I've been off work for two days after a bizarre 'getting washing out of the washing machine' accident, in which I bent down awkwardly and felt a sharp pain in my back as I pulled a muscle. (One of my friends, who lives with his parents, said, "That's why I don't do my own washing." Wise words indeed.)

There are lots of things happening today and tomorrow:

The 10th anniversary of Diana's death and the memorial service in London.
- See my diary below.

The ending of the football transfer window at midnight.
- If Villa don't buy some decent players today, I will be very cross indeed, as we can't survive until January with the current, depleted squad.

My friend Eduardo's 32nd birthday.
- ¡Feliz cumpleaños Edu!

The Mr Gay UK final in Blackpool (and Doctor Who turning on the illuminations beforehand).
- The Birmingham twink seems to have disappeared from the list, so we won't be winning it for the fourth year (effectively) in a row. (We wouldn't if he were still in it anyway.)
- We're not overly impressed with this year's bunch, to be honest, but we'll go with Mr Blackpool to win it on home turf. Mr. Nottingham's not too bad, but it has to be said; where's the beef?

The Big Brother final.
- Bumbling Brian must win, not the dopey twins. And will Davina reveal the washing machine in the garden? How stupid are they all going to feel, after handwashing for 94 days?

However, I'll be missing all these, because I'm off to Cardiff for the Mardi Gras. A meal tonight with gay rugby players from various parts of Europe. I may get drunk and speak to the French ones. Oh, gay French rugby players. Be still my beating heart!

Tomorrow, an international gay rugby tournament on the castle fields, hosted by the Cardiff Lions, with me in attendance as official photographer. It's bigger than before, with 9 or ten teams, and includes women's teams for the first time.

Then the Mardi Gras event itself tomorrow afternoon and who knows what on Saturday night and Sunday? I probably won't even be watching the first ever Eurovision Dance Contest tomorrow night, hosted by the BBC (and Graham Norton) from London. With Brendan and Camilla as our imported entrants (from New Zealand and Denmark respectively), we might even have a chance of winning. Half of Austria's entry is British too, so vote for them. She's from Liverpool.

Must dash. Cardiff, here we come! Have a great weekend. Vote Brian!

Labels: Cardiff Mardi Gras, events, rugby, weekend

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