Whit Weekend and other stuff.

Luckily for me, my exams have come to an end (all but for my general studies paper anyway.) It would seem "The Week of Terror" would pass quickly and I have found myself sinking back into the same routine of last summer; that is, slobbing about the house in my tesco's joggers all day, watching crap t.v and only leaving the house to go to the garage for another can of Irn Bru, but that is not to say it is what I will be doing all summer.

I've been a bit worried about my summer plans because when I lay them out in front of me.. it really isn't much, but actually the spaces I have free I'm determined to fill up with really practical stuff, like, y'kno, reading books, learning a new language, all that kind'a crap. 

In just over a week I'll be heading to Devon to hang out with my family who are already enjoying the southern sun. This leaves me with a week and a half to sit back, enjoy the freedom of my house and sleep off the last 10 months of life at Blue Coat. It has been two days since my mum and dad left on sat, I have in those two nights only stayed at my house once and there already seems to be 15ish empty beer cans and bottles, a take away pizza and empty packets of club bars, ciggarettes and paracetamol lying about the place. Clearly left overs from the Whit Weekend celebrations of friday and the beer walk. (see links for more information) 

"Local folk like to call it The Greatest Free Show On Earth, and one visit is usually enough to convince anyone that's no idle boast." Richard Jones:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/16/dobcross-whit-friday-brass-bands

Whit Friday for the Youth of Saddleworth and (at a stretch, haha) Tameside is a no longer, sadly, a night for the brass bands but a poor excuse to get very drunk (note: I don't honestly believe this, but you'd have thought so if you see the youth on whit Friday.) It was bizarre for me upon arriving to Dobcross to find what used to be "everyone" outside its central pub, the Shambles (which recently closed down, most likely due to the unfortunate name change...or the real reason ) replaced by what appeared to be 12 - 15 year olds. I understand that I was 15 and drinking under age when it was where "everyone" was but, it was just unusual. I found that I enjoyed myself most when sitting in Scouthead's own contest field listening to the brass bands and eating my black pudding than this. "We" - me and the loosely named "JT Crew" of 2008-11 decided to heard off to Upermill, where we were welcomed by a similar larger scene of people 16-19 crowding the park and drunkenly hobbling over the stepping stones (seen here late last year.) Maybe it was because I was getting increasingly drunk, but what started out as a rather embarrassing night for people like me, who prides themselves on Saddleworth (and Tameside) traditions such as Whit Friday and the Rushcart ended up being rather good. There was a moment when the night just seemed to go uphill and everything was good. Whit Friday became how I remember it: every 5 minutes or some someone else you know walks by, everyone is your best friend, everyone (that's drunk) is happy, the faint sound of the brass band keeps up the tempo of the people and even the police (in some cases) are up for a chat - one told me about an old woman that slipped on the stepping stones into the river earlier in the evening. Whit Friday, was another success. 

I'm sad to say I did not attend The Beer Walk the following day, what with my dearest Issac to clean, little Amber Niko slobbing about the house and a feeling of absolute apathy thanks to the night before hanging over me but James, Tom and Will did. It looked and sounded like a nice day and I'm hoping to do it next year.

So, as I sit in the pit of mess that is my living room after a nice whit weekend, a much needed return to church yesterday followed by my trip to the MMU end of year art show featuring Ruth Thomason's stunning work I look forward to the summer. My short stay in Devon, My trip to London with two of my favourite gals, SUbmerged and, what I can see becoming a summer of partys, chilled evenings and long lie ins. 

Lots of love and God Bless, L x

For a much nicer account of whit friday, see Trumpet by Richard Jones of Saddleworth News.

Some pictures that don't quite capture how good my weekend was, at all. 

Scouthead Whit Friday

Me and a very drunk S.Thompson in Uppermill

W. H. Reddish and J. A. Coope as Arthur Dent
and Doctor Who

Ruth Thomason MMU Foundation Art.

Pretty good. Pret-ty pret-ty pret-ty good.

Tonight my dearest readers I bring to you three things, pick and chose which you bother with as you like.

Firstly a distinctly introspective message on how I'm feeling right now with a potential prayer request written in between the lines.

Secondly something you like, super deep cultured wannabe journalists and actavists amongst you might like.

Thirdly a song that has been stuck in my head for a couple of days that I like. 

1) Message: 

I have felt and am feeling an overwhelming amount of pressure in recent times. It first came to my recognision that I shouldn't have treated my first year of A levels as a "practice year" on results day 2010, I quickly forgot about this realisation and became ultimately determined to get my three B's for university. As each day has drawn closer to these exams that dream has become slightly more distant - however, with the help of my teachers, peers and of God I'm sure that what ever results I achieve this year will be "for the Greater Good" (obviously, not in the same context that Gellert Grindelwald uses such a phrase.) I know that the majority of my readers have felt this immense exam pressure either right now, a couple of weeks ago or at some other point in your life and me moaning about it on my blog is either of the most trivial or the highest importance because you either think "its only A Levels" or you're thinking "I'm so glad its not just me." If you're the first example, I'm entirely envious of you and wish you the best and for the latter, I can only pray we get the results we wish for. I think I feel the pressure more now because for once in my life I'm doing the work. I've been living at the library, breathing textbooks, novels, the bible and with each bit of knowledge that I finally learn - one bit of exam technique disappears. Each year I work a little more but this been its doubled and I can't handle finding out in August that this work might, just might have all been for nothing.


2) Something you might enjoy: 

Critically acclaimed foreign affairs series offering an insight into the lives of people in some of the most neglected parts of the planet. 

So, it would appear that I'm way late on catching this, the Unreported World program, in fact, i have for the best part of the 2011 and a little of 2010 series' been unaware that it even was a program and have been instead podcasting it: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/


Basically, each program of podcast features an interesting report on the stuff that we don't see in the news, hence the naming of the program. It is really interesting and if you're going on a long journey or want something to listen to when doing work or something I'd definitely request the podcast. The episodes on 4oD I've seen have been really good too and I think they have like 4 series' of it. All really interesting, if rather sad, relevant stories and yeah, check it out.




3) A song that have been stuck in my head all day:





And finally, if you haven't watched any of Curb - you definitely should:

2:20

It is absolutely 2 in the morning.

I've been trying to sleep since whatever time and to aid myself decided I'd put on one of my audiobooks. I usually aways resort to Harry Potter because Stephen Fry's voice is way nicer than all of my other audiobook narrators and it gets me excited about the film, then I think about how I know the story so well that I don't have to actually listen and I fall asleep.

Instead I tried listening to J.D Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" - I read the book a couple of years ago and didn't like it, it read to American; sure enough the narrator of the audiobook is too (it would be rather stupid if he wasn't) and it IS too American. I think I like Holden Caulfield more now though, maybe its because I can relate to him being all moody and full of teenage angst and all that Holden Caulfield kind of crap.

I didn't go to Church this morning. My initial plan was to sleep in, get up, do work. Of course, I got up late, made an egg on a tosted bagel and then watched New Scrubs - and even though it was so crap I still watched like 4 episodes. It was just the worst.

I don't in any way feel motivated to do work.

I over the past weekend I've established I've probably done more work than quite a few of my friends. My revision book is packed. I can't remember any of it.

I had/have that Ezra Koeing cover of Paul Simons "Papa Hobo" in my head and every time I closed my eyes it feels like my ears are kicking in and saying "Detroit Detroit, gotta hell of a hockey team" and then I think about Eminem because of 8 Mile and then I think about the Just Lose it video when Michael Jackson got offended (rightly so) and when Jackson was upset Stevie Wonder piped up and said it was offensive and stuff which begs the questions: How has Stevie Wonder seen the video's? and assuming he hasn't, because.. how could he? what right does he have to go sick at Eminem?

Now, obviously I like Stevie Wonder and I quite agree with what he said, but how could he have said it?

I really can't sleep, I feel like Holden and also, I feel like I want to write a novel. Not that I could ever be arsed. I can't even be arsed actually learning the stuff for my exams even if I force myself to sit and write for hours it would seem I'm failing to learn.

I watched a program before during my 3 O'clock brake when I was eating a stake sandwich with melted cheese and fried onion on (boom) called "inside the human body" - On second thoughts, it might have been my 6 O'clock brake - and I was so interested. Now, I was am bad at science, but I liked learning this stuff, most of all, I liked learning it and not having to take an exam.

I want to learn for the sake of learning.

How depressing.

Stupid education system of a society that expects me to know so much and end up making me sit in a puddle of debt.

So tired.

Gna stop listening to J.D and watch an episode of Rasing Hope instead.



God Bless, L x

urgh, its absolutely 2:41 now.

June Mixcast!

With June's Mixcast comes the opening of my new miscast page - so that if you look over to you're right of this page there should be a link to the mixcast page and you can see an archive of all of my mixcasts!

At first this was going to be a "Revision" mixcast and then it was going to be a nostalgic music from my time at Blue Coat. I decided against both, firstly because my revision mixcast would end up being a The Weepies playlist, and a nostalgic list of music would be a messy mix of Blink 182, Lil Wayne and David Lanz "Christofori's dream" - and as much as I'd like to put them all together, June is just not the month for that kind of experimental business.

SO! I have tried to put the revision and nostalgia together and then just added a couple extra at times, it is basically the songs I remember listening to when revising from the past couple of years till now.

Here it is: Waltzing's for Dreamers...

1. Santogold - Lights Out
2. Darwin Deez - DNA
3. The Weepies - Slow Pony Home
4. Jeremy Messersmith - A Girl, A Boy, and a Graveyard
5. Alessi's Ark - The Horse 
6. Los Campesinos - The International Tweexcore Underground 
7. Simon and Garfunkel - The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
8. Death Cab For Cutie - St. Peters Cathedral
9. Tokyo Police Club - Your English Is Good
10. Marissa Nadler - The Sun Always Reminds Me of You
11. Local Natives - Airplanes
12. Richard Thompson - Waltzing's for Dreamers

Only love is all maroon.

Lapping lakes like leary loons...


So, here it is. The final week of college.. So weird. I've been at Blue Coat now for 7 years.

Back on one of my first posts on this blog last September I wrote:


"Today was the first day back at The Blue Coat School Oldham, if I told you that I was excited to be returning to the familiar cluster of buildings that is BC I would be lying. In fact, most of you are aware that I've been consistently trying to escape from the place for the past 4 years. "

I'm not going to take what I said back.. I have been waiting to leave Blue Coat for 5 of the 7 years I've been there, but I am going to be sad to leave.  I've given Blue Coat the best and worst of myself, its institution, staff and pupils have shaped who I am, given me a good education (might take this back at a later date depending on exam results) and provided me with a fine set of friends.

I can't remember my first day of seccondary school particulally well... I remember I only lasted a week before calling a teacher "mum" (Miss Edwards P.E) I pretended I was interested in horses to make friends (Jess Verbrugan..) and clung, for the life of me on to the two girls who came from primary school to Blue Coat with me (Lucinda Johnson and Holly Espie.) My form tutor was Miss Sidebothem (now known as Mrs Greenhalgh, after she married the short ginger man) and me and Samson used to fight over who gave her the pen to do register with.  


It's weird, things changed loads. The last teacher I called mum was my year 11 maths teacher, the last time I pretended to be interested in something was probably war literature when doing my A2 English Lit coursework this year, I haven't seen the two girls I clung to in year seven in the flesh for at least over 6 months (though, i wish them both the very best.) My last form tutor at Blue Coat was/is - for these last 3 days - Dr Sarah Hall, of The Sarah Hall Show, and me and Samson still fight, but over probably more trival matters than who gets to give SRH the pen to do the register with,.


So much, and yet so little has changed over the last 7 years, and, glad as I am it's over. I'm going to miss the security of knowing everyone, of liking everyone, of being liked. I'm terrified to be outside of that... its been good. 


I'm feeling excited.



Probs one of the worse teacher performances we've experienced, but classic Ford.

Dr Greg House on the New Orleans Scene.

I assure you, my friends, that I am no Blue's expert.. Give me a bit of Jazz and I might be able to get somewhere, but Blues has never really been my thing. I'm not sure I've ever found the right time to get into it and maybe this is the time...


“I’ve never eaten grits, cropped a share, or ridden a boxcar. No gypsy woman said anything to my mother when I was born and there’s no hellhound on my trail, as far as I can judge. Let this record show that I am a white, middle-class Englishman, openly trespassing on the music and myth of the American south.” - Laurie, in the sleeve of his album.


With my little knowledge of Blues, I found myself enjoying, singing and even dancing a little to the adapted voice of Hugh Laurie and his new album "Let Them Talk". The album, whether you its you're thing or not, definitely deserves a bit of praise. Generally I think actors and musicians should stick to their thing, unless its for a musical and even then they're allowed a bit of leeway on the acting side if they make up with it in music, so without a doubt this album is defiantly impressive. there is no doubting that Hugh Laurie is a very talented musician and singer as we know from "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and the one issue with his singing is the clear accent change.


House has nailed his american accent from his time on House and his acting is spot on throughout every season, but so much of me feels like if he was going to release an album it should have been in his real accent throughout, rather than slipping into a Greg House act. Either way, he manages to pull off the "New Orleans" feel throughout the album, its very well produced, catchy, instrumentally very well organised and pracctice, features Irma Thomas, Tom Jones and Dr John and it is a nice escape from the usual key 103 that dad's got playing in his car.


I really like the album, there are very few tracks that I'd skip over - it's definitely worth a listen, but if you don't think it might be you're thing, you should give a couple of tracks a listen first... I find youtubes good because I can watch his beautiful face too.


I'd give it a star rating but with a distinctive lack of blues on my iTunes, I really can't call it... as a Jazz fan I do really like it.





Recommended listening: They're Red Hot, St James Infirmary, Battle of Jericho


God Bless and Happy Listening, L, xoxo

Orchestra Daft Punk....