Guess what time it is?

That's right, it's project time!

I've got me a new little project, and little it is. I picked up this sweet little cabinet in one of the back alleys a few weeks ago on evening walkies. It's solid wood and the best size. Initially I was going to use it as my bedside table, but it fits perfectly in this little spot in the bathroom and we desperately need some storage thingie in there, so I think that's where I'll put it.

I'm increasingly aware of the makeup of items we use and for several reasons, have picked a non-toxic, organic paint company to go with. It's my first time using them, so we'll see how it goes.

I've decided to paint the shell a dark white (called Dark Ice, in this case) but cannot decide what colour to do the little shelf interior - dark green Village, Rodeo Drive (pink!) or lighter green Agave. I've picked out two different knobs from Anthroplogie (1, 2) - both of which I love! Both colours go well in the bathroom. Decisions, decisions! Opinions are welcomed.

Finchams spotted in Newcastle!

Our good friends Derek & Joni stopped by for a couple days after their Italian summer. Derek, who works at Loyola University in New Orleans, landed a gig teaching summer school out there.

It was so good to see them and we couldn't believe it's been a year since Derek moved. We're already making plans to meet up next summer!

Ole's Graduation

Ole's folks came over at the beginning of July. They took a few days' holiday in Scotland and then drove down to Newcastle for a few more days. We all then drove up to Aberdeen for Ole's graduation.

The weather was perfect and we had such a great time!

“Tramps like us, baby we were born to run”

Thanks to the ever-impressing thoughtfulness of Sarah, we had the pleasure of, in the words of Jon Landau, seeing the past, the present and “the future of rock and roll, and his name is Bruce Springsteen”, last weekend in London’s Hyde Park. Sarah had been so sweet to arrange for us to go to the Hard Rock Calling event as part of a “birthday trip” to London. Although this meant us catching a 4.30AM(!) [ed. sic] train from Newcastle to London, we had a wonderful time in Europe’s capital.

Apart from just mooching about and sucking up the atmosphere, we did some of the touristy things such as visiting the National Gallery and browsing the many shops. In addition, we had the pleasure of meeting up with our good friend Ellie, who joined us for the concert (Ellie being as great a Boos fan as Sarah) and for Sunday lunch at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, which serves the best burger outside of California. As for the concert, the Boss, unmarked from a two hour and thirty minutes gig at the Glastonbury festival the night before, was fantastic. He treated us to classics such as “Born to Run”, “Out in the Streets”, “Badlands”, “Promised Land” and “Jungleland”.

By the way, it is the second time that Sarah has facilitated me going to a Boss concert for my birthday. In addition to the Boss, we also had the pleasure of seeing Dave Matthews Band, who, among other tunes played, in the parlance of our times, an awesome version of Dylan’s “All along the Watchtower” with a touch of “Stairway to Heaven”. Oh, and finally, we stayed in a funnily small hotel room near Earl’s Court.

Contributed by our guest writer, the eminent Dr. O.W. Pedersen