Glass cases...

Playlist
Fennesz – Venice
The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour
Suzanne Vega – Retrospective
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Nine New Songs
Joel R L Phelps & The Downer Trio – Customs
Various – Nuggets
Various – Trojan Dub Rarities Box Set (Disc 1)
The Ramones – Ramones Mania

Up at 5:40 today, though when I got up I thought it might be around 8...

I updated the blog and surfed the sites I read – and it’s congratulation’s to Jim Park’s sister Janie (and her husband Max) on the birth of their daughter yesterday....

Once Anne got up we headed to Patisserie Florentin for breakfast – superb latte for me and their plain croissants just cannot be beaten...

After breakfast, I took Anne round to her sister Jane’s as they were off out together, and, after dropping them at their destination, I set off for “the Saturday place” which is where it’s possible to park the car all day without getting a ticket. I’ve been parking there on a Saturday since we had our original shop back in 1991...

In Avalanche, I picked up a copy of The Downer Trio’s album “Customs” the sound of which I had no idea but it is rather good....

A lottery ticket next (aargh! One number again)...

And then to Fopp where I went a wee bit mad, buying “Nuggets”, recently re-released on Rhino Records – the Lenny Kaye (subsequently of the Patti Smith Group) compilation of the best of the USA Psychedelic Era of 1965-68, a 3CD Box Set of Trojan Dub Rarities (my absolute favourite type of Reggae music), a disc by The Brad Mehldau Trio, “Anything Goes” including covers of Radiohead, Paul Simon, Cole Porter, Thelonius Monk, Lerner & Lowe and Charlie Chaplin, and, finally, a 30 track compilation of a band by whom I had until today, nothing – “Ramones Mania”...

Met up again with Anne at the Music Library, but I wasn’t there to borrow any CDs, rather to meet with Dr Prog and his lovely wife Jacqui. We were off to the Mosque for a curry based lunch...

The Mosque kitchen has been catering to the nearby University’s students and staff for years and the general public are gradually becoming aware of the very tasty food available – and of the frankly ludicrously low prices being charged...

Tasty!

Phil Prog is upset at recent press reports that one of our favourite music venues, The Queen’s Hall, is to be closed down and a new venue to be built miles away in Leith and so we walked along to said venue to find out where Phil could write to in order to complain...

Turns out it’s just an idea being floated by the council which the local press has picked up on but the people at the Venue referred to it as “just journalism”...

It would be a shocker though if the Council closed a perfectly good venue and spent millions of tax payers cash on an unnecessary new one...

Then to the Royal Scottish Museum for coffee and cakes and a look round the exhibits and exhibitions. I’d not been here for a while but, back in the 70’s I used to come here almost every Saturday and look in wonder at all the species of animals they have in glass cases...

We left P&J as they set off towards Fopp and we headed back to the car and home...

I listened to the “Nuggets” compilation as I restrung my blue guitar and then, once it was ready, I ran through my set for Friday – the new strings make the guitar sound really good...

Then I found my old Beatles book, the one I used back in 1977 to learn chords and tried a few of their songs, murdering quite a few along the way...

Then it was time for Dr Who – Cybermen Vs Daleks and the demise of his sidekick Rose Tyler. A fitting finale to the series which has probably been not quite as good as last year's. The Daleks are much better and scarier than the Cybermen of course and Rose didn’t die, just (just??) ended up stranded for the rest of her life in a parallel universe, along with her mum and her old boyfriend Mickey and where her dad didn’t die 20 years ago...

Germany v Portugal was up next – an OK first half was followed by an excellent second, and Germany ran out winners 3-1 – just the final to go now....

Finished off an enjoyable day listening to some more of my new CDs....

Highlight of the Day : Mosque Lunch and the Museum