Weekender

I've certainly earned my groats these past few weeks. The past few weeks have probably been the busiest I have ever been in that there job. It's been a steep learning curve in some areas, a baptism of fire in others and great experience all round...dare I say it's even fun? To be honest, the most stressful part of it is that it hasn't been planned very well, which meant those few involved in making it happen ran around at 10 different directions at once for a good few days due to the geographies, complexities and logistics involved. There is more focus and direction now, but still a lot to do. Have well and truly ticked the branding part of my job title now. The only down side is that I've been getting home late, having my tea and then basically it's bed time. It's not going to be like this permanently and I am happy to put the extra miles in to get a good job done. The result is I have been looking forward to my weekends much more than usual...

C was away at a christening in Gloucester this weekend with Darbs, so I had a few days to myself for the first time in ages. Aside from a much needed lie-in on Saturday I vowed to make the most of the weekend: Did the necessaries - food shopping, cleaning, odd jobs and loose end tying. Then spent most of the afternoon playing guitar (acoustic - batteries dead on fx pedals). I used to play loads and have become quite lazy as of late, but it didn't take long to get that great feeling back. Taught myself some Hispanic semi-percussion rhythms I've been listening to a lot recently and even did a load of picking exercises that become quite mantric after a while. Got totally lost in playing for ages - I have really missed it. Must have killed about 4 hrs solid and my fingers were nearly bleeding  by the end - great fun. Rang Mark to see if he was about, but he was working to a deadline and as no one else was in town I resigned myself to a night in with a nice meal, good bottle of red and a film (read: no mates). I know it's tedious to write about what you had for dinner, but this is my blog, my hit ratings are down anyway and it was really nice so...Pan fried Salmon fillet; lemon, onion and parsley risotto, and flash fried courgette and carrot shavings. I rule.

I've been meaning to see Into the Wild for ages. It is the true story of a young college graduate who decides to go travelling in the early 90s, but totally shun the materialism that appears to surround his life and try to literally live off the land where he can, as he works up the US from Virginia to Alaska. He takes everything to the extreme and cuts off contact with his family and friends (who naturally worry themselves silly) for nearly a year, whilst surviving on whatever he kills or finds. The solace, inner peace and sense of freedom he finds is also extreme, but the further he finds himself in his journey the more you feel for those he has abandoned without thought for their state of mind. His parents inability for show the love he craves, instead of showering him with material love is what pushes him away and he (un)intentionally punishes them for it. At first I related to him trying to find some reality in a world of fake ideals and misunderstood emotion; then I worried about him as his quest became an obsession and affected his health; finally, I hated him for his selfishness. His routes bring him back to an abandoned old bus which becomes a home from home and finally his grave. A very long, very thought provoking and inspired film. Totally deserves all the nominations and should have won more. 9/10.

Sunday I was up very early, grabbed by camera and was out the house. Headed down to Waterloo to see the result of Cans Festival, where an entire 200m underpass has been transformed in a free for all street art festival. The brainchild of Banksy who features several times, it is a visual treat. Some of the works are huge, some tiny, some simple, some wildly detailed. What a brilliant idea and it's venue is the perfect canvas. People are still free to draw there and it will just grow and grow. It'll be there until someone else paints other stuff over it...and then it will have just evolved. Go and see it if you can. Here's some of my photos. Spent the rest of the day wandering around the South Bank which has a big festival going on with loads of amazing jazz, latin and percussion bands, food stalls and performers - a great way to kill a few hours and the sun was shining. 

Around late afternoon I headed to Parliament Sq. when Stop the War Coalition were preparing to 'welcome' George Bush to Westminster - a fascinating scene. A real charged atmosphere full of tension and expectation in the air as people unloaded piles of placards, dressed as judges (to attempt to arrest bush apparently), hippies playing guitars, people from numerous nationalities shouting into megaphones, journalists yakking on phones, camera crews and a shifty looking nun. Chatted to a few people, some of whom have been camped across the road from Parliament demonstrating for several years, others were activists from various organisations, others just came down to see what was going on...a bit like me. Kick off was 5pm - Walked for a little bit, but when someone offered me a broken placard for a weapon when the police line closed in round the corner I decided to watch from a distance. 

Finished a great book last weekend as well. Bill Bryson's - The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt kid. Bryson is always an easy, laugh out loud read and that was what I fancied. This book is great - a look through the magnifying glass into childhood in 50s America. It really is quite amazing how much the world and it's values have changed. Bryson makes it all sound so engagingly innocent, timeless yet surreal...but then childhood often feels like that as I remember. Imagine living in a time where atomic bomb tests were a spectator event and you could actually book to stay at the Atomic Hotel in Nevada in a travel agents whilst you did! That said, the stuff he got up to with his friends didn't seem that different to when I was a kid and he celebrates the ability to spend endless summers playing in the street, creating entertainment out of very little except our imaginations - something many of the kids of the current generation I feel may have lost. Top book. Might read another one of his soon.

Some great new tunes discovered over the past few weeks as well. Firstly, Rodrigo y Gabriela - I can't rate these guys highly enough and last week bought their Live in Manchester and Dublin album. Their style sounds like a novelty on paper - metal riffs combined with Hispanic classical picking and intricate soundboard percussion, but it is quite simply amazing and dare I say has revolutionised guitar playing to a certain extent. I've seen their name low down on festival lines ups for a few year and always wondered who they were, but now they are really starting to make waves. Watch some of the videos on the site - I defy you not to be intrigued and later hooked.

Second is Sennen. A Norwich 4 piece (one of whom it turns out I know and works at the same company) who if you had to try to describe their sound it would be like Mogwai singing Simon and Garfunkel...if you can imagine such a thing. Brilliant chiming interchanging guitars, haunting harmonies, charging, then walking, then climbing bass lines and some very inventive and intricate (but sounds effortlessly simple - you clever bastard) drumming. A real journey 'album' as well instead of 10 songs in a certain order. Stripped down and chiming 3 minute  indie pop songs and huge 7 minute wall of sound anthems. These boys have listened to more than their fair share of Spacemen 3 in their time, amongst others, but any influence is respectfully built upon and not imitated. Some gorgeous tunes and a triumph of an album - can't stop playing it. 9/10.

That's about it really. I was checking my hit stats recently and noticed that my blogs in less happy times seem to get the most traffic. I don't tag them 'misery guts, moody git or self-pitying northern monkey etc.' so I wonder why that is? It's just what's going on in my own journey along the mortal coil and isn't pretending to be anything else. Actually - top tip: If you want loads of hits, just tag your blog with Star Wars - instant popularity (and a lot of disappointed SW fans). I should imagine tagging Holly Willoughby or Brad Pitt has a similar effect. Anyway, whilst I'm on a relatively good run I don't intend to start bitching for the sake of it, so stop reading if you like...see if I care...oh, right...you're going are you?...well, bye then...are you still there?...hello...hellooo...