The fire alarm has been screeching out false alerts in my building for weeks now. At random and inconvenient times I’ve been shaken awake or disturbed mid dinner by a sound so loud it travels through one’s body, deafening all the senses. I’m glad to know the alarm system works, but not glad I had to chat … Continue reading Fun Facts
London
Super Nature
The start of December has unleashed the annual onslaught of festive decorations including trees, lights and those familiar yet annoying songs incessantly pumped out of shops and into our subconscious. The constant exposure to merriment is infectious, but the knowledge that the year is drawing to a close and a break is approaching makes finding … Continue reading Super Nature
Evidently…John Cooper Clarke
Anyone who knows me will tell you I’ve become a bit obsessed with poetry lately. Writing, performing, reading and gigging; it seems to be all I can talk about these days. Mentioning my historical love of the written word in a previous post, I have been feeling lucky to have seen spoken word star Neil Hilborn twice in … Continue reading Evidently…John Cooper Clarke
No Tourists
Alexandra Palace is one of my favourite spots in all of London. The venue lends itself to all manner of events like outdoor markets in the summer, spectacular fireworks and ice skating in the winter and of course amazing gigs all year round. One of the higher points in the city, the views across town … Continue reading No Tourists
The End of Summer
I thought I was going to drown making my way into the West End on Saturday. Saying the heavens had opened feels a pitiful understatement at the volume of rain that fell out of the sky in just a couple of hours, of course causing traffic chaos and generally soggy bad temperedness among my fellow … Continue reading The End of Summer
Stay Lucky
Poetry has long been a companion of mine. Reading and writing it with various degrees of enthusiasm and success has been a part of my life since I first fell in love with Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes as a child. I had entered poems into competitions years ago, and while I never won anything, they … Continue reading Stay Lucky
It’s Alive!
I can’t remember exactly how old I was; I assume around 11. I was standing in the foyer of a theatre somewhere in the small university town of Grahamstown (in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa) during the annual two week arts festival. This adventure was to become something of a family holiday pilgrimage during winter school breaks … Continue reading It’s Alive!
One night in Dalston
It was exactly how I imagined it. Queueing outside an East London location, walking down a claustrophobic corridor decorated with what could be described as 'anatomical art', and lit with flashes of bright clashing colours, and then descending worn wooden stairs into a tiny basement space. It felt a bit of a blur as I was sick with … Continue reading One night in Dalston
Muthaflippin’ Good Fun
3rd July 1973 at London's Hammersmith Odeon (as it was then known), David Bowie famously took to the stage as Ziggy Stardust for the last time. Ending a tour, he retired the enigmatic character that night and popular music was never the same. 45 years later to the day, a sold out crowd waited patiently for … Continue reading Muthaflippin’ Good Fun
A Place to Bury Monday
Mondays are traditionally the most rubbish weekday. Sobering thoughts of work and general adulthood responsibility tend to creep in around sunset on Sundays as I prepare to be a slave to the alarm for the next five days. My Mondays were brightened during the winter by the ukulele hootenanny in Hoxton which was both a great catch … Continue reading A Place to Bury Monday
Redhead Ramblings 