Pure as the driven...

A big thank you to the equine hero Comply or Die and jockey Timmy Murphy - a spread £10 bet that I could barely afford nicely netted me a smidgen over a ton. It has made my weekend - cheers guys!

What the chuff is going on with the weather? 18 degrees on Friday, zero degrees and 3 inches of snow on Sunday! I'm not complaining mind - it's always an amazing feeling to wake up and be hit by the white light of a freshly laid snowy landscape. We drove to Mickleham in Surrey on Saturday to stay with friends Heather, Kent and their little man Noah. This morning was the first time he had ever played in snow properly and it was amazing to watch his reaction. He wasn't sure at first, so I made a huge snowball and dropped it on my head...much to his amusement, and it triggered an association that will last for a lifetime...Snow is fun! Great to watch him pottering around, fascinated by his footprints, the coldness and texture of the snow, the silence of it falling and the near blinding whiteness. A great night on Saturday - drinks, chats, nosh (good old Dominos - ah the memories...check this link out for related madness) and that shaky hand late night fav. Jenga. Kent has bought a StormTrooper helmet which Noah has developed a penchase to as well. A generally chill weekend all in all though - needed a 'doing very little' one to recharge. During the week I have to be dragged out of bed, but I always wake up really early at weekends, keen not to waste my free days and go do stuff, but was happy to splat for this one. Did achieve quite a bit though - very nearly finished my promo website, span the turning wheels a bit more etc. Went for a great Sunday lunch and few pints at The Nightingale with C, Darby and Duncan today - could well become our regular boozer. A real local's traditional sort pub, with good nosh and bitter.

Work...well it's Schmerk to be quite honest. Won't waste much more finger energy on it than that this time but...Going to put my noodle in turbo this week and try to keep my head above water. Some good projects on the go at the moment, but there are some important parts of my job I am not even scratching the surface of due to other commitments. It's rapidly dawning on me that in times of strife in 'this company' you just have to think of yourself, because when you play the helpful considerate team player you just get used and taken advantage of. Selfishness isn't a natural way of thinking for me, though self preservation is and because no one else is going to look out for me at the moment maybe that's card I have to play. A sorry state of affairs so it is. Schmerk aside there's lots to look forward to - a meeting about a photography gig, starting an illustration commission/present, drinks and meets with some old muckers. 

The festival ticket sales have started - it's like a gold rush these days. When I started going to festies in 1989 (those halcyon days) it was all so simple...pop down to Jumbo Records in Leeds a few weeks before the event and hand over your hard saved £45 for a guaranteed 4 days of good tunes, scrumpy, pot noodles and laughs. These days you have to play a lottery with your ISP to see if you even get on to an already crashing website and then there's no guarantee you'll even get an (overpriced) ticket. Anyway, we managed to get tickets for Latitude in Southwold, Suffolk - heard great things about it. We went to Electric Picnic in Ireland a few years ago (the best festy I've ever been to by a long shot), and Latitude is said to be a similar sort of do and has the same vibe - can't wait. On a slight bummer - The tickets I ordered for My Bloody Valentine at The Roundhouse in June have gone astray, as have my confirmation and any record of the order (but I know I booked them). Slightly upsetting as I REALLY want to see them again. A lifeline is in the pipeline apparently.

A big thanks to PaintMonkey for his generous offer this week - looking forward to seeing your amazing work dude. 

Plodding through Mind Eye still - it's all getting a bit samey and tedious, but will persevere. 

Tunes of the week: Never loose that feeling by Club AC30: A load of old school shoegaze covers by NuGazers. Not as bad as it sounds!

Nye for bow.

Winds of change

A busy but funny old week - damn cold and windy weather too. Change is in the air at work. Lots of sudden departures, firmly closing of purse strings and an air of uncertainty. A bit weird as I'm still the new boy and finding my feet, and it appears I will suddenly have to take on a lot more responsibility very soon. Change is always good though - there's nothing worse than stagnation. I'm trying to keep an open mind to it all and relish the challenge, but I can't help but feel at little apprehension. Did a photo-shoot of sorts on Monday night, for the graduates on the training scheme - free wine and nibbles so couldn't complain. They were given a rather gloomy lecture by the CEO about budget cuts and to expect no training or perks in the coming year due to exhausted budgets - not the way to motivate your so called 'brightest minds and most promising colleagues'. I have to say that I am sick of repeatedly being told there is no reward for all our hard work, and then see an exiting CEO get a £20m golden goodbye when he didn't do a particularly good job...no wonder there is a 'them and us' culture. Hmm. Anyway, rant over.

Tuesday night was Dinner Club. A small group of friends (Caroline and I included) who are eating our way round the world's cuisine in London. It was the turn of Colombia this week, so we headed down to Amazonica in Brixton. Having travelled through South America I pretty much knew what to expect - Chorizos, Calamares, Empandas, Plantain, Rice, Beans etc. It didn't disappoint. A no frills little place but welcoming, cheap and true to itself. We watched people learning to Salsa whilst we ate too. 7/10. French next, then Brazilian after that. Yum! Went for a few beers after work on Wednesday with my new colleagues and predecessor - good fun. Put the world to rights. Nice drop of Spitfire! 

Friday I heaved a sigh of relief at the end of a tough week, then went to meet my old mucker Mark. After a fine nosh-up at Yo Sushi we headed to the flicks to see No Country for Old Men. Plenty of friends have already recommended this film to me. The Coen Bros. have crafted a triumph - a very bleak and desolate tone with an almost slow motion pace compliments brilliant cinematography, characters and dialogue. Javier Bardem plays a cold and seemingly indestructible psychopath - not someone you want as an enemy (or in your life at all for that matter)! Equally excellent supports from Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones. Woody Harrelson and Kelly MacDonald. I wouldn't be suprised if this cleans up at the various award ceremonies judging by the nominations.

Then on to a chilled weekend. Drove to visit some friends in Mickleham, Surrey for an early joint birthday bash. Lots of quality time in a great country pub, a few slices of good old Dominos and some drunken games of Buzz on PS2 (A fine wedding present from DragonDrop). For my birthday I was given a days wine appreciation course at Vinopolis with Matt Skinner (Jamie Oliver's sommelier) - can't wait. Cleared the cobwebs with a walk on the South Downs before driving home to watch Scotland get whipped in the rugby. Now getting my head in gear for what is sure to be a revealing week.

Fav. listens this week: Radiohead - In Rainbows; Kraftwerk - Live at Tribal Gathering; Miles Davis - A kind of blue; The View - Hats off to the buskers; Ricky Gervais - Desert island disks podcast.