A trip to the chemist turned into a trip to Bankside. It sometimes feels that photographs are one of the few things I have left that let me feel at least somewhat in control of life of late.

Click the above image to see the rest of the (admittedly, small…) set on Flickr.

It’s the little things that make it all worth it. My only wish is Kayte were there to share it with me, instead of half-way around the world.

Reading the BBC on my late evening rounds, I caught the very sad news that Neil Aspinall passed away earlier today at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Neil, commonly called the fifth Beatle, was until last sumer, Chief Executive of Apple Corps, the Beatle’s music label. Aspinall was the driving force behind the Beatle’s sales after the band split, and also was pivotal in ensuring that the 1987 release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on CD (the band’s first CD release, and a massive rework of the original Mono recording) was surrounded by a media and publicity frenzy.

In the time I spent working with Apple Corps, the few times I dealt with Neil were all wonderful. Likewise, working with his wife Suzy was always a pleasure, and I would look forward to the calls. Neil will be missed, but his influence on one of the greatest musical acts of our time will not be forgotten.

Between this, and the passing of Geoffrey Quinn (alias Paul Raymond, another former employer) it’s been a sad month. Here’s to hoping that the next is somewhat more cheery.

Not the delicious Belgian Pale Ale, but actual, honest to God rumblings of the ground. At +53° 19′ 15.60″, -0° 18′ 50.40″ 00:56:46.0 UTC there was a distinct rumble as the ground jolted about, and again, a few minutes later, there was a mild aftershock. Initial reports peg the quake at a pretty sedate 5.3, but it was still enough to wake me here in London, a good 150 odd miles away.

More as the BBC reports it in the morning. Edit, Auntie just put a small snippet up. No doubt, it’ll be updated as more information comes to light.

I’ve no time now to go into the specifics, but right now, I’m in Studio One of AIR listening to a live set from KT Tunstall and Billy Bragg.

All I can say is that this is one of the best musical experiences of my life, ever. It’s right up there with Sigur Rós. More later.