Comments for Cocktails and Records

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by ally

ally — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:20:30 +0000

i seem to have a natural aversion to anything with wheels. apart from busses. i can just about manage a bus.
were leg warmers evident at all ? and if so why ?

Comment on Song of the Week: A Question of Trust by James Joyce

James Joyce — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:58:38 +0000

Well researched site – will look to incorporate some of your ideas into my site. Thanks!

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by Cocktails

Cocktails — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:53:31 +0000

I hope your roller-skating disco greats included the mighty Xanadu F-C. Although that’s a teeny bit later isn’t it?

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by Five-Centres

Five-Centres — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:25:44 +0000

There was a brief period in about 1979 when we’d queue round the block to get into the roller rink, and zip round to Sister Sledge and other disco greats of the time. Not been on them since. I wouldn’t mind but the people who use them as adults look plain daft. I love it when they fall over, but then I would.

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by Cocktails

Cocktails — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:38:24 +0000

Ill Man, I’d be truly impressed by anyone who could unicycle down our cracked and potholed pavements without dying. Not that that would be a problem obviously…

Keith, some would say that life has passed you by, that you should rush out and get yourself a pair of skates now. Not me though. You’re a sensible man indeed.

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by Keith

Keith — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:16:18 +0000

I’ve never actually used roller skates, a skateboard, or anything of the like before. I’ve always been scared of busting my behind.

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by ill man

ill man — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:47:58 +0000

Ah yes! the lesser spotted UAS (Urban Attention Seeker)

It used to be unicycles.

Comment on The eye test by Cocktails

Cocktails — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:14:13 +0000

I assume it’s not easily fixed then, otherwise 70-year olds would all have perfect vision.

Yours and Mrs Mondo’s tales are worrying but well-worth hearing. We get told in disability/accessibility training regularly that a very high percentage of the population have some kind of visual impairment (i.e. one that cannot be corrected by just wearing a single pair of glassses) and well, this just brings it home. Thanks for sharing.

Comment on The eye test by Piley

Piley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:54:33 +0000

Thanks… I guess what makes this hard for me is I had fab eyes for 40 years… all taken for granted, then WHAM! my left eye ages approx 30 years in a few minutes. My actual eye was (and still is) very good and very strong… it’s just the lens that’s rubbish. It was described to me like this… say you bought a million pound camera, and then bought the lens from the pound shop… the pictures are still gonna be crap…

I’m told that by the time i’m 65/70, my good eye is likely to be similar to my bad eye, which is little consolation really!

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by Cocktails

Cocktails — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:36:13 +0000

8-9 years old is clearly the peak age for roller-skating (that or being a Stokey tosser or working for Tesco in Southend). Perhaps the skating people are just having some kind of delayed childhood – roller-skating in the street, space-hopping around the home, yes?

I’m sorry, Mondo, but your Bodyform ad is lost on me. That IS a ‘feminine hygiene product’ isn’t it? I thought that a surfboard would have been a more apt metaphor in any case.

Piley, are you sure that’s not some kind of sitcom rather than real life? Sounds completely and utterly bizarre.

And Piley and Mondo, while I think of it ,you could include the Fatback Band on the bus themed episode of your fab podcast…

Comment on The eye test by Cocktails

Cocktails — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:23:24 +0000

Oh boy, Piley, tales like that make me feel very bad about wingeing about my eye sight and trips to the optician. At least glasses fix the problem! I really don’t know what so say – I know how absoutely frustrating it is when my eyesight suddenly deteriorates, I can’t see in the distance so well (or close-up for that matter!) and my prescription needs changing, but cannot possibly imagine what it would be like to have that constantly being a problem AND at different distances.

I guess a consoling thought (and probably for all the people commenting on this) is that having bad eyesight is much better than having hearing problems. I honestly think I’d be suicidal if I had a life without music.

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by Piley

Piley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:57:57 +0000

must be a London thing, no sign of it in Essex… although in our local Tescos a couple of years back they did have, rather randomly, an old guy (easy in his 70s) who was permanently on roller skates. he used to hang round the checkouts and when there was a price query, or slit bag or somat, ‘ol wheely was called over and he’d scoot off at double quick speed to get a replacement… that was a bit mad

Comment on The eye test by Piley

Piley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:54:20 +0000

a long story and all a bit of an ongoing living nightmare really…

i’ve had a cataract in one eye for some time, in 2008 I was advised by the optician (wrongly as it turned out) to have it done. My sight is now shit in that eye, and a million times worse than before i had it done.

I guess you know that what you get when you have the lens replaced is a ‘fixed’ lens… the zoom type bit don’t work anymore. So my left eye is set at a permanent focus… at least it should have been, its not focused on ANY level, and everything is blurred to varying degrees. The least out is long distance which is 0.5 ‘out’ compared to my good eye. Middle vision is 1.50 out compared to my other eye, and close up is the worst, I can’t see anything at all now and it’s out by 2.75… I now have two eyes with completely different focus, which is, frankly, a misery. I don’t get on well with varifocals, so am continually ’swapping’ glasses. I drop a ‘middle’ vision contact in on my bad eye and that’s the best i can do, so long vision is blurred as is close vision… i have to put glasses on top of the contact to read or drive.

It’s very disorientating, I can almost get away without glasses for long vision (although it will give me a headache in the end), but of course, when you are walking about, things that are ‘long’ eventually get nearer!! So the nearer things get the more blurred they get…

wish you hadn’t asked??!!

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by planet mondo

planet mondo — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:05:20 +0000

I got a pair for Christmas (aged 8 I think) took one trip around the block with both legs up in the air for most of it came home and canned them off..

Sunday morning I drove past a lady walking towards Petticoat Lane with a family sized suitcase balanced atop sher noggin. Not on roller skate mind, but a moment of randomness all the same..

And why did Bodyform use a roller skater as a motif – never quite got that one – possibly the last great ad’ song too

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by BLTP

BLTP — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:00:20 +0000

there’s an annoying sk8ter boi in stokey who goes to pub in them it’s obviously his thing but well honestly, you know me I’m mr sushine normally but any form of “Xtreme sport” has me reaching for my…..

Comment on A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane” by ishouldbeworking

ishouldbeworking — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:38:12 +0000

I was given a pair of roller skates for my ninth birthday, but when I discovered they don’t work very well on grass, I lost interest.

There used to be lots of very posey-poncey rollerbladers around Hove, but you don’t see that many any more, so they must all have been killed. Perhaps the revival has begun?

Comment on The eye test by Cocktails

Cocktails — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:01:10 +0000

Glad you enjoyed the post Keith – and even better that I have another specs wearing reader. Goggle wearers of the world unite!

Comment on The eye test by Keith

Keith — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:54:45 +0000

Great post. You definitely are reminding me of how much I hate going to the doctor. It drives me crazy to get eye exams. I’ve worn glasses since I was a kid.

Comment on The eye test by ishouldbeworking

ishouldbeworking — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:24:40 +0000

Nah, you’re right – I’ve never been normal. But normality’s for squares, and me, I’m a hepcat, Daddyo. I don’t even NEED these glasses!

*bodyswerves ‘Higsons’ question*

Comment on The eye test by Cocktails

Cocktails — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:59:29 +0000

No, my eyesight isn’t that bad either Dave, I just don’t drive. Which has both positives and negatives…

That sounds very ominous Piley. Ruined in a few short seconds? Is it ok? Can you see with that eye?