I don’t generally get excited about arts centres. They are either shabby or just a bit too grand, like the person behind it was trying to prove something. An extreme example would be the Barbican, which to me feels intimidatingly big.
Which is one of the reasons I’m so excited by the new mac (Midlands Arts Centre) which we just visited on its (re-)opening weekend. Everything about it is so thoughtfully designed for the people who use it – workshop users, families having a day in the park, gallery visitors, theatre audiences, everyone.

Katie’s trying to get the theatre world into Pervasive Media. It’s all about technology being in every part of our lives, and doing interesting things with it. To me, music is interesting, and this clip gives a nice flavour of where our worlds collide.

Just very much enjoyed watching this video recorded by Birmingham’s own Chris Keenan. These guys are amazing.

TG Collective, somewhere in a forest in Devon! from Stoney Lane on Vimeo.

…or in English, moving is tiring. We’re moving to Bristol soon, and have to simultaneously redecorate the dining room, arrange builders to fix things, let the house, rent somewhere else, buy a car and then, finally, move. At least we’re not arranging a wedding too. Tonight I’ve been washing walls with sugarsoap, a vicious degreaser which is meant to make paint go on well. I feel like I’m just wiping dust all over the walls, though.

I packed a scarf and a very warm hoodie for my holiday in the Pyranese. You never know what it will be like, and it was freezing for our honemoon, also at this time of year. Well, anyway, I could have saved valuable space (for say, a big box of wine), because as I sit out her on the sunny roof terrace of the cottage (www.casa-campana.com), I am wearing shorts and T-shirt. I don’t think I even managed that for the whole English “summer”.   

I’ve just put together a driving compilation. It has made me realise that I don’t really buy music to drive to. Still, it’ll serve to remind me of the kind of stuff that I was listening to in the autumn of 2009.

The Bamboos – The Bamboos Theme
Vetiver – Swimming Song
Emiliana Torrini – Me And Armini
Sigur Rós – Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur
Tunng – Bullets
Grizzly Bear – While You Wait for the Others
Little Sister – Rolling
Espers – Rosemary Lane
Davy Graham – Cocaine
James Blackshaw – Cross
Beirut – La Llorona
A Hawk And A Hacksaw – The Sparrow

Two more friends have left work today, (Wednesday!) and this presents me with a) fewer people to have lunch with and b) two more destinations to visit: Poole, Dorset and Shanghai, China. This adds to a growing list stretching from Australia via Sri Lanka and Germany. Makes me wonder if I should move away…

It was an achingly beautiful day in Oxford, paticularly next to the meadow, with the river winding it’s way between the trees whose leaves were showing the first signs of autumn, and the majestic walls of Christchurch College towering behind us. We might have stepped back hundreds of years, if you ignored the Mr Whippy van hiding around the corner.

I’ve been working on a site called http://www.avonandme.co.uk for Katie which is designed to collect people’s stories about Avon Cosmetics. Do you have an Avon story? If so, head on down to www.avonandme.co.uk and put it in. Or, if you use twitter, just put avonandme in the post, and it will magically appear on the site.