London Tonight Tonight

Right. Only one topic for the blog today: our studio guests. None other than rock Gods 'Genesis'. Well, two of them, anyway.

Sorry, didn't you hear me? Genesis are on the show?

Why is no-one else as excited as I am?

Older viewers might know keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist Mike Rutherford best from the band's 1970's prog-rock early days when Tony would do endless keyboard solos and then frontman Peter Gabriel would confuse audiences with a variety of outlandish costumes. Others might be more familiar with the later Phil Collins-led era where the success of singles like 'Invisible Touch', 'Land of Confusion', 'I Can't Dance' and 'No Son of Mine' made them global chart-toppers. Others...well, let's just say Genesis tend to divide musical opinion and are seen by many as firmly driving down the middle of the rock and roll highway...slowly.

For me though, their 1986 'Invisible Touch' album was the first I ever bought. We were in Newquay on a family holiday and mum and dad gave my brother and I a few quid to spend. I bought a black ghetto-blaster (with high-speed dubbing) and a copy of 'Invisible Touch' on tape. I played it constantly and gradually started to explore their massive back catalogue. They were never seen as particularly cool by my friends and I've never really advertised my love of them. But hey, I'm in my mid-30's and am officially the uncoolest person I know (see use of word, 'uncool'), so who cares? I'm therefore proud to say that I love Genesis - like millions of other people - and they're on the show later to talk about a new collection of live performances out on CD and DVD. We'd ask them to play something for us, but Tony might get started on one of his keyboard solos and we only have half an hour.

Oh...and all the day's news too!

See you at six.

Matt and Katie

Weather blog

Good evening,

 

There are many seemingly futile domestic chores, but we all do them despite this knowledge in a bid to keep standards high, make life pleasant & impose order on chaos.

 

Over the last few days I think I have discovered the most pointless of all these activities & one which provides only the most fleeting sensation of a job well done before the process needs to be started once again from scratch.

 

Raking leaves.

 

Our garden is surrounded by mature deciduous trees which are currently doing what you'd expect. On Thursday not one blade of grass was visible under the carpet of golden brown leaves, so I grabbed the rake & spent the morning clearing the decks. It was mindless & repetitive but at least I was outside & getting some exercise & by lunchtime things were looking good. However a sandwich & a cup of coffee later it was as if the garden hadn't been touched, the only evidence of my endeavours being assorted sacks of leaves waiting to be taken to the tip.

 

Thoroughly demoralising & yet I find myself wanting to get back out there & do it all over again. Perhaps before embarking on such folly I should take heed of my own forecast which is promising only a brief respite from the recent stormy conditions with a dry & bright day tomorrow, before a return to rain & strong (leaf stripping) winds later in the week.

 

Hope to see you later,

 

Robin