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New location for this blog... www.simon-pollard.co.uk (click on blog) so please update your bookmarks etc.. and go there from now on. I'm keeping this here as I want to keep it here in case I need to come back.

On Saturday it was time to head out for Rhi's party. It was a pirate party and as such I dressed up like a fool and looked silly. I think the bandana was really classy, dont you?

We started off at Tera Nova down in Cardiff Bay where we looked somewhat out of place with all the smart other people there. Gradualy more and more people came before we set off to the boat. Rhi had booked a boat trip for us to take us from the bay into town. It was really cool and very fitting for a pirate party. The trip lasted about an hour and a half and with a bar on board it was all good. We got dropped off in town and after getting some food headed to Metros where we rocked the rest of the night away.

It was a great night and lots of fun, Rhi looked amazing in her costume. Hopefully ill be getting some pictures of it all soon.

I first saw Joseph Arthur at Glastonbury during the day on the main stage. It was an odd performance in that it was just him on the huge stage and only a few people watching as it was early on in the day. I was impressed with what he did though and how he used recordings of taps on his guitar looped to make a beat. He played again in the New Tent where he was much better suited. A bigger crowd this time and a stage where he looked more at home.

About 10 years later or so and he has released his latest album and I've only just got around to getting it (as a present for my birthday). I thought I’d check his site in case he was on tour. On there I saw he was going to be in Spillers record store in Cardiff. I had to double check that as it seemed an odd place to go. This being due to the fact that Spillers is a tiny little shop with not much room for shoppers let alone an artist.

So last night I went in on my way home to see how they could fit Joseph in. At the end of the shop a small area was set up and about 30 or more people squeezed in what space was left. As he got his guitar ready and lined up his harmonica no one really made a sound. It was as if most people didn't even know it was him and thought maybe it was the sound check guy. To be honest his very casual appearance and scruffy hair make him look just like anyone else in the crowd. This is until he starts playing and you are reminded why your there. Then he started to sing, and this is where you realise you are watching someone who has an amazing voice. It just makes you listen and watch in awe as he sings away with his voice breaking the air with a beauty that gives passion to music.

Six or so songs later and he is done, the crowd fully appreciating his effort and there are murmurs from people saying how good it was. He stays after to sign things and I am lucky enough to get an autograph on the album I have with me. He chats away to the people there and is very friendly to us all. As I leave the store I leave with a smile remembering why music has such a hold on me.

Last weekend Hannah and I headed off to Oxford to stay with D at his pub "The Gloc" and we were joined by Kesh as well. D is assistant manager there and lives above it, so we crashed in his room for the w/end. Was really good to catch up with them both as we hadn't seen them in ages.

The pub was an old dark pub with loads of character and plenty of characters to match. It's at heart a rock pub and the music for me was great. Plus its like under two pounds a pint and doubles are cheap as well, cant go wrong.

We headed around Oxford as well and went to a few other pubs, the buildings are amazing. Our quiet night on Friday involved us staying up till 4am, oops. On Satarday we again went into a few more pubs before moving onto Zodiac. Zodiac is the only club in Oxford that doesn't play cheesey dance or r&b etc... music. We're joined by Kesh's mate Rachael who is just like her, the kind of person that you instantly like and get on with. Have to say I thought it was a cool place and the music was great as well. Had a mix from Beck to the Prodigy, a good call there D I have to say.

All in all a quality weekend and one that went far too quickly. Hopefully we are all going to catch up again next month, which will be very cool.

It's only been a mere 75 years since we last did the double over Man U so I was somewhat pleased after last nights game. We had done well to best them 2-1 at Old Trafford, but after loosing out to them in the Carling Cup I thought our best chance would have been a draw last night. However David Bentley had a different idea and a hat-trick from him secured an amazing 4-3 score. We now have the same amount of points as Arsenal and are only a few short of 4th place. To think last season we were fighting in the relegation zone this is some very impressive work from Hughes.

It was my 27th birthday on the 24th of January. Getting far too close to 30 now so im beginning to feel old :-p For my birthday I went to AJ's for breakfast/lunch, then into town to pick up a few bits. A quick pop into the new Pancake House, huge pancakes as well :-) then to the pub in the evening. Quite a few people came to the pub, seeing as it was a Tuesday night as well I was really pleased to see them all.

Last Saturday I had the real pish up for my birthday. Starting in Copa I made my way through a few fancy beers before moving onto vodkas. Again there was a good turn out that made me feel popular :-p There were a few who couldn't make it as well. After Copa we went onto Clwb Ifor Bach (the Welsh club) where we danced and drank the rest of the night away. I had a really good time but drank far too much, and as such paid for it on Sunday when I felt rough all day. Still it was a great night and im glad I was able to have a really memorable birthday :-)

Pictures from the pish up

On Saturday Sarah (a friend and someone Hannah works with) had a Jack Daniels party. She won the party in a competition last year. We weren't too sure what to expect but had been told there should be some free drink and food. All I can say is that is was amazing, a thoroughly good night.

There was about 500 pounds worth of bar tab behind the bar, and 50 shots of JD drinks wise. There were around 40 or so people there so that worked out fine, the free bar lasted most of the night. On top of this you could keep the cool JD glasses (similar to the one pictured) and also got a free t-shirt and some people got bags as well.

What could make this better? Free food thats what and there was plenty of it. Hot and cold food and a big cake as well. With lots of people that we all knew and the free drink it made for a great night. Well done Sarah for winning the party, it'll take some beating to not be the best night of the year.

Made a few changes to this front page to hopefully make things better and easier for you to use. It should now be easier to comment as well so get commenting and give me reason to post more :-)

Did I mention it was my birthday on the 24th? Just checking :-)

Ok so it's been a while (as usual) from my last post, in fact this is the first post of the new year. For the record my christmas was nice, if a little quiet. Managed to catch up with Mike (old school mate) his girlfriend, Mikes brother and his girlfriend. Mikes brothers girlfriend being Gemma who I went to school with years ago and haven't seen for ages, so was really nice to catch up with her. New years eve was cool as well aside from Maria being ill in our house and saying sorry 101 times, funny mind.

Anyways since then Rovers have been going great guns and had a 5 game running streak. Last night they played the first leg of their Carling Cup semi final clash with Man U. It was a good game (aside from a nervy second half) and ended up 1-1. Morten Gamst Pedersen scored yet again for us (that's three now against Man U) and had Savage done better with his effort in the first minute we could have sneaked a win. As it was Man U were more to win in the second half so I was happy with the draw. However the downside is that the second leg is at Old Traford, so that's going to be fun seeing as we need a win. Still we have beaten them there already this season, and on current form there is reason to believe we could do it again, i'm crossing my fingers already.

The next few weeks should be fairly busy, to start with Sarah has won a Jack Daniels party at O'Neils. This basically means a private part for 50 people with free drink and food, bargain. Then the week after we are having some people over to our house for a few drinks and some drum playing (our friend has bongos) along with my bad guitar playing. The neighbours are going to love us. Then on the 24th it's my birthday :-) so hopefully be out at some point for that as well.

On Saturday I went with Hannah to the Noise and Confusion gig at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Now i'd like to say straight away that we didn't go to see Oasis we went to see The Foo Fighters. The fact that there were several other bands also made it worth the cost and fine to skip Oasis. We met up with Huw, May and Luke inside and found a nice spot by the sound stage.

The line up started with Yeti, who were in all fairness an instantly forgettable band. This wasn't helped by a poor sound set-up that mad the lead vocal blend too easily into the rest of the band. Then came Nic Armstrong and The Thieves who sounded better at first. A bit more bluesy and passionate, a very strong John Spencer Blues Explosion feel to them. However after a while they also sounded a bit repetitive which was a shame. Next up were The Subways who seemed to love every minute of their set. There are two singers in the band, the guitarist and the bassist who take center stage. They belt through their songs and get the crowd singing along, a much better set than the previous two.

Then came the "known" bands starting off with The Coral. To me they played quite a good set but Huw said they are much better in a smaller venue. Then came up Ikea stage set fans Razorlight. With a lot of chart friendly tracks they got the crowd singing along as well and were at the time the best band of the night. Then came The Foo Fighters and well they simply were amazing. Dave Grohl has such a stage presence it really has to be seen to be appreciated. It was just annoying they had a fixed time in which to play their set (damn you Oasis!). Stil they got through a fair number of tracks and made me want to see them again.

As the Foos finished Hannah and I made our way out, avoiding the crowds and Oasis to join up with her work colleagues for their Christmas staff night out. A few drinks (ok lots) amongst friends was a good way to end a very good day.