Jah Lush

At my first office Christmas dinner and dance party for a Sunday newpaper I'd starting working on at the tender age of 16 I got absolutely legless on beer, wine and whiskey. A new and friendly colleague of mine said that as his grandmother's house was nearby to the venue where the do was being held I could crash out there and we could go to work together the next morning. I got the spare room where all the Christmas presents were very neatly piled up in one corner. His grandmother was a most welcoming and lovely old lady who went to the trouble of making sure I had a full English cooked breakfast next morning before going back into the office with my appalling hangover. What we didn't know until the next day was that during my drunken blackout I'd woken up in the middle of the night bursting for a slash and had pissed all over presents.

I always go to the Dog (12 -2pm) on Xmas day out of tradition but I'll also be stepping into Hoopers on Ivanhoe Road later as they are open from 12 - 3pm.

Bollocks to Xmas and shove up it up yer arse Santa yer fecking filthy kiddie fiddler. Fecking awful office parties full of dullards that in normal life you'd cross the road to avoid and pathetic once a year drinkers filling the streets with their puke. Bah! to the lot of you.

Mulled wine and mince pies anyone?

Happy birthday EDOldie. Have a glass for me won't you. Cheers!

You Haven't Done Nothing - Stevie Wonder

I can get all that at home.

Yup, you're probably right Brendan. Gone are the idiosyncratic, somewhat bohemian bars like The Drum and to a lesser extent Inside 72. One can only live in hope.

Good work Gen17. I hope the owners get what's coming to them.

If it's as bohemian as the name suggests then I'm all for it.

Lovely Day - Bill Withers

60s garage classic that was covered by The Ramones and Garbage but this the original version is the nuts. The Seeds - I Can't Seem To Make You Mine

Careful now EDOldie because it seems to be catching. Reality is an illusion caused by lack of alcohol and drugs.

Where It's At - Beck

Baby Come Back - The Equals

Baba O'Reilly - The Who

If Looks Could Kill - Camera Obscura

Indeed! Credit crunch and all that. The past is nice place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there. As for the future I think I'll be needing an enormous balloon glass of cognac and a big fat spliff to contemplate that.

Original Pirate Material - The Streets

It's a strange one isn't it HonaloochieB. Today I feel I'm looking forward to the past whilst my future is catching up with me.

Sound Of The Suburbs - The Members

Violence - Mott the Hoople

If you say so Keef. Never been a big fan of Mexican cuisine myself but the place always seemed to be empty and you know you can't keep a business going if you have no customers.

Oh come on MD74 you only went there for the Margaritas. The food was crap. It didn't exactly cater for vegetarians like yourself did it?

I always remember it as being completely empty. It needs to be totally reinvented. A refit might cover up a multitude of sins from the outside but if it doesn't get it's act together on the inside it will very quickly close down for good.