Coldplay Time!

Saturday evening saw the return of Coldplay to Zurich after two years, I love this band and this was my 4th time seeing them. I know they are not to everyone`s liking but who cares!

The weather was not so great but during the concert it actually only rained a little bit. They played all the usual big hits, along with their new stuff. There was also fireworks, colourful confetti and large balloons flying around as part of the show.

As is usual they tend to come up to the rear of the stadium so us folk at the back can see them a bit better. Of course we were on the wrong side but we still edged our way to the area they were playing but it would be great to see them up close and personal!

I had my camera along too which was just as well as my phone died as soon as we entered the venue. I was glad to have my camera as I could get some good close ups!

So I read somewhere that this is their last album, boo! I hope not! So if this is really the last time they tour I am glad I saw them again!

The Face of Madonna

This weekend has been quite busy and the highlight would have to be the Madonna concert on Saturday evening. I have been to many concerts but I had never seen Madonna before so I was really looking forward to see her.

Her performance was suppose to start at 10pm, but actually it started at 10.20pm, everyone was getting a bit annoyed by the shouting going on but once she came on stage all was forgiven.

Anyway the back drop on the stage was a large screen and late on into the performance a number of pictures of Madonna came on. They were all very interesting and artistic looking, so I snapped away quickly as soon as they came up.

The concert was brilliant and she put on a great show, I am glad to have seen her once! I will put up another post of more photos of the concert later on.

Wishing everyone a good start to the week!

Calvin Harris in Stockholm!

The first weekend in July was spent in Stockholm and the main reason for the trip was to see Calvin Harris live. It really was a amazing time, we saw two djs in the beginning called Heyman & Müller, then next was Burns and finally out came Calvin. The whole show was just brilliant with the lights, lasers and special effects like smoke and other stuff.

The venue was also very interesting, at the Ericsson Globe Arena, which is the currently the largest hemispherical building in the world, it is shaped like a white ball and took 2.5 years to build.

If you ever get a chance to see him live, then I would recommend it totally. Next I will see Robbie Williams in Zurich, looking forward to that!

November - Books, Films and Concerts

The month of November passed really quickly and now practically  December is over, so here is what I read and saw last month.

I managed to see three films, first up is Argo starring and directed by Ben Affleck. I really enjoyed this film, it is very good and has you sitting on the edge of your seat. This is especially true at the end of the film where I was nearly shouting at the screen.

Then I saw the latest Bond film Skyfall, which I also enjoyed and I really like Daniel Craig as James Bond.

Then finally saw the last installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn part 4. It was good to see the last part of this series and I did enjoy it, liked the ending dream sequence.

I went to one concert this month and the last of this year in Winterthur, Florence and the Machine. It was a great concert, she has a wonderful voice. Spector was the support band and they were also good.


I got through 6 books and nearly all of them were crime books for some reason. I will start off with only non crime book, called In Office Hours by Lucy Kelloway. Two women working in the same office have affairs, one with a younger guy and the other with an older man. I enjoyed this book it was quite interesting to see what happens to both women.

Tooth for a Tooth by T F Muir is a crime novel set in St.Andrews where I lived for a long time, I liked reading about parts of the town and other places in Fife. It was also a good detective novel featuring DCI Andy Gilchrist.

The Unluckly Lottery by Hakan Nesser, this time the Inspector van Veeteren is not in the novel as much as ones before, but still enjoyable.

A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffths another in the series about Dr Ruth Galloway and solving a murder involving old bones.

The Forgotten Affair of Youth by Alexander McCall Smith, the 8th Isabel Dalhousie novel, she is a philosopher and sometime sleuth. She always seems to be asked to help other people solve their problems, their are lots of other characters which appear in all the books, her niece, her boyfriend/partner, her housekeeper. I enjoy these books.

Finally, Catch Your Death by Lousie Voss & Mark Edwards in this book Kate Maddox volunteers at a research centre to find a cure for a common cold. An accident occurs and the man she loves dies, she goes to America. 20 years later she returns to UK with her son on the run from her husband and she bumps into a person she thought was dead. A good thrilling book, which kept me gripped to the end.

Hope you have all had a great festive season so far!

October Books, Films and Concerts

It is hard to believe that November is nearly over, when it comes to movies in October I only managed to see two. One was The Bourne Legacy which I enjoyed a lot, I am a fan of Jeremy Renner anyway. I love all the Bourne movies and think he did a good job as the new agent. 

Then with Alessio we saw Madagascar 3 really funny for both kids and adults. Not sure Alessio got all the jokes, well he is only 6 years, he liked the music a lot.

I read five books, The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg set in Sweden a series of crime books with the character Erica Falck returning to her home town and finding an old friend dead. I enjoyed this book and now wait to read the next ones.

The last Symbol by Dan Brown having read all his other two books I got this out of a charity shop in Scotland. Again Robert Langdon gets in a bit of trouble when asked to give a lecture in the US Capital. It is all to do with the ancient world and you learn lots of interesting information.

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths, this is her second book about Dr Ruth Galloway set in Norfolk investigating the remains of a child. I have already read another in this series and really like all the characters and good story lines.

The Good Thief`s Guide to Venice by Chris Ewan and another great read from the chartiy shop, lots of humor and some crime set in Venice. 

Finally The Rule of Four by Ian Cadwell and Dustin Thomason, a bit of a strange book for me. It could be a little like a Dan Brown book in that it has to do with a very complex and rare book from 1499 called Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. One person is trying to unravel its mysteries and people seem to be dying.

October was a really good month for concerts first in Dundee I went with my sister to see Spector who were really great. Before they came on there were two other bands Swimm Deep and Splassh.

Then back in Zurich I saw an American band called We Are Ausgustines who I would really recommend to see if you have the chance to catch them. 

Then I saw Archive an English band they also were great, lots of good music and their support band was from Belgium called Abysithe Minded.

Lastly I saw Keane, they were also good, but not as good as the other bands I saw this month. 

June Books, Films and Concerts

So it is that time again to see what I got up too in June with regards to books, films and concerts.

We start with films and I saw only 3, the best had to be this film 2 Days in New York. I was absolutely hilarious, all the actors were great but both Julie Delpy and Chris Rock were brilliant. It was also great to see New York, the film kind of reminded me a little of a Woody Allen film.

Then I saw Dark Shadows which was also good with Johnny Depp in the main role, directed by Tim Burton.

Finally I saw Snow White and The Huntsman from all the films this was ok, nothing special.


I read 5 books, one for the vintage reading challenge called Green for Danger by Christianna Brand.

Then I re-read the classic The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, since there is a new movie version coming out in December, I thought I would read it again. To be honest it was like reading it for the first time as I could not remember any of the story.

Cold in the Earth by Aline Templeton a crime novel with DI Marjory Flemming, set in Scotland in Galloway, an area I have not been too. This book was ok but I would read more of the series and I like books set in Scotland too.

The Company of Shadows by Ruth Newman a thriller which I really enjoyed set in Miami and Sicily, kept me going and I did not take long to read.

Finally I read Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby, this is the first book of his that I have read and I really enjoyed it. I was quite funny and will no doubt be made into a film, in fact while reading I was trying to think who would play the aging rocker!

Last by not least I went to see the band Death Car for Cutie, yes a strange name but a great concert this American band is quite new to me. I love their latest album Codes and Keys, so if you have not heard it go and listen to it!

May- Books, Films and Concerts

I thought it was about time to write up the books and films I saw in May, before June is finished! I only read three books, it would have been five but two I started and could not get into them.

I start with Gillespie and I by Jane Harris, this novel I enjoyed a lot. It tells of Harriet Baxter, who leaves London to go to Glasgow, an avid art- lover she befriends Ned Gillespie and his extended family. She tries to help them whenever possible, but eventually something terrible happens that may destroy everything. It goes back and forth from present day where an elderly Harriet is writing her memoirs.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is another enjoyable novel. Lincoln O `Neill is a bit of loner, he works at night for The Courier as Internet Security Officer, one of the aspects of his job is to read e-mails when they have been flagged up. He begins to read the e-mails of Beth and Jennifer. I cannot help himself instead of sending them a warning he keeps of reading them and eventually falls in love with Beth. It is a easy book to read, but fun.

Lastly I read The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa, set in the beginning in Peru, Ricardo meet the bad girl and promtly falls for her. He then moves to Paris and meets her again training to be a communist as Comrade Arlette. She disappears and reappears in his life throughout the years and he always takes her back. I enjoyed the book, although I could not see what he sees in her that he always goes back to her whenever she reappears in his life.


The films I saw in May were The Avengers no need to explain that one, then One for the Money with Katherine Heigl based on the Janet Evanovich book of the same name. I enjoyed the film but not having read the book cannot say how it compares.

The Lucky One with Zac Efron also a book by Nichlas Sparks, a soldier in Iraq finds a photo of a girl. It was lying on the ground and it just happens to save his life, he is then determined to find out who she is and thank her. An enjoyable film to see and of course romantic.

Bel Ami with Robert Patterson set in Paris, he play George Duroy, meets up with an old friend and he help Duroy get a job and meet lots of people who elevate his placing in society.

Finally Salmon Fishing in the Yemen set in Scotland, London and Yemen(Morocco), it is a romantic comedy film. Ewan McGregor stars Alfred an expert on Salmon fisheries for the British Government is approached by a sheik who want to introduce salmon fishing in the Yemen. From the book of the same name by Paul Torday which I have also read. I certainly enjoyed seeing the scenes in Scotland and just love Ewan`s accent!

Finally of course I saw Coldplay at the end of May which was just a brilliant concert!

Coldplay in Zurich

On Saturday I went to the Coldplay concert here in Zurich, this was my third time to see them and everytime it is amazing. This was by far the largest concert I had been too 48,000 people but everyone looked like they enjoyed themselves. On this occasion they certainly out did themselves with the fireworks, balls, light show and of course the fantastic music. When we got into the stadium we were given a wristband which lights up with certain songs like Charlie Brown, it was really a wonderful sight to see them all lit up. The tickets get harder and harder to buy each time they have a concert here, so I am glad I managed to get them. I would go and see them again and again if I could. They played all their big hits like Yellow, Clocks, Fix You and then they played a song that I just adore called A Warning Sign from their second album, could not believe it when I heard them playing it.
There support bands were Rita Ora (who I did not hear) and Marina and the Diamonds which I would like to hear again.
If you ever get a chance to see Coldplay then do so!!

March - Books, Films and Concerts!

I managed to get through a number of books and films in March so lets start with the books:

I have already posted about this book by Agatha Christie called The Mystery of the Blue Train.

The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez set in Oxford it tells the tale of an Argentinien mathematican who becomes involved in a series of strange murders.

Two chick lit books called Take a Chance on Me by Jill Mansell and My Single Friend by Jane Costello. Both books I have lent to a friend, but they were both very enjoyable reads.

Lastly These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach, the story behind me getting the book is that I read a review about it on my dad`s blog and decided I wanted to read it, but it has sat on my shelf for over a year now. Then I was going to see the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel when I was told that it is based on this book so I quickly read it.

On to films now and I saw The Descendants with George Clooney, set in Hawaii, he plays a lawyer with 2 kids, his wife suddenly has a accident and is in hospital on life support. He then realizes that his life was not as easy and simple as he thought it was. A little bit heavy but good acting and it is worth seeing.

Shame starring Michael Fassbender set in New York he play a man with a secret sex addition, he is unable to have any kind of long relationship, he kind of has one is with his sister play by Carey Mulligan. Heavy subject matter but both main actors play their roles very well.

The I saw John Carter, easy going action romantic film about a solider from the American civil war gets transported to Mars.

Then The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel a bunch of British elderly people go to India to a retirement home. Lots of funny and sad stories follow, a good film to see.

Finally The Hungar Games having read all the books back to back last year, I was eager to see how the film would turn out. As with all films from books it is impossible to put everything in it but I did enjoy it a lot and look forward to see number 2. If you have not read the books then do as they are brilliant.

Last but not least I went to see Noel Gallagher and his band the High Flying Birds. A great concert and the album is brilliant, definitely try to listen to it.

Concert Time - Noel Gallagher

Last Thursday my friend Aimee and I went to the sold out Noel Gallagher `s High Flying Birds concert. The support band was called Folks also British, but around 9pm he came on stage. I had seen him when he was still with Oasis which was also a great concert.

His new album is great I like all the songs expecially Everybody`s on the Run, If I Had a Gun and AKA..What a Life!. He also played some Oasis songs the ones I recognized were Supersonic and the last song he played was Don`t Look Back in Anger.

If you have a chance to see him he do a great performance!

Concert Time!

In the last 2 weeks I have been seen two concerts, the first was English band Hurts (no photos) with Aimee, it was a great gig, great music and atmosphere. It was in the Maag Music Hall and was sold out, jam packed. The second was another English band Kasier Chiefs at Komplex 457 with Bianca, that was not sold out and we had plenty of room so I managed to take some photos. Also a great gig, the lead singer came of the stage and came to the bar that we were near and stood on it, sadly it was too dark for any of the photos.