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Stalin Ate My Homework

My latest audiobook listen is Alexei Sayle’s “Stalin Ate My Homework“.

When I bought it I didn’t know what to expect except that I’ve always enjoyed his sense of humour. So far it is a great listen. He’s reading it himself and as it is about his life it is full of feeling. It is funny and sad and very unusual. I’m only about 3 hours into it and it is 8 hours long, but I’m enjoying every minute of it,

100 Years

If my Grandfather were alive today he would be 100 years old today. I miss him. He was an amazing man. A tinkerer and maker. A wizard with electronics and always creating amazing little gadgets.

When I was little he made me a toy police car made out of old tin cans and bits of tape machines. It was amazing and I played with it for years.

So today I remember my wonderful Grandpa and think of all the good time we had together. Oh, and you might wonder what the picture is? Well, it was his pencil tin, where he kept technical drawing pencils and a set of compasses and the like. It reminds me of him.

Danse Society, KTP and Obscurity

I was listening to the Danse Society today. Their greatest hits or something like that. I only bought the CD for 1 track which I really liked and was unable to find anywhere as a single track download.

This got me thinking about other obscure music I’ve been hunting of late. I recently got back into Kissing the Pink, who’s later albums are very hard to get hold of except on vinyl, and whilst I do like vinyl I don’t find it practical on a day to day basis.

Every time I hunt down something obscure that I’ve remembered and decide that I really must get again I think that this will be the last bit of obscurity I need to locate, but in fact it turns out that it reminds me of another 2 or 3 tracks or albums that I’d love to hear again that don’t seem to be available anywhere on this planet.

I’m sure I’m not the only one though, and I guess it keeps things interesting.

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense, it is late and I think I’m rambling. I’ll stop now.

The Last of the Current Series: Sarah Jane Adventures

It was the last episode in the current series tonight and it was brilliant!

I really think that this show has been one of the best children’s shows in a long time, and in many ways it is better than Dr Who, certainly better than many of the David Tenant series, Matt Smith has been a big improvement in my book.

But The Sarah Jane Adventures has always delivered as far as I’m concerned, and not just for children. Each story has been well thought through and superbly executed. For a spin off series it has done really well and I’m looking forward to the next series in 2011.

More SJA! Keep up the good work BBC!

Wet November

Almost half way through November now and it has been wet. Not torrential type rain, but damp. The kind of damp that makes you cold just thinking about it.

It isn’t raining today but it feels damp and cold outside.

After Guy Fawkes November feels like a waiting room for Christmas. I don’t want to get into the whole pre-Christmas mayhem as yet, but it is almost as if there’s nothing else to do or look forward to except Christmas, then new year, then the slow journey into spring.

Perhaps I should just bite the bullet and start getting on with Christmas shopping and the like as there’s never enough time usually to get everything sorted out.

I’ll give it some thought anyway.

Clearing Stuff out all the time

I’m always amazed by how much ‘stuff’ I manage to collect and then have to clear out. I seem to be in a perpetual state of getting rid of stuff, and constantly wonder why I bought or acquired this, that, or the other.

I always try not to buy stuff when I think I don’t need it, but even so I’m always getting rid of things and wondering why I ended up with them in the first place!

How does that work then?

Vintage Car Rally

Today was the London to Brighton Vintage Car Rally. I love watching these ancient vehicles on their way to Brighton. Every year I decide to make a real effort to watch as much of the rally as I can and every year something gets in the way. Usually staying in bed longer.

Today I managed to see more of it than I have for the last 3 years which was great, but even so I didn’t see as much as I’d like to. Maybe next year.