Mumford & Sons

Two weeks ago, James and I went to a concert here in town. There is a bar called The Louisiana. Why The Louisiana, I'm not sure, but there you go. When you read a list of artists who have played a The Louisiana over the years, it reads like a "who's who" in big name bands, including Razorlight, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Coldplay and others. James found a group called Mumford & Sons that he found on MySpace that was plying, and we got tickets.

The venue was tiny, and packed. There was a moment when I had difficulty taking a drink, as my arms were pinned by my sides. At one point, I said to James, who was standing behind me, that I thought I might fall over, as the guy in front of me was leaning on me so hard. James replied that I would not fall over, as there was no place for me to go. He was right.

When records were first created, they were often recorded at live performances, the next best thing for people that couldn't make the concert. Now, with all of the digital remastering that takes place, with multiple takes spliced together so that all the best bits are used, recorded music often sounds better than live. The point of a live concert is more the experience, not the music. I was therefore delighted when I found that the band sounded even better live than on the tracks we had downloaded. We got a great experience with amazing music as well.

As far as our first night out in Bristol, it couldn't have been better.

Hair

I have never had a hair straightener. I used to use an iron to straighten my hair, which is not as bad as it sounds. Many straighteners get far hotter than an iron at its lowest setting. Anyways, I have never owned a straightener because the really good ones cost over 100$ and the cheap ones are not really worth the 30$ you spend on them. I was browsing through a charity shop, looking for pots (really cheap pots rust easily, we have learnt), so I was looking on the "gadgety" shelves. And I saw a straightener for £6. It was not a famous brand name, but it was the same as my hairdryer, which has been doing a good job for me, and it had ceramic plates, rather than metal ones. I figured why not? At best, it would work well, at worst it was a £6 pound donation to charity. I got it home, and was amazed at how well it worked. I straightened my hair before going to the pub, and I had 4 people ask me if I got a haircut, it looked that different.

I love charity shops.

False Advertizing

With my job at the pub, I didn't want to ruin any of my nice teaching clothes with beer, so I bought a few things at charity shops. When I came across this t-shirt, I just had to have it. Because it is just so not true, which makes it hilarious.

Steep

I discovered recently that the (allegedly) steepest residential street in Britain is not too far from our house, Vale St. I decided that I was going to cycle up it just to say that I had. So on the way home from work the other day I took a short detour to do so. I had to lean as far forward as I possibly could while riding up it for fear of toppling over backwards, it was steep I tell you. When I reached the top I felt like I had achieved something, until the road sign told me that I had in fact just cycled up Summer Hill, not Vale St. At this point I thought 'fuck it', and went home.

Today I decided to give it another crack. After checking exactly where it was on Google Maps I made the detour after work to find it. To get to it I had to ride up a hill that was equally as steep as Summer Hill only longer. I eventually found Vale St, took one look up it and thought 'fuck it', and went home. Maybe another day, when I feel more like I have the strength and stamina of a thousand men.


Edit: I have just discovered that it is allegedly the steepest residential street in Europe. After seeing it, I do not doubt it.

Earthrace

You get two posts in one day! I took another day off to recover from exploding kidneys, but I feel better, so I am bored, so you get blogging galore!

Ages ago, at least a month ago, James and I wandered into the city. In the harbour we saw Earthrace. I had no idea what it was all about, but James, being a Kiwi, was quite excited. In case you can't be bothered to click through, the short story is that Earthrace is a boat that circumnavigated the globe running entirely on bio diesel and with a carbon neutral footprint.

It was really cool to see the ship and be able to climb aboard. It looked very sleek and futuristic on the outside, but inside it looked like a bus from a rock tour. It was really interesting to see the two parts mixed together. Seeing the decals inspired by Maori carvings and paintings made us both a little homesick for New Zealand.

Pub life

Working at a pub is a messy business. You end up with beer all over your hands, your arms, your jeans, your shoes, everything. I get more than the average person on my jeans, as I am constantly wiping my hands on them. This, coupled by the fact that we don't have a washing machine led me to buy some clothes that I only wear to the pub. I have a few shirts and a pair of jeans that I bought at second hand shops so that I'm not wrecking my own clothes that I really like and so that I don't reek like booze in my regular life. I don't wash my jeans after every shift (they would never dry for the next day) but I try to wash them every week or so. For two weeks, I was working a Wednesday night, as well as weekends, which means I couldn't wash my jeans, they wouldn't dry in 2 days. By the time I washed them, I had probably worn these jeans about 10 shifts. I knew they would be gross, so I just rinsed them in clean water, no soap first. I'm sure that if I had drank what washed out of them, I would have gotten drunk. Take a look.

That's right folks . . .

I'm living overseas, which can mean only one thing. It's that time again! I've got it! Drum roll please . . . . .

I'VE GOT A KIDNEY INFECTION! Yaaaay!

Don't ask me why this happens, I don't know. I did go a whole year in Canada kidney infection free. But now it is back. Thankfully, I caught this one early, as I will probably do for the rest of my life. I'm so paranoid about having to go to the hospital again that I run to the doctor the moment something feels off. This time, I had lower back pain and a chill that I just couldn't shake. I was wearing fleece PJs, covered with 2 blankets, shivering, while James sat next to me in his boxers. Not a good sign.

Here in the UK, you need to register with your local surgery (doctor's office). There is no choice of which doctor to go to. So I went to my local surgery this morning, and tried to register. I was told that I couldn't register today, they had no openings, but I could make an appointment for Friday. So I did, and instead went to a walk in clinic. At the clinic, I was asked with which surgery I was registered. I told them that I was not, that I had tried but had been told that I couldn't until Friday. At the clinic, they told me that the surgery doesn't have the right to not register me, that even if they have no appointments available, they need to do the paperwork. They also told me that if I'm not feeling better in 48 hours, I need to go into the local surgery, and force them to see me, as the walk-in clinic can't help me any more. I really hope that I'm better within 48 hours, because I have teaching work lined up for the next 3 days, and don't want to give up a day for a doctor's appointment.

Anyways, hopefully the antibiotics prescribed and the copious amounts of cranberry juice I'll be drinking in the next 3 days will sort me out.