Hello all. It’s a lovely and very sunny Bank Holiday Monday in the UK and I feel that I need to put together a blog to explain my absence from here over the last few weeks.

I suppose it all started when Ozzy left. I’m really missing her terribly and perhaps I’m feeling quite low when I’m on my own. As has been evidenced previously on this blog, my way of coping with with grief is just to stuff my face.

It’s no excuse really but as I’ve not been to Slimming World for over a month. Most of the events that I’ve been to recently mean that I’ve not been able to get to the Thursday group. In that time, it feels that I’ve put my recent losses back on.

My eating is really out of control and everything feels like it’s going to be very difficult to get myself back into the swing of things. I will be back at The World of Slim to see what the damage is and I’m fairly convinced that I’ve but the best part of a stone back on even in the last few weeks.

Despite SW this week, next week I will be heading North to see Alex in Scotland. I have been promised lots of walking but knowing previous trips then there will be lots of great food and beers!

July

Going away to festivals was always a bit of a problem then it came to looking after Ozzy. I always had to rely on mates to pop in on her so it was a bit unusual not having to ask Jim if he was available.

Mid July’s first trip was out to Wincaton Racecourse where we found the Rock ‘n Ribs Festival. It was billed as a three day festival and was a good day out but I don’t think that there was enough to keep me entertained for more than a day.

Images from the day can be found here: Rock ‘n Ribs

A week later it was Steelhouse and I think that was my last visit to Slimming World. I managed a maintain that week which was good as it really was at the start of my month of decline.

Steelhouse of course was an amazing little festival. Not massively fussed on the headliners, WASP and Those Damn Crows but the undercard was really good. Bands like Wednesday 13 and Tailgunner gave it their all and were far better than the headliners.

There was plenty of food and some amazing beers to be had there. My favourite was a Baked Potato with Honey BBQ Chicken, to be enjoyed under a poncho in the pouring rain!

Steelhouse still remains my favourite UK festival however. Its proximity to home (about 45 minutes) is a big seller, however it’s alway full of some amazing people who over the years have become great friends. I hope that next year I’ll be able to take Alex with me.

My gallery from Steelhouse 2025 is here.

Another Thursday and another gig. This time one of the most successful pop duo’s of all time and quite a significant change of pace for me. It was The Pet Shop Boys.

I absolutely adore the Shoppies. They have been a massive part of my youth, right the way from West End Girls to their remix of a Rammstein song!

They did a massive two hours and I loved every minute of it. I did drive to this one so there was no alcohol involved but there was pizza. 🙂

My images are here: Pet Shop Boys

August

My first event of August was Bloodstock.

Four days of Metal and Mayhem. Well, of course at my age, there was slightly less mayhem than usual. It was great to spend time with the boys from Ofnus.

Some amazing new bands were discovered. Gnome from Belgium were absolutely stunning and Mantis versus Lobster were really good. Unfortunately I missed Adfelion but caught up with them at the weekend in London.

It was decided to come home from the festival early on Sunday. There really wasn’t much of any interest. Shame really as it was a good festival but by the last day, I’d really had enough.

The week after the festival I felt really ill. I thought that it was just the Festival Lurgy or maybe sunstroke but it was quite possibly covid again! I had an incredible headache and a throat that felt like it was full of razor blades. As a result, I missed Slimming World again but at least I had an excuse this time.

My Bloodstock Gallery is here.

Next up and again for some reason on a Thursday night it was Florence Black at Chepstow Castle.

Another amazing night. Four bands, each of outstanding quality with the headliners showcasing new tracks from their forthcoming album.

First up, Trucker Diablo, then Black Lakes. I don’t think that I’d seen either of these bands live. Black Lakes were a bit emoish but as the set developed then they didn’t sound too bad.

Next up were South of Salem. I’ve seen them a few times now and they have played both Steelhouse and Bloodstock. They are a great up and coming band, very hard working and developing a good fanbase. I’d say that quite a lot of punters were there for them over the headliners.

However, Florence Black were just a class above. They have become an incredibly tight band, not without surprises. They played their new song straight from the off and revisited their previous albums with a great setlist.

They played a tribute to Mr Ozzy Osbourne and they brought out 76 year old Ray Phillips, the original drummer of Budgie for their cover of Breadfan.

An incredible night out.

Finally we come to last weekend and a visit to that there London Town. A friend was playing a pub in the Hoxton so it was a late decision to head up and enjoy a few beers.

It was a good weekend but the digs left a little to be desired…

Okay, it wasn’t in Brixton Nick but it wasn’t far off. You could here the lags shouting to their partners outside.

The accommodation was abysmal. A tiny little place with a sofa bed that was supremely uncomfortable. As I was putting it away, I discovered a pair of someone else’s boxer shorts underneath it. There was no toilet paper and the shower had a step that must have been a foot high!

There was a bit of travel by bus and tube to get to the venue but once there, it was a fantastic little gig. £12.50 and a tinly little room. No more than 30 people there and to be honest, most of them were the bands that were playing!

However it was an incredible evening with some amazingly talented people and a couple of the bands gained a number of new followers.

You can see my gallery here.

Anyway, that was the last few months in a little nutshell. I hope it goes someway to explaining my disappearance from the Blogosphere.

It may also help me realise why the next weigh in on Thursday will not be a good one. I definitely need to get myself back on track and I do hope that my visit to Scotland next week will be one that will help. I know that Alex will keep me on the straight and narrow.

There may be a few off days but hopefully the walking and adventuring will be magnificent.

Anyway, I’ll let you know how I get on after weigh in on Thursday.

Love all.

Phil.