Pal O` Mine

Evening Strumpets,

I met up with the Charmers for an end of year session the other night and we decided to have a go at playing some new/lesser played songs. Unfortunately I forgot to bring any recording stuff. Luckily as we officially live in the future, Andy`s "portable" (as my dad calls them) phone was able to capture a couple of things. Don`t be surprised if you don`t see them in a future charmin` sets.

Pal `O Mine.

A song i`ve been tinkering about with for a couple of months. Really difficult to work out which chords to play over it. What do I know, I only wrote it.



Apple scrumptious.

Now with new 3rd verse. In my opinion the wittiest cleverest and downright bestest of the Charmers Lyrics.



and finally,

Cowboy waltz.

i think the first complete Alice Charmers original song. Still one of my favourites.



Till the next one learn something new.

Mark.

The Broken Broadcast.

Evening Strumpets,

I`ve been lucky enough to be involved with a rather splendid band called "The Broken Broadcast" over the last couple of weeks.  Don`t worry this won`t interfer with Alice Charmers and Solo stuff, but these chaps are really rather brilliant.  and I`m extremely chuffed to say I played my inaugral gig with them the other night at KuBar in Stockton.  We went down really well and had lots of lovely comment`s afterwards which is always nice.

James, who`s band it is, contacted me on Wednesday and asked me if I was available to play at a local BBC Radio Station show hosted by the wonderful Bob Fischer.  Have a guess what my reply was?  So here`s a link for all of you wonderful Strumpets to have a listen to us.  We`re on from about 1hr and 4 mins, and be warned we`re on for about 45 minutes, most of which is bizarre chat.  There are three "stripped bare" versions of The Broadcast`s songs on there as well though.

Here`s the link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00lyl3j/Bob_Fischer_08_12_2011/

Hope you like it.

Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark

Cripple Creek.

Evening Strumpets,

Here`s a vid directed and filmed by Carl, of our new favourite way of playing Cripple Creek.



Next time we reckon instead of drinking beer whilst drumming, Mr Denty could try ironing! Also please take time out to look at the different styles of banjo me and Andy love playing. Personally I think Andy is the Northern Banjo Boy Wonder! Also the more eagle eyed Strumpets may have noticed the Tron like abberation under my nose. Movember spawned a Monster again, and if you would like to donate to my furry lipped nonsense in aid of Prostate Cancer awareness and research in Britain then please visit here and pledge. Even a quid would be massively appreciated. http://uk.movember.com/mospace/


This is Post Number 196. What would you Strumpets like to be Post 200?

Let me know, and till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Village Green

Afternoon Strumpets,

A Village Green 3 Song review.

http://soundcloud.com/villagegreen

I`ll be honest with you, a rainy Tuesday afternoon at the back end of November, nursing a five year old with an ear infection does not lend itself to reviewing new music. Similarly I made a decision about five years ago to just stop listening to new music (with a few exceptions, Mr Waits and Ms Bush to name a grotesquely talented few) . I`d already heard more than enough stuff in my lifetime and found myself comparing everything to The Pixies anyway. So perhaps not the best time to take a listen to the new songs by a local band called Village Green.

Except….

Except it couldn`t have possibly have been a better time. The three tracks I listened to, “Sunshine” “Carnaby Street” and “Love Will Save the world” have enough life, energy, and more importantly good tunes in them to make my child`s continuous coughs and splutters sound like they might be getting better. Through what has to be described as fantastic production, I can hear echoes of Siouxsie, The Wonder Stuff, and early Oasis in the songs, particularly stand out tune “Carnaby Street”.

“Sunshine” with its immediate hook, and wondrous “dee diddley” guitar riff has a remarkable effortless quality, which if personal experience is anything to go by, means it was probably anything but to put together. And thank the Lords of whomsoever you may look to at times of sadness, it does what it sets out to, and then leaves. Realistic ego, and possibly a lack of (ahem) happy powder, means that what could have been a twelve minute 93 bar Guitar solo “anthem”, is tight without seeming slight.

“Carnaby Street” evokes memories of Morrissey between his cartoon Bowie/Stardust imitation phase and later Caricature Karaoke years, sadly all of which I love. The verse could easily have come from any song on “Vauxhall and I”. That`s not written lightly either, by the way. Both literally and metaphorically, as my sausage fingers hammer at these keys like a gang of Woodpeckers on Speed.

“Love Will Save the World” is I suppose the most “anthemic” and “Rawk” of the three, with a post five minute running time, which if I`m honest, I could have maybe trimmed a minute or so off, but that`s more a reflection of myself and my reasoning of things since hitting Forty. Unlike most bully`s Forty got straight back up, hit me back and has been doing so ever since. If you`re young and enjoy your solid, tight, loud, guitar based music, solid, tight, loud, and guitar based it`ll be right up your cul de sac.

Now I`m off to do the ironing, but at least I`ll have something different to be listening to.

Till the Next one,

Learn something new

Mark.

waltzing down the road

Afternoon strumpets,

Here`s a couple of vids from a recent rehearsal evening with the Charmers.

First a vid of a song which was one of the first things we wrote as a group.  We`d never really figured out an arrangement of it though.  As usual we ended up going for basics.




And here`s one of our most recent songs.



Hope you like, all comments more than welcome.

Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

History of my World Part 2.

Evening Strumpets.
Well the last Post concerning my earliest memory has received such positive feedback, as well as being the second most visited page since I actually completed the Great North Run two years ago.  I`ve been asked to write further about my memories, so here`s one about why I not only have the best Sweetheart in the Land, but the best friends also.

The World has turned somewhat since Mark scored that amazing goal in his back alley.  He`s been through School, Sixth Form College, and a couple of Polytechnics before finally with all of his qualifications and experience finding himself driving a Fork Lift truck on a sparse Dock In a "Boots" Warehouse in Nottingham, England.  Mark is working permanent night shifts, and is sharing a house with a friend he met in Sixth Form called Stuey. 

Stuey, who is one of the sweetest, funniest, and most loyal friends Mark has and will ever have, has just met Jane.  She is beautiful, funny, and remarkably cool (for a girl) and it is blindingly obvious to Mark that all the conversations he and Stu have had regarding meeting someone are no longer pipe dreams for Stuey, but a lovely truth for him.   Mark will one day be priviledged to make the Best man`s Speech at Stu and Jane`s Wedding, which everyone present will agree is the funniest thing they`ve ever heard, and to prove it, will be recorded by Stuey`s Dad.  Unfortunately Stuey`s dad will then tape over the wedding video with Boro beating Aston Villa on Sky sports 1.  At least that`s what they`ll tell Mark.  Hmmm!

Don`t feel sad for Mark, he`ll eventually meet his own Princess.  She`s called Louise.  She`s the most loveliest thing he`s ever seen, and he meets her in a nightclub in Boro called "Blaises".  Blaises was  where "Freak" nights occurred on Thursday and saturday.  This meant it played indie music, served SnakeBites (half lager half cider) and had condensation dripping from the ceiling.

When she ask`s him what does he do for a living he does something strange.  Ironically, and he can still remember this, Embarrassment by Madness is playing.  Ashamed that he hasn`t achieved more with his life, he has in the past lied to girls about his profession.  his favourite being that he`s a Classics teacher at Newcastle University.  But this time he says "I drive a fork lift truck"

Within a month it`s a relationship proper.  Mark takes Louise back to Blaises and whilst there, she goes to sit down on a stool when someone from a gang of lads, pulls the stool from under her for a laugh.  Louise lands flat on her backside and shocked begins laughing but crying at the same time.  Mark know`s one of the lads and after seeing Louise is alright, say`s he`s going to sort this out.  Louise begs him not too, telling him he`ll be battered.  Mark not wanting to be a headline in the local newspaper agrees, but pride and guilt spend every minute tapping at his brain for the next week whilst he`s driving his Forklift truck in Nottingham.

Travelling back to Boro the following Saturday, Mark is symbolically a mouse.  He agrees to meet Louise in The Tavern in Boro, along with all of his mates.  Louise is in there and as the chaps start coming in, the mood lightens.  Then Mark see`s them.  The same gang of lads who`d snatched Louise`s seat.  It`s no coincidence that one of the songs he loved listening to with his Mam on a morning, when younger was "Coward of the County".  He asks his mate Darren to hold his pint.  "You alright?" Darren say`s.  "Yeah, just got to sort something out" Mark replies.

He walks over to the lads,and shouts "Think you`re funny eh?  Think you`re hard.  Making a lass cry."  One of the lads comes over and says "what`s your problem like?"  "My problem? My problem is that one of you doyles took the seat from under our lasses (Sorry Louise if you`re reading this, but you were and always will be "our lass" when I`m trying to be a bloke) arse.  Funny eh? She`s got a back injury (she didn`t, I was milking it, drama queen as ever) and you could have wrecked her chances of walking" (like I said drama queen).

The group of lads, and there was a fair few, stood up and walked towards Mark.  Christ, Mark thought, here comes the pummeling.  But a funny thing happened.  He stood his ground, and it must have worked because they all backed off.  The lad at the front said "Look sorry mate, It was just a daft joke. Can we just call it a day"  Amazed, Mark just said " Yeah right, just as long as you know".  Mark had stood up to them.  Mark had been "A MAN".  Mark turned round to walk back to his mates, and saw....

Half the pub stood behind him. 

Louise had told the lads about how Mark was taking the Blaises incident and asked them to look out for Mark. As Mark passed his glass to Darren, Darren had given the nod to the rest of the lads, and they`d followed him over, taking other lads who they knew with them, to where the scene was developing. Whilst Mark was shouting off about Louise`s bad back, half the pub had joined behind him and were giving it what is known in Boro as "THE EYES".  The other lads seeing this had made the right decision and backed down.

I can still see the pub as I turned around, but what I can really see is Louise.  Not acknowledging that I`d been "hard" and tackled the lads.  As she pointed out, they would have battered me!  No Louise was looking at the number of people who had come to back me up.  If I could have that many people looking after me, then surely, I couldn`t be half bad.

Fifteen years and two kids later, thank Christ I went to Blaises the night I met my wife.

Till the next one, (don`t worry more banjo and guitar stuff coming soon) learn something new,

Mark.

History of my World Part 1.

Evening Strumpets,

It`s December 1976. 07:00 hrs. Or Seven O Clock in the morning as we used to call it!  The United Kingdom, and more specifically the North Eastern side of the United Kingdom is experiencing it`s worst winter in thirty years.  A five year old lad wakes up in a bed which he shares with his 13 year old Big Brother. 

Those words have initials which mean something to this child, and are not a reference to a pile of old nonsense C4/C5 TV bobbins twenty five years in the future.  Neither do they allude to an amazing novel written 28 years prior to him waking which he will read and love and talk to his future wife about, purely because she also loves it, at about the same time C4/C5 are showing their pile of old shite.  (Except for series 1.  That was class!  "I`m very disappointed with you Nicholas".)

The kid (Mark) has woken up and climbs over his Big Brothers huge frame (Six foot One at the age of Thirteen, can you imagine how tall he was and has always been to me) to go downstairs to have his cup of tea which as usual will be lukewarm with two sugars (remember this was the North of england in the mid Seventies).  This will be drank whilst listening to Radio 2 (Terry Wogan) with his Mam, and followed by a hotter version of the same drink ten minutes later. 

His pet dog Shandy is put in the back yard, and allowed to do his business.  Mark has no idea, but Mam goes out and scrapes up Shandy`s business with a hand shovel. In those days, Fairies did all the work.   But this time theres something different.  Mam isn`t in a rush to get Mark ready for school.  "You`re not going in today" she says smiling, "The heating in the school`s buggered".

Try now to imagine, just stop whatever you`re doing and try to picture what those words meant to him.  A lad who had until a year ago spent every waking moment at home.  A lad who within a week of being at "big boys school" had simply walked out of class/school and walked home sitting on the doorstep waiting for his Mam to come home.

Now he knows what`s different in the house.  None of his older Sisters, or Brother are making a noise.  This, if Mark is being honest, well this was normal.  Differently, though, this time his Mam isn`t shouting them to get up.  "Let`s just spend a minute you and me" she says, "and when you get older you`ll remember this like it was yesterday".  At this point she takes his hand and gives it three squeezes.  He looks at her and says "Whats that"  She looks at him and says "It means "I love you""  Mark immediately gives her four shakes back "I love you too". 

Big Brother (Gary) comes down stairs. Immediately eating four slices of toast, and drinking two glasses of tap water (he cannot abide milk. so that was the alternative in our house), he begins making his daft little brother and Mam laugh.  He tells Mark there`s going to be a big footie game today and that he`s been picked to play!  "Me?"  "Yeah you Enoch (his nickname for his little brother, still to this day),and you`d better not let me down!"  "Course I wont" Mark shouts and gets dressed.

The footie game was played in the "Back Alley". This was the cobbled area between the backs of houses where the bins were placed and the wagon would pick them up from.  They`re all still there, but these days they`re all Gated off, due to vandalism, theft and drugs (which, ironically, if we`re being honest was a typical night out in the Seventies)! Players in the game had nicknames.  Snotty Martin, Little Legs etc.  Mark was picked to be, of course, on Gary`s team. 

The back alley was covered in snow.  About four inches worth, and the whistle/shout went up.  None them had trainers on, just hand me down black shoes from their older siblings, whether male or female.  With a minute to go it was 7-7.  Mark had often been told he had a "Wilf Mannion" style (Google him overseas readers).

At this point the immortal phrase was shouted by someone "Next goal; the winner"!  It sounded like Marks Big Brother, but it wasn`t quite right.  The ball was kicked out by the opposing team and landed at Marks feet in his own Box.  His Big Brother was in goal and shouted "Go on, take them on!" Which Mark proceeded to do.  He ran one way and then the other, and each time a player tried to tackle him they slipped in the snow and he took it past them.  He could hear his Big Brother shouting "Go On Enoch!" and this gave him more confidence until each of his opponent`s was behind him on the floor.  With just the keeper to beat, he hit it smoothly into the right hand corner.

I can still see that ball going in.  I can still see the lads falling (some almost comedically) whist I "tackled" them.  But most of  all I can see my Mam`s face when Our Kid (which I now call the old get) told her what I`d done.  That`s my earliest clearest memory, and writing it tonight has reminded me of a couple of things.

1) The past is another Country, they do things differently there.

and 

2)  I could have played for Boro!

Ladies and gentleman  My Brother and My Mother.

Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

New Charmers Stuff.

Evening Strumpets,

The Charmers met up for the first time since the Doc Browns Gig On Thursday, and after running through our set of songs, we decided to try some new stuff, and this is what came out of it.

The first song is "Apple Scrumpy" written by Andy, and I think it has the potential to be a future Charmers favourite. It`s such a clever use of innuendo regarding the eating of apples, that you kind of think this must have been done before. To the best of my knowledge it hasn`t been, and if you know that it has, then just whisper it, because I don`t want anyone knowing.

A couple of things about the vid. You may notice that at the beginning there is chat between us regarding one of the lines in the song which Andy had written in his pad. It`s the second line of the second verse which goes "sit beneath this apple tree and let me taste your flesh". Well, the way that Andy had written it definitely did not look like the word "flesh". If he is able to send me a picture of the word as he`s written it, I`ll post it on the blog, and you can make your own minds up about what it looks like, I am far too polite to mention here what it
looked like to me, Carl, and Mark.

Secondly, I`d posted a version of this song which I`d recorded the other day previously on the blog, which had a completely different melody to the words. It was so difficult to blank that out and try and sing it the way Andy had written it, but I think I managed, and it lent itself well to a Wurzels inspired Chorus singalong!

Lastly, When we play new stuff it can be a nightmare to grab everyones attention to let them know we are coming to the end of the song. Carl is playing mandolin out of shot, and he had his head down in a Ray Manzarek styley. so I thought I should give him a whistle to let him know. Carl felt this was an affront to his human rights, so you can just about hear a profanity yelled by him just before it ends, followed by him whistling. I`ve stopped the tape there as his Tourettes kicks in and it might be painful for sensitive ears to behold.


Apple Scrumpy



Next up is a tune which Carl has written. I truly believe that Carl is an absolutely amazing guitarist and songwriter. He nails the theory of it not being the "Rock" but the "Roll" that you should tap into. I`ve played alongside carl for coming up to thirty years, and every time he surprises me with what he can do. It`s just a shame his memory is about as strong as an asthmatic turtles breath.

Carl`s tune is as good as anything we`ve played in my opinion. Great bass playing by Andy by the way. Could we be seeing a "Northern Bass Boy" website. God knows we`ve drank enough of the stuff.

Carl`s Tune



Finally we had about five minutes of studio time left so we thought we`d have a go at resurrecting a song we`d played once a couple of months ago. Shady Grove is what happened. not bad for a first proper go.


Shady Grove



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Apple Scrumpy (rough demo)

Evening Strumpets,

Andy from the The Charmers and NBB, has been harvesting his annual Apple hoard and is currently fermenting enough apples to keep Eve stuffed till Doomsday.

He`s posted a lovely little tune on his website, so I thought I`d do a demo of it for your good selves, and maybe it might find it`s way into the Charmers Set.



Hope you like,

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Pretty Polly

Morning Strumpets,

Jerome from the West Midlands in England (that`s a place and not a band) has posted this on Youtube and Google+, and I thinks it`s brilliant.



Hope you like it too, you can see more of his stuff here,

http://jerometurner.posterous.com/

And if that`s worked, it will be a first!

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

FB song

Evening Strumpets,

Brian posted this onto my wall on facebook, and I`m rather taken with it.



Hope you like it to,

Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

Happy Birthday NBB!!!!!

For Mr Northern Banjo Boy.



All the best mate,,

Mark.

Bdumtisch!!!

Afternoon Strumpets,

In the first in a (very) fleeting series on GNS, I`m going to post a joke. I`ll try and not be all Ronnie Corbett about it (not a bad thing to be Ronnie Corbett, if you`re Ronnie Corbett that is), and it`s a gag told to Robin Williams by Walter Cronkite. To quote Mr Williams Mr Kronkite "liked his humour the same way he liked his ocean.....blue"

You have been warned!

A couple are enjoying carnal activities whilst in bed one evening when suddenly they are disturbed by a creaking door. jumping up they look over to see little Timmy standing in the doorway with a look of abject horror on his face. With an almighty groan Timmy runs from the doorway. "Christ what should i do" asks the man, "follow him, and explain what was going on, he`s of an age where he should learn these things" replies his wife.

The man follows the cries to Timmys room and tenderly explains the act and function of sexual intercourse. Timmy says he understands and is soon fast asleep. The man returns to his room and reassures his wife that everything is just fine.

An hour later they are awakened by a bloodcurdling scream. The man sits bolt upright and runs to where the screams are coming from. Opening the bedroom door he see`s a sight which drags the breath straight from his lungs. Little timmy is on top of his Grandmother humping away "Oh my God" the man yells.

Looking over his shoulder Timmy shouts

"Not so funny when it`s YOUR Mother is it?"

Bdumtisch.

Till the next one learn something new.

Mark.

Billy cutting the mustard.

Evening Strumpets,

I`ve just posted a phrase "I can`t cut the mustard like I used to", and it reminded of one of my favourite songs of Mr Connolly`s. When I first heard this I was nearly 18. That was yesterday wasn`t it?



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

First gig parts 2 & 3.

Evening Strumpets,

It`s been a looooooonnnggg long day. Can`t cut the mustard like I used to.

Here`s the final two segments of the Gig from last night.






Hope you like.

Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Our first gig, part 1.

Morning Strumpets,

Very tender this morning, much enjoyment had last night.

So here is the first of three vids from the night.



Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

Fly Me to the Moon and Sun!

Afternoon Strumpets,

Tomorrow night sees the first gig played by the Alice Charmers in their current line up of Andy, Carl, Mark and myself. We`re playing a set at Doc Browns in Boro, a place where i have played solo, with Carl, and with Carl and Andy. If you can, see if you can get there. It should be a reet belter.

Mr Jason Roper has asked me to post a couple of the Rat Pack songs onto the blog, so here`s my rendition of "Fly me to the Moon". More to follow over the next week Mr Roper!



I also played my first gig at The Sun Inn in Stockton. It was a really nice set up with a couple of bands (Product of Mexico, and Dinnernanny who all seem to be called Paul, hence the dedications before each song, and gave out free cake) who were really nice chaps. Unfortunately during me set a rather loud group of young chaps came in a bit worse for wear, and proceeded to shout amongst themselves and then get kicked out, so i`ve only included the first couple of songs I did, as the rest is just obscured. My particular facourite piece is where I stop for the people to join in on "All you need is Love" and for the first time that night the place is silent!



Practice tonight with the Charmers, and then tomorrow the real thing HURRAH!!

Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

The Good Long Friday.

Morning Strumpets,

So I`m tootling along nicely on my weekly jaunt to "the" ASDA, and accompanying me in a little Caraoke (thanks to a CD long ago compiled) are the Pixies, Frank Black, and The Breeders. All of a sudden Francis Monkman`s theme from "The Long Good Friday" blasts out. Tourettes Like just as it`s starting I shout " ERE, Howld ap, wayers Victoriaaaaah?" just as She`s seen in the other car getting driven away.

For the next two minutes, Bob`s in the back exploring the possibilities before resignedly accepting his fate. James Bond (who is now sat next to me in the passenger seat looking back at Bob with an air of arrogance yet deadly obedience) is going to shoot him. It`s at this point I have to get out the car and do the weekly shopping.

Welcome to my world.

Ironically, and this did make me laugh out loud whilst in "the" ASDA, in the third aisle, blocked in by an old woman reading at point blank range the contents of a Pot Noodle, her trolley left at a right angle. I could hear Louis Armstrong singing "With all the time in the world" through the tannoy.

Who said shopping couldn`t be entertaining.



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark

Rat pack on The Road.

Afternoon Strumpets,

The past couple of weeks have been devoted to working out arrangements of Rat Pack classics for guitar and banjo following a request from a friend to play some at her "39th plus 1" birthday party last night. As little as a fortnight ago, I honestly didn`t think I was going to be able to manage it. These are big songs, and those chaps voices had a range as wide as Stretch Armstrong doing a bungee jump from the Grand Canyon. Then I got a slight throat infection. Then I tried on my tuxedo. Time somehow made it shrink. I can`t figure out how, but it`s happening a lot with my clothes lately. maybe we should change our washing powder (ahem, walks away sheepishly).

However as is (touch wood) the norm with these things, something clicked with the arrangements, the throat held out, and thanks to a little smoke and mirrors the Tux was salvagable. And what a night! 250 people in the most glamourous attire all out to have a good night. And Debi,(party lady) put on quite the evening. I went down pretty well, actually I`m stopping being modest, I went down really well. I`ll be posting the renditions of the Rat Pack stuff at a later date, though not from the night as I forgot to take me Bloggie!

Last Thursday The Charmers met up and had a really productive evening. Now summer holidays are finished with, I think we`re going to really push with getting our stuff "out there".

Here`s a first group attempt at a song I posted a month or so back.



Till the next one learn something new.

Mark.

Palomine.

Afternoon Strumpets,

Back home after quite a few adventures in various places. Here`s a couple of demo`s of some stuff I`ve been messing around with for a couple of days.

Hope you like.



And here`s a vid for your viewing pleasure. Inspired by a chat between Northern Banjo Boy,Carl and myself whilst camping at this years Deer Shed Festival



Loads of stuff to do over the next couple of days, so till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Hope And Social.

Evening Strumpets,

I`m away for a couple of weeks, but I`m leaving you in the good hands of the North`s best kept secret. Hope and Social.



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Wally on the Run

BBC Introducing.

The Road

Afternoon Strumpets,

Here`s another new one which I`ve been working on for a couple of days. First version and I`m sure not how it will eventually end up (not sure I like the G7 insert) but, oh well you get the idea. all comments very welcome.



Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

Jamboree Jam.

Afternoon Strumpets,

Here`s a vid from the other nights practice. It`s a song I wrote years ago for my other band The Nephrons.



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark

Smother Time

Evening Strumpets,

Seeing Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers appears to have acted as a laxative to my creative muse who is emptying her bowels on my head at an alarming rate.

I played Blondie`s Sister Rag to the Charmers during a practice on Tuesday (some audio and vid to be posted over the next couple of days)and it went down really well. I`ve also written this little thing which has words of a sort but I`ll keep hold of them until it`s about right. The chaps also liked this so hopefully so will you.



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Jubilation Day

Evening Strumpets,

Here`s a bit more footage from the Steve Martin and Steep Canyon Rangers Concert,playing my current favourite song.



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Blondie`s Sister Rag

Afternoon Strumpets,

The kids have had their annual Sports days this last week, and fantastically, in Grace`s year there were actually winners and losers. Grace got a first place in the football team, and two Silvers and a Bronze. Pretty chuffed. Amazingly I won the Dad`s 60 Metre Dash with a bean bag on head. I managed to lodge the bean bag to the top of my head with my glasses. Nothing against the rules there (I`ve checked).

Following this on the way to the Gig this weekend, Carl and I remembered our sports days. Carl has an everlasting memory, which i`m sure he will share with you if you should ever meet, and it was that along with the inspiration of seeing Mr Martin in action, which has led to me writing this.



Hope you like it,

till the next one, learn something new,

Mark

Steve Martin weekend.

Afternoon Strumpets,

As a birthday present, Carl from The Charmers arranged for us to visit the City of Manchester to see Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers play at the O2 Apollo. How fantastic was that!!!I thought it might be an idea to stay over on the night so without any help from the wives we "organised" everything ourselves.

The day started well, the hotel was booked, all of my stuff was packed. Louise ran through a check of clothing. "Do you have clothes to travel home in tomorrow?" was the first question, yes, yes I did. "Are they different to the clothes you are travelling there in?" was the next question, mostly they were, so the answer again was positive. all toiletries packed, unfortunately I`d forgotten toothpaste, but there`s a marvellous thing about Manchester. You can buy things there, like stuff you`ve forgot.

It turned out Carl had some anyway. Carl picked me up, and all excitened, to quote young Harry, we set off. Neither of us felt that we would need coats as it was quite sunny. We stopped off at a local shop to pick up food and, ahem, drink for the car. As we went to leave the shop, we weren`t prepared for what we saw. Literally. It was like God was peeing through a sieve. It was bouncing eight inches off the floor, and minor flooding was already occuring. It had been glorious when we went in.

The car was twenty feet away, but it might as well have been a mile. The rain was coming down sideways. We decided to Butch and Sundance it. By the time we got to the car we might as well have just walked. Drenched. Still we had food, we had drink and we had a great evening to look forward to. I asked Carl if he`d printed off the directions to the hotel I`d sent him and he said he had and that they were behind my seat. I picked the sheet up and saw this.

Carl had been helping his son with his homework that morning.

Despite this we found the hotel. It had looked lovely from the website, but I suppose alarm bells should have rang when I realised I`d only paid thirty quid for the two of us to share a twin. Still it did the trick.

We managed to get to the O2 Apollo, which was a twenty minute taxi ride, you can guess the price! Mr Martin came on with the Steep Canyon Rangers, and Wow. I mean Wow. You know when you get the chance to see one of your heroes perform, and I`d been a fan long before I even knew he played banjo, and you`re slightly nervous because you don`t want them to be ordinary, or anything less than magnificent. Well Mr Martin, effortlessly, went past my expectations. I can honestly say I have not been more wholly entertained ever at a live concert. He was at pains to point out that the Steep Canyon Rangers where not his backing band, but that he was their host Celebrity.

Here`s a clip I managed to get on my mobile.



I`ve got a few more to post throughout the week.

So then it was a couple of pints in Manchester, and back to the room with takeaway. I was so looking forward to a good nights sleep. Hal has had a bad cough lately so sleep has been a stranger. There was a 21st birthday party going on directly underneath our room. That stopped at 12:30. Sleep beckoned. Then I heard it! Carl had obviously swallowed a Klaxon. He wasn`t snoring, he was shouting. This continued until 6am when, and I kid you not, he got out his bed, put the light on and started making a cup of tea. No sleep for me.

Back home and to the kids and wife, and an amazing memory stored. Thanks Carl mate, but seriously, have the operation, that snoring is unbelievable.

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Forty Towers Before Me.

Morning Strumpets,

The brief joy which was a working computer came to an abrupt halt last week. I think it`s about time I bit the bullet and purchased a new one. As a result this is being written on my lovely lady`s laptop, which I seem to have keyboard dyslexia about. I also find that I`ve been typing happily away for a couple of minutes, only to look up and find that I`m about three paragraphs backwards and in the middle of a previously typed sentence. No idea how that works?

I am forty tomorrow. I`m not complaining (much), as previously posted my life is pretty wonderful at the moment, but it has made me think about all my "firsts" I achieved in my thirties.

So, and in no particular order, here`s the, as yet unfinished, list.

Been in my thirties (duh!)
Graduated from a University course
Become a qualified nurse
Been stung by a wasp
Passed my Driving Test
Became a manager at work
Realised that being a manager at work was not for me
Won Popmaster and three in ten on Radio 2.
Owned a computer
Bought a house
Became a Dad to a beautiful daughter
Became a Dad to a beautiful son
completed a half marathon
learnt to "play" banjo
learnt to "play" Ukulele
got up and played to a group of people in a pub
Been paid to get up and play to a group of people in a pub
Played at a music festival
Woke up in a tent next to a girl

I`ll carry on with this later, after I`ve had a bit more of a think.

Till the next one,

learn something new,

Mark

Fooling Banjos.

Afternoon Strumpets,
I don`t often post YT clips of others due to copyright infringement, but this is such a brilliant thing that I just had too. It`s not only the "duel" which is amazing and funny, but keep an eye out for Mr Martins reply. Sheer genius!

(For some reason YT clips only ever display the left two thirds of the screen on the GNS Blogspot, so it`s worth clicking on the heading on the clip and watchin on the YT channel.)



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Kids Row.

Evening Strumpets,

This morning whilst I was in the bathroom, the kids were playing hide and seek. It was Hal`s turn to hide, and I heard him come scampering along the landing to hide in the adjacent room. He didn`t know I was in the bathroom, and whilst he was in there I could hear him laughing to himself with the excitement of the game.

It`s these moments that I think I`ll truly remember as being a Parent. The obvious moments such as first words, first steps etc. will always remain, but it`s the unexpected things which I truly cherish.

Things like Harry sat on my lap absentmindedly scratching his head. Grace sat in her princess tent "playing" her Uke and singing along, not knowing I was stood watching her. The pair of them tucking into pizza and popcorn whilst we watch our "Saturday night film".

It`s at times like this I think, what does the future hold for them? What can I do to assist in their happiness and learning? I know I`m not the first parent to have these thoughts. The truth is, it`s a crap shoot. Better parents than we have had the most awful experiences as also worse parents have had their dreams come true.

All I know is that so far, so good. They are the two loveliest creatures which ever strolled the planet. It is true that they make me want to laugh and then want to shout in frustration. On one hand wish to hug them then equally wish to break their little legs. And all this is made worthwhile by the hope that one day, they`ll see their kids singing to themselves whilst playing arts and crafts and have the exact same thoughts.

Here`s another vid from last weeks practice. A new song to this website from The Alice Charmers. Andy wrote the music and had the chorus worked out words wise, i just threw some more words at the rest of it and looked at what stuck.



And here`s an audio of a song which I wrote in just over ten minutes. sometimes that`s what happens. Remarkably i wrote the words first and the chords and tune turned up a bit later. It`s a first recording and definitely not a finished piece, but I like it.



Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

Return to Blogsville

Morning Strumpets,

So, over the last couple of weeks, in an amazingly (even for me) rhubarb turn of events, not only was Blogger playing silly buggers not allowing me to post, my computer received a virus, making it out of play for a couple of days, and then lo and behold the Sony Bloggie I purchased in order to place HD vids on here turns out to be nuthin` but a muffin. It was only allowing vids of 1 min 24 sec`s length to be posted to YT or Facebook. For example:



Which to say is rather annoying is like saying The Grand Canyon is a ditch. However due to a late night call to my Facebook buddies following spending most of the night trying to figure it out, I`m rather chuffed to say that we now have the return of posts to this blog including vids which are completed!

Massive thanks to Paul Mowbray, Neil Duddy for their advice and (as it turned out) answers, and a special mention to Paddy and Andy Brown for their invaluable, and intended, humorous efforts ("try turning it on and then off again" and "try hitting it with a hammer" respectively).

So without further a do, here`s a first attempt with the four piece at an old work in progress. Hope you like.



Till the next one learn something new.

Mark.

More stuff from last Thursday.

Evening strumpets,

Here`s a couple more songs from the other nights rehearsal, featuring a headless me on guitar. Nicely there`s no swearing on these ones.

John Henry.




Foggy Mountain Breakdown.



Still a bit rusty, but the first time we`d played these together with Mr Dent, so a good benchmark from where to work hopefully.

Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

In and Outtakes

Afternoon Strumpets.

(CAUTION STRONG AND POTENTIALLY OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE AND PERCUSSION IN THE FOLLOWING VIDEOS)

I`ve pondered and hummed and hawed about putting these vids on, purely because in the second one there is some strong language. They were recorded whilst we were trying to get the percussion sorted on "By the Fire". They are by no means "Troggs" like, but there are a couple of naughty words, so please if you are offended by swearing don`t play them.

I`ve posted them because I have laughed so much whilst watching them, and I believe they incorporate the good nature and enjoyment of being in a band.

Hope you like them. Incidentally, I`ll post the final version tomorrow. As with most things, we went back to the original instruments line up.

MORE COWBELL!!



"Lollipop sticks in the park gates"



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Alright foursome.

Afternoon Strumpets,

The Charmers met up last night to have a practice and we were joined by Mr Mark Dent. Mark, Carl and I have been playing together for as long as I can remember, and I know of no person who has a better natural inbuilt metronome. He`d played with us once in February 2010, but due to family and other commitments (he likes football) it can be tricky to pin him down for regular practice.

I think he adds a dimension the The Alice Charmers which moves us up a gear. Hopefully you`ll be hearing and seeing a lot more of him on the old blog.

Here`s the first song we did, I`m messing about with some new licks on the old drum on a stick, and my banjo is slightly out of tune, but it`s not too bad.



More stuff from last night on the way soon.

Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

Help needed!

Afternoon Strumpets,

Last Saturday I played in the "Boro Busk" Competition, in the Cleveland Centre. First prize is a professional recording session and a smartphone.

Sooo,

Could all of my lovely GNStrumpets please take time out to vote for my BoroBusk video posted here. It would be brilliant if you could, and only takes two minutes. It might be a bit cheeky to ask my fellow bloggers and Website chap`s to post something on their sites, but shy bairns get no sweets. so if you could that would be much appreciated..

I`m playing S Club 7 Don`t stop moving, in The Cleveland Centre. Feel free to ask your friends to also do it. Many thanks, Mark.

http://tfm.live.mediaspanonline.com/boro-busk/



Many thanks

Form is temporary......

Afternoon Strumpets,

Whilst Thing number one was at a party yesterday, and we had a couple of hours spare, I took Thing number 2 to a local field with a football and some bread to feed the ducks. I`ve taken the kids to this place loads of times, It`s a hidden gem, and incidentally also the site of my old Sixth Form College.

In the late Eighties as a sixteen year old leaving school, you had three options. Get a job (as this was the North East of England in the late Eighties, that was an option pretty much neutered before it began), join a YTS (Youth Training Scheme) within a company, who would then in all likelihood, get rid of you after the two year scheme, and get another fresh YTS person to take your place (remember this was the late Eighties, and Greed was good apparently), or Go to Sixth Form College.

I was of the mistaken belief whilst at School,that all I had to do to pass my O levels (Google it kids) was turn up and write my name on the exam sheet. We were constantly being told that these exams were becoming ridiculously easy to pass, and I like an eedjit believed the hype. as a result I left school with two O` levels. One in "Music", and one in "English Language (Oral)". Everybody passed the latter (it was a case of having a chat with a teacher if memory serves), and I couldn`t read music which prevented me from taking the former any further.

This meant I had to spend some time at Sixth Form. And what a time it was! The first year was notable only for me actually getting me head down to get my required O levels, so I could study for A levels to get me into Polytechnic, or even University. It was during the second year that the wonderful life of being a "student"(and at 17 student life truly is wonderful, if it`s not, you`re doing it wrong).

The Common Room was the most magical of places. It rang to the sounds of The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The Wedding Present, and The Wonder Stuff to name but a few. I occasionally brought in some Siouxsie, Ian Dury, Boomtown Rats, and Squeeze tapes I`d copied off me Brother and Sisters singles and LP collections. Card games such as "Chase the Ace", " 3 Card/Donkey Brag" and "2`s and 8`s" were played, and reminiscences discussed regarding previous nights out at such distinguished venues as "The Madhouse", "Havanah", "Blaises" and "The Mall" with it`s award winning light show on Thursdays to the music of Carmina Burana. (Incidentally I will, to my dying day, never forget the image of a friend of mine dancing alone on the dance floor to Carl Orff in the light show, whilst clutching a bottle of Diamond White).

Sixth Form formed the foundation stones which have developed (and at times hindered) my adult life.

Whilst playing footie with Hal yesterday, he asked what the building was, and asked if he could go and have a look at it. so we did. And it was then that I realised that "Acklam 6th Form College" was dead.

I`d known it was of course, as all of the smaller colleges have amalgamated into the giant "Middlesbrough College" which is situated by the River. Psychologically though there must have been a part of me which had negated this fact. As far as I was concerned, 6th Form was as healthy as ever. What a sad dawning realisation.

Windows have been broken, rooms left derelict, many with whiteboards containing last teaching notes and doodles still on them. The Common Room had chairs turned over and ceiling tiles missing. The Cricket Green, now overgrown, was merely a continuation of the field surrounding the building. Bored looking security men wandered around the premises, not realising that they were walking through a space which had at one time contained so many awakenings,experiences,devastations and jubilations to so many young adults.

No doubt in time the land will be bought and "luxury Apartments" will be developed, and soon there`ll only be a handful of ageing one time students, who remember what it really was. A place where you could aspire to be the next best thing, whilst writing doodles of crude male and female genitalia on the toilet walls. A place where you could decide where your future could lay career wise, but had no idea what you were doing that night. A place where you could be old enough to smoke, and young and daft enough to start doing so.

A place of encouragement.

A place of excitement.

A place of opportunity.

Well it could be worse, I could be sat here typing about how rubbish my YTS had been.

6th Form Entrance.

The Common Room(Right side).

The Common room (left side) (note security guards in reflection in window)

The window to be climbed out of to either smoke or play football.

Our "football" pitch

The Cricket Green.

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Slim Shady!

Evening Strumpets,

With massive thanks to Northern Banjo Boy Andy, for allowing me to use this first recording.

It`s only going to get better!



Till the next one learn something new.

Mark.

Owed to Joy.

Evening strumpets,

I think that I`ve written on here before how Stephen King describes being inspired to create something out of nothing. He describes it as his "muse sh*tting on his head". I like that. You will sit for days trying different stuff, playing your favourite songs hoping some sort of musical osmosis will infiltrate your fingertips and voice. Oh if it were only that easy.

I`m sorry I`m actually sat here laughing whilst I`m typing this, because Louise is putting the kids to bed, and all I can hear is laughter and mayhem coming from their rooms. It`s a "songs about poo and wee" night. We have them once a week, where the kids and,usually me, are allowed to sing, well, you probably have already guessed. Because Louise has spent all weekend redecorating and cleaning Gracie`s bedroom, she hasn`t seen too much of the kids, so she wanted to take the lead in it tonight. Doesn`t sound like she`s doing too badly!

Anyhow, back to what I was saying at the end of the day, I can`t remember too many times I can clearly say that I set out to write a song, and had one finished neat and tidy, just like that. I generally have to sit there, and as Mr King writes, wait for my muse to dump on my head.

Well this afternoon, it did. I`m pretty sure this riff has been done before, but if it has, I haven`t heard it. It has a John Lee Hooker/Bo Diddley feel to it (and I am not comparing my wonderful middle class caucasian life to theirs, I`m just saying, that was what was in my head whilst playing it).

I originally played it in the faster tempo, and liked it a lot, but wondered what a slower blues type version might sound. The slower version takes me a little longer to find the "groove" purely because I`d only played it twice before. Don`t worry if you can`t understand all the words, a lot of them are just utterances. It`s how I`ve always come at songs lyric wise, and I`m pleased to have read in Keef`s Autobiography that it`s how Mick works (for this brackets please see previous brackets). It`s so true, you find the vowels and consonants which fit the tune and then try and find words to make sense which fit the sounds. At least I do.

here`s the original (and only the second time I`d played it) version.



Here`s the bluesier version.



Please let me know what you think, either on the ridiculously difficult way of posting on this blog( bear with it, you`ll get it posted in the end), or by being a friend on Facebook, (Mark Davies, there`s usually a picture of me or the kids on the profile pic), or by following me on Twitter (greatnorthstrum) or emailing me on the email address on my profile on this blog.

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

My Favourite Year.

Evening Strumpets,

Genius = someone who changes the way things are forever after they leave.
Genius = Mr Black Francis.
Genius= Mr Joey Santiago
Genius =Mr David Lovering
Genius= The one and only KIM DEAL!!
I saw them when I was Eighteen in 1990. They Started behind a red screen with Cecillia Ann before the redscreen dropped and they launched into Rock Music. Best gig ever, if only because I was Eighteen, but more so because they encapsulated perfectly how I was feeling whilst being Eighteen..

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you,

THE PIXIES!



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

"I`m a cult, a cult, I tell you"

Evening Strumpets,

The title of this post is a quote from Kenneth Williams, when he felt that noone was giving him the attention he craved. I have no idea why this sprung to mind, (ahem, walks off quietly looking to the sky whilst whistling a shrill vibrato.)

Talking of The Cult, here`s a rendition of one of their tunes, which I found whilst messing around on the guitar the other day. It happens every so often, you think you`ve written a classic and it turns out to already have been done before. Some might argue that this didn`t stop Mr Duffy ripping off AC/DC on the "Electric" album from which this track is taken, I couldn`t possibly comment, and besides that would hardly put him in a gang of one would it?



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

GNS on GNS

Afternoon Strumpets,

a further vid from the Doc Browns gig last week. We got really positive feedback from the crowd regarding this one. Local Heroes Bare Phut (Google them and you`re in for a treat), particularly liked it.



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

more stuff from Doc Browns.

Afternoon Strumpets,

Here`s another vid from the Doc Browns gig the other night. We`d only decided on the Monday night previously to play it in this format, i.e Carl on Bass rather than guitar, but it was eventually an unanimous decision and I feel the bass greatly adds to the heart of this fantastic piece of music. Duelling banjos and Cripple Creek might get all the plaudits, but this is still my favourite "genre" piece to both play and listen to.



Hope you like it, till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

The Alice Charmers, live at The Sessions, Doc Browns. 31/03/11.

Morning Strumpets,

Last night was The Alice Charmers first gig proper in their hometown of Middlesbrough. As is the way of the Charmers, we arrived too late for a soundcheck, so had to blag it with the sound mixer whilst playing. There`s a brilliant clip on the accompanied YT vid, of Rikki (Mr Doolan, who`s brainchild the Sessions are, and all round good fella and lover of music)checking out the bass amp, for levels, before realising, I hadn`t turned up the volume on my bass!

On top of this, the pick ups which Carl and Andy were using were not working through the PA system, so Andy had to play my banjo, or his banjo mic`d up through a standard vocal. Carl had to play my guitar. As a result of this, and also a crammed lineup of other bands, we had to edit our setlist significantly. Rikki has told us just to let him know when we can play next, and we`re in, so we`ll be much better prepared next time.

My fellow charmers didn`t feel that they had played well, but on that particular stage it`s difficult to hear your balance from the monitors. Everyone said that the mix was pretty good, and I think this comes across in the vid (and subsequent others to be posted later).

I have to say that the population of Middlesbrough did us proud, and the place was crammed. Nerves, we`ll have none of that, and into the set we launched with this song. By the Fire is unusual in as much as it`s the only Charmers song so far which all three of us have contributed to. Andy wrote the music, and myself Carl and honorary charmer Peebee Guttenberg came up with the words.



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Apologies

Evening Strumpets,
apologies but the vids posted on the previous post were saved as private, DOH!!!

You should be able to watch them now.

Till the next one, I`ll learn how to download HD vids from now on,

Mark.

Paper Scissors Stone, and a meaty guitar performance from Carl.

Evening Strumpets.

The Charmers met up yesterday morning at chez Davies to practice for the upcoming Doc Browns Gig. I hope I`m not tempting fate, but we`re sounding pretty tight. Carl regaled us with a lovely little story about a type of entertainment which has been given the name "Paper Scissors Stone" in the recent profannisaurus (chaps from overseas, just google that word, be warned though, it`s not for the easily offended!)

Carl had also bitten the nail on his right index finger down to the flesh, and was in agony for most of the morning. Immediately following the Foggy Mountain Breakdown vid posted, he showed me the end of his finger, which had almost been sheared away by his playing, but then to my horror I realised he had been playing on my NEW FENDER!!!!!! I am not exaggerating when I tell you, there was bits of meat on the strings. Carl was immediately sent off to clean the instrument, which he did chuntering something about "Oh well as long as the guitars alright, never mind me finger" Don`t worry about Carl, he`s a big boy, who should know better.

If anyones interested I have both the paper scissors stone story, and my reaction to Carls digit splicing incident on tape. If I get enough requests, I may post them on the Great North Strums sister blog "The Nephrons"!

Here`s the nicer clips.





Hope you like them, till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Introducing.....

Evening Strumpets,

So I`ve been out and bought a new guitar and banjo. You all know I was laid off from work, and I felt like I deserved a treat. I didn`t go mad, I bought a reasonably priced Fender something or other semi accoustic, and a Kay late sixties/early seventies KB54.

If that`s a sudden intake of breath, then yes I know, i`ve read and heard about the dreaded KB54 as well. More than likely made in Eastern Germany, not a lot of people have nice things to say about them. However, as soon as I saw it in the shop, I was smitten. It looks ugly as hell, but it plays as sweet as a mars bar dipped in treacle. I like it, I actually really like it. here`s a couple of vids with the new merchandise on show. I`ll get some lovely pictures up next week.

The first one hopefully makes Shady Grove a little more understandable to any budding new musicians out there. I now realise that I am singing the chorus entirely wrong, but I`ll post it done properly next week.



I love that song.

Next up, here`s a song written last year, which still makes me laugh. man alive that`s a good pause of the Davies lad on the YT Clip.



if only eh?

Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Shady Grove.

Evening Strumpets,

Here`s a good reason for picking up a new instrument. You find music and artists you feel you`ve known all your life, but you`ve never heard before. If I had never picked up this drum on a stick I would never have heard of Sufjan Stevens, or Patrick Costello, or the amazing Doc Watson, whom I am ashamed to admit I had never heard of before. What a performer, and who, I`m reliably informed, turned 88 last week.

Here`s a version of one of his most well known songs (I`m informed again). It`s rough as I`d only just worked it out, and apart from the, I think anyway,(ahem) Kubrickian editing style of the clip, I know it`s being played far too fast, but what can I tell you, learning new songs gets me excited, and it takes a while to get the tempo right, especially when playing solo. (Is it me or is this all sounding a bit double entendre-ish, for all the British readers FNARR FNARR)!

Anyway here it is.



Hope you like,

Mark.

jammin` jamboree

Evening Strumpets,

The Alice Charmers are playing their second gig on the 31st of this month at Doc Browns in sunny Middlesbrough, so we met up for the first of a couple of "run through of setlist" sessions last night. We finished that in (worryingly) about fifteen minutes, with a repeat lasting (a much more appropriate) 27 minutes (with a couple of other songs included). Which meant we had a couple of hours to mess about in the room.

Carl spent about half an hour trying to get reverb from an amp which was cattle trucked and a further forty minutes (I may be exaggerating) getting a sound from another amp using my guitar which is equally cattle trucked. But it was worth it, because the sound he got was, in my opinion, tremendous.

Here`s an example which shows what I mean (it would have shown more if I hadn`t brought the wrong lead for the Camcorder and the battery hadn`t run out.)



Hopefully see you at Doc Browns,

Till the next one learn something new.

Mark.

A Smarter Future

Evening Strumpets,

I never got around to posting the stuff that`s been happening over the past couple of weeks last night, so thanks for your patience, and away we go.

After working in the NHS for 13 years, I was made redundant on the 1st of March due to Public Health Cuts. The Condition Management Programme (of which I was a Practitioner)could only prove qualitatively that it was incredibly effective in improving peoples lives, but the Conservatives want quantitative figures. Try doing that with (predominantly)mental health initiatives.

It has been my pleasure over the past couple of years to work within a team which didn`t adopt an attitude of helping people, more so an attitude of helping people to help themselves. It also encouraged me to develop myself in a professional manner I never dreamt I was capable of.

Here`s the irony. Having spent the last couple of years working in Job Centres helping people to find work, I had to sign on last week. I must be honest, by the time I got to meet face to face with a fellow human, they were quite brilliant, and could not have gone more out of their way to help me, but Christ the amount of gumpf and telephone nonsense I had to go through just to get there was soul destroying. Still, I`ve always said you can`t fake empathy, so as far as I`m concerned it gives me another string to my therapeutic bow; although it`s beginning to resemble a harp these days more than a bow, I think I`ve got enough strings now whoever is guiding my life!

So what next? Well, as much as it pains me to write this, I`m setting up a LTD Company to continue the brilliant work CMP was providing. Yes I know it`s exactly what the Conservatives want (ie private companies sourced out to provide services previously provided by Public Health), but I`ve worked too hard and seen what the principles behind CMP can achieve. To paraphrase Rutger Hauer, if I don`t do this I`m afraid that all CMP achieved will be lost like tears in the rain.

The Company is called "A Smarter Future", and I`m not ashamed to admit provides all the things I provided within CMP, ie Chronic Pain Management, Understanding and Coping with Anxiety, Understanding and Tackling Depression, Sleep Management, Anger Management, Raising Self Esteem and Confidence, and General Activity and Pacing Techniques. Not bad eh? All I need now is a foot in the door.

I`m so busy networking and trying to find ways of funding this project, alongside providing Daddy daycare for my Kids that Posts may be few and far between, but I`ll try and let you all know how I`m getting on, as well as how the Alice Charmers are getting on also.

In the meantime.......

Here`s a couple of presents for the Strumpets.

By far and away the song which gets the most positive reaction from the old live stuff. It`s been posted before, but recorded on a rubbish Mobile.
Hope you like it.



And how good is Grace getting? Look at the different fingers being used!!!



All comments really gratefully received regarding everything, as usual, and why not follow the GNS, you can do it by clicking on the follow icon below followers on the right hand side of the screen underneath "search this blog". I have nearly ten thousand page views, and fourteen followers!

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

A lonely number.

Afternoon Strumpets,

Firstly apologies for lack of posts recently but in what will be made clear later it`s been a mad couple of weeks in Strumland.

Here`s a version of a Nillson classic as requested by Melissa, and a couple of Alice Charmers recordings.









And finally a Nephrons song given the Charmers treatment.



Hope you like them, and I`ll post later this evening about what`s been going on, It miht be a long one though.

Till the next one learn something new.

Mark.

For Mr Steven Kirkbride.

Evening Strumpets,

Just completed the fourth Facebook quiz, and as usual the winner gets to pick a tune to be posted on the blog. Mr Steven Kirkbride won,his vast knowledge of Modern Pentathlon and Addams family members helped a lot, and requested this.



Hope you like it mate,

Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Chip off the old block

Evening strumpets,

Grace has had her pink guitar for just over a year now, and has enjoyed messing about with it, although it`s never been in tune since day 1. So this afternoon, I`ve sat down with her, and taught her about tuning the strings and what they`re called, and we`ve worked on an E Major chord.

I have to say, she`s took it up really well, and here is her first interpretation of the song she loves us to sing to her at bedtime.



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Extremes.

Afternoon strumpets,

So here`s a couple of examples of the sheer diversity and delight that is known as the guitar. If any of you have kids, really, really really encourage them to pick up an instrument. I worked out Magic Fly when i got in from work, it took about five minutes to do it, and this is reflected in the slightly rough around the edges playing. i`ll get better, promise. I love the fact that it lends itself to the guitar so well.



Nebraska on the other hand, is just about the most beautifully dark piece of music there is, (especially when played by Mr Springsteen.) "Well sir I guess there`s just a meanness in this land" Shivers.




Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.




Hope you like

Charming.

Evening Strumpets,

A couple of the Alice Charmers will be playing a gig at Doc Browns in Boro tomorrow evening. Unfortunately Andy is unable to make it as he`s got work commitments he just cannot get out of.

We`re really going to miss him, and it means we don`t get to play the more enjoyable (to play anyway) Charmers songs, (Toll the Line, little ditty, and John Henry),but me and Carl will still belt out a couple of tunes which hopefully should get their feet a tapping and their eyeballs a flapping.

Here`s a late addition to the set (though i`m still trying to persuade Carl to play Jamboree). Wish us luck.



Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

Life begins at Fawlty? Or The 39 Stops!

Evening Strumpets,

As I was walking along the path to My Mother in Law`s house on Christmas Day just gone, I took a moment to look around and have a bit of a reflection on what this Christmas meant to me. The snow lay on the Ground, my breath misted causing a fluorish of crystaline as I exhaled, and the Sky was the blue God saw when he breathed life into the clay.

This was to be my Fourth Christmas since Mam died, and possibly (in fact very probably) the last Christmas the kids would both really experience the real "magic" of the Day. I figured it was about the third Christmas Morning on which I had woken to discover a white Christmas in my life. Then I thought, so how many haven`t I? And that`s when it hit me.

I had experienced (in one form or another) forty Christmas Day`s in my lifetime.

Now if you`re of an age where you`re tutting and thinking, "forty, you`re nowt but a bairn lad" then apologies, but what you have to realise is that somewhere there has been a mistake. You see, I`m actually only 22. Possibly 25 at a push. I`ve only just left Senior school, about seven months ago. Nearly forty? Christ I must have missed that meeting.

As an aside, it is with great pleasure that I tell you that My Senior/ secondary school was called Hustler. Yes that`s right, I gathered my fundamental understanding of French/English Literature/Music and Maths from a School named after a porno Mag. We shared a Campus with Readers Wives 6th form, Razzle & Fiesta technical College and St Bizarre Sex Dwarves.

That`s not really true. but my school was called Hustler.

How on earth am I Forty this year? Where`s that time gone? More importantly, how do I get it back? My neighbour has a theory of time speeding up the older you get. He has a four year old Grandson. A year to the little lad is a quarter of his life. It`s a 70th of the old boys.

Somebody once described our time on Earth to me as being like a toilet roll. The nearer you get to the end, the narrower the roll, the quicker it goes. you can insert your own toilet gag`s here. Go on I`ll wait for you..........right, are you done? OK, shall we carry on.

Then of course I think about where I`m at. I`m nearly Forty. I`ll have outlived Jesus by eight years (and a fact which even the most ardent of atheists cannot dispel, I`ve helped create two miracles in my lifetime). I`ll be the same age as Lennon when he was asked if he would sign Chapman`s copy of Double fantasy. I`ll be the same age as Basil Fawlty (In the SECOND SERIES). Dad hadn`t met me when he was forty (though he didn`t know it then, I was having a ball of a time: Bdumtisch Aaaythenkyew), and Mam had known me for about a year, inside and out.

But then I think, if I could have seen myself now being forty when I was twenty, apart from thinking when did I find the time to eat all those pies, would I be happy? If I could see me with my amazingly beautiful family, doing what I do for a living, Living where I do, still in touch with my closest friends of nearly thirty years, and their equally amazing and beautiful families (well nearly as amazing and beautiful). If I could see me doing the gigs and festivals, even playing a bloody banjo, then? Well, I think I`d have been pretty damned happy.

Here`s a song which I hope sums it up. (Man I looked pretty good with that beard).



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.