The Velvet Hearts: Into the World
At last. The Velvet Hearts debut album, Into the World, has just been released. It’s currently available exclusively from CDBaby. It is the best of times, and the worst of times, to be trying to build a career as a musician. The online revolution is both generous in its audience and stingy in its fiscal …
A few fairly well kitted stalls
One of our favourite TV Chefs (and surrogate conscience for Tesco) Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has just announced a Summer Food Fair at River Cottage HQ, this summer, naturally. Now, normally the idea of a fair, replete with wicker cutlery and forced vegetables is not my idea of heaven, but factor in the fact that there will …
The Velvet Hearts – A Gourmet Feast
When, by chance, we saw The Velvet Hearts at The Edge a couple of months ago, we were left with the overriding impression that this was a band who had taken a step beyond the norm and were producing something really rather special. We saw them a second time at the sunny Portsmouth Bandstand, and …
A Good Night at The Edge
After my viva last Tuesday we ended up at the edge of the wedge and what was already a very good day got even better thanks to some very talented musicians and a comfy stool at the bar.
Viva Voce
In Britain, the process of finishing a PhD involves the submission of a written thesis, followed by an oral examination called a viva voce (the literal Latin translation is “live voice”). The “viva”, as it’s commonly known, is an in-depth discussion into all aspects of the thesis which typically lasts between 90 and 180 minutes. …
Feckless Gig
We recently spent a couple of nights in Dublin without hearing the beat of a single Bodhrán or even a hint of live music coming from any bar. So last Friday night we were spoiled, with no fewer than two concurrent Bodhráns (and a guest washboard player), mandolin, guitar, accordion and bass thrown into the …
Teabags and Sugar
When making a pot of tea, I tend to add teabags and sugar at the same time; once the tea has brewed, I give it a stir, remove the teabags, add milk, and then with the aid of a knitted tea-cosy I get several hot mugs of tea in succession and can keep working without …
That Ozone Seaside Smell
Picture this: it’s a sunny day at the seaside and you’re enjoying an icecream. The human predilection to follow scripted conversation formats is such that you cannot fail to overhear somebody appreciatively inhale before joyously proclaiming “mmmmm, smell that sea air!”, to which a companion will invariably offer a helpfully informative “ah yes, that’s ozone“.
Rahim of Pompey, Gavin of Africa
I was adding Raz to the list of people we know today when I had a quick skim over everyones website and noticed that Orange alumnus Gavin Spittlehouse has started a blog covering his just-commenced cycling tour of West Africa. Jealous? Well, apart from all that peddling, of course; and very much looking forward seeing …
Little Donkey
Christmas cards are lovely. A small personalised message from someone you know, providing assurance that they appreciate you and think enough of you to select, purchase and deliver a card all the way to your home. So everybody near and dear to us will be wondering where the hell our card has got to. Well, …
Santa in Google Earth
Sometimes nice things come back and surprise you. Last year, just after I’d upgraded to Google Earth Plus, I was looking for some good Santa-stuff in Google Earth (so I could show my younger relatives something interesting on what is otherwise a very dull computer), and I spotted a shape: looking around Northern Europe I …
Gifts for Geeks
What are the best alternative presents for a geek? The typical geek has carefully selected and purchased their gadgets of choice, has a computer that’s tuned to perfection and needs no software purchased (because their entire suite is open-source) – so aside from comedy tee shirts with clever slogans that can only be understood by …
Killay House
The recent demolition of Killay House left a lot of memories without an anchor. It was a familiar shape to the thousands of people who travel on Gower Road daily, and it had been so for over 120 years. Growing up in Heol Glasnant (where the houses are tall), and going to school in Hendrefoilan …
Elvis Presleys Burning Car
I had never heard of Elvis Presley when he died twenty nine years ago today; but oddly, I distinctly remember where I was when I heard that he had died. It’s one of my earliest distinct memories. My best friend from the Bryn Nursery, James Morris (Mozz), was the bearer of the news whilst we …
Richards Fifth Birthday Party
This film has almost certainly never been seen by most of the cast. It was taken during my fifth birthday party in late 1977 (a fact that I’ve deduced from comparing the guests and their clothes with higher quality photos that I have; photos that also contain a birthday cake with five countable candles).
Hendrefoilan School Sports Day
This cine was taken at the Hendrefoilan School Sports Day, sometime between June 1978 and June 1980… ish.
Silver Jubilee Street Party
Wimmerfield Crescent is a residential street located in Killay, Swansea. It feeds three small residential cul-de-sac roads, one of which is called Heol Glasnant where I used to live. Heol Glasnant has the unusual property (in Wales) of being flat, and the lack of throroughfare made it an ideal venue for street parties.
Wimmerfield Crescent Garden Party
Having converted my Grandparents stash of cine film to a digital format earlier in the year I’ve at last found a few minutes to extract something of general interest (as opposed to the family-interest stuff), so here it is.
Who’s the Daddy?
We were delighted to receive news yesterday that Matt and Claire have created a whole new person for the world and called him Henry.
Rick Moeller on Cycling
We just got a message from Ann, tipping us off about Rick Moeller’s new cycling blog. Anyone who’s met Rick will know that he’s not one to dwell on the irrelevant things in life unless there’s good humor [sic] to be had therein, so it should be an enjoyable as well as insightful periodical.