Homework and Hamsters.

A brief summary of my week - worked a long day on Monday at my proper job.  But as it was just the one day, I coped.  Tuesday -guitar lesson, followed by working at Leyton Orient for the evening match against Bristol (and yes,  surprisingly  they DID win, 2-0.)  Wednesday was our first City and Guilds class this year, and after that I drove up to Cambridge to meet my niece to  see Avatar at the cinema.  (Oooh, a little tip here, if you take your own popcorn in, to avoid paying the ridiculously inflated prices they charge in the cinema, hid it in your handbag.  They've started confiscating 'imported' snacks.  Fortunately, my niece did the whole "I'm anaemic and I could collapse' scenario, so we were allowed to take it with us.  Not that they believed us, but they could see that we weren't going to be bullied. 

It was a long film, nearly three hours, and Sarah dozed off (no stamina, these youngsters- although if the popcorn police had seen her I'd have pretended that she'd passed out) Anyway, I enjoyed the film - I'd never seen a 3D movie before, and it amused my niece (when she was awake) that I kept looking over the top of my special glasses to see if they really DID make a difference.

Thursday, I dyed some more buttons and did some C & G homework.  On Friday I met the girls in Baroosh and we drank coffee had lunch and knitted.  Now tell me, why do people find that so odd?  Even my Mum said "Don't they mind you knitting in there, it might put their customers off"  We ARE customers!  I suppose it's only a matter of time before someone claims to be "Yarn Intolerant", or a Government body warns of the dangers of passive knitting,  and we are banished outside to stand and knit on street corners.

Today I've been to Art and Stitch for a day's workshop by Fan My Flame on Bonded Books.  It was a lovely day, good to come away from a workshop with a finished piece, and hopefully the glue should wash out of my clothes. Here are the result (and you're wrong, mine isn't the pink one!)

There was a band on tonight in Hertford that I wanted to see - The Hamsters, who I've been going to see for about ten years, at various venues, some of which have been closed down and others that have narrowly escaped the same fate.  (Like the recently reprieved Half Moon at Putney, where the Hamsters have a monthly residency) Not that the closures were anything to do with the band, you understand.  Nor with me, for that matter.  Unfortunately, none of my mates were available to come with me - some had good excuses, eg. snowboarding in Austria/Staying with friends in Henley-on-Thames/Cruising the Panama Canal,  - but some less so - "Staying in to watch Casualty" (you know who you are!).  So, even though I was Gilly-No-Mates, as I really wanted to see them, I decided to go on my own.  Really glad I did - I've usually seen the 'Regular Set', when they play their own material and various rock/blues covers, but tonight they did a 'Hendrix/ZZTop Set' which was excellent.  I took a few photos while at the front, but as is usual at these events, I unwittingly found myself standing next to a real-ale-drinking flatulence sufferer, so I moved well back.

They finished with their finale - ZZ Top's 'Sharp Dressed Man' - where they wander through the audience and swap instruments, with the bass player playing lead, the drummer playing bass, and the guitarist playing the drums.  (Makes me realise I'll have to practise a bit more before I book Wembley)

So, if you like Rock with a bit of Blues, Blues with a bit of Hendrix, Hendrix with a bit of ZZ Top, check them out sometime.  If we don't turn off the TV and go out and see live music occasionally, we'll lose the music venues that have managed to survive, and then the only music that exists will be the stuff that Simon Cowell churns out.  No, thank you very much.

Going back to the Hamsters, I must have been seeing them for more than ten years, because I remember my (then very young) nephew saw a Hamsters tape in my car, and wanted to play it, as he'd just got his first Hamster.  And he's now 25 and moved into his first house today.  Blimey, time flies.