Audrey Scott - Goodbye My Love..

One of my all time favourite lovers rock reggae tunes..spine tingling tune that hits the spot every time..

National Service Now..

Here i go again on my orange box having my two penneth worth..now i dont know how the majority feel about this, so i'm just basing this on my own thoughts and reactions to what i posted on facebook and twitter.

Ok its like this..the youth today are becoming public enemy number one at present and in some cases rightly so..now i'm not saying every kid in the uk is a total twat..but what i am saying is there are pockets in every community that will treat their surrounds with nothing but contempt and just never listen to reason.
I suggest all school leavers at 16 should be sent to the armed forces for full basic training, then on completion assigned a unit and educated with the help of universities and industry so that upon completion of 5 years service, they are armed with all the tools needed to gain employment and as young adults now, be able to contribute to society instead of breaking it.

I know certain families wont like this idea of their little charlie or caroline going away from home instead of 6th form then university..but hey for one they will become adults with morals, manners and respect as well as trained in the career of their choice...now i know it may take say 7 years to become a doctor for instance, but at least with this one exception, they will be close to the top of the ladder and ready for placement in our hospitals or staying within the armed forces.

Just think of the society in say 20 years from now with highly skilled well turned out young adults..the streets would be free of their antics..the pubs and clubs would be free from their antics, and we would be a more confidant nation as a whole, knowing the streets are a lot safer and that our youth are being taken care of by skilled people moulding them into the next generation of workers for the uk.

Also think of this, a lot of illegal immigrants would be forced to make a decision whether to fit in and abide by our rules and regs, or go back to their country of origin and take their kids with them or stay here, become british citizens and play the game.

It only takes politicians to adopt this idea and run with it opening purse strings and getting the backing of the majority to take this on board and use it to rebuild our broken society.
I honestly and truthfully cant see why this wont work..maybe you who is reading it can..i'm open to any suggestions and will make our local mp aware of this blog and how strongly i feel about society being rebuilt with good positive standards..WORTH A TRY SURELY..!!!

Wishing i was lucky..

The first few lines of this song could well be an indication of  a massive life changing opportunity that has come my way..i'm not going to tempt fate or count my free range chickens..but something seems right..something is stirring and an opportunity i've longed for is now within touching distance.
You know something i am lucky..i may not have wealth but i have a great family..i may not have what i had 20 years ago but i have magnetism..a cheeky dry sense of humour and the fire in my belly to give this one hell of a good go..HOLD TIGHT COS THIS IS LIFT OFF..!!!!

When i was a lad..

When i was a lad growing up in the north east i had my fair share of scrapes with the old bill..now i'm not proud of myself but hey it happened and thankfully i grew up and moved on.

Thinking about it and trying to make some kind of sense of what is going on in cities right now i feel i may have a valid point to put over here.

The violence of my era was mainly aimed at the police ,visiting football fans and the iron lady who seemed to be single handedly ripping our country and its hardworking communities apart..Racism was never an issue in middlesbrough or other areas in the north east where i had family living. and i happily mixed with pakistani and west indian lads and lasses at school and in my social life, whether it be playing or watching football or passing hours playing cricket in the park or street (something rarely seen these days)..yes there were fights..we were kids and kids do fight and fall out RIGHT.

Looking back we didn't have a lot in comparison to todays kids with their x-boxes laptops mobile phones and taste for the latest up to date fashion items..Those fashion items were way out of reach for most i mixed with..yes older ones had all the trendy gear but i know for a fact, most of it was robbed from shops on trips to away games or days out in newcastle or york.

I remember the pressures slowly filtering down to us and passed on to our parents..we wanted trainers not dunlop green flash plimsoles..we wanted kappa ski jackets...the list was becoming endless.

Right at the time of the above there was a massive wave of influence coming over the atlantic in the hip-hop breakdance rap street dance and house music scenes..To be part of this scene you had to have the gear and the tunes blasting out on a trendy ghetto blaster, complete with a square of lyno to fling yourself around on..NOT my thing but a good reference point for what i'm trying to say.

Yes america has saved our asses and backed us up in numerous ways helping to keep this country free and great..However i feel the influence of american culture has from the early 50's days of doo-wop, elvis then right through to todays mind numbing music and televisual feasts served up on cable and sky..Then of course theres the bain of my life and one of my pet hates FAST FOOD..yes i've tried it all and to be fair to it, it is edible but not the sort of shite i want on my plate on a daily basis.

The last thing i want to do is offend the brilliant american friends i've made via the internet and this is not aimed at you..BUT i'm afraid the influences your people created are destroying the very fabric of society and driving a wedge between teens and the rest of the population..its the teens that are our future and unless they cut free from the GHETTO GANGSTA type lifestyle they will only have one contribution to make..doing time for our gracious queen.

There are numerous factors causing kids and young adults to destroy steal and stick 2 fingers up at whats right at the moment..one of those factors is influence..lets hope as adults we are passing a good influence and shielding our kids from as much of this as we can, with constructive family lives, good diet and most importantly love shown from the heart not the wallet.

Beautiful lovers rock reggae

To me one of the finest soul tunes ever..

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YASIE..

Just a couple of photographs of the cake i constructed for a friends daughter..i'm over the moon that she liked it and have to say it was nice to dust off some of the old skills i've not used in quite some time now..i think i'm bitten by the bug for cake decoration again and would be happy to put something special together for anyone who would like a cake for a special occasion..

Too Much War - Marcia Davis - SPI/Living Room Records

My Paradise - North Norfolk...

There's something realy special about a visit to north norfolk..its taken quite a few visits up there for me to finally pin point why i love it so much..i've not explored the delights of wells and blakeney yet but will in the near future..im just basing this blog on my visits to cromer...

Upon entering cromer on the train from norwich you get a glimpse of the wonderfull north sea before heading into the very dingey tacky cromer railway station..dont be put off though cos theres so much to enjoy in cromer..walk past morrisons and along the road and you'll taste the sea literally..then before your very eyes appears the vast open north sea..a truly breath taking experience..glimpse to your right and the victorian pier with lifeboat station rises out of the sand and sea...the real jewell in the towns crown !!!!

It realy doesn't matter to me what the weather is like in north norfolk..i just embrace it for what it is and what it does for me..clearing the cobwebs from my head and refreshing my feet and inner self with a paddle in the sea..

Maybe its just me or maybe its the 1000's of visitors who head for cromer each year..im realy not sure ,but one thing that is for certain......

            

                                                              "IT'S MY PARADISE"

The pride of british boxing tony jeffries.

As most boxing fans will know..england has a long and proud tradition of producing some fine pugalists(thats boxers to you and me)...as an ex amateur boxer(more fights in the street than in the ring) it fills me with great pride to see young lads coming through the amateur ranks to olympic standard and then moving on to the pro-boxing circuit and being paid good money trying not to be punched senseless.

One such lad i take a keen interest in is tony jeffries from sunderland..a city not too far from my birthplace of hartlepool..he boxed to olympic standard and got a bronze medal in 2008 in beijing (china).

Now on 7 fights undefeated and in fine shape after his latest win on friday night by knockout with a killer body shot..i truly believe tony jeffries will become one of the greatest british boxers ever like joe calzaghe and lennox lewis  to name a couple..he has all the skills,reach..height..and a deft left hook and accurate jab..the north east once again is producing fine fine boxers to follow in the footsteps of greats like billy hardy,dave garside,glen mcrory and my personal favourite and fellow hartlepudlian michael hunter....keep your eyes peeled over the next couple of years boxing fans cos tony jeffries is something very special.