My dad the hero

We're all proud of our parents. My dad was Chairman of Rangers for about 4 years and for a while was quite a well known figure in Scotland, so that was quite a big deal for me.

As you'd imagine, we used to talk a lot about football and Rangers. We didn't talk so much about his day job though, which was an orthopedic surgeon. But this week I saw this incredible story that made me realise that he was a great man for more than just football.

Now that really does make me proud.

Holiday? What holiday?

The good news is that Wenge and I had 10 wonderful days in the south of France. The sun shone relentlessly, with the mercury by the pool reaching 47 degrees one afternoon and a sea temperature of 25 degrees, so it was a holiday for relaxation rather than activity.

Since we were in the foothills of the Pyrenees, we had planned to spend some time walking, but it was too hot and frankly more enjoyable to spend it by the pool or just reading a book. Or cooking, which I did a fair bit of.

We treated ourselves to a couple of days in Collioure, and found ourselves in the most beautiful sanctuary of a hotel just a few hundred yards off one of the main streets - a real oasis of elegance and calm in the throng of holiday crowds.

I had my own treat - my annual visit to the local wine merchant who gave me a guided tour around his selection of local wines (I swear he knows every winemaker personally) and helped me get my credit card bill to a respectable level. Our neighbours, who let us use their house, arrived as we left and are going to bring my purchases back in the car with them when come home - now that's what I call good neighbours.

There was a slight hiccup on the way home, when we had to get off our plane on the runway due to a technical fault and wait 5 hours for a replacement plane. Still, as it was Ryanair we were expecting them to just refund the £29 fare and tell us to f*#k off and make our own way home, so it wasn't too bad.

A long bank holiday weekend and it was back to work - my first week in my new position as Head of Internet. As I write it's Thursday evening, 3 days in, and I can't pretend that it hasn't been tough going so far. I'll be glad to get the week over and make a fresh start next week. Thank goodness for the weekend.

Melvis has definitely left the building

So, I'm sitting at the computer in our next door neighbours' house in Foix, that they've let us borrow for a couple of weeks.

I know it can get irritating hearing people go on about their holidays when you're slaving away at work, so I'll skim over the details: a beautiful old stone farmhouse in the foothills of the Pyrenees, overlooking a gorgeous valley; 38 degrees outside, the sun blazing on the crystal clear swimming pool; a fantastic kitchen and a Bang & Olufsson sound system. Ever the company man, though, I'm doing my bit right now by listening to the original Ministry of Sound 'Chilled' album.

Tomorrow, we drive to Collioure on the Mediterranean coast for a couple of days by the sea, then back here. I'll stop at my favourite Caves and let the owner guide me through some of the best of the local wines with a view to trying some out in the remainder of the holiday. Forgive me if I don't blog very much until I get back.

The glass is more than half full, by the way; a Minervois fresh out of the fridge to be precise...

Arse

It was a footballing weekend as Rangers came to Town for the Emirates tournament. Two double headers in two days, and a chance to see how the Scottish champions would fare against Arsenal, Paris St Germain and Atletico Madrid.

My brother Nigel came down with tickets, and shortly after midday on Saturday we set off for the first day. Our seats were right at the back, but we were able to move forward to empty seats much nearer the front. The view was fantastic.

The football was less fantastic. Rangers beat PSG 1-0 in a dull encounter that had pre-season friendly written all over it. Tidy in possession but not much in the way of action. The decent sized Rangers support did its best to liven things up and we had a good singalong - the only problem being the paucity of songs that aren't anti-catholic which, frankly, embarrases me as a Rangers fan. A shame, because some of the tunes are quite good. Arsenal then beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 with all the goals coming in the last 5 minutes... just after I'd received a text from James to say that he and his mate had left to get the tube.

On Sunday we watched a very entertaining PSG v Atletico game while the atmosphere built up for the main event; Rangers v Arsenal. All the noise was coming from a full Rangers end, but unfortunately it didn't take long for spirits to be dampened. Just 2 minutes in fact when Eduardo - offside by the way - laid off nicely to Wilshere to slot home. What a player he is, by the way. Less than 10 minutes later Eduardo scored and the game was over as a contest.

Arsenal showed the gulf in class between the English and Scottish leagues and when Wilshere scored a third nobody could say it was an unfair reflection of play. Rangers should have scored at least one but poor finishing saw to that.

We did at least win the battle of the supporters - singing for most of the game while the best Arsenal could do was the Mexican wave, which has no place in football. Once again, though, I was reminded how unpleasant some of the Rangers support can be. Thankfully there are also many decent ones who made the long journey down t support their team.

In the end, it wasn't the greatest of tournaments and a disappointing second day but a rare chance to see the Gers. A chance, also, to see a free-flowing Arsenal side that will excite again this year. Next up, Man City at Ibrox.

Uncertainty

For the last couple of weeks I've been poised and ready to write an update on my position here at Ministry of Sound. There have been a number of possibilities floating around that could see me stay here until Christmas or staying permanently; on a full or part-time basis; either doing what I'm doing now or in a new role.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Sound is turning 18 in September and is undergoing a period of reflection on how it needs to change to ensure it's as relevant in another 18 years.

The combination of those two things mean that they're finding decision making very hard right now, and for me it's resulting in a very frustrating time.

Where's the glass half full bit? I'll have to get back to you on that.

So the Ministry party was everything it should have been. A great party atmosphere, a more than decent barbecue, and most of all some stonking music.

When you think of a Ministry of Sound party you don't naturally expect to hear Stevie Wonder, New Order or Happy Mondays. But the assorted DJs rocked it with an awesome mix of old and new.

We stayed in the courtyard until around 10.00 then moved into the club - my first time there at night. Taking over The Loft, the music was just as good as it was outside. It was everything I'd hoped a Ministry of Sound party would be.

Then, just after 10.30, the club opened. Punters started to arrive, most of them male, and the music changed to a formula that presumably works commercially, but sounds like shit. We had a party going on, but it was funny seeing all those blokes arriving and trying to join in - especially with Wonder Woman, Catwoman and nurse Sara (did I mention that it was a fancy dress party?).

After a while a few of us decided it was time to call it a night (the lightweights had already left) and went through a side door back into the office to pick up our stuff.

All in all, a fantastic night. There's some stuff at Ministry of Sound that isn't all that wonderful, but they do know how to throw a party. I should probably make the effort to stay until the Christmas one...

Fancy that...

It's Ministry of Sound's Summer Party this afternoon and evening. Starting with cocktails in the courtyard and moving into the club later. Competitions with cash prizes. Oh, and it's fancy dress too - "what did you want to be when you grew up?".

Since I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, I'm not treating it too literally - so I've looked out a Scotland shirt and found the official Scotland tracksuit that my Dad brought back from the Spain World Cup in 1982. It should be fun. I'm looking forward to sampling the club for the first time, and of course to seeing what some of the girls wanted to be when they grew up...