Summer Starts Here

Yep, summer starts here baby, Amsterdam 2009 with the Relentless crew - the hardest rocking dudes to come out of Camberley and Bounds Green. This is the start of a roller coaster 2 months of fun and partying. Bring it on! Many thanks.

Folks visit London

The folks came down to London, primarily to spend time with D&M and Liv. Managed to see them on the sat and go for a nice long walk. Other than that, I spent the weekend recovering from a week of migraines and headaches.

Bluetonic

Sunday 17th, felt rough in the evening. I made a full breakfast for our guests this morning, and then had a nap after they had left. Around 7ish, me and Em set off for the Scala to see a Crisis Hidden gig. The Bluetones were the 3rd band on, I was really excited by it. I hadn't seen them since the Cockpit back in March 1996. They played a blinding set and still had it. I was really happy. Had a few cans of red stripe to sort my head out and then catch Dodgy. I didn't have many expectations for them to be honest, but they were v v good. Overall, a top gig. Back to Richmond for a crisp sandwich and a nice hot cup of tea :)

Covent Garden drinks

Sat 16th, had my annual eye test, then went out to meet Joe and Julie who were in London to visit a couple they had met on their travels last year. I met J&J in covent garden and took them to the Lamb and Flag. We had a couple and catch up on news. Then on a parallel mission, Noaksey, Matt and a bunch of their mates turn up and there was a good old fashioned big crowd of us having a merry old time. J&J's traveller mates turned up and then after a while, the Oxford crew set off for a curry. J&J, their mates, and myself then take a bus to St Paul's and cross the Millenium Bridge to the Founders Arms at Bankside. Soon Em joins us and we all drink and chat until around 11.30. J&J missed their last train back to Aylesbury, so I invite them back to mine. The 4 of us get a taxi at Waterloo back to mine, where we chill out before bed.

Got the Horn

Had to work the weekend after bank holiday. Was up against it with deadlines, so this was the only chance to catch up. On the sat, I did manage to get out in the late afternoon to meet Em and her mates and see the Roni Horn exhibition at the Tate Modern. I tried, but it really was a load of shite. Still, we all had a good time and it was a fun evening. Then me and Em went off to the South Bank for some drinks.

First May Bank Holiday

On the Friday, I went to Brixton Academy to see The Doves. There were a lot of people there. Greg, Keith, Roger, Ex, Jen Mike and a bunch of others. It was a good gig, an excellent atmosphere. On the sat, I went up to Little Venice for the 2009 Cavalcade. Met up with a bunch of people from work, chill out on a barge drinking wine. Strange place but quite cool. Then I set off and met LG at Hammersmith for a few drinks at Distillers before we went to the Apollo to see the amazing Gary Moore. His playing was as aggressive and beautiful as it's always been, but I was a bit put out by the sheer number of OAP's in the audience. I'm not talking about old rockers, I'm talking about people of pensioner age, dressed like pensioners and falling asleep many times during the gig. Unreal! After that, me and LG went back to my pad and met up with Craig and Greg and then partied hard until the wee hours. It was the Hatton v Pacquiao fight on at about 4.30am. Craig almost didn't make it until then, and it was hard work staying awake but it was worth it. Pacquiao was awesome. He demolished poor Hatton.
Sunday, I woke early to tidy the flat. Then I made a nice picnic. Roasted veg and houmous wraps and an assortment of goodies. The missus turned up, we had a nap in the afternoon as the weather wasn't so nice, but by around 5, the sun came out again, so we went to Brockwell Park for our picnic. I packed a nice bottle of rose, so that topped off a lovely early evening in the park.
Monday was spent walking around the Spitalfield and Brick Lane areas of East London. Then off to Richmond for a nice home cooked meal and a bottle of Rioja. Great weekend.

Camden Crawl

Managed to score a couple of free tickets for the Saturday at Camden Crawl. After another session at Camberley with the Relentless crew, I went up to Camden and had a great day out. Managed to see King Creosote at the Koko. They were a bit plodding. Then went to the Underworld to see The Computers who were really really good. In fact, they blew me away. Then next was Hot Leg. Seen them before. They were ok, the music wasn't much kop, but they were a lot of fun. Better than when they supported Extreme back in Nov.