Wednesday 8 September 2004

Week 81, Day 529

As it's yet another month since my last update, I'm going to break this up into small segments again. I do have pictures to accompany these but I can't do it on this computer (because I'm hopeless like that) so I'll have to put them up later. I recently bought a digital camera so I've got picks on there to put up as well, but that's going to have to wait. To top it off, I also bought an iPod, so I'm busy transferring all my CDs on to it - well as many as possible before we leave for Oz! Ok, here's what I've been doing anyway.

RIPON
During the week that I was off work waiting for Alex to finish work as well the UK experienced some flash flooding. We had organised to go camping in Ripon on the weekend of the 13th but weren't sure due to all the floods. Instead, we geared ourselves up, went to the site and checked it out. Luckily, the day was sunny and there was not a drop of rain in sight. So we camped. Lyndon, Tony, Steve, Alex and I set up and waited for the others to arrive. We were right next to the River Ure which was quite nice. Nina (Lyndon's girlfriend), her mate Gemma, Nina & Lyndon's old flatmate Neil and his mate arrived later in the evening. The highlights of the evening were: *Witnessing Tony accidently hit a small bird while throwing stones and watch it fly off through a cloud of its feathers. *Lyndon and Tony's combined efforts in starting a fire with damp wood. Contrary to popular belief, you CAN start a fire with wet wood. It just takes a VERY long time to get it (and keep it) going. *Frisbee throwing with Steve, Tony and Alex. *Burning the skin off my finger on the disposable BBQ that I was using to cook dinner. *The sheep that woke me up in the wee hours of the morning with its baaing. I think it was lost.

AMSTERDAM
To be honest I didn't do much in Amsterdam. It's the first time I've been and I loved it. Alex and I spent most of the time walking around the city aimlessly and laughing at all the dodgy and silly items around the shops. The Dutch are completely crazy, but that's why I like it there. Everything is so relaxed, I loved walking by the canals, and trams rock. Even the red-light district is pretty in its own way (a lot nicer than anywhere in Kings Cross!). I fell in love with Dutch waffles and was over the moon to find so many nice patisseries there. Even tried out the local delicacy - croquettes with mustard in a bread bun.

The first night Alex and I were picked up by my friend Liesbeth and her boyfriend, Rogier and stayed the night at their apartment in the Hague. We stayed up chatting and watching movies, and Rogier and Alex bonded over technical-internet-computery stuff. A big thanks to the two of them for their hospitality. For those that don't know Liesbeth, we met over the Internet via the band Kent (whose music we both love) just before she visited Sydney. When we met up there we ended up hanging out a lot together and have kept in touch since. It's always nice to catch up with an old friend.

The next day Alex and I ventured into Amsterdam to meet up with Tony and his friend, Ben. We ended up staying at the same hotel as the boys as it was quite decent and very close to everything. That evening we all wondered around Amsterdam... something we ended up doing a lot of.

Saturday we went to a Dutch dance music festival called Mysteryland. Didn't quite know what to expect but it ended up being a great day. The rain kept coming and going so the place was rather muddy. The layout of the venue was bizarre. It was held in a park in Haarlem that is made up of islands so you could only get to some of the stages by bridges. I was very confused by the map we were given to help navigate our way round - it's the most bizarre map I've ever seen, but we ended up finding our way (eventually). Highlights of the day had to be Adam Freeland who pleased the crowd (and passers by who then joined in for a dance) by mixing in Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', and The Audio Bullys who Alex and I went to see headlining their stage.

The next few days Alex and I chilled out. Tony and Ben left on the Monday, but we didn't leave until Wednesday. We did aim to go to some touristy places like Anne Frank's house, but as it was peak holiday season, the lines to get in were atrocious.

LEEDS CARLING FESTIVAL
After only one day back in Leeds after Amsterdam, Alex and I packed our camping gear and headed off to the Leeds Carling Festival for another five days. A lot more experienced from all the camping we've been doing lately, we were a lot better prepared. It rained the night we got there and on the Sunday but the rest of the weekend saw great weather.

Friday we eased into the band watching. Futureheads were fun. Sean Lock (comedian) was funny. Radio 4 rocked! 50 Cent was horrible. Green Day were as I expected. Their set was comprised of getting the crowd to sing a lot, selecting three people from the crowd to replace them as a band for a short song (how cool is that?!) and lots of energy. It brought back many teenage memories, like being wedgied out of the first mosh pit I had ever been in (Green Day, Hordern Pavillion, 1994).

Saturday was the best day of the festival. The sun was shining and it seemed that every band we saw just got better and better. The first band to play the mainstage that day were Goldie Lookin' Chain (Welsh funny-guys and bad rappers). We'd heard they were great live and as their songs made us chuckle a bit we checked them out. There was a massive crowd there for the first band of the day. And they got the crowd in the right mood. They were hilarious and more surprising was how much tighter they were than 50 Cent the night before. Over to see the Boom Boom Satellites - a Japanese band that incorporate rock drums and guitar with electronic/dance music. I really think there should be more bands like them and hope that it's the next sound to be 'in'. It got me boogeying! We also caught a bit of Pretty Girls Make Graves before strolling over to see the mightly Jurassic 5. Alex had told me how amazing they were when he first saw them. And they didn't disappoint at all. I think the majority of the crowd were watching Jurassic 5 at that time of the day. They really won the crowd over, and me too. They had everyone's hands in the air for most of their set. And they spiced it up by varying the live performance like when the two DJs came out, one with a drum machine hanging around his neck, the other with a set of decks hanging around his, and did their thang. It was brilliant! Managed to fit in !!! (yes, that is their name) and a little of Soulwax before twiddling our thumbs waiting for 2 Many DJs. As we had heard they're not that great live, we had intended to see a little of them and then go over to see The Darkness headline the main stage. We never got there. 2 Many DJs had the crowd so hyped up it was amazing. It seemed that they could do nothing wrong that evening. People crowded the stage and crammed into the tent. It was fantastic. They also managed to mix in some White Stripes, some Beyonce and a lot more I can't remember. When they had to stop at 11pm, the crowd cheered for them for what seemed like hours (but it was about 15minutes!). They came back briefly before the electricity was turned off as they weren't allowed to play anymore. No fair! Still, it was the highlight of the evening.

Sunday was a bit of a comdown day after the Saturday fun. Catching yet another Japanese band, the 5,6,7,8's were also a lot of fun. We spent a long time waiting at the cash machine for it to work. I waited in line for an hour and then when I got there, the satellite connection lost, so it wasn't until about 3pm that we got away from there. We caught the very ugly but charasmatic Har Mar Superstar, the chilled out tunes of Stereolab, and the rock anthems of MC5. We managed to hear a little of Morrissey before making our way down to the front for the White Stripes. Unfortunately we were standing to a bunch of very immature and under-the-influence teenages, one of which thought it would be funny to throw a bottle of their friend's piss into the crowd but managed to spill some on us while doing so. We were NOT impressed. The White Stripes were as brilliant as I thought they would be. Jack White is a great performer, and I've decided I want to be a rock chick like Meg. It was just the crowd that disappointed me a little that night. Still, it was a great performance.

THE WEDDING
This last weekend Alex and I drove down to Cambridge, and then across to Surrey for Alex's cousin, Andrew's wedding. I knew to expect a very religious ceremony which it was to a disturbing degree. But they sure know how to have a good time. The reception was held back at the bride Natalie's parents' house. There was a marquee in the back yard, with a set-up for a band, some tables and a bar area. They had some port-a-loos but the flashiest ones I've ever seen! Seriously, they flushed, there was running water for washing your hands, carpet on the floor, and lots of tissues and toilet paper. We managed to sit on a table with Alex's other cousins Sarah and Catherine. Sarah's fiance Greg, his sister Julie and his parents were also there. It was a really lovely evening, the food was nice, the company funny and the speeches actually entertained everyone. Natalie's parents got up to sing for her (she's from a very musical family) - they sang 'Mrs. Robinson' and a folk song that had lyrics about having lots and lots of kids. Andrew's speech was also impressive. He ended the speech with thanking the bridesmaids as is tradition, but using the very modern line, 'You is looking well fit'. We hung around long enough to hear the band's funky tunes (they were just made up of Natalie's musical friends). The lead singer was hilarious. He has this deep, almost-Nick-Cave-like voice and was singing ABBA songs! I managed to get a clip of it on my digital camera so I hope to put it up soon.

MOVING... AGAIN
So now I'm typing this while Alex is hoovering/vacuuming his room after packing most of his things away. His dad is picking us up tomorrow and we'll be loading everything onto the van to move down to Cambridge.

There's only 9 days to go. Spending this weekend in London, so very much looking forward to that. Am hoping to contact everyone before I leave and will let those in Oz/NZ know my where-abouts very soon.

x
Vanessa