well I hope everybody has had a very fabulous christmas. I've had the most incredible time, working on the Crisis Open Christmas shelter, which this year was in the London Arena. Its been a tremendous experience, I've met so many amazing people, had lots of fun, felt very christmassy and learned how to be a sound engineer - to the extent that it would now seem that I am working as ASM/engineer on at least 2 summer festivals and possibly other things too!

Glen Tilbrook on my stage!

The whole experience was amazing, humbling and educational and I shall definitely be there again next year (if they'll have me!)

And so Christmas officially came to an end today, as the shelter closed and the get out got under way, and I find myself left with a slightly lost feeling, as I rejoin the 'real world'...

Am spending new year working on a children's show at soj, which I have to say isn't my top preference for a way to spend new year, but hey, its providing spending money for my trip to new zealand next month!

So, as I have to be in Hammersmith for 8am tomorrow, I think this is my end of year message, so I hope you all have a very happy new year, and I shall be back in 2006!

PS...

Do i win prize for smallest christmas tree?

Shhh...

am being very naughty this evening and skiving off from a party i am supposed to be at - instead I am hiding in my flat, wrapping oodles of christmas pressies and preparing to watch 'lost'...

in my defence its been a hectice few days/weeks/months and this is my only 'free' evening to do aforementioned present wrapping if said presents are to be ready in time for the day itself (although I do have an extra day as my christmas day this year is infact boxing day, as I shall be wearing my stage manager hat for Crisis on the actual christmas day...)

this weekend I managed to survive the sbc xmas party, which starred the lovely brenda and band...


...plus a very drunken phonecall to the shark as we all miss(ed) her terribly...saturday was recovery and house-cleaning day, then sunday it was off to Crisis meeting followed by brief christmas shopping before heading off to soj in evening...

the the lovely laydee came round for tea on monday, which was very splendid, and most helpful as we tweaked my cv, which has now been sent off to the relevant person, so all cross your fingers now please!

and now to lost...

much hecticness

well its been a hectic time, so am just going to do brief summary of past week, as I clearly don't have time to blog properly!

wednesday - tapas and drinks followed by doves gig at place of soj - surprise rendezvous with the laydee and then (the very lush) Jude Law, from whom I managed to cajole some laughter out of whilst at the secret post bar....phwoar! slight tension between the laydee and my friend MG, but rest assured this was due to work stress and not anything remotely resembling dislike of aforementioned laydee, who like a saviour whisked us home through the rain in the luxury of a cab...

thursday - soj staff meal at babalou in brixton - can thoroughly recommend it - great bar staff, fantastic food, music a bit dodgy, but good fun for a staff night out!

friday - mad bit of christmas shopping on oxford street followed by the everso cute josh rouse playing at the queen elizabeth hall

saturday - working on league of gentlemen at soj, followed by curry and wine at MG's house

sunday - houseworky stuff followed by food and then mammoth xfm winter wonderland gig with Nik...superb concert band marathon, resulting in very aching legs by end as ran from 6pm through til 12.45am, all standing on the sloping floor of brixton academy! was worth it tho...editors, the kooks, maximo park, hard-fi, kaiser chiefs, jimmy carr, adam & joe, other assorted xfm djs, not to mention chas & dave, all in one gig!

today - staff christmas lunch at proper job , which turned into drunken all afternoon event...felt a little bad tho, as was being welcomed to first christmas with company, whilst I'm secretly applying for a new job elsewhere...oo errr! back home to give Becca pre-date support before lost and blog catch ups...and so here we are! am now caught up on lost, which is a relief. tho its lost a little of its appeal since a (so called) friend who's already watched it in australia revealed some key plot facts...

and now blog is done so am going to have well earned bath and read of book (kafka on the shore by haruki murakami) before bed....

it was a lost weekend...

t'was a weekend of randomness and good gigs this week - was s'posed to go to the Franz Ferdinand end of tour party on saturday, but after finishing at my soj we somehow ended up instead going to a friend's house back in Herne Hille for very fine food, drink and company, before heading down to the academy to see the Prodigy late show...and I was once again reminded of the advantages of working in the field I do...this is not a gig I would normally haved got tickets for, as although I've always liked them I've never felt a great need to see them live....however, as we emerged from the guest door straight into the throng in front of the stage you could not fail to be caught up in it all, and I almost instantly reverted back to being a clubby teen back in the early 90's. and so we bounced around manically for the entirety of the set, before heading upstairs to the bar and somehow finding ourselves sometime later on the dance floor with Keith himself and a Hell's Angel....finally rolled home around 5 and was swiftly reminded upon awaking why I seldom do such things these days...ah yes, old age is kicking in!

review here

Sunday was a more sedate affair, with soj beckoning again, after which we headed to the Palais to catch Robert Plant...wimping out before the end and sensibky making it home before 11...still managed to sleep through my alarm this morning tho...doh!

Which brings me to a question - is there some strange cult going on in London that I am oblivious too - I keep encountering 5ft high stuffed Disney characters on my way home - last night it was Winnie the Pooh coming home on the tube (it woukd seem he lives in Stockwell if anyone is concerned) and today, as we zoomed past on the bus I saw Tigger entering the tube at Elephant and Castle. May 'Disney' watch commence - any further sightings let me know!