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Just had an email about this little run of UK dates, which says they'll be the last ones for the foreseeable future. Does this mean the band are going to sleep again for a bit? I seem to remember Jem saying there was another album in the pipeline.

Simple question - maybe not so simple answer!?

I don't get as much chance to visit the forums as I used to, but I follow Jem's Twitter, and try to keep up with his various blogs... But unless I'm missing something, a lot of those pages seem to have come and gone. Anyway, I haven't seen any mention of Frost* since the start of this year when the excellent Rockfield Files came out, and there were live versions of a few great new tracks from a proposed new studio album on there. Anyone know if that's still in the works, has Jem moved onto pastures new and finished with Frost*, or are things just quiet at the moment?

Cheers :-)

If anyone's interested, I'm selling a spare copy of the 2008 tour promo, Featuring Here is the News, Wedding Day, acoustic Snowman and embryonic versions of Experiments in Mass Appeal and Wonderland on ebay. I'm reluctant to part with it, but I'm making my own record and trying to find as much money for the project as possible.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Frost-Rare-Tour-Promo-CD-Marillion-Porcupine-Tree-Spocks-Beard-/161402484583?pt=UK_CDsDVDs_CDs_CDs_GL&hash=item2594567767

Little did we know that there was actually another Frost album before Milliontown, scrapped after it was decided a major image overhaul was needed...

Ok, not quite Frost* related, but I work at a music venue in the North and we're after booking It Bites. Anyone know who we'd be best getting in touch with? I know JM used to post here sometimes.

Ta!

Been a while since I posted here. More of a reader than a poster these days, although I suspect that'll change once the new album gets underway. I love seeing albums come together - it was one of the best things about the Frost* reports for EIMA, getting a glimpse into the mind of a... Genius...? Madman?

Anyway, a few of you have kindly supported me before with writing etc. and I thought you might be interested to know about the charity walk I'm doing for Manchester's Christie Hospital, who treated me as a kid. Anyone who sponsors gets a free copy of my new (and final) collection of poetry, with all proceeds going to the hospital.

More info (and a poem about our former lord and master, a certain Mr. Blair) here: //http://www.markcharlesworth.blogspot.com

I'm probably a little late here... But I just wanted to communicate a little unrestrained joy (it is nearly Christmas, after all) at the news of an imminent Frost* return!

I didn't realise there was even a website yet, presuming the excellent frostmusic.net (and its quirky advent calender) is official? Also, there seems to be much talk of an upcoming live date at the Peel. Is this the only show, or are there any more scheduled. And just who IS in this latest incarnation, besides Jem and presumably JM?

It's cheeky self-promotion time again, but you guys have always been especially supportive of my writing, so I thought you might be interested that I've done a new book. But this time it's all change. In about as radical a departure from the dark and moody poetry imaginable, we've written a black comedy: the 'we' in question being myself and co-author Chris Newton. It's loosely inspired by Doctor Who, which I know a few people on here are into, and has already been getting some great feedback. Some people have even cautiously ventured the word 'hilarious', although I hasten to add that it's also got risque moments, sheer poignant emotion, some truly geeky ranting and the odd utterly bizarre, surreal bit. Look out for a hallucination straight from Quantum Leap!

It all started out as a blog, where the early edits (which essentially make up the first part of the book) can still be read, so if anyone wants to take a look, they're over at: //http://www.peteandjeff.blogspot.com

And if anyone's interested in pre-ordering, here's a shortenned link: //http://bit.ly/awxdon. The pre-order helps fund the printing costs, and, as a thank you, anyone who orders in advance gets their name in the credits and a signed copy before it hits the shelves... Essentially, we've 'done a marillion'!

The cover (on both those sites) should be a real treat for hardcore Doctor Who fans. Anyone who can spot all the references gets a complementary packet of rich teas (the thinking man's biscuit). Plus, the book's going to feature a foreword from Sophie Aldred!

In the meantime, here's what I call a synopsis, Chris calls a splurge, and our publisher calls a blurb. I'm not sure which one sounds the most silly, but if anyone wants to throw any other names into the hat, I'd love to hear them!

'Life Begins at 40' (Hirst Books), by Chris Newton and Mark Charlesworth, is the story of two thirty-something Doctor Who fanatics sharing a flat in Blackpool, out of pocket, out of luck and clinging to the hope that Life Begins at 40...

Jeff is a barman, constantly forestalling marriage to his neurotic new-age girlfriend, preferring the company of Pete, an agoraphobic misfit with some serious baggage. United by their social detachment and love of Doctor Who, their world view is tainted by too much cult TV, and the walls between reality and fantasy begin to blur, with hilariously disastrous consequences.

With middle-age fast approaching, can they really spend the rest of their lives hiding behind the sofa?

'Life Begins at 40' deals with the big questions. Should we get married? Are children a good idea? And, in the future, will we all be walking around with one eye and no arms from too much teleporting?

Hello everyone. I used to get on here quite a lot, particularly on the old (or even older than that?) forum, but don't get so much time to visit these days - even though I'm still avidly following Frost* and the blog. So I thought I'd sign in today and find out what everyone's up to. It turns out, however, that there have been MANY threads and lots of news whilst I've had my head stuck in the world of Doctor Who!

So short of employing a secretary to sift through it all and make me a sensible and organised bullet-pointed list, I thought I'd start a thread and invite people to update it with any projects they're working on / personal news etc. It doesn't even need to be music-related, although I know there are a lot of musicians on here. It could be about tea and biscuits...

Possibly an odd question, but any plans to sell off the 'rogue' copies of TPE?

Know there are a fair few Doctor Who fans on here, and some of you may appreciate this(//http://www.peteandjeff.blogspot.com): the fictional blog of Pete and Jeff (or, as they prefer, Omega and Rassilon), two thirty-somethings sharing a flat, united by their social detachment and love of Doctor Who. Out of pocket, out of luck, and clinging to the hope that life begins at forty...

This is a bit of a departure for those that know my dark, moody poetry, but in the words of Monty Python 'and now for something completely different...

'Life Begins at Forty' (www.peteandjeff.blogspot.com) is the fictional blog of Pete and Jeff (or, as they prefer, Omega and Rassilon), two thirty-somethings sharing a flat, united by their social detachment and love of Doctor Who. Out of pocket, out of luck, and clinging to the hope that life begins at forty...

Pete: Monday January 11th

A very emotional day. Jeff read out David Tennant's Foreword from the Doctor Who Specials' box set, and we both went through an entire box of Kleenex Man-size before putting on the actual DVD.

Even 'Planet of the Dead' had taken on dark new implications because of the prophetic message at the end (although I can't deny that we were both in stitches at Lee Evans' heart-warming performance! Good one, Lee!) By the end of the episode, we'd gone through another box of tissues. Jeff couldn't understand where all the toilet roll had got to, and I was too embarrassed to confess to my 'genital renaissance', so I opted to go to Omar's on the other side of the street, and get some more tissue! Jeff couldn't quite believe I was prepared to leave the house. He looked at me with an expression I hadn't seen in years. I think it was respect. I felt like The Doctor! I got dressed for the first time since Boxing Day, pulling on all my finest clothes: a sleeveless He-Man shirt, some ripped jeans, a balaclava and a pair of 1980s sunglasses. Suddenly, however, as I got to the door, I began to feel nauseous and had to take a seat.

By the time my head stopped spinning, Jeff had somehow already been to the shop, returning with two carrier bags full of toilet paper, a family-pack of Doritos, and some reduced noodles. The packaging said they were now made to a 'Healthier New Recipe' as though that were actually a good thing! From the evidence, this seemed to include the addition of peas and a flashy new label. The bright colours make me slightly uncomfortable. Perhaps I'll send a 'round robin' to the local supermarkets asking if they have any surplus stock of the old version? I wouldn't mind paying: Jeff has a credit card, after all.

Had an emotional Who-a-thon...

FOR MORE, CHECK OUT: www.peteandjeff.blogspot.com

Just want to throw a little thanks and appreciation Jem's way for reviving the blog.  Be it in the form of 'View from the Cube' or anything else, it always makes for an enjoyable and entertaining read and there's been a great big gaping hole - apparently visible from space: Nasa (Tm) - in the internet during its absense...

SEE LATER POST (3RD ON PAGE 3) FOR NEW UPDATE

I hope you'll forgive the slightly shameless self-promotion, but I know a few people here were interested in my last book, and so I wanted to let you know about my forthcoming collection of poetry, 'In Memory of Real Trees', which will be officially released on November 28th.

If you'd like a little more information about it, you'll find a copy of the press release on my blog (http://www.markcharlesworth.blogspot.com/), and if you'd like to get in touch for more information, to join the mailing list, or to leave comments/feedback, it'd be great to hear from you over on mailto:mark.charlesworth@hotmail.co.uk">mark.charlesworth@hotmail.co.uk

I'm also currently looking for any suggestions of interesting ways to promote the book, so if you have any ideas, send them to the above email address, and, as a thank you, name's will be acknowledged in the third book.

For now, I hope you enjoy this sample from the book.  'Damaged Goods in Transit' is the opening poem, and I like to think that it nicely introduces a lot of the themes and ideas which are addressed over the ensuing pages.

Damaged Goods in Transit

Are you lonely again?
Have you come here feeling lost?
Do you sit there counting out the cost?
Are you scared tonight because there's so much to fear,
or because you've put your dreams on hold
for yet another year?

When it gets painful
and when it hurts,
do you find yourself asking what it's all really worth?
How often do you wish your life away like me,
hiding beneath the pillows from everyday tragedies?

Do you ever feel you're tearing blindly
to hopelessness, loss and apathy?
Water trickling down the plughole
into a void, expansive sea.

You turn off the lights and lay naked in the dark,
staring at the ceiling;
listening out for homesick aliens.
Do you feel vulnerable, dark and cold?
Too tired to sleep,
too empty to weep,
pray with heart and soul that something fills the hole.

Do you feel like a stuffed toy unravelling at the seams
when you stare at the news on a flickering screen?
Just a frightened, vulnerable child again:
that desperate incomprehension of suffering and pain.

Walking on ashes, smoke choking your neck,
the earth shakes and trembles like a shivering mess,
crippled by the anxiety of claustrophobic dreams,
pleading 'what have we done?', stifling the screams.
We walk upon gold but in blood it gleams,
take up arms to ruin the glittering streets,
we bow to the mercy of murderous thieves.
Now we're damned straight to hell by our self-absorbed greed.

And it's hard to have faith
when the world seems so fragile:
damaged goods in transit
through infinite space.
Are we walking hand in hand
down the executioner's mile,
waiting for spare parts
or a last saving grace?

And as the dusky shadows fall,
you're afraid the sun won't rise again.
Crossing the border to the city's edge;
into the hills and to the end,
past broken glass and broken homes,
broken dreams and broken stones,
broken fortunes giving way
to open sky above open wounds.

There's a crimson stream which slowly runs
through fields untroubled by soldier's tombs,
winding through miles of unexplored woods,
then bursting out from the canopied cocoon.

From the hilltop clearing, you can almost see
the scars of the suburbs stretching slowly beneath:
just writhing embryos of a larger disease
that feeds on corruption and thrives upon fear,

but close to a night sky that sparkles and shines,
you felt safe from the nightmare below.

So you carved an inscription upon a stone,
in crumbling earth planted a seed:
'for the day when the branches are replaced with bones,
in memory of real trees'.

Was wondering what became of an EP that was being talked about post-EIMA, including stuff from those sessions like '1976'?