(Soundtrack: Neil Young “Rust Never Sleeps”, The Pastels “Illumination”)
On the way home just now I passed two policemen on “stake-out”. They are fully visible, about three streets away, stood on a corner, complete with huge machine guns. They have been there for at least six months. I have been passing them every day or two and wondering why they are there. Initially I thought that perhaps there had been a lot of break-ins on that street and they were increasing police presence, but then they were there too long for that. I considered if they were waiting to catch someone they expected to show up, but then surely they would not be so obvious? The only reason they would be so visible is if they are guarding someone, or providing protection. So I concluded that maybe a foreign diplomat was staying there – I started to look at the houses and found one that is larger than the rest, and set back from the road. Some days the cops have cups of coffee or soup or packets of Jaffa Cakes on the wall by them; I couldn’t help imagining local housewives bringing them sustenance. After all it has been below freezing a lot of the time over the last few weeks.
Bridie kept encouraging me to ask them why they were there, but each time I intended to, I chickened out. Then the other night we were walking home late and a bit drunk and Bridie bounded up to one of them and asked “Excuse me, but we have seen you here for a few months now, would you be able to tell us why you are here?”. He smiled, looked a bit smug and glad of the distraction: “Not at all madam – we are guarding the home of an important government official who lives nearby”. “Oh, who is it?” “I am afraid I am not at liberty to say madam.” I chipped in with “And do they live in that house over there?” He smiled, smugness levels peaking: “They might do…” I am not sure his colleague was impressed with his manner. Anyway, we thanked them and staggered off home.
So who can that be? How high up do you need to be in order to have two armed guards at all hours of the day? I am not sure I would recognise politicians anyway, I mean Gordon Brown yes, but not the rest of them.
I would like to have included a photo here of the stake-out, but I was too chicken, so instead this is one of Bridie and I reflected in a big eye in the basement of the Kelvingrove Museum on a recent trip to Glasgow.
We have finally finished the list of our top 100 films of 2008. You would be right to say that watching movies then grading them and compiling an end of year list is completely anal, but it certainly is fun! It is a joint list so there are one or two titles which are higher or lower than I would have placed them left to my own devices, but only one or two. I think it was a brilliant year for films, in fact there is a case for it being the best year ever: so many classics! I mean, what year would be better? 1939? (Wizard Of Oz, Gone With The Wind, The Women), 1950? (Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, Rashomon), 1959? (Some Like It Hot, Room At The Top, North By Northwest), 1972? (The Godfather, Cabaret, Deliverance), 1977? (Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever, Annie Hall), 1992? (Reservoir Dogs, Waynes World, The Player). It is easy to see the past as being better, but I am not so sure. Anyway, who gives a monkey’s?
There are a couple of films we have yet to see (Gomorrah, Eden Lake, Die Hard, The Kite Runner), but here is the list:
1 Milk (wonderful and memorable as explained in previous diary entry) 2 The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (a beautiful, moving, life-affirming masterpiece) 3 Mamma Mia (don’t sneer; I love musicals and this is great – it will quite simply become the most popular musical ever) 4 Man On Wire (I recommend this to anyone, there is nothing else like it) 5 No Country For Old Men (perfect) 6 My Winnipeg (the most singular vision of the year: Guy Maddin makes movies like great indie records) 7 Mister Lonely (another great, quirky indie film – I love this, it is so uplifting and heart-warming, especially Diego Luna as Michael Jackson – needs to be seen again soon) 8 Sex & The City (OK I wouldn’t have had this one quite so high, and it doesn’t equal the brilliance of the series, but it is much better than it might have been) 9 In Bruges (instant cult classic, would make a great double bill with Withnail & I) 10 The Dark Knight (a bit long and a bit noisy, but over-whelmingly good) 11 Burn After Reading (the Coens on absolutely top form) 12 Pineapple Express (it seems to me that this will grow in stature – a future classic – with a lovely performance from James Franco ) 13 Year Of The Dog (funny, moving US small town indie from that Chuck & Buck chap) 14 Sweeney Todd (nice and dark version, and Sacha Baron Cohen always adds so much to everything he is involved with) 15 PS I Love You (this would have made a prefect Sex & The City 2, a really good, soppy romantic comedy) 16 There Will Be Blood (already a classic) 17 The Orphanage (ace Spanish ghost story) 18 Iron Man (wonderful, dry turn from Robert Downey Jnr) 19 Margot At The Wedding (under-rated, this nasty, repressed role really suits Nicole Kidman) 20 Happy Go Lucky (lovely gentle Mike Leigh movie; deceptively innovative in subject matter) 21 Paris (top notch Romain Duris ensemble piece) 22 Persepolis (already a classic) 23 Lonesome Jim (perfect Steve Buscemi US small town indie flick; Casey Affleck is so winsome) 24 30 Days Of Night (under-rated I think: a classic zombie thriller) 25 I’ve Loved You So Long (wonderfully played Kristin Scott ~Thomas drama) 26 Gone Baby Gone (I have always liked Ben Affleck and this proves me right!) 27 Heartbeat Detector (original, dizzying, challenging puzzle with the ace Mathieu Amalric) 28 Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (charming and great to see Frances McDormand in a lead role) 29 Then She Found Me (this is a really good romantic drama from Helen Hunt and Colin Firth is turning into a great actor) 30 You Kill Me (charming San Fran Ben Kingsly hit-man comedy) 31 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days (uncomfortable, darkly funny, brilliantly made and acted) 32 Joshua (classy lost take on Rosemary’s Baby only saw daylight last year) 33 Be Kind Rewind (charming, light Michel Gondry comedy) 34 Stardust (a family fantasy adventure that really works) 35 In Search Of A Midnight Kiss (almost classic, like an Indie LA Woody Allen) 36 Easy Virtue (classy and sharp, Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas very good again) 37 Lars And The Real Girl (cool cult comedy with Ryan Gosling) 38 A Little Trip To Heaven (oddly lost Icelandic-made noir with Forrest Whitaker) 39 Twilight (highly enjoyable for a mainstream teen franchise) 40 Summer Hours (lovely thoughtful French ensemble piece) 41 Garbage Warrior (I totally recommend this inspiring documentary about Michael Reynolds, who builds self-sustaining homes out of garbage) 42 The Visitor (gentle, warm, uplifting) 43 Juno (entertaining and funny; Ellen Page is a star) 44 Taken (big, dumb, exciting, guilty, pleasure thriller from Luc Besson) 45 A History Of My Sexual Failures (charming, surprising, likeable documentary) 46 Smart People (under-rated follow-up to Sideways) 47 The Strangers (a good low-budget slasher horror with Liv Tyler) 48 Teeth (surprisingly witty and well made spoof horror – she has teeth “down there”) 49 In The Valley Of Elah (enjoyable, classy civilian/war drama with Tommy Lee Jones) 50 And When Did You Last See Your Father? (tender story of Blake Morrison’s relationship with his father – another great performance from Colin Firth!)
And here are the next 50: 51 Baby Mama 52 The Changeling 53 Stepbrothers 54 Indiana Jones 4 55 Kung Fu Panda 56 Flight Of the Red Balloon 57 Horton Hears A Who 58 Priceless 59 Garage 60 We Own The Night 61 Her Name Is Sabine 62 American Gangster 63 Female Agents 64 Nim’s Island 65 XXY 66 The Mist 67 Dan In Real Life 68 The Savages 69 Hallam Foe 70 Ghost Town 71 Annie Liebowitz 72 Walk Hard 73 Son Of Rambow 74 We Are Together 75 Madagascar 2 76 While She Was Out 77 Underdog 78 Tropic Thunder 79 The Air I Breathe 80 Inkheart 81 Space Chimps 82 The Lookout 83 Show Of Hands 84 Wake Up Ron Burgundy 85 P2 86 Death At A Funeral 87 The Wackness 88 The Rocker 89 Meet Dave 90 27 Dresses 91 The Fall 92 Cous Cous 93 Syndromes Of A Century 94 Honey Dripper 95 Silent Light 96 Swing Vote 97 X Files 2 98 You The Living 99 Comedy Of Power 100 Somers Town
Clearly some of these were not technically 2008, but, hey, it’s our list… Roll on 2009!

(Soundtrack: Ornette Coleman “Change Of The Century”, Bon Iver “For Emma, Forever Ago”)
Now well and truly into January and I have done virtually nothing about finding a new job. I did go and see about a short-term position for a DVD wholesaler, but do not think it is for me as it would involve spending at least two nights a week up in Burton in the North Midlands, and the idea of being away from Bridie and up there two nights per week does not appeal. I have decided to approach some music publishers, in case there is somebody out there just sitting waiting for the opportunity to support me while I write the next album. Our friend Pete, who does our mastering, is going to help me put a CD compilation together, and I will then get in touch with ten or so. A bit of a long shot, but you never know…
Sad news last week that Patrick McGoohan has passed away. He embodied individuality and artistic integrity. We have been working our way back through watching “The Prisoner” and it really stands the test of time, setting a standard for intelligent, surreal, cult TV, that not even Twin Peaks matched. In fact Twin Peaks caved in halfway through season 2 whereas the Prisoner never did. He was so headstrong and defiant in that show; a real inspiration.
I used to watch it with my father and we would both try and make out that we knew what was going on. We did the same with “2001” when we went to see that at the pictures. My parents and I would go to the cinema quite often when I was young. They had an odd habit of not checking the time of the films, just turning up. So we would have our tea, then go to the cinema, and go in at whatever point the movie was up to. I remember us doing this for “Ice Station Zebra” which starred Patrick McGoohan. We arrived half an hour before the end of the film causing a disturbance for the people already engrossed. If you know that movie you know there is a twist near the end, so that was the first thing that we saw. We then watched it to the end, and sat through the intermission. The ad’s would then come on: mainly painfully scratchy efforts for local businesses (“Cor, lovely and fresh!” was the catch-phrase for Warburtons bread, as exclaimed by a cartoon robber breaking into a safe and finding a loaf inside), This was followed by a short film on canoeing or bell-ringing, then another quick intermission, and then the trailers, and then “Ice Station Zebra” started and we learned how we got to where we were when we came in. When it got to that point we would usually stand up and leave, causing another commotion, but on this occasion, we stayed and watched the ending again. Mum had a crush on Rock Hudson, I was in awe of McGoohan and Dad loved all the snow and the submarine.
It is interesting how some old TV shows stand the test of time and others do not. We tried to watch “The Persuaders” and “The Odd Couple” recently, both shows I had fond childhood memories of, but they are now absolutely awful, unwatchable. “Columbo”, on the other hand, actually seems even better now. All those wonderful guest directors and stars, such inventiveness and quality in the writing, and a tour de force performance from Peter Falk. Bridie has completely fallen for the guy, and we are gradually watching all his movies too. Patrick McGoohan holds the distinction of having appeared the most times as the guest murderer in “Columbo” – 4 times, and his acting, writing and direction on the show really lift it to being some of the best ever TV.
Also check McGoohan out playing the drums in “All Night Long”, a 60s British Beat movie based on Othello (Charles Mingus is in it too) – that would make a great wall projection for a club or a gig.
One advantage of not working over Christmas was that we were able to have a proper break, and got into a nice routine of lying in then going out for walks in London. I am beginning to tire of life in London, not so much the city itself, but the people, and the time spent on public transport. One thing that always amazes me however, is how wonderful the parks are and how green London is. We were surrounded by deer in Richmond Park, surely one of the greatest parks in the world. We walked round the four ponds on Clapham Common, and watched confused geese skidding across the ice. We explored Tooting and Wandsworth Commons and learned about the history of the capital’s hospitals on the South Bank. We followed a trail along Beverley Brook from Richmond to Barnes and found a new favourite pub. We warmed up with veggie chilli in Borough Market and walked various loops along the Thames, which has a real romantic, spiritual quality, hence its appearance on the artwork for the new album. We are gradually walking the whole of the Thames from the Barrier to the Source – 180 miles altogether. So far we have walked 100 of it. With some thoughts of leaving London, we are hoping to finish this this year. You can also get around a lot of town by following the canal routes, which is much mellower and more romantic than busy streets or public transport. Plus all the amazing cemeteries…
Now halfway through the month of being Vegan. It seems that this is easy when you are cooking at home, as you are in control. Also not too bad eating out in the evening, as Indian and Chinese both offer plenty of choice. I have found the hardest thing to be cafe lunches, as cheese, eggs and milk are out. Pret etc do coffee with soya milk, and this is fine, as long as the soya goes in the cup first, and the coffee has cooled slightly, and not too much soya is used. In fact, I have come to prefer cappuccino with soya as it can sometimes be sickly with milk. Getting decent food at lunch can be frustrating though, and makes me appreciate that there is not much choice for Vegans! Difficult to get sweet snacks too, unless you go to a health food store.
We had our first rehearsal of the year the other night, trying to turn the new album into something we can play live. That’s Andy pumelling his bass in the photo. I find that a good rehearsal is down to punctuality and mood. It’s not about musicianship or technical stuff, it’s down to people being up for it. Usually if one person is on a downer, the others can lift them out of it, or compensate. If two people are not in the mood then it is a struggle. Amazingly all five of us were on good form this time so it made it easy. That won’t last, but I enjoyed it. Some of the songs were working, some were not, but we have a couple more sessions in before we try it live on Valentine’s Day (understandably not a popular choice of date with our wives and girlfriends!).
Went to see the latest Clint Eastwood film “The Changeling”: big, clumsy, entertaining, American story-telling – it is very enjoyable. Unfortunately we both got the giggles at John Malkovich halfway through. He is all hairpiece and lisp and pout, and we cracked up every time he came on screen. Apologies to the couple in front. Still, at least he was introducing some humour, which Clint clearly had no intentions of providing. Good film though. Not as cool as “Play Misty” or the ones with the monkey obviously, but pretty good.

(Soundtrack: Nina Nastasia “The Blackened Air”, Daniel Johnstone “Lost And Found”)
Just before Christmas we visited San Francisco for a few days. We have been there before, but this time really fell in love with it. One reason I think, is that previously we had stayed centrally, on the basis that it is then easy to travel to the groovier areas of town. This time we stayed between the Castro and Haight, where there is a lot of nightlife so we could easily walk home in the evenings. Haight Street still has an air of the 60s and The Grateful Dead about it, and is home to Amoeba, one of the best record shops in the world.
One of the main things we wanted to do this trip was to go and see a film at The Castro, which is a huge cinema from the 20s, completely intact, including a chap rising out of the stage playing a pipe organ before the show. We would have happily seen anything there – we were thinking of an old classic, as they regularly show treats like “All About Eve” or “Blue Velvet”. It is a different experience going to the cinema in the USA, or maybe it is just the West Coast with its movie history – it always seems much more of an event, with the audience getting there early, and likely to respond and applaud during the film. The combination of this and the lovely cinema made it very appealing. We were lucky enough to arrive in town the day before the new Gus Van Sant film “Milk” opened at The Castro, so by getting up early on the Friday morning we were able to bag tickets for it.
Gus Van Sant is one of my favourite directors. I liked “My Own Private Idaho”, “To Die For”, “Good Will Hunting” and “Finding Forrester”, but it is his run of recent films which is so astonishing: “Gerry”, “Elephant”, “Last Days” and “Paranoid Park” are all stunning. So we were already excited about seeing “Milk”. The film tells the story of Harvey Milk, the openly gay member of the Board Of Supervisors in San Francisco in the 70s, who tirelessly campaigned for gay rights and managed to stop Proposition 6 from going through, which would have prevented gay men or women from teaching in American schools. He was also known as the Mayor of Castro Street – he was based there and the area was, and remains, a centre for the town’s gay community. Most of the film is set in the Castro, so we were going to watch it where the story happened.
As we were getting ready to go out, we noticed a procession going past our hotel. Hundreds of people marching in the dark, each carrying a single candle. We later found out that this was a recreation of the march that occurred after Harvey Milk’s death, and was in honour of his memory and the opening of the movie. When we got to the Castro we had to queue right down and round the block (I took the photo while we queued, though I managed to obscure Sean Penn), and when we got inside it took us a while to get two seats together, ending up really near the front. The place was rammed and the atmosphere electric.
The film is wonderful, and to hear the audience reacting to it was very moving. Several of the characters featured are still active in San Francisco politics today, and to hear them get such heartfelt cheers at the end of the movie brought us to tears. It was an unforgettable experience.
Afterwards we ended up in a bar called Martuni’s, which Bridie has completely fallen in love with. They specialise in Martinis (it was invented in San Francisco), and have a bar at the back where karaoke is sung around a piano – lots of show tunes and flamboyant performances; a brilliant atmosphere. I was gradually getting up the nerve to try a Bacharach song, but never quite made it. Bridie nearly got to do “Under Pressure”, an unusual choice, but the pianist couldn’t remember it.
The next night we went to a Comedy Club called The Punchline, and saw Emo Phillips, who was great: “I had a good German friend of mine to stay recently… I gave him bagels for breakfast… He said “We just can’t get bagels as good as these back in Germany”… I said “Well, who’s fault is that?””
We also walked across the Golden Gate Bridge while we were there. We had done that before, but in the meantime had seen the documentary film “The Bridge”. It is a powerful experience walking to the bridge and over it, and the film, which focuses on it as the suicide capital of the world, added to the sense of… I don’t know what the word is… “power” is probably closest. There is a feeling you get at any major landmark in the world, perhaps something about being in the presense of something which has been there through many generations and is bigger than us, almost a religious quality. The Golden Gate Bridge gives this feeling in an extreme degree: inspiring and unsettling. I would like to write about it at some point.
I singularly failed to meet up with Eric Stephenson while we were there. Eric has put together a book of graphic stories by different artists inspired by 24 Spearmint and Shirley Lee songs. We have been liaising on the project for a couple of years and were hoping to meet for the first time. I wanted to thank Eric in person for everything he has done to make this happen. Every so often somebody has faith in what we do and, believe me, it makes a big difference to us. We had made an arrangment, but thanks to my incompetence with my mobile and the hotel phone, we didn’t get together. I suspect we will return to San Francisco this year though, so hopefully we can meet then.
I went to get a haircut on Tuesday. I thought I had better, with the hideous possibility of job interviews looming. I had intended to go to Colin, who has been the local barber for years. The notice in his window says “I was asked if I was spending Christmas with loved ones. I said “No, just the family.”” He had a sign up last year saying “I will be closed this weekend as I am celebrating 5 years of happily married life. It is our 20th wedding anniversary.” A funny guy. A bit of a local legend. When I went there he asked me if I followed football. I said No. There was a long pause, then he proceeded to talk football at me for the whole haircut, presumably having decided that my input was unnecessary. It was, however, Colin’s first day back after Christmas so I figured he would be busy, hence I went to the newer one round the corner. He can moan for England. Give him a topic and he will moan about it until you stop him. I told him what I wanted with my hair, and he then gave me his usual cut. Do these people ever really listen? I think whatever you say to them they just give you their usual cut. Bridie went for a haircut last year, and took in a photo showing exactly what she wanted. She came home distraught, claiming to have been made to look like one of the Ramones. I must say she looked pretty good to me! (but then I have a thing for Joey Ramone).
Later that day, I met Andy Lewis to go over to Brian’s studio in Blackhorse Road, where we recorded the album. We wanted to get some sounds onto a CD to use live on a song called “The Lights Change”. Andy was in fine fettle, clutching a new digital Mellotron which he had just acquired. He was full of stories about having spent New Year’s Eve at a party at Paul Weller’s studio, and the next day walking with Paul in the Surrey countryside. I told him that Bono once stood on my foot, but he didn’t seem too impressed. Andy and I have written a song together called “36 Reasons Why”, which is for Andy’s next solo album, but I think we will try it live when we do the Shirley Lee gigs. Brian was well, and we chatted about doing some Spearmint recording in late February for a potential EP for later in the year. He is currently recording with The Clientele – I seem to remember I like them, but have not heard the recent stuff – must check it out.