Season 279 - Red rum (sort of)

Ok gang!

I've spent the whole morning going through the playlist and the rest of the songs delivered here this week. I am shocked and surprised at how few views so many songs have gotten. They deserve the views. This is typical of the summer time. Vacations, heat waves, kids home from school......I'm giving you all way too many excuses to not take some time to go and have a listen.

Apols. I've been completely preoccupied with this criminal loss of life that took place in my borough last week; and really haven't been able bring myself to listen to songs about death as well. Also, what spare time I have had this week has gone into preparing this one song (I spent a day just transcribing the sheet music into MuseScore) - and struggling to make the video to accompany it. The video alone took 15 hours. That said, I think it's the best thing I've ever done. YMMV, of course.

Plus my dear partner in life's journey phoned me in the middle of the Southside Johnny concert (she's not a fan) to tell me she's crashed her car, possibly totalled it. She's OK herself, but at work tomorrow, so I'm going to have to do something I never do later today (it's 5:45am here :-( ) and go South Of The River, where there be dragons.

Anyway, that's my excuse.
 
Apols. I've been completely preoccupied with this criminal loss of life that took place in my borough last week; and really haven't been able bring myself to listen to songs about death as well. Also, what spare time I have had this week has gone into preparing this one song (I spent a day just transcribing the sheet music into MuseScore) - and struggling to make the video to accompany it. The video alone took 15 hours. That said, I think it's the best thing I've ever done. YMMV, of course.

Plus my dear partner in life's journey phoned me in the middle of the Southside Johnny concert (she's not a fan) to tell me she's crashed her car, possibly totalled it. She's OK herself, but at work tomorrow, so I'm going to have to do something I never do later today (it's 5:45am here :-( ) and go South Of The River, where there be dragons.

Anyway, that's my excuse.

Now this is an excuse. Enough said.....

Thoughts and prayers Paul to you and your community!
 
Not waving but drowning (a Stevie Smith poem set to music)
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he’s dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.

 
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go South Of The River, where there be dragons.

Anyway, that's my excuse.

My daughter (with granddaughter) lives south of the River, so beware. :)

I agree Paul, what happened was disgraceful as was the governments response. I'll give your vid a listen when I have some time. Choir Practice this afternoon but I think this PM will be time to catch up on some of this season's vids. I notice the Met have launched a criminal investigation. I wonder what will come of it?
 
This song is one I wrote based on a true story and a little bit on the background to the song is needed.

In the 18th/19th century quilting was something of a cottage industry in North East England. People made quilts to sell. The traditional quilt of the area was whole cloth not patchwork and the layers were sown together with elaborately patterned stitching. The marking of the patterns on the top layer for the stitching was often done by professional 'markers up'. Joe Hedley of Warden, Northumberland both marked up quilts and made them himself. Some of his work survives and is of high quality. A favourite design of his is still used today and is known as Old Joe's chain. He was murdered on 3rd January 1826, possibly for the money he was thought to have accumulated from his quilting, though he wasn't a wealthy man. His murderer was never caught.

I wrote this song a while ago based on his story which I had read in a quilting book of my wife's. There is a contemporary broadside which was very lengthy (they often were) and I wanted to tell the story more briefly. It took me some time to write and the broadside did have some influence on the song that eventually emerged.


Lyrics and chords under the YT Video
 
OK. I think I've caught up now. If I've missed anyone, please let me know. For example, I just realised I had missed one of Hendulele's videos the other day.

Now I need to go and listen to every Nine Inch Nails song ever written before I go to bed because this bloody chord progression is bugging me. I know I've heard it before...
 
My daughter (with granddaughter) lives south of the River, so beware. :)

They're very brave (I've only just got back - and I set off at 6 am! )

I notice the Met have launched a criminal investigation. I wonder what will come of it?

I suspect that everyone will be found guilty; and so no-one will be found guilty. :- (
 
They're very brave (I've only just got back - and I set off at 6 am! )

I lived South of the River too in the early 70s - Dartford, so actually in Kent. I worked in Central London, though just off Holborn. We were glad to leave, though.

Interesting thing about Rivers that run through conurbations. People live either one side or the other and they rarely cross over when they move house or even to go out for the evening. It's the same here. We live South of the Tees and nearly everyone we know here who grew up in the area has lived their whole lives this side of the river. My daughter worked in a college just on the River (actually on the South Bank) and most people came from North of the river and if they went out for an evening as a group most of her colleagues were most reluctant to go out on the South side of the river and Anna usually ended up have to travel over to the other side of the river. Once she cancelled an evening out because they wouldn't bend and come our side of the river for a change.


I suspect that everyone will be found guilty; and so no-one will be found guilty. :- (

I know what you mean. There will be a damning report but friends in high places will protect those responsible.

A detective from the Met was interviewed on ITV News this evening and she was talking in terms of "Manslaughter and up" as well as H & S offences so it sounds like they might be serious. We shall see.
 
They said snow down to 400m. We live at about 350m, so they were off by a little bit. Brrrrr, it's cold this morning.

18403807_10155397129929603_6255337425459235756_o.jpg
 
I lived South of the River too in the early 70s - Dartford, so actually in Kent. I worked in Central London, though just off Holborn. We were glad to leave, though.

Interesting thing about Rivers that run through conurbations. People live either one side or the other and they rarely cross over when they move house or even to go out for the evening. It's the same here. We live South of the Tees and nearly everyone we know here who grew up in the area has lived their whole lives this side of the river. My daughter worked in a college just on the River (actually on the South Bank) and most people came from North of the river and if they went out for an evening as a group most of her colleagues were most reluctant to go out on the South side of the river and Anna usually ended up have to travel over to the other side of the river. Once she cancelled an evening out because they wouldn't bend and come our side of the river for a change.

Not only a North South divide but also a East West divide. In most major cities
in the world it is more prestigious to live in the Westend than the Eastend
In Helsinki Kontula and Jäkomäki are considered the rough working class areas
Whereas the Westend out in Espoo is all big houses and yachts for the rich.
I read somewhere that it was all to do with prevailing winds and smells that determined
the best part of the town to live in. Industrial plants were often located in the East side
and the workers lived near their places of work, and they lived with the smells an pollution
whereas the rich chose areas as far away from work as possible.

I once worked as a taxi driver and I picked up two blue rinse ladies from the hairdressers
to take them to the Westend. One lady remarked to the other that a new neighbour had
moved in next door and he was very ODD. In what way ODD asked the other lady,
and the first replied. I think he goes to WORK!!! Ahh the world of the rich and privileged.
 
Not only a North South divide but also a East West divide. In most major cities
in the world it is more prestigious to live in the Westend than the Eastend
In Helsinki Kontula and Jäkomäki are considered the rough working class areas
Whereas the Westend out in Espoo is all big houses and yachts for the rich.
I read somewhere that it was all to do with prevailing winds and smells that determined
the best part of the town to live in. Industrial plants were often located in the East side
and the workers lived near their places of work, and they lived with the smells an pollution
whereas the rich chose areas as far away from work as possible.

I once worked as a taxi driver and I picked up two blue rinse ladies from the hairdressers
to take them to the Westend. One lady remarked to the other that a new neighbour had
moved in next door and he was very ODD. In what way ODD asked the other lady,
and the first replied. I think he goes to WORK!!! Ahh the world of the rich and privileged.

Interesting. The wind theory makes sense. It's less of a thing in Australia because prestige is usually dictated by water views. For example, western Sydney is the less desirable part of town because the further west you are, the further away from the beaches you are. Hobart's a bit of a weird one because we have a river running north to south. The main part of town is on the western side, which makes it more desirable, and all the factories are located to the north (upstream, which is weird), so the northern suburbs are also less desirable here.
 
Interesting. The wind theory makes sense. It's less of a thing in Australia because prestige is usually dictated by water views. For example, western Sydney is the less desirable part of town because the further west you are, the further away from the beaches you are. Hobart's a bit of a weird one because we have a river running north to south. The main part of town is on the western side, which makes it more desirable, and all the factories are located to the north (upstream, which is weird), so the northern suburbs are also less desirable here.

If you look the other way in Australia (inland, that is), there's nothing there!!!
 
I won't enter the North/South and East /West debate, but I will say there is a lot of sand and rock in our red centre.

Another entry from me
 
Grenfell update.

I've just discovered that my next-door neighbour, who runs activities for disadvantaged children in the borough, knew personally at least 5 of the missing children. Others he helps were woken to the sound of bodies thudding to the ground outside their windows.

He's out there right now taking their friends on an awayday to help them deal with the trauma....


.... plus it now seems that many were killed by the release of hydrogen cyanide from the insulation boards in the burning cladding. Yep, the same stuff they used in Zyklon B.
 
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More Bad Times

. . . and I'm not even counting flubbed words or chords, etc...

The group known for this song is also known for "Peaches".
I didn't plug in the mic for this, as I didn't know I would want to keep or upload it ...

 
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I've just discovered that my next-door neighbour, who runs activities for disadvantaged children in the borough, knew personally at least 5 of the missing children. Others he helps were woken to the sound of bodies thudding to the ground outside their windows.

He's out there right now taking their friends on an awayday to help them deal with the trauma....


.... plus it now seems that many were killed by the release of hydrogen cyanide from the insulation boards in the burning cladding. Yep, the same stuff they used in Zyklon B.

That's just heartbreaking
 
I've just discovered that my next-door neighbour, who runs activities for disadvantaged children in the borough, knew personally at least 5 of the missing children. Others he helps were woken to the sound of bodies thudding to the ground outside their windows.

He's out there right now taking their friends on an awayday to help them deal with the trauma....


.... plus it now seems that many were killed by the release of hydrogen cyanide from the insulation boards in the burning cladding. Yep, the same stuff they used in Zyklon B.

Absolutely maddening that this can happen on 2017. And the papers are more worried about scaremongering over faulty fridges than going for those actually responsible
 
Greetings,

Looks like some great stuff to listen to when I get back next week. Taking a short break in New Hope PA. Going to check out local breweries today. Staying in an old Victorian B&B. See all soon.


Ciao
 
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