On my own in the house. Daughter in Bangcock, son in Austria, wife out at the theatre.
Been off work, went down to sister in laws in Weller country. Relaxing time was had by all.
Marathon training is getting harder. I have to run 18 miles tomorrow- that's at least 3 and a half hours so an early start for me as I would like to have some of the day to relax.
Ran the Great North 10k a couple of weeks ago in 58:45, almost three minutes faster than last year so the extra training is paying off.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
The Good Post I Promised
Remortgaging is still ongoing, we are down to leg measurements and the size of my c*ck and that Girl On The Phone keeps ringing back. Still, anyway here is the really good post I promised.
From early 1977 to December 1978 I loved this band and thought they could do no wrong. They were political and from the street and they knew what it was all about. Then they released the second album and although it was OK it wasn't great. Nevertheless I would probably have stuck with them but unfortunately for The Clash at around the same time, All Mod Cons was released and my allegiances started to shift to The Jam. I could identify much more with Weller's description of outer suburban London boys and his songs portrayed a world I half knew and aspired to.
But in December 1978 I saw The Clash two nights on the trot at The Lyceum and they were great -everything I wanted them to be from one of the greatest bands of all time. Luckily for me and you, they recorded the gigs and here it is. The sound is raw and they are a bit all over the place at times but it is an excellent reminder of how good this band were.
Nine months later I was back at The Lyceum to see the March of The Mods tour. I had seen Secret Affair and Back To Zero at The Marquee and had discovered The Teenbeats and by the August of 1979 I was a New Mod., suit, Hush Puppies, Desert Boots, Fred Perries,, the lot. Nine months now can go by in a blink of an eye but at 18 nine months is a lifetime.
Of course The Clash redeemed themselves musically with London Calling later that year but by then it was too late.
From early 1977 to December 1978 I loved this band and thought they could do no wrong. They were political and from the street and they knew what it was all about. Then they released the second album and although it was OK it wasn't great. Nevertheless I would probably have stuck with them but unfortunately for The Clash at around the same time, All Mod Cons was released and my allegiances started to shift to The Jam. I could identify much more with Weller's description of outer suburban London boys and his songs portrayed a world I half knew and aspired to.
But in December 1978 I saw The Clash two nights on the trot at The Lyceum and they were great -everything I wanted them to be from one of the greatest bands of all time. Luckily for me and you, they recorded the gigs and here it is. The sound is raw and they are a bit all over the place at times but it is an excellent reminder of how good this band were.
Nine months later I was back at The Lyceum to see the March of The Mods tour. I had seen Secret Affair and Back To Zero at The Marquee and had discovered The Teenbeats and by the August of 1979 I was a New Mod., suit, Hush Puppies, Desert Boots, Fred Perries,, the lot. Nine months now can go by in a blink of an eye but at 18 nine months is a lifetime.
Of course The Clash redeemed themselves musically with London Calling later that year but by then it was too late.
Monday, 18 July 2011
3 Weeks Later
I know- it's been a long time. But I still feel the same, do you miss me?
Sorry about the absence of posts, I will be back shortly with a good one. Honest,
Sorry about the absence of posts, I will be back shortly with a good one. Honest,
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Long Hot Summer
I don't know about the long bit but it has definitely been ridiculously hot these last few days.
I am still in the middle of sorting our finances and the rather tiresome process of remortgaging. The whole process is different to the last time we did this 5 years ago.. Back then I wandered into my local Bradford and Bingley and asked if they would lend us some more money. The only debate was how much more money they would lend and a sort of negative bidding process with the B&B offering more and me saying actually I don't want that much. I do remember leaving the office thinking this can't be right and I wasn't surprised they went bust a couple of years later.
Anyway, this time round it is rather different. The girl on the phone keeps on ringing back asking for more and more information- leading to frantic hunts for photo id, payslips proof of residency etc followed by hurried photocopying and special delivery letters containing details of my life just in the hope we get a better deal.
Still this is sort of a make or break for us- 15k a year down on salary since my wife's redundancy in 2009 - down to the last tranche of her redundancy money, failure to get this deal could mean selling the house or worse.
I am still in the middle of sorting our finances and the rather tiresome process of remortgaging. The whole process is different to the last time we did this 5 years ago.. Back then I wandered into my local Bradford and Bingley and asked if they would lend us some more money. The only debate was how much more money they would lend and a sort of negative bidding process with the B&B offering more and me saying actually I don't want that much. I do remember leaving the office thinking this can't be right and I wasn't surprised they went bust a couple of years later.
Anyway, this time round it is rather different. The girl on the phone keeps on ringing back asking for more and more information- leading to frantic hunts for photo id, payslips proof of residency etc followed by hurried photocopying and special delivery letters containing details of my life just in the hope we get a better deal.
Still this is sort of a make or break for us- 15k a year down on salary since my wife's redundancy in 2009 - down to the last tranche of her redundancy money, failure to get this deal could mean selling the house or worse.
Friday, 17 June 2011
Bit of a quiet time in the house. My daughter is in her bunker-i.e. bedroom- revising (we hope) for her A levels. My son is not yet home although he is returning this week sometime “for the summer” Oh Joy.
Work is pretty flat at present nothing much on the go and I am trying to sort out our finances longer term- not something I enjoy doing but it has proved quite sobering.
My running is going well with minimum aches and pains. I am tired though and am going to bed earlier.
On the self sufficiency front the potatoes are growing well, my apple tree has about a dozen apples. Sadly no plums or pears this year. On a more positive note the tomato plants are doing well.
Music wise I am listening to 6 music on the way to and from work and whilst out with the dog during the week and when I am running. So I am listening to a lot of 6 music. I have been impressed by Sleigh Bells, impressed by Nemone on a Sunday morning and super impressed by Marc Riley in the evenings during the week. Steve LM on the Drive Time show of course is still great and I even quite like Sean Keaveney in the morning – although his constant whingeing about being tired is a put off. For God sake man you have a dream job playing music for a living shut up whingeing and just remind yourself each morning how damn lucky you are.
Work is pretty flat at present nothing much on the go and I am trying to sort out our finances longer term- not something I enjoy doing but it has proved quite sobering.
My running is going well with minimum aches and pains. I am tired though and am going to bed earlier.
On the self sufficiency front the potatoes are growing well, my apple tree has about a dozen apples. Sadly no plums or pears this year. On a more positive note the tomato plants are doing well.
Music wise I am listening to 6 music on the way to and from work and whilst out with the dog during the week and when I am running. So I am listening to a lot of 6 music. I have been impressed by Sleigh Bells, impressed by Nemone on a Sunday morning and super impressed by Marc Riley in the evenings during the week. Steve LM on the Drive Time show of course is still great and I even quite like Sean Keaveney in the morning – although his constant whingeing about being tired is a put off. For God sake man you have a dream job playing music for a living shut up whingeing and just remind yourself each morning how damn lucky you are.
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