Sinister: I bought you a present, a clipper ship with a tower of clouds like smoke

[Mark Hester]

Hi everyone,
Subject line was prompted by Stuart name-checking Gerard Langley in the Q & A.


It's been so long since I've posted or done anything remotely sinister-y at all
that the experience feels a bit like exploring the attic, finding an old box of
photographs, blowing the dust off and opening it up to relive old memories and
discover some things which you've forgotten about totally.

What have I been doing whilst I've been away?  Well, one thing is that I've set
up a blog.  I'm not quite sure why.  I've no idea whether I'll find the whole
thing so compelling that I'll be posting to it all the time, or whether it will
become such a chore that I'll rapidly begin to resent its existence.  Anyway,
right now I've got so many ideas buzzing around in my head, just like the
un-named character in the Bangles' "If She Knew What She Wants", that I feel
that I'll be contributing quite regularly, just like the Kaiser.

If the summer is for picnics, then surely autumn and winter are for travelling
long distances for gigs.  There's no reason why I shouldn't go to London or
indeed even further to see bands I like at other times of the year (and I often
do) but it is convenient - ok, then, *lazy*, to divide the year up in this way,
especially as my two visits to RoTa have both been towards the close of 2000 and
2001 respectively.  Tomorrow, however, its off to the very local Cellar to see
Chris T-T whom I've only read about, not actually heard, but anyone who writes a
song about a bus route must be good, surely?

So James Thorniley has joined the York Sinister Massive.  It's ages since I've
been to York, but I have lots of good memories of it...the Burning of the Boats
ceremony on the Ouse, the smell of chocolate wafting through the air from the
Terry's factory, searching unsuccessfully for Dick Turpin's grave and almost
missing the train home (I swaer someone had been moving the signs around).  Has
York produced anything of merit musically lately?  It's somewhat unfortunate
that the only band I can think of from York is Sh*d S*v*n.

There is no such thing as the Oxford Sinister Massive.  I wish there was.  Maybe
there are some sinister freshers who lurk, who knows?  The Boy G is here
apparently, though I have yet to bump into him.

Ever had that experience of finally noticing something and going "duh, oh yeah"
in a slightly embarrassed and quite-a-bit asinine sort of way?  I owned Teenage
Fanclub's "Grand Prix" album for years before I realised that each band member
is standing under a sign with his own name on it.  Been playing this album a lot
lately for some reason (and looking up verisimilitude in the dictionary).  And
with Norman Blake playing Stevie's dad, that almost counts as 'content' ;).

"if you're feeling like a minister, go off
and write to sinister", wrote Juju, but which kind of "feeling like"?  You can
feel like you're dressed up in a cassock and are about to be offered more tea,
or alternatively be reading Canon Roger Royle's column in Woman's Weekly and
suddenly think, "Phwoar!  I'll have me some of that!"  Very confusing, this
language of ours.  Time flies like an arrow, etc.

Mark.

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