It's now just over two weeks since you were taken from this crazy world and, as I sit here typing this, I'm currently listening to a few of our favourite songs, including some of the Swedish stuff, and reminiscing over the good times we shared together.
I was there when we said goodbye to you for the last time. I held your hand and still prayed for you to wake up, even when I knew there was no chance of you ever coming back to us. You held on for three days but your body couldn't take any more.
You just gave up.
It hurts.
And I still miss you.
Saying goodbye was the hardest thing any of us have ever had to do. You don't expect to go on holiday and lose a friend at the same time. That schweinhund took you away from me and it hurts even more knowing I'll never see you again. I need you in my life and I know that isn't possible any more.
My heart is still aching.
And broken.
We gave you a good send-off a week ago. That was hard too. We'll be scattering you over the Mersey soon, just as you wanted, and I promise I'll never ever forget you. Whenever I see something funny, especially whilst watching Eurovision, I'll always remember your smile, and your laughter, and remember all the good times.
So, for the last time, here's a little message from me to you:
Jag älskar dig, Owen, och jag kommer att sakna dig.
July was a happy month. I celebrated my first wedding anniversary with Scott (we went out for a meal and there were no accidents - yay!) and the beginning of the month was nice and hot. A bit rainy (again) towards the end but, all in all, still a good month.
Here's what else I got up to. Enjoy.
Supporting
The Women's European Championships took place in Sweden this year and, being a fan of Sweden's international football teams, I was looking forward to it. Granted, it wasn't Zlatan Ibrahimović et al, but I still watched it. We got as far as the semi finals where we got knocked out by eventual winners, Germany, but I enjoyed it. I'll also enjoy watching the aforementioned men's team in their World Cup campaign next year, should they get that far. They should do, though.
Aside from the Women's European Championships, the British and Irish Lions beat Australia in SOME STYLE (or, rather, a bunch of Welshies and some English lads did), England are 2-0 up in the Ashes series and the new Danish Superliga season has restarted. Sadly for my Danish team, FC Copenhagen, they've lost both their opening matches and are now anchored to the bottom of the league. Brilliant. Not.
Celebrating
As I've already mentioned, it was my first wedding anniversary this month (on the same day as two of my friends' birthdays, nonetheless), and I was treated to a meal out by my wonderful husband, Scott. We went to a Chinese restaurant (Scott's choice, not mine - I would have preferred Italian) where we had chow meins, mushrooms, soy sauce and everything else you'd see on a Chinese restaurant's menu. It was actually quite nice and I didn't complain. Not once. I still can't believe I've been married a whole year though. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?
Listening
As July was the month of mostly supporting Sweden in the football, I listened to the official song by Sweden's finest Eric Saade over and over again, which you can find in full below. Sadly, he's not in a football kit (I wish he was), but I still get to see his lovely face on my blog. Enjoy.
Tweeting
Highlights from July included the following:
The #pointlessthingsinfootball hashtag, which included Harry Redknapp, Stoke City and, erm, Silvio Berlusconi. Yes, really.
Wigan Warriors' Josh Charnley getting his kit off. Literally.
On Wayne Rooney: "When Rooney leaves United, he can jolly well stay away from Goodison. We don't want him back. Tit." - @shawsterama
On the #royalbabynames hashtag: "Has anyone come up with the name Oxford Cambridge yet?" - @scouserach
On the Ashes: "Poms 2 Aussies 0." - @susstudio
Two of my friends changing their Twitter avatars back to their Pokémon nicknames. One of them's doing the Gangnam. Classic.
And, finally, my favourite tweets of the month go to...
Britain has legalized gay marriage, which is about time for a country who worships a queen.
— Frank Lowe (@GayAtHomeDad) July 17, 2013
No, Harry, you cannot call him "Prince George of Asda". #royalbaby
— Prince Charles (@Charles_HRH) July 24, 2013
ROYAL BABY WATCH: Duchess goes into Labour quoted as saying: "I hope it's as easy as an Aussie batsman to get out."
— Fred Boycott (@FredBoycott) July 22, 2013
Has The Queen arrived yet to cut the red tape and declare the Royal Box open? #RoyalBaby
— Malcolm Upton (@Alky007) July 22, 2013
I can't believe we're into July already. It's my first wedding anniversary this month so I'd like to do something extra-special with Scott around that time.
Anyway, June was also a special month for me. I celebrated my birthday (minus accidents. HOORAH!) with family and friends, one of whom had just returned from an impromptu holiday, so that was special. We also got some sunshine so I managed to sit out in the garden to top up the (sort-of) tan I got whilst in Copenhagen and Malmö back in May.
Here's what else I got up to in June. Enjoy.
Supporting
When David Moyes left Everton to become the new manager of Manchester United, I was left sulking. Then along came the news that Roberto Martínez was our new manager. He'd not long since won the FA Cup with Wigan Athletic so I'm hoping he works wonders for us as well.
Oh, and whilst I'm on the subject, David Moyes can keep his hands off Leighton Baines. He's already put in a bid for him but we've already made it clear that he's not for sale. £12m for our Bainesy?! Pah! Not a chance! Unless you make it somewhere in the region of £30m, plus Robin van Persie and maybe Shrek, we may have a deal. Otherwise, sod off.
Sharing
I'm sure you've all seen the Coca-Cola 'Share A Coke' campaign by now. You know, the one with bottles with your name on? I managed to find mine and Scott's the other week and we still have the bottles. Shame there isn't one for Sebastian though. There probably is in Scandinavia but his name isn't on bottles over here. Oh well.
PS: I know it's red and white but it's all I could find. Besides, I like normal Coca-Cola anyway, and I think of the label as being Saints-coloured. Just a shame we've been worse than useless all bloody season!
Watching
Besides being a fan of football and rugby league (see above), I'm also somewhat of a tennis fan and, unless you've been hiding in a cave for the last month, you'll know it's Wimbledon season so I've been watching the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic doing their thing. Roger and Rafa are out, as is Tsonga, but Nole is still in so I'm hoping he does well.
Well, anyone's got to be better than Murray... Right?
Playing
Pet Rescue and Papa Pear on Facebook. They're both addictive. I used to play Candy Crush a lot as well but I got bored of it in the end.
Listening
June was the month of cheese. Besides all the Eurovision stuff (STILL) and Robin Stjernberg's new album, plus a lot of rock and the odd bit of classical, I've listened to mainly cheesy stuff. Swedish cheese, mostly. In particular, the new one from Basshunter. I can't get enough of it. I do prefer Avicii and SHM of course but I do like a bit of Jonas Altberg (AKA Basshunter) from time to time.
His new one is below in full. Enjoy (or maybe not).
Tweeting
Because of the nice weather the UK's been having recently, I've been basking in sunshine so it was a case of 'tweeting when I can' in June. Here are some of my highlights though...
On David Moyes wanting Leighton Baines: "10m for Baines?! You're havin' a giraffe ain't ya?! 40m and RVP and we have a deal!" - @sevens1878
On Cardiff City buying Danish striker Andreas Cornelius: "Nice one, FC Copenhagen, you just sold last season's top scorer to the worst team in Wales. Hope you're proud of yourselves." - @susstudio
Tweets from various people about the Yellow Duckmarines sinking and then the company who own the damn things going into administration. Oh, what a shame.
On Valentina Monetta representing San Marino for a third time: "Valentina AGAIN in 2014?! I know they're only a tiny state but do San Marino not have anybody else they could send to Eurovision?" - @scouserach
And that's it for this month. No favourite tweets from me this time. Will hopefully get them back in August.
May was an exciting month. We got a bit more sunshine as well as a bit of rain and it's getting warmer at long last, though the cold weather is still biting us all on the arse, but at least the sun has finally got his hat on (hip-hip-hoorah) and it may be a hot summer in the end.
Here's hoping.
Anyway, here's what I got up to...
Travelling
So, as I'm sure you've already seen, I went over to Scandinavia for about the millionth time, only this time, it was for the Eurovision Song Contest. I, like many other Eurovision nuts, stayed in Copenhagen before making the short trip over the bridge to Malmö, where the contest was held this year. And what a night it was! It had everything: light up wristbands, flags waving, hot singers, smiling doctors, weird disco falsetto vampires, men in kilts singing about free booze (it was actually stupidly expensive) and even topless drummers. It's going back over the Öresundsbron next year after Denmark won it on Swedish soil, just like they did in 2000, and I'll be back in Copenhagen (or wherever it's held) for Eurovision next year. I can't wait!
Remembering
2007 was a horrible year for me. I lost my wonderful brother, Paul, and I still miss him to this day. At the beginning of May, he would have turned 31, and I went to visit him to say hello and wish him a happy birthday before I went away. He may have been a massive Liverpool FC fan but that didn't stop him being a good man. He was only 24 when he died and he left behind two lovely children, my niece and nephew, and he'd have been a brilliant uncle to Sebastian. I still have a few of his things that I kept after his death, just so I know he's still around somewhere, and I have a few brilliant memories of the brother I loved so dearly.
Celebrating
Whilst Everton's manager, David Moyes, left to join Manchester United as their new manager after Alex Ferguson's retirement and departure (and me having a good old sulk about it in the process), my second FC Copenhagen won the Danish Superliga for the tenth time of asking - and at the home of our nearest and not-so-dearest rivals as well. I went to the match the following week but we lost. Still, at least we won the league, so I can't really complain. Well, apart from said rivals (and horrible team) somehow managing to avoid relegation and going bust. Oh well, you can't win them all, can you?
Listening
Whilst everyone's been celebrating Denmark's win at Eurovision (see above), I've been listening to other songs from the contest. I HAVE listened to Emmelie's album but I've mostly been playing the Maltese entry over and over again. Gianluca was rather sweet on the night and he finished in a respectable eighth place so there's no complaining about that but the only thing that could have made it cuter was that if the song had been sung by puppies and kittens. He was very smiley as well and was so adorable. Can we have more like him next year please?
Tweeting
May's highlights included the following:
The tweets about who'll take over as manager at Everton (see my last blog post) and everyone cheering when Mark Hughes was named as manager of Stoke City. At least he's not coming to Goodison.
Malmö having a restaurant called Bastard. Yes, I really did laugh!
shouldireadthedailymail.com. No, you really shouldn't.
Myself and a friend tweeting about a Swedish guy dying after having sex with a hornet's net - only for me to then find out it was all a hoax.
Hearing people having fun pronouncing Robin Stjernberg's name. Stern-berg? Qwern-berr? St-yern-berg? (It's more the middle one for those who don't speak Swedish.)
Zlatan! Need I say more?
My friend's tweet about Serbia's Eurovision act, Moje 3, winning the Barbara Dex award for coming dressed as a real life game of Candy Crush.
So, unless you've been hiding in a cave for the last 24 hours, you'll know that Alex Ferguson has announced his retirement from being a football manager and that Everton manager, David Moyes, is hot favourite to take over the reigns at Manchester United, which upsets me greatly.
In my previous post, I posted a list of names I wouldn't like to see taking over at Goodison Park. I missed a few out of the list though, so here are some more names that can think twice about taking over and, if any of them do, I'll be throwing myself into the nearest river.*
*the river wouldn't necessarily be the Mersey. It'd depend where I was at the time of us choosing a new manager (right now, I'm in Copenhagen, so it'd be Nyhavn). That is all.
Mark Hughes: Ah yes, Sparky. The clueless tit who doesn't know his arse from his elbow. Managed Wales for a few years from 1999 to 2004 before taking over at Blackburn Rovers, who were his longest-managed domestic team. He attempted to manage Manchester City for a year before heading off to Fulham and finally QPR, where he lasted a few months before getting sacked. He's also generally disliked by most football fans. He may have once played for Everton but we don't like (or want) him either.
Sven-Göran Eriksson: Whilst I like Scandinavian managers, since most of them know what they're doing, I've never liked or rated the bog-eyed spectacled idiot that is Sven. He's managed more clubs than I've had hot dinners and basically failed at all (or at least most) of them. And then there was the time he managed England. Need I say more?
Sam Allardyce: Another name I've seen doing the rounds today is Fat Sam's name. Oh Christ no. Us and him would be a disastrous combination. Nearly all the clubs he's managed are ones I don't particularly like so he can jolly well stay away from my beloved Everton, thank you!
Alan Pardew: Speaking of fatties, this idiot is the managerial equivalent of Millwall FC. Nobody likes him and he doesn't give a toss. I kind-of have a soft spot for Sunderland FC, despite their choice of manager (I don't rate Paolo di Canio either), so the thought of Alan Pardew leaving the fat Geordie skunks for Everton wouldn't make me happy. Anyway, don't those cunts have him for another eight years?
Neil Lennon: Whilst I like him at Celtic, who are my Scottish team, he is a bit of a liability and a bit of an idiot. Ally McCoist can stay where he is as well, thank you very much!
Steve Bruce: He may be back in the Premier League with yet another team but I've had a massive hatred for Bignose for many years. He's another one I wouldn't welcome with open arms.
So there we have it. Let's hope Bill Kenwright doesn't make any of this lot our new manager. All we want is a decent manager.
I didn't really do anything exciting or entertaining in April (apart from continuing my Eurovision obsession to get me in the mood for next week) but it's definitely been a good month, mostly due to the fact we're FINALLY getting a bit of sunshine. I've even managed to get out and about a bit with my two gorgeous boys, even though we've still had a few layers on, but anything's got to be better than sitting around under blankets and moping... right?
Can we have more warmer days in May please?
Shopping
It's fair to say that the last few months have been stupidly cold. I've been packing for my forthcoming jaunt over to the land of the Scandics but, having seen weather reports for both here and there, I've had to buy a couple of extras just in case. (And, speaking of Scandinavia, all the following are from Sweden's own H&M. Well, I just had to.)
(Yes, I do like Swedish clothing. How did you guess?)
Rejoicing
When Margaret Thatcher snuffed it at the beginning of April, literally everyone in the North of England celebrated. Some held street parties in celebration of her death whilst others downloaded Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead to try and get it to number one, much to the annoyance of the BBC, who decided not to play it if it charted. It got to number two and, in its place, we got a news report with a little bit of the song playing instead.
PS: Don't tell me who I can and can't like. Margaret Thatcher was one of the most hated figures in Liverpool after her cover-up of the Hillsborough Disaster and she was pretty much disliked by the people of Yorkshire as well, having done her part in the miners' strike of the '80s. She made most people's lives a misery, so now she can rot in hell.
Listening
Whilst everyone's been obsessing over the new Daft Punk song, I've been getting my groove on to the Canadian legend that is Michael Bublé. I downloaded his new album the other week and I can't get enough of it. I actually have most of his albums on my iPod and he never fails to cheer me up when I'm feeling down. What more could a girl ask for?
Tweeting
April was the month where one particular cretin called Old Holborn was outed by several scousers after he tweeted nasty abuse about Hillsborough and the murder of James Bulger. He picked on the wrong city and subsequently deleted his Twitter account, only to reappear a few days later, tweeting more abuse towards Liverpool and the people of our great city.
Idiot.
Other recent highlights from April include the following:
The one I tweeted about double derby day on Sunday. I'll be missing the Merseyside derby at Anfield for the second consecutive season, this time due to Sky faffing around with fixtures, and my second team, FC Copenhagen, take on their big rivals (who shall remain nameless) in the New Firm derby. I'll probably be over there by then anyway.
Tweets about Eurovision. Again.
Sale Sharks rugby union player, Danny Cipriani, getting battered by a bus and me tweeting Yhe Wheels On The Bus after hearing about it.
Tranmere's new away kit being modelled on a Vileda kitchen cloth having announced their new sponsor as Home Bargains. Classic.
The #playersonthesuarezmenu hashtag. Need I say more?
Finally, my favourite tweets of April go to...
Bye-bye 'Arry. Not so 'appy now are ya? #cunts
— Rachael (@aggerista) April 28, 2013
Final preparations for Margaret Thatcher's funeral. Might have to sell Argentina to pay for it. #itswhatshewouldhavewanted
— Prince Charles (@Charles_HRH) April 11, 2013
@susstudio - how the hell does 'teardrops' sound like 'pissflaps'?
Now, as I'm sure most of you are aware, David Moyes is apparently leaving Goodison Park at the end of the season. This saddens me because I've always liked him as a manager and it leaves us thinking 'what next'? I'm hoping someone like Martin O'Neill, Ståle Solbakken, Erik Hamrén^ or Michael Laudrup* takes over because they're another two I've always had time for. They won't stand for any shit from anyone.
*Michael Laudrup is the current manager at Swansea City and has since signed a new deal keeping him at the Liberty Stadium for another couple of years. Shame.
^Erik Hamrén is the manager of Sweden's national football team, having previously managed Rosenborg BK in Norway and Aalborg BK in Denmark, and he's a brilliant manager for them so I reckon he'd do well at Everton as well. I wouldn't mind us having a Swedish manager. He's been with Sweden since 2009 though so I don't expect him to leave my national team any time soon. Double shame.
There are, however, a few names I wouldn't like to see take over at my beloved club and I'm going to list them below.
Steve McLaren: The wally with the brolly. The man with the permanently-bad hair day. The idiot who thinksch he can schpeak Dutch. He was previously the manager of Middlesbrough (remember the time a crazed Boro fan chucked his season ticket back at him in disgust?) and tried managing England for a bit before buggering off to Holland. Twice. He may currently be out of a job but he's a clueless idiot and we don't want him at Everton. We wouldn't last two minutes.
John Barnes: Failed at every team he's managed. He was a much better player than he was a manager and, whilst he still lives in Merseyside, we don't want a manager who has failed dismally every time. He's only managed three teams. Oh, and he can't rap either.
Alan Curbishley: Lazy and clueless. He's managed one less team than John Barnes and has done nothing since 2008. It's up to him if he wants to live a life of bone-idleness but we don't want or need a lazy manager at Goodison Park.
Alex McLeish: Another clueless idiot who gets hated everywhere he goes. He wouldn't come to Merseyside anyway. He seems to love the Midlands so much so he can bloody stay there, thank you!
Gary Megson: This gum-chewing buffoon is another one who has basically failed at every team he's managed. No thanks.
Walter Smith: Manager of Everton before David Moyes. We flopped under him and even lost to Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup back in 2001 whilst he was our manager so we don't want him back. We still owe them for that.
Brendan Rogers: Current manager of Liverpool. He may have steered Swansea City into the Premier League but he's an idiot. Even the Liverpool fans hate him. Need I say more?
Over to you, Bill. Please do the right thing and keep this lot away from the Old Lady. The only way I'd take any of the above is if they were working in our food areas or becoming cleaning ladies to clean out the toilets. Just bring in someone that will actually do the job and make us a decent team again. That's all we're asking for.
