Sunday 26 June 2016

The Wedding Present new album

Not so much a review just a heads up. A reminder for me as well as you. I first encountered The Wedding Present about the same time as Biff Bang Pow and other Creation records started coming through the door. That's not to say they were on Creation, its just in my head it would be 1984-1985, or over 30 years ago. I like doing this memory nonsense out loud as it helps with my early onset dementia when I write it down. Back to the Wedding Present though and I'm thinking they were one of the best bands I never got to see, I'm guessing because they were from across the EU border in England. The good news for me is I'm going to get that chance this year as they are touring and I might even manage it when I'm down in London to see "Harry" the play at the Kings Head in Islington on July 26th. Harry is a play and not from 1985 so its new and fresh, but I do like the whole nostalgia thing and as its rife in London I'll get pad and paper out to roll back the clock. Tick tock.

Around the same time were another great band from down south that I never got to see, The June Brides. The list was quite a long list. I just had a quick look at the covers to see what issues covered the period and the June Brides were in issue 26, the relations from Perth I did manage to see, as I did Crucial Xylophones from Dundee, Rhythm System from Glasgow, although I dont think I ever got to see The Men Men. Drink frequently got in the way and if it wasn't drink it was a doorman or a doorway, in fact kerbs used to stop me in my track quite often too.

Friday 24 June 2016

Black Friday? or just not quite so blue friday

Europe has lost one of its stars, certainly not the brightest in the class but one of its stars none the less. I think the poll probably reflects my thinking in terms that I was neither that bothered about staying in or leaving, it was a 50/50 thing that on balance I was an in. I thought the vote would be like it was in Scotland, 60/40, but in the end it was much more like the independence vote and went the way of the exit.

The worry for all of us is that we have nobody to negotiate our exit or our trade deals and as a result we'll be legged over by lengthy uncertainty and as divorces go, we'll probably be left with the broken dishwasher and hoover while the new washer/dryer goes back to Bosch. The notion of Great Britain is such a compelling marketing slogan, but alas it is just that. We are anything but great. We've meandered along a path to mediocrity and I'm sorry but Boris and co are more than likely to have the best banquets around but we'll not be scoffing at their table.

Yes we'll get a dozen Albanians off our streets and for once they wont return, but we'll also send home Aussie physios, Doctors from New Zealand, Nigerian Nurses, Polish plasterers, German grafters, Italian chefs and Gambian gamemasters, oh and aquire a skills shortfall.

If we thought we had a shortfall in our pension funds, we'll find it gets a wee bit bigger or will we? BT is now only £7bn short of where it needs to be and although this figure is growing, there is a potedntial crumb of comfort.

Like the Eco system, scrathcing the economy's arse can often have a relieving thought in the brain and if our interest rates need to rise to help sterling then our pension funds will feel a huge burden lift with the rise. Unfortunately, as with scratching the arse once, you often have to scratch it again, redoubling your efforts mean that house prices are affected and the broader economy will suffer. Wait, is that not the recession we're just coming out of?

Oh no, if we dive further into recession and BT isnt able to make profits how can it keep making enough money to pay into the pension....efficency savings, that'll be the way

Oh well, scratch away, you never know it might work, that's what the marketing guys tell me. I've spoken to the project managers too, they tell me there's a lot of project work on at the moment discussing how best to scratch, the most efficaceous way to scratch, maximum resistance, you name it, anything but when its ok.

Apparently the timeline still hasn't been decided you see, as there's a bit more negotiation, oh well, I'll go out for a long walk then....