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Song for John
Tonight Brian Eno gives the John Peel Lecture at The British Library. Like many thousands of music fans in Britain, I doubt there can ever be anyone of his stature, cultural bravery and sheer...
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WHAT'S THE POINT OF IT ALL?
R.I.P. BLOGGINGI have just deleted 170 posts going all the way back to 2010. In some strange way, it felt good. Wiping away all the conceited drivel and opinionated trash written with that one aim in...
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The Dumps of Doom
TOXIC TIME BOMBSBefore Saddam Hussein blotted his copy book by invading Kuwait, Iraq possessed significant stocks of chemical and biological weapons, many of which were happily supplied by Britain,...
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BLUE ROOTS
‘Ye Blews’Blues means what milk does to a baby. Blues is what the spirit is to the minister. We sing the blues because our hearts have been hurt, our souls have been disturbed.Alberta HunterAs waggish...
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Hidden Treasure
NEVER MIND THE NAZI GOLD TRAIN - WHERE'S THE COCOS GOLD?I crossed the Pacific four times during 1960-1962, and one sunny dawn, when I was at the wheel on the bridge, on the horizon I saw Cocos Island,...
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Discs That Time Forgot
Soundtrack to Misspent Youth:The discs that time forgot.1959: Ben Hewitt: He came, made a few records, then vanished.But for a while he made me happy.Having recently involved myself with the BBC’s...
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When the Sioux Came to Hull
T O T H E E N D O F T H E E A R T H‘And I, to whom so great a vision was given in my youth, you see me now a pitiful old man who has done nothing, for the nation’s hoop is broken and...
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The Skull of Doom.
Seeing Through The Crystal SkullThe Mitchell-Hedges Crystal SkullThere is great treasure there behind our skull and this is true about all of us. This little treasure has great, great powers, and I...
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The Real 007
THE ULTIMATE SPOOKNOVEMBER 5 2015 WILL BE THE 90th ANNIVERSARY OFTHE EXECUTION OF AN ESPIONAGE LEGEND.The Bizarre World of Sidney Reilly – The Real 007.Sidney Reilly: The Man who inspired James...
View ArticleMANUEL a film by Tao Ruspoli
Rest in Peace, Manuel Molina 1948-2015. This wonderful little film explains what Flamenco really is, what it means; a celebration of life, friendship, passion, heritage, culture. These scenes could...
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The Colour of Ice
THE COLOUR OF ICEBloody Vikings. That’s what you needed to be to find any pleasure in this God-forsaken corner of the globe. Hell, they must’ve been tough bastards. A horizon of ice, blizzards which...
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Basement Jack
BASEMENT JACKThere was no colour then. Everything was dark. The black, naked trees stood out against the iron sky like long-legged arthritic spiders. It was always damp, often foggy. There was a smell...
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What the Dickens!
Carol singers, a whiff of chestnuts, frantic last minute shopping, pretentious TV ads for vastly over-priced fragrances. It’s here again, Christmas. But don’t imagine you can relax - there’s the...
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RIP Lemmy: Another Man Done Gone
I was never a massive heavy metal fan, and I found Motorhead's music basic, albeit lively and driven, yet never challenging. However, Lemmy was one of those characters who personified the genre's...
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Old Year, New Year
OLD YEAR, NEW YEARFour seasons, cold, warm, dark, light, Twelve months, the measureThis year of days and nights has passedWith so few thoughts to treasure.The clock’s hands tick on, unstoppableUpon...
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RIP The Thin White Duke
THIS REVOLUTIONWASTELEVISED ...David Bowie and Mick Ronson enjoy dinner on the Train to EternityIt’s hard to believe or even accept David Bowie’s death at the age of 69. There is a theory in left wing...
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Life? Get on with it ...
Life’s for LivingGET ON WITH ITIgnore the creak of limbs,The ache of climbing stairs,Old age is still life;Get on with it.Ignore the failings of the worldIdeas you fought for,Not achieved.Old age is...
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DietHard
To celebrate the launch of this January's annual dieting attempt, I decided to gather a few of my portly comrades to pose with me for a 'before and after' photograph. The annual hope has returned - by...
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Goodnight, Dear Friend.
Goodnight, Gerry. Sweet Dreams.In our dotage now, those of us who once thought that 50 was 'old' age; It isn't. 70+ is old age, and what once seemed like a joke about zimmer frames, incontinence pads...
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Farewell, Sir George, and Thanks.
Once we've lived our three score and ten these things begin to happen. The shafts of sunlight which illuminated our lives vanish, leaving only shadows. What would our culture have been without the...
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