Time To Go Out

I've said that I've not been getting out then yesterday I missed a North East Steampunk Society gathering again but tonight I am going to see Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart at The Cluny. I'm still feeling not up to it, but I would be kicking myself if I didn't go.

I'm also managing to fit on an eye test and a day at work as well. I found a great live in the studio broadcast which I've included, plus my slideshow for Mount Zion. Jah Wobble's music ranges from the completely out there stuff to the absolutely beautiful, so I am so glad to be seeing him tonight.

We're half way through the week so have a good one my friends.

Connections

Well it's wet and cold outside, but just got to thinking how lucky we are. I remember when the only instant form of communication was  face to face or a landline (remember them). Today you can communicate with not just your friends but everybody. About 50 people will read this and this blog has had more that 120,000 page views since it started, and that makes me feel connected to the world and everyone.

Thanks to my phone I can phone anyone in the world if I have their number and we're both in a signal area. I can share photos and videos and even video call on the phone, and my computer thanks to applications like Skype , Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. When I say I, I mean everyone now has this in their grasps (libraries have free internet access for everyone).

It's a short post but an excuse to play Montrose's version of the Rolling Stones "Connection" which I had on some cheap Warner Brothers compilation in the seventies. It's stuck with me ever since.

Enjoy your Tuesday my friends.

Keep On Keeping On

Last week was very grey then yesterday was actually looking sunny for a while before slipping back into the greyness of the last week and today looking out, I can see all the cars are frosted up. Not the most inviting of Monday mornings, but another week of work is waiting for us.

I had intended to take a walk out to Cow Hill on the Town Moor to take some photographs but was not feeling up to it. Also there's various house related things I need to sort out, and then noticed that my Virgin TIVO box had decided it wasn't recording the first two episodes of the next half season of The Walking Dead but was going to record from episode 3 (well 10 actually cos of the mid season break) onwards, then they seem to have moved The Blacklist onto Sky1 for the next half season and it wasn't going to record that either.

So all that is in hand, but I really need to get some positive uplift into my life, as currently loads of my time is taken by apparent mundanities, the problem being , I think my complete withdrawal from social interaction may be part of the contribution to this because people do inspire me and  give me a lift, even meeting for the odd coffee is good.

The thing is as people get older they seem to almost ossify in their views, what they want to do, and where they want to go. Sometimes an evening in a warm house with a good book or film is more inviting than trying to engineer a social occasion.

I've also not been to any gigs, as I have mentioned previously, and need to get out to see more bands , and there are opportunities to see lots around Newcastle, with venues such as Trillians, The Black Bull and Think Tank? and bigger venues such as The Riverside, The O2, The Tyne Theatre, The Sage, and Wylam Brewery, so it's not as though there's nowhere to go.

In fact I've just checked and Wilko Johnson is playing The Wylam Brewery in April and there are quite a few gigs on before then.

I really must apologise for the down nature of this post I promise to put a smile on my face and do something positive this week and will leave you with Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner" just cos it's brilliant , and music is always uplifting and this makes me feel better.

SAD and Bittan and Karma Kitchen

The title includes neither spelling mistakes or bad grammar ..... read on ...... dot dot dot


Yesterday I got hit by SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) which is defined as a type of depression. While I felt down I do not suffer from depression, and I knew what the cause of it was. Grey weather, low light, being unable to motivate myself at work, and even going out at lunchtime I couldn't raise my spirits. It's just like a total big nothing. I still managed to do my job and chat with people agreeing that the weather was awful. Rain or snow would have been preferable because they provide something away from the norm, but no it was almost warm and totally featureless. If it was magnified a million times and permanent I imagine that would be real depression and I am so lucky I don't have it because I always find something to look forward to.

Firstly a friend had recommended Karma Kitchen Vegan Indian who actually do deliveries. Follow the link to see their menu. I asked if they could knock together a Bombay Aloo and they said yes, and the delivery would be £2.50 for a delivery under £20. I ordered a chick pea curry and waited.....

..it came m, with a double portion of Bombay Aloo, and basically it was gorgeous. The lady was lovely , delivered quickly and my first meal from them was absolutely excellent. It was very filling, so I couldn't finish it, but I will definitely be ordering from them again and recommending them. They have a Facebook page here.

I'm just reading Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run" and he mentions the importance of Roy Bittan's piano contributions to his songs. The number of notes that pour from his fingers and the incredible melodies they weave are on a par with Mozart's "Overture to The Marriage of Figaro" (the Emperor's reaction is absurd as you can see in this clip from the film Amadeus)


..so when I got home I stuck on the DVD of Bruce Springsteen at The Hammersmith Odeon in 1975 (it's on the Born to Run 30th Anniversary edition here), loud which opens with "Thunder Road" which is basically Roy Bittan and Bruce as a precursor to the band coming on for their first gig outside the USA. This is what was watching while I waited for my Karma Kitchen curry, and when it cam I enjoyed watching the rest of the gig. It features the song "Rosalita" which is the song that got be into Springsteen, but I suggest you listen to Springsteen's early albums to listen to Bittan's amazing work (check out this box).

Here's the thing , music does lift my spirits and my friends who suffer form depression are all music lovers. So here's a live version of Rosalita from the late 70's , there's about two chords, it goes on for ten minutes and it could go on all night for me.

It's Friday, It's the weekend, Enjoy

Did You See?

January 2017 has just left us. In this connected world I don't have to tell you what's been happening, bad things have happened but hopefully this is a kick up the arse that we needed and the world will do something about it. I'm not being specific because I don't need to be.

The thing is we need to do good and be good make that the norm. Make life better by doing something to actually make it better. Yes this sounds nebulous, and I do find it difficult when misogynists,racists and bullies are tolerated , encouraged and rewarded but they are also setting themselves up as targets. They can be shut out. Don't excuse their behaviour.

Anyway February is here and in this post I haven't really mentioned anything, good things are that I am listening to Come On Over by Royal Blood on 6Music, I am dressed and ready for work and probably seeing a good friend at lunchtime.

There are lots of events and fun things coming up, which I intend to get involved wit, you do the same and start a brilliant February.

Whitby

Just back from a weekend in Whitby staying in Dillons. I love Whitby because being here seems like you are at sea without having to set sail. There is wood and water, fish and seabirds, the odd pirate ship, whalebones and rope, and it is a wonderful place to be.

There is the odd bit of seaside arcade and a fortune teller, but you can walk everywhere. The walk from West Cliff (where you'll find La Rosa) to the top of the 199 steps (where you'll find the Abbey) does not even seem difficult and I am not exactly what you would call prime physical shape.

Most restaurants are variations on fish but that is hardly a surprise, and no matter what the weather the atmosphere of Whitby always shines through for me.

You can also  go out Whale watching, and that's the ling to the wonderful and violent song by Alex Harvey and The New Band from The Mafia Stole My Guitar, worth playing loud, if you dare.

Goodnight my friends.

The Last Few Days

Has been sore and painful, and I'm not talking about that pair of morons Trump and May leading our nations into oblivion. Monday was and work and having to go for a wee about every fifteen minutes, but felt ok, Tuesday morning was  lots of horrible bodily stuff resulting in me be unable to eat, and feeling like I'd been punched from the outside and the inside, Tuesday night was unable to sleep but finally decided to take a couple of Ibuprofen which seemed to ease the pain. I've not slept so much for ages as I have over the past two days.

I was in bed but had 6Music on and in a really weird turn Stuart Maconie talking about The Chain entered my dream and I was just about to say something to him when I woke up about 3pm. The dream involved me working at BT based in somewhere that was vaguely familiar, meeting a lovely girl called Kiki and Stuart Maconie and moving desks and being on a rather odd bus ride that involved being covered in a protective tarpaulin, you know the average sort of dream that I have.

While I am not back to 100%, I have managed a tomato sandwich and some pea and ham soup and toast, so hopefully I will be fit and raring to go tomorrow.

Was wondering what song to put on this and somehow Randy Newman's "Putin" came up in my feed. I didn't even know this song existed but it's Newman at his satirical best,  I sure Vladimir would agree.

I didn't intend this post to have any political content, but I managed to mention Trump, May and Putin and that makes them sound like a firm of bailiffs, which I suppose they really are.