Early Risers.

[Mike Bellamy]

3 hours ago, 45156 said:

My best achievement on a live gig was at uni, when I was in the student's union for lunch and there was a call on the tannoy for some folk to offer assistance with the Pink Floyd's gear in exchange for a free admission to the gig that night - and the following night's gig.  I volunteered, and a large group of us helped the roadies to move all the gear from their artic to the hall on the third floor of the union. 

 

April 1982 - one of the first Derby Model Railway Exhibitions at the Assembly Rooms in the centre of Derby - except in those days our show was in the 'Darwin Suite' as the 'Great Hall' was used by the City Council to show archive films by John Huntley each afternoon. We were delivering our club layout to the loading bay at the back on the Friday afternoon when a large motorhome arrived with Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats, asking if they had come to the right place. We directed them to the other end of the building. Later after school finished a group of girls arrived and took our photos, convinced we were the road crew and our large wooden stock boxes were part of the band's gear. After another year of successful shows, we were getting hundreds more visitors than the film shows so we swapped halls for a couple of years and then took over the whole building.

.

[AndyID]

24 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

 He is one of those people that thinks the Ukraine should just let Putin have what he wants to conserve world peace

 

Anyone who thinks he'd stop at Ukraine is unfamiliar with recent World history. I better say no more.

[Tony_S]

1 minute ago, AndyID said:

 

Anyone who thinks he'd stop at Ukraine is unfamiliar with recent World history. I better say no more.

Well I did say a lot more. I was quite enjoying the discussion. It was going well, Aditi joined in, and her mother told her off for disagreeing with her cousin. Aditi has always been quite robust in her right to argue with men. Nice thing is that there was no malice in this discussion. 

[PhilJ W]

49 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

He is one of those people that thinks the Ukraine should just let Putin have what he wants to conserve world peace, which is an opinion promulgated by much Indian media and some members of Aditi’s family in India. I don’t get out enough to have a good discussion. 

 

20 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

Anyone who thinks he'd stop at Ukraine is unfamiliar with recent World history. I better say no more.

Like Hitler when he annexed Austria and the Sudetenland.

[BSW01]

Not to mention Poland which he divided up with Russia. 

[AndyID]

22 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

 

Like Hitler when he annexed Austria and the Sudetenland.

 

He only wanted a bit of lebensraum, at least that's what he said.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Apart from my shopping trip this morning I’ve not done much else. I spent the rest of this morning and most of the afternoon ‘playing’ with Inkscape. Some more progress has been made, but I still need to learn lots more before I can begin designing my own stuff, but I’m determined to get there. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Ozexpatriate]

Today was a bit more Spring-like. We have broken through the 10°C barrier, but not 15°C.

 

And there were multiple heavy but brief showers. One of them materialized while I was checking out of the supermarket. I had brought a rain jacket but had left it in the car. I did at least put it on before loading the damp groceries into the car. Home with the groceries put away, the sun is shining on a very bright white cloud which is illuminating my living room with reflected light.

 

The buds on the Sakura at the high school have popped, but they are not quite yet in full bloom. The Spring floral display seems to be about two weeks behind. Someone from the tulip farm was on the news making the observation that this year might be the latest they have ever seen.

 

I don't recall ever seeing a "White Easter"* though I have seen too many damp grey Easters to count. Sunday is forecast to be another one.

 

* actually that sounds quite scary to me - not in a snowfall sense

 

I enjoyed the early afternoon with my son. We saw the "Super Mario Bros. Movie". He and his older brother** played many iterations of the video game franchise and I am consequently familiar with the 'source material' without being an expert gamer. I love well executed animation. It was fun and silly (much more cheerful than watching the news) and we enjoyed looking for the vast number of "Easter Eggs" inserted in the film. They have, naturally/inevitably, teed up a sequel which will feature my son's favourite character.

 

** Who, at 40/30 at the beginning of the year, each squeak in to bookend the Gen-Y / Millennial cohort by John's ( @Coombe Barton's ) reckoning.

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a sunny Charente.  Breakfast to be had then the girls to be talked to.  More grass to cut and some ironing to do.  Must get on. 

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

3.5 hours sleep, 2.5 hours sleep, not enough but at least each section was solid.

 

SWMBO has got up early, so Ben did, we've therefore been out on patrol, dull grey and damp out there. Though no precipitation at the moment.

 

What plans are to day I have no idea SWMBO is in see her brother mode,

 

I have had one instruction though.

 

Time for me to go make breakfast for three, SWMBO, Ben and me.

[iL Dottore]

16 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 As there is a lot of music chat at the moment here is a  collaboration video

featuring Robert Fripp of King Crimson heavy metal fame and Toyah Wilcox

from the days of Punk doing a cover of Rebel Yell by  Billy Idol .

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR3Hk6fpnW8

 

I thought King Crimson was very much “Prog Rock” (along with Yes, Jethro Tull, Genesis [when with Peter Gabriel],  Gentle Giant) with Black Sabbath being THE Heavy Metal pioneers (I think Mötorhead came some time later)

 

I’ve recently been re-listening to King Crimson’s first album “In the Court of the Crimson King” (before Greg Lake went off to form ELP with Keith Emerson). it’s still an intriguing work of music all these years later (and the lyrics “ The walls on which the prophets wrote are cracking at the seams…” as I said intriguing).

 

It’s amazing to think of how many great bands, with very different musical styles, came out of the 60s, 70s and early 80s and whose music  it’s still fresh and relevant: Hawkwind, Jethro Tull, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Clash, Black Sabbath,  Yes, The Rolling Stones and so on…

 

And the breadth and diversity (yes, that hackneyed phrase) was absolutely stunning:  From serious headbanging from Ozzie and his mates at one end of the musical spectrum to the ethereal, soaring vocals of Annie Haslam of Renaissance at the other….

 

As the late Chris F would’ve informed us, there’s plenty of great music out there nowadays, you just have to find it. Unfortunately, most of the “new“ music being produced is (no matter the genre)  is, for want of a better description, “corporate and formulaic”.

12 hours ago, Andy Hayter said:

I've had the pleasure of enjoying 2 PF concerts.

One at Uni and the second when they performed in Grenoble (1998?).  I was not at the venue for the Grenoble concert but some 15km away and several hundred metres higher up, camping in the wild on the Vercors plateau.  We could hear all except the PA announcements between songs.  Magical

I saw PF in Basel when they did their Pulse tour (so about 1992 or so). Magical, but loud!

 

Interestingly, a chum of mine who is a semi-professional musician, told me that how loud a band is at a concert is often down to the promoter - with many promoters believing “the louder the better”.  Paradoxically, nowadays, probably the quietest place at a concert is on stage. The musicians playing their instruments through small (15-50W) Class A valve amps, which are then miked up and pushed through 1000 Watt+ PA systems. That, and in-ear monitoring, means a comparatively quiet stage for the performers

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I wasn't keen on opera until I heard this.

 

Giuseppe Verdi was quite the Billy Bragg or Bob Dylan of his time - his works were considered very subversive at the time (i.e. just before the reunification of Italy - the Risorgimento) with the Austrian censors scrutinising his works for messages of support for Italian reunification. I would imagine, however, that even the most cloth-eared, and dim, Austrian censor, would realise the real world implications of a very catchy aria, in which Hebrew slaves sing about their longing to be free (although, having said that, revisionist historians have questioned Verdi’s role as “the composer to the Risorgimento“).

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by iL Dottore
Typo

[iL Dottore]

Following on to the above post, I can’t help but noticing how many have posted that they don’t like classical music, they don’t like opera, they don’t like Shakespeare et cetera.

 

Now I know ones taste in music, literature, art and theatre is very much subjective, but I can’t help feeling that in Britain (and from what I’ve seen and read also in North America and the Antipodes) there is either a certain amount of inverse snobbery (“Opera? Not for the likes of us“) or that the teaching of art, music, literature and theatre is so woefully abysmal, that it puts people off great works for life (probably both).

 

Quite frankly, I think that the greatest disservice you can do to a great work of literature, theatre or music is to dissect it, analyse it and “teach it“. I firmly believe that the worst thing you can do to Shakespeare (and other playwrights) is to study their works as “literature“.  Plays are meant to be performed and watched. A frequent criticism of Shakespeare is about the archaic language (but considering how many new words and expressions Shakespeare created for the English language, it’s not that terribly archaic), but a well performed play will be entertaining to watch, even if you don’t understand the language.
 

When I first came to Switzerland, I went with some acquaintances to see a German language production of Moliere’s Le Misanthrope, even though I didn’t then understand a word of German - but such is the nature of theatre I was able to follow the plot and enjoy the theatre experience (something I will be repeating in June of this year in Japan – I will be going to a Kabuki performance, even though my understanding of spoken Japanese is very, very limited indeed).

[grandadbob]

Good morning all.

A bit of a frosty start here but we now have sunshine and a clear blue sky with only a few wispy clouds.  It should be a mainly dry and bright day.  5°C now and might reach 17°C.

Took tea up to The Boss at 06.50, she wasn't that impressed and thought it was a bit early.  Sometimes you just can't win.

We had a great afternoon out yesterday and everybody enjoyed the food and even our vegan and veggie family members found something to their taste.   The meal was helped along by the superb service from the lovely young lady who waited on us with a smile all afternoon and she was duly rewarded with a handsome tip.  

Our cab home was booked for 18.00hrs but he was late,  didn't turn up until 18.01!!😁  Made up for it with the speed he got us home as he managed to avoid the road works delays but he did go a strange way round,  my preferred route would have been a lot simpler , smoother, just as quick and would have kept within  legal speed limits.

Watched recorded rugby later after The Boss went to bed but it was  a disappointing result for Leicester fans.

It appears that this morning "we need" to deal with some domestic engineering and cleaning as there is another family gathering tomorrow here at GDB Towers. 

The Boss has now appeared downstairs so it's time to  "gettamoveon."

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by grandadbob

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Best free gig.. sitting outside the Leeds Uni refectory listening to Santana..

 

We do go to see/hear the Kaiser Chiefs when they roll into Leeds.. always in the mosh pit though..

 

Back is telling me hitting the floor hard yesterday was not a great idea. Pink pills will be taken shortly.

 

The rest of the Bogglers arrive today.. could go a bit pear shaped as we meet up in the Victoria Hotel at lunchtime.. I may have to have a lie down in a dark room later today.

 

Listened to Sunderland play like a bunch of clueless sheep yesterday.. very annoying.

 

Time for my mugatea then..... breakfast.

Just checked.. the sun is shining.. better get a move 9n!

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

[iL Dottore]

For those of you who haven’t heard Annie Haslam

 

And of course Maddy Prior from Steeleye Span

 

[polybear]

10 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Odd because I had a very lively political discussion with one of Aditi’s cousins at lunchtime, with no blood pressure rise,  He is one of those people that thinks the Ukraine should just let Putin have what he wants to conserve world peace, which is an opinion promulgated by much Indian media and some members of Aditi’s family in India. I don’t get out enough to have a good discussion. 

 

I wonder what their response would be if you casually ask if they'd be ok with Pakistan (other countries are available...) invading India - murdering, raping and stealing in the process....?

 

p.s. Hopefully the two cars weren't harmed.

 

9 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Anyone who thinks he'd stop at Ukraine is unfamiliar with recent World history. I better say no more.

 

There is mention on the 'net that Poo Tin was considering having a pop at Japan prior to invading the Ukraine.

 

Bear here.....

Danglin'

BG

[monkeysarefun]

 

 

Are expensive tools worth it or are we paying mainly for the joy of possessing them I wondered to myself today as I had the first reason in ages to get out the 4 inch table saw.

There was a while a few years ago when the exchange rate between here and the US was in our favour and suddenly a whole world of cheap things opened up to me.  During my ship modelling period I'd long been eyeing off a Jim Byrnes table saw, but the cost and the fact that there was no 240v model kept it from me.

Then pretty much at the same time Jim announced a 240v version  every $1 us dollar only cost me 90 Australian cents, so even with the eye watering postage it still worked out cheaper than a Proxxon bought locally.

What a machine it is, each one is  hand made by Jim  like a work of art, the fence has a micrometer that measures in .05mm,  that's hard core precision  sawing.  I don't usually need timber .05mm thick, but if  I do, it does it.

 

 

Unfortunately shortly after it arrived I got diverted from ship modelling into the world of 3D CAD modelling and 3D printing and it's rarely been used so could be argued money wasted but  if  a bushfire comes tearing down the hill towards here it'll be one of the things I chuck into  the ute. 5 stars!

 

Later on  I  got in touch with my  feminine side and took a picture of the frangipani flowering under the deck.

Edited April 8, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Quite frankly, I think that the greatest disservice you can do to a great work of literature, theatre or music is to dissect it, analyse it and “teach it“. I firmly believe that the worst thing you can do to Shakespeare (and other playwrights) is to study their works as “literature“.  Plays are meant to be performed and watched. A frequent criticism of Shakespeare is about the archaic language (but considering how many new words and expressions Shakespeare created for the English language, it’s not that terribly archaic), but a well performed play will be entertaining to watch, even if you don’t understand the language.

I don't see why Shakespeare could not be 'translated' into modern English, much in the same way as the contemporary King James bible was. Shakespeare has been translated into dozens of foreign languages and almost certainly into the modern version of those languages.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A few tweaks from Arthur Itis this morning, soon dealt with a couple of Nurofen. However the hay fever is back, not as bad as it was last time but bad enough. Now to get on with the rest of the day.

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

to the ethereal, soaring vocals of Annie Haslam of Renaissance at the other….

 

Oh, I, er, had a, um, enjoyable significant teenage life moment to her music...#cough#.  Oddly became friendly with relations of hers some years later.

 

Mornings folks, usual Mrs NHN driven weekend busy-ness, as Keith F mentioned now I'm retired I don't have time to do everything.  Off on the train again this morning for lunch at Dhoon Glen.  Then maybe some work in the garden, for me that means the garden railway....hopefully.

 

 

[Tony_S]

3 minutes ago, polybear said:

wonder what their response would be if you casually ask if they'd be ok with Pakistan (other countries are available...) i

I did ask what he thought of Indian troops leaving Kashmir, just to maintain world peace, instead of two nuclear armed states facing off over it. Of course that was “different”. 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A bright and sunny start to the day here in the northwest corner of England. There are a few clouds about, but the sun is definitely getting the upper hand. At 5C it’s cool out there, but there doesn’t appear to be much wind, so the tall fences that surround our garden will probably mean it feels warmer than that. I’ll shortly be setting off to collect Ava, who is once more spending the day with us. Our first task will be to add flour to the fruit tea loaf I’ve left soaking overnight and then pop that in the oven. Then we will head outside and harvest more rhubarb, which, along with the strawberries I bought yesterday will be turned into rhubarb and strawberry jam. 
 

I’ve just been told that Ava is ready, so I’m off, back later. 
 

Brian

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

I don't see why Shakespeare could not be 'translated' into modern English, much in the same way as the contemporary King James bible was. Shakespeare has been translated into dozens of foreign languages and almost certainly into the modern version of those languages.

Some things shouldn't be translated but. I remember a telly version of some Italian or whatever opera and the words had been translated into  English. Beauty, I thought,  I'll be able to understand what's going on for a change.

 

Turns out it's mainly stuff like "Theres a knock on the door!".  " Well, go open the door!" " I'll go open the door!" "Yes go open the door!" and so on, like the Monty Python Gumbys or something but for 2 bloody hours.

 

Spoiled the magic, 2 stars.

Edited April 8, 2023 by monkeysarefun