Tree ‘23

 

Windowbox

With Wintergreen for the birds.

Luscious Schlumbergera

Very happy at the foot of the stairs.

Robyn Doris Peden

New grand-niece born yesterday 15th November 2023.

Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Got her a cairngorm brooch from Cavanagh’s in Cockburn Street. Smoky agate in silver.

Gig 56

Home Bar, Edinburgh, 14th November 2023

Excruciating, horrifyingly bad sound, shambles

That’s all there is to say.

Edit 16th November.

Well, perhaps not that bad, but the worst sound since the Cowgate days, unstable bursts of extremely loud guitar drowning the drums out so of course the guitarists sped up. I tried to sort it by stopping/restarting in the hope they would keep in time but no; in the end Selling The Party was done without drums. Have to be very sure in the future the onstage sound is OK, we are now used to excellent sounddesk personnel. The first set was pretty good though. The impossiblities started after Take The Picture.

Anyway, we got applause and smiles. The tagline was Old ones, New ones, Loved ones, Forgotten ones. The Red Shadow sounded fresh and snappy, Tamagothchi with the Tabucci drums is much better, Backroom Boys is always good, The Viper’s Bite was atmospheric as hoped ;BW greatly helped with transport and setting up.

Setlist:

Pictures Of Biggles, Cool, Tamagotchi Girl, The’68, The Red Shadow, Crusader Castles, Flowers, Red Star.

Bread And Stone, Backroom Boys, Exit Plan, Standing In For Love, Take The Picture, The Viper’s Bite, It’s Abnormal, Mostly Wasted, Mouse In Love, Selling The Party

Aussie Pink Floyd

Usher Hall tonight, suggested by Dale Garbutt. Very good indeed, no expense spared, spot-on replication of every note and sound; like listening to the (very loud) records. Witty kangaroo touches.

Accompanied by DG, IC and BW, who provided the transport and a very professional lamb curry for tea.

Silent Night

Electric blanket kaput after 33 years. New one from Argos today. Turned and rotated the mattress. What a job. Don’t think I’ll consider doing that again, for another 33 years.

64– Cyclamen

Very nice gift indeed.

13 Years and Counting

Thirteen years since my Bankart shoulder repair, seems fine still.

Blue Moon

55°57'58.7"N,  -3°10'45.5"W  @22:43 Hrs

DEVO at 50

Devo performing at the O2 Academy at Chesser. Probably final time I’ll see them, they were in very good form, played all the good ones. They have been doing this for 50 years so should be good.

With FM and BW, who gave us a lift back.

Kolkwitzia Gap 2

Filled with Vitex “Pink Pinnacle”, pink Snowberry, Potentilla, and in the tub a Spiraea Shirobana.

Gig 55

Rose Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe venue 76 14/8/23. Arranged through The Soundhouse. Very nice venue, Cabaret bar section. Sound by Craig: firm but fair. Rocky gig in a good way. Everything went smoothly, even the Jazz version of Standing In For Love.

Setlist: Pictures Of Biggles, Cool, Bread And Stone, Standing In For Love, Exit Plan, Flowers, Death Makes You Feel Like A Man, Watching Waters Rise, Mostly Wasted, It’s Abnormal, Mouse In Love, Red Star, Selling The Party.

Warmly received, the barman 19? 20? y.o. spontaneously volunteered that we were a cross between Talking Heads and King Crimson. How did he know?

Two Streptocarpi

Grown from the same plant. Doing well.

Kolkwitzia Gap

Got Kolkwitzia taken out last week, too big, too shady, not enough reliable flowers. Big gap, today put in Agastache “Peachie keen”, Pink japanese anemone, Veronica, Astilbe and a golden-leaf Leycesteria.

Still room; going for Verbena bonariensis, Potentilla, Persicaria and ? Angelica, Heliotrope and Nicotiana next spring, ? Mignonette.

 

Jury Duty

Called for jury duty for the third time since retirement six years ago. Again, not picked but still had the annoyance of phoning in nervously.

Oppenheimer

Latest blockbuster. Two stars. Some very clunky script, some very ham acting, and not that interesting a story to be honest. Too complicated a story for a film, and even at three hours it tried to cram too much in. Also, the score was intrusive: it was relied upon to make the narrative flow better, hardly a moment without some doomy music. Could have done with better scriptwriters they could have confidence in. So, missed many of the marks.

OMNI centre with BW.

Grayson Perry

Smash Hits exhibition at the RSA. Really great, no-one need bother producing any artworks for the next two generations, they will pale by comparison.

Bowie Film

Revamped Ziggy Stardust film last night at the Cameo. Really enjoyed it, Width Of A Circle great. However, couldn’t stop thinking about Spinal Tap, especially when they brought Jeff Beck on. What strange times in retrospect. Good fun though. Treated by R O’C thanks very much.

Gig 54

Home Bar, Edinburgh 27/6/23

New venue to us, very successful, we are welcome back and we would be happy to do so.

Two sets:

Pictures Of Biggles, Cool, Bread And Stone, The ‘68, Standing In For Love, (We Were) Always On Our Own, Where  Is Jackson Lamb, Flowers.

A Physical Husband, Take the Picture, Love In Splendoured Air, Mostly Wasted, Mouse In Love, Selling The Party, Red Star.

Sound by Niamh, an unqualified music student, and she did a very good job. Roddy either too loud on stage or too quiet out in front using the Home amp, so went DI with the rest of us and it was just like a big version of the studio.

First use of flashing teeth during my solo on Take The Picture.

Martagon Success

Despite squirrels and foxes.

Vox Pop

Tram extension to Newhaven opened today, got on the first tram. Much as expected. Coffee and sandwich at BW, then at the terminus got interviewed by BBC.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yTV8oyNEn2mHb49A6

Abbotsford Jaunt

Went yesterday on the Borders train to Tweedbank for the first time, then to Abbotsford, with GM. Really lush countryside, a super day, and worth repeating at some point. Abbotsford is what it is; quite interesting, the cafe supplied a really good black pudding/eggs/honey bacon on muffins.

GM had left his rucksack on the morning train, but it was still on the train when we returned in the afternoon. Arrived Platform 10, noticibly strange forgotten air to it.

New Venue

Replacement for Henry’s Cellar bar perhaps, time will tell.

Oslo 11th- 15th May

First plane trip since Covid, Oslo with the Friends of the RSA. Hopefully won’t catch anything, time will tell.

First afternoon dull and drear, made Oslo look bleaker than it is, but next day warm sunshine till home.

Exceptionally expensive, a very wealthy country building great roads and tunnels everywhere putting everyone else to shame. Diesel £3 per litre.

Munch Museum, National Museum of Art, Kistesfos, Ekergerg Garden, Tønsberg, Henie Onstad Arts Centre (Chagall Exhibition) Vigeland Museum and Park.

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjADSym

Cameo– Crimson

Interesting evening , went with GJG and IJD to check out a possible gig venue – “Home” on Home St. Looks like a good Henry’s substitute so pencilling in a Tuesday in June.

Then went to the Cameo for the first time in ?50 years to see the King Crimson documentary. Quite interesting, and  made me glad to be in Dancing Mice.

Fripp a raging personality disorder all round,  hate filled but creative and original guitarist. Then I thought the reason he has to practise 4 hrs/day is that he has no natural talent, it’s all forced.

The Cameo foyer brought back vague memories, the shabbiness being the main thing, and of course smaller than my mental map.

Gig 53

Traverse Bar, Edinburgh 17/3/23.

Launch gig for Book Of Two Factors, arranged through The Soundhouse . Really good in every respect, special luck in that Leonora ex Henry’s appeared for the sounddesk, and what a good job she made of it. Described as “the best sound ever at a gig”

Two sets:

Pictures Of Biggles, Cool, Bread And Stone, The ‘68, Standing In For Love, (We Were) Always On Our Own, Where  Is Jackson Lamb, Flowers.

I duffed Always, the film didn’t run.

A Physical Husband, Take the Picture, Love In Splendoured Air, Mostly Wasted, Mouse In Love, Selling The Party, Red Star. 

100 + audience, everyone liked everything ; and we got rid of dozens of CDs yippee. All the new ones worked really well, Mostly Wasted a triumph.

Amaryllis ‘23

Smart red and lime one this year, well placed in front window upstairs.

Mortlake 9 a.m.

 

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Performed tonight by The Musical Box, the very good Genesis tribute band, at the Usher Hall. I saw Genesis do this on 23rd April 1975. They had originally been going to play in November 1974 but Steve Hackett cut his hand on a wineglass and they had had to postpone.

Very good replication of the show; from my patchy memories I recalled the same slides, lights and actions as the original. I believe the slides are the originals, and the spinning “Lamia” cone and “Slipperman” entrance tube and costume were right.

In ‘75 Genesis did The Musical Box and The Knife as encores and I remember feeling great on the walk home, the best I’d ever felt I reckoned. Remarkable.

Tonight the encores were The Musical Box and Watcher Of the Skies, again, note and action perfect.

Felt quite good on the way home, something about the Law of Diminishing Returns at play. Still, really enjoyed it. With DG and BW, both big Genesis fans, and BW drove, thanks.

Hellebore

Nice white hellebore seems pretty well established, it has taken a few years but worth it.

M3GAN

Saw this tonight, really lived up to the hype, not a dull scene or line from beginning to end, spot –on acting, perfectly paced yarn, funny, and just the right amount of thrills and gore for me. 10/10.

Went with BW, Vue Omni.