Go Jeff!- Ellen and the Escapades in the North

Ellen and the Escapades  hit the North over the weekend. When I say the North I mean Newcastle at The Cluny and Manchester at The Castle Hotel . The Cluny is a great venue just outside Newcastle city centre. You have to go down a few flights of stairs to get to the gig setting but it's spacious, cool and dark; all the things you want for a night of music! Ellen and the Escapades were as good as ever. The haunting, hypnotic voice of Ellen Smith backed by a tight set of guitars, drums and keyboard. They played a mixture of songs from their current album keeping some of the older tunes in to keep the die hard fans happy. Their more current songs show how the band have matured and become more confident about their own sound. I must say, I do like a dance so I'm always happy when 'Without You' comes on. You can tap your feet and pretend you're surrounded by hay bales-amazing! But then on another song you can be swaying by the beach with a bottle of beer. Enough of my imagination...

At The Cluny in Manchester it was a slightly different vibe. Mostly due to the hot sweaty back room of the pub everyone was crammed into and the £4.50 pints of Peroni. But niggles aside another cracking set by the band. In my hast I tried to record their closing number 'Cast'. Nothing can quite capture the essence of being at a gig but I wanted to try and share a little bit of it.

BE WARNED IT"S QUITE LOUD!


Ellen and the Escapades have built up a loyal fan base and it seems electric guitarist Jeffrey Schneider has adopted the anthem "GO JEFF!" which has begun following him from gig to gig (well maybe just the ones I'm at).  One day it will be trending on Twitter. The band carry on touring throughout the year, so if you can catch them, I would.

Paris

I was lucky enough to make a little trip to Paris at the end of March and oh how lovely it was. The winter sun was shining and the red wine was flowing. I do like Paris. You can amble along the river, stop off in as many cafe's as you like and digest the wonderful architecture in the city. But my upmost favourite thing about being in the French capital is just getting baguette, some cheese and a bottle of red wine and laying on the grass in front of the Eiffel tower watching the world go by.

This was my second visit to Paris so this time I ventured to Pere Lachaise Cemetery which is the one thing I didn't get to do last time I was in the city. It's a short walk out of the centre of Paris and many metros and buses can take you there too. It's a big place so be sure to take a picture of the map at the entrance before you set off otherwise you risk getting horrendously lost like I did!

However I did manage to find the graves of Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde so I was a happy bunny. Near Morrison's grave there is a tree with lots of chewing gum stuck on it and for some reason I did the same. His actual grave has fencing around it to try and stop you walking on it but it's not too sturdy. Oscar Wilde's has a clear plastic wall all the way around it to stop people kissing his grave. I'm glad I got to spend time walking around admiring the tombstones. I find cemetery's very relaxing and beautiful- a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The Quays

I had a proper walk around Salford Quays at the weekend and decided to have a look round the Imperial War Museum North. The actual physical presence of the museum is striking. It's modern streamlined architecture stands out along the Quay front and you're immediately enticed to go in and have a look inside.

It's free entry which is a thumbs up in my book. I think all museums should be free and if you want you donate something. This gives everyone the opportunity to learn and experience what museums have to offer.

The Imperial Museum North is very different to it's sister in London. In the North it's very open and modern and takes you on a journey through all the wars since WW1. There are lots of 'action stations' which allow a more hands on approach to learning. I think my favourite interactive learning post was trying to 'guess the war smell' and know the difference between mustard gas and smelly soldiers feet.

As the museum has an array old tanks, cars, jet engines and more on display you can't get tired as you walk round. It strikes a good balance of information, artifacts and interaction. One of the most astounding pieces of war history on display is a section from the Twin Towers destroyed in the September 11th attacks. Very surreal. It may be this is most significant to me because I remember it happening. You learn a lot at most museums, but when you visit one which reminds you of the atrocities man, you leave feeling slightly subdued and thoughtful. The Imperial War Museum is definitely worth a visit, even if it's just to remind you that we're actually quite lucky considering what other people in history have been too. I will make another trip to the museum.

Theatre of Dreams

Today I watched my first Premier League game. I saw Manchester United versus West Bromwich at Old Trafford, otherwise known as the Theatre of Dreams. Getting to the match wasn't as troublesome as I thought it would be. I walked from my current residence which took about 30 minutes. There didn't seem to be a lot of people making their way to the match by foot but the crowd there was I followed because I didn't really know where I was going.

As I got closer to the entrance I began to acknowledge just how many people were around- a lot! I think everyone must have left earlier than me as there were so many people buzzing around the stadium waiting to go in. I rapidly drunk my can of pop before entering the stadium and finding my seat in the northern stand. A great view and a great atmosphere.

There were about 75,000 people watching the game which was amazing. The number of people slightly overwhelmed me. But what made the occasion even more surreal was Rooney and Scholes came out onto the pitch! All the times I've seen them on television and know they are here playing in front of me; fantastic.

Te game was a pretty slow match with Man Utd. not making the most of their possession in the first half. Both teams came on more spirited in the second half which lead to a goal by the home team. A dirty foul in near West Brom's goal meant Man Utd.'s second goal was from a Rooney penalty. Once Man Utd. were 2 goals up there was not a lot West Brom could do. The final whistle gave the home crowd what they wanted, a win.

Behind the scenes at the GWH

Last year two 'never' events occurred at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. They included putting a tube in the wrong kidney and putting the wrong implant in during a cataract operation. The hospital was advised to make sure the World Health Organisations surgical checklist should be done more thoroughly. In a nutshell it's a checklist that should be carried out before surgery to make sure everything is in order for the operation to go ahead. At GWH this wasn't being done on a consistent basis resulting in mistakes.

A Care Quality Commission Report on the GWH came out in January 2012. It showed that whilst things had improved more could be done to make sure the WHO surgical checklist was being done properly. So now, the Great Western Hospital have decided that the surgeon should be ultimately responsible for completing the checklist properly.

I was granted behind the scenes access to the hospital and observed a hip replacement. Everything was in order, the checks were carried out properly and the operation was a success...

Military Money

Schools across the U.K can receive a share of a 3 million pound pot of money that's been put aside by the Ministry of Defence. It's part of a grant scheme provided by the M.O.D to help schools that have children whose parents are in the armed or reserved forces.

At the moment 11 schools in Wiltshire are to receive a total of £175,000 between them. The lowest grant around £600 and the highest £40,000 going to Colerne Church of England Primary. I went to visit the school and find out what they were planning to do with the money.




The money the schools get is on top of and separate to the pupil premium military schools get anyway. The M.O.D grant will be in place for another 3 years. At a time when the M.O.D have just announced their next round of cuts, it does seem odd this money is being protecting. Having spoken to the M.O.D they say it's all to do with the military covenant and the duty of care Britain needs to provide for its armed forces.

The Artist

I went to watch The Artist at the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle. It's the first time I've been to the Tyneside and what a lovely experience it was. Apart from the lengthy march to the fourth floor screen and the endless streams of people in the corridor my trip to the cinema was great. Blue chairs with lots of leg room, less adverts than a typical screening and a proper bar where you can buy drinks and take them into the showing. But I didn't go to the Tyneside to critic it's decor and functionality, I was there for The Artist.

It's always slightly strange when you go and watch a film that has had so much hype and praise preceding it. Luckily The Artist lived up to all my expectations. A beautifully crafted black and white silent movie. The right combination of an emotive story line,comedy and tragedy. Watching a silent movie really makes you appreciate the mis-en-scene and captivates you in an entirely different way to 'talkies'. You have to concentrate, you have to watch and engage. Without the help of speech or natural sound your imagination works in overdrive as you compensate for the things you are used to getting a film. As a result you become more involved in the film. Feeling every tear and smile.

The Artist is a great film. he main stars Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo are brilliant. They bring back the glamour of the era and give an excellent tribute to the silent film form, reminding us of the art form it is. But for me, the biggest star of the show is the dog. What a performance. If you want to know what I mean. go and watch it.