little bits of everything

Before I start, let me just say that there have been comments about the lack of diversity with the judges for my awards. I have to say that I agree with those comments, but it's difficult to know what to do about it. Without further ado (not that we had much ado in the first place), here we go. Best radio programme on a Sunday afternoon Guy Garvey's Finest Hour (which actually lasts two) is one of those things that it's almost worth paying the license fee for just to get that one thing. If you're worried about it being a bit weird because it's on 6 Music then you don't need to worry. He plays things you just don't normally hear it all you mostly listen to is Radio 2 (like me). Some are old, some are brand new, but almost unfailingly, all are good, and you're glad you listened. As well as the talking bits in between that he does there are "On this day" items from the BBC archives and introductions to songs by his sister, the Beckypedia and his ...

 I've written about how I could get lost in the legend of Robin Hood before. I thought I never see the TV series Robin of Sherwood again, but it's popped up on ITV. So how does it hold up? Would I be as traumatised as I was when I saw Blake's 7 as an adult and ruined my childhood? I saw one episode and in fact it holds up pretty well. The pacing is a bit slow, but that's just the way TV was then. The theme music is fantastic - lovely synths and chorused singing. A young Ray Winston stands out as Will Scarlet, because he's probably the most famous of them all these days. I haven't seen any other episodes, and I probably won't, because there's so much other stuff to watch. They'll stay on the Tivo for a while though, in case I change my mind...

Back in 2009 or so, when we had a bad winter (the one where people stuck at John Lewis in High Wycombe stayed overnight) I remember going to retrieve our car from the road where my wife had abandoned it in order to walk home. I looked up the road at all the cars abandoned at odd angles and the piles of snow and took a mental snapshot. A summer or two later it was over 30 degrees C and I was on the same road. I took another mental snapshot and contrasted it with the cold winter scene. This is my mental snapshot of the Situation. It's a bit like the time when I opened a double glazed window outwards on the first floor (US - second floor) and it fell out. My instincts kicked in and I managed to not drop it. Then my instincts said to my slower conscious brain - I've caught it, now you've got to do something with it. So there I was holding this heavy window out over the empty space below and I had to get it back inside. The instincts have done their bit, albeit in slower tim...

Disclaimer: I'm am not a journalist. I didn't record this gig because we were asked not to. My memories of what Jack said may be imperfect, but hopefully I've captured the gist. Jack Garrett has made a comeback recently. (He mused at the gig as to how long it is before when you do something you're making a comeback.) He appeared on Annie Mac's show on Radio 1, on Zane Lowe's show on Apple Music and a third. He's releasing his second album, Love, Death & Dancing on 29 May, but in the meantime he's released a few tracks from it as Volume 1 . I saw him at EartHackney on Monday, 9 March. He played a small gig in 2017 at Effra social and I was fortunate enough to be one of the 100 people there. I reviewed it in Gigs of 2017 . All the tracks he previewed there he's since thrown away. There were about 600 people there this time. show 2/2 - @EartHackney pic.twitter.com/lZwEAjKpO3 — Jack Garratt (@JackGarratt) March 11, 2020 He played new t...

4/1/2000 Things are moving   We've had the letter from Wycliffe about "raising support".  They want us to aim that 25% of our income comes from other people by the end of a year, and 50% by the end of two years.  Other news: I've officially asked for voluntary redundancy Spoiler: after 4 years of trying I didn't even get to 20%, so I was paid a salary after all.

3/2/2000 Things are moving! Our buyer wants us out in 4 - 6 weeks! We've got friends who have agreed to put us up until accommodation is available at Wycliffe.\\r\\n\\r\\nWycliffe have changed the arrangement, they aren't going to pay a salary, they are topping up our support. At this point I was working part-time in another job and part-time for Wycliffe. We were moving house so that we could be nearer the Wycliffe offices, and I was going full-time, but not with a salary as I first thought. I don't know how many people who knew us were reading this, but I was a proper blogger now.

A year or so ago I did my 2018 awards . As 2019 is over it's time for this year's awards, though you'll find all the categories are different. Best Orchestral Album of 80s tunes When I heard a track from  Trevor Horn 's Reimagines the Eighties  on Radio 2 I thought it was worth seeing if the other tracks were as good, and many of them were. The first track, Everyone wants to rule the world , sung by Robbie Williams, was released as a single, and doesn't depart too much from the original. The second track, Dancing in the dark , sung by Gabrielle Apin, is a slowed down version of the original. The leisurely tempo and string arrangement really enhances Bruce's words. Seal sings Ashes to Ashes and his powerful range manages to competently handle the melody that David Bowie wrote. Matt Cardle sings The Power of love . Yes, he's still around. There are other slowed down tracks: Slave to the Rhythm and Take on me , and they manage to not...

Not really worth waiting for: 5/1/2000 A New start A new chance to put a message in. Doesn't make sense to me either. Come back in February for the next exciting instalment.