Bin Rat

I always manage to miss putting the bin out at the correct time on the day of a collection, so I put mine out late last night and feeling very pleased with myself I toddled off to bed. I got a text at “indecent o’clock” this morning, which threw me all out of kilter and found myself making a brew at 8.30. Struggling to cope with the bright sun shining through my ‘lovely’ net curtains, and the sound of the kettle coming up to boil, I could hear a strange muttering sound. Mmm, a man was outside my house, or to be precise, a strange man was in my bin. I cannot believe how upset this made me. I couldn’t decide whether to go and take my bin back (where would I put it? - In my front room for safe keeping until the heroic bin man came a calling?) or go out-side and tell him to piss off, it’s my rubbish – leave it alone! I watched him, I went to my door, I returned to watch him, went back to the door, in the end I went to the back of the house and just stood in my bedroom, utterly confused, upset and annoyed. My rubbish, my property, who the fuck did he think he was? I went back to my window and stood routed to the spot, utterly fascinated with this scavenger. I saw my old tobacco tin, all 3D, blue and shiny, a long time friend, laid to rest only the day before… did I really need it? Nope, it had made it to the bin ffs and I’ve had two more since that one, why was I so upset? After all it would be being re-cycled, surely this is a good thing? It didn’t feel like a ‘good thing’ though, then he removed the top boxes and picked up my kitchen rubbish…. Oh nooooooooo, wisely he put that down and moved on to another bag, out came my unwanted and un-needed USB mug of tea warmer… “what the fuck is he going to do with that?” I asked myself, I went to the back of the house again, decided to get my camera and take a photo or two of him, I mean, I get it, he is just doing what people the world over do, it is just that down a regular street in England I was totally unprepared for it, what shocked me the most was how violated I felt. Puts being robbed or being attacked into a dark perspective, I mean, it was only my bin, how on earth do people with truly distressing situations cope?

Cox Brothers. Life is full of surprises.

On Saturday night I went to a pub I had never been too before. I met a whole bunch of people whom I was not expecting to meet and I had a blast.

Since the smoking ban I have been totally put off going to pubs, however, these days the Breweries and Landlords work especially hard to cater for the ‘dreaded smokers’ by placing them under huge square brollies – if you’re lucky there is also a heater, if you hit the jack-pot, then you may even get two. Last night was a jack-pot, it is just such a shame that it is still fucking freezing, even under one of them, it’s like being in a bathroom with a wall heater, if you are not directly underneath it then you remain cold, if someone else is standing in front of it, you will remain cold, you have to stand up and hog it for your-self, you may as well be standing in a cold room and smoking – oh, you are, except the cold room is in fact out-side. That said, you still find the more interesting people out-side, and those people would rather remain out-side and able to smoke than in-side, wanting too, knowing they are not allowed. Madness.

There was a band on, this I was also not expecting, sadly they were in-side and playing to a room full of ‘no-one’ for much of the time that I was there. It would have been a great atmosphere if the smokers had been in-side, we got sloppy seconds, sitting like criminals pawing at the door to be let in, the music barely getting through to us, every now and then I would be able to tune in, I would have loved to have had the best of both worlds, smoking, beer and them. That or give up smoking *thinks about it* nope, not going to happen. The unfortunately named Cox Brothers – in this day and age, surely a better name could be found? – were surprisingly good, sadly, I only remembered I had my camera with me as the third song I had enjoyed finished, so I missed the golden opportunity to record them, here is Easier To Lie, which was the only full song I actually managed to record, and the ending of Hard Times. For a little pub it was a great night. Tis a CAMRA real ale pub too :)

Tom McRae. Rescue Rooms, Nottingham.

(FYI - 'Bezzie' is Yorkshire for Best Friend)

Bezzie and I started our journey, to see the Fantastic Mr McRae at the Rescue Rooms in Nottingham, on a sunny Monday afternoon. We decided to go on the train, allowing for a stress free and easy glide in to the City Centre, one smooth cab fare away from the cheap and nearly cheerful hotel we’d booked. This gig was meant to happen sometime last year, however with the music industry still calling Tom and Tom deciding to listen, he re-scheduled. We were gutted, yet took this disappointment on our chin(s), buckled down and prepared ourselves to wait.
Is it Billy Connolly :s Jasper Carrot? :s, that talks about always sitting next to the nutter on the train? Well, whoever it was, Bezzie got him this time. We had a table and strange yon chappie was opposite us, wedged in between the chair and the table, he spent most of his time looking out of the window, and it took me quite a while to realise the odious smell was not coming from a few seats back right were the toilets were…..



You just know it’s gonna be a great 24 hours, don’t cha?

We stopped somewhere with a big fancy shiny wall of a fountain, Sheffield, and yes, that car park building did grab my attention – again! Managed a quick fix of nicotine and then off towards Nottingham, convoluted? You bet.



We located a bottle of wine shop (Tesco’s) and were off in the cab before we’d even got off the train, all was so efficient and easy, scarily smooth. Seeing the orbital ‘eye’ construction threw me a bit, thought we’d somehow time warped to London or something… it was a good reference point though lol



The hotel did exactly what it said on the can, and even if it hadn’t, the bottle of wine we started, softened the basic room, Bezzie booted up the heating and in it’s warmth, we chilled, deciding where to go a hunting for food….



What was really great was that we found an Italian restaurant that was friendly, inviting and with excellent staff, Anna, our waitress is ‘tea mad’.



She is also off to Uni in London for a further five years of study, interested in cancer (or as she said, ‘Oncolgy’ ~ my new word for the day.) I wasn’t expecting that reply when I commented on her tat’s, yes, tats’ and then asked if I could take photies. I love tea too, infact I take my pyramids with me when off to visit other climates, (Lancashire, France, Tibet….) I also love weaving, I would just never get a tat’ of a loom to show my passion, ahhh, I know what it is, I’m getting old.



We had a scrummy delish bottle of ‘dark and aromatic‘ mm mm mmm, why pay for 2 glasses when you can get a bottle for much better value….? And Bezzie wasn’t driving, so let’s take full, full advantage of it….
It was with a warm, alcohol fuelled glow that we wandered through the city centre looking for the Rescue Rooms, and what a treat it was when we found them ( We had to walk past the huge square NotTombrella’s, all heated and ready for The Smokers - what joy!)



The bar staff were friendly, served us our beer and we went next door and into the belly of the whale.
Brian Wright was already part way through one of his songs, I don’t know how many we missed, and after seeing and hearing him for the first time at Brudenell, I was sad to know I had missed even a short part of it. I really like this guy. I bought the cd bargain of the year when I got all three of them. I haven’t got a fave yet, however I know I love Accordion. I ended up standing next to someone who was also impressed with him, nice to see the support network of gigging working first hand, I hope Brian’s sales have been impressive…. I know the Tom Tea Towells have all gone, and I am annoyed with myself for falling in to the hype of now wondering if I should have bought one when the opportunity was there (Brudenell), why were they so damned popular? Will he be getting more? Did I miss something special? Why am I even saying this to myself? And the dreaded one…. Will it be on ebay for ‘big money’ one day? I threw away my ‘Wimsies’, it hurt to see them sell for more money that is decent lololol Got Regrets (But I'm hopeful yet )….
What I truly truly love about Tom Gigs is the respectful crowd. You can hear a pin drop, it was, I hope, lovely for Brian to also experience.
I am absolutley crap with naming most of Tom’s songs, even though I know them, it must drive Bezzie mad sometimes, so I refer to the play list someone kindly put up,

Alphabet Of Hurricanes
Me and Stetson
Karaoke Soul
Summer Of John Wayne
End Of The World News (Dose Me Up)
American Spirit
A & B Song
Please
One Mississippi
Walking To Hawaii
Still Love You
Silent Boulevard
Encore
My Vampire Heart
For The Restless
Boy With The Bubblegun

I was standing next to a couple of guys who were both seeing Tom for the first time, they were excited and it was lovely to see the kind of draw that Tom has on his fans, I knew what they were going to hear for the first time, I knew just how Tom’s voice can tingle the base of your neck, swamp you with emotions, jab you with the quality, mesmerise you, and standing next to them anticipating for them was a thrill all of it’s own. I hope they enjoyed the gig as much as Bezzie and I did. Karaoke Soul was one of my highlights, Bezzie says we haven’t heard it live since 2005 (she has an incredible memory for this kind of information) I just swayed to the sound, aware of people’s reactions on hearing the opening bars. Summer of John Wayne has a sound to it that reminds me of one of my fave Tom songs, The Only Thing I know, I go somewhere else inside myself listening to them, his lyrics truly reach me, mean something to me, and that is when I hear or feel, know, his melancholy, for all his irony and bitterness, it is melancholy for me that makes this man one of our great unknown talents. James who? Eat your heart out.

Silent Boulevard was just superb.
They were all brilliant.

It was also interesting to see that the merch stall were asking the kinds of questions that Tom / cafe, should be asking. What he could expect from his fans. What his fans expect of him. Would we prefer bigger venues, how much would we would be prepared to pay to see this man / cafe tour perform? Personally, I’d pay a little bit more, that’s because I am selfish and want to keep him, like I would a beautiful secret, one that you can share, it’s just the child inside doesn’t want too, like having three wishes and knowing you should share at least one of them yet are unwilling to actually commit. Or is that just me? lol
At the Leadmill, if you’re reading this Tom, we’d love ‘Won't Lie’ if at all possible, that and The Only Thing I know, please.

Child Rapists Protected. More information.

www.davidicke.com/articles/child-abuse-mainmenu-74/31148-paedophilia-and-satanism-the-fabric-of-the-web