A bit of a SOUL SHAKEDOWN!

As you probably know the motorcycle diary is currently on hold. Wife not keen on me riding a motorbike again, and the fact that I can easily lift the pushbike from a lying position back onto it’s wheels with no assistance…. Looks like it’s going to be P-P-P-P-P Pedal Power for me for the foreseeable!
I Still don’t think much of Scrappy Do – Can’t they kill him off in some way! – You’d have thought that with all the monster and ghost type shenanigans, they could have had the kids rolling about with laughter as some hideous she beast shook him about like a pathetic rag doll with blood and guts spattering the happy gang – Oh well, I’m sure Hanna Barbera will come up with something! - Oooooh – I can use this as a special Hanna Barbera link!
I’ll probably be putting the little Honda back on the market soon – maybe tidy it up a bit first – It’s got all the relevant tax and ticket and blah blah blah, so it should sell OK

MUSIC -PLEASE NOTE - All images / music files have been deleted

SO – Today is going to be a music thing – the tracks posted are for reference and research purposes only – Please DO NOT download them if you just want to listen to them, dance to them or enjoy them – as that would clearly be unethical! – I would like to know more about these tracks – They won’t be available for very long – (Notice I don’t specify a time)
The first track I’ve mentioned before - Soulville, by Dinah Washington on the Roulette label - Personally, I don’t think it’s a patch on the Aretha Franklin cut on Columbia, but in a jazzy kind of way it stands up well for itself – I’d like to know what year it is – (If anybody can be bothered to read this, and then be bothered to write a comment)

This next track plays along with the Hanna Barbera link from the start of this Scooby blog! – The Dynatones on the HBR (Hanna Barbera) label playing their instrumental number The Fife Piper -I don’t know much about this, but I’m sure I’ve heard the name of the band before, but can’t find any tracks – any ideas on the releases of this band during the 1950’s. – Or the year this was pressed?

And – FINALLY for today, is this little platter on the Date label. Again I know nothing about it, other than the fact that I quite like it, and at the end of the day, that’s what counts.

SO – What answers would I like put into comments? –Well, anything you like really – anything you know about the tracks posted, including if you know if they are commercially available on CD and so forth – Release dates for the specific tracks, any juicy gossip or stories about the sessions or about the artists involved – Or details of any other tracks you would like to see posted – (obviously if I haven’t got the track I won’t post it, and chances are – I won’t because my collection is pretty limited.)
I’ve got quite a lot of 45’s that seem to slip between categories – I don’t know whether they can be classed as soul, or R&B or Northern Soul, or what ! –I’m still a bit of a novice in this area – Got quite a few funk singles that could almost slip into soul categories as well. I’m thinking of putting some CD’s or tapes together and putting a questionnaire in saying – Well What Do You Think? – I bet that there would be a huge diversity in peoples opinions!
I’ve just picked up Etta James – Pushover and Jimmy James Ho Diddle Howdy Doody Ho Hum – (or somthing like that – Perhaps I’ll post a couple more tracks next week.) – One never knows does one?

SO – If this link has worked, you should be able to click on the picture of the MAD DJ, and he’ll play the track for you – As always – any genuine comments are eagerly awaited – Any automated comments saying – ‘Love your blog, come and visit mine so that I can tell you about some crappy un-related money laundering business deal’ can stick any number of 45’s or 78’s up t…….. well, anywhere that the sun is less bright!

One LAST thing before I cut out for the day – If anybody is in the Newbury area this weekend, there is a Northern Soul / Motown night at The Liberty Ballroom on Old Greenham Common – Usually good for a bit of a jig about, and I’ll probably take a little box of 45’s with me to sell. See you all there then?

Minor Problem The Needs To Be Resolved

I may be out of commision for a short time, due to a minor problem / misunderstanding.
I may post details later - OR it may just be avoided

More Plumph-Plumph than Ba Ba Ba Ba

The Motorcycle Diary
Well – I’ve been away from my desk for a few days – and quite a lot has happened during that time – Music, Bikes and Obsession.

1st – the bike saga continues. – I went to see the chop, but instead of a healthy BaBaBaBaBa, I was treated to a very long session of ,
Plumph – Plumph – Plumph – Plumph – She would not start!. – But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First, I rang Keith, a very good biker friend of mine, so that we could check out the bike together – (I need his advise on this sort of matter, due to my being a complete dim-wit when it comes to buying bikes.) – The guy had it in front of his garage and it looked sweet – Low, long forks….. I sat on it and it felt good, after a little chatter and discussing the pros and cons of the bike we (of course) wanted to hear it run…. And this is where the trouble starts. The seller tried kick starting it, until he was pouring with sweat – I had a go, then Keith had a go. Every now and then the engine would make promising sort of coughs, that merely enticed you into pumping the leg muscles into starting the 550 cc block a few more times…..No good.

Next stage would be to attempt a bump start. Being the smallest and lightest – (and of course the potential buyer.) I was the one in the saddle, while the other two proceeded to push me down the road at almost great speed, grinding to a halt every now and then as I dropped it into second gear. Still no joy, so we decided to push it back to the garage and put a bit of extra Ooomph into the battery. As the other two were hot and knackered from pushing, I was elected to push the bike back. – it was now that I discovered 3 things about the chop – 1- it is very long - This is in italics, because it is about to become very relevant to the story now 2 – (it is very low) 3 –( It is very heavy) These are in brackets, because they will become very relevant to the story soon. – Turnng the bike round in the road was no easy task, even using the full width of the road, it still required a 3 point turn to maneuver it, by which time, some traffic had built up, so instead of remaining in the way, and pushing it along on the road, I continued the maneuver onto the pavement and pushed it toward home there, intending to bump it off the kerb opposite the house. – Intending being the operative word, as it is at this point that the other very’s come into force – LOW & HEAVY. Low, being that the pipes dragged on the kerb once the front wheel was off the kerb, pitching me in a sideways motion – Heavy, being that the gravity / weight ratio of the bike was more than the applied weigth / strength ratio that I was able to exert – Result = Bike falls sideways, and Jayster does a sort of inelegant sideways dive on top of the bike – (Fortunately, the pipes weren’t hot!) – and quietly called out help, at which point Keith came and helped me and the bike back into a vertical inclination!

No damage to the bike, thank goodness, apart from a very minor dribble of petrol out of the cap – I suffered a little bruising to my ego and a twisted knee..

After a charge, the bike did fire - up nicely, although by this time I had decided that big Jap bikes may not be for me after all!

On the upside – After cleaning up the plugs on the CB200 I got that to run – Although I am now driving to work with my bicycle in the back, then cycling in the last half mile to avoid the evening traffic – It seems to work!


My Current Obsession

I managed to get hold of a Casablanca – (Non linear Video Editing piece of kit) – Fantastic it is, and at last I can now get on with editing our wedding video, plus all the built up footage of our 2 boys – THAT’S my new obsession – I’ll keep you posted. –

If you are into video, and need a video editor, then this is certainly the machine to look at – I used to work with them a few years ago, and they are so easy to operate, but the results look stunning. – Don’t believe me? – Check the Macro systems website, or Video Management Services in Ringwood, if you are in the UK.

The bike didn't happen!

The Daily Grind
Note To Self - DON’T wear light grey pegs to work……. EVER.. – (see note from the earliest posts in this blog for an explanation.)

Music
OOPs – I let my addiction creep out of control yesterday – (I’ve got some fine soul tracks heading my way though.!)

The Motorcycle Diary
Well – Here it is Friday, and as if by a miracle……. I drove to work, in my car. – “What’s odd about that then?” I hear you say – Well, if you did just say that, you haven’t been reading the blog!
Wednesday night I filled up the bike, and vowed to ride it to work on Friday – I started the bike up, ran it up and down a little, and let it tick-over – All fine. Thursday night – I went to the garage to test run the bike, so that I could ride it in today…. NOTHING – Not a bleeding peep. – I Kicked it over lots, I ran along with it in second gear and tried to bump start it, I even sat on it, rolled down a hill, got up to a reasonable speed and still…… NOTHING…. NOTHING.

I pushed the bike back up the hill to the garage, went indoors and watched TV –

I’m no mechanic at the best of times, but I don’t stand a hope in hell in pitchdark!

So I drove….. Alright!!!

On the upside – It is pouring with rain today – SO, had I ridden the bike, I would have got wet.

The Deadline approacheth

The Motorcycle Diary
So – We are nearly at the end of the week – Deadline for getting the bike on the road. Last night I filled the newly fitted, de-rusted fuel tank, and fired the little Honda up. It runs OK, tick-over seems OK, but I might need to fine tune the carb – Maybe I’ll ride to work tomorrow. – If all goes well, I’ll clean the car up and put that up for sale – Jolly good, just in time to enjoy the bracing chilly winter mornings!

Just seen another bike – 550cc chopper……NICE! – I’ll see how much the A7 ends at to gauge how much I can plough into the chop! – Perhaps I’ll get in training by holding ice cubes under my arm-pits. At the moment the chop appears to have straight bars on, but IF I do end up with it, I’ll want to swap them out for a set of high risers.

Music
I’m not posting a track today, but I will let you know about a little Gem on the DATE Label. Peaches & Herb – Cupid / Venus - Now when I bought this recently, I figured that it must be an EP, when I received it, I noticed that there was no dead wax between the 2 tracks - well that makes DJ’ing with it fun, lining up the second track on an EP, does depend to some degree on there being some indication of where one track ends and the other starts……. But , no matter, I’m not really DJ’ing now anyway… So I played it. How silly could I have been, just because it lists 2 separate tracks, giving each it’s writers credits, (seperteley) one above the other, doesn’t mean that they would separate the two songs – Obvious really that Peaches would sing one., while Herb sings the other….. AT THE SAME TIME!!!! - Believe it or not, it actually works!


Just lost out on a few nice soul platters, Don Gardner, Shirley Matthews, Vicki Anderson, I’m bidding on another one at the *moment, but it’s going up and up and up – current financial position isn’t really conducive to collecting Northern 45’s! – Especially if I’m also thinking of getting another bike …….. Ooops, just picked up a few – the Anglos, Robert Parker – (Happy Feet), and Clay Hammond – (Dance Little Girl) – I can tell you about those because they are now confirmed sales, and none of you can outbid me......Ha ha ha!!!! I was trying for a copy of (* Mack Starr’s – down By The Waterhole, which is a stunning double header…..BUT I just can’t justify a minimum of $200, no really I can’t…. I keep telling myself, and eventually I’ll believe it!)I can tell you about those because I can't afford to go any higher......Boo hoo hoo!!!!
PS - If anybody out there has a copy of Mack Starr's ...Waterhole (original of course, and in near mint condition), that I can have for $2.75, I'd like to hear from you! - PS, the price above includes any incurred carriage charges :)

The Motorcycle Diary
OK -On the bike front, the A7 still has just one bid on it, but that’s cool, there’s still a few days to run. 900 + people have gazed upon it’s naked, semi derelict beauty, and at least 30 are keeping it tagged so that they can view it in the privacy of their own bathrooms!

I’m looking at bigger bikes… Now, don’t get me wrong, the little Honda 200 is an OK bike for going back and forward between home and work, but in an ideal world….. Well, 400cc plus is more my bag. You know what I mean? – a bit more BABABABABABA and less ring ding ding! low seat, forward sets and high bars, that’s what I’m talking about.

Music
I now have a little bit of money in the bank, and another little dollop due in in the near future – I’m waiting to hear back from a chap in America that has 240,000 records to sell – Now is that Vinyl Junkie Heaven or what????? – I’m not in any position to buy all of them – (that would cost me about the same as buying 2 medium size houses in the UK), but I’m hoping to bring them over in bundles of 100-200 then sell some on to other soul fans. Trouble is, the chap has moved house, and I’m waiting to hear back from him. There’s another bundle of singles (500) which is currently sitting at a little under $1,000…….. Hmmmmm – Tempted I are! – BUT, that would be ALL of the money from the A7 if it sells at the current price. Part of me thinks it’s a no-no……. but there’s a little bit of Homer Simpson in me which is saying…..”Hmmmmmm Do-nut’s”.

By the by - My track for today is Soulville - Dinah Washington, I haven't heard it yet, but I've just bought a copy, so I'm looking forward to getting that in my sticky mitts!

Comments
I See that a few people have ventured into this banal blog of mine – do please leave any comments - good or bad (Especially about old cars, bikes, films, Rockabilly music or 60’s Soul music – I enjoy ploughing through other people’s blogs with a similar interest to my own, so if I can link to you through your comments.. all the better.)

I’m hoping to do a short review of vintage biker films soon – I don’t have many, so it won’t be a long critique. – it also won’t be that good, as a couple of the biker flicks that I do have , should be considered somewhere below B-Movie status…….quite a LONG way below!

and almost finally for today - I'm thinking of putting some CD's together of 'Soul / 60's music, and sending them out with NO track details, but a little questionaire to get folks comments - anybody interested, drop in a comment and I'll get back to you with the full skinny.

AND - I've got a bundle of totally crap CD's, which I would be happy to swap for other things... I'll explain more at a later date - I once did a similar deal wit magazines I was publishing. I didn't make any money on it, but I did swap them for all sorts of weird and wonderful bits of junk. Perhaps in tommorows post I'll do a little run down on that venture!

The Daily Grind
Pricked all over with a multitude of PINs.

During my first post on this Blog, I mentioned that I lost all my plastic money cards, and had to report them to the bank – (whence they immediately re-appeared.) – I have now received umpteen new cards, along with numerous PIN numbers for each – Being a well trained idiot, I have managed to mix them all up, and as none of them have any identification as to which belongs to which, I’m in a right “how’s yer father!” – I get three attempts at each card before it is either blocked by the bank or works! – ADD to this jolly little financial diversion – I appear to have more numbers than I have cards – that would indicate to me, that amongst the good ones are a couple of red herrings – OH JOY!!!!!!!


The Motorcycle Diary
One Down – One To Go

Last night one of the BSA’s sold – YIP DE DIP – I can now get my bank accounts back into the black……..just! – Trouble is, I can see that I still won’t have access to my money - See above….. But then again, perhaps that’s a good thing! - as a further update, the other BSA, now has a bid on it, things can only get better from this point
I’ve cleaned out the carb on the Honda, and the fuel tank has been Fertan treated to get rid of the rust problem – with a bit f luck, it may be up and running before the end of the week.

Gardening

The Budleah won’t survive – All roots were removed, along with the roots for most of the other shrubs and plants – There is a rhododendron (Christ that one’s even harder to spell than Budleah), that appears to be a fighter, having produced some new growth. – I have now replanted that, in the hopes that my strangley undereducated attempts at gardening may pay off.

Thought For The Day
Quite by chance I stumbled across Richard Pryors Blog – (We both have Catch 22 listed in favorite books.) On arrival I was both excited and disappointed – A Bit like getting to the airport after your plane has flown off! – I’d love to have seen his comments before he passed away. One thing I did notice, which really gave rise to this thought for the day was the comment -” I used to be a comedian.”. A sad line I’m sure you’ll agree on a couple of levels – 1 – that he considered himself a WAS while he as still alive – 2 – That he has since died, and therefore made the statement more true!

I don’t really think that being a film star / TV personality / comedian gives retirement as an option, they are an IS up until the point that they die, and then quite often, still don’t become a WAS. – Being a boxer is a different matter, and once a boxer has retired, they do indeed become a ‘WAS a boxer.’

Old English bikes go under the hammer!

The Motorcycle Diary
Todays’ Blog is probably going to be neither of the following:
1 – Funny
2 – Interesting
I’m being a bit of a parasite, and merely using this facility to test some HTML formatting to list one of my motorbikes on Ebay.uk.
Thursday is a FREE LISTING DAY, and therefore not an opportunity to be missed, even if you don’t really want to sell anything. – I’ll probably delete this whole entry once the bike is listed / sold
I’m such a tight arse, that I also file my pictures on an online storage facility – (FREE), and paste them into my advert using HTML, but if I want things to look nice and lovely, I need somewhere to lay it all out first. So – There you go.

Well - Filebucket crashed, and lost all the pictures and music I had filed there.
Never mind - a forced spring clean never does any harm!

But is it NORTHERN Soul?????????

Music
I don’t know if this link will work or not, but here goes…….

I was looking for a track ‘I Love the Life I live - Willie Parker on the M-Pac label,( I’ve since found it on the President label). During my search, I picked up a little bundle of 45’s on M-Pac – none of which were by Willie Parker. There was some 1960’s bluesy stuff by Dorothy Prince, a couple of discs by the great Harold Burrage, and this one by a group called ‘The Accents. Now – I don’t know quite where this fits musically – I think it sounds a little earlier than would normally be accepted as Northern Soul, yet, although it would sound pretty good as a rockin’ stroller, I think the rockin’ crowd would poo poo it as a sixties soul track.. – I’d be interested in hearing anybody’s views.

It’s heavily compressed with a bit rate of just 48 kbps – You can listen to it, but I don’t thin you’ll be able to download it, as it is sure to be fairly appalling quality on anything other than your computer. – I’m not being mean here, but if you do want it, you should buy a real copy.!

I’ve got quite a lot of 45’s that seem to slip between categories – I don’t know whether they can be classed as soul, or R&B or Northern Soul, or what ! –I’m still a bit of a novice in this area – Got quite a few funk singles that could almost slip into soul categories as well. I’m thinking of putting some CD’s or tapes together and putting a questionnaire in saying – Well What Do You Think? – I bet that there would be a huge diversity in peoples opinions!

SO – If this link has worked, you should be able to click on the picture of the MAD DJ, and he’ll play the track for you – As always – any genuine comments are eagerly awaited – Any automated comments saying – ‘Love your blog, come and visit mine so that I can tell you about some crappy un-related money laundering business deal’ can stick any number of 45’s or 78’s up t…….. well, anywhere that the sun is less bright!

Officially - A DJ No More!

Music
I guess that makes my name a little redundant doesn’t it. –On Saturday I parted company with my twin turntable decks and speakers. A sad moment, we’ve been together for about 20 years, although my DJ kit has been in storage in the loft for something between 6 and ten years. I sold them to another Northern Soul fan, who intends to take them over to France, so at least they’ll still be playing decent, music.

I’m quite happy to come out and do the odd guest spot as either a 60’s soul / R&B jock, or as a 1950’s rock’n’roll / rockabilly jock– (Or both if that’s what you want.) - I just don’t want the hassle of booking halls, booking bands, and lugging tons of equipment up and down flights of stairs, backwards and forwards to my car, to the hall. I guess you could say that I’ve become DJ-Lazy Jay instead of DJ Crazy Jay! – If I can turn up at a gig, with a boxful of old 45 rpm singles, play a set, then either piss off home, or stay and enjoy the rest for the night as a dancer – That would suit me fine!

The Motorcycle Diary
I didn’t get round to treating the inside of my tank during the weekend. This makes the current situation vis a vie the bike more like a 3 Stooges movie, than a Marx Brothers one – ie – NOT FUNNY!

Thought For The Day
In Zen, it is said that if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there – does it make a noise? – could that be extended to – If there is only one person in the forest, but that person is deaf, does it make a noise then? – What if the re person is not deaf, but blind? – Does the tree then make a noise, but not bother falling over? – Zen’s got a lot to answer for!

How the MARX BROTHERS mirror real life - Today!

The Motorcycle Diary
There is a scene in one of my favourite Marx Brothers films - Duck Soup (why on earth is this film not included in the box set????) – which has become quite relevant to my Motorcycle Diary. HOW? I hear you say – (figuratively speaking of course, I can’t really hear you speaking, from so far away – I heard the tap of your fingers on the keyboard!)….. ANYWAY…….

In the film: - Chico and Harpo have been assigned to follow somebody – (This is my interpretation of it, I haven’t seen the film for a long time, so it’s from memory!, and that’s pretty shocking at the best of times!):

On Tuesday we went to the ball game, but he tricked us, he didn’t show up.
On Wednesday, he went to the ball game, but we fooled him – We didn’t show up
On Thursday, there was no game - None of us showed up…….

Did you shadow him any day – (says exasperated client.)
Of course we did – On shadow day…..(Saturday)

And so it goes on, but how has this any relevance to my bike? – WELL…

For a few days now, I’ve had the tank of my motorbike in the boot of my car, waiting to be rust treated – I’ve flushed it, washed it internally with detergent, and rinsed it.
On Tuesday I had the tank, but forgot the Fertan
On Wednesday I forgot to do it during my lunch hour at work
On Thursday, I don’t get a lunch hour at work – so couldn’t do it anyway
On Friday, I remembered to bring the Fertan in, but took the tank out of my car before I came to work…….

Tomorrow is Shadow day!

Rant and Rave about nothing of importance!

I just got all rattled up about something – posted a brief comment on somebody else’s blog – (hotrodgyrl.), but thought I wanted to chuck it into my own melting pot as well.

Von Dutch
A while back I was checking through Google to find pictures or details of Ed Roth, Von Dutch and other hot rodding heroes, and what do I find? – Nada, nothing, dooooodelly Squat, zilch – anything of interest that is, just endless links to people selling over-priced tee shirts….. what’s That all about EH?
I look through links to other people interested in Von Dutch, what do I find? – little girls, listing Von Dutch amongst their interests…….. what’s to be interested in then girls? – Is it as the creator of Rat Fink, as the drag race driver who co-starred in Dragstrip Girl, As the man who made pretty flat wheelcovers ? – NO – It’s just a name on a tee shirt isn’t it! – You might as well put under interests –Wearing clothes, underpants, socks,


Ahhh – that feels better- You can now go back to enjoying a normal service

PS – I don’t profess to know anything about anything – so don’t ask difficult questions,

Berkshire, bikes and other assorted idiotic ramblings

The Motorcycle Diary
OK – So here be 2 of the bikes – this is the ‘basket cases’ Which, as you can see in the case of the A10 is not strictly true. It’s pretty much all in one piece, and shouldn’t take too much to get up and running again. The A7 is in a less rideable state, most of it is in various, sheds, cupboards and garages - In the hopes that one day the hairy fairies will come and put it all together for me..




I still believe that Santa is really a biker, but due to the icy conditions during his more publicized visits, finds that a sleigh pulled by reindeer is a more reliable form of transport than his usual red Harley!

The Art Project
OK – I might need a little help and advice here. – Anybody know about using clear resin to make paperweights? – If I use it to suspend a dead creature – will it prevent any further decomposition? – Where (in UK) can I get such resin, and how do I use it?

In a similar vein, I’m thinking about selling one of my nasty ass paintings – that’ll be interesting! – First I’ll have to put it in a frame to give it a bit of class.

Thought For The Day
It’s just struck me how many people worldwide find Reading to be interesting – (Yes – I browse through the categories – What of it?), and whist I agree that in theory, Reading is OK – I’ve been there a few times with my Sons to visit the Royal Berkshire Hospital, I would have thought that perhaps there are other surrounding towns that would be of more interest – Maidenhead, for example - Windsor, with it’s royal connections, even Slough - Given that it’s been being treated to a new lease of life by comedians such as Ali G and Ricky Gervais. – so come on folks, let’s not just follow the sheep into Reading, lets be adventurers in the magical county that is Berkshire!

Tales from the border

Music
Today’s track (and it should have been my first really, given the name of my Blog) is Aretha Franklin – Soulville, wonderful track it is, and one that you should certainly try to find if you’ve never heard it. Recorded for the Columbia label, before she moved on to Atlantic, and without doubt, the best she did for the Columbia label.

The Motorcycle Diary
I did something very drastic at the weekend – Gardening – (believe it or not, this has nothing to do with the motorcycle diary, I just threw it in to add to the mountign confussion) – We have a border which is about 100 ft x 7ft deep, It was full of well established shrubs and bushes. It was also full of bind-weed and brambles. No matter what I did, I could not get rid of the bind weed and brambles, being intertwined so thoroughly with all the other plants….. So I took the following view. I’ll cut the bloody lot down to ground level, then see what survives….. I’ve since spoken to a real gardener, and he has suggested what will survive. – I’m sure you don’t need more than 3 guesses to work out two of them!


I think the Budleah might come back, and that’s only because I have no idea how to spell it! – The Old English Rose , which was massive – (and quite easy to spell.) is unlikely to recover. The others I don’t know if I can spell or not, I have no idea what they were called!



This – believe it or not, is one of the ways my obsessional behaviour manifests itself sometimes – (Cutting down the garden I mean, not writing about it, although that is indeed another result.) – I once noticed that some of my spanners and screwdrivers were grubby, so I set about cleaning them all in my parents kitchen. I brought my entire toolkit indoors, along with a drip tray full of petrol – whence I sat on the floor, emptied the toolbox into a big pile on my left, then carefully took each tool, cleaned it thoroughly with petrol and paper-towels, before putting it back in the tool box – It took me hours, and the whole house smelled of petrol! – Not Good!

Thought For The Day
How long is a fart allowed to stay sticky before it is classed as a “Shit-myself ‘ave you?” – (that’s best if you can think or talk in a Welsh accent!)

My Current Obsession
SNIP
This – believe it or not, is one of the ways my obsessional behaviour manifests itself sometimes – (Cutting down the garden I mean, not writing about it, although that is indeed another result.) – I once noticed that some of my spanners and screwdrivers were grubby, so I set about cleaning them all in my parents kitchen. I brought my entire toolkit indoors, along with a drip tray full of petrol – whence I sat on the floor, emptied the toolbox into a big pile on my left, then carefully took each tool, cleaned it thoroughly with petrol and paper-towels, before putting it back in the tool box – It took me hours, and the whole house smelled of petrol! – Not Good!

Natterings and random spatterings

The Daily Grind
The urinal at work has this nasty habit of flushing every time I use it. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem…However. Ours tends to disperse the water in a, shall we say – random spray pattern, and inevitably a small part of that spray hits whatever is directly in front of it……..NOW, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see where I’m going with this!

SO – Most times after a wee, I wander down to the kitchen to get myself a small plastic cup full of coffee, in the hopes that by the time I get back to the office, the little dappled pattern on my trousers will have gone.

Anyway, just before writing this, I went again, and as if by magic, the flush didn’t start, unfortunately, this time, my dick decided to go for the random spray pattern for a brief moment.

Now I’m drinking another little plastic cup of coffee.

The Motorcycle Diary

There is a large company soon moving on to the Business Park where I work – As a result the traffic situation in the evenings is going to go from being not very good, to being really, really not very good at all! – My wife has to leave for work, pretty much as soon as I get home, so I can’t really afford to be late. So, the answer is a motorcycle.

I used to ride a motorbike a long time ago – (Pretty bad smash a little over 20 years ago almost cost me an arm, but I digress). Then I got myself a real bike – 1958 BSA A10, easily pulled a ton, and sounded like it too – Vroom Vroom.

Eventually got round to taking a test and haven’t really ridden since – That was about 12 years ago. I’ve had a succession of cars between times, from 1950’s classics, a 1940 Plymouth custom and a few regular daily modern runners. Now I’ve bought myself a little Honda CB 200. It is MOT’d, taxed and insured, I’ve got a real license, and I’m currently trying to resolve a problem of rust inside the fuel tank – I think that will stop it from cutting out whenever I try to ride it more than five miles!
More to come…………and the clock is ticking!

Introduction to Soulville

The Daily Grind
Last night on the way home from work – I had loads to fill up a Blog – Inspired by reading the exploits of ‘The Ditch Monkey’…… Today it’s all gone.
I have no idea what I’m doing here – so expect everything to look disorganized and disjointed to start with.
Don’t expect things to change!

Music
My musical tastes are wide and varied – From 1950’s rock’n’roll, right through to 1960’s soul!
Current track is The Coasters – Crazy Baby

The Motorcycle Diary
This will be an ongoing project, about me getting back onto 2 wheels after being car bound for the past 12 years!
I have 3 bikes, none of which appear to be working very well at the moment – (To be honest, two of them are basket cases.) – I need to be riding by the end of this month.
Let’s see if it happens!

The Art Project
WHAT? – You expect me do do somthing with this already? – I’ve only just started for lambs sakes!
You come up with an idea.
For years now I have toyed with the idea of writing a book, I got so far……………
There’s another project but I need some advice from an artist regarding the use of clear resin – (The type used for making paperweights.)

Thought For The Day
Yesterday I lost my wallet, and I was worried - understandably.
But then I thought – It could have been worse: - I could have lost my wallet, the jacket it was in, the chair the jacket was hanging on, the room the chair was in, the house that the room was in, the street where my house is.
I could have lost the Street, the town, even the entire county…..
After that, I felt quite lucky that I had only lost my wallet, and am not living in New Orleans! – It kinda puts things into a different perspective!
My wife found the wallet which had slipped down into the sofa, behind the cushions – After I had phoned the banks and cancelled all my cards! – But then deep down I knew that would happen – In just the same way that I knew that had I not cancelled all my cards somebody else would have found my wallet on the road and spent all the money I haven’t got!

My Current Obsession.
Up until today my obsession was buying and selling records – it may be shifiting, and I don’t know yet what direction the obsession will head in – worrying times….. I’ll explain more about my obsessional behaviour disorder later on.