Culture To Be Had

Before I leave this morning I have a quite word with MD, man to man’s best friend, about his morning walks with L. He looks contrite and appears to be willing to behave but he’s probably got his toes crossed.

I head off on the bike, which is a bit miserable, weather wise. Meanwhile L says MD is almost a saint. Blimey.

Tonight L lets me go off to a gig on my own and stays in with the boys, to chill out and throw rubber bones, balls etc. Meanwhile I battle with Rugby’s car parks. They’re all full. It must all be happening tonight. The cars are parked ten deep around my destination. Yep, Asda next door is really busy tonight. Who the hell does their weekly shop on a Friday night? Not me, there's culture to be had this evening, I'm off to the library.

British Sea Power have played some rather weird places, in fact earlier this week they played on a boat outside the Houses Of Parliament, in aid of renewable energy. Tonight they are live in Rugby’s Library, an event intended to highlight the over keenness of councils to close libraries. It has been organised in collaboration with the ‘Get It Loud In Libraries’ project.


Security was crap, there are no actual tickets and I got in with a printed email of my booking. If I'd know, I'd have printed a few more off and sold them outside. Then I could have afforded a t-shirt because I’ve not had time to visit the hole in the wall.

I have expected the gig to be taking part in some annex or meeting room but no, it’s slap bang in the centre of the library, which is pleasantly small and intimate.



Although the book shelves do restrict the number of potential viewing points somewhat. What's worse is that if you try to nip down an isle to uncover some secret route to the front you find your way blocked by a pile of the band's discarded equipment boxes.

Having explored all down one side of the room and decided that although the view from the poetry section was ok it wasn’t great, I decided to try the other side. In the end I get a really good spot. If you know Rugby library, I was just ahead of the Hindi reference section not far from the magazine racks, which were stage left.

During all my jostling for position the support band are playing. ‘Life In Film’ are another perfectly adequate guitar based indie band, with plenty of lively, jingling tunes. Better than most in fact. I shall certainly keep a look out for them.



It was interesting to see what the acoustics would be like, as I imagine it’s not something that libraries are known for. I mean you're not supposed to make much noise are you. ‘Life In Film’ make plenty and the acoustics seem surprisingly good. The stage too is reasonably high and there’s no barriers between the band and crowd, just a ‘bad sound area’ marked out on the floor which I think you’re supposed to keep out of. So all set for a good gig then. Although no foliage or flags adorn the stage tonight. Damn library rules. There’s also no alcohol only a coffee machine, even the band’s own Zeus beer isn’t available until afterwards. If the crowd are all on maxpax coffee it could get very lively indeed.

There’s not much of a break between bands for once and then after a brief welcome chat by our hosts, it is suggested that we have some music. The band take the stage and oblige, launching into their most recent protest song 'Who's In Control', the opening track from their latest ‘Valhalla Dancehall’ album. An appropriate choice with its lyric ‘I'm a big fan of the local library, I just read a book but that's another story...’ and matching t-shirt.



The crowd seemed a tad subdued to start with, perhaps keeping in line with the location but the show gradually picks up momentum helped by a ferocious 'Apologies to Insect Life' and lively newies such as ‘We Are Sound’ and a particularly impressive ‘Stunde Null’.



‘Lights Out For Darker Skies’ is always quality but it’s especially good tonight. Then the brothers do their traditional mid set swap and Yan hands over vocals to Hamilton. Who delivers the quartet of ‘No Lucifer’, ‘The Land Beyond’, ‘Once More Now’ and the tremendous ‘Mongk II’. Now no disrespect to Yan but I always look forward to Hamilton’s segment. He really does seem to get a lot of the best tunes.



I haven’t seen them on this current tour before and it’s great to see a load of not played enough classics reappear in a reshaped set, such as Hamilton’s ‘The Land Beyond’. One of three from the often largely ignored 'Open Season' album, from which Yan, once he returns to lead vocals, spoils us indeed with both 'Oh Larsen B', everyone’s fave ice shelf, which is massive and 'It Ended On An Oily Stage'.

Those come after a hugely impressive ‘Zeus’, at which points the library starts to get more lively than it probably ought to and a group of girls rush the ‘bad sound line’. ‘Thin Black Sail’ doesn’t calm things down at all. All we need now is Noble to go off on one of his usual climbing sprees atop the Modern History section but disappointingly and probably wisely, it doesn’t happen. I have visions of library shelves coming crashing down. He does refer us to an interesting section on ferrets but shows no inclination to climb up there to show us personally.



Recent single 'Living Is So Easy' leads us into a final sequence of ‘Waving Flags’, ‘Great Skua’, ‘Carrion’ and ‘All In It’. I think my hearing collapses during ‘Carrion’. The gig certainly wasn't quiet. I was standing right in front of the left speaker and as the band go off I realise that I've already got a hissing noise in my left ear and there’s still the encore to come.



The set list had Open Season's ‘Like A Honeycomb’ down as part of a three song encore which would just have completed my night but sadly things were running late. I had no idea what the curfew was on a library but I think we found it. Ours at home is 7.30, so we did well and we did get a twenty song main set. What we do get is a typically rousing ‘Spirit Of St. Louis’ to close.

BSP have had their problems of late and had to cancel their European Tour for financial reasons, whether this is low ticket sales or low album sales or something else I’m not sure but they’re certainly popular tonight and have pretty much sold out all their UK dates. Tonight, I thought they were exceptional. I nip out, find a cash point and get that t-shirt. For which you can get a discount with your library card.

Next up for the band... Jodrell Bank apparently.

(Friday 4th March)

North Of The Border

We head up to Scotland this morning via some incredibly pot holed roads, even on M74. In fact especially on the M74, which seems a bit of a dangerous place to have them to me.

It’s a bit warm in Glencoe village when we arrive, although there is snow up on the higher mountains but even the Pap is snow-free.

After eight hours in the car we stay in Saturday night, eat steak and open some wine. Although L has imported Leffe to north of the border, so very unScottish, as is my wine. After the long journey, L threatens to walk the paws off the dogs on Sunday and succeeds. It was only 10k across Glen Nevis but we almost have to carry MD back after he ripped a chunk of flesh off his paw. Whilst by Monday morning Doggo, the old git, has stiffened up after his puppy-like antics skipping up and down the glen.

Luckily for them, they get Monday off as we wake up to snow on the hills. The Pap is now white over.



There’s apparently six inches of ‘fresh’ up on Glencoe Mountain. So we go up to check it out and leave the limping two in the car. The snow is good but it’s very windy up there and the runs largely unpisted, so hard on the legs.



After the skiing, we try and spend some more money at the ski resort by supporting their coffee shop but it’s closing at 4pm so I have to come down the slopes early. Then we try and spend our cash at the Kingshouse Hotel but their walkers bar is shut. There’s a nice roaring fire in their lounge but we can’t take the dogs in there. We’d already discovered that the recently refurbished Glencoe Hotel is closed Monday to Thursday and the Ben Nevis Inn is closed Monday to Wednesday. Everything seems to be closed this week. It’s not easy trying to pump money into the Scottish economy.

The Clachaig Inn is open though and we spend many an evening in there. There a beer from Caledonian called ‘Double Dark’ which surely has to be dark and is, as well as very tasty. There’s also a beer tasting on from the Glenfinnan Brewery. Which we actually skip because all their beers are on the bar anyway but we miss out on the freebies. Instead we finish off with the house whiskey, at 58% probably not the best idea but very nice.

I think it disagrees with me a bit the next day but not as much as Doggo’s diet of sticks and grass disagrees with him. Which he kindly vomits up overnight.



Tuesday, we risk taking the dogs for a run along the Caledonian canal. Only 12k according to my gadget girl’s new GPS watch. A Christmas present don’t you know. MD doesn’t seem to notice or care that he has a bad paw and unfortunately blisters the other front one. Still he doesn’t notice. Tough cookie. Even so we drive to pub and sit in the posh bit, leaving the boys to rest up in the car.

Wednesday is wet all day and the rain is no doubt causing serious damage to the nice snow we had a few days ago. When we do finally drag ourselves out of the house it's for a long wet meander along footpaths on a very indirect route to the pub. Where most of the beer has run out. No more ‘Double Dark’ and we decide it’s best to leave before the whiskey tasting evening starts.

Thursday is another day off for MD’s paws, which he keeps licking. A skill he has honed by licking my feet whenever he gets the chance, not that you wanted to know that. It’s something both dogs, oddly, seem to enjoy or convincingly endure, perhaps out of a ‘man’s best friend’ sort of loyalty thing. I drag L up Nevis Range for some skiing. The snow is good in places but concrete hard snow in others, with icy bobbles on top which makes it like skiing on marbles at times and, yes, the coffee shop again shuts a 4pm. So I don't get one.



We eat at the posh-ish Isles of Glencoe hotel. Why is this place busy whilst the Glencoe Hotel is shut because it has no bookings?

On our last day we walk the Ben Nevis pony track for a mile or so whilst easily resisting the trek to the top and looping back through the Glen along the river.



We pop into the now open and very pleasant Ben Nevis Inn for hot choc and a beer. There’s plenty of very interesting info in there about the annual Ben Nevis run. It’s only 12 miles to the top and back. I’m sort of tempted.

Tonight, we finally make the Glencoe Hotel for a meal.

We leave Glencoe early on Saturday morning because I, for some unknown reason, would like to get back in time for the match, which has kind of conveniently been moved to a 5.20pm kick-off for TV. The kick-off change is very odd. Originally the police had insisted on a 1.00pm KO because as it was a local derby, we’re playing Leicester, they wanted to limit the amount of time supporters had to get tanked up in the pub. That was until Sky started waving money around, and then it became acceptable to give everyone the entire afternoon in the pub. Bizarre. It just shows who’s actually in charge.

After the expected defeat I briefly join the protesters who have assembled outside the ground. They are protesting about our illustrious American owners who are running the club on a ‘sustainable model’ e.g. a shoestring. They’ve done a very good job of reducing the overdraft but I just wish they’d stop costing cutting now. Unfortunately they don’t realise that their ‘sustainable model’ isn’t sustainable at Championship level and it’s looking increasingly likely that it's going to take a trip down to League One to make them realise this.

(Saturday 12th February)