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It was D&D as usual on Monday evening and then in Tuesday I headed up to The Horn after work, I was going to see Alien Chicks, who are suddenly playing everywhere, and Joe came and chatted as I was sat waiting for doors to open, which was really lovely. Support came from youngsters The Nervous, who started fairly gentle but then got a bit more up tempo, and Bollo Bollo, who were danceable and interesting, with rap and rave touches. Alien Chicks were great: it was a slightly different experience to seeing them in a packed Windmill but they were well received and nice to have more space to dance.
I worked from home on Wednesday, mostly so I could go out and get my seasonal vaccinations at lunchtime, then in the evening went down to Dalston where N & I were due to meet people for Round 1 of the Curve Garden’s pumpkin trail, where every cranny of the space is filled with dozens of carved pumpkins, from the crude to the intricate: every single one containing a lit tea light. T had come but baby S was not in a happy way so she made a swift exit and we ended up going in (before the queue got too outrageous) with Chris P, then sat and had a drink before Chris swapped out for L as we stayed in the garden for a bit before decamping for another drink at the pub next door.
Thursday was Halloween itself: I made it back to the office from my usual drop-in for a little work Halloween quiz which was nice, as it drew in a couple of people who don’t usually come to the socials as much and didn’t got too late. From there I headed over to The Engine Rooms in Bow for a Halloween gig: first that I saw were Overlord, whose name made them sound like they should be metal but were gawky and jangly, then came the bluesy Ella Morgan, who I’d seen before and still impressed with her incredible voice. The gig was billed as a co-headliner between Candide, a spunky trio, two of whom shared the rough vocals, often in tandem, and then Sweet Unrest, who performed in glorious chaos but ran short of time after all the other acts, as well as the lead singer’s girlfriend being given a slot to read her poetry.
I WFH again on Friday, in a desperate attempt to make progress on all the ‘Summer’ tasks that were still hanging over me, before the shelters started. We were due for a second round of the Curve Garden pumpkins with a different crowd but various transport difficulties intervened so N & I ended up travelling over to Camden and met up with E for a couple of drinks at the Edinboro Castle there.
On Saturday I got the train down to Southampton and first met up with Lee & Lee for lunch, joined by Lee’s son T, who had just started at Solent Uni and moved all the way from Totton to stay in halls there. It was good to catch up on Lee in the real world (which, despite speaking to him on a weekly basis for D&D, never usually happen) and we went for a drink in what was once Goblets. I entertained myself in Southampton for the rest of the afternoon, roaming up to St Denys and Portswood, back to St Mary’s and into town, before meeting J at The Joiners. The first support were mostly done when we got there but we saw all of Sahaji, I weirdly anachronistic, swaggering Japanese Gallagher-brothers knock-off. We were there for The Skinner Brothers, who I’d not seen for a little while and was intrigued to know how they would be live now, given so many recent songs had guest rappers and they have adopted new, mask-wearing personas. It was a slightly older crowd than I was used to last time, the vocals seemed a little muffled but the energy was all still there. J seemed to have enjoyed it and we got the bus back to his and hang out a little before crashing out.
I had my usual morning chat with C before getting the train down to Brockenhurst (I was earlier than planned so had a wander round the village) where Mum & Dad picked me up and we drove to a pub in the forest (The Bold Forester) for a very pleasant Sunday Lunch followed by a little stroll at Deerleap. They dropped me off in Totton from where I got the train back up to London: once home I, somewhat ridiculously, almost immediately joined Family Zoomtime, but we had needed to discuss Xmas plans with Adam, who was just back from a half-term holiday to Rhodes.
I worked from home on Wednesday, mostly so I could go out and get my seasonal vaccinations at lunchtime, then in the evening went down to Dalston where N & I were due to meet people for Round 1 of the Curve Garden’s pumpkin trail, where every cranny of the space is filled with dozens of carved pumpkins, from the crude to the intricate: every single one containing a lit tea light. T had come but baby S was not in a happy way so she made a swift exit and we ended up going in (before the queue got too outrageous) with Chris P, then sat and had a drink before Chris swapped out for L as we stayed in the garden for a bit before decamping for another drink at the pub next door.
Thursday was Halloween itself: I made it back to the office from my usual drop-in for a little work Halloween quiz which was nice, as it drew in a couple of people who don’t usually come to the socials as much and didn’t got too late. From there I headed over to The Engine Rooms in Bow for a Halloween gig: first that I saw were Overlord, whose name made them sound like they should be metal but were gawky and jangly, then came the bluesy Ella Morgan, who I’d seen before and still impressed with her incredible voice. The gig was billed as a co-headliner between Candide, a spunky trio, two of whom shared the rough vocals, often in tandem, and then Sweet Unrest, who performed in glorious chaos but ran short of time after all the other acts, as well as the lead singer’s girlfriend being given a slot to read her poetry.
I WFH again on Friday, in a desperate attempt to make progress on all the ‘Summer’ tasks that were still hanging over me, before the shelters started. We were due for a second round of the Curve Garden pumpkins with a different crowd but various transport difficulties intervened so N & I ended up travelling over to Camden and met up with E for a couple of drinks at the Edinboro Castle there.
On Saturday I got the train down to Southampton and first met up with Lee & Lee for lunch, joined by Lee’s son T, who had just started at Solent Uni and moved all the way from Totton to stay in halls there. It was good to catch up on Lee in the real world (which, despite speaking to him on a weekly basis for D&D, never usually happen) and we went for a drink in what was once Goblets. I entertained myself in Southampton for the rest of the afternoon, roaming up to St Denys and Portswood, back to St Mary’s and into town, before meeting J at The Joiners. The first support were mostly done when we got there but we saw all of Sahaji, I weirdly anachronistic, swaggering Japanese Gallagher-brothers knock-off. We were there for The Skinner Brothers, who I’d not seen for a little while and was intrigued to know how they would be live now, given so many recent songs had guest rappers and they have adopted new, mask-wearing personas. It was a slightly older crowd than I was used to last time, the vocals seemed a little muffled but the energy was all still there. J seemed to have enjoyed it and we got the bus back to his and hang out a little before crashing out.
I had my usual morning chat with C before getting the train down to Brockenhurst (I was earlier than planned so had a wander round the village) where Mum & Dad picked me up and we drove to a pub in the forest (The Bold Forester) for a very pleasant Sunday Lunch followed by a little stroll at Deerleap. They dropped me off in Totton from where I got the train back up to London: once home I, somewhat ridiculously, almost immediately joined Family Zoomtime, but we had needed to discuss Xmas plans with Adam, who was just back from a half-term holiday to Rhodes.
