Guanabana? Lychee? Guava?

The Daily Grind

Well – I’ve just had a most unpleasant bacon sandwich, and yes, apparently an unpleasant bacon sandwich really does exist – The company decided to treat us, probably to help some get over hangovers from last nights Christmas party! So they bought a truck load of bacon sandwiches…. We were all looking forward to a lovely bacon sandwich, cooked to our own specific requirements. Crispy bacon with butter, crispy bacon - no butter, smoked back with a smidge of brown sauce, raw bacon with a slice of lemon – (Strange person at that desk!) – I’m sure you get the picture, and then our order arrives – (OK, so it’s over an hour late, but never mind) – Ahh, the smell of bacon hits the nasal passages in a way that only bacon can. Then we start to unwrap. Hmm, Soggy boiled bacon between two crumpled slices of bread which may or may not have been touched by the butterknife? – who ordered that then? – (I think I’d prefer the lemon on raw bacon!!!)……Next one, - Oh good - Soggy boiled bacon between two crumpled slices of bread which may or may not have been touched by the butterknife, followed by Soggy boiled bacon between two crumpled slices of bread which may or may not have been touched by the bu….. I think I see a pattern forming here. Now, those of you that know me from the past, or who have been reading my blog, know that I’m a veritable dustbin when it comes to food, so of course I managed to eat mine, but I must say, I’ve had better food from the bins outside the Kentucky Fried Chicken. But there we go. Credit to the food place though, when we complained, they sent over a full refund, and a bag of goodies which included cakes, and cans of drink…. Any suggestions as to which would be nicer from this selection of exotic fizzy drinks? – Lychee, Guanabana or Guava – (You learn something new every day – I just didn’t know you could get bat-poo flavoured drink.)

Torn............

The Daily Grind

Yes, I’m torn at the moment. I like Blogger a lot, and my page here look’s OK, Plus I’ve been in contact with some pretty cool folks – GW, RobotJam, Scary Duck, Mosher, Mr Whiskers, Ditch Monkey etc.etc. – (If I haven’t mentioned you – Tough!) – so obviously I’m going to be a regular here.

However, even though I don’t like the set up on MySpace as much – my page looks crap, and as I haven’t taken it that seriously, the picture I’ve used looks like my head has been pickled in the gerkin factory! I’ve tracked down a heap of my old friends. These are friends from my old rockin’ days – Belfast Brian, Del, Mouse, Tom and others that are into the rockin’ scene in the USA, so I guess I’m going to be a regular there also. MySapce is down at the moment though, which is a pain in the old duck run!
Couple that with the fact that I’ve still got to try and sell a few of my old records to pay off a small dept – (also caused by buying records.) – And get my Soulville CD project running……… I’m going to be a busy little beaver. I’m going to be cutting out early today – and probably won’t be back online until Jan 3rd.

SO – I wish all of you that read this a
VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS –
and a wonderful
NEW YEAR

Last page of the MOTORCYCLE DIARY!

The Motorcycle Diary
This weekend my old BSA A7 sold. I’m a little sad about it, but at the end of the day I know that I would never have got around to rebuilding it. In that respect I’m happy that it has gone to somebody that, I believe will build it, love it and enjoy it! – I didn’t get quite as much as I had hoped, but again, I’m happy that it has gone to a good home.

I now have to out the Honda, then I’m a bike free zone again. I guess I’ll have to face the fact that I’m unlikely to be back on 2 wheel again in the foreseeable future! – Here endeth the Motorcycle Diary!

In other news – Following the pandemonium caused by the leakage in the kitchen that destroyed our floor, I have pleasure in informing you all that we now have a similar mishap in the downstairs toilet. I ripped up the lino that I put down last year, and the old vinyl tiles that have been there since God Knows When, to find extreme dampness…… Still, it’s not going to cause anywhere near as much of a problem as the kitchen floor…… BUT, I do know now, what I will be spending my money from the bike on!!!!!! – I was hoping to get a couple of bits of software for my video editor, but I guess a new toilet and floor will be just as much fun!

The art of Being LOST

The inspirational ‘Scarey Duck’ has once again given me the inspiration to write something on my BLOG.

Getting Lost….this is something I’ve been pretty good at. Mr Duck says that he has only recently acquired the ability to get lost, suffering from the annoying habit of inbuilt homing up to this point. – I on the other hand, have taken getting lost to new, almost undiscovered extremes. I could indeed be awarded a degree in getting lost!.. What follow are a couple of prime examples –

1 – soon after moving in to a new house with some friends I decided to walk down to the local shop - I walked because the shop was very close. We lived in a cul-de-sac, and you simply walk out of the house, turn right into the road, turn right at the end of the road, then turn right again into a side road…… Then there is the shop on the left hand side. There was actually considerably more turning right than there was walking in a straight line involved. The shop really was very, very close . I remembered the directions easily, after all, it was all right turns, so there was no way I could get lost. – I bought a bag of crisps, and a bar of chocolate – (Not a very healthy lunch I know!), then headed for home. I came out of the shop and turned right – (I couldn’t turn left out of the shop, because it was at the end of another cul-de sac.) – I go to the end of the road and turned right………….. then, I didn’t recognize anything…. Lost. I walked for a while, hoping that eventually something would make sense. When it started to get dark I started to panic. Would I ever find home again? – I only had a bag of crisps and a bar of chocolate….. How long would that last me, Why I might even starve to death unless I could find somebody to help me home! - - I eventually made it!

2 – Put me in a car, and I can get lost in almost epic proportions! – I used to live in Farnham, and once had to deliver a couple of photographs to Alton, and although Alton was only a few miles away, I’d never been there on my own before – (I had passed my driving test a few days earlier.) – Anway, I got to Alton with no problem, delivered the photo’s then headed for home. BUT, I couldn’t remember the way… BUT, I did see a sign for Basingstoke, and I think I knew the way home from there. So that’s the way I went – OK, so it might be a little out of my way, but at least I’d find my way home…..or so I thought!.
Me and the little Wolseley 1500 (1957) trundled into Basingstoke, then I knew that I had to find the M3… this was going to be easy, and I’d only be a little bit longer than expected. The M3 is a long road, and Basingstoke is unfortunately not at one end or the other. I therefore had a choice of whether to drive towards Southampton or London. Now I used a bit of intelligence here. I had often been up to London with friends who drove, and when they came home from London on the M3, they didn’t head towards London, they headed away from it, which is of course what I did! I drove for a long time, and didn’t see any signs for Aldershot or Farnham, I did however see signs for the seaside, and for ferries and things, then panic set in. I pulled off to find a garage where I might be able to phone home and get directions from my dad. The little garage in Eastleigh was manned by a very friendly assistant, who let me use his phone for free. I told him everything that had happened, and where I had been – He then asked if I knew what year it was…… I may have done!
I got home some time after midnight!

3 – I once parked in a street in London, It was a free space….. Nowhere near where I wanted to be, but I wouldn’t get a ticket or have to pay, so it was fine.. I promptly walked off, and did most of my London traveling by tube. Day done, I tried to return to my car. Luckily I remembered the tube station where I started my journey…….Remembering the name of the road where I had parked would have been a bonus! I did the only sane thing to assist in my finding my car. I found a little corner shop that sold cheap London A-Z maps and red pens, then set to work. I walked up a street, looking at the cars on both sides. If my car was not there, I would draw a red line along the length of that road, and move on to the next one. I’ve since lost the book, but I do know that I had pretty much covered three pages with red pen, before I eventually found my car!

4 – Before I had a car, I rode a motorbike, my daily ride between home – (Farnham) to work (Guildford) was pleasant enough, but sometimes I fancied a change, and would take a slightly different route. So one day, I rode out on one of my minor diversions. When I came to a sign saying Guildford 20 miles I was baffled….. that can’t be right….. Farnham is only about 15 miles or so from Guildford, and I hadn’t gone through it! – It was about this time that I realised that there are 2 completely independent variables in the art of finding your way home. Distance and Direction. You can’t just get one of them right!

Feeding the BLOG

I’ve neglected my BLOG for too long…….It’s getting hungry, but I’ve no meaty morsels to feed it.

Here though is a brief and dull list of things.

New kitchen floor is finished – It looks lovely, but is so cold on the feet it hurts… Note to self, get some slippers!

Somebody may be coming to purchase the bike this weekend – HooooRAH!!!!

New Washing machine is installed, Dish washer and dryer all back in place. At last we can get back to a normal way of modern life. No longer needing to out our washing to relatives and friends, have a morning ritual of trying to wash up and everything by hand, or have clothes horses, doors and radiators covered in damp clothes all the time.

My youngest son – (aged 2) has been taken ill. It would appear to be the early onset of Asthma like symptoms, although the doctors won’t call it Asthma at such a young age, and it is quite possible that it is, as suggested, just a chest infection – (Let’s hope.). However, since both me and my wife, and our eldest son all suffer with Asthma in varying degrees, it is quite likely to head in that direction.

I’ve nothing intelligent or witty to add at the moment.

Oh that's filled me with such high self esteem!

Thought For The Day

My blog is worth $Buggar All.
How much is your blog worth?

Music Test

Music

this is just a quick test, to help somebody list records with a music clip. If you click onthe DJ fella, you'll get to hear the great Jimmy Holliday with The New Breed.

The Kitchen Floor - Update

The Daily Grind
Well Last night I was all set to start recording the second part of my Soulville CD’s. – now, it doesn’t take too long to set the lap-top up, connect the cables to the stereo via the special audio box, connect the card readers etc – But it is a bit of a palaver. Then haul my singles case out of the cupboard, and find the records that I have already selected*. Then settle down, put the first disc on the deck and……..knock on the door!

It’s my brother in law, armed with a roller, tray and tub of PVA! – “Hello”, he says to my wife – ( who had incidentally already said it was fine that I would spend my evening recording music in the dining room, while she watched TV in the living room. Normally we would both watch TV at this time of night – Even though I have absolutely no interest in the TV programmes. I don’t generally like going in to listen to records, or do recording until she’s gone to bed, as I feel ignorant and rude!.) – Anyway, I digress! – “Hello” says my brother in law – (this is not a repeat, just going back to where we left off!) “You’ve forwarned Jayster of what he’s doing tonight haven’t you?” – (Ahh, thinks I …This is something that involves me.!) I was then informed that my evening would be spent smoothing out the last little nubblets on the floor, hovering, then painting with a coat of watered down PVA, ready for him to come in and lay the floor tomorrow morning………


YAAAY – we should be getting a new floor in our kitchen tomorrow – Only three months after the old floor was ripped up. The main delay was the time it took for the drying process to be completed. – But that’s all documented elsewhere.

Anyways – The upshot for me is that I didn’t record Soulville Part 2 after all…. Maybe tonight!

*I have found that the recording process for making up CD's is much different from when I used cassettes. I approached the recording of cassettes in much the same way that I would DJ at a dance. That is - select a track, play it, and while it is playing trawl through the box to find a track that would follow it well - Maybe pull out half a dozen records, slot them into the box at jaunty angles, but basically it's a select on the run...... I've found that with the CD route, I've approached it much more like I did for a radio show. That is, make a selection of 30 tracks, write out a list - (This was all done a couple of nights ago.) then put the records in that order, and stick fairly rigidly to the list. Both methods work well, and the CD I have in the car at the momentis probably one of my favourite compilations - (But then they always are until I do the next one!)

A bit of a wheeze!

Thought For The Day
Now, heres a good gag to play on a work colleague. - - AND it’s really simple to pull off, and effective for days!

Couldn’t be simpler. When they come over in your direction, ask why they are ‘mincing’ today. Obviously they’ll deny it, so you just point out the minute differences in their normal walk to the way they are walking today. The more minute the better – (It infers that their normal walk isn’t too far removed from mincing anyway!) - examples would be the slight outward swing of the arms, a hint of a twist to the side – that sort of thing. – (OK – you’re more than halfway there already!). Then, just leave it at that, and watch as they walk away from you –(Notice the more awkward movements? your victim is now concentrating on walking ‘normally’, which actually looks anything but normal.) – then tomorrow, just bring it up again. This time the effects should be even more pronounced, and your victim will have virtually forgotten how to walk, and will have to learn all over again…………
I don’t know if it works on everybody….
……………..
……………
………….
………

But I’m still having trouble walking comfortably!

1960’s Soul Offer – CD. - £3.50

This is a duplicate of a post I have over on Little Shop Of Horrors....

1960’s Soul Offer – CD. - £3.50

OK – Here’s a very special offer for 60’s Soul Fans. – BUT, there’s a catch.

I need the help of 10 Soul / Northern soul fans…….Read on!

a while back I was DJ’ing with some of my 60’s stuff, thinking I was doing a pretty sound Northern set, when somebody came up and said – “I’m normally just into Northern, but you’ve played some blindin’ R&B” – Something I was quite unaware I was doing – it got me to thinking that I obviously don’t know what is Northern, what is R&B, what is even funk or deep soul maybe??????? – I just don’t know anymore!!!! – When I was a rockin’ DJ, I knew what was rockabilly / rock’n’roll / R&B, I knew whether it was a jiver, a bopper or a stroller…….All in all, I was sorted, I could pull a decent set together without even thinking about it – it just came natural!

SO – I’m putting together a CD made up of 30 tracks out of my singles box, some I know about, and are put there just as a yard stick to work by, some are pretty obscure, and I have no idea what category they should go in, and others I have a pretty good idea about, but might be wrong.

I’m doing 10 copies only – so if you are interested – BE QUICK!

What do you get for your £3.50? – Well, you get the CD with 30 tracks – All as far as I know from the 1960s – (Some of the singles may be cheapies, but even the cheapest would have set me back £3 - £4, some will be bigger investments, maybe worth up to £100? – I don’t know what will go on it yet!). You get NO track listing, and NO other track information. You get a questionnaire asking about each track - Artist / Title / Year / Label – If you KNOW the answers you will need to tick a box to say you know it….. If you don’t know it, make an educated guess. You will also need to put down what you would class it as – whether you consider it 1960’s Northern Soul, Garage, Deep Soul, Latin, or Funkadelic jazz with a Go-Go beat etc., plus any additional comments like – “Great track, dance to it often” – “Got this on Kent album Go Go frenzy” or “What a pile of poop, wouldn’t give you the skin of my withered foot for it!” – THEN send the questionnaire back in the stamped addressed envelope that will also be enclosed…….THEN, you will be sent an information insert / booklet for the CD with full track listing, some label scans, and some information that I do already posses. - Sound like fun? – A bit like a pub quiz on a subject you’re already keen on? - Well – what are you waiting for?

This project is really for reference / research purposes only – the payment covers material costs and postage only, Once finished I will leave it to your discretion whether you dispose of the CD or not. Obviously you wouldn’t be allowed to listen to it, purely for entertainment value or heaven forbid dance to the music, as that would clearly be unethical!

No Frills - No Chocolate - No Toy!!!!

Thought For The Day
Whatever happened to standard, no frills, open the door, see a picture advent calendars? – They got too expensive, that’s what happened to them. – SO, you can buy a chocolate filled + a picture advent calendar for LESS!!!! – (How does that work?). Now, call me old fashioned if you like, but I would have preferred my two little boys to have the old type. NOT because I’m old fashioned and If it was good enough for me, it is good enough for you!….NO, the reason is this. If little boy opens calendar door, and the only treat is to see a picture of a jolly little elf, a star, a fairy or a cute little robin or some other 2 minute masterpiece and also know that he is one day closer to Christmas, then he is quite content to open just the one door, and wait till tomorrow for the next.

IF on the other hand he is treated to a chocolate or a toy, he wants another one…… so the routine is. Open door, eat choclolate……Tears and tantrums. – (#1 son is 4 now, so he’s actually very good, he may hint at opening another door, but it’s just a hint because he knows he can’t! - #2 o the other hand is not yet 2 yeasrs old. He doesn’t understand the principle of calendars, so it’s very difficult to explain that you are opening what appears to be a big box of sweets, then only letting him have less than a mouthful.) – Therefore, for the next 23 days, we will no doubt have the same morning routine!


AND That, is why I would prefer a standard, no frills, no chocolate, no toy advent calendar!

Another wasted lunchtime

The Daily Grind
I need a new black cartridge for the printer at home, so I went to Tescoat lunchtime, knowing that they do a jolly good range - and so they do. All except for the one I want! - So rather than have a complete wasted trip, I figured I'd pop into the charity shop to see if I can find any decent records or books - I've been prety lucky in there, and made a few bob! - Trouble is there was some old lady that insisted on standing near me - smelling very strongly of wee wee..... Not pleasant, and the fact that I am hungry - (See previous posts about hunger vs pissed offness), and I'm already not best chuffed -I left.......Damn near gagging!

Why am I not surprised?

I could have been anything?

Vampire - You only come out at night, you feed on
the blood of the innocent, you are mysterious
and captivating.


What mythical creature are you? [awesome pictures!!!]
brought to you by Quizilla

New SHOP

Music
I’ve just set up a new BLOG – Something a little different, but I’ve got to work out exactly how to set it all up. Basically it’s going to be an extension of my record selling, but I’ll also put up sections of other things, then edit them according to category. – I don’t know if it will all work yet, but I figured that there’s only one way to find out!

?

?

Hmm – didn’t explain that very well did I??????

OK – Basically it’s a shop – That’s why I’ve called it my little shop of horrors – Take a look inside, there’s no obligation to buy, and there might be a free gift for the hundredth visitor…………..there isn’t, but there might have been!

BSAck again

The Motorcycle Diary

Sorry folks, I’m stealing bandwidth again! – Once again the BSA A7 is on the market, due to some time wasting **** who placed the winning bid, then didn’t collect…. Kept in contact long enough to cost me a late payment on my credit card, get charged the E-bay commission , and can’t declare him as a non paying bidder or even leave negative feedback. I could use a lot of expletives here, but won’t bother – You can add your own if you so choose.. Anyway – The upshot of it is – I have to re-advertise – paying once more a listing fee and all sundries that go along with it.
BSA A7 Plunger – 1950 chopper / bobber – NOT Triumph, Norton,

The A7 (500cc) Plunger is a 1950 model, it is not registered, and is in a stripped condition – (rolling chassis, engine and tinware etc.) The frame has not been chopped, so would not be too hard to build as either a chop, or restored to original. I believe that all the major components are here, including magneto etc.. Engine is not seized, and appears to be OK internally but I have never heard it run. This needs a lot of work to put back together, but will make a lovely project machine, whichever way you want to take it!

The picture of this machine ONLY shows a rough layout of the intended look of this bike. The seat, rear guard and tank have just been placed in position, as this is basically the frame, forks and wheels bolted together, with all other parts boxed.

Viewings can be arranged, and I can send more photographs via e-mail of any particular detail you wish to see .

No carriage charge - Buyer to collect from Newbury – The bike is not running, so will need to be collected with trailer or pick-up

10% Deposit to be sent within 10 days of auction end via cheque or PayPal – remainder can be paid in cash on collection. – THIS is NOT negotiable this time – As I was let down BIGTIME by the previous time wasting bidder- who never even came down to view the bike, nor sent any money!

If you have ANY questions at all, please do not hesitate in emailing me – jlunn@hama.co.uk

I'm PISSED OFF!!!!!!

I’m PISSED OFF!

And why am I pissed off you ask? – Well, I’ll tell you why I’m pissed off shall I?

1 – I’m pissed off because I sold a motorbike for a reasonable amount of money on E-bay, and although the supposedbuyer made good contact initially, he has not paid, nor made contact since – Just long enough so that I pay the commission and can’t declare Non-paying bidder

2 – I’m pissed off because I was relying on that money – (See above) to pay off my credit card bill. As a result, I couldn’t pay it in time and got landed with an additional £25 late payment fee!

3 – I’m pissed off because I’ve just wasted half an hour of my life on a completely pointless bus trip. I started my lunch hour, jumped on the bus to town, then realized that the only way I’d get back to work was by staying on the bloody bus!

4 – I’m pissed off because I’ve got piles – and they hurt!

5 – I’m pissed off because I bought a record from somebody in America – they’ve since moved house, and I haven’t got my record.

6 – I’m pissed off because I made myself a crappy sandwich this morning, and didn’t put my usual extra’s like crisps and fruit in my bag

7 – I’m pissed off because I’m hungry – (I’m always pissed off if I’m hungry!)

So – After that little rant, you’d probably think I feel better. But guess what? – Youre wrong…..

I’m still PISSED OFF!!!!!!

Roids

The Daily Grind
Well – following yesterdays post I am deliriously happy that (unlike on previous occasions.) my piles have gone external already. Normally I’m treated to a few days of itchy, achy bum, before the damned things poke their ugly little heads out. NOT this time! - Nope, today I’ve got a fair sized grape hanging out of my bum, refusing to go back. This has brought about its own little problems.

1 – I am now using copious amounts of Anusol, and here’s a little thing with bum cream….. WHY does it have to have that particular smell? – I mean, it is an unmistakeable smell, and quite strong at that. – It seems to overpower most soaps, so even if you throroughly wash your hands after application – (which of course I DO, because to not wash after applying said bum cream would be nasty in the extreme…unthinkable even.) It still leaves a lingering odour.
Now, if you have cause to use some other odious remedy – Deep heat, Vicks chest rub, etc, then it’s not immediately apparent what you are using it for, or where exactly – Deep heat can be for any muscle ache, pretty much anywhere, Vicks, ? – Well, OK, that’s going to be on your chest and helping with a cold or similar – but that’s unlikely to offend.
Bum cream on the other hand….. people must sniff it out and think “I know what that is, I know where it’s gone, and I also know EXACTLY how you applied it - So no thank you I do not want a cup of tea!”

2 – this morning I grabbed my little tube from the bathroom and …..(OK so tell me NOW that this wasn’t going to be a good idea……TOO BLOODY LATE NOW!!!!)……slipped it into my trouser pocket. Just in case I needed a little Anusol fix at work. – But then thinking about it, I don’t think I’d get up the nerve to take it into the loos for a quick Up the jacksy relief… - However, I did, then promptly forgot it was there. Then I leant against a desk – (once again, I feel that my tale of woe is becoming horribly transparent). Of course, not long after I wondered why my trouser leg felt a mite tacky, so put my hand in my pocket….. All my fingers came out a delicious shade of chalky white. Wonderful! – Also wonderful is the fact that I stink of bum cream. - Now it doesn't matter if i wash my hands, I've got a pocket full of the stuff.

Note to self – Remember to cut finger nails tonight!

The story of the Land Girls - Or ARMY FARMER GILES

The Daily Grind

Well, - I haven’t really felt like writing anything for a while, and the result is? – I haven’t written anything of course.
Today – I do.
Today, I am suffering with hemorrhoids – Oh, the joy of hemorrhoids! – At the moment, they are not too bad, they are only inflicting a dull ache and a permanent itch, which in a funny kind of way makes you appreciate your bum. Normally you just take your bum for granted, you don’t feel it’s presence, it doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable, even though, if you work in an office, you spend most of your time sat on it. All in all, your bum is a pretty reliable friend. Then piles come along, and your bum is a bit uncomfortable, sitting down, walking around, doing anything in fact makes you aware that your bum is there, behind you every step of the way.

Currently my piles are the internal type, so not causing me too much grief. So it’s time to break out the old preppy H and ensure that my diet doesn’t give me constipation, otherwise I’m going to end up with a set of extra danglers, then it’s not so funny!

In other news – I’m quite happy today. I paid off my credit card with some of the money I got from selling a car, got the forms from the Post Office at last so that I can send off the tax disc and get a refund. AND I found a rather scarce album in a charity shop for 50p – It’s in pretty good order too, and should bring in somewhere in the region of £10 - £20. So, even though I’ve got piles, I’m a happy chappy.

Gene Vincent Screenplay

Thought For The Day


OH NO - I've done it again. - I found a BLOG from somebody that is writing a screenplay about Gene Vincents life, and sounds like it's near completion. got carried away with reading it - Even sent a couple of comments of praise, then FORGOT to tag it into my favourites. - I now have no way of finding it again. Previously I stumbled across it by chance.... PAH, now I am Mr P. Doff!

If anybody can help - PLEASE DO SO - Don't just sit and smirk at my obvious ineptitude. this is what I know. He's based in Australia and is writing a screenplay for a Gene Vincent story.

Another Forced Spring Clean

Music

Well – once again, I’ve had a forced spring clean imposed on me. The Filebucket has disappeared completely. I’ve now put a couple of pictures in Photobucket - So at least I’ve got my little DJ guy again!…

It looks like I won’t be able to post music again – (Unless I can find another online storage method that I can understand.) – Oh well, I’m sure there’s some people that will be quite please that I can’t inflict my shite taste in music on anybody!

I might have to change my online image – after all I’ve sold all my DJ gear, now I can’t post music, so I need something new and more appropriate.

Suggestions welcome!

STUPID tests!

The Daily Grind

Well - I've succesfully turned the text in all my follwing posts blue - Now I can't reverse that problem.

I recently found a test on one of the sites How Stupid ARe YOU? - Sorry I can't rememeber where I found it. It must have been a rubbish test though becuase i got a score of 'Quite Smart' However, judging by my current achievements, I firmly believe that a higher stupid score would have been more appropriate.

If I remeber rightly the test had questions which would test your general knowledge, which I'm generally quite reasonable at. Had it had questions like this, perhaps it would have been a different story:

1 – What tools would be best to use if you wanted to remove the grass from your lawn?

A – A Lawnmower
B – A can of petrol and a blow torch
C – A knife and fork
D – A goat and a pair of long nose pliers

Bombfire Night

This weekend – (As anybody in the UK will confirm) was bonfire night – PS, the above title is NOT a miss-spelling. A night when young children are kept awake well into the night by the sound of fireworks. Cats and Dogs are scared into hiding for the next week or so by the same fireworks, and the possibility of earning yourself a Darwin Award increases dramatically!

This year, I came close to earning myself a Darwin – (Actually I can’t claim all the glory. My brother-in-law was an equal partner.) My eldest son is not too keen on loud fireworks, but this year, even the really loud ones didn’t upset him. The only thing that made him cry was when me and Nick lit the fire - Not normally the scariest part of the evening, I know.

Before I start the story though – I would like to make a point for all other potential fire-starters.
Children –
When your parents say DO NOT LIGHT FIRES- Take notice!

Parents –
When your children say DO NOT USE PETROL TO LIGHT THE FIRE – Take notice!

OK – Like I said in a previous post, it had rained all over my heap which would therefore not lend itself easily to burning – I therefore deduced that perhaps a tiny splash of petrol would help things along a little. – By little splash, I guess I actually mean a medium sized cup full. – NOW, I did the sensible thing (If indeed the words Sensible thing can be used in close quarters with the words petrol and fire when used in the same sentence!), by putting the petrol carefully onto the fire quite a while before we were due to light it. I figured that this way most of the explosive fumes would have gone??????? - BUT, then it rained a bit more, so as we went up to put dry paper under the heap, it was suggested and agreed by both of us, that a little more petrol couldn’t hurt! – So NOW, I put on a liberal amount of petrol – Probably somewhere in the region of 2-3 litres – (1/2 gallon.) I though it best not to hang around holding an open can of petrol, during the lighting phase, so I walked back toward the shed to put it away. And noticed Nick lighting a big piece of card and got ready to throw it into the heap……

I must have been a good 12 feet away – maybe more, Nick was just over arms length away – (Well, you can’t flick a piece of burning card very far when it’s raining can you?….

The children, and other parents were watching from our living room, staying in the warm and dry until the fire was going – they were looking out into the pitch black garden, then saw it illuminated……..Instantly.
The resultant explosion sent a shockwave back down the garden and almost took out all the windows in the back of our house – (That’s what scared the kids. Well, that and the fact that they could see me and Nick illuminated by a pretty enormous fireball, which thankfully rolled itself skyward rather than spreading out across the garden.) Aparently it sounded louder from inside, and all the glass bowed inwards as the shock wave hit. The whole heap lifted briefly, then settled back to ground with a cacophony of creaks, cracks and rustles. Very little fire remained, as it had for the most part blown itself out.

The rest of the evening went without incident – (Unless you count the roman candle that fell over and fired a couple of mini fireball back toward us). We had some pretty impresive fireworks, and Mrs Jayster put on a jolly fine feast.

I think next year we’ll either: - Go to an organized event OR send the children out to light the fire and fireworks, as they are likely to be more sensible than us so called ‘Adults’!

NOT a computer geek

Thought For The Day

I guess that means I am NOT a computer geek!

Guy Fawkes

The Daily Grind

On Saturday we plan to have a bonfire party with fireworks. I’ve put a load of stuff in a heap that we hope will burn. I’ve got to cut a load of bramble and weeds out of the garden, so that the kids don’t get snagged and shredded as a result of my poorly maintained garden plants. It’s rained quite a lot over the past few days – so the top of my fire heap will most likely be wet. The wind has also been doing a fair amount of blowing, at the same time as the rain. This I suspect will have made the middle and base of my heap damp as well. I think therefore that on Saturday we will be having a firework party which will end with a smoldering, smoking heap that drives everyone away.

The importance in the size of your hand.

The Daily Grind

I’m tired…I’ve been tired for days, weeks even. This is due mainly to the fact that my youngest son has decided that proper wake up time is in the region of 5.30am. Sunday was even less impressive – (See my previous post!). Last night Star Wars episode 2 was on TV, so I stayed up until the dizzying time of 9.00pm so that I could get the video recorder going for my eldest son. – Job done, straight to bed, asleep before my head hit the pillow……… and I do mean DEEP sleep . Zedsville centre, if you will.

Then, I’m woken from my slumber by the unmistakeable sound of my youngest son crying, so bleary eyed, I look for my clock to find out the time – (it’s dark, but that means nothing, I’m used to it being dark!) – Clock isn’t there, having been hidden by son one and his friend! – At last I locate it in one of my bedside drawers, and still bleary eyed, work out that it is a little before 5.am. Mrs Jayster suggests that I dose Son two with Calpol and settle him back down again…… BUT I know better, and figure that’s he’s going to be awake in about half an hour anyway, so I might as well take him down now, in the hopes that he doesn’t wake #1. – (I’ve had a pretty good nights sleep, so I might as well let everybody else get a bit more kip.)

I take him downstairs, settle him on the settee and get him some Calpol, put the kettle on for a cup of tea, check the video to make sure I got the end of Star Wars OK…… this is where things start going a bit wrong! – Video recorder is still recording!!!! – ODD??? – Maybe the tape broke?, Maybe I just F****d up again - Either way – I can’t watch Star Wars now – (More to the point, nor will #1, later on!), then I notice the clock in the kitchen. That can’t be right???? 11.45pm??? By this time, Mrs Jayster comes downstairs, wondering what the hell I’m up to bringing #2 down in the middle of the night!

So I take him back up, and he drifts off to sleep again. Then me and Mrs Jayster have a cup of tea, then back to bed – To wake up properly at about 6.00am – (bit of a lie in today after all!)

The File Bucket seemed to have spilled out again, or sprung a leak, or some other suitable water related pun – End result is the same though is the same. I no longer have any images or sound clips to pleasure you with!

Music
I AM THE SELF APPOINTED MANAGER OF HOLD MUSIC!

Everybody needs a special job title of special importance…..that is mine. I have selected all the tracks that are on our company hold music, and there’s some killer stuff in the mix too! – How many companies do you know that feature Northern Soul / funk monsters exclusively? For some reason, the machinery is clipping all the ends short – But no matter! – I’m currently enjoying Chuck Jackson & Maxine Brown, Al TNT Braggs, Howard Peters, Bettye Swann etc.

The Motorcycle Diary
Let's not mention this to anybody eh? - Our little secret!

The Art Project

HAH - surely you jest? - with everything else going on around me - you think I've got time to spare on ART Projects? - That be the case. YOU is madder than I!

Thought For The Day

No matter what time of day it is, you need to know the difference between the big hand and the little hand!

RECENT UPDATES . . . . . ????? & OTHER THINGS RELATING TO THE PASSING OPF TIME!

Thought For The Day

So how does that work then eh? – OK, it doesn’t take much to confuse me, but I have some issues with BLOG!!!!!!
1 – I sometimes browse throughBLOGS looking for people with similar interests to my own. SO, I click on one of my favourite films, types of music, interests, books etc. then check out what sort of sick bunnies like the same sort of stuff as me….Then see what they have to write about, and how it relates to what they have listed as their interests. First thing I notice is that more often than not, my Blog does not appear as being interested in the things I’m interested in, even if I’m searching as my Alter Ego. So Nobody’s going to find me that way, unless it’s some completely obscure film that NOBODY else knows about or likes, or if there’s just 2 or 3 of us.

2 – RECENT? – Who decides on what is classed as recent?? – I mean, personally (Now, call me old fashioned if you like!) my idea of recent would be the last couple of months, the last few days even. Here we are end of 2005, and ‘Recently Updated’ still seems to include people who haven’t posted anything since the middle of 2004……. That’s NOT recent in my book, at least not for something that is constantly updated.



PS – It’s late. I’m tired so this will be even more disjointed than usual.

This weekend the clocks went back – Not a problem in itself – Until you bring small children into the equation. Small children of under 2 years that do not know how to tell the time yet is one thing. Small children that NORMALLY have a wake up time of 5.30 am and do not know how to tell the time………..

OK, so Sunday USED to be lie in day – (back in my pre-having children days) 4.30am IS NOT my idea of a lie in

Worst Biker movie EVER?

The Motorcycle Diary

I mentioned some time back, that I intended to put together a review of some biker movies – (I’m now closer to getting that done.), and I think that I have at last managed to, not only scrape the bottom of the barrel, but actually dug right through the bottom of the barrel and scraped somewhere just below it. Yes folks, I think I have found what is quite possibly the worst, most pointless biker movie ever made – (I would however, love to hear from anybody that can prove me wrong.)….. I have yet to watch the whole sordid affair, and have so far only managed to muster the stomach to flick through a few of the DVD chapters… BUT, from what I’ve seen, it’s a doozie!

For a while I thought that Al Adamson’s film ‘Rebel Rousers was pretty poor, but this shone like a halogen spot compared to a recently acquired copy of Satan’s Sadists…… SO, Sadists was for a while the bottom of the pile. Surely NOTHING could oust this from Trash central! – How wrong I was…… Ohhhh so WRONG!

My most recent acquisition is a copy of Russ Myers – ‘Motor Psycho’, which judging from the cover promises a biketastic festival of busty buxom bimbos . Now I haven’t seen the whole film yet, but apart from buxomness aplenty………

Well – You’ll just have to wait for the review!

Nothing - NOT interesting - NOT funny - NOT worth reading today!

The Daily Grind
Well - the weekends nearly here........
Just thought you'd like to know!
I need to do at least some of the following:
1 - Photograph and advertise our broken car.
2 - Photograph and advertise another motorbike
3 - Sell some records
but most importantly - NOT BUY ANYTHING!!!!!!

I got thrown into a bit of a flat spin yesterday - No need for details! - As a result I sank into a bit of a depression and ended up buying things I don't really need!

Obsessional behaviour and wet floors!

My Current Obsession
My musical obsession has just taken a sudden slight detour – After seeing the Eddie Curtis track on the ‘Number One Songs From Heaven’ blog, I realized that it was VERY important for me to know what year all my records came out – (So I will be listing the years on my record sleeves) - Just don’t ask OK!!!!!! – It’s just the way my obsession works.

SO – last night, I’m up with a stack of singles writing names, titles, labels and matrix numbers feverously on sheets of paper so that I can cross reference them today – I still haven’t found a date for the Josie 45, that started all this, as I don’t have any Josie singles – (except for some early cuts by the Cadillacs).

I’ve done my SMASH singles, BUNKY, AMY, and WAND – Drew a blank on dates for Sceptre!!! – (Which surprised me.), BIG TOP, VERVE and SPAR all came together OK – (PS, quite a few of these labels I only have 1 or 2 records on, so it doesn’t take too long to find the info I need, if it’s around.)
- - - NOW – Isn’t all this interesting! - - -

Anybody know anything about Tay-Ster records? – The Anglos on ORBIT – (Incense.), the Whispers on Soul Clock?

Tonight, I will hopefully go to bed before the morning, and be allowed to wake up sometime after the crack of dawn! – I’m not in a particularly humorous mood today – not helped by the fact that I managed to soak our kitchen floor again – Long story, but basically, we are waiting to have a new floor fitted due to a leak. The new floor can’t be fitted until readings have been taken to say that the drying machines – (which have now been in for several weeks – possibly months?) have finished doing their job, and the floor and wall are now moisture free.. A situation not helped by me causing another minor flood! – I wasn’t very popular this morning!

Make that Double A HAT-TRICK

Music All images & audio clips removed

I must get round to creating links to some of the other music orientated sites that have excited and inspired me - (You bastards!You've also fuelled my addiction to old records and caused me to either spend more than I can afford, or in the case of the Howard Peters single, sweat blood over the fact that I found a copy but can't afford to buy it at the moment!!!!!)

Anyway - I hope I didn't offend anybody with that little outburst - but if I did - TOUGH!

Today, I was inspired by hearing a couple of Jimmy Holliday tracks on The Number One Songs In Heaven blog - So my reply is another Jimmy Holliday track called The New Breed from the Diplomacy label - As always, I know nothng else about it, or the label. Would appreciate comments, but if, like me you know nothing more about it, just sit back and enjoy!

Cover Versions

Music all images & audio clips removed


Today I'm going to post a couple of cover versions, which I think dispel the assumption that covers are never as good as the original. First up is a killer version of Bob & Earl's - 'Harlem Shuffle' - SACRILAGE I hear you shout!
But this one is not taken at the usual steady beat - This is made especially for amphetimne fuelled dancers. It comes from the Sceptre Label and is done by The Traits.

My second offering comes from the Vontastics, and is another uptempo dancer - this time a cover of The Beatles - Day Tripper.

No ideas on years on either of these - so any info you may have on either track would be welcome. - Enjoy!

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

The Daily Grind

Well – That was fun…….

I have not written for a while – mainly because I’ve had nothing much to say – No news, nothing new.

Today is different!

Chapter 1 – Jaysters Series of Unfortunate Events

On Wednesday, a fairly normal day suddenly changed into pandemonium – At about 3.30 I was asked to take the works van from our offices to our warehouse, another colleague would follow in a car and bring me back. The round trip should bring us back to the offices by spot on five, provided we didn’t hang about, or get caught in traffic – (believe it or not, the trip went smoothly, and we made it back, as expected at spot on five. Grabbed my bits and bobs, jumped on my bike and started the cycle trip back to my car – Everything is going well. Until that is, I reach my car, only to discover I don’t have any keys. Not too big a problem, although I will be late home, I just have to cycle back up to work, pop in, get my keys, make a quick phone call home to explain that I will be a few minutes late, then back on my bike again – So that is what I did –well, up to a point. The plan was once more changed by the fact that nobody else was left at work – Locked up, shut down, nobody will be back in till tomorrow.

OK, things are now looking a tad bleaker, but there’s still hope! – cycle back to where my car is parked, and visit another work colleague who lives ‘somewhere’ on the estate where my car is parked – (Anybody notice a potential problem in that line?) – I don’t know exactly where he lives, but have a rough idea, and know that he put a new fence up a few months ago – I asked a few people that I saw walking about, to no avail, then spotted a potential house – knocked on the door and it was answered – But not by Mr X! – “Any idea where Mr X lives please?” – I’m in luck, as the man points next door and says “Next-door” – Well, how’s that for a spot of good luck? – Luck would have been better had they been in, but unfortunately I’d missed them by about 5 minutes, and they had just popped into town – SO, I tried the neighbour again, to see if there was any chance of borrowing a phone, I explained the problem to him, he lent me a phone, and I phoned the wife and explained it to her. This is going to cause a problem, and I’m sure that I’m in trouble – OK – She will phone her work, arrange a baby-sitter for the boys and come out to collect me. She doesn’t know the housing estate, so I have to cycle back up to the offices and wait outside for her – She should be here in about 40 minutes? – Unless she goes to work then pick me up after work to teach me not to be such a pea brained, dunderhead. – so I sit down, read a bit, write a bit, listen to a bit of music on my MP3 player, until the battery runs out – Can’t read any more or write, because it’s getting dark – So I sit, then stand, then sit again –(Till my bum and balls go numb), then stand again, and move about, trying to ignore the pins and needles. THEN, things take another bizarre twist, I see my folks car go past – (Odd, because they live 30 miles away in the opposite direction form our house) – so I get up to have a look. Nobody about, perhaps I was mistaken, but no – they come back again…….

“Hello Jerry” – “Hello mum! – what’s going on?” – Well it turns out that Mrs Jayster had also had a series of unfortunate events!

Chapter 2 – Mrs Jaysters Series Of Unfortunate Events

Mrs Jayster has only come to my offices a couple of times, and every time I have been with her, so she’s never had to find them on her own, so she got a tiny bit lost…. That in itself would not have been a huge problem, as she would have been able to ask somebody, and eventually get directions to our estate and find me. No, the main problem was the fact that the car decided, it no longer liked oil or water, and therefore opened up a hole in the engine to let both out all of a sudden. Then it changed it’s mind – (fickle things these engines.). It decided it DID need oil and water after all, so the engine made some unpleasant noises and stopped! – Shame, because the car is brilliant otherwise, excellent bodywork, interior, gearbox etc. It just has a very dead engine! – She hadn’t been able to arrange a baby sitter, so the boys are in the car with her. Stuck at the side of the road, lost and all, as you would expect, tired, bored and getting a little irritated. Fortunatley, a very nice lady stopped to see if they needed any help, and left a nice bag of toffee’s, which did a great job of keeping the two boys happy! – A breakdown man came and looked at the car, got it started, turned it off again and said – Ohh Dear! – then arranged for a recovery truck to come and tow it home.. – (Meanwhle – back in the jungle….)

By this time, my mum, dad and myself, had worked out where Mrs Jayster and the boys were, and had driven to find them – All together at last, all in reasonable humour considering the currently worsening situation…… and believe me it IS worsening!!!!

The breakdown truck is taking a very long time to arrive, especially considering that when arranged it had been noted that it was to assist a lady driving with two small children. This situation would normally be given priority. It transpires that breakdown trucks are named for a reason, and not as I always suspected, because they collect broken down cars, the one that was coming to collect my wife had indeed broken down! – A second truck was arranged and eventually arrived. – the driver must have been in a bit of a rush, as he barely gave me time to take the child seats out of the car, as he was hauling it up on the winch – in fact, I nearly got pulled under the car, and tripped on the edge of the flatbed, in my attempt to remove the second one! – he relented, and gave me a moment or two to actually get it out, so that the children could be safely strapped into the seats in the lorry.

At last, we’re on our way home, my mum and dad followed us the fifteen miles back to our house, to make sure all went well, and to help with the children once we got home – the plan being to give me a lift back to their house, and then another lift into work the next day. – It was at this point that we remembered that there is a spare key for my car, so they gave me a lift back to that instead, and I was able to drive back to my house – eventually arriving back somewhere between 10.30 and 11pm.

Phew – Now we have to work out what to do with the current car situation!

Just 1 left!

Thought For The Day
Now here is quite a dilemma – This morning There was NOTHING to put on toast, the cereal had almost run out, so the boys had a bowl each, and I had what was left, which amounted to about half a bowl, most of which consisted of dust and the slightly stale bits that inhabit the outer box, instead of the internal “Keep the contents fresh” bag. As a result, I’m hungry!

So - What (you may ask) is the dilemma?

For the answer see my post from the other day - SLIGHTLY HORRIBLE!

a forced spring clean.

The Daily Grind
Well, the online storage facility where I keep my images and MP3 files went tit's up yesterday - As a result I have had to re-stock the file bucket, and will have to edit my previous posts, if I want the images to re-appear with the tracks... chances are I won't bother, but I might just go in and remove them . I did say they were there for a limited time only!

On set with The Borrowers

The Daily Grind

Now here’s a rather dull story for you all to enjoy. I was in the film ‘The Borrowers’, although may well have been cut out due to my own stupidty. – I worked as an extra for a couple of years – Well, you know how it goes? – I needed a little EXTRA money, it seemed the ideal way of getting it! – I worked for the Ray Knight Agency who got me far more work than any of the other agencies that I paid to be with!!!!! - Anyway – I digress.
SO, we’re called to a location near Reading (Theale if you must know) to shoot a couple of scenes for the Borrowers, at the time I had a beard, and being as I was just an extra, that was fine. I was given a bicycle to ride, then told off for swapping it for a smaller bike, as that was the one the main star was supposed to be riding – hence the little tin can on the front which he was carying a couple of borrowers in - Ooops, there I go on another tangent. filming went well, and my job for the day was wearing a hat and an overcoat and riding up and down the road on the bicycle. Then we were called up to another location in central London, where I was once more given a hat and an overcoat and a bicycle to ride about on – (If I remember rightly the boy was cycling to a dairy or something, there was a bridge / tunnel at both locations, and the idea was that one location was one side of the bridge and the other location was the other side.) Trouble is the boy must have been cycling for about a month and a half under the bridge, by which time I’d realised that the beard was more trouble than it was worth. It felt like I had a scarf on the whole time, it also managed to retain odours from previous nights exploits, even after serious cleaning – (I won’t go into details, but I’m sure you know where I’m coming from.) – As a result, it had to go! – I don’t think I actually appear cycling in the film either clean shaven, or bearded!

Scrappy dappy scrapped!

Thought For The Day
Going back to one of my previous posts - SOUL SHAKEDOWN. I wrote a brief comment about sacking Scrappy Doo. Well it appears that he has indeed been given the push – (we got a free DVD with a couple of ALL NEW Scooby Doo episodes in a packet of cereal.) – And there is no sign of Scrappy.

SO – If anybody can offer work to an annoying cartoon puppy, please write to Hanna Barbera. Hurry though, because if like so many other young actors that get unceremoniously dumped from their shows, he gets depressed he is likely to turn to drugs / drink and ultimately take a soul crushing job as a security guard in a supermarket or something.

SLIGHTLY HORRIBLE

The Daily Grind

You Are 63% Weird

You're so weird, you think you're bordering on normal. Right? But you wig out even the hairiest of estate agents!

How Weird Are You?

Picked this up from GW – and found I was 60% weird. Tried one of his other tests too . . . But really didn’t like the result. How can I EVER afford to pay that much of a fine – especially given that I’d be spending the rest of my natural life (Plus a fair amount more once I’d passed away)behind bars!

But that’s an aside. Today’s post is ‘
SLIGHTLY HORRIBLE

A work colleague has just come back from a trip to China, and as tradition dictates, brought a few munchable morsels for the rest of us to ‘enjoy - Now I am known as the company dustbin, and am quite happy to chomp my way through any food offerings – This is on the proviso that the offerings are indeed advertised as at least moderately edible. I mean I don’t go eating staples, pencils, CDs or battery chargers that are left in my desk area – but most other things are fair game. There were two varieties brought in from China – One was a packet of TEA biscuits, and although nobody else seems to like them much, I’ve managed to plough my way through quite a few of them, and they do taste like a very pleasant cup of tea – but in biscuit form. All I need now is a digestive flavoured drink to dunk them in. The other thing is a pack of fairly large sesame covered cakes – The packet only contained 4, and although they have been there for the best part of a week, there are still 2 left – (Yes – Of course I’ve eaten one – That was a rather obvious question you just thought wasn’t it?). – I’m very tempted to eat another one, even though the taste is ever so slightly horrible. Not horrible enough to put you off eating it all together, like eating bread with mold on, rotten peanuts, or sour lumpy milk – all of which I find quite unpalatable.
Just a little offputting is the smell that these cakes emit. They look perfectly cooked, lovely light coloured sesame seeds on a golden pastry that looks like the top of a McDonalds Bap, but they smell a little overcooked – (Read that as Burnt…..and then cooked some more.) – However, it’s not a ‘normal’ burnt, more like they have been burnt on a bonfire, rather than in an oven. The smell is not over-powering, but you don’t need to put your nose right up to it to get a whiff, it seems to permeate the surrounding area with a hint of it’s smoky delight.

I’ve got your mouth watering now…..right?

And we haven’t even bitten into it yet. – OK. First bite, and we’re treated to sesame covered pastry, unsweetened, …Now here’s a mystery, the blandness of the pastry, seems to completely over power any flavour the sesame seeds should have, leaving you with little taste, but a texture that fills the mouth with a very claggy, seedy sensation. You also get the first glimpse of the filling, a thick dark substance that looks a bit like processed dates with pine kernels stuck in it… It also looks like other things which may be found littering the woodland floor, but I won’t go into that for fear that some of you may be enjoying a real biscuit with your afternoon tea. Eating this is a most bizarre sensation. You’ve heard of bitter sweet? – Well this is it, theres certainly something sweet in there, sugars or syrups or nectar or something, but there’s also some bitter flavourings, there is a slight hint in both flavour and texture of bonfire ash, and there’s also the merest hint of something you might find on a well matured compost heap – I can’t even start to describe that – Even though I’ve taken several bites and tried ever so hard to describe it to myself. I think the sweetness of it is the only thing that draws it into the category of slightly edible. As for aftertaste – the sweetness disappears, leaving you with a bitter ash flavour. Perhaps that’s what entices you to have another bite, as it’s not quite so bad while it’s still in your mouth.

ONLY 1 LEFT NOW….. I wonder who will eat it?

I think I need a cup of coffee – I’ve also got a slight stomach ache now……Ooops – and wind!

The POPULAR 5 on MINIT

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

Well – I haven’t got much to say today – Soul do at Greenham was pretty good. Although the music was a little predicatable., you know, all the stuff you’ve got on the ‘Best Of …. Soul LP’s’ – Did plenty of dancing, but didn’t hear anything that made me go “WOW, I’ve never heard this before.” – Didn’t sell any records, but then I really didn’t try.

I asked the DJ for Jackie Wilson’s – ‘Baby Workout’ – He didn’t have it, but said he could play Higher and Higher, or Sweetest Feeling instead. Now Workout is no rarity, so I’m not asking too much am I? –OK the other 2 tracks are good, but you pick up any old CD, with a sniff of Jackie Wilson, and that’s what you’ll find – Why even if you just collect the free CD’s given away with the daily papers you’ve probably managed to snag both of these tracks at least once – But Hey Ho…….. AND another thing – while I’m on a roll. WHY do DJ’s play from these silly mixed compilations – where one track runs into the next, so you either end up with a clipped short track, or – (EVEN WORSE) A brief snippet from the start of the next track. OK – use these CD’s as a reference point, if you want to hear a load of music, but if there is stuff you want – FOR GOD SAKE either find a real copy of it on single, or at the very least get it on a CD where there is a gap between tracks. I’m not one of the se stuffed shirts that thinks you should ONLY play original 45’s, but I am a bit of a stickler when it comes to using ready mix CDs………..AND……..Who the HELL Plays medley’s? – MEDLEY’S???? – What’s the point in that eh? – You get halfway through a track you really like, dancing round like a dervish only to be cut short, in mid stride with admittedly another great track, but it really hacks me off……and relax!!!!

Today’s track is on the Minit Label – I did try and ask about it on another Blog – But the link didn’t work. SO – Any ideas? -



Incidentally, the flip side is a great soul mover version of Thurston Harris – Little Bitty Pretty One – (Or should that be Bobby Day?)

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!