A Beautiful Sight.... Really???

Oh gawd. I see it’s been ages since I last blogged, so all I can do (again) is apologize. But you see I’ve been busy. No, I really have. Busy sulking about crappy snow and missing concerts; busy feeling sorry for myself with a horrid head cold and blocked sinuses (which I still have incidentally) and also busy with a bit of writing and scrapbooking.

Firstly, I’m pleased to announce that I actually managed to complete NaNoWriMo for the first time ever. As is always the case I left it a bit late to get going, but having an actual plot helped no end and I just managed to squeeze in with 61,960 words on the final day (helped considerably by lack of money to go out anywhere during the month and being snowed in at the end). Yay me!

As I said, the snow, which beat even last year’s Edinburgh Snow Ball stopping quantity, came at a particularly annoying time as it meant Mrs H3 and I ended up missing Marc Almond doing his 30th Anniversary tour and New Model Army, also celebrating 30 years – the first time I was going to see them for about fifteen years (and the first time for Mrs H3). I am keeping my fingers crossed that the weather doesn’t deteriorate (as forecast) for this weekend as it’s the Snow Ball 2010 and I’m determined that this year I will be there.

The only good thing about being snowed in was the opportunity to take part in the latest UKS Cybercrop ‘A Scrappy Little Christmas’. Although my team didn’t win it was a good weekend and it made a real change for me to be able to take part in it fully. My scrapping mojo was in full swing and I got loads done:

Talking of concerts, Mrs H3 and I went to possibly the strangest concert ever last week. Finally free of the snow we made our way to O2 Academy Brixton to see Echo and the Bunnymen who were playing their first two albums ‘Crocodiles’ and ‘Heaven Up Here’ in their entirety, followed by an encore of other favourite songs. I had never got round to seeing the band live before and Mrs H3 didn’t really know them at all as she is too young, but I’d always been rather a fan of the band, and Ian McCulloch’s voice in particular, and was looking forward to seeing them and reliving the songs of my youth.

I have always maintained that I don’t actually need to be able to see the band/singer at a concert to enjoy it, but, as if it wasn’t already obvious by my need to be at the front of every I Am Kloot concert I’ve ever been to, this isn’t true and our evening with Echo and the Bunnymen proved it.

Well before the band came on stage there was enough smoke pumped into the auditorium to wipe out several large colonies of insects, and it didn’t stop once they emerged. To begin with I assumed that it was some sort of mood setting, with ivy covered gates in the background and low lighting making the stage reminiscent of a graveyard, but as the evening went on the smoke didn’t diminish, nor did the lighting improve.

Now I will admit that we were sitting in the circle (being rather too old for standing, except at the aforementioned IAK gigs, where I invariably end up perched on the stage at some point when my arthritis gets too much anyway) and it is just possible that the view from the standing area downstairs was better, but for us upstairs, the band and ‘Mac’ in particular, were almost impossible to see. To be fair, Mac still has the most astonishing voice, and I was mesmerised by it for a majority of the evening – the singing at least, unfortunately his scouse accent meant (to my terrible at accents ears) that I didn’t really have a clue what he was saying when he spoke between songs. But, as Mrs H3 pointed out, without actually being able to see him singing, she couldn’t quite convince herself that it was him singing.

On and on the smoke went, the gates disappearing for the second album, but even a slight lighting change did little for those of us sitting upstairs. Although I enjoyed the concert and especially, as previously mentioned Mac’s voice, I couldn’t help but think several times that I could have just as easily sat at home and listened to the albums. Obviously this isn’t quite true as live music never exactly matches recorded output (except in the case of those crappy singers who mime – and who I would never go to see), but without anyone to focus on the evening became quite surreal, and was, as Mrs H3 said, even stranger than seeing the Flaming Lips.

The other thing I have been doing of course, considering the season, is Christmas shopping. I am particularly pleased that this year I managed to complete all of it without going anywhere near any shops – hallelujah for the internet say I!

Unfortunately, I’m not feeling the Christmas mood, despite spending about twelve hours listening to holiday themed music over the weekend and am so far removed from the holiday spirit that I haven’t bothered to put up my Christmas tree (which usually goes up on 1st December). I haven’t made cards, I haven’t wrapped the presents and even the usual Sinner Sisters CD has been under threat (although I have finally managed to get my act together on recording them, now I just have to send).

So Christmas is coming and I’m actually going to be quite busy. First is an evening with the lovely Tim Minchin at O2 tomorrow night, followed by the Safety Xmas Party on Wednesday. Then on Thursday evening Mrs H3 and I get to spend the evening with The Hoff in Wimbledon where he is playing Captain Hook in panto. On Friday we fly to Edinburgh for the wrocking Snow Ball, which is taking place over two days this year – the actual ball on Friday night at The Lot and a follow-on concert at the Central Library the following afternoon. If you’re in Edinburgh, come along to the Library show – it’s free and it’ll be loads of fun.

Next week will involve the final clearing up of work before the holidays and, as the big day rushes ever nearer, the inevitable need to finally wrap the presents. Much visiting and (hopefully) much eating and drinking will be taking place in the week following that.

So, just in case I don’t get round to blogging again – and let’s face it on this year’s current showing that’s pretty likely – I’d just like to wish you all

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

The Christmas Number One

Dave Gorman said on Twitter yesterday afternoon that he knew he’d become an adult when he realised he no longer cared what was number one in the UK music charts at any time of the year. It’s a great quote and I can see what he means, but I guess then that by his logic I’m not an adult because, although I couldn’t care less what’s at number one for the rest of the year, to me the Christmas number one still holds a little piece of magic. Or at least it did until five years ago.

I no longer listen to the chart show. The bands I love very rarely trouble the charts as they tend to have talent and rely on decent music and intelligible new lyrics, rather than electronic re-hashes of old songs and I realised that I gave up listening to anything approaching so-called modern music when Top of the Pops ended in 2006 and Radio Two became a better station than Radio One. But for some reason however, much though I may ignore the charts (and I think I can safely say that I can’t name a single band that have been number one this year) I can’t help but take an interest in the Christmas chart.

Perhaps it was growing up in the seventies and eighties, when all those ‘classic’ Christmas tracks vied for top spot (although as Bob Stanley in the Guardian has pointed out, there have been more than a few duff songs over the years, however I would challenge his inclusion of ‘Two Little Boys’ in that list, especially having seen Rolf singing it last night) which makes me a sentimental old fool at Christmas, but every year I really do truly wish that something other than the X factor winner would get to number one; actually, anything other than the X Factor winner. And finally it’s happened with Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’.

A lot of people have criticised the RATM song because it’s unintelligible, there’s swearing and let’s face it, it’s not really a Christmas song. But that’s why it was the perfect Christmas number one. Ever since X Factor took over the Christmas charts there have been a growing number of dissenting voices complaining about its domination – as a friend of mine stated when we saw a Christmas number one run-down show on TV last year, “the charts aren’t worth bothering with now ‘cos X Factor’s always number one at Christmas and it’s boring.”

Finally this year the dissenters decided to do something about it and put their weight behind possibly the most inappropriate Christmas song ever. And it worked. It got to number one. And more spectacularly, it got to number one without even selling a single hard copy – it managed to trash the X factor contender by downloads alone. RATM have been gracious (and probably pretty stunned) in their victory and are donating a majority of their unexpected money to Shelter, and playing a free gig next year to say thank you.

Yes the song isn’t to everyone’s taste, although I personally prefer it to ‘The Climb’, but the fact that it sold so many copies shows that people don’t want the X Factor song to be the Christmas number one every year. There has been all sorts of comments about how this is a win for ‘real music’, but I don’t think that this was ever really the issue, as Joe Whatshisname’s song is real music, or at least no more manufactured than 99% of the charts (and I don’t just mean current charts – anyone remember Stock, Aitken and Waterman?) To my mind the real reason that RATM won was because people like me are fed up with X Factor’s domination over the Christmas chart.

I do feel a bit sorry for poor Joe. The boy obviously has a good voice and he seems like a nice lad. But I’m afraid that winning X Factor does not, as a lot of people have suggested, give him automatic right to be number one, and the Christmas number one at that.

Unfortunately for Joe, he had the misfortune to win the show at a time when people are finally becoming so dissatisfied with Simon Cowell and X Factor’s hijacking of the Christmas charts they decided to make a stand and he paid the price, although to be fair the song ‘The Climb’ isn’t exactly a classic. Even my mum and dad, who are part of the target audience for sales thought the song dreary, and several hearings didn’t improve it at all (although it might just have been marginally better than Miley Cyrus’ original).

Had the show finished in August he’d have hit the top spot no problem, after all no-one much gives a damn any more what’s number one at any other time of the year and it’s a little unfair of people to start insinuating that he’s a failure because his song didn’t manage to stem the tide of dissatisfaction.

Unfortunately, I don’t suppose it’ll change anything in the long term. X Factor will still air in the last few weeks before Christmas and next year’s winner will face another challenge – unless Simon does something sensible.

I know...how about the X Factor winner singing a Christmas song rather than some twee but dull ballad?

That Time of Year

So it’s that time of year again. I’ve been trying to pretend it’s not happening, have tried to ignore it, even with Jason and Colleen having happy sing-a-long parties and that woman from M&S flashing her underwear, but now I’ve seen the Coca Cola Santa and there’s no denying it...Christmas is coming.

I can’t believe that it’s come round so quickly. I mean I know that as you get older time seems to go faster, but this is ridiculous. It seems like no time at all since I was last fretting over what to buy everyone.

It’s at this time of the year that I give thanks for the fact that I have only a few people to buy presents for. Some people, like Mrs H3 have a fantastic knack of knowing exactly what to give as presents and merrily toil away (as she has been for months apparently) on creating that perfect gift. I, on the other hand, have absolutely no clue what to get for anyone.

I think I’m pretty easy to buy for (although I guess everyone thinks that), but I really couldn’t imagine having a problem getting me a present. I love so many different things, that buy me anything and you’ve probably hit a winner. Of course anything Harry Potter related is a sure fire hit. And no need to worry if you’ve bought me the right book, CD, DVD either – if I’ve already got them I’ll just return them to the shop and swap for something else I don’t have, but I’ll still accept them as if they were the best present ever. In fact any gift at all is just brilliant.

But other people aren’t like this or at least, being more accurate, I don’t see them that way. I have a need to find the perfect present for them and unlike Mrs H3 I have no imagination or flair for such things. And so I spend hours fretting away about what would be a good gift for people that I’ve known for my whole life but apparently don’t know at all and then end up buying them some boring piece of rubbish that they are probably too polite to tell me they didn’t want.

Of course along with Christmas come the cards, which I have also until now, given absolutely no thought to. I’m considering making some, although whether that will actually happen remains to be seen. So you may from get a real card from me, or you may get a virtual one, it just depends on how much I get done. But whatever the case, you’ll know that a lot of worrying and thought has gone into what you’re receiving and that I’m sending it because you are the most important things in my life and I love you dearly.

New Year and (finally) an update to my Blog

Okay so I apologize. I know I’ve been rather lax with the updates again, but to be honest I’ve been busy enjoying myself and not really had any time for writing of any description. Mrs H3 and I have been partaking of pantomimes, a film and a concert and I really wanted to do the review of them justice rather than a quick mention so I had to wait to find time to do so.

So, busy with the fun and then with Christmas, with work and play and a nice Christmas dinner at Mrs H3’s mum and dad’s house followed by presents (see the photos below) – yes that is the stunning limited edition version of JK Rowling’s Tales of Beedle the Bard that Mrs H3 bought me - and yes that is an I Love Cheryl t shirt that she's wearing!



This was followed, of course, by New Year’s Eve – not my favourite night of the year, especially as I was working at the pub (a rather slow and somewhat boring evening I felt, due to the lack of customers). It was probably not my sister Jo’s favourite night of the year either this year as she spent most of it in labour (although with an epidural and gas and air, maybe it was a good one for her after all).

Yep, Freddie James, my nephew, arrived into the world at 1.23am on New Year’s Day weighing 7lbs. I’ve just got back from a visit with mum and dad to see him so there will be plenty of pictures just as soon as I’ve uploaded them into my photo album.

Already there are a few things for us to look forward to this month: the 22nd sees a return visit to see the amazing Bill Bailey and then there is one final pantomime in the form of Mother Goose performed by my friend Jen’s acting troupe, RATS on the 23rd. Of course then it’s my birthday, so I’m sure we’ll find something to do to celebrate that…or we’ll end up down the Sherwood Oak as usual. *LOL*

While I think of it I’d just like to say a quick Happy Birthday to all my friends with birthday’s this month who I probably won’t get round to sending cards to, as I’m as unorganised as ever. Lorraine, Claire, Dolly, Pauline, Jen and KJ – hope you all have (or have had in some cases) good days!

I’ve just registered for the latest UKS Cybercrop – The Whodunnit and am on Dana Scully’s FBI team with my old friend Sharona. It takes place on 6-8 February. No idea how much I can take part but I’m looking for new Kiefer pictures to scrap as I write…