A day out

Bone ache isn't my idea of fun to be honest but when you have made arrangements to be out you can only either stay at home  or strap up, take painkillers and just replan how you are going to spend the day out.

Fortunately we live in a community that's very much that, one community of different backgrounds so everybody and every group does things and we all join in so you don't have to be involved in the life of the over 60's club at the Village Hall to take part in things they do such as an annual trip to Llandudno on a locally owned touring coach with all mod cons.

And when it only costs you £15, well it's cheaper than diesel even if I could drive plus it's more social so we have a raffle which raised £140 towards Alzheimer's support and yes I actually won three prizes, shortbread, biscuits and fruit wine which the Grump can have as I'm totally dry.

We set out at 9am prompt and got there skirting the M56 near Ellesmere Port after getting on the M6 at Sandbach by 10:47 which I though was good going,

Given the knees were off and I was off foot for part of Friday grand tours of shops were off so I went a chunk of my time enjoying the sun, going along the promenade talking with people from this conurbation and the Black Country as you do, watching some Car and Vintage bike events and the epic battle between man and seagull for the chips.

It was good to see the pier had been not merely restored but remade for a more modern age following last years storms that caused considerable damage, replacing units hat had seen better days and adding a dining experience looking out to see.

Talking of dining I had Cod, mushy peas and chips at the Coffee Centre café next to what was M&S that was delicious.

You can't avoid this, a rabbit hole of a different sort marking Lewis Caroll's connection with the town, in it in its new coat which had a lot of children including a Guides pack all having their picture taken next to it.

We set off at 5pm and elthough experiening some delays along the A55  near Prestatyn we got back and in for 6:50 to grab and salad and tea.

Weather held up well with sun and temperatures around 19 degrees C (we don't use other measurements here) which made being out enjoyable even if plans needed to be changed.

Lilliput Lane

The wet week and the continuation of past trends that started while Mom was very much alive but got paused in the focus free world of the Grump where things just went including things that were promised by her to me at the time just cos he wanted the space for something of his.

There were figurines and a lot of glassware which to be candid isn't really my thing but you might say that was one of her special interests in later life.

The other thing were resin cast historic building such as farms, houses and schools which were things I rather liked too apart from cute resin Beatrix Potter characters I started buying in the 1980's.

Lilliput Lane was founded in 1982 by David Tate. The company was known for its extensive range of realistic miniature handmade models of real English and Welsh cottages and scenes.

Formerly based in Workington, and Penrith in Cumberland the company moved to Langholm in 2009 but stopped operations in 2016.

David died from cancer a year later.

A couple of these kind of "went" in 2023.

Recently I had the opportunity to acquire in it's full boxed edition the Borrowdale School in the Snow Cottages series they had made complete with the replica deeds 

As befits the Victorian era, the school itself is in an imitation stone look, rugged with large windows a must given gas lighting even took a long while to get established even in urban settings, to make the most of natural light.

It's now homed well out of a certain paws way, filling some of the void.

Teenbeat: One more night...

One before the Bank Holiday and the body recovers from the recent heat we return to things that spin and the period where I was very much listening to tapes having a "Walkman" and rather expensive cassette deck to the point not a few things were bought on pre-recorded tapes whatever my thoughts on "dolby" happen to  be.

I did pick up Phil Collin's first two albums on vinyl a while back when they were re-released by Analogue Productions in association with Atlantic Records in the United States as part of the series marking that labels 75th anniversary.

They came in deluxe gatefold sleeves and were cut at 45 rpm for better sound so effectively they became doubles but given the first album run for rather a long time that was a big gain in dynamics and tight clean bass.

One they didn't do was his third album No Jacket Required coming in between two Genesis albums while he plays drums and usually lead vocals - Genesis and Invisible Touch - 

It's quite likely you have this album - it was a massive seller in the UK, Canada, the U.S. and much of Europe and even if you don't you'll know the singles from it such as Sussudio, Take Me Home and One More Night which President Reagan that year said was a song he really liked.

Whatever you might think of his politics he was right,  it is a great song looking at the feelings you have for another who you love deeply, delivered sensitively. 

When it came to the album licensing this differed as in the UK and the Republic of Ireland he (and Genesis) were signed to Virgin Records whereas in other territories it was with Atlantic part of the then mighty WEA (Warner Bros, Elektra/Asylum and Atlantic) group.

That's why we get this clear vinyl remastered edition that does tame so of the very 80's production to improve the focus on Phil's vocals without losing any detail and that while this is intended for North America, it's pressed by Gz in the Czech Republic where originals were cut and pressed in the territory such as the United States or Germany. 

Personally a few decades on I am glad to have a fine vinyl version of this classic album for the collection where it will be loved.

Childhood pasts

Not the greatest of weeks with the heat and that but thoughts were running backwards this week  so here's a few thoughts from the past.

Despite learning to ape stereotypical "Ugh! you expect ME to like that?" comments complete with actions actually i loved cute stuffies and frilly linen on beds and tables

In era when saying that was likely to see you ostrasized if not assaulted, you learned not merely to keep your mouth shut  but even not show any physical expression of interest never mind actually liking them.

We did play games even if for some of time you were on the "wrong" side of the playground and even if games were mixed you preferred to play the girls role.

Kiss chase is a traditional playground game similar to tag we played. One player or group is "it" and chases participants of the opposite sex. When a player is caught, they receive a kiss. The caught person then becomes the chaser.

How to Play. Choose Who is "It": One group (traditionally boys or girls) counts to ten while the other group runs away.The Chase: The chasers run to catch a member of the opposing group.

The Catch: Tagging someone requires a quick kiss (usually on the cheek) upon capture.Switching Roles: The person who got caught and kissed now joins the chasing team, or roles swap entirely after everyone is caught

We also played Kiss, cuddle or torture This was simply a game of chases involving boys and girls, usually in the school playground. When caught, the boy would offer the girl a choice: kiss, cuddle or torture. 

Boys frequently played war games that involved torture sometimes getting close to seeing the Headmaster given the intensity of them. Actual military nterrogation would of only been marginally worse. 

I totally hated it.

This sort of more romance based play was more my thing.

Life was simpler then.

August round up

 

It's been a bit of move around and change kind of a week as I rest the mantelpiece following the acquiring of a Kensington Giftware resin set of a family of really really cute bears in pink dresses where one of Mom's porcelain wheelbarrows with flowers on it replaced a round brass pot with a grid on that I wasn't too keen on to be honest. 

I had to clean the contacts in a old "Bridge" camera as the batteries had leaked although technically they expired in March and I'd forgotten all about it with all the usual domestic mither I get in the course of a week but at least it's working which did concern me initially.

I put a note in the flap where the lens hood goes to remind of when the batteries were fitted and expiry date which might help looking into the long term.

The taking ages David Gilmour About Face album arrived while away so it got cleaned, sleeved as the original was one of those card ones that foxes, leaching onto the disc adding noise and with any luck the first Olivia Dean album, Messy from 2023 should be with me soon for a fair bit less than the usual price.

I've been enjoying the comedy drama series Ann Droid with Sue Johnston in a lot over the last few weeks on the BBC as to be honest I'm more of a radio kind of a girl.

Anyway round up is over and now back to tea!

Summer Camp 2026

Pmac 2026 style started last Friday with a detour by Miss Green enroute despite a silly motorist causing issues outside the house just as the car was being loaded and I was trying to get in the car all ladylike in my black skirt and white long socks as we took a series of A Roads to beat the traffic that causes delays using the motorway to get to our destination for six days of fun.

We stopped off a few times for a break and stretch the legs before arriving and unloading in our respective rooms with me way up in the Gods in the attic room requiring two stairways to climb.

Given some business that by co-incidence was moving to a final determination just as I was away I really needed a break beyond just having more child-like totally innocent fun.

The overall theme of the get together was Movies and that was well weaved into things by Alice and out with individual event organizers. 

We did some arts drawing or painting miniatures based upon favourite children's movies we loved so I went for the St. Trinian's Great Train Robbery  where the girls made their way up the railway line.

There was decorating so inspired by a light I used pink icing and aniseed sprinkles to cover the sweer wafer carefully spreading the icing all over. 

I'll be honest and say cookery isn't my strong point but that worked out just fine actually.

Then in crafts we made paper airplanes from card, decorating  where they were judged for travel that was tested in the grounds, decoration and originality

A few jigsaws were made such as this Mr Men one  on a table by several of us.

There was a movie themed Treasure Hunt with clues and some singing of songs from The Sound of Music.

Miss Green organized some games with movie themes as did Alice a day later which I didn't do too badly at given my wobbly lower paws and damaged upper paws.

The All Purr-Puss Nekimimi Music Quiz was run by the resident catgurl which went well given the mice ate the wifi so unlike previous years this all had to done by pen rather print outs with some film related questions.

Jillian run a general knowledge quiz also with links to movies that went well while over three nights storytime happened which was super cool.

A variety of meals were prepared by the assembled although on days where there wasn't any organized activities people fixed their own on the Tuesday we went to a hotel that does meals open to non residents where I really enjoyed the Turkey and Leek pie  with chips and veg.

The cooking standard was one of the finest I've ever experienced.

Thanks to everyone who did something such as organize an event, prepare food, clean up and generally help out as it doesn't happen without everyone mucking in.

Soulling or not?

 

It was announced that the much talked about demixed from the four track master tapes and remixed Rubber Soul seven extracts of which were presented in the expanded late 2023 1962-1966 "RED" compilation would emerged come October 2nd on Parlophone records.

Demixing is when using some really complex computer software you can isolate and then alter spacial position and balance elements in the mix that due to the primitive recording technology used in the mid 1960's had never been possible previously.

This was done to overall great effect in 2022 with their 1966 classic album Revolver which had a shedload of issues with the original stereo mix that might not bug the casual fan but for seasoned listeners and audio fans stuck out like a sore thumb.

It will be available in a variety of forms from stand alone single lp or cd reissues, two record or cd sets with the We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper single and some demo versions of songs on a second disc, a Dolby Atmos bluray with surround sound mixes and four cd and five lp box sets with 88 page booklets and the original U.S. Rubber Soul with original mixes featuring different track line up.

Obviously the bigger sets cost more so you need to weigh up what you do need and I have a number of copies as it is.

I have the original stereo and mono mixes on lp and cd, the 1986 remix on cd and the 2009 remaster of that on cd so I might only get on cd the two cd full album and bonus highlights rather like I did back in 2022 for Revolver.

Blinded By Science

 We've had yet another hot week here, not as bad as the first heatwave of the summer but certainly hot enough for double windows open, blinds down and fans running for much of the day so we've not been wearing much.

One thing I did was play a unusual record that I own  from 1983.

It's what was called a Mini LP, a new format that Capitol-Emi tried in North America of a record longer than a twelve inch single but with full album art and a proper jacket with spine.

This comprised of two UK twelve inch singles and an extra track that run for just over twenty-nine minutes for a low price.

She Blinded Me With Science with vocal contributions from Dr Magnus Pyke was also released as a edited seven inch single peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

This was a big seller in the spring and summer of 1983 and something I liked for compositions such as Windpower.

Surviving the heat

It's a lot hotter out as I type this, dripping, on Saturday than forecasters predicted, fans on, window blinds pulled to keep the heat from the sun out as I get through many drinks with some cooler air coming through.

Everything seems a struggle in this heat, just getting a simple meal for instance so rather than roasting upstairs with the super audio cd player or playing a record, I've been re-reading annuals and comics while keeping up with plans as we're a fortnight from a group break with activities in the British Isles which should be fun.

I was watching a StuView video on YouTube looking at Saturday TV in the past from morning shows to evening shows for "all the family" that cast my mind back a bit to the 70's and early 80's .

Korky's battles with the mice featured on the front pages of the Dandy back then, they robbed him of various things, even his Christmas dinner before now.

Later on Desperate Dan featured on the front cover before the controversial 2000's reset and redrawing of the comic that seemed to lose it's hard core readership without bring over those who wanted edgier content and more reference to mass media such as Harry Hill's tv show and that was before Social Media and Streamed media were a thing.

Could it of survived in the way its stablemate the Beano did?

Not without bringing in newer cartoon strips set in this century for today's children who do read them and the big issue of the visibility of the physical comic in places that sell magazines with the racks in Morrison's very unorganized and messy.

Welcome to July with updates

Wednesday saw what I grew up calling Dominion Day, marking that day in 1867 modern day Canada was formed from parts of British North America.

Other things marked included on Friday the latest changes on Blue Peter, a children's show I remember well.

Friday saw Joel MaWhinney's final Blue Peter show where he attempted to do everybodyelses role on the show!

For this final show he scaled Spinnaker Tower using suction cups as part of Superhero Challenge which was a finger biting watch as he struggled with his nerves at one point.

Joel was Blue Peter's 41st presenter, and he has brought a touch of magic to the show! He first came in as a guest on the show back in 2018, and by December 2022 he was officially part of the team.

Born in Northern Ireland in 1997, Joel isn’t just a magician - he’s a creative powerhouse. Whether he’s making things disappear or stunning stars with his tricks, he’s always is practising to 'wow' the Blue Peter audience.

Joel presented this year His Majesty King Charles III with a BP Gold Badge for his work inspiring people to care for the environment, something like his dad Prince Philip he was doing before it came fashionable.

Joel’s passion, positivism, and love of learning make him the perfect member of the Blue Peter gang taking part in many memorable activities such as absailing, training with the Royal Marines, trying bob sleighing  and the like.

While some new trends on the show aren't to my tastes - I don't think Hacker T Dog as presenter really is good move for instance - I feel he did the job of relating  to and inspiring children explore themselves and achieve well.

Teenbeat: The Beach Boy's rounded off

Melting, heat stroke affected post this week.

In 1974 Capitol started a series two lp compilations that purported to gather together in themes the beach boys 1962-1970 output in eye catching artwork, starting with Endless Summer.

A issue with the first two the use of fake stereo versions of songs although commecially they did sell rather well.

Come 1982 they finished it off with Sunshine Dream that did get cleaner sounding copies of the songs and took us across the 1966-70 period taking in Pet Sounds, Smiley Sile, Wild Honey, Friends and 20/20 their last studio album for Capitol. 

This one was inexplicably not released in the UK so many were unaware of just what it had to offer although like the second one the artwork was by Roy Kohara and somewhat kitsch and cheap looking. 

This is a good companion to Endless Summer  which I have newer better sounding version of. 

Warm memories

 

It's a hot one, the weather that is having just taken stock of record that felt warm to the touch off Royal Meow and put it in vertical fairly tight bit of rack to cool off while being pressed a bit flatter that it might be potentially if not.

Kind of reminds me of the time in August 1988 when I'd gone into Wolverhampton to the HMV store at the Mander Centre buying a copy of the new Five Star album only to bring it home with a bit of prominent warp!

We didn't have a HMV up here then, just lots of independents across this sprawling area. 

I gave this a bit of clean, a disc of hits - all in stereo - by the Everly Brothers, the connection between Country and the Rock and Roll era that came out here in 1975 that was got for me after borrowing a copy out of the municipal library, surviving it's years quite well.

There's been any number of compilations by that duo but this captures most of the hits you want on one disc and certainly beats a two disc volume I tried on Pickwick in the mid 80's.

Seeing things in 3D with a Bear Pt. II

 

After a cooler rather damp weekend we can get our Viewmaster out - and I believe an other has bought themselves one - and look at few more reels in 3D.

The Pink Panther was a big draw not just the classic Peter Sellers full length films but the classic animated cartoons from the 1960's and 70's we saw on tv.

I had a lot of Pink Panther merchandise as a kid and I did get this set of 7 stills from 3 classic PP Show Cartoons as that was the sort of thing I had originally with my beige one.

For many the ViewMaster is tied in with 70's and 80's childhood but viewmasters were being made into the 2,000's so here's the first of two 90's sets of reels.

Most of us can recall The Lion King, seeing the Disney film, having the songs and posters but here's a set from the film that appealed to younger viewfinder fans.

For a good number of us, Rugrats was the springboard to revisiting our past lives and deciding to bring elements back as we watch on Nickelodeon on satellite tv but unless you followed the toy catalogues back then you might not of realized  actually that was made for the viewer.

The exploration of the development of the Rugrats, the characters and tensions between the children were things we loved so to have this set is just fantastic.

Teenbeat: Rounding up the floyd

This week we on about something else.

Some artists have a big influence on popular music because they push the boundaries well out and Pink Floyd was one having a good many studio albums and a few compilations of sorts over the years covering the 1967-71 era and 1971-94.

Some have tried to be almost suites made from original songs from the individual albums, others collections of curios - the sort of thing that appeals to hardcore fans - with obscure 'b' sides and remixes, others straightforward playlists.

Recently one came out that had a number of head scratching from the artwork with is very lazy to just why they bothered.

8 tracks is an odd name as that's precisely how many tracks we have and three of them One Of These Days Wish You Were Here and Another Brick In The Wall are duplicated with 1981's A Collection of Great Dance Songs and that featured a re-recording of Money, a U.S. Single for contractual reasons.

So just do we get?

The big one is Pigs On The Wing which was split on the lp and cassette versions but a whole 8 track program with an exclusive Snowy White solo that we never had before and why some of us kept our Columbia 8 track tape around.

Another Brick In The Wall is the whole Pt II version not an an edit of lp and the II singles version which is welcome as is Comfortably Numb one of the essential tracks from The Wall plus Time from Dark Side of the Moon.

Wot's...Uh the Deal makes an appearance from 1972's Obscured By Clouds, the album that broke them on U.S. Underground FM Radio.

The segues are handled well gently moving into each track so it's a good compilation but it needed to be programmed to compliment "Great Dance Songs" by using When Tigers Broke Free from 1982, Another One of My Turns (b side of Another Brick In The Wall) and Take It Back from Division Bell so the sets act as a retrospective with the odd twist.

What we had was nice but it needed more thought and definitely a much better cover.

Beano Summer Special 2026

Last week was badd...very bad for the super hot drying up conditions we endured as we went over 30 degrees and felt by Thursday night really off so Friday's cooler temperatures, fresh breeze and even some thunder was welcome.

And that was Spring!

Now this month we enter Summer officially where you might it expect it to be warm, where in the past we looked to Summer Vacations and no school for seven or so weeks before we got crazy, stomping our feet saying "I'm bored!" 

Okay, you could play with your Chromebook, Tablet or Smartphone all day which isn't that good for for other reasons, run about like crazy playing weird games which is what I did with mates or read a comic or book.

That's where summer special comic editions with more pages came in coupled with puzzle books that remain big with modern children.

While the world of children's comics and magazines has changed a lot in forty odd years - and not necessarily for the better - The Beano Summer Special, today styled as a Summer Activity Special remains available and is out...NOW!

This years plot revolves around the notion the Beanotown children think they’ve bagged the perfect getaway, a dream holiday to a seaside caravan park in Beanotown-on-Sea. 

However this is Beanotown so of course nothing is what it seems! Their hoped for R & R (rest and recreation) turns out to be more like run-down and rotten - and the weirdness doesn’t stop there. Something fishy is happening both at the seaside and back home… and the kids are determined to uncover the truth!

Packed with mysteries, mayhem, jokes and puzzles it takes you back to those times even if the world is very much the modern one with enough to keep you occupied indoors or out and doesn't require a connection nor recharging.

With this weeks weather recharging is what I need!

I loved rope climbing and exploring.

Teenbeat: Rediscovering...The Osmonds

Phew! What a scorcher,eh?

Definitely weather for thinner tops and skirts here as I'm melting in the heat, windows wide open with a glass of milk at my side.

Seeing it was the bank holiday I played a double lp I haven't touched in good few years although the contents are well known to me, going back to my early childhood and the records I heard on the radio.

They were the records, over two paws worth issued by the Utah, United States family group The Osmonds in their various permutations, whole group, solo and duos and this Greatest Hits set from 1977 has them all from One Bad Apple sounding more like the Jackson Five, the hard rock Crazy Horses and the perfect timeless pop of Love Me For a Reason a favourite from '74.

It also captured Jimmy's take on the music hall composition Long Haired Lover from Liverpool but for me more critically Marie Osmonds Paper Roses and Morningside of the Mountain, highlight her gifts in country music which I was rather exposed to and Donny's solo recordings like The Twelve of Never and Puppy Love.

It came well packaged with lots of pictures and even more on the paper inner sleeves so it was certainly well put together in the way some of these packages aren't.

It got a clean up and played for the memories, a useful appendage to the 1972,3 and 4 Now Yearbook Records.
 

A lost local station

Areas have quite a bit history and one village in this conurbation certainly is one that within living memory had coal mines although later on people transferred to mines in nearby Biddulph or Holditch, near Newcastle Under Lyme.

Coal had to got out to where it was needed - the vast potteries and steelworks of our region - so the North Staffordshire Railway Company built a spur for it where it was on the "Loop Line" an overground local train network covering most of the area  to which many of us feel ought to be reinstated given the appalling peak hour road traffic here.

The line was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on 9 October 1848 but the station at Mow Cop did not open until the beginning of January 1849 and closed in 1964 under the "Beeching Cuts together with Scholar Green station.

It was immortalised that year in the song Slow Train by Flanders and Swann.

Until 2002 the signal box pictured while not in use was still "in situ" but is now preserved privately within the former industrial village.

The trains still go past it from Stoke Station just outside the city in Stoke itself through Congleton on towards Manchester in the North of England.

Rather like here, bits of our industrial past can - just - be spotted while ours is literally beneath ground with dramatic subsidence in spots.

Updating the nows - Now Yearbook 1972

While the polly tictions continue argue stuff out this Monday we're going back to the time I was in single digits and you found the radio listening to songs.

That to an extent is what's driven buying the Now Yearbook series, hearing your favourites from the past that bring back memories from the times.

Back then I had a home made stereo record player and am radio that I'd play my 45's and Top Of The Pop's cover versions albums on in an era that if you bought a Ronco 24 hits one instead even to my junior ears it didn't sound good.

Record One opens with an all-time favourite, ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ by John Lennon, The Plastic Ono Band, Yoko Ono & The Harlem Community Choir – and it leads an opening run of classics including Rod Stewart’s #1 ‘You Wear It Well’, Don McLean with ‘American Pie’, ‘A Horse With No Name’ from America and a song by the same name ‘America’ from Simon & Garfunkel, released as a single in 1972 to promote the duo’s ‘Greatest Hits’ collection. More legendary U.S. artists follow including Harry Nilsson with his #1 ‘Without You’, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney & Wings with their first Top 10 hit ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’.

Flipping over to Side Two for ‘Baby I’m-A Want You’ from Bread, ‘Anticipation’ from Carly Simon and Neil Diamond with one of his signature tracks, U.S. #1, and the title of recent biopic ‘Song Sung Blue’. Gilbert O’Sullivan enjoyed his first chart-topper with ‘Clair’ while Colin Blunstone hit with ‘Say You Don’t Mind’ and Cat Stevens scored a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic with ‘Morning Has Broken. A good ten before ‘Thriller’, Michael Jackson had his first solo hit with ‘Got To Be There’, and is followed by timeless songs from Labi Siffre with ‘It Must Be Love’ and Johnny Nash who enjoyed a massive hit with ‘I Can See Clearly Now’.

1972 saw Glam Rock become hugely popular, and Record Two kicks off at the rock end of glam with Alice Cooper and the anthemic #1 ‘School’s Out’, and followed by the superb art-rock of Roxy Music on their debut ‘Virginia Plain’ – and Mott The Hoople with the David Bowie written and produced ‘All The Young Dudes’ hitting the Top 3. 

Ahead of their biggest commercial year in ’73, Sweet scored their third Top 5 hit with ‘Wig Wam Bam’ and Slade follow with the second of two #1’s in 1972, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’. 

Elton John had a huge year and Top 5 smash ‘Crocodile Rock’ is featured next alongside the Moog classic  chart-topper ‘Son Of My Father’ by Chicory Tip and co-written by Giorgio Moroder before rounding off the side, Jeff Beck had a hit with the re-released ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’ 

Flipping to Side Two, we are celebrating a great year for soul music on the charts with The Stylistics leading an incredible run of classics with ‘Betcha By Golly Wow’ ahead of ‘Lean On Me’ from Bill Withers, Love Unlimited’s sublime ‘Walkin’ In The Rain With The One I Love’ and ‘Family Affair’ a huge hit and a massively-influential track from Sly & The Family Stone

The O’Jays announced their ‘70s Philadelphia International era with ‘Back Stabbers’ and The Supremes and Michael Jackson  as Motown remained popular also feature along with pop gems from Melanie with ‘Brand New Key’ and the massive selling ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing’ a #1 from The New Seekers.

Record Three is packed with huge hits and launches with one of Elton John’s signature songs, the #2, ‘Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time)’. Rod Stewart provided the stunning vocal on Python Lee Jackson’s ‘In A Broken Dream’ and Slade’s other #1 in ’72 ‘Take Me Bak ‘Ome’ is next, alongside the debut hit from Electric Light Orchestra, ‘10538 Overture’, which reached #9 and became the first of 13 Top 10 smashes they would enjoy in the ‘70s – and the huge ‘Silver Machine’ from Hawkwind featuring a pre-Motörhead Lemmy Kilminster on lead vocals. 

The side finishes with ‘Lady Eleanor’ from Lindisfarne and ‘Burning Love’ a UK and US Top 10 hit for Elvis Presley… 

Side Two, concludes this 3 lp set with 72’s easy listening and pure pop classics - opening in style with Shirley Bassey and her second ‘Bond’ theme ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ ahead of Andy Williams’ ‘Speak Softly Love’ – the theme from the year’s biggest film ‘The Godfather’. 

‘The Way Of Love’ from Cher comes ahead of joyful pop nuggets from Sammy Davis Jr and Tony Christie with ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’ reaching #18 in 1972 but hitting #1 33 years later! Up next, Paul Simon with his Top 5 hit ‘Mother And Child Reunion’, a #2 debut hit for Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show with ‘Sylvia’s Mother’ and Don McLean makes a second appearance with his #1 ‘Vincent’. 

The set ends on an instrumental that closes this collection and 1972’s biggest selling single: Based on the arrangement of the previous year’s hit for Judy Collins, The Pipes and Drums Of The Military Band Of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards celebrated a huge selling version – featuring a bagpipe solo – of ‘Amazing Grace’.

As someone who lives Pipe Bands, I loved it at the time.

This is a great set, the equal of four of those Dolly Bird covered Top Of The Pops albums with the original hits this time, that as you lower the arm brings everything all back.

Seeing things in 3D with a Bear

In a week where things happened that I genuinely wasn't expecting - almost a hell freezes over moment - invoking past memories thoughts did go back to the things you'd you'd play with when it wasn't too sunny and you'd had your fill of television in its poster paint NTSC form.

This was really the sort of thing I'd get out, a bit less faff than a slide projector - back then I bought colour slides of places I'd visited - and actually I do own this one.

It's a 3D viewer with images stored, seven stereo pairs per disc and just in time for some classic 70's tv so this was Paddington themed and came with three reels with that marmalade loving bears adventures.

There were similar things available such as this three disc set of The Wombles - sadly with no Womble music - with the discs in the book telling the stories like trying to repair a discarded television which is what I tried to do aged ten. I'm still alive!

Then I think all of us of a certain bone age remember 101 Dalmations and there was three reel highlights set and recently I picked up a reprint from 1978 of the 1966 classic BatMan series which I recall watching intently.

End of month thoughts

It's been a warm week with quite a bit of sun out which has meant the layers have been well off and windows opened for longer than the hour or so it takes to clear stale air from the room as it hides in corners.

In lots of ways it is great to feel fresh air around you, you do feel more alive, able to do more as much as hay fever does trouble me at this time of year and I love to see the cherry blossoms out plus the daisies in the garden.

Unlike some we've not replaced with concrete or dead to wildlife artificial grass so actually we had Cabbage Butterflies out yesterday which is a bit earlier than usual and some bees thankfully away from the washing line.

So much so really the perils of social media - the one who managed to make the first "Ignore" list did it big style - with unrelated and irrelevant aggressive rants with cuss words might as well navigated by just keeping away from those types.

Me-ow.

Outdoors away from screens is better.