Minehead Music Mayhem

As summer begins, so does Festival Season. As for the past few years, my holidays are going to be mostly taken up with music-based events across the country; Bestival, Field Day, Secret Garden Party, and doubtless a few more here and there. Last weekend was my first residential one of the summer (Camden Crawl/Turning Point don't count as they're down the road from me); All Tomorrow's Parties. It's one of those festivals with a line-up of bands that 99% of the population wouldn't necessarily know (and I certainly didn't), but also peppered with better-known acts like CSS, Foals and Bon Iver. This particular ATP (there are several throughout the year) was curated by the Breeders, giving it a more mature and more guitar-based slant than I would perhaps have liked, but was still great fun. Having Butlins in Minehead, Somerset as a backdrop certainly helps; it's refreshing to do something other than get leathered once the sun comes up - I screamed like a little girl on the 'Black Hole' water slide - and also to be able to sleep in a proper bed once the day/night of partying is through. And while we saw some pretty fab bands that we wouldn't normally have encountered (Holy Fuck were amazing and seeing Tricky live is mesmerising), the party vibe was continuous throughout the weekend, especially as we had converted one of the rooms in our 'chalet' (more bedsit than alpine ski lodge, but it did have a warmth, shower and electricity) into a disco room, complete with makeshift fridge, laptop/speakers and 'sofa'. The crowd were mostly quite static, but I guess that's to be expected from such a muso-y festival, and we still had a good old dance to CSS and Foals when the tunes hit. Definitely one to go to if you get the chance; the vibe's more relaxed & mature on account of actually staying in a building, but being inside was a definite advantage given the weather, and there's still plenty of people up for a party; we all appreciated the honest, unpretentious fun of a Butlins. Festivals are definite summer Staples, and given the amusement we got out of this ATP, I think we could even be back for the Winter one. For now though, roll on the rest of the summer's fun...Other Staples this week:
ATP curated by the Breeders at Butlins, Minehead
Enterprise car hire's drop-off service (and in-car iPod connectivity)
DJing at a chalet with a laptop/iPod
M&S Chocolate mini-bites
Post-festival saviours: Waitrose smoked-salmon pâté/Kiehl's facemask
Having a brilliant boss for the last 2 years; Adam, you'll be sorely missed!
Delays' second album 'You See Colours' (more iPod-based rediscovery)

EXTRA! EXTRA!

After a couple of insightful wardrobe posts over at StyleSalvage and Menswear, and having a quiet week in preparation for ATP meant that I had time to get through what turned out to be 12 week worths of ironing. It had reached the point where I had run out of work shirts, and as I was planning on having a clearout of my wardrobe, so it seemed like a good time to re-organise. Now I'm fully colour co-ordinated, and everything that's left is something that I've worn recently, am going to wear, or is far too good to give away. I've been through old tshirts (turns out I had a bag of 15 in the back of the wardrobe I'd forgotten about), jeans and next is the jumpers. It's lovely to have a good old spring clean, and nice to rediscover some of the older stuff that I've not worn (in some cases) in years. This is step one, next will be a proper wardrobe that'd not made of white melamine. For now, the colour-coding is enough...

The Staple - Red Nylon Windcheater

Rebel With a Cause

At some point soon, I will stop banging on to anyone I meet about how great cycling around is. I promise. Just let me have this last moment of bicycle-advocacy (not a guarantee). Apart from saving 100 quid a month on a travelcard (more to the tshirt fund), and getting free cardio exercise, it's really energised me all week, made me more awake even on 6.30am starts and pushed me to finally attack that pile of ironing (see next post). It's also made me rediscover the joy of the nylon windcheater. I've been through several of these in the last few years, including a lovely grey one which earned calls from my mates down the pub of 'freelondonlite!', and another so voluminous that i ended up belting it in. This red one, however, was a brilliant purchase - even if I do say so myself. Half-price last spring from Liberty, it's from American sportswear brand PF Flyers, who are better known for their shoes (and have some pretty hot hi-top reissues on their website). It's a classic shape and colour which recalls the iconic James Dean's in Rebel Without a Cause. While marginally more expensive than American Apparel's offerings, it has the advantage of having a perforated lining which gives it more breathability and makes it the perfect cycling jacket. It also has a clever folding system whereby you can stuff the whole jacket into one of the pockets, which makes it great to just throw into my bag in case of rain. And even if it's been packed away for a few days, the wrinkles fall out easily. Basically, it's one of those jackets that you can just chuck on and will look good, but also has a practicality element which for a cyclist is essential, as you always have to be aware of what the weather's doing. And as the weather looks like it's going to be so changeable this summer, something with a bit of waterproofing is going to be a summer Staple. Other Staples this week:
A showerproof red windcheater
Colette's 'Ripening Seed'
Wandering around Marylebone on a Sunday
The Beigel Bakery on Brick Lane; salmon & cream cheese
Discovering new music via blogs/twitter (esp. Plastic Cowboys/MolaSuperPoco/88days)
Full Circle menswear (once it's been reduced in the sale)
Channel 4's surprisingly emotional Lost Children week

The Staple - Mini-break With Friends

We're All Going On A...

I've blogged before about getting out of town, but this weekend was so exceptionally good, that it deserves an honourary mention. Now that my parents have moved out of my old hometown (Ilkley, in the unlikely event that you didn't already know), I can't even have a big Xmas Eve piss-up with my mates, and we've always talked about having a weekend together, so this year seemed like the perfect time to get together for the now Annual May Bank Holiday Get-Together. We hired a murder-mystery appropriate mansion just near Whitby for the weekend and spent our time chatting, watching DVDs, paddling (or swimming if you're MAD) in the sea, playing boardgames and drinking Jeeves (aka Pimms). It was bliss. Lovely to catch up with all my fabulous home-friends, and for all of us to leave the real world behind for a stress-free, lazy, junkfoody weekend of indulgence. Getting away from it all is such an essential; although I've always been one to set aside time-out, actual, proper holidays are such a Staple. Something to look forward to, enjoy and return from feeling refreshed. Especially when you're cut off from the phone/internet, and paddling in the sea. It's the first of a few mini-holidays I'm taking this summer (decided that 8 festivals is a little much) and I cannot wait for more...Other Staples this week:
A relaxing Mini-break in Yorkshire
Having the whole of First Class to myself on the train (same price in advance)
Cycling to work
The Final ClubRees@the Fly (but there will be more!)
A big parcel from ASOS
Friendly Fires gig at The Forum
Ultra-large jars of Nutella

The Staple - Sunday Shop

Happy Shopper

Whenever it all gets a bit much, there’s nothing that will give me a temporary buzz like having a look around the shops, and picking up something I probably didn’t need, but quite fancied the look of. Last Sunday, after receiving some bad news, I was perilously close to moping about in my kitchen, so decided to get on my bike and meander into town. Following my favourite route (through Soho to Liberty, Conduit Street to Bstore, then on to Selfridges via South Molton St) by bike was a novelty, but I didn’t let the bike stop me actually buying anything. I’d had my Liberty biannual loyalty voucher through in the post, and promptly spent it on making another Acne tshirt that little but cheaper. Purchase made, I decided to head to the new Marc by Marc Jacobs store on South Audley Street in Mayfair. Having never ventured that far into the heart of old money before, I had no idea where it was, but a few wrong turns away from Berkeley Square and I was there. And what a discovery – the acid-bright tshirts are the same price as American Apparel’s finest (aka a tenner), with a little rodent logo on the front. Graphic tshirts were 25 quid, and there were all manner of accessories from a few pounds upwards; seems like Marc was listening to my post of Luxury during a Recession. Definitely a way to momentary joy. It looks like they’ve got the full MxMJ range, as well as books, CDs and DVDs. I bought a purple tshirt and it was lovingly packed in a stiff paper bag; I’ll definitely be going back for birthday presents and the like – and will continue my exploration of Mayfair as well. Apparently Mount Street is amazing. I ambled up to Selfridges to check out the Uniqlo concession, and promptly bought one of the simple white photographic tshirts from their UT collection. Wuith purchases completed, and hanging fetchingly off the handlebars, I headed off to Regent’s Park to play some Frisbee and have a drink, my Sunday much improved, my wallet only very slightly lighter, but my wardrobe much-enhanced. What a lovely Sunday. Other Staples this week:
Inexpensive but lovely retail pick-me-ups
Gok’s Fashion Fix (he is amazing)
Ultimate Frisbee in the park
The film 'Let The Right One In'
Hot buttered crumpets
Kylie Minogue's 'Wow' (a good start to any day)
Camden Crawl this weekend

The Staple - Racing Bike

I Want to Ride my Bicycle

Since the beginning of this blog, I've talked about cycling. In Paris, the fashion, the details and courier culture have been a bit of a theme with me, and it's only natural that I've been cycling quite a bit myself since last year. I borrowed my brilliant mate Ross' spare mountain bike for getting around town. And it really taught me how lovely it it to cycle around. Free exercise, free travel and free from other people getting in the way (mostly). But still, I got serious bike envy: Ross has had some gorgeous racing bikes, both old and new; I've seen beautiful Dutch-style bikes, admired the pared-back fixie simplicity and loved some of the vintage racing bikes I've seen around town. I knew that back at my parents house we had an old Peugeot which would be perfect for whizzing around town, and I was finally able to bring it down last weekend, after spending a day sanding, polishing, oiling and buffing it. And doesn't it look great? It's originally a racing bike, but it's been fitted with chrome mudguards and a rear luggage rack; it's also got gears rather than being fixed or single-speed, which makes the (surprisingly numerous) small hills much more manageable. The tyres are wider road tyres rather than the slimmer racing ones, which provide more grip and absorb the many potholes in the roads better. I'm going to change the saddle and handlebars (any ideas on colours?), and get a basket to fit to the back so I can just chuck my bag into it, rather than lug it about on my back. I freely admit that this is more of a runaround than a style-bike; hopefully, once I get myself into the routine, I'll be cycling to work and avoiding buying an Oyster travelcard at all. But I'm not going to take it too seriously. For now, my bike's taking me on shopping trips to Liberty (the handlebars hold a surprising number of bags!), errands around town, the supermarket and the park. Maybe next week I'll get myself down to work. For now, I'm just loving the ability to get on my bike and get somewhere fast, free and a little out of breath. Other Staples this week:
Cycling around town
Having a bit of a DIY Moment; Cleaning windows, building a greenhouse etc
A refreshing pint of cider on a warm day
Lounge Bohemia's brilliant cocktails
Record Store Day, and Graham Coxon's new prog-esque direction
Climbing Crinkle Crags in the Lake District on a gorgeous day
Leftover Easter chocolate from a long weekend at home