I caught up with Late Junction over breakfast. It's a remarkable programme of hit and miss music, old and new. I've fallen out of the habit of listening on a daily basis ever since the show went weekly. Catching up once a week has distorted my rhythm. But you're always rewarded. This week was a celebration of what would have been Lou Reed's 80th birthday. There was Mix Tape from the LR Archive. Plus so much more. I love Lou, but I think I love the tribal chants of a woman reciting poetry to her donkey even more. Remarkable.#
I missed out on the Mankad in the England Vs India Test match yesterday. Sometimes the game does itself no favours.#
Attention turned towards The People's Audit latest report which is due to be published on Monday morning. It looks specifically at Homes for Lambeth and the £40m waste of public funds and the failure to build new homes. I gave the report a brief read ahead of hopefully getting something a little more considered out on Buzz for the start of the new week.#
Sunday was then all about RACE DAY with WivGigs. It was the first race of the Harker's Yard Winter Series over at Manningtree. Yes - technically we're aren't anywhere near winter right now. But a Winter Series is a Winter Series.#
I cycled over to Manningtree with L from the club who was coming along to add her support. It was a pleasant ride along empty lanes with radiant sun. We were some of the first members of the club to arrive.#
These Harker's Yard series are like a Gathering of the Clans. We all row in identical boats, all year round along various North Essex rivers, estuaries and beyond. And then we come together during the winter months to pass on our knowledge before thrashing our oars up and down the home club stretch.#
You could sense the anticipation at the Stour Sailing Club as the fifteen different clubs and their respective crews started to gather. Some dealt with their nerves by bingeing on the bacon butties. I carried on with my usual hit and miss pre-race nervous conversation.#
There was a crazy race briefing from the organisers. It's a stressful event to stage, and so criticism should be limited. It was amusing to hear though that each club needed to tell the Race Commissioner where they finished. FIRST every time, Sir.#
The women's crew were up first. There was a bunch start, rather than the time trial that some waters dictate. The gigs looked so serene spread out across the estuary. I knew that on board each boat it would be chaos.#
"We didn't trouble the rescue boat that was pulling up the rear", as one of our women rowers commented when asked about the WivGigs performance. And then it was time for my crew in the men's race.#
The decision had been taken to focus on the mixed crew. We had what might be called a development contingent boarding Audacity for the men's race. A few pre-race basic errors were made when the Commissioner called us out over the PA for not taking our fenders back in the boat. Whoops. #
Soon we were underway. I felt we performed well, but I still had some left in reserve twenty minutes later. We finished in a similar low down the pecking order (last) as the women. We weren't adrift though, pushing a couple of other crews right until the finish line. It was a little choppy out there, and so job well done.#
Our recovery out of the boat wasn't so smooth. MAN OVERBOARD! Oh dear. It wasn't as dramatic as it sounds, but one crew member did take a soaking for the team. At least we were dignified in defeat. A rower from a rival boat pulled out his thole pins and smashed them on the boat. Steady the buffers, fella.#
The mixed crew SMASHED IT. This was always the plan. We just didn't expect them to smash it so convincingly. A fourth place finish, and one position ahead of our rival crew was a bloody fine effort. #
L and I didn't hang around. We cycled off back to Weird Wiv with other weekend responsibilities calling. We passed the ABC Boxing Club. I've been absent for six months or so after the club relocated. I knew it was somewhere around here, but not quite this far out.#
A little afternoon gardening followed. I then procrastinated on other work by reading a few years of Keith Badman's Beatles Diary, Vol 2. I had no idea that George played on Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down. Or that Ringo appeared in the video - although he didn't play drums on the song.#
A complete musical change was up next with the Kulma album from Pan Sonic. Don't worry, it didn't trouble the charts back in 1996. I was given a promo copy back in the day. I've not played it in decades. It still sounds fresh and full of bleeps. I tipped off R that it might be his sort of thing.#
And then The Frontline reggae compilation followed. Possibly the greatest reggae compilation ever? The Harder They Come might get a look in here tbh.#
Later in the evening I missed out on a stunning Tudor Sports cycling top on eBay. The low starting price got me excited - and others, it seems. I went as high as £4.50 with a snipe, which was around £10 off the final selling price. Oh well. Some you win.#
I caught up with Late Junction over breakfast. It's a remarkable programme of hit and miss music, old and new. I've fallen out of the habit of listening on a daily basis ever since the show went weekly. Catching up once a week has distorted my rhythm. But you're always rewarded. This week was a celebration of what would have been Lou Reed's 80th birthday. There was Mix Tape from the LR Archive. Plus so much more. I love Lou, but I think I love the tribal chants of a woman reciting poetry to her donkey even more. Remarkable.#
I missed out on the Mankad in the England Vs India Test match yesterday. Sometimes the game does itself no favours.#
Attention turned towards The People's Audit latest report which is due to be published on Monday morning. It looks specifically at Homes for Lambeth and the £40m waste of public funds and the failure to build new homes. I gave the report a brief read ahead of hopefully getting something a little more considered out on Buzz for the start of the new week.#
Sunday was then all about RACE DAY with WivGigs. It was the first race of the Harker's Yard Winter Series over at Manningtree. Yes - technically we're aren't anywhere near winter right now. But a Winter Series is a Winter Series.#
I cycled over to Manningtree with L from the club who was coming along to add her support. It was a pleasant ride along empty lanes with radiant sun. We were some of the first members of the club to arrive.#
These Harker's Yard series are like a Gathering of the Clans. We all row in identical boats, all year round along various North Essex rivers, estuaries and beyond. And then we come together during the winter months to pass on our knowledge before thrashing our oars up and down the home club stretch.#
You could sense the anticipation at the Stour Sailing Club as the fifteen different clubs and their respective crews started to gather. Some dealt with their nerves by bingeing on the bacon butties. I carried on with my usual hit and miss pre-race nervous conversation.#
There was a crazy race briefing from the organisers. It's a stressful event to stage, and so criticism should be limited. It was amusing to hear though that each club needed to tell the Race Commissioner where they finished. FIRST every time, Sir.#
The women's crew were up first. There was a bunch start, rather than the time trial that some waters dictate. The gigs looked so serene spread out across the estuary. I knew that on board each boat it would be chaos.#
"We didn't trouble the rescue boat that was pulling up the rear", as one of our women rowers commented when asked about the WivGigs performance. And then it was time for my crew in the men's race.#
The decision had been taken to focus on the mixed crew. We had what might be called a development contingent boarding Audacity for the men's race. A few pre-race basic errors were made when the Commissioner called us out over the PA for not taking our fenders back in the boat. Whoops. #
Soon we were underway. I felt we performed well, but I still had some left in reserve twenty minutes later. We finished in a similar low down the pecking order (last) as the women. We weren't adrift though, pushing a couple of other crews right until the finish line. It was a little choppy out there, and so job well done.#
Our recovery out of the boat wasn't so smooth. MAN OVERBOARD! Oh dear. It wasn't as dramatic as it sounds, but one crew member did take a soaking for the team. At least we were dignified in defeat. A rower from a rival boat pulled out his thole pins and smashed them on the boat. Steady the buffers, fella.#
The mixed crew SMASHED IT. This was always the plan. We just didn't expect them to smash it so convincingly. A fourth place finish, and one position ahead of our rival crew was a bloody fine effort. #
L and I didn't hang around. We cycled off back to Weird Wiv with other weekend responsibilities calling. We passed the ABC Boxing Club. I've been absent for six months or so after the club relocated. I knew it was somewhere around here, but not quite this far out.#
A little afternoon gardening followed. I then procrastinated on other work by reading a few years of Keith Badman's Beatles Diary, Vol 2. I had no idea that George played on Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down. Or that Ringo appeared in the video - although he didn't play drums on the song.#
A complete musical change was up next with the Kulma album from Pan Sonic. Don't worry, it didn't trouble the charts back in 1996. I was given a promo copy back in the day. I've not played it in decades. It still sounds fresh and full of bleeps. I tipped off R that it might be his sort of thing.#
And then The Frontline reggae compilation followed. Possibly the greatest reggae compilation ever? The Harder They Come might get a look in here tbh.#
Later in the evening I missed out on a stunning Tudor Sports cycling top on eBay. The low starting price got me excited - and others, it seems. I went as high as £4.50 with a snipe, which was around £10 off the final selling price. Oh well. Some you win.#
