Why I Love... Where I Live

My love affair with my neighbourhood - Clarendon Park in Leicester - began six years ago, when I first visited the area for a colleague’s birthday celebrations.

I’m not sure if it was her stories of guerrilla gardeners or the excellent tapas at Barceloneta, but the next morning I found myself searching online for rooms to rent and a couple of months later I made the move.

On that first day, hungry from unpacking boxes, I stepped out in search of lunch – and almost immediately bumped into a friendly neighbour who warmly welcomed me to the street.

Fifteen minutes later, the guy chattily wrapping up my doorstop sandwich at Salvador Deli offered to lend me a hand if I needed any help shifting heavy boxes or putting up shelves. I was going to be happy here...

So starts the beginning of an article I've written for Leicester's cultural magazine Great Central! 

You can read the rest of the article HERE - including insights from former and future Weekend Reviewers David, aka One Man and His Loaf. and Ruth from Clarendon Spark (who I have to credit for the photo at the top of this page!)

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Why I Love... Working in Cafes

If you’ve never done it, working from home seems like the dream – and I have to admit there can be real joy in a 20 step commute to ‘the office’, a uniform which can happily incorporate novelty pyjama bottoms, and full control of the radio dial. 

But, as a semi-regular home-worker, I find it’s not always the greatest. We humans are flawed creatures; prone to distractions, loneliness and chocolate-eating.

I’m never one to actively procrastinate; I’ve truthfully never binged on box sets in work hours – I couldn’t live with the guilt or build-up of emails. But other things shift my focus from report writing and Excel spreadsheets – mainly, despairing over my messy house.

It’s true there’s no risk of distraction from work colleagues at home, and this can be a massive bonus when I need to be completely absorbed in something without any interruptions. But equally being alone for too long is rubbish. On these days, I’m so desperate for company I’ll make up reasons to call my boss and am a little too keen to make conversation with anyone/thing I come into contact with (the postman, fellow shoppers in the Co-op, Siri.)

Of course there’s an alternative, and one that seems to fix many of my issues with home working. It does require me to lose the PJs, but for some reason my productivity levels soar when I move my portable office (i.e. laptop, notepad and phone) to a cafe.

We’re lucky in Leicester to have loads of great independent coffee spots with friendly staff and fast wifi. Just before Christmas I profiled a few of these places for Great Central magazine - which you can read HERE

But, there is a small disclaimer - yes, I might have paid for a flat white, but this does not entitle me to be kept warm, connected and fully charged for a whole day. So I stand by the following:

1. As a general rule, one coffee equals 60 to 90 minutes of work time. If you’re also having breakfast/lunch, you can just about push this to two hours.
2. Be open to sharing your space, especially if the place is rammed. You might even make a new friend/creative collaborator.
3. Don't take long phone calls if they are clearly going to be overheard and therefore annoying to everyone else. See also - use headphones when playing audio

Are you a cafe worker? Would love to hear your tips for non-office working!

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Why We Love... Kasabian

We've talked plenty in recent weeks, on and off-line, about our Leicester pride. Our home city has been buzzing since the football win and celebrations continue this weekend with a couple of hastily organised gigs at the LCFC stadium, headlined by locals Kasabian.

Tonight's gig is a big deal for the band. Yes, they've done Glastonbury - but this is the first time they'll be performing at the home of the club they've supported all their lives. No jumping on the bandwagon here.

I think it's fair to say we're both big fans. I've seen them perform live a fair few times now, three (soon four!) dancing alongside Elle.

Most recently we were lucky to see their surprise set at the Premier League victory parade (see video below), where we full-on sprinted across Victoria Park towards the stage as the band launched unannounced into their first song.

But it also includes that one time we pretty much on a whim - after watching them headline their own festival five minutes from my house - bought tickets to see them in Amsterdam. It turned out we weren't the only LE-postcoders who'd made the journey.

So why do we love them? Well, as I'm now getting a bit too excited to write in full paragraphs, here's a short list...

• Their music is great and very much "them" - it's instantly recognisable and instantly makes me feel upbeat and want to jump around the room
• Despite this, I can't honestly claim the band are on my "most-listened-to" list - BUT they are in my "most-seen-live" list, because they just put on such a brilliant show. I will always see Kasabian, Elbow and Laura Marling on tour.
• In fact, one of these instances probably tops my "best-gigs-ever" list, when I saw them in a hollowed out Boeing 747 - I genuinely had fears for the strength of the plane floor!
• They love Leicester as much as we do - they could've moved anywhere in the world, yet it's not uncommon to bump into any one of them in the street. Lead-singer Tom once literally ran into me at my local Sainsburys
• Not only this, but they share the local accent with the rest of the world - we will both be pulling onour Serge inspired Les-tah tshirts tonight (okay, I'm already wearing it)
• Finally - their track Fire is the best accompaniment I can ever imagine to the end credits to one of my favourite documentary films - TT3D: Closer to the Edge (don't be put off by the motorbikes if you Google it - you don't need to be a fan, I'm not)

If you're going, have an amazing time and let us know how you find it - if we don't see you there!

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Why I Love... Records

Today is Record Store Day - an import from America, celebrating the independent music shops and the traditional vinyl records they sell. In past years I've joined the brave souls at 4am in the morning, queuing to get their hands on some of the exclusive titles released to mark the day. Not this year - I value my sleep too much.

But I do get it. After all, I was born to be a lover of records. My dad is an avid record collector and listener. It's a passion I've been exposed to and eventually embraced - despite a temporary wobble in faith.

Through most of my childhood my mum worked weekends, which meant lots of daddy-daughter time - searching through the local papers for table top and garage sales, driving across town to a community centre and sweeping through the hall spotting battered boxes of unloved albums to flick through at speed, before jumping back in the van to seek out the next potential vinyl treasure - crucially, before any of his rival collectors.

Hopefully we'd return home with at least a couple of purchases and, as we munched on cheese cobs, I'd pull out the huge volume of the Record Collector guide as dad examined the record - calling out the label, pressing, condition. At the age of 11 I understood the nuances of the Dark Side of the Moon cover-art and the evolution of the Pink Island label design.

And then I went to high school and became a teenager. More exposed to the modern pop and RnB artists my classmates listened to, I started spending my pocket money on cassette tapes of chart music - Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears. My mini hifi, with it's record player top, was replaced with a super compact CD player and my Monkees vinyl albums hibernated in my wardrobe.

I never rejected the 60s and 70s music I'd grown up with - I still enjoyed listening to whatever dad was playing (although he does always like to remind me I was told him to turn off Bob Dylan "because he can't sing"). But no-one else I knew in early-00's teenage Leicestershire was listening to prog rock on old media - it was increasingly all about digital and the records thing was for people my parents age.

How things change. It seems vinyl is back in fashion. Which is not the reason I fell back in love with the idea of having my own record collection, but makes things seriously easier now I have. I'm not sure what it was for me - but I'm glad I've gone full circle.

My hifi system has gradually come together over the past five years, completely thanks to dad's amazing ability to track down vintage amps, decks and speakers seemingly from thin air. 

So now we're both record collectors  - although we do differ. Dad loves the music, but he also loves knowing he has the finest example of a first pressing he can find. For me, I'm happy if the record plays and the cover largely stays together when I remove it from the bookcase.This works out pretty well for me. I've become the proud owner of many of his seconds over recent years. 

I'm in no way a vinyl purist. Let's face it, it's not the most convenient medium of listening. Throughout the week I listen to 6Music through my digital radio,  I'm plugged into Spotify on my phone, and of course I still have a shelf full of CDs (although Britney has sadly gone to the charity shop).

But I get real joy from flicking through my ever growing collection of records on a Sunday morning, pouring over the covers of old favourites or taking a chance on something new - and dancing round my dining room as the tunes eminent from my wooden-clad Rogers speakers.

 

PS - Here's a really interesting video from the BBC website about a vinyl record factory

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