h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As you may have guessed from the title, I went to Live8! (The title is something my friend said as we got off the train, and it sort of stuck in my head...)

Anyway, yeah, woo, Live8 in Hyde Park! I had two tickets for the big screens, and two of my other friends had stage tickets (they'd been going on about it for about a month), so the four of us were travelling together. The day started well when the girls (the ones with the stage tickets) missed the train, to which we weren't sure how to react, until they got on at the next station (telling us would be too straightforward, wouldn't it?) Daisy spent almost the entire journey alternating between applying eyeliner and sleeping; Eve was more interested in predicting what all of the songs were going to be; Brad and I sat there with confused looks for most of it.

In London, as we got off the tube at Marble Arch, someone started talking to Daisy about Live8 ("Are you going to Live8?" "Yeah, Live8, baby!" etc) and we walked through skanky horrible subways around Marble Arch itself before having to walk around Hyde Park to get to the gate. We abandoned Eve and Daisy and went off in search of a nearer tube station; when we found Lancaster Gate station we traipsed through more tunnels, doubled back a couple of times, realised we'd walked all the way to the platforms through the exit tunnels, and then got on a train. But it was going the wrong way, and the next station was closed, so we had to turn round at Notting Hill and go back through London again.

I might add at this point that we were in search of beigels. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this: http://www.wcities.com/en/record/,5848/1/record.html

Anyway, the shop is on Brick Lane, near Shoreditch station. Which is closed on Saturdays, despite what the Transport for London website told me on Friday. So that led to a jaunt through the streets of Whitechapel to reach Brick Lane; luckily, Brad was approving of the beigels, which was good because I suspect he wouldn't have been too happy if he didn't like them after all that walking! We bussed and tubed back to Knightsbridge, and got in really early about two hours before the gates were even meant to open, so we got a good spot near the second screen.

The concert itself was BRILLIANT! U2 were undescribable (in a very very good way!); Dido was ok, but could have been a lot better, which was rather disappointing; Keane rocked!; we saw Green Day playing American Idiot from Berlin, which was amazing; Joss Stone was fantastic - never seen her live before - and gorgeous as well!; Scissor Sisters were just fab. I could go on, but I can't be bothered.

Geldof showed a video from the original Live Aid campaign just before Madonna came on, of starving children in Africa; he then said that the girl at the end had ten minutes to live, until Live Aid launched an aid project - and thanks to them, she'd just taken her agricultural exams twenty years later, and she came onto the stage with Madonna for her next song. And I cried. And I'm sure a lot of other people did too.

I bought a cloth wristband, and the Make Poverty History book, and I got a little flag that says, "Don't make poverty" on one side and, "Make poverty history" on the other.

Not much more to say really. LIVE 8, BABY!

Green day! That's SO cool!
I've been hearing quite a bit about this Live8 thing recently...

I wanted to watch it on Fox 8, but seeing as I was at grandma's then all my brother and I got to watch was the short coverage on channel 9. Consarnet. I am soooo jealous of you, Joe!!!!! *prods you* Oooooh, I touched someone who went to Live 8!! *runs around screaming* Sorry... being silly. Lalala! Ooooh, on channel 9 they showed some bit when some chick asked the crowd whether they're ready to change history, then Blake and I started making jokes about how she must have a time machine.