Funny Old Friday..

Sitting at the doctor's this morning (just to get a repeat prescription, I'm not ill) there is a girl in the waiting room talking to her friend. I'm not curious as to why she's here, though it occasionally crosses my mind how sick everyone is and how uncomfortable I am being in an enclosed space with them. After a brief dialogue about relationships and whether she will ever meet someone and date / have a relationship, her friend asks her whether she has let her work know that she's going to be late today. Immediately the girl phones her work to let them know she is at the doctors. Clearly they weren't impressed that she advised them 10 minutes before her shift, and asked her why she didn't know she was ill yesterday. Most people would at this point explain (or at least lie) that they woke up feeling unwell. This girl tells her boss that she has 'some kind of STD'. Her friend (and the entire waiting room) desperately pretend like we haven't heard what she's said. I'm scrolling through emails I have already seen on my Blackberry. Not that it matters, she was oblivious that it was far too much information.
And another thing that's made me giggle today...
I received via email from an old flatmate of mine from Australia (a Big Brother selection process finalist and provider of yesterday's gossip) and it is today's Quote Of The Day:
"Kate and I have been together for 3 plus years now (preceded by Caitilin, Katie and Kate and some other girl whose name I can't remember)."

Spinning Around - Kylie Exhibition

Seeing as this weekend may be my last opportunity to see the Kylie Exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery on Mosley Street, AND it's Manchester Gay Pride weekend (I doubt that's a coincidence) I decided to get in during the week and catch the 'show' before it gets packed out on the weekend. Accompanied by my friend Helen, we entered the Gallery to find two large rooms displaying the costumes and pictures of Kylie through her career, including the 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' jumpsuit and of course the gold hot pants from 'Spinning Around' in 2000. (These, by the way, in real life appear much more orange/bronze than they do in the videoclip.) Included in the free (yep, free!) exhibition are two screens where you can see 'behind the scenes' footage and the Showgirl tour. Also, there is a wardrobe room where little girls can dress up in all sorts of Kylie type clothes. For any fans of Kylie, it was a real treat - and most if not all the costumes will be familiar. I'd always heard that Kylie is not tall (she's 5 foot) - but she's also really tiny in width - the showgirl corsets being barely bigger than my arm!

Kylie may be bashful about the popularity of such an exhibition, but thank god someone kept all those costumes - it really was a fun stroll down pop history!

Bourne To Entertain

Yes, I took part in yet another one of those Orange 2-4-1 Wednesday deals and went to see Matt Damon in The Bourne Ultimatum last night. Thankfully I prepared by watching the first two 'Bourne' films on Sunday and Tuesday nights (thus proving you can never have enough Matt Damon) so I was clued up on what was going on. This is one movie where it really is necessary to see the prequels. Generally I am not a fan of trilogies as they invariably lose their impact and feel more like they are made to make money rather than entertain. The Bourne Ultimatum is a very big exception to this, and without revealing any plot it gives more impact than the first two. It's also more exciting (though this could be on account of the fact I saw the first two only on television), the fight scenes are even better and the story does not deviate from compelling. As a side note - Julia Stile's performance in this series improved with each film, emerging as a candidate for a more central role should a fourth 'Bourne' be created.

Verdict: Go see it (and thank me afterwards.)

On the stereo this week is a bunch of new stuff I have picked up on Sunday... firstly Kate Nash's debut: Made Of Bricks. I want to rave about this offering as the hype should have me doing. Sadly I can't. Billed to be the next Lily Allen, the lyrics are not half as sophisticated as her mentor's, with such tunes as 'D*ckhead' becoming patently dull after 30 seconds. Even the lyrics on the insert are wrong, missing or badly spelt on many of the tracks. The album begins with a pointless intro before the hit single 'Foundations', which is the big drawcard. 'Mouthwash' follows with a rather cack-handed feel to it. Almost like someone making up a song on the spot, singing about the first thing they can see. 'D*ckhead' as mentioned is appalling in every sense and a complete snoozefest. Redemption is made briefly in the next 2 tracks, 'Birds' which is tuneful and quirky and 'We Get On' which is of a more 'Lily' style. Sadly, form disappears in 'Mariella' and 'Sh*t Song' which makes leaves you wondering why Ms Nash felt obliged to add these on - both childish attempts at songwriting. Next up is the bizarrely titled 'Pumpkin Soup' which offers no reference to pumpkins or soup though it does extend the barriers of the style on this album by way of incorporating some very 80s effects. Thankfully the album makes a late and partial comeback with its final 3 tracks: 'Skeleton Song', 'Nicest Thing' and 'Merry Happy' all very listenable.
Overall: nothing special (I'm hoping she's alright live though).

Painting Manchester Red

No - I'm not turning into a Man U fan, in fact I have never liked soccer on account of the fact that they fall over too much without being genuinely hurt - watch rugby, you'll see the difference..! No, this weekend I was determined to find some new places to eat and drink in the city rather than rely on our known favourites. So, Friday night sees us occupying a table at Dimitris Greek Taverna on lower Deansgate - although we were initially given the Darkest Table Ever, we soon moved to one with better lighting. Opting for the Super Mega Fish Meze, we changed this to a regular Fish Meze when the waitress told us just how massive it would be and doubted that we would finish it. She was right - we even struggled with the regular one... a massive plate loaded with huge proportions of tender octopus in tomato, fried squid, whitebait, taramasalata, olive tapenade and salad, accompanied by a large bowl of mussels in cream/wine and a bowl of warm pita bread - it was massive. And delicious, will definitely head back there - the dining section out the back in the covered alley where we ate was fantastic, it felt like a different country.

Back into the city on Saturday night after watching Ireland lose in the rugby that afternoon we head to Zinc Bar up near Selfridges and Harvey Nichols (yes, we have both here almost side by side - how convenient is that?). Zinc Bar is more of a restaurant that turns into a bar after dinner and is a great place to watch people stumbling around the Printworks area, usually staggering towards Tiger Tiger and Hard Rock Cafe in large groups. The cocktails are carefully made and prices are moderate (though not cheap) however, the lighting is not dipped enough to make it feel enough of a bar. Clientele seems to be couples and small groups of friends who enjoy being able to talk and not shout.. one word of warning though - if you need to answer the call of nature, strap your hiking boots on. The journey upstairs, through the restaurant, along several corridors, down some stairs and more corridors is a lengthy one and you will meet several people looking lost and bewildered on the way.

From Zinc Bar, we pointed ourselves in the direction of upper Deansgate where we found Label and The Living Room. Having eaten lunch previously at The Living Room we were tempted to enter and found that a few people were being turned away. When we approached the door staff we were told that it was members and guests only and enquired whether it was worth waiting anyway - a quick check of our attire and we were permitted to enter (sigh - was this really necessary? We're not hobos!) Anyway, walking in I see a dizzying array of wannabe footballers' wives. Very funny stuff - loads of eye make-up, hair done to the max, designer threads - you get the idea. The front area near the bar which has a row of booths facing it on the opposing wall was packed, though we made our way to the bar to peruse the sticky cocktail menu. We found booths available in the back section which started to fill as well, but was by no means packed. Reasonable cocktails, silly prices and even sillier clientele, but the lighting was flattering and the music pretty good. Only problem is getting a cab from Deansgate at the end of it (it was raining and my shoes hurt), though we managed one soon enough.

Naturally enough, we spent the Sunday feeling completely drained (not just financially) and decided it would be an excellent opportunity to watch some Cold Feet - Phil recently bought me the box set as I had never seen the show before. When I say 'some Cold Feet' I mean 12 hours of it - the final 2 series (4 and 5). Just could not turn it off - and the ending had me blubbing like a little girl! If you have never seen it before, I implore you to watch it. Ideal for 30-somethings like me with no plan in life.

Gig Report: Tim Freedman, Museum of Garden History, London 9pm

Leaving drinks with a good friend (Monique) who I haven't seen in ages, I reluctantly jumped into a cab with Aileen and we arrived moments later at the Museum of Garden History. At first, entering the church-styled building, I thought we were in the wrong place, but the grand piano on stage made it clear we were on target. Inside the church the intimate seating area was boxed in by 7 foot high partitioning, and a bar was set up to the right of the stage, selling bottles of Wolf Blass which we duly procured. The seating long gone, we take a place at the back, hoping not to obscure anyone's view as Tim came on stage. Our timing was impeccable, though I'm sorry that we missed the support act (not that sorry, after all we got to catch up with Mo!).

Tim played the first 5-6 tracks largely from his new album (Little Cloud) faultlessly and kept his customary glass of red topped up throughout, which he clearly enjoyed, commenting: 'I'm as patriotic as the next Australian, but this French wine shits on the Aussie stuff'. Some old favourites made their way onto the set list such as 'Up Against the Wall', 'Blow Up The Pokies', 'Thank You' and 'No Aphrodisiac' to a very appreciative crowd. Tim even obliged with the ever-popular 'I Make Hamburgers' stopping mid way to engage the audience with a quick anecdote relating to the lyrics. As the bottle on stage drained, a couple of errors appeared in the performance - minor though and Tim quickly made light of them to the crowd's amusement. The piano sounded rich in the venue - a brilliant choice for the show and Tim interacted well with the audience, seemingly appreciative that he has so many (homesick) fans over this side of the world. A fourth and final show has been added to the tour which I am desperately trying to justify buying tickets and making the 400+mile trip for. I'm just grateful that I was able to catch at least one show. And super grateful that Aileen was there to enjoy it with me and keep our glasses topped up!