#jool-doom

[thesimline]

A collection of stylish hats for your fashionable witch sims, just in time for the spooky season! CC links under the cut.

1 - Bad Witch's Hat by akalukery

2 - Pennyroyal Cloche Hat by Hezza Sims

3 - Round Hat by Dissia (TSR)

4 - Arcane Illusions Witch Hat by Dissia (TSR)

5 - Forest Witch Hat by Simverses (Curseforge)

6 - Witchy Hat by Pink Patchy

7 - The Witch's Hat by Okruee

8 - Moon Pattern Hat by Me, My Sims and I

9 - Crooked Witchy Hat by Fairy Witch

10 - Straight Witchy Hat by Fairy Witch

11 - Witchy Hat by Valley Tulya

12 - Noctem Witch Hat by DanSimsFantasy (TSR)

13 - Mystical Witch Hat by Loverett

14 - Halloween Hat by Kiara Zurk

15 - Rose Witch Hat by Sim Laugh Love

16 - Nature Witch Hat by Feral Poodles

17 - Bad Witch Hat by Blahberry Pancake

18 - Eclipse Witch Hat by Madlen

19 - DIY Witch Hat by Diva Doom

20 - Coven Hat by Candy Sims

21 - Witch Hat by CowPlant's Cake (TSR)

22 - Cornelia Hat by Joliebean

23 - Forest Hat by Berryconfetti

24 - Spellcaster Hat by Snowbat Sims

25 - Witch Hat by by Jools Simming

26 - Black Witch Hat by Simder_Talia (TSR)

27 - Forest Hat by Zx-Ta

28 - Tattered Witch Hat by horresco

29 - Helia Hat by Clumsy Alien

30 - Deary Hat by Toksik (TSR)

With thanks to some amazing creators: @akalukery @hezzasims @dissiasims @simverses @pinkpatchy @okruee @memysimsandi @bonehildastreasurechest @valley-tulya @simlaughlove @feralpoodles @blahberry-pancake @madlensims @divadoom @candysims4 @joliebean @snowbatsims @jools-simming @zx-ta @clumsyalienn

[which-hospital]

And Another One - Casualty Hiatus Thoughts - 2/?

I'm still ill but I went into uni anyway like the brave little soldier that I am! (Every night, I decide that all the work that I need to do can be done “tomorrow” but we’re rapidly running out of those until the deadlines. I have lost my train pass and student ID. All I’ve listened to all day is the demo version of Geyser by Mitski. Vague sense of doom.) I got myself some Tesco Finest cookies on the way home. I’m just complaining here. 

I'm back for more already, seems like I've opened the floodgates but this one won't be as lengthy as the other one was. Genuinely sorry I can’t shut up. I thought I was done for a while but I put an episode from series 36 on in the background thinking that I'd be able to do stuff while it played but got distracted by my opinions.

Potentially all over the place again, though this one does manage to be mostly about the series 36 mother-hell storylines. So there's a theme. Warning - I started going off about Dark Room which has a lot of transphobia in it and that’s part of what I talked about.

I really don’t know how I feel about the resolutions of Sah and Teddy’s storylines with their mums. Okay, we already know I'm about to be going on about Sah and Teddy's mother problems storylines but I'm sure there are other characters who this is/isn't applicable to - feel free to let me know about it. As a recap: it’s kind of hard for me to figure out how to describe exactly what happens at the end of Friends Like These, but if anyone has ever seen that quote that’s like “I tried to ask my parents to leave the room, but not my life”, Teddy asks Gaynor to leave the room and she leaves his life. A couple months later a patient situation causes Teddy to call his mum (and that is not brought up again when he gets trapped in a mine in the next episode) and also we are left to assume that all is fine now. Pretty simplistically, in Enough, Sah and Jools talk it out after Kevin has another stroke and then they are also just portrayed as being okay forever by the end of that episode. 

I can absolutely believe that these characters, sad and work-stressed and not always the most emotionally mature, would forgive their mothers. I don’t even disagree with it happening on a story level because I think it could make for a really good development in those stories, or even just a less-than-happy ending. What I don’t enjoy is how these endings are presented as being happily-ever-afters and that everything is supposed to be fine now because they’ve forgiven/reconciled with their mothers who haven’t really done anything to deserve it. Jools is objectively neglectful, and telling Sah they were always enough does not make up for that. I think Gaynor’s behaviour is emotionally abusive; she’s controlling his life, emotionally manipulating him, she’s trying to even limit his contact with people other than her (and she has been doing this, he “wasn’t allowed friends”). Unless I'm wrong, we don’t see or hear from Gaynor at all between Friends Like These and We Need To Talk About Ollie. I don’t doubt they love their kids but that doesn’t make them good parents, and it’s not on their kids to be doing the work to improve the relationships. If we’re getting these forgiveness endings then Jools and Gaynor need to put more effort into proving they’ve changed. Or (and I'd probably find this more interesting cause I'm mean). Forgiveness needs to be presented as something that isn’t this simple happy ending because it doesn't feel like that in these circumstances. I respect the potential misery of the undeserved forgiveness, I love misery for them, especially when they’re both in mother-hell together, I am mean. But if you want to give them a happily-ever-after, keep them away from their mothers or make their mothers do the work. 

They make Sah be the bigger person way too much, actually. In Dark Room, why does Sah have to be nice to Scott when Scott deserves to get re-beaten to a pulp? I don’t care that his mum is also terrible. Not only did he bully them when they were teenagers, he tried to ruin their whole life as a fully grown adult. Their mum is terrible as well and you don’t see them acting like that. They don’t need to be the bigger person and try to help Scott and his also terrible mother, they need a weapon of mass destruction. Also, why is Sah’s deadname used so excessively in series 36? Or at all? Ever? I’m sure there were ways around the audience ever needing to actually know what it was, even if they felt like the story required the implication of characters using it. Another potential Casualty hot take, maybe? I don't think Sah's dad is all that great of a parent either. Obviously it is entirely Jools' fault that Sah has to be his carer at such a young age, he had no control over that and Jools is definitely the worse parent, but getting back with Jools without telling Sah, cancelling plans with Sah to go on dates with Jools, excusing Jools’ pretty transphobic remarks and acting like Sah has to forgive Jools because he has really isn’t great. They were right when they said “it’s not just you she left”. IT’S! NOT! JUST! KEVIN! SHE! LEFT! It annoys me that Casualty is like ‘this action will have consequences’ about that scene because Sah is right. The only person I truly like from Sah’s pre-joining-Casualty life is Bill Phillipsen (and his dead wife) and he died. I knew you very briefly/not at all but I miss you Bill and Jean <\3

This post is absolutely the post for me to start getting into the connections between the mother-hell storylines but I won’t in full. They are kind of this pair of opposites, not just on this wider level of overinvolved mother vs uninvolved mother, there are a lot of patterns I’ve noticed in the episodes and the dialogue. I’d find them all now but it's 2am and I need to be awake at 8am at the latest so I’m putting off compiling that list for another day. Some faves that I can remember off the top of my head: opposite Jan advice scenes, Gaynor really struggling to say she’s proud of Teddy even though he really wants her to while one of the first things Jools tries to say to Sah is that she’s proud of them and they tell her not to, “you won’t see me back if I go” vs “I’m back now if it’s not too late”. I really like these connections, that's why I'm so passionate about what I don't agree with in these storylines.

I didn't mention this in my last post but I got my hands on a bootleg of The Play That Goes Wrong with Milo Clarke as Max and it's very enjoyable. I've been meaning to watch TPTGW at least since I watched both series of the show, probably longer, and I succumbed to the Casualty brainrot and and had to see his version. All I'll say: He really knows how to play aunt based nepotism and situations that could be solved with polyamory.

Based on when one of the episodes is set to air, I don’t think we’ll see Casualty back until about December 30th, unless we are gonna have another break between episodes once it comes back. I don’t really care that much and also, Christmas/New Years episode? The most recent Christmas episode was that one where they were like “what if it was last year?” back in 2021 and that’s always been a weird choice to me. I just want a silly little festive one, normal Casualty episode featuring carol singing and tinsel and the implication of a really intense staff party (we will never get the Sah/Teddy Christmas party of my dreams, not this year cause they’re in the current situation, not last year cause no Christmas episode and also the stuff with Jan was happening then, not the year before…). The only thing that bothers me about the hiatus is the inevitable time skip, so much time will have elapsed in universe by the time it comes back so I feel like we will have missed a lot of the immediate aftermath of stuff that happened at the end of Driving Force.

[joemuggs]

Albums of 2023 part 3

And - continued from part 2 - some more! This one does what it says on the tin. Levon Vincent knows the old chestnut "dancing about architecture" is accidentally profound: this is 11 pieces of holy four dimensional architecture exquisitely designed for your body to move through.

It's been a great year for old school BRAINDANCE, in no small part thanks to Mighty Force records releasing thick and fast, and this from Kams, straight out of Beckenham, is the best - just warm-hearted, melodic, acidic, danceable, classic electronica.

My old mucker Culshaw is a scholar, a gent, an adventurer, and on the sly a great musician. This comeback to the studio is MAGIC - global and spiritual and incidentally Balearic in a Jose Padilla sense - but its connections are based on highest common factors, never dully fusioneering.

Just fries my mind that Boris seem to get creatively hungrier and angrier with every passing year. This collab brings in all sorts - goth, thrash, synthwave - but what I really love is the unironic POWER METAL energy. Music to be struck by lightning to.

It's been an incredible year for electropop - and this album from producer turned singer songwriter Avalon Emerson is the *sweetest* of the crop, lighter than air, a gentle digital dream, but with surreptitious emotional heft. Reminds me a little bit of millennium era Morr Music, Tarwater etc? Must listen as a whole: it draws you in and in....

Even heavier than the Boris, and the record that made me fall in love with grindcore all over again - had to order the vinyl even given transatlantic premium. Nepalese band in New York Chepang TAKE. NO. PRISONERS. HUURUUUURURRGGHGHHH.

I was NOT expecting this from Anhoni - but I'm a sucker for Muscle Shoals style country-soul grooves, and though they risk getting "a bit Jools Holland", here they're delivered with total assurance plus the bleakness of the lyrics, fierceness of delivery and a few noises moments all adds some serious edge.

More electropop - this one from Jessy Lanza is not a million miles from the Avalon Emerson in its pristine futurist sound, but it's a bit spikier, eerier, like she is setting puzzles for you.

My most played record of the year. Like the Culshaw, a bit Cafe Del Mar in the most urbane possible sense - Sissoko & co's blend of jazz, classical, W African & European folk is done with unbelievable poise and emotion and is completely addictive.

This has been all-conquering this year and rightly so. It's not just the fearsome doom bits, it's the straightforward folk that's great: Lankum remind us of dreadful, beautiful paradoxes of being human that don't really change through the centuries.

Paul Simon says this was written in dreams, and it really sounds like it. Genuinely transporting, surreal, gorgeous and - I have to say it - roughly 10,000,000 times more interesting than anything Bob Dylan has done this century.

Completely UN-deconstructed trance... the way Romy taps into the melancholy of the most globe-conquering of 90s pop dance is something quite special and will serve as a real cynicism test... go on, let it twang your heartstrings!

I've kind of idly admired King Krule's music from a distance previously but that changed last year - he really is something special eh? Way more than the sum of influences, and a proper world-builder.

One of many where I missed the promo at the time (sorry PRs) but then discovered it via my sp****y recommends. Just beautiful post-classical, post-ambient musing music from Audrey Carmes that sounds like austere but lovely perfumes and crisp clean cotton.

Of course death is at the heart of Depeche Mode's music so how tragic but appropriate that it took Fletch's death to turbocharge them creatively. This is like a telescoping together of their whole history - but also still in love with new sounds...

More death, more darkness, with Amy Winehouse serving as a dark angel muse drawing together and crystallising the ambient, abstract and dream cabaret influences Kevin Martin has been incubating in his solo KRM albums since 2019. Crushingly sad and great.

Espec after seeing him rock it in the morning at We Out Here, I do feel like Joshua Idehen is in danger of becoming a late-blooming star, you know. Explicitly connecting David Byrne, Mike Skinner, Maxi Jazz and a finger-jabbing Nigerian preacher, he ROCKS.

Yes, Yussef Dayes really is all that and a packed of Pickled Onion Space Raiders. Brit jazz just seems to have been in a consistent triumphant state these last five years or so and there's no sign of it stopping being that way with albums like this still coming.

Ben Howard is an artist who'd completely passed me by despite being really quite big - but again the sp****y algorithm brought me this and it's really amazing, thought provoking, grown up pop. I *instantly* guessed it was Bullion on production too, no lie. ❤️

I've said for a long time that "mumble rap" has deep atavistic echoes of the blues and psychedelia - and here's the mumbler in chief Lil Yachty joining the dots back through the decades. Funkadelic, Hendrix, Beck, Outkast, BUTTHOLE SURFERS? Yeah it's all here. Not saying it's one those levels, but it's great and

Holy shit is Dot Allison on a roll or what? This is effectively 2021's Heart Shaped Scars growing in all directions: bigger, grander, more cosmic, even more beautiful. The partnership with Hannah Peel as arranger is front and centre and works incredibly.

Alright it's not as unique as Bad Bunny's 2022 masterpiece Un Verano Sin Ti - this is more trap, less overtly "Latin" - but it's really, really good. Sometimes not knowing the language can emphasise the emotion in the sound: the blues in the trap, the Spanish derived "tristeza"...

My fave Villalobos moments are often him working his wonky magic on "real" instruments and songs (see his Tony Allen / ECM reworks) so a whole album of him tweaking A Mountain Of One's Balearic soft rock is a real treat. Gets progressively "more Ricardo" as it goes on.

I love how Young Fathers have become such a beacon of what a "big festival band" CAN be when it broadens its influences out and grooves a bit. This album is such a big step up for them, and I really hope they keep this momentum because it's BIG FUN.

And talking of Scots "big festival bands" with diverse influences pushing the envelope and having fun with loading in more pop, dance, rap etc, The Djangos really went to town on this one and I was surprised not to see it getting more hype. A proper weird and wonderful party of an album.

Okayyyyyyyy last part is here, get stuck in!

[oiseau--jaune]

@amphitritesgf tagged me to share my current top 5 favourite songs!

not sure who to tag so if anyone wants to do it - imagine i tagged you

in no particular order, wiv videos (don’t worry i removed the SI tracking)

1 - Escapism. by RAYE feat. 070 Shake (also loved the version she did on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny)

2 - Woman by Little Simz feat. Cleo Sol

3 - SORRY NOT SORRY by Tyler, The Creator (i loved all of CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST and The Estate Sale cut — but especially just love this track because it’s him reckoning with his past selves and doing music for himself now people finally got the message about coming out after Flower Boy etc lol)

4 - Lactose and Lecithin by Viktor Vaughn (re-listening to all of Vaudeville Villain a lot recently, missing u MF DOOM)

5 - (It Goes Like) Nanana by Peggy Gou

Bonus - Shake A Lil Faster by Detroit in Effect (all time classic favey and always in rotation for me)

[sepialunaris]

Me at the end of Padak: Oh no!!! Anago, Snapper, Sea Bass and Bream you;re douchebags but you dont deserve this RIP

Anago, Snapper, Sea Bass and Bream in the deleted scenes: *starts a literal cult*

[askwhatsforlunch]

Mrs Marlowe’s Cheese Rolls

We are, in this house, very big fans of Kiwi detective series The Brokenwood Mysteries. We started watching it seven years ago, and we relish it every time it’s back on our screens. Jules and I also love Midsomer Murders, so of course watching Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) and Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland) solve bizarre, sometimes gory murders in a small New Zealand town would appeal to us. One of the things we particularly love about it, is all the recurring characters, which of course, you would expect in a small town. So, besides our favourite detectives, over the years, we also follow the many small business ventures Frodo Oates (yes, Frodo; it’s a nickname of course, but still) tries his hand at, the many doomed flings Jools Fahey has embarked on since she and lawyer Dennis Buchanan, who has represented everyone and their mother at this point, broke up, or the wide range of eateries Ray Nielson has opened whilst his sister Trudy still owns The Frog and Cheetah... There’s also the pastor, the gay pharmacist who is currently Brokenwood’s mayor, the Antiques dealer... and there’s Mrs Marlowe. We adore Mrs Marlowe! She’s a busy eldery lady who plays the organ at church, visits pensioners at the retirement home and inmates at the Women’s Prison, and  takes part into heaps of other hobbies, festivals and clubs, likes a good gossip over a Flat White and always hopes the murders are bloodier than they are in reality! She also bakes mean cheese rolls and always seem to have some with her.

These delightfully cheesy treats are a South Island staple, and definitely a comfort if you’ve just stumbled over a dead body. And I may have wanted to make a batch of those for the past seven years! So here are, finally, Mrs Marlowe’s Cheese Rolls! Happy Brokenwood Mysteries Sunday!

Ingredients (makes half a dozen):

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 small onion

2 heaped tablespoons plain flour

1 heaped teaspoon Dijon Mustard

1 cup semi-skimmed milk

a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper

nutmeg

90 grams/3 ounces Mature English Cheddar

1 heaped tablespoon sour cream

6 slices Soft White Bread

softened butter, for spreading

In a small saucepan, melt butter over a medium flame. 

Chop the onion halve finely. Once the butter is just foaming, add the chopped onion, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, a couple of minutes until softened. 

Then, stir in the flour, all at once. Cook out, 1 minute. Sir in Dijon Mustard; cook, 1 minute more. Remove from the heat, and gradually stir in milk until smooth, and lump-free. Return over the heat, and cook, stirring constantly until Béchamel thickens. Season with salt and black pepper. Grate in about two-thirds of the Cheddar, and stir over the flame, with the wooden spoon, until completely melted. Remove from the heat. Add sour cream and grate in remaining Cheddar. Give a quick, gentle stir; you do not want the cheese to melt completely at this stage.

Set aside, and allow Cheddar Béchamel to cool completely at room temperature, an hour.

Preheat oven to 200°C/395°F. Line a baking tray with baking paper; set aside.

Using a rooling pin, flatten Soft White Bread slices. Butter each on one side.

Then, place one of the Soft White Bread slice, buttered side down, onto a cutting board. Spread a heaped tablespoonful of the Cheddar Béchamel onto the plain side, and roll, as tightly as you can. Place the roll “seam” side down onto prepared baking tray, and repeat with remaining Soft White Bread slices and Cheesy Béchamel until you have six generously filled rolls.

Bake in the middle of the hot oven, at 200°C/395°F, until golden brown and bubbly.

Enjoy Mrs Marlowe’s Cheese Rolls hot or warm, with dressed lettuce, a glass of chilled Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and a delightful episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries, of course!

Mrs Marlowe (Elizabeth McRae) and Mike Shepherd (Neil Rea)

[10paper20heart]

The Libertines - Heart Of The Matter (Subtitulado) (Mejorado)

[tiesandtea]

SUEDE: Style & Substances

Alternative Press, May 1997 (no. 106). Mag cover. Written by Dave Thompson. Archived here.

Suede Give Us A Glimmer...

Bleeding through the debate about vocalist Brett Anderson's sexuality and rumored drug intake, the overall glamour with which society equates a fucked-up lifestyle drapes Suede like a second skin. Dave Thompson travels to London to discover why Suede are one of the few bands that matter in an age of stars who are "just like you."

Brett Anderson leans against an amplifier, hands in pocket, shoulders hunched. To his left, the rest of Suede are playing Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross"; to his right, a television crew is fiddling with camera angles. He wants a cigarette, but he never smokes this close to showtime. Instead, he swings a keychain and glowers into the monitors. It's rehearsal time in Studio Four, a theater-sized room as the BBC, and the only person who's enjoying himself is an increasingly rotund-looking Jools Holland. He's the host of this evening's show, and he's away in another room entirely. 

Later...With Jools Holland is a British TV institution. Less than three years old, it has nevertheless sewn up a comfortable niche somewhere between the chart-conscious grooviness of Top of the Pops and the more indulgent pastures of MTV Unplugged. It's a showcase for bands to run through a handful of new songs, play a favorite or two and give a taste of their live prowess without boring the unconverted senseless. Boring themselves senseless, of course, is another matter entirely, and as Suede are counted into the third rehearsal of their opening song "Trash," you can almost sense the desperation in Anderson's face. Then the action starts, and he's utterly transformed. Though he's barely moving and scarcely singing, he's conveying an intensity that explodes from his very presence, drawing the most disinterested eyes in his direction. Even the soundmen look up from their meters, and the camera crew compete for his undying attention. If Anderson weren't a rock star, he'd make a great lunatic. But because he is a rock star...well, he's probably a lunatic anyway. You would be, too, in his shoes. If the 1990s have given us anything, it's the demystification of the rock star. From the boy-next-door Weezers to the angst-ridden whiners, the message is the same: I'm no different from you; I'm no better than you; and, of course, I'm just as screwed up as you. Enter, or more properly, re-enter Suede, with their third album, Coming Up (Columbia). And all that hard work reducing idols to idiots counts for nothing. Because Suede couldn't be "just like you" even if they wanted to. Bleeding through the "is he?/isn't he?" debate about vocalist Brett Anderson's sexuality and the "does he?/doesn't he?" of his rumored drug intake, the overall glamour with which society equates a fucked-up lifestyle drapes Suede like a second skin. The scent of teen spirit clings to them, the doomed romanticism of consumptive youth which peaked on their last album, 1994's Dog Man Star, and peeks through the stunning Coming Up. Suede deal in emotional extremes, from the A Clockwork Orange apocalypse of their "We Are The Pigs" video in which armed hooligans howl through a burning industrial landscape while Suede gaze down from giant video screens, to the incandescent loneliness of the current "Saturday Night" video, in which a London subway station is transformed into a rave to which the band have not been invited. The band's junkie chic is as apparent in the stoned immaculate presentation of their latest wasted-youth album-cover artwork, as it is in the gorgeously gaunt frame which Anderson angles for the television cameras. Add a live show that oozes subversive glamour; couple that with the fearless decadence of Anderson's greatest lyrics, and whether it's all an act or not, Suede are a walking advertisement for the joyful sins of sleaze. Backstage in the bowels of the BBC, Anderson sighs. He's heard all this before. "Yeah, you can look at it like that, but that's other people's interpretation of it, and that's their problem. You can't look at yourself through other people's eyes, then worry about what you say through their ears; you've got to have some self-belief in what you are." Which is, right now, the biggest thing on 10 legs. Across Europe and the Far East, Coming Up charted at No.1 and has already outsold both its predecessors. Three singles have kept the pot boiling ever since, and the current Suede line-up (their fifth on record since their 1990 "Be My God" 7-inch single debut) is their strongest yet. Like Brian Eno's departure from Roxy Music, founding guitarist Bernard Butler's exit did not so much rid the band of one creative spark, as open the door for the flowering of another. Anderson's unequivocal grasping of the reins, only partly aided by the recruitment of guitarist Richard Oakes, may have diluted Suede's overall sound, but it has sharpened their vision to a razor's edge. The further addition of keyboardist Neil Codling fills the gaps that teen maestro Oakes couldn't plug; the Simon Gilbert/Mat Osman rhythm section is a thunderous roar that never lets up; and Coming Up is unmistakably the sound of the same great band that recorded Dog Man Star. The difference is, Anderson affirms, they've stopped pissing around. "After Dog Man Star, everyone thought we were going to do an operetta or something like that. But you get things out of your system. We wanted to refocus the band, the fact that we were virtually starting again; we wanted to readjust the basics." And did it work? "You can't completely divorce yourself from your past. I haven't got the memory of a goldfish; I was aware that I'd made two albums before it. But it felt fresh, and it felt as though we were making the record away from a lot of the crap you have to deal with, away from the spotlight, which was great. Plus...", and here he gestures to new arrivals Codling and Oakes, "... there's less of an obsession with self-importance, which was definitely a change in the band. The last two albums were quite precious and self-important, and that can be good and that can be bad." Ah, preciousness. Plough through five years of Suede press and the buzzwords leap out: "superficial", "fake", "David Bowie" - three hollow sides to the same soulless coin. But most of the people who call Suede "pretentious" are the same ones who fancy the Spice Girls. And the closest those cynics get to class is the corridor outside the school room. "It does bother us a bit," says Anderson. "People always want to polarize bands into camps, and what I always find objectionable, even with journalists who are pro-Suede, is, they always want to write about us as an alternative to this good, honest musicianship going on elsewhere, which kind of implies that there isn't any good, honest musicianship going on within Suede." Anderson resents that implication, just as he resents the accusations of vanity that are flung at him with equal frequency - the two go hand in hand, after all. "People ask, 'Are you vain?' Hang on, let me turn the question around. If you were going to appear on television in front of five million people, you'd probably look in a mirror to see what you look like. You'll brush your hair and put a bit of make-up on because you don't want to look like a pig. Does that mean you're vain? I don't think it does. "Ninety-nine percent of my career thought is dedicated to thinking about music; a very tiny percentage is spent on image. I may go shopping once a month; but while I don't think we're the honest blokes down the pub, we're not kooky weirdos either. We're just what we are." A decent image, though, is still worth a thousand songs (ask Marilyn Manson), and if it's not their Englishness that holds Suede back in the U.S., then it has to be their appearance. They look weird. Catch the "Beautiful Ones" video: Codling apes the same abstracted pose of diffidence and boredom that once made a star of Sparks' Ron Mael; and Osman and Oakes look like they're trying to extinguish a particularly persistent cigarette end. Their singer is fey. Imagine Bryan Ferry if a stick insect stole his trousers. Their music is arty. And they come on like they're somehow special, so special that America poses little interest or challenge to Suede. Other bands make no secret of their desire to crack the country, nor do they hide their disgust when they fail. Suede, though, never seemed bothered. Past U.S. tours (three so far) have been languid affairs, barely publicized flirtations which almost gratefully acknowledge that as far as most people are concerned, Suede might as well be a lesbian performing artist. Anderson dictates the band's Stateside manifesto: "I don't give a shit." "Don't get me wrong: please don't portray us as some sort of anti-American thing, because we're not. But as far as America is concerned, you can talk about airplay and videos, but all it really boils down to is the fact that America doesn't like Suede. And I'm not going to knock it, if they don't like it, they don't like it." And what don't they like? Kurt Cobain had a tummy ache, and a nation felt his pain. Trent Reznor's dog died, and a nation held his hand. Brett Anderson wrote songs about holes in your arm ("The Living Dead") and pantomime horses ("Pantomime Horse"); he equates love with flyaway litter ("Trash"), and he's never been in rehab. "I hate that rehab shit! That's one place where America get really suckered, with those rehab rock bands. Let me explain what going into rehab means. It means you're cool because you used to do drugs, but now you're a good lad, and you're really '90s, so you want to give them up. But it's a complete excuse, and anybody who says it or does it is a complete careerist. I don't think the public shoulg go out and buy records by people whose record companies have told them to say they're going into rehab. You want to talk about fakes and falseness in the music business; I think this rehab rock thing is such a lot of dog shit." So you don't just say no? "I can't sit here and honestly say that drugs are bad for you, because I don't believe that, and I don't think anybody with a brain believes that." He elaborates: "Smoking a bit of pot and taking a bit of LSD can open a few barriers in your mind, although I certainly don't think taking smack, taking coke or taking crack does anything. I know I've taken drugs before and looked back on it and said, 'That's fucking crap; you should have got your act together and stopped taking them.' They just numb you and turn you into a wrong-thinking fucking idiot. "But that's the whole problem with drugs, isn't it? You can't say 'drugs' because there's so many different factes to it. 'It's an aid to creativity.' Well, some of it is, and some of it isn't. You can't paint everything with one brush." As for the veneer of glamour which Suede's own observations convey, the danger that, to quote the new album's "The Chemistry Between Us," "we are young and easily led," Anderson remains equally adamant. "There's no point in trying to filter things like 'Don't talk about this, don't talk about that.' Lots of times when I'm talking about drugs, I'm talking in a pedestrian context. I'm not trying to make it into a big deal; I talk about it like I'd talk about anything else that's in this room." And though he agrees there is a moral question, he also believes it's impossible to do much about it. "The only way you can set yourself up as something moral is in the broader sense, by not treating music as this completely throwaway, meaningless thing, and not treating the sentiments expressed in the music as completely throwaway, meaningless things. "That's where I see my position morally, someone who can write a love song and actually bring a degree of warmth to someone else. You can't act as censor in your words; you just have to be positive about what you're doing and see that making records that people love, that people cling to, and that help people through sticky patches in their lives is, at the end of the day, a positive thing to do. There's very few things I think that are positive in the world, but music is one of them." And that is that. In an age when a star is only as big as his last three videos, and most stars are as interesting as a line at the post office, Suede are three albums into a career that means more to more people than any of the bickering of Suede's petty, wormwood competitors; and certainly far more than the bitter, twisted harping of their detractors. Stars shine, shit stinks, and the lowest common denominator is nothing to be proud of. No one really wants to watch Hootie feed his blowfish, but Brett Anderson spends "Saturday Night" moping around on a subway train, and it's the best thing on MTV this year. Who cares what else he gets up to? Turning as he heads for the soundstage, Anderson won't be drawn. "My drugs of choice are ginseng and chamomile tea, but don't worry. I'm going into rehab soon."

[zhenyakatava]

[  apex townhome complex  ]

love prospers was a kansas ccity-based nonprofit that, in the mid-90s, has an impeccable reputation as a godly, benevolent organization intent on bringing local missourians to better circumstances by forgiving, and helping themselves forgive, their faults. they stumbled into seven devils in 1997 and could feel the moral rot and spiritual decay that existed there, so they started an initiative. in 1998, they raised enough money to begin building on a townhome complex. to create an environment within the town of ambitiousness to be better, they called on people to admit their faults through a lengthy application process. many families applied, but only five were successful. 

the families moved into their new homes in 200 and, for a while, the program was ultra successful. the parents stayed out of trouble, the children excelled in school and became great friends. 

or so it seemed.

in truth, the parents only got smarter with their misdeeds. they continued to drink, smoke, and party. they sold drugs throughout and outside the complex — but they gave the illusion of having it together. 

all of that changed in 2003, when a suspected overdose at a party thrown at the complex and included every no-good resident of seven devils that could crawl from the gutter to get there. the police and the media came and revealed what was really happening there, and love prospers was forced to pull funding. after all, it wouldn’t be good for their now-fading image to be funding a 24-hour party. 

in the years since, the townhomes have fallen into disrepair and faded from the minds of anyone who matters. the townspeople turn their noses up, while the police drive by every now and then to pretend to hold the families accountable. 

as for the children living there, they have become a big, dysfunctional family. they raised each other, they acted as parents both good and bad to their neighbors and friends. they had their first drinks, smoked their first joint, and often had their first kisses under the falling awnings of the complex pool. outcast from the rest of the town, they found solace in each other.

[ BENNETT FAMILY ] everyone knew that millie shaw didn’t belong with leonard bennett, but she didn’t listen. leaving her common sense at the curb, the couple eloped at a rather young age and dove headfirst into a destructive marriage. they relocated from the dangerous streets of detroit to a run-down house in a town known as seven devils, and have been here ever since.  after growing extremely paranoid about bringing his children up in a life of poverty, leonard turned to cooking and distributing methamphetamines. and once leo realized that he was one of the best cooks in seven devils, he became tunnel visioned and obsessed with drug manufacturing. it wasn’t until millie was pregnant with their third child that shit really started to hit the fan. nearly three weeks before christmas, the family awoke to blaring fire alarms and growing flames .. the shed had caught fire; its flames burning so hot inches from the run-down place the bennett’s called home. following the 

first bennett, 30+, face first bennett, 24-29, face sutton bennett, 22, bridget satterlee, played by josie first bennett - 18-21, face

[ CALHOUN FAMILY ] natives to seven devils with a long history of being troublemakers. their dad was a rolling stone chasing a pipe dream, leaving their mom to raise three rambunctious kids. she applied to live in the townhomes to give them some stability, which was a nice idea but ultimately futile. ~10ish years ago, he went out and never came back. no one's really sure what happened to him. made their already-shitty circumstances worse as their mom tried (and failed) to cope. raised each other. all up to no good all the time, but they look out for each other.

corvus calhoun, 26, penn badgley, played by jools crosby calhoun, 24, charlie newman, played by alex challyn calhoun, 20, jasmyn palombo, played by jenn

[ KELLEY FAMILY ] straight-up white trash. the kids had two different dads, neither of whom stuck around for very long, and one of whom has spent a lot of time in prison. jana, their mother, is practically famous for her taste in abusive, aggressive deadbeats. but you have to hand it to her: she used the facts in her application for a townhome, and hell, she got one. however, it didn't have that much of an impact on setting her kids on the straight and narrow. in some ways, they're as bad as she is.

male kelley, 28 - 30, face summer kelley, 26, face, played by maddie

[ LINWOOD FAMILY ] the linwoods were initially chosen for the complex because the family patriarch - andrew - was fresh on parole after a brief stint behind bars. while they were barely scrapping by financially, they were happy and stable — at least at first. andrew and rebecca were high school sweethearts living their domestic bliss dreams with two kids and a baby on the way when andrew unexpectedly passed. rebecca never recovered from the loss, and plunged into a dark world of paranoia and hallucinations. the oldest sibling essentially took on the role of caretaker at a young age, and can be credited for the family not falling completely apart. 

first linwood, 24-26, ace first linwood, 19-21, face elizabeth “duckie” linwood, 18, madison beer, played by esther

[ WICKENS FAMILY ] the wickens are an old name in seven devils, one that everyone who’s been here is well aware of. they’re the ones stealing your cars and breaking into your houses - even if it wasn’t them, they’re the ones you blame it on. every generation they say they’ll change the cycle, and every generation they fail: a family of pipe dreamers and schemers, doomed to fail. the patriarch, wes wickens, thought the military would be his solution but ended up with an early discharge, a drinking problem and ptsd. he married their mother, who was a sweet and unassuming women, and she wanted more for them - hence, she applied for the townhome and got it. it’s just too bad she couldn’t stick around long enough to make it work. 

billy wickens, 24, luke benward, played by morgan first wickens, 23, face, reserved for emily wendy wickens, 22, npc first wickens, 19, face

[pictureamoebae]

i love your style, do you have any fave buid and buy creators?

Hi there! Thank you, anon.

I have a handful I’ll download almost everything from. @brazenlotus, @budgie2budgie, @litttlecakes, @jools-simming, @peacemaker-ic, @zx-ta, @renorasims, @naturalsimmster, @aroundthesims, @stefizzi, @paper-lioness, @missrubybird, @bustedpixels, @illogicalsims and @baufive even though he’s not maxis match -- his stuff is too gorgeous not to.

There are loads more. You’re more than welcome to look over my extremely huge CC Spreadsheet of Doom if you like -- I write down every single item I download.

[ialwayscomewhenyoucall]

Into Her Dreams

tentoo x rose

“Are there any planets like Middle Earth?”

Rose is perched on a conveniently located ledge, feet kicking aimlessly, and Doctor is half under the TARDIS console while they spin through the Time Vortex.

“Middle Earth? You mean Hobbits and Elves and Ents and the like?” He isn’t quite making fun of her, but she can tell he is amused.

“You got a problem with Tolkien?” she says, maybe a bit too defensively.

“No, no, Tolkien’s brilliant! Had tea with him a few times, as a matter of fact.”

She waits. When he doesn’t go on, she finally--trying not to sound too eager--says, “So? Are there?”

He laughs, sliding out from under the console and sitting up to look at her. “Well, there’s Godnor.”

“Wait, Godnor? Like Gondor? Really?” She is incredulous.

He rubs his hand on the back of his neck. “It’s possible I may have inadvertently suggested a few things,” he says sheepishly. “I rambled about Godnor one day over a cuppa. Godnor, giant eagles, walking trees... Next thing I know I’m reading about Middle Earth. Go figure.”

She can hardly contain her delight. “You have to take me there. Please? The TARDIS has to have some suitable clothes for meeting elves...or whatever they’re actually called.” She bites her lower lip, eyes pleading.

He can’t say no when she looks at him like that. Not that he’d planned to say no anyway.

*

Rose has stepped onto many new worlds. She’s stepped into the ancient past and the distant future; she’s even stepped into her own past. She spent what felt like an eternity hopping between actual universes, searching for the doctor. But until today she’s never felt so much like she was stepping into a dream.

Godnor is her dream.

It’s her childhood dream: a forest of impossibly tall trees with fluttering yellow leaves at the foot of a mountainside dotted with buildings that are so perfectly in tune with their surroundings they look like they grew right out of the rock. She gasps, her hand fluttering in the direction of the mountain city. “It’s Rivendell! Doctor, it’s actually Rivendell! It’s just how I always pictured it!” She grabs the Doctor by the hands and spins them both in a circle, laughing with pure delight. The wide skirt of her medieval style dress flares around them, the deep russet red a perfect contrast with the yellow leaves under their feet.

She stops their spin and smiles up at him, her face flushed. “This is...Doctor, this is fantastic. It feels like magic.” He grins and links his arm through her hers.

“Doctor Magician, at your service,” he says with a wink.

*

The Doctor leans against the doorway of the wardrobe room, watching Rose lace up a pair of sturdy boots. “You sure these are okay?” she asks.

“Your dress covers your feet. Trust me, you don’t want to be hiking in flimsy sandals. It’s a world of forests and mountains. We’re not going to be carrying the One Ring to Mount Doom--no, there is no Mount Doom on Godnor--but we travel by foot or by horseback. Either way you’ll want boots.”

He pauses, watching her again. It’s times like this, these tiny moments, that he can’t believe how lucky he is to have this life with his Rose. He loves every bit of it--the new worlds, the “run for your life,” and the quiet moments. He may have lost the ability to regenerate, but he’d gained a lifetime with Rose.

Snapping back to the present, he quirks his head sideways; Rose sees and answers his unasked question. “Remember our walk through the park last weekend?” He nods. “There were two girls, nine or ten years old, sitting against a tree and reading a book together. They were completely absorbed in the story, they didn’t even notice when a group of boys ran past and nearly stepped on them. It took me back…” She sits back, pulling her knees to her chest, the long skirt of her dress fanning out around her. “The summer I was ten years old a girl and her dad moved into the flat below Mum and me. Her name was Julia. Jools. She was a quiet thing, exactly the opposite of me. But we somehow fit. Some days I dragged her outside and made her get into trouble, some days she made me stay inside and we’d watch movies or draw or bake cookies, quiet things. One day when I got to her flat I found her curled up on her bed with a battered paperback.”

“The Fellowship of the Ring?” guesses the Doctor.

Rose smiles. “Actually it was The Return of the King. But after she talked about it for a few minutes, her face so bright...Her dad started reading them with her before she even knew what books were, and he kept reading through them again and again, once a year, every year. She loved those books, I could tell that from the sparkle in her eyes. It wasn’t long before The Fellowship of the Ring was out and we were reading it together. It took weeks, but we read all three books. Sometimes we’d take turns reading aloud to each other, sometimes we sat next to each other, heads together, saying ‘done’ when we reached the end of a the page. We read in our bedrooms, at our kitchen tables, outside on the steps, at the park. When we needed a break from sitting--usually me more than her--we played at being hobbits or elves or sometimes even orcs. We made up tunes and sang the elven songs. Every day was an adventure.”

The Doctor can hardly believe what he’s hearing. It’s no wonder she fell so perfectly into step with him all those years ago. She’d been looking for someone to take her hand and say “Run!” for years.

“Rose--” he starts to say, but she cuts him off, again answering his question before he asks.

“She moved away before Christmas, that same year,” she says, a single tear tracing down her cheek. “I never saw her again.”

“I’m so sorry, Rose,” he says quietly, sliding down the wall so he’s sitting next to her.

She rests her head on his shoulder. “Me too. But even though I stopped having sword fights in the kitchen, I still read the books every year. And seeing those two girls in the park…” She sighs, although not unhappily. “I often wonder what happened to her, what her life is like now. I wish I could tell her about you, and about the TARDIS, she’d love all this. But mostly I’m just glad I met her, you know?”

He knows.

*

They are nearly to the edge of the mountain city when locals come to greet them. “Welcome! You’re here for autumn festival?” asks a tall blond woman with pointy ears and an ethereal smile.

Rose can barely contain her glee.

“Oh yes!” says the Doctor. They chat as they walk out of the trees and into the Rose’s imagination. She has to blink several times before she’s convinced it’s real.

They’ve been calling it a city, but it’s not like any kind of modern city Rose has ever seen. The buildings are all arches and parapets and towers, built right into the side of the mountain, and many of them are connected by narrow bridges high above their heads. The stone practically glows in the light of the setting sun. And even though it is autumn--even if their escort hadn’t told them about the autumn festival, the golden leaves on the trees and the slight nip in the air would have given it away--there are still flowers growing everywhere. Gold and red and orange and brown and every shade in between spilling from window boxes, sprouting from vines climbing the sides of buildings, at the base of every tree and along every path. Even some of the trees are spilling flower petals as well as leaves.

And then there are the elves.

They aren’t really elves, of course, that’s just what Tolkien called them. But she can’t help but think of them that way. They are impossibly beautiful, and so full of joy; Rose feels lighter inside just being in their presence.

And when they see the visitors they smile brightly and introduce themselves; they offer food and drink and it isn’t long before Rose is whisked away from the Doctor into a colorful riot of twirling skirts and stamping feet, harmonizing voices echoing back at them off the mountainside.

*

Rose isn’t sure how long the music lasts, but it feels like days later when she finds herself sitting on a bench beside the Doctor, breathless, her sweat-dampened hair sticking to her neck.

“Doctor,” she says, squeezing his hand, “I was dancing. With elves.” Her eyes, wide with excitement--and the wonder of her ten year old self--reflect the starlight.

“Well, technically you’ve been dancing with the Sky Singers of Godnor, but, well, close enough.” He grins at her. “Good trip?”

In answer she captures his lips with hers.

for @doctorroseprompts 31 Days of Ficmas || Day 15: Santa and/or Elves

additional prompt: magical for @legendslikestardust

my ficmas masterpost

[rocksbackpages]

In the new episode of the Rock's Backpages podcast, we welcome into RBP's cosy virtual cupboard the BBC's former Head of Music Entertainment — and the co-creator of the enduring Later… with Jools Holland show. Yes folks, Mark Cooper revisits his career as a music writer — from seeing the last Sex Pistols show in San Francisco in 1978 to interviewing N.W.A. in South-Cental L.A. 1989 — and talks about his long TV career and the hatching of Later in 1992.

Mark's 2008 interview with Neil Young sparks a discussion of the Canadian giant's so-called "doom" years from 1972 to 1976, boxed up this month in the second volume of his monumental Archives project. With special attention to 1975's dark masterwork Tonight's the Night, we hear clips of Neil speaking in 1985 and 2005, then discuss Don't Be Denied, the documentary Mark made about him with director Ben Whalley.

There's yet more audio in the episode as we celebrate the 70th birthday of Steve Van Zandt (or, if you prefer, Miami Steve, Little Steven… or indeed Silvio Dante) with clips from a 1982 interview. The E Street Band legend and subsequent Sopranos star talks to John Tobler about the bands he and his buddy Bruce Springsteen led in mid-'60s New Jersey, after which Mark and his co-hosts compare views on SVZ's side band the Disciples of Soul.

Finally, Mark (Pringle, that is) talks us through his highlights among the week's 50+ new library articles, including great pieces on the Four Tops, David Bowie, Hound Dog Taylor, Dan ('Instant Replay') Hartman and Sheryl Crow … after which Barney quotes from interviews with Prince and Ani DiFranco, talking about Woody Guthrie and Donald Trump's odious dad Fred. That just leaves Jasper to wrap things up with closing remarks on Simon Cowell's ill-fated Girl Thing and former X-Factor contestant Cher Lloyd.

[adelaidecity]

Inside Jamie Oliver's lavish lifestyle

Jamie Olivers business is in big trouble. But judging by his multimillion-dollar assets and massive personal wealth, the British celebrity chef will be just fine. The 43-year-old has a net worth of $440 million (240 million pounds), and prior to news that his chain of 25 eateries across the UK had gone into administration, he and his wife Jools flaunted a lavish lifestyle on social media. The Oliver family lives in a Grade-II listed $16.3 million Hampstead Heath mansion with a sprawling back garden, enormous play room for their five kids and a baby grand piano. Oliver pumped some of his millions $24 million, in fact into his Italian chain, but it wasnt enough. He said in a statement this week he was deeply saddened by the chains collapse. I appreciate how difficult this is for everyone affected. About 1300 Jamies Italian employees are at risk of losing their jobs. The celebrity chefs finances are sure to take a hit, although documents show the couples personal assets are not put at risk by the bankruptcy of the business. Photographs shared by Jools on Instagram show the pair living a luxurious lifestyle with their children Poppy, 17, Daisy, 16, Petal, 10, Buddy Bear, eight, and River, two. RELATED: How it went wrong for Jamie Olivers restaurants

media_cameraSource: Instagram Their massive property has a wide gravel entrance and plant life growing all around the North London home:

media_cameraSource: Instagram The Olivers also have an enormous back garden, with a scenic and spacious seating area for picnics, family meals and even studying:

media_cameraSource: Instagram

media_cameraSource: Instagram In September 2017, the pair shared a photo of a freestanding bathtub in the middle of a spotless plush-tiled bathroom:

media_cameraSource: Instagram

media_cameraSource: Instagram The five Oliver children have a very comfortable life. Many photos show them in what looks like a kids paradise snuggled up in life-size cubby houses, learning to play music on a baby grand piano, and cuddling one another in big comfortable beds with velvet headboards:

media_cameraSource: Instagram

media_cameraSource: Instagram

media_cameraSource: Instagram

media_cameraSource: Instagram

media_cameraSource: Instagram Having risen to fame two decades ago with his BBC show The Naked Chef, its only fair to assume the multi-millionaire has a fancy kitchen. Jools has shared glimpses of the familys well-fitted kitchen, including an old snap of the kids celebrating the 2016 New Year at a large wooden table, showing its the perfect spot for parties:

media_cameraSource: Instagram

media_cameraSource: Instagram Some of the staff from the doomed restaurant business have slammed the celebrity chef, saying he wont be affected by the chains failure. Im really angry because Jamie wont be the one looking for a job and struggling to pay his bills, itll be poor saps like us who worked for him, one employee told The Sun. He and his management team got greedy. They believed their own hype and thought theyd make billions without investing in the business. The staff member claimed they were sacked by conference call just 30 minutes before the announcement that Jamies Italian Limited had appointed KPMG as administrators. WHY DID OLIVERS BUSINESS GO UNDER? As his business spiralled further into debt, last year Oliver himself admitted he honestly (didnt) know why it was failing but speculated a perfect storm of rents, rates, the high street declining, food costs, Brexit, (and) increase in the minimum wage was to blame. While those things certainly played a part Olivers is one of several restaurant large chains to collapse in the UK in recent years changing consumer tastes are a major factor. Seeking unique experiences and something to brag about on social media diners are increasingly shunning cut-and-paste eateries for high-end restaurants that offer a bespoke experience. Or at the other end of the spectrum, pop-up and food hall-style venues that offer good value, variety and are seen as more authentic.

media_cameraJamie Oliver said he was "devastated" to announce that his restaurant group had collapsed. Oliver rapidly grew but failed to evolve his offering since the launch of Jamies Italian in 2008, followed by the Recipease cooking school and deli chain in 2009 and barbecue chain Barbecoa in 2011, off the back of his The Naked Chef fame. Tough economic conditions post-Brexit, namely shaky consumer confidence and a falling pound, may have also hindered the restaurant chain. In 2017, after making the decision to shutter six Jamies Italian restaurants, Oliver in part blamed Brexit for his companys financial difficulties. Last year Oliver admitted his businesss plunge into debt had taken him by surprise. We had simply run out of cash, he told the Financial Times of bailing out his restaurant group. We hadnt expected it. This is just not normal, in any business. You have quarterly meetings. You do board meetings. People supposed to manage that stuff should manage that stuff. Oliver had suffered serious losses long before Brexit though. In 2014, he was forced to close his chain of four traditional British restaurants, Union Jacks, citing a challenging climate. The chef was also hit by a series of PR blunders, including a chef using frozen gnocchi from a packet at a Sydney restaurant, and a lucrative partnership with oil giant Shell, which many saw as a betrayal of his support for climate change action. But at the end of the day, with 23 cookbooks, appearances in more than 20 cooking shows and a massive personal brand, it looks like the Olivers will be just fine. Originally published as Inside Jamie Olivers lavish lifestyle https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/food/inside-jamie-olivers-lavish-lifestyle-and-multimilliondollar-home/news-story/8f45c46b9acc4bae4a88b2206bcb1395?from=htc_rss

[rockzone]

Gig Guide: 18 - 24 Dec 2019

Wednesday, December 18, Hannah Ashcroft at YES, Manchester. Local singer/songwriter and guitarist combining folk, indie and alternative genres.

Thursday, December 19, Rick Wakeman at RNCM, Manchester. Classically trained pianist and former member of Yes.

Thursday/Friday, December 19/20, The Slow Readers Club at O2 Ritz, Manchester. Local four piece band playing indie electro doom pop.

Friday, December 20, Dan Reed Network at Manchester Academy 2. American funk rock band. Support from GUN and FM.

Friday, December 20, Bury Tomorrow at Manchester Academy. Hampshire metalcore quintet. Support from Employed To Serve, and Blood Youth.

Friday, December 20, Broken Witt Rebels at Night & Day Cafe, Manchester. Birmingham quartet mixing indie rock with soulful blues. Support from No Fit State.

Friday, December 20, Brian McFadden at Gorilla, Manchester. Former Westlife star. Support from James Holt, a singer/songwriter from Manchester combining folk and alternative rock.

Friday/Saturday, December 20/21, Shed Seven at O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester. Nineties Brit-Pop group known for hits Going For Gold, Chasing Rainbows and Getting Better. Support from The Twang, a Birmingham indie-rock five piece.

Saturday, December 21, The Jam'd at Witchwood, Ashton-under-Lyne. Authentic UK tribute to The Jam.

Saturday, December 21, Thunder at Manchester Academy. 90s rock band with a distinct 70s British hard rock sound.

Sunday, December 22, Jools Holland & His Rhythm And Blues Orchestra at O2 Apollo Manchester.

Sunday, December 22, Definitely Might Be at O2 Ritz, Manchester. Oasis tribute band. Support from Ocean Colour Scheme, a tribute to Ocean Colour Scene.

Sunday/Monday, December 22/23, The Norman Beaker Band at The Spinning Top Bar, Stockport. British Blues Band from Manchester led by American Blues Hall Of Fame inductee Norman Beaker. Monday only, support from Mike Sweeney, presenter, DJ, former coal miner and member of punk band The Salford Jets.

* Alan Ovington’s Rock Zone Podcast is available at https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/on-air/podcasts/the-rock-zone/

[tripstations]

Saga’s new £346m cruise ship Spirit of Discovery sails into Dover where it will be named by the Duchess of Cornwall – The Sun

SAGA’s new Spirit of Discovery cruise ship has sailed into Dover, with the naming ceremony to be conducted by the Duchess of Cornwall.

The royal will perform the ceremony on July 5 – the first naming event to be done in Dover in over a decade.

5

The Spirit of Discovery will be named by the Duchess of Cornwall next weekCredit: PA:Press Association

The 774 foot (236 metre) ship will then launch on July 10 to sail around the British Isles.

The second Saga ship, Spirit of Adventure, will be launched in 2020, part of the £600 million investment in the two cruises.

Spirit of Discovery will sail this year with up to 999 passengers, each able to stay in a cabin with a balcony view.

The ships have called themselves “distinctly British” when it comes to the design, decoration and dining.

Approximately 20 per cent of the cabins are made for single travellers.

Some of the new on board amenities and features include an above water spa and a music venue which has collaborated with Jools Holland.

5

Of the rooms, 20 per cent will be solo traveller cabins

5

The new ship can carry up to 999 passengers on a cruiseCredit: INGRID FIEBAK KREMER

5

All of the rooms feature balcony cabins

5

Lots of the food and drink is also sourced from Britain

The ship features more than 400 pieces of artwork from British artists as well.

Much of the on board food and drink is also locally sourced, with over half of the cheeses from Devon and Scotland, while meats and beers are from around the UK.

Saga Travel CEO Robin Shaw called the new ship “Britain’s first boutique hotel at sea”.

The ships are catered to the over 50s, with a new on board concierge service for passengers with any questions or advice at each port on what to see or do.

Spirit of Discovery cruises start from £882 per person for a four-night cruise around Norfolk and the Netherlands.

BRITAIN’S DISNEYLAND

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WAT-ER RUSH

Orlando’s new water park with high tech slide is just minutes from Disney World

BENI-DOOMED

Iconic Benidorm tourist attraction dug up in hunt for ruins of ancient fort

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Another Saga cruise, the Saga Sapphire, offers a great experience driving in a side car and drinking at the local vineyards when travelling through Madeira.

Brits wanting to save money on their next cruise should book an old ship was has been refurbished, not a brand new ship.

This can often be cheaper, yet still be a much cleaner and modern interior and experience.

The post Saga’s new £346m cruise ship Spirit of Discovery sails into Dover where it will be named by the Duchess of Cornwall – The Sun appeared first on Tripstations.

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