PRINCE and THE GLASGOW POPULATION

MAY 22nd 2014 - A LITTLE BIT OF PURPLE MAGIC COMES TO GLASGOW

PRINCE

PRE-PRINCE - A CURRY AND A LONG WALK

With great anticipation, Zoe and myself geared ourselves up to a purple frenzy (quite literally as we were asked to wear something Purple) as the real PRINCE of rock was coming to town.

Meeting Zoe in Glasgow at my office, we headed down to the Bombay Blues Indian restaurant on Hope Street, Glasgow for a slap up, pre-concert dinner. I'm not advertising the Bombay Blues, but mmmmm tr'es superb.

Bombay Blues

There, the waiter noticed Zoe in purple and asked if we were going to see Prince. Funnily, we thought, he didn't know who Prince was (where have you been?) but he had heard of him that day. 

Anyway, Zoe and myself practically rolled out of the door, fed and watered and decided to walk to the Hydro. We headed along Argyle Street, Past Anderson Train Station, Under the Kingston Bridge and along the footpath adjacent the Clyde expressway. Its only a 15-20 minute walk and boy did we need to walk off that meal.

I hadn't been to the New Hydro before but it soon came into view.

The Hydro

I'm not sure whether to describe it as a fine building or not, however it was like a colourful bubble and contrasted nicely with the adjacent Concert Hall and Armadillo.

Once inside, we found our way up three flights of escalators to our seats. They were far out...not in a hippie trippy rock n roll way but physically far out i.e. in the rafters and at the back...oh well.

PRINCE ON STAGE

The Hydro Filling Up

On stage below, we could see a purple curtain with an image of...Er..."Purple Rain" which would eventually reveal Prince himself.

Soon the moment arrived and Prince burst onto stage singing "Lets Go Crazy". All around I could see adoring fans stunned. I even seen one middle aged women crying (well many actually). Onstage, lights were bursting into colour as puffs of smoke increased the frenzy to fever pitch. The crown Prince himself was wearing a silver, white get-up.

Lets Go "Glasgow" Crazy

Lets Party Glasgow, Lets Go Crazy Prince shouted as he began to belt out one song after another. Classic hits like 1999, Raspberry Beret, Little Red Corvette.

Now I have to point out that Prince performed between 8:10pm and approximately 10:35pm without a single break. The stamina of this 55 year old would put a 20 year old to shame.

He would play guitar, perform his wide range of vocals, play piano and he was even spinning records near the end of the show and all this while dancing around.

One thing I recall from the show was the prowess and power of Prince's guitar playing. Coupled with the fact that there was more than a passing resemblance to Jimmy Hendrix, with the Afro Hairstyle, the Hippie Clothing and the Guitars, it was a pleasing sights and and excellent sound.

COME BACK SOON PRINCE

 Prince is a music icon. To witness him play in Glasgow is a privilege. It was good to see members of the audience invited by Prince on stage. I bet they all have a story to tell.

All too soon it was over. Prince performed an admirable encore.

SOME PICTURES:

Videos will soon be available on Youtube.

Doctor Who - Terrance Dicks visits Airdrie

TERRANCE DICKS IN AIRDRIE LIBRARY

Geek Love at Airdrie Library - 14 May 2014

For any fan of the BBC television series,  Doctor Who, The name Terrence Dicks will automatically conjure a memory from a much different era in the production of this long running Sci-fi Television series.

For the past few weeks, the folk at Airdrie Library had been advertising a sort of mini Geek fest. Intrigued,  I called them and booked two spots. One was for myself and the other for my daughter Lucie.

I should note that while I consider myself a member of the honorary guild of geek, My daughter Lucie is a humongous Doctor Who fan...or Whovie...and would almost certainly be knighted for her contribution to Whovie geekdom should such an honour exist.

Anyway, back to the good folk at Airdrie Library. Excited, Lucie and myself arrived at the Library just before 7pm. People were already taking their seats and I could see it was a full house. All around us, Doctor Who books were arranged - like a placement advert - but I was comfortable with that.

At the front, was a TARDIS, which Librarian Fiona MacDonald told me later on, was made by some students in Motherwell. ..and a great job they'd made too. It was even complete with flashing lights on top.

Adjacent the TARDIS was Terrance Dicks Himself. If you want to know more about him, click here. OK its Wikiepedia, so I take no responsibility for its accuracy, but nevertheless it gives you an idea.

Paul & Lucie Chatting with Terrance

THE INTERVIEW

Terrance had a sort of "Compare" with him in which and interview was carried out and Terrance would recite his time at the BBC to the audience. He spoke initially of his accidental arrival at the BBC on the set of Doctor Who in 1968, being offered a three month contract as a script editor, only to be there right through until the end of 1974.

Terrance recited his time on the War Games with Patrick Troughton still at the helm as the Doctor. With Troughton announcing his retiral from the series, and faced with Budget cuts at the Beeb, Terrance was faced with the task of exiling the doctor on Earth resulting in the Jon Pertwee years and his creation UNIT.

The floor was then opened to the audience, where I managed to ask him a question - "Who was your Quintessential Doctor?". A rather smart answer was offered, I felt. All the actors are great, said Terrance, you have to remember, they are all playing the same part, the same character, the same benevolent man. However, all that said, he did say he had a liking for David Tenants doctor.

Greg Beekman with Terrance

AUTOGRAPH SIGNING

After several questions, a break was announced whereby the audience were able to explore the several areas assembled within the Library which included a games area, a chillout room, The opportunity to visit the Observatory and a visit upstairs to have a chat and an autograph signing with Terrance himself.

After opting for the very generous hospitality and refreshments laid on for the guests (beer wine, crisps, sweets, etc) Lucie, myself and it seems most of the audience went upstairs to meet Terrance. Standing in the queue for 15 minutes, we eventually were in front of Terrance. Lucie managed to get him to sign her book - The Day of the Daleks and a DVD Cover (I forget which one). We both had a wee chat and thanked him, took a few photos and headed off, happy as can be back downstairs.

Jack meets Terrance

QUIZ

When the audience re-assembled, there was a quiz and we came fourth.

William Lawrie receives Autograph

FINALLY

At the end, our small group, consisting of William Lawrie, Lucie Clark, Jack Frederick, Gregory Beekman, Iain Girvan and myself had another chance to chat and have our photo's taken in front of the TARDIS.

Lucies Book and DVD being signed

THANKS

A special thanks to the staff of Airdrie Library and their guests and assistants who worked hard on this to make it a memorable event. Their hospitality was excellent as usual.

Greg Bows before greatness

LINKS:

Daily Record Advertisement

OTHER PHOTOS:

Lucie, Terrance and The TARDIS

 

Iain Prepares for Gallifrey

Jack (AKA Tom Baker)

Greg, The Doctor (Actually)

Lucie's signed book & DVD

Paul after the Time Wars

ALBUM REVIEW: SUNPILOTS - KING OF THE SUGARCOATED TONGUES

2014-04-27

The Sunpilots – King of The Sugarcoated Tongues. 

Album Review.

Free album download at: 

http://thesunpilots.com/sugarcoated

Having stumbled across the Sunpilots on Twitter, I took the opportunity to listen to their Album - King of The Sugarcoated Tongues.

What I initially listened to was the first song on the album – The Pipers Mirror.

The Pipers mirror: came with with an accompanying cartoon/video, setting the song to an anime mix. My first thoughts were, oh oh, someone’s attempting to be like The Gorrilaz, that Damon Albarn of Blurs creation. Perhaps I spent too long looking at the cartoon initially, where their was a character resembling Captain Haddock in the adventures of Tin-Tin but as I concentrated on the song, I was pleasantly surprised.

The songs lead vocalist has a good range of vocals and the song had a good guitar riff running through it allowing the instrumentation and vocals to harmonise.

3 Minutes to midnight was a decent follow up to The Pipers Mirror, following on from the harmonising instrumentation.

King of the Sugarcoated Tongues, from which the album takes its name, is a song that was disappointing when considering the opening two songs…not altogether a bad song but the tune was a little plain.

The song: The Captain – opens on a long instrumental lead into the song. Now again, we hit good form. A refreshing change in direction from the previous songs and a tad lengthy at 8:33 minutes. 

God Science: A fair song that sits well on the album. Perhaps its most experimental and vocally challenging. A good attempt.

Sex and TV: Another Albarnism? in that it could be a reference to Blur’s Coffee and TV written by Graham Coxon..., No really it isn’t and probably just coincidental. I loved this song – great harmonies, constant changes in tempo and useful lyrics and riffs in the guitars to die for. Lyrically seems to be a reference to a populous whose minds are captured and controlled by TV. Undecided as to whether this is the best song on the album.

Rain: like king of the sugarcoated tongues, it disappointed a little. Following on from Sex and TV, it was an anti-climax too. Every album has a weak song; I guess this is the one.

Exodus: A return to form and a tidy end to the album, it bursts straight into the lyrics with little intro giving it a different start to some of the albums other songs. I live songs that dare to change tempo, and this one does it best. 5 minutes in, the song seems to begin again and raises itself to a vocally liberated hiatus. Good final song

Summary

A decent album, the pilots have obviously spent some time on their songs and are a talented bunch. If I am honest, I’d like to see them attempt some ballads and slow down their songs once in a while as the lead vocalist has a wide set of vocals to draw on and in my mind could have tested his range further in this album.

New Offices of A1 Jobs Limited

NEW OFFICES OF A1 JOBS LIMITED

www.a1job.co.uk

31 March 2014.

Today, after 8 years in Coatbridge,  my company, A1 Jobs Limited moved to a much larger and newly refurbished office in Glasgow city centre. On the corner of Hope Street and Gordon Street it looks directly onto the entrance of Glasgow Central Train Station and the location is ideal for commuting and access throughout Glasgow.

A1 Jobs are a recruitment agency specialising in a few areas, including Technical & Engineering,  Oil & Gas, Construction,  Industrial,  Driving, Removals, Renewables, Commercial and Information Technology.

I am looking forward to employing some extra staff and to the continued growth of the A1 Jobs brand throughout the UK. A1 jobs feel that Better employment times lie ahead and as Managing Director of A1 jobs, I look forward to playing a part in this growth.

A1 jobs also operates A1 Jobstrades. This part of our company hires tradesp to home owners and landlords alike. We can build you a patio, roughcast your house, fit a new kitchen, rewire your property, plumb in a sink, etc. Just ask to see our competitive costs. All jobs are carried out by our own Quantity Surveyor and all tradesmen are qualified. We also hace our own Architect should you wish for any design work to be carried out.

www.a1job.co.uk

www.a1jobstrades.co.uk

Danny Kane 10 Year Memorial

Danny Kane was amongst the most inspiring individuals it has been my good fortune to have known.

Sadly, Danny lost his fight to cancer on 12th March 2004 and left behind many happy memories.

This is a small tribute to him 10 years on.

PLANNING A MEMORIAL

So how to plan a memorial for Danny? First ask, what did Danny love most? Well...Danny was an enthusiastic amateur rocketeer. With that in mind, Lucie (my daughter) designed her own rocket as a tribute to him. You can see Lucie's rocket in the pictures,  propped up against Danny's gravestone. Thanks for this Lucie. It beats flowers and I'm sure he would approve.

SPECIAL MESSAGES

Danny's friends (some here today, and some unable to attend) then wrote a special message to Danny and they were placed inside Lucie's rocket. Im certain Danny will have read them wherever he is tonight. You can read some in the photographs. Some were more private and are not shown. I believe Graham gave Danny a special update on all the things that have happened over the past 10 years.

WHISKEY

Danny did also hsve a fondness, its fair to say, for a wee tipple, so we cracked open a nice bottle of whiskey and shared it amongst ourselves, as well as a wee offering or two do Danny as well. We toasted his good friendship and memory.

FLYING DANNYS ROCKET

After a few pictures, we assembled in a neighbouring field to the cemetery where we fired off a few rockets. One of Danny's own rockets was launched and a couple of Raymonds that have flewn in competition as well. Raymonds flew the distance but Danny's rocket flew with panache and style.

RETIRAL

In the best ASTRA and Airdrie tradition, the group l retired to the warmth of the Robert Hamilton pub for a few convivial jars.

SPECIAL THANKS

I'd like to especially thank Greg, Raymond, Lucie, William,  Keith, Graham, Andy, John and others for their support.

DANNY

Danny was a huge character.  He inspired people into Education, into Engineering, and to believe in themselves.

Danny was a leader, a gentleman, a scholar, a bundle of fun, and a good friend. If you didn't get to know Danny, you will recognise his spirit because it still lives on in Airdrie Public Observatory, so everyone still benefits.

We miss you Danny. Keep a bright light on out there in the vastness of the Cosmos.

Review - Knack on Sony Playstation (PS4)

The Hero of the hour - Nik Knack Paddywack

OVERVIEW AND GAME SYNOPSIS:

OK, First things first. I am reviewing my first purchase for my new PS4. My most recent games consoles are a PS4 and a Nintendo Wii, so I know I am comparing 2014 gaming consoles with something rather more dated. Any game (in terms of graphics and sound would look good in this light) but I will attempt to give my honest opinion.

The game itself revolves around the character named Knack. Knack was created from ancient relics and stones and he comes in various shapes and sizes, all depending on where he is in his adventures, though he does have a propensity to grow and enlarge as the game advances.

The human world in the game is under threat from an arms growth where arms are being provided to troll like characters and robots under the direction of the ever more evil Viktor.

Taking on the guise of Knack, your job is too seek out and destroy various enemies and to cease the supply of arms to the "bad guys"

GRAPHICS

The graphics are very colourful and well detailed, however they are quite "cartoonish" to be honest. There is even a character who strongly resembled that Mike Myers creation, Shrek. Yip, old Shrek, turned bad - this is what a life of drink and debauchery all without the love of his wife the princess Fiona would have done in a parallel universe.

Shrek - Where's Donkey?

The game revolves around thirteen chapters with a storyline that...won't win any Oscar's but its fine. Once I discovered the fast forward button I was happy again.

REPETITIVE

There are many scenes throughout the game but the main emphasis of Knack is to walk into a room and see off the baddies who vary from venom spitting insects, Giant Robots and Sword and Gun Wielding Gnomes and trolls (Sorry, I never know my trolls from my gnomes). These guys have some big real estate issues, buying up all the local caves, woods and castles (poor attempt at Tolkienesque lands). Wherever you are, you will be jumping or kicking and there are few controls and skills needed to see off your enemies. Cutting a long story short, the differences are only variations on the same theme throughout.

Stealth Knack Mode

KID FRIENDLY

Looking back at the game, its obvious that the game is more suited to kids gaming. It has an age 12 certificate on the version I bought but I think 7-11 is the ideal game range here. Certificate x it most certainly isn't. My 11 year old does seem to enjoy the game and for parents seeking out a safe role play game, I'd recommend Knack.

Knack defeats Toy Town Tank

IN SUMMARY

For serious gamers who enjoy Call of Duty, Need for Speed or Grand theft Auto, you will find the game tame (its like comparing Justin Bieber to Led Zeppelin - just not comparable). If you prefer something safe and are looking for a game for younger kids then this is the game for you. The storyline attempts to emulate a Hollywood film but essentially fails. I finished the game off in approximately 15 gaming hours. I would prefer my games to be challenging and to last Longer.

STAR RATING (Out of 5 Stars. 5 being the maximum, 1 being the minimum)

Challenge: 2 Stars
Graphics: 4 Stars
Storyline: 2 Stars
Overall Enjoyability: 3 Stars

Thanks for reading my blog

Paul , phendrixx@aol.com