Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
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!'
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!'
Saturday, February 13, 2010
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'
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'
Monday, February 8, 2010
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!
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!
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!
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