Review: Iron Man - Tony Iommi

As told to TJ Lammers

****

I bought this when it was first released and read it within two days but decided to give it a bit of time before I reviewed it to ensure I was being fair to the text.

So where to start? The start, I guess!

The book follows the usual music biography format with an anecdote to kick it off followed by a jump to childhood and then a standard plodding chronological order.

The stories about growing up in Birmingham were great for me as that is where I grew up too so I could really relate but I wonder how interesting it would be to someone who had not experienced that kind of heavy industry-influenced, poverty-ridden, immigrant-status start to life...

There are some great little stories in there but like most musician autobiographies, it suffers from being far too short, merely skimming over the surface rather than getting into the juicy details.

There is content missed out (ie, the real battles Tony had with Ozzy and Sharon) and I am convinced there were a lot better tales left out than included...

The most interesting part for me was Tony's take on Cozy Powell's death. Tony obviously holds Shari firmly to blame for the accident and it makes me wonder how many more of Cozy's friends feel that way. She played the role of the grieving widow very well but there was so much more to that day than we will ever know...

Getting back to the book, though. It IS very good. It gives you a good introduction but I would love to see it expanded upon as I am sure Tony has much more to offer.

How about a blog, Tone?!!

Review: Ambience (Update)

The Uplands

Rogerstone

Newport

01633892333

*****

I reviewed this place when it first opened earlier this year. I said at the time I was happy with the treatments and would go back to try more...

Oh did I...

In total, I have had 3 pedicures, a manicure, an Indian head massage, 2 eyebrow waxes, an eyelash tint and perm, and a microcurrent facial.

I am now a regular, going every couple of weeks or so. Sarah has got some new stuff in (including a very comfy pedicure chair).

I had the microcurrent facial last night and - I shit you not! - I look 10 years younger! It basically consists of having these weird paddles rubbed over your face while it sends a tiny electrical current through your muscles, relaxing them and releasing your wrinkles. It's like botox without the toxins, trauma, needles...

The electro-facials (microdermabrasion coming soon) run at £35 with a back massage included. You can also get the vacuum suction one to clear your pores (I had that too!) and in that you get your usual cleanse, moisturise, etc. All in all, a pretty amazing deal!

As for the eyelash perm and tint; they are a small luxury that I now cannot live without. I look more alert and don't need to struggle to find vegan mascara. The best thing? It lasts for months!

You can also get Minx nails at the bargain price of £15 plus ear candling, massage, spray tans...

Get your butt over there and support a local business!

And say Helen sent you ;)

Beautiful Men, Part 20 - Pasha Kovalev

Januray 19th 1980 -

Now, I know some will say this is a cop-out due to his recent involvement in Strictly Come Dancing but I have been following Pasha's career since he first appeared on So You think You Can Dance.

I just love this guy! He's handsome and humble and takes criticism well. And, fuck me, he can dance!

Pavel was born in Siberia and moved to the US to be a professional dancer. He is currently partnering Chelsee Healey on the UK version of Strictly... and is becoming quite a favourite...

Save Tesco Risca!

I have been informed by a reliable source at Caerphilly Council that the Tesco Extra store in Risca/Pontymeister is set to close due to lack of custom.

Say it ain't so!

I love that store. It is close to my house and is the best supermarket in the area for my dietary requirements. I certainly will not be driving across town to find another Tesco.

More importantly, though, that store employs hundreds of people from the local area. What will happen to them once they shut? There will not be another store willing to come in and take over so we will have surging unemployment rates and a vast expanse of land going to waste. Risca is already a struggling town so this would be just ridiculous.

Rather than shutting it, why don't Tesco try to do some promotions to get the locals more inclined to use it? And I don't mean getting the local school kids coming in to pack your groceries; the language on Sunday was appalling!

The biggest issue the locals have is with the prices. How about some decent promotions that people will actually like? Tesco in Newport used to do something like spend £40 and get a free box of tea bags and packet of biscuits. People love that kind of gesture. We are running up to Christmas and, considering how horribly busy Morrisons always is this time of year - and that's a crap supermarket! - this is the perfect chance for Tesco to win over some new business!

Come on! Don't kill yet another Welsh town...

Keep Tesco in Risca!

Life in a call centre, Part 26

Been a while, my friends! A cartoon that a former colleague posted on Facebook earlier today has given me some decent inspiration...

Compliance.

Working in a call centre, you have to have your calls regularly monitored to ensure you are basically doing your job correctly. This includes meeting data protection requirements, representing the company well, and cross-selling your ass off.

We once had a competition to see who could use a customer's name the most during a call (we were supposed to use it at least 3 times). The record was set by a lad who used the customer's name 54 times. In a four minute call.

Why didn't you sell to that grieving widow? Why didn't you offer a credit card to that woman who was crying because she had just lost her job and couldn't afford to pay her bills this month? Why didn't you offer x-product to that man who called you a "stupid little twat"?

I wish I was joking...

We were expected to cross-sell on such a high percentage of calls that it alienated our customers. And the management and compliance teams could see nothing wrong with this.

Seriously, how could they expect us to sell to people who already thought our service was shit?

"Well sir, I see we have not done too well on this product. Is there anything else we can completely fuck up for you?"

Shite.

Freedom of speech or inappropriate behaviour?

This article appeared online a couple of days ago.

Basically, a teacher - assistant head teacher at that - is being investigated after a newspaper drew attention to some things she had posted on twitter.

What had she said?

Well, she tweeted about blow jobs, masturbation, and used the word "cunt", amongst other things.

Well, OK. So what? Everyone is entitled to say what they think online, as long as it does not involve defamation, of course. This teacher can say what she wants and act as a bit of a common oaf if that makes her life more complete.

People have gone absolutely nutty online, attacking the newspaper and questioning their journalistic credibility. Twitter is swimming with rants about freedom of speech and protecting our real lives from our online antics.

What utter bollocks.

First off, as usual it is the same old comments over and over. Develop a thought of your own or shut the fuck up.

Secondly, this teacher got herself in this mess.

How?

She decided to contact the newspaper from her twitter account about a news story they had published about her school. She identified herself as a teacher at the school publicly. At that point, she lost all of her privacy rights. She chose to associate her rather childish tweets with her employer. It would make it much easier for current students to find her account and see exactly what she was like. Parents would also be exposed to her attitude and that would make them question her credibility as a teacher.

If you found out your child's teacher worked weekends as a prostitute, would you consider that perfectly acceptable?

Honesty would make you say no.

I am unbelievably careful about associating my online persona with my work life. I work in a highly sensitive industry and have to be vetted extensively in order to get placements. Why would I then allow my employer and all of their prospective clients know that I regularly get threats and abuse from crazy people that cannot understand that individuals can have differing opinions?

Why should this teacher not be held to the same moral standards, just because a group of loudmouths on Twitter think everything is a fucking political issue?

She may be a perfect teacher. If so, apologise for a stupid mistake and consider how you appear to others from now on.

Don't ever try to justify linking your employer with such puerile behaviour, though.

And I don't think anyone could ever use the "c-word" as a freedom of speech argument without seriously taking the piss.

School's out... forever?

I've been quiet for a few weeks because I was studying for an exam. Yay me, etc. I failed my exam in May (only just!) as I was really ill with the burst ear drum. Today I resat the exam so hopefully I have done enough to pass this time...

Aside from that, I have been working long hours plus overtime. Still loving the job. Still not loving that one particular colleague... Generally we all have a laugh, though. Going to pick up some more overtime now that I am done with uni.

In other news? There isn't much... I have my eye on a stunning dress for the Christmas party season. Not worn a dress since 2002... Of course, I will need new heels to go with it...

I had a full-on cold but I worked through it (I wont go off sick).

Other than that... I have a few pieces planned for here. Maybe some more crime writing and a review or two... We shall see...

And in a secret message to a certain someone - YES, JESS!!! I have finally updated my blog!!!!

RIP Freddie Gruber

What. A. Week.

Did 100 hours this week. Kinda tired but pushing on. Just keep thinking of the money.

The best thing is I have just not had time to go online. I jumped on Twitter once on my phone during a break just to confirm I was not dead and that was it. Last night, I decided to settle down in bed and catch up on my emails but my internet connection dropped out and there was no way I was going back downstairs to reset the modem. So this is my first chance.

Had a few interesting things that I need to deal with (more to follow) but otherwise it looks like the world has carried on about the same without me. All good.

So we are having a mini-heatwave before the first snows hit. I am back in cut-offs and flip flops. Would quite like the snow to make an appearance soon, though. After-all, my kittens will absolutely love it...

Went into Newport this morning for the first time in a while. Give them credit, the shop keepers are trying their best. Newport has been dying for years but today there were a lot of people out and there was quite a European feel to the city... It took me back to my youth spent living in France... You never know, we might finally be able to turn this around.

From today, all shops are legally forced to charge at least 5p for a carrier bag in Wales. There were a lot of arguments about it this morning (why??? We all knew it was coming). I already had my own re-usable bags that I have carried for the last 4 years... Doesn't bother me as I now no longer will have plastic bags forced upon me in shops...

The Christmas stuff was in stock today. I bought a couple of Disaronno gift sets for myself and my mother to enjoy. Nothing else really grabbed me. Still searching for fuck-off-expensive crackers...

I also bought that Phillips Lumea hair removal system. Will give it a try and report back with the results. Already done the first treatment and aside from a warm sensation and one hair burning right off, it seems all good...

Hit bonus again at work. Not going to enjoy being well into the 40% tax bracket but that's life...