At the weekend I was in the Grainger Market and dropped into this gem of a shop the Little Bazaar in the Grainger Market presided over by a lovely lady called Georgie who wears a wonderful green steampunk style top hat. It has lots on incense , scarves , candles m stones and things , and you could lose yourself in the intoxication of it's welcoming atmosphere. The Grainger Market is a brilliant place to be these days and this is one of the many reasons why it is so good. You should really take a look and buy something. I love it.
The Odyssey hits year 27 , 1983 . Lots of people complain about how rubbish music was in the 80s . Well was it. 95% is always rubbish and among lots of others The Cure were a major fixture of the 80s and they are without doubt one of the greatest bands ever and I love "The Love Cats" , how could I not choose that , a good start to what will be a great week.
Today is the day of the Sunderland vs Newcastle United Derby . Sunderland have won the last 5 and not lost in the last 7 that's like every match this decade almost. This is the only match that seems to matter to Sunderland supports , mainly because they seem to get tonked by everyone else. Can't say Newcastle are that much better , but what do I know , I'm a Preston supporter, and we also have Australia vs Argentina in the Rugby World Cup today which may match the excitement of of yesterdays close match between the All Blacks and South Africa. I wouldn't be surprised by an Argentinean victory as they are well organized and are not there as cannon fodder. The fact they are semi finalists says it all.
Anyway I've just finished putting all my analog clocks right , and just rememberd I need to do the same for my heating I think. I will check this after I post this.
So my musical Odyssey , I hit year 26 and have chosen the excellent Blancmange - Living On The Ceiling , a brilliant duo who's music has a great cutting edge and they still tour today.
Have a great Sunday everyone , the sun is shining and you did get that extra hour in bed.
Today has been a bit weird, but incredibly interesting , so much so that I need to write about it, just so I remember about this day. Today isn't special but it's the birthday of a friend at work, nothing strange about that but I have have another friend with the same name who's birthday was on Wednesday, so that was one coincidence.
Then it's my neighbours' twins birthday today. I went into town and went into a shop , picked up a The Core , so I thought I would check it out , It is The Key the first fabric structure to be used as a working space in the UK.
book went to pay and realised I hadn't picked up my wallet on the way out. So had to walk back to a bus stop but my friend had pointed out an unusual structure next to
This meant I walked past The People's Kitchen who do a great job supporting those who can't support themselves thanks to the heartless selfish government we let into power.
Anyway got home came out and was waiting at the bus stop and heard a noise behind me, turned round and say to gorgeous smiling faces in a sensibly sized push chair under mops of black hair. Their mum told me that it was their first birthday ! . So that's two sets of twins withing walking distance of each other and my friend from work who have the same birthday! Now that is a coincidence of the highest order and wouldn't have warranted a mention if I hadn't forgot my wallet!.
Anyway into town and got off the bus at Gallowgate straight into the middle of an bunch of EDL neanderthals desecrating the Bobby Robson Garden with there sub primate yelpings. I walked over to the Palestinean Support Meeting stayed for ten minutes to show my support then walked through Chinatown , running into another work colleague.
So that was a lot of my day.
On to year 25 of my musical journey , and in 1981 my first daughter was born and the song that I have chosen had a definite influence on her name. Hope me writing this is not too traumatic for her , Romeo and Juliet is a brilliant Dire Straits song but a far too wordy Shakespeare play.
Very often people , especially in work , and especially when things aren't going perfectly will tell you to "Think Outside The Box" , use "Agile Methodologies" and any other buzzwords that happen to be flavour of the day. I remember of the manager who asked to see if we could get training and courses on JFDI as it seemed to often get good results . The same manager after after a training course told me when I suggested a soloutin that at the the time he though I was a f*cking idiot as my idea was so off course, but he then said he realised that mine was the only solution that would actually work , and it wasn't the solution the course runners had in mind.
It's just when things seem impossible , or the odds are stacked against you , you probably have it in yourself to find an answer however unexpected it may be , just never give up . Giving up is the killer, believe that success , and what you are looking for will come to you.
Love Peter Gabriel , who walked out of Genesis when they had just produced what was their most ambitious album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and struck out on his own , starting WOMAD and Real World nearly going bankrupt and now doing alright for himself producing incredible music and commanding respect, so that''s why I chose "Games Without Frontiers" , and this was one of the most difficult choices I've made so far and I#m hardly half way through my musical journey.
Anyway have a wonderful Saturday everyone , Good Things are About To Happen
Was thinking today about how we are more and more reliant on technology. One of the main areas is , how many phone numbers do you know? I know my own mobile number , maybe my home phone number and that's about it. I used to have loads of numbers stored in my head but now just two. I suppose it;s a case of need to know , but recently when my phone died , there was only one number I could remember. My phone remembers all my numbers, but it is reliant on power , and if it doesn't have power then I am at a bit of a loss. I use computers to remember the things that I can't , to store things I can't , to do things i can't and remember they are ultimately binary based and dependent on electricity. mobile phones
Anyway just over a third through my musical life Odyssey and I know there's a plethora of decent stuff in the chart from 1979 , but the Sex Pistols had well and truly crash landed with The Great Rock and Roll Swindle , but I always had a soft spot for Car 67 by Driver 67 , so that gets my vote.
I'm constantly amazed by how much good stuff in general there is and how we have the ability to do so many things with a lot less effort that we did ten or fifteen years ago. We can do so much on the move get in touch with our loved ones and our not so loved ones whenever we want , we have the opportunity to gather , have fun socialise , and have a good time . But always do things as soon as you get the opportunity , because putting off things to next week or next month may mean putting of things so long you may lose the opportunity to do it.
Las night I missed a quiz raising money for Oxfam , I feel bad about it but I was just far too tired to
attend . Also I know I will have the opportunity to make amends.
Anyway in my 22nd Year I remember seeing the Darts , and this song "It's Raining" still gives me goose bumps.
So if you can do that good thing now , have fun , enjoy yourself and life will be wonderful.
1977 was a seminal year for music . You all know why so I won't elucidate. I'm choosing Jonathan Richman's Egyptian Reggae because I can actually make a decent stab at this on any guitar.
