La Palma 1 - 8 December

Another Jive Addiction holiday, this time in one of the small Canary Islands.
What was good - the organisation - the dancing every evening til 2am for me and later for many others - Ian and Mandy's teaching - the hotel (excellent rooms) - the food - the number of pools - the atmosphere 160 jivers created - the company of Jane, Joan and David and many familiar faces from previous holidays.
What was not so good - the cost of the flight - not having a beach - the weather (2 glorious days but then a lot of cloud) - one set of lessons not being to my liking - the architecture which was possibly based on a Mexican fort with gun positions!
I regretted not using the spa complex at all and the other sauna on more than one occasion. Also not exploring the island. On the journey from airport to hotel it was grey and there were clouds and rain on the mountains. It looked bleak. On the journey back it was a beautiful day and the island looked green and attractive with a rocky coastline and many hills and volcanoes to walk.

I will almost certainly go on more Jive Addiction holidays but I doubt I will return to La Palma unless I had walking as well as dancing sorted before hand.

22 Hectic Days

Before the hectic days started I packed 3 suitcases!
First to Cheryl on the 23rd November and a Sunday lunch with Ian and her father. Then some great days in the garden building a compost bin and a screen to go over the pond - in good time for next autumn!
I drove home on the 26th checked suitcase no. 2 and caught the train to Newcastle the following day. That evening there was dancing with Lesley and Matt, who is getting better all the time. Some sightseeing, mostly taking in parts of Hadrian's Wall brfore the big event - a Saturday night dinner-dance. I have been 3 or 4 times to this gathering, so recognise a number of Lesley and Tony's friends and work colleagues. Good food and dancing.
On the train back on Sunday to finalise the packing of suitcase no.3 for the La Palma holiday. I decided I must stay awake and not try and have a nap as a taxi was due at 2am. It finally arrived at 3am! That holiday is reported in another post.
Back home on Monday 8th December and we had missed some really cold weather!
A day's rest before off to visit relatives in Suffolk and Essex. Back home on Sunday 14th in time for The Sunday Lounge which is in another blog.
www.thesundaylounge.blogspot.com

Two Concerts

I went to see Katie Melua on 29 October and Paul Weller on 22 November, both at the Ice Stadium, now the TrentFM Arena.

Katie is extremely talented but, for me, has not written any songs that are really catchy, other than ’crazy’. She started by singing with guitar, then with piano, no other backing. Then musicians appeared - but they weren‘t real! I was thinking that this is just piped accompaniment when the screens were raised to reveal the live band. Great band and the screens were used for film and graphics to illustrate the songs. I thought it an excellent presentation.

Paul Weller took a packed Arena by storm and blew me away with 100mph stuff. However he moved onto some quiet ballad songs and demonstrated his versatility. A review in The Times said he ignored the audience - I certainly didn’t think that - we were in his hands and he has enough true fans to be cheering all the time. The reviewer said he could not see much for smoke - admittedly I was sitting high - maybe it was different at ground level - but there was no problem for me. His graphics backdrop was a bit pathetic but apart from that he was great value.
I have not been to many pop concerts but why can’t people sit still and listen. There was not a single song without my row or the stairs next to me being used for more drinks or the inevitable consequence. Standing up, dancing in the aisles, singing along is fine but why disappear for a couple of songs - or is it just being there that matters.