Scoobysnax

The new project has been running for a couple of weeks now, and it means being in Hatfield of all places.... (see above) but one of the benefits, in very loose terms, is being close to London.

I suddenly realised yesterday that it was David's birthday and that co-incited with Fish being on at the Shepherd's Bush Empire.   I've seen Fish twice before, one on the Vigil tour in 1989? straight after he left Marillion, and then while I was working in Nottingham I saw him at the infamous Rock City.  At 6'5" I vividly remember him putting his hand up against the very low ceiling to steady himself...

Anyway, to cut a long ramble short, David couldn't make it last night, but I gingerly negotiated the North Circular and the Western Approach into SB.  It took me past the BBC TV centre (excellent! one more London landmark in my trainspotter book) and then I dumped the car down a side street and had enough time for a curry before lights down.

The SBE reminds me of the Mcr Apollo and was probably built around the same decadent late 1800's in that it was all plush theatre and shit acoustics.

Fish looks decidedly older these days, and a bit of a paunch (don't we all) but can definitely pull it off when needed.  It was the Clutching at Stars tour, and that meant that he played pretty much all of Marillion's famous 1987 album Clutching at Straws which I still listen to and rate highly.  He aims low for some of the high notes, but has passion where required and his bad are tight and put guts and emphasis to push the music where required.... is it still the same guitarist Frank that was with him in 1989:???? 

Fish was on top form with stories and quips, but I just wish the muppets would stop yelling for songs like Grendel... it aint funny after 25 years...

Sugar Mice was apt for last night, I am that daddy, my address IS number 1 at the end of the bar. boohoohoo... sniff sniff

Its all hands to the pumps again this week, given that I've had a fairly easy patch over the summer for the obvious reasons.   The previous project has finished, subject to RFC work, and the next project has begin. 

So I'm in Hatfield working in one of those non-descript warehouses that you drive past on a bypass and don't give two thoughts about.  You know the kind that have landed like some alien spaceship on top of what used to be a farmer's field.  All this used to be an airfield, and I have fond memories of Vicky driving like a lunatic with me in the passenger seat down one of the slipways onto the main runway at a ton in a Peugeot306 tdi.

I hate Hatfield with a passion.... it's so soleless.  With new built house/apartments all around and newly finished roundabouts to control the traffic.  It's boyracer hell...  I was sat in the pub last night enjoying cajun swordfish and two girls and a bloke came in.  She looks fit I thought, and then she opened her mouth and the first thing she said was "dya fink they have a jukebox in eeer then?" to which I rolled my eyes and concentrated on my sudoko

 It always confounded me why it was soo difficult to get work done during the summer season and understand it now... dads like me (and mums too) have to take days off to keep the little ones amused and stop them from tearing the other parents hair out.

This week's cheap day out was to visit my brother Tim at his climbing/bmx/skateboarding center in Birmingham.  It's an old bus shelter that has been gutted and their slowly transforming it into one of the premier indoor centers of its kind in the UK.

Milly likes the small climbing wall at Fun4All down the road from here, and seeing as I haven't seen Tim in a while I thought I'd kill 2 birds with 1 stone as it goes.  She really loved it, especially riding the skateboard as a sledge and jumping around on big soft mats.  Being able to fall from 4-5feet onto your  head  helmet and not get hurt was a real joy for her and a blast for me.  Tim's always been the athletic one of us two, but I love scrambling around like that 20 feet up.