28th Feb 1992 i.e. my brother's 13th birthday.

I found this at Mum and Dad's. There were also several pics of various other people from Darland but I'll spare your blushes.

Here's a story from A to Z

If my calculations are correct, today is ten years since the greatest debut single ever hit Number One. Make sure you pay tribute tonight, in whatever form you see fit. I'm gonna watch Spiceworld and wind ma body down.

Boy Mercury, shooting through every degree...

Not a bad list for the Mercury this year, IMHO, at least given the normal standards.

If Hawley's Coles Corner doesn't win, I will:

1. Cry
2. Not be at all surprised

So have the rules changed? Or is there some new, revisionist interpretation of them that means that a bloke from somewhere near Seattle now qualifies as a "British or Irish" artist?

Mystery guest round

First person to correctly identify this famous face gets a CD, "Orson play the hits of Springsteen".

Ignore the 'tache, concentrate on the eyes!

In more music news

I am sure that one of Charles and Eddie is dead. I could be wrong, as I have been in the past, I've still yet to actually see Tracy Chapman alive so until she's standing infront of me then I'm still claiming this one. Anyway, I digress. I'm not sure which one has popped his clogs but no matter as no-one really knew which was which, but a shoe shop in Singapore airport has solved this problem and also helped launch my pop career.

Tonight Matthew, me and the one who isn't dead, will be...

The Piper At The Gates Of D'oh!

Sorry, that was the best of a bad bunch of potential titles.

Anyone else confused by the mass-media hysteria over the death (sorry, the "passing") of Syd?

I love Pink Floyd (hey, I've made harder admissions in my life), and I recognise the importance of Syd Barrett to both the band and British music ever since as huge. But I am perplexed at the level of media interest - front page of the Metro, no less, and prominent mentions in every other major outlet. It's the sort of fervour I thought would be reserved for McCartney, or Keef (the guitarist, not the erstwhile Medwayite) or even Townshend. This man, constant inspiration to the upper eschelons of British musical output though he still is, is surely a blank in most people's mental biographical dictionaries? Or am I being partronising? Certainly the only people in my office who knew who he was were the eldest and, perversely, the youngest members of staff (apart from me, obviously, but I don't count because I understand every reference to everything, ever, naturally).

Still, he wrote one great album and inspired at least one other (including a couple of Floyd mk. II's best songs (c.f. Rufous' blog)), so in no man's terms was his a life without merit. Without him Blur, Supergrass, Ultrasound and any number of other indie admirables would have lacked a certain, definable inspirational enrichment.

I hope he spent the last 30 years enjoying himself, whatever he was up to.

best photo ever

Jepson expects tight new season - League 1 - TEAMtalk Football News

Top of page. Don't have nightmares.

And there's more

Just to let you know that the rest of the Hong Kong pics are up on our flickr now, and also all of Kuala Lumpur. Can someone leave a message in our Guestbook, please, as Tash is stressing that it doesn't work!

Amigos

Thanks to all who i managed to have a drink with last thursday after work. Sorry i had to leave early and sorry that Tash couldn't be there. It was great to see you all before we left. You'll all have to wait till next year for photos of our Christmas cuppa at the Ritz but hopefully after my glowing report you'll all be taking loved ones/each other there anyway.

PS. we've made our first foreign entry on the travel blog