Monday 21 July 2008

I am mindful that I have not updated this blog for a while, having been busy with other things, namely a week off to do some painting, as well as a short couple of days being on strike, during which I had the chance to record my somewhat dubious views for the world, but , to be frank, couldn’t be arsed.
Last Thursday was a high point when the Ugly One and I went to the O2 to see Leonard Cohen in concert.
There was a time when Leonard Cohen’s music did not interest me, until a fateful day when some friends of mine forced me (it may have been at gunpoint, as in those days it might have been the only way to force me to do anything) to listen to his ‘I’m Your Man’ album. This was one of many musical epiphanies I’ve experienced over the years, and now I am far more open to listening to something outside my musical comfort zone, although I still tend to draw the line at hip-hop and popular manufactured Cowell-esque pap.
Cohen is seventy-four, and far more humourous than one would have imagined for a man whose early albums tend to be associated (somewhat unfairly) with depression and suicide.
‘I’ve studied all the great religious philosophies...’ Cohen announced in his trademark graveyard voice, ‘but cheerfulness kept breaking through.’
Our seats were in the upper tiers, a nightmarishly steep bank of seating, and we were unfortunate enough to be sitting in front of an old Spanish man who talked loudly (in Spanish) through most of the performance. Despite this, I can honestly say that this was one of the best concerts I have seen in many years. So impressed was I, in fact, that I’ve booked two more tickets for his concert in November. We’re still in the upper tiers, but not so far back, and the O2 could not guarantee that we would be free of garrulous Spaniards.
There’s been some bad news on the common sense front, since the registrar fired for refusing to marry gay couples has won her case.
Speaking after the case, Miss Lillian Ladele (the bigoted individual concerned) said: "I am delighted at this decision. It is a victory for religious liberty, not just for myself but for others in a similar position to mine.
"Gay rights should not be used as an excuse to bully and harass people over their religious beliefs."
I can understand her point. It’s not as if the Christian Church has ever bullied and harassed gay people over their sexual orientation, is it?