I was ready - Or was I?

Well, I was ready for the feelings of love that washed over me - I expected them, almost anxiously, towards the end of the labour. I just knew I'd be full of love for the tiny little bundle that we'd created, I knew I'd be more in love with my partner than ever before. I knew I'd be praying (despite myself) for health, safety, and happiness.
What I wasn't prepared for was the absolute outpouring of love and affection from all of my friends. Be it on Friendfeed, Twitter, texts or emails, it was deeply humbling. I've got a wonderful family now, but it makes me realise I've also got a great group of friends. Thanks to all of you.
And welcome to Marnie Rose Tandy Baker, 10/02/2010

Aargh, still no news.

So, I'm going to make myself busy today. Off to Portobello Road in a bit, to pick up an Aidan Moffat album from Rough Trade, and do some shopping in the market. It's a mild winter's day, so I'll take the scenic route - over the Grand Union at Harrow road, then down the back streets. Lovely.
Philippa's got to go the Acupuncturist later, so we're going to explore Kensal Rise as well, there's some new shops that need to be checked out. And after all of that? A Spotify session in the evening, maybe. Was fooling around with it last night, genuinely impressed by the range of old Reggae/Rocksteady stuff.

Another day.....

And still no news. Is this ever going to happen? I guess so, it's just odd being in a position where you can't really envisage any other way than how things are now. anyway, I'm sitting here, having wrapped up the downloads for today, listening to the total GENIUS that is "Double Nickels On The Dime", and breathing in the subtle smell of curry in the air (made a coconut lamb curry last night) It's making me hungry, and I've only just finished my breakfast!
And what do you think of my new Xfm poster campaign?

Humpday!

I'm sitting in the loft room, listening to "Shivers" by The Boys Next Door, getting ready for work. No news on the baby front *sighs* - wonder how long it's going to take? It's such a weird form of limbo....
Off to the Bakerloo line soon, and quite probably a stroll through the back streets of Waterloo/Borough. I *could* go to Southwark station, but there;s something nice about wandering down Theed Street and clearing my head in preparation for another day on air.

Blimey

Today, I've been listening to Wim Mertens (same old story, huh?) and decided to have a quick listen to "Alle Dinghe", which is a 3-CD set, part of a trilogy which runs to seven CD's. It's wonderful, elegiac orchestral stuff - and seems like it's actually one of his most sought-after works. A quick flick through eBay reveals that a replacement copy would set me back - get this - over FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.
ZOMG.
Loving the new time slot on NME Radio - I get home in time to enjoy the whole of the evening, there's more time for cooking....
Now, all I need.....is for *something* to happen ;)

Right, time to tie up a loose end....

I've blogged about this song before - it's my favourite record of all time. But at the time, I didn't have a clip to post online. However, via the magic of YouTube, here it is. This was the sound of my teenage years.

Also......

For those of you who listen to the show, and get the downloads of the day, I'm thinking about ways of archiving the links. Would you go to a blog which listed those links? Would that work? Let me know, I'll muse on this some more while I'm at work.

New day, new week, new time.

I'm changing slots today, so I'm on from 11-3. It's the sort of thing which happens ALL the time in the world of Radio, but there's still a slight frisson of excitement and anticipation. Plus, I have to worry about what to have for a packed lunch!
On the other front, no news. Yet.

Two Horse Race.

Listening to the footy, and listening to Arsenal getting hammered by Man U. It's us and them now, I guess. Update on the food situation - did the Farmer's Market thing - got some wonderful Haslet (a bit of a forgotten thing, but I love it) some organic butter (it's gone straight in the freezer) and wondrous cheese. Still trying to balance all the food that's now in the fridge, trying to work out how to utilise all the various ingredients and use as much as possible without throwing anything away ( I hate waste). With the impending arrival, this might be tricky, but I'm going to try.
Need to crack open a cold one and think about getting dinner ready.

Triple Hep'n'Blue

It's a wonderful, crisp, sunny Sunday morning. Wim weather, if I'm totally honest. There's a cat scratching at my leg, trying to get my attention, and Scritti Politti on the stereo. What a completely time-locked album "Songs To Remember" is - nothing sums up the early 80's more for me! It's odd seeing the CD on Virgin though, it's always going to be a Rough Trade album for me.
Today? Well, I'm still waiting for a baby, so that's the principal focus of the day, really. Apart from that - cooking. Will visit the farmer's market this morning, and source some ingredients for a mutton curry later.
Right - up and at 'em.

And just so you know what's filling my ears at the moment...

It's this.

Thanks, Nige.

OMG. Where have I been?

Well, my apologies.
It's been a rather tricky couple of years (see the history for details) but it's all starting to change.
And right now, it's definitely changing for the better. I'm still in West London, still doing Radio, still doing The JJ thing, but I'm going to do it all with a new family. My partner is just about to give birth to our first child! (actually, she's a couple of days overdue)
So, it makes sense to fire up the blog again. In the fullness of time (and now I've got the record collection back again) Down With Tractors will follow too.
I'm sure I'll have plenty to write about, so I'll do my best to keep this little corner of my life updated.
Thanks for waiting.

I'm not scared, just not prepared.

This has been the music in my head, all day long. The very wonderful Prego, live in London, last year.

Skating again...

And I love it. I crept out of the house early this morning, around 6.45. Swished silently through the Queens Park Estate, hopped a passing 452 to Kensal Rise, then it was a languorous carving rush down Keslake Road, a slight squiggle through some back streets, then powering down the side of Queens Park itself. That early in the morning, you can dodge the traffic (what there is of it) fairly easily, and you can stretch out and enjoy the tarmac as it rushes beneath your wheels. Can't think of a better way to start the day.

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?