Back from Sweden. Slept. Refreshed. Managed to give Isaac his first bottle feed. C had no problem expressing.

Shock of sadness walking into the newsagents, seeing the papers lined up. Obviously a life in Iraq isn’t worth any less than a life in London - and I find it extremely hard to accept Blair condemning ‘barbaric’ acts of terrorism when he’s supportive of George W’s indiscriminate killing - but it hurts a lot more, being so close to home. Victoria line deserted. Passed through King’s Cross. Oh man.

The ACCELERATOR festival, I enjoyed. Conversation with Bill Callahan that lasted several minutes. Surprise of Montreal’s STARS rocking the house, lively and desperate and poppy like I once dreamed Kirsty MacColl could be, with no air-conditioning and stifling heat in Gothenburg. Delight of discovering DEVENDRA BANHART several years after everyone else and falling haed-over-heels for his loopy, shameless, bearded dance and girl group via Canned Heat harmonies, swaying in front of the adoring all squirmy and sexy and half-naked and with a voice I want to set loose on a thousand Snow Patrol and Keane fans. Delight at discovering EL PERRO DEL MAR, Swedish but sounding Canadian (Jane Siberry), with gentle looping tunes and acoustic playfulness. Delight at witnessing WOLF EYES in full effect, angry beyond argument at the way the volume kept being turned down around them but still issuing great billowing clouds of feedback and steam to where I was standing crouched at Thurston Moore’s feet. Delight at seeing SONIC YOUTH for the first time in three years, still inspirational and on edge, with Thurston being rugby-tackled by an explosively aggressive member of Wolf Eyes at the end of an improvised encore featuring the sax-player from THE THING that went on for an eternity and a minute: Jim O’Rourke flailing feedback like a squat Nick Cave. (We feared for Thurston’s back.) Frances remarked she’d been a fan for half her life now (from 1991)…and I realised that I had too (from 1983). During an interview with Kim and Thurston we discussed Ramones and Kurt and rock as community and babies. JOANNA NEWSOM stunned everyone with her beauty. TEENAGE FANCLUB charmed with their good nature. The heat blistered. My friend Cristof from CITY SLANG showed up. My friend Lisa from THE CONCRETES showed up. My friend Jim White from SMOG and THE DIRTY THREE showed up. Spotted Plan B in both Gothenburg and Stockholm.

In Stockholm, I ran into the Plan B school outing: a dozen or so editors and writers and photographers clutching their heads because of pain filtering through from the previous night’s excesses, and feeling sombre because of the news filtering through from London. Later, I spotted them cutting a giggly chattering swarthe through the densely packed audience in search of the next drink, all sweet and young and enthusiastic. We even spotted Stevie Chick! Not THE Stevie Chick?! Exactly.

A fun time among the sadness.