urban75 posters held the traditional Glasto Refuseniks' party for those unswayed by the temptations of Glastonbury.

Taking place in Brockwell Park, the home made food was delicious, the weather was terrific and it was a delightful way to pass a Sunday afternoon.

urban75 Glastonbury pages

Apart from some positively psychotically incandescent cabbies (and, to be honest, one or two testosterone-overcharged cyclists), this was a fabulous ride, with hundreds of cyclists enjoying a leisurely, car-free saunter around the streets of central London.

More photos here: Critical Mass, London

Labels: critical mass, cycling, london, protest

When we heard that a venue had cancelled the farewell gig for our friends The Shanners, we quickly assembled the Offline Pronto Gig Relocation crew, and found them a new home at the Dogstar for their last ever show. And it was ruddy great too!

More photos: Offline, Dogstar 25th JUne

Labels: bands, brixton, offline

A free event on Midsummer's Eve, 'The Big Event' coincided with the launch of the annual Camberwell Arts Festival, and marked the official re-opening of Myatt's Fields Park after its extensive ?3m renovation.

Designed by Fanny Wilkinson - one of Britain's first female professional landscape gardeners and a strong supporter of women's suffrage - the park dates back to Victorian times, being opened in 1889.

More photos

Labels: brixton, park

Photos from last night's ace Offline gig with Toronto all-girl punksters the Machetes and east Landahn garage rockers The Spivs online here.

RAWK AND RAWWWL!

More here: offlineclub.com

Labels: bands, brixton, club, offline

Mass scenes of wobbling bottoms spotted in the heart of London!

Here's what it's all about:

"A peaceful, imaginative and fun protest against oil dependency and car culture. A celebration of the bicycle and also a celebration of the power and individuality of the human body. A symbol of the vulnerability of the cyclist in traffic. The world's biggest naked protest: 50+ cities and thousands of riders ..."















See more photos here: Naked Bike Ride, London

Labels: cycling, london

It's the Queen's birthday, so out come the planes. Whoosh!

Labels: london

OFFLINE PARTY AND PROTEST SPECIAL!
Thursday 11th June - don't miss this one!

Dogstar, Brixton, 389 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 8LQ
Tel: 020 7733 7515. 7pm - 2am.
FREE ADMISSION all night!

We've put together an incredible, thought provoking bill featuring a musical tour of Woody Guthrie's work by WILL KAUFMAN, contemporary South Seas protest songs from THE LANI SINGERS, the exhilaratingly brilliant 12 piece gypsy Balkan brass sensation the TRANS SIBERIAN MARCH BAND, Scottish folk with STARS OF SUNDAY LEAGUE and protest videos, poetry and slideshows, plus a full cabaret bill. We'll be running three rooms and two floors of entertainment - and it's FREE all night.

More info here: Offline Club

Shaking off the disappointment of Ella Edmondson cancelling at the least minute through illness, we had a great night at the Brixton Albert, with the excellent Sergeant Buzfuz putting in a great performance.

Here's a few pics from the night:

More pics here: Offline Club

Labels: bands, brixton, offline

Absolutely hilarious!

The urban75 walk club's jaunt to Dorset was one of the best I've been on for a long time.

Despite weather forecasters predicting a weekend of showers, ne'er a drop fell on our heads and we were treated to some fabulous Springtime sunshine.

The trip had everything:

countryside, seaside, coastal walks, ice cream, castles, donkeys, new born lambs, dinosaur trails, goats, steam trains, celebrities, cliff top strolls, great globes, lighthouses, abandoned villages, ducks, the fiercest gale force wind I've ever encountered, delightful bays and some unbelievably fine cider - and the company of a fine bunch of urbanites.

Here's a some photos:

Here's the abandoned village of Tyneham, Dorset:




And here's the windiest hill I have ever stood on. Some people very nearly didn't make it down!

See more here: Dorset photos including Swanage, Corfe Castle and the lost village of Tyneham,

A march from Trafalgar Square leading to a rally outside Scotland Yard to 'remember Ian Tomlinson, demand no more deaths in police custody and defend civil liberties and the freedom to protest.'

More pics here

Labels: london, protest

Just got chance to post up some pics from last week's Offline bash at the Dogstar with Josie Long, Voodoo Trombone Quartet, Atomic Suplex, Anchorsong and Vic Lambrusco's Cabaret Hour - plus Craft Corner.

It's great to see Offline back in its old home and pulling good crowds, but it was so hectic I didn't get chance to take many pics.

Here's a few from the night:

More: http://www.urban75.org/offline/offline59_dogstar.html

Labels: bands, brixton, club, offline

More photos and feature here: Westminster Day of Dance 2009
and here: Westminster Day of Dance 2009 (part 2).

Labels: dance, london, photos

Morris troupes from all over the country mobbed Trafalgar Square for a mass Morris-off this afternoon - and it was a hoot!
Anyone else go along to watch a bit of bell-clanging, hanky-waving, stick bashing fun?








More pics soon!

Labels: london

Fuck, they were good tonight - and the crowd were up for it too!

Labels: bands, brixton, ska

In a remarkable run of ultra-crapness, my beloved Cardiff City FC - who recently looked destined for a guaranteed play-off place (if not automatic promotion) - conspired to turn into a wobbly bag'o'cack, collecting just one measly point from a possible 12.

Today, all they had to do was draw to Sheffield Wednesday - a team languishing miles below us in the league, but even that proved too much, so it's another season in the Championship for us (or the 'Second Division' as it should rightfully be called).

Naturally, I'm horribly disappointed by this rubbish end to our season, but my reaction seems a little more restrained that I anticipated.

A few years ago, this would have been my response:

But now - perhaps because I'm older or perhaps because I'm not sure if the corporate-powered, prawn sandwich-propelled Premiership is to my tastes - I feel a lot more like this:

How do you cope with defeat? Check out the What kind of fan are you? section, or drop me a line...

Labels: cardiff, cartoons, defeat, football