tonym

This may be a bit too vague but last time I was in Amsterdam I took the opportunity to vist Delft, which isn't that far away. There they had a few record shops, one of which had a very good stock of jazz vinyl, in particulay old Blue Notes. Map showing distances here!!!

All the best Gary. Get your feet up and double your daily dose of 'Trane.

I've too much time on my hands.

A view from across the stream in Spring.

BTW what the hell was Kloden doing this afternoon?

This is indeed grossly disrespectful. Regardless of how you feel about someones motives or whatever, these guys are really bareing their souls out there. Would have been nice for Lance to plant an 'oyster' on one of these idiots. You never have a problem mustering one of these up when you're on the rivet.

I think people would just have a bit more time for him if he could at least bookend his Tour wins with a Leige - Bastogne - Leige and a late season win for example. Most classic rides in Tours over the years have come from riders who've also added some other palmares to their season.

Voeckler did a sterling ride today to keep the jersey. Unfortunately the action on the last climb seemed unbearably routine.

What will you be doing on this day? You could try staying in.

To go with the purchase a couple of weeks ago!

s' Funny because I heard on our regional news the other day that they were predicting affluence and an economy boost for the North East of England. We'll be the new South!!!

Blue Seven -- Sonny Rollins for starters. My Song -- Keith Jarrett. Too many to choose from.

It was indeed at Newark Bev. Actually South Yorkshire/ North Notts is somewhat of a mecca in it's own right for this sort of 'way of life'. A trip on North Sea Ferries will confirm this when waiting at the bar behind large hatted and waistcoated blokes with pony tails, you then hear them say "Ta, duck" or "Int th' none from Cud'th mate". I'm not into the whole Americana scene, my friend is, you know; the Eagles on full blare all the time, cowboy boots on a Friday, stars and stripes handkerchiefs the works. He seemed tame in comparison with, well, what you've just described. The music was awful, and one band were from Middlesbrough my home town but sang with an Arkansas twang! Nice atmosphere. No fools charging around in cars, just gentle gurgling from the car owners... like content infants really. My friend wondered why, about halfway around, how we, the British don't celebrate our heritage and culture in such a way. I suggested that maybe we do but it's usually associated with the monarchy or, at best, quaint village fetes and Morris dancing. I've a feeling he'll stick with the bigger, better option.

£70K and it's yours.

Inside Gt Shelby.

Just ot back from the 'Americana' exhibition/ car show in Nottinghamshire (Bev Stapleton country!!!) UK. Wow, it was like I'd gone to heaven. Haven't decided what to splurge on yet but I was amazed by how many lovely condition Camaros and Trans Ams we have over here. A few nails too though. It seems everything had a V8 in it; bikes, trikes, motorhomes, ice-cream vans, kids scooters... I travelled own in my mate's Firebird 305ci which sounds luurverly, I also had the pleasure of driving it back a bit. In the wet, on slippy North Yorkshire roads. I was tempted by the Shelby GT500 (signed on driver's door insert by Carol Shelby) but I would have had to remortgage the house. Some lovely 'Vettes aswell, many big block ones, but out of my price range. I am very taken with the older Camaros though, they will fit in the garage, just.

Geting Older!!! I was about 15 when my left eye began to go the same way as the rest of my mother's side of the family (not literally). I wore contacts on my bike for years but then on days when I didn't I would have difficulty recognising close friends; "that little lad" --- My best man's wife! "Who was that guy in the red jersey?" --- FRIEND: " What guy... that was a post box!" My last pair of specs: Like I said, my weakness is on the left eye.

I have the CD with this fault and it is the 1989 McMaster (CDP 7 84189 2, non RVG) copy. I'm no audiophile and certainly no expert on sound engineering but I would say it's the same sort of fault as in the Dolphy 5 Spot disc where the sound 'drops out'. Can the RVGs clear up this sort of distortion or fault?

As my dad would say when talking about ready cash: "You're better off looking at it, than looking for it".

I have the Stanko and love it as much as 'Soul of Things'. A perfect follow up and a good reproduction of what they achieve live, although more focused and direct. I wouldn't say that it's contemplative all the way through, even the 'quieter' tracks have a fire all of their own --- and that is the beauty of Stanko's trumpet sound; that crackle and 'edge'. As yet I haven't shelled out for the Abercrombie but I would get it on the basis that I love the previous one he did, Cat n Mouse. Stretchy rhythms and some boppish heads in there, but overall just really beautiful playing from an ace band.

So is Armstrong gonna get his sixth or will he be blitzed by Ullrich? Who will break a clavicle on today's cobbles? How many stages (if any?) will Pettachi win? A bit of opinion into the drama, controversy and spectacle that is the Tour de France would be great. I've watched many over the years and my enthusiasm for the event has waned, not because of the high profile doping debacles but I just enjow watching the one day events more. Plus, watching someone who obviously 'recovers' better than everyone else just hang in there day to day doesn't grab me anymore. I hope this year there will be some great 'exploit' or drama; like when Fignon attacked on a daily basis (in Yellow!) during the 1989 event. Delgado turning up late for his prologue start the same year. Riis riding '8 miles high'. Ullrich's enthusiasm in '97 which brought back memories of Fignon's (agin) first win. Here's hoping.

Darmstadt looks good. How is it for cycling? There looks like there could be a few nice roads down there. Plus I could come via the Vosges if I had time. My German is hopeless so I'd just be the one grinning and nodding (providing I've got a beer in my hand). If any UK boardmembers would like picking up en route I'll be coming down the country probably.

'Miles In The Sky' was the first album I bought from that period. I had heard Silent Way not long before and was familiar with the Evans stuff, so you can imagine what a shock this album was to me. In fact each one bought subsequently afterwards , all out of sequence, provided more shocks. The album pushed all my buttons like only a few albums ever had and I still feel the same about it now. One of the most played albums from the 60's in my collection and one of the few albums that I can get to the end of and hit 'Repeat All' and sit comfortably through again.

For a couple of years now I have had the luxury of not having to crawl out of bed early morn to set off on a journey to work. Therefore my morning wake up ritual didn't neccesitate an alarm clock. My wife has one. It either bleeps or you can program a radio station broadcast. I never hear it. I also never hear the first few attempts she makes at getting me up. Usually 20 minutes or so passes before she is heard to be saying things like "the car's out of the garage and running, I'm off". That's when I have to get up for my son and my work. This isn't making me out to be the best dad in the world is it? Anyhow, yesterday I thought it would be less stressful and more effective if she set the alarm for me. Problem is I don't like radio shows really, apart from the odd jazz one. Furthermore, little did I know that the station she had set it to was a commercial one based about 60 miles to the north of here, where you can hear ads about car dealerships 'supplying the whole of Esh Winning for the last 10 years'; that's about 6 Ford Sierras and one Subaru Impreza (there's always one) sold then. So 7:20am: I hear Outkast's 'Hey Ya'. Great start to a sunny morning. I am beginning to wake. The DJ chirps in about halfway through the song and he's got a DJ voice. Sorry to offend our resident DJs here but in the UK, our guys have become infamous for feigning a Mid-Atlantic, Estuary English, glottal stop- free accent. Add this to a Geordie dialect and it sounds very irritating indeed. Then a lady pipes up. They are a Breakfast team!!! Now we have answers flooding in from this morning's trivia quiz. Q. Which organ of the human body has the ability to heal itself? Ooooo!!! That's a bit freaky innit. They start reading some of the respondants answers. Not in a sarcastic way at all, genuine, in the manner of, Lee from Blackhall thinks it's the brain (Could be, we aren't that far ahead in medical advances to know for sure that it doesn't, are we? Are we?) Des, Mel, Britney, Chuck and Wayne all got it. Sarah from Durham thinks it's the neck . Pam says it's the hair Rachel from Belmont thinks it's the spine Then we have a list of bodily parts offered from more Britneys and Brooklyns which include toes and teeth. FUCK, I hear the nation's dentists shouting. Poor Frank from Tow Law thought, well actually he didn't think at all, he didn't know. He did have the courtesy to ring the show though just to tell them that. So, the moral of the story, it isn't what you might think, you can visit County Durham, it still has a lot to offer. But that, in the morning I'll just have the 'BLEEP' instead.

Obviously, this guy doesn't get out much! Furthermore, I wonder how many purchases have been made on the back of those 3,217 viewings. Truly scary.