Coffee

Twice in the last few days I have nodded off on the sofa, only to have Freya running to say "daddy, daddy, wake up!" Both times I have eschewed analysing why I'm so tired in favour of making an espresso.

Coffee featured strongly at a barbecue at the house of friends this week. My drummer pal, Richard, has bought a Gaggia machine that does everything short of knowing when you want the coffee. It's a beautiful machine. Well designed, straightforward to use and, best of all, it makes great coffee.

While at the barbecue some upcoming musical doings were discussed and the latest internet trends argued for and against. I took a moment to see how we'd changed though. Children were running around, mortgages were being paid, body shapes had changed. But, I thought, so long as most of us have a reason to set up our instruments and play, we'll all be happy. Then I had another coffee.

Yet another short film about Juana Molina

Wimbledon highlights

Some might think this is childish, but it made me (and many other people stuck in traffic this morning) laugh.

Spingere

Fans of my Spingere music project can now find it at www.spingere.co.uk.

Fate/Fete

It's now officially too hot. Here in Oxfordish the heat is way up and the tarmac is sticking to my feet. Well alright, it's not that hot, neither is there much tarmac - but I'm roasting.

I'm also uploading pictures from a day at a fete and my laptop is over heating. That might have something to do with it.

Because I've been to a fete and because I don't believe in fate I'm going to say that, since she's turned two, my daughter has become a happier person. It could just be that her teething has stopped, but we're all having a lot more fun now. Today, for example, she discovered the delights of trampolines.

Feel free to look at my fete pictures here.

And prepare yourselves for something resembling marketing for the second Spingere album.

Slight Return

I keep talking about Bridge Street but if you'd like to hear us, go here, chose Voodoo Chile from the jukebox and turn your speakers up LOUD! Hope you like it. This version of the band features the incredible Richard Brough on guitar, the wonderful Richard Lee on drums and me on bass (an Ibanez GWB1 for you gear nerds) and vocals. Hope you like it.

Lots of Wills and Johnny

Some music news. The collaboration with Johnny Love and Will Willard is bearing fruit. You can hear some of the new stuff here or on my MySpace page.I'm feeling inspired and enjoying the (good) restrictions of working with others very much. And talking of working with others, the new look invigorated Bridge Street will be getting together very soon to plan some rehearsals and, I hope, gigs. My goal is to have us on a stage, in front of an audience in the next few months.

Also, I've been listening to Soundingfall by the Cloudland Blue Quartet recently and hope to write a review really soon. It's great stuff. Intelligent lyrics and good tunes. I'm very hard on lyrics, which is why I hardly ever write them anymore. But CBQ (aka David Reilly) gets it right every time.

Trabant

Trabant
Originally uploaded by Roostar

Over at my parents' house today my daughter spotted this toy car and it seemed to delight her.

I bought this while over in Berlin twenty years ago. I was there watching and helping to bring the wall down. A friend later berated me for having a little chunk of wall on my bookshelf, telling me I had no idea where it came from. I was able to point out that I knew exactly where it had come from as I'd been one of the people chiseling away at it and shaking hands with a border guard on the other side. It was a momentous time, although I have a strong memory of sitting with people in a cafe and listening to the locals complain that their jobs would all be gone when the people from the East came over.

I bought about four of these cars, giving them to friends on my return. This one now belongs to Freya.