Quick update

James' birthday weekend in Suffolk was lovely. Perfect weather and lots of not-too-much to do. I have a couple of photos that I will put up soon...mainly of me mocking the countryside.

Yesterday we went to the New Forest for David's funeral. It was a very sad day, all in all, and we were pretty exhausted by the time we got home, after 11pm. Most odd moment probably goes to Mark Kermode introducing my unborn baby to someone but then forgetting to introduce me. Well, it's a first. And it was good to talk to him and Linda about work and films and all that. There was someone else from that Southampton film department as well, who was also really nice, and who sang 'Rhinestone Cowboy' (David's favourite!) at the end of the service.

Today, Alice and I are off to Greenbelt festival for the long weekend. I have packed nothing so had better stop rambling and get on with it...

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Sex with Ducks from Erika Lindhome on Vimeo.

Horrendous or Awesome?

I really can't decide.

Long and strange day

Having woken up on Saturday morning, hoping to do nothing much and just have a chilled Chiswick day, we got a phone call to say that James' father had died in the night. Though he had cancer, it was pretty unexpected and shocking to say the least. So we decided to head down to the New Forest where family were gathering in the local pub to try and assimilate the news. Turned out that for the most part, 'assimilate' meant 'drink enough to forget', and a few people were pretty trashed by the time we arrived. We stayed for a while, but then James decided that he would like to go to the hospital to see the body. His family were pretty anti the idea, having decided against it themselves, but it turned out to be a really good and helpful thing to do. It wasn't weird at all, and it was really useful, I think, to have that private space and moment in which to say goodbye. Funerals serve a purpose, no doubt, but there are so many different feelings and agendas flying around that I think it's often hard to get what you need, as an individual, out of it.

It was pretty late by the time we were done there and we thought we'd go and get some food. Southampton on a Saturday night turned out to be a very unattractive prospect indeed, so we decided to stop off at Winchester instead. After the first two places we tried were full, we finally found a table at Brasserie Blanc, where we had a really lovely supper and glass of wine (James) / champagne (me) to toast David, life and good food.

We got back to Chiswick just after midnight, exhausted, but actually kind of ok.

Today we've tried to have that calm day - we've been out to pick up coffee and pastries for breakfast, but other than that, we're just hanging out, watching some TV, eating leftovers and being quiet.

Lemonade

What people did when they got laid off from their ad agency in the recession. I really want to see this.

Back home

Tired. Too much work to do. Haven't unpacked. Tired.

Went to see 'Hamsters With Guns' (aka G-Force) with Alice - only because it was free, you understand. Alice seemed to have a little trouble with the plot, despite it being aimed at five year olds. We were going to have dinner afterwards, but I felt too tired, so I've just come home to crash.

zzzzzzzzz...

Edinburgh Day Five

Our last day brought the worst weather - rainy, windy and much colder. Definitely not as pleasant a walk to our first destination of the Pleasance Courtyard to see Domestic Goddi. It was a sketch show, and despite clearly referencing Nigella both in the title and the posters, there were no sketches giving her a gentle prod, which was a shame. I didn't actually enjoy the show very much - I thought the sketches were pretty mainstream and not very smart. Not that anyone would have fared well following Daniel Kitson on our schedule, but I was quite disappointed with this. There was a notable exception however - their parody of Top Gear, 'Hot Gear', in which women were test driving shoes was very funny indeed.

We walked over to The Tron in Hunter Square next to see (funny) singer-songwriter Gavin Osborn. He hadn't been on my original radar or our schedule, but then I discovered that he had been touring with Daniel Kitson (who plugged him in the show the night before), and spoke to Helen, who said that she and Claire went to see them both together a few times, and really enjoyed it. They even sent a CD through with Claire's favourite song of Gavin's after hearing that she had died. I didn't need any more reasons to go, and I'm so pleased we did. Gavin came up to talk to us before the show even started and was just lovely. I mentioned Claire and he remembered straightaway - and played the song (Charlie's 18th Birthday) as the last number in his set. The set was brilliant - very funny and sweet songs. We both absolutely loved it. Favourite songs for me were 'Jamie Cook', 'There's An Awful Lot Wrong With a Little Bump and Grind' and a song that wasn't on the record (which I bought) about being over 30. I will definitely go and see him next time he plays in London.

After his show, I met up with Meredith and we went for a beer and a catch up, which was really good. It's funny how little you can get to see someone when there are shows involved! Hopefully they might make a return visit to London in October and have a little more hanging out time then.

Eventually it was time for our final show - and Rachael and Seth's final show. Seth's voice managed to hold out long enough to make it to the end, and he threw everything he had into his last set. He did the amazing cover of 'Man In The Mirror' again (which I vastly prefer to the original), as well as his own stuff. I will really miss hearing 'Walk Katy Home' and 'No Place To Land', which I thought were fantastic but are new, and not on any of his records. He played Naia for me again, as he had done every night, and I don't think I would get sick of it if I was to hear it every night for a month. I still think the first line, 'I've been waiting for Naia by the stereo, to have the best song on when she arrives' is one of the best opening lines I've ever heard in a song. And Meredith told me he wrote it when he was only 16! Amazing...

Rachael sadly did NOT take a leaf out of Seth's book, request-wise, and didn't play the song I asked for ('Slow Down') in any of the five shows. You'd think she wasn't just a human jukebox existing for my entertainment or something :) Her set was good though - she mixed up the order a bit more, and threw 'Bravedancing' in for good measure. I also really enjoyed her playing '93 Maidens' on this tour. It worked really well with the band she had with her. And the cover of 'Fame' really is brilliant - I am very glad she'll be recording it - to coincide with the film's release. She also has a song in the film! albeit a bastardised version of 'Too Many Women' - but I can't wait to go and see it and see her name in the credits at the end.

We said our goodbyes and walked back the apartment, feeling pretty impressed with ourselves for having managed 15 shows in 5 days (and at least one of us actually SAW all 15), and settled in for our last night of sleep (mother willingly relegated to sofa, having accepted Darth Vader status).

Packed up this morning and now on the bumpiest train ever back to London. Thus endeth my Edinburgh review, but it will be no surprise to anyone who has read the whole thing that my festival picks were:

Laura Solon: Rabbit Faced Story Soup

Daniel Kitson: We Are Gathered Here

Mark Thomas: Manifesto

Gavin Osborn: Meeting Your Heroes

and, of course:

Sequins and Shpiel: An Evening With New York's Rachael Sage (special guest: Seth Glier)

Normal service (i.e. infrequent updating and random links) to be resumed tomorrow. Or whenever :)