nigeblog

I saw the Stranglers play North Berwick Fringe at the Sea a couple of weeks ago. The last time I had seen them play was November 1986 at Wembley Arena, supported by X-Mal Deuthschland and Keith Allen who did a brilliant confrontational set.

The 1986 show was the only time I ever went to such a large venue, and I vowed never again. That meant I missed Prince’s shows at Earls Court, but on the whole I just like small, standing venues where you can get as close to the band as you are comfortable with.

I thought they did a cracking Toiler on the Sea near the end of the ’86 show and when they opened the recent show with it I knew we were in for a good night. They really miss Dave Greenfield RIP, and a lot of the keyboard parts seem much simpler arrangements, but all the old aggression is still there and it’s great to see JJ having such a good time.

I watched Graham Thorpe bat for England countless times on television and once at Lords. Even though I didn’t know him personally at all, I was very sad when I learned he had died last week, and even more so when it emerged he had taken his own life.

Suicide feels like a preventable death, but as his wife said, “Mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone. Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better.” Graham Thorpe RIP.

More positively, Jan and I were walking home yesterday when we found a young man lying on the path having a fit. A neighbour had heard him scream out and came to help. We talked gently to him as he was coming to, while the other guy was on the phone to emergency services, and an ambulance was soon in attendance.

It is good to know that someone can take ill on a rainy Tuesday morning in Prestonpans and get the help they need from neighbours and the NHS.

Photo by kriegs on Freeimages.com

I’ve seen a couple of highly entertaining Wobble shows in Edinburgh recently, but I was most impressed by his generosity giving his time for free jam sessions in Wimbledon Library.

Happy birthday Jah Wobble, 66 today.

We had a nice trip to Newcastle and Wallsend last week and I picked these up at an actual record shop (not a charity shop).

The Ska-Dows and Clint Eastwood and General Saint records are the only ones I have been able to get to play all the way through. The whole lot only cost £16, a mixture of £5 and £2 prices, so I wasn’t too disappointed. In general I find most records that haven’t only ever been owned by me don’t play that well, which is I why usually only buy CDs.

It had just been in the news that morning that Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir, the last of the original Four Tops had died, so it seemed appropriate to pick up the Return of the Magnificent Seven.

I loved Another One Bites the Dust when John Peel used to play it and I remember Ska’s on 45 from the radio as well.

Otis sings a version of the Hucklebuck which I hadn’t heard before. No line about being out of luck if you don’t know how to do it, but it is the same tune as the Coast to Coast hit.

Slade Alive! is a lot of fun too. I can see why people love this album even if my copy doesn’t play so well.

They have hundreds of these Archie digests at the Oxfam bookshop, Nicholson Street. I had been resisting but succumbed to these two last week. The stock is all from late 90s, early 2000s. I find the price and gift aid stickers come off with the application of a hair-drier #ProTip

Between 1918 and 1950, Scottish Combined Universities was a three member constituency elected by the graduates of St Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities with a single transferable vote system (like all elections should be). Wikipedia ref here.

I stumbled on this strange fact while researching CEM Joad who wrote the book below, published in 1945 and picked up in Burns Yard on Sunday.

Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad had stood for parliament in a 1946 by-election in the Combined Scottish Universities but failed to gain the seat for Labour.

Previously he had been the star of the wartime radio show the Brains Trust where his catchphrase was “It all depends on what you mean by…”

The last line of the book is “Let all the railways be run by the State and paid for by the taxpayer, and let the taxpayer ride free on them whenever he so desires.”

Ironically he was convicted of fare dodging three years later, which made front page news and ended his BBC career.

And if like me, you’re a fan of the 1960 movie School for Scoundrels, Joad was apparently the inspiration for Terry Thomas’ gamesmanship on the tennis court (Wikipedia ref here).

I just saw in the new issue of the Idler that Pete Loveday left this world on 16th April. For whatever reason I hadn’t seen that sad news in any of my comics socials or news feeds.

I used to see Pete when he brought his sale or return Russell comics in to Forbidden Planet (I know, I know, 37 years ago), he always seemed a nice guy, and his comics were well worth the read.

Thanks Barney Ronay for introducing me to the German phrase Eierlegende Wollmilchsau — the pig that also gives you milk, wool and eggs.

(from this article on Gareth Southgate’s tactical issues)