Chill out before you burn out!
Friday 9th August was my first outing to this years Edinburgh Festival and what an evening it turned out to be. Never used to being able to capture much more than a show or two in one outing, being able to sample five quite different acts made for a very interesting evening. Transport times to …
The first time I wrote about the doors of Tim Peaks Diner closing it earnt me the honour of becoming writer in residence when Tim Peaks Diner became a reality at Kendal Calling. First time round I mentioned it saw the end (?) of the hugely successful brainchild of The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess. I …
Today sees the doors close on Tim Peaks Diner. But this isn’t another business calling time amidst a countries financial woes. This sees the end (?)of the hugely successful brainchild of Charlatans front man Tim Burgess.
Tim Peaks Diner is a virtual cafe that people can pop into by simply dropping Tim @Tim_Burgess a tweet or twenty on social networking site Twitter. The diner plays host to tens of thousands of people during it’s opening hours and boasts quite a significant selection of coffees, teas, spice infusions, shakes and more. The selection is…well, endless. Whatever your mind can concoct, Tim can serve up. And it’s a diner, so if you feel the need for something a little more substantial then you can always treat yourself to a selection of cupcakes, muffins, biscuits…hey he’ll even rustle you up a sandwich if you ask nicely. (the vegetarian selection is outstanding)
There is a jukebox too, which will always keep you smiling. Tim’s eclectic mix of musical tastes kick off each morning with #timsbreakfastbanger which is aired shortly after opening hours. There then ensues many other playlists and some corking tunes. Where else could you here Prince singing with the muppets, Kraftwerk and The Beach Boys all played by one dj.
All very interesting I hear you say, but what makes makes this diner so special for it’s residents?
Well…for a kick off, Tim personally dishes out the orders. In the virtual world, this means personal responses to each ‘tweet’ received. Translated into social media speak, this means that, with over 20000 followers, he’s dedicating a fair old amount of time to interacting with his fans.
In the months that the doors have been opening, that’s quite some tweeting, and quite some typing. There’s been the live events too.. Not content at being totally virtual, the diner doors entered the physical world for some real life human interaction over twitter too. I think Mr Burgess might refer to that as a touch of psychedelic irony…but who am I to second guess him.
The Charlatans albums listening parties from Nashville, Dublin, Manchester et al were all smashing events for those who attended too.
Having had the pleasure of meeting him on one occasion, it’s a double dose of gratitude that has to expressed in closing the review.
For the musical memories that pretty much define the soundtrack of a generation, for keeping going and, in keeping with the subject of the blog, for opening the doors of Tim Peaks Diner to us all, we thank you.
I think everyone who has stopped by will testify, it’s been an enormous amount of fun.
Go on, get over to Tim Peaks Diner today.
If your quick…and I mean really quick, you might catch Tim for that last cuppa!
Or Check out The Charlatans
And look out for Tim’s autobiography coming soon…