Introducing Selena - from christmas of the past

After last weeks excursion into the early nineteen-seventies,  we are going forward into the past here by looking at something I had for Christmas but in nineteen seventy-nine instead which as anyone who lived through that time knows also was turbulent politically.

The cold war was very much still on but for all of that trade with what was the U.S.S.R was fairly common place and ownership of soviet era cars, cameras and electrical goods was popular partially down to price compared with West European and Japanese models but also because being in production for longer they did appeal to traditionalists.
The Vega Selena B212 was unlike anything made by Panasonic, Grundig or Sony in a number of ways such as it featured a wooden cabinet which was unheard off aiding the sound.
You just didn't get that then anywhere else.
An unusually feature was the use of a mechanical rotating Turret that had been a common fixture of televisions featuring VHF reception to change the wavebands which again was unusual for a domestic rather than one designed for radio operators in that it had five short wave bands that typically were used for international broadcasting as  the signals could travel thousands of miles.

The one criticism that could be made was the tuning scale was only marked in a fairly rudimentary way but in terms of sensitivity it was surprisingly good and it did feature a signal strength indicator that could be illuminated.
Frequencies are marked in metres except for FM where they use megahertz
The waveband in use was indicated directly through a cut out on the tuning scale.
That was major appeal to me as listening to short wave transmissions is something I did from an early age so to have it on fairly portable radio - weighing four kilos it is fairly portable and not as light as most of competition was an advantage.

This is the 'gubbins' of it - the main assembly where on the bottom right you can see the turret with its coil packs,on the top  the old school but still good silver hatted transistors because no integrated circuits were used, plus on the far left mains cord connector, D.I.N. connector for monaural record and replay from tape recorders and a earphone socket.
 As well on the turret is the AM antenna and ground connectors although for AM there is a ferrite rod and for FM and shortwave a telescopic antenna built in on the top of the case.
It was relatively inexpensive too so to have something that performed well, looked like a piece of furniture and portable was great.
It was the radio I listened to the Abba concert from Wembley on that Christmas and one reason why I fondly remember having it.

Chase

While there much political discourse going on with no signs of being that clear just how things will pan it, it reminds me so much of the early 1970's where it seems the UK was ungovernable.

This takes me round to on the last of the Vocalion Dutton releases of October that feature the work of Chase, a Jazz-Rock group formed by Bill Chase who went on the release three albums. Jim Peterik who was with Survivor for a period performs on this album.
This two on one super audio cd  contained the last album Pure Music and the first, Chase, whose style is more reminiscent of Terry Kath era Chicago than anything else I can think of with original compositions such as Open Up Wide and Close Up Tight and covers such as the Mike d'Abo song Handbags and Gladbags.
As with the whole series on a regular cd layer and the super audio layer you get the stereo mix and on the super audio cd layer for player that can read it, the original Quadraphonic mixes issued on SQ Quad lp and Q8 Quad 8 track "surround sound" mixes are present and have not been available for a exceedingly long time.
I managed oddly enough to get this for £9.99 including mailing which was a absolute steal.

More B word blues

It's so up in the air if I were to type my best guess on outcomes, it most probably change before or just after being published.

 If Brexit was that ball, the bowling pins represent politics  presently here as it plows into them with no clear indication of which will be knocked over in what in some respects seems at times to had been a two year game of ten pin bowling  playing out.
Form what I have read of the draft leaving agreement  there are bit that are a bit better than I had expected such as it's not just the UK and the EU having teams to look at progress in dealing the notorious complications of the R.O.I/EU border and that of Northern Ireland but there is some mention of an independent team  to adjudicate where there may be disagreements on what constitutes progress.
That element of independent arbitration had been something of concern all along in this process as effectively the EU looked as judge and jury and with the parallel of this being a divorce, such an arrangement would of been in it.
That's something I give a cautious welcome to although its composition needs more work on and I can't see how you can square full sovereignty as trading nation and there being in effect no border with the EU as guaranteeing it means acceptance of the EU's  terms and as they politically can't be imposed on just Northern Ireland, one's bound to say what have we gained by accepting something that still constrains our relations with countries outside of it.
To make a brexit work you need to be able to set up new trading arrangements to come into effect immediately after leaving which implies you need to negotiate them while in the  so-called transition period where if I understand this right until we leave that transition period we are barred from doing under this agreement.
That's my second concern in all this-it seems perverse to say you have to leave before you can set up new arrangements outside the EU  in the way in which we had to say we are leaving to talk about how we might leave.
It's better to explore how first, decide then if you wish to leave and then set up the deals needed ready for the point you have left. European political logic escapes me I'm afraid.
All of this depends on a number of variables such as what happens if the Conservative Party decides to bring a no confidence measure in on Prime Minister May - could she survive one? All ready a number of ministers have resigned and the preferred replaced for the Brexit Minister is refusing to take it.
As of when this was typed the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland regards the agreement as a breach of trust between the Prime Minister and them to whom she relies on for support given the lack of a real majority in the House of Commons.
It is quite possible apart from not voting for the Budget, they vote against this agreement too which would making passing it extremely difficult given the opposition parties have made plain their own disagreements with it.
So we may have a situation where this isn't approved in the House of Commons, the government may be pushed into a General Election AND with a new leader which may not resolve how the nation dividing issue of Brexit can be resolved.
In the mean time the clock is ticking and and the EU is waiting...

Oh brother... 

A Hundred Years On

Today as we approach Armistice Day my thoughts are with the war dead on this the centenary of the ending of World War 1 .
Below is the Field of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum here in Staffordshire taken a few days ago in a scene that will be marked on Sunday across our country as we pay our respects to all who died for our freedoms.

 Picture Credits.Staffs Live.

In Flanders Field by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

Masks

"Although I laugh and I act like a clown,
Beneath this mask I am wearing a frown".

J.Lennon&J.P McCartney MacLen Music.


Although most peoples response to this lyric is to examine it's meaning in the context of what we know of John Lennon's complex and turbulent life at wasn't my primary motivation in quoting it here.

I feel this is a universal truth in it - one that bypasses John's life and times - and it is about the way all of us present to the World which touches on more than just say fashion.

How many of us do not truthfully answer the question "How are you today", kidding people that our world is aright when it may not or at the very least from our perspective it doesn't feel that way?

And yet we express surprise even a risible sense of anger even when we found out they didn't actually know believing they didn't really care.

Why do we do this? For some there still is this shame in admitting weakness and that whole area of not being in control of ones thoughts and emotions.

For some it can be the literal sense not being able to show who they are really are become little more than in reality the puppets of their nearest and dearest because these people will not accept them as they are albeit teen Goth offspring from conservative parents or those who are facing being cut off from their families for good because of their sexuality or gender identity issues.

Unless you're in this group you may not fully appreciate the 'frown' or deep inner loathing those people may feel toward their life's and those responsible for their predicament.

Sometimes we have to honest and tell people how we really are feeling and equally some from more fortunate backgrounds need to take a step back before trotting out glib "Do this, problem solved" statements.