Neutron News

And on the Subject of Good Words/Phrases...

2012-02-13T15:48:00.004+01:00

See temperature at top of screenshotWe have now had over a week of double-figure minus degree C temperatures here in Deepest Bavaria, all thanks to a Russian high (if that's a high, I'd hate to experience a low). The most minus last week was on Monday with a stinging minus 20°C, plus the gentle breeze chill factor = -27°C. I missed my tram that day and decided to walk the 4 km to the lesson I

2012-02-04T22:09:00.006+01:00

Bleak, bleak, bleakity bleak. If ever there was a morning which defined bleak then this was it out in the railway-bus exchange suburb Feldmoching...a thin layer of evil snow, leafless, lifeless puny newly planted trees, white tower blocks with feeble early-morning lights dimly glowing through some of the windows, cloudy anonymous sky, cold air...well, not just cold, more like fucking freezing air

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011)

2011-12-31T10:19:00.002+01:00

I wrote here about Christopher Hitchins having been diagnosed with oesophagal cancer, well, he has now sadly succumbed to this evil disease.It's hard to believe that the great voice is now still, that the mind so erudite and acerbic, profound and witty is gone, the brain, so crammed full with learning, literature, history and experience is now just so much meat.I think the only other occasion

Life is Life

2011-12-04T08:36:00.006+01:00

We gathered on Friday at a beautiful funeral service on a beautiful day to pay our respects to Helmut and take our leave. There were over two hundred people there and I am sure many more would have liked to attend. Helmut's parents were there, his sister, his wife, his children, his best friends, his work colleagues. Some of us spoke, some played music; we all shed tears and then smiled, laughed

See you, Helmut...

2011-11-28T00:13:00.003+01:00

I'm trying and failing to reconcile two concepts or entities: Helmut and death - the two just don't go together in my head. And yet, in harsh, uncaring reality, sadly, unbelievably, they must.I first met Helmut in 1983. We were expecting our first child and being in deepest Bavaria, far from grandparents, had decided to look for a couple in a similar position to share a house with, and share the

The Sevvie; Oh howe are the myghtie ouerthrowen

2011-10-30T10:16:00.007+01:00

The Sefton Arms Hotel was once a proud drinking establishment, built on the very entrance to Aintree Race Course and less than 50 yards from the train station which was named after it, "Aintree Sefton Arms". The hotel would reach its apotheosis each year during the Grand National racing meeting.It was also our local pub, the place where my mum and dad spent almost as much time as they did at home

D-I-f-Y

2011-10-29T07:23:00.005+02:00

It's probably quite fortunate that people pronounce DIY as "dee, eye, why" and don't say the actual words the acronym is made from -oh, hang on, it's not an acronym is it? Because you don't pronounce DIY as "diy", but it's not an abbreviation either...so what is it?I could look it up for you but, well, DIY!And indeed, that is my point - if people didn't go around saying "dee, eye, why", they

Sapphic Apple

2011-09-12T14:57:00.005+02:00

Οἶον τὸ γλυκύμαλον ἐρεύθεται ἄκρῳ ἐπ' ὔσδῳ ἄκρον ἐπ' ἀκροτάτῳ· λελάθοντο δὲ μαλοδρόπηες,οὐ μὰν ἐκλελάθοντ', ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐδύναντ' ἐπίκεσθαι.That's a fragment of old Sappho for you...What?? You want a translation..???Ok, first here's GoogleTranslate's version:Quasi the glykύmalon ereύthetai akrῳ on ysdῳwelding on akrotάtῳ; lelάthonto he malodropies,My Man eklelάthont 'But owc edύnant' epίkesthai.No?Ok

Zen and the Art of Washing up by Hand

2011-09-02T11:55:00.004+02:00

As a musician, I loathe and detest background music. This is becoming more and more difficult to avoid; supermarkets have had it for ages now, pubs unfortunately too, of course - that awful piped musak. Now you get it on the phone when you call, say, the gas board about a leak, “...all our operators are busy at the

TOGS

2011-07-23T15:17:00.002+02:00

Verily, this blog has endured a Time Of Great Silence in the last months. Forthwith, I shall endeavour to be more loquacious. I can extend no guarantee that my efforts will bear fruit - but I'll have a bash!

Welcome to the Fold

2011-02-24T23:38:00.003+01:00

When my daughter Nick phoned up late last year and said, "hello daddy, erm, I'm engaged!", I thought she meant she had a long term gig with her band Liza23.I said something like, "oh, good, where are you playing?"She replied in that tone which daughters seem to reserve exclusively for their slow-witted dads, "No, daddy, enGAGed!!""Ah, enGAGed, ok, erm, that's great... isn't it?"Well, it turned

Why I am not a Physicist

2010-12-16T16:49:00.003+01:00

Some old archive in my memory has just been jiggled open while I was listening to a programme on Radio 4.I spend a large part of my, admittedly far too limited, reading time buried deep inside books about science. I'm quite eclectic in my tastes, quantum mechanics, relativity, particle physics, neuroscience, evolution, astronomy, psychology and so on - from parallel universes to the Large Hadron

Hitchins

2010-07-03T11:34:00.005+02:00

Christopher Hitchins, a man I admire greatly, has been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus. He is undergoing chemo-therapy but the prognosis for this particular type of cancer is not good.Christopher Hitchins is a courageous. honest and exceptionally erudite individual; he writes in Vanity Fair - in fact he writes extremely well in Vanity Fair, has had several books published, notably 'God is

Back Home Tomorrow?

2010-06-23T12:46:00.003+02:00

Supporting England is a pain! A 100% PAIN!!Normally last night I would have been able to sit back and enjoy watching the abject Frogs get ushered out of the World Cup via the back door ...but the problem is that in a few hours the Hingerland doughnuts may also suffer a similar ignominious fate. This has severely dampened any upbubbling of Schadenfreude in my savage, neolithic,

Here We Go Again . . .

2010-06-13T07:16:00.006+02:00

After a wonderful and relaxing interlude following Spain in the 2008 European Championship (due to Steve McClueless's Hingerland team not qualifying), when for the first time I saw how it might be to support an international team which could really play, it was back to workhouse bread and gruel yesterday.England's opening game in the 2010 Word Cup against former colony USA.Ho hum.England start

World Cup Approaches

2010-06-07T20:50:00.005+02:00

Maybe it's me, or maybe the build up's been low key - but the FIFA fever hasn't kicked in yet. Hmm, right now I just feel "World Cup, World Schmup".Maybe I'm still disillusioned with Hingerland cos they failed to get into the European Championships in 2008. On the other handI have to admit I really enjoyed it as I was supporting Spain and it was amazing to support a team which played great

Eurovision Pong Contest

2010-06-02T01:22:00.006+02:00

...yes, yes, ok...I know it's my own fault...yes, I know ...I KNO-HOOOW...I know, I know, I KNOW...!Yes, I watched it, and yes, I know... IT IS MY OWN FAULT!!I blinked ...I looked away...for a fraction of a second my guard was down and suddenly I was infected... infected by the bug here in Deepest Bavaria and in Germany generally ...the enthusiasm bug... Eurovision enthusiasm bug, let's just call

Have You Ordered Yours Yet?

2010-05-26T16:37:00.003+02:00

It's finally arrived, the product everyone has been waiting for over the last year, kept under wraps in the strictest security – Apple's latest breakthrough ...the iPud.I was at the unveiling on Sunday and I managed t get my hands on one of the very first iPuds and I have to say I fell in love with it straight away. It's cool, it's stylish and it's tasty – and it's full of giga-bites.You're all

Well-hung Parliament

2010-05-07T15:55:00.003+02:00

Aye, so none of the parties are going to get an absolute majority after the General Election in the UK.So now all the weasly politicians come out from under their stones and start going back on all the nasty things they said about their opponents and all the strong promises they trumpeted before the election so that they can maybe just manage to cobble together some squalid deal after the

Ask a Stupid Question...

2010-05-02T11:21:00.000+02:00

...and you don't always get a stupid answer!

Quite Simply...

2010-04-26T17:11:00.001+02:00

...cos I love this picture!(Edit: Anji in the comments is right - should have said where this is! Just put "Formby Point" into Google Earth or Maps)

In Nomine Humanitatis

2010-04-09T11:29:00.002+02:00

I have been trying to avoid commenting on the stomach-churning revelations about child rape which have been oozing out all over Ireland, Germany and many other countries of the Holy Roman Empire.Like many people I suppose I have been waiting for the top knobs (oh sorry) in the Roman Catholic Church to come out and make some kind of statement which is not just an incredibly insensitive attempt to

Happy Διονύσια τὰ Μεγάλα!

2010-04-04T01:27:00.003+02:00

It's the Great Dionysia, so nip down to ancient Athens (you will need to borrow the new Doctor's Tardis for this), catch a tragedy by Aeschylos or Euripides and a comedy from Aristophanes and then fill your wine-skins and go on a drunken revel.

DangaDeeDang

2010-04-03T21:13:00.003+02:00

...hey the Doctor is back! Doctor? Doctor who? Doctor Who!Just seen the newly regenerated Doctor (having been there from the very start with Doctor no.1) and I have to admit...it looks good. I can well imagine there will be a few episodes which will have to be watched from behind the couch.

Alarming

2010-03-30T08:08:00.002+02:00

You know how there are some mornings when you are glad to hear the alarm go off so that you can finally stop your desperate attempts to get to sleep...?Do the birds of the air have the same problems sleeping? Do they tuck their heads under their wings and then metaphorically toss and turn all night, wondering where the next worm is going to come from?When rosy-fingered dawn stains the eastern sky

Belated Happy Paddy's Day Wishes

2010-03-18T15:05:00.006+01:00

I will assume you all realised it was St Patrick's Day (patron saint of Irish pub owners) yesterday.This is how I celebrated it:05.30 - yes, a.m. - alarm rings. I creak out of bed, mumbling foul curses under my breath.05.45 - 06.15 - slumped over coffee and muesli, peering bleary-eyed at the laptop.06.30 - drive to a company whose engineers insist that 07.30 is a great time for an English lesson

Brrrrrrrrr...

2010-03-07T23:20:00.004+01:00

I met someone from Siberia yesterday (more about that later) - I don't know if there's a connection but look at this temperature:That's here in Deepest Bavaria, by the way. There's snow outside too...(UPDATE: This morning it's -16°C. I may have to write in and complain.)

O2 and Hot Air

2010-03-02T11:58:00.005+01:00

Having spent hours on the O2 website trying and failing miserably to work out which tariff would be the best for me and what it would cost, how many free minutes here and smses there and so on and so forth, I decided to pop into the local O2 shop instead and see if a human could enlighten me.I put my faithful old mobile down on the counter and said I wanted a new tariff.The human didn't reply -

Value for Money

2010-02-28T02:17:00.003+01:00

I think I may have mentioned a few times in the course of this blog that I am proud of my children... inordinately proud... perhaps even unhealthily proud...Be that as it may, I am rather proud of Nick, Bid, Jimmy and William.Anyway, this evening it was Biddy's turn. She had a vernissage at Movimento a private culture centre in the heart of Munich, within the context of a classical concert put on

Radio Stars

2010-02-23T10:04:00.002+01:00

So, for those of you who missed it, here is that previously mentioned interview.Bayern 1 talks to The BOTTLESShould you have problems understanding it, don't adjust your sets - it may be because it's in German!

On't Radio Tomorrow Actually...

2010-02-20T13:31:00.002+01:00

(...see below)The interview will be on tomorrow, Sunday at 13.15 (CET) here:http://bayern1.radio.de/

On't Radio

2010-02-19T11:58:00.004+01:00

It's a busy old life.I have to go off in a mo for an interview on Bavarian radio (Bayern 1) - they are having a competition to find the best Beatles tribute/cover band in Bavaria and as one of my bands - The BOTTLES - is that very thing we have entered!The radio station phoned yesterday and said they loved the mp3, could we go in for an interview... so, in a while we will be fighting through the

Snowflake Terrorist Attack on Airport

2010-02-04T15:54:00.003+01:00

This and 75 similarly disguised terrorists attacked Manchester Airport yesterday causing planes to be grounded, diverted and finally closing down the airport completely. NeutronNews was our on the spot eye-witness:“I saw the terrorists parachuting down at Manchester's Ringway Airport... they immediately took up strategic positions on the runways and brought traffic to a standstill. Make no

Search Me..

2010-02-01T23:41:00.006+01:00

In the news today they revealed that Manchester Airport has installed 2 new body scanners for security. Not satisfied with making you remove your belts, boots and other paraphernalia, they will now select passengers at random for a full body scan - and anyone who refuses will not be allowed to fly.I don't mind the belt and boot stuff - it's just such a bugger putting everything back on again

Low Spirits

2010-01-29T15:11:00.003+01:00

Is this SAD or what...? Click here for the rest ...

Spring Squallifications

2010-01-29T12:24:00.005+01:00

Amidst the squally showers and blinding winter sun, I thought I had spotted something momentous in the garden (actually, the neighbour's garden). Is it me or are there little pink buds on these branches above the greenhouse?Surely spring has not yet sprung?Out of bleary eyes I saw pinkish sort of things from the window and had a look with a little telescope (yeah, seriously), it's just too

This REALLY Sucks...

2010-01-27T17:04:00.004+01:00

This is Darth Vader's hoover...It is really rather good - it makes a StarWars sort of sound too as it whines and dines on the dirt.The dust cap is nicely booby-trapped so that when you click on the button to open it and try to lift the flap off at the top, you discover that the flap is actually at the bottom and all the gunge inside has now fallen out onto your foot!Unless, of course, you have

18!

2010-01-18T11:59:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday Jimmy!Another of my children puts childish and teenagerish things behind him and turns overnight into an adult. This picture is from 17 and a half years ago and I don't think he can still pick his nose with his toe!

Cooler than Cool

2010-01-12T22:43:00.002+01:00

There's a handy little feature on the Ubuntu desktop which tells you what the local weather is like. It saves looking out of the window.Right now though it is telling me that it is -10°c (= some bloody cold temperature in Fahrenheit) outside but the 11.1 km/hour wind from the east makes it feel like -15.6°C (= an even bloody colder temperature in Fahrenheit). That's not so cool... or rather it's

Rather Cool

2010-01-07T23:13:00.002+01:00

I know my fellow Angles and Saxons are freezing, getting snowed into pubs, suffering delays in travel, etc, etc due to the couple of inches of snow that have fallen over there but it has provided us with a most tremendous satellite picture of a snow-bound GB which is breathtaking!Walking on frozen clouds...(Thanks to Phil Plait for spotting it)

IKEos

2010-01-05T08:54:00.008+01:00

I have mentioned elsewhere (here and here) that I don't do New Year's Resolutions as a result of being far too irresolute but this could almost be regarded as resolutionary. I ordered this sort of desk-chest-of-drawers thing hoping that it would help me reduce the chaos which is my 'office'. It came just before Xmas and I was going to enlist Biddy to help me assemble it, knowing that her calm

Tara 2009

2009-12-31T13:39:00.002+01:00

Did I read that in her Christmas speech the Queen said 2009 was a pain in the arse?Well, if she did, she was dead right! I am quite pleased to see the back of it.However, optimistic as ever I wish you all...A Happy and Prosperous 2010!

What's Smart about it?

2009-11-22T09:43:00.005+01:00

The Smart - inspired by the sardine can.We had a gig last night and after it I drove the band van with all the equipment back to where we store it and got a lift back into town in a Smart. This was the first time I had ever been in one... and may well be the last time.Apart from anything else, I could hardly get in in the first place. The Smart is not recommended for two people whose "diets" are

Too Late...

2009-11-08T02:56:00.002+01:00

...you have all missed Carl Sagan Day! I have just left the chat room which was linked to the live stream from Broward College in southern Florida. I was the last one still standing in the chat room...another first!Carl Sagan is one of the very few people on my list of "people I would really like to meet/to have met" and the speakers made me even sadder at not being able to achieve this.The most

New (Old) Look

2009-10-20T08:23:00.007+02:00

I got a mail from my younger daughter last night about a website she had found:www.yearbookyourself.comYou have to upload a suitable picture of someone and then you can choose a "look" from decades gone by.This is how our Bid would have looked if she'd been a dedicated follower of fashion in 1960:She looks frighteningly like a couple of my old teachers from when I was in infant school!I was

Happy Birthday Atchoo

2009-10-17T19:27:00.002+02:00

Yes, it was my birthday yesterday and, yes, I managed to get some kind of cold/cough combination which meant that I spent the day (and the day before actually) coughing and sneezing in bed.At least this means that my diet has got off to a good start... I poisoned myself with alcohol last Sunday, poisoned myself with some strange beans on Monday and then came down with this lurgy on Wednesday.

Neutron Resurrectus Est

2009-10-12T07:25:00.004+02:00

There is only one good thing about having a hangover - there comes a time when you actually feel better. Correspondingly, having a really bad hangover means that your recovery is like getting over a serious illness. Having a catastrophic, supernova, brain-bursting hangover makes your recovery more like a resurrection - returning from the dark netherlands of the deceased.It all started as an

Don't Ring Us...

2009-10-07T15:52:00.002+02:00

Will you look at that! A newly discovered diaphanous ring of dust around Saturn.Full story at NASA

54 going on 22

2009-10-05T14:58:00.003+02:00

In the run up to my birthday next Friday (bleugh) a few disjointed remarks.We had visitors from Scotland last week - an old friend and her new boyfriend. We got to talking about age.. and he said in a wonderful Edinburgh brogue which I won't even attempt to spell phonetically, "I saw a t-shirt the other week. On it were the words I'm 18 with 36 years' life experience".That's exactly how it feels,

Liza23 and Big Bruvver

2009-09-23T21:44:00.005+02:00

My elder daughter plays bass in a band... and they have just won the Bavarian Music Lion Newcomer 2009 award!!Here they are:Liza23A Neutron as proud as a very proud thing.So we went to Berlin to take part in the awards. Great evening... red carpets, TV cameras everywhere, good food, good drink (FREE!!!) and good music.Then next day we did some sightseeing in Berlin. It's a marvellous city Berlin

My (well, Dawkins' actually) Latest Book

2009-09-05T12:27:00.001+02:00

I just have to find time to read it now...

It's Only 36 Pages...

2009-08-13T13:04:00.003+02:00

... but it's still my book!I couldn't resist getting a test copy from lulu.

Unbeerable

2009-07-23T22:46:00.004+02:00

For those of you waiting with that good old bated breath to find out what that frozen beer tasted like...I'm sorry to confess that it took quite a while to get round to trying it. I didn't want to try it without being sure of having a few other beers in just in case but then when I had a few beers in, I simply ignored the unfrozen half-opened experimental bottle.Anyway I tried it on Tuesday and

40 Years Ago...

2009-07-17T23:33:00.002+02:00

..I was watching every news programme, science update, etc, I could about the Apollo 11 mission which was well under way at this point.Take-off was yesterday 40 years ago...and the landing would be this Monday, 20th...although we were sat watching it at 3.00a.m. on the 21st in Liverpool.NASA has released pictures today from the LRO of 5 of the 6 landing sites here. It won't convince any of the

Tight-Fisted Auld Git..

2009-07-02T14:38:00.004+02:00

...is what you might call me, but I don't care!I was looking in the fridge for something to have for lunch...opened the freezer and found...this!!Yes, a bottle of Augustiner...frozen solid. Amazingly it hadn't cracked - but this is still a potential disaster. At the moment it is thawing in the kitchen and later I will simply have to try and drink it.This happened to me once before, many many

Body Clock Alarm

2009-05-17T09:22:00.002+02:00

It's 9.55 and according to a programme I saw the other day about the body clock, I have about 2 more hours to go before I am out of the heart attack danger zone.It seems that in the morning hours from waking till midday, first of all your blood vessels are less flexible than at other times, secondly you have more likelihood of fatty deposits building up inside them and, thirdly, as if that were

Odysseus Becalmed

2009-05-16T15:50:00.004+02:00

It has been rumoured, not without just cause, that, like Odysseus on his way home from Troy, I have been becalmed. And indeed, 'tis true!I have been drifting aimlessly in the bloggy doldrums, the sea gurgling idly around my soggy timbers and slapping gently against my bows, here in the midst of the Sea of Apathy.But now I sense the faint stirring of a breeze somewhere off over the horizon, the

Baaaaaaah, Humbug...

2009-03-27T22:04:00.001+01:00

...more of the wonders of Ewe-Tube...!

Off the Ale

2009-03-14T10:38:00.004+01:00

One of the clever functions of new religions is taking over the festivals and traditions of previous religions, adapting and adopting them and fitting them into the new system. The Romans did it with the Greek gods and goddesses and then took over the various divinities of the tribes they conquered and renamed the deities with Latin names. And then there's the intermingling of traditions and

How Could Anyone Go By Car...

2009-02-19T15:04:00.006+01:00

...when you could travel by the Munich branch ofSiberian public transport?It was minus 18°C this morning at 7.00 as I was on my way to teach and there was a razor breeze which slit open my cheeks and froze the contents of my paranasal sinuses along with most of the frontal lobes of my brain.Up there on the left you can see the u-bahn station, cold, depressing, concrete, functional... and turning

How Windows Make You Sad...

2009-01-14T07:19:00.007+01:00

I mean windows windows, not Windows windows. Everyone knows how Windows windows make you sad. And angry, and frustrated, and computer-cidal.Changing our window windows - 1934 original, beautifully designed, draughty, energy-profligate windows for brand new, 2009, double-glazed, energy-efficient but totally anonymous windows.3 steps:From this...to this...and finally this...Yes, I know the old

Chrissy Pud

2008-12-24T09:13:00.011+01:00

There will be seven of us at the table for Xmas Dinner this year and I went round everyone asking if it would be a terrible disaster if we didn't have a Chrissy pud just this once - this being due to the fact that I had cancelled my trip to Liverpool in November when I would have brought a pud back and not knowing where I could rustle one up in Deepest Bavaria. The reaction was more or less what

Run Down

2008-12-17T19:55:00.006+01:00

It's strange - every time I go to cross a road at the moment I have a curious feeling at the back of my mind that I am going to be run over. It doesn't matter what kind of road it is - wide or narrow, busy or deserted...Maybe I have just been on the road too long - the Diddly Tour 2008 came to an end last Sunday morning at about 06.30 when we got back from...somewhere. Over the last few weekends

Buzzy Anesti! Malista Anesti!*

2008-11-07T11:20:00.007+01:00

You may have noticed a certain silence on the Buzzy front recently since we broke down last September near Aachen... well...Buzzy has ARISEN!!This is where he has been recuperating this last year having had a motor transplant and exhaust pipe implant.But finally on Wednesday it was time for him to get back to work.One sort of 'drawback' about living in Deepest Bavaria is that the authorities

Birthday on Guy Fawkes' Day...

2008-11-05T19:56:00.002+01:00

...and so my mother said there would never be an excuse to forget her birthday!We will be drinking a gin&tonic (or 10) to her memory later on.

Book Mess

2008-10-26T08:12:00.004+01:00

I was at the Frankfurt Book Exhibition last week courtesy of Pearson Education Germany, one of my translation clients.In German it's called the Frankfurt Buchmesse (for the xenolinguistically-challenged among you: Buch = book and Messe = exhibition) which is why one of my more misguided English students described it to me as, ze biggest book mess in ze world!I remember thinking at the time, 'you

Fall Back

2008-10-26T07:55:00.003+01:00

Now that my computer remembers for me I don't have the problem with clocks going back or forward any more - well, I don't have a problem remembering but I do have a problem adjusting. It's amazing how for a couple of weeks after one of these 'equinoctial' clock changes everything seems to be earlier or later that it "should be".Maybe I rely on my inner clock more than most as I don't wear a watch

Off the Road Again

2008-10-14T14:25:00.007+02:00

Back from the latest section of our German Tour! This time it was the states North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Würtemburg, and more precisely the cities Siegen, Düsseldorf and Mannheim which were provided with doses of the diddlies.In brief:Siegen: ughDüsseldorf: wowMannheim: erm, ughLittle bit less brief:Siegen: reminded me of the centres of those English cities which were "redeveloped" in the

Confluentes

2008-10-07T07:17:00.004+02:00

I am not obsessing about Koblenz but it is bugging me that I didn't remember that statue, which I have subsequently found out is of the emperor William I on his horse, as I mentioned in my last post.There is something quite splendid about the fact that the Mosel to the right or top of the picture flows into the Rhine along the bottom and that the city grew from this.I love rivers anyway. I grew

One is on Tour

2008-10-03T14:14:00.004+02:00

So, I have now made it back to Deepest Bavaria after my brief trip to Liverpool. Actually, come to think of it, it's not deepest Bavaria at all as I am on tour this weekend with the Irish band I play in. One loses track sometimes when one is on tour, doesn't one?We are playing two nights in Koblenz, up where the Mosel meets the Rhine.We played last night and then went off to the 'Hotel

Why I Don't Listen to Music on the Radio

2008-09-23T23:00:00.002+02:00

What does James Blunt know about 1973???

Guest Beer

2008-09-21T10:34:00.004+02:00

I think I have neglected to mention that I am in Liverpool at the moment...Well, yesterday I finally got down to the beach at Formby Point just in time for a glorious, breathtaking sunset. Almost horizontal, tired sunbeams streaming across the surface of the sea, making the dunes go a strange pale red and the air clear enough to see over to the Welsh mountains in the south west and the peaks of

Taking Steps

2008-09-20T07:28:00.004+02:00

For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath... strange - as I wrote bated I thought, "bated? Bated breath?? Wassat? Must be Shakespeare", and, as so often with expressions we normally say without even thinking, it is!According to phrases.org.uk, "...the earliest citation of the phrase is from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, 1596: "With bated breath, and whispring humblenesse."

Post Biggum Bangum

2008-09-12T14:26:00.003+02:00

Right, so at CERN they sent a bunch of protons round the 27 kilometre LHC one way and then they sent a bunch of protons around the 27 kilometre LHC the other way, and I'm still here, and you're still there...(Do I sense the makings of a new nursery rhyme here?)I was feeling a bit left out here with all these protons having a good time and the thing is they could have made it cheaper by using

Biggus Bangus

2008-09-09T09:30:00.006+02:00

It's Big Bang Day tomorrow at CERN. The people who brought us Toblerone and cuckoo clocks are now going to destroy the Earth!Nah, course they're not... but tomorrow at CERN the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) is going to start whizzing protons around and start the search for the explanation of everything.I mentioned it here and for loads of info and interviews and whatnot there is this wonderful

Stand Well Back - Very Bad Joke...

2008-09-04T17:05:00.002+02:00

I issue one last warning - this is so bad it's good.A: Why does a Frenchman never eat two eggs?B: Because one egg is un oeuf !Cracking yolk, what?

Three Steps to Heaven

2008-08-22T12:54:00.003+02:00

As my nod-off-book, I'm reading (again) Stephen Pinker's "How the Mind Works". It really is an excellent book. Just before I nodded off last night I was reading the speculations about the date of the earliest traces of homo sapiens sapiens, i.e. us.Pinker talks about the date possibly being around 45,000 years ago.Now, I don't know about you but I find numbers from around that big and upwards

Couple of Odd Socks

2008-08-17T11:55:00.006+02:00

...the title was meant to be metaphoric but as I wrote it, it occurred to me that I actually do only have odd socks. Fortunately they are mostly more or less the same colour so I think I get away with it.My dad used to say,"Are you wearing odd socks?""Yeah, and funnily enough I have another pair just the same at home."Right so... erm...Oh yes, on Friday it was 15th August. To most of you simply a

But What Does It Matter?

2008-08-12T23:53:00.004+02:00

The Large Hadron Collider is getting close to being turned on - or whatever it is you do to it to get it to work... somehow 'turned on' seems a bit weedy.Anyway, I seem to be hearing voices saying, "does it really matter?"I must admit I have problems with this question. At the risk of being not PC and not tolerant of others' viewpoints and not willing to see the controversy and all that claptrap,

Happy Birthday Nicky!

2008-08-12T12:37:00.003+02:00

Nicky gently terrorising her sister25 years ago now I was just being called out of an English lesson by a frantic secretary at the company where I was working and told "the waters have broken".The rest is history!My Nicky is 25!!!!! (Neutron faints away into a mouldy, shrivelled heap)Well, if the weather remains fine - and it BETTER HAD or there will be trouble - we will all be meeting up at the

Jamwave, MySpace...

2008-08-11T09:14:00.002+02:00

I have a sneaking suspicion that MySpace is easier to set up than I think... it's just that every time I try to sort out my MySpace space I end up spaced out and wondering where I have to click to edit the bloody thing.Meanwhile my JamWave erm... thing now has a new design and you can listen directly to a couple of songs. Don't know what good it does me being on JamWave but there you go.

Played with Sticks...or Did I?

2008-08-10T16:56:00.008+02:00

Since I posted Happy Birthday Williamo I have been asked a couple of times about this diary-keeping thing...Well, it all began at Xmas 1964 when I got this as one of my presents...The diary stayed in Liverpool for a long time and then my mother generously gave it to my older daughter - so that my kids could have a good laugh at my expense!!And, as they do, they did. They really did.I have had the

Tax Attacks

2008-08-09T07:50:00.003+02:00

I HATE doing my taxes! HATE!! Especially when I am late with them... VAT for the second quarter in his case.Bleeeuuugghhh... and no matter how you grub around with your bills, tot up the mileages you have driven, rake around for expenses you have had, you always end up having to hand over a huge wodge of cash to these pecuniary leeches.Today will be like this from Black Books (highly recommended!

Happy Birthday Williamo!

2008-08-06T16:28:00.004+02:00

My youngest is now officially a teenager... 13!!(Does this mean I no longer have any children??)Anyway, William so far has received all sorts of wonderful pressies, has had cake, gone off with his mates to one of Munich's very pleasant open-air pools, will be back later for more cake and an evening of varied entertainment.It made me wonder what I did on my 13th and what I got... so, I searched

Hoo-Haa-Hee

2008-08-05T02:07:00.003+02:00

It's just after 2 in the morning and I am now soaked to the skin but enjoying a cognac to "celebrate" survival.Over the weekend we were up in Nürnberg having trials of our own getting the PA to work at the Bardenfest where we played Saturday and Sunday.I (or 'we' until Sunday night) drove up to Nürnberg on Saturday, played two 2-hour sets till 11 pm... had a 'couple' of pints... staggered back to

Whatever Happened to June, It Just Happened to July as Well

2008-08-02T08:25:00.003+02:00

Gor blimey... it's August!Maybe July and August go so quickly because they are interloper months, gate crashing into the calendar.Have you never wondered why Septem-ber (septem = seven in Latin) is the ninth month, Octo-ber (octo = eight in Latin) is the tenth month, Novem-ber (novem = nine in Latin) is the eleventh month and Decem-ber (decem = ten in Latin) is the twelth month?Well, it's the

'Allo Apollo 11...

2008-07-21T21:39:00.002+02:00

I realise I have to post something for July AND to commemorate Apollo 11 landing on the moon 39 years ago yesterday. Were any of you wrapped in swaddling clothes watching it in the early hours of the morning like I was in Liverpool?What an incredible achievement – and what an unbelievably sad sequel that nothing happened afterwards.What really gets me irritated is the number of people who are

What Happened to June?

2008-07-05T00:09:00.002+02:00

As June began I was thinking, 'great, loads of bloggy material coming up...'There was Munich's 850th birthday, the Euro 2008, a big Irish festival, the Tollwood festival...There was also translating and teaching, playing gigs and recording, the continuing struggle with the council in Liverpool about my mother's house, the realisation that my bus - Buzzy - had reached the age of 20 and

I Think They've Got It Now!

2008-06-30T08:25:00.004+02:00

Well, well... I actually picked a winner! The team I chose to follow in the absence of Hingerland only went and won the Euro 2008 Championship!!And what a joy it was to support a team that can PLAY; a team that can PASS; a team that doesn't look as if they only met each other a few hours before the game...Hmm, it's going to be hard to go back from enjoying Spain to suffering the pain of a

Pale Blue Dot - Carl Sagan

2008-06-28T12:03:00.002+02:00

I really love this clip. It is great to have something that is inspiring to most people regardless of religion or ideology.

3 Years Today

2008-06-22T09:09:00.000+02:00

It is three years since my mother died.Feels more like 300.Death is terribly final, isn't it?

Happy Birthday Dear Teabag

2008-06-13T12:13:00.003+02:00

The teabag is 100 today - I wonder if it was also a Friday!Anyhow, it was all a mistake,"...Thomas Sullivan, a New York coffee merchant who turned to tea, sent out samples in small silk sachets rather than as loose tea. His penny-pinching was misunderstood by his customers who failed to realise that they were supposed to cut open the sachet and empty its contents into a pot before brewing their

Hinger-land, Hinger-land, Hinger- oh!

2008-06-07T11:21:00.005+02:00

So, ladies and gentlemen, the European Footy Thingy starts today and as has been pointed out to me gleefully - nay, gloatingly - by numerous inhabitants of deepest Bavaria, Hinger-land is not taking part.I have to admit this has left me free to approach this Championship with a relaxed feeling of calm which is wonderful. No frustrated screams of anguish at the TV when the Young English

I Got This Email This Morning...

2008-06-06T17:47:00.002+02:00

ΖΗΤΟΥΝΤΑΙ ΕΘΕΛΟΝΤΕΣΠέρυσι τέτοιον καιρό διαφήμιζα έναν μαγικό χώρο στην ορεινή Ηλεία, έναν χώρο για σεμινάρια και εναλλακτικές διακοπές. Ύστερα από τις φωτιές του Αυγούστου 2007, αυτός ο χώρος και το πανέμορφο δάσος που τον περιτριγύριζε μεταμορφώθηκαν σε μια αναπαράσταση της Χιροσίμα.Η καταστροφή του περιβάλλοντος είναι ολοκληρωτική κι έτσι αποφάσισα να σας προσκαλέσω κατά τη διάρκεια των

Summer Bloody Holiday

2008-06-02T11:55:00.004+02:00

I have been singing, humming, whistling, Summer-bloody-Holiday non-stop since Saturday! It is driving me seriously round the bend.My apologies if this has affected any of you in the same way......mm-we're all going on a - a summer holiday...blong...no more workin' for a - weekortwo..... ...argghhh! SHUT UP!!

Hypothetical Summer Holiday...

2008-05-31T11:24:00.006+02:00

This is thanks to Doris whose comment opened an archive in my memory..This was my DREAM as a kid... to go off somewhere in a converted double-decker (without Cliff of course).Actually it's a nifty little song too - in its cheesy way - right down to the key change two-thirds in...Ahhh... nostalgia - truly a return to pain.(Sorry the layout's a bit of a dog's dinner in Firefox)

Philodendrony

2008-05-29T10:54:00.003+02:00

I like trees, I like flowers, I like all that other stuff that bursts into growth during the spring.But I don't like pollen - and pollen most decidedly doesn't like me.(I have ranted about this before... here )The air outside is a choking, dusty, tickling mass of pollen floating on little whispy white tendrils.And dainty though it seems, it is attacking my immune system with a nasty viciousness

And There's More...

2008-05-28T09:27:00.002+02:00

There is another knock-your-socks-off image here. A quite incredible picture.As I mentioned the 'space' v child welfare/drug clinics/save the rainforest/etc argument has arisen on a good few occasions when I have mentioned this Mars mission.I wonder why 'space' always gets used in this kind of comparison as if it's the only thing government spends money on which could be spent elsewhere.The

Cor Blimey...

2008-05-26T21:15:00.006+02:00

I don't usually say things like, "this is SO COOOOOL!" but I have to make an exception for this picture. It is a photo taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of the Phoenix and its parachute descending through the Martian atmosphere to the arctic plains below.It is stunning to think that these machines are going about their business so far away from us that even light at the moment takes 15

Welcome to the Northern Plains!

2008-05-26T08:31:00.001+02:00

This is one of the first images NASA released from the Phoenix lander which touched down early this morning up near the Martian north pole.It's the surface on Mars; it's the horizon on Mars; it's the sky on Mars; it's Mars-vellous.