Curly's Capers

"When the going gets tough; The tough get going" So it was  that,  Family C.stood waiting for the bus in a bitter, cold wind. The bus came and duly reached our destination Cheltenham centre. The cold was waiting for us. We huddled together and walked at a pace to gain some warmth. We made a stop for sandwiches and then  after a short while gratefully made it through the cinema's entrance. Once our tickets were delivered from the machine, we purchased cups of hot tea and made our way to Screen 4. For us life was heating up, but for those in our film, the deep cold was continuing. We were at a performance of "  The Revenant, " starring Leonardo DiCaprio as  Hugh Glass, a Mountain Man and fur trapper in the American wilderness in the 1820s. It is the story of the human  experience; the constant struggle for survival against an unforgiving environment. In the case of Glass; left for dead after bear attack, he struggled, limped, and even crawled 200 miles...

With Captain Beefheart unravelled by reading "Mike Barnes - Beefheart Biography, " I  started acquiring the Beefheart canon and soon had all his studio albums. As a member of the ' Fireparty ' discussion group, I was kept updated on Beefheart news. When I became aware that after an absence of twenty or more years, drummer John French was putting together a Magic Band, using ex-members to play the music of Captain Beefheart and playing   the first public gig at London's Shepherds Bush, I quickly bought a couple of tickets and went with daughter L. to the concert. As a callow youth, I made a weekly habit of reading "  Melody Maker, " a music paper cover to cover, I always looked at the various London venues where artists were playing; The Round House, Shepherds Bush, Astoria and so on and in my mind conjured up images of such places. They all sounded exotic and daring and I have to say the reality of Shepherds Bush was very different .  Insi...

My Friends at Google tell me this is my four hundredth post. That being the case I thought I would spend some time talking about one of my musical heroes  Captain ( Don Van Vliet) Beefheart and his Magic Band. Like pebbles down a cliff face thoughts confuse, become abstracted and refuse to focus. Like a lost jig-saw piece  thoughts wander and search for a closure. Like watching snooker in  monochrome, thoughts drift from lack of detail. Like an endless-roundabout thoughts revolve constantly interrupting the passage of sleep. Like a carpet without tacks, thoughts need to be nailed, stored and remembered. Like Notes written on papers, thoughts need to be collected  and arranged in order Here's a thought. Am I allowed to think about  thinking? Or is it merely a thought for the  Day. At least it has got me  thinking thoughts for this blog entry. Ck 16/01/2015 revised 06 /01/20...

Well there we are; the tinsel comes down; the cards are read again and then re-cycled.  t The tree gets taken outside  to be rooted the garden and we are ready for 2016 With only 83 days to Easter, as at Sunday 3rd January, better get on with the blog! And In a far-off corner of the galaxy ,someone is busy writing another episode of " Star Wars. " Before Christmas d. and I went to the cinema to view the latest "  Star Wars "   'The Force Awakens. ' I felt, I should try to find fault with it, but in all honesty from the first desert (Saudi Arabia ) shots as the camera panned over the broken  machinery from past troubles, the film was a hugely enjoyable romp.  Director J.J. Abrams ( Lost ; Star Trek; Mission Impossible) keeps the action rolling; the  dialogue crisp and  full of humour. By the time  Hans Solo ( Harrison Ford )  appears the film feels as comfortable as a pair of one's favourite slippers. It seems there are secrets,...