*Please note that today's header has absolutely nothing to do with anything in particular, other than being dedicated to the brilliant genius that is Kirby.

The Snow Patrol concert was absolutely incredible last night, it really was.

First things first, you'll be pleased to know that I braved the trip to the venue without maiming any pedestrians or driving over any road islands - a feat I think warrants a little bit of applause if you ask me. Or know of my driving skills. Kirby (who turned up sporting not only adorable owl-printed Keds shoes AND the satchel handbag I've been dreaming about) did a great job of holding up the toll pass, as I zoomed along the rain-spattered roads towards Olympic Park. I defeated the evil windy ramp of doom in the carpark which I had been worrying about (honestly, you should have seen the thing) and made it inside with plenty of time to spare.

After buying a container of popcorn, we nabbed a table and settled in to do some people watching, which in a crowded venue is almost as fun as watching the concert itself. We saw a bunch of girls bringing back the tights movement, an outfit that consisted completely of lycra, and an awful lot of stiletto shoes for a standing concert. Ouch! It was at this point that the conversation turned to having to wear tights under short skirts whilst walking through top levels of shopping malls. My response? "But I don't own any short skirts. Or tights. So I'm safe." Kirby's response? "I'm never going out with nothing on under my skirts again." The blank silence that fell on our table was soon replaced with giggles.

Back to the concert . . . the support acts were all Irish, which prompted us to start sprouting off the only Irish-isms that we knew - 'To be sure, to be sure', 'leprechaun', and 'diddly dee diddly dee potatoes'. Obviously we need to learn a few more of these for next time. The first guy was nice and mellow. The second band mumbled an awful lot and had a drummer that resembled Animal from the Muppets. The venue was filling up at this point, and looked amazing. As the music started, a wee Irish girl sat in the seat next to me. She seemed mellow enough to begin with, but soon began bouncing around her seat like a loon, causing our entire row of seats to bounce along with her. Nothing like dancing when you don't really have a choice, and your neck is moving along without a will of its own.

As for Snow Patrol, they were fantastic. The lead singer was hilarious, pointing out that the largest man in the world was attending our concert in the front row. He was right; this guy's arms were twice the size of everybody else's, he ended up singing "Signal Fire" to him. Appropriate seeing as the lyrics are "There you are, standing right in front of me" - he actually changed the words at one point to "There you are, standing right in front of everybody else" which was quite amusing. They sang most of my favourite numbers; highlights including Shut Your Eyes (sing, sing!), Chasing Cars (swoon), Make This Go On Forever (bloody beautiful), Run (made me miss Jase) and All That I Have (dance, dance!).

Kirby was happy that they played Set The Fire to the Third Bar, which I've never liked much but have now completely changed my mind about now.

Good times, good times. Kirby took some awesome pictures. It's only appropriate that I leave you with a little number to finish off, so enjoy!



'I'm miles from where you are, I lay down on the cold ground . . .
And I, I pray that something picks me up, and sets me down in your warm arms.'