Macaroni Day

colingalbraith — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:23:39 +0000

Image: noellium

Pretty tired this morning. Not from being up extraordinarily late last night but from a very early start this morning. There’s a lot happening today ranging from training courses to writing and a fair bit of website work, so I wanted to get a head start on everything.

I’ve just wolfed down a roll with egg and black pudding in it along with a strong coffee, so I’m feeling pretty damn good for now.

Speaking of food, I found myself in the canteen for lunch again yesterday, and it was worth it because it was the infamous, glorious and infinitesimally orgasmic Cheese Macaroni Day. I had a big plate with a pile of chips on the side for good measure. Stuffed I was—stuffed!

I almost finished writing PAINT last night, a short story initially intended for a cover design competition, except I’m not quite sure how to end it. I have, for the first time ever, a final line that I want to use, I’m just not sure how to get there and I went to bed last night feeling confused and trying to visualise the best ending. Oh, the trials!

I’ve taken on a new roll in my capacity as Assistant Editor at The Scruffy Dog Review and am now the “website bloke”. I’ve been in discussions with the Editor-in-Chief and we came to the decision that we should use my website skills to free up more of her time to do more actual editorial tasks as opposed to website maintenance.

The magazine has gone through a tough time lately and I feel like this change could breathe new life into it. A re-launch was discussed and communications will be sent out to the other editors today about the change. One of the first things I’m going to look at is a revamp of the site to make it more web friendly and modern.

The gig listings for this week have been pretty poor, though if I get the chance I might pop up to the Citrus Club tonight to see punk band The Vibrators and get a review in for Sunday’s NotW online edition. Also might pop along for The Black Seeds gig at the Picture House next week, which would make it through in time to be a contender for next week’s print edition.

My old man phoned from outside a pub on Tottenham Court Road in the evening. He had just discovered Hairspray has cross-dressing in it and wanted to let me know how happy he was to have been stitched up again. “It’ll do you good,” I told him with a loud guffaw. Sounds like they are both having a great time in Landahn Tahn, though.

Remember I mentioned the guy from Leith who works for the Scottish Parliament and submitted some poetry to the Ranfurly Review after reading my interview in The Leither Magazine while lunching in far flung Beju? It turns out he got he can’t spell and what he really meant was Bijou, the small coffee shop at the bottom of Restalrig Road! Oh, well!

Theoretical Reviews

colingalbraith — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:48:45 +0000

Image: Lorne Thomson

I don’t know about you but yesterday seemed to drag. It was ages before the morning was out of the way, and then when the sun came out for the afternoon it only made things worse.

With the overall temperature dropping across Scotland, the heaters in work have been changed to come on in the afternoon. So there we all were with a blazing hot sun outside and all the radiators on inside.

While on my lunch I ran through the gig listings for Edinburgh and found one ideal as a possible for NotW. I ran it by my editor; “we’ll always make room for ‘em,” he said. Cushty, thought I, and my evening on press duty was arranged.

I gave THE GREEN BRIDGE a final polish over with the remainder of my lunch break. It didn’t need much at all as I’d already caught most things. Then off it went, submitted into the competition it was intended for. It’s a much better story now and I’m quite chuffed with it, so fingers crossed.

I headed home after work and after eating the remaining Marzetti in the fridge from the previous night, I got ready to head out to see Theoretical Girl. I called Sneaky Pete’s in advance so didn’t have to be there until 9pm.

I’ve got the whole getting to gigs at Sneaky Pete’s then back home down to a ‘T’ now. I leave the house get the 8pm bus to the bottom of Easter Road. There, I jump on a 35 that takes me up over London Road and onto the High Street. I get off half way up and walk down to the Cowgate, and a short walk later I’m in the club.

Because it’s small or unsigned bands that generally play there I can usually get back up to the High Street for the 9:51pm bus back to Leith. If I’m lucky I can jump a connector, otherwise I’ll be back in my home for just after ten, make a quick cup of tea, get the article written and post it all before 11pm. Lovely!

When I phoned in advance the bloke told me that the support act for Theoretical Girl had cancelled, so when I arrived the club was desolate but for the club staff and the band. I bought a whisky and floated about inside and outside—it was a nice night—and at 9pm she came on stage.

Obviously for the proper review you’ll have to buy this Sunday’s News of the World (hopefully—it’s a funny business) and the Man in the East, but I have to say that I was very impressed. Hers is a talent more should see and hear, and I fully expect to hear more from her in the future.

The audience wasn’t up to much, though. I counted 16 people including myself, of which 3 were the bar and door staff, and 3 were the band. In other words, 10 people showed up; a small group of students who popped in for a drink, one old man who bounced about embarrassingly in his rock t-shirt and leather waistcoat, a group of middle aged women who looked oddly in place, and me.

Good gig, though, and when I got home just after 10pm I kicked into the article, most of which was tipping out of my head having been metally written an hour before. Some bands are impossibly hard to write about, but last night’s was so easy I had it down and polished within 45 minutes.