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 7th

After a few shorts hours of sleep [4] i was up and cycling in the dead of morning to get to work for 6:30am for a conference booked into the track. Safe to say it was a long ass day and we decided to take it in our stride. Eating the bacon and sausage sarnies provided, coffee and sitting in a comfy chair by the heater watching the pissing rain happening outside. 

Long story short, lots of GPs were ran and were very fun for the most part, nice customers. I was, however, thankful to get the fuck outta there and get some sleep. This was of course not going to happen as the same colleagues that were out on Wed also wanted to go out tonight. I was having none of it, my opinion was however changed by the fact the drinks were being paid for by someone else.

It just happened to be my friends first DJ gig at the bar on the bridge in caversham and was a reunion of sorts which was a cheeky bonus. Ben was pretty damn good on the decks and after we ventured back into town. There was a private function at Deja Vu, DJs, Monroe Bar so we just went to Pavs for some cheeky drinks. Which of course were bought by someone else.

I have this rule when it comes to other peoples generosity. You drink whatever they buy you, or whatever they drink. So the first one was Archers and Lemonade and a shot of Tequila on the side. Not a bad start. I did buy some drinks, wine, Patron tequila and beer, I'm not going to spend all of someones money on myself. 

After a game of table football ( i won) and two games of pool ( i also won) we went to Turtle for some more drinks and whatever the night had in store.

Which was more drinks. Some rubbish dancing and more drinks. Bumped into a few people i hadn't seen for awhile which is always good on a night out. By the time we left at 4am it was pretty cold so the three of us left huddled together like Penguins. I don't see why people are so adverse to huddling with others for warmth, because the other people standing outside wouldn't join. Well one man did, he was alright but walked off in search of a taxi.

Another drunken cycle home and remembering that i had work at 9am the next morning wasn't a nice thought to have.

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 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 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.

Alls well that.... No that doesnt make sense

So we near Christmas once again and the inevitable shit storm that is consumerism. Working in Retail has, as usual, quashed any sense of cheer i had in me. Working all over the holiday period and working late just kills me inside every day.

Other than the horror that is work i do have things to look forward to. This Friday is my good friend Kats 25th birthday and with that LOADS of drinking opportunities which, having had no money for the past week, i am looking forward to so much. Not only that but my work Christmas party is on Sunday which offers more fun times at Las Iguanas and 2-4-1 cocktails.

Then we have Boxing Day and New Years Day. Boxing Day for me used to be sitting at a relatives house watching crap TV or attempting to join in with the adults and their Trivial Pursuit game. But now it involves as many friends all coming together to have a fun day chilling with one another and watching films, playing games and just enjoying each others company.

All this leads to one big question i am asking myself.....

Do i give up drinking again next year?

And i still don't know. On one hand i did enjoy giving up. Testing myself to see if i have enough willpower to forgo the calls of alcohol and just enjoy myself otherwise. I was healthier, financially better off and felt good.
On the other hand i wasn't myself. I wasn't good company if we went out, i didn't have many adventures or random nights out and very rarely stayed out at all.

Yes there are drugs to compensate the alcohol but that's not always the answer now is it.

Yes i know its trivial but to me it matters a lot. I love my nights out and my friends and part of that is drinking. I miss peoples birthday nights out, random nights out, BBC Introducing and St Patricks Day too.



Watch this space.

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

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?

BBC Introducing Dead Legs & Kill it Kid

Well let me say i rarely gush with excitement over a band but two bands tonight just blew my socks off. Firstly Dead Legs performed some balls out deep and dirty rock that shook you to the bone. With the deep husky and raw sound from Harriet Rock, the trio blasted through a set of short, sharp shocks that left you wanting more but also running for cover. I regret not knowing of them before tonight, but i surely won't be forgetting them anytime soon. I really need to start remembering what songs they play so i can tell you which ones were amazing, but to be fair the whole set was really good. I implore you to check them out at their next gig, either in Bristol or on May 1st at Plug N Play in Reading.

The second band to come on were Kill it Kid. A band that, in true blues style, must have gone to the crossroads and struck a deal with the devil. The 5 piece from Bath have a nice blend of Blues and Americana Rock that meld so well that you just want them to keep on playing. Ranging from the soulful violin driven songs to the piano hammering ones, this is a band that have the sound to hit it big, well they already have. On their last song one of Chris Turpins guitar strings decided to inconveniently break, and with style and pure tenacity, continued to play furiously without a care. If any of you out there are off to South by Southwest next week then i wholeheartedly suggest you find the time to go to the Driskill Hotel on the 18th March and/or the Raddison Hotel & Suites on the 20th March.

On the basis of the last few BBC Introducing nights at the Oakford, I'm surprised at the poor turnout for some of the fantastic bands that are playing there at the moment.

Next week we have my friend 13D, aka Graeme, playing with his band. A heady mix of blues/punk/rock/hip hop. Really looking forward to listening to him live, as the last time was last year at some point, if not the year before.

Wednesday Ususal

So Wednesdays are sort of becoming New Music Wednesdays, thanks to BBC Introducing and the Oakford in Reading. This time we went and saw two bands of varying quality. First up was The Joe Public who were amazing. I was sat a little too close to the drummer for my ears liking but it was worth it. Shades of Rage, Incubus and Queens of the Stone Age. It was that good that after they finished both myself and the four other people that i was with, all went up and bought their EP, a thing i havent done for years. So i thoroughly reccomend giving them a listen or if you can, check them out at one of their gigs.

Second band was The Good Natured. They look different and they sound pretty good. They had 'Jedward' style hair going on and Micheal Stipe face paint, but thats beside the point. The lead singer was seriously cute and she sounded amazing. I probably need to listen to their music again, to get abit more into it, but what i heard was pretty good.

So far BBC Introducing has had a good effect with me. Its beginning to become a good night out with friends and some amazing music. Looking forward to this weeks offerings and my friend is even playing there on the 17th March, 13D

New Music Wednesday

So being that it's Wednesday and the Oakford in Reading hosts BBC Introducing each week I decided to go with my friend Jemma to watch some live bands. And tonight was especially exciting as the gorgeous Eliza Doolittle was in attendance.

I first saw her video for the new single 'Skinny Genes' the other day and thought it was quite catchy. Then I heard it on Radio 2 late at night and thought "yeah I really like this" and now after seeing her live and playing the other songs, I can see her becoming really big when the summer hits. Her songs instill that warm summer glow in you, even if your in Reading on a bit of a crappy night.


I can't remember the track names so forgive me but I enjoyed them all and thoroughly recommend a listen, a purchase or a trip to a venue to see her. Lets hope I get to buy it on vinyl soon.

And sorry to the band before Eliza, I didn't catch the name. And after the atmospheric start and Radiohead style opener I started to like their songs. Part Madonna, part Pet Shop boys with a little Depeche Mode and Placebo thrown in. Good sound, and think it would sound better either on a CD or at a festival.

I'm beginning to like this scheduled live music. I'm just sad that after an outing in London on Saturday I missed Tom Williams and the boat

Must go to more Gigs!

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Berthold Auerbach

I was watching the music video to Resistance by Muse, and the whole place was jumping, literally jumping. It just looked like an amazing show to be at. And that struck me. I'm 25 and have only ever been to two gigs. The Moody Blues at the Royal Albert Hall when i was like 14, and Avril Lavigne at Wembley Arena.. very conflicting shows i know.

I've been to festivals since 2002, in various countries. Just never got around to going to a gig. Which is shameful i know. Well i've seen bands in small venues playing a handful of songs, but no massive tour. So i shall be venturing out to gigs more frequently as i feel thats my duty. Though just need start searching out which bands are touring and what to see.

I'll hopefully be going to festivals this year anyway, more on this later, but i feel intimate gigs are better, and more special. Dedication to the cause. I want to leave with my clothes covered in sweat, beer and god knows what else. I want my ears to ring slightly more than they already do.

For now i will settle with BBC Introducing at the Oakford in Reading on Wednesdays. Its new music and its Live music. So its something to fill the gap while i source out gigs.

Tales of a Drunkard: Finale

Well this is the last drunken re-cap which was New Years. We started out at my friends where we played some Mario on the Wii and drunk a punch concoction of vodka, rum and fruit juice. Stayed there for quite some time just playing and drinking, mini dartgun fight too. We trundled along to the Hope Tap, i had foolishly left my coat at home thinking we wouldnt be wearing them. How wrong i was. Everyone else was wrapped up warm and i was freezing my nuts off. Though the walk was a long and cold one (it was actually fairly short but still cold).

We started the drinking games, Three Coins. Rules of which are:

You have three coins which you throw onto the table and depending on what comes up you do the following:Br:
Two Heads - You drink

Two Tails - You nominate someone to drink

Three Heads - Everyone Drinks

Three Tails - New Rule

With the new rule it could be anything like 'Everyone drinks with their opposite hand' or 'everyone time someone is nominated, the person to their left drinks" you know the idea...

Anyway we got quite drunk and by 9.30pm we were all drunk, far from the midnight celebration, but continued with the games. Twice the bouncer came over and told us to calm down, i mean yeah we were noisy but there were only 4 of us, not like we were rowdy. And its New Years for fucks sake. We left and went to Lounge 108 which is below a sushi bar.

Its an awesome venue with an amazing sound system. The decor is all white seats and its fairly small, fitting about 50 people in, 60 at full capacity. So our new years was intimate. Though we got there about quarter to eleven it was fairly empty. We had free shots and at midnight a glass of champagne with a shot of black sambuca in i think, was wierd but was nice. We celebrated new years and sat around drinking and having fun. Smashed two glasses, well someone did, and by the end of the night stank of stale beer.

Our night pretty much ended around half one. We walked back to our friends flat stopping off at Maccy D's. Now if you know me (which none of you probably do) you'll know i havent eaten McDonalds in about 3 years now. But it was cold, i was really really drunk and tired and needed food. It was a means to an end and im ashamed but i bought a Cheesburger and chips.... The shame... And well thats the last one for another 3 years :D

We went back and i passed out on the sofa, which was 3x too small for me but i've slept on worse before. Got up around 11am and most of us were fine (Mark) and ventured out to have a fry up at the pub we left the night before. Unfortunatly i was talking about how i'd like to spend New Years day drinking all day with friends and ordered a beer with my breakfast. Thankfully not drinking for 6months isnt a New Years resoloution and just a choice, but i drank that beer for medicinal reasons. It helped my liver process the alcohol in my system thus preventing any long lasting damage.

Went shopping, bought Borderlands and spent the day playing Borderlands with my friends. Also bumped into a friend and got my bag of 25 DvDs i lent her when she broke her back a few years ago. So all in all a good New Years Day.

Even though New Years Eve was fairly quiet and there were just a few of us, it was one of the best New Years Eve nights i have had in quite some time. So here's to next year.

Tales of a Drunkard Pt.9: Stoke and Stafford

This outing is sponsored by The Hangover Cure. More about that later.


So for this last outing we trekked to Stoke. Yeah i know people say "Why would you go to Stoke" and i say "for a friends birthday".

So supplies packed we met at the train station and board the train to Stoke. That was the first mistake. We had pre-booked our tickets so we could have a table seat to ourselves to drink and play cards and what not. Unfortunately there were 3 old ladies sat all comfortable in our place. Now unsure what to do i stood there with mark behind me looking at each other, trying not to laugh and also embarrassed that our northern friend Chris decided to turf them out with no remorse, i think i also saw him tapping his watch as these frail women eased themselves out of the chairs. Not only was there lots of embarrassment going around there was also a queue forming behind us. I quickly shuffled into my seat and sat looking out the window as to not make eye contact.

Shortly after we set off the cans were cracked open, by myself, and the Cards/Nintendo DS's and Laptops were broken out. Train was fine, though got really busy towards Birmingham.


Got the bus to Stoke city centre and went to my friends sisters club that's being done up. Looks amazing and cant wait till it's finally finished as it will be a great venue, especially when the other elements are completed.


So we went back to their house, got showered and changed, had a drink and whatnot and got a taxi to Stafford. The taxi ride was one of the funniest i have ever had, i was crying with laughter on numerous occasions. It doesn't help when sisters laugh the same and at the end let out a sigh which then starts the laughter again.... OK maybe you had to be there.

Started the night with a nice Subway to settle the stomach and went to Chicago Rock Cafe (Which isn't a real Rock bar Geordie) and had quite a few 2-4-1 Cocktails, though the barmaid was slow and just didn't give a fuck about serving people. So we moved onto the second venue. Second venue was pretty good, had a few drinks of various nature including two bottles of champagne, sambuca, beer and vodka. Only problem is the bar proved a bit too pretentious, bringing out the champagne in a bucket with a fucking firework flare attached as if to scream "Hey EVERYONE, look at these guys buying champagne, aren't they complete dicks". Anyway drinks drunk and laughs had we moved onto a new club that had opened and thanks to Chris, who knows everyone there is ever to know, we got in for free and scouted out the new club which had something like £1mil budget.

Now this club was amazing, but you'd expect that from £mil. Though it was abit too big, i got lost a few times not knowing if i was upstairs, downstairs or where. The pluses being that they had Guitar Hero, Rambo and Pod Racing machines in a side room, LED dance floor, a giant Disco Ball (At least 9 feet high and as much wide and about 3 other dance floors. The uniforms for men where red waistcoats and for women were red corsets. More drinks where had, mainly beer, though strangely no dancing was had, well the odd Geordie scuffle dance though Chris and Sol (my friends sister and her husband) had a Dance Off. In true movie style too. There wasn't anyone on the LED dance floor and a song came on, so Sol went on and danced as Chris watched from the sideline, then went and did his dance. This went on for a good 5 minutes with the crowd watching and cheering too. So bizarre but excellent to watch!

Our Taxi was booked for 3.30am so we made our way to get something to eat, Chips and Gravy, and jumped into the taxi back, again an enjoyable taxi ride was had. Got back to the house and me, mark and Geordie took sofas to sleep on. Though my bed was a wavy chair, like a psychiatrists. Brilliant to sit on but a nightmare to sleep on.

Now before i went to bed i had one of Drink THC's Hangover Cure. Pint of water and one of these before bed will apparently cure a hangover. Now I've always had the notion that drinking a pint of water before bed will help prevent a hangover because of the dehydration that occurs when you drink alcohol. But DrinkTHC has vitamins and electrolytes and other things that mean something to some science guy. All in all it is meant to replenish all the vitamins that are lost due to alcohol consumptions (Like Vitamin B12 to name but one). Anyway drank it and in the morning i felt fine, i mean i hadn't drank tons but i did mix a lot of drinks as that always gives me a stinking hangover. I had a dull headache, though mostly from lack of comfortable sleep, but looking at the other guys pale faces i think i came out better. Only problem with a hangover cure is it takes away the "OMG what a night that was, i cant remember much and my head hurts" which i kind of like. Its like a badge of honour. Plus i wouldn't remember to take one of these each night i had been drinking as all i want to do is stumble in and up the stairs and fall into bed.


All in all, if you can remember to take one of these mixtures before bed, you won't regret it as you'll feel fine in the morning.

We went for a massive breakfast in Stoke and a walk round some shops before getting the train back to Reading. Again people were sitting in our seats so me and Mark just decided to sit away from the guys and play on our DS's and beat Geordie at Mario Kart, over and over and over again.

Got back to Reading about 5.30pm and went home to veg out. Brilliant time had in stoke and amazing time in Stafford.

Here's hoping we go back when the club is finished, possibly for New Years as that will be my last time drinking this year as I'll be giving up alcohol again for my new years resolution, till at least April, maybe June for my Tales of a Drunkard Special Feature......

The Hangover (Not a movie review)

So from the power of Twitter, and the obvious amount of alcohol i write about, the kind folks at DrinkTHC have decided to send over some samples for me to 'test'.

So as i await a package of hangover cures, i sit patiently and remember the worst ever hangover i have had to date.


A couple of weeks ago i went for a few drinks with some friends before they went to see Jimmy Carr at the Hexagon. Not wanting to go home we went through my options of:

Go Home

Drink on my own

Go to the Cinema.

Now leaving was no option, and 9 was on in 5 mins so i was running out of options when this guy i had a brief chat to said i could hang out with him and his mates. So i accepted his offer and stayed with him. Had a few more drinks in Pavlovs Dog and moved to Revs, which i didn't want to. Got to Revs and met with a few other people they knew, had a few shots with them and started drinking Orange WKD (Don't ask, i have no idea why) And had quite a few dances and bumped into my cousin, which was weird.

Went to the turtle afterwards and had a few snakey B's as per usual nights out, and felt rather worse for wear. As i left it started to piss down but i shrugged it off and started walking. Though that was a shit idea. As it was absolutely pissing down. Walked for about 5mins and i had to shelter, then walked 5 more mins and had to shelter again. Honestly it was stupid the amount of times i had to shelter under something to dry and stave off the water, but who was i kidding, it was hammering down.

Woke up and i thought i was dying. I had no thumping headache like usual and text my manager telling him i wasn't coming in. Sat up and ran to the toilet throwing up twice.

The whole day at work, yes i was guilt tripped into going in, i felt like throwing up. That was THE worst hangover i have ever had. Usually its just bleary eyed, thumping headache and dry throat. Maybe, just maybe, the odd loss of balance.

So with the impending trip to Stoke coming up in a few weeks, i will be able to test drive this here Hangover Cure.

Tales of a Drunkard Pt.8: Manchester Horror Outing

So for the 30th October, and my friends Birthday, we were destined to trek the way to Manchester. 195 miles, or 4 hours to put it another way, but more on that later.
Being as organisationally challenged that we are, we decided to pick up costumes on the way via Fun N Frolics in the morning. Now Sci-Fi, you'd think, is a relatively broad subject matter. WRONG. I mean yes, robots and spacemen aside, there's fuck all you can do with the minutes counting down.


Cowboy.... in space. Pirate..... in space. Roman Centurion.... Time traveller of course.

After seeing an eye patch in the pirate aisle, yes there are aisles of costumes, and settling on the idea that we all buy; An Eye patch, 70's wig and hope to get black t-shirt in Manchester, we could all go as Snake Pliskin (Escape from NY/LA). Though on the way out we saw Thunderbirds costumes. Now whats more Sci-Fi than Marionettes that fly space ships? Nothing i tell you. So three costumes purchased we had two Thunderbirds with a blue sash and one yellow sash'd one.

Costumes done and we stopped off at Tesco for breakfast treats for the journey and we made haste to Manchester. Pretty average car ride really, music, talking and the yellow car game. Many punches later we got to the service station around Birmingham somewhere, had a refuel of tea and whatnot then to Manchester.

Got to the Hotel at a reasonable time, got settled in and started drinking. We had a nice big room, flat screen telly which had Sarah Jane Adventures on. We hooked up the Ipod and just chilled.
Lee and Kat had a dodgy door in their room. It was a fire exit that opened onto someone else's room, so they switched. Me and Mark decided drinking was in order while the others got ready, so pissed about with our costumes.
The others thought it would be good to have some food before a heavy night of drinking, though i was already pretty tipsy. We walked down the road and found a little Italian restaurant. Amazing little place that was, had some Calamari and a nice pizza.
So a drink and food down, it was time for a costume change.

All suited and booted, Three Thunderbirds and a Vulcan Starfleet officer, we got the taxi into Manchester to meet the birthday boy. Now i might seem a little harsh here but the man looked like Jeremy Clarkson more than the supposed Malcom Reynolds that he was going for, but at least he made an effort and went through with the plan!

We met up with his mates from Uni and all put as much effort as us we had; Wolverine, Neo, David Bowie from Labyrinth, Faith from Mirrors Edge, Faith from Buffy, Rorschach and a Leia.. Might have missed a couple.

Went to FAB which was apt as we were thunderbirds and its a pretty cool and geeky place, lots of movie and TV memorabilia and a few classic arcade games just by the toilets. Had lots to drink and danced a few hours away before heading towards another club.

This club was pretty good, think it was called Jellys? But had lots of different rooms for different types of music, Ska, Metal, Rock, Drum and bass etc. Cheap drinks too. Quite a few people left after the FAB bar so the numbers where hardly ideal for mass outings, about 5 from Manchester and all from Reading where still there. Which was proof that we are hardcore :D

Stayed at the club for quite some time, and i couldn't dance in the Thunderbirds costume so i took that off (Had clothes on underneath before you ask) and continued the night. Stayed there after the birthday boy left and in the end was just three of us till the closing of the bar nearly. We had a conversation with some metallers out side the club and then walked to the taxi rank where i took one home. Got back at some ungodly hour, rather sober, and had to buzz the door to be let into the hotel. Luckily my roommate for the night left the door unlocked as i didn't have a key. Though between me coming in about 4am and waking up at 9am i lost my costume. I gave it to the guys who were leaving but who knows what happened. Ah well was only £20.

We spent the morning walking around the Trafford Centre, which is massive and really really nice inside. Had a burrito for breakfast. Didn't buy anything though which is good and bad in itself. Had a nice long trek back to Reading along the motorway and went through the toll road too, to speed things up.

Ultimately i had an awesome time. Met some amazing people from Manchester and the surrounding areas that i feel I'll probably never talk to again, or much anyhow. Which is a shame. Though Manchester impressed me through two clubs and a pub, so looking forward to going up again, possibly the new year.

Next stop: Stoke in Dec. Good times.

Hopefully will have my Hangover Cure samples to give it a proper road test :)

Tales of a Drunkard Pt 7

Another weekend, another trip down drunken lane.


This weekend I had a live music journey in good 'ol Reading town. First off was to see my friends Jemma and Nick perform at the Rising Sun Arts Center. It's a small venue that is very good for those intimate gigs, but also has shown its wild side with, what used to be a regular occurrence, Kraked. This was an audio visual feast that threw a barrage of electronic music, chilled and heavy, and mixed it with some amazing visuals, both shapes and colours and some feature presentations, all projected onto walls, ceilings and the odd battered TV at the front of the hall. But I'll leave that trip down nostalgia avenue for another time.

The gig started out well. The cider was flowing and merriment ensued, until two over zealous so-and-so's were enjoying their conversation a little too much. So much that we could hear them above the music, and across the room. Now not being one for confrontation i didn't say anything to begin with, hoping that they would see about a dozen people staring at them with amazement at how ignorant they could be. But enough is enough and i walked over while Jemma was singing, and trying not to be loud and obtrusive told them to "Shut the fuck up, we are all here to listen to music and if you want a sodding conversation then fuck off outside and talk" (Wasn't exactly how i said it, but for dramatization sakes, we shall leave it) Regardless of what i said and how i said it, they shut up straight after. Much to the enjoyment to everyone else listening and to those performing.

Another highlight of the Rising Sun was an amazing band called Tom Williams and the Boat, who after performing one night in Tunbridge Wells had their cover of Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal picked up by the Internet and mainstream media alike (Radio 1). The cover linked was from their gig at the Rising Sun on Saturday.

We left after their great set to go to the South Street Arts Center, where DJ ScotchEgg was performing a free gig before he was going to London for Offset Festival. I'd heard of the name but fuck, it was amazing. One of the most enjoyable gigs i have been to in a long while. I was feeling pretty worse for wear by the time we left South Street, but we wandered off to Global Cafe. We sat down with our Westons Organic Cider, and after the first sip of it i had enough and needed to go home. But as soon as i got up Tom grabbed my arm and said "Where are you going? Follow me".


I magically gained a second wind and danced to some Dubstep in the room, which was pretty good, and got chatting to this girl about things, mostly just talking about work and the odd question about cameras as i work in a camera shop. Was pretty cool chatting to her and her boyfriend, leaving my mates to discuss political things.

We left Global for the walk home and, as anyone who knows me will tell you, the inevitable stop off at the Murco (24hr off license/garage). Always handy for that one or two walking beers.


On the way to the Murco there was some jumping in a bush for some reason, lots of scratches, traffic cones throwing (The steam roller had it coming). Wearing the traffic cone and running about was a bad idea. I smelt like wet dog, dirt and judy plain damp. We also wrestled our mate to the ground, picked him up by his arms and legs and while we held him up from the floor we really didn't know what to do with him, so he bit one of us and then stormed off to the Murco. As we sat down on the wall outside, one guy tripped and fell off the wall which was about 3 feet high, causing a nasty gash on his elbow and, when i saw him the next night, had a limp too.

I got home about 3ish, or half three. I don't really remember. All I do remember is the sodding great hangover i had to endure while at work.

Good music. Good company. Good times.

Till we meet again alcohol. We must break this bond of sobriety that has befallen me.

Tales of a drunkard Pt 6

Recently I went up to London to see my friend Jemma perform at the Blag Club in Notting Hill and once again both her and Nick Bates were on top form. There were other bands too, of which i didn't get any names, which annoys me as there was this one female singer who was awesome. Quirky voice and lyrics akin to Joanna Newsom. I will find out who she was.


Then a couple of days later there was a night at Sakura in Reading that we all went to as it was a Hed Kandi night, so we hyped it up as a few of us have and do listen to Hed Kandi Cd's/Records both the chilled music as well as the more upbeat kind.

The night was pretty average, most of the people went into the club around 6pm for two-for-one cocktails before the night. I met them about half ten after drinking a bottle of Bacardi with a friend. The night was pretty average, which was a shame because we all wanted it to be a good night, hell it was a Hed Kandi night.

Alas it was not meant to be, not all the cocktails or averagely price alcohol in all the land could have made that night better. And to think people would have had to pay £10 just to get in for what was essentially a normal night in Sakura.

Not sure if it was because Reading Festival was on, therefore people were either at the festival or didn't want to come into town because they thought it would be busy, or the fact that it was Bank Holiday Monday and people were away for the weekend, but the whole atmosphere of the place sucked pretty big.


Hopefully when i go out on Friday it will be better. Seeing Jemma play at the Rising Sun Arts centre in Reading, so if you want to see a few bands play and performers then pop along.