London at night

Another two gigs down this week. Suede at the O2 first. Yes good, but two drawbacks. The first is that Its an awful long way to get back from at night. The other was the aging females adoring of Brett Anderson. Probably teenagers when Brett was first with the band, but now heading to thirty-somethings. Just why do they feel the need to whoop in my ear-hole to prove their devotion?

Then Echo and the Bunnymen at Brixton Academy. Great gig, which I went to with one of my colleagues. I had plans of sitting down to a nice curry and lager before heading into the show, and we had plenty of time - until London Transport intervened. On reaching Pimlico, just about the only stop on the Victoria Line from which there is no interchange with another line, we were advised to seek alternative transport because of a defective train. So we trooped up in search of a bus. Well we found the stop and the indicator board showed our desired bus was imminent. But then it just disappeared. Big thing to go missing, but there you are. Still, two more were supposed to be due in 10 minutes. After a very long 10 minutes in the freezing cold, two buses duly arrived. But full of passengers and no one wanted to decant at Pimlico, so they just sailed serenely by. And lo, another 10 minute wait for the next one. So we thought, sod this for a game of soldiers and traipsed back to the Tube to find trains were running again. Moral of the story? Never, ever take advice of LRT personnel. They will always be wrong. Don't seek alternative means of transport until someone comes and forces you off at gunpoint.

But Bunnynmen were great and the normally grumpy Ian McCullough was surprisingly chipper. And great to be able to fiscuss it all with K. The pair of us could probably enter Pseuds Corner when it comes to discussing indie bands.

Today I ventured out to the Natural History Museum to take a friend and her 10 year old around the Wildlife Photography Exhibition. This is an annual pilgrimage for me, and always a humbling experience as while I quite fancy myself as a photographer I see how good the under 10s entries are, let alone the professionals. Just stunning shots. No photos allowed, but you can see them on-line http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/onlineGallery.do

Entered into a lively discussion on which was the best. Popped across to the V & A for lunch (far nicer than the Natural History Museum which is rather full of kids and redolent of school dinners) then back again for a whizz around the dinosaur collection.

Then I finished the evening with the purchase of a few cds for myself (well it IS Christmas), including getting the rest of  Pendulum's back catalogue. Starting to be a bit of a convert to drum n bass. Followed by a walk down to tthe Thames to take a few photos of London at night. Quite nice really, especially all the santas in Trafalgar Square and the lights along the South Bank, including a Christmas market for those who like that sort of thing. Ok, not me. Bah humbug