152/2024 – “God Dammit Amy, Well of Course I’ve Changed”

Lyrics: Tell Tale Sign” – Frank Turner, 2013

From Wednesday evening till this morning I had booked myself in a hotel in Cologne, which isn’t that far away from where I live. Why? Because I felt like I needed a change of scenery for a little while and I had planned to attend a gig in Cologne on Wednesday night. Pet Needs at Blue Shell and it was lots of fun.

Photo of guitarist George Marriott of Pet Needs
George Marriott (Pet Needs)
Photo of lead singer Johnny from Pet Needs
Johnny Marriott (Pet Needs)

Yesterday was a public holiday in Germany and for today I had planned to do some clothes shopping in Cologne today. Spoiler alert: I tried, but like last week I was not successful. Being a larger than “normal” size sucks.

The main reason for that change of scenery though was in fact, that I really wanted to spent some time without distractions and being at home offers too many of those in a good and a bad way. In the good way of there being enough entertainment or things to do. In the bad that I often feel like I should be doing certain things (chores and such) and then feel bad when I don’t.

Earlier this week I had started to limit the time I spent on social media on my phone by using certain limiting settings. For these 3 days away I had actually deleted social media from my phone and tried to not check my mails or at least don’t actually read any, just make sure that I’d be able to react if there was anything super important. There wasn’t. So it basically was a tiny digital detox and I hope this experience will help me to spend less time on social media than I used to.

I didn’t read as much of the assorted newspapers I had brought, but instead a lot of my current read “The Guncle” which is equally funny and profound. As this kind of mixture this was a bit of pleasant surprise, as I expected it to be more shallow, which also would have been fine.

I also spent some time thinking about this space here: my little corner of the internet. How I have used it in the past and how I don’t want to continue filling it with similar stuff in the future. I had a few almost existential thoughts about it all, like who am I here and elsewhere? Which role do I play around which people ? Most of the folks in my real life have no idea that I have been sharing personal stuff – insignificant but also more serious private issues – online for anyone to see for decades now. I assume some/many/all of those people might be possibly appalled, probably confused and definitely questioning why? And you know what: I wouldn’t have a good answer anymore. I don’t know why I filled this space with all those words for so many years. Like I said: A bit existential.

Yesterday I looked into how easy or difficult it would be to move a WordPress site with all its content to a different online space. It turns out not that difficult. In fact I did that twice once I got home today. All the content of my old blog (2008 – 2020) and of this one (since 2020) are now archived password protected at a different space on my server. I’m in the process of deleting most of the old posts here now. There won’t be too much left from the past four years, I guess. It’s not just the insignificance of my rambling which in hindsight makes me question why I did write all this down. But also the fact that I often enough mentioned / wrote about other people in my life. Often in a vague – anonymous – kind of way, but still without their consent. And because I can’t be bothered to edit that out of old posts, I’m in the process of deleting most of them.

I will keep some of what I wrote here since I started this in 2020. And I will continue to post something, I think. Reviews. My thoughts on social / global / political issues. Definitely less running commentary of my every day life. Hopefully something more profound and thought through. Probably less personal and definitely without mentioning other people in my life, because that doesn’t feel right anymore. And if I continue filling this space here with some kind of content it does have to feel right, doesn’t it? Let’s see how it goes.


The one thing I managed to shop in Cologne today was a new fountain pen. After decades of only writing with a biro, ball point of fine liner, I started using fountain pens a few months ago. I ditched the fountain pen in middle school, I think, once we weren’t obligated to use it for our work anymore? I don’t really remember, it’s been so long ago. For a long time afterwards I then thought it’d be easier to write with a biro or I possibly was too worried my writing would look even messier with a fountain pen. Why on earth did I think that? Because it definitely doesn’t.

The one (or two to be honest) fountain pens I bought a few months ago were regular / cheaper ones from known, but not “big name” stationary stores. By now I wanted to upgrade, but not pay a fortune for something like Mont Blanc. Though I know me and I might at some point soon still splurge a bit. because online I found sort of a niche brand and I had looked up stores in Cologne where I might try one out and possibly buy . And I did. For about 28€, which isn’t too expensive. I think I like it, especially as it’s a bit unique. They have a variety of different ones as well and online I already fell in love with one that costs a bit more. We’ll see.

Kaweco fountain pen capped
Kaweco fountain pen capped
Kaweco fountain pen uncapped
Ready to write

141/2024 – Snapshots from Hamburg I

This is basically just a proxy post to keep the photos I took in Hamburg in May

Frank Turner on stage, changing the tuning of his guitar
Frank Turner doing what he does and my reason for this trip
A plane silhouetted against a sunset sky
Saturday’s sunset
Photo of a high rise building with the sunset reflecting in some windows
On the other side….

139/2024 – “A Fake, a Foundling Fraudster on the Take”

Lyrics : “Somewhere Inbetween” – Frank Turner, 2024

Welcome to another – maybe by now almost regular – “Post Frank Turner gig introspection” posts. While I was – a bit aimlessly – strolling through Hamburg today, I spent a lot of time in my own head, but not in a bad way.

The gig last night was great, albeit a short one, just one hour long. But I expected that going in, as it was a two shows day for Frank. He played about half of the new album “Undefeated”, some rarer old ones and of course “the hits”. I had fun and it seemed so did Frank on stage.

Frank Turner on stage, changing the tuning of his guitar
Frank doing what he does…

I’m sure I have mentioned a few times before, that when I first started going to Frank gigs it took me a while to chat with the people around me. Once I started heading for the barrier and being in the queue early to be able to get to the barrier, of course I met some people over and over again. I also met other fans online and then at shows and all that. After over 10 years it’s safe to say that I know quite a few people by now and am known to probably even more. By face and/or online moniker at least. After the first tour in 2016 where I went to several gigs and first encountered the same people at the barrier night after night I at some point wrote that I hadn’t found my “people” yet. (Which isn’t true anymore, but that’s a different story). But most of those people who along with me were/are queueing early and hanging around for a while after to catch Frank, seem(ed) to be quite different from me. Listening to a variety of  punk or rock music. Knowing so much more about it. Going to many more gigs of all kinds of bands. In short being the epitome of “dedicated punkrock music person”.

I am not that person. Frank is as punk as I can tolerate it and I know some might laugh now, because they don’t consider his music punk at all or not anymore. And I guess my line is not drawn as strict as that sounds. I like some punk bands as well. I’ll see Pet Needs in Cologne later this month! But I don’t listen to a vast array of new or old bands. These days I only occasionally go and see live music. Frank is the only one that makes me go as often and travel as far to gigs and that has a lot to with how much his music means to me. If I’m honest it all basically comes down to that. I have fun singing and dancing at the occasional gig of other bands / artists. But the experience of joining in with a crowd to sing those particular words which help(ed) me and speak to me on so many levels and to sing them back to the person who wrote those words, is the element of Frank gigs that feed my heart and soul.

That was an unexpected tangent.

Anyway, sometimes – like last night – when I’m in the queue or at the barrier listening to the people around me, chatting to the people around me (yes, I do that more easily by now) or hanging around outside the venue after the show, a nagging voice in my head likes to tell me that I don’t really belong there with these other “dedicated music people”. That I’m a fraud. Not worthy of a spot at the barrier or less worthy of a moment of Frank’s limited time after the show, because I don’t go to other gigs all the time and I don’t have encyclopaedic knowledge of other punk / rock music or bands. Years ago that voice would have managed to fuel my post-gig-blues and in the worst case sometimes even ruin my night. Three cheers for my round of therapy (I think), which by now enables me to recognize that voice for the lying, nasty, self-destructive goblin that she is. That enables me to just not believe her and mostly ignore her.

These days I also ponder where that goblin gets her nasty opinions from. Which sort of was why I spent so much time in my head today, trying to figure that out. I’m not sure I made all that much progress, at least not more than I did in therapy, but that’s fine as well. All in all the pondering today at least did refresh and consolidate all the things I learned in therapy.

I did call this post my “Post Frank Turner gig introspection” for a reason. At the “No Man’s Land” tour (on the Live from Newcastle album) Frank mentions that his songs are/were a form of “public therapy”. So are these posts for me in a way, I think. Be grateful that I won’t try to put those thoughts to music…

Tomorrow on the train ride home I’ll try to write some more about my short stay here in Hamburg. For now I’ll leave you with two photos taken a few minutes ago on the lovely roof terrace of the place I’m staying at.

A plane silhouetted against a sunset sky
Tonight’s sunset
Photo of a high rise building with the sunset reflecting in some windows
On the other side….