overlap

I guess that for some people, turning up to a gig to find it was sold out might be a disappointment. For the first solo material gig within an hour of where I live in just over eight years, I was looking forward to the novelty of getting home before midnight, though I wasn't expecting to be home again by 8.30. No matter, last time there were barely two dozen people there, and I can live with the idea that a packed and storming gig tonight might possibly convince local promoters that more local shows is something that it would be worth their while to put on. There are another two shows within an hour in the pipeline, and I can wait a little longer for the hundredth time of seeing Miles live (as one of six different acts over the last twenty years). And anyway, I did make it to the more important gig less than two months ago, a home town charity show for a very good cause. A worthy gesture, and a great gig, and although this shot from that night doesn't quite demonstrate how hot the place was, it's certainly representative of a good time.

Labels: Miles Hunt

Girlschool were one of the first bands I ever saw, and even twenty years ago their heyday had gone, as had Kelly from the line-up that I saw. All the same Screaming Blue Murder is a track I'm rarely without on my mp3 player, and Yeah Right is just genius. There are few enough women in rock, and especially so at that point in time. Other than Rock Goddess, you start looking quite hard pretty quickly and that's even if you include The Runaways. And forty nine isn't much of an age for anyone, on this part of the planet at least. Rock on, Kelly.

Labels: Girlschool, Kelly Johnson, metal

After the fun of breaking a rim the other week, what better way to enjoy waiting to see how Bradley Wiggins' time trial performance would compare with the big names than buying a new rim and rebuilding the remainder into a new wheel? Yeah, I know lots of people have other ideas of fun! To turn the collection of bits into something looking like a wheel only took three quarters of an hour, helped by having left the spokes in the hub. And getting the tension right to make it rideable only took about twice as long again, which for even a vague go at something requiring that much precision is pretty good. Now I just need to sort out my brakes! And Bradley ended 5th in the stage - I've had worse afternoons.

Labels: bike, wheel, wheelbuilding

Much as I would love to leave the picture of my lovely new shoes there to keep looking at, time moves on and here's a picture of something I'm almost as fond of instead. This is the last remaining (until shortly after the photo was taken) souvenir of my last trip away. There's no major drama in its demise as I'm shortly to be in a suitable place to stock up again. When I say I'm fond of the stuff, that doesn't quite give as full a picture as when I say that I brought back multiple kilos, such that I still had some left a full six weeks later. It follows then that it's most unlikely and yet it genuinely happened that today I've been for a regular check-up with my dentist, who has given me a clean bill of dental health, with no need for any work before my next check-up in another six months. And how better to celebrate this unlikely event than with a quiet night in with gin? Cheers!

Labels: chocolate, vice, weakness

It's been a funny couple of days, with a brief run of stuff not working quite the way it was supposed to. But there's no better antidote than a burst of frivolity, and anyway I've had my eye out for shoes for a little while.



I'm well aware that the fashion police may feel entitled to express an opinion, but in the context of trying to break out of a habit of plain black shoes best characterised as aiming for smartness and sobriety, I'm more than overdue for something a bit more frivolous. And besides, the blue colour will work fine with my summery turquoise skirt and the purple colour goes with my purple dress, so it's not as if there's nothing they'll go with. Having seen them on the website, for once I was pleased to find them also in stock in my size. I'm pretty sure this is a first of me asking for the partner shoe to go with the one that was on the shelf. Picking my moment when there wasn't already a huge queue, with a slight shortage of staff and several people also wanting to be served, there was still a small audience by the time I was asked by someone half my age if I wanted to try them on. Which for some reason remains one of the funniest things I've heard all week. Despite the smirk from her colleague, and it being a fair bet the question came purely out of habit, there's something faintly touching about being treated as any other customer would be, and equally it's no bad thing to have felt entirely comfortable with simply answering in the negative rather than with protesting too much that they weren't for me or some other equally transparent lie. And so I now have colourful new shoes that I like.

Labels: shoes, shopping

It's taken a few days to nearly catch up on sleep and other stuff, so
I need to post and bring this up to date before something else happens
to comment on. Friday morning saw me driving to work, all the better
for leaving directly to travel to Brum to see the living legend that
is Ozzy Osbourne.

There's something unutterably compelling about him shambling about the
stage like a heavy metal Father Jack, alternating between telling the
crowd how much he loves them all, and demanding that people go crazy.
And then shuffles to the side of the stage to collect buckets of water
to hurl at the front few rows of the crowd. It's more or less what you
would expect, and somewhere between six and eight thousand people get
to go home happy enough.

Saturday's Tour de France Prologue in London meant that going home
just to get up to go to London would have been a number of wasted
miles, so I slept in my car in a layby somewhere in Warwickshire.
Bright sunshine demonstrating the greenhouse effect woke me up early
enough to make good time to get a train into the big city, and walk to
Hyde Park before the crowds were too huge.

Seven hours later, I was still at my place right on the barrier having
got through the better part of 500 shots and more than one set of
camera batteries. The best results are on flickr, and while I'm rather
pleased with some of them, it's just as satisfying to be able to say
that I saw the likes of Zabel and Boonen in the flesh, as well as the
largest Brit contingent to take part for some time.

Once the riders finished, it was back to the car and home for about
eleven. Sunday was another load of stamina training, which is how I've
been almost too wiped out to do much with the rest of the week beyond
gradually sort through the Prologue photos.

It was a lot to pack in, but well worth the effort.

Labels: Ozzy Osbourne, rock, Tour de France

With Blackmore and the apparently ageless Plant in close sequence, I'm looking forward to seeing someone nearer my own age later this month. But in the meantime, I've got a bit more of the old folks to plough through first. At a time when he's getting a star on the pavement walk of fame in his home town, well there can't be many better occasions to see one of the miracles of British music. I had a ticket for a gig just before he demonstrated his poor quad bike handling skills, so lets hope this time nothing like that gets in the way. And no, I'm not the doll type at all, but this was a gift from a good friend a few years back, and a bit of appropriate visual content does no harm. And in this case perhaps showcases the skills of certain people to exploit the merchandising potential wherever possible!

Labels: Ozzy Osbourne

Alan Johnston released. Good news.

With four weeks left in which to do something about my fitness, I've been running again. Only for a very short distance - a shade under three miles - but it's far enough to work up a sweat, and arguably more productive fitness-wise than anything less than three hours on a bike, as I'm already cycling-fit enough from commuting. And I can tell it's making a difference as I'm definitely aching in places where I don't on the bike. As ever, the exercising (in between rain) is the easier bit, and it's the not eating so much sugary rubbish that is the harder bit, but all the same, one out of two is better than none!