Oh yeah, I remember, I quite like those Manics boys...

So after their not-quite-two-year hiatus, the Manics are well and truly BACK. All the excitement has inspired me to revisit the last few times I saw them, waaay back in 2011.

First up, in October, was a rather jammy opportunity to see them in the smallest and most legendary venue I could imagine, Night & Day Cafe. It was a radio thing and for once in my life, I was in the right place at the right time and managed to bag a couple of VIP guestlist places. The gig itself was short and atmosphere a bit strange, as these type of things tend to be, full of competition winners and media types. But watching Sean play a box was hilarious and we got a spine-tingling rendition of She Is Suffering.



The biggest thrill was running round to the back of the venue like a teenager and gushing, blushing and finally, after a decade of waiting, getting my Everything Live video cover signed. James mock-applauded me 'sticking it to the man', after I explained that security had refused me getting it signed at the HMV Cardiff 'Truth' album launch in 1998!



Not content with one meeting in a month, I also went along to the HMV signing of the big pink polaroid book (I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know what it is). There was lots of waiting...


... as well as quite a bit of squealing when my queue-mate discovered a whole paragraph about her in the book's intro text! But it was definitely worth it, for my one and only fan-girl Manics pic (thanks Franny!) :D



So by the time we reached December, I had completed my regression to 17-year-old teenybopper extremes of giddiness. Much of the nervous anticipation for the big O2 extravaganza was channeled into customising my gig-dress. I was aiming for the DIY aesthetic but with crowd/beer/pogo-proof durability. I think I managed it, although sitting down proved a risky business.



The gig was everything I hoped for and more.





Nicky had a few skirt issues...



Sean was a drum master. Of course he was.



Man and dog...



The screens were so hypnotic I sometimes forgot to look at the band on stage.



It all ended in a flurry of confetti and tears.



Welcome back Manic Street Preachers! We missed ya x

P.S. You can click through the pics to get to the full albums on flickr!

Not so Impossible Project

So last month I posted my first, admittedly quite disastrous, attempts at taking 'polaroid' pictures with my Impossible Project film. But my later pictures were mostly half-decent - hurrah! It was a lot of fun trying out the film... a bit demoralising when the chemicals didn't spread properly, but brilliant when they worked. I think my favourite is the sunny heather one - I can almost feel the warmth emanating from the picture!

Impossible, Nicky? Really?

"If this is the Impossible Project film, it doesn't work." - Nicky Wire on Something for the Weekend last October (watch for yourself here).

Never being one to turn down a challenge, this bold exclamation was all I needed to get myself on Ebay and buy a pack to try and prove him wrong! Of course, I knew it could work, with a bit of effort and a lot of luck... but I was interested to see what I myself, and my old second hand Polaroid 600, could come up with.

As you can see, my first 3 attempts have been a little less than awe inspiring! But there's been a steady improvement in the spreading of the chemicals, thanks to a good squeeze of the mechanism when taking the picture. I've been using an old box to shield the picture as soon as it's taken, then sticking it in my jeans pocket for a while to help it on its way.

A little more research and a bit more trial and error and if I can get one picture from this film as good as some of the ones on the Impossible Project site, I'll be happy!