One Must Write

Well I must. Even if it's just ten words. It keeps my blog going and it keeps me going. I would love to be able to write for a living, like my friend Paul Campbell although then I probably wouldn't want to write with limitations (ie someone commissioning me to do something), though I love the way Paul manages to stamp himself on his TV scripts making them watchable and fun, I still love is "Waiting For Godot", Zombies , Film Noir and Mobile phone stamps on a daytime soap , absolute genius. Actually there's a full length version of Godot on Youtube here.

Anyway this week has been totally mad for some reason. I am shattered, so thankfully the weekend has arrived. That means I may have a chance for a lie in and some rest.

I suppose on of the things about living in Newcastle there is always something going on , and the temptation to join in is sometimes too much, however.....

Tonight Preston play Wigan and I am going to have Fish and Chips for tea. I am not going to wear myself out or anything , just hopefully enjoy my evening as a relaxing precursor to the weekend.

And what should we play?

Maybe go with one of the greatest program intros ever.....Fargo using Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath" from the album Aqualung.

Have a great start to the weekend my friends

Complementary Opposition

I am often denigrated for not fitting in the boxes that people expect. I don't watch soaps (unless you count the episodes of Doctors that my friend Paul Campbell writes , and he is not your average soap writer) , and the programs I do watch often go completely over the head of a lot of people.

I am a great fan of lateral thinking and love the concepts of Edward De Bono. I was introduced to him during my induction training at Littlewoods nearly 40 years ago. This means often my ideas are dismissed by people because they seem to be not the normal way to achieve a goal.

At school everyone was into Led Zeppelin, Yes, Hawkind, Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad and ELP. I deliberately refused to listen to Led Zeppelin because they were everywhere. I loved The Bonzo Dog Band, Bowie, Pink Floyd,Hawkwind , T Rex and The Sweet. I remember being at a school disco and the DJ had a sense of humour because he segued Jean Genie  into Blockbuster. It took the heads on the dancefloor two minutes to realise before they stormed off in disgust. I loved both records , and so did the DJ and if you have any doubts about the Sweet's credentials take a listen to Sweet F.A.


The things is I am open to all ideas and like a very wide range of music. I still know people who won't listen to anything outside of 1972-1976 time period, and there is no point in trying to argue a case for listening to new music.

A while ago I posted a YouTube video of an Enya / Prodigy mash up and a few Prodigy fans were horrified. I could understand Enya fans being horrified but surely not Prodigy fans. This was the Evil Prodigy corrupting the Radio 2 Celtic Acceptability of Enya. I bought Orinoco Flow when it came out and love a lot of the Prodigy stuff and it's funny how people decided I am not a proper whatever because I actually listen and can enjoy most genres.

Complementary Opposition

Again I think the mash up above says a lot about me , I enjoy stuff with an edge , I enjoy stuff that
doesn't necessarily challenge , I enjoy going off into the unknown but I also enjoy knowing where I am going and what I am going to get.

Life is good and if I wasn't like I was I wouldn't have done many of the things I have enjoyed doing, and I am looking forward to many many more.

Anyway this is more rambling on my part, enjoy the rest of your Sunday my wonderful friends.

Record Store Day, World Book Night and Shakespeare's Birthday (Totally Boatless)

This is  just a short post although we have got into April and there is so much happening this month.
I have picked up my bass guitar for the first time in earnest for several years , as if I can cut it , I will be joining a fifties style rock and roll / soul band.

Then on the 16th it's World  Record Store Day , which means lots of stuff going on around RPM , Reflex , Beatdown and JG Windows in Newcastle. We are lucky that in Newcastle we have four , yes count them FOUR real record shops. The first year it wasn't that well attended but this has really gained momentum and you have queues outside the record shops in the hope of getting that special vinyl version of a particular record. It has got fans listing to music again rather than skipping through their iPod collection.

A Good Book

On the 17th it's my friend Paul's fiftieth birthday , he's a writer and if you are a fan of Casualty , Doctors or Eastenders you have probably seen some of his work. Check him out here , a very cool , witty and nice guy and a great friend.

Then on the 23rd it's William Shakespeare's Birthday , which is the marker for World Book Night. I've been giving books since it's inception and this year I will be giving away copies of Matt Haig's Reasons To Stay Alive in Newcastle on the night of the 23rd. A couple of Years ago I gave a way Matt's The Humans , an excellent book which I would recommend to anyone. This year's book list is here.

So basically it's Monday morning , there is lots to do , and lots to enjoy. April is looking very good for me , I hope it;s the same for you.

And I always think a bit of the Reduced Shakespeare Company always goes down  well , so I've included The Othello Rap - Totally Boatless , that always makes me laugh.

Have a brilliant day everybody.