So Shattered ....and Oasis

Last night was in bed at 7:30. I just dropped into bed I was so tired, I obviously need a holiday (which will start with a five hour drive tomorrow). Anyway I am awake now and discovered a cover of The Beatles "Birthday" by Oasis on Youtube. I'm surprised that Oasis didn't cover more Beatle's songs , well I suppose they did but just changed the words and titles and put Gallagher on the songwriting credits .... allegedly. Just a joke. Oasis have done some excellent stuff , though my mavourites are Champagne Supernova, Step Out (a Stevie Wonder lift for a change) and Acquiesce.

Still feeling tired , but it's my last day for a week, so I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Twenty Minutes Late

Car Parked Outside The Cottage

It's amazing how an extra five minutes in bed can make you twenty minutes late. This means that this post will be extra extra short.

Also when you are writing you often get onto a roll and before you know where you are there goes another twenty minutes.

I still have to do my voice only post, but will do that in Shropshire I think, with trips to Stradford planned and lots of quiet walks I hope.

This is where I will be staying , and it's usually fairly quiet so signing off as it's time to leave for work now. Have a great day everyone!

Another Morning

The days are getting lighter and yesterday we had sun and blue skies. We're still in February but March is here on Saturday when I start a week's holiday , not a moment too soon. I am looking forward to not doing my normal 11 to 12 hours away from home day thanks to the current work regime.

I am very happy to have been chosen as a World Book Night giver again and looking forward to that on 23rd of April. I have some ideas on how I will be giving away my 18 copies of Matt Haig's The Humans. I've ordered my own copy as I need to have it read by April 23rd , I like to be able to tell people about the book.

Just listening to Chris Hawkins on 6 Music and he's playing Royals by Lords,  then followed it by Blue Moon by Beck which at the time of writing is available as a free download (click on the link), but I'll include the Lords track. I was surprised to find that she hails from New Zealand. It never fails to amaze be how many great things emanate from the antipodes. Where would we be without them.

Anyway I need to get off now, so have a wonderful day.

The Seven Hundred and Two Days For Your Diary

This is my seven hundredth blog post and this morning I was informed that I have eighteen copies of The Humans by Matt Haig to give away on World Book Night 2014 on April 23rd, that's a Wednesday this year. I have some ideas how to schedule it and this year I have less to go round so I will make sure none get wasted, on people who's cultural highpoints are Top Gear and Bake Off programs.The premise sounds brilliant:

"One wet Friday evening, Professor Andrew Martin of Cambridge University solves the world's greatest mathematical riddle. Then he disappears.

When he is found walking naked along the motorway, Professor Martin seems different. Besides the lack of clothes, he now finds normal life pointless. His loving wife and teenage son seem repulsive to him. In fact, he hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton. And he's a dog.

Can a bit of Debussy and Emily Dickinson keep him from murder? Can the species which invented cheap white wine and peanut butter sandwiches be all that bad? And what is the warm feeling he gets when he looks into his wife's eyes?"

Sounds brilliant doesn't it? I do have my copy on order and will have it read before the give away occurs.

On 19th Of April (I think because it doesn't tell you the date on the site, just a countdown) it's National Record Shop Day, well that's what I call it , so I will be visiting Reflex and RPM and Beatdown and JG Windows in Newcastle and buying some product. These days are now very big and great fun, with lots of events, and I'll post more in the run ups to both of these events.

Time for bed now, happy seven hundredth post to you all, and it the words of James .... "How Was It For You?" , here's to the next seven hundred.

Last Night I Had A Dream .... A Very Weird Dream

..and I've woken up exhausted. This was a real dream in which nothing made any real sense while also being vaguely familiar. I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with it, but there's nothing major in it, just a lot of weird juxtapositions. Here goes:

I'm at a skating rink or bowling alley meeting up to go to a Syd Barrett (original leader of Pink Floyd) concert (he's long dead and only die hard fans would attend) . When we get to the venue , a small theatre I meet up with hris from work (who is getting married in a couple of weeks and I'm with my daughters and a few other friends. Syd Barrett comes on stage , which is at the same level as the stalls, but he's obviously out of it so I get up, hold him up, and I sing the first song for him , before he's taken away and a tribute concert then takes place.

After the gig we wonder about going for a meal , there are two Mexican / Indian Wetherspoons pubs restaurants, one called the "Droopy Bell" with a logo of a Bell Pepper. We decide on the other restaurant and at this moment are in an area reminiscent of Newcastle's Haymarket. , coming out of roughly where Boots is now (may we'd been to Sergeant Peppers, but the "Bell Pepper" was where the Metro Station is. We decide on the other restaurant

On the way I'm then with a friend who's a pub owner who needs to order some replacement aluminium beer kegs, so while he's doing that I decide to let people know by phoning them. My phone is out of charge, so I look in my satchel and find an iPhone and wonder what that is doing there....

Then I woke up and thought what he hell was that.

Hope it's kept you entertained, and I have another post to do tonight but I need to get off to work. Have a great day everyone and hope I haven't twisted your melons!

By the way all the drugs I take are purely medicinal , honest. And by next blog  post will be number 700!

I'll Be Damned If I Just Can't Be Happy Today

Not me , but a heck of a lot of people. Last night I got a good sleep, and had a relaxing day , barring the chopping of logs for the wood burning fire. So many people are going round looking for people to blame for anything they can think off. I remember last year a couple of old guys nearly coming to blows in a betting over over who was to blame for the snowed off race meeting , the government or the council.

Similarly  you have the tabloids whipping the public up into a panic of weather , immigration, benefits , heath, whatever.

If you want to get retweeted on Twitter you have to tweet something bad or derogatory or a complaint, probably why I only have a massive 24 followers on my account mikeydred96.

The thing is there are loads of brilliant positive things in the world. If something goes wrong deal with it with help from your friends, it's what they are there for. So many seem to want to play the blame game , I prefer to fix things.

I look for things that put a smile on my face , and they are majorly abundant, although the major ones is people talking to to me and sharing good times. I just wish more people would do things like that. I am proud to have great encouraging friends all over the world who look out for me and always have good news for me and make my day happier.

So my message for today is , you sunshine people out there who keep making my day , please keep making mine and other peoples day, and those out there who play the blame game, try not to , look for something positive , buy someone a present , phone someone. So today I'm going to  post two videos, one The Damned singing the track that inspired the titls and the wonderful Simon's Cat. I am NOT a cat person but these cartoon are brilliant. Enjoy the rest of your weekend my friends.

Knocked Out .. Loaded

Having to give the Ben Waters , Nine Below Zero gig a miss because of the cold and getting run down. Although I thought it was a Ben Waters gig, then I find it was Nine Below Zero featuring Ben Waters, which is not a bad thing but I really need to sleep and recuperate. So I've included Ben's imprmptu Eastern European Style Version of Johnny B Goode in Australia which shows what a versatile , clever and humourous keyboard player he is.

Again that's not  a bad thing, it just means I need some rest, there will be other gigs , and the weather is improving (lots of blue skies this morning).

And that's to Youtube and Catch Up TV I can watch things from the comfort of my front room. I love going t gigs but sometimes your body tells you no, and you need to listen to that. I'm going to have an early night, and get lots of rest to make sure I am going to be in tip top form for Sunday..

So an early night for me , you enjoy your Saturday Night everybody.