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It’s been a while since a proper update. Here we go.

Emily has arrived in London. There was a golden year there when we worked at Warners and we used to joke around. Being back at Warners and having her around, it feels both comfortable and frighteningly familiar. Even the desks and the atmosphere are kind of 2003.

We went to great New Years party that was as random as it was fun. The highlight was at 5am, when we had no idea how to get home and out of nowhere the clouds parted and provided us with a cab.

Since then work has definitely kicked into gear. Been spending a lot of time at work but that is fine, it’s keeping me occupied. I’m living 5 minutes from the office so I can go home for lunch, and sleep in til the absolute last minute.

I have been having a few sleepless nights. But I’m definitely keeping busy. Meeting lots of people, going to drinks and parties, but not many gigs yet. I have tickets to the Fratellis and Ash at the moment. The weather has been quite mild and if anything negative has to be said about the whole thing, it’s that it already feels quite like a normal life.

I miss the travelling quite a bit especially now it’s warmed up. Had a long chat with Adrian and he helped me realise that maybe staying in London for the next three years or whatever may actually be a worse case scenario. And I can’t forget Europe is just across the water. To that end, this morning, I booked a Eurostar to Paris and will stay the weekend. I love Paris.

Otherwise London has been lovely to me. I’m in Kensington and on Sundays I walk through Hyde Park into Soho. I’ve been gawking at guitars and MacBooks. Yesterday I finally went to the Tate Modern, which I can only describe as breathless. Photos when I get my new laptop, don’t you worry.

I’ve also decided to explore British culture more, now that I’m hear. I re-read the last Harry Potter, and started on a John Peel biography. I’ve been watching This Life. Listening to the radio. Getting into the vibe. I have lots of books I will finally read – Trainspotting, Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, some Sherlock Holmes.

Today I’m at work, trying not to drown in it. My feet hurt from walking. But it’s getting better all the time.

Danny
London

Okay, after all that, I promise not to write about music for a while.

It’s my last night in South London – tomorrow I strike out on my own, and I have a room in a flat in Kensington to call my own. I’m excited and I’m anxious. It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be lonesome (as opposed to lonely), and I’m going to get very bored at nights, because I don’t want to buy a guitar or a new laptop til my next pay. So I expect a lot of reading time.

Christmas was quite relaxed. I called people from home and if there was an underlying theme, it was how nothing has changed. Only real bit of gossip was two friends who finally hooked up. Then again, I don’t know what I was expecting. Nothing really happens. And when it does, it’s usually bad. It cured a big bout of homesickness though.

And I guess that’s a wrap for 2006. What long, strange trip. I have to keep reminding myself I’m in fucking London. Me and my friend Emily almost got run over today and I thought, hey, better than being run over at home. I’m in the land of Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, Monty Python and East 17.

Hope you have a happy new year, and had one too.

Danny Yau
London (Balham – for the last time)

I’ve said goodbye to the carefree life and I’ve started again in the work force.

So I’m waking up early in the cold, foggy, plane stopping mornings and catching crowded tubes. But it’s great. A great job, a big change, and things are moving quite quickly. I’ve looked at a place and hopefully I’ll get it.

I’ve come into work at the Christmas season so there’s not a tremendous amount to do, and lots of long lunches. It’s tiring. So tiring that I fell asleep on the tube. I’m back at the same company I was working with 2 years ago, an I’m getting emails from spammers who’ve held onto my email all that time. But the people here are very nice.

So, I’m still in Balham, and will be over Christmas. I’m really looking forward to sleeping for a few days, and call a wrap to this huge year.

Have a happy holidays, everyone!
Danny
London

So the arrival of Lisa and Kim has sparked off a big slog of tourist activity. Not that I laid too low before then.

l-r: Lisa and Kim at Buckingham Palace

For those tuning in late, Lisa and Kim are from Melbourne, Australia. We became fast friends in Paris, hung out in Spain and they’ve since been to all sorts of places, and have come back to London. What can I say about them. They’ve been keeping me entertained and making me miss Australia. They are pretty much on their return journey home, where I’m still going to be here, on my own for the holidays. In any event, it’s great to have the band back together for one last show.

Abbey Road

So I’m beginning to get the swing of swinging London. I feel like I’ve adjusted to the weather. It’s like swimming, just keep moving to keep warm. I’m more than fine getting around. I’ve gone back to giving people exact money and not rounding up or down to the nearest 5 cents. I know Debenhams from my Marks And Spencers.

Like I said, it’s all been a bit touristy these last few days. Palaces, parks, statues, towers, famous album covers and more. Kim took this fantastic photo of me at Trafalgar Square:

I’m lion down. Get it??

The guards at London Tower really don’t move.

We also saw some theatre in the West End, an amazing performance of Chicago. In the foyer was a poster of Ashlee Simpson, who played Roxie but had since left. A shame. But it was amazing to see some real theatre.

It’s bittersweet though because after this weekend I rejoin the workforce and pretty much knuckle down for the holidays. Next step is to sort out banking and then getting a place, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Hope everyone’s doing well. If you haven’t gotten a postcard from me, it’s because I haven’t been manage to send even one yet.

Danny

So my laptop has finally died. I will try not to descend into cliche with anecdotal details on the laptop from my salad days. Suffice to say it’s quite annoying.

I also start my new job in a week. I realised a flaw in my thinking. I deliberately packed very little for my backpacking. Now I have about 7 t-shirts to last me a year. And one towel. True bachelor living awaits me.

I have finally taken to being a tourist here. Wandered around all the usual – Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Big Ben, some museum hopping and more. I also spent about an hour in Sister Ray, an indie record shop on Berwick Street, ie, the street on the cover of What’s the Story Morning Glory.

I’m completely undecided about what guitar to buy, although I guess a new laptop now takes priority. I want to get something weird, something not found in Australia.

I wish I had something more funny and interesting to say. I did see something called a ‘Dog Toilet’ today, which was basically a sand box in a park. That was pretty funny.

So overall it’s about a 7 out of 10. It’s going to be a boring Xmas of working. And I realise that January here will be quite different to the ones in Australia. No laid back afternoons in a beer garden, no Big Day Out and side shows to round out the month. Just another, normal, everyday month.

Danny
London
(future blogs may be scanned from handwriting)

Look, I know optimism and happiness is not cool.

Let me digress. One day, many moons ago, Warwick at Greville was dealing with a customer who didn’t like Paul McCartney. I’ll paraphrase, but our anti-McCartney-ist, let’s call him John…well John just thought Macca was a bit of a lightweight. He’s pop waste. Especially Wings. Where’s the balls? Where’s the passion? Compared to Lennon’s best solo work, which came roaring like fire from the stomach and the heart, Macca was a wet blanket.

To which Warwick responded: It’s not his fault he lived a blessed life.

Which is true. He did. He was the victim of divorce, sure, but he took it in his stride. He was in a great band, made millions, laughed his way through it, married early, very little baggage and didn’t find religion. Would you want him to write and sing something like ‘Mother’? No. So he has his detractors but he’s happier than the lot of us. Yes, it means he churns out mundane work sometimes, but the guy’s blessed, what do you expect?

So I haven’t made McCartney’s millions, but I’m feeling pretty blessed. I sat today in Kensington Gardens, drinking a coffee and thinking about Peter Pan (it’s set in that park). And thinking, for the first time ever, that things have turned out kind of all right for me overall. And any time anyone has ever said to me “You’ll be fine”, I’ve always brushed off, but they are right.

Again, let me digress. I remember something Judie said…”It’s not like you’re whole life is going to fall apart because you haven’t booked a hostel for one night. Like, I lost everything in my life and then I died because I didn’t book a hostel for one night.”

Anyway that’s a long ramble into what I want to say, which is I’ve had a good life. I really have.

I met someone today who knew someone I used to know. Who passed away, and who I miss dearly. I mumbled and stumbled my way through the conversation. And yeah, there are down times. Things go wrong. But I feel like I’ve made so many right moves. Like every job I’ve left there has been mixed feelings, but it always ends up that I left at the right time. I’ve made more right choices then wrong choices. Even when I’ve been off course, something there knocks me back on it.

So I followed my heart out of Australia. Then followed it Spain, which led me to London, which is exactly where I need to be right now. I feel like it’s coming together, and the future is bright. And I look back, and I have no complaints. And few regrets.

I don’t know what you think of Wings. It could be the self indulgent ramble of someone happier than you. A boring tirade that is without heart, fire or balls. Four colours, no edges. That’s fine. Whatever makes you happy, I guess. But it’s not my fault.

(it’s late, I ramble. I prefer McCartney over Lennon. Superman over Batman. Brandon over Dylan.)

Danny
London

(I wish I could take credit for the dad joke that is the title of this blog, but I cannot. It belongs to Adrian)

So I left Paris for London and I’ve been here a few days now. I’m staying with Marianne and Tim. They have been lovely to me.

I’m not writing much because I already feel I’m living here rather than adventuring here. I haven’t done many tourist things. Have not been to Abbey Road. Have not seen Big Ben or the London Eye. I did find the statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

I’ve gone for a few jobs and it looks like I might have gotten a good one. Been going out a little but mainly trying to get settled. Trying to figure out which neighbourhood to live in.

There’s more to write but I’ll do it more later. This is just a little update for those who are wondering.

Look Cath, no swearing at all.

Danny

Oh, hi there.

I’m about to rant. So might be a good time to press ‘back’ or something.

There’s that famous Ian Mackaye quote about indie rock in the 90s, where he said the conversations changed from the music to the business (who’s supportig who, who’s signed to what etc).

Somehow the conversations have changed on me. It might be cos of Spain.

The conversations the last few nights have been about where you’re from, rather than we’re you’re going.

I’m sitting here talking about the movie The Castle while an American guy tells me about hip hop culture, and a Puerto Rico guy tells me about Spanish. I really want to be a Louvin Brother and ask these people when did they stop dreaming? Did you come all this way to tell me about where you’re from?

Maybe in Paris it was different. People ceded themselves to te city. There as a pomise here. It was less of a party town. This Spainish party life…it feels like it makes us all feel less special.

You know, talking about hip hop, I can tell you one of the things I love about hip hop, is that it makes equals out of us. Sort of. The few hip hop shows I’ve been to, there’s certainly a greter mix of people than the influx of 20ish midle class whites that make up 90 percent of indie rock clubs. But here I am at the negative side of that. Everyone here is so boring.

Ok that’s maybe a bit harsh. I just know I’ve been talking to people for the last two hours and i felt like I haven’t gotten to know anyone here at all. This wasn’t how it was last week, when it seemed I made 14 life long friends in one night.

The conversations have changed and maybe it’s time to find a new bar.

Danny
Madrid (the place I’ve been writing so much cos there’s so much time to, and I’m so inspired to catalogue the details of it, Raymond Carver style)

So I have some time to kill. As Liam points out…yes, I am updating this thing a lot aren’t I?

So Spain has been OK. Barcelona was FULL ON and overwhelming and I shouldn’t have pulled an all nighter before I left. Met some nice people though, had some great food and after a couple of days really got into the vibe of it, in my own little way.

Hung out with Beth for some time. She is there studying to teach English. It seems that’s all anyone does over here. I can’t think of any other real highlights in Barcelona. I bought a new jumper. Ben and I walked around for a while. Thumbed through some CD shops and that was that.

Caught an early bus to Madrid to meet up with Kim and Lisa. Madrid has been dreary. I’ve been here three days and it’s rained for two of them. You can’t have everything I guess. Spent yesterday wandering around the palace grounds.

The CD shops in Madrid are fantastic. And so cheap compared to the rest of Europe. Must do shopping excursions here. Just a sea of bootlegs and rare records. Not even expensive rare stuff, just odd stuff like Epic Soundtracks solo albums and the entire solo output of Mark Olson. Who the hell stocks that crap? Madrid, that’s who.

Met even more Australians here and I must admit it got me a bit homesick. Over a night we discuss Australian polirics, sport, cities and music. Today I even put Paul Kelly on random on the ipod. It’s made me think about what I’m trying to achieve here in my travels. And it made me realise how Australian I am.

I did try my best Spanish in a shop today and the girl came back at me with English. Oh and she was super cute this girl. You know what’s hard? Trying to chat up someone in a language you know very little of.

Ao that’s Spain. Not going to San Sebastian or Bilbao after all. Flying back to Paris tomorrow and will take it from there. It was a bit of a let down really, but maybe Spain is like one of those kinda grumpy girls, that when you’re high energy and up for it, tshe will be too. But if you’re just moping around, then she’s going to find another party.

Hopefully Wi Fi will kick back to life in Paris and photos will be coming soon.

Danny
Madrid

What follows is an email I sent to my friends Bec & Craig. I thought it was worth publishing.

Oh man

So I’m at this Flamenco restaurant/club. This cheapo place near my hostel (free for guests of the Cat Hostel) here in Madrid. Fits about a hundred, all seated. The flamenco is kind of crap. I’m striking up a conversation with three girls from just north of Sacremento, California. Some young Spanish fella comes and tries to chat up these girls. Which was fine because he gave us an interesting bit of information.

Mischa Barton is in the front row.

And yup, there he was. I had to put on my glasses to make sure. Wearing a yellow dress and looking a bit like the Bride from Kill Bill. Which was funny in itself but the best part is yet to come.

Her publicist must have set it up and after the show Mischa was escorted to meet the performers at the side of stage and have a photo taken. Someone with a digital camera also takes a snap. And then it was on for young and old. The place erupts with digital cameras taking photos of Mischa and the band. Like, fifty people rushing the stage for an impromptu photo shoot. Poor Mischa.

Not saying I didn’t snap a couple of photos myself. But at least I took one of the crowd of photographers too. Maybe I can beat them to selling mine to New Idea.

Danny
Madrid