What Goes Around Comes Around (Literally)

A guy called Martin Skelly has come up with this device device that enables you to play your MP3 Playlists like a vinyl record !! I checked the date , It's June 13th not April 1st so it may be true. Apparently you load your playlist onto the disc , and the put the disc on the player , put the needle on the disc and away you go. I believe each track has it's own colour so you know how long you have to go !! What information there is is on the guy's web site here.




While I'm impressed with the concept , it does seem a bit pointless , though will be a talking point at parties. The whole point of MP3 is convenience , and this device jst seems to make it more inconvenient to play your MP3s , but it a very stylish way. I personally won't be buying one but reckon it will sit nicely next to that iPad you've ordered!! You can get your iPad from Orange here:



The thing about this , if Apple were marketing it , then it would sell by the lorry load , let's face it , if you can make a success of the iPad and iShuffle you can sell sand to Arabs and ice to Inuit!!

Seven Days In North Wales

Just back from an excellent holiday in North Wales that way exceeded all expectations.

On the way down we stopped for lunch at a pub called The Black Swan in Ravenstonedale. The menu was not extensive, but everything on it looked absolutely gorgeous and we sampled the Lentil based Shepherd's Pie and Fish Pie . The service and staff were really friendly , and it was so good that we stopped there on the way back , and made the mistake of having starters this time , which just meant we couldnt finish the main course , full marks each time. Their website with all relevant information is here.


We arrived at the cottage , The Old Threshing Barn at Babell , near Holywell , to discover a superbly fitted place , with lots of room , and great sun deck and sun room . The hook and chain and low beams in the bedrooms are slightly disturbing , but this definitely rates as one of the best places we've ever stayed. You can check out the details here




Though most of the holiday was for relaxation , we had some excellent days out in:

• Chester , where we took a boat ride on the Dee , discovered and excellent pub called The Brewery Tap and a great rock T-Shirt shop called Sohos staffed by two totally great "rock" guys and gals. I ended up buying 5 T Sirts there. The website is here.
• Conway , which had great views , a superb castle and some excellent cafes, shops and eateries , and the smallest house in the world!!
• Bodnant Gardens , a National Trust site which is well worth a visit. Check it out here.
• Pictures from the holiday can be found here.

One amazing thing was that I didnt come across a single record shop during the week , which is a bit disturbing. I wouldn't like Tesco as my only source of music.
All in all a major success and we'll be going back again.

A Bad Week

I assume this week finishes today , Saturday. It's been a bad week. The Tories get in , but don't get enough seats to form a government. This means that Proportional Representation rears it's head as that's the price the Lib Dems will want for a coalition. The BNP polled almost 2% of the national vote , under proprtional repesentation that would translate into about 12 Parliamentary seats , would it be worth it?

Oh , and to cap the week off , Leeds got promotion. Remember this is a club that refuses to disclose who owns it and has been through god knows how many administrations. Then again with Ken Bates involved what can you expect. Still maybe watching the video below of "The Damned United" will make things better:



Though next week things start looking up with gigs by Alabama 3 :



And then the most expensive tribute band in the world, The Australian Pink Floyd Show , worthe every penny and they have a giant inflatable Pink Kangaroo!!

A Permed Mullet?

One of the things about having an interest in music is that sometimes you buy things then don't have a chance to listen to or watch what you've bought. The Hightone Records Story is one such example , which I picked up for under a tenner from Amazon Marketplace from a recommended price of £47!!.


Anyway last night with a friend and a few bottles of fizz and take away pizza we started watching the DVD. This is generally excellent , leaning towards country , but the opening track "My Baby Thinks She's French" by Joe Ely , someone well respected in music circles , features a cobination I'd never in my worst nightmares considered could exist - a permed mullet !!!
Here's a picture from the video.

Looks Like A Hung Parliament

Which is fine as long as I can pull the trapdoor lever.

The thing is , we're still going to have a government and New Labour is almost indistinguishable from the Tories. Also I wouldnt trust any politician with going for the tea unless I know them or it's Boris Johnson or Tony Benn.

The hung Parliament will resurrect the debate over proportional representation , but , flawed though it is , first past the post does keep out extremists like the BNP . Imagine if we gone two BNP members , the next election that may encourage more people to vote for them. No way Proportional Representation.

It seemes that loads of people have not been allowed to vote . My local Polling station was open for fifteen hours and I was waiting for a local delivery . At 12 it hadn't turned up so I went and voted. I'm just wondering why people went to polling station without much time to spare, but this could mean that resuklts may be challenged , so will there be by-elections there/

Because I've voted I can express my disappointment and the Tories being the largest party and potentially forming the next government. I'll bet 95% of the electorate don't have a clue about their policies and only voted Tory because David Cameron is not as ugly as Gordon Brown!!

If you look at all election results since the sixties that's been the case. So all labour need to do is replace Gordon Brown with , say , Daniel Craig or Sean Connery. If you don't believe me, these are the results since 1970:

• 1970 & 1974 Ted Heath (Tory) beat Harold Wilson (Labour)
• 1974 (Oct) Harold Wilson (Labour) beat Ted Heath (Tory)
  Odd one out , maybe a hangover when the populace thought about who they were voting for
  
• 1979 Margaret Thatcher (Tory) beat Jim Callaghan (Labour)
• 1983 Margaret Thatcher (Tory) beat Michael Foot (Labour)
• 1987 Margaret Thatcher (Tory) beat Neil Kinnock (Labour)
• 1992 John Major (Tory) beat Neil Kinnock (Labour)
• 1997 Tony Blair (Labour) beat John Major (Tory)
• 2001 Tony Blair (Labour) beat William Hague (Tory)
• 2005 Tony Blair (Labour) beat Michael Howard (Tory)
• 2010 David Cameron (Tory) beat Gordon Brown (Labour)

So to win the next election Labour need to replace Gordon Brown with someone more photogenic than David Cameron . Job Done.

National Record Shop Day 2010

National Record Shop Day 2010 seems to have been a resounding success this year. Previous years have been damp squibs but this year was a major success , with a lot of limited edition vinyl editions only available on the day featuring artists as disparate as the Rolling Sones and Eliza Doolittle.


I visited Reflex and RPM in Newcastle purchasing the new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and AC/DC offerings , but both shops were packed , RMP staging bands near the Old George. Looking forward to next years event , not sure if HMV benefitted from it!!

Brookerised and Mugged

I thought I had it sussed. I could read Charlie Brooker on the train without breaking into a guffaw every five minutes. Reading "Dawn of The Dumb" on the way back to Newcastle from Darlington page 66 caused me to laugh out loud. This was made bad as I was sitting next to a po-faced iPod wearing student who made Morrisey look like Jerry Sadowitz (I think that's how you spell it).

That was bad enough but I get home to find that you have to renew the photo on your driving license every ten years , and for this privelege I have top pay £20. What with that and my Passport renewal coming up I'm going to be lucky if I can afford to eat at this rate.

Thank god there's an election coming up. Though let's face it nothing will change . As many people have stated "No Matter Who YOu Vote For, The Government Always Gets In!".