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“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” – Bruce Lee

Fortify yourself with contentment, for this is an impregnable fortress. – Epictetus, 55 AD- 135 AD

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. - Mark Twain, 1835-1910

I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. – Patrick Henry, 1736-1799

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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.   1961, Pat Boone went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Moody River’, the single reached No.18 in the UK. 

How can the weather be so different? It rained all of last night and we woke to very heavy skies and no view of the Mediterranean. It’s not cold but it is mean, menacing and moody. I haven’t seen the red squirrels today. They were playing just behind the house yesterday. Strangely enough, there was a programme on TV last night which was looking at the red squirrel population in Yorkshire.

With no commitments for a nice change we decided on a leisurely morning and had a bit of a lie-in. I made the mistake of watching one of the UK crime fighting programmes. Talk about putting a downer on the day. The prophets of doom and gloom were having a field day inspiring the public not to worry about the levels of violence their programme had just shown. I think the producers think there’s a nation of Misses Marple and Inspectors Clousseau who sit and avidly follow the plots whilst not thinking for a moment the same could happen to themselves.

Here’s a little visitor who popped onto our wall today. The Preying Mantis can be confused with the Grasshopper but it is a much bigger insect. It is also identified by the praying position it seems to adopt.

The street cleaners are back with a vengeance. We haven’t seen them for weeks on end and now it’s two days in a row. Are there local elections? Has the mayor moved into the neighbourhood? Have numbers of street sweeper drivers suddenly moved into our district? Is the central government likely to make a statement saying that all local taxes are going up? Whichever way I don’t think there’s any likelihood of a local street sweepers competition. I just want to know the politics behind the resurgance of this vehicle with brushes on its undercarriage. Nice to see you to see you……

Have you been following the activities and aspirations of the Moors murderer Ian Brady? As he now claims that his offences were nothing compared to those committed by “politicians and soldiers in wars” he gives us a very clear picture of the remorse in his heart for the victims of his heinous crimes. source

Despite all the scientists getting together to understand our weather patterns very little more is known why we are having such unsettled weather. The Jet Stream is only a part of the problem and the scientists have not come up with any real answers. Let’s be honest what good can they do anyway? Whatever is coming our way will still be coming no matter how many scientists sit and discuss the reasons!

Stuart Hall is set for a relatively short stay in prison for his child abuse and will be back home for Christmas. There are those who say this is not a strong enough punishment for this 83 year-old. Personally, I find it difficult to know what would be appropriate for any 83 year-old found guilty of child abuse. Is it likely old pals might have helped lessen the sentence? It will be interesting to see who distances themselves from this man as the only people likely not to shun him are those who share similar low values. His memories are now discredited. I used to like It’s a Knockout. I don’t want to remember it now.

WordPlay Writers’ Forum have come out top in a UK competition to find the best Anthology produced by a writers’ circle in 2012. Here’s what Writing Magazine (the UK’s largest publication for writers) had to say about their book, Shorts for Autumn:

A Relatively young group based in Spain, Wordplay Writers’ Forum was founded just over three years ago, but has already made good headway in helping writers get published. Members aid each other with self-publishing and discuss news and promotion as much as the nuts and bolts of writing.

Their winning anthology, Shorts for Autumn, was planned to give members a focus for their fiction writing, but had to be (loosely) set in Autumn. They worked in pairs to edit and prepare stories for publication. It is dedicated to founder member Ian Govan, who died during its publication and was driven by helping other writers get into print.

Wordplay Writers plan to produce further anthologies each quarter, and launch an imprint to offer writers assisted self-publishing economically.

Copies of the book are available from Amazon and Kindle, as well as by ordering at your local bookstore. If you would like more information then please visit www.wordplaywritersforum.com.

New Bicycle

I was visiting customers in their home one afternoon. While
I was talking to them, their four-year-old little girl,
whose name was Michelle, tugged on my pants leg and
excitedly exclaimed, “I got a new bicycle. Do you want to
see it?”

I said, “Sure, Michelle.” So off to the backyard we went.
Upon getting there, I saw a brand-new girl’s bicycle. “Wow,
Michelle! That’s a beautiful bicycle,” I complimented. “Can
you ride it?”

“Yeah, I can ride it,” she said, and then with a sad face
she pouted, “but it’s broke.”

I looked at the new bicycle and couldn’t see anything wrong
with it, so I asked her, “What’s wrong with it?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “but every time I ride it, it
falls down!”

Events  19th June

0240 BC – Eratosthenes estimated the circumference of the Earth using two sticks. What had he been drinking?

1862 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln outlined his Emancipation Proclamation, which outlawed slavery in U.S. territories. Good man

1864 – The USS Kearsarge sank theCSS Alabama off of Cherbourg, France.  Bad news

1865 – The emancipation of slaves was proclaimed in Texas.  Good

1867 – Mexican Emperor Maximillian was executed. A bad lad so we’ve been told

1903 – The young school teacher, Benito Mussolini, was placed under investigation by police in Bern, Switzerland.  Another bad lad

1911 – In Pennsylvania, the first motion-picture censorship board was established.People have always wanted to go too far

1912 – The U.S. government established the 8-hour work day. Good

1917 – During World War I, King George V ordered the British royal family to dispense with German titles and surnames. On July 17, 1917, the family took the name “Windsor”. How well have they managed to kid a nation!

1933 – France granted Leon Trotsky political asylum.

1937 – The town of Bilbao, Spain, fell to the Nationalist forces.  I love this town. It’s set in lovely green hills leading to nearby mountains and with great surfing beaches nearby

1942 – Norma Jeane Mortenson (Marilyn Monroe) and her 21-year-old neighbor Jimmy Dougherty were married. They were divorced in June of 1946. I suppose four years wasn’t too bad

1942 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington, DC, to discuss the invasion of North Africa with U.S. President Roosevelt.  Two good men

1951 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed the Universal Military Training and Service Act, which extended Selective Service until July 1, 1955 and lowered the draft age to 18. It was necessary

1958 – In Washington, DC, nine entertainers refused to answer a congressional committee’s questions on communism.  Fair enough

1961 – Kuwait regained complete independence from Britain…..  and with all that oil they were allowed to go?

1961 – The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision in Maryland’s constitution that required state officeholders to profess a belief in God.  Were did such rules come from?

1968 – 50,000 people marched on Washington, DC. to support the Poor People’s Campaign. Good

1976 – During three days of violence, black student protestors were massacred in Soweto, South Africa.  Bad days

1981 – “Superman II” set the all-time, one-day record for theater box-office receipts when it took in $5.5 million.  He was full of kryptonite

1987 – The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Louisiana law that required that schools teach creationism.  Good

1989 – The movie “Batman” premiered.  I like the Joker

1997 – William Hague became the youngest leader of Britain’s Conservative party in nearly 200 years.  He wasn’t ready

1998 – A study released said that smoking more than doubles risks of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s.  I am anti-smoking because good friends and relatives have died from the use of the dreaded weed

1998 – Switzerland’s three largest banks offered $600 million to settle claims they’d stolen the assets of Holocaust victims during World War II. Jewish leaders called the offer insultingly low.  But it had started a process

2000 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a group prayer led by students at public-school football games violated the 1st Amendment’s principle that called for the separation of church and state.  Difficult area

The Day’s Music Events 19th June

1961, Pat Boone went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Moody River’, the single reached No.18 in the UK.  I love this song

1964, Touring Australia for the first and only time The Beatles played a second night at Sydney Stadium in Sydney. Happy day-trippers
1965, The Who, Solomon Burke, Zoot Money, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Spencer Davis Group, Marianne Faithful, Long John Baldry, The Birds, (featuring a young Ronnie Wood), Dave Witting and the Ray Martin Group all appeared at Uxbridge Blues Festival, England. Tickets cost from 7/6 to 10/6.  What a cast
1965, The Four Tops went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I Can’t Help Myself’. Lead singer Levi Stubbs had not been satisfied with the recording session and was promised that he could do it again the following day, but no other session ever took place. The track that became a hit was just the second take of the song.I’ve always loved this song

1967, Having admitted to taking LSD four tines during an interview with Life Magazine, Beatle Paul McCartney told The Daily Mirror that he didn’t regret that he’d spoken out and hoped that his fans would understand. Yes, they would

1968, The Rolling Stones scored their seventh UK No.1 single when ‘Jumpin Jack Flash’ hit the top of the charts.I loved it

1971, Carole King started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘It’s Too Late / I Feel The Earth Move’. Both songs were from her ‘Tapestry’ album. Fabulous

1976, Future Smiths singer Steve Morrissey had a letter published in this weeks music magazine Record Mirror and Disc asking the editor why the paper had not included any stories on The Sex Pistols.  Was he mad?
1977, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers supported by The Boomtown Rats appeared at The Rainbow, London.  A good billing
1977, Six men wielding knives and iron bars outside Shepherd’s Bush underground station beat up Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols. Cook required 15 stitches to a head wound.  I hated everything the group ever stood for but nothing justifies this
1980, US singer Donna Summer became the first act to be signed by David Geffen to his new Geffen record label.  She would prove her worth
1982, Culture Club appeared at the recently opened Hacienda Club in Manchester, England.  Good venue

1990, Prince played the first of 12 sold-out nights at Wembley Arena in London, England on his current Nude European tour.  Great talent although a bit weird

1992, The Greenpeace Stop Sellafield, campaign concert took place at G-Mex in Manchester, England with U2, Big Audio Dynamite II, Public Enemy and Kraftwerk. Another great billing
1993, Tina Turner went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’.  She was a great entertainer

2007, Lawyers for Britney Spears demanded a Florida radio station remove “offensive” advertisements, which featured her with a shaved head. The WFLZ billboards included the slogans “Total nut jobs”, “Shock Therapy” and “Certifiable”, which ran across pictures of a bald Spears. Law firm Lavely and Singer demanded the “immediate removal” of the banners in a letter to the station. Spears was photographed shaving her own head in a Californian hair salon earlier this year.  No comment 

Birthday Boys and Girls

1936, Tommy Devito, The Four Seasons, (1976 UK & US No.1 single ‘December 1963, Oh What A Night’).

1939,  Al Wilson, US singer, (1974 US No.1 single ‘Show And Tell’).

1944,  Robin Box, White Plains, (1970 UK No.8 single ‘Julie Do Ya Love Me’).
1959, Mark Debarge, Debarge, (1985 UK No.4 single ‘Rhythm Of The Night’).

1960,Dennis Fuller, London Boys, (1989 UK No.2 single ‘London Nights’). He was killed in a car crash with London Boy partner Edem Ephraim on January 21st 1996.

1963, Paula Abdul, singer, dancer, (1990 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Opposites Attract’ plus five other US No.1 singles. 1989 album ‘Forever Your Girl’ spent ten weeks as US No.1.). Judge on American Idol TV show.

.. Music Source 1 music source 2

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At my age I don’t care if my mind starts to wander – just as long as it comes back again. ~Mike Knowles *
Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places. ~Glenn Dorenbush

A man has reached middle age when he is warned to slow down by his doctor instead of the police. ~Henny Youngman

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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.   1955, Jimmy Young was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of ‘Unchained Melody’, (a theme for the obscure prison film Unchained and a hit for the Righteous Brothers in 1965). Young scored another ten Top 40 hit singles and went on to become one of UK’s favourite radio DJ’s

The weather has changed a little. Yesterday started out as a roasting hot day and then things cooled down a bit as the clouds came in on the mountains and then met the sea down on the coastline.

The world might have had a bit of better news yesterday as the new Iranian President seems to be a moderate. Let’s hope this proves to be the case. Meanwhile the G8 leaders continue on their orgy of spending money in Northern Ireland. It was also nice to see the Duke of Edinburgh coming out of hospital looking reasonably cheerful. On the less cheerful side of the news broadcaster Stuart Hall was jailed for 15 months. People are saying this punishment doesn’t fit the crimes, The news bulletin talk of outrage at such a light sentence.

Looking at the narrow escape the tourists had when the yellow amphibious vehicle sank in the  Liverpool dock made me wonder why we act so differently on holidays. Why should anyone have to do something dangerous just because they’re on their holidays? Yet many people are encouraged and dared to do just that! “I don’t really fancy going on the Big Dipper.” “Oh go on you big scaredy cat….you’re on your holidays!”

The Beatles did give the impression that many, if not all, Liverpudlians lived in yellow submarines. To the best of my knowledge no such machine existed in the Liverpool of the 60s although one might have been made for a certain Sergeant Pepper. Certainly, documentaries from the Royal Navy haven’t compelled everyone to go out and join submarine fleets yet the Liverpool ducks were a popular tourist attraction. The Queen and Prince Philip must have choked on their tea and toast when they realised they could have been floating in one of the Liverpool docks a few months ago. The accident wasn’t the first of its kind for the fleet and they are now enduring calls for their dismissal from the tourist attractions of this great city.

Whichever way, despite any impressions I might otherwise give, I would not have enjoyed the sight of the Royal couple swimming for dear life in the murky waters of the River Mersey. I think it was the Salthouse Dock and I’ve sung about the Marco Polo for many a year…..

I thought for quite a few minutes before including this next offering. I was sent the following last year and I still feel there is some great sense in what is being said.

They’re not happy in Gaza.
They’re not happy in Egypt.
They’re not happy in Libya.
They’re not happy in Morocco.
They’re not happy in Iran.
They’re not happy in Iraq.
They’re not happy in Yemen.
They’re not happy in Afghanistan.
They’re not happy in Pakistan.
They’re not happy in Syria.
They’re not happy in Lebanon.

And where are they happy?

They’re happy in England.
They’re happy in France.
They’re happy in Italy.
They’re happy in Germany.
They’re happy in Sweden.
They’re happy in the USA.
They’re happy in Norway.
They’re happy in ISRAEL.
They’re happy in every country that is not Muslim.

And who do they blame?  Not Islam. Not their leadership. Not themselves.

THEY BLAME ISRAEL & THE COUNTRIES THEY ARE  HAPPY IN.

Lots of these things are shunted around the internet and with the click of a button somebody else is in on the act. Obviously, this is a very biased account of the current situation.  I think  ‘they’ are the radical extremists and I think it’s unfair to brand all Muslims as being the same.  However, I think we can all see a rather large grain of truth

Events  18th June

1155 – Frederick I Barbarossa was crowned emperor of Rome. Great name

1429 – French forces defeated the English at the battle of Patay. The English had been retreating after the siege of Orleans.  They were tired

1621 – The first duel in America took place in the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts.  Trust those Devon boys

1667 – The Dutch fleet sailed up the Thames toward London. Dooee

1778 – Britain evacuated Philadelphia during the U.S. Revolutionary War. Did they take all the cheese with them?

1815 – At the Battle of Waterloo Napoleon was defeated by an international army under the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon abdicated on June 22.  They ganged up on him

1817 – London’s Waterloo Bridge opened. The bridge, designed by John Rennie, was built over the River Thames.  Fabulous work

1915 – During World War I, the second battle of Artois ended.  Over the stella?

1918 – Allied forces on the Western Front began their largest counter-attack against the German army.  The end was nigh

1927 – The U.S. Post Office offered a special 10-cent postage stamp for sale. The stamp was of Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis.”  Good idea

1928 – Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as she completed a flight from Newfoundland to Wales.  Wonderful

1942 – The U.S. Navy commissioned its first black officer, Harvard University medical student Bernard Whitfield Robinson.  I’ll bet his parents were proud
1953 – Egypt was proclaimed to be a republic with General Neguib as its first president.  I hadn’t realised was only the same year as the first four minute mile
1972 – A BEA Trident crashed just after takeoff from London Airport. All 118 people on board were killed.  I hate these statistics

1979 – In Vienna, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) 2.   Good

1983 – Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger.  Good

1997 – Sirhan Sirhan was denied parole for the 10th time. He had assissinated presidential candidate Robert Kennedy in 1968.  He should rot in jail-sorry

2002 – In Jerusalem, a suicide bomber killed 19 people and injured at least 50 more on a city bus. The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Bad

2009 – NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/LCROSS probes to the Moon. It was the first American lunar mission since Lunar Prospector in 1998. Good

2009 – Greenland assumed control over its law enforcement, judicial affairs, and natural resources from the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenlandic became the official language.  Fair enough

1948, Columbia Records started the first mass production of the 33-RPM long player. The new format could contain a maximum of 23 minutes of music per side versus the three minutes that could be squeezed on to a 78 RPM disc.Major breakthrough

1955, Jimmy Young was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of ‘Unchained Melody’, (a theme for the obscure prison film Unchained and a hit for the Righteous Brothers in 1965). Young scored another ten Top 40 hit singles and went on to become one of UK’s favourite radio DJ’s  He was a very wise presenter and on-air til he was 80

1964, Touring Australia The Beatles played at Sydney Stadium in Sydney. This was Paul McCartney’s 22nd birthday and after the show his guests included 17 girls who were winners of the Daily Mirrors “Why I would like to be a guest at a Beatles birthday party” competition.  Could you blame him?
1966, This weeks Top 5 UK singles: No.5, Percy Sledge, ‘When A Man Love’s A Woman’, No.4, The Mersey’s, ‘Sorrow’, No.3, The Mamas and the Papas, ‘Monday Monday’, No.2, The Beatles, ‘Paperback Writer’, No.1, Frank Sinatra, ‘Strangers In The Night.’  Great tracks
1976, Abba gave a special live performance in Stockholm for Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath on the eve of their wedding.  What a great honour

1977, Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Dreams’, the group’s first and only US No.1, it made No.24 in the UK.  Very classy music

1977, Johnny Rotten and Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols were stabbed and beaten when they were attacked in a car park outside a London pub.   I didn’t like their behaviour or their music but I would never condone this
1983, Swiss band Yello released the first three- dimensional picture disc, complete with 3-D glasses.  I loved their concept
1988, George Michael appeared live at the Glasgow SEC on his “Faith” tour. Tickets cost £11 ($19). I always admire his music….strange behaviour otherwise

1988, ‘Doctorin’ The Tardis’ by The Timelords was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The Timelords were Scottish duo Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, who formed KLF. The song was a mash-up of the Doctor Who theme music, Gary Glitter’s ‘Rock and Roll (Part Two)’ with sections from ‘Blockbuster!’ by Sweet. A fine concept

1988, Rick Astley went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Together Forever’, his second US No.1, a No.2 hit in the UK.  Nice guy- cheesey music
1993, A&M Records chairman Jerry Moss and vice-chairman Herb Alpert announced they were leaving the company they founded more than 30 years earlier. They had sold A&M in 1990 to Polygram for $500 million. Moss and Alpert started the label in the garage of Alpert’s Los Angeles home in 1962. The label was the home to such acts as The Police, Bryan Adams, Joan Baez, Flying Burrito Brothers, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Supertramp and Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass.  I think I liked all the acts on this label and I was on the DJ mailing lists for promo copies

1997, During a North American tour U2 played the first of two nights at Oakland Coliseum, San Francisco supported by Oasis.  Good bill
2000, It was reported that sales of pirate music CDs had now exceeded more than 500 million a year and accounted for one in every five sold. The Phonographic Industry estimated it was costing the music industry £3 billion ($5.1 billion) in lost sales.There is absolutely no knowing a figure like this. It is pure conjecture

2002, U2 lost a bid to prevent the demolition of Hanover Quay studio in Dublin. Over 8,000 fans signed an online petition to preserve the studio, where the group recorded ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’ and some of their ‘Pop’ album.  Could they have bought it?
2003, Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller became the first British music manager since The Beatles’ Brian Epstein to hold the top three positions in the US singles chart. Fuller, who steered the Spice Girls and S Club 7 to success, was in charge of bestselling artists Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, together with the American Idol 2 Final 10. During 2003 Fuller sold more than ten million records around the world and has had 96 No.1 singles and 79 top-placed albums in both the US and UK during his career. He was named in the latest Sunday Times Rich List as the 359th wealthiest person in the UK with assets of £90 million ($153 million).  You can’t knock such figures

2007, American singer and record producer Hank Medress died of lung cancer at 68. He was the vocalist on The Tokens 1961 US No.1 hit ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’, Medress was also in the vocal quartet The Linc-Tones with Neil Sedaka and produced the hit single ‘He’s So Fine’ by The Chiffons, as well as Tony Orlando’s ‘Knock Three Times.’ This was another gap in my music knowledge as I’d never heard his name before

2008, A Lost Angeles hotel filed a lawsuit against Phil Spector for failing to pay more than $100,000 (£61,000), in outstanding bills for lawyers and expert witnesses in his murder trial. The Westin Bonaventure Hotel claimed that by the time Spector’s trial ended with a hung jury, the defendants owed the hotel more than $104,000 (£63,400). This amount of money for hotel bills is almost immoral

2010, John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to The Beatles song ‘A Day In The Life’ sold for $1.2m (£810,000) at an auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The double-sided sheet of paper with notes written in felt marker and blue ink also contained some corrections and other notes penned in red ink.  I’ll bet he never imagined in his wildest dreams what that paper would one day be worth!

Birthday Boys and Girls

1938, Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris, US guitarist, pianist, 50′s duo Don & Dewey. Worked with Little Richard, John Mayall and Frank Zappa. Died on 30th November 1999.

1942,  Paul McCartney, The Beatles, Wings, solo. The most successful rock composer of all time. First met John Lennon on July 6th 1957 who was impressed that Paul could tune a guitar. With The Beatles he scored 21 US No.1 & 17 UK No.1 singles plus McCartney has scored over 30 US & UK solo Top 40 hit singles.
1942, Carl Radle, bass, Derek and the Dominoes, (1972 UK No.7 single ‘Layla’). Died of kidney failure June 30th 1980, aged 38. Also worked with George Harrison and Delaney And Bonnie.

1942,  Richard Perry, US producer. Member of The Legends during the 60′s. Worked with Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, Ringo Starr, Captain Beefheart, Leo Sayer, Diana Ross, The Pointer Sisters.

1953, Jerome Smith, guitarist, KC and the Sunshine Band, (1975 US No.1 single ‘Get Down Tonight’, 1983 UK No.1 single ‘Give It Up’). He died on August 2nd 2000 after being crushed by a bulldozer he was operating.

1957, Tom Bailey, vocals, keyboards, The Thompson Twins, (1984 UK No.2 single ‘You Take Me Up’, 1984 US No.3 single, ‘Hold Me Now’).

1961,  Alison Moyet, singer, Yazoo, (1982 UK No.2 single ‘Only You’). Solo (1985 UK No.2 single ‘That Ole Devil Called Love’).

.. Music Source 1 music source 2

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At my age I don’t care if my mind starts to wander – just as long as it comes back again. ~Mike Knowles *
Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places. ~Glenn Dorenbush

A man has reached middle age when he is warned to slow down by his doctor instead of the police. ~Henny Youngman

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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.  2007, The Traveling Wilburys went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Collection.’ The line of the Wilburys was: George Harrison, (Nelson Wilbury), Jeff Lynne, (Otis Wilbury), Roy Orbison, (Lefty Wilbury), Tom Petty, (Charlie T. Wilbury Jr.) and Bob Dylan, (Lucky Wilbury)

Yesterday was a lovely warm and sunny Costa Blanca Sunday. I was busy podcasting with Neil Colbourne around midday. Neil has been away in the UK after a family bereavement and, like ourselves, it will take a while before life gets back to normal.

It was a well deserved win for Andy Murray at Queens yesterday but he really had a fight on his hands all through the final. England had a great win against Argentina in the Rugby Union and Spain were playing well when I watched the first part of the game against Uruguay.

Our podcast looked at the absence of fathers costing the UK economy a small fortune in benefits and other social implications. Yesterday was Father’s Day. It became very interesting as we developed our podcast. Certainly, the obvious first observation is that a general lack of morality is in the frame. Too many babies are now illegitimate and then left to their one parent carer to raise. After all the trials and tribulations of bringing up the child the next observation is that not many male teachers can offer any role model in the primary schools. There just aren’t many males who want to work in that sector. Does it matter? Statistics raised by Peter Hitchens in the Mail Online would suggest it does matter and our own observations on the way society now has so many behavioural problems suggests it does matter.

Last week I highlighted the pornographic content of the lyrics of the number 1 song in the UK . I have been sounding out others on their feelings on this issue and I am surprised by some who feel it isn’t important. One close friend said he didn’t feel people listened to the words. I respect his opinion but it got me thinking. When Hypnotherapists ask us to listen to their tapes they tell us we don’t really have to listen to the words. The words will sink in subconsciously. Does this not answer the question I set my friend? Moreover, not only are the lyrics dangerous,  the role models are hardly inspiring. Adele is on record as saying that many of her secondary school friends had the ambition to get themselves pregnant and live off the state. As Louis Armstrong sang, “What a wonderful world!”

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A 62 year old woman managed to embed her car into the front of a Badajoz butchers shop today, after apparently becoming distracted at the wheel.

The woman was said to have become nervous whilst carrying out a parking manoeuvre, hitting the car´s accelerator, rather than the brake, shooting forward and becoming embedded under the half closed shutter of the shop.

The owner of the “Cerrato” shop said that he was preparing to close his store, so the shutters were half way down, and was suddenly disturbed by a loud bang.

Luckily, there were no injuries from the incident, other than the damage caused to both the car and the shop front.  SpanishVida

How old is grandma? Stay with this — the answer is at the end. It may blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events. The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general..The Grandmother replied, “Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:
‘ television
‘ penicillin
‘ polio shots
‘ frozen foods
‘ Xerox
‘ contact lenses
‘ Frisbees and
‘ the pill
There were no:
‘ credit cards
‘ laser beams or
‘ ball-point pens
Man had not invented:
‘ pantyhose
‘ air conditioners
‘ dishwashers
‘ clothes dryers
‘ and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and
‘ space travel was only in Flash Gordon books.Your Grandfather and I got married first, .. …. … and then lived together..
Every family had a father and a mother.
Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, “Sir”.
And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, “Sir.”
We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
Our lives were governed by the The Bible, good judgment, and common sense.
We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.   Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege…We thought fast food was eating half a biscuit while runing to catch the school bus.  Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.  Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze started.  Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.  We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President’s speeches on our radios.  And I don’t ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.  If you saw anything with ‘Made in Japan’ on it, it was junk
The term ‘making out’ referred to how you did on your school exam….
Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and instant coffee were unheard of.

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.
And if you didn’t want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.  You could buy a new Ford Coupe for $600, . .. . but who could afford one?  Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
In my day:
‘ “grass” was mowed,
‘ “coke” was a cold drink,
‘ “pot” was something your mother cooked in and
‘ “rock music” was your grandmother’s lullaby.
‘ “Aids” were helpers in the Principal’s office,
‘ “chip” meant a piece of wood,
‘ “hardware” was found in a hardware store and
‘ “software” wasn’t even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us “old and confused” and say there is a generation gap.
How old do you think I am? I bet you have this old lady in mind….you are in for a shock!
Read on to see — pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.

This woman would be only 59 years old.

An elderly couple were on a cruise and it was really stormy. They were standing on the back of the boat watching the storm, when a wave came up and washed the old man overboard. They searched for days and couldn’t find him, so the captain sent the old woman back to shore with the promise that he would notify her as soon as they found something. Three weeks went by and finally the old woman got a fax from the boat. It read: “Ma’am, sorry to inform you, we found your husband dead at the bottom of the ocean. We hauled him up to the deck and attached to his butt was an oyster and in it was a pearl worth $50,000. Please advise.”

The old woman faxed back: “Send me the pearl and re-bait the trap.”

Events  17th June

0362 – Emperor Julian issued an edict banning Christians from teaching in Syria. There’s even problems in Syria today

1579 – Sir Francis Drake claimed San Francisco Bay for England. That sounds like a cue for a song

1775 – The British took Bunker Hill outside of Boston.  I remember seeing a film about the Battle of Bunker  Hill

1799 – Napoleon Bonaparte incorporated Italy into his empire. Keeping the books straight

1837 – Charles Goodyear received his first patent. The patent was for a process that made rubber easier to work with. This was a good year

1876 – General George Crook’s command was attacked and bested on the Rosebud River by 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne under the leadership of Crazy Horse. Didn’t he play for Liverpool under the pseudonym Emlyn Hughes?

1879 – Thomas Edison received an honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the trustees of Rutgers College in New Brunswick, NJ.  Good man

1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere. Tres bien

1917 – The Russian Duma met in a secret session in Petrograd and voted for an immediate Russian offensive against the German Army. Bad idea

1924 – The Fascist militia marched into Rome. Bad

1926 – Spain threatened to quit the League of Nations if Germany was allowed to join.Good

1928 – Amelia Earhart began the flight that made her the first woman to successfully fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Excellent and brave

1931 – British authorities in China arrested Indochinese Communist leader Ho Chi Minh.Bad idea

1940 – The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. No comment

1940 – France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II. No comment

1944 – French troops landed on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean. Deja vu

1944 – The republic of Iceland was established. Volcanoes and all

The Day’s Music Events 17th June

1954, The first edition of UK music paper Record Mirror was published. A very influential paper

1954, Guitarist Danny Cedrone died following a freak accident; 10 days after he had recorded the lead guitar break on ‘Rock Around The Clock’ with Bill Haley and His Comets. Session player Cedrone was paid $21 for his work on the session, as at that time Haley chose not to hire a full-time guitarist for his group. He died of a broken neck after falling down a staircase.  I’d never read about this before today

1955, After a month of booking gigs in larger venues in Dallas and Houston, Colonel Tom Parker arranged a meeting with Elvis Presley’s manager, Bob Neal, resulting in an agreement that saw the Colonel handle Presley’s gigs and career strategy from now on.This was a pivotal moment in Elvis’s career

1963, The Rolling Stones released their first UK single, ‘Come On’, it peaked at No.21 on the UK chart.  Still a great memory
1965, Elvis Presley was at No.1 in the UK with ‘Crying In The Chapel’ his 15th UK No.1 single.  Not really one of my favourites

1965, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles completed work on the new Paul McCartney song ‘Yesterday’ with the overdubbing of an additional vocal track by McCartney and a string quartet. They also recorded ‘Act Naturally’ for Ringo’s vocal contribution on the ‘Help!’ album and the song ‘Wait’, in four takes. ‘Wait’ will not be included on ‘Help!’, it was included on the following LP, ‘Rubber Soul’.  ‘Yesterday’ was going to be called Scrambled Eggs…..I prefer ‘Yesterday‘
1971, Carole King went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Tapestry’ for the first of 15 consecutive weeks. The album contained ‘It’s Too Late’, ‘I Feel the Earth Move’, ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow?’ and ‘You’ve Got a Friend’. I loved this album and played it incessantly…

1972, Don McLean had his first UK No.1 single with ‘Vincent.’ The song was written about the 19th century artist Vincent Van Gogh. The song is played daily at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.Pardon?

1972, The Rolling Stones album ‘Exile On Main Street’ started a four-week run at the top of the US charts, (also No.1 in the UK).  A pivotal album
1973, Dolly Parton recorded ‘I Will Always Love You’ in RCA’s Studio “B” in Nashville. Written for her one-time partner and mentor, Porter Wagoner (the two were splitting professionally at the time). I prefer her version to Whitney Houston’s

1976, Ian Dury played his last gig with Kilburn and the High Roads before starting his solo career. The show at The Assembly Hall, Walthamstow also had The Sex Pistols and The Stranglers on the bill.  An interesting night
1977, After Jimmy Helms pulled out of a gig at Shoreditch College, the members of the social committee decided to call upon famous local, Elton John who lived up the road and ask if he would perform. Elton did the gig for two bottles of wine.  A pivotal moment in pop folklore

1978, Andy Gibb became the first solo artist in the history of the US charts to have his first three releases reach No.1, when ‘Shadow Dancing’ hit the top of the chart. This is a lesser known fact

1978, ‘You’re The One That I Want’ by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John started a nine week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The song was from the film Grease. Great track
1979, Anita Ward was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Ring My Bell’. The only hit for the gospel singer from Memphis, making her a One-hit Wonder. Pull the other one..
1983, This week’s Top 5 UK singles: No.5, Bob Marley, ‘Buffalo Soldier’, No.4, Yazoo, ‘Nobody’s Diary’, No.3, David Bowie, ‘China Girl’, No.2, Wham! ‘Bad Boys’, No.1, The Police, ‘Every Breath You Take.’  What a list!
1983, James Brown, UB40, Fun Boy Three, The Beat, Curtis Mayfield, Jimmy Cliff, Marillion and Melanie all appeared at this years Glastonbury CND Festival, Shepton Mallet, England.Another cracking good line-up

1985, The Crowd were at No.1 in the UK with a remake of the 1963 hit ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’ The single was recorded to raise funds for The Bradford City Football disaster that killed over 50 people. The song featuring Gerry Marsden, Paul McCartney and Rolf Harris, among others. I have sung this song with Gerry and he tells me he never tires of sing ing the song

1989, New Kids On The Block went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I’ll Be Loving You Forever’, the group’s first US No.1, a No.5 hit in the UK. Not for me

2007, The Traveling Wilburys went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Collection.’ The line of the Wilburys was: George Harrison, (Nelson Wilbury), Jeff Lynne, (Otis Wilbury), Roy Orbison, (Lefty Wilbury), Tom Petty, (Charlie T. Wilbury Jr.) and Bob Dylan, (Lucky Wilbury).  I loved this concept and their music
2008, Welsh singer Duffy’s single Mercy was named song of the year at the Mojo magazine awards held in London.  Other acts honoured at the reader-voted Mojo Honours included Led Zeppelin, Paul Weller, the Sex Pistols and Genesis. Ska band the Specials were welcomed into the Mojo Hall of Fame and former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty, won the inspiration award for his contribution to rock music.  I agreed with all of these awards

Birthday Boys and Girls

1930,Cliff Gallup, guitarist, Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps, (1956 US No. 7 & UK No. 16 single ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’). Gallup died of a heart attack on October 9th 1988.

1942,Norman Kuhlke, The Swinging Blue Jeans, (1964 UK No.2 and US No.24 single ‘Hippy Hippy Shake’).

1944,  Chris Spedding, session guitarist. Worked with Donovan, David Essex, Lulu, Dusty Springfield, Jack Bruce, Eno, Bryan Ferry, The Wombles. Solo, (1975 UK No.14 single ‘Motor Biking‘). Also a member of The Sharks.
1946,  Barry Manilow, (born Barry Alan Pincus) US singer, songwriter, (1975 US No.1 & UK No.11 single ‘Mandy’, also wrote ‘Could It Be Magic’, and ‘Copacabana.’ Has scored over 25 US Top 40 singles selling over 75 million records worldwide. Had the 2006 US No.1 album ‘The Greatest Songs of the Fifties.’

1947,  Eric Lewis, Middle Of The Road, (1971 UK No.1 single ‘Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep’).

1947, Glenn Buxton, guitar, Alice Cooper Band, (1972 UK No.1 and US No.7 single ‘School’s Out’). He died October 19th 1997.
1947, Greg Rolie, Santana, (1970 US No.4 single ‘Black Magic Woman’, 1977 UK No.11 single ‘She’s Not There’).

1947, Paul Young, singer, Sad Cafe, (1979 UK No.3 single ‘Every Day Hurts’), Mike and the Mechanics, (1989 UK No.2 single ‘The Living Years’). Died on 15th July 2000.
1957,  Philip Chevron, guitar, The Pogues, (1987 UK No.8 single ‘The Irish Rover’).

.. Music Source 1 music source 2

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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.   2002, 46 years after his first hit, Elvis Presley started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘A Little Less Conversation’, (Elvis vs. JXL), giving Elvis a total of 18 UK No.1 singles, the most by any artist in chart history. This also set a new record for the longest span of No.1 hits with 44 years, 11 months and 9 days. His first UK No.1 single was ‘All Shook Up’ in 1957

We had a lovely day again yesterday and it was not too hot. I watched the Trooping of the Colour and it has to be said -the UK really does do a good job with its parades.  The Queen seemed to be in good spirits although I’ll bet she was missing Philip. Apparently, he’s only missed a couple of troopings over the years. I’ll bet he was watching the proceedings on his telly.

One thing that did surprise me was the amount of horse manure on the roads. It must be pretty annoying to have spent all day shining your boots then having to wade through dollops of horse manure. I suppose once the horses have done their business it must be a question of march on and think of Britain!

Neil Colbourne will be back for our look at the news after our travels to the UK for family bereavements. Look out for tom0rrow’s edition of Europe Calling.

Spanish News

The regional department of education is to slash another million euro off the budget set aside expressly for helping those school leavers who have failed to make the grade at the end of their early academic lifetime. The PCPI program is specifically set up to help those students who may need to reset their exams, or gain vocational training to enable them to seek work, after the 16 to 21 year olds have failed to make the required grades, often due to economic, domestic or family problems.

It has been revealed that the Belgium authorities have expelled 207 Spaniards last year, all accused of “irregularities” with the country´s social welfare and benefit system. Permission to stay in the country had been granted to 2,407 Europeans, but they also expelled 161 Dutch, 109 French, 75 Italians, 73 Slovaks, 70 Polish, 32 Portuguese and 23 German nationals.

The National Police have found a body on a farm located on the outskirts of Lloret de Mar, which they believe to be the remains of Ana María Martos, who went missing in 2004 from the Barcelona town of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. The body was found inside a drum buried under a concrete slab, according to sources close to the investigation. A local man, who was aged 32 at the time of her disappearance, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The college of pharmacists in Valencia has warned once again that around 60% of chemist stores are in danger of closings, or running out of drugs, if the government do no pay their next debt payment of about 120 million euro. A working group has been set up to try to address the problem of timings for payment and therefore avoid any such dramatic events such as closures, as the debt is still standing at a total of around 450 million euro.

The department of health in Alicante has issued a notice to numerous families of children vaccinated against meningitis, asking that the children be brought back to repeat the treatment, after a technical anomaly may have rendered the first dose useless. It was discovered that a fault in one of the fridges had resulted in a temperature change in the doses that had been stored inside it, which may have held a potential risk as the effectiveness of the vaccine. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, the children, some of whom are one year old now, were asked to return.

Fast food chain McDonald´s has launched a novel campaign in Spain to regenerate interest in its range of burger based meals, by offering the chance of “experiences” to those who buy one of their McMenús. With 60 experiences on offer, from paintballing, paragliding, jet skiing, wind surfing, wine tasting, flower arranging and spas, amongst others, buyers will be given a special code with their meal which can be exchanged for the free vouchers on their website, mcmenuexperiencias.com, along with your contact details.   SpanishVida

        1959, Russ Conway was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Roulette’. The English pianist’s second No.1 hit. I think he was Mrs Mills protege

1962, The Konrads (featuring Dave Jay later to become David Bowie), made their live debut when they played at Bromley Technical School in Kent, England.We remember him well

1964, The Rolling Stones paid £1,500  in return air fares from America back to the UK to honour a booking made a year earlier for £100  at Magdalen College Oxford.Men of honour

1966, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (featuring guitarist Eric Clapton), appeared at The Marquee Club, London, England.  Very influential band

1966, Cliff Richard joined evangelist Billy Graham on stage at Earls Court London and talked about his discovery of the Christian faith. He is another man of honour

1966, The Beatles made a surprise live appearance on the UK television program Top of the Pops, performing ‘Paperback Writer’ and ‘Rain’. It became The Beatles’ last live musical television appearance, with the sole exception of the June 1967 worldwide transmission of ‘All You Need Is Love’. Fortunately, I saw the transmission

1967, The three day Monterey Pop Festival in California began. All the proceeds went to charity when all the artists agreed to perform for free, the “Summer of Love” was born. The festival saw the first major US appearances by The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Also on the bill: The Byrds, Grateful Dead, Otis Redding, Simon & Garfunkel, The Steve Miller Band, Canned Heat, The Mamas And The Papas, Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield and The Electric Flag. Tickets cost £2–3.80. John Phillips, of The Mamas and The Papas would later write, ‘San Francisco’ (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) about the festival, which became a hit for Scott McKenzie.  What an amazing line-up and I love the song that was such a hit for Scott McKenzie. Wasn’t the song title the then longest ever?

1970, Mungo Jerry were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘In The Summertime’. It went on to become the best selling UK single of 1970 spending seven weeks at No.1 and was a hit in 26 other countries. The UK release was a maxi-single playing at 33 rpm, (whereas singles generally played at 45 rpm). I had this on vinyl and it was often a nuisance having to change the decks in the middle of a set of 45s.

1973, Suzi Quatro had her first UK No.1 single with the Nicky Chinn & Mike Chapman song ‘Can The Can’. 10CC were at No.2 with ‘Rubber Bullets’ and Fleetwood Mac at No.3 with ‘Albatross.’  Brilliant memories

1977, Kenny Rogers was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Lucille’. It was the American Country music singer’s first of two UK No.1′s. I am a big fan of his music and caught a glimpse of him in his car in Palm Springs earlier this year 1979, UK TV re-launched the music show ‘Juke Box Dury’ hosted this time by Radio 1 DJ Noel Edmunds.  Not as successful

1979, The Electric Light Orchestra started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Discovery’ their first No.1 LP, featuring the tracks ‘Shine A Little Love’, ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ and ‘The Diary Of Horace Wimp’. A truly brilliant concept

1980, The Blues Brothers film starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd premiered in Chicago. The film also featured Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles in the role of a streetwise storeowner.  This material was just up my street

1982, Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died following sustained cocaine and heroin addiction. Very sad

1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood had their second UK No.1 single with ‘Two Tribes.’ It stayed at No.1 for nine weeks making Frankie Goes To Hollywood the first band to have their first two singles go to the top of the UK chart. During this run the group’s previous single ‘Relax’ climbed back up the charts to No.2.  -NB The truth of the matter is that Gerry and the Pacemakers were the first goup to achieve this

1989, the first day of the UK three day Glastonbury Festival took place featuring Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Throwing Muses, Pixies, All About Eve, Hot House Flowers, The Waterboys, Suzanne Vega and Fairground Attraction. Tickets cost £28 ($48).Good line-up

1990, Roxette started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘It Must Have Been Love’. The song, taken from the film ‘Pretty Woman’ became the duo’s third US No.1 and a No.3 hit in the UK.  Great song

1994, Oasis played at The Erotika Club, Paris in France, the bands first gig outside the UK. Ooo la la! 1996, Rage Against The Machine, Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, Fugees, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Lee Hooker, Beck, Sonic Youth, Yoko Ono, De La Soul and Richie Havens all appeared at the two-day Tibetan Freedom Concert, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco: A sell-out crowd of over 100,000 made it the largest US benefit concert since Live Aid in 1985.  I’d have liked to have been there

1999, Screaming Lord Sutch was found dead after hanging himself. The singer turned politician was 58. He was the first long-haired pop star-boasting hair over 18 inches long and the self-styled lord (real name David Sutch), was Britain’s longest-serving political leader, standing in nearly 40 elections.  He was quite a good rock n roll singer and certainly brightened up the political scenario

2002, 46 years after his first hit, Elvis Presley started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘A Little Less Conversation’, (Elvis vs. JXL), giving Elvis a total of 18 UK No.1 singles, the most by any artist in chart history. This also set a new record for the longest span of No.1 hits with 44 years, 11 months and 9 days. His first UK No.1 single was ‘All Shook Up’ in 1957.  Elvis was the King but it is always going to be down to your business advisers

2007, Rod Stewart married model girlfriend Penny Lancaster on the Italian Riviera just outside the resort of Portofino. The 62 year old singer was previously married to models Alana Hamilton and Rachel Hunter and has seven children in total.  I played football against Rod in a showbiz game around 1973 when he was going out with Brit Ekland

2008, Coldplay kicked off their Viva la Vida, 161-date world tour at the Brixton Academy in London, England. Great success

Birthday Boys and Girls

1941,  Lamont Dozier, (Holland/Dozier/Holland), producer, songwriter, wrote many hits for Motown records, including The Supremes, Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas plus Freda Payne and Chairmen Of The Board.

1942, Edward Levert, The O’Jays, (1973 US No.1 & UK No.9 single ‘Love Train’).

1946, Ian Matthews, singer, Fairport Convention, Matthews Southern Comfort, (1970 UK No.1 & 1971 US No. 23 single ‘Woodstock’). Solo.

1950,James Smith, vocals, The Stylistics, (1974 US No.2 single ‘You Make Me Feel Brand New’, 1975 UK No.1 single ‘Can’t Give You Anything But My Love’ plus 15 other UK Top 40 singles).

1953,  Ian Mosley, drums, Marillion, (joined in 1983, 1985 UK No.2 single ‘Kayleigh’). 1954,  Gerry Roberts, guitar, The Boomtown Rats, (1979 UK No.1 single ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ plus 10 other UK Top 40 hit singles). 1958,Patrick Waite, Musical Youth, (1982 UK No.1 single ‘Pass The Dutchie’). Waite died on 13th February 1993

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 Music Source 1 music source 2

At my age I don’t care if my mind starts to wander – just as long as it comes back again. ~Mike Knowles *
Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places. ~Glenn Dorenbush

A man has reached middle age when he is warned to slow down by his doctor instead of the police. ~Henny Youngman

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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.   1993, UB40 had their third UK No.1 single with (‘I Can’t Help), Falling In Love With You’, a No.1 hit for Elvis Presley in 1962.   2008, Liverpool was voted England’s most musical city in a national campaign set up by the Arts Council. The home of The Beatles, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, OMD and The Zutons took 49% of the vote in an online poll set up by the funding body.

I watched Question Time last night and it was in Scotland with an audience of 16 year old youngsters. The reason is that at the next election the vote will be given to this age group. The young people were very nice but the level of political awareness was not brilliant. One of the young people, herself,  identified the fact that she had not been politically aware at the age of 16. I also didn’t enjoy the programme as it was quite patronising at times.

Part of my radio work is a self-imposed wish to challenge the media moguls as they prioritise their stories in the UK press. It makes me mad that disasters and injustices are relegated deep down into the pages and celebrity trivia fills the mind of its readers who are fed this daily diet of nonsense. Maybe it’s an age thing but I know I see through all this nonsense far more now than earlier in my life. Having said this I can say in my own defence that I have always tried to get my priorities right ever since my early days in local radio at BBC Radio Merseyside.

I remember when I was broadcasting there that the German Ambassador made a really severe criticism of Liverpool and Don Woods had sent me a catchy song called Merseyside. We collaborated and decided to march on the German Embassy to protest at their comments. The march only consisted of Don and myself but we made our protest peacefully and I did a piece on my show with Don as my guest. We’ve remained friends ever since and Don has been making `podcasts and doing interviews with me at every station I’ve worked on.

Here are some big names coming to our great Benidorm Palace Venue.

Alabama Declares War on the USA

President Barack Obama was in the Oval Office when his telephone rang. “Hello, President Obama” a heavily accented southern voice said. “This is Archie, down here at Joe’s Catfish Shack, in Mobile , and I am callin’ to tell ya’ll that we are officially declaring war on y’all!”

“Well Archie,” Barack replied, “This is indeed important news! How big is your army?”

“Right now,” said Archie, after a moments calculation “there is myself, my cousin Harold, my next-door-neighbor Randy, and the whole dart team from Hooters. That makes eight!”

Barack paused. “I must tell you Archie that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command.”

“Wow,” said Archie. “I’ll have to call ya back!”
Sure enough, the next day, Archie called again. “Mr. Obama, the war is still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!”

“And what equipment would that be Archie?” Barack asked.

“Well sir, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Harry’s farm tractor.”

President Obama sighed. “I must tell you Archie, that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armored personnel carriers. Also I’ve increased my army to one and a half million since we last spoke.”

“Lord above”, said Archie, “I’ll be getting back to ya.”

Sure enough, Archie called again the next day. “President Obama! I am sorry to have to tell you that we have had to call off this here war.”

“I’m sorry to hear that” said Barack. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

Well, sir,” said Archie, “we’ve all sat ourselves down and had a long chat over sweet tea, and come to realize that there’s just no way we can feed that many prisoners.”

SOUTHERN CONFIDENCE CANNOT BE SHAKEN.

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MEN DO REMEMBER ANNIVERSARIES

A woman awakes during the night to find that her husband >was not in their bed.  She puts on her dressing gown and goes downstairs to look for him.

She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee in front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall.  She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee.

‘What’s the matter, dear?’ she whispers as she steps into the room, ‘Why are you down here at this time of night?’

The husband looks up from his coffee, ’I am just remembering when we first met 20 years ago and started dating. You were only 16. Do you remember back then?’ he says solemnly.

The wife is touched to tears thinking that her husband is so caring, so sensitive.

‘Yes, I do’ she replies.

The husband pauses. The words were not coming easily..’Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car?’

‘Yes, I remember!’ said the wife, lowering herself into a chair beside him.

The husband continues. ’Do you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and said, ’Either you marry my daughter, or I will send you to jail for 20 years?’

‘I remember that too’ she replies softly.

He wipes another tear from his cheek and says…

‘I would have been released  today. ‘

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Spanish News

This is the final stage of the Accelerated Nationality Plan aimed at dealing with the backlog of files that the ministry encountered when this government took office. Once they have sworn allegiance before a notary public and registered themselves with the Civil Registry, the interested parties will be informed of when they can apply for their new Spanish ID Card or Spanish passport.

Austerity measures could mean the dismantling of a large part of the Spanish health system and significantly damage the health of the population, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal on Thursday.

1958, The first teenage all-music show ‘Oh Boy’, was broadcast for the first time in the UK.  A pivotal show

1961, On this weeks UK singles chart: No.5, Clarence Frogman Henry, ‘But I Do’, No.4, Ricky Nelson, ‘Hello Marylou’, No.3, The Shadows, ‘The Frightened City’, No.2, Del Shannon, ‘Runaway’, No.1, Elvis Presley, ‘Surrender.’What a fabulous collection of 45s

1963, Kyu Sakamoto started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Sukiyaki’, the first-ever Japanese song to do so. It made No.6 on the UK chart in 1963 and was also a No.10 UK single for Kenny Ball in the same year.  I can still sing it if you want me to!

1964, The Beatles touring Australia played two sets at the Festival Hall, Melbourne.  They certainly had a good tour
1965, The Rolling Stones kicked off an 8-date mini-European tour at The Odeon Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, supported by The Hollies. Two of my favourite groups

1967, Guitarist Peter Green quit the John Mayall Band. Green went on to form Fleetwood Mac.  A great band was on the march

1974, Abba’s debut album ‘Waterloo’ entered the UK chart for the first time peaking at No.28.  That’s surprising considering the mania that was to follow
1974, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Billy Don’t Be A Hero’, The song was a UK No.1 for Paper Lace.  I met Paper Lace’s  Chris Morris down in Cornwall  and Carlos in Benidorm

1974, Elvis Presley played the first night of an 18 date US tour by playing four shows at the Tarrant County Center, Forth Worth, Texas. It’s now or never…

1976, The Sex Pistols recorded their first demos in Clapham’s Majestic studios followed by a gig that night at The 100 club, London.Horrible group….but then they wanted to be disliked!

1977, The Sex Pistols held a party on a boat as it sailed down The River Thames in London. The Pistols performed ‘Anarchy In The UK’ outside The Houses Of Parliament resulting in members from the party being arrested when the boat docked later that day. Their manager was the worst offender ,,,he knew where to be bad!

1978, during a European tour Bob Dylan played the first of six sold out nights at London’s Earl Court.  Nice songs
1985, Bryan Ferry went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Boys And Girls’ his first solo No.1 LP. His music was well supported in the discos

1985, Dire Straits started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with, ‘Brothers In Arms’.  I loved this album

1986, U2 and Sting headlined a concert in New Jersey celebrating 25 years of Amnesty International.  Two good frontmen

1991, Paula Abdul started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Rush Rush’, her 5th US No.1, a No.6 hit in the UK. Talented singer

1993, Jamiroquai appeared at The Riverside, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.They also used to play at the Watering Hole on the beach at Perranporth

1996, US jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald died in Beverly Hills, California, aged 79. Already blinded by the effects of diabetes, Fitzgerald had both her legs amputated in 1993. Winner of 13 Grammy Awards, the 1956 ‘Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook’ was the first of eight “Songbook” sets. Appeared in the TV commercial for Memorex, where she sang a note that shattered a glass while being recorded on a Memorex cassette tape. The tape was played back and the recording also broke the glass, asking “Is it live, or is it Memorex?”  She was one of the all-time greats. She was a favourite of my parents

2002, A rare autographed copy of The Beatles’ album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sold at auction for £34,000 – more than five times the estimated price. Good investment

2005, Coldplay went straight to No.1 on US album chart with their third album ‘X&Y’, having already entered at number one in the UK. The last time a British artist had a simultaneous US and UK number one was in November 2000 with ’1′, a compilation of hits by The Beatles. Well done
2005, Destiny’s Child announced they would disband upon completion of their current world tour.  Would the world get over this?

2008, Liverpool was voted England’s most musical city in a national campaign set up by the Arts Council. The home of The Beatles, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, OMD and The Zutons took 49% of the vote in an online poll set up by the funding body. Sheffield – which brought the world the Arctic Monkeys and Pulp – came second, while Manchester with Oasis, Stone Roses and The Smiths came third.  You really have to remember Frankie Vaughan, Michael Holliday, Lita Rosa, Cilla Black, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, The Spinners, The Cavern, Gerry Marsden, The Searchers, The Swinging Blue Jeans, The Fourmost………….
2008, Coldplay went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their fourth studio album ‘Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.’  Bit of Español…

.. Music Source 1 music source 2

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At my age I don’t care if my mind starts to wander – just as long as it comes back again. ~Mike Knowles *
Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places. ~Glenn Dorenbush

A man has reached middle age when he is warned to slow down by his doctor instead of the police. ~Henny Youngman

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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.   1961, Country singer Patsy Cline was involved in a near fatal car crash in Nashville; she sustained head injuries after being thrown through the windscreen.

The weather was beautiful again yesterday with clear blue skies giving a hazy Mediterranean Sea where a basking shark had been spotted during the week near Moraira.

My book arrrived yesterday and it is a surreal moment as I started writing the autobiography around the year 2000. Why did I drag my heels? I just felt there is so much more still to come and I was waiting to see what might still happen………

The Internet should be the best thing ever as we communicate with each other more quickly and in greater depth. However, many things are happening that shouldn’t be happening and often the vehicle used is the Internet. The papers are full of the fact that the UK has many gangs operating sex rings and abusing children. A lot of this is fuelled by the Internet. So what can be done?

We must think in different ways. We need jobs and we need them fast. Why not increase the police forces everywhere to have a much stronger presence monitoring the Internet? The baddies are ever increasing so the goodies must match them. Another  idea is to create professional jurors who are better qualified to make their decisions and get tough with offenders by handing out realistic punishments. For example if a driver of a vehicle kills two people because that driver has been drinking then the minimum sentence should be around 15 years. This is clearly not happening with today’s judgements.

I love reading about events that have actually taken place in history. Yes, fiction has its place but I think we need to learn from historical fact. It might be easy to think the events of 1381 don’t relate to us in 2012.  The Peasant’s Revolt, led by Wat Tyler, climaxed when rebels marched on London.

They plundered, burned and captured the Tower of London and killed the Archbishop of Canterbury. The revolt was in response to a statute intended to hold down wages during a labour shortage. This event was likened to the Poll Tax revolt in the UK in recent years and society is still not really learning is it? Society isn’t fair and we have to accept there will always be some people better off than ourselves. However, no matter how badly off we think we are we can always look elsewhere in the world to find others who are worse off than us.

Even when we hear the word poverty being used in the UK we really do need to stop and think about how we relate to this word. If anyone can get three decent meals and is able to live in a safe place then we start to become far better off than many others in this world.

If you have suffered flight delays, either as part of the disruption this week, or for any other reason, you might want to remember that you have nothing to lose in seeing if you are entitled to compensation.

You might remember that in April this year we featured a website dedicated to fighting cases on behalf of passengers who have suffered flying delays. The response then was phenomenal, but it is all so easy to forget about these sites when you actually come to need them.

Originally formed in Potsdam, the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg, the website refund.me was the brainchild of former TV host and journalist Eve Büchner, who started the company in August last year after a friend pointed out the European legislation that allows inconvenienced passengers to claim, but Eve realised that access to enforcing the regulations and gaining compensation was far from simple.

Now the site has expanded into Spain and hopes to go some way to closing the gap in what airlines are managing to avoid paying.

Eve explains, “It works really quickly. Users just have to key in their flight number and departure date and the high-tech system checks whether they’re entitled to compensation according to EU Regulation 261/2004”.

EC Regulation 261/2004 established common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, flight cancellations, or long delays of flights.

But the system goes beyond just offering advice, Eve continued, “It then generates an EU compliant claim form with all the required details. If the claim is enforced successfully, the airline will pay compensation of up to €600.

“refund.me aims to receive compensation as quickly as possible and has a good success rate”.

It is perhaps obvious that airlines would shy away from encouraging claims against them, but as it is a law which benefits consumers, it can´t be ignored. With a potential of 400 million euro left unclaimed last year, the growth of the site is testament to the success already achieved by the company, and those they have already successfully helped.

So, you really do have nothing to lose. Keep in mind they may be busy right now, but pop along to refund.me, put in your details and see if you are entitled to compensation or not, it will only take a minute and you could be “quids in”.  SpanishVida

Events  14th June

1953, Elvis Presley graduated from IC Hulmes High School in Memphis; his graduation photo shows him to have a split curl in the middle of his forehead, later to become his trademark.Probably surrounded by lovely young ladies?

1961, Country singer Patsy Cline was involved in a near fatal car crash in Nashville; she sustained head injuries after being thrown through the windscreen.Great singer and I saw the film about her life-Crazy

1963, During a UK tour The Beatles played at New Brighton Tower supported by Gerry and the Pacemakers. Tickets cost 6 shillings in advance.  They probably left their homes about an hour before the gig and were home by midnight!

1964, 12-year-old Carol Dryden was discovered by railway workers packed in a tea chest on a station platform addressed to The Beatles.Brook Bond?

1964, Touring Australia The Beatles arrived in Melbourne and were greeted at the airport by over 5,000 fans. Another 20,000 fans lined the route from the airport to the hotel, army and navy units were brought in to help control the crowds, cars were crushed, hundreds of girls fainted and over 50 people were admitted to hospital with broken bones.  I’ll bet Neighbours didn’t get crowds this big welcoming Charlene and co!
1974, Ray Stevens was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Streak’ a song about the latest British craze of streaking, (running naked in a public place).This was a fabulous song and very inventive…Don’t look Ethel. …it was too late!

1980, Peter Gabriel scored his first UK No.1 album with his third solo release ‘Peter Gabriel’.  I liked Sledgehammer

1984, A model of Boy George from Culture Club was unveiled at Madame Tussaud’s Waxworks in London, England on his 23rd birthday.  I hope it’s been melted down
1986, Bob Geldof was named in HRH The Queen’s Birthday Honours List, receiving an honorary Knighthood in recognition of his humanitarian activities.Well done Bob. The original idea was probably George Harrison’s Bangladesh appeal

1986, Patti Labelle and Michael McDonald started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘On My Own’. The pair recorded their vocal parts separately and had never met until after the song went to number one.  They weren’t on their own were they?

1986, Queen scored their 5th UK No.1 album with ‘A Kind Of Magic’, featuring the single ‘One Vision’. Great band

1986, Three fans died during an Ozzy Osbourne gig at Long Beach Arena, California after falling from a balcony.very sad

1987, Madonna played the first date on her Who’s That Girl World Tour at the Osaka Stadium, Osaka, Japan. The tour became the highest-grossing tour ever, grossing over $20 million.The Japanese do tend to go overboard

1989, Pete De Freitas drummer with Echo And The Bunnymen was killed at the age of 27, when his motorbike collided with a car. Very sad

1994, Composer Henry Mancini died aged 70. Wrote the music to ‘Moon River, which was originally sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Audrey Hepburn, was also the theme song for the Andy Williams television show. Had the 1969 US No.1 single ‘Love Theme from Romeo And Juliet.’ Recorded over 90 albums, contributed music to over 100 movies, including ‘Theme From The Pink Panther.’  I liked his Peter Gunn the best of all

1995, Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher died after a chest infection set in following a liver transplant. Had been a member of Taste before going solo, sold over 30m albums worldwide. Voted Melody Maker’s Top Musician of the Year in 1972, auditioned for The Rolling Stones following the departure of Mick Taylor. Gallagher made his final performance on 10 January 1995 in the Netherlands.Another very sad story in the annals of pop history

2000, Noel Gallagher from Oasis was voted into first place in Melody Maker’s annual ‘Un-coolest People in Rock’ survey. Marilyn Manson came second and Robbie Williams was voted third.  Number one was correct and number three proved them wrong
2002, During an UK visit Michael Jackson made a tour of Parliament and was shown the monarch’s throne in the House of Lords. Whenever Jackson went outside he called for an umbrella to shield his face from the sun.  So what?
. 2002, Mick Jagger became a Sir when he was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.I’ll bet he only uses this title when people try to pull rank on him

2003, Bryan Adams, Iggy Pop and Paul Weller all appeared at a weekend festival at The Isle Of Wight.  Good bill
2006, Shakira kicked off her 99 date Oral Fixation world tour in Zaragoza, Spain. Attended by over 2m fans, the tour grossed over $98 million dollars. She is a huge star here in Spain

Birthday Boys and Girls

1945, Rod Argent, keyboards, The Zombies, (1964 UK No.12 single ‘She’s Not There’). Argent, (1972 UK No.5 single ‘Hold Your Head Up’). Now a TV and film composer.
1949, , Alan White, drummer, Plastic Ono Band, (1970 UK No.5 single ‘Instant Karma’), Yes, (1977 UK No.7 single ‘Wonderous Stories’).

1949,  Jim Lea, bass, piano, violin, Slade, (1971 UK No.1 single ‘Coz I Luv You’, plus five other UK No.1 hits and 18 UK Top 40 hit singles).

1958,  Nick Van Ede, singer, Cutting Crew, (1987 US No.1 & 1986 UK No.4 single ‘I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight’).

1961,  George O’Dowd, (Boy George), singer, DJ. Culture Club, (1983 UK No.1 & 1984 US No.1 single ‘Karma Chameleon’). Solo, (1987 UK No.1 single ‘Everything I Own’).

.. Music Source 1 music source 2

Visit the website www.vincetracy.com…RADIO on DEMAND…..visit the PODCAST LIBRARY.choose a podcast then click on whatever you want to hear

At my age I don’t care if my mind starts to wander – just as long as it comes back again. ~Mike Knowles *
Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places. ~Glenn Dorenbush

A man has reached middle age when he is warned to slow down by his doctor instead of the police. ~Henny Youngman

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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.   1993, UB40 had their third UK No.1 single with (‘I Can’t Help), Falling In Love With You’, a No.1 hit for Elvis Presley in 1962

It was another hot day yesterday. I had a very busy first half of the day and then I got home feeling absolutely drained. Consequently, I felt the need to take the Siesta and it did me the world of good. I had wanted to go to the jam session at Kascade but I made the right decision to rest!

We all know the number of roads with speed cameras and junction cameras has increased dramatically in the UK but we didn’t know about the e-mails sent between members of the local authority administration departments. The gist is that people are being congratulated on a great job if the figures are producing healthy revenues.  The BBC always do a great job of highlighting these issues but then allow their guests to come in and pretend they are not doing what we all have just heard they have been doing. I rally do like it when the journalists challenge their answers. This was not the case in this item and I really cannot understand why you bring the item to the table and then do not make the challenge you have just alerted everyone about.

Does anyone rally feel close to Turkey? Yes. We all want people to be treated fairly but I feel no affinity with the Turkish population and I really don’t see it as a close friend and ally through the European Union. Haven’t we always been told that this country is the gateway to the East?

Did I really hear this correctly? Prince Charles and that woman he hangs around with have now appeared in the Beno. I think I’ve seen the lot now. Britain has definitely lost the plot. Apparently, Camilla opens the Bash Street Library and Charles has been encouraging the Bash Street kids to grow green vegetables. This is totally demeaning to the Bash Street kids ……..I don’t think I’ll be buying the Beano again!

It will be very interesting to see whether Stuart Pearce, the manager/coach to the England under 21 footballers,  gets the chop. If he were a Premier League manager I cannot see how he would keep his job after such a dismal showing in the European Championship finals. However, he wears the England badge on his official blazer so I won’t be surprised if he stays. It’s a funny old game Saint!

Saturday the 15th of June marks the start of another major traffic operation on Spanish roads, as “Operación Paso del Estrecho 2013”, with around 2 million people looking set to head south across the Iberia peninsular, ready to embark on their annual crossing between Spain and Morocco.

Last year saw considerable delays to travelers, which are not set to be repeated this year, as a comprehensive traffic management plan has been put together.

Luis Aguilera, who was accompanied by the Director General of Civil Protection and Emergency, Juan Diaz Cruz, and the government delegate in Melilla, Abdelmalik El Barkani, all visited the area this week to check that preparations had been carried out completely, with the City of Melilla likely to be the hub of activity as residents and visitors alike travel to the north African areas.  SpanishVida: 

Groaners

Indian Pastor

We recently had a guest speaker at our church. He is from India, part of an organization that our church supports.Before he started his sermon, he asked if anyone had called any customer support numbers recently. When several people in the congregation raised their hands, he said, “That’s good. That means you won’t have too much trouble understanding my accent.”

One newlywed couple was planning to visit Hawaii. “It’s pronounced Havaii,” said the husband.”No, it’s Hawaii,” argued the wife.They argued about it the whole flight until they got off the plane in Oahu. The husband approached a man at the gate and asked,

1964, Louis Armstrong started a six week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Hello Dolly!’  Satchelmouth was a great act
1964, The Beatles performed another two shows at Centennial Hall, Adelaide, South Australia. For the four shows that The Beatles performed in Adelaide there were 12,000 tickets, for which 50,000 requests had been placed. The two shows on this day were drummer’s Jimmy Nicol’s last as a “temporary Beatle”. Ringo Starr (who had been ill), re-joined The Beatles in Melbourne the next day. I bet Jimmy loved the gig

1967, The Bee Gees appeared live on the UK TV show ‘As You Like It’. The group were promoting their debut single ‘New York Mining Disaster 1941.’  This was one of my all-time favourite songs

1969, The Rolling Stones held a photo call in Hyde Park to introduce new guitarist Mick Taylor. The 20 year-old former John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers member made his live debut with The Stones the following month at a free concert at Hyde Park London.  How cool was that?
1970, The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Long And Winding Road’, the group’s 20th US No.1. The album ‘Let It Be’ started a four-week run at No.1 the US album chart on the same day.  This seemed a change in their music

Birthday Boys and Girls

1934, Uriel Jones, session drummer for Motown Records’ in-house studio band, the Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s. Jones played on many Motown classics including ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’, by Marvin Gaye, ‘Cloud Nine’ by the Temptations, ‘I Second That Emotion’ by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and ‘For Once In My Life’ by Stevie Wonder. Died on 24th March 2009.

1940, Bobby Freeman, singer, (1958 US & UK No.5 single ‘Do You Want To Dance’). 1943, Esther Ofarim, singer, (1968 UK No.1 single ‘Cinderella Rockerfella’).

1949, Dennis Locorriere, guitar, Dr Hook, (1972 US No.5 & UK No.2 single ‘Sylvia’s Mother’ plus 9 other US Top 40 hits).

1951,  Howard Lees, Heart, (1987 US & UK No.3 single ‘Alone’).

1957, Rolf Brendel, Nena, (1984 UK No.1 & US No.2 single ’99 Red Balloons’).

1968,  David Gray, UK singer, songwriter. His ‘White Ladder’ was the second biggest selling UK album of 2001. He scored the 2000 UK No.5 single ‘Babylon.’

.. Music Source 1 music source 2

At my age I don’t care if my mind starts to wander – just as long as it comes back again. ~Mike Knowles *
Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places. ~Glenn Dorenbush

A man has reached middle age when he is warned to slow down by his doctor instead of the police. ~Henny Youngman

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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.   1993, UB40 had their third UK No.1 single with (‘I Can’t Help), Falling In Love With You’, a No.1 hit for Elvis Presley in 1962

Our weather was lovely again yesterday with beautiful sunshine and intense heat. If it got too hot in the mountains it was certainly a lot cooler down on the waterfront.

Did anyone else feel the judge’s comments were a little confusing when the Corrie actor had been cleared on Monday? It was almost as though the judge was trying to convey a feeling that the jury had got their verdict wrong.  I still live in hope that the other celebrities will be cleared but it doesn’t look good for Bill Roach aka Ken Barlow. I did take note that Rolf Harris has been on stage again and it would appear many of his fans feel, as I do, there is a bit of light at the end of a dark and dingy tunnel.

What is of more concern to me is that the lyrics for the UK number 1 song are possibly the nearest I’ve ever seen to sung pornography. I really cannot understand why the Womens’ groups haven’t decided to boycott the radio stations and TV stations playing these vulgar words. The annoying part of it all is that the music is very catchy and I love the tune. However, I would not like my children to be singing such distasteful words. Every day we read about rapes and abuse and this is part of the whole picture. The very fact that the words are published on the Internet is offensive. If any of the DJs were to speak these words I would say there would be a clear case of incitement to violence. It’s not the first time we’ve had very spurious words in the charts but Judge Dread, Max Romeo and Frankie Goes to Hollywood were all banned by the BBC. So where are the standards now? They do not exist. Who is to blame? Well, for starters, you could start by looking once again at the BBC management. The BBC was founded to safeguard the public interests in broadcasting and it’s about Chris Patten and his cohort looked at their responsibilities a little more carefully.

Do you remember when we were all saying the GCSE had been dumbed down? Michael Gove, the UK Education Minister, is taking the GCSE back to where it should never have left. It’s back to the good old GCE. It’s taken the Brains of Britain a hell of a long time to realise if you judge progress by coursework you don’t get the same evolving brain than can pass an exam at the end of the fifth year in a Secondary school.  All the bleating liberals will be saying how difficult it will be for the poor young things. Well, my message would be loud and clear. Spend a bit more time doing your homework and learn about the more important things in life. Your parents won’t be sitting next to you at the exams.  If you’re asked to do a simple maths calculation you shouldn’t need to run for the nearest calculator.

In turn, it’s up to the authorities to provide a good system with a fair examination of what has been learnt marked fairly and appropriately. It will be interesting to see if he sticks to his academic guns.  My guess is he will chicken out …………………………………………………………………..

Very Important

A pitbull that attacked four children and an adult in Argés, Toledo on Monday was found to be rabid, constituting the first instance of the disease in Spain since an outbreak in Málaga in 1975. The animal’s vaccination record stated it had received a jab in December before being taken to Morocco, where it remained for four months. Its owner, who was arrested on charges of criminal negligence resulting in injury, changed the animal’s vaccination history several times.

A two-year-old remained in hospital Monday but had been moved from the emergency ward. The Castilla-La Mancha regional government has ordered the compulsory vaccination of dogs, cats and ferrets within a 20-kilometer radius of Argés.

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So far this year, officers from the Valencia police have carried out 2,240 inspections on venues relating to entertainment, music and gaming, resulting in 350 cases of violations being recorded, 328 of which have been classed as serious.

In total, there have been 1,562 inspections of venues offering entertainment, the remaining 678 being businesses who provided gaming facilities.

The figures were released by the regional secretary of the Interior, Asunción Quinzá, who said that the role of these inspections is to ensure the safety of citizens and the “rigorous” application of the legislation is a “priority” for the regional Government, in order to “achieve and ensure an appropriate balance between the right to leisure and rest”.

The regional secretary stated that the annual number of complaints relating to this matter stands at around 4,000, whilst legal cases every year reach 500.

The most common offences recorded relate to the lack of appropriate licenses for entertainment and facilities, no insurance and time related infractions.

In a presentation at a Police training conference, when the figures were discussed, Quinzá also emphasized the importance of training of law enforcement officers in this area, which represents 23% of the total number of crimes regional police officers deal with, according to data from 2012.  SpanishVida: 

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Hiccups

1964, The Beatles arrived in Adelaide, Australia and were greeted by an estimated 250,000 fans, (the biggest welcome the band would ever receive), who lined the ten mile route from the airport to the city centre. The group gave their first four shows in Australia at the Centennial Hall, Adelaide over two nights. Temporary member Jimmy Nicol was standing in for Ringo on drums who was recovering from having his tonsils removed.  Just look at the number greeting the Beatles. If my memory is correct the nation’s population would have been around 14 million. That would be one eightieth of the population!
1965, The Beatles were included in the Queen’s birthday honours list to each receive the MBE. Protests poured into Buckingham Palace, MP Hector Dupuis said ‘British Royalty has put me on the same level as a bunch of vulgar numbskulls’.  In the light of the behaviour of the current incumbents of the Palace of Westminster I wonder how wonderful was Hector Dupois

1965, The Supremes scored their fifth consecutive US No.1 single when ‘Back In My Arms Again’, went to the top of the charts.  I don’t know this song

1966, The Dave Clark Five made a record 12th appearance on US TV Ed Sullivan show.   They were a really good looking and clean cut outfit

1972, The Sound Broadcasting Act was passed in the UK, providing for 21 new commercial radio stations.  The BBC had competition at last

1976, The Wurzels scored their only UK No.1 hit with ‘Combine Harvester’ the cider-drinking folkies from the West Country had reworked Melanie’s hit ‘Brand New Key.’Alright my ‘ansomes

1976, The Who, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Little Feat, Outlaws and Streetwalkers all appeared at Swansea City Football Club, Swansea, Wales, Tickets cost £4. crackin show
1978, Playing live around the UK, Dire Straits at Erics, Liverpool. The Thompson Twins at The Limit in Sheffield and The Jam at King George’s Hall, Blackburn.Fair enough

1982, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and Gary ‘US’ Bonds all appeared at a rally for nuclear disarmament in Central Park, New York to over 450,000 fans.  Nice to see they cared enough to attend

1982, Adam Ant was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Goody Two Shoes’, his third and last No.1. Not brilliant
1989, The Elvis Presley Autoland Museum opened at Graceland. The museum contained over 20 cars which were owned by Presley.  Why not just call it a garage
1993, Dutch duo 2 Unlimited went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘No Limits’. Great track
1993, UB40 had their third UK No.1 single with (‘I Can’t Help), Falling In Love With You’, a No.1 hit for Elvis Presley in 1962.  Great version of a great song

1999, It was reported that Oasis had paid Gary Glitter £200,000 as an out-of-court settlement after being accused of using the Gary Glitter lyric, ‘Hello, hello, it’s good to be back’ in the song ‘Hello’.  OK! So what’s the truth
2000, Sinead O’Connor announced that she was a lesbian. The mother of two told the American magazine Curve that she had been in the closet for years saying “I am a lesbian. I haven’t been very open about that, I’ve gone out with blokes because I haven’t necessarily been terribly comfortable about being a lesbian.”  No comment
2002, Clive Calder the man who is credited with discovering Britney Spears sold his record company Zomba to BMG Music for $2 billion. Calder started Zomba in 1975 and had hits with Billy Ocean, Sam Fox and Tight Fit.  Good songs
2004, Lee Ryan from Blue was found guilty of criminal damage and ordered to pay £500  compensation from charges relating to an incident outside London nightclub 10 Rooms the previous December. Ryan admitted to throwing punches at a photographer after being bombarded by snappers when leaving the club, but argued that he was provoked into doing so. Judge Caroline Tubbs accepted that Lee was acting in self-defence, so dismissed any assault charges.  Sensible judge

2005, Pink Floyd announced they would reunite with former bassist Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985, on July 2 for the Live 8 London concert. This would be the first time the band had played together as a quartet since The Wall tour in 1981.Nice to reunite

2006, Prince received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his “visionary” use of the Internet; Prince was the first major artist to release an entire album, 1997′s Crystal Ball, exclusively on the internet.  Perceptive of him

2008, Amy Winehouse performed an exclusive gig at a Moscow art gallery for Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich and his girlfriend Daria Zhukova. It was reported that the singer was paid £1m for the gig at the launch of The Garage gallery, which has been set up by Ms Zhukova.  What a gig!

Birthday Boys and Girls

1928, Vic Damone, US singer, 1958 UK No.1 & US No.4 single ‘On The Street Where You Live’.

1941, Chick Corea, jazz musician. Worked with Miles Davis, Stanley Clarke, Bobby McFerrin

1943,  Reg Presley, singer, The Troggs, (1966 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Wild Thing’).Wrote ‘Love Is All Around’, covered by Wet Wet Wet in 1994, which stayed at No.1 in the UK Singles Chart for fifteen weeks. In 1990 Presley began to develop an interest in the paranormal, in particular crop circles. He used the royalties ‘Love Is All Around’ to fund his research into the area and outlined his findings in a book, Wild Things They Don’t Tell Us, which was published in 2002.
1944, Harold Cowart, John Fred and His Playboy Band, (1968 US No.1 & UK No.3 single ‘Judy In Disguise’).

.. Music Source 1 music source 2

At my age I don’t care if my mind starts to wander – just as long as it comes back again. ~Mike Knowles *
Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places. ~Glenn Dorenbush

When you can finally afford the rings you want, you’d rather no one noticed your hands. ~Lois Muehl

A man has reached middle age when he is warned to slow down by his doctor instead of the police. ~Henny Youngman
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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.  2003, Adam Ant was arrested after going berserk and stripping off in a London cafe. The former 1980′s pop star had thrown stones at neighbour’s homes smashing windows before going to the nearby cafe.

We got up just a little later yesterday as we’d had a late night. The weather was nice and hot and we had things to do. We watched a little TV before we went out. The show was one of those crime busting shows and there was a police unit in Wales on patrol. One story was about a builder whose van was stolen from outside his job. The sad thing was the fact that his dog was inside the stolen van. the callous burglars threw his dog out on the side of the M4 in Wales and the dog was eventually hit by a truck and killed. What is so sickening is the fact that they could have given the poor dog a chance by leaving it in a less built up area. However, why should anyone expect the burglars to have any compassion? The fact they stole the guy’s van is enough evidence of how their compassion stacks up.

Another video footage saw a hooded hero who was probably in his teens or early twenties struggling with a shopkeeper well into her 80s.  What a hero! Come on you do-gooders these offenders need a short, really sharp shock. I hope this guy gets his sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Tim Yeo has been seen on the TV explaining how he was able to coach somebody to speak appropriately before a common’s Select Committee that he heads. He, despite us all seeing the evidence, is now protesting his innocence and has turned himself in to the Parliamentary authorities. Isn’t this like asking your peers, or is it Peers, to judge you a little more favourably. I saw figures suggesting that the money he gets from his Parliamentary duties is around 80, 000. The monies he gets from his Directorships and other activities are around 120, 000. Greedy sod!

It was great to see Tony and Lee last night. Tony Hiller is one of the most prolific songwriters and he told me last night he has written around 2,000 songs. He told me that most of his songs are written around the word love and I always felt that theme whenever I was playing his songs on the radio. For those who don’t know Tony’s work he is the man behind the Brotherhood of Man who were a massive influence during the 70s.

A  Perfect Husband

Several men are in the locker room of a golf club.    A cellular phone on a
bench rings and a man engages the   hands-free speaker function and begins to
talk.  Everyone else   in the room stops to listen.

MAN:  “Hello”

WOMAN:  “Hi Honey, it’s me . Are you at the club?”

MAN:  “Yes.”

WOMAN:  “I’m at the shops now and  found this beautiful leather coat.  It’s only $2,000.
Is it OK if I buy it?”

MAN:  “Sure, go ahead if you like it   that much.”

WOMAN: “I also stopped by the Lexus dealership and
saw the new models. I saw one I really liked.”

MAN:  “How much?”

WOMAN:  “$90,000.”

MAN: “OK, but for that price I want it with all the options.”

WOMAN: “Great! Oh, and one more thing.  I was just talking to
Janie and found out that the house I wanted last year is
back on the market.  They’re asking $980,000 for it.”

MAN:   “Well, then go ahead and make an offer of $900,000.
They’ll probably take it. If not, we can go the extra
eighty-thousand if it’s what you really want.”

WOMAN: “OK. I’ll see you later!  I   love you so much!”

MAN: “Bye! I love you, too.”

The man hangs up.  The other men in the locker room are staring
at him in astonishment, mouths wide open.  He turns and asks,
“Anyone know whose phone this is?”

1949, Hank Williams made his debut at the ‘Grand Ole Opry’ in Nashville and received an unprecedented total of six encores. They obviously liked him

1960, Drummer Tommy Moore makes the fateful decision to quit The Beatles and return to his job of driving a forklift at Garston bottle works. He would briefly be replaced by Norman Chapman, who was called into National Service after just three gigs. After going drummerless and mostly jobless for a few weeks, the band would hire Pete Best on August 12th, only one day before they were to go to Hamburg to play a string of club dates.  The girls certainly liked Pete Best who is still on the scene on Merseyside today

1962, The Beatles recorded a BBC radio program, “Here We Go”, at the Playhouse Theatre in Manchester, in front of a studio audience composed largely of loyal Cavern fans. This was the last recording on which Pete Best played drums.I’ll bet Pete remembers this day

1966, The Rolling Stones started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Paint It Black’, the group’s third US No.1 single. Also a No.1 in the UK.  Not a favourite of mine
1966, European radio stations mistakenly report that The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey is dead. Actually, it was guitarist Pete Townshend who had been injured in a car accident a few days earlier.  This was quite a gaff

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios in London on The White Album, John Lennon worked on ‘Revolution 9’ in studio 3, while Paul McCartney recorded ‘Blackbird’ in studio 2.Happy Days

1969, The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Ballad Of John and Yoko’ the group’s 17th UK No.1. Only two Beatles played on the track, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.  Those were the days my friend
1977, Joe Strummer and Topper Headon were detained overnight in prison in Newcastle upon Tyne having failed to appear at Morpeth Magistrates on May 21st. Both Clash members were to answer a charge relating to the theft of a Holiday Inn pillowcase. They were both fined £100.  I think the magistrates had it in for them

1977, As Britain celebrated the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, The Sex Pistols reached No. 2 in the singles chart with ‘God Save The Queen’.I hated what the Sex Pistols stood for…

1977, KC and the Sunshine Band became only the second group after The Jackson Five to achieve four US No.1′s when ‘I’m Your Boogie Man’ went to the top of the charts. A lesser known fact I would suggest

1988, Nelson Mandellas 70th birthday tribute took place at Wembley Stadium, London, featuring Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, George Michael, Eric Clapton, UB40, The Eurythmics and Simple Minds. The event was broadcast live on BBC 2 to 40 different countries with an estimated audience of 1 billion. This was mind-blowing. All the more because I used to play Free Nelson Mandella by the Clash in my discos

1997, Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall received a Master of Science Degree at UMIST, Manchester for his fund-raising work following an IRA bombing in the city the previous year.  He deserved an award but I don’t agree with giving degrees
2000, Aaliyah went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Try Again’. It became the first “airplay-only” song to reach No.1 on the US singles chart (no points from a commercial single release).  OK where’s the catch?

2000, On this weeks Top 3 US album chart; Eminem, ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ at No.1. Kid Rock, ‘The History Of Rock’ at No.2 and Britney Spears, ‘Oops!…I Did It Again’ at No.3. Not for me
2001, Sir Paul McCartney married Heather Mills at St Salvator Church, Ireland. Guests included Ringo Starr, David Gilmour, Jools Holland and Chrissie Hynde. Heather walked down the aisle clutching a bouquet of 11 ‘McCartney’ roses.  I think Paul expected this to go the distance
2003, Adam Ant was arrested after going berserk and stripping off in a London cafe. The former 1980′s pop star had thrown stones at neighbour’s homes smashing windows before going to the nearby cafe.  He stood and delivered!
. 2005, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin founding member and guitarist, was awarded an OBE in the Queen of England’s Birthday Honours list and Queen guitarist and founding member Brian May was awarded a CBE. I wonder if the Queen liked their music

2006, Sandi Thom went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Smile … It Confuses People’ the Scottish singer, songwriters debut album which featured the hit ‘I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker, (with flowers in My Hair’).  I don’t know her work
2006, Nelly Furtado was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Maneater’, the Canadian’s first No.1 hit five years after her first hit ‘I’m Like A Bird’.  Another lady’s work I know little about

2008, The American Federation of Musicians filed a federal lawsuit against the producers of American Idol, claiming musicians were underpaid because the show’s live music was re-recorded for reruns. The union filed the suit seeking unspecified damages in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleging that American Idol Productions Inc. and its subsidiary Tick Tock Productions Inc. violated a collective bargaining agreement.We didn’t really get a lot of coverage about this

Birthday Boys and Girls

1947,  Glenn Leonard, vocals, The Temptations, (1971 UK No.8 single ‘Just My Imagination’ and re-issued ‘My Girl’ UK No.2 in 1992).

1948,  Alan Skipper, drums, The Pretty Things, (1964 UK No.10 single ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’). 1949, Born on this day, Frank Beard, drums, ZZ Top, (1984 US No.8 & 1985 UK No.16 single ‘Legs’).
1951,  Lynsey De Paul, UK singer, songwriter, (1972 UK No.5 single ‘Sugar Me’). Became the first woman to win an Ivor Novello song-writing award.

.. Music Source 1 music source 2

At my age I don’t care if my mind starts to wander – just as long as it comes back again. ~Mike Knowles *
Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places. ~Glenn Dorenbush

When you can finally afford the rings you want, you’d rather no one noticed your hands. ~Lois Muehl

A man has reached middle age when he is warned to slow down by his doctor instead of the police. ~Henny Youngman

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Remember, you can listen to the day’s story of the music whilst reading my blog by clicking this link.   1956, American singer, actor Pat Boone was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I’ll Be Home.’ Boone scored over 30 UK Top 40 hit singles during the 50′s and early 60′s and was the second biggest charting artist behind only Elvis Presley

There’s nothing better for many older people than to hear a song on the radio they have liked as a youngster. Many remember the words of the songs all their life. I would  suggest there is an element of subconscious activity in the use of brainwashing to sell music. This is not new but it and been a phenomenon since the 1950s. I love good songs. I love to hear good musicians. I first heard the new UK number one whilst driving in the UK and I was slightly shocked by the words of the song being played loud and clear with no beeps on the radio, I think it was the BBC but I might be mistaken, in Devon or Somerset.

Here are the words to this number 1 song in the UK  and I’m led to believe it’s a worldwide hit. I love the music and it is a definite hit sound. BUT in the light of sex rings, rape and pimping do we really think these are the words we should be singing all around the world?

………..One thing I ask of you

Let me be the one you back that ass to
Yo, from Malibu, to Paribu
Yeah, had a bitch, but she ain’t bad as you
So hit me up when you passing through
I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two
Swag on, even when you dress casual
I mean it’s not almost unbearable
Then, honey you’re not there when I’m
With my foresight bitch you pay me by
Nothing like your last guy, he too square for you
He don’t smack that ass and pull your hair like that
So I just watch and wait for you to salute
But you didn’t pick
Not many women can refuse this pimpin’
But I’m a nice guy, but you get it if you get with me

Hey, hey, hey
And that’s why I’m gon’ take a good girl
I know you want it
I know you want it
I know you want it
You’re a good girl
Can’t let it get past me
You’re far from plastic
Talk about getting blasted
I hate these blurred lines
I know you want it
I know you want it
I know you want it
But you’re a good girl
The way you grab me
Must wanna get nasty
Go ahead, get at me

Sorry guys but I find this stomach churning.

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I watched Rafa Nadal win his 8th Roland Garras Grand Slam and he is an inspiration to all young tennis players. He was at his peak when he had to go into hospital for his knee surgery. He has battled back to the very top of the tree and played in a magnificent semi-final then final to secure his title again. Well done Rafa.

I was sent the following
“Next.”

“Good morning. We want to apply for a marriage license.”

“Names?”

“Tim and Jim Jones.”

“Jones?? Are you related?? I see a resemblance.”

“Yes, we’re brothers.”

“Brothers?? You can’t get married.”

“Why not?? Aren’t you giving marriage licenses to same gender couples?”

“Yes, thousands. But we haven’t had any siblings. That’s incest!”

“Incest?” No, we are not gay.”

“Not gay?? Then why do you want to get married?”

“For the financial benefits, of course. And we do love each other. esides, we don’t have any other prospects.”

“But we’re issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples who’ve
been denied equal protection under the law. If you are not gay, you
can get married to a woman.”

“Wait a minute. A gay man has the same right to marry a woman as I
have. But just because I’m straight doesn’t mean I want to marry a
woman. I want to marry Jim.”

“And I want to marry Tim, Are you going to discriminate against us
just because we are not gay?”

“John Smith, Jane James, Robert Green, and June Johnson.”

“Who wants to marry whom?”

“We all want to marry each other.”

“But there are four of you!”

“That’s right. You see, we’re all bisexual. I love Jane and Robert,
Jane loves me and June, June loves Robert and Jane, and Robert loves
June and me. All of us getting married together is the only way that
we can express our sexual preferences in a marital relationship..”

“But we’ve only been granting licenses to gay and lesbian couples..”

“So you’re discriminating against bisexuals!”

“No, it’s just that, well, the traditional idea of marriage is that
it’s just for couples.”

“Since when are you standing on tradition?”

“Well, I mean, you have to draw the line somewhere.”

“Who says?? There’s no logical reason to limit marriage to couples.
The more the better. Besides, we demand our rights! The mayor says the
constitution guarantees equal protection under the law. Give us a
marriage license!”

Still going…
“All right, all right. Next.”

“Hello, I’d like a marriage license.”

“In what names?”

“David Deets.”

“And the other man?”

“That’s all. I want to marry myself.”

“Marry yourself?? What do you mean?”

“Well, my psychiatrist says I have a dual personality, so I want to
marry the two together. Maybe I can file a joint income-tax return.”

“That does it!? I quit!!? You people are making a mockery of marriage!!”

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Can this be true? Unbelievable!!!!!

I bet this will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!  Can you imagine working for a company that only has a little more than 635 employees, but, has the following employee statistics…

29 have been accused of spouse abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
9 have been accused of writing bad cheques
17 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
84 have been arrested for drink driving in the last year

and, collectively, this year alone, they have cost the British tax payer £92,993,748 in expenses!!!

Which organisation is this?

It’s the 635 members of the House of Commons.  The same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.  What a bunch of ****** we have running the country – it says it all…

And just to top all that they probably have the best ‘corporate’ pension scheme in the country!!   This clarifies why I live in Spain.

Events 10th June

1190 – Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa drowned in the Saleph River while leading an army of the Third Crusade to free Jerusalem.  They probably didn’t have swimming lessons in those days

1793 – The Jardin des Plantes zoo opened in Paris. It was the first public zoo.  We’ve been there

1889 – Hattie McDaniel was born. She, for her role in “Gone With the Wind,” was the first African-American to win an Academy Award. God love her

1898 – U.S. Marines landed in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

1902 – The “outlook” or “see-through” envelope was patented by Americus F. Callahan.  The wage packet?

1909 – The SOS distress signal was used for the first time. The Cunard liner SS Slavonia used the signal when it wrecked off the Azores.  Terrible for everyone concerned

1916 – Mecca, under control of the Turks, fell to the Arabs during the Great Arab Revolt.

1920 – The Republican convention in Chicago endorsed woman suffrage.  Good

1925 – The state of Tennessee adopted a new biology text book that denied the theory of evolution.  Why?

1935 – Alcoholic Anonymous was founded by William G. Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith.  Good work

1940 – Italy declared war on France and Britain. In addition, Canada declared war on Italy. Once the ball started rolling….

1942 – The Gestapo massacred 173 male residents of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in retaliation for the killing of a Nazi official.   Cabrones

1943 – Laszlo Biro patented his ballpoint pen. Biro was a Hungarian journalist. Great idea

1943 – The Allies began bombing Germany around the clock. Ugh!

1946 – Italy established a republic replacing its monarchy.  I think we still have to work at our systems

1967 – Israel and Syria agreed to a cease-fire that ended the Six-Day War.  Good

1970 – A fifteen-man group of special forces troops began training for Operation Kingpin. The operation was a POW rescue mission in North Vietnam.

1971 – The U.S. ended a 21-year trade embargo of China.  Good

1984 – The U.S. Army successfully tested an antiballistic missile.  Ugh!

1984 – The United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in 117 years.  Good

1985 – Frank Sinatra was portrayed as a friend of organized crime in a “Doonesbury” comic strip. Over 800 newspapers carried the panel. This seems to have stuck

1985 – The Israeli army pulled out of Lebanon after 1,099 days of occupation. Good

1987 – An earthquake hit 15 states from Iowa to South Carolina.  Dreadful

1990 – Bulgaria’s former Communist Party won the country’s first free elections in more than four decades.  Good

1993 – It was announced by scientists that genetic material was extracted from an insect that lived when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.  Who could challenge this?

1995 – 26 people were killed in Medellin, Columbia, by a bomb blast that was blamed on drug traffickers.  Indiscriminate bombing is cowardly and you always have to negotiate eventually at a table

1996 – Britain and Ireland opened Northern Ireland peace talks. The IRA’s political arm Sinn Fein was excluded.  It was a brave start

1997 – Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot killed his defense chief Son Sen and 11 members of his family. He then fled his northern stronghold. The news did not emerge for three days. Why?

1998 – The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that poor children in Milwaukee could attend religious schools at taxpayer expense.  Good

1999 – NATO suspended air strikes in Yugoslavia after Slobodan Milosevic agreed to withdraw his forces from Kosovo.  Good

Birthday Boys and Girls

1910, Blues singer, guitarist, Chester Burnett, (Howlin Wolf). 1956 hit, ‘Smoke Stack Lightning’. He died from cancer on January 10th 1976.
1922, Judy Garland, singer, actress. Played Dorothy in the 1939 film ‘Wizard Of Oz’ sang ‘Over The Rainbow’ in the film, 1961 US No.1 comeback album ‘Judy At Carnegie Hall’. ‘Over The Rainbow’ was voted the ‘Song Of The Century’ in a 2001 poll published in America. She died June 22nd 1969 of a barbiturate overdose.

1941, Shirley Owens, The Shirelles, (1961 US No.1 & UK No.4 single ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’).

1944,  Rick Price, The Move, (1969 UK No.1 single ‘Blackberry Way’), Wizzard, (1973 UK No.1 single ‘See My Baby Jive’).’Freek ‘N’ You).

.. Music Source 1 music source 2