Ralph Lauren Rugby

There is something about the secret society connotations of this that has really caught my eye. Plus as far as I can tell, I haven't seen anyone wearing it in London or in any shops. I'm going to the US in a couple of months, I am definitely picking up one of these. That is unless we are overrun with this by October.

Steve McQueen & Prefab Sprout

I can remember never really being sure about Prefab Sprout, I think it's because they were on a live recording of the ITV programme Get Fresh with Gaz Top I went to see; and it left me with a feeling that they must be a bit naff.

As time went by, and if you can remember Get Fresh, that will give you an indication how long ago we are talking. I revisited them and fell in love with them properly, through their Best Of album. Which is of course fantastic in it's own right, but when you consider that 5 or so of the tracks came straight off Steve McQueen and that 'Bonny' is not even on the Best Of, that's when the mark of how fine this album really is.

It is also a neat fit, that I have recently begun a small Steve McQueen style obsession: Persol, chambray, Sanders Chukka boots, baracuta etc etc. When I next pass through Duty Free, I'm picking up a bottle of Eau D'Sauvage as well.

Anita Berber

As I have now definitely reached the period in my life where the policemen are younger than me. I view hooded youth and their borderline anti social behaviour with a marginally pitying demeanour; and let out a loud melancholic sigh at 'Celebs'

I recall a phrase commonly used in my youth 'you didn't invent it you know'. Nothing illustrates this more than Anita Berber, who as a performing artist in 1920s Berlin would according to Wikipedia.......

Her performances broke boundaries with their androgyny and total nudity, but it was her public appearances that really challenged taboos. Berber's overt cocaine use and bisexuality were matters of public chatter. She was allegedly the sexual slave of a woman and the woman's 15-year-old daughter. She could often be seen in Berlin's hotel lobbies, nightclubs and casinos; she would walk around naked except for a sable fur, carrying a pet monkey and a silver brooch full of cocaine, while flaunting her lesbian lovers—removing the barrier between performance and normal life. Besides being a cocaine addict, she was an alcoholic.

Take that Heat Magazine, nobody's got a pet monkey in this week's issue I'm sure.

2nd Magazine x Take Ivy

Fantastic scans of the 2nd Magazine's feature on Take Ivy http://forums.filmnoirbuff.com/viewtopic.php?id=6309&p=1

Pacific Crest Trail

By way of Oneupmanship and Jake Davis blog, a more detailed site on the Pacific Crest Trail. Extreme trekking and hippie ramblers. Ties in nicely with my latest obsession of walking and updating my wardrobe accordingly. Makes my impending festival look rather tame though.

http://www.pbase.com/mad_monte1/pct_1977_retro_thruhike

Riding buses for fun

The amazing thing about the internet is that there are actually people who do the same things as you. I'm not talking about weirdo sex stuff, but really cool things like this guy who writes a blog about riding London buses

I've been a big fan of this low cost pastime for years myself. Never thought about writing about it though. I am particularly impressed with the tremendously unfashionable routes he chooses: New Addington to Thornton Heath, that one must be a corker. Great commentary on the diverse and fascinating fellow travelers as well.

http://lndn.blogspot.com/2001_12_01_lndn_archive.html

One night in Turin

Wasn't sure about this when I saw it advertised a month or so ago, the Gary Oldman narration put the fear of dread in me and reminded me of huddling around a portable TV 15 years ago to watch Trouble on the Terraces, that one narrated by Sean Bean if I remember correctly.

Shouldn't really have worried - it's a great documentary. Of course there is quite a lot of beenie hat and England 3rd shirt wearing; and the obligatory plastic chair throwing. Actually, there isn't that much chair throwing, perhaps that was more Euro 92. The Soundtrack is immense and had me reaching for the Mondays, Stone Roses and the mighty Wedding Present immediately. All woefully overlooked by myself in the past 10 years.

What really struck me though was the socio-political dimension, a government out of touch, a country on its knees and football so far removed from popular culture, who would have thought 2 months later Gazza would be splashing it all over and singing with Lindisfarne.

It is also very touching in parts - in particular the Gazza and Bobby Robson relationship. I'm grateful that I hadn't had a drink or i'd have welled up.

It'll probably be on TV soon anyway - but I would definitely pick it up for one of the nights in the knock out phase, assuming England are still in it.