random acts of senseless beauty

Last night was Kerry’s Hen. An early dinner and then on to Loop for drinking and dancing. To be honest when we got to the bar at 8.15 (had to be there before 8.30 to keep our reserved booth) I don’t think any of us though we’d make it through to a late [...]

If my life was a hollywood rom-com then today would be about the right time for me to pull myself together and make that change.
I love those sequences. It takes about 4 minutes of screen time for me (the Drew Barrymore/Kate Hudson me…) to pick themselves out of their pyjama clad self-pitying stupour and [...]

There isn’t anything at all in my head that I feel able to share on a public forum right now.
Suffice to say… things are a bit hard at the moment, actually. So instead, lets go back t warmer climes with some photos from France.

L’Abbaye De Senanque. Amazing place. Stunning scenery. Ethereal Vespers.

The [...]

A man’s been shot on Stockwell station, apparently trying to board a train with the idea of blowing it up. He was mobbed on the platform by plain-clothed policemen, and shot several times.
Not good. Not good.

Yesterday’s half hearted bomb attemps were very strange. The fact that it could have been so much worse than it was has left us all a bit confused, a bit more worried that this is going to keep happening, but also a bit more defiant.
The comedy of relief started immediately; “Is that all [...]

San Francisco band Thee More Shallows at the Buzzard tonight. I love bands that are first on in that I get to come home early, but then they only get to play a short set… Tonight’s was great. I’ve loved this band since playing 2a.m. on Freak Zone – anything with toy piano [...]

They announced the Shortlist for the Mercury Music Prize this afternoon.
It was reasonably predictable with Kaiser Chiefs, Magic Numbers, Block Party, and M.I.A. all getting nods; understandable nominations for The Go! Team (though I’m surprised it wasn’t Mylo), Antony & The Johnsons, KT Tunstall and Maximo Park. The usual ‘big’ band [...]

Caroline asked whether the book is good…
Well I finished it, sat on the floor outside the lifts outside the office, at about 10am. It’s not a long read. I certainly wasn’t sitting around reading it all weekend… managed it in about 5 hour-long stints on trains, bed time over lunch etc.
It’s good. [...]

Got it.
Perfect timing – finish pint, leisurely trip to home via Clapham Junction, join queue, have amusing banter with others, buy book, bus home…
The Book shop even changed it’s name for the evening:

And we certainly weren’t alone:

And now to start reading… “It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in his office…”

At 6.40 I got a call from the cab company telling me that the taxi we’d booked would be arriving at 7pm as expected. Stuck at Kings Cross.
We were on the street at 7.02 but, unlike normal evening where the area is crawling with black cabs, it took us 16 minutes to find one. [...]

The whole office emptied at 11.55 as we headed out to the street to observe the 2 minutes silence. The stairwell was packed with all the different departments joining the quiet walk down.
We stood, crowded on the pavement, looking at all the other crowds in front of all the doorways along Portland Place. [...]

Last night was the re-scheduled Hard-Fi date… not at Cheekies in Staines as first planned, but up in Ladbroke Grove.

It was a brilliant gig. Each time I see them and there’s more and more people singing along, clapping thier hands, mobbing Rich at the end it’s a strange emotion that comes over me. [...]

lots to tell but I’m very sleepy.
A wonderful picnic on a boiling hot day, trip to see The Wiggles, a great new band at the Dublin Castle, stories observed and recieved, photos to share…
another time my friends. sorry.

I’m sitting on my lovely red sofa with sunlight streaming through the windows. I think I may go for a walk in a little while.
My wonderful friend Rebecca texted me yesterday morning. She works in Covent Garden. Her text read “please pray for my colleague G. She was missing [...]

A day of calling and being called. Of suddenly remembering somebody that you haven’t heard from that may or may not pass through certain stations on their way to work. Of remembering that people you hold so dear work at Liverpool Street (called the GB office at around 11am to great relief and [...]

Just in case you’re one of the people who hasn’t called me yet… I’m fine, as is everyone I know so far. We’re currently calling round everyone at work to check their whereabouts.
**12.30**
Now all present and accounted for… Was hard to do with many of the mobile networks down. Finally spoken to the [...]

YAAAAY!!!
The excitement was a surprise to most of us. I knew I was a fervent supporter of the bid – I’ve been getting the email updates for about a year now – but I didn’t expect the almost wild excitement that we all felt at work today. There was only one [...]

Back to the rain and reality after a week’s taste of heaven; bottomless friendship, bottomless conversation, bottomless wine…
I’m resisting the urge to shower you with photos – I’ll save that for another day – but here’s a wee snap of one of my favourite places in the world: The Cafe De France, in the marketplace [...]