Beardyman

I went to see Beardyman play on Friday night at Revolutions with some friends from work. I think I was the only one of us that had heard of him before. I had seen him featured in this is a knife podcast 14,12,06.

It was a bit of a long night he didn't come on till about 11.30 but there was some good old 80s hip hop to keep me going, remember I am getting on a bit now late nights are not my thing anymore. So anyway quite a few beers had gone down before things started to get going.

He is really good not quite what I was expecting from my hip hop days. He does a lot of stuff that sounds more dance than hip hop but it was impressive. I had to go up to the DJ area to have a look and clarify that this sound filling the bar was coming from this small human and not CD player. He was good at getting the crowd going to with the usual "come on Milton Keynes" or whatever town I am in tonight stuff.

I would recommend looking through your local listings to see if he is playing near you. It is worth it. A good night was had by all. I have to thank Sarah for getting me home safely. At my age you can't be to careful especially when very drunk.

And there is a website Beardyman

Favorite beasts

Just a quickie. My top ten beasts in no particular order.





1. Red Panda






2. Lion







3. Jiant Otter





4. Tiger








5. Lynx








6. Badger (UK version)








7. GSDs
















8. Pine Martin






9. Elephant










10. Gorilla








11. Polar Bear

The most expensive Glastonbury tickets ever?

I have been known in the past for getting an idea in
my head on a Monday and spending a fortune on that idea by Tuesday. See flying the next big thing.

Impulsively we purchased tickets to Glastonbury festival last weekend. We didn't even register for tickets this year, but when it was reported on the news that tickets where still available we went for it. £337 later we had tickets. If you are familiar with Glastonbury you will know that for the past couple of years it has been a monsoon style wash out.

Bart asked if there was any way that we could rent a camper van so as not to be sleeping directly in the mud or cramed against the tent next to us. Plus young people at festivals are known to make a noise and not retire until after dark.

We then thought we would rather not be living so rough at all. So I called the ticket line and managed to get us in the camper van field, another £50. Remember we don't own a camper van.






We then had to look for our preferred sleeping accommodation.


Van rental was soon ruled out as a week in a small camper (see above) was going to cost £500 so I had the idea of a caravan. We would get an old one cheap, we would tow it to the festival (my dad would lend us his Jeep if we fitted a tow bar) and use it for the rest of the summer, Bug Jam, beach kiting etc. As soon as we had our use out of it we would put it back on ebay and get our money back. So we set a budget of £300 and went off to ebay.


I was impressed with the quality of van available for just a little more than our newly agreed budget (around £650). So we started to think about investing a little more and keeping the van permanently. Then we found this one it has everything you could need for a trip around Europe let a loan a weekend in a muddy field at Glastonbury. More impulse purchasing.

So the state of play tonight is we have found a nice van Just a little more than our budgeted £300 a snip at £1,150 yes that's right £1,150

So this is what tickets to Glastonbury really cost.

£337 for the tickets
£50 to be in the camper field
£1,150 for the caravan
£150 to fit a tow bar to my dads Jeep
£200 for insurance

Total £1,887 for you Americans that's $3,774 for the two of us.

And of course we will have to buy a new car equipped with a tow bar, so that we can use the van in the future as Mercedes will not let me put one on my B class lease car.

So are these the most expensive festival tickets anyone anywhere has ever bought? Please let me know. We have put the plan on hold for now.

GBK

Just a quick advert. If you are local and can't decide where to eat tonight. Give GBK in the Hub a try. We did about five weeks ago and have never looked back.

I recommend the organic Wild Boar burger.

The Mighty Boosh

I loved these guys as soon as I saw the first episode on TV (BBC3). It's the kind of show that you can just dismiss if you don't give it a chance. It evolved from a stand up stage show, then on to radio now TV and next possibly a movie.

You need to sit down relax and let the surreal rampage just take you away. I think Bart had a hard time doing this in the early days. I used to go up to bed to make sure I didn't miss it. I am glad to say that I don't have to do that anymore Bart has now joined the Boosh party. We have gone a bit overboard as we purchased all three seasons on DVD last weekend and we have had a marathon each night this week.


Seeing it again has just reminded me that the musical numbers are great. Crossing genres from country, electro, funk, electrofunk, rock, jazz and of course crimping . Jo Whiley said that she thinks the boys know more about music than she does. Praise indeed from a woman that has introduced some of the biggest UK bands to public attention. Apparently there is an album in the offing.



I could go on and on but if you haven't given the Boosh a go, try it you might like it.

From Wikipedia:

The Mighty Boosh is a comic fantasy containing humour and pop-culture references. Episodes often feature elaborate musical numbers in different genres, such as electro, heavy metal, funk, and rap, as well as "crimping" (short random songs; though it had appeared in earlier series, the name crimping appeared in the 3rd episode of series three). Julian Barratt writes the music and sings the theme song, and Noel Fielding often sings the series' music. Fielding also designs many of the show's graphics. The TV series has many animated sequences, puppets and special effects. Barratt, in a 2005 interview, says that he approached Fielding with the idea of doing a show like The Goodies^[2], as if it were a complete "world" rather than simply a sketch show. Fielding and Barratt play many of the supporting characters themselves, usually disguised with make-up; Rich Fulcher takes on many of the other roles in the TV series and is the only other writer to provide additional material.

Distract them

Anyone with a TV has to have seen the massive coverage that the Olympic torch relay has been getting. Due in the most part to the Free Tibet protesters that have been making their cause known loud and clear all the way along the route so far.



I have no issue with the protest in fact I support whole heartedly the Free Tibet campaign. Though I have to say with the situation in Zimbabwe at the moment with Robert Mugabe doing his slippery best to hang on to power no matter what, we seem to be handing him just what he needs, a distraction. Ever since the torch started it's journey around this world of ours. I have seen almost nothing on the news about Zimbabwe. Please lets have some more coverage and let this dictator know that the world is still watching his every move. If Zimbabwe has to go back to the polls let us do what we can to make sure that Mugabe realizes that the world is looking over his shoulder and intimidation and violence will not be tolerated.