Fatty Lipid Boy

Huh. And you all thought I was making up my fatso disease for sympathy. 'Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease' was the diagnosis - an odd name for a disease, or maybe it doesn't yet have a name but the obesity stakes mean it probably will have one in the not too distant future. Then I came across this article on the BBC News website and imaging my joy - it's not just me after all!

There's 'good' fat as well as 'bad' fat and, as anyone who read my blog over the summer will know, the proper word for internal fat is lipid. My blood tests showed problems with my liver and pancreas (the doctors seem to have forgotten about my pancreas so I'm keeping quiet) and that all came down to bad lipids. Bad lipids, naughty lipids, lipids suck.

The article talks about fat surrounding key organs but, in my case, I'm rather more special and select since the organs absorb the fat, that then affects their functioning and, longer-term can lead to all sorts of internal scarring and failure, leading to cirrhosis and bye-bye-end-of-blog. According to my consultant this doesn't happen very often so I'm a rare creature indeed... although I'd much rather be bog standard ordinary in that respect. Without wishing ill on anyone, it's nice to know I'm not the only one. And in the latest letter from The Liver Doc he called me a "pleasant gentleman" - ha! got him fooled then!

And please, medical profession, please come up with a better name for it than 'fatty liver disease'. I'm embarrassed to have something called that.

Justin Bond & The Freudian Slippers

Had a very enjoyable evening at The Reindeer seeing Justin Bond & The Freudian Slippers which is Justin's solo show when he's not playing Kiki in Kiki & Herb. This is the third time I've seen his solo show and he was, again, excellent. The choice of songs, the chat between (and during) songs and his personality just gel to make for a most enjoyable event.

First of all, up to the Retro with Chris to meet Dawn and then off to wander round Aldgate East and Brick Lane to find the Old Truman's Brewery that houses The Reindeer to be joined by Toby. Then into the auditorium to be seated at a table and find that Boy George and his chums then come in to sit at the next table. I don't think I would've noticed it was him if not for the smudged eye make-up that made me look twice.

Then on came Justin in a sparkly, sequinned tunic, along with pianist, cellist and flautist, and he launches into the set. It's difficult to describe what he does, sort of jazz cabaret in sound with sexual politics up-front. Whatever it is, it works for me. He sang some Bambi Lake songs (including the magnificant 'Golden Age Of Hustlers') and a variety of songs by a wide range of people (I loved his take on 'Lady Grinning Soul'), talked about his relationship with a female to male transgender boyfriend and his cat, and generally told stories about the more riske parts of his life.

He did an excellent version of Kate Bush's 'King Of The Mountain' that finished up with some lines from Buffy Sainte-Marie's 'Not The Loving Kind' that I failed to recognise (to my everlasting shame) but then he name-checked Buffy by saying something like 'Wouldn't it be interesting to have Buffy Sainte-Marie in the same room as Kate Bush...'. I gawped at that point. He finished with a song from 'Shortbus', or at least I assume it's from 'Shortbus', me being one of the few people I know who hasn't yet seen it.

After the show Justin made the rounds of the tables in the bar to chat and be nice to the punters and, once he'd finished kissing Dawn, I asked about Buffy and that's when he said he'd sung a couple of lines from 'Not The Loving Kind'. I (naturally) showed him the photo of Buffy and me from last year that is my wallpaper on my phone (unfortunately I was wearing the same shirt as in the photo). He said he'd seen Melanie in concert last year. I then asked when he was recording a CD of the show material and he said he might do one next year. I think he should. The material works so well with his voice and presence. I'd buy a copy.

I've just Googled for a photo to add to this blog and what turns up as the fifth photo? A certain Dawn Right Nasty hugging Mr Bond... so here it is.

Maximo Park at The Astoria

The Maximos are playing The Astoria on 21 February. Tickets went on sale on Thursday and, needless to say, sold out instantly. But look on eBay and there are currently 30 sets of tickets for sale. The face value of the tickets is £17.50 and the highest price on eBay is £40 plus £5 postage (a pair is on offer for £80 plus £4.50 postage). The lowest is £30 plus £4.99 postage.

That is plainly just a rip off by greedy people out to make a fast buck on the basis that people want to see Maximo Park. I'd pay that amount if that was the ticket price but I'm not prepared to simply line someone's pocket. I'll keep an eye on eBay over the next month or so and see what happens to asking prices.

The new album is out in the New Year so they'll be playing new songs live for the first time. Viva Le Park!

X-Ray Spex- The Day The World Turned Day-Glo

We all need some Poly in our lives...

Come On Feel The Illinoise

I just *had* to blog about my new favourite record when it has a title like that.

'Come On Feel The Illinoise' by Sufjan Stevens is a lovely record. I'm not quite sure how to describe it and I don't think I can do it justice - singer-song-writery but with punch? nu-electric-folk? aural sketches with attitude? I don't know, but I like what I hear.

I discovered him through his Christmas boxset, 'Songs For Christmas,' that's being promoted on iTunes (it's much cheaper to buy the set than to download it). Some of those songs are just fab. Favourites are 'Get Behind Me, Santa!', 'Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!', 'Come On! Let's Boogey To The Elf Dance!' and 'That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!'. I like his strategic use of exclamation marks. The set also comes with a sing-along booklet, stickers and goodness knows what else. The album can be streamed from the Asthmatic Kitty website.

I need to hear more of his music.

I also like that his brother is called Marzuki and his sister is Djohariah - I approve of the names.

The Dresden Dolls - Sing (Alternate Version)

An alternative video for the delightful Dresden Doll's single, 'Sing'. Watch it and weep with joy.

A Little Bit Thrilled

I am a little bit thrilled. My review of 'Merry Xmas Everybody' has been published on iTunes. Cooo! Of course, the first thing I spotted was a spelling mistake from over-excited fingers, but I forgive myself.

Holbein in England - Tate Britain

Spent an enjoyable hour or so wandering round the Holbein in England exhibition at the Tate Britain this afternoon. A mix of oils, chalks and pen and ink, mainly portraits but with some sketches for decorative items and some books, a nice selection representing his years in London. Of course, working at the court of Henry VIII gave him an interesting clientelle, at least some of whom we're all familiar with and clothes and costumes that we recognise.

The thing that struck me was how I was responding to his portraits, and that was on a personal level - did he or she look like a nice person? would I have a good chat with them if we met? would I like them as people? I don't normally respond like that to portraits but his are so lifelike that the character starts seeping through, 450 years vanishes and the sitter is in the same space as me.

My favourite portrait is Mary Wooton, Lady Guildford. That face says it all to me. I'd be happy to sit with her in her drawing room having a good old chat over tea and cakes (I'm sure there'd be cakes) or maybe meet her out shopping and she'd tell all the latest news about her kids. I suspect she'd enjoy a tipple now and again, maybe a sherry or a snowball, and be quite fun after a couple of drinks, and that's when she'd tell tales about her husband.

I also like this portrait of Simon George, of whom nothing much seems to be known except that this appears to be a portrait celebrating his betrothal. I like him. I like his hat. I like his shirt. He's dressed in his Sunday best because that's what you do when a famous painter starts sketching you and then paints you. His hair is carefully cut and combed and his beard is well trimmed. He looks like a nice man. I hope he kept his wife happy and had lots of kids.

I also like Sir Thomas Wyatt. O yes, a man after my own heart. He looks a bit of a boozer to me and I bet he could tell a good story in his cups. I like the way his hat is tilted and Holbein adds a few whisps of hair that suggest a receding hairline - is Thomas hiding something? Of course, Thomas Wyatt is a great poet and got caught up in court intrigues. I had a lovely slim volume of his poetry when I was at college and I liked his poems. I've got no idea where that book is now but it would be nice to sit with him over a glass of wine and have him tell me about some of the conquests he wrote about in verse.

Go and see this exhibition if you can - it's on until January so there's not much time but make it a Christmas treat for yourself.

Merry Xmas Everybody - SLADE

'The Greatest Christmas Single Of All Time' says the blurb on the front of the single and it is, indeed, a great Christmas single!

I first bought this in 1973 the week it was released and I've done the same thing in 2006. Wonder if it'll get to No 1 again? It might seem like it's re-released every year but it isn't really.

It's been re-mastered as part of the current cycle of re-mastering and re-releasing all SLADE's music and it sounds fresh and clean again. It's backed with 'Cum On Feel The Noize' and there's another limited version with a green cover with extra Christmas songs but, I think, this is only available from Asda as part of it's current TV campaign (or, at least, that's the word on the SLADE wires).

You've heard this song hundreds of times every Christmas since 1973 but it sounds so much better blasting out of your own speakers. Go on, you know you want to ... buy it and play it loud!


If I'm very lucky, mine will be the first review of the single on iTunes...

Late November Bag

I've been somewhat remiss in updating this blog with my various doings over the last week or so. Let's see what's in the bottom of my plastic bag today...

Little Shop of Horrors

Chris took me to see 'Little Shop of Horrors' at the Menier Chocolate Factory last week. I've seen the film, which is not one of my favourites, so it was with some trepidation that I wandered into the Factory looking for the big vat of chocolate to jump into (and still not finding it). The show was still in preview so it was a bit amusing to see the stage-hands having to push some of the scenery back into place when it didn't move automatically, but the actors were throwing themselves into it like there was no tomorrow, lots of energy spilling off the stage.

One of my favourite scenes was Sheridan Smith singing 'Somewhere That's Green' and seeing the tears run down her cheeks while banging was going on backstage with the scenery, tears in keeping with the song, not the banging. I was pleasantly surprised to realise who she is - I associate her with 'Two Pints Of Lager' - and how good her voice is. I also loved the ever expanding plant! I enjoyed it so much on a first viewing that tickets have already been bought for January. See it if you can.

Beverley Knight

Went to see Beverley Knight again this week at the Hammersmith Apollo. An evening of great songs and great showmanship, Beverley certainly knows how to work an audience. She included a short accoustic/unplugged set in the middle of the show which worked really well. Highlights for me were 'Gold', 'Piece of my Heart' (which works so much better live than on record) and 'Come As You Are'. She prowled the stage as ever and that made taking photos a challenge since she was never still, but taking photos at concerts is my new hobby, so here's a couple of Beverley ...

Despite Beverley being on top form and a very professional show there was something missing, that little bit of sparkle that I can't put my finger on. Maybe the new album will jump-start her again and help her decide what her show is about and where she sits in the music spectrum - possibly it's a bit too bitty at the moment, partly promoting 'Voice' and her hits and partly trying to hit all musical bases? The new songs sounded good so let's wait and see.


'Stranger Than Fiction' & Emma Thompson

Chris took me to see 'Stranger Than Fiction' again (we saw it in October at the London Film Festival), this time without subtitles, at the Tricycle Cinema up in Kilburn. I thoroughly enjoyed it, very touching and funny by turns, hitting all the right notes. Even though I knew what was going to happen it was still fresh and capitvating. I want to see it again in a less crowded cinema (I'm detecting a trend here - after the first viewing it was 'see it again without subtitles' and now it's 'less crowded', but it warrants several viewings).

The big draw was that after the film Emma Thompson was scheduled to do a Q&A. She came across as a really nice person, witty, intelligent and thoughtful with (as you'd expect) an anecdote for every occasion. Chris plucked up the courage to ask her a question about the director which she engaged with despite a diversionary comment at one point from elsewhere in the audience.

After the Q&A Chris went up to say hello as an old chum and her face was a picture when she realised who he was,and they both started gossiping away. I had to intervene to ask for a photo of them both since time was passing and others were waiting for autographs and I didn't want to miss the opportunity. So with two big smiley faces in front of me I went 'click', but that's a private photo and not for the web. Mind you, she obviously doesn't remember him very well since, as we were leaving, she told me he was 'gorgeous'.

What a delightful way to end the evening and start the cold damp trudge back to south London.

Cressida Bell

Last Sunday saw the annual trip out to Hackney for Cressida Bell's open studio afternoon, to see her works, have a chat and a glass of wine and, possibly, buy some goods. I bought a wonderful green lampshade from her a couple of years ago that still has pride of place in my living room, lots of different trees painted round the shade in a variety of shades. This year I got a silk scarf in lovely shades of green and purple and a silk tie (not matching) and finally bought her book on decorative painting (I've been meaning to paint a bookcase for about two years now... one day!). She was doing a roaring trade when we left, with a full workshop and a celloist in full noise-mode. Shopping was followed by food in Islington and then back home in time to watch Madonna's 'Confessions' tour on telly to relive some great memories from the summer.

Carry On Doctor

After seeing the Vampires of Tooting a couple of weeks ago comes the various consultations - last week was the Liver Doctor and this week was the Diabetic Doctor. In both cases I waited an hour to be seen only to have a consultation lasting a few minutes. Why is that, I wonder? In part, the short consultations are good because I'm doing so well but they're also a bit unsatisfactory after such long waits. I was surprised to be told that, provided I keep on doing what I'm doing, then I shouldn't die of liver failure (I didn't realise it was actually suffiently serious for that to be a possibility but, apparently, it was) and got a gold star from the Diabetic Doc for controlling my blood glucose so well. Gee thanks. I now have appointments for late November 2007 to see them both again (with blood tests and scans earlier in November).

I weighed myself at the gym today. I've lost just over 2 1/4 stones since mid-June and yes, I do have a smug grin on my face. Weights are very difficult since everything is in kilograms these days so, using a nice programme on the web, I convert kilograms to pounds and then divide to get my proper weight in stones (I understand good old imperial). A long way to go, of course, but it's nice to know - and increasingly see - the progress.

Christmas Lights

'Tis the season to be jolly and be all lit up like a Christmas tree. The best so far are the lights on Carnaby Street (I still think the Carnaby lights of two years ago were the best ever) and the worst (and almost certainly the cheapest) are on Kilburn High Road. Oxford Street lights are ok, Regent Street lights are shoddy and both are the same as last year (except the cartoon being advertised on Regent Street has changed). The lights on Streatham High Road went on last week and, although they're the same as last year, with moving snowflakes and shooting stars, they look very nice indeed. With these gloomy nights starting at 4pm we need Christmas lights more than ever to add a bit sparkle to the cityscape. But Kilburn? Be ashamed of yourself.

Now that it's December I can finally load my Christmas CDs onto iPod - what a merry old time I'll have singing along! Altogether now: "So here it is Merry Christmas everybody's having fun ..."