birthday vizitz

Last week was my birthday and I had some visitors in the form of my family. My mum, Mike and my brother and sister Josh and Chandre came over to Berlin to visit little old me on my birthday. It was dead nice too! I haven't really seen them properly since I came here - when I went home in the summer I mostly spent the time staying at friends' houses and it was especially nice because my mum and Chandre and Josh had never been to Berlin before. We had a super-cool time and did all the usual sightseeing and what have you and then on the evening of my birthday we met up with Rolf, Edda's dad, who came all the way from sleepy Saerbeck to big, crazy Berlin. We had an absolutely delicious meal at a restaurant called Kirk Royal which is just on the bridge over the canal that links Kreuzberg to Neukolln. It's freakin' incredible. You should go. Twice. One of the things I loved most about it was the fact that they didn't force smokers outside to smoke in the freezing cold, au contraire!! You got to go in a dead amazing room downstairs under the restaurant with log fires and leather couches!! It was incredible! I well should have ordered myself a brandy and had a cigar.

It was dead sad when they left and my mum started crying, which is horrible to see. You don't wanna see your mum crying! It's too upsetting. Anyway, I felt really homesick over the next few days and it kind of sent me into a hole al through last week that I just couldn't get out of. At one point I think I lost the ability to speak at all - I just could not think of anything to say whatsoever...I don't know how Edda put up with it sometimes.

We're totally moved into the new flat now, too. It's boss, it really is nice. It's definitely the nicest flat I've ever lived in. Plus, I'm quietly proud of all my DIY achievements and whenever I go past the sink, I actually give it a little shuffle of acknowledgment and sometimes, when I just turn on the light switch, I have a little smug chuckle. That really happpens.

I'm getting into this playing alone lark too. I played at a place in Neukolln the other night and it was maybe the busiest gig I've played so far. I mean, it was still only about 30 people or so in a tiny little cafe (which, I think, used to be a butchers??) in Neukolln. Next week I'm going to fly to Trier to play with Geoff farina in the ex-haus. Feels dead extravagant.

I'm also going to start to record the Silent Sleep album next week. I don't know what it will turn out like, but I just want to get the songs down and out there and move on to either doing this 28 Costumes EP or the Hallo...I Love You! EP/Album. I have 10 Silent Sleep songs that I'm pretty pleased with, so for now I'll crack on with that and hopefully have it out by Jan/Feb.