Keep Watching The Skies

05Nov09

I’ve been waiting to post this for a while now because it may be appearing elsewhere on the internet, however as a couple of people have asked me about my visit I thought I’d put it here at digyourfins for the moment as well. If it does appear elsewhere I’ll be sure to say . . .

Anderby Creek is not somewhere you arrive at by accident, in fact I was intending to visit and I still struggled to locate it after driving through a great deal of the very deepest and darkest Lincolnshire. Further confusion arose through my inability to understand the subtle difference between Anderby and Anderby Creek but eventually I did indeed arrive.

Part of the problem in my efforts to locate Anderby Creek was due to the fact that it doesn’t really consist of a great deal bar a large number of caravans and a wide expanse of (very pleasant) sandy beach, however since the 1st April earlier this year it’s also been the location of the world’s first ‘Official Cloudspotting Area’ and this was the reason for my journey, after all as member number 14364 of the Cloud Appreciation Society it’s surely a must see.

The Anderby Creek Cloud Bar, to give it’s official title, came into being after a disused beach shelter was given a new lease of life as part of the Bathing Beauties project. Designed by Michael Trainor it’s a simple wooden, (larch I believe), building featuring a number of cloud spotting menus, some cloud viewing seating, (which admittedly are better to look at than to sit on), and some slightly Heath Robinson styled self-operating parabolic cloud-mirrors – to aid in the viewing of clouds across the wide East coast skies.

I arrived as the sun was coming up and if nothing else the view of the North sea from the Cloud Bar’s viewing platform was worth the journey alone. When the Bar opened earlier in the year the weather wasn’t very kind at all, in fact the day was marred by, well by clear blue skies. I had no such problem during my visit, in fact quite the opposite in so much that almost as soon as the sun appeared it disappeared behind a thick unrelenting band of Altostratus, not the most attractive of clouds but I suppose cloud all the same.

It may seem a little perverse to travel any kind of distance to view something that’s available to you outside your front door but the Cloud Bar is worth a visit nevertheless and as Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society, said: “The Cloud Bar is an inspired way to remind the public that some of nature’s most varied and beautiful displays take place daily above our heads”, something we could all do with being reminded of eh ?

Filed under: The Seaside, Weather   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Altostratus, Anderby Cloud Bar, Anderby Creek, Bathing Beauties, Cloud Appreciation Society, Gavin Pretor-Piney, Heath Robinson, Lincolnshire, Michael Trainor, Official Cloudspotting Area

Smashing Pumpkins

31Oct09

Aren’t they ?

Filed under: Festivals   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Halloween, Orange, Pumpkins

Happy Birthday Maida Vale

30Oct09

Earlier today I was alerted by the fine people of Twitter to the fact that today is the 75th anniversary of the BBC’s famous Maida Vale Studios, a place very dear to my heart.

Those of you who know me will know that I’ve been ‘involved’ with the band Magoo for more years than I care to remember, ostensibly managing them but in fact as a sleeve note mentions somewhere more accurately – in charge of ‘telephones and typewriters’.

When I first started working with the band I only really had one goal and that was to record a session for the late great John Peel (yes him again). I made a vague deal with them that I’d help as much as I was able as long as when or if (not sure what I thought at the time) they ever got to record a session for John Peel I would be allowed to appear on it.

So you can imagine what the 12th December 1995 meant to me, as that was the day Magoo travelled down to the BBC’s Maida Vale recording studios (number 4 I believe) to record their debut session for the John Peel show.

As ever with these events I don’t recollect much about the day, other than feeling wildly overawed and hugely out of place. After all this was the place that almost every band I’d ever loved had come to record – Joy Division, Pixies, The Smiths, The Specials, Sonic Youth and of course the mighty ever present Fall. This was the place where Delia Derbyshire had laid out huge lengths of tape loops to produce the theme tune to Dr Who for the Radiophonic Workshop. The place even that the BBC Symphony Orchestra called home.

And here we were.

Magoo recorded four tracks that day, namely Baxter Preminger, Eye Spy, Goldwyn and last but not least Valley As A Whole which features just a single chord played by yours truly – but boy what a chord.

Happy birthday Maida Vale.

Filed under: Music   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Baxter Preminger, BBC, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Delia Derbyshire, Eye Spy, Goldywn, Happy Birthday, John Peel, Joy Division, Magoo, Maida Vale, Pixies, Sonic Youth, The Smiths, The Specials, Valley As A Whole

“John Peel Was A Hell Of Man”

26Oct09

Well yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the death of John Peel.

If you’ve visited here before you may have caught my ramble about John in respect of my work with the wonderful Magoo and in particular my efforts to get their second single played on the radio :

“I tried to instigate this radio-play by hand delivering copies all over London town and remarkably bumped into John Peel outside BBC Radio 1, who commended me on my Bill Shankly t –shirt (boy was I trying hard) and promised to listen to the record that very evening – whether he did or not remains unclear however he played the all the tracks from the record over the next few weeks and remained a fan / friend of the band up until his death in 2004 – in fact Magoo were one of the very last bands who recorded a session for him).”

And you may have seen some thoughts I posted in response to reading ‘The Olivetti Chronicles – Three Decades Of Life And Music’ – a collection of John Peel’s various writings :

In one piece for the Observer from 1986 entitled ‘Aural Vandalism’ he writes about attending a Sonic Youth / The Jesus and Mary Chain gig at the Hammersmith Palaisin London (I know it will make me sound like the old man I’m rapidly becoming but hey they don’t make gigs like that anymore do they ?). He talks of the Sonic Youth’s obvious desire to disturb and confront and of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s chaotic and often short lived live outings – “If twenty minutes is the time it takes The Jesus and Mary Chain to achieve whatever effect it is they wish, it would be fatuous to play longer.”

However (and admittedly I might be on my own here) it’s the pay-off lines that really makes you fall back in love with him.

“As I left the Palais I overheard one twerp braying to his companions. ‘What a waste of money,’ he cried, and for moment I wished I were a fighting man.”

John Peel was a hell of a man and round our way he’s very very much missed.

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Bill Shankly, John Peel, Magoo, Sonic You, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Olivetti Chronicles

I’m Going To Take You To A Cloud Bar

22Oct09

It’s been a busy week and I haven’t even had the time to mention my visit to the Anderby Creek Cloud Bar.

First thing Sunday morning I was on a rather lovely and wholly deserted Lincolnshire beach watching the sun come up – seems a world away now. Anyways Cloud Bar report coming soon although possibly via a different location.

Filed under: Weather   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Anderby Creek, Cloud Bar, Lincolnshire

Are You Sure ? Yes / No

14Oct09

I’ve felt under the weather for a few days now – nothing of any significance just the outer reaches of the common cold – caught no doubt from my nephew as a result of him returning to school.

Unfortunately the manifestation of this has been a couple of days of fuzzy thinking – thinking which has meant I’ve had to sign myself off operating any heavy machinery, and thinking which has resulted in me inserting great big fat spanners into the day’s proceedings.

Today for instance I’ve managed to kill off both my “photo a day for a year” projects by accidentally deleting a whole raft of photos. So two hundred and fourteen and one hundred and seventy two days respectively later they’ve both now come to an end.

Tomorrow’s another day though eh ?

Filed under: Photography   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: 365, Cold, Fuzzy, Idiot, Photographs

On The Road Again (day8)

25Sep09

Well it’s our last day in Benderloch so we pushed the the boat out and ventured approximately one hundred metres from our cottage and back onto the beach to take in the view and remarkably fresh air (which you’re kind of force fed regardless of whether you want it or not).

It’s been a great week up here in the wilds of West Scotland but it’ll be good to return home to family and friends and to a place which isn’t quite so remote – and hopefully nine plus hours on the road tomorrow won’t undo all the good that a week away has done.

Filed under: Travel   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Benderloch, Home, Scotland, West Of Scotland

Water, Water, Everywhere (day7)

25Sep09

Life can be full of disappointment.

We’re travelling home to Norfolk on Saturday, however on Sunday the World Stone Skimming Championship will be taking place on Easdale Island – just down the road from where we’re currently staying.  Heartbreaking stuff I’m sure you’ll agree.  We decided to visit Easdale anyway (before our appointment later in the day) so if nothing else we could say we’ve been and to allow us to cross the ‘Bridge Across The Atlantic’.

And to further alleviate the despondence in the camp in respect of our inability to become stone skimmers par excellence we decided to take a ‘High Tea Cruise to Mull’ with the fine people at Caledonian MacBrayne, something which we can now highly recommend. Even though the weather was (once again) somewhat inclement, the views were spectacular and the ‘High Tea’ unusually notable(what is it with the macaroni obsession ?).

One day remaining of our time in Scotland which is a shame because it’s been just grand.

Filed under: Travel   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Bridge Across The Atlantic, Caldeonian MacBrayne, Cruise, Easdale, High Tea, Mull, Norfolk, Stone Skimming, World Stone Skimming Championship

Number Fifty Two

24Sep09

On the journey up here to Benderloch we had planned to stop off just outside Glasgow to obtain provisions before disappearing into unchartered territory. So after crossing what I assume was the Clyde we decided to continue through to Dumbarton.

Unremarkable indeed – other than after crossing the bridge I noticed the above (unfortunately it was a fleeting glance and I had no camera to hand – but I have managed to find it on Google Street Map). Now I can’t be one hundred percent sure but I think that it’s one of Bruce Martins‘ K8 Telephone Boxes. According to the Twentieth Century Society, which has been running a six month project looking into finding any remaining K8s, there were originally around eleven thousand installed and their (and others) research have found just fifty one left with us.

Make that fifty two ?

[For further reference see this great Flickr set of K8s]

Filed under: Architecture, Design, Travel   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Benderloch, Bruce Martin, Clyde, Dumbarton, Google Street Map, K8, Telephone Box, Twentieth Century Society

Take Me For A Walk (day6)

23Sep09

Another quiet day, with a walk across the beach to look for sea glass (very low success) and blackberries (very high success). Then back to our cottage to admire the former and consume the latter.

Filed under: Travel   |  2 Comments
Tags: Beach, Blackberries, Sea glass