Firday Lucky Bag Vol4 March 30th

To Hampton court with Monsieur Le Beard, on the coldest day of the year. It was shorter than I remembered! There’s a wonderful new knot garden running down to Thames, but most striking of all is this display of daffs in maze garden. Even on a dull day it glowed and I swore you could smell the scent. I know an appreciation of flowers is at best thought of as metrosexual (even these days).
I have never understood this for several reasons, firstly the growing, production, sale and planting of flowers is like most things a heavily male dominated activity. Also my granddad a horny handed shipwright was the renter of two allotments and grew loads of fruit, veg and flowers. In fact no trip to Nana’s was complete without a slide show of their latest trip to one Britain’s seaside town, complete with Technicolor formal bedding planting. At the time I didn’t think this was very rock-and-roll but would love to sit down and see them now. The idea that granddad was the least bit “effeminate” is truly funny. So I’ll keep enjoying blooms, seeing as I’ve never had fight, don’t own a car, but do own a Dolly Patron album, it’s not going to dilute my manliness any further.

Also hope you like the heron in was just standing in a pond, as we crept up it just stood there. We could have probably have stroked the thing it was so placid.

The high cost of looking cheap!
Dolly as reported elsewhere was apparently excellent at Wembley this week. Here’s a much reported quote if you didn’t see it.
She caught her hair on her mike stand and made this apparently off the cuff quip.
“It didn’t hurt a bit , but somewhere in the world a Korean women’s screaming” harsh but funny.

Life on Mars: Not sure why but BBC seem to have thrown LOM away, it seems to have lost impetuous and they seem to be ashamed of it. But, last night’s episodes where really good. I can see why this series is the last and fear there will be a “ta dah!” ending or maybe a “oh, I’ve got some thing in my eye” ending. Is it just me or is anyone surprised that DS Ray Carling (played by Dean Andrews) has not been done for being bent etc every week it seems like this is coming up but they just step over it.

Also with all his time travelling, Sam’s not done many time paradox staples yet. What about the “compound interest scam”. Well, seeing as the Police (well everyone really) got paid nothing in 1974, say £2,000 -3,000 a year, (he’s not paying much for that flat) if he could put a grand in bank he’d only wake up today with £18,000 in the bank!
I know this thanks to this page.
In fact if he bought up the vinyl in this week’s episode and put it in a damp free garage he would probably make more. Also didn’t Red Rum win for the first time 1974? Obviously if he did buy a house in Hyde his grand would now be worth…..

Lastly the LOM Liz White like everyone else has an unofficial fansite, I hadn’t seen her before and thought her high voice wouldn’t get her much work but she seems to be doing pretty well.

Any way it’s almost lunch time and I’m having hoops.

A rose by any other name…:
As mentioned earlier I spent some time in Hampton this week. Have not explored it fully but “by thy shops will ye be knowest”. My high st has shops selling yams, live blue legged crabs, salt cod, 1kg bags of paprika for 99p, reactivated mobiles etc. Two of the shops are Pentecostal churches and one of them a Vietnamese social centre. Hampton on the other hand seems to have a smattering of convenience stores, estate agents and on the main drag this row of shops. A kids café (yes a café just for kids, who knew), “Lavender” candle and scarf shop “Aster” (probably the same with misshaped over priced pottery) “bumps and bundles” (baby stuff) and “Announce it!” (a shop for all your announcement needs) i.e. to tell everyone you know about why you need the preceding shops.
So we can safely say Hampton is a “nappy valley”. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just telling that how we spend our money say’s so much about our aspirations.
Also on the subject of floral named shops, you can instantly tell the sort of shop by its flower name.
“Lavender” posh tat,
“lilies” frocks for women of a certain age,
“Sea Holly” pebbles, drift wood etc
“Daisies” wooden toys that middle class parents buy because they look good but that their kids hate.
The same shop if it was called “Daffs” wouldn’t be as classy as “Narcissi”.

Hampton did have a charity second hand bookshop at the station which is a good idea.

Nonsensical corporate strapline of the week:
I know these have been done before but honestly who came up this:
“Quebec providing emotions since 1534”

It spectacularly it does the opposite to its intention i.e. puts you off going. It should be of course be
“Quebec: full of chippy French types grumpy because Wolfe kicked your arses of the Heights of Abrahams since 1759.”
Having said that I wouldn’t mind paddling through the city, like the jolly family on the poster. One last thing the crazy frogs have to meddle don’t they, it would seem Blog is “Blogue” in French

SNOTD
Emarkle karthaus subject :Are at driftwood

Millard Capps subject: Of hueysville do blandville

It’s Friday so it must time for some junk food.
I was remembering a birthday lunches of yore. When I was very young we would got to a steak inn or similar, I remember one year getting a “coke float” an undreamed of luxury in the “life on Mars” 70’s here’s’ Jaime’s big tongued take on it.
Also which floats higher diet or full fat coke
Sounds like something Heston Blumenthal would cook up “roast turkey” fizzy pop anyone.. anyone?
Popcorn Musings
Recently I was watching of all things the super bowl and fancied some pop corn. I had some un-popped kernels in the cupboard and for various reasons decided to put it in the microwave. I wasn’t sure if the shop bought stuff had special chemicals on it, but it worked surprisingly well. I did melt a plastic bowl but that was just me trying to pop every last kernel. After a little experimentation I found a brown paper greengrocer’s bag (I just tipped the soil out!) works best (how’s that for recycling). Just put the corn in and wait to hear the kernels stop popping.
It seems like I’m not the first to do this. “The invention of the microwave popcorn bag has meant more to mankind than the discovery of a galaxy of new stars. Popcorn was actually the first food to be microwaved deliberately. In 1946 Dr. Percy Spencer of the Raytheon Corporation was experimenting with a magnetron (a new type of vacuum tube) when he noticed that the chocolate candy bar in his pocket had melted. He was curious, so he placed some popcorn kernels next to the magnetron and turned it on - the popcorn popped. After experimenting with various other food items (including an egg that exploded!), he and Ratheon realized they were on to something and continued on to develop the first “
Here’s: a formal recipe off the net.

There’s a lot of splother about hot dogs on the interweb, I think the Americans think putting 9 sauces and a relish on a “tube steak” goes someway to having a national cuisine. There is also lots of folk history nonsense about the invention of the hotdog. See my earlier post on sandwiches.
There was one story about some guy in the US losing money on his sausage stand because before the bun was invented he had to give away white gloves to people to protect their hands! Why they didn’t go the sausage on a stick root as in Grenadier pub in Kensington (home of the bloody Mary) I don’t know. A great big wapping, bendy wiener that flops over on a little stick, delish. There is opportunity for slightly greasy romantic meet you in the middle noshing al la “lady and the tramp”.

Having said that fish and chips took along time to come together, chips from the north and fried fish probably from Jewish immigrants to the East end, so who knows.
The World’s longest hot dog anyone?
How about some survival army tucker?
Barnsley Chip shops online

Sweet of the week
Cola bottles
The only discussion is between plain or “sherbetized” and after that between sugar or “sourz”. The “sourz” are toe curling. Here’s the “I love the 80’s” bit, weren’t they more full of cola when we were young?

Friday Lucky Bag vol3

Spam Name Of The Day. SNOTD
Baccalaureates C. Goddamned subject : Have methuen he burlington .

Joke of the week. This week sees an opportunity to dust off one of my favourite/only world music joke.

There's a new film about slavery coming out called "amazing Grace" it stars Joussouf N'Dour, the film ties in with a new album Joussouf's made with his wife Her N'dours......

“I would never be a member of club that would have me as member”
Of all the societies you can join I suspect the Aunt Bessie’s Yorkshire pudding club may the last on the list. Check out their parsnips facts “apparently they are an aphrodisiac” the list of non aphrodisiac foods is now officially shorter than the ones that give you the horn.
A slight aside has anyone eaten out and had a decent Yorkshire south of the Trent?


A strange Kind of Love.
All hail the Cud band, he’s a strange clip from Carl and the boys recent tour with some spectacularly painful stage diving.

Vinyl Count Down:

I had another flurry of vinyl hunting this week. I said that the foreign language disc I buy can be patchy mostly they are equivalent of chart rubbish rather than esoteric lost gems. Here’s a case in point. Richard Cocciante comes from that strangely limited genre of gravely voiced shouters which the Italians specialize in. This track Bella sin alma (beautiful without a soul) was big hit on the continent as the soundtrack to an animated film .Think bright eyes sung by an angry Joe cocker. It’s not my thing, the only interesting thing about is that according to the interwed that Jay K has done a version of it.

Here’s a nice film of you tube on how vinyl records are made.

Whilst looking up Richard Cocciante I fell upon on this site has a look at the excellent sleeves for these 60’s LPs don’t you want to own them all?

Also this Francoise Hardy has excellent sleeves my fave is Catherine Spaak.

Check out french pop on you tube.

If you want to know more about Francoise Hardy et al see the Ye Ye Girls site.

Things I might want for next birthday.
Elvis porcelain Christmas tree

I tiny model of myself at Babbacombe model village.

Or on similar note a model railway in my garden.

Right thinking.

My friend Mr Giraffe reminded me off the conservepdia, a rightwing wikipedia, don’t go there it will wind you up.
Here a note on religion from the site.
“It is claimed that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism worship the same God in different ways. This claim is regarded by some as a way to convert Jews and Christians to Islam, since it supports the idea that Abrahamic religion has "grown" from Judaism to Christianity to Islam. However, many are skeptical of this idea.

You can have fun and wind them up here’s the entry on C&W music, I know the Bad seeds have elements of country to their worked but the "most popular" is over doing it. I would pay to see Nick and Bonnie duetting.

"Country and Western is a genre of musical style that has remained popular in the United States of America as well as other countries. Country and Western originated in the South and remains most popular there today. It is a mix of blues and folk music. Some of the most famous country musicians include Hank Williams, Bonnie Langford, Nick Cave, Blixa Bargeld and Jimmy Rogers. Modern country artists today include Brad Paysly and Kris Kristofferson. Many rock and roll musicians overlap into country and western too. "

Serving suggestion
Why not try stuffing on a spoon.

Sweet of the week.
Pink shrimps. I like their slightly stale blandness.

Serving suggestions

Buying me tea, I saw these and thought it's a cold night some delish pease pudding would be just the thing. I was even more pleased when I saw the the serving suggestions! mmmmm tasty!

Now there will be the rationalists amongst who'll be saying well we eat humous what's the difference. Well you may have point.

Time for the nursery rhyme.

rhubarb triangle

Saw this in the paper; it’s about the Rhubarb Triangle. Which has particular place in my heart, as it’s one of the places I grew up in.
It’s the only place to buy the pink forced rhubarb from. I saw some on one of my rare visit to a supermarket the other day and was tempted but was recoiled when I saw the cretins where selling Dutch grown stuff. It’s why we need this “appellation controlle” designation. The fields around our village are filled with rhubarb and the long sheds where the stalks are forced. In the summer you can gather enough for a pie off the roads where it’s bounced of the farmer’s trailers. My dad would come home with a huge bunch in a twist of newspaper, fresh from the grower.
Its gathering praise here’s what Ricky Stein has to say.

Details of the Rhubarb Triangle

Some recipes:

My own is simple; stew the 'barb either the Nigella way in oven or just in pan. Add sugar to taste, it can stand a sprinkle of cinnamon or ginger. I then have it cool with 50/50 Greek yoghurt and custard (cold) with either toasted oatmeal (heat in pan for few minutes) or a ginger nut crumbled over the top. In Italy it would be regional specialty; here I’ll just call it “store cupboard rhubarb fool”.
Whilst finding some pictures of the triangle I found these sites.
Again top marks to the authors for sharing their hobbies and interests.
Pictures of churches in UK
And a perplexing Maths site based in Rothwell, that sounds like it should be in Roswell, cryptography and rhubarb who knew.

Ramble on.

Exciting day, firstly I was in a meeting with someone who looked like CJ Cregg (Allison Janney) everyone’s favourite press secretary. It was quiet unnerving; my "London CJ" was just as nice as the so called fictional one, very delightful.

Not more than 20 minutes later I almost bumped into Terry Gilliam. This impressed me more than it should. He is after all one of the best ever British film directors and there he was walking past Muji on Tottenham Court road. It was one of those minor coincidences as I had just been looking at a box set of his films. Obviously if this was a true coincidence he would have just been reading my blog!

Lastly just watched an enjoyable programme, “Wainwright walks” on BBC4. It’s just a programme about walking in the lakes, but like most programmes I like more and more, it is just of its self, no side, no angle. The only celebrity is Wainwright, who although a million selling author was a town treasurer and curmudgeon for most his life.
The programme features Watchdog’s Julia Bradbury, who is a good choice, being friendly and personable but also seemingly new to hill walking and so has a nice everywoman touch. The true star of the show as they always say is the scenery, The Lakeland fells always look good but this show was really shot well. You just wanted to be sat next to Sprinkling tarn or be just setting out across the heather to tackle another summit.
My only gripes are that there where too many establishing shots of Julia, we would see her walking up hill then cut to her walking toward the camera etc. They just look set up and the process of filming gets in the way. There was one long shot where you just thought did they all have to wait whilst the camera man schlepped to the other side of the valley or was the peace of the lakes ruined by “wup wup” of a BBC chopper.
One last thing, I don’t know if it’s just Julia’s background or I have been mispronouncing it all these years but all the way through tonight’s show she referred to Scafell Pike, but said it more like Scawfell pike instead of Scarfell pike. It just sounded weird; I can never fully come to terms with these southerners and their long vowels. But anyway vowel complaints aside the programme did make me want to get my mental kink cake out and head for the hills.

Barnstorming Wallis

Master Chef reheated:

Had a request for a review of the final. I missed it when it first went out on Thurs (I was at lecture) I caught it this afternoon, switching to and fro from the Grand Prix (Hamilmania anyone).

I have aired my doubts early in this blog about the format but in and of its self its perfectly fine tv. I think this series hasn't totally taken off due to poor quality of the cooks taking part. I think it was mistake to loose the garrulous Geordie David(?) as he had potential to do well.

Of the the finalists I think Steve Wallis was the obvious winner, the posh cheese shop owner Ben was too posh and couldn't make food tasty. The nervous "country lawyer" Hanna (which makes her sounds like a Beatrix Potter charcter ) could never make 3 excellent "plates" of food in row.

So, Steve ,his scarf and fluster rightly won. Mr "Boodaful plate of food" baldy judge Gregg kept alluding to him being "flamboyant" presumably in the same way Larry Grayson was "Flamboyant". I thought we had got away from this sort of innuendo.

I have one gripe though I can't really see why we need a whole week of tasks which don't count for anything. As all the judging seems to be done on the last meal. Also have you noticed that whenever a professional chef is given some food to taste on TV, if they can't find anything wrong they always say it needs more salt, so reluctant are they to give praise.

One last thing if "pears, chocolate sauce and ice cream" makes you Masterchef, I can proudly announce next years winner......... it's My Dad. Yes, BLTP senior who spent hours feeding us ungrateful wretches, use to knock out this dish for a special afters. Now I will admit the pears were tinned "Bartlett pear halves", the ice cream out of the Freezer but the sauce was home made a sort of coco custard and it was delish, in fact it was boodaful plate of food!

Going for a Burton

Dressing the part:

While looking up Clint's character names, I came across this wonderful site. The net is full of obsessions (this blog among them) but some people take it to new heights. This site is devoted to "Where Eagles Dare". It's well done,covers the film and book in extreme details. Part of the idea of this blog was to celebrate such things so, well done lads it's a beaut!

Another gem I found via the WED site was this clothing firm. Do you want to dress like Clint and Burton in Schloss Adler? Well, the M.O.D (Maverick Outdoor Designs) can help. They can even help you out if you wish to look like Michael Caine aka "Col. Kurt Steiner" the cockney Wehrmacht commander in "the Eagle has landed".

Man with too many Names:

The poetry of Lists Vol1:

I put this together as part of an occasional series. You must have noticed how sometimes a random order of words can have a hidden poetry about them. The shipping forecast is probably the most famous. Well, here's my first entry it's a list of Clint Eastwood's character names. They seem to be mix of Celtic sounding ones mixed with Scandinavian and polish. Some of the earlier ones sound like they come from a gay chatroom. I do like first Saxon and dumbo pilot!

Frankie Dunn
Terry McCaleb
Frank Corvin

Steve Everett
Luther Whitney
Robert Kincaid
Chief Red Garnett
Frank Horrigan
William 'Bill' Munny
Nick Pulovski
John Wilson

Tommy Nowak
Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan

Gunnery Sgt. Tom 'Gunny' Highway
Preacher
Lieutenant Speer
Capt. Wes Block
Harry Callahan
Red Stovall
Mitchell Gant
Philo Beddoe
Bronco Billy McCoy

Frank Morris
Philo Beddoe
Ben Shockley
Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan
Josey Wales
Dr. Jonathan Hemlock
John "Thunderbolt" Doherty
Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan
Man in Crowd on Pier
The Stranger
Joe Kidd
Insp. Harry Callahan
Dave
Cpl. John McBurney
Pvt. KellyHoganPardner
Lt. Morris Schaffer
Deputy Sheriff Walt Coogan
Marshal Jed Cooper
Rowdy Yates
The Magnificent Stranger
Charlie
MoncoRowdy Yates
JoeRed Hardigan
George Moseley

Keith William
Burns
Dumbo Pilot
John Lucas
Lt. Jack Rice,
Roughride
Marine (Medic)
Tom, ranch hand

Law Man
Will
Joe Keeley
Jet Squadron Leader
First Saxon

Jonesey

Friday Lucky bag

So let’s try again, if history tells us anything it’s that you should always do your work in Word and save it rather than spend an hour on your blog only for it to crash and you loose all you stuff just when you try to post it!
Anyway anyway , the sharp eyed of you will have noticed that this bit has changed its name. Even though this edish is coming out on Saturday it will now be called “Friday lucky bag” this is because it’s taken me a week to remember they were called lucky not variety bags! It had been worrying me all week.

Fancy a nice iced Fancy?: My good friend L sent me this picture this week. It’s from a site called mini man, I think but unfortunately the link didn’t work. It did however lead me to musing on éclairs. Firstly I remembered that rare thing an intentionally funny dictionary citation, the éclair is described in Chambers as “a cake long in length but short in duration”. This is pleasing because it’s precise and humorous.

Also I took a surf and found that Éclair is from the French for lightning which some in interwebland seem to think reflects the shiny flash of chocolate icing; this is nonsense it refers to how long they last!

Lastly there was also some discussion as to what an éclair should consist of, well there’s no argument the perfect éclair should have chocolate icing and be filled with whipped cream, not crème patisserie, or chantilly cream or even heaven for fend butter cream. Nor should there be any coffee flavour in the icing or filling. If it comes on one of the fresh cream “naughty but nice” paper doilies with little blue cows on that would be perfect.

Not so dumb blonde: I was listening to my Dolly Parton cd this week. I was struck by what a perfect work song “9 to 5” is.

I would offer that it is the best hit work song. It is full insight and compassion for people (women) going about their daily grind, it’s also a really good catchy song. Why do C&W songs talk about work better than rock or even pop?

Is this because C&W is “blue collar and red neck” music? Rock is particular hopeless at every day work all the writers of “classic” tunes, the likes of Ray Davies, Paul Weller , Damon Albarn et al are rubbish at it. In fact they are usually disdainful and patronising about work. And give the impression that us wage slaves are complicit in our slavery. This would be fine if any of them had done a days work in their lives and didn’t write toss like “drink all day because the country’s at war”
Dolly on the other hand may not have slaved over a copier or sat through boring meetings in Luton but she has sung and performed to earn her crust since her early teens. This may have just given her more insight than, lechering your way through art school and then pestering groupies for a living.
Oh and lastly blond/e is one of the few gendered words we use in English,

To infinity and beyond: I was working in office last night that had a tiny 4 person lift, to make it seem like it had more space it was clad in infinity mirrors on all sides. This is a terrible thing to do to anyone, we all feel bad in morning but seeing ourselves disappearing into the distance makes it worse.

I remember a lift in friends' flat in Spain that had the same mirrors, it was really slow and stank of sewerage .

It was a terrible 3 minutes ride as you sank to earth, your head throbbing, you blood shot gaze illuminated by harsh strip light reflected back into infinity, the sickly stench of sewer turning your hung-over stomach.
That being said if you want to make your own go here.

Woody land walk: Like everybody with a new mp3 player (mine is on my phone) I have been rediscovering my cd collection. One of my current faves is “the best of Benny Goodman”. I was going to tell about how great “sing, sing “ is but this chap has already done it and he knows all the correct jazz mag words. I have found something out however, if you play Benny Goodman (or that matter any swing tune) whilst walking you immediately turn into a Woody Allen character.

So here’s BLTP “How to walk like Woody”™ cut out and keep guide.

1,Buy the best of Benny Goodman (usually less than a fiver)
2.Don one of those nice brown Armani coats they all wore in “Hanna and Her sisters”
3.Walk briskly down the high Street listening to Benny.
3.Meet up with Diane Keaton for coffee.

NB. You’ll have to supply your own witty philosophical voice over, also for a change Duke Ellington works just as well, especially the totally Woodytastic “take the A train”

Subterranean street sign semiology:

Saw this on the tube. Its for an interiors show, what struck about it was whatever, the appeal of Fearne Cotton (apart from the obvious) (wasn’t she rubbish on comic relief) she’s not my go to girl for paint tips. I don’t know if the photographer wanted to highlight this but she is holding a paint roller without anything to roll it in!
Lastly and in a puerile this say’s more about me that does about you sort of way, isn’t the strapline “smarten up your downstairs” a bit Les Dawson. It's like something Cissy and Ada would say “ she’s gone into the Royal to smarten up her (mouthing now ) door stairs.
Here is some classic Les for you.

CISSIE: "Leonard took some lovely photos... He's got a big Polaroid"ADA: "Ooh they can be painful - does it affect his balance."

"Marriage: The only union without a shop steward"



Sweet of the week: Cadbury chocolate éclairs not the cheapo knock off ones you get in pick and mix, mind.

Make sure everyone gets to see the cake: is the reason the Roux family have stayed at the top of the food world so long because Michel roux is really organised crime boss Hyman Roth (as played by Lee Strasburg)

Friday Variety Bag

Friday pick and mix.
In this weeks Variety bag. Solipsism of the week.
I know people who write blogs shouldn’t really go on about solipsism but this recent occurrence interested me. I found someone’s phone on the train the other day. I rang a few numbers on it to try to return it. I had imagined it would belong to a bloke because the picture on the phones “desktop” was of a handsome Latin American looking women. However, when the owner got in touch it was women, ahh well I thought this is the modern world, maybe it’s her sister or girlfriend. Anyway when I met up with her it turns out she’s the women in picture. Is this normal ? Does anyone else have a picture of themselves on their laptop or in their wallet, it was quiet strange. I can imagine a party picture of a huddle of drunken friends or smoochy couple shot but a picture of yourself on your own phone. Flickr self portraits

Desktop devil.
My bro A put me on to this it’s a fantastic little 3d model of a dragon. You can download it from here. Print it out on some nice shiny paper and make it up, it’s straight forward. Put the Dragon on your desk etc close/cover one eye and stare at our little friend and something incredible will happen. The Dragons head will bob up and down and follow you around it’s truly unnerving. So off you go and get your scissors, tape and pritt stick out.
Sweet of the week:

Fruit Salad

Full(er) Beer st

Roustabout Rambles: An occasional series.
Had an enjoyable time this week time having a Hogarthian wander, me and P went on a tour of the Fullers Brewery at Chiswick. It a fascinating place, a rambling Victorian building full of steel stairways, pipes and incredible smells. It was difficult to decide whether the hop store, fermentation room or general malty waft is the nicest aroma. The hop room smell is incredibly intense, it’s slightly chilled which adds to the almost menthol blast of hoppyness.
Fullers also have an excellent robot in barrel filling warehouse which does an spectacular ballet, almost a bar trick of picking up and twisting round 4 barrels at a go. Our guide was friendly and informative and the food and beer in the pub next door are excellent. The London Porter is lovely. We liked the 70’s beer cans anyone fancy a Fullers Foursome!
The Fullers brewery is near the Hogarth roundabout. So we nicely segue onto the Hogarth exhibition at the Tate. I promised myself this page wouldn’t a rant page so please excuse the following. It is probably a failing in me but I am increasingly turned off by these big exhibitions there are just too many people in there. It’s particularly annoying as you’ve paid a premium (£10) to go to these exhibitions and yet you can’t see the pictures for other people’s heads, the whole atmosphere is cramped and restive.
That being said the pictures are great, I prefer the prints to most of his paintings. A couple of things occurred while I wandered round firstly Hogarth and grant Mitchell are separated at birth. The amount of detail in the pictures is similar to religious paintings with signs and symbols used as jokes and connections some of that are opaque to us now.
Secondly his satire still work today one his painting the enraged musician still has contemporary resonance, the recent story about rock’n’ roll turn coat Bobby “keep it down I’m posh now me” Gillespie and Kevin “been making people deaf for years” Shields complaining about a Stokey pub making noise late night is beautiful mirrored in Hogarth’s cartoon “the enraged musicians”. In this print the prissy musician can’t produce his latest opus because the street scene of London has intruded.
One more thing I would like to add is this excellent reworking of a primal scream number by my talented Bro S.
Come Together (Nimby Anthem)
Come together oh yeah
This is a beautiful day
It is a new day I am a nimby
We are together, we are unified
And all for the cause
Because together we got power
Apart we got power
Today on this program you will hear gospel,
And rhythm and blues, and jazz
All those are just labels
We know that music is music… well its just noise!!
I found the repetitiveness disturbing and I was unable to sleep because of it, (repeat x4 and fade)
To continue our Hogarthian ramble (we’ve done a brewery, and art gallery ) we retired to our club for some excellent whisky followed by a ruby and finally a pint in the local Weatherspoon. The term “straight out of a Hogarth print” is over used but the regulars of your average Weatherspoons could be found in a London pub anytime since the Romans left.
Slight return.
Lastly whilst in Chiswick I am sure I stood behind James Dean Bradfield from the Manics at the Barclays cash point. I know that the former generation terrorists have long since passed on their fire brands but it made smile seeing him at this temple of the system!.
Here are some song titles from the MSP ..
"Natwest – Barclays – Midlands – Lloyds"
Gold Against The Soul

museum of street semiotics:Vinyl countdown

I thought I’d update you on my recent vinyl purchases having played them they are much as I expected except for one revelation more of which later.
Firstly “musical youth”, playing it through my hi fi I’m surprised by how bassy it is, years, of crap am radio removed the bottom until. Top stuff, one of those records that always cheers you up. The Dexy’s tune turns out to be a standard single “show me” but very jolly and earnest proper Dexy‘s. The JAMC is as fuzzy and mad as ever, years before Bobby “too cool for school” Gillespie joined the noise abatement society. Cover Me by Brooce is Brooce being Brooce.
The Model by Kraftwerk is a glowing gem of a record that includes one of my favourite lines in any song which is “She's posing for consumer products now and then”
It still sounds like the day after tomorrow even though it’s older than all the sugarbabes put together.
One of the singles is still mystery, it’s by Process on the mercury label the Aside is called “something international” and is incredible, it is in the same vein as “I’m in love with German film star” by the Passion. It tries being all continental in a sort of wine bar Del Trotter way, mentioning fancy coffees and then asking the object of their desires to go to bed in various foreign languages. It sounds like Ricky Gervais’ real 80’s single and also his pretend one from “the Office“. I can find very little about it ,one of the produces Wally Brill is still around I think? A mystery.

Now we come to the really exciting find ,a sixties Spanish single by Los Marshalls om the Marfer label titled Flamenco b/w La Yenka.
Usually when I buy records like this it’s usually because they have a great cover and I resign myself to the fact that the cover will usually be the best thing about it. I don’t mind I see them as square postcardsform another time. But occasionally (very occasionally) you find something truly good, either a mad novelty or something with charm and verve that breaks out of the crackles and pops and wins you over. The Los Marshalls are just that ,a Spanish Guitar pop band (don’t they look great in the picture) who probably were a small covers band. In the typical 60’s way they rode on the back of a current hit. They have surf tinge to their sound. Flamenco was a hit for “Los Brincos” , who are often referred to as the “Los Beatles españoles“. Here they are looking cool on you tube.
I prefer Los Marshalls version it’s more up and surfy. I had a go at translating the lyrics with the help of Babel fish and my Spanish dictionary, I have idiomatically “pepped” them up. The main difference to Los Brincos is Los Marshalls, changed the “ohs” for “ahs” and on such things empires have floundered.
If you ask me where I am going
And you want to know who I am
It’s easy to guess
I am what I am
(Chorus) Ah, ah ah, ah
Don’t worry about my future
Just you let we worry about that
You’ll never change me
I say to it all
(Chorus) Ah, ah ah, ah
Ah, ah ah ,ah
Piénsalo bien y decídete
(Which I think is ”think well and decide“
Or in the Yorkshire dialect “thee think on lad and don‘t be too long abart it an' all“)
I don’t have a minute to loose
Soon you’ll be mine (or my fiancée)
I say to it all
(Chorus) Ah, ah ah, ah
You will never regret it
Because if you want tobe happy
Right by my side is the place to be.
And I’ll say to it all
Ah, ah, ah,ah
It’s not Keats but then again I’m sure Keats wasn’t always Keats . And anyway its sounds better in Spanish like most things.

The b side is that strange thing a vocal cover of an instrumental, “la yenka” which is a cover of “a melodica-driven Spanish pop-folk instrumental “ by Jonny and Charlie. It may be that Johnny and Charlie did what the Stones et al did which was to arrange a traditional songs and pocket the royalties. Los Marshalls just added the original words possibly and swapped a harmonica for a melodica. I don’t know what “Yenka” means the net wasn’t helpful, it might be a folk dance, and hopefully it’s not rude. Los hombres Marshalls take on it is pacey with some excellent counting. The counting is in that cool slightly lispy Spanish way ,un dos, tres!
Like I say I’ve tried to track down something about them but I fear they may not yet have made it on to the interweb, my 30p however might be good investment as I did find this.
“MARSHALLS
CHICO YE-YÉ / FUÉ POR CULPA DE ÉL / EL MUNDO / CANSADO DE ESPERARTE
ESP
25,00€
1965 - ORIGINAL "MARFER" M 587.”

Lastly a little Spanish lesson for you, chico is a man/youth, chica a girl/women as in “las chicas numaticas” as Baywatch is called in Spain (probably)!.
Here are a few sites I found whilst looking for the Mighty Marshalls!
Venezuelan surf music from my second fave group “Los 007” or is that “Los zero zero siete” plus a fantastic girl group site with some gorgeous “mieles españoles” plus much more besides and lastly more Spanish rockabilly than you can wave a suede shoe at, check out the streaming mp3 radio for more surftastic tunes!

rarely seen together

Rumours that West Ham's new chairman Eggert Magnusson made his millions appearing in late 80's ITV children's programmes or modelling for sinister characters in comics have yet to be disproved.

Billy the Kid

Just seen a documentary about Billy the Kid on BBC2 it was well done and really interesting. It added depth to the usual story, as we are finding out more and more with the "wild west" history is that it was a very corrupt political society with the history written by the winners. Billy was less a psychopath than victim of circumstance, who wasn't smart enough to escape his fate when he had it seems several opportunity to do so. The story has strong links with Ned Kelly particularly in Peter Carey's telling, of very young people (kids really) lost in a vast continent at the whim of corrupt local law enforcers either constables or sheriffs.

For more details see this site, his story is still shrouded in mystery.

One last point I only noticed from the film is that in the famous picture of him (above) he is wearing a cardy. It's an item of clothing missed out of most westerns, probably because they were shot in Spain or Arizona and Clint et al would've fainted in the heat!

museum of street semiotics:

My local flee market is excellent, this bizarre table looked like an art installation and if my flat wasn't full of tat, I would have bought the lot to give the old place the whole Hollywood tratttoria look. Rod Stewart's wedding photo anyone. I settled for a picture instead. I did "save" some vinyl 7 inches.Here they are:
Musical Youth, pass the Dutchie (pop classic)
Dexy's, the projected passion revue. (obscure rarity could be worth a bit)
Springsteen' cover me (nice cover)
Los marshalls' flamenco (obscure Spanish pop)
JAMC, you trip me up (another classic)
The Model ,Kraftwerk (change music forever)
Being Boiled, the Human League*
Process, Something international (obscure could be good could be hopeless worth a 10p punt)

* Being Boiled was their first single and surprisingly good although a bit potty it's the only record to use the phrase "sericulture". The b side "circus of death" has the following note attached."Dominion is the name given to fictitious drug administered by the ringmaster/clown to subjugate those who fall prey to his power." oooh eer it was 1978, the bomb could have dropped any day!

museum of street semiotics: pensile object annexe

Hanging Around! It's still there, i'll keep you up todate on the walking stick, still no sign of anymore miracles!