that, my God I miss her. Ten years on April 18th, and not a day goes by that I don't think of her. Finally I sang 'Let It Be' - at the request of Phil the Producer, as he's a huge Beatles fan. My brilliant wife sat and listened all day and didn't cover her ears once! She's wonderful, I'm so lucky to have her, I could never have dreamt that I would be blessed with someone so special, so kind and caring, so loving and with such a warm heart, let alone gorgeous, as my Wife. xxxxx The CD followed in the post, and on first play, Kell started crying! What does that say about my singing? Dear me! Then Angela, Martin, Bec and Vikki got the "pleasure" of listening to it, and a copy to take home. Bec texted to say she'd got 'Easy' on replay, the poor girl! Thanks Bec x An aerial shot of The Beehouse studio, great spot. Thank you so much babe for such a memorable and special day, I had the time of my life, and you're my Angel, you make life Easy, and I have to ask Could It Be Magic, that you're like the wind, so with that I'll Let It Be. I love you so much, you are my world, my heart aches when we're apart, all my love, heart and soul Babe xxxxxx That's all folks, more soon! Here's a link to The Beehouse: http://www.thebeehouse.com/ and here's one for Pen-Y-Dyffryn: http://www.peny.co.uk/ I'll add a copy of the cover of the CD just as soon as I scan it, by the way! Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 15.05.2008; 8:15:43 PM from the Married Life dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Euro Disney trip

Hello again folks! As I said, back in March we had a short weekend at Euro Disney. It was a treat that we'd promised Leanne some time ago, so I was so pleased to finally get there. Many thanks to my lovely wifey for booking it all - thanks baby, I love you so much xxxx We decided to keep it a secret/surprise for Leanne, which we managed to do all the way until we were almost at Davey Crockett's Ranch, just outside Disney. Rebecca came with us too, and she was great company for the weekend - Hi Team Member A! :) The ranch is basically static caravans, with little in the way of creature comforts, but good enough. There was a Saloon Bar and a pathetic excuse for a restaurant on site, aswell as a rip-off shop. In fact, the whole experience was about getting people to part with as much money as is possible. Still, Leanne loved it and that was the whole point of the trip, she absolutely loved it, the joy in her eyes was a sight to behold. We made good time from Calais, reaching Paris' outskirts in just over two hours, and the Park was a junction up the motorway from the Ranch. The weather could've been kinder - it was freezing cold and wet to boot, we all ended up buying coats and scarves at the Park! Anyway, here's some pics, as mentioned before we shan't be posting any pictures of the babbees, just 16 and older. Villa are doing alright just lately, we've watched them score 15 goals in the last three games, which is nice!  Many thanks for all the birthday wishes and cards and gifts, all very much appreciated xx See you soon, with details of a fantastic day I had in a recording studio, and a lovely hotel just outside Oswestry...   Me looking daft - nothing new there then!  Me and my lovely wife xx Two beauties!!   the castle. Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 27.04.2008; 5:34:21 PM from the Married Life dept. Discuss (2 responses) Comment [2] Trackback [0]

5 trophies on display, and a cooking lesson.

Kell & I were fortunate enought to be invited for a cookery lesson from the great chef himself, Marriappan Sethurajapillai  or Murray as he's known, the other week. Murray!  We had talked about wanting to have a go, but were never bold enough. When Murray asked us though, we had to say yes! He's a great chef, ably assisted by his staff at The Mango Tree, and it was something we both looked forward to doing. So, when the Friday came, it was with baited breath and plasters at the ready (me and knives are not a good mix) that we turned up, had aprons put on us, and watched and learned. We saw how to make chilli chicken curry, a vegetable dish, chicken with vegetables curry, and king prawn curry. We also had a demonstration of the fantastic clay oven and the nan breads being cooked. Murray explained and demonstrated how to cool a curry down, warm it up a bit, how to chop correctly, how to know just how much of each particular spice was needed etc - all done in the spotlessly clean Mango Tree kitchen. We couldn't resist having a spoonful throughout the various stages of cooking, and that taste was sensational, as ever. The thing that amazed me was how quickly the food was cooked. It proved what we suspected - that we over-cook everything at home, and thereby we lose a lot of the flavours of the ingredients therein. Murray showed us how to make a general curry sauce, which was surpirisingly easy yet also easy to spoil, if you get my drift. Murray never once used anything other than natural ingredients, no bottled sauces, no tinned food, nothing frozen, all good, fresh and honest ingredients. No ghee to drown in either! Once we had finsihed cooking and learning, Murray took us through to the restaurant, where we enjoyed the fruits of our labour. Murray joined us, and proudly told us that he's to be a Dad again soon, so congratulations to him and his good lady. Also, talking of such things, Abdul, one of Murray's waiters, is to be wed next month, back in Southern India, so good lcuk to him too! Finally, we must mention the people behind the Mango Tree, the owners, Raj, Sangeeta, Anita and George who are all lovely people whom it is a pleasure to know - thanks to all of you. (See you at the Wine Tasting!).   After we'd filled our bellies (took a while in my case) we set off to Villa Park, somehwere else that is like a second/third home to us! For one week only, the Club had dusted off some of the many trophies our great club has won, and put them on display for Joe Public to have their pictures taken with. This was too good an opportunity to miss for us. We had a shot or two taken with the UEFA Super Cup, the European Champions Cup (better know as the Champions League), the League Cup, the FA Cup, and the League Championship. All bar the FA Cup won in my lifetime. When I first was taken down the Villa by my Mom and Dad, and later with Grandad Bourne aswell, and Uncle George, Villa were always winning things, and I thought that it would always be like that! Silly me, this is the Villa we're talking about - always let you down as Grandad used to say. It would have been my Grandad Geoff's 89th birthday today, Rest In Peace Grandad. I still remember you - he used to say I wore him out just looking at me! Typical thing for someone in our family to say! :) Anyway, here's the final picture, see what you think: I'm proud to say my daughter, Leanne follows the Villa with us, and I'm sure any child we may be blessed with will do the same, or they'll be in trouble! In other news, we have hosted Angela, Martin, Rebecca & Vicky (who has started a new job and career - good luck!), and then Dad, Carol and Nan for Sunday lunch and they all lived to tell the tale, with no mention of C Diff or anything like that! It was a pleasure to host you all, and I must say a huge THANK YOU to my gorgeous wife for working so hard for you all in the kitchen, she was so determined for you all to enjoy yourselves - thanks babe, I love you so much xxxx The house is on the market but the market seems flat at the moment, fingers crossed (we would like a detached place to settle down in, God willing) we'll sell soon, although saying that we haven't really found 'the one' to move into either. Buster has been a bit poorlier of late, but yet more trips to the Vets have seen her pick up again, she's a good old gal, always wagging that tail of hers, we are so lucky with her. My Nan has been rough too, in fact she's been rough so often she tells me now she's fed up of feeling rough. It's her eyes as much as anything, I really hope the new drops etc ease her problems...Mark recently celebrated his birthday - HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MARK!!, as did Vicky, so HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY VICKY!! And on those happy notes, I'll sign off for now. Sorry it's been a while since I blogged, I've slapped my wrists and written my lines as penance! Must blog more often! Oh, and hello to a first time reader, Pelty! Hi Pelty! :)   Oh, and a very Happy Mothers Day to all Moms out there! Thank you to my lovely wife Kell for always being there for me - I love you babe so much, I hope the Earth moved for you on Tuesday night, it did for me!! xxxxx Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 08.03.2008; 12:02:47 PM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Gone to the dogs!

Sorry for the delay between updates folks, been busy doing nothing during the evenings throughout January - a month I hate, my least favourite of the year. Well, I can't stand Winter full stop, gives me the blues. Actually, scrub that, can't have the word 'blues' on this site! Makes me miserable then! Anyway, one bright point of the month was a super night we had at Perry Barr Greyhounds Track. It was a night organised by the Aston Villa Former Players Association (see here: http://www.astonvillafpa.org/ ) that is run by Villa old boy Neil Rioch. Neil was actually the first Englishman to touch the ball during the 1966 World Cup Final - he was a ballboy and got first touch! How about that for a claim to fame? Anyway, Neil & the FPA work tirelessly for former players, raising many thousands for charity along the way. Heroes & Villains founder and editor, and esteemed author, Dave Woodhall very kindly put us in touch, and we were subsequently invited along to the annual dogs night. Every table is allocated a Villa Legend - we had our hopes and were very fortunate to be joined by the great Peter McParland - Villa's former Northern Ireland international, and scorer of the winning goals in both the 1957 FA Cup Final, and the 1961 League Cup Final. Peter is also famous, or is it infamous, for his perfectly legal shoulder barge on the Manchester United goalkeeper, Ray Wood, during the 57 final, that resulted in Wood suffering a broken cheekbone. As I say, it was perfectly legal, albeit rather unfortunate for Wood. Dad, Carol, Channy & a copy of Dave Woodhall's 'Aston Villa Miscellany' that was full of autographs by the end of the night! The legend Peter McParland, and his guest Malcolm. Peter McParland is my Dad's boyhood hero, so it was extra special for us all when they got to meet each other. Dad looked like he was ten again, beaming from ear to ear! Great stuff. Dad and his hero, lovely picture. Us and Peter! The actual races themself were sullied by awful weather - it had tipped it down all day, and continued to do so all night, but that didn't dampen proceedings in the VIP  area, where we had a great night, tucking into a three course meal and drinks, and soaking in years of memories from Peter. He was a true gentleman - they say you shouldn't meet your heroes but that is entirely untrue in this case - the man is absolutely deserving of the title 'Legend'. Peter let slip his thoughts on some of the current squad and management, and believes that in Martin O'Neill we have the right man to take us back to the very top. We were also fortunate to meet Ian Taylor, Neil Rioch, Sir Brian Little (I checked and he does indeed walk on water),  a very friendly Mark Delaney - for a good while we bored him to death,  Gary Shaw, Leighton Phillips, and a few more.  Our winning dog was in Trap 5, 'Cons Bypass' and here we all are with him: The winning Pooch in our sponsored race, sorry about the chopping the heads off, aren't we Kell? xx Here I am with Sir Brian Little - walks on water - an honour to meet this man too. And finally here's me and our Craig with Ian Taylor, a great moment for us.   It was a truly memorable night, and I must thank my dear wife for doing all of the liasing with the FPA for us, thank you darling, I love you xxxx Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 06.02.2008; 12:28:43 PM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Christmas in Bruges - very romantic

We booked ourselves into the lovely De Tuilerieen Hotel, in Bruges, for a short break over Christmas. This is probably my babe's favourite hotel, and really is a special place. We drove over (it's dead easy - Bruges is only  just under an hour from Calais, the biggest pain being the drive to Folkestone for the tunnel) and settled in on Christmas Eve. We ended up with a room with a luxurious room with a four poster bed, with a smashing view of the Dijver, or canal to you and me! Here's the De Tuilerieen's website, for you to see for yourselves. The better half and a nativity display in Brugge. A windmill! Where's Windy Miller? We had some marvellous meals, with Kell's favourite being the six courses of seafood! She had, or rather didn't eat: Oysters, crayfish, lobster jelly, but oh dear, she had Deer for her main course! URGH! As, she said! Ha ha! I absolutely loved mine - I ended up with Greater Weevil as my main course, something I'd never tried before but it was delicious! We also got into the rather pleasant habit of having an afternoon stroll around the Christmas Markets and Ice Skating Rink (or ring, eh baby? :) ) whislt supping a rather nice hot chocolate and Baileys. Mmm! We did all the usual tourist things (again) in beautiful Bruges, aswell as one or two slightly out of the ordinary things, such as finding a backstreet pub to watch the Chelsea vs Villa match in, in the company of a few very welcoming Belgian Villains - hello lads! Brill game, Villa were well worth a point, at least, maybe more were it not for Ballack doing his 'I've been shot / dying swan' routine, the flaming cheat! We did intend to carry on for a weekend in London, and then down to Dad and Carol's but alas, best laid plans and all that meant that I ended up with a particulalry nasty strain of Belgian Flu or something - I felt like death warmed up for the best part of a week, and ended up going home early, to retire to our lovely comfy settee.  Sorry Dad & Carol, we were looking forward to joining you but I did feel bloody awful. Snow? Yes! Snow! Honest! Thank you to my lovely wife for a fantastic Christmas, and thank you for all of my lovely pressies too - even the pants that were massive, you barmy bugger! I love you so much, we had a great time, as usual, can't wait till our next jolly! xxxx All my love, Babe xxxxxxxxxxx Finally - who's this fab dancer? :) Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 10.01.2008; 9:39:13 PM from the Married Life dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

The Manic Street Preachers at the NIA

Nearly up to date now folks! Hooray I hear you all say! Last updates for last year are: a) The Manics at the NIA in December b) The pictures from our Sunderland / Newcastle trip  er, hello Bekki, calling Planet Bekki please come in with the pictures! Helloo!! :-) Kell: There has been a slight problem with the pictures from Newcastle, my dear little sister has accidently deleted them from her laptop and she is having a few problems trying to retrieve them, so we'll have to keep our fingers crossed!) and c) Our recent Christmas break to Bruges. Well, that's the festivities over for another year. Most people I know were either bad (such as me!) (Kell: I'm so pleased your feeling much better now darling xxx) or had a low-key Christmas and New Year. It was the first New Year's Eve I can remember for about, what, twenty years that I didn't go out for, (Kell: It's the first New Year's Eve in the last ten years I haven't been out - as I wasn't old enough to go out before this! :-), we watched Take That countdown to midnight, (Kell: which was a fantastic concert!) such was my poorly self! What a boring old fart I must be getting! (Yes, I hear you all say). No booze, (Kell: Well done gorgeous, I'm very proud of you, you've had a smashing detox!! xxx) and I've packed in the fags as a Resolution aswell. Wish me luck! One week gone and not even a sneaky drag on one...I've had the temptation though, I have to say. And back to work! :( Boo! Hiss boo! We all have to do it, so it's best to at least enjoy it if you can folks! Go to work with a smile, and smile the day through! :) Okay, don't then. (Kell: Oh no! work, the worst days of my life - being apart from my darling husband, I so look forward to coming home every evening xx) So, in an effort to get things nearer to up-to-date, let's go back in time, again, this time to December 8th, when we went to Birmingham to see a) the bloody Villa lose to Portsmouth at home - a result that put me in a right bad mood for the weekend (Kell: Aargh, you were in a foul mood darling, I hope the Villa never lose again after that weekend! :-)! as we really, really should and could have beaten them! Grr! Shut up Ian! Then we went to see one of our favourite groups, all the way from Blackwood, Caerphilly, South Wales, come The Manic Street Preachers. Great group, great passion and great songs. They didn't disappoint either, despite James Dean Bradfield, the lead singer and guitarist having the 'flu. They opened with the classic 'Motorcycle Emptiness' and went on to play loads of favourties plus stuff from their latest album, the very succesful ' Send Away The Tigers'. (Kell: We had a fantastic evening at the Manic Street Preachers and the hotel was amazing, lovely and expensive Kir Royal's, the bed was so comfy but it sent a shiver down your spine when you looked out of the floor to ceiling windows from the 23rd floor!!) We even bumped into the bassist Nicky Wire and drummer Sean Moore in the hotel afterwards - great blokes. We had a superb evening, one I would recommend to any music fan. Also, the Manics are to be awarded the NME'S God-Like Genius Award next month, well overdue! Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 04.01.2008; 12:16:03 AM from the Married Life dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Autumn in Paris - Business and pleasure! And egg chasing!

Nearly up to date! Just a quickie to say thankyou to my wife for a super weekend in Newcastle - we went to see the Villa draw one all with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light (Villa played well and we met a few friendly Sunderland fans - nice people) and then, along with Vic and Bec, we went for a night out in Newcastle with the girl's Dad, Steve, and Step-Mom, Julie. We had a smashing meal at Marco Polo's (sea bass to die for), and a nice walk along to Tyne, along the quayside there. It's Steve's birthday on the 24th, so Happy Birthday to him for then! :) Thanks for a nice weekend baby, I love you xxxx Bec has the pictures from the night out so when we get them I'll add them. Come on Bec! So, in light of the French transport strikes, we elected to drive to Paris, and it was a doddle. The Peripherique, however, was a long, boring crawl! We finally arrived at our hotel in the Montparnasse district, in the early evening. The Hotel Concorde was pretty ok, no frills but we've certainly stayed in worse. The Friday saw us tootling off to the Paris Nord exhibition halls for the Equip Auto show, on a fact finding mission to see of it would be worth our while exhibiting there. Quite quickly we established that to do that would be a waste of time and money. It was more like a car spares exhibition than anything. Ah well, nothing ventured, nothing gained... The Eiffel Tower, and the giant Rugby ball! The Sky News team reporting by the Eiffel Tower  England fans get ready for the Big One (note the trolley full of beer!) So, back to our hotel...It was jam packed full, mostly of very nice and hospitable Kiwis, who were an absolute credit to their nation. We made some great friends, and they even did a Haka for us! Brilliant! There were also, boo hiss, some Wallabies staying there, although we did applaud them back into the hotel after the match. We were lucky enough to get tickets to then Rugby World Cup Final, and despite the Paris transport workers having lightning strikes an hour before the match started, we got to the Stade De France on time. The atmosphere was incredible, it really is difficult to put into words how it felt. When we sang the National Anthem it literally made the hairs stand up on the back of our necks. Sadly, although England made a brave effort, victory was not to be. We were near the "try that never was" and it bloody well was! Ah well. We still had a superb evening, one that we will never forget. We also popped down to the Eiffel Tower on the afternoon, where there were hordes of England fans, along with numerous TV reporters. We also educated ourselves in the art of getting around Paris via the Metro! Very brave of my wife that! Well done honey bunny! :) I love you so much xxxx What a super time we had, we are very, very lucky people. The national anthems - awesome.  Match action And now for some more pictures from our magic day! Beauty runs in the family! Here's Nan Shirley, and Angela & Carol looking lovely Here's the proudest and happiest man in the world, with his gorgeous Bride, lucky me! I love you baby xxxx Here we are back at Villa Park, outside the Players Lounge Thanks for your comments, and hello to Richard Moore and family! :) Kelly says thank you for your kind thoughts. Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 22.12.2007; 12:29:18 PM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss (1 response) Comment [1] Trackback [0]

The Mango Tree - couple of great nights out

At the end of September, we, along with Craig & Laura, Angela & Martin, and Vicci and Bec all went to our favourite restaurant, The Mango Tree, in Stonnall for a Wine Tasting Quiz night. We had a great time, although Craig and I have only hazy memories of the night, due to the vast amount of wine we finished up drinking - all in the name of itdying up the left overs from the others. Hic! ;) We went back in November for a Bollywood Night. Dad & Carol, and Lisa & Adam, and again Craig & Laura joined us that night. Two people got very, very drunk, and for once I wasn't one of them! We're taking Leanne this Thursday evening for a Soul & Motown night which I'm really looking forward to. Hope to post some pics of Kelly dancing that night! Stay tuned! Here's Murray, Head Chef at the Mango Tree, with yet another award. Brilliant chef, great restaurant. and here's how it was on our wedding day - spot my Nan in the background! Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 17.12.2007; 1:18:42 PM from the Married Life dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

My Babe's birthday - a trip to London

Still playing catch-up here, after a summer off! :) I think I've covered everything up to September. And September is a very special month, for not only is it my late Mom's birthday, it's also my lovely wifey's birthday. As ever, we went and saw Mom at the cemetry, and laid a wreath and said our prayers and 'talked' to Mom. Then we set off for a short break to London to celebrate Kelly's 25th birthday! On recommendation, we booked into the Royal Horseguards Hotel, supposedly with a river view. However, the room we were allocated didn't have a river view, but it did have one or two problems. I won't go into detail on a public forum such as this, but let's just say it wasn't as good as we'd hoped. Not to let this affect things, we set off on our first night for the West End - to see the stage version of Kell's all-time favourite film, 'Dirty Dancing'. I don't really know what we were expecting, but we both left feeling a little disappointed. The songs were all there, albeit sang without much feeling, by 'stage' singers. The story was there, again albeit let down by the on-stage falseness. The finale was great, but then so it was in the film! Dunno, but not the best show we've seen, it was still fairly enjoyable. It's always fun with our Kell! (Kell: It's always fun with you darling xx) Here's me and Kell in the water remaking the classic scene from the movie! Action from the theatre The next day we went sightseeing. We ventured up the road to the Trocadero, and in there found a rather odd new shop/exhibition/thing all about naughties! We didn't hang around, it all seemed very weird! Then we went to Garfunkels for a lovely long lunch, followed by a stroll down the Embankment, hand in hand, which was lovely. We ended up sitting on a bench watching the world go down the river, only to be joined by a Japanese man who promptly took his shoes off, fell asleep, and snored loudly! After laughing at that, we buggered off to the Imperial War Museum's War Cabinet Rooms. This place is excellent, a history-fest that had me filling my boots with WWII history. There was also the newly opened Churchill Exhibition that is well, well worth taking in. There's a feeling in the Cabinet War Rooms that really takes you right there to the War, and the brave souls involved. Thank The Lord for Winston Spencer Churchill, the greatest ever Englishman. V for Victory! The great man himself. We then returned to our hotel for a light tea, before setting off back to Theatre Land, this time to go and see Mamma Mia! for the second time. This certainly didn't disappoint! What an utterly, utterly brilliant show this is - I could watch it over and over again. (Kell: I could watch ot over and over again too it is a fantastic show and a must see!) My love was up and dancing at the end! :) (Kell: You were having a sing and a dance too baby, it was lovely to see you having so much fun! x) Brilliant night, we would recommend this to absolutely everyone, it's such a fun, feel-good show, with all the best ABBA songs each with a new twist to them. Plus, it's pretty much the only way / nearest you'll get to seeing ABBA on stage again (save for those endless tribute acts, I suppose). GO AND SEE IT! From the brilliant stage show... We aso ventured down to Knightsbridge, to see Mr. Al Fayed at Harrods, although our budget only stretched to the deli at Harrods2 over the road! I did buy myself some very cool designer jeans though - makes a change from my usual Marks and Spencer fashion efforts! We finished off the weekend with a ticket for the bloody Congestion Charge, and the drive home, and our heads full of wonderful, loving memories. Thank you for a lovely weekend babe, I hope you enjoyed your birthday? (Kell: I had a lovely birthday thank you darling, it was so special and I will treasure the weekend forever, it was so lovely spending the long weekend with you day and night and I shall treasure the many wonderful memories which we have from that weekend x Thank you so much for all of my presents too gorgeous, they were lovely and it was so very kind of you xxx I loved them all darling and I love you so very very much xxx) I was so pleased to see the smile on your face when you saw your flowers, it meant the world to me! (Kell: Thank you for my flowers they were beautiful darling and you mean the world to me my gorgoeus babe! xxx) All my love, Babe xxxxx (Kell: I love you with all my love, heart and soul always and forever darling, you are everything to me my darling husband xxx All my love, Kell xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) Oh, and here's some more Claret and Blue Wedding pictures, courtesy of Grandad Tony aka Lord Lichfield! The Wedding Party Me, my beautiful Bride, and Grandad Tony We even had claret and blue confetti! :) Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 14.12.2007; 9:58:06 PM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

And then they put us on the official Villa website!

So, after being flattered by the huge response to our programme appearance, we were absolutely stunned to log on to the 'News' section of www.avfc.co.uk - the official Aston Villa website, to see our story featured there! I couldn't believe my eyes, and had to check twice that I was indeed seeing my ugly mug and my wife's beautiful face looking back at me through the website. It was basically a copy of the programme story, but lovely all the same. So, a big thank you to all at the official website, led, I believe, by Geoff Coleman, and Jack Woodward. The site has had a mini-revamp lately, removing the hard to read from claret background and replaced it with an easier on the eye white. Here's the Claret and Blue Wedding story as it appeared that day: We had a lovely Sunday lunch at Shirley & Tony's yesterday - and a lovely glass of Tony's wine or three - THANK YOU! Sorry I snored all afternoon! :) We love you loads, and it's our turn next time! And to my wife, I must say sorry for the Villa putting me in a foul mood on Saturday! I love you so much my babe xxxxx Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 10.12.2007; 2:20:57 PM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Aston Villa's Premier League Perfect Ten by Rob Bishop

Rob Bishop is the editor of the Villa programme, and a very nice man. He very kindly invited us to Villa Park, where we twice had lunch with him. On the first occassion, Rob asked me what my perfect Premier League top ten players were, along with a short narrative. This I did, and I'm honoured to have been included in the illustrious list of contributors: Rob Bishop, foreword by Martin O'Neill, Gordon Cowans, Dave Woodhall (author of many excellent Villa books), Brian Little (walks on water), and many other heroes of mine. The book is a great read, and an ideal pressie for a Villa fan, or any football fan at that. From Amazon: "Synopsis In sporting terms, a Perfect 10 simply cannot be bettered. When stars get this coveted maximum score, it means they are simply in a class of their own. Now, some of Britain's leading football journalists have adapted the phrase to pick up on a fascinating publishing challenge. They were asked to select a top club and name their "Perfect 10" list of players, using the timescale of the trail-blazing 1960's right up to the modern world of mega million fees and global transfers. There were no positional restrictions. Each prestigious list could contain ten centre-forwards, or just as easily have six wingers and four goalkeepers. In the case of Villa, author Rob Bishop chose to concentrate on the Premier League Years, post 1993. Other books in the "Perfect 10" series are: "Manchester United"; "Chelsea"; "Newcastle United" and "Glasgow Rangers." The end product is five individual paperback books of which "Aston Villa's Perfect 10" is one - encompassing golden memories, famous games and legendary individual performances. It features pages of personal debate as respected Midlands journalist Rob Bishop considers and dismisses the claims of some real superstars in his ultimate search for the greatest Villa Premier stars of them all. This book comes with a selection of classic images. " A bargain at £6.99! Best of luck with it, Rob, and see you for lunch soon! :)   Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 28.10.2007; 4:38:47 PM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Q&A fun with our very own General! The legend that is General Charles C Krulak

We're very priveledged and proud to feature the Aston Villa FC Director, General Charles C Krulak, better known simply as "The General". The General has become something of a living legend at Villa Park, with his helpful persona and often very funny postings on some fan websites. He has solved many a problem for supporters, with an honest and pragmatic approach. Our friend Fergal and his son and niece recently had a nasty experience at the Liverpool match, that left Lyddia, Ferg's niece, afraid to return to Villa Park. The General heard of this and in an incredible gesture, invited them all to sit in th Directors Box for the next match, as his guest. Of course, they had a fantastic day, and The General can only be highly commended for his gesture. This is just one example of many instances over the last year and a bit. The General is also our owner, Randy Lerner's, right hand man. In addition to his sterling work for the Villa, the General has an illustrious US Marine career. He served as the 31st Commandant of the US Marine Corps from 1995-1999, aswell as being a veteran of both the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm. He also served as Deputy Director of the White House Military Office, aswell as advising the White House on military stratergy. The Generals medals and decorations include : Defense Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Bronze Star Medal with Valor device and two gold stars Purple Heart with gold star Meritorious Service Medal Navy Commendation Medal Combat Action Ribbon Presidential Unit Citation with bronze star National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star Vietnam Service Medal with silver star and two bronze stars Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze stars Sea Service Deployment Ribbon  Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (with Palm) Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) Quite something. On his retirement he rose to Chief Executive Officer for MBNA Europe, aswell as serving on Villa's Board he also serves on the Board of several US multi-nationals. He is married to Zandi, with two sons, David and Todd. So, that's the background to The General, here's his Q&A: What is your favourite place that you have visited? London, UK and Australia. Name something that you like about yourself.  My integrity.  Integrity is the only thing we really "own".  No one can take it from us...only we can give it alway.  Once given, it is very difficult to get back.  I have worked hard to keep my integrity. (Ian: Great answer, General, and one that's so true.) Who would play me in a film? John Cleese. (Ian: I can see that! You'd be good in a Monty Python sketch!) What is your dream car, and why? 007's Aston Martin.  Because it is such a classic sports car. (Ian: Sure is, we've all wanted to drive that I think!)   When did you first go to a villa game? 1st game of last season. Did Randy and the other Directors enjoy our wedding story? Randy and the Directors were aware of the wedding and enjoyed the very small part that the Club played in the saga. (Ian: Thank you, General, for the part that the Club played in our wedding, you gave us some unforgettable times.)  Do you collect anything, and if so what? I collect knives.  What are your top three all-time favourite musical artists? The Beatles, Neil Diamond, Elvis (Ian: Three absolute classics there, General, good choice.)   What is your favourite food? Kentucky Fried Chicken...although my wife will no longer let me have it...too much fat. (Ian: I know the feeling, General!)   What is your all-time favourite song? Hey Jude, by The Beatles (Ian: Good answer, this has been adopted by Villa fans for Luke Moore - na na na na na na naaaa Luuuuuke Moore!)   What is your all-time favourite villa player? Cannot answer this one...Directors should not have "favourites." (Ian: I bet it's Gareth Barry!) What is your fondest ever villa memory? Two of them:  1)  Last game, last season...82' Squad on the Pitch, scarves waving, great play by our lads.  2)  Beating Chelsea this year at home. (Ian: He's right, these were two brilliant games, the first for the 82 squad, and the whole atmosphere of the day, and the second was a brilliant atmosphere again.) If you could meet a famous person who could it be? Jesus Christ. Where do you envisage Villa being in 5 years time? A Squad that wins, consistently, and is playing in Europe. (Ian: Amen to that) Then The General signs off, as ever with "Semper Fidelis, CCK" Thanks again, General, for taking part, some super answers and a real honour to have met you at Bodymoor Heath on the Open Day. Our best wishes.   Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 15.10.2007; 8:43:48 PM from the Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss (1 response) Comment [1] Trackback [1]

And now the Honeymoon Part 3 - days 8 to 14 - Juan les Pins to Pont Royal to Aix En Provence

I don't know - no updates for ages and then they all come along at once! Like waiting for a bus! So, we've covered the fantastic Orient Express trip, and the superb Le Meridien Garden Beach Hotel, now we moved on (on the Saturday) to a private villa we had rented in a complex near Pont Royal - Golf Du Pont Royal...This had been sold as an all encompassing resort, with lots of restaurants, bars, live music, golf, shops etc - well when we were there it was nothing of the sort! We lasted 3 nights of feeling like we were sleeping in someone else's house / bed (which effectively, of course, we were) before we started to go stir crazy and wanted away! Here's the second and final week of our honeymoon: This is the lovely villa that we rented - sadly it came with free building site and builders. We woke on the Sunday having had a poor nights sleep. We decided to have ourselves a walk around the complex, to familiarise ourselves with it, and the routes to and from the main area. We were told it was about a twenty minute walk - it took us two hours, in the baking sun! We were knackered when we finally got there, and had a lovely slush puppie type drink to cool ourselves off. We got chatting to a nice couple called Kevin & Joy (hello!), who we got talking to as I'd got my Villa top on - Kevin is a *reels in horror* bluenose, and Joy a villa fan, nice people who offered to show us the ropes there, so to speak. They also showed us a "short cut" back to our villa - it still took ages and ages! As soon as I walked through the door I jumped straight into the swimming pool, I was boiling! We went back on the evening for a drink but everything was closed (again). On the Monday we woke up to the delightul sound and sight of builders immediately behind the villa! That rather ruled out lounging by the pool, so we decided to go for a drive. We went to and through: St. Remy de Provence (gorgeous place, where Jean Reno is said to live), Arles, Nimes, Ales and then arriving at the Bambooserie. This is a fantastic place, home to Europe's largest bamboos, and some great examples of redwood trees. We drove back through Salon de Provence before we arrived back at "Pensioner City"!! We then had another unsuccesful attempt at going out, and decided that tonight would be our last night there - we decided we would leave the next day and head off for livelier climes. We went home and watched 'Casino Royale' which was pretty good. Some of the fantastic attractions of the Bambooserie near Ales. We had another poor night's sleep (not good on honeymoon!) and called Yan the house key minder to tell him we'd be leaving, so arranged for him to come round for the inspection - he was amazed at how spotless the villa was - that's my gorgeous wife that is addicted to cleaning, I said! I love you baby xx We eventually made our way to the Aquabella Hotel in Aix en Provence, with a nice room with a balcony, and had a lovely relaxing jacuzzi and a lovely evening meal at the Italian in the Pasino, washed down with a bottle of Chateau De La Cost, a superb wine, before we returned to our balcony for a cocktail. This is the view across the old town of Aix En Provence, as seen from our hotel balcony. So, all of a sudden we're at Wednesday on week two of our honeymoon. Blimey, where'd the time go? We woke refreshed after our first decent nights sleep for about a week, and had a very pleasant breakfast on our balcony. Two bits of bad news - it was raining and also the hotel hadn't got any cancellations for the rest of the week, meaning we'd have to move on again! Ah well, we had a great night there.  We eventually settled on relocating to a nice hotel - the Kyriad Prestige, again in Aix En Provence. This hotel is an old favourite, going back to a) when Kell & I first went to France we stayed here and b) I stayed here during a lovely family holiday with my Nan Maisie, and Dad & Carol back in about 2001 (Dad - is that right?). We were delighted to find that it had been refurbished, and booked in to settle down for the final three nights. We watched some of the England match on TV before we went to the hotel's restaurant for a cracking meal, and an evening pool side, with me in my element drinking Pelforth Brune beer, whilst my beautiful Bride had a couple of glasses of champagne (on the house, again! :-) ) My gorgeous babe, shot 'arty' style by me! I know, she's beautiful and I'm very, very lucky, On Thursday we got the Number Ten bus into town! I haven't been on a bus for years, it was great fun, and only a Euro or something daft! We had a mooch around old and new Aix, drank a lovely iced fruit drink and met a wine expert by the name of Pascal - who was really very informative and gave us a free lesson on local vineyards and wine. He liked to be called Pascal the Rascal - really nice guy, thanks Pascal. We were in his shop so long that when we came out all the other shops had closed and gone home! We again ate at the hotel, and sat by the pool - a thoroughly lovely day and night, thank you baby xx Me posing, again arty style, complete with empty Pelforth bottles! So we come to the final day of our magical honeymoon - the Friday. We started with a lovely fresh fruit breakfast, with croissants and an apple that appeared from nowhere! We went back into town on the Number Ten bus, and went shopping for gifts for our families and friends, and spent the final afternoon by the pool, reading and sipping cocktails - isn't that how last days should be? Oh, and I did ten laps of the huge pool! We again chilled for the evening, before setting off for home on Saturday morning - back to reality and back to rain! Oh, and we had a new holiday song, by accident - 'Rehab' by Amy Winehouse - mad as a bottle of cake but what a fantastic voice! The huge pool I did 10 laps of, complete with lion! Thank you my beautiful bride for a fantastic honeymoon, I love you so much xxxxx We had a lovely time, but as ever, were glad to be back in our own bed weren't we babe? xxx   So, that really completes the wedding and honeymoon I guess. We'll talk about what happened next, in the next update, and resume the popular Q&A's aswell soon. Oh, and news of another great day at Villa Park (so no, I'm wrong, there is one more post about the wedding to be done)and being in the programme and on the club website too! Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 27.09.2007; 9:47:35 PM from the Honeymoon, Married Life dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

It's the honeymoon Part 2 - days 2 to 7...Paris - Nice - Juan les Pins

So we'd arrived in Paris, woozy and boozy! We had a cracking night's sleep, probably because we were so bloody tired! We stayed at the Sofitel Paris Bercy, and had a lovely room. We had a lie-in until 10am, then breakfasted and set off for Gare De Lyon, Platform D. The brilliant TGV whisked us onwards at hundreds of miles an hour, bound for Nice. I read some of my book - 'The Damned United' (excellent read) and Kell read the celebrity mags, we munched and dozed and chatted before we arrived at Nice station. We then picked up our hire car (a Renault Megane thing) and drove to our hotel, the Le Meridien Garden Beach - (Kell: This was an amazing hotel, it was superb and I'd love to go back for our anniversary!) This was as brilliant as we had hoped, and our sea view room with balcony was a great setting for the first week of our honeymoon. I checked my emails on the train, and we'd had a lovely one off my Cousin, Donald, and his wife to be Della, thanks both, it was a lovely thing to do xx There was also one off The General (more of this superstar later) (Kell: Come on General, I can't wait to see your Q&A's Sir!!) aswell, which was really, really nice, thank you Sir! We then spent the evening in the Restaurant Paradise, on the beach, and had a wonderful meal, before we went on to the Pam Pam cocktail bar and partied! (This was an excellent bar, with a great dancer!) Another brill day! This is our brilliant view, isn't it just superb? This is the Pam Pam cocktail bar, complete with half nekkid singer! (Kell: You loved it!!! xx) On the Tuesday we chilled on the beach, with cocktails (complimentary), and saw odd dog-shaped handbags for sale at 160 Euros, a la Paris Hilton! On the night we eat at the hotel's restaurant which is on stilts over the sea, and watched the twinkly lights out at sea! This is me and my lovely wife sharing a romantic meal xx Oh dear, during the night Kell was poorly - maybe she had one cocktail too many? ;) (Kell: I was poorly yes! I endulged in a mixture of drinks along with a variety of cocktails and I felt a little poorly, but I loved it) xx I finished my book and started Dom Joly's book - 'Look at me! Look at ME!' which was ok but nowhere near as good as the 'Damned United' book that I read in 2 days. We had a walk on the prom towards Golf De Juan today, and lay on the beach again, before I went in for a swim and my new wife had a paddle! Oh, and I had a haircut too! On the evening we ate at a local Vietnamese restaurant, and had a great meal. Thursday saw grey skies when we opened the curtains, sadly. :( So, we had a ride out in our hire car, firstly to Antibes, where we walked for ages and ages trying to find the Picasso Museum, only to discover that it's closed for two years! We did find an exhibition of his pottery, which was good. Then we walked around the market, stopping at the spice counter and olive counter the longest, then perused the second hand book shops for a while, before going to Le Toscorano for a pizza lunch. In the afternoon we went to Marine Land, (Kell: This was great, we had to buy huge rainmacks to keep us dry, as we'd only taken shorts, tops and no coats!!) where we watched the killer whale show, saw the dolphins, and I chatted to the penguins! A great spectacle, but you can't help thinking you shouldn't be there encouraging the keeping of these magnificent creatures in captivity. Later, I finsihed my book then we had a pillow fight!!! Oh, and three days in, I realised that we'd got all of the UK channels on the TV! Rained all day today. My lovely wifey, I think this was the night that she got drunk for the one and only time that we've been together! Poor babe! xx Friday saw much brighter skies, and a trip for some crepes, checked our emails, and chilled on the beach. We also rang the folks back home today, always good to hear their voices. In the evening we went for a jacuzzi and a swim, and Kell felt sad (Kell: I was very sad, I could live there if we won the lottery!) as it was our last night here, before we set off for Provence tomorrow. We watched some of the England v Brazil football match on the telly, then finished packing and went out to the Butterfly Restaurant, which was great (sardines! mmm!) I had a rough night's sleep on the last night, and woke up with a sore throat and snuffly nose - must be the air conditioning. We had breakfast on our balcony, having a final look at the spectacular view, for the last time.  We checked out and decided to drive the coast road towards Marseilles, passing through Cannes, and a fantastic drive along the Corniche - that really is one of life's great drives, with killer views. Eventually we headed inland, towards Aix En Provence, through Mallemort before we arrived at Golf De Pont Royal.  Unfortunately, the whole complex was nothing like that what we had expected, although the villa itself was excellent, you really couldn't fault it. The restaurants were all closed, the golf club was only open half the time, the golf club bar seemed permanently shut, and the place was full of adolescent kids! In the evening, we had a lovely barbeque and then watched our ABBA DVD, before retiring to our pit. Here endeth week one of our honeymoon! It was fantastic, darling, a week that I'll never ever forget, and you looked gorgeous lying on the beach in your bikini! (Kell, you loved it!) xxx Thank you babe for a lovely first week xxxx I love you so much xxx (Kell: Thank you too babe for a lovely first week, it was a memorable first week of our honeymoon that i'll never forget darling, it was so special and I'll treasure every precious moment we spent together xxxx I love you so much gorgeous xxx) Cheers all!! Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 22.09.2007; 2:32:01 PM from the Honeymoon, Married Life dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

The Honeymoon - Part One!

So, that was our magical day, and what a day it was. We spent the night before apart, which neither of us liked, and in fact I was ready to get a taxi across to Angela's at about two a.m. to go and spend the rest of it with Kell, but I resisted, so as not to bring us bad luck! Kell was up bright and early, at about five in the morning, I think, to have her hair and make-up etc done, likewise the girlies did too. They all looked fantastic. The reception and speeches were super, with a special mention going to "If" and "Down the hole in the seat" moments! If you were there you'd know just what I mean! Then the night came, and Craig came to the fore, with his wedding singing. He was last seen being bundled away singing "Please Release Me" or something! We were dead on our legs well before then, though, and so pleased to get back home. Then we opened all of our cards, and took the pins etc out of my gorgeous bride's hair, which took ages, before a much-needed bed!   An early start the next morning saw the limousine coming for us at half seven, to whisk us in style to London Victoria station - thank you all for buying such an unforgettable gift for us, it was brilliant. An early morning mom to daughter call en route for further parrotting was necessary! (sorry girls!) , and we arrived not so fresh for check-in for the Orient Express journey to Paris. The first leg of the journey was on the British Pullman, and as it came into the station it was a sight to behold, resplendant and dazzling. Our carriage was 'Audrey' and she was beautiful. We were greeted on board by the Train Manager who gave us his congratulations for the wedding, before we indulged in the complimentary champagne. We then enjoyed a sumptious meal as we had a leisurely amble (in the persistent rain) to Folkestone Harbour station, where as we disembarked, there was a brass band playing for us. Lovely stuff, a journey never to be forgotten. - The British Pullman comes into view - fantastic. - The happy (but tired) couple outside Audrey. - A toast to Mr. & Mrs. Bourne! On the pop already! - Arrival at Folkestone Harbour station.   We then boarded a luxury coach for the journey through the tunnel, before we arrived at Calais Ville station, and then I saw it: The VENICE SIMPLON ORIENT EXPRESS. It was breahtaking, an image I shall treasure until my dying day, and one that still brings a lump to my throat. The train simply was the most beautiful machine you can imagine - it was everything we ever dreamt it would be, and more. The porters in their uniforms, the staff, and cabin, the dining car, the bar car - all were simply amazing, We were again greeted with the Train Companies very best wishes, before we settled in and explored our cabin, which was fantastic. A while later we went along to our restaurant car for a fantastic meal and a bottle of VSOP Champagne, which we drank as we cruised towards Paris. We finished our wonderful meal, guzzled some more champers, and moved to the bar car, complete with it's Baby Grand piano. This was just another unforgettable experience on a weekend full of them. Eventually, later than expected, we arrived at Paris Gare de L'est at around half ten, before we jumped in a taxi for our night at the Sofitel Bercy - dazed, drunk, tired and elated! - What a fantastic sight! You must all do this one day! - A tired looking Kell in our sumptuous cabin! - More champers and ready for our tea! - The famous bar car of the Venice Simplon Orient Express. Not a Poirot in sight! What a fantastic first day as a married couple, and here are some shots of the day. Kell, babe, our dreams came true that weekend, I love you xxx Ok, having consulted the diary that we kept of our honeymoon, I just need to add a thank you for the text messages that we recieved off Angela, Steve, Will, & Andy Evalast - thanks all. Also, especially for Angela - I need to tell you that so far, I had looked after Kelly! ;) Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 16.09.2007; 9:04:58 PM from the Honeymoon, Married Life, Villa dept. Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0]

At long last, The Bride's Q&A, my darling Kelly

Well, here we are, finally arrived at the night before the wedding, just a few hours to go now. Today has been absolutely hectic, almost a nightmare, with tears shed along the way. Thanks to all of you who helped today: Bill, Sean, Patsy, Mark, Craig, Adam, Carol, Dad, Babs, Angela, Martin, Rebecca, Vicki, and Sean again. Thanks all of you, we got there in the end. Now it's time for my baby's Q&A, and I've saved the best for last! I love you so much my darling, and I can not wait to see you walk down the aisle to me tomorrow, it's a dream come true babe xxx Thank you for coming into my life and changing it the way you have, for making things complete, for being the wonderful person that you are, you are my world. I love you with all my heart, soul and body xxxx Well, I hate rushing, but I have to, so I want to re-write this after our wedding day! Thanks again to everyone, and a big thank you to all the people at Heroes and Villains aswell for the links off - cheers lads. What is your favourite place that you have visited?   Anywhere with my Babe, I really enjoy going to Provence with my babe as we spend special, quality, loving time together x   Name something that you like about yourself   My Eyes and Ian says my ability to make him laugh as he say’s I’m puddled!   Who would play me in a film?   Jordan, Julia Roberts and Uma Thurman (Say’s Ian!)   What is your dream car, and why?   I’ve got it - a Mercedes A Class   When did you first go to a villa game?   August 2003   What are you looking forward to the most at our wedding?   To seeing my gorgeous babe, walking down the aisle to him and saying I do, then walking back out as husband and wife then after that the Honeymoon!!   Do you collect anything, and if so what?   Our memories box, which has anything and everything in from the last five years Ian and I have been together and teddies….I have hundreds of them which over the years my babe has brought me   What are your top three all-time favourite musical artists?   Take That, Abba, Gary Barlow, Simple Minds, Dirty Dancing Soundtrack and The Manic Street Preachers   What is your favourite food?   A Roast Sunday dinner, pasta and crisps!   What is your all-time favourite song?   A million Love Songs, I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (Our Song!), A Book Of Brilliant Things and Chiquitita x   What is your all-time favourite villa player?   Gareth Barry and Tony Morley   What is your fondest ever villa memory?   The final home game of this season when the 1982 squad came out onto the pitch, holding my babe’s hand and seeing the look on his face was amazing, he loved it!   If you could meet a famous person who could it be?   Jordan and Gary Barlow       Thanks darling, you are my world xxxxx  our favourite picture together!  Permalink:# Posted by Ian Bourne on 25.05.2007; 10:08:46 PM from the Build-up, Married Life, The Big Day, Villa dept. Discuss (1 response) Comment [1] Trackback [1]