Taken outside the gates of Mdina, Malta.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Thursday, 18 March 2010
The Mad March Hare.
It has been a little while since I have written a proper up-date. I am now employed in Oxford so that is taking up most of my time. Like all graduates my current job is absolutely nothing to do with my degree; I am the supervisor of a bakery selling all things Cornish. Early starts, long hours, the constant risk of being burnt - but it's money after all and the rent needs to be paid.
Myself, Grundy and his mum went to see the new Tim Burton film 'Alice in Wonderland' at the new Cineworld in Witney on Sunday. The film was a lot better than I was expecting and as an added bonus was in 3D. Whilst everybody else gained much hilarity from wearing their glasses I did not; they were after all the same as my normal glasses and couldn't quite work out what the fuss was about. Although I am growing a little tired of the predictability of the Burton, Depp, Bonham-Carter triangle there is know denying that they are producing good results although yet again they seem to stroll too far from the pages of the book, a massive pinch of artistic license maybe? I still prefer the original 'Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory' of 1971 as an example; some things are definitely better left alone.
March also sees much stand-up comedy afoot, we are going to 'Childish Things' this Saturday evening which is all in aid of the childrens' hospice charity Helen & Douglas House. It is an evening of comedy which this year features the likes of Rob Brydon, Jason Manford, Graham Norton and Rory Bremner as some of the artists announced so far. It should be a really good night and get us in the mood for seeing Ricky Gervais on his 'Science' tour this coming Wednesday. The last stand-up comedy I saw live was Dylan Moran back in Cornwall but that was a good few years ago now so I am long overdue.
Other things happening at present: Myself and Grundy got a LoveFilm account as we decided we do not watch enough films, the new(ish) Michael Haneke film 'White Ribbon' came clattering through the letter box a couple of days ago and we plan to watch that as soon as we are able to stay awake for long enough. No late fees, amen!
I also have a stack of books to read but haven't yet had the time; I am currently reading William S. Burroughs 'Cities Of The Red Night' which is predictably full of drugs, ritual killings and strange occurrences involving disease and death, not exactly a holiday read but that didn't stop me taking it to Malta. I have also just started the journals of Keith Haring. Also, completely unrelated but I currently smell like 'Versace Pour Homme' a frangrance that reminds me of being warm, wearing shorts, splashing around in the Mediterranean Sea and eating amazing food.
For now, that is all as I need to dash up town to get the new Wire which this month has a free CD, wonderful.
Myself, Grundy and his mum went to see the new Tim Burton film 'Alice in Wonderland' at the new Cineworld in Witney on Sunday. The film was a lot better than I was expecting and as an added bonus was in 3D. Whilst everybody else gained much hilarity from wearing their glasses I did not; they were after all the same as my normal glasses and couldn't quite work out what the fuss was about. Although I am growing a little tired of the predictability of the Burton, Depp, Bonham-Carter triangle there is know denying that they are producing good results although yet again they seem to stroll too far from the pages of the book, a massive pinch of artistic license maybe? I still prefer the original 'Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory' of 1971 as an example; some things are definitely better left alone.
March also sees much stand-up comedy afoot, we are going to 'Childish Things' this Saturday evening which is all in aid of the childrens' hospice charity Helen & Douglas House. It is an evening of comedy which this year features the likes of Rob Brydon, Jason Manford, Graham Norton and Rory Bremner as some of the artists announced so far. It should be a really good night and get us in the mood for seeing Ricky Gervais on his 'Science' tour this coming Wednesday. The last stand-up comedy I saw live was Dylan Moran back in Cornwall but that was a good few years ago now so I am long overdue.
Other things happening at present: Myself and Grundy got a LoveFilm account as we decided we do not watch enough films, the new(ish) Michael Haneke film 'White Ribbon' came clattering through the letter box a couple of days ago and we plan to watch that as soon as we are able to stay awake for long enough. No late fees, amen!
I also have a stack of books to read but haven't yet had the time; I am currently reading William S. Burroughs 'Cities Of The Red Night' which is predictably full of drugs, ritual killings and strange occurrences involving disease and death, not exactly a holiday read but that didn't stop me taking it to Malta. I have also just started the journals of Keith Haring. Also, completely unrelated but I currently smell like 'Versace Pour Homme' a frangrance that reminds me of being warm, wearing shorts, splashing around in the Mediterranean Sea and eating amazing food.
For now, that is all as I need to dash up town to get the new Wire which this month has a free CD, wonderful.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Industrial Introduction.
Throbbing Gristle (Clip from BBC documentary 'Synth Britannia')
Throbbing Gristle interviewed by BoingBoing Video.
Diana (Mini)
As I excitedly remind myself every morning Grundy and I are Malta bound late on Sunday. I couldn't be happier to get away from the drizzle and cold, five days in the Mediterranean is exactly what the doctor ordered, no, really he did but that's a long and boring story of visits to Bartlemas Surgery, blood tests and pain killers.
I have bought a new camera and I am looking forward to taking many-a-sun-drenched snap with it. It's a Diana Mini (made by The Lomographic Society.) I have it's older bigger brother already (Diana+) but due to it having to use medium format film (120) it proves tricky, unpredictable and expensive to use and process. The Diana Mini however takes standard 35mm film and thanks to a rectangular plastic insert can split each frame in half making a 36 exposure film capable of taking 72 images, bargain!
The Lomo' Society in-case you are unfamiliar have taken old cameras and have made replicas for a more contemporaneous audience. The Diana family is just one example of many reproductions and originally started off as a toy-camera given away at fair grounds or free with newspaper promotions in the 1950s/60s. As it was made very cheaply the camera suffers from light-leakage making the resulting images have a dream-like quality with dark edges and that has become a virtue and the image quality is now much sort-after. Although originally a "toy" it is a fully functioning camera but to use a Diana is to delve into a world of uncertainty; how you think an image will turn out and how it actually does are two different matters completely.
So, stay posted to this blog and my Flickr account to see the results when they are back from Snappy Snaps. The images below are of the camera and an example of a photograph taken on it (not by myself but from the Lomography website.)
I have bought a new camera and I am looking forward to taking many-a-sun-drenched snap with it. It's a Diana Mini (made by The Lomographic Society.) I have it's older bigger brother already (Diana+) but due to it having to use medium format film (120) it proves tricky, unpredictable and expensive to use and process. The Diana Mini however takes standard 35mm film and thanks to a rectangular plastic insert can split each frame in half making a 36 exposure film capable of taking 72 images, bargain!
The Lomo' Society in-case you are unfamiliar have taken old cameras and have made replicas for a more contemporaneous audience. The Diana family is just one example of many reproductions and originally started off as a toy-camera given away at fair grounds or free with newspaper promotions in the 1950s/60s. As it was made very cheaply the camera suffers from light-leakage making the resulting images have a dream-like quality with dark edges and that has become a virtue and the image quality is now much sort-after. Although originally a "toy" it is a fully functioning camera but to use a Diana is to delve into a world of uncertainty; how you think an image will turn out and how it actually does are two different matters completely.
So, stay posted to this blog and my Flickr account to see the results when they are back from Snappy Snaps. The images below are of the camera and an example of a photograph taken on it (not by myself but from the Lomography website.)
Friday, 12 February 2010
Egoshooter.
As you may have guessed by now I feel a certain affinity for the Germans. Most of the films I own are from the said country and I am always searching for something new to watch to add to my ever growing collection. I purchased 'Egoshooter' from German Amazon about a month ago but we hadn't got around to watching it until last night.
Starring rising star Tom Schilling 'Egoshooter' is one of the more individual films I have seen in recent times. Taking into concern the contemporary upsurge in amateur video sites such as YouTube together with the social networking websites that have made everybody famous for 15 minutes the film splices together small, apparently amateurishly shot snippets of narrative to assess current social concerns.
Jakob is 19, living in Cologne and wasting his life; he documents every tedious aspect of that wasted life on video-camera. Everything: from not being able to sleep, riding a bike, begging, masturbating, eating breakfast, listening to music, together with his dysfunctional family and friends.
In a society that will watch Big Brother contestants sleeping on a live stream or readily view homemade videos of people doing almost anything at anytime, anywhere 'Egoshooter' is cleverly apt to our times and is of course on the surface a mediocre film of nothingness, but that's the point. We are all bored and as this very blog confirms we strive to document the tedious minutiae of life.
The film is alarmingly easy to watch yet at the same time a slightly uncomfortable experience, after all we are watching Jakob in the most intimate and emotionally private moments but the internet has made such occurrences normality. The film apes us all and is well worth watching if only to look into the mirror that is being held-up to society. This experimental blend of fragmentary documentation is refreshingly honest but you must surrender yourself as viewer to get the most out of it, if you come expecting a storyline, you are missing the point.
If you have a spare 79 minutes and an extra twenty quid burning a hole in your pocket why don't you try Egoshooter? Perfect viewing for late at night or early in the morning when suffering a hangover thus not really wanting to think.
Starring rising star Tom Schilling 'Egoshooter' is one of the more individual films I have seen in recent times. Taking into concern the contemporary upsurge in amateur video sites such as YouTube together with the social networking websites that have made everybody famous for 15 minutes the film splices together small, apparently amateurishly shot snippets of narrative to assess current social concerns.
Jakob is 19, living in Cologne and wasting his life; he documents every tedious aspect of that wasted life on video-camera. Everything: from not being able to sleep, riding a bike, begging, masturbating, eating breakfast, listening to music, together with his dysfunctional family and friends.
In a society that will watch Big Brother contestants sleeping on a live stream or readily view homemade videos of people doing almost anything at anytime, anywhere 'Egoshooter' is cleverly apt to our times and is of course on the surface a mediocre film of nothingness, but that's the point. We are all bored and as this very blog confirms we strive to document the tedious minutiae of life.
The film is alarmingly easy to watch yet at the same time a slightly uncomfortable experience, after all we are watching Jakob in the most intimate and emotionally private moments but the internet has made such occurrences normality. The film apes us all and is well worth watching if only to look into the mirror that is being held-up to society. This experimental blend of fragmentary documentation is refreshingly honest but you must surrender yourself as viewer to get the most out of it, if you come expecting a storyline, you are missing the point.
If you have a spare 79 minutes and an extra twenty quid burning a hole in your pocket why don't you try Egoshooter? Perfect viewing for late at night or early in the morning when suffering a hangover thus not really wanting to think.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
No Age.
...ladies and gentlemen; a band I have seen live more times than I care to remember, all the way from L.A in the U.S of A, and I even have the t-shirt, please be standing for NO AGE:
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Monday, 1 February 2010
Attack Music.
It was 2005, I was young and naïve. In that summer I was attending sixth-form and I was about to embark on a work placement at Artrocker magazine then based in Highbury, London. I was passionate about two things, writing and music (although I must confess that I was reasonably new to the 'music scene' attending my first festival a year earlier.) After having a few articles published here and there the demo's and promo's came clattering through my letterbox regularly. On one such occasion came a CD mysteriously titled 'Zum Kult Film EP' alongside the band name scrawled in green marker pen. These New Puritans? Sounds intriguing. In my dank, perpetually cold Cornish bedroom I listened to the demo and what I heard was akin to the downtrodden austere isolation I felt I lived with; a bachelors degree and a portion of a masters later you realise you've probably never had it so good, student life is good for boosting the immune system if nothing else.
On a struggling laptop I used what little music knowledge I had and wrote a review, published in Artrocker, my first full page feature and apparently the bands also. I read that article back this morning and I cringed. I was young and clumsy with language but I 'spose there is no denying my enthusiasm. Zum Kult Film EP still remains one of my favourites and I have kept that demo to this day. The EP signals the start of something which has become one of my most admired and adored bands of all time; and although slightly embarrassed by the article of a few years ago I feel I should have another shot with the release of their second album 'Hidden' which was out in shops last week.
It is all so easy to lump These New Puritans with apparent influences, when listening to the new album you can hear strains of Neu! and Einstürzende Neubauten alongside The Blue Orchids or maybe even a gentle prod in the direction of Robert Wyatt but I feel listing similar bands somehow does an injustice to the bands uniqueness and musical intelligence. They are, I feel one of the most important bands of the last decade, never loosing integrity or selling-out to a nation of youngsters vegetating in-front of T4 (although I am sure there are worse crimes.)
From the very off-set 'Hidden' is absorbing with a strikingly melancholic introduction in brass, immersing whilst simultaneously putting you at a detached emotional distance before the aural puncture of 'We Want War' brings you right back and sitting to attention. This, also the first single of this release is one of the best 'songs' (for want of a better word) I have heard in recent times and certainly the best this year, although we are only in February it will prove formidable to surpass. Within seven minutes we are taken on an exploratory journey, well honed with every aspect of the intricate minutiae a multi faceted and breathtakingly intelligent progression and this goes for the duration of the album. Throughout, with careful listening we hear recordings of chains and knives interwoven with possible gravel and hammers hitting a variety of objects but then again I could be completely wrong. That's the thing, there is enough to keep you thinking and pondering almost indefinitely.
I don't wish to get too hung-up on analysing the album song-by-song and should this be the first time you've heard of the album (you must be living in a cave somewhere uncharted) I feel it'd be nice for you to discover the albums contents of your own although admittedly slightly guided volition. The comprising tracks although of individual merit are best listened to in the order of the album, tracks referring back to others and vice-versa, a concept-album maybe, more so than the first album 'Beat Pyramid' anyway. If you are These New Puritans savvy, Hidden will no doubt introduce you to a new phase of the bands sound demonstrating their ingenious versatility. Tracks such as 'Attack Music' and 'Hologram' are poles apart but sit discerningly in situe in the albums progression. 'Drum Courts - Where Corals Lie' shows a tender side with a culmination in brass reprise. Hidden is beautiful, and I had to think twice about using such a seemingly haphazard statement; I use the word only when I absolutely mean it and this album certainly deserves the rare accolade. Beauty is not easily achievable with instruments and machines and computers.
I can only now implore you to purchase the album and I am sure the decision to do so will be one of the better judgments you make this month. Please also have a look around the bands website, an example of aesthetic worthiness: http://www.thesenewpuritans.com/
If you are unfamiliar with the work of These New Puritans and wish to sample their previous output it may be worth trying to track down a copy of 'Navigate-Navigate' or the 'Now Pluvial EP' and of course 'Beat Pyramid'. The first two may prove tricky as they were limited vinyl releases but are more than worth the effort of searching.
(Image: CheekMagazine)
On a struggling laptop I used what little music knowledge I had and wrote a review, published in Artrocker, my first full page feature and apparently the bands also. I read that article back this morning and I cringed. I was young and clumsy with language but I 'spose there is no denying my enthusiasm. Zum Kult Film EP still remains one of my favourites and I have kept that demo to this day. The EP signals the start of something which has become one of my most admired and adored bands of all time; and although slightly embarrassed by the article of a few years ago I feel I should have another shot with the release of their second album 'Hidden' which was out in shops last week.
It is all so easy to lump These New Puritans with apparent influences, when listening to the new album you can hear strains of Neu! and Einstürzende Neubauten alongside The Blue Orchids or maybe even a gentle prod in the direction of Robert Wyatt but I feel listing similar bands somehow does an injustice to the bands uniqueness and musical intelligence. They are, I feel one of the most important bands of the last decade, never loosing integrity or selling-out to a nation of youngsters vegetating in-front of T4 (although I am sure there are worse crimes.)
From the very off-set 'Hidden' is absorbing with a strikingly melancholic introduction in brass, immersing whilst simultaneously putting you at a detached emotional distance before the aural puncture of 'We Want War' brings you right back and sitting to attention. This, also the first single of this release is one of the best 'songs' (for want of a better word) I have heard in recent times and certainly the best this year, although we are only in February it will prove formidable to surpass. Within seven minutes we are taken on an exploratory journey, well honed with every aspect of the intricate minutiae a multi faceted and breathtakingly intelligent progression and this goes for the duration of the album. Throughout, with careful listening we hear recordings of chains and knives interwoven with possible gravel and hammers hitting a variety of objects but then again I could be completely wrong. That's the thing, there is enough to keep you thinking and pondering almost indefinitely.
I don't wish to get too hung-up on analysing the album song-by-song and should this be the first time you've heard of the album (you must be living in a cave somewhere uncharted) I feel it'd be nice for you to discover the albums contents of your own although admittedly slightly guided volition. The comprising tracks although of individual merit are best listened to in the order of the album, tracks referring back to others and vice-versa, a concept-album maybe, more so than the first album 'Beat Pyramid' anyway. If you are These New Puritans savvy, Hidden will no doubt introduce you to a new phase of the bands sound demonstrating their ingenious versatility. Tracks such as 'Attack Music' and 'Hologram' are poles apart but sit discerningly in situe in the albums progression. 'Drum Courts - Where Corals Lie' shows a tender side with a culmination in brass reprise. Hidden is beautiful, and I had to think twice about using such a seemingly haphazard statement; I use the word only when I absolutely mean it and this album certainly deserves the rare accolade. Beauty is not easily achievable with instruments and machines and computers.
I can only now implore you to purchase the album and I am sure the decision to do so will be one of the better judgments you make this month. Please also have a look around the bands website, an example of aesthetic worthiness: http://www.thesenewpuritans.com/
If you are unfamiliar with the work of These New Puritans and wish to sample their previous output it may be worth trying to track down a copy of 'Navigate-Navigate' or the 'Now Pluvial EP' and of course 'Beat Pyramid'. The first two may prove tricky as they were limited vinyl releases but are more than worth the effort of searching.
(Image: CheekMagazine)Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
We're Here To File A Complaint.
I can't remember when I first discovered Tocotronic. I started my Last.fm account in 2006 so possibly around that time. Four years later (if indeed it was 2006) they are my most listened to band; who would have thought that the band to take this accolade would sing in German? Stranger things have happened I suppose. It is well recorded that I am a bit of a Germanophile and I have become increasingly interested in the country's music scene and more and more British bands are citing German bands as influences; the recent resurgence of Krautrock styling and synthesized instrumentation as two examples.
Tocotronic are also important in the shaping of contemporary German youth-culture, youngsters from the fatherland copying the bands clothing and haircuts. Tocotronic have been active since 1993 and were recognisable due to their anti-fashion stance preferring to wear clothes found in charity bins, unlabeled, skin-tight and generic, today this has become the norm for anybody remotely 'indie' (though I hate the word) but when Tocotronic first did such it was completely unusual. As for the haircuts, short back and sides with a heavy one-sided fringe became the desired style and if you walk around any European large town or city today it is still the case. Ask the average alternative Brit who Tocotronic are however and they'd draw a blank. It all started with them.
The album cover above is for the album 'Wir Kommen Um Uns Zu Beschweren' (We're Here To File A Complaint) and was released in 1996. I bought this album as I was intrigued by a track that named checked front man of The Fall Mark E. Smith (Ich Habe Geträumt, Ich Wäre Pizza Essen Mit Mark E. Smith) and for someone who spoke very little German I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. Fast-paced guitar music with raspy and direct German vocals, scratchy and refreshingly homemade (some say similar to Pavement); the music behind the lyrics (the large majority of which I couldn't understand) made me want to know what was being said and four years later I have a better grasp. If you talk to any German about Tocotronic they will tell you that they like them due to their clever, intelligent and political lyrics (poking fun and getting angry about Germany's conservative, middle-class ways.) For me however the lyrics came as secondary of course and my love of Tocotronic came initially from their music and music alone.
I now have most of their releases, 10 studio albums, a plethora of EPs and Maxi-CDs and they have released a new album this week Schall & Wahn (The Sound & The Fury) which is practically unattainable in Britian, thank god for the internet. Today Tocotronic are one of the biggest alternative bands in Germany the fact they are singing in German giving them notable credibility (the only English language release was a version of the 1999 album K.O.O.K.)
The latest album adds further gravitas to Tocotronic's versatility and has a completely different feel from 'Kapitulation' (Surrender - their last studio album released in 2007) as a band they have noticeably moved with the times and maybe we sense a slightly more positive Germany? Although their sound has changed considerably since their conception Tocotronic are always Tocotronic and unmistakably so, the mark of a great band surely? Since I have spoke of Kapitulation here is a video for the title track of the album:
Tocotronic are:
Dirk Von Lowtzow - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Jan Müller - Bass
Arne Zank - Drums
Rick McPhail - Lead Guitar, Keyboards
Friday, 22 January 2010
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Southfork Ranch.
A few months ago I started watching my DVD's of Dallas. I have to report that I have managed to get a tad behind so I think I might have to start from the beginning to refresh my mind. Who shot J.R? Well, sadly I already know, it is after-all common knowledge but the famed shot is not fired until series three so I have many hours of Texan-oil-based-televisual-drama yet.
I usually hate anything that is remotely cow-boyish and my skin crawls at the mere sight of a stetson but somehow I have warmed to Dallas and its characters and take it from me J.R Ewing is a right bastard, Lucy Ewing is a little tart and I really can't stand Ray Krebbs (please don't get me started.) All this reminds me that I must get my signed photo of Larry Hagman framed as it's an absolute travesty that it is still hiding in a cupboard. If you are like me and currently have little to do with your time and don't mind bad 70's haircuts, a high ratio of lurid polyester garments and a lot of crude talk (oil that is) then give Dallas a bash.
As this post has been very short and mostly pointless I feel I must leave you with a quote at least; ladies and gentlemen,
Mr J.R. Ewing:
"A marriage is like a salad: the man has to know how to keep his tomatoes on the top." *
I usually hate anything that is remotely cow-boyish and my skin crawls at the mere sight of a stetson but somehow I have warmed to Dallas and its characters and take it from me J.R Ewing is a right bastard, Lucy Ewing is a little tart and I really can't stand Ray Krebbs (please don't get me started.) All this reminds me that I must get my signed photo of Larry Hagman framed as it's an absolute travesty that it is still hiding in a cupboard. If you are like me and currently have little to do with your time and don't mind bad 70's haircuts, a high ratio of lurid polyester garments and a lot of crude talk (oil that is) then give Dallas a bash.
As this post has been very short and mostly pointless I feel I must leave you with a quote at least; ladies and gentlemen,
Mr J.R. Ewing:
"A marriage is like a salad: the man has to know how to keep his tomatoes on the top." *
* (whatever the hell that means.)
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Plight.
This is a photo I took of an installation by one of my most admired artists Joseph Beuys. Here we see a portion of an art-work called Plight (1985) and is currently installed at The Pompidou Centre in Paris where I encountered this work. We see a blackboard and thermometer atop a piano which is placed in a room completely lined with rolls of grey felt. You enter the room through a small door which you must stoop down to go through. Once inside you are overcome with a sense of warmth, the room being much hotter due to the insulation.
Felt is an important and reoccurring theme in Beuys' works; the story goes that when Beuys was a German aircraft pilot in the second world war he was shot down over the Dolomites (a section of The Alps) and was rescued by a group of nomads who covered his body in animal fat and then felt in order to keep him warm and thus surviving. Fat therefore is another regular aesthetic and sculptural device. This story has since been discredited but it is an important factor in the explanation of Beuys' sculpture.
Beuys takes ready-made, everyday objects and elevates them to plains of the mythological with constant nods towards the themes of life and death together with regeneration and the political.
Beuys creates allegorical environments to address the world around us and the human condition. Plight by the nature of the word coupled with the felt that lines the walls creates a tension between security and insecurity. The word 'Plight' suggests possible anxiety or instability yet the felt stands to suggest warmth, shelter or protection. The piano as far as I ascertain suggests escapism (in this case through music) although the piano will not make a sound and the lid remains shut; it's attainability jars with the welcoming softness of the walls. The blackboard and thermometer seem to suggest education and the comfort of knowledge, the thermometer physically confirms the warmth, the blackboard is an outlet for understanding.
Here is a link to an audio clip from 1985 of Joseph Beuys talking about the work:
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/audioarts/cd2_8.shtm
Monday, 18 January 2010
Sunday, 17 January 2010
I Have Moved.
So, here I am sat watching The Simpsons in my new house in Oxford. I have moved in with my boyfriend Grundy who chivalrously missed going to see Aston Villa vs West Ham in Birmingham today to help me and I couldn't be more thankful to him. I hate moving; within the last four years I have moved six times and have amassed a scary number of possessions. I have somehow managed to collect over 400 books and those do not include the few hundred that are back in my mum's house. I think it is time to quash this addiction so I have decided not to buy any books until we are at least back from Malta in 6 weeks time. Bring on the cold turkey 'and with gods help I will conquer this terrible affliction' (I can't even stop adding the odd literary reference, thanks Irvine Welsh.)
The worse thing about moving is the packing and unpacking; every time I have moved I have more things to cram into boxes and laundry bags, although, this time I was ruthless and threw away 8 industrial sized bin-sacks of bits of paper, crap magazines, empty whisky bottles and all sorts of other unnecessary items that my cluttered mind has told me to hang onto. As Grundy said at least 50% of my possessions were the books, a scary thought. We loaded the van in London at 9.00 this morning and I used the same van-man as last time, salt of the earth all round lovely chap Van Man Bill and got here at about 11.30, marvelous. As I am sat here writing this I keep glancing over at the pile of stuff in the lounge and I am filled with dread, once it is all safely put away, out of sight and out of mind I will be happy and will sleep easily.
So, thanks London, it was nice while it lasted but I am more than happy to be having a break from the city. They do say however if you are tired of London you are tired of life, which is probably true. I'm not tired of London however, I am more than willing to have the odd day trip but I am not going to miss the extortionate living costs, relentless traffic noise, throngs of people everywhere, the stuffiness of the tube and the general unfriendliness of the city and its inhabitants. I will of course miss the friends I have made but I'm not far away, in-fact I think I am at the perfect distance, not too far and not too near. Thank-you Oxford Tube.
Anyway, I suppose I better show willing and do more tidying. Well, maybe a cup of tea first.
The worse thing about moving is the packing and unpacking; every time I have moved I have more things to cram into boxes and laundry bags, although, this time I was ruthless and threw away 8 industrial sized bin-sacks of bits of paper, crap magazines, empty whisky bottles and all sorts of other unnecessary items that my cluttered mind has told me to hang onto. As Grundy said at least 50% of my possessions were the books, a scary thought. We loaded the van in London at 9.00 this morning and I used the same van-man as last time, salt of the earth all round lovely chap Van Man Bill and got here at about 11.30, marvelous. As I am sat here writing this I keep glancing over at the pile of stuff in the lounge and I am filled with dread, once it is all safely put away, out of sight and out of mind I will be happy and will sleep easily.
So, thanks London, it was nice while it lasted but I am more than happy to be having a break from the city. They do say however if you are tired of London you are tired of life, which is probably true. I'm not tired of London however, I am more than willing to have the odd day trip but I am not going to miss the extortionate living costs, relentless traffic noise, throngs of people everywhere, the stuffiness of the tube and the general unfriendliness of the city and its inhabitants. I will of course miss the friends I have made but I'm not far away, in-fact I think I am at the perfect distance, not too far and not too near. Thank-you Oxford Tube.
Anyway, I suppose I better show willing and do more tidying. Well, maybe a cup of tea first.
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Malta Bound.
It's been on the cards for a while now; here we are in Oxford still very much snowed under (although it is beginning to melt slowly) and we thought it was about time for a holiday. This morning Grundy and I took a short stroll up to the Cowley Centre and spoke to our friendly travel-agent and on 22nd February we shall be flying to Malta for five days in the sun, hurray. I spoke to my friend Clare on the phone the other day and she was very surprised that I would want to holiday somewhere hot; her summation of my personality was as follows:
"Matt Retallick you are the sort of person who aspires to live in a place like Durham and relish visits to dingy museums in the drizzle."
Never a truer word spoken. I usually love winter, I'm all for log fires and cosey nights in with the boyfriend but this year winter has been, well, too wintery. It's been a long cold winter of sparse heating, feet like blocks of ice and snot running down my filtrum. So I have an over-whelming desire to wear nothing but shorts and sunglasses and burn to a crisp (I'm not the sort to tan easily.)
We are going to Sliema and staying in a hotel that is over-looking a crystal blue bay and only five weeks and five days of cold to go before we are there. Grundy has been to Malta four times before so he is a seasoned Maltese traveler but this is my first excursion to Mediterranean climes. I expect to eat seafood by the platter-load, smell of after-sun and gain alcohol related sun-stroke. It wouldn't be a holiday if I didn't.
Expect a tedious stream of the usual holiday snaps on our return, but until then here is a charming picture of where we are staying:
"Matt Retallick you are the sort of person who aspires to live in a place like Durham and relish visits to dingy museums in the drizzle."
Never a truer word spoken. I usually love winter, I'm all for log fires and cosey nights in with the boyfriend but this year winter has been, well, too wintery. It's been a long cold winter of sparse heating, feet like blocks of ice and snot running down my filtrum. So I have an over-whelming desire to wear nothing but shorts and sunglasses and burn to a crisp (I'm not the sort to tan easily.)
We are going to Sliema and staying in a hotel that is over-looking a crystal blue bay and only five weeks and five days of cold to go before we are there. Grundy has been to Malta four times before so he is a seasoned Maltese traveler but this is my first excursion to Mediterranean climes. I expect to eat seafood by the platter-load, smell of after-sun and gain alcohol related sun-stroke. It wouldn't be a holiday if I didn't.
Expect a tedious stream of the usual holiday snaps on our return, but until then here is a charming picture of where we are staying:
Monday, 11 January 2010
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