Since I got back from New York I have realised that my trusty 18-55mm kit lens is well and truly broken. It just won’t autofocus any more, despite trying various fixes from the internet. So I have decided, rather than just replacing it, to upgrade to a better, multi-purpose lens. And my investigations have led me to the Canon 15-85mm. I have found one on the Amazon marketplace for £400 but I don’t know whether to buy it now and risk being pretty poor for the rest of December, or wait til I get my Christmas money, by which point it may have already been sold. Decisions!

I will be putting in an order for some new acrylic soon, this time in pink and silver. Just finalising the designs and then it will be sent off. There are some winter-themed pieces and small pink logos to be put onto each necklace chain.

Last night I went to see Arcade Fire at the O2 Arena, but I don’t think words can properly justify the experience. It was simply sublime, and I really wish I was going tonight as well. From the opener ‘Ready to Start’ to the closing song, the whole crowd was with them 100%, dancing and singing along to every track as though their lives depended on it. Arcade Fire appeared to be humbled by the massive audience response and thanked everyone profusely for coming out in the bad weather to see a band who “haven’t even had a hit song”. The setlist was pretty evenly split between the new album and the previous two, and I was incredibly excited to hear them play ‘My Body Is A Cage’, which is one of my all time favourite songs. The segue from ‘Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)’ into ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ is so perfect you would think they had planned it when they wrote the songs, and it is this combination that gets the biggest crowd reaction of the night. As the last strains of ‘Wake Up’ faded into the air, many people felt acutely aware that they had witnessed something special. It is a testament to Arcade Fire’s live show that they can make every gig they play feel unique, and I can’t wait to see them again.

Ready to Start
Keep the Car Running
Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)
No Cars Go
Haiti
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Rococo
My Body Is a Cage
The Suburbs
The Suburbs (Continued)
Crown of Love
Intervention
Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)
Month Of May
Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)
———————–
We Used To Wait
Wake Up