tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90347682199263585032024-02-19T18:36:23.224-08:00Paul Charles BlogPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-73656026130486277262021-02-20T06:04:00.000-08:002021-02-20T06:04:30.579-08:00DAYS<p>I heard Sir Ray Davies’ classic, evocative song <i>Days</i>, the other day on the radio and it got me thinking of… well… days I suppose.
I thought of the time when all the seven days of the week were as individual as shop-fronts, motor cars and hit singles. </p><p>
I lways felt the first day of the week was a priceless gift.
</p><p>
Mondays were the start of a fresh week, a time for new ideas; new adventures; new thoughts, and even a kick-start to your week. If that didn’t work for you then they were great days to just stay in and wait for the Eircom guy to phone you back and explain why the internet highway had, once again, failed to make it all the way to Donegal. <i>Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get me Down</i> by The Carpenters is a perfect record for a Monday, or any day of the week for that matter. Any day is always a great day to take solace in Karen Carpenter’s pure yet soulful voice. For a comparable car I’ve always associated the Austin A40 with the first day of the week if only because it was my dad’s first car. Thankfully he spared us the threatened Ford Anglia. </p><p>
<i>Tuesday Afternoon</i> by the magnificent Moodies, a.k.a. The Moody Blues, heralded the day, which sadly usually turned out to be a day as disappointed with their station (assuming of course days can be disappointed in themselves) as someone might who came before or after a sibling. That is to say they were neither the first nor the last, which of course was no big deal unless you chose to make it so. I nominate Tuesday’s twinned automobile an Yves Klein shade of blue (I’m dreaming of course) Volkswagen Beetle.
</p><p>
Wednesdays always seemed to be trying to prolong their worth, while attempting to shun it’s “mid” - as in midweek - prefix. At the same time the midweek football match was always a treat. Wednesdays were also the perfect night for the telly, including, Colin Dexter and John Thaw’s classic, timeless series, Morse. <i>Wednesday Morning 3 A.M</i>. by Simon & Garfunkel and a maroon Jaguar MK 2 (but only if the cream leather seats smelt factory new) completed my midweek soundtrack and picture. Every day had to have some kind of badge of honour and Wednesday’s badge was most definitely the Jag, if only because there would always be something special about a Wednesday but, just like Morse’s maroon Jag, you’d have to look just that wee bit closer to enjoy the warm and fuzzy feeling.
</p><p>
If you ask me, Thursdays were always a wee bit too cheeky for their own good and were never above trying to steal some of Friday’s thunder. Thursday’s car definitely has to be a Vauxhall VX 490 though, racing green with white side flashes. Both the car and the song, (Thursday) <i>Here’s Why I Didn’t Go To Work Today</i>, by Harry Nilsson, helped catch Thursday’s mood perfectly.
</p><p>
<i>It’s Finally Friday</i>, by George Jones…thanks to the Ready Steady Go TV show, Friday was always blessed with <em>The Weekend Starts Here</em> tagline. Yet another work week had sailed smoothly (or otherwise) to a close. A worthy BIG day even without Miss Cathy McGowan. Definitely the ideal day for the eternal Mercedes SL200 (preferably with the soft top down).
</p><p>
<i>Saturday Night at The Movies</i> by The Drifters perfectly celebrated the most anticipated day of the hallowed seven. Equally Saturday’s preferred car just has to be a red and white Vauxhall Cresta complete with white-walled tyres. The design was obviously nicked from the USA, and that isn’t meant to be a negative because it was the coolest looking saloon ever manufactured in the UK. The Cresta was a vital addition to the exceptional composition of the penultimate day of the week. Saturday was meant to be a play day, a chore-free day but there were always too many things that had built up over the week which needed to be done, just absolutely had to be done, if only to ensure the Sabbath’s tag of, day of rest (and worship) was valid. You didn’t mind all the extra chores, including a visit to the laundrette, though, because Saturday night would always be a night out and you didn’t mind how late you stayed out because… </p><p>
…Sunday’s permitted lie-in, late breakfast and a few hours with the papers were the perfect lazy start to your final day of the week. And if you still weren’t in gear then a nap on the sofa, in front of the fire, after a large lunch, wasn’t out of the question. Car-wise think of one of the woodie station wagons that Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda might have driven… for instance a 1950s Plymouth Special Deluxe and, ideally, with <i>Sunday Morning Coming Down</i> by Kris Kristofferson on the car radio.
</p><p>
Nowadays, days seems to lack of individuality. In fact they seem to be so bland, that if you blink you could miss where one ends and the next one starts. Talking about lacking in character, beauty or charm, the current crop of automobiles - the majority of which seem to be 4x4 vehicles, more like eight legged rhinos - all appear to come from the same drawing board, where, really… they should have remained. </p><p>But surely Monday to Sunday should be allowed to be much more than what has become, undistinguishable 24 hour periods where you monitor fingernail, hair, and toe nail growth? </p><p>
The other major worry is that these days, without their own unique character, now flash past in such a blur with no respect whatsoever for how many daily cycles you may have remaining in your life. I mean we humans really need our individual days. We need to embrace them, nurture them, and savour them and to take care to tick them off one by one, if only so we can consider them as… well… days. </p><p>So, let’s re-introduce, and celebrate, their uniqueness and spend them well.
</p>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-17752017578896594532020-07-21T04:16:00.000-07:002020-07-21T04:16:43.261-07:00The Dawn of Fruupp<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xxoAtkxabWcGSM-zaIncgvA1HwtyzGM_K3K3YumaUbkxeZ2jnrpH1c0li5i6MaKWJNIposxxIrGTXxRNPLwoFwLgGjEDIyIkPoDHtyzhO-C-VQ7_HnW9irgsP7w78rjS6drmiV1l9eo/s2048/FRUUPP+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2039" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xxoAtkxabWcGSM-zaIncgvA1HwtyzGM_K3K3YumaUbkxeZ2jnrpH1c0li5i6MaKWJNIposxxIrGTXxRNPLwoFwLgGjEDIyIkPoDHtyzhO-C-VQ7_HnW9irgsP7w78rjS6drmiV1l9eo/s320/FRUUPP+art.jpg" /></a></div><p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="eop"><b><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 200%;">
</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">To celebrate the release of Maid in Ireland, a new
Fruupp compilation released on 24.07.20 by those good people at Esoteric
Records, I include below a piece I did on the origins of Fruupp as part of the
sleeve notes for the new CD. This is the first Fruupp complication to feature
the remastered versions of the songs which were undertaken for the 2010 re-releases
of the original four albums. The Dawn of Fruupp is included here by kind
permission of Esoteric Records. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"><br /></span></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">I met Vince </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">McCusker</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> in
September 1964 when I moved from the Intermediate School in Magherafelt,
Northern Ireland, fifty yards back towards the town centre, to the Technical
College. Vince was from the neighbouring village of Maghera and he played
guitar. At that point I was into Ray Charles, Hank William, Otis Redding,
Beatles, Kinks, Them and Dylan. Vince was more of a Rolling Stones fan and into
RnB. I imagine through our shared interest of both music and the beautiful
girls of the Tech College we became mates and good friends.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">For the annual college Christmas concert, in 1965,
we formed a wee group called Goggles Anonymous – we all wore glasses and Hedgehoppers
Anonymous were enjoying the first and only flush of UK chart success at that
time. I still can’t remember exactly my (non-performing) involvement in the
group bar the fact that I owned a copy of the Beach Boys Sloop John B, the song
Goggles Anonymous performed at the concert. Anyway, on the appointed night, I
do remember a lot of screaming from the audience. Either the audience were
screaming as they had seen people do on TV to the Beatles, or, they were
screaming in horror at the harmonies. I’m prepared to give GA the benefit of
the doubt on that one.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Christmas over, Vince and three of his mates from
Maghera and one of their mates from The Rainey School, formed a group called
the Blues by Five. There were five of them and they played their version of the
Blues. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Things were so simple in those days. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">The Blues by Five’s material was based on the <i>Them
Again</i> album, Otis Redding, Wilson Picket, Ray Charles and songs from a compilation
called, <i>Ireland’s Greatest Sounds</i>. I went to hear the group. They were
excellent musicians, had a great sound, <i>and</i> they had Paddy Shaw, one of
the best singers I’ve ever witnessed live. The remaining Northern Irish singers
in my Top 4 would have been: Paul </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">DiVito</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> (The
Interns) Billy Brown (The Freshmen) and Van Morrison (Them). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">The Blues by Five rehearsed a lot but didn’t play
many gigs. Luckily enough a fine gentleman by the name Dixie Kerr lived two
doors down from me. Dixie played </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">saxophone</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> in The
Breakaways showband. So, I knocked on his door and asked if he could give the
Blues by Five the relief spot at some of the dances The Breakaways were
playing. Dixie being Dixie said, “Why of course.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">The Blues by Five were delighted at the several
bookings I’d secured for them and immediately appointed me as their manager. I
was 15 years old at the time. The Blues by Five were to be Vince and my first
steps in the music business.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">I left Magherafelt in Sept 1967 (quite literally) to
head to London so that I’d be able to see the Beatles live on a weekly basis. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Or so I thought. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">In those days it took a long while for the buzz on
the biz to reach Ulster. I arrived at Euston Station only to discover the
Beatles had stopped touring a few months previously.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Not to worry, sure weren’t there lots of other
groups to see and hear. P</span></span><span class="advancedproofingissue"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">retty soon</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> I was
a regular at the Marquee Club and writing a weekly music column for Belfast’s
City Week which eventually became Thursday Magazine.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Vince started to visit London and would always crash
at my flat in Wimbledon. He’d work late into the night on a bunch of songs he
was writing for a group he was thinking of forming back in Belfast. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">I thought these songs, <i>Decision, Garden Lady</i>,
and <i>Olde Tyme Future,</i> were brilliant. Vince’s main concern was he felt
that they might be a wee bit too progressive for the Irish Market. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">So, we hatched our plan. Vince would return to
Belfast and form his new group. I would set up a few gigs for them in London
and I would bring some managers and record companies down to see them. They,
Fruupp, would get signed up, go on to fame and fortune and I’d happily continue
with my writing. Sadly, it didn’t really happen that way and so, by default, I
became the manager, the agent, the roadie, the sound engineer, the lyricist,
the writer of the stories that linked the songs on stage, and… the last one to
be paid. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Fifty years later they’re selling more CDs than they
ever did back in the day! (a clue to this phenomenon might just be that CDs
didn’t come along until the mid-1980s!)</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Which all brings us nicely to our latest collection<i>,
Maid </i></span></span><span class="contextualspellingandgrammarerror"><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">In</span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">
Ireland</span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">. <i>Maid in Ireland</i> was a title we had picked
and reserved for a live album, should we ever do one. And we did. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well at least we recorded one. We recorded the
band at the legendary Friars Aylesbury, on Sat 6</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><sup><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 200%;">th</span></sup></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">
December 1975. Sadly, the tapes, along with all my worldly possessions, were
destroyed by a fire in my flat in Peckham the follow year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">I believe the title also covers this selection
perfectly. Peter </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Farrelly’s</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">
wonderful </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Fruupp’s</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> Face on the cover was ever
present in everything we did. As it was when I was listening to the songs for
this collection.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Prince of Heaven</span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> is
unique for two reasons in that this song, a synopsis if you will, of the story
I wrote to be the basis for our third album, <i>The Prince of Heaven’s Eyes</i>,
didn’t appear on the actual album. It is also the only </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Fruupp</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> song written
and composed by the four original members of the group.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">The idea for <i>Sheba’s Song</i> came from a news
story I read in The Daily Mirror about a wild cat’s escape from a zoo. I just love
what the band did with the chase and capture sections of the song. Musically
it’s always been so visual to me. I’ve often wondered what rap artist Talib
Kweli heard when he first came upon the track and decided to sample it for <i>Soon
the New Day</i>, a line (taken from the original lyric) he used for his title.
I found it very refreshing that Talib and his people were very generous to us
with credits and publishing. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">“Another day begins the same</span></i></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">The things you do you’ll do again.” </span></i></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Two lines from Ivan “Touche” Valley’s beautiful
poem, which was the inspiration behind Vince’s song, <i>Decision</i>. I always
found Vince’s music to be passionately visual and that he should have been
writing music for films. <i>Decision</i> </span></span><span class="advancedproofingissue"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">has
to</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">
be included in any </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Fruupp</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">
collection as it really is the best of </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Fruupp </span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Until the next time, </span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">stay safe. </span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">Cheers </span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif;">pc</span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;"> </span></p><p class="paragraph" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-35987946328886846232020-06-24T03:43:00.000-07:002020-06-24T03:43:29.764-07:00The Glastonbury Acoustic Stage Playlist (1993 - 2019)<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So, this is the day we would usually be heading down
to Glastonbury to get set up at the Acoustic Stage for the weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sadly, this weekend, like everything else in the live
music world, has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus 19.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The plan is to repeat the 2020 bill as fully as
possible in 2021. We’d a brilliant bill lined up so that’s something to look forward
to.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So, in the meantime, and in an attempt to fit in
with the current celebrations, please see below a playlist picked from some of
the top performances we’ve enjoyed over the years up at the Acoustic Stage <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Based on memories of special performances. Sequenced
from an airplay, and not a priority, perspective. (Honestly!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Moody Blues (featuring Michael
Eavis) - Questions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Waterboys – The Whole of The Moon<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Art Garfunkel (featuring the entire
packed Acoustic Tent audience covering Paul Simon parts) - The Sounds of
Silence<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Bootleg Beatles – Something<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Keane – Somewhere Only We Go.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Christy Moore – Beeswing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nick Lowe – Indian Queens<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Paul Carrack – Satisfy My Soul<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Proclaimers – Letter From America<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Suzanne Vega – Marlene On The Wall<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sharon Shannon - Music on a Found
Harmonium <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Joan Baez – Day After Tomorrow<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">13.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ray Davies – Waterloo Sunset<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">14.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott -
Rotterdam<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">15.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lonnie Donegan – Rock Island Line<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">16.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Hothouse Flowers – Don’t Go<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">17.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames – Yeh
Yeh<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">18.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Alan Price Set - Simon Smith and His
Amazing Dancing Bear<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">19.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tommy Stewart - Let You Go (best Demo of
2019)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">20.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lucy Rose - Shiver<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">21.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Portishead – Sour Times<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">22.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Penguin Café Orchestra – Music on a
Found Harmonium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Please note this is a slightly different version
than the list on the Glastonbury Website, which had to concentrate on Spotify
versions of the songs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know, I know,
and I agree with you that it’s a shame they don’t (yet) have the Moody Blues
featuring Michael Eavis’s version of <i>Questions</i> on Spotify. Nor do they
have The Acoustic Stage Audience filling in for the absent Paul Simon on Art
Garfunkel’s version of <i>The Sounds of Silence</i>. A historic performance
from Art and his special 6000-member choir on a historic night. Both of these
one-night-only-performances can be viewed on YouTube, as can Tommy Stewart
(2019’s best demo). Tommy is well worth checking out. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Big big thanks to Michael, Emily, Nick and the
entire Glastonbury team for producing all the virtual activity to comfort us
all over this weekend. We needed it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Roll on June 2021.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Stay Safe<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Cheers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">pc<o:p></o:p></span></p><br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-41785955704988351282020-06-11T22:53:00.007-07:002020-06-14T23:56:45.293-07:00What's Happened to The Checkers<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 20pt;">Here’s One I Prepared
Earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 20pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, I have to apologise, for my lack of
blogs in this space for a while now. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the
lockdown. It has more to do with the last few pieces I have written for this
space have ended up elsewhere. <i>Mark Twain with a Martin G28</i> and <i>I
Can’t Dance</i> both went to Hot Press Magazine. <i>Writing a
Crime Novel is Like Jumping off a Diving Board</i> appeared on the Ellery
Queen Mystery Magazine website and, <i>The Genesis of the Abbey Road
Graffiti</i> appeared on the Irish Times website.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I promised myself that the next one
would be for my own website. But then I discovered this piece I wrote in
November 1997 BB. (BB as in Before Blogs<i>.)</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
It concerns a visit I made, while I was clearly under the weather, to NYC. I’d
been mugged in NYC (which I wrote about in <i>Mugged in Manhattan Blues</i> -
a 2015 blog) but I was clearly also distracted on this visit.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Until the next one - which will be appearing very shortly, I promise, to
celebrate the release of a new <i>FRUUPP</i> compilation CD by those
very nice people at <i>Esoteric Records</i> - please stay safe.
Anyway, here it is, exactly as it was written in November 1997.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cheers</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">pc</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 20pt;">What's happened to
the Checkers?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I've been wandering around the streets
of New York City this time, trying to figure out what's wrong. Yes, I am
feeling a bit ill and, agreed, I'm missing a new love, back in
London. But I don't mean wrong in that way. I mean, what's wrong with
New York City? The smell is different. The street scents no longer
gouging recklessly at the insides of your nostrils, while making your heart
beat faster as you search in vain for that rare fresh air. NYC now
smells like a European city; no good, or bad, thing I think.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The street attitude is definitely still
there, but no longer as threatening. I was mugged in Times Square a
few years ago on what was 'til then, one of my frequent visits to the city and,
to be honest, I'd never felt ill at ease until that time. Maybe it
was because the musicians I was hanging out with were nice people and this was
their city and they went out of their way to make me feel welcome.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Broadway's many cinemas seem to have
been razed to the ground to make space for the likes of the Virgin Megastore
and the Waldorf Hotel. On the other end of the scale and the
opposite side of Times Square, I see that Paul Simon, a very fine songwriter of
the parish, has a musical, '<i>Capeman</i>', opening very soon and I find
myself making a mental note to try and blag a pre-release cassette of the music
from a friend at the once elegant Warner Bros. This will have to wait a few
days, until I visit the other side of this ginormous (an Ulster word combining
the largeness of gigantic and the power of enormous) country in the <i>City
of Angels</i>, a location now more favoured in my itinerary.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But back to New York City and what's
wrong with it. Even my trips to Coliseum Books and Colony Records
were a let-down this time. At this point I should admit to you, normally, on
reaching my hotel in Manhattan one can hear two thuds. One; my case hitting the
floor and two; the door closing after me as I rush out of the hotel, high on
adrenalin, to visit the aforementioned shops of words and music. And again,
usually having a mental fight as to which one I'm going to visit first. This
time it took me nearly forty-eight hours before heading in their direction, and
in the end, although with good intentions, I didn't even manage to make one of
them at all.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">True, Coliseum Books had several titles
I wanted to purchase but I decide my trip will be easier, luggage-wise, if I
don't flex the plastic until I reach Hollywood, the movie capital of the world.
My eye was caught by a few titles including another tasteless JFK expose, a
true-crime book called Big Trouble - a Very big book at that, with 875 pages,
and, the new Michael Connelly, Trunk Music, which I’m really looking forward
to. In fact, my solitary purchase in Coliseum Books was an audio version of
'Wobegon Boy'. Audio Books in reality are not great for in-flight distraction,
although I mostly purchase them thinking they are going to be exactly that and
end up listening to them while walking about Regent's Park and Primrose Hill.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">What else was there? You know, I can't
recall now, but I do remember that there were at least half a dozen I resolved
to purchase in Book Soup on Sunset Blvd and have my friend ship them back to me
in London. I did, however, notice a couple of 'Conversations with God' (Vols 1
& 2). The author, and father of nine children (you'd think he would
have at least created his very own set of apostles by going for the full dozen)
Neale Donald Walsh does look like a chap who would have a conversation (several
in fact) with God - good luck to him, is all I'd like to say. I searched for a
new Robert James Waller (sadly there was no new volumes to be found) I do like
his conversational style of writing. I searched for 'I Love the
Sound of Breaking Glass' and didn't find a copy, so I comforted myself with two
thoughts. One, they were probably sold out and two, I now didn't have to
embarrass myself in public by moving it to the front of the shelf!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Apart from that, the staff didn't seem
as friendly as they appeared twenty years ago, but then the world is not as
friendly a place as it was twenty years ago, so what are you going to do about
it? Mope? In which case, I really do need to get out of the house a bit more.
But you know, really, I think bookstores are places like doctors' surgeries;
lawyers' offices; accountants' paying desks; dentists' waiting rooms;
restaurants; hotels and undertakers' parlours where you need to be able to talk
to the staff. Not the owners, just the staff. The owners treat you
like you're part of the whole wide world and not actually an individual. No,
you need to be able to be involved in more of an interface than the one which
came over the Public Address system when I was in the shop.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">'Would Mr. Johansson ... who is from
Sweden,' then a pause for you to fill in your own snigger. 'Please come to the
cash desk, where his wife,' another well placed pause for some more sniggering,
'is waiting for him! Thankyou!'</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Was his wife Swedish? Had she forgotten
what her husband looked like? Couldn't she go looking for him? Was she afraid
she might find him in the dirty books section? Or worse still in the Jeffrey
Archer section?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The final words I heard on placing my
prized audio, 'Wobegon Boy' on the sales counter was, '29.95 plus tax.' Then,
with the aid of a calculator, 'That will be thirty two dollars and forty two
cents.' And that was it, well unless you count the additional words on the
receipt as communication.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">'Absolutely No Cash Refunds!!!!' (their
exclamation marks not mine) 'Store credit with Sales receipt within one (1)
month of purchase.' And, 'I agree to pay the above total amount
according to the card issuer agreement.' Yeah, and if I don't they'll give
me back my money, but they can't can they? 'Absolutely No Cash Refunds!!!!'
That was it, apart from, just in case you're interested, the fact that my sales
assistant was in fact Clerk No. 1 and finally (I promise) 'Pub Overstock
(Yellow Label) 10% Off. Thankyou!!!' (I think they were also probably suffering
from a computer overstock of exclamation marks!) 'Please come again.'</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well after doing exactly that for just
over half a lifetime, I'm hardly going to stop, am I? Assuming, that is of
course, I come back to NYC at all. Such thoughts of non-return fill
my head as I take off in the general direction of Colony Records. Colony
records is the very shop where I collected my original US Beatle vinyl, (very
different from the UK releases) some of my Dylan non-catalogue releases and my
mint Gilbert O'Sullivan 'Himself'', a genuine classic and the very heavy
vinyl made me feel that the extortionate price I paid may have been
justified after all. This list would, and surely does, run. But it
won't be added to on this trip. I'm not in the mood. I give it (the shop) a
wide berth and I continue to wander around, filling up the time until my next meeting.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I decide to make my way up to
Fifty-Eight Street and Avenue of the Americas. What a grand name for a
street... <i>Avenue of the Americas</i>. Why couldn't O'Connell
Street in Dublin be called, 'Eire Avenue'?' or Oxford Street in London be
called 'The Street of England'. Mind you, there is a quaint street which
borders Primrose Hill with Belsize Park Avenue called, 'England's Lane'.
Lovely. Anyway, back to New York City, as I was saying I made my way up to 58th
Street in search to a chemist.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was not looking forward to my flight
over America, a cold-cum-flu bug I'd had before leaving London had left me
pretty blocked up. Landing at JFK had been anything but pleasant. So unpleasant
I would have swapped five visits to the dentists to avoid it... let me tell you
about dentists some time, soon, perhaps. I don't feel we know each other well
enough yet) I literally thought my head was going to blow open. I sucked a
sweet. When that didn't work, I sucked my thumb. When that didn't work, I
yawned. When that didn't work I sucked another sweet. On and on it
went for an excruciating twenty seven and one half minutes; I think I counted
every second of it. So to say I was not looking forward to my flight to Los
Angeles is in fact something of an understatement.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I rang my friend in Los Angeles. He’s a
very excellent manager of one of my clients to boot. I told him my problem. He
thought about it and then recommended this herbal (plus) tea called something
like 'Clear Head'.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">'The only problem with it,' he
explained via our inter-continental call, 'is it will make you a bit argy, a
bit hyper, but it will definitely clear your head.'</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I had a problem with that. Basically, I
don't like taking medication of any kind because I don't trust what the meds
are doing to the rest of your system to make one part of it feel
better. I know it doesn't make a lot of logical sense, but there you
have it. I've been like that all my life and I'm less inclined, if anything, to
change now.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">'Okay, I hear you. There's this other
thing I've just tried,' he continued. You see, there, in that one sentence you
have the reason why I like the man so much. He is always the first person on
the block to know about new things. He turned me on to the Walkman,
to Gameboy, to Rumpole and to fruit crate labels. I mean, the list really does
go on and on but anyone of the above would have been more than enough for me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">'Yeah, there's this new thing they
developed for astronauts that's just come on the market and they're called
"Ear Planes".'</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">One thing you learn to do when you are
desperate is not to laugh at your friends, besides in the fifteen years or so
I'd known him he'd never let me down.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">'Aha.' I tried to sound enthusiastic
but it's hard you know, I mean "Ear Planes". Please? Come on.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">'Yeah, they're like plastic things your
put in your ears, just before taking off and they protect you from the change
in pressure. Not all chemists have them.'</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now there's a surprise. This thought I
kept to myself though as we discussed where I could get them. Basically with
the help of the hotel concierge, one hour later, I enter Windsor Chemists
and was heartened to find they have friendly, helpful staff. The assistant
advises me that they do have "Ear Planes" and they do work. He'd used
them three times (successfully) himself. As I wait for him to fetch
me three packets (hey, if they work that well they'll make great Christmas
presents). A French man came up to address the other assistant who was equally
friendly.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The French man explained he had a bad
cold and with the sound of his voice and all his coughing and spluttering, I'm
inclined to take his word for it and divert my gaze in the opposite
direction. That's a funny thing you know, well it's not funny
really, more like strange, you know, how come people who work in chemists don't
get every disease under the sun? They have to stand close to all these
bug-infected people to discover the ailment and then, hopefully, find and sell
them a cure. I wonder what sick leave is like for employees of chemists. So,
the second assistant goes into this pitch on Mycinetes (sugar free lozenges). I
mean I was prepared to believe they could do everything short of curing cancer.
Hey, you know that's probably how chemists’ assistants stay healthy: they all
take Mycinetes. Good enough for chemist assistants, good enough for
me! So, when my chap returns, I order a pack and a tube of Nivea Cream.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I didn't need Nivea Cream you have to
understand but I happen to believe it is the wonder drug of our
times. I'm convinced if I could find a way of applying it to the
inside of my (very sore) throat it would heal my ailment over-night, if not
sooner. So, a happier man, a much happier man, I depart the Chemist
and continue my search to find out what's happened to New York City.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">On the corner of the next block, I
discover exactly what it is. In fact, I am very nearly run over by what it is
not. I'd better explain, hadn't I? I was very nearly run over by a taxi, a New
York taxi, but not <i>the</i> New York Taxi. No, since my
last visit, the famous Checker has been replaced by new Fords, Ford Crown
Victorias to be exact. Still yellow, like the Checkers, and even though not one
of them is yet a year old, they all have several dents about their frontage.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">You can imagine the drivers in the car
showrooms buying their new cabs, can't you? You can further imagine the John
Cleese's Fawlty Towers' salesman wringing his hand in glee as he offers,
"Wonderful vehicle, complete with the signature egg crate grill, powerful
and efficient Continental Engine and don't forget the vital double rear,
fold-down, jump seats. I can guarantee multiple bangs for your bucks with
this particular model, Sir." "Yes, they're all lovely, but do
you have one with a dent?" the buyer would ask. To which Basil Fawlty
would manically reply, "No Sir, but just give me a minute while a fetch a
hammer and I can add two dents for the price of one for you. Yes, here we go. And where exactly would you like the dents? How about here,
Sir?" Smash, wallop. "Yes, that's it, that'll do great. I'll take
that one please." the happy cabbie would grunt as he signed on the dotted
line.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Checker Marathon, to give it its
full title, was manufactured from 1960 through to 1982. It was truly a head
turning motor vehicle, but not head-turning in an Exorcist kind of way. No, not
at all, but, alas, it will turn heads no more. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Checkers are all gone! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Apparently, a few do remain venturing out only at night, but New York's second
(to the Empire State Building) tourist attraction is gone and I'm absolutely
gutted. New York without the Checkers is like London without the
black cabs; Dublin without a friendly greeting; Liverpool without the Beatles;
Edinburgh without the castle; or, Morse without the Jaguar. A client and friend
of mine, Loudon Wainwright III owned one, a Checker that is, and I suppose I'd
become quite attached to the iconic vehicle. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I also remember this one great
Thanksgiving where The Roches borrowed Loudon's Checker to drive a bunch of us
up to their parent’s house in Rochester for dinner. Everyone in the Checker,
with the obvious exception of myself, was female and it was the first time I
had experienced girls enjoying just a great, old, day out. I
couldn't work out if it was a sign of the times or merely the influence of the
good old Checker. But now the Checker, Loudon's and New York's, were gone and
it just wasn't, nor would ever would be the same.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I left New York City the following
evening, happy and sad. Happy because the "Ear Planes"
worked perfectly and I could now tick a few friends off my Christmas present
list. Sad because the yellow wonders were all gone. I wondered if they were
gone for good, (that's a hell of a lot of cars to get rid of) or would public
opinion force them back on to the street. The Louise Woodward case showed us
just how powerful people-power has become. Will Checkers make a comeback in a
few years’ time, appearing on the Letterman Show or on a U2 stage set? I don't
know. But I do know that their disappearance is one in a growing
number of reasons why not to hurry back to New York City, Ear Planes or no Ear
Planes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div>
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<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-56587927642066452862019-12-12T22:12:00.000-08:002019-12-12T22:12:33.072-08:00Sadly 'Twas Not To Be A Silent Night
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">It’s
that time of the year again when Catherine and I head off to Santa Monica. We
set off on our annual adventure for two reasons mainly: 1) to avoid the bad
weather and 2) to enjoy a feast of movies lining up for Oscar to give them a
nod, if not a nomination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">So
far I’ve enjoyed The Irishman; It’s a Beautiful Morning in the Neighbourhood;
The Marriage (which without it’s embarrassing dragging-you-out-of-the-fantasy, OTT
Karaoke, moment, would have been an Oscar contender); Maiden; Queen and Slim; Parasite;
After Parkland; Where’s My Roy Cohn; Dark Water and Knives Out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">It’s
too early to tell yet if The Two Popes will walk away with all of the Oscars –
it’s most certainly, at the very least, a masterclass in film-making and
acting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">However
I feel I should reserve my final opinion until after I see Clint Eastwood’s
latest, Richard Jewell, which will be his 38<sup>th</sup> film as a director,
most of which could/would/should have been contenders, as in fact quite a few
were. Plus, there will be the usual rush of Christmas Day Blockbusters.
Christmas Day seems to be the final day to release a film the studios feel
worthy of Oscar consideration. It’s always a bad sign when a much talked about
project is announced as having a Jan or Feb release. That’s usually a sign that
the final product has turned out to be… well maybe the best way to put it would
be to say that it’s not all that the studio and/or director hoped it would be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I
wonder what BMG/Sony Classics feel about a recent co-production of theirs? It
was entitled David Crosby: Remember My Name. Cros,
as he’s known backstage, was one fifth of the Byrds; one quarter of CSN& Y;
one third of Crosby, Stills & Nash; one half of Crosby & Nash and now,
that he is touring under his own name, is down to just the one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I represented CSN and C&N for many a
year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The
film was released last Friday 6<sup>th</sup> December. It’s playing in one
cinema in Los Angeles – the funky and friendly Lamelle in Santa Monica. The
cinema is fine, I love it, but to put it on at 9.55 p.m. for its single nightly
screening, it’s well… well let’s put it this way, at least they didn’t release
it on the following Friday. (Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Anyway
I arrived at the Lamelle early to ensure my seat. I was expecting the screening
to be sold out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it turned out I was
so early I was able to watch an earlier screening of the Wolf Hour and still
have time for a cup of tea between features. But I really needn’t have worried
about getting there early. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I
WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE CINEMA FOR THE 9.55 SCREENING OF DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER
MY NAME.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The
cinema was embarrassing empty. Monty Python’s dead parrot hadn’t even bothered
to turn up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 180pt; text-indent: -180pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">So what about
the film, PC? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; text-indent: -36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Okay… well I
felt it looked great, beautifully shot. I thought he was painfully honest; maybe
too honest if I too, can be too honest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">“Why
are you still working?” the interviewer asked after discovering Cros has had
three heart attacks, is a diabetic, has several stints in his heart and just
about to embark on a six week tour. “I need money to put food on the table and
pay the mortgage,” Cros replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Okay
he’s honest but I can hear a loud <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but</i>
rolling down the nearby Route 66?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">But</span></i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">… for all of
that I didn’t feel he came across as a nice man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I
didn’t see the point in not showing the other side of the man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Crosby
although usually very cutting is also, really a very funny man. “What’s the
main difference between CSN and CSN&Y?” he was once asked. He thought for a
few moments before replying, “Oh about $650,000 a night.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">In
my book David Crosby is one of the benchmark artists of our era. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If Only I Could Remember My Name</i>, his
first solo album, is an amazing piece of work. It’s a breakthrough album of an
artist pushing the boundaries of making music while, at the same time,
delivering a masterpiece that is revolutionary yet still manages to be so
pleasing to the ear. Like all classic albums <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If Only I Could Remember My Name</i> continues to sound stunning. It’s
mentioned in the documentary, but kinda like only in passing. It would be like
doing a documentary about Van Morrison and not making a fuss over Astral Weeks.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Crosby’s
soulful harmony work with Graham Nash took what the Everly Bros were doing and
still managed to up the ante. Crosby & Nash were the go-to harmony guys for
everyone making music on the LA/Laurel Canyon scene in the 1970s and 80s as
proven by the number of album-sleeve-credits they have to their names.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">David
Crosby may be, by his own omission, his own worst enemy, but why focus on one
aspect of his life at the expense of the great music he made over the decades?
Does doing so make this a better film? I certainly didn’t think so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The
film also shows the final performance of CSN. They appeared at the White House on
December 26<sup>th</sup>, 2015, to preform Silent Night for the Obamas and
their friends. Their performance is so excruciating out of tune that even the
president and some of his guests are witnessed (on camera and in turn on the
screen during this film) grimacing in apparent pain. What is the point in
showing that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">As
I mentioned I worked with Crosby Stills and Nash as their agent and also as
promoter for a good few years. I have had the pleasure of witnessing at least a
hundred of their concerts all over the world and please believe me these boys
do not know how to sing out of tune. While I was watching the Remember My Name
film clip of the White House performance I tried to focus in on Graham’s voice,
he seemed fine. I then focused on Crosby’s voice, he seemed fine. I didn’t have
time to pay the same attention to Stephen Stills and I couldn’t hear his voice
as clearly. On the walk back along the beach from the cinema I thought about
the Silent Night performance quite a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Now
as you know I do love a good conspiracy theory. I still believe that the
president who pulled the trigger on JFK is still on the run, hiding out
somewhere… sorry… sorry… let’s backtrack there a wee bit. Did I actually say
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">president</i> who pulled the trigger…
of course I meant to say the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">person</i>
who pulled the trigger, as in the person who pulled the trigger is still on the
run? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve obviously been reading too
many Phillip L. Nelson books for my own good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">But
let’s get back to CSN’s dubious harmonies. What if someone in one of the best
harmony groups the world has ever known didn’t want to be there in the White
House singing Silent Night? Or, what if one of them was so annoyed by one of
his colleagues, he just didn’t want to be singing with him? I mean David’s
falling out with Graham (and with Neil Young) are so well (not to mention
embarrassingly) documented all over the internet.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I’m
just saying… but my main point being: why include the clip in the David Crosby
documentary in the first place? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Surely
at the very least we’re entitled to a more balanced view of the man and his
musical heritage? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Happy
Holidays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Until
the next time…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Cheers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">pc<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-11161214465041579472019-08-12T02:48:00.000-07:002019-08-12T02:48:05.515-07:00Even Golfers Get The Blues<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">So
here’s the thing: I’m not a big golf fan. I’ve never played golf. I do enjoy
watching it on television though. I will admit that I did once enjoy a
glorious day in LA with two artist-managers on a golf course. But my enjoyment
was entirely down to the fact that they let me drive them around the course in
a golf-buggy. I should also admit here that I’ve never driven a car in my life,
so that’s why it was such a buzz. Maybe I should have forewarned them that I am
a big Formula One fan. Either I scared the Bejesus out of them or they were
actually crap golfers. I have to say they did talk a great game and knew
exactly where they were going wrong. So fair play to them.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">But,
let’s get back to my reason for being in Portrush. I’m a big fan of </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: DA;">Rory
McIlroy. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">It’s
partly to do with the fact that a) he’s world class in his chosen arena and b)
he is an Ulsterman. For the exact same reasons I’d also include in that list:
George Best; Alex Higgins; Seamus Heaney and Van Morrison.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">One
of my fictional detectives, McCusker, was originally from Portrush. He was a
social golfer, so social he lost his first wife and all his property over the
game. McCusker is also a big fan of Rory, Alec and George. Musically speaking
he’d be more of a fan of Rory Gallagher, Planxty and Christy Moore. I’m
currently working on the third McCusker Mystery, <i>Hi Love, You Just Dropped
Your Glove</i>. In the course of this mystery, McCusker is based in Portrush
and I’ve been visiting “The Port” - as I used to do most of the summers of my
youth with my family - to do some catch-up research. When I was there last
summer for a few days, working out locations and trying to discover the locals’
favourite haunts rather that the tourist trail, I heard all about the town
being rebuilt (pretty much) for this year’s O</span><span lang="NL" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: NL;">pen </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Golf Tournament when
the game would return to Portrush for the first time in 68 years.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
decided I would return this summer myself and visit the Open as McCusker might
have done. Which was all well and good, but instead of booking accommodation
last year, I left it to spring of this year by which time not only were all the
hotels quadruple their normal price, and you have to book for a min of four
nights, but they were already all booked out and when I asked a few of them if
I could go on their waiting list, I’d hear them laugh as they set the phone
down.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">What
was available though was Glamping; glamorous camping, luxury under the canvas.
It was also affordable. But those two facts should have been clues; Big</span><span lang="PT" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: PT;">
clues.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On
Thursday morning (18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> July 2019) at crack of dawn I caught the Red
Eye to George Best Airport, Belfast, stopped off for a visit with my dad in
Magherafelt and then, late in the afternoon I travelled on up to Portrush. I
arrived at the Glamping site in the wind and rain at five o’clock. The entrance
to the site was ankle deep in muck and the grass on the way to the tent was
calf-long and soaking wet. The tent was very primitive. Very unglamorous dare I
say, even very un-luxurious. The father and son owners however were extremely
nice and helpful. I left my case in the tent and caught the shuttle down to the
outskirts of Portrush. I had planned to stay in my tent for an hour or two to
settle in before heading down to the Port, but to put it purely and simply,
there was absolutely nowhere to sit in the tent and the bed was an air bed and
quite impossible to sit on. I was later to discover it was even more
uncomfortable to sleep on, but more about that at lights out.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
was going into Portrush so all was good. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Every
time I go to Portrush I get very excited. There is just something magical about
the Port. There always has been from when I was a kid and it still hasn’t worn
off. This time was no exception. In a break between the showers I passed the
hive of activity that was the Royal Golf Club. I continued on into the town
along the East Strand beach, past what used to be the entrance to the Arcadia
Ballroom where I’d spent manys a happy night listening to the likes of Billy
Brown and The Freshmen. The Freshmen were one of the few great showbands - so
great in fact that the dancers used to stop dancing and just listen to the
band. No mean feat nailing all those feet to the floor. Now all remains of the
once glorious ballroom is the entrance-hall section, which before it was the
entrance hall to a ballroom used to be the ladies changing rooms for their
outside pool.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
was, as they say locally, famished, so I stopped off at the 55 Degrees North
restaurant to get a quick bite. The food hit the spot and the waitresses were,
as usual, extremely friendly. Now I was properly equipped to head off for a
dander around the town. Portrush, thanks to Rory McIlroy’s efforts in helping
secure The Open’s visit, had enjoyed a complete facelift - a long overdue
facelift. I stopped off at a wee antique store. The owner told me that the
council had paid for every shop owner (who wanted) to have the front of the
store done up. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">To
be honest I had quite expected the town to be heaving. This was not the case.
The streets were relatively empty. All the people who were visiting for the
golf were still up at the Royal Golf Club. The Club had a strict no-pass out
rule that the local business people were up in arms about. “How can we make
money if none of these people are allowed to come out and do a wee bit of
shopping?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
owner of the antique store, like a lot of the traders I spoke to, felt that
even with their own numbers down this weekend, the actual benefit of The Open
was going to be more of long term project.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Anyway,
in an effort to lift their spirits I did a wee bit of shopping myself, then
made my way across town to Barry’s Amusements, which over-looked the West
Strand and the picturesque harbour. Barry’s Amusements Arcade is the most exciting
place in Northern Ireland… or so I once thought. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">It
was empty!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
mean it wasn’t actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">empty </i>as in
absolutely without punters. There were (literally) a few people. I’m talking
thirty patrons at the very most. I’ve been visiting Barry’s since the early 60s
and I have never seen so few people in there in my life. I couldn’t believe it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Where
is everyone?” I asked the man in the information booth. Well that’s what an
information booth is</span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: DA;"> for, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">isn’t
it? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“I’ve
worked here for over eleven years and I’ve never seen it this empty,” he
replied. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“But
what about the golf influx?”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">‘They’re
all stuck up at the Royal and once they leave the Royal there are no pass-outs,
so they can’t return to the course for the remainder of the day. The ones who
are coming out are more used to the likes of Disneyworld, so Barry’s isn’t
really high on their bucket list.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
offered my condolences and said hopefully it’ll be better over the weekend. He
said he hoped so but doubted it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Is
there a chance it’ll have to close,” I asked, fearing if they can’t pull a
crowd from the influx they might be in danger.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">‘Heaven’s
no, not at all. This is just one weekend, every other weekend Easter to
September, we’re absolutely heaving in here.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
walked further along the beach in the direction of the harbour, all the time
shocked by the lack of people, while at the same time scouting out locations
and characters for my McCusker Mystery. I came across the town’s new super
duper big wheel. It was merrily spinning away. On closer examination I realised
it was devoid of people, aka customers. It was as empty as it would have been
on the streets of Bodie, Califonia. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">There
were absolutely no people in the big wheel’s buckets - or whatever it is they
call those pods that humans sit in.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
man licking a 99 infused ice-cream cone saw me staring up at the wheel in
amazement.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Why
do you think they have it spinning with no people in it?” he asked.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“As
an advertisement to potential customers,” I offered hopefully.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: FR;">Nope,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">” he replied, “if
you go further down to the green there you’ll see that the BBC TV One Show is
broadcasting on location tonight, and if they have the wheel spinning in the
background then people out there in TV land will think Portrush is thriving and
want to visit here. It’s all part of a cover-up”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Oh
I do love a good conspiracy theory. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
wandered on chatting to people as I made my way over to the crowd gathered for
BBC TV One Show recording. People are so friendly and easy to talk to in
Portrush. Not just that, but there are so many brilliant characters on your
doorstep, which is one of the reasons I’m bringing McCusker back to Portrush
for this mystery. I eaves-dropped on one of the judges from Strictly Come
Dancing going on about Ballroom Dancing in Ulster in the 1960s “It was huge”,
he declared. I think he might just have got the wrong end of the stick there.
What happened was that yes people did use to dance in ballrooms, such as the
Arcadia Ballroom, in Ulster, in the 1960s but, believe you me, it was not
Ballroom Dancing, as we know it today, they were attempting. Their main step
was not the quickstep, but more likely the shimmy-step, where you would try to
subtly sidle closer to a girl and risk all by asking, “Do you come here often?”
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Eventually
I reluctantly left the town centre and caught a taxi back out to the Glamping
site. The driver was moaning about how the entire town’s road system has been
laid out by the people who designed the track layout for Barry’s Ghost Train.
The end result, he claimed, five minute journeys were now easily taking up to
an hour. He kept going on about how badly everything had been messed up; having
said that, we did reach the tent site pretty quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Once
again I tried to sit on my air bed and once more I nearly fell off again. It
was ten-thirty, too early for bed so I wandered out of my tent and over to a
communal area covered with a large canvas canopy. The sides of the Henley
Regatta type of sun-shelter, if they’d ever existed, had been removed so you
could see the amazing soulful views over and beyond Portrush. In this area,
which was empty of fellow glampers, the site organisers had kindly supplied
bales of hay to sit on. By lamp light I wrote up my notes for <i>Hi Love You,
Just Dropped Your Glove</i>. Eventually, task completed, the cold air drove me
back to my tent. When I was back in my tent I realised it was colder in the
tent than it was outside. It was also dark and dank. I found that attempting to
sleep on an airbed was comparable to trying to sleep on a tightrope. You move
an inch either-way and you risked falling off altogether. Not that I’ve ever
slept on a tightrope but I think next time I’m offered an airbed I just might
opt for the sleeping-on-a-tightrope option. It couldn’t be any more difficult.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On
Friday morning, even the news that the electricity was off and there were no
warm/hot showers available didn’t dampen my mood. For starters I was <i>so</i>
cold I figured that even a cold shower would warm me up a little bit and I’d
still breakfast to look forward to. But then I hear you say: surely if there
was no electricity there would be no power for kettles and coffee-makers and
toasters etc., etc. And of course you’d be right. Oh well I was heading down to
the Royal Golf Club and there would be everything I could dream off down there.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="ES-TRAD" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: ES-TRAD;">Ah</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">…
but the guy who was trying to fix the power was also the guy who drove the
shuttle van, so that was going to be delayed for a wee bit. He was really a
very nice guy and you just couldn’t get mad with him, it wasn’t his fault.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Eventually,
just before eight o’clock, the shuttle van dropped a few of us off and, quite
literally, a couple of minutes after that I was inside the Royal Golf Course in
Portrush, surely the speediest and easiest entrance to a mass-audience, event I
have ever experienced. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">There
was a strange air of calm about the site. Maybe an aftershock might be a better
way to describe it. Everyone seemed to be in a zombie like state and whispering
about Rory’s massive meltdown on the course on the previous day (Thursday). It
appears he just couldn’t get into the rhythm of his round. Everything that
could go wrong went wrong and the short, least depressing, version of the story
is that he was a massive seven over par going into Friday’s round. Could his
massive dip in his game be put down to the pressure of being the local hero?
All I can offer by way of explanation is: if it took genius to be as brilliant
as he had been in the past – and he still holds the course record for the Royal
Portrush; he went around in 61 when he was just 16 years old – then when you’re
not in the best of form, or suffering from Rory’s Blues, or even nerves, the
complete opposite can happen. When he’s on his game he does tend to make a
round of golf look deceptively easy. Well that’s </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: DA;">McCusker</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">’s theory on the
matter - and he discusses it in great detail with his partner D.I. Lily
O’Carroll in <i>A Day In The Life of Louis Bloom</i> (the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
McCusker Mystery published by Dufour Editions).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>W</span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: DE;">hen</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">ever
Rory is allowed to keep to himself and focus entirely on his game, McCusker
muses, he always delivers. However, also according to McCusker, when he’s
distracted with lots of media requests and is cornered into predicting how on
form he is and how brilliant he’s going to be, he mostly has a bad day at the office,
or in his case, on the golf course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Tiger
Woods - who would have enjoyed top billing in Rory’s absence - at 6 over par
had also experienced a disastrous first round. Now we were faced with neither</span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: DA;">
Tiger </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">nor
Rory making the cut by the end of Friday’s play. The cut is where all players
who manage at least 1 over par are safe and go into the 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> and 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
rounds (played on Saturday and Sunday). Everyone from 2 over par and above got
to go home, leaving 70 golfers for the final two days.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Who
would the local crowd then get to support? We’ll have more about that later as
well. In the meantime I had a date with my breakfast in one of the Hospitality
Pavilions, the majority of which were on the right hand side of the first
green. That’s as you face up the green and away from the tee.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">According
to one of the greeters in the hospitality suite, it took 4 months to build the
Pavilions and the rest of the plant in order for The Royal to host The Open. He
guessed it would take around the same time to remove. The Suite I was in didn’t
really have any atmosphere. Maybe it was a case of the room being so spread
out, it made the ceiling appear lower. The numerous TVs relaying the current
action out on the links were very small. The volume of the TVs was painfully
low. To truly enjoy golf on TV there are two basic requirements. You need to
have a nice comfortable chair <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> to
be able to hear the commentators. The seats looked like they’d been hired from
a school canteen, or, put another way, they were hard and uncomfortable.
Failing ideal viewing of the TV, I always find it best to just turn the darn
set off. But the TVs needed to be on because there were already players out on
the golf course. The first trio, Tom Lenman (US) Joaquin Nieman (Chile) &
Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) had teed off at 06.35 that morning. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
overall feeling from our group of people was of everyone was waiting for
something. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Perhaps
they were waiting for the bars to open (at 11.30 due to Ulster Licensing laws)
or awaiting a legendary Ulster Fry served up to kick start our day.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
the hospitality </span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: FR;">suite</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">,
the friendly staff’s two most popular questions of the day were: 1) Where did
you travel from this morning? And 2) Who do you fancy to win this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">With
their first question, the words fitted together so well and the delivery was so
word-perfect you had the feeling the question must have been listed in a
tournament directive. On the other hand the second question was a very clever
way of avoiding the elephant in the room: Rory’</span><span lang="PT" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: PT;">s Blues. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
these circumstances I’ve learned it’s always good to have a name at the ready.
I have to admit I still fancied Rory playing a blistering round and getting
back in the race. Nonetheless, I felt it was prudent to examine the options and
have a few names up my sleeve. Tiger, in my eyes, still couldn’t be ruled out.
Tommy Fleetwood (England) seemed to be an easy name to remember, he seemed like
a very nice chap, had played a brilliant round on Thursday <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> didn’t he nearly win something major recently? Oh yes, I
remember now, he nearly won the US Open last year but Tiger Woods pipped him to
the post. Tony Finau (USA) was a distinctive name and he had made a decent
start earlier that morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Justin Rose
(England) perhaps? Shane Lowry had played a brilliant round on the Thursday. On
camera he was always smiling and looking like he was really enjoying playing a
round of golf <i>and</i> he was just one off the lead. At times - when he took
his hat off – he looked like he could have been Wayne Rooney’s brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>JB Holmes (USA), the leader from round 1,
looked like he knew what he was doing and was very enjoyable to watch but Tommy
from Carolina (at my table) assured me he wouldn’t last the course. I decided I
needed to hedge my bets and came to the conclusion it was just too early to
decide. I had a quick day-dream of Rory starting off his round with a series of
holes-in-one (a physical impossibility) and getting back in contention. I
shared this with Tommy from Carolina who didn’t take it as the joke I had
intended but seemed to spend a few seconds going through the scenario in his
mind. Then I noticed what he was actually doing was checking where the closest
exit was.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
few minutes later at 10.09 Tiger Woods arrived at the 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> tee on
this the second day of the tournament to loud applause. His compatriots for the
day’s play were Mathew Wallace (England) and Patrick Reed (USA). I decided that
as the weather was holding and the rain was meant to come at 2.00 o’clock in
the afternoon, I’d nip out and walk the round with Tiger. Don’t get me wrong, I
wasn’t being rude, or even familiar. He doesn’t even know me, let alone that I
exist. What I meant was I would walk with the crowd who followed Tiger & Co
from tee to tee. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
first thing I discovered was how solidly some of these guys are built. That
doesn’t come across on TV.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
completely opposite view was offered from a wife to her husband walking
directly behind me.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“They’re
not big are they, they’</span></i><i><span lang="NL" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: NL;">re all wee men.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">”</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Wallop!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Great
strike,”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">
a fan cried out and the rest burst into applause.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On
one of the big screens around the course, we could see Rose teeing off; he was
6 </span><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: DE;">under</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">
par from yesterday. That means he was then 12 shots ahead of Tiger on the
leader board. This also meant</span><span lang="NL" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: NL;"> he</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">
was 13 shots ahead of Rory.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">That’s
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve,
thirteen shots ahead of Rory. Or, as they’d say in Donegal, “That’s a massive
mountain to climb.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And
the trio of golfers, Woods, Wallace & Reed headed off down the fairway.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Welcome
Tiger,” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">someone in front of me called out.<i> </i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Thank
you,” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Tiger
replied without breaking his stride or his concentration.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Their
golf balls had all reached about midway up the fairway. By the time we caught
up with the location for their next round of shots, I realised we were directly
across the road from Kellys where the other Rory (Gallagher) played <i>his</i>
version of the blues with his sublime band, Taste. Fruupp (my first
professionally management client) also played a few great gigs in there.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
was having great difficulty getting near the first green to see Tiger & Co
concluding their work on the first hole. My mantra while scouting vantage
positions for better views from then on was: always walk on that wee bit
further. It didn’t let me down all day. I noticed on the big screen - viewed in
the hope they would show the lads putting on the green - that on another green
Jon Rahm (Spain) had a weird looking 4 inch square putter. I figured it must be
like hitting the ball with a bar of chocolate - just saying this in case anyone
out there sees it as a marketing opportunity; remember where you heard it
first. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On
the next hole, the 574 yard, par 5, 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>, they all enjoyed great
applause as they teed off although… two of them didn’t fair very well with
their shots. For this action I’d a much better view and all three golfers
hunkered down in a near perfect (seemingly) synchronised move, just off the
green. The trio - who very nearly formed a straight line across the fairway -
eyed up the ideal path for their second shot. As Tiger Woods walked up to take
his turn, I could see clearly he was genuinely in pain. You could see from the
regret in his eyes that he wished he could be enjoying this moment more. He
dropped his first shot of the day at this hole.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Must
have been cling-film over that hole,” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">an Ulster fan muttered to
himself as he headed after the players to the 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> tee.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Overall,
as was visible on the big screens, the going was getting tough and when the
going is tough the balls tend to get going… into the rough. It wasn’t a great
omen for Rory. On top of which, he was due to start his round at 15.10, by
which time the predicted rain would have worked up a head of steam; also known
as teaming.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">By
the time we reached the 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> green, Woods and Co were looking like
they could have done with an elevenses pit-stop for coffee and snacks. Luckily
enough there was a wagon which was parked up ever so close to the green,
selling such items. Professionals that the golfers were, they soldiered on,
although it has to be said, a lot of their followers were happy to partake in
the refreshments available. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">After
five holes and finding myself distracted by the action on other holes I decided
my intel might be of better use elsewhere, so I peeled off the pack and headed
on around the course dipping in and out of play from game to game. I also found
that as the ground is rather bumpy it is much better for your ankles, in
particular, to keep on the move. On top of which I found it just too sad to
watch Tiger painfully trying to hide his limp. More selfishly I thought I could
feel the first spits of the predicted rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Tommy
Fleetwood was playing well and moving up the leader board. He was great to
watch if you didn’t look at his face. What I mean is, from the look on his face
you got the impression he was having a disastrous round, whereas his actual
play, not to mention the leader board, proved otherwise. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Some
of the comments from the fans I found very amusing</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“It’s
like he’s got a magic wand rather than a golf club,” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">one guy (wearing a Motorhead
T-shirt) suggested to his mates, after a particularly magnificent second shot
on the 194 yard, par 3, 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> hole. This hole was also known as Harry
Colt’s (named after the course designer) and was right beside the Atlantic
Ocean with spectacularly inspirational, jaw-dropping, views.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
imagined McCusker maybe being mates of the guy with the Motorhead T Shirt, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and, after witnessing a couple of subsequent
bad shots suggesting, “If I was him I’d return the Magic Wand to the Harry
Potter gift shop and consider using a golf club again”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“That
2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> hole just needs to open up,” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">another armchair expert had
offered.<i> </i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Aye
to the size of a dust bin.” I imagined McCusker adding.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“He’s
on great form, he’s dropping everything in, I bet you he got a ride last
night.”</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“He,”
</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">now
meaning Tiger<i>, “just needs to get on the range and bang a few in.”</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
swear to you but I must have seen about a dozen Graeme McDowells in my travels
around the course. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">By
the time I’d made it back towards the 18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> hole (474 yards, par 4) I
happened upon another bigger, much bigger, refreshment area, which according to
my site map was called the Secondary Village. I slowed to a stroll feeling like
Randolph Scott happening upon the town limits of Laramie. I felt I could take
my time a wee bit now as the spits of rain hadn’t actually developed into
anything. There was a massive big screen out on what looked like a village
green with a lot people sitting around and drinking and following the action.
Overall this group of people were giving off good vibes. I noticed a top of the
line pavilion with its own balcony. It was very classy. It looked very
expensive to my eyes. I thought I’d dander over to it and see what the story
was. It turned out that it was a Mastercard Pavilion and on close inspection
the sign outside it claimed: “Open to all Mastercard Holders” Good old
Mastercard, I thought. I’m a Mastercard Holder. They mean me. Not only did they
get me a discount in the merchandising shop this morning, but here they were
also providing some hospitality FOC (free of charge). The two ladies at
reception were very friendly and they said welcome and put a band around my
wrist as they asked me where I’d come from this morning. I went upstairs which
was incredibly welcoming, homely even, with ultra-comfortable chairs and a
floor to ceiling big screen. The crowd were very good natured and really
enjoying their golf. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
found a seat and a drink and a bite and watched the screen to notice that my
earlier tip of Tommy Fleetwood was doing very well. I’d been correct, Tommy
Fleetwood was the perfect name for a golfer. The net result was that he was now
only one stroke off the leader, JB.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
wondered if anything could be made of the ping of the contact the club/putter
makes with the ball, as in do the golfers know from this sound if they’ve
played a good shot or bad one. If so, could that be taken even further and
could someone work out some sort of logarithm or develop an app that predicts
the final score from sound of the club hitting the ball over say the first
three holes? If so please remember where you read about it first. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">At
12.53 Shane Lowry enjoyed a mighty cheer as he teed off on the first hole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On
seeing Shane Lowry sink yet another long putt on the giant screen on the
(secondary) Village Green someone in the crowd said to his mate:<i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“With putts like that, if I was him I’d be
carefully crossing the road tomorrow; his luck is sure to change any time
soon.”</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">At
the 18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Hole (second round) a big cheer went up on the screen and
in the room as Tommy Fleetwood holed his final shot of the day to go top of the
leader board.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Is
the rain just getting that wee bit heavier?” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">someone offered as one by one
the umbrellas started to go up.<i> </i>One of the Sky Sports cameras picked up
on this activity and it was flashed up on the big screen. The people on the
green seeing themselves (well at least their umbrellas) up on the big screen,
started to open and shut their umbrella to acknowledge the attention and pretty
soon we were all enjoying a special moment with hundreds of umbrellas, of
various styles and a multitude of colours, fluttering like butterflies.
Hopefully it looked as stunning out in TV land as it did on the Secondary
Village Green.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Shortly
thereafter at 15.10 Rory McIlroy came out to the (adjacent) 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> tee.
There was an almighty roar from the crowd that was way beyond the reaction any
of the other players received. Most players enjoy varying levels of
cheering/applause when they ventured onto the first green; after the final shot
on the 18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> green or whenever they hit a great shot. But Rory was
unique in that he was applauded and cheered the entire way from the tee up the
fairway and onto the green for each and every hole on his round. You could work
out exactly where he was on the course from the Rory Roar following him around
the Royal Golf Course. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">There
was such an almighty Rory Roar following his final putt on the 18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
that I’m convinced that every single person, man, woman and child on the acres
of the Royal Golf Course at Portrush in Northern Ireland paused in their tracks
to acknowledge his genius. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">He
had played a blinding round. In adverse weather conditions he shot a 65, which
would prove to be the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> best round of this year’</span><span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">s
competition.</span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">
If</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">
the weather had been on his side, or like it had been earlier in the day when
Tiger was playing his round, then Rory most likely would have broken his own
course record. But then tournament score cards do not have a column for the “if
only” scores. The sad but undeniable bottom line was that Rory failed to make
the cut by a single shot. He was gracious and emotional in his defeat as he
thanked the crowd and wished Shane Lowry all the very best for the following
two days play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Shane
Lowry went on to win the Open at the Royal in Portrush during a wet July
weekend in 2019. He was the first bearded golfer to win the open since Bob
Ferguson won the third of his successive victories in 1882. Shane and his
bearded caddie, Brian Martin, looked like they’d just happened on a round of
golf at the Royal by accident and that they were trying not to giggle too much
just in case they were found out. Shane Lowry deserved to win this year’s Open.
He consistently played beautiful golf and he took maximum enjoyment from his
own playing. That is such an infectious quality: the ability of great athletes,
or musicians for that matter, to visibly enjoy their own work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">JB
Holmes who was in the lead the first day was still in with a shout on the
Friday and Saturday. However he took a disastrous 87 shots on the final day. To
put this in perspective every player had a bad day on the Sunday. But few had
as poor a day as JB. Shane Lowry for instance shot a round of 72 the same day.
JB finished in 70<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> place. I make this point not to try and shame
poor JB, who was clearly having a bad day, but to confirm that Tommy from
Carolina was spot on with his prediction.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Tommy
from Carolina had another prediction he shared with me.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“This,”
he started expansively, and opening out his arms around the room and pointing
out beyond and on to the golf course, “this is all going to put Portrush on the
map as an international touring attraction. Everything has been wonderful and
so professional, so top class and the local people so warm, funny and friendly
that tourists are going to be coming here in the droves from now on.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">After
Tommy from Carolina’s first successful prediction, and with my local knowledge,
I certainly wouldn’t be taking a bet against him. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">So
see youse all next year then?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">p.s. I should also mention that <em>Departing Shadows</em>, the eleventh Christy Kennedy Mystery, is published by the good people at Dufour Editions on Oct 22nd this year.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">Paul Charles © 2019<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-40925045812462031002019-03-15T03:02:00.000-07:002019-03-15T03:02:08.211-07:00The Seven Hindrances To Happiness<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Humans seem incapable of being happy, as in being
totally happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">There will always be
something on our mind making complete contentment impossible. It might be
something to do with: children; older parents; money; sex; love; career or health.
Those seven topics, either directly, or indirectly, cover all the possibilities
capable of causing concern. If we needed to reduce the number then we could
perhaps consider listing “children” and “older parents” under the one heading
of “dependants” but somehow the number seven seems more mystical than six and
might even have a direct biblical connection. So, let’s stick to our seven main
topics for the moment, if only to avoid an additional period of non-happiness
where we worry about whether there are six or seven main topics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">It has to be admitted
that there will be certain periods, of indeterminable duration, when people/they/you/me
will discover the bliss of pure unadulterated happiness. These infrequent times
will rarely exceed twenty-four hours, at which point one of the seven will
return, usually with a bang, to remind us that happiness is not our normal state.
The above brief period of happiness might have even just been thrown in to the
mix, through a trick of our devious sub-conscious, just so we can be aware of
what we’re missing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">When we’re younger we
naively think that as we grow older and are in charge of our own lives we’re
going to experience true everlasting happiness. Sadly this never turns out to
be the case. All we really discover is how much we should have enjoyed the
relative happiness of our childhood because those years will never ever prepare
us for what will be thrown at us in our later years. Nor should they prepare us; we all
need the calm before the storm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The big news, the big
secret no one ever lets you in on, is that you are never ever going to arrive
at the point where you will wake up one morning and discover the grass isn’t, in
fact, greener elsewhere. You know, where you arrive at a point literally,
physically, mentally or spiritually where nothing will concern you. A place where
there will be no dog-do lurking in the shadows of the trail ahead of you. In
other words when you reach a point where your own personal nirvana will have
arrived. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’d hoped it would be a place
where you could relax with your true love; read books; listen to music; go the
cinema (this one is the reason why a desert island would never work for me); go
for long walks through stunning soulful country; reflect on just how miraculous
and marvellous a creation the human body really is; and, finally: appear on
Desert Island Discs describing your own personal heaven to the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Spoiler alert: It’s
never going to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Humans are incapable
of being happy (all the time). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">We’re not wired to be
that way, and if we were I fear we’d realise it was, plain and simply, just boring?
Personally I’m not sure I one hundred percent subscribe to this theory. I think this particular
notion is a fail-safe which has been wired into our systems just so we don’t
get too preoccupied about not being happy all the time. Maybe it even frees up
more time for us to worry about the big seven issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Some people sadly get
bogged down with the lack of everlasting happiness to the extent that they will
try and rid themselves of this niggle. They will consider absolutely anything
to permanently expel the sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, voices responsible for their anxiety.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Occasionally I have
to consider the extremes some humans are prepared to go to in order for them to
try to reach their own particular prefab nirvana. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This is the stage I
reach every time I embark on writing a new murder mystery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The point where I
start to examine what some characters would be prepared to do, in order to put
everything out of their consciousness. Everything that is apart from their own
misguided selfishness and preoccupation with a state of permanent happiness.
Put another way, study their endeavours to reach a state where some of their worries
will not “do their head in.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A state we all know
just doesn’t exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Talking of the above, I continue working on the eleventh Christy Kennedy mystery, Departing Shadows; reading the 2nd Volume of Kenneth Womack's incredible Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin, the later years, 1966 to 2016; going to the cinema - my favourite of last year was, by a million miles was Clint Eastwood's The Mule and yet it didn't get nominated for a single Oscar (I bet the real story behind the omission would make an Oscar winning movie, well then on second thoughts, perhaps not) and, attending concerts, the recent highlights being Joan Baez at the Palladium and the multi talented Paul Carrack on brilliant form at Guildford Live.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Until the next time...</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Cheers</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">pc </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-13006409107927497062017-09-25T02:44:00.000-07:002017-09-25T02:44:25.779-07:00The Mystery of The Wrecking Crew<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I was very sad when I heard that Glen
Campbell had passed. He was such an outstanding singer, songwriter and guitarist
who had influenced me in so many ways over the years.. Sometimes the best thing to do in those
circumstances is to sit down and try to put your thoughts down on paper, if only because you know that time will surely erode the intensity of your feelings. So I ended up writing an article for Hot Press magazine in
Dublin that focuses on the Mystery (there always seems to be a mystery behind everything I explore) of The Wrecking Crew in general and Glen Campbell and his membership of the same outfit in particular. <span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That Hot Press (30.08.17) piece started:</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At one point in the late 1960s the best-selling
group (most likely with the rare exception of the BEATLES) in the entire world
was a group no fan ever screamed to. There were no known photographs of this
group. No one knew their favourite food, drink, actor, actress, movie nor even
what clothes they wore. Not only that, but no fan ever knew who they were and
the reason for this was quite simply because the record companies didn’t want you
to know. The identity of this group was their biggest, and their carefully
guarded secret. It was so vital to their continued financial stability that the
identity remain a secret. Should anyone outside the hallowed corridors of the
Capital Records building in LA, CBS’s BlackRock in NYC, and the likes, discover
the secret, it would most likely have killed the careers of some of the biggest
groups in the industry and totally reshaped the landscape of the music business
as we know it today. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> The remainder of it can be found at:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.hotpress.com/Glen-Campbell/news/The-Mystery-of-the-Wrecking-Crew--A-Tribute-to-Glen-Campbell/20766090.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.hotpress.com/Glen-Campbell/news/The-Mystery-of-the-Wrecking-Crew--A-Tribute-to-Glen-Campbell/20766090.html</span></a></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<br /></div>
</span><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
I hope you enjoy...</div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
Cheers</div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
pc </div>
</span></span></span></span><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<br /><br />
<br />
<br /><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-22988940129354720222017-07-13T08:05:00.000-07:002017-07-13T08:05:50.942-07:00Sgt., Flynn's Lonely Hertz Club Van <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I remember the day just like it
was just yesterday. It was one morning early in 1963 and I strolled into my mum’s
cosy kitchen without a care in the world. She was busy preparing lunch and, as
ever, she had the radio on. She’d have been hoping they might play Tony Bennett
or Frank Sinatra or, better still, her favourite disc, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes A Me For? </i>by Emile Ford &
The Checkmates. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Up to that point music had been
a bit like wallpaper to me; it was there all around me all of the time but it
was pretty easy to ignore. It didn’t engage me. But that morning I heard a
joyous, infectious, melodic, pleasing sound that stopped me in my tracks and, quite
literally, changed my world. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The sound I heard was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Please Please Me</i> and I soon discovered
this magic came from four Liverpool lads called The Beatles. I became obsessed
by both the single and the group. Soon I’d a cheap record player and, a few
months later, was also the proud owner of Please Please Me (the long playing
record). Another six albums and four years later, I thought I’d it all figured
out when they hit me (and the rest of the world) with what has arguably become
the most important album ever released: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts’ Club Band.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">During the summer of 1967 I was
still living in Northern Ireland, getting ready to leave for London in fact.
I'd bought Sgt. Peppers the day it was released but hadn't had a chance to
listen to it too much, preoccupied as I was then by trying to secure gigs for
my first group, The Blues By Five. But I had liked the album; most certainly
I’d liked it a lot. Then, one Saturday evening, I was at this party in a church
hall in Cookstown, up in the heartland of Northern Ireland in Co. Tyrone. Up
until this point Cookstown was famous for having one very broad street which
ran the whole way through the townland. The street was so broad that legend had
it pedestrians brought a flask of tea and some sandwiches with them so they
could take a break mid-way across. Now, to me, Cookstown was going to become
famous for something entirely different. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">All the walls and ceiling of
the church hall were covered with a mass of colourful posters, streamers and
balloons. The music was great and, as they say up in those parts, the craic was
ninety. We just sat back and let the evening go. People were talking, laughing,
joking and dancing. Some were sitting around, drinking and having a good time
and then someone put the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album on a
record-player they’d wired up direct to the PA system.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">One by one the party-people
stopped talking and chatting and the noise and bustle of the party died down completely
until the entire crowd present was being seduced by this beautiful and
inspiring music. People were smiling and loving it. Happiness was spreading
from one person to another with the same power and speed panic can move through
a gathering. It was wonderful to be there. It was certainly a thrill. Every new
track drew everyone deeper and deeper into this new world. Our new world, a
world created for us by The Beatles. It was like everything they had ever done
had been leading up to that point. Every note of music they had ever played,
every song they had ever composed had been in preparation for this moment: the
moment they captured with Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It didn't
matter that perhaps the Revolver album might have been a better album. It
didn't matter that touring had nearly destroyed our band. It didn't matter that
I didn't have someone there with me to love and share this with; there was
already more than enough love in the air. Nothing really mattered apart from
the wonderful sounds filling the speakers and the fact that the Beatles had
fulfilled their unspoken promise to us. This album wasn't a great album because
it sold lots of copies. The album sold lots of copies, purely and simply,
because it was a great album. Yes, maybe even the perfect album.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And the thing about the party
that night in Cookstown was that we were all sharing it, sharing the pleasure.
And as it was being shared, the pleasure grew. When John Lennon started to sing
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Day In the Life</i>, I swear to you I
felt shivers run down my spine, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and
my throat went dry. I could feel my nostrils tightening as though tears were
going to flow. I bet you not one person in that hall felt any different. No one
moved a muscle for fear of spoiling the mood. As the last note, the E Major,
drifted into silence, everyone was left stunned and speechless. It was like a
mass turn-on but instead of the buzz being incited by a drug, it had been
induced by the show The Beatles had wanted, needed to present to us. This was
the show they knew they could never do on stage as the moptops to their
screaming fans. But they felt they could do it by sending it out to us in the
form of the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. I know that
probably sounds as if I may have been indulging in some of the stimulants that
had even managed to make it as far as Cookstown in those days. I wasn't. I
never felt the need to. But you really had to be there, in Cookstown on that
spectacular summer evening, to know what I'm on about. It was a perfect moment.
It was one of those moments that rarely happen in your life but when they do,
well then you have to try and find some way to savour the magic moments and cherish
and protect them in your memory. All I can tell you is that as we strained to
hear the disappearing E Major, there was the most incredible feeling of elation,
yes… even euphoria. When all that was left was the crackle of the needle on its
final revolution everyone started to clap their hands. We didn't know what else
to do. We just clapped and clapped and then clapped some more.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">You'll never ever meet anyone
who can tell you what it was like the first time the 1812 Overture was
performed, or what it was like sitting in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin when
The Hallelujah Chorus was receiving its world premiere. In fact, I can
guarantee you won't. Time has drawn a line under both of those. But, with hand
on heart, I'm happy to tell you that for me what those audiences felt could not
have compared with the experience I felt while listening to The Beatles'
masterwork that night in Cookstown.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">It was never the same again. I
never ever experienced that same buzz again. I don't tell you that with the
slightest regret. I am proud to have been alive in that time and enjoyed that
once in a lifetime experience. I still love and enjoy listening to the record.
But it just may have been the communal spirit between all present at the party
that special summer evening in Cookstown that made the Beatles playback so
extraordinary. I suppose for an experience to have been so special meant that
it certainly wasn't going to be an experience which could be repeated
frequently, if ever. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And it all came from the music;
the music of The Beatles.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And here we are fifty years
later (nearly to the day) and we’re enjoying that music and those moments once
again and to mark this special 50<sup>th</sup> Anniversary celebration I wanted
to share a D.I. Christy Kennedy (short) mystery, entitled: Sgt. Flynn’s Lonely
Hertz Club Band, which was inspired by the Beatles eighth album or, as it was
known to the EMI accountants, PCS 7027.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Thanks to the Fab people at Fahrenheit Press a Kindle version is available now. And talking about available now, there is also a Christy Kennedy (short) mystery included in the current (July/ August) edition of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. The Kennedy story is called Harry Potter & The Shadow of the Forger's Throne, I hope you enjoy both.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc</span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-2447163056008196642016-06-07T03:23:00.000-07:002016-06-29T01:32:36.431-07:00The Legend of St Ernan's Blues<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif"; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">When I
completed work on the first Inspector Starrett mystery – The Dust of Death – I
immediately (quite literally the following morning) started writing the 2<sup>nd</sup>
in the series - Family Life. Although I had the idea for the three books
right from the get go, I didn’t start work on the 3<sup>rd</sup> title for
several years. Starrett is a very enjoyable character to write but I had to
wait for the right time in order to make it work. Time had to pass on and off
the page; things had to happen, things which I had no say in, but yet, things I
had to pay attention to. On top of which, in the meantime I had other writing
pleasures to attend to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the
Castlemartin stories, the 10<sup>th</sup> Kennedy and the 1<sup>st</sup>
McCusker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I had the opening scene of the 3rd Starrett in my mind's eye for ages. A young novice priest would be found slumped over in a chair while a pot of potatoes still boiled on the nearby stove. There wouldn't be any noticeable marks about his body that pointed to the reason for his demise. Starrett and his team would be called in to investigate. There was a wee bit of an Agatha Christie vibe to it, although maybe the original title - with a nod to Paul Simon's beautiful lyric - Hello Darkness My Old Friend, was a bigger clue to my themes. I did like the Agatha Christie approach where she would have the majority of the suspects in the one space; you know, like a train, or a boat or a library. I thought my mystery would be better suited to a retirement home for priests. I took time out from writing and spent quite a bit of time "getting to know" the 11 members of clergy, working out their backstory, their foibles, if you will, and making them individuals.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Now I needed a house, a believable house. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">I’m
always discovering that fact is stranger than fiction - much stranger - that
real locations are always infinitely more interesting than fictional ones. Take
for instance the case in point: St Ernan’s House on St Ernan’s Island, located
a stone’s throw from Donegal Town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
intrigued by the island and the house from the first time I encountered them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe Catherine and I may have stayed in
the house when it was a guest house, and I admit that might even have been my
imagination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But either way, bit by bit,
I discovered the history of the Island. The story about how the causeway was
built is true; the fireplace coming from the burnt out Eske Castle and the
original antique pen nibs addressed to then owner, John Hamilton, being found in
the house, are both true and have been included in attempts to try and make
fiction read as fact. The four master writers that Starrett discovers amongst
the St Ernan’s residents in the house are nods back to the original 4 master
writers who were based in the nearby Donegal Town Castle and endeavouring to
write the history of Ireland.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Now I had my house, a lone house on a small island, an island, and I also had my title: St Ernan's Blues. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">When I
was doing research for St Ernan’s Blues I was intrigued by both the house and
the island. I tried several times to fix up a visit to go and examine the <st1:place w:st="on">Island</st1:place> and, if I was very lucky, the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The owner was very polite; the times weren’t
convenient, “maybe check in again in a few months,” he said. I did and (equally politely) a few more times after that. Eventually he
agreed I could come over and Catherine dropped me off by the front door and she
and her father Gerry and our two nephews, Oisin and Darragh, went off for a
drive around the grid lock that is <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Donegal</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Town</st1:placetype></st1:place>, promising to return
to pick me up. The owner was very generous with his time and showed me around
the wonderful historic house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
always conscious I was encroaching on his time and tried really hard to do the
swiftest version of the tour, while keeping my wish for an investigative walk
around the island to myself. Don’t get me wrong, the owner was at all times
very hospitable, but I believe by the time Catherine returned to pick me up,
his sigh of relief was definitely visible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He walked me out to the car and as we were saying our goodbyes, he
though he recognised someone in the car.</span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">“Is
that Gerry McGinley?” he asked.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">“It is
indeed,” I replied.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">“How
do you know Gerry,” he asked, as he quickly walked over to the car.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">“He’s
my father-in-law,” I replied.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">“Sure
you should have told me that,” he said, as he opened the car door and started
shaking Gerry’s hand furiously.</span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">You
see my father-in-law was a well loved legend in Donegal; very sadly he has
since passed. The owner knew him and everything changed immediately. As he
chatted away to Gerry he invited me to have an explorative dander around the
island, “and go and look around the house again if you want to” and when I
returned they were still chatting away ten to the dozen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">From
their chat I got a sense of the old Donegal, of how people dealt with each
other; of how when people know you are connected to people they know and
respect, they are prepared to offer you the same genuine hospitality friends of
theirs would recieve in return, were the situation ever reversed. </span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">I came
away from my visit to St Ernan’s Island with the words (and melody) from a famous
traditional song of the county. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Your
hearts are like your mountains in the homes of Donegal,”</i> ringing around my
head and my soul and knowing that the time would never be better to start
work on my book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Cheers</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">pc </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-23694862587646441462016-05-30T03:53:00.000-07:002016-05-30T03:53:52.995-07:00American Views *
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">* From the front of Taxi Cabs.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I’ve
always loved all things American: the Lone Ranger & Tonto, Rawhide, Bronco
Lane, Wagon Train, Geronimo, Mr Dillon, JFK, Hollywood, movies, Dylan, American
dollars, Elvis Presley, the stars and stripes, The Doors, all-day breakfasts
(particularly hash browns) and, of course, the American classic cars.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">All those
wonderful Cadillacs and the other classics, now they were a joy to the eye,
weren’t they? Ford Mustangs; Chevys; Chryslers; Plymouth Roadrunners; Dodge
Royal American Sedans; Lincoln Continentals; Corvette Stingrays; Pontiac
Firebirds and Buicks - all items of beauty and all individual flagships of a
never-to-be-forgotten era. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, very
sadly, the majority of American cars have now been blanded into the
one-design-suits-all models - much the same bland as we seen all over Europe.
Trucks are the exception; the American trucks are still as majestic,
eye-catching and individual as ever, while and the classic iconic yellow school
buses just keeping on rolling along the length and breadth of my favourite
country.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
recently visited America for a whistle-stop book tour, stopping off in New
York, Washington (Bethesda & Arlington), Boston, Minneapolis, Seattle,
Orange, Scottsdale, New Orleans, Houston and Austin. Yes lots of trains and
buses and planes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was out there on the
road just like Donald and Hilary, trying to win support from the American
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">It’s
definitely Trump Time in the USA at the moment.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On my
travels I discovered taxi drivers really are the font of all knowledge. One
driver told me that Bill and Hilary openly encouraged Donald to join the
competition because they felt they could easily beat him. I tried to figure out
how a taxi driver from Boston would know that Bill and Hilary Jones of Merthyr
Tydfil, and members of the Cilsanws Golf Club, were always taking advantage of
Bill’s younger cousin, Donald Jones, out on the golf course.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">New
York City born and bred, Donald Trump, billionaire, property developer, bearer
of gravity-defying hair, on the other hand, is, it would appear, to blame for
everything, everything that is, according to my taxi driver – this time the
taxi driver on the way into Seattle from the airport. So taking his lead I also
laid the blame at DT’s feet for Rory McIlroy and Man United’s current poor form
and on how few the numbers of people who turned up at my bookstore event in New
Orleans were. I can’t tell you how good it feels to have someone to blame for
whatever is upsetting you, so thank you very much Mr Trump. </span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
prospect of Trump becoming the next USA president seems to be the current
preoccupation in the whole of America. Hilary doesn’t seem to be making a
connection with the American people on the street, nor with taxi drivers for
that matter. One taxi driver confidently predicted that not only would Trump
become president but that, when he did, he would pin a sheriff’s badge on his
own shirt and ride off into the horizon to right the American wrongs. In lieu
of the real Lone Ranger, Marshall Dillion, Ty Hardin, Roddy Yates (now there
would have been a great US President) or, my own person favourite, Alf Tupper,
the Tough of The Track, maybe DT will have to do. If Donald sets off on such an
adventure I feel it would be very important that someone remind him that there
are only a limited number of silvers bullets available.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Not a
lot of people know this,” my Seattle taxi driver started off confidently,
sounding like a denim-clad Michael Caine, “but candidates who are way behind in
the primaries, just before they drop out of the running, apparently go to the
leading candidate and “invite” them to contribute to their campaign losses in
order to confirm - or maybe even “persuade” would be a better word - the candidate
behind in the polls, that they will drop out and maybe even, in some cases,
endorse the leading candidate.” He also reckoned that Cruz was too desperate to
win, to be a good president. “Can you imagine the lengths a desperate president
might go to, to win some issue while in the White House? On top of which he
turned up at one of his final rallies dressed in denim jeans!” </span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Supposedly
large numbers of government staff will resign if Trump wins the presidency and
(allegedly) an even greater number of American citizens are going to emigrate
into the open, welcoming, arms of Canada. That particular cab driver cautioned
me with, “let’s wait and see how many actually do.”</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Hilary
Clinton’s campaign reminds me a lot of the Bjorn Borg approach to his legendary
tennis matches with John McEnroe, where Bjorn would never ever “win” any of the
marathon competitions, it was more that he would just refuse to “lose” to his
superior, but temperamental, opponent. A very effective ruse in that it gained
the Swede a 50% success rate in their twenty-two meetings. But, you’d have to
say, hardly a presidential quality. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">While
on my stateside travels, I also picked up from another American taxi driver
that three USA nuclear reactors are currently leaking; that the Euro is shortly
about the crash, not due to, but certainly helped by the fact that, three
Italian banks and one Austrian bank, are about to fold. Warming to his “doom”
subject, he also predicted that the US dollar will be devalued this autumn
(a.k.a. “fall”). On the positive side, he predicted Gold and Silver and Wheat
will go through the roof and become the main commodities of trade measurement
again.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Yet another
taxi driver put forward the theory that Trump is “happening” just because ordinary
decent people have come to the conclusion that politics doesn’t work for them
anymore. He cited the fact that the leader of the Republican Party (allegedly
Trump’s party this time around) said he wasn’t ready yet to endorse Trump.
Everyone immediately realised that the subtext was, “We haven’t done a deal yet.”
Trump floored the party leaders by implying he wasn’t going to do a deal, suggesting,
at this stage at least, that the guard is changing. My taxi driver reckoned
that Trump has come this far because he is suggesting he’s going to change
everything about politics than needs changing and, maybe more importantly, he’s
not in anyone’s pocket, meaning that he won’t have any favours to return should
he get into office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The minute he starts
to do deals and/or accept endorsement is the day he will lose his support. My
cab driver predicted that people are going to show up at the polling booths who
have never bothered to vote before. More alarmingly he claimed that people are
really going to take it onto the streets if they don’t feel that their man is getting
a fair crack at it. As I was exiting the cab, pondering street riots, his
parting shot was, “if you don’t believe that Trump will get in, then please just watch the
audiences on the Jerry Springer Show, or the Maury Show, or any of the games
shows on our television. They’re the same audiences that will take Trump to 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“USA Literacy rates rise in the
bad weather.” This snippet of wisdom was from a Russian taxi driver on the Orange airport run, “Really? How so?” I
asked after I’d worked out what he was saying. “Don’t you see,” he continued
after he decoded my own strong dialect, “that in the bad weather, the homeless
pile into libraries and hide behind the great (as in physically big) tonnes so
they’re not thrown out into the cold and damp.”</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Talking
about accents that reminds me, when ordering food in American restaurants it is
important for me to remember that a) I have an Ulster accent and b) the subtle
differences between the USA and UK version of English. I have an aversion to
tomatoes and it’s so easy to get your order wrong in restaurants where they say
“to-mate-toes” where as we (I) say “to-matt-oes.” So, invariably, my order
arrives with the latter but no former, whatever it is… you know, “and hold the to-matt-oes,
please” (where they translate what they think I’m saying with my to-matt-oes.”
I’ve never been able to figure out what’s missing from my plate but as long as
it’s not hash browns that are missing I’m okay. Having said that the cafeteria
across the road from the Seattle book store does an amazing bean and ham broth.
</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My
Taxi driver in Phoenix recommended that I beware of pick-pockets in New
Orleans, my next city. The other cities to watch are: New York, Miami, parts of
San Francisco, Oakland. But it’s interesting to note that not one American city
figures in the Top Ten Cities in the world to beware of pick-pockets. While in
New Orleans I tried to figure out if my lost crowd there had anything to do
with the numerous graveyards I passed on the way in from the airport.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">When I
arrived in Austin, the taxi driver joyously advised me that just that very
morning Uber and it’s 40,000 (yes 40,000 drivers, he claimed!) had been thrown out of the city by the mayor because they would not
agree to their drivers been checked and fingerprinted or doing a test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The following day it transpired that the mayor
(unlike Trump) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> negotiating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My
personal prediction is that Donald Trump will become president, but the Trump
University case will derail his presidency shortly thereafter.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Until
the next time,</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc</span></div>
<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-18989201485299045542016-04-16T04:14:00.000-07:002016-04-16T04:14:57.481-07:00Three Gillians & a Couple of Jeans
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In one of his many classics,
Paul McCartney famously asked, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“All the
lonely people, where do they all come from?”</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Well let’s see now. DAVID
BUCHANAN is from Castlemartin in Mid-Ulster; MARY SKEFFINGTON is from Bath; JEAN
SIMPSON and JEAN KERR – yes that’s the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">two
</i>Jeans - are childhood best friends from Matlock in Derbyshire; JOHN
HARRISON is from Scotland. All are in their late teens - so late, in fact, that
they will soon leave them and (hopefully) their innocence behind.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I started work on this book a
long time ago, as was the case with the other two books in what has turned out
to be The Castlemartin Trilogy. The first two were located in Castlemartin, a
fictitious village, located about four miles away from (the very real)
Magherafelt, on the shores of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. All three books
are set in the mid-1960s. In One of Our Jeans Is Missing, however, David
Buchanan, the main character, moves from Castlemartin to London and… well
perhaps there’s a wee bit of: you can take the man out of Ulster but you can
never take Ulster out of the man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">David meets up with Mary, John,
Jean and Jean and they start to enjoy each other, and music, and each other a
bit more, and then one of them disappears. At least two of remaining quartet
start to consider what might be the perfect murder.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I had the
title from the get-go for this book. This isn’t always the case for me. Tanita
Tikaram an artist I was managing at the time visited China for a holiday. She
took her two best friends with her. Both of her friends were (in fact still
are) called Gillian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day Tanita
telephoned me from China in a panic.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“One of our
Gillians is missing,” she gushed.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I laughed.
In my defence I laughed, not so much at the fact that one of her best friends
was missing in a foreign land, but more at the way she had put it.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“No PC,”
Tanita pleaded, “she’s seriously missing!”</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When I set
the phone down and had got D.I. Christy Kennedy, Inspector Starrett and
McCusker, on the missing Gillians case, I started to think that ‘seriously
missing’ - as opposed to ‘casually missing,’ or even just, ‘missing’ - would be
a great title for a book, but for some reason or other when it came time to
write it up in my wee ideas book I only wrote, ‘One of our Gillians is missing.’</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sometime
later when I had the idea for this story of David Buchanan and his four fellow teenage
exiles in 1960s’ London, the title presented itself to me at pretty much the
same time. In fact the original working title for the book was, One of Our
Gillians is Missing. Then I started to date a lady called Gillian (yet another
one) for a while, and so in order to protect the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">three</i> Gillians I changed the title to One of Our Jeans is Missing
a.k.a. OOOJim (pronounced ‘Oh Jim!’ </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Apart from
being exiled from the home you grew up in, another of the main themes of the
story is how music, big pieces of music, become very important as soundtracks
to parts of our lives. I suppose the other important point to mention here is
that we are all equally passionate about the music we dislike as we are about
the music we love. A lot of the music references in the book – Dylan,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John Lee Hooker, The Spencer Davies Group,
Taste and Stevie Winwood – have all had major influences in my life and, along
with quite a few other artists, helped me during my move from Ulster to London
in 1967. Yes, music certainly helped me deal with the potentially debilitating
illness known as homesickness. Even today every time I listen to Neil Diamond’s
classic, I Am… I Said, I can still recall vividly the intensity of the
helplessness of the bed-sitter days. With hindsight if I had been a doctor I
would have prescribed a twice weekly listening session of I Am… I Said, one or
Mr Diamond’s most soulful statements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just to know that others <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">had</i>
suffered and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">where</i> suffering from
your ailment could be a comfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
the benefit of that same hindsight I would probably add a thrice weekly visit
from Jean Simpson into the potent healing mix. Hopefully you’ll see what I mean
should you visit the pages of One Of Our Jeans Is Missing. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">This is my
first title to be published by Fahrenheit Press.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found main man Chris McVeigh refreshingly
straightforward to deal with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His view
seemed to be that if he read the book and liked it (and assuming that I could
spell Fahrenheit) he would publish it without any publisher interference, fuss
or delay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His only other observation
was, “</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">If you want to be treated like a delicate little
snowflake we're definitely NOT the publisher for you - try </span><a href="http://www.faber.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Faber & Faber</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">, they're lovely</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was
certainly good enough for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">That's it until the next time. Next one soon.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Cheers</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">pc</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-15705990526659738002015-05-18T02:36:00.000-07:002015-05-18T02:36:59.743-07:00Big Jim, Wee Doyle and the Mysterious PE Teacher
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Teachers
and schools can and do make a difference in our lives. When I think of my time
at Magherafelt Technical College, September 1965 to June 1967, two characters -
and a certain PE teacher - stand out. I remember Big Jim and Wee Doyle two
great teachers and great mates of each other. The PE teacher we’ll get to
later. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">There
are also quite a few images from those days indelibly forged in my mind.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Scenes
like those of the gang of smokers behind the bike shed. I never smoked, still
don’t, but I used to hang out with a bunch of outlaws (we thought) who did. They
were always getting caught when I was with them but the teachers would always
say, “We know you don’t smoke Charles, so just wise up and scoot off.” as the
rest of the gang were led off for detention or lines or some similar punishment
- I don’t remember the cane being used a lot at the Tech. I’d planned that on
my last day at the Tech I was going to walk around with a cigarette in my mouth,
just to make the same teachers, including Big Jim Warwick and Wee Doyle, think
they’d been wrong about me all along. I lost my bottle though and didn’t go
through with it. Perhaps if I had I would have been a smoker today, so maybe
that’s something else I’ve got to thank the Tech for.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Beatles were making their mark worldwide by that point and their influence stretched as far as Magherafelt and even as far as The Technical College.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long hair, tight trousers and Beatle Boots (winkle-pickers)
were all the rage. Long hair wasn’t permitted at the Tech back then and a few
of the gang were forever fine-tuning ways to hide their long locks while in
school – deceptions such as brylcreaming it back into a slick DA and tucking it
into their collars and so forth. I seem to remember that approach had one
particular natty dresser looking like he had a permanent stiff neck. Come the
final bell of the day, as we were all released and rushed down to Agnews’ Café,
their locks would be allowed to flow freely again.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">It was
around my time at the Tech that I got both the writing bug and the music bug,
both of which has been with me every since. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On the
music side, one year a few of us formed a wee group together for the Christmas
concert at the Tech. The group was called Goggles Anonymous – what can I tell
you, we all wore glasses and Hedgehoppers Anonymous were enjoying their one and
only attack on the pop charts. By a process of elimination and deduction, and
as the only non-playing member, I was duly elected the Manager. At the said
concert the girls screamed loudly, as they did to the Beatles on the telly;
mind you, in our case it could have been due entirely to the pain, rather than
the pleasure, we were inflicting. For some bizarre reason, I was the one responsible
for trying to routine the group through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sloop
John B</i>. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Anyway,
after that exhilarating experience the guitarist of Goggles Anonymous, Vince
McCusker, formed another group, this time with four chaps from the Rainey. The new
group was called The Blues by Five - there were five of them and they played (their
version of) the blues - and once again I was the Manager. This time I wisely
kept away from the music. In those pre-a-phone-in-every-house days, my Blues by
Five business cards listed the number of the telephone box closest to my house
in Beechland. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
would use Chemistry periods to design and hand-colour posters for the notice
board by the front door of the original <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Technical</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>
building (where my father and my Uncle Harry had attended night classes in
their teens). These posters were to announce the Blues x 5’s up-coming gigs,
usually at the Trend Club or supporting the Breakaways Showband - the local
kings of the Fair Hill - somewhere exotic like Cookstown Town Hall. The
forward-thinking chemistry teacher used the sound-logic that if you didn’t want
to be taught, well then she quite simply didn’t want to teach you. She was fine
to leave you completely to your own devices, as long as you had the decency to
attend all the classes and keep quiet; she was an excellent teacher and I
regretted having no interest in chemistry. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I probably didn’t have any interest
in Chemistry because by that time I’d already mapped out my career:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Staying at the Tech long enough to secure
enough qualifications to be able to move to London in 1967 to train to be a
Civil Engineer; while in London simultaneously continue with my part-time
career in the music business managing, agenting and writing lyrics for
Fruupp, a Belfast group featuring my mate Vince McCusker from the Blues by Five;
in the course of my work with Fruupp I would make enough contacts to move into
the music business full time; I’d become partner with Paul Fenn in the Asgard
Agency and go on to be luckily enough to be agent for (amongst others) Van
Morrison, Tom Waits, Don Mclean, Jackson Browne, Crosby Stills & Nash, Robert Plant, The
Kinks, Rory Gallagher, Elvis Costello, Jean Michel Jarre, Marianne Faithful, The
Undertones, The Waterboys, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Sonny Terry &
Brownie McGee, Ray Davies, Lonnie Donegan, and Christy Moore; while, at the
same time, I would continue to follow my other love, writing, with my weekly column and articles for CityWeek /Thursday Magazine (Belfast) and by persevering
with it over the years until in 1995 the first of The D.I. Christy Kennedy
series was published.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">But of
course I neither knew, nor planned, any of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it was that easy and we could cherry-pick
our way through our careers and our lives, I’m sure it would be altogether a
much more boring journey. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">However
with the group of teachers I was lucky enough to come into to contact with in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Magherafelt</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Technical</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
I enjoyed a solid grounding and an education diverse enough to equip me for my
great journey. I think that’s most probably where I learned that what you aim
to avoid is just as important as what you aim for. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
vividly remember my days at the Tech being extremely happy and really enjoying
myself. I know you’re not meant to admit such things, but my school days <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">were</i> very happy days, not my happiest
days, well that would be just too sad now wouldn’t it? But happy days they were
nonetheless. You see my mum and dad always sent me out of our house well fed, in
clean clothes, washed behind the ears, with a smile on my face and a sense of
humour that served me well in all my travels. I worked after classes, on Saturdays
and during school holidays for a gentleman by the name of Dawson Bates. He had the
grocery and hardware shop in Market Square (now the home of Maurice McLean) so
I had the occasional few bob spare to buy the latest singles by the Beatles, Kinks, Them,
Dylan or Otis Redding , (six shillings and eight pence) in Toners at the
foot of Broad Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dawson Bates,
although not a teacher, taught me many an important lesson and, by his example,
showed me how absolutely important it is to be professional in all your
business dealings. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">With
the Beatles came an awareness of girls and there were quite a few to be
distracted by at the Technical College; all my gang though were madly in love
with the PE Teacher who took the girls’ classes. She had a great swagger, never
wore an ounce of make-up but always looked stunning. The only problem was that
no one knew her name, except the girls… and they weren’t telling.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Talking
of PE, sadly I was never any good at football or athletics so my chosen sport
had to be cross-country running because all you had to do was… keep on running
and that was easy for me because there were so many things going around in my
head to occupy my mind as I jogged along, including but not limited to The Spencer Davies Group.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Magherafelt
always seemed to have more schools than any of the neighbouring towns and the
number of educational establishments seemed to grow by the year. There was
definitely a pecking order. I always felt the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Technical</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>
was, status wise, mid-way between the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Intermediate</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">School</st1:placetype></st1:place>
- a wee bit further out the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Moneymore
Road</st1:address></st1:street> from the Tech - and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rainey</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">School</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
I always wondered why, due purely to geographical reasoning, they hadn’t called
the Tech the Intermediate School. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">As I
mentioned at the beginning, teacher’s can and do make a difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason I moved to the Tech was because Mr
Mowbery, one of my teachers at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Intermediate</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">School</st1:placetype></st1:place>, thought he saw
something in me and felt I should not leave school at 15 (which I nearly did).
No, he felt I should push myself and try for the Technical College and he facilitated
an entrance exam for myself and one other pupil, Derek Mc Celland. But he didn’t
stop there. Master Mowbray also thought we shouldn’t settle for the regular secretarial
course available to late students at The Tech but nudged us both towards O Levels by way of the Junior
Cert. Then the Tech welcomed us warmly, where teachers such as Big Jim and Wee
Doyle showed to us once again that teachers can and do make a difference. So to
you one and all, not to mention the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Technical</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place> itself, I offer
big, big thanks and I remain forever in your debt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And this
time I’ve read: </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">What’s
Exactly the Matter with Me? by PF Sloan & S.E. Feinberg A chilling,
disturbing and very sad read. I knew all about Eve of Destruction and The Sins
of The Family but I’d never realised he was such a prolific songwriter way
before that writing hits for The Searchers, Herman’s Hermits, Jan & Dean,
The Turtles, Johnny Rivers, The Association, The fifth Dimension and The Grass
Roots where he produced and made the records and then went out and found a band
to tour under the name. On top of that he secured the Beatles their first
record label with Vee Jay Records when EMI’s sister company Capitol Records
literally didn’t want to know. Elvis Presley taught him to play guitar. He
signed his first song-writing deal when he was 15 years old. The sad part deals
with the company he signed with and how wrong these things can sometime turn
out. The book serves as great lesson for everyone wanting to get into the music
business - just be so mega careful who you do your deals with. As with all
great music books it sets you off out to add to your CD collection. I found –
Here’s Where I Belong – the Best of the Dunhill Years 1965 – 1967. Taking into
account his thoughts in this book perhaps a somewhat ironic title but for all
of that a great selection of songs from his career. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Mrs
Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill – a great read, the inside story only told from a
totally different angle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The description
of the ordinariness of the 21<sup>st</sup> Nov 1963 is spine chilling effective</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Jonathan
Strange & Mr Norrell – I’ve been meaning to read it for years and, prompted
by the TV series, happy I did. Pack a lunch and a sleeping bag; it’s a long but
rewarding journey. I really don’t know how they’re going to fit this into 7
hours of TV.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And
that’s it until next time.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc</span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-59423257486219935182015-02-16T03:13:00.002-08:002015-02-24T01:15:46.395-08:00Mugged In Manhattan Blues<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">A few years ago,
quite a few years ago in fact, I was mugged in Times Square, in New York, one
of my favourite cities in the world.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">I mean in
hindsight I was an ideal target for the muggers. I’d been in NYC on business on
a budget air-ticket and so I would cram all my meetings into a few mid-week
days and then pretty much spend the entire Saturday in the cinema.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">So, mid-afternoon
I dandered out into Times Square’s hazy day-light, my mind clearly still in
the themes of the previous movie. I was wandering aimlessly along the street
with 20 or 30 minutes to kill before my next film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">To be honest I
hadn’t even realised that I’d walked into a makeshift tunnel, which had been
created by scaffolding spindling overhead, up the block-size building. There
were wooden planks (acting as a workmen’s walk-way) above me, while to my left
there were side barriers, solid to shoulder height (and protecting the
pedestrians from the nearby screeching and screaming traffic) and, on the right
hand side, the building itself secured the tunnel not only from the outside in
but from the inside out, that is to say successfully trapping victims in the
rat-run.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Anyway I was vaguely
aware that there were several other humans in the darkened corridor with me. I
did notice one particular lad (mid-20s, Caucasian and slim) several feet ahead
of me, because he appeared to keep looking back in my direction. I was aware of
this but certainly not preoccupied by it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Then a string of
things happened and although they all appeared to happen in slow motion I was
helpless, as in being unable to protect myself in any way whatsoever.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The guy who had
been looking back at me, let’s call him Noel (as in the first), made a speedy
dash away from me to his end of the tunnel. I later realised he did so, not to
confuse me as I originally thought, but, to secure his end of the corridor from
any pedestrians entering the tunnel from his end.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Three of his
colleagues immediately rushed at me, all mid-20s, and one of them violently
shoved me against the building side of the corridor. The same one steadied me
and jammed his arm against my throat, thereby pinning me to the building, while
his two colleagues piled in as well. One of them kept looking all around him,
his head darting this way and that just like a chicken desperately searching
for slim pickings on a stony farmyard. The other assailant quite literally
ripped my pocket from my trousers and the contents - my rather meagre stash of
dollars and cents - dribbled out into his greedy hands. The Ripper and the
Chicken then speed off towards Noel, while Mugger himself, pulled me away from
the wall and then heaved me back towards the wall with such force, perhaps some
of the force <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>even due to his frustration
at their miserable takings, that I was severely winded and I collapsed in a
heap on the sidewalk.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Next a very strange
thing happens. A man came up to me and helped me up from the ground. He said,
“I’m Clyde, you’ve just been mugged but you’re okay.” He dusted me down,
examined my torn pocket. Clyde instructed me to stay where I was and advised me
that he was going chase after the mugger to get my money back for me. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">He dashed off at
a speed of knots after Noel, Ripper, Mugger and Chicken.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">By which time
other people, a crowd even, seem to have materialised from nowhere. They gathered
around me and they too were concerned about my well-being. One of them pointed
out that the Lone Ranger, a.k.a Clyde, who had helped me up from the ground and
rushed off to rescue my dollars and cents was also, in fact, one of the gang.
He had been stopping people behind me from entering the tunnel thereby
protecting his fellow Caucasian gang members from the crowd.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Clyde apparently
was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As well as being the rear guard, his job was to
slow me down, disarm me with his friendliness, ensuring I didn’t chase off after
the gang and even if I had felt compelled to do so (but please believe me,
nothing, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but absolutely nothing, was furthest
from my mind) he’d given his mates a good head start.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">I headed back to
the hotel still very shaky on my feet, feeling very sorry for myself and
realising I was on the edge of tears. You see the thing is, you really just
don’t know how you should feel or how you are meant to react. Obviously being a
stranger in a strange land didn’t help my predicament. By the time I reached
the hotel I was still unable to shake the feeling. All the time wondering if
there had been a chance I quite possibly may not have made it through the
tunnel of terror. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Ray Davies was
mugged in New Orleans and when the mugger made off with his girl-friend’s purse,
Ray gave chase and was shot in the leg for his gallantry. Nick Lowe was mugged
in Spain once and Tanita Tikaram was mugged at the foot of the Spanish steps in
Rome. I and several record company staff and band mates were with her at the time and again the attack was carried out by a well
organised team; this time several young girls rushed her, begging and lifting
their own skirts to hide the fact that one of them was empting Tanita’s purse,
her actions camouflaged by their skirts and amplified by the shock effect of
them not wearing under-garments. Again a well organised heist, only this time
the profits were going straight to their organiser or maybe even pimp. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">They all clearly
were also traumatised by the incidents and, as I say, I was maybe trying to
hide my feelings by being preoccupied about not knowing how to feel. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">I remember I was
meant to join Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche for dinner that night and I
rang them up to tell them what had happened and that I’d like to take a rain
check on the meal, saying I didn’t feel up to it. They wouldn’t hear tell of me
cancelling and of course they were correct. A night out with good friends was
all I needed to see that absolutely everything wasn’t really bad with the
world, you know, that the company of good friends would be the perfect cure for
those Mugged in Manhattan Blues.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><strong>And this time I
read:</strong></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Mary, Mary &
JFK<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by Michael Pincot – even Camelot
needed a scribe and the fact/fiction approach is very interesting.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Good Son by
Christopher Anderson </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Another Side of
Bob Dylan by Victor Maymudes<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- or at
least taken from his tapes after he’d passed.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Sound Man by
Glynn Johns – master engineer, worked with the likes of The Beatles, The
Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Eric Clapton and the Who and he is
too much of a gentleman to tell tales out of school but yet still manages to
come up with a fascinating<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>account of
his own career.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Time of My
Life by Bill Medley – I love the books where you’re given the inside track on
how the legendary songs came to life and this one doesn’t disappoint.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Dreamweaver by
Gary Wright – I was a big fan of Spooky Tooth, so again a great trip for me.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Stiff by Mary
Roach – interesting read, you’re never know when you’re going to need some background.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Live at The
Fillmore East & West; West by John Glatt – superb account of the three years the
Fillmores were in operation and the rise and slip of Bill Graham and Janis
Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Jefferson Airplane, Allman Brothers, Santana,
grass, cocaine, heroin and (to a lesser degree) The Doors, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin,
The Who, Cream and Creedence Clearwater Revival. He really does take you back
to that time and place in painstaking, not to mention revealing, detail. The
history of Fillmore (East & West) and the above artists and drugs
connection with them have now been properly documented; look no further for a
reference book. This is truly a brilliant work, not to mention a major
achievement.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Practice To
Deceive by Ann Rule – once again it chills me to the bone to see how close some
killers come to getting away with their crimes.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Wrecking
Crew by Kent Hartman – again a first class account of the ever changing group
of the cream of LA session musicians and their work all the way from being Phil
Spector’s house band for his wall of sound, to the Beach Boys (on record) and
everywhere in between and how the records came to be. The author shares the
inside track on You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, McArthur Park and Pet Sounds.
I read it in a single spellbound session! </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Ode To Billy Joe
by Tara Murtha (Part of the 33 1/3 series of books on classic albums) So much
missing both on the artist and on the music; that would be the book I'd look forward
to. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Superman Comes
to the Supermarket by Norman Mailer – a major including, the original pro-Kennedy,
Esquire article by Norman Mailer and a collection of stunning on-the-campaign-trail
photos. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">JFK -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Smoking Gun by Colin McLaren – a true revelation. You know I felt a great weight lift from my shoulders as Mr McLaren quite logically, reasonably and without a great deal of fuss or pomp solved the mystery, which has been continuously, not to mention seriously, troubling me since 22/11/63. Approximately a couple of hundred books later on the subject, I happened upon JFK – The Smoking Gun (the clue really is in the title). I followed his research and proof in this major work and I completely agree with his solution. (For me) the greatest mystery in the world has finally been solved! But you know what the sad thing is? I woke up the following morning and the world is still the same, nothing had changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><strong>And listened to:</strong>
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Bill Handle on
Law - on KFI 640 FM) – top, top presenter… works without a safety net and is
very entertaining.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Breakfast with
the Beatles - on KLOS – a weekly (Sunday) treat.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><strong>And watched on
the small screen:</strong></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Final series of
Parenthood – classic – brilliantly resolved, but so much <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>more… at the same time it should be taken as a
family as a work in progress.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Whitney – a very
sad story, still so sad.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Newsroom –
perfect TV.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Dave Clark
Five and Beyond – <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there’s a great book
there if any investigative journalist ever get down to writing it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Bosch – 10 outta
10 and congratulations to all concerned on being able to make a brilliant
series of books into an equally brilliant TV series (not always the case). </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
<strong>
</strong><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><strong>And watched on
the large Screen:</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The American
Sniper – twice – a modern classic, whose 30,000,000 tickets at the box office
far out balances the 6000 Oscar voters.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Wild</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Miss Julie</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Penguins of
Madagascar</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Big Hero 6</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Night Stalker –
great movie loved it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Horrible Bosses
2</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Interstellar</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Theory of
Everything – excellent.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Black or White</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Birdman (twice)
worth going to see twice if only to witness Michael Keaton and Edward Norton
exciting performances. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">St Vincent –
excellent.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Fury</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Imitation
Game – excellent.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Exodus</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Whiplash -
excellent but I’m a bit disappointed that Miles Teller’s performance seems to
have been overlooked.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Inherent Vice</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Top Five</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Hobbit Five
Armies</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Night at The
Museum 3.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Gambler</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Unbroken –
unfinished; the book (and the life of Louis Zamerini) was so much more than the
torture the movie focused on.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Interview –
marketing campaign if the year.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Citizen Four</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Leviathan</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Selma</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">It Was a Really
Violent Year</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Life Itself</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Big Eyes</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Taken 3</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Blackhat</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Still Alice –
surely Ms Moore’s Oscar winning performance.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Two Days One
Night</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Boy Next
Door</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Cake</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Mortdecai</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">The Humbling</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Mommy</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><strong>And finally</strong> I
witnessed The Waterboys, in all their powerful glory performing their new, amazing,
Top 10 album, Modern Blues, at The Roundhouse London.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Until the next
time…</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Cheers pc</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"> </span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-77140007618727643712014-10-08T02:52:00.000-07:002014-10-08T05:59:05.643-07:00How McCusker found himself investigating a murder down on Leafy Cyprus Avenue<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My
first trip to Belfast would have been when I was about six years old. My dad
took me down on the bus. I’d never been in a city before and I just loved the
buzz and the unique aromas of the city. Coming from a small rural village I
couldn’t believe the actual volume of the noise around and about the streets.
In my home town, Magherafelt, if someone sneezed up the town it was news in the
following week’s edition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Mid Ulster
Mail</i>, and, most likely on the front page at that. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My
memories of that precious trip to Belfast are of streets crammed with exotic
cars; lorries packed so high you felt they might actually topple over; my first
ever sighting of a double-decker bus; the same streets absolutely bursting with
busy and hyper people mostly laughing and joking; chilled people gilding along
the footpaths and, the hustle and bustle of Woolworths, crammed so full you
could hardly move through it. The shop assistants appeared so sophisticated
with their chic make-up so expertly applied they looked just like movie stars.
But packed though Woolworths was, my dad worked his way around the super-shop
diligently buying hardware: hinges; brackets; nails; thingamabobs and
cuttermegigs, lots of cuttermegigs. Things, which on paper he’d no need for,
but then over the course of the next few years bit by bit, item by item, they’d
all get used up and used in a manner that was always vital to making pieces of
furniture and suchlike that had such a positive impact on our lives we invariably
found ourselves wondering how exactly we’d ever managed to do without them. In a
way I suppose that’s where I picked up the habit of hoarding; yes hoarding
things like: locations; words; character-sketches; accents; traits and sayings.
You just never know when they’re going to come in handy, do you? </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
memories of that day, both of my introduction to the tangible excitement of
Belfast and of being there with my father, have stuck with me so far through my
life, and very vividly at that.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
have to admit I was up in Magherafelt while the Beatles were on stage at the
Ritz Cinema on 8<sup>th</sup> November 1963. I would have been sitting down to
tea with my family when they would have appeared on BBC TV at 18.10 and UTV at
18.30. Playwright Alun Own was in Belfast observing John, Paul, George, Ringo,
Mal and Neil and the fans very closely that night for a screenplay he was working
on. We have to assume he would have been inspired with both band and fans and
worked some of the ideas from his Belfast research into scenes for the final
script of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Hard Day’s Night.</i> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Since
those early days Belfast has always been close to my heart. There has always
been something mystical about the city for me. I will admit I don’t really know
why. Possibly it might have something to do with the fact that the grand city
was home to George Best, Van Morrison and Alex Higgins, a trio of geniuses so
talented in their chosen field that - although while all three were most
certainly outstanding in their fields, sadly the fields were empty bar
themselves - the world has just never been big enough for them. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Following
my trip with my dad my next memories of Belfast are of visiting the city in my
teenage years seeking bookings for my first group, the Blues by Five. It would
have been on some of those adventures I would have been lucky enough to see and
hear Taste, The Interns, Cheese, The Gentry, Sam Mahood and The Soul Foundation
(Sam was way, way ahead of his time) and The Method, in places the likes of The
Maritime Club, Sammy Huston’s Jazz Club, Betty Staffs, and Clarks Dance Studio.
Sadly I never got to witness a live performance by Them but I did witness one
of the best gigs I’ve ever attended one Saturday afternoon when The Interns
played at Them’s old stomping ground, The Maritime Club. We - The Blues by Five
& manager - had a group trip down into Belfast on 23<sup>rd</sup> July 1967
to witness the Small Faces do an absolutely blistering set at the Floral Hall.
There were also a couple Northern Irish bands on the bill that night - I seem
to remember The Interns being one of them, but I couldn’t swear to that. The
Pink Floyd also played at the Floral Hall in April the same year but for some
reason or other we didn’t make it down to Belfast for that show, catching them
instead up at the Flamingo in Ballymena.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Later
again came The Pound, Good Vibrations, The Ulster Hall, Fruupp and EMS at
Queen’s Student’s Union. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Even
when I moved to London in 1967 I still retained my strong links and connection
with Belfast. I became the “London Correspondent” for all
pop/contemporary/progressive music for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">City
Week,</i> a Belfast newspaper, which eventually morphed into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thursday Magazine</i>. But more about that
later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">During
the Troubles, while living in London, I booked all the music acts into Queens
University (and the Irish University circuit) and it was during that period I
got to know the Queens campus area of Belfast very well working with Queen’s
ace social secretaries, Gary Mills, Tim Nicholson, Roy Dickson, Allister McDowell,
Brian Gryzmek and John McGrath while we persuaded people as diverse as Chuck
Berry, The Stranglers, The Clash, Loudon Wainwright III, Stackridge, Mike
Nesbitt, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, The Clash, Dire Straits, Eric
Clapton and Elton John to visit while boasting, truthfully, that they’d get the
best reception of their lives while on a Belfast stage. Conversely, but we
never admitted this in advance, should the said act, shall we say, not be at
the top of their game performance wise… well then, there were few other stages,
excepting Glasgow of course, where they’d wish to be caught out, as it were. In
the interest of full disclosure all the above mentioned artists enjoyed
rapturous receptions while in Belfast. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">City Week</i>/<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thursday Magazine</i> days, as I said, I covered the London music scene
with a special emphasis on the Irish/Ulster acts doing well in the UK. I went
to see Herbie Armstrong and Rod Demick (aka Demick & Armstrong - an act
from Ulster formed out of the ashes of The Wheels) performing at the Lyceum
Ballroom in the Strand in London. During the course of the evening they performed
a song called Friday’s Child which Herbie introduced as a song written by his
mate Van Morrison. In my following week’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">City
Week</i> column I mentioned the show and particularly the song Friday’s Child.
I’d never heard it before and couldn’t find a recorded version of it. I asked
“if anyone out there” knew where I could find a copy. A few days after that
week’s paper was published an envelope addressed to me was dropped off at the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">City Week</i> office in Pottingers Entry. In
the envelope was a mint copy of a single on the Major Minor label. The A side
of the 1967 single (D410) was a re-release of Gloria (the original B side of
Them’s hit, Baby Please Don’t Go) and on the B-side … yep, you guess it,
Friday’s Child. Also in the envelope was a very nice and gracious note from a
Mrs Violet Morrison, none other than the mother of Van and a fine singer
herself. The only reason I mention this here is due to the fact that when I’m
walking about the streets of Belfast the song which most frequently comes to
mind is the very same Friday’s Child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">You
don’t really get to know a city until you’ve walked it. Recently I had
reason to spend a few weeks in Belfast; I probably wore out a pair of shoes in
those couple of weeks. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Down On Cyprus
Avenue</i> the main character, McCusker, likes to walk absolutely everywhere.
Lucky for him Belfast is an extremely walkable city. He loves to ramble about
the city being seriously distracted by the incredible historical and dramatic
buildings. Buildings like the City Hall where, during my research for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Down On Cyprus Avenue,</i> I was allowed to
spend several hours investigating it from the inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I checked out the breath-taking beautiful
building I couldn’t help thinking that the City Hall was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so</i> big, one could quite possibly fit all of Magherafelt into it. Well,
at the very least, all of the Magherafelt I had left in the 1960s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">But
back to McCusker.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">McCusker
had a cameo appearance in the Christy Kennedy 2002 mystery, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’ve Heard the Banshee Sing</i> (as did Inspector Starrett.) I liked
McCusker. I liked the way his mind worked. He’s is fearless of the
investigation, he doesn’t see it as a chore. He’s not jaded and is genuinely
excited about leaving his paper-pushing days of the RUC behind him in favour of
front line investigating as an agency cop. He is driven not as much by
apprehending the guilty as by protecting the innocent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was (and is) a real pleasure to work with.
But I couldn’t see a way of making it work in Portrush as I was already
covering the rural setting with The Inspector Starrett series set in Donegal
and the Castlemartin novels set in Mid Ulster. Time passed, as it has a habit
of doing, I kept thinking about McCusker and the more I visited Belfast for
concerts and book events the more I wanted to write about the city. So then I
started to think about how it might be possible to set a McCusker mystery in
Belfast and in that thought McCusker’s back story was born. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">McCusker
was a detective inspector stationed in Portrush. He dabbled at playing golf,
more for the social opportunities than for the sport. He and his wife, Anna
Stringer (McCusker always refers to her by her maiden name) successfully
accumulated several properties which they (well Anna really) rented out. The
idea was on McCusker’s retirement they would sell their property portfolio and
retire on the proceeds. When the Patten Agreement offered a handsome payment
for those willing to take early retirement during the transition from the RUC
to the PSNI, McCusker bit their hand off. He was happy to give up what had
become more of a paper-pushing chore than the art of detecting he’d originally
joined up for. Anna Stringer perhaps fearing becoming a golf widow, (perhaps
not, we never get to hear her side of the story in the first mystery) quiet and
subtle as you like, sold off all the properties and disappeared with the
aforementioned nest egg. The Patten payment was clearly not enough to last
McCusker the remainder of his days. The only thing McCusker knows how to do,
the only thing he wants to do, is detect. The Patten Agreement forbids retired officers
from being reinstated but Grafton’s Agency (Belfast’s answer to USA’s Pinkerton
Agency) took him on as a temp-agency cop (nickname Yellow Tops after the
inferior in-house supermarket brands) and found him employment with the PSNI in
the Custom House, Belfast. The PSNI aren’t actually stationed at the Custom
House but I thought it ideal for McCusker’s team. I did get to spend a few
hours in there and it really is an amazing building with an incredible history.
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">One of
the original ideas for the McCusker Mysteries (hopefully plural) was to have
D.S. Willie John Barr (no ‘e’) as McCusker’s side-kick, as was the case in the two
McCusker short stories, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Based On A True
Story</i> (included in this year’s Mammoth Book of Best British Crime - No. 11)
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the Case of The Humming Bee</i>.
However when I came to start work on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Down
On Cyprus Avenue</i> I had to deal with the fact that McCusker would have to be
a Yellow Top and as such would have no real authority or seniority in the PSNI
structure. So I introduced D.I. Lily O’Carroll who arrived on the page fully
formed and who consequently quite literally forced her way into the
partnership. Barr is still around though in what is also becoming a very
important role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The Case of The Humming Bees</span></i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> brings us back nicely to
McCusker’s preoccupation with the beautiful and historic buildings in Belfast
in that it is entirely set in The Ulster Hall. The Ulster Hall was built in
1859 and designed by William J. Barre (with an ‘e’ this time.) The Ulster Hall
is the hallowed concert hall we all visited to be in the presence of the
greatness that was Rory Gallagher. Rory played there on numerous occasions
either with Taste or, later, with his own band. A Donegal born, Cork bred man
who also spent a lot of time soaking up the Belfast vibe and giving it all back
to the audiences in spades at a time when few artists were visiting Belfast.
The photos (but not the music) on the Live Taste album are from the Ulster
Hall. The album was in fact recorded in Montreux Casino, Switzerland on the 31<sup>st</sup>
August 1970. The album was released on Polydor on 1<sup>st</sup> January 1971
with my (short) sleeve notes. Sixty-four days later on Friday 5th March 1971
Led Zeppelin took to the stage in the Ulster Hall, Belfast and performed for
the first time in the world a new song by the name of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stairway To Heaven</i>. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #272627; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: BaskervilleBE-Regular; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">In 2014 McCusker
reckons that he and Belfast were starting over again at the same time. They both
reached a good point in their life cycle and both seemed very</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><span style="color: #272627; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: BaskervilleBE-Regular; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">happy to be doing so. McCusker for his part is
thrilled to be getting to know the city; getting to know it in this era.</span></div>
<span style="color: #272627; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: BaskervilleBE-Regular; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: #272627; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: BaskervilleBE-Regular; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I have my father, Andrew, to thank
for introducing me to Belfast. McCusker (indirectly) has Anna Stringer to
thank. Yes he still has things/issues he needs to address and resolve but he
frequently reminds himself about what he’d committed himself to when</span><span style="color: #272627; font-family: "BaskervilleBE-Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: BaskervilleBE-Regular; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="color: #272627; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: BaskervilleBE-Regular; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">he left Portrush. He’d promised
himself that he would forget the past,</span><span style="color: #272627; font-family: "BaskervilleBE-Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: BaskervilleBE-Regular; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="color: #272627; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: BaskervilleBE-Regular; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">ignore the future, and get lost in the present. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Talking
about the present I’d like to thank the Dufour fab four for producing such a
handsome volume of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Down On Cyprus Avenue</i>
and getting it out there into the world (November 2014.) I’m continuously
humbled by this entire magical process. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style;">This time I've been listening a lot to Leonard Cohen's beautiful new album, Popular Problems. To my ears a true classic and the best album of the year so far by a country mile.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Until
the next time, </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers,
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-54547974404683925252014-04-01T03:44:00.000-07:002014-04-01T03:44:37.686-07:00An Adventure of a Retreating Crown a.k.a., Hats<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> The
time I started to grow conscious of caps (or hats) would have been during my
pre-teens when my mum knit my dad and me a bobble hat each. Mine, by request,
had blue and black hoops and my dad’s had red and black and they both, obviously,
had bobbles on the crown. I had my mum remove mine. I thought my tassel was
just a bit too loud. It’s a thing I’ve always had about clothes; I just don’t
like them to be loud. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style;"> Don’t
get me wrong, I love people who can wear loud clothes and get away with it. I’m
just not one of them. I remember I’d been bought a pair of sandals and they
were so spanking new, the sole was snow white and, to me, they looked too much
like new sandals, so I had my dad put brown boot polish on the white edges to
the soles, just so they'd be ‘quieter,’ not so loud and would allow me to sink
into the background. I was about six or seven at the time and I often wonder
why I would think that way. I mean I haven’t changed a bit really. As an adult
I’ve bought clothes and left them in my wardrobe, sometimes even for a couple
of years, just so they would age and I’d feel more comfortable wearing them. I
recall going to the Royal Albert Hall in London, my favourite venue in the
world, for a concert and I remember John Peel was the compere and he had a
buckskin, fringed-jacket - as favoured by Native Americans in the movies -
draped over his arm. He just wanted to show it to us, the audience. He explained
that he hadn’t plucked up the courage to start to wear it, “just yet.” I seem
to remember that he brought the said jacket to several concerts, every time
unworn, he clearly just wanted us to see that he was still trying to pluck up
courage to wear it. So it was comforting to know I wasn't alone.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> But let's get back to the hats. The
trouble is finding a hat that suits. Elvis Costello for instance looks absolutely
fab in every style of hat. Me, well, not as much, well… not at all really. I do
however have to play to the tune of my needs, but we’ll get to that later.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> So how
do we start off on this great hat wearing adventure? Well, most likely through
being influenced by our fathers, through fashion or by necessity. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> Following my initial few months with the bobble
hat my mum knit for me, I would have gone hatless for a good few years. Then in
my early teenage years I would have sheltered under the hood of my trusted, and
treasured, duffle-coat. It wouldn’t have been as warm as a hat or a cap – it
was a bit of a wind trap really and only helped to compound the bluing of the
ears.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> My big
movement into hats and caps coincidently seemed to happen around two important
points. One, the modern day popularity, not to mention preoccupation, with
baseball caps, aka Trucker Cap, and, two, my physical need to shelter my head.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> I’d
worn baseball caps for ages but I could never find the perfect model, for me. I
mean, I would frequently see great models on TV or in the movies, but the ones
that were available to purchase would either be too flat, too tall on the
crown, a bad fit, or made from transparently synthetic material. But all the
time I was going through the search process, I was gradually finding the need
to wear some kind of covering on my head. In the winter I would need a hat,
some item to cover the head, with its ever receding hairline, to stop it from
getting cold. In the summer I’d need it to stop my crown getting burnt by the
sun. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> Then I
found a Magic Johnston baseball cap which was all but perfect. It was the
correct shape; the crown wasn’t too high; neither was it too low; the logo was
subtle; the material was good, classy looking and, it was the perfect fit. In
fact the MJ cap was so perfect, so cool, that lots of people, and I do mean
lots, started to ask me where I’d purchased it. A few were so impressed they even
went as far as seeing if they could buy mine from me. Fewer still offered me
not unsubstantial amounts of money for my prized possession, thereby, in a way,
putting a price on my head. All of which only served to defeat the object of
the exercise, which had been to try to find items of clothing which would be
comfortable, but would not draw attention. The Michael Johnston cap, as I have
already mentioned was, “all but perfect.” Its only two flaws? One: it was snow-white
and white hats do tend to… well go off-white through wear and tear and eventually
can become grubby. Two: by the time I went seeking a replacement I discovered
they’d discontinued my particular model. Maybe I’d been giving the elevated MJ
bad press, or uncool attention, by wearing non-stop, an item he’d endorsed.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> Don’t
you just hate it when that happens?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> You
know, after searching for years, you eventually find an item of clothing you
are totally comfortable with, and then, because it works for you so well, you
eventually wear it out, (not as in wearing it outside, but as in wearing it
until it literally falls to pieces around you) only to find it’s no longer an
item of clothing you can buy, even on the internet. Recently though when I find
something I like, if through wearing it I find I really, really, like it - like say for
instance, a pair of shoes, or a jacket even, you know, something I’m really
comfortable with - I’ll go back and try, if I’m not too late and they’re already sold
out, and buy an extra back-up identical item, just in case.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> During
my base-ball cap period, the two things I discovered about them were that you
(obviously) couldn’t wear them everywhere. For example, it would be a bit
unseemly to wear a baseball cap at a funeral, or to a formal black tie event, or
similar, don’t you think? They certainly weren’t appropriate, so on those occasions
you’d either have to risk getting cold by going bare-headed, or revert to a
standby black cloth cap in the style favoured by my father during my childhood
– even he set my mother’s woollen black and red hooped bobble aside following a
discreet passage of time. The other great thing about the traditional cloth cap
is that you can fold it and put it in your pocket. This would always come in
handy at the above events. I did toy for a brief time with trying to find a
suitable cloth cap, as an everyday item of clothing, even tried the one you
wear backwards with the wee kangaroo logo on it, but I never really felt either
was for me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> The
other thing I discovered about baseball caps was that, when you really got down
to it, they are a young person’s fashion accessory. Eventually I start to think
that it was beginning to look a tad unbecoming for a person of my age to be
living permanently under the peak of a baseball cap and so, reluctantly at
first, I started to look for a replacement. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> Now
with hats there really is such a multitude of choices out there: the
traditional English business man’s Bowler Hat, aka a Derby Hat; the cheeky Pork
Pie Hat; the wet-weather<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sou’westers -
talking of which I’ve just remembered a photograph of myself, all of four years
old and kitted out in my wellies, raincoat and Sou’wester, this would obviously
have predated the woollen bobble hat, my mum knit for me, but I have no
consciousness of it, only the fleeting memory of that photograph in my mother
collection; the Boater; the exotic Panama; the Beanie or the very similar you-too
Toboggan Cap; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the race track, Trilby;
the not exclusively French, Beret; the anyone for yodelling, Tyrolean Hat; the
anyone for tennis Sunvisor, aka the Eyeshade; the anyone for playing scary monsters,
Homburg Hat; the Top Hat, now mostly seen only on door men in posh hotels;
Sherlock Holmes’ favourite, the Deerstalker; the Leopardskin Pillbox Hat, which
was very visually included in a Dylan lyric, allegedly after he witnessed
Jackie Kennedy wearing said fashion accessory; the impractical Brakeman’s Cap; the
expensive Poor Boy’s Cap; the Cricket Cap, aka Schoolboy’s Cap, the same style
that one would receive as a commemorative model, should one ever be lucky enough
to play football for one’s country and be ‘capped’; the happily near extinct, Gatsby
Cap, also known as the Newsboy Cap; Tommy Cooper’s favourite, the Fez; the
conical, that’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> comical, but
conical, Nòn Lá; the brain-boiling, Cossack Hat; the dual purpose Ushanka; a Skipper’s
Cap, as popularised mid-sixties by a very young Bob Dylan and aped shortly thereafter by The Beatles' John Lennon; an Airman’s Leather Hat,
with or without goggles; a Brakeman’s Hat; a Stetson Cowboy Hat, which was also
handy for fetching water to your horse, hence the Ten Gallon Hat nickname; the
Truckers Cap, aka the aforementioned baseball hat and, last but not least, <span style="display: none; mso-hide: all;">H </span>the classy Fedora Hat.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> I’ve
always been a fan of the Fedora, the hat recently re-popularised by Leonard
Cohen. I’d never been able to work up the courage to try one though. So I
experimented a wee bit with that style for a while. Once again I went through
the process of discovering that some were too high; too low; too tight; had too
narrow a brim; had too wide a brim; too hot in the summer or even too cold in
the winter. The major problem I had with them thought was that sometimes, just
sometimes mind you, they looked fine from the front, but from the side they can
look like someone had plopped a miniature armchair upside down on your head. My
experiments led me to discover that it was better to have different models for
summer and winter. In the summer it’s best to favour the lighter “straw” and
consequently naturally aired version of Mr Cohen’s preference, while in the
winter I settled on the traditional heavier version. Again you’ll really only
get one summer out of alternating two “straw” fedoras, whereas the solid felt, winter
model - but again it’s good to alternate a couple - will last you a good few
winters if you take good care of them. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> Recently
I’ve even discovered what could very easily become my regular winter hat.
Again, like all my favourite hats, it’s one that was discovered for me by my
wife, Catherine. This particular model is made by Christys’ of London and, as
they’ve been around since 1773, I don’t think they’ll be going out of business
or discontinuing my favourite model any day soon). It’s called a Travel Trilby,
that’s a Travel Trilby, not a Travelling Wilbury. For me, it’s the perfect
shape, easy to wear, fits well, with a wee bit, just a wee bit, of a wider brim
and is a brown green in colour. It looks like it might be the model favoured by
the race track fraternity (but not quite). Another major plus from my point of
view is that it’s easily trained into my preferred, most comfortable, shape.
However even after all of that, it’s biggest ace-in-one, or USP, and it’s one
in the eye to all airport security staff who seem to take great pleasure in
giving my hats an extra punch for good measure to make sure they were low
enough to go into the X-Ray machines, is that no matter the battering delivered
to the Travel Trilby, you can very easily remould it back to your perfect shape
in seconds. Christys’ claim you can even roll it up to stuff it in your
suitcase and it will spring back into the preferred shape the second it’s been
released. I’m just three months into my relationship with my new hat and so I
don’t have the confidence or courage to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>attempt the rolling–up test with mine just yet, but through time I’m
sure…</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> I do
know it’s been a long search from the bobble-less, bobble hat my mum knit for
me (and my dad) all those years ago, but I do have a feeling that, where I rest
my (new Christy’s of London) Hat (on my head) will be its home for a long time
to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> And now the bit before I go. After finishing work on The Lonesome Heart Is Angry I've been ODing on DVDs mainly the first 4 series of Parenthood - just incredible. Also watched Michael Connelly's Bosch, with Titus Welliver perfect as Harry Bosch. The pilot was 10 outta 10 and the amazing news is it's just been commissioned for a full series! There is a justice in the world after all. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc</span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-85105230095750872452014-02-17T10:18:00.004-08:002014-02-17T10:31:23.906-08:00Oscar, you've got a lot to answer for.Why do we get so upset when the movie, actor, actress, director, screenwriter we like, don’t win?
<br />
<br /><br />
Why do we get upset when we hear that Robert Redford is quoted as saying that the reason he didn’t even get nominated for what just might be his career best performance as an actor in All Is Lost, was quite simply due to the lack of cinema screening his film?
<br />
<br /><br />
How come we get upset when Tom Hanks didn’t get nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Captain Philips because pundits speculate that the Oscar committee don’t want him to win a 3rd Oscar?
<br />
<br /><br />
How can 6000 odd people (the odd refers to the ‘6000’ and not to, ‘people.’) pick the best movie of the year when they’re clearly biased?
Is the reality that it is truly impossible to select the best movie of the year?
<br />
<br /><br />
Surely audiences, with their feet, reflect a better choice for a potential movie of the year. <br />
<br /><br />
If this is the case should the category not be changed from best picture to most popular picture of the year?
<br />
<br /><br />
Why doesn’t Stephen Fry, flawless at the Baftas, get to compere, the Oscars? <br />
<br /><br />
Why do the Sags, Golden Globes, Writers Guild and Directors Guild insist on having different lists for their award ceremonies if they are truly seeking the best performances of the year?
<br />
<br /><br />
Now that there are so many award ceremonies are we due an award ceremony to nominate and pick the best award ceremony?
<br />
Is it a coincidence that the word ceremony ends in mon(e)y?
<br />
<br /><br />
The answer to all of the above is: I don’t know. <br />
<br /><br />
We all have an opinion and it’s important to have an opinion and it might even me more important that we have different opinions. But in this case does it really matter, because it’s all part of this business we call show business. <br />
<br /><br />
It’s award season in movie capital of the USA and so all the film companies release their main contenders just prior to this time of the year intent in trying to ensure Harvey Weinstein doesn’t win a clutch of the awards this year again.
<br />
<br /><br />
I can also tell you that at the exact same time of the year the weather (not to mention the breakfasts) are much better in Santa Monica than they are in either Ramelton or Camden Town so that where Catherine and I go to soak up a bit of the lack of the cold and a lot of the celluloid entertainment. <br />
<br /><br />
For what it worth this year this (in my opinion) is the best of the batch movies and (according to my personal opinion) I’ve listed them in the order I’d like to see them for a 2nd time.
<br />
<br /><br />
Gravity
<br />
<br /><br />
Captain Philips
<br />
<br /><br />
Philomena <br />
<br /><br />
All Is Lost
<br />
<br /><br />
The Invisible Woman
<br />
<br /><br />
The Book Thief <br />
<br /><br />
Fruitvale Station
<br />
<br /><br />
August: Ostage County
<br />
<br /><br />
Nebraska
<br />
<br /><br />
The Armstrong Lie
<br />
<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Who would I like to see win the Oscars?
<br />
<br /><br />
Movie: Philomena
<br />
<br /><br />
Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)<br />
<br /><br />
Screenplay: Spike Jonze (Her)
<br />
<br /><br />
Actor: Bruce Dern
<br />
<br /><br />
Support Actor: Bradley Cooper
<br />
<br /><br />
Actress: Sandra Bullock
<br />
<br /><br />
Support Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
<br />
<br /><br />
Animated Movie: Frozen
<br />
<br /><br />
Original Score: Thomas Newman (Saving Mr Banks)
<br />
<br /><br />
This leads me to: Hints to cinema chains (including ones in the UK) on how to make more money.
<br />
<br /><br />
a) Save your budget on self-adverts. We don’t want or need to see them. They’re boring - especially if you go to the cinema a lot - totally unnecessary and a complete waste of money.
<br />
<br /><br />
b) Spend more money locally marketing your movies. It’s very important you make sure you let people know where the movie is on and the times. This really helps a lot. And do it on the street as well as on the web.
<br />
<br /><br />
c) Have smaller bags of chocolates/sweets/popcorn on sale at your concessions stand in the long run you’ll sell a lot more.
d) Always ensure you have Ben and Gerry’s Chunky Monkey on sale.
<br />
<br /><br />
e) (exclusively for the UK) drop the adverts you’ll be able to fit in more screenings and do enjoy better box office returns. <br />
<br /><br />
f) Try and pause, even just for an extra 10 seconds the credit page at the end of each trailer so we can see who’s involved.
<br />
<br /><br />
So that’s it for now. <br />
<br /><br />
Sorry for the delay between the blogs this time but I’ve been busy proof reading the new novel – THE LONESOME HEART IS ANGRY (Published May 1st) and writing the third Starrett mystery HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FIEND.
<br />
<br /><br />
More about both next time.
<br />
<br /><br />
Cheers
<br />
<br /><br />
pc
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-83724951763744784822013-05-31T03:45:00.001-07:002013-05-31T03:45:43.684-07:00Apart from sitting on the instrument how does one produce Mandolin Wind?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
January 1971 I made my way by tube, bus and shanks’ mare from the wilds of
Wimbledon in South London to Willesden in the London Borough of Brent.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
rarely ventured north of the river in those days.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">So the
reason for my pioneering adventure into the wasteland of North West London?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">To
interview a gentleman by the name of Rod Stewart for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thursday Magazine</i> a weekly Belfast music paper I was the “London
Correspondent” for in those days.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Rod
Stewart was the lead singer with the Faces (nee The Small Faces.) He and his
good mate Ronnie Wood joined their favourite band’s line up when Steve Marriot
defected to help form the supergroup, Humble Pie, with Peter Frampton, “the
face of ‘68”. The Faces recorded for Warner Bros. However Rod had also been
signed to Phonogram as a solo artist, which was quite unuusal in those days. Mind you these days it's equally unusual to even have one record deal. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Faces were certainly the most fun band on the circuit and Rod’s first solo
album - An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down - had been very well received as
was his second album, Gasoline Alley. Both were excellent albums, favourably reviewed, although
neither release troubled the charts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My
journey to Willesden was to visit Rod in Morgan Studios where he was busy
working on what would become his third solo album, Every Picture Tells a Story.
My previous two attempts to interview Rod had been rescheduled by the ever
helpful and patient Carole in the Warner Bros press office. Perhaps she felt if
she set up the interview in the studio during the recording he would have
nowhere left to hide.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Anyway
third time lucky; Rod was there, it was a late night session and everyone
seemed to be in great form, perhaps re-creating the party atmosphere Rod and
The Faces were famous for.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">This
would have been one of the first times I would have been in a recording studio.
I was totally, as in totally, blown away by the sound of music through the
amazing speakers cabinets. I remember thinking that if I (somehow) managed to
get those speakers into my bedsit I’d have absolutely no room for any other
furniture whatsoever. The magnificent speakers completely transformed the audio
experience into another dimension altogether.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
song they were working on while I was present was Maggie May and they were
overdubbing the incredible mandolin playing of Ray Jackson, a musician from
Lindisfarne. Lindisfarne were a new Tyneside band whose main songwriter Alan
Hull, was one of the best emerging UK songwriters of the early seventies.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I seem
to remember that Ray Jackson was stick thin and had a massive thatch and beard
like Roy Wood (but vividly cooper coloured) and he “nailed it” to quote someone
who’d been twiddling knobs on the colossal control desk, “and quite quickly at
that.” Then there was a little frivolity, partying if you will, in the
recording room while the engineer set up the next track they were going to work
on with Ray Jackson.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Rod
and I retired to one of the studio’s outer rooms to commence our long delayed
interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t remember much about
the interview apart from the fact that Rod was very together, preoccupied with
his hair, down to earth, earnest about his career and extremely easy to talk
to.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">By the
time we returned to the control booth again it appeared that work had ground to
a halt and an eerie silence had fallen over the proceedings. Apparently in our
absence one of the musicians, while distracted by the partying, had accidently sat
upon Ray Jackson’s mandolin and completely demolished it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Geordie was being very good about it, putting on a brave face; claiming it was
neither a great nor an expensive instrument. He had several in reserve as they
were always being broken while he was on the road with Lindisfarne. He even
went to the trouble of demonstrating <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>just
how poorly the said instruments were made by pulling the skeleton to pieces and
removing bits of yellowing foam cum sponge padding which had been stuffed into
the sound holes in order to help with the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>acoustics of the pick-up he had added. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I left
them waiting for a new mandolin to be delivered to the studio. They clearly
found one because the finished album contained Ray Jackson’s fine picking on
the classic Mandolin Wind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Anyway
that album, Every Picture Tells A Story, was released six months later in July
1971. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Maggie
May was co-written by Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton. Quittenton also played
acoustic guitar on the sessions; he was a member of the band Steamhammer. The
other musicians on the track were: Ray Jackson on Mandolin; Mickey Waller on
Drums; Pete Sears on keyboards; Sam Mitchell on slide guitar and of course Rod
Stewart on vocals.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
hindsight it’s easy to say that Maggie May was the perfect vehicle for Rod
Stewart’s unique story-telling voice. It’s very easy to say it in fact because
it’s true, but the aforementioned Maggie May had a very shaky start. It very
nearly didn’t have a start at all. The record company didn’t like the track. In
fact they soooo didn’t like it they didn’t even want it on the album. They
claimed it, “lacked a melody.” They relented only when Rod advised them he
didn’t have any other material. The record company confirmed further how little
they thought of the track when they deemed it fit to qualify only as the B side
of a single with Reason To Believe (a Tim Hardin Song) gaining the A side
honours.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">But
then a DJ in the USA flipped the single and started to play Maggie May. The
song received phenomenal reaction from the radio audience and went on to become
the A side and not only that but the number one single in both the USA and the
UK. And not only that; the single and the album hit the top spot in the charts
in the USA and UK simultaneously. An achievement usually only enjoyed by
artists such as The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Mr
Stewart was off on his mega career and few have had a better start than he did
with his back to back classic (first) three albums. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Then
this week just over 40 years later he returned to the acoustic feel of those
early albums and the No 1 spot in the UK charts with his new album Time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And
now this time we have a few Top 10s – all Beatle related.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Guess who has a new Beatle book out? Please
see front page web site) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>The
Top 10 Beatle Tracks<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">01.
Here Comes The Sun<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">02.
Something<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">03. In
My Life<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">04.
Across The Universe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">05. While
My Guitar Gently Weeps<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">06. Sgt
Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">07. I
Should Have Known Better<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">08. If
I Fell<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">09.
Hey Jude<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">10. A
Day in The Life<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>Top 10
Beatles Singles.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">01.
Something<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">02.
Help<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">03.
Hey Jude<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">04. I
Want To Hold Your Hand<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">05.
She Loves You <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">05.
Day Tripper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">07.
Please Please Me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">08. We
Can Work It Out<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">09.
Strawberry Fields Forever<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">10.
Can’t Buy Me Love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>The
Top 10 Beatles B Sides<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">01. She’s
A Woman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">02. Penny
Lane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">03. I’m
Down <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">04. This
Boy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">05. Old
Brown Shoe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">06. Come
Together<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">07.
Don’t Let Me Down<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">08.
Things We Said Today<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">09.
Rain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">10.
Revolution<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>The
Top 10 Beatles.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">01.
George Harrison<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">02.
John Lennon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">03. Ringo
Starr<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">04. Paul
McCartney<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">05.
Billy Preston <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">06. Jeff
Lyne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">07. Eric
Clapton <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">08.
Graham Nash<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">09. Brian
Wilson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">10.
George Martin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">This
time as well as working on my new book, THE LONESOME HEART IS ANGRY, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>I’ve
Seen:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I Give
It A Year<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Bullet
To The Head<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Die
Hard 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">To The
Wonder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Butterfly
Dream<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Diminished
Capacity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Extract<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Open
Road<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Robot
and Frank?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Friends
With Kids<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Side
Effects<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Good
Vibrations – Jodi Whitaker stole the honours with her great screen presence and
class performance. The other major star was of course Teenage Kicks!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Oblivion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Olympus
Has Fallen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Place Beyond The Pines<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Into
The Storm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Look of Love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Ironman
III – definitely does what it says on the poster!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Love
Is All You Need<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Star
Trek – Darkness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I’m So
Excited<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Mud -
excellent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Beware
of Mr Baker – painfully honest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Hangover
III<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>And read.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
Prince Among Stones Prince - Rubert Loewenstein<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Seven Deadly
Sins - David Walsh<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Soundtrack Of My Life - Clive Davies – a brilliant and revealing insight into
the workings of a record company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Talking
To Strangers: The Adventures of a Life- Insurance Salesman – Peter Rosengard –
some very interesting tales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>And
heard</strong> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Loudon
Wainwright III at Basingstoke Anvil and London Royal Festval Hall. Two great concerts
and he gave us an amazing taster of a work in progress theatre show he is
working on based upon some of his father’s writings for Time Life magazine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p>Eric Clapton @ The Royal Albert Hall - on something like his 180th appearance on this particular stage he's so comfortable it felt like we were all in his living room enjoying a beautiful concert. </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>And listened
to:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Someday
Never Comes by Dawes and John Fogerty from John Fogerty’s collaborations album,
Wrote a Song for Everyone. If this track is anything to go by I’d love to hear
a Dawes (my current favourite non-Asgard artist, especially live) CD produced by
Mr Fogerty. This and the next track - Who’ll Stop the Rain with John Fogerty
and Bob Seeger - are definitely guaranteed to send you back to the CCR catalogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">An Old
Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gasoline
Alley; Every Picture Tells a Story And (hardly surprisingly)Time, all by Rod
Stewart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I’m
Alive by Jackson Browne - the perfect companion for the writing room. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Until
the next time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-34989991381499879842013-02-04T04:52:00.000-08:002013-02-04T04:52:10.056-08:00Playing a Game of Snooker is a lot Like Writing (or Solving) a Murder Mystery
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">For
some time now I’ve been toying with the idea that writing a murder mystery –
such as I’m currently doing with Down On Cyprus Avenue, the first of what I
hope will be a new series set in modern day Belfast and featuring McCusker who
had a brief cameo in an early DI Christy Kennedy Mystery, called I’ve Heard The
Banshee Sing – is a lot like playing a game of snooker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Now
that thought - playing a game of snooker is a lot like writing or solving a
murder mystery - could in fact, be the entire piece, because from there we
could go off and think about it and draw our own comparisons and conclusions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">But… the
longer version…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
snooker you have two players and a referee, or a judge if you will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In the
murder investigation you also have two opponents; your detective and your prime
suspect (who hopefully will turn out to be the murderer). You also have the
judge; the law of the land. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">As much
as you may practice your potting in advance, it will never help you win a
particular game because each and every game is different. In order to have at
least a chance of winning a game of snooker you have to be able to react to the
ever-developing, ever-changing puzzle the game throws up for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You hit the first ball, you open up the game
in a unique form; your opponent takes their first shot and off you go reacting
to each other’s play and the set of individual circumstances each pot (or miss)
reveals. Once again the comparisons with writing (or solving) a murder mystery
are obvious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In a
game of snooker we have our set of balls: 15 red balls- each worth 1 point; one
yellow ball (2 points); green (3 points); brown (4 points): blue (5 points);
pink (6 points) and black (7 points).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
red balls in the snooker game are like the clues in the mystery. Just like the
red balls in snooker we will keep returning to the clues in the case until,
near the end, we will start to dismiss (or pocket) them one by one for the
final time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Then
we have the colour balls. In the snooker game and they can be considered to be
the suspects in our case. Again we will keep returning to them throughout our
game/mystery until one by one they are all dismissed (pocketed) and we have
concluded our game or resolved our case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">If we
assume that our detective is the white ball then our prime suspect must be the
black ball. Talking of which, I think it’s interesting to remember that in the
early western movies the good guys always wore the white cowboy hats while the
baddies were always, but always, decked out, head to toe, in black.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
ever important snooker cue is the detective’s logic and sharpness of mind. The
better the cue and the cueing action the better the chances are of winning the
game or solving the mystery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The cue
rest and the various sized cue extensions are like the detective’s team or
assistants if you will. I’m referring to the Detective Constables, the
Detective Sergeant, the forensic departments etc., etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
referee is, as we have inferred, comparable to the judge or the law of the
land. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
table is like the detective’s patch (and office) and it’s vitally important
that both the snooker player and the detective intimately know the ins, outs,
not to mention, imperfections of their table or patch. For instance if the
cushion at one position of the snooker table is not true then the ball will not
react the way it is expected to. Should the detective not be picking up on the
truth as he or she goes about their investigation, then, just like the stray
ball described above, our detective will be off on a wild goose chase. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
break in the snooker game is exactly like the run the detective longs for in
solving the case. Should the detective have the experience and sharp eyes for
clues and he manages to solve the case immediately then that is equivalent to
achieving the extremely difficult, and much desired, maximum break.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
snooker occurs in the game/mystery when the prime suspect (the snooker
opponent) puts the ball beyond the natural line, whereby it becomes impossible
to get a clear shot with the target ball (clue) due to the strength of a good
alibi, or, in the case of the snooker game, a first class snooker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
trick shot occurs when the detective grows a wee bit too confident and sets up
an Agatha Christie style trap for his or her prime suspect; a trap which could
potentially solve the case or go a long way to winning the game of snooker outright.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">One of
the main similarities between snooker and murder mysteries would have to be the
way in which both the game and the case develop uniquely depending entirely on
the natural progression of the game or the amassing of the clues and
questioning of suspects. So, as we’ve already mentioned, the snooker players
and the detective and prime suspect all depend on their ability to be able to
react to each other and the unfolding game/case before them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And
yes snooker players can and do practise as much as they want ahead of a case
and detectives can do their research, try for clearness and sharpness of mind and
gather their wits about them, but the bottom line is neither snooker player nor
detective can ever plan out a case or a snooker game entirely in advance,
because once the initial break takes place then both sides are acting and
reacting to their opponents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A bit
like real life; well I suppose you’d really have to say it’s a lot like real
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>This
time</strong> <strong>I’ve seen</strong>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Bruce
Springsteen & The East Street Band at the Honda Centre, Anaheim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now this man really knows how to put on an
incredible, exciting, marathon live show. It’s not vital that you see Bruce
Springsteen perform in front of an American audience but it does help to
understand the degree of his sustained success. He is so audience conscious
it’s unbelievable. He spends the entire concert eyeballing every single member
of the audience. You get the impression that he knows every member of his
audience on a first name basis. This is how it should be: first class sound and
lights with an incredible band and artist not just performing the songs but
living them as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">David
Lindley at McCabes, Santa Monica – a national treasure, the man who can get a
tune out of any stringed instrument playing in the perfect location – the world
famous guitar shop. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Jackson
Browne at Keller Auditorium, Portland with an amazing new combo singing his heart out. Perfect set-list, perfect concert. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>And
read</strong>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Michael
Connolly – The Black Box. I’m a big fan of Michael Connelly I’ve loved all 24
of his books so far and this one is easily up there with his best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">John
Grisham – The Racketeer. A great yarn and it’s going to make a great movie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Rod
Stewart – Rod. I was expecting (hoping for) a lot more background stuff from
the An Old Raincoat Will Never Let You Down days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Magnus
Flyte – City of Dark Magic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Greg
Smith – Why I Left Goldman Sachs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Sjowall
& Wahloo – Roseanna & The Man Who Went Up In Smoke. By far the best
police procedural books I have read since the Colin Dexter Morse stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Dick
Wolf – The Intercept – Clint Eastwood could turn this into a brilliant film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Stephen
Hunter - The Third Bullet – loved it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Tommy
Mottola – Hitmaker: The Man and His Music – an interesting account of what
happened at Black Rock. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>And watched:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Luck
the TV series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Firm TV series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Felicity
TV series 1, 2, 3 & 4. – absolute gems one and all <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">House
– the 8<sup>th</sup> and final TV series – please see next blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The House
of Cards (US Version) Excellent five-star production from NetFlix. I wonder will
the big American TV stations - CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, XYZ etc – rue this day as
much as the ever dwindling number of major Record Companies rued the day file
sharing was first introduced to the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Lincoln
– a master class in directing – from Stephen Spielberg - and acting - from
Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones and James Spader. Daniel Day Lewis’
performance is just an absolute joy to witness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Silver
Lining Playbook – might be my favourite movie of the year. This film is so good
I went to see it twice and enjoyed it even more the second time. There’s
genuine on-screen chemistry between the two leads.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Argo –
very enjoyable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Life
of Pi – looks amazing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">People
Like Us – I loved it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Savages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Anna
Karenina – not for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
Royal Affair – big surprise, unlike Anna K they got this one spot on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cloud
Atlas – brave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Sessions – brave and successful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Late
Quartet – a different kind of rock and roll.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Addicted
To Fame – very sad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">End of
the Watch – compulsive viewing and disturbing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Jack
Reacher – effectively does what it says on the tin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Playing
for Keeps – would have been a perfect vehicle for George Clooney in the ER days.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Hitchcock
– Anthony Hopkins just doesn’t make bad movies!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Quartet – shows, perhaps just a wee bit too effectively, where we’re all
heading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Hyde
Park and Hudson – loved it especially the performances from Bill Murray and
Laura Linney. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Flying
Lessons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Led
Zeppelin Celebration. A fine testament to the band’s legacy; amazing sound,
perfect performances from one and all and brilliantly captured on film, in
fact, if anything, better than being at the gig - the ultimate celebration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Django
Unchained – mixed reaction from my party (of 4) but I loved it and thought it
was very funny in a spaghetti Western kind of way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">West
of Memphis – documentary of the year and they weren’t scared to name the name.
I find it equally disturbing that a) these crimes are so casually committed and
b) that the real offenders always seem to get away with it at the expense of
other people’s liberty and c) that local politics get in the way of justice.
Same as it always was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Impossible
– brilliant and a true story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Hobbit – equally brilliant but (hopefully) not a true story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Guilt Trip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A Dark
Truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Last Stand - again you get what you pay for and not a vampire in sight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Fitzgerald Family Christmas – Edward Burns taps back into very rich, multi
layered stories of second generation Irish American family life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Save
The Date – another slice of American family life this time with the focus on
two sisters – a wonderful rewarding film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Price
Check.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Stand
Up Guys – well worth the ticket price if only for the Pacino, Arkin and Walken
performances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Trouble
With the Curve – there’s never ever any trouble with a Clint Eastwood movie!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Parental
Guidance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Arbitrage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Breaking
Dawn Part 2 – it would appear even vampires need a family life and long to live
happily ever after with their loved ones. It’s just that when happily ever
after means forever and a day it’s quite a difficult concept.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Promised Land – another must-see movie from Matt Damon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Gangster Squad – a great yarn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">This
is 40.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Parker.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Broken
City – worked well for me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Movie 43<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Perks of Being a Wallflower<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Paperboy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>The
Top Ten (in a particular order) Breakfasts while on the way to the movies in
Santa Monica.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Seventeenth
Street Café & Bakery<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">50s
Diner (on Lincoln)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">M
Street Market *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cora’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Shutters
On The Beach<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Geoffrey’s^<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Ye
Olde Kings Head (<span style="display: none; mso-hide: all;">ead (Th(</span>English
Pub) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Blue
Daisy Café<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Omelette Parlour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Farm Shop, 26<sup>th</sup> Street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">*Special
Mention for best Hash Browns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">^ Technically
not in Santa Monica (more Malibu) but on the circuit and well worth the trip
because of the view. Famous because certain movie stars (allegedly) used to
dine there with their mistresses while staying at the nearby hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And
finally, this blog’s official top ten: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>The
Top 10 Beatle Albums<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">01.
Abbey Road<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">02.
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">03.
Revolver<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">04.
Rubber Soul<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">05.
The Beatles (The White Album)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">06. A
Hard Day’s Night<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">07.
Magical Mystery Tour (US)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">08.
With The Beatles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">09.
Help<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">10.
Beatles For Sale (if only for Mr Moonlight)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Until
the next time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-39010326131080301152012-11-01T02:47:00.000-07:002012-11-01T02:47:20.997-07:00PC's Famous Cure for the Common Cold (and Flu)!
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Before I let you into my big secret, my really big
secret, perhaps we should first discuss the issue.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So, they can put a man on the moon; they’ve
managed to successfully transplant hearts, lungs, kidneys, eyes… well
everything really as proven with Billy Bob. On top of which they’ve even
managed to not only clone a sheep but also give her a name, Dolly, as well. You’d
have to imagine that they cloned quite a few smaller animals along the way on
their development process, would you? But humans? I wouldn’t have thought so
but on second thoughts it’s always dangerous looking too closely into the
mirror.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, as I was saying, they have achieved all of
the above and yet they still haven’t managed to discover a cure for the common
cold (or flu)!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I mean, come on… can you really believe such a
thing?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">No, of course we can’t. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Somewhere out there, there must be large warehouses
stocked to the ceilings with boxes of MFC (magic flu cures) and lots of other
great ideas/inventions and they’re all going to stay out of our reach, just so
we can all serve the name of commerce. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But let’s get back to our flu and cold cure. Just
visit any of your local chemists and check the shelves positively laden down
with their stash of their winter cold and flu remedies and you’ll realise <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exactly</i> the commerce at stake which is
ultimately depending on no successful cures being discovered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Personally whenever I visit a chemist and try to discover
the name of their best remedy I’m usually advised by a shop assistant - how on earth do they manage to avoid the flu so successfully, <em>particularly</em> after a non-stop stream of flu victims? - that the
treatments are all pretty much as good as each other. “Perhaps you should try
our own in-house brand?” seems to becoming the popular retort. I discovered 127
OTC (Over The Counter) brands of medication claiming to help tackle all our
winter ailments. I imagine when we do get down to it they’re all pretty much
created from the same basic ingredients; namely: Paracetamol, caffeine and
Phenylephrine, with the caffeine dropped from the “Night” comforters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It used to be when a new brand hit the market they
would be launched and promoted as being capable of working wonders and they’d
immediately become the brand everyone was desperate for. For some reason or
other all new bands seem to enjoy a certain degree of immediate success. I
suppose that could be due to SWT (sugared water theory) where once you feel
your ailment is being treated you automatically start to feel better. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Contact 400 for instance I could actually
feel myself feeling better as the numerous (well at least 400 we have to
assume) little particles of wonderments worked their way into my ailing system
and reciprocated their magic as delayed-action time-bombs continued to be
effective long after the time of the initial administration. That was of course
until the time arrived for the next dose. You’d have to think thought that if
any of the cures were totally 100% effective then sales would suffer. They just
needed to be effective enough to give you some respite but, at the same time, not
being so effective that you didn’t long for more comfort.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since then every autumn had given birth to the
latest in an ever growing line of miracle cures.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One alternate route to the above 127 OTCs is the evergreen
herbal choice. There are clearly a growing number of NDTYSs (no damage to your
system) remedies. Let’s see there Enchinacea (a root extract); aconite which
works on the principle that if you can drop a couple of these white micro
tablets just as the cold or flu starts to raise its ugly head in its gestation
period then the resultant increase in body temperature and energy might just
beat the little germs into submission. However this seems to me to be similar
to saying that if you have a good goal-keeper then you’ll be able to beat
Manchester United, which, as we know, just isn’t true. Then there are the
expensive Wellness tablets which are billed as: a Herbal Defense Complex. It’s
recommended that you take these particular capsules of goodness when you’re
feeling good the theory being they’ll build up your defence. Some swear by the
Wellness approach, it’s just I’m not exactly sure which swear words they use. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you’re like me you’ll start off with the herbal
route and when that doesn’t help and desperation clicks in you’ll switch to one
(if not several) of the 127 OTCs when you’re happy to pump every legal chemical
at your disposal into your system to try and rid your body of the dreaded
winter nuisance. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Some people are still actually even committed to the
power of positive thinking.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One old fashioned approach I’m aware of is a hot
whiskey mixed with sugar and several cloves. It is recommended you stir the
solution furiously and drink it at as hot a temperature as you can bear to.
Apparently this approach helps sweat the germs out of you. It has also been
discovered that a few of the above drinks will temporarily numb you from your
flu, however when you wake up you just might discover you’ve not one, but two ailments
to deal with</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">People already infected with flu do unwittingly
help spread the germs via door-handles, sinks, door-bells and knockers, shower
and bath taps, railings, bannisters and other common hand-assistants. These
germs spread a lot quicker and more effectively than we’ll realise. Just sneeze
into an open newspaper and see first-hand from the pebble-dashed pattern just
how effective their harvest of germs are; even if you have the manners to raise
your hand to your mouth the little buggers still manager to get everywhere. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So what should/can we do to avoid and heal the
feared flu and cold?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Well we should wash our hands a lot. We should be
cautious about what we touch in public places; mainly toilets, stairwells,
lifts, escalators, restaurant tables and chairs, trains and train stations,
aeroplanes and airports etc etc., Other forms of protections? I do wonder how
far away we are from wearing the face masks, currently popular about the
streets and public transportation systems in Tokyo.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Yes, yes, yes,” you groan, “but what exactly is
your cure PC?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How do you get rid of a cold so common no-one has
bothered finding a cure for?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Okay, I’ll tell you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My magic cure is <strong>TIME!</strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The best cure for the common cold and flu is TIME.
The secret to the revolutionary cure is to take the time you need; to allow
your body the time it takes to naturally fight off the flue or cold and make
your body better again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And you know what? If you don’t subject your body
to various OTCs and cures and leave it to its own devices then my theory is
your body, the wonderful creation that is the human body, will fight off all
those wee flu bugs all the more quickly. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course you can help your body during this
process by resting; eating good food; drinking a lot of water and inhaling from
a bowl steaming hot water, with a few drops of eucalyptus, while under a towel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course if none of the above works within the
statutory three days we recommend you visit your GP asap.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This time while suffering from flu and undergoing
my TIME cure... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>I read:</strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Neil Young <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel he’s saving a lot for Volume Two.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pete Townsend - Who I Am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A classic book against which all future 1960s
pop autobiographies will be judged. A major achievement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>And saw:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Manchester United at Chelsea (3 – 2) - the Red and
Yellow cards tell the story. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Imposter – a classic!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Barbara - excellent!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ruby Sparks – loved it, strongly recommended.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Skyfall – all the chasing along the roof tops
seems (to me) to be set in the same location as Taken 2.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Taken 2 – (see above) Liam outbonds Bond!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Liberal Arts - enjoyable in a good way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Good Wife 3<sup>rd</sup> Series - by far the
best series yet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Boardwalk 2nd Series – loving it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rookie Blue 2<sup>nd</sup> Series </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hatfield & McCoys (mini-series) knowing the
end didn’t ruin the journey. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Blue Blood 2<sup>nd</sup> series... it's getting better
all the time…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">… talking of which…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Top Ten Best Covers of Beatle Songs:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">01. Golden Slumbers<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jackson Browne & Jennifer Warnes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">02. Blackbird<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Crosby,
Stills & Nash<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">03. With A Little Help From My Friends <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Joe Cocker<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">04. While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Eric Clapton
(Concert for George)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">05. Ticket to Ride<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>The
Carpenters<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">06. Day Tripper<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Otis
Redding<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">07. Here Comes The Sun – Richie Havens<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">08. Eleanor Rigby<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Ray
Charles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">09. Something<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Frank
Sinatra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">10. Got To Get You Into My Life – Cliff Bennett
& The Rebel Rousers<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I really wanted to include the song <em>Isn’t it a
Pity</em>, a life affirming version by Billy Preston from the truly spiritually
uplifting Concert for George DVD but then I remembered that although it was written
by George during the Beatle years it didn’t see the (recorded) light of day
until his majestic All Things Must Pass album, but both the song and the entire
concert footage are well worth checking out. In my humble opinion it is by far
the best live concert footage DVD ever released.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So until the next time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cheers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">pc<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-57981866209217727422012-09-11T08:04:00.000-07:002012-10-22T04:00:28.373-07:00Just Like Arthur Brown Predicted...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">…or,
another way of putting it: why would you ever need to start your record
collection on three separate occasions?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">But
let’s start at the beginning…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Let’s
see now, this would have been in the scorching hot summer of 1976 where it was
so hot we were building body high pyramids from used Fanta and Coke cans in our
small office in Dryden Chambers just off Oxford Street. Dryden Chambers was a
Victorian apartment block, one unit of which then served as Asgard’s offices,
where, allegedly, some long passed member of royalty housed a mistress or two.
All by-the-by of course but at that time I was living in a two floor apartment
(flat as it was then, although it wasn’t really a ‘flat’ because it was on two
floors) in Dulwich in South London and had two members (and their girlfriends)
from Fruupp, the band I was managing at the time, crashing with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Now
as I remember it one member of the band, liked to sit in on Fruupp’s gig free
nights, sip from a can of larger, chain smoke and eat (very daintily it has to
be said) from a non-stop supply of potato crisps and whisper sweet nothings to
his girlfriend; but more about all of that later.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">On
one such night I retired to my wee room in the eaves of the roof space before
the rest of them and it was so hot I had great difficulty falling asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>39,333 sheep later I eventually dozed off
only to be woken up in the early hours by this noise on the roof above me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My
first thought was, “Wow, the hot weather has broken at last, and if the noise
on the roof is anything to go by it’s absolutely bucketing down.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
tried to get back to sleep secure in the thought that now with the weather
breaking at least it would start to get cooler and sleep would come easier and
deeper. However if anything it actually felt warmer, a lot warmer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
noise on the roof grew louder and louder to the point that I started to think
that the rafters must surely buckle under the incessant pressure. Eventually
the rain on the roof sounded so heavy and potentially dangerous that I had to
get up and take a look. I was thinking that I couldn’t remember ever hearing so
heavy a rain fall before. I opened the curtains, slid up the window and stuck
my head out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Aided
by the street lights, the first thing I noticed was that the footpath and
street were still bone dry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet I could
still hear the rain beating down incessantly on the slates just above me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
looked to my right and saw a shower of violent flames.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
thought: Shit the next door’s house is on fire, and I turned, immediately
jumped into to a pair of trousers and quickly opened my bedroom door, which led
straight into the lounge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">For
my troubles I was welcomed with a wave of livid flames which would have been a
lot more destructive to my person if I hadn’t already closed the bedroom window,
thereby avoiding a backdraft. I slammed the door shut as quickly as I could,
realising immediately, from the smell, that I had singed my eyebrows, although
for some strange reason or other my moustache remained intact. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
ran to the window, opened it wide but quickly closed it again as my survival
instincts kicked in and I sealed the bottom of my bedroom door using a towel I
dampened with a full bottle of orangeade.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
returned to the window, opened it again, stuck my head out and considered my
options.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">In
the circumstances I was surprised at how clear my mind was and as I went through
various routes of escape I could hear the ever growing feverous flames wreaking
havoc on most of my worldly processions (my vinyl collection and my book
collection) proudly and carefully stacked on shelves in the room the other side
of my bedroom door. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
reasoned, quite logically I felt, that if I jumped the three floors to the
ground I would most likely break both my legs, maybe even do myself a lot more
damage but there was at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">least</i> a
chance I would survive. Climbing, or trying to climb, up onto the eaves of the roof
above me could result in a 50/50 chance of not reaching it but by such a point
I’d already too far committed to be able to safely return to my room, On top of
which even if I did make it onto the roof so furious were the flames I’d
probably be burned alive.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
took great comfort from the fact that at no point thus far had my short life
flashed through my mind. I’d often read that’s what happens to you just before
you die but I often considered 100% proof of such a theory somewhat flawed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Help.”
I shouted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Well
when I say, ‘I shouted,’ I really mean that I said it quite feebly, I mean it
sounded very wimpish and more of a question than a request in that did I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really </i>need help?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Help!!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">This
time I didn’t shout, I screamed no doubt now spurred on by the sound of the
mass destruction taking place a few feet away in my sitting room.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Help,
somebody help me, yeah.” I screamed, realising I’d inadvertently quoted Stevie
Winwood.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Then
I thought that the word, ‘Help’ just might sound too desperate; might just
scare off potential rescuers in the quiet suburbia of Dulwich in the south-east
of London.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Hello?”
I shouted, trying a new tact. “Is anyone there? Hello?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
short time later – it could have been two seconds, could have been thirty
seconds I didn’t know really – someone ran out of a house just across the road.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
thing that amazed me about living in London in the mid-seventies was just how
much everyone kept to themselves. I’d been in that accommodation for at least a
year at that point and I hadn’t a clue who my next door neighbours were, let
alone who the people from as far away as the other side of the road were.
Whereas back in Magherafelt in Northern Ireland, where I’d spent all of my
pre-London seventeen years, everyone knew everything about everyone including,
but not limited to, their shoe size and the size of their weekly wage packet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
man on the street below me seemed more distressed than I felt I was. I suppose
it was a bit like the situation where the look of shock and horror on relatives’
faces when you come around after an accident, can be more damaging to you than
the accident itself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“What
can I do? What can I…”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Do
you have a ladder?” I shouted down through the increasing volume of the
crackling flames.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“No!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Can
you bang on a few doors to see who has?” I shouted, trying to kick start him
into action.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Right?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Oh,”
I screamed after him as an afterthought, “could you please ring my doorbell to
make sure my flatmates are awake?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Which
he did and he also banged loudly on the door, just in case the electricity was
off, I assumed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">As
I’ve already mentioned one of the weird things throughout all of this for me
was that I was still going through my logical thought process. I started to
think if the man on the ground did manage to find a ladder would it be long
enough to reach up to my window ledge. Then, if the ladder wasn’t long enough
was he going to go and knock on some more doors and find a longer one.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Someone
else ran out onto the street.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“I
rang the fire brigade,” she called up. “Don’t worry you’ll be okay?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
was talking great comfort in her words until she continued with:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Why
don’t you jump?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“No
thanks,” I replied as if she’d just invited me over for a cup of tea. “I think
I can afford to wait a wee bit longer,” I continued just in case she felt I was
being a bit ungrateful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
cavalry - with my best friend Vince McCusker playing the part of Randolph Scott
- arrived at this point.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Well
that is to say Vince’s head, with no other cavalry in sight popped out of the
bay window below me. Vince was the lead guitarist and main writer for Fruupp
the Belfast band I was managing at the time and he was living in the room below
my room.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">His
eyes displayed the panic missing from his voice, “Jeez man, don’t worry, we’ll
get you down.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“The
flames from the living room are just about to burst into my bedroom,” I shouted,
hoping I was fully betraying my state of terror. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">His
head disappeared.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Okay,
I thought, perhaps the panic was too evident in my voice and I scared him off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
heard his window slide shut but before I gave up on him I heard the bottom
section slide open. He then proceeded to climb out onto his window sill, stood
up as he supported himself with one arm in the closed section of his window
frame. (*1) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Okay
Paul,” he started, his voice now sounding very serious, “what I need you to do
is to come out of your window feet first, face to the window.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“But
I’ll never be able to climb in over the top of your window.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“No
you won’t but if you lower yourself down as far as you can, keeping grip of
your window ledge at all times, then I’ll get in a position directly below you
and I’ll tell you when to let go and then you’ll slide down over the top of the
roof of my slated bay window (*2) and as you’re sliding past my window I’ll
catch you and pull you in.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Right,
sounds like a good idea. NOT!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
strained in vain to hear the sounds of the proper cavalry, the fire brigade,
coming to my rescue but all I could hear was the fire starting to devour the
door to my bedroom. Smoke was billowing in through my scorched towel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Come
on Paul,” Vince pleaded, “we gotta do it, you’ll be okay.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"> I
consciously forced myself not to be receptive to any flashing images of my
youth. I thought of my mum and my dad though.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
went through all my alternatives: broken legs; broken neck; broken back; burned
alive; waiting for the bright red fire brigade with its huge ladders</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Then
I thought, ‘It just doesn’t matter what I want to do, I just can’t do what he’s
asking me to do.’ I felt it was just physically impossible for me to even
attempt Vince’s suggested great escape.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">As
I was thinking this I found myself, in spite of myself, putting my feet out
through the window. I then turned around so that my legs were on the outside and
my torso was on the inside stomach resting on the ledge of my window, with my
head and hands reaching for the floor of my bedroom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">At
this point the flames had very sneakily started to break into my room. A quick
flash here and a quick flash there, just like an advance party checking that
everything was set up okay for them and would be receptive to a full
break-through.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
gingerly pushed the remainder of my body out of the window gripping the window
ledge with all my might as if my life depended on it, and depend upon it my
life did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">So
far, so good, as my father has a habit of saying when asked how things were
going. Yes, so far, so good for me as well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">By
now my knees had reached and were temporarily resting in the rain guttering and
so I knew the lower part of my legs and my feet were now visible to Vince.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">At
this point, and I kid you not, I wanted Vince to be, not Randolph Scott, but
Burt Lancaster, as the trapeze catcher (for Tony Curtis) in Trapeze the movie
where Mr Lancaster apparently did all his own stunts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Okay
man, let go,” Vince pleaded.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
tried and tried and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t hear the sound of a
fire engine in the distance. I did hear some shouts of encouragement from the
gathering crowd in the street.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
twisted my head to the left and then to the right and I still couldn’t see
anyone arriving with a ladder, long or short.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
flames were now flowing freely in my room just inches above my head.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Come
on Paul,” Vince encouraged confidently.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Okay,
I’m letting go.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
thought it would take ages for me to let go of the wooden window frame, if
indeed I ever did, but I felt my fingers involuntarily releasing their vice
like grip and my body started to slide slowly over the slates until my waist
reached the rain guttering.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
came to a halt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
flames were now streaming furiously out my window above me hungry for fresh
oxygen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Push
yourself Paul,” Vince coaxed calmly, as I felt his free arm loosely around my
ankles. “Come on man, you can do it.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
palms of my hand were resting on the slate top of Vince’s bay window and with a
mind of their own they pushed but slipped back up over the slates as they tried
desperately to get a grip.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Slowly,
very slowly, my body started to move again, to slide down in the general
direction of Vince, and more worryingly, in the particular direction of the
hard pathway two and a half floors below.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
felt one of the brackets supporting the guttering cut into my chest, tearing
the skin as I slid over it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Surprisingly
it hurt not even a little. Once my head reached the guttering I clawed
furiously at it if only to save the skin on my face from also been ripped open.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Come
on Paul, I’ve got you, you’ve got to let go.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Okay!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And
I did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">For
about one and one half seconds I was in free fall and then I felt Vince’s arm
catch me under my arms and he pulled and tugged at me aggressively until we
both fell head first through his window and into his room.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
passed out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I
came to some minutes later as I was being whisked out of the burning building.
One of the neighbours from across the road kindly brought us into their house
for tea and sympathy and dressed the wound on my chest. I seem to remember they
even put us up for the rest of the night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
next day I walked around my flat seeing and smelling the exact extent of the
damage a fire and three fire brigades can do. I looked out the window and got
the shivers as I realised just how much Vince risked his own life in order to
save mine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
fire officer advised us that a cigarette had slipped down between the cushions
of a sofa in the living room and a few hours later the house was ablaze.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I’d
lost a collection of LPs (including all the Beatles’ albums purchased on
release day) and books, all of my clothes and a roof to sleep under but I
remember walking around for the next few weeks ecstatic, if still slightly in a
daze, but thankful, very thankful to the bravery of Vince McCusker, that I was
able to walk around at all, if you know what I mean.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I’ve
lost a book and LP collection twice, once in the above fire and one a few years
later when my flat was raided and absolutely everything was stolen. What really
hurts though is not the actual loss of your records but every now and again
you’ll remember a favourite album and you’ll be as keen as a junkie for a fix
of that particular music and you’ll search through your new
collection-in-the-works and you’ll discover you won’t have re-bought it yet and
that’ll make you want to listen to it all the more. Quite likely though those
are also the occasions when you’ll be forced to remember what happened to your
previous precious copies. Just last week in fact I tried unsuccessfully to put
my hands on Little Willie Ramble the classic Demick & Armstrong album. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">*1. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These actual details I didn’t discover until
sometime later but I felt it was better to include them at this point.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">*2.
Vince didn’t actually use the words, ‘top of the roof of my slated bay window’
because it was right there between us separating me from safety, but I felt it
helped the narrative here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And
now time for a new feature: A top 10 for each blog and this edition’s top 10
is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">My All Time Top Ten Irish
Groups.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">01.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">02.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taste<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">03.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Undertones<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">04.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Interns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">05.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Hothouse Flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">06.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Gentry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">07.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cheese<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">08.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grannies Intentions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">09.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Skid Row<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blues by Five<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 90pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">This time I’ve seen:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Titanic Exhibition at the Titanic Centre, Belfast. Extremely well put together,
informative, exciting, moving, powerful. It’s a major credit to the team who
created the exhibition; it’s up there with anything I have seen on my travels.
The iconic centre is most certainly a crowd pleaser and a top of the list of ‘must-visit’
on trips to Belfast. Now when’s anyone going to get around to doing the same
with the Maritime Centre the home of Them; the best ever Irish group. (see Top
10 above)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And seen and heard:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Waterboys at the Iveagh Gardens, Dublin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>An amazing concert at the perfect outdoor venue. It’s really incredible
when the audience and band join together in celebration of a body of work. The
feelgood factor during the Waterboys’ performance in the gardens was truly sky
high. The Waterboys are one of the few acts who have successfully sussed that
indoor and outdoor shows are entirely different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And listened to:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Dexy’s
– One Day I’m Going to soar. Great album, beautiful engaging string
arrangements and Kevin is not just back on form, he’s on the form of his life;
easily worthy of an Olympic Gold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Abraxas<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Santana. The best thing about McDaid’s Wine bar in Ramelton is not just
the craic provided by the legendary host and raconteur, Mr James McDaid, but also that he
has an amazing sound system and every now and then he’ll surprise you with a
classic album like this. I hadn’t heard Abraxas for ages and I couldn’t believe
how incredible it still sounds!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And read:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Live
by Night by Denis Lehanne – he’s just like a jazz musician playing pop music –
effortlessly brilliant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Vanishing Point by Val McDermid - more twists than a Curly Wurly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Stella
Days by Michael Doorley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took me ages
to track this down and I eventually found a great copy with a first edition
book but (I assume) a second edition jacket, because it’s got a movie
announcement star plonked on the front and post-release reviews on the
rear<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(all these things matter to book
collectors.) Anyway loved the book and still trying to find out where the
movie’s is playing. I’m a major fan of the work of Martin Sheen and that’s how
I first heard of the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Man Who Wrote the Teddy Bear’s Picnic by JJ Kennedy. It really should have been
named after one (anyone) of his father’s other 47 classic hits. For instance
Red Sails in the Sunset – a brilliant song and a wonderful title for such a
book. Jimmy Kennedy is still one of Ulster’s all-time great songwriters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Personally speaking I would have loved a bit
more insight into his wonderful craftsman-like approach to songwriting.
Hopefully someone will get around to such a volume one day soon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I Am The
Secret Footballer – who could it be other than Phil Neville? Of course <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there are a few little spoilers to this theory
in the book but they could be red herrings! However on the other hand I always remember
the Evening Standard had this thing where when someone really famous did
something noteworthy like bite of the head of a chicken they would run a front-page
headline: “Ozzie bites head off a chicken!” But should it have been a minor
celebrity who performed the dastardly deed then the banner would run: “Soap
Star bites the head off a chicken.” The point being that Ozzie sells papers but
the minor celebrity won’t, so if they hide the story behind “Soap Star” then
people will buy the paper to see who said ckicken biting soap star is. Unfortunately the periosn who parted with their hard earned cash will always be disappointed by
the lack of status of the revealed soap star. I wonder if someone applied this theory to this book title in that “Secret
Footballer” will generate more attention than the name of the footballer would have
done. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Lost Library by A.M. Dean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The perfect
summer read, a chunky book and great entertainment altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And watched:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Eli
Stone Series I & II - writing-wise they really hit their stride in series II <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The Good
Mother – great TV Drama.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
Good Cop – incredible promising start to a series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And was heartened by:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">the
incredible, unselfish, unrewarded work the Ramelton Tidy Town gang continue to
do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And missed: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Ben
And Jerry’s fabulous Chunk Monkey Ice Cream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Until
the next time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-21959882553331359292012-06-18T07:46:00.000-07:002012-06-18T07:46:03.336-07:00The Beatles, Elvis, Albert & Me<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Tell
me this, Paul, did you ever meet the Beatles?” is a question I’m infrequently
asked. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And,
given that I’m such a Beatle fanatic, (I once had a business card which proudly
proclaimed: Author, Agent & Beatle Fan) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i>
the fact that I work in the music business, I have to accept that it’s a fair
question and a simple one.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
answer however is not quite so simple. Here, let me explain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Sadly
(for me) I’ve never ever met the Beatles as the Beatles; even sadder to say
that I never ever saw them perform live.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I did
manage to witness all of them performing in concert as solo artists and I also
managed to meet three of them post Beatles.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Monaco
of all places was where I met Ringo Starr. I was at one of those award ceremonies
where you win an award for turning up; equally, and in other words, you don’t
get the award if you don’t show up. I was there with Tanita Tikaram, an artist
I was managing at the time, and we were hanging around at the run-thought
waiting for her turn when Mr Starr approached us, introduced himself, and said
he was going to be in big trouble with one of his daughters if he didn’t manage
to get a photograph of himself and Tanita together. He handed me his camera and
very politely asked me if I’d take the photograph. Tanita, like myself, is a
major Beatles fan and was tickled pink by the request. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">I also
met Ringo at another concert, this time at The Royal Albert Hall when he went
out of his way to re-organise the seats around him to accommodate the daughter
of a friend of mine who was wheel chair bound. He was incredibly charming,
thoughtful and discreet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Talking
about amazing drummers, Jim Keltner introduced me to George Harrison backstage
at an Elvis Costello concert at the Royal Albert Hall. At that point Jim was
recording with George during the day, and performing with Elvis, at his six
night stint at the RAH, in the evenings. You’re so in awe when you meet a
person you greatly admire, that’s it’s all over in a flash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I do remember that night very clearly
because George was extremely gracious to a few of us and Jake Riveria, Elvis’s
manager, asked him if the reason there was a verse on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Awaiting On You All </i>recording on his All Things Must Pass album
that wasn’t on the accompanying lyric sheet was because of the content, he
hadn’t been allowed to include it. The lyric in question was:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And while the Pope owns 51% of General
Motors and the stock exchange is the only thing he’s qualified to quote us.”
George’s diplomatic replied was: “I couldn’t possibly comment.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">John
Lennon I never met, but I did see him perform live at the Twickenham studios;
he was there to sing and play guitar with some of the Rolling Stones for their
famous Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus TV special. I don’t remember much of the
performances apart from the audience (including myself) being dressing in these
funny cloaks and hats.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Richard
Odgen was a publicist for Fruupp - my second management client, but first in a
professional, full-time capacity. Years later, many years later, Richard became
the manager for Paul McCartney. He rang me up saying that he was keen to put
Paul together with some great young writers and inquired who were the great new
writers around at that stage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Elvis
Costello,” I replied without a moment’s hesitation, “Paul McCartney has just
got to write with Elvis Costello. It’ll be perfect.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">It
took a few telephone conversations of persuasion but Richard took my
recommendation and we set up for Mr McCartney and Mr Costello to meet up in
1987 and the resultant co-writes were: the very Beatlish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My Brave Face</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You Want Her
Too</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don’t Be Carless Love</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That Day is Done</i>, all of which made it
onto Paul’s Flowers In The Dirt album and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veronica</i>,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pads, Paws and Claws</i> on Elvis’ Spike
album plus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So Like Candy</i> & <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Playboy to A Man</i> on Elvis’ Mighty Like A
Rose album.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A
couple of years later I received another call from Richard Odgen. This time he
was looking somewhere cool for Paul to play in London, a small club where the
former Beatle could do a secret, no pressure, fun gig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recommended The Mean Fiddler in Harlesden and
several weeks later on May 10<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> 1991 Mr McCartney gave a legendary
performance to an ecstatic audience, which included myself </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">When
it came time for the MPL Christmas lunches that year I was invited by Richard
and being the gent he is, he sat me beside Neil Aspinal who proved to be an
excellent story teller and extremely generous with his Beatle tales.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Somewhere
in the middle of all of this I got to meet my final Beatle. Again it was
backstage at the Royal Albert Hall and again at an Elvis Costello concert. Once
again Mr Richard Odgen was the link and on this occasion he introduced me to
Paul McCartney.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
former Beatle was very friendly and charming.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“And
what is it you do?” he asked.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“I’m
an agent,” I replied proudly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Now
that<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> is</i> a good thing to be,” he
replied before being distracted by Richard introducing him to someone else.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">And the
ex-Beatle wasn’t wrong, was he? I mean, just think of all the great people you get to
meet backstage at the Royal Albert Hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>Recommended
viewing:</strong> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">A Concert for George performed at The Royal Albert Hall featuring
Paul, Ringo, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Jeff Lyne, Tom Petty and a host of
stars in the best ever music DVD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>This
time I’ve read:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Murder
One by Robert Dugoni - very enjoyable and a very quick read.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Vendetta
by John Follain – compulsive reading. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Adventures
of A Waterboy by Mike Scott <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- excellent
volume, beautifully written, I really didn’t want to finish it, but I couldn’t
stop reading it. A must read for all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><strong>And
seen:</strong> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Elvis
Costello & Imposters with the Spectacular Spinning Songbook at… yes you’ve
guessed it, The Royal Albert Hall, which is where we came in so… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">…until
the next time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Cheers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">pc<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<br /></div>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-90820000909572283252012-05-18T07:02:00.000-07:002012-05-18T09:31:52.220-07:00What A Difference a Decade Makes On the 17th March 2002, following six months of very enjoyable research, I started work on THE LAST DANCE. It was originally entitled THE PLAYBOYS but, as is often the case with my books, during the writing process, THE LAST DANCE suggested itself as the title and it stuck. The main reason for the title change happened when it became clear to me that although The Playboys Showband from Castlemartin was a big part of the story it wasn’t solely a story about the showband. The story was also about the ever changing Ireland during the late 1950s and the early 1960s. And even more importantly it was about Martin McCelland, the lead singer in The Playboys, trying really hard to get it together with his best mate from childhood, the stunning Hanna Hutchinson. As well as the above we also learn about their lives and Martin’s mother Kathleen McCelland; his and Hanna’s other childhood friend, Sean MacGee; Jim Mitchell the owner of Dreamland the local ballroom on the shores of Lough Neagh, and the mystery of what had happened to The Playboys and Martin. So, all told, THE LAST DANCE as a title worked perfectly for me. The first draft took about 9 months to complete.
<br />
I was reasonably happy with it; I liked the story a lot but I wasn’t 100% convinced I’d captured it as successfully as I wanted to. I did a bit more work on it (but not really if you know what I mean) and sent it to my then current publishers. Although they specialised in crime novels, they offered to publish it. They even went as far as preparing a jacket and putting it on the schedule.
<br />
However when I received the proof copy back from them I was disappointed with the editing. Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t exactly disappointed in their work; I was more frustrated by my original work. I still loved the idea but I figured I just wasn’t telling the story properly.
<br />
By this pointed I’d completed work on my next Christy Kennedy Mystery, The Justice Factory, and so I suggested to the publishers that they slot that title into the schedule instead of THE LAST DANCE, which was returned to gathering dust on the shelf.
<br />
I thought no more about it for ages and a few books (years) later I signed a new publishing deal, this time with Brandon Books. I’d a few conversations with Brandon’s Steve MacDonogh, about my showband book. He was very keen on the idea and we agreed I’d give it to him when I’d done some more work on it. In the meantime he published two more DI Kennedy titles and encouraged me to start a new series featuring Inspector Starrett, set in Donegal, and he’d published the first two titles in that series.
<br />
Then Steve very sadly passed away in the autumn of 2010 after a very short illness.
<br />
I decided not to start another novel until the future of Brandon was resolved. I was up in Donegal for a break and I just love to have some writing work to do to start of each and every morning, so, I dusted down THE LAST DANCE and got stuck back into it as a serious project.
<br />
It was still a story I was very keen to tell having been a manager (I was 15 years old at the time) of a wee group from the South of County Derry called the Blues by Five. The Blues by Five used to play relief to the legendary Irish showbands. During the writing I realised that I might just be unique in the fact that not only was I around in the 1960s but I could remember the times vividly.
<br />
Within a few months the story that I’d wanted to tell had started to emerge and I kept on at it until I was comfortable enough with it that I was prepared to show it to someone.
<br />
I’d met Edwin Higel from New Island a few times over the years. I always got on well with him, enjoyed his company and his honest no-nonsense style and so I sent him the fully reworked and edited version of THE LAST DANCE. He enjoyed it enough to pass it on to Eoin Purcell, his new commissioning editor. Eoin also enjoyed the book and they offered to publish it. I did some more work on the manuscript with input from Eoin and the New Island’s editor, Justin Cornfield. New Island came up with the perfect jacket and here we are nearly ten years to the day after I first started work on the story and it is ready to hit the shelves and primed for those vital e-world clicks.
<b></b><br />
<br />
<b>This time I’ve seen:</b>
<br />
<br />
Elvis Costello & The Imposters with the Spectacular Spinning Wheel show @ Birmingahm Symphony Hall. Unbelievable! The spinning wheel format means that Elvis and the gang need to have 150 songs (at the very least) ready and available to play at the spin of the wheel. But the really big thing is they just don’t wing their way through the tunes selected by members of the audience, they’re as tight and soulful on every single tune as you’d ever wish them to be.
<b></b><br />
<br />
<b>And read:</b>
<br />
<br />
Here Comes Everybody by James Fernley – well written insider account of the turmoil that lead to the classic Fairy Tale of New York.
<br />
Backstage Past by Barry Fey - warts (big warts) and all story of the early days of the concert promoters scene in USA. Mr Fey, concert promoter for The Who, Springsteen, The Rolling Stones and U2, is not scared of calling it as he sees it and spilling the beans. I imagine there will be a pile of very expensive lawyers sifting through these pages as thoroughly as a colour blind prospector.
Conflict of Interest by Adam Mitzner –a great read.
<br />
Calico Joe by John Grisham – intriguing story and possibly a great future movie.
<br />
A Natural Woman by Carole King - beautifully written, honest and enlightening biography.
The Jury Master by Robert Dugoni – another story, which in the right hands will be a brilliant movie.
<b></b><br />
<br />
<b>And heard:</b>
<br />
<br />
...that Mark Zuckerberg is now supposedly one of the richest men in the world. I suppose it all depends on your yardstick. In my book the richest man or woman in the world is someone who could write God Only Knows; If I Fell; Love Minus Zero/No Limits; Goin’ Back or Astral Weeks.
<br />
<br />
Until the next time...
<br />
<br />
Cheers
<br />
<br />
pcPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-92102843576229403532012-04-18T06:50:00.000-07:002012-04-18T06:50:35.498-07:00Take a Van in a BandVan Morrison returned to the joyous showband sound for <b>His Band & The Street Choir</b> album (1971). As a teenager he’d played saxophone with the Monachs Showband before going on to form THEM – Belfast’s best ever group.<br />
Van’s change in direction might have had something to do with the fact that following the intensity of the sound scape of his ground breaking and critically acclaimed album <b>Astral Weeks</b> (1968) and the jazzy overtones of his third album <b>Moondance</b> (1970), it was time for something lighter, maybe even entertaining. It’s also worth remembering at this stage in his career he was, so to speak, still on the bread line, and trying to support his young family. Perhaps, as I say, he also felt it was time to have some fun because by the time he recorded his fourth solo album, <b>His Band & The Street Choir</b>, he had totally immersed himself in the rich, joyful, playful, infectious and (sometime just downright) funny sound of the Irish Showbands.<br />
The change certainly worked big time because, led by the infectious US top 10 hit single, <i>Domino</i>, the album not only received glowing reviews but it was a major commercial success<br />
Several of the tracks from <b>His Band & The Street Choir</b> – namely <i>Domino; Blue Money; Virgo Clowns; Sweet Jannie</i> and <i>Call Me Up In Dreamland </i>would all have been floor-fillers in the legendary Irish Ballrooms. In my new novel – THE LAST DANCE – I named one of the pivotal venues, the Dreamland Ballroom, located on the shore of Lough Neagh, in homage to <i>Call Me Up In Dreamland</i>. In <i>Cleaning Windows</i> from his <b>Beautiful Vision</b> (1982) album Van sings about, “blowing saxophone at the weekend” perhaps referencing his days in the aforementioned Monachs Showband. <i>Mechanical Bliss</i>, which only appears as the B-side of Van’s single <i>Joyous Sound</i> (1977), would have been an absolute perfect song to show off the zany qualities of The Dixies’ comedic and hyper Joe McCarthy. <br />
The first time I ever saw Van perform life was at the Rainbow Theatre, London on Monday 23rd July and Tuesday 24th July 1973). I can remember thinking, “Feck, if he only hasn’t gone and formed his own bleedin’ showband.” Van was accompanied on stage for those two inspired, and yes, even transcendental, career-making performances by eleven musicians. He’d augmented the traditional showband line-up of: vocals; guitar; bass; drums; organ and brass section with a five piece string section. Recordings from these two concerts were (in part) used for Van’s live album, <b>It’s Too Late To Stop Now</b> (1974). Throughout the album we can hear Van using the showband lead-singer cliché (in a good way) of talking to, and encouraging, his fellow musicians during the song In my humble opinion <b>It’s Too Late to Stop Now</b> is still one of the best live albums ever released. Sadly the album seemed to signal that Mr Morrison, in his incessant need to push himself musically, had, for the time being at least, drawn a line under allowing his showband influences to shine through.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Van Morrison’s Top 10 Showband Influenced Songs.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
1. Domino - His Band & The Street Choir<br />
2. Jackie Wilson Said - St Dominic’s Preview<br />
3. Call Me Up In Dreamland - His Band & The Street Choir<br />
4. Red Wood Tree - St Dominic’s Preview<br />
5. Cleaning Windows - Beautiful Vision<br />
6. Wild Night - Tupelo Honey<br />
7. Bright Side of The Road - Into The Music<br />
8. These Dreams of You - Moondance<br />
9. Full Force Gale - Into The Music<br />
10. I Will Be There - St Dominic’s Preview.<br />
<br />
Then of course he also wrote the song, which if he’d penned half a century earlier would most definitely have been on every showband’s set list as the last dance. I’m talking about <i>Have I Told You Lately That I Love You</i> from Van’s <b>Avalon Sunset</b> CD (2007). Talking of last dances, did I tell you lately that my new novel is called THE LAST DANCE and is set in Ireland in the late 1950s and early 1960s against a backdrop of the world of Irish showbands and in particular The Playboys Showband from Castlemartin? <br />
<br />
This time <br />
<br />
<b>I’ve seen</b>:<br />
Detroit 187 – another excellent series which, for some reason or other, didn’t make the second round.<br />
<br />
<b>And heard</b>:<br />
The Waterboys at the Sage Gateshead – a force of power and beauty and soul. <br />
Henry McCullough & Band at the Bridge Bar in Ramelton and man is he in fine fettle.<br />
The Commitments at the 02 London – a soul revue, on St Patrick’s Night that worked big time. <br />
Alan Bennett at Cecil Sharp House - the national treasure generously shares his treasures.<br />
<br />
<b>And read</b>:<br />
The Big Miss by Hank Haney – an insightful and rewarding read.<br />
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - a book which proves that a lot of the times the journey is more rewarding than the destination.<br />
<br />
Until the next time…<br />
<br />
Cheers<br />
<br />
pcPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9034768219926358503.post-66691898237261358992012-03-16T06:24:00.000-07:002012-03-16T06:24:45.585-07:00Take A Man in a VanTake a man in a van. (Please note a late 1950s Commer seems to work best). Add 7 to 8 musicians; various musical instruments - selected carefully to suit personal taste; an assortment of equipment, and (here comes the important bit) a Binson Echo Unit, which is the key ingredient in the mix. Instruments and equipment all need to be packed carefully and tightly in the rear of the vehicle. Next add some cushions, a few makeshift seats and a keen sense of humour (both good and bad are recommended). Pepper the above mixture with benlang and flavour with several bottles of lemonade, Jacobs’ biscuits, Tayto Crisps and chocolate bars. Leave to stew for 4 hours (or 120 miles whichever is the quicker) and you’ll have yourself a prize winning Irish Showband. Before you deliver you should garnish with a neon light proudly spelling out the band’s name atop the van. The above mix serves 2000 people four or possibly even five nights a week.<br />
<br />
The Irish Showbands - with their high musicianmanship and ability to perform note-perfect the current hits from England and America - were a genuine phenomenon. They were so named in the late 1950s when the Clipper Carlton became the first band of travelling musicians to dump their seats and their music stands and start to move around the stage putting on a show. At one point in the early 1960’s at the peak of the showband phenomenon, there were as many as 760 such bands criss-crossing the length and breadth of the land, putting on shows for the new generation. <br />
<br />
The perfect timing of this phenomenally successful trend could have had something to do with the fact that it was started by the first post-Second World War generation – encouraged perhaps by the new infectious sounds they were hearing on the wireless. Equally, the dancing craze might have lifted off because the teenagers who came of age after WW2 sensed that The Troubles were just around the corner. Anyway it didn’t really matter what the reason was; no, not even in the slightest. This particular generation just wanted to get out of their houses, let their hair down and dance. They worked hard, were paid little and so they needed to enjoy themselves. And enjoy themselves they did!<br />
<br />
<b>The All Time Top 10 Irish Showbands.</b><br />
<br />
1. The Freshmen<br />
2. The Dixies<br />
3. The Clipper Carlton<br />
4. The Drifters<br />
5. The Royal<br />
6. The Sounds<br />
7. The Miami<br />
8. The Capitol<br />
9. The Breakaways<br />
10. The Mighty Avons<br />
<br />
<b>The All Time Top 10 Irish Showband Singles.</b><br />
<br />
1. The Hucklebuck - Brendan Boyer & The Royal<br />
2. And God Created Woman - The Freshmen<br />
3. Together Again - Brendan O’Brien & The Dixies<br />
4. Walking The Streets in The Rain - Butch Moore & The Capitol<br />
5. Pretty Brown Eyes - Joe Dolan & The Drifters<br />
6. It Doesn’t Matter Anymore - Brendan O’Brien & The Dixies<br />
7. Every Step Of The Way - Dickie Rock & The Miami<br />
8. The Haunted House - The Wittnessess<br />
9. Tribute to Jim Reeves - Larry Cunningham & The Mighty Avons<br />
10. Buck’s Polka - Clem Quinn & The Miami<br />
<br />
<b>The All Time Top 10 Irish Showband Guitarists</b><br />
<br />
1. Rory Gallagher (Fontana)<br />
2. Henry McCullough (Walter Lewis)<br />
3. Tiger Taylor (Billy Brown)<br />
4. Clem Quinn (Miami)<br />
5. Jim Conlon (Royal)<br />
6. Barney Skillen (Clippers)<br />
7. Victor McCullough (Walter Lewis)<br />
8. Steve Lynch (Dixies)<br />
9. Brendan Quinn (Breakaways) <br />
10 Arty McGlynn (Plattermen)<br />
<br />
<b>The All Time Top 10 Irish Showband Singers.</b><br />
<br />
1. Billy Brown<br />
2. Brendan O’Brien<br />
3. Brendan Boyer<br />
4. Joe Dolan <br />
5. Brendan Quinn<br />
6. Derrick Mehaffey<br />
7. Cahir O’Doherty<br />
8. Dickie Rock<br />
9. Martin Dean<br />
10. Red Hurley<br />
<br />
I hear you ask who is this guy Martin Dean in the All Time Top 10 Irish Showband singers’ list at number nine? <br />
<br />
Funny you should ask that.<br />
<br />
He was the lead singer with the <b>Playboys Showband</b> from Castlemartin. The Playboys sadly didn’t quite make the All-Time Top 10 Showbands’ list - they were number 11 in fact. The very same Martin Dean (we’re discussing both his professional and romantic life here) and his band the Playboys Showband from Castlemartin and the story about why history hasn’t been particularly kind to them is the subject of my new novel, which is called THE LAST DANCE and is published by New Island in May.<br />
<br />
Oh, and by the way, did I mention that it’s a work of total fiction? <br />
<br />
All the best until the next time,<br />
<br />
Cheers<br />
<br />
pcPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10832741881897655515noreply@blogger.com3