Nick wisely asks whether lard would not have been a healthier option than shortening. The answer is "probably, but sometimes it depends what we have in the cupboard" and sadly there was no lard in sight, and we haven't yet made it ourselves.
However, news reaches us from Salisbury that nephew Matt, continuing his tradition of taking things a little more literally than the rest of us, has started occasionally having a new side dish for school dinners. As our correspondent puts it:
"Matt has 'fat wedges' at school which are obviously potato but he thought they were literally wedges of fat. Yurg. Has Jamie Oliver done nothing to raise the health level of school dinners?"
Frankly it makes the deep fried bacon thing seem a good idea.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
12 January 2009: Pasty
Despite the stomach, throat, nose and head bug that has been recycling around us for a couple of weeks, Gloria declared that Saturday would be Pasty Day.
And who would dare to disagree with such as fine suggestion?
The problem is that Ivor Dewdney's don't deliver to Kokomo, not even the "pasties by post". And Jungle Jim's insist on offering "pasties" in their frozen section that comprise such ingredients as cheese and chicken. So, as with the clotted cream and as will soon be with sausages (if we can find anyone selling belly pork), our 'Pasty Day' options were narrowed to:
1. Move back to England
2. Make it ourselves.
And as England is every bit as frozen as Indiana at the moment, option two was selected.
Dead simple really: the secret (such as there is one) is that the pasty must be sealed, aside from a slit in the top, due to the fact that in effect it's a little pressure cooker in there, as all the ingredients when they go on are raw. So, one of those rare cooking occasions where you don't brown the beef first.
And on the controversial aspects, I'll hereby state for the record the following choices were made:
1. Side crimp.
2. Shortcrust pastry.
3. No turnip/swede.
And I don't care if your long lost auntie did it different, that's the way it's going to be.
Ingredients: Chuck steak, which we ran through the coarse mincer rather than chopping by hand, some fairly finely-cubed potatoes, some onion and then salt and pepper to season. Pastry was made with a combination of margarine and shortening (if you're in the UK and wondering what 'shortening' is, think 'Trex' or that solid block of Crisp'N'Dry you can sometimes get.)
Roll out the pasty in about a eight or nine inch round and stick the mixture over half the circle. We layered it a bit - onion/potato, seasoning, then meat, more seasoning, then rest of potato - but frankly I think you could just mix it all up:
Wet the bottom edge with a small amount of water so that it'll stick when you crimp. Fold the top half over and gently crimp the two sides together so they're sealed. Place them on a baking tray that's either nicely greased or has that handy baking parchment stuff on it. Put a little milk on the top to help it brown, and cut a small slit in there to prevent too much pressure build-up.
Stick them in the oven for a bit. The instructions we followed were a little complex, you can probably just get away with 45-50 mins or so (depending on size) in a medium-hot oven.
When they come out, allow them to stand for a bit because they'll be a little on the warm side. This is the most difficult part because the smell by this stage is fantastic.
Finally, put it on your plate and eat it. Technically a pasty is not a fruit or vegetable and so cannot contribute much to your 'five a day', so make a nice smoothie to have with it, and then you can feel all righteous about what you're doing.
Bleddy marvleous.
And who would dare to disagree with such as fine suggestion?
The problem is that Ivor Dewdney's don't deliver to Kokomo, not even the "pasties by post". And Jungle Jim's insist on offering "pasties" in their frozen section that comprise such ingredients as cheese and chicken. So, as with the clotted cream and as will soon be with sausages (if we can find anyone selling belly pork), our 'Pasty Day' options were narrowed to:
1. Move back to England
2. Make it ourselves.
And as England is every bit as frozen as Indiana at the moment, option two was selected.
Dead simple really: the secret (such as there is one) is that the pasty must be sealed, aside from a slit in the top, due to the fact that in effect it's a little pressure cooker in there, as all the ingredients when they go on are raw. So, one of those rare cooking occasions where you don't brown the beef first.
And on the controversial aspects, I'll hereby state for the record the following choices were made:
1. Side crimp.
2. Shortcrust pastry.
3. No turnip/swede.
And I don't care if your long lost auntie did it different, that's the way it's going to be.
Ingredients: Chuck steak, which we ran through the coarse mincer rather than chopping by hand, some fairly finely-cubed potatoes, some onion and then salt and pepper to season. Pastry was made with a combination of margarine and shortening (if you're in the UK and wondering what 'shortening' is, think 'Trex' or that solid block of Crisp'N'Dry you can sometimes get.)
Roll out the pasty in about a eight or nine inch round and stick the mixture over half the circle. We layered it a bit - onion/potato, seasoning, then meat, more seasoning, then rest of potato - but frankly I think you could just mix it all up:
Wet the bottom edge with a small amount of water so that it'll stick when you crimp. Fold the top half over and gently crimp the two sides together so they're sealed. Place them on a baking tray that's either nicely greased or has that handy baking parchment stuff on it. Put a little milk on the top to help it brown, and cut a small slit in there to prevent too much pressure build-up.
Stick them in the oven for a bit. The instructions we followed were a little complex, you can probably just get away with 45-50 mins or so (depending on size) in a medium-hot oven.
When they come out, allow them to stand for a bit because they'll be a little on the warm side. This is the most difficult part because the smell by this stage is fantastic.
Finally, put it on your plate and eat it. Technically a pasty is not a fruit or vegetable and so cannot contribute much to your 'five a day', so make a nice smoothie to have with it, and then you can feel all righteous about what you're doing.
Bleddy marvleous.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
6 January 2008: Scrubs
Season 8 of Scrubs began on ABC tonight.
Watched two back-to-back episodes. Laughed only when Neil Flynn (Janitor) was on screen, although it was a surprise when he was fired by that one out of Friends.
Kind of sad, because it looks the same, the funny sounds between scenes are the same, the actors are the same. But it's rather like Asterix after Goscinny died: same characters, but kind of like they all had amnesia about how they used to be. Even Doctor Cox isn't funny any more. Ted the lawyer remains worth the money, but really... the story progression isn't there, the character progression is soap-ish, even if you view it as a series of stand-alone sketches it fails because they're flat-out not funny. (Hint: end of second episode - shot of rooftop toilet would have been nice touch).
Hold on, I hear you say.
(Go on, say it.)
You continue: isn't that the case with almost everything called 'comedy' on TV these days?
Yes. But the problem is this: Scrubs used to be better. It used to be really, really good - funny and poignant all at the same time, and instantly able to switch from one to the other. It used to have episodes like that one where it began with the statistic "one in three patients entering the hospital die", followed three patients through and at the end, they all died. (OK, it was good when they did it in the show). Or the TCW one. Or that one with Jill Tracy singing "Waiting for my real life to begin" at the end. Or the one where Jordan's brother dies. Or... well, you get the point.
So, this will be the final season. And, sorry to say, it's probably already gone on too long. Just give the Janitor a load more screen time, ok?
Postscript: Was that really an out-take they showed during the closing credits? Wow. Taking the best ideas out of Rush Hour III, huh?
Watched two back-to-back episodes. Laughed only when Neil Flynn (Janitor) was on screen, although it was a surprise when he was fired by that one out of Friends.
Kind of sad, because it looks the same, the funny sounds between scenes are the same, the actors are the same. But it's rather like Asterix after Goscinny died: same characters, but kind of like they all had amnesia about how they used to be. Even Doctor Cox isn't funny any more. Ted the lawyer remains worth the money, but really... the story progression isn't there, the character progression is soap-ish, even if you view it as a series of stand-alone sketches it fails because they're flat-out not funny. (Hint: end of second episode - shot of rooftop toilet would have been nice touch).
Hold on, I hear you say.
(Go on, say it.)
You continue: isn't that the case with almost everything called 'comedy' on TV these days?
Yes. But the problem is this: Scrubs used to be better. It used to be really, really good - funny and poignant all at the same time, and instantly able to switch from one to the other. It used to have episodes like that one where it began with the statistic "one in three patients entering the hospital die", followed three patients through and at the end, they all died. (OK, it was good when they did it in the show). Or the TCW one. Or that one with Jill Tracy singing "Waiting for my real life to begin" at the end. Or the one where Jordan's brother dies. Or... well, you get the point.
So, this will be the final season. And, sorry to say, it's probably already gone on too long. Just give the Janitor a load more screen time, ok?
Postscript: Was that really an out-take they showed during the closing credits? Wow. Taking the best ideas out of Rush Hour III, huh?
Monday, January 05, 2009
4 January 2008: Who
Who is Matt Smith.
(That's a statement, not a question.)
Presumably it's not the same Matt Smith who sometimes says football cliches on ITV?
As for the reaction? Generally mixed, but what everyone needs to remember is that the most important replacement is not Matt Smith coming in for David Tennant, but Steven Moffat coming in for Russell T Davis. How anyone can have doubts when the writer of 'Silence in the Library', 'Blink' and 'The Empty Child' is coming in amazes me, and here's why: Doctor Who is always about the writing.
Tom Baker was the best partly because of his scarf, partly because of his overacting but mainly because he had writers of the likes of Douglas Adams, Robert Holmes, Bob Baker/Dave Martin and of course Terry Nation doing the Daleks. Colin Baker was universally panned because he didn't have a single story that was at all interesting or, in the case of the 'Trial of a Timelord' series, comprehensible. (Side note: 'The Two Doctors' was Colin Baker's best story, and that's because it was written by Robert Holmes and based on his initial ideas for 'The Five Doctors' from some time previously).
Sylvestor McCoy, conversely, suffered from poor scripts right up until his final series in 1989, when then-script editor Andrew Cartmel suddenly added layers and dimensions to the story arcs that made it the best season in ten years, and led to renewed intrigue and darkness concerning who The Doctor really was. Same actors as the previous two series, same cheap production values and poor sets, but suddenly there was an incredible depth and back-story coming through.
Sadly, though, the BBC had already decided to cancel it and put that series on Monday nights up against Coronation Street on ITV. Shame, because it was really good. Dialogue included the following:
Davros: In the end, Doctor, you are just another Time Lord.
Doctor: Oh Davros… I am far more than just another Time Lord.
Of course, when they decided to cut the series, they also cut those two lines, because they couldn't follow through with the rest of the story arc, where the Doctor was to be revealed as having a very interesting, fragmented, re-woven past. But on reflection, over the years, and as novels and audio plays continued to be produced, the final 1989 series seems to rank up there among the best they ever made, even in the heydays of Pertwee and Baker (T). And it's all because of the writing.
So, David Tennant will have his farewell tour this year, and Steven Moffat can take over in 2010, and Matt Smith shouldn't have to worry about whether the writing is up to scratch or not. He'll do fine.
Frankly, with Moffat at the helm, I could probably do the job myself.
Postscript: Let's not get into the football. Argyle played with a bit of pride but forgot to come out for the first four minutes of the second half; Saints meanwhile were pretty dreadful. Only thing to say on that one is that it's a shame the referee didn't allow a game of football to take place. Man United should be good enough to beat Saints without incorrect sendings off, incorrect offside decisions and incorrect penalty decisions. So why did the referee choose to do that all stuff? Of all the things in football that frustrate me, consistently one-sided refereeing is the greatest.
(That's a statement, not a question.)
Presumably it's not the same Matt Smith who sometimes says football cliches on ITV?
As for the reaction? Generally mixed, but what everyone needs to remember is that the most important replacement is not Matt Smith coming in for David Tennant, but Steven Moffat coming in for Russell T Davis. How anyone can have doubts when the writer of 'Silence in the Library', 'Blink' and 'The Empty Child' is coming in amazes me, and here's why: Doctor Who is always about the writing.
Tom Baker was the best partly because of his scarf, partly because of his overacting but mainly because he had writers of the likes of Douglas Adams, Robert Holmes, Bob Baker/Dave Martin and of course Terry Nation doing the Daleks. Colin Baker was universally panned because he didn't have a single story that was at all interesting or, in the case of the 'Trial of a Timelord' series, comprehensible. (Side note: 'The Two Doctors' was Colin Baker's best story, and that's because it was written by Robert Holmes and based on his initial ideas for 'The Five Doctors' from some time previously).
Sylvestor McCoy, conversely, suffered from poor scripts right up until his final series in 1989, when then-script editor Andrew Cartmel suddenly added layers and dimensions to the story arcs that made it the best season in ten years, and led to renewed intrigue and darkness concerning who The Doctor really was. Same actors as the previous two series, same cheap production values and poor sets, but suddenly there was an incredible depth and back-story coming through.
Sadly, though, the BBC had already decided to cancel it and put that series on Monday nights up against Coronation Street on ITV. Shame, because it was really good. Dialogue included the following:
Davros: In the end, Doctor, you are just another Time Lord.
Doctor: Oh Davros… I am far more than just another Time Lord.
Of course, when they decided to cut the series, they also cut those two lines, because they couldn't follow through with the rest of the story arc, where the Doctor was to be revealed as having a very interesting, fragmented, re-woven past. But on reflection, over the years, and as novels and audio plays continued to be produced, the final 1989 series seems to rank up there among the best they ever made, even in the heydays of Pertwee and Baker (T). And it's all because of the writing.
So, David Tennant will have his farewell tour this year, and Steven Moffat can take over in 2010, and Matt Smith shouldn't have to worry about whether the writing is up to scratch or not. He'll do fine.
Frankly, with Moffat at the helm, I could probably do the job myself.
Postscript: Let's not get into the football. Argyle played with a bit of pride but forgot to come out for the first four minutes of the second half; Saints meanwhile were pretty dreadful. Only thing to say on that one is that it's a shame the referee didn't allow a game of football to take place. Man United should be good enough to beat Saints without incorrect sendings off, incorrect offside decisions and incorrect penalty decisions. So why did the referee choose to do that all stuff? Of all the things in football that frustrate me, consistently one-sided refereeing is the greatest.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
30 December 2008: Parade
Got to see the Doctor Who Christmas special on Boxing Day down in Louisiana.
Some kind soul had recorded it the previous day in the UK and was uploading it in seven parts, about one per hour, to YouTube. With several hundred people, including myself, hanging on each new upload, he got as far as number six before YouTube noticed what was going on and suspended his account. Happily, some other kind soul had uploaded the last five minutes separately so I got to see almost the whole thing.
And what to make of it? The first twenty minutes or so had to rate among some of the best stuff that RTD has written for David Tennant. There were several parallel plot threads unwinding nicely in tune with each other, an underlying mystery of 'who is this other Doctor and why doesn't he remember David Tennant's doctor', and this was nicely tested out with a few suggestions as to what was going on... the first 'pocket watch moment' was particularly tense, the outcome just adding to the intrigue.
But then, rather like Saints, it went vastly normal in the second half. The question was resolved, the 'Doctor' was revealed not only to not be the Doctor, but actually had almost all his questions answered with 30 minutes still left in the show. And then the episode climaxed by the city being attacked by a giant robot machine, which was defeated by the Doctor wielding a powerful ray-gun. Sheesh. No cliches there, then. At least Ghostbusters had a little humour as it did almost the same thing a quarter of a century ago (can you believe it?).
Still, better to have seen it than not.
Meantime, a new CD or two came my way for Christmas. A Hillsong compilation from the last few years was joined by a long-overdue collection item: "Join The Parade" by Marc Cohn.
For whatever reason, I always end up getting Cohn's albums about a year to eighteen months after they are released and this is no exception. And, as usual, I wish I'd got it before. Highlights include the 'radio single' "Listening to Levon", mixing Cohn's soulful sound with a little humour, and "Live Out The String", which covers his car-jacking incident from a few years ago.
Best track for me, though, is "Let Me Be Your Witness", again a soulful easy-listener which crescendos with a descending bassline that I find seriously reminiscent of the final part of Annie Lennox's song "Why". If I were doing this song live, I'd be adding her lines in there too.
But enough from me. Happy New Year to all, and no, I don't plan to add anything else to my YouTube channel. Still, 1500 hits in about a week isn't bad considering I just put it on this blog and only told three people about it.
Just hope Bill doesn't mind the extra publicity...
Some kind soul had recorded it the previous day in the UK and was uploading it in seven parts, about one per hour, to YouTube. With several hundred people, including myself, hanging on each new upload, he got as far as number six before YouTube noticed what was going on and suspended his account. Happily, some other kind soul had uploaded the last five minutes separately so I got to see almost the whole thing.
And what to make of it? The first twenty minutes or so had to rate among some of the best stuff that RTD has written for David Tennant. There were several parallel plot threads unwinding nicely in tune with each other, an underlying mystery of 'who is this other Doctor and why doesn't he remember David Tennant's doctor', and this was nicely tested out with a few suggestions as to what was going on... the first 'pocket watch moment' was particularly tense, the outcome just adding to the intrigue.
But then, rather like Saints, it went vastly normal in the second half. The question was resolved, the 'Doctor' was revealed not only to not be the Doctor, but actually had almost all his questions answered with 30 minutes still left in the show. And then the episode climaxed by the city being attacked by a giant robot machine, which was defeated by the Doctor wielding a powerful ray-gun. Sheesh. No cliches there, then. At least Ghostbusters had a little humour as it did almost the same thing a quarter of a century ago (can you believe it?).
Still, better to have seen it than not.
Meantime, a new CD or two came my way for Christmas. A Hillsong compilation from the last few years was joined by a long-overdue collection item: "Join The Parade" by Marc Cohn.
For whatever reason, I always end up getting Cohn's albums about a year to eighteen months after they are released and this is no exception. And, as usual, I wish I'd got it before. Highlights include the 'radio single' "Listening to Levon", mixing Cohn's soulful sound with a little humour, and "Live Out The String", which covers his car-jacking incident from a few years ago.
Best track for me, though, is "Let Me Be Your Witness", again a soulful easy-listener which crescendos with a descending bassline that I find seriously reminiscent of the final part of Annie Lennox's song "Why". If I were doing this song live, I'd be adding her lines in there too.
But enough from me. Happy New Year to all, and no, I don't plan to add anything else to my YouTube channel. Still, 1500 hits in about a week isn't bad considering I just put it on this blog and only told three people about it.
Just hope Bill doesn't mind the extra publicity...
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
15 December 2008: Traditions
Hands up everyone who's sick of hearing Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody"?
Hm, surprising number of hands from one side of the Atlantic, and a look of general confusion on the other.
Quick primer for everyone in the US: in 1973 the "battle for Christmas Number One" happened in the UK singles chart for the first time. The contenders were Wizzard with "I wish it could be Christmas every day" and the aforementioned Slade, who won the race, despite the Wizzard song being much better. Every year since then two things have happened: (1) there is interest in who will be number one in the charts at Christmas (these days it's almost exclusively the X-Factor winner) and (2) Slade and Wizzard have their songs played to death at Christmas parties, shopping centres and all over any radio station you listen to, along with a wide selection of other such Christmas number ones.
It's different here in the US: Christmas music usually means Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby singing "Frosty the Snowman" or "O Come All Ye Faithful". There's some more recent stuff - although often just remakes of traditional carols - indeed Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is you" is a major exception to this rule. But that's about it - no Shakin' Stevens, no Cliff Richard, no Band Aid (any version) and not a hint of Terry Wogan.
And I miss it a little. So, last Friday we had a "British Christmas" at our place. Inviting over our friends from Southport and Luton (actually one family who moved around a bit), we had a fantastic time discussing games, traditions, differences and panto, while munching on home-made toad-in-the-hole (good sausages ARE available - you can buy them frozen from a pub of all places, down in Indianapolis), mince pies, Christmas cake and even some home-made Christmas pudding. Crackers were brought, of course, and we all wore silly hats for the evening. And there in the background was my Christmas CD.
Track listing, for those interested in such things:
1. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin Stevens
2. Driving Home for Christmas - Chris Rea
3. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues featuring Kirsty McColl (best Christmas song ever)
4. Saviour's Day - Cliff Richard
5. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade
6. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day - Wizzard
7. Stop The Cavalry - Jona Lewie (Gloria's favourite)
8. Happy Xmas (War is Over) - John Lennon
9. I Believe in Father Christmas - Greg Lake
10. A Spaceman Came Travelling - Chris De Burgh eeeeeevil eeeeeeeeevil
11. Mary's Boy Child - Boney M
12. In Dulce Jubilo - Mike Oldfield...
and the list goes on, 21 tracks in all but you get the idea.
So we played this through the evening and heard comments from our ex-pat friends such as "wow, I'd forgotten about this one" and "is Cliff Richard still alive?", and it greatly added to the evening, even if in the UK it would be regarded as a load of old rubbish. I suppose that even stuff you take for granted - like Slade and Wizzard - you miss when you move away, and that's where the value in tradition comes in.
To make it better, as I drove to Cincinnati Sunday evening for a final (really?) two-day stint with some friendly clients, I was blessed to be in a hire car that had satellite radio. And that means two things: (1) BBC World Service and (2) BBC Radio 1 (for some reason on a five-hour delay). And Sunday afternoon meant - the chart show!
Along I drove, all 2 hours 40 minutes listening to Fearne and Reggie blabber their way through the top forty best-selling singles of the week in the UK. And there, rising between the variable quality of Beyonce and Kings of Leon, were not one, not two but FOUR yes FOUR count them FOUR tracks from my CD. Shaky in at 36, Slade at 32, Wizzard at 31 (ha! I knew Wizzard were better) and The Pogues slamming in at 13, just below Mariah Carey. Terry Wogan's at number three with 'The Little Drummer Boy' but that's a whole other story. And why are these all in the charts? Because they now count MP3 downloads as part of the sales chart, and at this time of year people go on to iTunes and pay a few pennies to get a copy of Noddy Holder shouting IT'S CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAAAS!!!!! And so, in the chart they go.
And that wrapped up a fantastic weekend. Almost like being at home. Except we get snow and the UK gets floods. Still, at least we can all join in the same songs, like the boys of the NYPD choir still singing Galway Bay...
And the bells are ringing out for Christmas Day!
Hm, surprising number of hands from one side of the Atlantic, and a look of general confusion on the other.
Quick primer for everyone in the US: in 1973 the "battle for Christmas Number One" happened in the UK singles chart for the first time. The contenders were Wizzard with "I wish it could be Christmas every day" and the aforementioned Slade, who won the race, despite the Wizzard song being much better. Every year since then two things have happened: (1) there is interest in who will be number one in the charts at Christmas (these days it's almost exclusively the X-Factor winner) and (2) Slade and Wizzard have their songs played to death at Christmas parties, shopping centres and all over any radio station you listen to, along with a wide selection of other such Christmas number ones.
It's different here in the US: Christmas music usually means Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby singing "Frosty the Snowman" or "O Come All Ye Faithful". There's some more recent stuff - although often just remakes of traditional carols - indeed Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is you" is a major exception to this rule. But that's about it - no Shakin' Stevens, no Cliff Richard, no Band Aid (any version) and not a hint of Terry Wogan.
And I miss it a little. So, last Friday we had a "British Christmas" at our place. Inviting over our friends from Southport and Luton (actually one family who moved around a bit), we had a fantastic time discussing games, traditions, differences and panto, while munching on home-made toad-in-the-hole (good sausages ARE available - you can buy them frozen from a pub of all places, down in Indianapolis), mince pies, Christmas cake and even some home-made Christmas pudding. Crackers were brought, of course, and we all wore silly hats for the evening. And there in the background was my Christmas CD.
Track listing, for those interested in such things:
1. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin Stevens
2. Driving Home for Christmas - Chris Rea
3. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues featuring Kirsty McColl (best Christmas song ever)
4. Saviour's Day - Cliff Richard
5. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade
6. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day - Wizzard
7. Stop The Cavalry - Jona Lewie (Gloria's favourite)
8. Happy Xmas (War is Over) - John Lennon
9. I Believe in Father Christmas - Greg Lake
10. A Spaceman Came Travelling - Chris De Burgh eeeeeevil eeeeeeeeevil
11. Mary's Boy Child - Boney M
12. In Dulce Jubilo - Mike Oldfield...
and the list goes on, 21 tracks in all but you get the idea.
So we played this through the evening and heard comments from our ex-pat friends such as "wow, I'd forgotten about this one" and "is Cliff Richard still alive?", and it greatly added to the evening, even if in the UK it would be regarded as a load of old rubbish. I suppose that even stuff you take for granted - like Slade and Wizzard - you miss when you move away, and that's where the value in tradition comes in.
To make it better, as I drove to Cincinnati Sunday evening for a final (really?) two-day stint with some friendly clients, I was blessed to be in a hire car that had satellite radio. And that means two things: (1) BBC World Service and (2) BBC Radio 1 (for some reason on a five-hour delay). And Sunday afternoon meant - the chart show!
Along I drove, all 2 hours 40 minutes listening to Fearne and Reggie blabber their way through the top forty best-selling singles of the week in the UK. And there, rising between the variable quality of Beyonce and Kings of Leon, were not one, not two but FOUR yes FOUR count them FOUR tracks from my CD. Shaky in at 36, Slade at 32, Wizzard at 31 (ha! I knew Wizzard were better) and The Pogues slamming in at 13, just below Mariah Carey. Terry Wogan's at number three with 'The Little Drummer Boy' but that's a whole other story. And why are these all in the charts? Because they now count MP3 downloads as part of the sales chart, and at this time of year people go on to iTunes and pay a few pennies to get a copy of Noddy Holder shouting IT'S CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAAAS!!!!! And so, in the chart they go.
And that wrapped up a fantastic weekend. Almost like being at home. Except we get snow and the UK gets floods. Still, at least we can all join in the same songs, like the boys of the NYPD choir still singing Galway Bay...
And the bells are ringing out for Christmas Day!
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