Trade Union

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Had an excellent Christmas at home with the snowman and the lady of the house (seen here on Parliament Hill where we felt particularly out of place without a kite).

New Year was a similarly low-key affair though not entirely by design. London has never been an easy place to live and certainly never a cheap place for the everyman. Commuting around the capital is considerably more expensive than feeding yourself although at least as necessary if you're to afford the extortionate rent. Small savings can be made by buying in advance - the travelcard is pocket sized, fancy and saves my peers and I enough for a pint at the end of the month (not to be sniffed at with these prices!). It allows me travel on buses and tubes across the capital and is vital for maintaining your sanity through contact with friends with whom you can dissect the problems of the city, work on your carefully constructed fantasies for escape and discuss new and effective ways to avoid signing up to charities on Oxford Street.

It's a dog eat dog city, and then the buggers go on strike. Not on Monday morning when an excuse for being late for work wouldn't hurt one little bit, on New Year's Eve, the one night of the year it's free to travel on the tube and it's open most of the night. I'm all for trade unions and where necessary industrial action, as a kid I marched with Scargill on the miner's strike and to a lesser degree I feel I'm doing my bit by carrying The Guardian around whilst allowing a feeling of self-worth to wash over me. I can't help but feel that this strike hurts the little guy more than is strictly necessary. I'm applying for a refund for New Year's Eve, you too can join my political stance here. Chris Martin eat your heart out.

All this meant that our nearest allies in the fight for a most drunken night in on the last night of '05 couldn't make it and so it was left to Kate and I to plough our way through the Gin and '06 pie:

I'm taking some time off for the gig on the 24th and would love it if some of you could join us for a party. We can offer food, drink, bed and pool for those of you willing to make the trip and it's my birthday on the 23rd so a good time is sure to be had.

BREAKING NEWS: The Pulse Rated have added The MüVs to their radio playlist. From what I can gather they offer the opportunity to vote for artists so once again I'm calling in the favours - please vote for The MüVs and let me know if you hear us playing.



Christmas. Despite all the whining of previous posts I had a bloody lovely time and got some (I don't use this word lightly) incredible chocolate spread - thanks Clare. I know it's been good because going back to work has been a b*tch, I'm joining the union.