...in LOVE with London (Day Three - friendship)

Right. The previous two London posts have been about the places I have been, and the people and things I have seen. This one is going to be a little different, because I want to talk a bit about that, but I want to talk about an overarching theme of the weekend, and that theme is friendship. Blogging/twitter friendship to be more specific.

On the Sunday morning of my London trip, I woke up after a quite short sleep, bade farewell to my husband who was travelling back to Dundee for work on Monday. I got on the tube (after checking the map about 6 times), managed to negotiate a replacement bus in an area of London I wasn't even aware existed till I was in it, and eventually got off the train at Shoreditch High Street. There I was met by Hannah and Fay, and off we went to begin out 'blogger meet-up' adventure. Hannah wrote about it here, including the comedy moment where Fay's wee Flo vommed on me! Her photo's and her memories are very much like mine, so she's taken care of a big part of it for me.

Now, most of the people reading this will be bloggers, so won't find the concept of a blogger-meet up weird. I have to say though, when I say to people 'in real life'(that's the first and last time I will use that phrase, because blogging is real life) that I am going to meet people I know 'off the internet' they often still look a bit dubious. Media widely reports on the bad things that happen on the internet, but rarely on the good. SO I'd like to talk about the good.

As I said, I was met off the train by Han and Fay. I'd met Hannah last time I was in London, but hadn't met Fay, or Ray or Elizabeth,who joined us later, before. People always ask me if it's odd, and the answer is no. I read about these girls on an regular basis, I talk to them on twitter every day. We email. In fact, when I posted about work being difficult, I thought concealing my panic quite well, Hannah saw straight through it an emailed me straight away.

Hannah, having met me once, offered me a place to stay on the Sunday night, Fay felt happy to introduce her wee toot to me, Elizabeth travelled to London to visit, Ray took time out of doing important work to see me, and all of the girls' boys were about for me to meet too. Hannah and Fay showed me Columbia Road Flower Market, filled with things that were so very them, Hannah and Elizabeth showed me their Greenwich, the boys made soup and Franken-brewing-machine-thing, and I got to taste some of their last batch ale, of which there was very little left (this is a privilege I feel). There was lots of chat and tea and food, and things talked about in confidence. The lovely thing was that everyone at Hannah's house that day had quite a long history of friendship, family ties and love, and at no point did I feel out of place or separate from it. I think one of the barometers of friendship is if people feel you can be involved in the gentle piss-taking and banter that is inherent in most friendships, and I was party to that too. I was very much, felt very much, one of the group.

As I said, people often think it's weird that I meet up with bloggers. There were a few raised eyebrows when I said I was going to stay with one, to meet three I had never met before, to go to someone's house. I don't think it's strange at all. These girls are my friends. Hannah and Fay have been pretty much since I started blogging. Ray soon after that, and Elizabeth is a recent but valuable addition. Our friendship, kept solid through blog comments, Twitter conversations and the occasional email/text, is real and valuable. These are warm, kind funny, lovely girls who care about the things I care about, love the things I love, and who quite importantly, like me for me, as I like them for being them.

It is rather a lovely position to be in, and not one I would have imagined when I started my very unknown wee blog 2 years or so ago. Thank you for being my friends ladies, I am a lucky girl.

...in LOVE with London (Day Two - LEXAPALOOZA!)

I woke up on Saturday an extremely excited person, because Saturday was to be the day of Lexapalooza Lite. Dave left early to travel across London for soundcheck, and an hour or so later, Siobhan and I, toast and tea in bellies and cakes in hand, made the same journey. We walked (with some help from Siobhan's phone) to the venue - the Old Queen's Head in Islington - to be greeted outside by Evan, chief organiser of the festival and lovely person, and be given our shiny pink wrist bands. And so it began..

I'm going to stop a minute and explain what exactly Lexapalooza is. It's a festival, but it's much more than that. Lexapalooza had it's beginning in 2006, when a girl called Lexi, who had breast cancer, and her friends decided to be very positive about the situation, creating a festival London that had brilliant music, and raised money for breast cancer research and awareness(all proceeds go to Breast Cancer Campaign, give support if you can!). The festival bears her name, but it also, I am told, holds on to the spirit of it's namesake. It is her legacy. It is now organised and run by her best friends, and the whole thing has an air of joy and celebration about it, despite the serious cause it supports. It is, I think, the best way for a punk girl to be remembered. 

...so, Siobhan and I walked into the Old Queen's head, and upstairs to the room the festival was being held in. Generally, when you walk up a flight of stairs in a pub to a gig venue, you expect something small and slightly dingy. Not so in this venue! Huge (at least 16ft) ceilings, chandeliers, orignal features everywhere. The stage features a massive fireplace and ornate mirror, and new 'vintage look' posters with cheeky slogans. It was shabby chic, vintage heaven.

We dropped off our cakes at the bake stall, had a wander, said hello to all of the folk we knew - quite alot it turned out! - and got ready for some music.

I'm going to be honest here, and say that though he played well and sang well, I found what is saw of the first act, Joshua Caole (Jud was getting ready upstairs and I disappeared to say hello to her) somewhat bland. He tuned his guitar once onstage, leaving the audience to watch and feel awkward, and referred to most of his songs as 'another depressing one', which is not the way to get me to listen. I will say though that ometimes Dave says stuff on stage and I do think 'what the hell are you talking about' so I'm willing to let the stage patter go. The thing for me is that accoustic music whether beautifully sung or shouted, has to have a message and passion behind it, and for me neither was there. It was all a bit nice.

Next up were The Retrospective Soundtrack Players, who came on stage wearing muddied t-shirts, and proceeded to make every person in the place dance. Their songs are all based on the cult film 'Cool Hand Luke', played in a very upbeat country style - the phrase 'honky-tonk band' springs to mind. They blew me away, their set was so fun and full of energy, that it was impossible not to have a wee boogie. Mid-set, they explained that in the film, someone is challenged to eat 50 eggs in an hour, and asked if anyone thought the could perhaps eat 50 jelly eggs by the end of a 3 minute song. My friend Steph (wife of Dave's drummer Woody) stepped up, and as we looked on incredulously, proceeded to own their challenge. She is kind of my hero!

 The retrospective Soundtrack Players 

(LOOK AT THE STAGE!)

Next was Captain Courageous, solo, though usually a member of the Justice Force Five. I really like the JFF, the comedic element of their set at Lex last year really made me laugh, and they have their own dance for goodness sake.  Thier songs, already a bit sleazy, when performed but one person, sitting on a stool and dressed as a super-hero, didn't really fit for me. It was just really sleazy rather than funny, and I can't say I liked it. And he sang 'Hero' by the Foo Fighters and got the words wrong. He sang well and it was all ok, but the lack of band dynamic was sorely missed.

Dave and the band + Frank

in full swing

Next up were Dave Hughes & the Renegade Folk Punk Band, Introduced by a better late than never Frank Turner. Those of you who know me will be well aware that Dave is my husband, and the band members my friends, so I am always going to be a bit biased. However, I think their set was brilliant, and I was very proud to see people I know and love completely own the stage. Dave and the band write and play songs about things that matter - politics, friends, life, love, and striving for the best we can have. During one of the band's very quiet songs  (Malaga Airport, video below), you could have heard a pin drop, as everyone watch was properly listening and paying attention - this is RARE at gigs.

Malaga Airport

My favourite song of the set was Backwards We Play (an anti-war song which makes me almost cry every time I hear it) . My favourite moment was Dave dedicating 'Dancing Two-Step' to Siobhan, who was standing by me and trying hard not to also cry! The band were also join by the amazing Chris T-T  for Springsteen's 'Ghost of Tom Joad', and it was stunning. I am happy to note that every else seemed to think they were brilliant too, there was much, much applause and 'wooooo'ing for them.

Backwards we Play

The band were followed, rather superbly, by Ciaran Lenehan. We saw Ciaran at Lex last year, and he was brilliant, so I was really looking forward to his set. He has the added surprise of an added backing band for some of his songs, who brought some electric magic to the mostly acoustic festival. Ciaran sang and played with passion, and his music an performance has a certain folk charm very much in his Irish blood. He was brilliant. Later in the fest, he lent the secret surprise guest his guitar too. 

Ciaran's mic-stand broke. This was Turner's solution

Following Ciaran were the Food Fighters, a parody band who took popular (alternative) songs and changed some of the words to make the songs about food in American accents, dressed as cowboys. I a) don't like parody b) don't like things that involve audience participation, and c) don't like it when people sing in accents other than their own, so they were not the band for me. I think these sort of things inspire quite a visceral love or hate feeling, and for me it was hate. I did notice thought hat lots of people enjoyed it. You be the judge for yourself! I should point out that this band is also part of the awesome Justice Force Five.

Next up was Paul Handyside. I hadn't heard of him before, and so had no preconceptions, but I very much enjoyed his brand of Americana-esque folk. He was dead good.

The Rumour Cubes were another stand out act for me, soaring guitars, beautiful, melancholy violin, and brilliant electronica combined perfectly. if you like electronica at all, I dare you not to love them. I want to waffle about them more, but I think I've managed to say something succinctly for once...

Another stand out act is up next, Mr Mark McCabe. In the interest of honesty, I should point out that I know Mark, but this is entirely unbiased. He plays soul-filled guitar, he has a beautiful voice, and he writes songs that are real, and show who he is. Upon watching and listening to him play his guitar (or ukelele) and sing, you feel you have stumbled upon something rare. He finishes his set playing a ukulele, singing quietly, with the audience around him.

Mark with uke.

After Mark, we have the special guest. He is billed as Francis E. Rutner, and as Frank has been resident compère all day(given people wonderful, whimsical, lie-filled introductions), most people have worked out that he will be the special guest. He takes to the stage, and speak very much from the heart about why we are there - Lexi was his best friend. I have seen Mr Turner many times, the first in a tiny venue in Glasgow. As his following his increased, so have the sizes of the venue, but his shows always have an element of 'all of us in it together' rather than one performer and an audience. At Lex, that feeling was there in spades, emphasized by the fact that at least half of the 'audience' were in fact friends. There were old songs and new, all filled with the heart and rawness Frank has always brought, whether in his post-hardcore frontman incarnation, or his folk punk singer-songwriter one. You sing along, shout along, dance, feeling that these are actually the songs of your life. Turner's gift is of writing songs that capture feelings and thoughts we all have. That and writing catchy choruses and hooks.  His rendition of 'Long Live the Queen', written about Lexi, is heart-wrenching, and he is backed by the whole audience, singing with all their hearts, as the song demands.

Last to take the stage, and finish the show is Beans on Toast. He has a wee mention in a Turner song, and it is this 'Jay is our St George, and he is standing on a wooden chair and he sings songs and he slays dragons'. The first time I saw Beans and Toast (Jay to his friends), He was standing on said chair, actually a small wooden stool, and playing a tiny guitar in Sleazy's in Glasgow. In London the chair was gone, and the guitar was of a normal size, but he was the same Beans on Toast. He sings with a gravelly voice that sounds like he either smokes a lot or has ruined it singing along with all the bands he loves at full voice, but there is still beauty in it. He sings of the pub he lived over (Nambucca) being burned down, or his friends and the people of bands he knows losing loved things and equipment, and really you know that the place and all it's memories and time are the lost things, and you feel heartbroken for them. He sings of love, and the fact that cheesy or not, he thinks being in love and expressing it is ok. He closes the show by thanking all the people involved, and then we all head off to the after party (with a detour to the hostel to drop off our stuff for us), and we drink more and dance and chat, and then I went to the hostel to sleep for a couple of hours before day three.

Lexapalooza is a wonderful thing. It's reason for being, the ideals and friendship and emotion, it's cause, and even just the good times and brilliant music it encompasses are wonderful. It is the manifestation, I think of the music scene it is part of. Dave has been doing gigs within the scene for a few years, and lots of bands have stayed with us, and he with them. There is always general respect, and a feeling that these people are friends. More than that though, this scene is filled with people playing their guitars (and other instruments), and singing their hearts out, and writing music about what matters, that tells stories. It is music that is fill with rage at injustice, hope for the future, friendship and love, and a overriding feeling that we are all in this together and we should make the very best of it.

These are the ideals to live life by.


Photos by Alison Garrett/Katie Holroyd. Used with permission.

... in LOVE with London (Day One)

On Thursday night last week, having finished work, I boarded the Megabus in Kinross for a 10 hour journey to London. For a Megabus journey, it was pretty uneventful, since I slept most of the way.

I arrived at 7.36am, on my own, with an almost dead phone (which contained all of my travel details) and an almighty fear of being lost in the tube forever and never actually finding the people I was meeting. Clearly, I had to correct the phone being dead issue, so I went to a pub in Victoria Station at 8am, where the nice barlady let me plug in my phone, and had breakfast and a two cups of tea (permit me a small grumble here - she gave my my teabag in one of those wee packets, on the side of a cup of hot(not boiling) water. Surely in England's capital, people should know how to make tea properly?). Phone charged, person and confidence restored by some tea and directions hastily written in the back of a paperback, I began my London adventure.

Doing this broke my heart at the time. Now it's my souvenir.

I started VERY small with my adventuring. I took the tube one stop to South Kensington to go to the Natural history museum and the V&A. To get there from South Kensington tube station, I walked through a very cool underground walkway that has entrances to all of the museums!

Underground Walkway

Museum of Natural History Gate

V&A sign in motion (it swooshes round)

Stationary. I love this

The queue to get in!

Much to my sadness, the Museum of Natural History was closed when I got there, so I went back into the tunnel and waited excitedly and a bit impatiently to go into the V&A. Once inside, I spent the majority of the time looking at the Rodin sculptures and the European Gallery. The thing with art galleries is it can take me 20 minutes to look at one work, so the two and a half hours I had meant I had to be sure of what I wanted to see! I reckon If I go back to London another 20 times or just spent a whole week in there, I might actually manage to see everything!

After the V&A, I took the tube back to Victoria (feeling very proud of myself, even if it was only one stop) and tried to locate Zizzi's in Westminster, where I was to have lunch with my lovely friend Serena (S is a blogger not blogging currently. I am lucky to have found her before she stopped, for she is a lovely friend). Those of you who know or have been to London and have more sense of direction than me will note that it's about a 5 minute walk. even if you account for the 20 minutes I spent in Westminster Abbey, it took me 25 to get there. I am 'nae pigeon' as my friend Kyla would say. I did eventually get there, and had a lovely catch up,  with nice food and a wee glass of prosecco and a large amount of laughing and us doing crap impressions.

My next challenge was getting to New Cross. This involved both the tube and the overground, and at this point I found out that some tube stops are a longer tube journey than they are walk. If you ever have to go from Embankment to Charing Cross, walk. It takes about 2 minutes and you go past a wee public garden. Better than a train underground I'd say.

I managed to get to New Cross (four public transport changes!), and find Goldsmiths and therefore Siobhan, my very lovely host for the night. So lovely infact that she was happy to have Dave arrive at midnight to stay, and therefore allowed me to see my husband again a whole day early. Our plan for the night was to drink tea, chat lots, make and eat lasagne and make cupcakes for Lexapalooza's bake sale, and we did all of those plans justice! Lexapalooza is an event that raises money for breast cancer research, so our cupcakes are a bra themed! I think they turned out pretty well, no?

BRAS!

Having slightly conquered my fears, and had lots of lovely chat and food, and collected the husband from the train station, I went to sleep in Siobhan and her boy's beautiful wee house a happy girl, full of excitement for the next day...

...looking back, and forward!

I haven't been blogging alot recently. Part of that is that life has been fairly same-y for most of January - not  bad at all, but nothing particularly epic happened. The other thing is, There is lots of stuff I want to write about - politics, books, music, but I can't make my posts be coherent. I am a bit afraid that if I keep not blogging, I just won't, so I thought I'd look back at January and tell you about the exciting things that are happening in February.

looking back...

January started with a brilliant party, a hangover and a cooked breakfast. It ended with a gig by the mighty Carnivores (for whom I reckon big, big things are going to happen), and a lazy weekend to myself whilst Dave went to Thurso to do a support slot with them. 

In between, I have worked. Hard. I have finally felt, in the last two weeks that I have gotten into the swing of working will all three kids and feeling on top of things, rather than feeling like I am just about coping and occasionally dropping the ball. It's a good feeling. 

When I haven't been working, life has been pretty routine. It revolves around comfort and being warm. It's so cold at the moment, and my travelling home is so disjointed, that the though of getting home to Dave, a cup of tea and a hot water bottle, my jimjams and some comforting food is what sustains me. For a large chunk of the month though, I found reading really difficult, my attention span has been ever so short, and that bothered me. Books are so very important to me. I'm happy to say that has resolved itself too! January has been very much a month of lying low, but I've enjoyed it.

looking forward...

February is a month in which I (and we, some of them include Dave) have many, many things planned. on Friday, Dave goes on tour for a week. Usually I dread this - I like my own space and am happy being on my own, but a week straight of being on my own isn't nice. 

This time, though I shall miss him dreadfully, I have lots of things planned for myself! Shopping, lunch and cocktails with my rather lovely Scottish(ish) lady bloggers on Saturday, and cream cakes and tea with some girlies at my wee flat followed by ice hockey on Sunday! Three days of work and one day off follow that, AND THEN I will be bound for London (LONDON!), on the overnight bus. Those with twitter can expect frequent updates to my travelling woes. I will have Friday wandering around London, lunch with a friend, then baking with Siobhan in preparation for Saturday. Saturday will be epic. I will be re-united with the husband. Siobhan will make sure I am not lost in the tube forever (she promised!), and we will be armed with cakes. Cakes to sell at the cake stall at Lexapalooza. Awesome music, awesome cakes, friends, drinking and banter, to raise money for breast cancer research. it will be wondrous, fun and perhaps a little messy. I could not be more excited. Somehow, I am going to be fresh-faced and not hungover on the Sunday. On Sunday, I shall meet Hannah, Ray and Elizabeth, and they will show me their own lovely, floral infused, vintagey London. I am ever so excited!

I suspect I will spend the rest of February recovering!