Opposite of chankin

Colindale, London, England // 8.07 pm // Mostly sunny 25ºc / 77ºf

As I type this I'm sitting here on the sofa, practically naked but for a pair of boxer shorts, all windows to the flat are open, and the fan is blowing the hot air in the room a bit faster towards me, like it's making any difference. 25 degrees celcius at 8pm - cannae beat it. Why oh why don't we do air con in this country?! Still, I'm not complaining - it's a summer, that's for sure!

Yesterday was just a little bit cooler in the day, 27c was the high. Elle and I had originally planned to go down to Wimbledon and soak up some of the atmosphere, but by the time we got round to leaving the flat there wasn't really enough time for there to be any point. Instead, we risked a trip to Asda in Elle's car, which made it there fine. However, it only just made it back, so it definitely still needs a lot of work done to it, and expensive work at that. Maybe even too expensive for it to be worthwhile keeping the car, but don't try telling Elle that!

After that, we headed on the tube down into Central London for a few drinks at St Christopher's Place, Carnaby Street and Argyll Street before heading home.

Day one of three at work today, and was quite a good day - much quieter than anything we had last week. When I got back, I prepared the Michael Jackson tribute edition of Grooveline for tomorrow, put some more tracks on my MP3 player, and bought tickets for me, Elle and my friend Stephen (who is coming down from back home on Thursday for 5 days) to see Avenue Q at the Gielgud Theatre on Friday night. It's a show I've wanted to see since it premiered in London, although we have gone for the cheapest tickets, so probably have the worse seats in the house!

Where were you when...?

Colindale, London, England // 10.55 am // Partly cloudy 22ºc / 72ºf

• I woke up on a Sunday morning sometime in the Autumn of 1997, around 8am, and turned on the TV in my bedroom. I had the four main TV channels plus a link from the Sky box downstairs. The last channel that my mum had the Sky box on was UK Living. Usually complete drivel as far as I was concerned, but before I turned it over I noticed a caption on screen. "For coverage of a major news story, turn to BBC News". Eh? Why were UK Living telling us to turn over to the BBC. So I did. Immediately I realised what had happened when they were discussing the legacy of Princess Diana. She had died in a crash in Paris. I remember every step I took towards my mum's bedroom where I woke her and told her the news. It turned into the eeriest Sunday yet.
  

• It was Tuesday afternoon in late summer 2001. I was moving away from home in 11 days to go to university. Even at 18, I ironed my own clothes, and I had just set up the ironing board to do my shirt before heading into town to get some more essentials before moving away. My mum was chatting to a friend in the kitchen, so I felt free to turn off whatever shite Jerry Springer was sprouting on UK Living (that channel again!) and instead switch over to CNN International, which I often did. Literally seconds later, they switched to a simulcast of CNN domestic, reporting on an incident which had just taken place in New York. One of the World Trade Centre towers was ablaze. It was just after quarter to 9 in the morning over there. A few hours later, the world would be a very different place. I never did iron that shirt.

• It was a warm, muggy night in North West London in early summer 2009. I was sitting on the couch with Elle after a lovely dinner, watching a bit of TV. Just before 10.30pm I switched over to CNN International (that channel again!) just to see what was happening in the world before bed. Again, somehow, I managed to catch the few seconds before a major story was about to break for the first time. Maybe it's a sixth sense. In fact the news appeared in vision, on the flipper, before it was announced. Michael Jackson had been rushed to hospital after suffering cardiac arrest. Shiiiit. That can't be right...he was due to start the gigs which would surely only resurrect his career in a few weeks time. Elle and I discussed the fact that this would surely delay the gigs, meaning we wouldn't be seeing him live on September 1st at the O2. Little did we know at the time that he was already dead. No one will be seeing him live.
  

These are the three events where I will always remember where I was and what I was doing, even how I was feeling, when I found out for the first time that these events were unfolding. And even though I thrive on news and big events, and even though unfortunately much of that is bad news, I do sincerely hope that there won't be many more of these kind of memories.

I dream of jeans

Colindale, London, England // 12.22 am // Partly cloudy 15ºc / 59ºf

I'm typing this as I swelter in the living room just after midnight. It's not even that warm outside now (although it's still pretty mild) but it's been a fantastic day weatherwise, and this flat really did heat up through the day, and now refuses to cool down.

Been a nice long weekend off work with lots of stuff happening. In fact, I've hardly stopped which is a nice change compared to the last few weekends when I started to get close to climbing the walls.

On Thursday night I cooked what was supposed to be mustardy pork chops, except I forgot to buy the pork. So I improvised with chicken, and the result was actually really good. Quite a simple recipe but very delicious. It's fair to say I also had quite a few drinks during the course of the evening, and ended up falling asleep on the sofa, waking up at 5.30am, and then going to bed.

I had a substantial lie in on Friday, sleeping till 1pm, which was bliss. By the time I had tidied the flat, had lunch, showered etc it was time to head off to Kenton, just north of Wembley to catch up with my friend Robin, who was set to depart uni halls for Canterbury for the last time, as he's come to the end of his course, with great marks to boot. I got there just after 4pm and we had a good few drinks in the McGowan's pub there, which is a less inspiring branch of the chain compared to the one in Colindale. Nonetheless, it was great to catch up with Robin. It got me thinking that it was a shame that we didn't really do it more often, other than meeting up before gigs, especially since I moved to NW London last summer. Still, there will be many more opportunities to come, not least the Incognito gig in August.

Robin and I parted company just after 6, and I headed south to Paddington, stopped off for some dinner at KFC, and then headed to Hammersmith to join Elle and her workmates for another few drinks. We ended up staying there till around half 11 before heading home for a few more drinks.

And, true to form, I once again fell asleep on the couch. This time till 7.30am, which I think is a record. I can only be thankful it's not the toilet.

Felt surprisingly fine on Saturday though. And after the usual ritual of tidying/lunch/shower I headed out in the glorious sunshine to Twickenham, in South West London, for the annual meeting of the British DX Club, at the Barmy Arms on the north bank of the Thames. I think this is the 4th time I've made it to one of the meetings since moving to this part of the country in 2004, and every time so far the weather has most definitely played along. The turnout this year was fantastic and very encouraging. I spent a great few hours having some really interesting chats with people who I really only ever see during such meetings.

At around 7ish we headed to the usual Indian restuarant, Delhi Durbar. Last year we ate al fresco, but that wasn't an option this year thanks to live bands performing outside The Fox pub across the road. I found the service in the restuarant quite odd this year (and now I say that, I'm sure I commented on it in the past too). For instance, they wouldn't really accept us ordering sundries... instead it appeared they were going to give us a set amount of rice and breads to share between ourselves, based on the number of people, which resulted in at least two naan breads and a portion of rice going to waste. I opted for the green masala, which was a chicken dish based on green chillis and lime pickle. It was a really tasty, spicy dish, although the flavour got a bit too intense after a while. Lime pickle is hardly a favourite of mine anyway, but I liked the idea of having it as part of a main dish, but it did get a bit too much after a while. Still, the food was lovely.

After the meal, the remaining half dozen or so of us returned to the pub for another drink, then I headed back off to Colindale.

I actually stayed up quite late when I got back, playing Fifa till around 4am. Woke up just before midday today, and shortly after that headed down to the Brent Cross shopping centre to their branch of Next to buy a new pair of jeans. Anyone that knows me knows that I pretty much live in the same pair of jeans. And, to be fair, the pair I have right now have lasted me long. But, judging by the holes between the legs, right trouser leg, and both knees, this pair has had it. And the only place I can buy jeans that fit me perfectly is Next, without fail. This is if I can find the place. And I could not. It turns out, thanks to a tip off from my friend Eve's sister, Holly, that there *is* a branch of Next there, but I was looking in the wrong place. So I'll attempt that again tomorrow!

A few hours later, Elle and I headed into town to meet her friend and partner for a meal in Leicester Sqaure. We ended up in the Wetherspoons below Capital Radio, and had quite a few drinks and something to eat. I went for the unusual (for me) option of the chicken al forno pasta dish, as I fancied something light. And it certainly was that - despite being one of the more expensive main meals on the menu, the portion was hardly signficant, but there was something oddly gratifying about that when I had finished. I felt I did good.

So tomorrow is the last day of my four-day weekend, and is set to be a busy one. I'll wake up fairly early and need to do the following: register with the local doctor's surgery, buy jeans, post stuff at the Post Office, go to Asda for ingredients for dinner, cook said dinner and prepare Tuesday night's show.

Break? What break. Although I really can't complain, it's been great.

Video post: Do not adjust your set

Colindale, London, England // 8.28 pm // Mostly sunny 16ºc / 63ºf

Strike!

Colindale, London, England // 7.05 pm // Mostly cloudy 16ºc / 61ºf

First blog post in June. Been quite busy over the last fortnight, and even when I've been in the flat with some spare time, I've been preoccupying myself with watching football online. Even though the football season has ended in most of Europe, there is still plenty happening around the world, and a surprising number of websites streaming the games live. The legitimacy of some of the sites is question, but one that is kosher is the Ladbrokes website. I had no idea they stream several games live daily. I've just finished watching the Macedonia vs Iceland World Cup Qualifier, of interest to me as they are in the same group as Scotland. And over the last week or so I've watched stuff from African WC qualifiers to the Indian Premier League to MLS. It's really great stuff, and very addictive. I'm gonna watch a bit of the Faroes vs Serbia at 7.15pm before the England game starts at 8.15pm.

Speaking of football on TV, Setanta Sports seems to be on the brink of ruin. Once again, a minnow takes on Sky, and Sky wins. I've been a huge supporter of Setanta for years, since they bought the rights to the Scottish Premier League, and I'm currently a subscriber to their feed on Freeview. I remember being quite ecstatic when the EU ruled that the English Premiership packages could no longer all go to Sky, and Setanta snapped up two of those. Unfortunately, what was supposed to make Setanta, broke it as they lost one of those packages. Unfortunately for them they put too much reliance on the expected increased subscription numbers, which weren't as high as expected. I'll be surprised if they still exist come the new football season. What happens to live SPL coverage I have no idea. Come on Channel 5, you know what to do!!

Staying with football, Celtic still don't officially have a manager, but it looks pretty likely that it will be Tony Mowbray. The more and more I read about it and think about it, I think he is a fantastic choice for the job. And he's a Celtic man at heart, unlike Gordan Strachan. Can't wait for the Wembley Cup in July.

So in the last couple of weeks I continued the Central Line pub crawl, completing another ten stations last week. Next time I continue the crawl, my friend Stephen from back home will be here, and we'll do another ten stations together.

I haven't cooked for a couple of weeks, but will be doing so twice in the next week.

On Saturday night Elle and I went to her friend Becky's place in West Ealing for what was supposed to be a BBQ, but the poor weather saw to that. Actually, food was still cooked on the BBQ, but we stayed inside. It was a nice, chilled night where we ended up watching a couple of films before we left at 11pm.

Actually, I've watched a few films recently, which is really unusual for me. In the last couple of weeks I've watched The Good Shepherd, The Last King of Scotland and Phone Booth.

This week has seen the start of a 48-hour tube strike here in London. Thankfully I only rely on the tube to get back from work at the moment, but yesterday - a few hours after the strike started - was to be the first time I was affected by it as I tried to get home from the radio station. When I left the station, the Northern line was still reporting good service, but I didn't want to risk it. So I got the DLR from Shadwell to Bank, a bus from Bank to City Thameslink station, and a National Rail train from City Thameslink to Mill Hill Broadway, where Elle was waiting to pick me up. Annoyingly, when I got home the Northern line was still reporting a good service!

Amazingly, that's also been the case for the whole of today! So I managed to do my usual tube journey home (Victoria line from Oxford Circus to Euston, Northern line from Euston to Colindale) with no problems at all. In fact it was quicker than usual, thanks to a couple of closed stations, and the train was emptier than usual as I suppose many people didn't think any line was working.

Apparently 40% or so of tube drivers crossed picket lines to report to work as normal. Good on you.