the lost bob dylan cds

After erecting (fnaar) some new shelves in the spare room to house a load of CDs and tidy the place up a bit, l realised l was missing a substantial amount by Bob Dylan.  I would normally assume my brother nicked them when staying over, but he's not a fan of his Bobness. It took me ages to locate them amongst all my other crap, but luckily l did, as  I'm pleased to report there's plenty of gems amongst them.
Yes l do realise l have too many and l will never get around to playing them all again before l die, but l like having them as pieces of art as well, and they are there when l do want to play them.
I just need a bigger house, and l don't need reminding l'm a sad git.
The shelves look pretty good as well!

toodle pip

the car and conker connection

I had to drop off my car recently for some minor work at a local garage, and rather than get up early to do so (as l stay up pretty damn late), l drove it down to the garage at about 6am, put the car keys through the garage letter box, and then walked home (and didn't bother going to bed). The conkers had fallen from some trees on the way back, and as l have been told they deter spiders, l picked them up to put on my window ledges to keep the eight legged bastards out.
Let's hope they work.

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blair witch comes to richmond woods

I was up to no good around Richmond woods, and came across these rather unusual objects attached to a tree. What for - l've no idea, but some of the locals around these parts have certainly been inbred, so nothing would surprise me. Perhaps it's just a lovely signpost for a dogging site. Purely for research, I'll check it out again at 3am and get back to you.

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a panda says - don't do drugs

I've taken quite a few drugs in the past but none have ever affected me in this way. I think l need to sue my dealer as the git was obviously short changing me and selling me below par merchandise. If only l knew where there was an ex lawyer who may be a bit dodgy and do stuff on the side......

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the aliens - the happy song

A perfect time to stick this old favourite up again.
The Aliens - 'The Happy Song'



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ole ole ole ole - eric cantona is so 'appy

YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a result for Manchester United!  Plus a pretty accurate prediction from Charles M Schulz and the Peanuts crew. Linus would have loved to be in my shoes after that game.
3-1 away from home against Paris Saint Germain!! Through to the Quarter finals!!!!
A dodgy penalty at the end, but l'll take the win any day. To say l'm outrageously happy at the moment would be an understatement.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for manager and president, and Mauricio Pochettino can bugger off to rescue PSG.
Thank fuckity fuck Jose Mourinho got told to fuck off and take his black cloud of misery with him.

Eric Cantona can have the last word - filmed after the game.



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britain's oldest man - henry jenkins

Apparently Britain's oldest man, Henry Jenkins lived and died near where l live, and is buried at St Mary's Church, Bolton on Swale. If you believe the stories, he lived to be 169.
I don't. However, it's worth a visit if you're in the area.

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book reading is beneficial

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expanding heart illusion

I'm a sucker for good illusions, and this one would be great if it could be printed onto a t-shirt correctly. A (supposedly)  expanding heart.

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liverpool / bootle docks photograph from 1946 and a bootle map from 1935

An excellent photograph of Liverpool docks / Bootle, taken in 1946 (Before even l was born).
It's changed a bit from then, although gentrification and Liverpool's upscaling still has to reach or impact much of this area. It's still pretty poor, but it was what l called (and still consider to be) home, despite now having another home in Sunny Catterick.

Here's a map of Bootle in 1935 to augment it. My childhood home is there for all to see (If you know where to look)

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august friedrich schenke and mackenzie thorpe's sheep

Mackenzie Thorpe has created many paintings of sheep in his distinctive style, is pretty local (Middlesbrough) and has a gallery in Richmond, North Yorkshire, not far from my home. Even my local pub has some paintings of his, and l do like them.
However, although it's obviously completely different, August Friedrich Schenck's 'Anguish' is my favourite sheep painting, a rather harrowing and distressed sheep / ewe bleating and pining for what one assumes is it's dead calf, surrounded by crows.
I wouldn't want it displayed at home, and l understand humans anthropomorphize, especially with animals, but l think it's captured the extreme emotion perfectly.

To lighten the mood after that, here's some by Mr Thorpe

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the 1927 jasper tornado on lp covers

It was only recently that it was pointed out to me on another blog or tweet (I can't remember where), that the photograph of the 1927 Jasper Tornado, taken by Lucille Handberg and on one of my favourite albums, Deep Purple's Stormbringer, was the same one on used on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, plus Siouxsie and The Banshees Tinderbox. It's blown my mind, as l'd never noticed before, and l have been looking at the Deep Purple and Miles Davis albums for years.
Sometimes l amaze myself at how stupid l can be.
Below is the famous photograph, captured 8th July 1927 in Jasper, Minnesota, plus drawings of the other two photographs she took before and after. There's also an article from The Milwaukee Sentinel about it, plus the album covers mentioned.
More information about the tornado and the photographs can be found here (and also here).
A large blow up of the news story in The Milwaukee Sentinel can be found here

Here's something from the albums







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chinese construction worker dancing

My mate can 'dance', and does so at every opportunity, despite my opposition, but l love the moves this Chinese construction worker has in his locker. There's plenty more of him on you tube (the Chinese fellow - not my mate).



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the the labour party split and the ragged trousered philanthropists - the money trick

With The Labour Party seemingly in disarray (although The Conservatives are also pretty fragmented) here's a reminder of why they the left wing are so important. From Robert Tressell's The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - The Money Trick.
I'm not saying this is the most important book of all time, but every time l return with family members to Liverpool, we visit his grave (Opposite Walton prison - now just before Rice Lane City Farm) as a mark of respect. The language is antiquated, but the message is unequivocal.

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albert finney, charlie bubbles and old trafford

So the great Albert Finney has passed away (last week). In all of the tributes to his great body of work, one that seems to have been forgotten is Charlie Bubbles, written by Shelagh Delaney and featuring some long forgotten Manchester sights, including what Manchester United's Old Trafford used to be like, before it evolved into the 'Theatre of Dreams', and kids could still afford to attend en mass.
Reminds me of when l was a lad, back in our day when it was all bomb sites etc blah blah blah blah blah blah......

                                                     
                                                     Shelagh Delaney on the Smiths covers

                                                         Excerpts from Charlie Bubbles



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off work with keef and the new mojo

I'm off work today, and have just been dossing about, trying to wake up while watching the latest episodes of Black Mirror, when this pops through my letterbox.
Get in!!
If l believed in a God of some kind, l'd be praising him (or her) at this moment

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