A reminder that racism is learned...

We've been away from here for a week. On our walk around the village this morning, we came across a group of gipsies trailers pulled on the village green.

There were 8 of them pulled in a circle, and I have to say, there's not a scrap of rubbish to be seen.

But here's why I'm writing this. On our walk, we go past our village Primary School, and it coincided with playtime.

As we walked on the path alongside the playground, a bunch of young kids were looking at the trailers and one of them said, "One of these days, we'll get these gipsies off our land."

I almost turned around and said to him, "How long has this been your land?" but decided not to.

That little boy has only heard that from his parents. He wasn't born racist, that's taught.

As a showman who's had that crap for the majority of my life, it reminds me that this country does still have plenty of racist people.

But unlike all those who grizzle every five minutes when they feel put upon, we, like the gipsies have just got on with life.

I still take exception when we're called gipsies. We're not, we're a culture of people who, whilst transient for most of the year, are people who conduct their businesses on the move in a legal and ethical way.

We developed a backbone early on. We needed to. We've never had the 'woke' community behind us. And most likely, we never will.

We need to face facts, this isn't a particularly racist country. We have them, just like every other country, but nowhere close to the amount that the media will have you believe. - and what's more, you'll never get rid of those that are.

But let's get it straight, there's more to racism than colour. The trouble is, too many don't care about those that don't fit their agendas.

Come to think of it, perhaps one way of avoiding the ongoing colour talk is to stop talking about colour.

And many of us need to stop throwing stones because our glasshouses aren't so bloody sparkling!

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Music of my life 38

 If you think music can't move you, think again.

I just played a record that I've not played for years and within 10 seconds of it starting, it took me back to a journey to Pevensey Bay on the day my Uncle Henry Turner died.

It's the only song I remember from that drive.

The song was 'Wouldn't Change A Thing' by Kylie Minogue. Why does it stay in my memory? Because I remember thinking when I heard it that day, if there was ever a man that you wouldn't change a thing about, that was

him.

As a child, he was always there, smiling away, full of fun.

He was someone you couldn't help but like. He was also someone who could stick up for himself and if he saw someone in trouble, he'd be the first to offer his help.

He was someone upon whom you could always depend.

My son Henry was named after him and I couldn't have named him better as he has so many of my Uncle Henry's ways.

And yes, as I did that day, I just got choked and teary again.

If the video doesn't play, click here

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All our yesterdays 27th June - 3rd July

 This time, we're looking back to the week of 27th June - 3rd July

On 27th June 2007,  After having served as chancellor of the Exchequer (1997–2007), British Labour Party politician Gordon Brown became prime minister of the United Kingdom.

On 28th June 1997, In a boxing match for the heavyweight title, Mike Tyson was disqualified after he twice bit Evander Holyfield's ears; as a result of the infraction, he temporarily lost his boxing license.

On 29th June 1974, While on tour with the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Ballet in Toronto, Mikhail Baryshnikov defected from the Soviet Union, citing artistic reasons, and he later settled in the United States.

On 30th June 1936, American author Margaret Mitchell published Gone with the Wind, a sweeping romance set during the Civil War; the novel later won a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a hugely successful film.

On 1st July 1997, The crown colony of Hong Kong officially reverted to Chinese sovereignty, ending 156 years of British rule.

On 2nd July 1937, The aeroplane piloted by American aviator Amelia Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean during her attempt to fly around the world.

On 3rd July 1969, just weeks after being fired from the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones was found dead in his swimming pool.

And finally, this week in 1969, The Beatles were having their third and final week at Number One in the UK with 'The Ballad Of John & Yoko."

If you can't see the video, click here

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A rant against cancel culture

 

I’d like to think of myself as a caring man, someone who doesn’t go out of his way to upset others, who for the most part is happy to keep himself to himself.

I’m not one who craves to be the centre of attention, who wants to be the big ‘I am,’ or needs everyone to think the same way I do.

And I don’t tell everyone what they should do – after all, it's not as though I'm perfect is it?

I judge people only by a couple of criteria – whether they’re an arsehole or not! That’s it.

I watch – and people’s actions tell me all I need to know. I’ve been around long enough to know that I can spot a ‘wrong ‘un’ by their actions. I don’t need to have other’s opinions shoved down my throat.

And taking that a stage further, I’ve realised that we’re all different people to different people.

I have friends who can’t stand the sight of each other. That’s their problem. I can be friends with both (as long as I’m not involved in their situation). I’ll still be friends with both until one of them does something that I personally don’t agree with (but that will be my decision, not anyone else’s).

However, I’m getting sick to the back teeth of being told what to do by a pious bunch of people who have the temerity to think that they know what’s good for the world. And God help you if you don’t agree.

My Dad used to tell me to "be careful what you wish for" and it seems to be apt right now. PC-ness has gone beserk.

Mention that you’re proud of your country and you’re looked down on. Put a British flag up (which I’ve not really felt the need to) and you’re a racist. How daft is that?

I don’t think I’ve ever read an Enid Blyton book. But because people think they know better, I’m now being told not to. Oh, grow up! I can distinguish between what was allowed in days gone by and what is not 'de rigeur' today. And what's more, I'm grown up enough to read it and take it as being from a time left behind, without being affected by it.

I’m an adult – I have my own mind. I don’t need a pompous bunch of do-gooders to tell me what not to do.

Remember when our parents told us not to do something and it made us want to do it more? Well, that’s exactly how I feel now.

I’ve not watched GB news. I’ve not watched any of the other news stations either.

My opinion is that they all push their own agenda. But this uproar over a news channel that’s not even a week old makes me want to see what all the fuss is about.

That people are attacking the advertisers makes me worry for the future.

If cancel culture takes over, we’re all in for a rough ride. This group of people believe they know what’s best for you. They plan to make sure that nothing bad is going to be in front of your eyes. They’re going to protect you from yourself.

Succumb to it and you’re no more than a grown-up child needing new ‘parents’ to protect you.

Twitter is a cesspit inhabited by spiteful people, some masquerading as the enlightened. I’m not sure Facebook is far behind. Week by week we’re being told what to like, what not to like. And I’m sick of it.

As far as I’m concerned, these people, if they get their way will become a new dictatorship – you’ll be told what you can like and what you can’t. Who you can shop with and who you can’t. Who is to be ostracised and who’s not. Oops, they're already doing that! God help you if you disagree.

I hate this. When was it decided that we all needed to be protected from ourselves by these self-appointed judges of good and evil?

I’m lucky, I was brought up by decent parents and surrounded by a level-headed independent family and friends. They raised me to be able to make decisions that fit my morals and ethics. they helped me to learn to think for myself.

I don’t need to be told what’s good for me by a bunch of agitating strangers. If I need advice, there are plenty of people I respect much more. I’ll go to them thanks.

But... in these times we’re living in, I’ve thought of a wonderful business opportunity. Does anybody want to be partners in a human-size cotton wool production company.

We should be able to make a fortune selling to everyone who needs to be wrapped and protected from the nasties!

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Remember the 'Top Of The Pops' LPs - I re-created them, but with the original artists.

During the lockdown, whilst trying to think of something to do, I came across one of the old 'Top Of The Pops' albums that seemed so prevalent years ago. And it gave me an idea.

I went on the Discogs web site, and found that all of the albums and their tracklistings were available to buy or just check out on the site.

I didn't want to buy the albums, but I did wonder how the albums would sound if you heard them in the running order, but by the original artists.

I've got a pretty decent sized music collection and felt that I probably already had 80% or the original versions of the songs and that given the time, I could re-do the albums using mp3 versions of the songs.

So I started with Volume 1. Of the 12 songs featured on the album, I had 9. What I decided to do was replace the songs I didn't have with songs in my collection that would keep the same spirit to the album.

Having put together the first album in the same running order as the LP was released but with the replacements, on playback, it sounded really good, so I did volume 2.

I ended up redoing all 92 albums in the collection in the same way. It gave me a pretty good representation of the music we were listening to over the years.

It took a lot of time to complete them, but as we had the lockdown in place, I had plenty of time to spare.

And I have to say, I'm really happy with the results.

Admittedly there are songs missing across the complete collection, but the songs I've replaced them with do not harm the integrity. How could they? I now had the albums with original versions by the original artists.

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Music of my Life 37

 I just heard The Tymes' 'Ms Grace' and had another musical flashback.

I was boarding at Prior Park College in Bath and each week my Mum would send me the pop charts in the UK, which she used to cut out of the 'Coin Slot' part of the 'World's Fair' newspaper.

On this particular day, I was in a science lesson, and I have to say, I really hated all of the sciences, so wasn't really paying much attention. We were supposed to be reading some text, but I had the piece of paper with the UK charts inside the book and I was reading down the list to see what was in that particular week's chart.

I obviously wasn't paying attention because my teacher walked behind me, saw the chart, took it off me and proceeded to say something along the lines of..."Mr Murphy, would you like to share with us the scientific properties of Ms Grace?"

Silence.

"No? In that case, this evening you can do detention and write an essay on the subject you are supposed to be learning about!"

It seems to me, music has always been more important to me than pretty much everything. It may account for why as I'm pushing 61, it's still at the forefront of my life and still playing such an important role in my thoughts.

It's also the major thing that brings me back these long lost memories. Without it, I'd probably not remember 98% of the things I do!

If the video doesn't play, click here

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A rant about banks!

I went to the bank this morning. I needed to change some money up into greater denominations.

I went to St. Ives as it's a smaller town than Cambridge and I figured that I'd get in and out quicker.

I went to Barclays, but they no longer have counter staff, so it's not possible to change money. In fact, if you don't want to use cards, there's not much they can do for you.

I then went to the Lloyds bank. They had two counter staff but didn't want to change the money up. Their option is to pay the money into your account and then use your card to pay with.

The other choice was to pay money into your account and then draw cash out.

How bleeding pathetic is it. The lady on the counter told me that really, the Banks want us to be a cashless society.

What right do they have to force it on us? The fact is, they want us to use credit cards and debit cards because we spend more that way.

I've noticed how people, particularly youngsters are paying for things using their phones so much now. The banks realise that they spend more that way.

I'm a dinosaur. I like money in my pocket. I know how much I have, and when it's gone, it's gone. But with a card, you can raid your account without realising how much your spending.

And that's why they want you to use them. That's why they want to get rid of money. They won't need so many counter staff either if you take cash out of the equation.

And all the time, the banks get richer.

It's getting to the stage where if a shop no longer accepts cash, I'm no longer willing to be a customer. 

I dread the thought of no longer having cash. We'll go to work and all we'll get is a piece of paper telling us how much we got. And there won't be any cash machines to draw money out from because there's no cash, so basically, we'll all be working for the banks!

They'll be in total control. Everything in the country will have to go through them and then they can do what they like.

After all, they're a waste of time to try and save with, they don't even want to give you 1% for savings, but they don't mind 30% or 40% interest to them when you have a credit card.

They're no more than legalised thieves!

Rant over.

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All Our Yesterdays 13th - 19th June

 This time, we're looking back to the week of 13th - 19th June.

On the 13th June 2005, After a 14-week trial that became a media circus, American pop singer Michael Jackson was acquitted of child-molestation charges.

On the 14th June 1982, The surrender of the large Argentine garrison at Port Stanley to the British military concluded the Falkland Islands War, which was fought for the control of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and its dependencies—territory long disputed by the warring nations.

On the 15th June 1215, The Magna Carta—a charter of English liberties that occupies a unique place in the popular imagination as a symbol and a battle cry against oppression—was sealed this day, under threat of civil war, by King John

On 16th June 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova became the first woman to travel in space, having been launched into orbit aboard the spacecraft Vostok 6, which completed 48 orbits in 71 hours.

On 17th June 1994, American gridiron football hero O.J. Simpson was charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, though after a sensational trial he was acquitted the following year.

On 18th June 1940, Broadcasting from London after France fell to the Nazis, French General Charles de Gaulle appealed to his compatriots to continue World War II under his leadership.

On 19th June 2013, American actor James Gandolfini, who was best known for his portrayal of Mafia boss and family man Tony Soprano in the HBO drama series The Sopranos (1999–2007), died of a heart attack while vacationing in Rome.

And finally in this week in 1966, Frank Sinatra spent his third and final week at number one in the UK chart with his hit, 'Strangers In The Night.'

If you can't see the video, click here

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The Music of my Life 36

 

It's the Summer of 1965 and we've just moved to Burnham on Sea to take on this arcade on the seafront. I've just had my 5th birthday and it's the start of the 6 week's Summer Holidays.

In the back room of the arcade, Dad had a record player and a reel to reel tape recorder that he used to pipe music throughout the arcade.

This album was released at the beginning of the month, and I can still remember vividly the excitement I felt when Dad brought the album out of the bag and put it on the record player.

And almost 56 years later, I still get that feeling whenever I look at the cover of this album. I'm a little boy again!

If the video doesn't play, click here

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Missed opportunities...

When I first got married back in 1982, videos were just coming into fashion.

I fancied getting a video shop - I found a suitable shop just outside the showman's yard where we used to stop in the winter.

I found that you couldn't buy videos at the time, you would have to rent them from the companies on a weekly basis it was a minimal amount.

I worked out how much it would cost to kit the shop out with racking and get it ready to open.

When I did the sums, it was going to come to £3500 which we didn't have at the time.

I wanted to get a loan, but my wife didn't as we'd only just got married and was worried in case we come unstuck.

So we didn't take it any further.

A couple of months later, a video shop opened in exactly the shop I had targeted.

I went in and became a member on the 1st day. The one-off membership fee was £10 + the price of the films you were going to hire.

I signed up and got my card. I was member number 376, This meant that on their first day of business, they'd taken in at least £3760, without a film going out of the door.

Not doing it was a BIG mistake - within 6 months the owner opened another shop in Camberley and did the same thing.

Over a short period, he built a profitable business.

He also managed to sell the shops when the towns were starting to get flooded with Video shops.

Within a couple of years, he was in and out of the business and diversified into other things and ended up quite wealthy.

I've often looked back and wondered "what if?"

And it's why I believe that it's better to take a risk and go for it than not. From experience I've learned that I'd rather fail than look back 40 years and wonder "what if?" Regretting not taking a chance ate away at me for years.

My advice...if you have a gut feeling, follow it. It's usually correct.

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Hercule Poirot and the Internet Mystery!

 

My Internet had played up on and off since November last year when I received a new hub.

After no end of problems, the hub, which we thought was playing up, doesn't seem to be the problem.

Back in the winter, we had telephone engineers come to my home and test to make sure the problem wasn't inside the house. It wasn't.

They couldn't find where the cable came into the house, but went along the path at the back of our garden and found a linking cable problem that solved the situation.

We had the same problem flare up a few months ago, and after I made a complaint, a really good customer service representative chased it all up and after a fortnight, it was up and running again.

A few weeks ago, we started losing the Internet connection again on a regular basis every day. Once again, I made a complaint, asked for the same representative to be involved. However, it appears he has moved on.

The new customer service person has really tried to go out of their way to help, even as far as sending me a new hub. We did get to thinking it was the hub that had been delivered in November as before installing it, we'd had seven years of trouble-free Internet access.

The new hub worked perfectly for six hours and then the old problems kept showing up again.

The CS person wondered whether it was because we had over 6 devices on the system (PCs, Internet Radios, phones etc). I said that we'd always had the same amount and never had a problem before.

Yesterday, I decided it was time for me to become Hercule Poirot and see if I could hunt for clues.

I started checking speeds when I was in the office - twice during the time I was there the speed dipped from 19mbps to as little as 0.05 mbps.

Today has been even worse. It's 11.19 as I write this and it's done the same thing four times for periods lasting up to 25 minutes.

I checked the devices around the house and they're all saying that wi-fi coverage is excellent and that the Internet connection is poor (<1mbps).

It leads me to believe that the problem could once again be along the path at the back of our house.

I just need them to call me back so that I can send screenshots of all the problems I've found so that maybe, we may finally get something done!

This is the reason, many of you may have noticed that I haven't been online over the last month or so.

I just hope we may finally be getting closer to finding the cause.

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All Our Yesterdays 6-12 June

This time, we're looking back to the week of  6th - 12th June.

On the 6th June, 1968, While campaigning for president, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy died of a bullet wound from assassin Sirhan Sirhan.

On the 7th June, 1982, Graceland—Elvis Presley's home in Memphis, Tennessee, where he died in 1977—was opened for public tours and became one of the top tourist attractions in the United States.

On 8th June, 1949, British author George Orwell published his dystopian classic Nineteen Eighty-four, a warning against totalitarianism that introduced such concepts as Big Brother and the Thought Police. It may not have happened then, but a lot of what he wrote seems to be coming true now.

0n 9th June, 1983,  Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, buoyed by victory in the Falkland Islands War and by deep divisions within the opposition Labour Party, was easily reelected to a second term in office.

On 10th June, 1940, Italy, under the rule of Benito Mussolini, declared war against France and Great Britain, entering World War II.

On 11th June, 2001, Timothy McVeigh—convicted of the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, which killed 168 people in what was then the worst terrorist attack in the U.S.—was executed 

On 12th June, 1991,  Boris Yeltsin was easily elected president of Russia (then part of the Soviet Union) in the republic's first direct, popular elections, and he was president of independent Russia until the eve of 2000.

And on this week in 1965, Sandie Shaw was spending her second of three weeks as the British Number One with her hit, 'Long Live Love'

If you can't see the video, click here

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Music of my Life 35

My sister came to visit me recently. She's 12 years older than me and remembers where my love of music started.

She was telling me that as soon as I was able, I would get as close to my Dad's reel to reel tape recorder as I could, and as soon as I could, I'd start to play it (I'm surprised my Dad let me - I'd never have let my kids do it),

She said there was one song on a tape I would play over and over again. She said I must have managed to work out where it was on the tape because I could always seem to run the tape back or forth and find it.

I was 2 or 3 at the time.

The song?

Charlie Drake's cover of Bobby Darin's 'Splish Splash'

If you can't see the video, click here

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What I'm watching - Pie In The Sky

 I've recently come to a realisation that TV is becoming more bleak and dark.

The lockdowns of the last year have led to me spending more time in front of the telly purely to fill some of the hours, and although I've mostly watched box sets of old shows, so much of the programming seems to be either following varying political and race agendas, and much of the scheduled drama series are very dark. And to be honest, it's put me off watching many of them.

As I've got older, I've taken to watching more factual programmes than anything else. I've taken to travel and food programmes in particular.

Much of the drama seems too depressing to me and so I go back to those old shows of bygone times.

'Pie In The Sky' is what I think of as 'Sunday Night Telly,' light-hearted drama that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Richard Griffiths is great as the police detective  (Henry Crabbe) who'd rather be in the kitchen of his restaurant whilst solving various crimes. Ably assisted in the restaurant by his wife Margaret, played by Maggie Steed, it's a programme that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Luckily, the complete series is available on UKTV and it's an hour of enjoyable fluff that doesn't tax me and make me miserable.

This last year has been hard enough without watching TV that's going to drag you down and leave you feeling depressed.

Long ago, I decided that if I was going to watch television it was going to be on my terms. If I'm not watching something that entertains me, then I'm not going to watch it.

I can't think of anything I'd rather do than spend an evening watching programmes that made me feel worse than when I started.

'Pie In The Sky' cheers me up. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, but I'm enjoying every minute of watching it.

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All our yesterdays 6

This time, we're looking back to the week of 30th May - 5th June.

On May 30th, 1913, the Treaty of London signed by the Great Powers, the Ottoman Empire and the victorious Balkan League (Serbia, Greece, Kingdom of Bulgaria, and Montenegro) bringing an end to the First Balkan War.

On May 31st, 1962,  the State of Israel hanged German official Adolf Eichmann, who had escaped from a prison camp in 1946 and spent some 14 years in hiding, for his part in the Nazi extermination of Jews during World War II.

On June 1st, 1967, The Beatles released their new album, 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. Spurred on by the Beach Boy's album, 'Pet Sounds,' this album blended pop, symphonic and Indian musical forms to become a classic.

On June 2nd, 1953, On a cold and wet day in London, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place in Westminster Abbey.

On June 3rd, 2017:  A terrorist attack as three men wearing fake suicide vests drive a van into pedestrians on London Bridge then run to Borough Market where they stab and kill seven and wound 48 before being shot by armed police. 

On June 4th, 1940, Following a massive rescue effort that included civilian boats, the withdrawal of Allied troops trapped at Dunkirk, France, was completed on this day during World War II; more than 300,000 soldiers were saved.

On June 5th, 1981, AIDS was reported for the first time, following the detection of a rare form of pneumonia in five homosexual men in Los Angeles.

And in this week in 1975, Tammy Wynette spent her third and final week as the UK's Number One with her hit, 'Stand By Your Man'.

If you can't see the video, click here

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