Don't Make Me Get Old Skool

Ok so I've just got in from a gossip in the local with Izzy, my partner in crime, girlfriend, empathetic sista and all-round best mate. A few pints of Amstel-top, and I've got this tune stuck in my head for some reason: www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Ok0B9EvZg. What a classic. How much more energy could go into that??

Two of my quality housemates from uni happened to hail from Kendal, Cumbria, in the beautiful Lake District. A couple of years ago our 'crew' took a trip to the Kendal Calling festival, where Dizzee Rascal himself was headlining. I seem to recall the tent kicking off with this...

The oldies always seem to be the best; if you liked that, how about this one? : www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pnJPX60vXA&feature=channel or this : www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUPleuj42w0&NR=1
Oh yeah, and check out the cake tent *slash* dirty dubstep rave tent, complete with straw-covered mud floor! :

Jazica

I suppose a lot of people have 'a mate in a band'. I suppose that mate/band are almost always 'almost there', recording contract-wise. I suppose if I told you that I, too, have a mate in a band, who are almost there, that you'll just suppose they are 'just another band'. Well you shouldn't. This band are to be taken notice of!
The friend: Frankie, a hippy-chic university buddy who happened to live in the room next-door in halls. The band: Jazica, joined/created/evolved by Frankie et al, three years ago, in our fresh-faced first year. The music: colourful electronic synth-pop.
They played a storming EP launch last night. Frankie had been up all night hand-printing t-shirts, which sold out alongside the EP, and the atmosphere and appreciation were electric. Here's to one more small step  in their musical journey, which is picking up pace all the time.

Cat Sat

I promised you more on our cat-sitting experience last week. I said it was a place in the middle of nowhere; I said it was for a workmate of the Wizard. It was in fact at his actual place of work; and the workmate lives in the converted flat above. The building is fantastic: built by the vicar's wife in the 19th Century as a school, and since having various uses. If I had the money, I'd make the boss an offer - it could do with a bit of TLC, not to mention updating, but the potential there is vast.

The flat can be seen here in the converted half of the roof. The other half is suspected to be inhabited by bats... (although neither us nor the cats seemed to notice). Ah, the cats. Rocky and Apollo. Bengal, house-bound and completely mental. I have never know a cat to sleep in a bed, under the duvet; let alone two of them curled up together. They're so confident, at least compared to my wimp of a moggy (love you, Poppy), and they really do rule the roost, with various tunnels, cat-scratching towers, homely-looking litter boxes and even their own pot of grass growing for them to eat. In the mornings, they would work their way under the duvet at our feet, crawl up through the bed and proceed to prowl up and down across the pillows, before curling up on our heads.
Beautiful, fun, but relentless. You certainly can't ignore them.

Career Change for the Wiz

With the recent departure of Reading FC boss Brendan Rodgers, a group of us thought we'd take the opportunity to apply for a dream job. Below is my application for the vacant position of Reading FC manager!

Dear Mr Hammond,

Please accept this letter as my application for the position of Reading F.C first team manager. On hearing that the position has recently become available I immediately set about drafting my application and drawing up a contingency plan to successfully return the club to the Premier League. Upon reading this application and my CV that is soon to follow, I think you soon realise that there is only one person that is right for this job. Not only do I have a love for this great club but also a thirst for the game that has yet to be quenched.

In my both my playing and managerial career I have tasted both success and failure. It is these moments that have made me a more determined and focused individual. In the past 18 months I have experienced league and cup triumphs on the pitch as a player, and have been pipped at the post to a league title in my first season of managing a university team that is growing in both stature and reputation. As well as a genuine connection to the game at all levels, I am able to bring my love for the club. I am local to Reading and have seen the club grow from the Elm Park era to the Madejski years of today, where I have been a season ticket holder for a number of years. It is partly the frustration of not being able to affect the team from the stands in the manner in which I so desire, that has spurred me into writing this application.

In short I am in no doubt, that with a single club vision, and commitment from both club officials, management, but more importantly the players, we can, no we will, be back playing in the Premier League within the next two seasons.

I believe that in order to move the club forward and achieve promotion, we as a club need a team of people as passionate and as committed as yourself and Sir John. It is for this reason that I highly recommend that you consider the applications of  MM, DA, NJ, and AG to work as my support staff. I am in no doubt that these four great men share the same vigour, drive, and determination as myself.

Thank you for taking the time to review my application. If for any reason it were deemed that I was not suitable for the prestigious position then I would greatly appreciate a response in writing at your earliest possible convenience.

Yours Sincerely,

The Wizard

BA(Hons)

So far I am yet to receive a reply, but a statement from owner John Madejski on the Reading FC website reads: "As you can imagine there have been a whole load of people in touch. We've had applications through the door but we are putting them to one side because we're concentrating on the short term." Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Have You Seen These People?

The world is brimming with mystery and wonder. Some of it's marvels are ancient artefacts such as the pyramids, built by our ancestors and extensively written about by generations to come, yet still misunderstood. Some are more spiritual in nature, never meant to be explained by us mere mortal humans; and some of those mysteries are small and personal - life's everyday trials and tribulations, that are sent to relentlessly and constantly test us. When you look closer, perhaps it is these personal challenges that hold the most wonder - the strength of the human spirit, determination, mind over matter etc. But perhaps I am digging too deep for now.
Here is a mystery that will never be explained. I found these passport photos outside the dance tent at Reading Festival 2009 (see previous post), just lying there looking up at me as I boogied my way into the tent. I was compelled to pick them up, and have been wondering ever since. Who are these people? Do you know? Where are they from? Are they a couple? Brother and sister? What do they want? Did they enjoy the festival? What's their favourite type of cheese?

The mind boggles. But do let us know if you can help...

Chocolate Heaven

A few weeks ago, ever the patriotic optimist, I heard word of American processed foods giant Kraft having their bid to buy Cadbury's rejected. I cheered, and then blindly believed that was the end of it. Or I was in denial. Or both. You see, Cadbury's is genuinely my favourite chocolate; the recipe is perfect, it has no nasty additives, it provides the feel good factor, and has always been a far wiser choice than the corporate (yet inferior) taste of rivals Nestlé or Mars. And it's British! I'm talking about the actual chocolate here too, in whatever combination it's presented. (Fruit & Nut, Creme Egg being two of the best).
For Cadbury's, production began in Bournville, in Birmingham, in 1869. This was an entire 'factory in a garden' town, built by the Cadbury brothers to house the workers, who were were treated to idyllic surroundings and even encouraged to grown their own food. Workers were so enthusiastic that it showed in the chocolate production itself, and within 100 years Cadbury's rose to be the world's leading confectionary company.
So today I am not cheering in that loyal, spirited way. Today I am sad. It seems there is a price on this particular institution after all - to the tune of £12 billion. To put that into perspective, UK support for the recent bank bailout comes in at £850bn. Not only is it another British business sold abroad, and more British jobs lost, but the recipe that is John Cadbury's legacy and gift will surely change. Even a change in suppliers could make a difference to that famous, wholesome flavour.  Corporate decisions may come before integrity, and the fundamentals will be lost entirely. Plus, everyone knows Americans can't make chocolate like a European.
I'm all for a nationwide boycott personally (not sure how long I'd last, what with it being Creme Egg season and all), but let's at least hope Kraft listen to their valued employees and life-long customers, and keep things as they always were. They have a lot to live up to.

Angels and Demons

After many failed attempts, for various reasons, we finally watched Angels and Demons last night.
We're currently cat-sitting for a workmate of the Wizard, in a place in the middle of nowhere (more later!), so, true to tradition, we turned all the lights off and snuggled up under a big fluffy throw with the cats and some popcorn, and were gripped from the start.
I may have had a slightly unfair advantage, as I have read Dan Brown's bestselling book - which was awesome, and made a trip to Rome a couple of years ago all the more enthralling. But the brilliantly simplified version of an otherwise complex story worked well and was, importantly, easy to follow whilst maintaining the fast-paced urgency of the narrative. The setting of the story is beautiful, and translates well into film.
I don't think the colourful historic conflicts between science and religion came across as profoundly as they perhaps should; but then there is a lot of potential controversy involved in creating a multi-million-dollar Hollywood movie (although author Dan Brown is no stranger to adverse audience reactions, I'm sure), and things are especially delicate where religion is concerned. As an avid and enthusiastic reader, however, the movie lacked some emotional meaning and a real historical connection.
The adaptation is a job well done, though. Just don't ask me where Dan Brown gets the energy and strength to write such a masterpiece!

In Demand

I knew this would happen. Six long months of strenuous searching for a job, then three offers come along at once... So I've had some big decisions to make this week, and hope I've made the right one.
I'm now working part-time for Listed magazine, a free events listings magazine for Southampton and Bournemouth areas, featuring: music, film, nightlife, arts, entertainment, dance, comedy, motoring, sport, theatre, fashion, restaurants and books. (Phew! Anything not covered let me know!) I'm on the sales team generating advertising revenue for the magazine, and going out on field sales appointments next week! As they're a really small team, I'm hopefully going to be helping with design and copy during busier periods, nearer the print deadline. Finally I feel like a professional!

Embossed

A small gift to the Wizard recently was a classic black leather wallet. The best examples of these should be like an old friend, sitting comfortably and warm in a jeans pocket; the beautiful thing about leather is that it gets better with age, and it lasts a lifetime. I wanted to give it a personal touch, it was Christmas after all, so I set my heart on getting his initials embossed on it. Quite straightforward, you might think; except I had a nightmare time trying shoe repairers, glass engravers and jewellers, and spending a whole morning on the phone getting passed around various small businesses from here to London, all who seemed to know each other personally. Curiouser and curiouser...
I eventually tracked down a book-binder, who runs his business through an old bookshop attached to a fairly prestigious college not far from here. It was like stepping in to another world. Floor-to-ceiling shelves of books, rolls of material, public school memorabilia, huge printing presses and a thick layer of dust covered every visible corner of the place. The guy told me he had never been on the internet and gets colleagues to reply to emails, although he did admit that he thought the lifespan of the book (as we know it) is coming to an end, to be replaced with electronic files etc.
I had to ask for a picture, and I think the atmosphere of that incredible place is clear from these:

 

This Time Last Year...

... We were on our way to Berlin, a weekend away that was planned around seeing Oasis on their European tour. I had wanted to get Oasis tickets for the Wizard for Christmas, but the now-defunct super-band didn't arrive back in the UK until July (not very festive) so I let the cat out of the bag, and we decided jointly on Berlin, at random. Turns out to have been an amazing choice: Berlin was excellent.
I had just got back from Tokyo on a 5-day university trip (Sound good? It was!), was exhausted, had severe jet lag and no clean clothes. It was really surreal to get barely a night's sleep then get straight on another plane, but exciting nonetheless. Funny that I couldn't sleep a wink on a 12-hour flight to Japan, although I tried, but slept soundly for the 90 minutes to Germany!
As we landed, we could see what I thought was just a bad ground frost covering the landscape, but this turned out to be snow. It hadn't actually snowed for a while, this was just unmelted stuff, and it stayed that way for the entire four days we were there. It was very cold, apparently some of the coldest days on record, but that just added to our adventure.
Oasis were faultless, although their performance got slightly lost within the whole Berlin experience. The German crowd were certainly more reserved than us rowdy, beer-guzzling Brits, too. They were, however, very friendly and helpful wherever we went, spoke impeccable English and helped us out when we went astray.
We drank masses of chemical-free beer (added chemicals have been banned in German brewing practices since 1516 - no hangover whatsoever!), went to the awesome zoo, visited a couple of those legendary sex-shops, danced all night, and generally trudged around with our noses in the guidebook, soaking it all up. Most museums/places of interest were free to enter, so we could afford to splash out on the reasonably-expensive food and drink (steak and beer).
Germany's colourful and divided history cannot be escaped here; in fact it is put on display rather boldly for all to see (and fair play to that, I say). The Holocaust museum is both interesting and upsetting, and set in bleak surroundings that need to be seen to be understood - symbolic of the severe loss of life, yet tasteful, modern and original (they had much deliberation over its design, but it works). The remains of the Berlin Wall are very important to the city, and while we were there the Eastern section was getting a facelift: the old graffiti was being removed to make room for more!
The whole city appears to be in a constant state of scruffy re-invention, while at the same time managing to be bang up to date. The historic Reichstag, for instance, has a huge glass dome on the roof, offering panoramic 360-degree views (and it's also free!). It's not a very pretty city, but it's damn cool.
I don't think either of us could give you a favourite highlight, we loved it all. It's really grown on us in the year since we left, too - we've missed it, and are planning to go back. Let's hope it's as cheap as the first time - due to cheap flights and seasonal hotel discounts, it only cost us about £100 each, and we had a job trying to spend money when we got there!

I Just Fancy a Kick-About

So, football was cancelled again today! It's well over a month now since I've played, and the desire to kick a ball about is really starting to set in. With the festive break, bad weather and an episode with some faulty floodlights really messing up the fixtures, I have sought refuge in various stadia across the country.


Before Christmas I took a trip out west to Ashton Gate, home of Bristol City, to see Reading try and drag their sorry arses out of the relegation zone. I will admit most of the 90 minutes of football is a drunken blur, but not forgetting that Reading scored an equalizer in the 92nd minute. It was a thoroughly good day out! 


Next was the Madejski Stadium and the magic of the FA Cup. Reading hosted a Liverpool side that have fallen on hard times, and it was a rare chance for me to go to a game with my Dad. Playing 3pm games for my club makes it difficult to see any live games. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Liverpool were pony, and their over-priced, over-payed players were taught a lesson in grit and determination by a Reading team also on a run of bad luck. Final score 1-1 and a replay at Anfield.


Next Wednesday sees five of us lads taking a trip up to Anfield, Liverpool for the third-round FA Cup replay between Reading and Liverpool. Fingers crossed that the weather blesses us with some clear skies and sunshine. Managerless Reading have been looking slightly better recently, so the 480 mile round trip up north may not be completely in vain!


Come back soon for pictures from the historic stadium (weather permitting!).

Freeze Dry This!

You may have noticed by now that I'm a bit of a foodie. I do love my grub - whether eating it, cooking it or watching cookery shows all day - and I seem to have gradually absorbed a lot of food and nutritional knowledge in my 25 years. You may also have noticed my environmentalist side, which stems from a yearning for fairness and common sense, and on which subject I have also seemed to acquire some knowledge. The food industry and the environment will always cross over; they influence each other in so many ways and the balance is critical. This balance is on the verge of being upset permanently, as the world's population, economy and, arguably, temperature see exponential growth, putting a huge strain on the natural world.
Anyway, the point being is that we should all think hard about where our food comes from. Every little bit really does help when we're talking about local farmers and producers. Free range eggs should be the only option. Organic milk is far healthier for you, and for the environment. I'm no saint myself, but armed with the facts we can all make a difference.

So, a little tip: freeze-dried foods have a huge carbon footprint. That includes instant coffee, instant soup, and those delicious flakes of freeze-dried strawberry in your overpriced breakfast cereal. Coffee, for instance, is ground, blended and brewed as normal, before the boiling water is all boiled away again and the resulting substance is frozen at about -80 C. Then it is 'dried': put under enormous pressure and heat (over several days) to turn the frozen liquid inside directly into a gas, with no liquid stage in between. This makes it light to transport and convenient to use. But aren't fresh percolator coffee and hand-picked strawberries so much sweeter? Your choice!

Avatar: The Big Blue Cat-People

With the roads quiet and covered in snow last night, we decided to venture out on the most well-gritted of them to the cinema. It was 'Orange Wednesday' after all; and what else is there to see at the moment than James Cameron's Avatar, especially in 3D?

The graphics really are incredible - so much so that you forget how digitally-enhanced/expensive it is. (Couldn't they have just used good old-fashioned make-up, then?) To me, Pinchy, the storyline wasn't as sci-fi as I expected, and is rather like a futuristic, large-scale version of Fern Gully. I know that many (most) people would disagree, and pelt me with proverbial rotten tomatoes, but that's the connections made in my brain, OK? Plus, it's a good analogy - the films have the same moral message: Fairy/Na'vi/Human, Fern Gully/Pandora/Earth, we all have a right and duty to protect our environment (from those pesky Americans who just want to mine it).

NEW Hot Chip track

My normally cold, drab and boring journey to work was given a surprising lift this morning. I caught my first listen of the new Hot Chip track, One Life Stand. This is the title track from the fourth studio album of the British electro-pop boys, and is sure to be another hit. 

Absolutely spot on, it was exactly what I needed as Friday creeps up, and I begin to look forward to the weekend. 

Log on to www.hotchip.co.uk to watch the video and give it a listen.

Snow Joke

Well I'm not sure there's any part of the country that has avoided this snow! It's like a colossal freezing cloud just emptied its guts over us all, and we just have to grit our teeth (and the road) and get on with the consequences. Not that I'm one of the complainers. I love the snow, as blogged during the now-called 'flurry' we had a few weeks ago. Compared to that little dusting, this really is the icing on the cake!

Working in the corner shop is a revelation at times like these. Queues out the door, skyrocketing sales of soup and sausages, red-faced kids buying Marigolds for their snowmen, various dogs tethered outside unsure what to make of it all, and we sold out of milk and bread. Thankfully the local baker is just around the corner and as fast as the bread flew off the shelves, emergency orders were filled. Anyone would think the world is coming to an end. Still, when else can you see grown men and women sledding down small hills, smiling and whooping, wearing a full snowsuit plus boots?

I, having found myself with no-one to play with, took my new camera for a wander...

Fixie

So recently I became the proud owner of my first fixed gear project bike - a Raleigh track bike bought from a mate of my grandfather for £25. Ronnie Pike has a garage full of repaired, otherwise unwanted bikes from front to back, and top to bottom. It turns out that this particular bike had once belonged to my uncle, and if I'd have seen my granddad three weeks earlier I could have had it for free. As it turns out, he had swapped it for a BMX that my younger brother could use. I'm not worried though, the money couldn't have gone into the hands of a better man. Ronnie doesn't believe that any kid should be without a bike. If there's ever a child without a bike, Ronnie gives them one out of his garage for free.


The idea is to take the bike, strip it down, spray it, and convert the rear wheel to a fixed gear cog. My thinking behind the styling is 'less is more': smooth lines and sleek finishing. For an idea of what I'm talking about, visit www.fixedgeargallery.com. Here you can find hundreds of photos of fixies from around the world, uploaded daily.


Heres a few pictures of my bike as it stands.

Note from the Editor : Pinchy does not want the Wizard to re-spray this frame! The retro colour combination is sublime already!

Had Our Cake and Eaten It

Well that's the last of my Christmas cake gone... thankfully I got the last piece, cos it was bloody good (if I may say so myself).
I went for a Christmas tree theme for the decoration in the end, complete with edible baubles! Despite the extra layer of marzipan on the top, I think it could have been thicker. But then I'm a marzipan fiend. The icing could also have been better; it was my first attempt at royal icing, and it was a bit on the thin side. The actual cake was really moist and fruity though, so I'll be sure to use this BBC recipe again.
My auntie had also made a cake, so on Boxing Day we had a 'Christmas cake-off', where various family members blind taste-tested the two. I think it was a tie - my cake and her icing/marzipan (which even wrapped under the cake - that's dedication to the almond paste if I ever saw it).

Paper Chain

So there I was today, off work and stuffed full of a bad cold, watching Harry Potter with my Dad while the Wizard was at the football. It was the 6th Harry Potter movie, the most recent, and about where I started to lose interest in the books, if I'm honest. (Dumbledore cannot and should not die! He's the best character by far!) So needless to say, I was having trouble following the film - forgetting who is who and their various histories and relations to each other.
So, I decided to impart on a small project dreamt up a few days ago - a paper chain made from my Japanese origami paper. I had bought this paper on last year's university trip to Tokyo (an entry on this is well overdue - watch this space), and have been waiting for inspiration to use it elsewhere, seeing as I'm no good at the intricate folding techniques required for origami. I was going to use it to create a scrapbook of Tokyo, but a flash of inspiration hit me the other day in the form of a paper chain, so I ran with it. (If I haven't gotten around to that scrapbook yet, it ain't gonna happen anytime soon.)
The paper was of three different sizes, so the biggest (about 15 x 15cm) I cut into 2cm strips (wide enough to still be able to decipher the patterns, and the other two (10 x 10cm and 5 x 5cm) into 1cm strips. I even cut up the origami-print bag the paper came in, and tried to include the pink origami bow that adorned it. Then I made three separate chains according to the paper sizes, glueing together with Pritt Stick Extra Strong.

Evaluation:
1. I should have done it before Christmas, really.
2. Quite nice effect, not very authentic Japanese though.
3. Too many plain-coloured links, not enough of those fabulous patterns.

But hey, it kept me busy for a couple of hours!

Resolute

I have continued to pride myself on never making new year's resolutions. In my opinion they're usually unattainable, and you put yourself on a negative footing to start with. Does the solution really to take a whole year to sort out?  And why must we wait until New Year's Eve to trigger the transformations?
This year I might have made a couple of tiny exceptions... just in my head...  1. Do more exercise and/or cut out eating cake.  2. Make the most of my new camera and take it everywhere.  3. Learn more about web design and do more writing.  4. Getting a job goes without saying.
Not too daunting, not announced loudly on new year's eve, no time scale, and therefore not really resolutions; but I'll feel damn good when I'm done, and not too bad if I don't.