The bloke running the Royal Bank of Scotland gets paid more in 3 days than a squaddie makes in a year. They must think we'll keep on taking this shit, or they wouldn't keep on dishing it out. Who's for manning the barricades and taking to the streets? No? Oh. Ok then. Hey ho. Headphones back on.

Does anybody know what's happened to the Cherry Red website? I was trying to check to see what Esoteric had in the pipeline, but all I get is an HTTP error. Gulp. Surely not?

Many Happy Returns to Clive Dunn, who reaches the age today at which the phrase, "They don't like it up 'em." has a whole new meaning.

The only man to ever make me proud of my drill skills as a spotty cadet.

Should we bother, or does it just get even worse? Are you still awake or sober enough to let us know? Has the Mayan Meltdown begun down under yet?

I'm starting to look forward to the Solstice Holiday, and I've just given up my Saturday morning to the creative tasks of baking cakes and making booze. I've done a couple of Christmas cakes, which are now half way cooked, and smelling up a yummy storm, and I've bottled a litre of this stuff:

Anyone else up to their arms in flour and eggs today, or trying not to swallow too much dollop while siphoning?

Interesting (if brief - they've spotted it and changed it already) juxtaposition of stories on the Beeb this morning: "Clock change 'stops outdoor play'" placed directly adjacent to ""Warning of syphilis in teenagers".

Not wishing to trivialise a ghastly disease, it made me chuckle to think of all those teenagers, confined to quarters by the gloom, wondering what they might get up to in the comfort of their homes.

I'm down in the south, and not trying to get sheeep in off a hillside, but I will confess that I hate the clock change at this time of year; I'd rather drive home in the light for a little while longer each autumn.

What about the rest of the UK massive; do you want double summer time, triple GMT, European Central Time or whatever other combinations have been suggested?

You like bikes? You want to see this if you do; it's a superb short made by Scott Toepfer, shot over two years of motorbiking around the Western states of the US of A.

It's Better In The Wind - Short Film from Scott Toepfer on Vimeo.

It's from The Selvedge Yard, mentioned previously in these pages as a source of inspirational Americana of all sorts of goodness.

http://theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com

Strolling down the back lane just yesterday I spotted the following, piled up outside someone's back door, awaiting collection by the bin men:

A huge pile of ancient reel-to-reel tapes.
A fireman's helmet perched atop three large bags of builder's sand.
Two empty pill bottles marked 'Sandoz Laboratories'.

At once, I realised I was passing the home of Brian Wilson, who had just thrown out all the garbage he'd been hanging on to until he'd finally released the Smile! project.

Who could also be identified from their garbage pile, and what might it contain?

Just a quick note to alert anyone who's interested that the Beeb has this evening put an ancient Sue Lawley era Desert Island Discs episode up on the web with John Peel as the castaway.

/as you were

*reaches for The Fall singles boxed-set*

According to today's Torygraph, it looks like claiming for a new moat is chicken feed compared to our Hellenic friends, who routinely tell porkies to their tax man en masse, then order ghastly ostentatious gas guzzlers to deliver the olives to market in style.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100012894/fast-cars-and-l...

That's the last time I spend any of my wonga on Retsina hangovers and greasy souvlakis, I'm off to Italy next time. Oh. Bugger. Spain? Oh. Shit. Portugal perhaps? Hang on....

The cash is in the suitcase; used twenties, as requested. Keep on rocking, you old rascal.

David Croft has left the building. So long, and thanks for all the joy and laughter. I'm glad he had a long life and slipped off quietly, it's no more than he deserved. What a legacy he's left. I'm breaking out the boxed sets this evening.

Let's have some favourite clips, folks!

One of stimpy's threads has thrown up a Carla Bley tune that's got my fancy. Trouble is, I have nothing more of hers to explore further.

I don't do downloads, I buy CDs, so can you tell me please; given a budget of twenty five sovs to blow on Carla Bley titles, which ones do I go for?

If you know what this is:

you'll want to see this: http://www.cressida-group.co.uk/index.html

Check out the 'News' page. See you in Camden on Dec 2nd.

The Foxy Lady and I were reminiscing recently about great TV moments we'd love to see again, and we both came up with the same televisual memory, but neither of us can place it, either in time or in its programmatic context.

We are blithering in our frustration.

Can the Massive recall having seen a drama, set in Scotland we think (probably in the Hebrides or Shetlands or similar), which involved a family with two or three young daughters or female cousins who sang to seals?

At the remembered point in the yarn (we've no idea what it was about anymore) the girls sit on a wall or on rocks near the shore and sing to the local seals, who appear bobbing in the water not far out.

It was a magical, transcendent moment that charmed our socks off, and we'd like to see it again....