Another Rainy Day

So another day where I don't have to water the garden. One the things about the Facebook ban is the fact you cannot communicate with anyone unless you play a game with them (I can message people in Scrabble but as I only have two people I play with not very good and I can contact both of those outside the game). A friend messaged me asking if I was OK but I cannot reply in Messenger. Just a warning make sure you have your import friends phone numbers or emails, and, although it may open you up to spam, put some alternate contact on your Facebook profile.

Today is grey and hardly uplifting, but I am being positive, have a course in Durham tomorrow and I see by daughters for a Father's Day get together tomorrow at Bar Loco which is always good.

I've just finished watching Chernobyl, an absolutely stunning mini series, and was struck by the similarities between the Soviet Government of that time and our current Tory Government with Brexit. Both refusing to acknowledge reality so their version of events is the one that's pushed. Having said that I've worked with a few managers who have had that attitude and one once said to me, "You might be right but I am in charge". They crashed and burned.

So what should we play this morning? What about "Go" by Public Service Broadcasting as it is a huge injection of positivity guaranteed to lift you out of any apathetic or lethargic state.

Yes we will GO!

The Book Problem and The Clock Stopped at Midnight

I have an Owl Clock that I got from Whitby, and this week I noticed it had stopped, at midnight... or it could have been mid day as it's a standard analogue twelve hour clock. For some reason my mind is awake, my body is tired, and it's 3AM Saturday morning, ideally I should be asleep, my body says yes, my mind says no, so as I compromise I am writing this blog post in the hope that I can send my mind to sleep.

Bar Loco - Beef Stew

And here is what I was planning to write about yesterday but didn't get round to.  Yesterday I had a birthday lunch with my two brilliant daughters at Bar Loco, and went for the beef stew. I'm supposed to be eating iron rich food and was surprised when it came with mashed potato and long stem broccoli, and it was very scrumptious indeed.

You can see it to the right and didn't realise that the broccoli seems to be the biggest portion on the plate! It wasn't but it was all enjoyed.

Anyway now to the main point of this post, and I am starting to feel a little tired.

Yesterday I finally finished Simon Singh's "The Code Book" . It was hard going but a great great read, particularly twisting my melon like mind when it hit the quantum theory play out section (which was followed by ten coded messages to solve which I looked at and then shut the book).

Next I wanted something that was going to be entertaining but easy reading, and decided to go back to my teenage years and The Runestaff sequence by Michael Moorcock, which I was drawn into because of his affinity with Hawkwind one of my favourite bands of the time. The individual books come in at around 150 to 200 pages, and I was sure I had a reduxed anthology of the first four book but where the hell could it be, ad did I even have it. I wouldn't say I am a book hoarder, I know people who have a far greater affinity with books than I, but I wasn't sure where to start.

I cleared the pile next to my bedside cabinet and luckily it was there in the cabinet. But it was a far thicker volume than I expected, nearly seven hundred pages of quite small text. This is part of Moorcock's "Eternal Champion" and "Multiverse" (which incidentally is part of quantum theory) series which spans maybe a hundred books, most of which I have read and now I am going to read again hopefully.

I am on the second chapter and while the writing may not be perfect, the ideas are still stimulating and I am looking forward to continuing on. When I was working at Oxfam I came across "The Dreamthief's Daughter" and Elric novel and found that absolutely wonderful, so I will leave you with "Black Blade" by Blue Oyster Cult which features lyrics by Moorcock about Elric's sword, Stormbringer, the Stealer of Souls.

Have a brilliant Saturday,  I'm going back to bed.

Acting Like Magpies

While out for tea last night at Bar Loco I was talking with Juliet and Kirsty about stuff such as technology , and kirsty said that people spent money on new technology these days because often people don't have kids and therefore they have more disposable income and that disposable incime often goes on new tech such as the latest phones, TVs or Blu-Ray boxed set.

Because my daughters are independent I also fall into that category, but I remeber many years ago getting into the stage of buying DVDs because they were so cheap (and I thought I might watch them) , and I saw a Hugh Grant DVD , I think it was "Words and Music" in HMV for £1.99, I picked it up and thought , "But where would I put it?" , the shelves were full. I don't often buy DVDs these days being so lazy that I can't be bothered to get up , find the DVD, put it in the player etec etc, when I have digital content at the touch of a few buttons.

I do the same with CDs though it's slightly different, I will buy CDs at a gig to support bands who actually put the effort in to to turn up and perform. In recent years I saw The Jackhammers as part of a three band line up for £2 at  The Central. There were twenty people there, they were the headliners from Glasgow, so the take was £40 , so I bought some CDs thinking how do these bands do this.

I also buy from local record shops such as Reflex and RPM because if you don't then one day you won't be able to buy anything except the latest Now and X-Factor compilations from Tesco. Sometimes Andy and Marek's recommendations hit the nail , sometimes they don't , but I love walking into the sops hearing something and wondering what it is , and often end up buying the record.

Anyway to get to the point of this post, my #AlbumoftheDay yesterday was David Bowie's "Blackstar". I bought it when it came out but didn't know it inside out and though it was time to revisit. One song on the album is "Sue (Or In A Season of Crime)" jazz based and reminds me a little of The Bonzo Dog Band's "Big Shot" in feel (and without the comedy, though Bowie does have a sense of humour), and that slots seamlessly into the middle of the album. The album is around forty minutes, ideal for vinyl and opens with the eponymous title track which consists of two interwining pieces one brooding two chord atmospheric and the other almost pop stretching out for almost ten minutes. The other standout for me is "Lazarus" which is Bowie's obvious last song, he knew what was coming. The rest of the album could be considered Bowie filler but still high quality , but the two standouts alone make this an essential purchas and essential listening.

The thing is with downloads, you can acquire stuff legally (or illegally) and let it just sit on a hard disc , unwatched or unlistened to, and a lot of people do that, the point being tou have the said item , you don't experience it.

Anyway I am still thinking "Blackstar" but have been listening to more stuff which I will be writing about in the next few days. I leave you with the amazing video for such an amazing song, and yes it does last ten minutes.

It's Friday, the weekend is nearly hear , so go out enjoy yourslef and have a great day.

360° of Circles

I am tired, well my body is, but my mind won't let me sleep. I'm up to page 360 in "Who Am I" and one of my favourite who songs is "Circles" which appeared on The Who's "Ready Steady Who" EP (On the blue Reaction label if I remember rightly), I once had that I bought for about 30p from Palace Records in Preston and sold for £20 at Probe Records in Liverpool. I didn't plan to do that, but that's the way it happened. Though if you click through on Circles you will see that The Deluxe My Generation CD which cost me about a fiver , is going for over a hundred pounds. I won't be selling mine though.

Glastonbury When It Was Good

The Palace was a record shop cum coffee house near the old Public Hall and I used to spend a lot ofsixth form time in there when I should have been studying, but listening to music, chatting with friends and drinking coffee was much more preferable that study. Then picking up decent second hand stuff like the original Glastonbury Soundtrack , triple album in it's pyramid sleeve, with the odd dud , like a band called Lucifer the album sleeve was black and the music was a fuzzy bass playing six notes that even I could play.







We used to frequent that place in preference to pubs, and to be quite honest, I'm probably the same now, preferring Bohemian places like Bar Loco to you chains and pubs.

Anyway maybe I will go to bed now, so enjoy your night, and have a nice lie in.

Fathers Day and Dexyfication

Father's Day is one of those made up things to con you out of money in the form of cards meals and presents... but ... we can always turn these things to OUR advantage , which effectively me and my wonderful daughters did.

We did lunch in Bar Loco on Friday which was a first for them and is now a definite favourite with them as well. If it hadn't been for Fathers Day we may not have met up this soon but it provided the impetus and we met and talked and had a great time. Lots of smiles and hugs and I got a copy of the excellent new Dexy's album that is playing as I write this. So all in all a great day.

My Dad with Me at Morecambe Long Long Ago

The weekend has been relaxing with lots of catch up TV.

Today I have phone my dad three times but not got in touch , although he'll get his card and presents
eventually.

These days are maybe commercially and cynically motivated , but we always have the option to make them out own and make something good out of them.

Also this week this post on Spoongig here got some major hits which made me happy.


I love the Dexyfication of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" from the new album with is why I've included it here , the album is excellent as well.


I hope you had a great day today whichever side of the fence that you were on, I hope you are rested for the coming week , which will no doubt be excellent, well it will be for for me

Breakfast At Trillians ... With A Dash Of Cramps

This is the first post since last week , since last month on my Dad's Birthday. Since then I've has a weekend in Whitby , had a big win from Betfair thats to these guys (Free Racing Tips) , and today I wandered into town for a change and in Carliol Square was reminded again the Trillians does food.

They advertise Vegan , Vegetarian and Meat so everyone is catered for , but I went for the vegetarian all day breakfast. So it was great having my dinner that was a breakfast in the darkness of Trillian's Rock Crypt in a corner with the food served on a black shiny plate soundtracked by Heavy ish Metal, though not sure what was playing but it's a welcome change to the jazz / elevator music or pretentious piano players you get in so many places. Bar Loco is good though , but I will be frequenting Trillian's for dinner a lot more now.

Trillians Menu

As I was saying to the lovely barmaid if you don't use it you lose it , and I don't want Trillian's to be lost again. They took our Mayfair and put up a Charver Multiplex.

Tonight I am going to see The Gramps , a Cramps tribute band so maybe we should play a Cramps song

New Year's Eve Is Here

We are on the last day of the year ad it some ways it's like a software update (my phone just had one) , you go through everything , waiting , working , you reboot and nothing has changed.

Well actually things have changed. People I know seem to becoming more insular, anything new is not countenanced well . Part of this is people have families , people trying to survive modern life , people tend to go for the tried and tested paths and often I am the same. I will frequent a restaurant or pub that I know is good and drop places that maybe don't come up to my standards.

This year I have met some wonderful people and made new friends all over the world , been made redundant , had a few new jobs , write songs , hit my 1000 posts , 100K views on this blog , and have lost touch with people which is sad.

Facebook is good for keeping in touch and reconnecting with people , but I do detest the posts that imply people are selfish and don't care about others. I love seeing positivity and happiness and smiles, and in 2016 I want to see more.

Here It Comes

This year I have driven through snow , ice , rain , blinding sun almost a metaphor for life , because I've navigated that.

I have been here for people who needed support , I have had some great nights and days with wonderful friends and look forward to lots more in 2016.

Have a wonderful end of year and share a brilliant 2016 with me my friends. I chose the Fingerprintz song to finish this year because it's a theme song of mine

"I can see you want to dance too"

BIG HUG WEDNESDAY: Keep On Smiling with a small Starbucks Rant - FIVE - #45 - 2001 - OPM - Heaven Is A Halfpipe

Real Coffee

I know I keep on about putting on a smile , being happy and hugging and kissing each other , but was tempted to write about this idiot  situation about the colour of Starbuck's Cups . Someone once said that once the threat of starvation had been eradicated then people's main hobby becomes being offended. Starbuck's are guilty of far worse things that the colour of their cups , but they still do good Frappacinos and I have no problem with the staff , just the company. But anyway that's by the by. Today let's make it a BIG HUG Wednesday , grab a friend and hug them and go for a coffee at an independent coffee place like Bar Loco or Pink Lane Coffee in Newcastle.




The Odyssey hits 2001 and for 2000 I had hoped for Heaven Is A Halfpipe by OPM , so it was a no brainer to choose for 2001 , despite competition from Gorillaz and other worthy choices

So go on make it a BIG HUG WEDNESDAY

Lost Songs ... The Inspiration of Little Richard

King Richard

Yesterday I was in Bar Loco and above the  bar was the picture sleeve for Little Richard's "Somebody's Comin'" . He released in a religious phase but it is one of the most uplifting songs I've ever heard and it has never left me , but it wasn't in my collection. If you wanted to be critical you could say it's not rock and roll , or it's a Marvin Gaye or Commodores rip off (listen to Sexual Healing and Nightshift) and you will see what I mean.

Anyway I have listened to this on repeat and it is truly wonderful , maybe possibly my favourite Little Richard song (though I do love Tutti Frutti and The Girl Can't Help It and Lucille).




Basically listening to music does make you feel better. Playing Music makes you feel good. Music is wonderful .

Enjoy your Saturday , the bpast is a rich seam to be mined for inspiration , hope and pleasure.

That Time Of Month (Out Come The Freaks)

Well the end of one and the start of another. I managed to get a good night's sleep and didn't do five blog posts yesterday. While that helped towards my millennium goal I ended up being shattered during my day at work, I'll had a generally good day with the odd not good thing but that's life and as always I concentrate on the positives and ignore the negatives unless I have to deal with them. Too many times people concentrate on the bad things that might happen and usually don't, although I'm just dealing with my hire car bump but I was prepared for it. Being prepared for something doesn't mean you expect it to happen , it just means you can deal with it if it does.

Though there's been lots of good news today , some great time spent with friends in Bar Loco (their food is amazing) and Trillians , a friend is moving tomorrow with the help of another friend and I am going to have a catch up with my great friends at Geek Talent next week, I was privileged to be able to contribute a little at the start up of this excellent venture.

Rhythms Gonna Get Ya

The weekend is here but it may just be gardening and relaxing after last weekend's festival (and there is another on next weekend). However I am always so easily tempted , and Newcastle is full of luscious temptation , so I don't know what I'm going to end up doing. For some reason the phrase Geek has turned up quite a lot today which gives me an excuse to include the wonderful (Return To The Valley Of) Out Come The Freaks by Was(Not Was).



Sleep well my lovely friends