So this is Mini Frod, then. AKA Lola Bee. But she's a tiger here, so look scared, yeah?
Okay-got fed up with the pain of my shoulder..so went to iSTANBUL as you do-here is something Blue behind our son who has been a star..it is such a kid friendly place.
DJDarce waiting to be let loose amongst Daddy's CDs
No, not a free ad for Viva la vida....Today is the French national day which celebrates the beginning of the Revolution in 1789. It was the day on which the anger of the French people against the ruling classes spilled over and they stormed the fearsome Bastille prison, releasing all those inside. The fact that there were only seven prisoners in there at the time seems immaterial: the whole event symbolised the seizing of power by the people. Today, France commemorates the event with a massive military parade though Paris and, as France holds the Presidency of the EU for the next 6 months, it seems they've really made a special effort and invited everyone. Carla is in purple, in case you're interested. One melody we'll be hearing a lot today is the Marseillaise. Now having watched quite a bit of the Euro 2008 and heard the various national anthems, I have come to the conclusion that the French one is actually quite groovy. I also liked the Italian one. I don't claim to know all the words of the Marseillaise, but I think it's a stirring, beautiful melody. The Marseillaise was actually written by the young Mayor of Strasbourg, Rouget de Lisle (that's him singing it below), in 1792. 
Originally intended as a 'war song for the Army of the Rhine" it became known as the Marseillaise and was adopted as the anthem of the Revolution when it was sung in Marseilles by a doctor from Montpellier who had come to coordinate the revolutionary efforts in the south. Unlike other national anthems, the Marseillaise is occasionally covered by musicians from every genre, from jazz to rock. The most infamous (and my favourite) version is the reggae-dub version by Uncle Serge and of course it's in my playlist. This version was considered utterly disrespectful at the time, so much so that, as the story goes, Gainsbourg didn't dare do his reggae version in concert but sang the melody straight, a capella. 
Our Courgettequeen talked about FIP radio on the Mother Ship this morning - glad you're still enjoying them. Now I listen to just as much music from the laptop - hooked up to decent speakers - as I do from the old hi fi. I listen to all your lists on a week-end, for example. But I'm woefully ignorant in terms of good internet radio stations. I mean, you can find lists and all that...but what's good? And for what style? Therefore this week's question would simply be: 
If there's one thing I share with the redoubtable and - let's be honest - mental Japanese folk who take part in the gloriously strange Takeshi's Castle, it is a relentless and sad need to set myself challenges which will, ultimately, neither prove nor disprove anything. Challenges which, really, just make me feel better for having taken them on. So to that end...
Recently I have been, at long last, putting all my albums on to my itunes (other fine desktop music players are available, folks!). I'm currently about halfway, on the cusp of L and M, but lets not discuss alphabetisation methods now, huh?
The upshot has been that I've been faced with a lot of music that I had forgotten, disregarded or just plain ignored. After all the recent talk of itunes totals, shuffle and so on, I got to thinking - how many of my songs do I really know really well? Well enough, that is, to be able to name that tune in, say, 10 seconds.
So here's the challenge (and 'Spillers honour really must apply) - I'm going to turn on itunes. I'm going to enable shuffle. I'm going to press play. I will play ten seconds of ten songs and see how many artists (1 point) and song titles (1 point) I can get out of those ten, without taking any sneaky peeks. It might be fun, it might be really rubbish, but I've thought of it now, so I have to try.
My answers will appear in a comment, below, in a bit. Ta.
I thought about posting some kiss-based poetry on the Spill when Maddy suggested it as a topic, but the blog was moving really fast that week and I didn't want to slow it down, so I've saved it for now. The first is by a little-known (at least here in the UK: US residents?) poet called Edna St Vincent Millay, who was a very bohemian and free-living woman: the second is by Sir Thomas Wyatt, a courtier from Tudor times, a genuine Renaissance man. The poem may or may not be about Anne Boleyn. Hope you like them!
I had to post this. In case you haven't seen this already - it's one of the most intelligent and humane things I've ever seen. The Director of the Philippino CPDRC prison has decided that his inmates will benefit more than mindlessly walking in circles round the yard if they learn to... dance. They've got the choreography to 'Thriller' totally nailed. And if you Youtube them you'll see their other choreographies too. Sure as hell beats sewing mail sacks and I'd be interested in reading about the long term effects on these people. I can't help thinking that you must feel less of a social outcast when you see a video of yourself doing this. HumaneDonds for whoever had the idea...
I've just done my own personal Shawshank Redemption. It's holiday time. You lot are clearly praparing to bugger off to warmer, sandier climes and we shall be also. It's a beautiful summer's day here and I just couldn't bear the thought of shutting myself away in a musical prison. So here's a post I've been keeping warm in the oven for a while. I've broken out of prison and am strolling along the beach. And to accompany the music is a work by one of my favourite artists: Emma Holliday. Emma is based in the North East of England and does works of such vibrancy, boldness and vigour that they have great resonance for me. Her subject matter is very often places which have a special significance or memory for me, so I've chosen the Rendezvous cafe - which I believe some of you know. This is a classic 1950s Italian ice cream parlour at Whitley Bay which is still standing and, I think, still run by the daughters of the original owner. I used to go round the side window as a kid for a "99" (old fashioned sugar cornet, soft Italian ice cream with...a cadbury's flake in). They still serve teas, great sandwiches and old-fashioned cakes (peach melbas anyone?). The long windows look directly on to the beach and offer a great view of the coastline. Emma kindly gave me her permission to post this photo so do have a spin on her website and look at her paintings. I'll be sending this post to her so I think she'd be chuffed to get any feedback. Oh and here are ten truly great songs about...beaches. 
