Separated at Birth

The early morning serenades are wearing thin now. In anticipation of the disruption owing to the clocks changing and the possibility of being woken up at 4.30am (in new money), Mr Duck and I retired at 9pm on Saturday evening. Sure enough, the 'extra hour in bed' did not materialise. Sweeping the curtains aside to reveal burgeoning daylight served only to confirm Tiddler's assertion that it was indeed 'morningtime'. Even Scooby Doo wasn't about at that ungodly hour and the Little Ducks had to make do with The Raccoons.

I remember watching this years ago and had failed to spot how ahead of its time it was. I am impressed with its green central message - don't knock down the forests to pursue the greed and commercial ends of cigar-chewing, gold-toothed developers like Cyril Sneer.

And then it struck me. Isn't he the inspiration for Watto in Star Wars - even down to the voice?

George Lucas is a Raccoons fan. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Duck

Can't decide whether to explain the picture of a duck thing or not. Maybe another day.

Ode To Emma

It's 6am. I'm sitting on the end of the bed listening to Tiddler composing a love song to his girlfriend Emma at the top of his voice. I'm impressed - he's 4. It's an amalgum of 'Obviously' - by McFly and the Harvest Praise song from last Thursday's assembly, with a few of his own words thrown in. 'She's my girrrlfriend. She's my beeest friend.' Eventually he exits the bedroom. All I can see is the glow-in-the-dark skeleton on his pyjamas.

Is it morningtime? he enquires.

By way of answer, I draw the curtains a fraction. It's still dark.

Brushing past me, he takes the house keys from by the bed, goes downstairs, deactivates the alarm and settles in for what he hopes will be an all-day Scooby Doo marathon on Boomerang.

About Me

I am a great lover of lists.

My CD CV




First record I ever bought:

Ballroom Blitz - The Sweet ( I know I owned earlier records - I definitely had Sugar Sugar - The Archies, Lily The Pink - Scaffold and a Pinky and Perky single among others, but I remember buying this one myself)


The song that led to my first pop star crush:
Shang-A-Lang - Bay City Rollers. Guitarist Eric Faulkner (pictured). Dark hair and blue eyes has ALWAYS done it for me, and yes, I did dress like that as well.


The song that reminds me of my first true love:

She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult. A Ford Capri, a packet of Marlboro and a favourite quiet spot by the canal for skinny dipping. Happy days....


The song that's guaranteed to make me dance:

Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division. New Order performed LWTUA at the Manchester for Cancer concert. The first time I've heard it performed live. I danced in the aisle and could have died happy at that moment.


My favourite holiday track:

59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) - Simon and Garfunkel


The song I'd most like to sing on stage:

Laid - James. 'This bed is on fire with passionate love' has to be the best opening line to a song ever.


The most embarrassing record I ever bought:

Nine To Five - Sheena Easton


The song I wish I'd written:

A Rainy Night in Soho - The Pogues. Lyrics by Shane McGowan


The song I wish I could play:

A Midnight Summer Dream - The Stranglers. Haunting and hypnotic with fabulous keyboards - on daily play, super-loud in my car.

The best guitar riff ever:

The Last Time - The Rolling Stones. Really it's She Sells Sanctuary again - one of the most recognised intros ever, but I didn't want to repeat myself.


My favourite love song:

In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel. From the movie Say Anything with John Cusack - (no. 3 on my Shag Without Consequneces List) - 'In your eyes, the light the heat, in your eyes, I am complete'. The scene where he stands vigil outside her window, silent and still, playing the song at full blast and just waiting gives me shivers. Irresistible.


The track that reminds me of my best mates:

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd. For Bli Guinness and Amazing Dave - true mates and perfect Paddy's Day Companions.


My favourite Beatles song:

Hey Jude


The song that reminds me of childhood:

White Horses - Jackie. From the school holiday TV series of the same name. Carefree, trouble-free times.



Double Click to go to You Tube to watch and remember.


Song to make love to:

You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC. In fact, I'll cheat here and say the whole album Back In Black.


Song to play at your funeral:

One of Us - Joan Osborne. I love the idea of people sitting at the crematorium listening to God being called a slob and not quite knowing what to think. Just before they scatter my ashes at Old Trafford.

Our Tune:

Things Can Only Get Better - D-Ream. This was mine and Mr Duck's song, unfortunately hijacked by New Labour for the general election in 1997. It was somewhat spoiled by the sight of John Prescott trying to clap and sing along at the victory celebrations at party headquarters.


Song to break up to:

If You Leave - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Aside from being the closing credits to the movie Pretty In Pink, 'Don't Look Back' is sound advice.