Trees, Bread and CDs

Today has been spent running around. Solihull, Kings Heath and Knowle.  It was quite a pleasant day weather wise so, whilst in Kings Heath, took a stroll around Highbury Park.  It was lovely seeing the trees with their autumn foliage. 

After Kings Heath it was off to Knowle (via Solihull) to have a rummage in the charity shops.  I managed to pick up a couple of CDs in a charity shop in Solihull (Looper and Tindersticks) but didn't have as much luck in Knowle.

Whilst in Knowle we stopped at Bread Collection and picked up some bread and cheese.  It's not the cheapest of places but is a great little shop with all sorts of bread, pastries and cakes on offer as well as a cheese counter and deli.  Apparently it has been voted one of the top ten bakeries in Britain by The Times. 

With food and CDs in hand it was time to head home.

Autumn and The Homemade Lo-Fi Blog

I miss Summer,  long hot days and warm nights. Autumn brings with it it's own rewards though.  The trees look great at this time of year and with a little less foliage you can make out more wildlife. In fact, as I write there is a Nuthatch climbing the tree outside my window.

Things have been quiet of late and if I'm honest I've quite enjoyed the cosy nights on the sofa in front of the TV (not that there is much on at the moment). Saying that though, the diary is starting to fill up over the next couple of months which I'm glad about.  I do enjoy cosy nights in but I'm not quite ready for hibernation just yet. I'll save that for the depths of winter.

If you are having a quiet night in and you want some music to chill out to then go here. The Homemade Lo-Fi Psychedelic Blog Spot.  I have to admit I haven't really listened to much of the music on the site but the bits I have are quite interesting.

Warwick and Leamington

Shopping in Leamington today with lunch at Gusto Ricco, a small Italian cafe.  I hadn't been there before. I was impressed by how many tables they crammed in.  Every available space utilised.  I had a toasted mozzarella and tomato panini.  Nice, but nothing special.

Prior to Leamington we stopped off at Warwick.  Having scoured the antique and charity shops we headed for the market to find that it had been replaced by a fun fair!  It was the we decided to jump back on the train to Leamington. 

As we headed back to the train station we stopped off at The Golden Monkey Tea Company shop on Smith Street.  I've walked past it before but never popped in.  It's a great little shop selling teas and tea paraphernalia (reasonable prices as well). I ended up with a small tea infuser and some chocolate. Zotter Labooko, two bars wrapped together. One a 90% cocoa bar and the other a 100% cocoa bar, for purists only apparently!

The Golden Monkey is holding a chocolate tasting evening on November 2nd.  Check out their website here.

Fortuna Pop! - Free Downloads

Fortuna Pop! is an indie record label from London.  Over the last 15 years or so they have put out some great records.  Current artists on the label include the likes of Darren Hayman, The Pipettes, Tender Trap, Allo Darlin', Milky Wimpshake, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and Airport Girl.

If you are not familiar with the label or the bands then you can try before you buy.  Go here to download some great songs!

Jenny Eclair @ Adrian Bolt Hall

As part of Birmingham Book Festival, Jenny Eclair came to the city to promote Chin Up Britain, her new book.  Filled with witty advice to help us through these tough times.

I figured prior to attending that I would be one of only a few blokes in the audience. I was right.

The evening took the form of a question and answer session with Jenny going off at a tangent every now and again. Funny at times with some of the more female orientated bits going over my head. She talked a lot about Grumpy Old Women (both the TV and stage show) and also about bringing back the battleaxe. The funniest bit for me was when she was talking about celebrity weddings "You know the ones, where the bride gets religion and Disney a bit confused".

The venue had been changed to Adrian Bolt Hall, somewhere I'd not been before.  It's a great little place for a mid size venue. I can't believe that I have never had cause to visit it prior to last night .

All in all, a pleasant evening as I expected it would be. A nice touch was the tea and cake upon arrival.  My only criticism was that the whole thing lasted about an hour before she disappeared to sign copies of her new book. It's a shame really as I could have quite happily settled in for the night.

The Town

Went to see Ben Affleck's The Town last night.  I heard mixed things about it but I thought it was a really good film. 

A group of bank robbers take a hostage and then release her only to realise she lives around the corner. Affleck is then sent to talk to her to see if she knows anything and to find out what she has told the FBI. He inevitably falls for her. 

With the FBI breathing down their necks Affleck decides it's time to move on but before he can there is one more job to do.

The film is quite long at just over 2 hours but never drags and builds quite nicely.  A strong cast and some great scenes.  I really enjoyed  it!

Apple Day

Today the weather smiled on us.  Blue skies, sunshine and mild temperatures.  There was only thing to do and that was to head to Blakesley Hall for Apple Day. 

 

Blakesley Hall, for those who don't know, is a timber framed Tudor house. Each year they hold an apple day where you can learn about apples (I didn't know but there are over 4000 varieties) and taste the juice from the fruit of their own orchard.  Hand pressed in front of you it tastes a lot nicer than the cartons on the supermarket shelves.

After watching the apples being pressed and tasting the result, it was time for honey.  The person selling it said he had no idea what it tasted like as each year was different. This is because it depended what plants his bees had been to to collect pollen.  Honey and a bees wax candle bought and it was time for a sit down and a coffee.

 

The Green Man Morris Dancers kept us entertained. I have a new found respect for them since watching A Life With Bells On.  We decided not to hang around for the apple tour and instead bought a selection of apples and pears. All were vintage varieties dating from around 1745. 

We left Blakesley Hall with apples, pears, honey and candles having spent a lovely afternoon in the sunshine and headed home. 

Grand Designs, Cherry Ghost and The Malvern Hills

Autumn is here.  It's been with us for a few weeks but the weather of late has been kind.  With temperatures in the high teens and a fair amount of sunshine it has seemed like summer would never end.  Just the other day I saw a butterfly, a Red Admiral.  So when the weather forecast said that we would have temperatures of 20 plus degrees and sunshine at the weekend I had no reason to doubt it.  With that in mind I decided a trip to the Malvern Hills would be a good idea. 

Having woken to drizzle and grey cloud I was still optimistic that it would brighten up. It didn't. The temperatures never quite made the 20 plus degrees but it was still warm enough to get away without a coat. We caught the train to Great Malvern.  When we arrived we had a quick coffee at the station before heading into town for breakfast (lunch for Clare) at Rebecca's Range.

With breakfast out of the way we headed for the hills but didn't get far as I wasn't feeling too well. Rather than aim for the top we walked along the hills for a bit before heading back into town. We stopped at St Ann's Well and looked at the natural spring. Which actually stopped running whilst we were there.  

Back in town we browsed the antique shops and stopped at a fantastic little green grocers called Veg n Things which sells a lot of local produce.  Chatting to the owner he reckons he would have gone out of business had in not been for the local fruit and veg. A quick coffee and scone at the station before the train arrived and we headed back. It was a nice day but it was a shame that the weather and the walk wasn't as billed. 

Yesterday was a busy day.  Grand Designs at the NEC.  It's a great place to go if you are looking for stuff for the home.  Whilst having a coffee I got chatting to a bloke who had flew down from Aberdeen. He wasn't impressed as he was expecting more big build stuff rather than soft furnishings.  I, on the other hand, enjoyed the smaller stuff.  I came away with some wireless headphones, cheese, bread, olives, smoked garlic and intense chilli sauce. Oh, and some vegetarian sweets. The free goody bag wasn't as good as last year but did contain a bar of chocolate, a packet of Polos, toothpaste and coffee.

Clare bought me a Dorset Naga.  One of the world's hottest chillis.  To eat a whole one would require a trip to the hospital!!  I tried a slither earlier and couldn't feel my tongue!

From the NEC I dashed into Birmingham.  Cherry Ghost at Birmingham Academy.  I had been really looking forward to seeing them as I love both of their albums.  They didn't disappoint!  A great set which started with Throw Me to The Dogs and ended with a cover of Ce Ce Peniston's Finally. Other highlights included Thirst For Romance, The Night They Buried Sadie Clay, 4 a.m and Black Fang. I had hoped for Luddite but it wasn't included in the set, which was a shame. They played a set that lasted just under and hour and a half.  I believe it was a sell out and despite one or two people at the back talking through the entire gig (I've never understood why people do that) the rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. It's the first time I've seen them live.  They have a great sound and will definitely make the effort to see them again.  They deserve to be much bigger than they are.

The support came from Tim and Sam's Tim and The Sam Band With Tim and Sam.  A terrible name but a great band.  I liked them that much that I bought a couple of CDs and got a free teabag!

Following the gig we all retired to the Green Room for a quick drink.  It was very quiet in there and you could be forgiven for thinking it was a Monday night rather than Friday.  To be honest that suited me fine.  I arrived home about 15 minutes before midnight. That's late for me these days!

Birthday Weekend

It was my birthday yesterday. Last night Clare, my parents and I went for a bite to eat at Bella Italia in Solihull.  It was lovely and I think we all enjoyed it despite Bella having no olives or beer! Apparently they were still waiting for a delivery.

Earlier in the day I dragged Clare into Birmingham. Sir Michael Caine was signing copies of his book at Waterstone's and I decided that I wanted to go.  The signing was due to start at 12.30pm and we arrived at just gone 11.  The queue was already quite big and we took our place at the back.  The Waterstone's representative gave us a raffle ticket (number 172) and made it quite clear that this did not guarantee us a place. We were given a post it note with my name on, if you wanted the book personalised you had to stick it on the inside cover.

Michael arrived just before 12 and within a few minutes the queue began to move.  Prior to his arrival a Waterstone's security guard had moved along the queue telling everyone that it was only the book that would be signed and no memorabilia.  This was a blow as I had bought a copy of the Italian Job and wanted that signed as well.

The queue moved quickly enough and it wasn't long before we were in the store. Here, another staff member took the book, opened it and presented it to Michael.  Before I knew it I was in front of Sir Michael Caine, watching him copy my name into a book.  He didn't speak and only looked up when he passed the book back. We were ushered to one side and the next person moved in.  Someone asked for a picture and a member of staff said that he would not pose for photographs but if you wanted to take one from the back you could.  I tried to get a decent photo but failed.

The whole thing fell a bit flat.  Now, I can understand the memorabilia not being signed.  The queue was large and if someone has a carrier bag full of DVDs it means that someone at the back of the queue might miss out.  I can also understand the post it note with your name on.  Not only does it speed things along but also saves on embarrassing moments with spelling or repeating awkward names. What I don't understand is the rudeness of the Waterstone's staff and the whole conveyor belt feel to it.  I could never claim to have met Sir Michael Caine. I can claim to have made eye contact and I can say I said thank you but that is it.  There was no personal element. I came away feeling slightly duped.  I wasn't expecting a long conversation but having queued for 2 hours and shelling out for the book, a "thank you" would have been nice.

Following that, we went for coffee before doing a bit of shopping.  We decided against lunch as we were going for a meal in the evening and had started the day at Sainsbury's for breakfast. We arrived home with books, DVDs and CDs and just enough time to play them before my parents arrived.

One final note, whilst queueing, there was a couple behind us who talked constantly at another couple (who they didn't know) about all the famous people they have met. Jamie Oliver (nice bloke), Nigella Lawson (good looking woman), David Attenborough (really nice, chatted about their cat), Justin Lee Collins (down to earth) and Martin Shaw.  I would just like to say to that couple that Martin Shaw probably didn't give you an autograph because he realised just how irritating you are!

Saturday. Clare had sorted out a bit of a get together with some friends.  She spent a fortune on food and drink (still have food left 3 days later!).  There was a 1920s theme and everyone turned up in appropriate attire.  They all looked great.

I don't usually celebrate birthdays (never have) but I had a really good evening as did everyone else.  At one point, I was outside having a cigarette when a neighbour popped his head out of the window and asked if we were having a party.  Due to a bus passing I never caught what he said next. I wasn't sure if he was complaining or not so did the only thing I could and invited him up for a drink.  He declined.

It was a lovely night and I would like to say thank you to everyone who turned up and especially to Clare for making my birthday a special one.

Paradise Jumper

Good news. The man on the bridge is finally down after 29 hours! Police have arrested him for being a public nuisance. Nicknamed The Paradise Jumper, he managed to bring parts of central Birmingham to a standstill. I still don't know who he is or why he was there but I'm glad it ended well.