Oh Fuck!

I have just realised it's been more than a year since I have been here.. outrageous. This will have something to do with the fact that 2011 was shit. Daisy Dog had to be put to sleep in April after we discovered she had cancer. I wasn't happy with the Vet and the way they dealt with it but that's life, and death I s'pose.
It has really taken ages to get used to not having her about. Not that you ever get over the death of a friend.

So I thought 2012 would be better. How wrong I was. My dear old Dad passed away in April, confirming that I hate April and Death is horrible, at any age.
The only consolation as my granddaughter tells me about April is that is also her birthday, she was ten this year so that was the proverbial silver lining.
It was lovely to spend time with her the day after Dad's funeral, reminding you that life does indeed go on..she is a joy.
So hopefully we will be off camping and going to festies this year. It can only get better surely!

On a brighter note I went to see my friend Helen Reddington (aka McCookerybook) the author of the Lost Women of Rock amongst other things. She was doing a talk about the book at David's Book Shop in Letchworth. It was very interesting as she has interviewed lots of women for the book with some interesting stories. You must buy the book to find out. It is now available in a more affordable soft back edition and well worth the dosh.
David's shop is fascinating, he also sells second hand vinyl. Yes vinyl. They have a little coffee shop too and for Helen's night there were free home made cookies...mmmmm. I must pop back there in the day time to have a good nose around, I recommend you do the same.

Hawkwind, Snow and Punctures

Went to see Hawkwind last night at Bedford Corn Exchange. I must have a word, I only knew one song! All that back catalogue and they do the most obscure stuff, as for the new tunes...well...boring about sums it up! The song Sentinel had shades of 'Year of the Cat'...ugh! I couldn't even be bothered to take any pictures!!
I'm sure Mr Dibs (bass) is a lovely bloke, but he just doesn't fit in. And they had two bass players, what's that all about? Richard the drummer was on good form and for once I could hear what he was playing. Poor sod wasn't on a riser though so although he was singing you couldn't see him!
The dancers were good fun though, two young girly's on stilts with masks and fancy costumes, very effective, although given the age of the band, I kept thinking whose daughters are they?
I haven't been able to get to any gigs before that as I had a puncture on a bald tyre and no money to get new ones. Now I have got money and the bikes in the shop the bleeding tyres haven't arrived!
Bloody snow too.....supposed to be going to see the grandaughter tomorrow but think it will be too risky, even if the tyres do come!
I haven't even been able to get to the Perseverance, one of my favourite haunts for quirky entertainment and some excellent musicians!

Daisy Dog is home

Hurrah...DD is home and getting better...she is on a diet of boiled chicken and fish and antibiotics. Nuff sed!

Daisy Dog update

Daisy Dog is ALIVE!
The Vets phoned to ask if I wanted to visit. I thought she was a gonner!
Turns out she had a really bad bout of gastro enteritis, she has had lots of fluid and antibiotics and will be OK. They said we can go tomorrow for a visit and take some treats. When I left she had eaten some fish and was barking like billy-o. Good girl.

Daisy Dog

Daisy is at the Vets..she's not a well dog.
She's had a lump on her leg for sometime but it ruptured this week. She kept licking it so we put the 'idiot' collar on..you know the lampshade thing to stop her. She seemed fine this morning although she had been sick. It got to the point where she couldn't drink, kept looking at her water bowl and walking away. So fortunately we had a hire car for the last 2 weeks to go camping, I whipped her down the vets and they've kept her in. They say she could have septicaemia caused by the open wound. Poor little dog..I left her at the Vets and cried. Everything is crossed now to hope she hangs on through the night.

Rosie 'You got credit?' Lawrence

Every time Laura's friend Rosie met someone she knew at Rhythms. Her first question was have you got credit? It tickled me. In my day, or 'back in the day' as my hot dog loving friend from last blog said, all you had to worry about was if you had 2p for the phone and the phone box didn't smell too bad of piss and there were no puddles.

Stevenage is a clitoris

Hugh Cornwell played last night at Rhythms of the World in Hitchin. absolutely brilliant! It was 50/50 Stranglers and new stuff. Fucking great to hear Peaches, Duchess, Golden Brown, Hanging Around, Grip, Down in the Sewer oh go on then and Walk on By. At the time they released  WOB I thought 'WTF' but it was still good.
He did a few songs off his free download album Hooverdam and a version of the White Room. The highlight for me was Always the Sun, like a fecking eejut I forgot my camera so only managed a couple of snippets of video from my phone, It was excellent the audience singing at the top of their voice, nearly bought a tear to me eye. The girly on bass was grinning like a cheshire cat at the reception they got and deserved. Very tight band, good sound and top quality atmos! I'll pop the photos in when I get a chance.
Surprisingly bumped in to a couple of people I knew, Elena, the girl from the bakers and me Julie from the sweet shop in Sun Street. Had an interesting chat with 2 lads behind me in the queue for a hotdog. They were taking the piss, quoting me the Aviva advert about dropping acid and festivals back in the day. How ironic? I hadn't had any acid at all!! One of them redeemed himself by telling me he had a Suzuki SV650, so we were biker pals from then.
It was much more packed than last year, but I think I went Sunday last year. The toilets stank and when I was watching Hugh the smell was starting to waft over! Can't be arsed to go back today, Glen Matlock is the highlight today, not for me he ain't!
It's no wonder they don't hold it in the town anymore though. People are fucking animals. Buy food, sit down, eat food, get up walk away. Leave plates, knives and forks and leftovers on the ground!! What's that all about. Clean up you dirty basts!
Laters potatoes
Oh to explain the title Hughy replaced clitoris with Stevenage in Peaches...