In With The Inn Crowd

One thing I never expected to hear at a punk gig: a shout-out for ex-footballer Gary Lineker, and more so one well received. Such is the embarrassment of messes the BBC has made in dealing with Lineker’s Tweet of disgust for insidious government policy and terminology, the player I once jeered from the terraces when watching play against Chelsea—I still remember one glorious miss vividly—has become a hero of our times.

Coming from openers Volatile Idea (missing from flyer below), it was not only warning to the fascist elite that their days are numbered—for they definitely are when ex-footballers used to a lavish lifestyle (ish; there wasn’t the same money in football back in the 80s/90s) see eye-to-eye with those that same elite would consider society’s most ‘radical’—but also the first memorable moment from a night full of them.

chelintweet

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KOKOROKO Drops Debut Video

KOKOROKO has just dropped its first video to compliment debut album Could We Be More; one that I find super dreamy and easy to either drift off in or find peace of mind to focus (though the first does sometimes win the day when it’s the latter I’m after, it should be said).

The video combines three of the albums songs—’Ewà Inú’; ‘Home’; ‘Age of Ascent’—and given the vibes it creates for me, I was intrigued to find out how the band had chosen to represent the music visually.

Stunningly, and contrary to my thoughts, somewhat tumultuously, by showing various aspects of life in the quite incredible Makoko, an area of Lagos, Nigeria, often called Africa’s Venice.

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Le Pew

ulysse-pointcheval--j6LLsAehUo-unsplashI have a sensitive sense of smell apparently; perhaps alone enough to cement a hatred for overbearing odours. But with aftershaves and perfumes there’s the added aspect of what, especially when finding oneself in a room full of people wearing either abundantly, is implied by their garish and obnoxious presence. Continue reading

The Epitome of Entitlement

pexels-mart-production-8078518Poetry to ‘celebrate’ all the lovely profits being made by energy companies in the midst of the war in Ukraine and cost of living crisis. What profit is there in the misery of others? Apparently plenty. It speaks the greatest volumes known to humanity about what this idea capitalism really is. Continue reading

The Frog in the Throat of the Bloke on Speaker’s Corner

sun2Elements of the following short story are based on true events. My dad took me so Speaker’s Corner when I was circa eight-years-old (1978-ish), and there I heard a man give a speech exactly along the lines of that described below.

In the unlikely event I ever end up with a pub or bar of some sort, ‘The Frog in the Throat of the Bloke on Speaker’s Corner’ is what I’ll name it; which reminds that I did used to frequent a place called ‘The Frog and Nightgown’ on the Old Kent Road, while sometimes before Chelsea games I’d pop in ‘The Ferret & Firkin in a Balloon Up The Creek Without a Paddle’ (said to be the longest pub name in the world at the time) on Lots Road.

Indeed, two Firkin franchise pubs were called the ‘Frog and Firkin’ (no relationship to the Nightgown).

My local was the ‘Phoenix and Firkin’, the old ticket office at Denmark Hill train station that had burned down before being turned into a pub. I quaffed many a pint of Dogbolter (brewed on the premises) there before the favoured drinking haunts of many got bought-out by a of corporate entity that wrecked them with arrogance and stupidity (such as no longer brewing Dogbolter) to the point of the franchise ceasing to exist bar (excuse the pun) a few names still being used, and even then only in part; such as ‘The Fleece’, Bristol–the first Firkin out of London and currently an integral part of Bristol’s live music scene–that today no longer uses the Firkin part on its name/branding.

While the below has nothing to do with pubs Firkin or otherwise, it does abound aplenty with corporate arrogance, greed and inanity. 

With thanks to D. D. Buck^ for use of the header image. Continue reading