Yessongs

While we are on the subject of classic groups and albums, this one is also timeless!

Its 1973 and I remember watching 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' late one night. The whole program was the group 'YES' recorded live from Earls Court (I think)

I didn't really know much about the group then, but that performance absolutely stunned me! Rick Wakeman surrounded by the most sophisticated analogue and digital equipment i've ever seen. Moog and Melotron synthesisers were state of the art then and the only other song I heard using one of these was 'Son of my father' about the same time!

'Yours is no disgrace', 'And You and I', 'Roundabout' and Rick Wakeman' s 'Six Wives of Henry the Eighth' solo was incredible at the time.

Here they are:

Rick Wakeman's Solo

Roundabout

And You and I

Your's is no disgrace

So what did I do next?

I saved up my money and bought the TRIPLE album 'Yessongs' This cost £8...a heck of a lot of money at the time. Again, I was at college and went out at dinner time into town, then upstairs at W.H. Smith's - which at the time was a great record shop. I had really given this some thought about buying the record, but finally made a decision to splash out. I then went back to college with my carrier bag containing my £8 triple album, I guarded it with my life!

Some of the lads at college were really into this kind of stuff, Dave Eire especially, he was dead impressed when I showed it off to the others!

When I tried listening to it at home on the headphones there was really too much to take in...where do I start?

When I met Kath, she also had 'Yes' in her collection as well, but not Yessongs!

As well as the tracks, the graphics are superb! You can only see this on the vinyl album to appreciate it!

This is one of those records that grows on you and become timeless! (but I still don't understand the lyrics!

Happy New Year!

Led Zeppelin

Back in the 70's two of my favourite LP's were 'Led Zeppelin II' and the one that I called 'Led Zeppelin IV'. These albums are timeless! I remember listening to 'Black Dog' and 'Rock and Roll' at a record shop on Knowsley St called 'Russells' during my tea break when I was at college. The Cafe is still around today in a basement that Kath and Jacquie often visit. I saved my money and bought it shortly after. When I met Kath she also had the same two albums in her (amazing) collection!

During dark, wet nights like tonight I enjoyed listening to Led Zeppelin sat in the corner away from the telly and next to the solid state, state of the art, audio system that I built with my headphones on! (No iPods in those days!)

Just before Christmas Led Zeppelin re-formed to do a one off concert. I bought on the day it came out 'Mothership' the latest Digitally Remastered best of Led Zeppelin...superb! Here are photos of the concert

About the same time iTunes have released the complete catalogue of LZ for download.

A visit to PC World a few weeks ago reminded me of that first encounter at 'Russells' when Led Zeppelin was playing on a PC with digital Dolby 5.1. I could hear it all over the store, but I still kept walking back and standing in front of the PC to listen to the suberb quality...trouble is...assistants kept trying to flog me a PC!

Obviously, some of the young assistants at PC World like Led Zeppelin!!

My Classroom!

This picture shows the remains of my classroom at St Andrew's School.
Looks like the area is about to be transformed as builders move in to replace the school and all it's memories, with houses. Down the road a huge building structure is taking place that will become a all singing and dancing Health Centre and mini hospital. How times are changing this year!
After Christmas St Osmund's School will be demolished changing the face of the area again...for the better I hope! Quite a year!

Goodbye St. Andrews

This is difficult to swallow... so many memories, so many children, so many good times (and some bad times) I stood looking at the gutted heart of St Andrews school just five days before St Andrews Day! By Friday (St Andrews Day) all will be gone.

You can see the hall and stage, the staffroom, the door to Orange Class...still with displays on the windows, PE Cupboard. Nursery and Reception classes gone, just a pile of rubble.

Melissa was in Nursery, I wonder if she will remember?

My classroom next, still untouched, but 15 years working in the same classroom takes some swallowing!

But there...in the top picture...is my tree...planted as a little twig twelve years ago!

Goodbye....

It never rains, but it pours! This man needs a yellow umbrella!

An eventful day...

St. Andrews, my old school has now reached the end of the road and the demolition crew have moved in. It was sad seeing Nursery and Reception building lying in a pile of rubble. The beautiful Ash tree that I planted at the front of the building about 12 years ago now gone. I stopped outside tonight and looked in awe, then shouted out of the window "Where is my tree!"

I was on my way to Focus in Horwich where Kath works, it too has reached the end of the road. On Friday the store closes as a Focus store, brought back some momentos in the final 90% off sale!! When I got home I watched the craziest ever game... England and Croatia on a new Wembley pitch that looked like a peat bog! The most important game for years, England had to win or draw to qualify for Euro 2008. Guess what?

Goodbye Euro 2008!

Lost 3 -2!!

and to think that I was going to buy a Digi Box for my new classroom so that we could watch Euro 2006 on TV....Humbug!!!

Goodbye VCR!

Well, the end is nigh...after a major battle with Philips and Sony Betamax, the VHS Video Recorder has finally reached the end of the road. Digital technology has taken over! I remember it well, the Ferguson Video Star top loader with its piano key buttons! A wonderful piece of engineering with a hint of digital control technology. I know this superb machine inside - out... Servos, Digital - to - Analogue convertors, chips, chips and more chips! I've lost count of the number of Video Heads i've cleaned with a chamois leather and isopropil alcohol. Video Heads were expensive, so you tried everything before replacing it. (remember the 'put it on pause for two minutes to unblock the head' then charge the customer £30 for the repair?)

When I went to University training as a teacher, one of my placements was at Bolton College where I taught students about the Video Star!

Philips and Grundig were non-starters, mechanically too complex, but electronically brilliant. They both had servos that physically moved the head position to track the signal from the tape. The BetaMax had a more simple mechanical system, but complex electronic system, playback quality was good, tapes smaller. I must admit I didn't really like BetaMax, it was difficult to find faults.

"Now VHS was...just right!" (said Daddy Bear!) A good combination of both digital and analogue technology for the time and a straight forward mechanical system. Easy to fault find and cheap to replace parts.

I bought my first VCR from Hitchins, my Mum got it for £80, A brand new Hitachi with big buttons on the front! A super machine that lasted for years!

Digital Holidaymakers!

What is a digital holidaymaker?

"Quite simply, they aren't trying to emigrate anywhere...Do you know any digital holidaymakers?

Quite probably yes.

If you've ever had the pleasure of leading in-service training on any ICT, you'll definitely have met some. They are the ones that will attend in-service training as it's a 'day out', go through the process of learning new things, cope well with the new ideas and then leave at the end of the day having shelved absolutely everything they learned - it was a day out of school after all, and the tutor was quite entertaining.You'll have met them on a day to day basis too. They are the ones that will incorporate ICT into lessons, units and topics where it explicitly says so. They are the ones that will use ICT to teach skills exclusively and make no connections to anything elsewhere in the curriculum. They are the ones that use the interactive whiteboard only on the day the QIO or HMIe comes to visit."

Well, I must admit that I have to deal with this daily!

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