Family Affairs and other matters

TRAVIS

I’ve just got back from seeing the Scottish band “Travis” at the Hammersmith Odeon. They were fantastic. All the seats had been removed from the stalls (where do they store them all?) and they performed to a full house. I couldn’t see Fran Healey’s dimples sadly, from where I was standing and he’s lost quite a lot of hair since last time I saw him, but he’s still got the voice and the energy. They had a very low key stage set – almost like being in a student union bar and all the band members were in monochrome stripes and drainpipes. Lots of leaping about the stage and even into the crowd, which made for a lively response from the audience.

They performed the perfect gig (apart from when Fran fell over), paying homage to their fans by thanking everybody for “getting off their arses and getting out” and by playing their old stuff (mostly).

Their encore was predictably “Why Does It Always Rain On Me? Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?” and I wanted to shout out “No, it’s because you live in bloody Scotland, mate”. It was a sight to behold – loads of umbrella’s appeared and got wafted about and they made us all pogo to the last chorus – I’m far too old to pogo, I’d probably give myself whiplash, but got caught up in the excitement of it all. I hope I can walk tomorrow…

FRENCH TRIP

My daughter arrived back from France yesterday. Falling off the coach looking sleepy but happy, into my rain soaked, but relieved arms. They all arrived back safely and she hasn’t stopped talking about her adventure. If it was anything like the school journey I experienced at about the same age, the memories will stay with [...]

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CAT IN A CAGE

As previously mentioned, I am now the proud owner of a cat in a cage. Which makes for an interesting new focal point in my sitting room. It’s a bit like having our own personal freak show. I wouldn’t be surprised if my 6 year old starts charging the streams of children queuing up to [...]

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NIGHTMARE WEEKEND

I don’t seem to have much time for this blogging business at the moment. Just as well I haven’t got any readers, otherwise you might all be demanding updates and then I’d really be struggling. I have just experienced quite a traumatic weekend overall. Good Things That Happened This Weekend. I had McDonalds for lunch [...]

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WEEKEND IN NEW YORK

New York was everything I had hoped it would be. I loved every minute of it. It didn’t feel overwhelming or in the least bit strange – it simply felt familiar, a bit like stepping out onto a movie set. All those iconic images – yellow taxis, steaming drains, retro school buses, Tiffany’s, places for [...]

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NEW YORK

Just a brief update to let you all know that I am off to NEW YORK very early tomorrow morning. So excited. I have never been. Have got two days of shopping to do for everybody else. My children have handed me an A4 length list of items to purchase from Abercrombie and Fitch which [...]

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THE POWER OF MUSIC

I went to see Joan Armatrading perform last night at the Albert Hall. This is the second time I have made a grave error of judgement regarding my choice of partner at a concert. I took my daughter to see The Scissor Sister’s and at far too young an age exposed her to the world [...]

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