Sunday, 27 December 2009

Family Mahjong

All going well till we noticed Jane had 19 tiles. Game finished with Martin getting four doubles for kong of Wind of the Round, own season and flower, "ready" when he was East Wind. Jammy or what.

Wednesday, 23 December 2009

Windows Live Madness

Computerdeath, new laptop with Windows 7, Windows Live madness linking Facebook, LastFM, Twitter and Blogspot. One false move…

Bunfight

 

TFB1

Thursday, 3 December 2009

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

Friday, 23 October 2009

Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Uzbekistan 2009


Post-Russian concrete looking on arrival but surprisingly green, and metropolitan.
Samarkand -
Edinburgh equivalent, manageable size, vistas, extraordinary mediaeval architecture.
Qulqishloq -
10,000 population, but where on Google Earth is it? Turn left off the Tashkent highway.
Bukhara -
The most exotic, an oasis city of sand and sandstone.
The countryside -
From the train a dusty, scrubby plateau with vague buildings on the horizon. Looked shabbier than it really is due to the dust, in the Spring would resemble Lincolnshire.
An Emirate in all but name -
5000 "political" prisoners, secret police, torture, massacres (Andijan), Soviet-oldstyle micro-management of movement. However, all despots die eventually and most of the new-build is attractive. YouTube will cure all.
A young population -
Literate, smart youngsters with hardly a headscarf.

Sunday, 20 September 2009

Samarkand tomorrow

Unlikely to get on for e mail or this blogspot, but possibly able to Twitter and say uncontroversial complimentary things for my new Uzbek followers.

Friday, 18 September 2009

From Tashkent

Cannot send pics from my phone alas only comments.Tashkent interesting so far, here till Sunday then on to Samarkand.

Friday, 14 August 2009

Blotch


blotch, originally uploaded by amoffoot.

Gig 29










13/8/09
The Ark, Edinburgh
Setlist: A Physical Husband, Pictures Of Biggles, It's Abnormal, Agenda For Change, Mouse In Love,(We Were) Always On Our Own, Watching Waters Rise, Freiburg (CH) '98, Dungeness, Selling The Party
Sound : Great, courtesy of Ralph, who also started the films - thanks!
Reception : Really warm, many vociferous compliments, and the CDs all vanished. Who got a badge??

Thursday, 16 July 2009

Friday, 10 July 2009

Gig 28

9/7/09
The Ark, Edinburgh
Setlist: A Physical Husband, Pictures Of Biggles, Freiburg (CH) '98, It's Abnormal, From Our Own Correspondent, Agenda For Change, (We Were) Always On Our Own, Watching Waters Rise, Selling The Party, Dungeness
Sound: Ropey on stage but fine on video recording
Reception: Very warm, very many compliments from a surprised audience on a humid July evening.

Sunday, 5 July 2009

Kraftwerk in Manchester 2

Tour de France, plus surprise guests..Team GB medal-winning cyclists

Monday, 15 June 2009

Wednesday, 20 May 2009

Gig 27

20/05/09
Henry's Cellar Bar, Edinburgh
Setlist: A Physical Husband, Tamagotchi Girl, It's Abnormal, Agenda For Change, Cindy Does It Better, (We Were) Always On Our Own, Watching Waters Rise, Freiburg (CH) '98, Selling The Party.
Sound: Leonora. Thoughful, spot on, thanks Leonora!
Films shown tonight.
Reception: Sparse crowd at first, but the numbers swelled and the atmosphere warmed up considerably.

Saturday, 16 May 2009

Gig 26










15/05/09
The Ark, Edinburgh
Setlist: A Physical Husband, Dungeness, It's Abnormal, Agenda For Change, Cindy Does It Better, (We Were) Always On Our Own, Watching Waters Rise, Selling The Party.
Sound: Ralph. Exceptionally good - thanks Ralph!
Reception: Good. Large Friday night crowd, applauded by strangers.

Tuesday, 28 April 2009

Visit to the Tram Mock-up

Pretty much as expected, two bored looking women who answered any question with the most hackneyed, insincere vapidities, later joined by a crypto-fascist nasty piece of work, who betrayed worrying ignorance with a very unattractive gloating attitude. Dear me.

Tuesday, 21 April 2009

First Waltz

Duddingston, Edinburgh 11th April 2009
Martin Peden and Karen Kuc

Tuesday, 14 April 2009

Reply from Lazarowicz

Thankyou for your email. We now have a website for the campaign, which is below. I have also copied as an attachment the petition form so you can print copies of.We also have a group on Facebook.I am sorry to read that you didn't get a response from your local councillors. I can tell you that I would certainly find it unacceptable if there were to be cuts in bus services of the extent you suggest; that is certainly not what I have been promised.I will take this up with the City Council.
Mark Lazarowicz MP
http://bringbackourbuses.blogspot.com

Wednesday, 8 April 2009

Letter to Lazarowicz

I have written to Mark Lazarowicz, local MP thus:
I read your article in the Leith Gazette concerning the 13 bus, and I would like to add my support to your campaign, but I cannot find where to sign a petition. Could you send me the link? I doubt you will be able to get the 13 running on a route which crosses the tramline, e.g. along Albert Place.
Also, do you realise that the TIE have planned to stop the 22, 25 and 10 bus routes? The 22 and 25 I can understand as the tramline covers much of the same ground, but not the 10.
I discussed this at the show and tell evening at St Mary's Cathedral, and was laughed at, I was told that if there are not many passengers on the tram they will stop the 11 and 16 at St Andrew's Square and make it a tram "Interchange" to force people on the tram to get down Leith Walk.
I think this is a public scandal; many, many people here in Leith feel very let down that this has been allowed to go ahead in such a way. The Scottish Parliament was meant to be "for the people" but the amount of secrecy and trickery concerning the tram -line is disgraceful and you should all feel ashamed of yourselves for wasting public money this way. Not one of the four councillors here have had the decency to get back to me when I have contacted them with my concerns.
You all seem to be singing from the same hymnsheet, and I will not vote for any of you.

Friday, 27 March 2009

More Tram Nonsense

Balfour St. is to be closed - again. This time to sort a manhole..did they not notice it last time? All the locals were sent a flyer detailing the diversions, unfortunately with the wrong map diagram attached. Corrected next day, with further flyers. Typically inefficient, badly managed and expensive.
N.B. new Facebook group - Edinburgh against trams.

Thursday, 26 March 2009

Gig 25

26/3/09
The Ark, Edinburgh
Setlist: A Physical Husband, Dungeness, It's Abnormal, Agenda For Change, Mouse In Love, (We Were) Always On Our Own*, Pictures Of Biggles, Watching Waters Rise, Golden Girl
Sound: Ralph. Exceptionally good, what a difference the right number of DI boxes makes.
Reception : Good
* Surprise on-stage guest Joanna Kendall who duetted with aplomb, to great acclaim.

Tuesday, 24 February 2009

Les Bathysphères Oubliées

Les Bathysphères Oubliées performed 23rd February 2009, Traverse Bar, Edinburgh, by
The Red Note Ensemble:
Violin - Elita Bungard
Clarinet - Alan Bacchetti
Trombone - Emily White
Vibraphone - Iain Sandilands
Conductor - John Harris

Monday, 2 February 2009

Live Clip - Freiburg '09

A lively re-working of an old favourite, from the first gig of 2009

Gig 24

1/2/09
The Ark, Edinburgh
Setlist: A Physical Husband, Dungeness, It's Abnormal, Agenda For Change, Mouse In Love, (We Were) Always On Our Own, Crusader Castles, Watching Waters Rise, Freiburg (CH) '98 5
Sound: Leonora Reception : Good
One comment by a dancing man - "You're too clever"
Streamed : Check out this ustream Video:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1115203
We are on second.

Thursday, 8 January 2009

Leith Traders

Keep up to date with the tram line damage at
http://leith.org.uk/

Radio Russia

More airplay and enthusiastic comments, from Radio Russia:
Программу продолжает молодая шотландская группа Dancing Mice с песней "It’s Abnormal".8. Dancing Mice "It’s Abnormal".Судя по всему, компания ретрофутуристов из Эдинбурга, поющая о радиокомпозиторах и девушках-тамагочи, просто в восторге от своих винтажных клавиш, олдскульных драммашин и видавших виды гитар. Во всяком случае, звучат "Танцующие мыши" гипермодно и суперактуально для времени ривайвэла "новой волны".9. Dancing Mice "Cindy Does It Better".
which according to Google Translator means:
The program continues a young Scottish team Dancing Mice with the song "It's Abnormal". 8. Dancing Mice "It’s Abnormal". Apparently, the company retrofuturistov from Edinburgh, and sings about radiokompozitorah girl tamagochi simply delighted by their vintazhnyh key oldskulnyh drammashin and type types of guitars. In any case, there "Dancing mouse gipermodno and superaktualno rivayvela time for" new wave ".

See for yourself: www.radiorus.ru/news.html?rid=1678&date=04-01-2009&id=301288