Senior Moments

Funny old two days in Birmingham.

The train down was crowded and uncomfortable. I might start paying the first class premium myself ( until I can charge it to projects…) - it would be worth it for the comfort and space .

And at work, I begin to get the flavour of the place - curiously hierarchical and formal under a guise of informality. ( I get a bigger TFT computer screen because I'm more senior…) It also was good to see P again - an old colleague from LSDA days who's been with them for about a year so he gave me a more warts and all induction...The IT support seems very good - I now have a new laptop and printer for my home office. Just need a desk now - that should arrive at home in the next few days

One of the things I noticed though was that I didn't eat enough - I felt faint and weak late morning yesterday. Just too much to do - and not sure where or what to eat. I must get more disciplined at that and with drinking more fluids. I think I was better today - took a bottle of water and some bananas in.

But when I did get out at lunchtime I began to explore the the centre of Brum. It's great - I could spend hours there. So many shops - so little time...

After work - to my hotel. The nitenite hotel - really! It's one of those new japanese-style minimalist ( ie: small - well, you can see ) hotel concepts - a small box with no windows but a HUGE plasma telly instead - mostly showing CCTV views of outside the hotel. Bizarre. It was actually surprisingly comfortable ( and the staff were friendly and helpful but undertrained) but not my thing - just too claustrophobic. It's how I imagine an open prison would be. I kept wondering what time Slopping Out was...

Maybe I'm just getting too old? Or too senior..?

But, interestingly ( for me anyway - this my blog after all!) when I had to change my baseplate when I got there (no emergency - it just needed doing) the process of doing it was strangely calming. You can't rush it at all - things must be done in order. It takes as long as it takes. A kinda Stoma Karma…

Then a nice ( but rushed ) Pizza Hut meal before the Josh Ritter gig. He's someone whose music I've liked for the last couple of years and I've been waiting to see him live. So when I saw he was beginning his Britsh tour in Birmingham, things came together.

The venue was the Glee Club - hidden away between Birmingham's gay and Chinese quarters. It took ages to find. In a funny way it reminded me of the pub I went to in Belfast to see Tom Russell last year - a huge seated semi circle - with an equally huge bar at the edge. The same intimate clubby atmosphere but not as working class as Belfast. And the Ormeau Road is neither gay nor Chinese. As far as I know.

erm....Moving swiftly on.

The support was called Nicolai Dunger - a singer songwriter. Plainly very talented but self indulgent and probably stoned. At one point he asked the audience "How long have I been on?" and ( bless them ) no-one shouted " Too long!" but it was tempting. It really contrasted with the treatment Sons and Daughters got last week at the Morrissey Gig.

Josh himself was class. Exuberant, articulate and engaging - with a really tight backing band.

Hard to explain what he's like. Sometimes the songs sound like a sexy Paul Simon without the archness (and certainly without Art) - at others he's like Bob Dylan in 1963 if His Bobness had stuck with rock and roll.The voice really reminds me of Steve Forbert (Now, whatever happened to him?)

But of course, he's actually unique - I don't know why we (I) feel this need to Compare and Contrast artists.

Anyway it was a great gig. He thought so too - kept muttering "Awesome..." and I think he meant it from the grin on his face. And he played the same Telecaster as moi...

I limped back to my cell ( it had been a very long day) and fell asleep at once.

Today has been quieter - just a few internal introductory meetings. It got painfully slow in the afternoon but I felt I should be seen to be there for the full day. I'm just beginning to realise how much I'm going to have to manage my own induction though - maybe that's the price of the bigger computer screen?

Back very late tonight - my train was delayed for an hour. That's probably why I've gone on a bit tonight - most of this was written as I watched the sun set over Northallerton. Supper was the last sandwich on the train.

Hey ho - maybe I am getting more philosophical as I get more Senior...

Very tired now - lots to do tomorrow.

nitenite xx