Monday, May 30, 2005

Definitely Summer

I remember this Saturday way back in 1980 something. I was involved in a publicity stall and playing some games at a youth information day in the Volunteer Rooms, Irvine. The local Community Education people had put the event together as bit of a taster for what young people could get involved in, in their local area. As well as the information stalls they also had a young band playing on stage, who rehearsed in the building next to our own Woodcraft Folk Hall. The band were good. Very good, doing mostly Smiths covers, but a few other things thrown in to. We sort of knew one or two to nod to, they had been around the fringes of a very active local Youth C.N.D. group and drank in the same pub as us occasionally. They advertised their next gig which was in the Claremont Hotel in Kilwinning. Played there regularly and as it turned out we went to see them on numerous occasions. The line up at the time was as I recall, Frank Reader, John Douglas, Paul Forde and I think Paul Douglas played bass. They played the local circuit for a while and did some gigs in Glasgow. A young Paul Livingston joined them to add a further guitar. I remember seeing them at the Third Eye Centre when they were supporting Horse. Some lineup changes saw Paul Forde leave, George McDaid came in to play bass and Paul and Steven Douglas swapped Drum and Bass stints. Things were happening, they got a record deal and critical acclaim was leaking out. I remember going to see them in Glasgow supporting Prefab Sprout, I think at the SECC but it might have been Barrowlands. Bloody brilliant gig, coming straight after a 3-0 trouncing of the Scum as well. They were destined for greatness, good bit of airplay for the first single, building a loyal fan base stateside, good follow ups. I went to see them after Davey Hughes had joined, in King Tut's Wah Wah Hut on spec and managed to get tickets. It was the loudest gig I have ever been at, my ears rang all night long, but that new stuff was brilliant. Then disaster, their Shabby Road studio in Kilmarnock helped bring them bankruptcy and all that that entailed. I think they could only release stuff in Japan or something like that. The West Coast sound that they invented got took up by other bands like Travis, pleasant enough but not the masterful lyricism or the unique sound of the Livingston guitar.

But they are back, thewife and I went to see them at the tail end of last year following the release of Weightlifting and they were stronger, wiser, and better than ever. Harmonies are stronger the songs are more mature and they are getting a lot if fuss and airplay which is as it should be.

So its a Bank Holiday Sunday amd I'm in Ayr with thewife and Lady El following a good meal, some wine and the sun is out and shining after days of rain and we bump into a number of old friends at a free gig in Wellington Square and the Trashcan Sinatras come on and its just fucking heaven.


Traschcan Sinatras in Ayr

And again

posted by timesnewroman at 9:07 AM  

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Saturday, May 28, 2005

Bandits at 6 O' Clock

Biggles is off on a Sortie

The new guy has gone and left us after a piddly 2 years. Off to deal drugs apparently, or was it deal with drugs? We sent him off with his very own Biggles outfit and a voucher entitling him to briefly fly an aircraft. Steer clear of Cumbernauld for the forseeable future methinks.

Pre Theatre Dinner in Roccoco. Beautiful surroundings and extremely well cooked food made it a night to remember. Portion-wise a bit scant but nonetheless extremely good. We were scurrying away imagining that they had omitted to charge us for the wine we had consumed. jimty had been dealing with the bill and was quick to espy a bargain. Outside on a high, it was theboss who suggested that perhaps the reason why the wine was not included on the bill was because Biggles himself had already settled that particular account! Duh like restaurateurs are stupid.

A few pints at a vibrant city centre bar and then home for a holiday weekend. Shame about the weather though.
posted by timesnewroman at 11:36 AM  

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Thursday, May 26, 2005

Fantasy Football

Must have seemed like that. 3 - 0 Down at half time, seen as underdogs. The only way to go is.... well forward perhaps, to wipe the smiles of the faces of the plaything of top prick Silvio Berlusconi. Way to go Liverpool! (Always my "English" team as a kid. Way to go Liverpool! My wall would have been empty if I had relied on "Shoot's" collection of Killie posters and pics.
posted by timesnewroman at 6:05 AM  

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Monday, May 23, 2005

Beautiful country, shame about some of the people

one of thewife's holiday snaps

With thewife being on holiday for the past week, I have had to fend for myself. That would be the excuse I use for not having blogged for so long. Actually, the week seemed to rush past quickly. thewife had a nice time, but it wasn't so much a holiday for her, having two elderly women in tow, one of them in a wheelchair. Knackered on returning and couldn't even be bothered to take up the offer of dining out, so carry out it was to be.

Saturday and the end of season game another meaningless one, unless of course we were to put 7 past Dunfermline and results went against them elsewhere, in which case we may well have witnessed a mass hysteria moment at Rugby Park. Guess that'll have to wait until Elton John appears. Another beautiful sunshiny Saturday and the football was definitely a marked improvement on recent weeks. 4 - 0 at the end of the day and I can truthfully say that there were men on that park who were capable of winning a League. There are those who will scoff, but its true, the half time draw tickets were drawn by six gentlemen from the photo below.

Elsewhere a day later much drama in a period of 2 mins where joy and despair were exchanged in Motherwell and Edinburgh. Later in the evening the ugly side of Scottish sectarianism was rearing its face. We went to the King's for the usual Sunday quiz, however the place was extremely busy with a significant number of pished happy punters and a few sad ones to boot. It was noisy though and outside the street was alive with menace...ah melodrama. No it was really, windows being banged quite hard, the quiz was cancelled and within 10 minutes, the pub announced that it was closing 9.30 on a Sunday night. Apologies were issued by the manager, but it was pretty clear he knew what he was doing. Drink fuelled sectarian lunatics were giving it laldy in the main street and the forces of law and order were nowhere to be seen. We headed back to Lady El's with two bottles of wine and listened to music instead. Bugger, I was looking forward to the quiz as well. There's no quiz next week either as its a bank holiday weekend, however, there is a free gig in Ayr featuring the wonnerful Trashcan Sinatras, so we are heading there instead.

Whilst I am on the subject, I have to put a plug in here for Sons and Daughters. I got a CD from Jem at work, a compilation of Scottish bands promoting Mental Health awareness which is full of wee gems, however this band I love, most interesting stuff I have heard in a while, they sound really DURTY which I like.

Finally lets bask in past glories. Was it really 40 years ago?


The 1965 League Champions
posted by timesnewroman at 6:58 PM  

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Sunday, May 15, 2005

The Weekend's Too Short

Friday evening and thewife hadn't been feeling well all day. Migraine. Meant that having taken the free range organic chicken out of the freezer it had to be cooked or slung. I was loathe to sling it, so it was going to be a long wait for dinner. As it turned out, we managed for about 8.30pm and by then the cook's perks had made the time pass quicker. Damn fine chicken too.

Saturday, beautiful day so I reckon we can barbecue tonight except that I have to put the barbecue together. How hard can it be? Well I starts off around twelve gathering the tools and checking the parts are all in the package, which they are. I'm being picked up for the football at 1.30pm which means a pint or two before the game. I have just about got the legs on when I have to leave. I'm beginning to wonder if a barbecued dinner is going to be manageable if the rest of it takes as long to put together. The football itself is a bit of an anti-climax. Turgid stuff, with quite a few Killie players out injured. Livingston are well supported, with excluding the Old Firm, one of the loudest most colourful supports I've seen and heard this season, with their BIG Forza Livi Italian style banners and army of drummers. Perhaps it's because they are facing relegation that their fans have really got behind them, but nevertheless, their team aren't capable of matching their fans' expectations. Despite the almost entirely tedious game, 2 goals towards the end of the match pretty much conclude matters.

Then its home and I manage surprisingly quickly to put the barbecue together and its off down the supermarket to get stuff to cook on and stuff to cook. Steak, courgettes and briquettes. Forgot about the barbecue lighters didn't I, thewife by this time is off to deliver a message to a friend which leaves me with newspaper to try and light the damn thing. Half an hour later thewife is back with the motor and I have hardly got the thing alight, so off she goes for the lighters. I reckon it is going to be midnight before we eat but as it turns out its only a quarter to nine, mid May with still really warm sunshine to bask in. We were still sitting out as the light was fading, drinking and listening to Leadbelly and somewhat eerily Vaughn Williams' Lark Ascending whilst actually watching larks ascend into the twighlight. Bliss, but getting chillier by the moment.

Sunday and thewife is preparing to head off to Skye with mumsy and auntie for a short "holiday." I'll be dropping them off this afternoon, but before that there is young Chloe's first communion with no drink for me as I'll be driving. Later I may go to the quiz but I'm not so sure, with thewife gone and Lady El doing a 10k this afternoon, I'll be teamless.
posted by timesnewroman at 9:07 AM  

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Friday, May 06, 2005

It wos me wot done it!

I won it for Labour apparently, at least that's what the email I got from Matt Carter, Labour's General Secretary, said. This despite the fact I couldn't bring myself to vote for them. He got my address from the time I sent them an email complaining bitterly about eyerack and for some reason, they've been sending me emails ever since. Including one threatening to send Prezza round if I hadn't voted. Presumably they didn't really mean it.

I stuggled with voting, there was no-one I really wanted to vote for and in the end plumped for the Scottish Socialist Party, figuring that if Labour ever want my vote back, they know which way to lean.

Overall though I reckon that the British electorate are becoming ever more sophisticate in voting terms. Clearly they didn't want that miserable shower of scum sucking leeches anywhere near power, so despite misgivings, the protest didn't bring the government crashing to the ground but nevertheless sent a message to Bliar.
posted by timesnewroman at 7:00 PM  

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Monday, May 02, 2005

Itching for it

Long weekend and the sun is shining brightly when I get out of work on Friday, early, because I'm on a training course. Weekend is looking good for putting the barbecue together and cooking outdoors. Well that would have been the plan if the weather hadn't done its bank holiday thing and chucked it down in buckets. Then I wake up on Saturday morning feeling really hot. Into the bathroom and my face is bright red, my arms are itching and up in goosebumps and then I realise its not just my arms, its all over! I'm not one given to panic, and I'm due to make breakfast, so I pop out for rolls and slice (Lorne sausage, not square not round, just plain SLICE!) and go into the chemist and buy Piriton, having self diagnosed an allergic reaction. Thing is, I have never had an allergic reaction to anything in my life. At this point I make breakfast, thewife gets up and has a look at me and she too diagnoses an allergic reaction, she has some medical training, having watched every episode of every medical drama on TV as well as a nursing background so we begin to ponder what it might have been. First up and truly terrifying is the possibility of it being alcohol. theboss has an allergy to alcohol and turns bright red and itches when she drinks almost any kind of alcohol. Then there are some pills that I am on which have a rash as a side effect, but I've been on those for ages without problems. thewife then reminds me of her sudden allergy to Non Steroidal Anti-Inflamatory drugs, after having used them for years. The she hits on the free sample of Surf that she used for the last batch of washing. The Piriton works quite quickly and I'm a lot less red and a lot less itchy. She phones the on call doctor anyway and has one of those conversations in medicalese that I barely understand and the consensus reached is that its probably the Surf, but to keep an eye on symptoms in case it worsens or goes anaphyllactic. So later that night, we cook the best lamb shanks I have ever tasted in my life. Actually they are the only lamb shanks I have ever tasted and they were bloody good. Downed with a couple of bottles of wine with absolutely no repercussions. Gon ya dancer! Wine out of the equation, next morning pills are no longer suspects, so its lets do that whole washing again. Surf, you bastards, how dare you put a bag of skin irritant through our letter box.


Meanwhile back at the election, if it wasn't for the posters on lamp-posts and the occasional political broadcast and the news and the papers you'd hardly know there was one on. Good piece in today's Guardian by Gary Younge, just in case there are waverers out there.
posted by timesnewroman at 8:42 AM  

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