I’m currently on a RyanAir flight to Bratislava, Slovakia (yes, that’s one half of former Czechoslovakia) typing on my brand new Dell laptop which set me back two weeks wages. Having a laptop removes one more reason for not keeping my blog updated and so stay tuned to see what lame excuse I come up with next.
Trying to remember what mention-worthy stuff I’ve been up to, I’ve realised I don’t even know when I last blogged (I don’t have internet access). It’s been a while.
I’ve been to quite a few gigs. I’m mostly steering clear of gig guides (there‘s just too much highlighting to do) but plenty still keep popping up. There was Robyn and Sam Sparro at the Astoria which was fantastic (<3 Robyn). Johann Johannson and Max Richter at an old church in Angel. Ladytron twice after the first gig ended 50mins in due to a power failure. Alanis Morrissette, lol. O2 Festival (Robyn, Cut Copy, Fat Boy Slim) thanks to Laura’s colleague’s friend. Intimate Sigur Ros gig at a (sort of) church which was absolutely amazing! Won tickets to Feeder/Infadels @ Koko’s and, yes, I actually went. And in the same way (iTunes festival) won tickets to see Annie and Sam Sparro, also @ Koko‘s. Annie was, umm, interesting and we skipped Sam for an early night. Oh and that free Sigur Ros/Bjork gig I blogged about happened; I watched it live on the internet.
Works going alright. I’m getting my tasks done. It’s not too hard. Have a ‘review’ at the start of September. That’ll be interesting. Since this is a public medium I don’t wish to mention too much. Every Wednesday we get free donuts. Jealous? No? Okay.
My parents came. You’d think that they’d have held out longer than 6 months but I actually think it was the pull of the English summer that contributed to their trip timing. I trained my way down to visit them in Cornwall for a long weekend. Cornwall’s a bit beautiful. We managed one tourist attraction per day starting with Lanhydroc House which was an old (well, a few hundred years) house lived in by a very rich family. It was my first National Trust experience and I enjoyed it much more than I thought. It was amazing to see how the rich lived in those times. They make celebrities with their butlers, drives and nannies look like the bourgeois. Second day was Cornwall Cyder Farm (not a typo). I also thoroughly enjoyed this which included a tour through the history of Cider in England which included fermentation-inducing donkey shit and mass death due to lead poisoning. The tour ended with tastings of a wide range of Scrumpies, Ciders and Alcohol distilled from Cider. I should also mention that this was the first time I saw apples growing on a tree. The third day saw us hiring bicycles and riding a long an old railway which followed the mouth of a river with some amazing views. The ride was from Wadebridge to Padstow and back. My first time on a bike in a while and the first time I’ve seen mum on a bike in 15 or so years.
Last weekend all but one of my flatmates was away on holiday to a Spanish music festival in Bennicassim and Peter was in his homeland. That left Charissa and me, and sometimes just me, in the house. While Saturday was super fun relaxing, listening to music and getting my chores done in the empty house, Sunday was I fell ill and was bored and lonely. I need to find the balance between relaxing me-time and social party-times.
Monday night Conan and Annie landed themselves in London direct out of New York (*sigh*). They were only around for a day and two bits but we managed a trip to my favourite Pakistani restaurant, Tayyab’s in Whitechapel. My third time at Tayyab’s (first with Ratty and friends and second for my mother’s birthday) and the food hasn’t been anything but amazing once. And it’s so cheap (remember, this is London). However, my friends and I aren’t the only ones fond of their food and prices, failing to book leaves you waiting in line for half an hour to an hour (even on a Monday or Tuesday night).
And this weekend I’ve taken two days off (Friday and Monday) and left work early on Thursday to jet off to Slovakia to spend some time in a country cottage probably getting drunk and not being able to speak Slovak*. Sounds like awesome to me.
*and maybe picking berries(!!!), but no guarantees on that one.
Coming up after my trip to Slovakia is a long weekend (an actual public holiday this time) to Edinburgh for the fringe festival meeting up with Conan/Annie/Tracey and my cousin who’s recently relocated there. A couple of weeks of London times with Annie/Tracey/Conan. A long weekend to Paris (Hello, Eurostar!) with Tracey. Antony and the Johnsons with the London Symphony Orchestra and then further towards the end of the year Sigur Ros (yes, again).
What should I do for my birthday?
