Paul McCartney...

was on Radio1 this morning having a chat and he did a live impromptu 'Lady Madonna'! The dj's had filled the studio with instruments in case he felt like a giving a tune. He was asked loads of questions by the listeners but I think the most interesting once was

'Did he ever find out why at Live Aid for the first 2mins of 'Let It Be' he was singing in silence?'

It turns out that the roadies for Queen had unplugged all their equipment and because Macca didn't have his own roadies cos he just turned up and played- all cool like (there was no sound check) his mic was also unplugged. He started singing and couldn't hear anything through his monitor then after a while he could hear the voices of the technicians as they were furiously trying to reconnect him. As he was deciding whether to stop the show in front of billions of people the Wembley crowd joined him in singing then his mic came on!

Have you signed up for ' Make Poverty History' yet? Do it at...

http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/

We are planning our day tomorrow around Live8 as I didn't get the Ladies Wimbledon final I was hoping for. The show starts around 14.00 BST & they think it'll go onto 2130. Billed as the best gig in the world ever I think it'll be really interesting to see what they do as the rumours are rife. On the radio they said Macca & U2 will open the show & Madonna will be backed by the Childrens Africa Choir! No mention of Status-Quo though. Beckham, Brad Pitt will also be on stage introducing the acts...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/thelive8event/onbbc/

G & G - Glad to hear you had a lovely time in Kent with Auntie June. I read a Sunday newspaper review a couple of weeks back about the best seafood places to eat in the UK and most of them apart from a couple down Cornwall way were in Whitstable. Ever since I had langoustines at Rick Steins and a seafood platter inc oysters for a romantic Valentines with Clive I'm determined to eat more.
Sorry to hear of your fall Grandma. We swear by the use of 'arnica' cream which Clive got from Boots, which is magic when helping bruises disappear and it doesn't smell medical/chemically- great stuff.

Clive & I went to see Mandy, John and Ruby yesterday in their new flat just round the corner from their old place in Crouch End. They are hoping to move at the end of August into their very own gorgeous house (in their old road). Ruby is really growing quickly with her depth of expression & kept us delightfully entertained all afternoon. Ruby especially liked it when Clive raised her up & down and did his funny 'Little Britain' impressions of Ann at her! And at bedtime I got to dress Ruby in her very own Middlesborough FC pyjamas. Mandy & John say they are very lucky as Ruby is sleeping 12 hrs a day and sleeps all through the night!
Their wedding present from the Oxford contingent of one of J's paintings hangs proudly in the living room. It looks great Julian - thank you.

News from Georgina & Jamie is that they have a new addition to the family too - Rosie, a King Charles spaniel. We haven't met Rosie yet but Mandy says she used to belong to an old lady who couldn't look after her anymore, so she has a very calm nature and didn't yap at all around Ruby.

Clive & I did get caught in the electric storms last Tuesday although we didn't get any pics like the ones Dad uploaded from the bbc website. As it was such a lovely balmy summer evening we had a walk out to Iffley lock to visit the ducks & geese, and popped into the Isis Tavern for an IPA. Well the heavens opened and lightening crackled across the sky so we hid inside for a hour, then we noticed the rain water running down the inside wall of the pub! The weather wasn't relenting after an hour so after our drinks we took a deep breath and ran home along side the river in the torrential rain. We were soaked to the skin by the time we reached the bridge - the aftersun lotion I had applied earlier was running down my face stinging my eyes blinding me, and Clives' glasses were all steamed up. Crippled with laughter we ran the rest of the way home home in the warm lashing rain & once inside wrapped ourselves in warm towels we watched the rest of the storm comforted by a glass of scotch. Fantastic.

Gem xxxx