Stevie Wonder...

Last night we went to see Stevland Hardaway Judkins Stevie Wonder at the O2 arena - Wonder Summer's Night Tour. He was simply fabulous. All the hits and more. In fact a lot more. two and half hours of it.

Playing his signature harmonica, keyboards and guitar Wonder lead us through his early hits, his classic 1970s period and on to his big 1980's smashes.

Many of the songs were extended versions of the originals which for the most part pleased the crowd. At points though frustration showed as the ten or twelve minute jazz funk posturing became unintended interludes - so many headed for the bar.

The set list was as follows; As If You Read My Mind, a bevy of hits from Hotter Than July including Master Blaster (Jammin'), Did I Hear You Say You Love Me and All I Do. Then came Knocks Me Off My Feet, Higher Ground, Spain, Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing, Visions, Livin’ for the City, Golden Lady, Creeping and Keep Fooling Yourself, Baby Girl. Stevie took a break from singing here and let his daughter Aisha Morris take over for I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life. Back in the driving seat Wonder then gave us Isn’t She Lovely, a bit of a singalong to Ribbon in the Sky, Overjoyed, My Cherie Amour, Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours, Sir Duke, I Wish, Do I Do, the briefest smattering of I Just Called to Say I Love You, For Once in My Life, Uptight (Everything's Alright) and the wonderful Wonderful Superstition. Top, top night.

David Sedaris...

Last night Ian, Terry, Paul and I went to the Bloomsbury Theatre to a book reading by David Sedaris. I'm a bit of a fan of DS and it was with some joy that Ian sent me his latest collection of essays, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, as gift a few weeks ago and also organised these book reading tickets. The reading was brief (just over an hour), illuminating (he's shorter than we'd thought) and hilarious (making coffee without water and his relationship with his boyfriend Hugh). A fun night out.

Happy Birthday Drew...

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday, dear Drew,
Happy Birthday to you.

It's Drew's 30th birthday today. Here is a snap from his birthday party last Sunday.

Will The World End Tomorrow?...

When they turn on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN tomorrow will the world end? Will the search for the Higgs boson by colliding super fast tiny particles cause micro-black holes that will 'eat the planet'? Short answer. No. No way. Won't happen.

Why, you might ask, am I so sure? How do I know the world won't end tomorrow?

Is it because I have a blind faith in scientists who must know what they're doing? No, not really.

Is it because I actually know people who are involved in the LHC project back from university days and I trust them not to destroy the planet? I do. But, no.

Is it because I have studied particle physics at Cambridge University and know that it's virtually impossible? Well, no. Not that either. (I mean nothing is impossible, right? Quantum physics and all that.)

Is it because the LHC will not be producing anything that does not already happen routinely in nature due to cosmic rays i.e. if they were dangerous we would know about it already? No, not that either.

No, the real reason why I am so sure that the world will not end tomorrow is this. They are really only turning on the power tomorrow. It's just the first attempt to circulate a beam. The first counter-clockwise and clockwise collisions aren't scheduled until later in the year. So maybe we'll have to hang on just a little bit longer for the end of the world.

And even when things are up and running, it could be years before CERN start producing any meaningful results due to the challenges involved in detecting such tiny and fleeting particles. But you've got to admire their publicity machine.

Big Bang Day: Torchwood: Lost Souls...

On this Wednesday, scientists in Geneva are due to switch on the fastest atom-smasher in the world - the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to try to recreate the aftermath of the Big Bang. This should enable them to shed light on some of the greatest unanswered scientific questions about the origins of the universe. So no pressure then. Mind you, it make take a year or two to analyse the results. Fingers crossed that Higgs boson finaly shows up.

So Wednesday has been designated Big Bang Day. And to celebrate the BBC has commissioned a new Afternoon Play on BBC Radio Four @ 2:15pm called Big Bang Day: Torchwood: Lost Souls.

The Torchwood team go to Geneva, where former time-traveller Martha Jones is now working as a doctor at the world's biggest physics laboratory, CERN. Deep in an underground tunnel, a giant particle accelerator is about to be activated. But something strange is happening. Scientists are hearing voices and collapsing with a strange illness. Is something lurking in the tunnel?

Update: You can download the MP3 of the play here for the next week.

Separted At Birth?...

Electric Picnic...

We did have a great time at the Electric Picnic last weekend. High points were definitely Hercules and Love Affair and Goldfrapp. Other memorable acts were Candi Staton, Hayseed Dixie and of course the rather wacky, twenty minute late Grace Jones (who when we didn't immediately cheer for an encore told us all to "fucking fuck off".)

Below are some of the snaps we took. Click here to see some more.

Sitges...

We had a great time at the Sitges last week. It was just five days but it seemed much longer. We met lots of nice people, saw probably the best firework display I'd ever seen and got to spend plenty of time with our mates.

Below are some of the snaps we took. Click here to see some more.

Chrome...

All roads lead to Chrome - Google's new web browser is finally in beta.

Back in the Saddle...

Good to be back in the saddle. Did I say saddle? I meant harness - 3123 unread emails waiting for me in the office (and that's with spam filters on.) Yikes!

Homeward Bound...

It's been a fun, but frankly quite exhausting, ten days so we are both
looking forward to getting back home. We have some very fond memories
of both Sitges and Ireland so no doubt there'll be more musings to
follow.

What I would say first though is a big thank you to Clodagh, Colin,
Sara, Simon, Angela and John who helped make the Electric Picnic so
much fun for us - festival virgins.

Electric Picnic...

The flights from Spain went fairly smoothly. The Dublin weather that
greeted us was very warm - unlike the chill we felt when our airport
taxi driver started on his xenophobic rant. If only we'd had the
courage to not tip him.

Staying at the Dylan Hotel again, we had easy access to Temple Bar so
it seemed rude to not pop into out for a beer last night. I do love
Dublin. Such a friendly place (certain taxi drivers aside).

This morning we're hiring a car for three days so we're free to drive
out to the Electric Picnic festival - it should be about an hour and a
half from Dunlin (festival traffic permitting). We'll be staying at an
organic farm in Coolnowle so no tents for us. Apparently it's muddy as
he'll so we'll be buying welly boots en route.

As our objectioable cabby commented yesterday, "sounds like shit and
bollocks in a field to me."

Transit...

Today we're off to Ireland for the second leg of our European jaunt.
We're flying back to Gatwick first and then taking another plane on to
Dublin. Quite why I organized two flights rather than one is frankly
beyond me though.

Our last night in Sitges was fun (hello Ian, hello Simon) and all the
boys gave us a good send off. Maybe the slight fuzziness I feel today
will help me relax.

Adiós Sitges.

Open...

Stu and I are really having a fab time here in Sitges. Nice to have
Andy and Kevin and Andy and Tim and David and Marcus and Pano and
Mikey and (as I've just discovered) another Marcus with us here too.

It's our last night so Parrots, El Horno and then Argentinian steaks
are ahead of us.

Behind us is last night however. I must say we did have fun bar
hopping. We're a little worse for wear though. It is important to be
open about these things.

Church beach, factor 30, sandals...

It's been a busy couple of days here, dear reader. What with the
endless fun tantalisingly just beyond the fingerstips, the promise of
a better time to be had just around the corner. It's been hard to know
which way to turn at times.

Pertpetual tireness is a necessary evil of beach holidays of course so
it is with a slightly heavy sigh I launch myself afresh this morning -
the product of this merry cycle of too late to bed, too early to rise,
under sleeping and over tiredness.

At the breakfast bar it seems like it's all decisions, decisions,
decisions. Which beach should we go to today? Factor 15 or factor 30?
Sandals or trainers?

After the second bitter coffee the answers to these questions flow
slightly more easily though. The day is looking slightly more bearable
now caffeine has kicked in. The smile is reapplied and it's off the
face the world one more time.

So it's church beach, factor 30, sandals. It's a tough life.

Spectacular, spectacular...

We arrived safe and sound in Sitges. Greeting us was probably the most
spectacular firework display I had ever seen. The local patron Saint
was having a party. On the Sunday the festivities continued with yet
more fireworks - this time aimed fairly and squarely at the watching
crowds. Health and safety anyone?

Today we sat on the beach rather than by the pool. Clouds soon drove
us to the nearest bar.

Then it was down to the usual round of sun, beer, snooze, beer, food
and more beer (repeat until holiday ends).

Paul Cézanne...

Taking a break from holiday packing, yesterday afternoon I went with my Mum, Dad and niece Charlotte to The Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House to see the special Paul Cézanne exhibition.

As it says in the blurb, it is "a small gallery that has one of the world's finest collections of Impressionist paintings." And I can't argue with that. For me the high point of the Cézanne was The Card Players.

We also stole a look at some of the other gems in the gallery. Of note were; Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère, one of the two versions of Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe, Van Gogh's Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear and Gaugin's Nevermore.

Here are some snaps I took.

Sun, sea, sand and Sex Pistols....

Tomorrow Stu and I are off for a double-ended holiday to Europe. Firstly we are off to join the boys in Sitges for five days to enjoy a bit of sun, sea and sand. And then next Thursday, after we're returning briefly to Gatwick, we're heading to Ireland for five days. First staying in Dublin for the night and then penetrating deeper into the countryside for the music festival Electric Picnic where the headliners are the Sex Pistols. Really looking forward to it.

There is a slight dark cloud on the near horizon though. It may be a full twenty-four hours before our first flight but I'm bricking it already - perhaps for obvious reasons.

The Nominees...

Tonight at on FX at 10:30pm we meet Daniel Sims, Ja'mie King, Pat Mullins, Phil Olivetti and Ricky Wong; The Nominees.

In it's native Australia it was called We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year but here it's called The Nominees. It's an excruciating comedy starring and produced by the wonderful Chris Lilley introducing us to five afore mentioned nominees, five unique Australians, who have each made a large achievement and been nominated by friends and family for the Australian of the Year award.

It's not quite as good as Lilley's later Summer Heights High but in the same vein and well worth sticking with.

"I am so f***ing happy"...

Poor old Auntie Beeb. Expressing her delight at clinching a bronze in the dramatic windsurfing competition in Qingdao, British Olympic medalist Bryony Shaw told the nation "I am so f***ing happy" on live TV. Quick apologies from BBC.