I don't quite know why, but the fragrant Patroclus and I have started a totally pointelss and unedifying argument about 80's music. As if there was anything to say about 80's music.
But for some reason, in a pause to draw breath, I am reminded of this:
We were in Holyhead. Now Holyhead is a pretty ropy place. It's been blown for years by the winds off the Irish sea and all the colour seems to have been bleached away from it by the gales (oh, and the rain). It is a perfect example of a county town decimated by an out of town supermarket. Stand up Tesco and put your bloody hand up to this (and admit that you're trying to do the same in our other home town too. I'm going right off you).
Nearly all the shopping has been dragged from the centre of Holyhead to the outskirts, and the centre is now a pale bleached view of bird shit and boarded up shops. All except for a really scruffy Woolies, a Clarks, a CoOp awaiting updating to mid-70's stlye, and Ethyl Austin (!), a couple of seedy old cafes, a handful of charity shops and about three hundred "all under a pound" shops. I am not saying Holyhead is poor. I am saying it is abject. A ruined town.
And the obsession with cheapness, and shell suits, means there is quite a good second-hand record shop. Which I browse every time. No 1 Son loves the s/h comics it sells to say nothing of the toys. For two years it has had a sealed copy of Madonna's Sex for sale. £25 to you. He also has some World Cup signed England memorabilia from '66. For a couple of
grand. In Holyhead?At Easter we were all in there, self, the OH, and two of her three and we came across this album:
It may not seem much to you, but the OH caught a glimpse of it and said "Oh, I played on that"
My chest swelled with pride. And, frankly, is doing so again now.
6 comments:
That is, in fact, very very cool. Respect to your OH, who could no doubt (metaphorically) flatten me in seconds in any pointless debate about 80s music. As I suspect you're going to, as well.
sadly, you win. I give in. I know nothing about 80's music, and neither does she! Even though she was part of it. Her CV is amazing.
Anyway, on the definition of when a band emerged - it's always tricky. I'll stick by XTC being a 70's band (they're older than me anyway so they must be), but whether a band who first released a single in 1979 and then had major success in the early 80's (a la Madness) is 80's or 70's .... it's a bit moot I reckon. And I feel we've exhausted the topic, and ended amicably. Until you bought up the Violent Femmes that is. I tried, I really tried with them. No good. I couldn't do it. Like them that is.
I'm looking forward to the next debate already....
your posts are always so topical in a synchronistic way, beep
the trumpet player from the Style Council was at our gig on Friday night. . .
our trumpet player did us proud, he was fab - he'd was literally in full view of the punters, as (i) the venue management had provided some mega staging (for a change) which had the whole back line elevated and (ii) the huge fee yours truly had negotiated meant we could afford to invest in some mega lighting (for a change); of course we didn't tell him who was in the audience until afterwards. . .
(at which point his knees almost crumbled and he was nearly reduced to nervous gibbering; but he comes from north of the Watford Gap and is made of sterner stuff)
Spooky, you could say. To which I would say "ahh yes, but how did the solo go?"
oh yeah, top tip on getting anything done promptly in your house is to find out the home phone number of the guy/gal that runs the company:
I did this once with the man who owns Sofa Workshop, his wife made sure my sofa arrived the afternoon of the morning I'd made the phone call, the day my sofa was supposed to turn up. . . the warehouse people had told me another six weeks;
or, try the direct line of the CEO's customer complaint's manager - all CEO's have one, just phone the corporate office not the call centre; I did this once with Telewest who'd told me it would be ten days before they could fix my phone line, the CEO's chappy had it done that afternoon;
with Toy'r'us, I had the lovely CEO's customer person pick and pack my order specially and courier it to me in time for one of my kid's birthdays;
and Ocado sent a lovely chap round to Waitrose to do the shopping that their warehouse had run out of, and he even brought me a bunch of flowers and a box of chocs as a sorry Ocado didn't do it like they were supposed to in the first place gesture. . .
I could go on with further examples of how I'm the best/worst customer a CEO could possibly have, but have probably bored you rigid already - and obviously have proved once and for all I have far too much time on my hands
(if only I'd gone back to work for the lovely CEO I used to work for, then I could be sorting out his customers' problems)
but anyway, find out those phone numbers now (118 118 or similar will tell you corporate head office numbers, call centres are very reluctant to!), all of them, so you can make a quick call the minute things don't go according to plan
then your problems will be sorted near enough instantly
and you'll be able to spend your time updating your blog, so we can vicariously join in the new good life chez beep, shonte, LOYL + her 3, dog and who/whatever else is enjoying it too
lovely
and if I told you, you'd be as gutted as I was
Post a Comment