Yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Being asked to be a trustee of the Stopped Clocks charity



The tranquility of Muswell Hill at night - driving Jeremy through night-time London



N and D's reports/teacher consultations - both love learning

Gigs - Sinead & America

Sinead O'Connor (Damien Dempsey)

Festival Hall

Mon, Nov 12, 2007

Theology Tour



1 Emperor's New Clothes

2 (grave song)

3 Thief of My Heart

4 Out of Ireland (preacher song)

5 «Theology songs»

6 If you had a Vineyard ***

7 Nothing Compares 2U *

8 Thank you (for loving me)

9 accapella trio (My Love)

10 Encore: Black boys on mopeds

11 Junkie Lies***



America

Roundhouse

Sun, Nov 11, 2007

Here & Now Tour



1 Ventura Highway **

2 «Here & Now»

3 I Need You ***

4 Sandman

5 Encore: Horse with No Name*

Nothing Compares 2 Sinead - Track of the Day

If You Had a Vineyard as performed by Sinead O'Connor at the Festival Hall this evening - based on scriptures from the Book of Isaiah (verbatim)



Me & Sinead: our history

* 1980s Irish Festival at the Barbican with U

* Forum (Kentish Town) with Roddy & Eddie

* Cambridge Corn Exchange with U

* Empire (Shepherd's Bush) playing with Sly & Robbie c2005 Throw Down Your Arms tour with Jonathan Holmes

* Festival Hall tonight

Irish blood - Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Sinead O'Connor at the Festival Hall with Neil Burgess (highlights: If you had a Vineyard and Junkie Lies) - supported by Damien Dempsey (= Paul Brady [modern sean nos] + Christie Moore [bullish politics] + Sting [eccentric accent])

Evening walk from Horseferry Road through Westminster to Festival Hall

Apologising to N (about discouraging homework incident yesterday)

Round the house - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Seeing America play at the Roundhouse, their first gig there since 1971, the year after they formed (highlights: Ventura Highway and I Need You)

Teaching N how to drop kick

Sunday roast (chicken) at home

America - Track of the Day

I Need You as performed tonight by America at the Roundhouse, London

America last played the Roundhouse in 1971

(it struck me this evening: America = Crosby Stills & Nash + Steely Dan)


I need you
Like the flower needs the rain
You know, I need you
Guess I'll start it all again
You know, I need you
Like the winter needs the spring
You know I need you
I need you

Recent Happiness Experiment entries

Today:

Going to the Lord Mayor's Show with D - the view of him standing at the end of Little Britain when we first arrived (the street in the City, not the TV show)

Watching Die Hard 4 en famille

Photographing Louise Bourgeois' spider with N - a chip off the old photographic block

Yesterday:

Spotting two matching girls on the street in Prague with Alfie - photographic flaneurs together

Lunch at the Golem restaurant around the old Jewish quarter

Reading Agatha Christie's '4.50 from Paddington' on the 23.20 to Paddington

Czech it out - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

My first impressions of Prague - a night view of the river from behind the Kafka Museum, towards the Charles Bridge (dark ducks in the foreground)

Walking over the bridge in the darkness in my long black coat

Coming runner-up in the Eureka Mobile Awards with Big Art Mob - losing to some porno outfit who squeeze 55 dollars a week out of their users - adding to the dark surreality of this place

Striking gold - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Winning the second ever RTS (Royal Television Society) Innovation Award with Big Art Mob - there were only 6 and one went to Flash Video (as in the whole web video technology by Adobe) - enjoyed the experience with the whole team from all the small partners and my other half



Winning the London Design Festival (Y design) People's Choice Award with Empire's Children - two in a day, that was special



Starting an Agatha Christie - 4.50 from Paddington (in a beautiful facsimile 50s edition) - on the day the queen reopened St Pancras - I do love stations

Track of the Day

Statued by Adem from Homesongs

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Entering Channel 4 this morning on its 25th anniversary day - view from the staircase (colour of the Golden Gate bridge) of the Big 4 (Heart) with yellow autumn trees in the background - proud to work for the place - swopped emails with Peter Kosminsky, Britz last night was very Channel 4 as is the Big 4 - bold, creative, stuff nobody else would do or think of

Hooking up at Bvsh House with Philip Dodd and Camilla Deakins to scheme about animation and China

Bush House - at the moment of Channel 4's birth (4.45) was entering the BBC at their World Service Radio base, once (I heard) the most expensive building in the world - where years ago I enjoyed recording some stuff for their arts programme Monitor

Track of the Day

Station to Station by David Bowie

Starspot #136

2/11/07 Jimmy Carr (at Channel 4 - on its 25th birthday)

25/10/07 Colin Firth (in foyer of Vue(?) cinema on south side of Leicester Square)

Tour de force - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Reading a thriller - Robert Harris' Ghost writing - in the back of a London cab

Talking about education at the Hospital with James Bradburne, Martha Lane Fox, Ewan Mcintosh & co.

D's drawing of the Eiffel Tower for Marco

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Dinner at Cutler's Hall - the annual gathering of recipients of educational support and scholarships from the Worshipful Company of Cutlers

Visiting the wine cellar - the best red wine I ever tasted (25 years ago) came from there

Meeting a young fencing champion at the dinner - hoping to compete at the 2012 Olympics for GB

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Rufus Wainright showboating at Hammersmith Odeon - a performance of great variety including a moving rendition of John McCormick's Macushla (apologies to any gaelic speakers for my spelling) [= heart-throb]



Visiting Emily Allchurch's exhibition with Malcolm Garrett, Buzzcocks designer



Walking across height-of-autumn St James's Park in the low afternoon light

Track of the Day

Machushla performed by Rufus Wainright in the style of John McCormick (without amplification) as gotten from Kate McGarrigle

Rufus = Jeff Buckley meets Tom Lehrer meets Neil Young (?) meets Broadway

Paris I - recent Happiness Experiment entries

Sat 27:

Les bouquinistes - buying D a little Eiffel Tower as we searched for a view of the real thing

Urban photography

Lunch en famille on the Ile Saint-Louis - at a cross-roads with two old mini Fiats parked

Sun 28:

Food market at Bastille - fresh salad leaves

Wander aroung the 16e including afternoon cocktail on 33rd floor of Palais de Congres

First official winter late afternoon in Le Marais - reading in the dark Place des Vosges

Mon 29:

Tommy returning home in the dark - under a low yellow moon

International train travel

Rainy interior chez Marco - cozy hanging out with the family

We'll always have Paris - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Walking through the Place des Vosges and the Marais en famille - the enfants terribles' first visit to Paris



Dinner with Marco and Christian Preart at Marco's new pad in the Rue de la Roquette, 11e



Finding a Space Invader on arrival at Place Leon Blum

Quote of the day

"Mum, you're such a hobo!"
N as U went to steal a grape near the Rue des Rosiers

Happiness shared - Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Hearing the story behind 'Into the Wild' from Sean Penn and his young lead Emile Hirsch at a viewing at the Vue, Leicester Square - plenty of food for thought in that one on the simple pleasures front



The prospect of a weekend en famille in Paris - swopping practical arrangement emails with Marco Truong



Walking through St James's Park after dark - the lit-up London Eye at the end of the lake

Into the Wild - thought for the day

"Happiness is real only when shared"



Written in the margin of a book which lay open by the body of Chris McCandliss in the Magic Bus, parked up in the wilds of Alaska



Whilst I broadly agree, I can think of moments which are exceptions - like swimming outdoors in the light rain overlooking the snow-capped Rockies in Banff this summer (shi-it, now I've shared it with you...)

Streets of London - today's Happiness Experiment entry

Clerkenwell

Poached eggs

Lunch outdoors in Charlotte Street with David Bausola, shooting the breeze

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Colours of late afternoon sun

Successful speaking gig at Screen West Midlands in the jewellery quarter in Brum

Plenty of innuendo laffs at kick-off meeting for Embarrassing Illnesses Online at Maverick in Birmingham - in you end oh? geddit?

Quotation of the day

This is a tough one but a good yardstick for those of us who have gone through the one most significant transformation in life: from being a Child to being a Parent...

"A great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets
used up."
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)

We need to be careful not to exhaust ourselves or let ourselves be exhausted. We need to take care of ourselves, recharge our batteries, stay inspired...

Star spots #156

Sebastian Coe - The Atrium
Frank Skinner - Channel 4
Paul Morley - LSO St Lukes

Come together - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

When the crowd came together at the climax of Angie Stone's gig at the Jazz Caff

The look of rum bottles - rum cocktails

Walking home in autumn

Kicks - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

N starting to blossom in rugby

Building an Airfix Spitfire and Mescherschmitt outdoors with D

Pullling by Black Gull Books on thw walk home

Dappled shade - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Under the trees on Maria's allotment drinking her perfect Greek coffee with Katherine, visiting from Aspen

Watching the England-South Africa World Cup rugby final with Ja on the tv in Bar Italia in the room below where TV was first demonstrated by Logie Baird (my favourite blue plaque)

Carleen Anderson doing Night in Tunisia in Ronnie Scott's - family outting for Mo's birthday

Patti cake - today's Happiness Experiment entry

Having a conversation with Patti Smith about Rimbaud in London (whose birthday it is tommorow) - after her performance with Philip Glass and Lenny Kaye at St Lukes, Old Street in honour of Allen Ginsberg



Having a quick chat with Paul Morley about Joy Division and Control in said church



Lunch with Will Gompertz at the Tate Britain restaurant with a quick tour of the Millais exhibition for dessert

Track of the Day

One by U2 - performed both by U2 and Johnny Cash

Too late
Tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...
Have you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head?

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Chatting about Public Art with Jo Darke of the Courtauld Institute and sculptor Nick Pearson at Somerset House

Walking to and from the Courtauld in strong autumn sunshine

Sorting out 360 degree images of the Big 4

Big Day - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Unveiling of the Big 4 public artwork - decorated in the first instance by Nick Knight - created a real buzz of energy around Channel 4's HQ in Horseferry Road

Finding out by chance about a second BIMA nomination - Breaking the News for Education & Training category - forgot we'd even entered it

The corner of Soho around Marshall Street - former home of Solus Enterprises and Buzzy Films

This weekend's Happiness Experiment entries

13/10/07

The elation of the England rugby world cup victory over France - extraordinaire! Watched it downstairs at the Lord Palmerstone on Dartmouth Park Hill when I was supposed to be upstairs otherwise engaged - so naughty but nice factor too.



Getting D's compass fixed at the Italian clock-makers in Crouch End



Kicking the rugby ball with N and Gonzalo at Kenwood



14/10

Chatting with Alan Greenberg at the rugby field



Scraping light rods



Moroccan style soup in the autumn sun

Tower power

Top: Emily Allchurch after Bruegel - Tower of London (2005)

Bottom: Bruegel - Tower of Babel (1563)

Tower of London courtesy of Emily Allchurch

The Art of London - Today's Happiness Experiment entry

A talk by gifted and original photographer/artist Emily Allchurch at Channel4, followed by a lovely chance encounter with her later at Frost & Reed gallery in St James's where her current exhibition Urban Chiaroscuro is hanging. She's clearly a great lover of London.

An autumnal afternoon walk through St James's Park with artist Laura Williams, creator of Aluna, the lunar clock - a hugely ambitious public artwork destined to appear on the north bank of the Thames opposite the Millennium Dome at the site of the East India docks. Another lover of London.

Watching the Marx Bros in Duck Soup with the Enfants Terribles - D schticking himself - especially the mirror scene

Bonus pleasures:
Finding out, out of the blue, that Big Art Mob has been shortlisted for a BIMA Award in the Art & Culture category

A splurge at Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly including Peter Ackroyd's new book about the Thames, Robert Harris' new thriller, the first Biggles book for N, Michael Ondaatje's new novel for U, and a John Updike for book group

Yesterday's Track of the Day

Dazed & Confused by Led Zeppelin as performed by Letz Zep - guitar solo by the one&only Chris Cawte


Been dazed and confused for so long it's not true
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you
Lots of people talk and few of them know
Soul of a woman was created below

yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Witnessing Chris Cawte (as Jimmy Page) play an amazing guitar solo, using a cello bow to create weird&wonderful sounds, in Led Zeppelin's Dazed & Confused. Letz Zep played the Underworld in Camden Town - the best Led Zep tribute band in the whole wide world.

Reading Revolutionary Road after resting it for four years

Being filmed by the BBC for a factual tv conference in New York - thank God for post-production, hopefully bits of it made some sense...

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

The post-gym zing



Autumn light



N winning his karate competition (kata)







Bonus pleasure:



Healthy eyes

Track of the Day

Dweller on the Threshold by Van Morrison (what a great title - it's got something to do with theosophy)

I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I'm waiting at the door
And I'm standing in the darkness
I don't want to wait no more

I have seen without perceiving
I have been another man
Let me pierce the realm of glamour
So I know just what I am

Was listening to this walking in the darkness on the rainy, tree shadowy street towards Church Vale

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Listening to Van all the way home



Going to visit a school with N (Compton) - musing about what a bad name Sunny Way, where we parked, is on a morning like this morning



Getting an intimate email from U

Two bonus Pleasures:

leaves on my car when i returned in darkness

opening a huge hamper with the Missus and Enfants Terribles - reward from Alchemy cross-platform lab

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

The Kindertransporte monument by Liverpool Street station



Roast potatoes



Talking about Affluence + Happiness at the Innovation Reading Circle focused on The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

England getting their shit together in the rugby - a sweet victory



A late afternoon stroll on Bricket Wood Common in Herts.



Tea at the Rugoletta, our local Italian - and the quiet walk home at dusk

Thought for the Day

"books are doors"
Jeanette Winterson
on Radio 4 this morning

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Receiving two RTS Innovation Awards nominations for Big Art Mob and Empire's Children

Family rock-out on Friday evening

Route march to skool with the enfants terribles - beautiful, fresh autumnal morning

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Walking round in a T-shirt at this time of the year - today's T: my Gil Scott-Heron one from that great Jazz Caff gig (Gil, hope you're peaceful wherever the fuck they've put you)



Watching the Big 4 start to come together under an autumn sun



Thinking about Steve

Deep Joy - today's Happiness Experiment entry

Meeting Peter Hook of Joy Division - he signed my copy of Atmosphere. Atmosphere is used in Anton Corbijn's film Control to mark the discovery of Ian Curtis' death and his ascent into the atmosphere



Watching the offline of the first episode of Picture This featuring Martin Parr and my dealer Alex Proud - on the train to Aardman Animation in Bristol



Reading with D in the garden, in the fading light of an autumn evening

Known Pleasure - Track of the Day

Isolation by Joy Division as featured in the film Control - about two minutes ago I met Peter Hook at the Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley : the last time I saw him was nearly 30 years ago at the Lyceum in Lodon supporting the Buzzcocks - tonight I remember Ian Curtis and my friend Steve Simmons, may they rest in peace


But if you could just see the beauty
These things I could never describe
These pleasures a wayward distraction
This is my one lucky prize

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

A train journey back from Crewe with fellow travelers Jaqueline Hurt of Olswang, Jon Kingsbury of BBC and Garret Keogh of RDF

Fresh air and sunshine

Coming home

Wealth

"The real measure of our wealth is how much we'd be worth if we lost all our money."


John Henry Jowett

The Whole Blues - track of the day

Lonely Avenue / 4 O'clock in the Morning (live medley) by Van Morrison with Jimmy Witherspoon from Best of Van #3

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Van duets on the train (from Best Of, Vol 3 - a model Best Of)

The fresh potatoes cooked by Luis (with oregano and garlic) at the barby on the allotments

Walking around the hood with D on scooter in the autumn sunday afternoon sun - including a quick visit to Black Gull bookshop

Yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Kicking a conversion over at the Garden Suburb rugby pitch with N & D

Reading Life Class by the balcony

Writing a Doors/Bible mash-up, vaguely poetic

Sweet soul - Track of the Day

Marvin Gaye - Just to keep you satisfied

Life class - Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Reading Pat Barker's Life Class on the way home

Lunch chat with the Creative Accountant (Sydney Levinson)

Listening to Tom Ravenscroft on Channel 4 Radio - a chip off the old block (John Peel) in a not-yet-fully-formed sorta way

In the picture - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Going to the pictures with my gal - Michael Clayton with George Clooney



Kick-off meeting for Medicine Men Online with Zam, Livio and Mike - very excited about this one



Walky talky via the Tate with Jonathan Holmes - a quick epic burst of John Martin

Talk talk - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Talking about young documentary-makers' work with Nick Broomfield, Molly Dineen, Patrick Uden and Peter Dale



Talking Public Art with Peter Jenkinson



Getting an advance ticket for Anton Corbijn's Control at the Phoenix, East Finchley with Joy Division's Pete Hook in attendance (3rd Oct)

Track of the Day

And It Stoned Me - Van Morrison

The next generation - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Contributing to the Byron Review - a first encounter with Dr Tanya Byron

Visiting Finchley Catholic High School with N

Contributing to the FilmFour Working Group

Monday's Happiness Experiment entry

A guided walk by David Rosenberg around the radical Jewish East End with my step-father, a member of the anti-fascist 43 Group (and later the 62 Group), and my son (already a staunch anti-nazi of his own volition)

An empty market (Wentworth Street) at twilight, with all its shades

N's Tintin haircut

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Chatting with Alfie Dennen, street survivor and make-up artiste extraordinaire



The allotments at night - viewed from under a sodium lit tree



Sinead O'Connor's voice

Track of the day

Kingdom of Rain by Sinead O'Connor and Matt Johnson of The The

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my horse

"The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."

Iris Murdoch



"Don't forget the trusty old steed, Iris."

Me

Track of the day

Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa



Memories of an unlabeled black cassette swopped with a GI in Germany - "What the fuck" I thought "is this?"

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Views along the Tyne (I love a good river)

Doing a speaking gig at the Sage in Gateshead - keynote speech for Digital Film 2.0

Remembering the BLink shoots/road-trips - the last time I was in Newcastle was on a shoot with Roddy & Eddie of Emerald Productions - what larks!

Park life - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Empire's Children (www.channel4.com/empire) picking up the Y Design Award for Best Community website at the London Design Festival

Walking across Hendon park (once in the bright morning, again in the dark) where many years ago I played football in a purple jersey

Getting N's first iPod up&running

South Bank show - Tuesday's Happiness Experiment entry

Sitting outdoors outside the Queen Elizabeth Hall/Purcell Room on the South Bank where I was giving a talk on Big Art Mob (www.bigartmob.com) and designing for online community as part of the London Design Festival/iDesign - chats in the sun with Nikki Barton, Alfie Dennen etc.

Walking across Hungerford pedestrian bridge above the sunlit Thames

Those leather chairs in the Purcell Room - 50s jet pilot style

A message for martyrs from dear, dear Oscar

"A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it."

Oscar Wilde



"There are some very stupid men in the world prepared to die for lies or make-believe"

Me

Track of the Day

Remote Control by The Clash

Track of the Day (yesterday)

Exodus by Bob Marley & the Wailers

30 years old this year

Starspots #551

Ken Loach
Frank Skinner

(today, Horseferry Road)

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

David Sylvian's singing and Steve Jansen's percussion playing - live at the Festival Hall with Neil B

The backstreets of Westminster towards sunset

The carpet, colours, boxes and interior wonderfulness of the Festival Hall

Track of the day

Snow borne Sorrow by David Sylvian (Nine Horses) as performed this evening at the Festival Hall, London (my first visit since its revamp - what a brilliant building)


So we made it our own
This snow borne sorrow
And this love that stutters and splinters

Let the children come to me

Southward Ho! - Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Arriving at Mariners Quay to the strains of Led Zep - after recent upgrade of the facilities

Loading up N's fiirst iPod - a blue Shuffle for his birthday

Watching World Cup rugby

Track of the Day

(Smells Like) Teen Spirit by Nirvana - heralding roadtrip to Brighton

Veneer of the Week

In the absence of Shadbolt's, just a space now as we pass by on the way to Brighton, I'm going to decide my own Veneer of the Week:

Light Derry Oak

Power of Art - Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Working in Tate Modern - memories of photo-expeditions when it was an empty old powerstation in a wind-swept no-man's-land



Chatting to Will Gompertz



Listening to Mark Kermode's podcast (aka Mark Fairey, a bigger boy at skool) and enjoying his banter with Simon Mayo

44 - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Getting a card from the enfants terribles depicting a scene from DV8's Cost of Living film (commissioned by Jan Younghusband at Channel 4) - we all saw the film in the evening on the big screen at the Channel 4 Arts 25th Anniversary season at the Barbican



Meeting Malcolm Garrett at BAFTA, designer of Buzzcocks record sleeves and fellow student with Pete Saville in Manchester in the good old days



A birthday dinner outside the Barbican by the fountains, heron and reeds at sundown

Yesterday's Track of the Day

What Do I Get by the Buzzcocks



To celebrate meeting Malcolm Garrett who designed great sleeves like A Different Music for Another Kitchen

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

The streets behind Tate Britain - walked through them on the way to a meeting with Will Gompertz of Tate Media

Kevin Rowland's voice

Finishing Exodus

Track of the Day

Celtic Soul Brothers by Dexy's Midnight Runners



I'm falling in love with Kevin Rowland's voice

Excuse me please, you're standing in my space,
So step aside, now your time's up.

Slow Sunday - Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Breakfast with Matteo - catch up over beigels and coffee in the cool light of day



Lunch outdoors by the canal at the Black Horse at Great Linford, Bucks.



Giggling at the traffic lights listening to Just a Minute

Yesterday's Track of the Day

Out on the Weekend by Neil Young from Harvest



Think I'll pack it in and buy a pick-up

Take it down to LA

Find a place to call my own and try to fix up

Start a brand new day...

Party Line - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Seeing Matteo Fox after a good while and having an old time fiesta together

Aislinn's speech for her dad's 50th, and Rose's Corinne Bailey Rae duet - plus the live blues (including Folsom Prison Blues) at the party

An hour solo in Camden Market - including the comic shop and picking up some 60s football boot style trainers

Track of the Day

Billie Jean by Michael Jackson - watching the first moonwalk with D + N - that fella sure knew how to shake a leg

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Watching dance vids on YouTube with the boyz - even learnt how to moonwalk



Bourne and Maria reuniting in Greece - love her dimple



Chatting over al fresco lunch in Highgate with Robin Hamman of BBC community/blogs - ended up costing me £950 (for a new Mac Book)

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

My street at night

Reading my Dad's old copy of Exodus

Hatching art plans with Fiddian Warman of Soda on the terrace

Star spots #332

05/09 Jeremy Isaacs
06/09 the Irish fella from The IT Crowd
(ages ago) the curly haired geek from The IT Crowd
06/09 Victor Lewis Smith
(all in the office)

Extra Track of the Day

Down in Missisippi by Mavis Staples with Ry Cooder

Awesome sound - halleluyah!

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Walking the enfants terribles to skool, first day back (aargh!)

Setting up Big Art Mob China

My iPod Shuffle - small, orange, loud and perfectly formed - and right now playing Sympathy for the Devil live in 68

Track of the Day

Sarah by Thin Lizzy

Some rather dated 80s instrumentation but Philo's voice rings loud and true

Jim on Friends

"A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself - and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to - letting a person be what he really is."

Jim Morrison of The Doors

Track of the day

Knowledge of Beauty by Dexy's Midnight Runners

Promo shot by Jack Hazan of Solus Enterprises

Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Walking through St James's Park at twilight - thanks tube strikers

Talk by Kevin Spacey in the old City of London School building (now JP Morgan) courtesy of the British-American Project

The Big Art Mob / Map broaches Italy

Old School Joke

Why have elephants got big ears?

Because Noddy won't pay the ransom.

yesterday's Track of the Day

Cracklin' Rosie by Neil Diamond - enlivened by memories of Shane MacGowan's rambunctious version

Hitchin on a twilight train
Ain't nothing here that I care to take along
Maybe a song
To sing when I want
Don't need to say please to no man for a happy tune

Reflections - yesterday's Happiness Experiment

Chatting with a 6 year old on the plane and sharing my iPod with him

Saying goodnight to my fellas after a couple of days apart

Watching eddies in the river

Ladies of the Lake - Today's Happiness Experiment entry

Boat trip to Vevey (latter day home of Charlie Chaplin) with U and Celine

Hotel room romp

Flea market - bought an old rubber stamp kit in a wooden box

The high life - yesterday's Happiness Experiment entry

Illuminated fountain with flowers (below the Cafe de l'Hotel de Ville)

A Campari and soda by the lake

Reading Mojo

Back to the Stone Age

I was last in the Millennium Dome back in 2000 when it was full of empty stuff. Before that it was in 1999 when I was filming in the empty structure - someone had parked a double-decker bus in the very centre where the performance area was located (where Peter Gabriel's show was performed on millennium night). It was necessary to have that red bus there to get a real sense of the scale. We were shooting from the top of a three or four storey building, one of several such structures already within the Dome, and it still felt pretty empty.

Courtesy of Yahoo!, the other evening I had the pleasure of seeing the Rolling Stones fill the Dome in North Greenwich with their charm and charisma. I had low expectations. I'd never seen the Stones live before, reckoned it would be a good idea to catch them before they died or had hip replacements, but assumed they were long past their prime. As it was, they turned out to be plenty hip.

Mick performed with the enthusiasm and generosity of the best of them - he was having a good time and he was giving 100% to make sure we did too, right from the first strains of Start Me Up as he followed Keef and his opening riffs onto stage. It's always struck me what consistently great openings the Stones have to their songs.

It was my great good fortune that this particular performance, my first, was itself a closing - the very last night of a two year tour, the Bigger Bang tour.

Keef played up to his Captain Jack image, at one point eating an unlit cigarette to take the mick out of Greenwich Council who had given them a hard time about lighting up on stage the week before. He reaffirmed his deep commitment to the Blues by performing vocals on a couple of old blues numbers in the middle of the set. That they hadn't strayed far from their roots in their love of the Blues was one of the most striking things of a great night.

Besides how much of their 19 year old selves they'd retained (if you averted your eyes from the big screen you could imagine it being their young sixties selves - Mick still has the moves, which is as astonishing as Bruce Springsteen's elder statesman energy), besides that, Ronnie Wood's immense charm was the other surprise of the night, adding a distinctive warmth to the perfect chemistry of the band.

The undoubted highlight of the night was Sympathy for the Devil. What was striking about the Stones live is that at moments throughout the set you really felt rock'n'roll as the devil's music, a sense of that dark, chaotic, dionysian vibe. Paint It Black followed to complete the crescendo. I was transported and stoned immaculate.