Monday 29 February 2016

Music In The Green - A Bakewell Vinyl Treasure House



Some days something happens that is just a cherry on the cake moment. My life is good at the moment , not perfect , but in the happiness league I'll be in the top 10% if not even higher. But sometimes things happen that brighten your day even further.

As a kid I remember my friends big sister had a copy of Ralph McTell's Spiral Staircase , and I particularly loved the cover of that album , and also the title track stuck with me.

Today I was wandering round Bakewell looking for a snack , I was feeling peckish. I had visited several bookshops and one of two record shops I had visited previously had become a fudge shop (Folk Devils in Whitby became a cake shop), the other one was shut for lunch I think .

I wandered round a corner and noticed a small shop called Music In The Green with a display of album covers including the aforementioned Spiral Staircase and Deep Purple's Concerto For Group And Orchestra with a poser "What Year?" The thing is it looked like a real record shop.

Vinyl Heaven

On walking through the door any doubts were swept away, John Renbourn on the player (Live in Italy which I walked out of the shop with) , a cornucopia of new and classic folk and world vinyl and CDs , with a rock section ate the back,



Steve , the guy behind the counter, was easy to talk with very knowledgeable and dug out a copy of Nice Enough To Eat, an important album from my youth. I could have spent the whole afternoon in there , and if I lived in Bakewell , a shop like this would make it worth coming into town for,

Today the discovery of this treasure has made my day. It's a reason for going back to Bakewell , and should be a reason for you to visit.

You have a great day , I already have had one.

Sunday 28 February 2016

Coincidences By The Busload




Sometimes really unexpected coincidences occur. Yesterday I posted about my need to keep things simple because I am not very intelligent , and used as an analogy Lego which led me to an Iron Maiden video of them performing The Wicker Man.

Yesterday as I parked my car, I was getting watched by a guy in another , thinking I had "taken his parking space" . He started out slightly aggressive , but we chatted and when he realised what lovely person I am , we got on like a house on fire , shook hands and my car stayed where int was.

Today I want in the local shop, I'm staying in Litton in Derbyshire, and if you want to see the cottage it's here Anyway the guy was in having a coffee with friends and we chatted on and he asked how long we were staying:

I said "A week"

He said "Have You seen the film 'The Wicker Man' .... he only went for a week"

Much more guffawing ensued and I told him about the Christopher Lee video I did. And how it got pulled and all that . I bought some biscuits and left

Bond
Came back , switched on the TV and "The Man With The Golden Gun" is on TV just at the car bridge jump scene , and of course Christopher Lee played Scaramanga , three nippled golden gun toting assassin.

So this weekend has been Christopher Lee influenced , coincidentally

K.I.S.S.

I think it's an acronym. Keep It Short and Simple. It's the way I've tried to live my life. Trying to keep things as simple as possible , so that I stand a chance of understanding them. A primary school teacher once told me that a genius was a person who could see and explain things in the simplest terms.

I always use this analogy when try trying to argue that even the most complicated thinks can be reduced to a simple construction. The most complex Lego creations are still just a series of little bricks which can be rearranged into any shape you desire, and that's most complex things you can imagine are just a huge combination of simple things.

The computer or smartphone you are using to view this is just a huge collection of zeroes and ones, binary switches, on / off gates that are added together to show you the most amazing things.

Anyway  keep things simple and you can keep them in check and make sure the do what you want them to do. It's time for bed for me so I am going to sleep


Keep It Wicca

Also an excuse to have Iron Maiden's The Wicker Man in Lego , five years in the making and it;s just lego. But a good song referencing a truly great film , featuring Christopher Lee in one of his favourite rols


Tuesday 23 February 2016

Go Kart Mozart


At the weekend I went of a stag do organised by my future son in law Mark , who rates very highly on the scale of good to know human beings. An excellent day in which I made several new friends and had a great time including walking up a flight of steps I had only looked at before , from the Quayside to The Bridge Hotel past the Castle. I walked up with Mark which was fine til I hit the top and realised that my fat frame was not built for things like that , but the pains soon cleared and we had a canny time in The Bridge.

The main point of this post is that part of the day was spent Go Karting at KNE in Sunderland , and it was my first time. Out of 29 people Mark came second and I came last. To my credit I didn't crash or cause a crash, stall or incur the wrath of the track wardens or need their assistance. I found the positioning of the plastic fuel tank between my legs more than a liyttle disconcerting and it took me two laps to realise that I had a brake as well as an accelerator.

When I furst saw the track I was a little dismayed especially when the route was previewed beforehand , also the crash helmet did not sit well with my vague claustrophobia.

Would I do it again , Hell Yeah . I'd recommend it to anyone . When I do it again , I may still come last , but that's not always a bad thing , and someone has to.

The song I've chosen is Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light" for obvious reasons.

Go Karting

Friday 19 February 2016

Good Time , Good Times


At the moment I seem to keep running out of time to do things. This morning I can't remember if I took my insulin , but can't risk overdosing. However things are great in life.

There is lots to look forward to and lots to be positive about and really wish I didn't have to sleep then I would have enough ours to actually do what I want to do. Then problem is the body demands sleep , rest and recuperation , and that is good ,because when rested you are ready to go and deal with the next thing that life throws at you.

Anyway the other thing is that it's Friday , and the weekend is coming up , but the next three weekends are going to be very busy for me.

I am telling you that things are great and that things are busy without actually telling you anything , does that make me a politician?

Anyway I am going to start my weekend  by dealing with certain things , enjoying time with certain people and wishing you , all my lovely friends a brilliant weekend. I have been listening to Malcolm McLaren a lot this week so you get "Boys Chorus" from Fans , I love this , the cockney talk over that heavenly chorus:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000024A7O/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B000024A7O&linkCode=as2&tag=songofthesale-21
All Work
No Joy
Makes Mac
A Dull Boy


Remember that this weekend

Saturday 13 February 2016

Lazy Month

This month I have done very little writing on here , although this post means I've avereaged one every four days on here , and if you include the two on Spoongig then it's one every two days which is hardly a drought.

It's February , the day before Valentine's day and a 29 day month with means that girls can propose marriage to a guy they fancy , though it's hardly a resounding implementation of sexual equality. If you want to marry someone you can ask them any time , whether it's the 29th of February or any other day of the year they can still say no. And you can still have a great time without marriage . If it's right for you fine , if not they are lots of things that can bond people together , such as love of common interests , and sharing new ones . Sometimes marriage can seem like a lock down meaning you don't have to try anymore , whereas a relationship should be continual trying and working at it.



Please Don't Touch

This is getting far too serious for me , so really there can only be one song for this and it's HeadGirl's "Please Don't Touch".

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone , I love you all.

Tuesday 9 February 2016

I Was Made For Lovin' You


I switched on the the radio this morning and "I Was Made For Lovin' You" by Kiss was playing on the radio. Is this a good or bad sign? Undoubtedly Kiss's finest moment , no doubt due to the involvement of Giorgio Moroder , but that was kisses dalliance with Disco , and they were perennial bandwagon jumpers , dripping their own blood into the ink of a comic that featured them and the fact they were effectively masked by make up any member could in theory be easily replaced and disposed of. A marketing mans dream.


Gimme
The thing is they were about selling product and in that they  were no different than The Sex Pistols or X-Factor artists , it's ultimately about shifting corporate product. Bands are expected to conform and fit in and the media dictates an awful lot of what people buy. I like to think I am above that , but am I really? Having said that I went to two small gig last week and saw six amazing bands , check out here , it's a while since I have hit a big venue for a band.






Anyway I am OK with Kiss starting my day, and I hope your day starts just as well and continues in a good way. I love you all

Thursday 4 February 2016

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