Sherman Robertson at the Bronte Blues Club

Arriving early to avoid the forecasted Pennine blizzards, ickledot was lucky enough to catch the closing bars of the Sherman Robertson Band’s soundcheck. I knew then that we were in for a special night. As the audience gathered, the sense of anticipation grew.

I know I’ve said it before, but the house band, BBC5, were in particularly good form. Apparently singer Michael Ford had been suffering with a head cold for a number of days and whatever it was that lingered in his nose or throat gave his voice a pleasingly gravelled edge.

And then came the whirlwind that was the Sherman Robertson Band! Having heard their session on last Monday’s Radio 2 Blues programme with Paul Jones, I knew what to expect in terms of style, but nothing could have prepared our little gathering for the performance that followed. From Beaux Bridges, Louisiana to Laycock Village Hall! It never ceases to amaze me that such a quality of music can be heard at this tiny venue high in the hills.

Sherman Robertson is a truly wonderful guitarist and showman. To me, the sound was vaguely reminiscent of Robert Cray and a number of others confirmed the validity of such a comparison. I saw Cray a few years ago (at Manchester Apollo: an inferior venue) and to me Sherman has the edge. More grit in the voice and guitar style. The supporting band were superb. Loud, but so clear, tight and obviously having a great time. Unfortunately a quick trawl on the old internet has not revealed any names, but I think I heard that the bass and keyboards players hailed from Leicester and the drummer from Birmingham.

Thanks go also to the organisers for managing to capture this rare talent for the Bronte Blues Club. If not thought of as an essential venue on the British blues scene before, it truly is now. A magical night. And it didn’t snow.

Bit Guilty …

… not been blogging enough recently. Soz. Over the last few days I’ve kept hearing about various things and thought ‘I could write a blog about that’ and then days pass and the chance has gone.

I was very pleased about Obama. Whether you like him or not you have to agree it’s good to have a politician elected without having to ‘dumb down’; appear less bright than he is in order to pander to ‘the common man’, whoever that is. Same with Gordon Brown really. He recently seems to have got the plaudits by being serious, being himself, rather than pretending to be something he’s not.

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time updating another site I run. I first designed it using Freeway about four years ago. Now I’m attempting to bring it into the Web 2.0 era using Rapidweaver. Trouble is, it has grown to be huge and so is taking forever to transfer.

Also been using Twitter a lot. I’m enjoying it more and more. There’s a huge variety of people out there and it is truly amazing what can be said in the space of 140 characters.

OK. I’ll try to write something on a more regular basis from now on.

… and another thing …

All those involved in public life, whether it be sport, politics or the media, also have a private existence, like being on duty or off duty. Andrew Sachs was most definitely the latter. It’s a bit like the guy who punched Houdini when he wasn’t ready.

Ross, Brand Etc, Again

Like many others, I've been giving this issue quite a bit of thought over the last few days.  Firstly I ask myself, do I have a right to have a view or comment?  Along with the vast majority of the other 10 000 or so complainants, I did not listen to the original broadcast. It clearly was not aimed at me or my age group (50+) and I would have neither known or cared about it without all this furore.

As many have said already, what gives me the right is the fact that I pay my licence fee.  While I've always believed the £100 or so I shell out each year is a bargain, it is not an insignificant figure.  For the most part I feel proud to contribute to what I believe is one of this country's greatest institutions.

Still, I was not intending to put my oar in until I heard yesterday afternoon's edition of Running Away on Radio 4.  Under other circumstances it would have been just another of those inoffensive afternoon offerings that reflect the lighter side of life.  In this programme presenter Tim Samuels takes a 'famous guest' to one of their favourite places, gleaning aspects of their life story along the way.  Yesterday it just happened to be Andrew Sachs.

I was expecting a series of anecdotes from his acting and comedy career.  Not the case.  It turns out that Andrew Sachs, the forgotten figure in all of this, was born in Germany, and the early years of his life had him caught up in the rise of the Nazis.  His family only just managed to escape capture and for a time his father was arrested.

And while listening to these revelations, I felt the anger rising.  Ross and Brand obviously had no idea they were dealing with a character who is far more than just an old sit-com comedian; someone who has seen and endured far more in life than they could ever imagine.  We who came after owe Andrew and his generation so much and any form of belittlement like this is most upsetting.

I understand the BBC is required to cater for all ages and tastes, and this includes the young.  But somewhere in the mix there has to be an element of the sort of respect which reflects the fact that older generations were once young and edgy themselves.  But then the times themselves had an edge; one which offered challenges far greater than in today's cosetted society.

Why We Blog

Another recommendation from Hugh MacLeod (I’ve linked to his twitters, even though this video argues it might not be such a good idea). As someone with an audience of practically zero, ickledot finds this video particularly reassuring.

Jonathan Ross et al

Hearing of this latest embarrassment caused by BBC staff, I was reminded of another episode featured on a recent edition of Radio 4's Feedback. Apparently, BBC 6 Music's George Lamb was rude in a similar manner in a shortened interview with the Kinks' Ray Davies.

It might be worth investigating whether this behaviour is part of a trend in radio humour, a bit like what the Office did for the sitcom.  Surely programmes with such large audiences don't engage in such antics without planning.

Geese Have Gone

For all interested parties, just to let you know that our five geese have gone! They’ve not been seen since last Thursday. Strange that no one saw them go and they certainly did not leave a note.
It was great to have them for a second year on our mill pond and we all hope they return in 2009.