Patience will always win

 One of the best pieces of advice I've ever received was many years ago from my friend Mr Chaudrey, who runs the Mill Hill Tandoori. I used to go in after a long day and collect a takeaway, have a beer and have a chat with him. Back in the good old days, the restaurant had two shifts. The civilised customers, who went at around 7.30 and had dinner. The second sitting was the drunks at chucking out time, who were already drunk and wanted to eat curry and drink more beer. For want of a better way of putting it, not everything they said was polite, respectful or politically correct. I made a casual, throw away comment that I didn't know how he put up with such customers. He smiled and said "They have paid for my car and my house. If you want to succeed in life, be patient with people and do not be insulted unless people are trying to insult you". The restaurant was packed and the cash was rolling in. People were nearly always in good humour, and when they weren't, it wasn't because they were cross with the restaurant. 

A couple of days after the conversation, I was at work and one particularly obnoxious manager, who I didn't work for, but had to deal with was extremely rude to me. He was a rude person generally, but this really went beyond the bounds of what is acceptible at work. The reason. I had the audacity to point out that the major problems we were having were down to his department and so he should address them. We were in a meeting when a volley of swearwords and obscenities were directed at me. My initial reaction was to bite. Then I thought of Mr Chaudreys words. Be patient with people. I realised that he was pushing for a reaction and patience and reason was the answer. So I simply replied "I understand that you are angry and frustrated, but if you are directing your anger at me, you clearly don't understand the issue, what is causing it or how to resolve it and I suggest you speak to your technical guys to get an explanation". At this he exploded again and said "Who do you think you are telling me how to do my job". I've deleted about five expletives. The rest of the meeting was in shock. The man was vicious bully and most of the people were cautious of him. I calmly responded "I am the person who understands what the issue is and why you need to fix it. You really can shout and swear all you like at me, but that is really not going to solve the issue, will it". With that, he stormed out with another stream of expletives. Several of his team were left and they were highly embarrassed. I then asked them if we could move on from that and resolve the problem. 

One of them then piped up that they had identified the problem and that it was going to be fixed in the evening. My boss, who was also at the meeting and had said nothing, told me as we walked back "You do realise that you are now a marked man with him". I said "I don't think I am, he's a bully and bullies generally lack backbone when confronted". A week later we were in a follow up meeting. The bully and all of his staff were there.  He didn't say a word. One of his technicians explained what the issue had been, how it had been solved and what had been done to ensure it didn't re-occur". During the whole meeting, the bully simply stared aggressively at me. When the technician had finished I simply said "Thanks guys, I really appreciate a full briefing". 

That evening, our team, as  was our want were in the local pub. The bully and some of his mates were also in the pub. He was slightly the worse for wear. When I went up to the bar, he approached me and muttered something. I genuinely couldn't understand what he said and I didn't know if it was an insult or a compliment. My guess was that it was an insult. I replied loudly "No problem at all mate, it's great that we work as a team and get things done. Your guys are spot on". Several people heard. He looked puzzled. I'd clearly not given the expected response. He said loudly "WHAT DO YOU THINK I JUST SAID TO YOU". I repled "I thought you said that it was great that we'd got the problem fixed, I ama  bit deaf, but if that wasn't what you said tell me". He shook his head and walked off. 

A couple of months later, the organisation had a restructure and he left. I didn't really think too much about it. I only ever worked with him when there were major problems and our departments had to exchange information. One of the big bosses informed me that the bully actually made a complaint about me. He said I had treated him disrespectfully in the meeting. HR had got involved and spoken to all involved privately. Not only did they conclude that I'd not done anything wrong, but that he'd been unprofessional and that this was not an isolated incident. His own team did not like to give him bad news as he would explode. 

I worked there for about six more years after he departed. His replacement was the opposite. Nice, respectful and liked by his team. I don't know whether the conversation in the Tandoory affected my behaviour, but I learned to have a "work head". When people were losing their heads, getting agitated, being rude, etc, I would always try and keep my cool. I failed once, at 3am in the morning, when an inexperienced manager was incessantly asking stupid questions about a very difficult issue I was trying to resolve. The issue needed 100% concentration and there were time issues. I had to be done. In the end, I was rude to the manager and told them to go away and that I would update them when I was done, but if they continued to distract me, I would F@@K everything up. 

I had been very friendly with them up until then. From that moment, our professional realtionship was broken, despite an apology when the issue was resolved. Again a complaint was made. They claimed I had told them to "F@@k off", which I hadn't. Fortunately there were several witnesses, who verified my account and explained the context. There were reasons, but I have always felt that I let myself down. I actually liked the manager a lot and I understood why they were in a state of panic. There is never an excuse, even if there are mitigating circumstances. I should have had more patience, I should have taken a very short time out and explained respectfully. 

I believe that the secret of success is to be calm, rational and make judgements based on facts not emotions. As soon as you deviate from these principles, you lose and you fail. When I was in my teens and twenties, I'd make rash decisions in a state of anger, I'd then have to engage in convoluted mental gymnastics to try and justify the unjustifiable to myself. I learned that you can always convince yourself you are right, no matter how wrong you are. The trouble is that sooner or later, other people realise you are a D@ckH@ad. 

Sadly I see far too many people who none of this seems to have occurred to. If you screw up admit it, own it, apologise and try and make amends. One of the things I have learned is if you have patience, stay calm and make rational judgements, you don't have to really think to hard about your decisions, as there is nothing to justify. The only thing I really struggle with is trying to understand is why people seek to reinvent their personal reality to forgive themselves their own sins. It is futile. 

A month to go, how did are my New Year predictions going

 At the start of the year, I always make a series of predictions. Around this time of the year, I have a quick look at how I have done so far. My comments from now are in Red italics

Politics.

London Council elections. I predict that although Labour and the Tories will take a bit of a beating, it will not be the domesday scenario that everyone seems to think is coming. I suspect that Barnet will swing back to the Tories. I suspect that a couple of East London councils may swing to Reform, but they will do far less well than expected. I expect the Lib Dems and the Greens to do very well, especially if they do not attack each other and come up with some sort of non aggression pact.

Well I was wrong about Barnet, but only just. It was a dead heat, with the Green Party supposedly holding the balance of power, except that the Tories and Labour did a deal that kept Labour in to shut the Greens out. If you are wondering, why, it may have something to do with the perception in Barnet that the Greens have become the party of Jew haters. 

I expect Keir Starmer to still be PM this time next year. Although he seems to be under a lot of pressure, as far as I am concerned most of it is media noise.

I certainly got this wrong, but it became clear that Starmer was not up to the top job 

I expect things in the States to become more difficult for Donald Trump. There are mid term elections in the USA and this will give us a chance to see how the ordinary people actually perceive Trumps performance. 

When I wrote this Trump had not attacked Iran and petrol prices had not gone through the roof. I was spot on though

Sport.

Once again, I expect that Arsenal will fall short. As Alex Ferguson once said, you win nothing at Xmas.

I couldn't have been more wrong, could I?

I expect Manchester United to have had at least two managers by this time next year.

This was the prediction that made me revisit this today. We will find out if I was right. Carrick was appointed on January 13th

I think Hadley FC will have a great second half of the season and make the play offs.

Sadly, Hadley were hit by injuries and the playoff dream disappeared

Music.

I expect this to be  classic year. I am much looking forward to The London International Ska Festival. I think this may be a big year of surprises. My own prediction is that we will start to see a return to guitar based pop and rock bands, which have been out of fashion for a very long time

It has been a brilliant year for me musically. We've not really seen the rise of guitar based pop bands but I think it will come.

Technology.

I expect this to be the year when we realise that AI is not the future, although it has an important role to play. I suspect we may see the first big crashes of AI tech stocks and corporate failures due to AI.

The US mid terms showed that I was correct about a backlash. It has been a year of big technology fails. AI has not got the blame though, yet.

The Weather.

I expect a cold February/March and a scorching July. I also expect that in February/March we'll have the climate deniers claiming there is no global warming and in July we'll have all manner of climate change advocates claiming that the end is nigh.

I was wrong about Feb & March. Both were warmer than average. I was bang on about July. 

---

So there you go, I'd say about 6.5 out of 10 so far. As to my new years resolutions, the less said the better but...

The Gym 

My targets this year. I want to do over 3,000 KM in the Gym, with at least 2,500 on the exercise bike and 500 on the rowing machine. I did 2063 km on the bike this year, 450km on the rower and 36km on the treadmill. I think it is achieveable

I may do the 3000 km challenge. On the bike I've fallen behind. I've done 1,900KM so far. I will probably do 2,250. I have had to drop the rowing challenge as it is hurting my ankle. The problem with my ankle has been the spanner in the works.

Weight

I want to get my weight down to 14.5 stones. I am around 16.5 at the moment following Xmas excess. I was doing well until December. 

Rather annoyingly, I am at more or less exactly the same weight as I was at the start of the year. Part of this was down to losing the plot a bit Jan-August on the healthy eating. Ever since I was diagnosed with cancer in November 2012, I've been careful and I completely stopped, In August I had an incident that made me realise I had to get a grip. I have, but I am just undoing the damage. 

Music

I hope this will be a classic year for The False Dots, I can't say too much but we've been promised several 'big' gigs. If they come off, it will be the best year ever! We will be releasing a new single in March entitled "It's behind you" and an album of the same name in April/May/June.

Well the album became "We don't live in America" and I think it is amazing. The big gigs were the London International Ska Festival in April and the York Rise Street Party in September. We also played Camden Rocks on Sunday. I set a target of 12 gigs in the year, which we also hit.

Business

This is the year that I expect to see my music business finally emerge from the ravages of the pandemic and have a bigger turnover than 2019! If it doesn't then I might just retire. I am hopeful, pandemics, wars and recessions aside

Hmmm. It looks like we will miss the target, unless the next seven weeks are exceptional. Our turnover is well up on last year, but the habits of musicians has changed. We surpassed 2018 massively, but 2019 was a brilliant year. looking at the stats in some detail, I realise just how much damage the Pandemic has done us. If the pandemic hadn't hit and our turnover had stayed the same as 2019 (and we grew by 15% that year from 2018), I'd have been able to repay my mortgage with the profits. There have been no real profits since then. I am hopeful. We have had our best week ever, we've changed our business model. But it gets no easier. I am still tearing my hair out trying to work out ways to boost the turnover and connect with more customers. In short. We've grown our turnover by 8% this year I had hoped it would be 15%. Maybe that was a bridge too far!

So to sum up. After eleven months, the year sort of turned out more or less like I thought it would, with the odd surprise that I didn't see coming. On a personal level, I've met some of my goals and in hindsight, some of the goals I set were just far too ambitious. I am a year older and I guess that my biggest problem is that I am in a state of denial that I am 64. Long may that continue!

Click for details and tickets

Rock and Roll stories #83 - Lets hear it for the girls in rock and roll!

 Yesterday, The False Dots appeared at the Camden Rocks festival at The Barfly in Camden Town. We had a spiffing time and I think we did a good show! There were plenty of compliments, but it was almost unique in one way. I am not sure if it was accident or design, but I arrived at 4pm and stayed until 10pm and saw five of the other bands on the bill and all had female singers, and one was entirely female. None of the bands were playing sugary pop music, they were all playing orginal material and I think its fair to say that all gave dead solid performances. Over the course of the career of the False Dots,we've had four female singers. The first was back when we were forming the band. We had Amanda Spokes. She was going out with Dave Edwards, who was our very first drummer. Her style then leant on Souixsie from the Banshees. She didn't sing with us for very long, as Pete who co-founded the band with me decided he wanted to sing all of the songs. I don't think there are any tapes from that era and I can only vaguely recall one song she sang called "The Factory". In hindsight it was quite interesting, a slow number with shreiking, banshee like vocals. I think Pete wanted to do fast, high energy songs.  But Amanda did help us get the show on the road. 

The next female singer was Eleanor Caine. Eleanor was the daughter of a friend of Paul Hircombes mum. In 1982, the winds of music were blowing in a very different direction and we decided that after  couple of years of the boys singing, we'd try a girl singer. Eleanor was an OK singer. One of the songs she performed on made its way onto vinyl in 1983. A song called  "A memory for you" was included in a 101 Records Compilation album. Oddly, and to my great surprise, it has been attracting airplay in the USA on the college radio scene in recent years. It has even been loaded up on to youtube, by someone I don't know, which I find rather flattering. It is very different to everything else we've done

,

Eleanor decided that I wasn't good enough for 'her band' and I got chucked out. Paul Hircombe came with me though and I kept the name. I don't think 'her band' ever did another gig, but we don't exchange Christmas cards so I don't really know. What Eleanor and the rest of 'her band' didn't know was that I'd met an absolutely brilliant female singer the week before her coup called Venessa Sagoe. Venessa was the flatmate of an ex girlfriend of mine and she turned up for an audition at the studio. I heard her singing and thought wow. The only other time I've been so blown away was when I heard Amy Winehouse singing in studio 9. Oddly, she failed the audition. I have no idea why. She was quite upset and I had a chat with her and told her to keep going. I really wanted her to join our band, but I am quite a loyal person. When the split occurred, I immediately phoned her and got her down. Within a couple of months we were gigging. We did a 'warm up' gig for my 21st Birthday at Bunns Lane Works, then a bikers rally gig to 400 people a week later. In fact three of Venessa's first five public gigs were bike rallys. We had them in the diary from before she joined and she had to learn a set full of Rock covers, as well as the False Dots originals set.

Venessa had never sang with a band before. She was thrown in at the deep end and given a baptism of fire. Our first 'proper' False Dots gig was in October at the Prince Albert in Golders Green, but after 10 seconds of watching her perform at the first bike Rally I knew she had what it took. Venessa did sixteen gigs with the band, Including four during a residency at The Bald Faced Stag. She also did what I thought for many years was the highlight of The False Dots gigging career at Dingwalls in February 1984. We were on fire and she was amazing. Sadly it didn't work out and that line up ended in September 1984. Venessa joined another band, which didn't really work out either. This is her doing her stuff in 1984 at The Bald Faced Stag. I am not generally a big fan of covers, but I think this demonstrates just how good she was.

I sort of thought The False Dots were done with female singers when Venessa left. We had tried to become more of a "pop group" and it hadn't worked. But in 2010, our guitarist (now bassplayer) Fil Ross told me a young lady who was a brilliant singer was interested in singing a couple of numbers with us. The set at the time had a couple of songs that would suit a female voice, so we asked Connie Abbe down. Unlike Venessa, Connie was an experienced singer. She had sung backing vocals with Sudanese rapper and megastar Emmanual Jal on massive tours. She'd not fronted a band though. Connie blew me away. She came in and it just felt like she'd always been there. She learned songs quickly, and soon started developing and adding to the material. 

This song, Put me in the spotlight was used by Manchester City FC as the theme music for their goal of the month show in 2012. It got played 49 million times! Connie played nine gigs with the band, perhaps the best being at The Purple Turtle in Camden, to a sold out audience. Sadly the music industry told me they were not interested in an artist fro Connie's demopgraphic, no matter how well she sang. It was very disheartening really. Until Connie joined the band, I'd been happy doing local charity shows etc. However she gave me the taste for gigging properly again.

As I the female singers last night, I couldn't help think of the various female singers that have played with The False Dots over the years. All of them in the early years stepped into a very blokish environment. It is a great testament to Venessa that she grabbed the bull by the horns and embraced it. By the time Connie joined, we had mellowed and we also had the maturity to recognise she had a great talent and we had to fit in to her sound, as much as she had to fit into ours. Watching the bands last night, was fascinating as the spectrum of ages of the bands was quite marked. I was especially interested in Bugeye, the all female band,as there are not enough such bands. They had a great sound and  definite vibe going. Now that the False Dots are Rock and Roll geriatrics, we can just relax and enjoy the whole thing and play our music without fear. We can be silly and take chances. For all of the bands, apart from the Green Ribbon Club (who were a similar sort of age to us and had a not too different attitude), I could see just how important the gig was and how much it meant to them. I wish that when I was that age, we had the sense of liberation that we have now. If anything, we try harder now to give a good show,but we also enjoy the danger of living on the edge and taking chances. I do think we didn't take enough musical risks back then and I'd urge the younger bands to do the same. I found that when I gave myself permission to make mistakes, they stopped mattering. I realised that a great 'performance' isn't defined by perfection, it is defined by grabbing peoples attention by walking on the edge of the cliff. I realised that because we have a great band, I have a parachute, even if I fall off, and that would really grab their attention. 

It was interesting talking to the other bands. I told the bassplayer of Catfight that I thought their third final song was amazing. He said "Oh that's a bit of an under the radar song". It is nice though to see so many bands doing their own stuff and a decent sized audience lapping it up. I get really fed up the our local radio station BBC Radio London doesn't play more of the sort of music from local London bands on their shows. To me bands like the Rolling Stones don't need the exposure. They do have the BBC Introducing slot, but I'd like to see one new, unknown London band be put on rotation every week. Everything I saw yesterday convinced me that they are missing a trick. I hasten to add that the individual presenters do support me in my mission to plug live music gigs, but they need to start playing it!

Here are some of the highlights I filmed last night

.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The False Dots (@thefalsedots)

.

The False Dots have one last gig this year. And what is more I am delighted to announce that we will be having (at least one) guest joining us on stage. Connie Abbe will be coming down to join us for a couple of numbers. I am as delighted as I could be that she will be there. I really think Connie should be a megastar. Please come down and see why. You can get a ticket here >>>>>  wegottickets.com/f/31380

The Sunday Reflection #105 - Remembrance

 I always write a piece to mark Remembrance Sunday. I think some of my best blogs have been  For some reason, this year I feel differently about the whole thing. I have and will always believe that remembering brave people who fell in the the service of Great Britain, Democracy and Freedom is one of the most important and solemn duties that falls upon us as members of a free society. But I cannot ignore the generala apathy of our society in this matter. I went up to the Ridgeway to watch the vice chairman of the Mill Hill Services Club lay a wreath on behalf of the club at the service. Vince was wearing the medals of our late President Jack Leach, who passed away earlier this year, as a tribut to Jack and his generation. About a hundred people turned out on a chilly and misty November day.

According to Google AI "The NW7 postcode district (covering Mill Hill and surrounding areas) has an estimated population of 28,645 residents based on the UK Census"

In other words, less than 1% of the population of Mill Hill  turned up.It breaks my heart that so few people seem to care. For me, the service was moving and was a chance to remember my Dad, a WW2 airman. There is something wrong with our society if so few people see fit to remember those who made what we have today possible. That is all I am going to say on the matter. 

The Saturday List #515 - My top ten images of mundanity from the family archive

 Next time you are out and about on your local high street, take a look around. See the most mundane thing you can. Take a picture of it. Print it and put it in an envelope, with a note saying "Not to be opened until 2076". You and I may not be around (if I am, I'll be 114!). Leave nothing to say why you too it. What will whoever opens it make of it? 

I saw a quote from Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols. He said there are no pictures of him as a child, as his family were too poor to have a camera. I was lucky, my Dad had a camera and was a keen photographer.  My Mum also had the bug. They would quite often snap the mundane. At the time, these pictures seemed dull. Now they are priceless to me. I've put various ones on my Flickr site. Here are some of my favourites. 

1. My Mum snapped this picture in the mid 1990's. A mundane high street scene. Two institutions that were fixtures of many London High Streets. Now just dim memories.

 

2. Dad took this snap in the 1960's. I suspect that there was a business related reason, as he ran MacMetals crash repair business. Usually such pics were related to disputes over payment with insurance companies. The picture was taken in his car park. There are a few details of interest. Howard Farrow who owned the van were a local builder. In the background is the old Mill Hill East to Edgware railway goods depot, now Flower Lane industrial estate. 

 

 3. This is a picture I took, A casal glance might think this dull, but there is something a bit odd. It was taken during lockdown. It is almost impossible to get such a picture with no carspassing, just the lorry emerging from Marks and Spencer car park. Nothing passing on the M1 either

 

 4. I took this picture during lockdown on a trip to UCLH at St Pancras. Again, you'd not see it this quiet during normal times.

 

 5. As I mentioned above, Dad ran MacMetals. This was his new panel shop in 1966. He was very proud of it! It is still there but the setting has changed beyond recognition. Click here to see it on Google Earth.

 

 6. Dad would've taken this in the 1960's outside the Sacred Heart Church, as some rellies I don't recognise emerged from a car. I am more interested in the cars and shops across the road. I find it tragic that modern cars are so boring looking! The COOP and Payantake stores were a integral part of the Broadway, like most things, they are gone. As are the red and white awnings. 

 

 7. Fast forward to the 1990's. Mum would've taken this picture. Who'd have thought Midland Bank would disappear and that the Broadway would have no banks at all! The knitting shop also is a thing of the past. I rather like the Cortina and the Jag in the picture!

 

8. Taken in 2019, just before Lockdown in the Midland Hotel, Hendon. The False Dots were playing. Our drummer Rambo posing by the chalk board. They couldn't even be bothered to put our name up. The pub is no longer open sadly. 

 

 9. I don't really know what possessed me to take this rather badly composed picture but I rather like it. The False Dots have played a few toilets over the years! We are playing tomorrow at The Barfly in Camden at 6pm if you are at a loose end.

 

 10. Graffiti fascinates me, as do ghost signs (old signage from long lost companies). This is one of my favourite ones that you see as you pass Kentish Town. I have passed this thousands of times on the train to London. I t constantly evolves. This was taken in 2020.

I hope I've managed to persuade you that mundanity is a wonderful thing! That's all folks

Rock and Roll Stories#82 - Crossing over to the dark side

 The 'music business' has always had a very dark underbelly. There have been some very unscrupulous people involved over the years and I've come across a fair few of them. Usually I give such characters as wide a berth as possible, however on occasion, you have to deal with devil if you want to get on. In the earlier incarnation of the band, when we were still teenagers, we had a decent following and were attracting a degree of interest. There was a venue I rather fancied playing and we dropped a casette in with my number on and a note saying "If you are interested in giving us a gig, please call us". I gave my home number. Mum acted as our secretary taking the calls and making sure I returned them promptly. I'd also leave a stamped addressed envelope and request them to return the tape if they weren't interested (no one ever did, whether they called or not). Tapes were expensive. 

A couple of days later, Mum told me someone had called about a gig. I called back. It sounded too good to be true. They would pay us a decent fixed fee, give us free beers and a sandwich and they wanted us to play with a band that there was "industry interest" in. They had head we had a following, so thought we were the ideal support. I agreed to the gig. Later in the week, I went out for a drink with a few mates. I was very excited. However my friend gave me some bad news. The promoter was 'a bit of a gangster', who would promise bands the earth, then not pay them. Bands were also presented with an inflated bar tab at the end of the night, usually by a large bouncer. I was in a quandry. I wanted to tick off the venue and I was genuinely quite excited, but I didn't want to be mucked around. I had agreed to do the gig. 

As we were discussing it, another mate of mine joined us. Big Ernie Ferebee. He was 6' 6 and had worked in the music industry as security, for some fairly shady people. Ernie heard the conversation and made a suggestion. "I've got a mate called Porky, he's into music, we can act as your management and make sure you get paid and don't get any hassle". Porky had a fearsome reputation. He had actually worked for my Dad in the motor industry and was known as one of the people in Mill Hill you didn't mess around with. I had my reservations, but I'd always got on with Ernie and I thought that the if nothing else it would spare us some aggro. 

When we turned up at the gig, I introduced Big Ern and Porky to the promoter and said that they were our managers and they'd deal with all financial matters. He turned a pailer shade of white. As we had promised, our fans packed the venue and it was a great night. The beers flowed, we got sandwiches and had a great time. TBH I'd almost forgotten the money issue. I'd agreed that I'd meet Porky and Ernie at the Three Hammers the next night and we'd sort the cash out. They had said "We want to keep you away from the negotiations". 

When I arrived at the Hammers, I was greeted by a beaming Porkie and Ernie. Ernie bought a round. Porky said "Ok firstly. The negotiations were more complex than I anticipated. We agreed a 20% management fee, but this doesn't adequately compensate us for our efforts" I thought to myself "Here we go". The fee was £100 which was a small fortune for us back then. I had semi expected  some sort of conversation like this. I didn't expect what he said next. "I renegotiated your deal, so you got £200, me and Ern get £40 each for our efforts and I've got you another gig there with £200 guaranteed". I was gobsmacked. He added "Thats the art of managment, we all do better!". He was right, inder the original deal, the band got £80, with Porkys negotiations, we got £120. He then said "At £40 its worth my while. 

For the next gig, Porky never showed up, but Ernie came and sorted things out. In fact we never really saw Porky at a gig again and he didn't arrange any more or take a cut. Years later, I discussed the incident with Ernie. I'd never really understood the sudden generosity of the promoter. Ernie explained that Porky had realised that music venues offered certain "business opportunities" that weren't entirely legal. Being able to say he was our manager gave him an in. As the promoter was a nefarious sort, he was quite up for some 'extra income'. The promoter disappeared quite soon after the whole business and a new one took over. The special deals ended but they were fair and proper. 

The False Dots next gig

It is funny because even though he passed away years ago, people still talk of Porky in hushed tones in Mill Hill. He was a true character and a proper scalliwag, but I have to say he was fair and decent with us. He was very much a man of pound notes. He would always advise The False Dots to become a covers band and tell us that he could get us "loads of well paid gigs". He never really got what we were about, but he was a good laugh as far as I was concerned.. 

The False Dots next gig is on Sunday. We play at 6pm at The Barfly for Camden Rocks Festival. The last 47 years has been a colourful journey. 

None of us are perfect.....

I used to be fascinted with Greek mythology, of all the stories, the one of Ixion used to fascinate me most. Here is an AI summary (the full story is even more interesting). 

The Murder of His Father-in-Law

The conflict: Ixion promised a rich bride price (dowry) to his father-in-law, Eioneus (or Deioneus), when he married Dia. When he failed to pay, Eioneus took some of Ixion’s horses as collateral 
The betrayal: Ixion hid his anger, invited Eioneus to a feast, and pushed him into a concealed pit filled with burning coals and wood.
The outcast: This act of kin-slaying and violation of xenia (guest-host hospitality) shocked the mortal world, and no one would perform the ritual purification required to cleanse his guilt.

Offense Against the Gods

Forgiveness on Olympus: Zeus took pity on Ixion, brought him up to Mount Olympus, and even offered him a place at the table of the gods. 
Hubris: Instead of showing gratitude, Ixion grew arrogant and lusted after Zeus’s wife, Hera.
The cloud trick: Zeus caught wind of his intent and formed a living cloud shaped like Hera—named Nephele—to trick him. Ixion coupled with the cloud, which later gave birth to the Centaurs (half-man, half-horse creatures).

Eternal Punishment

Tartarus: For his extreme ingratitude, arrogance, and betrayal, Zeus blasted Ixion with a thunderbolt and cast him out of Olympus.
The fiery wheel: Zeus ordered Hermes to bind Ixion to an eternally spinning, winged fiery wheel in Tartarus (the deep underworld), where he would whirl in agony forever.

I have always found the Greek mythology fascinating. It is filled with strange ideas, concepts and morality. The thing that intrigued me, as a child, brought up a Roman Catholic, to believe that there was one God, who was all powerful and all knowing, was just how human and petty the behaviour of the Greek Gods seemed to be. The story of Ixion is a  bit of an outlier, with Zeus showing fogiveness and giving Ixion a chance of repentenance. However Ixion, a vain and arrogant man, his response to his second chance is perhaps more interesting. He simply couldn't help himself. His personality reminds me of a certain promenant world leader. Sadly, I've met a few people who remind me of Ixion over the years, although thankfully, most don't hang around for too long. 

I think that such tales aare useful cautinary tales. Is there a bit of Ixiom in all of us? Are we truly grateful for our blessings. Do we recognise when we are being given a second chance? Do we show gratitude in such situations, or do we get caught up in our own hubris. 

We all make mistakes. I certainly do. When I do, I believe that the best thing to do is to apologise and move on. I there are amends to be made, make them. We don't have to win every argument. If you know you are right, isn't that enough? Sometimes, I do silly things, make silly comments, make bad decisions that affect people in a negative manner. I have learned that seeking to justify the unjustifiable is foolish. Far better to say "I screwed that up, how can i make amends and learn". Only fools never learn.

The punishments meted out by the Greek Gods are another thing that fascinate me. If Ixion lived, he would have lived around 1300-1200 BC. That means he's been stuck on the fiery wheel for over 3,200 years. I wonder if he's learned his lesson yet? Just remember Every turning wheel, every broken promise between kin, and every guest who forgets the laws of hospitality carries some echo of Ixion, the first mortal to dine with the gods and the first to be cast into their deepest prison.

The Sunday Reflection #104 - The end of a very bad week indeed

 I have had a horrible week. On Tuesday, we said our final goodbye to Bruno, our dog of 14 years. He was a very special dog, never easy, but always the most lovable companion. He was a rescue dog and he'd been extremely badly treated by his previous owners. He was extremely nervous and would completely lose his rag when spooked. He would get triggered by the strangest things. He once went mental in the pub when an old lady entered with a walking stick. She put the stick down then came up to us. She asked if he was a rescue dog, I said yes. She said "His previous owner must have beaten him with a stick". Bruno was now making a big fuss of her. He was a lazy dog, always loved a cuddle. When my daughter was upset, they'd sit cuddled up on the sofa. She has been hit particularly hard. 

We decided on Tuesday that the time had come. His legs had all but given up, he'd more or less lost his appetite, except for nice treats. He had developed an abcess on his back leg, which he was lying on. We asked the vet if there was any realistic prospect of improvement. She said "No, we could give anti biotics for the abcess, but it will come back when you stop as he's lying on it".

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Roger Tichborne (@rogtex)

So, surrounded by us all, we put his head on a pillow, a blanket over him, stroked him and the vet administered an injection. Very peacefully, his life just ebbed away. Within a minute, he was in peace and out of pain. Many tears were shed, but it was a beautiful ending for him. Now there is a massive Bruno shaped hole in our family. 

There are several thoughts I have had over the following days. The first is that if we allow dogs to have peaceful, pain free endings, how can we deny humans who want the same the choice? I am a Roman Catholic, but I cannot agree with the position of the Church when it comes to people who have a terminal illness and are faced with a life where the pain will get worse every day, with no way out. I don't really want to subject my family to watching me dying screaming in agony, if that is what it has to be. I see no moral or ethical grounds for preventing someone like Dame Esther Rantzen choosing the time and method of her own end. If someone has strong religious beliefs, then they should have the absolute right to refuse euthenasia. I may do so myself, but I do not believe I have the right to decide for other people. Watching Bruno just drift off clarified my views. I understand that there must be stringent controls. I understand that people may consent initialy and then change their mind. This must be respected and dealt with. But forcing people and their families to witness undignified endings is to me not kind, it is evil.

Another thing I've really come to realise is how great the effect of dog ownership is on our mental health. Most dogs are pretty empathic. They pick up when you are down and are there. They don't judge you. They don't want anything. They just want to be with you and help you. It has hit me is just how awful some members of the human race are. Bruno was an incredibly loving dog, who had been totally traumatised by cruel owners. I believe that people who abuse animals should be dealt with very harshly by the courts. I believe that anyone who hurts animals is a despicable bully and will most likely do the same to humans if they can.

We have another dog. The inevitable question of whether we should replace him has come up. If we do it will not be until next summer. I am proud that we gave Bruno 14 years that hopefull offset the first year, which was horrible. 

Camden Rocks Festival Returns next Sunday 8th November

Camden Rocks Returns

Camden Rocks Presents returns for another full-day takeover, bringing ten bands and ten hours of live, loud rock ’n’ roll to Chalk Farm Road.

Featuring Star Circus, Bugeye, Healthy Junkies, Glitter Kick, The False Dots, Catfight, Thegreenribbonclubband, Death by Bunny, Damned_ To Dirt and The Fourth Talisman .

Back in the heart of Camden Town, Barfly’s keeping that grassroots spirit alive with a new generation of hard-rock, punk and alternative artists.

Tickets are on sale NOW https://link.dice.fm/camdenrocks

Ten bands. One stage. All-day rock ’n’ roll in Camden Town.

STAR CIRCUS
https://youtu.be/WOTMbu6tVOk
Star Circus are a hard rock band based in London, with influences ranging from 70s hard rock to 90s alternative rock. Our sophomore album "From The Wreckage" was released in June 2025 via Renaissance Records US to much critical acclaim, with Classic Rock Magazine labelling the band "The missing link between ELO and Def Leppard" in response to the single "One Hit Wonder".

BUGEYE
https://youtu.be/hPIyZiWo7uU
Dirty guitars. Sharp lyrics. Big hooks. Zero apologies.Bugeye makes songs for dancing while the world burns. Expect biting social commentary, filthy riffs, massive choruses and a high-energy sweat fest guaranteed to leave a mark. Come for the tunes. Leave converted. Welcome to the Bugeye cult. Worship here.

HEALTHY JUNKIES
https://youtu.be/2rYvqmCW42g
Mixing Punk Rock with Grunge, Psychedelic Rock, New Wave, Garage Rock and Goth, add a soupçon of theatre: you have Healthy Junkies. Formed in 2010. Never stopped touring. Never stopped creating.

GLITTER KICK
https://youtu.be/40t8Lhi5Id8
Glitter Kick are a London based glamorous power rock band fronted by Roxi Gregory.Big drums come from the powerhaus of Ivan Panella accompanied on bass by Antony O’Neil with low slung guitars by Greg Paco Radcliffe.It’s all wrapped in smooth and rasping synths with haunting but distinctive vocals cutting through a barrage of sound. The vinyl of their debut album “ Make The Rainbow Sing” will hit the streets late October 2026.Until then you can have a sneak preview on Spotify

THE FALSE DOTS
https://youtu.be/UMAX23up0SI
The Falsedots - Barnet post punk legends, founded in 1979 showcasing their pithy blend of Ian Dury like London Town poetics and punky ska/ reggae party dynamics and we all love a party! as established by founder Roger Tichborne. This sees the punky ska, London Town inclined observational wits pondering issues such as Americanization of the UK, bully boy drug dealers and how it’s only certain species of corvids who avoid the slavery of everyday life- and all done with a smile, a lilt and a sizzling skank. That new album is called We Don’t Live In America, released Independence Day, 4th July…For fans of Madness, The Specials, The Piranhas, Alternative TV and other such street wise artniks

CATFIGHT
https://youtu.be/LNMPvaQ0vP8
Catfight are a London-based punk band self-proclaimed as “riot grrrl and anarcho’s cute baby sister”. They have drawn strong reviews off the back of their debut Rebellion Festival performance for their “sound that pulls hard from 80s rock, 90s grunge and modern punk frustration” (LOUD WOMEN). CATFIGHT’s songs include: the snarling ‘Gym Lads’ and how they’re killing the planet; ‘Security Fucking Love Me,’ the slogan on the back of the band’s t-shirts; and the grand finale ‘No Breakfast’ – a cutting and powerful criticism of the punk scene. Join the four piece (or five piece if you count their band mascot Siouxsie the Cat) for a fiercely feminist, sometimes funny, but always fun set!

THE GREEN RIBBON CLUB
https://youtu.be/091WaTs69aw
The Green Ribbon Club is Juan Solo on Bouzouki, Rob-o-rant on Vocals / Double Bass , Jane-Marie on Vocals / Ukulele, and Mad Vaz on Drums. The Green Ribbon Club play acoustic punk music, taking their inspiration from the rich heritage of non-conformism, equality, creativity and fun that infuses the darker recesses of history. The Green Ribbon Club is committed to playing great songs that hit you in the feels as well as the feet, four accomplished accomplices who know playing together makes them stronger and happier.

DEATH BY BUNNY
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2g2MisCAZGBJJCWK9XKjH5
Death by Bunny is a London‑based metal/industrial project blending cinematic tension, heavy riffs, and dark electronic textures. Formed in 2018, the band crafts a world of distortion, atmosphere, and visual storytelling, merging sound and image into a single immersive experience.

DAMNED TO DIRT
https://youtu.be/3WhUKWwLtvk
Alternative and metal powerhouse, Damned To Dirt offer a serious injection of raw intensity, groove and melodic depth, delivering a live show that is both heavy and immersive. Their self-titled debut EP established the band’s identity and sound, with a new album now on the way, pushing that sound even further. With a growing presence in London’s heavy music scene, Damned To Dirt are carving out their place as a rising force in modern alternative metal.

THE FOURTH TALISMAN
https://open.spotify.com/track/5kRjKPjQIyH2GadzGti2k4
Emerging from London, England 2022, The Fourth Talisman are a three-piece heavy metal band. They're known for their metalcore/groove-metal with prog and power metal elements. Their music is a combination of fiery guitar riffs, high-octane vocals alongside energetic drums and powerful bass guitar. With years of experience performing live, The Fourth Talisman have a dedicated following who recognise their expressive, other-worldly approach to music.

— at Barfly Camden.