Live at Bush Hall

Simon tunes his bass before his band Trembling Bells begin their set. (Dad - it's a Fender, you'll be pleased to know.) They were fantastic and much more rock than folk, so it was a quite different sound from when I saw them before. Lots of energy and toe-tapping. Bush Hall is a fantastic venue and it's right at the end of a road I used to live on in Shepherd's Bush, so it was a bit like going back in time for me.

Simon and I spent a couple of hours looking through the charity shops in West Norwood - he was looking for an outfit for the evening, but was unlucky. I fared somewhat better finding a wedding dress in the amazing Cenci. We had the shop to ourselves and the owners were very informative and helpful. Top designers visit the shop to borrow vintage items to examine styles and textiles for inspiration for their new collections, sometimes taking 500 pieces at a time. There are over 7,000 items there to look at - Simon found it quite overwhelming.

He left me to work in the afternoon, having to soundcheck with the band at Bush Hall. I met up for a meal with the band, their significant others, Fred, and Will Hodgkinson (who a couple of the band are staying with). I had the hottest green vegetable Thai curry ever and the restaurant charged us for tap water saying it was on the menu. it was, too, as "Thames water 50p a glass" - criminal! I actually think it is criminal - they can't charge for tap water, but we tried to argue and gave up. Then on to the gig - the guitarist and I had bright red faces and steam coming out of our ears because of the curry. Will had the red veggie curry and was absolutely fine. I'm sure the red is meant to be more spicy than the green. Anyway, a good night was had all around.