Brief

 So life continues to slowly get back to some kind of normality. Wearing a face covering in all shops is still strange, I have to to see any of my customers of course, its quite oppressive to be honest but a must.

Pubs open with restrictions and holiday lets have also started again. In fact T, Ida & I are off to the New Forest in a weeks time. It'll be our first Airbnb. Looks really good, an annex to a farm house off the beaten track, just off the northern edge of the New Forest & not far from Plaitford where the New Forest Folk Festive takes place. We can't wait to get there!

Self & Memsahib in the Victoria enjoying a post lockdown pint or two!

 Had a couple of BBQ's with our family, great success and of course great fun. Glorious weather so all outside. Olly did the cooking which was second to none. Family get togethers is without doubt the thing T & I have missed the most, again its just a small step of going back to normal. Still a worrying time though, various towns in the UK have been re-locked-down & parts of Scotland so Covid 19 is still very much out there, but no doubt the dickheads will be crowding onto beaches again today not giving a sod to social distancing. What can you do? You can't legislate for morons!

Feed me!

Sign of a good BBQ. Empty plates!

  

An idiots guide to an Idiot: History talks

An idiots guide to an Idiot: History talks: The excellent series of military history talks I've been watching on webinar continue. Think we're up to number 24 or so. They are r...

History talks

The excellent series of military history talks I've been watching on webinar continue. Think we're up to number 24 or so. They are run by historian and battlefield guide Dan Hill who has draughted in many our historians, lecturers and battlefield guides to talk on various conflicts and campaigns.  Thought initially through the Herts at War group a research group for men of Hertfordshire who served in WW1 the talks have broadened out to cover WW2, the Boer War, Napoleonic wars, Bosworth, Custers Last Stand & a host of others, they have been dubbed History from Home (also used as a hashtag)

.

Do look in, they are completely free to view with a facility to donate if you wish. Here's the link:

https://www.danhillmilitaryhistorian.com/historyfromhome

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Going to a gig!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Going to a gig!: Yes!  We went to a gig! I should explain, of course it wasn't a regular gig, those are some time off I fear, this was  two hours of live...

Going to a gig!

Yes!  We went to a gig! I should explain, of course it wasn't a regular gig, those are some time off I fear, this was  two hours of live streaming from the home of Danny Vaughn in Spain.

He's a brilliant guitar player and we were treated to not only  six string but a twelve string acoustic guitar.

We first saw Danny some years ago when he was with The Illegal Eagles, which was an Eagles tribute band. It always surprised me that such a talented man was playing covers so I was pleased to find out he had his own band called Tyketto and more recently has teamed up with Dan Reed (he of the Dan Reed Network) to form a band called Snake Oil and Harmony.

We were due to see the latter a couple of months ago but it was cancelled due to the Coronavirus lockdown. Though the good news is the date has been re arranged for December, on a Sunday night unfortunately but there you are. Whether it will actually take place is another matter.

However, back to the story. This was actually the ninth week he has been broadcasting from his home, for one or another reason  we haven't seen any of the others.It was a very relaxed gig. He was obviously comfortable in front of the camera, Mrs Danny popped in from time to time, Malibu & pineapple in hand! 

I only knew a couple of the songs he sang , those being off the  their latest album Hurricane Riders though there was a nice mix of slower songs and some more rocky numbers.

The two hours went all too quickly. If he does another next week we'll try and look in. Find him on FaceBook if you want to give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Life goes on

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Life goes on: Well the world hasn't fallen completely apart (yet!) and some lockdown restrictions are being eased. Felt particularly for our nephew in...

Life goes on

Well the world hasn't fallen completely apart (yet!) and some lockdown restrictions are being eased. Felt particularly for our nephew in Norfolk who was alone throughout and now can go round to one persons house ( think that's right) so he's been let out of jail really!

We've seen alot more of Laura which is a joy. I feel particularly sorry for Laura & Alec  not only because there travels were curtailed  but because they'd lived as a couple for the past 4 years and now locked down with their respective parents. I should mention here that Laura is writing an absolutely cracking blog of their travels which I can highly recommend to you. Its well written and engaging, there's things you just don't see coming as well. Here's the link  https://novaturient613.wordpress.com/2020/05/27/bangkok/?fbclid=IwAR12g2VrsOwQqSkSoIIXn3XGuZ1J9hqsNpHjl2P2AF4rRSv9dWVI-oXEkUk#more-110

Do have a read, you won't be disappointed.

With non essential shops opening up again from tomorrow I expect to be starting to go out to see customers again. I went to one on Friday, the first one I'd seen since lock down (mid March?) got there before it opened and saw the buyer. All socially distanced of course, got a nice order and all was straight forward, just like it always was to be fair!  Haven't got a mask yet but will sort that next week. Think I'll feel abit daft wearing one and will gauge whether I'll need it all the time, its all bit of a learning curve for everyone to be honest.

What else has been happening? I'm loving our new audio system. The sound is really good, I've got some of my vinyl out the loft & Alec has bought my a Spotify subscription for Fathers Day. Must say I'm bit of a luddite when it comes to new things. I never wanted a mobile, a satnav, email...Now look at me, I wouldn't be without them, and much the same has happened with Spotify. Its so easy to put together playlists, it's Bluetoothed to the music system and also to my car, its simplicity itself. I've tried to find slightly more obscure bands from years ago  (Witchfinder General for instance  a Black Sabbath sound alike from the late 70's. Probably their only claim to fame is rather naughty album covers!) but Spotify found them! So I've been able to add  bands to my playlists that I've not heard in donkeys' years. Believe  me when I say I'm completely won over by it. My (vague) plan is to use it in the car & play CD's at home.

Tara's online business continues to flourish without a doubt due to her incredibly hard work and tenacity. She deserves success, there's another great pile of items needing to be packaged up & picked up tomorrow. Alec has kindly stepped into help here and usually does the packing. Here's the link to Tara's eBay shop, do have a look: https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/UnitedBeetRoot?_trksid=p2047675.l2563  There's some great items for sale!

A great friend has been putting his favourite films on FB & Instagram with a brief synopsis and his opinion of them, its inspired me to put together my favourite war films, in no particular order, to go on my blog. Its still very much a work in progress but something I'm enjoying doing. I'm also still researching for the Herts At War  project, there's a whole village I haven't started yet! 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Music Box

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Music Box: The Music Box was a Laurel and Hardy 'short' and won an Academy Award for the best short film in 1932....this blog isn't about t...

The Music Box

The Music Box was a Laurel and Hardy 'short' and won an Academy Award for the best short film in 1932....this blog isn't about that, its about another music box. The new music box I ordered for us! 

Our music system was give a new lease of life a few years ago when  I came into the possession of newer speakers. Believe me it did it no end of good  but the machine was really on its way out, to the extent that the 3 CD player kept putting the CD's on top of each other  and finally the only way to open the bloody CD player door was to thump it on the side. It's days were numbered.

I've been looking for ages for a replacement that included a turntable so I could get my albums out again and eventually settled on Sony, this system has CD, radio including DAB radio, Bluetooth and space for USB's etc . The separate turntable, also Sony is Bluetoothed to the system. It sounds really good! At the weekend I waxed lyrical to Alec and Laura on the romance of the open gate fold sleeve to an album and the joy of the artwork and words that are big enough to see without a magnifier! 

The only slight problem was the headphones I'd ordered weren't compatible with the system, my fault completely but I've been able to return ,and after a phone call to Sony I know what I should get, so they will be ordered shortly so I can blow my brains out by playing it too loud! It's probably due to loud music from days back, and putting my head in speakers etc that has made me abit Mutt & Jeff anyway!  

Alec has been extolling the virtues of Spotify and the like, as this system will take that as well, and I must admit it sounds good. As he says I could listen to a new album before buying the CD if I wanted, to make sure I like it. Both he and Olly & Gary think I'll soon be hooked and only use it, not bothering with CD's, but I like the collection. I like the fact I have all the studio albums from this band or that band. I like the fact that even though its a small CD they still bother about artwork on the outside and sometimes contain interesting information and lyrics. I think something like this will be great for the car though.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Time off

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Time off: When we first went into lockdown I thought I may as well cancel my holiday dates we won't be going anywhere, which indeed is the case. H...

Time off

When we first went into lockdown I thought I may as well cancel my holiday dates we won't be going anywhere, which indeed is the case. However as I've been lucky enough to be kept going on full pay and not furloughed I really feel I need a break. Every day I have to log onto the laptop & do work stuff all day, that's fair enough but I feel chained to the bloody thing, so I haven't cancelled my holiday already booked and I'm off this week!

   It feels like a real break. For instance generally speaking we limit alcohol to Fridays and Saturdays, but I'm on holiday, so can imbibe guilt free if I want. Not setting the alarm is of course brilliant and we've even managed a couple of days out as restrictions have been lifted alittle.

 Some years ago T bought me a guided walk of a local town ( Harpenden), we'd never got round to doing this walk so after about 5 years we went for it. First instruction was abit strange. 'Go to the war memorial and see how many Swans are on it.' Well I can tell you there's two. Next instruction 'Carefully cross the road to the statue on the Green, who sculpted it?'   Hang on...'carefully cross the road?' 'How many Swans?' Not exactly historic or very grown up sounding is it. On further reading it can only be a childrens treasure type trail & we've been meaning to do this for five years! What a couple of prize plums!

Anyway, Harpenden is quite a nice place, a shame there's no pubs or cafes open of course but there you are. We did have a walk around the local church, I'd known that the comic Eric Morecombe had lived locally and his ashes were scattered in the graveyard, we were able to find the plaque commemorating him on the wall but in his real name of John Eric Bartholomew. He died in 1984 (didn't realise it was so long ago!) and I think it's quite telling that Morecombe and Wise Xmas specials are still aired and are still funny. Just a shame there's been nothing since to replace them.

      The weather has been so nice that we took a picnic up to Golden Valley , just walked and talked. Ida got somewhere abit different to explore. It was a really good day. The weather has gone off abit now so don't know what else we'll do but its so nice to have a break from work and to be able to have conversations with T rather than just chats which it felt like we were doing, oh and I've finally got round to ordering us a new musical box but more of that later.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Ten albums you might like to try.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Ten albums you might like to try.: I was reminded of just how good Neil Young is the other day when his song 'Powderfinger' was played on Planet Rock. I realised I had...

Ten albums you might like to try.

I was reminded of just how good Neil Young is the other day when his song 'Powderfinger' was played on Planet Rock. I realised I hadn't played any of his albums for probably years!

Then I got to thinking about what recommendations from my collection would I make, so here's some food for thought.

Pink Floyd- Dark side of the Moon. Not a very original suggestion perhaps but a cracking album that came out in March 1973  and hasn't really left the album charts. There's some absolute classics on this one 'Time' & 'Money' being two of them. The proceeds of this album helped fund the film 'Monty Python & The Holy Grail.' 

Status Quo- Hello. Had to put a Quo album in didn't I! I've chosen quite an early one released in September 1973, many would say this is classic Quo with hits like 'Caroline' and 'Roll over lay Down' & of course features the original 'Frantic Four' line up of Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster & Coughlan, there's also the studio version of 'Forty five hundred times,' I prefer this to the live version as it doesn't go on so long! This one along with 'Roadhouse Blues' used to be epics in their live set. Quite honestly I found they were far too long. Along with Dark Side of the Moon I love the album cover. This one looks abit boring but at the right angle you can see the band silhouetted. I think I got a limited edition poster when I bought the vinyl album many years ago, though I think I ruined  it by sellotaping it to the wall!

Massive Wagons- Full Nelson.   Jumping around as far as the chronology  of these albums goes as this one is from a band who only formed in 2009 with this album coming out in 2018. It's a full throttle rock album & is very high up on my faves list. Went to see them with Olly and Gary last year and what a great live band they are. Planet Rock Radio seems to have got behind them and they appeared all over the place. A particular fave track of mine is 'Back to the stack' which is a tribute to the Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt who died just before this album came out. They've got a new album due in July. Can't wait! 

Oysterband -Trawler.    My choices aren't all Rock n Roll! I guess this band would fit into folk rock category. This album came out in 1994  and is a nice mix of traditional folk songs some of which have been rocked up a little. With the addition of cello, violin and squeezebox it's abit different to my usual choice.

 

Viv Stanshall-Teddy Boys don't knit.  He of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band on one of his flights of fancy. A very different album it features the superb song 'Ginger Geezer' another oldie being released in 1974, alot of unsung talent joined him on various tracks, people like Rick Wakeman, John Kirkpatrick, Neil Innes and Richard Thompson have chipped in.

Airbourne- Black Dog Barking.Airbourne are an Australian band who sound alot like AC/DC, which is no bad thing. Its high energy rock music, very loud and very raucous. Its brilliant! Not one to play on a quiet Sunday afternoon maybe but certainly one you'll love. Released in 2013 it's their third album and in my opinion their  best so far (they are up to five albums to date).

Steeleye Span- All around my hat. More folk rock with this band. They've been going since 1969, this particular album coming out in 1975, it features the title track that was a big hit for them. Its still in the live set today usually as an encore, it's a great singalong track. Alot of their songs are original folk songs given a more modern twist. Maddy Priors vocal isn't everyone's cup of tea, she's abit whiney to he honest but I quite like it.

Halestorm- Halestorm. Another band with a female singer this time another rocker. Lzzy Hale and her brother Arejay formed this band and released this debut album in 2009. Another album to blow your brains out with it fairly sizzles with energy and rock. Brilliant!

Epica- The Quantum Enigma. I'm getting into something alittle different, its pseudo opera really. Epica ,from The Netherlands, are one such rock operatic band. Their singer Simone Simon hits some incredibly high notes! On this studio album there is the benefit of an orchestral backing which you don't get live.

Neil Young-Rust Never Sleeps. Couldn't very well leave Neil Young out of this line up. Not hard rock or heavy metal, he would I suppose fall into  folk rock again. This album features the track 'Powderfinger' which is the best track on the album. Hard to pick an era for when it is set, see what you think. 

Anyway there's ten albums you might like to try, all special to me and ones I could listen to anytime. See what you think & let me know, I'd be interested. 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Some things don't change.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Some things don't change.: I continue to add to the back catalogue of my favourite bands, though I say some things don't change I have noticed the price of CD'...

Some things don't change.

I continue to add to the back catalogue of my favourite bands, though I say some things don't change I have noticed the price of CD's has gone up alittle. Personally I'm quite happy buying the nearly new CD's, I've not had a duff one yet. 

So the gems I have recently picked up are Saxon's  'The Inner Sanctum,' a fine album from 2007. It's always interesting to hear how a band  progress's and changes over time. This album was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind  a German sound engineer known for his work with Heavy Metal bands. It's a cracking album and sounds not dissimilar to the Saxon of today as it goes.

The second addition is Magnum's 'Wings of Heaven,' from 1988. This is a brilliant album, it opens with the excellent track 'Days of No Trust' which has a great singalong chorus and the rest of the album, only 8 tracks so on the low side for Magnum, does not disappoint. 

Nightwish have been a growing fave of mine. I do like not only a female vocal but the pseudo operatics of this band ( and others, Epica springs to mind), this band is touring later on in the year though I think it's hardly worth even looking at dates,but more of that later, but whether it goes ahead of course is a matter no one currently knows.Their album is another good one. Very listenable.

The fourth latest acquisition is an album by The Waterboys. We saw them at Cropredy and again supporting Elvis Costello and what a great band they are. I bought their 1985 album 'This is the Sea' chiefly because it contains probably their major hit of 'The whole of the Moon.'  It's funny how you can be sitting there enjoying a band for what they are  then all of a sudden a song starts that you know but never knew who had sung it, so it was with The Waterboys.  The album is reasonably good, alot of the tracks sound similar but then again I like The Quo.

Back to band tours, on top of all the gigs we've had postponed inevitably the New Forest Folk Festival has now put off the festival until the August Bank Holiday depending on how things are then of course. We can't make that date though they have given the option of rolling tickets over to 2021 or even 2022 if you want.

This news, though not at all unexpected did make me feel alittle sad. I've been upbeat the whole way through this madness but just for a very short while I felt a sadness that something else arranged was not going to take place when it should and we wouldn't see our friends there.So it bloody goes. 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Lockdown Birthday

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Lockdown Birthday: It was Ella's 80th Birthday recently. Of course all the good stuff Tara had arranged for her had the kybosh well and truly put on it, no...

Lockdown Birthday

It was Ella's 80th Birthday recently. Of course all the good stuff Tara had arranged for her had the kybosh well and truly put on it, not to mention the theatre trip Tim paid for and family gathering we were to have the Saturday before. Hopefully the two nights away in October will still go ahead. Surely we'll be back to something like normal  by then! 

T put together an photo/Birthday album for her Mum and asked all to contribute and a fine piece of work it is, Ella loved it! But even the big day's plan had to be changed. We were going to assemble outside Ella's house at 11am, then the minutes silence for Key workers who have died from Coronavirus was announced for 11am...so we moved to 11.10am!  Banged on the door and Ella came out in her dressing gown to a chorus of Happy Birthday to you  and she loved it!  Those assembled were Tara, me, Alec, Tim, Jackie, Linda and Kevin, all socially

spaced of course. Oliver had been round earlier and Gary & Beren had phoned. Weather that had been really nice was crap today! Wet and cold, so proceedings didn't go on too long, and that was it! It certainly had the desired effect and I think it was as good a birthday that we could muster in todays strange world. We'll have a get together  once we're through this madness.

Julian's Birthday is only a week after Ella so we assembled again in a socially distance kind of way to celebrate, at least the weather was nicer.

Other than I'm still working from home as sales of particularly puzzles have gone mad. Tara too is run off her feet sorting online orders, Every cloud eh!

I think its day fifty something of lockdown and measures have been eased a little so you can go out more than once there's no limit on exercise but you still  have to keep 2m away from everyone and you can meet up with one family member outside of who you live with , but only one at a time.  It looks reasonably simple written like that but with building sites going back to work but under new measures and now schools possibly starting back in some form or other if its safe there appears to be much confusion, oh yes, you can go to work if its safe....or not, and don't use public transport if you can avoid it. Simples!! 

 You know I'm not a political animal but constant carping about the Government or the 'bloody tories' online is incredibly tedious. I doubt very much whether Labour would have made a better fist of it, its the same scientists they would have been listening to. Its very boring and again I almost decided to come off FaceBook of which I am a great fan as you also know.

To more interesting things. The Herts At War group I belong to had to change their monthly talks due to the virus and decided to put them online. It's actually more convenient for me because I could seldom be bothered to drive to the University of Hertfordshire in the evening to take part, so just plugging into a webinar suits me find, and what brilliant talks they have been!  The scope has been widened since they first started (it was just about aspects of World War One) to cover all sorts. There was a brilliant talk on the Battle of Waterloo by an ex Household Cavalry officer who's talk was so animated you'd have thought he actually took part!   It was interesting to get his thoughts on a cavalry charge as he'd done it with a Squadron of Household Cavalry, it demonstrated how quickly an organised knee to knee charge soon looses its formation and this is with trained troopers.

The historian James Holland also waxed lyrical about the Normandy Campaign of 1944, another excellent speaker. Others have been about the Battle of the Somme, Battle of the Atlantic, Italy 1943/5, Battle of Berlin, Nelson, The SOE, Battle of Britain, the RAMC by Andy Robertshaw the historical advisor on the recent feature film 1917,   Battle of the Bulge, the Boer War, Operation Market Garden  with more goodies to come. Even Alec will be joining me on Sunday (so popular have they been the talks are now twice a week) for a talk on Isandlwana the precursor to Rorkes Drift, in the Zulu War. They are about an hour long, though some happily overrun with Q&A'a after. 

Well its Friday evening and I'm finished for the week and a nice bottle of red beckons to me. Keep safe folks!

Here's afew photos of recent things.

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An idiots guide to an Idiot: Groundhog Day.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Groundhog Day.: So, another three weeks of lockdown announced by the Government. Not stricter lockdown as some thought, though there are so many bloody expe...

Groundhog Day.

So, another three weeks of lockdown announced by the Government. Not stricter lockdown as some thought, though there are so many bloody experts popping up and the media are doing what they do best and painting the blackest picture they can and really just scaremongering! Its a terrible terrible thing but people are recovering. Just seems to me we need to hear the positives as well as the negatives.

Don't know whether you've ever seen the film I used as a title to this blog. Its a comedy starring Bill Murray  who's day gets repeated time and again, and life is turning into this abit. I'm still working from home (for now anyway!) and one day is much the same as the next with the added excitement of shopping on occasion. I also had to take Ella for a blood test at the doctors. I could not believe that she announced that she'd thought she would come shopping with me to Sainsburys after!! I tell you if the virus doesn't get my In-laws I'll end up bloody well strangling the pair of them!   

Another brilliant family quiz last night with Laura in the chair. Teams being Tara, Alec and I (ATM), Gary & Ellie (Bucks Quiz), Oliver & Laura (their quiz name escapes me)

Another good laugh and good evening, with us coming second (again!) to Bucks Quiz win (again!). Olly & Laura are doing next weeks quiz. It wasn't purposely going to be a weekly thing but I'm glad it is. It's a way of seeing everyone which is great! 

The Herts At War Project I belong to has for some time now run a series of lectures about World War One and now opening out to include other conflicts. With things as they are the lectures aren't taking place but the organisers arranged to run them on line instead. This has proved very successful. Now they are very week (shortly to be twice a week) all by leading historians who, like us are on lockdown. The talk on the Battle of Trafalgar had about nine hundred people listening from all round the world! Go to  www.hertsatwar.co.uk/  to find out more.

A talk a couple of weeks ago was about the Battle of the Bulge in March 1945.  When asked the question what did he think of the film of the same name the speaker said it wasn't very accurate but did say 'Band of Brothers,' was a very good portrayal of Easy Company, 506th Infantry Regt of the US 101st Airbourne Division. I've never seen this series but Alec has and likes it. he also has it on his laptop so we started watching it this morning. I have to say it is very absorbing viewing, can't think why I've not watched it before. There is an interesting piece at the start of each episode of veterans talking of their experiences, it is they who are portrayed in the series though you don't find out the vets identities until the end of the series. It's about  Alec's sixth time of watching!

Alec is cooking dinner today, the romantically named of 'Chicken with a can of beer up its arse.' 

Said chicken with a can of beer up its arse.

 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Continued strangeness

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Continued strangeness: Day 21 of lockdown (I think!) A routine has taken over in these strange times. People still shop, there's no food shortages to speak of,...