Festival highlights...

Having made it safely through another Isle of Wight Festival unscathed I thought I'd post some of my highlights.

Of the bands I saw I think the most impressive were...
On Friday night wee K.T. Tunstall was brilliant, N*E*R*D just blew my socks off and the Kaiser Chiefs were amazing.
Saturday it was One Night Only and the Zutons that stood head and shoulders above the rest.
And on Sunday Newton Faulkner wowed the crowd with his simple songs, The Music were amazing in the Big Top and Starsailor turned in a superb set.

The Sex Pistols were c**p basically. It was like watching someone's dad doing very bad Karaoke. Appalling. No way should they have EVER been headliners.
The Police were good too. But I wasn't 'moved' by them. The crowd enjoyed the sing-a-long at least. They were good. But not THAT good.

The weather was very kind to use again. That's the third year on the trot that we've had good weather.
Saturday did get very chilly late afternoon though which had us all shivering and reaching for our hoodies.

On Sunday at about 6:45 it almost rained. The clouds got very close to us and we did feel a few spots of rain which quickly brought out all the rain gear and sent some folks scurrying for cover. But nothing came of it and my fish & chip supper stayed dry !!!

Funniest moment.
After seeing the Kaisers we all left the arena down a path lined with security guards.
Some wag started playing "Play Your Guards Right" a twist on the famous "Play Your Cards Right".
Each guards fluorescent orange security jacket had a number on the right chest.
The guy behind us would shout something like "112 !!!" "Will the next guard be higher or lower than 112 ??" to which the crowd responded in choruses of "higher, higher" or "lower, lower " etc...
On reaching the next guard it was a either a huge cheer or a load groan when the result was shouted out.
Then on to the next one with a "1342 !!!" "Will the next guard be higher or lower than 1342 ??"
The guards of course were totally baffled. Poor things.
Very funny.

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of side stalls, fun fair rides and just mingling with 50,000 other festival goers, there is one haven of tranquillity that still exists.
Tucked away between the Oxfam tent and several screaming fair-ground rides is the tranquil Solace Tent. This oasis of joy exists to spread peace and love with free tea and cakes.
Yes, that's right. When every other stall on the site is trying to fleece you for every pound you have. And where even a pint of beer costs you £4 a shot. There still exists a place in this World that does things purely to spread cheer and good will. 
We found it last year and thank the Lord it was still there again this year.
Sitting down with a cup of tea and a nice piece of home-made cake is such a treat.

All in all a cracking festival.

That time of year...

Once again that time of year has rolled around fellow bloggers.
It's that time of year when yours truly packs up the barest minimum of my possessions and I set my trusty compass to a Southerly bearing and head off across the sea to a far, far distant land !!!
I'll be battling the elements !!!
Wrestling with the natives !!!
Searching for every meal....

No, it's not a trip to the jungles of Borneo......
It's the Isle of Wight Festival this weekend !!!

Me and several thousand others will be sampling the delights of The Kaiser Chiefs, The Police, The Wombats, The Hoosiers, N.E.R.D., Iggy Pop, KT Tunstall and Scouting For Girls to name but a few of the mighty fine acts lined up for the weekend.
I must say the head-liners are a bit on the weak side this year though. =:o!
After top notch bands like Snow Patrol, Coldplay, Prodigy, Foo Fighters and the Rolling Stones the past couple of years, we're down to the dregs with the Sex Pistols and the Police. Blimey. These are bands which in my opinion are reforming solely for the money. Nothing else. Are all the big boys in the studio or something ??? Where are the likes of Kasabian this year when you need them ???

This year I won't be queuing for showers or hiking a mile to use the sports centre facilities or queuing to use three day old sun-baked port-a-loo's as I managed to book a room in the then un-built Travelodge 15 minutes walk away in town. I took a gamble on the date and booked it almost 12 months in advance. Luckily it paid off. So this year I can forgo the lumpy field and sweaty cramped tent for clean sheets, a soft mattress and my very own toilet and shower !!!

I'll report back with some pic's next week some time.

BP

Missing In Action

Hi guys, it's been a wee while since I last blogged, my apologies, but I've been 'away' for two reasons...
1. I've been busting a gut trying to get a new job before I get made redundant at the end of June.
And 2. They've blocked blogger.com access here at work. What a bummer now that I've got time on my hands. [I'm emailing this by the way]

So a quick update...
After a few fruitless interviews and a heck of a lot more fruitless phone interviews and way too many false leads from agencies, I have finally got myself a new job.
It's a LOT closer to home, about 12 miles away compared to my current 32 miles away !!!! So purely on petrol I'll be saving a small fortune, which is good news with the current fuel prices.
I was starting to get a little panicky about how fast the end of June was approaching. I so wanted to leave NXP with all of my pay-off intact and not have to live off of it if I could possibly avoid it.
Five years of pay-off looks a tidy sum on paper, but it wouldn't last that long when I'd start using it to live off !!!
Having been for two unsuccessful interviews at other companies I went for the interview at DiagnoSys and it just felt good.
It's a small company, about 40 people which is nice. One of those places that kind of feels right, so I was very keen to impress them.
I must have done OK as the agency called the next day saying they wanted me back for a 2nd interview, but sadly this was going to be a while away as the technical director was on holiday and wasn't due back in the office again until the 27th May. Blimey. What a wait. It was agonising.
I already had the 28th and 29th May off as we were visiting Charlotte up in Leeds for her final end of course recital at Leeds College of Music, and it was also my birthday. =:oD
I'd sort of guessed the Technical Director wouldn't be interviewing on his first day back in the office. After he'd opened his email box there wouldn't be much time left for anything else, let alone interviewing me. So I had written it off as yet another weeks wait.
I was so surprised to get a call from the agency late on Friday 23rd asking if I was prepared to go in for the 2nd interview on the 27th !!! OF COURSE I WAS !!!
It went really well. They seemed impressed. I answered all their questions. (I think). We joked and chatted. It was very comfortable.
And I left feeling very positive about the whole thing.
On arriving in Leeds I took a couple more calls from agencies, more possible leads.
I took the calls in the corridor of Charlotte's apartment as the signal was good and I could hear them easier.
I'd just finished the second call lining up another interview for the Friday morning when the phone rang again almost instantly.
Answering it I was greeted by Emma from the agency saying that DiagnoSys were offering me the post and was I interested !!!
YAAAAHOOOOOOO was I interested !!!!
What a start to my birthday !!!

So, I'm now idling my time away at NXP waiting to leave on June 27th, starting at DiagnoSys on the 30th.
It seems that time is going backwards though, I'm busy, but it doesn't feel like I'm getting any closer to leaving.

Oh well, I shouldn't be wishing my life away I guess... it'll be here soon enough.

Ciao for now.

BP.