Mr Sutherland

We went to our first gig in a while the other night. The surprisingly good Kiefer Sutherland.

Surprisingly because I’d assumed that music was a bit of a hobby for him. Sometimes it’s good to be wrong.

Buses

You know, my love of public transport is beginning to wane.

As usual, I locked up with four minutes before my bus home was due. We have a live display, so bus times are pretty accurate.

And then the bus disappeared from the display. This has happened before, so I hung around a bit. But the bus didn’t reappear on the display as it has done sometimes in the past.

So I’m now having a pint of our rather excellent new house beer. Waiting for the next bus (01:05).

Hound

You know, I resisted the pressure to bring a hound into our lives for a very long time.

And then, after beer, I gave in one night.

I don’t regret it for a second. I love this girl.

Tent thing

So, we bought a big tent garage thing.

Despite sandbags and bolts (a nightmare to drill into tarmac), the thing was on the point of taking off today.

So the decision was taken to undo the 3-4 hours’ assembly and dismantle it.

Anyone want a 6m long flying garage?

The future

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future lately.

People who know me might be surprised to hear that I don’t see this cool little bar as being part of that.

Getting this place open was one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced. Largely because I did most of the physical labour as, well as the obvious multitude of bits of red tape, formalities and other such rubbish.

In many ways, getting the ‘bus up and running was pretty close to work I’d done when I had a proper job. While the bar was stupidly hard work, it was hugely rewarding. Particularly when there was a real outcome and a feeling of I did this.

And maybe that’s what I liked about the last few projects in my old job. Once something was delivered, the buzz was over. The inevitable live running politics took over and a new job came along.

So why would Microbus be any different? I’m at the point when, although I love the place, the buzz is already a distant memory and the people shit has started to encroach on the joy in something new.

This stuff’s so frustrating.

Glastonbury 2020

So, two years late, Glastonbury happened this year.

While a slow and expensive form of travel, the van made a huge difference to the experience. It wasn’t just down to sleeping in a bed (sort of); there was a lot more space than on the campsites and no need to carry everything from a car park.

This was going to be my last Glastonbury, but I’m already wondering about the chance of a ticket next year.

Unfortunately, the van’s new oil leak became something of an issue as we drove through Bristol.

This resulted in a large amount of smoke and the need to have a lengthy break to let the engine cool down.

Oh, and a wing mirror fell off.

MOT

So the van (the old one, not the everyday van) went in for an MOT and service a week and a bit ago.

A quieter, or less noisy, version of the van came back today. Regrettably, that meant that my bank balance is now £800 lighter.

Thinking positively (I try to do that), it’s running well and should make it to Glastonbury next week.

Less positive is the financial impact of 19 MPG.

Leeds

We made a trip to Leeds the other day, for a gig; Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats.

Unfortunately, the gig was cancelled at short notice due to illness.

With train tickets and a booked hotel, we decided that beer in Leeds was the best option. And at least that meant we didn’t need a dog sitter.

While we didn’t get to a gig, the evening was most pleasant. We even found a bar with a campervan.

The dog had a good time too.