22nd June, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
The Kills have been referred to as minimalist or low-fi post-punks, and as exponents of ‘punk blues’, but I don’t think any of these labels ring true when they play live. The sound is sparse, but not minimalist. Only one song was delivered without the drum machine, but more songs would have benefited from being » Read More
8th June, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
The kids were playing in the field after school the other day when they found a male Stag Beetle (Lucanus parallelipipedus) wedged into a crevice of the Walnut tree that they were climbing. They feed on sap that oozes from trees (the beetles not the kids) and their grubs live in large decaying trunks and » Read More
8th June, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
Everything about the show is otherworldly. Visually Bat for Lashes and her band have no modern reference points. Musically the songs don’t adhere to any specific genres, and there isn’t any real banter with the audience to bring you into the present. Bat for Lashes has a clear, pitch-perfect, folkish voice with each song’s individual » Read More
26th May, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
The Whitsun Bank Holiday has been a bit of a washout this year, but before the weather took a turn for the worse I was watching a couple of tired looking Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) butterflies flying along in the lee of an old Holly hedge in Herefordshire. They were laying eggs in the flowers » Read More
21st May, 2008 - Posted by emily - No Comments
Fairly early on Tuesday morning I listened near the box but no noise of birds. This morning my neighbour said his cat had brought in two Great Tits it had killed… so all the effort of the parents raising these babies was wasted. Bloody cats: when they are not killing the wildlife they » Read More
20th May, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
Bluebell (Scillia non-scripta) carpets the floor of beach woodlands in the Chilterns during late April and early May. These bluebells were in the woods above Ipsden. The scent of thousands upon thousands of these flowers on a warm spring day is delightful. Not to be confused with the Spanish, or Garden Blubell (Scllia hispanica). Cowslip (Primula » Read More
19th May, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
The last time me and Al saw the Charlatans do a full (non-festival) show was in Manchester in 1992. When it comes to music, I don’t think there is too much to be gained from looking back, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this gig - except plenty of 40 somethings in the audience and » Read More
18th May, 2008 - Posted by emily - 1 Comment
I spread some of the contents of our compost bin on the veg patch before planting up … unfortunately the dalek style bin we have makes it difficult to get at the ‘ready’ compost without incorporating some of the newer material. I think this is why I have a veg patch full of these (which » Read More
18th May, 2008 - Posted by emily - No Comments
A family of Great Tits are nesting in my nest box (which is apparently made out of old cars). The babies are getting pretty big now and I don’t suppose it will be long before they’re off into the big wide world. This is the first time I’ve uploaded pics and I’m having trouble » Read More
13th May, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
Bit of a late post, but … this was a really good evening out - hope you enjoyed it Chris. The 100 Club is a great venue. It’s low key and everything about it is totally unaffected: friendly staff, good beer, somewhere to sit down to drink and watch if you want, and décor that my » Read More