Brought one of my niece Izzy’s pictures back from the UK and – after a lot of searching around – found a frame to fit it, so that we can hang it by the front door.

This year’s Sounds concert was a more intimate affair, allegedly down to a less attractive lineup resulting in few sales than previous years (apparently being addressed for next year’s event) and was moved under the giant canopy at Brewtown.

Handy that it was as drizzle throughout the day would have been unfortunate for the mostly older (present company included) crowd.

As with previous years it was well organized with plenty of clean toilets, free drinking water, short queues for drinks and a range of catering trucks. The crowd was also on form, well behaved but not afraid to throw some shapes and sing along.

Things didn’t start off too well musically, the first act I turned up to see – British singer-songwriter Lloyd Cole – was suffering from a cold and stifling a cough throughout his quiet solo set, which was partly drowned out by the crowd talking amongst themselves, a common frustration of Kiwi audiences. Ironically Lloyd could have done with causing a commotion so I could hear him better. Still, “Perfect Skin” and “Lost Weekend” are still classics I enjoyed (mostly) hearing live. 7/10.

Thankfully things took a turn for the loud when Kiwi 80’s favourites Mi-Sex took to the stage. I saw them supporting The Stranglers back in 2020 just before lockdown and enjoyed them, so was excited to see them again close up. They didn’t disappoint! Stood so close to the main speakers I had wear earplugs, I still had ringing ears by the end of the set. They’re one of those legacy bands comprising a couple of wrinkled old rockers from the original lineup supplemented by young Millennials replacing the fallen. Luckily they have a good catalog of recognizable songs that they played VERY LOUD, broken up with some fun banter. Just the thing to liven up the crowd for the remaining acts. 9/10

Next up — and surprisingly not second on the bill — were 90’s “fun-rap” band The Fun Lovin’ Criminals. The initial confusion and disappointment that original front man Huey Morgan wasn’t there quickly melted as they blasted through the hits and lived up to the fun-loving name. I had a great view of the very funky drummer and, apart from some microphone faults, sounded great as a band, not easy when playing rap music live. There were a few filler tracks I didn’t recognize but they finished strongly with Scooby Snacks and Super Models. 8/10.

Next up were a Kiwi act I’d never heard of and wasn’t especially bothered about called While The Cat’s Away so was planning to sit at the back and phone surf for an hour, however they were much better than expected. They played a bunch of Kiwi classic pop songs and kept the energy levels up as it got dark. 7/10.

Headliner for the concert, and in the country for a series of solo gigs, was Spandau Ballet’s singer Tony Hadley. He started with the Nina Simone classic “Feelin’ Good” which showcased his still-powerful voice. Along with some good anecdotes and a storming cover of “Somebody to Love” – with a bit of namedropping about duetting with Freddie Mercury – Tony gave us all the Spandau classics, saving “True” and “Gold” for the end. Another 80’s legend ticked off the list. 9/10.

All that and home for 9.30pm!

One last thing, love the no-bullshit tone of Kiwis as shown by this sign at the venue and in the toilets.

Exactly this. Technology in 2026 absolutely makes you want to jump out of a window. And that’s before they start with the intrusive use of AI

Oh boy it really kicked off in the Middle East! I was watching the news during the UK trip hoping they would find a peaceful solution, or at least drag out talks long enough for me to get back to NZ. 

Disconcerting that the Dubai Airport concourse I was wandering around last Thursday morning got hit by a drone attack at the weekend, can feel for all the passengers stranded in hotels in the region. At least for me it was only a 24 hour wait for the next day’s flight – they have to sit it out for potentially days waiting for news, then there’ll be a huge backlog of flights and stock movement to sort out.

Glad to be home safe x

One of the co-creators and writers of Red Dwarf has passed away.

Having rewatched most of the episodes over the last 6 months both for nostalgia and sitcom study reasons it remains one of my favourites.

The journey back from the UK to NZ got a bit longer than planned when the first flight was delayed landing which meant I – along with dozens of others – found ourselves being booked onto the following day’s flight and shuttled off to a local hotel.

While I would very much like to be home it’s not been the worst detour. I got to check out one of the new railway stations they’ve built all around Dubai and managed to get some sleep and a couple of showers so I am setting off on the long 13 hour flight much fresher than this time yesterday.

I could do without the low level cold that’s been threatening to develop through most of the holiday. I have been dealing with a simultaneous runny and blocked nose since setting off, and blown it so much and so vigorously I’ve been having regular profuse nosebleeds.

I was able to get hold of a resale ticket for Kaiser Chiefs while in Hull, with a limited view up in the Gods, but despite the best efforts of Connexins as a venue it was an enjoyable experience.

It feels like five minutes since I stepped off the train in Hull to be now sat waiting for the return trip to begin.

Lovely to spend some time with the family and chill (literally, until the past few days it was bloody freezing!) and I can feel the rucksack is a good 5kg heavier heading home.

Went round YSP with The Oldies today to get a bit of culture. There was a mix of cool stuff with some pretentious crap, and got caught out in the rain, otherwise a nice day out.