#11 - RPM records bank holiday sunday

Today's instant is of one guy from The Winter Hill Transmission. As he joked - the rest of the band were elsewhere. I heard loads of cheers for The Watchers in the courtyard while I was inside the shop providing peoples ears with top records from some folk greats. People came down for a listen and even a little dance. These RPM all dayers are really small scale but that doesn't make them any less awesome.

Some lovely fella educated me about King Crimson. I bought a Bob Marley 7" for £1. Bargains never stop.

Mother nature was teasing us with small glimmers of sun followed by downpours but endless cups of tea, sandwiches and sweets made the day a delight.

Go to the next one, even if it's raining. You will have fun.

#10 - Rooftop shots

To make up for me skipping a few days (10 posts in 13 days isn't bad right?) I'm treating you to two of my favourite instants from the past. Yeah they're not new, but they're class. Both pictures taken from rooftops of public buildings. I think rooftops are perfect for a nice photo as you can get so much into one image, especially with the detail that the instax film produces.

This first one is taken from the top of the Tate Modern in London. This trip was an attempt to see Sunny Day Real Estate and Saves the Day at the HMV Forum. Unfortunately the bloody volcanic ash stopped them from making it over. So we saw some sights instead.

This second picture was taken from the seventh floor of the library in Amsterdam. When I went to visit Lauren. This was the resturant floor (with roof terrace). The food they served there was awesome. Three course meal for €10 and the best garlic sauce outside of Boro.

#9 - Leeds (not the festival)

Today's instant was taken in Leeds this morning. This picture has no relevance to my blog post other than the fact it's a place in Leeds. I liked the building, the statue and the sky in this moment in time. If anyone knows anything about whats in the picture then I would be happy to listen. I thought I better snap something before I got on the train as I didn't get chance to take one of the Royal Park Cellars, which was host to a class gig I went to last night. The line-up was Brontide + Rosa Valle + William KJ Anderson + Cub Club. I'm not going to bore you with a massive review of each band. You're getting one liners and pictures (I took some of my own on my fisheye so they should be up soon).

Brontide - Intense. Loud. PEDALS. Awesome.

Rosa Valle -One upped Cub Club by half of them playing on the floor. The most boro band on the bill. Lovely as always.

William K. J. Anderson - Awesome acoustic numbers that are inspired by The Wire (I'm lead to believe). How can you not like him? Totally changed the atmosphere in the venue aswell.

Cub Club - Class. The singer really utilised the little step infront of the stage. Mathy, tappy and proper class.


If you thought this blog post was Leeds Festival free then you were mistaken. If you aren't going and keep bitching about how rubbish the festival then crack a bloody smile. I'm sure you don't hate the festival as much as you make out. It's a music festival, thats not the worst way you could spend your weekend. Loads of people were making their way to the festival site from Leeds train station, quite disheartening considering I was heading back to Newcastle. I'm going to have a class time watching it on telly this weekend. Maybe I'll do some sort of Leeds festival feature considering I'm not going. My take on the bands that are playing. How does that sound?

Just to annoy the haters even more. Here's a picture of the lineup:

DEAL WITH IT. The lineup is good. (apart from Guns 'n' Roses - get lost Axl and let Slash do his business)

#8 - The Olde Young Tea House

Today's instant is of two fine loose leaf teas that were picked up from The Olde Young Tea House in Middlesbrough. The one on the left is cherry, the one on the right is summer blend. I am reliably informed that the summer blend contains a mix of nettle, bilberries, raspberries, rose petals and sunflower petals. Quite the mix, but it works. I've sampled both teas over the past day (I don't know why it took me so long, I bought them a good while ago). Bloody class, both of them.

Loads and loads of tea. I'm only just getting started on them.  If you're not sure which one you want then have a sniff in one of the jars. This place doesn't just stop at tea. Tasty looking scones and tasty looking cakes. Sandwiches if you are peckish. Also the best looking till I've seen in a while, reassurance that your money is going to a good place.

I bet you want a piece? The stuff in here is pretty cheap - £1.50 for a mug of loose leaf tea, £1.50 for a scone with jam and cream. Another place that doesn't take the piss with prices.

If there ever was a reason to visit Middlesbrough, this is it. Take no notice of Channel 4 and get in touch with me. I'll show you the class side of the town.

p.s. cheeky plug - some of my fisheye pictures are up in some awesome old picture frames on the wall to the left of the counter. another reason to visit.

Here's one of my faves that is up:

#7 - The Forbidden Corner

I wasn't at a computer long enough yesterday to post something up. Thats the least of our worries though. Sunday is some sort of sabbath day anyway? Day of rest an' that. ANYWAY. This instant is allowed to be a day late because it is one of my favourite instax's I've ever snapped. This jolly fella was leading the way into The Forbidden Corner.

Forbidden Corner is pretty much a massive playground (credit goes to some father for that description, he was trying to get his kid to go down the very steep spiral stairs into the underground) that is class no matter how old you are. Words cannot describe this place. I'm not going to spend a paragraph of your time trying to paint a picture of it. Because you will still be blown away when you get there. If you ever get there. I know it's probably the 5th time I've said this in a weeks worth of blog posts but - if you get a chance to visit, DO IT!

Upon entering this magical world you get given this checklist that lists all of the attractions. I have now been to this place twice and still haven't managed to find this bloody tree dog. I'm starting to doubt it even exists. If you have been here and found the tree dog then please do reassure me it is actually there.

I want to keep ramblings about my everyday life to a minimal. You really don't need to know about what food is passing through my mouth every day. But I feel what I ate last night deserves a grand mention. It was a delicious chicken curry with lots of vegetables inside and curried potatoes on the side. WELL DONE EDDY READ!

#6 - No camping, no fires

Firstly, I think it's pretty sad that people can't be trusted to camp on open land. I'm guessing that's the reason for the the 'no camping' and 'no fires' sign. The way I look at it, if you clean up after yourself and leave no trace then it's all good.

The place in todays instant was really, really nice. Apart from the midgies. I'm covered in bites.

We went to a class pub last night that was pretty much someones living room. There was a kid pulling pints, loads of Fleetwood Mac and a dog called peanut. Also Black Sheep on draft, perfect.

This beauty of a sauce was the star of the night. It made everything taste 10x better and everyone was devestated when we momentarily lost it. Oh and I finally made a decent wine choice. SUCCESS.

#5 - All Tomorrow's Parties

Todays picture represents how class All Tomorrow Parties is. If you don't know what ATP is then here's a brief background. 10 years ago when I tiny as, Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian fame decided it would be a class idea to put on a festival called the Bowlie Weekender at Camber Sands holiday camp. Loads of bands they like played and I'm assuming a lovely time was had by all. Barry Hogan (current ATP mastermind) thought this weekend was a bloody success and fancied carrying it on. Thus the birth of All Tomorrow's Parties. It's now held numerous times a year at Butlin's (another holiday camp) in Minehead and also various places across the world.

 

ATP Breeders. This is the ticket to the first ATP that I attended. Fajita's were made, class breakfast happened pretty much everyday. I met loads of class people and saw Kimya Dawson conduct a massive group hug in the upstairs room. I pretty much fell in love with the artwork by Michael Motorcycle that you can see in the instax up there. The merch stand at ATP is the most wonderful merch stand I've ever seen. Not even going to get started on that. Anyway, most  prints like this sold at ATP have two versions (one with a band list/event on advertising something and one with just the artwork). At ATP #1 I saw this print for around £100, way out of my price range. Then at ATP #2 I saw the cheaper version for £15. Bargain. It's my favourite piece of artwork I own and really should be in a frame at the minute.

 

WRISTBAND

 

This was ATP numero 2 for me. Because it was a big anniversary, pretty much all of the lineup was class bands with class songs. I could write a blog post about each one. I'm glad I got to see Battles at this one, pretty much the only chance I had considering the main guy has packed up shop and left them. Explosions in the Sky were pretty awesome too. This was the ATP where the biggest BORO ring of fire was held. Very fun. Didn't enjoy the mushroom based sick though. Mushrooms are not a good drunk food.

As good a festival ATP is, their wristbands are pretty rubbish. But I suppose we'll let them off?

Pavement ATP. Where do I begin with this one? Shared a chalet with three people I'd never met before. All of them turned out to be class. I ended up sharing a double bed with Dean and watched many depressing early morning tv programmes with him (see Working Man's Death). I don't think I've mentioned that ATP have their own TV channels. I saw some bands too, highlights were probably Grails (who no one else liked) and Boris x2. People take their children to ATP. One baby loved Boris. She was then named Boris baby. The wristband was a cloth one this time and is still attached to my wrist so that's why you haven't got a scan. This was the ATP that Monotonix were supposed to play then got cancelled. I was second in the queue. So close to seeing them. I won't go into how disappointed I was.

I've put myself in a position where I can't go to either of the December ATP's, which is pretty rubbish. But I'm going to get to see Belle and Sebastian at the Sage and Arcade Fire in Manchester instead. Can't really grumble. I'm going to miss Dean though, I hope he misses me.

I could sit here for hours and tell you why I think ATP is class but I'm going to stop now. You should definately read up on it and visit if you are a friendly person and have an open mind when it comes to music. What other festival can you play poker with Steve Albini of Shellac and see members Monotonix chillin' near the arcade with their laptop?

p.s. the ATP film is class and can tell you alot more about ATP than I ever can.

#4 - Bi-polar disco and meaty smoothies

Yesterday we made the venture to Danby to celebrate young Sam's 21st birthday. Today's picture is of the area where we stayed. It's near Botton Village somewhere. I can't put into words how nice the area was. The benches on the right were circled round a fire, people swam in the lake this morning. The building on the left played host to a lovely fire and a flute/guitar jam. It was magical. Emily also slept in the hut without a sleeping bag. She is the female Bear Grylls. Although she hasn't quite made it to sleeping in camels yet.

 I bought some awful red wine. It didn't even get half finished. That's how bad it was. Jono payed less for some class white wine. I got over it pretty quickly. Conclusion: I'm rubbish at picking wines. Someone needs to teach me about wine.

When we arrived in Danby last night we were lucky enough to sample some homemade sticky toffee pudding. It was probably the best thing I've ate all year. This morning we were treat to pretty much a full english at the Joiner residence. Some lovely lady from told us about when she had her 3rd nipple removed and that she thought the liposuction resembled a "meaty smoothie". In return for this wonderful ancedote we introduced this girl to brown sugar, teapots and filter coffee. A fair swap I'd say. After that we came up with three business ideas in the space of an hour. The best one was a clubnight named 'bi-polar disco' where people can queue up to choose a song. Like a request sheet, only you get to play the song yourself. A proper mash-up with everyone involved. Sounds class? If you'd like to invest in this then get in touch.

I'm pretty tired so I'm going to stop here but if you get the chance to you should visit Danby and the surrounding area too see it for yourself. It's bloody lovely. Also you should read up about Botton.

 

Todays picture is all about awesome jumpers, there's a selection of three fine wears from my wardrobe. Knitwear like this is lovely. Whether it be from a charity shop or a vintage shop, they are usually one of a kind. This makes it all the more special when you find one that you just can't take your eyes off. Wearing a knit that has been handpicked from a rail of one off's feels loads warmer than a generic jumper. I don't know how it works, probably magic. Either the jumper faeries are watching over me or it's got something to do with the massively chunky numbers I always seem  to go for.

Feast your eyes on another few from my wardrobe:

I could bore you with tales of how each one ended up in my wardrobe, no chance. I'm going to tell you about a super awesome new company called The Naughty Knitwear Company. A young fella by the name of Pip Lawrence runs this company. He's a charming chap with loads of class ideas and alot of effort is going into this venture. He also loves orange juice (probably not as much as some people). The company stocks a wide range of knitted cardigans, jumpers and generally all things wooly. All hand picked, so there's no rubbish.

Naughty Knitwear is going to be sold online pretty soon, with stalls popping up across the Newcastle area.  The first one is at the Star and Shadow Cinema market on the 5th of September.  From what I've heard the prices are going to be pretty reasonable and comparable to your average vintage/retro shop. The difference is that with The Naughty Knitwear Company every piece is a quality piece.

Just take a look at some of the pictures up on the page. EVERY ONE IS BLOODY LOVELY.

#2

Today's picture is from High Bridge Street in Newcastle. RPM records was here until it packed up shop to move round the corner into Old George Yard. Two years ago when I first moved to Newcastle to start university here, RPM was discovered. It was like Christmas day. There are no independent record shops in Middlesbrough, the only time I could visit one was when I was in another town/city. So to find one within walking distance was pretty special. RPM do loads of class stuff like get involved with record store day and do all-dayer events with DJ's in the shop and bands in the courtyard.

My first purchase from RPM was Laura Marling's first album on CD. Along with it came this free poster. The artwork is wonderful so a poster was pretty perfect. Thanks guys.

 

RPM have recently got in loads of second hand 7" singles. 'Second hand' may put some people off but it's a bonus for me with records like this. They come with character - the smell, and someone writing stuff about Stevie Wonders head. 

Here's just two of the classics that are now in my hands:

 

Most of these beauties are £1/£2. Bargain, RPM don't take the piss with prices. There are loads of hits and most of them are in pretty good condition. I've seen other record shops charging £5 upwards for stuff like this, which puts me off buying singles. But when they're this cheap, how can you resist?

After visiting RPM a few times I looked into other record shops in the area. Another of my favourites is alt.vinyl. Situated on Thornton Street, next door to Tilleys Bar. Alt.vinyl offers more obscure releases and mainly stuff that you don't see in the other record shops of Newcastle.. Theres even a cafe latched onto the side of the shop, what more could you ask for? Oh they do a little stamp card which gets you free credit if you regularly buy from there. CLASS!

Here's their flyer. They've done a lovely take on drugs.

Analogue cameras have been more appealing to me than digital cameras for a few years now. Film cameras allow for a whole range of desired and undesired effects (multiple exposures, panorama images, light leaks, cross processing etc.) Also there is something alot more exciting about the whole process of taking a film to be developed compared to seeing your image instantly appear on a screen. However, instant cameras incorporate the beauty of analogue film with near enough the speed of a digital picture. There is definately something special about seeing an image develop infront of your eyes in a matter of seconds.

The most commonly known instant camera seems to be the Polariod. Due to Polaroid film not being in production when my purchase was made, I opted for a Fuji Instax 210 to save on costs. This uses the Fuji Instax Wide Format film. It's quite a bulky camera but was more appealing to me than the Fuji Instax Mini range as the prints the mini cameras produce are credit card size (a tad too small for my liking).

This beaut is currently the only instant camera in my hands, the images you will be seeing will all be from this. You can find all the specs here if you want to check the features out.

So, the goal is to (try to) post an instax shot up here everyday that I have taken on that day. I might throw in some oldies every so often to talk about something amazing. I don't own a portable scanner (do such things exist?) so sometimes days will have to roll over. I'm sure you can deal with that. 

These will be my picture from my camera of something that I find interesting, not just someone elses work that I'm fond of like alot of blogspots/tumbr's that are floating around.  This will be accompanied by some sort of description as to why I found the subject of the image interesting. 

The idea is that this will encourage me to capture something of interest at least once a day and this blog will provide a place to document this. None of these images will appear on my Facebook/Flickr so you won't see them in two places (how terrible that would be).

#1

Today I went for a walk by the quayside in Newcastle. You don't want to hear about that though. I took this picture of the Sage (over the river, in Gateshead). Look at it. What a bloody lovely building.

The Sage has got some nice looking gigs. I've got tickets to see Belle and Sebastian and Mogwai there in the coming months. I'm already very excited.


There are two main music venues in the Sage. Halls One and Two. I saw Joan Baez play in Hall One (1600 capacity) and Daniel Johnston supported by Laura Marling in Hall Two. This second hall has ten sides. THAT'S A ROOM WITH TEN SIDES. Have a look around you now and then think about that. Both rooms are very different. The first is all seating with lots of wood, it reminds me of the Royal Festival Hall in London. The second is smaller, darker and more circular. Both rooms have amazing sound, you can tell they are purposefully built for live music.

Both of these gigs have a place in my heart. I attended the first with my Dad*. He's pretty much the biggest Bob Dylan fan I know.  So it was only natural that we went to see Dylan's back-in-the-day sweetheart perform live. The second gig was also with my Dad. We went mainly to see Laura Marling play her support slot but the show nicely introduced me to Daniel Johnston. He is quite an interesting character. Apparently his rider includes a tour  of comic book stores. I bought one of his t-shirts, then coloured it in because it was a bit boring.

* hanging out with your Dad may not sound like your idea of fun but mine is class. he likes class music.