beer anyone?

no, this does not refer to the blanket text message i normally send out to most of my mobile phone's address book on a miserable sunday night.

actually i thought i'd mention about the gazumping of music venues by Carling in this sometimes fair city.

whilst Dr D&C has been getting the academic shit kicked out of him at various practice sessions/courses for the stupid exam this friday, Miss D&C has been having a jolly old time.

last night she and three of her friends went to the XFm "big night out". Xfm for the non-Londoners among you is one of the indie/alternative radio stations here and despite being owned by the heinous Capital FM is relatively sound in its playlist. notably it doesn't play exclusively to the student population as Radio One (BBC) seems to do, and it has the brilliant Adam & Joe on Saturdays.

anyways the line-up was supposedly quite good with the Fratellis playing and being held at Brixton Academy (one of the more cavernous venues in the city) the potential was there for some good music and a decent opportunity for some good ol' like mama used t'make indie clubbing action.

Miss D&C was however sorely disappointed.

for starters the three promised dancefloors turned out to be the main auditorium and then two corridors. not quite three dancefloors.

secondly it was HEAVING and she and her friends were faced with hour long waits at the bar. like Dr D&C, she likes a tipple so i sympathise.

but worst of all was the pricing. many of the music venues in london and increasing throughout the country are being bought out by big conglomerates. Carling, them of the beer fame, now own the Brixton Academy, or to give it's proper name the Carling Academy - Brixton, and as a result the five beers you can buy at any of their venues are Carling, Carling, Carling, Carling and Carling Extra Cold.

Miss D&C and entourage had partially been enticed to pay the fifteen quid cover by the lure of 1.90 pints. oh the upset when they realised that this was only the case at one of the bars, and that the other bars in the venue ie. the emptier ones charged the same beer at just shy of four quid.

"outrageous!" i cried. an indictment of the franchising at the expense of music. what next? see Foo Fighters at the KFC Empire Shepherds Bush? don't miss Primal Scream, headlining the Primark Koko, Camden? shame on you XFm for cashing in. but then as i said, they are owned by Capital Radio.

anyways, tonight this lost doctor is sitting in a "luxury" room in a seaside town hotel as he awaits his membership of the royal college of ingrates exam tomorrow. a listless sleep i think. i have spent the past month and a bit buried in tomes and examining as many patients as possible. my brain feels like it's going to burst. i don't know if i'll be successful this time. all i know i'll give it my best shot and to be fair i've spent a lot more time preparing for this exam than any other.

as of course dear readers i shall let you know how it goes. in the meantime it is time for some slumber, listening to the dirty sea lapping against the rubbish-strewn essex coastline.