It occured to me that I forgot to put up a photo of Séverine's amazing bonsai chicken, so here it is. I hope I haven't built it up too much.

So I got back yesterday from spending the week in Bath, which is a very pretty place surrounded by very pretty countryside. We were there to do work things really, so didn't see too many of the sights (I've been to most of them already I guess) but some of those work things were done in the park/pub and there was time to visit the new(ish) baths that I've been meaning to go to ever since they opened. The view from the rooftop pool is amazing, and if I ever get rich I'm going to buy a steam room and a massive shower that's a little bit painful to be under. I'm also thinking of bricking up my bedroom window because my room in the house we had was in the basement and the darkness meant I slept really well all week and had some excellent dreams. I can't remember all of them now, but I was definitely some kind of secret agent in one (possibly with Wolverine from X-Men-like claws), and a vaguely competent lower-league footballer in another.

Talking of which, the £50 I put on Burton to beat Cambridge did its work and Cambridge won with a ridiculous goal - it seems like the entire rest of the city went to the game. I did manage to get the pub to put it on, and only had to endure a small amount of mocking. To keep up with certain other people we were hanging around with, Ciaron (jokingly) bet me £1001 that Magno Vieira would get substituted in the 60th minute. The board went up in the 59th minute and he left the field in the 60th so we called it honours even. What are the odds? Wembley next week!

Here are a few pictures of the week.

On Thursday night I ate lobster for the first time. It was ok I guess - like a big prawn, but I was expecting it to be better than it was. Mostly based on that Simpsons episode where Homer accidentally cooks and eats his pet. I'm glad I've tried it but I won't be desperately seeking it out again I don't think.

In other news, I spent last Sunday afternoon redoing my website. It's not got as much stuff on it as it will have, but I think it looks a fair bit better than it used to. Also, my album is avaible to preorder on Amazon, which I find pretty exciting. I dunno why it's as expensive as it is, that's not the price I gave them. I'm assuming it'll drop nearer the time.

Last night I went to the final of the 2008 Cambridge Band Competition, mostly because Dave was one of the judges, but also to see what it was like now it's at The Corn Exchange. The Morning People were in one of the heats a few years ago when it was in The Junction, but, unsurprisingly, we didn't get through. Anyway, I had a good time. The Winter Kings won, which I think was fair, because they were the best band there (though admittedly I missed the first one). And they're nice guys. It was good to see them on a big stage and they looked like they were loving it. The other bands were ok - Federal Black 40 were pretty dumb (and said 'fuck' all the time because it's cool), but good fun and certainly looked the part with their Sum 41 costumes. The best bit was when their guitarist was standing up on the PA speakers spinning his guitar round his neck because he had a wireless system. His dismount was less than perfect, but it was still genius. The Ridley something or other Experience were playing when we got there, of the 2 songs I saw one was great (reminded me of mid 80s Aerosmith) and the other wasn't so great, and to make matters worse, had a saxophone solo.

I don't think I approve of band competitions really. Music isn't totally subjective (KT Tunstall, for example, is objectively bad), but I don't see the point in trying to compare things that aren't the same. Also, the fact that the judges have to rate the acts on different criteria, (none of which, in this case, really relates to how good the actual music is) usually leads to a triumph of mediocrity. I think that if you notice someone's technical ability, they probably aren't playing a very good song. Originality is another one. I know a lot of people don't think like this, but I'd rather hear something moving that isn't especially ground breaking than something unusual but cack. The whole thing felt quite 'local' I guess, but it's definitely a Good Thing for bands to have a chance to play on a big stage in front of a lot of people who wouldn't otherwise hear them, and winning one of these things didn't do Bill and Ted any harm.

Oh, wow, Hollyoaks has gone all Fight Club. Weird.