Any Colour You Like

No posts from me for a while. Why could this be? I could have been working really hard and not had time for anything else? I could have been doing really boring things like visiting old friends of the family? I could also have been trudging around Malmö hunting high and low for christmas presents?

Well actually I have been doing all of those things, but I also met the most amazing girl a few days ago and have been waiting a while to tell you all. She is beautiful, radient, exciting, inteligent and I am massively distracted from all of the stuff I am supposed to be doing…

So I hope you all have as great a Christmas as I am excitedly/tentatively anticipating!

Love,
Neil. x

Went to the IB cabaret yesterday and was happy to see that the traditions of generations past have been carefully maintained. But to be completely honest, they have also come a long way with the constant pressure to be ‘better than last year’. These days the whole production is a lot more slick, multimedia rich and with a lot less padding. I have no doubt it is still very improvised but somehow everything seemed higher in quality. The ‘talent’ performances were all from people with genuinely massive talent as opposed to people with a pressing need for a spot in the limelight. And they film the whole thing with stereo sound and multiple camera angles these days. But the IB2 play stole the show.

Sure, the jokes were the same… The sketches were still stolen from Monty Python, Rowan Atkinson (Head Teacher just like Dave) and LoTR (the whole ‘drums in the deep, we cannot get out, they are coming’ and ‘you shall not pass’ moria scenes). There was also the traditional breakdance faceoff between the students and teachers. But the punch-lines were delivered with more conviction and the shrewed teacher caricatures were worth more laughs more of the time than I have seen before. Even the twist at the end was excellent – clever yet simple enough not to be lost on anyone. Makes you want to go back to being small again!

Who would have thought. An earthquake in Malmö Sweden? But it was definitely noticeable. Not quite enough to shake things on tables but certainly enough to wake anyone up and to make the walls creek somewhat alarmingly. Four point eight on the richter scale and interestingly enough I always thought that earthquakes we random shaking movements; this was a very clean sine-wave with quite a high frequency…

It is great being back home for Christmas although the snow has gone and the pile of work seems insurmountable. Have not been out for an espresso yet but that is an important job for this afternoon; hope some of you come back soon so I can have lunch at cosmo.

This is my five month old pseudo-nephew:

Nikolai

An absolutely amazing concert. And bands are always so much better live when they are back home…

In 90% of cases I would say that any tour called a ‘greatest hits tour’ is bound to be a bit of a let down, but in this case it was what saved a concert that would otherwise have been dominated by songs from their meager latest album ‘Pull the Pin’. To be fair it was always going to be impossible to top 2005’s Language Sex Violence Other and Seterophonics have managed to get consistently better at song writing over their twelve years of existence until this recent album. There was always going to have to be a down turn.

OK, so their live sound is squeakily similar to their recorded sound but you still can’t argue with the brilliance of Kelly Jones’ husky voice melded with a gritty Fender Jaguar/British valve amp chugging guitar line. And it is so much better with floor vibrating volume and fancy lights and pyrotechnics. And he is still the coolest guy in the world…

Actually, Slash from Guns ‘n’ Roses is the coolest guy in the world but unfortunately it is not 1987 anymore and you can’t really go and see them. Next band I really need to see live: U2. Where have they disappeared to at the moment?

Despite starving myself for a day in order to be able to manage a second three course dinner in as many days I could still barely cope by the time it got to dessert. But the ballroom dancing society chirstmas dinner and winter ball was wonderful all the same; and clearly shows that young people can have alcohol-fueled fun whilst remaining civil (if not always sensible). Why do people not organise these things anymore?

But now I am sad because I have just written my to-do list for the christmas holidays and I actually have to scroll down in my calendar application to see all of the entries =(

I think it is so funny that brussel sprouts cause such controversy. I mean british traditional christmas dinner is pretty weird what with strange inventions like the yorkshire pudding and stuffing and things, but the only part that really bothers people are the brussel sprouts.

We had our kitesurfing society christmas meal yesterday at a great pub called the Lansdown at the top of Clifton Hill; our own private room, christmas crackers, banter and fun and it was great like usual. Tim, as per tradition guessed the answer to every cracker joke we read to him. But about two thirds of the people down my end of the table specifically chose non-traditional main meals just to avoid the sprouts. One guy even went as far as choosing something he was not even sure he would like, just to be sure there would be no sprout infestation on his plate!

I was so full after my starter, nutloaf and apple crumble that I couldn’t eat breakfast this morning which is pretty unusual for me. Anyway, I believe I need to continue fasting because the next one is wednesday and there will be one more soon after that. By the time I go home I will be quite ready for a change and some nice ‘sil i senapsås’!

PKS Christmas Meal at the Lansdown