The last of the bank holiday weekends
For want of something better to write about (what is it about blogging inspiration running dry in the summer?) here are some personal highlights from the past few days:
- A lovely trip to Leigh-on-Sea and sunny Southend (as recommended by Mondo, Piley and years of listening to Ray Davies sing ‘Picture Book’). As the sun shone brightly, fish and chips were indulged in, second hand records flipped through, museums wandered around, piers admired, rounds of crazy golf lost and my Campers walked into the ground. Bliss.
- Discovering the Charles Lamb in Islington. It is Grim Up In North London – but you can order a home-made Scotch egg to go with your pint which makes it all worth while.
- Saint Etienne’s playlists on Spotify.
- Mary Stuart Masterson in John Hughes’ Some Kind of Wonderful.
- Oasis splitting up. To celebrate, I dragged out my copy of Definitely Maybe and was momentarily whisked back to the music hype of 1994. How can one band have lost it so much?
- This t-shirt.
- The look on the bar tenders face in the Dove as a bloke ordered a round comprising one pint of water, one pint of milk and a pint of ice. We went for the Brewers Gold instead.
- One of our neighbours has taken up the tuba and has been reduced to practicing in the back garden. Actually, that’s not necessarily a good thing – have you ever heard solo tuba?
September 1st, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Leigh on Sea sounds like my idea of heaven- a shame it’s approximately 350 miles across country from me (nearby equivalents such as Blackpool don’t posess quite the same allure. Re Oasis (who hail from somewhat nearer, approximately 1/2 mile from where I’m sitting) I know what you mean- for that brief moment back then they really were very, very good, weren’t they?
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:27 am
Great post. We’ve got our Labor Day holiday weekend coming up this weekend here in the USA. I can’t wait for a three day weekend.
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:06 am
I’ve never been to any of the Essex seaside resorts, but I know I should. It sounds lovely.
Quite glad Oasis split up, they were rubbish in the end weren’t they?
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:52 am
we love the charles lamb too the sausage rolls are ridiculously good!
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Glad you had a top trip I was thinking of you Saturday hoping the weather stayed sparky. Rossi’s are just delish aren’t they? You won’t find them anywhere else – the original Italian Mr Rossi could be seen selling them under the arches until a couple of years ago – did you know Frances Rossi from Status Quo is related.
So true about Oasis – full of it around 95, but lost it around 97. And those b-sides Acquiesce – knockout! Having said that I’m all for Giants which generally gets slated. Have you seen the DVD Live By The Sea – it was recorded at the Cliffs Pavillion Southend, just up the hill from your Rossi pic.(you can hear more local connections in Piley and I’s latest podcast – which I’m hoping to have up by Friday)
PS – there’s a free festival in a couple of weeks if you fancy another spin down – Billy Bragg, The Blockheads, Camera Obscura
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
You can get Rossi ice cream from a shop on the sea front here in Felixstowe, but the bloke who runs it always looks so miserable as he scowls at passers by that I always go to “the little ice cream shop” two doors down where they make it on the premisis.
Went to Southend a couple of years ago, all we did was go up the pier on the train before the visiting Canadians for who the trip had been arranegd wanted to go to Lakeside instead. Will have to try it again one day.
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Is no one going to defend Oasis then?!
Jonathan, Oasis, if I remember correctly, are from Burnage aren’t they? I got on the wrong bus in Manchester once and found myself there – so I I can imagine exactly what half a mile from your place looks like.
Keith, There is almost nothing better than the prospect of a 3 day weekend. Hope you enjoy yours.
FC, I’m not REALLY suprised to hear that you don’t frequent the coast often considering your aversion to sun! Still, its definitely worth a trip. I also recommend Frinton – that really is a lovely place.
BLTP, it’s sausage rolls next then! I’m kind of glad you like the Charles Lamb because (as ever) lots of the reviews on BITE seemed to be slagging the place off. I was wondering if I was missing something truly horrific. Actually, I don’t even know why I look at that site, the reviews of people rather than beer just annoy me…
Simon, are you referring to Lakeside the shopping centre?! I really hope not… ;)
And PM, thanks for your advice. We followed them to a tee – The Mayflower was great, as was the walk up the hill to the church. The other half was particularly impressed by the Wimpy too.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:13 pm
I’m glad you had a nice time down our way ;-) , a lot of people who live round here knock Southend and Essex in general , i reckon they should spend an afternoon in Eastham or Tottenham and then shut the f**k up :-). I’m going to defend Oasis , it’s really fashionable to knock em just now and for what ?. Not splitting up ? , still selling records and tickets , not being as “arty” as Blur ?. If you play straight ahead rock n roll you get “the treatment” , ask Quo , AC/DC , Ramones etc etc “it all sounds the same”. It’s musical snobbery , sure they aint as good as they used to be but they aint as bad as people are making out and still better than dullards like Coldplay etc etc. Any way Noel will be back , what else is he gonna do , count money :-). I’ve not bought an album by them in years i admit but i’m still glad they are (were) around putting peoples backs up (like the Pistols).
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Oooh, Carl. You do have a point that people have been a bit harsh on Oasis as of late, but I think that a lot of it is born out of disappointment rather than snobbishness. They were brilliant when they first came on to the scene – exciting and mouthy, releasing belter after belter. They (and a fawning press admittedly) created very high expectations, but then they went and did too much coke, lost their mojo and released a stack of albums with way, way too much filler. You can’t deny that people are bound to feel let down. I do!!!! In a selfish way (and I think a lot of people feel this way) I wish they’d split up years ago so that I wouldn’t have to have my memories of them tarnished.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Cocktails- Burnage is right, and I’m guessing your wrong bus was possibly the 169 from Didsbury village. It’s got a giant Tescos, the Council estate that the Gallaghers grew up in… and an Oasis theme pub. The latter only opened a couple of weeks ago (in the hulk of what was until recently a perfectly decent old man’s joint named the Farmers Arms), with what seems to have been less-than-perfect timing.. Although having said that, 30 years since the Beatles called it a day and their glamour still accounts (according to some figures that I have just made up) for over 40% of the tourist trade for the entire City of Liverpool…
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
You’ll have to give the Leigh Folk Festival a go next year – Saturday, is set in the park on the left of the steps next to church. Sunday the entire length of Old Leigh has non stop live music all day.
Love the Wimpy Classic Grill is my regular – for some reason I nearly always bump into Roman Jugg ex-The Damned outside..
Here you go Oasis from 95 – live in Southend (and where Piley saw Blur this summer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PkkV6DHcLU
http://piley.blogspot.com/2009/06/blur-live-review.html
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
An Oasis theme pub? Good grief. I’ll put that on my Manchester tourist list. I’ve already been to the Hacienda flats, the Dry Bar and Mick Hucknall’s wine bar (is that still there in Castlefields?). I can’t believe that I just admitted that. The best thing about Liverpool is the Adelphi (where John’s mum worked for at least 5 seconds once upon a time – apparently).
That clip is pretty good Mondo, though notably from 1995! I think that the Leigh folk festival might be more my thing these days. Maybe next year’s will be a goer.
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:13 am
Glad you have a rare ol time ‘dahn our way’!! Did you make it to Old Leigh too? I’da bought you all half a pint if i’d seen you (well there is a credit crunch on y’know!)
P
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:00 am
There’s an Old Leigh too? Where’s that?! Clearly we’re going to have to go back. And I’ll be on the look out for my half!
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Old Leigh is the best bit!!!!
Not sure how you got to Southend but ‘Leigh-on-Sea’ is the train station 2 or 3 before southend (Fenchurch Street Line)… Old Leigh is the old fishing town, and still has the look and feel of it. Much less tacky than Southend….
If you were in Leigh, you needed to go down the hill… but if you can find Leigh-on-Sea train station it’s right next to it… a must!
P
September 4th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Relief! I did go there then. Mondo gave me a detailed list of instructions – get off at Leigh-on-Sea station, go to the heritage centre, have fish and chips at The Mayflower, walk up the hill and admire the view etc. etc. which we did, before walking along the sea to Southend proper. And yes, it got more and more tacky the further we went!
September 4th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Phew!! glad you enjoyed it! Sounds like you did it in style too… Fish n Chips at Mondos favourite haunt too??!!