Whatever comes to mind before I alter it with the overpaint of time. Mostly satire, poetry and fiction but occasional unreliable fact, as all facts seems to be today. From deepest Notting Hill. London.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Lisamarie, jogging and wine.
My Bohemian life.
I went off with my hands in my torn coat pockets; My only pair of breeches had a big whole in them. And I listened to them, sitting on the road-sides And while, rhyming among the fantastical shadows, A. Rimbaud. |
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Retro, arrogance, Earl of Portobello and Friday nights.
FEEN, Bumpkin Jam, Christina Tomlin and How to lay back in West London.
I jumped out to catch the Mangrove steelband rehearsal at the Tabernacle (well worth catching if you can. Mon - Thurs weekly until Carnival) then went back. Good thing too.
The attic at Bumpkin is a lovely little space, very laid back, boho, friendly and the perfect spot for this kind of curated open mic thing.
Feen
A very high point was 'FEEN' a band I've not seen before but will look out for in future. I hope they come back. also on the bill were Charlotte Campbell and the amazing Christina Tomlin; god knows where she finds that voice and power.
the jam at the end was the perfect way to end an evening.
Very good indeed. See you there on Thursday.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
The portobello Travel Bookshop is closed.
The film 'Notting Hill' made it famous, made it a tourist hot spot, filled it with camera happy sightseers with no interest in the books or the shop other than some sort of shrine to that tosser Grant and what's her name the american luvvie.
It wasn't even the shop used in the film. It isn't on Portobello Road, it is on Blenheim Crescent.
The tourists have killed the place. It is now closed until a buyer can be found to put some enthusiasm back into a very special local amenity.
The tourists should be asked to pay for photography or fuck off and photograph Hugh Grant's house. I can supply the address.
The Elgin, Sophie Barker and Aisling Mallon.
Aisling Mallon
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Summer passion and scented things.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Monday, 1 August 2011
The Cow, Amy Winehouse, parquet flooring and Amie Martin.
I shouldn't have done but I did. At the end of a hot day I went to the Cow for a beer and scotch quails egg. All good so far. the beer was wet and the egg perfect
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Actor in Session. The Cherry Orchard at the Tabernacle.
The Eyes of Jarvis Trench
The Eyes of Jarvis Trench
I called at the house to view the motor bike. It was a 1967 Triumph Tiger Cub. I had owned a similar bike in my teens and fancied that it would make a project for the winter.
I was early. Mrs Trench answered the door in a flustered state but ushered me inside and led me to the living room. “You will have to excuse me,” she said. “You are early and it is time for my therapy but it won’t take long. Can I get you a cup of tea?”
The filth that surrounded her encouraged me to decline the offer. “No thank you,” I said.
She offered me a chair. I sat and looked about the room. It was littered with orange coloured objects I first took for balloons. I soon realised they were football bladders. There were perhaps 20 of them; each one sported a number of puncture repair patches. The patches on each bladder occupied positions on the same latitude. If they had been globes I would have estimated that they were on a line occupied by Stockholm. The patches circled the bladders. There were a number of deflated footballs, the old fashioned ‘lace up’ variety, and two or three repair kits. A professional-looking pump stood beside the chair she sat down in.
“Won’t take long,” she repeated as she took up one of the footballs and a bladder. There was an image painted on the ball but I was unable to make it out. She slowly and carefully fed the bladder into the ball, took the nozzle of the pump and inserted it into the bladder. With her right hand she worked the pump while steadying the ball with her left and her knees. As the ball inflated I saw that the leather was painted with a likeness of a man. He had bright blue eyes. She looked at me as the ball became tight and said, “I used to do the lacing once but don’t feel the need anymore.”
Gripping the ball between her thighs she took up two long needles then carefully and simultaneously forced a spike into each pupil.
As the needles entered she intoned the words: What are you looking at now, Jarvis Trench? She removed the weapons and laid the sighing ball on the floor beside the chair.
“The motorbike,” she said as she rose and I followed suit. “It is in the shed, it is not locked. Why don’t you go and take a look? It ain’t been used much. My husband only rode it to and from his camera club and he ain’t done that since the day he left his darkroom unlocked.”