Posts
Boo.
So I saw Nigel Planer & Henry Normal live at the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh.
A great, somehow old-fashioned night of stories and poems. One of my highlights was the love song that Mr. Planer sang towards the end. Also loved, among other things, Henry's insights into the making of The Royle Family. And let's not forget the Pam Ayres/Bob Dylan sing-a-long mash-up. To paraphrase Neil Armstrong I guess you had to be there.
On a whim I took myself off to Scottish Opera's production of Donizetti's Don Pasquale.
Cheap seats ahoy. It was great: the staging, the performances, the costumes, the music, the singing and the last minute upgrade (gratis) which meant I wasn't sitting behind a pillar for two and a half hours.
Finally got around to watching Alan Bennett's The Lady In The Van.
I liked it. (I should really be a film critic.)
Paul Weller was brilliant at Glasgow Barrowlands. Second time seeing him this year. I like this song from his last album...
I am listening to "Every Kind Of People" on Radio 4; a study in compassion.
Some more art (it keeps me off the streets):
I just heard the sad news of the passing of Chas Banks who used to manage Teenage Fanclub. A font of wisdom and experience, his tenure with the band came to an end maybe a year or so after I started working with them. Norman, Raymond, Gerry, Brendan & Paul had more professional time with Chas and his wife and co-manager Shirley. But over the last 20 plus years he was still present in the many fondly-recalled stories and anecdotes about his time looking after everyone. Something he did so well. When we played Manchester Chas always came along with Shirley, holding court in the dressing room, offering constructive thoughts on the show, the fortunes of Manchester United and other issues of the day. I wish his loved ones strength at this time. You can read the band's tribute here:
