Saturday 23rd June 2012 Three Steps to Heaven

We’ve got things we must do again so the Blog will be a little less organised for a few days. We had to call the house-sitters again and head off to the Basque Country. The weather was brilliant and the roads were excellent. We managed to get from Benidorm to Sopalana in 8 hours without driving too fast. The number of speed cameras around Bilbao would slow anyone down. I don’t think I’ve seen as many cameras in Spain and the only similarity I’ve seen in England was the number of cameras on the roads between the M5 and Oxford.

We were in time to see the imperious Germans see off the threat of the Greeks. It would have been most ironic if Greece had defeated Germany with Angela Merkel watching. No such luck. Let’s hope Spain sees the French threat diminish and it will be interesting watching this match in France. Then there’s a certain match on Sunday between England and Italy. Every man is expected to do his duty……

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It’s Good to Be a Man!

Your last name stays put.

The garage is all yours.

Chocolate is just another snack.

You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.

Car mechanics tell you the truth.

You don’t care if someone notices your new haircut.

You never have to drive to another gas station because this
one’s too “yucky.”

Wrinkles add character.

Wedding dress $5,000; tux rental $100.

New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet.

One mood, ALL the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.

You know stuff about tanks.

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.

You can open all your own jars and bottles.

Dry cleaners and hair stylists don’t rob you blind.

You can leave the motel bed unmade.

You can kill your own food.

If someone forgets to invite you to something, he or she can
still be your friend.

You underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.

If you are 34 and single, nobody notices.

Everything on your face stays its original color.

You can quietly enjoy a car ride from the passenger seat.

Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.

You don’t have to clean your house if the maid is coming.

You don’t mooch off other’s desserts; you order your own.

You don’t split small salad orders with your buddies – you
often order two salads.

You don’t have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut
on a bolt.

You almost never have strap problems in public.

You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.

The same hairstyles last for years – no, make that decades.

You don’t have to shave below your neck.

Your belly usually hides your big hips.

One wallet and one pair of shoes equals one color for ALL
seasons.

You can “do” your nails with your pocketknife.

You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives, on December
24th, in 45 minutes.

1683 – William Penn signed a friendship treaty with Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania.  It’s nice to have new friends

1700 – Russia gave up its Black Sea fleet as part of a truce with the Ottoman Empire. Mistake

1758 – British and Hanoverian armies defeated the French at Krefeld in Germany. Ganging up?

1757 – Robert Clive defeated the Indians at Plassey and won control of Bengal. An icon

1848 – A bloody insurrection of workers in Paris erupted. Sacre Bleu

1860 – The U.S. Secret Service was created to arrest counterfeiters. Who were they?

1865 – Confederate General Stand Watie, who was also a Cherokee chief, surrendered the last sizable Confederate army at Fort Towson, in the Oklahoma Territory. How?

1868 – Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention that he called a “Type-Writer.”  I would have expected shoe inserts!

1902 – Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy renewed the Triple Alliance for a 12 year duration.  Trouble ahead with the axis of evil

1926 – The first lip reading tournament in America was held in Philadelphia, PA. No swear words please

1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from New York on the first round-the-world flight in a single-engine plane. Brave guys

1934 – Italy gained the right to colonize Albania after defeating the country. Bullies

1952 – The U.S. Air Force bombed power plants on Yalu River, Korea. It was necessary

1956 – Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt. brought stability

1964 – The burned car of three civil rights workers was found prompting the FBI to begin a search. The men had been missing since June 21, 1964. Their bodies were found on August 4, 1964.  Dreadful events

1966 – Civil Rights marchers in Mississippi were dispersed by tear gas. It was enough to make you weep

1985 – All 329 people aboard an Air-India Boeing 747 were killed when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland. The cause was thought to be a bomb.  I hate to read about these statistics and dreadful happenings

1989 – The movie “Batman” was released nationwide. Loved it

2004 – The U.S. proposed that North Korea agree to a series of nuclear disarmament measures over a three-month period in exchange for economic benefits. Good

 

1957, Lonnie Donegan was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Gamblin’ Man / Putting On The Style’, the singers second UK No.1. It was the last UK No.1 to be released as a 78rpm as well as a 7′ vinyl record.He was the man who inspired a nation to sing skiffle and build their own t-chest bass

1960, Eddie Cochran was at No.1 in the UK with the single ‘Three Steps To Heaven’. The American singer had been killed 3 months earlier in a car crash while touring the UK.Dave Dee was a young rookie called to the crash

1962, Ray Charles started a 14-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music’. A favourite singer of mine

1962, The film soundtrack to ‘West Side Story’ went to No.1 on the UK charts for the first time. It spent a total of 13 weeks at No.1 on seven different occasions. Beautiful songs and great mo0vie

1965, The Yardbirds appeared at The City Hall, Salisbury, England, admission 10 shillings,  1966, The Beatles had their tenth consecutive UK No.1 single with ‘Paperback Writer’ / ‘Rain’. The track is marked by the boosted bass guitar sound throughout, partly in response to John Lennon demanding to know why the bass on a certain Wilson Pickett record far exceeded the bass on any Beatles records. It was also cut louder than any other Beatles record, due to a new piece of equipment used in the mastering process.  I wonder why he felt so strongly about this?  I preferred Rain
1970, Cubby Checker was arrested in Niagara Falls after police discovered marijuana and other drugs in his car. He didn’t mention this on our podcast

1973, 10cc were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Rubber Bullets’, the first of three UK No.1′s for the band, (who also had a No.1 as Hotlegs).  Great song although I didn’t like Hotlegs
1973, George Harrison started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Living In The Material World’, his second US No.1.Well done George

1975, During his ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’ tour in Vancouver, Canada, Alice Cooper fell from the stage and broke six ribs. What a nightmare
1975, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of 14 shows over 7 nights at Paul’s Mall in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of their Natty Dread Tour. Great tour

1984, Duran Duran started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Reflex’, the group’s first US No.1, also a UK No.1.Not a favourite of mine

1989, George Michael received the Silver Clef Award for outstanding achievements to British Music. Music great beahviour less than great

1990, 13-year-old Keith Sorrentino filed a $500,000 (£294,118) lawsuit against Madonna, claiming he suffered nightmares and bed-wetting problems after an incident outside Madonna’s home when she allegedly flung him to the ground.Was it because Madonna was loaded?

1990, Elton John had his first UK solo No.1 single with ‘Sacrifice / Healing Hands’ after achieving over 50 previous UK hits and 6 chart toppers in the US.  A well deserved success for this genius

1990, Buddy Holly’s Gibson acoustic guitar sold for £139,658 ($237,419) in a Sotheby’s auction. The guitar was in a tooled leather case made by Holly himself. Investment?
1995, Drummer Alan White made his live debut with Oasis at Glastonbury Festival. Also former Take That member Robbie Williams appeared on stage with the band during the show.   There for the craic?

2002, The top pop earners from US sales during 2001 were listed by Rolling Stone magazine as: Madonna at No.5 with £29.1 million ($49.5 million); Dave Matthews Band at No.4 with £31 million ($52.7 million); The Beatles at No.3 with £34.2 million ($58 million); Dr. Dre at No.2 with £37.1 million ($63 million) and, top of the list, U2 with £44.2 million ($75 million).  A bonus for Bono?
2003, Diana Ross appeared in court and testified that she was coerced and felt intimidated into taking a breath test that showed her blood alcohol level was 0.2 (well over the 0.08 limit). The singer said, “If I didn’t take the breath tests, I was either going to go to the hospital or to jail”. After the hearing, Ross asked the judge if it would be possible to have court paperwork processed using her married name of Diana Naess. The City Magistrate said he thought it was “a little late” for that now.  A great star in trouble let’s hope she got back on track
2004, UK DJ Tony Blackburn was suspended by radio station Classic Gold Digital for playing songs by Cliff Richard which was against station policy.  Whoever made the policy needed sacking
2004, Bob Dylan was awarded an honorary degree by the University of St. Andrews Scotland’s oldest University and made a “Doctor of Music.”  I don’t like honorary degrees but he was special
2008, Coldplay appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York City on the first night of the North American leg, Viva la Vida, 161-date world Tour.Nice music