It's all about the hair although fashion appears to get a look in with plenty of summery dresses that might be best bet right now.
Hair is in the news. No, I haven't been arrested for the state of my hair which has seen much better days like a good number of us following this lockdown stuff kicked off in mid March growing out all over place and making hair hats difficult.
It's like when can return to a cut and a styling while at same time having time served assistance dole out advice in a all girl therapy setting?
H M Government is saying sometime after July 4th those sectors where people work very close to customers for longish periods - say fifteen or more minutes - they can reopen so long as they show how they are going to keep us all two metres apart, avoid cross infection and not have too many people hanging about.
This said one group who represents barbers and hairdressers reckons they can be ready following the government guidelines for after June 15 IF they let them as they're ready to go already.
Seeing there will be a pent up demand for trims, restyling and colouring from many of us to me it appear to make sense if they can open that early to let them as it may well take two or three weeks to work through all of that.
Meanwhile I'll polish my handbag to use to get my place to the front of the line on the day as I've had enough of my hair.
I'll bet ya this thing was invented by a man!
Well the last time we looked at this series was in November when we remarked about how long it had been for the original NOW albums to be freshly minted as cds for modern generations and a few issues with them.
Now 5 came out in August 1985 a good while after Now 4 which I remember well buying the lp on the day but was delayed until May 8th this year on cd thanks to that goddam Covid-19 virus slowing everything up.
One thing to do is compare and contrast with the original cover.
The first thing you'll note is that top cover tag line "Thirty Top Ten Hits - Double Album" isn't there but was on three of the four previous cd issues in this series.
The one that wasn't of course was NOW 3 as that one had two tracks removed as you might recall
Curious cos I'm a Neko of course I looked at the tracklisting per cd and notice there are only 14 tracks on the first cd which you'd know can only indicate one thing as 14+15 can only result in 29 when I was last in school.
Anyway look just to the right of the Number Five above Marillion for a clue.
Sure enough even in this scan you can see how the first disc had 15 tracks and the on that is missing happens to be This Is Not America by David Bowie with the Pat Metheny Group not his biggest hit but a notable one sandwiched between Slave To Love and Don't You (Forget about me).
Why it isn't there I have no idea as I know as a Bowie fan it made his 2007 Best of 1980-1987 cd compilation cos I bought it and that's like thirteen years ago.
Perhaps the co artists have a do not use on various artist albums clause in a contract???
So first off we have an issue from the start and they don't even address it by saying "We regret being unable to bring you This Is Not America by David Bowie with the Pat Metheny Group featured on the original lp/mc because ..." leaving people under the impression this is how the album was which is misleading.
As a Now album this was less hit laden than the previous four for two reasons, the first being two other groups of record company's had issued similar hits compilations only months before such as the CBS/BMG records Hits 2 that had hits by Paul Young, Foreigner and ZZ Top and their own excursion into compilations of hit 12" dance mixes.
Five 12" Singles per side of two lps. Wow!
That said while it's low in chart toppers what does contain are key tracks such as Don't You from the Breakfast Club film soundtrack, A View To a Kill from that years Bond movie, Walls Come Tumbling Down, the last biggie of the Paul Weller vehicle The Style Council , Walking On Sunshine plus some fine soul and dance tracks like Feel So Real by Steve Arrington and the unforgettable Magic Touch by Loose Ends.
It was a teen essential purchase in that year but as I said the tracks that would of made an excellent volume or two were being spread too thin to give the kind of overview we'd of loved but the MCA/Chrysalis Out Now series soon folded strengthening subsequent Now albums and the Hits series.
When it comes to versions as I expected a number of the original edited or remixed ones appear to be lost and have been replaced.
For instance tracks
by Scritti Politti, Stephen ‘Tin Tin’ Duffy, Paul Young, Marillion,
Bryan Ferry, Sister Sledge, Simply Red all appear on the CD in longer
‘album’ versions and not the 7” mixes included on the original.
By way of contrast ‘Cherish’ by Kool & The Gang is featured on the CD in a shorter version than the original release.To conclude I would say it is flawed cd version of a desirable Now album, enjoyable for the tracks selected even if the version differences may irritate those of us who know our records inside out but the bigger loss is This Is Not America which is a great reflective Bowie performance.
*Photo credits: Shropshire Star.
The week ends up on a different feel than when it started not least because in England and Wales people can go to garden centres to buy plants, seed, tools and the like for planting it home.
Planting things especially out of doors is acknowledged as something that helps people who are prone to depression as they can care for and grow things of utility such as vegetables or of beauty such as plants and flowers deriving much satisfaction from it.
Admiring some big gardens with lots of things growing has helped me stay more cheerful through this Covid-19 nightmare and now people can do more of that.
It also underpins people near me, like the local Nursery who had been struggling growing lots of things that no one could buy and inexplicably you could buy plants and flowers from supermarkets but not a garden centre which typically are less busy.
Some measures have had to be put in such as sanitizer for applying to hands and trollies, one way shopping systems to minimize people getting closer than the Social Distancing requirements and contactless card only payments coupled with online order for bigger orders that can be collected.
Judging by the overwhelming public reaction, this appears to be something that people feel matters.
Image: itv.plc
Today is May 8th, a most important date in Twentieth century history for that was was when after the signing of the Act of Unilateral Surrender, the Second World War that had started in Europe in September 1939, had come to an end.
Much business remained to be concluded such as continued fighting in the Far East until Japan surrendered in August of that year, the actual liberation of chunks of Europe with the people movements across the continent all that involved and the whole nature of the Post War settlement.
And in throws of all of this, caring for those found barely alive in the Extermination and Concentration camps operated by the Nazis and gathering intelligence to hold those responsible for sickening barbarism and inhumanity to account. If you didn't know those there, then frankly you don't know the half of it.
Today as in 1945 from those I know who were there for all of that, then end of war in Europe was to celebrated with relief but trepidation for the shape of things to come but unlike in 1945 they didn't have Coronavirus to contend with so our street parties planned for and parades are cancelled this year which is a huge pity.
We can however still mark it paying our respects to all who fight to defend our Country and then Empire, to liberate Europe from the Nazi occupation and all that went with it plus finally liberating the German people themselves some of whom did suffer under Nazism too.
Whatever happens I'm marking May Day not least cos we could use something to add colour and cheer us all up a bit.
Girls at a school in 1932 celebrate May Day in their sports field, I could easily roar around waving a hockey stick in the air!
May Day is marked today in different ways such as a May Day parade as in Knutsford, Cheshire ,England or the crowning of a May Queen as at Astbury just a few miles in Cheshire to us.
May Basket Day was actually a thing in the States where girls would make flower baskets and present them to family and neighbours.
That's a tradition I'd love to see resumed, creative handiwork and encouraging people to come together.
