Steady blogging: Three years strong. Strangely, the longer this blog has been around the less concerned I have have become with keeping it updated. I figure that if you’ve stuck with me this long you’re prepared to wait around. This means I can concentrate on the quality rather than just rushing something out. Or perhaps I am just lazy, one of the two.

This post is actually a stop gap. I have a nice selection of photographs from a recent trip to Newcastle and Manchester but I’m not sure just how to treat them right now. I’m hoping at least some of them might get used for another project…

Anyway my mind is wandering, back to the here and now. In my last entry I completely forgot to mention that Angus has joined the migration to Wordpress and has a nicely revampededition of Tricklist awaiting your perusal. Ill Thought Actions has also been forged anew. Quiet Corners has seen plenty of elbow grease and a fresh lick of paint leaving it looking all shiny and new (and funnily enough, so has Paul’s bike). Curb Debris has sadly met it’s demise but to not be dismayed as it’s successor, Forever Circling, is superior in every way (and has swiftly become a favourite site of mine).

Today’s photographs are from yet another trip to Newgale. We do go elsewhere, honest. This time we walked the full length of the beach, past the lagoon and across the rock field beyond. Once we got right to the end we managed to scramble up a thousand feet of cliff face (that’s distance it was only two hundred feet in height). This was a little dodgy but it did mean an unparalleled viewpoint for photographs.

Actually, if you scroll down to the entry named, Funky Kingston, look beyond the far end of the beach to the rock that stands proud of the cliffs. The first photo in this entry was taken from the other side of that rock (well just about) so it shows the next beach along in the chain. If you don’t understand what I mean then you can always check the map. The tower in the second photograph is a remnant of Newgale Colliery which in the reign of Queen Victoria, supplied coal for the fires of all the royal households (nothing like a bit of local history: we don’t have Coast on DVD for nothing you know..).

Seeing as this is the bit where I just thrown in random links, I like Hippy Tree. I also enjoyed this interview with James Jebbia. The leather bike that appeared on Arkitip was interesting too (a bit weird though if you ask me). Oh and you have to check out the New York Time’s attempt at youth fashion because it is so achingly, wincingly bad.

I fear that I desperately under sold Russell Davies blog last time but have since remembered the Blackboard Pro™. The man is a genius.

The Part Time Heroes’ podcasts are very, very good but equally good (if not better?) are those compiled by Scrimshire. So far there have been around ten Splendidly Blended podcasts, each one a sonic jewel. Number three in particular is a banger but they are all a wonderful mix of jazz, soul, funk, afrobeat, rare grooves and bossa with a smattering of hip hop thrown in. They were basically the only things keeping me sane when I had to work a week of night shifts, earlier this month.

Talking of The Part Time Heroes, their pianist Stephen McCleery has some cracking compositions on his myspace, including one hauntingly beautiful piece. I don’t know what it’s called but it’s the one that is embedded as a Youtube video rather than listed on the jukebox thingy.

Howies have started a new series of interviews called Crafty in which they aim to highlight, “British craftsmen.” The first one featured Nick Larsen, the guy behind Charge Bikes and you can find it here. I am intrigued that they have gone down the route of producing ’soundslides’ rather than videos (though if I were to be cycnical I might suggest this implies certain logistical advantages). Still, a well taken photo can say far more than just another headshot of the interviewee.

There has been a lot of sunshine lately which means the garden is starting to wake from it’s Winter slumber. It also means that it’s time to start repairing Winter’s damage: the fence has been ravaged by high winds and fat sparrows. In the last few weeks we managed to repel the rodent invasion. My shed took brunt of their offensive and I definitely don’t think it can take much more abuse. There have however, been the faintest of stirrings in camp Supershed so hopefully we will have the replacement structure up and running sooner rather than later.

Actually there is another reason that I want a new shed: I managed to score a new frame and forks on eBay so I’m working towards a new fixed gear build and I need the extra space. I’m going to take my time with this one though as I want to make sure I do it right.

Right then, that’s all for now, sorry it took so long. I hope you’re all doing well out there, go out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!