Or at least I think it was summer last time someone suggested this.

I can't be arsed to check.

Anyway, I've recently been thrilled skinny (no mean feat - ask my trousers) to have read three corking books on the trot. This doesn't normally happen. I feel moved to tell you what they were, and I dare say some of you may like to let the massive know the last 3 corkers you've read.

Firstly, 'Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky' by Patrick Hamilton. An old favourite among Word readers, I know, but I was gripped by this trilogy of separate novels focussing on the emotional travails of 3 desperate souls living in a London of class conciousness, proprierty and hopeless desire between the wars. Almost Dickensian tragedy in bowler hats and glasses of port and lemon.

'Headlong' by Michael Frayn. An enthralling and deeply interesting read centred around a manic plot. A middle class philosopher and amateur art historian comes across what he believes to be a lost Bruegel masterpiece while reluctantly visiting a neighbour, a materialistic farmer in financial straits with no appreciation for what he may have in his possession. The historians marriage and life falls apart as he tries to engineer the painting into his possession without raising anyone's suspicion of its worth. In and around the increasingly comic flailing is an extended history of Bruegel and the Netherlands in the 1600's. Which is more diverting than it sounds. Quite captivating - the whole is a sort of 'Carry On Up Your Bruegels'

Lastly, 'Wobegon Boy' by Garrison Keillor. The plot really doesn't matter. This is far and away the best example of Keillor's laconic, digressive prose. This one also heavily peppered with some killer one liners and sparkling dialogue as the hero fulfills a lifelong dream of living and working in New York City. James Thurber for the Noughties.

Belters one and all.

How's about yourselves?

May I ask any on the technical and/or editorial teams if it's possible to consider setting up an online depository of reviews printed in past issues of the mag?

Personally one of the main reasons I buy The Word is because of the quality of the reviews, their subject matter and the choice of artistes discussed.

Reading well judged critical appraisal can be a pleasure in itself aswell as a possible guide to opening up interests in new things and laying out a few spondoolicks.

You tend to remember good or bad reviews anyway, especially those referring to artists or genres you like already, but online access to virtually everything to browse through without having to refer back to the physical copy would be of benefit and great interest to me if no-one else.

I remember Q used to do this (they may still do but I lost interest in Q a while ago).

Anyway, just a thought. No worries if it's not part of any plans for the site.

Dick Gaughan's on telly tonight. Again.

BBC 4 are repeating his session at 11:50pm.

Videoplus number for the non(Sky)plussed is 2090675.

As you were.

Has anyone noticed that BBC4 has a delightful habit of broadcasting recently released music DVD's?

'Chasing Sound' - the Les Paul story was shown as part of the guitar theme on Friday only a few weeks after its DVD release. David Gilmour's Live in Gdansk was shown before that recently (abridged somewhat I admit)

Genesis Live in Rome too. Though I didn't bother too much about that.

There have been others across the past couple of years. 'Born to Boogie' I seem to remember.

Most of them have been reviewed in Word prior to broadcast - and this is the key! I think the BBC 4 music commissioning editor must be a subscriber and/or possibly even a member of the Massive...? I imagine the thought process is this; "Hmmm bit of a gap in the Friday slot next month... Wot's in Word this month then? Let's see, Les Paul? What's the running time? 90 minutes, lovely. Amazon can do it in 7-10 days. Smashing. I'll get one. "

Not that I'm moaning. Quite the opposite. I've saved a fortune.

So, show yourself sir, and let me give proper thanks.

The recent post on Glen Campbell's virtuosity on guitar as well as having a wonderful singing voice got me thinking.

But only a little. It's midnight after all.

Most of our favourite musical artists tend to be known only for one aspect of their performing talent, their singing or their playing mostly. To pick names fairly randomly here, David Gilmour writes and performs languid and lyrical guitar lines that sell records and DVD'S in millions but his singing voice is unremarkable. This is fine - it doesn't need to be anything else. Jools Holland. Like him or loath him his piano playing is inspired. Yet his singing voice is something only a mother could love surely.

Whereas Mr Campbell can play mellifluosly and sing beautifully. It strikes me that not many genuinely have this facility, ie to be really good on an instrument and have a voice to knock you sideways.

It's all personal taste of course and dependent on your definition of what being 'really good' is and what sort of vocal performance moves you but check the attached out for my understanding. It's Robert Cray, from years ago, singing and playing joyfully.

Chanced on this on the BBC iPlayer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074nzn/

It's Eliza Carthy in concert at the Union Chapel.

Utterly captivating. A beautiful woman and an achingly good singer and musician. Listen to 'The Grey Cock', 'The Bonny Fisherboy' and 'Willow Tree' and if you're not moved to raptures I'll send you a postal order for 75p*.

*No I won't.

Skyplus, Freeview, BT Vision, Setanta, cBeebies etc.

Telly, telly and more telly.

But what's on it? What's actually worth setting arse to sofa and concentrating on? Help me slice through the endless listings and multi-channel choice and cut to the good stuff.

What are your faves - drama, comedy, factual, anything - and where do you find them?

First one to say The Wire gets an electronic kick in the danglers.

This should possbly be in the Humorous Ditties thread. I think it's breathtakingly funny. I wish I could find a video of her singing 'The Ballad of Tracey Clegg and Nicole Battersby' too.

She's gone quiet of late. Don't say all we have to replace her is Katy Brand.

Stevie Ray Vaughan. This wonderful guitar player was known for his striking collection of titfers. Most of which he was happy to wear offstage too.

I don't think he would have looked out of place at Royal Ascot in some of his get-ups.

Are there anymore examples of cranial flamboyance amongst your heroes? And who else dresses, or dressed, with such blatant disregard for the casual observers nerves?

The crap book thread was mentioned earlier in another blog and in the spirit of balance I thought I'd ask for your opinion on the exact opposite.

What's the best book you've ever read, and why?

'Best' - that's an airy-fairy ambigious and lazy word though isn't it? I should clarify what I mean seeing as it's art and not a competition. Which book has given you the most pleasure, the most enlightment, garnered the most emotional repsonse from yourself and is one you would hopefully never have to rescue from your burning home but you would if you had to?

It can be anything you like, from the Yellow Pages to The Tibetan Book of The Dead. No bars on genre here.

I should start. I'm going to say 'Puckoon' by Spike Milligan. Purely because I can still vividly remember weeping with laughter at most of it, but particularly the scenes at the end with Dan Milligan dressed as a Roman Soldier, at fourteen years old and realising that reading books was going to be a regular, if intermittent, joy forever.

This is possibly common knowledge already amongst 'The Wire' massive but I read an interesting interview with the novelist Richard Price in the Telegraph this weekend just gone in which it was made clear that his novel, 'Clockers', formed the basic inspiration for The Wire - aswell as the source material for the Spike Lee movie.

He also wrote 'The Wanderers'. Another successful movie adapatation.

Anyway, I'll give Clockers a go. Just thought any fans of The Wire may also be interested.

Apologies for using Word Blog bandwidth on a personal plea but you guys are a helpful troupe.

My old rickety spare PC which I use for my iTunes and music storage has been totalled by a particularly nasty bit of spyware. I can't get into it to download and backup all of these files and strip it down and re-install the system hardware. Dell's helpline has been helpful but offer no hope of rescue for these. It's all my own fault - I should have looked after it better and kept the virus software current.

So, I'm left with a 20gb iPod full of lovely stuff which I'd rather not have to laboriously re-load. Is there any cunning way of loading iTunes software onto another PC but without my pod emptying itself?

Or am I a hopelessly naive poltroon?

I favour the latter. Feel free to confirm this for me but I'd be grateful for any help anyone can give.

Reading an earlier thread on 'Two and Half Men' has led me to make a recommendation for another comedy show.

Lost amongst the Freeview drek is the US version of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?'. It's shown on Five US at 7pm most nights - normally a double bill. They must think no-one watches it because they sometimes repeat a sequence of them now and again, but normally it's fresh stuff.

And, its funny. Really really funny. Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie are the mainstays and boy have they got this stuff nailed. Much better than the UK version ever was (which was excellent at the time).

Nothing better to relax in front of after a hard day at the blog.

More good stuff from BBC 4's Sessions.

A repeat of a Bert Jansch gig I assume was recorded at St Luke's is being broadcast on BBC 4 this Thursday the 7th at 11pm.

I've not seen this one before. No doubt the link to the BBC iplayer another good soul posted last week will allow access to this too.

If you're going to record it by old fashioned steam power like me then the videoplus number is 9289216.

I'm aware this just might make sense to me and anyone else who went to school in Northumberland.

While at school in the '70's the school bag of choice among the lads was a canvas haversack. Carried over one shoulder the main flap of the bag was a broad blank space ripe and ready for a bit of display and decoration.

Most of us, once we got one, would immediately paint on our favourite band logo, or an album cover. I lost count of the number of freehand slightly off-scale representations of Dark Side of the Moon amongst the 6th Form when I moved up to High School.

My effort, which took a whole week of stencilling and careful tongue-stuck-out painting, was the Status Quo logo taken specifically from the Blue For You album (silver lettering and dramatic black shadowing). The most popular by a mile though amongst the cool long hairs who were good at Physics was Rush's 2112.

Was this a nationwide thing? Does it still go on?