Wondering Why I Went!

Well, not that impressed by Alice In Wonderland. It was very pretty but oddly a bit flat. The Cheshire cat was fun but was blown off the screen by the March Hare who got the biggest laugh simply by randomly saying 'Spoon!'. The lass playing Alice was alright and not too twee (although the younger version was and wearing a scary amount of lipstick!) and Helena Bonham Carter was very good as the Red Queen. The Mad Hatter, though, long outstayed his welcome and tried too hard for the pathos. I think Johnny Depp is a good actor but sometimes he really misses and this was one of those times. Also no idea why they dragged the Jabberwocky in. Ah well, at least I got to use my 3D glasses again. Quite fancy seeing the dragon cartoon they were previewing and I'd also like to see Solomon Kane and Repo Men when they come out.

It was nice to be back at fiddle (not having been there for 3 weeks). We're playing The Cockle Gatherer's Reel for the concert and it was easy enough to pick up. I'm not convinced that I sound any better with the new bridge but at least I don't sound any worse and it doesn't look like the bridge is about to snap if I look at it wrong. I've also found that IVFDF has left me with a slight leaning towards wanting to play the melodeon as well (because, obviously, I need to add another instrument to learn to my life!) may have to investigate this at some point.

All the blurb is now in for our DERT entry so I can relax a little and dedicate myself to tidying the burrow (and hunting down some rapper shoes that fit!). Roger also seems to be working fine since his key battery changed. It's a bit of a novelty to be able to just press the button and expect the car to unlock.

Recently got the CD Umbrellowhead. Basically a compilation of music by the the various members of Bellowhead's projects outside of the group. Really enjoying it. My favourites are Belshazzer's Feast's 'Rondo a la Turky', Jon Boden's 'Beating the Bounds', Benji Kirkpatrick's 'Wallbreaker', Faustus' 'The New Recruit and Rachel McShane's 'The Fisherman'. This is, admittedly about half the album but there you go. That said, the rest of the tracks are good too. Pete Flood's 'Maste Kilby' is an odd one in that I always think I'll skip it (his voice is a little flat) but then I keep listening to it anyway. The number by Setsuban Bean Unit is nuts but then they're based in Japan which seems to bring out that kind of feeling. I also really enjoyed the choral work at the end. Very nice arrangement. They're a talented bunch, all told.