Went and saw Pendulum perform live the other week. I don't know whether it was because i had high expectations but i was left feeling dissapointed. Their live setup features drummer, bassist, guitarist, synth/2nd guitar, vocals and an additional MC. Rather than perform then replicate their studio work in a live arena, they have almost turn into a rock band covering their songs. Obviously some parts of the 'reworkings' work well, such as an extended guitar intro into Hold Your Colour, but overall it loses the intensity and its drum n bass identity. Maybe it would work better with an extra drummer.....

Mum was over last week so Bindy and I went up to Middlesbrough to see her and catch up with lots of relatives. It was nice to see everyone again and we had a party in a pub all of Saturday. Bindy has been busy with her job - she has been up to Stoke and is off to Leeds, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and a few other places doing recruitment.

As promised here is the audio for the Bill Bailey show i saw in Nottingham

Part 1 - http://www.zshare.net/audio/50839176d82eb6/
Part 2 - http://www.zshare.net/audio/50840987bd2579/

Poland

We had a great time in Krakow. It was bloody freezing the whole time we were there, barely getting above 0 degrees but that was ok because it snowed for basically the entire time which was lots of fun. Food and drink was pretty cheap - vodka is the standard drink there and most of the Poles drink it straight. A double shot or a beer will set you back about $3-4. We found this great pub just off the main square (supposedly the largest square in Europe) where we had the best flavoured vodka we've ever tasted - the mandarin vodka tasted like real mandarines, and so did the vanilla, not like the sweet artificial flavourings that you normally find. This place also did food, and I managed to get a plate of smoked salmon with caviar paste for $4! We ate traditional polish food for dinner - lots of ham and sausages and this sweet shredded cabbage mixture. The traditional food is pierogi, which is a cross between a dumpling and ravioli and is filled with meat or cheese mixture.

Krakow is about an hour from the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz so we took a tour out there which was a really interesting experience. We had a guide who took us on a 3.5 hour tour through the site, explaining how the whole brutal operation took place. The whole place was covered in a thick layer of snow which added to the whole bleak feel of the place. I've put some photos up with the rest of them so have a look.


On Sunday night I went to see Bill Bailey perform at the Nottingham Arena who was funny, though I didn't think it was as good as his previous shows. It was a bit odd going to such a big comedy gig (the venue is slightly smaller than the Brisbane Entertainment Centre) but he made full use of the venue - using massive visual displays, a giant ufo coming down from the roof of the stage and even went through the seated crowd area on one of those stupid segway bike things (crashing it on trying to return to the stage). They also record the show so you can buy a copy of it on CD afterwards which I thought was pretty cool so I'll post a copy of the show online once i've ripped it onto my computer. Though he did make use of a lot of images so some bits of it probably won't make much sense.

Food, Work and Shopping

Yes, I know i've been a bit slack with posting here but i managed to spill beer on my laptop so it had to get taken in to get cleaned....but all seems to be working now which is very good.

2 weeks of stuff to update you all on...
We went to Cadbury World (the home of Cadbury chocolate) at Bournville which was pretty interesting as we got to go around the factory and see how all the different types of chocolate are made and the history of the company. We also got plenty of free samples and managed to pick up a bag of chocolate offcuts. The next day we caught the bus through the countryside to Melton Mowbray, which is a town south of Nottingham famous for its Pork Pies and Stilton cheese

Bindy got a job at a recruitment company, recruiting carers to look after people - the company seems pretty disorganised and her work is fairly chaotic, but it gives us more money to spend which is always good.

On Saturday we spent the day in Birmingham, which is one of the largest cities in England. We basically spent the day wondering around the shops and markets and picked up a little xmas tree to go in our apartment (yes i know its early).

We head off to Krakow in Poland on Thursday for a few nights so i'll tell you about that next..... Meanwhile you can check out a couple more photos that i've put up