hedgehog

hello there

on a practical level i am quite aware that this shall be of little use, look you see. but still, here we are. 

further, if i may be so bold, we are approaching the end of days for the year that is this year (2023). this is at the least true of when this went and gone done got published, being as it is the last throes of the Nigel Tufnel month of the standard (Gregorian, if you will) calendar. my thoughts must thus progress to what, or which, calendar to procure for the year to come (2024). but, for now, a look at what i ostensibly had on display for the one louder month of this year. 

yes, truly, it is so, as in the above picture (and title) i have had a hedgehog on the wall, so to speak, via the wildlife calendar what i went and purchased. indeed it is also true that the image above (and below) is in the format of that fancy, smart VHS camcorder thing what i got for my (relatively) new phone what has a camera welded to it. 

the main reason, or inspiration, for purchasing the calendar what i did was that it featured this image of a hedgehog on the front of it. perhaps for matters of seasonal relevance they elected to show off this cover image only in as far as November, i know not. but yes, it was totes worth the wait to reveal this one. not that many (if any) other than me see it in situ, if that is the right term, but still. 

anyone wishing to see real (and clear ish) images of a hedgehog, along with a slight video (yes, we have got a video) then you could do a lot worse than click here for documentation of a recent sighting. 

no, it is simply not so that at this stage i have declared an interest in one (1) particular calendar for the year ahead. which, to clarify, shall be 2024. so far i have seen a number on sale what celebrate the late, much missed HMQE2, The King, Elvis Presley, and Sir Cliff Richard. i am uncertain if one of those would hold appeal. let me just wander around, observing, and i am sure that the one which would best be on the wall shall speak to me so as i gaze upon it. 

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

vibes of a recent release nature

howdy pop pickers

time tends to not be there for the more regular updates here. some might say this is not particularly bad, and that perhaps (maybe) i should give it up all together, look you see. well, no. just what would i do with what time i get free, and where else would i write so? 

right then, music. vibes. tunes, if you will. up to now it feels like i haven't really purchased all that much in respect of "new" records this year. mostly this would be down to the U2 one being overpriced and awful sounding, with the Depeche Mode one being overpriced. and James doing the acoustic thing just held no appeal either. so, October brought not one, not three (that i am aware of) but two (2) records that (which) i had some interest in. 

for clarity, they are Danse Macarbe off of Duran Duran and Hackney Diamonds off of Rolling Stones. those who(m) are interested in provenance may be interested to know that i purchased them off of wha has become my favourite vibes merchant, Sister Ray down in Soho. should chance permit i would strongly endorse or otherwise recommend a visit. 

exactly how interested was i in either or both of these releases? being honest, not that much. my basic rudimentary knowledge of each, discussed a bit more in respective comments below (rather than above) did not suggest any compelling reason for them to actually exist. certain good intentions lurked, to be sure, especially around the DuranX2 one. but then, they just had a new one out (i think last year?), and as for the Stones, really? 

well, anyway, here we are, and both exist. having played each of them at least four or five times, i feel relatively ready to pass comment on them. mindful, of course, that at time of writing each record is now north of a month old, and so in this ever prone to disposal world many shall already have forgotten about them. 

starting with the one i played first, with a sense of "best get it out of the way", as picture above that would be Danse Macarbe off of Duran Duran. i had heard whispers that it was "not great". bit sh!t was one review i saw. oh dear. well, they have done plenty of records dismissed as such, and i have disagreed. and so i gave it a go. 

difficult to see this (with its impressive and lavish packaging) as an album, rather more a collection of songs. there are some new ones, some (partially brave) cover versions and then some "re-imagining" of previous works. which at least are not just awful acoustic versions (refer U2). mostly it feels like an excuse for them to get together with some friends. former member Andy Taylor being an obvious important one, but it is really, really nice to see Warren invited to be part of it. 

considering that an album of covers, Thank You, very nearly (and unfairly) sank them close to thirty years ago, it's quite interesting to see them return to this. i gazed upon the selection of songs what they decided to cover and i feared the worst. should you play the album and find their cover of Ghost Town is awful, well, relax - the next track, Paint It Back, gets even worse. and as for Super Lonely Freak, not quite sure what they were hoping to achieve with Super Freak samples that MC Hammer had not, but this is Simon le Bon we are talking about. you know, a man who will sometimes wake up, think you know what, i (Simes) am going to sail around the world, and then actually do it. 

oddly the cover of Bury A Friend off of that lass what did Glastonbury (Billie Eilish, i think) works really well, but then i am not all that familiar with the original. i really (really) did fear the worst ahead of the Talking Heads cover, but surprisingly their take on Psycho Killer works very well. 

not really an album feel to it, as mentioned. rather more a case of "Simes and chums having some fun and determining it being of a quality to release". with the latter somewhat debatable. at first, as in on my first listen, i was like, ok, exactly how many times do i need to pay this to feel like i got value for money, then put it in a corner and forget it? yet it has grown on me. no way shall this get played as frequently as, say, Medazzaland, but it will get a few more spins. 

moving along, then, and the "surprise" return of The Rolling Stones. who never went away. and when they released the (oddly not on this album) single Ghost Town in the midst of that plague thing some 3 or so years ago, they did make it clear an album was "on the way". but, still, the narrative dictates that actually Hackney Diamonds is a surprise return album. 

partially it was so that i wasn't entirely confused by a new album off of them, just a little sad. for a remarkable, shall never (ever) be repeated career, it did feel like Blue & Lonesome from a few years ago was the perfect (studio based) bookend to it all. just them (and friends) playing the songs which started them on a phenomenal journey. but, for whatever reason, behold a new album. yes, it (very much) is a bad name for a record, Hackney Diamonds, but when you look at their catalogue, more often than not they have come up with a poor name for an album. Exile On Main Street and Sticky Fingers of course being massive exceptions. 

is the (actual) album any good? yes. no, it is not brilliant, nor is it their "best and most important album since....." stuff. well, when i say not brilliant, actually the two (2) lead singles, which got a proper release as singles, Angry and Sweet Sounds Of Heaven, are such. both have had very heavy airplay, particularly on Radio 2, who(m) no doubt like to be nice to the Stones on the off chance they can get one of them to guest. 

speaking of which, to draw guests and the one song together, Sweet Sounds of Heaven. this is a record, or album (tape, even) overloaded with guests. one suspects Mick has a slightly better address book that Simes, for the likes of Sir McCartney of Paul, Sir John of Elton and the Wonder of Stevie features. as does former member Bill Wyman, but no Mick Taylor. oh. anyway, all of those guests are only ones you are aware of by reading the liner notes. which is to say they bring nothing that dramatic or different to the sound. not so with Ms Gaga, who truly does deliver one of those great vocal tracks which remind one of how much they love music and why. 

just about all the reviews of Hackney Diamonds have decided to go for that "oh isn't it amazing that they are still going and doing this" approach, which is a shame. there isn't a bad track here, with even one that appears to have Keith on vocals being not bad. rather perplexingly one review focused on how it had the perfect running time length, but never mind. it, this album, has sold huge amounts, and it would be nice to think it has done so on the basis of the quality of songs as much as the brand name. 

quite soon i am going to have to consider thinking about a "best" of the year thing. no idea at all what shall go for the album of the year. i am not sure either of these should qualify, but the only other new music i can recall off of the year what i actually got was the "difficult" second album off of Inhaler. oh well, i shall give it a think. both of these albums are fairly decent, then. 

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

the day the donkey derby came to town

greetings

well, in truth, no. as it happens there was no donkey derby as such, and they didn't quite come to town. but still it remains so that i did see some donkeys (or donkies) on my travels. since such is reasonably interesting i opted, or otherwise elected, to share such here, look you see. there are a few out there who will catch the reference in the title, though. 

a further "no" would be that this was not in that there London (innit). for a change i went off to inspect, or roam, another part of the land. ostensibly i was based in Blackburn (of Lancashire) but appeared to spend more (or most) of my time in and around the Lake District. a quite lovely place; one which holds rather fond memories for moi from the 80s. to answer any question lingering in your mind as to where i was based, no, i did not see (or rather count) so much as one hole there, let alone four thousand. 

mostly, or if you will for the most part, i took these pictures and video (yes, we have got a video) for a couple of dear friends. one in particular, as they have a strong emotional link to the welfare of these wonderful creatures, but such is not my story to tell. i suspect neither would mind me placing them, the images and video, here for anyone else who has an interest. especially as my new phone what has a camera welded to it appears to have taken some decent images for a change. 

do i even know what a donkey derby is? not exactly. i suspect, based on the name and association of a specific definition of the latter word, that it is some quite class race what they have donkeys do. perhaps just for fun, but as with all things in this country undoubtedly some shall place bets on the outcome. good luck to them, and i hope the donkeys enjoy it all. can't ever recall actually being in attendance at a donkey derby, but maybe i was once, in my youth, at some seaside concern or other.

video is above, then, as if not promised then stated as would appear. indeed i have once again gone right ahead and used that smart VHS camcorder thing for it, because why not. those static lines, or signs of tape damage, give it a rather special, human feeling, i think. possibly. 

how were things in Lancashire? well, not entirely as i expected or suspected, coming as i do from the far superior lands of Yorkshire. for a start it appears someone has taught them all the secret of fire, or maybe someone stole the knowledge. overall their interpretation of what a civilised society is like appears to have come on leaps and bounds. indeed all were quite friendly. perhaps they have all just come to accept their lot in life and are no longer quite cross about the fact that they are not of Yorkshire. lovely that there is now peace between our cultures. if anything, any anger or resentment the people of Blackburn had was directed at Burnley, with the express wish of destroying the place. 

in my time momentarily admiring the donkeys (a brief break from verk matters) a rather nice lady came along and drew my attention to the sign on the gate. this sign is reasonably legible in the first image, giving one a warning of being bitten off of a donkey. very wise to keep a distance. often we see animals which appear cute, such as a koala or panda, and assume they shall be have so. true, yes, strictly speaking (in terms of that comparison) no, a donkey is not a bear. but, still, you know. 

perhaps it is just me (who certainly does not read what i write, but thank you for doing so) but it does feel like a good deal more wildlife has been showcased here on my blog this year than would be normal. and why not, really. 

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

broken bus on broadway

hello there

yes, then, once more some stuff seen down in London (innit). an inescapable reality of spending so much time there is that posts are going to be of things from there, look you see. not unlike a recent post it is all about a vehicle what is busted and needs a mender. just not mine in this instance. 

i was, one evening, taking a stroll in a reasonably affluent and certainly (in its own mind at least) bohemian area of the city. this stroll had some purpose, for it was to go and post some items in a letterbox. as it happens, the postal service offered by Royal Mail and the Post Office (two separate businesses, so each can blame the other for f*** ups) are one of the very few things working proper in this country. but, of course, they are about to be "surprised" by Christmas coming up, for which they will not have planned and so they will get all upset about people sending cards and parcels. i appear to have got somewhat distracted.

so, on the return leg, or part, of this stroll, i saw a whole lot of lights off in the distance. not far distance, but still, one had to get closer to see what was going on. as it turns out, and as you can see in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, it was a bus what had gone busted (or broken) and was being attended to by a mender. which, in fairness, you probably worked out off of the title of this. oh. 

there is every chance that some (not all) of you will welcome a return to Commodore 64 mode being showcased here. by my own admission, or confession, yes, of late i have been rather distracted by my new VHS mode thing. so as to make amends, or compensate, all images here are in this format, and below is one of those rather fancy animated gif things. 

what was wrong with the bus? absolutely no idea. broken in one way or another. i did not think to look, but if it happens to have been one of them electric ones, quite possible that the battery was busted. this is already a thing what happens a lot with these electric vehicles. goodness knows what it shall be like when them what have decided such get their way and electric vehicles are the dominant thing stood on the road sans charge. 

by no means am i against electric vehicles (i am very much "whatever"), but it does strike me that there are an awful lot of issues with them what no one appears to have thought of. and them running out of charge and being struck is one of the smaller issues, worryingly. a bigger issue is weight. there are reports of structural damage to roads and car parks all due to the weight of "regular size" electric cars, and the lad what mended my busted tyre said that electric cars are a nightmare, as the weight of them means they can't be jacked up (or elevated) to change said tyre with the conventional equipment. oh. 

perhaps i am missing something (or i am just simple) but these are matters which i thought they might well have at least considered, if not planned for, prior to putting all sorts of pressure and deadlines for people to get them. certainly i am aware that for commercial (business) use these electric vehicles are of no use, except for sitting around charging them. 

and what of the fate of the bus? not sure. it was gone by the morning. pretty safe to assume it got towed off to the mender by that massive tow truck, i guess. no, i didn't really expect this many vehicle related posts this month, or London (innit) ones. but here we are. 

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

get free from hate and get in love

welcome

and hello! somebody somewhere pressed the button what makes the improbability drive work, look you see. under no circumstances at all did i think that i would be so fortunate as to get to see Holly Johnson perform (live and in concert) ever again, in any form or guise. but then, i did. 

quite likely that this shall be an awful lot of gushing, well intended waffle. yes, true, that is pretty much all what i would normally offer here, but i feel compelled to give fair warning. you may well wish to look at the (bad) pictures or play the (poor) videos and not worry so much of what it write. 

that there above, then, is the best picture (i think) that i managed to get of Holly Johnson live at the London Palladium on 27 October 2023. not too happy or impressed with the quality of images off of this new phone with a camera welded to it, but then (as i have mentioned in other posts) it could be all down to me, the user. also, i was jumping up and down and screaming and shouting and singing a lot. 

easily one of, if not the, most excellent parts of the whole experience was that i got to take Uncle Colin along to see it. as in, yes, the one and same Uncle Colin who took me to see Frankie Goes To Hollywood on January 10 1987. so, 36 years, 9 months and a few days (give or take) i got to return a favour of sorts. lovely stuff, and indeed here we are. 

oh goodness me yes, i did (indeed) have the leatherman hat on all day down there in London, and throughout the gig. well, if i was not going to wear it then, then when? now it has gone, by the way, gifted to someone, since my journey and this hat reached a natural end. indeed i am aware this is all jumbled free flowing stuff. 

some video then, and indeed the opening track of the gig. quality is appalling, and quite bouncy. also more likely you will hear me shouting rather than Holly Johnson, which is a shame. but i was there to thoroughly enjoy each and every moment, not to film it. 

here's the improbability drive part, then. on the rare instances Holly has taken to the stage over the last few decades (!!) he has generally started off with either Atomic City or, of course, Welcome To The Pleasuredome. no, not in this instance. he began (commenced) with Warriors Of The Wasteland, which was the exact same song Frankie started with back in 1987. which, to repeat, myself and Uncle Colin were at. yes, there were tears in the eyes. totes unexpected and most happy. 

do i even try and do some sort of review of the gig? yes, i suppose. just simply brilliant. wonderful. amazing to be in a venue with people projecting nothing but love towards Holly, and Holly giving back each and every reason for that love. his voice remains as it was, the songs as brilliant as they always have been. it was ninety exhilarating minutes. 

for details of the set, well, exactly as he had promised, or stated, in all the interviews and what have you leading up to it. we got all seven (7) Frankie singles, the four (4) big hits off of his debut solo album, the wonderful Blast, and a few songs that should have been way more well known than how it all turned out. a surprise omission from that set of songs (yes to talk about one song he didn't do) was the ace Penny Arcade, which he has expressed regret about how it got overlooked. still, we got an absolutely belting, beautiful performance of This Was Me, which very much should have been a massive hit all over the world, man.

most who know me would think, assume or take as a given that a full tilt Frankie Goes To Hollywood reunion (and not just that Eurovision thing) would be what my heart yearns for. not quite so. i have come to accept that it was of its time, and know that certain members of the band would absolutely have no wish to be together again in that way. under no circumstances at all would i wish to see a group of people i hold so dear working together purely for coins, or because they felt obliged. always will be a spectacular shame that it ended, but the light which burns twice as bring, etc. 

besides, a Holly Johnson solo gig gives one (specifically here, me) the very best of two rather wonderful worlds. it may well not be the same having a different band doing the Frankie stuff, but here is where we are, and getting the solo hits too is a massive, massive win. like, for instance, the above video (which is poor, i know) of Love Train. 

a point i have made before, and shall (probably) make again, is that when they play a Holly song on the radio, right, 90% of the time it's Americanos, and 10% it's Love Train. make no error in judgement, as i quite like Americanos, but it is as straightforward as being that Love Train is one of the all time greatest ever pop singles of all time. if you have played the video this is a trifle late, but sorry for the bouncy video and me shouting along. 

not sure in this day and age if i should post the above pic, but done with love. besides, i suspect the less than ace quality of my camera stops any image searches. some of the people i am with there i have known for (blimey) nearly 20 years, some i had met there. but this instance was the first time of me meeting them for real, as in live and in person. making the night all the more beautiful. indeed i did get to meet some other people, all ladies oddly enough, but in my merry state i placed those pics over on one of them social media things, if you are interested. 

but of course, ultimately, everyone (ahem) came to Holly via one song. that would be the debut single off of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Relax. well, no, sure, he did indeed attract a whole new audience via that debut solo album, but still. i figured record a bit of it, try not to shout too much, and then get on with digging the song of all songs. here, see how that worked out........

uncertain if it comes out in this video, but the dude in the leather outfit on the screen behind Holly was like, wow, well, totes hot. brilliant dancer, too. who knows, perhaps this three quarter life crisis of mine is taking a different twist. or i was just drunk and merry and enjoying the moment and live and let live and dig what you dig, man.

going slightly away from the gig (if i have even said that much directly of it) and yes, indeed it was so that Uncle Colin and i got to "tourist". quite different from 1987, when we were on a bus trip to and from the Manchester G-Mex (as it was) for the gig and that was it. for the most part, or mostly, we wandered the parts where i have been during the year, like the wonders of Ealing. but, also (and yes into the class record shops), Soho. which is ace. 

rather a shame no sort of (quasi) like for like images of the two of us exist from 1987, but it's not where you are from, it's where you are at. 

yeah, go on then, a return to the gig. and the finale. which was, of course, The Power Of Love. it is this song what Holly has repeatedly stated he wishes to be remembered for, and it is his favourite. even my Mum loves this one, if she couldn't quite take it what was so spectacular about the rest. as a special treat for you all, indeed the below is filmed in VHS mode. 

what a night, then. at the risk of melancholy, soppy or sentimental hygiene, an awful lot of life has happened between my first time of seeing Holly Johnson and this encounter. the same is no doubt true for Uncle Colin, but that is not my story to tell. it would have seemed, for decades, improbable that we would have been on the same side of the equator and a Holly tour would have been on the go. no, it is simply not so that anything is possible, but just sometimes the unlikely is very real. and beautifully so. 

just the one more picture, then. taken off of (or by) Uncle Colin, who apparently has a much, much more better camera welded to his phone. not often that i like pictures of moi, even though i am quite aware and comfortable with the fact that i am overweight and out of date. even me, who doesn't particularly like or care for me at all, can see how happiness radiates off of me, so yeah, i do love this. 

i would suggest that the only other times i have looked so happy in a picture, if they exist, will be ones taken in 1991, 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2012. those what need to know of those dates are already know, but not much of any of them shall be hidden on this blog. 

should it be so that Holly tours or plays some shows again and you get the chance, just for goodness sake go and embrace it. love every moment of it. allow the music, the vibe and the feeling take you wherever it will. i most certainly did, and would love to do so again. 

to be stolen or bought. 

stalked by a fox

heya

it is the case that i do very much appreciate how some people click on here from time to time in the hope of reading of some misfortune or other which might have affected me. this is perfectly fine, look you see. over time i have come to appreciate that my novelty factor does wear off, sometimes to the extent that a choice few would wish so ill of me. regrettably for them not much of such happened in this instance, but it was all so tantalisingly close. 

as has so often been the case this year i found myself driving down in that there London (innit) place. perhaps driving is an ambitious term for it, for usually one finds themselves just creeping along in the incessant, never ending traffic. just where everyone is going is a mystery. my travels were at a particularly peak time for such, meaning heavily congested roads. and the road i was on was all the more congested due to various decisions by the incumbent, idiotic mayor of that city, which has seen numerous roads closed to vehicles and what roads remain made smaller ("fewer") for cycle lanes that cyclists on the whole tend to ignore. 

so, with no space anywhere, sat in traffic, what should happen but an ambulance with flashing lights turned up at one end. it was clearly intent on getting somewhere very fast to assist someone. us motorists had little choice but to try and mount the kerb (so to speak) to let it through. i did recall thinking that kerb looks somewhat steep and poorly maintained, so sure enough it was that i had a tyre get all shredded and torn and punctured. 

oh dear, i said. well, some words along those lines. certainly a profanity (or two) featured, as i nursed my vehicle to the nearest street i could actually turn down and await someone to come along and mend the distressed tyre. it was during the four (or so) hours that i was waiting for this to happen that i became aware of being stalked off of a fox, as you can kind of see in the above image. as it turns out the camera what is welded to my new(ish) phone, one of them samsung things, is nowhere near as good as the one on my old lg. which is saying something. 

where does one (or me) begin with this. i suppose the fox part. a most curious and strange thing about being in London (innit) is the proliferation of fox sightings one can make day or night. i do indeed appreciate the ban on fox hunting, but it would appear that any alternate plans (or efforts) to control the number of foxes has failed. often i shall be strolling down a road, in broad daylight, and one shall saunter along near me. facing one at night, however, is a little different.

getting eaten off of a fox was, as it turns out, a nice distraction of fear from the fact that i had a dwindling stack of cigarettes with me (sorry). i had started off with a reasonably full packet, but they are ever so nice to lean on when one is in a moment of distress. sadly, at least for those who would wish harm or misfortune on me, no, the fox did not attack, and no, i did not run out of cigarettes. quite a late night as a result of it all, of course, but ultimately no harm done. to me, at least. 

for the tyre, well. a reality of such a thing happening in a busy area of London (innit) at an even busier than usual time. simple maths, i am a grown up, partially educated, mostly functional adult male. i was perfectly capable of being left alone for a bit as they attended to other motorists in distress. with regards to the incident, well, what can i say. i would knowingly do it again, i suppose, for getting out of the way of an ambulance strikes me as the correct thing to do. 

let me have a fiddle, or look, a this camera welded to my phone. or rather give it over to the boys to alter the settings and what have you. for the cost i would reasonably expect better images off of it, but yes i do (of course) appreciate that this might be a user related matter. 

undoubtedly some of you will have been amused by my plight (if only slightly), and who knows perhaps the next incident shall be far more severe. hopefully, if so, i get the chance to write of it. 

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

11

eleven

11

eleven

11

eleven

one louder

11

eleven

!!!!!!!!!!!

new career in a new town

.... . .-.. .-.. --- / - .... . .-. .

one of the many interesting aspects of that there London (innit) place is the propensity various publishers have to issue free (as in gratis) newspapers to members of the public. such as i. this is splendid, as reading an actual newspaper what you hold is considerably more enjoyable than scrolling through a phone. but then i also find it infuriating that such is given away free in a place where some 80% of all of the money in all of the country resides. free, regulated newspapers around the nation would do well to uplift the knowledge and understanding of people as a whole, rather than leaving them to the mercy of free, unregulated internet missives. such, to be fair, as this post, i suppose, look you see. 

when i am in that there London (innit) place i do make every effort to pick up at least one (1) of the free papers on offer. usually they have mountains of them at tube stations. as point of fact it is so that some tube stations have people employed to hand them out. knowing what i know of wages down that way it's entirely likely that yes, they do earn more than moi (me) for doing so. further musings on salary concerns later (in case you thought you missed it), but for now, a couple of adverts what i gone done noticed in a recent edition. actually it was just the one, but go on, have two. 

perhaps the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode is not ideal for precise adverts, but still, there you go above. both of the above are job adverts, if that's the right term. it is the one to the left, which is a lot of blue in the above, which caught my attention. yes, if that is what you thought it is, it is indeed an advert for people what want to go and work (in secret) for MI6 or whatever they call it. and work overseas too, apparently, going on the text. 

surely, you (or one) would think, this advert must be a kind of quasi scam? giving the matter some thought and i would have assumed, or otherwise taken as a given, that "secret agent" types were selected or approached off of those who had volunteered for some form of military (or related) career anyway. part of me wishes to think this is all some sort of blue sky, out of the box thinking, to tap into unorthodox sources of servants to our security. mostly, though, i fear it's a woeful sign of how thin the normal talent pool is for such. 

not sure if you can see, but at the bottom (in the below picture) it tells you not to tell anyone if you have applied for the role. well, there you go. i confess i did read it and go "maybe", but ultimately i have no real wish (nor appetite) to live in a different country once more. besides, the pay is probably rubbish. and i have every reason to suspect i should fail their vetting procedures. 

the other advert, for immigration enforcement, held no interest at all. however, it had one of them fancy la-de-dah 'qr' code things, so i tried it out on my (relatively) new phone what has a camera welded to it. all of the positions advertised are for roles dahn sarf, being London (innit) and Portsmouth. oh, the starting salary is inclusive of the "London weighting", and translates as being (noticeably) south of £30,000 for outside of the city. in normal parts of the country that is a lot; for the areas where the jobs are it would be impossible to survive on. quite scary. besides (or plus) immigration is somewhat of a contentious issue in this country, so the job is very likely a right headache. 

and so no, not a career change for me (moi) then, with two opportunities to (in theory) work towards the defence of the realm just not offering the cash or the location. can't say i didn't try. generally i am not as much against things like state sponsored assassination as you might think, but then it was always likely in regards of such that i would be the one facing the business end of the tool for the job. 

best of luck to any of you who(m) are inclined to apply for either or both of these roles. should i get free time, which i certainly won't, it would be nice to knock up a CV for Spiros and send it off. if either role required someone to hang around a gentleman's public restroom facility, well, i doubt very much there is anyone in the present world more qualified for such than he. 

-... . / . -..- -.-. . .-.. .-.. . -. - / - --- / . .- -.-. .... / --- - .... . .-. -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.--

alone on a mean street

howdy pop pickers

well, yes, i did (kind of) intimate that i wasn't sure i would celebrate or otherwise commemorate this date each and every year. but here we are, look you see. 

so, on this date, being the date of publication (remember, remember, fifth november) i got to see the celebrated band tin machine. live and in concert. in 1991. quite some time ago, then, and yes, indeed there has been a lot of life happened since then. 

alas it does not appear, or feel, like i have the time nor the energy to create a new celebration. should the former be understandable, believe you me the latter is increasingly of concern. either i am finding myself shutting down slowly or my interests are changing. 

no matter, as for those of you who are (for some reason) interested, i have at the very least managed to create some links to previous celebrations. and here they are - 

bus stop

if there is something

baby universal

you can't talk

some random things with links

and a bit more video

there's a fair few other celebration of memory posts on this subject kicking around too, but i dare say all of the above would be about bang on anyone's level of interest. 

perhaps, maybe, i shall find the energy, time and motivation to do a proper post paying tribute next year. of course no promises of me doing so, or me being a thing still. should both worth out as a positive, well, so much the better. 

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

fire, filth, fury

hello there

well, those who visit my blog with the intent on finding things to complain about (or of, look you see) can truly go right ahead here, i suppose. for normal, regular, well balanced people, please note that this particular incident (or episode) on the internet might feature images which may cause some upset, if you use a formidable level of imagination and, presumably, squint. 

quite the flashback to yesterday, or yesteryear if you will. yesterdecades, perhaps, if such a term exists. there i was, off out, about and around on my travels, when i happened upon a retailer selling an item, or rather set of items, what i had not seen for many a year. oddly yes, i had been looking for such, too.

behold, then, for above (and indeed below) is an image, presented (above at least) in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, of some (four) saucy cigarette lighters. or just lighters if you will, for i suppose one could use it (them) to do stuff other than light cigarettes. which, the having a cigarette part, is a rather silly and bad for you thing to do, i believe i am to state. 

once such lighters were commonplace. and not only risque or saucy images, no, but rather all sorts of pictures, patterns and what have you. these days it seems the majority of places what sell lighters offer them in just a reasonably basic set of shades of colour. maybe it is so that the lighter market is no longer as ferocious or competitive as it once was, and thus no one feels the need to stand out. and yes, in an image not of Commodore 64 nature, these ones do precisely that.

an image in VHS camcorder mode, then, off of that app i purchased and have frequently mentioned. i have clocked, or worked out, how to take the date and time off of it. further, or also, i have mastered the art of adding static, or tape damage, so as to further sort of censor the image for sensitive types. you would think the sort of not really well lit aesthetics of the format would do that, but still. 

provenance of these lighters? a sort of corner shop type of place, where they had them on (very) proud display on the counter. as in, anyone of any age or any particular level of persuasion to get upset could bear (or bare) the same level of witness as i, and indeed here. cost (or price) was £1 each. that is indeed a bit steep, since once can purchase a pack of three or 4 off of Poundland for the same value, but then them ones do not feature such pleasing images. 

it is decidedly so that in this brave new world of ours there is, genuinely sadly, nothing too exciting or different or out of the ordinary in procuring an image of a lady disrobed, or if you will undressed. nude, to be precise. such a sight used to be uncommon, special and rare. this is all the more true of our bewilderingly censored UK society, at least until "an internet" came along. all sights featuring any skin at all tended to be banned, cut, censored or controlled. maybe that led to such repressed senses tinged with an urge to see the forbidden that led me, from nostalgia, to purchase these. well, that and obviously using them for a quite specific cigarette related purpose (sorry). 

how likely is it that i shall purchase further items such as this? well, in terms of lighters, quite (sorry). i rather suspect, however, that seeing these specific saucy ones again is likely to be unlikely. as far as i am aware there are at least a thousand or so images of a similar nature freely available on the internet, so it's not likely people will bother printing them on lighters no more. or anything else, really. you may well have noticed there's hardly any nudies in films these days. with such stuff being so freely available it is no longer a required selling point. so is the way of this century i do not understand. 

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

heavy metal fuel

now then

in a peculiar turn of events it's been more or less (give or take, look you see) quite close to nearly a year since i visited the hallowed turf (or grounds) of Donington Service Station. being, but of course, the closest service station one can visit before reaching the promised land of Castle Donington. well, yes, once promised land, i suppose. Monsters of Rock has gone. no doubt this "Download" replacement is quite good or at least serviceable, but not as cool sounding. besides, that's quite outdated, for as far as i know the kids these days "stream" rather than "download". unless it means something else. 

my travels, predominantly for verk purposes, remain extensive. it's just that oddly, and sadly, i have either not passed the way of Donington, or have had no need to stop. well, of course to see the place in all splendor is reason enough, but generally i would have stopped to "spend a penny" or similar just before it, and i need to get where i am going. not so, earlier this month. 

a quite (or rather) important part of doing travels is ensuring one has fuel in their vehicle. by chance i was running reasonably low somewhat close to Donington, and so i thought yeah, why not, let me have some heavy metal, full tilt leaded fuel in the tank for a change. not actually leaded, of course, for such has been made illegal in our brave new world. still, by virtue of me filling up (so to speak) in the great shadow of Castle Donington means that, by default, it's metal fuel in. from what i recall i had a tape of The Cult playing too, for added effect. or affect. 

chances are that this particular petrol station has been revamped and reconstructed since the 80s. yet still i like to fantasise that i used the very same fuel pump what a roadie for the likes of Maiden, Ozzy, Motorhead, Bad News (they would have done it themselves but still) or even Metallica may have used, either on the way to or from Monsters of Rock. probably when leaving, mind, but still. a simple thought to hold as an abstract daydream, but a harmless one which helps me make it through life. 

yes, we do indeed have a video, above. kind of actual video too, i suppose, since i have once again used that reasonably smart VHS camcorder "app" what i bought. obviously one cannot use a phone with a camera welded on it at the petrol station directly, as apparently doing so would make the whole thing instantly blow up. so, this was filmed on the border of a car park quite near it. my word this is boring. 

putting fuel in my vehicle has become an unexpected area of contention for William, the youngest of my (known) offspring. he believes me to be a "coward" if i fill up "just" because it is low. in his view, and i hasten to add he does not drive, that "fuel range" thing i have is meaningless, and if it's saying i only have 200 or so miles of fuel left it's probably the case it really means 500. frequently i find myself saying sorry to him for putting fuel in. such is how my life is now. 

not sure if this is the first instance of such, but yes, as above (kind of) shows, i have worked out how to take basic, rudimentary pictures with the previously mentioned VHS camcorder app. again is an image from some distance from the petrol station, as they get all funny if you smoke whilst filling up. no idea what damage they think it might do, but anything for a quiet life. oh, yes, i am "rocking" my clean shaved look. i got bored and shaved the beard (and moustache) off a little while ago. well, no, i paid a professional to do such. my intention was to let the beard grow back, but Mum says i have to leave it off. in fairness a lot of people suggest i look better sans it, but i am not sure. 

with the remnants of this year (2023) ebbing away there is every chance that this episode shall come to represent my one and only (that i can recall) visit to Donington for the year. a bit of a shame if so, but then at least i made it there the once. 

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

it's no secret at all

howdy pop pickers

just another bit of vibes acquisition, really. well, actually, as it happens, a kind of restoration to the collection, look you see. so no, it's not a new tape (disc) what i gone done bought. should i have the mathematics and calculations correct, it is indeed a single which is, at time of writing, 32 years old. wow. since when was it the 90s were all that way back. 

anyway, moving on, it is, on the turntable (cd player) the FLY, being the first (or lead) single off of the much celebrated Achtung Baby record off of U2. now, yes, as i understand it, the modern world is quite divisive on this band. so, if you are on the side (for our society is now all taking sides) which does not care for the band, you may wish to read something else. 

full well do i recall going and buying this in the first instance. i was at college at the time, and took the bus to town during the week it was released to purchase the tape (cd single) during the first week of its release. this wasn't done as i was in a rush to get it, or for reasons of me being all that big a U2 fan. more that it was in the music press that the single was to be "deleted" immediately after release, which i took as meaning if you did not get it that week you didn't get it. oh. 

whilst i (really) rather liked it, just a few years later (into the lower middle of the 90s) i gave it away. no, that's not fair, i presented it as a gift to someone who really liked it. a rather sweet person, shall we say, who(m) i am very saddened to say it's unlikely i shall see again in this lifetime. perhaps in the next. 

to the single itself, and it's smart. obviously (i think) the actual song of the single, the FLY as they style it, is immense. that is a lot of i words. quite the strange tune, as it is less that it has aged well, more so that it gets better and better with the passing of time. but, that said, i can recall being a bit taken aback by the remix, the lounge FLY, as lyrically it was somewhat different. don't think i had experienced a remix having different lyrical content since the 16 minute epic one of Frankie's Relax. still, soon got used to it, and enjoy. 

ostensibly the b-side is a couple of bits of music what 50% of U2, being Bono and Edge, gone done for a theatrical production of A Clockwork Orange. my vague memory is that Burgess himself wrote this adaptation. also, memories of a possibly manufactured bit of "argy bargy" or disagreement between the celebrated author and the musicians. i seem to remember that Burgess was quoted as "not liking" the music, then a quote was attributed to Bono (because who would ask Edge) of him saying Burgess should "stick to writing", to which it was pointed out that Burgess had indeed composed several musical works and so perhaps knew of what he spoke. oh. 

so far as i am aware, or at least i think, all of the tracks off of this single are in my collection across a variety of albums, compilations and special editions. but when i saw it in a charity shop for all of 99p, well, all at once (honestly) all of the memories written here came to being and left me with a smile on my face. so yeah, i bought it. and indeed have played it a few times. perhaps, of course, not so much as i have done with the InterGalactic off of Beastie Boys single, before you all (once again) start with accusations of me not being a "proper" fan. 

essentially, all this streaming business, where you can access just about every song ever made in a reasonably instant way, is amazing. but, still. we are tactile creatures. my memories are based on the actual single as well as the song, as it were. not sure it was all that wise to strip this sensation from all future generations, but here we are. 

yeah i gotta go, i'm running out of change, there's a lot of things if i could i'd rearrange. 

when i was a young boy i wanted to sail round the world

yoho ahoy

and so another post about a place i have been which might (or may, look you see) be of interest to the casual observer somehow finding themselves here on my blog. or possibly not, i suppose. for all i know you are reading this sentence and round about now go "no", presume it shall be rather boring, or dull, or even simply not of interest, and have already clicked on another link so you haven't even read this bit. such things happen. 

for those who have decided to stick with it, even if just for a little while, welcome. and for you a tale that isn't quite one of adventure on the high seas, but is somewhat aquatic all the same. it involves, of course, me (moi) taking a trip, or if you will voyage, across a body of water. actually i am not sure which body of water, but the one that takes you off of the English mainland and finds you, all being good and well, arriving at the Isle of Wight. 

indeed yes, above is an image, presented in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, of a ferry like the one i was on, making the crossing between Portsmouth and the Isle Of Wight. much of that i suppose did not need to be said, for i could not realistically take such an image of the ferry what i was on. and ferry is the term i am comfortable with, for that is what it was. many use this sort of discussion to get bogged down in the debate around what you can call a boat and what you can call a ship. well, you can get a life boat on a ship, but one tends not to find a ship stored on a boat. 

what drew, or otherwise compelled, me to visit the Isle of Wight. in the absence of time travel, so as to go and see their splendid festival in its prime, a verk instructed visit. a consequence of such is to give you warning that, alas, no, i didn't get to see much of the place itself. just get there, do what it was that i was requested (or instructed) to do, and, well, leave. from what i could see of the place it actually all seems all right. not sure i would wish to be an outsider there when night falls, but, still. 

yes, we have some video, like the above. except, so far as i can recall (as in i think) it's only the above what i have gone done in my spiffing new VHS camcorder format. pretty sure the remainder of the video here is "normal", whatever that may mean in this brave new world. anyway, the above footage shows, off of the back of it, the ferry leaving Portsmouth. 

blame, if you will, my ignorance of such matters, or my general lack of knowledge, but i had no idea the crossings between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight were so frequent. and busy. my knowledge of all things to do with the place amounts to the festival, really. so far as i am aware, at least during daylight hours there is a ferry going between the two once every 40 (forty) or so minutes. each one that we were on (which is two) was rather packed, too. no, alas, i have no idea what commerce or industry means such a level of movement is required. 

some of you for some reason or another might have looked at the video of the ferry leaving Portsmouth and wished for just a relatively straightforward image of such instead. well, there you go, above these very words one shall find such an image. but then you probably worked that one out. 

have i researched why the crossings are so frequent? no. i am satisfied to just document that they are. there must be good financial reason for such, as they tend not to run any service unless there is a very significant economic benefit for doing so. quite strange that there are more ferries sailing between the Isle Of Wight and Portsmouth than there are buses running between towns over on the mainland. let such be a (mass) debate for another time. 

another bit of video, then, and i think presented in non-VHS camcorder format. sorry, or great, if i am mistaken with that declaration. yes, indeed, what you are seeing (should it be the bit of video i intended to add) is a ferry going the other way, so to speak. no, i didn't wave at anyone on it, or try to attract the attention of the crew, for i did not think to take one of them smart flare gun things with me. bit of a missed opportunity perhaps, but another time, another place. 

the journey takes around forty (40) minutes or so, which ties in rather nicely with the frequency of the service, i suppose. and no, of course one cannot smoke on the ship. oh, heaven forbid one should find themselves with a fire on their hands when they are more or less surrounded by water. indeed that is flippant, for the last thing one would want is to be in the middle of a quite choppy, not too calm body of water with their vessel rapidly disappearing into flames. 

perhaps a warning is appropriate here, for a selfie follows. see, i put a warning, so please could whoever it is that keeps flagging my posts for being "inappropriate" take the day off. 

would i have ever considered a life at sea? certainly. there was that one show Michael Palin did, i think it was his first travel one, Around The World In 80 Days. yeah, it was based on a novel, the title of which escapes me for the moment. anyway, there was that one bit where he hitched a ride, so to speak, on a container vessel. it looked like a quite class thing, for as far as i could see the main duties of the crew were to smoke, drink coffee and sit around reading, occasionally playing chess. i am reasonably sure that is a job i could do.

now, maybe not so much. possibly. it seems that smoking is banned on all forms of travel on the sea, but i am not certain who would enforce such in the middle of the ocean. still, even if you could smoke, it would be them rough as goodness cigarettes. also, getting bummed off of a salty sea dog holds no appeal, and nor does the prospect of becoming a salty sea dog which does such things. fighting pirates doesn't seem as exciting a thing to do as younger me might have presumed. maybe i should just refrain from (yet) another career change, then. 

not in the greater good or glory of Commodore 64, then, is, above, an image of a ferry going the other way. actually this one was (i think) heading to the Isle of Wight, as i am pretty sure we (me and a guy called Eddie) were heading back to the mainland. taken from inside, for the weather turned badly and it was frightfully windy. so, sorry for any anecdotal reflections. 

it did, to be honest, feel quite strange to be on an entirely different body of land from my (known) children. yes, true, i was still within the same nation, and usually i am some distance from them, which is a tragedy but if i am in a maze then it is one of my own making. but still, you know, that thing where you are not even sharing the same land as them. 

last bit of video for you above, then, and indeed it is footage of the ferry what i was on pulling away from the Isle of Wight. my hope was that it was heading back to Portsmouth, and indeed it was. 

for those interested, actually i did surprisingly well, not having a cigarette for a good hour or so whilst taking the journey. the view was distracting enough, and i was further distracted by the large number of coffee shops one could find on the ferry. now, if i were to do something extreme, like for instance take a flight which saw me unable to smoke for, oh, 17 or so hours, it would be fascinating to see how that one would work out. perhaps one day. 

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

cigarettes, glue, warnings and you

hello there

ok, so, yes, then, it is the case that smoking is quite bad for you and one should not do it, and if you presently do indeed do it then you are (likely) best off getting some help and assistance in quitting. at the least this is true for cigarette smoking, look you see, as for some reason cannabis smoking is virtually encouraged in our society. go figure. 

with that disclaimer (of sorts) out the way, on we go. as it happens i, moi, got some cigarettes at a most agreeable price recently. and what was also agreeable (i cannot say with a straight face that it was even more agreeable) is that the big warning message on the box (or carton, or sleeve) was that mega classic one which appears to feature either Ant or Dec out of Ant & Dec on it, getting some medical treatment due to smoking. or so the image casually leads one to believe. 

i think it is the Ant one out of Ant and Dec, for it looks like the one who stands, when you look at them face on, to the left, and they always stand in that order for branding purposes. or, well, whatever. anyway, the point is that the fella on this warning label looks like that one. a bit. true, this is not as class as them Indian or what have you cigarettes what have an actual picture of John Terry (that one) on them, doctored to look like he is in (smoking related) distress. they don't use that one here, as for most of our nation the idea of "Jay Tee" being in some form of distress would be too emotional. but also it could possibly be that the bloke looks like Dec. i am afraid i just don't watch them, they are far too busy and bouncy for me, thanks. 

presently our incumbent prime minister has got quite the bee in his bonnet about smoking. he is doing that trick of distraction, where he blames all on smoking and is looking to ban smoking so that everyone will think he is brilliant. everyone except smokers. i suppose this means he will be hiking the taxes on them (which are already ludicrous) again, and he also has an idea of raising the age limit for buying cigarettes legally every year. a not bad idea to genuinely remove it from society, and if i make it for another few years i look forward to being aged checked for buying some. if i ever go into a conventional shop to get some. 

ahem. i happen to know (or have it on good authority) that independently imported cigarettes are fairly easy to get, and cost around half price of what they do in conventional shops. think about that. it is somehow that presumably less than legal (if not criminal) types are able to import them to the UK, sell them from half price and still make a profit. that is how harshly we are treated. 

make no mistake, may future generations not make the folly of a decision to smoke. but, also, be quite wary of agreeing with them restricting choice just because you, the non-smoker, happen to agree with that one. next it shall be something you like what they gone done target. as things stand, their arguments against smoking are ridiculous. smoking was the reason for many years that the NHS was a mess, remember. well, smoking figures are now at a record low, and the NHS is in a worse state than it has ever been. the toll on national resources smoking takes is insignificant to that which, say, alcohol has. yet they don't appear to target that one. or not yet. 

sorry, no, there is no reference (except here) to glue in this post, but i thought it sounded quite class to include it in the title, so as to make a rhyme sort of thing. 

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