Shaving

What is it about shaving that I hate so much? Is it the overpriced blades, the extra blade added every year to the cutting edge (ho, ho, ho) razors - Mach 56 turbo, get your friend to hold it with you - or the fact that you stand in a cold bathroom shirtless for five minutes trying to ensure you don't nick yourself? Every holiday I avoid shaving with enthusiasm.

Saddam

I was just about to post my thoughts on the execution of Saddam when I read John D's blog. He says everything I was going to say so I see little point in saying the same things using slightly different words - just read John's thoughts which I agree wholeheartedly with.

A Belated Happy Christmas ...

... to both my readers.

And a fond farewell to the Godfather of Soul, Mr James Brown. Let's see you Get On Up now.

BBC Team of the Year

Congratulations to St Helens who were voted as team of the year tonight. I must admit I thought the Ryder Cup team would win it but justice was done in the end! Let's hope it encourages the BBC to beef up its coverage of rugby league in general. Oh hang on ...

















To top it off, Daniel Anderson got Coach of the Year as well.

Yet More ...

Thanks to 'TwoPints' for these two photos.

Bragg Pics

Bill rocks out!

Burnley part Two ...

Paul (on the right) got talking to two of the ‘crew’ Bren (on the left) and Dave (middle)whom he had met before (of course!). They are Bill’s personal security but really they are just two incredibly fanatical Bragg fans – Bill’s Ultras. They go on tour with Bill, paying for their own accommodation and doing bits of this and that.

Two really nice blokes and not what you would expect your typical Bragg fan to look like at all.

Dave and Paul.

Bren must be the world’s authority on Bragg stuff and has a huge collection of discs and other memorabilia at home. He even had a picture of Bill tattooed on his thigh!

BB had asked to lean on the back of Bren's jacket so he could sign a t-shirt for someone and when Bren checked, Bill had written Take Down The Union Jack (a Bragg song, for those not familiar) across his flag.

We stayed to have a chat with Bill and ended up going for a drink to Wetherspoons with Bren, Dave and Mark. A late night but well worth it.

One surprise for me was the complete lack of a BNP presence outside or in. I had expected a token protest in Burnley of all places, but nothing was forthcoming. Of course BB’s audience is predominantly of his thinking and he’s not really the type to attract too many ‘neutrals’ who could be converted but that doesn’t diminish his message. If only one or two people decide to confront fascist behaviour as a result of being convinced a bit more then it must be worth it.

If It's Sunday it must be Burnley

Well, what a fantastic evening we had last night in Burnley (how often can you say that?). We got there at 7:30pm to find that Burnley Mechanics Club has two bars serving real ale - Archers Porter and another one I can't remember, even though I was drinking it. We got a couple of beers and wandered round looking at the stalls of anti-fascist material and Bragg merchandise.




Paul being the ligger he is, soon made contact with Billy’s manager whom he had met a few times before and got a promise to go backstage afterwards. At this stage I was racking my brains to remember who the support act was when Paul told me there had been an announcement whilst I was at the bar reminding us that Mr B was doing two hour-long sets tonight. I had forgotten this, despite having posted the self-same information on this blog only a few days earlier. Those of a certain age will no doubt sympathise.

As you were allowed to take your drinks with you we went straight upstairs and managed to walk straight to the front and rest our drinks on the stage. The backdrop was the anti-fascist Stop the BNP one with the Spanish Civil War Republican slogan No Pasaran (They shall not pass) (pic). The bloke next to us was following the early part of the tour, having done York and Holmfirth – Mark (or Twopints as BB called him) was a top fella too.














About 15 minutes later Bill strolled on and kicked off with To Have and To Have Not.



First Set List


To Have and to Have Not
All you Fascists are Bound to Lose
Farm Boy (new song)
Like Soldiers Do (slow version)
She's got a New Spell
England Half English
Must I Paint You a Picture
Sing their Souls Back Home (new song)
The Saturday Boy
Greetings to the New Brunette


All interspersed with rants, raps and humorous observations on talking cats on YouTube.

By the time I got back from the bar at the break (2 pints in preparation for the climax!) BB had just started the second set with Sexuality.

Second Set List

Sexuality
>The Price I Pay
>Harama Valley (for 86 year old Ethel, who sent Billy an old Labour party songbook)
King James Version
The Carpenters' "Superstar" and Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" (his busking choices for the evening)
Milkman of Human Kindness
Johnny Clash - "the Old Clash Fan Fight Song"
I Keep Faith
Levi Stubbs' Tears
Power in a Union

Encore:
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
A New England


Bill announced that he would be in the foyer shortly to sign whatever people wanted. Paul had brought along 6 or 7 CDs for signing and gave me three of them so he wouldn’t be too embarrassed! I bought a Brewing Up With Billy Bragg mug which I got signed.







and also got my ticket stub signed


















and I bought an International Brigade t-shirt, being an old idealist myself.


















More in part two ...

Echo and the Bunnymen

They were my favourite group when at Uni - I even had the Mac hairstyle. Ah, good times.

Indigo Girls

I absolutely love this song. They are probably far too hippyish and earnest for many but there's just something about it.

Mark E

... and talking of the venerable Mr Smith this pic, shamelessly nicked from someone else's blog, made me laugh.

That's number two son's Christmas pressie sorted then.

Jools

Watching Later ... tonight (it's still on, I just got bored) two things struck me.

1. (and my elder son will hate me for this) 80% of Red Hot Chili Peppers' songs are the same song. They don't just sound like each other - they are the same song. Some of the other 20% are ok though and I can see why he likes them, given his age and his chosen instruments, drums and bass (but not in a jungle context); and

2. Tom Chaplin (left) of Keane looks just like I imagine Mark E Smith looked like at the age of 8.
Admittedly that photo doesn't do my theory justice but if you had seen him tonight you would have more of an idea.

Beware Tom, this lies ahead.

Kramer Spoof

Thanks to Sadfish on the RLFans Messageboards for finding this National Lampoon spoof of Michael Richards' recent ... ahem ... difficulties.

Big Nosed Bard of Barking

I'm off to see Billy Bragg again on Sunday in Burnley - part of his continuing Hope Not Hate tour raising awareness of the threat of racism and the rise of the BNP in the UK. This will be especially appropriate in Burnley - see Searchlight for more.

According to his website, "Billy will be performing solo on the tour, with each show split into two sets. The first will concentrate on songs from his just-released ‘Billy Bragg Volume 2’ box set while the second half will include a preview of songs Billy is recording for his new album next year." Sounds good to me - he's always excellent value.

All tour dates.

For some free, and legal, recordings of some of Mr B's gigs go here.

Scout Camp

I took the younger son to Scout Camp the other week for a 'Lads and Dads' weekend. For something I wasn't particularly looking forward to it turned out to be quite a good laugh - mainly due to staying up late on the Friday night drinking with the other Dads until 3am.
{l to r: Paul, Clem, Dave, Alan (Scout Leader), Andrew, Paul (obscured)}



It was good to get to talk to the others as I don't really know them that well - they were a good bunch of lads.
I've got a lot of admiration for Alan, the leader, and Helen, his wife. They put in a lot of time voluntarily and put up with cheeky young kids who probably don't really appreciate what they do.










Above: Clem finds something funny



Left: Christy (younger son) tries his skills with an air rifle.





We had to leave midway through Saturday afternoon as Christy was going to see Muse in Manchester. I thought that was a good option before the weekend, especially as it was cold, wet and windy, but I would actually like to have stayed all the time. Not sure I could have taken another 3am boozy session though! The lads tried shooting and archery as well as a bit of walking and plenty of running round screaming their heads off. I'm sure I'll be back. It was at Great Tower in the Lakes, near Newby Bridge.

HMHB Lyric of the Day

"I left my Chomsky at the Waterstones book launch,
Umberto Eco, Iranian crepes,
Great Uncle Corduroy invited us down to his gite,
Fresh bread, Kaleidoscope, Kinder Scout and Mam Tor"

'Split Single With Happy Lounge Labelmates' from the CD Four Lads who Shook The Wirral.

Coxon at 53 Degrees

As promised a blurred (no pun intended) picture of Mr C and a sketchy report.

The evening started well but that was thanks to a couple of decent beers in Bitter Suite opposite the venue. We got into the gig about 5 mins before the band came on, having completely missed the support act. Switches. When I was younger I used to religiously watch every support band and wore it as a badge of honour. God, I've seen some garbage down the years. Probably the worst was a band whose name I have fortunately forgotten who supported Wilko Johnson at St Helens Citadel. The guitarist wore a bin liner, presumably as an oblique reference to the rubbish being pumped out. Nowadays the lure of a decent pint or two is greater than the possibility of seeing the next big thing. Anyway, I digress.
The gig started fairly slowly and it was a surprise to hear Spectacular as the second song in. The audience were a bit dead to be honest but it did pick up after about halfway. He is such a muso and I think he forgets he has an audience sometimes as he gets lost in his guitar work. There was a six song encore, including a raucous version of The Jam's All Mod Cons that livened proceedings up a bit and just about rescued the night. I don't think that, for a purpose built venue, the sound is great at 53 Degrees. The highlight of the evening was seeing a Stephen Merchant lookalike but I didn't get close enough to see if he was looking at a nude lady pen.

HMHB Lyric of the Day

"I've got three from each section on the fixed odds coupon but I still don't want to got to Cuba,
'Cos Cuba's the new destination, Cuba's the new Iceland, and it'll be full of Italia Conti rejects, so no, I don't want to go to Cuba, I'd much rather go to Dorset with its wonderful Bulbarrow Hill"

'Third Track Main Camera Four Minutes' from the CD Trouble Over Bridgwater

Coxon

Off to see the sainted Graham on Friday. It looks like being a top night for lovers of guitar-based rock (copyright Sounds circa 1975). Watch this space for a report and hopefully very poor quality pictures taken on a shoddy mobile phone. You know you want it.

Grand Final 2006

Had a great evening on Saturday at the RL Grand Final. Obviously it was perfect with Saints winning convincingly but the atmosphere was the best for any Grand Final I have been to, and all credit to the Hull fans for that. The only downer was the 80 minutes it took to get off the car park afterwards.

The players (above top) celebrated in style, as did Christy (above below) !


Eamon MacManus and Daniel Anderson show off the trophy.

United 93

I watched this on DVD tonight and thought it was well made, sensitive and without undue sentiment. God forgive me though, and I feel like my fellow blogger John D (a bad man who is probably going to hell) but I couldn't help but be reminded at every turn, of the movie Airplane. I know it's insensitive but it looks like I picked the wrong week to give up sniffing glue.

HMHB Lyric of the Day

A blast from the past - hopefully a more regular item now:

"You come on like a dream, Julian Bream. lips like David Vine"

Tonight Matthew, I'm Going to be with Jesus from the CD Voyage to the Bottom of the Road

The Departed

Went to see Scorsese's latest offering tonight and I was mightily impressed - well, up until the last 15 minutes or so where it seemed to lose its way a little. I'll not spoil it for anyone who will be going to see it (as if anyone reads this stuff) but it is stil worth watching. 7 out of 10 for me.

England International Football

It's crap, isn't it?

Yet more Wogan

Whilst not necessarily on a one-man crusade against Terry Wogan I did think it was less than wise to read out a listener's 'funny' email about the programme What Not To Wear which described Susannah as 'having spent too long under the sunbed; the 'joke' being that Trinny and Susannah no longer present the show and the reference was to Mica Paris who is one of the new presenters. To me that is not so far away from describing her as having a touch of the tarbrush.

More Radio 2

I'm on a roll now ... Stuart Maconie, standing in for Ken Bruce played Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) by A Flock of Seagulls.

Quite a rare occurrence I imagine but slap me sideways only a couple of hours later on the Jeremy Vine Show, not only did the group feature again but with the same song. Is there a secret 'crap '80s groups' playlist we are not privy to? I await with earplugs the impending playing of The Fixx, Modern English, Swans Way and Kissing The Pink.

Footless Tights with Skirts ...

...Why?

Radio 2

I like Radio 2. Obviously not everything is to my taste (The Organist Entertains, anyone?) but it offers a wide selection of shows to cater for most music lovers. Country, Folk, Blues, Reggae, Rock'n'Roll, Showtunes - all have their own show and their documentaries are usually worth a listen.

I'm not a big fan of Wogan - listening to Sarah Kennedy then Wogan is like being subjected to the talking book version of the Daily Mail - but my partner likes him. This morning on the news bulletin on his show there was a report on last night's MOBO awards summarising the main winners. Immediately afterwards Wogan came on and said "What the hell have the MOBO awards got to do with Radio 2?". What an ingnorant bigot. Most of the music played on the radio could be loosely described as 'of black origin'. At least Stuart Maconie is on now.

Teenagers eh?

"Pull your shorts up, son!"

Number One son on holiday in Turkey.

Bristol

Whilst the kids were on holiday with The Other Two (details available on request) we took ourselves off to Bristol for a weekend. We wanted to go somewhere we had not fully experienced before and Bristol fitted the bill. We are really glad we went. Bristol is a fabulous city with so much to experience. Its history is immense and it offers a lot in the way of gastronomical delights. Before we went we booked a meal at a restaurant called The Fishworks which was excellent. I tried skate wings for the first time and really enjoyed them, and the mussels were fantastic too. We also ate at a great tapas bar, whose name escapes me, but the real find of the weekend was a microbrewery/bar called Zero Degrees that brews five beers on the premises: a pilsner, a wheat ale, a pale ale, a dark lager and a seasonal brew, which whilst we were there was a superb mango beer. They also produce 5 litre kegs for takeaways so I struggled home with a keg of wheat ale in my backpack. Needless to say it didn't last the week.

We need another weekend there to do it anything like justice!

Madrid

Caroline and I are going to Madrid for a short break in November to see some old friends. This will be the first time I have been to Spain and not stayed in the usual coastal holiday destinations. I am really looking forward to seeing the 'real Spain' and will probably spend the next 6 or 7 weeks researching things I want to see and do. At the end of this I will have a list that will require 2 months to work through rather than the two days we have but, hey, that's part of the fun isn't it?

Turkey

We went on holiday to Turkey for a week just over two weeks ago (for those of you struggling to catch up, we have been back about 10 days). It was a place I have never been to before. I had read people's opinions (mixed) but what swayed me was that everyone I spoke to who had been recommended it unreservedly. I am now one of those people.

The people are very friendly - yes, they want your money and hustle you a bit, but a polite "No Thanks" almost always suffices. It is still very cheap to eat and drink out. We were in an apartment but it wasn't worth the hassle of cooking as a five course meal, with chicken or steak or fish, can be had for about £8. And it's not Brake Brothers special either.

The amusing thing is the fake goods - football shirts, t-shirts, jeans, perfume, handbags - you name it and you can get a copy of it in Turkey. We went to a market and every fifth stall started the cycle again: boxers, t-shirts, jeans, gameboy games, perfume etc ad nauseam. 25 pairs of Calvin Klein/Tommy Hilfiger/ Hugo Boss boxers for £10? No problem sir!

I had a shave, neck massage, facial scrub, face mask, ear and nose hair removal and hair gelling for about £8 and a day long boat trip for the 6 of us, including breakfast, lunch, all drinks and five or six stops at bays and villages cost us £45.

I would recommend it without hesitation.

Wyatting

I bought the latest issue of Uncut today. It's probably my favourite magazine. They have an article about a 'social phenomenon' known as 'Wyatting' (first outed in Carl Neville's blog , and subsequently in The Guardian). Named after Robert Wyatt's 1991 avant-garde jazz LP Dondestan the practice basically involves taking advantage of MP3 jukeboxes to put on obscure, painful and generally annoying tracks guaranteed to clear a pub.

This sounds very post-modern but, dear readers, I can reveal that I took part in early incarnations of Wyatting. Whilst at Leeds University in the early '80s we used to go into a pub (The Swan With Two Necks as I recall) and just before leaving would make three selections on the jukebox (vinyl of course), all of which were the B-side to Reward by the Teardrop Explodes - a difficult little ditty called Strange House in the Snow, which lasted nearly 5 minutes ( a rarity for those of us brought up on punk). Julian Cope appears to be ranting over deranged piano whilst Japanese girls yap away in the background. Guaranteed to be a sure-fire hit with the Bobby Batleys and Happy Harry Hunslets.

Shakira

5 Things, apart from lie, that Shakira's hips don't do

1. poach eggs
2. long division
3. listen to Chris Moyles
   
4. understand the Schleswig-Holstein Question
   
5. The Du
   

Excuse

I just don't seem to have got the hang of this blog thing - I go at it like a bull at a gate at times yet leave it months without putting anything new up. Oh well.

My excuse for my latest period of inactivity is that my Dad died of leukaemia about 6 weeks ago. As is always the case I'm sure, there were so many things I wish I had done or said while he was still alive but at least I got the chance to tell him I loved him before he died.

Tony introduced me to St Helens RLFC when I was still a nipper and up until this season we went to the games together, along with my two boys. I miss talking about the game with him and I suppose I will do for the rest of my life. I wish he could have seen them lift the Challenge Cup a couple of weeks ago.

Billy Bragg

I went to see Billy Bragg a couple of weeks ago in Liverpool. He's always good value. This tour was under the banner of Hope Not Hate and was aimed at raising awareness of the threat of the BNP in the local elections. Unfortunately, as the results subsequently showed, the voters in his home town of Barking did not heed his call and elected 11 BNP councillors. The party appeals to people's baser instincts and preys on their fears by portraying immigrants and ethnic minorities as bogeymen stealing jobs and benefits from 'true' English people.They appear to have managed to divert attention away from their inherently racist policies and attitudes.

Support was from Seth Lakeman. I was disapointed not to hear more from him as we only got to the venue in time to hear the last three or four numbers but what I did hear was excellent.

The venue at the Academy is a great one and Billy seemed really fired up on the night. As usual he interpersed songs with a lot of chat andsome funny stories - he really is a natural comic. Some of the set was just Billy and his guitar with Ian MacLagen on keyboards for the rest. He played a good mix of old, new and cover versions (including one of the Faces song 'Debris'). For the second encore he came back on and stormed through the complete Spy vs Spy mini album, finishing with A New England - absolutely brilliant.

There are many Billy Bragg live recordings available at a free (and legal!) website called www.archiv.org, which I can thoroughly recommend.

Five Words you Might Have Used ...

... instead of 'literally' :

1. completely
2. kind of
3. almost
4. not at all
5. figuratively

Preston Beer Festival

As usual a 'bit' behind on this whirl of social events that makes up my life. The end of March saw the annual Preston Beer Festival held at St Walburge's Church Hall. This is one of my favourite festivals, not least because I can walk there and stagger back. I usually try to get to two sessions, on Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon but this year I was unable to make the Thursday due to childcare commitments. Mind, even if I had been able to go I would have hopped over to Wigan to the Beer Festival there which was inconveniently taking place over the same time period.

The Friday evening at Preston is notoriously busy, with it generally being 'one out one in' so I have avoided Fridays for the last few years. This year our representation was down on the usual with just me, Caroline and Tosspot Tim (pictured):

















For some reason I was slightly disappointed with the Festival this year (and not solely due to the presence of Tim). This may have been because two or three of the interesting sounding beers (Bryson's Wammelors Wheat being one) which were in the programme were not available. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the afternoon - I certainly did.

My top beer of the Festival was Edinburgh Gold from Stewarts Brewery (in Edinburgh surprisingly) which was 'refreshing, balanced and full of flavour ... combining a continental hop aroma with moderate bitterness'. Honourable mentions to Spring Ram from Okells Brewery on the Isle of Man, Lino Ritchie from Fyfe Brewery, which had hints of blackcurrant, and No Angel from Clarks in Wakefield.

After leaving the hall at about 6:30pm we made a trip to a newly opened pub, Bitter Suite situated where Strettles Bar used to be. It is run by the lady who used to run the New Britannia in town and had five or six guest ales on. The pub is not tied to any brewery but has links to Thwaites who seem to supply the German draught lagers (Warsteiner and Kaltenberg if I recall correctly). I can recommend the place and as a bonus it could not be more handily situated for a pre-gig drink if you are attending something at 53 Degrees at Preston University. The Levellers were playing the same night and although I was supposed to be going a mix up over tickets meant I didn't in the end. The next night Caroline and I went to see Stiff Little Fingers there so popped in for a couple of beers first. It was amusing to see the forty-something punks in their costumes. I was slightly disappointed (the buzz phrase for the weekend it seems) with SLF - I thought they were going through the motions a bit. This may have had something to do with a pint of beer being chucked at Jake Burns halfway through the first number (Tin Soldiers). He had a right paddy (if you'll pardon the pun) - I don't know what his beef was as most of it seemed to go over me as I was strategically positioned on the front barrier.

Nice shirts though (ahem).

Tracklisting for the Imaginary New Morrissey Album

Collated from www.stereogum.com:

1. My Teachers Were My Torture

2. My Enemies Are All I Have Left

3. Newsreader In Peril

4. Step Over to My Side of Melancholy

5. We're Waiting For Your Answer, Tony

6. Cherish Is A Word I Use To Bury You

7. Half-Cocked in Hackney

8. Ignorance is a Luxury

9. Oslo is Never the Answer

10. The President Must Die and You're Not So Great Either

5ives

Inspired by www.5ives.com I thought I would post the occasional list of 5 things - either my own or nicked from there.

A boring one to start - 5 Top Cities Visited:

1. New York
2. Glasgow
3. Manchester
4. Edinburgh
5. Oxford

... and a nicked one - 5 Fake Dickens Characters:

1. Henrietta Troubleknickers
2. Jackson Splotch
3. Prof. Wiggenstodgy
4. Pennyfarthing Mushroomwater
5. Felch Cracksbottom

Liverpool Beer Festival

The Beer of the Festival (possibly)



I had a great afternoon at the Liverpool Beer Festival yesterday. A great setting in the crypt of the RC Cathedral and some excellent beer and food.

I got the train over at about 10am - the others went an hour earlier but I thought that was just too early. They wanted to see the model of the original plans for the cathedral at the Walker Art Gallery but when they got there it was not on display. Another good decision by MickeyMo! I met up with the two Steves, Ronan and John and we wandered up to the crypt taking in the bombed out church and the RC cathedral (where I made my last confession 27 years ago!).





John and Ronan had gone to queue up and we joined the queue about 11:45 (see pic)








The doors opened at 12:00 and we got in and grabbeda table by one of the windows. There was a fine selection of beers available with a commendable concentration of local brews from Liverpool, Prescot, Southport, Ellesmere Port and Rainford. Unfortunately, due to the uncertainty until quite late about whether the festival would go ahead there were no commemorative glasses this year but we did get vouchers for a half of a Cains brew and a half of Wapping Gold (another Liverpool brew).


The view from our table (right)













One thing certainly worth mentioning is the large pork pie on offer at the food table. I bought one at £2.50 and had it cut into five. I took it back to our table and it lasted about 5 seconds. It was closely followed by two more - a testament to their quality!



John ('the Mountain Goat')












The quality of the beers was excellent and I can recommend a few good uns. Top of the session for me were Natterjack from Southport and Drunken Duck from George Wright in Rainford (nr St Helens).




Ronan and Steve (2) deciding what to have next.











Steve (1) doing the same


I also met a mate I was at school with (junior and secondary) whom I see intermittently at Saints games. We had a good drunken natter.




Me and Phil Rignall (left)













While we were chatting one of the Mums from the RL club I coach at came over to introduce herself.




Phil and Cath (left)












Cath (right)















Steve 2 had the idea that eating Hula Hoops between beers would cleanse your palate. Hmmm ....











Discussions about the merits of Steve 2's beer.
















Me, feeling very mellow after about 3 hours imbibing.



























2 monks who seem to have wandered in by mistake.

John doing his Eric Morecambe impression.

Towards the end some fellas that the others had met last year brought some food over for us to try - there was a tremendous game terrine that one of them had made that didn't last very long.




The Providers of Quality Game Terrine. Meandering back to the Station

I'm glad in a way that the session only lasted 4 hours - any more and I would have regretted drinking so much but the time was enought to allow me to sample a good selection of brews, half of them local Merseyside beers. On to the station to get the train to St Helens where Saints were hosting Castleford in Super League XI. But that's for a different post.