This week, this blog is preoccupied with the preparations for our 8th Birthday Party on Friday evening at The Chandos Arms. I have spent the evening working on the playlist for the music when the bands aren't playing. I take these matters seriously. It has been a most enjoyable evening. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but the list includes :-
The Clash, Slade, The Dickies, David Bowie, T Rex, Dennis Brown, Eek A Mouse, Blondie, The Damned, Mud, Yellowman, Jimmy Cliff, The Four Tops, Diana Ross, The Selecter, The Specials, Dawn Penn, The Monkees, Carmel, Blur, Black Grape, Otis Redding, Marvin GAye, Wire, The Fall, Magazine, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Happy Mondays, Big Audio Dynamite, The Steve Miller Band, The Kinks, Misty in Roots, James Brown, Sister Sledge, Patti Smith, Prince Buster, The Pogues, Sade, The Ramones and Wire, just to name a few.
I can thoroughly recommend an evening building a playlist as a great way to relax and chill! I hope that if you make it, you enjoy the music just as much as I have.
There will also be live music and a slice of cake! Please come down. It's all free, but a donation to the Colindale Foodbank, in the form of some non perishable food would be a lovely gesture.
We will publish the playlist after the gig, so you can check it out in full. G
Last night four men of indeterminate age gathered in a studio in Mill Hill to play some music. Well actually rather more than four men, because there are 18 studios in Mill Hill Music Complex, but lets just concentrate on these four. Their names Allen, Filipe, Graham and Rog. You may be aware of one of these chaps as he writes this blog.
These four make up a band called the False Dots. Rehearsals tend to follow a set pattern, developed over the 37 years that the band has been an active unit. A quick run through the set, then work on new material. Last nights new song was called "They cleared out your desk". It is a composition by Allen, who is also a well known poet and author known to the world as Allen Ashley. A lot of love and care is put into song arrangements. Unlike many bands, The False Dots only play original material. Having a back catalog of 37 years, means we have a few rather fine songs. The songs are roughly 50% written by Allen and myself to start with, we then jointly develop them.
I was mulling on the new songs when I got home. A rather strange thought occurred to me. 70 years ago, my Dad was an RAF pilot fighting NAZI''s. He was the captain of a bomber plane and a crew of five people. Our band has a slightly smaller crew of four. But we are fighting the same fight. We write songs about issues we care about. "They cleared out your desk" tells the story of how a skilled British workman finds himself tossed aside after many years of loyal service, because it is cheaper for his firm to move the work elsewhere. This fate has befallen hundreds of thousands, if not millions of British workers. The musical style is a bit of a mash up of The Specials and The Fine Young Cannibals.
It is quite amazing that so many jobs have been exported from the UK without a peep from the press. The Sun and The Mail demonise immigrants on a daily basis, but if you are going to lose your job this year, it will be hundreds of times more likely that it will be "outsourced" or "offshored" than simply given to an immigrant. Why does The Sun not mention this? Well The Sun is a global corporation and their owners News International have maximised profits by their own outsourcing and offshoring. I believe that the whole immigrant scare is a smokescreen to distract us from the real scandal. I was born in 1962 and in this period our manufacturing industry has been decimated. The UK used to have one of the worlds leading Computer companies, ICL. This was bought up by Fujitsu, a Japanese company. Have a look around your house. How many British made appliances are there? Sheffield Steel used to be known around the world. How much British Steel do you have in your house? The British Steel company was sold to foreign owners, who have run it into the ground. If we ever had another war, we'd have to surrender as we have no factories to arm us or make the steel to make the guns. We sold our Harriers off, so we could buy American planes that are not as good.
I suspect that the only way you'll hear a peep about any of this is if you come along to The Chandos Arms in Colindale on Friday night, to listen to The False Dots. The press and the media are co conspiritors. I happen to believe that musicians are one of the last bastions of truth and honesty. That is why I am so pleased Bob Dylan won a nobel prize. The False Dots are currently working on an album called "Songs of Love and War". We write love songs and we write politically charged songs. These songs don't preach, they tell stories and hopefully make you think a little bit, whilst you have a good time. In some way, I see the False Dots and like minded bands as the modern equivalent of my Dads crew. We fight our battles with songs, wit and lyrics. We don't want to rule anyone. We just want people to wake up to the fact that they are being mislead.
Please join us on Friday at 8pm, for the Barnet Eye Birthday party at The Chandos Arms. Its free entry. We are having a collection for Colindale Food Bank of non perishable food, and passing arund a hat for John Burgess's Unisongate fighting fund.
1. This has to be my tweet of the week. The Roundhouse was 50 this week and chose an extract rom this blog as part of their series of recollections. Many people in our Borough have special memories of the Roundhouse. I believe it is the best venue in the world!
There's one thing you really should know about the Barnet Eye. WE LOVE A PARTY!!!!
The False Dots Live!
That is why we are having a birthday party, to celebrate our 8th Birthday (We were launched on the 11th October 2008). Emily at The Chandos Arms in Colindale kindly asked us if we'd like to do the party at The Chandos on Friday 21st October at 8pm. If you've been there before, you'll know she's turned the pub into an absolute centre of the community life in our little part of London. If you haven't been before, you'll have a great time. In keeping with the ethos of The Barnet Eye, the night is completely free entry, but we will be passing out a bucket to help John Burgess, the Local UNISON rep in his Unisongate legal challenge. We will also be holding a collection of non perishable food for Colindale Foodbank. So please bring a couple of spare tins down.
There will be live music from my band, The False Dots. If you've never seen us before, we are an entertaining and exciting live act. We'll also have some great music from special guests. I'll also be playing a selection of my favourite music from over the years. This will include a very eclectic mix from over the years. There will be some Bowie, some Bolan, some Reggae, some Ska, some punk, a bit of glam and even a Pink Floyd track (albiet See Emily Play from the Syd Barratt era).
I think that the 8th Birthday of this blog is a big cause for celebration. We've achieved so much as part of our local community. It never ceases to amae me just how widely read and how much influence the blog has had. The latest example of this was just recently, when The Roundhouse contacted us and asked to use one of my blogs as part of their recollections and history of the Roundhouse series. You can read the piece they've put on their WEBSITE BY CLICKING HERE. I was interviewed by the lovely Nikki Bedi on BBC Radio London about this, this very morning. You can here the interview on listen again, just after the 10:30 news slot. I love doing things like that which are fun and celebrate our city, which is another reason I am so looking forward to the party.
Even if you can't make the whole evening, just come a long for a bit, have a drink and say hi.
If Saturday list #100 hadn't beenn Saturday list #100, this would have been Saturday list #100. I am a huge an of the Robert Elms show on BBC radio London. Every week he does a "Fourfar", where he gets listeners to suggest four themed songs. A couple of weeks ago the theme was "the four greatest British female singers. As is Roberts want, he actually chose five and I suspect his list was just about as close do definitive as you can get. You may swap one or possibly two, but it is a damn fine list and was Amy Winehouse, Dusty Springfield, Kate Bush, Joan Armatrading and Sade. But the more I thought about it, the more unsatisactory I felt the list was. Not because it isn't a great list, but because, well I just don't think five choices really scratches the surface. Whole musical genres are ignored and ultimately, well to quote the great Elvis Costello "All this and no surprises, from this years girl". So this isn't a criticism of Robert, it's a celebration of the great talent we've seen develop from these shores.
These are in no particular order (so it's not six to fifteen, if we buy into Roberts top five).
1. Vera Lynn. Vera Lynn was the first British female vocalist superstar. Radio was still a relatively new medium, when Vera Lynn came to promenance. She toured the world. She's still going and at 92 became the oldest ever artist to top the album charts. She set a new standard for showing what female artists could achieve.
2. Souixsie Souix. The queen of punk. A true fashion and music icon. I think Souixsie was the only person I've ever found truly intimidating. Her musica catalog is immense and hugely influential. The sound of Souixsie is unique and beyond compare.
3. Sandy Denny. Sandy Denny was the lead singer of Fairport Convention, the leaders of the British Folk Rock scene in the early 1970's going on to make some classic solo albums. An incredible talent. Whilst folk never really became mainstream, Sandy Denny was the queen of folk and her work really deserves a reprise
4. Pauline Black. The Selecter were one of the late 1970's Ska bands. Unlike The Specials and Madness, they had a female lead. The incomparable Pauline Black. Pauline was stylish and sassy and brought a whole new dimension to the UK SKA scene. Many of the female artists who have followed have, consciously or not, given a nod to Pauline and her style
5. The Beverley Sisters
The Beverley Sisters were the proto girl group. They were the highest paidfemale act in the UK for many years. Long before Posh and Becks, Joy Beverley married England football superstar Billy Wright. It is easy to overlook artsist from this period, especially when they are not at the "serious" end of the spectrum, but in many ways it is the artists that influence the mass market acts that really make the biggest impact. The Beverley sisters were always great singers and great performers and we should give them their rightful place in the history of the UK music scene.
6. Poly Styrene. I love Poly Styrene. I doubt she could have been a Pop Start in any other era than the Punk Era, but I feel honoured to have been around when she was at her peak. She looked and sang unlike any other start before or since. She was a gentle, lovely, sweet soul, but her songs were full of wit, dark humour and razor like obsevations on modern life. She was an embodyment of the fact that in the Punk era, anyone could make it if they had something to say.
7. Cleo Laine. A member of the UK's Jazz aristocricy. A back catalog to die for, numerous collaborations. I guess if you were going to choose any UK Jazz artists to epitomise the UK Jazz century, you'd be hard pressed to beat Cleo.
8. Lily Allen. Of all the new artists to come to promenence since the new millenia began, Lily Allen is perhaps the one who best speaks for the new generation. She's not afraid to put herself out there. It would doubtless be easy for musical snobs to ignore her, but I think she's great. Launched a whole fleet of soundalikes and helped get people back into the SKA sound, with here catchy rythms.
9. Janet Kay. The first Black female Reggae singer to have a number 1. Janet was at the forfront of Black Londoners who were showing that the UK regggae scene had developed its own style and personality and was not simply an offshoot of Kingston. Sadly like many black artists, never really got the support from her label her talent deserved.
10. Kirsty MacColl. For many, Kirsty should have been in Roberts top five, let alone my top ten! I agonised long and hard over which video to choose. In the end, I chose this one because it was just such a celebration of life. I could have done a Kirsty Top Ten.
Of course, there are dozens that I left out. We all have our own top ten. This list has tried to span as many eras and influences as possible. I am sure that anyone could easly say what about.... So if you have your own top ten, feel free to post a comment.
Just a week ago, Theresa May was basking in the glow of a successful Tory conference. Unlike David Cameron, who was never truly comfortable getting down and dirty with the unwashed masses of the membership, May loves it. Hold a mirror to Tory middle England and you may just find Theresa May staring back at you.
But being Prime Minister is not about taking the platitudes from those that love you. It is about running the country. Sadly Theresa May was prepared to sacrifice the economic wellbeing of the UK for a nice ovation. A statesman would have told the conference the harsh truth. If we botch Brexit and spook the markets, then we will suffer huge financial damage. Therefore we need a coherent plan to ease ourselves into a new situation. Grandstanding and rash statements, made purely to eke out a minor political advantage are dangerous and stupid. Sadly May threw caution to the wind. She announced that article 50 would be served by the end of spring 2017.
This has lead to crash in Sterling. The right wing press have dishonestly been presenting this as a good thing for the UK. This morning, we wake to the reality. Pot noodles and Marmite are disappearing from the shelves of our supermarkets, as suppliers hike prices to pay for a weak pound. The truth is that Xmas 2016 is likely to be an expensive affair, if you can actually get hold of anything. As sterling continues to plunge, foreign suppliers will become ever more cautious of UK trade. This will hit exporters and importers. The truth is that no one wants Sterling right now. It is headed in one direction. What is worse is that this is a mess entirely made by theConservative party.
Yesterday Jeremy Corbyn soundly thrashed May at PMQ's. This was the second time in succession he's won. Have a look on iPlayer if you don't believe me. Whereas Cameron had the measure of Corbyn, May is looking ever more out of her depth. Her own side looked rattled. How did Corbyn do this? He simply asked obvious questions with sensible follow ups. The fact May floundered must have set alarm bells ringing on the Tory back benches. If Corbyn can win this easily, they will soon get spooked.
The truth is rabid Brexiteers want us out with unseemly haste and no regard to economic reality. The reason is becoming clearer by the day. They know that the more sensible scrutiny we have of the process, the more it unravels. Get out before the bills start arriving. I just don't understand why they are getting such an easy ride.
It becomes clearer every day that David Cameron has shafted the UK. Cameron and the establishment never expected an 'Out' vote so they negligently never put on the table what an out vote entailed.
Now a bunch of right wing fanatics have set about cobbling together a set of policies to indulge their little Englanders fantasies, with no regard to the good of the country. Theresa May has pulled off the seemingly impossible task of losing two #PMQ's in a row to Jeremy Corbyn, managing to make Corbyn seem like a statesman of gravitas, whilst she flounders to deliver scripted gags that aren't funny.
The country voted to 'leave the EU'. The trouble is that no one knows what that actually means for business or for private citizens. May has made the problem worse by committing to complete the process by the spring of 2019 (if you believe her Tory party speech).
Now none of that would be a problem if there was a strategy or a plan, but there isn't. We don't know what the priorities are. May seems to think free movement of labour being abolished is the key, but she won't let Parliament vote on this.
What we do know is that the pound is sinking like the Titanic in a sea of indecision.
May is being quite utterly stupid. The whole crisis is of her making. She should have set up a Royal Commission to examine our relationship with Europe and produce a reasoned report detailing the shape of our new solution. She should have given the commission 18 months to conclude its work, then given Parliamet a vote on it. Once this was adopted, the public should have been given the opportunity in a referendum to endorse it.
Then we would serve article 60 and enact it. No arguments. But that would be sane and rational, wouldn't it. If the Brexiters are so convinced they have a mandate and they drew it up, surely they would believe voters would love it?
Eight years ago today, I wrote my first blog on the Barnet Eye. This wasn't the the first blog I'd written, as I'd previosly been writing on the Barnet Times website. In May 2008, I'd started to write that particular blog. By October, I'd upset the local Tory bigwigs so much that they used all the pressure they could muster to force the then editor of the Barnet Times to sack me in my role as in house blogger. When I started the Times series blog, the Times had just launched the idea of community bloggers on their website. They were tucked away from the main news. You had to know where to look. I assumed that no one would read the blog. How wrong I was. Within a few weeks, nmy blogs would appear every day in the 'Most viewed' column. I set myself the target of writing a blog a day. I figured if people knew there'd be a new blog every day, they would look every day. It worked. What I didn't expect was the diverese bunch of people who supported me. An early ally was David Miller, AKA Don't call me Dave. He was a former big wig in the local Tories. His mum was a Conservative Peer. He started leaving comments. I labelled him "Barnets most sensible Tory".
David saw through the local Tories spin, that I was some sort of dangerous leftie nutcase and concluded that I was correct in identifying that there was something seriously wrong with the way Barnet Council was being run. He started the right of centre "Not The Barnet Times" blog. I always believed that David was Barnets finest blogger. He had contacts in the local Conservatives and some of the blogs he published were devasatating. For a while, we spoke almost daily. The stress of writing his blog and falling out with his own party had a bad effect on his health and eventually he retired from blogging.
When the local Tories shafted my blog, David suggested the Barnet Eye, soI guess we all owe him great thanks. David was outraged. He broke the news that I was back. If you read the comments, you will see the level of bile I'd managed to attract. Davids comments sum it up "This really does show how desperate some people have become, that they
resort to digging up a story from 6 years ago to try and discredit Rog
T. Clearly they didn’t bother to read the whole article, but they
probably don’t have the attention span required for more than two
paragraphs."
At first, I didn't collect stats for the blog. I thought no one would read it. I thought that two men and a dog might be interested. How wrong I was.
On the left, a slew of bloggers also sprung up. The first was Vicki Morris. Vicki is from the hard left. She also wrote an excellent blog. Vicki had good Trades Union contacts and soon established a good following of her own. I then received an email from one Theresa Musgrove. She sent a tale of woe which was so bizaree and unbelieveable and with so much potential for libel that I thought she was a Tory stooge trying to set me up for a fall. I emailed her back. I suggested that rather than me write a blog, she could set up her own. I said it was dead easy on blogger. I told her she had an interesting story, but it would be better told in her own words. That is how the legendary Mrs Angry and the Broken Barnet blog was born. Years later I confessed this. She thought it was hilarious.
As they say, the rest is history! We are having a Birthday Party for The Barnet Eye, with live music at the Chandos Arms, Colindale on Friday 21st October at 8pm. Please come along. We will also be holding a collection for funds for John Burgess Unisongate fighting fund (a bucket) and a collection of non perishable food for Colindale foodbank (please bring some tins of food). It is the least we can do. The gig is free and the Chandos is a lovely pub!
I was disgusted by UKIP leader Nigel Farage excusing Donald Trumps comments which are to all intents and purposes, a frank admission of a sexual abusive personality. Mr Farage seems to feel that 'this is what alpha males do'. I can only wonder what sort of company Farage keeps.
I was mulling over this and I just couldn't help feel how demeaning it is, not just to women, but also to successful men. My mind was drawn back to a conversation with my father over 30 years ago. He was the epitomy of an alpha male. He was 6' tall good looking, hard as nails, hyper intelligent and a bit of a ladies man. He had been a wartime bomber pilot, as an officer in the RAF (a role he volunteered for unlike draft dodging Trump). He lead a successful mass escape of POW's (mostly American) from a POW camp in Bucharest in Romania. Unlike the Great Escape, 128 airmen got home safely.
He later was a commercial airline pilot, before becoming a successful businessman in Mill Hill, with a large business and property portfolio. Unlike Mr Trump, he never went bust, unlike Mr Trump, he never got a Bing from Daddy to help. I grew up in total awe of my Father, and still am. I drink at his old haunt, The Mill Hill Services Club, where in the 1960's he'd drink with his then best mate Patrick McGoohan, of The Prisoner and Ice Station Zebra fame.
I still get friends and ex employees of his tell me of their admiration for him, when I go. To me, he was and always will be the benchmark for judging a man by.
Shortly before his death, we went for a beer together in the Services Club. In the 1980's only members could buy drinks, as I was a guest I couldn't. After a couple of rounds, I tried to persuade him to let me buy a round or at least pay for it. He was adamant that we follow club rules.
I jokingly said 'how can I ever chat the barmaid up, if you buy all the beers?'. He laughed and said 'you know there are three types of men, those who win women with charm, those who pay for women's affections and those who have to force themselves on women. Those who pay are desperate and just deserve sympathy, those who force themselves are despicable beyond belief. If you want to chat up the barmaid, you have to be charming beyond belief as its her job to hear that nonsense night after night' He then added 'people say women are difficult, they are not, all you have to do is persuade them you think they are the most special person in the world and you are not interested in anything else except their company and their happiness'. He finished by saying 'When I met your mum I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world and I wanted to spend my life with her. All I had to do was convince her that I was genuine. Relationships are easy, if you do everything you can to make her be happy, she'll be happy and if she's happy, she'll make you happy. Even when you have rows, always make sure she knows you think she's special and valuable beyond belief'.
My Dad died shortly after, having been married for 43 years and raising six kids with my mum. Just before she died, 25 years later she told me that she'd missed him every day.
That is how alpha males treat women. That is why when I hear Trump say 'Just grab their pussy' I feel sick. That is why I think Farage is disgusting. I always have felt in my fathers shadow, but I value the lessons he taught me above all.
My father was a Conservative. I am just glad he didn't live long enough to see Trump desecrate Conservative values.
