Beep Beep!

It somehow seems ironic, that because I use a computer and the internet and Social Networking, that personally I have no interest in computer gaming. I do remember the days of early gaming with some affection, the Ping Pong/Tennis/Squash/Football  (2 Bats?? per team) Grandstand console plug into aerial socket of telly and tune in for hours of fun! (see above piccy, actual model I had from Dixons).

Then the various home computers: BBC Acorn, BBC Micro, Vic 20, Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX Spectrum et al, I remember fondly, not due to the gaming content but the accessibility of stuff I had only seen in Films or read about. Although the plots of these stories didn't show a computer being loaded by an audio cassette taking 4-5 attempts and a teenager in tears.

Some explanation is needed here regarding games, my brain only tends to work in 2D, and due to this many modern games are beyond my mental ability, I don't have problems doing 3D modelling and rendering, but motion wise on a computer it tends to make me feel quite sick (physically).

The thing that sparked my interest in computing was the photography/music/video side of computing: no longer do you need expensive film and equipment, its relatively easy to knock up a short piece of anything on ya computer. You must remember it was pretty recently relatively speaking, that home PCs had decent enough sound and video capabilities.

Yes I know the "You Been Framed", "YouTube" generation of happy slappers have cast a dim light on some activities, but I find it endearing that people get their chance through their own effort to get their views across using media on the Net.

And the amount of bands doing their own production from start to finish is dead encouraging  too!

I'm no techno-geek and can't go into long winded terms about programming or owt like that, but as long as Computers and the Net and the people using them are being positive & creative I look forward to more media being available to all!

And if games are ya bag, good on ya, do still have a place in my heart for Space Invaders, but left, right & fire is about maximum amount of button combinations I can manage.

Punk Rock

Being a "Child of the Sixties", I do count myself lucky as being alive during an exciting time of Popular Music, "POP Music". arriving at the death knells of Elvis, and the birth of The Beatles (SPIT, more later!) and The Stones (HURRAH!) and many more.



In the 21st century when pop stardom relies on televisual viewing and public votes, I am somewhat bored out of my tiny bald head. Not gonna whine on about the Saturday night reality shows, as all I glean of them is through the press and not through first hand viewing, for F*%$ks sake, they're nearly all on a Saturday night, which goes to prove theres a masonic type link between schedulers and breweries, any excuse to go to pub is a good 'un.


I really am glad that I was around when Punk finally happened, I don't dismiss Glam Rock and Heavy Metal and Prog Rock and anything that happened prior to Punk, and am still happy for all musical genres to exist side-by-side.


Punk made me more politically aware, and made me question things, (authority, racism, justice), can many people say that about many groups today? I know a lot of band's do a lot of stirling work, but it all smacks of self-publicism, post Band Aid, buy my album i am nice and help people!
Yes Punk was a bit manufactured and "set-up" but a few good bands came through and it encouraged others to form bands, which is always a good thing!


By the way even as a child hated The Beatles, as was made to sing yellow submarine at school!

More things I like

Hope this isn't coming across as some sort of "Oooh, I think this is brilliant!" teeny fan bloggy-what-not!

Yet again harkening back to things from my past, and yet trying to shed light on things some people round the country, (world, HA! who am I kidding!), may have missed, may be missing out on.




Sunday mornings used to mean a walk to my Gran's, and on the way picking up her Sunday papers, one of which was The Sunday Post, a Scottish newspaper.

Its a bit like Peoples Friend magazine, no shock horror celeb stuff, just local quite quaint articles, used to love the letters page, where people would plea for a ball of 2-ply wool in duck egg blue to finish off wee Tam's cardigan as her supplier from Dundee had run out of it due to the demand!
In the middle of the paper was "The Fun Section", including jokes, puzzles, fun facts and 2 brilliant cartoon strips; "Oor Wullie" & "The Broons".

Oor Wullie, was a spikey haired , dungaree, tackety boot (hob nail boot) wearing youth with a penchant for relaxing by sitting on a metal bucket, knocking coppers helmets off with a catapult and getting into various naughty scrapes. If he was up to these sort of capers now, he's be ASBO'd, but having it's origins in the early 20th century, a clip round the lug and going without supper was punishment enough! (Call Social Services!!!).

The Broons were a MASSIVE family, 3 generations living under 1 roof, 10 people in total, and the premise of most of the stories was the Chinese Whisper, the family being so bloody huge that by the time the message had been passed to the person intended, its had been corrupted so much it was utter jibberish! But they could all sit round the table with a meal and laugh at it.

The social background to these strips is pure nostalgia and utter nirvana for grumps of a certain age, but I still marvel at the artwork, Its classic British comic art at it's peek, done by a gentlemen called Dudley D Watkins (GOOGLE him), this guy must have been on the equivilant of 40 litres of Red Bull a day, as not only did he do the artwork for these strips he was a major contributor to The Beano & The Dandy. If you get the chance the Oor Wullie & Broons annuals are available and they do a load of reprints from the "Golden Years", usually found in discount bookstores.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Things that make you go MMMMMMM!

Reminders of days gone by, the simple compound rear light of the Ford Cortina!

Usually seen after car was scrapped these were recovered by many a North East England Ice Cream Van Driver.

Can't quite put me finger on it, but I just bloody love them!

Pumpkin's Tish & Pish!

Sick of the Pumpkin, this year I have rekindled the art of making the "Norky Lamp"!

As you can see in the pic, a Norky (or Narky) is a turnip or swede, basically the same principal as pumpkin lamp, but more steeped in history, sorta relevant to Ireland, Scotland and Northern England.

GOOGLE it and look it up, I dunno much about links and all that carry-on yet!

Harkening back to a time of traipsing round the local vicinity, with your newly made lamp, knocking on neighbours doors and asking "Penny for the lamp?", not actually selling" ya lamp, but a type of art based door-to-door begging!

And hopefully at end of evening would have enough money for comics & sweets, or a refill of amarillo sherry and a couple of tabs (ciggies)!