All Fired Up

The ducks have returned to the site ponds. A female Mallard was sat on the tint pier which juts out into the big pond which I pass every morning. It was quacking away almost continuously while a male floated oblivious just a few feet away. I clapped my hands and they both looked at me for a few seconds before the female carried on with her serenade! The pond has some new fixtures now. A safety ring has been installed on the 'pier' and notices about how slippery the wood is have gone up. I know that a few inches of water is more than enough to drown in but there are plenty of unfenced areas of deep water in this city with no safety equipment and no notices. It seems a bit silly to put up such stuff on an ornamental pond. The canal that runs a mile from our house has no fences and no notices. In the winter, if it freezes over, it is covered with kids daring each other to walk across. We are having ridiculous regulations imposed which mean that we have to rely on the 'state' - Local Government - various unelected bodies - to tell us what to do and how to be safe. It is much better to educate people on how to be safe so they can make decisions for themselves. Litigation, Litigation, Litigation. Confrontation, Confrontation, Confrontation. Rock and Roll will never save the world. Common sense may do.

Sountrack today is ABC Music again. There is something about the John Peel Sessions which ensures a more enjoyable listening experience. The sessions are always 'live' recordings. The difference between studio based recordings and live recordings is, I suppose, analagous to the difference between digital and analogue. I have noticed the emotional response invoked by old vinyl recordings is more intense than that from CD recordings of the same songs. Of course, I am listening to the sessions from CD so what would they be like on Vinyl. Stereolab are very much into vinyl but I don't actually own any; all my recordings of them are on CD. We don't actually have a record player at the moment which is a pity as I have boxes of 45s and albums all unplayable at present. Now the BBC have started broadcasting all their national radio stations on the digital TV airwaves, I have started picking up a lot of stuff I have missed over recent years. Radio 6 is the highlight of the line up. It seems to be a version of what Radio 1 evenings were like a few years ago. Interesting fact: Phil Jupitus who is on air right now, was in the video for Happy Hour by the Housemartins by virtue of the fact that he was their press officer. If you want to see who is actually hosting the Radio 6 show at this minute go here.

A band I heard the other night on Tom Robinson's show were M.A.S.S. who were excellent though maybe I am a little old to be a real fan.

Back on heads.