laundry visit

hello there

my instinct is to say (or write, if you will) that if you were looking to spend some time reading all about something that is mundane or of little interest then you have reached the right place. however, on reflection, i just might try and make this of some vague use, look you see. 

as the title not so much suggests as it does state i made a visit to a laundry service recently. no, this year has not commenced in a way which was quite so exciting as last. the reason for this visit, other than the obvious, was to get some bedding washed. for day to day laundry concerns i have agreeable ways to wash and subsequently dry clothes in my lodgings in my place of exile. it is simply not so that i can do bedding in such a way, for there is no practical means to dry it. 

perhaps some of you are interested, if not intrigued, to know if i went full tilt Nick Kamen since i was in an appropriate place to do so. the answer is a straightforward no. other than me somewhat lacking the physique to do so, i also didn't have any Levi's on, and nor was there any classic music playing. where i reside is reasonably cosmopolitan, but i suspect that had i gone done Nick Kamen then the authorities would have been contacted and i would have been placed on some register or other. sorry.

how much did this laundry adventure cost me? and yes, i appreciate that's a definition stretching deployment of the word adventure. well, the wash element cost £5.50 and the drying element cost me £3.50, so a flat £9 in total. this cost did not seem unreasonable when various factors are considered. such factors would be needing to get the bedding washed, relevant equipment for doing so available, maintenance and business costs, energy use, etc. or not etc, as that's about it. for comparison, of sorts, when i dropped off a similar number of bedding items at a laundry in Ealing the fee, bearing in mind we speak of London (innit) was north of £20. on one (1) instance William agreed to do my bedding for a fee close to what Ealing charges, but he grew tired of doing it. not that i go through all that much in the way of bedding, but still. 

for some form of "practical" information here, on an energy cost basis to do washing and drying at home would be somewhat cheaper. some brisk, quick internet research, and do be mindful of how energy prices are not fixed and we are in some crisis or other, suggests that the wash would have cost around £1, whereas the tumble dryer run time would have cost £1.50. that, however, is reliant on one having both a washing machine and tumble dryer at home. such equipment is not cheap. i would reasonably expect one would have to make an outlay of around a grand (£1,000) to get a decent one of each type of machine. 

just how many loads of washing and drying would one need to do to "negate" (or balance out) the cost of the most modest priced laundry service i could find? not really sure. i could try and work it out but it feels like a bit of a headache, especially when you factor in maintenance and what have you. also fluctuating energy costs over time. hang on, i think i can sort of work it out, but first some video. 

exactly how useless the camera on one of these Samsung A14 (or whatever it is) phones is appears to be rather exemplified by the above, does it not. around ten (10) seconds of footage and it is incapable of staying, or remaining, in focus. oh well, perhaps some of you like such video clips. 

right, is using a laundry (like what i gone done) ultimately more cost effective than doing it at home? let us assume that i would do one (1) load a week, and leave transportation costs out of it since it's all in walking distance. factoring in the cost of washing pods and (likely) fluctuations in energy costs, that more or less (kind of) comes in at £550 a year, or "per annum" for those what like to sound quite posh. ergo, or rather very roughly, it would likely take one north of two (2) years to "break even" on buying a washing machine and tumble dryer and just doing it at home. but then you have to factor in convenience and all that. with this, of course, being based on the laundry of one (1) person, moi. 

to state the obvious (for those who require such) the above is "more the vibe of it" than any sense of a fact based conclusion. still, it enabled me to write of this laundry visit in a more facts and figures, if not particularly interesting, way than i had expected. 

what did i do as the laundry equipment did its thing? read, actually. those of you who(m) for some reason read this blog on a regular basis (thank you for doing so) shall be aware that of late, as in the last year, i have had a "drop off" in interest in reading. merrily the book i have selected to read now is most engrossing and enjoyable. also i nipped in a nearby shop to get a drink (sadly no coffee available, it may well be i take a flask next time) and i think that's about it. 

not entirely sure at this stage if i can commit to making sure any further adventures (or exploits) during the year (2025) ahead will be more interesting than this. well, i have at least 4 (four) gigs booked at this stage, with not a single one of them being Oasis. presumably at least one of them might be a bit more exciting than the laundry. a temptation exists to write here of how, unexpectedly and potentially inexplicably, actually the laundry visit was more interesting than the James gig last year, so probably for the best if i just sign off now. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hope is the future with oceans of cheer

howdy pop pickers

yes, indeed i am aware that there's a certain other event of (significant) music meaning for me which happened on this day, with the date today being the tenth of january. i do, however, believe that Bowie gets quite frequent mentions here, look you see. giving over one day to Frankie doesn't seem all that much in the grans scheme of things. 

once again it was so that i said "no", there's nothing left for me to say or share in regards of the day when i went and gone done saw Frankie live. with my Uncle, of course (no, the other one). but then i got messing about with an older "netbook" device, needing some file or other from it, and there sat the bootleg tape (transferred to mp3) of the actual gig i was at. also sat there was the software to edit it down a bit, so as to present another song from the show. 

due, mostly, to the poor quality of the audio on the below video i am not too sure how much interest it shall be to anyone. for me that the recording exists at all is a happy thing, and that will suffice. i cannot confirm it but i am assuming someone bootlegged it on a very fancy walkman that had a microphone on it. believe me, this was not a standard feature of such devices. 

well, here you go, on the off chance you were at the Manchester G Mex (as it once was) on January 10 1987, behold the sound (on a black screen video as it is the only way i can add it here) of Frankie Goes To Hollywood (very much) doing Rage Hard. 

this song, Rage Hard, was famously the "comeback" single for the band. it came out in 1986, and was just about the first "new" thing heard from them since 1984. well, if you allow for the only release of 1985, the Welcome To The Pleasuredome single, being rather widely heard in the year before. a strange thing, for as exciting as their return was, it pretty much marked the start of the end. not sure exactly when in 1986 the single came out (i vaguely recall late summer), but within a year of it making it only to number 4 (four) in the charts, the band ceased to exist. oh. still, i got the chance to see them.

how and why did Frankie fall, or possibly fail? lots of reasons, with the most prominent and likely ones being related to how members of the band were not exactly keen to work together no more. personal and professional reasons, really, none of which are likely things i am best placed to write of. 

mostly, i think, it was that the fun element of the band had gone. sure, there were a few bits of fun hidden away, like the riotous tour of the twelve inch and Ped swearing on the b-side of the 12" single of Rage Hard, but it wasn't in your face. also, 86 was a time of colourful pop, overall. here came Frankie back with a single that had dowdy coloured fists on the cover, a not too much fun (yet still brilliant) song and a wish to be if not shades of grey then black and white. after four brilliant, iconic and in many instances groundbreaking promo videos, Frankie returned with a video that was effectively them stood on a bit of scaffolding, shouting and looking poignant. 

perhaps it was always meant to be that Frankie would personify the idea of how the light which burns twice as bright burns half as long. they did indeed burn so very bright. rather, perhaps, that the fell and disintegrated than plodded on in mediocrity. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

book reading

greetings

a peculiar thing to have happened over the last year or so is my experiencing a lack of interest in reading. not entirely sure you are interested in such a plight, but then again here you are reading this. moving away from that slight (sorry). can't really understand why. perhaps i have just been too busy, and vaguely social, look you see, to read, yet also i am aware of a lack of motivation to do so. i am not sure this is something to be concerned of, what with various medical concerns being warned of when one loses interest in things, or just me simply not being in the mood for reading. 

of more relevance, and quite possibly the reason you are here, is that i have done some reading, albeit taking far longer with it than usual. not, as i encourage people to see it, that it's a sort of race. as would be the standard for such posts i've finished off reading two (2) novels. and so for the sake of having something on this blog, here we go with my thoughts. 

keeping with the "tradition" or style of how i do these, this is to be the last paragraph which is certain to be free of spoilers. for a brief overview, the long awaited, much anticipated Year Of The Locust by Terry Hayes is sheer brilliance for about 400 pages and then isn't. one that somehow slipped me by on its original publication three (or so) years ago is The Twist Of A Knife off of Anthony Horowitz. it once again features the author himself as a quasi-fictional character and narrator. sadly this one is just a bit too much on the "meta" side of meta, which might well be why i didn't catch it on initial release. 

from here on out, then, one of them *** SPOILER WARNING *** things is very much in place. if you have an interest in either novel yet for some reason have paused to consider my view on either, well, you are best off working out if you should read them or not from the previous paragraph. 

such was the brilliance of Terry Hayes first novel, I Am Pilgrim, i was eager to read his next. just how eager is illustrated by how i very nearly bought the hardback, and then came close to getting the fancy digital "ebook", despite me not enjoying reading either of those formats. but, ultimately, i waited for the paperback of The Year Of The Locust. actually can't recall the provenance. most probably Tesco, and i will have bought it no matter if there was a "card member" discount or similar offer. 

plot? with mercy not a sequel, but a standalone thriller. sometimes i think authors in this weird century overlook that they can write a one off novel with no care or thought for follow ups or "expanded universe" shenanigans. oh yes, plot. 

the narrator / protagonist (of many names) is a "denied access agent", meaning he gets sent off to all sorts of dangerous places where the Americans aren't allowed an official presence but suspect that those places have some quite naughty people who mean to do harm to their way of life. it just so happens they stumble on some disturbing news, that a feared terrorist believed dead (nicknamed The Locust with an initial lack of name) is very much alive and planning a "major" strike on America. so off our narrator is sent to sort it out, kind of, with the plan being to discover what the event will be, stop it and if at all possible actually make sure this feared terrorist is dead. it doesn't all go smooth. 

i can comfortably say that the first 400 pages of this novel are superb. all of it is truly gripping, riveting reading, with some surprise twists and turns in the somewhat generic plot, all presented with some wonderful prose and exceptional turn of phrase. everything about the first 400 (or so) pages is very much something that makes a reader go "yes", and made the lengthy wait for the novel worthwhile. 

not so much the last 200+ pages. you all saw that spoiler warning, yeah? well, i am sure this has all been covered online over the last two or so years. there was a lengthy "delay" in the publication of the novel, and the excitement went away quite quickly when it came out. i would imagine the "delay" was due to publishers begging, pleading and insisting that the part where the novel goes "Hunt For Red October time travel what the f*** is this a rewrite of The Final Countdown film" be changed, and that the novel not become some ludicrous, ineffective science fiction mess. alas, and sadly, The Year Of The Locust becomes the personification of how "subvert audience expectations" can go really, really bad. 

once again i draw your attention to the spoiler warning. the whole "time travel submarine" idea is just completely f*****g stupid, even when allowing for a "suspension of disbelief". it undermines the other parts of the novel. the technology which ("accidentally") lets the sub travel in time was first used on a radar defeating missile. how come that missile worked as intended and did not time travel? leaving aside the bizarre way in which the narrator survives the (conveniently precise timing) time travel in the sub, how on earth could they have set it "back" to present day when they had no idea at all how it managed to travel "forward" in time? i am quite sure i shall not be the first to wonder such. 

the truly disappointing thing is that this farcical, ludicrous "time travel" segment pretty much ruins the novel, and for no good reason. all of the plot points, even (or particularly) the "cosmic space dust accidentally gives super powers" one, could have been resolved without the submarine stuff. rather baffling that a novelist would come up with a work they must surely know was fantastic and the seek out ways to make it a frustrating, unenjoyable mess for readers. 

next up then is The Twist of The Knife, which as i mentioned i must have somehow missed when it came out. that or Tesco did not bother to stock it for some reason, or hid it quite well. anyway, i got my copy off of WH Smith when i spotted it, with a friend very kindly purchasing it as a gift. 

once again this is novelist Anthony Horowitz using himself as a somewhat kind of fictional character, and once again following the investigation work of detective Daniel Hawthorne (who i take as a given is entirely fictional) in solving a murder. the twist with this one, however, is that the primary suspect in the murder (of a theatre critic who was unkind to one of his plays) is Anthony Horowitz himself. 

whilst i can't recall exactly how long it took me to read this i think it took two or three months to plod through it. quite pedestrian and surprisingly dull, to be frank. the other Horowitz / Hawthorne novels were incredibly compelling reading, i think i tore through each of them in two to three days, for they were just irresistible. perhaps it is the plot premise at fault here, as you just know it's not going to be Horowitz that's the killer and also you know that Hawthorne will work it out. with so much of the narrative being about Horowitz taking a most decidedly the English way of doing things approach to fretting about being arrested for murder one doesn't really get all that much to be interested in who the actual killer is, or why they gone done it. 

earlier (rather than later) i mentioned this novel was all a bit too "meta", even in the context of the overall meta concept for these books. it's quite like the author new he had a reasonably good idea for a story but one that was simply not as good as the others. still, the written style remains absolutely superb, and whilst it's disappointing overall it was still a good read. although i did get rather tired of the frequent reminders of other works by the same author cropping up in the novel. 

yes, of course i shall be reading any and all other works by these authors. as it happens i have a more recently published one by Anthony Horowitz sat here, but i imagine it will be one of a few John Grisham novels i appear to have stockpiled next. not quite sure how much "brand damage" Terry Hayes has managed to do with this novel, indeed for all i know many readers may have liked the absurd, yet needless, twist. it might be that he's not allowed to do another one, but as with everything money talks. 

perhaps, or maybe, my year (2024) of global travel, theatre experiences, cinema visits and celebrity encounters just took away all the time i would have usually used to read. oh well. i am hoping to find some novels that are truly engrossing (or similar), though, as it would be a shame if i ceased reading all together, or found myself doing it from a sense of having to. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

agfa horror trailers

hey there

and so on to (another) new year. not sure, to be honest, if i actually have the will, stamina or interest to keep doing updates here. but let me try and plod on, look you see, for what else would i do with what little time i have. quite possibly getting a new keyboard might make writing more interesting, as i really do not care for the one i am presently using. 

oddly i have had (considerably) more time than i would be used to having "off", as in not being at verk. taken annual leave, as it were, or on "holiday". mostly i have spent this kind of laid up doing little, feeling the rather unpleasant affects (or effects if that is right) of a nasty bout of ebola laced man flu, which is the worst kind. 

still, i have at the least tried to watch some of the videos (discs) i have amassed over the year. a problem with doing this was becoming aware of just how many i had picked up, and thus wondering where to start with them all. it might be the case that i don't need to get any new ones for a while, although i very much will be purchasing the video (disc) of The Substance when it comes out. 

in the mean time i watched the one above, called (as it is) The Agfa Horror Trailer Show. my assumption was that the "agfa" part there was something to do with a camera film company (and possibly cameras too) that i can vaguely recall from the 80s. not so, i believe it is initials, or an acronym since (to be fair) it is a kind of pronounceable word, for "American Genre Film Archive" or something like that. 

my purchase of this, as part of some "2 for £15" deal, was purely based on the idea that it was highly likely some of the trailers on the disc would feature an agreeable level of nudies. bit hit and miss on this front, really, as there are a few moments of very pleasant nudies, but perhaps not quite so much as i would have liked for the money. a friend and colleague who was with me when i purchased it commented that it was "f*****g ridiculous", the idea of paying for what essentially amounted to watching some adverts, may well have had a good point. 

there are a few points of interest on the disc. certainly an unexpected highlight was a (brief) advert for cigarettes, as pictured above. yes, indeed i have had the chance to try a few of them, some quite frequently. unlikely that i will play the disc again, though. although who knows. the kind of grainy, rough "real" film feel was most enjoyable compared to the usual smooth, sickly and quite nauseating sense one gets from new "digital" film. but that said the "extras", a set of trailers for films made on video directly for the video market (and featuring far too many Nigerian films) was awful. 

likely it shall just sit as yet another eccentric, off the beaten track volume in my video (disc) collection. perhaps it would have been a bit better if there was some sort of thematic link to the films for which the trailers are included here (if that sentence makes sense), or if there was an idea that the trailers were all set out in some specific order. just randomly taped together and shoved on a disc appears to have been what they went for. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

year in review

hello there

usually, if not normally, i would call this annual post something as grandiose as "best", look you see. other than appreciating the great ego delve that would see me as someone equipped to declare such (best) of anything, to be honest i'd have a hard time selecting one "outstanding" thing of anything from 2024. and that's down to there being so many (surprisingly) excellent things. 

instead, then, a kind of "does what it says on the box" post, or if you will what it says in the title. quite likely i shall miss some things out, but then you cannot lament what you didn't know wasn't there. or something like that. kind of. 

travel

as per quite a few posts in the first (give or take) quarter of the year (for people who talk in such forms of measurement) i went off to that there New Zealand. this was a journey that i had not ever expected to make, but was very much glad to have done so. beyond getting to see beloved family either once more or for the first time, it's one amazing country. somehow i very much doubt that i am alone in wondering why, having gone to New Zealand, i went and left it. really, it's incredible. 

certainly the travel to New Zealand was not as straightforward as it could be. the whole thing nearly stopped before it started due to their "secret" visa thing which they claim totes is not a visa, which is called the NZeTA. just get signed up for one before you go. 

flying, in particular for so many hours at once (i think 17 or so between Dubai and New Zealand) wasn't quite as sh!t as i remembered or feared it was. still, the glamour and excitement has long since been eroded from international flights, replaced as it has been with cost cutting, profiteering and the misery of having to travel with other people, some of who(m) are astonishingly ignorant. highlights, from a certain point of view, included getting my shoes x-rayed in case they had explosives in them, and getting knacked off of a customs official for the kind of cigarette lighter i had in my bag. i did find it a bit strange that he confiscated one of them and left three identical ones in my (Bowie) bag, but it did not feel appropriate to tell him how to do his job. 

cinema

if i remember right it was seven (7) times i went to go see a film at the cinema. well, seven different films. nearly all of them were alone, with it being just Venom 3 or whatever it was called seeing me go with someone else, in that instance young William. going to the movies is often billed as a "social thing", but that has never made sense, since you basically sit in darkness and ignore who(m)ever it is you have gone with for the duration of the film. or at least you are supposed to. 

what was the best film i saw this year? that would be a hard one to narrow down. overall i was most impressed with Civil War, which was the first (i think) i saw this year. it was nice to see that some films are still allowed to trust an audience with a premise and get on with it. easily the best performance i saw during the year was Demi Moore in The Substance. a truly bonkers film, laced with Kubrick references and not for all tastes. on a similar note the film Heretic appeared to exist only to allow Hugh Grant to show off some acting flair, for there was little else to the film. 

on the whole, or overall, in 2024 i kind of rediscovered just how much i once loved going to the movies. this was no bad thing to reconnect with. unsure if frequent cinema visits shall continue into 2025, but it just might. depending what they put on. 

vibes

how improbable and strange that the year started off with something as momentous as a coming together of Liam Gallagher and John Squire and it should prove to be forgettable. oh, their album was really good, just that Liam managed to overshadow it a bit as the year went on. 

if i were to pick an "album of the year", well, i couldn't. perhaps the closest i could get is to name two, being KillerStar with their self-titled record and Death Song Book featuring Brett out of Suede. the one off of Crowded House was a pleasant surprise, as it was way better than the previous one. for the two heavyweight releases of the year, being new albums from The Cure and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, both were excellent, extraordinary albums. yet this is what one would expect from both, if they were not going to be such then they wouldn't have bothered releasing them.

being in the century we are, there were whimsical, throwaway and temporarily enjoyable albums measuring about 30 minutes each off of Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian and someone called Blossoms. none of these three set the world on fire, but they were momentarily enjoyable. worst, by some distance, was a phenomenally disappointing return of Primal Scream with an awful record. 

absolutely ludicrous vibes purchases this year involved paying north of £20 for some Argentine metal disc called Satan Sex Ceremonies as the title and cover amused me. then there was also the i knew i would kind of regret it £150(!!) Rock N Roll Star set celebrating Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. considering all the material they had available it really is a poor set, but here we are. 

famous people

rather bafflingly, and for the most part unexpectedly, i got to meet three (3) famous people this year. in chronological order that would be Piers Corbyn, Griffin Dunne and Hugh Cornwell. being as diplomatic as i can, the last two were an absolute delight to meet. 

theatre

so i ended up going to see two (2) theatre productions this year. both were last minute (more or less) decisions, and done on the cheap. i don't really have the energy to go and look for the links, but somewhere (here) you will find my posts on the delights of Fawlty Towers and Dr Strangelove

which was my favourite, or which did i consider the "best" of the two? really hard choice. i have not laughed as hard as i did during the second act of Fawlty Towers in all the time i can remember. yet the first act of Dr Strangelove was staggering genius on every level. if there is any way to tell the two apart then i suppose it would be that i'd happily go and see this production of Dr Strangelove again, although i doubt that chance will permit. 

how likely are further theatrical adventures in 2025? not really sure, or i don't rightly know. there is every chance of me being in that there London (innit) frequently enough to go, and i have every confidence that cheap, (quasi) last minute tickets will be on offer. yet the main draw of seeing these two was the exceptionally comfortable familiarity i had with the story of each. 

service stations

an oddity of my life is that i seem to spend a fair bit of time at these (service stations) twice a week, or thereabouts. quite a curiosity is that other people now do a "best service station" thing, some of them on a national broadcast level, a few years after i started doing it. oh well, if people are going to copy one thing off of me rather that, i suppose. 

sadly i didn't make it to my usual winner of the service station of the year - the one near Castle Donington, purely for being near there - during 2025. i did, however, find a new favourite in the form of the one at North Grantham on the A1. close second was probably Tibshelf, although i have also discovered that London Gateway is nowhere near as bad as i had always assumed. 

happily i managed, for the duration of the calendar year, to avoid the two worst service stations in the known world, which remain Blyth and Wetherby. both of these are bad mostly because they are a sort of strange magnet for really, really ignorant people. you know, people who just meander about and stand blocking entrances, in particular to toilets, and hold up queues at coffee and food places whilst they ponder life choices instead of ordering and moving on. 

biggest decline in a service station is, alas, Ferrybridge. at the start of the year it was good, but by the end of the year it had started to attract the sort of ignorant, retarded type of people who make Wetherby so damned impossible to just get in and get out of. 

gigs

probably one of the wisest things i have ever gone done is book tickets to go and see a joint tour by Suede and the Manic Street Preachers twice in one week. and the dumbest thing i did was not buy tickets for more nights of the tour. 

overall, and by some distance, the best was Suede at Leeds. it was, they were, just totes f****** amazing, man. next best was Suede at London, followed by Manics at London, followed by Manics at Leeds. i think i am a little Manics-ed out for the moment, so have decided to skip their imminent tour. but if Suede announce more gigs, well, i am there. 

worst concert of the year is as easy to name as it is disappointing - James. i really love their music, to the extent that i have always turned a blind eye to just how obnoxious and full of himself Tim Booth is. anyway me and a few others got "tricked", for north of £60 a ticket, into going and seeing a quarter-hearted soundcheck billed as a "special pre-tour show". if you wish to read more then click here, but it was enough to put me off the band for life. 

reading

for some reason i have fallen out of the habit of reading. quite a shame, and i have at least one dozen novels (probably more) sat here that i really, really wish to read. i can't even recall from the little i read during 2024 which was the better, so it was probably the 4th novel (came out in paperback) from that tall bloke who used to do that show, whose brother plays bass in Suede and also started out as a backing dancer for Sonia. 

car crash

not really sure this is something one can have a "best" of, but here. 

little things in life moment

every now and then i get to do something i think is totes amazing. it doesn't matter that no one else is interested, or "gets it", for i do. like playing the song Baker Street whilst actually on Baker Street. 

sure, this video (above) is a slight cheat, as i was parked around the corner from Baker Street when i played it. well, it would have been illegal (and stupid) to film whist driving. but i did indeed play the song again whilst on Baker Street. twice, possibly three times, as it happens, as traffic does not move too quickly on that famous road. i used to think it was so easy........

cigarettes

yes, yes, smoking is bad for you, etc. anyway, i got to smoke a good deal more Marlboro Red than i thought i might, which was excellent. 

if Marlboro Red have an indelible place in my heart, which is kind of funny as it's likely their affect (or effect) on my heart that shall bring my demise one day, then the next most excellent ones were some brought to me off of Belgium. other than that, any and all cheap ones were good.

exhibition of the year

from what i can recall i only actually went to one (1), which was the Batman one. 

it was excellent, a real highlight of a couple of days in that there London (innit) which were not spent doing all that verk stuff. 

right, i think that's about it. other than being sure i have missed some aspects out, well, wow, that was quite a full year for me. and yet i feel so hollow, so transient, so little connection to life, so very disconnected from anything and everything. not much left to do except to see what, if anything, the year ahead (2025, it says here) brings. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tapes for scale

greetings

well, the day today (when published, look you see) is that one seen as still being very much of Christmas, although the big day itself (yesterday) is now likely a memory. hopefully, i do trust, a fond memory for you all, or pleasant or similar. 

despite the fact that we live in an era where traditions tend to get disposed of in favour of instant gratification and immediate disposal i was very pleased to receive a number of Christmas cards. for those of you who do not know what such are, well, they are a bit like cards people give to others on their birthday, except these ones express wishes for Christmas rather than birthdays. never be afraid to ask. as it happens, two particularly peculiar cards arrived on the same day. well, it's possible they arrived on different days, but i only got to see them on my return home on the same day. 

i was rather fascinated to see that two friends, who(m) so far as i am aware do not know each other, had apparently embarked on a quest to get the title of sending me the most non-standard sized Christmas card in the reduced category. no, it certainly is not that i expect, or wish for, big massive cards, yet still i was rather surprised by the ones which landed. of course they are presented face down, so as to preserve the modesty of my address. goodness knows what anyone reading this would do with the details of my nominal place of residing in this era of exile, but i would rather not find out. 

these are indeed more or less randomly selected tapes off of my collection, just to give a sense of size. perhaps i could have used a "regular" Christmas card to illustrate such, but i actually have no idea what a standard size one would be. also, tapes are quite class. for those somewhat curious, the smaller of the two (2) cards did indeed feature a stamp what took up around 20% of the available surface, so some rather impressive work was done to include all of the intricacies of my address. 

apparently me sending a card to my (sugar spun) sister was suspicious. this is, at the least, in the eyes of the authorities over in New Zealand. going on the above they opted to inspect it, on the off chance i had decided to send a "biological risk" to their wonderful nation. no, i had not, and didn't really have that much of an issue with them checking, but they may have cared just to ask. glad to see someone fully trained carried out the inspection, as goodness knows what might have happened if they had let the work experience kid or some trainee have a go. 

right, that's about that for this, then. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well tonight thank god it's them instead of you

howdy pop pickers

mostly this is all about me purchasing a single knowing in advance that (alas) it would be atrocious, with my knowledge being spot on. also this shall be a lament for a world no longer here, look you see, with some comments likely to be determined to be a whine. but, you never know, the odd valid point may well be made here, even by accident. 

so, for the 40th anniversary of Do They Know It's Christmas off of Band Aid they went right ahead with a kind of obligatory re-release. this has been done before, with re-recordings coming out in 1989, 2004 (no, nothing in the 90s that i recall) and, disastrously, 2014. no "new" version here, however, just what has been called an "ultimate" mix by Trevor Horn. 

it is, i am so sorry to write this, the case that the "ultimate mix" is an obscenity. as in it is really, really bad. so bad, as point of fact, a conspiracist or cynic might suggest that the comments off of Ed Sheridan (or whatever) and his pal (i believe called Fused) were deliberately engineered to distract people from just how remarkably much of a totes f*** up this version is. and i write that as a devotee of Trevor Horn, for he had a massive part in the sound of Frankie, so had a massive part in the sound of my life. 

one gets the feeling that the original (1984) version of the song is included on the tape (disc) out of some sort of obligation. it remains a masterpiece. no, not the "greatest" Christmas song of all time, but perhaps (despite the views of some) the most important. also included are the 2004 version, which is a surprisingly dated breezy, whimsical "acoustic" thing that has far, far, far too much Coldplay to it. there's also the Live Aid finale version, which is chaotic and a fun memory from that truly remarkable day, but has all the audio quality of someone holding a dictaphone up to tele to record it. 

there is also the obscenity of the 2014 "rewrite". beyond reflecting the dire lack of true, genuine grade a pop stars by this point in our history, it all got distracted by making it about "other things". i do not mean to be flippant or light, but i genuinely can't recall if they elected to now make the song all about Haiti, Ebola or some other concern. sure, quite likely a noble concern or several concerns, but it moved it all away from what inspired that magical moment in pop history. 

worst of all, for me, was the removal (or if you will replacement) of a specific line. for some reason some people have, over the years, decided that the lyric sung by Bono (before he was really Bono as we know him today) well tonight thank god it's them instead of you was "wrong" and should never existed. i would absolutely agree that it's controversial, but that's its strength. 

right there is the line that addresses much of the recent "controversy" around the song, and right there is the power of the song. and beyond, dear reader, far beyond. in one very direct, overt, in your face line, so many things got addressed. isn't it so that those are the precise words which pierce the heart when confronted with images of abject horror and are called on to help? don't those words head on address, tackle or debate concepts such as western (sometimes called "white") privilege and prompt a sense of western (frequently called "white") guilt? how f*****g dare they go and remove one of the most powerful lines to exist in any song? if it made people feel uneasy or uncomfortable, then so much the f*****g better as that's exactly what it should do. 

for the most part (or mostly) when i heard that Ed Sheridan (or whatever) was all upset about them using his contribution to the "ultimate mix" without asking, i was very much (at first) "oh f*** off, you complete tw@t", which to be fair is my reaction to anything he has to say. reading on about what it was he had to say, i was somewhat bemused by the cultural appropriation going on by him and his Fuse mate, declaring that the song "reinforced stereotypes" about Africa. wow. indeed there are some lines of fluff in the song, likely inaccurate, but i really doubt that the lyrics have been influential on the way people have considered a continent for the last four decades. goodness knows what the fallout shall be when these two hear a certain song off of Toto (band, not dog). 

people involved with the actual 1984 song have responded to him (them) far better than i could. strangely and unexpectedly Tony Hadley in particular gave a considered, thoughtful reply, which has challenged my perspective on life as i really, really, really f*****g hate Tony Hadley. let me kind of leave it as whilst there may be variations of validity to the opinions of Sheridan (or whatever) and Fuse, for me, and hopefully for many, these words of (quasi) Sir Bob are all that matter. 

in what i take as being a marking of the 40th anniversary the BBC has recently shown a fly on the wall documentary about the making of the original single. it truly is a wonderful thing to behold. what a chaotic, no one knows what's going on day it was, and if anything it amplifies what a miracle it is that the song came out sounding as good as it did, or rather does. highlights are a very pre-fame Bono being all meek and shy when meeting music legends, Boy George swanning in and showing them all how to do it and Midge Ure working his absolute socks off. 

sadly what the documentary shows is a world which simply does not exist. music, it seems is no longer as important as it once was. as in most of the people who appeared in the 1984 original were household names far beyond the reaches of the pop world. all of them made sacrifices, gave up time and money that just wouldn't happen today. i could go on (and on) here, but there is little point in doing so, i suppose. ultimately, had all of this been happening for the first time in 2024 not 1984, Bob and Midge would have had to settle for setting up one of those "donate" pages and getting various celebrities calling for people to donate via social media. 

 

no, to the best of my knowledge this (awful) new version of Do They Know It's Christmas has not reached number one on the singles chart. with thanks to all this "streaming" nonsense, the charts are a mess anyway, featuring all the usual Christmas songs at the top rather than ones specifically released for the season. since for the last couple of decades (or so) the once much vaunted, highly desirable Christmas number one has simply been an advert for "talent" shows or been all about some idiot whose primary talent appears to be able to say "sausage roll" over someone else's record. 

whereas no, i am no expert in such things, it does strike me as they needlessly overthought this release. essentially all they had to do was put the original out again, but include "rarities" such as the original b-side, featuring messages from people that couldn't (or wouldn't) make the recording, as well as the 12". including the other versions (except oddly the 89 one) does little but chart the sad decline in musical talent available as the years have passed. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

richmond

hello there

no, alas, this post is not (at least specifically) related to either of the places called Richmond here in England. that means it's nothing to do with the proper one of that place in North Yorkshire, or the rather rancid one down there in London (innit). instead it's to do with the cigarettes of the same name, look you see. 

yes, for those concerned, or who need such spelling out for them (presumably the people that the warning images on packets are aimed at) smoking is very silly, likely quite bad for you and so on. should you smoke then you are probably best off at seeking ways to quit, or to cut down considerably. please don't let anything here inspire you to take up the habit. 

this is, mostly if not ostensibly, another foray into the realm of acquiring cigarettes via less than conventional means. not quite sure if these Richmond cigarettes are counterfeit, bootleg or procured in an illicit way, but equally am sure they are far more modestly priced than the ones you get off of standard retailers. for cost these were priced at a comparatively reasonable £5 a packet, which is around or between 25% and 33% of the price for similar "legal" ones. a mere ten (10) years ago the "legal" cigarettes at shops only cost around £5, which tells you of the insane tax practices embraced. quite likely explains why so many are being pushed towards the more independent distributor of cigarettes too, i suppose. 

how are these cigarettes? well, no, they are far removed from the joys of Marlboro. not too bad, as they certainly get the job asked of them done. should for some reason you wish to see an image of me smoking one of them (a Richmond, rather than a Marlboro. sadly) then the picture below is sure to delight. those wishing to rather not see me at all would do well to scroll quite quickly. 

mostly these Richmond cigarettes (since Americans get confused when i call them fags) are surprisingly sweet. so far as i am aware i have not ever experienced cigarettes that have such a "sweet" taste to them. unexpected and peculiar. of all the magical, wondrous toxins they supposedly put into cigarettes i am assuming it's not strychnine as i believe that's quite bitter. perhaps it is in fact arsenic, as i believe that is supposed to have a sweet, quasi aniseed sense to it. 

i am not at all sure that i shall continue with these. yes, i know, i know, i should probably cease all cigarette use all together, but let us dwell in reality for the moment. these ones are not quite so harsh as the other independent ones, Manchester, but also lack the definitive "kick" of them. highly likely, now i consider it, that the Manchester ones have a much higher ratio of that strychnine in them. certainly that would explain one or two curious side effects (or affects) of persistent use. 

with the current government, led by Sir Keir who(m) i believe is not, as it turns out, the same Keir that memorably featured in 2001 A Space Odyssey, determined to kill as many of the population as possible it is peculiar that they aren't encouraging smoking. that would get a lot of the job done for them, if we are honest about it. but then smoking is actually pleasurable, and they appear to wish as many of us as possible to not just die but to die in misery. at least they are (semi) honest about this. 

should for some (inexplicable) reason you wish to see film footage of me enjoying one of these cigarettes then the below video will delight. note that it was a particularly miserable day i went off outside, such is my dedication. 

eventually there shall come a point at which even the thickest government notices a massive shortfall in the ludicrous tax they claim from cigarettes, yet clear evidence of lots of people still smoking. i have no doubt that someone somewhere has a conspiracy theory about why less than official cigarettes are available so (relatively) easily and so (comparatively) cheaply. still, they (them in power) have rather boxed themselves into a corner, so it's (highly) unlikely they will ever consider reducing the stupidly high taxes imposed. 

once again, then, smoking is quite bad and something you shouldn't do. i would suggest that most things that i do are not the sort of thing people would hold up as a good example. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bob stokoe statue

now then

a further somewhat unexpected tale off of Sunderland for you. indeed yes this happened when i was in the place for the Hugh Cornwell gig, look you see. as for what "this" is, well, i would imagine you may well have worked that one out from the title of the post. 

there exists variations of reasons why i try at least once a year to post here a statue which can be found outside of a football stadium. in truth i thought this would not happen this year, and i may have had to cheat, pointing out that Sir Mick Jagger is famed for attending matches. how very fortunate, then, that my journey to stay at a hotel for the Hugh Cornwell gig took me past the (rightly) celebrated Stadium of Light stadium. 

for those who do not know who(m) this is a statue of, and also missed the clue in the title, that's none other than Bob Stokoe, the manager who(m) led Sunderland to a surprise FA Cup win in 1973. this was in the days when both the FA Cup really, really mattered and was (rightly) important, and yes it was a true surprise result. Sunderland, of the second division, won 1-0 against the much celebrated, top division high flyers Leeds United. this statue captures the moment Mr Stokoe went charging off in celebration at the blowing of the final whistle. 

of all the statues i have encountered on my travels, be it specifically to seek football related ones for here or simple chance sightings, this is one of the greatest. to some this may sound a bit silly, but i just love the dynamics of it, how it captures a sense of movement, of motion and of course of emotion. i would imagine it's very difficult to do so in something which by definition is motionless. 

sorry, yes, i should (indeed) have put some sort of warning before the picture above, for it does indeed feature me, or moi, stood next to it. not a selfie, though. 

my favourite detail, and perhaps the key to its magnificence, is the curves on the jacket belt. it gives an inescapable sense of free flowing movement. not at all sure i have done it justice here with the pictures i have added, but then i suppose that's true of all pictures here. still, all the more reason to, if you get the chance, go and see the statue yourself. 

yes, as an ostensible Middlesbrough fan there should be a sense of "rivalry" here. except there isn't really. we happen to be close to them, and "derby days" are often somewhat heated. for the real, or true North East "rivalry", well, that's Sunderland vs Newcastle. for us down in Boro we are quite happy being a decent club town that frequently punches well above our weight. 

going back to the importance the FA Cup used to have would be to encourage you to seek out a documentary i once saw on the 73 final. a film crew went out and filmed the streets of both cities just before kick off, and not a single person was to be seen. that's what is meant by a community spirit that has faded if not been lost. now the FA Cup is kind of dismissed by certain top flight clubs, seeing it as a distraction from seeking money via treading water in the all encompassing premier league. 

how big, exactly, can a "big" club be if they are so flimsy about a competition which has inspired passion and love for the game (and teams) for generation after generation? 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it ends then starts with you

howdy pop pickers

well, i suppose this one is, ultimately, vibes related, so the usual musical greeting is applicable. no actual music, though, but quite the unmistakable link, look you see. 

it is now the business end of the year (2024), or if you will a point at which some might say death to 2024. for me it has been quite an extraordinary year, but (maybe) more on that at another time, another place. right now, the usual dilemma is the decision on a calendar for the year ahead. except that it really wasn't much of a debate, or even conversation. 

being rather delighted (or at the least satisfied) with the not strictly speaking official David Bowie calendar i picked up from Boyes for this year (2024) i popped in to see if they had similar. indeed they did, with pictorial evidence of such shown above. for the same price, too, which from what i can recall was if not a flat £10 then something like £9.99. this is only slightly cheaper than the "official" calendars featuring Bowie, but has the immense advantage of featuring much more better pictures. 

on returning home with this new calendar i had the sense that there was something quite familiar with the cover picture. well, the cover picture and the image used for January, for they are one and the same. if you see what i mean. it did not take too long to work out such familiarity. blimey, does anyone really find all this stuff i write interesting. 

so yes, then, it is so that January 2025 features the same image as used for December 2024. that is really a lovely touch by the bootleggers, or if you will pirates, or should you prefer independent business types who have no time for trivialities such as copyright and permission. i now deeply regret not getting one of these Bowie calendars for 2023, just to see if December 2023 happened to be the image which greeted January 2024. see the link from above (or here) for that particular picture. 

how peculiar that, once more, the unofficial calendar is like totes, full tilt better than any of the official ones. for a start they seem to use considerably better pictures. also, they just present them straight, without any artsy stuff or tired sepia tint. from what i recall the main "official" calendar from those in charge of the Bowie estate focused exclusively on the Hunky Dory album. i mean, yes, it is an exceptionally good record, but no, i really don't want to celebrate it for an entire year. 

above is a vaguely clear image of the twelve (12) images that await display during the course of 2025, then. if i am entirely honest i could probably have done without the Labyrinth one, but then again that's quite an iconic look (which is saying something considering all of the iconic looks what he had). the songs were good too, and the film was decent enough. yeah, happy with them all. presumably that image for December 2025 shall, if they follow the pattern, be the one used for January 2026. i do hope there is that kind of consistency, even if many would wish it so that i do not make it quite so far in time as to find out the answer. 

very pleased indeed that my calendar selection proved to be straightforward. i shall take it (bravely) as a given that, since you have read this far, you are to a degree happy for me with this. may it be so that your choice (or selection) of calendar is also excellent. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

かなり奇妙な日本のカード possibly

こんにちは

something of a return to randomly noticing something on my travels, 見てみろよ. yes, indeed this was once again down there in that London (innit), which is where i would appear to spend the majority of my time. hence me seeing things of stuff. 

well, there i was, then, wandering around a reasonably posh (if not quite exclusive) area of the place. for those interested in such, a kind of darkly autumnal day it was, with a brooding grey (or gray) sky punctuated by the occasional instance of rain. on my travels i happened to notice this. 

of an aspect of this being one of them "QR" code things i am veritably certain. my use of possibly in the title concerns the language used in the wording either above or below this code thing, depending on which way around you hold it. indeed yes, also to the side, if you hold it that way.

alas, no, i have no idea at all what this might be about. certainly not is my answer to any question you may pose as to whether or not i "followed" the QR code aspect. going around and scanning random codes of this nature is a very foolish thing indeed. even ones out in public that look "safe" or official, as many people who have been scammed by fake QR codes at parking locations have (sadly usually to their financial detriment) discovered. 

 

just what could this card, or specifically the code, be for? at a guess i would assume some sort of scam, quite possibly related to all that "crypto" magical internet money nonsense. maybe it's an advert for someone offering (ahem) personal services, in which case yes, i missed a trick there, so to speak. if i am right (rare but happens) and that is Japanese, who knows, it may be some sort of invitation to join the yakuza or similar. as i have no immediate wish to lose any fingers as a sign of loyalty or as a form of punishment for breaking some unspoken rule, no thanks. 

there exists every chance (or possibility) of course that it is something rather more harmless. it may well be just a go at some sort of "viral marketing" for a restaurant, club or what have you. were it so that it was such, well, likely well north of a decade too late for it. most, i would suggest, are quite aware of the dangers of scanning and following random qr codes, so it's unlikely anyone would do so. unless they are really quite innocent, or indeed simple. 

perhaps some of the more adventurous or ambitious of you would wish that i had put a more better image of this qr code here. well, no. it could be harmless, but likely isn't. should you be all that eager to find out what it was (or is) for i am sure you can find one of these cards. from what i remember it was within the realms of the NW1 postcode are, go for a stroll and good luck. 

in glorious retrospect, or on reflection (whichever sounds right) no, this wasn't the most interesting thing i could have put up (or on) here. the scary thing is that it's probably not likely to be the most boring post of mine. 

お互いに優れている!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hugh cornwell

howdy pop pickers

so yes, then, pretty much as the title gives every indication of being, this post concerns the general magnificence of Hugh Cornwell. yes, that one, look you see. more specifically, for those of you who like such yet still visit this blog, an evening of Hugh Cornwell live and in concert. indeed, another gig for the year this year (2024). 

a concert that, as it happens, very (kind of) nearly didn't happen and/or did not get attended. for a brief overview of issues, our (for i went with someone) means of transport got written off by one of them range rover driver types, and the gig was on what they claimed (as they always do) would be the worst ever weather the UK had faced, so trains were a bit touch and go. in regards of that it was so Hugh was in Scotland the night before, which really did have bad weather, and it was exceptionally touch and go as to if they would make it to the gig. 

happily, or if you will merrily, our train (at least there) was on time and running fine. Hugh and his entourage also made it, with some delay, which meant the gig was somewhat later than planned. but it at least happened. 

i believe it has been established over the last year (or so) that my new(ish) phone, one of them Samsung A14 things, is completely sh!t for taking pictures in general, with gigs (or concerts) being a particular challenge for it. oh how i miss my LG; wish they would make phones again. well, anyway, that above is probably the best picture i took of Hugh and his band giving it loads in that direction, or if you will going full tilt with the excellent tunes. 

for those with a "thing" for provenance, this was at the Fire Station in Sunderland. on November 23 of this very year, for further clarification. before anything else (yet after all else i have written so far) what an absolutely amazing venue it is. i believe they have a Bowie tribute on early next year (2025), i may well just go right ahead and go see it. 

ostensibly this gig, and the tour entire, was to showcase stuff from Hugh's most recent album, called as it is Moments Of Madness. this is indeed a fine album. but, of course, i was kind of if not mostly then partially there for the songs what he gone done with The Stranglers. unexpectedly i found myself in a bit of a minority in this respect, but i shall get to that. 

with pictures being rather bad off of my new phone it is so that video (yes, we have got a video) is all the more worse. but, for the sake of it rather than it being of any practical use, there's a brief clip of Hugh and the band doing Golden Brown. this came up surprisingly early in the set, for if nothing else  is easily the "best known" song off of his former band.

the vagaries of time are quite a thing, are they not. it is, i believe, so that Hugh Cornwell has been a solo artist for twice as long as he was in The Stranglers, yet such was the impact and success of that band it remains his main association. not that he has an issue or quarrel with that. in one of the many interludes in which he spoke to us fans gathered the pattern for the set was two of his solo songs, followed by a classic (his words) off of The Stranglers.

despite not getting the chart success he had with The Stranglers it is (merrily) so that Hugh has built up a substantial following with his solo work. no, not quite "appeal has become more selective" like Spinal Tap, but a pretty big following. i was impressed, if that is the right word, that so many of the audience were singing along (well, shouting) to the solo numbers. to my shame, no, i wasn't so familiar with them as to join in with the choir. 

beyond Golden Brown we got an interesting, perhaps (possibly) eclectic mix of Stranglers classics, mostly from the 70s era. from memory there was Duchess, Tank, Nice N Sleazy (sadly no strippers on stage so no "nude woman horror shock" headlines this time), Nuclear Device and a very welcome performance of Dead Loss Angeles. whereas i thoroughly enjoyed hearing him do them, and shall cherish such with what time i had, there was some "unease". perhaps this is out of just how much many of the audience had a clear preference for his solo work, but also it in a sense felt like "cheating" hearing these without it being the classic Stranglers line up. this may be why i am umming and aahing about going to see Daltrey next year (2025). 

even though it had been a long day of travel and everything was late Hugh Cornwell made himself available after the gig for pictures, greeting people and signing stuff. no, i did not get my picture taken with him, but a dear friend certainly did. 

under no circumstances at all would i have gone and seen Hugh, or anything Stranglers related, without my dear friend Mandybabes. no, not her actual name, except now it is, since i asked Hugh to sign a tape (disc) to Mandybabes and he did. whilst i was aware of some of their songs before, she introduced me to the marvels (and wonders) of the band proper. a quite wonderful way for me to be able to say thank you for that introduction and the many years of listening to their quality vibes. 

blimey, 2024 has been a staggeringly good year for gigs for moi. with it now being the the time when all live events are mostly Christmas music i suspect that's that for gigs for me for 2024. fear not, for some excellent ones are all lined up. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!