Living Room Tour December 31, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentBraving the nether reaches of the Metropolitan line with friends Leanne and Craig, I went out to a New Years Eve Eve party in the wilds of Harrow last night. The party was a good one, with a nice mix of people I knew and many new but friendly faces, lots of bubbly and far too much food.
The highlight of the evening was a short set by a guitarist / singer, Tom Lillywhite. He’s been doing a ‘Living Room Tour’ playing at people’s house parties to small groups, and is just about to release his first hit single. He plays unamplified, original songs, and is rather good. Classical concerts aside, its the first time I’ve heard live music at a reasonable volume for ages. Lest you write him off as appealing only to the forty-something there’s lots of youthful angst going on in the lyrics. They’re good pop songs.
So go and have a look at his website, and see, or hear, his music. The videos are definitely of the ‘geek in a bedroom’ variety, and don’t add much to the music, but you never know, he might be the next Arctic Monkey.
Technorati Tags: tom lillywhite
Camley St Nature Reserve December 23, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden,Environment , add a commentI had a surprise call from Adrian Oliver, one of Camden’s new Green councillors, the other day, asking me if I’d be prepared to be on the steering group for a little gem about a mile from here, the Camley St Nature Reserve. Apparently the Council, which provides funding, gets to nominate someone, and the post was allocated to the Greens.
Its a wonderful example of local community involvement in an environmentally positive way, so ideal for Green involvement. Apparently it was started in the late eighties by concerned locals who saw the need for a little bit of green in an industrial area, and has gone from strength to strength. Nearly twenty years on, it provides a chance for local children, many of whom will not even have a garden, to learn about native wildlife, and a good place for adults to relax or volunteer.
Local politics at its best, this sounds like a good way to be involved.
Technorati Tags: Camley St, Camden, Green
Long walks and suit jackets December 3, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , 2 commentsIt has been a while, hasn’t it.
Suffice to say, I have a new contract, at a venerable City institution down by Bank and, for the first time since I came to London, I’m working in an environment where I’m less formally dressed than anyone else. Those two tailored pinstripes are getting a workout as it’s compulsory to wear one’s jacket in public areas.
On the first day, I discovered that it takes 45 minutes by tube, desk to door, and only an hour to walk, such is the chaos at Euston and Bank stations in the rush hour, so in the morning, my trainers go on and I trot briskly down through Somers Town, Bloomsbury, the back streets of Holburn and Leather Lane to the City at Holburn Viaduct, before hitting the main road and dodging umbrellas for the final mile or so. Walking seven miles every day leaves me exhausted, but sleeping better than usual and hopefully getting fit and de-stressed.
I had been planning on offsetting my travel carbon emissions, as a little way of showing myself as a green business, but, apart from shoe manufacture, they’re zero already.
