Durham, technological cock-ups, burqas and singing!

Yo
Well...have had more of an eventful life since the last post!
Firstly, went up to Durham to see Lara from 10-13th, which was great...we get on so well and she's as crazy as me - house and fire spring to mind. On the first night we went out for some drinks around the city (apparently it's a city and not a town!!) and met up with my mate Jon from primary school, who I've kept in touch with. Good to see him too, and went to his Halls. He's up there studying for his Masters in something to do with European political integration, I always forget...Lara had to work at the Body Shop for a few hours on the Saturday and Sunday, so I did some shopping and also went to Emma's (another school friend living with Lara) basketball game...or was it volleyball? Whatever the female version is called, me and Dave (Em's bloke) had a fun hour making very sexist remarks...I should be ashamed, but it was fun! Went with Lara and her housemate Tom to see Saw 3 - very gory and whatever, but nothing new. Same old formula. Have only passed through Durham a couple of times before, and so realised just how nice it is...wouldn't mind living there for a bit one day.

Have worked every night since then, which is tiring but keeps the bank manager happy. Last night, one of the busiest I've ever worked, was particularly interesting as all the tills were broken/frozen, so had to do everything manually. Shows us how dependent we are on technology and how buggered we are when it goes wrong! Was tricky trying to keep track of people's tabs and orders etc, but Nick (Ops Manager) and I coped pretty well considering. Also, one lady gave me a tenner tip for serving her the last couple of nights - cashback!! I hope they've sorted the system by tonight as there's a big function on and they'll be screwed if it isn't fixed...luckily I won't be there!!

Rox is holding a party at ours tonight in celebration of her 22nd, which was actually nine days ago, Helena's 22nd (which was on Tuesday), and Jess's birthday (Rox's housemate from Berlin) - got all that?! Looking forward to a night off with friends and a few brewskies.

Had an interview with the Birmingham Rep Theatre last Wednesday and have managed to get some usher work in December - ok so it's not much but it's a step in the right direction, fairly good pay, plus the opportunity to meet some important people...and speaking of important people, met a couple of senior Tech guys from Live Nation, which puts on shows all over the UK, including the Alexandra Theatre in Brum (they also organised Live 8). They were nice enough guys so got their e-mail addresses, and hopefully next week they'll pass on my details to whoever in Midlands area. As soon as one of them had said to me "We're in the theatre industry" I thought "Right, got to talk to these guys!" Very glad I found the courage to go over and have a chat with them.

I feel very uneasy about the Dutch government's plans to ban the burqa in public places. Promoting tolerance and integration is a necessity, but how that is to be achieved through prohibiting people to practice their religion as they see fit? Isn't that going to have the opposite effect and increase resentment towards the West? I agree that all religions should be treated equally, and I understand some of the social and security concerns associated with the burqa, but these can be overcome. Asking someone to lift the veil for a moment at an airport is by far preferable to banning the clothing altogether. Perhaps veils in schools aren't conducive to a good learning environment for non-Muslim children, but still, they really haven't thought this through. Every day it feels like we're heading closer to Samuel Huntington's concept of a "clash of civilisations". I guess elements from both "sides" are to blame.

At the moment I'm in love with Orson's No Tomorrow. What a great, optimistic song - really makes you cheer up and smile. Have been playing along to it on guitar, a lot of fun. I can sense myself getting better, slowly but surely. Helena's been giving me a bit of singing tuition - along with being able to play guitar and act, to be able to sing is one of my life ambitions, and who better to teach me than her? So far we've done a few breathing and humming exercises, and it's something I'd really like to work on. As with the guitar, if I'd started playing when I was younger, I wouldn't have had the self-motivation to practice, hence why I gave up the piano. But I'm now more willing to work for things I'm passionate about. I hope so anyway..!

That's all folks...
x