Category Archives: People

Desire

I can’t believe it, A Streetcar Called Desire  is on the telly. Sadly, my second in command, who has now passed out, hadn’t recognised Messrs Brando, Malden et al. 

I may need to see this through to the end. I have M&S beer left over from the train. And Doritos. 

I have to say that I love this city (Glasgow). Today, we’ve visited most of some of my most favourite bars, including Sloans, Mono and the 13th Note. 

We didn’t just have beer though. No, we bought more stuff we don’t really need. But we’ll not talk about that here. 

Anyway, because I’ve had a moderate (my doctor may not agree) amount of beer, I should focus on the rest of the film. Fortunately, I have more beer. 

My old boss

I took a half day today because an old boss of mine is retiring and is doing a sort of a farewell tour. She (her name’s Helen) was the best boss I’ve ever had. 

She won’t ever read this, so I could say anything I like, about her being rubbish, and she’d never know. But she wasn’t rubbish and is genuinely the best manager I’ve had. And she’s a lovely person, with a pretty decent taste in music too. 

What more could anyone want from a boss? 

Gone

Our washing machine passed away over the Christmas break. It’s been replaced, with disposal via the now reliable, hassle free method. We left it outside the house, along with an old radiator, and it disappeared within 24 hours. 

The record still rests with a dishwasher, which vanished in under two hours. 

Another departure is the landlord from our local. He seems to have sold the business. We’d know more, but we didn’t visit this afternoon to say goodbye. Apparently, the pub is now closed for a short time. 

National Express

I’m quite enjoying my National Express experience today. 

Not only did I find a seat with masses of leg room, there has been an interesting conversation across the aisle; two women sharing crocheting tips. I may also have laughed a little when a lady locked herself in the toilet, although I did produce a 50p coint with which the door was opened. And a man is wearing slippers; he seems to have brought them for the journey, since I’m certain he had shoes when boarding. 

I made the obligatory National Express comment on Twitter and was pleasantly surprised with a response. 

Der-der-der

Last night, I went to the Academy in town, with Trevor – the first time in ages – to see the Fratellis. 

The band was great, but there was a real sound quality issue and that pretty much ruined the performance. 

I’d not heard any of their newest stuff before, but I was both surprised and impressed. But the evening was all about the 10th anniversary of Costello Music. 

An unusual, but good, final song was a cover of Runaround Sue, the Fratellis style worked really well. 

After the gig, we bumped into Mr Towers, who dragged us to the Hadrian teepee to meet up with the Fazakerleys and Mr Pratt. 

So, while the sound at the gig was something of a disappointment, it was an enjoyable night. 

Beth made this

A few years ago, I used to post pictures on a photo blogging site, Moblog. I came across it after an Elbow gig at the Sage, when the band posted some pictures from the venue. 

One of the cool things about the site was that you could upload pictures via MMS or email. One’s email address or phone number were used to link to an account and a post was pretty much instant. I know that doesn’t sound advanced at all, but it was at the time, before social media caught up. Eventually, MMS was dropped and WordPress became more useable, so I gradually drifted away from Moblog.

Anyway, I found that some very talented people regularly posted some pretty cool pictures. One, for example, used to upload pictures of handmade projects, mostly in silver. Her name’s Beth Dawson and she still makes some pretty cool things. Her blog at the time was called bethmadethis, but you can now find her here, where she also sells handmade jewellery. It’s worth a look. 

Peter and Matt

A few weeks ago, my mate Peter asked if I’d go to the Ship (tonight) because Matt would be DJ-ing. At the time, I declined because we’d be in Peterborough. 

He hinted again this morning, but we couldn’t make it. 

We’d cancelled Peterborough, but had kept the Ship in mind. Well, you never know. 

So, on leaving North Shields, I asked if Peter would be in Ouseburn. There was no response, so, being the gentleman that I am, I headed to the Ship. A Metro and a cab. 

And was he here? Of course not. 

Matt, however, is doing a very good job. He’s playing Tainted Love right now, but played Augustines’ Cruel City a few minutes ago. 

Off to town now for food. 

Basic grammar

We seem to live in a world where technology is advancing at an incredible ace. And basic education standards are sliding into a grammatic abyss. The apostrophe, which I deeply love, appears to be, at the same time, both long forgotten and cruelly misused. 

An extreme example, perhaps, is an attempt at intelligent graffiti in Gateshead. Of course, one could argue that such a thing simply can’t exist. 

But here we go …

Tears

Having a pint of Sam Smith’s stout in Mono. The bar where my second in command went from smiles to tears in a few seconds, just a month ago. When she read that Augustines were to split up after this tour. 

We’re heading to the station after this beer, going to have a few hours in Edinburgh before the train home. 

Reflecting on last night, Glasgow must surely be the city of brotherly love. We met some lovely people in a lovely old church. 

Joe Gideon

Joe Gideon is/are playing in the Cluny on the 27th. Which is a problem, since we’ll be in Glasgow to see Augustines. It seems that I have an historic Joe Gideon timing issue. Conversation about such things with Karl last night led to the discovery that he and I had once unknowingly stood within feet of each other, watching Joe Gideon and the Shark. At Glastonbury in 2009.

Of course, Glastonbury is a huge festival, with large, busy stages. However, this was under cover, at a small stage. And Karl and I were both standing at the barrier, where it wasn’t remotely busy. 

My excuse for not noticing my friend’s presence is that I’d rushed from the Pyramid stage, missing the early part of the set. Although, I do recognise that I’m not the most observant of people.