How To Read Sky Coordinates

How To Read Sky Coordinates

The wall street shuffle -In praise of 10cc.

The wall street shuffle -In praise of 10cc.

An Evening with Sir George Martin

An Evening with Sir George Martin

Mah Jong Anyone..

Mah Jong Anyone..

Exile on main street

   Although the Rolling stones had cemented their reputation at the end of the sixties with 'Beggars Banquet' & 'Let it Bleed', they were facing problems with the taxman. As Bill wyman put it, even if they'd earnt a million pound they would have only seen £73,000 of it, & it would be very difficult to pay their debts. After a farewell party in Maidenhead, the band moved out to the south of France to record what would become 'Exile on main street', which contains the classic stones track 'Tumbling Dice'.
Keith Richards' house in villefranche-sur-mer was called 'Nellecote', & the tracks were recorded in the basement. Sunday night (may 23rd) saw a screening of the 'Imagine' show special about the making of the album, with behind the scenes footage & interviews with the band & many of those that were there at the time.For anyone that loves or plays music it provided a fascinating insight into the recording process & how the songs took shape. The expanded edition of the album is available now, & for those with deeper pockets there is a version that includes a dvd too. The programme was followed by a showing of the Stones 2006 concert in Brazil, where they played to over a million people on copacabana beach.
The stones once sang about 'Dead flowers', but it was quite the opposite this week at the annual Chelsea flower show. As always it proved to be an absolute delight for gardeners of all ages & abilities, with plenty to inspire even if us mere humble mortals can't quite match the efforts of the experts. By all accounts the weather was kind too, as in England it's notoriously unpredictable!
The England football team have also proved unpredictable over the years, & this week they rounded off their preparations for the world cup with wins over mexico & japan. Next stop is south Africa when the serious business begins with a potentially tricky tie against the usa.
Talking of football & Chelsea, former manager jose mourinho is on the move again. Having guided Inter Milan to champions league success, he's now become manager of Real Madrid. Amongst those he's rumored to be interested in signing are Frank Lampard & Ashley cole. 'Hands off!' say all chelsea fans, though given his off field problems this season, Ashley cole may be tempted to have a fresh start, & there's always the money of course!
Sad news of the week: Dennis Hopper dies from prostate cancer-there is now a simple blood test available if any of you are worried.
Quote of the week: seen on the back of a lorry:'Indian Driver-smoke signals only!'
Album of the week: Rolling Stones 'Exile on main street'
'Exile on Main StreetExile on Main StreetExile on Main St. [Super Deluxe Edition]Exile on Main Street [Vinyl]

A Book at Bed Time

A Book at Bed Time

Beatles For sale

What can be best described as The Beatles' main workshop/spiritual home,Abbey Road studios is up for sale.If you've got a spare £10 million you'll be buying what has been described as an 'expensive heritage' & 'a brand worth more than the building.'
Originally built in 1831, no. 3 Abbey Road was bought by EMI in 1929 for £100,000, which seems a colossal amount even then, especially  as I don't even have such an amount now! The studios opened in 1931 & Edward Elgar was recorded with the London Symphony orchestra perfoming 'Land of Hope & Glory'.
It was of course The Beatles who really brought world wide fame to the studios, using it to record most of their songs , & naming their last album 'Abbey Road' with it's iconic cover showing John,Ringo,Paul & George walking over the Zebra crossing. Paul being barefoot was 'proof' of course that he was 'dead', but that's another story...
The first time I visited Abbey Road studios was on September 27th,1982, as guest of my good friend paul Tidey, or 'Beatle Brain of Britain ' as he's known in some high & lofty circles! Using the studios that day was Louis clark with the Royal Philharmonic orchestra recording their 1st 'Hooked on classics' album, & also Alan parsons was hard at work on his 'Eye in the sky' album.
It seems these days that because of the revolution in home recording, whether in the way of laptops or pc based programs such as cubase, despite the kudos of recording at such a legendary studio as Abbey Road it's just too expensive for most of us. In total it appears that EMI need to raise £120million by June. No doubt John Lennon's rendition with The Beatles of 'Money' springs to the collective minds of EMI- 'The best things in life are free, but you can keep them for the birds & bees, just give me money!'

The scarecrow-A tribute to the guardian of our fields by wilbury steve

He could see the sun rise and the early crows fly
As he stood in his field of wheat
A bundle of straw & tattered old rags
Black boots filled with 'King Edwards' for feet

A shabby old hat with it's weather beaten brim
His cheery expression means there's no flies on him
Come rain or shine he tends the field for farmer jack
'so would you', said he, 'with this pole up your back!'

'I could curse my Grandad for giving me a brain
'cause I can't plead ignorance if the crop's gone again!
But when I get tired I collapse & relax
No worries for me about mortgage & tax!'

'But those rotten kids on bonfire night
They strapped me to a rocket & set me alight
Thanks to the Fire Brigade's huffing & puffing
They put out my guts & replaced my stuffing!'

'Now when the sun sinks down & the birds feather their nest
To quench my thirst a cool lager is best
No, I'm not bitter about country life
Far from the meddling crowds & no nagging wife'

'It's an ever changing backdrop stood in this field
Watching the farmer bring in his yield
For though it may reek of cowpats & dung
sweet is the morning when the dawn chorus is sung'

Invictus-directed by clint Eastwood

Invictus was originally a poem written by William Henley in 1875. Born in 1849, Henley contracted tuberculosis of the bone when he was 12 & later had a leg amputated below the knee. Despite this he led a busy life until he died in 1903 when he was 53.
Legend has it that when Nelson Mandela was in Robben Island prison he had the poem 'Invictus' written on a piece of paper.Released from prison in 1990, mandela became president of south Africa in 1994. Apart from trying to sort out the crime & unemployment problems, he also wanted to ease the country's racial tensions. Having watched a springboks rugby union game & knowing that south Africa are hosting the 1995 Rugby world cup, he sees it as a way of unifying & inspiring the country if the springboks can win over the black south Africans.This is something that is implied when Mandela spoke with the springboks' captain Francois pienaar.He also shares the poem 'Invictus' with him ( Though in reality it's said to be Roosevelt's 'man in the arena').
 The springboks exceed all expectations & edge the final 15-12 against the mighty New Zealand 'All Blacks' in front of a mixed black & white crowd of 62,000.

Clint Eastwood's film is based on John Carlin's book 'Playing the enemy:Nelson Mandela and the game that changed a nation'. Running at 133 minutes, it carries the tag line 'His people needed a leader, He gave them a champion'. It has been described as 'Genuinely inspiring' & 'soul stirring'. Starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela , the word is that he was born to play that role. Matt Damon 's performance as Francois Pienaar has already been called 'the best of his career'.
If you enjoy Clint Eastwood's films, admire Mandela's achievements & like a bit of Rugby too, then go & see it!

who wants to live forever...

'who wants to live forever' sang Queen in 1986. We are bombarded with a variety of choices how to live longer & look younger whether by diet,fitness regime, anti-aging creams & potions, plastic surgery, botox-the list goes on.
There are some people who don't want to live forever because of the darker side of today's world with it's crime,violence, disease & ever nastier weapon development. Others simply feel that because of poor health & no quality of life, well, what's the point?
What if we didn't grow old & had good health? According to the scientists it's all to do with your shoe laces-sort of! our body cells are constantly renewing themselves before they die. The telomere, which translated from the Greek means 'end part', is the end part of the chromosome, & it protects the chromosome from deterioration. It has been likened to the aglet or plastic tip on the end of a shoelace that stops it from fraying.
The problem is that each time a telomere renews it shortens, until eventually it's consumed & the cell dies. Ironically most cancers come about when cells have somehow slipped the net of what has been described as 'programmed destruction'. Scientists, clever bunch that they are,have looked at the length of our telomeres at birth,how quickly they shorten, & how it makes some of us age quicker especially for those that smoke,don't exercise regularly & have weight issues.
The hope is that through testing, particularly at a young age, that scientists can manipulate things so that we can live longer & hopefully healthier lives. So good health & quality of life is something that we all want. To truly enjoy it though we just need to sort out the problems of the world & bring about world peace & harmony-that just may be a bit trickier & get in the way of living forever!

Abbey Road

Abbey Road

Hair loss -The natural approach

Hair loss -The natural approach

while my guitar gently weeps

while my guitar gently weeps

The Hamsters: It's only Rock n blues but I like it!

'It's only rock'n roll, but I like it', sang The Rolling Stones in 1974 & still they keep on rolling with sell out world tours. When they started out bands had to gig regularly, which improved them as musicians & crucially got them known & established a loyal fan base. There was no such thing as MTV or youtube then with the potential to quickly expose your music to millions.
Today there are some bands that don't have a major record deal, but they tour regularly, which is a vital part of their income & as a result of it have built up legions of followers. My personal favorite & recommendation has to be TheHamsters from Southend on sea in Essex. Since performing their first live show in April 1987 they have now notched up over 4,000 gigs & are described as the leading interpreters of songs by ZZ Top & Jimi Hendrix. They have glowing tributes from no less than 'whispering Bob Harris' & the legendary Johnnie Walker. Paul Jones has featured them on his Radio 2 blues show, & one of their tracks was was heard as part of the Radio 2 series 'Bright lights,Big city'. Narrated by Bill Wyman, it told the story of British rhythm & blues from the 50's to the present.
The Hamsters have toured with John Otway,Wilko Johnson & Walter Trout. They have also supported those classic British bands Status quo & Wishbone Ash. One of their popular gigs at the Half moon in Putney was under threat of closure, but thanks to the sterling efforts of The Hamsters,pub owners & staff & of course their loyal fans, the brewery has been persuaded to revamp the venue & keep it open.
If you want to know more about the band, check them out at www.thehamsters.co.uk. Better still, go & enjoy their unique brand of 'rodent rock' at a venue near you soon. It's only rock n blues, but you'll like it!