Another Bloggers Summit, The Delights of Newcastle and “Ain’t No Doubt”

After a particularly good trip away it sometimes takes a while to reacclimatise to normal life, and that’s how I’ve felt since last Thursday after returning from the latest meet-up with some of my fellow bloggers. It took myself and my good friend C (from Sun Dried Sparrows) some time to bite the bullet and show face in the real world, but I’m so glad we did as everyone we’ve met has been as nice as ninepence, and of course we all have this slightly niche hobby in common.

The Tyne Bridge – we were blessed with fine, sunny weather

This time the venue was Newcastle which is a city I’ve only ever fleetingly visited. It has a reputation for being a bit of a party town but arriving as we did on a Monday and leaving on a Thursday we missed out on all the “hen and stag” hullaballoo. John (from Are We There Yet?) is usually the one who finds the perfect pub to congregate in, and as ever he didn’t disappoint. The Crown Posada is apparently the second oldest pub in Newcastle and has great character. And so it came to pass that eight of us (five bloggers plus three partners) spent a couple of evenings catching up and putting the world to rights. As well as the bloggers mentioned above we were joined by CC (from Charity Chic Music) and for the first time at a bloggers’ summit, Ernie Goggins (from 27 Leggies). I think he was a bit nervous about being the newbie to the group but in no time at all this International Man of Mystery (he denies it!) was like an old hand, regaling tales of Sweet concerts and of his blog’s provenance.

But there is so much more to Newcastle than sitting around in pubs. Over the three days, accompanied by various sub-groups of bloggers, Mr WIAA and I visited: The Baltic Flour Mills (now a centre for contemporary art); Newcastle Castle (lots of spiral staircases and low doorways); Tynemouth on the Metro; The Biscuit Factory Art Gallery; three of the seven bridges across the River Tyne; and, the Life Science Centre. A sightseeing bus trip on the last day meant we caught up with all those places we weren’t able to get to on foot. It’s safe to say it was one of my favourite ever city breaks and a place I thoroughly recommend you visit (from Monday to Thursday!) if you haven’t ever been before.

There are a few obvious candidates for inclusion in a blog post celebrating the culture of Newcastle and I see they have already put in an appearance over at CC’s place. I think I will go left field therefore and remind myself of the song by that most Geordie of actors, Jimmy Nail. His storytelling song Ain’t No Doubt reached the No. 1 spot on the UK Singles Chart in the summer of ’92. Although I’m sure most of us remember Jimmy best from the television drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet this revival in his singing career was brought on after the success of the Newcastle-based drama Spender. I’ve never seen reruns of Spender but I seem to remember there were many shots of central Newcastle, and his flat overlooked the Tyne Bridge. Might be an idea to seek out an episode and look out for some of the now familiar landmarks.

Ain’t No Doubt by Jimmy Nail:


Although I have now met a fair few bloggers in real life, I am aware the majority of us use an alias and like to stay fairly anonymous, which is why I haven’t included any photos of the group that met up in Newcastle. There were many taken however, and on the BlogCon group chat they have been freely shared. If you are a bit like we were originally, and are wary about meeting people you’ve only ever communicated with in the comments boxes of their blogs, all I would say is this – life is short and sometimes you just have to bite the bullet like we did and go for it. These get-togethers with like-minded individuals have enhanced my life for sure, and I’m sure it would be the same for you.

Bob and Terry: The Likely Lads

Until next time…

Ain’t No Doubt Lyrics
(Song by Jimmy Nail/Guy Pratt/Charlie Dore/Danny Schogger)

She says, “It’s not you, it’s me
I need a little time, a little space
A place to find myself again, you know”
Oh yeah, I know a goodbye when I hear it
She smiles, but her heart’s already out there
Walking down the street

She says, “I don’t want nobody else, I love you”
She’s lying
“There won’t be somebody else, and that’s true”
She’s lying
“Say you’ll always be my friend, sweet darling”
Why does she pretend?

Ain’t no doubt, it’s plain to see
A woman like you’s no good for me
Your heart beating at another door
I’m a darned fool for to ask for more (ask for more, ask for more)

She says, “It’s like in a song, remember?
If you love somebody, set them free
Well, that’s how it is with me, but you know I’ll always come back”
And then she kisses me
And somewhere I hear a door slam, so I say, “Fine”
And just hope that I’m a better liar than she is

She says, “I don’t want nobody else, I love you”
She’s lying
“There won’t be somebody else, and that’s true”
She’s lying
“Say you’ll always be my friend, sweet darling”
Why does she pretend?

Ain’t no doubt, it’s plain to see
A woman like you’s no good for me
Your heart beating at another door
I’m a darned fool for to ask for more (ask for more, ask for more)

“I don’t want nobody else, I love you”
She’s lying
“There won’t be somebody else, and that’s true”
She’s lying
“Say you’ll always be my friend, sweet darling”
Why does she pretend?

Ain’t no doubt, it’s plain to see (I’m a fool)
A woman like you’s no good for me (no matter how hard I try)
Your heart beating at another door (beating, beating, beating, beating)
I’m a darned fool for to ask for more (ask for more, ask for more)
That’s what I am

Birthdays, Football Tournaments and Sweet Summer Songs

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

An Overdose Of Cinema, Amy Winehouse and “Back To Black”

I ended up going to see the Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black twice this week. A friend asked me if I wanted to see it on Monday night so of course I said yes, as it had been on my radar. A couple of days later my “Last Thursday of the Month Film Group” friend got in touch to say she was really looking forward to Back To Black this week. I don’t know about you but this month seems to have flown in and I had honestly thought we had another week of April to go, but it seemed not. I played dumb and didn’t mention I’d messed up and seen it already, so I tripped along for another outing.


Was it worth seeing twice? Probably not as we mostly know Amy’s story from all the media coverage she was given at the time of her success, but we did get a bit more of her backstory from the time just ahead of her breakthrough. I’m not sure how true to life it all was but it seems she was really close to her grandmother, Cynthia, who had been a jazz singer back in the day and sang at Ronnie Scott’s. It was from Cynthia she got her love of jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. She also got her trademark beehive hairdo from Cynthia.

The late, great Amy Winehouse

The actress who played Amy, Marisa Abela, did a pretty good job and I’ve read that she did the singing for the film, which if true, impresses me a lot. I suspect there was a bit of jiggery-pokery with the soundtrack though to make her sound so similar – there can only be one Amy Winehouse.

For someone like me who likes everything in her life to be ship-shape and in good order, it was a tough watch. Amy led a chaotic life and in the film I just wanted to give her house a good thorough, mend her ripped clothes and give her a hot bath before she went to bed. Would she still be with us if she hadn’t met “her Blake”? I’m not sure, as even before she met him she was on a bit of a self-destructive path but there is no doubt they, as a couple, were a fairly toxic mix. Her dad Mitch doesn’t come out of it too badly as it seems he was her biggest supporter but had very little control over her behaviour.

Whatever the truth of the film there were some very good musical segments where all the hits got performed – Back To Black, Tears Dry On Their Own, Valerie, Rehab, Me & Mr Jones and many more. Just so sad that Amy left us at the tender age of 27, heading off to join all the others in that tragic 27 Club like Jimi, Brian, Janis, Jim and Kurt. Like with the rest of them, success came quickly for Amy but there were too many temptations for someone with an addictive personality and no-one strong enough around to keep her on the right path. Only one song to leave you with, Back To Black.

Back To Black by Amy Winehouse


Until next time…

Back To Black Lyrics
Song by Amy Winehouse/Mark Ronson

He left no time to regret
Kept his dick wet
With his same old safe bet
Me and my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy

You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I tread a troubled track
My odds are stacked
I’ll go back to black

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to…

I go back to us

I love you much
It’s not enough
You love blow and I love puff
And life is like a pipe
And I’m a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to…

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to…

Black, black, black, black, black, black, black
I go back to…
I go back to…

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to…

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to black

Singalong Hits of The ’70s: Chicory Tip and “Son Of My Father”

I’m going to quickly pop my head above the parapet just in case people think I’m unwell again. Anything but actually, just not had as much time for blogging because of all the socialising I’ve been doing, plus, I’ve got myself a job in a charity shop. Not had time yet, but I intend to have a good look through the vinyl and CDs in the shop to seek out any gems that have accidentally found themselves being donated. As for all the socialising, I thought I would lose touch again with most of the people who came to see me in hospital, but not at all – I’m fully booked up for walks, coffees and cinema trips on a weekly basis and my good friend from student days came all the way up from Harrogate to see me last week. A fun time was had by all.

But what else have I been doing other than donning my charity shop apron and socialising? I’ve been doing a fair bit of reading (5pm in our house is now “Reading Hour”) and I’ve just finished this book by Will Hodgkinson, where he revisits the singalong pop of the 1970s. Most of this music has been forgotten about and doesn’t get played on the radio any more, but as Will points out, the hits of Slade, the Sweet and Suzi Quatro were there to brighten up people’s lives at a particularly difficult time in Britain’s history. No-one has ever written a critical essay about the song Son Of My Father by Chicory Tip, but as Will postulates, isn’t a radio hit that appealed to millions back in 1972 socially significant? The decade had begun with the song Grandad by Clive Dunn and ended with There’s No One Quite Like Grandma by the St Winifred’s School Choir, but in between those two singalong horrors there was much to lift the spirits at a time of three-day weeks, rampant inflation and power cuts.

Son Of My Father by Chicory Tip:


I think I’m going to revisit several of the artists and songs in Will’s book (a new mini-series perhaps), but as I’ve already mentioned them, here is Chicory Tip with their catchy singalong hit. It was apparently the first hit single to feature a Moog synthesiser as a lead instrument, overlapping the lines of melody to create a catchy song.

Chicory Tip

I think everyone who was around at the time would remember this group from TOTP and the lead singer had a fine example of a feather cut hairstyle, cropped at the top with longer hair at the back and sides. The band were from Kent and were still working as printers and engineers when they found chart success. Fun fact – the song was written by Giorgio Moroder who would go on to become the father of Euro disco and it was a hit all over Europe in 1972. Not all Europeans were happy about this however as they thought too much British music was infiltrating their charts, and although it might have been accidental, a missing apostrophe and unfortunate tight spacing on the cover of the Swedish single certainly packed a punch – ENGLANDSHIT.

So, “What’s It All About?” – I love reading books about the history of pop and Will’s book should appeal to anyone who was born in the early ’60s and loved the mainstream pop music of the ’70s. In the coming months we shall revisit some of the other songs that have all but been forgotten but will forever hog a place amongst the rest of the “tracks of our years”.

Until next time…

Son Of My Father Lyrics
(Song by Giorgio Moroder/Michael Holm/Peter Bellotte)

Mama said to me we gotta have your life run right
Off you go to school where you can learn the rules they write
Be just like your dad lad
Follow in the same tradition
Never go astray and stay an honest lovin’ son

Son of my father
Moulded, I was folded, I was free from draft
Son of my father
Commanded, I was branded in a plastic vac’
Surrounded and confounded by statistic facts

Tried to let me in but I jumped out of my skin in time
I saw through the lies and read the alibi signs
So I left my home I’m really on my own at last
Left the trodden path and separated from the past

Son of my father
Changing, rearranging into someone new
Son of my father
Collecting and selecting independent views
Knowing and I’m showing that a change is due

Son of my father
Moulded, I was folded, I was free from draft
Son of my father
Commanded, I was branded in a plastic vac’
Surrounded and confounded by statistic facts

The Girls Take Over At The Brits and A New Discovery, Jungle

WIAA: Did you watch the Brit Awards on Saturday night Alyson?

ALYSON: I did indeed WIAA and thanks for prompting me, as I usually drop by with a rundown of what happened on the night. Nothing shocking or calamitous this year as the Brits have become very corporate and rehearsed, with the fans seated so far from the stage in the O2 arena that they can barely be heard. Made for a few uncomfortable exchanges with the celebs announcing and handing out the awards.

WIAA: Who were the big winners this year?

ALYSON: Well, you’ll be glad to hear I took notes but it would have been impossible to forget that there was one big winner this year, the artist known as Raye. She received six statuettes on the night which is apparently a record. She reminds me very much of a young Amy Winehouse which may well be intentional, and despite having been dropped by her record label three years ago she seems to have independently risen to the dizzy heights already. Here is her performance from the show (like another songstress from many years ago – Sandie Shaw – she appears to favour the barefoot look).

Brits Medley by Raye


ALYSON: She looks like a superstar already what with the dress, the band and the Brit School choir backing her. Someone who is likely to be around for some time methinks.

WIAA: Who else won awards Alyson?

The 2024 statuette

ALYSON: It was very much a year when the girls cleaned up WIAA, unlike last year when most of the nominees were male. All ties in with the cycle of releasing new albums apparently. As well as Raye’s haul of prizes, Dua Lipa was voted Best Pop Act and Miley Cyrus got the award for Best International Song. A special Global Icon award went to Kylie who has well and truly done her apprenticeship now having been around since the late ’80s.

There was a bit of confusion for us when the award for Best Producer was announced as we didn’t know that Jason Statham had moved over to the music industry. Turned out it was the talented duo called Chase and Status. Ok, so that was a little joke, but it sums up how little I know about the current movers and shakers in the world of music and why I feel compelled to watch the Brits every year – I learn a lot.

WIAA: Which performance did you enjoy most on the night?

ALYSON: That’s an easy one WIAA. There were performances from Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding, Becky Hill and Kylie but our favourite by far was from Jungle who were voted Best Group. Here is what they gave us on the night:

Back On 74 by Jungle


I think you will work out why I like them so much and why I’ve been listening to them ever since the show. I see they are classed a neo soul, funk, electronic music project but whatever they are, their late ’60s vibe is totally up my street. The dancers who joined them on stage on the night are very much an integral part of the group and all their videos feature them, and not the actual musicians. Here is another song from an earlier 2018 album. Just look at that guy dance – he’s very malleable indeed.

Casio by Jungle


I don’t think many in my little corner of the blogosphere watch the Brits so hope I’ve given you a flavour of how it went down this year. I am mindful of Jez’s statement from a couple of years ago, “Alyson, she watches the Brits so we don’t have to.” I hope I’ve upheld my side of the bargain?

Until next time…

Back On 74 Lyrics
(Song by Josh Lloyd/Thomas McFarland/Lydia Kitto)

Keep it rockin’, doin’ the same thing
And we get high in the nighttime
And we’ll just watch it from the same thing
But that don’t change what I think now
And we were talking ’bout the same crap
No, we don’t have [?] now
I learned my lesson at the same time
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh why did it

Oh, back on 74 (74 street)
Call this place my home (My home)
Never gonna cry anymore (Cry anymore)
Where did it all
(Ooh, oh, oh-oh)
(Ooh, oh, oh-oh)
(Ooh, oh, oh-oh)
Ooh, oh, oh-oh

Keep it rockin’, doin’ the same thing
And we get high in the daytime
And we’ll just watch it from the same thing
But that don’t change what I think now
And we were talking ’bout the same crap
No, we don’t have [?] now
I learned my lesson at the same time
Ooh-ooh-ooh-oh why did it

Oh, back on 74 (74 street)
Call this place my home (My home)
Never gonna cry anymore
Where did it all
Go, let ’em know
Uh, let ’em know
Let ’em know
Let ’em know


Months Of The Year In Song: August, Time to Turn Full Circle (Six Months Too Late!)

Yeah me, I’ve finally reached the end of this series albeit six months later than I intended. As I’ve said before it’s not been my favourite themed series as nearly all the months are named after Roman gods, festivals or numbers so not as interesting as I thought it would be, but I didn’t want to give up on something that’s nearly complete, so here we are at August, 12 calendar months on from the September 2022 post that got this series going (but 18 months in real time of course).

Although the month of August started off being called Sextilis in the original Roman calendar, named for its status as the sixth month, in 8 BC the month was renamed in honour of the Emperor Augustus. According to legend, he chose this month as his namesake because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt.

Emperor Augustus

Something I did find interesting when researching our calendar year, however, was that it doesn’t quite tie in with the solar calendar which is 365.2422 days in length. As well as an extra day being added every four years to keep things in line there has to be another adjustment made every hundred years, but even then not exactly every hundred years, which is why we didn’t have one in the year 2000 which would have happened during my lifetime. Should I ever find the secret to everlasting life I will see that adjustment being made in the year 2100… but I’m not holding out much hope.

But enough about calendars and onto the songs. As ever I’ve had to depend on suggestions put forward by my lovely followers and despite me not knowing any August songs, there still seem to be plenty out there. First up we have Ernie Goggins with his contributions. Here are his own words:

A couple of suggestions for August. The first, appropriately, is First of August by Joan Shelley, a singer-songwriter from Kentucky whose voice I like a lot. This version was recorded at the US Embassy in London. The second is some reggae from Duane Stephenson. August Town is actually about the district in Kingston of that name and nothing to do with the month, but after letting some outrageous rule-bending pass last month, I assume you’ll be alright with that.

First of August by Joan Shelly
August Town by Duane Stephenson

Well, two very different genres there Ernie but both beautiful songs in their own right. As for the rule-bending, it kind of had to happen with this series to keep the song count up per edition! This post a case in point as we proceed.

Next up we have Martin from New Amusements with his song suggestions. Here is what he said about them, which doesn’t sound very positive but we all have different tastes so maybe the rest of us will like them:

Struggling to think of any August songs I can recommend. Of those I can find, the ones I dislike least include The First Day In August by Carole King, August Hair by Robyn Hitchcock and August Was A Heavy Month by Bob Geldof. Oh, and Taylor Swift has a song called August, doesn’t she?

As for Ms Swift, whatever Martin thinks of her and her song (he doesn’t specifically say), she has certainly taken the world by storm, and because of her new boyfriend, was credited for making the recent Super Bowl final the most watched event since the first lunar moon landing in 1969. The power of pop eh?

The First Day In August by Carole King
August Hair by Robyn Hitchcock
August Was A Heavy Month by Bob Geldof

… and finally we have Swifty with this song from her folklore album written and recorded during the 2020 lockdown.

august by Taylor Swift


Khayem usually pops up in the comment boxes with a suggestion or two and he didn’t let me down for this month. Here are his own words:

For August, I immediately thought of August & September by The The (covered by Elbow) but I suggested that for your September round up. So, my offering for this month is August Day Song by Bebel Gilberto. Originally a single in 2006, this is a live version performed in Rio circa 2013. All I will say is, if I saw that Bebel Gilberto was performing live on an open air stage, I would be right there at the front, not paddling in the sea…!

Thanks for that Khayem, a lovely Latin American vibe, perfect for a cold February morning here in Scotland.


And here is where a bit of rule-bending is an absolute must. Until Khayem mentioned it, I had totally forgotten that the real name of that man in a Zoot Suit, who along with his Coconuts, also brought much Latin-infused joy to cold and dreich Scotland. Yes I’m talking about August Darnell whose stage name was Kid Creole.

I’ve never had the opportunity to include Kid Creole and the Coconuts around here before, which is bizarre, as whenever I’m asked what my favourite ever concert was back in the day, their flamboyant show at Aberdeen’s Capitol Theatre in the mid ’80s comes a close second to the 2 Tone Tour gig which still sits at No. 1. Here is one of their hit songs, Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy, taken from the album Tropical Gangsters. The band fused a particular a mix of disco and Latin American, Caribbean, and Cab Calloway styles, conceptually inspired by the big band era. To watch them on stage was a riot of colour complete with a jungle stage set for the Coconuts to perform on, and I think I smiled throughout the whole thing. Thanks Khayem for reminding me of it.

Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy by Kid Creole and the Coconuts:


Well, here we come to the end of this series. For a while there last year it didn’t look as if I would ever return to it but against all the odds here we are. It’s not been my favourite series I must admit, but I have enjoyed getting all the contributions from followers. I’ve discovered a lot of hitherto unheard of songs and of course, like the one above, I’ve been reminded of ones long forgotten.

I’ll have to get my thinking cap on now and come up with another idea for a new series. Some stall after a couple of posts but others like my Full Moon in Song series can last for years. As I say, thinking cap needed.

Before I go here’s an example of a Mondegreen. Until I went off in search of the lyrics to Annie…, I always thought the eight lines of, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a, at the end of the song were actually eight lines of, ono ono onomatopoeia. What can I say, every day’s a school day.

Until next time.

Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy Lyrics
(Song by August Darnell)

They say that all is fair in love and war and child, believe it
When mama stayed in St. Tropez, she had a fall or two
And I’m telling it to you straight
So you don’t have to hear it in another way

Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy
Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy

They say that out of sight is out of mind and child, believe it
Your mama was in search of love, but all she got was used
And I’m telling it to your face
So you don’t have to hear it in another place
Bring it to me gently now
Don’t forget, I’m just a child

Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)
Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)

See, if I was in your blood then you wouldn’t be so ugly
Oh!

I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a

Yes, I’m telling it to you straight
So you don’t have to hear it in another way
Bring it to me gently now
Don’t forget, I’m just a child

Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)
Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)

Months Of The Year In Song: July, Time For Summer Holidays (Belated Ones)

I’m afraid this post is six months too late, but before I became unwell I had almost completed my Months of the Year in Song series (as I started it in September ’22), so despite the songs being entirely inappropriate for cold January, in the Northern Hemisphere anyway, I’m determined to see it through until the end.

For once I did have an inkling as to where the name July came from, and yet again it is of Roman origin. In 44BC the Roman Senate renamed the month in honour of the general Julius Caesar. Before then it was called Quintilis, being the fifth month of the original calendar that started with March.

Statue of Julius Caesar – He made a nice salad

For children like me who grew up in Scotland, the beginning of July always marked the start of our long school summer holidays, when we would enjoy all that brilliant sunshine and balmy weather… NOT. Invariably it rained, and we ended up having beach holidays dressed in our cagoules, but I’m sure in amongst all that rain we did have a few sunny days too! Some of my best memories are from those beach holidays along the Moray Coast. The North Sea got its name for a reason but we regularly donned our swimming costumes and braved the elements. Nowadays it’s called wild swimming but back then it was just called swimming.

But this is a music blog and I’m pleased to say this next bit will almost write itself as despite not being able to come up with any July songs myself, the rest of you certainly did, and looking back at last June’s comment boxes there are plenty to share.

We’ll start off with one of the most well known July songs from Neil. He said:

To me, this Springsteen song is very great. It’s one of my favourites:
4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).

I had thought he was describing the New Jersey beaches when I first saw the word Sandy, but no, Sandy is a girl and this ballad has been described as “the perfect musical study of the Jersey Shore boardwalk culture”. Thanks Neil.

4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) by Bruce Springsteen


Next up we have Ernie Goggins who has been a regular contributor to this series. Here are his own words:

If you liked the mellow stuff last time then July by BOY might appeal. They are a Swiss-German duo and this track is from their 2012 album Mutual Friends (it did nothing here but rocketed to #6 in the Swiss album charts). This link is to a live acoustic version.

That is very beautiful Ernie, and as you say, very mellow.

July by BOY


He’s not done yet though as we have another two July songs from Ernie. The first he describes as being slightly more rambunctious: Low July by JT And The Clouds. Here again are his own words:

JT went on to be one half of Birds of Chicago who had a bit of success in the 2010s. The album this comes from is called Caledonia which has to be a sign of some sort.

Low July by JT And The Clouds


Finally from Ernie:

Last suggestion is the very specific July 12, 1939 by Larry Jon Wilson (Charlie Rich did a decent version as well). It is one of those Southern US story songs you associate with the likes of Bobbie Gentry and Tony Joe White.

You are right there Ernie – very Tony Joe White.

July 12, 1939 by Larry Jon Wilson


Here’s a song suggestion now from Lynchie. He said:

Dave Alvin 4th of July is a favourite of mine, especially the acoustic version.

I’m afraid this isn’t the acoustic version but I’m sure you will be able to seek it out. Very nice Lynchie.

4th Of July by Dave Alvin


Next we have a July suggestion from my good friend C from Sun Dried Sparrows. She has bent the rules a little but that’s never stopped me including anything before. Here are her own words:

As for July, the first thing I thought of was the band called July….if you won’t mind me bending the rules yet again! (I think Ernie will know too of this psychy band from the late ’60s.) A very dreamy Summery number of theirs that springs to mind is Dandelion Seeds, which was also later covered (very nicely) by the Lemonheads.

Lovely stuff C, and it could only come from the late ’60s!

Dandelion Seeds by July:


Martin from New Amusements usually pipes up with something and this time he came up with three suggestions. This is what he said:

At the risk of inundating you with songs that all have the same title, Aimee Mann also has a lovely song entitled 4th of July, which has some great lyrics.

4th of July by Aimee Mann


Here are his other suggestions.

Gordon Lightfoot had Black Day in July, which was very downbeat. Scritti Politti had Here Come July, which wasn’t.

Thanks Martin, I really liked Scritti Politti back in the day but I’d never heard that song of theirs before.

Black Day In July by Gordon Lightfoot
Here Come July by Scritti Politti


CC from Charity Chic Music dropped by with this contribution. Like C he is bending the rules a little but I’m fine with that. Here are his own words:

Can I offer Little Bird from Goldfrapp’s ethereal album Seventh Tree with it’s chorus of July-ly-ly, July-ly-ly, July-ly-ly.

Of course you can CC.

Little Bird by Goldfrapp


Next up we have Rol’s suggestions. Knowing Rol’s vast knowledge of all kinds of music, I could probably write a blog post just made up of his suggestions alone, but he always goes easy on me. Although he says here that he is inundating me with them, four suggestions is doable and here they all are. Of the four I think I like the Cisco Houston and John Stewart songs best. Here are Rol’s words:

Bruce, Aimee and Larry Jon are all excellent suggestions that would have been on my list. I’m afraid I’m going to rather inundate you with suggestions this month, but I’ll leave it to you to choose the one you like best…

July Jones by Cisco Houston
July July July July by Billy Paul
July You’re A Woman by John Stewart
July Tree by Nina Simone


Last but most definitely not least are Khayhem’s suggestions for July. Here is what he said:

For July, Martin’s been there with my default go-to, Scritti Politti’s Here Come July, so here’s a couple more.

First up, Bomb The Bass with their 1991 hit Winter In July, featuring the wonderful words and music of Loretta Heywood.

Winter In July by Bomb The Bass


Secondly, When I Call A Name by Michael Andrews from the soundtrack to the 2005 film Me And You And Everyone We Know, written, directed and starring Miranda July. The tenuous link being that it’s her voice you can hear in this song. The vocal effects are lifted directly from the film and make sense in the context of the scene. A great film, if you haven’t seen it.

Another case of bending the rules Khayem but why not, especially as it’s linked to a film I think I’d like to seek out at some point.

When I Call A Name by Michael Andrews


So, that’s your lot for this month, except it’s not this month is it, it’s a month from half a year ago but by now most regular visitors to this place know why I had to go on hiatus last year.

I usually end with a picture of someone who shares their name with the month but I’m a bit stumped so it’ll have to be Khayhem’s Miranda July who is a very striking lady with a penchant for fine knitwear it seems.

Miranda July

Next time it’ll be the final instalment of this series, so if anyone knows of any songs about the month of August please do share them with me, as at the moment I’m stumped with that challenge too.

Thanks as ever for everyone’s contributions to this series – I couldn’t do it without you.

Until next time…

4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) Lyrics
(Song by Bruce Springsteen)

Sandy
The fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight
Forcin’ a light into all those stony faces
Left stranded on this warm July

Down in the town, the circuit’s full of switchblade lovers
So fast, so shiny and so sharp
As the wizards play down on Pinball Way
On the boardwalk way past dark

And the boys from the casino
Dance with their shirts open
Like Latin lovers on the shore
Chasin’ all them silly New York virgins by the score

And, Sandy, the aurora is risin’ behind us
These pier lights, our carnival life forever
Oh, love me tonight for I may never see you again
Hey, Sandy, girl
My, my baby

Now the greasers, ah, they tramp the streets
Or get busted for sleeping on the beach all night
Them boys in their high heels
Ah, Sandy, their skins are so white

And me, I just got tired of hangin’ in them dusty arcades
Bangin’ them pleasure machines
Chasin’ the factory girls underneath the boardwalk
Where they all promise to unsnap their jeans

And you know that tilt-a-whirl
Down on the South Beach drag?
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
And they kept me spinnin’, babe
Didn’t think I’d ever get off

Oh, Sandy, the aurora is risin’ behind us
This pier lights, our carnival life on the water
Runnin’, laughin’ ‘neath the boardwalk
Ah, with the boss’s daughter
Ah, remember, Sandy, girl
My, my, my, my, my baby

Sandy
That waitress I was seein’ lost her desire for me
I spoke with her last night
She said she won’t set herself on fire for me anymore

She worked that joint under the boardwalk
She was always the girl you saw
Boppin’ down the beach with the radio
The kids say last night she was dressed like a star
In one of them cheap little seaside bars
And I saw her parked with lover boy out on the Kokomo

Did you hear the cops finally busted Madame Marie
For tellin’ fortunes better than they do?
For me, this boardwalk life’s through, babe
You ought to quit this scene, too

Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
This pier lights, our carnival life forever
Oh, love me tonight and I promise I’ll love you forever
Oh, I mean it, Sandy, girl
My, my, my, my, my baby

Yeah, I promise, Sandy, girl
Sha-la-la-la-la, baby

A Blog Birthday, David Bowie’s “Good Hair” and Golden Years

It was this blog’s 8th birthday yesterday and I got one of these anniversary badges from the WordPress people. Considering my long enforced absence for much of last year, the popping up of that badge was extra special, as at times I had thought my blogging days were over.

I always know when the anniversary is approaching as my blogging career started the day we found out about the death of David Bowie so it was inevitable I would write about him. He was only 69 when he died so we felt a bit cheated as he had become quite prolific over the last few years of his life producing new albums and creating a musical, Lazarus, which opened Off-Broadway in the December of 2015 when he made his last public appearance. Lazarus is a jukebox musical that was inspired by the 1963 novel The Man Who Fell To Earth which in turn was made into a film starring David in 1976. Lazarus continues the story of Thomas Newton, a humanoid alien who is stuck on Earth, unable to die or return to his home planet.

David as Thomas Newton in The Man Who Fell To Earth

Of late, whenever I write about David Bowie I can’t help remarking on his incredibly good hair. Some of us in life are blessed with “good hair” (as my mum would have called it), and I am very jealous of them, as my fine baby soft hair has always been tricky to deal with and the fashionable styles of the day have usually had to pass me by. Bowie on the other hand changed his hair’s style and colour every time he invented a new persona. Who could forget his Ziggy Stardust “do” and the Thin White Duke’s (above), as well as his long locks of earlier years and the blond bouffant of the Let’s Dance years. Even at his death he still had a fine head of hair which is quite unusual for men approaching 70.


I mention all this as I have my final story to tell that relates to my stay in hospital last year. Before my blogging hiatus I had mentioned that my life in the sun (without a hat at any rate), had come to an end as the troublesome “sore” on my scalp where my parting fell, turned out to be a carcinoma, or BCC as they are called. I had ignored it for a long time and the waiting list to have such things removed is equally as long.

At last the date for the procedure at our local General Hospital came round, however, I was still an inpatient at the other large hospital in our town (see previous posts for which one). It took a bit of coordination, but I was transferred across very early in the morning, wheeled down to theatre and put under general anaesthetic, after which the offending bit of scalp was removed. It took me a bit of time to come round, after which I was given some lunch and transferred back to “my hospital”. All very efficient and seamless I hear you say, which is true as the procedure went well, except I now had a set of stitches across my scalp smeared in a Vaseline-like substance that couldn’t be washed out for seven days. My hair was also caked in blood at the back where it had trickled down during the surgery. I didn’t quite look like Frankenstein’s monster but in my mind’s eye I did, because there were no mirrors in the hospital. Every meal time I had to explain to whoever sat next to me what had happened, but I still got many odd looks that week. Finally we got to hair washing day. Andrea the nurse helped with that, and also gave me a bit of a blow dry which was good of her. They don’t shave your head any more thankfully when having such procedures but it’s definitely a bit thinner than it was, so the parting has had to move west a little and a mini combover has to be hair-sprayed into place. Even now, a few months on, I still have to apply chemotherapy cream (who knew that was a thing?) onto the offending bit of scalp every day. Thankfully Mr WIAA, with the help of a cotton bud, does that for me as I don’t have eyes on the back of my head, although we all know people who do!

Anyway, back to the music and the follicly blessed David Bowie. As I’ve written about his time playing the character Thomas Newton in the film he made in 1976, I’m going to choose something from the album he released that same year, Station To Station, where he played the character The Thin White Duke. I give you Golden Years.

Golden Years by David Bowie


Golden Years is apparently a funk and disco song reminiscent of the music on David’s previous album, Young Americans. The song also utilises elements of several ’50s doo-wop tracks in its arrangement. Lyrically, the narrator offers a companion the hope of entering a limousine, and being isolated from the outside world. He assures his companion that she will always be protected by him, and promises her a brighter future. Well, now we know, and I wouldn’t have worked that one out back in the day.

So, “What’s It All About?” – Who would have thought eight years ago I would still be tapping away on my keyboard all this time later. We had a bit of a scare last year when it looked as if I might not make a return, but happy to say I am just as enthused about blogging as a hobby as ever (or again, could it be the drugs!?).

As for having good hair like David Bowie, I think that ship has well and truly sailed, although I paid a visit to my hairdresser earlier on this afternoon and she did report back that there are short hairs growing in the general area of the surgery, so that’s a relief.


David Bowie was the first person I ever wrote about on this blog and I have revisited his body of work many times since, usually around the time of the blog’s anniversary. I think I was too young to truly appreciate him during the height of his fame in the early ’70s, but in later life I have come to realise he was the consummate artist, who could sing, act, write songs, create art… the list goes on. I also remember reading this week that he has been voted the Best Dressed Man In History. Not sure if some of his wacky Ziggy Stardust outfits helped or hindered in the receiving of that accolade, but he certainly was one cool dude. On that note I shall finish for today. Have a good weekend everyone.

Until next time…

Golden Years Lyrics
(Song by David Bowie)

Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop

Don’t let me hear you say life’s taking you nowhere
Angel
Come get up, my baby
Look at that sky, life’s begun
Nights are warm and the days are young
Come get up, my baby

There’s my baby, lost that’s all
Once I’m begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up, my baby

Last night they loved you
Opening doors and pulling some strings
Angel
Come get up, my baby
In walked luck and you looked in time
Never look back, walk tall, act fine
Come get up, my baby

I’ll stick with you, baby, for a thousand years
Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years
Gold
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up, my baby

Some of these days, and it won’t be long
Gonna drive back down where you once belonged
In the back of a dream car twenty foot long
Don’t cry, my sweet, don’t break my heart
Doing all right, but you gotta get smart
Wish upon, wish upon, day upon day, I believe, oh Lord
I believe all the way
Come get up, my baby
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years

There’s my baby, lost that’s all
Once I’m begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up, my baby

Don’t let me hear you say life’s taking you nowhere
Angel
Come get up, my baby
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years

I’ll stick with you, baby, for a thousand years
Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years
Gold

Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop

A Wedding Unavoidably Missed, Elvis Presley and ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’

Last time I told the story of what’s been happening in my world over the last five months, when I’ve been absent from these pages. That’s been done now and glad I went there rather than leave it a mystery. What I didn’t say however was that my only child, a daughter known around here as DD, had planned her wedding for the beginning of October… and I missed it. It had been on the calendar for some time before I became unwell and the decision was made that it had to go ahead even if I was still in hospital come the day, which I was, and to be honest I was so ill at that time there was no way I could even have had “a pass” from the ward just to witness the ceremony.

What did happen on the wedding day however was that my support worker, who took me out for walks from the ward, managed to co-ordinate with my nephew to stream the ceremony live via his mobile phone. On the trial run everything worked fine, but once inside the very thick walled country house hotel where the wedding was to take place, that idea failed as we just couldn’t get a signal. What did happen however was that my lovely nephew filmed the entire ceremony then sent it across as a file via WhatsApp to Lindsay the support worker. And so it came to pass that 15 minutes after my daughter became a wife, I was sitting in a strange man’s car in a secluded spot overlooking our local duckpond watching it all on a bit of a battered smart phone. I was fine with it though as I knew I was too ill to attend and my outfit wouldn’t have fitted anyway as I had lost so much weight, so anything we could glean from the day was a bonus really. The humanist celebrant was excellent (should have been renamed a humourist as he was so entertaining and funny) and my daughter and other half smiled and laughed throughout the whole thing.


She had particularly wanted an autumn wedding as it’s her favourite time of the year. As a fair-skinned Scot like myself, who isn’t good with hot weather and blazing sunshine, she likes nothing more than to pack away her summer wardrobe and get the winter woollies and overcoats back into service. She loves the colours of autumn too and the wedding venue had been decorated with dried flower displays and around 40 pumpkins, some real, some ceramic! Everywhere you looked there was a pumpkin – at the end of the rows of chairs, at the entrance, and part of the table centrepieces. Everyone was encouraged to take a pumpkin home with them and most of the guests did, to their credit, although I doubt if many made soup or a pie with them. I have now seen the wedding video and most of the photos taken by the photographer so although I wasn’t there in person I almost feel as if I was. Not bitter at all about the timing. Couldn’t be helped. I felt bad at not having been able to help with the organisation, and I felt bad about seeing Mr WIAA sitting on his own in the front row during the ceremony, but most of all I felt proud of DD and the new Mr DD at having pulled it off despite having been distracted all summer with my illness.

But what is it I usually say at around this point? This is a music blog so where is the song. It’s an easy peasy choice, it’s the song that accompanied DD’s walk down the aisle on the arm of her dad, ready to meet her groom. The song they picked is one I have known for most of my life, but not the version they went for. Their version was by a singer called Haley Reinhart and it goes something like this:

Can’t Help Falling In Love by Haley Reinhart

As I said I am really familiar with this song because I was a big Elvis Presley fan in my youth and one of my favourite Elvis films is Blue Hawaii which is where the song first appeared. It used to be a ritual of mine to watch Blue Hawaii on Boxing Day as it gave me a bit of a pick-me-up watching Elvis sing and dance his way through warm and sunny locations whilst sitting here in cold and dreich Scotland. Over the last few years I’ve not kept up that tradition but maybe time to dust off the DVD and give it another whirl.

The song Can’t Help Falling in Love was written in 1961 and the melody was apparently based on Plaisir d’amour, a popular French love song composed in 1784. The song was initially written from the perspective of a woman as “Can’t Help Falling in Love with Him”, which explains the first and third line ending on “in” and “sin” rather than words rhyming with “you”. Whatever its provenance, it was a great choice for the wedding sung by a graduate of American Idol, Haley. But I can’t leave it there. Time for a bit of a compare and contrast. Here is my favourite version from Blue Hawaii when Elvis, who has returned home from the army to set up a tourism business with girlfriend Maile, sings the song at their lavish outdoor wedding.

Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley


While we’re in the business of comparing and contrasting, I can’t end this post without also sharing the version by reggae band UB40 who had a really big hit with it in 1993 after it was used in the film Sliver. The song climbed to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying there for seven weeks. It also topped the charts of 11 other countries, including Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the UK, where it spent two weeks at No. 1. Time to visit the video clip I think.

Can’t Help Falling In Love by UB40

Not much more to say really except to share another picture of the happy couple outside their wedding venue just as a touch of drizzle was falling. Made for a very atmospheric shot. Also, I have just seen the clock, and in less than three hours we are going to be heading into 2024. It’s been a year of highs and lows for us as a family, the high being DD getting married but the low being my illness and how it affected us all. Happy New Year for when it comes – see you on the other side.


Until next time…

Can’t Help Falling In Love Lyrics
(Song by  Hugo Peretti/Luigi Creatore/George David Weiss)

Wise men say
Only fools, only fools rush in
Oh, but I, but I, I can’t help falling in love with you

Shall I stay?
Would it be, would it be a sin?
If I can’t help falling in love with you

Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things, you know, are meant to be

Take my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can”t help falling in love with you
For I can”t help falling in love with you

My Blogging Absence, A Few Words of Explanation and Wham! Take The Christmas Crown

Well, it’s been some time since I bothered these pages with any writing and looking back at the posts I put together back in June/July, regulars to this place would have detected that all was not going well in my life. The upshot was that in late July I had what used to be called a nervous breakdown (agitated depression to use modern parlance). More and more things were going wrong in my life (the holiday hideaway is no more) and we reached a crisis situation on the last day of the month. The people who came to whisk me off to hospital were not men in white coats however they were two very nice Community Psychiatric Nurses dressed in civvies, who will be in my life for some time to come. I was officially discharged from hospital only two and a half weeks ago and I’m happy to report that all is going really well. I know that it’s mostly down to the particular combination of drugs I’m on, but I am the happiest I’ve been in years, yet had things tipped the other way, I might not even be here. A sobering thought which makes me so grateful the doctors kept pursuing new avenues in terms of medication. I was a only a week away from being put on a course of ECT (12 sessions where you are under general anaesthetic every time) when I magically turned a corner and started to feel much, much better, so thankfully that plan was abandoned.


I ended up being a hospital inpatient for nearly four months. I was discharged twice during that time but always ended up back in after a few days. The irony is that our local Mental Health Hospital is only a 10 minute walk from my house and despite having passed it hundreds, or even thousands of times in the 24 years we’ve lived here, I had never been inside. I now know every nook and cranny. For a middle-aged, middle-class suburbanite like myself it is a scary place to find yourself in and there were some very challenging patients admitted during my stay. Thankfully we could lock our doors from the inside so if anything ever kicked off I could hide myself away. There were also a few nice people admitted whom I made friends with, but most patients only stay for a short time then either get discharged, or get moved to a different facility. Whatever, it is a place I will now never forget.

The great thing about the hospital being local to my home was that I had lots and lots of visits from my friends who also live in our area of town – neighbours, school mums, etc. I was really spoiled with some of them coming every week bringing me food treats, puzzle books and magazines. I was not the best of company however and looked awful (I lost three quarters of a stone) but thankfully they didn’t give up on me and persevered. I’m sure it all aided in my recovery. One friend in particular, whom I used to work with 30 years ago and who hasn’t been in my life for a long time, heard about my situation and identified that if some of my worries could be taken away from me I would get better. Being a hot shot accountant she took the time to help Mr WIAA with the sorting out of our finances. Until then I thought I was the only sane one and that everyone else was not recognising the reality of our situation, however, having someone I trusted take stock, really helped. As for Mr WIAA and DD, they found it really hard to deal with me as I had turned into someone they no longer recognised. At one point it didn’t look as if we’d ever get back on track in terms of my relationship with Mr WIAA, but now that I’m home and even a better version of the old me, I can happily report that all is now well on that front.

My final thank you is to all those blogging buddies (they know who they are) who also found out about my situation and sent cards, books and messages of support. Special thanks goes to C from Sun Dried Sparrows who did an excellent job of collating all those messages and sending them on. The new improved me is now looking ahead to the future and I can see another Bloggers Summit on the horizon, where this time I won’t be worried and distracted, but in fine fettle.

But hey, this is supposed to be a music blog and although I fully intend to get back to that soon, I just wanted to address the elephant in the room – my very long absence. When I was younger, one of the most exciting things about Christmas was finding out what the No. 1 single would be over the festive period. Those of us in the UK know that hasn’t been a thing for decades as the Christmas chart was always hijacked by either the winners of reality karaoke singing shows or songs about sausage rolls (although the latter did earn an awful lot of money for food banks). This year there has been an honest to goodness race which I did follow. Because of how we consume our music nowadays where the number of songs streamed and downloaded contribute to record sales, we have the situation where it’s the old favourites we return to every year. It was no surprise therefore to find out that Wham’s Last Christmas took the crown. I’m not complaining as it’s still a great sounding song, and I’ve written about George Michael more than anyone else around here. Such an irony therefore that the man who wrote one of Pop’s most enduring Christmas songs himself died on the big day. As ever I will raise a glass (of non-alcoholic beverage) to him.

Last Christmas by Wham!


So, What’s It All About? I think it’s safe to say I’m back… and the writing is flowing (I had worried the inability to string a sentence together might stay with me even if I got better). If you are a subscriber or regular follower I apologise for having given you only half a year’s worth of posts. but that changes as of today. I’m pretty sure I’ll get back to weekly blogging at the very least, and I might even sneak in a mid-week offering too.

For now, I’d just like to wish all my followers A Very Merry Christmas. Hope you have a fabulous one.


Last Christmas Lyrics
(Song by George Michael)

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away (you gave it away)
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special (special)

Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye
Tell me, baby, do you recognize me?
Well, it’s been a year, it doesn’t surprise me

“Happy Christmas,” I wrapped it up and sent it
With a note saying “I love you,” I meant it
Now I know what a fool I’ve been
But if you kissed me now, I know you’d fool me again

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away (you gave it away)
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special (special)

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special (special)

A crowded room, friends with tired eyes
I’m hiding from you and your soul of ice
My God, I thought you were someone to rely on
Me? I guess I was a shoulder to cry on

A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover, but you tore me apart
Ooh, ooh
Now I’ve found a real love, you’ll never fool me again

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away (you gave it away)
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special (special)

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, (you gave me away) you gave it away
This year, (oh) to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special (special)

A face on a lover with a fire in his heart (I gave you my heart)
A man under cover, but you tore him apart
Maybe next year, I’ll give it to someone
I’ll give it to someone special (special)
Someone