Going for a Song

There is a wonderful series in the Sunday Times called "Going for a Song". Last week Phil Jupitus described why he he picked "The Birds will still be Singing" by Elvis Costello. He starts off "Being someone who is easily manipulated by emotions means that I am more than fair game for any artist who can spin a heart wrenching turn of phrase or construct just the right interplay of chords to tip me over into floods of tears".

I hardly ever reach such a state, but on Saturday at midday, the first game at the new Wembley was introduced by a montage of the old Wembley, its demolition and the building of the new stadium, all to Coldplay's "Fix You". Good old Sky. Sometimes they do things better than anyone. So that was all pretty emotional. But then they showed some interviews with people outside the ground, and some had memories of the old Wembley. I just thought of 1966 and that was it.

Edward Seymour - A start at last

My history project is underway at last. Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford was made Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector when the nine year old Edward VI came to the throne in 1547. He held this office for nearly three years before being stripped of his office and thrown in the Tower of London. It is this period on which my project concentrates, and in particular Somerset's relationship and struggle for power with his brother, Thomas Seymour.

I now have a number of sources (apart from Alison Weir's "Children of England" whose first one hundred pages covers this period). These include "The Boy King - Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation" (a highly scholarly but very dry book by Diarmid McCulloch), "England under Protector Somerset - An Essay" by Albert Fred pollard and various extracts from the internet including Marilee Hanson's piece on Edward VI on her website http://englishhistory.net/tudor.

I have also found a copy of a 1953 film called "Young Bess" with Stewart Granger as Thomas Seymour, Guy Rolfe as Somerset and Jean Simmons as the young Elizabeth. Although most of the film does actually cover the same period, it is primarily concerned with the relationship between the future queen and Thomas. But it totally distorts many historical facts. The story of Edward and Thomas Seymour is dramatic enough without having to resort to fantasy.

Lucinda Williams' "West" and Thea Gilmore "The Threads" EP

Two of my favourite artists have new CD's. When I first heard the opening two tracks of "West", I thought this was not in the same league as Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road". But then came track three and everything changed. The opening chords were haunting and the song was as good as anything she has recorded. The experience of her mother's death runs through many of the songs, not least for "Learning How To Live". Why cant we have more piano solos like the one in the middle of this track. It reminded me a little of Floyd Cramer, the grandaddy of country pianists. "Come On" is a real rocky track with a wonderful Hammond organ in the background. Another reminder, this time Alan Price's playing on "House of the Rising Sun". Having now listened to the album a few times, all the songs have a great deal to offer in their different ways. An excellent piece of work.

There are few artists that would get me out on a Saturday evening, but Thea Gilmore is one. When I found out she was performing an acoustic set at The Stables on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, I was wondered how this would be. Especially after seeing her with her band two years ago at the same venue. I need not have worried. Her songs fit perfectly with one or two guitars (the other supplied by her partner/producer/etc Nigel Stonier). She played many of my favourites, along with half a dozen I had never heard before. Four of these were from a new limited edition EP called "The Threads) that we were able to buy after the show. And four of the best tracks she has recorded. And she saved my all time favourite "This Girl is Taking Bets" (thanks to Johnny Walker again for introducing me to Thea's music) for the end. I think I was the only poor soul who clapped the intro.

Music and Lyrics, Hot Fuzz and The Illusionist

If there was thing in common for these three films, it would be that they are somewhat lightweight, but still good entertainment. Hugh Grant is looking an even older lothario than usual in Music and Lyrics. But he still manages to give a great performance, and Drew Barrymore was always my favourite of Charlie's Angels. The ratings have always averaged two stars, but I found the whole film totally engaging and give it four.

Which is more than the other two films. Hot Fuzz was just slightly disappointing after the wonderful Shawn of the Dead, with too many repetitive jokes, and hammy acting. But good fun. I probably saw the twist in the Illusionist far later than anyone else. But is was good to be tricked for so long. It was just a shame about the casting of Edward Norton in the main role. Any other actor would have improved the film immensely.

Canterbury and Chatham Historic Dockyard

I'm not sure why Alison picked the first week in March to have a short break. I guess the fact that the two nights at the very nice Ramada hotel outside Maidstone and the Eurotunnel fare were free using Tesco vouchers had something to do with it.

We ( or should I say I) picked the Historic Dockyard at Chatham for the first day. It might have been that it was pretty deserted, but the whole place seemed to be a bit amateur compared with, say, Portsmouth. And the weather didn't help. Although bright, there was a very chilly wind, and Alison particularly suffered, as you can see. There was nowhere to get warm, even the horrible cafe was cold.

The two ships we went on were quite interesting. The second world war destroyer showed how basic the conditions were at sea. The guided tour of the submarine HMS Ocelot was the high point, especially having to slide through the hatches from one compartment to another. The best presented exhibit was the RNLI display of 17 old lifeboats, each with their own history.

On the second day, Canterbury was a totally different story. The weather was sunny and the wind had died down. The Cathedral looked wonderful, both outside and the interior with the sun streaming through the stained glass windows.

I was particularly interested to see where Thomas Becket ( we were always taught it was Thomas a Becket) was killed, having done "Murder in the Cathedral" by T S Elliott for O Level. I was not prepared for the impressive area dedicated to the events of 1170. Visiting the spot 46 years after studying the book ended up being quite emotional, especially seeing the stained glass window representation of Thomas which is used so often.

In the end, because we were there in early March and the few visitors, meant we enjoyed the visit to Canterbury even more, and coupled with the great weather, made for a memorable day. We ended up in the Roman Museum, which was worth it to see the remains of a Roman building underground.

On Saturday we went through the tunnel to go shopping at Cite Europe. Our hotel was only half an hour from the tunnel so the travelling was reduced to just the journey back. The garage is now stacked with wine and beer and the fridge has a delightful smell of cheese.

All go in my new study

It has taken over two months to organise, but at last the new study is up and running. Since my last posting (two weeks ago) I have set up the new computer, installed a wireless router (thank goodness I bought it from Virgin, my internet provider, as the installation instructions were not specific about using the ethernet cable (whatever that is) and I ended up using the USB cable provided. So Virgin were able to let me know what to do and it was working in no time.

I then had to buy a wireless adaptor for the new computer. PC World were not sure if they had one that was compatable with Vista. They checked that the Belkin was, even though it did not say as much on the box. The first time I followed the installation CD, it did not work. Eventually I phoned Virgin who suggested I uninstall, try again or take it back to the shop. I took some advice from some reviews on the internet, tried a different way of installing and seemed to get a connection, but how I will never know. This took most of Sunday, missing West Ham v Spurs which Alison said was the best game of the season. So now I get internet and e-mails to my new computer by magic.

On Tuesday, the office furniture (from Weelemobel) arrived. Two desks went together really well - trust the Germans to have the perfect fixings and almost perfect instructions, the shelf unit was the same and the drawer unit only needed the casters, runners and handles fixing. Very impressed. So this is the first posting from a new desk. All the photos from the other computer are now loaded and started to transfer to Picasa. I might even be able to start my history project next week.