Blimey, it is really 4 months since I threw some words of wisdom out there? Where has the time gone? Well, mine has been going on music listening, mastering sock knitting, discovering Malbec and the joys of golf. Well, not really - I've swung a club around my body in an uncoordinated fashion a number of times on the driving range and sometimes connected with the ball. I am hoping for better in 2009.
But the main thing that has got me out of my blogging slumber is to report on the most magical gig I have attended in a while. James Yorkston and the Athletes, with Pictish Trail and Rozi Plain chipping in, and Malcolm Middleton supporting. Pretty promising you might say, but throw in the venue, St Giles Church in Soho on a chilly 'almost Christmas' December night, and the result was tear-inducing loveliness. If you have never seen JY perform you are missing out on something special. Go see him. And in the meantime listen to When the Haar Rolls In and his entire back catalogue :)
I've been very inspired by new music lately, and as a consequence have far too many unlistened to CDs piling up.... I promised to send some new stuff to Carolyn and as she is sooo good at her mixes I had a go at one for her and am pretty pleased with it (if I do say so myself). I treid to replicate in on a mixtape (below) and was reasonably successful. Those mixtape boys and girls have a pretty comprehensive selection. In fact the only band I couldn't find was my son's - Charly Brown - and given that they only really play in South London pubs I guess I can't complain about that...
So we endured the rain in Victoria Park last Saturday for the second Field Day. Last year the weather was beautiful but there was one toilet (or so it seemed!), two bars, one food stall and about a dozen staff to cater to upwards of 5,000 people. Whoops. This year the toilet lesson still didn't seem to have been learned but beer and food were in plentiful supply. Anyway, enough already about the amenities, what about the music??
I was very much looking forward to seeing Laura Marling, despite the moaning I had endured from her on other occasions and her general stage awkwardness, but she is still a baby and her album is amazing so we will forgive her. She seemed a little more relaxed this time and played a pretty good set but it was pitifully short at near on 25 minutes. I was just getting into it, despite the raindrops dripping off my nose, and then she disappeared.
The rain eased off for Lightspeed Champion, and although I know I am in danger of going on about it, dryness definitely adds to the enjoyment of a band. He is at Green Man this weekend and I am pleased to be seeing him again.
Of course, the day's highlight was my current favourite obsession King Creosote. Right at the front of the stage for him and sweet harmonies from the Pictish Trail. How gorgeous can a man look in a hand knitted hooded cardi??
So it's off to Wales this weekend for more of the King, James Yorkston, Lightspeed, Badly Drawn Boy and The National (yay and super yay!)
Eating:everything that I buy - see rant below ;) Specifically, toasted fruit bread for breakfast (so much nicer than cereal) and a selection of interesting produce from Lidl and Aldi, my new favourite supermarkets. It's like when you go to the Carrefour in France on holiday and get ridiculously excited wandering up and down the aisles. And now I can do that EVERY WEEK!
with yarn I ripped from a sweater I made too wide and too short. The spirit of recycling has really got me....
Reading: South of the River by Blake Morrison. He's is a local boy and there are so many humourous references to our manor. Only just started it, but it came highly recommended by my husband.
Watching: not enough apparently - the only stuff left on the Sky+ is my rubbish that nobody else wants to watch. I need a night in to catch up with Gladiators, Superstars and Location, Location, Location. Such quality viewing.
Listening: to all the CDs I bought pre-holiday, on shuffle. Johnny Flynn, Natty, Dan le Sac (Carolyn I haven't forgotten!) Fleet Foxes, The National. They're playing at Green Man Festival - sooo excited about that. But not so much the camping. Or the inevitable Welsh rain. Or Pentangle.
As someone who prides herself on hardly throwing ANY food away EVER, I was shocked recently to discover that one third of the food bought in the UK is chucked out EVERY WEEK! How naive of me to think that everyone:
a) works out which days of the week they will be in for dinner - as they have obviously had their social life planned for some weeks ;)
b) plans the meals they'd like to have on those days
c) checks what items they already have in the fridge/freezer/store cupboard
d) writes a list of what food they need to buy before heading to the shops
Then I assumed everyone also:
a) froze any extra portions for another meal or,
b) took them to work for lunch or,
c) fed them to the dog!
So I have added a link to an initiative to try and get people NOT TO WASTE FOOD!
Now I'm off out for dinner with Suzy ;) And I promise to eat it all....
Welcome to Bert, Berty, the Bertster, or Bertrand (for reprimand purposes) who arrived on 21st December and caused quite a few sleepless nights until he cottoned on to the fact that when we all disappeared to various parts of the house, and the lights got turned off, it was time for real bed. Not the type of sleeping that punctuates the whole day, but a good solid stretch of at least 7 hours. Now he has settled in, he is absolutely amazingly lovely and fantastic, as well as a bit of a show off...
Those appendages do cause me a bit of grief but he seems to like having them hanging around, so they're staying for now.
Preoccupation with Bert has caused a bit of a lull on the knitting front, but the tunic did get finished:
Given how critical I am about things I knit for myself, I am really happy with it and have worn it quite a bit. I've got quite a lot of yarn left over as well so I think I'll finally embark on some sock knitting after years of procrastination - that 4-needle business scares me!
Eating, knitting, drinking wine and listening to music - preferably all at the same time. Spending time with friends, especially if I can persuade them to learn to knit too. Going to gigs with my boys. Walking my gorgeous greyhound, Berty. I dream about the time when I don't have to work and can travel around the world watching sport. I have to be colour co-ordinated at all times.
