Housewarming Tour

No, not one of those things popular bands do when they return victoriously to their homeland to play before the natives - that's a Homecoming Tour. I'm talking about a national jaunt whereupon I frequent various newly arrived-in homes to warm them.

Relocation, relocation, relocation. With four properties to peruse and two social gatherings to partake in, it was without hesitation that I erected myself at the wheel of the Padmobile and set off north to...

Sunderland
A quiet but highly pleasant affair at Lav and Laura's new abode on Friday night. The retro Sensible World Of Soccer console thing inevitably introduced an element of competitive bravado, but it was thankfully handled in the right way and tensions never really exceeded a low simmer. Good property: good number of rooms; nice lounge; well furnished; sizeable guest room complete with a corner adorned with Manics posters under which I slept. After a brief game with an inflatable Ash memorabilia beach ball (action photo) it was back in the Dillmobile and off down to...

Nottingham
Ah, the fair city of my most famous triumph in higher education, as Mark and Deano welcomed guests to their new executive apartment. Laminate flooring and a veritable hotch-potch of self-furnished styles. Again, a good sized property with generous bedroom space. Downside: kitchen was a bit hot. After a gathering of punch/bitter consumption we hit the town. The times they are a'changin' in Nottingham... quite a few new places have sprouted up since I left only a year and a bit ago. But they do say the most groundbreaking social revolutions are the ones triggered by individuals who then leave town and allow them to grow naturally. I think. On Sunday the third property of the trip was Toby's new open-plan penthouse apartment in the s-wanky Lace Market. There's a little phrase about ideas, stations, and relative altitude, but I wouldn't like to cast any aspersions. In seriousness, it looks a very good deal. Property comprises: one massive living area, quirky sleeping arrangements. Think a better version of the Big Brother house, and with less voyeurism. Although you never know.

Having taken in the Nottingham properties, I travelled with Deano, Mark and Anna in the erm... Annamobile into the country for a look at Newstead Abbey, once the ancestral home of Lord Byron. It was here that we were treated to the deliverance from the skies of two divine swans (photo of divine swan delivery). So blinding were the piercing rays from our Lord's sky that the others were forced to squint quite evidently (photo of squinting). Anyway, the Abbey had decent gardens but nothing out of the ordinary. And we couldn't go inside the actual Abbey, so I didn't get to offer my complimentary warming service.

After a brief re-fuelling back home, the next leg of the tour took me to...

Manchester
With this being the nearest-to-home date on Patrick Wolf's current mini-tour I was most grateful to (Funny) Jimi for welcoming me to his new flat of solitude. Solitude, solitude... the eleventh commandment. Another good lebensraum, complete with an attic living room and skylights offering a view to the splendidly dense grey Manchester skies.

Pop God Patrick Wolf was quite phenomenal yet again. This was the fourth time I've seen him and he seems to gain more and more exuberance each time. The new album next February is going to be something special... magical, upbeat pop hits with crazy electronic beats underneath soaring violins. I filmed The Railway House (old song) last night. He's playing an Autoharp, I was reliably informed by Jimi.



Upon rising this morning I set off for a glance around Manchester and a bit of a Smiths pilgrimage (see next post). Then I visited the new Lowry (photo) at Salford Keys, and revelled in the collection of industrial landscapes and street scenes filled with dark, downtrodden, hunchbacked figures. I love Lowry me.

Lowry, 'Going to the match'.

And so, now I've done the estate agent thing and detailed the mindless minutiae of my recent activities, I'll bid adieu.