Happy old school 30th Sharon

It was my baby sister Sharon's 30th birthday yesterday. She insisted that for her big night out what she wanted most of all was to get out and put our skates on. It was probably the first time in nearly ten years that all four of us had done this together. I was up for it if a little worried, you can never go back and there have been a lot of years and even more beers since then.

So Sharon, my brothers Mick and John, Sharon's partner Damien and I all headed off to the Roller Disco in South London (no Bart this time but maybe next time). What a great night we all had. The magic was definitely still there. The rink is a bit (a lot) small but the layout is good. The bars were easy to get served at, obviously a must for me. There was a nice decked chill out smoking area out the back. The atmosphere was great loads of people just out for a good time and no moody faces even when you drop them on their ass. The music in the first room was funky old school (James Brown, Prince) etc. The second room was a bit more up to date dance stuff. All in all a good blend of old and new.

For anyone that doesn't know our history we were all mad skaters in the late 80s early 90s. This was before I was seduced by rave culture (the two did blend for a while). I was head skate steward at Rollers in Bletchley for a couple of years and we skated every day for at least five years, I used to get them all free entry, but we had all since gotten on with our lives and left the skating behind.

I think we will definitely be doing this again. Thanks, Sharon, for such a great idea. It was fantastic to see the three of you with your skates back on. Even after all these years some of the old moves were still there. Damien who knew you could be so agile for a big man and well done for knocking out all comers in the bar arm wrestling contest.


Birthday girl (stylin)

Birthday girl plus loving brothers

Birthday girl and partner Damien (is he famous?)

Ruling the rink

The old guys are fading

Supple at 30?

How not to do it I need to get some exercise

A very happy birthday sis. Here is to another 30 years rollin. Luv ya xxx

OMG

I can't believe it. Two of my favorite things are being brought together this summer. I think I may pee myself.

Just look Bug jam 22 will not only be bringing together some of the most beautiful VW cars and vans in the world. But this year just to show off there will be a Roller skating rink too.
As well as the usual show and shine, comedy tent, various music venues and mental VW people.
I can't wait.

Just in case you are interested or just a little bored, here is some Bug jam history.

See you there DUBBERS!

Seasick Steve

Are you dead inside?

If you don't absolutely love this man you may as well be. Bart and I first saw him on Jools Holland back in January. I as usual went out and brought all three albums I could find, I just had to have as much of him I could get my hands on. All three albums are well worth a listen. He is funny, honest, a great story teller and above all he is just fabulous. Don't take my word for it Mr Seasick will be playing Glastonbury this year and in my humble opinion he is one not to miss. So if you have tickets make sure you have him on your Glasto planner in big red pen, see you there I hope.

A bit of light relief

jihad suicide hotline

sweet moves

Dont push me

Retarded Policeman

We'll call her Mabel

Well we did it at last. Today we traveled to Mansfield (not really sure where it is either), to purchase a Baily Pageant or to you and me our accommodation for this years Glastonbury Festival. She is a sweet old girl, a bit smelly and wrinkled in all the usual places for a girl of her vintage.

That said she has all mod cons. Full awning (doubling the size of the living accommodation), a nice large seating area, a fully equipped kitchen with oven, grill, fridge - even a kitchen sink. A shower with hot and cold water as well as a festival essential our own private toilet so VIP.

We just reserved her today so I have to drive back up there on Tuesday to collect her. Thanks again, Dad, for the use of your Jeep and for putting the tow bar on just for us. We will pay you back one day I promise.

So please join us in welcoming Mabel to the Kelly - Gamber family.

Glastonbury lineup 2008

So we have some clues at last as to who is going to play Glastonbury this year. My head is spinning just looking at this list. Where do you start? I have picked some favorites but I hope to see something new to.

SantoGold, Roisin Murphy, Fatboy Slim, Seasick Steve, Stanton Warriors, Jimmy Cliff, Estelle, Fun Lovin Criminals, Candi Staton, Jami T, The Ting Tings, Beardyman, The Souljah Clique, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, Dizzie Rascal, Kings of Leon, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Roni Size, Pendulum (DJ Set), Hot Chip, Massive Attack, Unkle, Lightspeed Champion, Die and Clippz, Left Field, The Verve and Goldfrap.

here's the lineup.

I have cut the list down so that it a bit easier to navigate through the Blog.

I'm exhausted thank god we've got two days of to recover.

How times change

Check out this old-style Gypsy caravan.

I stumbled across this today while looking on the net for a caravan for our summer trips to Glastonbury and Bug Jam. To my surprise I came across this little beauty on Ebay. I remember seeing this kind of van all over the place when I was a kid - at fun fares, circuses and just parked up by the roadside. It's a rare sight nowadays, I can't remember the last time I saw one.


This kind of made me think about the loss of culture or at least the ways that culture changes. Things disappear and you don't realise they've gone. My Nan for example had lace doilies over the back of her furniture. My Mum, now a Nan herself, would rather die.

This is a real cultural time capsule. Not my taste of course but you have to admire the workmanship. Remember the glass cabinets would traditionally be packed full of the best china the family owned. I guess as a kind of status symbol.

Summer at last

The weather has been great for the past week. It feels like summer is truly here, thank Good. It got up to 24.5 yesterday and 27 today. Bright sunshine and clear blue sky.

Is there any country in the world as beautiful as ours when the sun is out? These are not the most beautiful photos but they remind me of the summer to come.

Happy birthday Freddie

Happy birthday to my gorgeous nephew Freddie who turned one last week. We had a great bbq on Sunday hosted by Nan and Granddad. Here are a couple of pictures from Sunday and Wednesday (the big day) also St Georges Day. Here are Freddie and Emjay.

Love you guys, uncle Tony xxx

The Prodigy - Voodoo People - (Pendulum Remix)

Cover me in honey and lick me all over I love you Pendulum.

I love this. A great band mixed by another great band.

We HAVE to see Pendulum this summer. Lets hope they are playing Glastonbury.



The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up




Pendulum - Propane Nightmares (Live)

MIA

Sorry I have been away for a while. My computer went into melt down. So I have limited access. Bart is valiantly trying to fix it. Wish him luck.

Pendulum Slam

I didn't think I had been spotted ;¬)

Give it a minute.

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.