Another Reason To Look Forward to The Big Chill

At more or less this exact moment me and bandmoreagain were meeting a lovely lady by the name of Amy Wright who we somehow persuaded to give hugs to a group of people who we somehow persuaded to queue up to receive them.

I'm All Going On A Summer Holiday

Since money and the small matter of me fannying off to S.E. Asia for three weeks in January have prevented me from having a summer holiday this year the Big Chill is all I've got so I am hereby starting to get excited about it. Here are just some of the fantastic line-up that I am particularly excited about:

Alabama 3 unplugged
Âme (Innervisions, Germany)
Asian Dub Foundation Sound System
Ben Goldacre
Beth Orton
Bomb the Bass
Bill Bailey
BUG with Adam Buxton (Adam and Joe)
Cornelius
Daedelus (live)
Fujiya & Miyagi
Greg Wilson
Jilted John
John Hegley
Joe Hot Chip plays Hip Hop feat. Dels
John Shuttleworth
Justin Robertson
DJ Krush (live)
Leonard Cohen
Luke Vibert
Mr Scruff
Múm
Nitin Sawhney DJ set
Norman Jay
Plaid
Portico Quartet
Roisin Murphy
Roots Manuva & DJ MK
Thievery Corporation
Tom Middleton ‘Summer of Love - Classics Set’
Trentmøller Live
Unabombers
Vincent Vincent & the Villians

Fantasy Holidays I Will Probably Never Go On Part 5

August bank holiday in Pembrokeshire staying at the TYF Eco Hotel

Itinerary would go something like this:
Friday
Take the train from work to Fishguard via my favourite train line in the world, the Crewe to Betws-y-Coed line that runs through some of the best that Snowdonia has to offer. Dusk falls as we trundle along at an appropriate place with a packed tea of home made sandwiches and treats, watching rabbits run alongside the train.
Arrive at Wales' first certified organic hotel and hang out in the bar, or maybe pop to St. Davids for a pint of Merlin's Oak
Saturday
Wake bright and early in the sunshine for a day of sit-on-top kayaking on the Pembrokeshire coast, followed by a little snorkeling and swimming in St. Bride's bay.
Return to St. Davids for dinner at The Shed, the best fish restaurant in Wales, apparently.
Sunday A morning's coasteering followed by fossil hunting and even more swimming in the Blue Lagoon at Abereiddy, an abandoned quarry with the clearest water and the best jumps from sheer granite cliffs - pictures don't do it justice...

Barbecue in the garden of TYF.
Monday
Pop round the (admittedly rather twee looking) galleries of St Davids and buy some extremely expensive ceramics then fly home in our helicopter.

Fantasy Holidays I Will Probably Never Go On Part 3

The Guardian Hay Festival Alhambra

I've always liked the idea of the Guardian Hay Festival proper but something about it seems just a little too British and well-behaved to me. The Alhambra has always had a fantasy, Arabian nights-style debauched sexiness for me and that sultry southern Spanish-Moorish air is very conducive to lazy debate. The programme is excellent too, with an emphasis on middle eastern reporting and literature.

I'd probably stay here and drink very, very cold white wine. I'd wear a lot of black in the midday sun and Umberto Eco would develop a fascination with me.

Fantasy Holidays I Will Probably Never Go On Part 2

I am gratified that no tour company seems to offer the exact itinerary I would like for this one. I suspect that this may because the two constituent parts are dependent on (different) seasons but I'm allowing it to make me feel special.

Anyway, if I could somehow combine Black Tomato's Journey to the Centre of the Earth and the Icelandtotal.com trip Aurora Adventure I could die a happy girl.

I've been obsessed with the Northern Lights since well before I read the Philip Pullman trilogy of books, which only served to deepen my interest. Maybe it's coming from the flat lands of East Anglia where the skies are endless - I'm a gazer and could happily spend hours watching a storm approach or the sun fall.

I've also heard amazing reports about the diving in Iceland's interior. The water is all mountain run-off and, evidently, is so clear that divers frequently abort descents because of vertigo. The upside of this is visibility of over 30m (probably the best in the world) and the opportunity to see amazing underwater geological landscapes that are largely uncharted.

I will wear metallic black eyeliner in dark, dank clubs then fly in the water and wonder at the dancing sky.

Fantasy Holidays I Will Probably Never Go On Part 1

Desert Trekking and Diving in Ras Abu Galoum

I am completely fascinated by the desert landscape of the Middle East and the Sinai Peninsula bests them all. I've been trekking in the proper Sahara (with sand dunes and everything) and it was breathtaking but there's something about the rugged, angry terrain of red soil and scrub that makes me go a bit primal.

This coupled with the prospect of 10 dives in pristine, empty sites with only a buddy for company and sleeping under the stars does something funny to my tummy.

I will drink ice cold beer as the sky turns vermillion and smoke cigarettes with the men.