Trunk Guys'

Happy Birthday Baby xxXxx

2009-07-02T17:37:00.004+01:00

Happy Birthday Baby

Another year has passed and you just keep getting sexier ;0)

xxXxx

2 men in 2 hotels in 2 capital cities = 1 hell of a weekend!

2009-06-23T18:17:00.005+01:00

So the big weekend has happened and I had an absolute blast.

My weekend started on Friday where I met Lee in the Docklands where we spent a leisurly day having lunch, browsing and discussing all things Pet Shop Boys (PSB).

Late afternoon we made our way over to the 02 Arena where we met up with Steve and a host of new friends. It was great fun winding people up about my relationship with Ste. Most (nearly) believed that I used to be his rent boy and he paid me to give up following a terrible chaffing accident. Lol.

Anyway Ste and I made our way to our seats (not before he tried on most of the merchandise!) and caught the end of Frankmusiks set which was average at best.

For the main event we were greeted with a stage full of White boxes onto which the vt was displayed.

Heart was the opening number and Neil and Chris came on stage and performed with boxes on thier heads. Once the boxes were removed it was bowler hats and rousing renditions of DYSMC? and Pandemonium/Can you forgive...

The rest was a blur really. As ever this PSB performance was a real stage show. The set changed many times. Most dramatically when the boxes collapsed to form a larger wall which the dancers danced/marched on for Go West.

This tour was by far more exciting than Cubism and yet there appeared to be less hits. I was very moved to hear Kings Cross performed live although not so fussed regarding Jealousy or Always on My Mind which was sadly lacking all it's orchestral mid sections.

A fantastic show of hits and PSB gems ( 2 divided by 0, Why Don't We Live Together to name a few).

The encore was not traditionally Go West but Being Boring and West End Girls. Once again Boring reduced me and Ste to tears. We consolled one anoter with a hug through the song. It was all very moving. There is something about that song...

We stopped post concert at the 02 for a drink before heading back to the hotel.

What I haven't mentioned is my back was playing up and I had a stinking cold. Ste felt a little off colour and had post gym aches and pains '0). By the time we had finished chatting it was past 1 and neither of us got much sleep. If one of us was asleep the other was awake. Our 5:45 start seemed to come around slowly considering how tired we were. Still it gave us both a great opportunity to catch up!

Post breakfast we hopped on a bus to Waterloo where we managed to loose one another at the tube gates!

I made my way to Kings Cross (without getting lost ;) ) to meet up with Richard for a coffee before hopping on the Eurostar and zooming toward Paris.

It was very mild in Paris this weekend and it seemed to be the weekend to be there.

We stayed on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter and we'd do so again as it was so vibrant and fun.

Post siesta (I was so tired following the concert I was happily addressing all the Parisians in Spanish), we headed out around Mouffetard where we discovered the wonderful markets a well as all the restaurants, fromageriers and patisseres.

Sat evening we spent in our favorite restaurant in the Marais before heading out to catch all the Paris queens posing and prancing around the bars and clubs.

Sunday we headed to Le Bourget for the Air Show an the 100th Anniversary of Avaiation which made for a really interesting day.

The usual military and domestic air craft were on display but this show had a twist as the flying display included planes from every era of avaition. You didn't need to be a enthusiast to enjoy the show.

We headed back for a late siesta before heading back into the Latin Quarter for dinner. It was absoluetly packed as it was summer solstice and the start of the Music Festival. Every street corner had a different band performing and all the restaurants we al fresco. The experience was electric and lots of fun.

We walked to the Pantheon to watch the sun set before heading back.

On Monday we started our day visiting the Pantheon which was very interesting. It's such a majestic building.

There was a march on Santo Pompiers (Parisian fire men) which was an extra special bonus treat.

We strolled down towards the Jardin du Luxembourg and had a rest watching the world drift by.

Heading back into the Marais we had lunch at the Open Cafe Bar and were served mouthwatering food by a hot Latino dish called David ;P

An afternoon of browsing and shopping found us in Les Halles listening to an organist practicing in the church of St Eustace.

All too soon we were back at Gare du Nord and rapidly heading home.

With the PSB set list still ringing in my ears it's been a fanastic long weekend.

I've slept with two men. In two cities. Experienced some great events and admitted to giving up my life as a rent boy!

Pop by Flickr to see our Pics of Paris and the Pet Shop Boys. Au revoir.

Hands and Blogs

2009-06-07T10:42:00.003+01:00

I have been banging on about Little Boots for ages now and have played the early tracks to death.

I think this has unfortunately tainted my view of the album. Now Hands is finally out I must admit I am a little disappointed (no pun intended).

I think I have heard so much of it already that the new tracks seem odd wrapped around the familiar.

Earthquake - nice catchy pop song
Click - don't like it (but it will get into your head)
Remedy - the stand out track, a huge gay club floor filler!
Ghost - interesting track, very poppy
Symmetry - Excellent track which features a wonderful duet with Phil Oakley
Tune into My Heart - another great pop song
Hearts Collide - Again very catchy, very electro pop
No Brakes - a fun pop song, great for the summer

I didn't cover tracks I have already heard such as New in Town, Meddle, Mathematics or Love Kills.

Something else that is bugging me is the redesign of Trunk Guy - it wasn't planned but as the weather was so bad yesterday I spent some time on the design and really like what I have.

90% of the site is ready but annoyingly I cannot get the damn blog page to work in the new design. This blog has become so complicated I am finding it difficult to take it apart and make it fit into the new design.

This is a real shame as I really want to make the switch and I don't want the blog to look different from the rest of the site.

I think I will take a break from it for now and come back to it at a later date (which is a tad annoying as I am sure you'd like the new design as much as I do)

Empire meets Boosh?

2009-06-06T08:39:00.001+01:00

Choose Frog

2009-06-05T08:54:00.000+01:00

I love the lips!

2009-06-04T18:49:00.001+01:00

Ah Naked Paris!

2009-06-03T18:16:00.002+01:00

Why do I never witness things like this when I am in Paris?

Reead "Baby", 3 mecs à China Town, avec NuitSexy.fr
by rollrecords

Back to the future

2009-06-03T17:25:00.002+01:00

So I met with the Osteopath today and it's good and not so good news (actually that's a little negative, it's not that bad really).

I definitely have a problem with the disc in the lower right of m spine. This is causing problems in my leg, back and foot.

The good news is that I have done the right thing. THe advice from my GP and the sessions with the Physiotherapist have worked as they should and I have done nothing wrong. In fact he has recommended that I continue with the exercises until the tests prove otherwise.

Next week I am going back for a full MRI scan (you can tell I am not using the NHS can't you!) - this will help determine what is causing the problems and hopefully find a solution - I go back the week after to receive his conclusions.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Trunkgut

2009-05-31T10:41:00.005+01:00

Later this week I am going to see an osteopath about my slipped disc. Although better (following physio), I am still in discomfort. I have been religiously doing the exercises but am due for the appointment to investigate what's up.

The pins and needles come and go as do the spasms in my back. I try to be good and correct my posture, take screen breaks and do my exercises but it's not easy.

I've noticed that as I am now 35 I not only have these problems with my back but I also have a bit of a belly (a rarity for me as I was 8 stone and stick thin most of my adult life!)

I don't like it and I don't like the fact that I am not doing exercise for it due to my back. Hopefully my osteopath will be able to advise me.

My exercises range from physio to yoga and palates moves with some resistance but I don't know if it's enough nor do I know how I can push it. (Obviously cause I don't want to further damage my back).

I knew I have some body conscious when I was younger as I always wanted to put on some weight. Now however I want to stop!

I know I am not a bloater and I am not a victim of magazine anxiety but it is something that bugs me. Not helped by the scar I have running across my stomach (which has been there since near birth).

I walk a lot. I eat well and these exercises for my back are more than most do yet I want to know if I can do more.

I hope I can and I hope to find out after my appointment...

For now I am going to chill in the garden and hope my neighbours don't get offended by my undies on the line!

Kitty eated by garbage monster

2009-05-28T16:56:00.000+01:00

Recipe for a snog

2009-05-24T08:43:00.008+01:00

Take

One frozen yogurt bar
Continue to one gay bar (preferably one that takes advantage of the gorgeous weather)

A selection of the following:

Double gin & tonics
Mojitos
Brambles
Cosmopolitans
Bloody Othello's
Long Island Ice Teas

Mix with London's West End night life
Avoid the ice being thrown at me from the cute Spanish barman (flirting?)
Make fun of all the flighty queens
Leer at the hung bar staff

Transfer to a Spanish restaurant

Collectively NOM on approx. 40 different Tapas

Wash down with a healthy pint of Cruz Campo

Makes for an incredibly fun night in town with friends which involves lots of drunken debauchery, leching and a mild headache the following morning (at least it's sunny and warm so I am getting plenty of air typing this in the garden!)

Polarized

2009-05-23T09:40:00.001+01:00

As you may have noticed I have really gotten into taking Polaroid type shots and with the introduction of the fantastic Polarize app on the iPhone it's now easier than ever.

I love the Camera on the iPhone and feel it's more than up to the task. There is something about the Polarize shot though which really get my attention.

There's loads more to view on Flickr.

Human Interface

2009-05-23T09:00:00.001+01:00

Hi from Multitouch Barcelona on Vimeo.

RE:Tweet

2009-05-22T17:42:00.002+01:00

Well it's not every morning you are stopped by two uniformed officers in an unmarked car asking questions about your neighbours is it!

Why am I only discovering this now?

2009-05-18T18:47:00.000+01:00

Truly WTF?

2009-05-17T11:18:00.001+01:00

Could this be the strangest, campest, weirdest video game ever?

Tenori-on + Little Boots = Magic

2009-05-16T16:12:00.002+01:00

Who else would have the guts or the talent to do this live at 9 am on national TV?

Little Boots - Overload (Sugababes cover)

Quite Interesting

2009-05-16T08:35:00.004+01:00

Richard and I were fortunate enough to get tickets to attend the recording of the latest series of QI. For those of you who don't know it's a panel entertainment show which airs on the BBC.

Luckily for us it was filed at the London Studios on the South Bank which is a short walk from both of our offices.

The panel were very good last night and the guests (apart from resident guest Alan Davis) included Liza Tarbuk, Phil Jupitus and Sean Lock. All of whom were on form last night.

There were real laugh out loud moments during the show and I can guarantee that a lot of the show will not air!

I sent a direct message to Stephen Fry via Twitter last night to congratulate him on the show and made a reference to one of the gags. I was pleasantly surprised to see the following direct response from him:

At the beginning of the show Stephen Fry had a very relaxed conversation with the audience and managed to get us all to shout out a word which he recorded via Audio Boo for Twitter users to try and work out. You can hear that recording here (Richard and I are definitely shouting out the word very loudly but so is everyone else so you'll have to take my word for it!)

I also posted an Audio Boo recording about last nights show which you can listen to here:

Listen!

Why not visit Audio Boo, sign up and follow me - I may start using it as a way to micro podcast (could you be witnessing the resurrection of Trunk Cast?).

Was I That Obvious?

2009-05-14T19:40:00.001+01:00

Weekend...

2009-05-04T15:56:00.004+01:00

It's not been a bad bank holiday although the weather hasn't been as great as expected.

As stated in my last entry it started very well and we have managed to chill out as planned. We've also managed to get the barbecue out from it's hibernation and had a lovely alfresco meal in the garden on Saturday.

Saturday night was not so nice when we were rudely awoken by a lot of noise at the front of the house. Just passed midnight there was a lot of noise and a crash - we both ran downstairs and someone had managed to break our front wall. I think someone had tried to vault and they managed to break the top off our post (which is brick) - Richard has managed to repair it but the disturbance meant we both got no sleep that night.

The wind was up yesterday and with the sporadic cloud and chilly temperature we decided to go and see State of Play which was actually very good. From the moment it starts it has you gripped.

The nice weather did allow me to experiment with my iPhone camera in the garden and I managed to capture some interesting shots.

Today has been spent at the house and I have put together a DVD and also printed off some of the holiday snaps for my parents. We're home next weekend so this will be something nice to share (and I'll get to see the DVD on their fab new TV!).

I've also set as many APIs as I can in unison so that I don't have to keep visiting different websites to keep everyone updated of my shenanigans. Hopefully all that work will bring everyone back to Trunk Guys anyway. (This is probably why the site has had a minor face lift over the weekend - let me know what you think of the changes).

Oh and I joined Okimok so why not sign up and hook up with me!

Tilt Shift

2009-05-03T08:32:00.002+01:00

I am intrigued by Tilt Shift photography. Tilt Shift video is therefore simply amazing...

Beached from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Various Voices

2009-05-02T16:43:00.003+01:00

It's been a hectic week - especially after returning from our holiday. That siad it's not been all that bad and as it's a bank holiday here in the Uk it means three days to relax.

Richard and I have booked our summer holiday, we're off to Paris for the Air Show in June and I have booked to see the Pet Shop Boys with Ste. so it's not all bad.

I attended the Various Voices festival in London last night as Stephen was performing with the London Gay Men's Chorus who are one of the host choirs. There were three choirs on stage. They were joined by Diversity and the Pink Singers (who have been camp and singing proudly for 26 years).

I was really moved by the concert and struck by the support and enthusiasm for such an event.

I managed to attend the afternoon concert thanks to Ste. and it was attended by lots of queens and lots of members of other choirs from around the world. I seemed to be sat amongst a lot of Germans (I went on my own) - there were queens and lesbians of all shapes, sizes and cultures and it really did seem like everyone enjoyed themselves.

The best performances were the LGMC rendition of Waterloo Sunset, A Nightingale Sang in Berkely Square and the Pink singers renditions of America and Teardrop.

The finale saw all three choirs on stage (no mean feat as the LGMC is nearly 200 men) for a final number and the sound was amazing.

The lovely warm weather and the festival saw large crowds mingling, cruising and camping it up around the South Bank of the Thames and the atmosphere was fun and friendly. It's on all weekend but I am glad I got to see the show I did as it was a great way to start my weekend.

Ste. looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself on stage too - he certainly knew all the moves too!

Family fun in the sun

2009-04-26T08:05:00.005+01:00

We've just returned from a wonderfully relaxing and hot week in the El Morche on the Torrox Costa in Spain.

This trip to El Morche was different as we went with my parents.

We like to go out of season as it's not too hot and it's usually quite quiet. This year however it seemed to be very quiet, according to reports visitor figures of British holiday makers to Spain are down 16% on last year and it shows.

This didn't spoil our holiday though as it meant there was even more of Torrox, Nerja, La Herradua and the Costas to enjoy.

Of course whilst in Nerja my parents too great delight in watching all the feral cats playing about on the Balcon de Europa.

I was surprised by the amount of Americans and Canadians in Spain, usually you don't see any that far down on the Costas. We did see a Delta flight from New York at the airport so it would seem that the US invasion may start sometime soon.
As mum and dad were with us we decided to take it easy and to do whatever they felt like (thankfully for us this equalled a very relaxing week).

The weather was glorious from the moment we touched down and it was around the high 20's low 30's all week. There was barely any breeze and o cloud which meant for wonderful opportunity to catch some rays on the beach and to enjoy the sights at our leisure.

Whilst away Richard treated himself to a new digital camera and the shots he got on it were excellent. There is a nice collection of shots on Flickr that Richard and I took. Notably this year there are many more portraits as we captured as much opportunity as possible to take some shots of mum and dad. My mum hates having her photo taken but she managed to drop her reserve on holiday so you will notice there are a lot of photos of her.

Unlike previous years there are no photos of Spanish hotties and that's simply because we didn't really see any (and it's wasn't for us not looking!). That said it didn't take long (about 20 minutes after touching down on Spanish soil), for Richard and I to be cruised by some Spanish muscle Mary in the local supermarket!

It's interesting to see how the economic crisis has had an affect on Spain, 90% of the building has stopped mid flow and there are a lot of empty retail units and bars. It's sad to see but I have no doubt that it'll all bounce back eventually.

We've decided this year that we'll pay an additional visit to El Morche at the end of the season and are already counting down the days to our next break LOL!

Leaving for...

2009-04-19T09:29:00.001+01:00

Sam is leaving for College:

We're off on holiday, off to the Spanish Costas for a week with my folks. Adios! See you all on the return...

Never has sign language...

2009-04-18T12:39:00.000+01:00

...looked so sexy!