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Tea and toasted, buttered currant buns…

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The Kinks, "Autumn Almanac" (Top of Pops 1967)
The Kinks, "Autumn Almanac" (Top of Pops 1967)

From the dew-soaked hedge creeps a crawly caterpillar,
When the dawn begins to crack.
It's all part of my autumn almanac.
Breeze blows leaves of a musty-coloured yellow,
So I sweep them in my sack.
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.

Friday evenings, people get together,
Hiding from the weather.
Tea and toasted, buttered currant buns
Can't compensate for lack of sun,
Because the summer's all gone.

La-la-la-la…
Oh, my poor rheumatic back
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.
La-la-la-la…
Oh, my autumn almanac
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.

I like my football on a Saturday,
Roast beef on Sundays, all right.
I go to Blackpool for my holidays,
Sit in the open sunlight.

This is my street, and I'm never gonna to leave it,
And I'm always gonna to stay here
If I live to be ninety-nine,
'Cause all the people I meet
Seem to come from my street
And I can't get away,
Because it's calling me, (come on home)
Hear it calling me, (come on home)

La-la-la-la…
Oh, my autumn Armagnac
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.
La-la-la-la…
Oh, my autumn almanac
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Bop-bop-bopm-bop-bop, whoa!
Bop-bop-bopm-bop-bop, whoa!

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(Lost) my last iPod.

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This afternoon, in the rain and the thunder, I lost my iPod.

I bought it in San Francisco, last time I was there a few months ago. Went for the 60gb version – retro-justifying this by saying that, with that amount of storage, it would be my last iPod ever.

This afternoon, in the rain and the thunder – running up the steps of Southwark Bridge, I felt the headphone jack come free. This happens all the time to me, as the Shure's lead is long and gets snagged. I thought nothing of it for a minute or so, until I'd crossed the road on the Southwark Bridge and reached for my iPod. It was gone.

Ran back to the steps. Swiped. London-taxed.

My last iPod. Gone.

Bugger.

I think it will remain my last iPod.

That is – I don't feel the urge to replace it.

I didn't really feel any affection toward it like I had previous pods. Not sure why. It was my first colour-screen pod, which seemed cheaper and nastier than the monochrome non-anti-aliased goodness of my 5gb mini.

Maybe it was the way my entire musical history seemed to swash about like so much small change in the vast 60gbness of the new pod.

My musical habits have changed since I started buying into the ipodgemony – now I listen far more to radio, last.fm and pandora than my itunes collection, and I've been buying more from bleep and other stores that sell me songs I can use anywhere.

So – it's time to eat the dogfood and rely on my mobile for my music from now on. I can probably get a decent-sized miniSD card for it, the podcasting app on it works very nicely, and it plays radio. I should get along fine with it.

At least till the Zune comes out…

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In Cape Town

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Weather coming down over Table Mountain
Weather coming down over Table Mountain

For the first time in about 10 years.

It's become a lot more developed around the CBD and the waterfront from what I remember, but I was only here for a few days then with my brother so hard to judge.

My over-riding memory of the last time I was here was my brother Steve and myself trying to find a bar that was showing the Wales vs England rugby match on tv.

We queued up on the stairs outside a likely candidate bar, and heard a broad Welsh accent call out "I know you, you're Emrys Jones's boys!!!"

Which indeed we are.

I'd travelled six thousand miles south just to bump into a group of surfers from my hometown.

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Gaffer tape keeps on giving!

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Lunchtime squid lab
Lunchtime squid lab

In the UK we had lots of art shows for kids while I was growing up including "Rolf's Cartoon Club" (I have long maintained that Rolf Harris should be the mascot for the creative commons movement) – but the undisputed king was Tony Hart, with shows such as "Take Hart" and "Hart Beat".

He, or his comely young art student assistants (one of which that I had a teenage crush on, I was to meet professionally in later life to my great amusement and embarrasment) would usually demonstrate a novel but accessible art technique which you could then impress your parents or teachers (never your peers) with at a later date.

I'm going to introduce one to you now, which I pioneered in San Franscisco earlier this month, while eating lunch at a conference/workshop.

I am a terrible doodler, and many a giant robot squirrel or rhino cocktail waiter has come to life from my pen during a meeting. This time a giant squid was born, and there happened to be a big roll of blue gaffer tape lying next to me, so I started assembling a mosaic/wash of blue behind the noble overlord of the deep.

Effective, no?

Why not try it at home kids? Gaffer tape keeps on giving!

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Just another future song…

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Lyrics are funny things.

Since I was a wee 'un I've loved the lyrics of "Diamond Dogs", which is high sci-fi-camp Bowie at it's nonsense best, but of course only when sung.

Not just by Bowie, but by Beck, even in my head, dammit.

But written down, they lose all life and power instantly. This is of course totally obvious to all you liberal arts types, but I still find it remarkable. Funny things.

A line from "Diamond Dogs" –

"Just another future song"

however, is a blog post title waiting to happen though – if I ever blog again.

Or a Warren Ellis graphic novella.

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