I was surprised, although I’m not sure why, that Whitley Bay golf club is actually quite nice. My second in command were there for Maria’s 50th birthday; Peter’s wife, for anyone who doesn’t know. It was a very nice party and it was a real shame that that we needed to leave early because my second in command has work in the morning. There would have been pictures of Peter’s unusual dance moves, but they were all too blurry.
Monthly Archives: April 2016
Gary Moore II
Yesterday evening was spent mainly in the Dun Cow, in Bournmoor, in the company of old men.
It was an excellent evening which, as usual, passed too quickly. While the beer was questionable, the company and conversation were exceptional. My cab home delivered me to the Tuns for a nightcap. Which became three. Well, the fruit wheat beer and rhubarb cider were too nice to resist.
While there, I bumped into Lewis, the mate of the other local Gary Moore. He found the selfie my namesake had taken the night we met, on Facebook (which I don’t use), and mailed it to me.
My namesake is the one taking the picture, then on the right are Lewis and Fred.
UK Subs
When I was 16 or 17, I quite liked the UK Subs. They weren’t the biggest punk band and, while certainly not mainstream, they weren’t exactly extreme. They’re still around today, although the line-up has somewhat changed.
After work yesterday, since I have a day off today, I called off at the Tuns after work. My second in command didn’t wish to join me, so I settled for a quiet, solitary drink. And a little conversation with local gentlemen. While sampling some fruit wheat beer, an elderly man sat at my table, opposite me, with a cup of coffee and a pie (the annual pie festival began last night).
He also sampled the wheat beer and, like me, the rhubarb cider. We discussed the two (we both enjoyed the cider), then he talked about the traffic on the A1 today. And the band’s new crowdfunded album, their tour and the purchase of new equipment (which is lighter than in the old days). I was surprised that Charlie Harper, the UK Subs front man, was such a nice bloke (although I’m not sure why) and that he’s now aged 72.
I didn’t stay to see the band; I didn’t want to exceed my capacity for fruit wheat beer or rhubarb cider.
Augustines II
My Ubuntu phone seems to be permanently signed into YouTube as my grandchild, so I’m unable to upload a video directly from the phone. Instead, I must connect to the PC to copy, then upload from there. Hence the belated posting of a clip from last Wednesday’s Augustines gig.
At some point I may also add the video of our bus journey across Manchester (the day tickets were a bargain at only four quid).
Feoffee
I’ve learnt a new word; feoffee, or trustee. One holding a fief. Interesting.
Augustines
It already feels a long time ago, but on Wednesday we went to see Augustines at the Academy 2 (which was located in the students’ union, rather than in the Academy itself). We had a walk around town first, of course, calling off at what must be one of the busiest Sam Smith’s pubs in the country.
And, since the weather was perfect, we made the most of it and sat outside. The Old Wellington, next door, would have been next, but they appear to no longer sell Erdinger.
And, so we had another pint of Sam Smith’s stout (or, in the case of my second in command, another organic Strawberry beer). The Temple Bar was next on our list, where a person can always find a bottle, or two, of Erdinger.
The place had been decorated since our last visit, last year.
We’d have stayed longer, but had to check-in. We still found time to continue wandering around, which left my second in command feeling tired.
And hungry. So we had something to eat at the Thirsty Scholar, not the best of pubs, but they also stock Erdinger and the food’s all vegan and vegetarian. We had a conversation with the chef, who’d given me some great advice when I’d first switched from vegetarian to vegan. And had told us about a great veggie cafe, Egg, in Liverpool.
Later, we went for a couple of drinks in Big Hands, before the gig. The bar’s a favourite of my second in command. And apparently, and unfortunately, of my second ex-wife too, since she was also there. However, we were all very adult about it and ignored each other.
The gig itself was great, with an excellent atmosphere. The band seem to get better every time.
Unusually, I’d taken a camera, since my phone pictures tend not to be so great. But, strangely, some of the pictures taken with my phone weren’t too bad. Apart from the resolution, which I cut down here anyway, there isn’t a great deal of difference between snaps taken with a phone or a camera. The next few are from my phone.
Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk
Thunderbird is very slowly retrieving email from my BT account; I’m now up to 2011. It’s a pain, but progress is being made. In only 27 days I won’t exist in BT’s world. Which is probably not a bad thing.
Today, an average kind of Tuesday, has been my Friday. I have the rest of the week off; originally, to see Augustines tomorrow (technically tonight) night, but we decided to make a week of it.
We aim to meet people in Big Hands around 18:45, but our day will most likely begin in the Temple Bar several hours earlier. And then there’s the Castle; we need to fit that in at some point.
Augustines. Not Rufus Wainwright. So there shall be no cigarettes or chocolate produce. Well, my second in command has nicotine pills so that just leaves the chocolate. And, since, I’m now a vegan of 18 months, the chocolate shall be of the non-milk variety. Preferably chocolate stout.
Technology
While a moderate degree of hassle was involved, I’ve successfully got a 21 year-old laser printer working with a month old stick computer. Between the two are a USB hub, a network switch box, a USB LAN adapter and a few metres of network cable.
It’s a temporary arrangement, though; a USB hub/LAN adapter combo is on order.
Gary Moores
I’ve had my main email address, garymoore@btinternet.com, for twenty and a bit years. I’ve hung onto it mainly because lots of people know it. It’s caused some hassle though, because I’ve a relatively common name and other people with the same name have very similar email addresses. Which results in my frequently being signed-up with various sites and services, as well as receiving mail meant for other people.
It’s a very long time since I’ve had an account with BT, but, like many people, I hung onto the mail account. Quite a few years ago, BT began charging a nominal fee, £1.60 a month, for legacy email use. I happily paid this amount, even though the service is hosted by Yahoo and the webmail is ad-laden. A couple of weeks ago, though, in common with many people, I received an email from BT, advising that the charge would be rising to £5.00 a month.
Not a huge amount of money, but sixty quid a year for an email account is somewhat excessive. I only pay £28 a year for a domain name (this one), web space and unlimited email addresses. Which puts things into perspective and has made the decision to part with my old BT account easy.
Not so easy is remembering all of the accounts and transactions associated with this email address. I’ve set up Thunderbird on the PC, the first time I’ve used a proper e-mail application, apart from at work, in years. It seems to be struggling a little, but it’s currently in the process of downloading several years’ emails.
Aquafresh
It seems as though there’s a new scandal involving politicians every few months. But David Cameron does seem to be weathering the current Panama storm and he’ll most likely survive, albeit with a little (more) tarnish. However, should that not be the case, he could fall back on his acting career.
