DJ360

Indeed. My Dad was lucky in a way. As I understand it he was in the Sherwood Forester's but was on temporary attachment to some unit which was ordered to Norway. So he went, although I believe he could have insisted on going back to his own unit. The Norway Expeditionary Force was a total cock up. Suplies didn't materialise and many were captured, including my Dad, who spent most of the war in P.O.W.s in Germany and Poland. His unit ended up as part of the 'Forgotten Fourteenth' in the far east. Even though 5 years in P.O.W.s was no picnic, I reckon it beat the Far East.

Bleed Screw

I could write a book about my early introduction to Motown. How I first heard things like 'Where Did Our Love Go' by the Supremes played next to Herman's Hermits 'I'm Into Something Good'. All on a transistor radio whilst in a tent at Merebrook Farm Campsite near Whatstandwell. The Supremes sounded fresh then before Screechy Diana was pushed to the front and the ill-fated Florence Ballard was sidelined. I mentioned Herman's Hermits because it was decades before I realised that 'Im Into Something Good' was a cover of the Cookies' US original.. and although the Hermits were hardly a great band, their version had a sound which is still recognisable after barely the first couple of seconds even now and although it lacks US 'authenticity', it's a better version IMHO. I never really had access to radio other than the very 'pop poor' BBC at that time. I was, and still am a huge Ray Charles fan, but I only picked up bits of Motown other than the Supremes, Temps and Junior Walker, almost by accident. I heard 'These Things Will Keep Me Loving You' by the Velvelettes on the juke box at Ilkeston Bowling Alley, and 'I'm Losing You' by the Temps on the Juke at the Lark's Nest Nuthall. Both remain favourites to this day. My first venture into a 'proper' nightclub would have been the Beachcomber in late 1966 ish. I came away very excited by much of what I heard played there. 'You're Ready Now' by Frankie Valli. Hardly soul, but a great dance tune. Lots of Atlantic and Stax stuff, Motown and so on. Also bands such as the Impressions and the many others who contributed to that overall 'vibe'. Now, in one form or another I've got pretty much all of the Motown, Stax, Atlantic, Minit, etc., etc, I can deal with, and a pretty respectable 'Northern Soul' collection. Thing is, I did all of that without ever becoming a 'Mod' and whlst also 'digging on' many other genres such as Blues, R&B, Rock Steady, Ska, Rock, Psychedelia, Jazz, Folk and Classical. The 60s was a completely mad explosion of music in all genres and we didn't know just how priveleged we were to be living through it. By late 67 I was DJ ing and loving it. A couple of my favourite tunes: If you aren't dancing.. you're dead...

Peace reigns at last! Yesterday in a few moments of peace I dug over a neglected corner plot, put up some canes and planted 8 litle pots of Sweet Peas. They're labelled as 'Spencer Mix', which is evidently a traditional old strain with strong fragrance. Sounds a bit like me... Shortly after my son in law delivered my Granddaughter for a sleepover. She'd already been up since six, been to swimming and dance Iessons and was still bouncing. So walked her down to the shops to buy bread and some peaches because she'd asked for peaches after tea. Also two bags of sweets and a kids sticker book. I'm a pushover.. Next round to the park where ickle Grace completed the obstacle course before I gave her some lessons into how to get a swing going by moving your body weight. She's beginning to get it. Then back home by which time I was shattered and Grace still bouncing. We'd previously been invited to a Ruby Wedding celebration last night and had organised Taxis with neighbours. Mrs Col decided to drive herself and Grace down separately for a bit and take her home before it was too late. Instead of the Eurovision tripe, I got better music, better company, a few drinks and free food. 'Result!' Grace woke us at 6:00 am today to tell us that her Teddies were hungry.... but by mid morning she was shattered. She perked up considerably when her Dad arrived to take her home....... via MacDonald's After Grace left I planted the remaining Sweet Peas in a shady corner to see how they do. If they survive they'll brighten it up a bit. Apparently they last longer if not in full sun. Time for feet up and a bit of mindless telly now..

Everything can be turned into a business opportunity. I'll say no more here but there's a certain thread where I can rant on about it all day..

Dick Haymes is one of my favourite singers from before I was born.. Hearing Dick and my other favourite, the great dance band singer Helen Forrest, together is awsome. I have both odf these songs on originall 78. Al Bowlly was sort of British. Actually Mozambiquan/South African born Brit I think. Hugely popular in 1930s. Aparrently sold second only to 'Bing' in the United States. Died in an air raid in London. 1941 I think. I like his style..

Mary Black.

It's a hard one, but although I was pretty much forced into uni in my 30s as the only realistic way to repair my own past mistakes, I've never regretted going. It led me to almost 30 years in a job I loved and where I think I may have done some good. It also gave our kids a practical demonstration of the value of education when they were small. Both followed in our footsteps and are now doing well. There's a definite 'pragmatic' side to getting the highest qualifications you can if it helps in your working life, but there's also something satisfying in seeing if you can do it. So, although there are plenty of people brighter than me, both graduates and non graduates, I always feel pretty comfortable in any company. And of course I studied politics, which means I'm always right on the 'Anything Political' thread...

On leaving education, there were still 'Easter Leavers' when I started in Careers. It was an option as I recall, depending on date of birth. Utterly stupid to go through 11 years of education and to do as everybody did then, GCSE courses, only to leave a few weeks before the exams. Obviously if there as a job available it made it a more difficult decision, but I'd have thought a decent employer would wait a few weeks. Then I'd get parents calling me up saying little Johnny had been offered a job but was officially in school till whenever. Could he leave and take the job? I had to answer that he couldn't leave school legally until his official date, so anyone employing him would be breaking the law, and most likely uninsured. I couldn't give any other advice, I didn't make the law.

Congrats to both couples from me. It's 47 years here. Nonna, keeping pupils down for a year does happen here but it's not general policy as far as I know. It's sometimes called 'back classing' I think it's usually done when some factor such as illness, late admission etc., has hampered progress.

In an invigilating situation I suppose you need to maintain that level of formality and 'Miss' saves messing about with surnames etc... Unless you're a bloke, when Sir is probably better.. (mostly.. ) When I worked in schools I wanted the students to understand my role as being a bit different to teachers, so I told them I'd respond to Colin or Mr B*********, but not to 'Oi you!'. Seemed to work well. And in the Special School where I worked almost until I retired it wasn't unusual for some of the more extrovert kids to 'high five' me or even offer a quick handshake if we met on corridors. I made it my business to get to know them all by first name too and tried to do a fair bit of my work informally, by chating to them at brewak times etc. But they were all 'barmy' in the nicest sense of the word... Some real characters.

Here you go!!

I'm hoping this turns into a result. Battery on my 3 year old Smartphone is dying. Takes all day to charge and goes flat quickly. So. Looked online for vids how to fix it. It's a Samsung A3 2016, which has a glass back which is glued on. Anyway, seems straightforward enough. Battery £7, double sided tape to stick glass back on (Special narrow stuff for phones) £1.70. and a set of assorted plastic and metal tools for prising and generally poking about without causing damage.. 3 quid. All from Amazon. If it all works out I make that a revitalised phone for under 12 quid. Has to be worth a shot.. Here's hoping....

Just an update on my 'itch'. Still itchy but much less intense than it was and for the first time in weeks I didn't actually wake up itching. Last night I had a 15 minute soak in a 'colloidal Oatmeal bath' and it worked wonders. Definitely not a cure, but a huge help in calming my skin. There's quite a lot about it online and people like Aveeno charge loads for it and do various lotions with oatmeal. I just wanted to try the oatmeal alone. Aveeno charge about £12 for 8 small sachets and I couldn't find a local supplier anyway. So I made my own. Basically it's just oat flour and 'colloidal' just means a suspension of very fine particles which don't just settle out. I put a cupful of ordinary rolled oats (85p a for 500 grams from co-op) into the blender and whizzed them. Took about ten minutes of blending to get them really fine, but it worked. Just mixed them up in a bathful of lukewarm water and had a soak. Magic!! There were still a few larger bits some of which stuck to me so I had to have a very brief shower off, which probably isn't the idea. One website recommends putting them in a muslin bag if you can't get them completely down to flour size and Mrs Col says she has some muslin somewhere. But, I've made a load more today and seived it before putting in an airtight container, so I'll try that tonight. Progress.

Them's the ones Brew! Now.. what were they called? ;)