Yes my friends, we have reached the last edition before Christmas on this slightly more groan up blog where I take a rest from posting as it does consume a fair bit of my time running my portion of the blogisphere and there are many thing that need to get done in order for Christmas to happen.
That means I'll be pausing this blog other than a combined edition around Christmas itself looking at the day as there's no point in duplicating entries trying to reword what is essentially the same thing.
I plan on doing an entry for around the New Year so it just falls on me to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and all the best for 2020.
Week two of Advent, a day after the General Election so it's too early begin anything about the outcome of although I did go out and vote myself.
One thing getting on for some thirty-five years ago reminds me a little of this time of year is the original release of the compilation lp/tape Now That's What I Call Music 4 which came out in Late November of 1984 which I did buy at the time on record.
As some people may be aware it appears the original albums of this 104 plus special editions series are slowly coming out on cd because while cds were a thing in 1984 there were not many issued plus they tended to be a lot more expensive than records and tapes.
There was a kind of Now 4 issued on cd in a very limited release but only ten tracks from the 30 on album plus a few from Now 3 and 2 so I was pleased to pick this new cd version up recently.
I say version of because there are a few different versions compared to original which is an issue in trying to replicate a series that had a few one of a kind mixes on apart from licensing issues today that didn't apply back then.
The good news is that the Special Remix of No More Lonely Nights by Paul McCartney was used even though a shorter version of Nick Heyward's Warning Sign minus two raps somehow got selected. It's always good to hear Too late For Goodbyes by Julian Lennon, son of the former Beatle.
The original album had some earlier Motown hits as by this point they'd agreed to let songs that were hit singles go on such compilations so we get Lionel Richie's unforgettable Hello.
On the whole though I think it does a good job of replicating this set that many of us had at the time
This member of the series didn't do too well as two tracks by Gary Glitter and Bob Marley on the original lp and tape from early June 1984 were removed on this cd and there were a number of significant version mix ups
February 1984's NOW 2 which took in the Christmas 1983 and winter of 1984 hits had a few errors that would irritate those 'in the know' but was generally okay apart from a totally different version of Joe Fagen's That's Living Alright
The one that showed the series concept was a winner from early December 1983,in time for the iconic tv advertising on ITV and Channel 4was a virtual Greatest Hits of 1983 with hits by Kajagoogoo, Limahl, Duran Duran, Culture Club and Genesis amongst many others.
The sleeve does list the missing number ones of 1983 too.
There had been a short lived card sleeve double cd of this issued in 2003, the thirtieth anniversary but that had been out of print for a while.
While the series on cd has its issues and would of better issued earlier in the day to catch sales of those who may of wanted to replaced their lps or tapes, it does help fill the gaps for those of us who bought the later cd issues from Now '86 onward.
Just about two weeks and a bit to go before things happen so this week I've had me hair all tidied up ready at the hairdressers who are all ready for it with their own decorations and that up.
By this time next week we'll know pretty much what if any direction this country is likely to be going with us going to the Polls next Thursday having listened to all the debates, read the leaflets, seen the 'fact checker' posts and the like.
I have been continuing as a certain person knows making some more cassettes as I have had a few more arrive which in view of having to toss out some expensive ones because someone had stored them in an ill ventilated damp place leaving them badly mildewed was no bad thing.
Sometimes I feel I have to be a bloodhound, sniffing everything to check it is okay just because some people cannot do this before listing them for sale.
That said, I intend to leave that side of things outside of the odd recording which I can start and return to later as Christmas does eat time up with family and that plus obviously buying tapes costs money which is needed more for other things like presents.
As well Mom's brother in law and my Uncle is in bad way so things there may well take time and even headspace away from Christmas so it's best to concentrate on getting everything done ready to run no matter what.
It's not I'd want - this time of year does have it's fair share of bad memories - but happens happens no matter what and you have to get on with things the best you can.
There should be a special edition next week all being well and then it's the one before the day.
With just a couple of weeks left to the General Election heres some non partisan thoughts round issues that have been talked about.
One area the politicians having being talking about is homelessness and housing with a main difference between the emphasis on building home for first time buyers by the Conservatives and Building 100,000 homes to rent by Labour.
To me it shouldn't be a binary choice because we know there is insufficient new build for the UK's population and at the same time there is a shortage of affordable property to rent, especially of an acceptable standard.
A common problem with both proposals is there is a shortage of construction workers which already is causing delays to developments and even a shortage of bricks so I don't feel labour's proposal is achievable as it is and there would be issues with expanding privately owned property.
I think we need to revisit prefabricated housing such a that produced in Scandinavia where the quality workmanship is built in at the factory being pre-plumbed and wired and is effectively assembled on site. which is quicker and doesn't require as many skilled hands that we don't have.
Labour are talking about Rent Control - limiting ("Capping") rents which are very high in some areas but what concerns me is that the minute that is starts being put into effect, private landlords who invest in property for a reward will simply send the residents to the streets which happens even now if they feel they can get more from tenants.
To be at a point to even considers needs a rebalencing of the private/public rental market and a long period of state investment which may take more than one parliament to get anywhere near.
The Environment is important and is a world wide issue which as an industralized nation we have and continue to add to but we do have a problem when it comes to building measures to minimize our impact into.
We are losing ground to housing developments that don't tie into transport networks which means we lose trees, visual amenities and add more Co2 while allowing brownfield sites to lay dormant. This area is badly impacted by nondescript spawl as it is.
Building on such older used sites need to be competitive financial as greenfield site.
The sorts of measures some advocate toward dealing with global emissions would have a major impact on peoples livelihoods and if such are necessary, people are going to need to assisted during that change and into new work.
Making people impoverished isn't any nicer for saying 'it's for the environment's good'
Ours is a mainly urbanized country but even in inner cores high car ownership exists for reasons such as poor transport even in say Dudley, in the Black County due to poor bus services that make a fifteen minute car trip over an hour with multiple connections, you can't get to Walsall by train without going on a round trip via Birmingham from Wolverhampton and it's no better across Greater Stoke on Trent as I know personally.
In order to reduce the impact of those car trips when comes to congestion and Co2 we need to make fast, efficient public transport a reality rather than in effect fining people making necessary journeys with congestion charging.
My area doesn't even a passenger transport transport executive so in effect bus and train companies make the decision about to provide ignore social and other needs like getting people about when infrastructure remains stuck at a level that is Edwardian at best and pre Victorian at worst frequently jammed which makes public transport less reliable.
While I suck on my lolipop, this week the politicians have been visiting factories, playing with children and kissing babies while setting out their Manifestos the programs for what four years of whatever party is meant to look like and to which whole chunks usually get shredded my thoughts have been elsewhere not helped by being unwell for a fair bit of the week.
Thing is, this is usually the time of year where the last touches to the Community magazine are made before it goes of the the printers so there's normally there is a last minute scramble that this time would of included things like when our Christmas tree gets turned on, carolling and Christmas events including the school plays and so on.
This time it's pretty quiet because it was announced a few weeks ago that it was to fold as the person who had been editing it had been at it for twenty three years who I have known personally for at least twenty five and there's a lot stuff with it like chasing up content, making sure content is legal (nothing, say slanderous can go in print over here), sorting the page layouts and proof-reading to start with.
I've been involved from day one being wearing a boring groan up hat in a Community Association that identified a big need being knowing what was going on especially if you didn't belong to several groups who might informal share such information that lead up to a group who got the newsletter started and had distributed it with others on foot religiously over that period come rain or snow.
It probably says a lot about me that I wobbled personally hanging on to walls several times to deliver while other non disabled people stayed in and drunk their coffee as it went through the letter box or using brownie like ingenuity to get them in where access to was poor but it was all done willingly for no financial reward.
They are supposed o be trying get space in the Parish Council's magazine but is quarterly so we'll have to see just how that pans out.
To me it just seems the end of an era.
While the politicians are playing the anything you can do I can do bigger game I've been exploring an album I remember buying in late 1983 and have gone through a few versions of over the years
Home surprisingly enough of two hits the rock disco Owner Of a Lonely Heart that I bought on 45 in November of 193 and It Can Happen from 1984 from a "progressive" rock group regarded as a spent force during the early 1980's that give birth to the supergroup Asia, it was a massive comeback from the dead.
The last version I bought of it was this HDCD gold version from the sometimes good sometimes so-so Audio Fidelity label which while coming from the actual master tape sounded dull and too smoothed off for my tastes.
This was the version I first bought, yes a Chrome tape that sounded marvellous and a far bit livelier from that 'audiophile' cd which was replaced by regular cd in the late 1980's .
When cd's first came out supplies were scare and colour printing options for the disc tops were limited which lead to a colour scheme being set out with on Warner Bros distributed titles a gun like Target cross hair design too.
That copy was the first European edition made before Warner Bros had their own cd pressing plants and was highly regarded.
During the transition as Warner Bros established a plant in the then West Germany some discs were made their from those original cd stampers which in practical terms means they are identical physically to their so-called target originals, just lacking that design and colour scheme.
That is the rear cover which like all early Warner Bros titles has a potted history of artist hints at why it was selected for cd issue in those early days when few whole catalogues were available on the fledgling format.
I recently acquired a near mint copy as it is the earlier edition I prefer and really like the sound
no doubt remaking to tape soon enough.
I guess if this thing is to covered and it's not as if we can escape it, then this happens to be the best place to put it.
It was the first day proper when I typed this up but the horses are off on this epic battle that will reach it's conclusion by Ten PM on December 12 and so far we're making our way up foot in mouth alley toward our first set of key seat speeches by the various party leaders.
What it is that causes politicians to go off at interviews and the like to go well away from anything that really within their powers as politicians and make ill considered comments.
Having been in that game myself I am puzzled why anyone who knows just how the press and certain interest groups spin things out would consider commenting on such stuff a day before the General Election period is formally announced meaning various party spokesmen spend time having to explain all of that which takes them away from those issues each party wishes to talk about.
Then you start to get difference between a leader and key member such as Chuka Umunna M.P. challenging Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat leaders assertion the party will not form a future Government with the left wing Labour Party.
Plus you have candidates either de-selected for being caught saying unacceptable things or former M.P's calling on their supporters to vote for the other side!
Just five more weeks of this circus act to go.
