10,000 Hits on Songs from Call the Midwife.

Nothing on my blog compares with the interest that has been shown on my list of songs from each episode of "Call the Midwife", due in part to the fact that there is no other listing on the internet of the songs episode by episode. This week the number of hits on my first posting for Series 1 reached 10,000. It had been around 30 short for a long time, but suddenly there are now seventy more than the magic number.

There are also over 1,000 hits for my posting for Series 2 and a hundred plus for Series 3. This latest series has been a huge test. The songs (mainly from 1959) have become more and more obscure, as if someone is really trying to make it difficult. But I keep trying, and the people on the Facebook page for "Call the Midwife" have sometimes helped. There are still a few gaps which I hope someone might fill one day.

PS    On the 8th November 2021 the number of hits for my post for Series 1 of CTM  has now reached 14,093. Other series have also garnered hits in the thousands. 

Function keys on our laptops

We shouldn't really be allowed to use a laptop without knowing what the function keys do. I didn't have a clue until Alison lost the wireless connection on hers. At first it seemed that there was something wrong with the wireless network adapter (whatever that is), but we had no luck trying to find a solution that worked.

It was only when I was searching for wireless connectivity (the next day) that I found the answer. Just pressing Fn and F2 together instantly solved the problem. So we soldier on, not really understanding everything our computers can do. Just keeping it simple .... until something goes wrong!

Inside Llewyn Davis, Dallas Buyers Club and The Monuments Men

I had heard such good things about Inside Llewyn Davis, that I found it surprisingly disappointing. I was pretty bored through the whole movie, which is unusual for a Cohen Brothers film. When the brightest moments involved a beautiful ginger cat called Ulysses, you will see that I was not impressed.

But I was by Dallas Buyers Club. Not only did Mathew McConaughy amaze us all with his brilliant performance as Aids "victim" Ron Woodroof, but so did Jared Leto as Rayon. And the story/screenplay was a lot better than some critics had warned. So director Jean-Marc Vallee and writers Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack are to be congratulated.

The Monuments Men is a strange concoction. It may have wanted to be an old time war movie, full of wisecracks and jolliness. But the subject matter really did not suit this approach. I guess it all looked good as an idea, the recue of works of art at the end of the second world war. But the script and story was all over the place, especially as our seven heroes split up for the middle part of the movie and the constant switching between locations did it no favours. The cast is full of stars, and they are good company for the most part. But George Clooney must take the blame as director/co-writer for a flimsy film that could have been so much better. It certainly looks good, and there are high production values. As a relaxing and diverting 100 minutes, it was OK.

Brandi Carlile, Kathleen Edwards, Nell Bryden, Jenna Witts and Emily Barker

There is one track on Brandi Carlile Live at Benaroya Hall with The Seattle Symphony Orchestra that surpasses almost everything I have heard over the last few years. Looking Out is the first track on her album Give Up The Ghost and is good enough. But on her live recording, from the distinctive first strums on her guitar to the final blast from the orchestra, it adds up to something powerful and operatic. Wonderful lyrics and every note and every chord are just perfect. And the rest of the album is mainly good too, but nothing like this one glorious song.

On the one hand, Kathleen Edwards' latest album Voyageur  is a typical collection of good accessible songs. But what makes this album different (and surprisingly enough in a good way) is that the production is by her partner Justin Vernon. Now I just cannot get his music with Bon Iver, but here his mainstream instrumental backings are just fantastic. Take track six for instance. My favourite just for the instrumental intro. An old time chord crashing electric guitar with an organ (a Hammond?) playing one note and then breaking through with the melody. Where did that come from? KE is such a good songwriter, there is hardly a dud on this album. I cant wait to hear it again.

You could say that Nell Bryden's follow up to her debut album What Does It Take is just easy listening (she does get plays on Radio 2). But that would ignore what are a terrific cross section of ballads, soul and country influenced songs. Shake The Tree is very well produced and Nell's voice is clear and pitch perfect, quite similar to Annie Lennox. Just listen to the title track.

After her disappointing last album Barefoot and Eager, Jenna is back on the form of her debut recording Brother. This time Jenna Witts has written all ten songs and they are reasonably impressive. For the first time Jenna has departed from an acoustic backing and surprisingly on the second track introduces a bigger electrified band. My favourite song is Not Here, Not There, Not Anywhere where she goes a little up country and where she is most comfortable. More please.

When I reviewed a previous album by Emily Barker and The Red Clay Halo, I said that I would have to listen to it a few more times before passing judgement. The same can be said for her latest Dear River. There are some tracks that will send you to sleep while others give you lift off . This is folk music stripped down to all acoustic basics. You have to be in the mood.

The New Ensuite Bathroom

We had been talking about refurbishing the ensuite bathroom for ages. After twenty two years of constant use, everything was looking it's age, particularly the tiling where the grouting behind the bath was pretty awful. We showered every day in the bath, so we wanted a dedicated shower room. The bath in the family bathroom would do when we wanted a soak.

We stated looking in the Spring at places like B&Q, but when we contacted our first prospective installer, he insisted he would not want to be involved with any product from a DIY store due to past unhappy experiences. He advised we go to Grant and Stone and look at some quality products in their showroom. We were glad we took his advice. The showroom in High Wycombe was fabulous and they had on display exactly what we wanted.

So we decided on the Merlyn shower enclosure, the Aqualisa digital powered shower (one overhead and one hand shower, plus remote control - see the button in above photo), Utopia bathroom cabinets and worktop with built in Duravit sanitary ware.

KCP Bathrooms provided a plan and a digital simulation together with a price for every item they would supply (cheaper than the prices listed by the manufacturers even with KCP's mark up) and a separate price for installation by Clark Bathrooms. We placed our order in early November and installation started over two weeks ago.

Spencer Clark was with us for two weeks and two days. We could not have wished for a better workman. He was neat, tidy and extremely hard working. Worth every penny. He co-ordinated two visits from the electrician ( down lighters required a new boarded ceiling plus a new fan and heated towel rail), one for the plasterers to finish the ceiling (the only room now not to have horrible Artex) and the floor layer for the new Amtico tiles.

The end result is just what we hoped for. All that is left is for the walls and skirting to be painted and possibly a new blind. And the summer will probably see a new cloakroom now that Alison is working again. We shall not be going anywhere else than KCP and Clark Bathrooms.

Arrivals and Departures at the Oxford Playhouse

Alan Ayckbourn's latest play Arrivals and Departures came to Oxford this week. Do they get stranger as he gets older? This is not a straightforward comedy, although it is very funny at times (why am I laughing quietly to myself when the rest of the audience is quiet?). It is more of a black comedy with a bit of Becket surrealism thrown in.

The success of the play depends on the integration of a number of flashbacks as each of the two main characters, twenty-three year old Ez (not Esme!) and elderly Barry contemplate their past. They are commanded to  "merge" by the capped major (as picture), she on army duty there to protect our Yorkshire traffic warden. They believe they have nothing in common to "merge" but their past reveals common unhappy secrets of which the other is unaware. The performances of Elizabeth Boag and Kim Wall in the lead roles are excellent, as is Terence Booth as the major.

As I say, the play depends on the success of this original device, and it does not always succeed. I thought the second half (a repeat of the first's real time action) was more successful, if not somewhat predictable. But the sheer ambition of the playwright and his manipulation of the play's structure result in a highly thought provoking climax where we are left to make up our own minds about Barry and Ez's future. Tragedy or the opposite await.

The Railway Man, 12 Years a Slave and The Wolf of Wall Street

Two harrowing films in succession started with The Railway Man. Colin Firth is excellent as a former WW2 POW who still has nightmares about his experience in the hands of the Japanese. Fortunately, we are spared prolonged excerpts of his time as prisoner, as told in flashbacks from his 1950's marriage to a Nicole Kidman. Despite criticisms of her performance, I found it solid and believable. To me, this was a carefully researched and well directed story that did credit to the whole cast and crew.

Given it's subject matter, I was surprised to find a packed cinema for 12 Years a Slave. And even more surprised, given the mainly elderly audience, only one couple left before the end. Which was a shame as they only missed the crucially happy ending that made what went before a little more comfortable. In my opinion, this was a good enough movie but not the outstanding one it was said to be. The story is the story, the dialogue was only just good enough and the acting was OK. If anything was top drawer, it was the direction and cinematography. I am still amazed that Steve McQueen got funding for this pretty expensive project, but he needs to learn more about the art of direction for a mainstream audience instead of getting too arty.

After the last two movies, I needed to see something lighter. Another true story to make a third, The Wolf of Wall Street  has to be seen as making fun of 1990's brokers, and in particular the real life Jordan Belfort. These days he would have not got off so lightly with his ripping off the endless number of clients in his wake. I thought that Martin Scorsese disguised the sleazy criminal activities of such an immoral character by wrapping it up in a succession of light-hearted over the top scenes. So we end up with a fun laden, but overlong three hours of hedonistic uproar. Leonardo DiCaprio puts in a huge bravura performance and is hardly off screen. But most memorable is a brilliant cameo from Mathew McConaughey that is worth on it's own the price of admission.

A Career in Construction - Part 9

Halfway through the Peterborough housing contract, the company won the contract to build a large block of offices called Touthill Close (eventually occupied by the County Council) near to Peterborough Cathedral. The floor area over the five floors was over 135,000 square feet.

What came next was totally unexpected. I was made up to Area Surveyor, looking after both the Peterborough contracts, with a growing team of surveyors reporting to me. Touthill Close also made a big loss. Things went wrong very early when the rock encountered in the excavations was far greater than expected. There were also changes to the foundations so we were soon claiming an extension of time and additional costs. We seemed to  find a sympathetic ear and reached another good settlement.

But by the completion of this contract, we had suffered further delays and losses. I ended up doing the final account and another claim, all of which were settled amicably. The company was happy and I was actually awarded a small bonus, something unheard of with Henry Boot. I used it to buy a good receiver/amplifier for my sound system.

The first housing contract was called Bretton 3B. There was always a chance we might get the opportunity to win Bretton 3A, another 300 plus houses (3B came first as it was the metric brick pilot). But everything had gone quiet about 3A and it was only while we were finishing 3B that we were asked to quickly put in a lump sum price for 3A. Obviously funding had suddenly been made available. I was involved in using the costs from 3B to work out the tender. The next thing we knew was that we were called to a meeting at the offices of the Development Corporation. We had added a considerable sum for negotiation, but instead there was none and we were just asked when could we start. So the contract made a fortune in profit. Our area was high in prestige, reporting every month on the figures was a dream. This contributed to the senior management in Birmingham to be made associate directors and the region was on a roll. All to be undone a couple of years after we left Peterborough.

The last contract we gained in Peterborough was a large factory and offices for Molins. It did OK, no problems, just made the expected small profit.

So at it's peak, my area had half a dozen other surveyors reporting to me. So I went from looking after one contract, to managing a team on four major projects in the space of three years. It had been a wonderful opportunity to gain this experience in such a short space of time, given that I hardly gained any in my nine years as a trainee at George Wimpey. It was a shame when it all came to an end.