It’s been a while (again) since I last wrote down an order of coherent words here and clicked the button marked ‘Publish’ on my WordPress dashboard. I’ve been too busy doing a whole multitude of things so it might be best to summarise all that’s happened in the past few weeks in one simple blog entry.
Guildford People – Still going pretty well. August could have been a very quiet month but the riots and the general paranoia and confusion that surrounded it boosted traffic lots as confused residents wanted to filter fact from fiction. As luck would have it, a small fire broke out at a disused nightclub in Guildford whilst I was in town and I knew almost instantly that this would be widely misreported by people looking out of bedroom windows. So I got some pictures on my phone, posted them to Twitter and then posted them again plus some others on the website that afternoon. The traffic we got was extraordinary and just went to show how wide-ranging this story was even in places where nothing was happening.
The next month should be busier still. The new entertainment venue, G Live, opens officially on Thursday and I’ve got some ideas floating around as to how to cover events at the venue. This week I’ll be going to the press launch as part of the Heritage Open Days. There’s also other things happening which will prompt me to go in again on Saturday. It’s a busy long weekend but one I look forward to.
Label Love – In the aftermath of the riots, it emerged that the PIAS distribution centre in Enfield got destroyed and countless stock for many independent labels were lost. Label Love was born in order to raise money for those affected and I’ve been helping out whenever and wherever I can on the press side of things. There was a benefit gig at the Silver Bullet in Finsbury Park last night that I couldn’t get to but was a success according to those who were there. More events are currently being planned so it’s worth keeping an eye on their website and their Twitter account. They should also give you information on how you can help.
The Musical Chairs – The blog that I’ve been using since 2008 to express thoughts on all things relating to music before I became a writer for magazines and webzines is currently in a state of flux. I’m currently not sure what to do with it. Part of me wants to bring the curtain down and call an indefinite hiatus but that would also mean losing some articles that I was really proud of – okay, most of them were rants but entertaining ones I hope. I’m going to reach a decision hopefully in the next couple of weeks but I know that it’s certainly no longer the priority that it once was.
–
So that sums it up I think. This blog will also see some changes I think. In order to kick my own bum into gear I’m going to be promoting more of my own work here as soon as it’s published. Hopefully you’ll see some original content here too. Who knows, eh? This concludes my “Hey, I still exist!” post.
