NEW & IMPROVED - Self washing hair

Washing my hair in the shower the other day I was reminded of a theory I heard in my school years...

I think it went something like 'if you leave your hair unwashed for 3 months it will start to wash itself'. The theory being that then you would never again have to wash your hair. So, in year 9 I decided that, instead of trying to attract members of the opposite sex, now would be the best possible time to make myself as scanky as possible in an effort to prove the theory wrong. So I didn't wash my hair for a month, and yeah, it got fairly rank. In fact, I don't think I ever did see it through. One thing's for sure...the girls ran a mile and I think that it dawned on me to start washing my hair again.

I dunno if I was hoping I would end up looking like someone out of The Levellers or some other dread-sporting, marley-esq dude? But I never had the guts to get to the end of the exercise. And so I ask by the medium of blog, has anyone ever done it? Is anyone still a proud host of unwashed hair (and all the other living benefits that have inhabited therein)? Is there any truth in the rumour? Or is it just a playground myth that the clever, suave boys tell the geeky little gimps to keep the competition sparse?

Eden

Yesterday I woke up. Not amazing I know - but it was a bizarre start to the day given what happened afterwards. Everyday I wake up to the Chris Moyles show, and yesterday was comedy Dave's birthday. Because it was his birthday he chose the first track to be played...the track he chose? Rock and Roll Star - by Oasis. The opening song from their album Definitely Maybe.

So later on I travelled down to London with my friend Chris Spring (who I have blogged about before) because he asked JM, Levski and myself to play for him in the studio - recording a new track he's written called It Don't Offend Me. The studio is called Eden Studios and is in West London - that is where I'm sitting as I type this. This place has been responsible for tons of cool recordings but it hadn't dawned on me that this is where Oasis recorded Definitely Maybe! Now that might not be very important for many other people but for me, a true inheritor (sp?) of the 90s I loved it! Awesome! Here's a quick piccy of the studio with Chris sitting there recording some acoustic guitar...
















So, yeah...like I say...tons of cool recordings.

All cool, except for one...

One album which just so happens to be amongst my least favourite albums of all time!

(Sorry, I've slipped into a Rob Bell writing style...I'll pull it back...)

One album that in the mid 90s I tried and tried to listen to. You see I wanted to enjoy it. Some of my friends were raving about it. "Have you heard this album?" they'd say. "It's the best thing since the Las" they'd say. And I would listen, and I would squirm, and I would most definitely NOT enjoy.

The album in question? CAST - ALL CHANGE

I'm sorry, but I simply can't see what was ever good about this album. Does anyone have it? Does anyone still listen to it? If you were involved in making it, I am sorry for offending you, but I just can't see the attraction.

So clearly any decent studio has it's duffers. And I'm just getting that off my chest after all these years.

Anyways, back to the waiting game. We're waiting around for a hired guitar to be delivered... as you can probably tell by the length of this blog I've got some time on my hands...

Shorty

It's late tonight and tomorrow is a busy one but I wanted to blog, just to keep momentum up really.

How has your day been so far upon reading this?

"Temple of the Sun"

Currently I am trying to make a website for work. It's proving a bit of a nightmare and is testing my memory to the limits with regard to the stuff I learnt on my uni course. I did a BSc in software engineering which I finished about 6 years ago - and it certainly feels like a long time ago now. Everything I learnt about object oriented programming and WYSIWYG user interfaces is now but a mere blip in the back of my head. So now this new conundrum is testing me.

Yesterday I spent hours trying to figure out a solution. I browsed hundreds of web sites and forums and phoned a few friends but still to no avail. However, after yesterday's weirdest thing EVER I feel that today could be the day of the naffest game EVER! Upon browsing the Sun Microsystems website (yes I really was that desperate!) I discovered that those crazy chaps had developed a platform game in which you can, and I quote: "Put your C/C++ coding skills to the test". I realised that I did in fact study C++ at uni and clicked to play the game...

The premise of 'Temple of the Sun' (i.e. Sun Microsystems) is that you're an adventurer (Indiana Jones type) who discovers this ancient 'Developers' temple. You have to collect gold coins and jump around missing arrows but the most amazing part of this game is that every so often you are posed with a C++ coding problem which you need to 'debug' before you can continue! Seriously, who thinks up this stuff!? But maybe that's not the most worrying thing - of course I didn't play for long (of course - I wasn't really totally addicted), but the first three debugging screens I came across I got the answer right first time! Whoop! Maybe being a musician isn't my calling after all?

Chell x

Quick bulletin - Chell is now a blogger. Hurray!
(See my blog roll for her blogspot link...)

The weirdest thing EVER

Recently I worked with my Mum and Dad on my shed. Essentially that means my Dad made me a new shed and I helped him as much as I could. In order to do that we had to knock down the old shed and clear the area of brambles and an old rotten dead tree. So Dad came with chainsaw in hand and we chopped down the tree.

The tree was made up of lots of smaller trunks - rather than just one big one, so there was plenty of felling to be done. It was only after we had finished the chopping that it became apparent that we were being watched by a new additon to my garden. See below for the weirdest thing EVER!




















Yes my friends, this guy was INSIDE one of the tree trunks!! This happy little fella is Bernard. He is a tree-trunk-teddy, and as you can see he is mighty pleased to be released from his trunk prison after all this years.

I do need to point out that this is not a man made artefact - he actually was inside the tree! How bizarre! If you want to see Bernard in the flesh (his bark is worse than his...) then come and visit soon before he catches the black lung and rots away. :)

A week at Butlins

We are at last back from Spring Harvest and the first word that springs to mind is 'phew'...

For those who haven't been to spring harvest it is an unusual experience. One that can quickly immerse you in the sub-culture a la Christian man and lady. Admittedly I am a Christian Man or Lady but I will pretend from this point that it wasn't me and continue to point out the speck of dust in my friends eye.

Now Spring Harvest isn't all bad but there are a couple of things which I have questions about.

Number 1: The skyline.
The skyline is a big semi-permanent butlins structure. It is the hub of the whole site and during the Spring Harvest weeks it becomes the Christian shopping and promotional mecca. Row upon row of literature, table upon table of different kinds of bibles, and fluffy toys, and bookmarks, and prayer cards, and wristbands, and bible covers, and computer based stuff not to mention everyone with their stall telling you about this charity or that and why you should help them out. I didn't know you could get so many different kinds of bibles? Obviously there's lots of versions, and for good reason too - it's good too express the nuances of translation in a variety of ways... but the formats, there are so many. Metal bound, leather bound, paper and card bound. Bibles for your pda, for your pc, for your filofax (does anyone still have one of those?). Water proof bibles, 'bible-in-a-bag'. Pretty pink ones with holograns. Serious yet classy brown and clean ones. Ones with flowers on. Some without. The list goes on. There must have been over 200 kinds of bible available from the shop. Where do you start? Do we need so many options? Or is someone out to take advantage?

I think that a friend of mine put it very well when she mentioned that she didn't know she needed so many resources to be a Christian. I expect the apostles thought that when they visited the bookshop too... although I suppose they wouldn't have had 'New Testament and Psalms' editions - and there wouldn't have been any need for red letters just yet...

Number 2: The Hosting Chalet
Possibly the scariest place on the site and one that I didn't discover until the last night. A group of the guys from our venue decided to visit the hosting chalet at 1am after being encouraged out of the pub at closing time. Our group was large in number and with not-so-little dutch courage (not mine though incase you were wondering) we descended on the chalet where the shmoozing happens.

And that is all that happens there.

I quickly discovered that I am not good at shmoozing.

All these leaders trying to promo their charity / project / latest bible range and champion it to other top cats as they worked the room. Obviously the content of the night was not to be repeated - I don't want to face another 'lucasarts' comment on my blog - but I was fairly surprised by the blatancy of the purpose of this venue.

One story I heard about happening during the week was when one top Christian celeb (appearing at a Butlins near you soon!) chatted away for a good 10 minutes with a friend of mine thinking that my friend was in a more influential position than he actually was. When my friend informed him of his current career choices the celeb made his excuses and within 15 seconds had turned and walked. Incredible. Now I wouldn't say that's a way to care for anyone.

Not even a family member.

In closing? Well, at last Sunday came and it brought with it some relief. Home was calling. Tiredness had taken over and the team lounge was no longer an exciting place to be. So that's that for another year. As for iScape? Well the venue was brilliant. The team were legends. The delegates were lovely. The music was loud. Martin the sound guy was fantastically inappropriate and funny. God was there for us to meet. All in all pretty good. But I'm glad to be home.

The questions...the peskies

When we go to spring harvest the person in charge of organising the after hours programme will book us into each venue's evening session to promote our gig and try to get a few more of them along.

Suffice to say we don't like these little occasions.

It could never be said that myself, nor Paul nor Jon are walking self-promotion machines. We're all pretty cheeky but nonetheless a little on the shy side...

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to blog some of the questions we were asked in an effort to get back some suggestions for better/funnier/slicker answers so that we might do a better job next time! Here are some of the slightly naff questions we had:

1) If you were a superhero which one would you be? (Admittedly this was in the kids venue so we'll let them off)
2) What did you have for breakfast? (How do you make that funny!?)
3) What influences your lyrics? (I know that's a little personal but I have no idea how to answer it with 'panache')
4) What one tip would you give to anyone trying to 'make it' like you have? (Ha!)

Simon and Yvette

Why do some people get more than their share of pain?

Please pray for our friends Simon and Yvette - they are going through the hardest year of their lives.

We love you both loads and loads. x

ElectraTrek

Here is a picture of me, Jon and Paul tryng out a brand new travel gadget - we're assured it will make a positive difference to our travel time.

You can clearly see that Jon (left) is wondering where he plugs his mac in and Paul (right) is simply not impressed. As for me, I'm happy striking a pose and holding in a turtlehead. "It's life Jon, but not as we know it"


























The last few days have panned out thusly:
Liverpool Friday to Sunday
Home -> Minehead Monday
Minehead -> Home Today

Life is busy again - very busy. I'm already a bit fed up of motorway service areas.

Gig last night at Spring Harvest Week 1 - down in Minehead was good. About 300 turned up - so we turned up as well! (It was pretty loud)

The weekend was spent up in Liverpool doing a weekend of training and having a good time with the chaps and ladies up there.

Off to Skegness tomorrow for a gig tom night and the next night too. Then a weekend off - which is good. It'll be nice to be home for easter.