Let's go (not) fly a kite!

On Saturday I went to Hampstead Heath to meet Chris for some kite flying. I walked with kite to the top of the hill, casually passing through the English National Cross Country Championships on the way. At the top of the hill I discovered a problem. The windspeed was 20-25, gusting 30 miles an hour. I considered flying the small kite, then I watched someone flying a 3.0m kite (my smaller kite is 3.6m) and being dragged around on their front with very little control of it. So we stayed on top of the hill for half an hour, watching people fall over, and helping a pretty lady fly her much smaller, more sensible kite. As I was launching the lady's kite, I noticed something disastrous happening with another kite flyer, so I turned, ran up the hill as fast as I could, and when I arrived there, saw that the kite was spinning round on the spot, a few inches off the ground, and the guy was still attached to it, being held down by a friend of his. I didn't know what to do that wouldn't injure me, but just then someone rode up on a bike, jumped off it and onto the kite. I joined him, and we held it down, and the guy on the end of the kite looked very relieved!

On Sunday I came back, and despite the fact it was still ludicrously windy, I flew anyway. I have a couple of minor bruises for my troubles, but Julie managed to fly the kite for about twenty minutes without injury!

Mountainboarding/Kiting photos

We went out on Saturday with kites and boards. Here are some photos - expect more over the next few weeks, weather permitting.

I shoulda learned to play the guitar, I shoulda learned to play them drums

Last night at the Purple Turtle was a highly enjoyable evening with Methodaire and Halflight. Methodaire are lively with interesting basslines and cunning lead guitar. Halflight sound like trainee Radio 2 fodder, with a cello instead of a bass and som pretty catchy tunes. I haven't seen bands I've never heard of in years. I need to do it more. And I probably need to go and perform something somewhere soon too.

Looking on the bright side

"You cannot see what I see because you see what you see. You cannot know what I know because you know what you know. What I see and what I know cannot be added to what you see and what you know because they are not the same kind. Neither can it replace what you see and what you know, because that would be to replace you yourself."

I found myself thinking about what I haven't done, and what it might be too late for me to do, yesterday. I never jumped in my parents' car and drove it down the motorway at 80mph when I was 15, I never skipped school to take mushrooms in the park, I never stayed up all night writing an essay that I'd forgotten about, I never ran in a student election, I never... and so on really.

The quote above is from a book I could quote forever, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - specifically the fifth one, which was never very happy, but had a nice bit about sandwiches. I've done things, and seen things, and I know things. They're not what anyone else knows or sees, and instead of jealousy or regret at not experiencing what others experience myself, I should be taking joy in their descriptions of those things, and sharing my experiences in return.

Yesterday I spent a full hour frying bacon and chopping it up with scissors. By the end of it, I was sticky and unpleasant, and smelt strongly of that orange/brown stuff that cakes onto the pan when you fry bacon too much. What have you done that no-one in their right mind would want to do?

Sir Nicholas Parsons was raised by cats...

A quick summary of the weekend, followed by a long waffle about Just a Minute.

Friday I bought a bed, and had the best night's sleep I can remember. I also got some new glasses, and so I can see again. Then I met up with Nina for a couple of drinks and a bite to eat, which was very pleasant. We ate sushi, tempura, Thai fishcakes and sesame and prawn/fish toast, red curry and rice. Yum.

Saturday involved a tense England match, which came off nicely in the end. And Just a Minute, which I'll come back to. Sunday was mostly spent playing guitar with Chris, which was good fun too, and buying far too many CDs (finally I have all three Joni Mitchell albums with Jaco on bass!). Also, a spot of jasmine tea, bangers and mash and a couple of medium-sized whiskies.

Just a Minute, at the Shaw Theatre in Euston Road, was fantastic. I laughed til I wept! We were graced by the presence of Paul Merton, Kit Hesketh-Harvey, Liza Tarbuck and Chris Neill. Possibly the best moment was when Liza Tarbuck started the subject 'Living legends' with the sentence 'Sir Nicholas Parsons was raised by cats'. Chris Neill buzzed and said 'Deviation - he hasn't been knighted', whereupon Paul Merton pionted out that no one seemed to take issue with him benig raised by cats. The jokes aboyut this continued for the rest of the show - has he been spayed, does he lick his arse, does he roam the streets at night, is there a catflap in his back door? I left the theatre with aches in my sides, and resolved to go back in Spring 2007 for the next London recording.

A fox on a wall

I wish I could come up with a more imaginative title for this, but I can't. Several 'stupid like a fox' type phrases came to me, something about cunning, a parody of that Jimi Hendrix song. In the end I gave up. I just wanted to share with the world that this lunchtime, in Tesco's car park in Brixton, I saw a fox walking bold as brass along a ten foot wall. At lunchtime. In the middle of the day. Ten feet up!