DJ360

Billie Davis.. She first hit with her cover of US band The Exciters' 'Tell Him' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2hUS7EBTUA Next.. for me was her superb version of 'Angel of The Morning'.. which knocked all others 'into a cocked hat'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXZqdEAPR9U Finally.. her version of a very old song by numerous artists.. which would have been huge but for strike at Decca Records when it was issued.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3bTmq72olg Dig...

I have several options for blood tests. The local surgery will do them but it usually involves a wait. The local 'Walk In' Centre does them between 07:30 and 09:00 a.m .. mostly for people who are working. It's only 10 minutes away by car and if I turn up at around 08:30 there's virtually no wait. And finally, St Helens Hospital is slightly further.. maybe 15 minutes by car, but they do 'bloods' all day from 09:00 to 5:00 pm and the wait, though a bit variable.. is usually no more than a few minutes.

I use a web based system called 'Patient Access' It allows me to book appointments with GPs/Nurses etc.. to request Repeat Prescriptions, to inspect Test Results and my Medical Record etc, plus access to a lot of other info. I can of course access the web via my phone. However.. that system does not extend into hospital out patient appointments etc. Also. the national appointments management system also failed yesterday when I tried to cancel an appointment online. When I finally spoke to a very helpful lady at the local hospital she also told me that the SMS based system of appointment reminders was a bit flakey too.. as I had long suspected. All above said.. the main issue seems to be that one Doc originally referred me, but has offered no follow up.. whereas the second Doc called me in for follow up on an other issue and then decided to refer me for urgent investigations on the 'digestive' issue. Crossed wires I think, but the main thing is I'm getting sorted.

More songs from another time.. Bruce Channel first came to UK attention with this.. his massive world wide hit from 1962.. I can't hear it without seeing a mental image of an old, now deceased school friend on the stairs in High Pavement between lessons.. singing this at the top of his voice. This is the original.. 'un messed with' version. So simple.. but so affecting. The icoic harmonica is by Delbert Mc Clinton and is often credited with inspiring the harmonica part on the Beatles 'Love Me Do'. I do recall there being a Re-issue called 'Hey Baby '68'.. but I think it was just a re-packaging of the orignal. Bruce gave us another song to use in the 360 Club dance sessions.. with this gentle rocker in 1968. Another one we played.... Mr Bus Driver didn't chart here but we picked up on it somehow.. Fab stuff...

Hope you feel better soon SG!! Loppy, that's a great 'in joke'. Just an update. I've had assorted appointments at Gastroenterology coming out of my ears. including two for the same place, same consultant, same day, 40 minutes apart.. It all seems to be down to the fact that one Doc referred me to GE, and then another Doc referred me to GE but 'urgently'.. So I've got 'follow up' appointments booked to happen before there's anything to follow up.. etc. So, today I cancelled them all except next week's, which is for a 'virtual' colonoscopy... That seems to be an MRI scan of the inside bits. which is rather better than the indignity of a camera intruding 'where the Sun don't shine'.. as they say... However.. a thoughtful delivery of several medications through the post today.. reminded me that while the imaging process is a little more dignified.. the necessary preparations aren't... Still... keeps me off the streets....

I was a regular visitor to the Piccadilly Club in the late 60s. Even did a few Discos for them. Never saw any bother.. but the anaemic looking microwaved pies were a challenge.. I don't recall the name of the manager at the time but I'll check with my 'sources'..

So, yesterday I planted up 70 tulip bulbs across two containers and another full of white narcissus.. or narcissi? The hardest bit is mixing up the compost. I mix about 3 parts potting compost with 1 part grit and a few handfuls of 'farmyard manure'.. of the variety purchased in bags. The rest is up to the bulbs. Apart from a bit of a tidy up. I usually don't do much in the garden from Sept.. until things start happening in the spring. This year I'm making a concerted effort to get things organised from now onward, so there's much less tidying and stuff to do in the spring.

Today looks like it may actually not rain. A good day for putting assorted bulbs into containers.

I tend to take a 'wide' view of Remembrance.. Obviously.. the Fallen are uppermost in my thoughts, but also the vast numbers of those wounded or otherwise affected by war. My Dad and my Grandfather both survived their respective wars.. but neither were left unchanged by them. That in turn had a knock on effect within their families. I had the honour to lay Remembrance Wreaths when I was Chairman of the local Parish Council. There was a ceremony in St Helens Town Centre in the morning. The most affecting part of that was after all of the local 'big wigs' had laid their wreaths.. seeing a young woman and a small child placing a cross at the base of the War Memorial. That really brought it home. In the afternoon.. there is always a ceremony in the local Anglican Church, which contains the village War Memorial. The Clergy from the local Methodist and Catholic churches all join in and again.. wreaths are laid on behalf of the Parish Council and other organisations.

Not sure which channel I got it from.. but last night I watched a recording of the 1944 classic 'Laura'. I only recall seeing it once before, and I'd completely mis-remembered the plot and the denouement. In the end.. a very satisfying old time combination of thriller.. detective story and romance. And this.. , based on the original film's instrumental score..has always been one of my favourite songs.. I do believe I have a 78 of it somewhere in the loft...

Today I have mostly been playing with a new Android tablet. My old one was a very cheap 'unbranded' Chinese jobby. It sort of worked but was more than a bit 'flakey'. For a long time I hardly bothered with it at all.. but it came into its own used with the App needed to control my Innuos Music Server. Except that to do that.. it needed to connect via Wi-Fi. It started failing to do so ..sometimes needing to be re-set, switched on and off and thrown at the wall a few times to get it to work... I began investigating possible replacements and naturally it then started to behave itself.. until a couple of days ago when... Mrs Col complained that I had left the tablet on the floor... exactly where I've been leaving it for years...not on the floor.. but just under a coffee table.. Oddly.. the tablet now has a cracked screen. It wasn't me.. but I have narrowed the suspects down to ... A.. Mrs Col..... or B .... A very heavy and clumsy house fly... Eitherway, I needed a new Tablet... So today I bought a Samsung Tab A. It is very far from being the pinnacle of Android Tablets.. but it's more than adequate for my needs and beautifully made. Recommended.. Also tonight I converted a Marianne Faithfull album on vinyl to digital and added it to my music server. Like a lot of young lads way back.... I was rather taken by Ms Faithfull .. but not by her music. Her 60's output remains rather patchy... but she was far, far better than I gave her credit for back then.

Love it.. and as a bonus I've noticed that one of my fave songwriters Jackie De Shannon part wrote 'The Great Imposter'. A very talented lady who has been singing, songwriting and broadcastng since she was 6. That's 72 years! The Great Imposter has some pretty 'naff' lyrics.. '..and she's soon to join the roster.. of the great imposter'.. but it's a gem from that period. Jackie also wrote 'Come and Stay With Me' for Marianne Faithful in 1965. ..and recorded it herself in 1968.. I think this recording may be later. Her voice sounds 'older'. She re- worked a lot of her early songs on a 2011 album called When You Walk In The Room... which I really must get.

Songs from another time.. 1950s harmony.. I thought this stuff was 'naff' at the time.. but I've since learned different.. Rockin!!

I've got an invite for that trial sitting on my PC desk in front of me. I get a lot of similar things. I only went for one.. organised by Synexus.. and I wasn't impressed. I must say this one seems better organised.. but I've had so much stuff going on lately that I decided to pass.

One of the scariest aspects of M'way driving in the UK is that many seem to think they have an obligation to keep up to at least 70 mph whatever the conditions. The numbers barrelling along the outside lane in heavy rain without slowing down at all is beyond belief. I assume they have x-ray vision and superglue tyres. Thing is.. if you move to the inside lane you risk being run over by an equally invincible wagon driver.