There aren’t many days in my life when I can remember clearly what I was doing the year before. Today is the only one I can think of at present.

Last year for some reason I had overslept and was eating my breakfast watching News 24 when they announced there had been major electrical problems on the underground. This got my attention, as I was about to head for the station for my first full day at the New Designers show.

It was this way that I watched the whole hideous story of the bombings in London unfold. My first thoughts were for Monika, John, Yugen and Rich my fellow students and our lecturer who were all staying in London and would be making their way in to the show. It took a while to ascertain they were all ok due to the phone networks being saturated but luckily none of them were affected.

Initially I sat there watching the news as the story was told and retold with a morbid fascination, not quite believing what was happening.

The day before I had been on the train just coming up to the river as the news of London winning the Olympics bid came in. Everybody on the train was in high spirits and enjoying sharing the moment together and as we crossed the river towards Blackfriars, flares of red white and blue smoke decorated the grey sky. From here I had gone on to my opening night at the New Designers show happy and excited about the future.

Now I was sat on the sofa until I could bear the reruns of the wounded being brought up no longer and found other things around the house to occupy my mind.

The next day as I travelled in across London the tube was utterly deserted. I may never see it that empty again. On the rare occasions that I did see anyone we would eye each other with suspicion, hurrying on our way, such a contrast from two days before.

Not sure what the point of me writing this down is, more than the wish to not forget it. It is a tribute to the human race that when such things befall us we get back up and get on with it. I’m not getting into politics here but it is the sad case that it is normally the civilian populations who suffer in the arguments of their leaders.


Well I think that’s enough about that for now, I may come back to it some other day but for now on a lighter not – what else have I been up to since my last good waffle…


Well I had a good Birthday, spent the actual day pottering round with mother and got down to proper celebrating at the end of the week. It was great catching up with friends and I had a wicked long weekend cooking dinner, attending barbecues, and playing records.

Sadly I have to admit that my dream way of spending my birthday would be to simultaneously be on the dance floor dancing to myself DJ’ing. Physically impossible I know but I can dream…

Happily my mate Dave asked me to play some records with him in a bar and although it was bloody boiling and we were invaded by a party (complete with DJ’s playing such classics as Russ Bloody Abbot), I still had a wicked time. I’ve still got ‘oh what an atmosphere’ stuck in my brain though – thought I had lost that one to brain damage in the smoking years (wishful thinking).

I do miss playing for hour on end. I wish I could go back to playing those 8 hour all night set at house parties with the confidence and the record collection I have these days. Possibly I need to get into some serious study in the fields of time travel and cloning….


Apart from that what else have I been up to?


Records

As usual I have spent a lot of time with my records. Not sure if it’s a mistake, cos I do enjoy it, but I have signed up for various email alerts about latest releases and now seem to spend a fair amount of time sifting through them to see what is being released. Did go a bit over board at first and got a little swamped, but I have it under control now (I think).
Still haven’t managed to get my records in any manageable order after my marathon cataloguing session. It was all so much simpler when they all fitted in one box. But unfortunately that’s the way this addiction goes, you always know there is something wonderful out there that you haven’t heard yet. And hunting down these gems fulfils the hunter-gatherer instincts of my primeval soul.

Looking after Meg

After my entries about walking the dog in the park last time I looked after Meg, I was rather looking forward to the chance to get out in the park. To be quit honest the park is actually a bit out of my way in every day life, and I only go through it to visit people who live the other side.

I’m sure after a while walking the dog every day can get to be a bit of a bind, but that is part of what you take on when you get a dog. But for a week I can just enjoy being a dog owner with the knowledge that I get to give her back at the end!! The park has of course been lovely even if half the transient population of it have been trying to recreate their own little world cup.

I have to say, the world cup hasn’t bothered me at all so far. I have caught a little of some of the games during breaks at work and I do appreciate the skill the players have. Still not dedicated enough to deliberately sit down and watch it though, let alone actually support anyone. But each to there own. I’m sure a lot of people wouldn’t get my music and vinyl addiction. Which is probably a good job because that would be more competition in the record shop!!

I’m currently visualising a short film about cave men going forth with flint tipped arrows and bows, chasing down that rare Carl Craig remix of Russ Abbot…..


Er, anyway back to the park…and the ball theft incident. A couple sat beneath a tree, meg wanders up as if she has every right in the world, picks up the ball and keeps on trotting. I do the apologies of an embarrassed dog owner (temp!) luckily they find it funny and have found the ball at the top of the park earlier. I probably must take some of the blame for forgetting to take a ball with us to the park on this occasion and I got the impression from meg that she was taking matters in her own paws, rectifying the situation, and obtaining a ball so that I could perform my feeble ball throwing duties (I never have been the greatest athlete).


Well I think I have waffled enough for one night.
Just remember kids, ‘Oh what an atmosphere, I love a party with a happy atmosphere...'