I've got a half day off work today as I'm being picked up after lunch to go camping. It should be a good'un. It'll be myself (of course) with Kim, Paul, Simone, Gary, Lottie, Mooro, Fran and Scott (yes, that makes me the only singleton there. *sobs!*)
We'll be going to Dodwell Park and hopefully it'll be blinding weather. I'm feeling slightly unprepared though cos I woke up at 7:50 this morning and realised I hadn't yet packed my bags for camping, so I rushed around grabbing stuff to put in a big bag and got ready for work with no breakfast!! I was gonna be late for work so I called a taxi.... which gave me time to have a small bowl of cereal. Had to leave the stereo behind though!.... maybe I can purchase a small digital radio from Argos for pennies?!? hmmmm......
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Monday, June 27, 2005
From Hell
I saw From Hell starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham last night (Channel 4, 10pm). It was good! .... and creepy!
Laura (from Absolute Darlings) and her daughter managed to lock themselves out of their house after the Solid Air gig at Le Bateaux and so they came round ours for a ladder during the film. She had her key but it wouldn't work in the lock. That, in itself, is a scenario from hell!!
Laura (from Absolute Darlings) and her daughter managed to lock themselves out of their house after the Solid Air gig at Le Bateaux and so they came round ours for a ladder during the film. She had her key but it wouldn't work in the lock. That, in itself, is a scenario from hell!!
Mosquitoes!!!
I had a bit of a nightmare when I set off to sleep last night. As you know it was a blinder of a hot day yesterday (Sunday 26th June) and so I had both the window and the patio door open all day and most of the night... this gave lots of mosquitoes and moths, and all other sorts of flying nasties, an opportunity to buzz into my room. So when I was all wrapped up snug in my duvet and saw the mosquitoes, Big Al's words of warning about the Asian Tiger Mosquito started echoing in my head and paranoia kicked in.
Last weekend during the recording process Big Al said that Asian Tiger Mosquitoes have managed to find their way over to good ol' Blighty either by migration or by getting trapped in trucks carrying bananas or whatever. And what happens is if they bite a bird with bird flu and then bite a human you can be dead within 3 days!!! He said they are big with black and yellow stripes and when you spot one you've got to ring the police immediately to report where and when you saw it. Fuck Me!!
Anyway, I managed to kill one of them but I think I only stunned the other. Sure enough they were big fuckers with black and yellow striping. To put my mind at rest I looked up the tiger mossie on t'internet to see if those little blighters were the ones to look out for.... it turns out they're not. Here's what Tiger Mosquitoes REALLY look like!!.....
Last weekend during the recording process Big Al said that Asian Tiger Mosquitoes have managed to find their way over to good ol' Blighty either by migration or by getting trapped in trucks carrying bananas or whatever. And what happens is if they bite a bird with bird flu and then bite a human you can be dead within 3 days!!! He said they are big with black and yellow stripes and when you spot one you've got to ring the police immediately to report where and when you saw it. Fuck Me!!
Anyway, I managed to kill one of them but I think I only stunned the other. Sure enough they were big fuckers with black and yellow striping. To put my mind at rest I looked up the tiger mossie on t'internet to see if those little blighters were the ones to look out for.... it turns out they're not. Here's what Tiger Mosquitoes REALLY look like!!.....
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Perico's New EP
Perico are in the process of making a new EP. On Saturday they had they're producer, big Al, over to record the drum tracks in the lounge. We had all the tables cleared and the sofa's pushed to the sides and Al set up all his equipment to record the drums. The drums were miked up with 13 mikes and Rich recorded 80 tracks of drums in 8 hours of drumming - WITH A BAD KNEE!!! Hats off to the bloke.
We all had a time out at around the evening time and as it was such a nice evening we decided to have a BBQ with everybody from all the other flats invited down to cook their meat on our BBQ Beer was drunk, meat was eaten, songs were sung and conversations flowed in the sunset. It was a good day. Al was so impressed with both the sound from the lounges acoustics and the hospitality that he asked if it would be possible to rent our lounge for future drum track recordings.
We all had a time out at around the evening time and as it was such a nice evening we decided to have a BBQ with everybody from all the other flats invited down to cook their meat on our BBQ Beer was drunk, meat was eaten, songs were sung and conversations flowed in the sunset. It was a good day. Al was so impressed with both the sound from the lounges acoustics and the hospitality that he asked if it would be possible to rent our lounge for future drum track recordings.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Happy 30th Birthday Scott
Friday was the day of Scott's 30th Birthday. I woke up at Scott & Fran's on the sofa and had to get myself ready for work - which duly sucked because of a minging hangover. But that was ok cos I had hair-of-the-dog in The Bell when I met up with Kim and Paul. The lads had several games of pool while Kim and I caught up on what we've been up to. I won the pool (cos I rock) and then Kim and I reunited the undefeatable pool team of Schafer & Bloodworth to play against Paul.... and we lost! Boo!
After the working day was done I wasted no time in getting home to get ready for Scotty's birthday party. I had to head home on the bus, shower, shave, sort my hair out, get changed, leave the house, walk to the bus stop, get on the bus and arrive at Scott & Fran's befoer 7:30!! It was a mad dash but I think it was the first time in ages where I was actually early... I thought I was the only one there until I got to the lounge and saw Paul & Kimmy sitting on the sofa. There was much giving of gifts and cards to the Birthday Boy who was acting as DJ sat on the beanbag next to the hi-fi.
Then Gary turned up bearing gifts and card - he too thought he was the first to arrive (we must've been keeping quiet in the lounge!) and then Mooro arrived. We all had a take-away curry (during which Fran's family and Simone turned up) and then went into town to O'Neills - not before Scot stitched me up with some Brut around the chops!! Great! I already stink of curry and now I stink of Brut - didn't fancy my chances of pulling!
It was a lovely night and we all went into the beer garden. Met up with another bunch of people - including Dan Gale who had shaved his head off and now the resemblance between Dan and Evil Dan (from the SK5's short movie) bear an even closer, and spooky, resemblance!! One sensitive moment was when Lee Ditcher turned up with Glen to wish Scott a happy birthday. But everything was cool. Then one of us started singing Happy Birthday to Scott and, as per usual in a pub's beer garden, everybody else in the pub joined in too. Huzzah!
Before long the bouncers started ushering everyone back inside cos they're outside licence must run out at 11pm or something. So we all piled inside and, somehow, got split into two groups: one group found the usual table just around the corner from the bar near the door, and the other group stayed right in front of the dancefloor.
There was a cover band on and yep they played all the usual coverband classics (or should that be "no-no's") such as Mustang Sally, that Doobie Brothers tune, Summer of '69 and Black Velvet. All of which should never EVER be played...EVER!!!!!! *ptooey*
Things start to get a bit cloudy round about now as we all got extrememly drunk. Things to mention would be the resurgence of 'Guess The Breast'! A tequila slammer sesh with a really hot Brazilian girl that Dan introduced me to (where does he get 'em?........... actually, he probably gets them from Brazil!), Paul crying at some stage about Dan, Paul getting on like a house on fire with Dan, dancing link a mental person to Franz Ferdinand, being jumped on by a girl I've not seen for years, spotting somebody who I also hadn't seen for years and they, in turn, took me to see somebody else I hadn't seen in years (geez, O'Neills has turned into the Hot House Retirement Home!!).... basically it was a bally good night.
I didn't have my camera with me on that night so I don't have any photos. Kim took loads but she lost her camera and, more than likely, subsequently had it stolen! But Fran took loads - I might have to get scans of those pics and I'll post the good ones up here as and when I get them.
After the working day was done I wasted no time in getting home to get ready for Scotty's birthday party. I had to head home on the bus, shower, shave, sort my hair out, get changed, leave the house, walk to the bus stop, get on the bus and arrive at Scott & Fran's befoer 7:30!! It was a mad dash but I think it was the first time in ages where I was actually early... I thought I was the only one there until I got to the lounge and saw Paul & Kimmy sitting on the sofa. There was much giving of gifts and cards to the Birthday Boy who was acting as DJ sat on the beanbag next to the hi-fi.
Then Gary turned up bearing gifts and card - he too thought he was the first to arrive (we must've been keeping quiet in the lounge!) and then Mooro arrived. We all had a take-away curry (during which Fran's family and Simone turned up) and then went into town to O'Neills - not before Scot stitched me up with some Brut around the chops!! Great! I already stink of curry and now I stink of Brut - didn't fancy my chances of pulling!
It was a lovely night and we all went into the beer garden. Met up with another bunch of people - including Dan Gale who had shaved his head off and now the resemblance between Dan and Evil Dan (from the SK5's short movie) bear an even closer, and spooky, resemblance!! One sensitive moment was when Lee Ditcher turned up with Glen to wish Scott a happy birthday. But everything was cool. Then one of us started singing Happy Birthday to Scott and, as per usual in a pub's beer garden, everybody else in the pub joined in too. Huzzah!
Before long the bouncers started ushering everyone back inside cos they're outside licence must run out at 11pm or something. So we all piled inside and, somehow, got split into two groups: one group found the usual table just around the corner from the bar near the door, and the other group stayed right in front of the dancefloor.
There was a cover band on and yep they played all the usual coverband classics (or should that be "no-no's") such as Mustang Sally, that Doobie Brothers tune, Summer of '69 and Black Velvet. All of which should never EVER be played...EVER!!!!!! *ptooey*
Things start to get a bit cloudy round about now as we all got extrememly drunk. Things to mention would be the resurgence of 'Guess The Breast'! A tequila slammer sesh with a really hot Brazilian girl that Dan introduced me to (where does he get 'em?........... actually, he probably gets them from Brazil!), Paul crying at some stage about Dan, Paul getting on like a house on fire with Dan, dancing link a mental person to Franz Ferdinand, being jumped on by a girl I've not seen for years, spotting somebody who I also hadn't seen for years and they, in turn, took me to see somebody else I hadn't seen in years (geez, O'Neills has turned into the Hot House Retirement Home!!).... basically it was a bally good night.
I didn't have my camera with me on that night so I don't have any photos. Kim took loads but she lost her camera and, more than likely, subsequently had it stolen! But Fran took loads - I might have to get scans of those pics and I'll post the good ones up here as and when I get them.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Ambulance Ltd
On Thursday I went to see Ambulance Ltd at the Joiner's Arms with Scott. They're a band from New York that take their styles from many influences spanning several decades of various genres ranging from Motown to Rock, Psycadelia to Blues. I'd heard them round Scotts a couple of times, he has the CD and been meaning to get myself a copy (all above board and from a regular retail outlet of course! Wouldn't dream of burning a copy. *ahem*)
The beginning part of Thursday was a usual uneventful day at work. Boring, monotonous and made me nearly fall asleep. The only thing that was keeping me awake was the fact I was off to The Joiner's that night - this would be my first visit to the venue and was actually quite excited about it! As soon as it came to about 4:45 I decided not to start anything new at work, got changed into my casual clothes and surfed the net for a couple of minutes til it got to 5. Then I walked straight to Scotts to settle down to a beer and some hot-dogs and catch up on the weeks events (which wasn't that much) but we also shared some of our photography. My camera's memory card was ram packed with pics spanning several weeks - they still had the pics from our last London visit! We set off for the train station at about 6:50 to get the train at around 7:10 from Pokesdown Station. I love Pokesdown Station, it's got so much character (hense the arty-ness of the following pictures!)...
Pokesdown Station ... marvelous!
The Journey
The beginning part of Thursday was a usual uneventful day at work. Boring, monotonous and made me nearly fall asleep. The only thing that was keeping me awake was the fact I was off to The Joiner's that night - this would be my first visit to the venue and was actually quite excited about it! As soon as it came to about 4:45 I decided not to start anything new at work, got changed into my casual clothes and surfed the net for a couple of minutes til it got to 5. Then I walked straight to Scotts to settle down to a beer and some hot-dogs and catch up on the weeks events (which wasn't that much) but we also shared some of our photography. My camera's memory card was ram packed with pics spanning several weeks - they still had the pics from our last London visit! We set off for the train station at about 6:50 to get the train at around 7:10 from Pokesdown Station. I love Pokesdown Station, it's got so much character (hense the arty-ness of the following pictures!)...
Pokesdown Station ... marvelous!
The Journey
When we finally got to Southampton we made our way to the pub just around the corner from the Joiners - I forget the name but it's on the corner of Palmerston Road and South Front (I think it's called) En route we got talking about how the first Bottom Live video was made at Southampton Guildhall. Scott said "Yeah, I was at that show. That was the day before my 18th Birthday!!" Pretty spooky as this was the day before his 30th birthday!! When we got to that pub we had about 3 or 4 games of pool and a couple of JD & Cokes - the second round was actually a double, but I think it was just over a double - if not a tripple - cos the bottle was emptied as one and a half shots per glass and then the barman had to get a new bottle of JD and poured out another full shot into each glass!! Man, it tasted well strong, and yes it got us both completely fucked!
Our pool game rivalled
that of the pros!!
Time was starting to press and our drunkedness levels were starting to increase so we decided to hit the road to crawl our way to The Joiners. The place was pretty empty when we got there - we thought that there might not be that many people there as Ambulance Ltd were still a relatively unknown band. We weren't too sure about whether we should get in another drink, in fact Scott said he wasn't going to but then I told him that if we had a pint of something gassy (like lager) then it would take us longer to drink it and we should have sorted our heads out by then. So Carlsberg it was. I found a table to stick my jacket under (cos I didn't want to carry it around) and we took a wonder around the place. Man, it's small, but it's cool. After being given a guided tour of the venue we made our way back to the bar area where we were pretty stunned to see that the place had actually packed out!
The first band came up on stage. They were called The Cinematics, a four-piece band from Glasgow. They weren't bad actually, they weren't that special but they had some really good tunes but the bass player looked like a total prick and was embarrasing to watch - he had his t-shirt tucked in for Christ's sake!! We stuck around for about half of their set then went to the bar to get a refill and pretty much stayed there until they finished. There was a merchandise table giving away free badges so we both took one each - well, you never know do ya!
The Cinematics
Our pool game rivalled
that of the pros!!
Time was starting to press and our drunkedness levels were starting to increase so we decided to hit the road to crawl our way to The Joiners. The place was pretty empty when we got there - we thought that there might not be that many people there as Ambulance Ltd were still a relatively unknown band. We weren't too sure about whether we should get in another drink, in fact Scott said he wasn't going to but then I told him that if we had a pint of something gassy (like lager) then it would take us longer to drink it and we should have sorted our heads out by then. So Carlsberg it was. I found a table to stick my jacket under (cos I didn't want to carry it around) and we took a wonder around the place. Man, it's small, but it's cool. After being given a guided tour of the venue we made our way back to the bar area where we were pretty stunned to see that the place had actually packed out!
The first band came up on stage. They were called The Cinematics, a four-piece band from Glasgow. They weren't bad actually, they weren't that special but they had some really good tunes but the bass player looked like a total prick and was embarrasing to watch - he had his t-shirt tucked in for Christ's sake!! We stuck around for about half of their set then went to the bar to get a refill and pretty much stayed there until they finished. There was a merchandise table giving away free badges so we both took one each - well, you never know do ya!
The Cinematics
Eventually the main reason for being here came on stage. We managed to get a good spot just at the front and over to the left of the stage, right by the stage stairs and all the cases for their equipment!! They played most of the best tracks from their debut album, including the singles, and 2 new tracks. It was absolutely roasting in there and the band basically broke out in a sweat after the first song!
Ambulance Ltd
They, totally rocked and were definitely worth seeing. The only bad point about the night was that we kept running into these really annoying bunch of groupies who were surrounding themselves around each and every band member one at a time gushing all over them and saying things like "You were much better than the other band" or "That guitar bit you did was sooo cool" or whatever. And when they saw that they weren't getting anywhere with the band member they had snared they'd move on to the next one and try again with THE SAME CHEESY LINES!!! They were putting my off my pint. One of them managed to sneak into one of my photos. Here is that photo with the girl in question....
minger!
Shortly after the gig the clock rang 12 and so it was Scott's Birthday. So I wished him a happy 30th (that makes me the first to do so!) and got the train home. It was really late by the time we got back so I crashed on his sofa.
Ambulance Ltd
They, totally rocked and were definitely worth seeing. The only bad point about the night was that we kept running into these really annoying bunch of groupies who were surrounding themselves around each and every band member one at a time gushing all over them and saying things like "You were much better than the other band" or "That guitar bit you did was sooo cool" or whatever. And when they saw that they weren't getting anywhere with the band member they had snared they'd move on to the next one and try again with THE SAME CHEESY LINES!!! They were putting my off my pint. One of them managed to sneak into one of my photos. Here is that photo with the girl in question....
minger!
Shortly after the gig the clock rang 12 and so it was Scott's Birthday. So I wished him a happy 30th (that makes me the first to do so!) and got the train home. It was really late by the time we got back so I crashed on his sofa.
Monday, June 13, 2005
The Big Move
So, I've finally moved!! That's why I've not updated this for a while. The move went pretty well, everything was shifted in 2 runs, the day was hot and sunny and everything was done before mid afternoon. The only problem is I don't have enough places to store stuff. I need to buy me a wardrobe and another chest of drawers. The guys say I could probably salvage something from one of the garages but to be honest I don't want something that's been thrown into a garage to rot for a reason!! I'll grab something from Argos or sommat!
On the evening of the big move I got a text from Mooro to come out for a couple of swift ones at the Durley with himself and Lottie. I said I'd gladly oblige as soon as I've made my room a bit tidier as everything was basically just plonked into the room. I managed to get my bed re-constructed and made so I could sleep in it that night and put away as much stuff as I could then went out to meet the guys at the Durley. Lottie and Mooro were enjoying a slap-up meal when I arrived. I wasn't mnuch company at first cos I was sooooo drained from having the cold and moving all my stuff but I eventually sorted it out after a couple of beers. After bumping into Richard Chasemore and his mate (John I think it was.... or maybe Rob!?!?) we moved onwards to the Goat and Tricycle to meet up with Griff and co. Lots more drinks and merriment ensued with lots of light-hearted banter. I must've sorted my head out by this time cos, according to Mooro, I was on fire on the comedy front. I can't remember any of it .... except the chicken curry story! (you know what I'm talking about, Mooro!!)
I also bumped into somebody I've not seen for years! Sam Adair!!! Used to be one of my best mates back when I was at college and for several years after too! ..... that was 11 years ago!!! (fuck me!) I parted with Mooro and co to join Sam's little circle of friends for a while to catch up on life. It was really bizarre, it was almost as if we'd never parted!
A random sight in the Goat was a really hammered bloke entertaining the oap crown with slurred sing-a-long songs ... including Show Me The Way To Amarillo, which also included a conga.....which reminds me of an old joke:
Q. What's a hundred foot long and smells of piss?
A. Pensioners doing the conga!
Another random sight was a league of 6 Catholic Vicars settling down to get pissed!! Absolutely surreal!... and yes they WERE actual vicars not people on a stag-do or whatever!
After the Goat we went to the Casino. Kim rang me up en route as she was down jet-setting from Leeds to see a BBLOC theatrical production and wanted to meet up. She wasn't up for the idea of coming to the Casino though, besides we'll be seeing her the following weekend anyway! The Casino was great, I must've had beginners luck cos I won £46 on the roulette wheel!! Woohoo!!
On the evening of the big move I got a text from Mooro to come out for a couple of swift ones at the Durley with himself and Lottie. I said I'd gladly oblige as soon as I've made my room a bit tidier as everything was basically just plonked into the room. I managed to get my bed re-constructed and made so I could sleep in it that night and put away as much stuff as I could then went out to meet the guys at the Durley. Lottie and Mooro were enjoying a slap-up meal when I arrived. I wasn't mnuch company at first cos I was sooooo drained from having the cold and moving all my stuff but I eventually sorted it out after a couple of beers. After bumping into Richard Chasemore and his mate (John I think it was.... or maybe Rob!?!?) we moved onwards to the Goat and Tricycle to meet up with Griff and co. Lots more drinks and merriment ensued with lots of light-hearted banter. I must've sorted my head out by this time cos, according to Mooro, I was on fire on the comedy front. I can't remember any of it .... except the chicken curry story! (you know what I'm talking about, Mooro!!)
I also bumped into somebody I've not seen for years! Sam Adair!!! Used to be one of my best mates back when I was at college and for several years after too! ..... that was 11 years ago!!! (fuck me!) I parted with Mooro and co to join Sam's little circle of friends for a while to catch up on life. It was really bizarre, it was almost as if we'd never parted!
A random sight in the Goat was a really hammered bloke entertaining the oap crown with slurred sing-a-long songs ... including Show Me The Way To Amarillo, which also included a conga.....which reminds me of an old joke:
Q. What's a hundred foot long and smells of piss?
A. Pensioners doing the conga!
Another random sight was a league of 6 Catholic Vicars settling down to get pissed!! Absolutely surreal!... and yes they WERE actual vicars not people on a stag-do or whatever!
After the Goat we went to the Casino. Kim rang me up en route as she was down jet-setting from Leeds to see a BBLOC theatrical production and wanted to meet up. She wasn't up for the idea of coming to the Casino though, besides we'll be seeing her the following weekend anyway! The Casino was great, I must've had beginners luck cos I won £46 on the roulette wheel!! Woohoo!!
Monday, June 06, 2005
Man Cold
I'm totally bunged up with the ol' common cold at the moment. I think it was cos I went out loads over the end of May bank holiday and staggered home at 3am in nothing but jeans and T-shirt! It's really messing me up at the moment and I can't think straight. I keep half doing stuff and then getting side-tracked. I also can't be arsed to do stuff cos I'm feeling sooo lethargic. And I'm slightly deaf from blowing my nose loads. But I'm trying to battle it - there's no way I'm gonna let this one get the better of me. Every morning over the last 5 days I've been taking my multi-vitamin pills with extra Vit C + Zinc pills and having either Lemsip, Beechams, Soluble Asperin or something along the same lines - whatever's available really. Was on the phone to Kimmy for about an hour over the weekend - she always makes me feel better.
.... I think I'd better go unload my nostrils, I'm finding it hard to breathe!
*sniff sniff*
*sigh*
.... I think I'd better go unload my nostrils, I'm finding it hard to breathe!
*sniff sniff*
*sigh*
Big Brother...
...can be summed up with 2 words this year....
Gays and Tits!!
...that is all. .... Still watching it though.
(mainly cos of the tits!)
(mainly cos of the tits!)
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