"The Muzak's Over"

When I first read this the other day, my first reaction was "Thank God".

 But, before most of us jump for joy it appears that they have only filed for bankruptcy protection and of course could be bought out and carry on. 

Most people dislike piped music of any sort, according to all impartial opinion polls. It is also a torment to professional musicians of all kinds.

Most people find canned music makes conversation more difficult, and imagine what it must be like for many people working in music-filled places, who have to endure the same limited range of pieces played again and again.

Clients of Muzak, it seems, are looking for cheaper ways to keep customers satisfied.

I do not believe that pumping out this "crap" is essential to increasing sales and I think at times it may do just the opposite.

Silence may often be golden......but not always for the piped music industry

Watch Out Who You Photograph

 Section 76 of the latest Counter Terrorism Act came into force today, the latest in a long line of laws introduced by this freedom-limiting Government.

 Professional photographers held a protest about the law earlier today, as they fear that the it could be used to hinder them as they go about doing their job:

And as for members of the Armed forces, what about those wanting to take snaps at a display of pageantry like Trooping the Colour, or capture a relative's passing out parade on camera, for instance?

How long before a tourist gets stopped for photographing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace?

"Just One more Kiss"

A railway station has banned kissing after bosses claimed commuters were being delayed by passionate embraces.

Managers put up a ‘No Kissing’ sign, showing two pecking silhouettes within a circle and a red line through them.

Passengers are now prohibited from doing any more than shaking hands while standing in line at the taxi rank outside Warrington Bank Quay Station.

  What                          are

        they                  going 

           to do?      Arrest

              the person? 

          Force       them 

      apart?             How

 pathetic               can you get?

 Mr Daniels, chief executive of Warrington Chamber of Commerce you are sad little man who is in good need of living in the real world, or maybe you are just jealous that it's you not getting "any"?

"One Man's Meat is Another Man's Poison"

These two snippets show just how different, peoples views can be on what is "healthy" or "unhealthy" for us.

1)    The West Bromwich St George's Day parade started in 1998 and began as a fairly modest affair with 5,000 turning up. Now three times that attend the two-mile parade in April. Fire Service and Scout Association bands have played, the British Legion lends its support and each year ex-servicemen attend to help raise money for charities. 

But last night the local council, Labour-controlled Sandwell, voted to withdraw its support for the parade. 

They said that the St George's parade created an "unhealthy atmosphere". 

2)   "One of India’s leading Hindu cultural groups, has developed Gau Jal or Cow Water, at its research centre in the Indian holy city of Haridwar on the River Ganges, and hopes it will be marketed as a 'healthy' alternative to Coke and Pepsi.

Hindus worship cows for their life-sustaining dairy products, but many also consume bovine urine and faeces in drinks and spice mixes for their "health-giving" properties.

In some Indian states, cow dung and urine are sold in regular dairy shops alongside milk and yogurt, whilst some Indian health food companies make porridge, toothpaste and tonic drinks which claim to cure ailments ranging from liver complaints to diabetes and cancer."

"What a Load of Old Tripe"

"Experts studying the complex aroma of chips have discovered what makes the snack smell so delicious.

Food scientists at Leeds University unravelled the smell using a laboratory and human noses.

They broke down the smell into components using a process known as gas chromatography mass spectrometry.

The results showed chip aroma is made up of butterscotch, cocoa, onion, flowers, cheese and IRONING BOARDS.

The research was commissioned by the Potato Council for National Chip Week."

What a load of old tripe!

I feel a song coming on.......

Tripe, tripe, beautiful tripe,

A gradely sight is a plate of tripe.

If I'd a pound it would soon be gone,

The same to you with vinegar on.

Dream, dream of a lovely thick seam,

Always in season and ripe;

I'm all of a dither when I see

A whacking great plateful of Tripe.

"Goodbye to an Old Friend"

I finally had to say goodbye to my Old Harmonium.

I needed the space and as I had the digital piano, on which I could select "harmonium", it was the real item that had to go.

The really sad bit is that you cannot sell them for "love nor money". The boss at my local antique centre told me he took a similar one to auction a couple of months ago.....there were no bids and he ended up taking it home.

He did however take mine away free of charge!

Some Soothing Friday Night Music

After a hectic week on the blogs I need to wind down.

This really has to be one of the best ways to do it.

OK, so I's not everyone's "cup of tea", but it is mine and I love it

Community "Harmony"

"Dutch MP banned from visiting Britain."

Article 18 of the ec treaty gives every union citizen a directly effective right to move within the eu.

While Member States are allowed to derogate from this on the basis of 'public security', they are not allowed to do so for 'community harmony', except the British government who will do exactly what it wants, in the interests of ‘community harmony’.

I now quote from Melanie Phillips who expresses my sentiments exactly:-

"If British MPs do not raise hell about this banning order, if they go along with this spinelessness, if they fail to stand up for the principle that the British Parliament of all places must be free to hear what a fellow democratically elected politician has to say about one of the most difficult and urgent issues of our time, if they fail to hold the line against the threat of violence but capitulate to it instead, they will be signalling that Britain is no longer the cradle of freedom and democracy but its graveyard."

I can't see any future "harmony" in this land until we get rid of this "dissonant" government.

"More Nanny Meddling"

The latest Nanny campaign is to get us to switch to lower fat milk: and that grating cheese, instead of slicing it, could cut our risk of dying from heart disease.

Surely 2oz of grated cheese contains the same ammount of sat-fat as 2oz of sliced cheese.

"A new awareness campaign suggests tips which could save an estimated 3,500 lives by cutting the nation's consumption of sat-fat."

Or, in other words, 3500 more miserable people, giving up any enjoyment of food in favour of a few more years of a joyless existence.

It's my life. I only get one, and it's too short not to enjoy it.

Is Gordon Brown a pathological liar?

Is Gordon Brown a pathological liar, or is he just stupid? 

This is the question currently being debated in political circles as the full extent of his bogus “British jobs for British workers” quote has come home to roost over the past week.

The only thing that Mr Brown could have promised would have been “British jobs for eu Workers“.

Mr Brown then announced that the “government” (i.e. the British taxpayer) is putting millions into education and training, with the aim of “ensuring British workers are best placed to get jobs.”

But, eu residency rules allow any eu national to live in the UK, and therefore they qualify for these training programmes in exactly the same way that British nationals do.

Sorry......This blog is getting a little bit political.

....It was meant to have a "musical theme"

England, my England

I am very concerned about our loss of sovereignty to the eu and the insulting treatment of England within the union. This seems to be of equal inconsequence to the three larger parties. All three dip into a similar pot-pourri of other policies, according to whatever is the flavour of the month and is adjudged to gain the best political advantage. No core principles are of course allowed to get inconveniently in the way.

Thus it really doesn't matter which of the three gains power. 

Same trough; 

Undifferentiated snouts.

Nigel Farage seems to be the only leader to address the core issue - the eu, which, in its current form, is a post democratic institution.

A Day at Amersham

Amersham Organ Museum is the place to see some smashing Fair Organs. They are open one day every month during the winter, the latest was yesterday 8th Feb. It is a good chance for like minded people to get together for a chat. I meet up with several "small" organ owners to get news, udates and in my case, let friends have copies of my latest arrangements.

The Museum is the lifetimes work of Teddy Reed who has been collecting Fairground Organs for over fifty years.