New house, new tarmac.

So, I'm moving on. Brighton is no longer my home town, and all my possessions are beginning their trek back up the M23 (or at least the process has started, the mother lode should arrive back in London by the end of the month)
It makes me look back, ruefully, on the happy times I had on the South coast, and above all, the feeling of release I used to get from leaving the city behind and heading to the calm and quirky charm that only Brighton can give you. I packed up my vinyl yesterday, into the same boxes which it travelled down to Brighton in, all those years ago. A very odd sensation. So, I've rented out my flat in Shepherd's Bush, and have travelled a few miles up the road, to Queen's Park. It means I'm still near the bright lights of Westfield, still near the Jez for beers, still near to the Westway!
And it means there's new delights as far as skating goes. The streets around my new place are smooth and quiet, so I broke out the longboard this morning, for a quick skate. Wonderful. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but if I don't skate for a while, I start dreaming about it, so this should have stopped the dreams for a bit. The board is quicker than ever: put Bones Swiss into the wheels, and it's as fast as hell. However, still getting a bit of "bearing peel" with the wheels (Krypto classic 70's) Anyone else get this? Obviously, I'm using it for some pretty intense pumping carves, so the cores on the wheels aren't doing their job, but what other wheels could I use? Suggestions?

Morning time.....

And I'm sat in the kitchen. My breakfast today? A piece of toast, an apple and a yoghurt. I'm off to the gym in an hour. There's a feeling of normalcy about today which is close to perfect.
It's been a week of organisation for me, lots of boxes full of possessions, lots of re-assimilation, lots of memories. The divorce got finalised yesterday, which was odd, and sad too; but left me determined to be thinking about now, and all the now to come.
Am just finishing off the links for the Download of The Day, which I do on my show. If you're one of those people who gets it - you'll see it in your inbox in about eight hours. The Santigold tune is IMMENSE. Just sayin'.

Quick round-up of the weekend...

Started off with a trip down to Brighton to see Kirk DJ (for the first time!) which was very odd indeed. Since my divorce, I've only been down to Brighton a handful of times, and it feels very strange indeed going back to somewhere which once was home. But is home no longer.
Anyway, was great to see Kirk again, and hilarious to see him embracing the art of the DJ. He played loads of FANTASTIC rockabilly, which (nothing to do with the beer, honest) blew my mind, and had me thinking about buying a pair of brothel creepers for the first time in 20 years.

Saturday saw me DJ-ing again at the Indigo, after the Snow Patrol gig. It's always fun to play out, and it's always interesting to see how the crowds differ from gig to gig. Last night they wanted the obvious tunes: all killer no filler. Nothing wrong with that - but it keeps you on your toes. Caught a cab back to West London at 2am, marvelling at how beautiful the city is at night.

And today? Well, a trip to the supermarket, then off to the footy (Chelsea Vs. Man City, we won 1-0) and a quick pint afterwards with The Jez. Life is good today, and I raise a glass to you all :)

It's all about me.

Or, more accurately, it's not all been about me recently, has it? With the divorce looming, it's been a little difficult to let others in, to let people know what I've been up to. I think that's got to change. I'll be doing my best to let you all in again, little by little. Forgive me for being aloof.

I'm getting divorced.

So there it is. Now you know why i've not realy posted much here (or on Down With Tractors, for that matter) for quite some time. I really haven't felt like interacting with people, involving them, or boring them to death with details of my private life.
There's a line in The Lover Speak's "No More I Love You's" (no, NOT the Lennox version, that was a cover!) where David Freeman talks of a language leaving him, and I can most definitely empathise: it's a slow, lingering death, a gradual erosion of something which once was precious, now reduced to a ghost of what it was.
If there's one thing it's taught me though, it's that I don't want that language to leave me forever. I don't want to forget how to feel. I want to find that language, and start speaking again. Part of this will be me finding my blogging voice again, after this enforced hiatus, so i'll be doing my best to post as much as I can over the coming weeks.
Thanks,
Iain
x