August hols one

Cathedral Stained Glass
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

A few words about our little break in the midlands.

Day One: Home - Coventry - Warwick

Unexpectedly leaving home within a few minutes of our intended departure time, we hit the A14 and had a breeze of a drive to Coventry. The weather was overcast enough to make driving easy in terms of not having to battle with bright lights, rain or anything else untowards. Traffic was sparse and we were on the Park & Ride bus into the city centre by 1130 or thereabouts. Not the most impressive of P&R sites but the bus got us into town and the car was still where we left it and
undamaged when we came back so that's all you really need to worry about.

I'd been to Coventry twice before back in 1990/91. Both just fleeting visits from Derby - once to try and get tickets to see the Quireboys (failed) and once to escort a friend who didn't fancy making the trip alone to visit another friend who was at the universtiy there. I had some vague recollections of the cathedral from those but nothing else stuck in my mind. MrsB had never been before so it was basically a fresh experience for both of us.

While suffering from the same problems of closing shops and too many smilarities with everywhere else, it has to be said the City Centre is really quite nice. They have obviously spent a fait bit of money over the last few years cleaning up and re-paving and so forth, and if we had been there to shop I think we could have quite easily spent our money. Of course that wasn't what we were there for so we went off to gawp at the sights instead.

The cathedral was just as fantastic as I remembered. The contrast between the bombed ruins of the old and the mid-century modernity of the new makes for an unsettling and yet calming experience. If that makes any kind of sense. I'm not a religious person, but I do appreciate the varying styles of ecclesiastical architecture on offer in this country, and in this case found them both to be equally as appropriate as each other. Climbing the tower of the old cathedral (remarkably undamaged when compared with the rest of the structure) gives a great perspective on the sheer scale of the building which you don't always get from other such vantage points. I think the lack of roof makes it clear how big the place was, and experience of other churches helps interpret how the space would have been enclosed in times gone by. The newer building is just as magnificent in its own way, especially the stained glass curtain window (as pictured above - click through to Flickr for more views) and the way it spreads flashes of colour across what could otherwise be quite a dull interior. Some of the smaller spaces inside manage to capture the intimacy and feel of similar nooks and crannies in older churches and yet still reflect the hope of the new. I think in some ways I was most impressed that it was built at all, especially on such a grand scale. It is nice to know that we can still build "old fashioned" church stuff - such as the new tower put on Bury St Edmunds Cathedral for the millennium - but the fact that a city and the church was willing to go forward with something so radical is just great. I know there was opposition and controversy at the time, but I think know it fits in as a link between the different eras of construction.

After a spot of lunch the sun came out and we had a wander through a bit more of the town centre, ending up at Spon Street which wasn't quite the medieaval theme street implied by the signange but still nice to look at in parts. Most of the old buildings appear to now be bars and weren't open so we headed on to the Transport Museum instead.

Not having grown up in a town with a focus on manufacturing it is hard for me to comprehend just how dominated Coventry and surrounding towns were by the motor trade in its heyday, but the museum certainly gives a flavour of those times. Wandering past exhibit after exhibit built
within a 10-20 mile radius of the site did kind of bring it home a bit how much the town must have depended on the factories and how it must have suffered since their decline. Plus of course I'm a sucker for a nice bit of polished bodywork and a good old British marque. It was also good to see them give space to a number of concept cars - even if they are just plaster and mdf models some of the ideas that get touted at motor shows as "design studies" and so forth do give me interesting thoughts about what we could or should be driving by now.

The museum is also home to Land Speed Record breaking Thrust 2 and Thrust SSC, both of which I remember following eagerly as they screeched their way across the desert. A somewhat pointless exercise really, but fun to watch and both cars are impressive in the flesh.

Having used up the afternoon we then wound our way to Warwick and our B&B for the next three nights. The Seven Stars was lovely, the room was comfy, breakfasts tasty, Landlady Audrey and her helper Sue nice (we never did meet Audrey's husband John) and overall well worth the price. It would perhaps have been nice to have had the option of eating in at night rather than heading back into town but you can't have everything. What we saw of Warwick that night was also very attractive (more tomorrow) and we had a nice Italian dinner which went
down very well!

Major and Minorettes

Major and Minorettes
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

Urp, where did that last week go?

Anyway, summer is now making a proper appearance and to go with it the carnival season is upon us. A much shorter procession than in previous years and no "extras" in the form of firework displays or concerts etc owing to the main sponsor pulling out. But then it would have been hard for them to justify pumping cash into this when staff are losing shifts.

Despite the lack of floats the majorettes were out in force. What is it that attracts girls (and indeed the occasional nervous looking young lad) to join these outfits? Most of the activities youngsters can get involved with I can sort of see a point to - cubs, scouts, brownies, even normal dance classes can add skills and things that might come in handy in later life. But what can shaking some pom poms or twirling a baton prepare you for? All the troupes have their lead car bedecked with trophies - presumably earnt through out-twirling their rivals - and lurid matching uniforms but I'm not sure why they exist other than to pad out processions and fill a ten minute slot at summer fetes.

Answers on a postcard!

And if you want to see more from Saturday just click on the girls to go through to Flickr.

------------------------------

Now off to Warwickshire for a few days. Travelogue when I get back.

Public grief

Bobby Robson tributes 1
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

I've been thinking long and hard over the weekend about what to write here. Nor especially on the topic of Bobby Robson, but more the way we choose to mark the passing of someone in the public eye these days.

I can't claim to be much of a football fan. Working right next door to the ground (hey, out fire assembly point is on the practice pitch) and listening to local radio a lot means I have picked up a fair bit of interest over the years though. OK, so the only times I have been inside Portman Road are for meetings and to see Bryan Adams back in 1992, but I certainly understand the esteem Sir Bobby was held in by the fans. In fact, when we were clearing out my father-in-law's house I was touched by one old boy I met in a charity shop who, on hearing we were up from Suffolk, took great pains to tell me he had been Robson's first games master and had taught him the basics of football.

What I don't understand is the compulsion to leave flowers or shirts (some purchased especially to do so) or other mementoes in a car park. OK, yes it is by his statue at the ground, but still. Why?

Surely the money could just be given to his charity and an entry be written in the book of condolences without the need to show others what you've done. Because I'm sure half of this is just so people can say they "were there" and gave something up in memory. I just don't understand that at all.

Likewise, why is Michael Jackson still all over the charts just because he has died? Did these people going out in their droves to the record shops not want to own that music when he was alive? Not much of a fan to only support a dead artist.

Maybe I'm just private with my emotions, but I recall people crying in the supermarket on the morning of Diana's death and getting in the way when I was after some cornflakes. Yes it is always sad when someone passes on, but it seems that these days everything has to be out in the open.

And it isn't as if nobody I really admire has met an untimely end either.

Just one of those things where we all have differences that keep the world interesting I guess. A few more shots if you click through to Flickr.

Liking London

Norman's Bridge
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

Growing up a mere 25 minute train trip from King's Cross, and with grandparents and aunts within the outer metropolis it was perhaps inevitable that we would spend a fair amount of time in London as children. The fact that I still like to get down there as often as possible for a wander about, nose at the sights and poke around a museum is more a refelection on what the city has to offer than on upbringing though.

Dad always used to take a couple of days off every school holiday to take us down to one museum or another (most often the Science Museum, but we did branch out), and we also went in with the Grandparents from time to time. By sixth form I was an educational member of the Royal Geographical Society and used to go down with friends to lectures which then lead to hitting the shops or a meal afterwards, which was always great fun.

These days we tend to travel down by coach rather than driving to a relative and hopping on the underground or just taking a train. It may take a bit longer that way but it is half the price to get us into central London, gives just as long wandering about and the view is so much better. From the entry into Whitechappel and Stratford past the developing Olympic park there is always something that you just don't get to see from the train. I love cruising past landmarks such as the Bank of England or the Tower and feel set up for the day ahead.

This time we had two objectives in mind but stretched the day into three sections as neither of the first two provided as much entertainment value as we had hoped for.

After a brief squint at the Globe and a short walk along the river we hit our first proper stop at the Oxo Tower. I had only found out about the viewing gallery a couple of weeks ago and it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up on for free. The view from up there isn't as spectacular as some others along the Thames but then you can't help what gets built where. I always like to get an elevated perspective if at all possible - from ground level you don't always appreciate how close differnet parts of the city really are. Particularly if your navigation is done by the tube map rather than the real streets. The weather could have been a bit better - it was a tad overcast meaning my pictures aren't as bright as I would have liked, but still give a feeling of the sprawl stretching away from the river banks.

We didn't dwell in the wharf housing the tower as the design and designer shops were (a) mostly closed and (b) not really our scene, and moved swiftly along to stop two. This was the Garden Museum next to Lambeth Palace.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not much of a gardener, but I do appreciate the works of others in making their little patches of land into something special. The museum itself is housed in the former St Mary's church and was a bit of a let down. I don't object to paying to get into these places but when they have a cafe open to all I'd like to see a bit more effort to ensure that those ostennsibly just going in to eat do just that. In the garden and the exhibition areas there were more people not wearing the little "i've paid" stickers than those who had definitely contributed to the coffers. The garden and exhibition areas were also a bit smaller than expected so did not exactly fill up the entire afternoon we had set aside for them.

Depsite my non-expert status, even I have heard of the great plant discoverer John Tradescant and his son (also John) who happen to be buried within the garden. It was the re-discovery of their tomb that saved the church from demolition and led to the founding of the museum there back in the '70s so I do applaud the establishment in general. I was also thrilled to see the casket there of Captain Bligh of the Bounty (and indeed we passed his house later on) but slabs of stone were not what we went for. Somehow I would have expected the grounds of a garden museum to be a riot of colour and different blooms from around the world, but alas it all seemd a bit hemmed in. Understandable perhaps, given the surroundings of the big city, but still not what we were hoping for. Oh, and the cafe only dig vegetarian food so I suppresed my cravings for a big slab of meat to accompany my leek & fennel gratinade with some nice Suffolk Cider instead.

That left us with most of the afternoon still to fill. As it was only down the road we headed to the Imperial War Museum for a look around. As this is one of the national ventures subsidised to give free entry in recent years it wasn't an issue to only pop in for a couple of hours. I'd not been there since a History O-level field trip which must have been 21 years ago at least so there were plenty of changes from what I recalled.

We concentrated on the second world war and holocaust exhibits as these had the most direct bearing on our various relatives who had seen service. Very moving in parts and somewhere we will be going back to I am sure to catch up on some other exhibits.

So that was our day out, most enjoyable and looking forward to the next one. We are definitley down in October to see Sister Act but may just squeeze in another trip before then. Watch this space.

Seat of Power

Seat of Power
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

Did the London day trip yesterday but haven't got time to write much now so a fuller report will come along over the weekend. I'll just say here that it was a south bank day and you can click through parliament for more pictures on flickr.

Oh, 14000+ steps recorded!

Not So Extreme

So yesterday saw Felixstowe's third Xtremefest over on the cliff top just along the road from us. A couple of my cousins and their offspring were up for the day so we all went along to watch people falling off their skateboards, climbing, judoing and so forth whilst being entertained by a number of up and coming local bands. It has to be said that it wasn't quite as interesting for the slightly older observer as last year - the mountain bike display team we saw twelve months ago didn't put in an appearance and we managed to miss the alternative demonstrations of martial arts and street dancing (possibly a blessing in disguise there of course). The wind was a bit fierce at times too, meaning that the water based activities were somewhat restricted.

Still, the music was pretty good at times, with Friendly Misunderstood Rabbits and Alex Body (as pictured) going down well in my ears and with those scattered in front of the stage. I picked up the second Soundwaves CD which features FMR along with nine others and follows on from the first compilation last year. It is great to see our local councils doing things like this to promote local young musicians rather than the usual ignoring of anything vaguely like "fun" for the youf!

It was also great to see the family on a happy occasion and without it being a party or anniversary or such like. Just everyone in the same place at the same time enjoying themselves.

The sounds of today

Don't let that Lastfm list over on the right lull you into a false sense of security about my musical tastes. That just happens to cover what has ended up on this PC through downloads and ripping of choice tracks to use on compilations or as ring tones or just to listen to while I'm up here. There are plenty of artists on the CD shelves not currently starring on this hard drive not to mention the drawers full of cassettes that still get the odd play and even the vinyl sat down to my left comes out once in a while (in fact the turntable has been quite busy of late as I've been sticking my old 12" singles onto the PC to then re-use as CDs). I'll come back to those some other time. Anyway, while I wouldn't go so far as to claim that the internet has revolutionised how I consume music, it has definitely had an impact in helping me find new artists as well as obtaining loads of bootleg concerts, unofficial mixes, mash-ups and the like. But I'm still one for a physical object.

I think I have conquered my past obsessive need to own every song released by certain artists with multiple format purchases of singles and albums (although knowing that there is a 1989 Dogs D'Amour B-side I'm still missing does nag at me in the wee small hours) but still have walls full of discs. It helps that the single has almost died off as a physical format of course, no temptation to wander off to the nearest record emporium every week to see what has come out, even if that does mean the supply of extra tracks to complement an album has gone too. I do still pop out once a week to look at the new albums of course, even if I then go home and order them online. Although not as often as I used to. If you'd told the 22 or 23 year old me that I'd be happy to wait for a new release until it came in the post (or even until the end of the month, or - shock horror - Christmas) I would probably have laughed in your face. With age comes patience and mortgage payments.

Which is why I am now listening to a CD I just burnt of The Future, The Past & The Present Tension - the new album from Mark Vidler aka Go Home Productions which is now available as a free download from his site. I first encountered GHP via the mash-up scene (and have several mini-discs featuring his past output, including longer mixes as well as loads of cut & paste stuff) but this is "proper" original music and I'm liking it a lot. Lots of real instruments with smaples and other stuff laced throughout. Well worth the effort of clicking on a download link and then bunging onto a shiny disc. I'm not sure really who to compare him to in terms of style - a bit of Lemon Jelly perhaps, with a smattering of indie guitar and a love of the Beatles. That doesn't really help I'm sure, but as you can find out for free don't let my feeble attempts at categorization put you off.

I have also downloaded a couple of discs worth of stuff from Soundhog tonight for future listening pleasure. Another one I found through mash-ups who has branched out into longer mix sets (which have had radio play) and remixes etc. And while I am recommending music from the interweb you could also try Paul Thorpe in his Braces Tower guise for some fun electronica.

Obligatory anniversary post

So today is the 40th anniversary of Mr Armstrong taking his small step onto the moon and I am quite surprised to note that none of the blogs I regularly read have mentioned it at all. Perhaps I'm the only space freak out there (can't quite believe that) or perhaps everyone else had more thrilling things to write about. After all, it was fourty years ago and who cares these days? Well, I do.

Although I didn't come along until 1971 and the last few gasps of the Apollo programme, I have always been fascinated by the idea of getting off this rock. I'm told that almost as soon as we could walk, my friend Rebecca and I were bouncing up and down the lounge in slow motion imitation of the moonwalkers. So either they were repeating the footage quite a lot or we were pretty precocious in the mobility stakes.

Having read a fair bit on the subject in recent years (particularly since visiting Houston in 2006) I am still staggered by the effort put into the whole space programme and how well they did. The fact that NASA didn't lose any astronauts in flight until the Challenger explosion is just incredible when you think how many people get killed by their work in other fields with a much lower percieved risk. I can also appreciate that the shuttle has done a good job of helping learn the science and medical stuff etc for long term future of space travel, even if mucking about in low earth orbit is one hell of a come-down compared to shooting for the moon. I'd still give my left leg for a ride up out of the atmosphere, that's for sure. Maybe Virgin Galactic will get their act together soon enough for me to try it (if I win the lottery) but I'd rather be up there for my job than as a tourist. And given that we have had British astronauts I might just have made it if I'd put my mind to it 25 years or so ago and applied myself to the right kind of studies. We will never know.

Still, I am lapping up all the documentaries and stuff the BBC have been putting out over the last few weeks. I've seen some of the footage so many times I can follow bits of debris and know where they will fall during a lift off, but it still stirs the emotions. And the fact that stuff I haven't seen before is also cropping up is just fantastic. I could sit and watch that for hours. Even the larking about with blobs of water in zero g (OK, microgravity if you want to get technical) is worth watching to remind ourselves of the possibilities of getting out there.

We are having a day trip to London next week and I might just have to find half an hour or so to pop into the Science Museum to stare at their battered old command module for a bit. It may only have been from the dress rehersal, but it did go to the moon and back, which is pretty impressive for any man-made object.

And Did Those Feet

Well, my feet anyway.

According to my phone I have now recorded over one million steps this year. OK, so if I was managing my 10,000 a day this milestone would have been passed over a month or so ago, but I still think it's worth noting for posterior. Or posterity!

It reckons that's over 500 miles too, which is not bad going if you ask me.

And now the sun is shining so time to add a few more to the total.

Things I Haven't Done Yet This Summer

Number 1: taken my top off in public

I know I need to loose a bit of weight meaning I have a bit too much belly and budding moobs and am pale of skin, so I keep it all covered up so as not to make people feel ill if they glance my way. Now all I need is to persuade most of the other men in Suffolk to do the same.

The face of Essex?

The face of Essex?
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

Another day at a Country show on Saturday, this time the Tendring Hundred one. A really good day out, much better weather than the Suffolk Show although there were a couple of very short sharp showers.

We met up with friends, got to see the whole selection of stalls, animals, arena events etc, ate some great food and generally relaxed and enjoyed ourselves.

And yet despite being on my feet nearly all day I only managed to get 5714 steps recorded! I guess there must have been too much shuffling between stalls and not enough striding about. My average has been rubbish recently, with the 4-week dropping from over 8000 to about 6500. Must try to fit some more wandering in, but who knows how and when.

Faster than the rest

OK, so I've finished another book and want to share the joy. In this case, as the picture may just hint at, it is Mallard by Don Hale.

Not just a simple tale of the loco itself and the attaining of the world steam speed record, but a detailed look at the work of Sir Nigel Gresley and the development of his pacific engines. I've always had a soft spot for Mallard and the A4s (I took the photo above back in 2002 before digital so apologies for the quality of the scan) and this was a lovely nostalgic wallow of a read. Not overly technical, but with enough detail to keep the bits of my brain that worry about that sort of thing amused.

A real story of triumph against the odds in some places and also, when placed against the backdrop of the political tensions building in the late '30s, a good stab of patriotism there too without being overt. My only complaint with the book (other than it not being about five times longer!) is the lack of pictures. There are some, but it could use being a fully-illustrated edition. Still, there's always the internet to plug the gaps.

Interestingly, Don Hale was also the subject of a dramatised version of his struggle to win freedom for a wrongly imprisoned man - In Denial Of Freedom - and played by Stephen Tompkinson. We enjoyed that despite the review there!

The Years Of Rice And Salt

Review: Kim Stanley Robinson - The Years Of Rice And Salt

I'll be the first to admit I struggled with this book. Not sure if it
wasn't quite what I was expecting, or if the musings on religion were a bit more than I wanted but some days I found it hard to get through more than a couple of pages. But, I did enjoy it in the end and find the concept to be superb.

As the cover blurb says, imagine a world without Europe. Not
physically of course, just with all those Europeans killed off by the
plague and the rest of the world left to develop without them. What we end up with is a series of connected stories covering over a thousand years of alternate history. Robinson weaves an immense tapestry but focuses on the minor details and everyday lives of those involved. Some the great and the good, others simple village folk but all aspects of the same group of souls undergoing constant re-incarnations. Taken as a whole, they tell a tell of staggering scope, but each individual tale drags you in to a new aspect of the world each of which could probably have been sustained over a longer stand-alone tale. I particularly enjoyed the Alchemist of Sammarkand and think I may well seek out some more Arabian-set fiction in the future.

There are many small insights into the world of the story and the real world scattered through the book. One (which of course I can't find now in order to quote it!) deals with history and what does and doesn't get recorded. The theme there is that only the bigger picture survives, with the mundanity of real life lost in the mists. The book is only a few years old, but that made me wonder if the same thing would apply with millions of people adding their daily doings to the web in blogs.

I don't pretend to have understood all of the deeper passages, particularly on the meanings of religion and philosophy but I will read it again one of these years and maybe I'll have increased my knowledge through other sources by then.

The question that must be answered

Who is Virgilio Anderson?

Summer Burn 2009

Summer Burn 2009
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

So it is Summer Burn time again. For those of you who don't know about this then sorry, you've missed out for another year but keep your eyes peeled at www.funjunkie.co.uk for next year. I also organise a copycat burn at the Llamasoft forum (www.yakyak.org) bringing together a few more people in search of a bit of music-sharing fun. You are too late to jon that one as well, but again it should be back next year.

Anyway, I thought I'd put some waffle on here about my choice of music for this year in case anyone who has received a copy of my selections wants a bit more information or anyone else is just interested.


Disc The First

1 - introduction. Edited down from the welcome message on the NME Cure cover versions CD issued back in February. Robert Smith himself invites us to listen on.

2 - Jerry Keller - Here Comes Summer. I know nothing about Keller, but have this on a rock 'n' roll compilation set and it made a suitable summery start to proceedings.

3 - EMF - Long Summer Days. From the album Schubert Dip. One of my favourite bands it wasn't hip to like when I was at college due to their perceived one-hit wonder status and the ubiquity of Unbelievable. Many people are still surprised to learn they managed three albums before splitting.

4 - The Prodigy - Omen. From this year's superb Invaders Must Die set. Thought this was the best track on the album when I first heard it, and still hold that opinion.

5 - how deep. Dialogue from The Abyss.

6 - Metallica - Cyanide. First track I heard a snippet of from Death Magnetic and it stuck in my brain and wouldn't go away. Particularly attracted to the little bass noodles. Plus this came to me last year around the time my uncle comitted suicide and just resonated lyrically as well.

7 - Heaven & Hell - Rock & Roll Angel. Dio era Sabbath reform, find new name, release killer album. Had to have something on here.

8 - Iron Maiden - Can I Play With Madness. From Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - reminds me of summer 1988 when it was first released and now of this year in the live version on Flight 666 soundtrack.

9 - Salty Dog - Lonesome Fool. I like a bit on banjo from time to time. From the album Every Dog Has Its Day.

10 - corsets. Angela Rippon helps us to shape up and dance.

11 - Muse - Man Of Mystery. They compiled a cover disc for the NME last year and recorded this Shadows cover especially for it. I like the original but also this verison, and it was time for an instrumental.

12 - Altered Images - I Could Be Happy. Was obsessed by Claire Grogan when I was younger so here's one of her best moments. From Pinky Blue.

13 - Living Colour - Type. 1991, end of the second year at College and I was bribed with a CD to get my hair cut and try to find a summer job. Time's Up was the CD and the summer job at Argos eventually lead to me meeting MrsB so in the end it was worth the sacrifice of a few inches of hair.

14 - The Monkees - Last Train To Clarksville. They may have been manufactured, and not written or even performed most of their hits, but some times the Monkees just can't be topped.

15 - Izzy Stradlin - Surf Roach. From the album 117 degrees, which is perfect for a warm summer afternoon when there's nothing else to do but sit back and play some tunes. Always was my favourite member of Guns N' Roses too.

16 - Monsterworks - Leaving Home. Found these guys on the interweb, not too keen on the vocals but this is a good interlude.

17 - Goat - Everybody Wants To Be There. Another band from my college days that disappeared without a trace. Still enjoy a spin of Medication Time every now and then though.

18 - Bomb The Bass - Liquid Metal (Fantastic 4 Mix). Tim Simenon helped me realise that dance music was not all rubbish. Original version can be found on Unknown Territories but this was a B-side.

19 - Pop Will Eat Itself - PWEIzation. B-side to Karmadrome, and I think it was also on the Very Metal Noise Pollution ep. Part of the Stourbridge trio also featuring Ned's Atomic Dustbin and The Wonder Stuff. Takes me back to Rock City in Nottingham.

20 - Unmen - Also With You. From an issue of Volume. Never found anything else by them, but I do like this.

21 - scruffy looking. I stole this snippet from the Radio Gnome Premix on the Gong rarities CD, no idea where they got it from though.

22 - Levellers - Burn America Burn. To be found on Letters From The Underground, I could listen to something by the Levellers every day and not get tired of them.

23 - Chumbawamba - Add Me. Taken from The Boy Bands Have Won, the Chumblies respond to Facebook and its ilk.

24 - Fleet Foxes - In The Hot, Hot Rays. Biggest find of last year for me, this comes from their debut ep sold at early gigs and, er, lurking on the magical electric intermaweb if you look hard enough. A nice summery tune to end this disc with.

25 - eod1. The end!


Disc The Second

1 - sagging bottoms. Some more sound advice from Angela.

2 - Whapweasel - Aren’t Crisps Brilliant? From a Rock & Reel cover disc, I know nothing more but like it.

3 - The Zutons - Valerie. Because, quite frankly, the original deserves to be heard more than the Amy Winehouse version.

4 - Chumbawamba - All Fur Coat And No Knickers. Another quick visit to the Boy Bands...

5 - Daevid Allen - Captain Shaw & Mr. Gilbert. A brief interlude of silliness before we get back to music.

6 - Angel Brothers - Django. Another Rock & Reel cover disc tune I like.

7 - The Dogs D’Amour - Drunk Like Me. From the Errol Flynn album.

8 - The Cure - Friday I’m In Love. One of those bands where I like everything I've ever heard, but never got round to investigating them properly hence at present I only own the greatest hits album. One of these days I'll invest in the whole set though, I'm sure.

9 - Johnny Marr & Billy Duffy - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Taken from the NME Ruby Trax compilation which is well worth seeking out if you can find a copy second hand. Loads of great cover versions on there.

10 - Black Grape - Kelly’s Heroes. I never really got into the Happy Mondays, but Shaun Ryder's second project and I get on quite well. This one's from It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah!

11 - The Police - Canary In A Coalmine. A bit of light-heartedness from Zenyatta Mondatta. The band I am most likely to return to if I can't decide what to listen to when staring at the wall of CDs.

12 - Jem - I Want You To... From second album Down To Earth, which quite caught me by surprise when I saw it in the shops as I assumed she was doomed to just releasing the one.

13 - Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly - In Between Days. From the NME Cure covers compilation that also provided the introduction. I'm probably far too old to be a fan of Get Cape... but I was intrigued by the name, took a chance of the first album and really found something I like. A
great mix of acoustic guitars and technology.

14 - real men. Dialogue from Torchwood Series One episode Out Of Time.

15 - New Order - Regret. See The Cure above!

16 - Chumbawamba - The Ogre. A final trip to meet the Boy Bands.

17 - Gong - Clarence In Wonderland. This comes from their Peel sessions disc and features Kevin Ayers on vocals.

18 - the world. Dialogue from Dr Who (new) Series Two episode Love & Monsters.

19 - The Prodigy - Omen Reprise. See above - they were very helpful in providing this on the album so I could re-visit the theme here!

20 - The Human League - Tell Me When (Mix 1). My favourite band to come from Sheffield, you can find the original verison on Octopus.

21 - snowball artists. Dialogue from Ghostbuster. Who you gonna call?

22 - The Wildhearts - Vanilla Radio. Single Version, also to be found on The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed.

23 - Steve Hillage - Still Golden. From And Not Or. A sequencing cock-up here, this should have been track 25 but I didn't notice until I'd burnt the discs. Feel free to programme the CD player to make it appear in the right place.

24 - Bananarama - Venus. A feel good single, despite the Stock Aitken Waterman influence I do liek this a lot.

25 - this is an oldie. Dialogue from Back To The Future. As above, this should be swapped with Steve Hillage.

26 - Sarabeth Tucek - Good Night. The closer comes from the Mojo White Album covered set. I like to end these things with something gentle, and this is it.

Hope that tickles your tastebuds.

Im memory

Well, yesterday was the funeral of Peter Fuller, colleague and friend who will be sorely missed by all of us who knew him. Very much a larger than life character who brought a genuine spark of life to the office. Definitely the person I made the most effort to keep up to date with when we got reshuffled last year and ended up at the other end of the building with a couple of doors between us. Always keen to help and go out of his way to make sure things went smoothly or you got the information you needed. Whenever the call went out for volunteers to man stalls at events or go out and wave leaflets at people Peter was always there, and had a great affinity with the travelling public, despite coming late to public transport as a way of life. He was very much the life and soul of social events too, and more than once it was his presence that persuaded me to show my face at functions I would otherwised have cried off from. Unfortunately the love of the good life was what undid him in the end, with his liver not being able to take the strain any longer.

We mustered 15 people for the service, which I think was pretty good - although there were a few notable exceptions of people I thought would have been there. Still, Peter's wife and family bore up incredibly well all things considered and were glad to see so many of us. In fact we were even photographed, which was a bit odd but if it makes Moreen happy to have images of us celebrating Peter's life then that's fine by me. Mr Fuller had certainly packed a lot into his 64 years and if someone is able to stand up and say that much about me when my time comes then I reckon I still won't have lived half as full a life.

Thinking about things, this is the first "death in service" I've experienced and hopefully there won't be too many more over the rest of my working life. Former colleagues have passed on after retirement, or after I've moved jobs but I've not been through the trauma of losing someone this way before. Very strange to pass his desk now and know someone else will be filling it soon, and we can't call up for advice like you would someone who has just retired or gone elsewhere.

Here's one for you, Mr Fuller. Be at peace.

Random updates

Just some bits that need to get out of my head...

So the BBC Springwatch is nearly over for another year (just some round up shows and the web stuff). I have really enjoyed watching it this year. Lots of wonderful shots of nature at its best. And even better, Tawny has watched it too. I've never known her take an interest in the TV before, but she has paid close attention, tried to grab at the birds on screen and generally sat right in front of the telly every night. Almost as interesting to watch her as the show.

Apart from the occasional torrential downpour and thunder storm, the weather seems to be finally picking up now, which is nice. Unfortunately it also means the start of the really unsuitable clothes season in Ipswich. While we seem to see someone wearing shorts whenever we go out, whatever time of year, the legs of the world are now coming out to play. And some of them really ought not. Never mind the expansive bellys and other bits and bobs that get revealed to all and sundry by summer clothes. I know I am no oil painting and could lose a pound or two, but I do try to keep the unsightly bits hidden away. Do these people not have mirrors? I'll admit that some of the ladies do suit the summer, but for the majority - put it away, please!

Still, the weather has meant I've been able to get out and about with some walking. Over the last seven days I've managed 69,392 steps - which is a whisker over 9916 per day so almost at the magic 10,000. OK, so those seven include two under 7k and two over 13k but on average things are looking up. The four week rolling average is now at 7865 and the overall has reached 7088 (grand total up to today of 744,247). I might have to start doing some other exercise as well soon in order to start the arduous task of shrinking my stomach. Maybe I'll even eat better one of these years as well...

And finally for today, why do people insist on pushing buttons that are already pushed? Pedestrian crossings, lifts - the button to cross or for the ground floor is already pushed and lit up, yet new comers still insist on giving it another push. It won't speed things up! SIlly fools.

That nasty vet...

Upside Down
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

Had to take our Tawny for her annual booster today. She absolutely hates going to the vet and yet they never have anything but praise for her. A struggle to get her in the basket, and then she cries the entire way there (and back again) but is as meek as anything when on the table.

She must be at least 13 years old now (we've had her for 12, and they thought she was a year or so when we got her and brother Barney RIP) and doesn't exactly get much exercise any more but is apparently in great shape for her age. Which was nice to hear. I dread the day when we have to say farewell as I can't imagine life without her around, even if she does get the claws out too often!

Splash! Drip, drip, drip...

So there I am, packing up to leave work tonight, waiting for the PC to shut down etc I grabbed my mug in haste, only to shower my lap and chair with unexpectedly undrunk water. You'd think I'd remember whether I'd finished or not. Luckily it was still quite sunny, so by the time my bus turned up it no longer looked like I'd wet myself on the way. But the ride down in the lift and walk to the bus stop was just a tad embarrassing.

Mind you, that wasn't the dampest I've left the building, having once fallen in the water feature in the cafeteria. That was a real day to forget, and yet somehow I haven't managed to. I have also been soaked by a truck driving through a passing puddle whilst changing a timetable by the roadside. Hopefully that makes my three work-related drenchings and I can live out the rest of my Council life in comfortable dryness.

A Grand Day Out

Massey
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

Hit the Suffolk show today (more pictures on Flickr if you click through from this).

Didn't get enough time with the beasties, and the weather could have been better but still a good day out. Always fun to see the farmers trying to look smart, the country/horsey types in their matching tweeds and the girls who think they are posh in head to toe Joules clobber. And there are precious few other places to get a glimpse of the hats that come out for this sort of thing. Do these people not look in a mirror at all?

12,000+ steps around the show ground is not to be sneezed at, and any excuse for some fresh local food makes the day a good one.

Thought some of the judges comments in the flower show were a bit harsh, and tended to miss the point on some of the displays (like complaining there was too much top heaviness on an arrangement that was obviously meant to be a hat on a pole). Mind you, what I know about floral design could be written on the back of a postage stamp.

Hopefully they will have better weather laid on for us next year.