BillF

Charlie Chaplin Carol Chaplin Cherie Blair

Sir Reginald Manningham Buller Sir Reginald Bullying Manner Eliza Manningham Buller

Lady Godiva (sent to Coventry) Koo Stark Rupert Bear

Rupert Bear Podgy Pig Eric Pickles

The Personchester Person Personfred Person Ake Persson

Arthur Scargill Earl Miner Old King Cole

Oi! I was playing that at lunchtime!!! Was it you who was playing the original quintet album with the same pic on the cover yesterday, which reminded me of this one? MG Yes, it was. (Horace is demonstrating variations on the V sign.)

Jazz Library from BBC Radio 3 Great show on Wynton Kelly!

Ward Pinkett Freddie Redd King Crimson

Fast Eddie Tardo Hammer Lazy Ade Monsbourgh

Apart from English, the only language in which I have any degree of fluency is French and I'm struck by the fact that English no longer has any equivalent of the French "tu/vous" distinction, also present in many other European languages. This means that the "politesse" which comes so naturally in French doesn't lend itself so easily to communication in English. Some languages demand drastic changes in vocabulary and grammar when addressing social superiors, while the change of register involved in English is far less fundamental. (Those who know Japanese will probably confirm that it's very different from English in this respect.) All this means that, if you want to do deference, don't choose English. Dare I say that our language, by making light of social superiority/inferiority is inherently more democratic than many other languages, and that this has a profound effect on how people regard each other? Or did the democratic attitude come first and shape the form of the language? That one can't be answered!

Clearly, summer's over! According to my computer it was 7C outside first thing this morning and a touch of frost is forecast for tonight. Time they put the August Bank Holiday back to early August!

Virgil Jones Horace Silver Roman Polanski

Sounds like a great bill. But did you ever see his dad, Bill? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Skidmore Yes, I saw Jimmy Skidmore twice with Humphrey Lyttelton's band at Leeds Town Hall in 1957 and 58. It was at a time when the traddies were berating Humph for "going modern". In fact, he was playing swinging Kansas City jazz, having augmented his band with a superb sax section of Skidmore, Tony Coe and Joe Temperley. (How far they were to go!) Skidmore played a central role in Humph's humour, e.g. arriving late on stage in time for a number allegedly called "Suddenly It's Skidmore". The '58 concert had a VIP presence - Jimmy Rushing!! Asked if he thought the band would be OK for him, he is said to have replied, "Waal, it's the real home cookin', y'know!"

The Monkeys Urban Guerrilla Omer Simeon

The Carl Perkins approach, perhaps?

Saw him a decade ago in Wigan in a "Homage to Bird and Trane" session with Peter King and a roarin' rhythm section. Wow!

Silver's Blue (Epic)

Annie Ross Ronnie Ross Purple Ronnie

I use the middle finger for the wheel. Having said that, I've been a one finger typist since I got a cheap typewriter for my birthday in 1966! Sure I'm storing up future hell. Here's the culprit!

Eric Coates Tony Crombie Baron Raglan

So you have your mouse set for single-click functionality? If not, you should. I mean, seriously - 50% fewer clicks during the course of a day is 50% less wear on both you and your mouse. The latter is no big deal, but the former kinda is... Sorry Jim, I don't understand that - but it sounds very helpful. MG As far as I'm concerned, the mouse wheel seems to be the main source of index finger stress.

I was a fan too, in my younger days - all part of the Smiths/Morrissey thing I was in to! What's next Bill - "A Taste Of Honey" or "The L-shaped Room"? Just borrowed a library copy of David Storey's This Sporting Life and watched the film of Kind of Loving yesterday - mainly shot in Radcliffe and Bolton, incidentally.