top talent (again)

I know l'm a natural at my job, and here's some written proof from the powers above me.  I have now been declared 'Top Talent' for the last two years (it's only been going two years), and l am the only person from where l work to even achieve 'Top Talent', so money will be thrown at me if l want to develop (because l am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fabulous!).
Trouble is, l can't really be bothered at the moment, and am happy enough with my job as it is.
That's not to say l would turn down a lottery win or anything (I'm not completely mad), but while l have to work, my job is just fine and dandy, thank you very much.

toodle pip

america trip 2000 - some scans from memphis

Some scans of the crap l kept from Memphis in 2000. It's the home of Elvis Presley and Sun Studios, so music, drink and food was the order of the day.
Robbo proposed to Kerry at Gracelands, l bared my bum and pissed in the Mississippi, and this was also the place where we argued with a taxi driver who called us 'Damn Fools' for taking drugs and not believing in God.
Can't argue with that, so l got a t-shirt made up afterwards with 'Damn Fool' written on it (which l still have).

toodle pip

alan moore - big numbers and pop will eat itself - def con 1 and can you (u) dig it

As the wonderful Pop Will Eat Itself sang in 'Def Con 1' (a song heavily based on 'Watchmen'), "Alan Moore knows the score".
He certainly does, and this is one of the many gems l have recently unearthed (yes....from the ongoing garage saga), signed by the great man himself. It's a shame it's not a signed copy of 'Watchmen', but hey ho, it's still a treasured item.
This is not the whole cover, as my scanner couldn't fit it all on, and (of course) my copy is in great condition, as the dark shadows are just from the scan.
Big Numbers - big book (but not one of his best).
Thinking about it, re-watching the video reminds me that when l first read the 'Watchmen' comics, they actually belonged to the one and only Graham Crabb (from Pop Will Eat Itself'), as he was sharing a squat in Highgate with a mate of mine at the time, and l was crashing there.
Nowadays l sing "Colin Moore knows the score" when l see a lad l know called........yes, you guessed it.
I really need to get a life.




Edit - I just realised. The Alan Moore quote is from another of their songs (Can you (u) Dig it?)
Ah well, any excuse to post another of  The Poppies tunes.



toodle pip

the bedale rock festival 1990 programme

I put together the programme for the Bedale Rock Festival in 1990, and although l know you can always look back at the past and want to make changes, this programme just embarrasses me.
It was put together in a rush, using very basic equipment, but that still doesn't excuse the poor layout, spelling mistakes, and all round incompetence that l bought to the table, in my own inimitable style.
Hopefully all the other copies that were in existence have now ceased to be (as the Pythons would say), but mine is still lurking in the spare room, as a constant reminder of my devil may care foolishness.
The cover is the best part, and it's rapidly downhill from then on.
Maybe l should just pretend my brother did it, and absolve myself from blame.

toodle pip

the america trip 2000

Well, l survived another night in Middlesbrough on Friday, and had a splendid time.  Straight back to work afterwards, and have only just returned home this afternoon.
Still sorting out some crap from the garage (the ongoing saga), and have been skimming through some bits and pieces from the American trip in 2000.
It's at times like these that l am grateful l am such a collector and hoarder, as l have all sorts of stuff stashed away, which l was not so bothered about at the time, but am thankful my old memory has some visual aids to reboot the experiences now.
It  needs all the help it can get these days.
More scans to follow.

toodle pip

keep going with party tabs

Hopefully someone will slip one of these in my drink tomorrow when l am out and about in Middlesbrough. If they do, there will be no complaints from me.

toodle pip

mummies on marlboro cigarettes

That's it mummy, light up a fag and please don't shout at me.
Make a day of it and hit the booze cabinet while you are at it.

toodle pip

dear dear oscar

Dear old Oscar Wilde, how true that statement is.

toodle pip

knowledge of angels - jill paton walsh

'Knowledge of Angels' was recommended and loaned to me by a fellow worker, who thought l might be interested in the philosophical arguments for and against God that lay within.  They were correct, and l did enjoy the story, although l found some of Jill Paton Walsh's writing a bit too floral, even though l understand when she was rabbiting on about the plants, weather and landscape of Grandinsula, (the Island setting of the novel), it was to highlight what a medieval paradise it was, compared to the horror that was being perpetrated on it.
The story concerns a young girl who was raised by wolves, (based on The Maid of Chalons), plus the tale of  a stranger from another land who swims ashore, and declares himself an atheist when questioned about his beliefs and his land of origin.  There are then arguments aplenty between various believers, including the dreaded inquisition (who weren't expected).
The main philosophical argument centered around St Thomas Aquinas' 5 proofs of Gods Existence, and the responses to them by Palinurus (the swimming stranger), plus the argument of whether knowledge of God is inborn, as if it is proven not to be so, Palinurus cannot be a heretic.
I felt as though the sex scene had been put in to appeal to female readers, although it could be argued that it was to emphasise the strangers free loving and guilt free ways, but apart from that, an enjoyable and interesting read in yesterdays sunshine, alternating between hammock, swing, and rug on the floor.
It's a hard life, God or no God.

toodle pip

griff rhys jones - semi-detached

I shouldn't moan too much about Griff Rhys Jones' 'Semi-Detached, as it was pretty much what l expected. There's childhood tales and visits to old houses, moving schools, a detached father, some travel and shenanigans with girls, then entry into Cambridge, followed by the glory of TV and the stardom that followed.
The trouble is, l wanted some humour to be interjected among the reminiscing, and sadly for me, the lack of that was something l didn't anticipate (alongside his tales of boats).

toodle pip

the mantis shrimp

This is a great informative cartoon strip about the Mantis Shrimp.  Fascinating little creatures with psychedelic eyesight that can more than hold their own in a scrap.  I was only saying to the FPO the other day about creatures having different eyesight than humans, and having a completely different perception of the world, but 16 colour receptive cones is taking the piss.
Check out the complete strip here (where you can also buy posters and goodies).

toodle pip

coventry city's girl of the match

In the far off good old days when out and out sexism was everywhere, Coventry City used to have 'Girl of the Match' on the back cover of their programme, featuring a local (I guess) 'Dolly Bird'.
I was a young single lad at the time, never had a proper girlfriend, obsessed by football, comics and music (nothing much has changed) and l hate to admit it, but me and the girl above spent many a happy hour together.
That shows how hard it was (steady on!!) to get your hands on proper porn (or anything smutty) in them days, especially when still at school.  Now you can't avoid it.
Bloomin kids of today, they don't have any idea what it was like back in the old days (lucky sods).

toodle pip

old theatre programmes from the garage

 

Some of the old theatre programmes from the garage sort out.  I've always been a man of style and taste.

toodle pip

how times have changed - swapping cds

This letter (from  Andrew in Hull -2001) might as well be from 50 years ago, as times have changed so much.
When l got a CD player for the first time and wanted a collection of CD's to play on it, there was no way l could amass a load quickly (that sounds painful), so l used to swap discs with people who had usually met me on my travels, or corresponded with me about something else.
By swap CD's, l of course mean swap copies of them, as the next thing l bought after the CD player was a CD copier and a load of blank discs.  The swapping was great for getting hold of new artists that l wanted to try out (Muse, My Vitriol, Turin Brakes and Feeder on the letter above), and was also a superb way of building up my bootleg collection.
I know it was illegal, but l didn't care.
Over the years l have spent a fortune on music and concerts, more than anyone else l know (I am a sad bastard), plus the CD's on sale at that time were really expensive.
Now it's all Spotify, streaming, iTunes,  free music on the web (if you know where to look), and they can't give most CD's away for love or money.
Serves the greedy gits that ran the record companies right, money grabbing parasites that mot of them were.
Maybe there is such a thing as Karma.

toodle pip

hire a wig today!

Ever wanted to look special on a night, out but couldn't afford a decent wig?  Worry no more - you can hire them instead!
This does beg the question of why on earth would  anyone pay good money to wear a wig that had previously been on somebody else's head, and surely they would want to wear a wig all of the time, unless they normally had a hankering for the good old  Bobby Charlton look most of the time.  Just shave it all off.
Then again, this was the good old 1970's.  It was a different world then.
From here.

toodle pip

microscopic photographs

A broken human hair

Dust

Human eyelashes

A louse on a human hair

A Mosquito face

Rust on a nail

A vinyl record groove

I found these photographs on the top design mag site (there are more there) and they are taken from the book Microcosmos, by Brandon Broll.
I'm fascinated by  microscopic photographs, so l've blown the pictures up larger than l usually would, but  they also freak me out, and make me want to start scratching myself, imagining all the creepy crawlies running amok on and around me.  Little gits.

toodle pip

a battered motorhead programme

This is what a programme ends up looking like when you foolishly buy it before the show, roll it up and stick it down your trousers (it impresses the laydees), then head down to the front of a Motorhead gig (on this occasion at Newcastle Mayfair in 1980).
Like me, a bit worse for wear.

toodle pip

a hell of a lot of teeth

I can't remember where l got these photographs from, but this is a person who certainly has a lot of teeth, baby teeth or not.
I wonder if it's a relation of Luis Suarez , the man who can eat an orange through a tennis racket?

toodle pip

following oxford united

Although l am a Manchester United supporter, my family moved in between Oxford and Reading (to RAF Benson) while l was still at school, so l made a decision to follow one of the nearby teams while l was there as a second team, being unable to attend the Manchester United games.
As a friend at school (Hello Jonathan Knapp!) followed Oxford United, we teamed up and went to most of the games together from around 1974 - 1975 time.
I used to cycle to his house in Chalgrove, watch Football Focus (or whatever it was at the time) and then his father would drive us to and from Oxford, as he ran a TV shop there.
Many happy days were spent on the terraces at The Manor Ground, even including seeing Oxford being stuffed by Manchester City (Cup game) and beating Manchester United (when they were in the Second Division).  Oxford actually had a pretty decent home record when l was going, it was just that their away form let them down, so promotion was never a realistic option.
My attendance came to an end when l moved Oop North, as l divided my time between watching Darlington (the new local team) and travelling to Manchester to see United.
Funnily enough, one of the first games at Old Trafford that l went to on arriving Oop North (in 1976), was a FA Cup game against Oxford United (on my own by train).  I must admit, l kind of had divided loyalties that day, as l wanted Oxford to do well, but ultimately, they were still only a second team for me.  Manchester United won 2-1 (with two penalties), so l went home happy, especially after calling in to see relatives in Liverpool and going out for the night there.

toodle pip.

dodgy drinks at home

This is a picture of some pineapple juice that l left overnight a few days ago, as l had fallen asleep.  I was going to knock it back in the morning, but when l saw how it had all gathered at the bottom, it put me off doing so.
On a related note, l found some cans of lager in the spare fridge a couple of days ago that had been left and forgotten about.  They were only 5 years past their sell by date, so of course l opened one and tasted it, but it was hard for me to tell if it was OK or not, as the first drink of any lager usually tastes crap to me.  It did  fizz open, looked to be alright, and had been kept cold all that time, but as l had days off work ahead of me, l didn't want to risk getting ill, so l ended up pouring the rest of the can away (there are more left) .
Where the hell has my devil may care attitude gone?  Keith Richards would be ashamed of me.

toodle pip