The Surfrajettes

I stumbled across the Surfrajettes quite a while back, so started playing them in the bar (it’s pretty much the only way I can listen to music nowadays).

I bought tickets as soon as I read that they were doing a UK tour. They played at the Grove last night. And they were silly good.

The bonus I’d not expected was the support, X-Ray Cat Trio. I’d have paid to see them headline.

Like a lot of people, I don’t look forward to music venue drinks. But it was great to see three craft beers at the Grove last night.

Time off

I’m just a few days away from the end of a fortnight off work. The most time off I’ve had since opening the bar four and a half years ago.

While some days were almost work related, it was great to put some distance between me, the dog and the bar.

Halifax, York, Shipley, Saltaire and Hebden Bridge; crammed into a few days.

There was even a T2 for the hound to pose with. Sort of.

London & Peterborough

The past few days have been a bit of a blur, beginning with Bon Jovi at Wembley on Wednesday.

I’d never seen them live and I’d not previously been to the stadium, either in its original or current form.

The band were better than I’d expected, so I’m glad I bothered. they really weren’t bad.

We were actually closer than in the picture, but this one looks better.

There was an unplanned gig in a bar in Hackney the following day too; Ten Eighty Trees, a northeastern band who’d recently played at a little festival in Gateshead.

So, home yesterday, then a train to Peterborough today. The day was weird and I can’t say it was fun.

Although, here’s a picture of the dog in a bar.

Kendal Calling

After a terrible start last Thursday, we eventually made it to Kendal Calling. In the (hastily packed) work van. We’re still waiting for a mobile mechanic to take a look at the T2 (that’s booked for Wednesday).

We’d not used the tent since 2022, but it was fine. Some other bits of old camping kit weren’t. But we managed fine. The stock for the bar, still in the van, helped quite a bit (we had an excellent choice of beer).

Quite a lot had changed since we were last at the festival; there were new stages, better beer and a better choice of places to eat.

It was great to see that the festival had evolved. It’s definitely up there now.

Tickets are on sale for next year. If I booked now, I’d get a Campervan ticket. And maybe the van wouldn’t break down next year, so I could actually use it.

But I think I’ll hang on and see if I can get Glastonbury tickets. I’d quite like to go one more time before I hang up my tent.

Obviously, I didn’t take many pictures. And I badly missed Harriet.

Garden wall

I’ve probably mentioned that the garden was one of the main influences in buying this house.

That was a long time ago now, and the garden has changed a lot in the last couple of decades.

However, the rear wall has irritated me the whole time I’ve lived here. I’d understood it to be the remains of an extension to the ‘shed’, which isn’t a shed at all.

It’s concrete, covering what was the original stone wall, which still stands behind it. It’s possibly from the 1960s, when the shed that isn’t a shed was used as a taxi office. Or it could have been something else.

Either way, it’s a few inches thick and resisted my sledgehammer blows a lot of years ago. Probably because the original wall behind would have absorbed the shock. I only succeeded in knocking off the top, which was taller than the wall behind it.

Painting it just drew attention to its ugliness and growing things that climbed over it got a bit out of hand.

I’ll figure something out, although that might take another 20+ years.

Stockton

I used to spend a lot of time in Stockton. A long time ago.

Between lockdowns, I went with a bunch of blokes for a Teesside micropub crawl and Stockton had a bit of a good beer scene back then.

There’ve been a couple of brief visits to the Golden Smog, more recently, but both were quick stop-offs.

I’d wanted to spend an afternoon in the town for a while, partly since a couple of guys who have bars there have been coming to our bar for at least a couple of years. The Kopper Keg was top of the list, and the first bar of yesterday.

Followed, of course, by the Smog.

And there were a couple more. It was definitely worth the trip and I’m sure I’ll do it again.

It was kind of cool that the dog was recognised in a couple of bars too.