And so it starts...

Ready, set, go...

The journey begins. And what better way to begin a trip to India than spending a few days in London, aclimatising... Indian-born people are the second largest population group in London, only surpassed by British-born. And there's the famous Brick Lane, to get a taste of Indian cuisine, just one underground stop away from here.

So I'm here in London, where I fly out from tomorrow. Just spending a couple of days visiting curley Steve...living in posh Angel Islington.

Went to an awesome concert last night at the Scala (see pictures) but not before eating a true classic that I hadn't enjoyed for quite some time (mum, take note): BANGERS AND MASH... Doesn't get more genuine than that.

And here's the review of the band (courtesy of Steve):

Cristiano Ronaldo. Bit good isn't he? A shoulder drops, his feet a blur, a little stutter but, for all the movement, the ball sits completely under his control at all the times. Glued to the outside of his boot. Jason Von Bondie is the Ronaldo of Rock 'n' Roll. For all the movement, that guitar never leaves his hip. Always under complete control of his dancing fingertips. That there are three guitarist in this band now and that the blistering, punctured blues solos are coming from the big guy at the front, thrashing around like a seal being clubbed, is a true spectacle. Jason is the 'Shock and Awe' treatment, falling from the sky like meteorites and the other two are the plodding march of ground troops - necessary for the full combative effect. Leanne Von Bondie on bass is there for the battle of hearts and minds!

It's the brutal performance of powerful garage rawk. The new stuff goes down as well as can be expected, but it's the stand-out track of their career - "C'mon, C'mon" - that kickstarts the crowd. By the last song support acts Flight Like Apes and The Sugars crash the stage. Jason asks for 10 members of the audience to join them at which point the crowd surges and dozens of bodies are flung at the stage. Tambourines are shook. Snare drums are hit atop speaker stacks. Everyone is yelling the chorus of Broken Man into drum mics. It's a great moment of band-audience togetherness. Jason Von Bondie is the Ronaldo of the rock world but he's a Ronaldo past his peak and he knows that all that remains is to string his guitar and go out and keep the loyal fans happy.

(Steven Turner)