It's Christmas

Hello everyone,

Just a quick note to wish you all a very happy Christmas. I love this time of year so much. What could be better than time off work, eating lots, having a nice drink, getting and giving presents and watching ace TV? And celebrating the birth of the little baby Jesus of course. It really is the best time of the year. People that moan about it obviously don't have to go to work everyday...

One thing I did miss off my list there is family. Sadly Emma and I won't be with ours this year. It will be lovely to spend Christmas with just each other as we have never done this before, and I doubt we will ever again. We have a lovely Christmas Day together planned and I am very excited. We will miss being with everyone though. I love seeing one family on Christmas Day and then travelling to the other set on Boxing Day. We do have the magic ichat though so we will be with them via the computer. It isn't quite the same but normal service will be resumed in 2009.

I hope you have a wonderful time with whatever you have planned. As a 'present' I have posted a picture of our little tree above. Enjoy!

Happy Christmas,

Marc and The Emster xxx

p.s. I am so excited about the Doctor Who Christmas special it's untrue...

The Next Doctor

I woke up on Wednesday morning and my ear really hurt dear reader. I couldn’t hear out of it and it was dead painful. At first I thought that I had a build up of wax and it would need a good syringe. I have small ear canals so this is something I have to deal with a lot (amazing fact for you there). This would mean though that I would have to see a Doctor. Before you can get your ears syringed you need to be checked by a GP first, he then prescribes some drops to prepare the ear, and then a week later you can see a nurse for the procedure.

My problem here was that I didn’t have a Doctor in LA. My work have paid for top medical insurance for Emma and I but in nine months we have never used it. I now had to put this insurance to the test, and in the process find a doctor.

This was easier said than done. I had to email my insurers who are based in Germany. They then put me in touch with a medical company in the US who eventually emailed me some Doctors I could use. I then had to research these crazy cats to find a good one. I eventually found one that was nearby that seemed to have good reviews, and made an appointment for that lunch time.

When I got to the surgery I was relieved to find a nice, clean and modern building. I know LA isn’t the third world but you can never be sure what you are going to get. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of forms I would have to fill in on my arrival though. I had to sign about twenty zillion of them and then we had to do things like speak to my insurance company on the phone to get full authorization. It took what seemed like hours. I realized that for all the NHS failings it is an amazing thing when you think about it. There is very little form filling-in involved back home. Admittedly it takes you ten days to get an appointment rather than ten minutes, but that isn’t the point.

As I was filling in my last form I noticed on the wall some photographs of my new Doctor. One was of him stood with Ronald Reagan, in another he was with George Bush Senior, but the big photo on display was of the younger George Bush with his arm firmly around the doctor. George had signed it “Thanks for your continued support of the Republican Party, George”. Could I let this man examine my ear if he loved George Bush? I decided to forget his political affiliations as he had lots of impressive looking certificates on the wall, including some for plastic surgery.

Before he looked at my ear the Doctor wanted to give me a health check. This made me cross as I hate having that blood pressure machine put on your arm. When they start to pump it I feel all weird. If I’m honest I get a bit squeamish at anything medical, including the blood pressure machine. This is why I visit the doctor about once a year maximum (and this is mainly just to get my ears syringed as I have mentioned). Anyway, my blood pressure was spot on, as was my heart, weight and lung capacity. A Ronnie Result I thought to myself. Surely that would be it?

He then hit the bombshell that it was about time I had a blood test to check for high cholesterol and diabetes. Getting diabetes is my worst fear in the world. As some of you know I am terrified of needles to the point of silliness. I think it all stems from having an operation as a boy. I remember lying in the hospital bed, all weak and pathetic, while being in so much pain from constant injections. The nurse was really horrible and did them very badly, missing the vein most times. Now if I look at a needle on the TV I will faint if I don’t turn away quick enough. Even writing this has made me feel weird. And my fear gets worse the older I get.

So, not only would I have to have a blood test to check for this (which terrifies me beyond belief) but in the back of my head I am always convinced that I will end up with diabetes. How would I inject myself? I’d pass out before I did it. Anyway I told him I didn’t like needles and he said he would be very careful with me when it came to the blood test. I have to have this done on ruddy Christmas Eve. I should do it though as I haven’t had my blood tested for years. I bet I worry all Christmas that I have diabetes. It will be a long wait for the results…

He also looked up my nose and asked me if I sneezed a lot. I sneeze all the time over here but it has never bothered me as I like sneezing. It’s not a bad sensation; in fact it’s quite nice. I told him that I do indeed sneeze all the time, and how Kelly Jackson (who sits near my office) shouts out “Bless you” whenever I do it. I then shout out “Thank you”. We do this about ten times a day. He didn’t seem that bothered with this great story. Instead he told me that I was allergic to LA! Apparently by body hasn’t yet got used to the air and my nose and sinuses have been constantly inflamed for a while. I’m sure London is worse pollution wise, but he gave me a prescription for it anyway. I hope my sneezes don’t stop totally.

That is the problem with going to the doctors. You walk in with a bad ear, and come out with an allergy and potential diabetes!

Anyway he eventually checked my ears after looking at the rest of my body (and making more money for himself by arranging blood tests). It turned out that my ear didn’t have too much wax after all! Instead I had an ear infection and a cold in the ear. And not only that he told me that the cold would soon spread. And it ruddy well has and I feel rubbish. Typical! And it’s just before I break up for Christmas too.

I hope you have enjoyed hearing about my first ever trip to a Doctor’s in LA. It’s this kind of thing that makes this blog so special!

Marc x

The Emsters Cultural Review Of The Year

Marc asked me to compile my review of the year and I must admit that I found it really difficult. Mostly because I found it impossible to recall what I had actually done, listened to, read and seen this year. It’s a very tricky task. Also a fair bit of it does probably resemble Marc’s list seeing as we tend to spend a large proportion of our time together, doing the same things, so I apologise if you find it at all dull and repetitive.

Albums of the Year

1. Take That – The Circus
2. Britney Spears – Circus (admittedly I’ve not got this yet however I’ve heard lots of tracks already).
3. Girls Aloud – Out of Control
4. Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
5. The Indelicates – American Demo
6. Keane – Perfect Symmetry (again don’t actually have this yet but saw them perform most of the tracks live at a recent gig so I feel I can include it here. In fact I am hoping that it’s currently sitting under our Christmas tree waiting to be opened on Christmas Day. )
7. Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
8. Glen Campbell – Meet Glen Campbell
9. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
10. Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst

Song of the Year
Spiralling by Keane. Great 80’s pop revival. I love it.

Man of the Year
Rob Brydon. For no particular reason other than I think he’s brill and he’s doing a comedy tour next year.

Gigs of the Year

1. Keane at the Roxy
2. Russell Brand at the Roxy
3. Spice Girls at the O2
4. Conor Oberst at the Henry Fonda Theatre
5. Carter USM at both Birmingham and Brixton academies.

Podcasts of the Year

Before moving to LA I must admit to not really listening to podcasts all that much. However Marc thought I’d enjoy them so began putting them on during our many road trips and I must confess to becoming an avid follower of a select few. I know some of these below are not ‘true’ podcasts but I’m going to include them as I download them from the itunes and they are stored on my ipod under podcasts. To me that means they count here.

1. Collins and Herrin
2. Radio 4 News Quiz
3. Radio 4 Now Show – Although I can’t stand Mitch Benns stupid songs at the beginning of the show.

TV Shows of the Year

I love tele so couldn’t keep it to just 10 so upped this one to a top 20.
1. Gavin and Stacey
2. Strictly Come Dancing
3. Holby Cities
4. CSI: New York
5. Doctor Who
6. 8 Out of 10 Cats
7. Would I Lie To You?
8. X Factor
9. Torchwood
10. Without a Trace
11. Brothers and Sisters
12. Desperate Housewives
13. Private Practice
14. Grey’s Anatomy
15. The Office (American one)
16. CSI: Miami
17. CSI
18. The Bachelorette (despite strongly disagreeing with her final choice – although her rejected man is back in ‘The Bachelor’ in January so he will now get to choose a nicer lady than her in the end anyway)
19. Sarah Jane Adventures
20. Harry Hill’s TV Burp

Films of the Year

1. Sex and the City (clichéd but true)
2. Mamma Mia
3. The Other Boleyn Girl
4. Tropic Thunder
5. Iron Man
6. The Incredible Hulk
7. Stepbrothers
8. What happens in Vegas
9. Juno
10. Definitely, Maybe

Books of the Year

1. The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruin Zafon
2. Looking Good Dead – Peter James
3. No Time For Goodbye – Linwood Barclay
4. The Traveller – John Twelve Hawks
5. Black Swan Green – David Mitchell
6. My Favourite Wife – Tony Parsons (Not sure whether I loved or hated this book)
7. Deadline – Simon Kernick
8. Want to Play? – PJ Tracy
9. We Need to Talk About Kevin – Lionel Shriver (I’m halfway through this book and so far its put me off ever having children. It is very good though and so I thought I could include despite having not finished it yet).
10. Jodi Piccoult – I read a good few books a year by this lady and enjoy them very much at the time. However they have all merged in to one in my head now so I can’t distinguish between any of them. I wanted to include her here nonetheless.

Hero of the Year
ichat – for allowing me to see and speak to my family from LA.

Event of the Year
1. On a personal note, my first wedding anniversary was pretty darn special.
2. And on a more global note, Obama getting elected as President of the US of A.

Most Missed
Home. Despite loving Santa Monica, England will always be home.

My Top Choices Of The Year

Every year Team Jim Bob (Jim Bob, Mr Spoons and I) post our 'cultural review' on http://www.jim-bob.co.uk/. It's a list that I enjoy making every year. To see the choices of all three of us go to the aforementioned link. But for those of you who are my fans alone (and who don't care about Jim Bob or Mr Spoons) here is what I posted (with some revisions actually).

Before you read on it's worth noting how far down my list 'Strictly Come Dancing ' has moved. The BBC powers that be have seriously damaged this show for me. It's obvious that John Sargeant was made to leave. The BBC didn't want to risk a 'Pop Idol' where everyone voted for that fat woman for a laugh (and then never bought any of her records once the show was finished).

Regardless of whether you watch for the dancing, or whether you watch for the whole spectacle this annoyed me. It's easy to manipulate a viewer (all reality shows do this to some extent) but the minute you become that obvious doing it then you are in trouble. It's subsequent ratings dive is no surprise. I didn't want Sargeant to win - but I wanted him to go out fairly. And last weeks daft decision to put all three semi-finalists through (meaning we have the same show two weeks on a trot) is just silly. I worked out weeks ago that a tie could create that scenario. How the 'boffins' at the Beeb failed to see this coming is beyond me.

In future I shall stick to Doctor Who, as I really shouldn't get that wound up about a show about dancing. I only really watch for Brucie (who I love), Dave Arch and his Orchestra and to see what the ladies are going to be wearing.

Anyway I digress. Here is what I enjoyed this year.

Albums Of The Year (This was the best year for albums in the past 20 years)
1. Indelicates - American Demo
2. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
3. Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark
4. Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head
5. Keane - Perfect Symmetry
6. British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
7. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
8. The Killers - Day & Age
9. Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords
10. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
11. MGMT - MGMT
12. Chris T-T - Capital
13. The Sparks - Exotic Creatures Of The Deep
14. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
15. Glen Campbell – Meet Glen Campbell
16. Nick Cave - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
17. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of understatement
18. The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
19. Laura Marling - Alas I Can Not Swim
20. Girls Aloud - Out Of Control

Song Of The Year
The Killers - Human (The best pop song written in the last 10 years)

Man Of The Year
Russell Brand (for the picture of Stalin placed cheekily behind him when announcing his resignation)

Radio Shows Of The Year
1. Jonathon Ross - Radio 2
2. Russell Brand - Radio 2
3. The News Quiz - Radio 4
4. The Now Show - Radio 4
5. Steve Lamacq - 6 Music

Gigs Of The Year
1. Carter USM - Birmingham Academy
2. Keane @ LA Roxy
3. Nick Cave @ Hollywood Bowl
4. Conor Oberst @ Henry Fonda Theatre
5. Russell Brand @ LA Roxy
6. British Sea Power @ Shepherds Bush Empire
7. Carter USM - Brixton Academy
8. Indelicates/SMASH/Abdou - Cambridge Portland Arms
9. Sultans Of Ping - Mean Fiddler
10. Jim Bob - Portsmouth The Cellars

Podcasts Of The Year (can't be a cut down radio show)
1. Collins and Herrin
2. The Online Gooner
3. Doctor Who Podshock
4. Stephen Fry Podgrams
5. Adam and Joe

TV Shows Of The Year (The best year for TV ever I reckon)
1. Doctor Who/Sarah Jane/Torchwood
2. Gavin and Stacey
3. Lost
4. Peep Show
5. The Apprentice
6. Harry Hill's TV Burp
7. Dragon's Den
8. Ramsey's US Kitchen Nightmares
9. Curb Your Enthusiasm
10. The Office (American Version)
11. Would I Lie To You
12. Survivors
13. The Wire
14. Without A Trace
15. 8 Out Of 10 Cats
16. Tonight With Jonathan Ross
17. Solitary 2.0
18. Strictly Come Dancing
19. The IT Crowd
20. The X-Factor

Films Of The Year
1. Juno
2. Tropic Thunder
3. Iron Man
4. Son Of Rambow
5. Superbad
6. Zac and Miri Make A Porno
7. The Visitor
8. No Country For Old Men
9. The Other Boleyn Girl
10. The Dark Knight (Heath Ledger wasn't that great though!)
11. Atonement
12. Indiania Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
13. Stepbrothers
14. Hancock
15. Definitely, Maybe
16. The Incredible Hulk
17. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
18. Cloverfield
19. Sommers Town
20. Ghost Town

Books Of The Year (What I read, not when it came out)
1. A Writers Tale - Russell T. Davies
2. Motel Life - Willy Vaughan
3. Submarine - Joe Dunthorne
4. Making History - Stephen Fry
5. Meetings With Morrissey - Len Brown
6. Bowie In Berlin - Thomas Jerome Seabrook
7. Gotcha! The Story Of The Sun - Chris Horrie
8. Microserfs - Douglas Coupland
9. Timoleon Vieta Come Home - Dan Rhodes
10. Bright Lights, Big City - Jay McInnery

Hero Of The Year
Fox Soccer Channel (for giving me Prem action while in the US)

Event Of The Year
1. Carter at Birmingham Academy
2. Barrack Obama winning that election thingy

Most Missed
1. David Bowie - again. Please come out of retirement.
2. I missed Sarah Palin in December for comedy value.
3. London (until I actually went back there and faced delayed trains and rain, then couldn't wait to leave again).

Stay Another Day

One of the best things about life in LA is how many people have come to visit us. Emma and I had around a hundred people come to our wedding and it is bonkers to think that out of all of those, twenty or so have been to visit us in LA. For all you non maths fans that’s a fifth of our wedding attendance that have flown out.

So in a nutshell who has been to visit thus far? Here is the roll of honor for your perusal and delight:

April: Vicki and Gary. They are special in that not only were they our first visitors, but they were our only guests to stay in the corporate apartment we were in for the first two months. This had a lot more room than our current place, and had a pool and hot tub. We did, though, make them sleep on the blow up bed in the living room due to there being more room (whereas couples now get to sleep in our bed). So perhaps they missed out after all? Many of our initial explorations of LA were undertaken with them. And many of the activities we did during their stay would be passed on to all our future visitors.

Emma and I were very sad when Vicki and Gary left and we got homesick for the first time while over here. When visitors leave is the only time when I miss home actually. That feeling normally goes after a nice dinner and some good TV.

April/May: Mr and Mrs Furness. Their stay (which Em and I loved) included one of the best weekends I have ever had which was my first trip to Disneyland. Once you have been to Disney then the magic lives with you forever! We did lots of ace things and had a great couple of weeks. It was better for Emma though as she got to sightsee with them during the day while I was at ruddy work.

May: Jim, Jakki and Holly. The Morrison family were the first visitors to our Santa Monica Shed. Again it was an adventure packed trip, including going to Universal Studios and doing a tour of Hollywood in a bus. I love going on a tour me… It did rain though during the first couple of days of their stay. This wasn’t in the plan and we spent their first afternoon in our ‘shed’ playing Scrabble and watching films. I don’t think this was the LA they had pictured. Luckily the weather got better for them as the week went on.

June: Jeremy. This visit not only included going to the WWE wrestling but also the famous ‘Robbie Williams Incident’ at the Russell Brand gig took place. For new readers I would advise looking at the June archives! That blog entry made this site famous, and to be frank it hasn’t reached the same heights since.

July: Les, Richie and Damo. Abdou (Les’ band) were playing some West Coast gigs and the band stayed with us for a couple of nights (apart from Jonny and Alison who were in a nearby hotel). Damo (the drummer) is our only visitor not to be at our wedding fact fans. It’s not that we don’t like him, we just didn’t really know him (that is my story, which I am sticking too). While Richie wasn’t technically a wedding guest he would have been had I not booked his band to play! He was thus there at the wedding and he even let me sing a song or two.

August: Toby and Kirsty. My fave memory is Toby and I watching a West Ham game at seven in the morning while Emma was trying to sleep on the living room floor (on the blow up bed). Toby had to stifle his joy as West Ham got a win for once. Kirsty had sensibly stayed in bed! We then watched Arsenal beat Newcastle before having a day of culture at the Getty Centre and then Griffith Observatory. By this stage Emma was an old hand at being a tour guide and as such her Getty Centre presentation even had me enthralled (so great were her facts and knowledge). I think Tobes was one of our most enthusiastic visitors and I love that in a guest.

September: Felicity, Mr and Mrs Furness. We had our first repeat visitors with the in-laws not being able to get enough of my company (it has nothing to do with Emma obviously), but this time the youngest Furness sister, Felicity, was also in tow. Once again ace times were had, including a top weekend in San Francisco. And this was also when I discovered my love for body boarding during a day out at the beach.

October: Mr and Mrs Spoons. This was another fantastic week which included a trip to LA Galaxy and a visit to Ramsey’s restaurant (that still has me salivating). We also had a great night in with a Chinese and the X-Factor one night. We also made their hotel bar our own. I miss the Double Tree bar a lot these days. I couldn’t go back though as Mr and Mrs Spoons wouldn’t be there, and it wouldn’t be the same.

November: James and Sarah. These were the first guests I introduced to any of my work friends. We went out for a meal on the Saturday night with Charissa and her husband Steve. Luckily Sarah compensated for James and his northern ways.

We also had a great night in with a Thai and watching ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ (are you noticing a theme?). We had done cultural stuff and a guided tour during the day though so this was allowed. This was before John Sergeant was pushed out, and before the show became a farce. I hope that smug Tom Chambers doesn’t win. But then I can’t stand dull Rachel Stevens or Lisa ‘Can’t Shut Up’ Snowdon. I don’t care who wins this year (which is sad) as I dislike them all.

November/December: Laura and Robbie. We had a great week with these two cats. Out of all our guests they liked shopping the most, so we did a lot of that with them. Robbie liked Urban Outfitters as much as me. The day after thanksgiving was called ‘Black Friday’ and it is the biggest sale day of the year. I bought lots, but once again not as much as the Robster. He even went to the sale at Urban Outfitters which started at 7am in the morning. That was too hardcore for me, but I was impressed that Robbie made the effort.

We tried new restaurants with them, as well as our old favorites, and we also had a Thanksgiving dinner! We went to ‘The Penthouse’ for this, which is very swish. We had cocktails, then a real American Thanksgiving meal. It was ruddy pricey – but worth it. Apart from the yams, which were pretty disgusting.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that it was my first thanksgiving. The Americans go as mental for Thanksgiving as they do for Christmas. The only difference is that you don’t get any presents. You still have lots to eat and drink though, as well as getting some time off work. And then a month later you have Christmas. I think we should do a similar thing back in Blighty. I am glad we had Laura and Robbie with us for it though, so us four citizens of the UK (Robbie is from Northern Ireland which is counted as the United Kingdom fact fans) could enjoy it together.

One night we went back to Laura and Robbie’s hotel and we spent the evening sitting in their hot tub (while relaxing with a drink or two). This was very nice indeed as I love a hot tub. After a while it got too hot for the ladies but Robbie and I were hardcore so we stayed in it. We got talking to this college student from Texas (who was ok, but a bit of a fool) and his girlfriend (who was from Beverly Hills). I think she liked Robbie and his Irish lilt (as she kept looking at his swimming trunk area), but the chap from Texas was oblivious as he carried on with his dull stories.

On their last night we went for a meal in a new trendy place that has opened up on Abbot Kinney Boulevard (where all the cool kids hang out in Venice). I forget the name of the restaurant but it was very nice. We then went to the bar ‘The Other Room’ and Robbie and I had some weird beers. We wanted to stay to have some more but the ladies were tired and wanted to leave at around 11pm. Robbie and I had to follow suit though we would have been more rock n’ roll if we were allowed.

I felt a little sad when we dropped our visitors off. Out of all our guests they’d probably seen the most celebs during their trip. The saw Pink on Santa Monica Pier on their last day. They had also seen Christopher Eccles Cakes In ‘Urban Outfitters’ (how jealous was I) as well as Oasis and Tim Burgess from The Charlatans (though to be honest the last one isn’t that good as I ran into him back home at my gym in Shepherds Bush!). On the way back Miquita Oliver from T4 was on their flight. I find that lady quite funny as it goes. (though she does miss Simon Amstell as a sparring partner. Steve Jones is a bit too good looking to be properly funny.)

And then Jeremy visits again today… and our last visitor in March will be little Jon Ollington. After that Em and I see will see more of the states before we have to return home. The current plan is to visit at least Chicago and New York.

At the moment we have January and February visitor free. If you do plan to visit us then this is your last chance (though it is winter now and the weather is a rather rubbish 24 degrees Celsius today!). After that we will sadly no longer be in these parts to take guests. It’s all going a bit too quickly. I can’t think like that though. I still have three months of work to go.

Cheerio for now.
Marc x

P.S. A Happy belated Birthday shout out to Rob Mellor, Emma’s cousin. Rob is an avid reader of this blog, and as such is rewarded with a ‘shout out’ (which don’t get awarded easily).

What I Did On My Holidays (Part Two)

Tuesday 18th November

As I wouldn’t be in the UK for Christmas this year my mum decided to throw us an early Christmas Day. The plan was that we make it a real Christmas. The family would swap presents, have a proper festive Dinner then we would play games in the evening. Both my brother, sister and her boyfriend Neil took time off work to make this happen for Emma and me. We were very grateful and very excited.

We met little Jon Ollington at Fenchurch Street station (after being delayed on the first train we got. I really haven’t missed our public transport) and we boarded the train back to Leigh-On-Sea. Em and I were exhausted due to running to catch this train with a very heavy suitcase full of presents. I wish we had hired a car in retrospect!

Dad was waiting for us at the station and before we knew it we were back home. It really felt like Christmas as my mum had even put up decorations. It was ace to see my mum as well as Sarah and Neil all there waiting for us. As regular readers will know my sister has just got engaged so I was pleased to congratulate the happy couple.

I got some really ace presents and like Roy Wood I wished it could be Christmas every day. Our dinner was delicious and we had lots of arguments when playing DVD games of ‘Pub Quiz’, ‘Catchphrase’ and ‘Family Fortunes’. It was brill! In the evening we were joined by Auntie Angela and Uncle Colin, as well as friend of the family Roger. My Auntie was convinced ‘Catchphrase’ was called ‘Mr Pips’ and no telling her that the little computer person was in fact Mr Chips (and that wasn’t even the title anyway) sunk in.

It really was a lovely day, and Emma and I were quite touched with the effort everyone went too.

Wednesday 19th November

Emma and I slept for ten hours solid and woke up at 11am. We had been out and about so much since we got back it was good to be able to lie in. We had some tea and toast before saying goodbye. My Dad dropped us in Leigh where we were meeting our friends Mark and Becky for lunch. It was fantastic to see them and we had a nice pizza. I had a full fat coke too. I think you should always treat yourself on occasions such as this. They also had their lovely children in tow, Mollie and Thomas. We had only seen Thomas once before. He was now nine months old and cute as a button. It made Emma and I want children right away, until we realized not all of them are as well behaved as The Rice’s. Our lunch went far too quickly and before we knew it we were back on the train to London.

In the evening we went to our local pub with Sinead and Iain. Emma and I know Sinead from Nat Geo, and she lives near us in Anerley too. We are now all top mates and that kind of thing. Sinead’s man is called Iain. He is a top bloke who I have got to know over the last couple of years. We bonded over having the same racist driving instructor. Anyway, we had many drinks and great chats and before long it was closing time. It had been another smashing day. I was now enjoying being back at home.

Thursday 20th November

I had a lot of running around to do during the day for last minute Carter gig preparations. This meant that I couldn’t join the Furness family for lunch which was annoying. I had to make do with a sandwich from Tescos.

Mr. Spoons picked us up in the evening and soon him and I, along with the talent (Jim and Les) were heading up to Birmingham.

This year they had decided not to go in the tour bus with the crew (that would be leaving later) in order that they get a good nights sleep and that they were properly prepared. The crew themselves were also up and loading in the venue at 8am (so they would have us believe!) so we didn’t want to be disturbed.

Out hotel was very nice and the rooms had imacs in them, which also doubled up as TVs. I thought this was very cool. We all went out for a pizza before having a cheeky drink in the hotel bar. It was soon time for bed though, and once again I had lovely sleeps.

Friday 21st November

The day of reckoning was here. It was the first proper gig! We got to the venue at around mid-day as I had to sort out the merch, guestlists etc. Our Tour Manager Sam had everything in hand and I was able to relax a bit. It was still very manic before doors though, and we were soundchecking right up to the wire. In fact, the first band on ‘Vile Evils’ carried on even though doors had opened. There is nothing more I hate than late opening doors (we had a curfew of 10:30 tonight so the pressure was on to be spot on) but we just about made it. I reckon I lost a good few years in worry though.

I soon saw Emma, who had traveled up with Mrs Spoons, Mrs Jim Bob and Mrs Fruitbat. Emma had been to Selfridges and a German Christmas market with Mrs Spoons during the day and had spent ten billion pounds in the process. The credit crunch doesn’t exist in the Ollington household. Em did buy me some marzipan (which I adore though) so I didn’t mind really.

The gig itself was truly fantastic. I never thought it possible but Carter were better than last year. All the hard work had paid off. The lights were amazing, the sound was great and the atmosphere was superb. Vile Evils and EMF were both fantastic too and really made Carter raise their game. And they did that with a superb set that lasted just over two hours. I was running around like a maniac at the end getting a curfew extension as the boys seemed like they were never going to stop playing.

We found out later that not only did Carter break the bar record, but it was also the best attended gig ever at the venue. Even though a lot of shows sell out you normally get a 10% drop off. Well, we sold 3000 tickets, and 2984 went through the door. How great is that?

I was able to watch a lot of the set, and I really took it in, it was the only time during the day my mind wasn’t racing with a barrage of things. After the gig I got the regular hassle and abuse from people who weren’t on the aftershow list and who thought they should be (even though Jim and Les themselves didn’t attend the aftershow, and it was more fun in the main venue, as people were allowed to stay for the club night). And I then had to go and sort out the merchandise money and do a stock take. I finished just past midnight. By this time everyone was as drunk as lords. We got back to the hotel at around 2am (I think!), I had an orange juice (there wasn’t any point in drinking with such a big day tomorrow) and Emma and I went to bed leaving the rest in the hotel bar.

Saturday 22nd November

We got up early doors and were traveling to Brixton by 9:30am. It was also Jim’s birthday today so I did my best to be extra nice to him. Once again we arrived at the venue just past mid-day and I got down to work. The setting up of things went a lot more smoothly today and Carter even sound checked early. We were ready with half an hour to go.

I was really pleased about this and I was ready for a great night. My mood was soon bought down by someone I know pretty well abusing me because they weren’t on the aftershow party guestlist! I could have left them off by mistake (or it could have been the person who was meant to put them on), but even so I sorted it out for them quite happily. I didn’t need the abuse and was a bit annoyed by it. I then got a call saying Tim Connery (top scriptwriter and chum) was also not on the guestlist (which was my fault!). Luckily Tim was a lot more understanding than the other nameless person and it was lovely to see him, once I had got him in from the cold. I only saw Mr. Connery briefly but it reminded me how much I missed Monday Club (our regular drinks in the Palace, with the hardcore members being Me, Neil, Les, Jim and Tim)

Once again the gig was amazing and Carter played a storming 2hr plus set again. The atmosphere in the Academy was fantastic and everyone from the staff, to the promoters said how different it was to a ‘normal’ gig. These shows were real celebrations, and I felt proud to be part of them. Over six months worth of work went into this, but it was ruddy worth it!

After the show I was able to say a few quick hellos (including my Mum and Dad who had come along after loving it last year) but while the aftershow was in full force I had to do the merch stocktake and count. This takes at least an hour but luckily little Jon Ollington was there to help me. We then spent ages taking the leftover merch to the stage doors. Just when we thought our work was done we realized that the van had left without the merchandise. Everyone else was too tiddly to deal with it. Luckily Mr. Spoons was still sober and we were able to load up all the merch in his car (after I was roped in to help load up the PA!) and drive it round to Les’ who lived nearby in Brixton. What would we do without Mr. Spoons is a question I often ask myself.

Emma didn’t want to come to the next Aftershow party at the venue Jamm (I know – another aftershow) but I fancied a drink or two (I can’t drink at the gigs, not when I know I’m dealing with lots of cash later) and finally at 2am my work was done. I got to Jamm and while I was happy to see people there I didn’t really get into it. It was great to see so many people I know, and to see my mate Jez DJ but after a beer or two it was time for me to leave.

I got a cab back with my mate James who lives dead near me. I got to bed at 4am and just fell straight to sleep. The gigs couldn’t have gone better. But I must admit to being relieved they were all over.

Sunday 23rd November

We said goodbye to Felicity Furness and we got into our cab for Heathrow. We had the loveliest cab driver in the world. He told us lots of great stories of his life and it cheered Emma up (as she was sad to be leaving her family and friends again).

I treated the Emster to Guitar Hero for her Nintendo DS lite to cheer her up further. This did the trick. I got a Smiths CD! Our flight was bang on time and the journey back was pure eleven hours of bliss. The flight was half full so we could stretch out and relax. I read my Morrissey book and watched some films. Time went so quick. Before I knew it we had landed and we were back in our Santa Monica bungalow. Had it all been a dream?

Em and I went to bed and I had the best nights sleep ever, just in time for work the next day.

Coming Next: Thanksgiving in LA