Caught on the blog

Me, Katie, Hanesy, Carl, Beth-Anne and Aidan had a bit of a session yesterday at The Bricklayers' Arms in Putney, the only pub in London to stock the whole Tim Taylor's range of ales. What a fantastic pub! Home cooked roast, Shove Ha'penny, Bar Skittles, Neil Young and excellent beer. Met up by chance (in a great pub, whowouldathought) yesterday with Stonch, author of Stonch's Beer Blog, and a couple of his mates. His report of proceedings is right here.

The 'Arms is having a fest over the weekend of 14-16 September, with a session addressed by Roger Protz on the Friday night. grow your beards and get your chunky jumpers on now!

On the couch at John and Janette's

On the couch at John and Janette's

Danny Katz

July 26, 2007

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/25/1185339075976.html

Ha ha Peter Costello you didn't get invited round to John Howard's place for a private dinner and just about EVERYBODY'S been invited round to John Howard's place for a private dinner: Tony Abbott and his wife, Bronwyn Bishop and his wife, Andrew Peacock and his wives, Mel and Kochie, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, Wolfmother, ol' Sprocko from the mail room ...

Even I've been invited round to John Howard's place for a private dinner AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW THE GUY - he just called out of the blue a couple of weeks back, said "Hey, whatya doing Friday night?" and I said, "Well Mr Prime Minister, we were hoping to stay in, watch Ghost Rider on DVD, see if Nicholas Cage is still keeping his hair." John Howard said "Nah, come round for dinner with your wife, I'll be on drinks duty, and Janette'll whip up a batch of her tangy beetroot dip. It'll be fun!" So we wound up going, because John's pushy like that - he even promised to pull the troops out of Iraq for me, and deport Catriona Rowntree.

We showed up at 6, and John answered the door in his green and gold tracksuit, with a pair of Grosby shoes in pastel-grey, for that smooth-slammin' hustler-boi look. And Janette was beside him in a very smart skirt and jacket ensemble, made of quality terry-towelling with low-piling properties. They led us into the house: nice place but the walls are all covered in furry '70s wallpaper - you rub against it, you stick like Velcro.

We sat in the living room: John dimmed the lights, put on some Getz/Gilberto - a laid-back Latin version of On the Road to Gundagai. Then Janette offered us pre-dinner nibbles: chicken chickadees. My wife said "Wow, I haven't had these since I was a little kid. Are they in the shops again?" and Janette said "No, this is just an old packet I found in the pantry." Meantime, John had popped behind his fake bamboo tiki lounge in the corner; "What's your poison, patrons?" he yelled, "We've got a 4-litre cask of Lindeman's Moselle, or pink Spumante." We all went for the moselle and started chatting: John told a funny story about Dr Mahathir at an APEC party covering the toilet seats with clingwrap. And Janette got quite emotional over the plight of black infants in modern Australia, specifically the ones in the Allens Jellybabies - they were always left uneaten and unloved, and it made her feel angry and hopeless.

John jumped up and said, "It's chow-o'clock!" so we sat in front of the TV, with little Albert Namatjira TV-trays on our laps - I think they might've been real Namatjiras. And we ate dinner while we watched Big Brother Friday Night Games, it's Janette's favourite, though she said she can't stand Bodie. We dined on cheesy pineapple bake, pineapple salmon log and Hawaiian ham steaks, and right in the middle of the meal, John leaned across to me and said, "Tell me, why do you think I'm so out of touch with Australian voters?" and I said "It's a real mystery John - hey pass another ham-steak, with extra pineapple, please!" John sighed, shook his head, told me how much he hated Kevin Rudd: "Never trust a man who smiles when he talks," he said, "just like that Adam Hills and Liberace."

After a dessert of custard trifle (with pineapple pieces), John was looking a little tipsy: he'd moved onto Sambucas with flaming coffee beans, and had to drink it from the side of his mouth so he didn't singe his eyebrows. He yelled "Party games!", then we sat in a circle and played political charades (Janette won with her impression of Joe Hockey climbing out of a spa-bath). We also gathered around the piano and sang ribald songs (John did a hilarious improvised verse of The Good Ship Venus about a first mate named Costello, an eggplant and a labradoodle). And we finished with a bit of Clinker-divination; you ask the Clinker a question, then bite into it, and if you get a green one, the answer is yes, pink no, yellow maybe. John went first: he said, "Am I an outdated remnant of a faded Australia who's time as Prime Minister has come to an end?" then he bit into the Clinker and I don't know what he got but he went a little quiet after that, lost interest in the dinner party and disappeared into the computer room to update his MySpace page. Janette just plonked herself on the Jason Recliner and watched Big Brother Up Late and we made our own way out.

So Peter, you're not missing anything, believe me. You'd be better off at home, enjoying some Vietnamese takeaway, and a DVD of Howards End.

An incident with the AA

Had a little bit of a run in with an AA driving instructor on my cycle to work this morning. Here's the email I sent to (and responses from, below) the HQ of one of the largest and most well respected driving schools in the UK:

From: Scott Plimpton
Sent: 16 August 2007 11:11
To: AA Head Office
Subject: Incident with AA Driving School vehicle/driver

Dear Jane,

This morning at approximately 9.30am I was riding to work, and came up against a red light where I cross Pentonville Road from Penton Street into Amwell Street, N1. As I approached the lights, I noticed an AA Driving School vehicle (Ford Focus, registration xxxxx ) was stopped in the green "cycles only" zone at the front of the traffic pack. Expecting to see a pupil at the wheel, I was quite surprised to see the car was only occupied by the driver.

As I pulled alongside the driver's window, I mentioned that he was stoppped a full car length in front of the vehicle line for those lights. The driver (male, about thirty, dark hair, Arsenal shirt) mentioned to me that I should "get a life", and that "the lights changed suddenly". I then pointed out that he was in a driving school vehicle, and shouldn't he know better than to stop so far forward, and shouldn't he really be driving in a manner in which you wouldn't be caught by changing traffic lights (which in my experience, change at reasonably regular and expected intervals, never suddenly) to which he mouthed something at me through the windscreen that I could not understand.

I turned away from the driver, and kept my position immediately in front of the AA vehicle, at which point the driver started racing the car's engine. I turned around, and shouted at him "what IS your job mate?", and pulled out of the way of the vehicle. When the lights changed, the car took off at some speed. I made a hand gesture at the driver, who then proceeded to pull over diagonal to the kerb at the beginning of Amwell Street. I pulled up, as he had blocked my path. He then took off again at speed and turned left on either Cruikshank Street or Percy Street.

I would appreciate the AA's feedback regarding this incident.

The AA's response so far:

----- Original message -----
From: "xxxx, Jane" 
To: "Scott Plimpton"
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:00:40 +0100
Subject: RE: Incident with AA Driving School vehicle/driver

Dear Mr Primson

Thank you for bringing this incident to our attention. I believe that we have identified the driver of the vehicle and we will deal with this matter internally.

I apologise on behalf of the AA for any distress caused to you.

Yours sincerely

Jane xxxxx

=====================

Date:	Thu, 16 Aug 2007 3:05 PM
From:	"Scott Plimpton"
To:	"xxxx Jane"
Subject:	RE: Incident with AA Driving School vehicle/driver

Dear Jane,

Thank you for your reply. I do agree that this morning's incident caused much distress. I do feel that the driver's reaction constituted threatening words and behaviour which is a criminal offence in
the UK.

I feel that this was further aggravated by the driver positioning and revving the car in a manner which led me to believe that he intended to use the car as a weapon against me. I have sought legal advice and have been informed that I have both criminal and civil routes to pursue in relation to this incident becoming resolved.

Can the AA please state their position on this matter and offer a solution in relation to the distress caused and as direct reparation for having been treated in such a manner?

I await your swift reply.

Regards, Scott Plimpton

Snowbug headlines Camden Town

Snowbug, The band wot Jo is currently with played their first gig with a headline show at Tommy Flynn's pub in Camden Town last night. Quite impressive, considering they were sans bass. The My Bloody Valentine-esque opening number was fantastic, quite taking the crowd by surprise. Guitarist Kim played his first and last gig with the band, as his Visa's expired and he's back to Korea quicksmart.
Pretty cool for a debut, keep an ear out for Jo and the boys.

There's a few more pix of the gig here.

Kevin Andrews Must Resign

Kevin Andrews must resign

Kevin Andrews, Australia's minister of immigration, has defamed an innocent man and tarnished Australia's reputation as a country of fair dealing. He must resign. You can also demand he does.

Ingrid's Edinburgh Show

My mate Ingrid is taking her show "The Pharmacist" all the way from Hobart to Edinburgh for the 2007 Fringe. If you're heading north at all during August, make sure you go and see the show:

The Pharmacist – a cure for all ills?

“Splendidly performed…numerous well differentiated roles...” – The Mercury

"..a richness and density of observation on Jane Russell's part..." The Mercury

"The Pharmacist honestly charts people's struggles to overcome pain with great wit, sharp observation and terrific performance from one of Australia's great upcoming talents." - Is Theatre Ltd

THE PHARMACIST

Venue: Sweet Grassmarket (Venue 18) City 2

Times / Dates: 4.30 PM 13 - 27 August

Duration: 50 mins

Prices: £7.50/£6.50

Booking details (Online / Phone): www.sweet-uk.net 0870 2410136 www.edfringe.com

Everyone experiences pain. Everyone’s pain is different. How do people deal with pain of the body and pain of the mind? And does one cause the other?

The Pharmacist, written and performed by Jane Russell and directed by Ingrid Ganley, tells the story of a week in the life of a pharmacist and many of the people who come into her chemist.

Customers range from hypochondriacs and addicts to more pragmatic customers and alternate ‘self-healers’. These visits are punctuated by a call from the ubiquitous drug company representative and flashbacks to her university pharmacy professor.

Jane Russell plays all nine remarkable characters in this 50-minute tour-de-force.

Based on Jane’s own personal experience working in Melbourne and Hobart Pharmacies the characters are inspired by the people Jane met seeking relief. It highlights society’s “quick fix” mentality and the idea of finding happiness in a bottle…

Nick Clegg

Beasts Of Bourbon/Jim Jones Revue, Underworld, Camden 26.7.2007

A bunch of Swamp Rock aficionados gathered at the (smoke free) pit that is The Underworld last night to pay homage to the reformed Beasts of Bourbon launch their new album, Little Animals. With superb support from the straight out fifties rock of The Jim Jones Revue, Tex, Spencer and the boys were on blistering form. Age hasn't wearied Tex, his face is slightly less gaunt, but he still belts it out like a wounded animal. Anyway, it was loud and torrid, with quite a bit of new stuff, which stood up quite well with the classics "Dropout" and "Chase The Dragon" that really got the crowd hammering.

My ears are still ringing from the front row onslaught.

There's a heap of pix of both bands here.

Global Warming - The Plus Side

Cartoon from Private Eye

Katie's busy this weekend....

Reilly's first trip to London

London's flooding, London's flooding, Water water, water water.

It's the midlle of July. Summer in the Northern Hemisphere. At midday today, it was so dark that the street lights came on. Now it's absolutely caning down with rain. Our office building is shipping water thru the electrical plant room. Mobile networks and Satellite TV have gone down. Luckily beer is pumped manually this side of the globe....

Drum Roll Please

I've just finished wading through the reams of entries generated by last month's caption contest, set around the above picture. For the full list of entries, click here.

But down to the important part, the prizes for best caption. there were a coupe that tickled my fancy, namely:

• Iam from Hackney: "Where's that paddle?"

• Simon from Sydney:"Shredders working overtime/Tryin to taste the difference/Tween a lemon and a lime"

But I do feel the simplest is often the best, therefore I am awarding the prize of two bottles of the Real Ale of your choice* to:

Holly from Sydney for "Dodgy Dossier Dump"

Holly nervously awaits the verdict at last night's glittering ceremony.

Congratulations Holly, Drop me a line here at Euroblather Central with your pick*, and two bottles of finest British Real Ale will soon be winging their carbon burning way to your doorstep.

*Prize must be easily obtainable at local off licence or Supermarket.

Tour de France Prologue

A bunch of us found our way down to Hyde Park a couple of weekends ago to watch the Prologue of the Tour de France. It was quite spectacular watching the various competitors race against the clock in one minute intervals. We perched ourselves at the top corner of the course, just before they turned to hurtle down the Serpentine, down towards the place where the ruler of our empire lives (when she just HAS to be in London, it's so dreary and full of commoners you know), and up to the finish line in The Mall.

Of course, we furnished ourselves with ample provisions, and ate and drank our way merrily until the sun went down.

There's an album full of pics (action shots by Dave) here.

Clarke and Dawe: Pulp Fiction

John Clarke and Brian Dawe of the ABC's 7.30 Report turn their satirical skills to Paul Lennon and Tasmania's "Bi-Cameral" System of "government". Click for the ABC's video.

Nice ad

Check this youtube out.

Shakespeare Pub Quiz: Post smokeban: Edition 1

Be like the Squirrel, Bobby (link needs sound- LOUD!)

Last Gasp

Katie and Don savour one of their last legal cigarettes in a pub, at The Shakespeare on Saturday night. From opening time on July 1, smoking is illegal in all public enclosed spaces in the UK. I'm all for it, as long as they don't make the ale their next target!

My New Iron Horse

Click pic for full size.
After six years of faithful (and un-stolen) service, I've pensioned off my Claud Butler bike for a brand spanking new Specialized Globe Comp Hybrid. It's nice and light, with carbon forks and larger wheels. And it's driven through a Shimano Nexus eight speed internal gearbox, which I'm finding quite responsive and speedy so far, definitely a step up from the 3 speed t bar on the Roadmaster dragster of my youth. It's excellent being able to shift gears at low speed while weaving through the traffic,or stopped at the lights (I do stop at lights!).

I bought it on the government's "Cycle to Work" scheme, where I basically buy the bike over twelve months as a salary sacrifice. Combine the twelve easy payments with no VAT and income tax deductions, it means about a forty percent saving on the cost of the bike. A great scheme for getting people's bums in saddles. I'm co-ordinating the scheme at KLP, and am the first to buy a bike (of course!).

Caption contest

The scene: New Labour's birthplace and heartland, a few hours after Mr Blair's resignation took effect:

Two bottles of the Real Ale of your choice (sent anywhere in t'world) for the best caption.
caption@plimpton.org

The replies thus far:

• Damo from London:
• "Gordon impatiently kept an eye on his stuff and awaited the removal van to get into Number 10..."
• Iam from Hackney:
• “good riddance to bad rubbish”
• “where's that paddle?”
• “all the new ideas are on the pallet”
  
• Simon from Sydney:
• "Shredders working overtime/Tryin to taste the difference/Tween a lemon and a lime"
• "As well as peace in the Middle East and solving global warming, Blair's
  term in office helped achieve the UK's complete independence from
  imports of Hamster bedding."
• Pugsley from Sydney:
• "CHANGES TO NEW LABOUR UNDER THE STEWARDSHIP OF GORDON BROWN – RUBBISH!!"
• Holly from Sydney:
• "Will anyone think to glue those shredded pages back together?"
• "Dodgy Dossier Dump!"
• Hanesy from West London:
• "all the evidence was ready to go up....all that was needed was a match"
• Nick in the Swedish Forests:
  
• "No more spin"
• Danny from Adelaide:
  
• "It was a great relief to Gordon to finally find all the mail that had been stolen from his letterbox at No 10."

Iggy and The Stooges on Jonathan Ross

Jonathan Ross interviewed Scott, Ron and Iggy on his BBC chat show last Friday, before their appearance at Glastonbury. There's two halves to the interview (the second one finishes with a studio version of I wanna Be Your Dog) on YouTube.

Use this link.

The Royal Festival Hall

Jo, Sonia, Katie and I all went to see the Jesus and Mary Chain at the Royal Festival Hall last Friday. The band were excellent, in fact it was their first gig since they broke up very acrimoniously nine years ago. Jo was almost catatonic in ecstasy (that's IN ecstasy) for most of the show.

However, the venue....the RFH has just reopened after an eighteen month, £100M+ renovation. It's a listed building, so there have been no structural alterations. They seem to have run out of budget somewhere along the way though, as the place is still very tatty and dirty, with not even the carpet replaced. I'd be happy if they poured all of the money into the acoustics of the place, which I guess they have. Unfortunately though, that didn't extend to sending somebody around with a screwdriver to ensure everything was tightened up. The aircond vent above our seats gave off quite a vibrato rattle every time the band hit the bass! Not good. Have asked them for a refund or credit towards future tickets.

Still, they have managed to get in a couple of new posh restaurants and knock up a new building against the Hungerford Bridge which houses offices and, surprise surprise, more retail! I wonder where the bulk of that hundred mill really did go???

Cycle to work

An interesting article by Emily Thornberry, an Islington MP, about riding to work. Well written, and presents some good arguments to jump on your bike in the morning.

I think (and have told her) that she has been very irresponsible for her to be pushing such a strident anti-helmet message, whatever her personal opinion may be (I think it's patently obvious she thinks they are useless). There is apparently some "research" that proves that motorists are more likely to drive closer to a cyclist who is wearing a helmet. Tosh! Email her and tell her what you think.

Also please note that the page sponsor for this story is none other than Royal Dutch Shell!

Rant over. Basic message is GET ON YOUR BIKE!

Free Wheeling

If you have a short commute and still don't cycle to work, why not? Emily Thornberry busts 10 persistent myths about this easy, green and healthy way to get on the move

Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian

'You cycle to work? You must be mad," used to be the reaction when I told people about my commute. Today, especially in London, cycling to work is at last becoming "normal": it is no longer the reserve of Lycra-clad men.

Joining the swarm of cyclists travelling south towards central London from Islington in the morning, I feel like I could be in Amsterdam or Copenhagen - where cycling accounts for a third of all trips. But in the UK, we still have a long way to go. Just 3% of commuters here cycle, with around 4 million people still driving less than three miles to work - a 20-minute bike ride each way. If all of these people swapped their cars for bikes it would save around 1m tonnes of CO2 a year.

Click here for the full story.

Didn't take long....

Van Eyck has been foisted from his frame:

Last week:
















Monday morning....

Napoli, Amalfi and Rome

Katie and I jetted off to Naples recently for ten days R&R. 'Twas fantatsic, with much pizza to be eaten and many sights to be seen (Positano, Pompeii, Sorrento, Ischia amongst many others). The weather was kind, the people friendly, the traffic completely random. We rented a great flat in the middle of town, complete with 130 steps from the street, and old ladies gossiping from balcony to balcony.

We got a couple of albums of pix (one edited, the other not so) right here.

The Grand Tour

The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square has just launched a new exhibition, called "The Grand Tour", which is basically a publicity drive for the gallery. They have put exact replicas of some of their most famous works on the walls of buildings around Soho and Covent Garden. It's a brilliant idea, and there about 45 around the streets. The wall between my office and the sushi joint next door is the temporary home of The Amolfini Portrait by Van Eyck. There's Holbeins, Van Goughs and Turners stuck to the walls of pubs, cafes, sex shops and building sites right through the West End.

I went for a bit of a short stroll around Soho and took a few pix of some of the installations. The album's right here.

Here's a blog from the Guardian on the subject.

Cider: It's officially good for you.

Written by: Rosie Davenport

Researchers at the University of Glasgow have found that some ciders can be good for you as they contain high levels of phenolics - antioxidants linked to protection against strokes, heart disease and cancer.

The study looked at a number of ciders with some containing forty times the amount of "phenolics" than others.

Serena Marks, who heads up the cider research at the University of Glasgow said: "Unit for unit, the top cider had levels of phenolics comparable to red wine.

"The cider with the highest levels of phenolics had 18 times more phenolics than clear apple juice and 7 times more phenolics than cloudy apple juice."

The next stage in the research is to analyse how humans absorb these phenolics.

Volunteers have been drinking doses of cider (where do I apply? ed) in a controlled environment and samples of their blood and urine taken to measure the quantity of phenolics absorbed into the body.

The results of these trials are currently being analysed.

Marks added: "The more information we can get about phenolics in cider and what happens to them in the body, the more chance we have of positively influencing the phenolic content of English cider, for example, helping manufacturers chose production processes that leave a higher levels of phenolic in the final product.

"This could mean that drinking a glass of cider is not only enjoyable, but a great way for people to naturally increase the amount of phenolics in their diet."

The research is part of a project funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the National Association of Cider Makers.

jhdj

Out of Control : The Tragedy of Tasmania's Forests

Out of Control
The tragedy of tasmania's forests
By Richard Flanagan

This story begins with a Tasmanian man fern ( Dicksonia antarctica) for sale in a London nursery. Along with the healthy price tag, some £160, is a note: “ This tree fern has been salvage harvested in accordance with a management plan approved by the Governments of Tasmania and the Commonwealth of Australia.” If you were to believe both governments, that plan ensures that Tasmania has a sustainable logging industry – one which, according to the federal minister responsible for forests, Eric Abetz, is “the best managed in the world”.

The truth is otherwise. The man fern – possibly several centuries old – comes from native forests destroyed by a logging industry that was recently found to be illegal by the Federal Court of Australia. It comes either from primeval rainforest that has been evolving for millennia or from wet eucalypt forests, some of which contain the mighty Eucalyptus regnans. These aptly named kings of trees are the tallest hardwood trees and flowering plants on Earth; some are more than 20 metres in girth and 90 metres in height. The forests are being destroyed in Tasmania, in spite of widespread community opposition and increasing international concern.

Read the full story here.

Naples, here we come!

Katie and I are off to Napoli tomorrow morning for a ten day break in the land of sun, volcanoes and pizza. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pix while on the road...we'll see.

They're trying their best to dissuade us from our visit though:

• There's been no garbage collection for the last ten days or so, as all the local landfills are either full or controlled by the mafia. Locals have taken to setting the alleged ten foot tall mountains of waste alight.
• Air Traffic Controllers in Italy staged a 24 hour walkout yesterday. Apparently they're back on the job
• I just read on the 'net that Naples Airport would be closed for three days from the third of June. We fly back on the fourth. I called Lufthansa to confirm. I was put on hold for five minutes. They then confirmed this was true (I think I was the first to let them know this was happening). when I asked them what the solution would be, they replied "we don't know, please contact the airline's desk at Naples Airport"....

Luckily, we've already bought some travel insurance. Sounds like it could be a wise investment for once...

Anyway, I'm sure once we get there, all will be peachy pie.

A few drinks on the 27th of June then?

Blair resigns

Asparagus season!

Last week, bunches of Spanish Asparagus were about three quid a pound. Yesterday, wandering through Berwick Street market, the first of the English spears have appeared for a pound a pound. the English aspaaragus season is only about a month long, usually through mid may to mid June. this year, owing to the new warmer clime that the UK seems to be basking in, they're a couple of weeks early. Anyhow, I love 'em, all joking about stinky secretions aside. Bought two pounds of the buggers last night. I was going to do a standard steam-butter-parmesan kind of thing, but when I got home I realised there was a couple of litres of scrumpy going begging from last weekend. Put the words "cider" and "asparagus" into Google, and what came up was "Asparagus in cider sauce". While I do wholly endorse the basics when cooking the green, I was quite happy that I could incorporate Burrow Hill's finest into my cooking somehow. Still, that's my novelty asparagus dish outta the way for 2007. Although, risotto......

All Tomorrow's Parties

Katie, Andrew, Hanesy and myself tripped off to Butlin's Minehead, Somerset last weekend for the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival, programmed by Oz band, The Dirty Three. It was quite a small and intimate few days, with only 6000 punters. On the way down, we stopped in at the Burrow Hill Cider Farm (home of the beloved Cider Bus...alas it was in the workshop at the time) for a bargain twenty five litres of finest scrumpy for twenty quid. After that, it was off to a Farm Shop just outside West Quantoxhead(tiny village, excellent name) for other supplies (assorted pork product), and then to the resplendent glory of Butlin's, complete with three water slides, a Burger King and Pizza Slut.

The acts kicked off late Friday afternoon with The Only Ones, punk rock reunionists from the seventies. They ripped through most of their catalogue before closing with their hit "Another Girl, Another Planet". Age (and hard drugs) have obviously wearied the lead singer, but his voice is most defo still there.

And from then on, the cavalcade of Rock n Roll continued unabated. Owing to the Curators being who they were, the lineup was mainly populated by their mates, eg Nick Cave, members of The Bad Seeds and just about anybopdy else associated with them. There's a full line up here. Highlights for me were Nick Cave's request show, Ed Kuepper, The Drones, and of course The Dirty Three. The Scientists were pretty good, but not a patch on the gig I saw at The Spitz a few months back. Another nice aspect of the festival was the way the talent was just wandering around taking in the gigs. It was on a few occasions we found ourselves standing next to the Cave guy at the back of the venue. Aviators in the dark is a look only Nick can get away with!

Lowlight would have to be Blixa Bargeld's Einsturzende Neubauten, who, while they had moments of absolute brilliance were reasonably pretentious (Blixa seemed to be having strops at the crew throughout the gig). Blixa's wife, who I understand is also their webmistress decided that we were being too noisy (we were seated directly behind the sound desk), and asked us to quieten down, as "we're recording the concert". Cue response "well, we've paid lotsa money to see this gig, so put up with it darling" kind of responses. Also reasonably ridiculous, as you would thin that a live recording would be done via a cable out of the sound board, and noise would be a non-issue. Anyway, we have since spoken to other people who know said musician's life partner, and opinion is reasonably solid that she is like this all the time.

The drinks were reasonably expensive and ordinary (Tetley's creamflow or Carlsberg), so luckily we had uncle scrumpy to hand. Managed to sneak in quite a few litres of the stuff, thus having some quality alcohol, and paying about 25p a pint, about £2.75 less than the bars were asking. All in all, a fantastic festival. ATP and The Dirty Three are to be congratulated for the net result. There's some reviews here and here, and the inevitable photo album here.