nonchalance

Phew, I've been beaming with smiles for the last couple of days so excuse the length of this explanitory journal entry, its fucking EPIC! (A cast of thousands, innumerable scenes and bit players and of course, nudity, special effects and just like Spartacus; Bondage gear!)

Le Saga of a most excellent weekend:

- Friday - After a pretty mundane day in the office, well apart from the poor confused old people who ring me up asking if their payments for 2006 are sorted, I went to see October after her self admitted laclustre performance in her exams that day. After apologising for her performance (not sure why people need to say sorry to something completely unrelated to them) and a couple of pints and pool, avec petit SG it was time for bed to prepare for the big weekend!

- Saturday - I seemed to have picked the wrong bus... That bus in question was absolutely rammed full of day trippers to the capital and then a hen-party turn up laden down with baggage, cue much half awake hilarity as said party tries to all sit together shouting at the barely awake other passengers. No wonder I felt ill when I reached London where Pearlbass was antiipating my arrival with unwanted guitar in tow. After the now 'unspecial' rigmarole of using the tube (Westminster tube station looks far too filmic for my liking, like a very dull sci-fi) I waltzed into the studios where Gin Panic (Kate and PearlBass's band) were rehearsing for the next days gig at the Lock. Guitar and pedal, and excellent book (all about rock and Greek myth) handed over to the happy Pearlbass I had the pleasure of sitting in and watching Gin Panic run through their numbers. I hadn't passed the oppurtunity by, and with the aid of my SLR I snapped a few shots, nothing looks as cool a a band in rehearsal. After describing 'Belming' to the whole band (don't ask) and playing Kate some perky Japanese bossa nova in the local pub it was off to PearlBass's for some relaxing and somehow much needed sleep and the presentation of my new/old bass, yes i'm down-grading, my feeble skills are no match for the bastardry of guitar.

Now much can be said of a SG London meet, but nothing prepared me for the turnout on Saturday. We literally filled half the pub, and slowly but surely took over the alley besides the Ship! Sorry to those who I miss out, but my powers of recollection are not really befitting of someone of my education so I'll just note those who I talked to. After the initial panic of 'who the hell shall I talk to first as not to offen anyone' I shook the hand of the well reknowned uber-snapper CreamyGoodness and grinned like a loon, (still didn't stop him exposing the whole truth about the evening). A quick wave was passed around as I caught faces i knew,. all friendly and not at all like those scary gothic people that we are all brought up to loathe and fear. The night was after all a kind of welcoming party for Jayne, fresh from the US to see her extremely well suited (and booted indeed) local lad Nickysonic. Warm smiles, handshakes and affectionate allusions to homosexuality were exchanged and mental notes were made of potentiality for 'rock greatness' if we we ever to form a band. (Hmm, it might happen!) After a nod to everyone present that I knew (including the cojoined Mariana and Geronimo! So Sweet!) it ws time to meet the far-too-infamous Kinto. Now Kinto is one of my favorite people in the whole world, unfortunately, I wasn't to discover how 'close' we are until later that evening (you will see, or have seen!). After lenghty discussion of all things that such literate and flippant individuals as ourselves seem to debate and much back-slappery it was time to mingle a bit more. It was great to see Charley at her first meet, looking absolutely radiant in a very stylish dress based on some clothing period that I am completely ignorant of. Nice too, to see Munch in typical jovial form shaking hands all and sundry. Actually meeting Bloodflowers was well worth it, he's a real nice chap. Arrow was cooler than anyone I can remember and truly beautiful, and the less said about Vicky's shoes in polite public the better, but they were truly hot, seeing her on consecutive weeks in different cities with amazing hair was worth it! Razorpsyche was cool and relaxed, as was his partner SnowElf. Points on mundanity and biking were discussed with NoScar and it was a pleasant surprise to see fellow Bristol SG'er Gothicwolf wander in, apparently the first to arrive, first to leave and first to return.
The first couple of SGUK were present Nic and Traumatron, Nic bouncing around with much smiles, a very cool conversation about Mansun ensued as I professed my love. Traumatron, after insisting on his greatness in style persisted to continually nick my camera and gurn impressively into it. Great 8's worth of twisted facial features!
I guess things started to get hazy when I needed the loo, only to find that the only functioning 'throne' was in the ladies, indeed a trip to said loo was needed and I must say the state of them is 100 times that of the chaps!
Now for the infamy; the incidents began later, what with the wobbleboard coming out and the sign of crazy dancing in the alley. The arrival of Tilly was heralded with much cheering and happiness, probably because she is perhaps the most popular and lovable of all us Sg folk, basically we ALL WANT TILLY. After a brief 'hello' with her that left me starstuck but none the worse for the expericene, our forwardness got the better of us and blissful kissing ensued, how we got to that point I will neve quite know, but i think Tilly's compliments of my hair had something to do with it, that and the4 insitence on a hug, which became a kiss which became... etc etc etc

Having gone to the bar to get Kinto a pint, i come outside minutes later to see an impromptu circle of SG people surrounding the very-much half naked Kinto. Felling as if I should rectify the situation i poured most of his pint all over him, the logic being that cold berr on a body will definitely either sober the individual in question or freeze his knackers off so he feel impelled to put his shirt on. But undeterred Kinto soldiered on. My further attempt to induce feelings of shame by posing for a photo where I am licking the declothed Frenchman's chest were similarily shrugged off and as result I was thrown intoa situation where i felt it necessary to outdo the guy, but adding to to nudity, so there i was 'sans-chemise' when the ever eagle eyed CreamyGoodness snaps my maked chest and the subsequent 'beer gut' comaparison with Munch, needless to say, my scrawny ass didn't compare!
After another intimate non-conversation with Tilly which ended in me trying to literally 'take' her home in my arms and a good hearty backslapping from Kinto (Still not wasted enough to even consider sleeping on the train all the way to Amersham), i deciced to make a move, I had to be back at Pearlbass's and my tiredness had caught up with me, after a quick chat with 'I've got a window July' Tubesound (looking extremely dapper) about potential Suicide Boys activities possibly involving guns, knives and SG photographers. I got the train home to a warm flat and an immediate posting on a certain SG-to-be's journal was all that lay between me and snuggling up with lovely Pearlbass, back from work late due to an unfortunate incident at her bar.

- Sunday - After a nice lie-in and cosy chat, with added nakedness, Pearlbass and I headed off to Camden Lock to meet fellow SG acolytes and let her prepare (well hardly, what with no soundcheck at her gig) while myself, Nic, Traumatron, Cherry, (looking great, if a bit restless), her chap, looking spaced, seeing as he had come back from Heathrow having decided not to go traveling for 3 months, the positively sound G1, wickedly hyper, wistful and comically self depreciating with his fantastic t-shirt, the relaxed 30x30Vision. Of course CreamyGoodness (resolutely un-judicious about the previous evenings haul of pictures) arrived and polished off my unfinished Wagamama 'kebabs.' Saunderting over to the venue, we ran into Mariana who decided in no uncertain terms that she "smelled of sex" and was going home, as she just popped by to say hi. In the venue we ran into suicidebomb, a man with laudable tattoos and musical taste and the only intermittently intimidating Cakemix. A thoroughly relaxed bunch, we sat down on the floor after watching an Irish play to watch Gin Panic live. The gig was great, despite a couple of minor hitches, they won the crowd over, but still for some reason didn't get us standing up, the lazy bastards that we are.

After the gig we all drifted off back home, wistful and full of anecdotes about tattoo's and nether regions from Cakemix, a memorable goodbye from head girl Nic being "see you you big skinny man." with a hug, tired, . Meeting up ith Pearlbass again we took turns carrying her bass back to her flat alternating the role of rockstar and roadie. After an evening of simple pleasures, wine, pizza and some physical conversation we retired for the night.

- Monday - Waking fully refreshed, my SG weekender was not yet over. Hitching my newly aqquired bass over my shoulder and taking the Tube to Victoria Station, I ran into October and we just lay back on the bus trying to get comfortable in a very small double seat (with a bass too!), using each other for pillows back to Bristol. The evening was spent jamming on my new found passion - the bass - with my flatmates, (Bass, Guitar, Programming) and feeling very happy.

The length of this journal should give you an idea about how cool this weekend was and how much it mean't to me, a better time I have not had in a very long time. To riff on the end of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 'The Gulag Archipelago' (Rather distastefully I may add) "Thank you SG, for you are my life!"