is there nothing that isn't on the internet somewhere?

http://www.sarganserland-walensee.ch/radio_tv_historisch/bbc1_clock_72.s...

Both of my grandfathers died while I was too young to properly get to know them, but I can remember that my mum's father was a veteran of WWI and an active member of the British Legion. He died when I was nine, not long before I became interested in military history.

I've always regretted not having the opportunity to talk to him about his wartime experiences - I'm pretty sure he would have been happy to share them - but three years ago the Public Record Office made available their archives online free of charge for a short while and I was able to download his military record.

I already knew that he had fought for the Sherwood Foresters, but these records revealed that he had signed up at the outbreak of war, fought at Gallipoli, transferred to the Machine Gun Corps in 1916....and also that he had gone AWOL just few weeks before the war's end, resulting in a charge of 60 days of Field Punishment Number 1! This was news to my mum, but my dad remembers being told by grandad that he "had had enough and was off!"

I didn't follow this up at the time, but now am minded to do so. Does anyone know how to go about researching military records? I'd love to find out where my grandad fought and when.

I've heard a lot over the past few days about how this record apparently "changed the world of music, then and for many years to come!"

Did it?

I've never thought much of the record - Nirvana being one the the most overrated bands on the planet, in my opinion - so I ask the Massive: Was it a game-changer?

I'm asking genuinely.

I've just seen on the BBC news an item on the British tourist killed by a shark in the Seychelles, which features a radio interview with his widow; and had to turn off when the first question was, essentially, 'What did you see of the attack?'

What is the point of this? Why must close relatives of the recently deceased from whatever tragedy be subjected to things like this, and what am I supposed to do in response? Masturbate over the gruesome details? Cry?

Whatever happened to just letting people grieve in private? Or have we as a nation - post-Diana - decided that a public showing of emotion is now a required norm of society.

I find it all increasingly distasteful.

I noticed in another thread recently that someone is suggesting that The Word is in steady decline. This may be the case for some people, but there is one major strength of the magazine that, more than anything, ensures that I keep renewing my subscription; and that is the quality of the interviewing.

Time and again, the magazine forces me to challenge my preconceptions about an artist, with the latest example being Elton John - to my mind a preening, headline-seeking dandy whose music holds no interest or worth for me.

Having read Rob Fitzpatrick's wonderful contribution in this month's edition, however, Elt has been dragged from the purgatory of the tabloid showbiz columns and presented to me as a real person, with real passions and forthright opinions; and never, ever, have I imagined him as a big bloke who swears like a trooper and can look after himself in a dust-up. Whether or not this will prompt me to reappraise his music is yet to be seen - although the article did remind me that 'A Single Man' was the first LP I ever owned - but that is by the by; it was still a fine piece of work

I'm sure someone will argue that other magazines and writers do a better job, but, for what I pay for the magazine, the quality of the writing is still, for me, far in excess of what might be expected.

As someone who has reached the age of 45 with an unfailing ability to mangle the majority of sentences ever uttered, it was with a sense of disbelief - and a modicum of seething envy - that I listened to Hailee Steinfeld being interviewed on Radio 4's The Film Programme today on her role in True Grit. How dare she be so articulate and confident while still some way short of her 15th birthday?

On the other hand, so rare is it to hear someone speak nowadays without "um", "er" and "you know what I mean" on constant rotation - and, this being an American actress, "awesome" - that it was very much a joy to listen to.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00y9tc1/The_Film_Programme_11_02_2...

(about three minutes in)

I might just go along and see the film now, too.

Okay, well not exactly - but whilst visiting the folks in Buxton over Chrimbo, I couldn't help but notice that on the evening of February 26th 2011, Nick Lowe is playing the Buxton Opera House, as part of the Four-Four Time mini-festival they have every year.

On the very same evening - unfortunately at the very same time - in the Arts Theatre adjacent to the Opera House, one Wilko Johnson is doing his thing.

With a very nice pub literally across the road from both venues, surely this is the perfect opportunity for the local Wordsters to get together, perhaps compare notes, and, who knows, even get to share a pint with the two Word faves.

Here endeth my public service announcement.

when looking for music for a long road trip last Saturday, I decided - for no apparent reason - to take along "O Mickey, Where Art Thou?"; a CD of Disney songs recorded by Bluegrass artists. It's actually a lot better than that sounds and it brightened my mood considerably on the drive down to Kent.

Having returned home, I thought I'd look up some of the artists, none of whom were known to me; people like Collin Raye, Elizabeth Cook, Stonewall Jackson, Ronnie Milsap - and one Charlie Louvin, who sang a lovely version of "I Will Go Sailing No More" from Toy Story. I subsequently discovered, through the magic of Wikipedia, that he had been one half of the Louvin Brothers, and that his brother Ira had died in a car crash in the '60s.

Two days later, while flicking through the TV listings, I noticed a BBC4 documentary called "White Gospel". Normally I would head for the hills at the first mention of Gospel music, but the blurb specifically mentioned the Louvin Brothers, so I set the Sky+ to record.

Having now watched it - an excellent programme - I now know a lot more than I did about this branch of music, including the Sacred Harp singing that Fraser is such a fan of, and all because of a random selection last weekend.

Any similar experiences amongst the Massive?

Nice article from the New Yorker.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2010/07/12/100712taco_talk_hertzbe...

Perhaps John Cleese should have read it before making that woefully unfunny and predictable YouTube clip.

Earlier this year a thread was running concerning the number 1 single on your date of birth (http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/do-you-know-what-was-no-1-day-you-...) that used the everyHit.com website. Thus, I discovered that the HJH's Day Tripper was at the top of the charts when I turned up in 1966.

However, while watching the Steve Winwood documentary the other day, it was stated that Keep On Running by The Spencer Davis Group knocked Day Tripper off its perch and illustrated this with a picture of the NME Chart from 12th January 1966 - the day after I was born. everyHit, however, insists that the change didn't take place until the 18th.

My question, therefore, is this - were there competing charts back then, and, if so, which is the 'official' one? I need to know if I'm a McCartney or a Winwood baby.

This is prompted both by the mid-life crisis thread and from watching an interview with Stephen Fry on Sky Arts. In the latter, he talks about a pivotal moment in his life when he convinced a college official to enrol him onto a course that was already fully subscribed. This in turn led to Cambridge and everything that has ensued.

For me, it was throwing a newspaper into a rubbish bin outside Manchester Piccadilly Station in 1990. My girlfriend at the time had taken a day off to chauffeur me round various flats for rent in Preston - where I was about to move to due to work - and was dropping me back at the station. I was so fed up at the lack of success that I threw the paper containing the ads away. She construed this as immaturity on my part (quite accurately, looking back) and a wasted day for her and I never saw her again.

As a result of this, I was free and single again and there were no barriers when I was offered the chance to transfer to Essex a couple of months later. Having got the job I headed to Southend, and virtually the first person I met was the woman destined to become my wife. More importantly, she also turned out to be the best friend that I will ever have.

So what seemingly insignificant moment in your life has had profound consequences for you?

Because you've just found yourself blubbing at the end of this week's Doctor Who.....then discovered it was written by Richard Curtis!

The shame, the shame!

With New Labour now seemingly at an end, might I propose the following as a template for both the Back to Basics policy and Red Wedge 2 tour that will inevitably follow. I've always thought we don't have enough crazed shouty tambourine players in the UK charts (various attempts at translation available in the comments below the vid on YouTube):

This hasn't really got much to do with anything currently being discussed by the Massive, but I just thought I'd share it as it is one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen!

I've checked and double checked, but nowhere on page 28 of the new edition do the names 'Josh' or 'Donna' appear.

Does The Word editorial staff not appreciate that these two selfless public servants had to keep their raging hormones in check for eight years before they could finally boink each other's brains out?

A shameful omission.