It’s mid-morning on the last Monday in February. The weather is grey and dull which quite accurately reflects how I feel at the moment. Five weeks into my new post and the novelty has now worn off. I need to re energise myself about this job. Also I am missing my last office. Not so much the staff but the whole location and feel of the place which was much more like where I live than here.

Perhaps I’m just a bit grumpy as I had to wait 15 minutes for a bus this morning having missed two which came together at my usual stop. I decided not to run over the road to get on them, confident that the next one would be along in six minutes as per the timetable. Another lesson learned there then.
And the driver was one of the mad ones who hurtle down the road at breakneck speed.

Despite today’s criticism I have been quite impressed about how reliable and clean the buses are compared to the last time I used public transport regularly. I suppose that was a different time and a different city and I am only using the buses at commuter time during the week. But, so far, things on the buses are looking OK.
No gangs of lairy lads with their trackies tucked into their socks have got on any bus I've been on,swearing and shouting at each other in their almost indecipherable council estate Geordie patois. Also no gangs of teenage girls screaming at each other and smelling of cheap perfume have disturbed my commute.

Just screaming primary school kids with their Mams shouting at them to “Sit doon”, "Stop your crying" and “I’ll tell yer teacher on yee”

Suede & Brett Anderson

One of my musical regrets is never having seen Suede Live. At the beginning I loved Animal Nitrate and Brett Anderson's voice but didn't care too much for the whole saviour of British rock n roll image that the music press surrounded the band with in the lead up to the Brit pop era. So in my usual way of attempting to be cool and ignore what the mainstream press like I tried hard to ignore them although I was always intrigued by Brett Anderson's pose and David Bowie influenced vocals

A few years later I heard the single New Generation and thought that it was superb. But timing is everything in life. I had two small kids to look after and gig going wasn't a priority and living in the North East means bands don't always come here. By the time the kids were a bit older and I had more time, the band had split up.

I was tidying up in the front room yesterday and picking CDs up off the floor and I came across the Brett Anderson's and Bernard Butler's reunion band The Tears 2005 CD Here Come The Tears . Curious, as I haven't played it in years, I popped it into the Bose and was absolutely blown away by the album.To be honest it's like a lost Suede CD and it is very good.

In particular I loved this track. It's loud, it gets under your skin and makes you want to be young, in love and in London. It reminded me of being young and in love and in London. It's one of those songs that makes you glad to be alive and fills you with energy and desire.

Lovers- The Tears

Things have settled down now and I’m into a routine of bus travel and walking. I’ve been all the way round my new area, attended all the usual meetings. I have found that things may look different at first glance but essentially it’s the same issues wherever you go- it’s just the ratios of one to another that differs.

I was at my old office earlier in the week and I must admit had a little tear in my eye as I walked home over the Moor.

My son is currently back in London seeing friends. My daughter is on her way to Portsmouth as I write this. She is picking her stuff up from her ex-boyfriend’s flat. I don’t know how she will cope with this. She is staying at the sister-in-laws so we will get regular updates on her.

My wife didn’t get the Wakefield job which surprised me as I felt sure she would. She said that she made a real mess of the interview though. So my gut feeling seems to have let me down on this occasion but I am sure Wakefield will figure in some way in our future.

Music wise I have settled down enough to listen to music on the way to work.Although it doesn't feel the same. At least not yet.

Songs You Should Hear

I haven't posted any music for a while so here we go. I came across this file while tidying up my hard drive. I had forgotten I had it. Its a zip file.


The Housemartins at the BBC

3 years on

In all the excitement of my relocation to the East End I completely forgot that I have been blogging ( uurghh!)for over three years now. Still don't really know what I am trying to achieve here- is it an online diary or a music blog?

In years to come will some advanced civillization read these entries and conclude that no intelligent lifeform could lead such a boring life?

Yesterday I went with my wife to Wakefield. She had an interview for a job at a hospital there. All I was thinking was I wonder if I'll see the The Cribs walking around. Or even Johnny Marr who has just popped over to produce their new album?? Needless to say I didn't see anyone famous sitting in the In House Costa Cafe in the foyer of the hospital.

On the way home we diverted to Ottley. The only reason being that I read somewhere that David Gedge lived there for sometime before he split up with his partner. I wanted to see what it was like. Quite nice really. Liked the square and all the houses built of local stone. We had lunch in The Black Bull pub. I had a pint of Timothy Taylors bitter from a handpump. Talk about life in the fast lane, eh?

Commute

Other things I have noticed on my commute from west to east across this small city. This morning for example my side of town had freezing rain falling on a sheet of ice across the roads and pavements both of which made walking to the bus stop very tricky. Half an hour later I disembark the bus for my short walk to the office. Yes it’s still raining but no sign of any ice at all. My father-in-law used to work along the road from my new location and I remember he was always amazed that he could battle through snow and ice from the west to get to work only to find that there was no snow or ice in the east. I don’t know why this is the case- nearer the sea maybe? I have also noticed how quickly you get used to the rhythm and pace of public transport. I know that before my bus comes (somewhere between 6 minutes and 10 minutes past 8) there will be the Scholars Bus packed with kids off to schools ( “All Passengers Welcome” it says on the scrolling display but I’m thinking you’d have to be mad to get on a bus full of school kids). Then the single decker 32 comes along just before the double decker bus I get on. The crowd (it isn’t a queue) starts to shuffle forward , the person at the front of the crowd may or may not want my bus, you can feel everyone getting nervous. Are they going to put out their arm to flag it down or not? Will I have to do it? If I don’t do it will my bus stop or go past? A little bit of tension every morning. I have started to notice how many fellow passengers have headphones in. There are the , usually, young ones with the giveaway white headphones that come with IPods. At least I am assuming that is the case because otherwise why would you wear white headphones? Then there are the normally older passengers like me who have in ear black headphones in. Not too conspicuous we could be listening to Radio 4 or the latest Dubstep tunes. Today there were a couple of young lads with the over ear DJ type headphones on over their beanie hats. They got off in Town so judging by the way they were dressed they worked there. Why would you wear headphones like that in public? Maybe they are those noise cancelling ones and they wear them so they can listen to their choice of music in splendid isolation. Passengers who don’t wear headphones tend to talk. Very loudly. Then there are the kids who get on in the east every day being taken to school by their Mam. She shouts at them and every day at least one of them is crying. Luckily they get on only a few stops before I get off so I turn up the volume and John Humphries's sonorous Welsh tones or James Naughtie’s harsher Scottish sounds drown them out. I am listening to Radio 4 or 5 or Radio Newcastle on my commute rather than my MP3 on shuffle, I don’t know why this it just seems more right. I tried 6music but it didn’t feel the same and Keaveney irritated me. On my walk home in the evening I do listen to 6Music and Steve Lamacq. It seems that I can concentrate more on the music when I am walking. I haven’t relaxed enough on the morning bus journey to do so yet.

From the West To The East

Here I am almost two weeks into my new role in one of the poorer parts of the city. This move has coincided with the coldest part of the winter so far with temperatures struggling to get above freezing. At least I am not walking over the Moor with the wind whipping through me like previous years. So there are some positives.

I ‘m getting used to the travelling. I ‘m getting the bus to work (about ½ hour) and walking home (about 1hr 15 mins). I was thinking about cycling when the roads aren’t icy and the weather is a bit warmer but I’m going off this idea. It’s not the most scenic of routes to and from work – especially the other side of the city centre. The best route is along the river and then up but that adds a mile and a half to the journey. So I am thinking bus/walk/run combination.

I am still pissed off that it’s costing me almost £50 pcm to get to work after 20 years of not paying anything to get to my various offices. You remember that pay rise I was talking about here?. Well that’s gone in bus fares. But I do still have a job in a region where jobs are evaporating even in the public sector.

I have also learned some things about this city. Firstly, on my side of town not many white people seem to get the bus. Or rather not many white adults get buses. Not infrequently I am not just the only white adult on the bus into town I am the only white person (driver excepted) on the bus. The bus I get to work goes about half a mile from where I live but this is still a shock even for me living as I do in a very culturally diverse part of town. This supports my theory, that only poor people and students and schoolchildren use buses.

It's different though on the other side of town, still a number of black and Asian passengers but predominantly it’s white people using the service.

Secondly I have learned that Bus drivers are grumpy, even the women ones (of which there are a surprising number). The other day a poor student tried to pay his fare with a £20m note. The Bus driver exclaimed “£20 poond, at this time of the morning? Are ye mental?” This was admittedly funny but the tone and the language was probably not what Stagecoach expects from it drivers. They may need to invest in some enhanced customer service training for their staff.

To avoid similar scenes I make sure that I have the correct fare on me every day.

I have bought a 4 week pass after much consideration which gives me unlimited travel on all buses in the city and is transferable so my daughter can use it when I don’t need to. I may even investigate the opportunity of buying an annual pass through the Council.

Explosions In The Sky 2

Last week I saw Explosions In The Sky at The Sage in Gateshead. I particularly like this venue as acoustics are superb and this really enhanced the sonic, roller coaster ride that is this great band. They came on stage said "Hello"  and then they were off, not another word for an hour + of music that ebbed and flowed , that took you up and down with delicate melodies and riffs that hit you hard. Can’t recommend them enough.

Support was by locals Lanterns On The Lake. Very good, reminiscent of This Mortal coil and Cocteau Twins and Cloud Cult and lots of other alternative roots, folksy bands.

I came home and logged onto Emusic and downloaded both bands' latest  albums. That’s a recommendation for you  all to do the same.