Rhythms, blues ‘n’ balls

The end of another Six Nations Rugby weekend, the end of Scotland’s winning streak. If only they’d bucked up sooner in the second half, for a short time there it looked like they could possibly catch up, but no. Ah well, at least England beat Wales, not a consolation to my Scottish friends but I’m happy with that. Ireland beating Italy was pretty much presumed, at least Italy had a valiant try. They face Wales in the next round, mind, the Welsh won’t want to lose yet again!

No Six Nations next weekend but plenty of good music, on Friday 3rd there’s The Scat Rats in the seven o’clock (or half past six, or going on for eight o’clock) slot and The Moanin Bones in the after midnight slot at Stramash. Also, if my memory is correct I’m sure Logan’s Close mentioned on Instagram that the new single is available to play on the 3rd, alas it was on their storyline so gone now, I could have dreamt it!

Saturday 4th sees Nicole and the Back-up Crew in the ten o’clock slot at Stramash, yay. I had the pleasure of catching Nicole and Jed Potts playing an awesome second set at Whistlebinkies Tuesday gone. I was quite annoyed with myself for turning up so late – what delights did I miss? They really were on excellent form, riding on a country vibe for much of the set, yes, I should have just left the washing-up!

Actually, thinking about it, the line-up for last Tuesday at Whistlebinkies was very confused, the Edinburgh Gig Guide, Binkies own website and Facebook posts were all saying different things, Jed Potts was also publicising a time which was right by one account but wrong with another! Ah ha, yes, it hard to tell what was happening up until quite late on. So far in March Whistlebinkies have The Scat Rats playing twice, I may check that with Mr Marah closer to the dates.

The second weekend in March (the next round of the Six Nations Rugby) has a Carl Marah double on the Sunday night in Stramash with The Scat Rats at seven and The Buccaneers after midnight. Also, the later bands listed for Whistlebinkies look interesting – a possibility for some of the time between nine and half past midnight.

I’ll not see the Saturday matches but I may catch the second half of Scotland v Ireland on the Sunday afternoon if I’m back in time. I’m off on a wee jaunt! No, not to the mother ship, I’ll be heading there the following weekend for Mothering Sunday, but it is down to Yorkshireland (and lots of real cider, oh yay!)

Oh, that rant I mentioned last post has subsided to a grumble, I’ll tell you about it next time. For now I’ll leave you with a couple of pics taken in Dr Neil’s Garden this week. Toodle pip!

Cherry pink……
…. and apple blossom white

I feel better, thanks for asking

Finally I feel moose again! That lurgy was a real mean one, I hope you haven’t had the misfortune to start your year with such as I had. I’ve been battling mine with turkey curry! January is a great time for buying turkey carcases and frozen turkey legs from Brewsters Smalling at Edinburgh Farmers Market. Hurrah for folk who just want turkey crowns for Christmas lunch, that leaves extra legs and wings for later. A turkey carcass I bought last weekend made a splendid broth; a long, slow simmer allowed all the meat to be stripped from the bones. I left out the leg I bought yesterday morning to defrost and roasted it in the evening, oh my, it was really hard to stop after a little taste!

With my health just about restored, I finally caught up with The Scat Rats at Whistlebinkies on Friday evening, yay. It was fairly quiet – dry January? Personally I prefer to support my local drinking establishments, someone has to when so many abstain for a month, it was my duty! The Moanin Bones played the late night shift at a packed Stramash (the students were well up for a party before the next term gets under way), I had a quick peek in on my way home.

Oo, other news from Friday, Logan’s Close released another single Dans Le Jardin, do check it out! There’s clips of Messrs Marah & Rough looking very come-hither in Dr Neil’s Garden to help promote it on Instagram and Facebook; I’m not sure about the beret, though (why?! well, see for yourself do). I felt inspired to take a walk round there for myself. The garden used to be closed during the winter months, it’s good to be able to visit all year round now.

Dans le jardin du Brucie

Earlier in the week I was delighted to see that Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan both won Golden Globes for Everything Everywhere All At Once (Jamie Lee Curtis was nominated but sadly didn’t win), the weirdest film of 2022, probably the decade too. The Banshees of Inisherin did well too, picking up three awards and Austin Butler won one for playing Elvis (though Bill Nighy would have been equally deserving for his brilliant performance in Living). Not that I need my film choices to win awards to feel vindicated or anything, but it’s nice when they do.

Anyway, there’s a cooked turkey leg in my kitchen calling out to have a few slices removed and placed between two chunks of bread. Toodle oo!

Please do not read this rubbish

Back in 1997 I went to an Edinburgh Fringe show called Marvin Hanglider -The Power of Negative Advertising. The blurb in the programme warned people not to see the show, not to waste their money on a ticket, it was rubbish. Needless to say he did pretty well, thanks to the contrariness of Fringe-goers.

I furnish you with this fact just to practice my blogging, indeed, you’ll hopefully get to see a photo of yours truly if I can follow the instructions right. A wee pic of me in a favourite spot, Dr Neil’s Garden by the side of Duddingston Loch. A peaceful bolthole about a half hour walk from the Pleasance Courtyard.

Ok, so no picture yet, apparently I have no media, but there is a photo there, honest, I just saved it like forty minutes ago when I started this post. Ho hum. It will be a pleasure for another time!