further trolley mayhem action

hello there


yes, indeed. at the time of writing i, look you see, along with some 25% of the people of the planet known to exist, am (are) in that "state of lock down", or if you like isolation, or if posh words are your bag quarantine. but let us not dwell on such.

there was a time, to go slightly against the sentiment above, where i and many, many others could wander freely. in doing so, things could be seen. my subconscious mandate or mission has always been to draw attention to that which was observed, from time to time. and this post is no different.

often, but far from always, it is the strange, peculiar vagaries of shopping trolley use (or abuse, if we are entirely honest) to be seen, to be sure, out there in the world. whereas any number of us were or hopefully are quite prepared to use a shopping trolley for the intended, rather more conventional purpose for which it exists, others go different.

it is within the realms of reason that it is just me, but for me (since i am writing this), a certain inexplicable je ne sais quoi feel permeates or oozes in this above image. maybe it is the juxtaposition of key elements in the image, such as the inverted (or upside down) trolley, but i was never no good at no art stuff (now that is a surprise considering the fluidity with which i wrote such a statement), so cannot comment from any sense of confidence or authority.

but still, you know, speculation is free and available for the discretionary use of all. what inspired someone, this image asks, to take a trolley so very far from its natural habitat and to do this. perhaps they had a vision (no doubt of greatness) of what to do with it across the other side of the barrier formed by the fence, but felt compelled to respect the no entry sign and so abandoned their design.

likelihood is, truthfully, that we shall not know the full intention. it is for the best that such is so, for as a consequence the constraint of reality is removed, and each of us is free to postulate, or speculate, of what the above means, and none can tell us our interpretation is wrong or invalid.

my previous posts on trolleys (trollies, maybe) have highlighted the crucial and key role they play in our functional, emerging economy. they are pivotal, but mostly i have highlighted such only by referencing how vital they are to the scrap metal trade, with particular emphasis on a shared, common belief between scrap yard proprietors and patrons that cash is tax free, and questions should not be asked if the answer is likely to complicate or compromise the economy.

above is a quite different aspect of how the humble trolley is a boon to our economy. here you can see how some sort of tradesman (most likely an electrician) has incorporated a trolley into his artisan crafting. why must they (he or she or however they gender identify) provide a means to store their requirements, such as cables, when a retailer can be relied upon to give them such a device for this purpose for free?

don't (i beseech you) think, or consider, that the validity of a shopping trolley in our society is limited to purely commercial value. not the case, as you can see in the above. here it is clearly the case that a member of the community of one of the more affluent residential areas of our society (cor, blimey, this sentence is quite a mouthful) has commandeered one, parking it with some pride outside of their own home, or dwelling.

i am rather taken by the considerate way in which they have, and surely no other word can be utilised to describe it, parked the trolley before their home. this consideration is not just for the safety of the shopping trolley, but for all who may wish to walk past on the pavement, if their proclivity is to use the provided path for its intended, conventional use. earlier, as opposed to later, posts of mine have given some illustration to the less than standard way in which many make use of pavements.

some respite, or if you prefer to word it differently a bit of a break, from the world of the trolley with this, picture then. i would not wish for one to walk away from this thinking that our economy is based solely on the utilisation and deployment of shopping trollies (trolleys) by the more entrepreneurial people of our nation.

what you are looking at in the above is a rather impromptu (spontaneous) creation of a textile and clothing merchandising business. the chap with the bag has a bag of garments, or if you like clothing, and he is advertising them to the lady walking by, doing so with a very overt, direct and confrontational form of marketing. from what i could ascertain the lady walking by had no wish to engage in a transaction at that time, but at least was aware of the possibility of being able to buy various items, so a footprint for the new business can be said to have been made.

exactly where did this accidental clothing retailer procure his stock? a very good question. from what i could work out, he and a colleague (possibly a business partner, or investor) (or stakeholder) procured their stock from an area designated for the donation of such items to charitable causes. i have every confidence that they intended to provide a percentage of their income to the charity for which the clothes were originally given to. maybe the partner not pictured was off to do that. he ran away quite quickly at one point, co-incidentally after he noticed me, sat resplendent in some official looking clothing, observing him and taking pictures.

now for a return to the realm of the trolley, then. a double return if you like, for the above is, yes, you have seen so, the very same trolley from the first image, only here pictured from a different angle. to me this angle is not quite so as aesthetically pleasing as the first, but you may well see it of a better one, that is your freedom of interpretation.

under no circumstances should one, or we, underestimate the achievement made in the above. a standard, conventional shopping trolley is characterised by being robust and sturdy. to achieve this, by necessity they are not lightweight, and nor are they agile when lifted. it is quite the grand accomplishment for someone to have been able to not only lift this trolley up, but to do so to such a height that it could (with precision) be placed as it has. maybe it took two or three people so as to be able to do it, but such effort must generally be seen as absolutely worth it.

more of how a shopping trolley is at the heart of our commercial endeavours, then. i would not want one to think, on the basis of me only referencing these two, that only scrap yard merchants and electricians make use of a trolley. no. the above appears to give every indication that they are used in the important building and construction sector, too. here, as you hardly need me to commentate, one can see that a tradesman, clearly with a deft and fine eye for efficiency, has elected to embrace the use of a trolley for the more productive way of storing and removing rubble from site.

for even greater efficiency, one would like to think that when he has filled the trolley to capacity (and perhaps gone further, adding a few kilos more of weight than is safe or advisable), perhaps the plan would be to return to the trolley to whence it came (asda, by the looks of it) so that the staff there could (gladly) remove the rubble for them, leaving the trolley free and clear to be used again for such urgent and important waste removal.

but, of course, such a venture is now probably on hold. as much as it pains me to mention that which we know, in this present moment such things as construction work fall under "lock down", so they are not happening as such as yet at this time.

a concluding (for this post) look at that splendidly parked trolley, then. one, as in me, is reluctant to say "final" look. it must be so that this shall pass, that we shall once more be free to roam the realms, using trolleys (trollies) as seen fit and being able to observe them. just, perhaps, not for a while just yet. some may look upon this sort of trolley festival and condemn us, saying we simply wasted what freedoms we had, but now is the time for positive waves.

i am not sure that i would be able to park a trolley so well, in truth. my driving skills, in a very general sense, are competent. all that parallel parking business, though, has remained beyond my basic abilities, mostly. my applause to the driver of this trolley.

well, anyway, may all of this have brought you the pleasure of a distraction, or even some entertainment and information, maybe. the latter might well be pushing it, but you never know. although if it was so that you drew some information, then you would, in a very real sense, know, now that i think of it.




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

what was and what should always be

hi there


oh yes, indeed. this post is, look you see, one of them ones which engages in a dose of the sentimental hygiene which is nostalgia. just as the title suggests. or makes clear, i suppose.

for some (no, for several) reason(s) there are those who are intent on fiddling with things. they are of a mind, usually for personal gain, to ignore the generally accepted principle of if something is not broke then waste no time in trying to fix it.

sadly this often happens in a way which tramples on peoples emotions (feelings, perhaps) about certain things. which is to say they go ahead and say f*** everyone who cares, we will mess about with this as we may make some money of doing so.

a travesty of this nature happened when my back was turned. when i was out of the country for a bit, someone somewhere thought it would be all well and good to change the name of that most beloved and treasured of sweet, the opal fruit, to "starburst".

blessed be, then, those who have returned us to the sanity of Opal Fruits, as you can see so gloriously in the above. Poundland, in answer to any question you have about who is to be so blessed. it is they who have reinstated the sweets with the proper name.

of concern is the fact that they are labelled as "limited edition", but then they did that with those "twin peaks" bars which are still on sale a couple of years later. we can but hope the same is true with these, and it does not go the way of Morrisons with marathon bars, which seem to have disappeared once more.

just why were opal fruits so treasured and revered? not to mention being an established cultural part of the English way of doing things? well, see the image above. that is taken from the celebrated engagement ring sketch by Fry & Laurie, although from left to right that is Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry in the image. of course, this was back in innocent times, before the vastly talented Hugh Laurie went on to be a huge star, and before Stephen Fry somehow managed to convince people he was wise and a source of wisdom simply by reading intelligent sounding things off of a piece of paper in a posh, decidedly condescending voice.

not all, but a considerable amount of the humour in the above sketch draws on the audience having an intimate (precise) knowledge of opal fruits. there has been a generation (give or take) which has been denied a full understanding of this comedy gold because of the selfish, misguided decision to rename opal fruits.

exactly what are opal fruits? well, the obvious answer here is that they are what starburst think they are. but, for ease of reference, they are super juicy fruit infused sweets. made to make your mouth water, is how the song or jingle used to promote them went. and they did. do, now, thanks to them being back.

it's not just any four flavours one finds in a packet of opal fruits. far from it. what one experiences is four particularly curated and cultivated selections, with them being the finest of the fine. below you can see an image of the chosen ones, with them being (in the order pictured) orange, lemon, lime and of course strawberry.

a particular pleasing, or if you like satisfactory, element of the opal fruits experience was, and once more now is, the rather complex packaging. the quasi waxy, mostly sooth, sensory pleasing paper is as difficult to take off the sweet now as it was so notoriously so in the 80s.

the obscenity that is starburst has, of course and as you would expect, no such refined principles. no, for them it is perfectly fine to have about six hundred different flavours available, rather than a select range of four. some may suggest this represents greater value and a wider choice is beneficial. i am not one.

let us not forget (and never forgive) the other obscenity what starburst is responsible for. yes, that is indeed michael bolton (more commonly known as that twat michael bolton), whose career was bewilderingly resurrected by starbust employing his services. it was not so much implied as directly stated that all starburst were infused by the power of bolton singing at trees. a brave move, and the mind boggles as to how a packet was ever sold after this promotional film (advert) was first screened.

why can they not just leave things alone? opal fruits were and now (maybe briefly) are perfectly functional, doing all that is ever asked of them. it was needless to fiddle and change any aspect of them, be it the name or dynamic range of flavours.

perhaps, like that whole marathon / "snickers" debacle, it was (and is) so that "starburst" is the name for (proper) opal fruits in america or somewhere like that. should that be so, then surely it would have made sense for starburst to change their (its) name to opal fruits.

well, that shall do for this considered look at an important subject. or, if you are of a mind to see it as such, my little petulant whine, rant or similar about something which probably doesn't matter. except for the bit where it very much does.




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

random bowie - is it any wonder?

howdy pop pickers


well, this is unexpected. i had reasonably expected, look you see, to add no more episodes (or editions) to my random bowie series. the truth, if truth be told, is that i am not, at time of writing, certain that Is It Any Wonder?, the 2020 "compilation" of a highly limited release nature, should be included. but, well, my blog, so there you go. but yes, they are calling the six track release an EP rather than an album. however, Station To Station "only" had six tracks too, so i am counting it. also, the running length exceeds 20 minutes (just), so it would not be allowed in any "singles" chart, if we still had such.

so, the usual provenance and fantastic facts? a bit tricky here, since it isn't officially an album as it has been defined or categorised, and certainly does not feature music recorded with the intention of all of it all being one record. but, here we are.

the six tracks here (which i might as well go one by one with) were initially available by "streaming" only, with one track being "dropped" every week for six weeks. of the six tracks, approximately 66% are re-recorded versions of songs, with a claim that a further (roughly) 16% (as in one more) is also a re-recording of sorts, and a possibly telling 33% of the album entire are songs made famous previously by tin machine. most, if not all, of the material here has been available before, although in some cases only via "fan club" releases.

a range of Bowie opinion exists. one end, but of course, sees Charlie Watts of The Ro££ing $tone$ stating that he was "not some sort of genius". at the other are the zealots and the acolytes "horrified" by the large commercial operations underway with Bowie's music, getting "offended" on behalf of David and saying there is "no way" he would ever have wanted or authorised the exploitation of his music for money.

let us get something cleared up. there is no secret that i love Bowie's music, hence all these posts. but the latter group mentioned in the previous paragraph are being absolutely absurd. under no circumstances whatsoever would Bowie have wished, after his passing, his family to "fend for themselves" and not bring in money off his work. also, anyone who thinks Bowie was shy about financial ambitions have not paid attention. your attention is thus drawn to that 70s film Ziggy Stardust, where Bowie is sat studying the receipts from the gig just moments before going on stage. further, the 80s documentary Ricochet, in which Bowie happily includes a scene outlining how much money he will make. and finally, well, for the 90s you just google "Bowie bonds".

being perfectly honest, the arrival of Is It Any Wonder? is a very, very welcome break, or respite, from the absolutely relentless re-issuing of Space Oddity. whilst the "anniversary edition" released late in 2019 was really good, another re-issue is happening now, this time a "limited" 12" vinyl picture disc. enough now, we all have as many copies of that record as we can carry, and, well, he did do other stuff.

to cut to the chase, so to speak, and do the bit that normally comes at the end, is it worth getting Is It Any Wonder? at all? well, i believe the cd is now sold out and the vinyl too probably, so is it worth doing a "streaming" or buying a download? objectively no, subjectively yes.

yes, that is the cd of Is It Any Wonder which i was fortunate enough to get, and also yes, indeed, that is the overtly and highly (to say the least) priapic db logo what he had on the go from 1995, in and around all that 1. Outside business. which makes sense, as the period (or era) covered here is 95 - 97. you know, that "hey kids, i am down with this drum and bass thing" era, and a time when he was very keen to let all know that he was still most enthusiastic about that sort of thing, which is to say doing a sex.

for every Bowie fan that will say 1987's Never Let Me Down was the low point of his career, there is another who will say no, not so, 1997 with Earthling was, with many finding the whole "drum and bass" variation to be dull, monotonous, tedious and boring. ultimately, there is no such thing as "bad Bowie", though, for he did it so there must be something of interest in it.

how about that track by track that i mentioned earlier? well, sure. for more "factual" or information based stuff on each song, i would say head off to the official Bowie site, for they have extensive notes on each tune. what follows here is just me being a simple fan.

Baby Universal 97 - a re-recording of the Tin Machine single off of Tin Machine II. it sounds not unlike the Tin Machine original, which is hardly surprising as it features 50% of Tin Machine (just Tony and Hunt missing). the reason for re-recording it seems to be an idea of maybe including it on the Earthling album after playing it frequently on Outside tours (refer to the splendid bootleg A Night In Loreley).

the main issue, or gripe, with this version of the song is that it is a little bit too polished and produced. one of the things i love about the Tin Machine original is the Hunt Sales backing vocal, which is best described as being off a key and out a step. here Gail Ann Dorsey does a perfect backing vocal, which is great, but not what my ears are used to. also, at the end Bowie adds some of them "gordon bennet cor blimey guv i done a sex" grunt noises which he beautified certain aspects of Earthling with, Telling Lies in particular.

Fun - i was led to believe that this was a "quasi" re-recording of Fame, which is presumably why we get a lyric from Fame as the title. sorry, but (alas) i do not hear any remains or remnants of Fame in this song. perhaps that is because it is a "clownboy mix", whatever that may mean.

neither good nor bad, really, this one. mostly it just is, i guess. the most distinct thing about it is all that "wobbly bass" sound, which echoes aspects of Outside and some of what Bowie's mate Trent was doing with Nine Inch Nails.

Stay 97 - starts off really, really well, peters out, ends quite badly. not really a fate i would wish upon a song taken from my all time favourite Bowie album (if i was forced to pick), and one that David was perhaps reluctant to see come, hence this being generally unreleased up to now.

there is absolutely no fault with the Bowie vocal on this "new" version (it is now 23 years old), and Reeves Gabrels absolutely nails the devastating guitar on. my (for want of a better word) problem is that this polished re-recording has stripped away the desperate, desolate isolation of the original. the backing vocal, for instance, feels supportive and inclusive rather than a lament.

i think (or suspect) the purpose of re-recording this would be to see if it would go well live. that would explain the nature of the lengthy instrumental at the end. it feels like it was done to allow David to go off stage for a bit, either to do a costume change, have a cigarette or two, or maybe do a sex, or probably all three.

I Can't Read 97 - perhaps the real gem on this release, although it was released as a single at the time, most of us (i am guilty) just ignored it or were not aware of it. anyway, originally this was a particular highlight on the debut Tin Machine album (self titled), but here we have a version re-recorded for a film called The Ice Storm. with respect, there was another re-recorded song by a different artists released at the same time which kind of got all the attention.

this stripped down, acoustic take on the song is really, really good. brilliant, perhaps. Bowie takes the haunting, slightly disturbing original and turns it into something all the more haunting. a few of the lines have changed, perhaps to suit the song or simply to remove the swear words, but it all works. very much worth having. if you were unable to get the Is It Any Wonder? CD, and are not prepared to pay north of £10 for the CD single second hand, then you can find it on the soundtrack CD for The Ice Storm, with prices for it normally south of £5.

Nuts - the only bona fide, genuinely "previously unreleased" song to feature on Is It Any Wonder? which immediately means this has some interest, but (alas) that is some interest which fades away quite early on. unless you are a big fan of Earthling, and always wished for more.

over on the official David Bowie website this is generously described as being a "semi instrumental". my interpretation of this would be that it was a song David was fiddling with, working on, threw a few words on that felt as though they might fit, decided that the song wasn't really going anywhere interesting, and so just left it unfinished.

again, i state, or confess that Earthling is the one David Bowie album i am pretty sure shall never ever taste the laser of my stereo equipment ever again. had Nuts ever got finished off as a complete song then it would have sounded absolutely perfectly in place on the record. that is as diplomatic as i can make my thoughts on this repetitive, droning tune.

The Man Who Sold The World - this is the studio recording billed as the "live Eno mix", meaning it is a rehearsal (of sorts) of how David and the band would do it live, what with the song being made all of a sudden (at the time) tres popular via Nirvana's version. previously this was to be found on the Strangers When We Meet single.

it's ok and it is all right, this. a good, solid enough version, but all in all my preference would be for the original album version, or the Nirvana take. yes, surely, this re-recorded take is better than the one what Lulu did.

right, well, that's that. four familiar songs re-recorded in a mostly agreeable or at worst not too objectional way, two previously unreleased (well one, the other might as well be classed as so for it was difficult to find) tuned that would not have been all that a great loss had they remained so. but nice to have them, all the same.

what next for Bowie releases? i believe a "highlights" edition of his (very heavily bootlegged) 50th birthday concert is due quite soon. after that, the next two years will see the 50th anniversaries of The Man Who Sold The World, Hunky Dory and a certain The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. it would be quite a surprise if re-releases of these did not turn up.

do i, as a simple Bowie fan trying to make his way in the world, feel like i am being exploited or ripped off with these releases? not really. under no circumstances have i ever bought a Bowie release against my will. some of them, like a couple of the live releases and compilations, i have very easily skipped over, thanks. but i do like having the choice, so long may they keep releasing them.




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

fancy lighters

heya


or indeed ciao, look you see, as all this isolation business appears to have increased the number of readers i get from countries what are presently locked down. how bleak it must be if my musings are considered entertainment to get through it; may this all pass soon.

although perhaps it has, since this is written in the later parts of march with an intention of being published or "live" in the early (ish) stages of april. perhaps it has all gone away by now, or maybe that is just half full optimism from moi. better than full tilt pessimism, though.

but then, maybe it is so that as and when this appears my most treasured (or relied upon) cigarettes are also a thing of the past. rationing and panic buying appears to have affected or been implemented on everything else, so who knows. as they exist in the here and now, however, time to revel in a most splendid find.

yes, fancy or if you like posh cigarette lighters, with pictures on them. for quite some time now all one has really been able to find on the shelves has been plain, basic coloured lighters, so it was a particular delight to spot these.

why has it been so that lighters of a more exotic aesthetic have become so obscure? i do not know. my speculation, and this is pure conjecture, is that it is all to do with the strange idea they had to get rid of all colourful branding off of cigarettes, forcing them to be sold in a rather dull identical shade. let me assure you, if only from my perspective, that it wasn't the pretty colours on the box which did it for me and cigarettes, although i do miss the iconic marlboro packaging.

provenance of these lighters? why, poundland of course, and yes indeed it was a case of the pack of three cost me £1. this is a most delightful throwback. back in the 80s, one could walk around town and see some earnest entrepreneurial type pitching to punters, offering to sell them three lighters for a quid. no, i did not do business with them at the time for i did not smoke then, but all the same the sight and sound of such recalls a fond memory.

let it be made clear that i am no linguistical pioneer, but as far as i can ascertain it is certainly probable, indeed maybe probable, that these lighters were made with the intention of being sold to a decidedly german market. actually i have a good friend who is (tres) (or perhaps even uber) good with words and that, so maybe i should ask them to translate this text. but, perhaps they will read this and let me know, if they feel that they should.

that does seem like an awful lot of instructions, guidance, indicators and warning labels for a cigarette lighter, does it not? my favourite symbol is totes the one which warns of how a cigarette lighter is flammable, followed by the one which appears to give every suggestion that they (cigarette lighters) are not suitable toys for children and should not be given to babies. perhaps you have your very own favourite, which is excellent if so.

being intended for the german (or germanic), or wider bavarian market makes a lot of sense. this is for a couple of reasons, with the most obvious (and overt) being that The King, Elvis Presley features in a bold, stark way on one of them. it is known that He, The King, Elvis Presley, visited germany, one of the few countries that it is known He travelled to. to get there he stopped off in scotland, which has given the scottish a (rightful) sense of entitlement ever since. one unsubstantiated claim is that He also visited london, but no documentation exists for this, just (admittedly compelling) testimony.

you might look at the kid galahad lighter and consider that this was hardly the most iconic role played by The King, Elvis Presley at the movies, but for germans it probably was. high on the list of requirements for anything by germans is an admiration and embracing of efficiency. so, for them, kid galahad probably is an iconic film, for in it He, The King, Elvis Presley plays a boxer who can also sing. also, charles bronson out of death wish is in it, which is a plus.

any other examples of germans embracing an acute sense of efficiency in entertainment preferences? of course. you really don't need to look further than the hoff, david hasselhoff. being completely sh!t at acting and being totally sh!t at singing was, for some reason, the consummate win for germans, and they thus embraced him to the extent that he healed their entire nation. steven seagal (or however you spell it) is probably quite popular there too. not only does he sing and act, but his film roles always display strikingly versatile efficiency. he can play either a biochemist who is good at knacking people, or a buddhist monk who is good at knacking people, or even a chef that is really good at knacking people.

well, anyway, if i am sat here writing all of this then i am not off, out there, using these lighters. that simply must not be. so, i shall more or less leave this here. for the other two lighters, i have every confidence that you can consider casablanca and indeed rebel without a cause from your own perspectives.



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

a bar at the end where i can meet you and your friend

hey there


well, pretty much by the time this is published (i write these 2 or so weeks in advance, look you see, outside of limited urgent exceptions. which this is not) i totes expect this new plague thing to have wiped out most of us, or at the least see us all in our places of quarantine.

few, if any, i accept and expect, will give anything close to a good f*** as to how i am doing, or where i am, or what's happening to me. not so, of course, for Spiros. a significant number of you come here purely for updates on him, with he being the greatest legal mind of his (or any) generation.

if much of the above is pertinent (or relevant) to you, then i can bring some news. as far as i am aware, then, it is so that Spiros is as ok as would be normal for him. yes, indeed, he is in a form of isolation, so to speak. knowing that he has many admirers here, in his generosity and wisdom he provided the following image.

above is where Spiros has managed to isolate himself. it is in an unspecified (but patently asian) locale, and in such specifically in a magnificent shed-pub-gentleman's lavatory combination facility. unfortunately it seems there is a decided lack of taxi drivers of black cab nature for him to provoke and start fights with, but other than that all of his requirements appear met.

on a broader level of isolation, just how depressing and desolate the world situation is can be seen in my reading figures. so desperate are the people of italy for some form of entertainment that all of a sudden i am getting lots of readers from this quarantined land, whereas before i had hardly any. welcome, hopefully reading this helps, and sorry that it is not a good deal better than it is.

no, so far as i am aware i am all ok, except for the knacked kidney(s) or whatever it is what is broken in me and the mender is having a go at fixing. just if you are interested.




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

those kind of cars don't pass you every day

hey there


and so one month more done, look you see, with this new month to follow. which goes on the basis of you reading this at the start of it, which you might well not be. so, anyway, april. it is an exciting month, for however you prefer your mathematical expressions it offers something. the coming of april marks a quarter of the year passed, but by the end shall see that description move to a third.

for those of you who are rather keener on, or eager about, percentage figures, april commences with 25% of the year gone, but by the closure of it we are at 33% of it (the year) gone. no other month offer such an exciting or dynamic descriptive ability. well, hardly any.

one quite interesting (but perhaps not exciting) aspect of all them lovely figures, ratios and what have you is that for this particular instance of the month of april (it being 2020), it could well be that them numbers represent how much of the world population is dead, via death, off of this new virus thing. but, we are here for now, let us not trouble ourselves with such, instead looking at the calendars i have as usual, and considering some dates of note.

yes, after the dull and dreary (dreadful, perhaps) 'x-wing formation' we got on the Star Wars calendar for march, april sees the aesthetically pleasing boba fett being showcased. it is of course commonly, or rather widely, accepted that boba fett is the third best Star Wars character ever, after (proper) Lando and Lobot.

exactly why is boba, effectively an important but ultimately minor character in the grand scheme of the story, so celebrated and revered? good question. if i were to speculate at an answer, well, mostly see above. the aesthetics of his appearance are quite appealing. also, he is what they in american terminology call "badass", for he seems able to speak back (and speak down) to lord darth vader without fear of a death choke or similar.

would there be any dates of consequence or significance in april? certainly. to slightly evoke the above, our friends in america shall truly be beside themselves. or some will. from what i gather, those in america who simply must go "hee hee hee i smoke marijuana so i am cool and interesting" rather than just getting on with it and leaving the rest of us in peace get all excited (often in an uncontrollable way) about any reference to "420". i believe that number is something to do with police parlance for marijuana related criminal offences. with it being the 4th month of the 20th year of this century, expect an influx of references to such. great.

for the more (comparatively) normal, well balanced, sense of perspective people, then, here are some other matters to give consideration to.

1 - today is the day that they call April Fool's Day. where all sorts of mischievous practical jokes are played, to a wide an audience as possible. of all the ones pulled, i think my favourites are that time the bbc did a documentary on "spaghetti trees", and that time in the 80s where one British paper (i think the Mirror) ran a front page story of the then three surviving Beatles apparently recording together again. which, in fairness, did happen in the 80s (All Those Years Ago) and again in the 90s (Free As A Bird and Real Love).

2 - it's Rodney King day, for he was born on this day in 1965. for those unaware, or who have forgotten, Rodney King rose to fame by getting his head kicked in off of some coppers in america (los angeles or similar, i believe), which was captured on video and led to quite a significant level of riots. as you can see in the image from the video before, it was actually 3rd March that Rodney King got his head kicked in by some coppers, rather than on his birthday. which was thoughtful. many suggest that Rodney King day should be on March 3rd so as to correctly commemorate the kicking, but that could be seen as tasteless and crass. anyway, the riots in part inspired Bowie's Black Tie White Noise album, so there you go, every cloud.

3 - this day in 1987 saw Police Academy 4 Citizens On Patrol get released. i probably mentioned this last year, but if not to confirm, yes, to date this was the last time that Steve Guttenberg would feature in a Police Academy film.

4 - we tend to be critical of honours and titles being awarded in this day and age for little or no reason, or to questionable people. consider, if you will, Sir Jimmy, or perhaps Sir Elton. this has always been the case. on this day in 1581 Francis Drake became Sir Francis, only because he circumnavigated the world. well, big deal, give me a boat, a mountain of cigarettes and some food and i dare say i can manage that. oh and a few lighters too, obviously.

 8 - Margaret Thatcher died on this day in 2013. it would be fair to say that she was a "divisive" figure, if i have spelled such correctly, and the main reaction to her passing was for a song out of the more celebrated film version of The Wizard Of Oz to get into the charts.

10 - in what many regard to be the personification of a "relegation six pointer", on this day in 2010 in the English premier league Burnley went to Hull and Burnley beat Hull by a score of 4-1. let it not be said that neither Hull nor Burnley never ever get a mention on my blog, then.

13 - on this day in 1973 David Bowie released the Aladdin Sane album. and made the world a better place by doing so. should for some reason you wish to read further thoughts off of me on this record, well here is a link, then.

14 - just five years and one day after the above, The Medusa Touch starring Richard Burton got released. absolutely boss film, that, i watch it every time they show it on the tele.

17 - and it's a very happy birthday indeed to Fabián Andrés Vargas Rivera, widely considered to be the greatest, best and most important Colombian footballer of all time. if there is such a thing.

18 - Bez, celebrated dancer, maraca player, writer, quiz show contestant, reality television show participant and occasional champion, and a man who is knowledgeable about bees and beekeeping (and chemistry), was born on this day in 1964. although many suggest that rather it was the day this other worldly being was delivered from a galaxy far away unto earth so that he may lead us to a better way.

19 - for many Orwellian nightmare came full tilt true, as on this day in 1984 Australia adopted Advance Australia Fair as the national anthem. girt by sea, indeed. why not just use Waltzing Matilda, everyone knows and loves that one and it has no silly lines in it about being girt by sea.

20 - oh, dear. see above. easily excited and simple to occupy the mind of types will be all excited on this day due to that american constabulary association between this date and legal concerns in respect of marijuana or similar. just get on with it if you want, dig what you dig.

21 - a very respectful happy birthday to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. from what i recall in her wisdom of rule some honours are bestowed upon those worthy of such to commemorate her birthday. if you would like to nominate or put me forward for such an aware - ideally an MBE but i would accept an OBE - then here is the link for you to get the form.

25 - the documentary about the invention of the "post-it note" item of stationery, Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion, was released on this day in 1997.

28 - Paul Hardcastle made his singles chart debut on this day in 1985 with 19 going in to the singles chart at number 4. from what i remember it went to number 1, which is weird as normally there was a "curse of 4", where any single that ever finished a week at 4 would never get to 1. anyway, it outsold I Feel Love by Bronski Beat and Marc Almond that week, with that song at 5 in the chart. which took some doing, considering how many copies of that single Spiros bought.

30 - rock on dudes, for today is the birthday of Paulo jr, widely regarded and considered to be the best and most important bass player out of Sepultura.

but, as usual, you are really rather better off marking your own special dates and events in the month. except, of course, that marking the birthday / arrival on earth of Bez is something important. and, of course, nominating me for an MBE (or similar). true, too, also in this day and age if you don't in some form commemorate Rodney King day then you will probably get called racist or something, but the validity of that is limited to the person calling you such.

off we go, for the sake of completeness, to my boss, splendid New Zealand calendar, then. you know, that nation "down under" which (so far as i am aware, i have not checked) does not opt or elect to disgrace itself by having lines such as "girt by sea" in their anthem.

this is of course the calendar what Mum & Dad sent, saving me quite some money as for calendars for this year (2020) i only had to part with £1 for the Star Wars one off of Poundland. indeed, for your enhanced viewing pleasure it is presented in Commodore 64 mode.

with thanks to the perfect clarity of Commodore 64 mode there is little reason for me to say much about the above, but for the sake of consistency, yes. that is indeed the coromandel peninsula for your viewing pleasure.

right, then, this post has taken up enough of your time, i think. although it was your choice to read it. and thank you once again for doing so.




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

anniversary 35

hi there


it may be possible, look you see, that you are sat on 30 March 2020 contemplating what you might have watched on the television some 35 years ago, or if you like 30 March 1985. should this be so then apparently you are not alone.

by no means is this an exhaustive or conclusive answer to such speculation, and indeed only covers those who are wondering so for the main commercial television channel in the uk. at the least, the main one at the time, for now we have several.

as you can see, it was quite a different time, with meddling with things such as sorcery and the rather dangerous dark arts of prophecy and soothsaying being seen as perfectly acceptable forms of early evening light entertainment.

no, i do not recall the zodiac game at all, but it does look rather interesting. as tom o'connor was regarded as the face of all which is safe and wholesome in terms of life and entertainment, it can be little wonder that he was used to lure a formidable range of a list celebrities in to dabble with the unknown that should remain not known to mortals.

indeed, yes, that is a weirdly specific commencement of broadcasting time. so little was happening in the world at this stage, it seems, that the main evening news was only given 2 minutes of time, presumably to confirm that all was as it was and should be.

for those who remained tuned in after the zodiac game, which is to say those who did not become seduced by the meddling of tom o'connor with tales of the future and so set out to experiment with tarot cards, ouija boards and similar, there was the spectacle of the fall guy to sit and watch. or stand and watch, i suppose, if that is how you preferred to do it. maybe lay on the couch, or in bed, for by this time the idea of having tv sets in bedrooms was starting to be common.

perhaps the most interesting aspect of this listing is the great emphasis placed on how both Lee Majors and Douglas Barr feature in it. they are, as you can clearly see, listed just below the name of the show, just above the title of the particular episode, and then again below, with the final listing giving every confirmation that they are playing the characters in the show which they are most commonly associated with playing. i am not sure if people would, in any great number, have not tuned in without such confirmation.

no, for the sake of clarity, this episode is not the one which a claim was made that vernon wells was in, but turned out that he was not. for more information on that particular one, please click here to read whatever information i could find on it.




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

'cause in sleepy london town

heya


oh, go on then. another post on my sojourn, or adventure, look you see, to london. well, my most recent of such, and whoever knows perhaps final of sorts. and why not.

it would be both fair and safe to assume (or presume) that my more regular readers would be quite fed up of the subject of london, since that is what seems to have dominated posts this month. with such in mind, i will do what i can to make this a final one. that may mean this is longer than usual, so to speak. also, quite a few selfies (of course featuring moi), but that is fine as little damage shall be done if fewer of you are reading it.

to the many pictures of me here that shall feature, well, what could i say or ask. should you ever for any reason feel compelled to pause and reconsider me, then remember me this way. or, forget it all ever happened, whichever is the easiest.

hopefully i shall be able to recall where all these pictures are. this one above, at the least, i can most assuredly confirm, is outside of kings cross, having a cigarette having just completed a surprisingly pleasant and (almost) mostly stress free trip down.

for those not in the now, our English trains are generally regarded as a complete pile of sh!t. in optimal conditions they are prone to delays and cancellations for no given reason, and are staffed by people who are extremely strike friendly. the miracle of my journey is that it actually happened, despite two massive storms on the weekend before and on it, planned and "unplanned" maintenance work, and a mystery stop in, of all places, Grantham, where the train driver managed to "correct" the issue with the train. right after some people who had got on the train with "split tickets" as far as Grantham but hoped to see london were invited to leave. had we broken down in Grantham forever, it might not have been so bad, i would have just gone and looked for where Bad News did their gig in the Bad News Tour documentary.

my thoughts on kings cross? i was quite annoyed that the usual food market was not on, as i had hoped to pick up some biltong and drywors for the family from it. the failure to do so undoubtedly provoked even more hatred and contempt towards your humble narrator from my (considerably) better half than is usual, which is an achievement i suppose. beyond that, there was a significant and visible increase in the number of people rough sleeping, and a remarkable number of people who thought that i was some sort of free cigarette dispenser, which i am not.

off from kings cross and on to the magic of the tube system, then. and it really is quite remarkable. whilst i appreciate that familiarity breeds contempt, all them london types what moan about the tube and the buses really need to go out to the provincial areas and see how they get on without.

here i am, then, at shepherd's bush. no, i didn't get off here, so to speak. my memory suggests that this is where one would depart to go to the old bbc centre, which they took off them and moved them to manchester which they sulk about. also, in terms of rock and roll, i do believe that it was "the bush" what was considered the stomping ground of the likes of the who and indeed status quo. so maybe i should have gone for a gander, see if there was any tribute to such.

and speaking of tube stations and rock legend, hammersmith.

well, i think (or am at the least fairly sure) that is me outside one of the hammersmith tube stations, for so rock and roll is the place they have at least two that i am aware of. maybe more but i have only used the two, so i can only speak of them.

oddly, and this rather gives details of where and when i was away, whilst there in hammersmith i could have gone and seen eric clapton do a one off gig tribute to ginger baker. the tickets for this were a modest £750 at the cheapest, which i simply did not have to hand, or at all.

some rock myths and legends are truly baffling. in regards of clapton, i have heard several stories of him apparently throwing his guitar down in disgust as some other guitarist was better than him. usually it is hendrix cited, but there have been others. why the pick on clapton for these tales is rather unclear, even if he was for some reason a trifle miffed that hendrix appeared to be a better guitarist than him then surely this is not a small number of people for which this is true.

yes, well done for scrolling down and finding a picture in which i, me (moi) does not feature. once again it does feel somewhat like any commentary i could add in words is superfluous or just plain unnecessary, but sure, that is a statue of Monty.

no, not Monty Python or Full or any other Monty other than Viscount Montgomery. one of the men and women who led us to victory in the war, and secured our freedom. a freedom which some, of course, choose to be critical of those who led us to victory, but that is what freedom is. the ability to say what you will. you just have to accept there are consequences for what you say.

speaking of which, Sir Winston, who is in the statue above. a rather strange thing. in these enlightened, informed times, where perhaps there is some distance from events and none of us can really comprehend it all, there are those who suggest that Sir Winston was some form of war criminal, that he was a bad man. going on various reliable accounts, he was a questionable man in a personal capacity, for sure. but he stood up against tyranny and vowed to defend freedom to the death when so many were pressuring him to capitulate. i am not a clever person so do not know exactly what the word means, but i suspect it is ironic that Sir Winston is the one who led the way to assure people had the freedom to call him whatever they so wished to.

any other statues in and around london? goodness me, yes, lots of them. some of them will feature below, of course. if you are not all that keen on statues, then, you may want to give the rest of this something of a miss.

yes, the reason i have included the above is because of the manner in which it has been defaced. them twats off of "extinction rebellion" went right ahead and carved their odd, peculiar, wonky egg timer logo on it. i am sure they feel justified in doing so, due to whatever it is them what did this statue did to destroy something they have a passing value for, or stole dreams, or what have you.

did i by any chance once again go past the magnificent statue of Madiba? why yes, of course, since i was there. no doubt, with the time that i had, if i wasn't right there then i would probably have made the effort to go.

this really is a superb statute, honouring a truly great man who very few are critical of in any substantive or objective way. should you be wandering around parliament square wondering where exactly this statue is, simply look for the biggest crowd, as normally that crowd is gathered around this Madiba statue.

how about a slight break from statues? i appreciate that they are exciting and interesting things, but there is only so much i can write of them in such a space. also, one or two of you in particular, i know, prefer (or have simply gotten used to) me going non-linear with things.

yes, the thames. it would be amiss, i suppose, for me to do any sort of sequence of posts on london and not have it feature. what with, you know, all the history, the iconic status and what have you.

i am reasonably sure (certain) that there is nothing i could say of the thames which is not covered in a much, much better way in the song Waterloo Sunset off of The Kings. a song which, for me, is the most beautiful, inspired homage to a place that i have heard. many will have a different song for a different place in mind, but there you go, that's the beauty of how we each experience music in our own ways.

again, sorry for not reversing (or "flipping") the picture, but for some reason it doesn't feel quite right when i do. maybe it is all that biology and perception stuff about how our vision actually works, i am not sure i didn't pay attention and it was quite a while ago that i was in such a class where i may have learned all about it.

there are a number of people who will need no clarification at all as to why i took the above. yes, indeed, i did just take a tube from where i wanted to be to tottenham court road just to take this picture. i then hopped back on the next one to be at where i wished. although of course i very much wished to be here.

why? more recently (as in the last 20 or 25 or thereabouts years) because in the fabulous Why Bother recordings, it is here that Sir Arthur went for a swim at the YMCA. but, more importantly, because that scene in An American Werewolf In London took place at this very tube station. and the image below, i think, was taken at the same.

now that i think on, perhaps i should do one of those infrequent "classic cinema" posts what i used to do on An American Werewolf In London. it is, after all, a masterpiece. debate to this day, for instance, remains over whether it is best to describe it as a comedy-horror or a horror-comedy. as it is in equal measure one of the most terrifying and funniest films you could see, there is no clear cut answer.

it was most ace to be able to have the time, and indeed opportunity, to visit this most celebrated of tube stations. on other visits to london i did not, for the most part, have the time to do so. well, on one visit i did, but it was closed for some maintenance work or something. but, made it there in the end. yes, i had been before, back in the 80s, on a school trip. maybe we attempted to recreate the scene out of An American Werewolf In London and perhaps we got knacked, both for doing it and for having quite intimate knowledge of a film we were too young to have seen at the time.

back to leicester square, then. i believe it was from there that i travelled up to tottenham court road and back for the above, so returning to the subject of the place now is, i guess, in a very real (or pretend) sense non non-linear.

to return to something else, in respect of the Why Bother recordings, i am, alas, unable to confirm what Sir Arthur said about crack cocaine being a lot cheaper in leicester square. cheaper than where, i do not know, as i have no idea how much the stuff costs. or where to get it. and it is not like anyone walked up to me and said "hello there, how would you like to buy some crack?". or maybe they did but i did not hear them.

yes, a return to statues too. this one is indeed, if for some reason not clear, of william shakespeare, and is of course to be found in leicester square. presumably, or it is nice to know, that bill shakes was quite the admirer of leicester square too.

auberon waugh once wrote something along the lines of how william shakespeare was the shadow under which all other English writers wrote. whilst auberon was known to be quite mischievous in what he wrote from time to time, perhaps not so here. it's all eye of the beholder, etc, in terms of what anyone thinks makes the "best" of anything, but foolish it would be to suggest that many if any hold his influence.

for those who have not encountered the spear of shake and thus do not believe they are aware of his influence or shadow, think not such. his plays have provided the very basic structure for any narrative since, with particular emphasis on how stories are told in films.

i cannot for any reason think of why one would want, wish for or need a selfie of me (moi) before the statue of shakespeare, but should i be wrong (frequently, i am), there you go above.

are there any other statues in the leicester square part of leicester square? yes.

there be the most splendid one of charlie chaplin for you. which, as point of fact, from what i can remember (at least), is the only other statue i saw.

make no mistake, and don't get me wrong (actually you can if you so wish), the idea of a chaplin statute is a really splendid and ace one. it's just that if they are going to go full tilt and have statues of celebrated actors (presumably of an English or perhaps British heritage), then why just charles "charlie" charles, and not some of the others.

in days gone by, and i speak of the 80s and early 90s here, one saw people stood around in leicester square dressed in all sorts of costumes, or done up as clowns. from what i remember, and this could be wrong, a condition of joining an actors' union (probably equity) was having to perform for x amount of hours in public. standing around dressed as a clown for a few hours in leicester square would tick that box.

no, that is not quite what i was doing in the above picture, but if any sort of actors' union card turns up in the post as a consequence i shall be sure to let you know.

would that now be "it" for updates from leicester square? kind of, sort of, yes. rather than take the tube, or spend an enormous sum of money on one of them "cheeky" black london cabs, i strolled from leicester square towards piccadilly. which meant a walk past chinatown.

the people what do the news and that had reported chinatown had been all but abandoned, due to fear over this coronavirus thing. from what i recall they even had footage of that nice jeremy corbyn bloke stood there all alone. going on what i could see, perhaps that image of jeremy was one rather like that time he did that thing where he sat on the floor of a train a while ago.

did i not have any fears or concerns surrounding possibly catching or being infected with this splendid virus? partially, i suppose. you have to remember by this stage it was so that my kidney (or kidneys, i suspect one has two) had went f****d, so it wasn't all that much of a risk. besides, who knows, every cloud, etc, so maybe coronavirus fixes kidney(s) issues whilst killing you.

but i did not dwell in chinatown too long. certainly not long enough for anyone to approach me about something what Spiros told me one of his business associates told him. apparently, according to him, one can briefly employ a lady in chinatown to do a sort of "job" with her "hand" for the fee of £5. this claim is one that i am tres skeptical of, for i find it very hard to believe that anything in london can be obtained for a fiver or less.

piccadilly, then, with the welcoming site of the eros statue. quite strange, once again. what with it being rule under the English way of doing things that we are expected to be prudes, and all shy and coy and not interested in that sort of thing that we should then go and prominently erect a statue to the god of passion and physical desire. very much that sort of thing.

generally, i do like being here (there) in piccadilly, near or around the statue. maybe that's because i most certainly do not hide away from my enjoyment, appreciation and delight of that sort of thing, who knows (or cares). however, on this instance there were quite a few buskers setting up, playing and trying to sell discs, so i moved on. well, yes i listened for a bit and most were smart, but i wished to have some dinner, and get to Fortnum & Mason.

but of course i did pause to pose for a selfie by the eros statue, as seen above.

any regrets or wishes unfulfilled from my trip to london? well, there are one or two friends i have down there that i don't seem to get to see when i go. also, briefly, i considered going somewhere random, like high wycombe or similar, for a coffee or something. doing so, however, would have taken away time that i could spend in Fortnum & Mason, and indeed with my chum Spiros.

phew. more or less all done, then. if for some reason you felt a need to read all (or most) (or even just some) of this, many thanks indeed.





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