It’s camp, it’s kitsch, it’s badly written, and it’s badly acted… why do so many people seem to enjoy it?

A lovestruck romeo sings a streetsuss serenade
Laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
Says something like you and me babe how about it?

You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a nay-sayer and hatchet man in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I’ll gladly take another, because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method…is love. I love you, Sheriff Truman. - Albert Rosenfield, Twin Peaks.

Anyway, we travelled up by train on Saturday morning; went first class which was nice. We stayed at The Rookery Hotel in Clerkenwell, over near Farringdon station. It’s a lovely hotel; actually very romantic considering it’s probably used a lot for business people visiting the financial city. The staff were very helpful; especially as I had arranged for Flowers, Fruit, and Champagne to be in the room when we arrived. They took care of everything for me - even contacted me on the Friday to check my arrival times etc…

I’ll allow others to describe it;

So, quirky, creaky, admirably unfussy - and cosy. You can curl up by the fire with a drink from the honesty bar, or in warm weather sit in the sliver of garden, wittily enlivened by a mural of cows being herded by two smocked peasants, portraits of the hotel’s proprietors… - Fiona Duncan

Is there a more romantic hotel in London than The Rookery? We seriously doubt it. With the vaulted beams of its wooden ceiling above, and the beautifully chosen antique furniture below this is a paradise for lovers. Add in a location that puts many of London’s best traditional restaurants in walking distance, friendly, discreet staff, and the most amazing period bathroom fixtures, and you know that you have stepped into a dreamy paradise. - LondonTown.com

We did a bit of shopping during the day; Victoria was looking for a dress for Andrew’s wedding. Tried a lot of shops but didn’t find anything.

In the evening we were eating at Fifteen.
This time we were eating in the downstairs Dining Room; previously we ate in the Trattoria upstairs.

We started with appetizer of Rosemary focaccia with dressed olives and salumi ; followed by a small spoon of Scallop covered with stuff! ( Sorry can’t be more precise than that because I actually have no idea! It was lovely though! ) Victoria’s Insalate course was Freshly picked crab with raw Italian zucchini, tarragon and lemon aioli and I had Carpaccio ‘di polipo’ - Octopus with marinated Florence fennel, olives, red onions, rocket and chilli-mint dressing.. Victoria followed with Ravioli of romanesco, baked ricotta and mint with a caper butter sauce. My Primi was Pappardelle ‘fatte in casa’ with a rich lamb and beef ragu, parmesan and Fontodi oil. Victoria’s Secondi was Char-grilled wild salmon with sott ‘olio of seasonal vegetables and marjoram salmoriglio.Mine was Pot roast shoulder of Pete Gott’s rare breed pork (cooked in onions, rosemary and white wine) with borlotti beans ‘in umido’, beet leaves and pan juices. Desert was Lime and creme fraiche panna cotta with sherry sabayon, summer fruitd and Mixed nut caramel crostata with hazlenut mascarpone cream, dried banana respectively.

With the food I had the wine pairing menu; basically the wine waiter pours you a glass of a chosen wine that complements your dish - this went - Champagne, White, Red, Red, Desert… Having already drunken a bottle of champagne back at the hotel, I was starting to feel the affects of the wine by the end of the night. The wine pairing was great; I really enjoyed that.
All in all the experience was fantastic. I not sure I would choose the Dining Room over the Trattoria in future, although I would happily do it again.

Sunday morning we woke up to breakfast in the hotel - in bed; Fruit, Youghurt, danishes, bread rolls, Croissant, Jams, Orange, Coffee, and Tea.

The more shopping!

It was very gloomy and very wet. At 8:30pm the stones were quiet so I was hopeful that a projected weekend contingent wasn’t going to turn up. At 4:30am it was apparent that they had. The Stones seemed busier than any other time, and they were definitely messier - the litter was appalling. I do wish some people would have a little more respect for others.

The rain fell for most of the night in some shape or form - came down very heavy just before sunrise. The sun was never visible through the clouds!

The kids spent most of the night asleep in the back of the Scenic; it was just a form of camping to them.

Biggest problem was the two hours it took us to get out of the car park. Normally only takes about 15 minutes. We spent a good hour thirty not actually moving!

It seems the car park was full; I have never seen the cars parked all the way to the back that’s for sure. And I think this created a problem when people started to leave - just nowhere to go. That combined with the little hill heading to the exit being a tad wet and the cars were started to wheel spin on it… I wonder how some of the later cars and vans would have got on…

EXT – DAY – Edgbaston

Kevin PIETERSEN stands at the crease looking up and preparing for the next delivery. He knocks his bat against the crease nervously. Scott STYRIS stands polishing the ball against his leg getting prepared for the run.

PIETERSEN
You are wonderful!

STYRIS
Thank you — I’ve worked hard to become so.

STYRIS starts his slow run toward the left of the Umpire. He quickly gets into his pre-delivery stride.

PIETERSEN
I admit it — you are better than I am.

STYRIS
Then why are you smiling?

Moments from defeat, PIETERSEN is, in fact, all smiles. STYRIS looks slightly confused as he moves into his back foot contact.

PIETERSEN
Because I know something you don’t know.

STYRIS
And what is that?

STYRIS Follows through and releases the ball.

PIETERSEN
I am not right-handed.

And with that he throws his bat into his left hand and immediately, the tide of the match turns. He repositions and knocks the oncoming ball easily for a six.

The CROWD go wild!

STYRIS shakes his head in disbelief.

I really enjoyed it, as I would expect to, especially with the company I was keeping on the night. If I had any complaints it would be that it felt a little short compared to 2006 in Manchester and a very similar running order. A few songs dropped out and replaced by Lost Highway tracks.

Set List:


LH   - LOST HIGHWAY
NJ   - BORN TO BE MY BABY
SWW  - YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME
SWW  - RAISE YOUR HANDS
BJ   - RUNAWAY
KTF  - I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD w/ Mercy & Start Me Up
LH   - WHOLE LOT OF LEAVIN'
KTF  - IN THESE ARMS
C    - CAPTAIN CRASH & THE BEAUTY QUEEN FROM MARS
LH   - WE GOT IT GOIN' ON
C    - IT'S MY LIFE
KTF  - KEEP THE FAITH
NJ   - I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU - RICHIE VOX
YG   - BLAZE OF GLORY
HAND - WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME
HAND - HAVE A NICE DAY
NJ   - BAD MEDICINE w/ Shout
SWW  - LIVIN' ON A PRAYER

ENCORE:
CR   - ALWAYS
LH   - ANY OTHER DAY
SWW  - WANTED (DEAD OR ALIVE)

They turned up around 3pm. The nice man from Omlet built the Eglu and then gave us the run down on looking after our new egg machines.

They seemed to settle alright; got a little agitated at around 10pm when then couldn’t quite work out where to roost. I placed a torched in the Eglu ( as the nice man had suggested ) and that seemed to do the trick. We decided to close the door on them while they get themselves sorted and into a routine.

Rebekah was still awake and watching them from her bedroom! She was also up at 5am to open the door and let them out!

I do…

The Scientist
Coldplay

Come up to meet you, tell you I’m sorry
You don’t know how lovely you are

I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I’ve set you apart

Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
oh, let’s go back to the start

Running in circles
Comet tails
Heads on the science apart

Nobody said it was easy
It’s such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard

Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart

Questions of science
Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart

Come tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
All in a rush to the start

Running in circles
Chasing our tails
Comin’ back as we are

Nobody said it was easy
Oh, it’s such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard

I’m going back to the start…

One must remember when choosing to fly with low budget carrier Ryan
Air that they are shockingly shit!

Their planes are the most ghastly that I have flown on for a very long time. And they must insist on bombarding you with adverts every five minutes. I know that they need to make up the ticket price somehow but in future I think that I would rather pay the premium and fly with another carrier!