Blondie in Camera 1978 @ Barbican Music Library…

Yesterday Darren and I went to see Blondie in Camera 1978 at Barbican Music Library in London’s glitzy Barbican Centre.

Martyn Goddard’s lens turns 1978 into a time machine with better cheekbones. Fifty shots of Blondie at full voltage, Debbie Harry smouldering, the band mid-detonation. Posters, album art, even the cameras get their own moment. Rock history, beautifully framed and faintly feral. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@barbicanmusiclibrary @martyngoddard @blondieofficial #debbieharry #Blondie #Barbican @juggyjones 

Darren…

I went out with the lovely Darren yesterday afternoon for a great catch up, nice food, and cocktails. We had a right laugh. 😂 (We’d been to the Barbican Music Library to see the Blondie photo exhibition earlier - but more that later.)

A Small Win…

I’m heading to Welwyn North today. To see my mum. A semi-regular trip by train. 🚂

My Oyster 60+ gets me to Ally Pally for ‘free’. So as usual I planning on buying a separate extension ticket for the rest of the journey - a return train ticket from Ally Pally station to Welwyn North. The usual £9-50 return. 💷

Except…. Making the same journey a couple of weeks ago, an inspector got on my train and checked my ticket. She pointed out I’d made a mistake. Shit! What? Yikes! 😱

Well, it turns out the error had actually been in their favour. The Oyster 60+ card actually extends as far north as Hadley Wood - four stops up the line from Ally Pally so nearer Welwyn North. 👍

And the price of a return ticket from Hadley Wood to Welwyn North? £6-50 return! D’oh! I’ve been over-paying by £3 every time I’ve been to visit my mum! 🫣

The thrill of discovering you can do something slightly cheaper in your sixties is unmatched. 😂

The Milky Bars are on me! 🍫

#smallwins #oldpeople #sadticketconversations

Supper with Mark…

Fabulous food and beers last night - always lovely to catch up. ❤️  

Arsenal 2 - 2 Wolves…

Two nil up against the team propping up the table and somehow we decided to slam on the brakes. Wolves, previously allergic to points, left with one. We left with existential questions.

It had the aroma of a defeat. Two points politely placed in the recycling. Meanwhile Manchester City are hovering with the enthusiasm of a tax inspector.

The title charge is not yet a sprint but you can hear the starting pistol being polished. Next stop Spurs away. Joy.

Onwards and upwards, my friends.

@Arsenal @Wolves #ARSWOL #COYG #Arsenal #Wolves

Turner and Constable @ Tate Britain…

Last Saturday afternoon with Stuart went to see Turner and Constable at Tate Britain in London’s glitzy Pimlico. 

The two peerless landscape performers, JMW Turner and John Constable, had a rivalry that crackled like a Regency diss track. 

Turner swirls in with storm and swagger with his own poetry. Constable plants his boots in Suffolk mud and serves unblinking realism. 

Different styles, same genius. Both outstanding. 

@tatebritain @tate #jmwturner #johnconstable ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #TurnerAndConstable #TateBritain 

Shove (Shrove) Tuesday! 🥞🍋

 

Lee Miller @ Tate Britain…

Last Saturday afternoon Stuart and I went to see the Lee Miller exhibition at Tate Britain in London’s glitzy Pimlico.

Surrealism with teeth, @leemillerarchives and old partner in crime @manray_official turn fashion and fantasy into something feral. Then the Second World War hits and we are staring at shocking concentration camp photos and that notorious snap in Hitler’s bath. Art, atrocity, attitude. @tatebritain gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#LeeMiller #TateBritain #Pimlico #Surrealism #SecondWorldWar