Rev Stan's other stuff

Friday night gig

Mosh bought us tickets to see Jethro Tull play acoustic with an orchestra last night. They are more Mosh's band than mine but I've seen them a few times and they make for a fairly pleasant evening of musical entertainment.
Last night they had a guest violinist Anna Phoebe who played with them and also some of her own compositions. I was quite struck by her music and bought her CD during the interval. It's a weird mix of violin, rock, Indian and middle eastern sounds but I quite like it.

This is one of the tracks she played

02 99 Lives

Anna Phoebe

Technological advances

Just had my first Skype conversation!
My friend Alan is working in Geneva for three years and suggested I get set up so we can chat for free. It's taken me months, as usual, to actually get round to downloading all the right software and getting registered and set up.
Anyway a week or so has gone by without me really knowing how the whole thing actually works and then low and behold, I'm sat here on my sofa surfing the web and a little box pops up saying Alan's online and wants to talk.
A quick click of button and we are talking. No headphones or handsets just through the speakers and in-built microphone (which I didn't know my computer had). Talking to the lap top is weird but a little picture of Alan pops up which helps.
Definitely recommend it.
Now just need Rachel in Moscow and Megs in New Zealand to get set up.

Edinburgh (again)

Things I've learnt from my second visit of the year to Edinburgh for work:

1. Candles and paper menu's don't mix and to put the flames out, bashing with the back of a spoon works better than flapping it around.

Whoops

2. When staying in a large hotel, my room will almost certainly be the furthest from the lift.

Wear comfy shoes

3.  On the very rare occasion that I get a room with a view, the weather will be shite.

Room with a grey view

4. When taking advantage of a hotel's provision of a non-slip mat in the bath/shower, it is advisable to actually step straight onto said mat otherwise you are liable to 'slip' bashing your leg against the bath, which is quite painful and results in an impressive but unsightly bruise.
 

Sleeping together debate

Mosh sent me this link to a story about research which shows that men suffer mental deficiency when they sleep with a woman (regardless of whether they have had sex). It was in New Scientist so it must be true.

The report goes on to point at the women are generally predispositioned to suffer from broken sleep which I think means that men just whinge about it more. And besides if he didn't nick the duvet then his sleep probably wouldn't be as disturbed... 

Bad syrup

With all her money you'd have thought that Britney Spears could have got a better wig, I mean there was a 70 year old duffer with a dead animal on his head sat at the table next to me at lunch that looked more natural...

Britney in rubbish wig

My Best Friend's Babies

Sorry for the gratuitous baby shots but went to visit my best friend Jen today and met her and Spike's six-week-old twins for the first time.

They are identical boys, Ben and Chris, and despite their parents determination to dress them individually I still get them mixed up. Think Ben is on the left...

They are real cuties and draw a lot of attention, although that could also be the space-age double buggy...

Double buggy

And finally one that will shock my sister. I'm usually indifferent towards babies and children and she reckons there are none that exist that can melt me. But Jen is my best friend and I'm interested in her little boys. I want to buy them cool non-pastel stuff* and I of course I couldn't wait to have a hold. Still draw the line at nappies though.

Stan and Chris

* Will post pics of them in their Led Zeppelin baby-grows just as soon as their parents take them and send them to me...

More culture

Novello Theatre, London

My second outing to the theatre this year was see good old William Shakespeare's The Tempest as performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. I studied this play for my A-levels and haven't seen it performed since my teens. Colleagues have raved about the modern production which sees the island moved to the arctic rather than the more  traditional tropical location.
Patrick Stewart took the lead as Prospero and as a seasoned Shakespearean actor was a natural on stage. It is easy to forget him in films such as the X-Men when you see him live and in his element.
The portrayal of Ariel was polar opposite to any I have seen before. Ariel is a spirit, a role normally taken by a woman or at the very least a slight man with a costume that gives an ethereal and impish look.

Prospero and Ariel

This Ariel (pictured left in the background) was played by a man - Julian Bleach - of no mean size. He wore a long black robe, bare feet, face painted white with dark around the eyes, a constant dour expression and a slow but very precise movement. He resembled a cross between Frankenstein's monster and sinister Victorian butler. I overhead someone in the interval saying he reminded them Boris Karlov. And it worked. Despite his size he moved with such delicate precision, appearing and disappearing in such a blink it was almost like magic on the stage.
Caliban the deformed son of a witch and Prospero's slave was played by John Light

The beautiful Novello Theatre

who put his toned physique to good use with a very physical performance using acrobatic poses to represent the characters unconventional body shape.
However I did have a real soft spot for the jester Trinculo played by Craig Gazey who delivered the lines with an east London accent and perfect comic timing which worked surprisingly well.
There was a lull towards the middle of the first half but on the whole it was an animated production that sweeps you along. This is the final day of the Royal Shakespeare's London season and I'm really looking forward to what they put for their next.

Curry in the 21st century

Trendy restaurants and bars always worry me slightly. Partly because I don't classify myself as remotely trendy and that my lack of style will be even more glaringly obvious in the surroundings but mainly because of the loos. Often the designers go for what I call style over practicality in these places resulting in visits to ladies becoming like a test on the Krypton factor. If indeed you can find the ladies. Call me old fashioned by I don't think the signs should vary much beyond the words for either gender or a character with trousers and one with a skirt.
Despite its stark, minimalist white decor Cafe Guru's loos were fairly straight forward to work, despite being unconventionally designed.
The loo itself was square. (Not as comfortable as the conventional shape)

square loo

The taps were, well this is what they looked like:

Cafe Guru, tap

But at least there was a sink rather than the often favoured trough and it was fairly obvious that the lever on the top turned the water on and off rather than some censor you can never find or even a foot operated contraption.

Back in the restaurant the chairs were modern-retro and there was a fantastic wall of champagne bottles.

Cafe Guru, Leeds

Most important was the food, which was suprisingly traditional Indian served without pretension in sizeable amounts and delicious. The staff were friendly, helpful and patient in allowing us to sit finishing our drinks and gassing a long time everyone else had left the restaurant.
Enjoyable evening all round really made all the more memorable for Lisa's toilet tales.

Great telly

Just watched the second episode of the US series Kidnapped being shown on Channel 4 and I'm gripped.
It is a simple premise on the surface but with a complex series of story threads underneath. The writers have given it more twists than box of snakes and the actors bring a tension that crackles like a bowl of rice-based breakfast cereal.
It's 48-hour-period per episode owes more than a tip of the hat to 24 but I'm on the edge of my sofa and there isn't anything else on telly at the moment that I can say that about. Can't wait for next weeks episode.

It's a local paper for local people

I love local papers. Even more, I love local papers quoting local people.

Came across this in the Oxford Mail:

The nearby White Horse pub, set to feature in a scene to be shot on Thursday, provided a warm haven for extras and crew. Licensee Jacqueline Paphitis said: "Elijah Wood was in this morning and had a cup of tea. He was laid-back and a really nice guy.

"Everyone's really excited about the filming on Thursday.

"The last time we had filming in the pub was when John Thaw was doing Morse here in 1987, but there's always something going on in Oxford."

Lucky for the Oxford Mail then.

Grand Canyon Skywalk

Just seen a story on BBC News 24 about this 'Skywalk' opening at the Grand Canyon.

It has a glass floor so you can look straight down. It's a fantastic idea. I've always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon and will one day, I'm sure. I know that I would really love to walk along this as the views and perspective will no doubt be amazing. Mosh would do it without a second thought (apart from the cost, he is half Scottish after all), but I am terrified of heights.
Last week I tried to take a photo from the fifth floor balcony of the hotel I was staying in and could barely hold the camera steady and was struggling to control my breathing. And this is fairly mild for me. Usually my hands start sweating, my legs shake and and I feel unstable to the point of needing to hold on.
I froze a third of the way up on the famous flight of steep steps to the top level of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and had to be helped down.
There is no doubt I would give Skywalk a go. I am determined to not let my fear stop me at least trying.
However, I can guarantee any photo I tried to take would be blurred.

QotD: My Favorite Greasy Spoon

What is your favorite greasy spoon?
Submitted by S@ngarang.

Back in the halcyon days when our office was on Wardour Street in Soho, there was a small cafe - and that's caff not cafay - just round the corner which did a fab full English. Sometimes on a Friday morning, when the new issue was delivered, a couple of us would pop in there, order the works and settle back to read the mag.

Cannes do

So the Cannes carnival of indulgence and shameless display of wealth and one-up-manship is over for another year.
It was great fun but bloody hard work. I think it is going to take me a week for my liver to recover and to catch up on sleep, thank criminy I've got Monday off work.

Highlights:
Getting the train
Beautiful sunny, hot weather
Chocolate souffle
Hotel room
Chauffeur driven boat ride across the marina
Guitarist in band at Brum do - see picture collection ;0)

The inability of Brum City Council to recognise when a journalist is lightly taking the piss
French policemen helping people cross the road

La Croisette beach and boats

Cannes marina from water taxi

Lowlights:
Sleep deprivation
Pissed up, pot-bellied, sweaty, middle-aged men invading my personal space and generally being slimey dick heads
The restaurants of Cannes ability to completely redefine the concept of slow service
Getting the train

And then there were the more bizarre ways companies chose to entertain and draw attention to themselves:

Even more mad marketing

More mad marketing

Marketing gone mad

And of course a traditional British fry up served on... a spoon

Fry up on a spoon

More pics in my gallery.

Finally home

Considering that at one point this evening I thought I might end up spending another night on French soil I'm actually quite impressed that I've made it home a mere four hours later than expected. Rather than the two hour train journey from Lille to Waterloo followed by a short cab ride I had to catch two trains, a cab, a shuttle bus, a ferry, another shuttle bus and then another cab which cost £170 (shared with three others) because the last train from Dover to London had left.
What I don't understand is why a track fire in Clapham/Battersea can affect trains in France. Perhaps its the answer to illegal immigration problems: just set fire to a bit of track and put the transport system in two countries up the spout.
Obviously running the Eurostar through the tunnel to Ashford and putting on a bus/rail replacement service into central London would have been far too sensible and helpful to all those stranded in Lilles. As would actually giving out some information as to what the hell was going on and alternative routes homes.  There is something wrong when you have to find out what is going on by phoning home and getting someone to look up news and travel pages on the web.
I'm finishing me calvados then I'm off to sleep for a very, very long time.

Travel update

Progress. Am sitting in the travel-lodge style lounge of a P&O ferry and have just left France. I have a large glass of wine and the Dunkirk spirit is winning through.
Not sure what the train situation will be once we arrive in Dover in 90 mins time but at least I'll be on home soil.

Travel nightmare

My dream train journey to and from Cannes is rapidly turning into a nightmare.
Got to Lilles to pick up the Eurostar for the homeward leg through the tunnel only to find out the service has been suspended for 24 hours due to a trackside fire....in London!
Am currently on a train heading (hopefully) to Calais where the plan is to try and catch a ferry to Dover. Failing that will have to stay overnight in Calais and get a ferry in the morning.
Having just had one of the most sleep deprived working weeks of my life I'm feeling surprisingly calm and chipper not sure how long it will last.

Off to Cannes

Tomorrow is D-Day, I'm heading off to the south of France for the annual trade fair for the industry I write about. Some 20,000 people attend and more champagne is drunk during this week than during the Cannes film festival.
I'm not sure what the primary purpose of the event is except to be seen and to drink and eat as much free stuff as possible. Except the food is never that good because there are 20,000 people needing to be fed and it's not exactly like they have somewhere else to go.
People launch stuff, the private sector blow their marketing budgets and local governments from all over Europe spend tax-payers money to be there and wine, dine and entertain people in the hope of attracting investment and press coverage.
One British city is flying out its 'best' Indian chefs to cook at a beach side restaurant, another has, according to a good source of a colleague, booked ELO to play. Last year they had Squeeze, the year before the Stranglers.
Now the private sector can spend all they want but I can't help but wonder if it the best use of tax payers money. I'll do my best to enjoy myself, for their constituents sakes if nothing else.
I'm getting the train down this year for the first time which I'm quite excited about as I've never been on such a long train journey. Managed to wrangle myself some cheap first class tickets otherwise I'd be straight on the ozone killers of the sky.
I've also lucked in on my hotel and been allocated one that is both central and not a shit hole, although I believe it when I'm safe in my room. Normally some of Cannes worst rooms are reserved just for the journalists and some are in a town up the coast half an hours cab ride away.
It all sounds very glam and it is I suppose but the pay off is that I will inevitably end up doing three 18-hour days. Still at least the weather is forecast to be good.

QotD: Famous Last Words

What will be your famous last words?
Submitted by ngocaroo.

If only Vox had used one of my QoTD's it would have all seemed worthwhile...

The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd

It is the story of how the CIA came into being the subsequent corruption that shaped it's formative years. Robert De Niro is both director and bankroller, so committed was he to getting the story into the public domain.
But despite the heavy weight cast, De Niro himself makes an appearance,  Matt Damon, in an unstretching role as the central character and Angelina Jolie as his suffering wife, it fails to make any real mark.
It is too long for a start. My endurance wore thin a couple of times and I was sorely tempted to walk out as my interest in the outcome waned. It did improve but understanding what was going on was sometime hampered by the characters need to talk discreetly and often unintelligibly.
I think the problem lies in the subject matter as much as the indulgent editing. Secret agents by their nature have to be anonymous and lack any real connection with their fellow humans, which makes them very difficult to relate to and indeed empathise with or admire.
The only real insight into Damon's character comes from the relationship, or lack of it, he had with this own father, something he makes only a vain attempt not to repeat with his own son. But this isn't enough to sustain a near-on three hour film. His wife, played by Jolie, is in a world of her own making, so there is little sense of sympathy there.
Overall there is little to get your teeth into, little suspense and utlimately little to entertain.

Day off

Hurrah for a day off work! Today I've crammed in a carefully planned selection of chores and fun stuff. Enough of the fun to make it feel like I've had a day off but with enough chores so that if I want to laze around guilt-free tomorrow, I can.
Went to the gym, dropped off my dry cleaning and picked up mail from the sorting office.
Had my hair cut at the Witches Hut by a new stylist, Shingo, who is Japanese. And am reasonably pleased with the result. I find they never quite cut my hair how I want which means that I either describe what I want very badly or am so forthright in what I don't want that it scares them into not doing anything remotely radical.

First cut with Shingo

It's a very multi cultural salon, my previous stylists have been from Spain and Ireland. I'm starting to think I'm cursed because my stylists keep leaving, Shingo is the fifth. Perhaps that's the problem, they are from foreign climes and want to return home.
Apart from my usual Friday jaunt to Starbucks for peppermint tea and fiar trade plain chocolate bar,

Clapham Picture House

I also went to the cinema to see The Good Shepherd (will post separately)
Then to finish off with a trip to the Bread & Roses with Mosh. The Bread is a lovely modern designed pub with a traditional attitude to drinks. Afterwards Mosh wanted to go to Bodean's as he's never been before but unfortunately they were fully booked so we ended up in the Bierodrome.

Top scran at the Bierodrome

Standard meat with chips and over loud trendy music but with a wide and varied selection of beer. I get 20% off as a friend of the Clapham Picture House so it makes it a reasonable priced night out. Had a very nice bottle of sauvignon blanc but then it was £4.50 more than the one I actually ordered. That'll teach me to fanny around swilling the wine around the glass before tasting rather than examining the bottle to see if it is the one I chose...
Fab day all round really. Now for tomorrows lazing...

Vox Hunt: I Miss This Show

Video: Show us a clip of a TV show you miss.

I miss The Kenny Everett Show. I was a kid so it must have been late 70s early 80s when it was on. It was a mixture of fast-paced comedy sketches some of which pushed the boundaries of taste and decency, at the time. I used to watch it with my Dad and loved to mimic some of the characters.
The odd catchphrase still makes the occasional appearance, even today, a particular favourite has to be: "Of course it was all done in the best possible taste."
He was extremely popular and managed to get some of the biggest stars of the time to appear. Something that has copied extensively in more recent comedy shows.
My Mum really didn't like the show and would always retreat into the kitchen to do some chore while it was on. It sort of made it all the more enjoyable knowing that one parent, at least, didn't approve.
Poor old Kenny is sadly no longer with us.

ABBA - Kenny Everett show

Bit of culture

Finally headed into town at the weekend to make the most of some of London's fine cultural institions. Mosh wanted to see an exhibition of London maps through the ages at the British Library but when we got there the queue was an hour and a half long and even he thought that was a too long a wait to see some old stuff.
After a quick mooch around the book shop we decided to walk over to the British Museum. It is actually only 10 minutes walk from my office but in the two and a half years I've been based there I'm ashamed to admit I've never made a lunch time or after work visit.
It is the first time I've seen the Great Court, which was all the more stunning

Great Court, British Museum

for having the sun shining through the panes.
We had a wander through the Egypt room. There is something very regal and timeless about the statues. We couldn't get very near to the Rosetta Stone to have a proper look as it was mobbed, so Mosh, who has an amazing memory for historical information, acted as curator.
Then we headed to the Persia halls to see some of the exhibits from Turkey, inspired by our visit to the country last year. There was nothing on the grand scale of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin but still worth a look.

Horses head, Elgin Marbles

We finished our brief tour at the exhibition of the controversy-shrouded Elgin Marbles. I can understand why Greece would want them back but then I'm sure that there are one or two artifacts held in Greece which don't really belong. In a similar vein, the Turkish want the Pergamon Alter back from Berlin but we couldn't help but notice on our holiday, the Egyptian and Middle Eastern artifacts that are on display.

Reading room, British museum

We finished up with a browse around the excellent book shop and a quick look in the reading room. Most of the books have now been moved into British Library but there is still something very impressive and learned, and Harry Potter-esque about this huge round room.

Our afternoon was finished we a cuppa and some chocolate and the walk across Covent Garden to catch the bus home.

Really must do more of this.

QotD: Wise Words

What's one of your favorite quotes? 
Submitted by Georgie-boy. 

"Would you like a brew?"
Anyone in my office.

"It's my turn to pay."
Mosh

"You are doing a great job, have a pay rise"
My Boss*

* OK I made the last one up but it definitely would be my favourite.

It's always the good 'uns

Why is it whenever a teenager dies in a horrible accident or is murdered it is always the popular, well-liked ones? Never the bullies or obnoxious twats. Of course I'm not saying that anyone deserves to die.

Musical discovery

Have a bit of a soft spot for old blues music and everytime I hear some I think I must look up an album or two to buy.
On New Years Eve in Devon we put the telly on for the Big Ben chimes and it happened to be Jools Holland's Hogmany show. He always has an eclectic mix of musical guests and one was Seasick Steve who played Doghouse Boogie from his album Dog House Music.
This is exactly what I had been looking for.
I bought Mosh the album for his birthday a couple of weeks ago (hey who hasn't bought a loved-one something they wanted for themself?) and have just put it on my iPod. Love it. Love it. Love it. Fortunately Mosh does to.
Just hope he tours soon because I imagine he'd pretty entertaining live.

Seasick Steve: Doghouse Boogie

Incidentally, I reckon he looks a little bit like Metallica's James Hetfield with a large beard.

Looking at Leonardo in a different light

I'm not normally a fan of gangster films. I've not seen Infernal Affairs and I've not even seen the Godfather and have little interest in doing so. The ones I have seen, whether set in the UK or US, seem to regurgitate similar scenarios, similar characters and similar levels of violence and attitude towards violence.
Big baddie - beatings - killing - cops - trust issues.
So when The Departed was first released I didn't bother to go and see it.

The Departed

But now its back with a clutch of Oscars and I got tempted to see what all the fuss is about.
And I quite enjoyed it. Yes Jack Nicholson is playing in the character that Jack Nicholson always seems to play these days and there are certainly no surprises in his performance.
Leonardo DiCaprio, however, particularly stands out which surprised me as I've never really noticed him in his previous films. Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen are all pretty good but DiCaprio brings an edgy, nervousness to his character that just takes a grip.
The plot twists and turns towards the type of ending that has you thinking: 'hang on a minute'. I enjoyed the ride although I'm not entirely sure of where I ended up but then perhaps that is the point.
Whether The Departed was deserving of all the accolades is debatable. Whether it was an entertaining two and a half hours well then I'd have to say yes.

Minor miracle or Mosh mucking about

Finally got round to playing with the video setting on my new camera phone. Not only did I manage to shoot and edit a quick clip of Mosh mucking about but also set up my mobile as bluetooth device on my iBook so I could transfer said clip to my lappy.
I am so proud, although my ignorance of how this technology works is such that I've probably missed some vital security step and now anyone can use my mobile or access my bank details online or something.
Anyway, I hereby present, Mosh Mucking About, my first camera phone video production shot on location in Starbucks, Covent Garden:

Mosh mucking about

Re: QoTD: Totally obsessed

It was a good evening:

The first sip is the best

Took the scenic route home (the bus):

Chauffeur driven no. 87

Big Ben from the no. 87

MI6 building (home of the sexy spies)

And one reluctant model:

QotD: Totally Obsessed

What is your current obsession(s)?
Submitted by eijsr.

Getting to the pub so I can have a drink with some friends and forget the shitty week I've had.

Vox Hunt: Dancing Machine

Video: Show us some great dancing.

I posted this back in August when I was very new to Vox but as they have decided to stop doing outdoor concerts at Kenwood House due complaints from a few of the posh people that live in the neighbourhood, I thought it appropriate to dig it out again.
It was filmed at a rather damp Bjorn Again concert in the summer and shows Daniel's superb enter-into-the-spirit-of-it-fueled-by-alcohol style of dancing (sorry Daniel).
Apologies once again for the weird angle but I haven't worked out how to rotate it.

What a mover

Muse excitement and (slight) disappointment

Hurried out to buy this weeks issue of the NME to see if my question had been used in their fans-ask-questions type of interview with Muse only to find that that particular article is yet to appear. Mosh reckons one of my questions was crap and the other was OK so I'll be doubly pleased if they use one. They probably won't.

However there was a feature about why they decided to play Wembley and a few hints about who might support them and what it might be like.

The article doesn't appear on the NME website that I can tell so here are some of the highlights:

Support Bands There will be three. The Klaxons famously turned it down due to their manager saying they shouldn't be playing support. Matt suggests that Lily Allen might play and Wolfmother might do something and maybe Bloc Party.
The Stage Will be a whole new show built from scratch and they've drafted in an architect for the stage.
The Gig They are already planning the set list and reckon they could play for two hours, 15 minutes longer than they usually perform live. Dominic Howard said: "We've got four albums worth and we can build some dynamics into the set. You know you need the whole chill-out section, bring it all down. Then you need to slowly move into the all-out rock."

Excited? Moi?

It's the NME awards tonight and Muse have been nominated for loads so will post the results when they come in.