Really Good Book

I really enjoyed Zoe Heller's 'The Believers' which I've almost finished. It's about a dysfunctional New York family. Not a lot happens, but the characters are very engaging. Her previous book was 'Notes On a Scandal' which was also fabulous and was made into an excellent film (Cate Blanchett and Judy Dench). I'm sure I remember Zoe Heller writing for the Sunday Times magazine? She's obviously a real talent.

Next Sketchmob

The next sketchmob will take place on Sunday 11 October at 11.00 at Tate Modern. Bring some drawing stuff.

Christmas is Here

I'm sure I saw Christmas cards for sale in Paperchase....on September 21st.

Borough Market Breakfast

Yesterday I had a cappuccino and a croissant in a small cafe just by Borough Market. It cost £4-95. I know that there's supposed to be a food revolution in the UK, with Borough Market the epicentre, but this was a bit steep.

Post Workshop Depression

Have just finished a 2 day training workshop for a big new client - the first in a series of sessions. I always find that I go through a range of emotions when undertaking these sessions.
Anxiety - in advance of the workshop: will it go well? am I prepared for it? will the delegates be nice?
Relief - the evening its all over: thank goodness it wasn't a disaster, glad the client / delegates are happy
Depression - the day after, I always feel incredibly flat, even if its gone well. It may be a combination of fatigue, stress, or simply feeling low after the high of an intense group experience.

The day after ie today, I always find it hard to move onto the next thing and end up doing menial, distracting stuff. Hence - this blog post in the middle of the afternoon, when I should be doing something more meaningful instead. Must resist the temptation of playing on the Wii.

Trevor Flynn's Sketchmob

Last night I went to my first ever Sketchmob event, organised by Trevor Flynn of Drawing at Work. About 15 of us gathered at the steps of British Musuem with our pencils and sketchpads and went to draw whatever we found interesting in one of the galleries. We all shared our sketches afterwards and Trevor gave us guidance and feedback. We all went for a drink afterwards. A lovely way to spend a Thursday evening.

Trevor's got a number of sessions lined up for the rest of the year - at the Tate, in Soho, where we'll work on different skills. I'm by no means an artist, but it certainly ignited an enthusiasm for the subject and I'm looking forward to future events.

I'm sure Sketchmobs are going to take off big time. Remember - you heard it here first!

Big School

Mae started at her senior school last week. New uniform, new classmates, new books, her own locker. All very exciting and feels incredibly grown up.

She even gets up early (never been know before) and looks forward to walking to school.

Summer Books

Didn't do that much reading over the Summer. However the book I really enjoyed was Stieg Larsson's the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Virtually everyone I know has read it. Nicely drawn characters as well as great plot

I also read books based in Italy. Really loved The Talented Mr Ripley. Can't remember the film very well, but the book is a real period piece. Very stylish. Want to watch the film again. I also liked Somerset Maugham's Up At the Villa, set in Florence. Short, pithy. Can be read in a couple of hours. Perfect escapism for a quiet evening in.

Back to Work, Back to Reality

After a final weekend in Tuscany, the laptop's on, I've dusted down my post-it notes and I need to sound sensible in meetings. The biggest challenge over the past few days has been to learn the lyrics to 'Viva La Vida' which we played non-stop on the car's cd. Didn't quite crack it (If I could rule the world...etc, etc) although Mae and Bev are word perfect.

Quite a nice re-entry into the working world. Took a train from Arezzo to Montreaux via Milan and am staying in the very posh Trois Coronnes hotel in Vevey - view over lake Geneva, posh toiletries, fluffy dressing gowns and chocolates on the pillow, etc. Will be here from a few days.

Had a quite kip in my room this evening, dreamt of bruschetta and tagliatelle. Dinner with client in a hour's time. Need to snap out of it....

Busy August

Have been on holiday for a lot of August and deliberately chose to keep away from my computer as much as possible. Spent a week in Scotland at Glenuig, on the western coast of Scotland. The most beautiful part of the British Isles I've ever visited - lochs, lovely remote islands, mountains. Went seakayaking which was great. Shame about the midges and the unpredictable weather.

Also went to Italy to spend a week in the blistering heat of Tuscany. What a contrast. Our house is looking really nice. Am so pleased with it and feel fortunate to be able to go there.

Now need to get back into work mode which is always tough, but have a got a busy few weeks ahead.

Coldplay In St Louis

I know they're not everyone's cup of tea, but Coldplay put on a great show at the Verizon amphitheatre on a hot sweaty evening last Friday. They worked really hard to build a rapport with the audience, twice performing on tiny platforms amongst the crowd of 20 000 and continuing to chat with them between songs. I also loved seeing all the big yellow balloons they projected into the crowd during their performance of Yellow.

Coldplay are on a big US tour and strangely I felt quite proud to see a very British band 'conquering' America. They even gave away free CDs to everyone on the way out which was a really nice gesture.

Kim Massie in St Louis

They love their music in St Louis and there's a thriving jazz and blues scene.Last night I saw an amazing singer called Kim Massie perform at an Blues bar called Beale on Broadway. Was a privilege to be there. We sat in the open air until 1am on a hot and steamy evening drinking Bud listening to great music that made you feel glad to be alive. How lucky am I.

Off to see Coldplay tonight in a huge amphitheatre - will be quite a contrast. Work's over, so will be a great way to end the trip.

Day 1 in St Louis

Am staying in one of my favourite hotel chains, the Westin, in downtown St Louis, right across the road from the St Louis Cardinals baseball stadium. Managed to get a decent night's sleep in my 'Heavenly Bed' and spent the morning visiting supermarkets to get products for our workshop tomorrow.

We've hired a big car so have been driving around the mean streets of the city with the help of my Garmin. St Louis is not what I expected. It's big and fairly industrialised and like most cities its quite divided. There's a lot of posh houses and nice parks, but equally there's quite a few poor neighbourhoods.

The city has a great reputation for jazz and blues, so may well go and seek some out this evening in a local bar. Its also home to Anheuser-Busch, so there should be some good beers on offer. Coldplay are playing in St Louis this Friday. Not sure whether I'll go or not.

Have already tripled my daily caloric intake after a huge breakfast. One of the best things about being in the States. However, am sure I'll have a steak this evening. I also really like all that 'have a good day' cheefulness. Puts you in a good mood.

Off to St Louis

Tomorrow I'm going to St Louis for the first time. I'm not even sure where it is, although I know I need to change at Chigaco. Will be there for the rest of week. As ever, feeling slightly anxious - what should I pack, have I sorted all my work out, will the workshop go ok, will all the flights connections work. Haven't got a clue what to expect. We'll see....

Lily Allen At Somerset House

Lily Allen is proving to be a really accomplished performer. She's got more material to play with from her excellent second album and she looks great too - slimmer and more glam. Here she is singing 'Smile'. Make your own mind up.

The Wrestler

On a long haul flight I recently saw 'The Wrestler'. This is a fantastic film and Mickey Rouke is incredible in the title role. Even if you don't like wrestling or indeed sport in general you can't help getting drawn into it. This is no rags to riches Rocky-style movie and the wrestling acts as a backdrop to the plot. It's about an ageing man struggling to hold his life together and rebuild a relationship with his estranged daughter. Sean Penn was brilliant in 'Milk', but I reckon Mickey Rourke deserved to win the Oscar for this performance. Definitely worth seeing. Put it to the top of your Lovefilm list.

Glastovid 4 - Michael Jackson Tribute

At Glastonbury on Thursday, news broke about Michael Jackson's death. On Friday, acts were paying their respects. On Saturday, the dance tents were playing his songs as were the performers. By Sunday, the comedians were trotting out the old Michael Jackson jokes.

Here's a video of Dizzee Rascal conducting a Michael Jackson singalong.

Glasto Vid 3 - Blur

Here's Blur singing a bit of 'Parklife' with that bloke from East Enders. (Phil Daniels)

Glasto Vid 2 - Dizzee Rascal

Excuse the dodgy quality. Its hard to dance and record at the same time. Here's Dizzee Rascal. Last year Jay-Z showed that hip hop does have a place on the big stage. Nice to see some home grown talent put on a great show this year. Look carefully and you'll see Karen and our friend Teresa looking very happy.

Glasto Vid 1 - The Specials


The Specials were great. Still looked pretty cool to me.