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Sep 06 2011
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Life

Hello Autumn

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.

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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.

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Jul 17 2011
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Life

So, didn’t miss much then?

I’m fully aware that whilst I’ve been away being busy that the media industry has been rocked by the scandals that are circling News Corp – bad time to not blog for a while I guess.

I’ve been trying to find a good time to express my thoughts on it all but I still can’t think of something that would make sense yet – too much has happened in the last two weeks and so much could still happen, so anything I write could be out-of-date quite quickly. The only thing I will say is this brief but amusing anecdote: I went away to Bilbao on the morning of the day that News Of The World was announced to be closing…I was unaware of any news until I got back the following Sunday, so you can imagine my surprise when I found ‘that’copy of the tabloid at Stanstead Airport.

I’ll try and write up something about this soon. Either way, it’ll be a heck of a lot more interesting than writing about my decision, since the last time I blogged, to grow a beard.

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Jun 15 2011
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Life

Generic update in the middle of June

I’ve just realised that we definitely are in the middle of June. How interesting. Anyway…

About a week ago I had a job interview that came out of nowhere. It was for a really cool sounding position that involved coding, digital marketing and lots of other interesting things but once again I lost out. You know why I lost out? Because they picked a candidate with experience in the field. It seems like it’s almost impossible for me to actually get a job if the candidates I’m up against are more experienced. Either way, I did get some really positive feedback and I now have a plan as how to proceed from here. This might take a while to implement properly though because of something that will be mentioned in the next paragraph.

Next week, me and my girlfriend head off to Glastonbury. This is my second but for her it’ll be her first having been harshly denied the chance to go last year for tedious reasons. We are going to be with a heap of friends and we’ll probably enjoy it immensely. I’m not doing any live-blogging this year and will be shunning the internet all together so I will, in effect, be completely cut off from the outside world for a few days. Should be interesting. Glastonbury also happens to start a ridiculously busy period for me. I will be on holiday in Rome the weekend after Glastonbury – it was a birthday present – and then the weekend after that I’m going to be in Spain covering the Bilbao Live BBK festival for Clash. There’s also a Weezer gig somewhere in the midst of it all.

At the moment I’m having what could be considered a ‘think about what I want to do’. Because of the hectic nature of the next couple of weeks I might go on a mini-shutdown. Hopefully I’ll be able to come to some conclusion about where I can go. Should I try and do more freelance work for new clients? Should I go pitching article ideas again? Should I still be applying for something more full-time? Either way, the only thing I’m certain of is that I will keep doing work for Guildford People and I’ll keep doing the music writing stuff because, in the case of the former, it’s financially satisfying for a freelance gig and, in the case of the latter, it’s still fun to do and I feel like I can develop a lot more in that field.

So that is where I’m at. I will also try to blog more because I’ve been really slacking in that area for 2011. Sorry!

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Jun 12 2011
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Life

How to make sun dried tomato and basil scones

Scones!

Over the weekend I baked some savoury scones – my first attempt at proper baking for a good few years. I was immensely pleased with the results. The combination of sun dried tomatoes and basil seemed to go down a treat with the people who sampled it so, given that a few asked for the recipe, here it is. My version is based off this recipe, so I’ve modified it a bit.

You will need:

  • 5 dl plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 4 tbsp dried basil
  • 80 g butter
  • 1 dl sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, well drained and finely chopped
  • 1 dl milk
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • olive oil to brush

Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius.
  2. Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, black pepper and basil and stir together.
  3. Blend in butter (making sure to slightly melt it in the microwave beforehand – this takes all of fifteen seconds though it depends how powerful your microwave is) and get the mixture to look a bit coarse, making sure to squeeze out all the lumps of butter. This is best done with your hands.
  4. Stir in the tomatoes.
  5. In a seperate bowl, mix the egg with the milk before adding it to the main mixture until it is moist.
  6. Knead the dough. What you want is a dough that isn’t too sticky. If you realise that it’s not ready after a few turns, add some more flour.
  7. Get a baking tray and put greaseproof paper on it.
  8. Grab a clump of dough and mold it into a ball, rubbing it against the palm of your hands. Place on the tray and squeeze the top to make it look roughly like a small 6” circle.
  9. Brush all the scones with olive oil. You could also use melted butter as an alternative.
  10. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until they turn golden brown. If you have an uneven oven it’s good to turn the tray around halfway through just so that it all gets cooked evenly.

Enjoy!

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Apr 18 2011
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Life

Adjusting to the role of ‘lone motivator’

So, it’s mid-April and we’re entering a stage of the year that I always call the ‘manic section’. I always seem to have a lot of things planned for April and May and this year seems to be no different. Amongst the things I have planned include meeting with my girlfriend’s family who are coming over from Finland this week, covering That Damned Wedding for LocalPeople in Guildford, going to one day of Camden Crawl, seeing many other gigs and head off to Brighton for The Great Escape. This is all before my next batch of pay.

This year, however, there is one crucial difference. No deadlines. No tutors snapping at my heels. No last-minute assignment tinkering. I’m no longer at university. Hell, I’m no longer at any educational institution.

This is something that has felt weird as the year has progressed. In September, watching everyone stock up on stationary and other items for university or college or whatever was quite nostalgic and it was bizarre to find myself now out of that circle. After more than a decade of learning the routine is suddenly over.

I’ve had similar thoughts when people I know who are still at university are scrambling to finish off dissertations. All I keep thinking is “wow, it’s been a year since I did that…” and being slightly horrified that I’ve moved on so quickly from that period.

And then after graduating I’ve had some kind of contact with former co-students. Some have moved onto jobs, some haven’t, some are in a position where they’re going freelance…it’s a mixed bag of fortunes.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s a very surreal feeling to be in charge of your own destiny, as it were, when your calendar is piled up and you have a mountain to work to achieve. For example, I’m already working on some pretty ambitious coverage for The Great Escape on The Musical Chairs and it’s especially difficult since I’m on my lonesome. There is tremendous desire to get it finished on time because I think it’ll look good when completed but I’m the lone motivator.

It’s all up to me now. This is both a frightening and liberating experience all at once.

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