Cheryl/Suburban kids with Biblical Names/Red Dust

Cheryl Tweedy

So what’s the deal with Cheryl then aside from the unashamedly obvious as I’m sure the photograph above illustrates. Well now you see I didn’t actually see any of Pop Idol so I didn’t chart her rise from ordinary to er..well.. famous ordinary, and I barely noticed her around the time of the first Girls Aloud single release and subsequent album, in fact I didn’t even register her amid the furore of the notorious bar fight she was in. I think I first picked up on Tweedy in the video for ‘Love Machine’, one of the singles off their second album, there she was in the background so animated and theatrical, she winks and shrugs like she in some sort of slightly sultry mime act. There’s an actress in there somewhere – not a great one mind you - but there is something going on that says she’ll outlive GA.
She’s cheeky cabaret of the lowest common denominator, but for some reason that works for me.


Surburban Kids with Biblical Names



Suburban Kids with Biblical Names wants to “turn all the dance floors into a burning inferno of Ba-ba-ba” Apparently.
SKWBN is Johan Hedberg and Peter Gunnarsson and they make the songs in Peter’s parents hallway…sounds like it too. A wonderfully stupid and catchy chorus and equally strange verses, “Did you see me eating Frosties from your fridge?”
What’s not to like, Ba-ba-ba-ba….

MP3: Surburban kids with Biblical Names - Rent a Wreck

Red Dust -Ma Jian



I read this book while on holiday in Corfu, the holiday company had made some ‘internal error’ and had only accounted for one weeks accommodation for our two week holiday, so at the end of week one we were virtually thrust onto the street. After some lengthy discussion they realised they couldn’t really get away with that – especially as one of us was under two – and they ceased the hostilities and duly housed us in our own private villa. It had a vast panoramic veranda and this is where I read Red Dust, looking out over miles of sea, beach and the busy streets below.
Red dust tells the semi autobiographical tale of a photographer turning thirty who, due to growing disillusionment with the state, sets off on a three year voyage of self discovery across China. It’s set in 1983 and shows China on the cusp of a cultural revolution, Ma Jian’s journey takes him to the remotest rural areas and also the most desolate and squalid cities and then, finally, comes full circle. The destination isn’t important but the journey is a revelation, if you only have limited knowledge of China then this book captivates from the offset and will have you reaching for your atlas and passport simultaneously.

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