Journal

I had a fantastic time in London last weekend.

When my pal Mark visited Glasgow in May for The Queen’s Park Weekender he asked if I’d like to join him on his Soulsaver boat party in July – maybe even to play some records. Since I hadn’t visited him down south for a while I gratefully accepted and put it in the calendar.

Thursday

I left on Thursday morning having bought a cheaper train ticket using Avanti Superfare. That night, after a stroll through a buzzing Chinatown I met Rob, Kirsty, Johnnie and Kate for dinner at Machiya. We had a great little meal. My highlights were the Nasu Dengaku (miso-glazed aubergine), Broccoli Itame, Pork Katsudon Donburi and the lovely low-alc Hitachino Ginger Lager.

After dinner we went to the ICA (Institute for Contemporary Arts) to check 10 Years of Wisdom Teeth which featured live acts from Surgeon’s Girl, Tristan Arp and Facta & K-LONE. Surgeon’s Girl’s infectious on-stage energy and heady analogue sounds were hitting the spot and it was a shame she was on first and we only caught the last five or so minutes of her short set. And in general we reckoned the music might have flowed a little better if the sequence of acts were reversed. Still, nice venue, nice gig and I also enjoyed their Sunshine Kölsch lager. Afterwards, we walked together for a bit, then when Jonnie and Kate caught the tube at Leicester Square I powered on home. I love walking around cities.

Friday

With a free schedule, my plan was a blissful day of walking, soaking up summer vibes and popping into various record and clothes shops. I’d head southeast from my hotel’s location at Russell Square to Spittalfields then make a beeline north to Stoke Newington via Hoxton and Dalston.

I started by heading along Clerkenwell Rd. I took a turn at Old Street onto Goswell Rd pass by The Barbican Centre. The surrounding residential area really is a concrete jungle to get lost in. It’s kinda otherwordly! I enjoyed that detour and am now keen to go to a gig there.

Next, I headed to The Breakfast Club, Spitalfields. I enjoyed some turkish eggs and a nice americano while reading about an unfolding global IT collapse.. From there it was on to some shops in and around the Spitalfields Market – Goodhood, YMC and the like. It’s cool around there!

Fuelled up and ready to go, I started walking through Shoreditch. Clair had recommended I eat at Smoking Goat and although it was bad timing to pass by as I was full, I peered in the window, saw it looked cool inside and that with dishes like Masaman Smoked Short Rib on the menu, I should come back next time. I kept walking up Kingsland Road, stopping in at Sneakersnstuff then to grab a coffee at Moko Made, a lovely little Japanese café.

By now I had reached one of my planned stops – Love Vinyl in Dalston. I’ve been before and it’s a crate-digger’s dream. This time round I dug out and listened to a whole bunch of different reggae, house and disco. I also really enjoyed the sounds in the shop as they play-tested a new second-hand collection. Jean-Luc Ponty’s Computer Incantations for World Peace sounded particularly nice through their Bozak AR-4 and Void speakers rig as the afternoon sun shone through the windows. In the end I picked up some vintage New Jersey house from Larry Rauson and Cassio, a Janet Davis UK Lover’s Rock 12″ and Unique’s What I got is what you need (which had been on my wants list for aeons – likely since I realised it’s the sample source for 808 State’s Ancodia).

I stopped in for a lovely spot of lunch at Bread and Butter farmhouse cafe before another walk taking me to Next Door records. Tom recently told me about this place, mentioning that the good folks at Signal Sounds will be presenting something there soon, so I thought I’d pay a visit. I enjoyed browsing their second-hand records and cooling down with their home-made lemonade but before long I had to escape the strangely banging-for-4pm in-store DJ set (I’m old).

Since I was near Kate’s Stoke Newington flat, this was an another good opportunity to meet Johnnie and Kate and they recommended The Axe. We had a cool, covered outdoor table to enjoy a great chat and their impressive selection of beers on draft (including Edinburgh’s Vault City).

Saturday

I started the day at the Sandwich Street Kitchen, whose meditteranean breakfast is banging. From there, it was time for a walk to Soho where I visited Maharishi before a spot more record shopping at Phonica, where I picked up a lovely new Terre Thaemlitz 12″. From there I headed to King’s Cross and Coal Drops Yard.

It was a lively Saturday afternoon round there. Folks were watching The Wizard of Oz on a big screen while kids were playing in a nearby fountain. The shops and market stalls were buzzing. There were lots of cool food stalls which I would have loved to try but they were mobbed and I was short of time. So after grabbing some stall merch for Clair I headed into Spiritland for a coffee, sandwich and to hear some stellar music played on a beautiful soundsystem. Phillis Hyman’s Living inside your love really hit the spot.

My final fling was Mark’s Soulsaver boat party, leaving from Blackfriar’s Pier. It was great fun! The boat was pretty ballin’. I playing a short warm-up set, mostly on the boogie tip but sneaking in the just-acquired Janet Davis reggae tune first. The other DJs, Guy and Mark, had loads more heavy artillery than me so after the first hour they took over and I enjoyed the view of the Thames and London landmarks from out on deck.

It was a real shame that our mutual friend Andy, who was also due to travel down from Glasgow and DJ, couldn’t make it due to the sudden death of his sister. We missed Andy and our thoughts were definitely with him.

When we reached dry land around 11pm there was the option of an after-party but I’d been keeping it pretty sensible throughout the trip and enjoying decent sleeps so I continued in the same vein before my trip home in the morning. I was pretty proud of managing to control my natural FOMO!

Lastly…

Here’s a guide map I made during the trip.

Today I made good use of a Friday off work. After spending the morning attending to a few bits and bobs while listening to some lovely music I then met Gillian for lunch at a mutual favourite The Old Fruit Shop. We had a great chat then enjoyed a stoat around nearby Linn Park. It was sunny enough that were folks swimming beside the waterfall. We had to watch our step to avoid a swarm of teeny-tiny baby frogs (thanks to the lady who pointed them out!).

Later that night Clair and I visited Pho in Glasgow which was pretty good! To start we shared summer rolls and a Vietnamese chicken and prawn pancake – both delicious – then I had king prawn pho which was also lovely. They had a nice line in non-alcoholic drinks too. Clair had a nojito and I had an alcohol-free negroni, then we followed up with coconut and pineapple water.

We ended the day back at home with Rudy watching the opening ceremony of the Paris olympics while eating an empire biscuit.

A good Friday.

He was a prince.

Alejandro Innaruto’s description of Ryuichi Sakamoto puts it perfectly.

This BBC Sunday feature offers a fascinating insight into an amazing man. I loved it!

It starts with how 1952, the year of Sakamoto’s birth, was an important year in Japan’s post-war transition. It explores his influences including Debussy, his exceptional talent for melody combined with a taste for experimentalism, and how with YMO he satirised anti-Japanese prejudice. It covers his anti-nuclear stance, and how he is a huge icon in Japan where they see him holistically for everything he represented.

Most of all I just marvel at his music – it perfectly captures my taste (and I realise after this documentary that I still have so much of his to explore, which is a happy thought). I loved the parts where the commentators gush at the beauty of his Last Emperor soundtrack (“every note is like paradise”) and when Alejandro Innaruto relates his experience of first hearing the opening two notes of his soundtrack for The Revenant.

For James’s 40th, Clair bought him the gift of some vouchers for the “wild cooking” and dining experience at Wild Kabn Kitchen, Ardkinglas Estate, Cairndow near Loch Fyne. The idea was that we two, James and Grant would go but with Grant looking after a recovering Toby, Toad stepped in.

I didn’t know much about Wild Kabn in advance and wasn’t prepared for how off the beaten track it was! From Glasgow you head out beyond the Rest and be Thankful and Arrochar toward Loch Fyne but toward the end of the journey you’re driving along the world’s narrowest wee track and beating your way through tree branches, which all adds to the excitement.

We were having the Sunday lunch by fire and, since it was a beautiful afternoon, we sat outside the greenhouse, right in the middle of the woodlands and with mountains in the background. We were at a trestle table beside two other couples and enjoyed chatting.

All three courses were fantastic but the venison was stunning.

Afterwards we had a lovely walk around the estate and onto the beach at the loch.

Great night there at Brel celebrating Stevie B’s 50th. Brilliant to see the man himself and Naoko. I spent most of the night chatting to Mark, Alan, Karen, Jenny M, Marty, Jenny B and Chris B (over from Oz). Lovely also to see Joe, Karen and Stephen and talk music.

I had a brilliant time hanging out with old friends this evening. We went for a Sunday roast dinner at Maison Glaschu. I tried french onion soup for the first time (but not the last) before enjoying the roast beef and yorkshire pudding with veg.

It was sunny so we stopped for a quick alfresco beer at The Bier Halle before heading down to the Admiral Woods to watch Scotland in the hope of a historic first-time qualification from the group stage.

Sadly Scotland couldn’t manage it (too cautious with the substitutes for me) but that didn’t stop us having a good time.

Cheers to Craig, Debbie, Alan, Karen and Mark for all their good vibes.

Having a good time hanging out with Mr Crolla. We started out at the Blue Note in-store at Loud and Clear. I treated him to a branded cap which he tells me will come in handy for golf, and introduced him to Wayne Shorter via a copy of Speak No Evil. Here’s hoping that’s the beginning of a nice journey for him!

We continued through Finnieston and the Hidden Lane, then on to Great Western Road. We’ve just been to W2 at Ruthven Lane and are gonna head back southside soon for some food at Bell Jar, a couple of local beers then to spin some records – just like old times.

Yesterday was the celebration of the life of Ewan (Ginny). It was a beautiful service held at The Hurlet crematorium then at No 10 Hotel.

His was really a unique life and it was wonderful to hear from Sally and others about his family life, his time at university (we were at Strathclyde Uni at the same time), good times with friends, his love of music, his inspiring career, the way he handled his medical condition and more. I’ve also never heard music I love such as Carl Craig’s A Wonderful Life and Underground Resistance’s Journey of the dragons played in the context of a funeral and I found that aspect (and how Marty had thoughfully chosen those pieces) very moving.

It really was a mixture of sad and happy. I hope Ruth was happy with how everything went – I think she was. A fitting send-off to a great person.

Today was a nice break from the old routine. Rather than working at a computer, I and some teammates went to Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital to do some gardening.

My employer supports the charity FACE (Fighting Against Cancer Edinburgh), part of NHS Lothian Charity.

FACE provides the ‘little things’ which can make a real difference for patients undergoing treatment for cancer. These things help make the time spent in hospital as comfortable as possible; the environment and experience as positive as it can be.

Our job today was to tidy the area surrounding the FACE garden. The garden serves as a quiet outdoor space where patients, visitors and staff can find solace away from the hospital wards.

Supervised by the conservation charity TCV, we tooled up and set about weeding the garden and paved areas. It was a sunny day, we chatted while we worked to colleagues we hadn’t met, and by the end you could see we had made a significant dent.

I hope we made a useful contribution and I certainly enjoyed doing it and would do so again. Thanks to my employer for the opportunity.

A nice (if brief) catch-up with Gav as we take in David Barbarossa in conversation with Richard King about his new book Travels Over Feeling on the life of enigmatic New York musician Arthur Russell.

I love me some Dinosaur L and Loose Joints, but I can’t claim to be as much of an Arthur aficionado as most of tonight’s crowd. However I’ve learned a lot and am now off to listen to World of Echo.