adore amy

turn and face the strange…

And firstly an apology for, yes, failing to write enough blogs. After not one but two tickings-off in the last week (and in two different cities, too) I’m finally back in Scarborough for a few days and gradually trying to get everything caught up (if you think the blog looks sorry for itself, you ought to see my accounts). Aaargh.

So whilst I may sound a little weary, and believe me I am, all is well; I am slowly recovering from an unusually chaotic stretch and also something of a cold, which left me shivering miserably on the settee for the whole of Wednesday, Thursday and most of yesterday although the situation was upgraded to bearable after some lemsip (small ‘l’, since it came from the pound shop) two scotch eggs and a forgotten tub of Ben and Jerry’s Blondie Brownie discovered lurking in the bottom of the freezer. And the entire DVD box set of Oz, which I have been meaning to get round to for ages.

The last ten days or so have been something of a blur, but London was a delight as always and highlights have included a catch-up fish and chips with the lovely Alisha on one night followed by steak bearnaise with the equally lovely (and completely uncomplaining after a trek across Tower Bridge in pouring rain and a gale) Charlotte to cap off an afternoon’s skiving in South Ken, when I got my glad rags on and headed for the V&A to see David Bowie. Fortunately not in person, for me at least; I suspect the shock might have been a bit too much given that even the prospect of looking at some of the man himself’s things hanging on walls, sported by mannequins and resplendent in glass cases had me practically bouncing on the spot in my sequinned mini-shorts with excitement that even the forty five minutes of queuing did nothing to dissipate (and see below – this was the members-invitation-only preview too, so I shudder to think what the opening the following morning might have looked like).

Having been completely and ecstatically swept up by it all, I can happily report that David Bowie Is… is worth every scribbled, sparkly second, and I will be returning to wallow gratuitously as soon as I can. The tickets have all but sold out, but I (shh) have a plus one on my membership card if anybody who isn’t put off by the thought of buying me food fancies it (and for fellow DB/6Music aficionados, there’s lots and lots to keep us all busy this weekend). One thing’s for sure; if Huey Morgan is the smoothest man in the world, I doubt many could argue David Bowie’s richly deserved position as the coolest and most iconic being in the universe. Well certainly not me, as is probably apparent.I also managed a quick jaunt to Borough Market for a pork pie plus Konditor & Cook brownies and cake, prior to a quick (and frankly stupid, when a bit of a rest and a leisurely trip from Euston in the morning would have worked just as well) dash back to Scarborough for a scant few hours before jumping back on the train to Manchester, this time for an update and get together with the National Ugly Mugs team – the pilot scheme is yielding results already, and membership is steadily increasing – yay! A few outcomes will be posted when I have more time, but even the workshops and presentations aside, the opportunity to catch up with some of the people who stick their necks out daily to help ladies and gents at the sharp end is always a joy, and the lunch was good too. I even had a mini entertaining window for a few of Manchester’s erstwhile punters, which is always nice, although the half hour spent standing in the snow at Huddersfield remembering why it’s best not to try and go anywhere by train on a weekend was not. Think ‘replacement bus’.

In other news, some will already know that our Q&A section will soon be no more – Formspring closes at the end of this month and the little widget over to the right will be disappearing forthwith. I have no idea what to replace it with, if anything, but watch this space – I have managed to order a download of all my ‘content’, as we are to call it, but the internet will feel a little bit smaller nonetheless. Having looked at a completely inexplicable thing called Pinterest when searching for a knitting stitch (an openwork herringbone rib I spotted on the 507 bus, if anybody really wants to know), I can safely say that this is not the way forward unless you are the sort of person who enjoys things like Mumsnet, and whilst I’m certain they’d all have what my nana calls the Screaming Abdabs into their repulsive Cath Kidston upholstery if they had any idea how many of the people on there are prossies, I’m not one of them. So the search is on…

The next stop, after a whole week’s R&R here at home is Ireland – woohoo! My big Spring trip has been planned and plotted and whilst the weather isn’t quite what I was hoping for when traversing the countryside of the Emerald Isle, it’ll do – I’ll be arriving in Dublin a week tomorrow and all the details are overleaf (well, on the About Amy page, as ever). Tallaght (OK, also Dublin), Portlaoise, Limerick and Cork will follow and no doubt a nice sit down afterwards; ample opportunity for this will be provided by the ever-wonderful Dead By Dawn in Edinburgh at the end of the month. But more of that in good time – it’s Bank Holiday weekend, the weather is *cough* traditional and I’m going back to my box set and another listen to Young Americans.

Update in the week.

Subscribe to blog feed.

Leave a Reply