The World of Misery Guts

From Blogger to Wordpress...

2010-04-18T10:27:00.002+01:00

Please note I have now moved my blog to Wordpress. Please amend your links to: http://jocknroll.wordpress.com/

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 11 April 2010

2010-04-11T11:38:00.001+01:00

After the trauma of the HBA awards and the chocolate-flavoured goings-on of the Easter weekend, it's back to normality and the usual mix of mod, soul, Motown, alternative pop and a veritable cornucopia of classic cuts from the late 50s through to the early 70s. This month's shows will feature tracks from the Sunshine Pop edition of the Chartbusters USA series, The Laurie Records Story and "Phil's Spectre II: Another Wall of Soundalikes". Eyes down for a full house:

The Turtles - Happy Together (White Whale 1967)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Summits - Hanky Panky (Harmon/Rust 1963)
The Beach Boys - I Do (Unreleased 1963)
The Critters - Younger Girl (Kapp 1966)
Les Girls - I Still Love You (Laurie 1966)
The Velvelettes - A Bird in the Hand (Is Worth Two In the Bush) (VIP 1965)
The Cowsills - The Rain, The Park and Other Things (MGM 1967)
Eight Feet - Bobby's Come A Long Long Way (Columbia 1966) (Connect 3)
Keith - 98.6 (Mercury 1966) (Connect 3)
Four Tops - Wonderful Baby (Motown 1967) (Connect 3)
Cher - I Go To Sleep (Imperial 1965)
Linda and the Lindettes - He's Mine (Unreleased 1964)
The Kingsmen - Louie Louie (Jerden 1963) (Birthday: 11/4/35 Richard Berry)
The Goodies - Dum Dum Ditty (Blue Cat 1965)
Don and the Goodtimes - I Could Be So Good To You (Epic 1967)
Jacques Brel - Le Moribond (Philips 1961) (Foreign Language)
Lorrie Darnell - Nothing Went Right (Laurie 1963)
Tony Newman - Let The Good Times Roll (Decca 1968) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Donovan - Wear Your Love Like Heaven (Epic 1967)
Dobie Gray - No Room To Cry (Charger 1966)
Tommy McCook - Riverton City (Trojan 1966) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
Mama Cass - It's Getting Better (Dunhill 1969)
The Rockin' Berries - The Water Is Over My Head (Piccadilly 1965)
Dawn - I'm Afraid They're All Talking About Me (Laurie 1967)
Jackie Leven - In a Shivering Blaze (Cooking Vinyl 2010) (Under The Influence)
Suzy Wallis - Be My Man (RCA-Victor 1965)
Tommy James and The Shondells - Crystal Blue Persuasion (Roulette 1969)
Episode Six - Put Yourself In My Place (Pye 1965)
Kathy Lynn & The Playboys - I Got A Guy (Swan 1964) (Connect 3)
Bernadette Carroll - He's Just A Playboy (Laurie 1965) (Connect 3)
Sundown Playboys - Saturday Night Special (Apple 1972) (Connect 3)
The Dreamlovers - You Gave Me Somebody To Love (Warner Bros 1966)
Robert John - If You Don't Want My Love (Columbia 1968)
The Chiffons - If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) (Laurie 1966) (Two of a Kind)
The Chiffons - Stop, Look and Listen (Laurie 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Clydie King - The Thrill Is Gone (Imperial 1965)
Chris Farlowe - Out of Time (Immediate 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

That's it for this week. I'm now off for a week's R&R with my ladies but I'll back for next week's show. Until then, it's good night and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 4 April 2010

2010-04-03T19:41:00.001+01:00

Due to a family engagement on Easter Sunday, I've already recorded this show for broadcast on that day. I don't particularly like recording them in advance as I prefer the warts-and-all live approach but when needs must, the devil drives. Monday 5 April would have been Joe Meek's 81st birthday and to commemorate the legendary maverick producer, here's a show dedicated to Joe Meek (although the regaulr features have been kept in):

Gelnda Collins - I Lost My Heart at the Fairground (HMV 1963)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Lance Fortune - Be Mine (Pye 1960)
Gene Vincent - Temptation Baby (Unreleased 1963)
Denise Scott & The Soundsmen - Your Love Keeps Me Going (Unreleased 65/66)
Mike Berry and the Admirals - It's Just A Matter of Time (HMV 1962)
Pete & The Boulevards - You're My Girl (Unreleased - Year Unknown)
Billy Dean - Ridin' The Rails (Unreleased 61/62)
Bobby Rio and the Revelles - Value for Love (Pye 1965) (Connect 3)
Pamela Blue - My Friend Bobby (Decca 1963) (Connect 3)
Bobby Cristo - The Other Side of the Track (Decca 1964) (Connect 3)
Michael Cox - Stand Up (HMV 1962)
Billie Davis - Don't Knock On My Door (Unreleased 1962)
Major Lance - Monkey Time (Okeh 1962) (Birthday: 4/4/41 Major Lance)
Heinz - Just Like Eddie (Decca 1963)
The Sharades - Boy Trouble (Decca 1964)
John Leyton - John C'Est L'Amour (Unreleased 1961) (Foreign Language)
The Cryan' Shames - Please Stay (Decca 1966)
The Tornados - Globetrotter (Decca 1963) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Gunilla Thorn - Merry Go Round (HMV 1960)
Charles Kingsley Creation - Summer Without Sun (Columbia 1965)
The Beach Boys - You Need A Mess of Help To Stand Alone (Brother/Reprise 1972) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - Y)
The Beach Boys - You Still Believe In Me (Capitol 1966) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - Y)
John Holt - Ali Baba (Trojan 1969)
Flip - Mama Don't Lie (Unreleased 1965)
Man or Astroman - Taxidermist Surf (Estrus 1993) (Under The Influence)
The Riot Squad - I Take It That We're Through (Pye 1966)
The Cameos - Powercut (Columbia 1963)
The Puppets - Shake With Me (Pye 1964)
Houston Wells and the Marksmen - Only The Heartaches (Parlophone 1963) (Connect 3)
Toby Ventura - If My Heart Were A Storybook (Decca 1963) (Connect 3)
Diane and the Javelins - Heart and Soul (Columbia 1966) (Connect 3)
Kenny Hollywood - Magic Star (Decca 1962)
Jenny Moss - Big Boys (Columbia 1963)
The Honeycombs - I Can't Stop (Interphon 1964) (Two of a Kind)
The Honeycombs - Something I've Got To Tell You (Pye 1965) (Two of a Kind)
Geoff Goddard - Girl Bride (HMV 1961) - Especially for John Cavanagh
Neil Christian and the Crusaders - The Road To Love (Columbia 1962)
John Leyton - Johnny Remember Me (Top Rank 1961)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Joe Meek - Meeksville Answering Machine

As there are no songs beginning with X and Z, this week was the last in the A to Z of the Beach Boys series and John Holt's "Ali Baba" previews our new weekly Trojan Mod Reggae track, which takes its place. Until next week, when normal (live) service resumes, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 28 March 2010

2010-03-28T17:43:00.001+01:00

It's our last dip into the "Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970" box set and loads of other goodies:

The Monkees - All The King's Horses (Unreleased 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Freshmen - Look at the Sunshine (Pye 1968)
The Youngbloods - Get Together (RCA 1967)
Jackie Leven - John Paul Getty's Silver Cadillac (Cooking Vinyl 2009)
Santana - Evil Ways (Columbia 1969)
Dino Valenti - Let's Get Together (Unreleased 1964)
The Charlatans - Alabama Bound (Unreleased 1967)
People - I Love You (Capitol 1968) (Connect 3)
Lulu - To Sir, With Love (Epic 1967) (Connect 3)
The Great! Society - Somebody To Love (LP version) (Unreleased 1966) (Connect 3)
Blue Cheer - Fool (single version) (Philips 1967)
Jefferson Airplane - It's No Secret (RCA 1966)
The Turtles - Grim Reaper of Love (White Whale 1966) (Birthday: 28/3/45 Chuck Portz)
Grateful Dead - The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) (Warner Bros 1967)
The Bystanders - Royal Blue Summer Sunshine Day (Piccadilly 1967)
Liz Brady - Palladium (The Hip) (Pathe 1966) (Foreign Language)
Fifty Foot Horse - Red The Sign Post (Limelight 1968)
Dave Clark Five - I Walk The Line (Piccadilly 1962) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Notes from the Underground - Why Did You Put Me On? (Vanguard 1968)
The Ivy League - My World Fell Down (Piccadilly 1966)
The Beach Boys - Wendy (Capitol 1964) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - W)
The Beach Boys - When a Man Needs a Woman (Capitol 1968) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - W)
Country Weather - Fly To New York (Private 1969)
The Mojo Men - She's My Baby (Reprise 1966)
Care - Flaming Sword (Arista 1983) (Under The Influence)
The Otherside - Streetcar (Brent 1966)
Country Joe and the Fish - I Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die Rag (EP version) (Rag Baby 1965)
The Petites - Baby Blue Mustang (Troy 1965) (Connect 3)
Janis Joplin - Mercedes Benz (Columbia 1968) (Connect 3)
The Beach Boys - Little Honda (Capitol 1964) (Connect 3)
The Warlocks - Can't Come Down (Unreleased 1965)
Quicksilver Messenger Service - Light Your Windows (Capitol 1968)
The Marvelettes - Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead (Tamla 1965) (Two of a Kind)
The Marvelettes - I'll Keep On Holding On (Tamla 1965) (Two of a Kind)
The Immediate Family - Rubiyat (Unreleased 1967)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Next week it'll be my pre-recorded Joe Meek special, as I celebrate Easter Sunday with my family. Congratulations to my VRN colleague John Murray who was awarded The John Witney Award for his outstanding contribution to hospital radio at the National Hospital Radio Awards - well done, John! Although I didn't appreciate him charging a bottle of wine to my room!! Sadly, I left empty-handed in my category, as did all our other nominees. Just call us the Shawshank Redemption of the HBA! Until next week, it's good day and good health.

Sky Minus/Stagecoach

2010-03-21T20:37:00.005Z

On Friday the Good Lady Wife and I noticed that that afternoon's Pointless - our new favourite quiz show - hadn't recorded. Not only had it not recorded but it had been marked as FAILED. Mastermind was set to record too but FAILED too. We didn't notice until later on because we were saving it for later (When none of the specialist subjects are of interest we proceed straight to General Knowledge questions and start the weekly routine of 'shouting at the telly'). Then Big Bang Theory FAILED on Saturday and we sussed that something wasn't quite right.

Using the interweb I found that it was a common problem but decided to let Sky sort it out (isn't that what we pay them a small fortune for?) before I took advice from 'the people'. I emailed them: "For the last two days I've been getting FAILED messages against programmes I've tried to record through the Sky+ Planner. When we press for Information it gives us a Technical Fault 11. What is a Technical Fault 11, why are we getting it and how can it be fixed?"

Meanwhile, we switched everything off - we drew the line at unplugging everything - and waited to see what Sunday morning would bring. Voila, it was fine again but it still rankled me that it had happened in the first place.

A reply awaited me when I switched the computer on:

"I am sorry to hear of the problems you have been experiencing with your services. To rectify these problems, please follow the procedure below:

Please note this process will stop all the recordings currently in progress and reboot your box, therefore you may want to do this after a recording has been completed.

Using the Sky Remote Control press the services button.
Using the up / down arrow buttons highlight System Setup and press select.
Press 0, 1 and select to access the Installer Menu.
Highlight Sky+ Planner Rebuild and press select.

When the warning on screen message, 'this will take a few minutes to completed' the rebuild will stop all recordings and reboot your Sky+. Press select to confirm or backup to cancel appears press select to continue.

The on screen message, 'Housekeeping please wait' will appear and take up to 2 minutes to clear. Once complete the set top box will switch itself off and then back on automatically and wait in standby mode. Wait for 60 seconds after the red light has appeared before attempting to switch back on your box.

If after following this procedure you are still experiencing problems, you may need to contact our technical team on 08442 41 14 11,direct for further assistance. If you require a service call and your box warranty has expired, the service call will carry a charge of 65.00 (GBP).

I hope this information has helped with your enquiry. If you require any further assistance, you can respond to my email. You can also contact our Customer Services team on 08442 41 41 41, where one of our advisors will be happy to help."

You would've thought I'd have been pleased to hear from them but I wasn't. Why? Well, firstly they want me to use "0" from a system setup screen that only offers a choice form 1 to 8! Secondly, they want ME to phone THEM on an 0844 number (you know our details, call us) and, thirdly, if the equipment isn't working I have to pay THEM £65 for an engineer (or whatever pretentious job title Sky give them) to tell me what I already know! It's all money, money, money*. I'm turning into Jim Royle, only without the bowel/toilet problems and bad clothes.

I replied to the email from "Cynthia" with a simple one-liner: "You say "highlight System setup and press select" Then "press 0" but there is no 0 on our System setup menu! It only goes from 1 to 8".

Cynthia turned into Bruce and responded thus:

"You're quite right there is no 0 on the system setup menu, but that is because you are accessing a hidden menu at that point. If you are on system setup menu, ignore the screen and just press 0,1 and select the installer menu will appear.

It can be easier for us to take you through the procedures on the phone but I do not have any details to be able to access your account. If you email back to us with your viewing card number and password if you have one, we will be happy to contact you back.

Kind regards

Bruce"

Of course. Stupid me, a "hidden menu". Why didn't I think of that? I am such an idiot. I have brought shame upon myself and my family and I must throw myself off the roof immediately.

I find "It can be easier for us" to be rather patronising and somewhat insulting. If I can't work the instructions given to me in writing, some sad sod with no career prospects, halitosis and white socks in the modern electronic equivalent of the sweatshop isn't going to be any more useful.

Thankfully for the Good Lady Wife, but not me, her "Dancing on Ice" has recorded.

* On Saturday morning I had to take the car for a service in Dalgety Bay, a 10-minute drive from home. I dropped the car off and waited for a bus back.

"Tesco, Dunfermline, please" "£2.75"

"What?" "£2.75"

I handed it over but was so positive that that was wrong I tucked my ticket safely away. I'd never been on this bus before or in the area, except in a car, but it seemed rather steep. I checked the time and wondered if this particular bus took a different route home, maybe via Oslo. After all this was the 80C. Not the original 80, the all-new 80A or the new AND improved 80B with Boswelox, this was the all-singing, all-dancing, let's-do-the-show-right-here 80C.

I alighted at Tesco (who the hell says "alighted" anymore?), a mere eight minutes after I got on. Surviving the pedestrian jungle that is the Tesco car park - does nobody stop at pedestrian crossings anymore? - I walked, still in disbelief. After a couple of hours serious "pottering" the garage called and I headed back out for the bus.

"Dalgety Bay, please" "£1.40"

"£1.40? I was charged £2.75 not two hours ago for the same trip in reverse"

After a discussion with the driver,who was as much use as a cat flap on a submarine, I took a seat. I used the nine minutes constructively (the 80B goes a different route and I had to walk some of the way hence the extra minute) and fired off an e-mail to the Operations Manager, who is also a near neighbour.

Just to rub salt into the wound I had to stump up £270 at the garage (service and something to do with the brakes) and they couldn't fix the radio display without a code, which was on a card, which we didn't have.

It never rains but it pours.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 21 March 2010

2010-03-21T09:51:00.000Z

We continue to tuck into the psychedelic feast that is the "Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970" box set and we commemorate the passings of Lesley Duncan and Alex Chilton, as well as the regular features:

Big Star - September Gurls (Stax 1973)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Marc Bolan - Third Degree (Decca 1966)
Mad River - Amphetamine Gazelle (Capitol 1968)
The Mystery Trend - Carl Street (Unreleased 1967)
Ministry of Sound (Lesley Duncan/Val McKenna) - Something's Coming Along (Unreleased 1967)
Blackburn and Snow - Stranger In a Strange Land (Verve 1967)
Billie Davis - Billy Sunshine (Decca 1969)
Chocolate Watchband - No Way Out (Tower 1967) (Connect 3)
The Vejtables - Anything (Autumn 1965) (Connect 3)
Teddy and the Patches - Suzy Creamcheese (Chance 1967) (Connect 3)
Clyde McPhatter - You Got It (Deram 1969)
Sly & The Family Stone - Underdog (Epic 1967)
Solomon Burke - Home In Your Heart (Atlantic 1963) (Birthday: 21/3/40)
Steve Miller Band - Roll With It(Capitol 1968)
The Shangri-la's - Sophisticated Boom Boom (Red Bird 1966)
Louise Cordet - Que m'a-t-il fait? (What's He/It Done to Me?) (Decca 1963) (Foreign Language)
Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks - How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away? (Epic 1969)
The Outlaws - Valley of the Sioux (HMV 1961) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Seatrain - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Lady (A&M 1969)
The Savage Resurrection - Things in "E" (Mercury 1968)
The Beach Boys - Vegetables (Unreleased 1967) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - V)
The Beach Boys - Heroes and Villains (45 version) (Capitol 1967) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - V)
Jon Gunn - I Just Made Up My Mind (Deram 1967)
Syndicate of Sound - Rumors (Bell 1966)
The La's - Son of a Gun (BBC session) (Go! Discs 1988) (Under The Influence)
The La's - There She Goes (Go! Discs 1988) (Under The Influence)
The Frantics - Human Monkey (Action 1966)
October Country - Good To Be Around (Epic 1968)
The Grass Roots - Mr Jones (A Ballad of a Thin Man) (Dunhill 1965) (Connect 3)
The Cryan' Shames - Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith & Jones (Columbia 1968) (Connect 3)
Tom Jones - Stop Breaking My Heart (Decca 1966) (Connect 3)
The Harbinger Complex - Sometimes I Wonder (Amber 1966)
Fearns Brass Foundry - Don't Chance It (Decca 1968)
The Beau Brummels - Don't Talk To Strangers (Autumn 1965) (Two of a Kind)
The Beau Brummels - Two Days 'Til Tomorrow (Warner Bros 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Earl Cosby - Ooh Honey Baby (Mirwood 1966)
The Majority - One Third (Decca 1966)
Big Star - I'm In Love With a Girl (Stax 1973)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Next week it'll be business as usual after I return from the National Hospital Radio Awards in Erskine. The Cat has his paws well and truly crossed for his nomination in the Best Specialist Music category. Until next week, and the last of our San Francisco sounds, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 14 March 2010

2010-03-14T09:36:00.001Z

More from the "Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970" box set and the usual grab-bag of goodies:

The Hollies - Look Through Any Window (Parlophone 1965)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Honeys - The One You Can't Have (Capitol 1963)
The Ivy League - In The Not Too Distant Future (Pye 1967)
The Wildflower - Coffee Cup (Mainstream 1967)
The Soul Agents - Let's Make It Pretty Baby (Pye 1964)
Fontella Bass/Bobby McClure - Don't Mess Up A Good Thing (Checker 1965)
Sharon Marie - Story of My Life (Capitol 1964)
The Majorettes - White Levis (Troy 1963) (Connect 3)
Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit (RCA 1967) (Connect 3)
It's A Beautiful Day - White Bird (Columbia 1969) (Connect 3)
American Spring - Shyin' Away (Capitol 1973)
The Sons of Champlin - Fat City (Verve 1967)
The Turtles - You Don' Have To Walk In The Rain (White Whale 1969) (Birthday: 14/3/46 Jim Pons)
Steve Miller Band - Quicksilver Girl (Capitol 1968)
The Mystery Trend - Johnny Was A Good Boy (Verve 1968)
Brigitte Bardot - Je Me Donne a Qui Me Plait (I Give Myself To Whom I Please) (Philips 1962) (Foreign Language)
Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues (Philips 1968)
Earl Van Dyke - 6x6 (Motown 1967) (Half-Time Instrumental)
The Loading Zone - The Bells (RCA Victor 1968)
The Sheffields - Hey, Hey Lover Boy (Pye 1964)
The Beach Boys - 409 (Capitol 1962) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - U)
Gary Usher - That's The Way I Feel (Capitol 1964) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - U)
The Tikis - Bye Bye Bye (Warner Bros single version) (Warner Bros 1966)
The New Breed - Want Ad Reader (World United 1966)
The Magic Numbers - Love Me Like You (Heavenly 2005) (Under The Influence)
Mother Earth - Revolution (Unted Artists 1968)
Public Nuisance - America (Unreleased 1968)
The Oxford Circle - Foolish Woman (World United 1966) (Connect 3)
Moby Grape - Omaha (Columbia 1967) (Connect 3)
Country Weather - Fly To New York (Unreleased 1969) (Connect 3)
Quicksilver Messenger - Who Do You Love (demo) (Unreleased 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Quicksilver Messenger - Codine (United Artists 1968) (Two of a Kind)
The Stained Glass - My Buddy Sin (RCA 1966)
Earl Cosby - Ooh Honey Baby (Mirwood 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Until next week, and some more San Francisco sounds, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 7 March 2010

2010-03-07T10:05:00.001Z

January's shows were dominated by the LA Nuggets box set and this month it's the turn of its San Francisco counterpart, "Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970":

Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Big News (Columbia 1963)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Dee Dee Young - You Haven't Seen Nothing (Challenge 1964)
The Front Line Assembly - Got Love (York 1965)
The Knickerbockers - I Can Do It Better (Challenge 1966)
Ace of Cups - Glue (Unreleased 1968)
Count Five - Psychotic Reaction (Double Shot 1966)
Sister Rachel - Don't Mess Around With Me (Challenge 1967)
The Charlatans - Number One (Unreleased 1965) (Connect 3)
The Sons of Champlin - 1982-A (Capitol 1969) (Connect 3)
We Five - You Were On My Mind (A&M 1965) (Connect 3)
Helen Shapiro - Let's Talk About Love (Columbia 1962)
The Generation - I'm A Good Woman (Unreleased 1967)
Donna Loren - Muscle Bustle (Challenge 1964) (Birthday: 7/3/47)
Big Brother & The Holding Company - Down On Love (live) (Unreleased 1968)
The Mourning Reign - Satisfaction Guaranteed (Link 1966)
Jacques Brel - Le Chanson de Jacky (Barclay 1965) (Foreign Language)
The Serpent Power - Up and Down (Vanguard 1967)
The Tornados - Telstar (Decca 1962) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Butch Engle & The Styx - Hey I'm Lost (Onyx 1967)
The Beach Boys - Tears in the Morning (Brother/Reprise 1970) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - T)
The Beach Boys - Things We Did Last Summer (Unreleased 1963?) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - T)
Fanny - Charity Ball (second version) (Reprise 1971)
Grateful Dead - Dark Star (single version) (Warner Bros 1968)
Mari Wilson & The Wilsations - Beat the Beat (Compact 1982) (Under The Influence)
The Feminine Complex - I Don't Want Another Man (Athena 1968)
The Great! Society - Free Advice (Northbeach 1966)
Dusty Springfield - Little by Little (Mercury 1966)
Country Joe and the Fish - Superbird (Vanguard 1967) (Connect 3)
The Sopwith "Camel" - Hello Hello (Kama Sutra 1966) (Connect 3)
Jefferson Airplane - Mexico (RCA 1970) (Connect 3)
Santana - Soul Sacrifice (Columbia 1969)
The Family Tree - Live Your Own Life (Mira 1966)
The Flamin' Groovies - I'm Drowning (Snazz 1968) (Two of a Kind)
The Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action (Sire 1976) (Two of a Kind)
The Box Tops - Neon Rainbow (Mala 1967)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Until next week, and some more San Francisco sounds, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 28 February 2010

2010-02-28T16:57:00.001Z

I've dragged myself off my sick bed to bring you these delights:

The Outsiders - Time Won't Let Me (Capitol 1965)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Brenda Lee - Dum Dum (Decca 1961)
Stamford Bridge - Happiness and Rainy Days (Penny Farthing 1970)
The Turtles - Wanderin' Kind (Immediate 1966)
The Young Rascals - Good Lovin' (Atlantic 1966)
Del Shannon - Led Along (Liberty 1967)
Bobby Angelle - Too Much for You (Money 1967)
Little Eva - Keep Your Hands Off Of My Baby (Dimension 1962) (Connect 3)
Baby Washington - Careless Hands (Sue 1962) (Connect 3)
Bobby "Blue" Bland - These Hands (Small But Mighty) (Duke 1965) (Connect 3)
Nicky Scott - Big City (Immediate 1967)
The Hipster Image - Can't Let Her Go (Decca 1965)
Barbara Acklin - Love Makes A Woman (Brunswick 1968) (Birthday: 28/2/44)
Annette Funicello & The Afterbeats - Tall Paul (Disneyland 1958)
First Class - Coney Island (UK 1972)
Alma Cogan - O Dio Mio (HMV 1960) (Foreign Language)
Robert Parker - Let's Go Baby (Where the Action Is) (Nola 1965)
The Original Checkmates - Hot Toddy (Pye 1962) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Emmit Rhodes - Mary Will You Take My Hand (Dakar 1970)
Brian Wilson - South American (Giant 1998) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - S)
The Beach Boys - Shut Down (Capitol 1963) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - S)
PP Arnold - Life Is Nothing (Immediate 1967)
Benny Parker & The Dynamos - Boys and Girls (Decca 1964)
The Jam - Boy About Town (Polydor 1980) (Under The Influence)
Eddie Holman - Eddie's My Name (Parkway 1965)
Betty Johnson - Little White Lies (Bally 1957)
The Fairies - Anytime At All (Decca 1964)
Vicky Gomez - Boys Are Dime A Dozen (ABC Paramount 1965) (Connect 3)
Betty Bibbs - Pounds of Soul (Kent 1968) (Connect 3)
Kincade - Dreams Are Ten a Penny (1972 Label Unknown) (Connect 3)
Twice As Much - Sittin' On a Fence (Immediate 1966)
Gene Chandler - Mr Big Shot (Constellation 1966)
Billie Davis - Make The Feeling Go Away (Decca 1969) (Two of a Kind)
Billie Davis - Ev'ry Day (Piccadilly 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Albert Washington - Hold Me Baby (Ace? 1969)
Marc Bolan - Third Degree (Decca 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Until next week, it's good day and good health.

Life is a Moment in Space

2010-02-26T18:54:00.004Z

After a particular shitty week I heard a record on Radio 2 today that took me back to a more innocent and happier time. A time when you paid the price on the ticket and nothing more and long before stress became the new bad back.

My day was in the army and we lived in Army Quarters just outside Bonnyrigg. If it was so far out of Bonnyrigg that it could've been in the Borders! And there was nothing bonnie about it. We didn't have the luxury of computers or iPods and we utilised the natural resources to have our fun. The pavements hosted running races, with long paths used as jumps on an imaginary steeplechase. The Harry the housing warden had also provided a pair of old rusty goalposts (no nets) in a local field but the grass was lumpier and bumpier than the school custard and the field sloped from wing to wing more than a drunk against a lamppost. We made do because that's what you had to do. I even made a showjumping course in our back garden until I "clipped a fence" and broke one of my mother's brush handles.

The highlight of the week was when the Harry would open up one of the empty quarters and allow us "young 'uns" to have a disco. To be honest, I only remember two records being played because the supply was somewhat limited. One of those was the so-bad-it's-bad novelty record by Joe Dolce. Nowadays, I pull anyone up for suggesting that "Shaddap Your Face" was by Joe Dolce, when any quizzer worth their salt knows it was the Joe Dolce Music Theatre who foisted such nonsense on an unfussy record-buying public. Of course, as kids we didn't know any better, and we enjoyed the pidgin Italian and joined in while telling each other to "Shaddap Your Face". I still have that song on a K-Tel album called "Chartblasters '81". I don't play it much, except for Susan Fassbender's "Twilight Cafe".

The other record, the one that always transports me back to 1981, was the velvety, lusciousness of Barbra Streisand's Bee Gees' written and produced "Woman in Love". Even for a 14-year old I was very tall. So much so that when I asked Teresa Black to dance she had to stand on one of the many plastic chairs hugging the wall of the tiny living room as we swayed, clenched, from side to side. This was somewhat awkward although with it being a "slow record" we wouldn't have done more than shuffle awkwardly anyway. These days mooning takes on rather different connotations but back in the day that's what we called slow dancing. The erection section would, ahem, come much later. From memory Teresa had dark, straight hair and a lazy eye and a brother who loved to wear Adam Ant's war paint on his face.

Even after our family moved away from the Army houses and closer to the centre of Bonnyrigg, my brother and I would walk the mile or so to the "disco". I even got a kiss one night, but not from Teresa; this Lothario was playing the field albeit one without a big slope and cow dung.

The Cat on "Where the Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 21 February 2010

2010-02-21T11:57:00.001Z

After the slush and mush of last week's Valentine's Day special, it's back to basics with the usual fun-filled festival of pop 'n' stuff. This week's humble offerings:

Herman's Hermits - No Milk Today (Columbia 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Supremes - The Happening (Motown 1967)
The Marvelettes - Please Mr Postman (Tamla 1961)
Madeline Bell - I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (Phillips 1967)
A Band of Angels - Cheat and Lie (Piccadilly 1966)
The Shangri-la's - Bull Dog (Red Bird 1965)
The Spencer Davis Group - I Can't Stand It (Fontana 1964)
Billie Davis - School Is Over (Columbia 1964) (Connect 3)
The Charmettes - School Letter (mono) (Federal 1959) (Connect 3)
The Langley Schools Music Project - Help Me Rhonda (Bar-None 2001) (Connect 3)
Arthur Alexander - Where Have You Been (London 1962)
Connie Francis - Where The Boys Are (MGM 1960)
Nina Simone - See Line Woman (Phillips 1964) (Birthday: 21/2/33)
Strawberry Alarm Clock - Incense and Peppermint (UNI 1967) RIP Lee Freeman
Wayne Fontana - Something Keeps Calling Me Back (Fontana 1966)
Pat Simon - Small Town (Vogue 1967) (Foreign Language)
Val McKenna - I Can't Believe What You Say (Piccadilly 1965)
The Rustlers - A Matter of Who (Pye 1961) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Gene Chandler - I Fooled You This Time (Checker 1966)
The Beach Boys - Help Me Rhonda (alternative single mix) (Capitol 1965) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - R)
The Beach Boys - Break Away (Capitol 1969) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - R)
The Action - Come On, Come With Me (Parlophone Year Unknown) RIP Mike Evans
Sharon Tandy - One Way Street (Unreleased/Stax Year Unknown)
The Loving Kind - Ain't That Peculiar (Pye 1966)
The Knack - Good Girls Don't (Capitol 1979) (Under The Influence) RIP Doug Fieger
Everpresent Fullness - Suzi Q (White Whale 1970) RIP Dale Hawkins
The Hit Pack - Never Say No To My Baby (Tamla 1965)
Kim Weston - Just Loving You (Tamla 1963)
Young Blood - Green Light (Pye 1968) (Connect 3)
The Knickerbockers - Sweet Green Fields (Challenge 1967) (Connect 3)
Petula Clark - The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener (Pye 1967) (Connect 3)
The Shondells - Special Delivery (King 1963)
Todd Rundgren - Couldn't I Just Tell You (Bearsville 1972)
The Kinks - Australia (Pye 1969) (Two of a Kind)
The Kinks - This Man He Weeps Tonight (Pye 1969) (Two of a Kind)
Marvin Gaye - One More Heartache (Tamla 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Until next week, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 14 February 2010

2010-02-14T12:46:00.002Z

All you need is love on my Valentine's Day special. Here are this week's soft pop centres and hard soul bites:

The Love Affair - Everlasting Love (CBS 1968)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Billie Davis - Love (Decca 1970)
The Mamas and the Papas - Words of Love (RCA/Dunhill 1966)
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Third Finger, Left Hand (Gordy 1967)
Margo Guryan - I Love (Unreleased 1967)
Annette Funicello - Train of Love (Buena Vista 1960)
The Lovelites - I Found Me A Lover (Bandera 1970)
Billy Joe Royal - Hearts Desire (Columbia 1966) (Connect 3)
Hearts of Stone - If I Could Give You The World (VIP 1970) (Connect 3)
Gary Lewis & The Playboys - My Hearts Symphony (Liberty 1966) (Connect 3)
Barbara Ruskin - The Light of Love (Piccadilly 1966)
Frank Wilson - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) (Soul 1965)
Tim Buckley - Once Upon A Time (Unreleased 1967) (Birthday: 14/2/47)
The Shirelles - What Is Love? (Scepter 1967)
Brenda Holloway - Favour for a Girl (With a Love Sick Heart) (Motown 1964)
Sylvie Vartan - Donne Moi Ton Amour (Gimme Some Loving) (RCA 1967) (Foreign Language)
The Action - Love Is All (Unreleased 1967/1968)
The Packabeats - Evening in Paris (Pye 1962) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Darlene Love - Strange Love (Philles 1964)
Bobby Hebb - Love Love Love (Phillips 1972)
The Beach Boys - Please Let Me Wonder (Capitol 1965) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - P)
The Beach Boys - Surf's Up (Brother/Reprise 1971) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - P)
The Four Tops - Standing In The Shadows of Love (Tamla Motown 1967)
The Monkees - Love To Love (Unreleased 1967)
Aberfeldy - Love Is An Arrow (Rough Trade 2004) (Under The Influence)
Petula Clark - My Love (Pye 1965)
The Hollies - Too Young To Be Married (Parlophone 1970)
The Turtles - Guide for the Married Man (White Whale 1967)
The Holy Mackerel - Wildflowers (Reprise 1968) (Connect 3)
The Beatstalkers - Rain Coloured Roses (CBS 1968) (Connect 3)
The Jaynetts - Cry Behind The Daisies (demo) (Unreleased 1964) (Connect 3)
Glenda Collins - Head Over Heels In Love (Decca 1961)
Jackie Lee - Your Other Love (Unreleased 1966)
Love - The Daily Planet (Elektra 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Love - Hey Joe (Elektra 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Rose Valentine - I've Gotta Know Right Now (RCA Victor 1967)
April Stevens - Lovin' Valentine (Atco 1965)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Until next week, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 7 February 2010

2010-02-07T11:01:00.002Z

Time flies when you're having fun and we'll already into February. It's back to our normal mix of mod, soul, girl groups, Motown and alternative music from the late 50s to the early 70s. Here are this week's tasty musical morsels:

The Casuals - Jesamine (Decca 1968)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Claudine Clark - Party Lights (Chancellor 1962)
The Walker Brothers - (Baby) You Don't Have To Tell Me (Philips 1966)
The Jewells - Smokie Joe's (King 1967)
Heinz - Questions I Can't Answer (Columbia 1964)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - I Second That Emotion (Tamla Motown 1968)
The Teardrops - Tears Come Running (Saxony/Musicor 1964)
Goldie & The Gingerbreads - Sailor Boy (Decca 1966) (Connect 3)
Petula Clark - Sailor (Pye 1961) (Connect 3)
The Zippers - My Sailor Boy (Hickory 1964) (Connect 3)
Glenda Collins - I Lost My Heart at the Fairground (HMV 1963)
Badfinger - Now Matter What (Apple 1970)
King Curtis - Memphis Soul Stew (Atco 1967) (Birthday: 7/2/34 King Curtis, saxophonist)
The Jelly Beans - How Fine Can One Guy Be (Unreleased, Year Unknown)
Barry Ryan - Eloise (MGM 1968)
The Searchers - Mais C'Etait un Reve (It's All Been a Dream) (Vogue 1965) (Foreign Language)
The Honeycombs - Something Better Beginning (Pye 1965)
The Tornados - Life on Venus (German version) (Decca 1968) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Julie Grant - Don't Ever Let Me Down (Pye 1963)
Barbara Mason & The Tiffanys - Trouble Child (Crusader 1964)
The Beach Boys - Only With You (Capitol 1972) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - O)
The Beach Boys - Our Car Club (Capitol 1963) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - O)
Diana Ross & The Supremes - In and Out of Love (Tamla Motown 1968)
The Small Faces/PP Arnold - (If You Think You're) Groovy (Immediate 1968)
The Small Ads - Small Ads (Bronze 1981) (Under The Influence)
The Utopias - Sally Bad (Fortune 1965)
Dusty Springfield - I Close My Eyes and Count To Ten (Philips 1968)
Emitt Rhodes - Ever Find Yourself Running (ABC Dunhill 1970)
PP Arnold - Angle of the Morning (Immediate 1968) (Connect 3)
Margo Guryan - Something's Wrong With The Morning (Unreleased, Year Unknown) (Connect 3)
Episode Six - Morning Dew (Pye 1967) (Connect 3)
Jackie Lee - Co-Co (Pye 1971)
Joani Camp - His Lips Get In The Way (Unreleased, Year Unknown)
Herman's Hermits - A Must To Avoid (Columbia 1965) (Two of a Kind)
Herman's Hermits - For Your Love (Columbia 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Simon Dupree & The Big Sound Authority - I See The Light (Parlophone 1966)
The Searchers - Goodnight Baby (Pye 1965)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Next week it's our Valentine's Day special. All love, hearts, flowers etc. Until then, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where the Action Is" on Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 31 January 2010

2010-01-31T10:12:00.003Z

This is the last week of our rummage in the treasure chest that is the "Where The Action Is! LA Nuggets 1965-1968" box set. The San Francisco equivalent "Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970" will be heard during my shows in March. Here are this week's veritable cornucopia of crackin' tunes:

The Who - Substitute (Reaction 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy - Eventually (Unreleased 1966)
Dino, Desi and Billy - The Rebel Kind (Reprise 1965)
The Mustangs - That's For Sure (Nero 1965)
Jackie DeShannon & The Byrds - Splendor in the Grass (Imperial 1966)
The Seeds - Tripmaker (GNP Crescendo 1966)
The Mamas and the Papas - Somebody Groovy (Dunhill 1965)
Boyce and Hart - Thanks for Sunday (A&M 1969) (Connect 3)
Glenda Collins - Don't Let It Rain on Sunday (Pye 1966) (Connect 3)
Josephine Sunday - You Won't Even Know Her Name (Tower 1965) (Connect 3)
Fapardokly (Merrill & The Exiles) - Tomorrow's Girl (Glenn 1967)
The Knickerbockers - High On Love (Challenge 1966)
Billie Davis & The Leroys - Whatcha Gonna Do (Columbia 1964) (Birthday: 31/1/28 Chuck Willis, songwriter)
The Music Machine - The People in Me (Original Sound 1967)
Peter Fonda - November Night (Cjisa 1967)
Alma Cogan - Itte Kudes (Tell Him) (Japanese version) (Columbia 1963) (Foreign Language)
Herman's Hermits - Show Me Girl (Columbia 1964)
The Tornados - Ridin' The Wind (Decca 1962) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Jan and Dean - Fan Tan (Jan & Dean 1967)
Barry McGuire - Inner-Manipulations (Dunhill 1968)
The Beach Boys - The Night Was So Young (Capitol 1977) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - N)
The Beach Boys - The Nearest Faraway Place (Capitol 1968) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - N)
The Sons of Adam - Saturday's Son (Decca 1966)
Danny Hutton - Roses and Rainbows (Hanna-Barbera 1965)
Dan Lyth - Castles (Moojuice 2009) (Under The Influence)
The Hysterics - Everything's There (Bing 1965)
P F Sloan - Halloween Mary (Dunhill 1965)
The Whatt Four - Your Wishin' I Was Someone Else (Mercury 1967)
Petula Clark - Las Vegas (Pye 1967) (Connect 3)
Gene Clark - Los Angeles (Unreleased 1968) (Connect 3)
Gary Usher - Sacramento (Capitol 1964) (Connect 3)
The Penny Arkade - Swim (Unreleased 1967)
The Kinks - Days (Pye 1968)
The Monkees -Sometime In The Morning (Colgems 1967) (Two of a Kind)
The Monkees - You Just May Be The One (Colgems 1967) (Two of a Kind)
The Yellow Payges - Our Time Is Running Out (UNI 1967)
The Raspberries - Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) (Capitol 1974)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Next week it's back to our normal mix of mod, soul, girl groups, Motown and alternative pop from the late 50s to the early 1970s. Until then, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 24 January 2010

2010-01-24T12:12:00.000Z

We reach the penultimate week of our grab bag of West Coast goodies from the "Where The Action Is! LA Nuggets 1965-1968" box set. We're also celebrating a nomination in the National Hospital Radio awards for the show in the Best Specialist Music Programme category, as well as five nominations in four categories for others at the station. Well done everyone concerned. Meanwhile, tuck in to this week's musical feast...

The Chymes - He's Not There Anymore (Chattahoochee 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Rising Sons - Take A Giant Step (Unreleased 1966)
Thorinsfield - Daydreaming (Philips 1967)
The Everpresent Fullness - Darlin' You Can Count On Me (White Whale 1967)
Limey & The Yanks - Guaranteed Love (Star-Burst 1966)
Sandie Shaw - It's In His Kiss (Pye 1965)
The Association - One Too Many Mornings (Valiant 1965)
Dusty Springfield - The Magic Garden (Philips 1968) (Connect 3)
The Garden Club - Little Girl - Lost and Found (A&M 1967) (Connect 3)
The Mamas and the Papas - Safe In My Garden (Dunhill 1968) (Connect 3)
The Nitty Gritty Band - I'll Search The Sky (Liberty 1967)
The Romancers (aka The Smoke Rings) - Love's The Thing (Linda 1965)
Tammi Terrell - Come On and See Me (Motown 1966) (Birthday: 24/1/45 Tammi Terrell)
The Full Treatment - Just Can't Wait (A&M 1967)
Kin Fowley - Underground Lady (Living Legend 1965)
Jackie Lee - Rupert der Bar (German) (Pye 1970) (Foreign Language)
Scott Walker - The Girls and the Dogs (Les filles et les chiens) (Philips 1968)
The Honeycombs - Goldfinger (Unreleased Year Unknown) (Half-Time Instrumental)
John Leyton (with Mike Sarne & Grazina) - Everyday's a Holiday (HMV 1964)
The Knack - Time Waits For No One (Capitol 1967)
The Beach Boys - Mama Says (Capitol 1967) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - M)
The Beach Boys - Marcella (Brother 1972) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - M)
Van Dyke Parks - Come To The Sunshine (MGM 1966)
London Phogg - The Times To Come (A&M 1969)
The BMX Bandits - I Can Wait Forever (Elefant 2008) (Under The Influence)
Harry Nilsson - Sister Marie (RCA 1968)
Love Affair - Rainbow Valley (CBS 1968)
The Doors - Take It as It Comes (Elektra 1967)
Moon - Mothers and Fathers (Imperial 1968) (Connect 3)
Susan Lynne - Reach for the Moon (Label Unknown 1968) (Connect 3)
The Puffs - Moon Out There (Dore 1966) (Connect 3)
Jesse Lee Kincaid - She Sang Hymns out of Tune (Kelly 1968)
The WC Fields Memorial Electric String Band - Hippy Elevator Operator (Hanna-Barbera 1966)
Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell - California Soul (Motown 1969) (Two of a Kind)
Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell - You're All I Need To Get By (Motown 1968) (Two of a Kind)
Kaleidoscope - Pulsating Dream (Epic 1967)
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again (Polydor 1970)
The Action - Shadows and Reflections (Parlophone 1967) RIP Mike Evans
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

The last prescription of LA Nuggets will be dosed out next week. Until next time, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 17 January 2010

2010-01-17T08:34:00.002Z

It's the third week of our rummage through the brilliant "Where The Action Is! LA Nuggets 1965-1968" box set. We're also celebrating the birthday of chanteuse Francoise Hardy. Last train to Tunesville - all aboard...

The Palace Guard - All Night Long (Orange-Empire 1965)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Noel Harrison - Life Is A Dream (Reprise 1965)
Little Eva - The Trouble With Boys (Dimension 1963)
Opus 1 - Back Seat '38 Dodge (Mustang 1966)
October Country - My Girlfriend Is A Witch (Epic 1968)
Rick Nelson - Marshmallow Skies (Decca 1967)
Roger Nichols Trio - Montage Mirror (Unreleased 1967)
A Joint Effort - The Third Eye (JE 1967) (Connect 3)
Les Fleurs de Lys - Mud In Your Eye (Polydor 1966) (Connect 3)
Spirit - Girl In Your Eye (Ode 1968) (Connect 3)
The Lamp of Childhood - No More Running Around (Dunhill 1967)
The Humane Society - Eternal Prison (New World 1968)
Francoise Hardy - All Over The World (Vogue 1965) (Birthday: 17/1/44 Francoise Hardy)
Randy Newman - I Had A Dream Last Night (Reprise 1968)
The Velvet Illusions - Acid Head (Metro-Media 1967)
Francoise Hardy - Ce Petite Coeur (My Little Heart) (Vogue 1965) (Foreign Language)
The Contours - Just A Little Understanding (Motown 1966)
The Beachcombers - Mad Goose (Columbia 1963) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Evie Sands - Take Me a While (Blue Cat 1965)
The Common Cold - Come Down (Atco 1967)
The Beach Boys - Long Promised Road (Brother 1971) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - L)
The Beach Boys - Little Honda (Capitol 1964) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - L)
The Others - Revenge (Mercury 1966)
Sonny and Cher - It's Gonna Rain (Atco 1965)
Dropkick - Choose (Sound Asleep 2009) (Under The Influence)
Sagittarius - The Turth Is Not Real (single version) (Columbia 1968)
The Honeybees - She Doesn't Deserve You (Fontana 1964)
Pasternak Progress - Flower Eyes (Original Sound 1967)
The Move - (Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree (Regal Zonophone 1967) (Connect 3)
The Dillards - Lemon Chimes (Capitol 1965) (Connect 3)
Peter, Paul and Mary - The Lemon Tree (Warners 1962) (Connect 3)
Things To Come - Come Alive (Warners 1968)
The Guilloteens - For My Own (Hanna-Barbera 1965)
Francoise Hardy - La Maison Ou J'ai Grandi (Tar and Cement) (Vogue 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Francoise Hardy - Autumn Rendezvous (Vogue 1966) (Two of a Kind)
The Supremes - Love Is Like An Itching in My Heart (Motown 1966)
The Rev-lons - After Last Night (Reprise 1963)
Steampacket - Can I Get A Witness (Label Unknown 1965)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

There will be more LA Nuggets over the next two weeks. Until next time, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 10 January 2010

2010-01-10T09:53:00.005Z

More tracks from the wonderful "Where The Action Is! LA Nuggets 1965-1968" box set as the ice age continues unabated. These tunes will warm you up, if nothing else will. Here's your menu for today...

Bobby Fuller Four - Baby My Heart (Unreleased 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Motorcycle Abeline - (You Used To) Ride So High (Unreleased 1966)
The Marvelettes - I Just Can't Let Him Down (Unreleased Year Unknown)
Ken & The 4th Dimension - See If I Care (Star-Burst 1966)
Gary Lewis & The Playboys - Jill (Liberty 1967)
Lowell George & The Factory - Candy Cane Madness (Unreleased 1967)
The Odyssey - Little Girl, Little Boy (White Whale 1968)
Nino Tempo & April Stevens - I Love How You Love Me (Atco 1966) (Connect 3)
Love - You'll Be Following (Elektra 1966) (Connect 3)
The Action - Love Is All (Unreleased 67/68) (Connect 3)
Hearts and Flowers - Tin Angel (Will You Ever Come Down) (Capitol 1968)
Helen Shapiro - You Must Be Readin' My Mind (Columbia 1963)
Jenny Moss - Hobbies (Columbia 1963) (Birthday: 10/1/45 Jenny Moss)
The Electric Prunes - Hideaway (Reprise 1967)
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - If You Want This Love (Reprise 1967)
The Hollies - Look Through Any Window (French) (Label Unknown 1965) (Foreign Language)
Modern Folk Quartet - Night Time Girl (Dunhill 1966)
Andre Brasseur - The Kid (CBS 1967) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Fontella Bass - The Soul of a Man (Chess 1965)
Tim Buckpey - Once Upon a Time (Unreleased 1967)
The Beach Boys - Kokomo (Elektra 1988) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - K)
Brian Wilson - Keep An Eye On Summer (Giant 1998) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - K)
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart - Words (Demo 1965)
Jimmy Winston & His Reflections - It's Not What You Do (Decca 1967)
The Lilys - Nanny in Manhattan (Che 1996) (Under The Influence)
The Merry Go Round - Listen Listen (A&M 1968)
Chris Farlowe - Air Travel (Decca 1962)
The Oracle - Don't Say No (Verve Forecast 1968)
The Leaves - Dr. Stone (Mira/Surrey 1966) (Connect 3)
Tom Jones - Dr. Love (Decca 1966) (Connect 3)
Dr. Specs Optical Illusion - She's The One (Flambeau 1967) (Connect 3)
The Spats - She Done Moved (ABC-Paramount 1966)
Polly Perkins - Young Lover (Oriole 1964)
Del Shannon - I Think I Love You (Liberty 1968) (Two of a Kind)
Del Shannon - Led Along (Liberty 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Lee Hazelwood - Rainbow Woman (Reprise 1968)
Carol Friday - Everybody I Know (Parlophone 1965)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

There will be more LA Nuggets over the next three weeks. Until next time, it's good day and good health.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 3 January 2010

2010-01-03T11:18:00.005Z

A new year, a new decade and a new theme tune for "Where The Action Is". "Bert's Apple Crumble" by The Quik has gone and Floyd Cramer's wonderful "On The Rebound" takes its place. With Santa generously bestowing the "Where The Action Is! LA Nuggets 1965-1968" box set upon me I've taken to loading up all the five January shows with 99 of the 101 tracks available. (I figure Bush's "To Die Alone" isn't really appropriate for hospital radio and The Beach Boys are more than covered by the A to Z feature). Upwards and onwards...

Keith Allison - Action Action Action (Columbia 1966)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself (Motown 1965)
Dusty Springfield - Wishin' and Hopin' (Philips 1964)
The Light - Back Up (A&M 1967)
The Yardbirds - Heart Full of Soul (Columbia 1965)
The Standells - Riot On Sunset Strip (Tower 1967)
The Kinks - The Village Green Preservation Society (Pye 1968)
Yellow Balloon - Yellow Balloon (Canterbury 1967) (Connect 3)
The Deepest Blue - Pretty Little Thing (Blue-Fin 1966) (Connect 3)
The Rose Garden - Here's Today (Atco 1968) (Connect 3)
John Leyton - I'll Cut Your Tail Off (HMV 1963)
The Shangri-las - The Train from Kansas City (Red Bird 1965)
Stephen Stills & Richie Furay - Sit Down I Think I Love You (Demo 1966) (Birthday: 3/1/45 Stephen Stills)
Shorty Long - Function at the Junction (Soul/Motown 1968)
Iron Butterfly - Genlte As It May Seem (Atco 1968)
France Gall - L'Amerique (Philips 1965) (Foreign Language)
Dorothy Berry - You're So Fine (Challenge 1963)
Floyd Cramer - Love Is Blue (RCA Victor 1968) (Half-Time Instrumental)
The Premiers - Get On This Plane (Faro 1966)
Mally Page - Life and Soul of the Party (Pye 1966)
The Beach Boys - California Saga: California (Brother 1973) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - J)
The Beach Boys - Just Once In My Life (Brother 1976) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - J)
The Ballroom - Baby, Please Don't Go (Warners 1967)
Lorraine Silver - I'll Know You'll Be There (Pye 1965)
The Caesars - Jerk It Out (Virgin 2003) (Under The Influence)
Thee Midniters - Jump, Jive and Harmonize (Whittier 1967)
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Zig Zag Wanderer (Buddah 1967)
Chris Clark - From Head To Toe (Motown 1967)
The Turtles - Grim Reaper of Love (White Whale 1967) (Connect 3)
The Monkees - Daily Nightly (Colgems 1967) (Connect 3)
Buffalo Springfield - Go and Say Goodbye (Atco 1967) (Connect 3)
The Girlfriends - My One and Only, Jimmy Boy (Colpix 1963)
Pleasure featuring Billy Elder - Poor Old Organ Grinder (Tower 1969)
The Byrds - You Movin' (Unreleased 1964) (Two of a Kind)
The Byrds - Change Is Now (Columbia 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Love - You Set The Scene (Elektra 1967)
Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

There will be more LA Nuggets over the next four weeks. Until next time, it's good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

Thursday 31 December 2009

2010-01-01T11:44:00.003Z

The last drive to work this year and another nondescript one.

Took some bread to work so I could have some toast only to find that my Waitrose spread had disappeared from the office fridge. If that had happened last year I'd have over-reacted and gone nuts. I'd have sent out accusatory e-mails to all and sundry and got myself in a right state. But the new me is somewhat calmer about such things. I still had a little moan about it to the few colleagues who were in but eventually let it go.

The word on the street was that we'd get away at 1400 but the grumbles were short-lived when we spotted the first flakes of snow fall shortly before 11. A lunchtime finish it was. Now my lunch begins at 11 (that's flexible working for you) and I'd booked my quiz show haircut for 1130 so there was no need for me to come back to the office. I popped into Waitrose to get some money and considered getting the crumpets I'd forgotten yesterday. One look at the queues and general madness brought me to my senses - the crumpets could wait.

Normally I pay £4 for my haircut, which usually equates to £1 a minute but today, because I was "up town" (i.e. in Edinburgh, albeit the outskirts) I had to pay a whopping £6.50!! I even increased my usual £1 tip by 50%. Anyone would think it was Christmas.

After the recent debacle I avoided my usual route home and went via Ferry Road, which was an altogether more stress-free journey.

After toasties and soup for lunch, the girls and I settled down to watch "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". I enjoyed the film although I felt it was a bit violent in places.

There was hee-haw on the telly and K and I ended up watching not one, not two but three list programmes. First up there was the repeat of Channel 4's The Greatest Songs of the Noughties.
I dipped in and out of the programme as I did the dishes and some tidying but the Top 20 went like this:

20. Leave Right Now - Will Young
19. Ruby - Kaiser Chiefs
18. Valerie - Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse
17. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
16. Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
15. Mercy - Duffy
14. Patience - Take That
13. Stan - Eminem
12. I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters
11. Hey Ya! - Outkast
10. You're Beautiful - James Blunt
9. Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minouge
8. Crazy In Love - Beyonce
7. Rule The World - Take That
6. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
5. Rehab - Amy Winehouse
4. Sex On Fire - Kings Of Leon
3. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys
2. Mr. Brightside - The Killers
1. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol

While two or three of those songs might have made my own list I had no real qualms with it. Let's face it, we've seen worse lists.

Next up, after Flick had gone to bed, was the first of a two-part repeat of BBC3's Most Annoying People of 2009. (The most annoying thing about this show was the number of talking heads I hadn't heard of. Where's Andrew Collins when you need him?) In between was sandwiched the Greatest TV shows of the Noughties, which Top Gear won and, again, I had no grumbles with that.

For the record my choices in these categories would be as follows:

Song of the Noughties: Morrissey - Irish Blood, English Heart
Most Annoying Person of 2009: Katie Price/Cheryl Cole
Greatest TV Show of the Noughties: A tough call with so many great shows but I'd probably go for House.

These programmes took us to 3am and we called it a night, er, morning!

During our televisual delights I received five pre-midnight text messages wishing me a Happy New Year, three of which read "When the clock strikes 12 with the midnight bell, I'm not going 2 join the texting hell, so here is my message 2 those I hold dear, have a great night and a happy new year!" I'm sorry but if you want to truly wish me a Happy New Year then at least send me an individual personal message and not a cut and paste job from someone else that you then send to 50 people, including me. I sent a personal message to people who sent me a text but I didn't bother with anyone else. I sent all my Happy New Year messages via Twitter and Facebook and didn't feel the need to send anymore.

On that bombshell, Happy New Year and all the best for 2010.

Wednesday 30 December 2009

2010-01-01T11:38:00.003Z

Straightforward drive to work. Sadly no inclement weather today so I had to work a full day - curse it. The Good Lady Wife wanted "a couple of things" at Tesco after work and left me a list. The couple of things had morphed into twenty items! I downloaded a shopping App to assist me (hey, it was free). Unfortunately it couldn't assist me get a parking space as Tesco was in absolute chaos. The car park, like my own street, hadn't been cleared of ice and as a result the parking spaces were frosted over. No one could see the lines for the parking bays and it turned into a survival-of-the-fittest, fight-to-the-death battle to get parked. I spotted two women emptying a trolley only to see that they also had a couple of babies too. I waited VERY patiently for 10 minutes while they got themselves organised and stared down anyone else who even thought about stealing MY spot.

It wasn't much better in the shop itself but I kept my head as I weaved in and out of the ditherers. Why do people wait until they get to the checkout before asking if something has a guarantee? Why not go to Customer Services first? Calm. Calm. Calm.

Not surprisingly, as soon as I opened my car and began putting stuff in the boot, a car hovered near by. I feel your pain, I thought. I didn't keep them waiting long but then again I didn't have a brood and all that goes with it. As a parent I know how much of a logistic exercise travelling with a child can be.

I got home soon enough, only to realise I'd forgotten crumpets which seemed to have disappeared from the App. The girls had been busy, having watched Merry Madagascar and completed a 100-piece jigsaw of the British Isles. Flick had also written a (rather) short story entitled "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe 4". I must confess it was a bit thin on plot but had excellent characterisation. Flick also got a small diary for Christmas and I'm going to encourage her to write something in it every day. I might even get her an A4 one so she can doodle as well; especially considering her writing is large, as it is with most kids of her age.

After a scrummy tea of baked potato, quiche lorraine and the spare chicken leg left over from Christmas Day it was time for yet another Wallace and Gromit. This time, A Close Shave. Watched Celebrity Mastermind. Each night we try and predict the winner and having guessed correctly that Stuart Maconie (an impressive 33) and Alastair Stewart would triumph on the previous two shows, we put our weight behind dark horse Joe Pasquale. After an impressive 17 points on 'Vampires in Film' we were confident that he would complete the job after the General Knowledge round. Sadly it wasn't to be a triumvirate of successful tips as Joe crashed and burned spectacularly, scoring a paltry 4. Oh dear.

Left K to her Waterloo Road while I did some more work on my January radio shows. I know Waterloo Road is supposed to be fiction but the thought that Felicity might go to a school like that in a few years time fills me with dread. I sometimes think it might be best to not know what goes on at school. Is ignorance really bliss? No doubt I'll find out further down the road.

Like Pulling Teeth

2009-12-30T19:10:00.001Z

Tuesday 29 December 2009

The hardest part of today's trip to work was getting out of my own drive. A cacophony of crunch-op sounds had me worrying for the tyres, especially as K thought that one of them looked a bit flat. It seemed okay this morning.

A busy morning culminated in my first appearance in the gym since Monday 14 December. I did a resistance workout but omitted the sit-ups between each circuit. For such a small gym it was busy with one girl taking instruction from Chris, the Sports Physiologist who had put me back on the straight and narrow and another regular pounding away on the step trainer. Someone I hadn't seen previously came in and impatient at having to wait for Chris to finish his training decided to turn the radio off and put his own CD on! This is considered bad form. The unwritten etiquette is that whoever is in the gym first has control over the music and today, as usual, it was me. I used to bring my own CDs and mp3 player but I was always a bit concerned about imposing my tastes on other people. The mp3 player also had a habit of getting tangled or falling out and wasn't worth the hassle. In the end I decided it was easier and less stressful to just put the radio on, make sure it was on a station with reasonable reception (not guaranteed) and get on with my workout.

If he'd asked around if anyone would mind if he put on a CD then I would have raised no objections, especially as I was about to finish and Step Woman had her own tunes. Chris doesn't seem to like the music too loud while he's working with someone, which is fair enough, but a simple ask around and it would have been okay. And the fact that he chose to put on the Foo Fighters Greatest Hits, which I like and purchased for K's Christmas, is neither here nor there. You ask first.

After I got back to the office and ate my lunch the weather started to turn. The snow was lying and quickly covered the area as far as I could see from my second floor office window. The boss told those who were travelling to Fife and the Borders to go home. You don't need to tell me twice. The snow was very powdery to touch but the volume soon built up. I cleared the snow from the car and headed off into the wilderness and another Narnia-like journey. Normally I go straight over the Comely Bank roundabout but a small roadwork meant the traffic tailed back to the roundabout. Plan B: I decided to take the opening before my normal exit. Other drivers had the same thought and we trundled, convoy-style, along our sneaky detour. I wondered why drivers didn't use this road more often and then it soon became clear why. The upward slope at the end is bad enough without having to then get across one lane of traffic into the busy flow on the other side of the road but when it's covered in snow and ice it's impassable (cue for a song?). Sir Edmund Hillary in a 4x4 would struggle to get up that hill and I made the smart decision to turn back. After performing a manoeuvre last seen on Dancing on Ice I turned back, took a more successful sneaky detour and got back on track only to find myself in nose-to-tail traffic on Craigleith Road. After what seemed like an eternity I got through the lights. As usual someone in the left lane cut across me without indicating as we went through the chicane that is the junction from Craigleith Road to Queensferry Road. There are two lanes going into the chicane and two lanes coming out so why so many in the left feel they need to cut across to the left is beyond me. Actually it isn't beyond me; they're dickheads. The rest of the journey was pain free.

Our street, if anything, has got worse with more crunching and popping as I gingerly put the car back in the drive. After the girls finished their lunch we out Home Alone 4 on. Now most franchises of this sort start to flag but the fourth instalment was in need of a crash car and defibrillator. It was woeful. I tolerated, nay enjoyed, the first 3 - especially the sound of Felicity laughing her head off - but 4 was terrible. After dinner we played The Magic Tooth Fairy Game, one of Flick's Christmas presents. You collect teeth, put them under the pillow on the Magic Bed and get a gold coin and the first to four gold coins is the winner. The game doesn't take too long and is ideal for families. My own complaint is that the gold coins don't always come out. The tooth is placed under the pillow; a "Magic Wand" is then used to trigger the disappearance of the tooth and in its place should appear a Gold Coin. K opined that this could make it the new Mousetrap, which, as everyone knows, never worked like it did on the telly adverts. As it turned out Felicity won.

K and I watched "In The Loop", one of my Christmas presents. Once you get over the fact that most of the actors from The Thick of It are playing completely different characters in what is essentially a spin-off from said series, it's an enjoyable political farce. Sure it's foul-mouthed but it's also hilarious.

A Christmas Gift for You

2009-12-28T15:49:00.008Z

Sunday 20 December 2009

Did my last Christmas-themed radio show of the year and prepared for three days off.

Monday 21 December 2009

The last of the Christmas Shopping is done as Flick and I brave Tesco. The shop is full of dithering clueless idiots but we stay on-list and get in and out in no time. We even have enough time for Flick to do the scanning in the self-service checkout - what a star! We watch Home Alone after lunch.

Tuesday 22 December 2009

Flick and I have a Making Day, which results in a mask, based on Daddy's face apparently, and a painted fairy. Post-lunch it's Home Alone 2.

Wednesday 23 December 2009

A heavy snowfall overnight has meant the obligatory snowman must be built. Being sub-zero outside we get out, do the deed and get back in as soon as possible.

Flick designs some Cool Cardz, which I think she got last Christmas, and I'm now officially a "Best friend". Cool! Flick then helps me dig out the car and drive. I say "help", she pelts me with snowball as I do the adult work. The third of the Home Alone triumverate is viewed after lunch. We then play Hangman on her chalkboard and I listen to Andrew Collins, who is Supersub once again. Knowing I have to at least attempt to get to work tomorrow I stick the shovel in the boot.

Thursday 24 December 2009

Drive through snow, ice and fog to get to work. I half expect to be having a breakfast cuppa with Aslan. Thanks to a snoring wife I'm up at a hideous hour and can't get back to sleep. The work clearing the car and drive yesterday has paid dividends, as it doesn't take that long to get the car going and the windows cleared. I drive to work to the soundtrack of Ryan Adams through the winter wonderland. Halfway across the bridge the fog lifts suddenly.

Due to a poor night's sleep I'm in work by 5.15am! Crazy, I know. I even thought, for a nanosecond, about going to the gym - I haven't been for over a week - but dismiss it with the seasonal "it's Christmas" excuse. I'm busy until everyone else comes in. I catch up with 109 e-mails. A breakfast buffet, which had been cancelled and then uncancelled, is organised in one of the classrooms. It's filled rolls and bucks fizz all round. I stick to orange juice. I get a flyer at 11am, which is when my lunch normally starts.

A colleague informs me that there are actually 4 Home Alone films. Sky only showed three, back-to-back, and I assumed that we'd seen them all. Sky isn't showing number 4.

A signed 7" arrived in the post from Fat Cat Records. It's Frightened Rabbit's "It's Christmas So We'll Stop". It's rather ironic as yesterday I had said on Twitter that Frightened Rabbit didn't really do too much for me. Not "pop" enough you see.

K makes some festive biscuits, which we all help to decorate, as follows:

Friday 25 December 2009

Christmas Day and Santa has brought me the box set I wrote to him about. It's "Where The Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968". He also brought me a Yellow Submarine jigsaw, a book on the Top 100 60s albums and 007 Bond Girls playing cards.

Kirsty makes a fabulous Christmas dinner of chicken, roast potatoes (goose fat of course), Yorkshire puddings, pigs-in-blankets, carrots, peas and potato croquettes. A double-headed pudding in the shape of a Christmas Pudding and a chocolate pudding. Tre-men-dous!

Watched The Royle Family.

Saturday 26 December 2009

Boxing Day with the Outlaws, which was relaxing. More pressies in the shape of "In The Loop" and "Telstar" DVDs, a jumper, a Beatles t-shirt, a Toblerone, some socks and a blue gingham shirt. I might have forgotten something.

After driving home, laden done with even more presents for Flick, we put her to bed before embarking on the mammoth task of putting together a Playmobil farm set. Usually this is a Daddy Job but I need help on this one. Two hours and 15 minutes later the job is done.
Sunday 27 December 2009

Both Hibs and Aston Villa soundly thrashed. My mate Dave assisted me on my radio show. Did a Jocknroll special with contributions from Dave. We both enjoyed it and hopefully we can do it again this year. Home Alone 4 is on after all (not Sky) and I tape it for future festive watching. I know they're not great films but Flick loves them and I'd hate to deprive her of the last one. There isn't a Home Alone 5, is there? IS THERE?

Monday 28 December 2009

Listened to Andrew Collins on BBC6Music while putting together 5 radio shows for January. I'm utilising the 101-track "Where The Action Is" box set that Santa brought me. Listened to Andrew Collins, subbing for Cerys this time.

Back to work tomorrow...

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 27 December 2009

2009-12-27T10:17:00.006Z

I figure that by Boxing Day people have had enough of Christmas records so I've decided instead to give myself a musical Christmas present. I'll be joined in the studio - snow permitting - by my mate Dave as we host a two-hour Jocknroll special, playing a variety of well-known and not so well-known Scottish bands from the last few years:

Camera Obscura - Swan (4AD 2009)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Aberfeldy - Tom Weir (Rough Trade 2005)
Roddy Hart - Flames (Odd Art 2004)
Sergeant - The Time Is Now (Shy Recordings 2009)
Ally Kerr - Could Have Been A Contender (Much Obliged 2007)
Roddy Frame - Western Skies (Redemption 2006)
Aztec Camera - The Boy Wonders (Rough Trade 1983) (Connect 3)
Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap (Jeepster 1998) (Connect 3)
The Beatstalkers - Little Boy (CBS 1968) (Connect 3)
Big Dish - Miss America (WEA 1990)
The Bluebells - Wishful Thinking (Will She Always Be Waiting) (London 1984)
Superstar - Superstar (French vocal) (Deconstruction 1997) (Foreign Language)
Orange Juice - I Can't Help Myself (Polydor 1982)
The BMX Bandits - Let Mother Nature Be Your Guide (Karaoke version) (Vinyl Japan 1989) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Teenage Fanclub - Slow Fade (PeMa 2005)
Colin MacIntyre - Famous for Being Famous (Future Gods 2008)
The Fabulous Artisans - Sycamore Square (Bendi 2008)
The Goldenhour - Julie's In Control (Neon Tetra 2007)
Trashcan Sinatras - People (Lo-Five 2009)
Attic Lights - Never Get Sick of the Sea (Island 2008)
Del Amitri - Ceasefire (Chrysalis 1985)
Justin Currie - What Is Love For? (Rykodisc 2007)
Daniel Wylie - Define Love (Neon Tetra 2007) (Connect 3)
The BMX Bandits - I Wanna Fall in Love (Version #2) (Unreleased 1996) (Connect 3)
Simple Minds - Love Song 12" (Virgin 1981) (Connect 3)
The Orchids - Thaumaturgy (Sarah 1992) (Two of a Kind)
The Orchids - Last Thing On Your Mind (Siesta 2007) (Two of a Kind)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Please not that some of these tracks probably won't be aired due to the great likelihood of Dave and I blethering too much!

Good day, good health and enjoy the rest of the festive season. I'll be back on the 3rd of January with my normal show and a new theme tune.

The Cat
=^..^=

The Cat on "Where The Action Is"Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 20 December 2009

2009-12-20T16:18:00.002Z

It's the last of my three festive extravaganzas:

Saint Etienne - I Was Born On Christmas Day (Heavenly 1993)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Badly Drawn Boy - Donna and Blitzen (Twisted Nerve 2001)
Adam Faith - Lonely Pup (In A Christmas Shop) (Parlophone 1960)
Peter, Paul and Mary - Christmas Dinner (Warners 1969)
The Orchids - Christmas Is The Time To Be With Your Baby (Columbia 1964)
They Might Be Giants - Santa's Beard (Bar/None 1988)
KT Tunstall - Mele Kailimaka (Christmas in Hawaii) (EMI 2007)
Connie Francis - I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter (MGM 1962) (Connect 3)
Arthur Lee Harper - Wintertime (PHI 1968) (Connect 3)
Ed Harcourt - In The Bleak Midwinter (Unreleased 2004) (Connect 3)
The Beatles - Christmas Time Is Here Again (Lyntone 1967)
Low - Just Like Christmas (Tugboat 1999)
The Cocteau Twins - Frosty The Snowman (Fontana 1993)
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York (Pogue Mahone 1987)
Britney Spears - My Only Wish (This Christmas) (Jive 2000)
Isabelle Aubret - Savez Vous Qu'il Fait Au Sapin de Noel? (Label Unknown 1969) (Foreign Language)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Hwiannggerdd Mair (Mary's Lullaby) (Mercury 1993) (Foreign Language)
Russ Conway - Snow Coach (Columbia 1959) (Half-Time Instrumental)
The Crystals - Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (Philles 1963)
The Variations - The Man With All The Boys (Immediate 1965)
The Beach Boys - Christmas Day (Capitol 1964)
The Beach Boys - Santa's Got An Airplane (Capitol 1977)
Valerie Masters - Christmas Calling (RGM 1964)
Pet Shop Boys - It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas (Fan Club 1997)
Teenage Fanclub - Jesus Christ (Creation 1997) (Under The Influence)
Dropkick - Scampi for Xmas (Download 2007)
Dan Lyth - Maybe This Baby Could Save Us All (Moojuice 2009)
Twice As Much/Vashti Bunyan - Coldest Night of the Year (Immediate 1967)
Darlene Love - White Christmas (Philles 1963) (Connect 3)
Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Was Christmas Today (Rough Trade 2009) (Connect 3)
The Del-Vetts - I Want A Boy for Christmas (End 1961) (Connect 3)
Attic Lights/Cerys Matthes - Santa's Girlfriend (Island 2008)
Sufjan Stevens - Joy To The World (Asthmatic Kitty 2005) (Two of a Kind)
Sufjan Stevens - It's Christmas! Let's Be Glad (Asthmatic Kitty 2001) (Two of a Kind)
Nat King Cole - The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot (Capitol 1953)
Chris Rea - Driving Home for Christmas (Magnet 1988)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Good day, good health and have a great Christmas. I'll be back on the 27th for a modern Jocknroll episode of my show as I figure everyone is sick of Christmas records by then.

The Cat
=^..^=

Saturday 19 December 2009

2009-12-19T19:16:00.003Z

Getting more Christmassy by the minute but I won't be venturing forth into the big wide world.

I slept like a log last night (I woke up and my head was on the fire! Boom-tish!) and missed the first hour of Sounds of the Sixties. I was ecstatic when, at 9.35 am, Brian Matthews played the Christmas Three-In-A-Row request I'd sent in a few weeks back. He even commented on the Jocknroll part of my e-mail address, calling it "brilliant". He then played Jackie DeShannon's "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Have Grown", "Mr Scrooge" by The Orchids and the Joe Meek-produced Valerie Masters with "Christmas Calling". It's made my day and it's now even 10am!

As the records are playing I'm bombarded, okay, slightly peppered with Twitter and Facebook comments. One of them even suggested I could do the sounds of the Sixties show. As someone who doesn't particularly like the sound of his own voice (some friends might disagree), I don't think I could. I mean, I'd LOVE to but not even in my wildest dreams could it happen.

I put the finishing touches to my Dec 27 show while the girls are at ballet. I must stress that only Flick does ballet. K sits in the corner knitting things like a cover for her iPhone. I kid you not, I've seen it!

The afternoon is spent cleaning. You can see the carpet in the study now, well most of it.

I received some information, by Special Delivery no less, from the BBC about the quiz show. It's the usual stuff about what you can and can't wear. It's just the excuse I need to have a look at my wardrobe. Having lost a stone and a half in weight I'll have to try on everything in my wardrobe to see what does and doesn't fit. A wee trip to the January sales could be on the cards. Ben Sherman, here I come.

It's exciting but also nerve-wracking. I always think a certain amount of nerves is natural but too much and you can go to pieces and make a fool of yourself. I need to swot up on the Eurovision Song Contest, my specialist subject, and I've been spending some time pouring over a couple of books and asking K to test me. Of course, this could all be pointless as I would have to get through five rounds first before I got to the final Question of Genius, which is to win some money. Still, best to be prepared just in case. Just don't be rushing to Ladbrokes to put any money on me. I find that if you worry too much about whether you'll win or not, you won't enjoy the whole experience and that, honestly, is why I do it. It's something different and always a talking point. I do believe the show will be going out sometime in April 2010 so I'll be embargoed from giving anything away until then. As it should be. I don't kiss and tell. Unless you tickle me!

I've also got to put some thought into my appearances on Fred MacAulay's radio show in January. The book has been giving me nightmares but I need to dig deep and get it re-started/done.

Right "Strictly Come Dancing" is finished so I can return to the living room...

Still Still Ill

2009-12-18T08:46:00.003Z

Wednesday 16 December

The lurgy still lingers like a bad smell. I try and catch up with some programmes on Sky+ that I've been meaning to watch for ages. "Wonderland: I Won University Challenge" and "Games Britannia: Monopolies and Mergers" are watched and deleted.

Thursday 17 December

I bit the bullet and went to the doctor's. I tend to flit between two doctors so I have more chance of getting one of them. I'm prescribed a double dose of Amoxicillin and fingers crossed that does the trick. I'll also make sure I finish the course. I've a bad habit of thinking I'm over the worst and then, bang, it's back!

After picking up my drugs (man) I head home for some soup and return a call form "A Question of Genius". They want to go over some information from my application to see what they can use for my my "biog" on the show. It might be the case that there isn't time for any little chats but they're prepared. I like that. They're thorough and pleasant about it.

Being a creature of habit, I bought the Christmas double edition of the NME. Boy, has it changed. Thankfully they've binned the next-to-impossible Christmas Quiz, which I would rather stupidly pour many a festive hour over every year. Instead I settle down with a hot drink, a pen and the Big Christmas crossword. With a hand from Mr Google it's eventually finished. Another important boy-job done.

It's started snowing and now it feels like Christmas.

After collecting The Flickster from Kids' Club I perform lots of adult grown-up tasks like filling the car with a water/anti-freeze mix, cover the windscreen and salt the driveway. I haven't got any grit or "proper" salt so I figure Sea Salt will be just as good!

Friday 18 December

I'm finally turning the corner as far as my ailments are concerned. I had a decent night's sleep, which is a good sign. My head is still a bit bunged up but the Amoxicillin is doing it's job What do the Verve know about drugs?

It's Terry Wogan's last day of "Wake Up To Wogan". I'll miss him. I enjoy his gentle badinage and Irish whimsy.

Everyday on my Facebook page I've been linking to a festive music video. It's my musical advent calendar and I thought I'd share them with my blog readers. Eyes down for a full house, here we go:

1 - 3. I missed the 1st to 3rd because I forgot!
4. Camera Obscura - The Blizzard
5. Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Let's Boogey To The Elf Dance
6. The Wedding Present featuring Simone White - Holly Jolly Hollywood
7. The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping
8. Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
9. Cocteau Twins - Frosty The Snowman
10. James Brown - Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto
11. Fountains of Wayne - The Man In The Santa Suit
12. Sufjan Stevens - Put The Lights On The Fire
13. Nina Van Pallandt - Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown
14. Thea Gilmore - That'll Be Christmas
15. Badly Drawn Boy - Donna and Blitzen
16. Connie Francis - I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter
17. The Beach Boys - Christmas Day
18. Cineplexx and Ally Kerr - The Christmas Family Tree

More to come, assuming I'm spared over the festive period!

Still Ill

2009-12-15T15:30:00.003Z

Friday 4 December

The throat infection is still around. The doctor prescribes penicillin with an Ibuprofen chaser. I head back to bed.

Saturday 5 December

World Cup draw. England are drawn against Algeria, USA and Slovenia, which is far removed from my prediction on Twitter of Jedward, Katie Price and Karry Katona. English punters are already discussing who'll knock them out on penalties.

Apparently Charlize Theron, who is co-hosting the World Cup draw, reportedly pulled out a ball and said "Ireland" instead of "France" during rehearsals on Friday. Fifa General Secretary Jerome Valcke stressed that it was 'only a joke'. I bet the Irish think it's funny!

The funniest ever episode of "The Thick of It". Next week's episode can't possible be funnier. Can it?

Sunday 6 December

Did the first of my three Christmas shows on the radio. A pleasant change from my normal show.

Monday 7 December

Back to work and back to the gym.

Tuesday 8 December

It's Flick Wriggly Nativity today and I have a half day. Before we witness her sparkling stage performance as one of the sheep in the choir, the Good Lady Wife and I take the plunge and get an iPhone each. Not the new super-duper 3GS but the common-or-garden 3G one. It's free, with a contract. We sit in the car, near the school, stuffing McDonald's and playing with out phones! all I need is a Burberry baseball hat.

The Good Lady Wife had spent the early part of the morning in the class and the teacher had said that Flick was "very intelligent". Now, we're not getting carried away with it but that is pleasing and we're secretly chuffed. She has her faults but the pluses out weight the negatives. Long may it continue.

Wednesday 9 December

I'm still fumbling my way around my iPhone and I'm not happy that you can't put your own ringtones on it. You can only do it if you live in the USA. This is despite there being a "Create Ringtone" option on one of the iTunes menus. I'm sure there's an illegal way round it but I can't be bothered with that. I download my first app, which is the Sky Sports Centre one. I also get the Sky+ app, which means I can set a programme to tape remotely if I'd forgotten to do it at home. It works from upstairs but I'll try it from work tomorrow.

Thursday 10 December

Being first into the office I always pick up a couple of copies of the Metro from the front reception. I peruse the normally idiotic letters page (no, it isn't as funny as the old Viz letters page) and see a letter from someone at BBC Scotland who is looking to speak to people who are looking to get motivated to achieve something in 2010, whether it be to lose some weight, run a marathon or swim the Channel. With a great desire to re-start my book in 2010, I drop her an e-mail. I also mention how I motivated myself towards the end of last year to rid myself of depression and lose weight this year. She replies that she'll be in touch. My 2009 health kick was the main reason the book fell by the wayside.

When I get a call from "A Question of Genius". I've been selected for the show and it'll be recording in January. I'm so chuffed. I don't expect to win (I never do) but I'm looking forward to it. I like the buzz of it all; the excitement of being involved in something that's going to be "on the telly". Should I get to the last round my specialist subject will be UK Top 40 hits of the 1980s and that's a big "should".

More apps: Facebook, Tweetdeck, a Virtual pool game and the Profanity app, a favourite of Andrew Collins and Richard Herring.

Friday 11 December

Our work Christmas night out. A (very nice) meal at Le Monde followed by a visit to The Jamhouse, which is owned by Jools Holland. It caters for an older crowd but is less of a meat market than some Edinburgh venues of old.

Between leaving the restaurant and heading off to The Jamhouse we have a couple of drinks. While there I get a call from the woman who put the letter in the paper about motivation and goals for 2010. We have a chat about what I want to do and she says what they're looking for and the format of the programme. (I'm being deliberately vague about the exact content of the conversation for reasons that, well, I can't go into just now!) Again, she'll get back to me after she's spoken to others who have written to her.

The nearest I get to hedonistic behaviour all night is when I mixing my drinks; Diet Coke in Le monde and Diet Pepsi in The Jamhouse! I danced most of the night, which may be down to the sugar rush! Unfortunately there's was no Slosh, which I'm a demon at.

Walked through Stockbridge (the lure of the chip shop is strong but I resist) to get to my car and bump into an old colleague who is amazed at my transformation. She can't believe I've lost a stone and a half and in her inebriated stupor keeps stroking my slender face! The drive home is relatively quiet and after dropping off a colleague in Rosyth I finally get home between 1.30 am and 2am. A good night.

Saturday 12 December

Recovering from last night's non-drunken debauchery. My feet are still buzzing and my back and knees are aching. I'm now at the age where it takes a couple of days to recover.

Spend the day taking it easy and preparing my radio show for tomorrow.

Sunday 13 December

The second of three festive shows. this time the studio has been decorated and I feel like I'm broadcasting from inside a Christmas cake!

Monday 14 December

Anyone wishing to see me humiliate myself on TV can get free tickets here: http://bit.ly/6R9Zyc I'm recording on Wed 6 Jan 2010 at 2.30pm in Glasgow.

Tuesday 15 December

Off sick as the throat infection kicks in in big style. I'm breathing like an asthmatic donkey. I couldn't even move when the alarm went off. Dragged myself out of bed to phone work around 8.30am. Start popping pills shortly afterwards. My head's mince and my body is aching.

The team from "A Question of Genius" have been in touch to say that I'll have to change my specialist subject from UK Top 40 Hits of the 1980s to the Eurovision Song Contest. They say my original choice is "too broad". (I don't entirely understand the logic behind that with 10 years of hits against 50+ years of foreign records but I'm too ill to get my head truly around it. Hell they could ask me to change my specialist topic to "Deserts of the World" or "Margaret Thatcher" at the moment and I'd probably agree.) The specialist subject is only required for the very last round so the chances of me getting there are remote. Nevertheless I'd better do some swotting.

Did I mention I was ill?

My Review of the Year

2009-12-13T11:07:00.004Z

Over the last couple of weeks I've been thinking back over the whole year, which seems to have gone on forever, and tried to remember the highs and lows of 2009. Here is my list, which I may add to as I remember things.

PERSONAL HIGHS

Getting into a daily weekday exercise routine to combat depression and lose weight (1 1/2 stone at the time of writing)
A whole year without anti-depressants
Interviewing Andrew Collins on my radio show
Being shortlisted in the Best Newcomer category for the Hospital Broadcasting Association awards
Seeing my daughter dance on stage at the Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline
Getting paid for some writing in The Scotsman (even if it was in praise of Status Quo)
Having a book dedicated to me and being sent a signed copy (thanks S)
Edwyn Collins playing with Teenage Fanclub at Trongate 103 and Mono on the same night
Our family trip to Crieff Hydro

PERSONAL LOWS

Finding about the death of an old friend, 11 months after it happened
Getting chicken pox
Missing the HBA awards due to Chicken Pox
Not winning Best Newcomer at the HBA awards
The end of Recommends in The Scotsman, which I regularly contributed to
A long weekendwhich began with our childminding fiasco and ending ion someone trying to run me off the road, which brought on a lot of stress and a panic attack

BOOKS ENJOYED

Simon Goddard - Mozipedia: The Encyclopaedia of Morrissey and The Smiths
Graham Joyce - Simple Goalkeeping Made Spectacular
Paolo Hewitt/Paul McGuigan - The Greatest Footballer You've Never Seen
Stuart Maconie - Adventures on The High Teas: In Search of Middle England
Mark Radcliffe - Thank You For The Days: A Boys' Own Adventure in Radio and Beyond
Luke Haines - Bad Vibes: Britpop and My Part In Its Downfall
Harry Thompson - Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take On The World
Andrew Collins - Where Did It All Go Right (audio book)

FILMS ENJOYED

Transatlantic Feedback – The Monks
State of Play
No Country for Old Men (on TV)

MUSIC ENJOYED

Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
The BMX Bandits - The Rise and Fall of the BMX Bandits (thanks Duglas)
Jackie DeShannon – Breakaway: The Songs of Jackie DeShannon 1961-1967
Dropkick – Abelay Hotel
Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry - Do-Wah-Diddy
Gerry Goffin and Carole King - Honey and Wine/Song Collection 1961-1967
Ivy League – Major League: The Pye/Piccadilly Anthology
Various – Destroy That Boy: More Girls With Guitars
Various – Where The Girls Are Volume 8
Various - The Girls Are At It Again: UK Beat Girls 1964-1969
Various - Boy Trouble: Garpax Girls
Ace of Cups - It's Bad For You But Buy It
Jackie Lee - The Town I Live In: The EMI Years 1965-1967
Cher - The Best of the Imperial Recordings 1965-1968
Lulu - Shout: Complete Decca Recordings
Sergeant - Sergeant

GIGS/EVENTS

Camera Obscura/Attic Lights (Barrowlands, Glasgow)
Edwyn Collins/Teenage Fanclub (Mono/Trongate 103, Glasgow)
Attic Lights/The Primary 5/Dropkick/The Parish Music Box (Town Hall, Darvel)
Attic Lights/Norman Blake and Euros Childs/BMX Bandits (ABC, Glasgow)
Attic Lights/Norman Blake and Euros Childs/Rod Jones/Frightened Rabbit (Picturehouse, Edinburgh)
Dropkick (Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh)
Office team building day clay pigeon shooting – I loved it
Collings/Herrin live podcast (Edinburgh Fringe)
Richard Herring - Hitler Moustache
John Cavanagh - Pirate Radio (on the radio - couldn't make the live show)

TV ENJOYED

Sport: The Ashes/The Tour de France
Comedy: Big Bang Theory/Modern Families/The Thick of It/Harry Hill’s TV Burp
Drama: Damages/Dexter/House/Mad Men/ Red Ridings Trilogy
The Gadget Show
Quiz Shows: Pointless/ University Challenge/Only Connect
Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe/Gameswipe/Screenwipe/You Have Been Watching
Kids: Shaun the Sheep/Gigglebiz

RESTAURANT I ENJOYED

21212, Edinburgh

HEROES OF THE YEAR

Michael Moore
Charlie Brooker
Stephen Fry
Andrew Collins
Richard Herring
Cairn String Quartet
Jim Gellatly

TV/RADIO APPEARANCES

Jon Holmes' BBC6 Music show - Soft Rock feature talking about Journey's "Don't Stop Believing"

VILLAINS OF THE YEAR

Drivers – One in particular who, but for my evasive action, would’ve killed me on Craigleith Road. The irresponsible and downright stupid driver of SG05 0XL won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

Fife Council – I finally get the promised bus shelter, some three months after I stop using public transport.

Near Neighbours – The people who live (or visit) at the bottom of my road who speed up/down it. The speed limit has been changed to 20 mph but they regularly do 40 mph.

Silent Calls from “Home Improvement” companies who are “not trying to sell me anything” but are. Try and find out about these companies on the Internet and they don’t seem to exist.

Carphone Warehouse – Salesmen lying to my wife and the company failing to reply to my complaint.

ILA – The Independent Learning Account was more hassle than it was worth. Won’t be bothering again.

Lack of communication - Companies and organisations who don't reply to e-mails really gets my goat. E-mail is supposed to make communication quicker. It doesn't, it just makes ignorance faster.

WHAT DOES 2010 HOLD?

Fingers crossed for a nomination (or two) at the HBA awards in Erskine (I’m in for Best Specialist Music and Best Speech Package)
Hopefully re-start and finish my book
A job on radio
Learn to play guitar
Weight loss (another half a stone will do nicely)

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 13 december 2009D

2009-12-13T10:20:00.004Z

It's week two of my festive fun and games as I present the following Christmas menu for your delectation on "Where The Action Is":

Eels - Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas (Dreamworks 1998)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
The Crystals - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Phil Spector 1963)
Rufus Wainwright - Spotlight On Christmas (Unreleased 2004))
Jackie DeShannon - Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown (Imperial 1969)
Three Wise Men (aka XTC) - Thanks for Christmas (Virgin 1983)
Darlene Love - Marshmallow World (Philles 1963)
Aztec Camera - Walk Out To Winter (Rough Trade 1983)
Kate Bush - December Will Be Magic Again (EMI 1980) (Connect 3)
Julie London - Warm December (Capitol 1958) (Connect 3)
Paper Dolls - Remember December (Utopia 1970) (Connect 3)
Marvin Gaye - Purple Snowflakes (Motown 1964)
Kim Weston - Wish You A Merry Christmas (Motown 1993)
Manic Street Preachers - Ghosts of Christmas (Download 2007)
Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans - Here Comes Santa Claus (Philles 1963)
Big Star - Jesus Christ (Rykodisc 1974)
France Gall - Il Neige (Philips 1965) (Foreign Language)
Nana Mouskouri - Mon Beau Sapin (Fontana 1972) (Foreign Language)
The Funk Brothers - Winter Wonderland (Motown 1993) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Stevie Wonder - Everyone's A Kid at Christmas (Motown 1993)
The Carpenters - Winter Wonderland (Medley) (A&M 1978)
The Beach Boys - Merry Christmas Baby (Capitol 1964)
The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick (alternate mix) (Capitol 1964)
Sufjan Stevens - Put The Lights On The Tree (Asthmatic Kitty 2006)
The Orchids - Mr Scrooge (Decca 1964)
Camera Obscura - The Blizzard (4AD 2009) (Under The Influence)
Jethro Tull - Ring Out, Solstice Bells (Chrysalis 1976)
Connie Francis - Baby's First Christmas (MGM 1961)
Fountains of Wayne - I Want An Alien for Christmas (Atlantic 1997)
Patti Page -Pretty Snowflakes (Mercury 1955) (Connect 3)
Claudine Longet - Snow (A&M 1967) (Connect 3)
The Beach Girls - Skiing In The Snow (Dynovoice 1965) (Connect 3)
Louis Armstrong - Cool Yule (Label Unknown 1953)
Camera Obscura - Happy New Year (Andmoresound 2001) (Two of a Kind)
Mary Margaret O'Hara - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve (Virgin 1991) (Two of a Kind)
Nat King Cole - The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot (Capitol 1953)
Yo La Tengo - It's Christmas Time (Egon 2002)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 6 December 2009

2009-12-06T12:05:00.004Z

It's a Cliff-free zone as I present the first of my three special festive editions of Where The Action Is.

The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping (Ze/Island 1981)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Philles 1963)
Big Star - Jesus Christ (Rykodisc 1974)
Rilo Kiley - Xmas Cake (Nettwerk 2003)
The Ronettes - Frosty The Snowman (Philles 2003)
Margo Guryan - I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You (Demo 1967)
Etta James - Merry Christmas Baby (Private 1998)
The Soul Stirrers - Christmas Means Love (Checker 1968) (Connect 3)
Shonen Knife - Space Christmas (Seminal Twang 1991) (Connect 3)
Ryan Adams - Hey Parker It's Christmas (Promo 2003) (Connect 3)
The Searchers - The Happiest Christmas of All (Unreleased)
Alma Cogan - Never Do a Tango With An Eskimo (HMV 1955)
Ron Sexsmith - Maybe This Christmas (Nettwerk 2002)
Vikki Carr - It Must Have Been Mistletoe (Delta 1992)
The Flirtations - Christmas Time Is Here Again (Deram 1968)
Katja Ebstein - Wovon Traumt Ein Weilnachtsbaum Im Mai (Liberty 1969) (Foreign Language)
Gillian Hills - La Tete A L'Envers (Barclay 1961) (Foreign Language)
The Ventures - Jingle Bell Rock (Liberty 1963) (Half-Time Instrumental)
April March & Los Cinchos - Last Train To Christmas (Sympathy for the Record Industry 1998)
Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance (Asthmatic Kitty 2006)
The Beach Boys - The Man With All The Toys (Capitol 1964)
The Beach Boys - Santa's Beard (Capitol 1964)
The O'Jays - Christmas Ain't Christmas, New Years Ain't New Years Without The One You Love (Neptune 1969)
Paul Revere - Wear A Smile at Christmas (Columbia 1967)
The Cocteau Twins -Winter Wonderland (Fontana 1993) (Under The Influence)
James Brown - Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto (King 1968)
The Wedding Present featuring Simone White - Holly Jolly Hollywood (Scopitone 2008)
Elton John - Step Into Christmas (DJ 1973)
Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby (Christmas) (RCA Victor 1954) (Connect 3)
Fountains of Wayne - The Man In The Santa Suit (Atlantic 1997) (Connect 3)
Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Motown 1972) (Connect 3)
Brenda Lee - Strawberry Snow (Decca 1964)
The Ronettes - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Philles 1963) (Two of a Kind)
The Ronettes - Sleigh Ride (Philles 1963) (Two of a Kind)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

Still Ill

2009-12-04T14:57:00.006Z

Monday 30 November 2009

Had to take a Family Care Day to look after Flick who has been doing a fair impression of Fungus the Bogeyman over the weekend. Took her to the doctor on Friday and found him to be ever so slightly patronising. I wasn’t sure if he was talking to Flick or the Good Lady Wife but I didn’t like his tone. He seemed to think we’d taken Flick to the doctors too early!

In between wiping the greenest snot I’ve ever seen from Flick’s nose I built a Nativity scene from a Press-Out set. I started it at 10am and finished it at 3pm. There was a couple of occasions when I’d have gladly have put a match to it but I persevered, as the picture below shows.

At one point I was struggling with Mary’s head and as she passed by, Flick stopped, suggested I save her until the end and carried on back to CBeebies! 5 going on 25!

Tuesday 1 December 2009

I’m not saying it was cold this morning but there were three brass monkeys crying their eyes out when I went to defrost the car.

Whenever Flick gets ill, she invariably and very kindly passes the germs on to me. Today I’m not feeling too hot and have decided to skip the gym. I used to beat myself up about missing a day without the weights or the cycle but no more. Instead I’m going to take a brisk walk at lunchtime to get my daily “fix” and to have a look around Boots. We have a Secret Santa draw at work, with each participant spending up to £10 on the person they picked out of the hat/chosen receptacle. Boots is always good for gifts so I’ll be headed along there at lunchtime.

Bought three gifts (for the price of 2) and a Boots Meal Deal (saving £1.86) and I was a happy shopper. Who said Christmas shopping is stressful?

All our Christmas cards have now been sent and it’ll be interesting to see who we’ve missed and if the mysterious “Karen and Andy” send us a card for the third year running.

Find out from Flick that a child of an ex-neighbour has being asking Flick for a share of her school snack and not just once or twice either. She’s now been told to say, “No, get your own” if she tries it again. The offender is the middle of three sisters, with a butter-wouldn’t-melt appearance, unlike her sleekit, mouthy big sister. Flick has a caring, thoughtful nature and I don’t like the idea of people/kids taking advantage of her.

After an hour spent doing Advent competitions on the net I caught up with Sunday’s House and Monday’s University Challenge.

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Why don’t people indicate anymore? Roundabouts, lane changes, turning corners, drivers just don’t do it anymore. Everyone else is supposed to be a mind reader. And at this time of year it becomes even more apparent the number of one-eye monsters on the road. And, no, I’m not referring to the PM; I’m talking about cars with only one headlight or one brake light. Do people not check their vehicles anymore? End of rant. For now.

Our first overseas Christmas card has arrived. I posted cards to Spain and the USA last Thursday, after my audition, and the first has arrived, in Long Beach.

Thursday 3 December 2009

I could've put money on it. Just as I thought I'd got away with catching Flick's infection it hit me, like a juggernaut! I woke up feeling a bit groggy and put it down to a bad night's sleep and the usual waking up in the middle of the night feeling.

I drove to work only to feel even worse when I got there. I stayed for an hour before doing the sensible thing and coming home. (As I drove home between 7.30 and 8.15 I noticed the tailbacks going the other way. I'm so glad I leave for work before 6am.)

I managed to get a doctor's appointment for 9.40 am and she confirmed I had indeed picked up Flick's infection and she prescribed Penicillin V, with an Ibuprofen chaser. I was back in bed by 11.30 am and slept, on and off, until 3pm. I made sure I had enough time to come round before heading off to pick up the girls, only for K to phone and say she'll collect Flick herself. The rest of the afternoon was spent in front of the Alibi channel watching Diagnosis Murder and Murder, She Wrote.

Flick cheered me up with a reindeer she had made at Kids' Club. She's very creative.

Fingers crossed I feel better over the weekend as (a) I hate being ill and (b) I've got the first of my Christmas shows to prepare.

I've asked all my Friends on Facebook and Followers on Twitter for their Best and Worst Christmas records so feel free to add your choices in the Comments box below. Time for some more pills...

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 29 November 2009

2009-11-29T12:27:00.004Z

My last show of the year before we head off into the tinsel-covered mayhem that is Christmas. Tonight I'm celebrating tomorrow's St. Andrew's Day with a Jocknroll special. A big thank to you to Lenny Helsing who, some time ago now, provided me with some of these great lost Scottish tracks.

The Poets - That's The Way It's Got To Be (Decca 1965)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
New Faces - Never Gonna Love Again (Pye 1965)
The McKinleys - Someone Cares For Me (Columbia 1964)
The Athenians - I Got Love If You Want It (Waverley 1964)
My Dear Watson - Stop Stop I'll Be There (Parlophone 1968)
The Beatstalkers - Ev'rybody's Talkin' 'Bout My Baby (Decca 1965)
The Poor Souls - Love Me (Alp 1965)
The Blues Council - Baby Don't Look Down (Parlophone 1964) (Connect 3)
The Black Ring - Take It Or Leave It (SAUSCA 1965) (Connect 3)
The Fabulous Red Hawks - Mods and Rockers (Globe 1964) (Connect 3)
Chris McClure - Meditation (Polydor 1968)
Barry St. John - Bread and Butter (Decca 1964)
The Beatstalkers - Silver Treetop School for Boys (CBS 1967)
The Echo-Sounds - Bull Moose (Popular 1966)
Mickey Moonshine - Name It You Got It (Decca 1974)
Lulu - So Fing Es An (Decca 1966) (Foreign Language)
Johnny and the Copycats - I'm A Hog For You Baby (Norco 1964)
The Beatstalkers - Base Line (Decca 1966) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Lord Rockingham's XI - Hoots Mon (Decca 1958)
The Hi Fis - I Wanna Hear You Say Yeah (Alp 1966)
The Scots of St. James - Eiderdown Clown (Spot 1967)
Sol Byron and The Impacts - Pride and Joy (Flamingo 1964)
Hopscotch - Look at The Lights Go Up (United Artists 1968)
Davy Graham - Goin' Down Slow (Decca 1965)
Sergeant - Sunshine (Shy Recordings 2009) (Under The Influence)
Bobby Patrick Big Six - Sweet Talk Me Baby (Decca 1964)
The Beatstalkers - You'd Better Get A Hold On Me (Decca 1966)
The Beatstalkers - Ain't No Soul (Left In These Old Shoes) (CBS 1967)
The Mark Five - Baby What's Wrong (Fontana 1964) (Connect 3)
The 20th Century Sounds - She's Nice People (SAUSCA 1965) (Connect 3)
Studio Six - Bless My Soul (I've Been and Gone and Done It) (Polydor 1967) (Connect 3)
Jackie Dennis - La Dee Dah (Decca 1958)
The Pathfinders - Pumpkin Lantern (Unreleased 1968)
The Boston Dexters - You've Been Talking About Me (Contemporary 1964) (Two of a Kind)
The Boston Dexters - What Kind of Girl Are You? (Contemporary 1964) (Two of a Kind)
The Marmalade - I See The Rain (CBS 1969)
Dean Ford and the Gaylords - The Name Game (Columbia 1965)
Donovan - Season of the Witch (Pye 1966)
The Beatstalkers - Sugar Chocolate Machine (CBS 1967)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Good day, good health and haste ye back.

The Cat
=^..^=

When is PR not PR?

2009-11-27T23:45:00.004Z

I did my weekly check around the blogs I read/follow and I was rather taken aback that the owner of http://police-box.blogspot.com has changed the status of his blog to be "open to invited readers only". Perhaps he doesn't like a couple of comments I made recently. I made a comment on something he wrote. Someone "anonymous" had a pop at me (I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of his pals) and I countered, as you do.

Either way I find it bizarre that someone in a business that thrives on publicity should have turned his blog into something of a closed shop. If he only wants certain people to read it then he'd be better off just e-mailing his pals his latest bitter ramblings. Does he really think I won't be able to read it?

He's more than welcome to come on here and explain why he doesn't want me read his blog. It's a shame because I do enjoy a good laugh. It's nearly as funny and ill-informed as the comments on The Scotsman/Evening news website or the Metro letters page.

Mind you, you only have to read the excellent Tabloid Watch blog to know that much what you read (or don't read) in the papers (or on journalistic/PR blogs) should be taken with a very large pinch of salt.

A Question of Sanity

2009-11-27T13:20:00.002Z

Another day, another quiz show audition. Once again I’ve decided to put myself through the mill and tried to get on a television quiz show and this time it’s a trip to Glasgow to audition for “A Question of Genius”.

I’d caught some of the first series of the show earlier in the year and I thought, with it being pitched at a good level, that I’d like to have a go. Unlike Alan Partridge, they got a second series and I got my form in just before the closing date.

Within a week I’d got a call back from the BBC – the BBC are so much more efficient at running quiz/shows shows than certain independent production companies I could name – and I did the usual over-the-phone 10 questions of general knowledge. I got 6 out of 10 and, if I were being honest, I wouldn’t have scored more than 7. For one of them I jumped in too early and missed the obvious answer but the other three, well, I wouldn’t have known them if they’d told me the answer first!

Thankfully, six was enough to get me an audition and yesterday morning I headed off to the Wild West, along the M8. (I used the day of driving along the central belt as an opportunity to road test a compilation I’d put together for a colleague. Is that just a man thing?) The M8 used to fill me with dread. It’s very much a survival-of-the-fittest road with more than a passing resemblance to a game of Musical Lanes. It’s like an automotive version of Mike Reid’s 70s kids show Runaround, only without the annoying cock-er-nee spiv. G-g-g-g-gooooooooo!

Unlike Scotland’s capital in the East, there’s lots of off-street parking in Glasgow but I still plump for the security of the Glasgow Science Centre car park. Good value (£3 a day) if you’re only visiting but I can see why local workers would choose to park on the surrounding pavements.

I arrive an hour early and kill some time picking up leaflets in the Science Centre. I wander over to the BBC’s brand new Pacific Quay headquarters. Not surprisingly, I’m the first there and I park myself at the little coffee shop. It wasn’t my first visit to this building, having been there for another audition and also a job interview. Needless to say, the audition went better than the job interview. Maybe more job interviews should include puzzles, quizzes and pieces to camera.

After finishing the Depress crossword (DePress is my name for the Dunfermline Press, a parochial maudlin local paper of my hometown), I head back to reception and am soon joined by three others. I get chatting to Alan and John but Carlos, a Mexican with more than a passing resemblance to the bass player from Metallica, keeps his own council. The first question on occasions like this, after the opening “Are you here for the audition?” is something along the lines of “Have you done any of these before?” In a bizarre coincidence, John and Alan had both been on Superscot about 20 years previously but done nothing since. Maybe they were just keeping their quiz powder dry. (Superscot ran from 1983 to 1989 and was presented by Jane Franchie. It was revived in 1990, this time as a family show, presented by Jackie Bird).

As if by magic, a production assistant, who I recognised form a previous audition, appeared and whisked me off into the building. Unfortunately we didn’t get to enter the central area, which resembles a cutaway of an ocean liner, and instead were ushered down a side corridor. Initially we entered a room with a toilet symbol on the door but, rather like the unmade edition of Mr Benn when he becomes a quiz show contestant, we entered an area called The Lab. Thankfully it was The Lab and not The Lav, although I was concerned, having been recognised by Rebecca, that my chances had already gone down the pan. Considering we were about to go through the quizzing equivalent of having soap sprayed in our eyes it seemed rather apposite. Being an old hand at these auditions, I was ready for whatever was thrown at me but Carlos seemed very nervous. John and Alan were very laid back.

First of all we were given a couple of forms. One is a form where we promise to hand over our first born away to the BBC if we’re naughty and the other another general knowledge quiz. It would have to be a bloody brainy general to know all five answers to the questions. I got 2 right and made one decent guess and two random ones. I wonder if it’s another filter to weed out quizzing “pros”, like the sort you got on “Are You an Egghead?”

After the introductions – there were four people, including Rebecca, and a camera – we played a game of charades. I volunteered to go first but my enthusiasm wilted slightly when I realised I couldn’t actually think of one – the pressure had started. One of the watching team fed me “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” proclaiming it was a difficult one. Alan got it after “One”. John then did a book that only he had read and no one else had ever heard of. After Alan and Carlos’s shots we moved on to playing the quiz itself.

With no buzzers available we had to handclap when we wanted to answer the question. The aim of the game in the first round, called A Question of Knowledge, was to reach 5 points. You got a point if you buzzed in successfully on the first question and then you got to choose between a 1, 2 or 3 point question on the same topic, although you were still up against everyone else. I successfully negotiated the first round and normally one contestant would drop out but for the purposes of the audition we all stayed in for the second round.

A Question of Judgement was up next and this time the aim was to reach 7 points to ensure survival. The only change from the first round is that should you get the opening question right, you would choose your opponent on a head-to-head basis and at what level. Again the questions fell nicely for me and I progressed through first. As someone who enjoys quizzes I had to resist the urge to join in as I sat out while the others were going through their questions.

We didn’t get to play the subsequent rounds (A Question of Pressure, A Question of Strategy and the final A Question of Genius) and instead had a coffee while we prepared to do a piece to camera. As the camera was being shuffled into the corridor outside John and Alan started having a light-hearted argument about how many films John Wayne had been killed in!

We all had to provide a specialist subject for the final Question of Genius round, should we get there, and I have plumped for UK Top 40 hits of the 1980s. It was between that and the Eurovision Song Contest but I figured 50 years of foreign singers and songs would be too much to swat up on. Better to choose a subject that I know reasonably well to begin with so that I would have less swatting to do. That’s the theory anyway. Only time will tell whether I made the right choice. I might not even get the opportunity. Carlos had gone for another musical topic with “The Cure” while John and Alan went for movie-related choices, namely “Films directed by Steven Spielberg” and “The films of John Wayne”. Sadly we didn’t get to show our prowess on our specialist subjects and instead were ushered one by one into the corridor.

I went in last and tried to sound interesting. I mentioned the hospital radio work but kicked myself afterwards for forgetting to mention my Best Newcomer nomination. As there was only four of us the audition was over in an hour and it was back to life, back to reality.

On the two previous aforementioned visits to Pacific Quay I had got lost on the way out. On one occasion I got lost around Ibrox, one of the last areas I’d like to stay longer than necessary. On the other occasion my ShitNav told me to go right, which took me straight into the face of two lanes of dual carriageway coming towards me! Only a handily-place parking space saved me certain death or, at the very least, a good peeping at. I can just see my epitaph: He came, he quizzed, he left empty-handed. Using the power of Twitter I asked Radio Scotland presenter and all round good egg Jim Gellatly for directions and he recommended using the “Squinty” Bridge. Multimap doesn’t include this new landmark.

It’s always hard to tell how auditions have gone because it’s so hard to predict what the production company is looking for. I thought I performed well on the quiz section and had an okay piece to camera – I’ve done better - so only time will tell if I get on. Successful applicants will be told in two to three weeks, with filming taking place in Glasgow in January. One concern I have about my chances is my recognition by the charming Rebecca. When she asked me if we’d met before I asked, “Brainbox Challenge?” She rallied with, “Who Dares Wins”. I didn’t get on “Who Dares Wins” so I’m hope that doesn’t count against me.

Anyway, it’s over now and it’s just a question of waiting.

Nuts in November

2009-11-24T19:47:00.003Z

Friday 20 November 2009

Last night I received a drunken call from a friend and colleague who had been chatting to Ian Rankin on the train home to Dunfermline. She wondered if I wanted to go into Dunfermline to find him! Apparently his son was performing at the Alhambra, which she couldn't pronounce for love nor money) and she wanted to “stalk” him there. I declined the kind invitation. I was rather bemused to discover that Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings were performing so I guess Ian Rankin’s offspring was part of some support act. I wasn’t going to head out on a wet and windy night and certainly not at £25 a head for a band I’m rather indifferent to. (My friend didn’t bother going either, citing a more urgent need for sleep – a wise move methinks).

I couldn’t sleep and woke up at 4am again. Decided to make the most of it and went to the gym before work. I know, that’s a bit 80s, but it killed some time and gave me a free lunch to read my Web User magazine.

After work I drove straight to our local Tesco with a prepared list. With the minimum of fuss and managing to stay mostly “on list” (I fancied some fish), I headed home. No sooner had I set foot in the door than my phone rang. I got a call to pick up Flick early from the Kids Club because she wasn’t feeling well. It seems she had a sore stomach. That’s twice in two days. I hope this isn’t becoming a habit. I’ve no doubt her ailments are genuine but I don’t want her to get into a habit of “being sick” as a means of getting away early from school or the Kids Club. She likes school and Kids Club so I don’t think it’s deliberate. She seems to have omelettes quite a lot for lunch and I worry that she may be “egg bound”, as my mother used to say. I've still no idea what that actually means.

Saturday 21 November 2009

Got up early (7am seems like such a lie-in) and headed into town to get a haircut. The salon I use opens at 8.30am and I was there for 10 past 8. I was first in the queue and, after the doors opened, was in and out in less than 10 minutes. As usual the “from £7” on the price list seemed rather optimistic considering the amount of foliage I have (or don’t have) on my head. “That’ll be £4”. I gave him fiver, told him to keep the change (my default tip is £1) and headed off home.

The girls were off to ballet and then the Gang Show in Edinburgh with the Guides. Normally when the girls are out for the day, I miss them for an hour or so and then get industrious. Today I just didn’t have the energy and, as a result, achieved very little. The BT Broadband dropped out yet again and after another rant on Twitter about it I switched off the PC and watched telly instead.

Having learned that you can now watch the BBC iPlayer through your Wii, I set about finding out how to go about it. It was so simple and I had it up and running in about 15 minutes. I watched “Never Mind The Buzzcocks” and phoned Dave for a chat and to tell him of my ‘discovery’. He was in a guitar shop salivating over the axes. I updated him on the football scores, to which he had no access, and discussed again the possibility of us doing a radio show together. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing my show myself, but sometimes it’s nice to “bounce” off somebody else and I can’t think of anyone better than my old mate the Davester.

I get so bored with myself that I go to bed at 10. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Sunday 22 November 2009

I had a lazy lie-in. Still a bit down from yesterday I could’ve got up early but I simply can’t be bothered, which isn’t like me. Maybe a year ago but not now. I finally get up as the girls head off to church. It’s fried eggs on toast as I try and watch another programme via the Wii. I had hoped it would be “Match of the Day”, having forgotten to tape it last night, but alas, due to some sort of licensing issue, they don’t have it on the iPlayer. Instead I had to “settle” for Saturday night’s “The Thick of It”, which was brilliant. I really don’t know why so many people would rather watch The Hex–Factor, Strictly Come Prancing and I’m a Z-List Celebrity, Get Me Some Exposure when there’s great television like “The Thick of It”, “Modern Family” and “House”.

Spent a couple of hours doing the Christmas cards. Some for hand delivery, some for posting abroad and some for Scout post.

Apparently after Tottenham’s 9-1 thumping of Wigan, the Lancashire club have complained to FIFA that Spurs keeper Gomes handled the ball in the run-up to at least one of Spurs goals.

I really enjoyed tonight’s radio show. This was down to me relaxing a bit more and also not having to worry about interruptions. I don’t like people walking into the studio while I’m doing a show, unless I’ve invited them. I find it distracting and off-putting. Okay, so I’m no Terry Wogan or Chris Moyles but it’s important for me to do the best I can and I don’t need distractions.

Graeme, who is on before me, finished up the wonderful “Your Imagination” by Brian Wilson and we had a singalong through the glass! Good job there wasn’t a webcam!

It was the last of my “normal” shows with next week being my St. Andrew’s Day Jocknroll special, playing a multitude of Jockanese beat groups and singers from between the late 50s and the early 70s. After that it’s three weeks of Christmas tunes, which I always enjoy. I’m torn as to what I should do on the show between Christmas and New Year. I thought, just for a change, I do a show of anything but the normal stuff I play. Stuff like Pete Yorn, Fountains of Wayne, The Popguns, The Smiths, Camera Obscura etc.

When I got back from the station I microwaved my mince, tatties and dumplings, washed and put away the dishes, made the sandwiches for lunch and put away the CDs used in tonight’s show and dug out next week’s (the show had been prepared weeks ago). Then I settled down to watch “Top Gear”. It clashes with “House”, which I’ll save for during the week.

Monday 23 November 2009

In-car entertainment: James Taylor Quarter – Blow Up: A JTQ Collection

A fairly straightforward drive into work this morning. I didn’t have a great sleep last night. I had hoped that being industrious and then having a an hour in front of the telly would’ve helped me sleep but alas no.

Just one dickhead on the way home who thought that tailgating me at 70mph on the A80 was a good idea. Thank you GV55 AVT, you baldy fuck.

It was a good night of telly with Saturday’s “The Thick of It” (K hadn’t seen it and I was only too glad to watch it again), “University Challenge”, “The Gadget Show” (the best competition on television) and then Sunday’s “House”.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

In-car entertainment: Pete Yorn - musicforthemorningafter

A pleasant enough journey into work, although my old “friend” R906MSN was at it again, with undertaking and speeding all along the A80. I notice he’s changed his route to work as he used go along the new M9 spur and now drives towards Barnton.

FIFA still haven’t replied to me. Quelle surprise!

From the can of Tesco Diet Cola I’m consuming:

“Allergy advice:

Recipe: No nuts
Ingredients – Cannot guarantee nut free
Factory: No nuts"

If there are no nuts in the recipe and no nuts in the factory, why can’t they guarantee that the ingredients are nut free?

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 22 November 2009

2009-11-22T11:53:00.002Z

This is my last "normal" show of the year before I have next week's St. Andrew's Day/Jocknroll special and then three weeks of Christmas tunes. I'm contemplating doing something completely different for Sunday 27 December 2009; maybe just a random selection of my favourite ever records, from any era.

Benny Spellman - Fortune Teller (Minit 1962)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
The Girls - My Baby (Capitol 1965)
Florence Ballard - Love Ain't Love (ABC 1968)
Del Shannon - He Cheated (Liberty 1967)
The Four Matadors - Fast Cars and Money (Columbia 1966)
The Action - Something Has Hit Me (Parlophone 1967)
Them - I Can Only Give You Everything (Decca 1966)
Nancy Sinatra - The City Never Sleeps at Night (Reprise 1965) (Connect 3)
Mary Saxton - Big City Guy (Unreleased 66/67) (Connect 3)
The Monkees - Teardrop City (Colgems 1969) (Connect 3)
Denise and Company - Boy, What'll You Do Then (Wee 1966)
Helen Shapiro - Woe Is Me (Columbia 1963)
Betty Everett - Getting Mighty Crowded (Vee-Jay 1964) (Birthday: 23/11/39 singer)
John Leyton - Thunder and Lightning (HMV 1961)
Fontella Bass - Gee Whizz (Chess 1966)
Twinkle - Tommy (German version) (Label unknown 1965) (Foreign Language)
The Societie - Breakin' Down (Decca 1967)
Kathy Lynn & The Playboys - Rock City (Swan 1964) (Half-Time Instrumental)
The Turtles - Wanderin' Kind (Immediate 1966)
Marvin Smith - Have More Time (Brunswick 1966)
The Beach Boys - In My Room (Capitol 1963) (The A to Z of The Beach Boys - I)
The Beach Boys - I Can Hear Music (Capitol 1969) (The A to Z of The Beach Boys - I)
Al Casey & The KC-Ettes - Guitars Guitars Guitars (Stacy 1966)
The Attack - Try It (Decca 1967)
Aztec Camera - Pillar To Post (Rough Trade 1983) (Under The Influence)
The Colorados - Lips Were Redder On You (alternate take) (Unreleased 1964)
Twice As Much - Step Out of Line (Immediate 1966)
The Poets - Some Things I Can't Forget (Immediate 1965)
The Ivy League - Willow Tree (Piccadilly 1966) (Connect 3)
The Move - (Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree (Regal Zonophone 1967) (Connect 3)
Richard McCord - The Song of the Pine Tree (Pye 1965) (Connect 3)
Nicky Scott - Big City (Immediate 1967)
Masterminds - She Belongs To Me (Immediate 1965)
John Mayall - Looking Back (Decca 1966) (Two of a Kind)
John Mayall - Crawling Up A Hill (Decca 1964) (Two of a Kind)
Chad Carson - They Were Wrong (HMV 1963)
Mockingbirds - You Stole My Love (Immediate 1965)
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again (Polydor 1971)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

No Honour for Henry

2009-11-19T18:51:00.003Z

Wednesday 18 November

Last year, when I was very depressed, sluggish and unproductive, a day out of the office to assist with promotion interviews was a blessing. The new energetic, focussed, fit me had the same day out yesterday and doing hee-haw, quite frankly, bored the tits off me. A struggle with the third of the Metro’s Sudokus did ensure an occupied morning but after lunch I was thoroughly bored. I didn’t particularly miss my trip to the gym because I hadn’t felt well yesterday and today I was no better but I probably should’ve taken a walk at lunchtime to get some fresh air.

I was so deflated by the time I got to my car to drive home I was thoroughly depressed. My mood didn’t improve as I did my usual Wednesday night drive-round (Kids Club – train station – home – Rainbows – Home – Rainbows – home) and the injustice of Ireland’s defeat at the hands of France sickened me even more. I went to bed with the ‘black dog’ well and truly pissing on my leg.

Thursday 19 November

I had to laugh at Sarah Kennedy on Radio 2 complaining of the “balmy” November weather as I aquaplaned all the way from Dunfermline to Edinburgh.

The only highlight of yesterday, which came just after 11am, was a phone call from the BBC. I had applied for a quiz show on Friday, the closing date, and was rather surprised to receive a return call so quickly. (I’m sure that the last time I did promotion interviews I received an audition call too). Anyway, the full audition is in Glasgow next Thursday morning. It’ll be the usual run-through of the game, a piece to camera and “don’t call us, we’ll call you”. I won’t jinx things by mentioning the name of it.

I saw the show earlier this year and I’d love to have a go. I’m not great on the buzzer, if I’m being honest, but for me it’s more about the camaraderie with the other contestants and having an enjoyable day or two. Watch this space.

I haven’t even had my breakfast this morning when I’m met by the Christmas night out menu plonked on my desk chair. I don’t know what I’m having for my dinner tonight, let alone what I fancy having on 11 December. Anyway, I plump for salmon, turkey (with all the trimmings) and chocolate cheesecake. I’ve also made the decision not to drink. Over the last few years I’ve been drinking alcohol less and less. I’m lucky if I have a couple of glasses of wine a month. Part of the reason for that is obviously down to driving but part of it is because I can get a bit maudlin sometimes. I start off hyper and descend into melancholy over the course of the evening. Another reason, especially at this time of year, is the state of the fellow travellers on the night bus home, aka the “Vomit Comet”. I’ve taken it home twice and twice is enough. It’ll be Diet Coke all night and a drive home at my leisure. Am I becoming a boring old fart? Possibly but I’m a man of simple pleasures and after years of drunkenness and hours spent awaiting public transport in the pissing December rain I feel I deserve the right to a civilised night out and not to wake up the next morning feeling shit.

I was so appalled at the decision that cost Ireland a place in the World Cup last night that I e-mailed FIFA. What is the point in “smaller” nations trying to compete and better themselves if the governing body’s primary consideration is the interests of the “bigger” nations? Sepp Blatter and Michel Paltini will be pleased as punch this morning that their favoured nations (except Russia) have got through to the finals. The fact that they decided to seed the play-offs shows how much contempt they have for the sport. There was no seeding in place when the competition started and the thought of a World Cup without Portugal and France (Platini’s country) saw them quickly change the rules to suit themselves. If any sport was in desperate need of video evidence/replays it is football. Cricket, a longer game, and rugby league, a shorter game, have them and they work just fine. The delays for a decision to be made would be no longer than the theatrical histrionics of some players who do eight rolls before deciding, as soon as they get the decision, that there’s nothing wrong with them. Football is becoming a joke thanks to self-serving bureaucrats like Sepp Blatter and Jack Warner who care less about football and more about themselves and what’s they can get out of the game – money.

I have to say that I’m more disappointed with Thierry Henry for not owning up than the referee and his assistant, who had had, until that incident, a very good game. For him to say “I’m not the referee!” is not simply good enough. He should have put his hands up – again – and admitted the offence. Football is now a cheats’ charter. Diving, play-acting, deception and the merciless harassment of officials leaves a sour taste in the mouth and the beautiful game is now a tarnished shadow of its former self and, I believe, beyond repair. There is no longer a level playing field. It’s not about the best players, it’s about the best cheats and at the top of that particular tree are Messrs Blatter and Warner. I think I’ll start following a more honest sport like rugby league.

In Between Days

2009-11-17T19:57:00.003Z

Monday 16 November

In-car entertainment: The Cure – Greatest Hits

I was never a big fan of The Cure. I liked most of the singles* but was never moved to buy a complete (non-compilation) album. I almost saw them live once. I say “almost” because they were part of a double-header gig called “Rock Around the Clock”, along with my favourites Aztec Camera, at the Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow. It was being broadcast on BBC2. Having watched Roddy and co do their stuff my mate and I got backstage and while Robert Smith was rather grumpy Phil Thornalley of the band was cool and asked to borrow my bull’s head bootlace tie, which he wore on the poster for one of their albums (I forget which one). My mate stayed for The Cure but even though I could’ve blagged entry I decided to make sure I got my bus home. By the time I got back to Edinburgh The Cure set was on the telly. Yes, I did get my bootlace tie back and, no, I don’t still have it. I do still have the ticket stub though which I got as a member of the Aztec Camera fan club.

(*On one occasion me and a record-collecting friend found a shop with loads of copies of "Primary". We bought them all for 99p each and I sold mine eventually for £8 each)

Driving rant: why do so many drivers fail to indicate at roundabouts? Also, is it just me or is everyone using their lights on “full beam” nowadays? I’ve lost count of how many times in the last couple of months I’ve been blinded in my rear-view mirror by thoughtless individuals.

The girls were walking to school this morning when Flick told her mother than two boys were fighting over who was going to marry her! Apparently, she isn’t interested in either of them and has her eye on one of her “boyfriends” from pre-school. I better start saving for the nuptials now. Geez, they grow up fast.

I’m in the office on my own again today so I had peace during Popmaster (2 scores of 33) got through a whole load of work with very little personal or phone interruptions.

After work I performed a very personal, annual ritual that I enjoy and keeps me in touch with my non-digital childhood. I bought my 2010 diary. I’ve tried electronic organisers before but I’ve never taken to them. I like a slim, week-to-view black diary that fits easily into my coat pocket. After a few choice personal details, I add all the birthdays of my friends and family, school holidays and radio shows dates (every Sunday, with some specials for Valentine’s day, birthdays etc). I also add the football fixtures for my team and add the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of friends and family. I do some surreptitious weeding. I don’t believe in keeping someone in there “just in case”. If I haven’t heard from them in a year, then they’re out. I’m that brutal! When it comes to the Christmas card list, you get two years and then you’re bumped. I wonder if we’ll get another card from Karen and Andy this year. They’ve sent a card for the last two years but we haven’t a clue who they are.

One of our fuses blew in the house – the one from the Washing Machine – but thankfully it was between the end of University Challenge and the start of The Gadget Show. It was bizarre than half the house was dark and half was working!

Spent some of the evening putting together a Playmobil Advent calendar for the Flick. More expensive but a lot less chocolate.

Tuesday 17 November

As I got to work this morning someone just ahead of me was reversing into a space. I waited patiently and when he came to a standstill I reversed into the space beside him. I collected my bags and wandered into the reception area. As I got there I heard the person who had parked just ahead of me bemoaning to reception staff how I had shone my lights in his eyes as he was reversing. Cheeky, miserable, moaning bastard.

I certainly wasn’t “shining” my car lights in his eyes. They were on, as you would expect at 6.15 am on a November morning, and were set to normal, as opposed to the “full beam” brigade. I could’ve spoken to by Lothian and Borders finest if I hadn’t had them on. I’ve never encountered this individual before although I know of him and he is a bit of a Victor Meldrew type who is happy to complain for the sake of complaining. Lucky for him he didn’t complain to my face or he would have experienced a verbal volley that would’ve made Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous “hairdryer” seem like one of those toy fans. Mouldy old c*nt.

Did more exam marking this morning and encountered more individuals who can’t do basic maths. I really do wonder how it is being taught in schools. Mathematics and Arithmetic were my strong points at school and with an Accountant for a mother (admittedly one who can’t work out the simplest darts checkout), Flick should be okay when it comes to “sums”.

Didn’t enjoy my gym session today. A combination of tiredness and over-exertion to make up for it left me even more exhausted and I had to stop. A lesson learned – don’t over-do it.

Over the weekend, while watching a rain-soaked football match, Felicity asked why the players didn't put their hoods up! Good point.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 15 November 2009

2009-11-15T12:05:00.001Z

Happy Birthday Petula Clark!

Petula Clark - Colour My World (Pye 1966)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
The Four Tops - I'm In A Different World (Motown 1968)
Verdelle Smith - Tar and Cement (Capitol 1966)
Tawny Reed - Needle In A Haystack (Pye 1965)
Petula Clark - Monday, Monday (Pye 1966)
The Kinks - David Watts (Pye 1967)
Del Shannon - Mind Over Matter (Liberty 1967)
Annette Funicello - Bikin Beach Party (Buena Vista 1964) (Connect 3)
Petula Clark - Life and Soul of the Party (Pye 1966) (Connect 3)
The Victorians - You're Invited To A Party (Liberty 1964) (Connect 3)
Al Kent - The Way You've Been Acting (Ric-Tic 1967)
Ella Washington - Sit Down and Cry (Sound Stage 7 1969)
Petula Clark - Don't Sleep In The Subway (Pye 1967) (Birthday: 15/11/32 Petula Clark, singer/songwriter)
Dana Gillespie - Pay You Back With Interest (Pye 1967)
Kenny Lynch with the Laurie Jay Combo - Harlem Library (HMV 1964)
Petula Clark - La Nuit N'En Finit Plus (Needles and Pins) (Pye) (Foreign Language)
Billy Fury - Fool's Errand (Do You Really Love Me Too?) (Decca 1964)
Shotugn Express - Curtains (Columbia 1966) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Two of Each - Summer of Our Love (Pye 1968)
Petula Clark - Downtown (Pye 1964)
The Beach Boys - Heroes and Villains (Capitol 1967) (The A to Z of The Beach Boys - H)
The Beach Boys - Had To Phone Ya (Capitol 1976) (The A to Z of The Beach Boys - H)
Petula Clark - I Know A Place (Pye 1965)
The Small Faces - Tin Soldier (Immediate 1967)
The James Taylor Quartet - Blow Up (Re-elect the President 1987) (Under The Influence)
Toni Daly - Like The Big Man Said (Columbia 1966)
Jerry Butler - Moody Woman (Mercury 1969)
The Lovin' Spoonful - She Is Still A Mystery (Kama Sutra 1967)
Love - The Daily Planet (Elektra 1967) (Connect 3)
Petula Clark - A Sign of The Times (Pye 1966) (Connect 3)
Lori Balmer - Here Comes The Sun (Pye 1972) (Connect 3)
The Strangers - Mary Mary (Pye 1967)
Joe Simon - You Keep Me Hangin' On (Sound Stage 7)
Petula Clark - Gotta Tell The World (Pye 1965) (Two of a Kind)
Petula Clark - This Is My Song (Pye 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Patti Seymour - The Silencers (Solly 1965)
The Overlanders - The Leaves Are Falling (Pye 1964)
The Walker Brothers - Just Say Goodbye (Phillips 1967)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

In two weeks' time it's my Jocknroll Beat special, featuring a number of tracks from The Beatstalkers, and then it's four weeks of my favourite Christmas tracks. Just don't expect to hear Slade, Wizzard or Band Aid. Feel free to make any recommendations for either, although I have plenty of tracks to choose from already.

Good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

Stop The Ideas Carousel!

2009-11-14T19:49:00.004Z

Friday 13 November

I was on my own in the office today so while I was covering all the desks and phones I had some peace and quiet too. No interruptions during Popmaster and a good gym workout at lunch.

Got home to find Flick had made a Playmobil City including an improvised Recycling Centre. She had written and cut out labels and put them on egg cups representing recycling bins. Seven of them were decorated with labels for Glass, Plastic, Metal, Paper, Cardboard, Compost and, er, Poo!

The Good Lady Wife was out in the evening so as soon as The Flickster was in her bed I wasted no time in flicking between channels and not watching anything in particular. In fact, I wasted a LOT of time doing that. Was a bit miffed to find the Sky box hadn't recorded "A Question of Sport" or "Mastermind". Eventually I went to bed at 10.30 pm because I was annoying myself.

Saturday 14 November

The girls were off to ballet, a fair and Dobbies so Daddy was free to do whatever he wanted. Having already been fed and watered before the girls got up, I was already into my stride with my little chores. I tuned into Sounds of the Sixties, as usual, while writing up the notes for tomorrow's radio show. It'll feature ten tracks by Petula Clark, by way of celebrating her birthday. She's an under appreciated singer and certainly better than Sandie Shaw and Cilla Black, who I do like.

Then I started work on three of my Christmas shows for the radio station. Last year I did four and an extra one where I counted down my own personal Top 30 Christmas songs. This year there will only be three plus the extra one. While working out which songs to bin form last year and which new ones I've discovered, I watched an impressive Huddersfield Town thrash Wycombe Wanderers 6-0. Who says men can't multi-task?

When the league football finished I headed back upstairs to wrap the presents I had already bought for K. While doing that I could watch (through the banister) the Wales-Scotland game. Scotland were awful and the 3-0 half-time score remained the same at full-time. It wasn't just awful, it was embarrassing. Defencer Gary Caldwell, who moves like a fitted wardrobe and turns like the Ark Royal, should never play for Scotland again. He's been consistently bad for a long time. Kenny Miller is another overpaid so-called "professional" who flatters to deceive on a weekly basis. And he's got a head like a potato. He and fellow Hun Kris Boyd, the ugliest footballer in the world EVER, have morphed into the same player and Steven Naismith is going the same way. I reckon the pre-match lunch at Ibrox is deep-fried children. With chips and Diet Coke of course. They are athletes after all.

"The Thick of It" is simply genius and it pains me that so many people I work with have never seen it. They don't know what they're missing.

The C Word

2009-11-12T22:11:00.002Z

Thursday 12 November 2009

Yesterday came and went. I observed the two-minutes silence in the gym before doing my resistance workout. Being Wednesday it was Daddy Cabs between 4.30pm and 7pm.

After putting together a radio show for 22 November - my last “normal” one of the year - I plonked myself in front of the telly and watched “High Anxiety”, which I had saved on Sky+. It was fun looking out for the Hitchcock references. After “Never Mind The Buzzcocks” I retired for the evening only to be woken up at 4.10 am by a little person who’d had a bad dream about a cat who had bitten her nose, after she failed to find a shark! Bless.

I put her back to bed but couldn’t sleep myself so I lay awake wondering what I would I would’ve done if I’d won £45m. I know that it’s an ultimately pointless exercise that only encourages disenchantment but it killed some time. (I had actually given a brief thought to getting up and going to the gym before work but I dismissed that idea just as quickly because (a) the gym hasn’t been so busy at 11 anymore and (b) I just couldn’t be arsed). I decided that I would like my own little venue, which would host gigs by, well, whoever I wanted. I’d have Jackie Leven and Roddy Frame playing, Teenage Fanclub together with The Orchids and any strings would be provided by my pals in the Cairn String Quartet (“very nice girls, very clean”).

On the way to work the petrol light came on in the car and I wondered where I’d get fuel. I headed for Craigleith Retail Park only to find a poorly lit car park (I ignored the road markings because I couldn’t see them) and a closed petrol station. As I leave the Park I see the Shell logo ahead and chastise myself for forgetting about this petrol station, which I pass twice every day. I’m in and out the petrol station very efficiently and back on the road to work.

I need to get to work sharp because the car park, which is only for those and such as those, is being used for an event over a number of days and, coupled with local roadworks, means spaces are at a premium. I also need some cash but I decide to park the car first and then walk back around the corner to the bank. Spending my lunch in the gym means I don’t really get much fresh air during the day so I don’t mind the walk. Not that there are many people about. I do like the serenity of the early hours – the calm before the storm, if you like.

It’s official! Christmas is upon us as I’ve dug out the Christmas Card address spreadsheet. We all have one, right? RIGHT? I used to keep a note of who sent us one and who didn’t. If we didn’t get one for two years in a row they were chopped off the list - I'm brutal that way. Over the last two years we’ve received cards from people we don’t know or at least can’t work out who they are. I think one is from a distant cousin but the others, Karen and Andy, I’ve no idea. Even she-who-must-be-obeyed can’t work out who they are and she remembers everyone and everything. (Well, almost everything – her tendency to forget to charge her mobile and /or switch it on infuriates me but that’s another rant for another day!)

Fell asleep on the settee tonight. Watched a "Modern Family" double bill while suffering heartburn (I knew that second ginger cake was a bad idea) and then wasted the rest of the evening watching nothing in particular.

When Is A Right Turn Not a Right Turn?

2009-11-11T19:56:00.003Z

Wednesday 11 November

I finally finished my two entries for the Hospital Broadcasting Association awards. All I can do now is wait. Now I can concentrate on putting together my four Christmas shows. Last year I did a fifth show, on Christmas Eve, which was a countdown of my Top 30 Christmas records of all time. I might try and rope my mate Dave in to assist me on that one. I’m actually working on Christmas Eve so I may have to record it. I thought it was great that so many people volunteered to do shows on Christmas Eve last year only to then find out that they all recorded them except for me! I remember last year because I had to pull over on the way to the show because I was going to be on Radio Scotland, talking about working over Christmas (i.e. hospital radio) and Christmas music in general. I managed to combine both topics on air.

Today’s #baddriver was a cracker. At approximately 0605 this morning, while driving into Edinburgh from Fife, a red Subaru Forester T755NGA in front of me turned RIGHT on to Craigcrook Road, which is clearly marked as a No Right Turn from Queensferry Road, at the busy junction with Quality Street. Luckily there were no vehicles coming the other way.

Apparently there would be little point in reporting this idiot unless I have two witnesses (including me). It is also unlikely that cameras would cover that junction, except for “traffic flow”. C’est la vie.

Moody Tuesday

2009-11-10T21:09:00.001Z

Tuesday 10 November

For much of the journey home last night I trailed behind a light blue Fiat Punto (W971OFB) that had a wobbly back left wheel. I haven’t seen such a wobbly tyre since I watched the last Kerry Katona fitness DVD. I kept well back.

Flick’s weekly forgetfulness began with a scarf and one glove! She’d forget her own head…blah blah blah…you know the rest.

I performed a lot better on University Challenge last night than I normally do. Okay, I wasn’t so much “on” University Challenge as shouting-at-the-television-while-University-Challenge-was-on. I was particularly pleased to get all of the countries of the three African Champions League football teams. Kick on.

Also watched The Gadget Show, which always has an amazing prize list. So much so that Harry Hill took the mickey out of it on his TV Burp. Forget the £90million Euromillions jackpot, I’d settle for the Gadget Show bumper prize hamper any day. Okay, most days. Well, on a Monday night.

Did some more work on my HBA entries before bedtime and investigated my “slip” from Sunday. Thankfully the faux pas is barely audible and you would only really know what I said if I told you the word and where it was on the recording. Phew! Okay so it was hardly in the Ross-Brand league but it was enough of a worry for me to confess all to the chairman. Honesty is, almost always, the best policy.

Work came and went today. Busy enough not to get bored but ultimately unsatisfying.

Heave on - to Euston

2009-11-09T19:53:00.002Z

Saturday 7 November

I forgot to mention that yesterday, while at the gym, I received a missed call on my mobile from 07973100194. Being wary not to call back numbers I don’t recognise I Googled the number. I looked at one web forum and many of the contributors seemed to suggest that this number was either being used by Orange, a company pretending to work for Orange or scamsters. Either way you should ignore any calls from this number and, if you do answer it, don't give them any information whatsoever. The number of calls being received from this number has increased drastically since people starting noting interest in the iPhone. It puts me off using Orange but I'll delve a bit further. I hate aggressive sales like this. Some people were getting repeated calls but, so far, I’ve only had one.

It’s always concerned me that you can only contact such a major communications company as Orange by snail mail. I wrote several letters to them on an issue I had with dodgy texts and I never got one reply. I also don’t like the way they try and make their dolphin, elephant, aardvark and duck-billed playtus contracts sound like Pay As You Go.

Felicity wrote a short story called “Fantastic Charlotte”. She read it to me and when she finished I said, as any parent would do, “Very good, darling”. To which she responded, “Yes, but it needs an ending!” Brilliant.

Did some more work on my HBA entries and pottered about until the brilliant “The Thick of It”. However, while watching the extra bits on the BBC’s Interactive red Button, I made the fatal mistake of lying down on the settee and promptly fell asleep.

Sunday 8 November

A lie-in of sorts. I watch “Match of the Day”, taped from Saturday night (so I can skip through the studio analysis and just watch the “action”), while the girls have breakfast Normally they go to church but today K and D are heading off to the shops. I go to church religiously, once a year at Christmas. Even the lure of a Kinder egg wasn’t enough to persuade Flick to join the ladies–who-like-to-shop.

Flick went to a fancy dress birthday party yesterday, as a cat, and won a Rugrats DVD in one of the games. The fact that she was the only one who bothered to enter this particular dancing contest didn’t matter – she’d won! She spent the morning watching all 8 episodes from the DVD. Normally she doesn’t get to watch so much telly but I had a load of stuff to do in the study and she was happy enough. A win-win situation.

I put my radio show playlist up on this blog, the Jocknroll blog and my Facebook page before heading off to the radio station early. I’m going via Toys R Us at the Chapel Retail Park on the outskirts of Kirkcaldy to see if I can get a Playmobil advent calendar. I’m met with chaos. It seems Christmas shopping has now started in earnest, with all the dithering knuckle-dragging pedestrians and equally clueless drivers turning a potentially stressful afternoon into a living, breathing, mong-infested nightmare. The car park seems relatively small for the size of the place and all those people who can’t walk the length of themselves are circling round and round and round trying to get a spot nearest the store they‘re heading for. I give up on this idea and park at the furthest end of the car park, outside B&Q. It’s not exactly a big Retail Park and you could easily walk from one end to the other in under 5 minutes.

My trawl round a mobbed Toys R Us is fruitless. They have Playmobil but no advent calendars. Argos doesn’t have Playmobil either. After a cursory glance round PC World - a shop I dislike - to look at Mac Books and Windows 7, I head back to the car and leave through the alternative, quieter exit.

I pop into Asda to see if they have Playmobil and leave instead with Men’s Health and some Lucozade. I head off to the station and get there before Graham has even started his show. He does the 3 until 5 slot and plays a lot of stuff that you wouldn’t normally hear on the radio. Decent rocky, folky, bluesy stuff but not averse to the occasional bit of pop. It’s not my cup of tea but whatever floats your boat. He does play the occasional track that makes me wander from my studio to enquire, “What was that?” Today he opened with a great Canned Heat track. He begins the second half of the show with an hour-long interview with The Bee Gees that he recorded three weeks ago. I’m impressed. I like him and we have some good banter together.

The chairman points out that the entry I sent him for the Speech category at the awards needs tweaking at the start and finish and there’s an overlapping bit after a minute. I listen to it and see exactly what he means. Sometimes when you’ve spent so long working that you can easily miss something. It’s good to get fresh ears on it. I’ll sort the problems when I get home.

With the proposed Speech entry sorted I need to re-do the Specialist Music entry. Some of the Andrew Collins interview features on my specialist Music entry and I need to take it all out, with the exception of the conversation about Joe Meek and The Honeycombs. I’ve got a couple of ideas for additions from today’s show. I need to emphasise the mod/soul element of the show more.

The show doesn’t start well. The first record is supposed to be “One Fine Day” by The Chiffons but I play The Ronettes “You Bet I Would” by mistake. As it’s the first track I play, straight out of the news, it doesn’t get introduced so the listener doesn’t know it’s the wrong track. However, I know and I’m pissed off. I put far too much pressure on myself to do the perfect show and I end up making at least one error per show. I want to do a consistent show but not a consistently error-strewn one.

One thing that really annoys me is when I’m doing my show is when someone just walks into the studio unannounced or without so much as a knock on the door. Some presenters don’t mind it but I do. I find it off-putting. Graham and I respect each other’s boundaries and I try not to overstay my welcome in his studio when he’s on air.

Disaster struck during the second half of my show. For some reason I left my mic open and, for reasons I won’t go into, I swore. I don’t know if the sound of the record masked it or if it went out on the air but it wasn’t deliberate. I was concerned enough to scan my recorded show when I got home. I haven’t heard anything yet but I’ll need to give it another closer listen tonight. If it went out it’ll probably mean a suspension, which, in the run-up to my St.Andrews’s Day Jocknroll show and my four Christmas specials, would be a sickener.

The rest of the show passed in a blur as I beat myself up over the cock-up. Luckily I had Felicity to cheer me up when I got home. She had used some plastic bricks to make a train platform and a train. She said her train had 18 carriages. I said, “That’s a long train”, to which she replied, “Yes, it’s the London train!” From the mouths of babes…

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 8 November 2009

2009-11-08T12:14:00.007Z

Another cracking line-up, even if I do say so myself (and I do):

The Chiffons - One Fine Day (Laurie 1963)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
The Castaways - Liar Liar (Soma 1965)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Yester Love (Motown 1968)
Noel Scott Engel - The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime) (Philips 1967)
Emitt Rhodes - With My Face On The Floor (Dunhill 1970)
The Cookies - Chains (Dimension 1963)
The Leaves - Hey Joe (Mira 1965)
Scott Walker - Butterfly (Philips 1969) (Connect 3)
The Butterflys - Gee Baby Gee (Red Bird 1964) (Connect 3)
Cher - Elusive Butterfly (Liberty 1966) (Connect 3)
Dusty Springfield - Windmills of Your Mind (Mercury 1968)
The Essex - A Walkin' Miracle (Roulette 1963)
Creation - Making Time (Planet 1966) (Birthday: 8/11/44 Jack Jones, drummer)
Billie Davis - Angel of the Morning (Decca 1967)
The Cryan Shames - Sugar and Spice (Destination 1966)
Brigitte Bardot - Bubble Gum (Mercury 1966) (Foreign Language)
The 23rd Turnoff - Michaelangelo (Decca 1967)
The Flee-Rekkers - Fireball (Piccadilly 1963) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Michael and the Messengers - Just Like Romeo and Juliet (USA 1967)
The Honeys - The One You Can't Have (Capitol 1963)
The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations (Capitol 1966) (The A to Z of The Beach Boys - G)
The Beach Boys - Games Two Can Play (Unreleased) (The A to Z of The Beach Boys - G)
The Ivy League - Lulu's Back In Town (Piccadilly 1965)
Lulu - Are You Ready For Love (EMI 1969)
Camera Obscura - The Sweetest Thing (4AD 2009) (Under The Influence)
The Chantels - I'm Confessin' (That I Love You) (End 1958)
Mike Stevens and The Shevelles - The Go Go Train (Pye 1967)
The Velvelettes - I'm The Exception To The Rule (VIP 1965)
The Beatstalkers - Sugar Chocolate Machine (CBS 1967) (Connect 3)
Chocolate Watch Band - Let's Talk About Girls (Tower 1967) (Connect 3)
The Seeds - Chocolate River (GNP Crescendo 1977) (Connect 3)
The Toys - A Lover's Concerto (DynoVoice 1965)
Barbara Ruskin - Yesterday's Coffee (President 1972)
Electric Prunes - Ain't It Hard (Reprise 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) (Reprise 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Nancy Sinatra - Your Groovy Self (Unreleased 1968)
Felder's Orioles - Turn On Your Lovelight (Piccadilly 1965)
Aphrodite's Child - The Four Horsemen (Vertigo 1971)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

It'll be doing a Jocknroll Beat special on the 29th and then four weeks of Christmas tracks. Feel free to make any recommendations for either, although I have plenty of tracks to choose from already.

Good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

When I'm Not Cleaning Windows

2009-11-07T11:19:00.008Z

Monday 26 October

Wrote a review of Sergeant’s debut album for the Jocknroll blog. It’ll certainly be one of my albums of the year come the time people start making lists of their albums/records/TV shows of the year, which is any time now.

Things have calmed down on the drive to and from work and while I’m still swearing like a trooper in the car at some of the imbeciles who’ve been allowed to grace out roads I’m less inclined to ‘out’ them on Twitter under the #baddriver tag.

Had the gym to myself today. I’ve upped the Shoulder Press by 1 weight and I’ve replaced “the plank” with some sit-ups for a few weeks just to see what difference they make.

Today is the first day of Daddy Cabs picking up both girls on the same run. I now pick K up from a more stress-free train station. By that I mean that I don’t get wound up by witnessing lazy people parking in Disabled bays or blocking off other vehicles because (a) they can’t be bothered to find a parking space (it’s hardly the biggest car park in the world) and (b) they can’t walk the length of themselves (some of them could do with the exercise – since when is being fat and lazy a disability?) There are always plenty of spaces at the new station and the journey to and from is generally less stressful.

Having checked the questions for the quiz night I realise that despite adding an extra audio round there are actually less points available than last year! Last year’s quiz went really quickly and there some grumbles about that. In a panic I write some more questions.

Tuesday 27 October

The evening was spent preparing this Sunday’s radio show and giving some thought to my entry for the HBA awards. I was well chuffed to be nominated last year and I know I'll need to improve for this year’s awards. With the awards being in Erskine, along the M8, he station are keen to get as many entries in as possible. Whether we win or get any nominations is another story. Fingers crossed.

Wednesday 28 October

My first #baddriver in a wee while this morning as SN02 ZBV proves time and time again on the route from Barnton to Craigleith that the concept of indicating is an alien one to him. It’s okay, mate, we’re all mind readers capable of knowing exactly what you’re going to do next. Cock!

My daughter was complaining of headaches. Just as I was giving her some Calpol in her bed, she threw up all over the carpet, the bed and me. The smell and mess were not pleasant. Scrambled eggs everywhere! That wasn’t the end of it but I’ll leave it there.

Thursday 29 October

I’m knackered. Maybe all this gym work is taking its toll or maybe I’m not getting enough sleep but I’m exhausted. Last night’s clean up took it out of me and I didn’t sit down until 10pm, which is normally when I prepare for bed. I watched “Never Mind The Buzzcocks” to wind down and then trundled off to bed.

Parking at work is at a premium at the moment due to roadworks. What? Roadworks in Edinburgh? Shurley shome mishtake! At 0618 I got myself parked and took a walk to the nearest cash machine. My attention was drawn to a sticker on the machine as I typed in my PIN. It said “Cash Machine Best Practice”. I don’t know if it was the patronising tone suggesting I wasn’t smart enough to hide my own PIN number from prying eyes or the use of “best practice”, the type of office bullshit wankspeak that drives me up the wall, but it annoyed me. “Best practice” is up there with “equality impact assessment”, “competency framework” and “360 degree appraisal” when it comes to corporate tosh. Almost as bad as L’Oreal’s made up ingredients – Boswelox, Pro-Tensium, Pro-Retinol A…Even Avon are at it now.

Monday 2 November

I just can’t get used to these early starts and although the alarm is set for 5.30am I still have an annoying habit of waking up at 4am!

Did crap on University Challenge. I get annoyed that it makes me feel stupid, even though I’m not (honest). It doesn’t help when she-who-must-be-obeyed reels off answer after answer.

Tuesday 3 November

Took a half-day so I could (a) meet Flick’s new teacher and (b) put some work into my HBA awards entry. The chat with the new teacher was rather brief – I spent more time talking to the Head – but worthwhile in terms of putting a face to the name. Apparently Flick is regarded as “a bit of a character”. I think (and hope) that’s a good thing. I also wonder if every school is like Waterloo Road or Grange Hill. I do hope not.

Wednesday 4 November

Taking an hour off work so I can trail to Glenrothes to pick up a parcel that was undelivered yesterday. Only complaint is that the card didn’t specify whom the parcel was for and if ID was required. Luckily, it was for me and I had my driving licence. Considering the out-of-the-way location of the depot it would be a bit of a pain if someone had arrived with little or no ID or to find that the parcel wasn’t for them but a spouse or family member and then have to trail back home for ID. I only took one wrong turn on the way back to Dunfermline! Glenrothes is a warren of roundabouts and “sneaky” roads and I never leave there without taking some sort of "detour".

After an hour at home Daddy Cabs is back out on the road to collect Flick (today she has left her bag at school) and the Good Lady Wife. We then have less than an hour at home before we have to head out again. I drop the girls off at Rainbows/Guides and head off on the A92 to Kirkcaldy for a VRN meeting to discuss the HBA awards and who will be entered in which category. I’ve put together an entry for the Best Specialist Music category but after the meeting I decide it needs amending to give more emphasis to the mod/soul element of it. I’ve also volunteered a possible entry in the Speech category, using five minutes from the Andrew Collins interview I did in August.

On the way home some twat decides to tailgate me while sticking his full beams on. The lights didn’t seem legal – there was a blue tinge around the outside – and the ferocity of them was blinding. Cock!

Watched “Never Mind The Buzzcocks” and Jamelia, whose music I’m rather indifferent to, was hilarious. During the Identity Parade round she said she knew the answer because the person in the line-up had tried to sell a story on her to the press! Priceless.

Thursday 5 November

Same shit, different day. it's amazing the effect all this exercise is having on me. I'm so much more industrious, concentrating better and generally more efficient and not wasting a minute.

Once again I had the gym to myself. Do I smell? Well, I don't when I first go in.

Made a “Girls! Girls! Girls!” compilation for a colleague. You always hope someone likes a compilation you've made them. I still put as much work into a CD compilation as I ever did with the cassette equivalents. It's just a lot quicker now.

Friday 6 November

E-mailed our property management to point out that a neighbour was parking his car on a piece of grass that we all the local residents pay maintenance for. He usually has three, sometimes four, vehicles parked around his house (and I don't just mean "normal" cars) and he's decided that the one piece of grass in the street (bar everyone's own gardens) is now his. It isn't. He's now badly churned up the grass and the irony is that he's a green keeper! I've never really had a problem with him until now. It'll be interesting to see if the property management, who get a big annual fee from residents both to pull their finger out. My issue is not so much the damage done but the prospect of the bill being passed on to all the residents instead of the perpetrator of the damage.

Saturday 7 November

A very industrious morning and by 9am I'd fed the birds (well, filled the feeders) , de-iced the car, taken the mountain of recycling to Tesco, drunk to cups of coffee and eaten boiled eggs on toast. Listened to the fabulous "Sounds of the Sixties" between 8 and 10 and then turned over to BBC6Music where Andrew Collins and Richard Herring were sitting in for Adam and Joe. Did my radio listening while preparing tomorrow's radio show. Realised that I had pencilled two tracks by Scott Walker and Cher so I've binned one Cher track ("Twelfth of Never") but as one of the Scott Walker tracks was from Scott 4, which was released under his real name on Noel Scott Engel, I'm playing both of those. My show, my rules.

It's going to be an Andrew Collins sort of day because later I'm going to cut my 31 minute interview with him down to 5 minutes as a possible entry for the HBA awards.

Spooky or what? My neighbour, the green keeper, has started to attempt to patch up the deep tyre tracks on the grass but it looks like he's taking turf from another part of the same piece of land! Does he think no-one will notice? Hmm, interesting.

The window cleaner climbs over the side fence before realising that it wasn't actually locked! One of these days, I'll get around to cleaning them on the inside!

Make the fatal mistake of sitting down to watch 5 minutes of a game only to see a pulsating 45 minutes between Swansea and Cardiff fly by. It's 2-2 at the break after a thrilling first half.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 1 November 2009

2009-11-01T08:45:00.004Z

After last Sunday's Hallowe'en show, we're back to a "normal" one:

Mark Wirtz Orchestra & Chorus - I Can Hear Music (Decca 1969)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Sam and Dave - I Thank You (Stax 1968)
Herman's Hermits - No Milk Today (Columbia 1966)
The Staple Singers - When We Will Be Paid (For The Work We've Done) (Stax 1969)
Jan and Dean - Like A Summer Rain (J&D 1966)
Little Milton - We're Gonna Make It (Checker 1965)
The Beas - International Girl (Chattahoochee, Year Unknown)
Helen Shapiro - Queen for Tonight (Columbia 1963) (Connect 3)
Ike & Tina Turner - Mojo Queen (Sue 1963) (Connect 3)
Georgia Lynn - Sugar Shack Queen (Challenge 1963) (Connect 3)
Yvonne Baker & The Sensations - Party Across The Hall (Argo 1962)
The Beatstalkers - A Love Like Yours (Decca 1966)
Traffic - Rock n Roll Stew (Island 1971) (Birthday: 1/11/46 Ric Grech, bass)
Roger & The Gypsies - Pass The Hatchet (Seven B, 1965)
The Slickers - Johnny Too Bad (Trojan 1970)
Anne Kern - Tant Pis, Tant Pis Entre Donc (Come On In) (Ducretet Thomson) (Foreign Language)
Chris Farlowe - Yesterday's Papers (Immediate 1967)
Booker T and the MGs - Green Onions (live) (Volt 1962) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Mitty Collier - Help Me (Chess 1965)
Ginger Davis & The Snaps - I'm No Run Around (Rollercoaster 1961)
The Beach Boys - Forever (Brother 1970) (The A to Z of The Beach Boys - F)
The Beach Boys - Fun Fun Fun (Capitol 1964) (The A to Z of The Beach Boys - F)
The Who - Barbara Ann (Polydor 1966)
Fontella Bass - Safe and Sound (Checker 1966)
The Slingbacks - Hot On My Heels (Vinyl Japan 1993) (Under The Influence)
Erma Franklin - Light My Fire (Brunswick 1969)
The Liverbirds - Shop Around (Star-Club 1964)
Debbie Dean - Don't Let Him Shop Around (Motown 1961)
Barbara Carr - My Mama Told Me (Chess 1966) (Connect 3)
Mama Cass - California Earthquake (Dunhill 1967) (Connect 3)
Etta James - Tell Mama (Cadet 1967) (Connect 3)
The Action - Little Boy (Unreleased 1967/1968)
The Shangri-las - Hate To Say I Told You So (Sokane 1964)
Eddie Floyd - I'll Take Her (Stax 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Eddie Floyd - Big Bird (Stax 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Jo Ann Garrett - (I've Decided On) A Whole New Plan (Chess 1966)
Nicky Scott - Backstreet Girl (Immediate 1967)
Irma Thomas - Long After Tonight Is All Over (Imperial 1964)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

It'll be doing a Jocknroll Beat special on the 29th and then four weeks of Christmas tracks. Feel free to make any recommendations for either, although I have plenty of tracks to choose from already.

Good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

BT Total Crap

2009-10-31T15:48:00.003Z

I still find it a bit freaky that you can have a good rant about a service like BT Broadband on Twitter and within minutes up pops a Direct Message from BTCare saying "If you are having connection problems with your Broadband DM me your details and I'll perform some diagnostics on the line."

Having just done a line test with BT I got the following message: "We estimate your maximum connection speed to be 0.256Mbps. This is the fastest speed your line can support." If that's the case, stop trying to sell me supersonic (up to) 20MB packages and do some work on my line and/or exchange. I don't suppose Sky will be any better on this line.

I'm All Right Jim!

2009-10-31T15:37:00.002Z

I received an e-letter yesterday from my local MSP which included this lovely piece of I'm-All-Right-Jackery: "After a long battle with First Scotrail, I have persuaded the Managing Director to increase the capacity on the 17.52 from Edinburgh. If Scotrail are truly to persuade people to use public transport as their first option, then it must be an attractive option. As a regular commuter on this train, I know my constituents’ concerns were warranted. Now Scotrail have agreed to increase the seating capacity on the 17.52 from the present 140 to 189 from the new timetable change on 13 December."

So what about the other commuter trains to Fife, Jim?

Here's Jonny!

2009-10-28T20:12:00.003Z

Saturday 17 October

Having lost some weight and buffed up a bit I found that the two pairs of jeans I took to Crieff were hanging off me. We were in Asda (or Asdaz, if you’re a local) and could I find a pair of jeans in my waist and leg length? Could I hell. Everyone in Dunfermline must be built like a Rubik Cube.

Sunday 18 October

There was a bizarre moment during my radio show. I was playing John Holt’s “Ali Baba” and I was trying to find out some information about the song because I knew there was a story behind it. I found a website but as the record was finishing and I ejected the CD I could still here the intro of the song going round the studio in a loop. It turned out that, unlike my normal studio, if you visited a website that had background music it would come through the desk. This studio didn’t have an appropriate fader and for five minutes I was clueless as to where the sound was coming from. I eventually worked out it was coming from the PC and gave a huge sigh of relief. Every single week something goes wrong! But I console myself with the fact that it happens to professionals too.

I’m not a big Formula 1 fan but I watch the “big” races and well done to Jensen Button for a great drive in Brazil. No doubt he’ll be ensconced as favourite for Sports Personality of the Year. I felt sorry for Beth Tweddle who had also won a World Championship gold medal (on the floor, not her more favoured uneven bars – when did they stop calling them asymmetric?) but the BBC news was dominated by Jensen’s accomplishment. In fact it was lead story. Well done, Beth.

I get home from the radio station to find that Flick has spent the afternoon cutting out pictures from the Early Learning Centre catalogue to give to Santa. Bless.

Monday 19 October

In-car entertainment: Sergeant – Sergeant

We’re really enjoying the latest comedy import from the U S of A, Modern Family.

Tuesday 20 October

In-car entertainment to/from work: Sergeant – Sergeant (Shy Recordings 2009)

I spent the evening finishing off the questions, audio rounds and picture rounds for next week’s quiz night. I host it, with the Goody Lady Wife taking on the role of my glamorous assistant, Quizelda. She can’t take part because the quiz is organised by her employer’s social committee and it wouldn’t look right if her team won. Technically it’s a “corporate” and I get paid for it. I’ve done small quizzes for nothing previously but I do put a lot of effort into this one every year so I don’t feel bad about taking money for it. I print off all the answer sheets and score sheets too and give them to the teams in a wee pack. We give each team a bag of sweeties too. I start preparing it a few months in advance and many questions are written and jettisoned along the way. Being an attentive audience, who are only really there for the quiz, it tends to go at a fair pace so this year I’ve added more questions and an extra audio round. Buy one quiz, get 20% extra free!

I always get nervous about it until it gets under way and then I settle into it. I don’t really write a script as such as I feel it can come across as a bit lame if I “try and be funny”, especially when it’s not natural for me. Okay, I can be funny but I prefer to bounce off someone else and be more spontaneous.

Wednesday 21 October

“Music Like A Vitamin”

The doors were opening at 6.30 with, we had heard, things kicking off at 7. It wasn’t a lot of time to get to my “outlaws”, get fed and watered, change and get back into town, via public transport, through the multiple road works littering the capital.

A mid-afternoon e-mail to the HMV Picturehouse Box Office got a quick response (Dunfermline Alhambra take note) and I was surprised and rather glad to hear that Attic Lights would kick-off proceedings at 7.30 pm, followed by “Jonny” (Norman Blake, Euros Childs, Dave McGowan and Stuart Kidd), Idlewild’s Rod Jones and headliners Frightened Rabbit.

The two acts I really wanted to see were on first and I wasn’t sure we’d stay for the others but we stayed and were glad we did. Mrs Cat hadn’t heard much by Attic Lights and was suitably impressed by their harmonic rock. Having seen them several times in the last 18 months I already knew how brilliant (and sadly underrated) they are.

Attic Lights: Never Get Sick of the Sea, Dirty Thirst, Bad Day, God, ? (new song),
Stay Before You Leave, Late Night Sunshine, Man On Fire, Bring You Down

I’d seen Norman Blake and Euros Childs play together at Celtic Connections at the start of the year (on the same bill as Attic Lights) and I was amazed by their modern take on baroque folk pop. This time round Dave McGowan joined them on bass (a regular go-to guy for Teenage Fanclub, a Fifth Fanny if you like) and drummer Stuart Kidd. The quartet has completed an album, under the pseudonym Jonny, and it’s due out next year. On the basis of the tracks we heard it should be an essential purchase. The cartoon “Do The Cave Dance” took on an almost Spinal Tap-esque quality (all it needed was Stonehenge) as the expanded band gave the track went off on a psychedelic path. In introducing the track Norman suggested rather playfully that it had been specially written for Showaddywaddy until they realised they’d split up.

Jonny: Waiting Around For You, Candyfloss,? (new song), Which Is Which, Baby Lee, English Lady, Do The Cave Dance, Back To The Country

Being Rod Jones’ first gig neither he nor the crowd knew what to expect. He needn’t have worried as he went down well. My companions and I were, however, somewhat distracted by the female vocalist who accompanied him She seemed to be either, (a) dressed for backing Matt Bianco, (b) enjoying a game of pocket billiards, (c) bored by it all and (d) all of the above. Rod finished with a cover of John Martyn’s “Over The Hill”.

Maybe I’m just getting old and not as in touch with what “the kids” are listening to as I should be but I’d only heard one or two tracks by Frightened Rabbit previously and didn’t really know what to expect. We retired to the cushioned benches of the balcony (a nice change from rigid seats) to watch them strut their stuff. My initial impressions were of an early Cure, featuring the Joy Division drumming of Stephen Morris, but they grew on me and it’ll be interesting to see how their sound evolves. The kids in the stalls were certainly going wild for them.

Frightened Rabbit returned for an encore of “I Feel Better” before being joined on stage, Live Aid-style, by assorted members of Attic Lights and some of the event staff for rousing, if somewhat shambolic, covers of “Proud Mary”, “Teenage Kicks” and “Lust for Life”. I half expected Phil Collins and Bono to join them.

The bands had given their time and services for free and the £5 admission price was possibly the bargain of the century. The two pints of lager for £7.20 was most certainly not a bargain but that was the only complaint of a wonderful evening for a wonderful cause. I have to say I also liked the venue, with its unobtrusive security staff, comfy balcony benches and no booking fee policy for personal callers.

Thursday 22 October

Staying at my in-laws means I can take a short-ish bracing walk to work. Despite only having three pints last night (normally I drive to gigs on my own with only full fat Coke for sustenance), I’m rather tired today. The daily gym routine doesn’t help and any thoughts of attending the Jackie Leven gig in Kirkcaldy are soon forgotten.

I had hoped to nip to Kirkcaldy after the Good Lady Wife returns form her knitting group (no, seriously) but I just didn’t have the energy. He’s playing Glasgow on Saturday (hate the M8), Kilbarchan on Tuesday (where?), Inverness (too far on a school night), Comrie on Friday (hosting a quiz night) and Stirling next Saturday. The latter is a possibility. Since I learned to drive (two years ago now) I’ve been to gigs in Dundee, Perth and Darvel but never Stirling. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Stirling apart from witnessing a football match. To say, “witness” is a bit of an exaggeration as we were stood behind the goals and such was the blanket of fog on Stirling Albion’s ground that we couldn’t see past the halfway line! Luckily Jackie is one of those artists who doesn’t so much tour as constantly gig and even if I miss the Stirling gig he’ll back soon enough.

Friday 23 October

In-car entertainment to/from work: John Barry – Themeology

I’m still tired this morning but it’s Friday so I can console myself with a lie-in tomorrow. Okay, that’s maybe wishful thinking but hope springs eternal. With the Flickster back at school on Monday I hope I can get back into some semblance of a routine before Christmas and get back to my book.

Having written 25,000 words (albeit as extended notes), I’m desperate to find the time to get back to it. Lord knows where I’ll find it. Maybe I should just console myself with 45 minutes here, an hour there and just get on with it, albeit bit by tiny bit. Why is it that as soon as I stop taking CDs to the gym it gets quieter? Some days when I took my own music it was like Piccadilly Circus. Today I was on my Jack Jones with only Forth One’s Grant Stott for company. I don’t mind Grant but it would’ve been nice to blast a bit of Sergeant or even John Barry! I’m nothing if not eclectic. I think gym music should be about pleasure and not beats per minute.

Saturday 24 October

I drove to my mate Dave’s. We drank coffee, watched the football scores coming in, listened to the radio, played some Wii and quizzed each other from the Guinness Book of Hit Singles. It made for an enjoyable, relaxing few hours. I love “The Thick of It”! I was pleased to see it promoted to BBC2 rather than hidden away on BBC4 although the 10.10pm showing illustrates the strength of the “industrial” language used. It’s not for the faint-hearted.

Sunday 25 October

Today’s radio show was my Hallowe’en special. I figure it was better doing it six days early rather than 1 day late. It was an enjoyable show - a virtual repeat of last year’s - although once again I made another small cock-up. One of these days I’ll do a seamless show. Just you wait and see.

Monday 26 October

Wrote a small review of Sergeant’s debut album for the Jocknroll blog. It’ll certainly be one of my albums of the year come the time people start making lists of their albums/records/TV shows of the year, which is any time now.

Things have calmed down on the drive to and from work and while I’m still swearing like a trooper in the car at some of the imbeciles who’ve been allowed to grace out roads I’m less inclined to ‘out’ them on Twitter under the #baddriver tag. Had the gym to myself today. I’ve upped the Shoulder Press by 1 weight (4 to 5) and I’ve replaced “the plank” with some sit-ups for a few weeks just to see what difference they make.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 25 October 2009

2009-10-25T12:26:00.001Z

Here's the playlist for tonight's Hallowe'en edition of "Where The Action Is".

R Dean Taylor - There's a Ghost In My House (Tamla Motown 1974)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Artistics - Nothing But Heartaches (Keep Haunting Me) (Brunswick 1967)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising (Liberty 1969)
Virgil Holmes - Ghost Train (Atlantic 1961)
The Haunted - 1-2-5 (Quality 1966)
The Pathfinders - Pumpkin Lantern (Unreleased 1968)
The Kac-ties - Mr Were-Wolf (Shelley 1962)
October Country - My Girlfriend Is A Witch (Epic 1968) (Connect 3)
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - I'm Your Witchdoctor (Immediate 1965) (Connect 3)
The Rattles - The Witch (Decca 1970) (Connect 3)
The Verdicts - Mummy's Ball (East Coast 1961)
Jim Stafford - Spiders and Snakes (MGM 1974)
Sounds Incorporated - Order of the Keys (Decca 1963) (Birthday: 25/10/39 Barrie Cameron, keyboards/saxophone)
Round Robin - I'm The Wolfman (Domain 1965)
John Leyton - Voodoo Woman (HMV 1961)
Christine Pilzer - Dracula (Label Unknown 1966) (Foreign Language)
The Fiends - Theme from The Addams Family (Crescendo 1964)
Chris Williams & The Monsters - The Monster (Columbia 1959) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Classics IV - Spooky (Liberty 1968)
The Swinging Phillies - Frankenstein's Party (Deluxe 1958)
Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft (Capitol 1958)
Heinz & The Wild Boys - Big Fat Spider (Columbia 1965)
Johnny Cash - Ghost Riders In the Sky (Columbia 1979)
The Turtles - Grim Reaper of Love (White Whale 1966)
The Spooks - Sally Machine (Egomania 1990) (Under The Influence)
The Nu-Trends - Spooksville (Lawn 1963)
Redbone - Witch Queen of New Orleans (Epic 1971)
Jackie Morningstar - Rockin' in The Graveyard (Sandy 1959)
The Crystals - Frankenstein Twist (Philles)
The 'N Betweens - Evil Witch Man (Columbia 1966)
Billy Doggett - Monster Party (King 1959) (Connect 3)
Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt Kickers - Monster Mash (London/Carpax 1962) (Connect 3)
Bo Diddley - Bo Meets The Monster (Checker 1958) (Connect 3)
Alma Cogan - Snakes and Snails (Columbia 1965)
Bobby Please & The Pleasers - The Monster (Jamie 1959)
The Zombies - Care of Cell 44 (CBS 1968) (Two of a Kind)
The Zombies - Tme of the Season (Date 1969) (Two of a Kind)
Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper (Columbia 1976)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

This year's Hallowe'en special is pretty much the same as last year's. If you have any suggestions for tracks for next year's show then by all means let me know.

Next week's show will be a normal show and we return to the A to Z of The Beach Boys with the letter F, including the song that was the first dance at my wedding.

Good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkclady VRN 1287 AM Sunday 18 October 2009

2009-10-18T12:36:00.003+01:00

Here's the playlist for tonight's edition of "Where The Action Is".

Bobby Parker - Watch Your Step (V-Tone 1961)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
The Girls - Chico's Girl (Capitol 1966)
The Rev-lons - Boy Trouble (Garpax 1962)
Elvis Presley - (Marie's the Name of) His Latest Flame (RCA 1961)
Glenda Collins - Find Another Fool (Decca 1961)
The Hollies - You Know He Did (Parlophone 1965)
Mary Saenz - Would She Do That For You (Big Ben 1964)
The Carrolls - The Folk I Love (Polydor 1966) (Connect 3)
Tommy Roe - The Folk Singer (HMV 1963) (Connect 3)
Lulu - My Ain Folk (EMI 1969) (Connect 3)
The Ace of Cups - Music (Unreleased/Year Unknown)
Sandi Shore - I'll Know Better (Next Time) (Gaiety 1966)
Mama Cass - Make Your Own Kind of Music (Dunhill 1969) (Birthday: 18/10/40 Cynthia Weil, Songwriter)
The Monkees - Love Is Only Sleeping (Colgems 1967)
Timi Yuro - That's Right, Walk On By (Liberty 1962)
Severine - Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue (Philips 1971) (Foreign Language)
The Fashionettes - Losin' Control (Unreleased, 1963/1964)
The Flee-Rekkers - Sunburst (Piccadilly 1962) (Half-Time Instrumental)
John Leyton - Son This Is She (HMV 1961)
Scott Walker - Angelica (Philips 1967)
The Beach Boys - Endless Harmony (Capitol 1980) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - E)
The Beach Boys - Everyone's in Love With You (Brother 1967) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - E)
Beatrice Kay - Boy You Better Watch It Girl (Unreleased/Year Unknown)
John Holt - Ali Baba (Trojan 1969)
Sergeant - Sunshine (Shy Recordings 2009) (Under The Influence)
The Surfer Girls - One Boy Tells Another (Columbia 1964)
The Cinderellas - Baby Baby (I Still Love You) (Dimension 1964)
Doris Webb - He's The Most (Unreleased 1963)
Little Eva - The Trouble With Boys (Dimension 1965) (Connect 3)
The Music Explosion - Little Bit O' Soul (Laurie 1967) (Connect 3)
Ways and Means - Make The Radio a Little Louder (Pye 1967) (Connect 3)
Fanny - Charity Ball (Second Version) (Reprise 1971)
Mary Saxton - Big City Guy (Unreleased/Year Unknown)
Doris Day - Oo-Wee Baby (Unreleased 1964) (Two of a Kind)
Doris Day - Let The Little Girl Limbo (Unreleased 1963) (Two of a Kind)
Gladys Knight & The Pips - Just Walk In My Shoes (Motown 1967)
The Animals - We Gotta Get Out of This Place (Columbia 1965)
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Smell of Incense (Reprise 1967)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Next week's show is my Hallowe'en special with plenty of spooky tunes.

If you'd like to suggest a topic for one or both of the Connect 3 features or an artist for the Two of a Kind, Foreign Language, Half-Time Instrumental or Under the Influence features then feel free.

Remember, if you're ever involved in a non-fatal accident in the Kirkcaldy area, do tune in on 1287AM or Channel 3 on the hospital headsets to "Where The Action Is", a blend of mod, soul, Motown, girl groups/singers and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s.

Feel free to leave a comment or indeed a request or two. I can't promise to play it immediately - the shows are usually done live but prepared two or three weeks in advance - but I'll endeavour to play them within a month.

The Cat
=^..^=

Good Crieff, There's Been a Murder

2009-10-17T19:42:00.006+01:00

Saturday 10 October 2009

Recently I noticed that the sticker on the front of our Vauxhall had split and looked a bit of a mess and I thought it would be easy enough to get a replacement. Boy, was I wrong. I e-mailed Vauxhall Customer Care and a Customer Care Manager called me to say I could get in touch with my local Vauxhall dealer and get one there. Due to work and other commitments I'd been unable to get in touch with said dealer and as a result I've been pestered by phone calls from Vauxhall Customer Service ever since. (I did attempt to e-mail the local dealer but their e-mail bounced back!) Vauxhall e-mailed me to say they hadn't been able to get in touch with me so I replied to suggest that they could just send me a sticker through the post. It seems that that is too straightforward and sensible. Customer Care called me yet again to say they couldn't send me a sticker (no reason given) and that I should contact my local dealer who would supply one "for a fee". "How much?", I enquired. "I don't know", came the unhelpful response.

I received an application for the quiz show "Pointless", which I'm glad has been re-commissioned. The rather excellent first series was essential viewing in our house, albeit on fast forward having been Sky Plussed. The combination of Alexander Armstrong and trusty statto sidekick cum beatnik Richard Osman works well and bring a certain gravitas to a quiz that would flounder under the stewardship of a lesser presenting team.

Sunday 11 October 2009

Another day preparing Flick's playroom before I head off to do my radio show, which features Beatles covers and Beatles novelty records as well as a track by John (the show is to "celebrate" his birthday on the 9th) himself.

Monday 12 October 2009

It's an early start and off to Crieff Hydro we go. K and I know we need this pampering break while Felicity just wants to see the pony! A slight detour on the outskirts of Crieff delayed our arrival but it wasn't long before we unpacked and headed straight for the pool. There's the free pool, with jacuzzi, steam room and sauna, and the altogether more peaceful adults-only facility, called the Victorian Spa, for a reasonable £10 a day. The latter will be tomorrow's treat.

After an uninspiring lunch at The Hub, we put a couple of entries in for the Monday lunchtime Crossword Challenge, one in K's name and one in Flick's, and were delighted to see Kirsty's name posted up on the noticeboard later on as that day's winner! Okay, so it wasn't exactly The Times crossword but a win's a win! What the Hydro really needs in the evening is a quiz night and I know just the man to host it.

Today I spot two women from the world of Scottish sport enjoying the delights of the Hydro, one a gold-medal winning World Champion athlete and the other an ex-athlete turned BBC Scotland sports presenter. I don't speak to them but, hey, they didn't recognise me either!

After a spot of outdoor table tennis and some Hide and Seek with Flick in the Victorian Garden (we got her to pose on top of an empty plinth as Usian Bolt - who needs Anthony Gormley?), we head to the Ballroom for some Ceilidh dance lessons. This is primarily for Flick's benefit in anticipation of our attendance at that evening's Jockanese hoe-down but she soon loses interest. For all my recently gained fitness I'm absolutely knackered by the end of it and suffering with shin splints. With Flick already tiring following the first-day holiday excitement I know we won't make the evening ceilidh. I'm right.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Felicity is booked into Big Country, the Crieff Hydro kids club, to allow us some peace and quiet to do our own thang and for Flick to do likewise. She's probably glad to get rid of us, what with us cramping her 5-year old style.

I head off to the gym while Kirsty heads off to the pool for a paddle and a steam. After a spot of cycling, rowing and walking we head off to the Beauty Salon; Kirsty for the Ultimate Aromatic Facial Treatment and I went for the Full Body Massage. Surprisingly, K's treatment takes longer! A Latvian lady called Monica does my massage and it's amazing. I try and make polite conversation about Latvian Eurovision entries (she'd heard of Brainstorm but not FLY) and famous Latvians (no, me neither) but I soon relaxed into an amazing experience and one I can't recommend highly enough. I'm never sure if the hole on the bed is for putting your head into or for drooling through.

After an alfresco lunch at The Hub (better than yesterday's offering), Flick returns to Big Country and K and I head to the putting green for part 2 of the Johnno Olympics. Having won a tight game of "wiff waff" yesterday (23-21), I was looking to complete the double on the leaf and twig-strewn hilly 18 holes of the putting green. After sprinting out to a three hole lead after three holes K knocks in some cracking putts and the pressure is on me at the turn. K gets back to level but with form temporary and class permanent I hold her off to win 2 & 1. Get in there!

I head for a solitary 45 minutes in the snooker room while K heads off to do some quality knitting into a room called Loggia. With Crieff Hydro looking like an art deco building straight out of an episode of Poirot we've re-christened Loggia as The Murder Room. We collect Flick and head off for a pre-dinner swim.

Wednesday 14 October 2009

After brekkie flick heads off to her last morning of Big Country while Mummy and Daddy luxuriate in the child-free Victorian Spa. While there I share a jacuzzi with a well-known BBC Scotland presenter. At least she's cheerier than the World Championship gold medal winning athlete we've also spotted elsewhere in the Hydro. Talk about a face like a bulldog licking piss off a nettle...

After lunch in the Winter Room, adjacent to the Murder Room, it's off to the stables for Flick's pre-booked pony ride. Flick has talked of nothing else and as sure as eggs are eggs, as soon as she sees Polly the pony she cowers behind her mother and doesn't want to go anywhere near the most docile, timid animal you could ever meet. Eventually she is lifted on to Polly and taken for a circuit of the paddock, which I catch on my Flip Ultra for posterity. No-one is booked after Flick so she goes round again. This time she is persuaded to rub Polly's nose, albeit with a couple of gentle fingers. Once again the idea of a pony ride was a more exciting proposition that the actual event. No doubt, though, she'll be raving about it when she gets back to school!

After the pony ride we take the short walk into the one-horse town of Crieff. We'd heard there was a really good toy shop there and sure enough we found it easily. Flick's holiday money was spent on more Playmobil (a show jumping set and a Santa) before we took the long walk back. It's only a 5-minute to the town from the Hydro but then you realise that's because it's all downhill. It's about 15 minutes on the way back, especially with a weary child in tow.

I pop into the gym before joining the girls in the pool. Then it's off to the Brasserie for dinner.

Again we don't make the ceilidh but console ourselves with sweeties and Johnny Depp in the not-bad remake of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" on ITV.

Thursday 15 October 2009

We stuff our faces at breakfast, fill the car and head to the busy pool for one last swim. I hit the gym first and see the gold medallist and her husband on the cross-trainer and treadmill respectively. I stick to the bike and rowing machine as I don't want to show them up.

After the rest and relaxation of Crieff it's back to the "delights" of Flick's playroom. Where is Changing Rooms when you need it? The day is spent building Trofast furniture from IKEA and weeding out a lot of rubbish - broken toys, old magazines etc. It takes the rest of the day.

Friday 16 October 2009

It's a repeat of yesterday but we finally seem to be making some headway and Flick is finally allowed in to play late afternoon. There's still some de-cluttering to do but the bulk of it has been done. I'll be glad to get back to work for a rest.

I finish putting together Sunday's radio show and Flick beats me and K at Disney Trivia Pursuit.

Saturday 17 October 2009

I don't really know what to be at today. I've a mountain of things to do and I just don't know where to start. I end up doing some pretty aimless pottering until tea and then listen to Collins and Herring's Podcast 85 while the girls watch Strictly Dumb Prancing. I also listen to Frankie Boyle's free podcast during which he tries out stuff for Mock the Week. It's interesting to hear the stuff that doesn't work as well as the stuff that makes it on to the show.

Watch last night's A Question of Sport and then Match of the Day, which includes Sunderland's bizarre goal, which goes in off a beach ball.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 11 October 2009

2009-10-11T13:17:00.002+01:00

Here's the playlist for tonight's Beatles edition of "Where The Action Is", featuring covers and novelty Beatles records, including a couple of tracks by the band themselves and one by birthday boy John Lennon.

The Beatles - Birthday (Parlophone 1968)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
The Dowlands - All My Loving (Oriole 1963)
Nancy Sinatra - Day Tripper (Reprise 1966)
Sonny Curtis - A Beatle I Want To Be (Colpix 1964)
Madeline Bell - You Won't See Me (Philips 1966)
The Fondettes - The Beatles Are In Town (Arhoolie 1964)
The Supremes - A Hard Day's Night (Motown 1964)
Dori Peyton - Ringo Boy (Margo/Ottie Year Unknown) (Connect 3)
The Bon Bons - What's Wrong With Ringo (Coral 1964) (Connect 3)
Bonnie Jo Mason - Ringo I Love You (Annette 1964) (Connect 3)
R Dean Taylor - Two of Us (Motown 1971)
The Twiliters - My Beatle Haircut (Label Unknown 1964)
John Lennon - Woman (Geffen 1981) (Birthday: 9/10/40)
The Four Preps - A Letter To The Beatles (Capitol 1964)
Amen Corner - Get Back (Immediate 1969)
The Beatles - Kimm, Gib Mir Deine Hand (I Wanna Hold Your Hand) (EMI 1964) (Foreign Language)
The Vernons Girls - We Love The Beatles (Label Unknown 1963)
The Beatles - Flying (Parlophone 1967) (Half-Time Instrumental)
The Temptations - Hey Jude (Motown 1969)
Dick Lord - Like Ringo (Label Unknown 1964)
Stevie Wonder - We Can Work It Out (Motown 1970)
Nilsson - You Can't Do That (RCA Victor 1967)
Joe Cocker - I'll Cry Instead (Decca 1964)
Bill Clifton - Beatle Crazy (Decca 1963)
The Las - There She Goes (Go! Discs 1988)) (Under The Influence)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - And I Love Her (Motown 1970)
Mamas and the Papas - I Call Your Name (Dunhill 1966)
The Bulldogs - John, Paul, George and Ringo (Mercury 1964)
Vikki Carr - Nowhere Man (Liberty 1966) (Connect 3)
Link Wray & The Linkmen - Please Please Me (Take 1) (Unreleased) (Connect 3)
The Frugal Sound - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Pye 1966) (Connect 3)
The Beatle-ettes - Only Seventeen (EMI 1964)
Badfinger - Come and Get It (Apple 1969)
The Four Tops - Eleanor Rigby (Motown 1969) (Two of a Kind)
The Four Tops - Fool On The Hill (Motown 1969) (Two of a Kind)
Rainbo - John You Went Too Far This Time (Tomorrow's Production 1968)
The Beatles - I Feel Fine (Parlophone 1964)
The Beatles - Good Night (Apple 1968)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

If you'd like to suggest a topic for one or both of the Connect 3 features or an artist for the Two of a Kind, Foreign Language, Half-Time Instrumental or Under the Influence features then feel free.

Remember, if you're ever involved in a non-fatal accident in the Kirkcaldy area, do tune in on 1287AM or Channel 3 on the hospital headsets to "Where The Action Is", a blend of mod, soul, Motown, girl groups/singers and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s.

Feel free to leave a comment or indeed a request or two. I can't promise to play it immediately - the shows are usually done live but prepared two or three weeks in advance - but I'll endeavour to play them within a month.

The Cat
=^..^=

Knicker Conspiracy

2009-10-07T18:13:00.001+01:00

Saturday 3 October 2009

Inexplicably, I wake up at 6am. Maybe my Monday to Friday 5am body clock is taking effect and my weekend lie-ins are no more.

I tune into Radio Scotland’s “Out of Doors”, which I haven’t heard for ages. I’m not really the outdoorsy, Munro-climbing, tree-hugging, shark-fishing type but this programme is really good and the credit must go to presenters Mark Stephen and Euan McIlwraith who are very funny indeed. After a quick shower it’s time for Brian Matthews and “Sound of the Sixties” on Radio 2. I normally miss the start due to a thing called sleep. Today I’m ready for him.

I get quite excited when Brian previews the week’s Three-In-A-Row selection from a listener. It’s The Searchers and he says he’s going to play two from them and one from ex-member Tony Jackson. Now, many months ago I sent in a Three-in-a-Row request for The Searchers (I think it might have been for “Popcorn Double Feature”), The Tony Jackson’s Group cover of “Fortune Teller” and “Aggravation” by another ex-member Chris Curtis. I rush around getting a blank tape and start taping the programme in anticipation of another radio appearance/name check. My excitement is brought down to earth with a crashing bump when the listener in question isn’t me but a lady from North Berwick! I’m tempted to turn off the show, in a fit of pique, but there isn’t long to go so I don’t bother. I reason he must get hundred of letters every week and I was just unlucky. I resort to plan B and to ensure he and his producer have plenty of notice I request three Christmas tracks for any December show, with another as a reserve. I’ve asked for Jackie DeShannon’s “Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown”, which features in the James Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, “Mr Scrooge” by Coventry band The Orchids and “Christmas Calling” by Valerie Masters, a Joe Meek production. My stand-by is Marvin Gaye’s “Purple Snowflakes”. Fingers crossed.

After a quick shower, it’s on with the work. Every week on my radio show I play a track by an artist whose birthday falls on the day of my show. 11 October is one of the few dates where I don’t know of a musician born on that day. I won’t play just anyone; it has to be someone who fits into the mod/soul/alternative 60s genre. I decide instead to celebrate John Lennon’s birthday (born 9th October 1940) by having a Beatles tribute show. While it’ll contain a couple of Beatles tracks and a John Lennon solo effort for the “Birthday” feature, it’ll mostly be Beatles covers and tribute records, of which there are many. With only the script to do, that’s another show in the can.

The plan today was to continue/re-start writing my book but the study is such a tip I decide to give it a good clear out instead. A tidy mind and all that. I have a break, a spot of lunch and I watch “The Thick of It”.

After some more pottering I stop for prawns with basmati rice for tea, accompanied by “The Thick of It – Rise of the Nutters”, which we’ve kept on Sky+ because we never tire of watching it. I head back to the study. Study makes it sound like it’s a room just off the East Wing, beside the servants quarters, but it’s really just the smallest of the bedrooms decorated with IKEA shelving full of books, CDs and LPs. It’s my little home within a home.

A couple of hours later there’s still nothing on the telly so I see what else I’ve meaning to watch for months on Sky+. There is, thankfully, and I watched the beautiful and brilliant “Control”.

Sunday 4 October 2009

Another early rise, this time at 8am. I plump for fried eggs on toast and a coffee to kick start my day.

Normally I avoid the Rangers v Celtic match but I decide to chill for a while. The game is a decent one with all you would expect from such an encounter. It’s just all the Weedja Meedja saturation coverage and hype that I can’t stand. It’s one of the reasons I stopped going to football and stopped reading newspapers. There’s a world outside of Glasgow and there’s a football world outside the Old Firm.

I put up my radio show set list on the Jocknroll blog, The World of Misery Guts blog and my Facebook page and, after a brief hello and goodbye when the girls return from their travels, I head off up the A92.

Another 'okay' show and it’s back home for my microwaved tea and to hear the highlight of Flick’s weekend, which is learning a new song containing the word “knickers”!! It tickled me as well.

The new series of “House” starts tonight. I love House; he’s the anti-hero who says what he likes and doesn’t give a damn. This show has been good at keeping things fresh and this series the setting has moved to a psychiatric hospital that House has reluctantly checked himself into. The moment he gets there he’s making plans to get out.

P.S Why is it that when I type a document on Word and then cut and paste it into Blogger I have to go through the laborious task of removing all the Html and adding new Html before I can publish it? Answers on a postcard to Me, 14 Me Street, Meville, Meland ME1

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 4 October 2009

2009-10-04T14:29:00.003+01:00

Here's the playlist for tonight's edition of "Where The Action Is".

The Settlers - Major To Minor (Pye 1967)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
The Small Faces - (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me (Immediate 1976)
Scott Walker - Jackie (Philips 1967)
Jenny Wren - Chasing My Dream All Over Town (Fontana 1964)
Peanut - Home of the Brave (Pye 1965)
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Nowhere To Run (Gordy 1965)
Pattie Lane - Paper Dreams (Polydor 1968)
The Merry-Go-Round - A Clown's No Good (A&M 1967) (Connect 3)
Jackie Lee - Lonely Clown (Columbia 1965) (Connect 3)
The Scots of St. James - Eiderdown Clown (Spot 1967) (Connect 3)
Lesley Dawson - Run For Shelter (Mercury 1967)
Arthur Alexander - Where Have You Been (London 1962)
Big Star - Daisy Glaze (Ardent 1974) (Birthday: 4/10/52 Jody Stephens, Drummer)
The Searchers - Popcorn Double Feature (Pye 1967)
Linda Kendrick - When Your Love Is Warm (Polydor 1966)
Petula Clark - Entre Nous Il Est Fou (She's A Fool) (Vogue 1963) (Foreign Language)
The Soul Survivors - Look At Me (Dot 1965)
Jimmy Smith - The Cat (Verve 1964) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Lesley Duncan - See That Guy (Mercury 1965)
The Wedgewoods - Summer Love (Pye 1965)
The Beach Boys - Darlin' (Capitol 1968) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - D)
Dennis Wilson - River Song (Caribou 1977) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - D)
Diane Lancaster - How I Need Him (Polydor 1966)
Boyce and Hart - Out and About (A&M 1967)
The BMX Bandits - Come Clean (Vinyl Japan 1991) (Under The Influence)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying (Motown 1966)
Val McKenna - Now That You've Made Up Your Mind (Piccadilly 1965)
Tracy Rogers - Baby (Polydor 1966)
Dee King - Sally Go Round the Roses (Pye 1966) (Connect 3)
Michelle - Sally Fool (Polydor 1966) (Connect 3)
The Utopias - Sally Bad (Fortune 1965) (Connect 3)
Bobby Hebb - Love Love Love (Philips 1967)
The Bystanders - Make Up Your Mind (Pye 1967)
Kiki Dee - Miracles (Fontana 1964) (Two of a Kind)
Kiki Dee - Put A Little Love In Your Heart (Tamla Motown 1970) (Two of a Kind)
The Marvelettes - I'll Keep Holding On (Tamla Motown 1965)
Lori Balmer - Four Faces West (Polydor 1968)
The Honeys - Goodnight My Love (Capitol 1969)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

If you'd like to suggest a topic for one or both of the Connect 3 features or an artist for the Two of a Kind, Foreign Language, Half-Time Instrumental or Under the Influence features then feel free.

Remember, if you're ever involved in a non-fatal accident in the Kirkcaldy area, do tune in on 1287AM or Channel 3 on the hospital headsets to "Where The Action Is", a blend of mod, soul, Motown, girl groups/singers and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s.

Feel free to leave a comment or indeed a request or two. I can't promise to play it immediately - the shows are usually done live but prepared two or three weeks in advance - but I'll endeavour to play them within a month.

The Cat
=^..^=

I Never Want An Easy Life...

2009-10-02T18:47:00.004+01:00

Monday 28 September 2009

Today’s in-car entertainment: The Wonder Stuff – If The Beatles Had Read Hunter…The Singles.

One of my local community police officers has emailed me about my recent problems with ‘death wish’ children and local boyracers. He’s going to do a “speed survey” in my street and find out what the local schools are doing to promote road safety. Knowing my luck the boy/man racers will be on holiday and I’ll be told there isn’t a problem. My “quiet” time at the gym (11-12) is now busier than Piccadilly Circus. But I was first in so, whether they liked it or not, it was The Charlatans again. I should add the compilation of a “Gym CD” to my ever-expanding “To Do” list. On the way into the gym I was stopped by another gym regular who asked me if I was going to be using the treadmill. I said, no, it’s a weights day for me. “Oh, it’s just if you were I would go for a run outside instead”. I wander into the gym utterly confused because there are two treadmills so it wouldn’t really matter if I were on one because he could use the other one. Maybe, as I mentioned previously, he doesn’t like me walking on one treadmill while he’s running alongside on the other. Strange.

Tuesday 29 September 2009

No major nutters on the road today, well no more than usual. It only takes 30 minutes to get home but boy does it feel longer.

Once again my gym routine was curtailed. Tuesdays and Thursdays are cardio day and the routine is cycle, treadmill and rowing machine, although not always in that order. However, by the time I had done my Bradley Wiggins and Matthew Pinsent bit both the treadmills were being used, and by people who tend to spend a good half hour on them. That’s two consecutive cardio routines I’ve had to curtail.

The recycling is dropped off and the car is filled up before I head home and shower. I picked my daughter up from the after-school kids club only to find she has misplaced her blue reading bag, which contains her homework. It isn’t to be found at the club and a quick call to the school proves fruitless. Our only hope is that she’s left it on the minibus that picks her up from school. I’m not happy. Sure kids lose stuff but you can hardly miss it, it’s a flat A3 blue bag. I try and drum into her the need to look after her stuff. The problem is that she also has a lunch bag and a backpack. Maybe I’ll need to amalgamate the two to minimise the risk of future losses.

Watched Charlie Brooker’s new show “Gameswipe” on BBC4, which I think is a one-off. It was an enjoyable, expletive-filled potted history of gaming. Charlie, like Dr Gregory House, is one of those people who says all the things you want to say but don’t for fear of offending people. I’m not a gamer as such but I do enjoy sports games, especially on the Wii, although Charlie was a bit scathing about this particular type of gaming entertainment.

Wednesday 30 September 2009

Today’s in-car entertainment: Mull Historical Society – Loss

Being in at work before 6.30 am (for a 7 o’clock start) I have time for a bowl of porridge (with some honey), a cup of coffee (the first one of the day always seems “flat” no matter how long I run the cold tap) and a read of the Metro.

One story caught my eye this morning and that was the case of the mother and daughter who killed themselves after being tormented, persecuted and abused by a local gang. One of the gang members, who was named at the inquest, is complaining of being “harassed” and bemoaning that “people are threatening to kill my uncle and me”. “We don’t know who they are, they just rung up and threatened us – this is terrible”. Terrible? Terrible! What a cheek. I don’t believe in “an eye for an eye” but maybe now he’ll get the tiniest sense of how that poor family felt. Isn’t irony a wonderful thing?

I believe that Royal Mail is looking to put stamps up by 3p. They’re going to charge more for a product that less and less people are using in a bid to curb losses. Good luck with that. So The Sun is changing alliance from Labour to the Tories. Not being a reader of that particular publication it doesn’t particularly bother me and won’t affect how I vote but what gets me is how political commentators are saying that The Sun is known for backing political winners. This makes me laugh because they’ve only swapped alliance when Labour are already well on the slide. While the Tories aren’t exactly a shoe-in for the next election, it doesn’t take a genius to see that they’ll probably be favourites. Anyone can back a winner under those circumstances. The Sun is nothing but a political gloryhunter. Next they’ll be backing the lions to beat the Christians.

There was only one other guy in the gym today and he unnerved me a bit because he resembled the leader of “The Sisters” from “The Shawshank Redemption”! I didn’t turn my back on him.

I had to explain to some colleagues today who Quincy (MD) was. I feel old.

I’ve decided, with Orange and Vodaphone about to sell the iPhone, now is a good time to get one. I’m trying to sweet talk the Good Lady Wife by tempting her with the knitting Apps. Wish me luck.

Thursday 1 October 2009

Today’s in-car entertainment: Mull Historical Society – Loss

A pinch and a punch for the first of the month.

Been having pains in my right elbow and I thought I had perhaps been overdoing it at the gym. Then i worked out it was causing by playing too much on the Wii, particularly Frisbee Golf!

Received an e-mailed mailout on behalf of The Charlatans advertising their three December gigs. Unfortunately, they say that they’re playing in “Dumbfermline”, instead of Dunfermline. I send an e-mail to the company who sent it out, informing them of their mistake and call them a “Dun-Ass”. Do you see what I’ve done there?

Felicity’s latest musical phase involves a love for any tracks with drums on them! She keeps asking me to “put that song on my CD”. Volume 2 currently features The Black Eye Peas, Inspiral Carpets and Arrow so far.

Friday 2 October 2009

Today’s in-car entertainment: The Manic Street Preachers - Forever Delayed

The girls are off to Guide camp this weekend so I’ll have the run of the house. Expect to find me sitting in my underwear, surrounded by TV remote controls and dirty cereal dishes!

Actually the plan is to kick-start my book-writing by doing some research and transcribing some programmes I have on DVD and video. Whether that’ll work out is another thing but I’ll give it a go.

Another project that’s been on the back burner is a scrapbook of all my newspaper cuttings, which sit in a box in the study, along with concert tickets and leaflets for events I’ve attended. I got The Scotsman regularly when the Recommends section was on a Wednesday but then it moved to a Saturday. Apparently I got a couple of mentions on the last day of Recommends, on 5 September, including for my Best Horse Song category. I’ve e-mailed The Scotsman to find out how much it would cost to get three back issues.

I get home to find Mr Amazon has been. There's one Various Artists compilation of mid-60s Hollywood girl bands called "Boytrouble - Carpax Girls" and The Ace of Cups' "It's Bad For You But Buy It!". These CDs came out in 2003/2004 and have been on my Amazon Wish List ever since. I've decided that no matter what I'll work my way up the Wish List from the bottom by getting a couple every payday. Having worked hard I like to have something to show for my efforts each month and CDs are as a good a purchase as any. I restrict myself to £100 pocket money per month so a couple of CDs won't break my bank. Also, by taking sandwiches to work I've stopped dipping into my own account. Brie and grape today, it's all good.

The girls have no gone, with granny in tow as a helper, and after a tea of chicken and lime and coriander rice I'm settled at the PC - "pottering" - with a nice wee Southern Comfort with lemonade and lime, with the England v Australia match on Sky downstairs. Who says men can't multi-task?

Update on Dumbfermline-gate, the girl at the company who sent out the e-mail is sending me a Special Deluxe edition of The Charlatans' "You Cross My Path" album by way of apology. It was more of an observation than a complaint but I'm not going to refuse it. I'm still not going to the gig though. My thoughts on Ticketbastard have been well-documented on this blog.

Right, where did I leave the Wii remote...?

It's A Full Life

2009-09-28T16:15:00.005+01:00

Friday 18 September 2009

One of my colleagues is retiring after 30 years service and we have a lunch for her. A small affair, we’re sad to see her go. Who’s going to send us our Friday quiz now? Actually, I’ve taken on that mantle.

Saturday 19 September 2009

The girls are out at ballet and then to Edinburgh for toy shopping and a surprise meeting with one of her Grannies. I have the house to myself so I put together the next two radio shows. It’ll be back to the usual mix of mod, soul, Motown and 60s alternative pop after tomorrow’s Northern Soul special.

I start to watch “Dial M for Murder”, which had been on the Sky+ box for a few weeks. I’m only halfway through it when the girls return and I abandon any hopes of concentrating on it. It’s the return of “Strictly Come Dancing”, which means I head off to the study with a bowl of Maltesers/M & Ms for some quality “pottering”.

Sunday 20 September 2009

One of these days I’ll do a whole radio show without a mistake, unfortunately it won’t be tonight. I turned up the speakers in the studio and enjoyed some quality Northern Soul tunes. Anyone got any lino and some talc?

Monday 21 September 2009

I get home from work early and watch the rest of “Dial M for Murder”. I knew he’d get found out. When I’m reincarnated I’m going to come back as a bounder/cad in the early 20th century. People believe anything they say, except clever detectives.

It’s our daughter’s first day with her new childminder. When I pick her up after school I see she has a massive bruise and scrape around her eye. In her excitement at showing her new childminder where she lines up on the playground, she tripped and fell. You can tell them until your blue in the face not to run but they just can’t resist it. They have so much energy and it’s hard for them to resist the natural urge to sprint everywhere. I wish I had it.

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Before starting work, I write a letter to the Dunfermline Press about the number of school children who I witness on a daily basis playing “Chicken” in the local roads. I’ve encountered two such children directly in the last fortnight.

Today’s Twitter #baddriver award went to not one but two individuals. I say individuals, I mean cocks. Following on from the lane-swapping, non-indicating, speeding knobhead in the crap-looking BMW (a 1-series I believe – yes, I had to look it up), I go to collect my daughter from her after-school club. Having sent off the letter to the Dunfermline Press this morning, yet another child decides to step out into the road without looking. It’s a good job that I was driving at 15 mph and paying attention because she certainly wasn’t. I pointed out to the child that she could’ve been killed and that even my daughter knows to look both ways and she’s only five. The girl just shrugged her shoulders and wandered off!

Shortly afterwards I pulled up in the right hand lane at a roundabout. A local taxi was in the left hand lane. When the opportunity came to go I pulled away, keeping to the right. However the taxi driver (West Fife Taxi Driver Number 62) decided he wanted both lanes and cut straight across me. I swear that drivers in Fife are the worst I’ve ever had the misfortune to share a road with. I resisted the temptation to phone Ace Central cabs and make a complaint because it would’ve made no difference. I wouldn’t have got an apology; such is their arrogance. Taxi drivers think the world owes them a living and are always bleating in the papers about a lack of ranks and are quick to criticise any new service they think might threaten their livelihood, such as the Yellow Taxibus. When it came to the Taxibus they certainly weren’t above scare mongering and lying to the Dunfermline Press. I really miss the service because if I want a night out in Edinburgh I have to take the car and not drink. Sure there’s a night bus (aka “The Vomit Comet”) but one unpleasant trip on that particular mode of transport was enough for me. Early on in our move to Fife, even before I learned to drive, I had stopped using West Fife taxis. Most of the cars stank of cigarettes, were driven by shabbily dressed slobs and had scant regard for the rules of the road and other road users. My wife asks me if it’s just me that “attracts” these idiots. Is it?

My anger at the non-caring schoolgirl and the stupid taxi driver soon turned to joy when I got home as my daughter had brought home her first Learning Log from school. Now I don’t know if in this new ‘non-failure/deferred success’ society we live in these days whether these comments are in every child’s Learning Log but I was still quite emotional reading “wonderful work – as usual”, “what a clever girl” and my favourite “she’s going to be a fantastic writer”. Of course, she wasn’t really aware of how pleased I was with her. I mean, I told her of course how proud I was but she was more concerned with colouring-in and her Playmobil.

Mummy too was dead chuffed when she read the Learning Log. After tea, at Flick’s suggestion, we got out a quiz book; one designed for 5 to 7 years old, and asked her loads of questions. She loved getting the questions right, of which the vast majority were. I can’t think where she gets her love of quizzes from.

I listen in to “Pirate Radio” on Radio 6 International. John Cavanagh has a great radio voice and one I’d kill for. “Pirate Radio” is a show broadcast live from The Arches in Glasgow during which John takes us on a journey of musical memories. I wish I could’ve seen it in the flesh, rather than just the audio-only version, but I couldn’t justify another midweek jaunt along the M8.

Is it just me or does Mark Knopfler’s “Border Reivers” single sound like Jackie Leven?

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Having heard most of Collins and Herring's Podcast #82 yesterday, I downloaded the latest one last night and tuned in to the first 25 minutes on the way to work. It was bizarre sitting in a car listening to a podcast that had been recorded in a car. Where will they think of next?

Unless you’re a professional, writing a book is by no means easy. Apart from the fact I have so little time to dedicate to my own attempt, I’m not happy with what I’ve written so far. The lack of time and quality of the work are frustrating me. Maybe I’m just being hard on myself, I’m my own worst critic. I’m hoping a forthcoming weekend, when I’ll have the house to myself, I’ll be able to ‘get my muse back’ and plough on with it. I know that someone like Andrew Collins or Stuart Maconie would write it so much better than me but I don’t want to get hung up on that. I need to find my own voice and I’ll probably have to work even harder than a pro to get it knocked into shape. So far I’ve written about 25,000 words but I consider them to be no more than extended notes. I need to get on a roll with it, just like my daily exercise routine. Initially I struggled to fit in the cardiovascular and resistance routines but now they’re part of my day. I need to do the same with the book.

I’ve e-mailed Western Division of Fife Constabulary with my concerns about road safety with regard to the behaviour of some local school children – the ones with the death wish – and the speeding in my own street, which supposedly has a limit of 20mph.

Thursday 24 September 2009

Today’s in-car entertainment is an Inspiral Carpets compilation. My god they made some great singles. Add in my current gym soundtrack of The Charlatans’ “Melting Pot” and it might as well be 1990.

I had stopped buying the Dunfermline Press (aka the DePress due to its parochial and lifeless content) but I’ve starting getting it while doing the weekly “big shop”. My letter about death wish pedestrian school children is in. Also in is an interesting piece about a local resident – one of the boy/man racers – who has been done for an offence involving a motorcycle. I laugh my head off because he drives like an idiot all over the local area. Sadly he doesn’t seem to have learned from it. He was the one who parked across the pavement last week. I hope he loses his licence.

After collecting Felicity we head off to Tesco. She’s my little helper as we work our way through the shopping list. Her reward is a Kinder egg, which she reminds about on every aisle.

K and I catch up on last week’s “House” and an episode of “Pointless”, our new favourite quiz show. Some of the contestants on this edition were thicker than a thick thing from thickland. “Name a country whose name is spelt with six letters”. The first contestant said “Africa” and another said “Chile”!! God give me strength.

Friday 25 September 2009

I switch the alarm off and head to the shower. After my ablutions I check in my myopic state the time on my wife’s clock. Is that a 4? Shit, I’ve got up too early and it’s not even 5am. I check my own clock and I hadn’t switched it off after all, I’d dreamt it! I figure that I’m awake now so I head off to work early and hit the gym. I even get the very first car parking space. It’s not even 6am and life is good.

I have the gym to myself and get a good sweat on. A ten-minute cycle is followed by three circuits of leg press, pull-downs, chest presses, shoulder presses, some free weights and “the plank”. When I finish I see that the rashes have returned. Now the ones on my forearms aren’t so bad but the insides of my legs are really blotchy. I’m either picking up something from the gym – maybe it needs a good clean – or I’m developing heat spots. I keep ruling out the latter because I’ve only been getting them in the last couple of weeks and I’ve been gym-bound for the last few months. Bizarre. Dr Gregory House would know what it was.

I finish Paolo Hewitt/Paul McGuigan’s book about Robin Friday, “The Greatest Footballer You’ve Never Seen”, which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. He was like a cross between Stan Bowles, George Best and Frank Worthington but only played in the lower leagues. I wonder if there’s any footage of him on YouTube.

Friday night is always one for short half hour/one hour programmes. We attempt a two-hour Miss Marple but have to give up after an hour and 20 minutes as we’re both nodding off. I can tell I’m tired when I can’t settle on the sofa. As soon as the nodding dog takes over we give up and go to bed. By the way, I do think that Julia McKenzie makes a much better Miss Marple than Geraldine McEwan. Julia plays it less like a nosy old woman.

Saturday 26 September 2009

The girls are out at ballet and, after a brief return for lunch, the hairdressers. I’ve prepared a big To Do list and the new energised me works his way through it. Upload phone photos to PC? Check. Prepare another radio show plus Beatles special? Check (not so much Beatles as covers and Beatles tribute/novelty records). Copy a couple of CDs for Gaz? Check. Prepare two audio rounds for forthcoming quiz night? Done. Order a couple of CDs from Amazon (because I NEED more CDs)? Check, two more girl-related compilations duly paid for. Purchase some more blank CDs? Done. Update Amazon Wish List for Christmas (I know, it’s almost upon us again)? Done. Order more printer cartridges? Wait until pay day.

I’m also starting to put some thought into my Hospital Radio Awards entry for this year. I’m only going to try for the Specialist Music category. The Best Male Presenter category requires a “hospital” element and I always feel awkward going round the wards, harassing nurses going about their duty. The Specialist Music category doesn’t require that so I can fill my five-minute entry with juicy vignettes about mod and soul. Andrew Collins was telling me that when he was judging the Talk section of the Sony Radio awards entrants were given up to an hour for their entry! He suggested that filling five minutes was a lot harder than a whole hour and he’s not wrong.

I test the two audio rounds out on the girls and neither gets 100%, which is exactly what I’m after. I’ve done harder audio rounds but these will get the contestants thinking.

I’m pleased to receive an e-mail from Simon Goddard, author “Mozipedia” and “Songs To Save Your Life”. Simon and I corresponded many years ago when he was on the Isle of Skye and I was still living at home in Bonnyrigg. Simon put together a rather excellent fanzine called Jingles The Creep and we exchanged missives on all manner of music and culture-related topics. We lost touch, as you do, and it’s only in the last few months we’ve reconnected. The circumstances of the reunion, which is only via the information super dual-carriageway, were rather unusual and maybe I’ll relate the tale another day.

Simon reminded me that Saturday was the 24th anniversary of me meeting Morrissey outside the Caird Hall in Dundee. What I remember most about the day, apart from meeting the band and getting all my singles signed, was that I couldn’t do a thing with my hair. I don’t recall what “product” I was using but I had run out and my hair was a mess! I woke up in a Dundee B & B resembling Worzel Gummidge. At the gig I remember concocting a story for a girl who I think had broken her borrowed camera. She commented that she could never go out with me because I was such a good liar!

While I accept that people just don’t write letters anymore, Simon’s email is a hark back to the days when people still did such things and took pleasure in doing so. There was no delete button with pen to paper. A long, thorough email full of interesting stuff, with much to enjoy and comment on, that’s how my pen pal letters were “back in the day”. In those days the mood for each day was set by what the postman/woman would deliver, especially when I wasn’t working. Now, bar subscriptions to Mojo and Web User and an occasional delivery from Amazon, I have no expectations of my appointed postal worker. Anything out of the ordinary is a welcome and unexpected surprise but they tend to be few and far between. One interesting email is worth (at least) a thousand dull ones.

My friend Jayne from Motherwell, who I’ve also reunited with online recently, reminded me that 26 September 1985 was also the day we first met. Those really were the best of times. If only I knew then what I know now (about life, that is, not Jayne!). I never “went out” with Jayne but she did come around to my house and I liked her even more when I realised that my mother didn’t like her!

Sunday 27 September 2009

I love cycling, the sport that is, and the World Championships are on. The men’s road race is on today and I dip in and out of it. It’s on for the best part of six hours. I start watching it at home and catch the end in the radio station studio. Well done, Cadel Evans.

I started work on finding the carpet in the study! I know it’s there somewhere but with all the piles of “stuff” on it it’s hard to know where. I started off by moving round the CDs so I would have better access to the ones I use on my show. The CDs are split into three distinct categories; radio show ones (usually 1960s), Jocknroll (Scottish acts) and general A to Z for the rest. By the time the job was finished I was sweating like Stan Collymore in a car park.

The radio show went reasonably well. Being a perfectionist I’m never satisfied with it but there were no major errors. I console myself with the fact that even the likes of Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce still make mistakes. Graham Scott, who used to be on before me, is back at the station and I’m glad, if only because I’ll no longer have to run between studios to swap over during the news. We have a good bit of pre-show banter.

On the way home, another group of kids decide to play “chicken” with me on the road near my house. I just don’t understand their mentality. They’re lucky that it was me and not some speeding boyracer, of which there are plenty in the vicinity.

Monday 28 September 2009

This morning’s in-car entertainment is provided by The Wonder Stuff.

One of my local community police officers has emailed me about my recent problems with ‘death wish’ children and local boyracers. He’s going to do a “speed survey” in my street and find out what the local schools are doing to promote road safety. Knowing my luck the boy/man racers will be on holiday and I’ll be told there isn’t a problem.

My “quiet” time at the gym (11-12) is now busier than Piccadilly Circus. But I was first in so, whether they liked it or not, it was The Charlatans again. I should add the compilation of a “Gym CD” to my ever-expanding “To Do” list.

It’s a full life.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 27 September 2009

2009-09-27T13:33:00.000+01:00

Here's the playlist for tonight's edition of "Where The Action Is".

The Knickerbockers - One Track Mind (Challenge 1966)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Tracy Rogers - Back With You Baby (Polydor 1967)
The Supremes - Run Run Run (Motown 1964)
Jessica James & The Outlaws - Give Her Up (Baby) (Dynovoice 1965)
The Move - Walk Upon The Water (Regal Zonophone 1968)
Bimbi Worrick - Long Time Comin' (Polydor 1969)
The Who - Substitute (Reaction 1966)
Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazelwood - Summer Wine (Reprise 1967) (Connect 3)
The Hollies - Honey and Wine (Parlophone 1965) (Connect 3)
Toni Wine - A Boy Like You (Colpix 1964) (Connect 3)
Claire Francis - But I Don't Care (Polydor 1967)
The Marvelettes - Locking Up My Heart (Motown 1963)
The Guess Who - American Woman (RCA 1970) (Birthday: 27/9/43 Randy Bachman, Drummer)
The Emeralds - Did You Ever Love a Guy (Jubilee 1964)
Karol Keyes - Can't You Hear The Music (Fontana 1967)
Christine Delaroche - Des Tigres et Des Minets (Label/Year Unknown) (Foreign Language)
The Turtles - So Goes Love (White Whale 1967)
Jr Walker & The All Stars - Tune Up (Motown 1965) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Lori Burton - Yeh Yeh (That Boy of Mine) (Roulette 1965)
Diana Dors - So Little Time (Fontana 1964)
The Beach Boys - Cottonfields (The Cotton Song) (Capitol 1970) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - C)
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows (Capitol 1966) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - C)
Danielle - I'm Gonna Marry That Boy (Philips 1966)
The Jet Set - The Jet Set (Blaine 1965)
Dropkick - Don't Dream of California (Sound Asleep 2009) (Under The Influence)
The Carolines - Love's Made A Fool of Me (Polydor 1965)
Eddie Holland - Leaving Here (Motown 1963)
The Chic-Lets - I Want You To Be My Boyfriend (Josie 1964)
The Vernons - I Surrender (Pye, Year Unknown) (Connect 3)
The Carrolls - Surrender Your Love (Polydor 1966) (Connect 3)
Fontella Bass - I Surrender (Chess 1966) (Connect 3)
Angela Deen - Gotta Hand It The Boy (Fontana 1964)
Humble Pie - Growing Closer (Immediate 1969)
Jackie Lee - When The Boys Talk About The Girls (Columbia 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Jackie Lee - You Too (Can Have Heartaches) (Columbia 1966) (Two of a Kind)
The Caravelles - You Are Here (Fontana 1964)
The Barry Sisters - I Must Be Dreaming (Colpix 1964)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

If you'd like to suggest a topic for one or both of the Connect 3 features or an artist for the Two of a Kind, Foreign Language, Half-Time Instrumental or Under the Influence features then feel free.

Remember, if you're ever involved in a non-fatal accident in the Kirkcaldy area, do tune in on 1287AM or Channel 3 on the hospital headsets to "Where The Action Is", a blend of mod, soul, Motown, girl groups/singers and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s.

Feel free to leave a comment or indeed a request or two. I can't promise to play it immediately - the shows are usually done live but prepared two or three weeks in advance - but I'll endeavour to play them within a month.

The Cat
=^..^=

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 20 Sep 09 Northern Soul special

2009-09-20T13:32:00.004+01:00

Here's the playlist for tonight's Northern Soul edition of "Where The Action Is".

Dobie Gray - Out On The Floor (Charger 1966)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Billy Butler - The Right Track (Okeh 1966)
Chairmen of the Board - Give Me Just A Little More Time (Invictus 1969)
Shirley Ellis - Soul Time (Columbia 1967)
Judy Street - What (Strider 1966)
Major Lance - Ain't No Soul (Left In These Old Shoes) (Okeh 1967)
Tyrone Davis - Turn Back The Hands of Time (Dakar 1970)
Johnny Jones & The King Casuals - Purple Haze (Brunswick 1968) (Connect 3)
Freda Payne - Band of Gold (Invictus 1970) (Connect 3)
Billy Thompson - Black-Eyed Girl (1965) (Connect 3)
Barbara Acklin - Am I The Same Girl (Brunswick 1969)
Bob Brady and The Con Chords - Everybody's Going To The Love-In (Chariot 1968)
Sophia Loren - Zoo Be Zoo Be Zoo (Parlophone 1961) (Birthday: 20/9/34 Actress)
Reparata & The Delrons - Panic (Mala 1968)
James & Bobby Purify - Shake A Tail Feather (Bell 1967)
Jimmy Radcliffe - Long After Tonight Is All Over (Italian) (Musicor 1965) (Foreign Language)
Shirley & The Shirelles - Look What You've Done To My Heart (Bell 1969)
Just Brothers - Sliced Tomatoes (Lupine 1965) (Half-Time Instrumental)
The Metros - Since I Found My Baby (RCA Victor 1967)
The Vibrations - Cause You're Mine (Epic 1968)
The Beach Boys - Break Away (Capitol 1969) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - B)
Brian Wilson - Your Imagination (Giant 1998) (A to Z of The Beach Boys - B)
Little Richard - A Little Bit of Something (Beats A Whole Lot of Nothing) (Okeh 1967)
Willie Kendrick - Change Your Ways (RCA Victor 1967)
Soft Cell - Tainted Love (Some Bizarre 1981) (Under The Influence)
The Cooperettes - Shing-A-Ling (Brunswick 1967)
Herb Ward- Honest To Goodness (RCA 1968)
Johnny Moore - Walk Like A Man (Date 1967)
Billy Joe Royal - Hearts Desire (1966) (Connect 3)
Artistics - Nothing But Heartaches (Keep Haunting Me) (Brunswick 1967) (Connect 3)
Bandwagon - Breakin' Down The Walls of Heartache (Direction 1968) (Connect 3)
Beverly Ann - You've Got Your Mind on Other Things (RCA Victor 1968)
Kenny Carter - What's That On Your Finger? (1966)
Jackie Wilson - The Who Who Song (Brunswick 1968) (Two of a Kind)
Jackie Wilson - I Get The Sweetest Feeling (Brunswick 1968) (Two of a Kind)
The Ivories - Please Stay (Despenza/Ward 1967)
The Insiders - I'm Just A Man (RCA 1967)
Jimmy Radcliffe - Long After Tonight Is All Over (Musicor 1965)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

If you'd like to suggest a topic for one or both of the Connect 3 features or an artist for the Two of a Kind, Foreign Language, Half-Time Instrumental or Under the Influence features then feel free.

Remember, if you're ever involved in a non-fatal accident in the Kirkcaldy area, do tune in on 1287AM or Channel 3 on the hospital headsets to "Where The Action Is", a blend of mod, soul, Motown, girl groups/singers and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s.

Feel free to leave a comment or indeed a request or two. I can't promise to play it immediately - the shows are usually done live but prepared two or three weeks in advance - but I'll endeavour to play them within a month.

The Cat
=^..^=

Sunday, Sunday , Here Again

2009-09-18T22:45:00.003+01:00

Sunday 13 September 2009

Another welcome lie-in, after a night of drunken debauchery. Okay, a slight exaggeration. I was sober but Dave and Al, released into the wild for a few hours by their respective FPOs*, had a few pints. We meet in Bannerman’s and head off to Sneaky Pete’s for the Dropkick gig. Dave and Pete hadn’t heard them before but I persuaded them to come and see them. They weren’t disappointed as the band turned in a cracking set, liberally sprinkled with tracks from their new album. The £5 entrance to the gig included a free copy of the album "Abelay Hotel", which I’ve been enjoying ever since. (“Don’t Dream of California” will do very nicely for my Under The Influence feature on my radio show). On leaving the venue Dave and Al have a slug of a mysterious brew supplied in a skull by support band Tucker and The Shattered Family. I decline their kind offer. The other band on, The Young Spooks, were the worst I’d seen for a long time.Dave and/or Al said they sounded like Joy Division. Ian Curtis isn't just turning in his grave, he's doing cartwheels. (I meant to review the gig but I lost the set list, which the band kindly gave me, and then the stresses of the next few days took over. In short, it was excellent and the band deserve all your support).

Sunday was also a rather stressful day for the whole family as we continue to struggle to find another childminder. I compose an e-mail of complaint to the Scottish Care Commission about the comment to the childminder that “A weekend is more than enough time to organise alternative childcare”. Arseholes.

I’ve done better radio shows but I’m my own worst critic. You can only blame the equipment up to a point. Reported a suspicious looking car to security as I left the radio station. It was loitering in the shadows of the car park and when the driver saw me paying attention to it, he/she drove off, but only round the corner.

Monday 14 September 2009

I nominated a tailgating, lane-swapping idiot as my first dickhead driver (R906MSN) on Twitter (#baddriver). That’s only the start of a terrible day. During my gym routine I come out in a rash on my arms and legs. I figure it must be stress-related rather than heat spots because I’ve been coming to the gym for so long now.

Then, shortly after leaving home, I’m almost taken off the road on Craigleith Road, near the entrance to the Royal Victoria Hospital, by three women in a Silver Vauxhall Corsa, who decide they can’t be bothered looking in their mirrors or for other road users. Only my quick reactions prevent an accident. At two points between there and Blackhall we pass each other and on each occasion the female driver gives me the middle finger. What a cheek. She almost kills me and yet she tries to paint me as the villain! My nerves are shot to pieces and I almost have two further collisions on the way home such is the state I am in. As soon as I get home I report the matter to Lothian and Borders Police but it seems that without a witness they’re powerless to do anything. They won’t even speak to the driver! This upsets me even more.

I call a colleague and ask if she saw it. She was a few hundred yards back from me on the road when it happened but she didn’t see anything. I’m devastated that such stupid and reckless driving is going to go unpunished and I guess that’s what really gets to me. There’s no sense of closure and I can’t rest.

I get an early doctor’s appointment and talk to her about the accumulation of stress, including near-collision and childcare problems, as well as my persistent throat problems, which still dog me. My condition isn’t helped by being tailgated both to and from the doctor’s surgery. I try and keep myself busy around the house for the rest of the day to take my mind off things. Scottish Gas call and ask if they can come today for an annual check instead of a fortnight’s time. Luckily I’m home so I say why not. Why, when you know someone is coming round between 12 and 6, do you HAVE to go out? One of my ink cartridges ran out and I made a quick dash for Tesco. Got away with it this time. Spent the rest of the day putting together Sunday’s Northern soul show.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Back to work. Another rash at the gym, which fades by the early afternoon.

What’s fascinating about my daughter’s after-school club is that it is also frequented by the children of two of the local boy-racers. I say “boy” racers but they’re actually grown men who just happen to still drive like youthful knob heads. Where we live is a 20mph zone, which is as it should be considering the number of young families and children in the area. These two, despite having kids of their own, don’t seem to appreciate that. This afternoon I drove to the after-school club and one of them was behind me. I then turned off one way and he went another. There were a few parking spaces and I had loads of choice. When I got out of the car I notice that Knob head#1 as I shall now christen him, had decided to park straddling a paved area opposite the club! It almost looked liked he crashed! Why, when there are so many spaces available, would you choose to park on a pavement? I guess he’s so used to acting like a knob head that it’s now second nature to him. I don’t understand that mentality.

Thursday 17 September 2009

For the second time this week I nominated R906MSN as #baddriver of the day on Twitter – Nigel Baillie likes this new use of Twitter. It wasn't just me he was tailgating across the Forth Road Bridge at 6am.

Did some exam marking for another department, which I always enjoy. I never cease to be amazed by some of the wrong answers I come across. What goes through these people’s heads?

Got a new CD for using at the gym. Having overdosed on Ash and The Chemical Brothers over recent weeks I realised while listening to it in the car on the way to work that The Charlatans “Melting Pot” would do a turn. Unfortunately I don’t get much of an opportunity as the guy in the gym ahead of me wanted to listen to Forth One. At least he put my CD on for me before he left, albeit for only two songs.

Picked up the Flickster from the after-school club and took her to see the new childminder. She’d already had a preview that morning. We met the Good Lady Wife off the train and walked to the childminder’s. We were happy with what we heard and saw and a weight is lifted off our shoulders.

Two new CDs have arrived (Jackie Lee's "The Town I Live In - The EMI Years 1965-1967" and a beat girl compilation called "The Girls Are At It Again"). Listened to The Vaselines doing a session on Marc Riley’s show while doing the dishes and tidying the kitchen. Watched some of England’s latest cricketing capitulation against Australia (6-0 in a best of 7 series), three episodes of our new favourite quiz show Pointless and Mock The Week before hitting the sack.

Friday 18 September 2009

One of my bosses is leaving today, which is sad. I have to say in the department I currently work in I've been very lucky with bosses I’ve had. They’ve all been good eggs and make work more bearable.

After watching a couple more editions of Pointless, which is becoming our favourite quiz show of the moment, K watches “Strictly Come Dancing” while I listen to my two new CDs, as well as The Rise and Fall of the BMX Bandits, Dropkick’s “Aberlay Hotel” and some mp3s I was sent. I also start to put a couple more radio shows together, for 27 September and 4 October. Prior preparation and all that.

Current favourite tracks:

1. Dropkick - Don't Dream of California (Sound Asleep 2009)
2. BMX Bandits - Come Clean (Vinyl Japan 1991)
3. Jackie Lee - The Town I Live In (Columbia 1966)
4. Karol Keyes - Can't You Hear The Music (Fontana 1967)
5. Strangetouch - Stuck In The Motion (2009)
5. Elvis Presley - (Marie's the name of) His Latest Flame (RCA 1961)
6. Susan Fassbender - Twilight Cafe (CBS 1981)
7. Big Star - Daisy Glaze (Ardent 1974)
8. Fun and Games - The Grooviest Girl in The World (UNI 1968)
9. Superstar - Superstar (Camp Fabulous 1998)
10. Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazelwood - Summer Wine (LHI 1967)

Over and out...

*FPO stands for Fun Prevention Officer!

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 13 Sep 2009

2009-09-13T14:24:00.003+01:00

Here's the playlist for tonight's "Where The Action Is".

Wishful Thinking - VIP (Decca 1966)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Fun and Games - The Grooviest Girl In the World (Uni 1969)
John Mayall - Crawling Up A Hill (Decca 1964)
Samantha Jones - As Long As You're Happy (1964)
The Beatstalkers - You'd Better Get A Hold On Me (Decca 1966)
Pat Harris and the Blackjacks - Hippy Hippy Shake (Pye 1963)
Tony Rivers & The Castaways - Summer Dreaming (Unreleased 1966)
The Cryan Shames - Mr Unreliable (Columbia 1967) (Connect 3)
Madeline Bell - Mr Dream Merchant (Philips 1967) (Connect 3)
Spencer Davis Group - Mr Second Class (United Artists 1968) (Connect 3)
The Kingpins - That's The Way It Should be (Unknown)
Glenda Collins - If You Gotta Pick A Baby (HMV 1963)
Booker T & The MGs - Soul Clap 69 (Stax 1969) (Birthday: 13/9/33 Lewie Steinberg, bass)
Jackie Trent - Make It Easy On Yourself (Pye 1967)
Shadows of Knight - I'm Gonna Make You Mine (1966)
Sandie Shaw - Mais Tu L'Aimes (Girl Don't Come) (Pye 1964) (Foreign Language)
The New Breed - Friends and Lovers Forever (Decca 1965)
Les Reed & Orchestra - Theme from "Girl On A Motorcycle" (1968) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Lulu & The Luvvers - I'll Come Running Over (Decca 1965)
Force West - Talkin' About Our Love (Columbia 1966)
American Spring - Good Time (United Artists 1972) (A to Z of The Beach Boys)
The Beach Boys - California (Brother 1973) (A to Z of The Beach Boys)
The Rockin' Vickers - Dandy (CBS/Columbia 1966)
The Groove - Play That Song (Parlophone 1969)
Dexy's Midnight Runners - There, There, My Dear (EMI 1980) (Under The Influence)
Dave Sampson - Sweet Dreams (demo) (Colulmbia 1960)
Lyons and Malone - She's Alright (Jay Boy 1969)
The Chasers - Hey Little Girl (Decca 1965)
Herman's Hermits - Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter (MGM 1965) (Connect 3)
The Walker Brothers - Mrs Murphy (Philips 1966) (Connect 3)
Harmony Grass - Mrs Ritchie (RCA 1970) (Connect 3)
The Liverpool Five - Piccadilly Line (RCA 1967)
Kim D - The Real Thing (Pye 1965)
Heinz - Movin' In (Columbia 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Heinz - End of the World (Columbia 1965) (Two of a Kind)
Simon Dupree & The Big Sound - 60 Minutes (Of your Love)/A Lot of Love (Parlophone 1967)
The Wackers - The Girl Who Wanted Fame (Piccadilly 1965)
The Shadows - Scotch on The Socks (Columbia 1966)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Next week's show will be dedicated to Northern Soul.

If you'd like to suggest a topic for one or both of the Connect 3 features or an artist for the Two of a Kind, Foreign Language, Half-Time Instrumental or Under the Influence features then feel free.

Remember, if you're ever involved in a non-fatal accident in the Kirkcaldy area, do tune in on 1287AM or Channel 3 on the hospital headsets to "Where The Action Is", a blend of mod, soul, Motown, girl groups/singers and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s.

Feel free to leave a comment or indeed a request or two. I can't promise to play it immediately - the shows are usually done live but prepared two or three weeks in advance - but I'll endeavour to play them within a month.

The Cat
=^..^=

Edit This Crap

2009-09-12T12:49:00.004+01:00

Saturday 12 September 2009

This morning I dropped the girls off at ballet and drove to Comet in Dunfermline to get a new 4GB flash drive. During last week's radio show I'd put the flash drive in the PC under the desk, only to kick it at some point during the show. When I saved my show and pulled out the drive, the plastic casing had been smashed to pieces by my clumsy feet. It does still work but rather than risk it I got a new one. Having seen a SanDisk product on the Gadget Show do so well against more well-known opposition, including Apple, I plumped for their inexpensive 4GB drive. The Integral one I had before would've been £21 to replace and this one was only £8.99.

After the amazing night on Thursday, I enjoyed a long lie-in on Friday, although it was somewhat enforced on me by a sore back ("the pleasure with the pain"). I had prepared a long To-Do list and raced through it. I popped into Dunfermline to get my haircut. The girl cutting my hair (4 on the top, 2 round the back and sides) enquired, as they are want to do, what I was up to that day. I told her I was recovering from last night's wondrous gig. Naturally, she hadn't heard of Edwyn Collins until I "sang" the chorus of "A Girl Like You". She tried to convince me that it couldn't have been a better gig than an "amazing" Red Hot Chilli Peppers gig she been to. She's young, she knows not what she says. Haircut, £5, £1 tip, check.

Next stop was the Alhambra, Dunfermline's newest venue, which is gradually beginning to attract some bigger names to Fife. My mate Martin had sent me a text saying that The Charlatans would be playing on Saturday 19th December. Now I like The Charlatans but I don't know if would even travel to Edinburgh to see them but I suggested to the good lady wife that as they would be on our doorstep we could use the gig to have our Christmas night out. Fine, she says. I had e-mailed the venue on Thursday to find out when tickets went on sale and how much they would be. No reply.

I walked the 100 yards from the barber's to the venue. Unusually the Box Office, which according to their website is open from 9 until 4 between Monday and Friday, appears to be up a stair at the side of the venue. I'm only surmising this because I had to press a buzzer first to get in. I also noticed a sign saying "Cash Only". Surely not, in this day and age. Anyway, I pressed the buzzer and enquired how much the tickets were and when they'd be on sale. I was told they would be £22.50 but the venue wouldn't get their allocation until Monday because Ticketmaster would be selling them first. I couldn't believe it. Another venue had soul its soul to Ticketbastard. I don't like Ticketmaster, as regular readers will know, with their spurious fees for anything and everything. I decided there and then we wouldn't be going to see The Charlatans after all. You can say what you like about the Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline but at least they don't charge you for nothing. I went to see Davie Scott and Norman Blake, supported by The Vaselines. The advertised cost was £10 each. How much did we pay in total? £10 each. That's the way it should be. We're going to spend the money at Kushis instead.

After the disappointment of the Alhambra I headed off to Tesco to get the week's "big" shop. K had prepared a list. I'm usually quite strict and never veer "off list" but a 5CD box set of "100 Hits - Northern Soul" just happened to fall into the trolley. It was only £6 and while I had many of the tracks already there were enough new ones to make the £6 purchase a worthwhile one. Today I uploaded the tracks onto Windows Media Player and while I doing so I noticed a strange message in to the "Album Artist" column. It says, beside every track, "edit this crap"!! I checked the other CDs and it's the same for each of them. Maybe I'll e-mail Demon and see what they have to say for themselves.

Is it just me or are there times when you're at the checkout in a supermarket you feel the checkout girl (it's always a girl) tries to make you look slow at packing, just because you're a man. Sometimes I think females checkout assistants scan your purchases as fast as they can so that they pile up and you don't have enough time to put them in your bag. This is a veiled attempt to make the male shopper look really stupid. This annoys me because I'm no slouch when it comes to packing a shopping bag. I'm certainly more organised than most. Would they do it to an older person or another woman? I doubt it.

As I unpacked the hastily-packing shopping when I got home I put on the radio, which lives in the kitchen. It's a DAB I won in a competition on Forth One. It was still on BBC 6Music from when I tuned into Andrew Collins on Wednesday who was subbing for a Mercury Music-ligging Steve Lamacq. Anyway, as I unpacked the messages (Scottish word for shopping) I heard this dreadful whining noise coming out of the DAB. It was George Lamb. Come the Judgement Day award ceremony the nominees for Bastardisation of the English Language will be Paul Merson, Jamie Redknapp and George Lamb. Thankfully he was finishing in 10 minutes. File under "Loves the Sound of His Own Voice and Isn't As Funny As He Thinks". See also Jonathan Ross.

During a spot of lunch, I watched a couple of programmes from Sky+. Monday's The Gadget Show and Derren Brown's lottery prediction show. I really like the Gadget Show and not just because Suzi Perry was wearing high boots and a short skirt! Their weekly competition prizes are amazing and this week's includes a car that they'd "pimped" to include a PSP 3 and a projector screen under the bonnet! Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me. It's the only text competition I do.

There's no rest for the wicked and I took advantage of the weather to cut the grass on the front and back lawns. The back lawn had been left uncut for so long that there were Japanese soldiers in there thinking the war was still on. Both jobs were completed just in time to collect Flick from the After School Club. I hadn't even had time for a shower. K had caught an earlier bus home so she did some weeding, I tried pathetically to repair some scratches in the car (check me Mr Pleasant Valley Sunday) and Felicity cycled up and down. At one point she told everyone what our car was but that her favourite cars were Kias and BMWs. She informed the other kids that she was saving for the latter!

Also picked some bad news late yesterday afternoon that our childminders had ceased trading! The Scottish Care Commission had initially informed them that the number of children they were looking after wouldn't include their own kids (there are two childminders) but now the Commission has changed their mind. With K and I having changed our working hours and fitted in around Flick's school times, we're now left without a childminder. Apparently the Scottish Care Commission informed the childminders that a weekend was more than enough time for the parents to organise alternative child care!! Unbelievable! As soon as I finish this blog entry I shall be giving them a piece of my mind. Just when you think everything's sorted...

Jimmy's Gone

2009-09-09T18:09:00.001+01:00

Wednesday 9 September 2009

Good news. A particularly objectionable individual is leaving the organisation I work for. This person has a God complex, like many in his department, and I won’t be sad to see the back of him. He was thoroughly rude and ill mannered towards me on a couple of occasions while simply doing my job and I’ve never liked him since. He’s a dinosaur and the sort of person that gives my employer a bad name.

Two weeks after my contraction of some chesty, cold-related ailment on the school run, I’m still trying to shift the last remnants. I’m also still wheezing like an asthmatic donkey. There used to be this great linctus you could get from the Co-op and I’ve never been able to find it for years. That would’ve shifted it by now. I pop into Boots and they don’t even try to sell my anything. They recommend a trip to my GP for antibiotics. Maybe that’s the Friday off I’m looking for.

Flick starts Rainbows tonight and my normal Wednesday night peace and quiet will be shattered as Daddy Cabs goes into overtime. Rainbows are on from 6 until 7 and Guides from 7 until 9. As K is now running both I’ll have to drop them both off at 6 and then return for Flick at 7 with K making her own way home at 9. K suggested that she take the car and I head along on the bike for 7 and then we swap so I bring Flick home at 7 in the car and she comes home on the bike. When you have kids everything is a military operation!

Having finished the audio book of Andrew Collins’ very enjoyable “Where Did It All Go Right?”- the first in his autobiographical triumvirate - I ponder what to listen to next to relieve the boredom of the drive to and from work. In the twilight of the living room this morning I choose Nick Lowe’s “Jesus Of Cool”. I only really know the “hits” so I’m happy to learn more about a favourite of K’s during the daily commute.

According to the front page of today’s Daily Record, Glasvegas frontman James Allan has gone ‘missing’ on the eve of a US tour. Who does he think he is, Joe Strummer?

Talking of the Record, guess who the “one fan” was: http://tinyurl.com/mh5j62, I’m not even a fan; I was being sarcastic! This comment was made on Twitter in response to Glasvegas’ guerrilla gig, when some fans couldn’t get in because some of the limited places had been taken up by the band’s guest list!

How easy is it to be a journalist nowadays? You just rake through Twitter, Facebook and website forums for quotes and “stories”. Or, in the case of my employer, make countless spurious Freedom of Information claims. The latest one? How many pieces of a particular piece of clothing has our employer issued to female members of staff. They’re the first to complain about not enough officers on the street. That’s because they’re too busy working out how much we’ve spent on tea, coffee and biscuits! Woodward and Bernstein would be turning in their graves, if they were dead.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

2009-09-09T10:05:00.003+01:00

Thursday 3 September 2009

Why do people seem to drive even faster in the rain? I take a cautious drive into work during which the first Andrew Collins CD finishes. I’ve really enjoyed the first one, which brought back some memories of my own. I look forward to the other CDs over the next couple of weeks.

Our gym has two treadmills. I did 10 minutes on the bike and as I began on the rowing machine someone else came in. He went to the right treadmill and started jogging. After my 1500m row and a rest, I stepped on to the other treadmill and began my ten-minute walk (10 minutes at Speed 6 on an incline of 5, if you must know). I wondered how the other guy must have felt because we were side-by-side but he was jogging and I was walking and yet we were still side-by-side. Maybe it didn’t occur to him because he was “in the zone”. My mind tends to wonder and come up with such random thoughts.

I pick up Flick at 4, as usual, and she bemoans the “early” collection because she “hasn’t had a chance to play”! I’ve changed my working hours, getting up in the dead of night at an ungodly 5.30am, so I can collect her from After School Club and she wants to stay there later! Kids today.

Friday 4 September 2009

I’m relieved of school collection duties as mum and granny are collecting the Flickster from school after attending a Buddy Mass.

I enjoy a leisurely drive home, still in the company of Andrew Collins’ excellent “Where Did It All Go Right”.

I’m home just before the girls. I get a call from Tim at the Scotland on Sunday asking for my comment on the line-up for the forthcoming Homecoming Live event. The story is embargoed until Sunday so I’m not to put anything up on the Jocknroll website. Fair enough.

Saturday 5 September 2009

There’s a busy day in prospect as the girls head off to ballet. Later they attend a centenary celebration for the Guides in Dunfermline. Road works near the school venue only add to the traffic chaos. I drop off the girls and head off home. Trying to avoid the nearby chaos and the busy town centre, I take a long shortcut home, a nifty wee route I’ve logged in my mental SatNav for future use.

I settle down to watch the Scotland-Macedonia game. It’s a dour first half with Scotland being outplayed and lucky not to be behind. It kicks off in first half stoppage time when Scott Brown, never the most mature individual on god’s earth, decides to contest a drop ball instead of giving the ball back to the Macedonians. The visitors had kicked the ball out following an injury to one of their players and the accepted action is for the ball to be given back to them. Brown decided instead to contest the drop ball and the ball came off the Macedonian (who made no attempt to play the ball) and resulted in a corner for Scotland. The Macedonians were furious and surrounded Brown. After the subsequent corner the referee blew his whistle for half time and the protests continued with Macedonian management and substitutes joining in the hunt for Brown’s head.

I watched 10 minutes of the second half and went to collect the girls. The road works had mysteriously been removed and we took a different “shortcut” home. Except we weren’t going home. Flick had been great at getting up during her first week of full-time school that we decided to treat her and took her to Frankie and Benny’s, which is a favourite of hers.

While Frankie and Benny’s is really a fast food outlet dressed up as a restaurant I generally enjoy its ambience, especially as it plays some decent 50s and 60s music. Flick has a good singalong to Manfred Mann’s “5-4-3-2-1”, which opens her own personal compilation that I’ve put together over the last year. I plumped for the New York Chicken and an East Coast Sundae for dessert. They were tasty enough at the time but on four occasions that evening and during the early hours of the next morning I cursed the very name of Frankie and Benny’s. I was ill, very ill and such was the extent of my upset stomach that my body was actually aching the next morning. I say morning because it was almost lunchtime before I finally surfaced such was my discomfort. The girls had been fine but we all had different meals. I don’t know if it was the coleslaw that came with the meal, or the sauce on the chicken, the chicken itself or the sundae but something I ate there disagreed with me. Following on from the New Taste of China, Frankie and Benny is the second of my usual fast food eateries to make me ill. I haven’t been back to the former and it’ll be a while before I return to the latter.

On Twitter I have a moan about my BT Broadband once again “dropping out”. It’s been doing it regularly, in the evening, and is beginning to resemble the pedestrian dial-up service of the past. Before BT (BT Care) start “following” me on Twitter and asking me what’s wrong! I’ll investigate how genuine this service is before I pass on my account details. Remind me never to slag off the CIA.

Sunday 6 September 2009

The girls returned from church with rolls and the Scotland on Sunday. My quote was in the paper (http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland/Bands-line-up-for-final.5621666.jp). Not feeling too good I enjoyed the luxury of wading through the Sunday papers or in this case paper. We used to buy three Sunday newspapers (for contrast, crosswords and competitions) but now we don’t bother. We realised we’d never read them all and we went from ensuring that all the comps and crosswords were completed and posted before the Sunday pick-up to not even bothering to start the prize puzzles. In the end we stopped getting any papers at all. Sitting browsing the Scotland on Sunday and its supplements and magazines was very relaxing and I almost yearned for the lazy Sundays again. With a young family, this is now an impossibility.

Flick has been “playing up” this morning and she’s blaming her dark blue Ben Sherman jeans! She says they’re “making her naughty”!! I resist the temptation to laugh and tell her to not be so silly. There’s nothing wrong with the jeans, a birthday present from her godfather, and a change into her High School Musical outfit doesn’t suddenly change her behaviour. As a result her promised 4.30pm pick up, to allow her to some play time, has been put back to the original 4pm.

I head off for my radio show and encounter the usual idiots on the roads between Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy. Luckily I have ‘Andrew’ to calm me down. Today’s show is an Ellie Greenwich special, celebrating the legendary songwriter’s extensive catalogue of songs. Notwithstanding the Myriad system crashing as I start to tape my show (I tape them all), I really enjoy the show and there are no major technical hitches. She wrote some brilliant songs, some known (River Deep Mountain High, Da Doo Ron Ron, Baby I Love You) and some less well known (The Kind of Boy You Can’t Forget, You Don’t Know, I Didn’t Mean To Hurt You) but all gems.

A stress-free drive home and it’s a yummy tea of chicken, Yorkshire Puddings, peas and chips, albeit heated up in the microwave. K does the bedtime stories, I do the dishes and after preparing the family’s lunches for the next day we settle down for the first of a new two-part “Waking The Dead”. Trevor Eve’s character Boyd annoys me a lot because he seems to permanently scowl and grumble and is downright rude. I’m looking forward to part 2 already.

Monday 7 September 2009

The quiz night I’m writing and hosting for K’s employer – an annual paying gig I really enjoy - has been put back three weeks thanks to a double booking by The Pleasance. I’m quite glad because while I’ve written the vast majority of it and already put together the two picture rounds, I need to write a few more questions and put together the audio rounds. I still put the audio rounds together using tapes but when I’ve completed one I digitise the whole round as one track on my PC and put it on to CD. I always take a CD and tape version of the audio rounds because you never know when the technical gremlins can strike. They’ve certainly struck me in the past and can be embarrassing for all concerned, especially the quizmaster. I have a portable speaker with microphone, which also has a built-in cassette deck.

Luckily The Pleasance has its own sound system and I usually get the CDs played through that. I take my speaker as a stand-by. I try to cover myself for all eventualities. Anyone who has written a decent pub quiz - I’ve been to some shockers in my time - will know how much effort goes into writing and putting one together. It’s not all about Quizelda, my glamorous assistance (aka my good lady wife), because the audience play their part too. I can’t recall how many years I’ve been doing this quiz but every year the room is busy and buzzing so I must be doing something right. It always makes a pleasant change to have an attentive audience who are there solely for the quiz. Okay there is a disco too but most people drift off when it starts. I guess mental and then physical exertion is just too much for some! I feel sorry for the DJ but he gets paid nonetheless so I guess he’s not bothered.

K asks me on behalf of the social committee if I have any specific requirements. My request for “ten vestal virgins fanning me while I “perform”” and “a backstage masseuse and a bowl of peanut M&Ms (no brown ones)” and a private helicopter are being considered.

K has a Guides meeting so we don’t watch University Challenge, Pointless, The Gadget Show or part 2 of Waking The Dead. There’s now only 16% left on the Sky+ box. I’ve already purged a whole page of Peppa Pig and Charlie and Lola so something I’ve been saving for a “quiet hour or two” might have to go. Decisions, decisions. Will I get around to watching Pierrepoint or Control or those two More4 documentaries on Enron and Naomi Klien? I’ll need to make time. Having checked my diary, 3 am is looking good.

Tuesday 8 September 2009

There really is no rest for the wicked. I headed straight for Tesco after work. I volunteered (why?) to collect 8 different exotic fruits from the supermarket for K’s Guides. They would be tasting the fruits and also locating the country of origin on a map. I picked by some physalis (Colombia), figs (Turkey), a papaya (Brazil), pomegranate (Israel), bananitos (Costa Rica), a passion fruit (Colombia), a baby pineapple (Ivory Coast) and some Kiwi fruit (Chile).

Edwyn Collins is playing a not-so-secret gig with Teenage Fanclub in Glasgow on Thursday and I’m sorely tempted to make the trip through. My friend Giselle in Long Beach is giving me pelters for even thinking about not going. I’d love to go but have to be realistic. It starts at 10.30pm, when I’m usually getting into bed! I could take Friday off, I suppose. Oh, what to do. There was a time when I wouldn’t have twice about it. I remember popping off to Leeds (or was it Manchester?) to see One Thousand Violins having only heard about the gig that morning. I was living in Edinburgh at the time and still very much at the mercy of National Express. Should I stay or should I go?

Taking of which, have you heard Sharleen Spiteri’s abomination of a cover of The Clash’s classic? Ripping off The Shangri-las and now butchering one of the pioneering punks’ classics is not the way to get credibility or, hopefully, sales.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 6 Sep 2009 - Ellie Greenwich special

2009-09-06T14:13:00.003+01:00

This is the playlist for tonight's Ellie Greenwich special:

The Beach Boys - I Can Hear Music (Capitol 1969)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
The Exciters - Do-Wah-Diddy (United Artists 1963)
Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep - Mountain High (Philles 1966)
The Drifters - I'll Take You Where The Music's Playing (Atlantic 1965)
The Searchers - Be My Baby (Pye 1965)
Ellie Greenwich - Come Take My Hand (Unreleased Demo/Coke advert)
Bevereley Jones - Wait Til My Bobby Gets Home (HMV 1963)
Karen Verros - Little Boy (Dot 1965) (Connect 3)
Billie Davis - That Boy John (Columbia 1964) (Connect 3)
The Orchids - That Boy Is Messin' Up My Mind (Columbia 1963) (Connect 3)
The Raindrops - The Kind of Boy Can't Forget (Jubilee 1963)
The Summits - Hanky Panky (Harmon/Rust 1963)
Ellie Greenwich - You Don't Know (Red Bird 1965)
Ellie Greenwich - Baby (Red Bird 1965)
The Dixie Cups - You Should Have Seen The Way He Looked At Me (Red Bird 1964)
The Four Pennies - When The Boy's Happy (The Girl's Happy Too) (Rust 1963)
Leslie Gore - Maybe I Know (Mercury 1964)
The Rockin' Berries - I Didn't Mean To Hurt You (Piccadilly 1964)
The Jelly Beans - Baby Be Mine (Red Bird 1964)
Meantime - Friday Kind of Monday (Atco 1967)
The Ad Libs - He Ain't No Angel (Blue Cat 1965)
Reparata & The Delrons - Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts (Unreleased)
The Chiffons - I Have A Boyfriend (Laurie 1963)
Bobbie Miller - What A Guy (Decca 1965)
Ellie Greenwich - Nothing Went Right (Unreleased Demo)
Connie Francis - Don't Ever Leave Me (MGM 1964)
Moody & The Deltas - Everybody Clap Your Hands (Daisy 1964)
Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans - Not Too Young To Be Married (Philles 1963)
Andy Kim - I Hear You Say (I Love You) (Red Bird 1965) (Connect 3)
The Ronettes - Baby I Love You (Philles 1963) (Connect 3)
Emmaline Jones - What Good Is I Love You (Dawn 1974) (Connect 3)
Darlene Love - (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry (Philles 1963)
The Darlettes - Here She Comes (Dunes 1963)
The Crystals - Heartbreaker (Unreleased 1963) (Two of a Kind)
The Crystals - Then He Kissed Me (Philles 1963) (Two of a Kind)
Sam Hawkins - Hold On Baby (Blue Cat 1965)
Veronica - Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love (Phil Spector 1963)
Tony Pass - True True Love (Atco 1966)
Neil Diamond - Cherry Cherry (Bang 1966)
The Butterflys - Good Night Baby (Red Bird 1964)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Next week's show sees the start of a new weekly feature, the A to Z of The Beach Boys.

Remember, if you're ever involved in a non-fatal accident in the Kirkcaldy area, do tune in on 1287AM or Channel 3 on the hospital headsets to "Where The Action Is", a blend of mod, coul, Motown, girl groups/singers and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s.

Feel free to leave a comment or indeed a request or two. I can't promise to play it immediately - the shows are usually done live but prepared two or three weeks in advance - but I'll endeavour to play them within a month.

The Cat
=^..^=

The Proudest Day of My Life

2009-09-03T20:38:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 1 September 2009

A busier but less stressful run home and I collect Flick at 4. There’s no sign of the scrunchie that disappeared on Tuesday. That just leaves the school or the childminder. I know it’s only a scrunchie but I want her to get into the habit of making sure she has everything with her that she’s supposed to. Kids will lose things, they always do, but I want her to activate the part of her brain that says, “Have I got everything?” so that K and I don’t have to. I have enough problems remembering my own stuff!

Flick has peaches and pears with custard for her After School Club snack. But without the peaches. Or pears, come to that. She says she doesn’t like them but she’s eaten them before, albeit in yoghurts. She doesn’t like oranges, which is fair enough because they’re hard work, even for adults. She loves bananas and apples. Her opinions on guavas and ugly fruits are unknown at this time.

I don’t know how much custard she had or whether it was simply tiredness but she struggles with her sausage stew. I try and make allowances for her first week of full-time school but I can’t stop myself getting wound up by her half-heartedly pushing the potatoes and sausages round the plate. My personal re-evaluation, which saw me lose the anti-depressants and gain a highly beneficial exercise routine, has also seen me look at eradicating all the things that stress me out. If I have to leave the dinner table to calm down, I will. I don’t want the dinner table turning into a war zone.

There’s nothing I want to watch on telly tonight so we watch last Sunday’s “House”, which featured Meat Loaf, although I was bemused to see him listed on the credits as “Meat Loaf Aday”. I wonder why he isn’t simply “Meat Loaf” or “Marvin Lee Aday” instead of a crossbreed of both. I’ll try not to lose too much sleep over it.

After some pottering about on the PC, which seems to mostly involve Twittering about the possible venue of a secret Glasvegas gig, I retire for the night. Seconds after I start to “follow” Glasvegas they reveal the venue to be a clothes shop in the West End of Glasgow. I neither love nor hate Glasvegas’ music but I think it’s cool that they decide on such a non-music venue for an impromptu show. What isn’t so cool is that with a “venue” that probably holds about 50 people, the band decide to have a Guest List? Now please tell me just what is the point of that? Isn’t this gig meant to be “for the kids”? What sort of spontaneous rock ’n’ roll happening has a guest list? My Glasvegas barometer swings from take-them-or-leave-them to singularly unimpressed, which is similar to how I felt about them after seeing lead singer James wearing dark glasses throughout an episode of “Never Mind The Buzzcocks”. He didn’t look cool, he looked like a cock. Who does he think he is, Magenta De Vine?

Wednesday 2 September 2009

I’m woken up by a knee in the bollocks! It’s not my wife taking action after another ever-increasing volume of snoring but my daughter. She’s sneaked into our bed and taken her life in her hands by sandwiching herself between us. Having received a kick in the back I make the mistake of turning round and receive the aforementioned patella in the “stones”. As I lead her back to her own room she tells me that she couldn’t sleep. How squeezing herself in-between two not insubstantial adults will help her sleep is a mystery to me. I settle back into bed and slowly drift off, just as the alarm goes off!! Bugger.

Realising I’m never going to get time at home to listen to the audio book of “Where Did It All Go Right” that Andrew Collins kindly gifted me I resolve to listen to it in the car while driving to and from work. To be honest, I’m getting a bit fed up of Radio 3 going on about the New Generation Artists (i.e. new composers that most of us have never heard of).

There’s no After School Club pick up today because Mummy is going to the school for a curriculum meeting. She’s better at this kind of thing than me because she’ll not only remember all the salient points but she’ll ask the right questions too. And I’ve no doubt that she’ll regale all the facts to me while I’m watching something interesting on TV so that I’ll hear neither the programme nor the information about the curriculum! She’s also going to a mass at the school on Friday for the new Primary 1s and, being a heathen, I’m exempt. I only got to church once a year, religiously, at Christmas.

It’s back to the resistance workout this week (today to be exact) and although I still have a hacking cough I’ll struggle on manfully. What a trooper! A big decision has to be made though, Ash or The Chemical Brothers. The unwritten rule of the gym is that whoever is first in gets control of the boogie box; whether it’s his or her own CDs or the radio. The Chemical Brothers it is as I add the leg press to my repertoire. I’m more Mr Puniverse than Mr Universe but I’m getting there. I can’t emphasise enough the amazing health benefits that regular exercise can bring, especially for people like me who have struggled with mental health problems. Go on, go for it.

Yesterday I did something that I hadn’t done for a long time and that was put a stamp on an envelope. In this digital age we’re writing proper letters less and less and I really feel sorry for posties. Apart from a letter to author Simon Goddard via his publishing company (that’s a story for another day), I can’t remember the last time I used a stamp for anything other than a bill or an eBay sale parcel. We used to spend a small fortune in our house on stamps for competitions and prize draws.

I can’t even call yesterday’s missive a letter. I’d made a 60s Girl singers compilation CD for an old pen pal I had become reacquainted with via Facebook and I attached a short note, hoping that she enjoyed it as much as I had. It was one of those compilations I was loath to part with. With Windows Media Player it’s now easy enough for me to make my own copy. Back in the day, when I originally wrote to my friend Jayne, I would have had to copy tape-to-tape to get my own copy. Usually I didn’t bother because the one-off compilation was such a special, unique thing. It was a never-to-be-repeated one-off. Sometimes I long for those days of hand-made paper sleeves and lovingly prepared track lists. A good compilation wasn’t something to be rushed. It would take several hours and when completed you would feel a great sense of achievement. You can make your own covers for CDs and compile them on computer but it just isn’t the same. Not least because you could get 90 minutes on a cassette (sometimes allowing for 2 differently themed 45 minute halves) and only up to 80 minutes on a CD. Making a compilation on a memory stick is just pointless and not a concept I would entertain. I’d swap albums using one but a compilation? Are you mad? A cassette was a permanent record; a musical time capsule to be dug out of dusty garage boxes in years to come by men (and occasionally women) of a certain age. K still has most of the ones I made for her.

There’s nothing much on TV tonight so I make use of a quiet house to get with some writing. This book won’t write itself.

Thursday 3 September 2009

Why do people seem to drive even faster in the rain? I take a cautious drive into work during which the first Andrew Collins CD finishes. I’ve really enjoyed the first one, which brought back some memories of my own. I look forward to the other CDs over the next couple of weeks.

Our gym has two treadmills. I did 10 minutes on the bike and as I began on the rowing machine someone else came in. He went to the right treadmill and started jogging. After my 1500m row and a rest, I stepped on to the other treadmill and began my ten-minute walk (10 minutes at Speed 6 on an incline of 5, if you must know). I wondered how the other guy must have felt because we were side-by-side but he was jogging and I was walking and yet we were still side-by-side!! Maybe it didn’t occur to him because he was “in the zone”. My mind tends to wonder and I often come up with such random thoughts.

The highlight of the day came after I picked up my daughter from the After School Club. Totally unprompted and of her own free will, Flick decided she wanted to write a quiz. I was shocked and delighted in equal measure. These are the questions she wrote, of which I got only got three correct:

1. What sheep begins with S?
2. What dog begins with D? (That's a toughie)
3. What car begins with K?
4. What girl begins with C? (that's a sneaky one, which I like)
5. What car begins with VA?

I’m so proud I want to put an announcement in the paper. I’ll reveal the answers tomorrow.