Dutchies come to visit!
A very belated post I must say but it’s been a hectic few weeks for me., I’m falling behind on this blogging malarkey…
So…at the end of April Paul had a visit from the dutchies Lenny and Linda for the weekend. They flew over on the Friday and I went down after finishing work to meet up with them in a pub in Birmingham to chill out and check out the Mexicolas playing. I had suggested we go see then play again after still being impressed after seeing them supporting the Coopers, plus Paul needed ideas for entertaining his guests hehe.
My journey was a horribleee one, the band were due for half 8 and I had only made it to Toms at about 8ish, still needing to get ready anndd the train it up. I had even more delays when the only train I could catch was quite late and I was really worried I was going to miss them play :( would have took the piss as I think I was the most interested in going to see them ha.
But as with most my crazy weekends somehow it worked out, I made it to Birmingham before the band had even started playing, and I power-walked it to this pub I’d never been to. Fortunately Paul found it with the girls and had gave me directions that sorted me out, though I must say I almost gave up and thought I seriously was on the wrong road. But just as I was about to freak out on the phone to Paul low and behold the pub appeared and I strolled on in finding Paul and the girls almost instantly.
Lenny, Paul and Linda:
Brief introductions and me trying to slow down finally after all the rushing about and I’m relieved to hear the band hadn’t started yet - they’d only done a sound check. But soon after I arrived Paul’s ears perk up and he think’s they’d started playing. We head off through a walkway and we end up in this semi-sheltered outside area with a smallish stage and yes, the band was playing.
I snap into photo mode, dishing out my 400d and hurrying off in-front of the crowd and I want to go mad and take photos like crazy, but I’m hesitant, anxious, I think it’s because there was a massssive gap between the crowd and the stage, as if there was an imaginary barrier there and no one dared to get too close to the stage. Then were’s me standing out like a sore thumb with a giant camera and out of the crowd. Eventually I settle down and into it and find myself willing to get closer and closer till I’m right at front to the edge of the stage. Though I’m still highly aware of not getting in the way of the crowd’s view.
I decided at that point I needed a good low light gig lens, though the kit lens didn’t do too badly in these conditions, I had some light going on, just it was typical cheap red filtered light - gay.
The band played pretty awesomely well again, their songs catchy and rememberable and making me getting into just a little bit more. They keep playing gigs in London and Birmingham, thing is they tend to play these places when I’m somewhere else ha. But yeah a worthwhile small gig I must say.
Post Mexicolas and I return to Paul and the dutchies. We return to the main area and have some light chat, I’m feeling a bit odd at this point, cause ya know new company and all - but I slowly settle in and start chatting to Linda a bit.
We head to a club night at the academy where we meet up with (emo) Lee, Lane, Neil and Gem, then later with some of Paul’s mates. Was alright, a nice change being out clubbing in Birmingham, though there was just wayyy too much indie music for my tastes - Not everyone else’s, just mine ha. Plus I was dancing with Phil and I somehow ended up pulling my leg really badly, I wasn’t even doing anything off with it, I just ended up with this massive shooting pain in my leg and I clutched in wincing with extreme pain. Haha it was funny in a way though because people thought Phil had trod on my foot or something.
I then spend the rest of the night limping and trying to rest my leg a bit by not dancing though weirdly it’s actually quite hard to stop yourself dancing sometimes.
The night comes to a close and Paul drops me and off and I trek inside and I’m so tired that I think I just head straight to sleep instead of loitering on the laptop like I usually do.
Next day I get up a bit late and go try cash my cheque, I succeed but only in my other account, I later find out that this was a dumb idea as it just took stupidly much longer for it to clear. I got for a fried catch up breakie lunch with the Rafeage before catching up with Paul and the Dutchies who had came into town for a loiter and sit about. It was a pretty warm day so we just lounged about by the church in the sun, nice and lazy.
Chilling out in the sun:
The night before I’d been invited and told by Paul’s mates that I had to go to this barbecue they were having round Chris’ mainly for Lenny and Linda visiting. So I arranged to nip round Paul’s a little before to pick them up and we’d head off to this barbecue. It was kinda amusing when I got there and I discovered that the girls had brought over lots of bread with them ha - I think it was mainly Lenny’s fault, don’t know why she didn’t think we had bread here. They had also brought loads of random things like dutch mayonnaise and various sauces.
We eventually made it to Chris’ and we slowly settle in, Lenny starts going about cooking up this mysterious sauce from this brown stuff that looked very much like malt loaf… Turns out it was some savoury peanut butter sauce that tasted weird but gorgeous at the same time.
It was a pretty good barbecue gathering actually, lots of fun and laughs. The barbecue was tasty too though it was gas which in my eyes kinda defeats the point of barbecue - you need that charcoal taste dammit. But yeah me and Paul ended up cooking for some reason though Paul kept saying ‘I’m not cooking it this time ha’. There was some antics with this keg that was there, people trying to attempt to pour a proper pint without head but it was proving a challenge to all of us. As well as snorting beer, and and drinking it from the keg.
This looks so wrong…
We also raided Lee’s ipod for music and found a bunch of tv theme tunes on there that delighted everyone, I don’t know why bu there’s something fun and cool about old tv theme tunes, they’re like timeless and never fail to put a smile on someones face.
The night moved on fast and I made myself a cup of tea in a Mr T mug!!! Ha awesome find of the night, while people larked about and got tanked up on more booze until it was time to head off to the club night in town.
I pity da fool!
I gave Paul, the dutchies and one more to town in my car, though at first it was meant to be Lee or someone like that but it ended up to be Chris. It was pretty funny cause we got one taxi for everyone else which then left, and I was about to leave. But the door to the house was wide open still and we had thought Chris was in the taxi, turns out he was still inside haha. He came out and joined my carload, but it was pretty daft cause everyone else had just buggered off without him ha.
In town I park up at Toms and Chris walks the dutchies to town while Paul waits for me to get changed and then we walked up to town. I actually got a bit dressy for the occasion cause I had thought it was the rock night too that night, turns out it was just the indie night grr.
It was alright at the club night, just really really hot :( though I dealt with it by going on random wanders and getting cold drinks. I snapped away with my 400d though especially when Lenny and Linda went a bit kissy crazy with some lippy. I swear everyone got attacked and covered with kiss marks ha.
Admist all this chaos I randomly and stumble upon Phil (my phil)haha, who had mentioned might be there tonight too. I hadn’t seen him all night and there he was just wandering about and I abducted him and made him meet the dutchies and all that.
The Purple Ninja
He ended up tagging along with us to grab food at the end of the night, but not before Linda kinda got out her video camera and was filming the other guys randomly who decided to make this weird conga line haha.
We eventually round everyone up and go find some food before getting taxis for everyone. Outside the club and Linda still has her camera out filming away, attracting two weirdos to the scene who flung themselves in-front of the camera and started acting up. The Dutchies had this thing where they wanted to see a ‘real English fight’ haha, we were mock fighting amongst ourselves at the time, but they asked these two guys to have a fight haha. Which then evolved to kissing one another haha, though one guy did just whack a kiss on the other guy in the end.
But yeah this was all well and good until we started to walk for food and one guy wouldn’t piss off, he kept asking me my name and where I was from, and I gave a fake name and told him to guess where I was from. He was wasted and he named this local place, I said no, and then he goes ‘china’ and I laughed my ass off. Then thankfully Paul just swooped it, whacked him arm around me and lead me away from the weirdo haha.
So yeah he finally pissed off and we strolled for food, the guys were larking about again, Paul was chasing big Phil and I think Paul grabbed a coat hanger he found randomly and chucked it at big Phil, then big Phil chucked it back. This whacked Paul right in the mouth which was bad enough but it was a bit of a hard knock enough so that he actually started bleeding a bit ha…he ws alright in the end though.
W e eventually made it tot he kebab shop and got some food in before grabbed some taxis between us all. Me and little Phil shared one with Paul, Lenny and Linda and got dropped off by Tom’s - I bid the dutchies farewell and wished them much fun in London where they were heading off to next.
I must say it was an awesome and crazy weekend in all and was deffo good to meet and Lenny and Linda.
Wooo for Dutchies!