I was looking at some of the releases over at SuperDeluxeEdition today, and two in particular caught my eye. One was the 50th anniversary special edition reissue of Elton John’s Honky Chateau, and the other was the 40th anniversary reissue of OMD’s Dazzle Ships.
[Read more →]Ten years making all the difference
February 5th, 2023 · Posted by Skuds in Music
Comments Off on Ten years making all the differenceTags: Nostalgia
January 2023
February 1st, 2023 · Posted by Skuds in Life
This year I have been trying to keep track of what I am up to. Not keeping a diary as such, just noting down various stuff. The reason is that when it comes to the end of a year I look back and can’t remember much of anything.
[Read more →]All wrapped up
January 14th, 2023 · Posted by Skuds in Music
I have inadvertently become one of those people who keep their vinyl LPs in plastic sleeves.
This is not because I am precious about my small collection. I have always looked after records, or tried to, but have never been distraught if the sleeves got a bit tatty. Admittedly vinyl costs so much now that I can better understand and sympathise with the idea of keeping the sleeves in as near mint condition as possible, but I am really trying to not become obsessive about it.
[Read more →]All dressed up…
January 11th, 2023 · Posted by Skuds in Life
…and nowhere to go! One of my Christmas presents from Jayne was a nice pair of chunky motorbike boots. A belated present to myself was a new helmet. I decided to treat myself for a few reasons.
Firstly, my old helmet is getting a bit loose. It would appear that my head has shrunk a bit since I got it, which sounds unlikely but I have lost weight everywhere else, so why not?
Secondly, Jayne got a new helmet last year and have been quite jealous of it. Hers is a Shark modular helmet which has a clever design that means it can be worn with the chin guard raised so that it looks and feels more like an open faced helmet, which is great for little trips around town in the summer.
Thirdly, I came into the possession of a new Bluetooth intercom set during the year. Because it attaches to a helmet in a fairly permanent way I didn’t want to fix it to my current lid which is too small and also old and due a replacement anyway.
All of which were good excuses to get the new Shark helmet, which is a slight improvement on Jayne’s.
So. New boots, new helmet, new intercom, and the new heated gloves I got for my birthday so all fixed to go out riding except that the weather is absolutely rotten. By the time I finish work it is dark and in any case it is pissing down all the time. If I was a motorbike commuter then I would put up with it, but as it is just for enjoyment I won’t. There is nothing enjoyable about going out in the rain, and one of the reasons I want to go out is to get away from the Gatwick restricted area so I can fly my drone, and you certainly don’t want to do that in bad weather.
In the meantime I will just stay in and keep an eye on the forecasts I suppose.
2022 – Dirty Rat
January 11th, 2023 · Posted by Skuds in Music
First things first. I realise that I have started to get carried away. Having created a playlist with one track per year of my life about 5 years ago (I think) I subsequently decided to write a little post about each track but I have ended up writing about everything else in the year and it has all turned into a bit of a monster, but at least it keeps me out of trouble. Anyway, this is 2022, the year I turned 60, which is not something I really expected to do when I was 57.
I’ll be honest, I was expecting more from 2022. There was a lot of good stuff to listen to, its just that I thought that with life returning to more like normal there would be more. Looking back at what was released in the year, and what I was playing, I can see a lot that I really liked and can’t work out why I am not feeling more excited. Perhaps its an age thing; more on that later.
[Read more →]Comments Off on 2022 – Dirty RatTags: 1962Onwards·Spotify
A good year for the roses
January 2nd, 2023 · Posted by Skuds in Life
This year has not seen the usual proliferation of huge tubs of chocolate. Neither of us can really eat much chocolate without suffering from dumping syndrome, so it has been best to not have too much temptation.
Over the years there has been a lot of heated debate in the family about which selection tubs are the best. Is it Celebrations or Heroes? One thing the kids are all in agreement about is that Quality Street is for old people, and Roses even more so.
[Read more →]Comments Off on A good year for the rosesTags: Food
The Christmas routines
December 22nd, 2022 · Posted by Skuds in Life
“Christmas” and “routine” are not entirely compatible. Over the holiday period all sorts of routines get disrupted, which is potentially a problem for anybody who is a bit OCD or who just clings onto routines as a coping mechanism.
[Read more →]Comments Off on The Christmas routinesTags: Christmas
Police actually getting involved in pavement parking
December 19th, 2022 · Posted by Skuds in Life
On Saturday, down in Hampshire I actually saw some Police involvement in pavement parking. Unfortunately their involvement was entirely to help somebody park their car on the pavement.
[Read more →]Comments Off on Police actually getting involved in pavement parkingTags: Parking
The problem with same-sex couples on Strictly
December 7th, 2022 · Posted by Skuds in Life
The trend for same-sex couples on Strictly is causing me some problems; not because I am anti-gay but because I am almost entirely ignorant of popular culture these days.
[Read more →]Comments Off on The problem with same-sex couples on StrictlyTags: TV
Practical money-saving tip
November 29th, 2022 · Posted by Skuds in Life
At the weekend I had a walk into the town centre for a look around. I wasn’t going for anything specific. It was really just to get some exercise and to catch up with some podcasts while walking. As I was just outside County Mall I was about to go into HMV for a browse and realised that I had left my wallet at home. There is a real chance that I could have been tempted to fork out for an LP, or maybe the 4K director’s cut of the first Star Trek film, neither of which I really need. It had also been in the back of my mind that I might get a small fry-up at the All-Day Cafe in town, but instead I just walked back home with my bank balance intact.
So there you have it: simple way to save money is to just leave the wallet at home.
[Read more →]Comments Off on Practical money-saving tipTags: Money·Shopping
