The Crystal Gazer

It really was a storm.... !

2012-01-23T17:47:00.001Z

It really was a storm.... !,
originally uploaded by ツ Kj Photography ツ.

This was taken in Iceland last night, now that's what I call an aurora! We are in Iceland in two months, I hope we get a Northern Lights show like this! Click on the photo to enlarge.

U22 Tracklist

2012-01-20T19:37:00.001Z

U2.com has announced the track listing for U22, the gift for re-subscribers of U2.com. For once it is actually an excellent gift, but not enough to make me shelve out $50! Below is the announcement as it appears on U2.com.

After tens of thousands of votes, U2.com Subscribers have decided which tracks will appear on 'U22'.

We asked you to choose your top 22 live tracks after listening to 46 the band played on U2360°. Three months later, the result is the first crowd-sourced U2 live collection.

You didn't just cast your votes. You also engaged in impassioned argument on our boards about which tracks should appear, which should not - and why.

In the end the great divide was between those of you who wanted 'U22' to become a collection of the band's 'greatest' live tracks and those who wanted it to capture songs the band rarely perform, tracks hardly ever released live.

The results are fascinating - spanning nine albums and thirty years, excluding some of the most familiar songs and featuring some total surprises.

'This is really going to be a special CD.' said Adam, when we caught up with him this week. 'I wasn't expecting some of these tunes, it's a really fresh collection and it's going to make very interesting listening.'

So here's the 22 tracks. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see what happens next. And then get into the comments to give us your reactions.

1. Bad
2. Where The Streets Have No Name
3. Magnificent
4. One
5. Ultraviolet
6. Even Better than The Real Thing
7. With or Without You
8. Beautiful Day
9. City of Blinding Lights
10. The Unforgettable Fire
11. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
12. All I Want is You/Love Rescue Me
13. Moment of Surrender
14. Until The End of the World
15. The Fly
16. One Tree Hill
17. Stay (Faraway, So Close)
18. Walk On
19. Zooropa
20. Elevation
21. Out of Control
22. Mysterious Ways

The tracks are now being mixed and sequenced while the editorial and design of the accompanying 24-page large format book (see above) is finalised.

More details soon on when 'U22' will be arriving with you... if you've resubscribed to U2.com for 2012.

Bono and Grace

2012-01-11T17:02:00.000Z

At the moment Bono is on a seemingly unpublicised tour of Africa. He recently visited the Mend project in Uganda - more information on this on their Facebook page here .

There's a nice little story about Bono meeting Grace, one of the workers there, and of course he just had to sing Amazing Grace to her! On Facebook it says someone videoed this, if it turns up anywhere I'll put it on my blog. But there's a lovely photo of Bono with Grace (who has obviously been charmed by Bono judging by the big smile on her face) which I've added below.

Photo from Mend's Facebook page

'Stephen Lawrence' by Carol Ann Duffy

2012-01-09T16:53:00.000Z

Wonderful poem by the poet laureate, sometimes less is more and says so much.

'Stephen Lawrence' by Carol Ann Duffy

Written by the poet laureate after the conviction of two men for the teenager's murder in 1993

Cold pavement indeed
the night you died,
murdered;
but the airborne drop of blood
from your wound
was a seed
your mother sewed
into hard ground –
your life's length doubled,
unlived, stilled,
till one flower, thorned,
bloomed
in her hand,
love's just blade.

Words To Take Note Of U2 .....

2012-01-06T03:54:00.001Z

YES, YES, YES! I agree with pretty much all of this article and I hope U2 read it and that it gives them food for thought.

From Rolling Stone:

Our 10 Greatest Hopes and Fears for 2012
2012 is going to be a big year for music. We hope these people don't screw it up.

U2 Plot Their Future
Hope: U2's 2009 album No Line On The Horizon was an extremely ambitious record that sold millions of copies all over the world. Songs like "Moment of Surrender" and "Magnificent" rank with the band's best work, but the singles failed to connect with a mass audience and by U2's standards it was a disappointment. We hope that they realize that radio is unlikely to put any song they ever write into heavy rotation; instead, they should just focus on making another great record, and then hit the road on an arena tour that drops some of the old warhorses in favor of great songs from the past. How about "Acrobat," "Drowning Man" and "Numb"? "Pride (In The Name of Love)" is a great song, but enough's enough.

Fear: U2 tends to end each decade with a commercial disappointment, and then begin the new decade with an album that's the exact opposite of their last work. The failure of Rattle and Hum gave the world Achtung Baby and the failure of the (criminally underrated) Pop led to the back-to-basics approach on All That You Can't Leave Behind. They have spent much of the last two years working with a rotating cast of producers, including Danger Mouse and RedOne. We fear their primary focus is competing with Lady Gaga on the radio. It's a fight they're going to lose. Hey Bono, don't overthink this next record. Just make it great. It'll serve you better in the long run. Remember that awful charity single "Stranded" you cut with Jay-Z and Rihanna? Never do anything like that again.

Happy 2012!

2011-12-31T21:14:00.002Z

Just a few words as 2011 is drifting away. I hope that 2012 will be a great year for you, I hope it will be happy and healthy and that you will have lots of whatever makes you content. I have trips to Stoke, Manchester, Iceland, Dublin and Nice lined up so I'm pretty happy with that as travelling is one of my big loves and I appreciate that I am lucky in that I am able to travel that much.

As I get older I appreciate my health more and more, without good health life can be pretty difficult no matter how blessed you are in other ways, and I hope for continued health for all in 2012. My diet/gym has been sidelined these last few weeks but I am getting back onto the wagon from tomorrow, I am determined to keep the healthier lifestyle doing! Hopefully I'll be a shadow of myself this time next year.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, I'm chuffed that I get so many people popping in to read my various musings and hope that you will continue to do so next year. My very best wishes for 2012, and a couple of woofs from the longdog rascals below too!

Max and Pepsi

Earthflight

2011-12-29T15:25:00.000Z

Looking forward to this new series starting on BBC One tonight.

Bono at Leopardstown Races 2011

2011-12-27T15:35:00.000Z

Bono Pouring Champagne for the Photographers

Bono, Ali and their daughters went on their annual St Stephen's day out at the Leopardstown races yesterday. Bono was in a generous mood and handed out champagne to the waiting photographers. Story and more photos here. Bono's daughters have grown into beautiful young women, but there is a big error in the article, the journalists have got Jordan and Eve mixed up in the photo captions. (PS they have now corrected the errors).

More photos here .

Update - Video of Bono Busking on Grafton Street

2011-12-24T22:20:00.000Z

Lovely video of Silent Night from the busking on Grafton street earlier this evening. Another song that was sung was Baby Please Come Home.

Bono Busking on Grafton Street - Again

2011-12-24T21:17:00.001Z

Bono, in what now seems be a Christmas Eve tradition, once more joined Glen Hansard, Mundy, Liam O'Maonlai, Declan O'Rourke and others to busk on Grafton street this evening. The event was in aid of the Simon Community and Peter McVerry Trust, both charities working to help the homeless. I've not heard what songs were sung but lots of other photos can be found here.

Siku the Polar Bear Cub - Major Cuteness!

2011-12-22T23:44:00.000Z

If you want something to put a smile on your face watch the video below. The cub is Siku (meaning ice in Greenlandic), just one month old, who lives at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park in Denmark. He had to be taken away from his mother as she could not produce enough milk for him. He is being cared for 24 hours a day by three keepers, what a wonderful job! And what a sweetheart little Siku is.

U2 Christmas Party

2011-12-22T17:09:00.000Z

U2 threw the Christmas party for their staff at Principle management on Wednesday 21st December at Harry's Cafe Bar on Hanover Quay. As well as the staff, The Rubberbandits and Gavin Friday were there. Apparently also attending were Gavin's dogs Ralph and Stan wearing Santa hats! I'm sure a good time was had by all!

Photo: Irish Independent

The Jean Genie, David Bowie 1973

2011-12-21T22:59:00.000Z

This performance by David Bowie of The Jean Genie was first broadcast on Top of the Pops in 1973 and has never been seen since, the tapes having been wiped by the BBC. The footage belongs to John Henshall a cameraman who worked on the programme who kept copies for himself. He didn't know the BBC had not kept a copy and also was unaware of how important the footage was, and it was only when he mentioned it on Johnnie Walker's Radio 2 show that it all came to light.

Mark Cooper, executive producer of Top of the Pops 2 said: "Bowie singing The Jean Genie is electric and the kind of piece of archive that not only brings back how brilliant Top of the Pops could be, but also How a piece of archive can speak to us down the years."

I loved Bowie in the 70's, he was so pushing the boundaries, mixing theatre with music and he was so different to anything else at the time. He was androgynous, almost alien, sexy, charismatic, unique. This performance is him at his best, it is indeed "electric," every now and then an artist will do something special and this is an prime example, lost for 38 years (yikes!) and thankfully found again. As Mark Cooper said, some performances are so amazing they can still captivate people decades later.

Apparently Henshall has hundreds of other tapes, what other delights could he have for us?

Christmas Baking - Pfefferkuche

2011-12-19T21:02:00.000Z

Been baking German Christmas biscuits - Pfefferkuche - for the first time today and they have turned out well. There's a gorgeous smell of spices floating in the air! Thanks to Chris and Andy for sharing your "secret family recipe" and for sending the spices.

Candlelit Christmas Concert

2011-12-17T18:46:00.001Z

My cousin Glen and I went to the Candlelit Concert in St Cuthbert's church tonight. This is an annual event here, we don't go every year, but decided that we'd like to go again this year. Rock music is usually my thing music-wise, but I have always liked some classical music. Maybe that's because I grew up with a mother who loved, Strauss, Wagner, Verdi and Rossini. Classical music was part of my growing up, always being played on the record player.

We first had an Italian meal in Franco's, which didn't turn out as relaxing as we'd hoped. Glen arrived twenty minutes late as she's forgotten the tickets and had to go back home to get them. Then we had to wait a long time for our food (they were very busy.) This meant we had to rush our main course (which was a shame as it was lovely) in order to get to the nearby church on time.

St Cuthberts dates from 1778 and is thought to be the fourth church on the site. It's an Anglican church but set up more like a Methodist one, with an upper gallery around three sides. The windows depict the life of St Cuthbert who was an important saint in the north of Britain. It was painted in white, turquoise and gold.

The altar of St Cuthberts

The musicians were The English Philharmonic Ensemble and the choir was The Beverley Singers. During the concert the lighting was from two large candelabras hanging from the ceiling and four large candle stands, all filled with candles. The only electric light was a few spots of light around the huge arch in front of the altar.

Some of the music I enjoyed some I didn't so much. I did like Clark's Suite for Trumpet and Strings, sounded very of it's time late 15th/early 16th century. Then there was Vivaldi's Winter was as dazzling as ever, amazing how someone can put winter into music, I could almost see the snowflakes falling! Lovely.

In the interval we went out into the crisp, frosty night and walked the short distance to the Tithe Barn which is the church hall, where you could buy traditional Christmas Fayre of mulled wine and mince pies. I don't like either so I didn't buy any but i wanted to go into the building because it's such a historical place. Dating from around 1480 it has had many uses over the many yea s of its existence as well as collecting tithes and by 1970 was quite derelicts. But, thankfully, St Cuthbert's restored it and it is now regularly used by the church and other organisations. It's a fantastic building with an impressive roof of oak beams and rafters, and you can "feel" the history of it.

Tithe Barn

A little Oriental girl came out to play Silent Night on the violin. There were a few off notes but it was generally good and she was only five, she has some future ahead of her! She looked cute in a scarlet dress with her hair in pigtails and was not fazed by performing in front of all those people.

I'm not a fan of hymns, but I do love the Christmas carols, they are uplifting and great tunes. The carols in this concert were Once in Royal David's City and O Come All Ye Faithful sung by the choir and audience, and made me feel all Christmassy.

The final performance was from Handel's Messiah. It was brilliant, the "Hallelujah Chorus" made the hairs on my neck stand up, powerful stuff! This was only a small orchestra and choir, seeing it on a bigger scale must be mind-blowing. It was a great way to end an very enjoyable concert, I'm definitely in the Christmas spirit now!

(I wasn't having a good photography night, most of my photos didn't come out, but I've included the ones that did in the article.)

Bono in Surprise Appearance in Dublin

2011-12-17T14:28:00.001Z

Bono made a surprise appearance on stage with Imelda May at the O2 in Dublin last night (16th December). They performed Desire and Baby (Please Come Home) together, oh to have been in that audience! Bono looking and sounding good, great to see him spending some time back home.

Story and great photos here

Photo here taken from U2.com

Video of a very sexy Desire, sound is a bit dodgy, but it brings across the great atmosphere.

Strange Friendships

2011-12-16T18:10:00.003Z

Wonderful video of a pretty special, but apparently regular, event in Ireland, a labrador and dolphin swimming together. Amazing to see these two animals frolicking together like this, the much bigger dolphin careful not to hurt the dog. I know labs are water lovers but that one is a really strong swimmer! A truly beautiful friendship between two of natures most special creatures.

Pre- Raphaelites and the Little Black Dress

2011-12-10T19:40:00.001Z

Brrr it's been cold today! I met up with my friend Alison and we went to look round the Christmas Market in the town centre. It's not really very Christmassy, it's just the usual continental market that comes here every now and then. But I love pottering round it and taking in all the sights and smells of the varied foods available. I was looking for a warm trapper hat with long flaps and found the perfect one there, just what I need in this nippy weather.

We then went round some of the shops in the shopping precinct, Alison bought a couple of tops but I didn't buy anything, still enjoyed pottering around window shopping though.

Then I gave Alison a tour of old Carlisle, she lives in the Scottish Borders and doesn't know the city well. We first went to the cathedral, which, though small (it's the second smallest cathedral in England), has many special features. It was established in 1133 and somehow has survived fires, wars and numerous border raids by the Scots - Carlisle, being a border city has had a lot of strife and has been both English and Scottish numerous times in the past.

The barrel vaulted roof of the cathedral dates from the 14th century and is painted sky blue with golden stars, it is generally quite dark building and looking up to the ceiling feels like looking at a bright blue summer sky. The most famous feature of the cathedral is the east window. It is in the most complex English Gothic style, the Flowing Decorated Gothic. It is truly beautiful when the sun shines through it. Much of the window still contains the original medieval glass.

The choir has forty six black oak misericords - hinged seats. The misericords are carved with various, often fantastic, scenes, hybrid creatures, angels, scenes from legends of the Apostles, St Cuthbert, St Augustine and others. Some of the seats have traces of burns from where monks had fallen asleep in services and burned them with the candles they held. A nice human touch!

From the cathedral we walked the short distance through the grounds to Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery. First we went into the gallery (free entry) which has an extensive and nationally important Pre-Raphaelite exhibition. These form part of the part of the museum's Emily and George Bottomley bequest, which came to Tullie House in 1949. I have always loved Pre- Raphaelite art - even years ago when it wasn't "in fashion", now it is appreciated as it should be once more. As a young teenager I often used to go to the art gallery to look at these paintings and drawings. As well as loving to see the exhibitions I've always liked the "feel" of art galleries and museums, it's like stepping into another world. Tullie House itself is a beautiful building, with well preserved marble staircases, ironwork stair rails and gorgeous ornate wall tiles.

Madeleine by Arthur Hughes

We then went next door to the museum - once Carlisle's main library, another place I spent a lot of time in. We went into the Little Black Dress exhibitions. this is about the history of the Little Black Dress (LBD) from Victorian days until the present day. I found it absolutely fascinating. It looked at the psychology of black clothing to the influence of designers from Coco Chanel (who created the original "Ford" black dress in the 1920's). It looked at the role the LBD played in Hollywood with actresses such as Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. In the background all the while was the moving, mournful singing of Edith Piaf, who, of course, always wore a LBD.

The exhibition was set out in decades and the ones that stood out for me were the 30's, 60's and 80's. The glamour and elegance of the 30's was captivating, the dresses were beautifully designed and would make you feel like a million dollars. The 60's dresses were new, vibrant, young heralding a new age. There was a photo of Twiggy in a little black Mary Quant mini dress. It is easy to forget how mind blowing that was at the time. I'm old enough to remember those times (I was VERY young though LOL!) and nothing like it had been seen before. It was youthful and of the future, when anything seemed possible. The 80's stood out for me for the wrong reasons as the fashions were so awful then, even the LBD. Dear me.

Every woman knows a LBD is an essential part of any wardrobe. It can make you look fabulous and feel a million dollars. No wonder it has been around in many versions for almost a century. If you can, go to see this free exhibition, it's well worth seeing. It's on until February 26th. So that was our day out in Carlisle, we saw a lot and spent next to nothing, that's what I call a good day!

Bah Humbug No More

2011-12-06T00:25:00.001Z

I've been neglecting my blog this last couple of weeks, life has been hectic with the Christmas madness beginning. I used to be a bit "bah humbug" over Christmas, but a few years ago I decided to try and be more positive about it, to make an effort to enjoy it rather than muttering "bloody Christmas" all the time and sinking into further apathy. And it's kind of worked, I can't say I love Christmas now, but I certainly don't hate it anymore. I decorate my apartment, up goes a six foot tree, silver and lilac baubles, lights, lots of candles around my living room. On goes the Christmas music, I have a Santa in my car and even buy my boys special festive things. I try to make things "Christmassy" as my mother did when I was young, she was German and she made it a magical time for me - Germans really know how to do Christmas. My German friend Chris has sent me her recipe for traditional German Christmas biscuits, so they will be a new addition to the festivities this year.

I'm not neglecting the social side of things either, I'm going to the Christmas market in the city centre this weekend and a Candlelit Christmas Concert the following one, as well as some nights in and out with family and friends. Sometimes if you learn to embrace something you don't enjoy, you find it's really not that bad after all......

New Look, Crown Court and Wild Wind

2011-11-26T18:52:00.001Z

I decided to have a new look for my blog, hope you like it. We're having wild weather here, gale force winds and rain, until now November has been very gentle on us weather-wise, so can't complain. I'm glad to be at home all warm and snug. This is my least favourite month of the year, but because the weather has been ok until recently and the fact I've had a little break away it hasn't felt too bad.

Last week I was on jury service at the Crown Court. It was the first time I had been called up and it was a fascinating experience. We were looked after throughout by the jury bailiff, Steve, who was great. About 16 of us were chosen randomly by the computer from the people that had been called in for jury service that week. We were taken down into the courtroom and names were called out, if your name was called you had to say "Yes" and then go to sit in the next available place on the jury bench. At this point if there were any objections to jury members, or jury members and witnesses/defendants knew each other objections are voiced. The remaining uncalled people were taken out of the courtroom back to the jury waiting area. We were then sworn in and sat back and finally able to really take in the courtroom.

It was a huge big room with a very high ceiling. To our right on a raised platform was the judge, he was a "red" judge, signifying he was a High Court judge, the red coming from the red robe with white fur facings he wore under his back gown. He also wore a short fawn-coloured wig. In front of him, on a lower level to the judge, was the court clerk who wore a wig and black gown. At the same level in front and to the right of us and the clerk's bench was the witness box. Opposite the clerk were the prosecution and defence barristers who also wore black gowns and wigs. To our left behind the barristers was a secure, partitioned area where the defendant sat with a security officer. Opposite the jury benches and to the right there was the court usher. To the left were seats where the public could sit and also the press bench. There were some small windows very high up behind us, but otherwise there was no link to the city outside. It felt very much a separate world, with its own protocol and rules.

We had very long spells in the court two and a half hours each in the mornings and afternoons with no break. When we had the lunch break the jury was the first to leave court and then last to return. And there was everyone, back in exactly the same place, and whatever had been happening before the break picked up again as if time had just stood still for an hour while we had been at lunch. Weird.

I was fascinated to watch the various members of the court working as the case continued, especially the Judge who was constantly writing. Everything is done much more slowly than you see on TV of course! Things that at first seemed insignificant were shown to be important as the case developed. It took two days for all the statements and cross examinations to be done. Then the prosecution and defence barristers gave their final speeches, in one case with a real flourish. Finally the judge summed up and I realised why he had been writing so much. His summary took almost two hours and he went through all the statements in detail, I was well impressed. He also gave us guidance on how to approach deliberating about the case.

Then Steve, the jury bailiff, took us to the jury room for our deliberation. In the room was a large table with 12 chairs (very comfortable thank heavens!) and toilets. We could not leave the room at all (the door was alarmed apparently) except to go back into the courtroom. Our only contact outside of the room was via the jury bailiff who we contacted by pressing a buzzer. If we wanted to have more information or guidance, ask about a point of law or give a verdict we had to write our request on a piece of paper and contact the bailiff who would pass the message to the court and judge. We would then be summoned back into the courtroom for the answer as everything, except the deliberation, is done in the court itself.

I found it hard work mentally, as you have to listen very hard to the evidence and take note of all you can, being a jury member is a very important role and not to be taken lightly. Each night I went home with my mind buzzing and a headache. After almost four days, the case was finished, and it was with some relief that we left that room and the rarefied world of the Crown Court for the last time and emerged into the real world of the city on a wild, windy November afternoon.

An Irish Eye - Colm Henry Photo Exhibition

2011-11-24T21:26:00.001Z

Anyone who lives near Manchester and is interested in Irish music should pop along to an exhibition of photographs of Irish musicians by Colm Henry. It features early U2, Phil Lynott, Rory Gallagher, The Pogues and Sinead O'Connor amongst others. I'd love to go to see it, but unfortunately Manchester is a bit too far for me to go just to see an exhibition. Full details here. It runs until December 4th at the Manchester Photographic Gallery.

U2 at HQ

2011-11-18T13:16:00.001Z

Interesting little titbit in the Irish Independent today, seems U2 were at HQ yesterday. I was surprised to hear this, Adam said they planned to be back in the studio in the New Year, so this was unexpected news! I'm pleased to see that they are spending time in Dublin once more, it's the right place for them to chill, and, it seems, work. Nice pictures of the B-man, he's looking well, his post tour rest seems to have done him good. Mmmmm makes me wish that we'd been a bit more motivated whilst in Dublin recently and checked out HQ, that'll teach us to be so lazy LOL!

By Edel O'Connell

Friday November 18 2011

U2 back in town with wall-to-wall support at studio

Bono at HQ

U2 were back in town yesterday to record part of the band's newest studio album at their Hanover Quay studio.

U2 frontman Bono was spotted signing autographs for fans outside the band's Dublin studio, where many of their best-selling albums were recorded after the band bought the studios in the early 1990s.

He even took time to pose next to some of the graffiti left on the studio walls by fans of the band.

Among the excited fans waiting outside the band's studio yesterday was Gary Paul from Parkwest, Co Dublin, who asked Bono to sign his miniature 'Achtung Baby' Trabant car, which had been earlier signed by The Edge.

Bono with his Niece Leah Hewson

He later attended the opening of an exhibition of art by his niece, Leah Hewson, at the KTcontemporary gallery in Donnybrook.

Leah graduated last year from Dun Laoghaire Institute of Design, Art, and Technology. Her new exhibition, 'What's behind the Magic Door?', uses multimedia to explore the importance of preserving imagination.

Chilling, Fine Dining, Champagne and Tracksuits

2011-11-16T19:20:00.001Z

Saturday 12th November 2011

I got back from Dublin yesterday and it was as great as ever. I was so ready for this trip, I find that after about three months at home I'm ready to go off somewhere else and it had been four months since my Canada trip in the summer. Also, it had been 11 months since my last visit to Ireland, the longest I've not visited in well over twenty years! The long gap was U2's fault, their everlasting 360 Tour's last leg was in North America in the summer and, well, we just had to see some shows and have a holiday at the same time didn't we? But it was expensive which meant this trip to Dublin had to be done fairly cheaply.

Debbi and I met up at Manchester airport and, as usual, we just picked up from where we left off last time we got together. We got to the security area and had to get our little packs of liquids etc out of our cases (we only had hand luggage) and I discovered I'd brought the wrong keys for my case padlock! They rang for someone to come down to cut off the lock. Soon a man arrived with a huge bolt cutter which cut through the padlock like it was butter. As he was walking away deb said.

"A man with a tool." And we both giggled, I was just going to add, "A very big tool!" When he glanced back and we tried to be sensible LOL!

No more mishaps and after a 35 minute flight we landed in Dublin on a mild, bright day. Our taxi took us to our Travelodge Hotel in Ballymun. When I'd first seen rooms there I wondered whether to go for it as Ballymun was once a notorious area of the city. But there had been a lot of regeneration and our friends in Dublin said it was not as it used to be. So we booked our rooms for the grand total of 25 Euro per night, a snap!

Most of the area was new build with those odd empty areas and some roads leading to nowhere. There were still a few of the old 60's flats and the shopping centre close to our hotel was a relic from the past, and very rundown and most of the shops were empty. But we went there as it had a Tesco and we needed to get a few supplies in. We noticed it was cheaper than other supermarkets we had been in which was a pleasant surprise. We also noticed there were a lot of people in tracksuits around, often in lurid colours, the best we saw was powder orange with lime green stripes down the side.

We got a half price bottle of champagne, wine, nibbles (Tayto crisps yay!) and something for our breakfasts. There was a Macari's fish and chip shop right beside the hotel so that was dinner sorted. I love how they make fish and chips in Ireland, they cook the fish when ordered and leave it to drain for a minute or two once cooked, so it is always lovely and crunchy, never soggy. The big, fat chips too were yummy too. We'd both been dieting for a while and it was such a treat to have a meal like this. And the champagne went with it very well too.

The rest of the evening we just chatted and nibbled, finished the champagne and opened some wine. All very relaxing, it was good to chill like that.

Sunday 13th November 2011

The Octagon Bar, Clarence Hotel

We tend to have very lazy winter holidays in Dublin and this one was no exception. We've seen all the usual sights of the city as we've been going over for so long - though we did read about the new Fabulous Food Trails which sounds perfect for us and we've already made a note of it for our trip next year! So, anyway, we had a lazy day and then got our glad rags on for our meal in The Tea Room Restaurant at The Clarence Hotel in the city centre.

We first went into the Octagon Bar to have a cocktail as they were on special offer. We each had a Cosmopolitan, our fave, and it was perfectly made. At 8pm we went through to The Tea Room for our meal. They have an Early Bird menu (which some days is valid all night) which is 25 Euro for two courses, 29 Euro for three courses, excellent value for such fine dining.

To start we had Duck Rillette which was slow cooked shredded duck made into a kind of pattie and placed on homemade rye bread. It was accompanied by wild mushrooms, capers, beetroot leaves and dressing. It was very good, though also very filling as the rillette was large.

For our main course we again both chose the same - slow cooked Irish loin of pork which was wrapped around pancetta flavoured with sage and parmesan, accompanied by sea asparagus, gnocchi, confit tomatoes and olive jus. The meat just melted in your mouth, very tender and the tomatoes were so delicious we asked how they had been prepared. I'd never had sea asparagus before and it was delicious. To accompany the meal we had a lovely bottle of Chianti.

As usual the service was excellent from our two Eastern European servers, one, who was from Estonia, was especially attentive. The atmosphere too, even though it was fairly quiet in the restaurant, was good, relaxed and comfortable.

We had no room for dessert (our stomachs must have shrunk with our diets LOL) so went through to The Study to finish off our wine, which was brought through for us by one of the waiters, and we just took our time finishing it. It was a relaxing end to an excellent evening. We've been going to The Tea Room for many, many years now and it has never disappointed.

Monday 14th November 2011

Deb in the Bridge Bar and Grill

Another lazy day and then another lovely night out! This time we were trying out somewhere new, The Bridge Bar and Grill on Grand Canal Quay. We've been to it's sister restaurant The Town Bar and Grill a few times and loved it, so we thought we'd try this place for a change - we have decided to try a new restaurant every time we visit Dublin.

The restaurant is built into the railway bridge on Grand Canal Quay in Dublin's Docklands, inside you can see one of the bridge's arches. It is a bit out of the way and the part of the Quay it is situated on is not a through road, so not the best of locations, I thought it would be nearer all the other eating places further down the Quay.

We were seated in a booth at the window, though there was not a lot to see LOL! The seating was comfortable, but, for me, the restaurant was too cold, though Debbi thought it was ok. Surprisingly, we did not hear the trains that passed over the bridge, very good soundproofing!

I had some Guinness bread while we were waiting, it was delicious, like a combination of soda bread, pumpernickel and, well, Guinness. For starters I had Katafi crab cake with roasted pepper and fennel compote, which was sooooo gorgeous, it looked fantastic too. Deb had roast butternut, chestnut and confit duck risotto, I tried a little and it was wonderful too, risotto cooked perfectly is so tasty.

Me and my halo in the Bridge bar and Grill

For the main course I had chicken supreme, garlic and chive mash, baby leeks and morel jus, delicious! Deb had belly pork, butternut puree, spicy puy lentils and saffron aioli. I'm not keen on belly pork, but Deb loves it and said it was fabulous.

We had room for dessert tonight, our stomachs must be stretching LOL!I was in the mood for chocolate and had chocolate fondant with white chocolate centre and ice cream - it was to die for yum yum! Deb had caramelised lemon tart with blackcurrant sorbet, it looked too good to eat, I've put a photo of it in this article (sorry the photos are a bit dark, the restaurant was dark and I was using my mobile to take the pictures.)

The food at The Bridge Bar and Grill was excellent. But for me it lacking a little in atmosphere, it felt a bit cold, both physically and psychologically. I prefer its sister establishment The Town Bar and Grill and of course, The Tea Room.

Tuesday 15th November

Home time already. We checked out and had a delicious, and very cheap breakfast in Macari's before heading to the airport. Our flight back to Manchester was 30 minutes (we are so lucky to live so close to Dublin) and then we parted our ways, Deb to Stoke and me to Carlisle. I had to change trains at Preston and the Glasgow train I needed to catch was literally pulling into Preston station as I was running over the bridge from the other platform, I sat down and the train left, that's how close it was. That run was the most energy I expended in the last four days! If I'd missed that train I would have been stranded in Preston for the night, I vowed then and there never to have to get the last train home again!

It was a short but sweet visit. Dublin is like a second home to me, from the first time I set foot in the city in 1989 I felt I belonged, "It's not where you are born, it's where you belong" some band said LOL. So true, and that has never changed for me over all those years.
ysicall

Ireland Bound!

2011-11-09T22:06:00.000Z

Not long until I'm off to Dublin now. This is my only trip there this year and I've missed the place so it'll be wonderful to be back. These last few weeks have been very strange for me in some ways, and it'll be good to just chill in my favourite city. Debbi and I have already got our meals out organised (well you have to get your priorities right.) The diet will be forgotten and my muscles will get a rest from the treadmill, swiss ball and weights for a few days, yay!

Is it time for U2 to call it a day?

2011-11-04T22:57:00.000Z

Good article from The Telegraph by Neil McCormick which brings up some interesting points for any U2 fan.

Is it time for U2 to call it a day?

By Neil McCormick Music Last updated: November 3rd, 2011

The Edge and Bono have also contributed to the plot and dialogue (Photo: Getty)

There has been a lot of internet chatter about whether U2 are breaking up, following comments from Bono in Rolling Stone. He has been talking a lot recently about U2 having been “on the edge of irrelevancy for 20 years” and suggested “We’d be very pleased to end on No Line on the Horizon”. Despite a failure to deliver a hit single and a general perception that it wasn’t a classic, the album has recently reached the five million sales mark, and U2 have just completed the biggest, most technologically ambitious and highest grossing tour in rock history. Q magazine just presented U2 with an award for Greatest Act of the Last 25 years. Might it represent an opportune moment for U2 to bow out?

There is no set process for a band to break up. Usually it happens more or less accidentally and spontaneously, through internal conflict. Often it is accompanied by a decline in popularity and increasing creative divisions. But when you have been together as long as U2 (36 years and counting), and successful throughout your career, a kind of inertia can set in, where the band continues to exist just because, well, it continues to exist.

REM have been widely applauded for their recent decision to disband because of a sense that their best days were behind them. The Rolling Stones continue despite of it, taking the critical flak to deliver music and entertainment for their massive fan base. You can’t say one is right, and one is wrong – it is each according to his own. But REM are close to U2, and belong to the post punk generation for whom an allegiance to rock bands came with high ideals and a sense of purpose. Talking about REM’s break up on Newsnight this week, Mike Mills explained that “It was an opportunity for us to walk away on our own terms. There are no external forces, no problems, we can walk away as friends and feel like we’ve accomplished everything we wanted to accomplish.”

U2 have certainly accomplished a lot, probably more than they ever dreamt… although they did dream big. I’ve got Bono on tape when Boy came out, in 1980, enthusiastically telling me that one day they would make a record as great as Sergeant Pepper. They’ve been the biggest rock band in the world for much of their career, they have constantly reinvented and reinvigorated themselves musically, done ground breaking and record breaking tours, and been at the centre of political and charitable campaigns that have helped shape the world we live in. I think this is part of the problem, actually, the very cause of the existential crisis the band find themselves in. Bono likes to be at the centre of things, part of the musical, political and cultural conversation. “Lots of people have U2 albums, why they would want another one is a reasonable question,” he admitted recently. “I don’t know if it is possible for us to make something that is current that is meaningful, not just to our audience but to the times we live in. But that’s kind of the job for me.”

U2 have recorded a lot of music over the past couple of years, with a lot of different producers, including new songs with Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton, the cut and paste wizard behind Gnarls Barkley), clubby pop tracks with Red One and meditative, quasi-ambient material with their established team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. I would like to hear those records. But there seems to be little sense in the band camp that this is music the world needs right now, something singular and original and powerful enough to stand up with their very best, as big and bold as the sprawling emotion of Unforgettable Fire, the rough hewn rock of The Joshua Tree, the industrial strength invention of Achtung Baby or killer tunes of All That You Can’t Leave Behind. And so they just keep chipping away, in search of that elusive creative breakthrough. But can a band of super rich middle-aged men ever achieve the creative heights of their youth, when making music really seemed like a matter of life or death?

Bono’s conviction that they have to create something world beating every time effectively creates a rod for their own backs. What bands have ever done their greatest and most resonant work in the middle age of their career? When U2 made their early classics, they worked day and night in pursuit of an ideal, sacrificing personal time and private lives, giving everything to the cause of the music. Inevitably that is not the case any more. They arrange meetings and recording sessions to fit with their increasingly complex personal schedules. Their fans may still like to believe that U2 live in Ireland and meet in the local pub or prayer meeting (hence the ludicrously inaccurate tax avoidance charge that keep being made against them). In fact, Bono lives mainly in New York now, The Edge in LA, Adam in London and only Larry remains a more or less full time resident of Dublin. They have all (apart from Adam) got wives and children who need time and attention. They have the kind of extreme wealth that ensures fabulous comfort. And Bono, their driving force, finds his time and energy much diluted by his sprawling range of extra-curricular interests and commitments, particularly political and charitable activities that inspire much antagonism in people who think a rock star should be in the business of making rock music. As Bono recognises, “We’re the most loved and the most hated band on Earth” and a lot of the reasons people don’t like them are actually about him – which he says he understands “because I have to live with me too.”

I was supposed interview Bono last week about the 20th anniversary re-release of Achtung Baby but he called it off because he felt he had done enough promotional work, and needed to take a break. He says he is becoming embarrassed by the amount of focus there is on him, as opposed to the rest of the band. It is a running joke that he sympathises with people who are sick of the sound of his voice, because he is too. And he’s plainly worn out. Or as he put it in an apologetic message: “Flat on my back from exhaustion.”

U2’s two year world tour may have finished in the summer but sometimes I think Bono just doesn’t know how to stop. He has continued his ceaseless globetrotting in connection with all his philanthropic, humanitarian and business commitments. He sang at Steve Jobs memorial in California on October 17, met Nicholas Sarkozky in Paris on the 19th as part of a lobbying group for the Global anti-poverty coalition One ahead of the G20, and was in London a few days later with the rest of U2 to pick up their award from Q magazine. It is hardly surprising that he told Rolling Stone his only future plans were to have some time off: “I want to take my young boys and my wife and just disappear with my iPod Nano and some books and an acoustic guitar.” Then on Monday, this week, he was in Dublin, as part of a delegation trying to convince foreign technology companies to invest in Ireland. He is the rock star who can’t say no.

Which is why, personally, I don’t think U2 are likely to do an REM and retire gracefully. If they ever do go, it will be in a blaze of glory or an act of outrageous folly, broken by their singer’s mad ambition. Right now, it is probably fair to say U2 need a break and the world needs a break from them. But U2 fans have heard these hints of disillusion and dissolution before – notably in 1989, after the excesses of Rattle And Hum, when Bono declared they had to “go away and dream it all up again.” They came back with Achtung Baby in 1991, probably their finest moment.

From my experience, what they tend to do is manufacture a sense of crisis to drive them. Edge refers to it as jeopardy, a constant buzzword in his discussions of their creative process. U2 need to feel that there are things at stake when they are writing and recording, deliberately using tension and risk to maintain focus. This, presumably, gets harder the more successful and comfortable individuals get. When Bono declares U2 to be on “the edge of irrelevance”, what he is really doing is raising the stakes for himself and his band, shoving them rudely out of their comfort zone.

U2 are in temporary retreat while their leader recharges his batteries, but his own self-questioning is not actually an indication of disillusion, but an instigation to action. Fans worrying that Bono’s remarks suggest U2 are about to call it a day could not be more wrong. What he really wants to do, indeed what he feels he needs to do, is for U2 “to go away and create the album of their lives.”

I don’t know if it is possible for a band with their long history to reinvent themselves again. But, like millions of other fans, I want to hear them try.

Keez Bistro, Carlisle - Review

2011-10-29T20:32:00.002+01:00

Address
Cecil Street, Carlisle

Cuisine
European

Ambiance
Located in the cellars of a Victorian building, lots of nooks and crannies with natural and white painted brick walls and modern decor. Plenty of room between tables, comfortable chairs. Very relaxing feel to the place and excellent piped music (U2, The Killers, Van Morrison....)

General
For my starter I had goat's cheese, with mushroom, wilted spinach and pine nuts. It was absolutely wonderful and the herby bread provided was a delightful accompaniment. My friend had the homemade pea and smoked salmon tart with dill creme fraiche and she thought that was excellent.

For the main I had pan seared duck breast with sweet pumpkin and sugar snap peas. The duck was perfectly cooked with a hint of pink and very tender. Pumpkin is an under used vegetable in the UK so it was a nice change, and it was very good - though I had to pick bits of red chili out of it as I'm not a fan of the hot stuff!

I nearly had chocolate chip cheesecake with mint ice cream for dessert, but I resisted! Aren't I getting good?

Service was good and attentive, though waits were quite long, the comfortable ambiance of the place meant I didn't mind and it gave my friend and I time to have a good natter! I was surprised that there was only one choice of red wine by the glass, surprising for a restaurant like that, not everyone wants to buy a whole bottle and more of a choice by the glass would have been good. I was also surprised that they did not serve cappuccino, the only coffee available was a cafetiere. But those things did not spoil what was a fabulous meal out.

Price
Expensive. But during the week the restaurant has reasonable special deals.

Northern Star Rating
Ambiance **** Food ****

Adam Clayton Interview on BBC Radio 6

2011-10-29T16:59:00.000+01:00

Adam with Huey Lewis at the BBC

There was a good interview with Adam on BBC 6 yesterday. Nothing much new in it really, but he did say that U2 would be working again with Dangermouse from "The first of the new year." Seeing that has come from Adam, who is generally more accurate than Bono in what he says, maybe it holds more credence. There was also a first play Blow Your House Down, which is ok but didn't blow (haha) me away.

The interview is available for another six days on BBC iPlayer here.

Ahk-toong Bay-bi Covered - Review

2011-10-25T21:42:00.000+01:00

I wasn't sure about this when I first heard about it. I tend to hate covers of U2 songs and I wasn't really looking forward to this CD covering the songs from Achtung Baby. But on listening to the CD I was pleasantly surprised, it is generally a good album. For those not in the UK and haven't got the CD yet many of the covers are on YouTube.

And, for your interest, the related interview in Q Magazine is fascinating, seems the band are thinking just what us fans are, U2 are at another turning point in their career. A time of being unsure about their place, relevance and ability to reinvent once more. The guys are going to have to do a lot of soul searching and work in the next year or two.

The best quote in the article is by the author describes Bono sitting in his seat on the plane as "Compact, stocky and squashed into his seat as he is, he looks like a gothic SpongeBob." Bet Bono's never been described like that before LOL!

Below is my personal opinion on the songs after the first listen:

Zoo Station - Nine Inch Nails. I wasn't sure what to expect with this U2 done by Nine Inch Nails?? But, much to my surprise, I liked their version of this song. Sung in a low, whispery tone with an almost Spector-like wall of industrial sound. NIN made the song their own and it worked - except the ending seemed to go on forever.
Even Better Than the Real Thing (Jacques Le Cont Mix) - The real U2 I'm not a fan of remixes and this one didn't win me over, it was just a typical, tedious remix like so many before.
One - Damien Rice. A bit of a lacklustre, emotionless version of this classic.
Until the End of the World - Patti Smith. A very individual version of this song and what a voice! Having said that I'm not sure about this song after only one listen, but have a feeling it's a grower.
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses - Garbage. The verses were very low-key followed by a sonic blast in the chorus. It was ok, but nothing special.
So Cruel - Depeche Mode. Never has a title been so apt. Awful.
The Fly - Gavin Friday. The perfect performer for this song, Gavin sounds dark, sleazy and dangerous just as The Fly should be. A great discordant, cacophony of industrial sounds blasts out around the vocals, wonderful.
Mysterious Ways - Snow Patrol. This is a brave version of the song, very stripped back and different from the original. But, as much as I love Snow Patrol, I felt it didn't work, the song lost its swagger and sexiness and became tedious.
Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around the World - The Fray. Another very individual version of a U2 song. Faster than the original, it sounded to me like one of the myriad of typical American-sounding songs around. Not terrible, but not memorable either.
Ultra Violet (Light My Way) - The Killers. I lurrrrve Brandon's voice and here it was full of the passion within the amazing lyrics of the song. Lovely!
Acrobat - Glasvegas. Sorry I'm not a Glasvegas fan, they bored me rigid on the 360 Tour and this punk version of Acrobat is, yes, different, but also bad, bad, bad.
Love Is Blindness - Jack White. They saved the best to last. Wow, what an amazing cover this is! Jack has made it his own and at the same time added to the original. The emotion is there, and so is anger, screaming, raging anger both in voice and guitar. It sent shivers up my spine, stunning!

U2 Wins Q Award

2011-10-24T18:56:00.002+01:00

(Photo: PA)

U2 were honoured at the Q Awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London today as the greatest act of the past quarter of a century. The band was chosen by the magazine's readers, the award was a special one to celebrate Q Magazine's 25th anniversary this year. All four band members were there in person to receive the award.

Here's an interview done with Edge at the Awards. Nice, but nothing new there.

The Rhythm of the Dance

2011-10-23T23:59:00.001+01:00

My cousin Glenys and I saw this show at the weekend. Even though I am a fan of anything Irish I've never seen any of the numerous Irish dance shows that are around and when this came to the Sands Centre in Carlisle I decided to go.

We had a lovely evening - there was even a bit of U2 in the pre-show music, With Or Without You. What an amazing song that is. The show was a mix of Irish dancing and singing by the three Irish tenors. I was stunned by the dancing, it seemed like those people had no joints! Irish dancing is different as most of the action is from the knees down. The dancers were mostly very young and I think you have to be young to be able to dance like that! They were supported by amazing musicians playing the Irish harp, flute, fiddle, uilleann pipes, guitar, accordian and bodhran.

There's something about Irish music that just gets your foot tapping and emotions racing. I felt quite choked up a few times during the show, even during a song sung in Irish - I couldn't understand the lyrics but the feelings still came across nonetheless, that typical Irish bitter/sweet sadness of those far away from their place of birth. That's what's special about Irish music, you don't have to understand the words to feel the emotions. One song performed was Wild Mountain Thyme or Will Ye Go Lassie Go which really showed the brotherhood between the Irish and the Scots, it could easily have been a Scottish song too.There were also influences from other genres, for example Irish dance/music fused with the tango and charlton which made an interesting combination.

This show is well worth seeing, a brilliant night out. It seems to be touring all over so if you get the chance do go and see it. All in all a great evening's entertainment which made me all the more impatient to get back to Ireland - but it's only three weeks until we go to Dublin, it'll be wonderful to be back in my favourite city once more!

Another U2 Crisis?

2011-10-23T00:44:00.001+01:00

Below is a thought provoking quote from an article by Brian Boyd in the Irish Times. My feeling (and that of many other long-time U2 fans,) that U2 are at another major crossroads in their career once more, seems to be confirmed in this article. Over 20 years after their pre-Achtung Baby crisis can they weather this storm and come out with another classic album? I'm not sure they can, but they often do their best work when under pressure, so they may just give us something special. Just don't be so obsessed with the "mainstream" Bono......

The article is from an interview in Toronto and also reviews From the Sky Down. You can read the whole article here.

Back to the future: 'The app format brings you back to that world of gatefold sleeves'

Looking back at the trauma of getting Achtung Baby on its legs and having to forge a new sound and identity, Bono says, “It’s actually worse for us now than it was when we went to Berlin.”

He shrugs off the fact that the band have just recorded the biggest-grossing live tour in the history of popular music and wonders whether U2 can still be relevant. “We can play the big music in big places. But whether we can play the small music, meaning for the small speakers of the radio or clubs, where people are living, remains to be seen,” he says. “I think we have to go to that place again if we’re to survive.

“There are so many U2 albums out there. We need a reason for another one. The whole point of being in U2 is that we’re not here to be an art-house band. Our job, as we see it, is to bring the art house to the mainstream; our job is to puncture the mainstream.”

Earlier, he was using an iPad with the Achtung Baby songs and videos on it. “That’s probably what our new album will look like,” he says. “I’ve been talking about this for the past four years.

“Our last album was the first album to be made available as an app with BlackBerry devices, but it didn’t work: the functionality was not what it could have been. New formats are going to happen. I’m always banging on about this. The app format brings you back to that world of gatefold sleeves, of being able to read lyrics – and [now of] being able to play the album at home on your plasma TV.”

Bono at the One foundation, in Paris, this week.
Photographs: Fred Dufour/AFP/ Getty Images

U2 at the Clinton Foundation Concert - Review

2011-10-16T20:09:00.001+01:00

Half of U2, Bono and Edge, topped the bill at this concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Bill Clinton Foundation and Clinton's 65th birthday. And what an eclectic acoustic set this duo played! They opened with Desire, followed by I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, the latter was lovely really liked this slower version.

Then Bono announces that they were going to play a song that.
"We've never played before." What?? "...... This a a song that takes as it's subject, the mysterious difference between a man and a woman" Yep they played A Man and a Woman live for the very first time! Not a personal favourite song of mine, but it was a very good version, complete with a Apple Macbook backbeat (which of course doesn't compare to Larry!)

The next song was the predictable Sunday Bloody Sunday, which I'm heartedly sick of, but it was well done, both Bono and Edge were in good voice. Nice that it was sung with Bono on the narrow walkway in the crowd.

Calling themselves "Irish buskers" Bono went into one of his ramblings.
"One of the bummers about being in a band .....really you just hang about with men all the time.... being in a rock'n'roll band is kinda like being on an oil rig. I was talking with the Edge about this and he said we should get a string section, they often have girls in them." Only Bono could compare being in a rock band to being on an oil rig!

They were joined on stage by a string section, mostly made up of females and launched in a song that
"Should have been a very big hit .... that was before Jimmy Iovine was working with us. Look what that did on the last one." Mmmm, not sure what was going on there. Then they played Staring at the Sun, another surprise, so so long since I've heard that live, the strings sounded great in it. Amazing that they chose to play a song from Pop which was totally ignored throughout the 360 Tour.

Next "You might know this one, it wasn't a hit either." Bit of a hit obsession going there Bono? One, did actually get to number one in Ireland! It was a very emotional performance of the song, after seeing from the Sky Down, this song has become all the more special to me. Bono added a little of Stevie Wonder's Happy Birthday at the end of the song.

Clinton got on stage thank both Bono and Edge for their various charitable works before they finished with Miss Sarajevo. It was lovely, the strings were perfect with it and Bono's operatic part sent shivers down my spine, beautiful.

It was a set for fans in a way, most people know Sunday and One, most of the others would be new to a mainstream audience. Great to see them doing this, keep experimenting lads, I'm still hoping to hear Walk to the Water and Luminous Times live one day.

Watch U2's set below.

From the Sky Down Review

2011-10-11T22:51:00.001+01:00

To be honest I've found it very hard to write this review, there is so much in it and it's hard to know what to write about and what to leave out. So I suppose the best way to start is to say I really enjoyed the documentary. I wasn't sure what to expect, knowing that U2 can be control freaks I thought it might be more of a promo for the Achtung Baby remasters released at the end of this month. But, it was far from this, it was a, sometimes painfully, honest picture of U2 at a very vulnerable point in their personal and creative lives together. It doesn't focus on the making of Achtung Baby, but moreso on the difficult, personal transition from The Joshua Tree to Achtung Baby.

The format was a mixture of old and new footage of the band interspersed with excellent animation. Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Flood and Paul McGuinness also said their bit, but most of it was left to the band members to talk on and off camera.

There was more pre-Joshua Tree history and footage from previous documentaries than I would have liked, but, as not everyone watching would be an avid fan, it was necessary to have some history of the band's career to set the context for what happened after The Joshua Tree Tour.

The honesty displayed was both touching and revealing. The fact that they felt they were flying by the seat of their pants during The Joshua Tree tour was surprising. They were not ready for the Big Time and felt they were not up to the mark and were full of self doubt. Bono talked about how difficult it was to cope with certain sections of the gigs and they showed him having a rant about something that had gone wrong in a show. He generally comes across as uber-confident, but this documentary shows he has his struggles and self doubts like anyone else. So at a time when those outside of the band thought the tour was triumph, to the band members themselves it felt anything but.

The self doubt continued on into Rattle and Hum, though done for the right reasons, it turned out to be a huge mistake for the band. Ironically, if they had been as honest as in this documentary in the Rattle and Hum film there is a good chance it would have been received better. They were truly shocked by the negative reaction to it. The documentary showed a little of the famous 1989 New Years Eve gig and the "Dream it all up again" speech from Bono.

There was not much communication after the tour and Bono and Edge took themselves off and Larry and Adam felt a sense of abandonment. They re-grouped in Hansa Studios in Berlin at the time the Wall came down. Bono's more human, funny side does come across in this documentary and his impersonation of the British Airways pilot landing the last plane in a divided Germany was hilarious. I can see why Hansa is a special place to record in, it is a beautiful space to be creative in.

It was a time of great change for Europe and that was echoed in the band. As Alan Yentob said in his introduction, the city was seeking to renew and reinvent itself just as U2 were. Hansa had inspired numerous artists, but initially it wasn't happening for U2. The Hansa sessions from twenty years ago were interspersed with their recent visits to record there for the Achtung Baby remasters. There were also clips from footage recorded for the remasters in Winnipeg this year. Plus there was even a little from "Dogtown" in Dalkey where they continued to work after the Berlin sessions. Sometimes that was a little confusing, but at the same time it was interesting to intersperse the four different recording environments.

There was a fabulous version of Love Is Blindness sung by Edge with acoustic guitar. Sometimes you forget what a lovely voice he has. Again, there was such honesty here as they talked of how this song was influenced by the break up of Edge's first marriage. He said he was running away from his personal problems and was trying to find refuge in the music. This created a huge resonance within U2 which until then had felt very stable and whole. I think it was Bono who said that it felt like all of U2's community and music was cracking and falling apart.

The most captivating moment in the documentary is when One (working title Young Blood, I think it should have been New Blood) is born. It starts in a section within Mysterious Ways (working title Sick Puppy). And it is fascinating to see it form and develop in the footage from the original sessions. Bono experimenting with the words and melody while the others tried to build the music around that. You can feel that excitement of something special happening within the band, it is riveting stuff to say the least. One is truly a song about the rebirth of U2.

It seems the band regains it's belief in itself after that and can move forward into a new U2 age. Bono reinvents himself, if he's going to be The Fly he needs "some protection ... some armour"

Lou Reed's glasses
Jim Morrison's pants
Elvis's jacket - and a bit of his hair.

As Adam so succinctly puts it the band move "Into a brighter light."

Towards the end of the documentary the 1990's trips in the famous East German Trabants are interspersed with recent film of the band in the same cars in Berlin. It is strangely touching to watch. In new footage the band drive about in a Trabbie and then stop and get out of the car. Adam, in the back, laughs as he initially can't get the seat in front of him to move forward so he can get out of the car. Bono, holds out his hand to help him out of the car and they share a moment of laughter together. It's a sweet moment, and I feel it's symbolic of why U2 survived the difficulties of the post Rattle and Hum trauma. They fought to survive both because of their musical creativity and their friendship for each other, both were too special to lose. And that is something that is special and still holds them close to this day.

This documentary gives us the truest insight into U2 I've seen, they should have done this a long time ago. For fans like me it gives a unique insight and for people who are not fans, hopefully it will show them the human side of U2, how seriously they take their music and what they have achieved.

I don't feel my review has done the documentary justice, watch it and enjoy, you don't often get the chance to see this side of U2.

The Imagine Peace Tower

2011-10-10T19:40:00.001+01:00

Yoko Ono relit the Imagine Peace Tower on the Icelandic isle of Viðey on 9th October in memory of John Lennon. The Tower is lit up every year from October 9, the anniversary of The Beatles singers' birth in 1940, to December 8, the day he was assassinated in New York in 1980.

Yoko was accompanied by their son, Sean and around 850 locals, who joined with them to sing John's song 'Imagine' as the beacon was turned on. As the tower lit up, it sent a huge beam of light 4,000 metres into the air and projected the words 'Imagine Peace'.

In a statement, Yoko said.

"I hope the Imagine Peace Tower will give light to the strong wishes of World Peace from all corners of the planet and give encouragement, inspiration and a sense of solidarity in a world now filled with fear and confusion. Let us come together to realise a peaceful world."

Apparently Yoko chose Iceland for the location of the tower as she felt it had a purity that many other countries have long lost.

Spectacular though it is, nature managed to put on an even grander show than the tower that night with a spectacular display of the Northern Lights!

Photo by Guðmundur Fylkisson

It Wasn't Me

2011-10-10T13:31:00.000+01:00

No Words Needed

Apple Day (Nothing to do with Steve Jobs!)

2011-10-09T20:54:00.000+01:00

One of the few fruits that thrives in northern England is the apple. This is the time of the apple harvest and many areas hold their own Apple Days. Today I went through to Harestanes, a country park just outside Jedburgh, to meet up with my friend Alison and to go to my first Apple Day. It was difficult to find and in the end I came across it by accident and arrived half an hour late! Alison was helping out at a Border Organic Gardeners stall and I met her there.

Apples, Apples, Apples!

We went over to a room in what looked like a converted stable block which was full of fresh apples, the gorgeous, aromatic smell hit you as you walked in. I had never seen so many apples in my life! Most were English varieties, but there were some from the US, Australia and other countries. All had information about them on little cards complete with how they tasted. You could touch and pick up the apples which was nice, somehow you want to be tactile with things like this. There was one absolutely huge whopper whose taste was noted as "insipid", not exactly inspiring! They also had information leaflets about how to look after apple trees, I picked one of these up as I planted a Cox's Orange Pippin tree in my garden earlier this year and have no idea how to look after it.

The Insipid Whopper

There was a stall of honey products that had delicious ginger cake made with honey instead of sugar. We had a wander round the craft rooms, one had fabulous leather handmade handbags - one of the women was actually making one when we were there. They were beautiful and unique, expensive but not outrageously so. I had to put my sensible hat on and resisted the temptation to buy.

We went to the cafe for something to eat, and there was an apple theme to much of the menu. I got into the spirit of it and had tomato, celery and apple soup (delicious) and an apple and cinnamon scone (equally delicious.)

We went on a walk through some nearby woods which was very pleasant, shame I'd left my dogs at home, but I am wary about leaving them in my car nowadays with all that you hear about pedigree dogs being stolen.

Afterwards, seeing the weather wasn't too bad, we sat in the central square, had a cappucino and listened to four musicians playing traditional music. As I listened I noticed how like Irish music it was, bodhran and all. There was a lovely atmosphere, busy and the people were chatty and friendly. It's good to see that local people still like and frequent traditional events like Apple Days. It was a first for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Nice

2011-10-08T16:17:00.001+01:00

Bono in South Africa for Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday bash

Bono's Tribute to Steve Jobs

2011-10-07T13:41:00.000+01:00

I thought this simple, but eloquent tribute from Bono was a touching eulogy to a man who left this world too soon.

Bono's Tribute to Steve Jobs, a True (RED) Champion

"What made Steve Jobs truly great is that he was only interested in doing truly great things. He was bored by an easy ride or easy profit. In a world littered with dull objects, he brought the beauty of clean lines and clear thought. This rhyme of intellect and intuition could be applied to a wide range of subjects from the US education system, to sculpture, to the fight against HIV/AIDS where his support of (RED) literally transformed the lives of two million people in Africa.

He changed music. He changed film. He changed the personal computer and turned telephony on its head while he was at it. He was tenacious in the extreme, his toughness never more evident than these past few years in his fight for his life as well as his companies.

Steve told me as proud as he was of Apple and Pixar, his real pride was his family. He was a thoughtful and tender father, and loved nothing more than hanging out in the house with his belle Laurene and the kids.

I already miss him...one of a very small group of anarchic Americans who through technology literally invented the 21st century. We will all miss the hardware software Elvis."
-Bono

There's a Bat in the House!

2011-10-02T20:30:00.000+01:00

Last night I was sitting sipping wine and watching TV when I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. My kitchen has a glass pane above the door and the light was on, and there was a bat circling round and round in there! I'm not sure how it got in, the window wasn't open, the only thing I can think of is that it crawled up the extractor shaft which has partially come away from the wall.

Now what to do? I am aware that bats carry disease, that can be very harmful to humans and animals, especially rabies, so I didn't want it to get near my dogs (we don't vaccinate against rabies in the UK because it isn't a canine problem here due to strict quarantine laws) or worse still IN one of my dogs! So I decided to just leave it for the night and hope it would go out the way it came in.

Next morning I left the dogs in the cage in the bedroom where they sleep, shut all the doors and gingerly ventured into the kitchen. Don't know what I expected, to be dive bombed by a tiny bat or something LOL? I looked round and there was no sign of it, methinks it must have gone out again, but I left the boys in their cage just in case it appeared out of nowhere again. Then, as I was making my breakfast, again I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, the bat was in a small, partially filled watering can on top of the fridge!

Mmmm, what to do once more. I looked into the can and the poor little bat was floating on the top of the water, delicate, paper thin wings spread out so it didn't sink, it had a furry little head. I had to rescue it God knows how long it had been in there. But I didn't want to handle it, as I could get bitten and it would stress the tiny creature out even more. I got a strong cardboard box I had, made a few air holes in it and put it on the worktop. Then, knowing the bat would not be able take flight from the can I poured some of the water out, then when there was only a little left in tipped it and the bat into the box. The bat was in a sorry state and just laid there in a sodden heap, I thought it was dead. I took the box outside and , as it was raining lightly, (yes the Indian Summer is gone!) I half opened the flaps at the top so that there was shelter for the bat, yet it could easily fly off if it wanted to.

A few hours later I peeked in, the bat was still there, but looking much better all dried out and in a bat position not a heap like it had been. At dusk I peeped in again, and was pleased to see the little fellow was gone. I was chuffed that the escapade had a happy ending!

Double dose of U2!

2011-10-01T21:23:00.001+01:00

October 9th BBC1

22:25–23:55
Imagine
U2: From The Sky Down
Davis Guggenheim charts the making of U2's 1991 album, Achtung Baby.
23:55–00:55
Glastonbury
2011, U2
Highlights of U2's Friday headlining slot at Worthy Farm.

Woo Hoo Summer's Here!

2011-09-29T23:31:00.000+01:00

It's weird to see the trees full of rich autumn colours, leaves on the ground, the nights closing in - and 25C temperatures! Well weird, it's hotter now than it was in the "real" summer. I've had to dig out the short sleeved tee shirts, table top fan and summer duvet again! I'm not complaining though, it's lovely, long may it last.

I was coming home from work the other day, and because of the lovely weather decided to go by the scenic route via narrow country lanes. I came round a bend in the road and was greeted by hundreds of pheasants everywhere, and I'm not exaggerating! I honked the horn and some ran off but many just stood in the road staring at me (pheasants must be a bit thick). Being an animal lover I didn't want to run any of them over so I got out of the car, jumped up and down shouting which eventually made them scamper off. Glad no one was around to see my antics! LOL!

I continued on towards home only to go around the other bend and what was there? A herd of sheep - the joys of living in a rural county . I followed at a snail's pace, there was no way I could pass them, but I didn't really mind as I was watching the two sheep dogs that were herding the sheep. They were amazing, keeping about a 100 animals on track, soon getting the odd sheep that decided not to follow the herd back in line. After about 15 minutes the farmer got the two collies to herd the sheep off the road onto a small hill so the line of cars following could pass. The dogs ran back and fore by the roadside making sure no sheep wandered down, as the cars passed by.

So, a journey that should have taken me about 20 minutes took 40, but those kind of delays beat being stuck in car traffic any day!

35 Years and Still Going Strong

2011-09-25T17:15:00.001+01:00

35 years ago today a few young lads from Dublin met up in Larry Mullen's parents' kitchen to form a band. Amongst them, the four people who would soon become U2. Not many bands (are there any others?) can say that they have been together 35 years in an unchanged lineup, real friends who went to school, work and socialise together. I think the closeness between the band members is one of the things that make them special, it's a precious thing to have friends you've grown up with and who've been there for you through life's ups and downs.

How much longer will they continue as a band? With REM's break up last week it made me think about that, because there are a lot of parallels between them and U2. No one knows of course, but the sadness I felt at the disbanding of REM made me realise that I would miss U2 soooo much, even though I have a love/hate relationship with them at times. They have been in the background of my life for almost 30 years, their music has given me strength when I needed it, it's also given me much joy and the live shows are simply stunning. I've met wonderful people who've become best friends, travelled to amazing places and had amazing experiences. Let's hope they keep going for a while yet.

Below is a great video covering the musical and visual history of U2. It certainly brought back some memories for me. Like them or loathe them, it can't be denied that they are one of the most important rock bands around.

From the Sky Down, Gigwise Review

2011-09-24T16:42:00.001+01:00

I read this review of the documentary and thought I'd share it on my blog. I think all U2 fans knew Achtung Baby was a make or break moment for the band and it'll be so interesting to see what happened at that time and how this seminal album was created. I have a feeling U2 is at a similar point in their career now, though for different reasons. But twenty years on, I honestly doubt they can come up with an album the likes of Achtung Baby. We'll see.

Why Every Music Fan Should Watch U2's From The Sky Down
Jason Gregory, Gigwise, September 23

There's a fantastic moment in From The Sky Down, the new Davis Guggenheim-directed documentary about the making of U2's 1991 album 'Achtung Baby', when you get to see the Irish band in the process of creating the song 'One'.

It is, in my mind, the single most interesting example of the songwriting process caught on film.

With the benefit of hindsight, it's very easy to take a song like 'One' for granted, even though, as the band's manager Paul McGuinness noted at a Q&A about the movie I attended in London last night, it long ago earned the status of being a "classic". It's one of those songs that's ingrained on the musical memory of every music fan, whether they like U2 or not.

But during footage in the film showing U2 at the Hansa Studios in Berlin at the end of 1990, we see it in its rawest, most unadulterated form, with a different second bridge to the one on the album and before Bono had even formulated the lyrics. Indeed, it's not even called 'One'.

The reasons it's so interesting are two-fold.

Firstly, it's genuinely thrilling and absorbing to be so closely exposed to the craft of songwriting. The process, in all honestly, looks painfully destructive and frustrating. But as a music journalist who has never held an ambition to be in a band (and believe me, that's quite a rare thing), to watch a song like 'One' being crafted as meticulously as an artist working on a painting, it's capitvating; as parts get taken out and then put back in, until the finished song we are all familiar with begins to emerge, as Bono says in the movie, "from the sky down".

Secondly, 'One', it transpires in From The Sky Down, was integral in the creation of 'Achtung Baby'. Still tired from touring 1987's 'The Joshua Tree', which took U2 from arenas to stadiums, and rocked by the critical backlash thrown at their road movie, Rattle And Hum, the Irish band looked like a shadow of their former selves as they arrived in Berlin to start work on the album with BrianEno and Daniel Lanois.

In the film, Guggenheim captures this turmoil – and McGuinness stressed last night that it was actual turmoil – beautifully. We see Bono unable to write lyrics, TheEdge struggling to write his guitar parts through the break-up of his marriage, and Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr wondering whether they're even in the band any more.

And then they make 'One', and it's like a lighter fuel of creativity is sparked within all four members.

I don't want to reveal any more, because you can watch From The Sky Down when it airs on BBC on October 9 as part of the Imagine series. But If you take one thing away from From The Sky Down, it should be this: if it wasn't for 'Achtung Baby', you wouldn't have U2, and whatever you think of the band and their personal ideologies, that would be a tragedy.

Here's the official trailer from the documentary

From the Sky Down on the BBC

2011-09-23T20:29:00.001+01:00

I've heard that U2's new documentary From the Sky Down will be featured on BBC One's Imagine series on 9th October. Must make sure I'm not going out that night! Hopefully it will not be cut and we'll get the full version, I've been really looking forward to seeing this.

From the Sky Down Press Conference with Bono and Edge

2011-09-10T09:00:00.000+01:00

Bono and Edge at the TIFF interview (Photo: David Abel QMI)

Just got round to listening to this interview from 9th September at the Toronto International Film Festival. Some interesting stuff there, especially at the end, where Bono is talking about "The edge of irrelevance" appearing quite upset and vulnerable. It's clearly something he's really struggling with at the moment. At this point in their career the band is at another of their crossroads, we know it and they know it, and it seems a bit of a scary place for them. But as Edge mentioned, they do their best work in when their backs are against the wall. Time for reinvention again guys. hope you can do it! Watch the interview here

Premiere of From the Sky Down in Toronto

2011-09-09T15:31:00.000+01:00

Bono and the Edge attended the premiere of the documentary about U2, From the Sky Down, which opened the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8th. Below is an article about this from the Toronto Sun website. Looking forward to seeing this film!

Bono and Edge with Davis Guggenheim at the Toronto International Film Festival, 8th September.
Photo: Michael Peake, QMI agency

TORONTO - Rock icons U2 descended onto the Toronto International Film Festival’s red carpet Thursday for the premiere of new documentary “From the Sky Down,” admitting to nervousness over letting fans into their private world of making music.

The movie, which is the first documentary to open the Toronto film festival in its 36-year history, looks at the creative process of making their 1991 album “Achtung Baby,” tensions back then in the band.

Singer Bono and guitarist The Edge took to the festival’s opening night stage and confessed that even superstars get nervous when entering a new arena — from music to film.

“We are very protective of our privacy, particularly the creative process, not just because we are precious, which we are,” Bono told a laughing audience, before confiding that the fear was in letting audiences see them struggle to make music.

“If you knew what went into the sausage, you wouldn’t eat it,” Bono said.

The Edge added that it was “shocking” to see a lot of the old film footage from 20 years ago and “to realize how close our band came to disintegrating at that particular moment.”

The appearance of Bono and The Edge made the opening night screening one of the hottest tickets in town at the 11-day festival where other rock documentaries about Pearl Jam and Neil Young are getting top billing.

The festival, a widely-watched event often seen as a starting point in the movie industry’s annual Oscar race, features a long list of Hollywood royalty, from Brad Pitt and George Clooney to Keira Knightley and Glenn Close.

U2 MAKES TIFF HISTORY

But the opening belonged to a nonfiction film for the first time in festival’s history, and organizers noted both the event and U2 originated in 1976.

The band soared to rock stardom in the 1980s, and “Achtung Baby” was seen as a daring reinvention following the huge success of 1987’s “Joshua Tree” and 1988’s somewhat less-well received “Rattle and Hum.”

“This film isn’t just about the biggest band in the world,” director Davis Guggenheim told the audience. “It’s really just about four musicians trying to make music.”

“From the Sky Down” opens as U2 is about to play the Glastonbury Festival for the first time this year and is looking to rework older songs. As Bono says: “there comes a time when it is dysfunctional not to look into the past.”

It then looks back at the rise of U2 through early film footage and leads up to the making of “Achtung Baby,” which was influenced by industrial and electronic music and featured the hits “One” and “Mysterious Ways.”

“I had goose pimples witnessing how they did it,” said Guggenheim, whose 2006 global warming film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ won the Academy Award for best feature documentary.

“I don’t think really it’s a film about our band in as much as it’s a film about the creative process. If you’re interested in that, you’re going to be interested in this film I think, but I find it excruciating,” Bono said on the red carpet.

Dapper Rock Stars and the Dog Takes Bono for a Walk

2011-09-07T17:51:00.001+01:00

The rock stars scrubbed up well for the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London last night. U2 won the Band of the Year Award and the photo below (taken from the GQ website) is of them with the award - drummer man AWOL as usual.

There was a funny interview with Bono at the Awards where he talked about walking the dog in Dublin - or vice versa as it seems! Spend more time in Dublin Bono, it keeps you grounded. The follwing extract is taken from the http://www.thesun.co.uk (ignore the usual sarky bits )

YOU might imagine a summer holiday for Bono involves sleeping in an oxygen tent at Cannes or counting his collection of hats.

But at the GQ Awards last night the U2 frontman confessed to a far less glamorous activity — walking his new pet dog around Dublin.

I say walking. It was more a case of the chart-topping rock star being dragged around by his pet pooch.

He told me: "I've been in Dublin for the last week or so. I was in France but came home for a while.

"I rang some pals and asked what they thought I should do to keep busy. One said, 'Just walk the dog.' So I took the dog out with my wife. It's a mongrel and a really strong animal.

"It dragged us through the streets and some little kid shouted, 'Is that dog walking you, or are you walking the dog, Bono?'

"I knew I was home. You can't beat it."

The U2 star and bandmates Edge and Adam Clayton were at the GQ bash to receive the Band Of The Year gong at the Royal Opera House in London.

It certainly has been a stellar few years for U2. They earned the most money ever from a rock tour with their epic 360° series of concerts.

Perhaps Bono should stick some of the tour wedge into dog obedience classes.

Gone to Ground......

2011-09-03T18:56:00.000+01:00

Dachshunds are known for their burrowing and liking to cover themselves completely. It comes from what they were originally bred for, badger hunting, (dachs - badger, hund - hound in German) when the plucky and deceptively strong dogs went into the setts after their prey. Their unique shape, short legs and loose skin helped them tunnel down into the ground. And now, even when dachshunds are mostly kept as pets, you frequently hear stories about them having to be dug out of holes they've decided to explore whilst on a walk.

I went into my bedroom last night and saw a small lump wriggling up under the bedspread from the bottom to the top of the bed and out popped Pepsi's head! I had to grab my phone and take a photo as he looked so cute. Whether he went there for comfort or natural instincts I'm unsure, somehow I think it was the former!

Pepsi - pleeeease can I stay?

Autumn in the Air

2011-08-28T15:50:00.001+01:00

Pepsi (what camoflage!) and Max

I've had a good weekend. Yesterday I went brambling again and got loads, but boy you have to suffer for collecting them! In the first place I had to battle through knee high grass and weeds to get to the bushes resulting in trousers soaked up to the knee. At the next picking spot I has to wrestle through nettles and thorny branches resulting in scratched hands that stung for the rest of the day! And finally, the lovely weather quickly changed, with a few thunderclaps and I got rained on, so pretty much all of me, not just my lower legs, was wet by time I got back to my car. Once home I got busy right away and got ten jars of bramble jam out of my travails so it was worth it.

Pretty, but deadly

There is definitely a touch of autumn around now, there's an occasional nip in the air and the leaves are turning slowly but surely. The fireweed's pink is fading and it's growing the feathery seed pod tufts ready to drift off to find a place to settle to hibernate for the winter before sprouting again in the spring. There were also lots of fungi and toadstools, some so pretty (but deadly) you almost expected a pixie to be sitting on them! I always used to hate this time of year because it heralded the winter, which is my least favourite season, but now I appreciate the beauty of it.

Today was cool and I went into town with Pepsi to meet up with a friend and go to the Continental Market. I parked in Portland Square and walked through the Victorian garden in the middle of the square. The flower beds there were beautiful. We may moan at Carlisle City Council at times but they really have fabulous parks and the baskets/troughs around Hardwicke Circus are especially beautiful and always are every year.

At the market I always like to have a proper German charcoal grilled bratwurst, it definitely is the real thing, yum yum! There were some very interesting stalls but I resisted buying anything as I'm on another "austerity drive." I lost count of the people that stopped me to ask about/touch Pepsi, "What kind of dog is that?", "Is it a Dandy Dinmont?", "I've got a long haired at home, they are lovely dogs but very stubborn" (so true!!) "He's very sweet natured,", "Ooooh doggie doggie", "He's so gorgeous"....... I must admit he does have a lot of the cute factor and just can't resist a tickle LOL.

Summer Days

2011-08-20T20:34:00.000+01:00

Had lovely day today. Firstly I went out with the boys to High Stand, a small forest just outside of the city. We had a relaxing walk there, Pepsi seemingly aiming for the middle of the few muddy puddles there were whilst Max, like a male diva, tip-pawing around the edge of them. We met a few other dog walkers, one spaniel was soaked from head to paw - obviously it had been having fun in one of the ponds! It was one of those perfect late summer days, 21c (my ideal temperature), the birds singing, the gentle rustling of leaves, nature full and fertile with summer goodness and that kind of lazy stillness that hangs in the air on such days.

After that we went to a couple of places to pick brambles which I will be making jam with. But the brambles were late ripening and I didn't get very many, I'll have to go back in a week or two. I remember that loads of people went brambling when I was young, if you found a place with an abundance of them you kept quiet about it. Now I rarely see anyone else picking the fruit. Shame really, the berries are delicious, very good for you and free.

Back in the city I popped in at a friends house and had a cuppa and chat. On my way home it started to rain and the temperature fell to 17c, English weather! It's never boring, that's for sure. But it had been a good day, sometimes the simplest things are the best aren't they?

London Riots

2011-08-09T14:37:00.001+01:00

I stayed up until 4am watching TV this morning, unable to tear myself away from the unbelievable scenes unfolding in London. Complete anarchy on the streets of our capital city, plus other smaller disturbances in Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol and Nottingham. Blazing buildings, criminal opportunism, robbing the injured, destroying peoples' livelihoods, endangering life, terrorising communities, seemingly coordinated via social networking. Total idiots. All negative, inexcusable and depressing.

Photo: lawcol888

Then, this morning I hear about how the London communities have also used social networking to organise riot clean ups. Ordinary, decent people arriving with brushes, bags and their time to work together to clean their streets and start healing the wounds on their city. Firms are donating equipment for the clean up and people are even using their lunch breaks to help out. Positive, heartening and hopeful. Two sides of a city in 24 hours.

Photo: Joel Goodman/LNP

Who knows what will happen tonight, fingers crossed the worst is over. Right is a photo of some residents making tea for the police on a riot shield taken last night in a street in north London that was being protected by the police. Both photos sum up the best of Britain really and that's the side that will prevail.

Achtung Baby Remaster

2011-08-04T16:43:00.000+01:00

The Achtung Baby remaster has been confirmed for release on 31st October 2011. There is some info on the formats, tracklisting and extras here. Sounds good, but I'm going to wait until the price comes down a bit!

Canada Part 7 - Finale, Touring the Handsome City

2011-08-03T23:09:00.000+01:00

13 July (The final instalment)

I treated myself to room service breakfast this morning and what a wonderful feast it was, two eggs, 5 slices of bacon, a huge pile of hash browns, two slices of toast, various conserves, orange juice and, best of all, a pot of tasty tea with the tea bag in it! My first proper tea of the trip and it was like nectar! So I was well set up for the day.

I met up with Debbi and Julie in the foyer, and, sadly it was time for another goodbye, Debbi was leaving soon for the US. We said our sad goodbyes when our tour bus arrived, now it was down to two of us for my last full day in Canada.

We were going on the Shop - Dine - Tour Toronto a hop on hop off trip. It was another hot day though maybe marginally cooler than the previous few days. We passed by the St Lawrence Market and on to the historic Distillery District which was founded in 1832 - and was the largest whisky distillery in the British Empire. It also has the distinction of being the biggest collection of Victorian industrial buildings in North America and it certainly had a feel of the past - something you don't often get this side of the Atlantic. The building have been renovated and now houses shops and entertainment centres.

We headed back to the centre of downtown Toronto through the financial district to the Eaton Centre where there was a break for ten minutes. I noticed on the trip that many of the buildings had beautiful carved stonework and there were lovely vistas along many of the long straight roads. I remember the Eaton Centre from when I lived in Canada many years ago. Coming from a then small city with poor shopping (it's much better now) in the north of England this shopping mall was heaven for me! Apparently the original Eaton's shop is now no more but this huge centre lives on. Normally we would have got off the tour bus here and explored the shops but as this was our last full day our finances were somewhat depleted so we stayed on and avoided the temptation!

We next drove through Yorkville which I remembered walking through with Catherine last year as we made our way to the lovely rooftop bar of the Park Hyatt Hotel nearby. It was full of pretty, expensive, upscale shops and eateries. We knew it was out of our league so didn't get off here LOL!

Casa Loma

We turned onto the interestingly named Avenue Road and on to leafy Forest Hill, one of the wealthiest areas of Toronto. Our guide told us that everyone was obliged to have one tree in their front garden - to help it live up to its name I suppose.

Nearby is Casa Loma, a Gothic revival style house, complete with turrets, set on a small hill. It was built between 1911 -14 and is set in five acres of garden and has 98 rooms. Originally it was a private residence, then a luxury hotel and more recently was restored and now open to the public. We got off here and went inside, the cost of looking around the house and gardens was quite a lot so we gave it a miss. We sat by the fountains in the garden at the front of the house. It's real fantasy house built for Sir Henry Pellatt who was only able to enjoy the house for ten years before he went bankrupt and had to give it all up. He ended up living with his chauffeur in altogether more modest surroundings on Spandina Avenue.

We got back on the bus and the next stop was the Bata Shoe Museum. It has over 13,000 shoes and related items celebrating 4,500 years of footwear housed in a cubistic, modern building that is supposed to represent a partially open shoe box, though I didn't see the latter when I looked at it. I was very tempted to get out here as I have a shoe "thing" as far back as I can remember - my mum told me when I was very little and got new shoes I'd insist in going to bed wearing them! However, time was passing so we gave it a miss.

We drove through the entertainment district and passed the Much Music HQ complete with a car exploding out of the wall. We passed the Rogers Centre and CN Tower, we'd seen enough of them recently so stayed put. Our guide told us that the land south of Front Street was all reclaimed.

The next stop was the Harbourfront Centre on the shores of Lake Ontario. It was lovely there and our guide told us that the scenic beauty there was all down to our Queen Elizabeth. She visited Toronto in the late 60's when there were lots of factories and dereliction there and remarked that it was a shame that more hadn't been made of what could be a potentially beautiful shoreline. This spurred the city's leaders to tidy up and renovate the shoreline and now there is only one fasctory, making sugar, on the waterfront of Lake Ontario in the Toronto area and it is indeed gorgeous now. I wonder if the Queen has ever been back to see the change her words started?

We got off the bus as this was where we would get our boat trip. We had an hour to spare before the next boat went out so we went into the shopping mall nearby and bought some sandwiches and drinks and sat outside to eat them whilst watching life go by.

We got onto our boat the Mariposa Belle and stood on the upper deck to watch the scenery. We chugged out into the calm waters of the lake, the breeze keeping us pleasantly cool. We sailed past and round some of the Toronto Islands.

These islands were originally a peninsula of sand extending out from the mainland. However two violent storms in the mid 1800's caused pits in the sand to flood and completely breached the peninsula and along with the land reclamation on the Toronto shore caused the formation of the islands.

There are 17 islands, most forested, and six have been left exclusively for wildlife and no humans are allowed on them.

Toronto Waterfront

There are 250 permanent residents on the islands, also an amusement park and the exclusive Royal Canadian Yacht club. There is also a lighthouse that is said to be haunted by a keeper who was murdered there. The views of the shoreline of Toronto from the lake were stunning, it really is a handsome city!

Back on shore we got onto the next bus to our hotel which wasn't far away. We'd been out for six hours! If I'm ever in Toronto again I would take this tour once more as there are many places on its route that I would like to see. Excellent value for money.

That evening we tried our hotel's "Summerlicious" dinner for $25. I had a yummy cranberry, pecan and goats cheese salad to start, chicken Kiev with garlic mash and endive for the main, and for dessert I had summer berries and cream. All washed down with the Novotel's delicious tea!

And that was it, our last full day in Toronto. All in all it has been a fantastic holiday in so many ways, I love Canada. I don't think I'll return to Montreal, but I have a feeling I'll see Toronto again.

The Songs Have Been Sung, Goodbye 360

2011-08-02T17:35:00.000+01:00

So U2's 360 Tour is over. For me it's been a memorable three summers in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Canada. Great times with friends, amazing sights seen, fab food eaten, copious amounts of wine and champagne drunk, lots of laughs had. Shows that were all good, but a few that had that special U2 magic that touched me deep inside and created an intimacy that made a stadium like a small club.

28 years of being a fan has seen all kinds of changes in my life, but the band's music has always been there, often in the background, but there. My views on U2 have varied too, and sometimes I've been close to divorcing them! They may or may not be past their glory days of musical creativity, but they are still a damn side better than most and have been for 34 years. Bono has said, "Live is where we live." And there is no doubt in my mind that is true. Live, they are simply brilliant. And I'm not talking about the massive Claw this time round, as lovely as the effects were, the set doesn't really matter to me. I'm talking about them as musicians, performers and friends. There is something about them playing live that is totally captivating - and very hard to put into words because it's something you feel, a spirituality. I'm not being very articulate here, but other fans will know what I mean, right?

Here's a video of the last song, 40, from the last show of this tour in Moncton, Canada. I'm not ashamed to say it made me cry, and it was the perfect ending to the tour. God willing (well both the band and long time fans like me are getting on a bit now!) in a little while we'll be on the road again.

Our Genealogy Group in the Cumberland News

2011-07-30T20:59:00.000+01:00

The article about our genealogy group, Cumberland Document Transcriptions, is in this weeks Cumberland News. We buy (with money donated by Cumbrian-connected genealogy enthusiasts all over the world) documents pertaining to our county, transcribe them, put them up on our free website and then donate the original documents to the Cumbria Archives Office in Carlisle. We've been doing this for two years now and it's a lot of work, but worthwhile.

If anyone who reads this is interested in their family history and has Cumbrian connections come and have a look at our website Cumberland Document Transcriptions. If you have any queries or want to help in some way, get in touch with us on cumberland.document@googlemail.com, we'd love to hear form you.

Canada Part 6 - Another 360 in the Sky

2011-07-28T21:34:00.001+01:00

July 12

As we had our usual early hours post U2 gig celebrations we had a lie in next morning. After a breakfast of chocolate biscuits I met up with Deb and Julie in the foyer and we went to the St Lawrence Market. There has been a market on this site since the early 1800s. It's a lively place full of atmosphere, sights and smells, including a stall that sold every kind of burger under the sun, camel, buffalo, kangaroo, you name it they had a burger made out of it! I loved it there and if I lived in Toronto I'd be a regular customer.

Afterwards we chilled at the hotel before getting ready for our meal at the 360 restaurant at the CN Tower. We treated ourselves to a taxi and met up with Dan And Dianne at the base of the Tower. It takes 58 seconds in the lift to get to the restaurant, our ears popped as we watched a whole new view of Toronto appear below. The CN Tower opened in 1976, and for over three decades was the world's tallest free-standing structure at 1,815 feet, only recently losing that distinction. I've always thought that it's a very elegant building and it helps you keep orientated in the city too!

Me, Debbi and Julie in the 360 Restaurant

We were given a table beside one of the windows, and when we first sat down we had a gorgeous view over the Toronto Islands and Lake Ontario. The restaurant does one full rotation every 72 minutes so everyone gets a chance to see both the fabulous lake and downtown views. We were there for over two hours so we saw it all both in daylight and when the city was lit up like a Christmas tree. Mother Nature even treated us to a gorgeous red sunset! The rotation of the restaurant was very gradual but it was both funny and disorientating to suss out where the toilet was only to find it was in another place when you wanted to go again!

We ordered from the fixed price menu ($55) as there was no way we could afford a la carte! Dianne has snails as a starter, Debbi and I were curious about them and tried a morsel each. My verdict? A bit like mushrooms in consistency and taste (the snails were cut into small pieces) but with a slightly spicier taste. I had a delicious caesar salad for starters, followed by pan seared fillet of applewood smoked Atlantic salmon, Saskatchewan wild rice, wilted arugula and water cress, sour apple beurre blanc. The salmon just melted in my mouth, I had no idea what argula was (I later looked it up, it's rocket) but it went perfectly with the watercress and wild rice. We washed it down with a delicious Valpolicella which should be good at $51 a bottle, (Dan kindly put the first bottle on his bill, thank you!)

My heavenly dessert in the 360 Restaurant!

Then the big decision, what do I have for dessert? Dark chocolate tower with summer fruits and raspberry vanilla creme Anglaise or maple walnut roulade with candied walnut meringue and vanilla bean creme Anglaise? The chocolate won (it usually does). It looked almost too good to eat, it was truly a work of art. The mousse inside the tower was perfection and I loved every morsel!

The service was very good and the atmosphere relaxed. Yes, it wasn't cheap but the quality of the food was excellent and I don't mind lashing out money on good food occasionally. It was also the last night Dianne, Debbi, Julie and I would be together and what better place to be than the 360 Restaurant after all the good times we've had on U2's 360 Tour over the last three years? It was the perfect way to . end it.

Dianne, me, Debbi and Julie getting the cobwebs blown off
in the Red Zone!

After the meal we decided to go out onto the viewing platform It was a tad blowy to say the least, we didn't spend very long out there. We then went to the area that had the glass floor. It's strange but even though you know the floor is safe (there was a sign saying it could withstand the weight of 14 large hippos!) there is an inbuilt primeval fear of stepping into the "void". I eventually did step onto it, well I actually also lay on it for a photo, must have been all the Valpolicella LOL!

Then it was time to say goodbye to Dan and Dianne, they were going home the next morning. It's always sad when friends who live a long way away leave as I don't know when I'll see them again. But we have shared great times and I'm sure there will be more.

Oh My, What a Way to End 360 in the US!

2011-07-27T20:35:00.000+01:00

A slice of U2 heaven in Pittsburg, their last show of the 360 tour in the US, what a way to end. Wish I'd been there.....

Canada Part 5 - Hot, Hot, Hot and "Canada Shining Out Of My Backside"

2011-07-26T19:50:00.001+01:00

11 July

We felt refreshed and ready for anything when we got up the next day. We decided to go to the nearby St Lawrence Market and have some breakfast there. However, it was closed on Mondays so we found a Starbucks around the corner and had coffee and cake. While we were sitting outside a man tied his gorgeous little dog beside us while he went in to buy something. The dog was so sweet, chilled and loved a tickle. When the man came out I asked him what type of dog it was and he said it was a Maltese cross and that she was a lovely dog, she was called Poops (hopefully a nickname!) It was so sweet to see how much he loved his little dog and vice versa.

At lunch time Debbi, Julie and I walked to the Radisson Harbourfront Hotel where we were meeting Dianne and her husband Dan for lunch. It was nice to see Dan again, he's such a lovely man. I had a delicious salad with goats cheese and strawberries, a perfect combination, just the thing in the hot weather.

We walked the short distance to the Rogers Centre which was beside the still elegant (after 35 years) CN Tower that dominates the city. We waited for the band's arrival, we only saw Bono smiling and waving from his car. It was an extremely hot day, and Toronto was the hottest place in Canada - at one point the mercury hit 33 degrees centigrade! Add to that the humidity created by the Great Lakes and it was unbelievably hot, for me, an English rose from northern England that was very, very hot, but somehow I survived it!

We didn't want to go into the stadium until the as late as possible so we ended up back at the Radisson and had something to eat outside on the patio overlooking Lake Ontario, there was a nice breeze coming off the lake so it was pleasant there. Even with the heat I was loving Toronto, it's such a handsome city, fabulous location, lovely vistas, great new and old architecture, for me it beats Montreal any day.

Then it was off back to the Rogers Centre. It was all well organised, no Fan Jams, easy to find seats, toilets, food etc, in other words, how it should be! We had cheaper seated tickets this time so were quite high up, but each row of seats had a metal bar in front of them so it felt safe and helped my vertigo! The stadium was round rather than rectangular and very high,earlier in the day the retractable roof (it was the first in the world) was closed as a storm had been forecast, but it was now open as the storm hit further south. This was one of the few stadiums the Claw didn't peek out of. Opposite us stood the CN Tower soaring into the sky. It was still very hot and humid and sweat stood on my brow the entire evening.

U2 started at the usual time and as usual we were up out of our seats and bopping away only to realise most of the people around us had their arses firmly planted on their seats! Though a U2 audience is always very mixed age-wise around us it was mainly young people and I just could not believe they were so boring! As the seats were so steep we didn't block people's view so we just stayed stood up. Even in the pit around the Claw people seemed not that into it. Bono worked really hard to get the crowd going and they did improve but were not a patch on the two Montreal crowds.

For the Toronto band intros Bono apologised for the year's delay caused by his back injury last year referred to the changes in the members during the tour. Adam "became a father for the first time." Larry was in a movie with Donald Sutherland; and Edge wanted to write a musical about a "superhero? scientist? - being bitten by a spider and becoming a nerd." He rambled on, "Who can fathom the workings of this man's mind? A genius on guitars and everything else... very good at train sets." To which Edge mumbled something about modesty LOL!

During City of Blinding Lights Bono got a boy up on stage and walked an entire circuit of the walkway with him, the lad imitating Bono's stance etc. prompting him to say, "you're not a shy boy are you?"

All through the show the Claw had a rival unique to Toronto for special effects - the lights of the CN Tower. Lights of varying colours pulsed and rippled around and up and down the tower, often in time to the music, it looked great!

At one point Bono said he had "breaking news" and the stadium became amazingly quiet and he continued to say that over the last two years two million more Africans had been saved from AIDs-related illness in the last two years.

A one point Bono was on one of the bridges and someone threw a Canadian flag at him. He picked it up and put it in a back pocket of his trousers, "Canada shining out of my backside" he laughed. He briefly mentioned the moon, saying we couldn't see it, but that it was, "smiling down on us." Strangely Bono didn't mention the tower, maybe he couldn't see it from the stage.

The set was the same as the first night in Montreal, I was hoping for Bad but it wasn't to be. It was a good show, but not a great show. I think part of that for me was due to the lacklustre crowd around us, don't know why they pay good money to sit in their seats for a rock concert!

It was also my last 360 Tour show and I felt a bit sad as I watched the band leave the stage. 360 had been a part of my summer for the last three years and it was now finally over for me. Lots of travel, fun, highs and lows, sun, rain, wind, magic U2 moments, good friends - what wonderful times we have on these escapades. Now I'll have to start saving for the next tour!
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Canada - Can You Find Me?

2011-07-22T16:52:00.000+01:00

Edge took this photo on his mobile when he was leaving for the stadium in Montreal and posted it to his Twicpic page here . Can those who know me find me? Maybe that's a bit much to ask LOL! I had no idea there were so many people there. More posts about my Canada trip coming soon.
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Canada Part 4 - Rockin' and Rollin' and the Strangest Cup of Tea Ever!

2011-07-21T00:51:00.001+01:00

9th July

Edge in Montreal

Due to our very late night we had a lie in today. After breakfast Debbi and I went into the city centre and met up with Michelle. We saw Edge leave for the stadium, he signed autographs and chatted, as lovely as he always is. I think he's taken over form Larry as the most youthful looking band member nowadays.Michelle shouted out "Play Out of Control tonight" I was amazed quietly spoken Michelle could shout like that LOL!

We didn't have time to go back to the apartment before we needed to head for the stadium ourselves so we decided to have something to eat in Chinatown which wasn't far form where we were. We found a place called The Jasmine Garden that did a buffet meal for $14.95, sounded perfect for us. It was very nice, so much to choose from, some was unlabelled so some of it was a surprise, I nearly put a chicken foot on my plate but realised what it was in time!

We went back to the Metro and got the train to Namur ready for our second gig. It had been another hot day but as we arrived quite late the worst of the heat was gone. We walked to the stadium only to be stuck in another Fan Jam of people trying to get through the entry points! I couldn't believe it, there was an ocean of people inching it's way forward. It took an hour to get to gain entry and by now Interpol were nearing the end of their set. We all really needed the spend a penny so we joined yet another long queue for the portaloos. As we got nearer we had a laugh with the people around us, saying we could only have five seconds in the loo, but then we decided fifteen was a little better! I could hear people counting out loud when I was inside!

U2's Claw Stage in Montreal

Deb and I parted company with Michelle as she was sitting in another block of seats. We gingerly made our way up the steps of the temporary stands which were held up by thousands of scaffold poles, it didn't look as if it could hold all theses people!

We met Dianne and Julie at our seats, they too had be stuck in the Fan Jam and hadn't been in their seats very long. It wasn't long until U2 came on, and the crowd was even more receptive than the previous night, they went crazy, it created a fabulous atmosphere. This gig was being broadcast live on U2.com and Bono explained that because of that he would be mostly speaking in English -

"This has one extra benefit,' he added, 'you don't have to listen to me mangle your beautiful language. " LOL!

The first few songs were from Achtung Baby once more and the crowd sang along and jumped up and down (no one sat of course). The structure holding the seats rocked and rolled too, it swayed to and fro, side to side and up and down, we were constantly re-balancing ourselves until we learned to rock n roll with it lol!

The first surprise of the gig was Out of Control - Michelle would be one happy woman! It rocked and didn't sound over 30 years old. During Get On Your Boots Bono got a guy wearing turban up on stage to sing with him and boy was he into it and knew every word!

This was followed by a full version of All I Want Is You, such a treat. They had tweaked it a little, especially at the end, which included a bit of harmonica from Bono. Beautiful. This was followed by another welcome surprise, Stuck in a Moment.

Prior to his band intro Bono said.
"We've taken our space station around the world, we're nearly home, we're going to have to find something else to do. When we were kids joining U2 was like running away with the circus, maybe we need to find another circus...'

Just get down to recording another album lads! Montreal is the home of the world famous Cirque du Soleil so Bono's intro continued the circus theme.

" Larry is a 'fire-eater, a sword-swallower, the world's strongest man." Adam? 'The bearded lady...' Edge? "Trapeze artist, high-wire act..."

"Knife thrower," added Edge, pretending to aim at Bono.

"Thanks very much," said Bono, throwing a look at Edge, before adding, "And I will play the clown."

Again Zooropa was a highlight for me. From our position we had a perfect view of the claw (something you don't appreciate as much when you are closer on the field). Lights shone out through the Claw into the crowd as the static flickered, and vague words ran across the screen. It was stunningly effective and went perfectly with the song, just as the undulating reds had when they did The Unforgettable Fire in the early legs of the tour.

During Elevation Bono got a young boy out of the crowd and carried him onto one of the bridges as he sang. He asked the boy his name first in English, then in French he replied Paco.

During the encore Bono sand a spine-tinglingly beautiful snippet of Hallelujah which segued into Where the Street Have No Name and the whole stadium went crazy, and I was hoping the structure holding us up would be able to cope with all these people jumping up and down!

Ultraviolet had been changed slightly and we all liked this version. I love how many U2 songs develop over the years and something new is found within them. With Or Without You had "Shining like stars in the summer night......" ending, the one soooo many fans love so popular it was trending on Twitter!) and it's been a long time since Bono had used it. It was so appropriate for this night too, it was one of those magical intimate U2 moments, when the huge stadium felt like a small club. Wonderful, touching and why I love this band so much.

I read the following in a review and I thought I'd add it in here as it conveys something of what that is all about so well:
"I’ll remember helping to hold up the metal posts of the media tent as the rain blew horizontal Friday night. But perhaps the most enduring memory I’ll take from this weekend comes from the first night, when I turned to my left and saw the girl next to me had two perfect tear streams coursing down her face during With Or Without You. Going in, I’d thought the song should have long since been retired from the live show. Perhaps I was wrong. Connection, intimacy. You just have to pull focus back from the Spidercrab immensity of the stage. Which may be exactly what U2 intended. Build it up to the sky, work that much harder to reach back down and in." (Mark Lepage , Montreal Gazette)

The show finished with Moment of Surrender at the end of which Bono shouted out.
"Vive la difference, vie le Quebec." Which went down very well with the audience.

This was one of those exceptional gigs, the band was on fire and the audience was amazing. We felt elated afterwards and for a while didn't talk, each taking in what we'd witnessed. Eventually we returned to the reality of the trial of getting back to our apartment. We decided to hang back a little to see if the Metro would be less clogged up. We could see the huge mass of people flowing out as we sat in our seats as long as we could before we were asked to leave. We then sat on the grass outside for a while until the crowd grew thinner before heading to the Metro station. And it was nowhere near as bad as the previous night, it maybe took us ten minutes or so to get into the station and soon we were on the train home.

We were home a lot sooner and that night we had McDonalds for our post-U2 supper and only a little wine, were in bed by 3.30am as we had a five hour journey the next day so were sensible for a change.

July 10
A travelling day. We left our apartment and took a taxi to Montreal's Central Station. Soon we were heading west towards Toronto. We'd had fun in Montreal, but it's not a city that I feel I would like to go back to.

Debbi in The Old Spaghetti Factory, Toronto
under a motto we wholeheartedly agree with

The train journey to Toronto wasn't very exciting, we passed through flat, featureless countryside. But ti gave us a chance to recover from the hardships of the last few days lol! We had made sandwiches for the trip and got tea on the train to have with them. Well, I've never had tea like it, it was weak and like English breakfast, Earl Grey, herbal, green and any other variety of tea all mixed together. The weirdest tea we'd ever had! I do miss a decent cup of tea when I'm overseas - only Ireland has proper tea like the UK.

We rested for a while in our rooms before meeting up in the foyer to go across the road to The Old Spaghetti Factory for a meal. We had a really good and very reasonable meal there. We all were tired so afterwards we returned to our rooms and were in bed by 10pm.

Canada Part 3 - U2, A Howling Wind and Stinging Rain, and a Fan Jam

2011-07-19T18:22:00.001+01:00

July 7

For sale on the Rue St-Hubert, Montreal

Another hot and sunny day. which we had delegated as one of our lazy days. We sauntered to the Rue St-Hubert to do some shopping. It was a lively colourful place selling almost everything under the sun. We bought three hats to protect us from the sun a bit - we snapped the three up for $10! We'd baulked at the cost of things in Quebec (food etc was much more expensive than here) but obviously there were bargains to be had on Rue St-Hubert.

That evening we went to another of Marie-Anne's recommendations, a Portuguese restaurant called Casa do Alentejo. It was what I would call cheap and cheerful with excellent food. I had grilled sardines to start - never seen such huge sardines and they were succulent with crispy skin. For the main I had a barbecued steak with fries, the steak was very tender and cooked perfectly. All washed down with a smooth litre of Valpolicella (between us I hasten to add!!)

July 8
Show time! We had standing tickets for the U2 360 gig today and Debbi and Julie left early to get a good position in the pit area. Dianne and I couldn't be bothered to stand in the heat for so long and left a few hours later. Luckily our Metro Stop, Beaubien was on the orange line which went directly to the venue so it was a simple trip.

The Hippodrome, which was just a ten minute walk from the Metro, used to be a racing track but it was demolished a couple of years ago and it was just open ground. A special stadium was built just for the two U2 concerts. The seats looked a bit scary, open, high and supported by thousands of metal poles. The signage was abysmal, little to tell you which was to go and once inside nothing pointing to toilets, concessions or merchandise. There was also a distinct lack of security staff organising things. There were lots of pointy tents that reminded me of Glastonbury and a music event called the Fan Jam going on.

Dianne and I found a really good place on the outer rail of the red zone on Adam's side of the stage. We could see the catwalk and the main stage and the screens from there so it worked out well. It was still very hot and I was really glad I'd bought the pink floral hat lol! It didn't do much for me but it kept my head cool. There was a good concert vibe around.

The support band was Interpol and they were as boring for me as they were years ago when they supported U2 in Glasgow on some tour (can't remember which.)

U2 took the stage at 9.15pm to the strains of Space Oddity by David Bowie and launched into the Achtung Baby songs that they opened with at Glastonbury - I was hoping for this. It took me back to those heady days when we were even madder than we are now lol! Great songs and an amazing vibe in the crowd.

Bono was in one of his funny moods evident when he did the band introductions after a quip, "I need another two minutes" as he tried to catch his breath. He introduced Larry as Bonnie Prince William (a nod to the recent tour of Canada by William and Catherine). Adam was Kate Winslet, not sure why! Edge was "Our own Prince of Wales" and he referred to himself as a, "Chien royal" which the French speaking crowd received with bemusement, "Corgis, you know, royal dogs?" The crowd didn't get it, not the best place for that kind of joke Bono, but we found it hilarious! He talked a lot in what sounded like a poor French and the translation in English of his words that appeared on the screens was very amusing, it seemed like another language at times.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm looking for was magical, with the crowd singing a verse themselves, all the more amazing seeing it wasn't their mother tongue. A snippet of Springsteen's Promised Land was added at the end.

Poster in Montreal

Beautiful Day had an intro by astronaut Mark Kelly in a recorded piece from the International Space Station, where he let cards with the words on float off in the gravity free environment. The song was dedicated to Gabby Gifford, Kelly's wife, who was shot and seriously wounded at a political meeting in Arizona a few months ago. Everyone rocked and sang along, it was certainly a beautiful night!

My favourite section of the show began with Miss Sarajevo. The operatic part was very emotional and Bono hit all the notes perfectly, it still amazes me that he can sing like that! Beautiful. Next up was Zooropa which I'd been waiting for not having seen it played live since 1993. The Claw screen stretched down until it was right on the stage with the band behind it, and like that they played the song. It was a brave thing to do as the song is one most of the audience wouldn't know and the band was out of sight, but it was fabulous! What a brilliant off the wall song it is and i loved the version they played as static and blue light played over the Claw screens. What a treat!

The Claw during City of Blinding Lights was beautifully coloured. Vertigo rocked and I like when the screen whizzes round at high speed at the end of the song.

Good also to hear a little of Scarlet prior to Walk On which had the One/Amnesty International supporters coming onto the catwalk with white lanterns. Bono acknowledged Aung San Suu Kyi's release but said he was singing the song for the other 2000+ political prisoners in Burma.

It was the usual encore, with a very powerful and emotional With Or Without You that had me transfixed. I've tired of songs such as Pride and Sunday Bloody Sunday which are played at almost every gig, but With Or Without You is played as much yet I love it every time.

The band closed with Moment of Surrender, and I still think it does not work well as an ending. There was such a fantastic vibe at the end of With Or Without You, that should have been the point to end.

As Moment of Surrender was finishing raindrops started falling (a storm had been predicted) and Bono started singing The Beatle's Rain. Then, suddenly, it was as if a dam had broken and a monsoon like rain fell, followed by a swirling, gale force wind came equally out of the blue. Talk of timing, right at the end of the show the heavens opened. I glanced up at the screen to see the band disappearing down the steps, a big smile on his face, it was ok for them!!
Dianne first put her umbrella up, it blew out one way, then the other way, no way could it cope with the wind. We had our ponchos with us but getting them on was another matter, the wind kept whipping mine off, I couldn't find where to get my head and arms through as it flapped in the wind. Then I got hysterical with laughter underneath the blue plastic, already well soaked. It took ages but in the end managed to help each other into our ponchos still giddy with laughter. All around us people were scattering, laughing, yelling, struggling with various items of rainwear, it was hilarious.

There was a sea of fans as far as the eye could see, we had arranged to meet up with Debbi and Julie , but in this mass of people being buffeted by wind and rain we knew we would never find them. I could hear my mobile text alert going but couldn't take out the phone because it was so wet. We peeped in a tent, it was crammed full of people sardine style and it was lovely and warm and dry! We squeezed in and I read the text which was from Deb, we agreed to make our own way home.

Then we braved the elements again, it was no better, huge puddles and mini rivers forming. It was hard to know which was to go to the Namur Metro station as there were no signs, no security to guide us and neither of us could see well because our glasses were waterlogged! Wide masses of people stretched off in four different directions so we just took pot luck and went with the nearest one. About half way to the Metro station the crowd of people came to a halt and for the next one and a half hours we moved forward a step at a time. It was truly a Fan Jam! It was still raining and thunder rumbled above. Being in the midst of a sea of people I didn't feel the wind anymore. It was now quite cold but the plastic ponchos helped keep us a bit warm, others were not so lucky and some and literally shivering with the cold. It was total chaos, I've been to many, many big concerts like this over the years and have never experienced such badly organised security outside a venue.

When we finally got into the station I felt like getting on my knees and kissing the ground! The Metro staff were well organised, people telling you where to go and which carriage to get in. We sank into our seats with a sigh of relief, good to get off our feet after all the standing and it was lovely and warm in there too.

When we got off at Beaubien the rain and wind had stopped, it was 1.45am when we got to our apartment, Debbi and Julie arrived five minutes after us looking as bedraggled and wet as us!
We have a tradition of having champagne, pizza and a U2 quiz after the last gig we see. It was a bit different this time, we had two gigs to go but, for various reasons we were having our celebration that night.

Due to the ridiculous price of the Veuve Clicquot in Montreal ($68!!!) we had good prosecco instead and it was delicious! Dianne won the quiz and we were up until 5am, we can still hack it as rock chicks LOL!

A little clip of the last moments of the gig below, gives a little impression of the rain and wind (By Cara)

Canada Part 2 - Friends, Food and Flour Mills

2011-07-16T21:02:00.003+01:00

5 July
Dianne arrived safely the next day, now there was only one more person, Debbi, coming tomorrow. Did a lot of catching up with Dianne, we hadn't seen her for two years, then we went out shopping. It was another very hot day and I was wondering if I would be able to cope with the heat during this trip.

My main at Le Plaza

That evening we went to a local restaurant Marie-Anne had recommended, Le Plaza. It was just five minutes away on the Rue St-Hubert. The restaurant was elegant, very brown and had large, sliding doors open onto the street. We sat on one of the tables by the doors, it was cool there and we could feel the ambiance of the area as life went on outside. I had beef with bourguignon sauce, haricot verte and a baked potato with sour cream and crab. It looked gorgeous and tasted divine!

We shared a dessert recommended by the waitress, yankee toast, something I'd never heard of. It was a thick slice of bread that seemed to be soaked in something then fried until brown. Over this was poured some kind of syrup (maple maybe) and topped with vanilla ice cream. It was lovely, but very sweet, my third was more than enough! We spent the rest of the evening drinking a lovely red wine and chatting, it was very enjoyable and relaxing and we felt back to normal once more.

6 July

Notre Dame Basilica

It was a bit cooler and overcast today which was a relief! Dianne, Julie and I got the Metro from Beaubien to Peel in the city centre. We booked ourselves onto a hop on hop off tour of Montreal. The tours were in old London red double decker buses with the roofs taken off, ours was from 1967, they were certainly built to last. We were given blue, plastic ponchos just in case it started to rain, little did we know that these ponchos would be a godsend a couple of days later!

The first stop was the Notre-Dame Basilica in the Old Town area. A stone church has stood on this site since around 1672, initial construction of the present basilica was between 1824 - 1829. The architect was an Irishman called James O'Donnell who lived in new York but moved to Montreal to oversee the work. He died in 1830 just after the inauguration and was buried beneath the floor of the building.

There were fabulous paintings all around, many depicting First Nation people, which made it different from any European church. There were wonderful carvings too. All in all an amazing building. It was a beautiful church, very dark inside (the huge stained glass window behind the altar had to be removed and replaced by a painted, blue-lit wall as it was south facing and so churchgoers were often blinded by the sun). All around were racks of remembrance night lights in red, white, green, blue, yellow and purple holders, these looked beautiful flickering in the darkness.

Notre Dame Basilica

We passed the Montreal Science Center into the docklands. Montreal is 1000 miles from the sea but it was a major port because of the mighty St Lawrence River. The docklands was very rundown and I'm surprised we we taken there, the guide even pointed out a flour mill as if it was something special!

The next stop was the Casino, a strange building that, to me, looked unfinished. Then it was onto a stop in the designer shopping area of the city, we gave that a miss!
Then we started to climb Mont-Royal and stopped at St Joseph's Oratory, which was a stunning building. We didn't get off as there were millions of steps up to it and we were not in the mood to climb them (and saving our energy for the U2 gigs, got to pace ourselves nowadays!)

St Joseph's Oratory

The bus continued up to the park a-top Mont-Real and we got off here. It was a peaceful oasis far above the bustle of the city below. The rain that had threatened all day came down, there was a cafe called Maison Smith nearby and we had a delicious sandwich there. When we had finished and left the rain had stopped. We got the next bus back into the city, the last stop was unavailable due to roadworks and that was it.

On the way back to our starting point I noticed two circling birds of prey reflected in one of the skyscrapers, whatever they were, they were huge.

I must say I was pretty underwhelmed by what I saw of Montreal on this trip. These tours usually take you to the most interesting places in a city so when they are showing you rundown docks, flour mills and a casino you wonder about the place. Even the Old Town was very small. I may be doing the city a dis-service but what I saw of it on the tour wasn't that exciting.

Debbi was arriving that evening and we were also getting a visitor, my friend Michelle from New York who just happened to be in town for a couple of gigs by a certain band LOL! I met Michelle at the Metro station and we walked back to the apartment. It was good to see her again. Shortly afterwards Debbi arrived in a taxi and at last our group was complete.

I made a simple meal of pasta Alfredo and garlic bread and we finished with a slice of mango cake that Michelle had brought along, it was lovely. Then we sat outside in the balmy night drinking our favourite wine (Errazuriz Merlot) and chatting. At 11pm Debbi and I walked Michelle back to the Metro. We'd had a lovely evening, sometimes the simple things are best.

Michelle, Dianne, Julie, Debbi

Canada Part 1 - Are We There Yet?

2011-07-16T18:39:00.002+01:00

2 July

We had a convoluted trip to Montreal due to there being no direct flights there from northern England or Scotland, only London, with (good and cheap) Air Transat. So it was either fly from London - a long way for me - or go to Montreal via Toronto, we chose the last option. Due to the time of our flight Julie and I had to stay overnight in Manchester previous to the flight, we got a good deal at the airport Hilton which was great value for money. We also had an over night stay in Toronto, yet it was all still easier and cheaper than using another company or going to London.

3rd July

Our flight was delayed by a couple of hours and then we had the seven hour flight to Toronto, it actually passed over quite quickly and we were coming into Toronto, Lake Ontario and the CN Tower glinting in the sunshine. That's when things got hairy. The plane was banking a lot, and moving in an unusual way. As we were descending, there were short, but severe drops that made your stomach turn. A man said loudly, "Is this normal?" No one answered, but we knew it wasn't, a little girl cried out every time the plane "dropped". The runway appeared below us but it was a while before we touched down, very heavily. The brakes screamed and again, I've never experienced brakes being used so strongly, We were pushed forward in our seats, I gripped the seat arms and Julie put her hands onto the back of the seat in front. I thought the plane was going to run out of runway. Luckily it didn't, and people broke out into applause and sighs of relief as the plane slowed right down. I've never, ever experienced a landing like that, maybe it was the pilot's first landing, God knows, but it wasn't pleasant and hasn't helped my underlying fear of flying!

The heat hit us as we left the airport, in the taxi on the way to our hotel I saw a temperature reading of 31 degrees centigrade, yikes! Out hotel was the Sandman Signature, and it was lovely, excellent service and posh, quality rooms of above average size, very, very good value for money.

We went for a meal in Moxie's Grill, in the hotel. We were served by a guy called Colin who recited a huge list of side dishes and specials in one breath! The meal was lovely and we washed it down with a glass of red wine. We had an early night as our flight to Montreal next day was at 9am. I was beginning to wonder whether getting to Montreal this way was a good idea, it seemed we were never going to get there!

4 July

The flight to Montreal took just an hour, and we took a taxi to our rented apartment. The journey wasn't very scenic, lots of shabby and derelict areas, but the street in the Petite Patrie district where our apartment was situated was lovely. Most of the street was apartments and the stairs to the upper ones were on the outside of the buildings, very unusual to us. Our host, Marie-Anne, was there to greet us and we left our cases - we weren't able to take over the place for another four hours, we did already know this - so, not quite fully arrived yet!

We went to do some food shopping. There were lots of shops nearby and the Beaubien Metro was a five minute walk. It was very, very hot, a bit much for me and I think that along with all the travelling it made us feel quite weary. By then I thought we should have flown direct from London! In the end we parked ourselves in a MacDonalds and had a long, slow, cold drink until we could return to the apartment.

At 4pm, with huge sighs of relief, we flopped down on the couch and kicked off our shoes, at last, we had ARRIVED! The place was lovely, three large bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a big kitchen/diner, throughout it had beautiful, real wood floors. Outside, we had a small garden area with a table and chairs.

The third member of our group, Dianne, was due to arrive around midnight, but at 9pm I heard from her by text - she was stranded overnight in Minneapolis because her plane was "broken!" She would now be arriving around noon the next day, oh dear. Time for an early night and we'll be raring to go tomorrow!

-17lbs and Shakespeare at the Priory

2011-06-26T22:36:00.000+01:00

I thought I'd better get another weigh in onto my blog before my holidays. I've now lost 17lbs, the diet's still going well, the weight's not dropping off fast, but slowly but surely it's happening and I'm happy with that. I'll have a blip when I'm on holiday, I don't do dieting when I'm away, part of my breaks is enjoying good food! But I will go back to it when I get back home.

I had a good weekend, after the excitement of U2 at Glastonbury on Friday, Saturday saw me enjoying some Shakespeare. My friend and I saw The Merry Wives of Windsor at Lanercost Priory, it was part of the yearly Lanercost Festival. Before the play we had a meal in the restaurant there, I had fish and chips and a strawberry Eton mess, (yes I know it's not diet food but I'm already in holiday mode LOL!).

If the weather is good the play is performed outside beside the walls of the Priory, but it was wet so the play was held in the Dacre Hall, part of the Priory's cloisters and refectory. It was an amazing room, original brick walls, the original oak-beamed vaulted roof and a huge 12 foot wide stone fireplace. You could feel the history.

I'd never seen The Merry Wives of Windsor before, and I really enjoyed it, full of trickery and people getting their just dues. In the interval I was in the toilet and I heard an English woman saying to her American friend that she was enjoying the play and that it was rather like a Carry On film. Then she had to try to explain what a Carry On film was LOL! But she was right, it was a bit like that. Good fun. I love Shakespeare, he can make you laugh and cry and everything inbetween. He had such an understanding of human nature, and after centuries that's still the same, just shows people don't change that much.

So now it's not long until I go to Canada for a holiday and U2 so there'll be a break in my posts here for a while. But I'll be blogging all about it once I get back, bye for now!

U2 on Fire at Glastonbury

2011-06-25T16:43:00.000+01:00

Last night I sat myself down in front of the TV with a bottle of Errazuriz Merlot (delicious!) to watch U2 perform at Glastonbury. I love Glastonbury, it's different from other festivals and the eclectic mix of performers is always great. It took U2 30 years to perform there but at last it was on! It must have been quite nerve-wracking for the band as there was a significant anti-U2 vibe about them performing there. So when they came onto the pyramid stage I had my fingers crossed for them. I needn't have worried, from the start they were brilliant, and within a short time had the crowd very much with them.

They started with a medley of Achtung Baby songs, Even Better, (accompanied by a new video by Damian Hurst on the screen behind the band) The Fly, Mysterious Ways, Until the End of the World, One, and I drifted back in time almost 20 years to the mad Zoo days. Even some of the video on the large screen behind the band was from those days. They were crazy, but good times and it was a treat to hear those songs again. The rain was pouring down, you could see the drops on Bono's glasses and at one time as Edge stamped on the stage the water from little puddles on the stage. But hey, this is Glastonbury and that means rain and mud!

Then, a nice touch, Bono sang Jerusalem acappella, very appropriate as William Blake's words refer to the possibility that Jesus and Joseph of Arimathea visited Glastonbury. Whether that is true or not, Glastonbury is a special place and some magic was happening there last night.

Jerusalem segued into an uplifting Where the Streets Have No Name. Then it was I Will Follow after which was I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for, the crowd singing a verse on it's own, amazing if you think that this is not a U2 audience, something Bono remarked on - "We haven't played to people who are not our audience for a very long time, so it was just overwhelming for our band."

Then came Stay which was wonderful followed by Beautiful Day which had a pre-recorded introduction by astronaut Mark Kelly in the International Space Station. Then there was a medley of high energy songs, Elevation, Get On Your Boots, Vertigo, Sunday Bloody Sunday. Suddenly the high energy stopped and those familiar opening notes that always send shivers up my spine rang out - Bad! It was a huge surprise for me as they haven't done Bad live on the current leg of the 360 Tour. I have to admit the tears were running down my face during this, it always gets to me, and this version was fabulous, I was in heaven. Bono added a few lines of Jerusalem to the lyrics:

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

This was followed by Pride, which isn't a favourite but has to be done in a gig like this. After a short break the band did a encore beginning with With Or Without You, during which Bono took UK and Irish flags and laid them across speakers on the stage.

Moment of Surrender followed, still not one of my faves, and it seemed as if it was all over, then suddenly they launched into Out of Control, another surprise! Written when they were ordinary kids of 18, and now here they were, world famous 50 somethings, the best band in the world who definitely still have it! That's pretty amazing.

Though I'm still a fan I've often been critical and cheesed off with U2 over various things in recent years. But live they are brilliant, never let us down and are simply the best. And I can't wait until I see them live again myself in Canada very, very soon!

The Cumberland Pencil Museum

2011-06-12T23:00:00.000+01:00

My cousin Janet and I went to Keswick for a day out last week. Though the Lake District is so close to where I live I don't often go, and every time I do go I say, "I must come more often" but don't. Anyway, we pottered about the town centre which was busy but not heaving with tourists so it was quite pleasant wandering around. I saw a man with a gorgeous standard wire-haired dachshund and just had to go over to talk to him. It brought back memories of our very first dachshund, Kim, who was the same type.

Now to the Cumberland Pencil Museum. Pencil Museum?? you may say, and yes it sounds as odd as the Currywurst Museum in Berlin, but you know, it was really interesting and worth visiting.

Anyone who draws will know of Derwent Pencils, they are known for their quality and are used by many an artist. Well these pencil were made at a factory in Keswick for over two hundred and fifty years, the factory moved to West Cumbria in 2008.

Graphite was discovered in the early 1500's in Borrowdale close to Keswick. Shepherds used it to mark their sheep which wandered freely across the mountains and fells. A cottage industry of pencil making soon developed. Graphite became enormously valuable, costing around £1,500 a kilo in the late 1700's, it was transported under armed guard. The UK's first pencil factory opened in Keswick in 1832, it became the Cumberland Pencil Company in 1916.

The Museum was opened in the former factory canteen building in 1981. The famous Pencil Museum van, a 1954 Morris J Type, was found hidden under rubbish in the warehouse, brought out and restored, it now has pride of place at the front of the Museum. The Museum has over 80,000 visitors a year.

You enter the Museum through a reconstruction of a graphite mine - which has seen better days! Then there are various display to look at. I was fascinated by the top secret pencils that were made at the factory during World War Two. They were given to RAF servicemen before missions in Germany, They contained rolled up maps and a compass where the eraser should have been. The Germans never discovered this trick.

The largest pencil in the world is on display as well as very inventive pieces of artwork made from pencils. There was a room in which a film all about the history of pencil making ran which gave a good back ground to the exhibits.

There was an artist giving tuition on using pencils for artwork. Unfortunately we just missed getting into that as it was underway when we arrived. The museum has regular free workshops on different subjects. The shop was very good and had gorgeous pencil sets. There were great bargains to be had in the sale, but alas, I'm still on my financial sensibility mode so I resisted.

The Museum isn't very big, and from the outside not very inviting - it's an old fashioned prefab. But inside it is bright, lively and has a good atmosphere. The story of the humble pencil is really fascinating, and this is a museum with the difference and well worth a visit.

Visit the website Cumberland Pencil Museum

Paw Rest

2011-06-06T17:17:00.000+01:00

My older dog Max is on paw rest! I noticed this morning that he was limping a bit, so this afternoon took him to the vet. She said it seemed to be a strain. I immediately felt guilty as it probably happened as a result of the long walks we've been taking these last few days (£21 for a five minute consultation, I should have been a vet). Poor Max, but then he is 70 in human years. He should be fine after having a little rest for a few days and no more very long walks. So it'll be Pepsi and me hitting the road for the treks in future.

Glorious Summer and Memories

2011-06-03T18:06:00.000+01:00

We've been having some great weather these past few days, very warm and sunny. I was working this morning, but shortly getting home I went out for a walk with the dogs. There's just something so relaxing about walking with dogs, you are kind of in harmony with your pets. Plus you always get into conversation with some other dog walker you meet on the way as you immediately have something in common. I've just got a new pedometer, one that actually works properly, and was using that for the first time. I can't stand gyms etc, but need to exercise more, so I'm aiming to do a proper walk every day as part of my weight loss regime.

It was a lovely walk, the birds singing, happy as us humans to have the good weather, the hedges seemed alive with the chattering of sparrows! The trees had that gorgeous, fresh green hue of early summer and buttercups gave a bright yellow hue to many of the fields. On a summer day like this in England there's no better place to be - shame we don't get more of this weather though!

The area I walked in was around the hospital that I used to work at - the main Victorian hospital is gone, there are just a few parts left, now turned into exclusive apartments amongst newly built houses. I often walk through there, but I must have felt nostalgic today because I was thinking of all the memories held in that area- where I spent much of my nursing career. I must say they were mainly happy memories, I loved my job until red tape and staff shortages made it impossible to do the job as well as I wanted to. It was slightly scary to think that the small boarded up building that was the "school", as they called it then, was where I began my training almost 34 years ago, yikes!!!

It's almost three years since I retired from nursing now, and I know I left at the right time for me. I have a couple of small jobs that still involve caring, but there is no stress, and I have the time to enjoy other things in my life, like walking 1.6 miles with Pepsi and Max!

Hitchhiking.....

2011-06-02T22:04:00.000+01:00

An amazing story, I can just imagine Bono sitting in the back of the car with the dog! LOL! Read about it
here

You Aint Seen Nothing Yet.....

2011-05-31T20:12:00.000+01:00

U2 peeps will know this is typical of Bono LOL, so funny. My next 360 show is only 38 days away and I'm loving the set lists of this leg, it makes it a very different show to what we saw in Germany last year. Roll on!

Dachshund Lost In Tornado-Related Wreck Found 5 Weeks Later

2011-05-30T01:25:00.000+01:00

Just shows how resilient these little dogs are!

The Long and Short of it All: A Dachshund Dog News Magazine: Dachshund Lost In Tornado-Related Wreck Found 5 We...: "With tornadoes devastating much of the United States this spring, it's awesome to hear a story of hope when there is such despair. Excerp..."

Relaxation

2011-05-22T20:55:00.000+01:00

Yesterday my cousin Janet, our friend Linda and I went for a pamper day at High Head Spa at Ivegill on the edge of the Lake District. It's part of a place called High Head Sculpture Valley, there's a working dairy farm, a great cafe, art gallery and shop. There's also a lovely walk in the valley that you can take which has various sculptures along its path. They have just opened holiday rental accommodation too. And at the back of the complex there's a large log cabin which houses the spa.

We arrived at 11am, the cabin was warm and cozy and we were shown into a room that had a hot tub, loungers and a sauna. We had the room to ourselves which was really great and we could relax in there for an hour before our treatments. We got in the hot tub and chilled in there for a while. Then we decided to try out the sauna - none of us had been in one before. Wow it was hot! We didn't last long, I can see why they plunge into ice cold water afterwards normally! However here there was no icy pool here, so we drank lots of cold water to cool down a bit.

We had two treatments each as part of the deal, you could choose from a back and shoulder massage, a facial or a manicure. We all went for the massage and facial and they were fabulous! I especially enjoyed the massage and felt really chilled afterwards, the others enjoyed their treatments too. The girls who work there were very professional and friendly. Afterwards we had a delicious lunch in the cafe was included in the price of the deal.

All in all it was a wonderful day and well worth the £45 cost, we'll definitely be going back. You can visit their website here: http://highheadsculpturevalley.co.uk/

Bono's Birthday Treat!

2011-05-11T16:53:00.000+01:00

This is one of the reasons why I'm a fan of Bono, you know I wish some of his detractors could see how lovely he is to fans. Here he is in Mexico (where U2 are playing tonight) yesterday sharing birthday cake and champagne with fans waiting outside his hotel. Love where he says, "Stand back a bit" when he's about to pop the champagne cork! Bless. Mind you, if I'd been there I would have wanted Veuve Clicquot!

A Bit of U2 in Falkirk

2011-05-08T22:26:00.001+01:00

I've purposely not travelled anywhere this year because I was lucky enough to do a lot of travelling last year and needed to recoup some of my finances. I've really been getting restless and pretty desperate to have a trip away though, and this weekend my friend Debbi and I went on a trip to Falkirk in Scotland. The purpose of the trip was to see our friends in the U2 tribute band NU2 play, they are the best U2 tribute band we've seen.

Debbi came up from Stoke on Thursday, it was great to see her again and catch up. As we are both on diets I made a very sensible, low calorie meal and we didn't have a lot of wine - almost unheard of for us! Next day we drove up to Falkirk, a place neither of us had been before. It only took two and a quarter hours to get to our Travelodge on the edge of the town. My room really took me aback, very clean and obviously new, but very sparse. No drawers, no bedside table (just a tiny niche in the wall), the "wardrobe" was just a short pole with a few coat hangers, a small wall mounted table with a white plastic chair, On the pale grey walls were a small TV and small picture and a mirror. There was only a roller blind on the window, a duvet on the bed, but no bedspread. It felt very cold and clinical and there was bags of unused space as the room itself was a normal size for a hotel of that kind. But, having said that, it was fine for our purposes.

We got a taxi to the Behind the Wall club in the centre of Falkirk where the gig was being held. It was a pub, restaurant and gig venue, bustling and loud with lots of different seating areas. We found a table in the quietest area, the conservatory. Our friend Alan, "Boner" in the band, came from the gig room upstairs to have a chat. It was nice to see him again, it had been a long time since we'd met up as NU2 actually disbanded three years ago as one of the band members moved to the south of England, and we hadn't seen Alan since. The band hadn't played at all during the last three years, but had got together again for this one off charity gig. They were nervous as they had little opportunity to rehearse for this gig.

Later Deb and I went upstairs and caught the end of the Bladdered!, the first band of the night. We could hardly believe our eyes to see middle aged men in make up dressed as schoolgirls in P.E. dress playing punk songs! (complete with wigs, vest tops, short white gym skirts - thank God they wore shorts beneath these! - and white socks, a sight to behold I assure you LOL! Apparently this band has different themes to accompany their set, they've done the royal family and Dad's Army amongst others.

Later NU2 started their set with Vertigo. During the first few songs the band were a little rusty, but by time they got to In God's Country they were in their stride and all the NU2 magic was back. Alan's voice is so good and like Bono's that at times you think it is Bono himself singing, and though Mark (Edge) had not played guitar in three years he did amazingly well and the rhythm section backed the other two up very well. I especially liked hearing In God's Country as U2 themselves never play that any more.

NU2 got the crowd behind them as they did a mainly U2's greatest hits set and went down a storm, Alan dedicated With Or Without You to Debbi and me which was really nice - I think Debbi must have travelled the furthest to be there and it's nice that was acknowledged by the band. But it was well worth the trip, and it made us realise how much we'd missed seeing them play. We had a chat with Alan afterwards and he said it was probably the last performance by the band, but perhaps a yearly reunion could happen, let's hope it does!

At 1am we ran the short distance in the pouring rain to the rank and got a taxi back to the hotel. Once back we had generous glasses of wine and some Quavers. The Quavers was like the best steak, we were so hungry, having not had a lot to eat that day because of our diets! We chilled and chatted eventually getting to bed at 3.30am.

Next day we laid in as long as we could, leaving just before the midday checkout - we still have the stamina to stay up a long time, but we don't bounce back to normality as quickly! We had a light lunch at a place beside the hotel and drove home and then went to bed for a nap to fully come recover LOL!

By 7pm we felt relatively back to normal and looking forward to our forget-the-diet treat night. I went to get a Chinese takeaway, we enjoyed that and then opened a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne. We'd been looking forward to that for ages and it was well worth the wait! Nectar. I love the good things in life.

I really enjoyed my little jaunt into Scotland, great to see NU2 again and spend time with a good friend. It's only 55 days until my next jaunt - a holiday and U2 gigs in Canada - not that I'm counting.......

The Wedding

2011-04-29T20:43:00.001+01:00

Well, The Wedding has taken place. It is a public holiday in the UK, but I was working and so watched it with one of the old ladies I visit. Neither of us are particularly into the royal family, but there's no denying William and Catherine are a lovely young couple so obviously in love. It was so sweet when William said, "You look beautiful" when Catherine arrived at his side in Westminster Abbey. I loved her elegant dress, classic and a touch of the medieval about it, just what I expected from her. And I must say William looked very handsome in his Irish Guards uniform. The British are very good at putting on a traditional pageant and it all was very grand and went perfectly. I loved the trees in Westminster Abbey, it was so different and a brilliant idea, nature in the city. I remember watching Charles and Diana getting married 30 (yikes, how time flies!!!) years ago and it felt very different, more formal and without the obvious love.

I think in these hard financial times the country needs something to celebrate and enjoy and this wedding has come at the perfect time. It is nice to be happy about something when the news these days is normally full of gloom and doom - even for non-royalists! I am amazed by the degree of international interest in The Wedding, the Americans especially seem so into it. There were worldwide best wishes which included the Dalai Lama, and even out of this world best wishes from the International Space Station!

In the future William and Catherine will be King and Queen of the UK. There are signs that they will herald a new era of royality in this country. A royality that is less formal and more in touch with the people, and that can only be a good thing - and maybe I'll end up becoming a real royalist then!

It's Summer!

2011-04-19T22:46:00.001+01:00

Well no, but it feels like summer anyway! Our wonderful weather continues with sunshine and temperatures way above normal - my car thermometer showed a high of 20 degrees centigrade to day. The blossom is out early, near me there are lots of trees covered in pink and white blossom, so beautiful. Let's hope this bodes well for the real summer months.

I've been busy in the garden tidying up the autumn/winter debris, putting in the bedding plants. Also started my vegetable gardening, got the potatoes in, planted new a new apple tree and raspberry bush. Tomatoes, beans and onions going in soon. I've grown to love gardening, there's a real sense of satisfaction of seeing what you plant grow and bloom. And there is nothing like eating your own home grown food! You get fresh air and exercise too, so it's a winner all round!

U2 Karaoke

2011-04-15T00:59:00.000+01:00

After the gig on the 13th U2 went to the Bar Secreto in Sao Paulo for a bit of karaoke. Nice to see the lads relaxing and having fun - Larry definitely wins for enthusiasm LOL!