Post Christmas round up

So it is a few days after Christmas when in the grown up world the papers held under the Thirty Year Rule and a few others come out to embarrass senior politicians and their friends and talk around the Kings's New Years Honours starts leaking although you're not supposed to say a word to soul one you've had the initial letter and your reply until the official announcement is given.

We also had severe storms with rain here which worked into flooding and half the road losing power for a good number of hours.

Getting back to Christmas we had one, not that is the same Christmas as in the past as with one Aunt unwell and of course Mom not being here that's two faces missing, two hugs less apart from the rituals before that you are abruptly reminded.

Still despite everything there is Christmas, tree, nativity scene and fairy is out plus cards arranged across the window sill and mantle place and dinner is underway.

There were some presents such as the Triple Pack of Beano and Dandy annuals from past and in the case of the Beano very modern and present day.

For enjoyment later is this up to date compilation of  eighties synth pop from Erasure taking us from O L'Amour to the mid twenty tens via unforgettable songs like Stop! spread across two lps.

And then there's a Winnie the Pooh dairy which given my brain is invaluable for noting what is happening when as I forget.

I had some money to put toward some feature purchases in the new year which should see me away earlier on the year.

Christmas preparations

Apart from the usual syncropost this will be last full post on here until after Christmas  where I've been a bit busy writing cards and having my hair trimmed and restyled. 

Preparations for Christmas week here usually involve the traditional 14 day Radio Times that I still find easier to navigate than on screen electronic program guides apart from forgetting what I saw on screen seconds later.

Some of us read comics rather than the Economist and this year's 68 page special is one we'll be opening up to dip in and out of in what has for decades been a christmas ritual for some of us with seasonally themed cartoon strips with characters we grew up with like Dennis, Minnie and Gnasher and newer ones.

That's what the edition just after christmas as it usually pauses a week before looked like in the early 1980's before we went to full colour, glossy paper and bigger sized edition and no doubt there will be after Boxing Day edition this year to tuck into which after all the news on tv I'll be glad of.

Does respect still exist in families?

I've been deliberating for a few days about where I was going to put this post but actually I think it belongs here rather than my more "littles" blog.

As most of you are aware I lost my mother a while back leaving Dad and Myself as surviving household members, other immediate siblings being in relationships apart from us.

Dad has some mobility problems coming through the impact of cancer on his kidneys making its way into breathing apart from sciatica and likes to visit Mom's grave where whilst cremated there lies a headstone a couple of miles away.

Unexpectedly my younger brothers wife rung following her much delayed operation for Carpal Tunnel and he spoke with her and in the course of which he asked if they, the next time they were going could take him to the grave.

They would have to past the turning to us to get to it from where they live and she agreed with dad saying should they want a quiet moment then he'd step away.

Come Sunday, they turn up and indeed they do take him but he only finds they elect to stay in the car while he goes down a pathway rather than all walking with them pausing near the adjacent church.

They also reject any and all attempts to open a conversation about where he'd been, how they find it, or even ask him how he was feeling afterwards.

It was as if they just wouldn't speak to him as his sons father and a fellow family member even on the face of it another fellow human being where many of us just would even to those we don't know well.

We have empathy and yet there was none showing leaving him feeling he was being deliberately ignored.

He was very emotional upon his return to which I got the full blast of -and although I could use not being the sole dumping ground of his emotions you couldn't help wondering just what my brother and wife were really playing at treating him more like ghost.

On cancelling and depriving digital artists livelihoods

An increasing issue is the tendency for financial institutions to apply restrictions to either who may have a bank account for business or political purposes or to impose terms on any organization that may use their services which not about law, financial or otherwise but more about their own values.

Last year it was reported upon that the politician Nigel Farage had his Coutts account closed and only after much investigation did it transpire that behind words around meeting requirements to have one was obvious mentioning of his politics which tend to be rather like marmite.

Groups who feel well intended trans inclusion measure disadvantage or sideline those assigned as females at birth can find certain bodies they may need access to just refuse to do business with them.

You may disagree their views but is it right to deny services on that basis?

In the modern economy many publish fiction and art electronically and they often have payment options so the creators whose works are entirely legal can make a living out of it but it isn't unknown for some payment services to refuse to provide it as they don't "align" with their values.

A more worry tendency than that is to made demands on sites that host such works to remove anything and anyone in whole categories that they *think* may be problematic even if its is legal and therefore can be sold openly in physical printed form.

That happened to a raft of self published titles and creators on Kindle, the Amazon E-book service.

This also can be connected to the likes of Apple inc, setting terms for any apps via its store which caused many issues on Tumblr even when age restrictions are in place several years back and issues on Patreon where many age play or ad/dl artists whose work was legal and had suitable restrictions in place to keep minors out just mass terminating any and all accounts with either no inspection of the persons own content or rights of appeal.

Given for a good number this wasn't some hour a day side project but actually their main income as a job to have no warning and no appeal of in effect being prevented from employment with immediate consequences financially is unjust.

Budgetary thoughts

 

Money, that's what I want said Barratt Strong in 1960 and in the intervening years little has changed, we want most of our money in our pockets and yet we expect (perhaps rightly) for services such as health, education, social care and so on to be provided collectively for all of us regardless of income.

Wednesday saw Jeremy Hunt's second budget, the one after the Albatruss imploded the UK economy in style requiring emergency treatment after fifty days of mind-blowing madness and it is fair to say stagflation is under control even if the beast isn't dead yet and the UK economy continues to outperform those most sceptical predictions.

The overall tax burden remains stubbornly high even if with everything we've endured since 2019 such as Covid and it's impact, the war in Ukraine and it's implications for fuel and food and so on.

There's scarcely a major economy not grappling and struggling too with these things as much as chaotic, even malfunctioning poltical machinery over hardly helped, not that had the General Election result had been different, there wouldn't of been other problems.

Thus cutting the National Insurance contributions isn't a bad idea nor is leaving taxes on alcohol alone coupled with assistance for the hospitality sector but what cannot be dodged is there is little real room for manoeuvre when it comes to either cutting taxes however desirable (and i.m.h.o it is ) in the medium to long term or increasing public sector commitments where we see the struggles in hospitals, social services and education.

I would rather see more attention paid to reducing "back room" office costs, ending the virtual signaling and non jobs associated with it and looking at more efficient centralized procurement to reduce the costs of providing services which few of us can deny are really needed rather than a race to the bottom of eligibility criteria. 

While I understand and to a point agree people looking for work need to be prepared to take up reasonable offers and be prepared to train for new roles, there still remains too much "shirkers vs workers" rhetoric when in reality many benefit claimants are in fact workers and shamefully what they earn of itself doesn't begin to meet the true costs of living of which massive hikes in food, fuel and rent/mortgage costs have pushed up to worrying levels.

The implied threat to remove free prescriptions from those found to not met revised conditions for benefits is simply wrong. 

There is no connection  at all between employment and such support - a person sacked for a disciplinary offence at work doesn't lose entitlement, a prisoner receives free medical services regardless of his or her crime and yet we are suggesting not taking up an offer (that might be contestable at tribunal) such be denied free medication if needed or legal aid to challenge the very decision at a tribunal???

Nor is expecting disabled people to work from home where the issue may not be getting to work but such things as anxiety, fatigue and so and where you may of been waiting years for any treatment from - yes the very government that seems to think being disabled and out of work is a lifestyle choice. 

That side of things makes little sense and potentially hands over a victory to the opposition parties and for what?

Another week of craziness for Uk Politics

Another crazy week in the pantomime that is U.K. politics which is the big kicker in terms of keeping this blog active really that really kicked off last week when then Home Secretary Suella Braverman let rip in one of the "quality" newspapers basically accusing the police, specifically the Metropolitan Police of being partial in way the police certain protests such as the Stop The Oil and Gaza ones of the last few weeks compared to that of more right of centre ones.

This was always going to be contentious as, rightly, the police are supposed to keep the peace without favour so such an accusation would been as a major slight although I'd say all decisions are made with some reference to what is seen as causing the least issues and that *may* at times lead to questions being asked.

Policing is seldom a simple matter of "The Law is the Law".

This article was submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister where some alterations were outlined but seemingly Ms Braverman elected to ignore which I'd say was very ill advised that so she went from wreath laying at Sunday's remembrance parade in Whitehall to being sacked on Monday.

That meant only one thing: a Cabinet reshuffle with the original purpose to replacement the Home Secretary but as ever the re-arranging of the deck chairs brings a resignation here, a plot there and then there was something few saw coming...

That man who was Prime Minister from 2010 through 2016 when he backed the wrong horse on Brexit (yes dear reader we're so tired of it) is seen walking into Downing Street and into No.10 which I might add I've been in after resigning from being a Member of Parliament.

David Cameron walks out as a Member of the House of Lords as the Foreign Secretary so Mr Cleverly can move from that to Home Secretary!

Deja vu?

Cue unrest on the Conservative right....

Meanwhile The War on Israel by Hamas and subsequent actions in Gaza causes resignations and splits across the Labour opposition both in parliament after Wednesdays amendment vote on the King's Speech and in councils

Just what with domestic issues such as the economy, reduced living standards, terrorism and internationally conflicts and the asylum seeker crisis we don't need for government and opposition as we the people need politicians who are focused on tackling these pressing matters not fighting each other.

Ever felt like staying in bed for a year?

Remembrance 2023

 After an entry into current affairs we'll move into something more personal.

I enjoy a bonfire night as much as anyone but the other thing GirlGuiding is involved in around this time of year is Remembrance  which will be marked today with Armistice Day and in two days time on Remembrance Sunday.

Having taken part in Parades it has a bit of a sombre nature because we think about what men (and women) did both at home and on the battlefield to preserve the liberty, freedom and way of life we have and the sacrifice of lives given to have succeeded in it against great odds in WW2.

It is important for people, especially children to know about this so in guiding with the help of people such as the Royal British Legion, girls are taught about this as in a good number of schools they are too.

This years theme is Service which includes the services of all in scouting such as GirlGuiding not just in the services but at home helping on the home front and recognizes that in that service it isn't that people died but many more bear the scars of injury both physical and mental 

Here we see Brownies at the cenotaph as many will this weekend ,placing their wreath upon it as a symbol of our respect and appreciation of what those people, often young gave for us and our country.

We will remember our war dead.

The Gaza interuption

We're back this week having been away for a few days at The Party doing spooky things of a more child-like nature which is more the sort of thing I like but even then you can't easily avoid what's going on around which in a way isn't so dissimilar to how things were as a child where at least with me childhood was intermingled with with the impact of terrorism and of war being in the family newspapers and on the tv.

Thus in a way that the Invasion of an Israeli kibbutz and horrific murder of over 1,400 women, men and children and the subsequent action in Gaza by the Israeli military should rear its head perhaps ought not to have surprised me although at least people knew when enough had been said and promptly changed subject.

While many felt their sympathies were with Israel, an understandable concern has been getting aid to those most in need, ensuring that would not be taken by Hamas, the terrorist organization that is very much on their ground there and nothing usable for war would be smuggled in.

Related to that is what to do with the sick and injured in hospitals short on medicines and having no mains electricity reliant upon oil fired generators and Hamas having taken oil from all over Gaza for their conflict means they are desperately short of the means of keeping literally the lights on and medicines cool.

Israel is justifiably concerned about oil as aid being intercepted by Hamas which you can't rule out although that's no consolation to the hospitals and so why many of us feel sadly Hamas brought this upon the Gaza people and it could never go unpunished, we are concerned, moved even, to feel international bodies not the least the United Nations need to step in running a safe program, fully escorted to get aid in without the risk of it being used by Hamas for war.

Fortunately some aid is getting through now, although oil remains a sticking point - and why is that 18-30 year men feel it's okay to raid a UN Aid Store helping themselves to what is there for those in need - and some evacuations have began to Egypt including that of those holding UK Citizenship to flee.

It's not perfect but at least something that will make a difference in a messy situation where the only long term answer is learning to live in peace and respect for each other's rights.

Taking a break

Things will be a bit brief today not least because in a few hours time I will be on the move to spend a few days engaging in the company of others my more little side given it is halloween so there's various events planned.

I'm not so sure Boris the Spider will be in attendance although I am sure there will be various spooky decorations to be found both inside and out in the least expected of places.

Have fun and see you all next week.

Post party season thoughts

The Party Conference season has been and gone where traditionally the in office party congratulates itself and the opposition make their promises, calling on members and supporters to prepare for the Election and Government.

This year seemed rather different where the Conservatives didn't wish to talk around their record in this parliament or in a crazy period that started way back in December 2019 the three previous leaders although the last, Liz Truss did have a event taking place that created a good deal of interest from the political commentators and some members to the point that was at risk of overshadowing the main days debates.

The aim of a low tax, lower spending economy looking at growing rather than just doing a slicing up of what is there always had an appeal and in the medium to long term is needed, attempts to bring in more revenue only seem to cut more on the better off more aspirational working class so they shoulder more of the cost of looking after those unable or capable but not presently in work through taxes.

While no one on the right as much as left can truly argue there isn't a need for a safety net - and some of it is failing badly - the majority feeling is in the first instance we expect to ensure the individual has enough to look after and provide for themselves and their families.

That can't happen if we tax those people to the point they cannot and there is then a risk of creating a client state where rather than helping people help themselves we spend more where they could help themselves and maintain more of a sense of economic independence and even freedom.

Working class people typically feel they'd sooner help themselves only turning to other sources if they cannot.

This is something that needs to looked more at by all the parties rather than going for sectional appealling such as targeting the Pensioner Vote, Welfare Claimants, Young Adults and so on as everything any in those groups may need (and they do) ultimately has to paid for and we all pay for it.

Housing remains an issue - an appalling issue - with record waiting lists for people looking for homes, many who tried to buy their own struggling often feeling if they didn't they could be place anywhere where a substantial amount of private rented accommodation isn't merely poor quality it has damp, faulty electrical, plumbing and fire safety fittings.

One reason beyond this country's fascination, practically an obsession with private home ownership is difficulties with the cost of land, building materials mainly brick and labour not just price but shortages too.

Saying you wish to build 1.3 million new homes for rent in that context just isn't possible - no government since the sixties has built that many, approx 300,000 per year - and when they did the construction quality had major issues as just putting up buildings become the focus with repairs being needed.

And many new private builds are having quality issues as they struggle too.

We need to consider using more pre-fabricated buildings such as those used in Scandinavia and made by people like Ikea that have a long life and have all connections read to just couple  so with the site prepared it takes less time, needs less skilled workers and can even allow for the tenants to make  a contribution by helping out in the process so they feel a sense of ownership.

They do look attractive too for those who do get more concerned about environmental impact and local area character.

Talking of the environment, developers should be expected where they build a new development such as a new estate to make substantial contribute to upgrading water and electricity provision so not only are there not shortages but demands such as sewerage the management of which is a massive concern can be dealt with.

Having been given that funding Water companies should be closely monitored to ensure raw sewage isn't been dumped into rivers where it causes harm to both people and animals.

1973 and all that

Well while war resumes between the Arabs and Israel coming through on your social media feeds, the "LIVE" updates on the BBC News site and your tv screen it kind of reminded me of 1973 all over again.

While the other blog has carried reviews of the vinyl editions of that rather good Now Yearbook series in the shorter lp set form from the years before compilations like Now and Hits came out because they complemented  them I did pick up this cd only Extra set for some things that I felt should belong more on the main set such as Do You Wanna Dance by Barry Blue and Paper Plane by the Status Quo.

It's a pity no vinyl version of these Extra sets are offered as I'd of been interested in one.

Back the we were not so fussed about what E additives were in colourings in our sweets although I could get over active at the time which may of been down to that.

I have ordered up a Genesis super audio cd that is being released this week although it'll probably take a week or two to come into the UK to the store I normally use to buy them that by coincidence happens also to be from 1973.

Given my cd is fairly old one and the 2007 Genesis remasters were panned for their loud sound, being in a few instances remixed too I feel that's worth the expense.

HS2-The End of the line

Well the longest running saga on  wheels has come to an end.

Way back in 2009, in the dying days of the last Labour government it was decided to spend some 37bn pounds on a massive railway infrastructure that would rival the bullet trains of Japan going at 250 mile per hour linking London, Big Bad Brum, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Manchester feeding into a East West networking linking south Lancashire towns and the city of Manchester with West Yorkshire.

That was the sort of train that they had in mind for it.

This was the original projected full network which of necessity could not call at all local stations so it would be London, Birmingham, Crewe and Manchester and to get anywhere else on it you'd need to change but if that wasn't so great, Birmingham's Station wasn't New Street, that rabbit warren we all love to hate here in the Midlands but Curzon Street to which to get into the main business district you'd need to change so you wouldn't save any time.

Over the years the costs grew and grew and measure to reduce them such as dropping the speed and axing all the spurs reduced the real gains while estimates were around 94bn pounds in 2019 and estimates for early 2021 were put at 110bn plus.

This was before the current inflationary pressures with materials and labour and a declining market for day long conferences as the Pandemic ushered in the era of Zoom and Team meetings over the internet and the shift to Work From Home (WFH).

The world has moved on even if some of us felt at the time the full business case for it wasn't there, the capacity which is an issue on the West Coast Line could of been met by restoring the additional rails taken up to save maintenance money in the last days of British Rail for a good deal less.

Wednesday's design to scrape Hs2 from Birmingham to Crewe and on to Manchester is for me well overdue and really ought to happened in 2019 when it  was obvious the cost were substantially more than anticipated for a net loss on the public investment, not being help by modelling the route on a desk with little actual site surveying before deciding on the route.

Instead the Midland Rail Hub, the East-West lines at regular speeds across the Pennines and a mixture of schemes involving local rail, bus and tram services will be happening using  some 36bn pounds that would of been spent. 

The work already done from London to Brum will be completed as much is almost ready even if one may rather it hadn't of been started.

It's a reset for this whole connectivity scheme that lost its direction.

Warm playing

 Well Agnes came over Wednesday night and into Thursday but while there was some damage further north such as a tree coming down at Greenbank near Hartford, Cheshire on the Crewe-Chester rail line, it was really a damp squid here with just a bit of a breeze.

Overall this month has been quite pleasant, not quite "Indian Summer" so you've been able to be out in short sleeves and bare legs gently exploring areas, losing sense of time as you become engaged in what is around you.

There are signs that Fall is due if you look closely in the woods and green spaces that thankfully we have around this area as built up as it is even though I saw Ladybirds this week about and his nutkins was spotted about.

On thing that did happen that wasn't expected was the stylus on my record deck met with a disaster where I went to pick the whole cartridge up to change as (you just screw in others) where somehow the plastic protective cap fell off and got caught in a soft towel that resulted in it becoming bent and probably chipped.

Thus the credit card had to come out to buy a replacement which wasn't cheap and then slot it on the cartridge to restore record playing of modern records in great shape while I has a another for older discs not least vintage singles.

R.I.P. Sanriotown.com

My adventures online started in the mid 2000's and one rabbit hole I soon found myself going further down was very much the kawaii so it was not so long before I bumped into Hello Kitty online from many unofficial sites and blogs connected to all things Sanriotown.

What it offered was gaming, all sanrio themed with Chococat and Hello Kitty herself, forums for endless discussion of everything Sanrio and beyond, post cards you could email and even blogging.

It also offered the ability to have your own very kawaii email with a choice of domains so I opted to have a @hellokitty.com email.

It was the ideal place for that younger than my years Littles me to play in a more child-like environment.

Thus there was a finality when on Monday September 18th I had this email.

"Dear SanrioTown Users,

We are writing to inform you about a significant upcoming change regarding your SanrioTown email account (“Your Account”).

After careful consideration and evaluation of our business operations, we regret to inform you that we have decided to cease the operations of SanrioTown. As a result, the SanrioTown website, Your Account and the relevant services that we have been providing to you will no longer be available from November 1, 2023 (“Shutdown Date”).

We understand the significance of email communication in both personal and professional capacities and assure you that this decision has not been taken lightly. Over the years, we have appreciated your loyalty and trust in SanrioTown, and we want to ensure a smooth transition during this period.

Therefore, we encourage you to save the chat history and any essential contacts or information of Your Account. On and after the Shutdown Date, you will no longer be able to access or retrieve any data in Your Account.

To facilitate the transition, we recommend that you take the following steps:

1. Backup Your Data: Please ensure that you back up all the essential emails, contacts, and any other important data in Your Account. This will allow you to retain access to the valuable information of Your Account on and after the Shutdown Date.

2. Choose a New Email Service Provider: To continue receiving and sending emails on and after the Shutdown Date, we encourage you to select an alternative email service provider, such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo Mail, among others.

3. Inform Your Contacts: Please notify your contacts about your upcoming email address change to ensure that they can update their records and communications accordingly.

We understand that change can be challenging and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this shutdown may cause you.  Once again, we extend our gratitude for your support and loyalty to SanrioTown over the years. We genuinely value your business and trust that you will find an alternative email service that meets your needs."

For a period there had been issues with the email account being down for months and being locked out too so I had made an account with Gmail but now it seems that playground in the Ether will be no more.

Rather like Tinier Me, Friends Reunited and Experience Project another element of the past sails away to the internet scrapyard.

R.I.P. Sanriotown.com

Who Do You Think You Are!

A couple of days ago it was announced that a special series of speciality super audio cd and vinyl comprising of some 75 Atlantic records groups titles were to be released in limited numbers by Analogue Productions in Kansas, U.S.A.

Of itself that isn't so remarkable as over the years series has been issued covering many artists and  a good number of their Beach Boys and Steely Dan titles were bought here not least because they did bring real improvements in sound quality over previous major label issues that build upon the musical experience for hearing more subtleties in the playing originally captured.

What seems more controversial is an increasing trend to take single lps and cut them at 45 rpm, the speed of singles which often results in making what was a single lp into a double which a typical price of some $60, typical just under twice as much.

Apart from now having four get up from the listening chair to flip over the sides rather than two every ten minutes or so what has to be remembered is a recording was made with a format in mind.

Where a album comprises of relatively short individual songs that fade out to silence, to further split the initial sides is not so difficult so say a twelve song album originally split into two groups of six now becomes four groups of three but what is more difficult is where a track may run over ten minutes which takes us to the heart of this controversy.

Take the progressive rock group Yes's You And I for instance that runs for a whole 33 1/3 lp side around some twenty one minutes, this cannot be cut as one side at 45 rpm which means it gets split up between a whole lp.

The idea is to improve sound at the end of the disc which as the effective distance diminishes can compromise the high notes and tracking which if you own a few of these or perhaps UK 12" single singles that are cut at 45 rpm you'll know just how good it can get .

Finding a natural point to effectively pause the track before resuming on the other side is difficult and may involve fading out and then in rather reminiscent of how songs were split up to fit within the four fixed lengths of Eight Track tapes in the seventies and early eighties.

That has lead some to say whatever the technical merits of 45 rpm cutting of albums are, it really detracts from the listener experience, something I feel does matter and why it is likely I'll stick with the super audio cd issues instead.

The full release schedule:

Charles Mingus / Blues & Roots

AAPA 001-45

$60.00

Genesis / A Trick Of The Tail

AAPA 073-45

$60.00

Les McCann & Eddie Harris / Swiss Movement

AAPA 071-45

$60.00

Boz Scaggs / Boz Scaggs

AAPA 070-45

$60.00

Foreigner / 4

AAPA 069-45

$60.00

Foreigner / Head Games

AAPA 068-45

$60.00

Ray Charles / The Genius After Hours

Mono

AAPA 067-45

$60.00

Ray Charles / The Genius Of Ray Charles

AAPA 066-45

$60.00

Yes / 90125

AAPA 065-45

$60.00

Yes / The Yes Album

AAPA 064-45

$60.00

Milt Jackson & John Coltrane / Bags & Trane

AAPA 063-45

$60.00

John Coltrane / Coltrane Jazz

AAPA 062-45

$60.00

John Coltrane / Ole Coltrane

AAPA 061-45

$60.00

Charles Mingus / The Clown

Mono

AAPA 060-45

$60.00

Charles Mingus / Pithecanthropus Erectus

Mono

AAPA 059-45

$60.00

Bad Company / Desolation Angels

AAPA 058-45

$60.00

Bad Company / Burnin' Sky

AAPA 057-45

$60.00

Dr. John / Dr. John's Gumbo

AAPA 056-45

$60.00

Otis Redding / The Soul Album

AAPA 055-45

$60.00

Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack / Killing Me Softly

T-Bone Walker / T-Bone Blues

AAPA 053-45

$60.00

Donny Hathaway / Everything Is Everything

AAPA 052-45

$60.00

Donny Hathaway / Donny Hathaway

AAPA 051-45

$60.00

Daryl Hall and John Oates / Abandoned Luncheonette

AAPA 050-45

$60.00

Foreigner / Double Vision

AAPA 049-45

$60.00

Ray Charles / What'd I Say

AAPA 048-45

$60.00

Ray Charles / The Great Ray Charles

AAPA 047-45

$60.00

Dr. John / Gris Gris

AAPA 046-45

$60.00

Willie Nelson / Shotgun Willie

AAPA 045-45

$60.00

Yes / Close To The Edge

AAPA 044-45

$60.00

Genesis / Genesis

AAPA 043-45

$60.00

Genesis / Abacab

AAPA 042-45

$60.00

John Coltrane / Coltrane Plays The Blues

AAPA 041-45

$60.00

John Coltrane / Coltrane's Sound

AAPA 040-45

$60.00

Charles Mingus / Oh Yeah

AAPA 039-45

$60.00

Bad Company / Run With The Pack

AAPA 038-45

$60.00

Bad Company / Straight Shooter

AAPA 037-45

$60.00

Jimi Hendrix Experience/ Otis Redding / Complete & Unbelievable... The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul

AAPA 036-45

$60.00

Otis Redding / Otis Blue- Otis Redding Sings Soul

AAPA 035-45

$60.00

The Velvet Underground / Loaded

AAPA 034-45

$60.00

Wilson Pickett / The Exciting Wilson Pickett

AAPA 025-45

$60.00

Buffalo Springfield / Buffalo Springfield Again

AAPA 024-45

$60.00

Buffalo Springfield / Buffalo Springfield

AAPA 023-45

$60.00

Crosby, Stills and Nash / Daylight Again

AAPA 022-45

$60.00

Crosby, Stills and Nash / CSN

AAPA 021-45

$60.00

Dusty Springfield / Dusty In Memphis

AAPA 017-45

$60.00

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young / Deja Vu

AAPA 020-45

$60.00

INXS / Kick

AAPA 032-45

$60.00

Hootie & The Blowfish / Cracked Rear View

AAPA 030-45

$60.00

Stone Temple Pilots / Purple

AAPA 029-45

$60.00

Stone Temple Pilots / Core

AAPA 028-45

$60.00

Genesis / Foxtrot

AAPA 027-45

$60.00

Genesis / Nursery Chryme

AAPA 026-45

$60.00

Yes / Fragile

AAPA 014-45

$60.00

Matchbox Twenty / Yourself Or Someone Like You

AAPA 031-45

$60.00

David Crosby / If I Could Only Remember My Name

AAPA 019-45

$60.00

John Coltrane / Giant Steps

45 RPM 180 Gram Vinyl

AAPA 010-45

$60.00

John Coltrane / My Favorite Things

45 RPM 180 Gram Vinyl

AAPA 011-45

$60.00

Alice Cooper / Welcome To My Nightmare

AAPA 015-45

$60.00

Genesis / The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Crosby, Stills and Nash / Crosby, Stills & Nash

AAPA 018-45

$60.00

Phil Collins / Hello I Must Be Going!

AAPA 012-45

$60.00

Bad Company / Bad Company

AAPA 009-45

$60.00

Foreigner / Foreigner

AAPA 008-45

$60.00

Ray Charles / Ray Charles

Mono Version

AAPA 007-45

$60.00

Dr. John / In The Right Place

AAPA 006-45

$60.00

Otis Redding / The Dock Of The Bay

AAPA 005-45

$60.00

John Prine / John Prine

45 RPM 180 Gram

AAPA 004-45

$60.00

Phil Collins / Face Value

AAPA 003-45

$60.00

Genesis / Selling England By The Pound

Catalogue numbers are for the 45 rpm vinyl editions, nearly all will be super audio with CAPA  prefixes.

The shed is here!

The Summer we never had resumed this week with temperatures around 28-29 degrees c rather than the milder stuff of last month with brilliant sunshine  even if as you expect sunset is earlier now so by about 8pm you're needing to put the main light on.

The great Grumpies shed arrived last week and is now fully up with its double doors so his scooter can go in it in winter away from ice and snow.

The electrics are in having ensured the supply to this shed, the old one and the outside wall for mowers are totally separate with the RCD box fitted and a light installed for good even illumination.

The individual sockets will follow once he's decide what is going where but their are totally separate circuits for them which makes dealing with anything like a short easier as he did make in hindsight some mistakes with the old shed wiring that he also put aright.

I believe he's planning a small model railway in it which given the main layout is up in the loft is no bad thing as at least then he'll be able to easily get an hour or two's 'play' without mauling up and down the loft ladder.and dealing with a 45 years plus at times temperamental layout.

The return of the Three Bears

 A bit of a different entry than usual today.

The Three Bears was a long-running British comic strip which appeared in the British comics magazine The Beano.

It first featured in 1959's issue 881 and ran sporadically until 2011 through reprints and several artists.

Basically Ma and Pa Bear and their young son Teddy (later called Ted) were three anthropomorphic bears who lived in a setting loosely based on the American Wild West. They were lazy and gluttonous, and lived in a cave upon a hill. 

Most storylines revolved around their attempts to steal "grub" from the local storekeeper Hank (who often shoots at the Three Bears with his blunderbuss for trying to rob him). 

There was the occasional appearance by the local sheriff, and their rival bear Grizzly Gus (who had a son called Gus's Grizzly)

Oddly enough in this week's Beano they do feature in a story involving Dennis and Gnasher which rather took me by surprise but how many of todays readers really know all about them?

Moving ahead and having goals

 There are things you can find time to talk about such as the upcoming Now Yearbook 1992 Extra cd set this weekend that will go with the main cd set from a year that had personal highs and lows that took a good while to really get my head to a good spot over after what had seemed a promising three years before.

It's good to hear some of those songs that were on the radio or played in the local HMV store at lunchtimes then.

Then there is the fact we have made progress within the Garden with the last remaining errant item moved to the tip where it should of gone, things being much tidier and the basis for laying a base for a new shed.

I have managed to get out a few times this summer with one trip arranged for the beginning of next year which has helped in dealing with the emotional impact of Mom's death for doing things and being with people just getting out of house and all that's in it.

One thing I'm really pleased about is how Women's soccer has come on from the days girls struggled to even get a kickabout in the playground or the street to today where I see girls going to park to play.

Mom played which was very exception back then with her brother and his friends as being the oldest she was expected to look after and generally keep an eye on him and thus loved the game as much as any man.

I'm sure she'd of been proud of that three-one win over Australia this week

We can dare to dream writing new chapters in our lives.

Fashion updates

It's a warmer drier week compared with last week and much of July so after the marathon washing of the stuff I took with me thoughts were on newer attire as I had been wearing some different things while away, things I had bought around late 2021 and early February 2022 before I was very unwell for a month and a bit.

Usually I tended to wear more formal uniform skirts and pinafore dresses as most of these things are "littles" related but this time I was wearing Women's kilts and indeed travelled out in one that was similar to my late Mom's.

I did get out a bit walking around a park, hiking and getting a bite to eat at a visitors centre finding it worked well interacting with shop people and the general public.

With that in mind I bought two more mini kilts, not being that keen on calf length designs which do look really good on me and to which have adjusters to help get a snug fit.

I did pick up some blue girls socks which while I had worn white opaque tights while away most of the time do work well and lacking anything like bows can blend in a bit better where the Muggles taking a break with their families may be around as school uniform does tend to be a bit more obviously obvious especially while schools are shut!

These will help I keeping things updated apart from replacing a number of missing socks that got unpaired over the last eighteen or so months.

Trying to get by in this world.

It's a strange thing in some ways that I officially measure up as severely disabled and did spend part of my childhood in a wheelchair you are more likely to see me on on my feet.

It would certainly be easier in some respects to be in a wheelchair like when at littles camp for sports and dancing which I struggle with on my feet and where at school I did disability sports and wheelchair dancing and that would aid what I bring to such events.

The problem area is that is something else you need to get on to a train where disability assistance both has to be booked in advance and is not that reliable when  it comes to getting you on and off the train and through barriers.

You'd need to allow for them in room layouts, turning circles and passageways. wherever I was staying.

So being on my feet admittedly  is more a matter of willing oneself, challenging restrictions to try and get the most out of life dealing with a disabling environment than anything else rather than what may perhaps be apart of the most appropriate way of getting about with my disabilities.

Sometimes being multi-modal when it comes to getting yourself about makes more sense.

The Beano at 85

This week marks the 85th anniversary of the launch of the Beano, an iconic comic that in many respects is the last old school comic standing of the classics many of us had as children.

Today there are newer more "inclusive" characters and Teacher is now a supportive sort rather than a fearsome disciplinian but let's be honest here, that comic is intended for today's children and the world they inhabit which is in various ways different to what we experienced as we read the Beano at age nine or whatever age you were back then where the World of Dennis The Menace, Minnie and Roger The Dodger we read was like our home and school life.

In that way todays readers and us have the same connection with the comic which results in those sales to young readers that has kept it in weekly publication unlike the Dandy which we lost in late 2012.

To tie in with this a new edition of the Beantown Guide is being published setting out all the places and faces of the modern Beano for young fans.

School's Out edition

 Yes in  this district school is indeed out, blazers take a break and for some the last trip from the dorm takes place today until Autumn Term commences in September so I'll be away for a few days after next Friday, not sure about the soaking up the sun bit but certainly a break.

A break is something to be honest I badly need with every that's happened this year.

Thoughts do go back about to my earliest days at school and some of the things I had then that stayed with me across official childhood.

This was one I don't think I was the original first owner of, most likely to have been my older brother but passed down as he was getting around the age of transition to high school was on the card so he had other things like science books and what today we'd call part works that built into a encyclopedia.

Published in 1968 and like most yearbooks for the next year, this was one I read cover to cover often when I was unwell while in time I got the then current books from the seventies.

 

Although I have a feeling I had seen this before I certainly had not any recollection of having it here in forty odd years so recently I was able to pick up the 1968 yearbook published in 1967 when is when the start of the now deemed classic line up of John Noakes with Valerie Singleton got together to be joined the next year by Peter Purves that last to around 1972.

Most copies suffer from damaged spines as the bindings were not very good which when coupled by many super eager reads soon break off, further exposing the binding to wear and tear.

Fortunately this copy had a repair done to it which appeared to have done the trick.

Now 12" 80's: 1980 and 1981

Those people at Now What You Call Music must be getting busy as after resuming the Now Yearbook series with the 1992 volume and  regiving us Now15 they've decided to start a new 80's series.

Compilations of 12" mixes aren't exactly new and Now have given us three 80's sets in the recent past but what makes this series of value is that each set has the hit 12" mixes of one year which as with the Yearbook series I find helps get you into a year and its memories better than a random all 80's set.

Thus this fits well with your Now Yearbooks for giving you the longer more extended side of the hits of the year and in this sets case adds such unforgettable hits as D.I.S.C.O by Ottowan in it's extended for that the 1980 Yearbook left off, the delectable Taste Of Bitter Love by Gladys Knight & The Pips, Blondie's pounding Call Me and the S.O.S. band's Take Your Time (and do it right) among many others.

Overall musically speaking this draws mainly from soul, funk and disco which remained big in this year at least in the UK but brings in those early New Wave synthesizer sounds from the likes of OMD and Spandau Ballet.

 

1981 was one of the best years for pop music in the UK mixing, soul, funk, synth pop  and reggae and that is well represented in the 1981 set from the delights of Japan's Quiet Life, the mixture of new wave and rap in Wordy Rappinghood by the Talking Heads  spin off Tom Tom Club, Ottowan's Hands Up showing that in the UK at least disc wasn't dead, quality soul from the Jones Girls with Nights Over Egypt and Physical by Olivia Newton-John.

 

My only criticism is they've reverted to a folded card sleeve with panels packaging with no write up  where this would of been better served up in the Yearbook style with a short write up on each song with pictures but overall these are a great set and series to collect if like me you did buy those 12" singles back in the day.

Uncovered edition

 I was away last weekend and arrived as the great garden works were about to unfold with the arrival of the "large" skip in the afternoon after a nightmarish journey involving a good half an hour delay and super rapid platform alterations just minutes before the train was due out and indeed had been on time.

Much progress is being made uncovering the garden from its overgrown state at the side, like you can now see grass and a pathway plus strewn about stuff has gone from by it and the sheds.

Further exploration of the house is uncovering things such as scarcely read books, old school photographs of Nativity Plays, old newspaper and the like.

It's no secret I read comics on this blog as much as we keep the other bits of my life elsewhere shall we say but in with all of this stuff was inexplicably the September 13 2014 issue of The Beano which reading Wednesday afternoon has lots of connection to the children's culture of the 2010's even if some of the more recent changes such as more ethnically and disability inclusive added characters were not to be seen nor the Spotty becoming Scotty name changes.

That wasn't something children seemed really into back then and I suspect adult involvement drove it although I agree the overall idea of bringing broader representation of more diverse society from that of 1950's Britain never mind that of the 1970's and 80's.

Adults can argue over it -and they do- but the world children are growing up in is different and so needs to be one they themselves recognize as much as is this is fiction.