Had a GREAT day out yesterday, ending up with seeing Suede at Royal Festival Hall. We did not have a day out with Suede, in case that was not clear.
Started early, skipped parkrun, got the 9am train. It's busy. I know there's football on today, and also Last Night Of The Proms, but does that really explain the people draped in flags..? Something's going on (and writing this up a day later I now know what it was. Last Night Of The Pricks more like.
We went straight to Urban Outfitters in Covent Garden to get one of the boys some clothes and while he was browsing I took the other boy round shops looking for Pokemon cards. Orcs Nest don't do them but Forbidden Planet had some. They were rationing us to two packets, so that saved me a few quid. Got back to Urban Outfitters and other boy had run up quite a bill. It was a reward for trying so hard in his exams, so all good.
From there to South Kensington for a university open day. Got him registered there and left him at his first lecture, how exciting! We made plans to meet up again after and then the three of us went to The Queens Arms for a little sit down. Two pints of good real ale for me, some hazy IPA for the wife and some diet cokes, beef crocquettes, and chips for the boy. Then when we were rested enough on to The Science Museum where we had a booking for their Level Up gaming exhibition. This is brilliant, he could play all the old games he watches other people on youtube play, and so could we! I played Chuckie Egg on a BBC micro, and also on a Vectrex, an Amiga, a Nintendo Wii, Sega Megadrive, and plenty more. This is a great value exhibition. You can play all day for a tenner, and all year for eighteen quid. Imagine of T1 did end up at this university here (Imperial) he could be in there every day. We also went briefly through the Science Museum itself, though have done this many times. We got lots of birthday and christmas present ideas in the shop there.
While we were in there we got a call from the restaurant we'd booked near Royal Festival Hall to say they were closing because of the threat of trouble of this far right rally in the area, so we hastily found somewhere else. Then collected T1 again from his second lecture and headed to the new place. We stayed in Kensington to make sure we were out of the way of any trouble, so ate in Rocca. Nice Italian, actually Italian people in there. Had a good dinner, though there wasn't quite as much for me as on the other one we'd booked, but still good. Loads of food, and not expensive for London, about a hundred quid all in.
Next to the tube, back on the Picadilly line. T1 and I got off and changed for Embankment, wife and T2 carrid on to St Pancras and home. But we had Suede to go to!
Met up with friends in the bar before the gig, and that was initially complicated but then very civilised. There are several bars in there, they weren't in the one they thought they were. Obviously filled up with Suede fans, and I have noticed they don't mind wearing the t-shirt of the band you have come to see at the gig. I thought there was a rule you wear another complementary band t-shirt? My Def Leppard / Motley Crue number got many admiring glances and at least one conversation started.
Gig was all seated but it's a great venue for that, nicely banked seats so everyone can see.
We went in for the support band, as it's one of T1's first gigs, and I know I always would have done. So glad I did, Bloodworm were awesome. They're a young three piece from Nottingham, but they sound very 1980s. Lots of sounds like The Cure, The Cult, Bauhaus, Joy Division, I loved it. It might just be that all my reference points are from the 1980s and they actually sound more like other bands I've not heard of. Anyway enjoyed very much.
Quick interval drink then back to seats for Suede, who were also great!
Setlist:
Disintegrate
Dancing with the Europeans
Antidepressants
Personality Disorder
Trash
Animal Nitrate
Killing of a Flashboy
It Starts and Ends With You
June Rain
Outsiders
Crackhead
Sweet Kid
Life Is Golden
She Still Leads Me On
Shadow Self
The Sound and the Summer
Criminal Ways
Trance State
This Time
So Young
Metal Mickey
Beautiful Ones
The Only Way I Can Love You (encore)
I started adding this to https://setlist.fm myself but I had been superceded before the end.
When they started with Disintegrate I said to T1 sorry I don't know this one, and he said yes you do I've heard you play it. Those first three are off the new album, then Brett said "Shall we do an old one?" to a great response... and then they played Personality Disorder. Off the previous album, 2022. I thought oh, this is how it's going to go, they are denying their legacy and only want to play new songs. Then they followed that with Trash, their hit pop single from 1996. Then, as you can see from the set list, two more old once. They would come back to an awesome ending of So Young, Metal Mickey, and a whole lot of la-la-la-la-ing for The Beautiful Ones which seemed to go on for ages.
The new songs were very good too, the new album is good, and seeing them play it live helps me appreciate it more.
Some other notes from the set, Brett mentioned Sweet Kid is about his son, and that he couldn't be bothered to be there, he preferred to play rugby. Then Life Is Golden was dedicated to his wife who was in attendence. This all felt a bit odd, he is the andogenous singer of the best new band in Britain, he's too young to have a wife and a rugby playing son surely? And then when they played This Time it was just Brett and Neil on keyboards, and then Brett went off mic and just sang it to the crowd unaccompanied, that was really good. To follow that up with the three off the first album was awesome.
We got the tube back to St Pancras and an elevenish train home no problem. No more of the flag waving loons on our train, though wife said their was on hers and it was really quite unpleasant. Being in a big group of racists had emboldened them to talk loudly about their racist conspiracy theories all the way home. I hope this passes again, but it is getting a bit concerning. What the hell is Elon Musk doing appearing by video link at a far right rally in London calling for violence?? Anyway, can't let that spoil what was a brilliant day.
Some things missing from the graph since September 2023, working on getting them back just kind of hoping someone else will fix it and they'll come back.
What a productive day! Bought the bathroom flooring, taken delivery of the new shower, and only gone and got the flipping Radiohead tickets!!
You may recall from earlier chapters that wife and I were both rejected from the "random selection" draw for who was allowed to apply for tickets. I'm sure they didn't look up our contact details on the dark web and filter us out for being too old, oh no. Somehow T1 got through, so we had one chance. He had school during the ticket window, but he left us logged in on his email and bravely left his phone here, and we managed to get tickets. Didn't go for the "good" days of Friday or Saturday and didn't go for standing tickets, assuming they'd sell out first. We went for prime seating tickets and have paid through the actual nose, with the fees etc. Still, we're going.
Nephews also going, same day, similar tactics, except they did get standing tickets. I don't know where our seats are, but being in the most expensive section I hope they're good. We're fairly near the front we think.
I had dentist this morning, that didn't cost me much, so good. I have put in for another week of on call, that will pay for approximately one ticket I think. If T1 valets our car about twenty times that pays for his.
We're taking him shopping tomorrow, before the Suede gig, for new clothes. A pre-planned treat. Maybe he'll say "oh I don't want much, as you just got me that Radiohead ticket"... Maybe.
Maybe I'll not go to the pub tonight to save another twenty quid or so. Maybe 1.
Sunny intervals and a fresh breeze, 12 - 16℃.
Ha of course I went to the pub, and I spent more like thirty quid, and then another six on some noodles on the way home!
Used the Ninja again today for lunch, one of the bin pasties from the weekend. One of the pasties that I got for free in the last hour of trading from Tesco. I didn't really get it out of the bin. I remember when I first got the Ninja I posted every time I used it, and for a while I tried to keep track of number of uses and so I could work out what it was costing me. But I just use it too much! I'm still using it all the time, it has been a GREAT investment. Yesterday I made a bolognaise for tea in it, and made twice as much as we need so there's some in the freezer. Monday I made the arrabiata sauce in it, and Sunday I did two lots of mash and the filling for three (vegan of course) shepherds pies, two of which have also gone in the freezer.
It is probably on a level with my coffee machine for just what a good purchase it was. I am notorious for making very bad purchases, but neither of these are that.
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AAARGH it made me spit and swear trying to use their shit website. The page wouldn't scroll things can't be clicked on, it can't find my email, then it says that email is already registered. I was all ready to cancel it all, but went away, calmed down, and spot to the other live chat, which was either a person or a better bot. That fixed my issue I originally came in for, which was to change the direct debit from annual to monthly. I still nearly cancelled, we use it about twice a year, but I do like the idea of it, so we'll go for another year.
Back in Vienna again, and it's Saturday morning. You know what that means? Find a parkrun!
I had already plotted it out, I could get the underground to Donaupark. A friend had said I'd like it, he'd done it, he got his best time there. No way it can have been as hot as this though. As expected with overseas parkruns, most of the people are tourists on holiday. I got talking to a family from somewhere posh in the UK that I forget, they were also on a train based holiday like us. They had got a sleeper carriage in to Vienna from somewhere else though. We should do that. Also got talking to a Canadian guy, and when it came to the shout outs for people doing a milestone he told them today was my two hundredth. I had to tell someone, though I'm not even sure I would have got a mention back at home. I got a little round of applause, but it didn't do much for my time. I said it was hot. The course is three times round the park, and it is indeed very flat and very pleasant, and there's a water fountain part way time. That probably added on a few seconds stopping for a drink.
I headed back to the hotel in plenty of time for us to check out, not like when we left Budapest. We had a train to get to Zurich, via Munich. Would it go smoothly? We had reserved seats this time! Spoiler: it would not go smoothly. I already wrote this one up, so now we're mostly caught up. I can get on to Italy, but might do that another day.
Yes back to write up our eurotour holiday 2025, way after the fact, when I will get even more of the details wrong.
Plan for this day (August 15th) was to go to Bratislava for the day. A day trip, a holiday from the main holiday. I did this last time in Vienna. Partly because Vienna is a bit boring, but also partly for the novelty of the ease of going to one capital city from another. You can get the train from Vienna to the centre of Bratislava in about an hour. Or, you can normally...
... closed for electrification on 4 March 2024, originally until 14 December 2024, then until 5 July 2025, and now the work has overrun again until at least 10 October 2025. The REX8 trains will not operate during this time.
We cannot get the fast train. But we can still get a train nearly as fast, to a nearby station, and figure it out from there. We got the tram to the station, to ease the boys legs, though it didn't really save much. It's very hot again though and we don't want them worn out before the day has started.
We got our tickets easily from a machine, slightly rushing as there's a train in under five minutes, but made it. Standing room only from Vienna to this other Bratislava station. There were a few stops but not many. As we started to pull into this other station it felt familiar. I'm sure this was the same platform I came in on last time, and that's the lockers where I left all my stuff for the day. If there's a Tesco just over to the left of the station entrance... there is! This is the same station I came in to last time. So last time I must have got the same wrong train to the same wrong station! And it was easy that time! I knew just where to get the bus from into the old town, and I remembered that our train tickets (about sixteen euros each) covered all the bus journeys as well as the return train. From one country to another country. Are you taking this in? A travelcard and everything! What would that cost you going from London to Paris say? European train travel is mostly much better. Especially if you always wanted an extra stop off in Munich.
We walked round for a bit in the heat. Decided not to go up to the castle as it's all a bit modern. What we wanted was a nice cafe or bar sit down really. We bimbled until we came across Brixton House, where I'd been last time. Seems to be aimed at international visitors really, but was good last time and good this time. Good beer and a nice place to sit, outside with a cooling mist spray over us watching people go by. Bratislava was busier than last time I was here, but still pretty easy going.
After we went for more walking round, checking out where we might have dinner. Also looking for a bar I had enjoyed last time called Pod Kamennym Stromom. Really struggled to find it with the streets all being a bit busier, but got there in the end. Sat in the same spot in the courtyard, and failed to order food just like the last time. I did enjoy the beer here, but wife did not, and wanted to go back to the previous place.
We did go back to the previous place for food. I can't remember what I had, even from this picture I took of the food. But I see the boys had tacos and the wife had a chicken salad, and everyone liked it. I remember thinking again "I'm sure it should be cheaper than this", but it was a nice place, and a bit touristy. We probably got good value.
Aha I scanned the receipt, so I can see mine is the cauliflower steak, and wife had "sexy salad". €124 for four with drinks (two Cierny Kamen Nelson Time beers and two pink lemonads) plus tip.
We got bus and train back again, in plenty of time so were at least able to sit down this time. This was a lovely day out, and a treat to be heading to another country without even hand luggage. Relaxed! Kind of insane that we went from one country to another and didn't even have our tickets checked, let alone our passports.
On the way home we found a bar near our hotel called Fladerei and sat and played more cards. We were lucky to find this really, every where was looking shut. I have been to Vienna twice and somehow it has been "The Assumption Of Mary" each time. Some sort of religious holiday that closes most of the bars. But this place Fladerei is good, and very near our hotel.
Oh I'm back in Vienna again, feel like it should be a new post.
Tube strikes, up the workers! We don't have to go into the office if our journey is impacted. And so even though I don't have to get the tube to work, my journey could be impacted couldn't it? However I already have an advanced train ticket for tomorrow. Very cleverly bought one way in advance so I could get it for about thirty quid instead of about ninety quid. Not so clever as it turns out as if I'd left it to the last minute I could just not be going in. There won't be many people in, but I don't think I'll be on my own.
I do enjoy going into the office, much as I complain about it. It's not as effective as working from home, but I like the walk, and the choice of lunches, and saying hi to people.
Going up to London for fun at the weekend, hope that is not disrupted.
Paulʼs weblog - I live some place you've not heard of in the far South. Wed + father to 2, I'm a full stack web engineer, and I do javascript / nodejs, some ruby, python, php ect ect. I like pubs, running, eating, home-automation 🤖 and other diy jiggery-pokery, history, genealogy, television, squirrels, pirates, lego, and TIME TRAVEL.
