September to December 2006

September 2006

Browsing in Borders in early September - the usual start to the month - and picking up the latest copy of Heritage Commercial - dedicated to old and crusty (and mainly Brit Built!) commercial vehicles - I was amazed to see a photo of me and my big brother along with a few words that I had typed in an e-mail to the mag early in August (which I had forgotten all about!) You can see a bigger version of the article that has remained pretty much as I typed it if you click on the article above. I sent a couple of pics - but I was most displeased that they did not use the old Scammel pic of my dad that you can see on the right - a much better pic I thought. At last - I am published - if only on a letters page. There are pics of Chelford Truck festival as well in the Holiday Gallery should you wish to look at some more big trucks.

The 9th was the annual highlight of the year for Rush nerds from around Europe (I can say that as I know for a fact that there were Scandinavian and Dutch elements there). After going a little bit on a sort of tour in recent years: Brum (mainly prompted by the event clashing with the band's 2004 UK tour dates and show at the Brum NEC) and Leeds, the Eucon returned to its spiritual home - The Crewe Limelight Club (though the hardcore element might argue that Leicester is the true home of the Eucon). This was the tenth year (!) that the Eucon has been running so it would have been difficult to not attend.

As with all the Eucons that I have attended, it started off with Rush Idol. Wullie was doing the rounds with the sign up sheets so I collared him and obviously looked for my usual poison of Freewill - that I have now played at the last three events. Much to my horror, it was not there. I instead went for Subdivisions - I was fairly confident as this is one of my fave Rush tracks of all time - and I have drummed along to it many times using my Ipod and the Roland Kit. I have also stumbled upon a video of Neil Peart playing it from above the kit on youtube.com - I think that it had been lifted off the Anatomy of a Drum Solo video. Despite this confidence, playing in front of an audience is till the best laxative I have ever known in my life. I must say, that despite the train wreck that was the bridge to the first chorus, I was quite pleased with our attempts. The kit provided (by the Drummer of Joe's Band) was a top Premier kit that I was very impressed with. There was a brace of Paiste cymbals as well. The only trouble was that the drummer who owned it was much taller than I and I struggled with how high he had the snare drum (I could not have committed the ultimate faux pas and messed with another drummers set up!). It was only when I saw him later playing with his own band that it was obvious that the kit is set up perfectly for him - intelligent kit design if I have ever saw it. Other highlights from Rush Idol was pretty much all of it - there is something very nice about having a go at this music - complicated as it is - without rehearsal or knowing who you will end up with in your mini band. The real star was the young drummer who played on Working Man - he really did turn it up to 11! Take a look in Gallery Set 03 to see my pics from Rush Idol 2006.

During the interval of Rush Idol, all time Rush Legend, in fact the Goddess of Rush, Donna Halper gave us a nice talk and Q&A about Rush. Donna stumbled across Rush when she was working for WMMS in Cleveland, Ohio. This was way back in..... 1974. She immediately put the first album before the DJ who was working at the time and the phones started to light up with deluded rock fans wanting to know when the new Led Zep album would be out! The track played was Working Man, and consequently my life from the age of about 15 (I was to discover them in 1985) was made brighter. Donna worked hard to get Rush recognised (she introduced the band at the Cleveland, Ohio Gig you can see above on the right) and started to promote the band around other stations. To this day, she has been THE champion of Rush. Donna, we salute you - and we are not worthy. Click on her pic to see her site - includes the full version of the Rush discovery story (the creation!)....

The band of Oor Wullie - Rush Eucon veteran - took the stage next. Joe's band are a seriously good covers band from North of the Border - but they were banned from playing any Rush Tracks. They did however play some seriously good rock covers. Don't Stop Believing by Journey - now there is a song I had forgotten all about. You forget how good these songs were! Good lads - and you can also find pictures of them in the gallery set 03 for Eucon '06.

Counterparts closed the show. These guys hail from Fleetwood and are the newest of the Rush tributes. Their lead singer is Woody - a veteran of Rush Conventions (he sang on Freewill with me playing the drums at the NEC in 2004) who obviously thought he would like to have a go himself. Counterparts are a top Rush Tribute and the little that I did see (I had to come home to feed the dog!) I was very impressed with. The band tackle the material as a 5 piece - the Spirit of Rush, the only 3 piece, have sadly shuffled off this mortal coil. The Counterparts drummer, Rob Stirzaker, played a very impressive kit (that was big enough to mean that the only bit of him on show was his leg!) and they certainly sounded the part. My main regret is that by going early I managed to miss the pirate themed version of 2112 - including audience pirate-themed participation! Pics of the Counterparts set are in set 03 of the Gallery alongside the other eucon pictures.

Went to see The Queen at Runcorn. If you are one of the handfull of people who don't know, this film deals with the aftermath of Diana's death and how it resulted in one of the strangest weeks in the history of the nation. I really was a bit cynical about seeing this film - as cynical as I once was about the Royal Family in general (the behaviour of our elected 'leaders' led me to think that HRH could not really be all that bad after all), but I must concede that this is a very good film. Helen Mirren is the lady herself, and whilst she clearly does not look like the Queen, she has captured her body language so well that the illusion is perfect. Tony Blair is played by Michael Sheen - getting to be the central casting Tony Blair (he also played him in the one-off docu-drama, The Deal) and he really does carry him off to a T. Other star turns would be James Cromwell (i.e Dudley Smith from LA Confidential) as Prince Phillip, who plays a very understated part when you consider the comedy potential. I suppose the HRH emerges with her dignity pretty much intact - go and watch it.

October 2006

Don't want to go on about it, but 1st of the month, Mom and Pop Naylor's house, me and Emma beat them and M&G at Trivial Pursuit in a classic come from behind victory (it was right up there with the Matthews' Final). Just thought I would mention that.

If you just wheel up a few lines you can see that I refer to the death of HRH Diana, mentioning that the film refers to a very strange week in the history of the nation. Well this weeks trip to the cinema (paid for by Mark, thank you very much), refers to a more recent cataclysmic event that has resulted in a pretty strange few years for all of us. It tells the story of two port authority cops who go into the WTC just before the whole thing collapses around them (they were in another smaller building that links the two - in fact one of the guys in question can be seen stood amongst the actors, fourth from left). Instead of being an action packed roller coster ride, the film focuses on these two and their families. I suppose it works on several levels, the family scenes having an almost chick-movie type feel to them, the scenes involving the WTC being good enough to keep the everyone satisfied.

The fact that this film is directed by Oliver Stone is a little bit of a surprise - remember this is the conspiracy nut himself - director of JFK, and you all know how much the conspiracy nuts like the WTC (even more so the attack on the Pentagon). This is Oliver in fairly sensible mode - the watcher is spared a lot of the more horrific things we remember about the day - in particular the people jumping from the towers to escape the flames was only touched on with one piece of what looked like stock footage. There were sounds of what could have been people hitting the floor but we were never shown the true cause. The impact of the planes was only hinted at with the windows of a nearby office block shaking or the shadow of a jet passing overhead. The film is a sensible portrayal of the day and well worth watching - though not for the claustrophobic.

Took myself to Ellesmere Port to see The Departed. This is Martin Scorcese's latest film, and a lot of people are quite pleased that he has re-entered what people to consider to be his home turf - the crime flick. I love a good crime flick, and I also love a good Scorcese film. Casino is my fave film of all time, and Goodfellas has to be in any top ten I draw up. Rather than focusing on the villains themselves, as per the two aforementioned, this film is primarily a cop movie. It is about the Massachusetts State Police in Boston and the ridiculously risky practice of infiltrating crime gangs by serving police officers. Here the local crime boss is played by Jack Nicholson, the cop who is infiltrating him is played by Leonardo DeCaprio - except he does not know that his card is marked by an insider on the Boston PD. It is quite hard to describe this without giving anything away so I will just say that this is a real return to form by Martin. Just mentioning his name attracts many big names to the fold - Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Ray Winston, Matt Damon etc. Yes - a cast to die for, but the scene stealer (apart from Big Jack) would be Mark Wahlberg, who has to the nastiest cop who ever lived (ever). Go and see this film, it shows up all the other garbage that's floating around at the moment.

Two months of getting published! Well - actually just another letter on the letters page - this one was about the Irish Loco I photographed when I was on holiday there in August - the very same loco had been mentioned by them in an article a couple of months ago. Just thought I would type some helpful notes about where to find the loco, and how not to drown if you decide to cross the railway bridge. As it is a rail magazine, it is a bit embarrasing so I will leave it at that.

Myself and Emma rounded off the month by taking the girls, my Oirish nieces, and my 'ickle nephew, George, to Chester Zoo. Good day was had by all, apart from Emma, who I managed to convince had a bat on her back after her foray into the bat-house (the little sods fly right up to your face!). No but seriously folks, it was a nice way to spend a day out. I don't know what to add after I typed so little last time we went. The pictures from this day out are in the gallery - the Holiday and Day Out Set.

November 2006

Now I don't do much around the house. Come to think of it, I never do anything. So when a refit of the drum and computer room finally became inevitable, I decided to take charge. Well, I did until Emma vetoed the paint (which she insisted was pink!) I had bought and whilst demonstrating this in the sunlight, she contrived to drop the tub and get the bloody stuff everywhere (luckily this was in the kitchen - or unluckily when one considers the potential insurance gains from dropping it in the living room). Emma then had to buy the replacement paint - and this turned out to be a Funky Colours™ (by B&Q) metallic effect blue. It was only several square feet into this job that I discovered, with my usual blend of horror, verbally expressed anger and despair, that it was going to take about four tubs to do my tiny refuge out in metallic effect paint. So a quick trip out to Fads (who were having a closing down sale) and a 5 litre tub of cheap and cheerful Blueberry Blue for a fraction of the cost. Result.

Took Emma to see Starter for Ten at Cheshire Oaks. I have always had a soft spot for University Challenge so I had decided that I would be seeing this film as soon as it came out. It is the story of working class student, Brian, who goes to Bristol University and ends up on the University Challenge team. James McAvoy plays our working class hero, Brian. As this is a Brit Com there are the usual themes of romance and friendship, and as the film is set in the 1980's there is loads of eighties music (mainly the Cure - a student staple). I must say that it is a nice little film and I am glad that myself and Emma saw beyond the blockbusters and decided to watch something a little bit different. It does differ from my own student experience as I was as likely to end up on University Challenge as I was the Space Programme, I was ten years older then the next youngest student in my class (better ask Sheena to verify that one for me) and I lived at home with my parents (thus missing out on freezing to death or malnutrition in 1996-1998). Also, my University, Liverpool John Moores (the University formerly known as Liverpool Polytechnic), did appear on University Challenge but they got their asses kicked by one of the big Oxbridge establishments (you know, the ones that get to enter about two dozen of their mickey-mouse colleges into the fray). Also, despite promises that my love life would be that of the average 1960's famous touring beat combo, I scored also very low on the scale on the area. Talking of parents, Brian's mum is played by Catherine Tate and she seems to be turning up in a lot of films at the moment (so she should). The show is stolen by Benedict Cumberbatch (the guy with the maroon sweater on above) who plays the guy that everyone seems to have met in the university logo sweater and the scarf. This is a good piece of British film making and you should consider it if you don't fancy taking the easy option of Borat or Bond.

Sadly our own return (as the legendary Shark Sandwich Quiz Team) to the London Bridge Pub Quiz was not to be quite Starter for Ten. Personally, I still feel that 43 out of 55 is still quite respectable, but we could have done better if we had known that Gold was the westernmost of the British invasion beaches on D-Day (I don't think that even people who were there knew that one) - but worse still if Kate had not come to the rescue with her knowledge of Soloman Grundy. Personally, I think Abby may have unbalanced us - like Faustinio Asprillia unbalanced Keegan's Newcastle United. Sadly, we really were a two word review: Sh*t Sandwich.

December 2006

Had to set up the drum kit, just to make sure everything worked - in particular the new hi-hat stand. it was nice to get the kit all set up as it also meant that I had an excuse to play it. I was a bit rusty, as I may have been spoilt by the forgiving nature of the Roland kit. Still - it has to be said that there is nothing quite like a real drum kit and I enjoyed it all more than the Roland. I closed the session by tuning the kit (went for a seriously tight snare sound) and then taking a couple of photographs. The reason for all this.... read on.

Well, the reason I had to set up the drums to see if everything worked is because I had an apointment with Rubicon. Rubicon are three lads from South Cheshire who have a bit of a Prog thing going (and not the seminal Tangerine Dream Album - I mean it's not spelt the same anyway). I got in touch with David (Bass) through the TNMS Rush discussion board (wherein he is known as Lyth) and said that I might be able to have a go at playing with them. Initially, on being sent a CD I was horrified that the songs revolve around the familiar theme of boy-being-meets-girl-being beneath-the-silvery-moon which then goes into a weird time signature for no adequately explored reason. I considered giving it a miss but later decided to have a go anyway (only after practicing like mad with my iPod cable and the trusty Roland!). So on the morning of Sunday 10th, I loaded the drums into the little Micra (yes, that's right, a nine piece into a Micra) and braved the M6 South Bound. The lads had hired a rehearsal room in Alsager Leisure Centre (not far from Crewe).

I had decided that I would try and be sensible about this and not take a lot of the bells and whistles with me. The reason? Well, I have often found that merely having an item of percussion makes it inevitable that one will use the bugger - thus the first time you arm yourself with a cowbell (or three) it is inevitable that will try and turn every piece into The Trees. Thought that the less distractions that I had the better. Personally I don't think that I gave the best account of myself - the music was really difficult to play, but it was nice to play with other musicians again so I will have another go if they ask! The pictures from this day are to be found in Set 02 of the gallery.

Went to see Eragon in Runcorn. Now, I only really went to see this as there has been no film to fill the gap left by Lord of the Rings (until Jackson gets off his arse and makes the Hobbit or the Silmarillion). Like LOTR it is based on a best selling fantasy novel, but it is a bit closer to Harry Potter than it is to LOTR. The film is set in a world were the dragons (who once kept the peace ) have all been wiped out and a tyrant has taken their place (John Malkovich). - hang on this sounds a little bit like Star Wars. The main star is a young chap called Eragon who discovers a dragon egg. Now the fact that John Malkovich is in it for a total of about five minutes tells us that the sequel must have already been negotiated, and it was a bit more of a kiddy movie than LOTR. Frankly I was a bit dissapointed by it, but I feel this was only due to the fact that LOTR has just set the bar a bit too high for anyone else to get a look in. I think that all future fantasy films should use the new Holy Trilogy as a template and just work off that. Must try harder.

Christmas came again - and I decided that I would be working. Well - I needed the money, not proud of it but that's the way things are. Emma excelled herself (again) with the mother of all chrimbo dinners, therefore removing the need for any breakfast or lunch the next day. Highlight of the prezzie haul are the superb 1970's Leeds United top - as worn by me for many days since. This was the shirt worn by Norman Hunter when he had a massive barny with Francis Lee when Leeds played Derby County circa mid 1970's - you would remember if you have seen it - Norman and Franny, not content to punch lumps off each other on the pitch and get sent off, but also started again on the way to the tunnel - that's when footballers were men goddamn it! Nowadays, any sign of a fist being raised and the player goes to the ground likes he's been hit with a length of scaffold, this was a good old fashioned punch up! Click on the pic of Norman above for a treat (contains graphic images of sideburns, blokes with long hair, perpetually muddy pitches and also Franny Lee and Norman Hunter trying to kill each other).

I also found myself the proud owner of the Replay DVD (Exit Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure and a Show of Hands live videos - transferred to DVD!) - my missus buys very good prezzies! For the unitiated, Exit Stage Left is the 1981 Concert Video that was filmed at Montreal Forum, Grace Under Pressure was filmed at Maple Leaf Gardens for the 1984 tour and A Show of Hands was filmed over here at Birmingham NEC in 1987. All are a superb watch and a nice document of the band in the years that they changed the most - from what many consider their best work (namely Moving Pictures - great tunes with smatterings of Oberheim, Moog and Gibson) to stuff that leaves many cold (namely Hold Your Fire - the keyboard drenched and Charvel Guitar years).

Rounded off 2006 not only by working, but also with a nice victory at Trivial Pursuit (all the other competitors had been drinking). Also a jam session with Mark and Emma - have Roland kit will travel as I threw it in the back of the Micra and took it down to Mark & Gee's. Great fun and a chance to perfect my minimalist drumming (i.e not breaking into YYZ every song). No doubt pix will appear soon of this one-off. Have a nice 2007!

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