Archive for the ‘Home’ Category

The Hit Factory:
The Best Of Stock Aitken Waterman

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

The Hit Factory: The Best Of Stock Aitken Waterman

Look what you can turn up in the most unlikely of places. We were in Basildon on Saturday, and in a similar twist of old rare music fate to when I last found other hard to find Stock Aitken Waterman records, I stumbled across this video from 1987 on a town centre market stall which also sold, of all things, badges, model cars and Nazi memorabilia.

Completing the Hit Factory trilogy (I already have the second and third volumes in the series), it’s such an early release, it doesn’t include any Kylie or Jason, relying on Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up and Bananarama’s I Heard A Rumour (below) to lure me in. Other early SAW ‘videostars’ include Princess and Edwin Starr, as well as Phil Fearon and The Three Degrees.

And yes, just as you’d expect, it’s laughably cheesy, with one cheap video following another. Most, like Mandy Smith, seem to follow a studio-based template whereby the artist stands in front of a cloth backdrop ‘dancing’ to their track in some now-hideous outfit. Princess clearly got the pick of the deal; she got outside locations around London for Say I’m Your Number One. Mel and Kim didn’t even bother to turn up for FLM, though, relying on puppets for their appearance cut in with some concert footage.

Classic. Well worth £1.50.

Basildon is clearly the place for bargains, as well as the home town of Alison Moyet, Yazoo and Depeche Mode. It also has a giant QD store, and in the spirit of reminiscing we went in, as there used to be similar shops in East Anglia and certainly in Lowestoft and Norwich. A ‘quick look’ turned into a £45 spree, and included such hauls as a new pair of jeans and also a coat, all for a price less than the cost of a designer item of either.

I also had my first seasonal coffee (a gingerbread latte) of the year, sitting in the Costa in the town centre. And, although there were no falling mattresses from tower blocks this time – unlike our visit – and the skies were still grey – like our last visit – the place had a certain charm. That charm must have been genuine, too, as a planned ‘couple of hours’ visit turned into an all-day stay.

A summer of strawberries

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

2009_strawberries

We don’t know what we’ve done right this year. The strawberry plot we planted two years ago seemed all but dead. We had a handful last year, but nothing much to speak off, and only a few more the year before. We’ve since read that it can take two years for strawberry plants to get established in the garden, and it appears that fact is right.

Even the cuttings from the runners that are in soil nowhere near the bulk of the plants are bearing lots of red fruits. The first year we used straw under the hanging fruits to cushion them and stop them being eaten by soil-dwelling predators, but this year we’ve forgone the dry yellow stuff, and the fruit has been fine; clean and nibble free.

The only other thing we’ve not done is to weigh what we’ve had. There’s been at least three bowls the size of the containers in the picture above, and already there’s probably the weight of one more sitting outside. We quite literally can’t keep with them. And, as with all our home grown produce, these are much tastier than shop-bought red fruit. Anyone for strawberries?

Last night and today, the cat slept…

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

…here:

2009_oscar_asleep_desk

…and here:

2009_oscar_asleep_bag

The longer summer days are really wearing him out. Tonight when I came in from work, it really was a case of letting the cat out of the bag.

The chickens have a new perch

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

2009_chickens_perplexed
‘Hen-pecked to perch? Us?’

It took them a couple of days, but those feathered ladies now know what to make of it. We’ve wanted to put a new perch or set of perches into the enlarged compound for a while now; it’s just a case of sourcing the right materials.

Logs or thin tree trunks would be fine, although shiny broom handles might be a little too small in diameter. In all cases, it’s the job of attaching them to the compound frame or wire sides that could prove to be a logistical downfall.

So, at the weekend we changed around the current log configuration, and at once doubled the area on which our three birds can rest their legs and feet. The longer branch that was previously almost on the floor is now at least 30 cms off the ground, making for truly higher vistas.

2009_margot_perch_face_on
Margot, stunt chicken, strikes a pose

Reluctant at first, they now quite like it, and strut up and down as if they’ve had their new climbing frame since day one. It’s not only the new perches that are giving them more stimulation either, as we’ve started to scatter premium bird seed in the bark chippings so that they can scratch and peck their days away.

In other chicken-related news, we’re still thinking of getting Barbara, Gerry, and Margot some new playmates, and they may be of the ex-battery variety. Arriving featherless and with one beak puts us off slightly, but we’re told they soon adapt and grow back their feathers. Quite the opposite of Margot then, who, through moulting, is still intent on losing a few of hers.

The dawn of spring

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

The weather’s been unseasonably good for a couple of weeks now, but it was only this weekend that we had time to really enjoy it properly. Steven and Anthony were up from St Neots, and after a day of jobbing yesterday getting ready for their overnighter, we settled down for a tuna lasagne, Eve’s Pudding, and cards. We didn’t start Poker until 23h30 which was really too late, but we played for an hour or so and muddled our way through the rules, betting where and how much we thought we should.

Today dawned light and bright, if a little breezy. After an egg on muffin breakfast, we got the bikes out and cycled through the park to Writtle, where we stopped for ciders and cokes. It was the ideal excuse to give Nik’s new project bike a test ride, and flattening tyre and squeaky brakes aside, it did well. It turns out you can buy a used bike for £25, spend a little more on parts, and have a decent machine.

2009_aliums

While we were out, I really noticed how much everything green has come on in the last couple of weeks. Not just in the garden either; the paths to Writtle were full of leaves, and here in the garden what flowers we have are in bloom, and the pink tree of unknown origin is about to do its’ bloom for a month and then it’s gone’ thing. The greenhouse is full of beans, chillies, lettuces, and tomatoes, and some have even made it into the plot proper. Which only means one thing; summer must be just around the corner.