Monday, 11 November 2024
Saturday, 9 November 2024
March For Clean Water 03/11/2024
Last Sunday, Sarah and I went to that there London town to take part in the March For Clean Water. This was a protest arranged by River Action to highlight the shocking state of the UK's waterways, and the obscene and illegal practices of water companies, industries and farmers who have been polluting our rivers, chalk streams, lakes and beaches. The sad fact is that not a single one of this country's rivers is unpolluted, while only about 14% of them are still technically fit for habitation by wildlife. Meanwhile, the equivalent of 3 million hours worth of raw sewage dumping ( literally! ) was carried out by the water companies in the last year, flooding our water systems with actual shit. And, of course, these same companies have been paying huge dividends to shareholders and massive bonuses to bosses, while not reinvesting in infrastructure and simultaneously racking up colossal debts. And who's expected to pay for all this? Why, Joe Public of course. Clearly, this is a national scandal and an ecological disaster, so over 130 organisations got together to raise our voices - conservation groups ( including the RSPB and WWT ), wild swimmers, boaters, anglers, surfers, and lovers of the countryside like us - with the aim to get Britain's waterways off life support.
I had a brief chat with the guy above, who was very taken by our fish banner. The reverse of his banner mentioned that much-dismissed ( fingers-in-ears, la la la la la la ) but disastrous event, Brexit, which we both agreed couldn't possibly have had any bearing on the current lack of environmental safeguards. You know, the ones that were guaranteed after leaving the EU. ( Sarcasm mode disengaged. )
I really like the photo below: people united together in a deadly serious cause, but still managing to enjoy the experience and stay positive.
Sarah in full-on Fish Person regalia, heading to Westminster to fight the Underwater Menace ( little Doctor Who joke there, for those who know )
The final count was around 15,000 people. Maybe not as many as the Restore Nature Now protest, but that was a far more general event, whilst this was solely focussed on the water crisis. Either way, it showed the depth of feeling that exists in this country among people who can see what's really going on, and we felt very proud to be a small part of the movement.
Sunday, 20 October 2024
Overdue gig reviews: Manic Street Preachers, Suede, Sugababes
As I sit here in the gloomy, rain-sodden Autumn, it's hard to look back at that brief window of sunshine and blue skies we call the Great British Summer... but, look back I must, as I need to dredge my unreliable memory and recall a couple of outstanding summer gigs in two of my favourite cities.
Of course, the next step was actually getting to the gig, which proved to be more difficult. Firstly, my sat-nav decided it didn't want me and Sarah to go to Wales and repeatedly tried to send us back to the Shire. ( There's lovely, as they might say in the land of the red dragon. ) Then, after finally getting the rebellious tech to play ball, we reached the lovely city of Cardiff, only to find that the roads around the castle were shut and we couldn't get to our hotel. I ditched the car in a random car park and we struggled with our luggage to our final destination... only to find the hotel had minutes before suffered a power cut, and we couldn't book in or access our room. Happy days! Eeeeeventually this was all sorted, we dumped our cases, and headed into Cardiff Castle itself.
After all this excitement, we had a break and went in search of a hot drink, as it was now getting surprisingly chilly for a July evening. This took some time as there was literally only one stall selling the coffee that Sarah needed to defrost herself, and they'd just run out of water (!). While this was happening, there was a mighty roar as the Manic Street Preachers took to the stage. Sarah was still queuing for caffeine, so I had to watch the first three songs from a distance: they sounded great but I'd have preferred to have been a little ( a lot ) closer. And again, how's this for the start of a set: You Love Us, Everything Must Go and Motorcycle Emptiness? It doesn't get much better than that. Even at some remove from the action, that guitar riff in YLU was absolutely titanic and the melancholic epic that is EMG was as poignant as ever. Motorcycle Emptiness is probably my fave Manics song and I was so glad to finally hear it played live.
Coffee acquired, we headed back into the crowd to the strains of Suicide Is Painless ( Theme From MASH ), which Nicky Wire dedicated to the great Donald Sutherland ( the original "Hawkeye" Pierce ) who had recently sadly passed away. Then the band were in full indie pop mode with a glorious You Stole The Sun From My Heart ( just as the sun was actually going down ), with some gorgeous vocals from James Dean Bradfield. Honestly, just like with Brett Anderson, I think James's voice has only improved with age and, for my money, he's one of the best ( if underrated ) vocalists around today. Many "4Real" Manics fans put down their more poppier moments ( including current single Decline & Fall ), but I think these can be equally as strong as the Holy Bible-type gloom-punk...
And now, we move on into August for another outstanding, but very different gig...
Speaking of which, the first instalment of that soundtrack was provided by up-and-coming R&B singer Tyler Lewis who had the unenviable task of opening the show before thousands of fervent Sugababes fans. Tyler shuffled shyly onto the stage, a slight figure in fairly nondescript streetwear, and it wasn't clear at first if she was one of the acts or if she was just checking sound levels. But then she started her set, accompanied by one bloke on keyboards, and her honeyed but resonant voice belied her seemingly-delicate frame. Singing mostly her own compositions, Tyler certainly had the voice for the occasion, even if the songs lapsed too often for this listener into treacley balladry. Her last song was more of a funky R&B groove and showed how good she could be with a bit more confidence and, yes, sass (3). One to watch for sure.
They all sang beautifully and occasionally stopped the stage-strutting to grab some stools and sit down to properly showcase their gorgeous vocal harmonies. Funnily enough, I always remembered Siobhan as being vocally the weakest from the original lineup, but that proved not to be the case, as her voice was earthy and surprisingly raw at times. ( I'm clearly an idiot. Yet again. ) Keisha, of course, remains the most powerful singer of the trio, but together they all sounded sublime.
Wait... Shania Twain???
Yep, the actual Shania Twain. Sophie had passed an audition to be part of a flash mob during Shania's set on the Pyramid Stage and, after a couple of weeks of rehearsals, found herself dancing at the biggest musical event of the summer. Along with choreographer Lauren Filer and a couple of other dancers, Sophie danced along to That Don't Impress Me, and demonstrated the flash mob moves so the crowd could dance along with the queen of country pop. I don't think Sophie had really appreciated what a big deal Glastonbury was beforehand... but she certainly found out. It was an amazing experience for her ( one which has already gained her more connections in the dance world ) and she also got a free Glasto pass, so also got to see Coldplay, Sugababes, Paloma Faith and much, much more. Here she is below ( in the middle of the photo ) with Lauren and Candice, and a couple of BBC journalists prior to one of many interviews they did for the show.
Sophie, that did impress us much.
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