I like trains

Of course, I didn't actually see anyone die on Saturday - I saw a chain of events that led me to believe no-one could have survived. And that has been confirmed since: Brian Brown of Doncaster crashed Hawker Hurricane BD707 from Duxford into a field near Lancing College during a simulated dogfight involving Spitfires, Hurricanes and Messerschmitts during Shoreham Airshow. That shocking and tragic event has rather reset my memory. I was going to blog that Thursday and Friday nights were ideal for the elderly gentleman about town. Thursday's Catalyst Club [when is Cheeky David going to update his website?] provided four talks for four quid, plus a slideshow on the World Moustache and Beard Championships of which David Bramwell was a judge. The talks were: Astrology (boring), Pierrepoint (by Ross Gurney-Randall who had a play called 'Follow me' on the subject at Edinburgh), cunnilingus (rather puerile), and finally and aptly Hitler's moustache (apparently he had bits sticking out each side in the first world war but his sister in law in Dublin told him to cut them off - later she said 'I think he's gone too far'! A white supremacist website say it was the minimum necessary to purify the air going up his nostrils...). Friday night , I popped into the MA illustration show PV briefly but it was a pay bar so resolved to go back when it's less busy. Onwards to the seafront and the Jonny Hannah PV at Castor and Pollux. The show is entitled 'Hot dogs and rocket fuel' and Jonny does gorgeous linocuts and silkscreened prints (usually at BIP) and has painted several 'oilcans' (great value at £120 each). Whenever I see a book cover I like these days, it's usually by Jonny - so he's getting the respect he deserves. Mike Levy was very generous with the 'red plonk' so I was quite merry when I set off along the beachfront (past a huge queue to see Maximo Park at a new nightclub called Digital) to Barfly (formerly The Gloucester) to see iLiKETRAiNS. Any band with that name I've got to like, especially as they issue Railcards and have an enamel badge to buy with iLiKETRAiNS written in a British Railways totem. I used my former to buy the latter at the merchandise stall and received a free button badge and poster! They were excellent live, albeit very sombre and downbeat, a bit like British Sea Power. And it was all over by 11pm so I could get home to my pipe, slippers and wee dram of whatever is on special offer at Sainsbury's this week. Many thanks to Anna Moulescombe of Melting Vinyl for getting me in. Train spotters will see from my Flickr website that I was at the Bluebell Railway yesterday with the Clarion cycling club (Horsted Keynes buffet does a lovely pint of Harvey's). Tonight it's Howe Gelb at the newly refurbished and private-members club The Hanbury Ballroom in Kemp Town. Wonder if it's proper beer there or will I have to resort to the old standby of lime 'n' soda again?