Vegano - #Oktoberfest #29 - A Glass of Champagne - Sailor

Today I really didn't feel like anything to eat, but I do make a point of getting out of the office at lunchtime. It's not good to bring a packed lunch , sit at your desk and work through lunch , though a lot of people feel absolutely obliged to do it. I work better if I get a total break. I was thinking about all the places I normally eat then Vegano came into my head, I have eaten there before and they do a gorgeous vegan "sausage and egg" muffin, so that was decided. The had the muffin on so that was it, and it's just as good as ever, highly recommended.

The first time I was in the conversation about the muffin went thus:

Me: "That's gorgeous but what is the egg substitute?"
Vegano: "Tofu"
Me: "I hate Tofu"
Vegano: "Oh Sorry..."
Me: "No don't be, I love it , how have you done it? Tofu normally tastes like furniture stuffin"

They then explained what they did to make the "egg type pattie"

Me: "So how you make the sausage bit"
Vegano: "We get xxxxx hot dogs , skin them and make the patties"
Me: "So it's not vegan then"
Vegano: "It is they are vegan hot dogs"

So I ended up have a gorgeous lightish lunch which you can see here, also they play mostly decent music, and great to speak with, and really nice people, and they are right in front of the Discovery Museum which is round the corner from where I work.

Now I have got a few more drink related songs for #Oktoberfest and we will go with "A Glass of Champagne" by Sailor who had the mad "nickleodeon" two man keyboard built by their main man George Kajanus although the Star Spangled Chestwigs do a cracking version which you can see and hear here.

Weird Dreams, John Scott, Ellen Mellor and Nick Cave - - #Oktoberfest #28 - Coffee and TV - Blur

I've just woken up for a sort of weir dream. My friend the excellent comedian John Scott was emailing me songs from the new Nick Cave album "Ghosteen", the title reminiscent of "Ghostkin" a novel by my friend Ellen Mellor , any way John was emailing me three songs at a time and Nick Cave was sending me similar stuff from John Scott. The only thing to trigger this dream is that John has said how goof the album is and the title reminds me of Ellen's book. For a dera this was fairly normal apart from the fact that the only emails I get are spam and demands for money of to renew my web domains.

So that's the dream and now on to #Oktoberfest and I hadn't really thought of any new drink related songs so have to fall back on a reserve which is "Coffee and TV" by Blur  so really I need to get a few more on the list as there is still a week to go in October although that has just reminded me of "Cigarettes and Alcohol" by Oasis so that is not the worst song to include in the sequence, so I am OK for another post.

Imperfect - #Oktoberfest #27 - Marguerita Time - Status Quo

Sometimes solutions to problems are not always what you want them to be, but they are always what you need them to be, otherwise they wont be a solution.  Two weeks ago I needed a certain bus but it didn't turn up (it did but five minutes early and I watched as it went by my house) so I had to take a different bus which meant I was dropped off a lot further from the train station than I needed to be to catch my train, meaning I had to walk faster and further than I intended and while this was not the solution I had planned this was the only solution possible given the circumstances as I was on a fixed ticket on the train.

Similarly for #Oktoberfest the song "Marguerita Time" came to mind and  I thought it was a probably decent Jimmy Buffet song . It isn't . I'd got it wrong. "Marguerita Time" is a fairly bland Status Quo song which I wouldn't use as part of the sequence but I know if I don't it's nag away at me until the then of October. Status Quo are responsible for a lot of good stuff, and I have a triple vinyl tin which is rather excellent.

The song I'd mixed it up with was "Margaritaville" which, despite a few clever lyrics, is awfully bland. My favourite song by Jimmy Buffet is the really excellent "Volcano" which unless it's a cocktail wont get into the sequence. Anyway you can listen and tell me my evaluation is right or wrong or whatever this Wednesday morning.

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Hunger - #Oktoberfest #26 - Randolph's Tango - Thin Lizzy

Several times over the last year or two or maybe even longer I've been hit by a weird hunger. Normally when you are hungry you need to eat and fill your stomach and that satisfies the hunger. This is different, I am unable to eat something to fill me me up, and it's like the hunger is coming from my arms , legs and the whole of my body except my tummy, it's a little like low blood sugar and maybe that is what it is. It happened very intensely yesterday morning and usually a bacon sandwich would sort out a morning hunger but when you can't face a sandwich then what's left , maybe a mars bar?

I used to love a Full English Breakfast but these days it's not something that holds a huge attraction for me.

I don't know if the hunger I mentioned is a result of my diabetes or age, and it is not a huge problem as yesterday it was sorted with some fruit and porridge when I got into work, but it is something that is, in my opinion , and inconvenient annoyance.

So onto #Oktoberfest and should I or shouldn't I, yes I will. We'll go for "Randolph's Tango" by Thin Lizzy, I know the Tango refers to a dance but if you say Tango to anyone they'll think of a can of fizzy Orange first won't they? I've also referenced Tango in previous posts which you can check out here, although I've realised it was just my last Thin Lizzy post, so I need to track down more Tango related stuff.

Nothing To Say - #Oktoberfest #25 - Whiskey In The Jar - The Dubliners

I keep toying with the idea of doing a one or two word blog post just to see if anyone notices or not as they are all robots (I know they are not because although I am virtually unfollowed, and I'm not sure what benefit following gives the follower in the case of this blog, friends leave comments about posts on Facebook) but in 2010 I was on holiday in Oswaldkirk and posted this. It had a link to a to photos from the holiday but , really, thirty words, but the cat picture is good and the photograph link has some decent stuff on there from my point of view.

So anyway it's Monday morning and I don't have much to say after a weekend of Football disappointment in which Preston North End lost to a goal in the 98th minute (though Reading are a real bogey team for us) , Newcastle lost to Chelsea (that was not unexpected, the fact it was only 1-0 was), Liverpool's juggernaut was finally unexpectedly stopped by a misfiring Manchester United but the were not beaten (and I love Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jurgen Klopp) and Ayr (Fiona's team)  were unexpectedly beaten by Dunfermline (who are my friend Scott's team so that was good for him).

Anyway, as I said, I have nothing to say this morning, so without further ado we will continue #Oktoberfest with "Whiskey in The Jar" by The Dubliners. That's the third time this song has appeared on this sequence but it's a great song and all the versions I have shared are excellent and worth your listening time, and The Dubliners live take here is certainly livelier than the Thin Lizzy / The King takes

Dawn is breaking now so I may get a photo or two on my walk to work this morning.

By the way the blog visits has now passed 320K and although this most was meant to be short , it's more than 300 words (I think my average is about 250 words), so so much for nothing to say , whether it's worth reading is a different matter entirely.

Optical Delusion - #Oktoberfest #24 - Whiskey In The Jar - Thin Lizzy

After "Apricot Brandy" by Rhinoceros in #Oktoberfest that prompted me to remember "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass which in my thoughts is a goddamned awful record though listening back the lyrics and sentiment are cheesily depressing and the melody is half OK but it ain't getting on this blog but you can listen by clicking through on the link.

Today I went out to hunt down some Quorn for a Vegan Cottage Pie and was unsuccessful, ironically the Co-Op had pre packed Quorn Cottage Pies and that was the sum total of their Quorn. Anyway I thought I saw this sizable worm thing wriggling on the pavement but it turned out to an unmoviving piece of stripy cable. I do find it amazing the number of people who swear they have seen something when there is a logical explanation if they actually think about it , but often people like to be happy in their delusions and nothing will move them from their belief in what they have seen

I remember a case of a scientist / ghost hunter who actually saw something but realised it was caused by an instrument running at a frequency that caused his eyes to see something that wasn't actually in front of him. It is always good to check things out.

I do see and hear loads of weird stuff but when I look at the whole picture I see the explanation for what I thought I saw.

So on the #Oktoberfest and we have to have , what in my opinion is the definitive version, of "Whiskey In The Jar" by Thin Lizzy. Just thinking on this , at a push maybe we could have "Randolph's Tango" as well, cos Tango is a drink isn't it? We will also have The Dubliners' take on "Whiskey In The Jar" before the sequence ends.

I wasn't sure that I could actually keep this up but with eleven more days to go I can see me seeing it out.

Hope you are having a fun Sunday.

Day of Rain - #Oktoberfest #23 - Apricot Brandy - Rhinoceros

Today is grey and rainy. It's strange you can spell grey as gray which as far as I know means exactly the same thing, so why have two separate spellings . It's the same with "despatch" and "dispatch"  although apparently the British prefer the prior version. The English language can be interesting and strange at times.

The song "Stone Fox Chase" by Area Code 615  (theme from The Old Grey Whistle Test) was playing somewhere today and I thought ah that's "Apricot Brandy" by Rhinoceros and would be great for the #Oktoberfest sequence. I was obviously wrong and can't think of any reason why I even know of "Apricot Brandy" by Rhinoceros but obviously I do. It was a one hit wonder so it's unlikely that I got into it from anything or through any friends but the title has stuck with me and it is a half decent riff.

So back to this rainy Sunday.

Philosophy - #Oktoberfest #22 - The Philosophers Song - Monty Python

What is philosophy? I've never really thought apart from that fact that it's something that clever and intelligent people do so not for me. Definitions of it include:

• The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. 
• A theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour.
• "don't expect anything and you won't be disappointed, that's my philosophy"

So out of my league for consideration, my attention span is probably inadequate for pursuit of such thoughts and subjects.

I saw an advert relating to a Dementia Charity (follow the link to donate) and thought if that should happen to me , this blog is a diary that I can use to keep track about what has happened in my life. Last week I was at a work away day and forgot the names of three people I work with, I associated wrongs names with right initials with them and spoke to my doctor about it , but it seems Alzheimer's is much more fundamental than that, but something that steals your memories while leaving a functioning body and fairly worrying. My incident was just due to natural forgetfulness, so nothing major.

That is definite food to philosophize over, one would think, were I intelligent enough.

Ironically one of my favourite places in Newcastle is the Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society which is housed in an amazing building and it's president is Alexander Armstrong and I am forever berating native Novocastrians who have never visited the place. It is both important historically and an amazing building and library and meeting place.

So this post really came about because of the #Oktoberfest sequence and although drink is not mentioned in the title, the incredibly clever "Philosopher's Song" sung by Australian Academics in the Monty Python sketch is based completed on the alcoholic consumption of historically notable philosophers so fits in well with the sequence. Listen, Learn and Enjoy.

Feeling Good - #Oktoberfest #21 - Seven Drunken Nights - The Dubliners

I'm not exactly sure why but yesterday I made two walks without thinking and without noticing that I had made them physically. One I do most Friday's but the other I sometimes take the bus for, instead this time walking from Citygate through St James' Park then Leazes Park and , yes , it took longer than the bus , but it was just incredibly natural. Both walks are up a hill, probably a couple of hundred feet rise and usually, while it doesn't bother me, I am aware of it, but yesterday I just wasn't, and I am not sure why but long may it continue.

The only very slight change is I have run out of Omega 3 capsules and been eating Minneolas , Oranges and Apples and yesterday had a Mumbai Sandwich from Snackwallah for lunch. I will see how this continues but feeling physically good is excellent, most of the time I feel OK, sort of adequate, but I do want to feel better. I am writing this at 6 am because, although it is Saturday morning I am mentally compos mentis enough to put fingers to keys and tap this out without any effort and that's good.

To day I need to get some website updates done for my artist friend Bob Armstrong (check out his amazing work by clicking here or on his name) , he does some amazing work. His wife Ann runch a plant nursery Woodland Plants and the Codonopsis Plant Information site both of which I also maintain. I'm not a fine of Web work but Bob and Ann are really lovely to deal with and lovely people.

So I've finally got round to including The Dubliners in the #Oktoberfest sequence but their first entry is going to be "Seven Drunken Nights" a song I've always found funny, and while I don't remember my parents having any Dubliners records they definitely always turned the radio up when this came on. It is Saturday morning , still dark and I have to have a shower , but this is a good start to what will be an excellent day. I challenge you to listen to this and not be taken in and sing along.

Murder - #Oktoberfest #20 - A Pub With No Beer - Slim Dusty

Well I've finished chapter one of "The Secret Commonwealth" and there's already been a murder, and I doubt that will be the end of it. It is a fairly hefty tome but unlike "The Illuminatus! Trilogy" I am looking forward to this as I do with all Philip Pullman's work.

Today I was at Snackwallah and Rachel told me they had been drafted into going to a Bavarian Oktoberfest in Manchester despite being vegan and non drinking and we got chatting about my #Oktoberfest sequence and saying the "Whiskey In The Jar" was absolutely essential to it. I have already featured a version by Irish Elvis impersonator The King but definitely need to shoehorn in The Dubliners and the The Thin Lizzy version which came on the radio when she was discussing a deal with a guy called Gary Moore...... pure synchronicity.

However "A Pub With No Beer" by Slim Dusty and Australian country and western singer came to mind, and it was a record that my mum and dad used to play a lot, and was released around the time I was born. It is one of those records that just pops into your mind with out being particularly groundbreaking. Have a listen you may find it entertaining.

A Day Not Reading - #Oktoberfest #19 - Starbucks - A

Yesterday I sort of didn't read, I had finished the 400 page "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins which I have passed on to a friend and this morning I have started Philip Pullman's "The Secret Commonwealth" clocking in at close on 700 pages. After "The Illuminatus Trilogy" (800 pages) it seems I have been taking fairly hefty tomes to read.

The odd thing about "The Secret Commonwealth" is that it is the second in "The Book of Dust" Trilogy , the follow up to "His Dark Materials" but "His Dark Materials" is bookended by "La Belle Sauvage" and "The Secret Commonwealth" , this is not a problem , just unexpected.

I'm actually telling a fib because yesterday, as a respite from big books, I dipped into "Ten Years In An Open Necked Shirt", poetry by The Bard of Salford John Cooper Clarke which is always entertaining.

#Oktoberfest continues with a brand name that is generally associated with coffee, but sell anything they can these days, that is Starbucks. The song is "Starbucks" by the band "A" from the album "Hi-Fi Serious" who with a name like that are impossible to search for on Google (a bit like "!!!") . The song is more about the company's dodgy employment practices rather than the product but the product association will do for my #Oktoberfest sequence.

Darkness - #Oktoberfest #18 - Streams Of Whiskey - The Pogues

I know we're into Autumn because it's very dark when I wake, which does make more likely that I want to actually stay warm in bed. Why is it when you go to bed you often can't sleep (I always drop off within fifteen minutes, though that's sleeping too close to the edge of the bed) and I don't have a problem sleeping, but darkness does make it so much easier to sleep, shut your eyes and drift off to realms of Morpheus.

So #Oktoberfest continues and amazingly it's taken eighteen posts to introduce the first Pogues song , the excellent "Streams of Whiskey" from the "Red Roses For You" album, and is like almost Pogues songs, as soon as you hear it it moves either your body or soul or both. I found a libe take from Japan in 1988, and it's always great to see a band play their songs live, and while it may not always be a perfect mirror image  of the studio version (hopefully not) it always should add to the song. I think audiences can bring out the humanity of the band and it becomes a symbiotic process , yu need it all to get the best experience.

So the darkness is dispersing this Wednesday morning and it is time to leave for work (again).

Dis Pepsi Max - #Oktoberfest #17 - Drink It Up - Negativland

Yesterday I decided I had a motherlode for #Oktoberfest in the songs of Tom Waits, which is obviously true enough, but I don't think I've touched The Pogues, The Dubliners , Thin Lizzy and many others and I saw an ad for Coca Cola and this reminded me of one of my favourite albums ever "DisPepsi" by Negativland and fantastic discontruction of advertising and the Pepsi / Coke war. It is a bit difficult to track down now but it is available at the time of posting on Youtube here. An absolutely essential listen.

It's chock full of subversive tunes that are probably more relevant today that when it came out around 1990, still often played by me and I am listening to it as I type this, "Happy Hero" is so pertinent to Trump, Johnson and Michael Jackson.

The song I've chosen is "Drink It Up" which mainly refers to Pepsi but lists lots of other promoted beverages, but the whole album is an essential listen but I have never heard it on the radio on any station.

So what else?

The blog has hit 20K visits for this month and we are just approaching half way so it would seem it's very popular (with robots). I'm even getting the odd comment (though mostly advertising links) which I may or may not remove.

I have finished "The God Delusion" and is has hardened my attitude to religion significantly but it's time for another book now. I would still accept God if that God turned up and demonstrated that was actually what he was.

Time for Tea.

Walking Off The Walking Dead - #Oktoberfest #16 - Jockey Full Of Bourbon - Tom Waits

I've finally given up on The Walking Dead as it seems to have drifted too far from it's main concept. Yes it's post apocalyptic and things can go off it so many directions but I am still vaguely wondering what happened to Rick when he was spirited off in that unknown helicopter. I'm not that observant so I may have missed something and the latest series started and it was like I couldn't remember where I was in it and the zombies are just an embellishment rather than the result of what caused this situation. No doubt people will be able to enjoy it and I didn't stop watching because it was bad, but because it had run out for me.

One of the problems is there is some much excellent television and only a limited amount of time. There is nothing wrong with ending a series, I'm thinking "Game of Thrones" , "Black Sails" and "Breaking Bad" but I have now picked up "Vikings" and "Preacher" and with "His Dark Materials" on the way I think my television time is spoken for well into 2020.

For some reason I thought I could hit a record number of annual posts this months by instigating #Oktoberfest but I still have to post 43 more seventeen days to go , so three posts a day is not going to happen but I will likely complete it in November.

So the #Oktoberfest song today is "Jockey Full of Bourbon" by Tom Waits from "Raindogs", and it was Hannah Berry (Comic Laureate) on here Paperback Writers show on 6Music yesterday who played it and reminded that if I need songs about drink Tom Waits provides a rich vein to mine. I had been having problems trying to think of songs related to drink but I am sure I can hit another 15-20 by the end of the month.

It's a greyish Monday but go out and hit the world.

Vinyl Scrabble - #Oktoberfest #15 - Long Tall Glasses - Leo Sayer

Just a note that one of the things that has kept me on Facebook is playing Scrabble however I am not down to two people who will still play me. I know life gets in the way but feel that one day it may not be a reason to come onto Facebook. It's implied that people play lots of other games and I should challenge them but I gave up on Words With Friends when the number of pop ups before playing each game made it impossible (in my opinion for me) to play.

Today I am still not feeling 100% but I have listened to a whole lot of vinyl this morning including the whole of "Go" by Yamash'ta / Winwood / Shrieve  a stunning album veering from pure songs to spaced out sounds and I'm not sure who is responsible for what but an amazing journey . That was followed by sides for Lou Reizner's "Tommy" , Joy Division and a few reggae singles. Listening to something you can't program or skip actually becomes more relaxing and satisfying, because you are not thinking of cutting something out or wondering what's next.

#Oktoberfest is continued with another implied drink (wine) in the Long Tall Glasses. This is one of my favourite Leo Sayer songs and much prefer his earlier stuff almost reminding me of something in the style of almost Woody Guthrie. I found a live take in Sydney and I have a feeling this is not how you would expect to see Leo Sayer live, it is rather good.

Well think I will go and rest a little more on this rainy Sunday.

Violetsy - #Oktoberfest #14 - What Made Milwaukee Famous (made a loser out of me) - Rod Stewart

Though not specified in the title (and you can see I am clutching at straws here and not even half way through #Oktoberfest ) this is Rod Stewart covering a Jerry Lee Lewis country song  and referring to whisky (or is it whiskey or moonshine) but it's basically "any drink that's free".

The word Violetsy is completely meaningless and is a follow on from the Violency of the last post which is another made up word that at least had some relevance to the violence in the post , but this post contains no Violets.

I am just messing about because Strictly Come Dancing is on the TV and I am not a fan.

I am still suffering from this cold so intend to have an early night to see if I can see it off, but lots of people seem to be coming down with it, and it is really annoying at hanging around.

I don't know if it's age or medical conditions but I find it almost impossible to eat a full mean after about 8 PM . I think that is actually good for me but it's something I need to take into account of going forward. I could eat cereals and snacks later, but obviously they are much lighter, but definitely no full meals.

Violency - #Oktoberfest #13 - White Lightning - Big Bopper

I was walking past a King Koby Barber Shop called "Brotherhood of Defiance" which had a load of baseball bats hanging on the wall, and I don't think they were there as sports items and I got thinking how we enjoy violence and violent characters in entertainment, but how close does that come to spilling into normal life. We see toys of Negan's Lucille (a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire) and how many guns , knives , machetes and chainsaws especially around Halloween. As a child I had loads of toy weapons and I've not become a murderer so maybe I am just getting a bit unnecessarily perturbed, and I suppose the toy "Lucille" the most worrying because  I wondered if it could be used and it would be very easy to make one. That was still one of the most traumatic scenes in "The Walking Dead" which I have finally decided to call time on.

BB King's guitar was called Lucille but that is a completely different story.

For the #Oktoberfest I am running low on potential drink songs but will go with the excellent Big Bopper cover of George Jones' "White Lightning". The Big Bopper (JP Richardson) was killed with Buddy Holly and Richie Valens when their plane went down in Iowa..

Fridaying - #Oktoberfest #12 - Malt and Barley Blues - Mcguinness Flint

For some people Friday at finishing time is the best part of the week, you have the night ahead, you don't have to get up tomorrow (or the day after) and work is suddenly a distant memory. However a lot of my friends have to work weekends and the concept of a weekend is gone for them, a horrible side effect of our 24/7 society. I do remember shops shutting for a half day on Wednesday and I think Saturday and everything was shut on Sunday. It didn't really cause a problem but now people expect everything on tap.

That should have really come from technological advancement, but it's just coming from people having to work whenever they are needed and the gig economy. There is a place for zero hours contracts but not as permanent jobs.

Ironic that the Sunday Day of Rest has it's recent existence due to the Catholic Church and this at a time when my tolerance for religion is very thin thanks to the arguments and facts presented by Richard Dawkins in "The God Delusion". Religion is like a signal flare in the hands of a child, it may be used to light the way but more often than not it does irreparable damage.

So because i am still run down and suffering from a cold I will leave you with "Malt and Barley Blues" the second single from McGuinness Flint (their first hit was "When I'm Dead And Gone" which would have been appropriate while talking religion), so enjoy this on your Friday night.

Dreams and Sleep - #Oktoberfest #11 - Everything Stops For Tea - Long John Baldry

Yesterday I was on an "away day" in Leeds and on the journeys to and from I watched a few excellent TED talks one of which (included below) by Matt Walker informed me that it's not a good idea to pull all nighters. Ideally you should have a consistent routine with around eight hours sleep as this actually helps the body recover by promoting the growth of !assassin cells" that eliminate lots of bad stuff in our bodies, while not sleeping does exactly the opposite. It last twenty minutes but is very interesting and worth taking your time over.

Because I am actually run down I went to bed about nine o'clock and slept though til 5:45 when the alarm went off and think I feel better for that, but it is always good to get a good nights sleep. There's a few snippets of the dream left including my boss asking what she was doing doing wrong , the answer being just sleep, there was a new locked SUV who's seats were covered with snow, and footprints leading to a brick wall where I was sure there was a door , and finally twenty pound notes had been taken out of circulation and ten pound notes had been replaced by eleven pound notes. I know it doesn't make sense but that's the nature of dreams.

The last item just reminded me of the imperial currency system. 12 pennies made a shilling , two shillings were a florin , five were a crown , for crowns made a pound but 21 shillings made a guinea and the guinea was often used for pricing although the guinea was like 5% more expensive than a pound so a 20 guinea item was a £21 item. Simple wasn't it.

So #Oktoberfest is continuing non alcoholic which Long John Baldry's odd take on Jack Buchanan's "Everything Stops For Tea". The album was produced by Rod Stewart and Elton John. Rod had been a member of Steampacket with Long John Baldry along with Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll.

It's Friday morning so time for work.