Crime Scene (the band)...

Nirvana had to start somewhere, didn't they? I'm sure Blink 182 didn't always sound that tight - and that The Used hit a bum note now and then. So when the boys had their first rehearsal I could hear a glimpse of talent beyond the distortion, flat notes and strangely syncopated rhythm - they looked the part and they had the right attitude.

They've suffered for their art - now it's our turn...

Typical English Summer...

Two months of rain in just one day - no wonder half of England is under water! I knew I was going have some difficulty getting home when they started pumping water out of our office. Fortunately, the District Line from Temple to Victoria was relatively dry, but other parts of the underground had been transformed into underwater canals.

Victoria Station was heaving with people. I'd been through this scenario a couple of times before - the slightest adverse weather conditions and the public transport infrastructure collapses, so I just jumped on any train heading south. It was the Brighton train (one of the last for the day as it turns out) and it got me as far as East Croydon.

From there I started walking...

This afternoon I sat, shivering under an umbrella in the beer garden of a country pub in the pouring rain. I guess it's just a typical English Summer...

Yeeee Haaaa!



I suggested that the boys go for a bike ride today. I'm not too comfortable with them jumping stairs on their skateboards and thought a nice leisurely cycle around the village would distract them from these higher risk activities. I didn't expect them to ride off into the woods and find a huge 50 degree slope leading into a natural dirt bowl over two storeys deep. Even if they were to find such a natural phenonomon I didn't expect them to ride into it.....I was wrong.

Fat Old Gits...

They may be wearing trousers a couple of sizes larger than when they first started playing, and they may not have enough hair between them for a decent mullet, but they still sound as good as they used to. The Fat Old Gits (FOG) hit the stage (slightly elevated platform) at the local club around 9:00pm last night and the dancefloor was immediately inundated with handbags.

The FOG have a small but keen fan base of middle-aged women and resigned husbands that accompany them to the few gigs they play locally. The boys reformed about a year ago and seem to be having the time of their lives...

Off to the fair...

The Woldingham Village Fair centred around The Green, where there were numerous rides and stalls of dubious ethical standing. I arrived in time to witness the demonstration on fox hunting etiquette and hound whistling. I was just grateful (and suprised) they didn't actually release a live fox onto The Green so we could see it expertly torn apart by the hounds in front of our very eyes - the graphic description they gave us did not need to be eleborated upon.

The highlight for me was the aerobics demonstration given by the Wives of Woldingham. With the aid of a dozen over-inflated rubber balls, they bounced, bobbed and bent-over through a 10 minute routine that will remain the talk to the village for some time to come.....surely a potential entrant for 'Britain Has Talent'.....

The new 'black' also comes in a cardigan...

Mika went to Wembley Stadium last weekend with his mate Max (and his dad, Jerry) to watch Metallica. The three of them joined a seething moshpit of black t-shirted, nasal-ringed, mullet-headed metal fans, to raise parted fingers and bang heads to thrashing guitars and screaming vocals.

The boys looked the part, but I feared for Jerry's safety.....I don't expect there were too many other metal fans there wearing a black cardigan. Either cashmere is now considered 'rock' or Jerry managed to maintain a low profile, because they all returned unscathed just after midnight...