Tuesday, 14 May 2013

May we dance?


May we dance?

Welcome to May! The first week in May was the busiest week ever at work! I had to dash from meeting to meeting, with barely time to grab my salad for lunch. I did have some really good LEAN based project meetings with work though – so that was good!

On the evening of the 2nd was the long awaited team night out with work… it was really frustrating as it was one of those things that everyone in the teams (H&S, Performance and Quality) moaned that no one organised – so I did – and then no one turned up! Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration… it ended up being me, Nate and my colleagues Stephen and Andy. It was a good night – but a few ales combined with an empty stomach meant I took a bit of a painful spill on the way home.



I’m going to do a bit of a fortnight round up for you… so hold on to your hats! The Bank Holiday weekend was totally fab. The Friday afternoon, I finished work early – so had a wander around town to grab some bits and pieces in the sun. Went through the new Station (pics below - looks great) and got to see the giant Monty Pythonesque hands they use to direct people... made me giggle!We decided to have a quiet one, as the rest of it was going to be bit nuts! 





In the morning of the Saturday – we decided we would get ALL of the chores done. We got to Market, the Supermarket, cleaned the flat and got several loads of washing done. The Star Wars Party on the Saturday turned into an Ace event. Squeeky and Gitzy did a fabulous job of decorating the place and people turned up in all sorts of costumes. We had everything from Tuskan Raiders to Jawa’s to Luke Skywalker. With the films on and an expressly picked Star Wars related soundtrack in the background, there was laughs, cocktails and conversation until late in the evening.

On the Sunday – we blessedly woke up clear headed and ready to take on the day. We made a snap decision to head to Stoke-on-Trent to enjoy the weather and get out of the house. It ended up being a gorgeous day, and we did the 3.5 mile River Avon walk as well as a good look at the classic cars and the market stalls that had popped up on the day. After a full weekend, we were totally shattered – but managed to have another full day on the Monday. We walked down to Soho House for a celebration of James Watt. As well as Steam engines and attractions – we finally got a chance to go around Matthew Boulton House (which was well worth the £4 admission fee!). In the evening, we went for some cocktails with the aforementioned Squeeky to celebrate her birthday. Had a lovely time... but had a bit of a sore head in the morning...








On the Tuesday evening, I met up with Cate and Jo for a coffee and a natter. This quickly dissolved into wine and chats at the Lord Clifton (in it's glorious beer garden - excellent for soaking up the remaining summer sun) with Alex, Vicky, Tira, Jo, Cate (and briefly) Ollie. It was a classy evening (as the picture below shows!)


 Had a lovely chilled out Wednesday evening with Emma and Jon... it's all about Jobs with my lot at the moment! Job Stress, Job interviews and new Jobs.. Good luck to them all! ^_^. On Thursday - it was all about the excitement.. Met up with Jo at New Street Station at 2:00pm to get the train to Landaaaan. After checking into our Travelodge room (best overheard complaint ever, "No, no... it's a lovely room. It's just there is someone else -in- it!"), we headed for Camden. After a quick wander round the markets, some delicious pie (venison and red wine - yum) and a few pints - it was time to head to the Roundhouse for The Knife!


 The venue was absolutely stunning, but unfortunately - woefully inadequate to deal with an audience of people ranging from 5 foot - 6'9. The gig started with an exceptionally bizarre warm up act...


 A young gent in a wig doing aerobics to electronica? This was apparently to "warm up the crowd" but he got an exceptionally lukewarm reception from most. As he was positioned by the side of the stage, hardly any of the standing audience could see him either. What were you thinking Knife?

The gig itself was terribly frustrating for Jo. As one of the aforementioned short types, she couldn't see anything at all throughout the show. I ended up lifting her up for some of it (to give her a glimpse of the action), but both her and my physiology betrayed us in the end and she had to make do with just hearing. C'mon Gig venues?! Higher stages or a gradient in the floor makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Me and Dan caught about 70% of the show (thank god for big shoes). As it was largely a performance piece with only some of it being played live - it was all in the watching. I definitely enjoyed the experience, although the show wasn't as good as the first time I saw them in 2006. The limited view plus bad vocal mixing meant that no one really got the best experience.

After a scary lost/found phone attack, we headed back to our Travelodge for a bit of a nights sleep. An early morning ensued and before I had a chance to properly wake up, we were headed to South Kensington. Me and Dan bound for the Science Museum and Jo bound for the Natural History. I have a few photos here for you...






 By far, my favourite exhibit was the Google Lab. See the sequence of photos below where you can see a robot (having taken a photo), come up with a sketch drawing of my face and then DRAW IT IN SAND!!





 Welcome to the future! Also really enjoyed the space exhibit, the medical history section and the small (but informative) Alchemy and history of Electronics sections!

By the time we got back to Birmingham (after just 4 hours in the Science Museum and a 2.5 hour train journey), we had to head straight to the pub for a colleagues leaving do. Just a couple of pints were consumed before we headed back home for some chips and an early night.

Saturday - very exciting indeed - we went to see a potential site for our Wedding festival next year. Osgard 2014. I am very pleased to report (well, you can see why as below), that the Wedding is Now Booked! We're sleeping in the Hobbit House (as pictured). How good is that?!






 Technically - the next photo is a cheat as it was taken in the Science Museum... but adequately sums up our Saturday night as we went to see the new Star Trek Movie. Loved it! Laughed, was on the edge of my seat and may (*may*) have had a little cry.


 On Sunday, we had a lie in. We followed this up with a visit to the pub to see Clare and then had a very pleasant afternoon being visited. Caroline and Jo popped over first - followed by Emelie in the evening. It's Tuesday today - and I'm still knackered... thought I would do this (as I had a *few* photos for you 0_o) and then we're getting ready to receive many guests. We also have some serious Eurovision Party planning to do and try to get some rest in before the weekend starts again...

Best get on!









Wednesday, 1 May 2013

A month in the life…


So I’ve been really lax again. Ever since the last bank holiday, I’ve barely been at home – let alone in the office (where I normally write the blog). Rather than doing a day-by-day account (which would take me a day!), I’ll give you a “top of the pops” style most interesting activities over the month of April…The best place to start would be the set list for our DJ set on 5th April… well…the whole of the evening I suppose…



Friday 5th April – WIP and Flux Vortex
So Friday was a manic rush. After a mad time at work (after loads of leave in March), I dashed home, pampered myself (in a cold shallow bath as there wasn’t any hot water!) and then it was time to run out again to meet everyone for the fabulous Wrapped in Plastic at the Flapper and Firkin in Birmingham. At least, that was the plan. What Actually happened was – got there, caught up with lots of friends we hadn’t seen in an age, had a couple of beers and then had to run to Eddies to Deejay (after some very manic phone calls from our friend TK along the lines of “You ARE coming, aren’t you?!”). The set went down amazingly. We normally DJ Dystopia, which is a more alternatively twinged evening (covering all genres along the darker lines), but Flux is more about dance, electro and trance music. We also did our first ever back-to-back set (meaning my track, Dan’s track etc.) which meant we could both take breaks for drinks and the loo. If you’re interested – set list below:-

FLUX VORTEX 05/04/2013
Vitalic - Under Your Sun
The Young Punx - Ready For The Fight (Phonat's Punkstep remix)
The Presets - My People
Hard Disc Cunt - Swan (Original Mix)
Dyro - Daftastic (Original Mix)
Cyberpunkers - Fuck The System (Designer Drugs Remix)
La Roux - In For The Kill (Le Castle Vania Remix)
Dada Life - Happy Violence
Teki Latex - Les Matins De Paris
Designer Drugs - Face Melter
Knife Party - Destroy Them With Fucken Lazers (OMG & Shockwave Bootleg Remix)
Make The Girl Dance - Kill Me (The Toxic Avenger Remix)
Vitalic - La Mort Sur Le Dancefloor
Power Francers vs Cyberpunkers - Pompo Nelle Cabale (12 Inch Plastic Toys Edit)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs vs A-Trak - Heads Will Roll (Electric Soulside ft Odissi Mix)
IAMX - Spit It Out (Designer Drugs Remix) (Radio Edit)
The Bloody Beetroots - Warp 1.9 (feat. Steve Aoki)
The Toxic Avengers - Superheroes (Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix)
Designer Drugs - The Terror
Felguk - Bassive (Original Mix)
Black Tiger Sex Machine - Midnight Violence (Original Mix)
Belzebass - Du Auch
Tommy Vore - Kontrast
Dem Slackers - Schlingel (Original Mix)
12 Inch Plastic Toys - Toys (Gain On Top Remix)
Haezer - Anarchy! (F.O.O.L. Remix)
Defeat - Dance
Yesterday's Pupil - You'll Poly Die (Haezer Remix)
Designer Drugs - Crazy For You (feat. Annie)

Saturday 6th April – Never Bored with a good Board game
Woke up feeling very tired, but not hung-over! WIN! This set us up for our early Saturday morning market pilgrimage before heading round to the aforementioned Squeeky and Gitzy (WIP’s) flat for some thoroughly good geeky board game fun. We played a game called “Arkham Horror,” based on the works of Lovecraft. Although the first game only lasted about an hour and a half (we were all eaten by the hideous hell beast), we persevered and the second game lasted around 8 hours (with pizza and booze breaks, obviously). My first “non-hasbro” style board game (that is to say, my first almost role playing game with lots of cards, tokens, character related plot etc). We managed to banish “Hastor” back to Hell though, so it was all good!



7th April – A Star is knackered!
On 7th April me, Dan, my colleague Jo and her family and our lovely friend Tira became film stars. We were extra’s in an upcoming Sci-Fi British movie called Kaleidoscope Man. We turned up to Victoria Square at 6pm and ran around until we could run no more (literally in Dan’s case as he was laid up for a week after doing his knee in). We ran through the square and down closed off streets from imaginary aliens whilst screaming our heads off. It was great fun, but my goodness, did we sleep well afterwards! If you’re interested in reading about the project or becoming a “backer” – head to here for details http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kaleidoscopeman/kaleidoscope-man-phase-2-funding




9th – 11th April – Learning is for Life, not just for Children
 So on the 9th, I embarked on the second leg of the LEAN course I started in March. This involved having 2 nights away in Leamington Spa. The hotel was once again lovely and the course was great. Apart from one utter pillock (who tried to belittle me at every opportunity), the people were totally fabulous and a great group to work with. On the first night me, my colleague Stephen and our new friends Julia and Sunita (from our Scottish contracts) went for food at a cute Thai restaurant in town. After the first courses, all of our faces ached from laughing so much! Sometimes I may despair at my job, but my colleagues are fantastic (from all areas of the business). The second night, Stephen (now my partner in crime) had arranged to meet an old friend based in Leamington for the evening, so I struck out with the girls and we went to a lovely little Italian restaurant. A couple of Birra Morretti’s were consumed and a great night was had by us all. By the time I was on the train home, I was totally shattered. Physical exhaustion is one thing – but mental exhaustion is harder to get over!



12th April – Parent Trap!
On the 12th, Dan’s parents came to stay for the night. The sub-title I chose for this is a bit wrong really, as I always look forward to a visit from either set of parents. On this particular eve, we had a very enjoyable evening. We started by meeting them at their hotel and taking a walk down to town for a pre-meal drink. As lovers of good buildings, we took them to “The Old Joint Stock” in the heart of town. It’s a lovely old pub which has a theatrical quality and a good selection of barrel ales. For the meal, we went to “Bodega” in town. I love this little restaurant as it does a damn fine burrito served up with killer cocktails – all for a very reasonable price! A great dinner was consumed and after a brief post meal conversation, a large amount of booze was purchased to have back at our little flat. We called it a night (after a rousing game of monopoly) at around 1am – by which time we were all falling asleep.



13th April – Social Butterdrunks
Despite the late-ish, heavy night on the Friday, we got up Saturday morning to hit the market once again. We took Dan’s parents with us – who ended up being very impressed with the prices, variety and atmosphere of Birmingham Markets. We went for a late breakfast/early lunch at “Lost and Found,” (very good, as always) before seeing them off and sorting some bits out in town. After we had sorted some stuff out, I just wanted to sleep – but didn’t get a chance as we had to do some chores before getting ready to meet my old Uni friend Steve “shakashaka” Shakeshaft at the “Island Bar” in town. It was a very pleasant evening, as Kayte, Tyrone and a couple of other people I hadn’t seen for a while popped up – so it was a good chance for a chinwag and to see how everyone was getting on. We had to leave the festivities at a reasonable hour though, as we had promised Clare to meet her at “The Rose Villa” in the JQ. It’s at this point I realise that we definitely had a “Bitters and Twisted” bars weekend – as all of the places except the Joint Stock are owned by them. Eep! I should be sponsored for this or something… anyway, I digress. We met Clare and her friend who was down from London for the night. We had a lovely chat and a couple of beers before they had to dash off to catch their train. A bit of a saving grace in the end, as we had, had a very boozy weekend indeed!



14th/15th April - Bits and Birthdays
On the Sunday of the weekend (that was all stuffed into a Friday and Saturday), I did a mini “LEAN” workshop for Jon. It was partially to show him what it was all about and partially for my revision as I had an exam to do at the end of the course. Despite Dan thinking he wouldn’t be interested – I managed to bring them both into it and we did some “hardcore” process mapping and 5’sing! On the Monday (after a very tiring day at work), we went to see our friend Hannah. It was her birthday over the bank holiday (Resistanz) weekend, so we took over a belated present and had (another) beer. It was a strange one, as we thought we would only stay an hour, but only managed to get to bed after 11pm!



16th April – Beer swilling Brewdogs!
One of the birthday presents Dan had gotten me was a “Beer Tasting” with Brewdog. It was a bit of a rush, as we had to be there by 6:30. It meant (after another difficult day at work), dashing home and getting changed in record time before bombing it down to the Brewdog (on John Bright Street in the City Centre). It was really interesting and as well as sampling a few delicious (and strong) ales, we had a lovely meat and cheese platter – yum! We ended on a rather tasty little 10% beer called Cocoa Psyco – a very dark and heavy coffee and chocolate beer. Delicious!



20th – 21st April - May the 4th be planned!
It’s that time again for an epic house party at WIP’s place…so this calls for some serious planning! Out came the checklists and the laptops whilst Playlists and plans were crafted ready for a big Star Wars themed celebrations. I’m going to leave that as that for now… but there will be a post party update – so you can see how the scheming went! On the Sunday, me and Dan had a trip out to the cinema to catch the new Evil Dead film. It was gorey as all hell, but highly entertaining. Unfortunately, it made me feel a bit ill and consequently I wasn’t as hungry as I should have been seeing as we were checking out the “Fleet Street Kitchen” on Summer Row. We had a lovely glass of wine, burger and Knickerbocker Glory in a lovely, light, well-presented restaurant with great company (in the shape of our friend Caroline).



22nd April – Drop the Forge
This evening was a nice surprise… after not feeling very well (which went on into Thursday) I managed to get my ass out of the house to meet the lovely ladies, Jo and Cate following a job interview at the Big Peg in the JQ. We went to the Drop Forge in the JQ. A really gorgeous bar/restaurant with a giant skylight and loads of the original beams and steel work as features. We ended up having a surprise guest in the form of Mike (and later Millie) who provided some great company and entertainment for the evening. Another night planned to be early and ending up, not so. We did blag an invitation though… see below.



25th April – A Gala Palaver
So…the invitation was to the opening of the new “findings” exhibition based in Colmore Busienss District and the Jewellery Quarter. After another mad dash home from work and back into town to head to 45 Church Street. After a brief look at the photographs (before the rain started), we headed in to be greeted with a String Quartett, canapés on silver platters and trays of wine and apple martini’s. To say I felt out of place would be an understatement, but it was a great event filled with interesting people and (hopefully) some new friends! After the event had finished (about 8pmish), we went to the “Rectory” (where we were joined by Emma, Jack and some other JQNF’ers) for a more sedate pint and a chance to really talk to people. A fab night – but my goodness, was I hungry when I got home!




26th April – A Mouse in the house!
So our friend Mouse turned up in Birmingham on Friday. We headed to Squeeky and Gitzy’s flat for 7ish for some more crafting and a bit of a kickback and chill. I was more or less recovered from my cold (although very tired) but Dan seemed to be coming down with something. Luckily, the original plan to head out was abandoned in favour of doing some much needed pre-party tasks (making decorations) and catching up with an old friend. After a good amount of crafting, we had a couple of drinks and watched some cartoons before calling it a night in preparation for Saturday.



27th – 28th Hell hath no fury like a woman loved
So Saturday was the day of another friend’s party and a tour of the Newman brothers coffin works. This meant doing the normal daytime chores in the morning, with a mad dash to the disused factory for 12:30. The tour was excellent - our gothic tour guide was the best! After the tour we went back into town to meet up at the “Lost and Found” again for a couple of afternoon beers. A plot to get to Moseley was hatched (cramming 9 idiots in fancy dress into cabs) before heading home and getting outfitted up for the evening’s festivities. We met round Jon’s humble abode at 7ish before grabbing a cab just after 8pm (much to the amusement of the cabbies). We had a variety of outfits donned for our friends Hell themed party (as they had been together 6 years, 6 months and 6 days). Another great evening was had… it was a fairly chilled affair with an attempt at a drinking game – but in reality there were too many of us to make it work. It was a shame, as it seemed like a really well thought out game with dares, changing rules and a journey through Dante’s circles… Sunday was another chilled affair. Me and Dan went to the Midlands Art Centre to have a mooch around the food fair before going for a walk around the park. We managed to fit in the rest of our chores before crashing out in the evening (as Dan was beginning to feel really drained and unwell).





30th April – Giant Scream!

The last update for April… we went to see Ironman last night. We splashed out on tickets to the Giant Screen and really enjoyed the new Ironman film. We laughed pretty much all the way through and just enjoyed the experience of being with our friends, consuming a piece of modern cinema that was to all of our tastes. An early night was more-or-less achieved… which meant we both feel slightly dead today (although Dan is still recovering).
So that was April. I’ve skimmed over loads of other things we have done in the month, but quite frankly – there was too much to put in! I’ve kept it to some of the more significant events and still managed 4 pages in size 10 font (I’m writing this out on word).



I hope I haven’t bored you too much. I’ve included a smattering of photos to best illustrate the month… but in reality I have taken over 100! Even though I have been really bad with updating – I have been keeping notes on the activities I have been up to. Again, I’ll try to be better… but I can’t  make any promises. Well done if you have gotten this far! ;)