Wow, That's Been a While!

So much has happened since I last posted on this blog I thought it would be wise to do a quick update. 

The most significan personal development for me is that I am now married.  Actually, last Sunday saw my wife and I celebrate our first anniversary.  The wedding was an amazing experience, one that far exceeded my expectations.  We were married at Pinewood Studios on the only sunny day in a rainy week.  It is funny how focussed on things like the weather you become in the build up to a wedding.  Wedding and flowers if I recall correctly.

The wedding was followed by our honeymoon in St Lucia.  It was a beautiful place, but probably less luxurious than the Maldives in my opinion.  We had helicopter transfers though which was a brilliant experience.

Post wedding was settling down to a life of no wedding-planning.  We just enjoyed being married really.  We booked flights to Australia as my new father-in-law was unable to make it to our wedding for health reasons.

The end of the summer saw The Fat Disciples do our first gig - a set of covers at a friend's wedding.  I think The Bear described it best when he said that we were one-nil down at half time, but it finished a stunning two-one victory to the FDs.  We invited the groom up on stage to sing Live Forever (a favourite of his), this got the crowd on side.  Finishing with Killing In The Name seemed to go down better than expected as well.

The Australian trip saw me spend my first Christmas away from home.  My mum decided to have Christmas a week early at home, so we flew over for that before flying to Oz.  Our trip was amazing.  We experienced record temperatures in Sydney and had an amazingh New Year in Melbourne.  The trip made me realise that I really want to live in Australia, at least for a little while.

Since that trip we have been planning for our move.  It is proving easier said than done.  We want to keep our flat in London, so we need to save up to allow us to have money behind us in Oz.  That is alongside the fact that we are planning to take up to a year to get there.  More saving....

But plans are afoot.

Decisions

I often reflect on how lucky I am.  I have an amazing fiancée, a loving family, great friends, a good job – by all standards I am doing very well for myself.  I manage to stay happy by having few (if any) regrets.  I am happy with the choices I have made and with how my life has panned out to now.  Part of the secret to this however is that I have not been afraid to make decisions or take plunges when the opportunities have arisen.  I’ve moved all around the UK with work for example, and have experienced nothing but good things as a result. But...

I’ve been with my current employer for 10 years.  10 good years.  The job is fulfilling, I help people and I get paid well to do it.  I interview people who want to work for us and they always say they want a job that allows them to make a difference – that makes this a good place to work.  I have this feeling in my gut.  It niggles and plays at me.  It is telling me that I am fast approaching a point where a decision will need to be made, and I am beginning to realise what that decision is going to look like. 

I June I will get married.  I’ve been saving like mad for this wedding.  Before that I was saving like mad for the deposit on our flat and before that I was using every spare penny to pay off my debt.  Come July I will not be saving for anything in particular.  That will give me a sense of freedom I’ve not had before.  I’ll still be saving, but it is likely that I will be saving for what will ultimately be a move to Australia.  That, I am very much looking forward to and it is the catalyst for the decision I can feel edging my way.

I am growing incredibly tempted to take a career break and go travelling.  The idea of Rina and I slowly working our way around the globe really excites me.  It is not something I could do tomorrow or the next day (it will take a fair bit of saving) but if it is what we decide to do it will be an intoxicating goal to work towards.

That is where my head is at the moment – sitting on a beach in Thailand!

Dreadful Clarity

I am looking at the world with a dreadful clarity.  It is the horrendous unaltered vision of the thoroughly sober. I've been off the pop since the start of the year and will continue to stay dry until the end of April (give or take a week).  this is all done in the hope of shedding a few pounds before the wedding in June.

So far it is working. The beer belly is shrinking and we are only halfway through the challenge.

Fuck me...another two months of this?!

Ah well.

Got myself a PS Vita this month.  It is the new version of the Sony PSP and it is really rather wonderful.  There has been a lot of online debate about the relevance of the machine in light of the fact that smartphones provide ample collections of games.  The argument is that gamers are used to playing short bite-size puzzle games that cost 69p.  Who is going to pay £40 for a handheld game?   To me this argument misses the crucial point - playing games on your phone is shit.  Angry Birds can fuck right off and any game that tries to recreate a joypad on a touch screen simply sucks the joy from playing.

The Vita feels amazing, it looks amazing and it plays amazing.  'Nuff said.

Almost finished the final draft of the first episode of Scoundrels.  I should get that done this weekend.We will then be in a position to send it off and see what response we get.  That'll be interesting.

That's all for now.

Review Spot - The Lies of Locke Lamora

I have an addiction. I have had it for most of my life and it is not abating.  I am addicted to buying secondhand books from charity shops.

I read voraciously and, I would say, pretty quickly but I buy books at a rate that far outstrips my reading speed. This leads to a situation where a book I have picked up sits unread on my bookshelf for sometime.  There is always a book that is newer, or more exciting (or even just at the front of the shelf) that means certain tomes remain abandoned at the back of my shelf.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch has been one such book for a couple of years.  It was a bulky paperback version - you know, the ones that are somewhere between the size of a paperback and a hardback and as such not as easy to handle as a standard paperback.  I would definitely get to it, I just didn't know when.  Well I have just read it (after buying a kindle version after a recommendation from my mate Ben).  It is really rather good.

I'll start by stating the obvious - the book is a fantasy novel, but please do not let that put you off, it is as far from Dungeons and Dragons as you can hope to get and remain fantasy.  Think of it more like a heist- adventure set in a Renaissance-Venice-like city.

We follow a gang of thieves called the Gentlemen Bastards who, along with countless other gangs, make a living thieving in the canal city of Camorr. The city's underworld is led by the godfather-like Capa Barsavi who has agreed with the nobility a "Secret Peace" whereby the thieves of Camorr will not rob the nobility, rather praying on the merchants and poor of the city.  To all appearances the Gentlemen Bastards abide by this rule, whilst actually preying on the rich with complex confidence games.  The eponymous Locke Lamora leads the Gentlemen Bastards.

The book follows the adult Lamora's latest complex con alongside the arrival in Camorr of a rival for Capa Barsavi's power. Things quickly get complicated for Locke as he is dragged into the plans of both players.

I can't say much else without giving too much away, but I can say that I raced through the book and often wore a grin whilst doing so.  The story is very fast paced with some great cliffhangers and entertaining glimpses into the childhoods of the Gentlemen Bastards.

This book is number one of seven (the third of which is due out later this year) but definitely stands alone as a novel in it's own right.

I definitely recommend.

How to Feel Festive

So we're flying towards Christmas and I have officially started to feel festive.  I am the sort of person who enjoys Christmas.  I don't like the fact that it seems to start in October, but I am more than happy to fully give in to the Christmas feeling from the second week in December.

This year we had our traditional early Christmas Dinner and gift giving with Fra and Jennie.  We do this every year before we all head home for Christmas. I cooked turkey and we ate, drank and felt full rather than merry.  It's a bloody great tradition and I love it.

In addition to this probably the most festive thing we have done in the run up to Christmas has been going to see an Adults Only screening of The Muppets Christmas Carol.  It was awesome!  Mulled wine, drinking games and The Muppets - very festive.

The Bear visited Rina and I last night.  He brought me a Christmas/birthday present - Batman: Noel. It is a Batman retelling of A Christmas Carol and is beautifully drawn.  It was also very kind and unexpected.  He's a good bloke The Bear.

It is Wednesday today and the staff Christmas do is tonight.  That will be fun.  I will partake in the free beer and have my dinner and then head home before it become rowdy.  It always does - the way good Christmas dos should!

Friday sees Rina and I head home.  I can't wait.  It has been ages since I was last at home and it is brilliant to spend time with my family (that and the fact I have two nieces means I get to enjoy having kids around - which MAKES Christmas).

So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and see you in 2012!

November

It seems the weather has finally realised that we are approaching winter as the days have become cold and crisp and my breath visible.

November has been relatively busy - we have finally had the wardrobe installed in our bedroom (although the bed has yet to be delivered) and i had my 36th birthday. 

No Fat Disciples in the month due to lack of finances, a bassist in Thailand and a drummer in Poland.

I went to see Nosferatu in the Prince Charles Cinema with live music by Minima. It was really, really awesome (and the cinema was packed).  The same cinema is hosting an Adults Only screening of Muppets Christmas Carol in a couple of weeks.  That I am really looking forward to.

Celtic seem to have turned a bit of a corner.  Two wins in a row, one of them spectacularly convincing whilst the Huns have dropped points two games in a row.  This season may just have some legs in it after all....

I've been getting round to the last bits of Christmas shopping.  My parents are sorted, as are my brothers and my nieces.  Just my sisters to go.  Rina and I will be paying for a coffee table that extends into a dining table as a gift to each other.... I've always wanted one of those... Saying that, I am now the proud owner of an ipad - my birthday present from Rina!

Just 5 short weeks until 2012.  2011 has been a full-on year.  I am looking forward to Christmas with my family, because after that it is just a quick 6 months to my wedding.

Holy fuck.

Ella, Ella, Ella

A couple of times during the summer I got caught in torrential rain.  This summer was like that - really sunny one minute, the sky open the next.  One evening when I got home after being soaked to the skin I decided action needed to be taken.

I decided to buy an umbrella.

We have a couple of umbrellas in the house.  Rina has a nice black one and a small red one that fits in her handbag.  I have one of those £2 ones you buy at Sports Direct.  My umbrella is awkward to carry, but also, after a couple of rainfalls it had started to come apart (what happens when you make an umbrella out of tissue I guess).

I decided to buy a nice umbrella. A strong umbrella.

I did a little research online and found that there was a make of umbrella called Fulton that were strong and well regarded.  They also did umbrellas small enough to fit in my back pack.  I bought one of those. (It cost £10, which seems a lot, but hopefully will negate the need to buy multiple £2 tissue umbrellas).

Well, that was about 2 months ago, and has it rained?  Has it fuck.  there has been flooding all over the UK, including at home, but not a drop in London. That was until this morning.

I was starting to hope it would rain to be able to break out the umbrella, watching the weather forecast each morning.  But now that it has rained, well... the umbrella did its job admirably. Thank you.  That's enough rain thanks.

I guess there is no pleasing some people.

Life Drawing

Last night I went to a Life Drawing class for the first time.  I have really started to feel the love for drawing again and have decided to attend this class to make the most of this.

It was good to get to work at an easel again.

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We haven't had Disciples for a couple of weeks.  We are due to rehearse tonight and I suspect we are going to have to cancel. The Bear is ill, Al and Holly aren't replying to texts and Dal doesn't want to sleep beside The Bear if he's ill or The Bear's ex-missus who is currently on The Bear's couch. We'll see what happens in the next hour.

Ginger Globetrotting - Egypt

I like the idea of this blog recording my travels, but last night, as I sat on the bus heading home from work, I realised that there was a weakness to this plan.  Recording trips I have gone on after starting the blog is well and good, but what about the awesome trips I’ve already had?  Therefore I have decided to start a new series – Trips Wot I Have Had in the Past Wot Were Ace, or Ginger Globetrotting.

Rina has a talent for picking exceptional birthday gifts.  Recent efforts have included a trip to New York and an ipad.  A few years ago she decided to act on a conversation we had about things we have always wanted to do.  For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to see the Pyramids.  I had heard the stories – that the photo we have all seen of the Sphinx and pyramids is taken from MacDonalds’ car park (untrue, it’s KFC), and that it is crowded and polluted – but it remained a major ambition of mine.

We travelled through Egypt in late November.  My birthday is on the 25^th. We landed in Cairo and went to our hotel on the 24^th.  The hotel was nice – clean, modern and large.  It was on a busy road (although from what I seen, all the roads were busy).  Rina had arranged for a couple of tours for our stay.  The first was a day trip that included the pyramids and the Egyptian museum. The other would see us take a sleeper train to Aswan to catch a Nile cruise to Luxor.  All in all an awesome trip.

Cairo

What can I say about Cairo that hasn’t been said a million times before…?  It’s massive, and FULL of people.  I have never seen as many people anywhere, ever.  The traffic is insane.  There are traffic lights, but they are totally pointless and ignored. Crossing the street is like running an insane gauntlet and requires a “Last Crusade” type leap of faith.  The Khan el Khalili souk is a shopper’s paradise, but the worst place on earth if you are that shopper’s reluctant other half, but….

Forget what you have heard, know or think about the Pyramids.  They are bigger, more awesome (literally) and breathtaking than you can imagine.  It doesn’t matter how many Discovery Channel shows you have watched or National Geographic article you have read – NOTHING will prepare you for seeing them in the flesh.  I am getting goosebumps just thinking about this experience and it was 3 years ago.

The Windsor Hotel (where Michael Palin stayed on his attempt at 80 day circumnavigation, and more recently Pilkington slimmed in An Idiot Abroad) is really fun.  We didn’t stay here, but should I return I definitely will. We were here pretty much daily for the bar.  It is an old colonial officers’ club and walking into the bar you could be forgiven for thinking you might bump into Carter and Carnarvon or even Quatermain himself.  I have very fond memories of this place.

The Egyptian Museum was an interesting place.  It felt a bit like we were on a conveyor belt being shuffled past the artifacts the British Museum didn’t want.  The Egyptians are touchy about that, I can tell you.  It was OK.  There was some cool stuff there, but Tutankhamen himself is on display in the Valley of the Kings.

Nile Cruise

The Nile Cruise was amazing.  Like the Pyramids, nothing prepares you for the scale of the temples dotted along the river. Luxor was a particular highlight.  The cruise itself was little more than a means of getting between the sites. Clean and comfortable, but the stars of the trip were the outings.

So that’s the Egypt trip.  Would I go back…?  If you asked me on the day I returned to London I would almost certainly have said no. Today…..

Aspirations

A couple of things of note happened this week. The first - I finally completed the first draft of the final episode of the sitcom I have been writing.  It has taken quite a long time (and some help from a mate) and it is just a draft.

There are set steps to follow when trying to get a sitcom to screen.  I have ignored all of those.  Every piece of advice begins with "Do not write the whole thing".  I have been writing this for fun.  I have been writing it to prove that I could.  If anything else were to be achieved it would be a bonus.  Now, at least I know I can write a full 6 episode series if I want to.

The second thing is that a really interesting job has come up at work.  I have been waiting for a project management job for ages, thinking that one would never come up. But it has and I'm going to go for it.

I think this week has been a week for aspirations.

It's All Getting a Bit Real

This weekend saw Rina and I, along with Fra and Jennie, head to Heatherton Hall at Pinewood Studios to attend a wedding fair.  Rina has been to a few such fairs (normally with my sisters or mum) but this was the first time I accompanied her.  the reason I went to this one is that Heatherton hall will be the venue in which we get married.

It was a useful trip.  Rina found a couple of suppliers who can sort all the flowers and table settings for the reception and I found a good wedding suit hire place.  Fra (who is my best man) and I will be going to get fitted at the start of November.

Tell you what though, what with having a venue, sorting out suits and table settings, it's all getting a bit real....

Ink on Bristol

The weekend is approaching.  For all the cool kids the weekend starts on Thursday.  It's a bit disappointing, but there is no Fat Disciples practice tonight.  A friend of mine and Rina's from work is leaving to go back to Oz, so we are going for Korean food in Dotori tonight.  It's a really cool restaurant in Finsbury Park that serves awesome sushi.  If you go, go for the sharing platter as your option - its like a degustation menu. For £25. Awesome.

Not too sure what this weekend will hold.  I have recently been doing a bit of drawing (as an RSVP to a friend's wedding).  I get the love of drawing in waves. I am in the middle of a big drawing-love patch.  I thik that this weekend I will try to draw a comic strip that shows what i did this week.  It may be cool or it may be dreadful, but whatever it is it means I will be hearing the scrape of pen and ink on bristol this weekend.

Dry Washing Machine: Pointless

I've watched the first couple of episodes of Fresh Meat, the sitcom by the guys who wrote Peep Show. It was funny and certainly has the potential to develop into something great.

When one character was showing the rest around the house and it's amenities (chest freezer: standard. Washing machine: standard.) he pointed to a tumble drier and said "Dry washing machine: pointless". Made me piss.

Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Ligne Claire and Record Breaking

I subscribe to Empire Magazine.  It is one of a number of magazines I subscribe to (along with Official Xbox magazine and Olive Magazine).  Empire is the one I most thoroughly read. Cover to cover, every month.  I've read it for years.  It is a good magazine, but not faultless. It often scores hyped movies with more stars than they deserve and it has its nose firmly shoved up the arse of Steven Spielberg.  This month's issue illustrates this affectation with the first of a 2-part feature on the great auteur.  Saying that, I am a fan of the man and did enjoy the piece.  The reason I even mention it is that there was a significant portion of this feature dedicated to Spielberg's upcoming movie - Tintin.

I like Tintin and always have.  And by that I mean the comic books. For some reason I could never gel with the cartoon (despite its complete faithfulness to the original texts).  I love the adventure, the humour and the mystery in the books, but most of all I love that he travels.  Tintin sees the world and through following him we get exposure to areas of the world we otherwise wouldn't.  Now, there are points at which the stories delve into outdated stereotypes and casual racism.  This is not good, and can be uncomfortable to read, but the sheer joy of seeing Petra, or Delhi or Chicago forgives a lot of the ills.

The style of art that Herge uses in his Tintin adventures is called Ligne Claire (or Clear Line).  The panels are detailed and busy, and leave no room for the sort of "filling-in-the-blanks" imagination that makes the best of Frank Miller's work so appealing.  There are limited artistic flourishes, rather simple lines, and blocks of shade or colour.  Ligne Claire can also be seen in the Blake and Mortimer books, or Moebius' run as artist on Silver Surfer.

I decided over the weekend to look into the style and see what else was available and came across Garan Ewing's Rainbow Orchid (http://www.garenewing.co.uk/rainboworchid/).  It seems to be following in the style of Tintin and is getting rather good reviews.  I have picked up the first volume on Amazon for less than £5 and will see what it has to offer at the end of the week.

Looking forward to that.
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This weekend, the first in October, was ridiculously hot.  29.9oC on Saturday made it the hottest October day in history.  People were sunbathing at the end of the Crescent and it felt like a summer's day (or at least like the sort of day you would hope for in summer).  Rina and I decided to have a BBQ for dinner.  What we neglected to realise was that just because it was as hot as a good July didn't mean the days were as long.  Not long after I started the coals we were in darkness - but a bit of ingenuity from Rina involving a torch and some candles meant we had a fantastic evening.
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Celtic lost to the Edinburgh Rangers.  I think Neil Lennon needs to look at his performance in role.  Not good.

Fish and Chips in Wembley

I work all over West London.  Currently I have 5 offices I am in charge of.  There is an office in Uxbridge, one in Wandsworth, another in Hammersmith, and Ealing Broadway office and one in Wembly Park, in the shadow of the stadium itself.

Whenever I take over a new office I make it a personal quest to locate the best fish and chips withing easy reach.  This can prove challenging (Hammersmith has one where the chips are amazing but the fish is breaded - I mean, seriously!?).  The best Fish and Chips I have had near an office I ran was in Stratford.  Hardly surprising, I think that a bad chippy in the East End would get burnt out!

Today is the first Friday after payday and that makes it "Fish and Chip Friday". I am in Wembley and am delighted to report that the lunchtime offering was superb.  There is a Chinese takeaway (stay with me) opposite Wembley Park station called Wok and Roe.  And it does brilliant Fish and Chips.  They use a very crispy batter and keep drizzling it over the chips (much like tempura) which results in a magnificent crunch.  And the chips are ace too.

I am now at my desk and my hunger is sated and I will likely doze my way through this afternoon.
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It was Fat Disciples rehearsal time last night.  No Holly (she got stuck at work), but a full turn out otherwise.  The knowledge that we will be moving towards a gig has really focused me.  Last night I played some songs that we have rehearsed hundreds of times the best I have ever done.  My announcement of that seemed to make The Bear bemused.  It was then off to the pub to see the end of Spurs humping Shamrock Rovers.   Celtic drew with Udinese, which was a good result, but did need the ref to give Udinese a soft penalty to get the draw.

The Bear and I will be visiting The Worlds End near Finsbury Park on Sunday to see about hiring their room for the FD's first gig....

Quincy, Chickens and Antiques

I had a great weekend.  I love weekends, and they are all, to some extent, good. But this weekend was great.

It started on Friday night with a mad rush from work to the flat to grab Rina and a bag with some clothes.  Then it was a dash on the tube to Marylebone and onto the train to Warwick.  We were off to visit Ads and Sara.

Ads was the first person I met in England when I moved here from Norn Iron. He was a skinny Jim Morrison-a-like in my halls of residence.  Sara was on my course at uni.  She was all stripy tights and metal.  They were clearly made for each other.  I introduced them and the rest is, well, it's ongoing - but they are married and have been for years and they are amongst my closest friends.

Our train to Warwick was delayed.  I didn't really notice because I was watching Indiana Jones (Crystal Skull - the shame).  Friday night was a chilled affair - pizza and chat.  It's really great to catch up with old friends. I love that you feel instantly comfortable in each other's company - and regardless of the time apart, you could have been chatting like this yesterday.  Except, of course, that you haven't been, and that is why you talk for so long.

Saturday made me feel a little middle-aged.  We all bundled into Ads' car and headed to Stow-On-the-Wold, a little town in the Cotswolds.  It's a pretty little place, a town that seems to be from a different age. Slower and rustic.  Like being in an episode of Last of the Summer Wine.  Interestingly, I am pretty sure we were the youngest people in the town.  We had a nice (but bloody expensive) lunch in a pub that claims to be the oldest inn in Britain.  That'll be another of those then.  If you ask me, it didn't look that old.  After lunch Sara and Rina went off to browse the antiques shops and Ads and I went to the pub.  After a couple of drinks Ads and I went into a charity shop where I bough a tambourine for the Disciples.  Let's see how that goes down on Thursday!

Saturday night was dinner in and a DVD.  Sara and Ads cooked a wicked roast chicken and we watched The Girl Who Played With Fire.  Good movie, but very long.  I think it suffered from the film-makers' need to be very faithful to the book.  I reckon you could have comfortably shaved off 30 minutes.

On Sunday the girls went off to an Antiques Fair at the Warwick Exhibition Centre.  Ads and I sat in the lounge pondering what to do. Should we walk the 5 miles to the pub we were planning to meet them for lunch, or do something else.  Well, suffice to say as soon as Quincy started on the telly the decision was made.  I used to watch Quincy LOADS at uni.  Watching this episode I remember why. It is absolutely Awesome!

Lunch was in The Stag in Offchurch.  This is a pub that has built a reputation for its food - which was very good.  I had smoked sea trout. The girls had roast pork.  All the food was ace....but there is something a little soulless about a gastro-pub. Or is that just me?

All that was left was the train home and a Tesco Chicken Pie for dinner.  Rina and I watched Aussie Masterchef and Rizzoli and Isles and then it was to bed - knowing that in a few short hours work beckoned.

Top weekend though!

Changing Seasons and the Perils of Facebook

Much has been said on the internet recently (and on BBC News this morning) about the changes Facebook has introduced.  I haven't really noticed much of a difference, but that is probably down to the fact that I rarely access Facebook from anywhere other than a mobile device.  Suffice to say - people don't like change!

What has occurred to me recently though is one of the major drawbacks of Facebook - namely its ability to magnify S.A.D.

I don't put much stall in Seasonally Affected Disorder.  Nobody likes it getting cold!  Everyone gets a bit down in the rain.  Some people (not me mind) actually love the snow!

Where does Facebook come into this, I hear you ask.  Well, I am very luck to be able to say I have a lot of friends in Australia.  Some of my best friends moved there and I made friends with a lot of Australians who travelled round Europe.  As the days get colder and the nights draw in here, I get to read, every day, and from a variety of sources, that the days are getting longer and hotter in Oz.  Surfboards are being waxed, thongs are being donned and the rituals that welcome summer are well under way.  It doesn't help that their winter is as warm as our summer either.

So if I believed in S.A.D, I would be absolutely sure that Facebook would make it worse.

I'm off to buy a  new scarf.

First and Last

Sunday saw the first Glasgow Derby of the season (there is no "Old Firm", there is only Celtic and a bunch of animals) and the last BBQ of the season.

Having the last 9 months pretty much consisting of doing up our flat has had some significant bonuses.  Very near the top of this list is turning a scruffy yard into a garden.  Rina and I gambled and invited some people over on Sunday (The Bear, Fra, Jenny, Alistair and Jade).  We were mostly lucky with the weather - what little rain there was ended up being kept off us by the tree at the end of the garden (a small benefit in comparison to the amount of conkers and leaves it drops in to be cleaned up!).  I made BBQ sauce - from scratch. It was awesome.  I also got a wee bit drunk - but that's all fun.

As for the football game.  It was shit. 2-1 up at half-time followed by a second half of complete capitulation by Celtic.  That's all I'll say about that right now.

So the BBQ has been put away, the outdoor furniture washed and stowed and the garden has said its farewell to summer.  And a great summer it was.

Review Spot

Last night Rina and I watched Sex and the City 2. Christ, it was dire.

Now, I actually appreciate that SATC was a quality TV show. Some of my closest female friends LOVE that show. It defined the early naughties for them, and rightly so. Empowered female characters who were sexually free and all had powerful jobs. Good stuff that. So why, when it comes to the big screen, does it become a painful to watch exercise in dire one-liners. "Lawrence of My Labia"? Really? That's the best you could do?

So, final verdict. Pish poor.

Change....

It was another three-man session in the Bush Studios last night for the latest Fat Disciples rehearsal.  No Al and no Holly (who were both on holiday).

It was a fairly straight forward affair - a run through of most of the set list (no ballad-rap) and then onto jamming around some new ideas.  We came up with a workable basic structure of a song that definitely has potential.  What was particularly funny about this song is that it required relatively little guitar work, but a ridiculously fast rhythm.  I love when The Bear has to get up out of the drum stool to stretch after a frantic song.  This one I think is a keeper.

We came up with the basic bones of the song by playing round with the voices on my Boss GT-8 effects pedal.  The thing is amazing - hundreds of sounds, each of which can be edited and changed to you preferences leading to tens of thousands of potential sounds a guitar can make.  I use 3 of those voices.  Clean, slightly distorted and very distorted.  Very rarely will I play with the others - but I did last night and look what happened.

Change......good.