Weekend Fun

That was a nice weekend. I managed to drink quite a bit, yet not get drunk! That's always a good thing (unless, of course, you're the sort of person who only drinks to get drunk, then it would have been a failure). I was visited by an old, old friend who I was at university with many, many years ago. She's probably the only person whom I've seen continuously over the years for the longest time, if that makes sense. There are people I've known for longer, but they are people with whom I lost touch over the years and then became re-acquainted with after a long break. Oh, I'm forgetting about Gunnar who is my Norwegian friend and who I've known for even longer – since I was seventeen – and who I see regularly (like every couple of years). But anyway, it was really nice to catch up with Theresa again and to show her the fleshpots of Nottingham.

Not that I had enough time to show her very much – she wasn't here for long and all we had time for was a couple of meals, and a fabulous night out in the Chameleon to watch my friend Adam play a gig with his band Captain Dangerous (click on the name for more info). The Chameleon is rather amusingly dubbed as an 'Arts Café' but is really just a badly-decorated, somewhat sleazy bar that regularly runs out of beer. However, it's a good place to catch some really interesting live acts and Captain Dangerous, who have gigged everywhere in Nottingham (and elsewhere, before the crowned heads of Europe), are certainly that. Adam writes all their material (they don't do covers at all) and the music is such an explosive mix of sound that I - who knows nothing about music, except that I know what I like - can't describe it. One reviewer said this: "I can fully understand the fuss surrounding this band. Captain Dangerous make catchy, melodic, indie pop, with more than a hint of folk running through its veins." It's much more than that, believe me.

Anyway, I had a little soirée on Saturday before we went out to the gig. Adam called round for a few drinks with his brand new girlfriend, as well as several other people. It was all very civilized and we drank champagne and ate roasted vegetables before heading off to the Chameleon. The problem was that we waited for ages and ages for Captain Dangerous to come on (they were headlining, so we had to get all the other crap out of the way first) and so inevitably, we whiled away the time by drinking alcohol. Before the beer ran out, that is. It was a bloody good night though.

I was hoping to show Theresa the delights of Nottingham Castle the following day - you can climb up to the top and view the whole city from above. However, we were way-laid by a rather strange ethnic market which had pitched up in the central piazza, where we spent far too much money on some (probably useless) ethnic items, and so we never made it to the castle. Still, we did have time to grab a vegetarian roast Sunday lunch at the Alley Café (click again if you want to know more) which was absolutely scrumptious. Now, that Alley Caff really is what you'd call an arts café - there's nearly always some really cool live music and if not, there's usually something pretty groovy coming through the speakers. I can't think of a time when I've entered the place and not found someone I know in there, too. A special place.

Anyway, I'm now watching television - a rare treat for me. It's David Attenborough's latest offering - strangely, all about death. Horrible, gruesome death too. The nicest thing we've seen so far is the sight of those adorable Capuchin monkeys cracking their nuts. Oh, life is so hard isn't it?