I should KOKO

The internet is a wonderful thing. Some casual browsing reveals that They Might Be Giants are back in London only a year after their last visit and despite it being a bit of a cross country trek, I have no hesitation in booking tickets. So on the 15th July I'm off to KOKO in Camden Town with half the family to attend what I hope is a gig that is just as joyful and exuberant and funky and daft as the one I attended last year. And all this just days before the new album comes out. Life is sweet! Anyone care to join us?

I spoke too soon....

Having blogged on 31st May that I had missed out on Olympic tickets it was a nice surprise yesterday to find that they had actually taken some money out of my account after all. The transaction claims to have taken place on 27th May but certainly didn't show up on my credit card until June and my detective skills would suggest that we have either got tickets for the Men's Football Quarter Final at Cardiff or some preliminary rounds of Basketball in London. cardiff seems more likely given the size of the venue but either is fine by us!

Splash!

We had a great service on Sunday with a double baptism; my daughter and one of her friends. It was a very full building with at least 69 visitors - including a virtual visitor who watched the service via Skype from Toronto. We were blown away by the effort friends and family made to travel across and to send messages of support to us as a family and all of us feel very lifted up by the whole experience. It was a very special day - albeit rather exhausting!

Following that we had a sit-down meal for 125 people - great to be able to do that in the church building after some quick rearranging of furniture. Another advantage of taking the pews out!

I invited my friend Drew from camera club to come and photograph the event and he did a terrific job in difficult circumstances. And we got an extra visitor into the bargain! He took the photos that appear in the video below.

Martin Rushent - A Top 9

Picked up on the news a little late that Martin Rushent died last weekend. Best known for the production he did on Dare by the Human League - which still sounds excellent today - as this list shows he was no one trick pony. Some great things on here.

I was aiming for a top ten and then decided to limit myself to one track per artist (and then cheated by including something from the remix album, Love and Dancing. They are all tracks I have owned at some stage (except Love and Dancing which was my sister's but much played). They are also in order. The Buzzcocks would certainly come with me onto my desert island and Sound of the Crowd would make it most weeks too.

Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love With Someone (You shouldn't have fallen in love with)
Human League - Sound of the Crowd
Dr Feelgood - Milk and Alcohol
Altered Images - Happy Birthday
Stranglers - No More Heroes
The League Unlimited Orchestra - Hard Times
Hey Elastica! - Party Games
XTC - Are You Receiving Me?
The Associates - Waiting For The Loveboat

Love and Dancing can be listened to it's entirety here in Friends Eclectic on the top right hand side of this blog.