Evening Strumpets,
Here`s a couple more vids from the Princess Alice open Mic nights. Massive thanks again to Angie and John Taylor at North East Live.
Till the next one learn something new,
Mark.
Friday 14 May 2010
Thursday 13 May 2010
A Letter from a Mother.
Via Stephen Fry on Twitter.
"Sunday, April 30, 2000
By SHARON UNDERWOOD
For the Valley News (White River Junction, VT)
Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I've taken enough from you good people.
I'm tired of your foolish rhetoric about the "homosexual agenda" and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny.
My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the time he was in the first grade. He was physically and verbally abused from first grade straight through high school because he was perceived to be gay.
He never professed to be gay or had any association with anything gay, but he had the misfortune not to walk or have gestures like the other boys. He was called "fag" incessantly, starting when he was 6.
In high school, while your children were doing what kids that age should be doing, mine labored over a suicide note, drafting and redrafting it to be sure his family knew how much he loved them. My sobbing 17-year-old tore the heart out of me as he choked out that he just couldn't bear to continue living any longer, that he didn't want to be gay and that he couldn't face a life without dignity.
You have the audacity to talk about protecting families and children from the homosexual menace, while you yourselves tear apart families and drive children to despair. I don't know why my son is gay, but I do know that God didn't put him, and millions like him, on this Earth to give you someone to abuse. God gave you brains so that you could think, and it's about time you started doing that.
At the core of all your misguided beliefs is the belief that this could never happen to you, that there is some kind of subculture out there that people have chosen to join. The fact is that if it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours, and you won't get to choose. Whether it is genetic or whether something occurs during a critical time of fetal development, I don't know. I can only tell you with an absolute certainty that it is inborn.
If you want to tout your own morality, you'd best come up with something more substantive than your heterosexuality. You did nothing to earn it; it was given to you. If you disagree, I would be interested in hearing your story, because my own heterosexuality was a blessing I received with no effort whatsoever on my part. It is so woven into the very soul of me that nothing could ever change it. For those of you who reduce sexual orientation to a simple choice, a character issue, a bad habit or something that can be changed by a 10-step program, I'm puzzled. Are you saying that your own sexual orientation is nothing more than something you have chosen, that you could change it at will? If that's not the case, then why would you suggest that someone else can?
A popular theme in your letters is that Vermont has been infiltrated by outsiders. Both sides of my family have lived in Vermont for generations. I am heart and soul a Vermonter, so I'll thank you to stop saying that you are speaking for "true Vermonters."
You invoke the memory of the brave people who have fought on the battlefield for this great country, saying that they didn't give their lives so that the "homosexual agenda" could tear down the principles they died defending. My 83-year-old father fought in some of the most horrific battles of World War II, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart.
He shakes his head in sadness at the life his grandson has had to live. He says he fought alongside homosexuals in those battles, that they did their part and bothered no one. One of his best friends in the service was gay, and he never knew it until the end, and when he did find out, it mattered not at all. That wasn't the measure of the man.
You religious folk just can't bear the thought that as my son emerges from the hell that was his childhood he might like to find a lifelong companion and have a measure of happiness. It offends your sensibilities that he should request the right to visit that companion in the hospital, to make medical decisions for him or to benefit from tax laws governing inheritance.
How dare he? you say. These outrageous requests would threaten the very existence of your family, would undermine the sanctity of marriage.
You use religion to abdicate your responsibility to be thinking human beings. There are vast numbers of religious people who find your attitudes repugnant. God is not for the privileged majority, and God knows my son has committed no sin.
The deep-thinking author of a letter to the April 12 Valley News who lectures about homosexual sin and tells us about "those of us who have been blessed with the benefits of a religious upbringing" asks: "What ever happened to the idea of striving . . . to be better human beings than we are?"
Indeed, sir, what ever happened to that?"
Lets hope they learn something new.
Mark.
"Sunday, April 30, 2000
By SHARON UNDERWOOD
For the Valley News (White River Junction, VT)
Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I've taken enough from you good people.
I'm tired of your foolish rhetoric about the "homosexual agenda" and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny.
My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the time he was in the first grade. He was physically and verbally abused from first grade straight through high school because he was perceived to be gay.
He never professed to be gay or had any association with anything gay, but he had the misfortune not to walk or have gestures like the other boys. He was called "fag" incessantly, starting when he was 6.
In high school, while your children were doing what kids that age should be doing, mine labored over a suicide note, drafting and redrafting it to be sure his family knew how much he loved them. My sobbing 17-year-old tore the heart out of me as he choked out that he just couldn't bear to continue living any longer, that he didn't want to be gay and that he couldn't face a life without dignity.
You have the audacity to talk about protecting families and children from the homosexual menace, while you yourselves tear apart families and drive children to despair. I don't know why my son is gay, but I do know that God didn't put him, and millions like him, on this Earth to give you someone to abuse. God gave you brains so that you could think, and it's about time you started doing that.
At the core of all your misguided beliefs is the belief that this could never happen to you, that there is some kind of subculture out there that people have chosen to join. The fact is that if it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours, and you won't get to choose. Whether it is genetic or whether something occurs during a critical time of fetal development, I don't know. I can only tell you with an absolute certainty that it is inborn.
If you want to tout your own morality, you'd best come up with something more substantive than your heterosexuality. You did nothing to earn it; it was given to you. If you disagree, I would be interested in hearing your story, because my own heterosexuality was a blessing I received with no effort whatsoever on my part. It is so woven into the very soul of me that nothing could ever change it. For those of you who reduce sexual orientation to a simple choice, a character issue, a bad habit or something that can be changed by a 10-step program, I'm puzzled. Are you saying that your own sexual orientation is nothing more than something you have chosen, that you could change it at will? If that's not the case, then why would you suggest that someone else can?
A popular theme in your letters is that Vermont has been infiltrated by outsiders. Both sides of my family have lived in Vermont for generations. I am heart and soul a Vermonter, so I'll thank you to stop saying that you are speaking for "true Vermonters."
You invoke the memory of the brave people who have fought on the battlefield for this great country, saying that they didn't give their lives so that the "homosexual agenda" could tear down the principles they died defending. My 83-year-old father fought in some of the most horrific battles of World War II, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart.
He shakes his head in sadness at the life his grandson has had to live. He says he fought alongside homosexuals in those battles, that they did their part and bothered no one. One of his best friends in the service was gay, and he never knew it until the end, and when he did find out, it mattered not at all. That wasn't the measure of the man.
You religious folk just can't bear the thought that as my son emerges from the hell that was his childhood he might like to find a lifelong companion and have a measure of happiness. It offends your sensibilities that he should request the right to visit that companion in the hospital, to make medical decisions for him or to benefit from tax laws governing inheritance.
How dare he? you say. These outrageous requests would threaten the very existence of your family, would undermine the sanctity of marriage.
You use religion to abdicate your responsibility to be thinking human beings. There are vast numbers of religious people who find your attitudes repugnant. God is not for the privileged majority, and God knows my son has committed no sin.
The deep-thinking author of a letter to the April 12 Valley News who lectures about homosexual sin and tells us about "those of us who have been blessed with the benefits of a religious upbringing" asks: "What ever happened to the idea of striving . . . to be better human beings than we are?"
Indeed, sir, what ever happened to that?"
Lets hope they learn something new.
Mark.
Radio GaGa
Evening Strumpets,
The marvellous Alex Smith from Click Radio, the Radio Station for Teesside University asked me to come in last Friday morning and have a chat about the Banjo, and the Gig that night at the Crown, Here`s a couple of audios from what as a brilliant morning.
Download Petal Doves.wav from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
Download That's Entertainment + S Club Encore.wav from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
Download Another Brick In The Wall.wav from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
The marvellous Alex Smith from Click Radio, the Radio Station for Teesside University asked me to come in last Friday morning and have a chat about the Banjo, and the Gig that night at the Crown, Here`s a couple of audios from what as a brilliant morning.
Download Petal Doves.wav from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
Download That's Entertainment + S Club Encore.wav from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
Download Another Brick In The Wall.wav from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
Monday 10 May 2010
Riders on the Strum
Evening Strumpets,
A million and six years ago when Dinosaurs ruled the Earth, and you could buy a litre of petrol without having to take out a second mortgage, My family moved from the Dickensian landscape known in Middlesbrough as "Downtown", to the Halcyon landscape named "Acklam".
Acklam had many things that Downtown didn`t have, such as grass, trees, and fresh air. Downtown had many things that Acklam didn`t have such as back alleys, dysentry, and Ayresome Park (home of Middlesbrough Foorball Club). Each one as deadly as the last, with the possible exception of dysentry.
Of course I`m exaggerating, but the one thing that Acklam did have was the Coronation Pub. This was a building which held great mystery to me as an idle youngster. My Dad, King Kenny, and my Brother (Gary, Star of ITV1`s Mum`s on Strike, and BBC1`s Jobless), would wander off into it on a Sunday Morning, and return in time for Sunday Dinner in a much happier mood than which they had left.
It didn`t end there. Gary would pop over there most evenings and I would hear tales of such debauchery and excitement that i longed for the day when I could walk into the place and order my first pint.
That day eventually came and as I prepared myself, Dad and Gary opened the door for me to walk in. My time was here, I was about to become a man at last.
There were half a dozen old fella`s playing Domino`s, a couple of lads playing Pool, and a barmaid filing her nails eating a chunky chicken Toastie. Well it must fill later with all the antics I thought, time for my first sip of the sweet sweet liquid known as beer. The beer tasted like it had been swilled around an ashtray, and passed through the exhaust of a Ford Sierra. It was rank. Here`s the daft thing. I don`t think I`d ever felt so happy. I was one of the Corra Lads. I walked home drunk not only on the cheap and vulgar beer, but on knowing the next chapter of my life had started. What adventures I`d have. Oh to be young and daft.
A couple of the lads from The Corra(John Greenslade, Dave Brown, the Coxon lads), and the local Rugby/Cricket Club have been performing stellar cycling tasks in aid of Local Hospices. they`re about to set off on a trek across Spain in aid of a Local Childrens Hospice called Zoe`s Place. I really do urge you to follow their exploits. It can be found at http://coastbusters.co.uk/blog/
Go on, learn something new.
Mark.
A million and six years ago when Dinosaurs ruled the Earth, and you could buy a litre of petrol without having to take out a second mortgage, My family moved from the Dickensian landscape known in Middlesbrough as "Downtown", to the Halcyon landscape named "Acklam".
Acklam had many things that Downtown didn`t have, such as grass, trees, and fresh air. Downtown had many things that Acklam didn`t have such as back alleys, dysentry, and Ayresome Park (home of Middlesbrough Foorball Club). Each one as deadly as the last, with the possible exception of dysentry.
Of course I`m exaggerating, but the one thing that Acklam did have was the Coronation Pub. This was a building which held great mystery to me as an idle youngster. My Dad, King Kenny, and my Brother (Gary, Star of ITV1`s Mum`s on Strike, and BBC1`s Jobless), would wander off into it on a Sunday Morning, and return in time for Sunday Dinner in a much happier mood than which they had left.
It didn`t end there. Gary would pop over there most evenings and I would hear tales of such debauchery and excitement that i longed for the day when I could walk into the place and order my first pint.
That day eventually came and as I prepared myself, Dad and Gary opened the door for me to walk in. My time was here, I was about to become a man at last.
There were half a dozen old fella`s playing Domino`s, a couple of lads playing Pool, and a barmaid filing her nails eating a chunky chicken Toastie. Well it must fill later with all the antics I thought, time for my first sip of the sweet sweet liquid known as beer. The beer tasted like it had been swilled around an ashtray, and passed through the exhaust of a Ford Sierra. It was rank. Here`s the daft thing. I don`t think I`d ever felt so happy. I was one of the Corra Lads. I walked home drunk not only on the cheap and vulgar beer, but on knowing the next chapter of my life had started. What adventures I`d have. Oh to be young and daft.
A couple of the lads from The Corra(John Greenslade, Dave Brown, the Coxon lads), and the local Rugby/Cricket Club have been performing stellar cycling tasks in aid of Local Hospices. they`re about to set off on a trek across Spain in aid of a Local Childrens Hospice called Zoe`s Place. I really do urge you to follow their exploits. It can be found at http://coastbusters.co.uk/blog/
Go on, learn something new.
Mark.
Sunday 9 May 2010
Rebel MC.
Evening Strumpets,
I`m really sorry about the length between posts, I`ve developed a major case of, in my humble opinion,Influenza el Hombre (or Manflu if you prefer).
I played a really nice gig at the Crown Pub on Friday night, and the mixture of oldtime bluegras, with modern pop, and a little punk went down really well. Added to this was the pressure that it doubled as a works night out, so I was playing in front of most of my work colleagues, but they were lovely and supportive.
The venue, as I believe I`ve mentioned in previous blogs, is an old Cinema, which used to be called the ABC. The backstage area is unbelievable, as it`s the old Cinema Auditorium, which I haven`t been in for the last thirty years. Nothing has changed, and the seat and carpets have a good five inches of dust on them, which is great for the lungs and throat. It really is like if Stephen King had written Spinal Tap, as my Sweetheart pointed out.
Then on Saturday there was an open day for the venue of the forthcoming Deershed Festival, of which I will be MCing the Busking Tent. The area is amazing. It`s in Topcliffe in North Yorkshire, at a place called Baldersby Park. The line up is pretty cool, with Miles Hunt and the Wedding Present Headlining, along with loads of other great bands and performeners. There`s also going to be loads of Family stuff too. Andy From Northern Banjo Boy is amongst the people organising the event, so get yourself along on July 17th. I know they`re looking for volunteers, and if you assist, I think you get a free ticket. There`s worse ways of spending a day.
Here`s the site, The Busk Stop will be just to the right of the obelisk in the picture.
And here`s the kids modelling the Badge.
Check out the website at http://www.deershedfestival.com/
Till the next one, learn something new,
Mark.
I`m really sorry about the length between posts, I`ve developed a major case of, in my humble opinion,Influenza el Hombre (or Manflu if you prefer).
I played a really nice gig at the Crown Pub on Friday night, and the mixture of oldtime bluegras, with modern pop, and a little punk went down really well. Added to this was the pressure that it doubled as a works night out, so I was playing in front of most of my work colleagues, but they were lovely and supportive.
The venue, as I believe I`ve mentioned in previous blogs, is an old Cinema, which used to be called the ABC. The backstage area is unbelievable, as it`s the old Cinema Auditorium, which I haven`t been in for the last thirty years. Nothing has changed, and the seat and carpets have a good five inches of dust on them, which is great for the lungs and throat. It really is like if Stephen King had written Spinal Tap, as my Sweetheart pointed out.
Then on Saturday there was an open day for the venue of the forthcoming Deershed Festival, of which I will be MCing the Busking Tent. The area is amazing. It`s in Topcliffe in North Yorkshire, at a place called Baldersby Park. The line up is pretty cool, with Miles Hunt and the Wedding Present Headlining, along with loads of other great bands and performeners. There`s also going to be loads of Family stuff too. Andy From Northern Banjo Boy is amongst the people organising the event, so get yourself along on July 17th. I know they`re looking for volunteers, and if you assist, I think you get a free ticket. There`s worse ways of spending a day.
Here`s the site, The Busk Stop will be just to the right of the obelisk in the picture.
And here`s the kids modelling the Badge.
Check out the website at http://www.deershedfestival.com/
Till the next one, learn something new,
Mark.
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