HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Have you all made resolutions for 2008?

Last year I planned on:
 getting fitter ü
losing weight ü
eating healthily ü
reading more books ü

This year I'm setting myself:
keep getting fitter
keep reading books
keep eating healthily
drink more water
get more sleep

Updates as and when!

01.01.08

Gareth and I travelled up to London tonight. I parked underneath the Hammersmith flyover in a small car park opposite the old Hammersmith Odeon where I sometimes luckily find a space, though it was almost deserted tonight.
Much the same as last year we ate a delicious meal in an Indian restaurant before setting off for a huge New Years Eve gig. This year it's 'The Sugababes' and 'Take That' at the O2 Arena. I thought the Sugababes were a bit hit and miss and although they all had amazing singing voices, when Heidi spoke she sounded like a scouser on helium. Hilarious!
Take That played two sets tonight, the second of which was being broadcast live on TV which meant the first was mainly album tracks and smaller hits. It wasn't until they came back on just before midnight that they played the crowd pleasing stuff. A great gig!
The journey across London after the gig was really busy on the tube, which runs for free for one night. As we walked from the tube station back to the car park I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that someone had parked their car next to mine in a way that meant that I wouldn't be able to open the drivers door! What made it even odder was that they had reversed into the space so they could not have got out of their own car via their drivers door either! The fact that the car park was still almost deserted made it even weirder so I felt compelled to write a note on a piece of white A4 paper in thick felt pen which read:

"If you must park like a c*nt try not to do it next to someone displaying a disabled badge, you f*ckwit. Happy New Year c*nt!"

I left the note under their windscreen wiper and got into my car via the passenger door!

31.12.07

The chocolate selection box that I received from Father Christmas included a  Curlywurly.



These were around when I was a child but Gareth would not believe me when I said that they used to be much bigger, so much so that they could be used instead of a ladder, or by a trapeze artist to balance themselves, or by a pole vaulter to vault with. At least that's how I remember them!

30.12.07

27.12.07

Tonight we went to see the new Will Smith film, "I Am Legend".



What a film! It was really uncomfortable to watch at times, to the extent that halfway through I wanted to leave to avoid what was coming! A truly great movie, well apart from the bit about the dog!

26.12.07

A big thank you to everyone for the brilliant presents I received for Christmas. We spent the day with Gareth's family and he was clearly upset that Father Christmas had only brought him a lump of coal and a satsuma,



 particularly as he is allergic to fruit (or so he alleges!)

25.12.07

After a very boring day at work, Gareth and I settled down to watch 'Bee Movie'



An enjoyable film, but not one I would have been pleased to pay to see!

24.12.07

Gareth and I had an early start today as we were travelling to London to meet his sister Laura on her return from France. It was our first opportunity to see the new Eurostar terminal at St.Pancras station which turned out to be quite a cold and sterile place.



We did however get to sample the 90 metre champagne bar, the longest in Europe. A big thank you to Gareth's Dad for putting up the money for our drinks!



Next stop was the cinema in the O2 Arena to see 'St.Trinian's' which got mixed reviews from the three of us.



 Gareth loved it, Laura liked it and I nodded off! I was more excited by seeing the Arena in the mist when we came out.



Final visit of the day was to Covent Garden where the decorations were beautiful



and in one case quite large too!


 

21.12.07

I travelled to London tonight to see 'Hard-Fi' play the final gig of their tour at Wembley Arena. Before they came on their DJ, Wrong Tom, played "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode as part of his set. It was amazing to hear it so loud in such a huge venue, a great start to the evening!
As the band were playing to their home crowd they were in fine form


pic courtesy of hard-fi.com

though it did take a while to get the crowd going! By the time they played "Suburban Knights" though the whole place was on its feet! The gig ended with showers of shredded paper being blown into the arena which was a great sight!


pic courtesy of hard-fi.com

To make the gig even more memorable, just a few minutes after it finished a cd was available of the whole show. I'd pre-ordered so just needed to pick one up, though I'd have preferred if it was distributed inside the venue rather than outside in the freezing cold!

18.12.07

We had our work Christmas meal tonight. Great food, great company and the most memorable quote of the evening: my colleague Matt was asked who his ideal woman would be and replied "I like a mix of every woman within hearing distance, so I don't offend anyone!". Classic!

17.12.07

Gareth and I had an early start today for his family get together in Essex. It was a beautiful morning so the two hour drive was almost a pleasure around the M25 and beyond. It was great to catch up with everyone and we managed to get away without any parcels of leftover food this time!

16.12.07

It takes almost nothing to get me over emotional, so the 'X-Factor' final is guaranteed to get my crying, especially when one of the finalists is a fellow Welshman with the most incredible voice. 'Rhydian' had just finished a song and I had tears pouring down my face, when the doorbell rang signalling the pizza delivery man. He must have thought I hadn't eaten for weeks as I answered the door, still weeping!

15.12.07

My job means that I regularly have to go to the company Head Office in London. I always take the train and then get a bus across the Capital to the office and I don't think I'll ever get bored of sitting upstairs and marvelling at the view



of the London Eye and the Houses Of Parliament
when we cross Waterloo Bridge.

14.12.07

Tonight I travelled up to the Shepherds Bush Empire in London to see one of my all time favourite bands, 'My Life Story'.



Due to my connection with lead singer Jake Shillingford I was given a guest pass for the gig.



Support came from Jake himself,



playing songs from his new acoustic album "Written Large"



and after a quick costume change the headline act began. I've adored 'My Life Story' for years and every time they get back together for one-off gigs it's always a big event! They played a great set as always and the crowd loved every minute.

13.12.07

I met up with my good friend Richard in Bournemouth tonight. I hadn't seen him since his holiday in Australia so we had lots to catch up on, most of which is unrepeatable to anyone of an innocent disposition!
We were at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) to see 'Hard-Fi'



and the lads didn't let us down, playing a brilliant set!

12.12.07

The sky when I woke up this morning was so beautiful I was willing to hang out of the bedroom window to take a picture!


 

11.12.07

I finished yet another book, this time "Tears At Bedtime" by Tom Wilson.



Years ago I belonged to a mail order book club and I read a much better diversity of books than the supermarket bargains like this one, but at least I'm still keeping my New Years resolution to do more reading!

10.12.07

I awoke to pouring rain in Copenhagen but it was a short walk to the railway station and soon I was in the warmth of the airport. The flight was fairly early and we once we got through the cloud



 we were soon in better weather and better views





Despite being really tired when I eventually got home I drove to Bournemouth to see the 'Manic Street Preachers' play at the BIC.


pic: lindz delirium

They were brilliant as always and I thank them for playing on of my favourite Manics tracks "1985".

09.12.07

Last night I drove to a Travelodge hotel near London Stansted airport so I could get a bit of sleep before going to the airport early this morning, unlike a few weeks ago when I drove up at 4am. Well that was the plan anyway but sleeping in a different bed is strange enough, so expecting to get a restful sleep was a bit too much to hope! Despite checking the alarm was set on my mobile phone numerous times I still found myself waking up almost hourly, so when it did go off at 4:45am it felt like I'd just gone to bed. Maybe this would explain why I couldn't work out how to get the shower to come on. I tugged at every part of the tap combination with no luck so eventually settled to run a bath instead. As I sat in the hot bath water I turned off the tap and soon realised that if I kept turning it in the 'off' direction the shower came on! Unfortunately too late to avoid the shower of freezing water that I was then sat underneath! Woke me up though!
Flying cattle class has to be approached with the mind frame "I have a seat on the plane and the trip will be short anyway" to avoid further stress at the boarding gate. A few weeks ago with Ryanair I checked in via the internet which automatically gave me priority boarding free of charge but today with Easyjet I had checked in via the internet too but priority has to be paid for... or so I thought. As I patiently stood in the crush that was the boarding queue a very posh formidable lady stomped past and called all her travelling companions after her, saying very loudly "we checked in online, we have priority". As the last friend barged by I just tagged along and quickly found myself to be one of the first on board the plane! Result!
The short flight to Copenhagen was in time to see the clouds catching the colours of morning light.



Denmark is now linked to Sweden via a tunnel and road bridge under and over the water of the Orsesund Strait called Øresundsbron which I will travel across next March when I go to Malmö, and it could be clearly seen as we came into land.





I was quickly through passport control (Stansted please note!!) and soon on the train into the city. It had been raining before I arrived but this had cleared by the time I started to wander the city prior to checking into my hotel. As Copenhagen is on the coast the temperature of 5°



 felt a lot colder due to the biting wind so I was glad I had wrapped up well!
I walked through the main shopping streets



which much like any city on a December Saturday were packed with Christmas shoppers. I eventually got to Nyhaven





but as before when I've been to Copenhagen, as soon as you walk off the main streets the place is lie a ghost town, deserted.
I walked to my hotel and checked in before getting ready for the reason I've come here, to see 'Kent' play at the KB Hallen. I've never been to the venue so I'm always a little nervous beforehand about getting there etc. No worries tonight though as it was a short walk from the local station and well signed. Oddly the hall is situated in the middle of a residential area and some apartment balconies were no more than 40ft away from the main entrance. Noisy for the residents I'm sure! Once in the hall I couldn't believe how small it was and surprisingly easy to get to the front barrier, where I stayed for the whole gig, allowing me to watch the band from just a few feet away.


pic: JukkeBerry @ forumet.kent.nu

 This made it THE most amazing gig! 

08.12.07

Tonight I travelled to Bournemouth to see the newly reformed 'Crowded House'. I'd opted for a balcony seat as the venue set up tonight was all seated so at least I'd get a good view as I was seated front row. For once I wasn't the oldest person at a gig and in the section where I was sitting I think I was the youngest!
The band were on great form tonight and played for over two hours. I had older ladies sat either side of me, both of whom felt the urge to sing along in what I can only describe as church choir voices! Luckily I was able to lean forward onto the balcony edge to allow the volume of the band to drown them out.
The guys chatted at length with the audience and at one point lead singer Neil Finn even ran around the whole auditorium, passing right next to me and allowing me to think of an expression my mother regularly used when watching T.V, "oooh, he's aged"! A fun gig!

06.12.07

Still feeling a bit under the weather helped make my decision to drive to London tonight to see 'The Human League', rather than attempting public transport. I didn't realise that behind the Hammersmith Odeon is quite a large residential area, so parking was easy. I arrived in time to see the support band 'Cassette Electrik' who despite having such an awful name played a brilliant set, so good that I bought their cd during the interval.
The Human League start each concert on this tour by playing all the tracks from their legendary "Dare" album in order.


 
It was great for me to hear some the tracks played live for the first time. I do have to comment on lead singer Phil Oakeys stage presence though. He likes to sing at the front of the stage but seems to try to sing every line from a different part, so the first line will be the centre, then a brisk walk to the left side for the next line, then a quicker walk to the right side for the next. As soon as I noticed what he was doing I tried to guess where he would sprint to next! An entertaining gig!

01.12.07

I finished reading yet another book today. I've loved every 'Roddy Doyle' book that I've read and "Paula Spencer"



didn't let me down. A great read!

30.11.07

Despite feeling a bit unwell I travelled to London tonight to see the only UK gig this year by 2006 favourites 'Lorraine'



I timed the journey so I arrived just before they came onstage and despite the small venue being very full I still managed to get a good position at the front, close enough to a side wall to allow me to lean if I felt a little light headed! The guys played an energetic set of favourites as well as new songs and the crowd loved every minute. A brilliant gig!

27.11.07

A lazy start to the day before Morgan and I headed off to our respective homes. A big thank you to Håkan for letting us stay at his place yet again!
My flight was late afternoon so I was hoping to get some nice pictures as we flew back to the UK and I wasn't disappointed as the sun began to set.




 

25.11.07

Morgan and I were amazed by a rare sighting when we got up this morning. Håkan cooking!



This phenomenon proves that he does really know what the equipment with the four gas rings in his kitchen is actually used for. A revelation! It made the breakfast even more special and we needed to take ourselves to the Bishops Arms pub afterwards to recover from the shock! As we walked there I was pleased to see that my needs had been planned for during my visit



 and I also had the opportunity to take a picture of the self named "two sexiest guys in Sweden"... ahem!



I didn't have the heart to tell them that I was just trying to get a photo of the Christmas lights!
It was just Morgan and I seeing 'Kent' tonight and they were even better than last night, playing a slightly different set. I think we enjoyed it more because we knew what to expect, allowing us to see and hear in more detail





and the look on my face says it all!



Afterwards we went to the Sky Bar to meet up with Håkan and also catch up with Martin, who is the brother of Morgan's partner Caroline. Many (expensive!) beers were drunk as you can see!


 

24.11.07

I wasn't kidding about the early start. It was past midnight when I got to bed after last nights gig, so when the alarm went of at 3:45am I felt like I'd only just gone to bed!
So why the early start? I'm seeing 'Kent' play tonight in Göteborg and my flight leaves at 6:50am from London Stansted. It's one of the disadvantages of paying almost nothing for the flight with Ryanair. It was a fairly straightforward journey to the airport and as I'd checked in online it was hassle free through security too, just in time to hear my flight being called, keeping me out of the duty free shops at least!
I was soon in Göteborg where I was eventually met by Håkan, my friend of many years. I say 'eventually' because the airport bus stopped away from the station and not where either of us were expecting to meet, so it took a while to find each other! Soon the train from Karlstad arrived and we were joined by one of my oldest and best friends, Morgan.
First stop was to pick up our tickets from Lisebergshallen for tonight's concert.



Then it was back to Håkan's apartment where we marvelled at the emptiness of his fridge and the almost new look to his freezer! I've known Håkan for 9 years and he's had the same fridge/freezer all that time, so the fact it still looks new and unused says a lot about his culinary priorities! Eating out!



Later in the evening Håkan's friend Ylva invited us to her home for some traditional Glögg, similar to mulled wine in England. Along with some delicious home made soup we were soon lovely and warmed in readiness for our walk to the concert hall.
 Lisebergshallen is part of an amusement park in Göteborg and a really nice size venue. I've only seen 'Kent' in really large venues before so it was extra special to be seeing them somewhere more intimate. And for once I wasn't surrounded by tall people so I had a great view! The gig was amazing from start to finish and the band really seemed to be loving it. There was a huge screen behind the stage showing some beautiful backdrops to compliment the songs and there were some amazing laser effects too!



The crowd loved every minute of the gig and I have to say it's my favourite Kent gig so far.

23.11.07

I went to Bournemouth tonight to see the 'Kaiser Chiefs' play at the International Centre.


pic courtesy of kaiserchiefs.co.uk

They played all their hits to a rapturous crowd!


pic courtesy of kaiserchiefs.co.uk

I got down the front for most of the gig before making my way back towards the end so I could make a hasty getaway and get home to bed for my early start tomorrow.

22.11.07