The Nag Wins

I've seen the inside of a few pubs. (The Shark Dentists didn't get where they are today without seeing the inside of a few pubs.) In the end, they all become much a of a muchness.

But last night I think I found the perfect pub. It's the Nag's Head, in Reading, which bills itself as a 365-days-a-year beer festival. With its wide range of eccentric ales, it's certainly that. But it's so much more.

It's beautifully done out. It's clean. It plays great classic pop and rock music at a volume that makes conversation a possibility rather than an ordeal. It serves great food. The bar staff are genuinely friendly and funny. And the regulars are softly spoken and polite.

The only down side is there is no live music to breach the peace— so no chance for the Sharks to put it on their gig list.  Maybe it's time to unplug...

Oz The Great And Powerful

I've been away. Now I'm back. From the land where beer does flow and men chunder...

I've been dodging kangaroos and snakes, climbing mountains, hiking rainforests, exploring caves and swimming in the Southern Ocean... all part of just one working week.

There was a time when I thought Australia was the last place on earth I wanted to visit. Now, having been there twice, I've totally fallen in love with it. Put very simply, here's why...

Good News, Very Bad News

Well, the laptop is back... thanks to help from the Apple Doctor in London and Mac Ambulance in Brighton.

But its revival coincided with the demise of the car. The starter motor has had it, and now it's a £900, 10-hour job, apparently, to replace it. Meanwhile, I have no idea when it will be useable or how I am going to get to Shark Dentists gigs this weekend.

What do you call a drummer without a car? Unemployed is the traditional answer.

A Tablet For Emergencies

I've been using an amazing tablet device. It has multiple wafer-thin "screens" stacked one on top of the other. You can write onto these with a hand-held device which gives you the possibility of producing both words and images with boundless flexibility.

And when you've finished your file, you can strip it off and hand it to anyone, and they can read it anywhere, anytime.

I experimented with this "notepad and pen", as it is known, when my laptop went into a coma and had to be taken for surgery. It was a remarkable process and the writing went well. But when the laptop comes back, I fear I will have to revert to old Apple Mac technology if I want to file the article.

Another Olympic Triumph

More great news about the Olympics, via the BBC:


"Residents at an estate in east London have received a leaflet saying soldiers could be placed there during the Games. The Ministry of Defence says it is evaluating sites for surface-to-air missiles for the Olympic Games, and could place them at residential flats. It says part of an air-defence system might be based at a water tower on the estate, where 700 people live."


This really does reassure you that the Olympics is a worthwhile event and that it is being managed sensitively and sensibly for the benefit of us all.


See also 'Go Figure'.

In Memory Of Syd

I know I had a good time last night because I have the bruises to prove it. All down my right leg. That's where I was banging the tambourine to help "conduct" a music workshop performance by the Homeless Oratorio.

These great people and musicians get together regularly at Crisis in east London, and I was lucky enough to be there as part of a course I'm doing in leading music workshops.

This particular workshop is led by the remarkable Clare Kenny, bass player to Sinead O'Connor, and (in her days with Hank Wangford) aka Cherry Red Footwear. Also helping out on percussion was local resident Dave Rowntree, drummer with Blur.

The piece for the night — rather surreally — was Pink Floyd's Astronomy Domine, which the 14-strong group performed with tremendous energy.

In just over a week, they will be on stage at the Royal Albert Hall with Brit Floyd (leading Floyd soundalikes) in a performance that has largely been brought about by the late Syd Barrett's sister's involvement in charity work. It looks like being an amazing night...

Go Figure

The Olympic Games.. There are arguments for and there are arguments against. The most eloquent argument against has been produced by the combined forces of the Mayor of London, National Rail, the Department for Transport, the Highways Agency and Transport for London.

It conveys in an instant — and visually — the argument against staging the Olympics in London. It is this brilliant map showing the impact of overloading an already overburdened public transport system.

The tube stations with orange rings around them will be "busier than usual" and the ones with red rings around them will be "exceptionally busy". I think the idea of this extremely helpful display is to show you which stations to avoid as you make your way around the tube network.

So just take a look at the map above... and everything should become clear....