I really hadn't expected my first gig experience of 2023 to include a trip in a cramped tour van to the world famous 100 Club in that there London town. But that's what happened the Friday before last ( trust this ol' blog to be up-to-the-minute ). My friend Glenn has been asking me for years to come to the Resolution punk festival in London but I've never made it until now. His band, Borrowed Time, have played The 100 Club nine times now and I thought it was time I made the effort. If there's one positive outcome of the pandemic, it's that many people like me are now grabbing opportunities they may have passed up previously - the lockdowns and restrictions showed us how empty life was without shared experiences with others. It's time to get out there! And getting out there, in this case, meant seeing crusty old biker-punks The Anti-Nowhere League. ( Yes, they're still going. ) Not a band I was ever into or was really bothered about seeing live but, hey, it looked like fun and I was on the BT guest list, so why not?
Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Anti-Nowhere League / Borrowed Time at The 100 Club, London 13/01/23
I really hadn't expected my first gig experience of 2023 to include a trip in a cramped tour van to the world famous 100 Club in that there London town. But that's what happened the Friday before last ( trust this ol' blog to be up-to-the-minute ). My friend Glenn has been asking me for years to come to the Resolution punk festival in London but I've never made it until now. His band, Borrowed Time, have played The 100 Club nine times now and I thought it was time I made the effort. If there's one positive outcome of the pandemic, it's that many people like me are now grabbing opportunities they may have passed up previously - the lockdowns and restrictions showed us how empty life was without shared experiences with others. It's time to get out there! And getting out there, in this case, meant seeing crusty old biker-punks The Anti-Nowhere League. ( Yes, they're still going. ) Not a band I was ever into or was really bothered about seeing live but, hey, it looked like fun and I was on the BT guest list, so why not?
Sunday, 8 January 2023
Overdue gig review: The Chameleons at the Gloucester Guildhall
Back in the darkening days of the year we used to call "this year" but we now call "2022" I paid a visit to my fave venue, the Gloucester Guildhall, to catch a double-bill of Epic Gothic Punk from The Chameleons and The Membranes. I'd seen The Chams ( as nobody calls them ) a few years ago, pre-Covid, and really enjoyed them, but I'd never seen The Membranes so was keen to add them to my gig list.
Sunday, 1 January 2023
Happy New Year from The Glass Walking-Stick
All the staff here at TGW-S ( er, just me actually ) would like to wish all you lovely people in Blogsville a happy and healthy start to this year that some are already calling "the one before 2024."
To mark the occasion of another solar revolution Sarah, Sophie and I went for a five-mile walk with our friend Caz today and found ourselves up to our proverbial armpits in mud. It was a fun but somewhat challenging way to start the year, but we needed to get out and clear the cobwebs away :-)
Here's Caz ( in the foreground ) and the three strange people who dragged her out into the wilderness.
( I don't think my hand looks like it's attached to the rest of me in this shot. And why's it so large? Freaky. )
I also don't think Sarah's really enjoying the experience in this photo...
Happy New Year! Peace, love and all that stuff.
Sunday, 25 December 2022
Merry Christmas from The Glass Walking-Stick
Sunday, 18 December 2022
First glimpse of the 15th Doctor in costume
Ncuti Gatwa is the 15th Doctor! Okay, that's not exactly news but yesterday the BBC / Bad Wolf people revealed the first look at his costume which makes everything feel more official. It's a cool look and, although not as flamboyant as I'd expected, makes a real statement. To be honest, Gatwa is such a stylish guy that he could probably make a bin-bag look good but this very '70s brown / orange / tweed look shows us a Doctor who could fit in anywhere and nowhere - he looks like he could saunter down your high street or equally stride into the Capitol on Gallifrey and take control. We also had a first look at Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday ( still not sure about that name ), looking very confident in her denim jacket and DMs. ( Another example of a '70s fashion still, er, kicking around. )
They're both looking good and I can't wait to see them on screen. We'll have to enjoy / endure three 60th Anniversary Specials featuring the recycled / reheated 10th /14th Doctor before then. I'm still not sure how I feel about that but I'll give it a try next November.
As an aside, our daughter Sophie was down to do some extras filming last week but it didn't work out due to a mix-up. This was presented to her as a BBC science fiction show filmed in Cardiff, no more details than that. Hmmm. We were convinced it was our beloved blue-box show, as it had coincidentally just started filming ( and the BBC can't afford more than one SF show! ), but unfortunately it didn't happen.
Tuesday, 1 November 2022
Doctor Who: The Power Of The Doctor ( mini-review with spoilers )
( Well, I say "spoilers" but it's been over a week since the show was broadcast so I imagine all the spoilers have been thoroughly spoiled by now. )