‹ 28.4.01 / 0 comment(s) ›
Blogmeetus interruptus: The ukbloggers celebrated their tenth gathering last night at the Rat and Parrot in Soho. Unfortunately the evening was marred by a bomb scare (Brooke's attempt to get everyone to go to a gig with her mere minutes before the evacuation was announced was purely coincidental I'm sure), so march on we did to The Backstage which was entertaining as well ... nice to see some nice new shiny happy faces there also - good beer, good chat, good company. And my boss wasn't too scared by the whole thing either!
I took a few snaps on MyFirstDigitalCamera™ so I'll put those up over the weekend. I do however beg you not to look at Giles' photographic record (link withheld for self-esteem reasons) ... I look like Buddha and that is truly a Bad Thing. Maybe I should have kept my gob shut the other day about Tom using the worst picture of me on the internet ever - we have a new winner ladies and gentlemen.
‹ 28.4.01
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Anne Robinson 3.0: New even ruder version.
‹ 27.4.01
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Ever fancied yourself as a restaurant critic? If you're off to the Continent for a bit (as I will be in a couple of weeks time) why not review a few eating establishments while you're at it? You'll get a free copy of the Zagat guide for your troubles.
‹ 27.4.01
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Could this be the new Koyaanisqatsi?
[via popbitch]
‹ 27.4.01
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Bun-fight successful ... Earl's Court here we come!
Update:
As of 3:30pm, Ticketmaster reports that only one show still has seats left. It's safe to assume that will sell out too. Thus, six sold-out shows. Earl's Court has a capacity of 18,000. Tickets cost at least £40 each. Ergo, Madonna grossed at least £4,320,000 today.
‹ 27.4.01
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Small brown circles are ickle.
‹ 26.4.01
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I suppose I deserved that, in return for this. Thank you Tom for finding possibly the worst picture of me on the world wide web and reprocessing it for a wider audience. Even Stevens?
‹ 26.4.01
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vs. |  |
| Disgruntled logo of Armenian International Women's Association. | Disgruntled customer of Armenian international deli organisation. |
‹ 26.4.01 / 0 comment(s) ›
Here's to you, Ms. Robinson: "The reviews of NBC's game show "Weakest Link" have been mixed, but everyone agrees on one thing: The show's British host, Anne Robinson, is a bitch. She's a total bitch. And despite what the critics say - that she's too mean, too British, too ruthless - I adore her."
‹ 26.4.01
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"At the going down of the sun and in the morning ... we will remember them."
‹ 26.4.01
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"People don't need to be in the same place to share an experience. Think solar eclipse. Think Diana's funeral. Think Meg's Coffee Morning." Head on over for a cuppajava and some scurrilous gossip. |
‹ 26.4.01 / 0 comment(s) ›
Let the bun fight begin!
‹ 25.4.01
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In a bid to lift Meg from her virus-induced funk, I bought the lass some comfort food on my way home from work last night. You know, the regular: Flake chocolate dessert thing, Pokemon lollipop, gingerbread parrot and Sainsbury's Fizzy Cola Lances. It was the last item however that gave us all pause.
They looked like a bait can full of worms, all shrivelled and brown and lying in their packet. When released however, they were a taste sensation! "What's that shooting pain in my cheeks?", cried Meg. "Why have I produced a litre of saliva in only six seconds?", exclaimed Luke. "My tongue hath ditholved!", I slurred. Or, as Ralph Wiggum would say, "It tastes like ... burning!"
Later on, after dinner and in the absence of any quality television whatsoever, we returned to said hoof-and-sugar product for a thorough Finchley (Road) Three analysis. We tried to imagine comparable flavours. Dishwasher tablets! Nine-volt battery! Alum! We stuffed three at a time into our mouths to see who could hold them in there the longest without flinching. We read the ingredients (ammonium sulphite somethingorother ... god gawd!). We discovered that they were made in Amsterdam the Netherlands ... our curiosity was sated.
(Addendum: According to the Sainsbury's site, they're also available in "apple" and "strawberry" flavours. Mmmm. Still, it's better than "ming" and "wall" I guess)
‹ 25.4.01
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Office Assistants They Should Have Made (#1 in a never-to-be-repeated series): The HAL 9000 Office Assistant.
‹ 25.4.01
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Meg Pickard cheats at Twister. Luke Martin thinks President Bush is a totally dreamy sex bomb hunk. Dionne Warwick's Cosmic Peephole is frighteningly accurate.
‹ 25.4.01
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As the site itself says, nobody likes that fucking paperclip. It has its own Amazon Wish List. It's also recorded a song, blues stylee ... It Looks Like You're Writing a Letter. Right, I'm going to excuse myself now before this filing cabinet beside me goes through this monitor in front of me.
‹ 25.4.01
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I've been in full travel agent mode this morning, exploring all the permutations and combinations of an extened Bank Holiday trip to Europe - long live the interwebnet! A start will probably be made in either Amsterdam or Copenhagen and then it'll be onto Berlin and Prague to meet other travelling Kiwis and perhaps finally on to Munich and Zurich after that. Decisions will be made tonight methinks.
‹ 25.4.01
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I've just made a minor amendment to the COHORTS section over on the left sidebar: it had been getting pretty unwieldy as the list of weblogs I enjoyed reading grew, but now it'll display a random five links from a central list (thanks to Tom for a genius array suggestion - who would've thought he'd become a minor javascript deity so quickly?). Plus, the main list (in pop-up mode) will in turn make it easier for me to surf the 'logs I know and love (sound familiar?). That's one of the joys of personal publishing ... you can make unilateral decisions and you'll only ever be answerable to yourself :)
‹ 24.4.01
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Jack Russells are ickle, and have been known to win the heart of a nation from time to time.
‹ 24.4.01
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Rude Britannia: "It's time to get over this England worship, people! Dump the tea in the harbor, and toss Anne Robinson, too. You're in the Colonies now, for cryin' out loud. It's OK to be stupid!"
‹ 24.4.01
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"Some of them were New Zealanders, and Mandras guessed that this must be a special place somewhere in Britain where soldiers were bred specially for the purpose of parachuting out of Liberators and blowing up viaducts."Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, p.216
‹ 23.4.01 / 0 comment(s) ›
Socialweekendtastico! Two dinner/drinks sessions (Japanese conveyor belt heaven with Iain and Soho debauchery with the War Committee) and a tad more alcohol with the flatmates and other assorted weblog types to top it all off on Sunday. Muchus funnus all round.
‹ 23.4.01
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Study finds you don't really make a difference: "In an unprecedented study, British and American researchers have concluded that despite what you've been told at work, you really don't make a difference, and are not remotely integral to your company's success."
‹ 21.4.01
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New babies are ickle ... awww, whadda cutie!
‹ 20.4.01
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She hath returneth, with a wonderful missive on being, both on-line and off. Welcome back babe.
‹ 20.4.01
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I ventured into Mayfair last night with Andrew to see that cinematic masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey". Despite me being a bit dozy for the first half, the film itself was as spectacular as I remembered it (even moreso in a 70mm print with booming sound).
The best description I can give it is "art": every shot was painstakingly created and placed by Kubrick (as he was wont to do) and because of this, you have the impression throughout that you're viewing art as you would in a gallery. Some people label this a "cold feeling" which pervades the movie, but I think it just allows more of an opportunity to marvel: technology, hubris, death, wonder. The spontaneous round of applause as the star-child finally faded from the screen said it all.
‹ 20.4.01
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We worry about him sometimes.
‹ 19.4.01
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Channel 4 launched "Faking It" last night which was quite an absorbing piece of tele ... take a 22 year old classical cellist and turn her into a house DJ in four weeks. Easy, right? Well, yes it was in the end. The young lady in question (Sian) was packed off to live with DJs Lottie and Lisa Savage for some training and a bit of a glam makeover. She was a complete novice (Lottie: "We're off to Bournemouth tonight!", Sian: "Is that a club?) but by the end of her four weeks prep, she had four judges convinced she was the real deal (beating out the three other amateur DJs who'd been put alongside her (and who'd been jockeying for much longer).
The moral of the story? Being a DJ is monkey work but it certainly helps to have a sense of rhythm and melody. Next week sees a vicar passing himself off as a used car salesmen. Can't wait.
‹ 19.4.01
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FilmFour's "Banned" (registration required) is an interesting, thoughtful look at film censorship by example. FYI, with "Trainspotting", "the BBFC passed this uncut for cinema with an 18 certificate. However they demanded a 14 second cut for the video release. The scene at issue is at 44 minutes where a heroin user's needle pierces the skin of his arm." Watching a woman's spleen being repaired last night was much more disturbing than that.
‹ 18.4.01
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The most ambitious promotional campaign for a film (using the medium of the web) appears to have begun: check this out.
[heads-up thanks to extenuating circumstances: view Dan's FAQ]
‹ 18.4.01
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Some ickle things I neglected to mention recently: an iota (apologies to Bakiwop for putting this up a day late) and Alexander Pope. And while we're all suffering from post-chocolate stress disorder, buttons are ickle.
‹ 18.4.01
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Madge announces tour dates: come with me to Paris, Barcelona, New York or Washington anyone? (of course, there's always London too!).
‹ 18.4.01
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Anne Robinson has been missing from these pages for far too long ... it's time to remedy that:
- An inspired ad campaign for the American version, which debuted last night. "Map" and "Doorbell" are priceless.
- A mixed reaction to the aforementioned debut: "Her manner has been described as that of a dominatrix. But with her practical cropped hair and glasses, she is more like a school librarian in a black leather coat."
- Robinson remarks 'not racist': "Television presenter Anne Robinson has been cleared of racism by Broadcasting Standards Commission over her comments that she finds the Welsh "irritating and annoying"."
- Strict rules for US audiences of Weakest Link: "Audience members have been banned from wearing bright clothing in the US version of The Weakest Link in case they divert attention from Anne Robinson."
- Anne Robinson's 'At Your Request - Your 16 Favourite Tracks': "Cult evil celebrity Anne Robinson presents tracks from her radio show!! ... includes Cliff Richard, 10cc, Buddy Holly ..."
‹ 18.4.01 / 0 comment(s) ›
Oh dear, it appears that Easter ate my posts ;) Still, it's better than Mr T eating my balls I suppose, but I digress ... time for a recap!
Thursday night saw the Finchley (Road) Three (as we've been dubbed), play host to Mo, Katy, Catherine, David (Scally) and Iain in one of the series of dinners we're hosting. Good food + good friends = good times. Oh, and all credit to Mockney chef and Photoshop-doctoring star Jamie Oliver for the scarily addictive Italian icecream which topped off Meg's chicken and pie quite nicely I thought (it was the recipe and me, not the man himself, doing the cooking - I fear that if by some freakish accident he had been there, Luke would have punched him).
The intervening two days were a lazy mixture of TV, Playstation, chocolate, cigarettes and alcohol - a quick sojourn to Barcode and The Two Brewers on Saturday night with Scally and Iain was a lot of fun, as was doing nothing except watching old Star Trek re-runs for the majority of Sunday afternoon (Iain has Sky; Sky good; Iain nice man). Sunday evening saw the lads head out to club event Giant at Bagleys for a bit of a mixed (hand)bag of an evening ... the queues were appalling (inability, organise, piss-up, brewery) but with a few beers in us and after finally managed to dump our jackets, the mood picked up considerably and said homosexuals grooved the night away in true sweat-drenched style. I was also introduced to another of the gaydavidweblog cabal - Dave "Minkered" Boyes - who seemed to be enjoying himself immensely (unfortunately the noise and throbbing masses prevented anything more than just a hearty hello). And so to bed by 5:30am: relatively reserved by many in attendance's standards I'd imagine!
Monday was definitely reserved for chill-out time but I managed to scrape my brain together enough to help a certain flatmate do some thinking so was quite pleased with that. Plans are afoot my friends, and they are good.
‹ 17.4.01
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Mmmm ... beer. And it's a little thing that makes it all happen.
‹ 12.4.01
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Feed's "Who's Better?" is one of the more interesting vox populi around: these days, who else compares Mayor McCheese and Fidel Castro ("sirloin leader of capitalist fantasyland vs. sovereign leader of communist last stand") or "Caligula" and "Sex and the City" ("toga-wearers seeking power in a town without plumbing vs. Prada-wearers seeking love in a town without pity").
‹ 12.4.01
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Jen has some gorgeous pics of New Zealand on-line ... I'm well homesick now.
‹ 11.4.01
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God bless trash TV. The fantastically camp melodrama/horror "Mommie Dearest" screened at a ridiculously late hour last night and despite taping it for Luke, I couldn't help but watch it. The whole way through. Somebody should have beaten me with a wire hanger, I tell you.
‹ 11.4.01
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You know you've been living with Meg too long when:
- You thank the bank teller for her good service by saying, "Genius ... thanks a lot"
‹ 11.4.01 / 0 comment(s) ›
The first in a series of what I'm sure will become increasingly stranger collaborative projects, the Big Blogger housemates present dinnerblog: food we love with the people we love.
‹ 11.4.01
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A fantastic evening out last night: Tom secured tickets for him, me and Nick to the GLFF screening of America's Queer As Folk, episodes one to three.
The verdict? Pretty good. Gritty Manchester was traded with a somewhat flashier Pittsburgh: super-saturated colour and camera tricks abounded, Baz Luhrmann stylee, which was fun (interestingly, director Brian Mulcahy also did sword-and-sporrin epic "Highlander" plus its first sequel). The characters were reasonably true to form as well: Nick and I preferred Brian to Stuart (though Tom disagreed) while I thought the UK's Vince was better than his equivalent, Michael (aka Nathan Lane's Mini-Me with an unfeasibly large tongue). The twink was the twink and the supporting cast were entertaining as well.
Three went mad in Soho afterwards with pitchers of Long Island Iced Tea and yummy nosh courtesy of Balans, accompanied by a good dose of relationship advice from the waiter, a touch of Dale Winton spotting (yes, he is orange in real life) and a round of discussion on pretty much everything. Good stuff.
‹ 10.4.01
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Business in the front, party in the back: "Only the most confidently fashionable would actually get an ugly white trash haircut." And while we're on the subject, does this count as child abuse?
‹ 10.4.01
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Much lurve and re-spect goes out to Meg for creating a truly fantastiche meal last night. Spicy chicken curry followed by Passover apples. Divine. A big shout-out to Luke too for helping with the martinis - one more and I would have been on my ear. Still, when there's an unopened bottle of vermouth in the house it's gotta be used, right?
‹ 9.4.01
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Kudos to Scott Mills for deciding to speak to the Guardian about his sexuality, thus heading off a potential exposé by those rat bastard tabloids. The world needs more guys like him. Actually, nix that ... I need more guys like him.
‹ 9.4.01
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Minis are ickle (that's the car, not the skirt).
‹ 9.4.01
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Swedish slot-cars: build your own track, then go head-to-head against a cockatoo. Genius.
‹ 7.4.01
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The evidence is mounting ...
‹ 6.4.01
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Before they were famous: Awww, whadda bunch of cuties! As I remarked yesterday, "what happened?" ;)
‹ 6.4.01
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Small and pointless ... no, not me, the Post-It™ 653.
‹ 6.4.01
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Tell me ... Is She REAL or NOT?
‹ 6.4.01
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Get nostalgic with clips of the title sequences of classic BBC shows ... "Da-da, da-da, da-da-da-der-da-da!" (that was the final bars of the "Blake's 7" theme, in case you couldn't tell).
‹ 6.4.01
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You know, I'd forgotten how much fun a few games of pool can be. The studio converged on The Elbow Room in Islington last night for a bit of a post-launch bash, ending up with a roughly 50-50 win/loss ratio for your humble author ... not too bad considering I haven't picked up a cue for years and years.
My entire pool-playing technique comes from watching an episode of "Tomorrow's World" when I were nowt but a lad, and I'm going to share it with you now. The story involved a pool-playing robot and how they taught it to sink balls. The upshot was, all you needed to do was to picture a second ball sitting beside the first one, size up your angle, then fire. Surprisingly enough, it seems to work.
‹ 6.4.01
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Evil sitcom twins to launch own magazine: "The twins' new publication will offer helpful tips on, among other things, what to wear for spring, what goes on in the minds of boys and how to feel really good about yourself even if you're not a freakishly cute, underage billionaire with your very own business manager."
‹ 5.4.01
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Make your own music video with Milko Music Machine. It stars a plasticine cow. Doing metal, hip-hop or disco. I think I've gone blind.
‹ 5.4.01
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AIM is evil. It makes you have conversations with flatmates involving curry-themed pop hits:
- Radiohead: "Korma Police"
- The Supremes: "You Can't Curry Love"
- Berlin: "Tikka My Breath Away"
- Kylie Minogue: "Tears On My Pilau" and "Basmati The Devil You Know"
- The Beatles: "Hey Jude" (you know, "Naaaan, naan naan na-na-na-naaan, hey Jude")
- Madonna: "Poppadom Preach"
‹ 5.4.01 / 0 comment(s) ›
"Will & Grace" was good but it was never this good.
‹ 5.4.01
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Just about the smallest things you can get ...
‹ 4.4.01
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Overheard: "For this project we're going to need a half-time producer, a few coders and a Dave Pannett." My name has now become a job description around this studio which, I think, is pretty cool. Or at least mildly flattering.
‹ 4.4.01
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I haven't cried this much since seeing "Watership Down".
‹ 4.4.01
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Seeing as my offer to jazz up a plain frame was universally pooh-poohed, how about we gussy up a gourd instead?
[via The Comedy Lab]
‹ 4.4.01
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For he hath seen the power of the internet and it is a good power. It hath allowed him to sell his mechanical abacus and now it shall find for him a comely gentlemen. Mark my words my children ... it shall come to pass.
‹ 4.4.01
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I completely forgot to mention that Meg cooked up a muy tasty storm for her lads and her brother David on Friday night ("Come and knock on our door ... we've been waiting for you ..."). Camel genitalia was discussed. I'm beginning to become increasingly worried about the content of our dinner-time conversations.
‹ 4.4.01
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Compaq have a long-standing tradition in New Zealand of adversting a new, gimmicky (but completely fake) product on April Fool's Day. This year was no exception ... presenting the Compaq u2u Gene Code Analyser: the world's first personal dating assistant.
‹ 4.4.01
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Monopoly - the .Com Edition: so, half way through the game you're supposed to grab the board, fold it half way in and let all the money and properties slide into the rubbish bin, right?
‹ 3.4.01
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I really must get a lock for my door ... thank God they didn't find the secret panel at the back of the wardrobe. Oops, I've said too much ...
‹ 3.4.01
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Downloading Porn With Davo? The mind boggles.
‹ 3.4.01
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Thursday 29.3.01
As another tube strike holds London in its undeniably firm grasp, I spend the day relaxing at home. Ahhh. And while I do squat, Meg saves lives. This woman needs a medal, I tell you.
Friday 30.3.01
Tom and assorted waifs and strays graciously escorted me to Popstarz for the first time, and most impressed I was too. T'was generally a lot more relaxed and friendly than the usual swag of clubs I tend to end up in, although I don't think the same impression was made on everyone. Definitely worth a second look though.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that baking powder is ickle ... thanks Kylie!
Saturday 31.3.01
It's a revolutionary new concept in afternoon entertaiment ... blogmeets™! (and just what exactly is wrong with that term, per se?). Yes, once again, the cabal descended on the Rat & Parrot in Soho for further beer and merriment - new faces were welcomed and old ones reacquainted (pics courtesy of Nick, here). I managed to get myself smashoed, despite vowing to stick to "just one pint" beforehand ... the extra pint at Barcode afterwards didn't help matters much either (cheers for that Scally!)
So, after stumbling home I promptly crashed out, only to reawaken at 11:30pm for a spell of cracktastic late-night telly watching (courtesy of Channel 4's "4Later" slot) and webstuffinaround until the birds started singing. Alcohol makes your body do weird things kids, but then again, I don't need to remind you of that, do I?
Sunday 01.4.01
A trans-Tasman contingent (plus a token Englishman) gather in Hammersmith to cheer on one of our Antipodean own - go you good thing, Kylie Minogue! (she's so ickle). A great spectacle from start to finish: from pole-dancing to Olivia Newton-John standards, through to big-band renditions of old favourites (try keeping up Steps) and on to prove that Robbie Williams is about as useful as a damp sponge when it comes to performing duets. Quite simply, the gal has class and we all lapped it up.
And following the show? Well, that's all I have to say about that ;)
‹ 3.4.01
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