hup hup hup update

no hills - i could probably bike race again out here  
- i'd need a shave though

Today I got to see some of the stills taken during the shooting of the film “The Head Of John Hayes” a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately I can’t show any here due to certain restrictions on previewing material for a film where it is the intention to submit it for entry to film festivals. I had a fantastic time and learned quite a lot about story boarding a script. It was so good to be part of some thing like this where dedicated young people are working very hard to make some art on a budget. The artistic sub-culture in the metropolis is alive and well, even in these austere times and when Arts grants are thin on the ground. I am looking forward to seeing the end result towards the end of the year.

I have been looking through the various proposed new band names and I think you could do better. There are some quite good ideas there but none rings my bell. I will award a prize to the best of the bunch when I get the Cd s but please feel free to enter more suggestions. I am not ungrateful for your effort. The comp is still open. The CD has not arrived from Germany yet so there is still time to impress me with your suggestions.

The gig on Friday was very enjoyable though the day started badly with a message from Ramblin early on Saturday morning. Dave had hurt his back a few days before and had a negative reaction to the medication he was prescribed resulting in very bad stomach pain. Luckily we found a replacement driver in the shape of Tim Plant who was a very pleasant companion for what was to prove to be a long day and night. Thanks mate you were great.

We arrived in Leicester and collected Luke. The detour through road closures was nothing compared to what was to come but eventually we wound our way to the Musician. What a surprise. The slightly faded gig has had a make over. It is now one of the coolest small gigs I have played since I began my solo performances a couple of years ago. The place is very neat retaining its fascinating collages of music stars and overall vibe but the room has been extended and refurbished. 

The PA system is lovely and both Luke and I actually enjoyed our sound check. The man on the mixer is spot on and a pleasure to work with.

We played to a good crowd on a night when the Olympic opening ceremony and the Leicester fortnight holiday was just some of the competition. It was nice to see some old friends there and a few new faces.

Luke kicked off the evening with a solid set of self-penned songs and it was clear to me he has put in a lot of work since we last performed together. I suppose I will always feel emotional when I sit in the audience to listen to Luke but there is no doubting the emotional effect he has on an audience unfamiliar with his material. The writing is deep and his vocal style and melodies are distinctive. He was very well received by a typically warm audience and came off to genuinely warm applause. After a little chat with Luke and a couple of drinks it was time for me to play.

I started off with the intention to weave some improvisation into the set and couldn’t quite believe what my fingers and mouth were doing when I began to sing an unfinished song. I have a verse and a chorus and that’s what I did. It worked ok so I did the same thing again later. I managed to fit a lot of unfinished songs in to and around existing songs and I really enjoyed myself.
I played for quite a lot longer than I usually do but the time flew by and after dropping Luke and Ros off at their place we had a quick tea and hit the road. The journey back was uneventful until we got into London. All roads leading to the bridges over the Thames seemed blocked by Olympic stewards and lots of traffic was entering the roads only to be turned around.

Eventually after driving around for a good half an hour, I decided to ask a steward why all the roads were closed and how might we cross the Thames. I am glad I was polite because he answered to the effect that the roads were closed in preparation for the Men’s Road race. Well that shut me up and we spent another twenty minutes finding a way to cross Battersea Bridge.

I finally went to sleep at around 8.30am and woke to find that Mr Cavendish and The Team GB boys had failed to win the the road race but they rode like warriors and virtually on their own. I thought they might have sent Froome in to the break away group of riders containing the eventual winner but I don’t think he had the energy. The Tour De France was not won easily and his contribution to the team success was huge. I was pleased that Alexandr Vinokurov (Kazakhstan) won in what might be his last year as a pro cyclist.
Congratulations to Ms Lizzy Armitstead who loves to race in the rain and jumped out of the main bunch of riders to take the silver medal in the Women’s Road race. 
I expect when Bradley Wiggins rides the Olympic Time Trial the cry of hard core cycle race fans at the road side will ring  in his ears for most of the route as it has down the years. "Hup hup hup" is the call to increase the revolutions of a riders pedals. Some times the Team director will shout this from a support car. It is a rhythmic knock in the air which the rider can hear and hopefully react positively to. He will appreciate it from the crowd but this guy knows how to cover a course over 50 k at about 40 to 50 kph and will know how fast to go and where to ease up. I hope it is dry. Wiggins is the fastest man in the world in the race of truth - a man on a bike against the clock so check it out on Wednesday the 1 August.

Next stop the far north of Norway for a Fair days pay for a fair days work show in a couple of week’s time. Now that will be some thing. I always feel at home in Norge and I expect this trip will further heighten that sense of my belonging there. Meanwhile it’s back to the grindstone ha ha! I am expecting delivery of my new Mac for music production and I want to get as much pre-production for the new band project completed before it arrives. I need to collate all my audio soundscapes and other noise so that It can be easily transferred to the new system. I am very excited about this. Time is running so I had better make a start.

peace

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