Thursday, September 15, 2022

Published Thursday, September 15, 2022 by with 0 comment

Glasgow September 2022 and the death of the queen.

Tuesday and Wednesday were lazy days recovering and tidying away after the festival. Got to know Cracking Up have another gig at the Woodcote Food Fair on 30th October. We travelled up to Glasgow on Thursday. There had been reports about the Queen's ill health. She had invited Liz Truss to form a government at Balmoral rather than London because of that. All her children were heading up there. Margaret figured she was already dead. No update on the 6 o'clock news though but it was announced about 6 30.
A bit weird. The first time its happened in my life time and the same for many others. Charles is now king. The PM made an official announcement and he's taken the name of Charles III. The plans for her death were known as operation London Bridge but operation Unicorn if it happened in Scotland. On Friday muffled church bells were rung between 12 and 1pm. We knew this was going to happen as the bell ringers we know had been told to expect it (that is not a pun). Took madeline to the swings.
Saturday was her first birthday.
We watched the king's accession in the morning. The first time one had been televised. Proclamations of the new king will then be made all over the country including this one in Reading. Then went to lunch at Ka Pao. Chilled out in the afternoon. Madeline had calls with Kathryn, Warren and Mary Ellen and Tom and Sally. All the weekend's football has been cancelled. Went out to lunch at Dram on Sunday with friends of JAM and their 2 kids. Then to the park. Madeline tried the slide and the train tunnel as well as the swings. We watched a bit of the queen being moved from Balmoral to Edinburgh, amazing number of people out.  On Monday the queen was taken from Holyrood House to St Giles Cathedral for 24 hours lying in state. Amy got to know she's got a temporary promotion. She'll be acting up for a year. J n A went out for a meal and we celebrated with champagne when they got back. Tuesday was Madeline's first day at nusery. We walked her over with James before getting the train back. It's just the other side of the park. Very busy in London on the way back. The queen was being flown back to Northolt and then driven to Buckingham Palace. After one day at nusery Madeline is now standing up. She had done it before but didn't really seem interested in trying.
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Wednesday, September 07, 2022

Published Wednesday, September 07, 2022 by with 0 comment

End Of The Road Festival - 2022

Had a bit of a lazy day on Monday. Had a call with JAM (James, Amy and Madeline). They are all a bit better but James is still pretty rough. M cooked a very nice pear and blue cheese tart to snack at. Watched a University Challenge documentary in the evening. There were 2 clips of M's Reading team and Michael got a mention. M's birthday on Tuesday. Had a call from JAM in the morning. TnS flying back from Spencer's wedding.
Went to the lido late afternoon for M's birthday. The pool was a bit on the cool side for my liking but the hot tub was all the better for that. Had an excellent meal too. Tom was a bit ill on the way back from the big apple due to a dodgy oyster. Heard on Wednesday that Warren and Mary Ellen's flight back was cancelled so they are here for an extra day. 
We went to the EOTR festival on Thursday. Kevin and Adrienne got there early, put up their enormous gazebo and reserved us spaces. Tom, Sally, Penno, Matt, Jamie and Mary were also camping with us. Rob, Jake and his mate were camping elsewhere. 
First up were Sudan Archives, a modern/rappy/hip hoppy but with a violin.  Then Khruangbin who I've wanted to see for ages. A bit samey for a headline band but they held it together. 
Friday started with the Shovel Dance Collective who play extreme folk. About 8 of them playing a variety of instruments and singing. Then caught the end of Keg. An edgy guitar band with a trombone. 
I then went off piste and headed for the Boat stage to see Aga Ujma, beautiful voice playing an odd cello like instrument accompanied by soprano sax. I then hung around for Party Dozen from Sydney. This was another two piece, drum solo and a pogoing sax player. I fell for a false ending in their last song. The Boat is kind of like the Tipi used to be in the old days, very intimate. People were sitting and being very silent for Aga but you couldn't do that for the dozen. Then headed over to the Garden for Anais Mitchell. Very good american singer song writer.
Then Nulifer Yanya, great songs and great guitar. Some sort of jazzmaster and she also had a matching strat.
We rounded the music off with Fleet Foxes and then went to see a comedian, Mike Wozniak who made lots of references to Catholics in Luton. A very eclectic EOTR day. 
I took M to Salisbury station on Saturday morning as there was stuff she needed and stuff to do back home.. It didn't take as long as expected so got back for The Heavy Heavy who opened on the main stage. They sounded good in the sound check and were. They sound and look American but are from Brighton. Only had time for few numbers though as wanted to get over to the Garden for Margo Cilker. She's a great country singer with great songs. Every one I care for is either crazy or dead and Bilbao Precipitating to name a couple. I was hoping for a pedal steel guitar but instead just an excellent tele player. You cant have every thing. Fell for another false ending though. I really am losing my touch. Next up was Modern Woman in the  Big Top. Another band fronted by a female guitarist. Good edgy guitar based rock. Then headed over to the Boat to see John Francis Flynn, Irish folk with a bit of sax, electric guitar, drums and sampler thrown in. We would have stayed but were a bit uncomfortable sitting on stony ground so left after a few numbers. I noticed the drummer who was operating the sampler inserted a cassette into it. Modern Woman seemed to do the same. We found some heads in the woods.
The Wave Pictures had stepped in to replace someone so we watched from the back of the Garden stage. Then went to see Los Bitchos on the main stage. They are a sort female Santana (with male rhythm guitarist). Pretty good but a bit of a parody I thought. Sally then recommended Priya Ragu in the Big Top. I didn't think I'd like them at first as they are kind of modern rap/hip hoppy pop but they were excellent. Very professional with a great  guitarist called Rikki Lee, born in Malaysia and looks about 13. Then another female guitarist of a the acoustic variety Gwenifer Raymond on the Talking Heads stage. She's great but 'doesn't have a lot off' and when she snapped a string she didn't really know what to do. We then headed for The Pixies on the main stage. Got quite a way in and they kicked off with a few hits which was a good move. Unfortunately we were then joined by a group if very noisy irritating people who seemed to have very little interest in the band. Eventually we moved away which was an improvement. I joined Tom and Sally in the big top for Ross From Friends for a while. Dance music with a good lightshow. 
On Sunday I picked M up from Salisbury station. She was much refreshed. She'd had a call with JAM and found out that Warren had tested +ve when they got home. Fortunately the symptoms wre mild as he suffers from asthma. Got back in time for Jake Xerxes Fussel on the Garden stage. Great songs and finger style guitar played on an old telecaster. He's from Columbus, Georgia Y'all. Then watched Cassandra Jenkins an American singer songwriter with a bit if a Tom Petty look about her.
Then we saw The Lounge Society in the Big Top. They are an edgy guitar band. The guitarists swapped instruments a lot, including bass maybe based on who wrote the song. The main singer had a bit of a young Wilco Johnson about him. Great stuff. Then O. on the boat stage. Another sax and drummer duo. We tried to find the area in the woods where messages are written on leaves but couldn't.  However I did take a leaf to work on later.
Then Kurt Vile on the main stage who was ace. I remember seeing his set on the telly from Glasto a few years back and was really impressed. Its a bit one paced and you have to like his voice but it worked for me. Things get a bit hazy at this point. We may have gone to see Aldous Harding at the Garden stage but if we did we probably just stayed at the back. We then went back to camp for a while which was quite fortuitous as there was a massive storm while we were under the gazebo. There was then a rumour that for safety reasons that was the end of things but fortunately it wasn't and we got to see Yard Act. For me they were the best band. I like them anyway and thought it might just be the same old stuff but they've come up with some new songs which are really strong. A great finale. I should have gone to bed shortly after but ended up drinking more the going into the Tipi to catch the end of Bug Club doing a secret set. Then  more drink.....not a good way to end a brilliant festival. 
Fortunately it was dry on Monday morning for packing away and we got back just before 2pm. I must take more pictures next time. On they way back we heard that Liz Truss had been selected as the new prime minister.
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Monday, August 29, 2022

Published Monday, August 29, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 28th August 2022.

I started doing the daily blogs to record events during coronavirus pandemic but these days we rarely think about it. Its still there though. This graph was in the Guardian its based on estimates derived by the ONS. Actual figures aren't reliable any more as people have to pay for tests.
The current strains are quite mild and so hospitalisations are relatively low.
It's still around though so I'll keep the posts going but I might not report on each day. Went swimming at 10 am on Monday morning. The pool was quite empty and it was a good way to start the week so might make it a regular thing. Went for a ride out Maidenhead way with Kelvin on Tuesday afternoon and early evening. Did about 45 miles. Madeline stood up. I've been breaking a lot of guitar strings recently so I fitted some Graph Tech string saver saddles. 
Did some birthday present buying on Thursday. The festival traffic has arrived.
Just when I mentioned earlier about not thinking about covid any more Amy has tested +ve. Everybody else up there is -ve but James is not going to Spencer's wedding. Madeline has a high temperature again which could be related so they are raking her to the GP tomorrow. Tom and Sally are aleady in New York for the wedding. The view from the hotel roof terrace.
Madeline tested +ve on Friday. We had a chat late morning. The symptoms are mild. The sad thing is that Warren and Mary-Ellen are having to keep there distance for a few days. Made my first baguettes.
I did the sound with Sarah at RSAC in the evening for a Club Velocity night. These are monthly events promoted by Sid Siddle. This one was called In Malcolm We Trust Number 11. Malcolm is Malcolm Unwin who used to promote gigs with Sid. When he was 50 they put on the first In Malcolm We Trust gig and its been going ever since. New Puritans kicked off proceedings. They are a punk band fronted by Malcolm since 1979. Next up were Burnt Tomorrow, a bit Jethro Tullish followed by headliner Jessica Lee Morgan. She's the daughter of Mary Hopkin and Tony Visconti. She did Those Were The Days as an encore. Great gig. James and Mary Ellen tested +ve on Saturday but not feeling too bad. Fired up the pizza oven for the first time in a while. Quite successful, went for a variation of the neopolitan style. No oil, 60% water and 00 flour. Made the dough very easy to handle.
Heard on Sunday that James had a bad night and Madeline's temperature was high in the night. Mary Ellen is round helping out as she is already infected. We did a walk down the Kennet and along the Thames to check on festival activity. Spotted some new art work in the underpass in Coley. Unfortunately a lot of it has already has graffiti but nit this bit.
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Monday, August 22, 2022

Published Monday, August 22, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 21st August 2022

It rained on Tuesday. Spent most of the day practising for the up coming gigs. They took Madeline to the GPs and the diagnosis is strep throat or scarlet fever so she's on penicillin. She doesn't like taking it but has not reacted to it. Had a practice at Stoke Row village hall on Wednesday. Lots of wire.
Went to watch Reading v Blackburn in the evening. Went round to the fan zone. There was a big queue for the West Berks van and no GOB but only took 5 mins and had quite a nice pint of Detour. Good looking mexican, wood fired pizza and burger vans. Had another pint in the ground. Same old stuff. The Theakstons did settle but it was pretty horrible.
It was a brilliant game, we won 3 0. Played with new tactics, 4 4 2 with a high press, no playing out from the back. They couldn't handle it. Everybody played well. Had our final band practice on Thursday before Friday's first gig. The day before me, Tony and Mike all got cramp in our fingers so I invested in some electrolyte tablets that seemed to do the trick. Madeline is a lot better now she's on penicillin. Cracking up had their first gig on Friday in The Castle Tap. We got there about 17 45 to set up and it took a couple of hours. There was a good turn out of friendly faces and it went down really well in spite of a few glitches. 
I wasn't nervous until it came to singing my first number and my right leg started shaking. Got through it though and after a couple of numbers the shaking stopped. Didn't drink any alcohol. Here's the set list. We didn't do the * ones to keep the time down to 45 mins each.
We had our second gig the next day at The Cherry Tree in Stoke Row in the afternoon. This was a family fun day charity event. Apart from us  there was children's entertainment, 2 friends of Mike's known as the Undisguised, goats, sheep, rabbits and a pony. It went well again but I did snap 2 strings and we had a power cut. No alcohol again apart from a pint afterwards.
A good start to the day on Sunday finished all the crosswords and quiz before we got up. Then put the gear away and chilled. Madeline had her first train ride.

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Monday, August 15, 2022

Published Monday, August 15, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Monday 15th August 2022

Finished cataloging all the Roy and the Rogers recordings. They're now all available on line on the Roy And The Rogers page. Spent the rest of the day practising and had a Goolie zoom in the evening. Did my ride out to Theale and back via Pangbourne and Mapledurham on Tuesday. They've started work on the festival site. There was a bit of drama late afternoon as there was obviously a fire somewhere as you could see smoke from the guest room window. It looked like if might be Coley Park way so I headed over there on my bike but it looked further over towards Southcote so headed off there via some back lanes. Got told by a policeman not to head towards the water meadows as the fire was heading that way. There was quite a lot of activity.
So thought I'd head over to Burghfield Bridge and cycle back down the Kennet. Got as far as Southcote Lock and was told by another policeman that I couldn't go any further because of the fire which was actually south of the river. Turned out it was a grassland fire and they'd had to stop the Basingstoke trains. Managed to get this picture from twitter.
I went out looking for where the fire had been on Wednesday. It was south of the Kennet between Southcote Lock and the railway line. Couldn't really tell how far south it went.
Its roughly the area in blue indicated on the map.
Headed off to Anne and Wynn's on Thursday. A couple of disasters before we set off. The automatic sprinkler thing got cross threaded so I needed to pop to BnQ for a replacement and we couldn't dead lock the front door. Also no aircon in the car. Arrived about 6 30.
Went for a meal at The Boat with their friends Kevin and Jane. Tom and Sally had arrived on Thursday but late so came round on Friday to work. We went for a walk along the canal to the aqueduct.
James, Amy and Madeline had just arrived when we got back.  Cooled off in the hot tub afterwards.
Went for a meal at The Cornmill in the evening. Got up early on Saturday to go for a swim in the river with Tom and Sally.
It was cold but OK once you got in. I was strangely cold afterwards though. Needed my fleece and took a couple of hours to warm up. In the afternoon I did a walk over to The Britannia Inn. Its just over a mile but with a steep climb each end. Nice views though.
 Interesting use of the phonebox down the lane.
Had a bbq later.
On Sunday had a go on Wynn's electric bike. Pretty good but if you try to freewheel it slows you down a lot. Also I think it has a max speed so going down a steep hill was quite slow. Wynn cooked chickens for lunch and Tom and Sally headed off. Unfortunately Madeline was a bit out of sorts and had a high temperature. We thought it was the heat and an NHS clinician suggested a virus so James managed to get some ibuprofen. They stayed the night instead of going back to their Airbnb as it was cooler. Not a good night for them though and they contaced a GP in Wrexham early Monday morning as Madeline had been rubbing her ear a lot and they thought it may be an infection. They went in later and the diagnosis was just a viral infection. So we all headed off late morning and all got home OK. Great weekend.
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Monday, August 08, 2022

Published Monday, August 08, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 7th August 2022

They took the scaffolding down on Monday. Cant really admire the paint job though because of the rotten window on the first floor. Did a ride out along the A4, across to Pangbourne and back via Mapledurham. Spotted this field of what looked like dried out broad beans and seem to remember seeing another on our trip last week. Found an article in the Guardian stating fruit and veg crops have been failing because of the heat.
Did my 5 hills ride on Tuesday morning. Did a ride out to Sonning, up past Lodden Brewery and back via Caversham on Wednesday. Stopped off for doughnuts for breakfast. Had a band practice in the afternoon but without Peat again. He's back from the US and tested -ve yesterday but doesn't trust the result and is still feeling a bit weak and generally crap. Went for a swim on Thursday then had first Thursday drinks in the evening in The Ale House drinking mainly Downton Hopquad which slipped down a treat. On Friday morning I went down to the Rising Sun to help set up for the Here Comes The Sun festival. Left early afternoon and went round to Kelvin's for the annual summer get together with Brendan and Lynda. Kelvin's daughter Amy also put in an appearance. Went down to the festival about 11 on Saturday. My stint on the sound desk was at 5pm with Grae J Wall & Los Chicos Muertos. All went well apart from some mysterious feed back. Some good bands on and they sold out and had to turn people away. They sold 150 tickets.
Had a great society walk on Sunday based round The Swan at Pangbourne organised by Lindsey.

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Sunday, August 07, 2022

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Coronavirus - Sunday 31st July 2022

We lost our internet connection on Monday morning. Came back about 3. Learnt some new songs. Had a goolie zoom in the evening. Everybody is crocked. Went to the dentist on Tuesday morning. I was surprised to find that my town bike was not locked up in it's usual place by the front door. Then remembered I had cycled to the station last Monday when I went to Wokingham but got a lift back from Vlad so its been there for over a week. Picked it up OK though. Played guitar most of the day. Watched England beat Sweeden 4 0 in the women's Euros semi final. Really entertaining with some great goals including a fabulous backheel. Had a band practice on Wednesday but without Peat who is currently in the States with covid. Did some new songs, worked well. We foolishly stayed up until 2am watching the first series of Jack Irish. Bit of a lazy day on Thursday therefore. Did a bit of gardening in the afternoon. Mike, Judy, Bobby and Fiona came over for a BBQ on Friday so spent most of the day tidying up and preping. M went to the dentist in Oxford for a clean up. Fiona got stuck on the M6 for 4 hours so was a bit late. Drank too much. A good start to the day on Saturday, didn't get up til nearly 2. Went to the Winter's 50th Reading anniversary in the evening. On Sunday went to a volunteer induction at the Rising Sun. Then watched England win the women's Euros. Beat Germany 2 1 after extra time.
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