Clinic, Errors, RememberRemember: 27 April

After our sun worshipping yesterday, Magnus and I went to see Clinic at Caberet Voltaire. The gig was part of the Tryptych Festival which puts on gigs and movies in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen. We've been listening to them for awhile, and we managed to catch them in Glasgow awhile ago when they supported Arcade Fire. They were supported by the Errors (kind of forgetful electro-indie) and RememberRemember, who were also kind of forgetful, ironically. They did do this kind of cool sampling/looping/layering thing that was pretty interesting, and they had a very cool/nerdy saxophonist... but it wasn't really our sort of thing.

Clinic, however, were very excellent. We managed to get right down front, which in a small tightly-packed place like Caberet Voltaire isn't always easy. The crowd was pretty middle-aged and mellow (except for the beardy jumpy clappy guy next to us, but hey, he wasn't hurting anybody), and we had a very nice time drinking huge-ass Newcastle Brown Ales from the actual glass bottles (no bottle throwing at Caberet Voltaire!) and listening to some pretty sweet music.

Spring is springing!

We actually had some absolutely gorgeous weather here yesterday! The air smelled of spring, the sun had real warmth to it, and the breeze was uplifting rather than bracing. Magnus had to study for his exam (which I am happy to say he passed this morning!), so he grabbed his study guide and the picnic blanket, I grabbed my book and my ipod with speakers, and we headed out to Holyrood Park for a couple of hours of actual basking in the sun.

Unfortunately, the rubbish weather returned today, but yesterday certainly lifted our spirits... let's hope they stay lifted until the next fair spell!

Copenhagen: 23 - 25 April

This week I was in Copenhagen for a conference on the conservation of manuscripts. It was two very intense days of lecture after lecture, and I am intellectually exhausted! Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to actually see the city, but I managed to escape for a couple of hours on Thursday. I found myself in a lovely park, and just took off my jacket, and sat down to enjoy the sunshine. Copenhagen is a beautiful city, and I can't wait to go back!

Here are some photos I took in the park:

These two were taken in a lovely little courtyard in the old Medieval part of the University where we had our evening reception (in the old monk's cellar):




And this is the one and only photograph I took of the actual conference! It was interesting, really! This is a very nice way to store parchment documents with seals:

Miis!

Magnus and I have created Mii versions of ourselves on our new Wii. Not bad, eh?

We bought a Wii!

Magnus and I both recently celebrated our birthdays. I turned 32 on the 22nd of March, and Magnus turned 28 yesterday. And what are a couple of mature well-adjusted adults to do with their birthday money? Buy something nice for the flat? Perhaps a new Le Creuset pan? It could always go into the double glazing fund or go towards paying off our holiday to the States in July...

But that would be BORING!

No, Magnus and I, in all our maturity and wisdom, decided to buy ourselves a Wii. And it's freakin' sweet!!

We've already kicked eachother's asses at tennis, snooker, air hockey, duck hunting and golf, all while laughing those asses completely off. We've also bought the Legend of Zelda, a baseball game with a kickass soundtrack, Tomb Raider (now with smaller bosoms!), and an extra controller that came with 'Wii Play' in which you do very silly things indeed.

We're about to crack open a bottle of wine - the perfect accompaniment to our new Wii?

New Project!

I have been inspired by some very creative ladies on a forum I visit to start my own 365 Project. The concept is very simple: post a photograph of your life every day for a year. I love the idea of building a story of your life through snapshots.

A number of ladies have all started their 365 Projects over the last couple of days, and I look forward to watching as theirs develop alongside mine, and looking to them for inspiration. There are some very talented photographers among them - perhaps I will pick up some tips!

My 365 Project page is here.

My Filofax

If you know me, I have probably told you about my Filofax and how it has changed my life. I have literally been transformed from a more-than-slightly scatterbrained idiot who can't remember an appointment or phone number to save her life into a cool, collected, organised professional who is on top of all her responsibilities in both her private life and her work life. The change has honestly been that profound. For years, I have flirted with various organisational tools, from PDAs to Outlook to cute little Paperchase spiral bound diaries, but none motivated me to develop a habit, and they all quickly fell out of use. On a whim just before Christmas, I bought myself a lovely little Filofax (model: Eden, personal size), and I was immediately hooked. I do not have a particularly hectic schedule by any stretch of the imagination, but I have found my life now has an order and coherence to it that I couldn't imagine six months ago. Thank you, Filofax!

Elbow and Two Gallants: 4 April

Awhile ago, we had a German intern at my work called Martin. Martin has very good taste in music, and we often spent our tea breaks talking about this band or that band. He was also a very good source of new bands for us, and gave alot of music to add to our collection.

One of the bands he introduced us to is Two Gallants. Magnus fell immediately in love with them, and they soon became one of our 'most played' on iTunes. Well, we were having a look at upcoming gigs on the internet, and lo' and behold, Two Gallants are touring with the band Elbow... and Glasgow was one of their stops! So of course we had to go. We wanted to avoid having to leave early again like at the Sky Parade gig, so we stayed over at a nice hotel right around the corner from the venue. Yeah, we're pretty rock and roll.

The gig was at the ABC on Sauchiehall Street. This is where we first saw the Best Band in the Entire World, the Brian Jonestown Massacre. I thought it was a great venue then, and Friday night only confirmed this...it's a fantastic place to see a band. A bit bigger than I would normally like, but still intimate enough. The staff are all friendly, and best of all - there are ample ladies loos!

Well, this gig absolutely blew us away. Two Gallants were very nice indeed, and played a very nice, if short, set. But the big surprise was Elbow. They were incredible. Absolutely amazing! It ranks equal to the first time we saw the Black Keys as my most moving music experience ever. Here are a few photos we took from the evening. I took loads of Two Gallants, but I was too busy being blown away by Elbow to remember to take many photos.

Two Gallants

Two Gallants. These guys moved around so much, in most of the photos, they are only blurs!

Elbow. Wow.

Elbow.

And lastly.... this was the weird-ass print on the wall in our hotel. WHAT?! I mean really - what?! I'm pretty sure I had nightmares.