My life is now complete

Okay, I'll apologize in advance for this blog post. I've been a fan of Radiohead since the tender age of 11 and could probably do them as a specialist subject on Mastermind.

Anyway, I SAW RADIOHEAD LIVE LAST NIGHT! 

I know! I still can't believe it either.  

And guess what.........?

                                    THEY WERE BEYOND AMAZING!!!

And I don't say that lightly either. Even my Mum who is a staunch hater of any band that uses more than four chords in  a song had a good night. 

After Caribou had finished their set, Thom introduced the band with "Hello, I'm lady gaga!" and they stormed  straight into Lotus Flower. Manchester arena was up on it's feet screaming and doing Thom's dance. At this point my brain exploded. It really did, and plastered itself JFK style all over the neighboring seat.  

The rest of the night involved lots of dodgy dancing, several life affirming moments, Jonny Greenwood's fringe and a bit of vomit. 

I think the whole night can be summed up with a transcript of the conversation between the blokes sat behind us. 

Bloke 1: "The fact that they can play with two percussionists in such an odd time sig...."

Thom Yorke: "We're going to play a really, really old song now."

Bloke 2: "OHMIGODSHUTUP THEY'RE PLAYING PLANET TELEX!!

 I can assure that the other 21,000 people singing along to Paranoid Android had a good night. Not only was the set beautiful and the songs perfect, the musicianship was seamless. I understand that Radiohead aren't everybody's cup of tea, but you can't say that they're not good musicans because they really, really are. In fact the whole night was just brilliant. Every single second of it.

Anyway, I'll stop orgasaming over Radiohead and let you eat your tea, but before I go I would also like to remind you that it it's Thom Yorke's 44th birthday today, so happy birthday, you legend. He head a 'Free tibet' flag over one of his amps. You can't get more awesome than that. 

If you'd like to find out more about my night in Manchester, checkout the setlist here, some reviews of the gig here and here and the rest of the tour dates here! 

Sisters, we salute you.

Hey Folks!

At this point, I'm sure you're all aware of er...Russia's pussy situation. (okay, stop laughing it's actually quite serious) 

If you haven't, you need to escape from whatever woodland you've been living in, and head over to 

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/pussyriot and http://freepussyriot.org/ pronto!

A balaclava clad Russian punk band, criticizing the Russian Orthodox church (and it's vice like hold over Russian politics) and Putin's regime, has been imprisoned for 2 years on the medieval charge of 'Blasphemy'.

Whilst you may not agree with gatecrashing a church service and singing punk songs, Pussy Riot's message is a far deeper one.

Their aim is to highlight what really happens underneath the veneer of Putin's regime. In recent years Russia seems to have been making small steps of progress towards respecting human rights, but this is clearly a crumbling facade.

Although now cruelly imprisoned, Pussy Riot have achieved their aim. Everyone from Paul McCartney to my Gran is watching Russia's every move, with the message that Russia is wrong, and the hope that Pussy Riot will be freed. 

So, whilst you're drinking a brew, all cosy and warm in bed tonight, spare a thought or two for the martyrs of Pussy Riot, in a freezing prison cell, missing their families, all in the name of free speech and punk rock, whilst Putin relaxes in comfort and grandeur. 

                                                             Girl Power!! 

We didn't do too badly, did we?

So, the Olympics are over.
That's it for another 4 years, but bloody hell, we went out with a bang.
Now I'm not your stereotypical patriot. I don't have 'England '66' tattooed in fading ink across my bicep. I'll never sacrifice my life or kill another human being in aid of my country. I don't hate The Queen, but I'm not her biggest fan either, and I certainly do not agree with the amount of taxpayer's money we spend on her each year. I'll also happily admit that I don't attend church on Sundays, and my stint as a Girl Guide was short lived.
However, during two weeks in the middle of August, I felt quite proud of our tiny little island.
Our tiny little island that is famous for it's class system, sarcasm, and the national drink of some Chinese leaves in hot water,  which will now be remembered for the Olympics.

As I've said before on this blog, the London 2012 Olympics are far from perfect, but we did a pretty decent job! We hosted them with a smile (albeit sometimes a forced one), which turned into mild surprise when we ended up 3rd in the medal table with 29 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze medals, and realized that we are much better at sport than Eurovision.

So anyway, I'll stop rabbiting on about my national pride, and give the closing ceremony a mention.

Other than the questionable decision of inviting One Direction, Jessie J, Take That, Ed Sheeran (who murdered a Pink Floyd song) The Spice Girls and er... Naomi Campbell (Blood diamonds anyone?) 

It was pretty damn good!
I'll refrain from making George Micheal jokes, but you really can't fault The Pet Shop Boys accidentally  dressed as The KKK!

Another highlight was 80,000 people erupting into John Lennon's Imagine, whilst a sculpture of his face was constructed  IKEA style with some white boxes.  Somewhat ironically, this was set to the background of some confused North Korean athletes, who will probably never understand peace, and unsurprisingly  won all the medals involving weapons. 

 

By far though, the best part of the night was Beady Eye's (sadly not Oasis, but you can never have it all) rendition of Wonderwall, which brought back memories of Year 8 music lessons and also brought a tear to my eye. 

The Who then played everybody out with My Generation, in an explosion of tears and confetti. 

At this point I received a text from one of my mates, enlightening me to the fact that the guy playing bass for The Who, was wearing a suit made of wool  from her parents factory. 

I shall take that as my Olympic claim to fame (however tenuous it may be) and politely decline to mention my wool allergy. 

                                                 So, that was the Olympics 2012.  

I shall leave you with a picture of some constipated divers.

  

Love will er....set you free.

Hey there Kidiwinkies,
I realise that I have neglected this blog for a while, I am incredibly sorry.
I understand that some of you will have been feeling pain and depression to an extent that you have considered suicide, but do not worry because......

MY REVIEW ON EUROVISION 2012 IS FINALLY HERE!

Okay, so I realise that it's a full 11 days late, but you can't have everything.
Aside from Azerbaijan's appalling human rights record, it was actually alright this year. Well, funny bad anyway.

First of all, I would like to mention this bloke.

Engelbert Humperndinck (Affectionately nicknamed 'The Hump'.) 

Did we honestly think we had a chance of winning? He is 76. And wearing eyeliner.

His song was about 'how love will set us free'. Free from what Engelbert? The chains of a hip replacement?

We got 12 points, mostly because he didn't die on stage (although he came fairly close with that huge note at the end.) 

According to his official website (www.engelbert.com) he was 'the victim of political voting'.  Says it all really doesn't it?

Now on to Russia's entry.

Russia. A country not even in Europe. 

6 Grannies. 6 teeth. They sung a song called 'party for everybody'. Although the best bit was the scones. Half way through one of the Grannies took some scones out of an oven. Why they need scones I have no idea, unless Putin was hidden in the oven with a pistol, screaming "DANCE FOR MOTHER RUSSIA!"

Surprisingly they came second, although one of the Babushka's did not live to see the results. 

I have to say though, the highlight of the night was Graham Norton, and his comments about the legality of gay sex in Azerbaijan. What a legend. 

Sod Glastonbury, it's Disability that rocks!

Hey there campers,

Remember when I told you about disability rocks?

Well after months of careful planning and organisition, Disability Rocks was a total success! Even the unpredictable English weather rallied round and shone over Nell Bank. (I bet there are quite a lot of red necks this morning!)

There was everything from a brass band to a sensory yurt, and a drumming workshop to a silent disco. A particular highlight was the beethovens, an epic disabled band from Liverpool. I got roped into doing the satisfaction questionaires at the end, and AJ gave me a sneaky autograph!

I really didn't want to leave, I met so many amazing people and wish the party would have gone on for ever!

Hopefully there will a be a disability rocks next year, it's such a fantastic idea that can only go up from here!

If you want to find out more about disability rocks, go to:

www.disabilityrocks.org

                                                  www.mumtochromoboy.blogspot.co.uk
                                         
 www.thelunaticshavetakenovertheasylum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04-disability-really-does-rock.html

Disability really does rock.

Ladies and Gentlemen, lend me thine ears!

This post is about disability.

Disability can be many things. It can mean a physical disability like paralysis, or motor neurone disease, or it can be a learning disability like Autism or downs syndrome. There are some disabilities with obvious symptoms, and some that aren't that visible.

I guarantee you though, that you will not regret letting someone disabled into your life. 

I know a little boy called Max Sutton. He is the most amazing child  you could ever wish to meet.

 

He loves cricket, badminton, his hamster Leo and standing in his pants like he runs the world.  Not even Paul McCartney has as much swagger as Max Sutton does.

(Read all about him at www.mumtochromoboy.blogspot.co.uk) 

Max Rocks. He knows he does. And Max thinks that disability rocks. Which is why his parents, Caroline and Richard Sutton have created a festival to rival the mighty Glastonbury. 

After having a bit of an epiphany whilst on holiday in Ibiza, Caroline and Richard realised that there weren't any disability friendly music festivals in Yorkshire, and decided to do something about it. 

Tickets are only £15 (£10 for young people and disabled folk) and the line up is spectacular, it has everything from bearded men with guitars, to witty comedians, to drum workshops to a 5 piece Jazz band.

All situated in the best place on earth; Nell bank, West Yorkshire.

So, what exactly are you waiting for? Get yourself off to http://www.disabilityrocks.org  and go buy tickets. Buy tickets for yourself, as a present,  just go buy tickets. All the profits go towards local disability initiatives, but you better act fast, tickets are selling faster than Lady Gaga's knickers.

What are you still doing here? Shoo.