Curvaceous

A state of the art theatre in the heart of Leicester's vibrant Culture Quarter and a former American model dubbed 'the pinup with the impossible waist'. I was torn as I sat down at my Mac today as to what to share with you - The Curve or Betty Brosmer. Both are pretty incredible. I was in Leicester last Friday and took a few photos of the former. From the outside this incredible art space put me in mind of Preston Bus Station. 

Betty Weider (née Brosmer) on the other hand doesn't remind me of Preston Bus Station. She was born in 1929 and via a lucrative modelling career in the 1950s built a fitness empire and became both a physical health and bodybuilding spokesperson. She's 96 and still looks amazing. Leicester's Curve on the other hand was only built in 2008. Whether it will survive as long as Betty is anyone's guess. 

Heart Attack!

Tom Petty would have been 75 today. I'd have loved dearly to have seen him tread the boards at some point but, alas, the planets never aligned; not helped by the fact that that in his illustrious 40 year career he only played a meagre 61 dates in the UK (and 23 of those were in 1977). I think it's time to dig out the time machine (again). If I can source a new flux capacitor I think I'll set the coordinates for that debut trek around around Blighty. I've never been to the Glasgow Apollo before (I've heard it can be, er, lively). Who's coming with me?

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - American Girl (1977) 

 

★

 Thomas Earl Petty (1950-2017)

Live forever

Mr. Medd meets Mr. Benn

Created by David McKee and voiced by Ray Brooks, Mr. Benn became one of the most loveable - and iconic - characters on British telly. It was appointment TV in the 70s. In the same way that Morecambe & Wise, Top of the Pops and The Generation Game got under the nation's skin, so the adventures (and they really were adventures) of our beloved bowler hatted resident of 52 Festive Road became legendary. Who can forget those immortal lines: "As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared."? We may have lost McKee and Brooks but Mr. Benn will live forever in the hearts and minds of anyone who has ever picked up one of his books or dropped in on any of his magical television appearances.

★

 David McKee (1935-2022)

Ray Brooks (1939-2025)

Well, well

I was speaking to a friend of mine last night. We talked about all the trouble and strife in the world: Trump. Gaza. The Middle East. Ukraine. Putin. Trump. Trump. Trump. He said whenever he feels down he imagines himself deep underground. In a hole. Surrounded by water. I think he means well.

I'm here all week.

 ★

When Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac released Oh Well as a single they were, at the time, understandably, limited by the number of grooves you could fit onto one side of a 7" single. So here's what they did: they put the three minute raucous barnstormer segment of the song (Pt.1) on the A side - where it then slows down at the 'end' and segues into/gets you ready for the slower orchestral/cinematic segment (Pt. 2) which, yep, they bunged on the B side. It goes without saying I love both pieces. This is them on TOTP giving you a taster of both. And this is them appearing as special guests of Alan Price - also from British TV in the same year:

Fleetwood Mac - Oh Well (1969) 

And here's Peter Green's beautiful arrangement that is Oh Well (Part 2); heavily influenced by Ennio Morricone it could easily be mistaken for a Spaghetti Western soundtrack. Enjoy. 

What a difference a day makes

One of the reasons I've being a no-show at our last few Book Club meetings is my ever increasing 'to read' pile; which, can I just tell you, is showing no sign whatsoever of diminishing. And that's a crying shame as I've passed up on reading some absolute cracking books. Sorry, Lucy. However, I shall return.

I'm currently reading Saturday by Ian McEewan. Anyone who's read it will know it takes place over the course of one day. Quite early on in the novel I was put in mind of Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine (a book I first read in 1988) - one man's thoughts & thought processes whilst travelling up an escalator on his lunch break. Should McEewan or Baker ever happen upon this blog they'd no doubt be quick to tell me that their two books are nothing like each other. And that's fine. But I'm the reader and the reader is always right. This reader, anyway. 

So I fell down a rabbit hole looking for other stories that take place in a similar timeframe. And there's quite a few. Some I knew, some I didn't. On the back of this list I've just ordered a copy of The Private Lives of Trees by Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra. Yet one more reason why Book Club may have to be deferred till 2026. At the earliest!