Maybe it’s because I’m yet again following the UK Music Charts (for the first time in many a year), but I thought last Saturday night’s Brit Awards, held for the first time in Manchester, was a vintage edition. There were many amazing performances and I recognised the names of just about everyone who was nominated for awards.
The Brits is a very polished affair nowadays, far removed from the mayhem and irreverent behaviour of days gone by, but you still get a few glimpses of it, especially from host Jack Whitehall. But I suppose the music industry is a very polished business nowadays too, with the winners usually alumni from The Brit School. This year was no exception with the big winner of the night being the lovely Olivia Dean. Her The Art Of Loving album has been either near, or at the top of the UK Album Chart since last October. If you like a story song or something quite raucous, this album is not for you, but it certainly seems to have hit the spot for much of the British public. Here is the song from her award winning album that she performed on the night.
This is what Olivia said about the album in an interview with Elle magazine:
I thought that I would like to write an album reflecting on my understanding of love, the last two years of my life, and everything that’s happened. It’s obviously a topic that a lot of people have written songs about, I’m very aware, but I don’t think that takes away from the importance of it.
So, Olivia won the award for Album Of The Year and lo and behold, she also won the award for Song Of The Year for her collaboration with Sam Fender (who himself won the award for best Alternative/Rock Act, for the second year running). I have been remiss in not updating my followers on what has been at the top of the UK Singles Chart for the last two weeks – well, it’s that very song, Rein Me In.
Four weeks ago I wrote about the Grammys and how both Olivia Dean and Lola Young won awards. Here at the Brits, things followed the same pattern as Lola Young also won an award, this time for Breakthrough Artist. Again, like at the Grammys, an artist singing in Spanish won a big award. This time it wasn’t Bad Bunny, but a genre-defying Spanish pop star called ROSALÍA who won the award for International Artist of the Year and delivered a spectacular performance of her song Berghain, for which she brought out the Heritage Orchestra and Björk, who was making her first appearance at The Brit Awards in ten years (at 1:35).
I don’t know about you but I thought that was the performance of the night, and there were plenty this year to choose from. I think we’ll hear a lot more from that particular lady. For the rest of this year’s winners just click on the Brit Awards link at the top of the page.
ROSALÍA and Bjork
I’m posting early this week as we’re heading off to Edinburgh tomorrow to meet up with my two ex-flatmates (they are mentioned around here often) and their husbands. Back in the day we were often a party of six, but back then the partners were different. It seems none of the boyfriends morphed into husbands which is probably a good thing. I don’t think any of them follow the charts, or are particularly interested in who won Brit awards this year, but who knows, they might humour me if I give them the lowdown. We did always watch TOTP however and they will remember that I was always the one who rushed home for The Tube on a Friday after work. A great start to the weekend!
Until next time…
Rein Me In Lyrics (Song by Sam Fender)
I let go of everythin’ I ever had ‘Cause I couldn’t give the love you deserved By The Gunner, you shouted, “Oh, my God” It seemed churlish, but it’s what I was owed, I suppose
Every flagstone of this town bears our prints And all the bars ’round here serve my ghosts and carcasses I wish I knew these things when I was young ‘Cause now I’ve just gone so numb
We take whatever we can to get the reason back So, please, don’t rein me in Don’t rein me in Please, don’t rein me in
I’m workin’ myself up to a nice, warm bliss All my memories of you ring like tinnitus If I stop, it’s just pain Please, don’t rein me in
There’s nothin’ brave in walkin’ alone Love in exile has nowhere to go, so come on home Mm-mm, don’t run away from my tenderness You’re so afraid of that heart inside of your chest
We were doin’ so well, but you were scared to be held Took the easiest way out I see the tears of a man too proud to reach for a hand Oh, let my love keep you safe now
So, please don’t Don’t rein me in Please, don’t rein me in
Now I’m working myself up to a nice, warm bliss All my memories of you ring like tinnitus If I stop, it’s just pain Please, don’t rein me in
And I’m, I’m stood here chewin’ everyone’s lugs off Telling everybody how much I – it up Telling everybody how much I – it up Telling everybody but you, how much I – it up
Slow down (don’t rein me in) Slow down (don’t rein me in) Don’t
And I’m workin’ myself up to a nice, warm bliss All my memories of you ring like tinnitus If I stop, it’s just pain Please, don’t rein me in
Now I’m workin’ myself up to a nice, warm bliss (workin’ myself) All my memories of you ring like tinnitus (my memories of you) If I stop, it’s just pain Please, don’t rein me in
My routine of late has been to post something new on a Saturday but yesterday was fully booked what with meeting old friends for a long brunch, and then a hairdressing appointment. Both things went really well as the girls I met up with (we’ll always be girls however old we get) were the people I shared an office with 25 years ago when I first went back to work after having DD. As for my hairdresser I’ve been going to the same one since we moved to our current house 27 years ago, so she knows me well, and there is always lots to catch up on.
But yesterday was Valentine’s Day I hear you say – shouldn’t you have been getting all romantic with Mr WIAA. Well probably, but after 37 years together it’s not such a big deal nowadays, and anyway, The Cairngorms offered up the best day of the year yesterday, so Mr WIAA hotfooted it down to the slopes for a day of snowboarding. Come evening we got together to exchange cards and share an M&S Dine In For Two. And they say romance is dead!
Interestingly, a new celebration has been coined for the 13th February – Galentine’s Day, when you meet up with your female chums (the gals). I was a day too late but DD did just that this year on Friday night – any excuse to dress up, sip cocktails and listen to silly love songs!
Silly Love Songs by Wings:
But back to Mr WIAA and the snowboarding. Whilst he doesn’t much like to watch sport, but rather get out and do it, I am a bit of a couch Maris Piper when it comes to sport and I am loving the Winter Olympics held this time around in Italy. After a bit of a podium drought and disappointment during the first week, we’ve now finally got some medals and both of them are gold. I also know some people think the sport of Curling is like watching paint dry, but we tend to be really good at it here in Scotland and two Olympic medallists live locally. We narrowly missed out on a medal last week in the mixed doubles but I am hopeful there are still opportunities left for medals in that sport.
Not many songs about Winter Sports and Curling but last time I wrote about the Winter Olympics I shared this clip as I am a great fan of the Carpenters and the video for their cover of Ticket To Ride is set in a winter wonderland. Their version was originally recorded in 1969 but then re-recorded for their first Greatest Hits album in 1973. The long piano intro means it doesn’t really kick in until 0:35, but in the capable hands of Karen Carpenter, the line “I think I’m gonna be sad” sounds truly convincing.
Ticket To Ride by The Carpenters:
But this is a music blog so what have I been listening to this week? Although I wrote about the Grammy Awards last week I didn’t mention that the big winner of the night was a Hispanic artist called Bad Bunny, and he was chosen to be the half-time act during the Super Bowl final last Sunday. I’m afraid I know next to nothing about American Football but I do know that these half-time performances are often very memorable and we hear about them in the following days. Mr Bunny’s performance will be remembered for a long time, and in my humble opinion, for all the right reasons.
First of all the POTUS didn’t like it, claiming he was “not an American artist” – ignoring Puerto Rico’s status as a US territory. I can’t show a clip here but you can watch the whole performance on YouTube – Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl. His Grammy-winning album was recorded entirely in Spanish and he also sang in that language on the night. To understand why his whole performance caused the administration to get in a bit of a flutter you’ll have to read the news stories about it, but for many American citizens it was important.
Here is an excerpt from an article by Michael Quintana for the Idaho Statesman: For young viewers, especially Latino children and first-generation Americans, this moment was more than representation. It was affirmation. It said that success does not require erasing your roots or shrinking your identity… At its core, Bad Bunny’s halftime show reminded the country of a truth that often gets lost in political noise: Latino culture is not separate from American culture. It is woven into it. Spanish belongs here. Immigrants belong here. And the stories of those communities are not side notes to the American narrative. They are essential chapters. In a divided and uncertain moment, this performance offered clarity. Representation is not symbolic. It is powerful. And when it appears on a stage this large, it has the ability to reshape who feels seen, who feels heard and who feels they truly belong.
And here is the moment when Bad Bunny finds out he won the big one at the Grammys. Very emotional, for everyone.
Until next time…
Silly Love Songs Lyrics (Song by Paul McCartney/Linda McCartney)
You’d think that people would have had enough of silly love songs But I look around me And I see it isn’t so Some people want to fill the world With silly love songs And what’s wrong with that? I’d like to know Cos here I go again
I love you, I love you I love you, I love you
Ah, I can’t explain The feeling’s plain to me Now can’t you see? Ah, she gave me more She gave it all to me Now can’t you see? What’s wrong with that? I need to know Cos here I go again
I love you, I love you
Love doesn’t come in a minute Sometimes it doesn’t come at all I only know that when I’m in it It isn’t silly, no, it isn’t silly Love isn’t silly at all
How can I tell you about my loved one? How can I tell you about my loved one? How can I tell you about my loved one? How can I tell you about my loved one?
I love you, I love you I love you, I love you
Ah, I can’t explain The feeling’s plain to me Say, can’t you see?
Ah, he gave me more He gave it all to me Say, can’t you see?
Postscript
For those of you following my updates, another change at the top of the UK Singles Chart this week. Probably because of his success at the Grammys and the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny now has a song at the No. 4 spot, but the No. 1 this week is held by Taylor Swift with yet another song from her Life Of A Showgirl album, Opalite. It’s been in the chart since last October but this is the first time it’s reached the top spot. As I predicted Harry Styles only stayed at No. 1 for one week so Dave (ft. Tems) recovered their top position last week. Who knows what next week will bring?
And here’s a postscript to the postscript. If you go right to the end of the Opalite video you’ll see that it came about as a bit of a challenge on the Graham Norton Show. The five other guests on the sofa the night Taylor appeared, were all cast in the video. Domhnall Gleeson jokingly suggested it because of his dancing so Taylor obliged, and added the others too. She’s a creative type that Taylor Swift.
The first few months of a new year in the world of the arts is known as Awards Season and this week it was the turn of the Grammys to give out their prizes for outstanding achievements in music. Unlike with our homegrown Brit Awards, I don’t often recognise the names of those nominated, but we usually have a few artists from the UK who do well and this year was no exception. Incidentally, the reason the trophy depicts a gilded gramophone, is because at their inception back in 1959, they were called the “Gramophone Awards”. I don’t think many of today’s winners will have ever seen a gramophone in real life but if you ever look at the HMV (His Master’s Voice) label you will see one there too.
A Grammy trophy and the painting used for the HMV label (featuring Nipper the dog from Bristol)
A year and a half ago I knew nothing of what was current in the world of music and even made a faux pas here in 2024 when I said that DD had asked for an album by someone called Messy for her Christmas present. Once I did a bit of research I realised there was no contemporary artist called Messy but there was an album of the same name by someone called Olivia Dean and a song of the same name by someone called Lola Young, both Brits. It was the Olivia album that DD wanted and it seems she was ahead of the curve as this 2023 Messy album didn’t hang around in the charts for long, but it did set Olivia up for her second album called the Art Of Loving which has done really well for her. This week she won the Grammy for Best New Artist. Here is an example of what Olivia does best – So Easy (To Fall In Love). I don’t think I ever wore a dress like that to the office!
But back to my faux pas. The song called Messy that I found out about when trying to discover DD’s elusive artist, ended up giving Lola Young the Grammy for Best Solo Pop Performance. By the time we headed into 2025 I did get to know this song quite well as Lola ended up being Mr WIAA’s favourite new discovery of the year. We both have our own computers in our little office and often sit side by side. During our tea-breaks we show each other YouTube clips of new music we love and whilst my favourite artist at that time was definitely Chappell Roan, his was always Lola with her song. (Warning: some swearing in this video.)
Messy by Lola Young:
Lola explained the song in an interview, saying Messy is an ADHD anthem. It showcases everything she felt during her last relationship but also about how she feels about herself in general – being too messy one day then too clean the next, struggling to find a balance in herself. It’s about embracing imperfections and finding strength in who she is, scatty or not.
Brian Denney of Atwood Magazine wrote: “Messy is a beautiful display of Young’s gritty vocals and world-class lyrical storytelling. As a listener, it plays out as if you are watching the singer leave an angry voicemail to her lover, simply fed up with the irrationality of trying to please a partner who will never be satisfied.”
For anyone interested in who the other British winners were at the Grammys, here is the lowdown.
Best pop duo/group performance Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity
Best dance/electronic album FKA Twigs – Eusexua
Best rock performance Yungblud ft Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello, Adam Wakeman, II – Changes (Live From Villa Park) Back To The Beginning
Best alternative music album The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
Best alternative music performance The Cure – Alone
How great that a band who have been around since 1976 won its first ever awards. The Cure won both the categories they were nominated for. Sadly they were absent from the ceremony due to their attendance at the funeral for their bandmate Perry Bamonte, who died in December.
Here’s a conversation blogger Jez once shared over at his wonderful place, and I’ve never forgotten it. Hope you don’t mind if I use it Jez?
Meg: I passed Robert Smith in a corridor at the BBC once, and he was dressed as Robert Smith…
Jez: Sorry, what do you mean, ‘dressed as Robert Smith’?
Meg: You know, his hair was all over the place, loads of mascara, slightly wonky lipstick…
Jez: But you’re describing Robert Smith to me. Are you saying he doesn’t always look like that?
Meg: Well, yes. He can’t look like that all the time, or he’d always be getting stopped. He must dress like Robert Smith out of The Cure only when he’s being Robert Smith out of The Cure, surely?
It was something which had never occured to me before, but the more I think about it, the more I think Meg’s probably right. Much as I’d like to imagine Robert Smith popping to the shops to buy some toilet roll dressed as Robert Smith out of The Cure, he probably doesn’t. He probably just wears the eyeliner and passes on the lipstick.
Thanks Jez – I still find that exchange quite funny but also makes you think about the delineation between the artist and the man.
Robert Smith sans makeup
Until next time…
Messy Lyrics(again some swearing) (Song by Carter Lang/Scott Zhang/Lola Young/Conor Luke Dickinson)
You know I’m impatient So why would you leave me waitin’ outside the station When it was like minus four degrees? And I, I get what you’re sayin’ I just really don’t wanna hear it right now Can you shut up for like once in your life?
Listen to me, I took your nice words of advice about How you think I’m gonna die lucky if I turn 33 Okay, so yeah, I smoke like a chimney I’m not skinny, and I pull a Britney every other week But cut me some slack, who do you want me to be?
‘Cause I’m too messy, and then I’m too fucking clean You told me, “Get a job, ” then you ask where the hell I’ve been And I’m too perfect ’til I open my big mouth I want to be me, is that not allowed? And I’m too clever, and then I’m too fucking dumb You hate it when I cry, unless it’s that time of the month And I’m too perfect ’til I show you that I’m not A thousand people I could be for you, and you hate the fucking lot
You hate the fucking lot You hate the fucking lot You hate, you hate
It’s taking you ages You still don’t get the hint, I’m not askin’ for pages But one text or two would be nice And please, don’t pull those faces When I’ve been out working my arse off all day It’s just one bottle of wine or two
But, hey, you can’t even talk You smoke weed just to help you sleep Then why you out gettin’ stoned at four o’clock? And then you come home to me And don’t say hello, ’cause I got high again And forgot to fold my clothes
‘Cause I’m too messy, and then I’m too fucking clean You told me, “Get a job, ” then you ask where the hell I’ve been And I’m too perfect ’til I open my big mouth I want to be me, is that not allowed? And I’m too clever, and then I’m too fucking dumb You hate it when I cry, unless it’s that time of the month And I’m too perfect ’til I show you that I’m not A thousand people I could be for you, and you hate the fucking lot
You hate the fucking lot You hate the fucking lot
Oh-ooh, and I’m too messy, and then I’m too fucking clean You told me, “Get a job, ” then you ask where the hell I’ve been And I’m too perfect ’til I open my big mouth I want to be me, is that not allowed? And I’m too clever, and then I’m too fucking dumb You hate it when I cry, unless it’s that time of the month And I’m too perfect ’til I show you that I’m not A thousand people I could be for you, and you hate the fucking lot
You hate the fucking lot You hate the fucking lot You hate the fucking lot You hate the fucking lot
A shorter post from me today as it’s the last day of the month and we haven’t yet made use of our National Trust for Scotland membership cards, received from DD as a Christmas present. Most castles and stately homes stay closed until April but the Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre near us is open, so we’ll head up there shortly. For those not in the know, it’s the site of the last pitched battle fought on British soil where the 1745 Jacobite Rising came to a tragic end. Lots of people from around the world come to visit now because of the popularity of the television drama Outlander and the show’s hero, Jamie Fraser, means that the stone marking where Clan Fraser fell is now surrounded by flowers and tributes. Anyway, we’re determined to visit at least one site per month this year so we’re just fitting in this first one before we get to February. I’ve shared quite a few songs from Outlander in this blog over the years but not yet set up a category for it on my sidebar. I’ll put that right forthwith.
But the dashing Jamie Fraser (played by Sam Heughan) is not who I’ve been thinking about this week. Oh no, this week has been all about those five boys from the North of England who formed the band Take That in 1990. Their 3-part Netflix documentary aired this week and I’ve already watched it twice (sneakily, once Mr WIAA has gone to bed). By coincidence this was also the week when former band member Robbie Williams found out he has now overtaken the Beatles in having achieved the most UK No. 1 albums. I don’t know how I feel about that but there is no doubt, once he broke free from the shackles of Take That, he went from strength to strength as an artist and certainly has had longevity.
Despite the fact I was in my early 30s when Take That came along, I have always been a fan and even bought their first album Take That & Party in cassette form when on honeymoon with Mr WIAA. The documentary covered every stage of their career, from the early days when they unbelievably played school assemblies, to Robbie leaving, the calling it quits, and then the journey from when they reformed in 2006 to the present day. There was a lot of never-before-seen footage and voice-overs from the various band members. All of them have had periods of depression, some whilst still in the band and others after they broke up. How indeed can you go back to a normal life after the pop stardom they achieved in the 90s? Howard for one contemplated suicide.
But on a happier note, they are now all older and wiser with families and responsibilities that make life that little bit more normal when they are not performing. The current 3-piece Take That have been going since 2014 after Jason Orange left, and that’s the longest period they’ve had the same line-up since they started. But here’s a reminder of their very first hit in the UK, a cover version of Tavares song It Only Takes A Minute. Gary felt like a failure as none of his self-penned songs had been a success but after this single they were on a roll with Gary writing all of their material from then on.
But this is not the only reason I am writing about Take That. I have a big birthday this year (although not at big as it should have been as I was born two months and one day too late to get my age-related remuneration from the state at 66, so I have to wait another three months) and for the next four years I’m going to pack in as many adventures as I can. God willing I’ll still be having adventures after that too, but looking around me you just never know so it’s all systems go. With that in mind I have already booked an Italian adventure for September which I will no doubt write about in due course, and many short breaks dotted all over the country. At the end of last year there was much hoopla surrounding the announcement that Take That would yet again be performing The Circus Live tour, based on their previous tour of the same name, in Summer 2026. I would have wanted to go last time as it looked so spectacular but I didn’t have that kind of lifestyle back in 2009 so this year we’re going. They will be 17 years older, with a fair bit of grey hair, but I hear they are all working on their fitness and unicycle skills so I am optimistic it will be just as good.
The Garden by Take That:
This was the first time I have ever tried to buy tickets from an online site where you have to be totally on the ball as soon as they go live, otherwise they can sell out before you even get to the checkout. Mr WIAA and I had done a few trial runs ahead of schedule to make sure we knew all the steps involved so at the appointed hour we dived in. I was the first to get to the checkout and amazingly got two tickets for the area right in front of the stage at Glasgow’s Hampden Park. I thought our friends might want to come with us so dived in again, madly clicking on all the boxes, and got two more tickets. I had thought they would sell out quickly so couldn’t believe I now had four tickets – then I discovered I’d booked them for the following night by mistake. No matter I thought, we’re bound to have friends or family who might want to buy them from us, so I dived in again and got another two tickets for the correct night.
As it turns out none of our friends and family do want our spare tickets and there are even ones still to be had on the booking site. Perhaps Take That’s Circus Tour is not as popular as I had thought it would be now that they, and their fans, are well into middle age. Whatever, I now have a four ticket surfeit so if any of my blogging buddies have an inkling to see what this tour is all about you know where to come. I suspect they are not every middle-aged music blogger’s cup of tea, but as long as I see Mark Owen’s lovely smile up there on stage I’ll be happy. He was always my favourite.
The lovely Mark Owen of Take That
Before I go I will mention another heartthrob from a boy band who has gone on to great things since going solo. I am taking my role seriously of updating my followers on changes at the top of the UK Singles Chart, and yesterday I found out that Harry Styles had gone straight in at No. 1 with the first single released from his new album. I don’t think it’s as strong as his previous chart singles but he does have legions of fans who will be playing it continuously I’m sure, thus it’s success. Here is Harry with Aperture.
Right, my NTS membership card is burning a hole in my pocket so I’m off to the battlefield. There will be plenty of images of Jamie Fraser in the gift shop I’m sure. Take That or Harry Styles – not so much.
Until next time…
Aperture Lyrics (Song by Harry Styles, Kid Harpoon)
Take no prisoners for me I’m told you’re elevating Drinks go straight to my knees I’m sold, I’m going on clean I’m going on clean
I’ve no more tricks up my sleeve Game called review the player Time codes and Tokyo scenes Bad boys, it’s complicated It’s complicated
It’s best you know what you don’t Aperture lets the light in It’s best you know what you don’t Aperture lets the light in
We belong together It finally appears it’s only love We belong together We belong together It finally appears it’s only love We belong together
In no good state to receive Go forth, ask questions later Trap doors, you’re toying with me Dance halls, another cadence
It’s best you know what you don’t Aperture lets the light in
We belong together It finally appears it’s only love We belong together It finally appears We belong together It finally appears it’s only love We belong together
I won’t stray from it I don’t know these spaces Time won’t wait on me I wanna know what safe is I won’t stray from it I don’t know these spaces Time won’t wait on me I won’t stray from it I don’t know these spaces Time won’t wait on me I wanna know what safe is I won’t stray from it I don’t know these spaces Time won’t wait on me
We belong together It finally appears it’s only love We belong together It finally appears We belong together It finally appears it’s only love We belong together
Postscript
I did make it to the battlefield yesterday and took this shot. A solitary reminder of what life was like in 1746 at the time of the famous battle.
I also discovered that the Duke of Cumberland who led the Government Forces at Culloden was aged only 24. There were Scottish Clans fighting on both sides so the history is certainly not black and white. In the aftermath of the battle however life was tough for Highlander Scots. The wearing of tartan was banned and the Clan system was decimated.
Well, I didn’t know if I could do it but I have timed things to perfection and this will be my 500th post, just ahead of this blog’s 10th birthday, which is tomorrow. 500 posts in 10 years won’t seem like a lot to some of the daily bloggers, but my efforts are usually quite long, require a fair bit of research, and at times I’ve been MIA (regular followers know why), so I’m quite chuffed with myself. Of course the fact I wrote 100 posts in my first 10 months of blogging shows that I’ve really slowed down over the years, but 50 posts per year seems like a good average to me. I hope to get an achievement badge from the WordPress people once I press the publish button on this one, and a birthday badge tomorrow!
I started this blog, by coincidence, the day we heard the news that David Bowie had died, so it was inevitable my first post would feature him. I had planned to write about “music and memories” – pick a song from my past and write about what life was like back then, with a few musical anecdotes thrown in. The decade I was most invested in chart music was the 1970s, as anyone born right at the start of the ’60s will probably agree. The songs you listen to then stay with you for life, and in a Pop Quiz, I am the expert on the Top 30 for those years.
And so it came to pass, on day one of the blog, I was writing a tribute for one of the few true icons (that word is used far too loosely nowadays) this country has ever produced. It didn’t take long for me to realise this would become a pattern as if I was getting older, my pop idols of the ’70s would be getting even older. David Bowie died of cancer, on this day in 2016 at the relatively young age of 69. We didn’t ever have to watch him get really old and infirm which is a bit of a blessing, and right up until his death he was still crowned the best-dressed Briton in history. I’m sure, however, his family would have liked to have had him around for a lot longer.
The very first song I shared around here was therefore Life On Mars? and I have pretty much shared a Bowie song every year since on this date. The film for Life On Mars? (we didn’t yet call them videos) still looks pretty avant-garde today, 53 years on. This leads me to believe I was born at just the right time for a life-long fascination with the theatre, frills and falderals of pop music. In the 1960s we watched our favourite pop stars in black and white, and in the main, especially on UK prime time telly, they were dressed fairly conservatively – men in suits and women in those evening dresses that looked a bit like nighties. It was starting to change at the tail end of the decade but once we started to watch them in colour at the start of the 1970s, glam rock had really taken hold in Britain, and boy were we in for a treat. David Bowie was definitely the most flamboyant but we also had T. Rex, Sweet, Slade and Roxy Music. What a great time to be entering our teenage years and I know many of my blogging pals still hold those years very dear indeed.
Life On Mars? by David Bowie:
Here is something I haven’t mentioned before – last summer I started following the Official UK Charts again, and I get an email every Friday at 6pm telling me what’s changed since the week before. As the months have gone by I’ve become familiar with the runners and riders, but because we consume our music so differently nowadays, via streaming mainly, the charts are nothing like the ones my friends and I used to follow with avid interest in our teens. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the Top 10 was hogged by only three artists, Taylor Swift (with three songs from her The Life of a Showgirl album), Olivia Dean (with three songs from her The Art of Loving album) and three songs from the stars of the animated film, KPop Demon Hunters (the most watched film in Netflix history). The song Golden stayed at the top spot for weeks in the autumn of last year, performed by the fictional, animated, K-pop girl group Huntrix (the first time this had happened since the Archies achieved the same feat in 1969 with Sugar, Sugar).
I don’t think K-pop is really for my generation (you don’t say!) but for the youngsters of today, it seems all pervasive. During the month of December the Top 10 stayed pretty much the same with Wham!’s song at the top spot, Mariah Carey as runner-up and the usual suspects filling the other slots (all songs from 40-60 years ago). Now we are into the new year we’ve had a song that’s been sitting around the Top 10 for quite a while finally reach the top spot (Raye’sWhere Is My Husband!), and yesterday I got an email telling me that it had been replaced by someone called Djo. Who the heck is that I thought, and blow me down, if it isn’t the musical moniker of Stranger Things actor Joe Keery, aka the handsome Steve Harrington. His song End of Beginning was originally released in 2022 and has hovered around the lower rungs of the chart since then, but with Season 5 just having ended his fan base have taken to streaming his song in big numbers. Another Netflix show that has influenced our UK Singles Chart. Here is Joe/Djo with his song.
Well I don’t know about you, but I think the Top 10 of my teenage years was far more innovative and interesting, with big change happening every week. In the interests of research however I will keep tabs on things and give all of you who would rather poke your eye out with a sharp stick than listen to the current Top 10, an update!
I didn’t really expect my 500th post to go this way but I often don’t know what I’m going to write about until I sit down at my computer. The really great thing that’s happened since I started this game 10 years ago, is that I’ve made an awful lot of new like-minded friends, both virtual and in the real world, which I certainly didn’t expect. There are regular features I join in with, like Rol’s Saturday Snapshots, John’s Photo Challenge and Ernie’s Pun Fun. We’ve had four quite big BlogCons in cities all over the UK and a fair few mini meetups with two or three bloggers. It’s not how we made new friends in the old days, but it’s how things happen nowadays, so maybe I shouldn’t be so dismissive of how the teens of today operate.
I’m definitely going to keep going, and if I’m spared I’ll aim for another 500 posts in 10 years. Whether blogging and WordPress will still be around at that point is anyone’s guess, but I hope it survives in some form.
To end, I really think I should share something else by David Bowie on this, the anniversary of his death. Here he is singing 1977’s Heroes [starts at 1:00] at Live Aid in 1985. There is no bright blue eye-shadow this time, but just like in the film above, his hair is tinged with red and he is sporting a well-cut pale blue suit – an homage I suspect. I still have my copy of Words magazine from when the song Heroes was released and back then they wrote, “Of all our current top rock stars, David Bowie is the one most likely to remain a major musical force decades hence… .” And they continue, “Listening to this [Heroes], you realise that Bowie’s strength and durability lies in the fact he refuses to fit neatly into any specific category. He will constantly surprise even his most dedicated followers, while maintaining an unvarying high quality of performance.” They weren’t wrong.
Heroes by David Bowie:
Until next time…
Heroes Lyrics (Song by David Bowie/Brian Eno)
I, I will be king And you, you will be queen Though nothing, will drive them away We can beat them, just for one day We can be heroes, just for one day
And you, you can be mean And I, I’ll drink all the time ‘Cause we’re lovers, and that is a fact Yes, we’re lovers, and that is that
Though nothing, will keep us together We could steal time, just for one day We can be heroes, forever and ever What’d you say?
I, I wish you could swim Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim Though nothing, nothing will keep us together We can beat them, forever and ever Oh, we can be heroes, just for one day
I, I will be king And you, you will be queen Though nothing will drive them away We can be heroes, just for one day We can be us, just for one day
I, I can remember (I remember) Standing, by the wall (by the wall) And the guns, shot above our heads (over our heads) And we kissed, as though nothing could fall (nothing could fall) And the shame, was on the other side
Oh, we can beat them, forever and ever Then we could be heroes, just for one day We can be heroes We can be heroes We can be heroes Just for one day
We can be heroes We’re nothing, and nothing will help us Maybe we’re lying, then you better not stay But we could be safer, just for one day Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Postscript
I did get my achievement badge for publishing 500 posts so have edited it in above. Yeah me.
I’ve left this until the last minute, but like last year on this day, I wanted to share my favourite things of 2025 before we cross that imaginary line that takes us into “next year”.
Music
I really should start with music as this is supposedly a music blog, although it definitely veers into other territory most of the time. This is the first year that I’ve not shared my thoughts about the Brit Awards that took place back in March. This is when I find out about all those artists that may have slipped under my radar, and if I have heard of them, it means I can put a face to the name.
Charlie XCX and Sabrina Carpenter
As usual there were some stunning performances on the night, although not from this year’s big winner, Charli XCX, as she apparently wanted to enjoy the show rather than feel the pressure of having to perform. Personally I just don’t get her kind of music but I don’t think she’s really targeting my demographic. An artist who did perform on the night, Sabrina Carpenter, seems to target young girls which I find quite frightening. She looks like an ’80s Page 3 girl, always seeming to dress in her underwear, and her poppy hits are instantly forgettable. I did enjoy American, Teddy Swims, who sounded a bit like Rag ‘N’ Bone Man and also Ezra Collective who performed a collaboration with Jorja Smith. There’s always a party going on when Ezra are on stage and they won the award for Best British Group of the year. They certainly justified their win with their performance at Glastonbury, later in the year.
When it came to the award for Best International Artist, that statuette went to Chappell Roan, who was my favourite new discovery of the year. I’ve not yet done a deep dive into her material but this song, although heavily played on the radio, stuck with me. Pink Pony Club is a story song that was written in 2019 but became a hit in 2024-2025. Roan’s debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, released in 2023, was met with widespread acclaim and praised by music critics for its “bold and emotionally charged nature”. I think she’ll be around for some time.
Film
Right at the start of this year I wrote about the Robbie Williams biopic and said it could well turn out to be my favourite film of the year. 12 months on it turns out I was right. I’m not generally a fan of biopics as we usually know the star’s life story already and why watch an actor sing and dance their way through the film when we can still watch plenty of footage of them via other means. Also, it’s often a highly edited version of the star’s life and only from the age of adulthood. All that was turned on its head in Better Man as Robbie was played by a CGI chimp. It sounds ridiculous but you get used to it incredibly quickly and the 8-year-old Robbie/chimp is very, very cute. The story takes us up to Robbie’s concert at the Royal Albert Hall around the time of his Swing While Your Winning album and despite the fact he has had to face his many demons along the way (the messy side of addition is not shied away from), at this point in his career he has made peace with himself and those closest to him. If you haven’t seen it yet, give it a try, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
My other favourite films of this year are as follows:
A Complete Unknown (the Bob Dylan biopic – written about here) Conclave (life imitates art – a BAFTA winner about the machinations that surround the choosing of a new Pope) Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (the third film in the murder/mystery series – currently on Netflix)
Books
Since instigating “Reading Hour” in our house at the start of 2024, I’ve read more books than I usually would in a year (I would thoroughly recommend it if you can find that elusive hour). My favourites of 2025 are as follows:
Butter – Asako Yuzuki (set in Tokyo, you learn a lot about Japanese culture)
The Writing On The Wall – Jenny Eclair (a 16-year-old girl of today magically finds herself in her own bedroom, in her own house, but in 1976 – I was 16 in 1976 so I loved the descriptions of the differences between girls then and now)
Here One Moment – Liane Moriarty (set in Australia it flips back and forth in time telling the story of the protagonist’s life, solving a puzzle as we go)
Cher: The Memoir Part 1 – Cher and others (I got this one free on my Kindle and although at first it felt like a lot of Cher anecdotes rolled into one, I became fascinated by her life story – we’ve only got to 1980 when she returned to acting, so I eagerly await Part 2)
Television
As ever, especially since Covid, a lot of telly-watching has been done in the living room of WIAA Towers this year. We have our favourite sofa spots to watch telly from and I fear the day will come when we morph into Maris Pipers. My Top 10 dramas of the year are as follows (Top 5 in bold):
SAS Rogue Heroes; Miss Austen; Toxic Town; Adolescence; This City Is Ours; The Bombing Of Pan Am 103; Blue Lights; Riot Women; Trigger Point; Shetland.
I am fully aware there have been other exceptional dramas on streaming channels we don’t subscribe to, but hey, we can’t have them all. We’ll catch them at some point no doubt. The drama that caused the biggest furore this year was Adolescence which was a remarkable piece of television where each of its episodes was shot in one continuous take. The story centres on 13-year-old schoolboy, Jamie Miller played by Owen Cooper, who is arrested after the murder of a girl in his school. Investigations at Jamie’s school and interviews by a forensic psychologist uncover Jamie’s views towards women associated with the “manosphere”, and the mockery he has received via social media. His poor family have to cope with the backlash from the community and work together to cope with the situation. It certainly was an eye-opener into the world of contemporary teens and I ended up watching it three times.
A shout out too for Shetland which until recently, I thought only went out in Scotland. It’s been going for a long time now, and has had a change of personnel, but I still think it’s one of the best crime dramas on telly. The last series finished recently and release was limited to one episode per week (like the old days). I was kind of excited all day ahead of the final episode airing and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
I’ve never been to Shetland but my friend’s husband covers the Northern Isles as part of his job, so she’s gone up with him twice recently on the ferry from Aberdeen to visit all the locations featured in the show. The Police Station is apparently a Council building but Jimmy Perez’s old house (in the water) is easily identifiable.
Sport
A new category for the review, but there were some fantastic sporting achievements this year, which if you’re a fan, would have given you a real high.
I’ll work backwards, but if you watched the Scotland v Denmark football match that took us through to next year’s World Cup in North America, it would have had you jumping in the air with joy. It’s 28 years since we’ve been at the World Cup finals and a generation of young men and women will experience it for the first time. It was tense for a long time when the match could have gone either way, but with two goals scored right at the end in injury time, the win was decisive and the Tartan Army will be looking out their kilts in readiness. No Scotland, No Party!
Earlier in the year, the England Women’s Football Team won the Euros after a nail-biting penalty shoot-out. And, the England Women’s Rugby Team won the World Cup. They’re definitely both showing the boys how things should be done.
Finally in this section, I’ll have to mention that back in April, Rory McIlroy won the Masters golf tournament in Atlanta. We were actually having a reunion that weekend with my two ex-flatmates and their husbands, who both play golf, so after our dinner we had to retreat to the bar at the back of our hotel in Pitlochry to watch the final round live. Mr WIAA definitely doesn’t play golf, not do I, but of course we did know of Rory’s prowess on the fairway so enjoyed watching the drama unfold. Rory did win after a play-off, which really was a big deal, as it means he is: one of only six players to have won all four big tournaments; the only European; and the first person to do so since since Tiger Woods in 2000.
Theatre/Concerts
I wrote recently about my trip to London to see ABBA Voyage (link here) so I won’t go there again. I’ve not actually been to our local theatre that often this year which is unusual for me but I did really enjoy the NTL showing of Dr Strangelove starring Steve Coogan. I don’t know quite how he did it but he managed to play four characters. The play is based on the 1964 film of the same name by Stanley Kubrick, adapted for the stage by Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley. Well worth a watch.
So there we have it, my review of the year in terms of what I’ve watched, read and listened to. Hopefully I’ve given you some recommendations.
At the end of last year I wrote that I was sad to see it end, as it had been such a good one. To be honest, I kind of feel that way again which is a bit of a worry as I don’t know how long my luck will hold out. We have a new puppy in the family who is a joy, I still love volunteering at the charity shop, I’ve had lots of reunions with friends and family, and my garden has looked spectacular (my top hobby this last summer). We have lost my mum, but as anyone who has had a relative with Alzheimer’s knows, it can become a blessing when they pass. A horrible, horrible disease.
I’ve just managed to get this one finished before I have my Hogmanay drink. A cocktail made by Mr WIAA. Happy New Year when it comes!
Until next time…
Pink Pony Club Lyrics (Song by Daniel Nigro/Kayleigh Rose Amstutz)
I know you wanted me to stay But I can’t ignore the crazy visions of me in LA And I heard that there’s a special place Where boys and girls can all be queens every single day
I’m having wicked dreams of leaving Tennessee Hear Santa Monica, I swear it’s calling me Won’t make my mama proud, it’s gonna cause a scene She sees her baby girl, I know she’s gonna scream
God, what have you done? You’re a pink pony girl And you dance at the club Oh mama, I’m just having fun On the stage in my heels It’s where I belong down at the
Pink Pony Club I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Pony Club I’m gonna keep on dancing down in West Hollywood I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Pony Club, Pink Pony Club
I’m up and jaws are on the floor Lovers in the bathroom and a line outside the door Blacklights and a mirrored disco ball Every night’s another reason why I left it all
I thank my wicked dreams a year from Tennessee Oh, Santa Monica, you’ve been too good to me Won’t make my mama proud, it’s gonna cause a scene She sees her baby girl, I know she’s gonna scream
God, what have you done? You’re a pink pony girl And you dance at the club Oh mama, I’m just having fun On the stage in my heels It’s where I belong down at the
Pink Pony Club I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Pony Club I’m gonna keep on dancing down in West Hollywood I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Pony Club, Pink Pony Club
Don’t think I’ve left you all behind Still love you and Tennessee You’re always on my mind And mama, every Saturday I can hear your southern drawl a thousand miles away, saying
God, what have you done? You’re a pink pony girl And you dance at the club Oh mama, I’m just having fun On the stage in my heels It’s where I belong down at the
Pink Pony Club I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Pony Club I’m gonna keep on dancing down in West Hollywood I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Pony Club, Pink Pony Club
I’m gonna keep on dancing I’m gonna keep on dancing
I feel under pressure. My objective was to have pressed the publish button on 500 posts before this blog reaches its 10th birthday at the beginning of January, but I am now way behind schedule with seven still to write. As regular followers will know, there is a good reason for that, but as I still plan to reach my goal, I’d better get a wiggle on. Time for a web-diary type post.
It’s only 12 days ’til Christmas but I’ve not started thinking about it yet so no festive songs this time. Instead I’ll write about the other big things that have being going on around here over the last three weeks, starting with the trip to London we were advised to still go ahead with despite my mum’s passing. It had been planned for ages and it would be a while until her funeral service so it was a nice respite.
Just about every one of my friends had already seen the ABBA VOYAGE show in their purpose built arena in Stratford, but one who hadn’t, asked me a while back if I wanted to go. Then it turned out her husband wanted to join us so Mr WIAA decided to come too. This was the same couple who came to Eurovision with us 10 years ago, when we dressed up as Bucks Fizz, but this time we decided the outfits were just a little too outlandish (especially the mens’) for people of our vintage so I left my bright blue knickerbockers at home!
The hologrammed ABBA on stage!
As for the show, it certainly was an experience. You are in awe of the technology that allows them to be there on stage…, without them actually being there on stage, and the big wraparound screens showing them up close and personal were spectacular. I thought it would feel as if I was back in 1975 again, but I didn’t, as the arena is far more state of the art with fancy light shows than the small theatres I went to see bands in back then, and of course the audience is generally made up of people of a certain age. In the hour and a half running time however, there were only three songs we didn’t know with the rest all being crowd-pleasers, everyone singing along and dancing to the music. Would I go again? Probably not as I’ve done it now, but I’m glad I did.
Money, Money, Money by ABBA:
The ABBA show was on the Sunday night of our three day trip to London which left plenty of time to do other things. We split up with our friends on the Saturday which was fine as I had got in touch with our blogging pal Ernie Goggins of 27 Leggies to ask if would be willing to show us round his ‘hood? He was going to be available and was happy to do so, which led me to sending out a last-minute invitation to C from Sun Dried Sparrows to ask if she would be able to come through from Suffolk. I thought I had left it too late, but hurrah, she was free too, so we planned to meet up at Liverpool Street Station mid morning.
Ernie took his role as guide very seriously and had planned out a route that took in Brick Lane, Spitalfields Market, Graffiti Alley, The Huguenot Quarter, Shoreditch and The Dissenters Cemetery. The weather was a tad inclement but luckily we managed to fit all that in before the rain really started to pour down, after which we headed to the Barbican where Ernie had worked in his youth so he knew all the nooks, crannies and shortcuts! There we found a great photography exhibition featuring the icon that is Debbie Harry, back in her heyday. A great day was had by all and I now feel familiar with a part of London I had never visited before.
As for the rest of the trip we became very familiar with the Westfield Shopping Centre as our hotel was attached to it, but also The Olympic Park, the Docklands Light Railway and Canary Wharf. There, the tall glass towers housing financial institutions skirted the south side of the old East India Dock, but on the north side there was still Warehouse No. 1 and 2, which had been spared in The Blitz and was now a Museum, celebrating how the docks and wharfs of The Isle Of Dogs had at one point been the busiest in the world.
Crikey, my trip to London has fairly used up a lot of my words so I’ll be brief with the other things that have been going on around here of late. Even if you’re not a football fan it would be impossible to miss that we are now building up to the next FIFA World Cup to be held in North America next year. Scottish fans have not been privileged to watch their national side play in that competition for 28 years, but in a spectacular match against Denmark, where we scored two goals in extra time, we suddenly topped our group so are now definitely going to be taking part. For anyone aged 35 years or less, it will be a first-time experience so excitement is running high although I see the cost of tickets, flights and accommodation is going to be prohibitively high for all but the fans with the most Money, Money, Money. A great shame. Such was the spectacular nature of the goals scored in that last match, the merchandisers have been hard at work, and prints of those goals have been selling fast.
The hero of the night was Scott McTominay who seemed to defy the laws of gravity with his goal. Scott is also namechecked often in this song, already shared around here last year for the Euros, No Scotland No Party. It is true that until the Tartan Army arrive at a tournament, the party has not really begun, so I hope a fair number of them have enough money in their bankies to make the big trip across the pond to Boston and Miami.
No Scotland No Party by Nick Morgan:
We had a birthday in the family yesterday. Yes, Alfie the puppy turned one-year-of-age. We look after him a few times a week so despite not having chosen to own a dog ourselves, he is most definitely now shared by all of us. Needless to say he got a fair few presents and DD baked him some “pupcakes”, so he certainly was a pampered pooch.
Alfie in his new ball-pit with his birthday treat-holder!
What’s It All About, Alfie?by Cilla Black:
The final thing I wanted to share is that last week the charity shop I volunteer in moved to new premises in the centre of town. It’s big and shiny, like a “real shop” but maybe not the kind of place octogenarians are going to be able to help out in. An empty unit became available when quite a large chain clothes shop closed down, so those who plan the shop side of fund-raising quickly snapped it up. I think they had forgotten however that charity shops, in order to make money, rely on volunteers of a certain age to run them and even I was pretty tired after a four hour shift, what with a steady stream of customers queued up at the till, stock to price and replenish, shelves to tidy, and trips up two flights of stairs to fetch things. It feels at the moment like hard graft with no time to chat to your fellow volunteers or engage with customers, which was the fun part. The initial flood of business might tail off, but if it does the shop won’t make Money, Money, Money so a bit of a catch-22.
Although I said we no longer have time to engage with the customers, I did manage a quick chat with a 50-something year old chap with a hipster haircut who bought a clutch of singles, all from the 1980s. In fact it could have been a Who’s Who of people who appeared at Live Aid. I love catching people off guard as I don’t think they expect the volunteers to have much knowledge of the records we sell. I still don’t know why he liked the look of these particular singles so much but one of them was this, The Riddle, by Nik Kershaw. I ended up with an earworm that lasted several days, and I still don’t know what it’s all about!
Until next time…
Money, Money, Money Lyrics (Song by Benny Andersson Bjoern Ulvaeus)
I work all night, I work all day To pay the bills I have to pay Ain’t it sad? And still there never seems to be A single penny left for me That’s too bad
In my dreams I have a plan If I got me a wealthy man I wouldn’t have to work at all I’d fool around and have a ball
Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man’s world Money, money, money Always sunny In the rich man’s world
Aha-aha All the things I could do If I had a little money It’s a rich man’s world It’s a rich man’s world
A man like that is hard to find But I can’t get him off my mind Ain’t it sad? And if he happens to be free I bet he wouldn’t fancy me That’s too bad
So I must leave, I’ll have to go To Las Vegas or Monaco And win a fortune in a game My life will never be the same
Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man’s world Money, money, money Always sunny In the rich man’s world
Aha-aha All the things I could do If I had a little money It’s a rich man’s world
I’ve not done a post like this before but I have kept a diary of what I’ve read, watched on the telly, and seen at the cinema/theatre this year. This being a music blog, you would think I would also have kept a log of what I’d listened to, but that has pretty much already been documented here, and as my followers know I’m not great at keeping up with “new” music (anything made since the turn of the millennium). I do, however, always watch the Brit Awards, and back in March I wrote about the band Jungle who performed on the night. They are by no means a new band, but they were to me, and I really liked what they gave us so they will be my favourite musical discovery of the year. The dancers who joined them on stage are an integral part of the band and all their videos feature them, not the actual musicians. Here they are with Back On 74.
Back On 74 by Jungle
Books
A few weeks ago I shared a list of the books I’d read this year since we initiated “reading hour”, between 5pm and 6pm. Since then I’ve only added another one to my list but it gets the prize for being my favourite read of 2024, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (if you know you know). The runners-up are listed below:
The First Casualty – Ben Elton (a new angle on the events of WW1) Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver (David Copperfield for the modern age) French Braid – Anne Tyler (a family saga – beautiful writing as ever)
Concerts
Onto concerts now, and again, my exposure to live music is usually restricted to what comes up at our local theatre. Back in January I bought tickets for one of those live streams from elsewhere. It was the Pet Shop Boys latest tour and this was their Copenhagen date. Sitting in a theatre watching them on the big screen is obviously not as good as being there, but it comes a close second. I was bowled over by how many costume changes they made – different coat, boot and funny (peculiar) hat combos. Here they are at the Isle of Wight festival performing the same set list as I saw at the theatre – my favourite concert of the year.
The Pet Shop Boys Tour 2024
Television Drama
Mr WIAA and I spend an awful lot of time watching telly of an evening and we have racked up a fair few seasons of all manner of things this year. The drama that has retained its position as my favourite of the year is Responderwith Martin Freeman in the lead role. It showed a side to policing that we don’t often see from the perspective of the bobby in the patrol car, stuck with night shifts that affect his personal life, and how he does his job. It was season 2 that aired earlier on this year, but we rewatched season 1 first, both still on the BBC iPlayer.
As for runners-up in this category, there are almost too many to mention but I’ll pare it down to nine:
The Tourist – BBC Mr Bates Versus The Post Office – ITV One Day – Netflix Bridgerton – Netflix Douglas Is Cancelled – ITV Shetland – BBC Wolf Hall – BBC Joan – ITV Until I Kill You – ITV
Cinema
I go to the cinema at our local arts centre a lot, as it’s where I socialise with my friends. This year has been a bit of a disappointment however as although I’ve seen 20+ films, none of them have really blown me away. I did really enjoy the film Wicked which I wrote about last month, but on the whole I’ve had more success watching films on the small screen, ones I’d missed at the cinema when they first came out. By a smidgeon, my favourite of these was Barbie on Amazon Prime. The two leads, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were excellent and it was great to see Ryan reprise his role at this year’s Oscars Ceremony.
Documentary
A lot of other things happened in 2024 – there was an Olympics from Paris and the Euros were hosted in Germany. No enormous time differences this time so I watched a fair bit of both. It was the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings and the 40th anniversary of the Band Aid single. It was also the 40th anniversary of Wham!’s song Last Christmas and for the second year in a row it made it to the top of the UK Singles Chart – quite a feat and something its creator, George Michael, missed out on seeing. My favourite documentary of the year was the one about the making of Last Christmas where the original characters from the video (all friends of the band) returned, minus George, to the same village in Switzerland.
The Last Christmas house in Saas Fee
But the year is almost at an end and personally, I’ve had a really good one so I’ll be sad to see it go. I’ve been well all year and met up with many friends both locally and further afield. I love my volunteering role and our little business has ticked away nicely in the background. I even seem to have done a bit more blogging over the last couple of months. There are a few more lines on my face and a few more grey hairs on my head, but hey, I’ve learned to live with them. If next year is even remotely as good I’ll be a very happy woman.
To all my blogging friends and followers, Happy New Year. I hope 2025 brings you health and happiness.
Until next time…
Auld Lang Syne (Words by Robbie Burns)
Should old acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot In the days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear For auld lang syne We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet For the sake of auld lang syne
And surely, you will buy your cup And surely, I’ll buy mine! We’ll take a cup of kindness yet For the sake of auld lang syne
I don’t know what’s happened this year but my blogging output is pitiful. I apologise to all those subscribers who must think they are being short-changed. It’s partly down to a loss of momentum – the less you blog the harder it gets – but also down to the sheer amount of telly watching I’ve been doing of late. It all started with the Euros, then there was Glastonbury followed by lots of election coverage, culminating with Wimbledon and the Olympics.
Like many of us, for the last 16 days I’ve become an expert on all kinds of weird and wonderful sports I only ever see at the Olympics. You get drawn in to checking the medal table on an hourly basis knowing full well it’s not really a level playing field and a drop in Lottery funding for many sports would see us return to Atlanta ’96 levels (only one gold medal – thank goodness for the rowers). The joke is I play no sport, and rarely did, but there is something about the Olympics that appeals to the geographer in me. All those countries coming together in a city that showcases its “best bits” to the world. We find out which country specialises in specific sports (for archery it’s the Koreans, for female wrestling it’s the Japanese) and at the opening and closing ceremonies we see the athletes parade in an outfit that reflects their heritage (the Bermudans are always in Bermuda shorts). Yes, I’m going to miss my daily dose of competitive-sport-watching, and the withdrawal symptoms are already setting in, but the upside is that there will be more time for blogging.
Paris 2024
Having mentioned Paris 2024 I think it would be in order for me to share a song that Mr WIAA has become very fond of lately as it seems to have become a French standard and pops up on many of the feeds he subscribes to. It was actually the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 and came second. The singer is Barbara Pravi and if your French is good you might be able to work out what the song is about from the lyrics to Voilà, but if not, here are a few pointers. Be warned, it’s not a jaunty upbeat little number, but it certainly packs a punch.
“Listen to me, Me, the wannabe singer. Talk about me to your loved ones, to your friends. Tell them about this girl with black eyes and her crazy dream. Me, what I want is to write stories that reach you. That’s all.”
Voila by Emma Kok:
The video clip features Barbara but the audio clip is by Emma Kok, a 15-year-old girl with a very powerful voice. Which version do you like best?
Well that’s me back in the saddle again so hopefully I’ll be able to keep up the momentum as I have several ideas I want to explore. Unlike many of my well-heeled friends who actually go to Glastonbury, the Euros and the Olympics I am usually content to dip in via my sofa, but hopefully one day I will snap into action and make actual plans. Until then the sofa will suffice.
Until next time…
Voilà Lyrics Song by Barbara Pravi/Igit/Lili Poe
Écoutez-moi Moi, la chanteuse à demi Parlez de moi À vos amours, à vos amis Parlez-leur de cette fille aux yeux noirs et de son rêve fou Moi c’que j’veux, c’est écrire des histoires qui arrivent jusqu’à vous C’est tout
Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà qui je suis Me voilà, même si mise à nu, j’ai peur, oui Me voilà dans le bruit et dans le silence
Regardez-moi, ou du moins ce qu’il en reste Regardez-moi, avant que je me déteste Quoi vous dire, que les lèvres d’une autre ne vous diront pas C’est peu de chose, mais moi tout ce que j’ai je le dépose là, voilà
Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà qui je suis Me voilà, même si mise à nu, c’est fini C’est ma gueule, c’est mon cri, me voilà tant pis Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà juste ici Moi, mon rêve, mon envie, comme j’en crève, comme j’en ris Me voilà dans le bruit et dans le silence
Ne partez pas, j’vous en supplie, restez longtemps Ça m’sauvera peut-être pas, non Mais faire sans vous j’sais pas comment Aimez-moi comme on aime un ami qui s’en va pour toujours J’veux qu’on m’aime parce que moi, je sais pas bien aimer mes contours
Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà qui je suis Me voilà même si mise à nu, c’est fini Me voilà dans le bruit et dans la fureur aussi Regardez-moi enfin et mes yeux et mes mains Tout c’que j’ai est ici, c’est ma gueule, c’est mon cri Me voilà, me voilà, me voilà Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà Voilà
WIAA: You know what I’m about to say, Alyson, don’t you?
ALYSON: I do indeed, WIAA, and I’m sorry your pages have remained blank so far this month. I could say I’ve been really busy, but in truth it seems that I’m just prioritising other things at the moment – sorry about that. What can I do to redeem myself?
WIAA: Hmm… let me think. How about WRITING SOMETHING! Just let your fingers dance around the keyboard telling us what you’ve been up to?
ALYSON: Good plan WIAA.
The big news is that DD and the still relatively new Mr DD have bought their first house together. An exciting time for them but also a busy time, as it being a 10-year-old house there is a fair bit of DIY to be done to get it just the way they want it. Guess who’s been doing the DIY? To be fair, the lion’s share has been down to her dad who is flooring their loft as I type. There is method in this madness, however, as our own loft might finally get a decent clear out of all the stuff she accumulated during her teenage years/early twenties when she had more disposable cash but a childhood bedroom too small to hold it all. I have an awful feeling most will go to the recycling centre but now at least there will be options.
The House That Jack Built by Tracie
In other news, we’ve had a short caravan holiday on our favourite beach up in East Sutherland. I’ve written about such holidays before so I won’t go there again but it was very relaxing indeed. The weather was not kind but in three days we went to three folk museums and three coffee shops, had three walks along the beach (in between rainstorms) and three nice dinners. The first of these dinners was paella cooked by Mr WIAA to celebrate my birthday. The cards and flowers I’d received in the morning came on holiday with us and a lovely day was had, despite the fact a very age-specific Beatles song kept ringing in my ears. Suddenly the age mentioned in the song didn’t feel very old at all, but then you remember two of the Beatles didn’t even make it, so feeling blessed (especially after my stint in hospital last year) to be happy and healthy at this point in my life.
When I’m Sixty-Four by the Beatles:
It would be hard to miss the fact there is a big football tournament going on at the moment, the Euros, so lots of coverage on the main two television channels. I no longer follow club football but I do like the big tournaments as it’s a chance to see some of the world’s best players perform their magic on the pitch. From the 1970s on I’ve followed these biannual events and am lucky to have watched players such as Pele and Johan Cruyff as well as the more recent superstars such as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Tartan Army en route to a match
Sadly Scotland doesn’t have such superstars in their squad which might excuse them for their humiliating defeat last Friday night. I had to leave the room at one point as it was just so tough to watch after the big build up and following the antics of the 200,000 strong tartan army partying ahead of the match. It’s been 26 years since the tartan army had a chance to travel abroad for a tournament and they were certainly going to enjoy it. This song sums up their attitude I think, and despite the heavy defeat in their first match, optimism is high again ahead of their match tonight. (Don’t be misled by the still in this clip, it’s a very funny video.)
No Scotland No Party by Nick Morgan:
As this post is very much a web diary kind of affair what else have I been up to since the end of April? Many more hours of socialising with friends it seems. I really thought it would tail off once I’d been home from hospital for a while, but not a week passes without people getting in touch about going for walk, meeting up for coffee, organising a trip to the cinema… – I really am a very lucky lady and at no point over the last few months have I missed running the holiday hideaway. It was hard work and the standards I set myself were so high I was permanently exhausted and tied to my phone. Much better to do my weekly stint volunteering in the charity shop and continue to run our little online jewellery business. We’re definitely never going to make a fortune from it but it ticks over nicely and you just never know when a really interesting commission might come in.
As I mentioned the cinema above, our Film Club pick for last month was Bleeding Love starring one of my favourite actors, Ewan MacGregor. His real life daughter Clara plays his daughter in the movie. I always avoid reading the review for a film until after I’ve seen it so that I’m not predisposed to thinking a certain way about it. My friend and I both liked this story of the difficult road trip both characters went on, so were surprised when the reviews were less than favourable. Something else my friend and I liked was one of the songs on the soundtrack so we waited until all the credits rolled to see who it was by. As the words crept up the screen we eventually came to the songs. As soon as the names Bobby and Billy come up, I knew who it was going to be – yes, back in 1976 those Alessi brothers (of Oh Lori fame) wrote the sweet song Seabird which had now made it’s way into a MacGregor family offering 48 years later. They will be old men now just like I’m an old woman but having these songs in their back pocket is definitely something to impress the grandchildren with.
Seabird by Alessi:
Not much more to write about really as I’ve had a bit of an outpouring here. I no longer keep a paper diary so I like to use this blog as a reminder of what’s been going on in the world, and closer to home. Speaking of what’s going on in the world I didn’t mention the upcoming General Election, but that might be because I don’t watch much news nowadays and I know I’m not alone. Come the day I will turn out to vote but the electioneering is leaving me cold. What never leaves me cold however is a blogger’s meet-up and if all goes well there will be one next week. Looking forward to it very much and there will no doubt be stories to tell.
Until next time…
Seabird Lyrics (Song by Bobby Alessi/Billy Alessi)
There’s a road I know I must go Even though I tell myself That road is closed
Listen, lonely seabird You’ve been away from land too long Aw, too long
I don’t listen to the news no more Like an unwound clock You just don’t seem to care This world isn’t big enough To keep me away from you Oh, from you
Seabird, seabird Fly home Seabird, seabird Fly home Like a lonely seabird You’ve been away from land too long Oh, too long
Suddenly, you’re with me I turn, and you’re not there Like a ghost, you haunt me You find warmth in a one-night bed
Sunsets, full moons Don’t turn you on Like an untied dog You just had to run
Like a lonely seabird You’ve been away from land too long Oh, no, too long (so long, seabird)
Seabird, seabird Fly home (like a lonely bird) Seabird, seabird Fly home
Seabird, seabird Fly home (seabird, sea) Seabird, seabird Fly home
What's It All About? 