Thursday 25 June 2015
Deafblind Awareness Week: a blog about my running
The sport of running is booming in the UK right now. A recent Sport England survey found the number of people running stands at over 2.1 million, with only swimming more popular.
As a runner for over 20 years, I’ve definitely noticed the recent significant rise in participation in my sport. Community initiatives such as parkrun, and practical guides like the NHS Couch to 5K podcasts are playing a vital part in shifting running from a world inhabited mostly by mega-competitive, mud-loving mavericks, to one which is a regular pass-time for people of all abilities, ages, fitness levels and ambitions.
I’ve completed five marathons – personal best 3 hours 29.36, Berlin 2012 – and am training for Nottingham later in the year. I, like thousands of others, am a regular at parkrun, with a personal best over 5k of 20 minutes 09 seconds.
My deafblindness is as a result of the genetic condition Usher Syndrome. I have limited vision – light and dark perception, and am profoundly deaf. With the use of hearing aids this is significantly improved, in the majority of situations my hearing is the lesser of the two impairments. It’s quite common for people not to realise the severity until they think I’m ignoring them or not paying attention (confession, sometimes that’s the truth, ha!). This does have it’s downsides of course. I often find conversation in noisier environments wash over me and concentration to keep up with what is going on around me can be tiring. Then there’s the regular assumption that anyone who can’t see must have amazing hearing.
As I have sufficient hearing to be able to communicate verbally, it is my sight which is the dominant impairment for running. For me to run, assistance from guide runners is essential. Using a sweatband bandanna often popular with tennis players, I’ve tied a knot in the middle which creates too smaller loops. The guide runs alongside me with us holding a loop each. As we’re joined by something small enough to fit round a person’s head, the gap between guide and runner is small; however there is enough space to allow for freedom of arm movement and consequently a more relaxed, natural running style, whilst we’re not too far apart that the guide is unable to take control when necessary.
My hearing impairment does have a limited impact on my running. A good guide/athlete relationship is essential for success, and there are times when my hearing means the guide needs to work harder than they might for other blind runners. Running on windy days often makes it harder to hear.
If it so much as looks like rain I always run in a woolly hat as hearing aids are not water-proof. When I ran the Loch Ness Marathon I made the mistake of believing the weather forecast and left my hat at the hotel – it’s the Scottish Highlands, what was I thinking? A downpour 2 miles into the race meant I ran hearing aid-less for the remaining 24. Whilst my guide had a loud voice, I have absolutely no idea what the race atmosphere was like, a big part of the enjoyment of any event.
Digital hearing aids infuriating insistence on adjusting to noise levels makes my ability to judge my own surroundings by sound trickier. Crowded races can present a challenge, so running with a guide I trust is essential. Parkrun, with it’s “run not a race” mantra has provided excellent opportunities for newer guides to practise in busier environments, before I throw them into an actual race where amongst other things, they have to deal with my reckless style - run hard from the start and hope for the best.
My left is the stronger of my ears and so the guide always runs on that side. With marathon training requiring runs of 3 hours, this does make me more susceptible to injuries. A look through my physio’s records shows she has had to work on virtually every muscle on the left, with far less work needed for the right. Yoga proved to be a great help in dealing with the lop-sided strains of running, however with balance being more difficult for me as a deafblind person, not being able to watch an instructor and hearing being awkward – especially during the bits when my head is upside down - one-to-one coaching is my preferable option. This however has proved more expensive and, at times, harder to organise.
Running’s boom is partly due to how easy it is to start. All a person needs is a reasonable pair of running shoes and somewhere to run. This is also the case for a deafblind person like me, with one obvious addition; I need someone to run with. Thanks to an internet search eight years ago I’m a member of The Stragglers Running Club in Kingston. From day one they were very enthusiastic about integrating me into the club, with many runners offering to take a turn at learning how to guide. I have heard stories about other clubs which aren’t so open. As a result of this support, I don’t consider my achievement to be that I run, something which I’m often told is how other people view me. I prefer people to be impressed by athletic achievement, such as it might be, rather than overcoming any physical barrier.
There are great benefits for the guide too; the loneliness of the long-distance runner is never an issue. Unfortunately age will eventually catch up with all of us, and for runners this can mean those personal bests become a distant memory – I’m pleased to say I’ve not reached that point just yet. I do know that for some guides, the opportunity to take on the challenge of helping someone else to a new personal best is as rewarding as if they were aiming for their own.
As an outdoors-minded person, I can often be frustrated by restrictions on freedom deafblindness places on me. It’s simply not practical for me to get on a train and head for the hills whenever I feel like it. The running lifestyle I’ve created, with the support of others does allow me to satisfy my restlessness and desire to be outside, something a gym membership for example doesn’t do. I could run on a treadmill whenever I like, but for me that’s not the same as feeling the mud on my legs, the sun on my arms, the wind in my face and pulling my woolly hat down over my ears to keep the rain out.
If you would like to read more about how I run, in 2014 I self-published a book focusing on my debut marathon – London in 2011 – and my subsequent exploration of what I ran past along the 26.2 mile course. Find out more at www.runningblindbook.com
This article first appeared on Molly-Watt-Trust.org
Tuesday 12 July 2011
This one still doesn't have a name
Jack switched the TV off. He knew the tanks that were approaching the city would arrive eventually; he didn’t need to watch the action unfold on a rolling news channel.
He was worried. Would being a Brit make him more of a target it the army found out he was here?
His thoughts were interrupted by the door buzzer. Uneasily, he walked across the living room of his second floor flat.
“Hello”.
“Jack, it’s me.”
He had been pretty certain it would be Nick, but in these unstable times Jack feared the worst at every opportunity. His first job in a British embassy abroad and he’d certainly been thrown in at the deep end, dispatched to a country in such a volatile political situation. He knew they were there to do a job, but he was also aware of the potential danger that lay ahead.
Nick on the other hand was a ‘been there, seen it, done it’ sort of bloke, not in the least bit phased by the fact that all foreign residents except for absolutely essential workers such as they, had long since left the city.
“Things don’t look good do they,” Jack commented as Nick entered his living room.
“They’ve been better,” he conceded with a shrug. “The folks at home certainly think it’s bad enough to insist all Brits leave town, which is why the likes of you and I have a busy few days ahead of us. The army aren’t far away now and things could get pretty lively round these parts.”
To Jack’s amazement, Nick followed this by suggesting they go out for some dinner.
“I know a great little place a couple of minutes walk from here.”
Then, bringing the tone back to the present situation he added. “If the tanks are backed up with planes, we don’t want to be two floors up.”
The streets of the city were, unsurprisingly, deserted. Jack thought it was a surreal sight for this place was usually so vibrant at all hours.
The small side street restaurant they were heading for looked for all the world to be as shut as everywhere else, but Nick knew the area well, and as they approached Jack picked up the smell of food.
There were only three other people inside as they entered, one waiter and a couple, who turned out to be American.
“Ah! Mr Johnson,” the waiter beamed, welcoming Nick as if it was just a regular evening.
“This is Jack, a colleague of mine.”
The waiter shook Jack warmly by the hand. It was all just so; Jack couldn’t put his finger on how he felt the others were behaving, blinkered, complacent?
“How come you’re open when everywhere else is preparing for the inevitable?” he asked.
“A man’s got to earn a living after all,” replied the waiter, who it quickly became apparent was also the chef. “Plus, you people want to eat don’t you?”
There was no menu, but bowls of rice, vegetables and fish were appearing on the tables of both Jack and Nick, and the Americans.
Just as it seemed the evening was going to pass like any other, Jack suddenly stopped eating and gestured for the others to break their conversation.
”Listen.”
Which they did, and they all heard the sound of gunfire, sounding like it was some distance off, but they knew the city was under attack.
The waiter, still seemingly more concerned with being hospitable than impending danger, pointed to a roulette wheel in the corner of the room. A restaurant off the beaten track, in addition to alcohol being freely available, gambling was a fixture of meal times.
“See this? I say we play. Red we live, and we know no matter what they throw at us everything will be OK. And if it’s black, we have enough time to pray so we go to a better place when the army come.”
If Jack had been in any doubt this man was a nutter before, he knew for certain he was now. Nick however was all for passing the time with the idea of gambling on their very survival. One of those, good at anything competitive types, it was no surprise that as the ball began to lose it’s momentum, it seemed instinctively to know it’s role in proceedings was to head for red.
No sooner had the waiter proposed opening a second bottle of wine to celebrate the long and fruitful lives that lay ahead of all of them, there was more gunfire, and this time, much closer, and accompanied by the roar of engines over head.
“Quick, under the tables,” Nick shouted, “we’ll be safer there.”
There was a huge explosion, shattering the windows. Then, weakened by the force of the bomb that had been dropped nearby, the front wall started to give way, in turn causing part of the ceiling to cave in. Nick’s suggestion they’d be better off in a single story building rather than a block of flats turning out to be proved correct.
Jack remained motionless. As the nearest to the back of the room, he had been the one in the least amount of danger as the building started to collapse. He daren’t move though, what if the enemy were close by? What if he disturbed a part of the building just waiting for an opportunity to fall?
After what seemed like a lifetime, he heard Nick’s voice asking “is everybody OK?”
Jack crawled out from under the table and stood up. He heard first a female, then male voice, confirming that both their American companions were alive at least.
The waiter, so confident when the roulette wheel produced red, hadn’t been so lucky.
Task: this was the final homework piece. We had to write something, between 800 and 900 words, based on the narative structure of a piece we read in class. For what it's worth, what I've written is a almost exact retelling of a dream I had a couple of days before the homework was due in.
Tutor comment: you have departed from the original to the point where the influence is undetectable. This is fine. It did the trick of getting a piece written. The central episode - the roulette wheel at the restaurant - is very promsiign, but the writing at times is a little muffled by cliches: "thrown in at the deep end", "not in the least bit phased", "couldn't put his finger on". Given more space to develop the story, you could have gone into more detail about the
psychological impact of such an extreme situation on these characters.
Well done on what has been a very good term's work.
He was worried. Would being a Brit make him more of a target it the army found out he was here?
His thoughts were interrupted by the door buzzer. Uneasily, he walked across the living room of his second floor flat.
“Hello”.
“Jack, it’s me.”
He had been pretty certain it would be Nick, but in these unstable times Jack feared the worst at every opportunity. His first job in a British embassy abroad and he’d certainly been thrown in at the deep end, dispatched to a country in such a volatile political situation. He knew they were there to do a job, but he was also aware of the potential danger that lay ahead.
Nick on the other hand was a ‘been there, seen it, done it’ sort of bloke, not in the least bit phased by the fact that all foreign residents except for absolutely essential workers such as they, had long since left the city.
“Things don’t look good do they,” Jack commented as Nick entered his living room.
“They’ve been better,” he conceded with a shrug. “The folks at home certainly think it’s bad enough to insist all Brits leave town, which is why the likes of you and I have a busy few days ahead of us. The army aren’t far away now and things could get pretty lively round these parts.”
To Jack’s amazement, Nick followed this by suggesting they go out for some dinner.
“I know a great little place a couple of minutes walk from here.”
Then, bringing the tone back to the present situation he added. “If the tanks are backed up with planes, we don’t want to be two floors up.”
The streets of the city were, unsurprisingly, deserted. Jack thought it was a surreal sight for this place was usually so vibrant at all hours.
The small side street restaurant they were heading for looked for all the world to be as shut as everywhere else, but Nick knew the area well, and as they approached Jack picked up the smell of food.
There were only three other people inside as they entered, one waiter and a couple, who turned out to be American.
“Ah! Mr Johnson,” the waiter beamed, welcoming Nick as if it was just a regular evening.
“This is Jack, a colleague of mine.”
The waiter shook Jack warmly by the hand. It was all just so; Jack couldn’t put his finger on how he felt the others were behaving, blinkered, complacent?
“How come you’re open when everywhere else is preparing for the inevitable?” he asked.
“A man’s got to earn a living after all,” replied the waiter, who it quickly became apparent was also the chef. “Plus, you people want to eat don’t you?”
There was no menu, but bowls of rice, vegetables and fish were appearing on the tables of both Jack and Nick, and the Americans.
Just as it seemed the evening was going to pass like any other, Jack suddenly stopped eating and gestured for the others to break their conversation.
”Listen.”
Which they did, and they all heard the sound of gunfire, sounding like it was some distance off, but they knew the city was under attack.
The waiter, still seemingly more concerned with being hospitable than impending danger, pointed to a roulette wheel in the corner of the room. A restaurant off the beaten track, in addition to alcohol being freely available, gambling was a fixture of meal times.
“See this? I say we play. Red we live, and we know no matter what they throw at us everything will be OK. And if it’s black, we have enough time to pray so we go to a better place when the army come.”
If Jack had been in any doubt this man was a nutter before, he knew for certain he was now. Nick however was all for passing the time with the idea of gambling on their very survival. One of those, good at anything competitive types, it was no surprise that as the ball began to lose it’s momentum, it seemed instinctively to know it’s role in proceedings was to head for red.
No sooner had the waiter proposed opening a second bottle of wine to celebrate the long and fruitful lives that lay ahead of all of them, there was more gunfire, and this time, much closer, and accompanied by the roar of engines over head.
“Quick, under the tables,” Nick shouted, “we’ll be safer there.”
There was a huge explosion, shattering the windows. Then, weakened by the force of the bomb that had been dropped nearby, the front wall started to give way, in turn causing part of the ceiling to cave in. Nick’s suggestion they’d be better off in a single story building rather than a block of flats turning out to be proved correct.
Jack remained motionless. As the nearest to the back of the room, he had been the one in the least amount of danger as the building started to collapse. He daren’t move though, what if the enemy were close by? What if he disturbed a part of the building just waiting for an opportunity to fall?
After what seemed like a lifetime, he heard Nick’s voice asking “is everybody OK?”
Jack crawled out from under the table and stood up. He heard first a female, then male voice, confirming that both their American companions were alive at least.
The waiter, so confident when the roulette wheel produced red, hadn’t been so lucky.
Task: this was the final homework piece. We had to write something, between 800 and 900 words, based on the narative structure of a piece we read in class. For what it's worth, what I've written is a almost exact retelling of a dream I had a couple of days before the homework was due in.
Tutor comment: you have departed from the original to the point where the influence is undetectable. This is fine. It did the trick of getting a piece written. The central episode - the roulette wheel at the restaurant - is very promsiign, but the writing at times is a little muffled by cliches: "thrown in at the deep end", "not in the least bit phased", "couldn't put his finger on". Given more space to develop the story, you could have gone into more detail about the
psychological impact of such an extreme situation on these characters.
Well done on what has been a very good term's work.
Friday 4 February 2011
A Beginners Guide to Rugby: written for TheFirstPint.co.uk
February is a big month for rugby fans with two major competitions kicking off. England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy will battle it out for the Rugby Union 6 Nations Championship, a title which allows the winner to proudly call themselves the best in the Northern Hemisphere going into this year’s World Cup. Meanwhile, teams from England, Wales and France are preparing to get stuck into another Rugby League Engage Super League season – a gruelling nine-month contest between 14 teams, climaxing in a grand final at Old Trafford in Manchester.
“Wait a minute! I thought rugby was rugby, what’s this Union and League thing you speak of?” sports amateurs may ask. “I’ve seen on TV, big blokes rolling about in the mud, fighting over a ball that’s shaped like an egg. You mean I might have been watching two different games and not even realised it?”
Ah- yes, perhaps you have. And before you say it all looks the same, it really is not! People in places like Gloucester, Wigan, Leicester and Hull get very precious about which is better.
To spare you the inconvenience of having to ask a diehard of one of the two codes to explain, here are a few basic points for starters:
Rugby Union has 15 players per team while League has 13.
The points awarded for scoring are different – you get 5 points for a try in Union, 4 in League.
The Union season runs from September to May; the League season from February to October.
In League a team is permitted to attack for as long as their opponent can complete 6 tackles, after which they either score, use their own creativity to win another six tackles or, as is often the case, hand over possession to their opponents.
In Union there is no tackle limit, meaning teams must win possession during open play. In both codes, possession can also be given away through penalties being awarded for rules not being adhered to.
Overall, Union’s international competition is far stronger, with a greater number of countries expected to have a chance at winning the 2011 World Cup in Union than will for the League World Cup in 2013.
Although League has a top level professional team in London and the game is widely played in the Capital, London, like much of England south of Sheffield, is a Union country. However, go north into Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria and it’s very different. Cross the border into Scotland and League is nowhere, with Union fighting football for attention.
Geographical divide in history
Geography is a very important part of the introduction to Rugby and the very reason why we have two forms of the sport at all.
In the 19th century, teams from North and South were happily competing with each other. But those playing the game in the South were often from public schools and privileged backgrounds and on the whole wealthier, which means they could play on a Saturday and not be concerned with losing a day’s pay. Clubs in the North, however, would be fielding teams predominantly made up of minors, factory workers and other working class professions. Players were faced with the dilemma of having to take time off work in order to play Rugby.
The Northern clubs took the bold step of paying their players by way of compensation for the money they were losing for having to take time off from the day job. Bradford and Leeds were the first to be charged with going against the spirit of the game. To say this didn’t go down well with the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the Southern-based rulers of the sport, is an understatement. The RFU believed the game should remain amateur and so the Northern Rugby Football Union was founded in 1895, followed by the creation of Rugby League. Union eventually turned professional in 1995.
For the most part, Union is the dominant code globally, except in Australia, New Zealand and some regions in France, where League is more popular.
London – a blessed land for rugby lovers
Those of us in London are lucky enough to be able to see top level professional Union and League. Not only do we have England Union internationals at Twickenham and League’s Challenge Cup Final at Wembley, but The Stoop in Twickenham is home to the duel code club Harlequins. As one of the most famous names in club Rugby Union, Harlequins have existed since 1866, although in their early years they were called Hamstead.
The history of Harlequins Rugby League has been far shorter and much more difficult. Founded in 1980 as Fulham, the club has moved around the Capital, changing their name on a number of occasions. They have had their current name and home since 2006.
If you’re prepared to travel out of London then Union clubs London Irish can be seen in Reading, Wasps in Wickham and Sarrisons at Vicarage Road in Watford. The latter play selected home games at Wembley Stadium where crowds of over 50,000 gather.
League names to look out for include London Skolars (who play in National League 2), plus ammetre sides South London Storm, West London Sharks and Greenwich Admirals, all of whom have seen players move on to Harlequins and in the case of Greenwich, England. There are also countless Union clubs to catch a game at, including Esher, Richmond and London Scottish.
This article was written for
www.thefirstpint.co.uk
“Wait a minute! I thought rugby was rugby, what’s this Union and League thing you speak of?” sports amateurs may ask. “I’ve seen on TV, big blokes rolling about in the mud, fighting over a ball that’s shaped like an egg. You mean I might have been watching two different games and not even realised it?”
Ah- yes, perhaps you have. And before you say it all looks the same, it really is not! People in places like Gloucester, Wigan, Leicester and Hull get very precious about which is better.
To spare you the inconvenience of having to ask a diehard of one of the two codes to explain, here are a few basic points for starters:
Rugby Union has 15 players per team while League has 13.
The points awarded for scoring are different – you get 5 points for a try in Union, 4 in League.
The Union season runs from September to May; the League season from February to October.
In League a team is permitted to attack for as long as their opponent can complete 6 tackles, after which they either score, use their own creativity to win another six tackles or, as is often the case, hand over possession to their opponents.
In Union there is no tackle limit, meaning teams must win possession during open play. In both codes, possession can also be given away through penalties being awarded for rules not being adhered to.
Overall, Union’s international competition is far stronger, with a greater number of countries expected to have a chance at winning the 2011 World Cup in Union than will for the League World Cup in 2013.
Although League has a top level professional team in London and the game is widely played in the Capital, London, like much of England south of Sheffield, is a Union country. However, go north into Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria and it’s very different. Cross the border into Scotland and League is nowhere, with Union fighting football for attention.
Geographical divide in history
Geography is a very important part of the introduction to Rugby and the very reason why we have two forms of the sport at all.
In the 19th century, teams from North and South were happily competing with each other. But those playing the game in the South were often from public schools and privileged backgrounds and on the whole wealthier, which means they could play on a Saturday and not be concerned with losing a day’s pay. Clubs in the North, however, would be fielding teams predominantly made up of minors, factory workers and other working class professions. Players were faced with the dilemma of having to take time off work in order to play Rugby.
The Northern clubs took the bold step of paying their players by way of compensation for the money they were losing for having to take time off from the day job. Bradford and Leeds were the first to be charged with going against the spirit of the game. To say this didn’t go down well with the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the Southern-based rulers of the sport, is an understatement. The RFU believed the game should remain amateur and so the Northern Rugby Football Union was founded in 1895, followed by the creation of Rugby League. Union eventually turned professional in 1995.
For the most part, Union is the dominant code globally, except in Australia, New Zealand and some regions in France, where League is more popular.
London – a blessed land for rugby lovers
Those of us in London are lucky enough to be able to see top level professional Union and League. Not only do we have England Union internationals at Twickenham and League’s Challenge Cup Final at Wembley, but The Stoop in Twickenham is home to the duel code club Harlequins. As one of the most famous names in club Rugby Union, Harlequins have existed since 1866, although in their early years they were called Hamstead.
The history of Harlequins Rugby League has been far shorter and much more difficult. Founded in 1980 as Fulham, the club has moved around the Capital, changing their name on a number of occasions. They have had their current name and home since 2006.
If you’re prepared to travel out of London then Union clubs London Irish can be seen in Reading, Wasps in Wickham and Sarrisons at Vicarage Road in Watford. The latter play selected home games at Wembley Stadium where crowds of over 50,000 gather.
League names to look out for include London Skolars (who play in National League 2), plus ammetre sides South London Storm, West London Sharks and Greenwich Admirals, all of whom have seen players move on to Harlequins and in the case of Greenwich, England. There are also countless Union clubs to catch a game at, including Esher, Richmond and London Scottish.
This article was written for
www.thefirstpint.co.uk
Thursday 30 December 2010
Top Ten of 2010
While I was writing for www.roomthirteen.com, it was my responsibility to compile the staff album review of the year each December. Let’s just say, accommodating the views of opinionated music fans who feel as strongly about what they don’t like as what they do, in a way that best represented everyone was one hell of a challenge.
Unlike most magazines and webzines, we never ranked our list in chart form, it’s an impossible task trying to decide if Slayer is better or worse than Regina Spektor, but even coming up with a list that didn’t rock the boat by what was left out was harder work than you might think.
I no longer have to perform that act and haven’t even looked at the album poles in the music press these past few weeks.
I did however think for a bit of fun I would come up with my ten favourite songs of the past twelve months, something which I didn’t think would be too difficult.
A lot of the music which I’d have been interested in a couple of years ago has passed me by this year. This summer was the first since 2000 that I didn’t attend a single music festival and I do feel a little out of touch: maybe that’s not such a bad thing. All that said, it still took far longer than I’d expected to get this list down to ten. I'm sure I've missed something but here goes:
Biffy Clyro – ‘Bubbles’
Deciding between this and ‘Many of Horror’ was almost impossible. ‘Bubbles’ was my favourite track on the Biffy album when it came out, and I was really pleased they released it as a single so radio stations would play it. That said, I’ve always loved ‘Many of Horror’ and if I hadn’t made a rule that I’d only have one song per artist on this list, I might have put both in. For the record, I don’t mind X-Factor using the song, I find Matt thingys voice makes my skin crawl when he goes into bloke singing like a girl mode, plus, the production is a bit too boyband for my liking. But if more people discover Biffy Clyro because of it then that’s got to be good, right?
Eminem – ‘Love the Way You Lie’
OK, so I don’t much care for Eminem, or Rihanna for that matter. I’m not sure what it says about me that I’ve included the biggest selling single of the year on my list either. Rihanna’s vocals really stuck in my head, Eminem’s not so much. I fully expected to lose interest in this song after a week or so, but, six months later, I still really enjoy listening to it. Oh, and I really like the drums on this track.
Hot Chip – One Life Stand
Because of the number of festivals I’ve been to over the last decade, there are very few bands that have been around for a while who I want to see but haven’t. Hot Chip are one of these. There’s something fantasticly retro eighties pop about this track, whilst at the same time being very laid back. Reminds me of The Whip who were one of my favourite live bands a couple of years ago.
Jonsi – ‘Go Do’
I think the reason why I like it is, it’s just odd, but then, it does come from ya man from Sigur Ros so it was always likely to be a little unusual. If the vocals were a bit more mainstream this song could have been a huge pop hit, but that would mean it would lose most of its charm.
King Blues – ‘Head Butt’
I think the reason I feel a little out of touch with current music is because I’ve not been going to as many gigs recently. The King Blues are an example of a band totally discovered at festivals, first Guilfest then Leeds. Ska, punk, reggae and a touch of folk thrown in together, with a strong political and social edge to the lyrics, King Blues are definitely one of my favourite live bands, and ‘Head Butt’ is one of their finest moments to date.
Kylie Minogue – ‘All the Lovers’
Ah, now, yes, Kylie does seem to have slipped through the net. I’ve never hated Kylie, but I’ve never loved her either. Her songs are fine in a, in the right mood, take it or leave it kind of way. To my ears this song has a slight 80s, disco edge to it. Most of all though it’s just damn catchy.
Nelly – ‘Just A Dream’
Even more than Eminem, I thought this song was one of those I’d like listening to for a week or so while it was stuck in my head, but quickly it would be shown up for the averageness it was. Erm, something seems to have gone wrong here. Nelly is on this list for catchyness alone, I just can’t help it, sorry.
Robert Plant – ‘Angel Dance’
There were those who were disappointed when Robert Plant refused to rejoin his Led Zep colleagues on a more permanent basis than one O2 Arena show: not me. So it might have been fun to see them play the classics in a big field somewhere, but there’s a part of me that wishes every old band under the sun doesn’t automatically have to reform for the festival circuit. Plant’s decision also means he can carry on releasing great solo material, he’s very much in his prime on that front.
Tensnake – ‘Coma Cat’
It’s like we’ve got in a time machine and gone back to when Orbital were at their best. Nothing more needs to be said.
Frank Turner – ‘Try This at Home’
One of the best things about being a music journalist, as I laughably described myself for a while, was seeing someone you’d written about at the very start of their career, rise to the point where this year, amongst other things, they supported Green Day at Wembley Stadium: a long way from the Fighting Cocks in Kingston. This became a single around the time of the Green Day tour, and is one of my two favourite songs from last year’s ‘Poetry of the Deed’ album. This wouldn’t get in my top ten Frank Turner songs list, but is enough to make this one.
Unlike most magazines and webzines, we never ranked our list in chart form, it’s an impossible task trying to decide if Slayer is better or worse than Regina Spektor, but even coming up with a list that didn’t rock the boat by what was left out was harder work than you might think.
I no longer have to perform that act and haven’t even looked at the album poles in the music press these past few weeks.
I did however think for a bit of fun I would come up with my ten favourite songs of the past twelve months, something which I didn’t think would be too difficult.
A lot of the music which I’d have been interested in a couple of years ago has passed me by this year. This summer was the first since 2000 that I didn’t attend a single music festival and I do feel a little out of touch: maybe that’s not such a bad thing. All that said, it still took far longer than I’d expected to get this list down to ten. I'm sure I've missed something but here goes:
Biffy Clyro – ‘Bubbles’
Deciding between this and ‘Many of Horror’ was almost impossible. ‘Bubbles’ was my favourite track on the Biffy album when it came out, and I was really pleased they released it as a single so radio stations would play it. That said, I’ve always loved ‘Many of Horror’ and if I hadn’t made a rule that I’d only have one song per artist on this list, I might have put both in. For the record, I don’t mind X-Factor using the song, I find Matt thingys voice makes my skin crawl when he goes into bloke singing like a girl mode, plus, the production is a bit too boyband for my liking. But if more people discover Biffy Clyro because of it then that’s got to be good, right?
Eminem – ‘Love the Way You Lie’
OK, so I don’t much care for Eminem, or Rihanna for that matter. I’m not sure what it says about me that I’ve included the biggest selling single of the year on my list either. Rihanna’s vocals really stuck in my head, Eminem’s not so much. I fully expected to lose interest in this song after a week or so, but, six months later, I still really enjoy listening to it. Oh, and I really like the drums on this track.
Hot Chip – One Life Stand
Because of the number of festivals I’ve been to over the last decade, there are very few bands that have been around for a while who I want to see but haven’t. Hot Chip are one of these. There’s something fantasticly retro eighties pop about this track, whilst at the same time being very laid back. Reminds me of The Whip who were one of my favourite live bands a couple of years ago.
Jonsi – ‘Go Do’
I think the reason why I like it is, it’s just odd, but then, it does come from ya man from Sigur Ros so it was always likely to be a little unusual. If the vocals were a bit more mainstream this song could have been a huge pop hit, but that would mean it would lose most of its charm.
King Blues – ‘Head Butt’
I think the reason I feel a little out of touch with current music is because I’ve not been going to as many gigs recently. The King Blues are an example of a band totally discovered at festivals, first Guilfest then Leeds. Ska, punk, reggae and a touch of folk thrown in together, with a strong political and social edge to the lyrics, King Blues are definitely one of my favourite live bands, and ‘Head Butt’ is one of their finest moments to date.
Kylie Minogue – ‘All the Lovers’
Ah, now, yes, Kylie does seem to have slipped through the net. I’ve never hated Kylie, but I’ve never loved her either. Her songs are fine in a, in the right mood, take it or leave it kind of way. To my ears this song has a slight 80s, disco edge to it. Most of all though it’s just damn catchy.
Nelly – ‘Just A Dream’
Even more than Eminem, I thought this song was one of those I’d like listening to for a week or so while it was stuck in my head, but quickly it would be shown up for the averageness it was. Erm, something seems to have gone wrong here. Nelly is on this list for catchyness alone, I just can’t help it, sorry.
Robert Plant – ‘Angel Dance’
There were those who were disappointed when Robert Plant refused to rejoin his Led Zep colleagues on a more permanent basis than one O2 Arena show: not me. So it might have been fun to see them play the classics in a big field somewhere, but there’s a part of me that wishes every old band under the sun doesn’t automatically have to reform for the festival circuit. Plant’s decision also means he can carry on releasing great solo material, he’s very much in his prime on that front.
Tensnake – ‘Coma Cat’
It’s like we’ve got in a time machine and gone back to when Orbital were at their best. Nothing more needs to be said.
Frank Turner – ‘Try This at Home’
One of the best things about being a music journalist, as I laughably described myself for a while, was seeing someone you’d written about at the very start of their career, rise to the point where this year, amongst other things, they supported Green Day at Wembley Stadium: a long way from the Fighting Cocks in Kingston. This became a single around the time of the Green Day tour, and is one of my two favourite songs from last year’s ‘Poetry of the Deed’ album. This wouldn’t get in my top ten Frank Turner songs list, but is enough to make this one.
Monday 27 December 2010
Blogs
This is just a short post to draw your attention towards other blogs I write.
My main blog right now is the one I'm keeping, following my training for the 2011 London Marathon. See how I'm getting on here.
The other is a writing project I've had for a while, which has stalled somewhat. The idea was to write about life in London, with the ultimate dream of getting it to a point where it could become a book. It's not going so well at the moment, I've not written anything new for months, but some of it is here.
My main blog right now is the one I'm keeping, following my training for the 2011 London Marathon. See how I'm getting on here.
The other is a writing project I've had for a while, which has stalled somewhat. The idea was to write about life in London, with the ultimate dream of getting it to a point where it could become a book. It's not going so well at the moment, I've not written anything new for months, but some of it is here.
Friday 24 December 2010
More To Rage Than Giving Cowell A Good Kicking
One year on from all the fun and games which surrounded the race for Christmas number 1, I’m posting the article I wrote on the subject for the
Social Arts Network.
For the first time since
Band Aid in 2004, we have a Christmas number 1 that hasn’t been produced from
Simon Cowell’s reality TV conveyer belt.
Rage Against the Machine sold over half a million downloads of their early nineties hit, if you can call getting to number 25 such a thing,
‘Killing in the Name’. This saw them take the top spot by 50,000 more sales than
X-factor winner Joe. Those in the media that know about such things are calling this one of the biggest shocks in chart history, up there with
Mr. Blobby beating
Take That to the festive number 1 back in 1993.
The people behind the RATM campaign certainly achieved their goals in not only defeating Cowell’s latest pop product, but restoring the race for Christmas number 1 to the status it held less than a decade ago, when it was the most talked about sales week of any year.
While Facebook and Twitter has been a wash with people celebrating a victory for real music, sticking the boot into Simon Cowell or, already wondering what could do it next year, it’s also worth reflecting on another major part of the Rage success, something which did get slightly overlooked in the hysteria.
Those that created the Facebook campaign, as well as encouraging people to download ‘Killing in the Name’, also suggested group members might like to make a small donation to
Shelter. In doing so, £72,000 has been raised for the homeless charity, and that’s before you include the donation Rage themselves will be making from money made from the song sales.
The Thursday before the Christmas chart was revealed, Rage Against the Machine made a somewhat controversial appearance on the Five Live breakfast show, a headline grabber since they performed the track live following an interview with Nicky Campbell and, either not realizing, or choosing to ignore that they were live, attempted to perform the song in full, F words and all.
Following this, the station was swamped by phone calls and emails from people arguing the case for and against Rage or Joe. One such contributor drew attention to the link to Shelter, suggesting that those that were downloading the song and justifying their actions with the homeless charity in mind were merely clutching at straws. The emailer in question wondered what percentage would continue to support Shelter in the future, as she and her husband were doing by way of a monthly contribution. As well as missing, perhaps not being aware of, the link through Facebook to make donations, they also overlooked something which is absolutely vital to the success of any charity.
Charities both large and small, benefit greatly from loyal support, people that make a monthly or annual donation, but sadly a lot simply wouldn’t survive from this alone. Although Shelter in this case were the fortunate beneficiaries of the Rage campaign group founders interest in their cause, this incident is an extremely high profile example of what all charitable organizations need to include in their yearly activity. Something which, for want of a better term, can be regarded as a publicity stunt. So not only was it a happy Christmas for fans of Rage Against the Machine, but also for Shelter and its fundraising team. A New Year’s resolution for the charity sector should be to take inspiration from this in a time when more people have les money to spare. OK so not everyone can get the music press on their side, but a bit of social networking imagination and the ability to seize the moment can get you a long way.
Social Arts Network.
For the first time since
Band Aid in 2004, we have a Christmas number 1 that hasn’t been produced from
Simon Cowell’s reality TV conveyer belt.
Rage Against the Machine sold over half a million downloads of their early nineties hit, if you can call getting to number 25 such a thing,
‘Killing in the Name’. This saw them take the top spot by 50,000 more sales than
X-factor winner Joe. Those in the media that know about such things are calling this one of the biggest shocks in chart history, up there with
Mr. Blobby beating
Take That to the festive number 1 back in 1993.
The people behind the RATM campaign certainly achieved their goals in not only defeating Cowell’s latest pop product, but restoring the race for Christmas number 1 to the status it held less than a decade ago, when it was the most talked about sales week of any year.
While Facebook and Twitter has been a wash with people celebrating a victory for real music, sticking the boot into Simon Cowell or, already wondering what could do it next year, it’s also worth reflecting on another major part of the Rage success, something which did get slightly overlooked in the hysteria.
Those that created the Facebook campaign, as well as encouraging people to download ‘Killing in the Name’, also suggested group members might like to make a small donation to
Shelter. In doing so, £72,000 has been raised for the homeless charity, and that’s before you include the donation Rage themselves will be making from money made from the song sales.
The Thursday before the Christmas chart was revealed, Rage Against the Machine made a somewhat controversial appearance on the Five Live breakfast show, a headline grabber since they performed the track live following an interview with Nicky Campbell and, either not realizing, or choosing to ignore that they were live, attempted to perform the song in full, F words and all.
Following this, the station was swamped by phone calls and emails from people arguing the case for and against Rage or Joe. One such contributor drew attention to the link to Shelter, suggesting that those that were downloading the song and justifying their actions with the homeless charity in mind were merely clutching at straws. The emailer in question wondered what percentage would continue to support Shelter in the future, as she and her husband were doing by way of a monthly contribution. As well as missing, perhaps not being aware of, the link through Facebook to make donations, they also overlooked something which is absolutely vital to the success of any charity.
Charities both large and small, benefit greatly from loyal support, people that make a monthly or annual donation, but sadly a lot simply wouldn’t survive from this alone. Although Shelter in this case were the fortunate beneficiaries of the Rage campaign group founders interest in their cause, this incident is an extremely high profile example of what all charitable organizations need to include in their yearly activity. Something which, for want of a better term, can be regarded as a publicity stunt. So not only was it a happy Christmas for fans of Rage Against the Machine, but also for Shelter and its fundraising team. A New Year’s resolution for the charity sector should be to take inspiration from this in a time when more people have les money to spare. OK so not everyone can get the music press on their side, but a bit of social networking imagination and the ability to seize the moment can get you a long way.
Tuesday 23 November 2010
Beer, Chips, Chocolate and Cartoon Characters, What's Not To Like About Belgium?
I used to think
Eurostar was the travel method of choice only for business types, rich folk and blokes trying to impress their ladies with a weekend in Paris. I now know differently having found it cheaper to travel to another country than it is to get to the other end of my own – girls, don’t be fooled into thinking Blackpool isn’t a statement of true love!
Arriving in Brussels in a journey time equal to that it would take to reach Leeds, I was amused at the vast number of kebab shops seen on route to the hotel, Sultans of Kebab seem to have cornered the post pub hunger craving market. They didn’t however win the best sign award, this going to the shop whose name I forget, but which could be identified by the picture of a chip having a piss.
Now, if you had to list famous Belgians, I imagine you might struggle; probably the best known of them all is a cartoon character. The Tintin Museum,
The Belgium Comic Strip Centre to give it its proper title, does do this Belgian icon justice and is well worth a visit.
Housing a wealth of information, pictures and 3D models charting the development of The Adventures of Tintin, plus other cartoon favourites such as
The Smurfs and
Lucky Luke, whether you’re a big kid or art enthusiast, an hour spent here will not be wasted.
There is much wall space given over to the evolution of
Tintin,
Snowy (who nearly always saves the day of course),
Captain Haddock and
Professor Calculus. Beginning as simple line drawings published in a children’s supplement of a Belgian newspaper in early 1929, these world famous characters expanded into albums, magazines, TV, radio, film and theatre.
For those interested in the art form, replica studios such as
Herge would have used are there to be explored. I know computer generated animation is a great skill of a totally different kind, but you can’t fail to be impressed when you imagine the painstaking process drawing everything by hand would have been.
In the same way as I believe people are missing out on so much when they come to London and only do the obvious things, I am actually trying to write a book inspired by that thought but that’s for another blog, I’m sure I’m doing Brussels a disservice in only remembering Tintin, chocolate and beer, but that’s what a two night tourist trip is for, right? I even found it a struggle to track down an
Anderlecht scarf, having to pick one up at the home of major rivals Club Bruges instead.
On the subject of beer, I strongly recommend
Kwak, disappointingly not spelt quack. As for chocolate, one particular shop had limited additions from every conceivable cocoa exporting country and, with Cuba being one of my favourite places in the world, I naturally chose that.
If Brussels left me a little underwhelmed, then Bruges was the exact opposite. One hour’s train ride from the countries capital, it’s like entering a city stuck in a time warp. The centre is full of ancient, unspoilt buildings separated by cobbled streets rarely used by traffic, the most likely thing to run you over when crossing the road is actually a horse and cart.
My next recommendation is
Martin’s Hotel, not least as it’s the first place I’ve stayed in that has a teddy bear in each room. I couldn’t help but imagine, were you to visit the bar of a daytime, you might find them all gathered round the fire discussing who’d been staying in their room last night, the sort of thing
Alan Bennett might have written a play about. Maybe when I get bored with the London book I might write that one instead.
Just as in every other Christmas loving location, Bruges was very much gearing up for the festive period. One week later the place would have been heaving with folk come to enjoy the famous Christmas market. I confess I’m still not sure why half way through Sunday afternoon we happened upon Santa riding a white horse accompanied by a brass band, perhaps he was arriving in style for the
Club Verses
Cercle Bruges derby game that evening. Equally confusing was the musicians choice of tune,
‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ doesn’t appear on ‘Now That’s What I Call Christmas’ to my knowledge. You can’t argue that it’s not factually correct though.
Having highlighted Belgium’s chocolate and beer producing reputation, their love of the chip is also worth mentioning, even if only to then tell you that Bruges has a
chip museum. It was shut on this Sunday, like most of Bruges with the exception of pubs and a few shops, so the history of the potato will have to wait for another time.
At the risk of emphasising the Brit abroad reputation, I shall close on two beer related points. Londoners who have enjoyed the wonders of the
Porterhouse in Covent Garden will confirm that an extensive beer menu is an excellent sight. Being confronted by one the size of one of those giant catalogues you’d find in Argos as we were in our pub of choice in Bruges is most agreeable. As was
Corsendonk Brown, an abbey beer with a sweet after taste.
Back in the bar at Martin’s, Huyghe Brewery were encouraging sales of
Delirium with an interesting collection of merchandise.
“Buy five beers and you could be the proud owner of your very own pink elephant!”
Whether I can now claim to be a member of the Conferie van da Olifant (brotherhood of the elephant) I can’t say. I did return home with my cuddly toy, Club Bruges and Anderlecht scarves to hang on the bedroom wall with the Hertha Berlin one bought earlier in the year and some new favourite beers to hunt out in specialist shops.
So in 2010 it was Berlin, Brussels and Bruges: any suggestions of places beginning with C to visit in 2011?
Wait, next season’s
rugby league fixtures have just been announced and Castleford away is one trip I’m yet to make.
Eurostar was the travel method of choice only for business types, rich folk and blokes trying to impress their ladies with a weekend in Paris. I now know differently having found it cheaper to travel to another country than it is to get to the other end of my own – girls, don’t be fooled into thinking Blackpool isn’t a statement of true love!
Arriving in Brussels in a journey time equal to that it would take to reach Leeds, I was amused at the vast number of kebab shops seen on route to the hotel, Sultans of Kebab seem to have cornered the post pub hunger craving market. They didn’t however win the best sign award, this going to the shop whose name I forget, but which could be identified by the picture of a chip having a piss.
Now, if you had to list famous Belgians, I imagine you might struggle; probably the best known of them all is a cartoon character. The Tintin Museum,
The Belgium Comic Strip Centre to give it its proper title, does do this Belgian icon justice and is well worth a visit.
Housing a wealth of information, pictures and 3D models charting the development of The Adventures of Tintin, plus other cartoon favourites such as
The Smurfs and
Lucky Luke, whether you’re a big kid or art enthusiast, an hour spent here will not be wasted.
There is much wall space given over to the evolution of
Tintin,
Snowy (who nearly always saves the day of course),
Captain Haddock and
Professor Calculus. Beginning as simple line drawings published in a children’s supplement of a Belgian newspaper in early 1929, these world famous characters expanded into albums, magazines, TV, radio, film and theatre.
For those interested in the art form, replica studios such as
Herge would have used are there to be explored. I know computer generated animation is a great skill of a totally different kind, but you can’t fail to be impressed when you imagine the painstaking process drawing everything by hand would have been.
In the same way as I believe people are missing out on so much when they come to London and only do the obvious things, I am actually trying to write a book inspired by that thought but that’s for another blog, I’m sure I’m doing Brussels a disservice in only remembering Tintin, chocolate and beer, but that’s what a two night tourist trip is for, right? I even found it a struggle to track down an
Anderlecht scarf, having to pick one up at the home of major rivals Club Bruges instead.
On the subject of beer, I strongly recommend
Kwak, disappointingly not spelt quack. As for chocolate, one particular shop had limited additions from every conceivable cocoa exporting country and, with Cuba being one of my favourite places in the world, I naturally chose that.
If Brussels left me a little underwhelmed, then Bruges was the exact opposite. One hour’s train ride from the countries capital, it’s like entering a city stuck in a time warp. The centre is full of ancient, unspoilt buildings separated by cobbled streets rarely used by traffic, the most likely thing to run you over when crossing the road is actually a horse and cart.
My next recommendation is
Martin’s Hotel, not least as it’s the first place I’ve stayed in that has a teddy bear in each room. I couldn’t help but imagine, were you to visit the bar of a daytime, you might find them all gathered round the fire discussing who’d been staying in their room last night, the sort of thing
Alan Bennett might have written a play about. Maybe when I get bored with the London book I might write that one instead.
Just as in every other Christmas loving location, Bruges was very much gearing up for the festive period. One week later the place would have been heaving with folk come to enjoy the famous Christmas market. I confess I’m still not sure why half way through Sunday afternoon we happened upon Santa riding a white horse accompanied by a brass band, perhaps he was arriving in style for the
Club Verses
Cercle Bruges derby game that evening. Equally confusing was the musicians choice of tune,
‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ doesn’t appear on ‘Now That’s What I Call Christmas’ to my knowledge. You can’t argue that it’s not factually correct though.
Having highlighted Belgium’s chocolate and beer producing reputation, their love of the chip is also worth mentioning, even if only to then tell you that Bruges has a
chip museum. It was shut on this Sunday, like most of Bruges with the exception of pubs and a few shops, so the history of the potato will have to wait for another time.
At the risk of emphasising the Brit abroad reputation, I shall close on two beer related points. Londoners who have enjoyed the wonders of the
Porterhouse in Covent Garden will confirm that an extensive beer menu is an excellent sight. Being confronted by one the size of one of those giant catalogues you’d find in Argos as we were in our pub of choice in Bruges is most agreeable. As was
Corsendonk Brown, an abbey beer with a sweet after taste.
Back in the bar at Martin’s, Huyghe Brewery were encouraging sales of
Delirium with an interesting collection of merchandise.
“Buy five beers and you could be the proud owner of your very own pink elephant!”
Whether I can now claim to be a member of the Conferie van da Olifant (brotherhood of the elephant) I can’t say. I did return home with my cuddly toy, Club Bruges and Anderlecht scarves to hang on the bedroom wall with the Hertha Berlin one bought earlier in the year and some new favourite beers to hunt out in specialist shops.
So in 2010 it was Berlin, Brussels and Bruges: any suggestions of places beginning with C to visit in 2011?
Wait, next season’s
rugby league fixtures have just been announced and Castleford away is one trip I’m yet to make.
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