Wednesday 30 September 2009

TGI Friday and Dorian Gray

After a busy day at work, Toni, Sam and I headed for Bas Vegas for a yummy TGI Friday meal. I LOVE the food there and I rarely change what I have as my usual is just so delicious.

Once we had sated out appetite we headed off to the Empire Cinema to see Dorian Gray.

Just like District 9, Dorian Gray is one of those "must see" films. The Picture Of Dorian Gray is one of my favourite Oscar Wilde novels and the film certinaly does it justice. It was really well done and the visual effects on the portrait were superb.

Tuesday 29 September 2009

BIG tidy up - continued

The mission continues!
Sam had Livvy and Connor round in the evening so I cracked on with more of my tidying up. Tonight it was the turn of the dreaded paperwork. I have now successfully gone from having three big piles in three different places in the house to having it all filed neatly in my filing box, RESULT! I am liking where all this is going, next job is to put all the washed clothes away but that will have to wait until Thursday.

Following the paperwork Sam and I caught up on a bit of wrestling. Tomorrow night Toni, Sam and I are going to the cinema to see Dorian Gray which I am really looking forward too.

A room with a view

Woke up stupidly early this morning and the sunrise was gorgeous.
Not sure these pics really do it justice but here we go anyway:



Once In A LifeTime - I think not!

Got this little gem via email the other day!

Once In A LifeTime featuring The Osmonds, David Essex and more!


TONY DENTON PROMOTIONS PRESENTS:
'ONCE IN A LIFETIME TOUR 2010'
THE OSMONDS
DAVID ESSEX
LEO SAYER
LES MCKEOWN'S LEGENDARY BAY CITY ROLLERS

Tony Denton Promotions is synonymous with tours that are unique – the Once In A LifeTime brand continues with the announcement of the 2010 Once In A LifeTime Tour that brings together four of the biggest acts of the seventies. The Osmonds, David Essex, Leo Sayer and Les McKeown's Legendary Bay City Rollers on one stage making this tour a truly one-off experience.

THE OSMONDS
The Osmonds, pop heartthrobs in the 1970's, features original lead vocalist Merrill alongside brothers Wayne, Jay and Jimmy (who more recently appeared in ITV's 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here' and in the West End in both Chicago and Grease last year).The Osmonds have sold over 77 million records and their concert career parallels that of their recording success! The band's hits include two No 1's – 'Love Me For A Reason' and 'Crazy Horses' – other Top Ten Hits include 'Going Home', 'Let Me In', and 'The Proud One'.

DAVID ESSEX
From hit records to hit musicals David Essex OBE has had one of the most enduring careers in music - lasting over 30 years to date. David has starred in the musicals Godspell, Evita and Mutiny which he also wrote. His breadth of hits include two No 1's – 'Gonna Make U A Star' and 'Hold Me Close' - other top ten hits include 'Rock On', 'Lamplight', 'Stardust', 'Oh What A Circus', 'Brave New World', 'Silver Dream Machine' and 'A Winter's Tale'.

LEO SAYER
With a career spanning four decades and hits topping both side of the Atlantic – singer songwriter Leo Sayer needs no introduction. Discovered by David Courtney and originally managed by Adam Faith, he launched his career with the song 'The Show Must Go On' (No 2). His biggest success came in 1977 with 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' (US No1 and won him a Grammy and which later went onto feature in the massive box office film 'Charlies Angels'), as well as the romantic ballad 'When I Need You' (1977), which reached No.1 in both the UK and U.S.In 2006. He made a surprise return to number one in the UK Singles Chart, with Meck's remix of 'Thunder In My Heart'.

LES MCKEOWN'S LEGENDARY BAY CITY ROLLERS
The Bay City Rollers, featuring lead singer Les McKeown, were an international Supergroup. Dubbed Rollermania by the press, this kind of mass hysteria hadn't been seen since The Beatles.The Bay City Rollers notched up nine UK top ten hits including 'Keep On Dancing', 'Remember (Sha-La-La)', 'Shang-A-Lang', 'Summer Love Sensation', 'All Of Me Loves All Of You', 'Money Honey' and 'I Only Wanna Be With You' plus two No.1's 'Bye Bye Baby' and 'Give A Little Love'

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday 2nd October however as you are a past booker of Wembley Arena we are allowing you the chance to secure your tickets a whole TWO DAYS EARLIER!! You will be able to book your pre-sale tickets via the tab below on
Wednesday 30th September at 9am.

Be still my beating heart!
There, it is still now.
Once In A Life Time, would be once too much!
Thanks for the offer of getting tickets guys but no thanks *grin*

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:






Top weekly artists:






Overall top tracks:






Overall top artists:




Monday 28 September 2009

BIG tidy up

Following my stress and panic yesterday after realising that some important documentation had gone missing I decided to follow through with my threat to have a massive tidy up. Made a really good start and the living room is looking pretty good.

The really funny thing is that I actually found the missing documentation in my desk at work! I must have been carrying it around and then dumped it in my desk when I went to a gig cos I didn't want to risk it going missing and then completely forgot about it. Have to admit this did make me really laugh when I found it and at least the tidying up was stress free cos it wasn't being done whilst frantically searching for said documents.

Got loads done but there is still so much more to do! Will be doing a mass filing binge tomorrow night and will see what's left after that for the rest of the week.

Sunday 27 September 2009

Chilling, nice lunch and hockey

Today was definitely a day for not doing much. I like days like this every now and then. Got up at a reasonable hour and pottered around for a bit.

Touched base with Sam who said that he would be home later and didn't need feeding so Toni and I popped out to The Lodge to indulge in the goodness that is their carvery.

When we got back I started watching the Gardiner Cup games via the wonders of webcast and watched Edinburgh Capitals get humped 2 - 6 by Belfast Giants and then the Hamilton Bulldogs lifted the Gardiner Cup after a great 3 - 1 win over the Toronto Marlies.

Got a bit stressed at one point as some paperwork relating to the car has gone missing so I will now have to turn the house upside down to find it :o(

Rest of the evening was spent just chilling, some crackers and cheese and the the first episode of Psychoville before hitting the pit.

Saturday 26 September 2009

London Tattoo Convention

Early morning Toni and I headed off to London to pick up Jade and go to the London Tattoo Convention at Tobacco Dock

I knew it was going to be a good day when I saw this little wonder on the motorway:


We queued for a while (before realising that as we had tickets we didn't have to queue DOH!)and took a photo opp while we are at it.

Toni and Jade:


Toni and I:


It was a really good day, so much talent on show there and a LOT to take in. It has definitely inspired me to start looking at designing my next tattoo, and beyond! I have at least three ideas for different tattoos now so I feel there will be a few trips to get things done! There were plenty of opportunities to take photos of some of the great artists at work but somehow it just didn't feel right taking pictures of strangers being inked (that didn't stop other people but I couldn't do it).

I picked myself up a little treat *grin*


After leaving Tobacco Dock we went back to North Greenwich and went to Nandos and enjoyed some yummy chicken for dinner, before dropping Jade off and heading back to SWF.

Friday 25 September 2009

Sleepy

Hard day at work today.
Toni picked me up and we went and got fish and chips on the way back.
Just kicked back after that, relaxed and then Toni crashed out so we retired early.
I got a few Hollywood Doll bits done before also hitting the pit.

We were supposed to have gone to Antichrist tonight but after the week we've had we were just too tired.

We do have the London Tattoo Convention to look forward to tomorrow though.

Thursday 24 September 2009

HOLLYWOOD DOLL a-gogo

Shattering day at work but a Hollywood Doll rehearsal was looming. Toni picked me up, we popped home for a short while and then loaded up the car and headed to Nightfly studios. I set up with Matt and Steve and Becky and Toni went on a snack run.

Rehearsal was superb, things are really coming together now. Charlie even sent a text to say that he would be at the next rehearsal which just made things even better.

Can't wait until the next one now!

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Peace is restored

Today was a much better day. Hectic at work but fulfilling. Helped Toni out with some things to help her balance the pile of things she has fogging her brain at the moment. Missed train coming home but just chilled out at Wickford rather than stressing like usual.

Got in to find Sam had made dinner :o)

Watched some TV with Sam, did some Capitals stuff and chatted to Toni on MSN.

Joss sticks, candles and spiritual/ritual magick music to chill out and relax before bed.

Peace is restored in my turbulent mind :o)

OM AH HUM

Tuesday 22 September 2009

I get weak......... (Me: FAIL)

..... weak in the presence of death. OK that was a lame line but at least I didn't break into Belinda Carlisle karaoke eh!

Monday was a bit weird and very draining (well apart from the gig which restored some sanity to the world) and it also resulted in me being a bit crap. Toni had unfortunately had the misfortune of going to her stepdad's assisted housing unit to find that he had passed away over the weekend. I won't go into full details but it did trigger a few things for me emotionally. I think I panicked and shut down. Lots of things that were subdued in the back of my head came to light again and then I failed Toni. Instead of being there for her at a time when she really needed me and being someone she could rely on and talk to I shut down and distanced myself.

It was a really shitty thing to do (although it wasn't a completely conscious decision)and it left Toni floating adrift when she needed me to be there for her. Considering all the time and effort she has put in to keep my sanity intact over the last couple of years I feel completely weak for failing her.

We have talk about this and so I will now do my best to give her the support that is needed.

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:






Top weekly artists:






Overall top tracks:






Overall top artists:




Monday 21 September 2009

L.A. Guns & SPiT LiKE THiS @ Underworld

After a pretty stressful day it was off to Camden for Toni, Sam and I to see L.A Guns and SPiT LiKE THiS plus others.
Started off with some yummy food in Wagamama before drifting off to the Underworld.

When we arrived we had a quick chat with Vikki Spit (and Cyndi Rott) before meeting with Matt and Becky ready for the sleazy awesomeness that was to follow.

Becky and Matt:


Toni and I:


...and now ladies and gentlemen, I bring you, the bands:


BUBBLEGUM SCREW
The real New York Dolls may well be limping along at the moment but Bubblegum Screw have a direct spiritual link to the original line up harnassing everything that is good about garage glam punk. It's not big and it's not clever but it sure is a whole lot of fun! Fast punchy tunes with good choruses, a great way to start the night off.




See all the pics here: 210909BubblegumScrewUnderworld


SPiT LiKE THiS
This is the reason we were here. If you read my blog then you must know by now how much we love SPiT LiKE THiS. You wouldn't have known that they hadn't played live for over 4 months. Despite a sub standard PA they still put on a great show and we were treated to two new songs as well! Can't wait to see them again in October supporting Tigertailz.





See all the pics here: 210909SPiTLiKETHiSUnderworld


NASTY TENDENCY
Had never heard of these guys before but they were certainly a fun experience. Good old 80s style European metal with haircuts that kill! They seemed to be having a great time, the crowd enjoyed them and they even threw in a cover of I Wanna Be Somebody by W.A.S.P.





See all the pics here: 210909NastyTendencyUnderworld


L.A. GUNS
I love L.A. Guns but I was somewhat cynical about what I was going to encounter tonight. L.A Guns is one of those old 80s bands that have two incarnations with different original members. In the absence of a full reformation, the version I really want to see is the Phil Lewis fronted band as I love his voice and he made L.A. Guns for me. Tonight however for founding guitarist Tracii Guns' version with Love/Hate singer Jizzy Pearl on vocals. I have to say my fears were misplaced as it was a great gig. The PA was still suffering and so Jizzy's vocals were low in the mix but he carried off all the old Lewis numbers with gusto and Tracii Guns looked like he was having an absolutely blast.





See all the pics here: 210909LAGunsUnderworld

Sunday 20 September 2009

What a good day

All is good!
Got up, had breakfast and watched Wyrd Sisters.
Did some prep for band stuff which was most fulfilling
Then I pottered around doing some web things for the Capitals and prepared the PS3 for a webcast.

Was delighted to watch the Capitals grab a 3 - 3 draw against Nottingham Panthers.

Toni did a lovely greek style dinner.

Printed off a photo for Sam to use on his student bus pass

Dyed my hair ready for L.A.Guns and SPiT LiKE THiS tomorrow

Bed now, it's been a good weekend, nite all!

Saturday 19 September 2009

Ice Age 3, sweet Soul Music & True Blood finale

Nice lazy start to a Saturday morning just as it should be :o)

Dropped Sam off in Woodham as he was spending the day at Livvy's and Toni, Gemima and I went on to Asda to get some munchies. Bumped into Mark and Sam and had a good old chin wag.

Came home and had lunch and watched Ice Age 3. Sam then turned up with Carol and Livvy. Change of plans as Sam is now staying the night so he came back to get his sleeping bag, Rock Band, Guitar Hero and the Xbox. They stayed for a short while and so I embarrassed Sam by showing her some pics of Sam when he was a lot younger LOL. Might post then at some point!

Spent the afternoon on the PS3 playing NHL09 while Toni read and Gemima did her homework.

Lovely spag bol for dinner thanks to Toni and we sat down to watch the Discworld classic Soul Music.

After Gemima had gone to bed it was then time to watch the final episode of True Blood! Great series and GREAT finale!

Happy Birthday Sharon

Happy Birthday Sharon,

Gone but never forgotten!
Thinking of you

Keith
x

Friday 18 September 2009

Guitar Hero, gym and zzzzzzzzzz

Got home from work and had a few rounds of Guitar Hero World Tour with Sam before heading to the gym for a workout. Have to admit it is really good to be going back at least two times a week. Pushed some limits on my weights tonight and boy am I feeling it now. It's all good though, the only down side is that I am now incredibly sleepy!

Toni came over later than usual tonight and started crashing out on the sofa. She's had a stressful couple of days and it's all catching up with her now. She did go and see a potential house tonight which unfortunately wasn't really suitable but at least the search is now on.

Tiredness and backaches started to kick in so it was time for a bath for her whilst I caught up on a few PC things.

Next stop, bed. Night all!

How to stay............

Pepsi Tate (1965 - 2007)

Two years today since the passing of Tigertailz bass player Pepsi Tate.

You are missed my friend!

Thursday 17 September 2009

One of those manic days

Today was one of those manic days.
Things were really busy at work. I got in early and so was looking forward to leaving early. Unfortunately a client decided to go live with an upgrade late in the afternoon which went wrong and so I ended up staying late helping to sort them out. Thankfully all was well and they are happy now.

Got home, did some Capitals stuff. Sam made a pasta dish for dinner and then we settled down to watch Candyman.

Toni has a house to go and view tomorrow afternoon which is a positive step so fingers crossed she will like it and will finally have somewhere to live very soon.

On another good note, I spent the day listening to the wonderful Rufus Wainwright. Received his new live CD "Milwaukee At Last" (a signed copy no less) and that has been played non-stop, I just never tire of his music :o)

Firestarter

Oh my god, this is excellent
The Zimmers - Firestarter

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Steel Panther @ O2 Empire

Ventured off the O2 Empire in Shepherds Bush with Toni and Sam to see the mighy Steel Panther once again.

Started off with yummy chinese before heading to the venue.

When we arrived we were astounded that there was a massive queue to get in. Whilst waiting Sam and I signed outselves onto a Steel Panthers mailing list and received free Steel Panther condoms!


Once again there was no support band but we were treated to a DJ set with Shuff spinning some old school glam/rock anthems. With the exception of 2 tracks he has been playing that set list since I used to help DJ with Dennis at Buttz N Spikez back in the 80s ;o)


Just before Steel Panther came on:


Steel Panther were awesome, just like last time, and it's great that the set is completely script so you get some variation between shows!





See all the pics here: 160909SteelPantherO2Empire#

We were up in the gods for this one so the photos aren't as good as usual (well that's my excuse anyway LOL)

Close Encounters - hidden ending

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Gym, stir fry, RAW

Got home from work early tonight as I am getting lifts from Mike and so Sam and I set off for the gym to keep our momentum going. Had a really good work out and my body was really feeling it at the end.

Got home and made a lovely stir fry for dinner. Lots of crunchy vegetables plus some pork.

Evening was topped off watching some wrestling courtesy of the WWE and Monday Night RAW.

Want to see a nice cock?

Childish and purlie but I managed to snap this little beauty on a sign near where I live in SWF. Has mild chuckle value:

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:






Top weekly artists:






Overall top tracks:






Overall top artists:




Monday 14 September 2009

Random pics

Here are a few random pics that I have taken recently just to try out my camera:

Spider in the garden:


Spider's web outside the window at work:



Balls:

Sunday 13 September 2009

Let's go Chieftains

After visiting Scarlett, Toni, Aaron and I dropped by the Riverside to watch the Chelmsford Chieftains for the first time in over a year. It was nice to see some old faces again and the game was quite enjoyable. Won't be able to go to every match but again but I certainly intend to go to a few more throughout the season. It was a close-ish match that could have gone either way that actually ended up Chelmsford Chieftains 2 - 2 Bracknell Hornets.

My own little soap opera

I swear I should write a book to cover the soap opera that seems to be things going on with my family and get it made into a soap opera, you just can't make this shit up!

Another lazy morning with no intention of getting up was disrupted by the phone ringing at 11:30. It was Sophie upset and in a rage. Apparently she had had a call from A&E at Broomfield Hospital saying that Shane had taken Scarlett in as she had a bump on her head but that Shane and Scarlett had disappeared. I tried to get Sophie to calm down but she was adamant that something bad had happened and it was Shane's fault.

I called Shane and his opening line was, "You aren't going to shout at me and threaten to kill me too are you?" I reassured him that this was not the case, I just wanted to find out what was going on. Anyhow, it transpired that Scarlett had banged her head on her cot in the morning while tring to crawl about. Shane, quite rightly, was concerned and so took Scarlett to A&E at Broomfield Hospital. Once she had been checked over they then wanted to transfer her over to St. Johns Hospital for further observation and told Shane that an ambulance would take him. After 1.5 hours waiting Shane had had enough and so called a friend to take him and Scarlett to St. Johns Hospital. His only mistake was not informing A&E what he had done and so they rightly contacted Sophie when they couldn't find him and Scarlett (presumalby Sophie's number was the one on file).

Sophie was still raging and was convinced that this could not have been an accident and started threatening to come down from Nottingham (she has decided to go back there to live with her mother) to get Scarlett. Fortunately it was not possible for Sophie to make a rash decision and come down to try and take Scarlett back. I received no end of abuse from her (and her mother in the background) because I refused to go and try and take Scarlett away from Shane. As far as I was concerned there was nothing to worry about and I was certainly not likely to have Shane willingy hand Scarlett over anyway.

A few hours later Shane called me to say that Scarlett had been discharged from hospital and was back home. In my view if there had been any cause for concern over Scarlett's welfare they would have kept her in overnight until a social worker could get involved rather than let her be discharged back into potential danger.

Shane then asked me if Toni was with me (I asked why as I know the pair of them aren't the biggest fans of each other). He then said that if she was then would we like to come over and see Scarlett as it had been a while since we had seen her with Sophie scooting off to Nottingham a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked but delighted at this. We had been planning to go to Chelmsford to see the ice hockey anyway and so decided to detour via Shane's first to see Scarlett. Unfortunately Sam didn't fancy ice hockey so didn't come but Shane has said that he can go and see Scarlett in the week if he wants.

We spent about 45 minutes with Shane and Scarlett and it was lovely to see her again. Thankfully there was no atmosphere and Shane was very chatty and pleasant. He has said that when he sorts out exactly what his contact with Scarlett will be then we are more than welcome to go and see her which was very decent of him I though.

I sent Sophie a text to say that I had seen Scarlett and she was fine and after a bit of silence she called me and although she was still cynical about Shane's explanation she did at least seem to have calmed down a bit.

Oh the joys of parenthood! LOL

Here's a couple of pics:




and finally..............

Saturday 12 September 2009

Sick, no stripper and True Blood

Late start today
Partly through tiredness and partly because Toni was unwell in the night and so was all crashed out and snuggled up.
Unfortunately we didn't get to go and see Richard O'Brien's THE STRIPPER which was a shame but Toni just wasn't well enough and we had no time to get ready and get there anyway.

When we did get up we took it easy and just chilled in the living room. I did a stir fry for dinner and we started watching Season 2 of TRUE BLOOD. The series is addictive and just gets better and better with the most awesome cliffhangers ar the end of each episode.