Archive for August, 2005
How can it possibly be the last day of August? I know the weather is making a last ditch attempt at summer, but it doesn’t disguise the fact that autumn is about to lay waste to the garden. And we have only had 5 barbeques this year! This weekend is probably the last chance to top-up my quota of red meat.
Need to perfect the burger recipes for next summer. More flavour needed all round. More parmesan in the tuna burgers and more spice in the beef burgers methinks.
Still feeling a bit rough, but starting to think it’s some sort of lurgy. Headache, bit sniffly, can’t be arsed to do anything…
August 31st, 2005
I thought it was Bank Holiday blues, but now I think the reason I have spent the whole day yawning is because of the fresh, salty air I consumed yesterday. A drive to Ashford in Kent, to investigate the college that Jess is being interviewed by on Thursday, became a trip to Hythe and Dungeness to eat fish and chips and see Derek Jarman’s house and garden. This is exactly what Jay did on her long weekend, but I have no shame in plagiarising other peoples’ leisure activities.
Not that impressed by the few spiky plants and reclaimed bits of wire and wood that had been sold to me as the greatest garden this side of Eden. Maybe it’s a male thing? Maybe I just don’t ‘get’ it? Maybe it’s a deep seated resentment for a man pretentious enough to create a film of one frame of blue? Power station looked cool though.
With the fish and chips still sitting fairly heavy on my stomach, ’twas back home for a good, sturdy Chicken Shashlick at the local curry house. Maybe the tiredness is from overeating?
August 30th, 2005
Having always had Nokia phones since the beginning of time (1998) I am the cautious new owner of a Sony Ericsson k750i. I do tend to be quite brand-loyal. Shoes: Macbeth/Etnies, Computers: Apple, Cameras: Canon. But a change of network provider was the opportunity for a new phone, and Nokia seem to be going out of their way to make their phones U-G-L-Y. The 2 megapixel camera on the SE was a draw too, as my proper camera ain’t that portable. I joined the camera brigade at the Foo Fighters gig on Wednesday, just to test it in the field. Result below:
Obviously I’m not about to break into music photography with it, but I reckon that’s pretty good considering how little light there was and that I was being thrown around by some bald, half-naked, sweaty meathead at the time. Texting with it is taking some mastering though.
August 26th, 2005
Only a couple of hours until the Foo Fighters play a surprise show in the compact surroundings (well, compact considering they’re playing 2 dates at Earls Court in a couple of months) of the Astoria in London Village. It’s almost 3 years to the day since we went to the last Foo Fighters surprise show at the Astoria. Becoming a regular thing.
Just been and collected my tickets and there is already a fairly substantial queue of spotty 14-year-olds, standing in the rain, hoping to get to the front and be sweated on by Sir David of Grohl. Crazy Fools.
Working in Soho certainly has its advantages.
August 24th, 2005
So, I took the camera along to a wedding that I was attending as an invitee rather than an employee. I just really wanted a few more shots for my portfolio/website before I start approaching random couples in a more professional capacity. “Ooh, that’s a big one” and “Cor, you’re not messing about” was the response to my camera from the other guests, most of whom I knew, but not very well.
The ‘real’ photographer was obviously working to a fairly restricted budget, and so after arriving at the church with the bride, taking a few posed shots at the church, a few more at the reception and one frame (!) of everybody there, she promptly buggered off.
Jess spotted the opportunity before I did. I’d already consumed enough alcohol to render me fairly incompetent with the camera and was just expecting to enjoy the rest of the day. But now, there were tables to be photographed, speeches to be documented and dancing to be captured for future embarassment. I swung into action, but to be honest was a bit of a shambles.
“You’ve got some lovely shots” was the verdict in the cold light of Sunday, but I haven’t actually dared to look at them yet. I fear the basics of focus, lighting and composition may have escaped my Mansfield Bitter addled brain.
August 22nd, 2005
I had high hopes. Alkaline Trio are a great band, with great songs. Now, disregarding the fact that we ruined it for ourselves a bit (having again failed to listen to any of their first three records, despite being oblivious to 70% of the set at a previous viewing at ULU a couple of years ago), the sound last night in the Astoria was awful! Bass too high in the mix. Guitar too low. Vocals all over the shop. I’m half tempted to get tickets to see them again at Brixton in November, but I’m not a big fan of Brixton Academy. Despite going there on Monday to see Queens of the Stone Age!
Something about bigger venues attracts the kind of people that aren’t really bothered about music but go to gigs because they feel they’re missing out on something, then spend the whole show chatting with their backs to the stage. Pah. I’m just a gig snob.
Back at the Astoria on Wednesday for the Foo Fighter’s Reading Festival warm-up gig . Last one was a couple of days after Reading 2003, and I spent the whole gig struggling to stay upright after picking up student-lurgy from some brat on the campsite. Hopefully the sound and my health will be alright on the night.
August 19th, 2005
It’s kind of like a portal, but without the masses of content you would expect from a portal. The only new thing really is this blog. And a half-finished photography section. I realise I’m jumping on the bandwagon, but Jay has hassled me so much to get a blog up and running. So here it is.
I used to write a diary when I was about 12, but I guess this is different. Not sure how people manage to fill their blogs with things interesting enough to read. The attraction of getting an insight into a stranger’s existence must be the draw. I fear I may disappoint.
Ho hum.
August 17th, 2005
