Heading for a police state...

Up early today. I surf the net and, on the BBC news site I discover what I suppose I'd suspected since it was first announced - the man the police shot dead in a London Underground station was not a terrorist - he was a Brazilian electrician (OK pedants, I didn't suspect he was a Brazilian electrician, just that it would turn out to be a case of mistaken identity…)

"Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder, at Stockwell Tube station, south London, on Friday."

No doubt the full story will emerge over the next few days but, for now, the best the police can come up with is that more innocent people may be shot dead in the hunt for terrorists - funny, I thought the politicians were saying the terrorists must not be allowed to change our way of life - well I think we can safely say "adios" to that idea.

But life goes on and I didn't reveal the news to Anne, Sandra or Stewart until after breakfast, as I didn't want to spoil the lashings of coffee, toast and croissants...later we all agree we're heading for a police state...oh yes!!

As is often the case when we have visitors, there's no sense of urgency as to what we might do and nothing is planned beforehand. Around midday, Sandra phones a friend in Fife and arranges for her and Stewart to visit around teatime - they'll stay there tonight and head up north (they live on the island of Lewis) tomorrow.

With this arrangement made, we head into town, still with no planned destination so I decide to drive to Ocean Terminal Mall - they seem to have some nice restaurants there though Anne and I have never tried them out.

We chose an Italian place which has a fine menu and we all order pasta dishes which turn out to be delicious - the waitress performs the best ever addition of parmesan to a dish I've seen - the block is brought to the table and grated directly onto the pasta.


After coffees (and very tasty Biscotti) and a desert for Stewart, we go outside for a look at the ships in the harbour then into the mall. I split off and go into HMV, scene of the great Naxos frenzy a few weeks ago - but today I find nothing which excites - we meet up again and then we head back home before Anne drives our visitors over to Dalgety Bay for their next stop on their holiday....they need to visit for longer next time...

While Anne is gone, in preparation for the upcoming Fringe gigs, I copy various backing tracks onto the hard drive and burn a trial backing CD with the following track list:-

The Crocodile Song

Half a Lifetime Away

Snowfall

I Rearranged the House

Ten Twelve Seventeen

The Gardener

20/20 Vision

The Beauty of a Foreign Land

Very Small (Piano Version)

Another Happy Day

Where Are You

When Anne comes back we watch Corrie, Joey, Two and a Half Men and then Friday night's Still Game - the first episode of a new series which will no doubt quickly become the highlight of the week TV wise...

Then from 10 till 11 I carry out a "quiet and considered" vocal performance over the backing tracks before going to bed where I review the performance on headphones...