An idiots guide to an idiot

Tuesday 31 December 2019

The chaos and nonsense that is Christmas

Our customary visit to The Globe on Christmas Eve was not going to be a late one this year, apart from not wishing to waste money due to my redundancy, we didn't want to be feeling rough or tired for the big day.
It's just great bumping into old friends, Gary's friends, Olly's friends et al. The vibe was just tremendous and the beer good. Though I stuck to their xmas beer, Turkey Trauma. If I was picky I'd say they needed more bar staff on as it took Gary about 20 minutes to get our first drink, it thinned out eventually but could have been better. I could wax lyrical about chatting to Oliver's best buddy Ben & his girlfriend Beth, to Ross and Rhianna to Rory, Ian, Amy, Kathy & Jean but I won't, safe to say it was a great evening. Our early night?...…..we were there until chucking out time and nearly got chucked out we were there so long. So much for a plan, well, it is Christmas!

Well the big day arrived, got the turkey on about 10, Gary did a sumptuous brekky of scrambled egg, avocado and toast (should have been smoked salmon as well but it didn't defrost in time), and Tim & I took Ida & Chilli for a walk. It was all going so well but somehow times went down the karzi and dinner was about an hour and a half later than advertised! Not that it was a big deal to be honest. A few well placed homemade sausage rolls and dips and veg and crisps kept everyone happy, but then this isn't a restaurant, you'll get dinner when its bloody ready!
Round the table this year was Ella & Julian, Gary & Ellie, Olly & Laura, Tim, Beren and us,this year on a five legged table by way of a change as Tara managed to break one off earlier on in the month. This table isn't destined to become an heirloom, it won't last!! Joking aside it all worked really well and it was good fun. Plenty of food, including a delicious couple of gammons cooked in coke of all things from G&E and some very good lemon cheesecakes courtesy of O&L. The making of which must be seen as there is a sort of alchemy to it! ( ask them!) all seemed to meet with approval as alot of it went but everyone was too full for Christmas pud, so we never got as far as lighting it (my Dad's speciality, as the scorch marks on their ceiling will testify!!) or the home made mince pies.

Crackers , Christmas that is, not cheese, were opened and jokes groaned at, we adjourned to the comfy seats and games proceeded and went on for the rest of the evening, the TV didn't get a look in! Ella and Julian and Tim went mid evening,as unfortunately Julian has been under the weather somewhat but it had been a fab day in all respects.
I went for a long walk with Ida, Gary & Ellie on Boxing Day & Beren set off for home, its a good two hour journey. Also and met Olly and Laura the next two days to walk Ida and Laura's family dog, Lexi.
It's been a funny Christmas. In some ways I've been wishing myself past it only so I can get going with interviews to get a new job in the New Year and on a sadder note I find that a cousins husband who though I have never met, we have spoken probably for hours over the past few years about genealogy, is losing his battle with prostate cancer and now on palliative care. It's a strange world and its funny when life gives you a kick up the arse you understand there are others in much worse situations. Its a leveller.

It's New Years Eve and we are on the cusp of a new decade, though strangely Alec & Laura in Australia are already in the New year,and Paul & Kate went off and got married in the Lake District! About time!
What crap can get thrown at us this year!? None I hope. Its been a bloody good Christmas and if you know me at all you'll know I just love having my family around me, being daft, eating and drinking and laughing. Long may this continue, it makes me happy.

Olly and his friends going to the darts at the Ally Pally

Alec in Oz

Reggie, Ida & Chilli

Paul and Kate

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Birthday

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Birthday: I had another birthday at the beginning of December as you'll know if you read the previous blog. We had a cracking weekend in Oxford an...

Birthday

I had another birthday at the beginning of December as you'll know if you read the previous blog. We had a cracking weekend in Oxford and saw Absolute Bowie to boot.
What I didn't know was that T had arranged everyone to come round on Friday 6th evening (the day before my birthday). This was just brilliant! Gary, Ellie, Olly, Laura, Ella, Julian & Tim turned up and we all ordered a very nice Indian takeaway.
I should explain the Scottish tam o shanter with added hair that I am wearing. We try to buy each other a totally useless & naff presie & I think Tara hit the jackpot with this hat and added tartan braces!

Paul and Kate came over for lunch a couple of weeks later so we gathered all who was available as we do. A very pleasant afternoon with added hats and nonsense! You can't beat it!

Monday 30 December 2019

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Music again

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Music again: Haven't blogged at all since the beginning of November so there'll be a couple in quite quick succession and of course music will fe...

Music again

Haven't blogged at all since the beginning of November so there'll be a couple in quite quick succession and of course music will feature. This blog covers three gigs no less. Went to see Airbourne with Kevin at the Kentish Town Forum at the end of November. Was supposed to be Tara as well but she was unwell (and decided that booking gigs between approximately November and February is a waste of money as they are the ones she's most frequently cancelled because of Fibro).The first support were called Cellar Door Moon Crow and were truly rubbish! Only two of them, their first offering was a rap....it didn't get any better, dreadful!

Pre gig beer

Merch. Which I indulged in...obs!

Cellar Door Moon Crow, a dreadful act!

The second support were much much better. Called Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown they hailed from Nashville and were bloody good! Definitely want to buy their debut album, a great band!
Airbourne were very loud and full of energy from beginning to end! Big Motorhead fans, at one point they brought out on stage a drinks bar and guzzled from a bottle of Jack with a little coke! Also flung half filled beer glasses (plastic ones!) into an appreciative audience! They were a cracking band and one I'd see again. There set list follows which was a good mix of old and new, their latest album having only come out a couple of months ago:

Onto my Birthday then & Tara had booked us a nice weekend in Oxford mainly to see the David Bowie tribute band Absolute Bowie. Having been given the good tidings shortly after the Airbourne gig that I was to be made redundant, again, we really needed something to take our minds off things and get abit of R and R. Absolute Bowie did the trick. After arriving at our b and b we walked towards the venue (02, Oxford) via a couple of pubs and had something to eat in The Rusty Bicycle.

Absolute Bowie didn't have a support as they did two sets, certainly working for their money. The first was from the Ziggy Stardust era and was quite brilliant the second from the 1980's onwards, sort of 'Heroes' era I suppose. The singer didn't sound like Bowie when he spoke but really did when he sang. It was a brilliant evening.

The place we stayed at had a café downstairs where we had breakfast. They tried to be abit different with their menu. My full English for instance had a portion of greens as well......didn't really go though! After that we went native and got a bus into central Oxford and had a look round the Ashmolean Museum, which was great, it included some paintings by some late Victorian/Edwardian artists including Walter Sickert who knew Tara's Gran as a child, so it was interesting to see them, I quite liked his painted called 'A cup of tea' on show here . Then back to the car and off to get Ida from Tim who'd kindly looked after her for the weekend.

We'd had a great time.

Painting by Walter Sickert entitled 'The cup of tea.'

Kas and Stan & later Dan joined us in the run up to Xmas, good fun as it always is with them we all went to our last gig of the year which was St Agnes Fountain over at the Hitchin Folk Club. Featuring Chris Leslie of Fairport Convention fame and duo Julie Matthews and Chris While ( a man down this year as David Hughes was ill) they play not just traditional Christmas songs but also write their own, and jazz up some others. There's always a warmth to their performance, its not just a music gig either as they all contribute a spoken word piece as well. it was a very good night.

Xmas hats!

Saturday 9 November 2019

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Gigs, gigs, gigs.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Gigs, gigs, gigs.: Well you know me and a live gig! Nothing better! Already we have a few dates in the diary for next year. Saxon in March. This should have t...

Gigs, gigs, gigs.

Well you know me and a live gig! Nothing better! Already we have a few dates in the diary for next year.
Saxon in March. This should have taken place in October but Biff Byford the singer had to have a heart bypass hence the dates of the tour being put back. This gig will be a cracker with the supports being Girlschool, Diamond Head and Krokus (on their last tour ….supposedly!) and with it being at the Hammersmith Apollo, or whatever they call the Hammy Odeon now, a visit to the first class Dove near the Thames beckons. Dinner there as well I suspect, cant wait!
Soon after Saxon we go to Islington to see Magnum. My fourth time of seeing them, Tara's third & Kevin's 18th ! Their support is called Theia, found them on You Tube and the sound quite good.
After that in May we go to see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds at the Birmingham Arena. Tara's choice this one, she gamely comes along to most of the old headbangers I like so its only fair that if it comes up, we see bands she particularly likes! Don't know of any support at present. Well that's three booked for 2020 plus the New Forest Folk Festival in July, though 2019 isn't finished music wise. For my Birthday we are seeing Airbourne in Kentish Town at the end of the month. Their supports are Cellar Door Moon Crow from Sheffield, Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown from Nashville & with Airbourne from Oz it'll be quite a multi national gig & quite frankly I can't bloody wait! Got all 5 of Airbourne's studio albums and there's some good stuff there! But it doesn't stop there. On my actual Birthday Tara has booked us a night away in Oxford (always a great city to visit) to see a David Bowie tribute act. I never got to see the man himself so this reckons to be a real treat. Live music. You can't bloody beat it!

Thursday 7 November 2019

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Airbourne

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Airbourne: I threatened to review new albums that had taken my fancy & even though I've had it a couple of weeks now the new offering from Airb...

Airbourne

I threatened to review new albums that had taken my fancy & even though I've had it a couple of weeks now the new offering from Airbourne must get a mention. Doing the Amazon pre order thing again I got on the day of release...which was nice, and then immediately and quite decisively I did nothing at all with it.
I left it until I was back at work and played it far too loud in the car! 'Boneshaker' is Airbourne's fifth studio album. Not as good as some of them it must be said but still pretty good. The reviewer of this album in Planet Rock magazine only gave it 3 (out of 5) saying they sounded very like AC/DC which indeed they do, but in my humble opinion that's no bad thing. They sound like early AC/DC with a real excitement and rawness to their sound that I really enjoy. Plus their gigs are considerably cheaper than AC/DC!
The album opens with the title track Boneshaker, also released as a single I think. I'd heard this one on Planet Rock so knew I liked it. There's 10 tracks on the album and to be fair none are too cerebral, but then I don't want that from Airbourne or indeed most of the music I listen to, I like a tune I can remember and if possible words easy enough for me to remember as well, so this album really delivers. My favourite track is 'Sex to go' which has a great rhythm to it (no Mrs!) and with this deluxe CD I mistakenly bought not only is there two extra live tracks(Heartbreaker & Raise the Flag) but also a limited edition poster opened out for this photo and destined to remain folded in the CD box forever more!
I'm not doing a track by track review of this fine album but will finish by saying I think its a worthy edition to the Airbourne stable of albums and I'm really looking forward to seeing them at the end of the month and hearing some of these tracks live! Rock n Roll For Life as the album states. Stay tuned!

Album cover

Limited edition poster never to be seen again!