Inspired by one of my xmas gifts, Tay & I are working our way through Rough Ride Guide's Southeast Cycling book. Recommended by Dave it's an A4, hard-backed but ring-bound folder, each ride printed on one leaf which can then be taken on the ride (a plastic wallet comes in handy here).
To kick off the campaign we headed for route 14 which partly traces the night-hike we took on a whim after the concert at the Orpheus Centre.
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Ignoring the official start we parked up at a small, free (but height restricted after hours) car park on Gangers Hill (see map) and headed south through the woodlands, bridleways & back roads of Godstone.
We'd travelled under a mile before losing eath other for half an hour in Hanging Wood. To make things even harder, horses had recently churned the trails into mud almost a foot deep.
It's a lovely little village with some friendly folk doffing their hats from the seat of their tractors and some interestingly colourful homes. We rode past a pink Tudor house, a cottage with bright yellow shutters and these houses with matching blue window frames.
Once again, forgetting our lights we found ourselves making the last climb back up to the car in blackness. Though the lights of the M25 make for a nice photo I was more impressed with the deer that ran along beside us in the bushes. Had we not been such stealth-riders I doubt we'd have got so close.
South East Cycling – #01 Godstone
Xmas Charity Gig @ The Bedford, Balham
Last night, the annual event organised by bands Caliko, Kohiba & Jazzbomb also featured three tunes from recent Orpheus Centre concerts. Of course, I had to get involved, the Hofner archtop made it's first public appearance & ticket sales enabled a donation of £1500 to Jo's home charity, Great Ormond Street.
Antonio Forcione – Live at Le Q
Was having an off day a couple of months ago. Can't remember what had happened now but remember complaining to Tay that I was cheesed (humph). Received a txt shortly after. It was Tay asking whether I was busy on December 17th (hmmm...) and would it cheer me up to know that we now had tickets to watch Antonio Forcione, Live at Le Quecumbar (RING THE ALARM!).
Desparate to check out Antonio's jaw-dropping guitar technique. Tay freezing after hour-long train journey in carriage sans-heating, fever setting in on the way (bugger, hope we don't miss any of the show). Fortunately, for cold & flu symptoms, there's nothing better than to get cosy inside Le Q's tiny interior (that'll warm her cockles!).
Rushed out of work early to get down to Battersea for when the doors opened. Through the window it appeared there was no room at the inn (damn, well, I suppose it IS xmas). Opened the door & found a table immediately (Bingo! Close to the action and next to the sound engineer).
Ordered Le Q's best plate, venison burgers with cranberry sauce (these'll get the dribble factory pumping, as per usual). Less than two minutes later our dinner was on the table (hmmm... not typically French but bonus points for Le Q). Burgers were below par & there seems to be a cranberry shortage (pah, bonus points deducted).
Had plenty of time to kill after the meal. Antonio ate two tables away (look at those losers asking for his autograph!) and disappeared for two hours. Shared our table with a nice couple (get in, we've got the far side, no rubber-necking for us!), folkies they were. Had heard of Caliko but hadn't seen them play live (note to self: tell Jon & Jo to book a gig in Crouch End).
Gig started about 9pm. Playing phenomenal and sound perfect (aha, nylon strings, a levalier mic... and hot damn that percussionist is creative!). View obscured by folkie-wife's enormous hair (dammit, how can a white woman grow an afro?).
Wine finished by 10pm (nice, could do with a refresher now). Cloudy lemonade run out (oh you... buggers, regular it is then).
Two hours of world-jazz surpassed. Antonio hits single wrong note during blistering solo (wow, he IS human!) Adriano has crowd imitating bird tweets during African Dawn. Duo share instruments simultaneously during free improvisation loosely titled Funky (this music just gets better & better).
Bill arrives for dinner. Compulsary service charge 20% (ouch, I know it's not cheap here but we HAVE already paid to get in). Duo return for encore (ahh, screw the expense, this has been an awesome night out). Waiter sneakily adds 50p to bill (err, WTF, I can't possibly make such a petit fuss...).
Attempted to find duo and purchase signed CDs (loser!). Left CD-less (kinda spent enough tonight, I'm not a total victim of consumerism...) but with great feeling that we had witnessed something very special (it makes sense really, expensive? Yes. But this is the only place in the UK dedicated to Django's legacy, is immaculately decked out in 1930's Parisian style and can offer an intimate night of acoustic jazz with my favourite guitarist. All in all, Le Q absolutely jams!).
Walked half a mile in sub-zero temperature. Arrived at bus stop to watch bus close doors and drive away (bugger).
Grolsch – not the beer, the kitten!
You can't beat a Sunday roast. They're especially tasty when someone else does all the cooking & you get to relax in the lounge sniffing the parsnip aroma. This weekend's roast (minty lamb by Tay's cousin Laura, cheers!) came bundled with entertainment in the form of Grolsch, not the beer, the kitten! A full 11 weeks old he's brimming with energy while awake & loves his purple feather on a stick.
Day of the Dog
Late last night, the puppy Kate & Nathan had been waiting for was finally delivered. I met him for the first time this morning, so I thought... Around the same time, the phone rang, it was the breeder herself explaining that we had the wrong dog! Not only had they dropped off a female but she was the pup they had planned to keep for themselves!
One day of work later & I've come home to meet the real McCoy, he's much more lively and chatty. He also likes chewing jeans & socks, perhaps now is a good time to start tidying. Having fixed my studio door so that it stays shut I'm no longer worried about him cocking his leg up next to my new archtop, but I'm sure he'll get himself into much mischief. The question is, which will grow up to be the naughtiest, our so far un-named dog or my newly crawling nephew Charlie?
Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer
To complement the Hofner and make for some warm blues tones by the Rob-Tay duo, I picked up a second hand Tube Screamer from Ebay. I seriously can't wait for the Xmas Charity gig at The Bedford, taking a rock solo with this thing could be fun...
Hofner J5 Archtop
Months & months I've been looking. Months I tell ya! Here's what I finally found. It's not the Gibson Le Grande which would surely have set me back several Le Grande in sterling. It's my brand new Hofner J5f Archtop which also features the floating pick-up, the cutaway and the gorgeous figured woods but at around one tenth of the price.
The spruce top is really bright & the whole guitar has a slightly weird acoustic tone, just what I was looking for. So far the pickup has pleased. Turning the tone knob up keeps the sound bright & acoustic-ish, roll it all the way down & it sounds like Wes Montgomery (badly played!).
Gillian Gibbons & the Sudan Embassy on Tourism
An outrageous story: A Saudi Arabian woman who after being raped 14 times by 7 men was sentenced to 200 lashes for admitting being alone in a car with a man not related to her. Not only did the Saudi Judge make this heinously wrong decision but he also jailed her for six months after she appealed against the lenient sentences given to the men who attacked her, though managed to raise their sentences to between 2-9 years. It makes me wonder:
Less than two weeks later, Gillian Gibbons, the teacher from the UK who, in Sudan, unwittingly let a child name a toy bear Mohammed has been sentenced to 15 days in prison. Not content, thousands of protesters brandishing weapons are now demanding her death on the grounds of blasphemy. There's a famous Monty Python sketch which tackled the flaws of this argument back in 1979:
A paragraph from the story reported by Sky News today:
"She doesn't want anyone using her as something to stoke up resentment between anyone - be they Sudanese or Muslim"
She may well not, but the over-riding influence appears to derive from extreme decisions made by the Judges in these lands, followed by exagerrated protesters. It leaves me wondering yet again: Who on Earth would want to live in a place governed in this manner, let alone offer to help educate their young? Who on Earth would want to visit Sudan?
Here's a paragraph from the Sudan Embassy on their efforts to promote tourism:
"Tourism activity started in Sudan since the dawn of independence with the country's meager resources being carefully and honestly directed to reflect Sudan's splendid tourist image to the outside world."
It is, at its very least, a shame. Because in the light of these recent news stories, I'll be travelling elsewhere.
Rooms with a view - Simon & Carolyn's house
A short drive to Crystal Palace last night took us to a street with an amazing view of Kent & the North Downs. The same street where Simon & Carolyn had moved in to their new home on Friday. It appears they've bought somewhere with plenty of room for expansion concerning both new bricks & mortar and new family members. Surely the most grown up of my friends they've already done the wedding thing & now have rooms to spare...
