Monday, March 31, 2003
Another French city, another internet cafe filled with geeks playing Dungeons and Dragons or whatever nonsense it is these days... and another stupid, wrong keyboard. Me and Sharon have turned into and old married couple in that we have to go for a stroll before we can go to bed. We've done so much walking I am finding it hard to believe myself. We are getting some kind of ski lift back to the youth hostel because the hill it is on is absolutely huge. (Note: we are staying in a youth hostel pretending to be young). We had a wander round the city this evening and stumbled across some really lovely streets. there are apparently lots of hidden pathways from way back when the silk industry thrived in Lyon. My mum keeps ringing me which is beginning to do my head in so I told her to stop... I am on holiday for god's sake.
There are lots of dogs in France... the animal variety of course. Most of them seem to be vile poodles but there have been some really cute little labradors and spaniels... I want one. I was never allowed a proper pet when I was little, not that I didn't love ly little dwrf lop-eared rabbit, Sparkle. Anyway, I digress. There are also some extremely ugly babies being pushed and carried about France, sme of them are really quite horrific. This seems to be in line witht the fact that we have only seen one good-looking man in the whole of France.
Yesterday when we were still based in Tours, we went on a minibus tour of some of the Touraine chateaux. There were 9 of us altogether in the little pale yellow minibus; the driver, me, Sharon, a Scottish couple (who were probably wondering where mine ans Sharon's parents were) and their teenage daughter (who seemed to be bored to tears for the best part of the afternoon), a japanese couple who didn't seem to understand a word of what was going on (the driver gave commentary in English with a dodgy French lilt) and a little old French lady (who seemed to think that Sharon was trying to steal her bag). We were a maverick team but I think in the end we all bonded well - especially at the end of the tour when we wandered round a wine cellar in Vouvray and were treated to a wine tasting session. In true back-to-university I knocked most of mine back and failed to spit any out as I now believe one should in these circumstances.
Today we got a double decker train to Lyon from Paris and to my absolute delight we were on the top deck - GET IN!! It was so exciting... I have to confess I did run off and take a picture of the train before we left. Please don't think badly of me...
There are lots of dogs in France... the animal variety of course. Most of them seem to be vile poodles but there have been some really cute little labradors and spaniels... I want one. I was never allowed a proper pet when I was little, not that I didn't love ly little dwrf lop-eared rabbit, Sparkle. Anyway, I digress. There are also some extremely ugly babies being pushed and carried about France, sme of them are really quite horrific. This seems to be in line witht the fact that we have only seen one good-looking man in the whole of France.
Yesterday when we were still based in Tours, we went on a minibus tour of some of the Touraine chateaux. There were 9 of us altogether in the little pale yellow minibus; the driver, me, Sharon, a Scottish couple (who were probably wondering where mine ans Sharon's parents were) and their teenage daughter (who seemed to be bored to tears for the best part of the afternoon), a japanese couple who didn't seem to understand a word of what was going on (the driver gave commentary in English with a dodgy French lilt) and a little old French lady (who seemed to think that Sharon was trying to steal her bag). We were a maverick team but I think in the end we all bonded well - especially at the end of the tour when we wandered round a wine cellar in Vouvray and were treated to a wine tasting session. In true back-to-university I knocked most of mine back and failed to spit any out as I now believe one should in these circumstances.
Today we got a double decker train to Lyon from Paris and to my absolute delight we were on the top deck - GET IN!! It was so exciting... I have to confess I did run off and take a picture of the train before we left. Please don't think badly of me...
Saturday, March 29, 2003
While I remember we must tell you about French television... it is bloodyawful and seems to be very live audience based. The first show we saw was "Personne Ne Pas Parfait" which means "Nobody's Perfect" and we can confirm that nobody on this programme was even close to being normal. We gather that the wierdest, I mean; "most talented" contestant wins some kind of prize... there was a woman who did impressions of animals, a man who could add up big numbers very quickly, a little boy who could give the day of the week given any date and a young man who did some kind of body popping/robotics routine which went out of fashion around the rest of the world in the 80s. And the presenters were utter nonces. We have also been treated to Le Maillon Faible (the French Weakest Link) in which a French lady pretends to be a slightly larger version of Anne Robinson and says rude things to trembling contestants in French... then winks less like she's having a fit than our Anne does.
Here is a picture of her...
Another programme, perhaps out favourite (although we are unable to watch it for longer than 3 minutes at a time is Bigdil. We are as yet unable to tell you what this programme is supposed to be because it is unlike anything we've seen before. We cab tell yu that the host, Vincent Lagaf is France's poor man's Michael Barrymore and will at some point in the future come out as a raving homosexual (allegedly). There is a computer animated dog-bear hybrid who we think is Bigdil but we have no idea what his role is. We saw someone win a car just for picking some iron filings using the static electricity from a balloon. The french are a very strange people.
Here is a picture of her...
Another programme, perhaps out favourite (although we are unable to watch it for longer than 3 minutes at a time is Bigdil. We are as yet unable to tell you what this programme is supposed to be because it is unlike anything we've seen before. We cab tell yu that the host, Vincent Lagaf is France's poor man's Michael Barrymore and will at some point in the future come out as a raving homosexual (allegedly). There is a computer animated dog-bear hybrid who we think is Bigdil but we have no idea what his role is. We saw someone win a car just for picking some iron filings using the static electricity from a balloon. The french are a very strange people.
Friday, March 28, 2003
My friend Mike sent me some fat mum jokes. I do apologise to any of our readers who have larger than usual mothers but these select few made us laugh out loud and the french people stare at us so we thought we would share...
Your Mum's So Fat....all the restaurants in town have signs that say "Maximum Occupancy: 240 Patrons OR Your Mum".
Your Mum's So Fat....when she gets in an lift, it HAS to go down.
Your Mum's So Fat....she's got smaller fat women orbiting around her.
Your Mum's So Fat....she went to the cinema and sat next to everyone.
We now resume normal service...
Your Mum's So Fat....all the restaurants in town have signs that say "Maximum Occupancy: 240 Patrons OR Your Mum".
Your Mum's So Fat....when she gets in an lift, it HAS to go down.
Your Mum's So Fat....she's got smaller fat women orbiting around her.
Your Mum's So Fat....she went to the cinema and sat next to everyone.
We now resume normal service...
Anyway.. we did touristy thing such as going to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and being very disappointed, going to the look at the Eiffel Tower and being very disappointed (until we wandered over one evening) and we also went all the way out to La Defense to see the Grand Arch which was... well, disappointing. The French did seem quite taken with my knee high boots and denim skirt combo but I think they were probably wondering what I was doing out of the Montmartre red light district at such a busy time at night. We managed to shake off a pair of idiots who wanted to walk us to the Eiffel Tower by pretending we didn't speak French, English, German or indeed any other language they tried to talk to us in. The stupid fools.
We got to Tours today and this evening are wandering about in the old town. It is really beautiful, with lots of Tudor-esque jutting out level buildings and we are off to see some chateaux tomorrow. Excellent news though... they've got a C&A... as soon as she saw it, Sharon knew what our work was to be here. The internet cafe is currently playing the hits of the Village People. We are currently 'enjoying' "In The Navy". Music is a bit behind the times in these parts. I am thinking perhaps we are in some kind of Blue Oyster Internet Cafe...
We got to Tours today and this evening are wandering about in the old town. It is really beautiful, with lots of Tudor-esque jutting out level buildings and we are off to see some chateaux tomorrow. Excellent news though... they've got a C&A... as soon as she saw it, Sharon knew what our work was to be here. The internet cafe is currently playing the hits of the Village People. We are currently 'enjoying' "In The Navy". Music is a bit behind the times in these parts. I am thinking perhaps we are in some kind of Blue Oyster Internet Cafe...
We are having a really brilliant time - the inter-rail tickets seem to be working which is good cos they look like we made them ourselves. We have done very well not to spend too much money so far too - which is probably going to be the deciding factor as to whether we go to Brussels and Holland to see Turin Brakes... all aboard the Comedy Lounge fun bus.. I think we have some important screws missing somewhere. We are nearly half way through our excursion but it feels like we have been away for ages.. could definitely get used to this European travelling mallarkey... it beats working, obviously.
Paris was an interesting place. It was fun but we crammed so much into three days that we ended up quite glad to be leaving to go somewhere a lot calmer. Brussels was perhapd a bit too calm... which is what I think alerted David Gray to our presence in the audience. None of the boring Belgians were moving, and we were dancing maybe a little too much if we are honest. We stayed with Sharon`s cousin Rosie who was brilliant. She also has two cats (Spike and Tiger) and a fiance (Neil) - who introduced us to the wonders of Duvel which is our new favourite beer.
We are slowly seeing mild train-spotting tendencies in ourselves as on each train journey we find ourselves commenting on the running, comfort and standard of the trains... I feel sure I have seen Sharon sloping off to scribble something down on a notepad and then swiftly change the subject. The Dutch trains are very nice indeed, followed by the Belgian Thalys trains, then TGVs, Eurostar and Connex South Eastern lagging behind. At this point I would also like to point out that the Paris metro smells of poo and that despite the superb buskers and slightly incomprehensible beggars (who only seem to be after metro tickets) there was still a nasty man who started... ern.. pleasuring himself in the very close vicinity. I think looks of horror and disbelief ran across our faces until we immediately made a bee line for the doors and stood on the platform crying with laughter yet feeling slightly icky.
Paris was an interesting place. It was fun but we crammed so much into three days that we ended up quite glad to be leaving to go somewhere a lot calmer. Brussels was perhapd a bit too calm... which is what I think alerted David Gray to our presence in the audience. None of the boring Belgians were moving, and we were dancing maybe a little too much if we are honest. We stayed with Sharon`s cousin Rosie who was brilliant. She also has two cats (Spike and Tiger) and a fiance (Neil) - who introduced us to the wonders of Duvel which is our new favourite beer.
We are slowly seeing mild train-spotting tendencies in ourselves as on each train journey we find ourselves commenting on the running, comfort and standard of the trains... I feel sure I have seen Sharon sloping off to scribble something down on a notepad and then swiftly change the subject. The Dutch trains are very nice indeed, followed by the Belgian Thalys trains, then TGVs, Eurostar and Connex South Eastern lagging behind. At this point I would also like to point out that the Paris metro smells of poo and that despite the superb buskers and slightly incomprehensible beggars (who only seem to be after metro tickets) there was still a nasty man who started... ern.. pleasuring himself in the very close vicinity. I think looks of horror and disbelief ran across our faces until we immediately made a bee line for the doors and stood on the platform crying with laughter yet feeling slightly icky.
Today we have been in Holland and Belgium and we type this from France. In France, the computer keyboards have cleverly got one or two letters in the wrong place. Thanks to this, the last sentence when properly touch typed the good old British way reads:
"In Frqnce; the co,puter keyboqrds hqve cleverly got one or tzo letters in the zrong plqce:"
This is obviously very annoying;
Myself and the lovely Susan are sitting in a cafe in Tours, recovering from our already legendary appearances at David Gray's gigs in Brussels and Tilburg. There are little boys all around us yelling and playing computer games. Outside, it is very beautiful and there are many bars calling out for us. I can hear them very clearly.
Some pointers, if you're considering taking two weeks off work to travel briefly around Europe -
- David Gray's head roadie is called Dougie. He likes it if you shout at him zhile he's working, and hates it when people are polite. You should therefore shout abuse at him as often as possible.
- Buskers on the metro system in Paris bring their own sound systems, including microphones and backing tracks. Therefore if you're considering earning extra cash this way, come prepared.
- Try not to look at all attractive or wonderful while travelling on the metro. This will inevitably lead, apparently, to creepy old men sitting beside you and playing with their winkies.
- Rob Malone is one of the nicest men on the planet.
"In Frqnce; the co,puter keyboqrds hqve cleverly got one or tzo letters in the zrong plqce:"
This is obviously very annoying;
Myself and the lovely Susan are sitting in a cafe in Tours, recovering from our already legendary appearances at David Gray's gigs in Brussels and Tilburg. There are little boys all around us yelling and playing computer games. Outside, it is very beautiful and there are many bars calling out for us. I can hear them very clearly.
Some pointers, if you're considering taking two weeks off work to travel briefly around Europe -
- David Gray's head roadie is called Dougie. He likes it if you shout at him zhile he's working, and hates it when people are polite. You should therefore shout abuse at him as often as possible.
- Buskers on the metro system in Paris bring their own sound systems, including microphones and backing tracks. Therefore if you're considering earning extra cash this way, come prepared.
- Try not to look at all attractive or wonderful while travelling on the metro. This will inevitably lead, apparently, to creepy old men sitting beside you and playing with their winkies.
- Rob Malone is one of the nicest men on the planet.
Friday, March 21, 2003
Having read back over the last few posts, I feel I need to mention again that its been 12 weeks since me and Sharon saw each other.... It reminds me of the Turin Brakes song "Long Distance" except we are not in love. That is how rumours are started...
Well isn't this all fun. Managed not to pack on Wednesday cos it's fine, I have tonight to pack and I am no good at doing things until they are absolutely neccessary anyway. Well now. I got a phone call from Virgin Records yesterday saying i had won tickets to see Turin Brakes tonight and then to go to the after show party. I couldn't quite believe it and it took Sharon a while to believe me after I finally calmed down and could speak down the phone to tell her what had actually happened. Anwyay, I told Sharon this would happen if I didn't pack on wednesday but would she believe me? No. These strange but joyful things seem to be happening to me more and more often - which is brilliant. But very odd indeed. Did I mention I went to see Turin Brakes last night with Helena? I am exhausted. We are going to Paris early tomorrow morning and I haven't packed or put the new site online. Still, its all in the name of fun. I think I could almost say I am happier than ever at the moment - so many cool things are going on and I have met so many cool people over the past few months - and me and Sharon are going to see each other for the first time in almost three months and go on holiday!! No work for two weeks - go team. And relax. WHY DIDN'T I PACK ON WEDNESDAY!? I suppose if I had we mightn't have won tickets... oh I don't know. Its all part of our fun first work last policy.
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Its been many moons since last I posted and by golly lots has been going on. But has it really....? Yes. It has. But *has* it? Yes... it has. No, but has...YES!
Actually, on consultation of my diary I see that really not that much has happened. Major events include being witness to Turin Brakes playing at Rock City in Nottingham which was phenomenally amazing - so brilliant in fact that it is lucky I have tickets to see them again this Thursday in Brixton. I also managed to divert a night out at Jongleurs to the Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green which featured Michael Legge, who must be one of the country, no, the continent's best comperes. First up was Gordon Southern who we here at Comedy Lounge have always championed. However, he was on blistering form and was the bestest act all night... which is quite a compliment because both Steve Day and Glen Wool were fantastic too.
My weekend in Nottingham also featured an evening in Wagamamas which was almost as entertaining as the time we went with Kitson. Unsure as to whether I could drink a whole one, yet determined to get drunk, I opted for the giant bottle of Tiger beer and followed it soon after with yet another. As my meal took longer than everyone else's to arrive, needless to say I won the "drinking a vast quantity of Tiger beer the quickest" competition. Well done me. Then it was onto The Bar to down some white and black sambuca and I don't think I need to tell you a) I went to sleep pretty much immediately after getting back to the flat b) I slept for Britain and c) we all had incredibly large hangovers the next day. Go team.
Wednesday night was Ministry of Comedy at UCL night, each one I have been to has been superb and this was no exception... Stefano Paolini, Richard Lewis, Gary Delaney and Milton Jones. We never had anything like that at university in my day.... these students don't know they're born etc...
Friday was the night of the Electric Eel radio 4 recording - The Electric Hotel. I won't spoil it for you because (touch wood) it should go to a series if there is any justice in the world and if anyone at BBC radio entertainment has a sense of humour. I will tell you this though.... its BRILLIANT.
Weekend saw the departure of little Kesh the dog from her home with Sharon and also various half-arsed efforts to finish the new issue of the Lounge. It will be up before we go on holiday before you ask. Not as soon as we'd hoped but its better late than never... or is it....? Yes, it is. But is it really? YES! It also marked a very momentous occassion. Tony Tonytoné visited the Hen & Chickens with me and wasn't stolen! Hooray. I parked him by a massive Toyota and a BMW so I figured he was fairly safe. The Sunday Club featured Danny & Dan (Club Seals - brilliant as ever, looking forward to their "Live Ghost Hunt" in Edinburgh), one of the Consultants (who does some fantastic characters) and Gavin & Gavin (as yet undecided). Took 2 hours to get home cos the arsing Blackwall tunnel was blocked (at midnight?!) so I had to go into London an out again... what fun.
This week doesn't hold much fun other than Turin Brakes on Thursday, Sharon coming down on Friday (we've not seen each other for 3.5 months) and obviously we are going away on Saturday.... rocking!
Actually, on consultation of my diary I see that really not that much has happened. Major events include being witness to Turin Brakes playing at Rock City in Nottingham which was phenomenally amazing - so brilliant in fact that it is lucky I have tickets to see them again this Thursday in Brixton. I also managed to divert a night out at Jongleurs to the Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green which featured Michael Legge, who must be one of the country, no, the continent's best comperes. First up was Gordon Southern who we here at Comedy Lounge have always championed. However, he was on blistering form and was the bestest act all night... which is quite a compliment because both Steve Day and Glen Wool were fantastic too.
My weekend in Nottingham also featured an evening in Wagamamas which was almost as entertaining as the time we went with Kitson. Unsure as to whether I could drink a whole one, yet determined to get drunk, I opted for the giant bottle of Tiger beer and followed it soon after with yet another. As my meal took longer than everyone else's to arrive, needless to say I won the "drinking a vast quantity of Tiger beer the quickest" competition. Well done me. Then it was onto The Bar to down some white and black sambuca and I don't think I need to tell you a) I went to sleep pretty much immediately after getting back to the flat b) I slept for Britain and c) we all had incredibly large hangovers the next day. Go team.
Wednesday night was Ministry of Comedy at UCL night, each one I have been to has been superb and this was no exception... Stefano Paolini, Richard Lewis, Gary Delaney and Milton Jones. We never had anything like that at university in my day.... these students don't know they're born etc...
Friday was the night of the Electric Eel radio 4 recording - The Electric Hotel. I won't spoil it for you because (touch wood) it should go to a series if there is any justice in the world and if anyone at BBC radio entertainment has a sense of humour. I will tell you this though.... its BRILLIANT.
Weekend saw the departure of little Kesh the dog from her home with Sharon and also various half-arsed efforts to finish the new issue of the Lounge. It will be up before we go on holiday before you ask. Not as soon as we'd hoped but its better late than never... or is it....? Yes, it is. But is it really? YES! It also marked a very momentous occassion. Tony Tonytoné visited the Hen & Chickens with me and wasn't stolen! Hooray. I parked him by a massive Toyota and a BMW so I figured he was fairly safe. The Sunday Club featured Danny & Dan (Club Seals - brilliant as ever, looking forward to their "Live Ghost Hunt" in Edinburgh), one of the Consultants (who does some fantastic characters) and Gavin & Gavin (as yet undecided). Took 2 hours to get home cos the arsing Blackwall tunnel was blocked (at midnight?!) so I had to go into London an out again... what fun.
This week doesn't hold much fun other than Turin Brakes on Thursday, Sharon coming down on Friday (we've not seen each other for 3.5 months) and obviously we are going away on Saturday.... rocking!
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Found an interesting website today. Well, when I say "found", I mean it was emailed to us. And when I say "interesting", I mean it's... well, really, you should read it for yourself.
Basic premise - these people (who, they are concerned to point out several times, are not "professional" scientists) are trying to find the bendiest, stretchiest chocolate bar in the world. At, times being what they are, I think it's a very important thing to be distracting ourselves with.
The International Bendy-Stretchy Chocolate Challenge. Join them.
Friday, March 07, 2003
"Jocks Away!" - The Black Sheep Edinburgh Preview Season
Every August Edinburgh plays host to some of the finest performers at work today, this July they'll be at the Broadway Theatre in Lewisham first. The funniest comedians, the freshest theatre and the funkiest musicians, all the fun and frolics of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe without the rain or the bagpipes.
The critically acclaimed Black Sheep Company, "Great comic writing, astounding performances" - The Guardian, will be searching the theatres and clubs of Britain in order to bring you the best that the Fringe has to offer at a price that’s right.
The full season will be announced in June, to make sure you receive advance information and are a part of the most exciting new Festival in London contact The Black Sheep at www.blacksheepcomedy.co.uk
Interested acts can contact The Black Sheep via Ciaran_Murtagh@hotmail.com or via the contact section on the website.
Blur were amazing
I love them so much
The new album is going to be so cool - really different though.
Met lots of nice blur fans - one of which is a budding comedian (naming no names) and I am very much looking forward to the astoria gigs in May now...
It was so odd, there was only 30 of us in a massive studio so we were only 2 people deep and I think we were all in a mild state of shock. Having gone from nothing from Blur for years then all of a sudden 24 hours after being told about the MTV gig, we were there in front of Damon and the extended Blur family. They did 8 songs twice so it was like 2 separate gigs, then they came back on for us and did Popscene (during which I had to check I still had a pulse cos I think I forgot to breathe) and "Battery In Your Leg" which I was dreading (just from the title), but it was lovely and they finished with "This is a Low".
Was very strange seeing a sad looking northerner instead of Graham but he did the job - didn't quite get the guitar solo right in "This Is A Low" but I doubt anyone else could.
"And you've been so busy lately
that you havent found the time...
to open up your mind....
and stop the world from spinning... gently out of time....."
I love them so much
The new album is going to be so cool - really different though.
Met lots of nice blur fans - one of which is a budding comedian (naming no names) and I am very much looking forward to the astoria gigs in May now...
It was so odd, there was only 30 of us in a massive studio so we were only 2 people deep and I think we were all in a mild state of shock. Having gone from nothing from Blur for years then all of a sudden 24 hours after being told about the MTV gig, we were there in front of Damon and the extended Blur family. They did 8 songs twice so it was like 2 separate gigs, then they came back on for us and did Popscene (during which I had to check I still had a pulse cos I think I forgot to breathe) and "Battery In Your Leg" which I was dreading (just from the title), but it was lovely and they finished with "This is a Low".
Was very strange seeing a sad looking northerner instead of Graham but he did the job - didn't quite get the guitar solo right in "This Is A Low" but I doubt anyone else could.
"And you've been so busy lately
that you havent found the time...
to open up your mind....
and stop the world from spinning... gently out of time....."
Thursday, March 06, 2003
I highly advise that everyone get themselves tickets to the recording of the Electric Eel radio pilot. It is being recorded on Friday 14 March at Drill Hall, London for BBC radio 4 and you can apply for tickets *here*. As with everything the Eels do, it promises to be brilliant so never mind watching Jack Dee stand on a pole, he'll still be on it when you get home, go and see history being made and check into the Hotel Dos Eel.
Been very busy recently with one thing or another. Lots of exciting things for me to look forward to. Makes a change having thing to look forward to that don't involve being in Edinburgh!
The whole Bluetones video shoot fell through cos the woman organising it f*cked up in a big way. At least all I had done was book the day off work and told some friends I was going to be famous. A couple of others had booked train tickets down to London which weren't refundable. Anyway, I think it was fate because the good news is that I am going to see Blur at the MTV studios tonight. So what started off on Monday as a rubbish week has suddenly got infinitely better. There are going to be 30 fans there tonight, including me of course, and about 10 other MTV people so it is going to be Blur's most intimate gig almost since starting out as Seymour. So excited. They will be playing 7 songs from their new album, so I will be one of the first people to hear them live. I have bought my Zeal t-shirt that I stole from my friend about 10 years ago when I found him painting his room whilst wearing it.... tut tut. Starts at 6pm and finishes at 11.30ish apparently. Quite how its going to take five and a half hours to record seven songs I am not sure... but I guess they will be doing more than one take of each, which is good I suppose. As long as I don't miss my last train. How old am I?!
Went to HMV Oxford Circus on Monday night to see Turin Brakes do an instore performance. They played Blue Hour, Underdog (Save Me), Long Distance, Stones Throw and Pain Killer (Summer Rain). They were fantastic and did a signing afterwards so I got them to sign my ticket for the Nottingham gig this sunday and also my promo copy of the album that I had to buy cos I couldn't wait the extra 3 weeks to hear the new songs. They really were two of the loveliest blokes I have ever met. Really nice and very normal. Can't wait til the weekend.
I am going to Nottingham to see my friend Little Dan who I lived in halls with at uni and is one of my best friends. You should meet him, I think you'd like him too. Might attempt to drag him and Mat along to the Cookie club again on saturday night but I am thinking we should probably go somewhere else so I don't get bored of it - if that is possible, I don't think it is, it's my spiritual home. Then we are all going to see Turin Brakes at Rock City on Sunday night. Hopefully will get down the front so we can lean on the barriers cos we are very old you see. Kitson is in Nottingham that night too so hopefully meet up with him for another hilarious meal in Wagamamas. Who knows.
The France trip is coming along well too. Have taken to looking like a train anorac cos I have a copy of the European Rail Timetable book which is amazing. Has all the train routes and connections and time for Europe. Have already planned a daytrip to Marseille when we are staying in Avignon. I can't believe we are actually going. Me and Sharon in a foreign country - unsupervised. I think I am going to have to be the leader seeings as I have organised it and have GCSE French as opposed to Sharon's knowledge of the songs of Priorite A Gauche. It's going to be great fun though. A holiday - just what we need. I haven't been away since I was 18 and went to Tenerife which was interesting to say the least.
The whole Bluetones video shoot fell through cos the woman organising it f*cked up in a big way. At least all I had done was book the day off work and told some friends I was going to be famous. A couple of others had booked train tickets down to London which weren't refundable. Anyway, I think it was fate because the good news is that I am going to see Blur at the MTV studios tonight. So what started off on Monday as a rubbish week has suddenly got infinitely better. There are going to be 30 fans there tonight, including me of course, and about 10 other MTV people so it is going to be Blur's most intimate gig almost since starting out as Seymour. So excited. They will be playing 7 songs from their new album, so I will be one of the first people to hear them live. I have bought my Zeal t-shirt that I stole from my friend about 10 years ago when I found him painting his room whilst wearing it.... tut tut. Starts at 6pm and finishes at 11.30ish apparently. Quite how its going to take five and a half hours to record seven songs I am not sure... but I guess they will be doing more than one take of each, which is good I suppose. As long as I don't miss my last train. How old am I?!
Went to HMV Oxford Circus on Monday night to see Turin Brakes do an instore performance. They played Blue Hour, Underdog (Save Me), Long Distance, Stones Throw and Pain Killer (Summer Rain). They were fantastic and did a signing afterwards so I got them to sign my ticket for the Nottingham gig this sunday and also my promo copy of the album that I had to buy cos I couldn't wait the extra 3 weeks to hear the new songs. They really were two of the loveliest blokes I have ever met. Really nice and very normal. Can't wait til the weekend.
I am going to Nottingham to see my friend Little Dan who I lived in halls with at uni and is one of my best friends. You should meet him, I think you'd like him too. Might attempt to drag him and Mat along to the Cookie club again on saturday night but I am thinking we should probably go somewhere else so I don't get bored of it - if that is possible, I don't think it is, it's my spiritual home. Then we are all going to see Turin Brakes at Rock City on Sunday night. Hopefully will get down the front so we can lean on the barriers cos we are very old you see. Kitson is in Nottingham that night too so hopefully meet up with him for another hilarious meal in Wagamamas. Who knows.
The France trip is coming along well too. Have taken to looking like a train anorac cos I have a copy of the European Rail Timetable book which is amazing. Has all the train routes and connections and time for Europe. Have already planned a daytrip to Marseille when we are staying in Avignon. I can't believe we are actually going. Me and Sharon in a foreign country - unsupervised. I think I am going to have to be the leader seeings as I have organised it and have GCSE French as opposed to Sharon's knowledge of the songs of Priorite A Gauche. It's going to be great fun though. A holiday - just what we need. I haven't been away since I was 18 and went to Tenerife which was interesting to say the least.
