Music update and Sultanate celebrations

I still haven’t come up with a solution to my musical demands. I’m downloading podcasts but forgetting to listen to them!  I need to get in to the habit I think! Maybe that would be one benfit (read: THE SOLE benefit) of having a Mac; access to iTunes…I would be always downloading though!

Anyway, a new musical discovery to delight my discontented ears! One of the radio shows I found whilst listening to Zane Lowe was ‘Mumford and Sons and Friends’. It looks like it is not available anymore but some clips are available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v4srp#clips

It was a two hour concert hosted by 'new acoustic heroes Mumford and Sons, performing alongside their contemporaries Laura Marling, The Maccabees and Bombay Bicycle Club'. 

Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons

Laura Marling has a superb voice and, like Mumford and Sons and Admiral Fallow, is genuinely talented and makes beautiful, original and fresh music. Check out her website too   http://www.lauramarling.com; hover over the small pics/video icons and choose Goodbye India Vodcast. I think I really enjoyed this video because of the Indian musical addition, particularly with living here with a variety of Indian influences.

Other musical update: I’ve rediscovered Alex Lester on Radio 2. He has that shift in the very early hours. I used to listen to him on my way to work at the Beeb years back.

The Dark Lord

A morning drive through the country lanes of East Sussex and Kent listening to his dry humour and a brilliant eclectic playlist made those 4.45am starts so much more bearable. I was usually one of the first in the office at that time and I would carry on listening to The Dark Lord online. It was my hour of tranquillity and, dare I say it, sanity before the rest of the newsroom filled up with technical peeps and news-hungry journalists.

Other news in the Mitchell house: we have been allocated two tickets to attend the horse show that will be held during the visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh at the end of the month. The Sultan has invited Her Maj to the Sultanate to help celebrate the 40th Anniversary of his reign and the strong relationship between Oman and the United Kingdom.

There are two events that the public are able to have access to. The Official Welcome is an opportunity to line the route as Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh drive past on their way to be greeted by His Majesty. This will mean standing by the side of the road for around an hour and a half (I had in mind that it would be Bear and I and so not ideal for her and actually quite dull I’d say, to stand there and watch the dignitaries whizz by I suspect!). The second event is the Horse Show. “The Sultan’s horses and some of the best horsemen and women in the country will perform for Their Majesties for just over an hour. All members of the audience will be seated, but will need to be in place for at least an hour before the show begins. The show will take place in the afternoon.” A bit more like it, I think. Space is limited with only 300 tickets for the Horse Show so I applied to go in to the draw. And actually, to my surprise, we were successful!