Downham, Lancashire

We had a very relaxing weekend staying with Olivia and Ralph in the idyllic village of Downham, in the herat of the Lancashire countryside. Manly involved eating and drinking too much, but also included a fairly energetic walk to the top of the nearby Pendle Hill (pictured) on an untypically sunny Saturday afternoon.

U2, Wembley

U2 have been at the top of my 'must see' list for many years, but for some reason, I have never managed to see them live - until now! As an added bonus, the support act on the Friday evening show was Elbow, another band that I like listening to but had had never seen live.

Elbow's warm up set was short but impressive, with an expansive sound courtesy of their string section, and they succeded in getting the whole crowd to sing along.

U2 were in danger of being overshadowed by their spectacular stage set, which looked something like an alien spaceship out of War of the Worlds. However, they managed to make the concentric 360 degree circular stages work to good effect, and spent much of the time wandering around interacting with the audience. The set list included a mix of older classics and a few numbers from their latest album, which all worked well in the live environment.

By the end, I certainly felt that I had got my money's worth from an epic concert, both in terms of the visuals and the music.

Banksy vs Bristol Museum

Everyone who has been to see this show has rated it highly, so Linda and I decided to get up early on Sunday morning to join the queue. We got in soon after the doors opened at 10am. It turned out to be well worth the effort. The show comprises two halls filled with works created by Banksy especially for this exhibition, including one containing a variety of animatronic exhibits, which displayed an aspect of Banksy's work that I was not previously aware of. Equally entertaining were the random Banksy works scattered throughout the rest of the Bristol Museum's collections. It was fun spotting the subversive installations hidden amongst the usual museum cases. I particularly liked his 'modifications' of old landscape and portrait paintings.

Bristol Balloon Festival

A sunny and calm afternoon made for ideal conditions for the supporting acts at Claire's party. The Red Arrows turned up on the dot of 5pm to do their thing, and by 7pm the sky was full with moe than 50 colourful balloons. No funny shapes on this occasion, but still a spectacular sight as they headed East over the city.