Friday, October 26, 2007

Mazarron not a sprint

Hello.

i went on holiday recently, to Mazarron, near Murcia in the south of Spain with 'Er Indoors and we took my Mum (she's a massive fan of Spain and hadn't been in ages, it seemed only right). My mother decided to try and smuggle half of Asda with her, it was a bit like the 70's when Scots smuggled a ton of lorne sausage via Thomson and Dan Air to Spain.

It was a delightful break. 'Er Indoors and i went to the market in Totana, and found Brainiac trying to make the world's largest Tortilla Espanol (i'm not sure whether they succeeded, perhaps friends from Spain can let us know when Brainiac Espanol airs on the telly) and a proper old school paella dish (along with a bunch of mad huge spanish garlic).

We went to Puerto de Mazarron, and had coffees and lovely dinners, we went to Isla Plana, which in Spain was a small town near the beach, but in Scotland would have been a bird. There was a lovely wee restaurant there. We had barbeques and tapas and had swims and some sangria and loads of tortilla, manchego and chorizo.... lovely.

My mother also made us watch the BBC's new Robin Hood, as she is a big fan.

I personally found myself watching Doctor Who on my portable DVD player at the poolside under the full glare of the sun. I would have been put off by the glare reflecting off the screen if it hadn't been for the sterling efforts of Tom Baker, bringing his all to the role.

My only complaint would be that we stayed in a country club (we found a nice villa for rent on the interwebs) and it was a bit disappointing to go to Spain, yet find yourself in what appears to be a small village in the English Home Counties, where no one integrates into the local culture, all of the local business are English run, and no one speaks any Spanish whatsoever (which is why we spent so much time in the surrounding villages, which were great). Seriously, why bother?

Plus, i was getting seriously worried that we would get harassed by John Nettles investigating another Midsomer Murder.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Brooklyn Follies and beyond

Good Autumn to you.

What can I tell you about?

I have been on the receiving end of some wonderful live music experiences of late. I have to confess I am not the most enthusiastic gig-goer. I like the idea of it but find the reality can be tiresome; my drink-holding hand, not to mention both legs, aching, too occupied to applaud, shouting “what, dear?” to friends as they struggle to convey their inter-song commentary through ears neurotically stuffed with toilet-paper. I have already wandered away from the point like the shambling, squinting old-lady-looking-for- teabags-in-the-post-office- persona I frequently adopt.

The gigs, dear.

Yes, I went to see the resplendent Mr Richard Hawley on the Scottish leg of his tour. I am of the opinion that there are not many things I enjoy more of an evening than seeing a Hawley concert. I’d travel a long way for a good ballad.

I have also been dazzled and seduced by the magnificence of Rufus Wainwright and the wonders of his live show. I was shocked to be left wanting more at the end of a munificent two-hour concert. Perhaps the comfortable seat, understated volume and drink-free clapping-hands contributed to my joy.

I’m quite sorry that I seem to be unable to write the kind of blogs that people probably want to read, to comment on the gigs we’ve played and such. However that New York show was, and I intend to de-Americanise the expression, awesome. Thanks to everyone that came to see us on that trip and sorry to anyone I moaned about my insect bites to.

Also, we’ve noticed a lot of people writing to us from Indonesia recently, asking us to come and play. Well, I’m not sure this blog will have been a lot of use to you but I’d like to assure you that we value your affection and will definitely try to come and play for you at some point in the future.

This is what the children are up to these days http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8wnRVauwTHs

Carey xx