Today a rather groovy set of hole-punches arrived, via Amazon (along with Egg’s last album, 1974’s Civil Surface).
No, not miniature organ pipes.
They range from 0.5 mm to ???. I only used two tonight, the 0.5mm, for the radiator detailing covered in this post, and the 0.8mm, just see how they looked.
The 0.5 mm punch, and the bits it yields.
I used two different thicknesses of plastic card; the thinnest I have for these bits. I’m very pleased with the tools and the parts they produce.
Ta-dah!
I suppose such stuff still looks a bit rustic and home-made, compared to what the kit manufacturers themselves can do. But it’s a significant improvement on how I’ve made such parts up till now.
Panoramic views of the river (?)…… at (er… where?)
Some pictures from todays delivery routes. After a rainy start the day turned out really nice.
Whew… A tiny prison!Malefactors enter here.The Eaton Socon Cage, no less.View through the bars…The church at Eaton Socon.And the picturesque graveyard.
Ecclesiastical architecture really is my bag, baby. Although I’m a staunch humanist/atheist, or ‘naturalist and free thinker’, as A. C. Grayling styles it, I do love churches.
The church of (?), at (?).A sublime pano’.Gorgeous!
Wow! We used to play this tune a lot in my band, Capricorn. I didn’t know there was a little film for the song. I only found that out today! What a great number, what a great little film, and what a terrific band.
A lovely little back-road – which actually climbs what passes for hills in the flatlands of East Angular! – I far prefer to drive on than the A-roads in this area.
Being just off The Great North Road/Ermine Street, ‘Rogues Lane was noted for highwaymen.’ According to a local history website (read more here). I’m not sure about this, but I fancy Dick Turnip might’ve been fairly local.
The local gibbet, in yesteryear.
And not far away, lay Caxton Gibbet, where such rogues might wind up, dancing the Tyburn Jig, for the entertainment and edification of locals and passers by!
And more recently.*
Teresa and I looked at a property on this fab country road. I can’t recall now if it was a rental, or sale? Would’ve been nice to have a home address that was on Rogues Lane, methinks.
* In the background, the burnt out shell (now replaced by a complex of McDonalds, Subway, etc.) of what was once the Gibbet Inn, and – when it (was?) burned down – the (rather good) Yim Wah Chinese restaurant.
Another nice car spotted whilst out delivering. This one is for sale. But I didn’t bother asking the price. As I have absolutely no money. A beautiful model/colour. But a bit ‘souped up’. The alloy wheels are alright. But the red grill!? Hmmm… not so sure!
Well… I went to our local Sainsburys, to collect Teresa, when who should I spy crossing the car park? Chester!
Teresa’s overjoyed to get him back home.
Initially it was just… oh, look at that black cat. He looks exactly like Chester. Then I thought, ok, maybe it is Chester! What’s he doing so far from ours!?
Look at those faces!
He’d gone into some bushes. But calling to him brought him back out. And sure enough, it was Chester. As well as being nigh on invisible under many conditions, black cats can be almost indistinguishable.
Relief, is a smile.
But a little shaven patch on the back of his neck/shoulders, from a recent visit to the vet, in addition to my just knowing it was him, and his obviously recognising me, sealed the certainty.
Wild eyes!
It wasn’t easy to get him in the car. Nor, once in there, to have him remain there, whilst I got Teresa. he seemed distressed, miaowing a lot. Did he follow Teresa, when she walked to the shops?
Calming down a bit…
Once we were all in the car – normally he’d be in his cat-carrier – he seemed to calm down. It was really very sweet watching him explore the car freely.
Back home.
What a relief it was to finally get home, and get him indoors. We had him tucking into some food, and purring away, ASAP.
Dave, Mont and Clive.Debut album, 1970.Polite Force, 1971.Civil Surface, 1974
Some recent interaction on Facebook made me think of Egg’s first and only single, 1969’s Seven Is A Jolly Good Time.
It’s not my favourite track by this fab group, from the hugely interesting Canterbury Scene era. But I do like it. As much for its subject/sentiment, as the music.
I have to thank my Goldsmith’s College pal Brennan Young for introducing me to this particular ‘beat combo’. Thanks, buddy!
I decided I’d poichase what I could of their catalogue. So I’ve ordered CDs of their self-titled 1970 debut, The Polite Force (‘71), The Civil Surface (‘74), and The Metronomical Society.
The latter, a 2007 release, is, according to burningshed.com ‘a collection of live and studio recordings made by the pioneering trio between 1969 and 1972. It features archive material unheard for nearly 40 years, including a sizeable segment of Egg’s last Roundhouse concert which demonstrates the group’s live power. Also included are superior versions of tracks from the band’s radio sessions, previously available only on poor-quality bootlegs.’
One immediately odd thing is that the cover of Metronomical Society pictures a quartet, when the band was – as far as I know – only ever a trio. Perhaps the booklet that comes with this CD will illuminate or clarify?
The video immediately above plays the version of this song many, myself included, will most likely know. There are of course many others. Some of which this post includes.
Huddie Leadbetter’s orig’ 12-string version.
Pete Seeger himself tells this story of the songs origin, as you can hear here:
There are loads of folk doing versions of this classic online, mostly attempting to emulate the Pete Seegers/Weavers version. But some do later more pop/country type takes, more in the Jimmie Rodgers or Peter, Paul & Mary line (the latter performing here with Andy Williams):
There are a couple of more interesting ones, however, including one by Pete Seeger himself, doing a banjo version (see below), and this one:
What I like about the above – which is quite a raw almost clumsy sounding rendition – is that the guy going it is going back to the Leadbelly version. He even refers to the trad Irish tune ‘Drimmin Down’, that he says is the songs Irish origin. I’ll have to check that out!
Huddie – pronounced ‘who-dee’ – Leadbetter plays it on a 12-string. I’ve not seen or heard anyone else (yet) do it that way. I might do it. And I might also jazz it up harmonically. Hmmm!?
I wonder what Leadbelly and his Irish influences would’ve thought of the Jimmie Rogers version? Guitarists, note Rogers’ use of the ‘over the top’ thumb! Mind, he might’ve just been miming.
And coming back full circle, to The Weavers’ version, here they are doing it live at Carnegie Hall, way back in ‘55:
