Natty @Glee Club (1/11/11)

Natty’s Man Like I album has taken pride of place on my playlist for the longest time, so when I found out he was touring the UK in 2011 I was determined to see the boy jam live.

Gifted with a ticket from my friend Daniella (BIG UP), the gig has been hot on my list of highlights this year. So, when I arrived at the Glee Club I had high expectations. I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed; Natty’s a true artist, a musical prophet and even if one, single note failed to usher forth from his mouth, it would have been enough just to be in the presence of such an artist.

High praise indeed. But not unwarranted. And, let me tell you, the performance was mesmerising. There was just the right mix of old favourites and new tasters and Natty, he took us on an emotional journey of musical expression that ranged from tender vulnerability, to militant skank out.

There was absolutely nothing contrived about the performance at all. It was almost as if were witnessing a private jam session, each member going somewhere deep and personal whilst playing their part and yet blending with each other perfectly.

I say almost because the connection to the audience was just as powerful as the connection to the song. At one point Natty points out to us, and then back to himself: “I & I.” He was vibing off us just as much as we were off him. That energy, that harmony: it’s what live music is about.

I danced all the negative energy of final-year stress right out of my body and soul. I felt more invigorated when I left the Glee than if I had risen at dawn, mediated and gone for a 3-mile run.

If you get the chance GO. Trussssst me, you’ll love it.

That being said, the new EP is OUT (today), it's on (now) and it’s always, always

Love,

Le Malaise De L'Orange.

My sister and I finally made a trip to Amsterdam this summer and spent 10 days soaking up sunshine, art, culture and.. other such things.

Although a lot of our navigation efforts ended in futility, we found that we didn't have to visit the art galleries or museums to witness the art that pulses through Amsterdam's canals and explodes on its walls. 

I would describe it as a place that gives amply to those who are willing to receive. And so, feeling completely inspired by our surroundings we decided to to play guerrilla gifters for the day!

We bought an orange for 50 ¢ and drew a very sad face on the little fellow

Then we pinned a note to its head with a hair grip (they ALWAYS come in handy) that read:

HELP! I'm very sad. Please take me home with you.

…And let my parents know I'm safe @ sara.luca@blogspot.com

All set for his journey, we placed the orange on a busy bridge in the Jordaan and sat, waiting for it to be claimed and loved.

I have to admit, it wasn't a quick process, lots of people walked past without much care for it at all, but like I said before..those who are willing to receive.

And in the end, I think he went to the best people, a group of curious girls picked him up, read his note a few times and decided to cure this little orange of his malaise!

And just as we were leaving, fate- in it's usual fashion- completed it's full circle; we found a polaroid on the bench with a note on the back which read: 

"Live from Paris.

Thank you Amsterdam, I will be back to roam your streets once more."

The August Rush...

August has been mad-crazy-hectic yo. In the midst of all the madness my blog has had no love and looking at it's bare pages is making me sad! So, now that I'm tucked up in bed full of self-inflicted illness from all my running around, I have aaaample time to get right back on it.

Gonna be transferring some of the creative pieces I've been working on onto here for the world to see so..... stay posted!

Love,

Noted!

Today I finally went through my old Blackberry files to see what I could delete or store on the computer. I’m selling it to one of those recycle-your-mobile places for a tidy little profit of £48. Nice.
As I was going through my memos, I knew I couldn’t part with them; I used to write short, memorable conversations or one-liners that had amused me along my merry way.
I’ve just sat and had a really good laugh at them all and then thought: they’re way too good not to share with the big mad world. I don’t know if they will be the ‘you had to be there’ kind of funny but, if you were there, then that works!
So here they are in all their (mistaken) glory...Enjoy!


“Yeah, that’s why they’re over-bese.” Mum.

“I could Tango all days long.” Steph

A: “Oh my God, is that why they call it Sex in the City? Cos she’s in London”
G: “New York?”
A: “No, London.”
G: “What, next series?”
A: “Series 2?”
G: “Is it?”
A:“Is it?” (Me & Alice)


“And when someone goes in there to get one I just want it to be DUST!... Shaped like a square.”


- “Ships to share?”
- “What the fuck is Omco?”
- “Does this face look like it wants to go out?”
- “Has someone fucked you in the ear hole?” (1xtra- Sheffield)


“I’m finding it very hard to walk in a straight line, as you can tell. And I know you felt it too.”
(Me to Ali)


“She looked like the woman from ‘Two Birds and a Feather’”

G: “Ahh ming-mong. That’s what I am.”
A: “Yeah, you’re Ming and I’m Mong.” (Me & Ali)

S: “Watch out rape is on the larms.”
A: “Did she just say larms?”
S: “Yeah.” (Anna & Sara)

“If you were that bread roll, wouldn’t you feel bun?” (Anna)


“Oh what a wicked web we weave, when we practice to deceive.” (Franka Caruso)


“Long shorey stort. That’s what she just said. Is she drunk?” (Merci)


“You’ve got to escape. Escape to within.” (Random guy at the gig to Michael)


L: “If you go in there then”
G: "Then what?”
L: “Then...there will be an onion on the floor.” (Livvy & Me)


A: “Dash? Isn’t that like when you dash a baby’s head against the wall? Like ‘He dashed young Jacob’s head against the rock.”
G: “The rock?”
A: “Yeah, like if you’re at a beach and the baby won’t shut up.” (Alex)


These are by no means the funniest things these people have said, but they're a few gems I found on the phone and if you made the wall of fame [read: shame] I'm sure you'll love me for sharing this with the blogosphere!

Love,

Trattoria Lucarelli

I spent a lot of time at my Nonna's house when I was little girl and I grew up watching her make Italian feasts for the family. I remember me and my sister would sit under the table when she was making fresh lasagne and we would pick small pieces off the hanging sheets and scoff them.

It's something I've always wanted to know how to do and when I have my own family I want my children to remember me making fresh Italian sausages and pasta etc. So I finally convinced her to teach me the ropes and to actually let me have a go, rather than the usual 'watch and learn' method.

I could tell she was sceptical about my skills in the kitchen but she stepped aside nonetheless and was actually dead impressed with me by the end. We swapped worlds for the day as she worked herself around my digital camera and I worked myself around the pasta-rolling machine!

It was a pretty simple process; the dough was made up of eggs, flour and a pinch of salt and once that was kneaded we were all set to make some cracking tagliatelle! We sampled the fruits of my labour tonight and I have to say...they were delicious.

My next culinary lesson from Nonna will be how to make my own gnocchi.. yum.

Naughty by Nature.

Question: Has the world gone mad!? China has jumped on a pet trend, which I assume started in America, and has run (completely) wild with it.

Whilst I was in America and indulging in my guilty pleasure, trashy reality TV, I saw that Audrey O'day dyed her miniature Maltese dogs. I thought she was a little, you know, over the top with the pet pampering but just brushed it off as celebrity ga-ga... little did I know that East Asia was embracing the trend and going one step further.

Check these furry friends out. These [admittedly gooorgeous] baby pandas are actually dyed Chow Chow dogs:

This from a country where just 10 years ago they raised dogs on farms specially for their dog meat which was then fed to restaurant customers.

You think this is slightly crazy? Well get a load of this; Berlin (which I wouldn't have associated with mad trends) is tattooing pigs! Yes, you read it right, but don't worry (too much) they are sedated during the process. Whereas the dogs were pretty cute, this is just downright twisted. Yet again China has taken on the trend and ran (...and ran...and ran) with it, and are now tattooing goldfish! God-knows how but they are and these little fellows are thought to return lost luck..... Riiight.

Pets have long since been subjected to consumerist folly, by being shoved into Louis V bags or garish outfits, but these semi-permanent and permanent 'designs' hold a pretty sick future for domestic and wild animals. Meet the Papilio Nike-Ulysees:

It's a genetically modified butterfly that has been branded with a Nike sign. I mean, really... Does our capitalist, technological world know no boundaries?!

Truely disturbed,

Blogging

I'm a late bloomer when it comes to blogging but my blog is finally starting to take shape. I'm getting my head around the blog world and I'm constantly reading up on tips and tricks to improve it so, in theory, this blog should get better and better each day (yay me!)

If you've had a little click around and found mostly empty pages then watch these spaces...they will all be up and running soon enough! I have lots of free time on my hands (which is both a blessing and a curse) so I will be filling up blank pages with little projects I'm busying myself with.

This week I plan to:

• Make some fresh pasta! (Yum)
• Make some bunting (For my new uni room)
• Write some poetry

As always comments and new followers are very welcome and much appreciated!

Peace and a lorra lorra love,

Summer Sunday Sunshine...

Bonsooooir! The weather today was GLORIOUS and I have to admit I was one of those Brits who donned their bikini faster than they could blink and spent the early afternoon bathing in the garden with a good book and some cider. Oh England...you're not so bad when you're sunny.

I also [shamelessly] gorged on BBQ food at regular intervals... because tomorrow I start my 100 millionth attempt to shift some pounds and get fit! After my year in Alabama of eating gargantuan portions of good Southern food, the buttons are now bursting and the old Italian women (who shouldn't be so rude if you ask me) keep reminding me that I could do with shedding a few inches.

The Enemy:
Leggins/ Jeggins
Carbs
Eating Out

The penguin bars have been given the boot and I've ordered a graze box which should arrive on Wednesday, full of healthy nibbles to snack on. And for the first time in my life I'm embracing the thought of exercise, but seen as I have little (no) money, my DIY fitness regime is going to consist of running [read: jogging breathlessly] and make-shift circuit training. We'll see how long this lasts!

Wish me luck and send me some healthy vibes...I've got a feeling I'm going to need them!

Orange Rockcorps

Yesterday I took part in an Orange Rockcorps volunteering project. Some 50+ of us volunteers made our way to the heart of Islington, London, donned our Rockcorps T-shirts and gloves, and with the music pumping, we refurbished Barnard Park Adventure Playground.




My group (Group 3) were in charge of giving the wall a fresh lick of paint. First we had to chip away the cracked bits of paint and wall, then give it a good scrub-a-dub and then we took charge of the painting. Despite being part of the older volunteers present and considering myself to be pretty sensible, we managed to get absolutely covered in white paint! Meanwhile, others were pulling up weeds, cutting back bushes, picking up litter and generally making the place more attractive to locals.

By the time we finished the place looked great and we had such a blast, the sun was shining down on us during the afternoon, it was all peac eand love between us volunteers and when it came to collecting our sandwich and concert ticket, we all agreed we would do it again (even without the offer of a second ticket!)

Really looking forward to seeing the day's photos when they make it onto the Facebook page and most of all... to the gig! Jessie J, Primal Scream, Diddy-Dirty Money and Eliza Doolittle will be performing for all the volunteers this year at Wembley Arena! Now that’s what I call a Saturday well spent!

If you want a chance to be there too, remember there is no way to buy or win a ticket but you can earn one! You can still sign up for a volunteering project near you, give 4 hours work and Bob's your uncle!

Gypsy Boy.

I'm currently reading best-selling memoir, Gypsy Boy, by Mikey Walsh. It came out in 2008 and I've had it for a while but I am determined to finish it shortly as it is currently being made into a film.
Walsh had very little schooling and essentially taught himself how to read and write, he is one of the first Romany Gypsies to ever write a book. It has received overwhelming support and Stephen Fry tweeted that: 'It was a revelation. Moving, terrifying, funny and brilliant. I shall never forget it - an amazing achievement.”

I have always been intrigued by Gypsy culture; I remember, as a small girl, my eyes would be glued to the Romany Gypsies selling roses in the Naples cemetery. They had dark skin, long hair, flowing skirts and lot of gold jewellery that would jingle when they walked, to me they were beautiful; real life Esmereldas. But my mother would never let my sister and I get too close and whenever they moved in around Bedford people would instantly become infuriated.

The older I got the more I learnt about the life of Gypsies and due to the recent publicity on their culture (on Channel 4's My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding) the 'Gorgia' world is allowed to delve into the world of the somewhat secretive and misunderstood community.
Many people who I have spoken to about this think that I am being naïve, but I do feel a lot of sympathy for the Gypsy community because their culture is being threatened with extinction, due to travel and settlement laws, and marriage outside of the community.
Mikey Walsh's recently released Gypsy Boy on the Run follows his first steps into the Gorgia world and away from his community, a decision which is- more often than not- irrevocable.

I'm really enjoying the novel so far and will soon be purchasing the sequel. Oh! And I'm following Mikey on Twitter now ;)

Tweet, Tweet!

I have officially embraced my twitter account (I'm only about a year late, I know) and not only am I starting to get my head around hash-tags, mentions, the power of networking etc. I have become obsessed!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the tweet-every-second, about mindless fluff, type; but I definitely feel more comfortable tweeting regularly than updating my Facebook status. People are too involved on Facebook...and as entertaining as that can be, I'm not down with the 23 notifications of off-topic drivel.

I've also found it's a brilliant way to stay inspired, I follow up links to interesting articles and receive up-to-date info on competitions/ events, I can delve into the daily thoughts of some of my idols (for want of a better word) and can shamelessly plug my blogs up there ;) But this is all old news to established twitter-heads I guess!

So, please feel free to follow me (at Miss_Lucarelli). I'm not after a record number of followers, but it's nice to stay connected!