Odd place for a magazine rack.

A couple of mine:

The first, the very first, glug of beer after a trying day.

The Sports Report tune, 5pm on a Saturday.

Yes, really. I love nothing more than the satisfaction of seeing 5 crisp smooth shirts hanging ready for the week. I iron along to Radcliffe and Maconie, which makes the time fly in. I love it.

a perfect poached egg on buttered wholemeal toast

wandering down the street listening to the In Our Time podcast on my iPod (Melvyn Bragg)

the smell of the Scottish hills

all the way until Number 10 - surely there's no such thing

Beef Stew and Dumplings.

A nice bacon sandwich and cup of tea after a long drive.

A nice pint and a cigarette - not easily done in winter!!

Morning fog along the train route from home to work.

Getting off the train at the end of the day.

My little 6 month old son first giving me a kiss then giving his mum a kiss as we sat next to each other with him on our laps. Happened for the first time last night! I fair melted away.

Watching a sleepy dog stretch and yawn
The mad rush to the dancefloor when that song everybody loves comes on
A crisply executed bunker shot
The plane you're on touching down

The baby meerkats in London Zoo do it for me. We're friends of the zoo, and go every 3 or 4 weeks. Obviously I can say that my four-year old daughter drags me there. You see the new babies when they arrive, and sort of watch them grow. When the macaques (medium sized monkeys) had twins, the mother wouldn't let one out of her reach, grabbing hold of him with her foot whenever he tried to sneak away to play. My daughter and I would always get a kick out of going along to check if the little fella was being allowed away to play.

Coming out of the rain in to a warm, welcoming place
A pile of unread books waiting patiently for you to immerse yourself in them
Good beer and even better whisky

Every time - literally every time - my wife or I catch the eye of one of our two West Highland Terriers, her tail swishes at ten-to-the-dozen in unadulterated adoration.

Setting off really early to drive somewhere nice, before the roads are full of lunatics, getting lighter by the minute, the Today Programme starting.

listening to Radio Four in the morning, knowing that I can stay in bed if I want to.

Getting home on a Friday night. I like my job very much but I like being at home with my wife and daughter 10,000 times more.

2 poached egg muffins and a cup of strong coffee for breakfast at weekends.

Realising I can change to that chord I've been fretting (boom boom) over for months properly now.

Putting warm clothes on. I like winter. OK, pissing rain and wind is a short-term grief, but I like a chill in the air and the gathering night etc. Hard to say why.

Cooking on a Saturday night. I take over the kitchen while Mrs B immerses herself in Strictly et al and I emerge with heavily spiced chilli's or massivley fattening lasagnes. Great fun to do with the music or a podcast on in the background.

Porridge (both - the food and sitcom)

And thousands more. I'm lucky.

Watching the red kites soaring above the roadside while listening to Neil Young's 'Danger Bird' as the bus takes me to work.

Walking on a clear and chilly Autumn morning.

Putting on a new pair of socks for the first time.

By the sea at dusk in Cornwall.

My morning double espresso.

Having a good night's sleep (rare for me).

Sag Gosht at the Taj Mahal restaurant, Penzance (delicious 'contemporary Indian cuisine').

Getting compliments about speaking Italian well (sometimes...)

Hitting a good, clean open 'G' chord.
A kiss for no reason.
My baby son looking me square in the eye for the first time.
Making the first footprints in fresh snow.
Getting a seven skimmer on the beach at Southwold.

Cuddles from my daughters (one at a time or both together)
Curry & chips on the ferry to Islay.
Walking round the harbour at Portnahaven - in any weather.
A good cup of tea.
A Tunnock's caramel wafer.
When in Birmingham - balti pie from Urban Pie followed by a pint of real ale in The Wellington
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (the 'family wine').
Pretty much any Islay malt.

...cooking. I'm a terrible cook, because I don't practice. However last week I took the plunge on a recipe for Thai Green curry, which a friend forwarded to me, based on a Ken Hom recipe he had. I made it, but it was a bit hot.

It was only the next day that my "friend" told me I should only have used half of the curry paste recommended in Ken Hom's book.
So another simple pleasure this week has been being able to go to the toilet without it hurting!

Sorry.

Great thread, by the way. Lots of love being felt!

At the moment, reading a thread on here where you don't have to duck because of the crossfire...

But principally hugs from my daughter.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

(I'll get my coat etc)

A pint of Rebellion at the White Horse in Hedgerley.

Browsing in a bookshop and finding something completely new that you had never even heard about before but you have to buy immediately.
(Used to happen in record shops back in the days before the interweb).

Walking with my Dad to the footie before a game.
(It was going to be watching the footie with my Dad but the walk up to the ground is now far nicer than the utter shite Reading FC are serving up at the moment).

Walks by the River with the FPO on a bright and crisp Autumn morning.

Coming into land at Landvetter airport, Göteborg.

The Rock photography of my mate Paul Slattery (a genius!).

Watching Minder (again...)

1)Listening To Danny Baker's BBC London show (20 August) while drinking a cold can of Coca Cola Light(Diet Coke to you)whilst sitting on a deserted beach in 24 degrees C.
2)walking the Dog listening to Joe Strummer's London Calling Shows.

Actually david,Yours are great expect the Pint of Bitter and Jazz ones.

- The anticipation of quality coffee you are brewing yourself - and the first taste
- Reading the summary page of a new episode of the Wire (Have just finished Series 4)
- Putting all of Jackson Browne's albums on a shuffle Playlist on the Creative Zen
- Walking into any good bookshop
- The view from my office window (The Thames, London Eye and The House of Commons)

One of several excellent podcasts and a nice walk with the dog.
A good magazine and a good bath

When I worked in Liverpool City Centre, being a smoker, I could often be found outside the building indulging my vice. More frequently than you might expect a tourist or out-of-towner would approach and ask for directions to a particular shop or area and for some reason it always gave me a warm feeling to have been of some small benefit to a total stranger. If I could have earned a living from this practice I would have.

On a less benevolent note - I love it when I've been right all along!!! on a pub quiz question. (Who doesn't - Ed.)

College Street,Toronto Saturday afternoon stroll..wandering passed the noisy, lively bars where the Portuguese and Italians gather to watch the football..streetcars thundering by..visit to best record store in the world: Soundscapes..check out their website www.soundscapesmusic.com
....Dinner parties when only the faithfull remain and the decision is: open one last bottle of red...Terry Callier's "Sail Away.....malt whisky and JJ Cale on vinyl (you'd swear he was right there playing in the corner of your basement)..my 17 year old son wrestling struggling with TS Eliot's "The Wasteland" then a look of triumph as he finally "gets" a section..NHL Ice Hockey Saturday nights...a good curry and beer piss up..my friends..my friend's friends...the pile of bedside books..the missus...

Went to the gym and got really, really sweaty. Had a sauna. Came home and am now well nested on the sofa with a glass of Argentinian Shiraz and a very nice piece of brie. Fire is blazing. Life could be worse.

- Chugging up the Monnow Valley in my 40 year old Land-Rover with the hood off on a crisp winter morning.

- Sitting outside my back door with a fresh coffee idly feeding ivy leaves to the goats.

- My cat waking me up in the morning by gently headbutting me.

- The feeling of achy but worthy exhaustion when I've chopped a pile of logs for the woodburner.

and opening the paper seal by running my thumbnail around it.

Popping bubble-wrap

Rainbows (always, always worth stopping to look at)

Eating the chocolate off the side of a Kit-Kat

while you're on some wonderfully remote spot.

There's something heartwarming about those ferries - not actually being on them, just watching them from a distance.

Ready for the morning commute to work; Word Podcast and Mayo & Kermode Film Reviews in that order.

Coming in to a nice warm house after walking the dog.

Lovely crusty bread. I recommend Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Boule or the Co-op Grande Batard(?) if you are asking.

Playing 5 a side football twice a week.

And annually when the clocks go forward and you can start to see and smell spring in the air.

Looking at stars on a night so clear they seem almost three-dimensional.

Getting an unexpected hug.

Finding a pair of shoes that fit well.

Rays of sunlight appearing from behind storm clouds.

The look on Arthur Daley's face when he's got the hump.

Storm clouds is a particular fascination of mine. I saw an example earlier this week that was spectacular.
Lightning storms in tropical climates.
Watching rain droplets slide down a windowpane.
The smell of aviation fuel at airports.
Saying goodbye to the wife and daughter when i leave for a 2 week business trip to the USA and the fond return.
Fish, Chips, Mushy peas with a cup of tea and a slice of bread and butter at Bedders in Birmingham - surely the best Fish and Chip shop in the country.
Watching Birmingham city play well.
Seeing and being impressed by an artist or group you have never heard before - this year it was Teitur last year it was Alabama 3.

...although I'd go along with most of these (children, a killer curry, mushy peas etc). One I haven't seen already mentioned that I'm particularly fond of is a sticky day in the city (Sydney), a horrendous commute home on the bus (usually standing, packed and no aircon), throwing on some boardies and jumping in the ocean for half and hour or so.
Just for context, it was 44C today round our way (110F to you northerners) - I'm not expecting jealousy. Sympathy perhaps. Then again, probably not.
And I'd chuck in fresh mown lawns, warm gentle rain, and coming home from a business trip of a couple of weeks to see the kids faces.

anymore but my absolute favourite thing in the world was to sit in a pub on my own , pint of Guinness, paper and a ciggie.I don't ask for much in life.

of the sea when going on holiday
warm wife in cool sheets
new pen and sketchbook
Jack Kirby comics
discovering a new track by a band you love (I found a version of Ring of Fire by the Fatima Mansions last night - never knew it existed)

When you're really hanging and need to go to bed...

Watching my dog at full tilt (she's a greyhound)
Getting a 'squeezy cuddle' off my little girl
A summers day at Oulton Park
Discovering a band you love instantly (Midlake, as we speak)
Approaching home after a lengthy drive

4pm last Sunday, fire lit, just getting dark outside, watching the excellent Ireland V Australia match with my son home from Uni.

The smell of the roasting fore rib of beef wafting in from the kitchen and I had one of those moments when you stop and think my life won't get much better than this.

Going to the local rugby club on a Saturday afternoon, telling she-who must-be-obeyed that the kick off time is '3.00 p.m. and I'll walk back' when actually the kick off time is 2.15 p.m and I get the bus.
Result?
4.00 p.m. in the local real ale pub (with fire and three pints) watching the footy results come in.
Got everything that.

A few more of the simple pleasures in life, some great stuff above by the way.

1) The roar of the crowd as the lights dim and your favourite artist walks onto stage.

2) The smell of not tarmac

3) Been sent home early from work when the computers crash.

4) The first bite of a good piece of steak

5) Stoking the fire.

6) Simply Red (no, joking)

The cat curled up in her basket while rain lashes the windows

A freshly filled ipod

Mrs F-C cooking while I catch up with a Sky+ed BBC4 doc

Wild autumnal colours in Regent's Park

Cups of tea in bed watching morning Frasier

Roaring logs fires spitting

A box of chocs - no truffles or pralines please!

Wet dogs

Shutting the front door behind me and it's all quiet

Seeing my wife at the end of (yet another) mutually exasperating working day and giving each other a hug.
The Blue Nile(on the ipod or in concert..every time they've hit the north-west, I've been there)
"Tasty Toaster" Lancashire Cheese.
Seabrooks Crisps - cheese and onion, preferably.
Tiger Barms from Asda.
Saturday morning shopping in Manchester city centre, being the first into Vinyl Exchange /Piccadilly Records/ Forbidden Planet.
Getting a hug from my father because he's worried about me at work (I'm 40).
Workmates buying me a cake and beer for my birthday.
Wandering into the Baltic Arts Centre and being pretty impressed.
The Tyne, at night, from the Millenium Bridge.
The Mersey from the Albert Dock..at any time.
My pupils making me laugh in lessons.
Discovering a great comic (J. Michael Stracynski's Spider Man)

a joke by my daughter (frequent)

Being given a hug by my son (rare)

Being praised by my wife (very rare very very)

Waterloo Bridge at Night

Central Park in winter

And today - Spurs winning 9-1

3 days after it was posted, on a Sunday evening and re-affirming that not all in the world is recession, war and Katie Price.
My sons faces when they came in this evening after a day skateboarding to new skate shoes.
An hour with my eldest in our home made gym in the loft
The wife sewing, happilly, creating some new crafting wonder to tell HER blog friends about.
Finally back to the top and number 10. (Someone had to do it and it might as well be me) **Edit- stay with it till about 2.15, wonderful stuff**

That feeling when you go to bed when you've had such a long or busy day that it seems like you got up yesterday.
The day when making a salad coincides with all the ingredients being fresh.
The smell of tomato stalks.
Unboxing a new piece of technology.
Hearing a new song that makes me smile.
Summer mornings before about 6am.
Pushing the "Confirm Order" button when I know I've chosen the right thing.

My daughter's smile.
Listening to Pat Metheny in the car.
Baking bread.
A cafetiere of coffee with the Saturday Guardian.
Walking through Regents Park on an autumn morning.
The Word podcast.

1. Hearing the kettle going on downstairs when putting the kids to bed (that means my GLW is making tea).
2. My children laughing at some dinner time silliness.
3. A job well done.
4. Birthdays.
5. Christmas Day.
6. Significant travel.
7. Feeling on top of one's game.
8. Having beer, dessert and coffee by the beach.
9. Watching sport with friends.
10. Cloudless, silent, star-filled sky.

1) Lady G. admitting that my new favourite band are, actually, alright (this is an ongoing phenomenon, but does not include Lord Cut Glass, Wild Beasts, anything involving Aidan Moffat, Laura Veirs (been buying her stuff for years, but The Boss only just heard her)and NEVER the Fall).

2) Placement going fantstically, loving, and being adept in cross-sectional imaging.

3) Exam results coming back with A or B attached.

4) Cheap red wine, after a couple of beers.

5) Scotland 9 - 8 Australia, and being at Murrayfield for it.

6) My 8 month old nephew not screaming like buggery when I pick him up (unlike his cousins, who squawked at me until they were 5 years old)

7) Mrs. G., she puts up with a lot, And me on top of that.

8) A pub with decent ale and no tossers (often difficult in Aberdeen).

9) Cup of Tea when you're frozen.

10) Millionaires' Weekend (payday).

(Cambs) or in Cheltenham for that matter, there was nothing like walking to the pub in the cold and the wet to find a fire roaring in the inglenook, Castle Eden on tap, friends saving you a seat, and the first toke on a freshly lit Gauloise. Living in southern California, I can't do any of those things now. I miss the rain & the cold sometimes.

Walking on a deserted Bamburgh Castle beach through the week when everyone else is at work - the simple pleasures of self-employment and working form home - and cups of tea and jammy dodgers are plentiful whilst working at home too, with 6Live Music on, i'm in jammy heaven!

.. when it sort of becomes imbued with a shared mellowness you both recognise - with or without alcohol.

My older daughter is getting too self conscious to be otherwise affectionate but will now walk arm in arm with me without thinking - this makes my heart sing

Northumberland

Out of college, money spent
See no future, pay no rent
All the money’s gone, nowhere to go
Any-jobber, got the sack
Monday morning turning back
Yellow lorry slow, nowhere to go
But oh, that magic feeling
Nowhere to go…

Realising that some people do care.

The ways my daughters pronounce words that make me smile. The latest two are ‘statube’ and ‘aubermachine’. It would be charming if they weren’t in their twenties (joke!).

The welcome from my daughters (and FPO!) after a negativity-filled, spirit-sapping day at work (for me, not them...)

Finding a series that the FPO and I both enjoy equally (Life on Mars, Mad Men, Curb) as opposed to The Wire (mainly me) and House, Damages, Spooks and In Treatment (mainly her)

Some exiled thoughts:

On a rare clear day, seeing the Sleeping Warrior (Arran mountains) or the Paps of Jura from a distance.

The view over Glasgow from Park Circus or the flagpole at Queens Park

The view over Glasgow to Ben Lomond and beyond from the East Kilbride road

Driving along Great Western Road on a dry but overcast morning, en route to somewhere north and west.

Buying fresh morning rolls from the local baker on holiday somewhere on the Clyde or in Fife.

Eating fish and chips with salt & vinegar (none of your Embra salt’n’sauce!) outside, when the rain has abated and a weak sun is emerging…

Nice one Dougie - they always make me smile, though with the sad realisation that soon she won't say any of these things any more. Some of my favourites are:

"Bule" (blue)
"sumbarine" (obvious - I used to say the same as a wee lad)
"when I'm bigger will I able to...?"

Also my daughter singing along to the Duckworth Lewis Method's Jiggery Pokery [which was chosen on Desert Island Discs on Sunday, by the way], including the deathless "out for a buggering duck".

Cooking with The Ricky Gervais podcast on in the background.

Also walking home from 5 a sides, knackered but buzzing still from playing football.

Cruising down the Autobahn at 170
Walking in the woods
Weekend breakfast
Home-made marmalade
Nice spacious LPs (like Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, yesterday)
Kids finding old stuff cool (Marquee Moon and Jingo, yesterday)
Irish coffee for dessert
Hugs from the kids
Snog with the wife
A nice toke

a pleasing lyric, e.g.:

For what's a park if you can't see a linnet,
A timetable if your journey's infinite
My bag's packed and I'm leaving in a minute
That's Chatteris without you in it...

bed and a Neal Stephenson book seems like absolute bliss, but even an evening free from sitting in front of a screenful of my own bloody words would be a luxury to be honest....

A nice big mug of tea.

Cooking with the radio on and a big glass of manzanilla at hand.

Having a wee when you really, really need one.

Sitting down on a Saturday lunchtime, post-walk, son gone for his lunchtime kip, muffins and potted shrimps to eat, pot of tea, The Times to read, sport on the telly out of corner of eye.

Getting up on Friday morning, turning the telly on to BBC Breakfast and finding that Suzannah Reid is wearing a short skirt.

Opening the curtains of a morning and looking to see what's happening on The Solent. There's always something.

Doing a good job at work, looking at it and feeling proud.

Having son in absolute fits playing Pull My Finger with daddy.

Smelling the air on a cold morning.

That feeling of being all excited when you sit down to experience a new thing - a book, some music, a wine someone told you you'll love, a gadget.. whatever.

Seeing the new WORD on the doormat

(SirsirsirmesirIsaiditfirstMrHepworthsirdoIgetafreesubscriptionsirsiroohsirsircrawlybumlicksirsir..)

There's lots and lots, really. And that we are able to appreciate them is a fine thing.

Whilst travelling, I've noticed you really only need 4 things for a perfect social occasion:

Somewhere to sit - be it a bar, cafe, or an old garage with some plastic chairs.
Something to drink - beer, wine, ouzo, coffee
Something to play - cards, dominoes etc. - or to talk about
Someone to play it with (or to talk to).

from Juliet's Cafe on St Marys in the Isles of Scilly, sat at a table outside in the summer with a neverending pot of tea, watching the world potter around in Hughtown harbour.

5.30 on a Friday evening (especially this week as its Ojos de Brujo at Warwick Arts Centre!).

Walking up the steps into the stand at Gresty Road before a match.

The first taste of a cool beer on a steaming hot day.

The first glimmer of recognition as an XTC track pops up on random play on t'pod

- hearing the Silver Seas on an old Word CD that I'd neglected before now, and discovering that they're grin-wideningly great

- Meeting my new American friend, Lily, at an open mic night. She loves my singing and is also a massive XTC fan. She's trying to persuade me to learn "Summer's Cauldron"...

- The Afro-Caribbean takeaway that's recently opened in Random-on-Sea where I live. Would you believe "chicken gizzard stew" actually tastes great?

- Making up stupid status updates on Facebook

- Coming home tired and stressed and playing guitar for an hour before I remember how tired I was before I started

- "Lady Friend" by the Byrds. I first heard this record when I was about 8 years old. I have never heard anything better since.

- the Pugwash song on the last Word CD: you're right, it *is* "nice to be nice"... why don't I remember that more often?

...and detecting the aroma of fresh curry. The whole weekend yawns before you and you have just received the latest boxed set of 'Spooks'.

There are two bottles of white wine in the fridge (nestling up to the 8 cans of beer) and a couple of bottles of red on the sideboard. The neighbours are away for the weekend and so you can play some of that new Beatles remasters boxed set on your surround sound at full blast.

Meanwhile, you open up that brown envelope from the Inland Revenue and find that you have paid too much tax, so they are offering you a rebate of nearly £2,500. And there, on the coffee table, sits the pristine new subscription copy of 'The Word' just waiting to be pored over.

The tin of beer emits a soft hiss as you crack open the first of many - your curry is served up piping hot by your loving missus, who is about to go off to stay with her Mother for the weekend. The Fray Bentos pie sits silently in the larder calling softly to you from the cool dry darkness. It's going to be another perfect weekend...

Off topic but just had to say that 'Lady Friend' is astonishing.

And yet it didn't chart here, got to no. 82 or something in the States, regularly gets missed off compilations and is played once on the radio for every 10,000 spins of 'Mr. Tambourine Man'. Why?

Once, at University with time on my hands, played it 25 times on the trot.

What seals it is the out of tune trumpet/horn near the end.

The rock 'n' roll generation hits middle class-dom. Oh dear.