The upside of air travel

Despite the weariness of long-haul flights, airplane food and missing luggage, there are some upsides to air travel. One would be the lovely scenery that you get to see when approaching an airport. Here's two lovely shots of snow covered landscapes, just out of Helsinki. Then, when you finally get back, it's great to have someone be very excited about the fact you're now home. Here's a little boy I found at the airport who was jumping up and down with excitement because he had his daddy home. I finally got him to stop jumping for a moment so I could take a photo of him that wasn't blurry.

So many CDs

Along with my suitcase arrives the last of the silly amount of CDs I bought while I was away. Have a look at these pictures and you'll start to see why I was getting a little bit worried about baggage allowances during my trip!

Here's a list of what I bought in the UK...

CSS - Cansei De Ser Sexy (album)
Seafruit - Hello World (single)
Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future (album)
Tahiti80 - Fosbury (album)
Delakota - One Love (album)
Carter USM - You Fat Bastard (2CD)
Gary Numan - Radio 1 Sessions (album)
Tim 'Love' Lee - Just Call Me 'Lone' Lee (album)
Embrace - This New Day (album)
Pulsars - Submission To The Master (EP)
Hybirds - The Hybirds (album)
My Life Story - Megaphone Theology (2CD)
Bannerman's Under The Bridge Downtown - vol.3 (compilation)
Cornershop - When I Was Born For The 7th Time (album)
Mega City Four - Sebastopol Rd. (album)
Embrace - My Weakness Is None Of Your Business (single)
Longcut - A Call And Response (album)
Saloon - Lo-Fi Sounds, Hi-Fi Heart (album)
Bernard Butler - Friends and Lovers (album)
Channel 3 - A Compilation of Output Records (compilation)
Jarvis Cocker - The Jarvis Cocker Record (album)
Fuzz Light Years - Masquerade (single)
Infadels - We Are Not The Infadels (album)
Mew - Frengers (album)
Enigma - MCMXC A.D. (album)
Mekon - Welcome To Tackletown (album)
Orb - U.F. Orb (album)
Komputer - The World Of Tomorrow (album)
Resque - Life's A Bonus (album)
Muki - Quiet Riot (album)
Bonde De Role - Solta O Frango (2tk remix single)
Bonde De Role - Solta O Frango (2tk single)
Bonde De Role - Solta O Frango (4tk single)
Mew - Why Are You Looking So Grave? (2tk promo single)
Joy Zipper - Baby You Should Know (single)
Carrie - Molly (single)
Groove Armada - At The River (single)
Hurricane #1 - Just Another Illusion - Mixes (single)
Family Cat - Steamroller (single)
Morgan - Miss Parker (single)
Pepe Deluxe - Going For Blue (single)
Mansun - Taxloss CD2 (single)
Arctic Monkeys - Who The F*ck Are The Arctic Monkeys? (EP)
Mull Historical Society - I Tried (single)
Ooberman - The Lost Tapes (album)
Brassed Off (DVD)
Charlotte Hatherley - Siberia (promo single)
Catatonia - Way Beyond Blue (album)
Camden Crawl 2007 (2Cd compilation)
Dragonette - Galore (album)
King Adora - Vibrate You (album)
Ikon - On The Edge Of Forever (album)
David Bowie - Outside (album)
All Seeing I - Pickled Eggs And Sherbet (album)
Bees - Free The Bees (album)
The Hacienda Classics (3CD compilation)
Nigel Clark - 21st Century Man (single)
Electronic - Vivid CD2 (single)
Polyphonic Spree - Soldier Girl (single)
Fuzz Light Years - Girl Song (single)
Shifty Disco 10 (2CD compilation - disc 3 is missing)
Elastica - 6 Track EP (EP)
Dodgy - Lovebirds (single)
Hurricane #1 - Only The Strongest Will Survive (single)
Hurricane #1 - Only The Strongest Will Survive - Mixes (single)
Hurricane #1 - Chain Reaction - Mixes (single)
Speedy - Time For You (single)
Rain Band - Knee Deep And Down (single)
Faithless - Sunday 8PM (album)
Broken Spindles - Green TS030 (album)
Hurricane #1 - Step Into My World EP (EP)
Sleeper - Vegas (single)
Dodgy - I Need Another (EP)
Boo Radleys - From The Bench At Belvidere (single)
Midget - Optimism (single)
Dodgy - Water Under The Bridge (single)
Pepe Deluxe - The Mischief Of Cloud Six (single)
Clearlake - Come Into The Darkness / The Mind Is Evil (single)
All Seeing I - 1st Man In Space CD1 (single)
CSS - Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above (single)
Sussed - Never Wanna See Your Face (single)
Cardigans - Erase/Rewind (single)
Clearlake - Amber (album)
Supergrass - Pumping On Your Stereo CD2 (single)
Clinic - If You Could Read Your Mind (single)
Performance - Short Sharp Shock (EP)
Boo Radleys - Find The Answer Within (6tk promo single)
These Animal Men - Light Emitting Electrical Wave CD2 (single)
Lionrock - Straight At Yer Head (single)
Family Cat - Wonderful Excuse (single)
Dubstar - I (Friday Night) CD1 (single)
Cable Street Spy Club - Listen To Me Carefully I Shall Say This Only Once (single)
Graham Coxon - Bittersweet Bundle of Misery (single)
Flaming Lips - The W.A.N.D. (promo single)
Dodgy - Making The Most Of (single)
To Rococo Rot - ABC123 (album)
Family Cat - Goldenbook (single)
Lightning Seeds - 3 Lions '98 (single)
Manic Street Preachers - The Masses Against The Classes (single)
Family Cat - Springing The Atom (single)
Honeycrack - Go Away (single)
Soup Dragons - Mother Universe (single)
Charlatans - Love Is The Key (single)
Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love (promo single)
Heloise & The Savior Faire - Odyle (single)
Melody Maker Reading '98 (compilation)
Jamie T - If You Got The Money (single)
Glitterati - Heartbreaker (promo single)
Athlete - Hurricane (promo single)
Secret Machines - Light Blue Eyes (single)
Badly Drawn Boy - Guardian (6 track promo EP)
Rialto - Summer's Over (single)
Sunday Times Festival Fever '04 (compilation)
FCD11 (compilation)
Melody Maker - Maker's Dozen (compilation)
Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus! (album)
Bell X1 - Music In Mouth (5tk album sampler)
Operator Please - Just A Song About Ping Pong (EP)
Spacemonkeys vs Gorillaz - Laika Come Home (album)
Supergrass - St.Petersburg (promo single)
Simian - We Are Your Friends (album)
Bees - Listening Man (promo single)
Spiritualized - Electricity CD1 (single)
Spiritualized - Electricity CD2 (single)
Gene - Drawn To The Deep End (album)
Clor - Good Stuff (promo single)
Clor - Outlines (promo single)
Straw - Moving To California (single)
Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (album)
NME The Best New Bands Showcase 2005 (compilation)
Boo Radleys - C'mon Kids (promo EP)
NME Spring Offensive (compilation)
Longcut - A Tried And Tested Method (promo single)
Ash - End Of The World (promo single)
Joy Zipper - American Whip (album)
Gene - Where Are They Now? CD2 (single)
Gene - Speak To Me Someone (single)
Shocking Pinks - Singles (7tk promo single)
Play - the best in new music 1 (compilation)
Beta Band - To You Alone / Sequinsizer (single)
Glitterati - Back In Power (promo single)
Digitalism - Pogo (promo single)
NME Love Music Hate Racism (compilation)
Synctank August 2006 (compilation)
We Start Fires - Play You (single)
Maps - Region 3 (single)
The Good, The Bad And The Queen - Green Fields (promo single)
Summer Festival Glastonbury 2003 (compilation)
NME The Glastonbury Broadcasts (compilation)
Zero 7 - Simple Things (4tk sampler)
Glitterati - Here Comes A Close Up (EP)
Astralwerks Follow Our Tracks (compilation)
Dears - Ticket To Immortality (promo single)
A couple more unnumbered FCD compilations
NME presents the Best New Bands From Reading and Leeds Festivals (compilation)
Awesome '80's Volume 2 (compilation)
Dykeenies - Nothing Means Everything (album)
NME presents a taste of Heavenly Records (compilation)
NME presents Radio 1 Sound City Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (compilation)
Longview - Mercury (album)
NME Clean Sweep Live at the London Astoria '98 (compilation)
Stars - Take Me To The Riot (promo single)
The Music Of Ennio Morricone (album)
Rainbow Family - The Is Not A Circular (album)
Senseless Things - Too Much Kissing (single)
Spiderbait - Tonight Alright (5tk album sampler)
Monaco - Sweet Lips (single)
Fat Les 2000 - Jerusalem (single)
Dears - 22: The Death Of All Romance (single)
Lightning Seeds - Change (single)
Sons And Daughters - The Repulsion Box (album)
Sunscreem - Secrets (single)
Dubstar - Anywhere (single)
Sunscreem - White Skies (single)
Divine Comedy - Bad Ambassador CD1 (single)
Poppy Factory - 7x7 (single)
Bonde Do Role - With Lasers (album)
Midget - The Day Of Your Life (single)
Cardigans - Hanging Around (single)
Orson - Ain't No Party (promo single)
Max Tundra - Mastered By The Guy At The Exchange (album)
Soho Dolls - Right And Right Again (single)
Electroset - How Does It Feel? (single)
Calvin Harris - The Girls (single)
Le Tigre - After Dark (promo single)
Candyskins - Monday Morning (single)
Bellatrix - It's All True (album)
Revenge - One True Passion 2.0 (2CD)
Spiritualizer - Amazing Grace (album)
Manbreak - Asphalt Culture (album)
Clinic - Walking With Thee (album)
Erasure - Storm Chaser (EP)
Astrid - Boy For You (album)
Seafruit - Seafruit (album)
Sunscreem - Change Or Die (album)
Soho Dolls - Ribbed Music For The Numb Generation (album)
Catatonia - Equally Cursed and Blessed (album)
We Start Fires - We Start Fires (album)

Item located, pending confirmation

Well, well, well. My luggage has been located in Hong Kong. It's strange because Suzanne and I checked in at exactly the same counter at the same time in Hong Kong, served by the same guy, so I'm tipping that he must have botched something up. As Bennett would say, he's a dingus.

Suzanne's missing bag says the same thing too, so it looks like they've found them both at the same time, just like how they lost them both at the same time. It looks as if they will be sent on Cathay Pacific flight CX135 which will leave tonight and arrive in Melbourne for the morning. Stephanie is going to be home tomorrow from 11:30am or thereabouts, so they should be able to courier it around some time during the day. I'm not in a massive rush to get it back, it's more that I wanted to know that it was safe and I would get it eventually.

The status "ITEM LOCATED, PENDING CONFIRMATION" sounds pretty sweet to me right about now.
______________________________________________
Postscript (9th November): The bag was delivered this afternoon

Home... unlike my luggage

In the morning Greg took me to the airport, which was greatly appreciated. Then I checked in and sat around waiting for a while until our plane to Helsinki left one hour later than scheduled due to heavy fog around Heathrow. This had me a bit concerned as I was worried about missing the connecting Finnair flight from Helsinki to Hong Kong. Thankfully, the airplane made it on time and we were able to board the Hong Kong bound flight, even though it was delayed a little while because they had to finish loading luggage... presumably from our flight.

I arrived at Hong Kong a little nervous about whether my luggage would be properly transfered across from the Finnair flight to the Qantas flight back to Melbourne. My anxiousness was justified when the little bip that happened as my boarding pass was swiped indicated that my luggage could not be found and would not be getting on the flight with me. I was not alone in this predicament because there was also an Aussie girl who lives in London called Suzanne who had been on exactly the same flights as me, whose luggage had also yet to be found.

Neither or us were particularly pleased about this incompetence, but neither of us had much option other than to get on board and hope the airlines would get us back our luggage as soon as possible. The thought of the missing luggage plagued my mind throughout the eight hour journey to Melbourne and made me far tetchier than I normally am. It didn't help either that I was sitting next to a blobcake whose thunder-thighs kept squashing through to my seat, and whose tuckshop arms kept flabbing over the arm rest.

With an hour to go on the flight, my thoughts slowly turned to happy ones about seeing my family, but this happiness should have started a lot earlier. Arriving at Tullamarine we had to go through customs at which time Suzanne and myself both reported our luggage missing at the Baggage Services desk. Going through customs with my duty free, I was asked what food I was declaring on my return, and I said it was just some British confectionery but that someone had managed to lose my luggage in transit so I didn't actually have it with me.

Finally I escaped the gloom of customs and was greeting by a lovely little boy running towards me saying, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!". It was great to see Bennett and Stephanie again after such a long time, but the quest to get my luggage back continued. There's some things in there that are really valuable to me, including a whole lot of Carter and related t-shirts (most long out of print), most of the CDs I bought while I was away, the presents I got for Stephanie and Bennett, the Hibs clothing that Scott's family had given me, my dufflecoat, electrical things like batteries, chargers, cords, converters, as well as all the boring things like socks, spare shoes and so on.

That was Tuesday night and it's now Thursday morning. I'm still no wiser as to where on Earth my luggage is or where it got lost. The man I spoke to yesterday at Baggage Services is guessing that it got lost somewhere back at Heathrow, and that they might just simply retag it for Melbourne without bothering to put it onto the online tracking system and have it in transit for yesterday's flights to Melbourne. In which case it could have arrived in Melbourne last night and baggage services might therefore process it this morning and call me to organise delivery. However this hasn't happened yet, I'm not optimistic and it's still not even identified as having been located on the online tracking system. I was told that if I hadn't heard anything by midday today that I should give them a call... and I will definitely do that. Whilst I can feel sorry for myself, I feel sorry for Suzanne who is actually here in holiday and doesn't have any of her clothes with her and doesn't have travel insurance... at least I've got all the stuff I have here at home. (Yes, I have travel insurance - I'm hoping not to need it).

It's a real downer after such a brilliant trip and hoping that I'll get my bag back over the next few days is eating into my plans for the weekend, where I was hoping to be able to get down to Phillip Island for my cousin's 21st birthday party. Unfortunately, until this is sorted I know I wouldn't be able to relax about it, and I don't want to be somewhere where I don't want Qantas to deliver my stuff.

All in all though, a great trip, and once I get the cord back to connect the digital camera with the computer, I'll pop up a few random pictures, including one I took of the Helsinki landscape as we were coming into land.

Not quite Guy Fawkes, not quite Hallowe'en

I was always under the impression that November 5th was Guy Fawkes Day, and time for the fireworks and bonfires, but it seems like here in London the nearest weekend is good enough... the same seems to applies for Hallowe'en and there were a lot of parties happening this night. So after an afternoon nap to recover from the Carter gig it was time to wake up for fireworks! Greg had picked up this stash of fireworks at Tesco's and it was great watching him trek out into the yard in his Uncle Fester gear to set off the fireworks. He had little rockets, a catherine wheel and a whole of lot of other assorted firecrackers that pop, cracked and whizzed with reckless abandon. The sound of fireworks has been rather ubiquitous over the last few days and it was even moreso with Greg's contributions. Out in the backyard, it was also time to take a photo of (L-R) Nicky, Greg, Leanne and Celine, all decked out in their Addams Family outfits... pretty impressive, and apparently they had a good night.

I on the other hand had alternative plans, because I was going to a Hallowe'en fundraiser for Antenna Studios out in Crystal Palace. Antenna Studios is where Carter did their rehearsals for their recen shows, and they were holding this event in an effort to raise some money for a grand piano to include in the rehearsal studios. When I arrived, Jim was already there with his daughter Holly and girlfriend Jakki. After grabbing a Red Stripe I had a bit of chat with them and it was really nice to have a chat with Jim in slightly more low-key environment. Marc Ollington and his wife turned up, as did Les, Crissi and a group of others who had come along to the fundraiser with him. The event itself was a little disorganised, and Jim didn't go on for about an hour after he was scheduled to go on, but it gave a useful opportunity for a little photo opportunity with my two favourite musicians... a really special moment for me. When Jim did eventually hit the stage, he played a good selection of tunes acoustic-style. This included some Carter classics, a few songs from Jim's Super Stereoworld (his now defunct post-Carter band) as well as some of his finest solo material, including a few new songs off his forthcoming album. At the end of one of the new songs called God's Blog, "Paul Davy's blog" got a quick passing mention. It's nice to know this blog has had such a diverse array of readers! The set was punctuated by a fireworks display going off just outside the window and a broken guitar string which led to some entertaining impromptu ad-lib.

Alas, because of the delay in Jim Bob going on stage, I'd missed my train back from Crystal Palace and was going to find it difficult to get back to Earlsfield. Luckily Les was still around (and tired and wanting to go home) so because he knew where he was going I thought I would go with him back to his place in Brixton. So a posse of about 10 of us boarded the number 3 train to Brixton and Les made the trip really meaningful for me by giving me a guided tour of the bus route which included the estate he grew up in, the hall he saw his first live band, where his shool was, where his dentist was, (roughly) where Jim lives, a church which is referenced in a Carter song, the "murder mile", the spot where Les and Jim were mugged a few years ago, and where one of his childhood friends lived.

Once arriving at Les' place, we all had a cup of tea but some of us were tired, so some of the people went to their homes and the rest of us crashed at Les's. I slept on the couch from 2 to 9 and had a reasonable sleep. After another cuppa and another chat I set off back to Earlsfield, where I arrived at noon, because of some delays caused by closures on the Victoria tube line. As I arrived I was happy to see Leanne had only just woken up as I knew I hadn't missed out on anything by not rushing back.

After a tasty lunch of steak rolls, we headed belatedly down to Brighton to check out Brighton Beach. It's an interesting "beach", because as you can see there's not actually any sand there! What there is however is a wonderful pier, loaded with lots of tasty (read: sugary and fatty) treats and amusements. I had fun watching Greg ride a motorbike simulator and we all had a turn at an interesting fish-racing game, where by getting balls into holes of different points, your fish moves a certain distance. Leanne, Greg and myself were all too busy trying to get the balls into the holes to watch the actual race but according to the commentary, Greg just beat me at the post, so it looked like we had the 1-2 placing an Leanne was guaranteed a stuffed shark toy. By this time it was getting late so we wanted to head off but because of traffic conjestion it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Once we hit the motorway all was well until traffic stopped again because of a traffic accident that had traffic banked up at least 8 miles. Greg put his satellite navigation system to great use and found us an alternative route which allowed us to get back to Earsfield in a reasonable time. He's now in the kitchen preparing his legendary spaghetti bolognese and I can hear bowls moving so I'd better finish off now! This will be my last post until I get back to Melbourne, so depending on who you are.... I'll very soon be saying "hello" or "goodbye"! Wish me a good flight...

The Impossible Dream - Brixton Academy 02/11/2007

At 4:30pm I set off towards the alleged pre-party at Jamm. By the time I arrived it had only just opened, so I hung about there, picked up my tag for entry later in the night and after an hour or so decided it was time to find a snack and head up to the Academy. After the chicken burger and chips I loitered around checking out all the comings and goings, like the scalpers on the corner trying to buy and sell tickets for the show, blackboards and signs saying the Carter gig was sold out, and hundreds of Carter fans wearing their Carter t-shirts. After lining up, I got in and positioned myself at the very front, just off-centre. After having to be a bit of a wus at Barrowlands on account of feeling rubbish I was more than going to make up for that at Brixton, and I knew that if I didn't get up front then I would regret it afterwards. First up were the Sultans Of Ping who played a really well received set of their classic hits and a couple of new tunes. Tracks like Give Him A Ball And A Yard Of Grass, Stupid Kid and Where's Me Jumper? all went off and the crowd up front were really enjoying it, except for a point where some over-exuberant feller raised the eyebrows of some of the security and a few harsh words were exchanged in both directions. After Sultans of Ping there were the same tunes played through the soundsystem as at Barrowlands which gave a fine selection of classic and relevant indie tunes.

Then it was time for that fat bastard Jon Beast to come out in the buff again with an excess array of polysterene cups and whatnot masking-taped around his privates. Thankfully for the sake of the stage and my clothes, there was no beer thrown up on stage this time... was it simply because of the stronger security presence, or because there weren't as many Glaswegians in attendance? The mysteries of the universe...

After introducing the band, Jon Beast left the stage and Les and Jim belted through a brilliant set of songs based on the Barrowlands set but with a few minor alterations, the best of which was Shoppers Paradise. Courtesy of Mark Read from the Carter forum, here's the entire set list (my personal favourites from the night are in bold type...

Surfin USM

Everytime A Churchbell Rings

My Second To Last Will And Testament

Say It With Flowers

Rubbish

Billys Smart Circus

Taking Of Peckham 1-2-3

Do Re Me So Far So Good

This Is How It Feels

Anytime Anyplace Anywhere

The Only Living Boy In New Cross

Prince In A Paupers Grave

Shoppers Paradise

After The Watershed

RSPCE

Glam Rock Cops

Lean On Me I Won't Fall Over

The Impossible Dream

Bloodsport For All

The Music Nobody Likes

A Perfect Day To Drop The Bomb

(plus the encores...)

England

A Sheltered Life

Rent

Sheriff Fatman

GI Blues

Being right up the front I got to see what a classic Carter gig was like in all its glory - ducking for cover from crowd-surfers, getting rammed up against the unpadded security barriers until I was covered in bruises, absolutely cracking tunes (at a sensibly loud volume) and only the occasional painful wince to wipe off the otherwise permanent smile, singing, pointing, shouting and all those other things that you would do at the best concert ever. Indeed, it's the best gig I've ever been to - I declared it as such five hours before it even started and had no reason to change my mind at any time throughout the night.

Other non-musical highlights were Richy presenting Les with his first beer in seven months... an ice cold bottle of Coopers Sparkling Ale (nice touch!) as well as the clothes change before the encores which brought Jim out in a crown and gown (a bit like a low-budget version of what Neil Tennant wore on earlier Pet Shop Boys tours when singing It's A Sin), and Les in a cycling cap, EMF shorts and a Senseless Things t-shirt. Another interesting thing is that it was so jam packed at the front of the stage, I couldn't safely get the camera out of my pocket the whole time in order to take any shots, so it looks like I'll be relying on the photography of others (big thanks to anyone whose pictures I use here - I'll give you 100% royalties).

As with all good things however, they eventually come to an end, in this case with the crowds dispersing slowly as people hunted around in a zombie-like state for things that had gotten lost or broken during the course of the madness - shoes, glasses, (where's me) jumpers, mobile phones etc.. Earlier in the week Les had promised to get me a pass to come backstage after the gig but without being able to get in contact with anyone on that side of the fence, I started to become worried when security started trying to prompt myself and others along out of the building. I spoke to security about it and one of them helped call Richy over who confirmed he knew me and helped stall the security until Crissi found me, escorted me behind the scenes and arranged me a pass. A quick note about the security - I thought they were absolutely brilliant... no testosterone driven machoism, just swift efficient management of the crowds which mainly involved catching crowd-surfers as they got to the front of the set, but also squirting drinking water for the fans up front and even rescuing some smaller women who were really struggling with the vice-like crush of the moshpit against the barriers.

Being backstage afterwards was amazing, humblig, exciting and totally special. I got to say hello to Jim for the first time ever and congratulate him on the excellence of the gig... well worth coming over from Australia for! I also got to catch up with a few old faces including Les, Crissi, Richy, Arran, a frisky Ben Lambert as well as quickly meeting Jon Beast and then Marc Ollington... the man who put together this wonderful night's entertainment. He also thanked me for the remix I did of Jim's track Mission Control, which was used on the bonus disc of his Greatest (post-Carter) Hits compilation which I thought was really sweet.

After a few drinks it was through to the bar area where there were more familiar faces including Jason Bootle, Neil, Lydia (and her mum), Nat (Fruity's housemate) and a whole lot of other people who were in good spirits after the show. Before, during and after, everyone was in such good spirits and was really happy and priviledged to be there throughout the night to genuinely celebrate the brilliance and importance of South London's finest.

A few more drinks and then it was off to Jamm for... um... a few more drinks! Bandwise, I saw some of the Subliminal Girls set and was impressed at how cohesive their sound was. I can see why there's a lot of talk about them at the moment and I thought their cover of Carter's The Only Living Boy In New Cross. Later on the same stage, Richy's other band Allergy were playing a mix of original songs and covers. Not to be outdone by the Subliminal Girls, Allergy also gave a Carter cover, the wonderful Let's Get Tattoos which alas didn't make the Carter setlist because the drum machine doesn't know how to play that one. It was a quality rendition, as was their cover of Gary Numan's cars, fronted by Neil who looked suitably dark and spooky in the pale blue light. The final song of the set was pure gold - a cover of Abdoujaparov's Beer Scooter. In some ways you could say it was a cover, but in reality, it was more as if Allergy transformed into Abdoujaparov for the final song, because Bomber (the drummer) plays for Abdoujaparov, as does Richy and the specialist guest vocalist... Fruitbat! It was a suitably excellent end to the night's live performances.

During the night, I'd also spent a fair bit of time dancing like a lunatic to the wonderful selections played by the DJs... being a Carter aftershow, many of the selections represented similar bands from the early 90s and the crowd loved bopping along to the likes of Pop Will Eat Itself, EMF, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Sultans of Ping, Inspiral Carpets, James, Northside, Jesus Jones and Carter USM themselves.

Feeling so much better than I did at Glasgow (despite the 2 inch red line across my chest from where I'd been bruised and squashed into the barrier at the Academy) I was far more sociable and able to take the time to do some proper hellos and dance with other Carter fans, including those from the forum. Here's a picture of a couple of fat bastards who just happened to be there on the night and now to finish, here's a selection of photos I took throughout the night of a whole lot of totally chipper people who I've met through the Carter forum and other Carter-related links... all of whom seemed to having a great time befitting such a wonderful occasion. Note Les catching up for lost time with a bottle in each hand!

The Impossible Dream

To dream the impossible dream

To fight the unbeatable foe

To bear with unbearable sorrow

To run whew the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong

To love pure and chaste from afar

To try when your arms are to weary

To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest, to follow the star

No matter how hopeless, no matter how far

To fight for the right, without question or pause

To be willing to pass into hell for a heavenly cause

And I know, if I'll only be true to the glorious quest

That my heart lies peaceful and calm

When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this

That one man scorned and covered with scars

Still strove with his last once of courage

To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest, to follow the star

No matter how hopeless, no matter how far

To fight for the right, without question or pause

And to dream the impossible dream

The impossible dream

The impossible dream

The impossible

So here I am the following afternoon, battered, broken, bruised and bent... but I could not be happier about how everything went. For someone who loves Carter's music so much, and to have missed out on it all first time around, it was the most wonderfully orchestrated 30th birthday party anyone could imagine. Giant thanks to Les, Jim, Stephanie, Marc, all the smiling Carter fans, and to all the friends and family who helped chipped in for the trip by giving me an early cash birthday presents - you're all diamonds.

Day Off - 30 Something

With nothing much left on the itinerary and little inclination to find anything new, I had a nice quiet day in the lead up to the Carter gig. Greg had been given the day off work so we had a chat and then went out and had a drive so he could buy some discounted fireworks at Tesco's Extra. The store was a fair distance from his house and it gave me a good chance to see how crazy driving is in the greater London area, even when it's just 1:30pm, and not peak hour or time to pick the kids up from school, We got back and great made some top notch hot dog sandwiches before he fell asleep and I noodled around on the computer and watched the telly. Oh yeah, and I turned 30 that day... but a significant milestone like this was cast completely into the background compared with what was ahead.

The Westminster tourist circuit and Lord's

Walking around Waterloo in search of breakfast, I saw a nice perspective of the London Eye which I thought I'd show you. Across the road from where I took that photo I found my breakfast in the form of a sausage roll, but not what we'd generally think of as a sausage roll in Australia but more like the link sausage roll I had in Edinburgh, although it wasn't quite as tasty as that one. Nonetheless, it would fill the belly while I went and did the Westminster Walk that is outlined in my brilliant drizzle-proof Gregory's "London - City In Your Pocket" map thingy which has all the things to see and do, as well as maps and an invaluable map of most of the Tube system. It's been taken out of my bag and put back in so many times that I'm surprised it's in such good condition. Walking past South Bank I noticed that I was actually in the location where part of the film clip for Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls" had been shot, so just add a picture of Neil Tennant against the House of Parliament and Chris Lowe looking off in some other direction and voila... West End Girls. I'd already seen Parliament House from my earlier travels but I'd not actually gone around the corner in order to see Westminster Abbey. It was nice, big and old, but then... that accounts for many of the buildings in this city so it was nice to see, but didn't seem particularly monumental. I'm sure the people who were excited enough to pay to get in would have thought it was pretty good. The tour, laid out by my pocket map then took me along Parliament Street past Downing Street, and then cutting through some buildings to St. James' Park. This park was really nice and it was actually a really good day for appreciating a park like this. Today was easily the warmest day so far in London and I spent quite a bit of time not even wearing my trusty Pop Will Eat Itself beanie. There were a few squirrels again, but they were this time outnumbered by the ducks and the pidgeons. There were even a few big old pelicans, who despite looking totally daft, enthralled people simply because of how big and funny looking they are. By the end of St. James' Park you arrive at Buckingham Palace. For someone not particularly fond of the concept of royalty, it was not particularly interesting... just another big old stone building really, but people were flocked around there in great excitement so I'm glad it meant a lot to them. I was then heading back towards where the changing of the guard takes place down the Mall when these posh looking horse and carts came past. That was a bit of fun, and certainly a nice change from cars and black taxi cabs. A little further along and down a side street and there's this band standing there getting ready to play a song. I was expecting something regimental, but was pleasantly surprised when they came out with a rendition of Petula Clark's classic "Downtown". Things were pretty great until I got to Pall Mall which is a bit of a dump, so I promptly got back onto the Mall and scurried back in time to see the changing of the guard. Essentially, it's a whole lot of dressed up men on horseback doing diddly-squat and then a few trumpet blows and two different sets of horses and horsemen going their separate ways. It was all very grand but I know little of the tradition and do not actually understand how this was ever a legimate and functional process. I'm sure Anna can enlighten me on this because she's very knowledgeable on the history of London. The guided map tour ended with a visit to Nelson's Column on Trafalgar Square but I didn't stick around as I had a London Eye flight to aboard. So after a quick look, and a quick walk past Scotland Yard, I crossed the Hungerford Rail Bridge Footpath across the Thames and over to the London Eye for my first decent experience in the ancient English art of queueing. Finally, by the end of the queue I was in the London Eye and weatherwise it was a really great day to be on board. A little hazy perhaps but the weather was really good and there was good visibility in all directions. Most people seemed interested in the scenery only, and one kid was fascinated by the fact he could see a man in a suit running, but I was just as excited about the structure of the London Eye itself. It's the world's largest observation wheel and it's a brilliant bit of engineering, considering they just build it alongside and over the Thames. Perhaps in some ways things like aeroplane travel, TV and Google Earth nullify the magnificence of being able to see such views, but it was a highly agreeable experience and thank you very much Anna for my ticket... it was really good to see some of the places I've seen so far from such a high vantage point. Upon alighting the London Eye we were promtly cleared out of the area by a patrol of stormtroopers, and I made my way back across Westminster Bridge, past all the dingleberries getting their photos taken, so I could get to Westminster station and catch the Jubilee line train back up north to St. John's Wood on my second attempt to get into Lord's. With a little bit of time to spare once I arrive in St. John's Wood I went into Tesco's Metro to grab some lunch and my second significant experience in the fine old English art of queueing. I kid you not, the queue to get to the checkout went around half the store. You effectively get into the queue and as you make your way around the queue you grab what you want off the shelf and pay for it on the way out. This odd method of acquiring lunch gave me an eclectic meal of sushi, Austrian smoked cheddar, and an energy drink made from taurine and various tropical juices. I returned to Regents Park to sit and eat my food before crossing the road over to Lords. For anyone with an interest in cricket, the tour is well worth the £10 entry. After waiting around in the museum, our tour guide Keith took us through various room in the Pavillion and gave us a comprehensive history of the origins of the Marylebone Cricket Club, Lords, and the functions of all the various rooms. Some of the rooms we went into which even members cannot get into are the room where any rule changes are made (and the Queen is hosted, if she attends) as well as the changing rooms for England and the away team. I even got to stand on the balcony where the Aussies celebrated their World Cup victory over Pakistan a few years ago. After the tour of the Pavillion, our brilliant tour guide Keith took us into the new media centre where the newspaper, radio and television coverage of Lords games takes place. Up that stairwell which you can see in the picture is where Richie Benaud and his fellow TV commentators watch the game from nowadays and have done so since the new media area was constructed in 1999. To finish the tour, we got to see Lord's from the stands and then back in the museum we got to see the Ashes themselves along with the interesting story of their origin and significance. Departing Lords I went in search of Abbey Road, got lost, and wasn't much fussed about trying to hunt around for it because my map for the area was pretty dodgy. So instead I ended up walking through a posh neighbourhood until i arrived at Warwick Avenue station and from there navigated my way back to Leanne and Greg's place.

It's still November 1st here, but in Australia it's actually my birthday right now... so it's a rather strange feeling being sort of in your twenties and sort of in your thirties at the same time - a little like standing between the Eastern and Western hemisphere in Greenwich. The itinerary for my birthday is now pretty freeform apart from the obvious Carter festivities. If I don't go back into the centre of London tomorrow, that may well be the last time I see the very centre of London for a decade or so. It's been great.

Go west

Since I last wrote, I met Leanne at Bar 366 where her and her netball teammates were having a drink. It was a nice venue, with some good music playing and her friends seemed nice and I had a quick chat to a couple, though bars with loud music and never the best places for a generic chat.

In the morning I realised that all the places I'd planned to go were west of the inner city so after picking up an Irn Bru 32 (energy drink) I took the overland train out to Wimbledon and then caught the Tube up to Notting Hill Gate where there are a couple of.... you guessed it... Music and Video Exchanges! Again, another big pile of stuff at very cheap prices, but because of sheer volume of CDs the price adds up too. I think the outlay was about £50 but it was enough to make my arm tired from all the carrying I'd be doing.

After the M&VEs it was time for another quick cheap Subway lunch for setting off in the direction of Portobello Road. It's an interesting road with toffs checking out antique shops, hippies checking out clothes shops, and a few scruffy looking characters like myself. When I was there, there were actually rehearsals for a TV show or movie or something or other going on. A whole lot of people were dressed up in 'ye olde' stylings while they waited around drinking coffee while the production crew busied themselves with lights and other technical matters. I of course was more interested in checking out the small Rough Trade store, where I picked up the latest 9-track Erasure EP for £6... far cheaper than anywhere else I'd seen it on sale for to date. The final music shop for the day was Intoxica but it was vinyl-only and thus of no interest. There concludes, according to the itinerary at least, the music shopping aspect of the trip!

Next I needed to find a Tube station so I could get to Lords. When you're in the city or inner city you can just amble randomly and be quite confident of stumbling across a Tube station, so after following this method for about five minutes I stumbled across Ladbroke Grove station and made my way to St. John's Wood station in search of Lords. By the time I arrived at 3, I was informed that the last tour for the day was actually at 2. This was a disappointment, but I realised I could easily do that the following day, so that's what I'll do. Even still, I had a big gap in the afternoon to fill so I went across the road to Regents Park which was a very interesting park, that had a children's section, lots of gravestones and a whole menagerie of cheeky squirrels such as this little one here. He's even holding an acorn, how cute! Looking at my trusty drizzle proof London map I couldn't find anything within the city itself that I really felt like doing so I thought I'd take the plunge and head out early to my final destination for the day - the London Buddhist Vihara at Turnham Green.

I arrived at the London Buddhist Vihara and just had a nice quiet sit until Richard, the guy who seems to run the place on behalf of the monks, made me a cup of tea, and gave me a little tour of the place. In the two or so hours until the actual scheduled meditation started, I had a quick solo meditation, and check out their extensive library where I read a really interesting transcript of an encounter between a monk and an academic from Melbourne University about the subjects of kamma, dependent origination and rebirth. It was really insightful, but I didn't quite get a chance to read it all because the actual session was about to start.

It started with chanting of Refuge and the Five Precepts in the Buddha's native language, Pali. Then there was a recitation of the Metta Sutta (or Loving-kindness Sutta) prior to sitting meditation, standing meditation, metta meditation and a reading which I instantly recognised as being from the late Thai Forest monk, Ajahn Chah. A little discussion about what Ajahn Chah had said and then it was time to finish for the evening. A session like this was just what I needed as I've not been actively meditating while I've been here and it was nice to return to my roots for a bit after all the travelling and sightseeing I've been doing over the last two weeks. The other good thing was it was the first time I've ever been to a specifically Theravadin (or "Way of the Elders") Buddhist centre and this is relevant, because that's actually the form of Buddhism that I practice - any other ones I'd been to in the past (because of proximity) had been Mahayana or multi-denominational such as the FWBO. It was lovely to see some real Theravadin monks and to be in the company of some very calm, friendly and centred people. I gave a donation, picked up a few much needed Theravadin Dhamma books, and then headed back to Leanne's place. Surprisingly she was not yet home, but when she arrived we had a bit of a chat and she showed me a corporate video that she'd helped to organise for Accenture. It was very good for a corporate piece, and I really like how happy and enthusiastic Leanne is about her job here. I also managed to do some creative packing of the CD in full size cases by condensing the contents of 2 CDs into a single CD case, so as to halve the volume of them in my suitcase, and also jettison a bit of weight whilst still giving them some protection. Thanks to my workmate Linda, I have a lot of empty CD covers at home so I can reassemble them back in Melbourne. It's almost like the equivalent of dehydrating a meal, and then just adding water!

It's now the morning and I've got some things to do, so I'll leave you to it - have a nice day!