Views from the shelf.

A sense of perspective

2012-03-13T17:07:00.002+00:00

I have just watched Panorama about Syria.

I cried as I watched a little two year old boy heave a last few breaths, his stomach heaving and rising as his heart and lungs desperately tried to keep him alive. He was riddled with shrapnel, and a gaping wound on his upper chest was found by a frantic doctor, and which told him there was no chance, no way to help his writhing body keep him alive. The little lad, still a baby at two, died a horrid, half naked, grubby, painful death, and he screamed for help and his mother watched...........unbearable for me to watch, let alone his distraught helpless family.

Then, a woman recalls how the men and boys of Homs were chased down by government forces and caught and she watched as a 12 year old boy had a soldiers boot stamped on his neck, while another of his captors cut his throat..................for fucks sake, he was a child. The thought was so horrific, especially knowing my boy was feet away blissfully ignorant whilst doing his homework in the next room, that I wept again.

Words fail me....................the west fails those children, the UN fails them miserably. Shame on the Russians, who in Stings words are meant to "love their children too", and shame on the Chinese. Both nations of course vetoing any UN action in Syria. I know it's not all Russians/Chinese, but they come across as such cruel regimes and people at times like these.

I feel somewhat ashamed that I have the life I do, compared to such horrors. It is so easy to get a sense of perspective watching the terror of little children.

Terror? Ahhh the "war on terror"? Such an absurd concept, as war creates..............well .....terror.

So we are at war against the consequences of what "we" are involved in.......?

As a clever man once said, ‎"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein

Elsewhere in my world..............

I should blog more often, as it helps. So here I am. I should try harder to get fitter. Work in progress, but laziness and motivation are a problem, not that I am blessed with an inordinate amount of free time what with the job, and being a single parent.

Not that I am complaining about either, as the job is great in content, and I enjoy it and am blessed with great colleagues, one in particular who is and has been an angel on my shoulder from day one. I can't complain about father/parenthood either. My ever wonderful, clever, witty, funny, and immensely kind and gentle son continues to enrich and expand my life on a daily basis in many ways. I can honestly say I learn something new each day. It is a joy, a privilege, an honour, and a labour of reciprocal and unconditional love to be present in his life, and to share mine with him. To watch him grow is truly wonderful.

So, still trying to lose the extra weight gained since giving up smoking. It bothers me a little, I don't want to be a porker, and it hinders my slim chances of romance I am sure. Not that I am bothered by a queue at the door of members of the fairer sex you understand. I am painfully aware, albeit resigned, that a balding single dad, approaching 50, is not the most attractive proposition, let alone one that is getting a little rotund.

Add to that I don't live in the "right" part of town, or drive the "right" sort of car, and the house needs decorating, and the garden needs sorting as spring is upon us. So much work...........It will keep me out of mischief this spring/summer.

I visited my mum in hospital a few days ago, because she had a fall and broke her ankle and leg and fractured her pelvis. In addition to that she has been told her breast cancer is back and she will have to undergo a mastectomy. It may have spread further. Waiting upon the outcome of an MRI scan before anymore is known. If it has spread then they will not carry out the breast op. That doesn't sound good. More later. It's too upsetting to write about or think about right now.

Anyway, after visiting, Callum asked to see where I was brought up and lived when I was his age, so we made a short detour to Paulsgrove.

It was a really great half hour. Callum got to see places that he only knew in anecdotes, such as a pub wall I used to climb, destroying my new school shoes in the process. I was bought new shoes, my dad recounted to Callum, and warned not to re-climb said wall. Only to be caught red handed, or footed, climbing the wall two days later, as mum and dad passed in the car on the way home from shopping intending to pick me up on the way.

Sadly, as we approached my old junior and infant school, I noticed it had been pulled down, and all that remained were the building footprints and a piece of rubble here and there. I felt quite sad. All those memories, all those little battles, the struggles, the learning, (both academic and life). First day, first "girlfriend", first kiss, first fight, first school punishment, and so on, all came flooding back in a light speed style slide show of highlights and lowlights.

I showed Callum the journey from my old house to the local shop, which, when I was 8 or 9 seemed an epic trek of Hollywood proportions, but in reality is a five minute walk, crossing one road.

I almost caught sight of myself running along a part-built M27 at that time, and that is close by. I was running away from home, in my slippers, (an obviously well thought out and well prepared for event), in the direction of my Nans, some 6 miles away, who was of course going to "save me" from my telling off for breaking a second lava lamp in ten days..........ahhh the "terror"..............which brings me back to the start of this blog.

My perceived terror then, to the reality in Homs for another little boy having real fear for his life, and having that fear become an horrific reality.

Real and proper terror I will hopefully never, ever experience in my cosy, cosseted life. Obviously no comparison, and I obviously had no sense of the perspective I would compare some 40 years later.

I leave this blog with two thoughts that popped into my head this week. The first in relation to Facebook. The second Twitter.

What Warhol predicted, has Zuckerberg delivered?

We used to aspire to share bodily fluids, now it's 280 characters?

TTFN

Are we Arsene Wenger?

2011-11-05T12:15:00.000+00:00

It has been a while since I posted anything of any interest, well at least to me anyway, but don't get all excited as this one might not change that perception!!
I have decided to just sit here with an open post and comment on the world as it passes my shelf, which it seems is too high for a variety of things to happen.
Anyhow............Greece eh? Seems to me the bigger boys in Europe are bullying little Greece into doing as they want to protect their game, (the Euro), and they don't seem to care a jot about Greece or its people. They are, it seems, expendable as long as the big boys survive. However, I can only see it ending in tears, as all bullies eventually do, as it's gonna get them all in the end. Thank God we are not in the Euro.

In the meantime, the 1% will carry on shafting the 99% as long as possible, but even this game will have to end soon. I do fear civil unrest and riots of a nature never seen before across the world over the next 5 years. It cannot be right that the people to carry the can for the utter greed of a few are those least able to suffer the constant squeezing and shafting.

But, as I commented on my Facebook page to the annoyance of some now ex "friends", the establishment is very clever in keeping the majority "asleep" to the truth. What I mean by that is that various "comfy" distractions are all around that take our minds off the feeling and fact that we are all being buggered stupid where it matters.
X-Factor, Strictly Come Dancing, Big Brother, Eastenders, The Only Way is Essex, and other such programmes flood our TV screens, and "celebrity" stories in magazines and newspapers turned into episodic salacious drama, all serving to turn the head, and keep us "sleeping".

The world is centred on the latest iPod iPhone iPad making sure we are a planet of iNosee iNodo an iNohear people. We are all Arsene Wenger...........we didn't see it! We are outraged at Blackberry "going down" for 4 days, but not even mildly annoyed that 80000 children died from simple starvation in the same period......... Maybe blissful ignorance is better? The trouble is that once you know the truth you can't un-know it, and being "awake" is all there is.

He's a nutjob, but in parts he may be right.

Consuming has taken over from learning. It seems to be all about competition rather than education as far as our children are concerned.
That's all for now.

Words for Life

2011-09-11T16:16:00.000+01:00

Remember BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

Remember me when I am gone away,

Gone far away into the silent land;

When you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.

Remember me when no more day by day

You tell me of our future that you plann'd:

Only remember me; you understand

It will be late to counsel then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while

And afterwards remember, do not grieve:

For if the darkness and corruption leave

A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

Better by far you should forget and smile

Than that you should remember and be sad.

Time is too slow for those who wait,
Too swift for those who fear,
Too long for those who grieve,
Too short for those who rejoice,
But for those who love, time is
Eternity
HENRY VAN DYKE

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

--- Max Ehrmann, 1927

day 25 - a song that makes you laugh

2011-07-10T20:49:00.000+01:00

Here I am back on the 30 days song challenge...............that I started on 12th March!
Hardly in the spirit of the whole thing, but hey.........I am busy, no sorry, lazy.......that's the word I was looking for.
Anyhoo.............a song that makes me laugh.
Has to be a Python song. I never wanted to spend my time writing blogs....................I always wanted to be...........A LUMBERJACK! (note Tom Hanks bottom right in the video)

Nostalgia?

2011-06-02T19:10:00.007+01:00

I Haven't blogged as such for a while. Sorry about that, but a combination of hectic-harry life and the 30 day music challenge has gotten in the way. hahahahaha

Just read that sentence back. Hark at me?..................like I have an army of avid followers gasping for the next "edition" or my silly little life.................... behave!
Ahh the good old days! The music, the sights, the sounds of a place that we can never journey back to. But why do these memories of times past feel so nostalgic? What makes these memories so different from remembering what I had for breakfast last Tuesday? Nostalgia is exceptionally good at making us feel better when times are tough. It’s a little mental pick-me-up that reminds us of good times, good friends and a why it’s great to be alive.

Nostalgia……to me its the way I look at things long gone with time, whether unpleasant or pleasant experiences.

It is the best way to celebrate pleasant past experiences and to keep the fire burning, the memories alive and fresh like it was just yesterday. To blow them out of proportion so much so that the good times override all else.
Is it the best way to heal a wounded past? To remember lessons learnt the hard way, and to know its gone. To know that no odd is insurmountable and to acknowledge victory over challenges.

It is the best way to know I did my best, at enjoying it or at salvaging it. It cannot be bad to be nostalgic when I’m at peace with my past and when I have laid it to rest for whatever it was, good or bad, and that it's there to call on again.

Anyhoo..........lately I have "chatted" with old mates, either on Facebook, (hence inverted commas), or properly on a telemaphone in deep joy, like we used to back in the day. (I suddenly came over all Stanley Unwin-ese). In the process of these good chats, it suddenly struck me rather over-emotionally what joy it was to reminisce, but that afterwards there was the tinge of pain for the passing of wonderful days that were, with those people. My, I am a silly old fool at times. How the years have whizzed by. How caught up do we get, so that we don't realise the passage of time, or the people we connected with but became dis-connected from for a plethora of reasons?

I ask myself if it is really 32 years since I left school? Is it really 8 years since I last saw my mate Alan? Is it really 26 years since I "gigged" at Riverside with Matt as "Strangers In White", (what WERE we thinking with that name?) as support for "The Storm"? Is it really 12 years since The Manor shut? THE best club I have ever set foot in. Is it really 3 years on my own as a single parent, and 3 years alone?
I tell myself at least I experienced almost all there is to experience, one way or another, in life, but it seems cold comfort in some ways for where I find myself, even though I would not change my life in respect of my wondrous son, who has made me a better person, and changed and enriched my life in so many ways. C'est la vie........... we get what we deserve, based on the choices we make I guess. Mustn't grumble...............(reminds me of Mark n Lard).

Still I am planning to catch up with the old friends by visiting them in the coming months. If the mountain wont come to Mohammed's place for a coffee.................

To feel nostalgia does not necessarily mean you want to turn away from the present or the future; it’s enough to feel that you can’t ever go back to a place where you were happy. Sometimes I think even happiness doesn't matter, that even places where you were unhappy can call out to you, if enough time has passed. And by “place” I mean, of course, “time”.

Postscript:

A wise person just told me of "scary sentiments" and I love that way of putting it. Also, the wise person commented about us looking good now in the future which is pretty profound.

However, the beauty of looking back right now is that it is to a time of our teens and twenties when there was endless possibility and we had the "beauty and power" of our youth as Baz eloquently put it.

Will we feel the same looking back in twenty years time at a period when we made our mistakes? When we were tainted by our grown up adventures, and forever altered by others treatment of us and the darker times.

I think the beauty of the looking back this first time is that it reminds us of an innocence maybe, but more importantly a time of freedom and worry free life, albeit that we didn't appreciate it then. The sadness for me is knowing of the possibilities and opportunities that those days represent that I missed or didn't recognise.

30 day song challenge.....day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral

2011-05-09T21:53:00.000+01:00

Hmmmm........a very interesting question really. What songs to play at my own funeral. Indulgent to a degree as I wont be there to see the resultant tears or smiles dependant on what is played.
Does one choose music at ones own funeral to mark the occasion? To mark ones own musical tastes regardless of the fact it's a funeral? Should the music reflect a celebration of life or the mourning of passing?
I'd like to think it will be a mixture of all of these things but that means everyone, (presuming there will be anyone there.......), will be sat listening to music for an hour hahahahahaha
So just 3 tracks maybe, and I make no apologies for repeating this one as the lyrics say it all for me when the time comes......something along the lines of "Please let me start it all over again, I'll get it right and do it better next time"

day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding

2011-04-21T14:57:00.000+01:00

As I have already been married and have already posted a song or two that was played at it, I don't really want to repeat them.

I then thought of a song that I wanted to play at my wedding, but which my wife to be, (now ex), thought was too over romantic/sloppy. So.............it didn't get played, but I still think it's perfect for a wedding, sung by the groom to the bride. Who knows, maybe one day I'll hear it played...................

day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad

2011-04-20T19:36:00.000+01:00

I don't really like these 'angry' 'happy' 'sad' reasons for listening to music. Maybe, and most probably, there are people who put on certain music to match a certain mood.
However, for the purposes of the 30 day challenge.............
I guess there are a few tracks I would listen to if I wanted to wallow in self pity for a while, get a few tears of frustration out of the system, then, as the track had served its purpose, turn it off, and just carry on with life.

From a "romance" point of view there is one track that makes me melancholy, reflective on past mistakes, but at the end a little hopeful, but I guess...........sad. However, it does speak for lots of things apart from the obvious romantic point of view in the song.
I would say that for almost all of us, we are probably still waiting and striving for perfection or as near as damn-it...........and we have all of us made mistakes. The trick is to not beat oneself up too much about the mistakes, and to hope we don't make them again.

day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy

2011-04-10T15:17:00.002+01:00

I can't think of any particular track that I listen to when happy. Much like the sad one, there isn't really a type of music I rush to listen to when in any particularly emotional state.
So, I have gone for a duplication, which is very apt in honour of the wonderful weather these last few days.

day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry

2011-04-04T12:00:00.001+01:00

These last few choices are difficult. I don't really rush to find a particular track when I am angry, as anger is rarely a part of my life. If I am ever feeling that way I guess I listen to something to calm me, or to push me to be reflective on the situation that made me angry in the first place. If I had to be angry-ish then I would go for a harder version of a track, which for me would be a dance remix maybe.
However, upon reflection and a look through my collection, it could only be...........why did I EVER think different? It has to be Johnny and the boys!It's angry, I love it, and it's current as well.

day 19 - a song from your favourite album

2011-04-01T17:54:00.000+01:00

Getting fed up with the word favourite! I have many...............
There is my favourite 80s album, favourite rock or indie or electronic or dance, and favourite album at the moment........etc
A favourite album of the last 2 or 3 years in that I like most every track is Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night...........one track in particular from the album struck a chord within me and reminded me of someone. The lyrics could easily be that person explaining why they did what they did at a certain time.

day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio

2011-03-30T19:03:00.000+01:00

This is not so much a song but a simple bit of advice put to music. I think it should be played everyday, on every radio show, right at the start. There are a lot of people that could do with sitting and listening to it when they feel that times are hard or the rat race is all too much.
I wish Baz Lurhmann had written a whole album of advice. Wise words indeed.

day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio

2011-03-29T10:06:00.000+01:00

As far as radio goes I am still a Radio 1 listener, and not ready for the pipe and slippers of radio just yet. I am not trying to stay "hip & trendy", (use of that phrase alone proves my point), but I still enjoy new music.
I am a Chris Moyles fan on the way to work, as it's fun and not too heavy and quite funny at times which is light enough for the mornings.
I am usually in the office the rest of the time, but if out on site visits I don't mind Ferne Cotton or Greg James, but usually prefer Radio 5 live. I listen a lot in the kitchen or on the internet to Zane Lowe early evening. Bit of Radio 2 and 4 now and again and that's about it. Commercial radio is far too repetitive and too many adverts interrupting for too long so I avoid it.
This track has been on a lot lately and it's from what is already an absolute classic album.

day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate

2011-03-28T20:46:00.000+01:00

As I have said before, hate is a very strong word so I will ignore it again!
In my experience with regard to music, once I like something I like it, and it's rare for me to go off it, let alone "hate it". So I suppose I am going to settle for something I liked listening too and for whatever reason I can't any longer.
So..........this track seemed perfect to have played at my wedding and lyrically it was from me to her, and it was a favourite then, and I made sure it was played as we left the ceremony for our life together as man and wife, so that "Sail away with me, I put my heart in your hands and what will be will be" would actually mean something.............I can no longer listen to it for the emotional attachment and what it represents rather than musical reasons.
The video is even more apt as it is Bournemouth coast, where I live now, and where we moved for a fresh start.......Great track, shame about the marriage!

day 15 - a song that describes you

2011-03-27T23:03:00.000+01:00

Only one that springs straight to mind. A childhood hero says it perfectly.

day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love

2011-03-26T12:29:00.000+00:00

This is an interesting one. Mainly because I don't know what my friends and family know what I like musically really, and so wouldn't know what to expect. However, I assume they can see that I am not a really big Country and Western fan, or Operatic classics, or a Industrial thrash metal enthusiast.
So, this one may raise a couple of eyebrows, but probably not a great shock
I found it whilst setting youtube on random one evening, and thought the track was great, energetic, and a little mad, and that the title was brilliant too.

day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure

2011-03-26T12:15:00.000+00:00

Apparently a guilty pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. The "guilt" involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes in fashion, music, or even junk food.

This describes my choice well, as even though it is a brilliant pop song with a great hook, the female vocalist is far too young, and the music far too young, and the message one I learned a long time ago too. But it's just a great fun track..............and I bought it on itunes the first day I heard it some months before it came out. I'm such a trendsetter........NOT!

Cinderella strides, and the wide awake club.

2011-03-25T19:38:00.005+00:00

I have, at last, managed to find some school trousers that fit Callum in waist AND leg. I am so happy I hugged Callum who just looked bemused and muttered something about "mad".
However, this is no "small potatoes" as far as I am concerned. This is quite simply the best news this year so far!
Only once have I managed to find school trousers that were a perfect fit in all the time he has been at at school. As he is on the larger side for his age, I can find them to fit the waist, but then they are too long in the leg by about 6 inches..............not good, as he looks like he is wearing cast downs from an older but circus dwelling brother. If I get the right leg, the waist is too small and his torso looks like a barrage balloon tied at the middle.

I have searched specialist shops, but they want silly money to make him some to fit. We have seen the insides of the fitting rooms of Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda and M&S, all to no avail and much wailing and tantrums.........me, not Callum.
I have joined, and ordered from, several, and I mean several, mail order books and opened accounts and returned numerous packages. Purely by accident I noticed an ad for "generous fit" trousers for school children that are not waifs but not obese. So, I ordered for a 10 year old and crossed my fingers.
An email arrived saying they were out of stock, but the website didn't say so, and I tore out what little hair I have left, (I have so little I can name each hair individually), and thought that was it. Then, a strange man rang the bell today and thrust a package in my face grunting, "Sign!" I signed, and opened the package, and saw a note that advised me that stock was now full and here was my order, (3 months later), as more stock had arrived. Apparently I had not ticked a box which meant that when new stock was available it would be sent.
I asked Callum to try them on, and he protested "not again dad".........it was a Cinderella type moment as I shouted, making Callum jump in the process, "THEY FIT.................THEY ONLY FUCKING FIIIITTT"
I then had to swiftly apologise to Callum who scolded me!! How sad that I was so overjoyed that I swore?

It's that I have felt so guilty in sending my little man to school knowing that he was uncomfortable either physically or mentally, or guilty that I have over fed him................ but God these new strides are abso-fuckin-lutely spot-fuckin-on. I whooped and hugged him.............hahahahahahaha.
Is my life so sad that this is the best I can do, or is it normal behaviour? Who cares, the trousers fit!!!!!

Back to Earth now.
I missed blogging on days 13 and 14 of the 30 days music challenge, and will catch up three days tomorrow, or maybe one tonight as Callum has had a 24/36 hour bug. He was violently sick 20 minutes before leaving school yesterday, and again after dinner, which was beans on toast as I was mindful of projectile vomiting if his dinner was too complicated the last time he had an upset tummy. ("Not tummy dad, I am older now, so it's stomach").
He slept in my bed so I could keep an eye as he had a temp, and so Calpol and Neurofen administered as well as copious amounts of filtered cold water. We retired at 8pm last night as he wanted to go to bed but not alone. Bless him as he told me that he was scared being sick without me around. This was the first time he'd been sick anywhere else but home with me to comfort him. The school reported hearing him in the toilets crying and calling for his dad.
I watched TV until 11.30pm while he slept, and then put the bedside lamp out. The little sod seemed to rally at about midnight, just as I was falling asleep, as he woke me to say he felt better. He woke me again at 00.38 to say he was sweaty. He woke me at 01.08 to advise me that I was snoring and could I stop it? He woke me at 01.19 "Dad! Stop snoring please" 01.48 "Dad I want a drink" 03.35 "Dad....STOP snoring it woke me up". 04.30 Dad are you okay you're not snoring. I politely, although he said not, asked that he go to his own room, as I was entitled to snore in my own bed thank you very much. 04.59 "You're not looking after me much talking to me like that. But it doesn't matter, (kisses me on the head), because I am feeling much better now. Finally at 06.10 "Dad.........I love you. Do I have to go to school today, because it is light now" 06.30 Alarm goes off

................"Dad I think I should stay home so I don't spread it".
"Why are you getting up?" Because I have to start work soon..............

Callum has been sick again, but seems better now. I am shattered.................but the trousers bloody well fit.

day 12 - a song from a band you hate

2011-03-23T19:49:00.001+00:00

As it is said..........."hate is a very strong word" and so in this instance I would agree. There isn't a band that I hate, or for that matter any particular music either. So for today's purpose I think I will stick with dislike.
God there could be so many tracks like this I could post............Boyzone came a close second, but the fact that Ronan Keating has actually got talent saved them! This stuff is banal, dull, and not at all manly!! It makes my ears and teeth hurt and for me could replace water-boarding as a means of prolonged torture all day long.

Inspiration amongst the madness.

2011-03-22T17:02:00.000+00:00

I have to start with one of the most inspirational things I have ever seen in team Hoyt.
http://www.teamhoyt.com/ I don't think there is any need for an explanation. I cry every time I see it. It's not that it is not impossible or unbelievable because it isn't.
It is incredible because of that level of commitment and love, and that a lot of parents find it unusual, whereas to me it should be the sort of thing ANY parent would willingly do for their precious children. I sometimes wonder why this planet does not value its most precious "commodity" enough, but will kill for oil or gold!

Lately I find myself becoming more politicised, and "involved" in what is happening around me, whether it is local issues related to where I live or where I work, or national issues in politics or simple fair play, or international issues like my recent interest in 9/11.
Perhaps it is an age thing? Perhaps it is being a parent? I have always enjoyed political debate more and more as I have aged an enjoy a good shout at the goons on "Question Time" on a Thursday night, and a reflection on the week watching "This Week" afterwards.

The other night I watched the second part of a programme for Comic Relief, in tears, as Lenny Henry and three other "celebs" lived and worked in the slums of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. Such dignity from the inhabitants on the same day that news reported that the worlds richest man had increased his wealth by 38% to £75 billion. That's 75,000,000,000.
It's not the worlds richests' fault of course, but there is an obscenity of that amount of wealth whilst more than one million people are crammed into an area measuring no more than 1.5 square miles, with no sanitation, power or running water. Part one is here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z6dnn
Part two is here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00zfxm0/Comic_Relief_2011_Famous_Rich_and_in_the_Slums_Part_2/
It seems beyond the will of major governments to eliminate such poverty such inhumanity, even though they COULD eliminate it within a few years, but they don't, and knowing the reasons why they don't is the tragic and angering thing for me.

Recently, there was the huge earthquake and tsunami has hit Japan and it may be one of the biggest disasters to hit the world for a while, but natural disasters seem to be more prevalent these days...........hmmmm the Bible says that these things are a sign of the beginning of the end of days.

I have watched and listened too as Chris Moyles and Dave Vitty completed the longest radio show at 52 hours non stop and raised £2.6m, and Callum and I watched Comic Relief as I think he needs to see something that important for his understanding of such things going on in his world, and also to teach him some value, some humility, some gratefulness and respect for what he has, as well as compassion and understanding of what others do not have.
Incredibly moving scenes, incredibly funny people and incredibly great fund-raising.

Now the spectre of war is with us again. Once again our government sees fit to interfere with another countries affairs. Yes Gaddafi is a monster, but so is Mugabe. Yes its awful that Libyan civilians are killed by their own people, but it was awful in Rwanda. What the backbone-less UN decided is plain wrong. A no-fly zone was never going to achieve anything and was never as simple as stopping the Libyan air force.
The US and UK and France et al know damned well that the only way to end it will be to get rid of Gaddafi and the only way to do that will be with troops on the ground. If Gaddafi is not removed then all those countries arranged against him will be targets for him and his followers across the world. This is the man that arranged Lockerbie, and was arming and funding the IRA.......

Give me team Hoyt over team Cameron any day. But in the end it is all so insignificant as Professor Brian Cox tells us on a Sunday night.

day 11 - a song from your favorite band

2011-03-22T12:16:00.001+00:00

Another difficult track to pin down really. I don't really have an absolute favourite band, more like a favourite band "at the moment". Never been one for liking a band or artist and then religiously following and loving everything they do. I am more likely to hear something, and if I like it buy the album and attach it to a particular time or place, event or emotion. Perhaps that's the way everyone does it? I just never wanted to be blinded to everything else by just one particular band or artist or genre.

"At the moment" I am into Kings Of Leon, Plan B, and Chase and Status. A favourite band is Coldplay over the last few years, but back in the day it was Genesis or Queen or Pink Floyd and then Numan and all the New Romantic stuff, and then Oasis and Blur and then Trance and House..............
I guess I should go for something influential as opposed to a single emotional response, but anything really influential upon me in any way have been individual artists.
But I am going to stretch the point a little and go for Tubeway Army as although by the time real fame hit home the band reverted and always were in reality, Gary Numan. But.............on the album cover it says Tubeway Army, and I love this track to death.

day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep

2011-03-21T18:51:00.002+00:00

I can't really say that any piece of music has made me fall asleep, although I have fallen asleep whilst various music has been on, but never out of boredom.

I do love a plethora of chill-out music, or classical tracks or instrumentals.
This part of the 30 days gives me an opportunity to write about something I am very passionate about.
The one album that is almost sleep inducing that I own is Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks by Brian Eno. It was written, produced, and performed by Brian Eno, his brother Roger and Daniel Lanois. Music from the album appeared in the films 28 Days Later, Traffic and Trainspotting, and two of the songs from the album, "Silver Morning" and "Deep Blue Day", were issued as a 7" single. The latter is a track I adore and had at my wedding.
This album is a real favourite in all the world, as are the films they were for, as the "space race" enthralled me as a child and I knew all there was to know about space from 1967 to 1975, especially the Apollo programme, which included all the moon landings. I had scale models that were used on the TV programmes, simulating what was to come, as my dad knew the guy that hand made them, (no Airfix in those days).

This music was originally recorded in 1983 for a feature length documentary movie called "Apollo" later retitled For All Mankind, directed by Al Reinert. The original version of the film had no narration, and simply featured 35mm footage of the Apollo moon missions collected together roughly chronologically, and set to Eno's music as it appears on the CD. Very ethereal and eerie, like the emptiness of space.
Although the film had some limited theatrical runs at so-called "art house" movie theatres in some cities, audience response was lukewarm. The film-makers still felt the film could do better if it reached a wider audience, and so they re-edited the film, added narration, re-structured the music, and re-titled the film in the process. Various edits of the film were shown to test audiences for further refining. As all this was going on, the film’s release was delayed until 1989. By that time several tracks on the album were omitted from the soundtrack and replaced by other pieces by Eno and other artists.
Eno relates that when he watched the Apollo 11 landing in 1969 he felt that the strangeness of that event was compromised by the low quality of the television transmission and an excess of journalistic discussion, and that he wished to avoid the melodramatic and up-tempo way it was presented. That philosophy dominated when For All Mankind ("Apollo") was originally released as a non-narrative collection of NASA stock footage from the Apollo programme. The non-narrative version of the film with the Eno soundtrack was released on VHS video in 1990 by the National Geographic Society.
My favourite and I think most relaxing track perfectly encapsulates the Americans or "Cowboys" in space and mixes synths and country and western in an inspired ambient piece.
Country music, which Eno listened to as a child on American armed forces radio, was used to "give the impression of weightless space"
Many of the tracks on the album were recorded with soft "attacks" of each note, then played backwards, with multiple heavy echoes and reverb added in both directions to merge the notes into one long flowing sound with each note greatly overlapping each adjacent note, producing the "floating" effects.
Well, I love that music anyway what I find impressive about it is that it’s very concerned with space in a funny way. Its sound is the sound of a mythical space, the mythical American frontier space that doesn’t really exist anymore. That’s why on Apollo I thought it very appropriate, because it’s very much like "space music" it has all the connotations of pioneering, of the American myth and of the brave individual.

See what you think.................

day 09 - a song that you can dance to

2011-03-20T19:53:00.001+00:00

There are just so many and I have already listed "Insomnia"...........what to go for?
I have danced round the handbags with the ladies, on my own in my home, just in that sort of mood, and on a podium off my face..............

This track used to get me up on the dance floor no matter what my state and still gets me today as it's a mix of romance in the lyrics, with some funky house and trance thrown in. Perfect...........let's boogie!!!

day 08 - a song that you know all the words to

2011-03-19T15:17:00.002+00:00

There are so very many that fit this category, so I have tried to pick out one that has a story.
I remember my mum singing this one a lot and so I probably learned the words early, and then back in the 80's I did an up to date version with a friend called Clyde Ward, (brilliant musician and producer now in Cyprus and working with many famous artists, including Right Said Fred), in his studio, in the hope a German record company might be interested. We did an 80's version a little like Billy Idol and so I had to learn it word perfect and did quite a few takes.

day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event

2011-03-18T17:21:00.002+00:00

I am cheating a little here, for two events are brought to mind any-time I hear a Queen song. One is when I first met a gifted musician that became a lifelong friend, and where I met other good friends, and the other event is Live Aid.

Firstly, I remember hearing Queen being played brilliantly and the sound of the piano drifting from a music room at school. It was late 1975, and I had just joined the schools 2nd year after moving home so I was short on friends and a bit lost after moving from a boys grammar school to a mixed comprehensive.

Playing the piano in that room was a boy who became my best mate. There were also friends of this musical genius, who also became my friends for the life of my secondary education and teenage years and I still count one as a good friend now, but became disconnected from the other two.

Matt Jessup is quite simply one of the most talented musicians I have EVER seen, and he was that pianist. He could play Queen or Genesis or Floyd at will along with many other tunes anyone would care to request. He was usually surrounded by entertained masses in the tiny music room at most breaks or lunchtimes, so there is my first "event" that any Queen tune reminds me of.
Alan Chun is the other thoroughly good friend, decent human being, and an early martial arts teacher, early "life coach" and worldly wise friend, albeit that I didn't know it at the time, of mine. Glen and Rod completed the quintet that was a happy quartet before I intruded, but they all welcomed me into the fold, after the usual teething and testing of course.

The second "event" that any Queen tune reminds me of is simply the day Queen ruled the musical world in my opinion............Live Aid at Wembley Stadium 13 July 1985.