TCB: happy jeans contest

[Maynard Friedman]

Excellent Paul, do you know if there's a podcast of the interview on iPlayer?

[Paul T]

Interview done, I walked back thru Soho.

 

 

This little street is Walkker Court. Used to be great, full of brothels, sex shops and strip bars. Sadly, it's now home mostly to hipster denim and footwear shops.

 

 

I popped into one of my favourite shops, the Cloth House. Lots of lovely selvage fabrics - I specially like this Ticking.

 

 

 

 

I wandered past some of my favourite guitar shops on CHaring Cross Road. on the way I spotted this selection of guitars. Note the Hofner 50 in the middle. This is almost identical to the guitar I picked up, earlier on this thread, at Greenwich market for £90. I actually bought it to sell on , but the nipper persuaded to let him keep it. Now I shall be paranoid he will leave it on the bus etc.

 

 

In the evening, I met up with the nipper at one of my new favourtie coffee bars, The Cable Cafe at The Oval. This was opened by a friend of a friend who also owns another great bar called the Scooter Cafe, in Waterloo, which I've pictured on SuFu before. Craig, the owner, sold and repaired scooters. He also turned out to have a talent for repairing old espresso machines. His two places are now full of odd bits he's collected over the years.

 

Here you can see two Faema E61, beautiful machines - the design is, according to legend, based on the look of the Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale. They were very innovative machines that heavily influenced the course of coffee machine design.There's a modern repro but these are the originals. As we said before, Volvo, what beautiful gifts your nation has given the world. Grazie!

 

 

 

The World Service interview will be broadcast 29 May, you can hear it on-line here. No guarantee I'll make the final edit of course!

 

This is how I shall be listening. The Round radio is by Wells Coates, and the lozenge one is Serge Chermayeff. Broadcasting house used to be full of speakers like this. Ah...

 

 

Edited May 20, 2015 by Paul T

[Sugar Mountain]

Two fantastic posts Paul, thank you. Makes me miss London more than a little bit - it's around this time of year that the streets come alive as the weather warms up and everyone stops for a pint or two after work. Love it!

[fre-co]

Good to see Craig is still around. I used to spend a lot of time in scooterworks chatting and fixing my vespas.

[Maynard Friedman]

Paul, I trust you'll be clutching a mug of Ovaltine, ready to bolt for your Anderson shelter when those sirens start wailing!

[aho]

Looking forward to the interview! And way to go repping TCB on air as well!   

[holio cornolio]

Sounds great Paul. Has it been broadcast yet? If so presumably we can listen again somewhere? Cheers old fruit.

[Paul T]

Sounds great Paul. Has it been broadcast yet? If so presumably we can listen again somewhere? Cheers old fruit.

Thanks folks.

 

THe programme page is here, it's being broadcast on 29 May, I'm guessing it's the one after the Y Chromosome show.

 

Maynard, sadly no Anderson shelter, altho we used to have some huge shelters just down the road until it was redeveloped, and the back of our house was all rebuilt after it was blown out by a V2.

 

Volvo, if you ever see one of these in a local market, let me know! Just what I need for holidays...

 

 

And have you ever tried one of these? THeu were the main rival to the early La Pavonis, I have no idea how good they are at making coffee, but they are beautiful...

 

Edited May 21, 2015 by Paul T

[volvo240thebest]

beautiful stuff paolo.

I'll keep my eyes peeled. that's not something you find every other day in pawn shops.

home espresso machines are quite rare to be find in vintage markets and pawn shops.

that baby faema is really cool!

the coolest things I often see here are quickmill grinders, looking great but not good enough for today's standards!

[tvshooter]

 

 

really been enjoying everyone's pictures!  sorry for a lack of mine.  i lost my digicam a few months back and i'm hoping it gets found.  cellphone quality for now guys.

 

[garden gnomes in space]

Thats a great cut on you TV

[Max Power]

Great updates everyone! Somehow I never caught the "right" tours or contests where the action is. Please Keep up the good work.

[Bobbo]

I'm next in line to hail your fit TV, looks great.

 

Cellphone pics or not, some more evo shots would be fun to see!

 

Also enjoying the recent coffee talk and the London tour, miss that place a lot.

[ah_long]

Work brought me to Vancouver this weekend, went for a hike on the Grouse Grind, 2.4km in altitude

The trees are beautiful in Vancouver

 

DSC_0495 by 6u07, on Flickr

 

DSC_0496 by 6u07, on Flickr

 

DSC_0498 by 6u07, on Flickr

 

DSC_0497 by 6u07, on Flickr

 

DSC_0499 by 6u07, on Flickr

 

@ the top

 

DSC_0500 by 6u07, on Flickr

 

Geek Moment, used my Rangeman to track how high I've hiked, went up 2565m

 

DSC_0501 by 6u07, on Flickr

[bradl]

That area is beautiful long. One of my favorite things about Vancouver, the lush scenery. So many different types of trees, there is even a rainforest up north as well.

If you're still in Van can definitely recommend some cool places to check out.

[Bobbo]

A few weeks back I went to Stockholm again, this time we went to the Swedish championship for homebrewers of beer. 30 $ entry fee and then you could try ~ 290 different beers for free. The reason it's for free is 'cus homebrewers isn't registered as companies and hence don't pay any taxes they arn't allowed to charge you. I was to busy drinking great beers that I even forgot to take any pictures, haha. 

 

However, I did manage to take one snap that weekend from our afterparty in one of the parks:

 

And this weekend I went home to visit my folks. Here's a couple of snaps from a nice evening in little Lindesberg:

 

 

 

 

 

I also tried a raspberry sour ale, it was pretty sweet (no pun intended). I'm really starting to like sour ales a lot:

 

And of course a little bit of TCB to give the post a dent of denim:

[ah_long]

That area is beautiful long. One of my favorite things about Vancouver, the lush scenery. So many different types of trees, there is even a rainforest up north as well.

If you're still in Van can definitely recommend some cool places to check out.

 

I'm back in Toronto already, but I'll be there for the next two weekends! definitely my favourite city in Canada.

[Max Power]

@ Bobbo: sounds like a perfect Weekend. I really miss Stockholm and would love to go there again. Too bad I can't drive up there straight but would have to use the Ferry. (I still recall being there the first time at the Age of 15. I've never seen so many beautiful women. And I can't blame it all on testosterone, mutliple trips afterwards proved it).

 

@ ah_long: Jealous of your trip as well. I always wanted to ride my bike in Whistler and the Vancouver area. The look of the forests is well known from dozens of bike movies. You can also see how the trailbuilding influenced the hiking trails (or vice versa).

Great updates everyone.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Max Power

[Bobbo]

@ Bobbo: sounds like a perfect Weekend. I really miss Stockholm and would love to go there again. Too bad I can't drive up there straight but would have to use the Ferry. (I still recall being there the first time at the Age of 15. I've never seen so many beautiful women. And I can't blame it all on testosterone, mutliple trips afterwards proved it).

 

Sweden is awsome (and I definitely don't complain about the women, haha). But like with everything else you get kind of used to it and want something different. I feel like moving abroad again, just need to find work!

[ah_long]

fresh out of a wash again, jeans are dirty from working on the boat and sweat from the hike

 

colors are not totally accurate as the photo came from my phone. But check out the train tracks, so nice....

 

DSC_0502 by 6u07, on Flickr

[Paul T]

Yikes, we're on the second page!
 

Sorry TCB didn't get mentioned on that radio programme, only those boring clichéd Ironheart. But I did get first and last word.

 

I'm now on a new phase; pocket destruction. I always keep a notebook in back pocket and a pen in the front, to make notes to assist my failing memory. yesterday I went off for an interview, thought I'd forgotten my pen and bought a $5 new one... that one disappeared later that day, the same way its predecessor had, via a hole in the pocket!
 

I think a new wash is due this weekend if the sun holds, then they'll finally lose that dark look (which is almost my fave phase).

 

[tvshooter]

my front pockets look exactly like PaulT's

[aho]

Sorry I've really been slacking! Been pretty busy lately with travel and moving and work...But I did goto Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon!

Hoover Dam

Loved the drive although it got lengthy...

 

But the highlight itself was really the Grand Canyon (South Rim)

[Max Power]

^I'm speechless.

[aho]

I have a few more! 

 

Also checked out the Pawn Stars shop on accident if there are any History Channel buffs?

 

All in all, I was reminded of the beauty and natural splendor of the US that I take for granted...Really humbling to stand at the edge of a cliff, take in the expansive view, and realize how small your place is in the world!

[Iron Horse]

Wonderful photos, wish I had gone to the Grand Canyon last time I went that way.

[Sugar Mountain]

No need to ask why they call it ''Ohh Ahh Point"... Pretty obvious! Brilliant photos Aho.

 

Full disclosure: I'm putting my TCB on ice over the summer for the most part to get my Fullcount up to a year's wear (plus, they are much more comfortable to wear in this heat). Might be able to give them some time in July when I head to Europe but a break is good - I've been a little bummed out with the TCB lately and how little I have to show for all the wear I've given them. Getting a bit disheartening, I have to admit!

[rayw44]

Great photos all around.

 

I have been slacking very hard in posting pictures, so I hope this photo dump makes up for it.

 

A few weeks back my wife and I drove home to visit our families. My mom always has trouble with her pool, and somehow I always get roped into helping her.

 

It wasn't looking good.

 

 

Assessing the situation. It worked out fine, but no pics of it looking good.

 

 

On the weekends my wife and I usually head down to the Strip. It's basically two streets full of street food, crafts, grocers and all sorts of awesome stuff. The first stop on most occasions is for a coffee. I wandered into 21st Street Coffee and Tea the last time out.

 

 

 

I ordered a black coffee and didn't realize they do a pour over type brew. I'm a no frills coffee guy, and this was a great cup of black coffee. Next we walked down to Peace, Love and Little Donuts. They make simple cake donuts in a little hole in the wall. I prefer their simpler offerings, but my wife goes for the heavy toppings.

 

 

Then a quick stop at Edgar's taco stand for delicious tacos.

 

 

More to come.

Edited June 4, 2015 by rayw44

[rayw44]

Next we head down to Wholey's seafood market to get sushi from Andy's Sushi Bar. His stand is literally inside of a seafood wholesaler, and everything he makes is fantastic. Andy just turned 50, and he looks 30 at best. He loves telling people his secret to staying young: no smoking, no drinking, lots fo sleep and lots of the freshest fish you can find. He's doing something right.

 

 

You place your order, he usually busts your balls for a few minutes, gives you something to sample, and then changes your order based on whether you liked the thing he gave you to sample. On this day he gave me a sample of yellowfin tuna with an unknown sauce and a mint leaf. Shockingly good, and then I ended up with a modified tuna roll of some sort. Also fantastic.

 

 

On this particular day we were headed to an early Pirates game, so we walked down after we stuffed ourselves. Here is the old Heinz factory with the old sign still operating. It is now the Heinz History Center which works in conjunction with the Smithsonian.

 

 

Then through the convention center walkway. This is usually a running fountain down the walls, and it naturally stays very cool. The convention center itself is one of the greenest buildings in the world.

 

 

Passed where Lewis and Clark set off on their expedition.

 

 

Getting close.

 

 

It's a lot of fun walking over the bridge to see a game, and I can't think of another ballpark with this kind of pregame ritual for the fans.

 

 

This was on Memorial Day weekend, and we saw three games total. They ended up being three of the best pitching performances I will see in my life. All three starters for the Pirates allowed 2 or less runs and struck out 10 or more.

 

The jeans look better than they do in these pics, but nowhere close to Paul and Ah Long's progress.

[Iron Horse]

Always nice to see the 'Burgh!