Tuesday 25 August 2009

Municipal Waste crowd surfing attempt @ Bloodstock

I just found this on youtube and thought i would share:



Please look closely at the girl on stage with the blonde hair! hahahaha

Monday 24 August 2009

Life's a beach!

Here's some photos from my weekend at my parents new place!
Playing cricket! Got the fever! Now we've won The Ashes back!







Looks so idyllic!



Unfortunately this follows my Blackberry being nicked! So nice to have a break! Out of contact too! But damn those thieves!

Wednesday 19 August 2009

Bloodstock Open Air 2009 - Festival number 8

This was my first Bloodstock festival. I remember in previous years getting to the point of Bloodstock in August and being festivaled out and never going before. There's only so many festivals you can take right?
Wrong! Bring it on! I'm in swing of this now!!
So Tony Foresta (MW) flew into London for a Kerrang shoot and Ol Drake (Evile) was in London doing press so the 3 of us and Louise (Terrorizer) set off in the hire car Friday morning bright and early to get to Bloodstock.
I won't lie to you, i don't like driving hire cars. I don't like driving on the motorway, i don't like having such precious cargo or 3 rockstars, i don't like the fact that I'm personally and financially liable, i don't like the fact the car has only done 8 miles before (probably in rap lyrics)
AND i hate GPS. I'm meant to be looking at the road! And this pink road, red road, arrows going up and down etc is just annoying
Anyway, enough bitching about hire cars (this partially also stems from my first and only car i ever owned, my 1973 Fiat 126 which frequently fell apart at speeds over 60mph) after a smooth ride, picking up The Sun and The Metro on route (that had MW in) we arrive at Bloodstock, drive backstage and get everyone out. 3 hours before MW showtime. Press to do, booklets to sign, plans to make, records to break - plenty to do.
Because Municipal Waste had, onstage in Norway earlier that week at Oya festival, burnt a cardboard church onstage - http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/08/12/kultur/oyafestivalen/musikk/municipal_waste/7627076/
magazines had been asking what antics they would get up to at Bloodstock. The pressure was on. 20 mins before show time Tony decided. "Talita, you have a notepad, you're from the Guinness book of records we're gonna do a crowd surfing record attempt"
Ok win. No problem.
So the set looked like this:

Then after playing Black Ice, Tony tells the crowd how he has a special treat for them and introduces Gwendolyn... (that's me) i walk on stage with a little wave, sunglasses on, thinking "no one is gonna believe this crock of shit" Tony explains I'm there to record MW breaking the crowd surfing record attempt. I've seen record attempts before, they would have to define what crowd surfing is, explain what counts and doesn't count, and definitely have more than one person with a piece of paper and a pen to count the numbers properly.
As it is when the song kicks in, its impossible to count the numbers of legs, arms, flailing and waving and dumping themselves over the barriers. I try to keep up with ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ written all over my page on my clipboard with my marker pen. But the truth is like many of those crowd surfing attempts out there, I'm drowning! No worries. This isn't for real and my anxious, counting face is playing its part. Half way through the track Tony stops, the bass and drums keep going, he comes over to me and says "look like you're saying something to me" and i say "like what?!" and he says "SHE SAYS WE HAVE 75 MORE TO GO!!" and they kick back in. More rapid ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ scribbles.
At the end of the track when heaps of people, like lemmings, have gone over the barrier, more than the security staff could cope with, when injured, blooded Waste fans, hungry for more, had surfed their hearts out Tony comes up to me and says "How many we get?" i had been desperately trying to count my ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ and I'd got to 128. "428!!!!" Tony screams for the stage "We've broken the record!!" win. Hahahaha. Municipal Waste are fucking winners! I love them. Yes!
I scurry offstage.



Later on during the signing session Tony ended up signing kids injuries from the record attempt. One or two asked for the total crowd surfers, he pointed at me and said "Ask Gwendolyn".
I just nodded politely, and looked like i didn't speak english.



Later on mucho hanging out. All MW apart from Tony were staying the rest of the weekend too. I found a bottle of vodka courtesy of Seregon, which ended up with Louise and i coming across a game called Forkie Forkie near the fair ground rides.

With the help of my friend Dutch Frank, Louise fell in love with this game about a fork and started eulogising about how wonderful and socially aware this game was, and how she never was a team player until now. Forkie forkie convert.
The next day was mainly taken up with Evile press. Then cocktail o'clock.
I like to think I'm good at making cocktails. Even if Evile weren't so sure.

Later on we ended up in the fairground, trying to do a shoot for Terrorizer.
At some point after the Waltzers and Dodgems, Louise and Lucy Darkness passed out.
So the last day of Bloodstock.

Headbanging, more Evile press, Sabaton, and driving back to London with Mike and Ol from Evile - Louise and i entertained them all the way home by singing Madonna at the top of our voices.
Here's the Earache crew at the stall.
And one last look at Bloodstock during Turisas' set.
First Bloodstock, probably not the last! 8th Festival this summer DONE!!
Only Reading and Leeds to go!

Jab jab poke poke 5 weeks to go!!

So i now have 5 weeks to go until i leave for Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Even though I'm only away for just over 2 weeks i still have to have some jabs. Trying to work out which ones isn't so easy "consult your doctor" it says.
So i can tell you i definitely don't need the Yellow Fever jab - as that only occurs in South America and Africa.

I've had 2 jabs so far which are handily combined vaccines - Hepatitis A, & Typhoid fever and Diphtheria (which my Nan once collapsed of on the stairs when she was a kid), Tetanus and Polio.

Now i have to decide whether i want the Meningitis jab - The travel Meningitis jab isn't the same as the immunisation you get just for the UK - Here in the UK you get a meningitis C jab which lasts for life - the travel vaccine is A,C, U or something.
All this jab business is very complicated. You have to do your homework it seems.
Rabies is another one that takes a decision.


Its endemic in Asia, but it is in most places, even in Europe.If you get the jabs you need to get to a hospital within 24hours for a top up. If you don't get the jabs you need to get to a hospital within 24hours for jabs. I like animals and will probably want to stroke a cat or hug a monkey whilst I'm away... but do i need 3 jabs in advance... ugh i dunno. Can i not just control myself and not hug a bat?

Ahhh Malaria. Not a jab but tablets. Tablets that can make you sick. Bhutan has malaria, but only in the lower areas of the country that I'm not going to. Same with Kathmandu. So I've decided I'm not taking anti-malarials.



Oh jabs! What a lot of fun they are! There's still loads more disease-related stuff i have to read up on, and work out what precautions I'm meant to take against altitude sickness etc.
5 weeks to go, and I'm trying to be organised. I went to the docs too to get a repeat prescription for my inhalers - he said "5 weeks ahead! you're very organised!"
But i was there planning jabs anyway...
Now i look like a hypochondriac! I've never had jabs for travelling before. I've never bothered. But because I'm going by myself I'm just trying to be safe... cause although there's a hospital in Kathmandu and Thimphu there isn't anywhere else.
And at least if i get this out the way asap, then i can think about all the fun stuff to do with the trip!
I have no fear of needles, and jabs don't scare me at all, in fact i hardly felt them, just felt a bit weird for a few hours after but nothing major. I really want to be able to enjoy my trip as best i can. That's why i don't want to take anti-malarials!

Saturday 8 August 2009

Bye bye 169!!

Bye bye 169!

Bye bye Dad's Dahlias and the acer tree and the fir trees and the willow tree that grew from a cutting of the tree near the Ickenham guide hut!


Bye bye conservatory that got lifted over the top of the house by a big crane that stopped traffic and caused a big hold up that i heard about on the radio on the way to school.



Bye bye kitchen that was once my playroom




Bye bye upstairs of the house and Mum on the landing of the upstairs of the house and the stairs that creaked and the wallpaper that was so flowery


Bye bye 169! I will miss you! But now we've left i feel sadder about Zosma my cat who is left buried in the garden for the new owners than i do about moving on. Life is change and this change was well overdue.

Thursday 6 August 2009

Ghosts from the past

Recently i seem to be haunted by ghosts from the past. Not real ghosts but memories of errors and near-misses, and let downs, and even people. (Facebook has a way of doing that)
Its not a problem, it just makes me reflective and melancholy. Which is not my favourite default position. I think i'm in a state ready to remember because i'm about to have a huge change in my life, which is that 1pm tomorrow my parents move out of the house i grew up in. Up until yesterday i thought i would feel nothing, as i've been so busy it hasn't bothered me, then yesterday i started feeling sad about it. It really is the end of an era. My mum has been living in that house for over 50 years. It was the only house i knew until my twenties. It is a monument to the perfections and imperfections of my family and the trials and tribulations they've undergone over the years. Its big black and white majesty with the drive that's like a round-about that's a test for any potential boyfriend of a daughter to reverse round. Its chilly, its creaky, its improvised and not digitalised and full of christmases and first days of school.
My parents don't throw things away easily. Not even plastic bags. We've only ever had 2 cars in our house, the blue volvo and the white volvo. We still have the white volvo. I cried when we sold the blue volvo GLY 639T.
I'm going to say goodbye to 169 tonight after work.
I like to embrace change, but i think it may cause a few tears.

Tuesday 4 August 2009

Sonisphere! Festival number 7




My first festival of the summer where i wasn't working! Win!

And the first Sonisphere festival (in the UK) at Knebworth!

My first Knebworth festival to boot.

I went down Saturday morning with Louise, Kat (who's recently graduated as a nurse! well done Kat!), Marc, James and Khaled. Getting to spend a weekend with friends is such a treat! Especially my girls Kat and Louise!

So because i wasn't working and we were all going down together, i decided i should camp - hell! we should all camp together.

I was even excited about camping.

Khaled had a 12 person tipee, and inflatable chairs. Luxury camping!

Knebworth is about an hour from central London, so its no trouble to get to. We had some trouble with the VIP camping already being full, but after an hour or so wait (put to good use whilst drinking) - and you gotta expect some teething problems with a first year.

We got to see Sylosis before we waited for putting the tents up



And then Sylosis front man Jamie got a good beating with an inflatable Gladiator pugil stick courtesy of Mark back at the campsite. That'll show him for putting on a good show and getting a huge circle pit going during which i nearly got stuck to a half naked sweaty hairy man. Ugh.


Look at that peaceful campsite and sunset after torrential heavy rain that unfortunately fell down hard during Heaven and Hell's set
I <3>
I got to go and see my friend Nadia who works in the Dio camp later that night - i waved hi to Dio himself too - but hung out with Nadia as i don't get to see her alot.
It was nice to catch up with people i'd work with at festivals earlier on in the summer under less pressurised conditions.
Later on i was reminded why i hate camping.
So bloody cold! Ugh!
After a couple of hours sleep whilst freezing sun was up and it was boiling. Ugh! No happy medium!

Sunday was a great day at Sonisphere. Despite walking round like a hedge born unkempt lost zombie mess for the first few hours i soon got into the swing of it, and the lovely sunny day was a great improvement on the torrential rain of the day before. I ran into some friends from festivals earlier this year... which produced some hilarious afternoon moments


Sunday night was the mighty Metallica!

(It was Hetfields birthday and the end of tour so he got covered in cream pies by his kids - nice)

So, good end to my first non-work festival of the year! Win!
And so nice to have no-pressure hang time with my friends.
I really like Knebworth as a venue for a festival too. Hope it happens again next year!

Blondie!!

BLONDES have more FUN!!

My absolute favourite blonde. Jayne Mansfield. Star of one of my favourite movies "The girl can't help it".

Sadly killed in a freak car accident in 1967 at the age of 34.

The most beautiful Marilyn Monroe.





Gorgeously curvy and vivacious. Gentlemen prefer blondes. So glamorous.



And why am i showing you my favourite blondes?

Including another movie star i love - Doris Day Calamity Jane

And Mitzy Gaynor - star of South Pacific....

And more up to date - Blondie herself...



Because I've recently chopped it all and gone completely blonde. I've wanted to for at least 5 years. Last week i just did it.