Pop World Cup 2010: Group A – France v Mexico

Well this is going to be a titanic struggle, if either France or Mexico lose this one they’re on the first flight to face the brickbats (and possibly bricks) of the fans back home. Tom and Alex will both be hoping it’s not their head the press are calling for…

Voting for this match ends at midnight on 15 March.

more »

CarsmileSteve in FT • 14 Comments

Pop World Cup 2010: Group A – South Africa v Uruguay

Hello there, due to Tom’s ridiculously busy life and burgeoning media profile (you’ve all read Shiny Shiny, right?), Tim and I will be taking over putting the PWC tracks up for the next few weeks.

We start the second round of matches with a scrap for group supremacy between South Africa and Uruguay. A win for either team here would almost guarantee them a place in the last sixteen, so Isabel and Jim will no doubt have been sweating over their seleção…

This match will end at midnight on March 14th* – for now, get voting.

*oops, gave you 8 days originally, will close on sunday night now more »

CarsmileSteve in FT • 17 Comments

Why Capello really dropped John Terry

Of the thousands and thousands of words that have been written about The John Terry Situation this week, Louise Taylor’s ridiculously florid piece in the guardian on Wednesday which starts:

Fabio Capello’s still somewhat limited English vocabulary may not yet incorporate the term “invidious position”

must have been the turning point where Fabio decided that he had to go. Not because of Ms Taylor herself, but, I think, because of the following piece of genius from Freaky Trigger’s very own Patron Saint of Sport, Lord Harry of Bassett:

Dave Bassett endorsed [Glenn] Roeder’s view that a Rubicon has been crossed. “The problem is John Terry’s a wrong-un. He’s masquerading as one of the chaps but he ain’t because this shouldn’t happen,” the former Wimbledon and Sheffield United manager said. “Of course you have players misbehaving when they’re married. But they aren’t doing it to a team-mate’s missus. That’s off bounds.

“It sticks in the throat. There’s an unwritten rule that you don’t start messing with players’ missuses. I’ve had players who have left their missus or had bits and pieces on the side but they’ve not gone off with a team-mate’s bird. That’s crossing a line and where it comes unstuck with Terry. I don’t recollect it in all my years in football.

Gawd Bless yer Harry!

CarsmileSteve in FT / TMFD • 2 Comments

The FT Top 25 Pubs of the 00s No 11: Trinity Arms, Brixton

The Trinity is the only pub outside Zone 1* on this list. That’s not to say that we are a bunch of central London fanatics, but it is where we pretty much all work and, therefore, where we’ve spent most evenings in the pub. I’d left the Exmouth by the time this stage in proceedings had been reached so I’m a little short on the main thrust of the arguments that got the Trinity this far up the list, but I can tell you about what I like about it:

It’s the nicest pub in Brixton

And when you’re faced with a three hour gap between the end of work and halfway through the second support at the Academy that’s all you can ask for really. Because it is the location of the Trinity, only a ten minute walk from the Brixton Academy that led it to being visited, never mind nominated. The only time I’ve been here and not gone on to a gig was when The Specials cancelled at half 5. But this is damning with faint praise, they do a cracking pint of Ordinary, the service is good, they serve big portions of decent food and have a nice beer garden out the back if you are some sort of beast of the field. Much like the Pineapple in Kentish Town it does seem to have become the haunt of A Certain Type Of Gig Goer, but then that’s maybe because I’m only going to Certain Types Of Gigs (and I freely admit to fitting the profile of the Certain Type)…

There was one night, just after the smoking ban came in (I’m thinking the night of the Carter gig?), when I arrived quite early (what? I was EXCITED!) to find that they’d replaced the carpet right through the pub and all you could smell was NEW CARPET, it was the weirdest thing, like drinking in Allied…

FancyAPint
Beer In The Evening
Randomness Guide to London

*sorry non-Londoners, but this includes you too. Although apart from the Three Goats Heads and the Turf in Oxford, the Windmill in Stansted Airport and the Brothers Bar at Glastonbury I can’t think of many non-London bouzers where a gang of FT contributors have been there at the same time. Oh, I suppose DBA in New York and the Small Bar in Chicago should get honourable mentions…

CarsmileSteve in FT / Pumpkin Publog • 5 Comments

THE FT TOP 25 PUBS OF THE 00’s No 21: The Newton Arms

Having worked around Covent Garden from the middle of 2002 I’d walked past the Newton Arms loads of times (not least on the way to Parker Place where the original Club FreakyTrigger was held) , but always thought it looked a bit, y’know, Local. It looks like an Estate Pub without being attached to an Estate (although there are a surprisingly large number of people who live round there) and the cheap beer deals and garish posters in the window put me off.

The thing that finally got me through the door was horse-racing. more »

CarsmileSteve in FT / Pumpkin Publog • 8 Comments

The Gift That Keeps On Giving…

I was informed by email this morning that our good friend Shawn Carter was to play a short notice gig (a week on thursday) at the Roundhouse. Tickets are £50 each and go on sale tomorrow if you are a member of the Roundhouse and Friday morning if you’re not, 4 per household…

Of course (much like his famous glastonbury visit before he played), this isn’t the first time he’s been to NW1, and his last visit was a bit, how you say, problematical: more »

CarsmileSteve in FT • 24 Comments

What? In the Park???

As you are no doubt very much aware, here at Freaky Trigger we are:

A. very much in favour of the pub

B. quite partial to a festival every now and then

So, hey, what could POSSIBLY GO WRONG with Pub In The Park? I, I don’t really know where to start…
more »

CarsmileSteve in FT / Pumpkin Publog • 6 Comments

Jake Thackray

So, I saw a (repeated) bbc four documentary about Jake maybe six months ago and then kept on entirely failing to search for his stuff, but then a friend linked to the above and I found an treasure trove of stuff on spotify (sorry Americans), and he is all kinds of awesome, jazzy and silly and slightly rude, but very british (and a bit 70s to be honest, as the above example shows). I’m not sure why he’s disappeared into obscurity, given that the doco showed him on many TV shows, and he seemed to have a fanbase of slightly alt comedians (i’m pretty certain the programme was made by Associated Rediffusion, ie Victor Lewis-Smith).

CarsmileSteve in FT • 5 Comments

A Planet? Full of Dinosaurs?

It’s the time of year when i say: Come and see HIBBETT in Edinburgh! If you’re lucky, you might even see a SPACE DINOSAUR wandering up and down the Royal Mile (hint: it is ME).

We’ve even got a trailer this year: more »

CarsmileSteve in FT / The Brown Wedge • 1 Comment

CAMRA Couples Night

Due to my impending trip to Edinburgh (of which more later), I managed to persuade a hardy bunch of FT regulars to accompany me to the GBBF for the opening public session last night, and it was a JOY in comparison to recent Friday visits. Reader, we almost didn’t need to have taken our dad stools with us!

You could get around easily, there was very little rowdiness, and very few bloody part-time tourist lager-drinkers in stupid hats people unused to the joys of ale. There was also a much closer gender balance than I’ve ever seen (we’re not talking 50/50 here, inevitably, but I’d guess 70/30 male to female? maybe 65/35?) and, yes, definitely more couples, rather than just groups of people (and a fair number of the groups were left over from the early afternoon trade session I think).

Also good to see that the Champion Beer of Britain is a Mild, although at 4.4%, it’s pushing it a bit (but then i like my milds subtle to the point of tastelessness). I don’t think any of the group got to try it, but I did have some pretty good (if randomly selected) bouze, nothing made my palate explode* with excitement/difference/wtf (i’ve gone off stunt beers a bit) although the Spire Dark Side Of The Moon (Peak District** bar) and the Holden Black Country Mild (W Midlands bar, obv) were both good chocolately, dense milds, just the sort of thing I like. more »

CarsmileSteve in FT / Pumpkin Publog • 9 Comments