Sinister: reporting back on everything that has happened in the last 10 years (or last month at least)

[Rachel]

Dear Sinister

Since, Grainne wanted reporting back and since she was so kind to organise
the Christmas present exchange last year I feel that it would be wrong to
disappoint her and I have decided to delurk for a while and do as she says.

So her goes...

WEDNESDAY 15th OF JUNE - B&S AT THE ARCHES, GLASGOW

On Wednesday 15th June I went to the arches to watch B&S in Glasgow. This
was a very long time ago and my memory is not what it once was  my
recollection of what happened on this date is a little fuzzy so forgive me
if I miss out anything important.
I arrived at the Arches which is a pretty flash looking venue I must say,
with an upside down badge pinned to bag, and dutifully waited for the band
to appear on stage.
First though I stood and watched a serious of films and talks put on by the
G8 alternatives. In case you don't know these are a group of people who have
been organising protests and demos (which are also protests and not first
drafts of songs)and other public meetings to raise the awareness of issue
being discussed at the G8 summit. These were met with mixed response. There
were a few grumblings from people stood near me saying they had come to
watch a  band not listen to political rants but overall the audience seemed
to empathise with the sentiment of the night.

After that the B&S stumbled on stage exuding the air of a group of people
who are a little bit surprised to find that they are not playing in their
bedroom and began to play in a the manner of a group of people who suddenly
remeber they are actually very talented.

 They played a lot of new songs, which were good and nice to dance to, but
like I said my memory is not up to much and i couldn't tell you much about
them. I do remember that Stuart played a song which I thought was about
pineapples but he told us afterwards it was about why you should buy fair
trade produce. Nobody seemed to grumble at this. Also Sarah and Mick had a
competition to see who could play the most musical instruments. Sarah won by
playing melodica, recorder, egg, violin and flute. Stevie played "the wrong
girl" but his memory must have been as bad as mine because someone had to
hold up a sign saying "the wrong girl" so he could remember the words.
Belfast Bob, looked like a mean moody rock star and Chris Beans Geddes
looked as happy as ever.
Unfortunately Richard had been made to sit a million miles away and I
couldn't laugh at the funny expressions he pulls while drums.

There was a kind of raffle so people could choose their favourite old songs
that they wanted hear being to played. The band then looked through the
suggestions until they found the ones the wanted to play and the gig ended
with "Sleep the Clock Around" and "Judy and the Dream of Horses". By this
time all grumbles had been replaced by big smiles. I left feeling happy and
excited and only slightly disappointment throughout the whole evening nobody
glanced twice at my upside down badge.


24th-26th JUNE- GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL- GLASTONBURY
I watched Glastonbury from the comfort of my sofa. I think I may have missed
out on some of the atmosphere but my viewing method did allow me to visit
Hadrian's Wall in-between bands.

SATURDAY 2nd JULY- MAKE POVERTY HISTORY RALLY-EDINBURGH

At 11am I found myself wandering the meadows signing various petitions and
looking at the helicopters chasing the clouds out of the sky. I waited in a
line, for an hour,  to march around the city. Then someone turned up and
told me that I was in the wrong place and I eventually moved out of the
meadows and into the city. For those who have not visited Edinburgh I should
tell you that it is a very beautiful city and walking around slowly and
peacefuly with a group of people who  felt, for one day at least, they could
change the world was a very moving  experience.

SATURDAY 2nd JULY- LIVE8 - ALL OVER THE PLACE!

Having enjoyed my Glastonbury experience so much I decided to watch Live8
from the comfort of my sofa too. I think I may have missed out on some of
the atmosphere but my viewing method did allow my poor feet to recover
slightly before I was off to watch ballboy (a band who once read spell their
name with a small b)...


 SATURDAY 2nd JULY- bALLBOY- EDINBURGH
(an event Grainne obviously forgot to hear reporting back about)

I arrived at Potterow, the students union for Edinburgh university at about
11pm. This was shocking for me as it was way past my bedtime and only the
beginning of the evening rather than the end. ballboy do not have  badges so
I kept my upside down B&S badge pinned to my bag to conduct an experiment to
see whether fans of ballboy are also fans of B&S.
There was a song about lapdancers, and two songs with swear words*, and a
slightly strange Queen type moment Gordon (lead singer) held out his mic
when there was a chorus of "Gary (drummer) is a dobber**" from the audience.
 The evening finished with Olympic cyclist which is a great song and does
not contains any rude or insulting words***

I left the venue feeling happy but tired and wondered whether seagulls
always walk (rather than fly) across the road at night when they think
nobody is watching.

The results of my  experiment were inconclusive as nobody glanced twice at
my upside down badge.


* which I won't repeat for anyone reading at work
** which I will repeat as it is crucial in the telling of the story, and
because I'm English and had to ask what a dobber was.
*** phew!

4th JULY -MONDAY EVENING- MY BEDROOM

After writing post which is far to long I stopped and remembered to send
congratulations to Archel and Matt along with my love and best wishes for
Sinisterines old skool and new each occupying their own little corner of the
world. I hope you are all well and life is treating you kindly.


Take Care
Rachel





*************
If you're any sort of hero, you'll be fighting for what you believe in.
You'll get tired, and worn down by the world. There's always somebody to
tell you you're wrong....You can't always save the world.
But you're a hero, so that won't stop you trying.
http://www.friendsoftheheroes.co.uk

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