keep the flames burning

howdy pop pickers

just a bit of a "throwback" or what have you, look you see. at the time that this very thing you read now was first published it is so that i have documented evidence of where i was, and what i was doing. very handy, i suppose, if any figure of authority (such as the constabulary) wish to know. 

where was i, then? sitting in a car. or the car, i suppose, for my (former) (considerably) better half and i made shared use of one. as to what i was doing in the car, well, observing the time, noting with slight interest the temperature, and listening to the radio. fm, and Radio 2 off of the BBC, for precision. 

as for what, exactly, i was listening to - which song kept me sat in the car when my journey had ended, well. there's a video below (yes we've got a video) and certainly a clue for those with an eye for the finer details in the title. but, to remove suspense, or to save you scrolling (or playing the video), it was the boss song Love Train off of Holly Johnson. not his "debut" solo single as some incorrectly call it, but certainly his first solo single since the demise of Frankie Goes To Hollywood. 

even to this day, and may it be so that this remains true of every day that i have life, it is a song which shall see me cease doing whatever it is am doing and just listen. remember, reminisce, feel whatever level of mood i am in immediately raised, and know a good feeling. oh, sure, as an ardent, dedicated, determined Frankie fan i confess to and accept being biased, yet it is brilliant. 

so, the bit of video mentioned recently. not all of the song, mind, but a casual bit from whilst i sat, probably on the driveway, bopping away. scenes of me bopping away not included, but if there is enough demand, who knows. 

it was quite strange for Radio 2 to be playing this one, really. not that they don't play Holly (or, indeed, Frankie) from time to time. for some reason, though, when it's time for them to give a spin to a Holly tune, it's Americanos, being the follow up single to this, that gets selected. whereas no, it's not bad, i do get confused as to why that one seems slightly more popular with others than Love Train. then again we live in a world where one can play both, i suppose. 

honest recollections of hearing this song, Love Train, for the first time would be "what". as in asking what's this, then. my journey with Frankie, and thus Holly, was immense discovery. beyond the wild adventures offered by sex, violence, belief and love in the Frankie songs, there were so many references to history, art, literature and what have you that i went off reading further on them all. quickly, though, i came to accept that now Holly was to be happy, bouncy pop that you can dance to, that made you feel good. and embraced it. 

the ridiculous, generous levels of quality music we got in the 80s, even towards the end of that decade, is kind of highlighted by Love Train "only" getting to number four (4) in the singles chart. what did i do about this at the time? well, i bought the 7", the 12" and the CD single. and then 66% of my uncles at the time purchased me the 12", just in case. perhaps if i had bought the cassette single too then i could have helped it get a bit higher. 

frankly, though, unlike when that twat Phil Collins and then that twat Boris Gardner kept Frankie fron the number one spot in the years before, them three (3) singles which were above Love Train remain classics to this day. as do the 2 (two) below, which i included. when you are in an era, or period, in which The Living Years as a single does not reach number one, well. getting into the top five (5) was quite the achievement, comparatively. 

more video? surely. one month and one year after i caught that performance of Love Train on the radio, it just so happened that the (splendid) video for it turned up on the tele in that there New Zealand place. rather diligently my sister did go right ahead and video some of it for me. 

quite a fair bit of my time these days is spent "on the road", driving, for work rather than touring. in order to make this bearable i have ample tapes (discs) with me. one of them is the Blast album, which was very much a debut solo album from Holly, with him having only done singles prior to Frankie. yes, that did get to number one (1) in the charts. anyway, i found a copy of the album in a charity or pound shop, and so have it as i drive about. lately i have been playing it a fair bit. what a wonderful, joyous, uplifting album it is. 

right, time to go get things done. this has, to be honest, been as lovely a wander down some memories as hearing the song turns out to be. no, i am not going to write of them all, but keep them in heart and mind. should you have stumbled upon this for vaguely similar reasons, nice one. 

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

into the current century

now then

just reporting on a bit of a culture shock, really. and no, i am not speaking only of finding myself spending, for pursuance of verk requirements, spending time in the area known as the west midlands, look you see. well, yes, this did happen there, but no, not the usual shock to the system one experiences when they visit the place. and with the deepest of regret i have to say once again i went to that area and once again did not make it to the promised land of Tipton. one day i shall make it to Tipton, and investigate the veracity of claims The Viz has made of the place. 

so, anyway, there i was in an unspecified (for contractual reasons) area of the west midlands. if you don't have to go there, don't. i sought some solace in the form of a few posh biscuits to go with a cup of tea. actually, if you do end up in the west midlands, do all that can be done to hear the locals speak of a cup of tea, it accentuates the accent to perfection. 

my initial intention, or hope, was to find the uber most luxurious of posh biscuits, viscount, of course. left thwarted and disappointed, alas, as the shop i went into so as to procure some (an establishment well known for offering them) had none on the shelf. but they had the "close second" to posh biscuits. if, like me, you define "posh biscuits" as the ones what your gran kept in a tin and let you have one (1) of when you came to visit. yes, in the seventies. 

club it was to be, then. oh. but a most unusual, and unexpected variation of club. for all of my life i have known club only (i think) to have done mint and orange, except maybe there was a third variation too. however, no, there were no "salted caramel" club on offer from gran (or anyone) in the 70s, for there was no "salted caramel" anything back then. 

weird, really. i mean, mostly, or if you will for the most part, i had (reasonably) assumed that all packs of club biscuits presently on offer for sale were simply leftover stock from the 70s, or maybe early 80s. i had no idea that they were actually, in this day and age of a wild, wide variety available, still making them. clearly, though, they are. hence the title of this post. 

i don't rightly know when or where the trend for "salted caramel" took off, or who(m), exactly is responsible. whilst i'll be f****d if i am going to research it, i do believe i can take an educated guess at it. them utter tw@ts and general f***wits what do the Starbucks coffee and what make them popular. as far as i can tell they are the ones what come up with "trends" of shoving sh!t into things that have no need for it, particularly (of course) coffee, and those wishing to look all la-de-dah stylish and with it, or hip (i suppose), lap it up. yes, the Apple (technology, not record label) business model, and they are all richer than me, so fair play. 

not sure why it has to be "salted" caramel, though. every now and then some things had just regular, usual caramel in them, kind of as a treat or as a basic ingredient, rather than it being a "twist". so far as i am aware the only biscuits that you can get what have a variation of caramel (ie it's not a part of the basic or standard version) in it what isn't "salted" is Rocky. i have no quarrel or issue with this salted caramel business, it's just weird that it is a thing of such noted proliferation. 

how are the salted caramel Club biscuits? as in, how do they perform? absolutely no idea, i fear. on buying them i got a trifle distracted, then didn't really fancy one with a cup of tea. so, at time of writing, they sit, remaining in packaging, untouched. if you are open to the idea of a speculative review, then i will suggest that they probably taste like regular club biscuits, only instead of an overwhelming sense of mint or orange (and/or what the other variety was) you get a hint of salted caramel in them. 

appy polly lodgies if you came here in the reasonable expectation of a review of them. perhaps i shall try one, or two, at some stage. let me check the expiry date, i suppose. also, Christmas is imminent, and i may have some of them then as a nostalgia sort of thing; to sit and remember when such a time was magical, special and held with it the promise of rare exotic treats such as this. 

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

putin fag warning

Привіт

indeed i am quite aware that our friends in america (and even them over there what are not our friends, look you see) shall interpret the middle word of that title somewhat differently than is intended. but, hey, so be it. for the benefit of friends (or otherwise) in america, the proper use of the term "fag" is in reference to a cigarette. well, one of them. another is an ad hoc servant in them posh fancy schools they have in the south, but not what you all use the word for. it's a bit like how you have "fanny" in reference to entirely the wrong side of the human (generally female) body. 

moving on to the point, if any, of this post and indeed it is something that has featured before. which is, or to say, the fact that i am convinced someone has manipulated a warning image on a packet of fags, or if you will "cigarettes", so as to make a child look like presently not too popular russkie leader vladimir putin. 

just a usual disclosure, yes, smoking is very silly, is in all likelihood or probability very bad for you, and you should totes not smoke, or quit immediately. let me help you quit; send me all of the fags what you have bought but have yet to smoke and i shall dispose of them. won't even charge you. 

sure, the above image is presented in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, but even then i think (or hope) you can see the uncanny, eerie or suspiciously specific similarity in how that child looks when compared to the man most determined in this world to resurrect the soviet union. on that note, believe me i get it, for i, too, loved Rocky IV, but move on, putes babes. 

as mentioned (in passing) earlier, this image likeness has been commented on (by moi) here, before. in the spirit of such confession, here is a link to it if you really wish to see. that was of course on a packed of 'English' fags, with the warnings all in a language one can easily understand. since this image no longer appears on packs bought (expensively) off of shops here in the UK, one is left to presume that the image is one of several that the EU elected not to be allowed to use in the UK after the ostensible departure of the UK from the EU. oh. 

exactly how did i manage to procure some fags with this "old school" warning on them? i would prefer not to say, as it happens, but i am delighted to confirm they are of a far, far, far more tax efficient nature than the regular UK ones. besides, that is hardly the point here. 

not entirely certain as to what is the point, except the same observation i made, what, four years ago. which does feel like a different life in some aspects. really is difficult to see this warning image as anything other than deliberately manipulated to make the child look like putin. and also to make putin look rather thick, for he is holding the cigarette all wrong. based on my experience, at least. 

what does the warning on this packet say? it's not in english, so in truth i don't know. my preference is to think, or believe that it says something along the lines of "buy these if you stand with ukraine, or with anyone against putin", as well as possibly mentioning that they are a good deal cheaper than what the authorities in the uk consider a reasonable price. which they are quite wrong about. 

бути відмінними один до одного!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bad book good book

welcome reader

once again, then, i have finished reading two (2) books since i last posted something on the subject of novels. and so to pass comment on them, as per usual, look you see. no idea if these are of any use or interest to anyone, but here we are. 

quite an interesting dynamic here, for as the title of this post gives every indication i have, at time of writing, recently finished reading one (very) bad book, which happily got followed up with one (very) good novel. in respect of the former, i do indeed have a "thing" where when i can tell a book is going to be rubbish i still read it to the end, out of a misguided sense of obligation. 

to be repetitive, as usual here's a picture of the two which i have read, followed by some brief, overview sort of comments. after that, then, consider one of them fancy *** SPOILER WARNING *** things to be in place. 

going from left to right, or if you will starting where i did, Not Dark Yet by Peter Robinson is sh!t. by that i mean really bad. more on that later, but quite soon. this is not the case with The Judge's List off of John Grisham, which was a taunt, exciting thriller and a most joyous read. 

right, a warning about spoilers has already been issued. further, any sort of Peter Robinson acolytes or groupies may well wish to depart now, so as not to read anything what might upset their world view. 

i kind of knew, well in advance, that Not Dark Yet off of Peter Robinson wasn't going to be much good. hoped it would be, but alas was resigned to it not being so. this i based on the last three or four off of him being well below average. of all the things i had to be right about (so rare an instance) why did it have to be about how this would be. 

provenance of my copy was, i think, or as far as i can remember, Tesco, where they have more or less dismissed the notion of a cheaper "book of the week" but for some select titles so-called club card members can get it cheaper. which i did. probably spent £3.50 on this. or more. however much was in retrospect too much. 

the plot? pretty much the only reason i picked this up and read it. curiosity. it's a (more or less) real time follow up to the previous one, which i cannot recall the name of. or, as it turned out, all that much of what it was all about, but i did have a vague memory of wishing to read up on how it all ended. this, with perseverance, i was granted, or given. had you also read the one before and were bothered by the sort of mock cliffhanger to it, then you can pretty much skim read this to get the answers to how it all ends. some detours on the way, including one incident where it comes dangerously close to being the case of someone lending the author a video of Chinatown and him being inspired by it, but effectively three or four chapters to conclude the story are spread out and separated by a lot of padding. and by that yes, i mean waffle. 

on the cover is a quote from some newspaper or other claiming it, the novel, or the writer, to be "the master of police procedural". the more you read of this particular novel the funnier that carefully curated quote gets, really. once again it's a case (excuse the pun) of Banks (whatever rank he now is in the constabulary) either sitting in a pub and having a little think, or sitting at home considering some music (which he does in this one a lot) whilst drinking, simply waiting for the villain to reveal themselves for no apparent reason. furthermore, if there is such a thing as "police procedural", much if not all of the plot here is driven by the protagonist disregarding such. 

every single writer is, of course, entitled to write what they will. it's their train set, after all, or book, if you like. but Robinson's perceptions of England since a certain referendum in (i think) 2016 is now just tiresome. for some reason he creates a scenario where everyone in the country bar three or four of his characters voted to leave the EU, and all of them just wander around, looking for angles and opportunities to be racist/xenophobic or what have you. i have little doubt, regrettably, that such things do happen. just not as often, nor as widespread, as he seems to imagine. 

it's a shame that the Banks novels have drifted to casual, colour by numbers, any waffle shall do. when i first read some of his books (thanks to Aunty, no the other one, getting me a set one Christmas) they were rather good and entertaining. as mentioned earlier, if it were not for the (very) tenuous hook of resolving the unresolved from the previous, i would not have touched this. nor shall i, i believe, bother with any further Peter Robinson novels. enough, just f*****g enough, thanks. 

by (happy) contrast, it is decidedly so that John Grisham shall continue to collect coins of money off of me each and every time he cares to publish a work. indeed, for provenance, i went early and high, for as the price sticker shows i went right ahead and totes paid Morrisons £5 to get this the moment i saw it. 

moving to the plot and i (really) had no idea that The Judge's List is (or was) a quasi-sequel to The Whistler, a novel of his from a few years ago. sure, the central character kind of sort of seemed slightly familiar, but no, one did not have to have read the previous to understand this, evidently. and none of that is really relevant to the plot. 

so, the (actual) plot. a department tasked with investigating claims of judges being naughty get a rather surprising call. rather than a judge being accused of corruption, bias or incompetence they find themselves dealing with the at first seemingly absurd idea that a highly regarded one has in fact been a rather brilliant serial killer for the best part of two decades. the person making the complaint has a family connection to one of the (alleged) victims, and appears to have spent the best part of two decades investigating it all, finding the links and seeing the pattern no one else could. could the claims be true? and what exactly could a body set up to simply investigate less dramatic wrongdoings do about it? 

doing what i can (above and here) to avoid spoilers, this is simply breathtakingly brilliant. i ended up reading this book within a week, in some instances reading around 100 (one hundred) pages a day. which, i know, is standard for many, but not really for me. this was a story i wished to just keep reading and following, and was (obviously) hooked from the start all the way through. to state it again, no prior knowledge of The Whistler, or any other Grisham novel, is required. had you never ever read one of his and wondered what "the fuss" or reputation was, you can dive into this and i would trust you would quite quickly discover it all. 

the trend, of late, for John Grisham appears to be if not "sequels" as such then kind of follow up works, featuring the return of some characters. of late, for instance, there's been two "follow ups" to his debut, A Time To Kill, and both were outstanding. whilst i don't find them his best, there's also the Camino variations he does. anyway, if Mr Grisham or a chum of his is reading, ahem. please consider having another look at the protagonist from Rogue Lawyer. that was such a stunning read i would really love to delve back into that world. 

partially, if not mostly, i do have a sense (or feeling) that i have short changed the John Grisham novel here. however, i would suggest that the less i say of a novel, the more i loved it, and would rather remain silent so anyone curious can discover the wonders for themselves. better, though, to warn people off the folly i found in the Peter Robinson one. 

anyway, that's that for this. perhaps i shall finish another two (2) novels (reading, not writing) before the fall, or end, of this year, but looking at the calendar, maybe not. 

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

rainbow of the moon

hello there

a rare instance, this, of me regretting not having a phone what has a more better camera welded to it. normally what i have is up to the task (or job) of what i need it to do, look you see. in this instance, though, something better would have made this post a bit more interesting. still, let me press on.

so, one evening fairly recently (within two weeks of this being published) i had every reason to be outside momentarily. the reason is rather inconsequential, but if you must, i was doing my part to prop up the much maligned tobacco industry. on gazing towards the sky i did a slight bit of a sort of gasp thing, i suppose. the moon was quite bright, and what was unmistakably an imperfect yet still there circular rainbow appeared around it. 

obviously i took out my phone, swore at it a bit when it wouldn't open due to typing errors with the password, and tried to take some images. note tried. what you shall see, if you look, isn't all that good, but i did my best. mostly trying to switch the f*****g flash off was the issue, i think. and zoom.  

to the best of my knowledge, or as far as i can test the patience of my memory, no, i have not seen this phenomenon before. some research after the fact suggests to see a rainbow do (in the words off of an internet search) a halo around the moon is not that rare, but still. new one on me. 

in trying to fumble and take a decent image of it, indeed yes i managed to somehow make a brief video of it. by accident. just a second or two, but yes, we have got a video, and indeed it is below. on it you can here someone who stopped close by and also saw what i did, which kind of sort of suggests not all of it was happening in my head. 

weirdly, or with statistical fortune, i think one (as in you) can see what i am talking about a bit more better in the video. or not. 

how likely is it that i am going to spend swathes of coins of money on a "better" phone to document such things again in the future? not at all. it sometimes feels like it is, but it really is not the case that all has to be documented; sometimes things can just happen and be experienced without proof being taken of it all. says he who tends to fill this blog in a way what contradicts that. 

going on what i saw on my internet search, this "phenomenon" is caused by reflection, refraction, ice crystals, water in the air and optical illusion. well, not illusion as such, but still. undoubtedly it shall be so that some culture somewhere shall have placed great significance on this sort of thing being seen. what it means for me awaits discovery, i suppose. 

no, i have no idea what the bright (presumably) star is above the moon in these images. could be a planet, i suppose. my understanding of the geography of our own planet is a little wanting, so please don't expect any great knowledge off of me about so far from here. still, what an incredible thing it was i got to see, just briefly. as in yes, of course, once i got the camera sorted the phenomenon had moved on, or disappeared, or simply ended. nothing lasts forever. 

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

discover Tramline

howdy pop pickers

quite a delve (or dive) into the realm of unknown vibes for me recently, then, with a request that i discover, and come to be well versed in the complete works of, a band called Tramline. allowing for some of you finding this off of a google, no, me neither, i had not ever heard of them, look you see. which is a surprise and a shame, for they are (sorry, were) pretty good, and of local to me provenance. 

let me put a disclaimer here, mostly because i genuinely and sincerely would not wish to upset or offend anyone. i am claiming to have no immense knowledge of the band Tramline, and this post here is most certainly not intended to be a definitive or conclusive source of information. just, really, my tale of learning of the band, and what i thought of them. with bits of information gathered along the way. 

how is it, before i get on to the band, that i discovered then? Dad. from time to time he shall send me a challenge to find a particular tape (disc), be it of music or film. not so long ago he said he doubted it would be possible, but could i have a go at trying to find the only two records recorded by the band Tramline. i said yes, i would give it a go. whereas they were not exactly the cheapest two tapes i had ever bought, they were not all that expensive. in particular not when they were so wished for. 

so, Tramline. a band formed in the latter stages of the 60s, here within the region or area of Middlesbrough. discovered by someone or other not all that long after they were formed, off they were whisked to that London place to record two albums in quick succession - Somewhere Down The Line and then the unusually named Moves Of Vegetable Centuries (more on that later). sadly neither made much of an impact, the band kind of fell apart, and the overwhelming majority of members went on to have successful, if not headlining careers. some of those careers are on the go today. 

any good? yes, actually. having discovered that they were indeed relatively rare tapes (discs) to find, not to mention of high value (if you find either for under £20 buy them), there was no way i was entrusting them to the postal services without making "back up" tapes. whilst doing that i had a listen, then. not bad at all, but also (to be honest) also easy to pick out why they are not a band as celebrated as certain others from that remarkable decade. 

what's the best way to describe the sound? rather tricky, alas. my instinct is to say rhythm and blues rock, but that in the context of how the term used to be used, 60s to say early 90s. at some point in the mid 90s someone appropriated the term, reduced it to "r and b" and made it a reference to crappy, sampled sh!t that had all the rhythm of a sampled beat and for some reason assumed each and every black artist in the world was a blues one. go figure. but still, a solid, tight, talented group of musicians is what one finds in the form of the band Tramline.

perhaps the major issue with the band - and what i suspect is what held them back - is a discernible lack of much in the way of original compositions. looking at the history of the decade, it was early to mid 60s where up and coming bands could, for the most part, get away with covers. for this, consider the early releases of undoubtedly the two biggest of the decade, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. by the time Tramline came along, the expectation was that mostly you did your own songs, with one or two covers if need be. the reverse of that formula is in place across the two records. 

oddly (weirdly, perhaps), there is one cover in their set which could well have made the band a much better known name than they are. that would be their take on Traffic's Pearly Queen, which is on the second one, Moves of Vegetable Centuries. it's brilliant, it is. this was recognised at the time, but from what i can gather (from Dad), both the band Traffic and their record label, Island, refused permission for Tramline to release it as a single. a great shame, that. 

having mentioned it earlier and also recently (just now) that curious second album name, Moves of Vegetable Centuries. what, exactly, does it mean? some frustration for you here. going on the liner notes, no one actually knows anymore. apparently it was suggested by someone in the studio, i believe the sound engineer, and they actually had a good explanation for it. sadly no one remembered it, and further no one write it down. as the engineer is no longer with us, it's a mystery likely never to be answered. 

since liner notes have come up now, two oddities in them across these tapes (discs). on the first album the notes constantly refer to Middlesbrough as "Middlesborough", which is annoying. moving over to notes on the second and they keep referring to someone who hung around with the band, a certain David Coverdale (yes, that one) as being from Redcar. perhaps he was, but every time i have seen an interview with him he states that he is "the most famous person ever from Saltburn". as locals of that place shall freely tell you, Saltburn is absolutely not Redcar. 

usually history is written in a way which suits the victors. when asked if The Beatles were the best band in the world (totes) ever, John Lennon would consistently reply that they were "the luckiest". it's normal for books, essays, lists and charts about or pertaining to the 60s to focus on "the big ones", so much so that one could be forgiven for thinking there were only 20 or 30 music acts on the go then. how refreshing, then, to discover some vibes off of a perfectly good band from that era who, for whatever cause or reason, didn't quite make all that big an impact. 

it's likely pointless to speculate, what, somewhere around or near 60 (!!) years later, but i cannot help think that, given some time in the studio, Tramline would have created (or rather composed) a few more of their own songs to include. ones that would have been of a standard as high as the covers they seemed to have, by circumstance, been forced to focus on for the sake of getting a record out. maybe that would have brought a bit more success, but there isn't any guarantee that would have been the case. all i can say for sure is that these two albums are very decent, and well worth a listen. if you can find them, but they are probably on that "online" stuff, streaming or what have you.

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

failed political gamble

greetings

well, another failed foray into the world of turf accountants for me, or moi, look you see. that's just about the whole story there, but since we are here you can read on if you like. 

as some of you will be quite aware, recently we here in the UK have had some interesting times on the political landscape. for those reading a legend of future pass, well, 2022 turned out to be quite a sh!tshow for us, what with (at time of writing) three (3) different prime ministers. 

the fall of the second of these, the much admired, respected and celebrated Liz Truss, saw some speculate or consider that our third leader of the year may well be a return to the first. yes, Boris. it was widely reported that, on hearing Boris had been removed, the main backers (ie those who donate money) of the party made it clear that they expected him to be back in office by the time of the next election, so the idea didn't seem that outlandish. obviously stupid, yes, but outlandish, sadly not. 

going on just how ludicrous our political situation has become i decided to test the potential of this one with a wager. a bet, if you like. whereas i perhaps don't have vast sums of coins to squander on trivial, or silly, bets, i figured sticking a quid (£1) in this was vaguely amusing. 

of course it failed, for Boris is not PM number 3 of this year. that's a third person, Rishi Sunak. but let me qualify that by stating he was in charge at the time of writing, and when i last looked. in the end it was a bet of a pointless nature, for within 24 hours (a day or so) of me placing it Boris announced that he was not making himself available for selection. certain speculation exists that says he declined to run purely because the newspapers he assumed would back him intended to run front pages saying that no, actually, he should not run again right now. with the emphasis on "right now". 

did i stand to earn, or rather win, an excessive amount of cash if Boris had run and won? not really, not really, no. the return, or "winnings", would have been £2.75. in excess of double what i gambled, true, but then in actual (or real) terms, that money would have been worth less than the pound bet, for surely the value of our currency would have gone from bad to worse with the return of Boris. 

just why did it turn out that Liz Truss lasted so short a time? a positive spin (and this is pushing it) is that they worked out (very) early on that she (putting it mildly) wasn't up to the job and so acted quite quickly to remove her. but then that leaves a question as to why oh why the appointed her in the first place. answers range from simple racism (the other choice was current incumbent Rishi), or that they so wanted Boris back that they elected the one most likely to f*** up (which they got right) and so enable a return for the unwavering popular one. 

it is extremely unlikely that i shall enter the dirty, murky world of gambling on politics again. sure, yes, certainly every now and then i will make (wildly) inaccurate guesses on sports results and place a humble, simple wager on them. but let me rather leave political gambles to the grown ups. 

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

11

eleven

11, eleven, 11, ten plus 1, look you see. one louder. 11.

eleven

11

eleven

11

eleven

11!!!!!!!!!!!

southend air freshener

heya

well, i think they are air fresheners. as in that's the correct, or if you like proper, name for them. these are things what go in cars, or other vehicles, look you see. ostensibly they do create a scent for the air that or what is fresh. presumably one is not limited to using them exclusively (or purely) in vehicles, but then it is difficult to imagine circumstances where one might purchase them for other use. except that one bit in the motion picture Se7en, i suppose. 

although my travels have indeed, as the title suggests, taken me to Southend this year, not recently. whereas it is not a bad place as such, i think i am correct in saying that this is the place what Morrissey composed the song Every Day Is Like Sunday about. not too difficult to have some sympathy with him, especially if he found himself staying in the Holiday Inn there. for fellow lovers of music trivia, and indeed the wonders of Chas & Dave, they initially wrote the tune Margate about Southend, but the council or what have you offered them a most agreeable amount of coin to change it to the song we know. 

despite some fragments of the previous paragraph being mildly interesting, none of it speaks of air freshener stuff, does it? let me, or us, move on, then. 

yes, there they are above, presented of course in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. also, indeed i did say they, for there are two (2). so perhaps i should have used a plural in the title, but no matter, never mind, here we are. quite by accident, it is, that the image has turned out to be a bit like one of them "magic eye" can you see the hidden image things. or, if you like, a pollock-infused item of work off of squire. 

just what's the story with these air fresheners, then? not a great deal, i suppose. on my (verk) travels i happened to stop off somewhere or other in Southend, and then noticed these laying on the ground. for some form of story, perhaps an enemy of Greta (or similar) deliberately discarded them so, to show what they think of the fate of the planet. but then for all i know this is perfectly normal for the area, or region, of Southend, and they simply leave these items on the ground as offerings to visitors. guests too, maybe, but i am not sure all that many get invited there. 

bit of a clearer picture, above, then, for those of you who are all that interested. indeed, yes, and i have just noticed this, both of the air freshener things appear to be frog inspired. unsure if that is them marketing them for people what like frogs, or if they smell of frog. are frogs particularly fresh or pleasant smelling? i simply don't know. 

for clarity, or confirmation, indeed i do use "air freshener" things in my vehicle. as opposed to me, say, using them on trains or buses. the ones i get, however, are in the shape of a tape, as in cassette, what looks like it has some smart vibes recorded on them. it would be true to say they were purchased purely for their appearance - being of tape - than the scent, and no i wouldn't buy an air freshener if it were not of a look or style that intrigued me. but it is something of a surprise to see such an evidently large market for people what will buy anything of frog. 

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

that god never laughs at my jokes

howdy pop pickers

and so here we are again. well, here you are, for certain, look you see. for my part i am composing this ridiculously far in advance; a considered level north of one and a half years prior to publication date. should fortune smile, yes, i shall still be around.

so, today, or at the very least the date of publication of this, marks the 31st anniversary of that time i was fortunate enough to see Tin Machine, live and in concert, at the Newcastle Mayfair. wow. quite some time ago, that. and, of course, a very great deal has all changed since. 

indeed, it is that i did not go to and from this concert alone. honestly, i have (at time of writing) no idea what became of my companion for the evening, or where they may be in the world. chances of them remembering and reconsidering me, recalling the gig and finding this are all somewhere near the absurd, but on the off chance, hi, hope all is well. 

once again, then, let me spend some time here - a few moments - writing of how i do not think, after all these years and marking the date as frequently as i could, there is much else i can say. should i still be around (and have the means to do so), certainly, yes, on this day the finest moments of this band shall be on whatever stereo i have access to. 

for what has become my usual form of audio visual reminder of this day, something a little bit different. on top of the DVD what someone (extremely kindly) gave me of the gig i was at, another also provided me with a really good audio bootleg. as a change, then, here you go. one song from the gig which i might have shared before, with the visuals being a bit of a mix up of some images from here, there and everywhere. 

just so we are (or i am) safe and clear, here is a *** WARNING *** for you. i do believe that at least one of the images contains a rude word, with that rude word being the one what starts with an "f", as in the infamous t-shirt what David wore on the night. fans, such as i (yes i did) could also purchase a variant of it, declaring their love for the band rather than stating they were in it. 

those of you who have played the video prior to reading this will not need me to clarify, but yes, that's very much the witty, quick song Bus Stop. one of my all time favourite tunes of all time by Tin Machine. from what i recall of the bootleg video  the quality of recording of that on it was not all that great, so perhaps this is the first time i have shared this one here. 

not sure if i have ever included a decent (ish) close up of my concert ticket from instances where i have celebrated this particular anniversary. perhaps i have, so if not here it is, if i have, here it is again. 

yes, out of the frame i have it in. well, the frame and that needed some attention, as in cleaning, so i carefully took it all apart. and spent several moments gazing at the ticket. 

right, well, that is this most cherished date in my life remembered once more, then. as usual let me speculate, or postulate, if i shall do the same thing again next year. perhaps, probably, maybe. 

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

let me flow into the ocean, let me get back to the sea

hello there

recently i had (for purposes of verk) reason to be quite close to the sea. well, a bit close. not actually in the sea, as such, but where i needed to be was right there on the other side of the road, look you see. to sort of quasi counterbalance the number of selfies (of moi) on here of late, i thought maybe it would be nice to showcase some scenery. 

my picture taking skills are not the greatest, i either yield or concede, but it might be possible for you to work out, through the actual mist (fog?) and the mists of my limited skills, some of them power generating wind turbines. quite the magnificent feat of engineering and endeavour, they are. full well is it i remember when such things were first discussed in the 80s, of how they would be an "eyesore" and we should just keep burning coal and gas and what have you. now, beyond the obvious energy benefit, i think most appreciate them. at the least, though, few voices are ever heard of a nature calling on the world to take them back down again. 

as for the mist, or fog, and rain - and wind - well, it was a day that they now tend to describe the weather as being "unsettled". this is an interesting step backwards. a decade or so ago all of the various charlatans, conjurers and general liars what present a prophecy of the weather were in a rush to describe all as dramatically as they could. more than once we got warned of a "weather bomb" about to hit, instead of them simply saying it might rain for a bit. speaking of it as all being a trifle unsettled is much more calm and, if honest, realistic. 

yes, indeed we do have a video, above. this i took mostly to send on to Dad, who is most enthusiastic about these wind turbine power things, but surely no harm can come from sharing it here, too. 

whereas getting battered off of the wind and rain whilst attempting to do some verk and also get these images (moving or still) for you is a definite highlight of the seaside, it is of course not the only one. something of a tradition, if not contractual obligation, for being so close to the sea in our land so fair is to engage in a particular form of cuisine. 

fish and chips, indeed. along with some scraps. or "bits of batter" as i heard one geordie call them, but scraps is the proper word for them. should they look lovely to your eyes, i can give you every assurance that they were even better to my taste. lovely, they were. with a cup of tea, of course. 

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

auf

schöne grüße

just another dalliance in my quest to purchase things of stuff, really. but, oh but, for some of you of a certain age, this might be more interesting that usual, look you see. yes, then, another delve of sorts into the realm of nostalgia, specifically 80s UK television. 

rather improbably, i think (or suspect) it is so that recently i have procured two (2) items of significance what relate to (or actually are) the magnificence of the original two series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. one of these was ludicrously underpriced (not that i argued), whereas the other might be a trifle expensive for exactly what it is (and what practical use), but also something i was unlikely to see again. 

behold, then, above, in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, what it is claimed to be the complete (presumably uncensored) series one and two of the television show itself, to recap for those with a short attention span Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, on tape (disc). also, a "best of" the soundtracks to these two series, also (as in actually) on tape. 

let me assume, or take as a given, that anyone reading this (or this thus far) is quite aware of what the television series was/is. if not, well, i would have no idea why you read on, but many thanks indeed for doing so. mostly, then, beyond saying here that i shall not, i won't go into any details on the show and that. unless i run out of things to write. 

it would be, i suspect, the tape which is actually a tape that would be of most interest to people browsing here. so yes, then, go on, more images of that for you. like, for instance, below, the inlay. 

more on the tape in a bit, but for now the 'box set' of the entire series. indeed i do appreciate that it is on several "streaming" services, some free some not so much. also, and i do worry that we are heading into the realms of the American "syndication" system (not that it hurts Seinfeld's bank account), it does appear to crop up on a few regular, ordinary "broadcast free to air" tv stations. i very much prefer to have the tapes (discs) to watch when i would wish, though. no reliance on it being available, internet connectivity, or what have you. the versions being broadcast on regular tele, i note, are rather heavily edited, with all (mostly male) nudies removed, be it accidental or overt, and of course all of the colourful language trimmed. not played the tapes (discs) yet, but with a "15" certificate on the cover i am going to presume it's all as originally broadcast. 

provenance and cost of this eight (8) tape (disc) box set? well, it seems to be new and sealed still. i got it off of the market for all of £2. not really much point me translating that into other currencies with the theatrics on the go with our economy, but that is cheap to the point of obscenity. i am absolutely baffled as to how and why we have devalued entertainment, in particular of a physical format, so much. and yet how hard, or for how long, must i complain of such a bargain? 

with respect to the tape that is an actual, real tape, a bit more. should i have the maths correct, and please don't ask me to say i do. i believe the cassette (posh word for tape) cost was 275% of the entire series set, and that's second (or third) hand, too. to present that in rather more straightforward figures, the tape of the soundtrack cost me £5.50.

certainly i hesitated about the purchase. although the cost was within my budget for such trivialities, it did seem a figure to give pause to consideration. what, after all, beyond the obvious of (possibly) playing it, was i to do with it? ultimately, the decision was made to buy because, well, when exactly would i be likely to see another copy of it? research since suggests the tape is if not rare then not all that easy to get, but a CD (disc) variation of it is, for somewhere north of £2 more north than the price i paid for the tape. 

the failsafe thinking, i suppose (or simply trying to justify it) is that the songs on the soundtrack were boss, and the cassette is a lovely, sentimental hygiene thing to have proudly in the collection. it is far from being the only instance of a procurement achieved purely as it would "look good" in my collection of such things; a collection few see entire but i suppose the odd bit features here momentarily. 

do i have any intention of sitting down and watching the series (both of them) again? yes, actually, that would be lovely. it was quite remarkable, and over the years thus far it has had a sensational, indeed phenomenal "can watch this again and again" feel to it. quite brilliant, all around. getting, or finding, the time to sit and watch once more is the trick, of course. 

right, that's about that, then. lovely finds for me, and with some good fortune a pleasant thing for fellow fans to have found out here on the internet to have a gander at. 

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