An idiots guide to an idiot: Ticket Stubs

An idiots guide to an idiot: Ticket Stubs:  I found another little gem in the loft as I continue to sort it out. Alot of ticket stubs from gigs I'd been to years ago! I thought I&...

Ticket Stubs

 I found another little gem in the loft as I continue to sort it out. Alot of ticket stubs from gigs I'd been to years ago! I thought I'd thrown them away years ago so was pleased to find them. I've even got the first gig I went to (  also blogged about) Penetration in  May 1979.

 

An idiots guide to an idiot: Lofts and Gigs

An idiots guide to an idiot: Lofts and Gigs:  After gathering crap in the loft for something like 20  years I am at last making headway getting it sorted. With the memsahibs help of cou...

Lofts and Gigs

 After gathering crap in the loft for something like 20  years I am at last making headway getting it sorted. With the memsahibs help of course, also the threat of being locked in the loft with a plate of cheese sandwiches and a bucket until its done!

There's a few  items I was hoping  might turn up:

 My old cowboy boots. Check!

My old denim waistcoat. Check!

Rock badges that went on the waistcoat. Check!

and finally various  band programmes and photos I'd bought  and a gig guide I'd written about where I'd been and who I saw. Check!

Particularly pleased about the last two.  The gig guide I'd grandly called 'The Morgan Good Gig Guide' and the first entry was on 4th May 1979. Here's photos of  what I wrote and then a verbatim  account of the first article. 

 So here it is then, what my 17 year old idiot self  thought of his first ever gig:

Gigs that yours truely has witnessed.

Friday 4th May 1979  Brunel University, Uxbridge. Price £1.40

Penetration  supported by Cowboys International.

'Went with Mark, Bob, Tim & Phil. A Punk gig started off  my round of gigs-it was good. The support were acceptable although the others weren't so keen on them. Penetration were  great! The tune I couldn't stop humming  for  days after was 'Danger Signs.' Actually got up on the stage after they'd  just finished! Or what eh!!!'

Not the most  cerebral  account of a gig you'll find  but it was  what I thought. Why I've put 'Bob ' as one of my friends names I'll never know. He was Robert or Rob to us, never Bob!  I  vividly remember climbing up onto the stage along  with everyone else, it was really exciting, I  seem to recall later it was us taking to the stage that finished the gig rather than the band finishing! There were reports of a riot after which were totally untrue, walking back to the station we  saw one policeman who was  taking no notice of us. Some of the group I went with were really into Punk, I remember Tim had tri coloured hair & him, Rob & Mark were festooned with safety pins and zips. Me & Phil  just normal by comparison with jeans and t shirts. I also remember they'd taken bottles of  booze on the train that we  necked enroute.

I hadn't really been 'into' music all that long, I was bit of a late developer in that respect  and I was looking forward to my  first gig. It was a wonderful night and one I'll never forget, it introduced me to live music and I liked it!   

I'll give you another taste  of my literary prose another time and reveal more about the gigs I went to. 

An idiots guide to an idiot: An idiots guide to an idiot: Highgate.

An idiots guide to an idiot: An idiots guide to an idiot: Highgate.: An idiots guide to an idiot: Highgate. :  We watched a very interesting online talk  about the so called ' Magnificent Seven' Victor...

Moose's head

 

There was a Moose's  head above the fireplace in the cottage we've just stayed in. I couldn't decide whether they just liked Moose or were Fawlty Towers fans!

I've not blogged much  lately, to be honest I went off the boil. But then  talking to Tara, she suggested  I write it differently.  For instance, if we'd been away for a week I'd feel I had to write something for everyday, well that's a diary not a blog!  I have been making heavy weather if it and put myself off doing it!

So here it is,  a new blogging idea. Please comment and share  as much as you like!

An idiots guide to an idiot: Highgate.

An idiots guide to an idiot: Highgate.:  We watched a very interesting online talk  about the so called ' Magnificent Seven' Victorian cemeteries    in London.  We learnt t...

Highgate.

 We watched a very interesting online talk  about the so called ' Magnificent Seven' Victorian cemeteries    in London.  We learnt that Highgate, which usually only allows guided tours of the West cemetery have changed their rules during the pandemic. You can, for a charge, walk round both sides of Highgate Cemetery under  your own steam.

We decided to take advantage of this  probably not to be repeated chance. Guide tours are very good, you can learn alot but its nice to amble along at your own speed. So,  booked online off we went on Saturday for a usual Morbid Morgan fun day out!

Weather was cold unfortunately and felt like it got colder as the day went on. After an uneventful drive down we got parked easily in a nearby street as parking restrictions are lifted during the weekends. There's no facilities in the cemetery but I'd packed as a picnic and flask of coffee  which we had a cup of before   organising ourselves to move off.

Entry to Highgate was all very organised  and straight forward we  got in, got our guide book and off we went onto the Colonnade Path. There  are many graves of the famous, or once famous  including the     magnificent grave of George Wombwell, a Victorian circus& freak  show owner with a resting Lion atop his grave. His circus also   at one time featured John Merrick, aka The Elephant Man. 

Malcolm  McClaren of Sex  Pistols fame  is also buried here. It's his actual death mask used on his grave! 

Russian spy killed in London

 

  The most famous person buried is Karl Marx, though the  huge grave he now has was a addition made b y the Soviet Government in the 1960's, the original being far smaller  and unassuming. Actress Jean Simmons  also is buried in Highgate.

It's a fascinating day out if you fancy it. It's much more than a cemetery & more a  history lesson.

Since visiting  the rules have gone back to guided tours only of the West cemetery which is the more interesting side with the terraced catacombs etc.

Jabs

 Well I had my Covid jab the week before last, it was the Astra Zeneca, the so called Oxford  vaccine. The process  of getting the jab was very well managed at the Dunstable Council offices, I was probably  in  and out in  ten minutes. It was all very efficiently carried out.

     I felt fine for the first 12 hours and thought I'd got away with it but by evening I was feeling   pretty washed out and very achy.

Felt worse the next  day  and  just did what I needed to do. I even went to bed early, some thing I rarely do!  Following day a bit better then   all of a sudden it seemed back to normal....or as near normal as I'm ever likely to get!

Still, its a small price to pay it we can beat this virus and get back to something like normal. It's been very tough not seeing our family and being able to hug them. I'm a big hugger, it does you good.

Saxon gig in May bounced to next January, no surprise there to be honest but the New Forest Folk Festival has got the green light for July.  I do hope it happens, can't tell you how much we are looking forward to it. Stay safe folks!

Saxon

 I haven't written about the joy of a new album for ages and ages. Well today I can change this as over the weekend the latest platter from one of my favourite bands hit the doormat. The mighty Saxon have released a new studio album. An album with a bit of a difference as its cover versions. Some fans don't seem to like cover albums, they'd prefer new music and I get that, but I like the fact that a band can put together songs they like from other people. Songs that have influenced them and I suppose made them what they are today in some ways.

The album opens with Paint it Black originally from The Rolling Stones, not a fave of mine from the Stones but I really like Saxon's version. Its just got that edge of metal that I like, it fairly crackles along. 

Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin is next up. Heresy to say it, but I don't much like Led Zep and never much cared for the Immigrant Song...Nothings changed!

Paperback Writer by the Beatles was bit of a surprise inclusion for me. Biffs voice sounds good on it. His voice is best suited   to the louder faster songs. He doesn't really get away with slower softer vocals in my humble opinion. Evil Woman originally by Crow I can take or leave to be honest and Stone Free by Hendrix goes the same way.

However Bomber by Motorhead is far more suited to Saxon. Lets be honest Motorhead are their old stable mates anyway and I well remember 40 something years ago actually meeting the Motorhead boys at a Saxon gig!

Saxon make a very good fist of Deep Purples Speed King and I love their go at Thin Lizzys The Rocker. Problem Child from AC/DC is also well executed  but perhaps the end track is bit of a damp squib, it being See My Friends from the Kinks.

Overall its a good album and one I'd recommend to any Saxon fan. Looking forward to seeing them in the ever moving gig date of January 2022!

    

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Lockdown cakes

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Lockdown cakes:  I decided to cook everyone another lockdown cake  this weekend.  Gary requested another Moroccan  Orange & Cardamom cake so I did Gary ...

Lockdown cakes

 I decided to cook everyone another lockdown cake  this weekend.  Gary requested another Moroccan  Orange & Cardamom cake so I did Gary & Ellie one of those, Alec & Laura got a vegan version of the same, Olly & Laura  a  Spiced Honey cake and for us a gluten free walnut and date loaf. 

Second time I've done this, it just seems a nice way of keeping in touch and hopefully having a nice slice of cake.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Practise Trenches

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Practise Trenches: Sounds odd doesn't it. But in the woods near Berkhamsted there was (depending on the records you look at!) between seven and a half  and...

Practise Trenches

Sounds odd doesn't it. But in the woods near Berkhamsted there was (depending on the records you look at!) between seven and a half  and thirteen miles of practise trenches dug just over one hundred years ago.

The Inns of Court Officer Training Corps established a camp  at Berkhamsted in September 1914 as they had outgrown their London headquarters due to the huge influx of recruits since war was declared  but a month earlier. It was a huge tented camp, in exitance until 1919 during which  some 12000 officer recruits had passed through the camp, just over 2000 were killed and three were awarded the Victoria Cross:

2nd Lieutenant Jack Harrison VC 11th Bn The East Yorkshire Regiment

Captain Walter Stone VC 3rd Bn The Royal Fusiliers

Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Bushell VC,DSO  7th Bn The Queens (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 

So what are practise trenches? Actually it is what it says. The troops were practising how to dig good trenches, its more than just digging a hole. There's the parapet and on the reverse side the parados,  the trench itself built in a zig zag or crenelated shape. This reduced the area that shell blasts could effect. The hard digging of flint and clay being practise for what was to come. Although ironically 'The Devils Own' as they were known would be destined to be the  officers overseeing the men digging trenches rather than digging themselves!  There's a field just behind Berkhamsted Castle  called Kitchener's Field, this was their parade ground where arms drill was carried out. Though some of the trenches were filled in there's alot left and much to my pleasure and surprise you get a good idea of what they were. Though really little more than ditches now you can easily discern shape though I couldn't tell which were the front line trenches and which were the reserve and communication trenches, basically  which way they'd have been shooting if they were in France!   

  A good walk, well worth a visit, all socially distanced of course followed by a coffee at the take away cafe at Ashridge College.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Lockdown Dinner. Afters

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Lockdown Dinner. Afters: I completely forgot to come back on and blog about the lockdown dinner we had. It was a great success! The starter by Olly & Laura w...

Lockdown Dinner. Afters

I completely forgot to come back on and blog about the lockdown dinner we had. It was a great success! The starter by Olly & Laura was a Mexican pasta soup and pudding by Gary & Ellie was a cappuccino mousse. All timings were pretty good, we all joined Olly's skype invite at the allotted time. Dress code was varied....only we dressed up! Not that anything was compulsory. It worked really well & I think all participants would do it again, the evening flew by and it was brilliant to be able to have a chat to the four of them. G&E's dog Angus was a very good little chap, I thought he may be keen on seeing what was going on but he was fine. Something else i forgot was to take any photos so there's just these two. The wine that G&E chose slipped down a treat. A good evening.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Lockdown dinner

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Lockdown dinner: Any recipe that starts 'pour in a bottle of red wine' is OK by me, and this is what I've been mostly doing this evening. Though ...

Lockdown dinner

Any recipe that starts 'pour in a bottle of red wine' is OK by me, and this is what I've been mostly doing this evening. Though to be honest I wasn't sure whether the recipe meant a bottle in the meal or the cook......so I did both! You see the Memsahib has had a spiffing idea! An online dinner! You must understand this is just prep for next Saturday, Ive cooked the grub tonight to freeze until next week, anyway, the gig is we decide between us recipes for a starter, main and pud, all partisipants cook the same meal, we connect via Skype or whatever and have an evening together apart! Simples! The Mater plumped for the main so I've cooked Beef Bourguignon and a Mushroom version also, we are doing this with Numbers One and Three sons and their beautiful Girlfriends, I think Gary and Ellie are doing the pud which leaves Oliver and Laura the starter. Another part of the gig is you have to dress up.....not as Mickey Mouse or something daft, just dress up as if you were going out. Gary & Ellie will also suggest a wine to go with the meal. Quite honestly I can't wait! It's just another way to connect with loved ones and I'm all for that! Stay tuned for a blog on the actual night! For those interested here's the recipe I kind of followed for the Beef version (from BBC Food) Ingredients 1.6kg/3lb 8oz good-quality braising steak (chuck steak) 4–5 tbsp sunflower oil 200g/7oz smoked bacon lardons or smoked streaky bacon, cut into 2cm/¾in pieces 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 75cl bottle red wine 2 tbsp tomato purée 1 beef stock cube 2 large bay leaves 3 bushy sprigs fresh thyme 25g/1oz butter 450g/1lb pearl onions, or 24 baby onions 300g/10½oz chestnut mushrooms, wiped and halved or quartered if large 2 heaped tbsp cornflour 2 tbsp cold water flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper chopped fresh parsley, to garnish How-to-videos Method Cut the braising steak into chunky pieces, each around 4–5cm/1½–2in. Trim off any really hard fat or sinew. Season the beef really well with salt and pepper. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the beef in three batches over a medium–high heat until nicely browned on all sides, turning every now and then and adding more oil if necessary. As soon as the beef is browned, transfer to a large flameproof casserole. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3. Pour a little more oil into the pan in which the beef was browned and fry the bacon for 2–3 minutes, or until the fat crisps and browns. Scatter the bacon over the meat. Add a touch more oil to the frying pan and fry the chopped onion over a low heat for 5–6 minutes, stirring often until softened. Stir the garlic into the pan and cook for 1 minute more. Add the onion and garlic to the pan with the meat and pour over the wine. Stir in the tomato purée and 150ml/5fl oz water. Crumble over the stock cube, add the herbs and bring to a simmer. Stir well, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1½ –1¾ hours, or until the beef is almost completely tender. While the beef is cooking, peel the button onions. Put the onions in a heatproof bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave to stand for five minutes and then drain. When the onions are cool enough to handle, trim off the root close to the end so they don’t fall apart and peel off the skin. A few minutes before the beef is ready, melt half of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan with a touch of oil and fry the onions over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown on all sides. Tip into a bowl. Add the remaining butter and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes over a fairly high heat until golden brown, turning often. Mix the cornflour with the water in a small bowl until smooth. Remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the cornflour mixture, followed by the onions and mushrooms. Return to the oven and cook for 45 minutes more, or until the beef is meltingly tender and the sauce is thick. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon – if it remains fairly thin, simply add a little more cornflour, blended with a little cold water and simmer for a couple of minutes on the hob. And here's the Mushroom version:(from Tesco Real Food) ngredients 30ml (2tbsp) olive oil 15g butter 125g (4oz) shallots or pearl onions, halved 1 carrot, thickly sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed 1tsp tomato purée 2tsp plain four 125ml (4fl oz) fruity red wine 150ml (5fl oz) vegetarian stock 2 sprigs thyme 625g mixture of mushrooms Method Heat 15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil and butter in a heavy-based pan. Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes, then add the carrot and cook for 5 minutes more until soft. Stir in the garlic, tomato purée and flour and cook for 1 minute until the vegetables are well coated. Pour over the wine, stirring well to ensure the sauce is smooth. Leave to simmer for a couple of minutes until the wine has reduced by half. Add the stock and sprig of thyme and cook for another 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 15ml (1 tbsp) oil in a frying pan. Cook the mushrooms for a couple of minutes, add to the pan, along with any juices and simmer for 5 minutes. Scatter over some thyme leaves and serve. Bon appetit!

Bugger!

 Things seemed to be getting easier and then they weren't and now....lockdown take 3. Bugger!  It has taken its toll on all of us, gigs being kyboshed resonated with me of course. Dates bounced from early 2020 to late 2020 are now well into 2021 and doubtful I reckon. However the best of us do feel sad sometimes and my sadness was the New Forest Folk Festival being scrubbed.  Not just the music but not being able to meet our dear friends and the laughter and happiness that it brings and of course the whole experience.

Not meeting up with our fantastic family has been the worst without a shadow of a doubt. Any excuse for a gettogether normally. We have met when we were allowed but it hasn't been quite the same. Then the crowning glory of Christmas being buggered up, though we did have a lovely day just the four of us.....it should have been 13 of us though! We've actually decided to postpone Christmas so we had December 25th instead. So all the secret Santa presies  are unopened until we can meet, when ever that is!

New years Eve was interesting. Neither of us felt very NYE-ish, we watched back to back episodes of 'Casualty,' hardly a bundle of laughs! In bed by 11.30pm and I only realised it was New Year when I put my book down at 12.10am! I should have known by the fireworks of course!  

Hopefully the vaccination will enable us to get back to something like normality, the media of course changing from we're all going to die to now we're all saved!    I don't watch the news anymore, its just too depressing, I pick up the headlines online, that'll do me. As for FaceBook, which I love, I've very nearly come off it for all the political and otherwise crap that keeps on appearing on it.                            I think something that has made the whole thing more real if you like is the fact that up until Christmas none of us knew anyone who had Covid, that's 12 of us in our extended family....now we do!  All getting or have already got better ( most quite young as well) but that's not the point. So it goes.       Gary & Ellies little dog (Ellies really to be fair) Angus is a dear little chap. Far too cute for his own good! Ida was abit nonplussed but is getting used to him, they even played on our last socially distanced walk. 

I must try and get back into blogging, its been a while since I did anything, there hasnt been much to write about I guess. Anyway, keep safe!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Castles etc

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Castles etc:  To extend our hols alittle Tara suggested finding an English Heritage place we haven't been to and finding somewhere to stop over night...