Ya alreeeet Howsenhoff & Belle, your both looking in good health (which is good!) and I'm enjoying reading your blog, especially the Nepal leg, the pics of Everest are brilliant. Howser, I hope you're not copying it straight from the Rough Guide!Looking forward to the next post and get some vid clips launched!Safe journeys, happy blogging and keep laughing Bean

Have you seen Rambo yet ?

If you visit the Tango caves, you might find his red head band and a pocket knife.

Im off the Vegas tomorrow to watch Ricky kick some Yankie buttttttt

Morning Howser and Bellini. Interesting tales of Hanoi, especially the cockroaches...I hate the blighters too but apparently there quite good on toast.

Looking forward to the next installament from war torn South Vietnam, interesting stuff.

Please be safe, I worry about you.

Lots of love, Rathe

Just to let you know I am trying to book hotel rooms on line for our surprise trip for Heathers BIG birthday next April and I'm sure my language is very nearly ? as bad as Nicola's.Kev has gone out in disgust.That also could be cos the weather here is AWFUL and the footies off.

Love to you both XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When u guys come back to Bangkok? We miss you.

We want more pictures!!!!!

HI YOU TWO, LOVED YOUR LAST BLOG. WE'VE JUST HAD A VISIT OF THE HU MONGUS HOUSE SPIDER.I BRAVELY CAUGHT IT IN A GLASS WENT TO SHOW IT RONNY AND HE HAD THE CHEEK TO ASK WHO LET IT IN!! AS I NEVER HEARD IT KNOCKING I PRESUMED IT LET IT SELF IN, SO I EVICTED IT FORTHWITH.

WE ARE OFF TO GLASGOW NEXT WEEKED FOR MY FORTHCOMING BIRTHDAY... PLEASE DONT ASK A LADY HOW OLD SHE IS... YOU WOULDN'T LIKE TO SEE A YOUNGISH LADY CRY ...

MUCH LOVE TO YOU BOTH TERESA XXXXXX

great writing skills you two- I am home alone tonight while slips goes to watch the spurs- they won I think- I am too busy watching i'm a celebrity...is that what your lives are like!!??!!!

Missing you for our annual xmas bash- molly knows who santa is now and she is very excited about his coming down nannas chimney! my dad is 60 this weekend so everyone is getting p%ssed and I am driving!!! joy! All is well here- am feeling well- lovingthe blogs keep em coming..

xxxxxxxx

Vanessa Amorosi is very famous in australia, she sings our, and your favourite song ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY. l want you to know this before you reach australia so you don't insult her when you get there, please practice singing her song on flights that you take in the far east.

Nicola, good job I am not hearing your new found linguistic skills we would have to be getting the soap out!!!

To report on the Dublin trip I can say that dad fully embraced the usage of the local black stuff, suffice to say he had a totter on a number of occasions! The hotel was very nice but we experienced some trecking conditions when we attempted to wash/shower, the water wasn't hot and was very brown, I'm sure you can empathise that from the depth of our 4 star hotel with a huuuuge bed, proper roof, fluffy towels, proper toilets, that this was a cruel blow. Anyway mammy had to get her tough head on after shall we say some negotiation with the mangement and we were upgraded to a 'superior' room with an even bigger bed, separate bath and shower and joy of joys a de-misting mirror for shaving. We had also had a fridge to keep the champers cold(we can do posh you know)

We went to the Guiness storehouse, purely for the history and the view from the top of the tower, nothing to do with the free pint of guiness at the top. We also experienced 'true' Irish culture in Temple Bar and a couple of really old pubs. If I hear some trio/duo sing 'sweet molly malone' one more time!

You will also be glad to know that we thought that as you were having to rough it, we should be brave and avoid such tempations and luxury as taxis and we actually got the airport bus both ways, how good is that! and we walked everywhere, dad said he has lost even more inches.

Anyway that's all for now take care you two love you loads and miss you moreXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Now then,

..firstly bellamina - your language has taken a turn for the worst, you sound like Howarth in the office. Stu - get the swear box out and you can recoup some of the cash you injected into my retirement fund.

.. alittle bad news for Howarth. "The Shoreditch" or should I say "our Shoreditch" has been affected with the dreaded "doing up". It is a sad day and one that I have not yet experienced,but at a guess I would suggect that a good boozer in the city would come a cropper with a "doing up". Sad times. On a positive note a kind chap who frequents that area has kindly bagged "our trophy". Much to the disgust of the darts and stationary.

Let's face it, whilst the trophy was "offered out" to other footballing colleagues, I would like to think our performances made it our own (+ big G. Phillips, a footballing machine) - other colleagues, for this truth I apologise.

We will share many a few pints out of the tankard on your return - moral is again high!

3 final questions - where will you be in May? Have you got time to learn SAP IS-U, then we might be in business on your return! I am setting up a venture in the mountains, drop me a mail and I will reveal all (naked fluoro-night-skiing. Genius!)

Smudger

Morning Comarade Howarth as a scholar of the red curtain and now probably a convert. (I do have a very funny sentance to write based on my in depth knowledge of Vietnam War flims use of language. As it may be construed on this forum as mildly racist towards your current hosts i will save it for a possible visit to the Black c*** - Thats actually the name of a pub!) Cant wait for you to start the South Manchester revolution!

Anyway Stu I understand you can shoot any gun you want out there fo a few dollars so I expect to hear tails of you greasing some ***** with a 50! Tell them the scare on the back of your head is from the Gulf they wont know... its 3rd world. Anyway Nic you will be in the devloping country of 'Stralia' soon so you can spend loads of money and watch Stu twitch whilst your doing it that will be worth any fall in the Nam to see.

Not been upto much here went to the pub with Skin and Sars on sat which was nice. Andi and I have been keeping it real for the last couple of weeks althoughdid brave manchester on a Sat afternoon garbage symonds!

Win went to Brighton this weekend with Jen or so he says the way he acts sometimes you'd think he was was married to Jon, have you entered the Paris marathon yet slim?

The Blues are marching on we are cementing 3rd in the league Nic there is turmoil at Liverpool Tom Hicks exact words were 'rafa needs to concentrate on winning games with the players hes got' the full match report Stu as typed by my fair hand.

Manchester City v ReadingSaturday November 24th, 2007, 3.00pmCity of Manchester Stadium - Att: 43,813Teams:City: Isaksson, Garrido, Corluka (Sun Jihai 43), Dunne (c), Richards, Ireland, Hamann, Petrov, Elano (Geovanni 58), Mpenza (Samaras 46).unused subs: Hart, Ball.Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Gunnarsson, Harper, Hunt, Convey, Doyle (Long 85), Kitson.unused subs: Federici (GK), Oster, Fae, Bikey.Goals: 1-0 Petrov 11, 1-1 Harper 43, 2-1 Ireland 90Bookings:City: Reading: Hunt 50, Long 86Referee: S TannerPre Match newsSven-Goran Eriksson makes two changes to the side that earnt a point at Fratton Park last time out. Andreas Isaksson comes in for his first Premier League start of the season with Joe Hart dropping to the bench.The other change comes upfront where Emile Mpenza returns to the lone striker role in place of Vassell. Reading are unchanged from their last league game.The MatchWith the floodlights already on before we get underway here, the City fans in the stands will be hoping that returning star Elano lights the way for the Blues today as they look for an impressive eighth successive home league victory.Slick build-up play from City almost gave Petrov a sight of goal within the first four minutes. Ireland's throughball was slid behind by Royals captain Murty for the first corner of the game.The Blues had started brightly, with Stephen Ireland City's best player in the opening moments and he played his part in the opening goal of the afternoon.England's nemesis, Vedran Corluka, started the move by slipping the ball inside the right channel for Ireland who crossed for Elano. The Brazilian dinked the ball off the post, Hahnemann saved his follow-up and Mpenza's shot, before Martin Petrov rifled the ball home from close range after 11 minutes.Reading seemed to accept the goal and didn't rally too much, possibly to be expected from a team still looking for their first away win of the season, City kept it steady with their now trademark passing moves.With Richards and Dunne seeing off any Reading challenges, the Blues just played out the half until a complete shock just before the break saw Doyle and Convey combine well to give James Harper a chance he didn't pass up. He guided the ball past Isaksson into the top corner from 15-yards out to give Reading an unlikely equaliser on 43 minutes of an otherwise pedestrian game.Corluka was withdrawn as Reading celebrated due to what appeared to be a hamstring injury he had been nursing - in fact before Reading pulled level Eriksson had been preparing Jihai Sun to replace the Croat.A disappointing end to the first half where Elano has struggled to make the impact fans have come to expect.HALF TIME: City 1-1 ReadingSven made his second change of the afternoon at the break, bringing on Georgios Samaras for Mpenza as the Blues look to shake off the shock of Reading pulling level.The half came to life within five minutes as Stephen Hunt performed a disgraceful tackle on Gelson Fernandes. Unbelievably referee Tanner only deemed the challenge as a yellow card.Minutes later another Irish Stephen, this time Ireland, had the City fans up as his shot from the corner edge of the box looped over the bar.That tackle seemed to gee the crowd up and City reacted well to it as Petrov upped his game with a couple of lively movements as Sven's men looked to retake the lead.Before the hour mark the Blues had used all three subsitutes as a tired looking Elano made way for crowd favourite Geovanni. He looked lively on his arrival and after 65 minutes he hit a fine 25-yarder that just zipped over the Reading bar.Reading were doing their utmost to keep the Blues out and Sven's words of 'patience' ahead of the game were having to be heeded as the fans grew increasingly restless with 20 minutes remaining.Petrov nearly unpicked the Royals' lock with a great ball for Samaras, who had made a great run, but he was unlucky as the American keeper saved the Greek's effort with his legs.When City could get a strike in on goal, the big Reading stopper was grateful to be behind the ball, as Ireland and Petrov found out. The visitors were increasing their time wasting as the clock ticked down and City's chances to win the game dwindled. In stoppage time Hamann's fine ball found Geovanni who controlled the ball well on his chest in the area and with the goal at his mercy to win the game he got under the ball and put it over.What a difference a minute makes...and Geovanni quickly redeemed himself as he set up the winning goal....and what a goal! A long hopeful ball was knocked down by Geo and running on to it was Stephen Ireland to score with a brilliant volley and surely the last kick of the game. It was his second winning volley into the North Stand end of the ground in as many home games...but this one was so much sweeter as the City of Manchester Stadium erupted.The whistle blew not long after the restart and the Blues fans could drink a toast to Ireland in the bars of Manchester tonight.FULL TIME: City 2-1 Reading