Year review pt2

 Since we junked Kiss FM last year I've had nothing really bad to listen to all year. We have Heart on at work which is actually duller. Wallpaper radio, just filler audio and the same bad tracks over and over again.

Worst was finding out Ed Sheeran has a new track out that isn't bejaisus Oirish but Indian inspired instead. Oh yeah its awful.

The new Xmas number one from Kylie Minogue isn't too bad, not a banger just adequate and if it keeps that celebs for Palestine track off number one (which it did) I'll be grateful. 

Good stuff was hard to find this year. Polygon Window Surfing on Sine Waves got reissued this year with the bonus single  tracks added. Squarepusher Whooski was also rereleased which was total left field. I guess it was released under another name which means that it went over everyone's head back then. Sold pretty poorly if his notes on this are correct.

I'm sure I've forgotten so much more which I liked or at least was worth the money made. 

Final shout out to me for rescuing some water damaged vinyl from the last boot sale of the season. We finally got a version of Promised Land by Joe Smooth and The Night Writers Let The Music Use You.

Year review pt1

 Year review time. The traditional round up of what was good on the telly and music wise that I've seen this year.  We'll start with television. 

A few good things this year. 

Unforgotten giving us the best Autistic character rep in Marty Baines, and despite a weak ending, one of the true must see television spectacles of the year. 

An end to Vera where instead of killing her off, just let her retire with grace and such. I'm never sure which of Ann Cleeves books are based on her and which are Shetland stories but it was nice to see an actual good end for once. Also there's a nice folk song the Magpie used in this. 

Cooper and Fry.

Another northern detective show, this time on Channel 5. A mix of folklore and local era detective work.

Also based on a book that I've never seen.  A nice redemption for Mandip Gill who was in Doctor Who with Jodie Whittaker. She played the new detective Diane Fry down from Leeds and settling in Edendale, Derbyshire. Like I say it's one of those series I'll have to keep an eye out for, but never seemed to be on my radar. 

Miranda awards.

This goes to Watson an incredibly generic and dull medical drama in the vein of House and other shows of its ilk. 

In the style of Lucy Liu, make Doctor Watson a minority (in this case a black dude) and erase any personality he may have. I lasted all of ten minutes and gave up, it was that dull. #

EDIT.

The war between the land and sea or whatever they're calling it. A five part Sunday night snoozefest. It's by Russell T Davies so be grateful it didn't turn out like this. You wish that it ended with every Aqua homo killed off with the virus, but it didn't. It was preachy anti climate nonsense, with a side of boring. 

Pentagon Spies

Rather appropriate seeing as the heavily redacted Epstein files have been released we get a story all about shenanigans at the Pentagon in Washington.  

Or is it about someone stealing weathervanes in Amish country in Pennsylvania. Because this is what this story is mainly about. The boys are tasked with trying to protect a weathervane out in the Pennsylvania Deutsch country from a gang of thieves. They of course fail and follow it all the way to Chesapeake Crossing out in the bay. Of course there is an intelligence option their dad is following, someone stealing Pentagon secrets and a missing man who is supposedly the spy.  Could the two cases be linked.

As this is a later edition there are no changes to the script between the US and UK editions, even though for some places this would actually be welcome (tag sale = garage sale for one), and I'm not sure if this was in a hardback rather than a paperback which most of the books were. 

You can pick what edition you want here or here. 

VHS Mess: The Dying of the Light

 Get all thoughts of Nicolas Cage scenery chewing out of your mind its not that Dying of the Light. Though given the extreme afterlife VHS had I wouldn't put it past someone taping this of Sky or some sort.

No the one you want is a bio pic based on the life of aid worker and teacher Sean Devereaux. And a caveat here I've not seen the whole film as some cunt taped the Princess Di confessional Panorama episode with Martin Bashir, over the beginning so what you have left is the last hour and twenty minutes of this before the tape runs out. 

I'd dismissed this as another worthy programme put out by the BBC (though as there are ad breaks in this Channel 4 is my go to for actually airing this) and wanted to zip through this  as quick as possible. Then the killing starts and my interest piqued settled down to watch through  the rest.

It took to the end credits (cut off after main names) to get a head start on who starred in this and what this was called. 

It follows Sean's career from a Liberia still under the cosh of Charles Taylor. To his ultimate demise through a lone gunman in Kismayo Somalia. There is an Australian guy (Todd Boyce) in this and what I take to be his girlfriend (Maggie O'Neill from Gorilla's in the Mist) also part of the aid team.

It also couldn't be made today. It's not racist but at the same time nearly every African on screen is shown to be either corrupt or just plain murderous. Talking to child soldiers, having their grain stolen at checkpoints and using the Bible for justify murdering whole swathes of people. He's repeatedly shown to be roughed up and thrown in jail for the crime of wanting to give one young lad a chance of a better life not being part of Taylor's child soldier corps. 

This is cut with bits of him at home with his parents in Yateley, Hampshire and later on writing out an elegy in Kenya.  

All in all its a good film and was Bafta nominated for an award in 1995. As for home media the page at IMDB alludes to a French dub of this with its cover, but so far I've yet to see any home release of this emerge so I'm lucky to cap what I can. Of course I'll put it up on archive.org once I've done capping the tape but this is a keeper. Shame someone put that Diana interview over the top of it. 

Romford

 A trip out to Romford for buying presents both for myself and for others, and a place I haven't been to in ages. I've never really done well there when it comes to junk hunting and this is no exception. Took my mum and dad along via Crossrail, and I got new slippers and the latest Reacher novel for xmas. 

Managed to pick up a top for mum and the latest Richard Osman novel for Dad. Which means my Xmas shopping is almost done.

I also got what must be the worst CD imaginable, some sort of holiday camp mascot sing along.

Reminding me a bit of Kanye West by the artwork, the tracks themselves are pure pub singer kiddy song fare, with Dream Squirrel being a kind of homage to Seasons in the Sun by Terry Nation  Jacks. Kinda wish Darryl Bullock was still alive from Worlds Worst Records. I'm sure he'd have lapped this up, it's that awful. 

On the other hand I managed to get the Meaning of Love / Oberkorn from Depeche Mode which I'd been after for ages as the only one I've seen was sleeve only at a bootsale. 

Finally a round up of nutters. Including a pensioner dressed as an elf which I'm sure was from the Santa's Grotto. A tramp necking a bottle of wine direct from a Sainsbury's bag, assorted God botherers and the Sally Army bloke who looked like the NAFO Dog in uniform.

The cream of the crop was some nutty bird on the train, who reckoned a woman was following her... in a nappy. The finisher, she had HIV. The best thing was, is that she was entirely alone. No one was following her, at all. 

Lucifer from Cinderella

EDIT. I also found this Disney Weedle. Which turns out to be a plush of Lucifer from Cinderella.  No me neither. 

Crayford

 When I'm feeling down and want a pick me up, we're blessed with an abundance of nature to lift my robot soul .

Had a feeling that today would be special and took my little scope out to look across the riverbank at Crayford. If you are lucky you can see seals on the mudflats but its not often. So more often or not you are looking out for sea birds and waders along with the usual ducks. 

Today was no exception, I didn't see any, but what I did see wasn't that bad either. A lot of ducks and small waders. A few Mallards (expected) along with Teal and Widgeon which I've seen before and couldn't place. What did surprise me and I saw them before in the summer, was a load of Lapwings. I know they've been having a hard time and thought they would migrate, but there were loads down by the river along with the Widgeon and a few waders I couldn't place (possibly Dunlin / Redshank).

If you want to follow in my footsteps, there are a few buses to get you to Erith, 99, 180 and 269 from my end but TFL will probably set you correct. Parking is easy, as Morrisons have a huge car park, just do a big loop and then either go inside for shopping or head home. Sadly there's no cafe anymore which was a highlight of the walk.

Four headed dragons

 Another book transcribed. This time its the intriguingly titled Four Headed Dragon

The boys have to deal with a mysterious mansion next door to Chet Morton's farmstead, where Chet himself, found a dazed and injured Sam Radley wandering. The mansion seems to be the hideout for a gang of crooks and an incoming hurricane forces the boys to shelter there when they rescue a girl out on the bay. There is also a subplot involving Fenton Hardy looking for a wanted criminal who attempted to sabotage the Alaskan oil pipeline. Gee, I wonder if they are connected in any way.

The mansion itself was owned by the Sayer family and is a riff on the Winchester mystery house with its many rooms dedicated to housing the souls of the restless dead. It comprises of a ruined west wing along with an extensive attic and clock tower. It is presided over by a caretaker called Emile Grubb. 

You can read the US version here and the UK version here.