Showing posts with label Gateshead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gateshead. Show all posts

Tuesday 10 December 2019

Forgot


I was going to post this yesterday but got waylaid by other stuff, so I will post it now , even though it is quite late. Yesterday I went to work and convinced I had forgotten something , but wasn't too sure what it was.... until I got in and realised I had left my work pass at home. My work has the most pedantic lost pass process ever, they give you a piece of card that can't be used for anything useful like getting you in through doors, then you have to contact someone so they can escort you to the office, and if you want to go out you have all this rigmarole again.

The thing is visitors get normal passes.

So I went home to get my pass and got into work 45 minutes later than I expected.

On getting home from holiday I received a bowel caner check kit from the NHS which you use to send a poo sample to be checked. This is the second one I've had and even though it's simple, it is a funnily unpleasant experience getting the sample, it can't land in the toilet, then you place it in a tube ans send it back for testing (which is done at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.) so I should know in a week or so the results. This is standard preventative procedure and I'm sure all will be fine, but it's always good to check.

I have friends who have suffered from and been treated for many forms of cancer, and when I was kide cancer was the end, but now people have a far better chance to survive which is great, but I've also lost friends and that is something that is horrible. You have your memories but you no longer have your friends.

I'm sorry this seems to have nosedived but I didn't mean it to, just happy that I am being looked after by the NHS which despite certain people making out that it's free, it isn't, we all pay for it in outr National Insurance and taxes.

So I've gone with Ronnie Spector's take on the great Johnny Thunders song "You Can't Put Your Arms Round A Memory" although I thought it was "You Can't Wrap You Arms Round A Memory" . Either way,  it's a great song so please enjoy, if that is the right emotion for a song about loss.

Stay positive, it's what keeps us going, believe in better.

Monday 23 September 2019

Delay


This could have been titled an Airdrieonian , A Native of Ayr, an Italian, and Australian and a Prestionian got in a taxi in Morpeth and went to Newcastle.. This was the end of a very long day as due to work on the East Coast Line Newcastle to Edinburgh was via Carlisle adding an hour and a half to the journey.

Coming back two trains were cancelled so we ended up on a coach from Edinburgh to Morpeth which was a literally last minute thing but the coach journey was fine although lengthy.

Once we hit Morpeth the train to Newcastle was going to be another 50 minutes so the five of us above got together and commandeered the only taxi in the station to get back to Newcastle. It was a pleasant ride back and we found that the Airdrieonian girl who had originally suggested the taxi lives in Gateshead and works for the NHS, the Australian guy was trying to get to Cambridge, the Italian girl (who had an American accent) was trying to get to London.

Everyone in the taxi was really positive and pleasant and this was a very small lesson in coming together to get a good result and that is what happened. The taxi driver was very talkative and the journey was over very quickly and a very reasonable £30.

So cause of the title we'll go with "Long Time Coming" by The Delays, always been a favourite of mine.

Wednesday 7 February 2018

Nine 'til Five


I know that is most people's working days (well it used to be) but that was my sleep time last night. I was feeling absolutely wrecked. Just did a normal day, came home just put a Ham and Pineapple Pizza in the oven, had that about seven cos I was fasting from eight due to a hospital appointment this morning. Then at nine after two episodes of Mr Robot I was ready to drop, I haven't a clue why.

Yesterday was nice to see the snow, but it was coming down when I was in my sixth floor office so I didn't have to experience the cold , wet and slippiness and by the time I finished it was just cold and dark.

I was going to write a post last night but this isn't it , this is a different one. I also have fragments of a weird dream which involved me being in the centre of Newcastle , going down a brick walkway and being almost too fat to get out of the weirdly shapes other end, being near the Monkey Bar, watching a large aircraft taking off from Gatehead Airport carring a large anchor  to hold down large inflatables in the river Tyne. Just an average day in my head then.

This morning I got up made tea and decaf coffee only to find the milk was turning, so remade using almond milk which is acceptable. I think I am going to have to change my milk buying habits , smaller bottles in future.

Last week I listened to my two favourite Jean-Michel Jarre albums, "Equinoxe"  and "Zoolook". His dad was Maurice Jarre who did some brilliant soundtracks such as "Dr Zhivago", "Ghost" and my favourite "Lawrence of Arabia" . I found Jean-Michel's first album "Oxygene" twee and boring with a rubbish pretentious cover, my attitude has mellowed since it first came out but to me it's a first try, but "Equinoxe" was several steps up the ladder. "Zoolook" used some groundbreaking sound techniques to enhance the listening experience especially on headphones.

So I'll share Christopher Walken dancing to "Diva" from "Zoolook". Have a good Wednesday.



Sunday 30 August 2015

Friday I'm In Love


Carter USM ?
Over the past few weeks this song has been popping up on the radio and in shops and other plays. I've never really listened to the lyrics , though the title is obvious , and also The Cure are one of my favourite  all time bands with "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" being my favourite album with songs on there bringing back unexplained memories  such as "Like Cockatoos" bringing to mind JG Ballard's "The Drowned World" and the achingly beautiful "Catch" still reminding of a student call Frances I knew back in the eighties who was great Cure fan.

I gave her my vinyl copy of "Standing On A Beach" , amazing how songs can still hold associations after so long. That was way before Newcastle meant anything to me other than Michael Caine's face off with Alf Roberts in Gateshead.

The thing is "Friday I'm In Love" is such an uplifting song you almost don't need to listen to the words and it really does lift your spirits and make you feel better. It certainly resonates with my feelings and does lift me up even further. I've just transferred it to my phone because a listen to that will dispel any slight downers like Preston getting beat 2-0 by Hull yesterday.

Anyway we're in the middle of the Bank Holiday (for those in the UK) so enjoy the rest of the time and this week is only 4 days of work .

Love you all


Thursday 1 January 2015

Twelve Hours Into 2015



Well it's now 2015, after a great New Year's Eve Party at Mark and Helen's managing to catch up with lots of friends and people I haven't seen in ages, talking about all sorts before a round of Auld Lang Syne to ring in the New Year.

Built On Glass
The first album I've put on this year is Built on Glass by Chet Faker recommended by a great friend, which reminds me of Brian Eno and Van Der Graaf / Peter Hamill smoothed down , just wondering if the name is a nod to the great Chet Baker , that's a lot of musical references I wasn't expecting to make in my first post of 2015. They are all worth following up as well as the excellent Chet Faker album.

I'm sure this year will find me liking lots of new music, just like last year and every year before that. There will be books to read, films and plays to see, people to meet, songs to write , my book to finish , which is now two months overdue, this blog to keep going , songs to write, and to try and get Garageband to work properly with the Alesis connection deck on the iPad.

So it is going to be a busy and brilliant 2015, I am so looking forward to it. It's my dad's 80th Birthday in January so there's a surprise party for him and I will have to think of a suitable present to get him. So without further ado I'm going to wish you all a Happy New Year and going to enjoy the rest of my day.

I've include some fireworks from Newcastle / Gateshead last night . Happy New Year again.

Friday 1 August 2014

August Is Here

Augustus
It's month eight although it used to be the sixth month before they rearranged the calendar, named after some Roman Emperor called Augustus. We still have excellent weather, with rain during the night and sun during the day.

Again nothing major to write about although I am slightly exasperated on a number of fronts with IT people refusing to take responsibility for systems they are paid for looking after and saying it's not their responsibility. I and others diagnose the problem and then nothing gets done apart from those idiots suggesting it may be the users fault.

This has happened three times this week already , once in work twice outside of work, but I'm not too bothered and it's not worth  getting het up about.

I'm just looking forward to a really nice weekend looking forward to lunch with my daughters and seeing the Star Spangled Chestwigs on Saturday at The Doll at The Black Bull in Gateshead. Sensible people  deal with the drudgery and take delight in the good things and that's what I intend to stay doing. Have a great day and a better weekend

Sunday 18 May 2014

Sun Daze, Madchester and The Heed

A Corner Of The Garden
Well it's Sunday, eight ante meridian or thereabouts and its another gorgeous day. The garden has been done so today can be fairly relaxed , just to enjoy the weather. It's May and it looks like summer is here. Who knows it may even be party time.

Madchester
I always find that sunny weather does uplift you , although if it was like that all the time would I really appreciate it? May thats why my friends in New Zealand and Australia are always so upbeat generally, while people form Manchester (where always rains) tend to be miserable (only joking , though Oasis, Happy Mondays and Joy Division while producing some great music are not the sort of people you would want to spend any time with, although John Cooper Clarke is great fun but he's from Salford). Though it's funny how a simple thought on what a nice day it is can digress into thoughts on the Madchester phenomenon.

Oh the other good news is that Gateshead are in the Conference Play Off Final against Cambridge, so that's one team that the whole of the North East will be behind today, hopefully they will be back in the league after an absence of 50 years. Theres a big do on at The Black Bull and the scenes will be incredible when Gateshead do the business. OK so I now got sidetracked into football, as you may realise I can get easily led astray! But here's a song for The Heed from the magnificent Rezillos.



 
 
Anyway I hope everyone is having a great weekend and taking advantage of this lovely weather. Enjoy the rest of your weekend

Monday 26 July 2010

Carter Gone

Today the "Get Carter" car park in Gateshead was demolished . An eyesore from the day it was built, to house cars that the residents of Gateshead didnt own , so it became a police parking lot for stolen cars - so no change of emphasis there.

Amazingly I took a photo of it last week (see right) , unaware of the impending demolition , thinking how incongrous it looked squatting above the Sage and the Millenium Bridge.

So now the only way to see it is to buy yourself a copy of Get Carter (see below) , the Michael Caine one of course , not the Sylvester Stallone aberation.