Thursday 25 November 2010

Debtford update #345

I heard the news that Paddy Power is now worth more than the Irish banks just as I walked past this place. That one of the last two pubs on the high street is now a bookies isn’t news, most empty shopsround here seem to turn into bookies . It’s also barely worth remarking that bookmaker/stockbroker aren’t two sides of the same coin they just the same thing just one lot usually have smarter postcodes. I suppose my point such as it is that would be nice to stop turning the corner and finding the news looking me in the face.









Saturday 20 November 2010

Thursday 11 November 2010

Libraries gave us power

Libraries gave us power.

I have been using New Cross Library again recently and quite moved what a warm friendly humane place it is. It's simply and efficiently run by the staff full of good books and people using the web and reassuringly quite and calm like a good library should be.
I have been going to libraries since before I could remember and have talked before about the additional thrill of Hanley library because of the occasional chance to visit the real spitfire across the road. Of course books we also the attraction I don't ever been made to read by my parents it was something we did me and brothers would go down stairs to kids section while usually my Dad went up stairs to browse himself. We would race to oversize section to see if there were any Asterix books to take out and then move onto eh books on space and vikings (I was typical boy coming late to fiction (apart from comics) really only in my late teens).

As we got older we could browse upstairs and take out adult fiction or do your homework upstairs on the big tables.

New cross library is similar to our little village library, the children section was up stairs there and often for something to do I'd go down after school or on Saturday. Often I had the tiny room to myself to read the Hamlyn book of Horror or a book on war planes. I have close friend for whom this little library was much bigger life line his home bereft of books and taught to read via commando comics and pulp westerns he sucked up the knowledge and peace of this place (amongst others) and now makes his living as writer.

This all might seem trite and libaries have alwasy needed to evolve and adapt but well if lewisham council are froced to close places like New Cross library well the world will be a duller , dumber poorer place.

Sunday 7 November 2010

“I’m a frightened as an Oyster”

Prompted partly by the Robert Plant documentary last night but also by Bryan Ferry’s new version I thought it might be time to settle once and for all which is the best version of “Song to the siren”. For many years I would have said “this Mortal Coil” version was the leading Lorelei amongst the (what is the collective noun for sirens, a snare? A glamour? ) sisterhood. The problem I had with Tim Buckley’s original was that he slips into full on pub singer mode and it can be almost comical but and here’s a revelations for me I’ve just heard the reissue version from a rarities album(last on play list) and well the calm beauty of the song is regained .

But I also love the Czars version and Plants take on it is lovely too. It may be that there are no truly bad versions.

A few more things sprung to mind: is the song more apt sung by a man or woman? Is being driven on to the rocks one of the times where histrionics are valid?

There’s only one way to decide........ erm vote (and lobby if you like in the comments)

Oh and isn’t technology great you can hear them here. There are more versions on spotify but I have cast many of them off the cliffs of overproduction into the sea of meh! (an awful lot seemed to be pleasant enough remakes of Liz Fraser’s classic but nothing special) I’ll publish the results in the week.

Click here to take survey

Friday 5 November 2010

Wednesday 3 November 2010

Masterchef vs Master race


The beast of days
Originally uploaded by bltphoto
Don't say you've not been warned when it starts raining frogs and the seas boil.The end of time is near thankfully there's a hero to save us......It can now be told Gregg Wallace's impressive appetite fuelled by endless sticky sweet puddings devoured in with eye rolling spoon swallowing glee is used to sustain his demonic powers to aid him in his eternal battle against zombie Nazis!!