Relish

A cool and fresh summer evening, sat in the yard, beer in hand and listening to an old favorite album; Joan Osborne - Relish. Perfect.

I just had to do a quick post about this album, as it's one I've had in my collection for many years now, and is still one that I can sit back and listen to time and again. If it's not already in your collection I'd highly recommend checking it out.

Bought originally for her chart release "One Of Us", the rest of the album turned out to be a real find, with a perfect mix of laid back tracks that just roll over you such as "Crazy Baby", to the sensually grinding tracks like "Let's Just Get Naked". Always wanted to use the phrase sensually grinding!

Get this album, grab a beer and enjoy those lazy summer nights when it's too hot to sleep!

Something for the weekend

If you're lost for something to do for one Saturday between mid July and August, have a look if one of the Classical Proms are coming to your area.

I used to go to these back when I lived in Oxford, and even if you're not a fan of classical music, it's just a great opportunity to sit back, relax with a wine or a beer and watch the fireworks. The music is great as well!

Full details are available on the website, but the dates and venues are as follows:

15th July - Trent Country Park, North London
22nd July - Radley College, Oxford
29th July - West Dean Gardens, Chichester
5th August - Herstmonceux Castle, Eastbourne
12th August - Rugby School, Rugby

And to give a quick idea of what it's about, here's what the site has to say about it:

There is something peculiarly British about an open-air classical concert: the indulgent pleasure of listening to some of our most popular music while enjoying a picnic on a summer's evening. Our locations are truly breathtaking and offer dramatic settings for an unforgettable experience in the very best British tradition culminating in the grand fireworks finale to accompany sing-along Proms favorites such as Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia.

Enjoy!

Another weekend almost gone

Ah, Sunday evening, hanging onto those last precious hours of the weekend before it's back to the grind. Still, it's been a weekend with some good ups and not too many downs.

Pretty much all of Saturday was an up; just one of those days where I didn't plan to do much, and everything went perfectly to plan! An average start, heading into town to pick up some contact lenses, and decided to drop into the bookstore just in case I could see anything of interest, and something that caught my eye was The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. Now anyone who is a fan of Lost (an they'd probably have to be fairly addicted) will know that this book is mentioned in the series, and some have said that it's worth a read as it has some relevance to the show, so I thought what the hell. If you want to find the book online, it is available on Amazon.

The afternoon was spent in the back garden, enjoying the sun in the company of the aforementioned book, along with a bottle of wine and a pile of strawberries. It really doesn't get much better than that! As for the book, bizarre barely seems to cut it, but it's an addictive read nevertheless, as long as you don't mind going through a few pages without a clue of what's going on!

The wine is worth a quick mention as well; Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2004. I'm by no means any expert of wines, but I know a good one when I empty a bottle in an afternoon! Worth checking out Tesco Wines if you're ordering in bulk as they have a good selection and pretty reasonable prices.

So after a lazy Saturday, and a visit to the parents for dinner this afternoon, there was only one downer. One clean shirt ready for work tomorrow (yes, should plan ahead more), just in need of a quick iron. Iron decides to spit out a black tar over the clean white shirt and promptly dies (of natural causes, although at this point I may have been inclined to help it on it's way). Well, I guess if you're going to have a good weekend the universe has to balance it out somehow.

So, as we all prepare ourselves for the harsh reality of Monday morning, take some pleasure in knowing it's only 5 days to the next weekend. Have a good week!

The first post goes live!

Taking the first tentative steps with the blog, with more interesting posts (I hope!) to follow.

The sun is shining, the air is fresh, the grass is green and it truly feels like summer is here! And here I am sat in an office. So roll on the weekend when I can get outside and get the best tan an Englishman can hope to get in this country!

Following the weather is something us Brits do with a passion, and one of the best sites I've found so far is Metcheck, with detailed reports for the week ahead as well as many novel add-ons such as your BBQ chances or the weather for Wimbledon. Well worth checking out before you make your plans this weekend.

So get out there and enjoy the weather while you can!