Wednesday 30 November 2016

The Last Day Again



As the wind howls down the chimney, I was thinking I should go to bed, but I don't really have to get up too early tomorrow, so I thought I'd write another post. To have my most productive year in number of posts I'd need to write about seventy posts before the year trots out, that's like five posts every two days, and that's not going to happen. Second most productive year is a definite possibility, I only need maybe twenty five posts, so that's less than one a day.

I am glad I have actually begun to start posting again, the longer you go without doing it, the more likely you are to put it off for another day.

A propos of nothing, I'm still being bombarded with "Black Friday" advertising on devices and TV. I thought "Black Friday" was last Friday, and it only lasted 24 hours but according advertising, it's still Black Friday. Well I didn't buy anything, and if you don't want or need a thing then it's not a bargain , it is just you parting with more money. And I keep hearing the phrase "Everybody Loves A Bargain", well I don't. I look for value for money always , and 99% of "bargains" are useless tat that corporations unload on  the "less discerning" public.

So anyway, I think I will go to bed now, and this gives me an excuse to play the wonderful "Black Friday" by Steely Dan. Sleep well my friends and don't be seduced by corporate snakes convincing you that you need to buy their latest product.

The Last Day



The last day of November 2016 that is. I haven't written anything this week. I've probably been doing what I should be doing, that is nothing apart from relaxing on holiday.

Today I went to Manchester and was getting very depressed at the industrial levels of Christmas products for sale , the proliferation of chains, especially in the Arndale Centre until I came across a bunch of apparently non indigenous guys (though they were probably third generation Crumpsall residents) giving a spirited rendition of Silent Night (see here) which cheered me up no end.

There were also lots of beggars and people sleeping rough and religious people handing out pamphlets but no practical  help. To quote Half Man Half Biscuit:

"If Jesus came to Earth Today
 They'd crucify him straight away
 Upon a Cross of MDF
 And use No-Need-For-Nails"

There seems to be little charity in the religious presences.

Anyway if you avoid the chain dominated areas there are some lovely places to go and eat and visit, and this is after driving to Chatsworth, Bakewell, Monsal Head and enjoying the scenery and indulging in food and music.

So the song has to be "Upon Westminster Bridge" by Half Man Half Biscuit that I lifted the quote from.

Have a lovely night my friends, I am going to catch up on Westworld.

Saturday 26 November 2016

Another Saturday Night - Jazz or What?


It's funny, the drive down to Litton was remarkably relaxing despite the numerous fogbanks and traffic bottlenecks in places. I must say I am very tired after the journey but wish I could have taken some photographs of the sun through the fog and the amazing images that the fog threw up (is that a good choice of words?)

Cloud on a Crane
I am always amazed by the images that nature creates for us and often they are only there for seconds, so I am grateful for the handiness speed and quality of my two year old Samsung Note 4 phone that sometimes allows me to capture these images. Like the crane holding up a cloud from a couple of years back. A few seconds later that didn't exist.

We're close to the end of November and I thought I may have just hit double figures, but I have actually done over twenty posts this month, that surprised me.




How Strange?
I can actually write quite a lot of rubbish, but I am so glad that people actually read it. Several people tell me they look forward to my writing, and that is one of the reasons I do keep writing. Anyway I need to choose a song for this post and decided on "Sonia" from Robert Wyatt's "Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard". It's remakably uplifting and many years ago when I first got made redundant I put together a radio show for a local station and used it as a theme tune, but it never got broadcast.







Enjoy your Saturday Night my friends and enjoy this wonderul  Robert Wyatt piece. Is it Jazz or What?


Thursday 24 November 2016

Glass Half ......


My friend Julie mentioned that's it's good to be "glass half full" rather than "glass half empty". It's always good to appreciate and enjoy what you have rather than being dragged down by what is, for now, unattainable. Remember the glass can always be topped up.

I'm not saying that people should be satisfied with what they have, it is always good to attain more, but as long as it's done with love, happiness and enthusiasm and not to the detriment of others. In fact it is good if you can help other and make their lives better, that will make your life better and fill your glass nearer to the brim.

I am very tired but Julie's comment inspired me to write this, she is a wonderfully positive person, and the only person along with her husband who celebrates their wedding anniversary with a music festival. Now how is that for filling up your glass.

So this is another blog post that is really about nothing, but it's just a message to all my friends to say enjoy your life, find something to smile about, always  try to do good, and you will make the world a more wonderful place.

An in other news my friend Nicolle is going to review my friend Jessica (and Asher's) Wildflower Cafe for her magazine, so life is good.

The weekend is here and I'm going to sign off with one of my favourite uplifting songs, "The News" by Carbon/Silicon. Now that's a way to kick start your weekend. Sleep well and refill your glass my friends.

Push Those Negative Vibes Away


It is quite amazing the number of people who focus on the bad things and miserable events. These are usually people who have more than adequate lives. Often the people who have things the hardest are the most positive and find things to enjoy because the have found ways , one way or another to deal with the bad stuff.
Stay Positive

I always try and look for positives, even when things go wrong. Luckily for me I am in an extremely good place, yes I would like to not have to go to work, to do what I want, but I know I will be sleeping in a warm bed and can have holidays and have a wonderful circle of friends, and to be really honest, work is a pleasant and interesting place to go, with some great people and daily interesting problems.

So try and distance yourself from the negative vibes, be like Oddball in "Kellys Heroes" and the song today is the wonderful "Prag Vec at The Melk Weg" by Half Man Half Biscuit. Look up that title on Google, see where it takes you,  do something to put a smile on your face, smile at people, have a great day and push those negative vibes away.



Right I'm off to vote and then go to work.

Tuesday 22 November 2016

It's Wet


Last night the rain was battering the back of my house, the front got off lightly but I wasn't going out the door. There were streams running down the road. The thing is this is extremely mild compared with what others have to put up with. Speaking to a friend in Japan , he's nowhere near the quake zone but he said they've had a tsunami warning "but we're always getting them".

The problem is weather like this is not exactly inspiring, you can hardly use an umbrella because of the wind, but it's nice when you are inside sheltered from it, though I feel sorry for people sleeping rough or who can afford to heat their homes and in the UK their number are growing daily. The other night I was in Newcastle and the charity was out feeding the homeless , when I see them I always slip them something. We are the sixth richest country in the world apparently, this should not be happening. Here's Shelter if you want to contribute.

Anyway it's time for me to get off and brave the elements  and I will leave you with Half Man Half Biscuit's opener from the Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts concert on Friday "Outbreak Of Vitas Gerulaitis" ,  have a great Tuesday my friends and don't get too wet.

Sunday 20 November 2016

The Finale - #ALifeInNumbers #59


Well it's here, the finale, the last #ALifeInNumbers. I had decided on Smoke (EFS 59) by Can from the album "Flow Motion" but it's blocked in this country on Youtube and I do apologise to anybody who can't see any of the videos on here. It's a great piece well worth tracking down and would have been a great finale piece.

I was going to wait til tomorrow, but for some reason I am aching badly and my blood sugar was dropping rapidly, but I am OK and will be in a warm bed soon.

So the second song, and I don't know how I missed this is, of course, Simon and Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy)" , I mean what a song to finish on. I was looking through my Simon and Garfunkel box set and was surprised that they only made five albums, plus the soundtrack to The Graduate which is effectively a compilation, plus their Greatest Hits.

So it's now late on Sunday night so I will quietly sign off this sequence, and I hope you have enjoyed it. Sleep well my lovely friends and I will find something else to keep my fingers going tomorrow.

Running AMOK in The Age Of Stella - #ALifeInNumbers #58


While I am writing this I am listening to my friend Juli's show AMOK  on Pride Radio so you can time this at 7pm on Sunday night.

It is one of the non 6Music shows where I am certain to hear something I haven't heard before, as well as being fun to listen to. That's another benefit of the internet the sheer choice of listening and watching options. The only problem this gives me is that the amount of time I have is still the same, but the amount of choice I am given increases exponentially almost daily.

Internet radio can be brilliant as AMOK proves, go and give it a listen and release you inner Industrial Goth.

Number 58 has been awkward to track down a song for, I have a couple in my collection that would have done but decide to look a little further afield and came across "58" by The Age of Stella and found this live take from The Maze in Nottingham. These are a band I have never heard of but I am well impressed with their stuff.

This is the penultimate post in this sequence, and I may actually hit the 120K hits by the end of number 59 which is a brilliant one to end #ALifeInNumebrs on.

Enjoy you Sunday evening my friends.




Saturday 19 November 2016

TV Dinner - #ALifeInNumbers #57



I often hear (and see thanks to social media), people complaining that there is nothing on television. That is in these days of so many channels that you can get lost. The thing is you can only watch one thing at once, but some people seem to think that means they can only watch one thing, their TV diet is often X-Factor, EastEnders and if they are feeling adventurous maybe Coronation Street and Britain's Got Talent. Needless to say I don't watch these , but I do remember the days before BBC2 existed and you couldn't record anything.

It is true that since the digital explosion there are an awful lot of channels filled with unwatchable dross, but this very fact means that there is always something that you can watch. Groucho Marx once said that he found TV very educational, if he walked into a room where the TV was on he'd walk out and find a book to read. TVs have always had an off switch.

Today the options to watch high quality content has never been better. There are films and TV series that I will never see despite them being must watch programmes. Dexter, Braquo, and 24 are three that immediately spring to mind.

Also I remember everyone complaining about repeats on television, now you have whole channels screening repeats DAVE and GOLD are two that spring to mind though there may have been name changes and one may be the other.

Anyway we are up to number 57 in #ALifeInNumbers and it has to be Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nuthin' On) which does hit the nail about the choices we are presented with which are maybe no real choice at all.

Me, I find that 6Music , Radio 2,3 and 4 then BBC2,4 , Film4, Sky Living, Atlantic and Arts provide me with far more than I need. If I then add Youtube and TED then that gives you a small indication of my tastes.

Enjoy Saturday Night my friends.

Today's Rock and Roll Call - #ALifeInNumbers #56



This is another contrived shoe in , but it's a great and funny record. It was released in 1956 (even older than me) and starts off counting to and from ten 1-2-3-4-  56 -7-8-9-10. Like all great comedy the Goons were very hit and miss, but for me "Bloodnok's Rock and Roll Call" is a definite hit.

This morning I was hoping to update Song of the Salesman but it's running slow , the support adon't seem to have a clue. It's funny how so much technology support is outsourced to the cheapest bidder regardless of their ability to do the job. But that's the world we live in today.

Still this week I have got to see The Bonzo Dog Band and Half Man Half Biscuit , found a great venue in the most ridiculously inaccessible town centre location. I do loke walking in parks but not after a late gig finish on a cold rainy night. Wylam Brewery's Grand Hall in The Palace of Arts is impressive though.

Anyway enjoy this wonderfully sunny day and if you fancy some lovely food and drink slip down to Wildflower Cafe on Westgate Road.

The Palace of Arts

Thursday 17 November 2016

Tom Waits For Now Man - #ALifeinNumbers #55



Well we're on the home straight now, after this four more posts. It's already been a great week with various excellent things happening. Last night got a huge compliment from management at work which is a sort of cherry on the cake for this week so far.

Tuesday night I say the Bonzo Dog Band at the Sage, which has now become a very fluid lineup but it was an absolutely brilliant night, and on Tuesday my friend Jessica and her friend Asher opened Wildflower Cafe on Westgate Road. I work near St James' Park so was hoping to walk there, I needed some cash so got some from the St James' cash machine (it only had twenties), then set off. I then realised there was a large derelict area / building site which would mean a long right or left detour, however when I got there I notices a tarmaced path that seemed to skirt the new Science building a head straight to where I was going,

Wildflower Toastie
I got there and then saw across the road a big "Wildflower" sign in the window. I got in and was greeted by Jessica and Asher and there were two girls having coffee and chatting. The place has been furnished via Freecycle,and is bright and airy and welcoming with some of Jessica's designs on the walls, art displayed and books and things to catch the eye. I was trying to find a menu to display , but the fare is mostly if not all vegan, with felafel , hummus and tiffin!  There is lots of choice and I decided on a cheese and tomato toastie and a coffee which I can show you (See Right).

It was delicious, and just right for my dinner (I'm from Preston , it's dinner), too many times toasties are served in doorsteps or huge slabs of pretentious bread. This was perfect, and complimented by green stuff with dressing, which I also enjoyed.

I am looking forward to making this a regular eaterie and general good place to go, though I can see it's going to be popular, it aleady is with me.

Anyway #ALifeinNumbers is "Ol' 55" a song I first heard by the Eagles, so they're getting their second run out in this sequence, but it was written by Tom Waits, and it is one of many songs that you probably don't know have been written by him. So I'm going to include the Eagles version AND the Tom Waits version, because I can, assuming Tom Waits has let it out on Youtube. He's very protective of his music and sued Levis and got them to take out big billboard apologies when they used Screamin' Jay Hawkins'  version of "Heart Attack and Vine".

So enjoy the music and enjoy your Thursday my friends.

Wednesday 16 November 2016

Just Numbers - #ALifeInNumbers #54


I'm hoping to hit 120K viewsby the end of #ALifeInNumbers , but with six posts to go I will probably fall just short. I need four hundred hits and with an average of 50 per post I'll be 100 short. Not to worry.. This is a kludge one and Dave Wright mad an early suggestion of 534321 by Manfred Mann to cater for the first five posts. I didn't use it then and am not going to use it now, as I have gone for Patti Smith's take on the same song , 5-4-3-2-WAVE , which is great fun.

Anyway I am feeling very tired and I've nothing much more to say apart from the fact that this has been an interesting week so far, having seen The Bonzo Dog Band last night, and Looking forward to Half Man Half Biscuit on Friday , The CureHeads a week on Friday and the Star Spangled Chestwigs for two gigs in December, so although I want to sleep, I may not give my body that option.

So looking forward to the next couple of weeks and all the great things that are going to happen. Sleep well my friends.

Mortality - #ALifeInNumbers #53



A weird thing happened last night. I was going to see The Bonzo Dog Band at the Sage and decided to walk from the centre of town to the Sage over the Tyne Bridge. As you walk over the bridge there's a big sign with the Samaritans phone number to help people who may be thinking of ending it because things are so bad jumping over the side is the only way they can see of dealing with things. I know how easy it is to jump over the side because I did it in a charity abseil. While I have fleetingly thought of that once or twice in my life I reasoned that was not the way to make things better, also the number of people I would hurt by doing that weighed on my mind, and am I in a good place now.

Watching the Bonzo's it was great to see Rodney Slater (75) saying the crowd were getting better at getting older and a great night was had by all. After the gig it 15 minutes til the next bus and I walked back across the Bridge and had looked over the side and got vertigo, but when you come into Newcastle it's wonderful that you are walking above the rooftops. But again it is worrying that the exit option is so close. If ever you feel like this talk to friends or Samaritans, think of your friends, loved ones and people who rely on. We probably don't tell each other how much we like or love each other.

The other thing is that the older we get the more likely we are to lose friends and loved ones, Leonard Cohen recently declared he was gong to live forever on the front of the Times Culture magazine. I think he had a feeling he was on his way and was displaying his wonderful sense of humour. Enjoy your time with loved ones and friends, that will give you memories that will stay with you forever.

One other thing is that while I was waiting for the bus there's a psychological block that tells you it's a long way because it's across the river. I walked up to St James in around 15 minutes and saw my bus at the traffic lights , so had to then run 250 yards, which luckily I can still do.

Anyway back to #ALifeInNumbers and we hit 53. Sorry if this has been dark, it's actually meant to be positive and helpful.The song is "53rd and 3rd" by The Ramones and we have the album version and a live version with Rancid. This is classic Ramones and a great way to wake up your Wednesday.

Have a great day by friends, the weekend is in sight.



Tuesday 15 November 2016

A Classic Motorbike in A Love Song - #ALifeinNumbers #52



Bike Music
I suppose I was brought up with motorbikes, British ones of course, generally. Japanese were dismissed as "japcrap" yet my mates still went for Yamahas. Did you know that the Yamaha logo is three tuning forks? It took me years to notice that.

These days almost every bike you see is Japanese with the odd Harley Davidson. If I see a British bike I will tend to photograph it, I still think they look great like  50s American Cars.

Harleys were seen in films such as Easy Rider, but I never knew anyone who had one.

 
One foreign bike that that a few of my friends had was the 250 Ducati Desmo, which despite the orange livery looked absolutely class. My brother tended to crash bikes a lot , one day spending three days in a muscular paralysis, he took a right hand bed too fast the bike slid across the road hit the pavement, through him off and crushed him against the school railings. He also once took a motorbike apart and put it together again and had a box of "things" left over. The bike still ran.

My problem with motorbikes is and was that I could never coordinate balance, gears, brakes, clutch , accelerator so always ended falling off. My limit was Speedway bikes which just have an accelerator. I do enjoy riding speedway bikes which just have an accelerator, and to this day Speedway is one of the only "going round in circles" sport that I actually enjoy.

Anyway we come on to #ALifeInNumbers #52 and there are two versions of this song, both of which are brilliant. The song is "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" written and originally performed by Richard Thompson. The structure is weird, the playing amazing , the story wonderful but sad but typical Thompson. Dick Gaughan covered it and his version is also excellent so I am going to include both versions. His is here.

The thing is I will never be able to play this song like I will never be able to ride a motorbike.

So enjoy you Tuesday my friends, the next post features one of my favourite bands, although really all these posts do.



Oh and I found this version by a band called Red Molly , a wonderful version. This is the first time I have posted three versions of the same song, and I love them all . This is great, looking for a great song I've found another great band. Their version is here. Today is a very good day.



Monday 14 November 2016

A Short One - #ALifeInNumbers #51



This is just a very short post.This morning I seem to have been doing lots of things with no end product.  I 'm going to be positive thought , this week I am going to see The Bonzo Dog Band and Half Man Half Biscuit and over the weekend I managed to to vent my spleen about bad and annoying things, although that may happen this week. Anyway good morning to you all, and it's time to hit the week head on.

We're up to number 51 on #ALifeInNumbers and it's the excellent "51st Anniversary" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience a great way to kick start the week. Unfortunately there's very little Hendrix available on YouTube so I've included a cover by the excellent Hamsters.

So have a great day my friends.

Sunday 13 November 2016

Rush Makes Formula One Watchable - #ALifeInNumbers #50



Well it's Sunday evening and this weekend has included a lot of catch up TV mostly involving lot's of gore, violence , and shouting, but that's enough about the election fallout. Though the reality has been American Horror Story (Roanoke not  the election) , Ripper Street , Arrow and the excellent Rush about Niki Lauda and James Hunt. I must say I do find Formula One (and virtually anything that has things running round a track) incredibly tedious but Rush is a truly wonderful film.

The weather has been most depressing, drizzling greyness and I have a garden covered in leaves that I could do with clearing but it's far too wet to do anything with it, and as it is going dark at around 4 pm I'm not sure I will get to do it til next weekend.

So back to #ALifeInNumbers and we hit 50 today. I am sure there are lots of possibilities but I have gone for the raucous "50 Foot Queenie" by Polly Jean Harvey. It's her second entry but she is one of my favourite singers, and this will certainly blow any cobwebs away. Not music to drift off too, but it's something from one of our most original talents.

So enjoy the weekend as it drifts away and prepare yourself for the challenges of this week.

Thank you for reading my friends and feel free to follow me by email.


Saturday 12 November 2016

A Wonderfully Arty Vegan Lift To The Weekend - #ALifeInNumbers #49



In a week that has felt like the world is raining hammer blows on us, today I had two pieces of good news. My friend Craig is out of hospital, but posting on Facebook and sounding very upbeat and positive, though has a drug stash almost as big as mine.

Not Wildflower
Not Thousand Yard Stare
Secondly my friend Jessica, well we've met twice, she has given me cake and I know her mum and we are Facebook friends, and her friend Asher Turnbull are opening Wildflower, an art / vegan café in Westgate Road on 15th of November.





I mentioned that their logo reminded me of the one that one of my favourite bands, Thousand Yard Stare ,had used for their new album (which is excellent by the way). If you follow the tag or click on her name you will find details of the amazing exhibition where I first met Jessica , but as yet I haven't visited  Wildflower but will do as soon as it opens.


While I am pleased to have a vegan eatery close to home I will give a real review when it opens but I am just going to share Jessica's words with you for this. Yes it's a bit lazy I know, but as well as being an amazing artist , she can write too:


Wildflower is a vegan art café opening up on 283a Westgate road, just a little walk from town. We are a friendly place aiming to help creatives express themselves while eating delicious cake!

The café is owned by two very creative young vegans, Jessie and Asher, who aim to make this place spectacular. We want to have many fun events and parties, such as still life drawing sessions, anarchy knitting groups, themed dinner parties, vintage markets, art markets, live music, comedy, upcycling workshops, cooking demos and many more things! All with demonstrating an eco friendly ethic, and helpful attitude towards the local community.

We have started out with very little money, but have so far managed to get most of our furniture from Freecycle, which has been rather glorious. But there are a few essential things that you simply cannot get for free, such as ovens (that work properly!) so we are raising some money to try and get those few essential things! Link to our crowd funder is here


Their Facebook page is here  and this is where it is, so also handy for me for lunch.

Anyway this is being woven in with my #ALifeInNumbers  sequence and for number 49 it was always going to be "Funk #49" by the James Gang. The James Gang featured Joe Walsh on guitar, and I have always loved his economic style. Pete Townshend once said that Joe Walsh was his favourite guitarist and you can see the similarities. The chord holsds sway in their songs and this means that they are easy to follow for budding musicians. I've included an excellent live session but you can here the James Gang original here.

Have a wonderful Saturday night my friends.



Friday 11 November 2016

Staying Positive - #ALifeInNumbers #48



I'm staying positive and will likely have a rant on And Annoyingly over the weekend. This morning we learned of the loss of Leonard Cohen, but he will live on in his writing and music and my belief in the evolutionary process makes me feel he will be progressing in one form or another, and no doubt his record company will have a treasure trove of unreleased material.

Anyway we are at the the weekend (well almost) and this is time for the good and sensible people to regroup and realise they can actually do good, and make a world actually worth living in. The thing is not to give up and very often you find something new to work towards.

Stay Cool
Anyway we come to number 48 of #ALifeInNumbers and it's "48 Hours" by The Clash from their first album, one and a half minutes to blow any cobwebs away. Incidentally The Clash and Leonard Cohen are still label mates, they may have departed this mortal coil (well Leonard and Joe) , but Mick Jones still produces some great music, and actually I am going to include "The News" by Carbon/Silicon because it's an incredibly positive way to start the day.

Stay positive and find good things this weekend my friends.



Tuesday 8 November 2016

Post Office and Customs Tarot and a 747 - #ALifeInNumbers #47



Yesterday I got home and saw a note through the door. from the Post Office. There was apcakage for me but I have to pay £8 Customs Duty and an £8 fee to the Post Office to administer the Customs Duty. This is on to of the £37 I paid for the item , which is a Goth Rock Icon Tarot, which looks absolutely beautiful, so yes a lot of money for a small package but I've just had a thought, if Brexit goes through there will be a hell of a lot more instances of this I think.

Psychobilly Tarot
Still, at the weekend I will have the thing in my hands, so I am looking forward to that. I don't know much about Tarot, but have a beautiful Psychobilly Tarot set. These are both limited editions and things of total beauty.

Anyway we are up to Number 47 in #ALifeInNumbers and again  this is a slight kludge which was bound to happen the further we get from Number One.

I'm still disappointed I forgot to include "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W" by Wire for number 41, but hey we are up to 47 and for this I am going for "747" by Joe Louis Walker, so enjoy this slice of Rhythm and Blues as you venture out this Tuesday.

Monday 7 November 2016

Toot and Smile - #ALifeInNumbers #46



This is the first blog post I've done since I got home. I try to keep things positive, but I am sad that Brexit and Donald Trump are causing many people to think aggressive bullying, racism and misogyny , as well as the demonisation of the weak and poor is now ok. Farage, the tories and Trump do it so it must be OK.. Well you know what, it isn't, and I hope I am never brought that low.

Anyway I want to be positive, and I will be, despite the storm clouds there are lots of great things to look forward to, like spending time with friends and loved ones, getting out to great gigs (although Blyth is a bit awkward for The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, still one of my favourite live bands), and in Newcastle we have so much to enjoy and savour.

I am thinking of my friend Craig who is going through a difficult time at the moment, but he is the most loving, positive , inclusive person you could meet and he is the sort of person that makes life worth enjoying. We need to all follow that example, put a smile on other people's faces, that is a great way to live.

I've just realised that I missed at least one great song from my list because my list was on my home PC. Bugger.

Anyway we hit Number 46 and it's a bit of a kludge but it's "54-46 Was My Number" by Toots and The Maytals, and it's an excuse to fit one Toots song in. I found this live cut , but click on the title if you want to download the studio version.

Anyway that is Monday over with, enjoy your week my friends.

Thursday 3 November 2016

Thousand Yard Stare - #ALifeInNumbers #45



This morning I got another follower on twitter, someone called Kelly. I thought the name was familiar and I think she is a great girl I worked with at EE, I am not 100% certain but may be right or wrong. I was Facebook friends but dropped her when I started getting some spiteful harassment from other people and decided it was not a good idea to be Facebook friends with management at the place where you work. The good thing about social media is you can connect with people who are worth your time and effort and I do look to try and be friends with positive people and Kelly is definitely one of those. Who knows we may reconnect on Facebook.

Today is fairly grey and this morning was spent dodging cattle and sheep on the road between Orton and Shap on the way to Tebay services via the back roads. Today was meant to be total relaxation, with no driving, but needs must and I took the car out again. This means that I will have driven on every day of the holiday, which has still been very relaxing and enjoyable.

It is so nice to not have to get up and go to work. As I write this I am sitting in the warm listening to Tom Ravenscroft on 6Music, with the likes of Leonard Cohen, Yak, Prince and Grandaddy flowing through the airwaves.

Anyway we’re up to number 45 in #ALifeInNumbers and it was always going to be “God’s P45” by Thousand Yard Stare. Thousand Yard Stare are a band I always loved but didn’t get the success they deserved. I think their sound and attitude is in the same universe as Half Man Half Biscuit and The Wedding Present, and loved the titles of their songs such as “Happenstance”, “Buttermouth” and “0-0 After Extra Time” (that could have been Half Man Half Biscuit. I was delighted to hear they had got back together and produced a new digital album, which still have to buy, but it’s here.

 "God's P45" is the first song that I can't find on Youtube and it's not even available digitally. I have a copy at  home, so I will create a slideshow and put it up at the weekend and include it here. Anyway enjoy “Version of Me” , and enjoy your Thursday my friends, the weekend is nearly here.



Wednesday 2 November 2016

Howling - #ALifeinNumbers #44



Well we are two days into November and although there was frost this morning it has been a pleasant day. The rest of the week is not meant to be as good, but this week I have visited Kirkby Lonsdale, Kendal and Ambleside as well as using Orton to walk and relax.

I have done catch up TV, finishing series one of Fortitude and continuing with Better Call Saul which is most entertaining.

While in Ambleside I noticed front pages from the racist Daily Mail and idiotic Daily Express and I am seriously sad that people I know still defend the red tops, because the like the crossword or the horoscope or the sport coverage. But I will try and not let that bother me, you cannot argue with these people, because they are too stupid to understand what you are telling them.

Anyway that’s enough of a rant and we can continue with #ALifeInNumbers #44. I was racking my brains for this one and was sure there must be some kind of firearm or motor vehicle or motorbike with that number in its name or description, and sure enough there is a Howlin’ Wolf number called “Forty Four” which is about his gun, which he has to pawn.

I love Howlin’ Wolf and always thought “Smokestack Lightnin’” was an amazing title with a monstrous loping riff. A couple of years ago I found that he used to watch steam locomotives go past his residence at night with the funnels shooting out smoke and sparks and fire, the funnels are also called smokestacks and fire was Howlin’ Wolf’s Lightning.

So enjoy you Wednesday evening my frienda and enjoy this classic slab of Howlin’ Wolf.

Tuesday 1 November 2016

Nothing About Samhain and All Hallows - #ALifeInNumbers #43



I’m obviously a bit on my guard after the data drain caused by the Windows 10 update. The main “enhancements” see to be trying to make me log into OneDrive every time I connect to the internet and telling me I need to upgrade my copy of Microsoft Office (I’m on 10 but obviously I need their rented version) . I still like having some control Microsoft.

Similarly Apple did an update that forced me to add a credit card so I could use Apple Pay. I don’t think I will ever have an iPhone, and I won’t use my iPad to pay for anything, but it was a dead end, give us your credit card details or you can’t use your device. Very nice Apple you have really gone up in my estimation.

Anyway it lookslike yesterday I used about .7 Gb of data. My usual use is maybe 1 Gb a week, but that is in environments where wifi is often available, and this week I am in an area where wifi and phone signals are seen as a form of magic only practiced by “outsiders”.

Anyway we are up to number 43 of #ALifeInNumbers on this beautiful sunny 1st of November. I thought it was unusual that 39,40,41 and 42 could have been represented by those numbers as the song titles. I didn’t use 42 for reasons explained in my last post.

Number 43 I have no such qualms about , and I am going for “Made-Up Love Song 43” by The Guillemots, one of those bands I haven’t really followed but always enjoy hearing, they are just a casualty of there being so much great music to listen to in my musical universe.

Anyway enjoy your first day of November,Today is either All Hallows Day or Samhain depending on your belief system. Enjoy and and celebrate.