Tales of a Drunkard: Year in review

Well considering i have only written one thing this year (Not counting the current Advent series) i thought a year in review would be good. Both for anyone reading and wondering what i have been up to (No one) and myself to just recap.

So in January i became the manager of the Go Kart track i worked at, spent alot of time at Sahara drinking and house parties. February was the month of snow, shit loads of it. February also bought weird dreams, lots of drinking and discovering Mixcloud.
March was a Skyrim month, which i should start playing again, that's all March had for me other than drinking at Sahara, learning about El Dorado rum and hiring staff from nights out drinking.
April, Spring. Such a time for things to come. Also fuck you April. The beginning was good, i saw my first Wall of Death at a Steam Fair and then my faithful Mongoose Crossway bike broke, broker harder than a broke broker. So i bought myself a fancy new Fixed gear bike, a Mongoose Maurice. Nice black and orange thing going on. It was also a night out with some friends for some cocktails and general drinking. All was going swimmingly. I went and got the bike on the train, came back and was a bit wobbly with a fixed gear as i had never ridden one before, managed home and back into town.

Then we started drinking. Which is where the fun began i suppose. We left and i walked my friend home then i made a stupid mistake of getting on my bike and cycling off rather than not. Worst decision i have ever made as i got about 1/4 of the way home and came off my bike. Blacked out when i hit the road and a passer by picked me up and helped me to the side. Nothing really hurt but i was bleeding from my head and cut my jeans and fucked my leg up. Oh and part of my shoulder was sticking out. Went to hospital and had a month off work, well about 6 weeks really. Couldn't walk that well for a few weeks.
My shoulder is still fucked, I'm pretty sure i tore the Coracoclavicular ligament. I might be wrong but it is that one. Common with rugby injuries and Freddie Flintoff had the same ligament damage i had, probably through drinking too!

So that was my April, it was spent on the sofa, watching TV, my laptop broke and i got shit all money from work. My bike was fucked but that was easily repaired. I was in that range where i didn't need surgery if it wasn't totally necessary. I spent most of April just hanging out and drinking, as walking into town wasn't too bad in a sling.

May brought 2ManyDjs, Real Ale festival and Simon Amstell. All in all was a good month of nights out. And that was May done really all while having lots of painkillers and a sling.
June was my birthday. Not the whole month, I'm not greedy like the queen having multiple birthdays, just the beginning of June. The 6th for future reference. I got some handlebars and a brake lever from a mate which is good as i fucked mine up when i fell off. Saw Promethues, not all that, realised that letting friends ride your bikes will end up with broken bikes (Thanks Lee and Ed).

Then that's it really. The rest of the year has been so-so. I got a cool Icarus tattoo on my left arm, half a sleeve, and got a Zombie hand holding a NES controller on my right bicep. I have been out drinking alot, i went to Bruges and met some cool people. Met up with some of them in London and spent a day and night having fun. I went to the Paralympics and spent some time in Hyde Park watching the Olympics on the big screens.
I went to Rumfest for the first time and was amazed by so many Rums, i was the best man to my friends wedding which was a very good day and night and honoured to be part of their day. Although i didn't get to go to any festivals this year i did get to go see Ugly Duckling, Frank Turner and coming up this Friday is Phillip Glass which i'm looking so forward to.

That's about it for the year, fun, exciting, sad, expensive, broken and regretful. 

There is only less than a month left, but not sure where it will go. Christmas is looming and New Years soon, hoping both will be great.
Hmm i didn't really do much this year.

Advent: Dec 3rd

Work was alright today, had two customers in and just did some cleaning. Glamourous i know. Work was overshadowed by my friends birthday and the impending trip to Cosmo. Which i fucking love that place. So much food and so much choice to have. I stuck mainly to Sushi as i havent had any in ages. After a long meal and good fun i popped into Sahara for a digestif, which ended up with a few drinks and a trip to Sakura for Skint Mondays. Now this is a moan so skip if you like. Sakura used to be good, wholesome fun. Now its shit. Why would you stop people taking drinks on the dance floor, just odd. Very odd. The music upstairs was a bit too dubby for me and the music downstairs was a generic Metal playlist which just didn't appeal to me. Got in, cracked open a bottle of red wine and did some internet research.

Advent: Dec 14th

So today we agreed to meet at my mates at 11:30am, which was tough for me but i made it just about on time. I got there to find the two playing Call Of Duty, so naturally i joined in and we spent about an hour playing that. We walked to town to get some food (Burger #1) and some train beers. Nice 25min train to London and a good chat and drink and we were ready. The plan for the day was go to Trocaderro to play some arcade games. So a long we caught the tube to Piccadilly Circus and we were confronted with a protest about the Congo (i think) which was nice to watch and for about a 1,000 people there was a helicopter, 6 riot vans and lots of ground patrol. At one point they made a brilliant move of sitting down but after about 2 Min's were ushered along. We went to the Trocaderro but it was shut, at 3pm, on a Wednesday.... WHAT THE FUCK LONDON.

Turns out from my friend Sam that they have moved the entire 2 floors of arcade games to the bottom floor, and to just a little room? Really? Is that possible and fucking sane? I loved that place, the merchandise they offer there is fun and the games are amazing. But fuck you we will go to the one on the embankment from now on.

So with that obviously done we decided to check out Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, not sure if you had to pay so we went to see and you didn't have to pay. We walked around and saw the sights and for some reason the German Christmas tradition is to have lots of fun houses? And watered down beer, and Pizza express... Well that's what i saw, and lots of shit fun fair rides. But the ice rink did look cool. We walked around and then headed to the o2 to see about these VIP tickets we had.
Turns out we got there early so walked around the o2 as neither of us had been there and settled on Harvester for food (Burger #2). We proceeded to the gates? But were told we had to wait till they opened. Our VIP tickets were pretty much just a separate bar rather than the normal stadium style bar everyone else had to go to. Which was nice as it was pretty chilled and we sat down.
Got a beer and chatted then walked upstairs to our seats to see the first band who i don't even know who they were, some female singer who screamed alot and started to strangle the guitarist with the mic cord and then wear a badger mask. They were pretty shit. But through her incessant screaming i realised i would need ear plugs so i set off and a friendly doorman said customer services would give me some so i got three pairs.

The second act was Miles Kane and they were really good, i recognised a few songs from them and they were enthusiastic too. They finished and off i went to the loo and back before Kasabian started. The entire floor for Kasabian was packed, from front to back. We had good seats but they were seats.... Kasabian started and for the the entire set they did not let up. The energy from them were amazing.... I'll try to upload some videos but my fucking god they were amazing. One of the best performances i have seen in years and there was at least two moments where i had a 'moment', like "I need to fucking change things" which was unexpected but the only downside was we were on the side in the seating area. I would have preferred to have been down on the floor with evetone else dancing along. There were a few people around us drunk and dancing but that is nothing to being in a crowd of people dancing. So the set was brilliant, just wish i was a bit more active in the dancing :)

After the gig we waited outside and had a cup of tea and (Burger #3) while we let the crowd die down as it was fucking mental with everyone getting to the tube station. After about 20 minutes we managed to get to the station and a tube fairly quickly and we managed to get to Paddington fairly easily. Unfortunately the train we rain for was fucking packed, i was gladly going to stay behind for 30mins as the people on the train were packed in like sardines. Come on people.... for fuck sake you would be on a slow train for an hour pressed up against the glass, just wait 30mins and get an empty(ish) train. I don't understand. So we stayed behind but then they opened up another 3 carriages so we all piled on. I just sat in the luggage rack of the train for the hour journey, wasn't too uncomfortable. Got to Reading about 1 ish and got a taxi back to cemetery junction. I treated my mate to some food as he got us the tickets and i also decided on two Mr Cod mini burgers (Burger #4) and we went back to eat and play COD. We ended up watching Wipeout USA, which was fun and a very good looking bride lost out on $50,000 by 20 seconds to a M Night Shalamanan lookalike. Gutted.

Got home about half two and just collapsed into bed. A fucking amazing day, a long day and an unexpected day

Advent: Dec 10th

Well firstly the December Tenth image is pretty damn good. Its of http://wfmu.org/ which is an amazing digital radio station from New Jersey, USA that has a brilliantly diverse schedule, check out the live broadcast or hit the archives to check out the previous weeks broadcasting.

I had to get up early to work so i was glad i didn't go out to see DJ Yoda but then again Saturday turned out to be a a really quiet day with parties and that's about it really. The day passed without any incidents which was good as i had a friends gig to go to in the evening and wanted to be out sharpish, and like all circumstances when you want to get out on time, or go somewhere, life dicks you. So getting to when i should be leaving the person to cover me wasn't showing up. Cue frantic phone calls and texts to find cover or where he was and to be fair wasn't sure if he would turn up. No cover available but thankfully he turned up late but turned up. So pedalled my little heart out and turned a 30 min bike ride into 20 minutes by ignoring a few red lights on the way. Got home, changed and back out in 15mins and to Marks to lock up my bike and he was waiting outside with a walking beer. We walked to Plug N Play where my friend was playing with his band 13D (Check out the album at the link)

I hadn't heard them live since they played Pilton in 2008 i think it was, for a battle of the bands to play Glastonbury, Micheal Eavis was on of the judges however they didn't win that time. We also watched Kill the Joker who were pretty damn good too. We stayed and drank till the last band finished then grabbed a walking beer and headed to the turtle about midnight, it was fucking cold. The shaved head didn't help but my god it was a chilly walk to town. Turtle these days has been a bit 'meh' for me. Nothing that fun happening, no random conversations with people, might be the weather or might be the fact i cant be arsed? Who knows but its not the Turtle i once knew and loved. We stayed till about half 2 then walked home, wasn't as cold walking home as it was walking to Plug n Play and Town before.

Advent: Dec 8th

BOOTIE, only one (maybe two) people i know will get why i just said that and if i don't get a text within a day then i know he doesn't read my blog.

I didn't have work till 5pm so i woke up around 11 as usual after a really cool dream about Vampires who had a joke/party store but it was sort of a cult too. They were scared of water and there was a showdown by the river and i escaped over a small bridge, started throwing things in the water to splash on them. One of them then rowed out and managed to control the water into draining. I ran and then the girl i loved came after me and was crying and i couldn't attack her, because of love and shit. Then i woke up.

Anyway i played Call of Duty for about 40mins, won some matches as you do, then i cycled off into town to get my head shaved and drop off a film to be developed from my TLR camera when i went and took long exposures of traffic last week. With the SLR its easy to see it come out right or wrong but with film, who fucking knows?

But after the haircut i went to work, had 2 people in to drive then a GP to run with some nice people, even got  a tip after the event too. Thankfully after i left the pissing rain and howling wind had stopped so the cycle home wasn't too bad. Once back bottle of red was opened, crap TV watched but settled on a film which is brilliant. Its called Dragon Hunters and the film is pretty basic about a girl who meets wannabe Dragon Hunters who become the heroes be the soundtrack is amazing. A track of which i will leave you with tonight.

Advent: Dec 3rd

I was a little hungover this morning due to the drinking of the night before so on the way to work i had my post drinking dry mouth. Usually i just buy some Oranges or Orange Juice but this morning i bought a Mango, 3 large oranges, a pear, 2 bottles of mountain dew and a litre of Orange Juice. Got to work and it wasn't too bad, had some accidents but nothing too bad thankfully. The day was one long hangover, just had a headache all day and was counting down the hours till i was going to my friends for her birthday. Which luckily came around quicker than i thought. 

After work i came home got ready and went to the flat for some party time. I got there and promptly said hello, grabbed a drink and chatted to the few people there. As more turned up the conversation gets better as more people to talk to, including two very gorgeous girls. Lots of alcohol, a few cheeky joints later the conversation got to Twilight, damn sparkly vampires, and general drunken chit chat. A few people joined and a few people left the party and eventually we ended up playing Kinect, well a few of us did. Drunken tennis and drunken Baseball is indeed fun. I would have preferred chatting to the girls a bit more but they left, oh well.

I left at some time i don't remember but i got home about 3am after a nice walk home. For some reason they have a ice sculpture of a polar bear outside of Marks and Spencers and they had a security guard in a van making sure people don't do something to it i suppose, was a bit weird. I think the night cap at the flat did me in because the walk home was rather long, thankfully not cold or raining however.

I really need to start writing these Advent blog posts the day after rather than two days later.

Life In Balance: Music and Film

 

So the post before kind of delved into how i feel about music and film, and what it does to both the cinema goer and the film itself.
One film combines both of these two beautifully and is called Koyaanisqatsi. It is am experimental film from 1982 that combines slow motion footage with time lapse stills to bring a Life Out of Balance, which is what Koyaanisqatsi means when translated (well thereabouts).
 
It won numerous awards, one of which was the Francis Ford Coppola endorsement and he is now credited as executive producer. The visual elements go from amazement, to haunting, to puzzlement. And the soundtrack from Phillip Glass compliments it brilliantly. The soundtrack is nearly as long as the film, film is 86mins and music is 76, but sometimes you don't know its there. It transitions the different segments of the film as it moves from the early stages showing the environment and humanity through the progression of war, atomic age, right up to the 'micro-ship' age at the end. All culminating in the final scene showing the ultimate price of technology and the progression of man. NB: Its not the challenger disaster which happened 4 years after.

Some of you might recognise some of the music from the first public trailer of GTA IV, or the scene from Watchmen where Dr Manhattan talks about his origins. Koyaanisqatsi has also appeared in parody on the Simpons where an Itchy and Scratchy show entitled Koyaanis-Scratchy: Death Out of Balance was shown. Madonnas 'Ray of Light' video also resembles the feel of Koyaanisqatsi.

The soundtrack was so popular that the Phillip Glass Ensemble toured while playing the music live over the film, pretty much like War of The Worlds, if you have ever seen that on its tour.

Koyaanisqatsi was the first in the 'Qatsi' trilogy which shows Life out of Balance. Powaqqatsi was the second and shows the Life in Transition, primarily third world countries and losing the fight of holding onto their traditions in the face of industrialization. The third is Naqoyqatsi which means Life at War and shows the  'transition from a natural environment to a technology-based industrial environment'.

All three films are cheap to pick up if you want to see what I'm talking about. Those less inclined to purchase them can view the film below courtesy of Google.

Admittedly i used to watch this stoned and concentrated more, as you cant really have a busy mind when watching it. Not that I'm suggesting you get stoned and watch it, just pay attention, don't discount it for being some arty film you wont get, people interpret what they see in different ways. Watch it, think about it, discuss it.

Music and Movies

To me the arts are a complicated thing. You have paintings for example, which some people just sit and stare trying to figure out the meaning. Maybe there isn't a meaning, maybe the artist just drew what popped into their head.
The same with photos. When someone takes a picture why does it have to convey the emotions the photographer was feeling or trying to capture. Why can't it be about capturing a moment in time before it flutters away never to be captured again.

Music in film and television is vital. It tells the audience whats happening. It reminds me of the Shifty eye dog episode of The Simpsons. Dramatic music makes him look sinister, though changing the music behind it would change it to a jovial nature or whimsical. How do you know he wasn't checking for traffic before he crossed the road?

Aside from music leading the narrative, i like when the soundtrack is part of the movie in more than a 'background noise' way. Films where the music and whats happening on screen are intertwined are brilliant. Recently there has been Inception, Tron: Legacy and Social Network that have all amazing soundtracks which i love listening to but are part of the film too.

Some films have also given me new bands to listen to. Wristcutters: A Love Story introduced me to Gogol Bordello, a band which i now love. Garden State introduced me to The Shins and Stir of Echoes introduced me to Rolling Stones via Paint it Black, the soundtrack to Juno, to me, was amazing. It determined the pace of the film, showed the same emotions as the characters.

As well as soundtracks having good bands, music that is made specifically to the film are detrimental to a good film. Who here cant hum the Superman Theme? Or the theme to Star Wars. John Williams and Danny Elfman played some of the best ones of my childhood. Which is why i suppose that Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman sound the same :)

Classic soundtrack overtures like the ones in Shawshank redemption, Gladiator, and even Star Trek are also brilliant to have in a film. To me a film that has stagnant score behind it, or music that doesn't fit anything that happens on screen is a flop.

This is the overlying music from JJ Abrams Star Trek.

Its the theme that plays over pretty much anything dramatic that happens in the film. Its haunting in a way but i love it.
Speaking of haunting music and the correlation between film and music, that will be addressed in my next post.
But i will leave you with my first love of music in movies/trailers and the one that got me more into what happens in film other than actors speaking.

This is a trailer for the 2007 film Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor) Its a brilliantly visual film, great story but this trailer is what did it for me. Lots of WTF moments happening at once and when the yellow bus enters the screen, that music that kicks in was it. The band are called M83 and that track made me search them out straight away. Give the film a watch and also the bands album Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts.

Advent: Dec 18th

Another lay in, is it possible to get tired of lay ins?, but i had a mission for the day. Go into town and buy presents. I'm not a present buyer, i cant do it online since that's still too impersonal. Unless you know exactly what you want to buy in which case that's OK, but i just cant shop like that. I walk round with a person in mind and see whats out there. Then based on what they would like, i buy. Simple really. No lists, no planning. Just throwing it up in the air and see what lands.

I met my mate at Cemetery Junction, i said it was good having him near, then we walked into town. Met his brother and walked round, shopped and got a Beer & Burger at Pavs for lunch with a few games of pool thrown in for good measure. We trundled back home along the icy path. I got home, stashed the present (Just the one bought) and settled in with a cuppa and watched Catch Me if You Can.

I got to my mates about 10ish and we played Tiger Woods, made a couple of drinking games out of it. Unfortunately i wasn't as good as the previous night so half a bottle of sidekick inside me it wasn't getting any better.
The rules were revised so i wasn't the only one who couldn't see straight and after lots more beer and shots, and a game of ping pong.
Another long walk in the cold, less slippy though, and a few police out catching speeders, we walked past with the cans of beer at our sides like a couple of school kids :)
Once in town we headed to the Turtle to engage in much snakebite drinking and as we were already quite drunk it didn't take long till we danced a bit downstairs, which for a Saturday was cheese. I ended up dancing with some girl to Grease Lightning, the guy she was with wasn't too happy mind.
For the most part we just sat or stood around chatting and drinking. We carried over the Bingo, Bango, Bongo but this time in response to women. Bingo if they have nice face, Bango if they have a nice bum and Bongo. Yeah I'll leave that one. Childish yes, funny yes. Women, feel free to use it when checking out guys.

We stayed in turtle for a fair old while, drinking and dancing. Well i was trying. I need to stop dancing with a pint in my hand because yet again i ended up spilling some on a bloke. To which i tried to dry his coat off but he said don't worry. My mate however was pissing himself as when i turned round it wasn't a few bits, he had drink all down his back. It was one of those thick black coats so the snakebite ended up white. I did get some on my coat though, so i feel his pain. I did see him about 30mins later not wearing that coat.

Reminder: Do not dance with drinks in your hand.

We stayed till closing time and then wandered home again. A long and cold walk home may i add but funny nonetheless.
Got in about 5am and just passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Advent: Dec 11th

Woke up a little late today, still managed to get to work for 8:50. Enough time to get changed, get a tea and get the machines up and running. The day went like most Saturdays during peak period, roller coaster start. First theres a few people, then the shop is packed then theres a few people. Rinse and repeat for the whole day.
Didn't sell much, a few things here and there, a couple of big sales with all the trimmings. It was mainly talking to customers about presents or new cameras for themselves. Everyone left happy.
About midday the manager asks me to go speak to the Regional Manager who was upstairs, and after a chat about being late again (I had a disciplinary about being 5-10mins late for work) i was also questioned about things i have posted on here/facebook and twitter regarding work and any issues i have regarding it.
Thing is apart from this blog, where no mention to what company i work for, the rest of the social media sites are set to private. So the only people that can see it are people i work with, friends and family. The general public cannot see any remarks i make. So I'm not saying anything, but 2 + 2 =....

Nevertheless we had a brief respite where i could just wander around pondering such things before going back in. The regional manager came to such conclusions that they were suspending me from work until further notice and that i was not to talk to any employee of work and not visit any branch.

Silver lining being that i have time to shop for presents and I'll probably be able to have some sort of Christmas this year.
Bad part being I'll probably go back for a disciplinary and lose my job.

Certain members of work have been blocked from Twitter and taken off facebook so my musings can't offend them anymore, ah well only work colleagues.

So i was escorted off the premises, not like with my hands behind my back but in case i kicked off or something stupid. And with that i went to lock my bike up.
As i was doing so my mates came round the corner and i told them what happened. We walked around a bit and discussed what lead to my suspension and what would happen next. They had the 'we told you so' look and also said i should have got a new job ages ago anyway. Which is true.

We walked around for a bit and talked, then we bumped into our other friend who's flat warming it was. So we broke off, they went to get lunch and we did too. We talked about the flat warming and again about my suspension.
I got my bike and he went to pick up some other friends, i cycled to the Oakford and handed in the camera i found on Thursday.
I then cycled home and emailed a friend what happened at work and if i can appeal against the decision etc while it was fresh in my mind.

My friend came to pick me up and we went to Asda to get supplies for the nights activities. Lots of alcohol and some food from Iceland. Back to his flat where the girls proceeded to put the tree up, decorate it etc while we sat back and had a beer or two.
With the tree looking pretty damn impressive we connected it up so it would stay up and not fall over. We cracked open a few more beers and sat around listening to music and playing a ping pong game on the xbox. The girls then cooked some Rocky Road, which was amazing, and we put some food in the oven.
Finished playing ping pong when everyone came in and we watched Elf. A pretty festive film if i may say so and Zooey Deschanel is gorgeous as ever. We played a DVD interactive game of Family Fortunes, was fun but we didn't really play it properly.
We couldn't decide whether to watch Inception or something light hearted, so we watched Team America: World Police. I hadn't seen this film in ages so was just as funny, half the people left during the film and only a couple of us were left. We finished drinking and watching the film and then i got a lift home.

Got home quite early considering it was a party, though i was pretty tired after the days goings on.

So i probably shouldn't have talked about what was going on at work, but there is an element of freedom of speech i like to have. And again nothing mentioned on where i work.

I now have to wait for my disciplinary hearing and the outcome of that. Though i can see where it is heading.

Advent: Dec 4th

December Fourth started out pretty shit. Well it was a day off so a nice lay in was had. I cycled into town to source out a new coat for the nights outing but on my way my pedal came off. As in the entire crank arm fell off. I had only just left the house. So i had to walk into town pushing my bike, defeats the object of having a bike. On my way i stopped off to buy something from a guy down an alley, but realised i had lost the £20 from my back pocket. He looked at me weird and i left. So far I'm 2 for 2 on bad happenings.
Got to town and took my bike to Action Bikes to get them to put the crank arm back on, the week before i had trouble with my pedal (it hadn't been put on right by the guy) the person i spoke to, Rich, constantly told me it was my fault, i should check my bike routinely. Now I'm in the persuasion that if i spend £300 on a bike i expect it to work at least until the 6 week free checkup, not fall to pieces. The person that did the road check on my bike no longer works there, so when i asked "was it due to failure to sort bikes out" the guy just shrugged off that comment. So for all i know my bike wasn't put together properly the first time, and all these happenings are due to his failings.
Nevertheless i was charged £13 for the bike part and again was spoken to like i am a bike geek and i should 'bed in the crank with a tool like this"..... I ride a bike because its quicker than walking, no Lance Armstrong am i.

So now I'm 3 for 3. I put my bike in my friends bike shed at his flat and went about shopping for a coat. Christmas shopping is why I'm pretty harsh towards Christmas. Its filled with people walking around blindly shouting "I MUST BUY EVERYTHING EVER AND WRAP IT IN SPARKLY PAPER IN ORDER TO SHOW MY FAMILY I STILL LOVE THEM" Whatever happened to the notion of a zombie magician being born and doing good deeds like the guy from Kung Fu, who failed to resurrect might i add. Though before that asphyxiwank in the cupboard David Carradine could indeed have been compared to Jesus, well the Kung Fu Carradine not Kill Bill. He was a dick.
Anyway i digress.
Walking around just grates me. Especially when people in front of you just stop. Look at their shopping list, then move on. Do people not have a regard for others? How bout taking the Christmas blinkers off for a second?
Shopped round and the cheapest i could find a nice coat was £35 from Primark, everywhere else was like £76+ even TK Maxx.... I know.
Coat bought i then paid £45 for a pair of Jeans. This is why i don't shop. I could have easily got a nice pair like like £20.
Munched on a Egg baguette while sorting out the nights plans. Hopped home to get changed and prettify myself and headed to my friends flat for a pre drink drink.

I have to say i was looking quite good, though i made a risky attempt at styling my hair and gave myself a side parting. Yes i looked like a handsome version of Hitler, or a man sporting a comb over but i liked it for the beginning.
My friend had a mug with his face on printed at my shop for his tea habits at work but it smashed the other day. Luckily due to an error at the printers a duplicate was made so i wrapped it and gave it to him. It was like Christmas or something.
We had a few tins of Strongbow and chatted in depth about our enterprises that we are trying to make happen, interesting stuff from both of us.
We popped along to Pentahotel for a few drinks while we waited for the birthday girl. And may i say Pentahotel is a really nice place. Drinks are normal price for town but its very elegant inside, pool table, wii and really nice bar staff to boot so i thoroughly recommend going there as i hope ill be there soon again.
We had a table booked downstairs in Sahara so we started the cocktails quite early, bout 8pm and £8 cocktails may sound expensive, but they are lovely; full of alcohol and got me rather drunk rather quickly. It was like New Years all over again as i was pretty gone by half 9.
Lots of drinks and laughs were had and after alot of cocktails we trotted along to Sakura and danced it up. I don't think i brought a drink at all in there and we stayed for about 2 hours at least, if not longer. I just sipped other peoples drinks and just kept my alcohol levels topped.
I still don't like Sakura for a night out. Dogma is a good place, good music but its always full of kids and the dance floor bounces. It may be because i really cant dance, or that the place is shit, probably a factor of both.
A couple of friends came in to say hello, one sporting a very nice 60s style bob and leather jacket but didn't stay long. Saw a girl who works next door who after i said hello kind of ran away, left me feeling a little perplexed and worried I'd done something.

After Sakura we tried to go to Purple but the queue was massive so we had a Subway and decided what to do. Most went home so i went back to my friends new flat which was near my house anyway. Had a beer and chatted, had a look round and helped decide where to put things etc then i left about 3am and walked home. My new coat paid dividends as it was really warm and the hood comes all the way down.
Walked in, climbed into bed, turned on the radio and drifted off. I seeked a good night out and that was what i got.

I love my friends, very rarely do we not have fun in each others company.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Not Actually mine)

A few weeks ago i had the privilege of attending my good friend Jemmas wedding. You may (if you have read this here blog) know of Jemma . We have known each other for a fair few years, we went to Australia together with my other good friend Callum. Anyway ever since i have known her she has been going out with a great bloke called Spiro. And as the title suggest one of them was Greek. This would be Spiros, or Spiro (spyro) for short.
So the day started with me meeting my old friends Richard and Callum with his girlfriend Gemma at the local working men's club where provisions were bought. We got to my friends house and waited by the marque and had a few drinks while we waited for guests. I recognised one person, a cousin of Jemmas, that i had met at previous family gatherings and that put me at ease that i would atleast know someone. The coach journey involved drinks and talking to some of the other guests that were traveling to London for the wedding.

The Greek Orthodox Temple was out of this world. It was simply stunning. The outside just looked like any church. Tall, foreboding. But inside was exquisite. Mosaics on the walls, the ceilings depicting various religious events, people. Now I'm not a religious person, i have my own views and whatnot but even i was taken aback by the sheer beauty of this place. The picture i have included doesn't even resemble what it was like to sit in there.

The ceremony started and Jemma walked in. Now she was gorgeous and Spiro was a lucky man, of which he knows. But no one knew what was going on in the church. The priest was speaking in ancient Greek, so even the Greek people couldn't catch onto what he was saying. It was a nice ceremony. No vows were said as it was all about the meaning of the ceremony, not what one party was saying to the other. The best part was when the bride and groom had to walk round the alter three times. Spiro was nearly pissing himself, Jemma was trying to hold a straight face. The best man, Tim, and his wife Dora were following and Tim was laughing. The bridesmaids had to run after because they were unsure if they had to participate.

After the ceremony they had the wedding photos outside of the church. I took along my old Prinz Flex TLR and i hope the pictures come out. The picture above was taken with it, little off centre but its a film camera, what do you expect?

The coach back was a silent one really. Not much was said as we were all tired and the air con on the coach wasn't working but we made it back and were greeted by champagne. As Spyro and Jemma were arriving we mingled with guests and family members and enjoyed the food that was brought round by the caterers. They arrived about 30Min's after us and still looked as good as they did when they were in the church. They stood around for photo opportunities and talked to the guests. After a while of drinking champagne talking we moved inside the marquee to be seated. We were on the naughty table, only because it was at the back and in the corner. Once seated and drinks poured the speeches were started. The first by Tim the best man, very funny and heart felt. The second came from the Father in law, Jemmas dad which was very nice. The third came from Spyro himself which was unplanned but nevertheless good anyway.

Food! After the "Have fun and drink" was said by Spyro the wine was pouring and we said 'cheers' and started chatting while the starters were brought out. Bread with some dips that were lovely, and olive oil. Greek salad too. The main was gorgeous; lamb with Mediterranean potatoes, roasted veg and other such tasty foods. Pudding was ice cream if i remember. Either that or i want ice cream now.
After the food had settled and more wine was drunk i went about talking to the guests from before and family members while the Greek members danced. The naughty table agreed that when the only song we know comes on we would dance, 5Min's later that song came on. It was indeed Zorbas Dance. Though the clip is 2Min's long we danced for 10Min's, too long, but the Greeks danced for AGES! A couple more dances and more alcohol was needed, unfortunately i had a headache and didn't partake in as much alcohol as Spyro would have liked.

After the Greek band left the 'disco' started so cue lots of drunken dancing from the younger generations. We danced for about another hour or so till we had to leave, was about 2am i think. Best part of the night is they supplied bacon and sausage sandwiches at the end of the night with tea/coffee too. That little touch was quite nice as they could have easily just said "Get out of the marquee".
I said my goodbyes and got the taxi back to Reading, luckily i was flat sitting for my mate so it was easier to get to. The day off the next day was even better.

All in all Greek weddings are so much fun and hopefully i will get to go to another one. I still need to give them a wedding present. Sometimes i can be a bad friend.

Tales of a Drunkard: No Sweat Fest

When my friend Tom usually says "Hey I'm going to a squat party, you should come" I usually envision a dark and dingy building with lots of drug addled protesters and hippies. I was pleasantly surprised.
We started off in Reading at the Allied Arms having a quick drink before we headed to the train station to get some drinking beers and food. On the train to London we chatted, I took pictures and general tomfoolery.
The squat was in Hackney so a bit of a trek from Reading, but a tube here and a bus there we got there. The reason for the bus was the tube was being its usual crappy self, only problem with the bus was Arsenal had just won 6-0 and was letting out time when came past. We got to Hackney around 7pm, fashionably late i know, and the place was amazing. Like an old theater it loomed at an awkward angle.
A lot of people were already outside, sitting in a boat, on the floor or standing around chatting. We paid the £5 donation then went to get some beer from Iceland. Apparently me carrying in two 4 litre bottles of Ye Olde English wasn't the thing to do so i settled with 4 cans of strongbow to start with.

We sat around chatting to random people and some of Toms friends came and chatted to them. The music was from 2pm onwards and we caught a few of them, mainly Punk with some ska-punk too.
There was one band that was pretty good, after a few songs the singer would read some of his poems. One went "What kind of man are you, who rubs his elbows against mine on the tube. Must be a poof" Then 10 seconds into his song a guy ran out of nowhere, jumped on stage, lamped him and grabbed the Mic stand trying to hit the guy. The singer grabbed his bass to try and defend but the crowd divided them.
Apparently the singer has a history of saying homophobic or sexist remarks. Shame as it was a good band up until that point. Ah well. Punks eh?

I don't remember how or when, partly due to drugs and or alcohol, but i sat down talking to some people, Ann, Angela and Caroline. Good chats about life and such, probably the drugs, but at one point Angela was helping this guy Morgan who was absolutely battered. We got him some water and Angela went to find Thelma, a sexy secretary looking polish girl who was his girlfriend. She couldn't so i tried, failed but helped him inside so he could pass out somewhere.
Hours passed, drinks were drunk, chats were had and dancing was done. Yes theres probably photographic evidence of me skanking it up but it was fun.
It got to about 2.30am and i started chatting to a girl called Lisa about Pokemon, Stargate and other such nonsensical wonderment that long nights of drinking bring forth. Which was a nice end to the night.

Tom was talking about an after party in a warehouse but at time of leaving the squat, 3ish? There was no word. Morgan appeared out of nowhere and said he was going to a party so i left Tom, Anders and the others to head back to Paddington, while i stayed with Morgan. Outside he was chatting with some guys and i asked him for directions back to Paddington, he gave them to me but as i helped him when he was drunk he wasn't going to let me wander the streets of Hackney alone. Which was good because i had about £800 worth of stuff on me.

We walked through Hackney sharing a bottle of rum and coke when he laid the bomb on me that he had nowhere to go as he was Homeless. We continued chatting, about himself and how he came to be on the streets. Unfortunately he was a victim of circumstance. Foster homes, run ins with police etc, I'll leave alot of that discussion out.
He came to London from Ireland about 10yrs ago but again circumstances meant he was on and off the streets. We sat around talking for hours. He met a couple in the off license and they came and we all sat around chatting till the sun came up. He is actually a graphic designer and currently has two websites up and running, he uses free WiFi to update etc. He was a really nice guy, and now a friend on Facebook, hopefully I'll see him at some point again.
It got to that point where i had to find my way back to paddington otherwise i would just curl up in a ball and pass out. I said my goodbyes and jumped on a bus that said 'Via Kings Cross' as i vaugley knew where that was.

OK due to me endlessly twittering to keep me amused during my journey it helps piece together things. Apparently i left the squat at 3:54am with Morgan and we chatted till 6:44am which is when i got on the bus to nowhere. Due to that nice bus trip it meant i was back in Hackney about 7:30am because i went to McDonald's to get some breakfast. Now i have only had 1 McDonald's in about 4 years and that was on New Years Eve.
After walking a while some guy called Gary proceeded to tell me that he 'Doesn't drink or do drugs but needed some money for a hot chocolate" I ended up getting a tube from Highbury and getting to Paddington at 9:29am. So it took me 3hrs of walking and the such to get me about 8miles, impressive display of idiocy.

I think my experience of Hackney is summed up by this tweet

"I cant seem to escape hackney. Ive walked in every sodding direction and taken a bus yet I'm still in fucking hackney"

Not having much money i was pleased to see the gates in London were open and if i had any trouble in Reading i would just say i came from Twyford. As soon as the train left Paddington i must have sparked out in the vestibule because i woke up as we just pulled into Reading. I then remembered i sodding cycled to Reading so had a 4mile bike ride home. Slowest bike ride ever. I walked into my home around 10am, and fell asleep till 4pm. Then went to a friends from 8pm - 2am. No point wasting a day in bed :)

All in all i had an amazing time in London. The squat party was brilliant and was for a good cause so check out the website No Sweat. The people i chatted to were amazing and I even enjoyed the walk home.

I think that's about it, unfortunately this probably doesn't seem that good, but to me it was a fun evening and I'm sure some of it has been lost in translation.

Bilbao BBK Live 2010

This year i embarked on another long arduous journey to Spain for the Bilbao BBK Live festival. This time i swapped friends and took my friend Mark. We set off from Reading around 1pm with a Subway in hand and a couple of Fosters too. Got to Portsmouth and headed to the Trafalgar wetherspoons to continue the drinking while we waited for the ferry boarding time. We then decided to take a walk and unfortunately we walked about 2miles with our backpacks, for which we didn't need to at all. Sat watching the Netherlands game in the ferry terminal while playing shithead. Once boarded we showered, changed and hit the top deck while we left the port. Started drinking and playing shithead while watching the P&O Players perform.

Due to the ferry crossing time we were at sea for a whole day so we just bought a crate of Fosters and sat on the top deck sunning ourselves and listening to music on speakers. Was nice and chilled though i got horrific sunburn on my arms (the burn turned purple at one point). The ferry was pretty much just us drinking and playing cards. We did get a chance this time to see some Dolphins and i got a picture or two of them.

We got to Bilbao at about 8am and made our way into Bilbao. We got to San Mames and waited for the coach which wasn't too bad as the queue was short. We managed to get up to the festival quite easily and went to the second campsite. Last year we camped in the car park as that's all we thought was available. So we opted for the campsite that had trees, giving us a bit of shade from the heat. I was right in that part. However after all my toil and slaving my tent was at a 45 degree angle and the ground felt like cows had been walking over it for months.

Bands didn't start till around 5pm so most of the day was spent in the sun drinking and playing shithead. I won't go into each band but we saw the following over three days:

Bullet for My Valentine
Skunk Anansie
Slayer
Anti-Flag
Rise Against
Rammstein
Gomez
Coheed and Cambria
Dropkick Murphys
Biffy Cylro
Gogol Bordello
Alice in Chains
Pearl Jam
The Macabees
Feeder
Los Campesinos
The Soundtrack of our Lives and
Manic Street Preacher

Out of all those bands i think Rammstein where the best due to the show they put on, for me Gogol Bordello were amazing and i dance my arse off. Dropkick Murphys, Los Campesinos and Gomez were bands i hadn't heard before and were amazed by their sets too.

On the Friday me and Mark walked to Bilbao city center to have a look at the Guggenheim museum but was a little too pricey so didn't bother going in. Instead we took pictures of the outside and wandered around Bilbao before heading back to the festival. Most of the nights were relatively problem free but on Friday it got a little worse for wear.
We had spent all day drinking warm beer then polished off half a bottle of Jaegermeister and 1/3 a large bottle of Vodka. This kind of made Gogol Bordello that little better and as i said previous i dance my arse off which i haven't done in a long long time. A fact that was reminded to me when my knee caps and feet started hurting a few hours later. After that we just sat on the hill over looking the festival and drank a few litres of cold San Miguel. Got chatting to some nice Australian girls and around midnight Mark turns to me, fear in his eyes, and says "I've got to go" and after a few questions of safety he proceeded down the hill and that was that. As much as we laughed and wondered why he had done that i said the exact same words about 30Min's later.

We had a conversation about how Spanish people smoke alot of hash. I didn't smell any weed at the festival just hash. As we were talking a Spanish guy overheard and gave us his joint to smoke, so i duly obliged and had a few tokes. This then sent me overboard and I'm reminded of what Heather (Australian Girl) said to me "Grass then beer, your in the clear. Beer then grass, your on your ass" which reminds me of the age old drinking rhyme "Beer then wine, you'll feel fine. Wine then Beer, you'll feel queer" Which has for many years guided me in my drinking. Anyway i digress.
I turned to Heather and said "I've got to go", though as long as i chatted i was fine. When there was a silence the music of Pearl Jam just sent me flying. Couldn't focus on anything and had to focus on something. I eventually said that i was going to toilet and i MAY be back. I walked to the top of the hill and bought a coke to try and 'sober' myself. After a while Heather came to find me and we walked to the second stage for Dropkick Murphys.

I had just about overcome myself and we watched Dropkicks, a band that i have never really heard but they were amazing! Really good and we got rather close, a little too close as my ears were fucked. We walked to the coach line as Heather had to get back to Bilbao but it was 3am and the queue was going to take about 1.5 hours so i offered my tent. The only problem being that having a tent at a 45 degree angle isn't the best for two people to sleep in. So cue a restless sleep trying to stop not only myself from falling down the hill but also her.

Due to the late night from me, and the early departure from Mark (He doesn't remember how or when he got back to the tent) meant that on the last day we took it easy. Don't think we even touched a litre of beer at all that day. We just sat around watching the music from the hill and just resting really. Saw some good bands that day. Met up with Heather briefly on the hill overlooking the festival and chilled. We had to get up stupidly early on the Sunday as our ferry back to Portsmouth so we left before Faith No More played but listened to them at the tents. We missed out on Jet which I'm sure would have been amazing but the early wake up etc meant we didn't.

Woke up early and were waiting at the Ferry port about 2hrs before we were meant to but we just sat and played shithead till boarding. The very [not so] friendly Spanish border polizia officers wouldn't stamp my passport as they only do it for kids. But i like stamps in my passport too. Reminds me that i have so much more of the world to see.

The trip back was quicker for some reason and again we just chilled and drank, watched the P&O players do their thing, watched everyone get way too over excited about the Dolphins. I swear they ran back and forth that much that they rocked the whole ferry. The only exciting thing we saw on the trip back was an American Nuclear Submarine leaving Portsmouth. Was pretty cool.

We got back to Reading about 7pm and made a quick dash to our respective homes then went to the Gym straight after, dedication eh?

All in all Bilbao BBK is a fantastic festival. Great surroundings and somehow a small festival that's only been going 5 years manages to get some amazing bands. The only things i have a problem with is the language barrier as its not entirely Spanish as its in the Basque country. But that's easily overcome. Can't wait to see what happens next year.

Until next time.

Buenas Noches

BBC Introducing LOS & Strobe Circus

In the last outing to the Oakford we had two amazing bands for BBC Introducing. Strobe Circus and LOS. First on were Strobe Circus who were amazing. They sounded so relaxed and vibrant. They sounded great with their fusion of Drum and Bass, reggae, dubstep and dub sound. Got everyone dancing and i genuinely enjoyed listening to them play. Hopefully get to see them again and this time not sitting down.

The second band were LOS (Sorry couldn't find them on myspace) This band were insanely good as well. Just three of them, drums/guitar and synth. They reminded me alot of Queens of the Stone Age for some reason, just that crisp sound of Rock. Very loud and really long songs meant i was happy for the whole set, I'm hoping someone will read this and send me the link to their page.

The night continued on, as per usual, with drunken revelement. My friend Sophie had her birthday on Wednesday so she was in the Oakford with her friends, was good to say hello. After such a time as boredom kicking in, we ventured to The Turtle again. I won't bore you with the details as it was a usual night out and, well, frankly i cant be bothered.

Another good night sponsored, in part, by the BBC. Glad to see my tax money hard at work.

Tales of a Drunkard: Politics, Alcohol and RPGs

Wednesday was, as fast becoming a tradition, Oakford night. More live music courtesy of BBC Introducing. However it was just two of us this time, myself and Geordie who you might remember turfed out 3 old ladies when we went to Stoke.

Unfortunately they were all out of cider and I had to buy a bottle, which ended up costing £5.... So we just sat outside, listened to a band and decided on a night out. Our friend Ed was in town with a guy named Pavil who was over from Czech for a holiday to see Ed and his friends. The plan was to go to Hope Tap for a drink, then Pavs then meet them in the turtle. So we hot footed it to the Hope Tap and sat down talking about Religion, Mythology, Politics, Gaming and Photography. Not your usual topic. We went to Pavs, had a pint and played the hunting game to which I lost.

Turtle was next and, as always is last on the menu, we found Ed and the Czech contingent and hurriedly got drinks and played table football. I saw a really attractive girl with blue hair that works in Las Iguanas so made Geordie talk to one of the guys he knows so we could go talk to them. We got talking to them and had a laugh, at one point I touched a mans nipple, then when he dropped a chip I ate a cheesy chip off his hairy chest. As you can see the night was going well.

We somehow got talking to two squaddies who were on R&R from being posted in Cyprus and having been outside Helmand for awhile. Cue talking about politics (briefly) and having shrapnel wounds shown to us (RPG hit one of them and the other guy pulled him out of the way of fire), I decided to buy them, and ourselves, drinks. Sat around chatting to them about everything really and then suddenly the lights come up and it's kicking out time. They wanted to go elsewhere but due to it being a Wednesday, everywhere was shut. Everywhere apart from the Casino.

A short walk later and we were in the casino and bought another round for us all. Started drinking and playing Blackjack, which is a game I don't usually play but have found a love for it. Again we just sat around talking and drinking and before we knew it they were kicking out too. That was about 5am. I only spent £20 on Blackjack and walked away with £8, so yeah a loss, but it was fun.
Geordie walked to the station to get a taxi and I chatted to the guys for awhile, I got their British Forces Postal Number things so next time my mum sends off shoe boxes of gifts to troops, these guys get one specifically for them. And apparently they want Pot Noodles!
Walked with them to the station and hopped on a bus home. Got in around 5:45am and had to get up for a job interview with Toys R Us Head Office in Maidenhead. That was a struggle but I think it went well.

So the Drunkard is getting out and about, having a good time and random nights occur even when the immortal line "I'm not up for a late one, I have a job interview in the morning"

Think that's its for this months outings. This drunkard needs to go the gym as I've missed a few sessions, but there is an all you can eat Chinese happening on Saturday and we get to break in some friends new Sofa.

NB: The picture I took this morning on the way home from my interview. Was opposite Back of Beyond fyi.

Tales of a Drunkard: The Return

It's a welcomed return to our intrepid drunkard, a.k.a ME! I've ventured out into Reading now and again, and I've been round houses for nights out but I feel Saturday was a proper night out for me. Though saying that the previous Saturday was a proper night out... And so was Wednesday. Fuck there goes my blog about beginning to go out more. Bollocks.

OK so I went out on Wednesday for BBC: Introducing and saw a pretty good band at the end of the night, another ensemble band which I love, as you always get more diversity with more instruments. Anyway we went there, had a few drinks then went to the Turtle as per most nights out. Spent a bit of time and money drinking there then walked home. On the way I stole a Subway poster and was quite proud. We came to Jacksons corner and did something I've always wanted to do ever since watching a documentary.

Basically, I'm annoyed that all the lights in shops stay on overnight, theres no need. I don't want to window shop at 3am and it's a waste of electricity. So this documentary followed people in France turning off all the shop lights in Paris at night via those Red 'FIRE' switches outside. Now I'm still in two minds as to whether A.) It turns off all the power inside so the fire brigade don't electrocute themselves or B.)It triggers the fire alarm.

In my drunken state I decided to find out so flipped the switch. Nothing happened. I screamed "SCARPER LADS" to my mate and pegged it while giggling away to myself for saying scarper. Stopped about 50yards away and just saw my friend meandering along at a leisurely pace. The lights remained on, and I didn't hear any sirens. Along the way I also stole a tyre from outside a tyre center thing in Reading. Don't ask me why but it's now sitting outside my door.

All in all, it was a good night out.

The Five Stages of Tring

The Five Stages of Tring is a phenomenon that occurs at any festival gathering, or to be fair any instance where a tent is involved.
It occurs generally after a long day of walking around, lots of alcohol and other such things. Below I shall take you through, step by step, the wonder of The Five Stages of Tring.

The First Stage

The first stage is when you wake up in a tent, your fully aware of where you are. Your tired, and its very warm. You throw off your sleeping bag and use it to get comfortable. You manage to fall in and out of sleep for the next hour or so.

The Second Stage

The second stage occurs after you have failed to get any sense of sleep. Its getting hotter and stuffier in your tent. The smell of smoke from the nights bonfire lingers in your tent, on your clothes and in your hair. Almost suffocating with the smell you open the tent. This allows some fresh air and enables you to drift back to sleep now that the warm air has left.

The Third Stage

The third stage is a comical one. After getting some actual sleep you feel like interacting with the other campers you are with. You crawl to the front of your tent and set up a nest. With your bag or sleeping used as a pillow you rest while talking with your friends. However in your state you fall back asleep. Half in your tent where it is still warm and half outside where its cool and breezy.

The Fourth Stage

Your almost there now. The fourth stage is a small one. This is when everyone is staring at you and wondering why you aren't up yet. Why are you still wanting to sleep when its sunny and everyone is enjoying themselves. So guilt tripped into getting out you retreat back into your tent to get changed.

The Fifth Stage

And your now a semi functioning member of society once again. The fifth stage is you now out of your tent and sat on a stool,chair or on the floor. You are now ready for the first sip of lager and to start planning your day. Be it seeing bands or going for a hike.

There we go. The five stages of Tring. If you see anyone exhibiting any of the signs, just let them play it out, they'll soon be with you.

NB: The Five Stages of Tring isn't scientifically proven. So if your friend hasn't moved from, lets say, stage 3. Then maybe intervene.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

The year has come again where the massive droves of teens with their parents cash descend onto Reading, for Reading Festival has announced its lineup. At the moment the phones are clogged, the Internet is clogged and at this precise moment in time, the entrance to HMV in the Oracle is clogged.


Now if you've seen my Festival reviews and what not you will know that I'm a fan of the festival. I love the atmosphere, the music, the people and the five stages of Tring.

All in all, the picture at the top (of my friend Ed) encapsulates all that Reading Festival is. Notice he has a bottle opener on a necklace. He is covered in mud. Its late. But look at that face. He is having the best time in the world. THAT is Reading Festival. Queueing up for 24hrs outside a music shop isn't. Queueing on the phone/Internet for 4hrs is not. And paying extortionate amounts on websites like Viagogo or eBay is not.

Word of warning kids. The cost should be around £180 give or take service fee. If your paying £200+ you need your head sorted. Reading Festival is not the best in the world. It used to be. But look at European festivals for a change. If your parents are willing to send you to Reading Festival, I'm pretty sure they'd send you to Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland, or any other festival in England...

I've seen a lot of shit happening at Reading. Stupid drug,drink and boredom fuelled shit. And I've never been to a festival that's so irresponsibly run. The stewards are nice and friendly, the Security are heavy handed. They turn the music off around 12pm due to the noise, and the tents that stay open 'later' have the music on low. The only entertainment for you after midnight is taking 2 hours to walk to your tent, drinking lots and going walkabout to see what is happening in the festival camp grounds. More often than not its people burning everything/anything in sight and general violence.

The violence isn't aimed at anyone, its just boredom. Because there is a silent disco or a pikey fun fair to amuse 70,000 people.

Its stupid.

Still one of the best festivals i have been to. That's largely made up from the people I'm with. One of which is covered in, hopefully, mud in the aforementioned picture.

If you get tickets, enjoy and be safe, the lineups not too bad. If not, then don't pay too much!

Not sure what my ramblings are about. Confusion. Irritation. The longing for a ticket?

What I'm

What I'm Listening To:

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
White Stripes - White Blood Cells
The XX - The XX

What I'm Reading:

Marvel Secret Invasion
Dark Reign

What I'm Watching:

Kill Bill Vol 1
A League of Their Own ( The James Corden game show, not the baseball movie with Gena Davies and Tom Hanks, though it is a good film)