It's the Monday after Christmas. The world has gone shopping, at least they have here in Newcastle. We made the mistake of going into Eldon Square with our son to buy him some decent shoes.Does that sound middle aged??!!But, in my opinion, canvas shoes and a foot of snow don't go well together!!
Anyway on the way back home this idea popped into my head for this Blog. So, occasionally , every now and then and if I remember ( is that enough caveats?) I will post a link to a song you really should hear.
This is the first one. A great, great song by David Gedge's other band Cinerama.
I saw Cinerama in late 2003 and they played this song as part of their set in the tiny Global Cafe upstairs in Newcastle University Student Union. That set and this song in particular reaffirmed my, almost lost, belief both in Gedge as a near genius of modern rock and my belief in music as a powerful emotional tool capable of bringing you face to face with real raw emotions, forcing you to deal with them.Turn it up loud
Wow ( extended Version) - Cinerama
Monday 27 December 2010
Saturday 25 December 2010
Christmas Day
Not a bad Christmas Day. Our decision to have the wife's family round again after last year's success proved to be a good one. No arguments( well one small one) the food was good( stuffed aubergine in a tomato and wine sauce was our veggie option). The Duchy Original Christmas Pudding was superb and the wine and champagne flowed like the Tyne.
Another Xmas day has come and gone and another year has passed when I didn't do everything I promised myself I would this time last Christmas. One day, yeah, one day I will.
I linked to this song last year . Merry Christmas to you all.
Christmas In Jersey- Billy Franks
Another Xmas day has come and gone and another year has passed when I didn't do everything I promised myself I would this time last Christmas. One day, yeah, one day I will.
I linked to this song last year . Merry Christmas to you all.
Christmas In Jersey- Billy Franks
Friday 24 December 2010
Christmas Eve In The Workhouse 2010
Well its not quite the workhouse, although sometimes it can feel like one. Another Chrismas sat at the same desk. Do I lack motivation to move on, or am I stuck here like a rabbit in the headlights too scared to move on?
Anyway HO HO HO it's CHRISTMAAAAAAAS.
Anyway HO HO HO it's CHRISTMAAAAAAAS.
Monday 20 December 2010
Tales From The Frozen North (Part Two)
On Saturday the snow returned. Not that it had really gone away as demonstrated by the piles of snow,5 foot high in some places, around my street that had refused to melt despite us breaking through the magic 0 degrees centigrade barrier for several days in a row.
According to local Radio people were stuck on the A1 past Morpeth for hours but this didn't make the national news , obsessed as it is with the South and the "bollock loads of snow" (copyright my student son in London) that had fallen on the Capital on Friday- thereby bringing the world to a white end overnight ,at least according to the London based Media that is.
My heart goes out to all of you stuck in Heathrow but please stop phoning 5 Live and complaining that "We are not being told anything" and don't phone to complain when you are told that your flight is cancelled and you're not going anywhere for a few days either.
Anyway the Sun is out here now and the roads aren't as bad as a fortnight ago. Not yet anyway. It is freezing cold again, -7 on the drive this AM as I was scraping the frost off the car for the umpteenth time this year.
The dog is still mad in the snow and when let off his lead just bolts for it across the Moor looking for anything green to sniff at. The father-in-law has not made it up to take the dog for his morning walk for a month now. I don't think he will again, at least not in the winter.
According to local Radio people were stuck on the A1 past Morpeth for hours but this didn't make the national news , obsessed as it is with the South and the "bollock loads of snow" (copyright my student son in London) that had fallen on the Capital on Friday- thereby bringing the world to a white end overnight ,at least according to the London based Media that is.
My heart goes out to all of you stuck in Heathrow but please stop phoning 5 Live and complaining that "We are not being told anything" and don't phone to complain when you are told that your flight is cancelled and you're not going anywhere for a few days either.
Anyway the Sun is out here now and the roads aren't as bad as a fortnight ago. Not yet anyway. It is freezing cold again, -7 on the drive this AM as I was scraping the frost off the car for the umpteenth time this year.
The dog is still mad in the snow and when let off his lead just bolts for it across the Moor looking for anything green to sniff at. The father-in-law has not made it up to take the dog for his morning walk for a month now. I don't think he will again, at least not in the winter.
Monday 13 December 2010
It's Christmas Time
I am sort of feeling like Christmas now. We have started to decorate the house and the majority of the snow has gone so I can put the lights up outside.
This year though it doesn't feel really like Christmas just yet. My office christmas party (ha-ha) is on Wednesday and that might get me in the mood .After that I'll be winding down for Xmas.
This year though it doesn't feel really like Christmas just yet. My office christmas party (ha-ha) is on Wednesday and that might get me in the mood .After that I'll be winding down for Xmas.
Wednesday 8 December 2010
Too Old To Rock n Roll??
Every so often a song comes along that speaks to you in a fundamental no nonsense way and gets into your head and into your heart. This song is one such song. This is an anthem for all us who fall in love with any guitar and any bass drum.
And, yes, even at my advanced age, I still believe as well
Frank Turner - I Still Believe
And, yes, even at my advanced age, I still believe as well
Frank Turner - I Still Believe
Monday 6 December 2010
Self Destruct Time Again
Newcastle United have sacked Chris Hughton. If you follow this Blog you'll know I don't care too much for The Toon. I thought maybe this season, after last year's relegation they might have, worryingly for me, decided to act sensibly and not do anything daft. Luckily for me, they just couldn't resist fucking up again.
I don't have any inside information and there are already thousands of web pages about this so I'll just say I feel for Chris Hughton. He seemed too good and reasonable for the club anyway.
I don't have any inside information and there are already thousands of web pages about this so I'll just say I feel for Chris Hughton. He seemed too good and reasonable for the club anyway.
Friday 3 December 2010
Tales From The Frozen North
The temperature today at 8am was - 9c.
My wife decided to use the car to go to work today. After half an hour de- icing the vehicle and digging her out of the drive and the road when she got stuck in the snow and ice, I was knackered. I decided to get the bus rather than walk.
Apart from the fact that it actually took longer for the bus to get me to my place of work than it takes me to walk it ,due to the traffic, snow, ice and completely useless drivers, what struck me was the amount of people getting on the bus who didn’t have Geordie accents and clearly had no idea about public transport (tip for you all : do not try and pay for a £1.60 fare with a £20 note- the drivers do not like this).
Normally in any city the people who use buses (apart from the obvious students) are local working class people. They know the vagaries of the public transport system in their city e.g. two buses arriving at once, rude and irascible drivers, unpredictable last minute route changes, bus driver road rage. They understand that you just never know who you are going to get a seat next to (if you’re lucky enough to get a seat). Will it be the drunk, the weirdo, the smelly old man, the woman with nursery age kids who climb all over her and you? Or will you sit in the seat just vacated by the incontinent old age pensioner you helped off the bus and realise too late that that smell and that strange damp feeling in your trousers is exactly what you think it is. (This has happened to me)
My daughter and her mates call a bus the”Poverty Wagon” which is harsh but I understand where they are coming from.
My wife decided to use the car to go to work today. After half an hour de- icing the vehicle and digging her out of the drive and the road when she got stuck in the snow and ice, I was knackered. I decided to get the bus rather than walk.
Apart from the fact that it actually took longer for the bus to get me to my place of work than it takes me to walk it ,due to the traffic, snow, ice and completely useless drivers, what struck me was the amount of people getting on the bus who didn’t have Geordie accents and clearly had no idea about public transport (tip for you all : do not try and pay for a £1.60 fare with a £20 note- the drivers do not like this).
Normally in any city the people who use buses (apart from the obvious students) are local working class people. They know the vagaries of the public transport system in their city e.g. two buses arriving at once, rude and irascible drivers, unpredictable last minute route changes, bus driver road rage. They understand that you just never know who you are going to get a seat next to (if you’re lucky enough to get a seat). Will it be the drunk, the weirdo, the smelly old man, the woman with nursery age kids who climb all over her and you? Or will you sit in the seat just vacated by the incontinent old age pensioner you helped off the bus and realise too late that that smell and that strange damp feeling in your trousers is exactly what you think it is. (This has happened to me)
My daughter and her mates call a bus the”Poverty Wagon” which is harsh but I understand where they are coming from.
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Snowed Under
One week later and it is still here. More than ever. It has snowed every day for a week now. My front garden is under three to four feet of snow and it is up to the height of the decking in my back garden.
My daily walk to and from work has turned into some army like assault course of clambering over piles of snow that are 2 foot high or bigger. My local council is obviously saving its grit as yes the main roads are passable, it's just that no one can get out of their drives into the street to get to them. Buses are fewer, Metros are packed. We are all pissed off. Constantly worried about food (rumours have started that the supermarkets are running low on supplies) every day we wonder are we going to get to/from work OK. There was spectacular lightning and thunder on Sunday night just before midnight which in that strange eerie night bright light of the snow made it seem like the end of the world. It spooked everyone who saw it. Me included.
To make matters worse it snowed within the M25 radius last night so consequently its the lead item on the national news.Like it has never snowed before.
The dog has gone doolally and literally runs like a wild thing through the snow every time we go out. As he is small black dog this looks quite funny when he emerges covered in the snow. The thing is though it sticks to his fur in little clumps and takes ages to get off when we get back from his walk.So I spend 5 or 10 minutes wrestling the dog- he is an excitable terrier who just wants his post walk treat- in the cold and wet to try and dry him off before letting him into the house
Me and the wife were supposed to be going to Edinburgh this weekend Christmas shopping. I think we will have to rearrange that trip.
I'm dreaming of a slightly damp, grey Christmas.
My daily walk to and from work has turned into some army like assault course of clambering over piles of snow that are 2 foot high or bigger. My local council is obviously saving its grit as yes the main roads are passable, it's just that no one can get out of their drives into the street to get to them. Buses are fewer, Metros are packed. We are all pissed off. Constantly worried about food (rumours have started that the supermarkets are running low on supplies) every day we wonder are we going to get to/from work OK. There was spectacular lightning and thunder on Sunday night just before midnight which in that strange eerie night bright light of the snow made it seem like the end of the world. It spooked everyone who saw it. Me included.
To make matters worse it snowed within the M25 radius last night so consequently its the lead item on the national news.Like it has never snowed before.
The dog has gone doolally and literally runs like a wild thing through the snow every time we go out. As he is small black dog this looks quite funny when he emerges covered in the snow. The thing is though it sticks to his fur in little clumps and takes ages to get off when we get back from his walk.So I spend 5 or 10 minutes wrestling the dog- he is an excitable terrier who just wants his post walk treat- in the cold and wet to try and dry him off before letting him into the house
Me and the wife were supposed to be going to Edinburgh this weekend Christmas shopping. I think we will have to rearrange that trip.
I'm dreaming of a slightly damp, grey Christmas.
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