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Showing posts from August, 2007

So need a holiday after planning the holiday

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I realised I haven't had a proper holiday since last year in Ibiza so with the pressures and stress of the house move, job responsibilities and planning the actual holiday, I'm am so looking forward to it. Hopefully this will recharge me because as soon as we get back we're moving out of the flat and into the new house - the very next day we fly back. Not looking forward to the 11 hour jetlag from a 24 hour flight but at least I've sourced a cheap removal bloke by a chance meeting through ebay. Our landlord, Stav took the move out news rather well, in fact he should be nominated for the nicest landlord award 2007. We invited him out for a pub drink and agonized over how to break it to him with half an hour of cheery, subject-avoiding chit-chat. At least last weekend was an extended bank holiday one starting off with Trev's bbq party. Nice to see some different people including some German guy who worked on colour effects of movies. His latest work is on the new Batm...

Spot of bother

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Why does everything peak at the same f*cking time! Late last week and out of the blue the chain decided to commit to a completion date the weekend before we go on holiday. No warning, no consultation, nothing! Kerry worked her socks off to get the paperwork sorted and negotiated a better date which will save us a few quid on rent and mortgage etc. As soon as we’re back from holiday we’ll need to move in whilst our mind and body are still 11 hours ahead. We’re dreading the moment of telling our landlord as he’s such a nice bloke and he’s got every right to ask for the full 6 months rent. My work is reaching a critical point in the project I’m managing plus we’re trying to figure out where we’re going in our NZ holiday. My mum needs help since she’s never really recovered from two hip replacements and my dad’s asking for help to sell his business. On top of that my face has decided to build an unregistered extension with an almighty huge spot. It started out feeling like a mouth ulcer th...

Loop festival: Transforming and falling

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It was a hard week with Kerry visiting the hospital and our house plan reaching a critical point so we were looking forward to our most local festival yet. No camping required and even a wrist pass to pop in and out of the Loop festival site in the middle of Brighton. First surprise was seconds after entering was spotting our old mate, Harry who we haven't seen for 6 years! Now a mini-festival and club promoter, he visits Brighton almost twice a month. The site was compact using the university building across the road for chilled music sets and multi-media art pieces. First band to see were Transformer , a local unsigned DFA inspired setup. I can see good things happening with these guys who played really well. Let's hope they're higher on the bill next time to match their dirty disco sound. Second band to see were The Bays . Although local, they've set themselves up a worthy reputation as crowd pleasers across the festival circuit. Their ethos is to play like a DJ and...

Boosh lads in retro music video: Mint Royale

Post Chill, Pre Loop

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I was supposed to restrain the plastic-swiping but went and bought a new pair of specs. At the moment they're pinching the side of my head into two. Also bought was a pair of Loop festival tickets, a new electronic music and arts festival right here in Brighton. Personal highlights will be Fujiya and Miyagi but there's loads of new acts which sound quite good on their MySpace players. Kerry chose two DVDs for viewing over the weekend, Thumbwars (as pictured) and Little Miss Sunshine. It looked like it would have so much potential, a parody on Star Wars using thumbs for actors. The special effects were ok and there were some really silly but amusing moments. It was also a double feature with Thumbtantic (Titanic) as both features were only 30 minutes long. As a piece of advice, I would only watch the highlights on YouTube to get the idea. Little Miss Sunshine - disregarded this originally as it looked a bit too cutesy from the trailers. There are some great, dysfunctional c...

More Simpsons Avatar stuff

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Do you take ginger discount?

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Usually you have to be a child, student, OAP or Blue Peter badge owner to get entry discount. But the National Botanic Garden of Wales is offering free entry to ginger-haired people. Apparently, security guards will suss out and ginger-wigged gate-crashers. Special event to celebrate Ginger-ness will happen on Sunday 26th August. I AM SO THERE! By the way, like my Simpsons avatar? Try creating yours at the Simpsons movie website .

Long tailbacks, short sleep & Big Chill

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Managed to wangle a flexi-half-day from my lovely new employer meaning we could organise ourselves for Big Chill. However, the Friday night traffic started early on the motorways and some people decided their day wasn't interesting enough and caused a few crashes along the way. Some 6 and a half hours later, passing through some post-flooded areas smelling of fish, we get to the site. It was our first time in a tent, at a festival and probably the last. Lugging stuff miles and the hassle of trying to find a place to pitch isn't the best. By a stroke of luck we spot James (Kerry's ex-yoga teacher) and Paul taking the last scrap of land next door. They had already made friends with two couples from Manchester who were already canning into their supplies. The pop-up tent was a master-stroke of genius and we were ready for attack. The Chill starts here Over the Big Hill, we saw the beauty of the site. So many great food stalls and all priced very reasonable. The line-up was ver...

Face-hair World Champions in Brighton

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Image by Getty Images via Daylife Make a date for Saturday, 1st September for the World Beard and Moustache Championships at the Brighton Centre . See the event schedule Buy tickets I don't think you need to grow one or even wear a top-lip-toupee but will make enquiries just in case. Anyone who would like to meet up, drop us a line.