Six Summer Saturdays

Clare and I had a trip into Birmingham yesterday. Clare needed to get a few things in readiness for Moseley Folk next weekend.  After a bit of shopping we headed to The Arcadian to catch a couple of performances from the Six Summer Saturdays programme.

Six Summer Saturdays is the idea of Birmingham Hippodrome and aims to bring the arts to the masses by providing free street entertainment.

We decided to go to Poppy Red, found a table outside and over a couple of bowls of chips watched the acts.

First up was The Spurting Man by Avanti.  A bizarre thing where a man becomes a human fountain set to Ravel's Bolero.  I really enjoyed this if only for the incompetent assistant, who was very funny.

Next came Muchuu. A male/female duo who performed lo-fi ambient music.  It was OK but nothing special and did not pull in the crowd that The Spurting Man did. Background music for the diners around The Arcadian rather than something to stand and watch.

At this point the rain started and so the set was cut short and I decided to go and do some record shopping.  Having bought a couple of Catherine Wheel 12"s and a Caribou promo CD we headed back to The Arcadian.

The last act we saw before heading home was a group of drummers, on stilts and dressed as ants.  They had good rhythm but the whole act consisted of them drumming and walking around in a circle.  A good spectacle for a couple of minutes but it soon runs out of steam.

All in all a mixed bag but a great idea. Let's hope there is more next year.

Bye Bye BB

So, Big Brother 11 has ended. Josie came out on top beating the likes of Dave, JJ, Andrew and Mario to first place.  She has now re entered the house for Ultimate Big Brother, battling to be the best BB contestant of all time and is up against the likes of Ulrika Johnson, John McCririck and former contestants like Makosi and Nikki Grahame.

It's been an odd final series and seemed to have a lot more outsider contact than previous years. Proof, I suppose, that it is running out of steam.

I won't know whether or not I'll miss it until next summer. To be honest, I probably won't but it was fun while it lasted.

Knight and Day

Yesterday I went to see Knight and Day. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I won't spoil it but the story is about June Havens (Cameron Diaz) who finds her everyday life tangled with that of secret agent Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) who has realised he isn't supposed to survive his latest mission. As their campaign to stay alive stretches across the globe, they soon learn that all they can count on is each other.

Tom Cruise is a great actor, something I forget, coupled with Cameron Diaz they seem to have a chemistry that really comes across on screen. Both turn in strong performances. Add some great locations and some fantastic action scenes and you're away.

If you want an all action Hollywood Blockbuster you can do a lot worse than this. I don't imagine it will win many awards but for a couple of hours of escapism it really hits the spot.

Walking in the Rain

The weather hasn't been the best of late. The hot and sunny days of May and June have been replaced by the cloudy and sometimes very wet days of July and August.  The long hot nights are now cool and I am aware of it becoming darker earlier.  Summer is starting to come to an end and so it is time to make the most of it.

With that in mind, it was time to walk the canal again.  Knowle to Hatton.  The forecast was for showers in the morning and brightening up later.  The reality was showers that got heavier as the day went on. The canal was a lot quieter than usual, not just people but wildlife as well.  It took just over 3 hours from start to finish (including stopping under a bridge whilst quite a heavy shower passed over).

My parents, who had driven out, met us at Hatton Locks cafe and whilst we dried out (we got caught in a heavy shower during the last quarter of a mile) they tucked into a full English breakfast before heading home.

Despite the showers it was actually a really nice day out.

The Wedding Present Download

I'm a little out of touch.  For example, I had no idea that Belle and Sebastian were playing Birmingham Symphony Hall in December until Clare told me yesterday. Luckily we were able to get tickets. 

Having bought those we also bought tickets to see The Wedding Present at The Assembly in Leamington.  It's 21 years since the release of Bizarro and to celebrate they are playing the album in it's entirety.

I love The Assembly.  It's a great venue and have seen some good bands there since it's launch.  Pete Doherty, Spiritualized, Razorlight and Half Man Half Biscuit.   The venue itself was redesigned by Lawrence Llewelleyn-Bowen and has won the Music Week Award for 'Best Live Music Venue' in 2010 and the award for 'Best Live Entertainment Venue' at the 2009 Godiva  Awards.

Anyway, to celebrate seeing my favourite band at my favourite venue here is a track taken from Bizarro.

Recorded live in Zagreb, earlier this year, this is Take Me!

The Weekend

Friday night and my plans to watch the meteor shower were dashed by cloud.  Instead I contented myself with the spectacle that is Big Brother. Josie is guaranteed a place in the final courtesy of her house mates and Jo was evicted.  The countdown to the final begins now. Just over a week to go.

Saturday was spent shopping.  I have decided to start collecting cricket books and after a trawl of the charity shops I managed to pick up both Botham's and Fintoff's autobiographies, a tribute to Dickie Bird and a book on cricket writing.  Not a bad start! 
Obviously if you are having a shopping day you need to start it right.  For me that is a vegetarian breakfast at Morrisons.  It has become quite a regular thing on a Saturday morning. For around £2.70 you get fried egg, mushrooms, tomato, beans, 2 x hash browns and a slice of toast. Wash it all down with a cup of coffee and an extra round of toast if you're really hungry (I usually am) and you're away.

Yesterday Clare and I went to the Electric Cinema to see Skeletons.  For those who don't know it is the oldest working cinema in the UK.  It shows both Hollywood blockbusters and small independent films. You can either sit in the stalls or have a sofa at the back.  The sofas are great with plenty of room to stretch out.  You can also text the bar and they will bring you your drinks so you do not miss the film. 

Yesterday's film was Skeletons.  Last week it won the Michael Powell award at Edinburgh.  A British Comedy, directed by Nic Whitfield and starring Ed Gaughan and Andrew Buckley, it tells the story of 2 agents who work for a psychic cleaning company.  In other words they are employed to clear metaphorical skeletons out of real cupboards. 

I still don't know what I made of this film.  I thought it looked great and thought all the roles were performed really well.  I liked the premise of the story and thought the script was well written but as I left the cinema the one word that kept coming to mind was bleak.  I think I enjoyed the film but I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone.  If you read the reviews it seems to be a mixture of good and bad, a little confusing and I think that's how I feel about it.

The Sky At Night

The Perseid Meteor Shower is at it's peak.  Last night and tonight could see up to 80 meteors an hour according to NASA. 

Debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle, which passes through our solar system every 133 years, can be seen as Earth passes through it.

I was visiting friends last night but I kept an eye on the skies as I headed home. I saw nothing.  It was a lovely clear night but if I'm honest I didn't give it long enough.  Will have another go tonight.

All Quiet

It's been a quiet week so far.  Nothing wrong with that after the stress of moving over the last couple of weeks!  I haven't really done much at all which means I haven't got much to write about.  Therefore I have decided to share this with you.

I mentioned French Windows by Ian Emes in my last post.  You can currently see it at the Ikon Gallery complete with cells from the video.

Finally!

A week and a day after moving out I have an internet connection again.  It's weird not being able to log on as and when I like but now I'm back and can catch up on things.

The move went well and the cats (Sooty and Sweep who I've yet to mention) have finally settled into their new surroundings having spent the majority of the week hiding behind the sofa.  They are now back to their old selves.

Last weekend was spent sorting through everything, labelling up boxes and storing away. Books have been taken to charity shops and other bits n pieces thrown away. 

After the move the next few days were quiet and it wasn't until Thursday that I actually did anything of note.

Thursday evening was a Bat Walk around Brueton Park.  Meeting at 8pm you spend 2 hours walking around the park with a bat detector.  There was quiet a few people there and after a lengthy but informative talk about bats the detectors were passed around and off we went.  We saw 3 species of bat. 2 types of Pipistrelle and also Daubentons feeding just above the lake.  It was a really pleasant way to spend an evening.

A quiet night in on Friday (pizza and Big Brother) and then into Birmingham on Saturday for the This Could Happen To You exhibition at the Ikon gallery.  The works on display were first exhibited back in the 70s. There are some great pieces.  The first being David Medella's A Stitch In Time.  A long piece of fabric is stretched across the gallery and you are invited to sew something to it.  It can be anything you like.  Some people have stitched their names but I also saw train tickets, football tickets (Villa and Walsall) and a Motorhead ticket. The most impressive thing was a bra with the words unstretched canvas sewn across the cups.  Having rummaged through my wallet I found an old permit to travel from Olton Station to Birmingham and just about managed to sew it on.  Clare stitched in an old library receipt for a book she had borrowed.

Other highlights for me included Peter Sedgley's Corona (1970), Roger Westwood's Train Window (1972), Harry Holland's Boarding The Plane (71-73) and Ian Emes' video French Window (the video for Pink Floyd's One of These Days).

After the gallery we headed home.  As we were passing Centenary Square a demonstration was under way.  It wasn't big but there was a heavy police presence.  President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan was in Birmingham to make a speech. The protesters were angry about the visit as they think he should have stayed at home as there is a massive natural disaster in Pakistan.  Floods have claimed over 1000 lives and rather than be there to lead his people he has taken off for Europe.  Apparently during the speech one man threw his shoes at him!

On the periphery of the demonstration we bumped into an old friend selling the Socialist Resistance magazine.  He was hungover and had not sold a copy. The asking price was 2 pounds but I bought a copy for a pound..  I haven't read it yet. 

Today we headed to Solihull Nature Reserve again. Clare and I took my parents as they had not been there before.  The weather was lovely and we spent a good couple of hours walking around and picked balckberries. Whilst on the bat walk the other night the Park Ranger told us that the reserve used to be a deer park and was part of Malvern Hall. He said that John Constable had visited and painted the park.  Having googled it it turns out it is in Tate Britain! Next time I'm in London I will check it out.

That's about it.  We got home early evening and despite my broadband being scheduled to go live tomorrow it has already been activated. Since getting in I have spent the rest of the evening messing about on here. It's good to be back!