The Last Post .. For 2016 ... Happy New Year ... Tomorrow Never Knows

I'm having a quiet day, and looking in to having a lie in tomorrow and not having to go to work on Monday. The weather is very windy and I have been out and shopped for essentials , but am now ensconced on a warm couch with a choice of TV programs at my disposal.

While 2016 has emphasised the fragility of existence , and the continual promotion of bullies and idiots as heroes by the media was not ideal. There is also the continual worship of money as the ultimate end in life, money is just a way of supporting life and is only any use when it is actually moved about.

Anyway I am looking forward to a more positive 2017 despite the monstrous obstacles that we have to deal with. I have met so many positive people in 2016 and retained positive people from my past. I am proud of the achievements of my family, always forward looking.

So this is my Happy New Year to all my friends and people who read my blog. Keep looking forward, keep being positive , don't accept the bad, look out for others and your friends will look out for you.

I am glad for social media because it keeps me in touch with friends who I might have lost touch with. There is a lot wrong with social media but I can deal with the bad bits.

Anyway maybe a perfect song for the new year is the wonderful "Tomorrow Never Knows" and I am going to include The Beatles original from their finest album "Revolver" and the magnificent 801 live version.

Happy New Year my friends ...... Tomorrow Never Knows

Life's A Long Song.... With Tattoos

Tonight I had the chance to do some catch up TV, but I didn't catch up on any TV at all. I've been meaning for ages to test the soundbar out with a 5.1 album and decided to do that. The first album was Jethro Tull's "Thick as as Brick" and I was impressed, and realised I would be doing a lot more listening to albums like this (I  hope my neighbours understand). I followed this with "Aqualung" which I got for Christmas and also contains "Life's A Long Song" which is absolutely beautiful. I remember buying the original five track single which I think Jethro Tull charged 48p for because the price of singles was seen as exorbitant for what may be as little as four minutes of music Ithis was way pre punk). Any the final couplet in that song seems so appropriate for what's been happening recently:

"Life's A Long Song,

But The Tune

Ends Too Soon

For Us All"

That has been sadly true.

On a brighter note there seem to be a lot of Tattoo Parlours springing up.  There are some great names too. I love tattoos but I will never have one, because I couldn't decide which one to have. Two Tattoo Parlours I have friends in are Arthur T Sharpes (Newcastle) and Dirk Parker Tattoos (Shrewsbury) . It's far better having another Tattoo Parlour than another Mobile Phone Shop or Betting Shop or Greggs / Subway / Costa / Starbucks .

Anyway that's my lot, I'm going to bed now, if you want to come remember to switch the light off... I have an early start.

Two Thousand and Sixteen Dot Dot Dot

We're coming up to the end on 2016 and a lot of people are going to say good riddance due to the number of celebrities that have departed this plane. I always say I am the worst person to be around in the case of death , because I remember the good stuff, and because of evolution I do not believe that the mind ends there. I don't how it continues but it's a thing that gives me hope, and if I'm wrong then it hardly matters when I go. Very often the grief is for their own loss and everyone deals with that in a different way. I'd seen Rick Parfitt live a few times but that's as close as it got for me, I have a few Wham and George Michael albums and I STILL have them. These guys have carved their own immortality in our world and we are still as close as we ever were. This might seem a bit narky but it's not meant to me. Twice in my life I have been within a few days of possibly leaving this world, the first time really scared me because I thought I wouldn't see my daughters grow up (they were 2 and 4 at the time)  but thanks to the brilliance of the NHS I'm still here and will be for a long, long time. Anyway enough of this dark stuff.

It looks like I am now doing one post every two days, the last three years have been around 183 posts per years. There have been busy and not so busy months on the blog but it does average out.

So what song should we play today, really I think it should be something uplifting that always makes me feel better and Elbow's "One Day Like This" fills that spot perfectly.

Have a wonderful Thursday my friends

Positive Light

It's sad that we've lost George Michael, six years my junior, a great talent but I couldn't listen to a Wham album start to finish and of his solo stuff only "Listen Without Prejudice" and "Faith" go on for the full duration. The thing is George Michael spread a lot of light and positivity in peoples lives like a lot of artists.

Waltz Away George

And he didn't limit himself, I remember he set up his own label (Aegean) and released a single collaboration with Toby Bourke and remarkably ignored artist in his own right. Toby Bourke's work will cost you a lot of money now, but you should try and listen, and of course track down a copy of  "Waltz Away Dreaming"

It is a wonderful song and should be remembered as part of his legacy. As I said, I don't like all George Michael's work, some of it is very bland and formulaic , but with things like this he and his collaborator nails it.



And again George Michael's life in episodes such as this, are moral pointers as to how we should be living our lives. Do your best, have fun, share what you can and if you can be there for others who can't hit your highs, try and give a helping hand.

Well that's Boxing Day over, both Newcastle and Preston lost but it's been a nice quiet day. Sleep well my friends and be a positive light for all around you.

Surely The Grim Reaper's Scythe Must Be Blunt Now

It's Christmas night and another one has gone. It's pointless me naming names, you know who I am talking about.

As we get older we are going to experience more people leaving this mortal coil, but 2016 seems to have been non stop. There isn't much we can do about it , every one still comes as a shock. Some of these people are relatively young too. OK there may have done drugs, alcohol and tobacco but  usually they have a fitness regime that counteracts it.

People will leave us in 2017 but I hope it is not the reaping that 2016 has been. When Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper died they were all under 22 and Eddie Cochran released a song called "Three Stars" not realising that Cochran himself would be soon joining them. I know this is a short post but I will leave the Eddie Cochran song as a tribute.

Goodnight my friends

On Christmas Day Reach For Love

I really wasn't expecting to post today but so far I've had a brilliant relaxing Christmas. I've managed to talk to some friends and family, got some lovely presents, and am listening to one of them , The Rolling Stones "Blue & Lonesome" , Mick Jagger sounding bluesier than ever almost like Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters or, dare I say it Captain Beefheart, and that is just one of the wonderful albums I received today , which I am now transferring to my music server.

There's no snow so it's not going to be a White Christmas I don't think although there's parts of the sky that are black while others are blue and sunny. So really who knows what the weather is going to decide to do.

Be Like Frank

I am sort of wondering what song to play on this one , and though I haven't posted in the #LikeNoOther sequence for ages, which makes me think of Wild Man Fischer but I don't think that's one for today. I remember Frank Zappa telling a story about Larry Fischer meeting his brother one day:

"Larry had the axe, his brother had the bad luck" , which made me chuckle, though I hope his brother was not too traumatized







Just looking out the window and it looks like one of my neighbours has got a new drill for Christmas, I so detest getting or buying anything practical for Christmas and Birthdays, this should be a time of getting something pleasurable and out of the ordinary. I know that is not an option for a lot of people but if you need something you should get it immediately as soon as you can afford it, not wait for Christmas or a Birthday.

I was wondering what to play and it was staring me in the face, Marcel King's "Reach For Love" , it's Shaun Ryder's favourite Factory single, and a truly wonderful uplifting record, from the sadly missed singer , love Marcel's voice. I found this New York Mix which stretches it out to five and a half minutes, and if there's one thing better than a good thing, it's more of a good thing, and this certainly is a wonderfully good thing.



Anyway I hope your day is going brilliantly , I hope that you are going to rest and then kickstart another year of fun, good deeds , enjoyment.

Put A Little Love In Your Heart

It's Christmas Eve, well it's nearly Christmas Day and I have used today to relax, sort of barring walking a couple of miles for some shopping and buying stuff that wasn't immediately needed but not able to get mince pies (which I have eaten lots of already, so the house ins a mince pie free zone).

The estate of Charles Dickens must have made  a mint today as there were at least three takes on "A Christmas Carol" screened, namely "Scrooged", "A Muppet Christmas Carol" and "Scrooge" starring Alistair Sim in probaly the finest Dicken's adaptation after David Lean's "Great Expectations"

Anyway I'm going to wish you a brilliant Christmas and leave you with a message from Al Green and Annie Lennox  . "Put A Little Love in Your Heart"  ... and make the world a better place for you , your friends, your loved ones and everyone.

Time for bed... I think I can hear sleighbells ......