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1 year ago
Saw Futures last night. Anyone think one of them has a cracking resemblance to THis is England star Thomas Turgoose, unlucky.
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1 year ago
My Weekend In Norwich
I come home, Sunday night, with a hangover that won’t go away and discover that SOMEONE. Most probably my sister and her friends (apologies to her if it wasn’t), have moved, or tried to move my TV and aerial cable and snapped the aerial connection at the back. Whoever did this is a fucking moron. Most annoyingly though, it actually currently doesn’t effect me because I watch TV through my PS3, so I don’t know what level of punishment they should ensue when it won’t effect me for the next 2 years! Anyway, through tiredness, hungoverness and anger, I shall write my first blog in a while.
THE BOAT RACE
Apparently an annual event involving former house mates of the Runnel in Three Score, Norwich, the boat race runs a course of about 2 miles from Three Score to Earlham Park. We depart Tim’s and head to ‘Roys’ (for those who are unfamiliar, Roys is a multi-purpose supermarket of the same quality as say Aldi). Finding the ‘inflatables’ section, we grab various objects and head down to the river!
With each boat consisting of a paddling pool with 2 lilo’s in it and with oars made of poles attached to cardboard and covered in plastic bags, we set off in teams of 3 down the river. Passing swans, some water snakes and a group of children fishing with their Dad, it’s all going reasonably well and the boat consisting of me, Tim and Ben is destroying the other one. Sadly, disaster strikes about halfway down the river and after a few river battles our 1 good oar breaks and we lose the other one to the opposing side. Left with nothing to paddle with because of the thievery it ends up with me and Ben combining to propel the boat by attaching flip flops to our hands and swimming doggy paddle through weeds and gunk at the front of the boat. The joke is on the other boat though when they pierce one of the poles through the bottom of their boat, DISASTER. After letting them struggle for a few hundred metres and their boat filling with inches of water we decided to lend a helping hand and attached the boats to each other, leaving the good boat propelling the bad one. Another hour later and nearing the end we hit shallow stoney water and disaster number 2 strikes. We run aground on a big rock and it pierces the inflatable part of the boat. Water starts gushing in and soon enough we have to get out and walk though the water dragging the boat along. The race has failed and we end up picking up the boat over our shoulders ‘Cool Runnings’ style and carrying it over the finish line. A great ‘start’ to the day, though I’m pretty sure I now have at least 10 water based diseases and as we finish I ask for the time. It’s 6.30pm, my train to the wedding reception is in 17 minutes and I smell like fish!
THE WEDDING RECEPTION
Having been let on the bus (thank fuck), I got to Tim’s about 7.05pm rang a Taxi to pick me up at 7.30pm and went to scrub the horrible smell off me and change into my suit. Showered and dressed I eventually found Tim’s shoes which I had to borrow because I’d left mine in Sway and got the taxi to the station. A quick stop in co-op for a sandwich and a train beer and we were on the train to North Walsham an hour late. I had told Ian and Claire the wrong time so they missed the earlier train as well, ooops. Off the train and a 40 minute walk to the reception, we turned up about 8.45pm with the party in full swing. Kelle looked pretty amazing and Daryl was wearing red converses with his suit, an idea I might steal for my own long in the future wedding. As I didn’t really know anyone and the selection of single ladies was seemingly lacking (of course, if there were lots I would’ve DEFINITELY talked to them) the evening went by with little event, quite a few JD and cokes and a bit of a boogie to the reasonably impressive ‘Booze Brothers Band’. The highlight being given a lift back to the station lying in the back on the metal of a stripped out Japanese sport car where I could actually see through the open wheel arches to the wheels when we were driving. The noise whilst lying direct above the exhaust was EPIC.
THE WATERFRONT
A regular Waterfront evening, except that it was open til 3, so turning up at 12.45am still gave me stupid amounts of drinking time. Me and Will danced like fools, I went mental to Blink 182 (as per usual) and we shook our booties embarrassingly to ‘I like big butts’. On the way home we got chips and Tim exclaimed ‘You know me, I’m always where the ladies need me to be’ :)
SUNDAY
Waking up at 10am with a massive hangover after sleeping on a bare top bunk of a bed/desk combo bunk bed in a room with no curtains, I attempted and final got back to sleeping, finally waking at 1.30pm and automatically going to buy bacon and Tropicana (the ultimate hangover cure). Having failed with the grill I finally had my bacon sarnie, packed up my stuff and said goodbye to Tim. Off to Will and Liam’s I went in expectation of a hangover curing roast. Will then informed me he’d never cooked a roast before so we sat watching the embarrassingly bad but hilarious Spy Who Loved Me (Roger Moore really is a terrible Bond) expecting a pretty poor attempt but looking forward to it none-the-less. Around 6pm he served up and they was some of the best roast potatoes and crackling ever and generally an excellent roast from William ‘not always a shambles’ Donovan. Sadly, having to leave straight after, I picked up Ian and Claire and headed home.
So, here I am, back in Sway and glad to be back. I miss the people of Norwich and I even miss individual parts of the city but I still can’t come back from the place without feeling it was the right decision to leave. Sadly, it’s a place ruined by bad memories, at least for the foreseeable future. Next stop, new job, Reading Festival and then (arrrrggggghhhh) university again!
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1 year ago
My European Poetry
I have never ever thought of writing poetry. I just plain don’t understand what makes a good poem, I wouldn’t know where to start when it comes to structure and I don’t want some pretentious fucking creative writing student moaning at me because what I’ve written is cliche (note, not all creative writing students are like this, but lets just say, I’ve met some).
On the other hand, I love music and at those times in my life where I’ve been unhappy (there’s absolutely no point writing poems/lyrics when you’re happy because there’s better things to do, like the stuff that made you happy in the first place!) I often found myself writing lyrics, which are basically just poetry to music right? Though, on the other hand I do ask myself whether when I’ve written ‘lyrics’ they are actually just shit poems and I’ve excusing myself for them being shit by calling them lyrics, as almost all of them have never been actually put to music!
Anyway, I was going through my iphone and I found this, which I’d written on a lonely night during my ill fated trip around europe last year. There’s no structure and I’m not editiing it to make it flow better because I don’t care enough. Please don’t comment if you think it’s shit. You’ll just become a pretentious bastard and will royally piss me off.
Spanish man, just get what you need,
Put down your plastic bag
And let me get back to my dreams.
Don’t sleep so soon my friend,
Though I know in your country its gone 3am.
I’m not ready to settle down just yet,
In my 2 by 6 box again.
Covered in a solitary sheet,
Your eyes are fixed on me
But only from this tiny,
2 inch screen.
My only source of light
In a bed made only of dreams
Here is where I need your breast
As something to support my head
My arms wrap round my smoke filled shirt
The lights go out with a beep
And I wish myself to fall asleep
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1 year ago
My Final Meltdown
I can feel myself welling up a bit. If I had someone here to give me a hug then I’d probably shed a couple of tears. It seems a bit pathetic but leaving somewhere, even a place of work is a bit sad. If you’ve worked at The Waterfront anyway. I hope I got some of you briefly thinking I’d had a mental breakdown by using the headline I did but actually, it was just my last shift at The Waterfront tonight and the club night is called Meltdown. Haha, I’m hilarious aren’t I! No? Ok :(
I really did well up a bit when I left though. I’m not sure I’ll ever find a place as enjoyable to work as The Waterfront. Admittedly, it wasn’t perfect. I didn’t earn enough money from the place because it was only open in the evenings and some of the club nights (Guilty Pleasures for example) were dire. Apart from these thing though, I really did love it and so here are a few things I’m going to miss from my 4 odd years there.
- Having a couple of the best bosses possible. After my time there, I would consider them more my friends than my bosses now.
- Being trusted. My first shift as a supervisor came without either of my bosses there when then went to Download 2007 (maybe 2008). This trust and making me a supervisor so early in my time working there made me feel pretty good, even if it was only in a bar.
- The time when I was lazy and always wanted to work in the Cafe Bar. Me and Tom had some good times.
- Making friends with Hobbit. A nickname which came from the time she was bending over stocking up the fridge and a legendary customer said “This is is like watching Hobbit porn” :)
- Working the Studio bar with Eny. We owned that bar. I loved working with Eny, we always got out of work on time!
- Meltdown being the reason I now like Paramore. It’s a guilty pleasure but the amount of times they played ‘Misery Business’ is definitely the reason I like them now.
I’m sure there’s more but I’m tired, I may add to it later. This is mainly for myself so we’ll see. I have to say, good final shift though. I got a kiss from a hottie who said I was fit. This may be the one and only time its happened whilst I’ve worked there but at least it happened once!
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1 year ago
Her Pictures on Facebook
Ah 4am, how I love you. Hold on, I’m a bit cold, let me get a jumper…
…I’m effectively leaving Norwich tomorrow, after 3 world cup games, a bit of packing, my last shift ever and the Waterfront (good times), Glastonbury, then one last night on the 29th. I’ve realised I need to keep some friends, and sadly, lose some. Well, its not really a case of needing to lose some, just that its inevitable. Meaning, I need to make the effort to keep the ones I care about.
I decided earlier, on the way back from a disappointing evening of England losing (you may say they drew but it feels like a loss to me) and FIFA with some mates, that my exes best mate Polly, who is currently in Poland and I haven’t spoken to in ages was one of the people I wanted to keep in touch with after leaving Norwich. I sent her a (hopefully coherent) message on facebook saying this. I really do hope she replies. If one friendship can come of of a failed relationship then maybe this is it.
SADLY, when you message your exes best mate, you remember that ill fated time when you were with ‘the ex’ and it being 4am and a crate of beer (apparently 12 count as a crate these days) later I ended up looking through her facebook pictures. The joys of being on the same network meant even though we are on facebook, I could still access these.
I really can’t explain the feeling of looking at your ex girlfriend at the point I’m at in getting over her. I hadn’t looked at a picture of her in a long long time, I deliberately avoid them. So, facebook loads, first a picture of a sunny roof like place, seemingly abroad, she looks happy, I skip past it, shes not allowed to look happy without me you see ;). Then, more pictures I haven’t seen, mostly of gigs shes been playing, all of these pictures I haven’t seen….(I’m currently feeling a bit like a stalker, but this is honestly the first time I’ve done this in months and I’m pretty sure it’s quite normal, please tell me otherwise if I’m wrong)…I fall on this picture of her and a couple of good friends, shes wearing lipstick, something of a rarity when we were going out but I remember the photo. I am drawn to her, but I don’t know her.
Here is a picture of a girl. It’s not ‘she’s hot’. It’s not even ‘I love you’. I don’t know this girl that’s in the photo, she’s as unfamiliar personally as a girl you might pick out from the corner of your eye on a night out. I don’t know anything about this person but I know I wanted to kiss her. I really know I wanted to hug her and I know if I lay next to her that I would feel happy, even complete, I’m not entirely sure. Is it familiarity? or love? I feel weird look at a girl I don’t know and feeling that I want her that badly. It really is a bit like being a stalker I guess!
I move on along the photos until I get to one of me and her together, this upsets me. I want to be a bit angry and say she missed out but even my arrogance is subdued by the memories and I’m just a bit sad.
To vaguely (because I can’t remember it exactly) quote a great man called Ted…
I can’t really see her any more, I just feel like I’m holding on to something that’s already gone
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1 year ago
My Turning Point
I’d like to start by admitting my complete failure at reviewing the rest of Slam Dunk. I blame the fact that I saw too many bands. However, I also have no real desire to review the Rage Against The Machine gig at Finsbury Park on Sunday. I’ll just say it was amazing. The Simon Cowell skit and playing Joe McElderry (sp?) before their encore were both strokes of genius. Despite the fact that I never listen to Rage (in fact, they are often skipped when they come on my itunes), they are by far one of the best live bands I’ve seen. Anyway, whether this blog will interest anyone any more than a gig review I don’t know, it will be my first ‘personal’ blog post I’ve done on this new one. Here goes…
The last few weeks have been somewhat of a turning point in the recent disaster that’s been my life. I can even feel larger, whole of my life lessons being learnt, though whether the change I can feel stick with me is debatable.
I know that everyone goes through the things that have been happening to me recently and whilst I might over dramatise my issues compared to how others do, everyone is self centred most of the time. Most of you know I’ve been going through a tough time and so I won’t go into all that again. I’m by no means fully recovered, as my recent encounters with leaving Norwich and saying goodbye to my ex would suggest (a blog for another day) but I’ve come to these realisations;
As long as I’m with my friends I am good. 3 Weeks ago I went on a road trip with my friend Steph to Manchester and an Alkaline Trio gig, followed by a trip to Colchester, featuring my friend Dan and a Wonder Years gig. On these trips, me and Steph got stuck in a traffic jam in the sunny Yorkshire hills, she stole from a pub whilst I was still driving and I got to see one of my all time favourite bands. I loved spending time on my own with Steph, even in a traffic jam and the originality of the journey was actually my favourite part of the whole trip. Me and Dan know each other almost too well, so in Colchester I was just completely at home, the new part of this trip was seeing The Wonder Years, who were fast becoming my new favourite band. I bought a t-shirt saying ‘I’m Not Sad Anymore’, in hindsight this t-shirt was a motivational purchase.
Music is inspirational in making me feel better. After a pretty boring midweek (as far as I can remember), I was off to Slam Dunk, for another weekend road tripping. By far my lasting memory of this festival will be watching The Wonder Years in Leeds. The gig was mind-numbingly good, hectic, yet not violent, sing-a-longs galore. The think I took from it most though, was a lead singer singing about getting on with his life. Their new album ‘The Upsides’, which I happen to be listening to now is all about not being sad anymore. Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell, sang his lyrics about getting over the bad shit in his life like he really meant it. He stated at one point in the gig “If you’re not happy with your life, then fucking do something about it”. I was pretty hyped up from the show so these words and the bands music has stuck with me. This was My Turning Point.
I’m not ready to dismiss new things. When I was going out with Lucy, I was pretty adamant that I was happy where I was and didn’t need much else but her and my current set of friends to be happy. I would say things like ‘I don’t need to make new friends, I’ve got enough’. This just plain isn’t true and I’m not happy where I am at all, it was an aura created by being in love. For a start, my friends, and probably most peoples friends are completely unreliable, both in personality and in their ability to be near enough physically to actually meet up. I have various friends who make me fee second best when I’m hanging out with them. Now, I don’t know about you, but even if someone isn’t my ‘best’ friend, god I hope I don’t make them feel like that when I see them! My oldest friend is also an example of friendship failure. Getting in contact with him, or more importantly, getting him to reply to you, is a nightmare. Where as I was in London yesterday, texted a friend I hadn’t seen in years and within an hour I was having some drinks with him. THIS is how friendship should work. What I have learnt is that I want to make the effort with people I maybe don’t see very much but that if you don’t want to make the effort with me then it’s not the end of the world. Making new friends can be fun and because of the unreliability (both personally, and due to location) of people, it’s bloody necessary to carry on making friends after the age of 20 and not just settle for the ones you’ve got!
Spontaneity is the enemy of sadness. Not just spontaneity but just things you don’t normally do, people you don’t normally see. Anything fucking NEW is probably great. Even if it’s not great, you’ve opened up your life to new things. Recently, I have gone to Rage Against The Machine with Liam, who I think I may have never hung with on his own and had a brilliant time. I’ve gone to things like festival nights and on beach trips with Fiona, Kirsten and Nat. People I just haven’t hung out with before. Why? Because it’s better than sitting in the house on my own, feeling sorry for myself. If you put the effort in, don’t act all awkward around people you don’t know, then you have fun and might make some new friends. Yesterday, I went to London, had drinks with an old friend and ate Pizza with a good friend. I even saw the Blue Peter garden (briefly). Would this have happened, would I have had any fun, sat on my own playing Football Manager in my room? No, I wouldn’t have.
If you don’t like what’s happening in your life, do something about it. Unless that is, if you get pulled over for speeding outside your house after your trip back from London and have to do a breathalyser test, in which case, you might not like it, but there’s nothing you can do about it!
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1 year ago
Will blog about my day in London tomorrow probably coz I’m too tired now but this is what it ended with, can you guess what it is?
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1 year ago
My lunchtime pint in the sun :)
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1 year ago
My Day Alone
Today has been the first time in the whole of 2010, since my brake up with Lucy, that I’ve been able to enjoy spending a day on my own in my room doing nothing. Obviously, by noticing this fact, I am now thinking about Lucy and I still miss her but I don’t care because this is progress.
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1 year ago
My Slam Dunk South (Part 1)
Right, let’s attempt to review Slam Dunk whilst it’s still fresh in my head. It was an excellent way to spend a bank holiday weekend, though maybe next time I’ll try and get someone else to do some of the driving. 8/9am starts, 4 hour drives, late nights, all day drinking and rocking out don’t combine very well. Hence why at 5pm the Tuesday afterwards I have only just showered and got dressed after sleeping most of the afternoon away. Still, feeling refreshed, if not slightly bruised and sore throaty, I shall recall the weekend for you!
SATURDAY MAY 29TH 2010 - SLAM DUNK SOUTH - HERTFORDSHIRE UNI, HATFIELD
Traffic hit the journey to Hatfield, leaving my dearest Tom waiting with a bunch of emo kids at Hatfield for 40 minutes before we got to him. After a few U-turns when Kathy (my Sav Nav) got us a bit lost trying to find the Travelodge, we arrived around 1pm. It wasn’t far to the Uni from there and a very swift exchange of ticket for wristband which far exceeded the the day after in Leeds took place. We were all hungry and I got chips before my desire to get drunk took hold and I grabbed a beer. £3 for a Fosters is pretty standard now-a-days and so I was reasonably pleased with this, having expected inflated festival prices. With beer in hand we scouted around the ‘venue/s’ as much as possible. The Jager stage (which would later host Alkaline Trio as headliners) was outside and I predicted a small crowd by the look of the impending bad weather. The rest of the place was based around an outside courtyard area and a singular building which housed most of the stages across 3 levels, with the lobby area home to the merchandise stands. The entrances to this building would play a major part in how the rest of the day went for many people who decided to get some fresh air between bands, some food or GOD FORBID, wanted to watch 2 different bands on 2 different stages at a festival! More on this later though.
3.30pm rolled around pretty quick, and with my 3rd beer in hand, The Skints opened up the day on the Vans stage. We were allowed beer whilst watching the ska bands, which pleased me greatly because at last years festival in Leeds, the equivalent stage didn’t allow drinks in the room, leading to me missing most of Farse. The Skints are probably the most talented original songwriters to come out of this scene in the past couple of years. They mix of chilled reggae and punk riffs, along with Josh’s gruff rapping London vocals, Jamie’s rapping reggae vocals and the sweet Lily Allen-esque vocals of Marcia. It’s just such a sweet combination to the ears, whether you want to chill mid afternoon getting a little groove on or have a full on dance in the evening. I stuck for the former, it being 3.30pm. A thoroughly enjoyable start to the day 8/10.
A break followed this. I wanted some more food to stop me getting too drunk too quickly so we went outside, I grabbed a burger, another beer and Dan wanted to watch Moneen for a bit, so we did. I won’t review them because I wasn’t really paying attention but I don’t think they were my thing. next up, Random Hand. Back to the Vans stage.
When i first saw Random Hand I thought they were nothing but an average local band and didn’t really ‘get’ the Ska/Metal thing. They have come a long way in 6 odd years. Their songs and performances levels have matured dramatically. In large part I think to the support they’ve got from bands like Sonic Boom Six. Today they knocked out I pretty decent set and I was enjoying singing along. They didn’t get me into the groove that The Skints had though and I decided to go and see The Wonder Years upstairs 7/10.
The Wonder Years were excellent the Monday before when I saw them in Colchester and I’ve had their album ‘Get Stoaked On It’ for ages now and it really is excellent, so ditching Random Hand, who I’ve seen countless times was probably the right decision. Upstairs we went to an almost full room. Squeezing in at the back, unable to really see in the long thin room on the top floor of the building, I could still hear them, which was enough after walking up all the stairs. We were lucky in fact, because a couple of songs after we arrived, they shut off the room to any more people coming in, much to annoyance of a little punk girl who got in then tried to pull her inconspicuously tall boyfriend in through the arms of the bouncer. Safe to say, it got her chucked out and I won’t repeat the words she said to him (mainly because I can’t remember!). Poor girl looked like she might cry, I laughed, she deserved it for her own stupidity. Seeing really is a major part of enjoying a gig, so this one wasn’t excellent. I could tell a great show was going on ahead of me though and we pushed our way through a bit further for ‘When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong’, this is now one of my favourite songs after the past week or so. I was playing to see The Wonder Years the next day in full, so we left after that song to get back to the Vans stage for the start of Sonic Boom Six. Only a 6.5/10 for TWY I’m afraid because of missing some of them and not being able to see. Though read my review of tomorrow when it happens, I predict a high score!
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