Royal Oak

I can't dance for toffee, and as there are already plenty of things I don't do well, why add another? Plus, as someone else has said, I never hear anything out in public which would stir my body. That said, I have danced in nightclubs in the distant past, but drugs played their part - the bongo/conga break in Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle" was one I remember.

Was that the Robin Friday era? I read his biography a few years back.

From a charity shop today, a couple of out-of-the-ordinary LPs, 50p each (!) Roland Kirk - "Hip!" - a compilation on the UK Fontana label Charles Bell and the Contemporary Jazz Quartet - "Another Dimension" (1962) on Atlantic/London. I'd never heard of this group. Had a very quick listen, but needs cleaning up.

Amazing how he's balancing that lamp standard on his left elbow! (Should have taken the photo yourself, Bev!) Ha! Actually, the photo is very flattering of the pedestrianised precinct. In reality it's mainly boarded up shops and kids on skateboards. Mixture of the death of the mines and hosiery and the migration of trade to the supermarkets and retail parks. Larwood and Voce wouldn't recognise it - they lived in a vibrant mining community. Funny you should use the word "vibrant" - the chapters in the book detailing Larwood's early life in mining make it sound utterly grim. Nice pic btw.

Duncan Hamilton's biography of Harold Larwood (unlikely to mean anything to anyone but the English and Australian posters!)

Charles Perry - Portrait Of A Young Man Drowning.

Just finished "Glue" by Irvine Welsh, which I enjoyed very much. Welsh novels require some effort - I find myself thinking in a Scottish accent! Anyone else read any Welsh? Any thoughts?

Indeed. I'm not really a City fan (even though my first ever game was a City game) but I'm glad they finally won something. I remember the last time they won a trophy - in 1976!

I never did understand why a jazz mag would be so called.

Women seem to have this genetic hot switch whereby when they see a guy in officer uniform in a horse-drawn carriage they go permanently weak at the knees and start blubbering. Would explain why all those lush BBC period dramas are so popular.

I had the good fortune to be working today, so missed the whole thing. IMHO, an interest in the Royal Family is a fundamental personality flaw.

I see a lot of this on classical LP listings - most sellers who have to use the "domestic" rate add a big "PLEASE NOTE" message to their listings explaining that the Ebay shiping charges do not apply. They usually add their own rates into the listing details and instruct the buyer to await an invoice before paying.

I always felt the MJQ's "Django" (from the album of the same name) was perfect.

So fuckin what? On a serious note: a colleague, from Bournemouth on the south coast, told me she is scared of most Mancunians. She finds them hard-faced and vaguely belligerrent

Firstly, I have no connection with this book, I was bought a copy. It's probably of most interest to Mancunians of a certain age, but I think it could interest a wider audience. As the title suggests, it's a record of Modern Jazz in Manchester. It contains hundreds of photographs, of just about anyone who came to play jazz in Manchester (which, to my surprise, was just about everyone around during that period). Below is a link to a couple of pics/r

You never see any British Jazz LPs of that ilk in charity shops!

I've never seen a BN cassette. The two jazz cassettes I ever owned were "The Compact Jazz Sampler" on Verve, and some Jazz Messengers LP on Colombia (Jackie McLean/Bill Hardman lineup).

William Styron - Sophie's Choice.

The proposed changes to BST/GMT

Eddie the Eagle Eric the Eel Yifter the Shifter

Billericay Dickie Clever Trevor Plaistow Patricia

Brian Close Fred Trueman Trevor Bailey (RIP)

BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/9391538.stm I agree that is pretty frightening. I once met a body builder, who really opened my eyes about steroid abuse. What was interesting was that he knew of men who "could barely read and write", but had incredible knowledge of the endocrine system, through their use of steroids. He also felt that no amount of stories of aggression, penis shrinkage, organ damage etc would put off young men getting into steroids. He said the only thing which might deter them was the risk of going bald.

Ye, it's pretty amazing how popular he is. I have been spending a lot of time in Africa lately, and Kenny G is quite popular there. It is really a mystery to me. For most popular music that I don't like, I can usually understand, at least to some degree, why it is popular. Not so with Kenny G. I have absolutely no idea what people like about it. My wife has been to a Kenny G concert. Some years before we met, she worked as an au pair in Florida. She spent a year with the family, and after several months, her family went out for a couple of weeks holiday. They all went to some outdoor concert where Kenny G was headlining. When she described the sunshine and sunset, the warmth (important to a Brit!), having her family around, and the undemanding, pretty music, I could see why she enjoyed it. That said, she has never listened to Kenny since.

I knew the dog was a smokescreen........