Royal Oak

Avoiding the rest of the white album: Yardbirds - first album.

RD, you really need to find the Ramsey Lewis "Mother Nature's Son" album - all White album tunes with Morton Subotnick-esque moog interludes between tracks. Far better than the Beatles' album. Is it ALL the tracks off the White Album, or just the good ones? I note that Amazon.co.uk has one copy available, at the bargain price of £110. Now listening to Davy Graham - "Folk, Blues and Beyond".

Ramsey Lewis Trio - A Hard Day's Night (more damn Beatles). Quite interesting sleeve notes - my favourite bit: "... the Young Turks of jazz are grimly exploring the wild beyond" Bo Diddley - "Hey! Bo Diddley" That's a primitive sound - not an insult/complaint by the way.

Couldn't face sides 3 and 4 of TFWA, so am working through some Buddy Holly EPs

The fucking White Album I'm only playing it because I'm going to sell it on Ebay and am checking for skips etc. It's pretty hard going so far and I'm only part way through side 2. Edit to add: I'd forgotten just how weak much of this album is. "Piggies", "Rocky Raccoon" and "Don't Pass Me By" make up a pretty desperate sequence. Further edit to add "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" to the above sequence.

"Preposterous bawling" as Cook and Morton once opined!

No. Just live in Didsbury, regional capital of used book and record stores. Aah, I see! I've done the charity shops in Didsbury, but find them pricier than most.

Yes! Sue Ryder charity shop in Edgeley. Sounds like you know something - I'm intrigued.....

Another rare jazz find - Ramsey Lewis 7" "A Hard Days Night" 50p for this one!

Very rare jazz find in a charity shop: George Shearing and the Montgomery Brother (Jazzland) Pee Wee Russell - Swingin' with Pee Wee (Transatlantic, appears to be an imprint of Prestige) £1 each

Just finished "Cancer Ward" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, now on to William Burroughs "Naked Lunch".

OK, as usual I have almost nothing, but here goes: 1. "Mercy Mercy Mercy". I have no idea who this is and I'm not that keen. I couldn't work out why for a while, then I thought - way too much brass in one go for me. 3. "Summertime" obviously. The alto sounds vaguely familiar, a bit Sonny Criss-like, but I've never heard a Sonny Criss organ record. The organist sounds "old-timey", not a Jimmy Smith-type; again no clue. 4. I love this! It has a very English sound, to me anyway. Conjures up sunny Sunday afternoons, village greens and all that. Is the guitarist Martin Taylor? 6. The alto sounds like Johnny Hodges, but I don't think it is - not quite sweet enough. 7. "Green Onions". The organist is dirty! Don't know who though. 8. I heard the needle drop. "Moonlight Serenade". This is bugging me, must be 1960s, it has that Prestige vibe.. I KNOW I have heard this organist before, but I can't think who it is. I'm going to kick myself I'm sure. 12. Another needle drop, another 1960s sounding recording. "Maiden Voyage" with 2 tenors. I like this, and feel I should know the tenor players, especially the second. I enjoyed this very much MG, thank you!

David St Hubbins Nigel Tufnel Phil Tufnell

Here's a little list: Ray Bradbury, Farenheit 451 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake Kasuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go Cormac McCarthy, The Road Ta Bill. Funnily enough, a couple of days ago a colleague of my wife was telling her that he found "The Road" an almost life-changing experience.

Thanks Jazzbo/Jazzmoose, I'll look into those.

Still reading "Brave New World". I've developed a bit of a taste for these "dystopian future" books. Over the past year I've read Burgess's "Clockwork Orange" and "1985", "1984" and a Martin Amis short story. Anyone got any other suggestions? Preferably not too sci-fi.

Or the Prestige sets "Sniffin'", "Scratchin'", "Chasin' cats" and "Humpin' my owner's leg"

PM sent for a disc, thanks.

A month on, and it's beginning to feel like Spring (a month late, according to the people who record these things for horticultural purposes). I even mowed the lawn yesterday, and am noticing new things in the garden every day. If I could only reduce photos to a size manageable on the forum (hints?), I'd post some!

Just been out doing my garden Spring-clean. Cutting back all last year's dead foliage revealed lots of new shoots, buds are swelling on Rhododendrons and Camellias, and the bulbs will soon be flowering. There is even a shoot emerging from the asparagus! My absolute favourite time of the year, especially after the old-fashioned (ie bloody cold) Winter we've had in the UK.

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

I haven't been there for a while. I didn't get booted, but I did allow myself to get royally wound up by a troll with a penchant for left-handed pianists. He got banned, but reappeared soon after with a similarly-romantic user name. I also remember Bluenote82's meltdown, which I think was what sent me away.

Yes, last two days have been lovely (and impressive full moon in a clear sky at night). I've spotted the first snowdrop too. Sadly, also spotted five dead frogs floating atop the pond - clearly killed in the bad weather. Had to bury them with full honours accompanied by a Ravel adaptation - "Pavane Pour Les Grenouilles Defunte". And a bugle playing "The Last Croak". Boom boom! I'm hoping for more frogs this year. I sunk an old ceramic sink last spring, and spotted one or two frogs through the summer. I don't know where they're based, but it would be nice for some spawn eventually. I'm not holding my breath - my mum has had a small pond for 20 years, with loads of adult frogs, but they've never spawned there.

Just been in the garden, inspried me to resurrect this thread. Despite the cold and the dead foliage, there are signs that Spring is coming. Hamamelis and Hellebores about to flower, plus the first snowdrops are showing their faces. Such a hopeful time of year.

Allen Lowe Cliff Englewood 7/4