Gah, with the lack of evidence to the contrary, I'm guessing Rachel grassed me up to Kitchen, which serves me right I guess to trying to over compensate for paranoia and changing my policy towards her, last time I bloody offer any help.

Well, the road's getting slippery up ahead and I've got next to no idea where I'm going, but I'm going to have to change gear and shrug off some commitments.

In other news, my flatmate/landlord tells me they're having some kind of party and a week or so, the same time that Glasgow's coming down to visit, which should be nice and help me break the ice here.

Ooh, another familar band from north of the border playing tonight at the Bull and Gate.

Finally finished doing my laundry, just need to iron my shirts. I have this really cool knky ironing board I got from Ikea (see what I did there) and a five quid iron from Asda, I never realised being civilised could be so cheap.

Exciting plans for this weekend, get the under ground into London village and wander about the shops aimlessly. Need to find me some more gigs to go to, all I've got on the radar is tonight's show at The Grosvenor. Interest in the gig review site is dying off, no one gives a shit about these bands.

And the nuddy site's dying too, it only thrives when it gets new links in from other sites. I just need to breach the hundred posts barrier, then I'll abandon it. I never did get round to selling the original pictures. Maybe I could sling them up asa job lot on Ebay. Offers from £50 maybe?

Its like death

The internet connection in my flat's down, all last night I was clicking search for networks ad found nothing. Its kind of like being dead, I felt so lonely.

Luckily I had Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to keep me company.

So there was this fire in West London, we saw it from our factory at lunch time, and over the next half hour tracked down photies on the blogsphere and of people asking about it. Within minutes came comments to look at the London fire service website. Turns out it was on Standard Road in Park Royal.

The photies and videos were pretty low quality, now I regret that I didn't just head to the scene with my camera. 10 fire engines and 50 fire fighters. Good stuff

Systems engineering

Damnit, when I got home someone else's washing was in the machine, I've been putting off my laundry for ages now. Althought I still have about six months worth of socks and grunts, even without wearing them inside out and back to front, I'm going to run out of conventional shirts tomorrow, and be forced to wear hawiian and shorts, which will really blow my professional image here.

Gig tomorrow night, I ought to try to rope flatmate Nick into coming along and his lot too.

Sneaky

Eeep, I'm at work, and have my laptop with me so I can do things during my break. I feel like some kind of techno-ninja. The weirdest thing yesterday, as I was driving down, nine hours, I was surfing the internet in my head, reading threads and facebook. Its not healthy, but its kind of cool.

Okay lunchtime photie fans, here's a photie of where Nat's cat, Beau, bit me on Sunday morning, huge jaw on that guy.

Yo yo

Back in London, crouched in my room, catching up on work homework, fending of a ropey net connection and worrying about people.

So on the drive down Westmoreland Farm Shops had no scotch eggs, which really pissed off ma when I got to Manchester, luckily I snatched slice of 'Westmoreland pie' which was nice, had pickle spread through it.

Fell asleep a few many times on the way through the Mid-Lands, almost hit a road sign, so I took to stopping at every other service station for a stroll about.

I now have my guitar with me. The live music scene in this town doesn't stand a chance.

Installed the Compare application on Facebook, apparently I'm marriage material

Return of the Kingboy

Back in Glasgow for a brief visit. I know, I know its four hundred miles, but I was in a funk and needed to escape, I appreciate that there's some things you just can't escape from, there's no hiding, all you can do is keep running when you need to.

So right now I'm in Oscars, using their Free Wiki (is that my suicide?). The girl's reading a newspaper, I'm updating a couple of websites, we both have coffee.

Its weird, even for an unplanned and the briefest of visits, I've met up with The Photographer, Alan, The Plimps, The Just Jones and now got into Raymond Chandler novels. Last night was the Only Joe Kane album launch at MacPhabbs, the vibe the same as last year, similar faces, similar vibes, so much has happened since then, but if you squint slightly, so little has changed.

So I was trawling the depths and found this post, from six years ago. And its the weirdest thing, I'm in London now, I saw the Loves as soon as I got there, and that drumstick that I pinched off the swedish broad, I had to give to Dave the drummer for the last Deep Fried Wolfknuckles gig. Its kind of like that Doctor Who story, Remembrance of the Daleks, where the Doctor goes back to where the first Doctor Who episode started and finishes of this plan he'd set in motion. Ooh the guy in that was called Captain Gilmour. I rule the time streams

Running and dreaming

Another flight, driving my wee car as fast as it'll go, hundreds of miles in a funk, as is my way, but instead of hiding alone in a crowd, you'll be right there next to me now.

I had an odd and vivid, I think I still remember it. Me, Tim and Otis from school were making a movie, a DavidLynchian surreal piece, all bland corridors and people vanishing and reappearing and not being seen passing by. We finished shooting in the building, I think it was a school or university, and headed out to the car park, there were people there showing me things that hurt my head emotionally. We all piled into a car, something like a Renault Clio or a four door mini, Me, Tim and Otis and November and last year. It was cramped and unpleasant, I needed to get out. My last memory of the dream is opening the car door and rolling out to oblivion.

2nd Invocation

Just here, Lydiapond's post. Now admittedly it sank without a trace, but I can only exist in the world I exist in, which is real life with my face pressed against the glass. I'd be nicer if I were invoked in thread like for example the gig last night, but nope, not with me. I have a curse. Oddly I get links to this blog from Bowlie, but I can't see them on the page. Sorry to wallow in trivial messageboard politics...

Anyhoo...

Mr Chris Gilmour was and is permanently banned, and has made various appearances under new monikers (only one was slightly successful, being discovered after a month or so rather than within a few hours). I think the mods are more clued up on such things than one might imagine.

No strictly true in a few places. My monikers Big Bill and Poesia Urbana both lasted several months and were only 'discovered' when I unmasked myself. Other, less successful, monikers usually got unmasked discovered by my first post being "Hi I'm Chris Gilmour and I've been banned" or referring to specific people and places that could only be me.

The secret used to be that killer combination of coming up with a believeable persona, that could realistically interact with other members of the messageboard in real life, loyal friends and having a new IP address. Alas, these days, as Pnosni would say, 'bunch of snakes'. Or as a collague at work used to say, "snakes with tits".

I'm not sure how the mods could be more clued up, they have little control over who registers, that'll be the Admins, of whom about a third can't really be arsed.

Its only common courtesy that stop me re-registering under a new alias from my new place with its new internet connection, new PC and new IP address, if I wear really thick gloves, there's nothing to idenify who's typing.

Anyhoo, I'm off to a gig in real life this evening, and tomorrow, I'm hitting the road for a few days, if anyone would be interested in drawing some sketched of nude ladies in the mean time, can they get in touch.

kthnxby

Ooh, they're making a film of my favourite book

The Deathly Hallows

Frere gave me a few books, the Genesis of Shanara and the final Harry Potter book. I'd just started reading Kafka's The Trial, but I think I'll skip it and plough through Potter. Admittedly I've skipped a few books in the series, but after seeing the last film with Glasgow, I think I'll have to finish what I've started.



On the internet front, one of those website picked up mine so I've been getting thousands of hits gain, I've got to keep creating content and not drop the ball like I did last time. Should get picked up by another in a day or so, and so it rolls on, I think the threshold for word of mouth to kick in is around 20,000 hits.

Hibbett and Pete Green gigs this week, I'm trying to take Fiona and Dom along to expand their indie horizons. Trying to figure when I can next venture to Glasgow, was hoping to get there to see Astrid, but looks like I'll miss that. ooh, still haven't found out if I get September bank holidayness.

And elsewhere, I have been invoked, it'll be interesting to see what the weather's like.

And whilst you're here, here's that video of the Deep Fried Wolfknuckles covering 100,000 Fireflies by the Magnetic Fields that you missed

Family time

Spent Saturday and a chunk of Sunday out in Burnham with the niece and family. Twas nice, we wandered out on the sea front where I haven't been since five years ago. Battery on my camera had run out of juice no so fun filled photies.

Now I'm back in Alperton, wandering if I should do lundry today or tomorrow, and if I'm going to the pub tonight.

Here's the video of the last song from the Wolfknuckles set at the 13th Not the other week. The sound quality's not too shabby.



I was great fun but compared to how it could have been if many more folk had come down, it fills me with feelings of sourness. I'm a friend who goes to your gigs, what are you?

Coverage at theapt.com seems to focus more on the title rather than the content, can people no be critical?

i know that i can get quite verbose about some things but i can't help it. as a frenchman, i was taught english as the language of shakespeare and it can get tortuous getting to the point quickly without the help of all the nuances afforded us by that sumptous words available to us at a tongue's flick. that siad, no such trouble for nakedchicksonpostitnotes.com, it's all there in the title...

I know I'm an engineer and a craftsman, but it looks like my art be damned

English

I' losing the ability to speak fluently.

Like my father before me I tend to adopt the accent of the person I'm talking to, and when I don't know the accent, I just slow down my speaking and use simpler sentence construction.

Alas, the folk I work with mostly have English as a second language, and at gigs, if I talk to peple, its a noisy environment so I tailor my sentences to get valid information across.

I think I might come from Bulgaria rather than Manchester or Glasgow. Although I do manage to slip in a few 'wee's instead of smal and 'ach'.

Settling in

Its getting nice and settled now, I have a week's worth of food in the fridge, I know two different ways to get to work, my bed's all nice and made up and comfy.

And now in a futile attempt to fend off the boredom, I'm heading out to see Kat Flint play a gig near Camden, and hopefully take some friends along too. Kind of like I'm letting the side down, Alan went to a gig on Sunday night and has the review up already, and he's off to two gigs tonight, if only I was in Glasgow.

Ma was moaning about not seeing my bed, so here it is.

Sleep

When I came home from work last night I was rather pleased to find my bed had been delivered, and me and landlord / flatmate Dave got to work on assembling it. Its a neat leather bound japanese style double, which really neatly fits into my room.

Now I need to acquire things like a washing basket and clothes horse thing. Yeah I'd left them at my old flat in Glasgow, but new ones should be inexpensive.

Dad was staying at a hotel a few blocks away so we met up for dinner in a local Chinese place, The August Moon, he had his usual clispy duck, and I deep flied shledded beef.

Everything is looking rosy, but alas the rains have started.

There's a Kat Flint gig tomorrow, I'm not sure what she sounds like but somehow I was MySpace chums with er and we corresponded breifly.

5am

I'd been fine, until I awoke this morning at 04:53am with first day of work nerves. For more than four hours before I was going to head in, I dozed fitfully. Slipping in and out of dreams, apparitions of the first day floating through my head, turning up without any trousers, taking so many wrong turns on the drive in, my desk being out in the car park.

It too a while to calm down and relax, but now here I am, all dressed in my interview suit, poised to leave the house.

They never said what time to start at, just the date, today. So I'm aiming for about ten past nine to give them time to open mail and have a coffee.

Its jolly exciting.

Return to London

So Glasgow was fun-packed, Friday I met Nastily after work, we headed to one of her colleague's leaving do for a few drinks, then off to the cinema to see The Simpsons Movie (Spider-pig, spider-pig...). Then off to Saninios for the best Italian meal I've ever experienced. Then to Sleazy's for a Martial Arts/Darren Hayman gig.

A fond farewell on the morning and I was back in my car heading south. Stopped off at Tebay to pick up scotch eggs and stopped at parent's place in Manchester to deliver scotch eggs and let them sample the very excellent Star Bar cheesecake Natalie had provided.

Finally arrived in London at 6.50pm

It was another frantic dash, this time to the banks of the river Thames to meet flatmate Nick. He's not my flamate now, he just used to be, but that's his name.

I hadn't seen him for about four maybe five years, the last time behind around the Natural History Museum when I was going out with Jax, crikey, now I think about it, that was our trip through London with me on my way to brother Nick's wedding, 10th August 2002, so aye, five years and three days since I last saw him.

He was out with all his friends, many of whom I'd been introduced to years ago we were at uni, and most remebered me. All thoroughly decent chaps, we just resumed our conversations from last time, and drank heavily under the dark London sky.

I could get used to London.

A load of us ended up back at flatmate Nick's flat, sampling his liquor collection before falling asleep in his living room.

All these years whenever I've been to London and had to sleep on benches in Victoria Station, and Nick lives just round the corner. If only I were better at staying in touch.

Olive oil t-shirt ninja

A photie of me has been featured on a flickr group. Its kind of like fame at last.

You're like Manchester

They said it couldn't be done, but here's the Deep Fried Wolfknuckles doing their rockabilly version of John Shuttleworth's You'reLike Manchester, You've got Strangeways. Recorded at the 13th Note in Glasgow by Natalie Price

Glasgox

Check it out, I'm in one of thse hipster cafes in Glasgow using wi-fi to surf the world wide internet.

Spent most of the day in the 13th Note admiring their new carpet, mmmh, springy, and drinking coffee. Gig tonight, last show in town, maybe, we practised last night and we're on fine form.

Yesterday I was driving for most of the day, so no photies. I set myself a new record for fuel efficiency, did 606 mileson a full tank, getting an average of 70 miles per gallon. The last few miles were mostly on vapours, I dunno if that counts, the service station had run out of petrol so I had to drive about in the wilds round Lymme to find the next nearest fuel dump. Beautiful wee village that Lymme, they had like a canal and stuff. I think I might look it up on Google maps.

Blazing hot sunshine all the way through, seems like I brought it with me.

Found out that Darren Hayman is playing tomorrow night, I could have sworn it was later in the month, but it'll be cool to see him, and actually listen rather than rant at folk nearby.

David Brent

My car was being serviced so I wander for a few hours round Brent. The bushes are heavy with raspberries. Some predatorial bird stood in my path hacking away at a mouse caught for lunch.

There's a big expanse of water here, the edges are covered with a thick green scum, I shall name it Scum Loch.

Shags dive, pigeons saw, fish rise, leaping briefly out of the water. It smells rotten, Someone has left coconuts.

I hunger.

Time passes and I arrive at the other side of Scum Loch, armed with a carton of cranberry juice and a packet of sour gobstoppers.

Wildlife is all around me, I think I'm being stalked by water rats or otters, duck type birds squawk unseen, scum bubbles methane, in the distance my car is serviced.

A small clearing off the man path, conker trees stand tall overhead, ancient matresses lie rotting in the undergrowth and I'm thinking about doing rude things to girls.

How many generations of kids have played here on their bikes?

Some trees appear broken, not just branches, but whole trunks torn assunder. Do giants walk in these regions?

Parkland populated by seagulls, dog walkers and litter picker uppers. I feel like I'm in Doctor Who's England.

Wembley's arch looming on the horizon, a burnt out motorbike in the trees, a small pair of knickers too close to the water's edge.

Why does my car take so long? Isn't it just an oil check and a brake check?

McDonalds for dinner, the Wembley arch still looming sinisterly behind some trees. The Big BBQ burger is nothing special, I wish I hadn't bothered.

Gilmouresque

From Facebook - "cue people not replying to this and me just getting the train off alone in a gilmouresque fashion"

Slander I tells you, there was no alone about my leaving, everyone was there, I wrote about it here and here, I just didn't speak to many people, I'm a quiet kind of guy.

The author of the quote's just a dick.

Back to work

Today I did my laundry ad booked my car in for its service. I think I met another flatmate too.

Felt about 17% guilty for not phoning parents or frere yesterday and about 65% guilt for not replying to text message, the greater guilt tempered by lack of phone credit.

Finished reading a book, Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke. A sci-fi epic, with really big things, simple story which seemed to be more about conveying concepts than story telling or characters. In a similar vein but less flashy than his more recent work with Stephen Baxter.

Going to a gig this evening, read about it here.

Ooh, I'm sure we flung this guy out of the Plimptons about four years ago

mini-post #01

Its not only me pursuing the indiepop genocide, Cat and Girl too, I would be cat.

The Lido

Some kind of biker gathering at the cafe I'd ear-marked to be my new Sunday 13th Note Sunday Telegraph and cappucino place.

Displays of people doing wheelies on their bikes, short but buxom models who look like Lucy Porter being photographed next to bikes, and people burning rubber.

For 2 London Comedy points, I think I saw the chap who played Tyres in Spaced. Shorter hair mind.

Back in Regents Park. It ain't the Note. Am I missing Get Off My Pavement this weekend?

The nonogram was a bit difficult and the weather was as I have come to expect. I headed along to Camden via the canal, its nice. Had one of those wee chinese meal things, sweet and sour chicken, hard to tell where the batter ended and the chicken began.

Received word from Fiona and a location. I only know of Hampstead Heath through gay political scandals, but it was rather nice. Some outdoor swimming pool called The Lido, young people in swimming costumes, warm water and Fiona + boyf.

It'd been three or four years since I last saw her and she was in fie form. We talked shop, we talked London, people and property prices. I went for a swim in my trusty Dog Town shorts (last swam in in Stockholm '05). We wandered through the heath and had diner in a 'gastro-pub'.

They even walked me to an underground station to get home.

Ah, friends in London, crisis of loneliness averted.

Also, plans changed so I'll be heading to Glasgow on Wednesday, to see people, and return to London on Saturday in time to catch a friend for drinks.

Melancholia has struck me, I hope it passes.

The feeling of loneliness and loss and regret of that which I've pushed away.

Should I keep pushing?

These two photies

are only a few metres apart, but two years and so much heartache that I can't forget, even now it reaches back at me.

What could I have done differently?

Should be seeing some friends tomorrow.

First invokation of Venn

Check it out, I'm on the underground, in London, heading to Camden, listening to my iPod. God bless random, so far I've had Bis, Blur, Architecture in Helsink and Astrid, the last two of whom are playing shows in London next week.

Still blazing hot sunshine here and I'm struggling to figure how, when and where to eat. Yesterday I'd left a dark chocolate Toblerone in my car all day, when I got round to eating it, it was pretty much liquid, even with a spoon, it went everywhere.

Time passes, in some sleepy pub in Camden, in honour of Robbie, a pint of ale, dunno if its any good, but maybe he'll be proud.

I feel I'm only half here. Usually in Camden I'm with friends, Robbie, Jax, Aditi, Paul, Nick.

Awaiting contact from friends, but right now I'm bored and going over comments on LNFGIES.

Bearing in mind the Gresham Flyers non-review makes up about 1% of the reviews on the site, but seems to have generated a lot of interest, especially from Rachel's Facebook page, thank god I can't see what it says.

Idles reckons its complicated, lets invoke Venn

This beer ain't so good.

Heading to Regents Park now, maybe Primrose Hill. Was it 2005?

There's some festival thing in Regents, it appears to be sold out, some fruit juice based village fete style thing. Do I review it from the outside or wander home.

Louis Theroux bonus points? Probably just the one.

I wish I had friends here to drink wine with, this is the time and the summer, rather than all those cute tourist people passing by. I feel sunburn coming on.

I am Canal People

The sun shines brightly here, truly this is the crotch of the gods.

In the morning I was in Hyde Park, surrounded by fountains, to my right was a long lake, the way its shaped like a snake, I shall call it Loch Snakeish.

I was going to get my car serviced today, but that can wait, for today is a day for doing the work of ants, gazing at cute tourists's legs.

Just saw Shaun of the Dead's mum, Coul be two London Comedy bonus points. Simon Pegg and Ricky Gervais are worth four points, but supporting characters only half that. I was going to text Jax about it but wasn't sure how to spell Sean.

Time passes, the sun is still blistering, blobs of tar bubble through the pavement. I'm in The Elgin in Ladbrooke Grove with a cool pint of Carlsberg, wondering if the old Rough Trade shop has closed down and will they have directions to the new shop.

Loneliness strikes me despite text messages rom Nat, she's so far away. There's that invisible force stopping me from texting any of my Londonish friends. I'll feel more comfortable getting them on Facebook first.

Shed 7 on the pub stereo, if I could each back to 1995...

Walked home for two hours down the Grand Union Canal, collecting raspberrys on the way. I am canal people.

London begins

Bit of controversy over on the gig review website as my subversion of the Gresham Flyers into my Bowlie-sphere gets a bit out of hand with comment and Idles dragging herself into it. I'm hoping if I stop adding to the coments, people will realise its just fluff.

Well-wishing messages from girls in Glasgow elsewhere online.

I've half-inched mum's laptop and figured out how to use it on the internet wirelesly. Gotta go meet dad for dinner soon. Really need a wee but don't want to break my new flat loo virgity with other people in hearing distance