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If you fancy buying my flat, click the link above.

I have expanded to such an extent I have outgrown what has been a wonderful home for 2 and a half years.

Hello hello!

It was the London Marathon yesterday. Did I run it? Yeh right.

Recently someone reminded me that apparently I still have a blog but had not posted here for a while. Hmmm. What about that. Right, so Dave why don't you tell us about your girlfriend eh? And are you going on holiday this year? What else you been up to? Eh hem.

Yes there is a girlfriend who has been in the process of gradually domesticating yours truly since before xmas. I've been doing a spot of spring cleaning in readiness for the gf moving in next month! Yeh I know. I've cleared out stacks of junk including: hundreds of old floppy disks (MS DOS 5 and Eureka A4 what?), my collection of old battered leather jackets (sniff) and who knows what else. I unearthed an FM transmitter and a crappy little Midland CB rig. Although I have not decided what to do with these last two yet. Suggestions on a digital postcard please. Buried at the bottom of my wardrobe I discovered a couple of boxes of VHS cassettes. In fear of throwing out a home movie of some deceased relative, and realising I haven't owned a VCR for years, I jumped straight on eBay. While everyone else was snagging a good deal on the latest PVR or smart phone, I was bagging myself a 4-head long play Sony VCR for the princely sum of 16GBP!

On the holiday front, as well as a couple of obligatory trips to visit friends and family in Preston, we have booked flights to Israel in September. We spent Easter in Ipswich and Cambridge and will return to Cambridge for a friend's wedding in the middle of June. Speaking of weddings, my sister is tieing the knot at the end of June and yours truly has been asked to prepare a few words. Ho hum.

So what else? Reassured by the return of the Gadget Show and the Apprentice to TV in the UK, ah and the Snooker World Championships are back on BBC Two next week to also help me slumber off of an evening. On my reading list are: James May's 20th Century, The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg, Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado and Vince Rause, and A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr. The album most recently downloaded is Mike Oldfield – Music Of The Spheres.

On Friday we went to see Richard Digance at Huntington Hall in Worcester. I was mildly concerned that we seemed to be the only people under the age of 50! Ah well, Lenny Henry next month and Steve coogan in Oxford later in the year.

Right that's me. Until the next time. All the best.

Happy new year by the way. I am probably the last person to wish you all the best for 2008 so count yourself lucky! Ladies, don't forget, this one's got a 29th Feb in it and well …

Thanks to everyone who tolerated me over the holidays. I have the best friends in the world and I love you all dearly. That's why I don't let you post comments on my blog! ,)

It was a great xmas for my Kitchen by the way. New curvy kettle, chunky chopping board and sophisticated cylindrical bin all installed nicely. This man now owns oven gloves! No more pulling hot drays from the oven with a tea towel. Oh no sir. I tell ya… It's all going on at Williams towers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/closeup/13questions/peter_white.shtml

Ya know after curling my toes through Peter's autobiography "See It My Way" I think I'm thawing to the man after this article. And before anyone starts casting aspersions, that's not because he enjoys a drop of Talisker, because unlike Hyland Park, after loosing the plot, Talisker is struggling to find it again.

Cold mornings, abysmal Premiership result against Man United, the internet running out of half the gifts I've ordered bringing on pre-xmas tension, have all made this month a bit of a mixed bag. Although December has not been completely without highlights!

A couple of weeks ago I attended a very enjoyable organised whiskey tasting in Kempsey. The climax of the tasting it self being the Laphroaig Quarter Cask – already in my xmas shopping basket. Nothing too extraordinary in that then.

I really enjoy post whisky tasting banter. We got talking about my September experiences on Islay and some of the distilling shenanigans going on at Bruichladdich. The topics of collecting and the Bruichladdich made PC6 came up and I heard someone say that the pub had a bottle of Port Charlotte behind the bar and was selling PC6 by the glass. After laughing my arse off to the point where I had to go and answer a call of nature. Little did I know that I would get back to my seat to find I'd be laughing on the other side of my face.

A glass of the afore mentioned PC6 sat happily smouldering away on the table awaiting my return. In disbelief I confirmed this to be the real deal. The look on my face must have been a picture. Apparently not happy with buying me the one, Jason seeing my reaction decided I would have to have a second glass of PC6 just to be sure I wasn't dreaming.

Ok the Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC6 is in many ways a tad controversial what with all the ranting and raving and nashing of teeth over the 6 different collectable tins, the 50 quid plus price tag, the 18,000 bottle limited availability, the eh hem Additional Cask Enhancement (Madera finish?), Yeah Bruichladdich has got more expressions than I've had hot dinners, yeah yeah PC7 PC8 PC9 PC10 will all have something to say for themselves in years to come I'm sure. And what about X4, Octomore, Lochindaal etc. But but but, that's then, this is now!

If you like your single mault peaty? And I do! PC6 is a massive bear hug from a huge mother of a peat monster! A bit of sweetness and not medicinal in the slightest. Medicinal is what Laphroaig is for. PC6 is Ilay sitting on your face and telling you that she loves you! And damn it, I've filled those casks and lined up those bottles with my own hands.

Am I going to pay the best part of 60 quid for a single bottle of 6 year old whisky rather than the same money for 3 respectable 10 year olds? Of course I bloody am. And am I going to put it in a cupboard for 10 years and quadruple my money? Not bloody likely. 🙂

2007 has been an amazing year for me in very many respects. For all sorts of reasons I can't blog everything that has happened to me over the past 12 months. Some of it I am finding difficult to believe. 2008 promises to be even better.

Dolphin xmas dinner on Friday. Saturday with my sister and her bf, think we may even be going to a concert in the Cathedral, (did I mention Pillars of the Earth is brilliant). Sunday off up north for a quiet xmas with my mother. Back to Worcester for a quick pitstop and change of suitcase on the 28th before heading off to see the boy Roberts and new year's festivities in Ipswich.

Wherever or whoever you are, seasons greetings to you and yours.

Attempts to capture pole position in the UK singles chart at xmas certainly did not start with X Factor in the form of Shayne Ward (2005) or Leona Lewis (2006), or even Girls Aloud (2002) it goes back much further than that.

The business of the UK xmas number one dates back over four decades to those four Liverpool lads: John, Paul, George and Ringo. I Want To Hold Your Hand (1963), I Feel Fine (1964), Day Tripper (1965), Hello Goodbye (1967), were huge "bigger than Jesus" hits for the Beatles in the 60s. Never before or since has a band or artist dominated the top of the xmas charts. Although the Spice Girls came pretty close with three xmas number ones in the late 1990s: 2 Become 1 (1996), Too Much (1997) an Goodbye (1998). This last they obviously didn't really mean as girl power is now back on tour complete with alleged lip-syncing. It's a brave pop picker who would bet against Sporty, Scary, Ginger, Posh and Baby never having another xmas number one.

So the true meaning of xmas number ones? Wizzard, The Pogues, Wham, Queen or Cliff? Absolutely not. I would vehemently dispute the assertion that any of these were either cheerful or uplifting in a xmas way. Some of these including Wizzard weren't even number one at all, never mind at xmas! Despite entering the charts four times, the brilliantly heartbreaking Fairytale of New York about a poverty stricken couple's broken dreams in the Big Apple never made it to number one either. Neither did the cheesy Last xmas which charted twice in which George Michael seems to be lamenting a Yuletide infidelity. Bohemian Rhapsody (1975), the second most over-played song of all time, has bugger all to do with xmas only charted the second time (1991) because the track got a re-release after Freddy Mercury, one of the greatest pop vocal talents of our time, had died.

Cliff keeps plugging away most years bless him. Although of his 3 xmas number ones: I Love You with The Shadows (1960), Saviours' Day (1990), there's only one which ever gets an outing, and that's his most nauseating effort with that choir boy, the oh so saccharin Mistletoe & Wine (1988). Doesn't really bear thinking about.

Anyone who finds the Michael Andrews beautifully simple arrangement of Mad World (2003) depressing really needs to go back and listen to some wrist-slitting favourites from xmas past: Michael Jackson Earth Song (1995) stop the planet I want to get off; East 17 Stay Another Day (1994) I wish you wouldn't; Whitney Houston's Dolly Parton cover used in the film the body guard I Will Always Love You (1992) bet she needed a body guard after releasing that; The Pet Shop Boys Always On My Mind (1987) wish you weren't; The Flying Pickets Only You (1983) why me; Renee & Renato Save Your Love (1982) don't worry I will; and The Human League Don't You Want Me (1981) yet another song from the bloated 80s about rejection.

Depending on your disposition the 60s and 70s had their share of toe-curling or just plain old dismal dirges too. Danny Williams Moon River (1961), Tom Jones The Green Grass Of Home (1966); Rolf Harris Two Little Boys (1969); Mud Lonely This Christmas (1974) and Wings Mull Of Kintyre (1977) all make many people including me loose the will to live. Even Pink Floyd Another Brick In The Wall (1979), from one of the great seminal albums of the time, is hardly a jolly slay bell shaking chrimbo classic either.

In fact if you exclude the acts who along with Cliff have assured there place at the pearly gates by putting out hymns: Johnny Mathis When A Child Is Born (1976), Harry Belafonte (1957) and Boney M (1978) both with Mary's Boy Child there are actually precious few upbeat xmas songs which made it to the top at the crucial time. Slade Merry Xmas Everybody (1973) and Shakin' Stevens Merry Christmas Everyone (1985) are notable exceptions.

So if Bohemian Rhapsody is the second most played song in the whole wide world ever, no prizes for figuring out the first. There is not much one can say about Band Aid that has not already been written. That's not a debate I really want to get into right here. Let's just say it got to number one 3 times (1984), (1989) and (2004) and leave it at that.

On a lighter note if you're a painfully irritating novelty record you're in with a good shout: Scaffold Lily The Pink (1968), Benny Hill Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West) (1971), St Winifred's School Choir There's No One Quite Like Grandma (1980), the self-titled Mr Blobby (1993) and Bob The Builder Can We Fix It? (2000).

That's most of them. For the complete list including Elvis and West Life see:
http://www.everyhit.com/christmasnumber1.html

The practice of manipulating the xmas number one in the UK is as old as the singles charts them selves. The massive record making machines: the Beatles, Spice Girls, the Band-Aid franchise, Pop Idol/X Factor only had to press the button at the right time and the top of the pops belongs to them. Just behind this croud have been the novelty acts, kids TV shows and the like, who will be glad to pick up the batton if the usual corporate are having a xmas off.

If you're looking for xmas tunes and you're turning to the UK xmas number one at almost any point in the past 55 years you are inevitably going to be disappointed. The UK xmas number one has never been a rich vane of festive xmas crackers having thumping beats, ripping guitar solos or much else about which to write home. Some tremendous xmas tracks are out there, most of them don't get to number one though. Many of them don't chart at all. It can sometimes be something of a challenge to find the hidden gems when you're getting bombarded with the same old couple dozen tunes going round and round every December. Bring on the Internet.

All that said, for me the UK xmas number one for all it's cynical falts and limitations remains an institution. The record companies, the bands, radio and TV stations, the shops and bookmakers all know it too! I always hope it will be something new and fresh and something I have not heard before. The true meaning of the song which happens to be first place in the UK chart on 25 December has as much to do with Christmas as mince pies, turkey, and Santa! And come the middle of January you will have forgotten all about it until next year.

I spent my train journeys to and from Preston this weekend completely immersed in Ken Follett's historical masterpiece the Pillars of the Earth.

Set in 12th century England during a time known as the Anarchy, Follett's epic, 900 pages in print and over 40 hours in audio, charts the building of a cathedral and the associated trials and tribulations of the people in the fictional town of Kingsbridge.

Pillars is: dramatic, shocking, brutal, heart rending, informative, moving and much more. Other than stories set against the backdrop of WW II, I have not read much historical fiction. I am astounded at the extent to which Pillars has grabbed my attention and refuses to let go.

For me the test of any book is the amount of time I spend thinking about it and whether or not the characters are believable. Pillars scores highly on both counts. The world Follett has conjured in my imagination seems like a very real place, one which I look forward to escaping to at every possible opportunity.

If I don't right stuff down here I am likely to forget it. And when I'm old
and my mortgage is paid off, I'll look back at my life and wonder what I did
with all those years. Enter the blog so I can count up and marvel at how
many birthdays celebrated, gigs attended, trips travelled, you get the idea.
November contains the usual assortment.

This weekend the boy Roberts is celebrating his thirtieth. Doubtless our
exploits will be chronicled on his blog next week. On the way to Ipswich I
am planning to meet Chrissie, friend and colleague from my ACB Radio days,
for lunch in London. I am also looking forward to seeing some of the old
Epsom crowd. Long time readers will remember the Save the Riser campaign
from June 2006. Martin has a pub and band booked for Saturday and muggins
will probably play Happy Birthday on the piano once an appropriate quantity
of mild has found it's way down my neck.

The rather fabulous Dream Theatre are touring in the UK this autumn. Yours
truly has tickets to see them here in the midlands on the 10th! Maybe it's
time I listened to that new album then!

The weekend of the 17th will be a breather before heading off to celebrate
yet another birthday, this time in Preston on the 24th. That will probably
be the last trip I make up north before the xmas break.

So lots of train journeys on which to meet all kinds of unhinged individuals
and to get through a few more books from my ever expanding reading list.

Hope all's well with everyone in internet land? Be careful with the
fireworks.

All the best.

Birthday celebrations began in Ernest on Thursday. Lovely lemon drizzle cake at work for lunch, and a damn fine Herefordshire steak at the Halfway House later that evening in Bastonford with my sister et al. Yup Bastonford, it's a real place.

The weekend was quite nostalgic including a visit with my mother to Blackburn town centre where I spent substantial chunks of my childhood Saturday mornings trailing around the shops.

During these ddtrips we used to visit a stall on Blackburn market where a man sold sasparilla in real pint and half pint glasses. Propping up the bar with a glass of the cold bubbly aniseed-tasting liquid was a real pleasure for my 9year-old self. On Saturday I made a pilgrimage to the man who claims to have been on Blackburn market for 56 years! And yes I partook in what is, for me at least, an institution.

I also ran into a lad with whom I went to school. 13 years has brought him a wife, 3 kids and a couple of mobile phone shops.

It was back to the present with a bump on Sunday when I returned to Worcester to find my gas boiler had thrown in the towel. Probably the same towel I was using last week to clean up after the leaking water meter under me sink. So this afternoon the Gas man cometh. Something to do with pressure … don't ask me. Anyway it's all sorted. I'm just waiting for the power to go out or something and I'll have had the three, Water, Gas and Electricity.

This week ACB Radio World is covering the European Blind Union Equality and Diversity Forum, plus General Assembly from Turkey. What I have heard so far has been pretty interesting particularly a session exploring the portrayal of blind women in the media. Dolphin are sponsoring coverage which runs until Friday.

I am reliably informed that news of my Bruichladdich experiences has made it to www.whisky-pages.com. But can I find any reference on there to either Martin or myself? Can I bollocks. Even using the “site:” prefix on Google returns nada. Oh well. 🙂