Kano Cancelled

I got an e-mail and telephone call from ticket web informing me that the Kano concert had been cancelled. On searching the internet, sources suggest the polics closed the venue in the interest of public safety based on intelligence regarding unsavoury characters ( I knew the restraining order would return to haunt me). My friend I met during my BSc left London today as she graduated and begins a new life abroad. I'm going to miss her so much and I feel like something is missing. She owns more pairs of jeans than I do for starters and is into her fashion. She's funnier, prettier and smarter than I could ever hope to be (Grrrr) but I love her anyway.

We went to NYT in leicester square on Friday night. The door man had the hugest chip on his shoulder ( the scientific term is 'bored twat with overinflated ego' syndrome). Anyway after giving the guy on the door some sob story as to why we arrived after the guestlist closed, he let us in for half price. My fake American accent works sometimes. A wise man once said If you ever want to get good treatment pretend you're from abroad and customer service for your Black American Express told you this was a good venue. Watch them fall over themselves to find you a table.

The music was the best I have heard bar Jazzy Jeff and for a year or so. There is somewhere that plays good music on a Friday night in London. Crowd was a strange mixture of university students, dancers from music videos and the usual array of scantily dressed girls. We had fun and mused over the fact that people aren't as friendly anymore. The funniest situations arise from chatting to random people. Had 2 hours sleep because I had to say goodbye to my friend before she left for the airport.

Gowns, hats and long speeches

Today was my BSc graduation. I sit here 6 hours after with the biggest headache ever, an empty stomach, the desire to crawl into bed in 15 minutes and no adrenaline left in my body. This morning started with a neurology tutorial where the lecturer could not access his slides on the computer, lots of faffing around but good teaching eventually. I ran around the town centre afterwards in a last ditch attempt to find smart black shoes, no luck but came home with a sparkly top (don't ask) and decided to wear an old favourite pair of shoes.

Met up with some friends who'd graduated in the morning ceremony. The queue for photographs was ridiculous so I decided to fill out my forms etc then to save time after the ceremony. To cut a long story short. The hall was magnificent and grand, long speech by the rector whom I love dearly ( he knows how much money all the drug companies give us offhead you know) , applause for prize winners, nods for everyone else. Envy of the doctors qualifying and incentive to be in that position in 2 years. Nice to see some of my friends get well deserved prizes. Short speech by vice chairman of something at the end was succint and poignant. 2.5 hours of glorious bliss. Facial spasm from smiling for so many photos, nice champagne reception with yukky canapes and yummy desserts. Ridiculous costs for gown hire, tickets, photos etc but nice euphoric feeling that you've achieved something and can share it with the ones you love. I think I need a moment.............................Sniff sniff.......

Anyway back to reality, I've got a tutorial early tomorrow morning, long day then Kano in evening. Congratulations to all the graduands and best of luck in the future.

New Beginning

I passed O & G! Relief doesn't quite cover it. GP has come to an end following a 4 hour debrief session which I thoroughly enjoyed. If one more tutor asks me how I feel I think I will scream. Start neurology next week. This weekend involved mainly sleeping and eating, no work just relaxing. There is the small matter of BSc graduation next week. It has turned into such a big deal and that is the exact reason I didn't want to go but it wasn't worth my family disowning me. I can't wait to sit through a ridiculously long ceremony so I can collect a blank scroll (received my degree in the post a month back). I would be slighlty more keen if it was my MBBS graduation. The drinks reception after might soften the blow and I was hoping to see all my friends on other courses but they've separated the medics from the rest of the graduates.

Music, my addiction, my soul. Faves this week in no order of preference:

1. Alicia Keys -Unplugged Album. Alicia surpasses herself.
2. Kano- Home sweet Home
3. Vivian Green-Vivian
4. Kray Twins feat. Twista- What we do. Excellent production=Club banger.
5. Ricky Martin- I won't desert you. In my humble opinion the only good track on the album Life apart from Que Mas Da (I don't Care) (Luny Tunes Regeaton Mix). I like the Asian influence.
6. Pussy Cat Dolls- Beep. Will I am on the track. Check out John Legend's She don't have to know which he also produced.
7. Chris Brown feat. Juelz Santana- Run it (Remix). Think Tevin Campbell with Scott Storch on production. He's gonna be huge! Probably only in USA as it takes a while for it to filter over here.
8. Mario- Turning Point. When it was first released I was skeptical but I've come round slightly. Scott Torch kills it again on Let me love you (remix) and other tracks worth a mention are Here I go again and Boom.
9. Keyshia Cole- The way it is. Kanye on production and a voice similar to Mary J. Blige. Loving it.
10. Sugababes- Taller in More Ways. Gotta be you is my stand out track (no.2) and I think Dallas Austin is responsible for the beats.

Greed, Gripes and Good movies

Have you ever been in one of those situations when you have to say something?. Take communication skills, after the simualted scenario, we have to give our colleagues constructive feedback. The tutor goes round the group asking for comments. We usually repeat what the previous people have said but phrase it differently. This time I thought I would do the unthinkable, say the truth. In response to ''So what do youuuu think?'', I replied, '' I don't really have anything to add as my comments have been mentioned by others''. The tutor gave me the weirdest look and after an uncomfortably long silence carried on. Jadefox 1, comm skillls 0 (so petty).


I finally booked my Kano tickets and I need to listen to the album before I go on 27th. The intelligent amongst you might ask why I booked tickets when I haven't even heard most of the album. I would redeem myself by saying many friends say he's very talented and I trust them. Plus I listened to sample tracks on his website and as a certain hip hop DJ would say ''it's gonna be BIG!''.


X-men 3 is released on 26 May 2006. According to rumours, The Beast (Kelsey Grammer?), Angel and Gambit will be starring in it and Halle Berry has asked that Storm's character be further developed (I can't imagine why). Memoirs of a Geisha is released in December 2005 and the trailer looks amazing. I loved the book and hope the film is as good. Other new releases can be found at http://movieweb.com/movies/releases/year.php?2006.


Went to Gourmet Burger Kitchen. We waited 10 minutes for a table is it was restaurant rush hour. The venue has gotten mixed reviews with some descre it as overpriced burger joint and others like your truly, think the food is yummy. When the food arrived I knew I wouldn't be able to finish it. I had the chorizo (spanish sausage with garnish and a ridiculous amount of foilage) and a chocolate milkshale (very primary school I know). Needless to say after eating I couldn't breathe, laugh or move in any direction without some sort of discomfort. Serves me right.

Harlem bar in Notting Hill after. The tiniest establishment bar some of the basement clubs in Convent Garden near the main square. The bar was eerily empty and even the bar staff looked bored. The last time I came it was so packed there wasn't room to even move. Had an elderflower martini despite feeling nauseous from the food. The music was a weird mix of motown, country pop and unclassifiable. I prefer Cargo, Medicine et al in Shoreditch. Shoreditch is trendy bendy but the atmosphere is quite relaxed.

Back to the flat. Watched Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for the millionth time and the combination of overdistended stomach, Heineken and a long week in GP rendered me sleepy. I collect my pension next week.

Image from http://www.mywandsworth.co.uk/wandsworth/restaurants-reviews-gourmet-burger-kitchen.htm

New gadget

Ladies and Gentlemen I interrupt your daily proceedings to announce that Apple has released new 30 gigabyte (gb) and 60 gb 'video ipods' . They've broken the mould and created a black ipod that isn't a nano. I stumbled across it on the apple website and it's so new googling it in the U.K doesn't throw up much. New 30 gb ipod specifications:

• 7,500 songs
• 25,000 photos
• 75 hours of video playback
• 14 hours battery life (major sticking point)
• AAC, MP3, WAV & AIFF formats are all supported

All this for the sum of £220. It'll be interesting to read more of the reviews in the coming weeks.

http://www.cnet.com.au/mp3players/harddisk/0,39029146,40057546,00.htm

http://reviews.cnet.com/Apple_iPod__60GB__video__black_/4505-6490_7-31556110.html?tag=lst

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000617063064/

A Change has come

London Underground in their wisdom suspended the entire Northern line so getting home from Camden was very interesting. After running for the bus in 4 inch heels (more difficult than it sounds especially after Leela's had us doing a dance-a-thon), I had to wait 30 minutes for a train home. I pity the people opposite me on the tube home, as I discovered when I got in, my periodic bouts of sleep and random choice of mascara had given me lovely panda eyes. I should have realised when someone asked if I was ''o.k'', they probably thought I'd been in a fight.

Waiting for the train home, there were some street kids teasing some older less street kids. It made me wonder about the divide between rich and poor. The reason behind the taunts was probably jealousy of the teenagers who go to a good school, get a good education and have wider extracurricular activities (i.e don't need to hang on street corners). In an ideal world all children in London would have access to a good standard of education and I wonder if we would see a positive change in the behaviour of some of the troubled teens. School is obviously one aspect of things and home life is probably a more important an influence on childhood. It reminded me of the inner city school I attended and the tension we all felt. You knew that any moment a friendly situation could change into a situation of bullying and humiliation. I just tried to keep a low profile and just got on with it as it were. Violence doesn't solve anything. I suppose that's easy for me to say I'm not a child experiencing physical and mental abuse daily or feeling betrayed by my friends....

There was theatrics, dancing, flirting with the audience and of course wonderful music. The largest afro in the world on the most petite lady with a big big voice. As usual the Jazz Cafe crowd were tentative to start with, mustering half hearted cheers as Leela James came on. She quickly put a stop to that telling us ''she came to get funky'' and we needed to get with the plan. We all looked at each other bemused. I've never seen an artist with so much energy, she was bodypopping, dancing to ragga and jumping up and down in between belting out her songs. A member of the audience handed her a card and she got him up on stage to vibe with her, he bodypopped like his life depended on it. I kept thinking this woman is 'out there'. In another section of the show, she got the entire front row up on stage to dance with her. The crowd lapped it up. I should mention I was standing behind two men with the largest afros I have ever seen and Leela kept calling out to them. There was a singing standoff between the two sides of the audience, Leela's and that of her keyboardplayer as well as the obligatory solo for each member of her backing band. I particularly loved one of the bass players and the bands ability to switch between different styles namely ragga, rock and soul. She went off stage after an hour of playing and we had to scream at the top of our lungs to get her to return for another thirty minutes. I knew they were wrapping up the show and she had played most of the album but I was convinced she wouldn't leave without playing 'When you love somebody'. I guess she was saving that for tomorrow night. Upset and disappointment don't quite describe how I felt. The show was too short and she'd skipped mine and many others favourite song.

In summary Leela James is an excellent artist with incredible energy, passion and a voice that embodies soul and the blues. The change is here and I just hope everyone is prepared.

*Image from www.hiphoprnbsoul.com/ index2.php

Touchy feely

I detest Communication skills with a passion. It has taken over the medical curriculum like a virus infecting every area of importance. We will have spent six hours on communication skills by the end of this attachment, roughly the same amount of time covering upper and lower limb anatomy in the pre-clinical years. I was actually told that the aim of GP was communication skills and not the medical conditions. An absolute farce, what has medical training become? For anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of doing communication skills sessions, you have definitely missed out. It usually involves a a scenario with an actor playing the simulated patient. Afterwards we sit in a small group and analyse the event giving constructive feedback. The first and second year involved many of these sessions. Of course it is important to learn how to communicate with patients but what use is that if you don't know any anatomy or basic physiology.

I went to the Heroes of Hip-Hop night in South London on Friday. I had never seen Jazzy Jeff live and DJ Premier and Supremo (Boston dude) were supporting. His mixing was 'ridiculous' (very good). The crowd were hyped, lots of head nodding and jumping around. I've never seen so many people in such a limited space. Got in at 5 a.m after which I realised I don't enjoy clubbing as much as I used to. The crowdedness, the lack of ventilation, queing at the bar and the music is quite loud.

On Wednesday, Leela James will dazel us with her amazing vocals at Jazz Cafe. Kano plays The Scala on 27 October. Madeleine Peyroux has sold out her Barbican show on 30 October. It serves me right for wasting time. The Fugees have reconciled (about time) and will be playing at Carling Apollo in December. £40 including booking fee is steep considering they're not Michael Jackson. At least they are not playing Wembley so their fans might actually get to see their faces. I recall chaperoning my younger cousins to a Destiny's Child concert at Wembley a couple of years back. I was the oldest person in the auditorium bar Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle. It was like the entire fall line of gap kids had exploded in the building-never again! Brixton Academy (The Roots) is a good venue if you don't mind chocking on the thick stench of cannabis. By the end of the evening I felt sick and that wasn't just because of the opening act for the Roots (think Spice Girls crossed with Vanilla ice). If you think Justin Timberlake is the best beatboxer (lol), check out Questlove (?love) live. Jaquar Wright and Floetry play Jazz Cafe (13& 14 November, and 14-18 December respectively). The debut album, Floetic has been rinsed (overplayed) by yours truly. Floetry's follow-up, Flo’Ology is out on 8 November. So much music, so little time.

One step up from Knock Knock

A small orange neon sign above the door. Middle aged clientele skirt the entrance to what is one of the most famous jazz venues in the world. Our group were met at the door by the maitre de la ceremonie who escorted us to our seats. The room was lit with dim red lights and adorned with little tables, reminiscent of one of the clubs in 50's New York. The only jazz acts I am familiar with are Norah Jones (if you can call her jazz), Jamie Cullum and Madeleine Peyroux. The first act at Ronnie Scott's, a string quartet were very good. The lead musician insisted on filling the interludes with his jokes which were just one step up from knock knock but enough about that. I prefered the second act who were more adventurous with each member of the band showcasing their talents and lots of audience participation. Also their compositions had lyrics. I have this thing where even if I'm not a huge fan of a particular music genre e.g. house or drum and bass, if it has lyrics I tend to enjoy it more. The incessant shhhhing by the staff was unnecessary and the insistence of no coats above waist level and large bags was slighly tedious. I felt like I was at a school recital. Apart from that it was very good, perhaps not as good as everyone makes out but I think I will return when an act I am familiar with are playing, or alternatively expand my jazz base. People say I have high standards and they're probably right. The film Crash is the perfect example.

Crash was a very good film but the only 'ground breaking' aspect was that it dealt with racism (commendable I know). The writers of Amores Perros, 21 grams and Mystic River used the interwoven subplots to make a visual and emotional impact on the audience. Crash basically copied this technique used the racism theme because they knew people could relate to it , and it would provide an excuse for the lack of plot or character development. There were too many characters . With the limited running time, they had to satisfy the big name stars by giving equal screen time to Sandra Bullock and co and as a result the characters were underdeveloped and as someone watching I felt no emotion for the characters. Every character had to prove they were racist by uttering expletives and racial slurs. Surely this went against the underlying message, that racism is subtle. Everyone I knew who loved it hadn't seen 21 g or any other fims using the interwoven plot so they thought it was groundbreaking in that aspect.

Early start this morning- I was zombified. One of the District Line branches was suspended. After waiting 15 miutes for a train which we were told would arrive in 5 minutes and running from the tube station like a crazy lady, I got in on time.

Again the variety of ages from toddlers to the elderly presented. After three days of evading the inevitable question 'Any idea what you wnat to specialise in?', I gave the game up. I didn't want to say anything before because I thought the GPs would go on a recruitment drive to get me interested in general practice. They're all very nice and I think they are aware of the negatives of their job. However there are many positives and I catch myself thinking 'maybe I could do this'.

Caught up on some sleep, still technically asleep. Flatmates woke me up, the joys of cohabiting. Early start again tomorow, hello eye bags and drooling on the train.

Image from www.mknopfler.com/ body.php?name=galery15

The Wearer of Many Hats

The Lion and the Jewel production was brilliant. The book came to life with the wonderful choreography, rhythmic music and a vibrant set. Wole Soyinka at the age of 23, tackled issues we still face in 2005 with humour and brutal honesty. His use of words is nothing short of genius. Soyinka has reignited my love affair with Nigerian Literature and I begin by revisiting Chinua Achebe's African Trilogy.


My rotation in General Practice (GP) began today. Some students in my group had negative views of GPs while I on the other hand prefer to remain open minded. How can you judge something you have never done? I was terrified of being flung in at the deep end, the Bachelor of Science (BSc) year does wonders for erasing knowledge of clinical medicine and O&G can only take you so far. The patients and practice staff were all really welcoming and my GP is brilliant so I needn't have worried. The scope of presenting complaints is very broad and it is quite interesting working out the diagnosis from the symptoms as opposed to knowing the clinical details before hand as in Hospital medicine. The GP wears many hats- doctor, friend, confidante and healer of the community. It is a tough act and one I am not entirely sure I would like to perform in the future. Never say never.

Ronnie Scott's this week. I have never been and judging by the rules and regulations they supply when you book the tickets it should be an interesting night....

The storm is over

The fear and nervousness was palpable as we waited to start the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). I was attempting to memorise the landmarks of the pelvis in between listening to the instructions for the exam. They let us into a smaller room, one step closer to the exam and we waited waited and waited. It was o.k and I am just relieved it is all over till Paeds in January.

Tonight is the medics Pubcrawl and I asume the Accident& Emergency Departments will be on satndby for floods of casualties suffering from alcohol poisoning. I am off to the Lion and the jewel production tomorrow and dinner on sunday. I would make a reference to growing old but that would be ageist.