ally's journal

actually, this is a nicer photo to leave at the top for today. it's better than my runny nose.
this is glasgow university:

i've got a horrible cold today. i'm feeling a bit like this.

at last i'm proud to introduce the band !

mr chris leonard (guitar and backing vocals)
favourite cheese - halloumi, grilled.


mr alan mitchell (bass guitar)
preferred tipple - red wine (with a lady)


mr james lindsay (drums and percussion)
hat of choice - the gentleman's trilby.

friday's gig. from left to right: al mitchell, james lindsay, chris leonard, me (ally)

i'm really grumpy today. i forgot to put the heater on last night so when i woke up i was cold, i didn't sleep very well and to top it all off i stood on a nail as i shuffled my weary body to the bathroom. ever since then i've been irritable. i thought i'd blog coz i don't usually get so grumpy and i want my blogs to encompass all my moods. i get cheeky when i'm irritable. i have a face like fizz. a face like thunder, that's a good expression. i'll snap out of it later although i'll probably have alienated those around me by then. i'm really looking forward to tonight's gig though. we're going to try a song we've never done as a band before, it's called 'could have been a contender'. in fact, i've played it only once, with chris at bar brel. it could go horribly wrong coz we only played it through on wednesday but it's worth a shot. i like it, it's a fun one to play, assuming i can remember the lyrics, which is by no means certain. i'll take some photos at the gig and i'll post them up here. hopefully one of them will feature me with a smile on my face. right now i'd probably crack the lens.

i finally got a digital camera so i'll probably start posting photos up here now and again once i've sorted out how to get them from the camera onto a pc. actually the way i've been playing around with it i'll probably end up putting lots of them up. i was taking pictures of all sorts of subjects last night as i was walking back from nice 'n sleazy to put some posters for friday's gig up. on route i managed to take a photo of top bassist alan on his bike and guitarist chris in his kitchen. it's quite addictive this snapping business to be honest. but then i might lose interest, i've got a terrible habit of getting really involved in something, exhausting it and then moving on to something else. time will tell. i've got another new book i've started, it's about anthony bourdain - this crazy, hard living new york city chef who has led quite a life. i've promised i'll not start another until i've finished this one. i mean it this time. say cheese!

continuing last night's cheese theme, here's some breaking toastie news...

Ananova:

£11K for miracle toastie

A woman claims a toasted cheese sandwich she made features an image of the Virgin Mary on it.

Diana Duyser has now been offered £11,000 for it on a net auction site reports the Daily Star.

She said she was amazed at the bid for the home-made toastie - especially since it is more than 10 years old.

Almost 10,000 people viewed the sandwich on eBay before bosses withdrew the item as it was "inappropriate."

An eBay spokesman said it broke its policy of not allowing items "intended as a joke."

But Florida jewellery make Mrs Duyser, 52, insists it's genuine and says the image grows clearer each year.

She said: "I took one bite and saw a face staring back at me. I called to my husband Greg and he couldn't believe his eyes. I have no doubt it's an apparition of Mary. Now I want to share it with the world."

my blogging has become a bit predictable these days. when was the last time i posted something late at night, or first thing in the morning i wonder? actually i never have posted first thing in the morning coz frankly i'm not a morning person. i take forever to wake up and realise where i am and what i'm meant to be doing. i kind of touch on that in a relatively new song i wrote called 'could have been a contender'. i'm hoping to be able to rehearse that song with the band in time for the next gig, but we'll see how it goes at the rehearsal next wednesday. i'm a late night kind of person. i've tried really hard to get more sleep but my body just refuses to get tired when i want it to. reading can help coz my eyes get tired. sometimes i'll walk about my front room in the dark with my guitar on and look out the windows as i sing a new song in total peace and quiet. i love doing that although not the other night when i stubbed my toe into a table.

i got a new guitar on saturday afternoon, chris helped me choose it. i'm a left hander, which means that i'm statistically more likely to 1) get run over by a double decker bus (totally true coz left handed people are much more clumsy) and 2) have a very limited choice of left-handed electro-acoustic guitars. there were only about 3 or 4 different types in the whole of glasgow. i wonder what the odds are of getting hit by a bus when crossing the road to visit a guitar shop to buy a left handed instrument. anyway, i got one and i used it at the green peppers' album launch gig on sunday night. what a great night that continued on to optimo at the subclub till booting out time. at the mono show i was a bit in awe and a little bit introverted i think. my shell was half open and i was peeking out, a little unsure of myself although the reaction was great. my fingers were nearly bleeding too as i was playing my new guitar. if my fingers had started bleeding then i guess i could have pretended it was all part of the act, though i'm no wayne from the flaming lips. i'm rambling. i'm trying to tire myself out. this blog will probably be littered with spelling mistakes, but i don't crare.

i think i'm going to spend the next few weeks reading books, writing lyrics, fuelling my imagination and experimenting with cheese. i was given port salut, mature cheddar, gouda, edam and smoked bavarian tonight. the old tale about cheese giving you nightmares is true apparently coz ....wait, i know this...it's something to do with your stomach requiring more something to digest it so your brain starts working overtime. i must look that up again. the last time i indulged in a late night cheddar frenzy i ended up dreaming that i was involved in a guerilla war and i infiltrated the enemy and selflessly spied and gave away their secrets to the good guys. me and someone very special to me were being fired upon by helicopters and at one point i was lying in my old room whilst snippers tried to pick us off. it was incredibly real. so just say no to late night cheese. or if your dreams have been a bit dull recently then away and fire up the breville and get a toastie on the go. live dangerously that's what i say. vivid dreams can be like a free movie for the subconscious. reading this you'd think i've had cheese. and wine. but i haven't, i've had too much wine and beer recently. so i've just had tea. i'll try and sleep now. bet i'll be grumpy in the morning.

here's a photo i made of my friend barry which i thought i'd lost but i happily just found and i thought i'd share. you can't miss him in this photo as he is the only one wearing a suit.



music wise i saw trashcan sinatras on friday night, their show was really great. i've also been listening to the elliot smith album which is sad but pretty. next sunday's green peppers album launch should be fun, it's free too!

i'm tired. i didn't sleep well. i was just about to drift off when i was awoken suddenly. i was in that lovely zone where you're almost aware that you're about to enter into the land of nod. then this lady in the flat above moaned in ecstacy really loudly and that was me, i was awake. great for her, but not so good for me.