Lest We Forget 11/10/2010
Today is Remembrance Day in the U.K. - These are the lyrics to 'No Mans Land/Green Fields of France', originally by Eric Bogle. Well, how'd you do, Private Willie McBride, D'you mind if I sit down down here by your graveside? I'll rest for awhile in the warm summer sun, Been walking all day, Lord, and I'm nearly done. I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen When you joined the glorious fallen in 1916, I hope you died quick and I hope you died "clean," Or, Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene? CHORUS:And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined? And, though you died back in 1916, To that loyal heart are you forever nineteen? Or are you a stranger, without even a name, Forever enshrined behind some glass pane, In an old photograph, torn and tattered and stained, And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame? Well, the sun's shining down on these green fields of France; And I can't help but wonder now, Willie McBride, Watching Sunderland Beat Newcastle 09/02/2010
I wrote this a few years ago, when Sunderland AFC won against Newcastle United at home for the first time since April 1980. I was an emotional wreck, tired out and probably still a little drunk when I wrote it - it's not the most eloquent thing I've ever written, but it was from the heart! I hate days like today. You wake up with this knot in your stomach. As the day goes on, this turns into a sickness. you pace around a train carriage, tear apart the sports papers, analyse every single factor that could have a bearing on what is 'only a game of football'. This is not 'a game of football'. This is Sunderland AFC Versus Newcastle United. This is three hundred years of serious rivalry. This is bragging rights for months afterwards. This is the most charged atmosphere you'll ever see in your life. This is, without a doubt, the biggest game in English football. I had to change at Newcastle. Stepping off the train, I felt like every inch of me was on fire. I didn't dare open my mouth. I just made my way to the metro, and tried to look unassuming. Which, in retrospect, probably made me look very assuming. So you get to friendly territory. Spend an hour or two drinking. Just to settle the nerves. There's something about the walk to the ground. In fact, there's something about walking through the town. You can almost cut the tension with a knife - you can feel the anticipation in the air. Once you get into the ground, all you can do is scream, shout, roar and sing. I swear down they turned up that matchday music. I could feel it in my stomach. When Sunderland score, it's a sweet, sweet euphoria. You'll never feel a better headrush - like a birthday and a Christmas all at once. But it's too short lived. Back to nail biting after less than a minute. They equalize. You feel like your stomach has just dropped under the seat. All at once, everybody gets up and sings the same song. Just because we cannot bear to hear 4,000 Geordies gloating. Free Kick. The man next to you puts his arm on your shoulder. Somehow, you know that this is it. This is a goal. And in it goes. Sweet, sweet euphoria, how I missed thee. Out of nowhere, there's just this colossal roar. I'd never heard anything so loud in all my life. But we aren't enjoying ourselves. Not yet. There's those nerves again. Just ten minutes now. Hold on. They are attacking well. Dear God, Sunderland, hold on.... There's the whistle. Hang on...... THERE'S THE FINAL WHISTLE!!! The Stadium DJ gets it just right. Thousands of people singing along to "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You". Shortly replaced by the din of thousands upon thousands of voices booming. 'We beat the scum two one!' 4,000 Geordies can't even pretend they aren't heartbroken. Ten minutes later, we were still singing, and the ground was still nearly full. Twenty Eight years we waited for this. Twenty Eight years. Do you remember when you were the worst team in history? Did you know I had to sit and listen to Geordie relatives singing 'Let's all laugh at Sunderland'? Did you know I sat outside having a cigarette, absolutely shell shocked and almost in tears when you slumped to a three one defeat at Southend? Well, all is forgiven. Everything you have put me through in the last ten years, you have just made up for. Sunderland, oh my Sunderland, I love you.  I was dreaming about going to see Social Distortion last night (I missed 'Story Of My Life' - and subsequently woke up incredibly upset) and I remembered today that they have a new album - "Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes" coming out in about two months. I've started wetting my pants with excitement again, so I thought I'd bore you all with some thoughts on their six-year old last offering. Some Punk bands mature incredibly well - like a fine port, if you will. Frontman Mike Ness has certainly had it hard. Can you imagine being kicked out of your house at fifteen, starting a band playing a totally new "Punk cum Country" sound, making a very well received album before throwing it all away with heroin addiction, and having to start again years later? No, me neither. Ness and childhood friend Dennis Danell kept it going until 2000, when the latter sadly fell victim and passed away to a Brain Aneurysm - much of the record that followed in 2004 was a eulogy to him. It marked a two-fold shift. There was less of the country influence in the music, and the lyrics were far, far more positive than recent efforts. With maturity came reflection - and the resolution that we can only hope for the best, live for today, and do all we can to make life better The album starts with the hard, high tempo "Reach For The Sky" - a huge hit for the band, and a very positive start lyrically and musically - almost a life story of having everything, losing it and living and loving for today without regret. "Highway 101" is slower, more thoughtful and a touch more melodic. "Don't Take Me For Granted" is the song dedicated to Danell - and it's a superb, well written rock song littered with wonderful imagery ('I'm your worn in leather jacket, I'm the volume in your f***ed up teenage band') and a booming chorus. What I love is that it isn't a funereal, sad mourning song, but a raucous celebration of a passed friends life. "Footprints On My Ceiling" is slower and more thoughtful again, and one of the more average tracks on the album. "Nickels And Dimes" is another thundering, fast Rock song that shouts the 'Chasing a dream' theme of the album at you. "I wasn't Born To Follow" could well have been written by a man half Ness' age - it's full of youthful exuberance and frankly inspirational. "Winners and Losers" takes us back to the slow, thoughtful and melodic - and very well too. "Faithless" is a strange song. It's upbeat and cheerful, but it's a warning too. 'Don't let your walls down, you might fall in love' - that's very clever. "Live Before You Die" is okay, but nothing too special. "Angels Wings" is booming, operatic, and works so well as a finisher. It's reflective and slow, but positive and upbeat. I'm told the Acoustic version is even better, but I haven't heard that yet. So, in summary, this is a shift mixed with a return to form. It's reflective, it's ultimately upbeat and positive, and it's a joy to listen to. Six years after it came out, I go back to my childlike excitement and leave you with this: "You can't forever tell yourself and others that life's all bad. Apart from other things, punk rock also is about fun and loud guitars." - Mike Ness.  One of the things people immediately associate with China is the tea. It's one of the few Western Stereotypes that actually has a lot of truth in it. The Chinese actually do drink tea like it is going out of fashion, whether it's at work out of a cup similar to a thermos flask (that all come with 'balance in the top' strainers), when relaxing at home, or alongside dinner - that is mandatory, and restaurants of all budgets will give you a complimentary pot, that you can refill with hot water to your hearts content. Tea shops are everywhere, from the grand and expensive that let you try before you buy, to the small and secluded, where you simply have to chew the leaves to get the flavour. It's sold by weight or in plastic tubs in supermarkets, and goes from ridiculously expensive (£24 a kilo) to stupidly cheap (£2 a tub). There aren't so many teabags, although some are available, you would have to buy a teapot or strainer. The Chinese habit is to pour fresh water over the same leaves anything up to ten times. This blog is a brief look at what is available - no Tetley's here! GREEN TEA The ubiquitous Chinese tea. Refreshing and light, and comes in all prices. The expensive will be smooth, and refreshing. The cheap will be a little similar to cough medicine. It's drunk in the spring time to help the body clean itself out after long, harsh winters, and really does help you keep cool in the summer. OOLONG TEA One of my firm favourites - you really can't go wrong with an Oolong. Another green tea, that ranges from light and delicate to thick and taste heavy. It's an excellent tea to blend with flowers or Jasmine. Even the cheap Oolong tastes good. In fact, I think you are better off with cheap Oolong, as the prices get a little obscene towards the higher end. RED TEA Probably as close as you'll get to the tea we have at home, and it is remarkably similar, if a bit weaker - there's really no need to add milk or sugars to it. It's brewed differently to all the others - you put the leaves and water in one cup, wait up to two minutes according to taste, and tip the resulting brew into a different cup - the Chinese actually make cups with lids and a small hole for this purpose. This is a winter tea, to give you a kick and keep your insides nice and warm. JASMINE TEA My favourite after the Oolongs (I'm told my taste in tea is effeminate!) Jasmine tea is known in Chinese as "Flower Tea" and it is ridiculously light - brewed for one minute maximum - and it really helps one relax on a hot day. It works well to take the edge off a thicker Oolong, and is great in a mix or on it's own - I have three different kinds in the kitchen. FLOWERS Yes - literally. The idea is that you put the heads of flowers in with your tea. They all serve some health benefit from helping you sleep to helping your bowels move. They are also stupidly cheap - a bag will be about ten to fifty pence - and you only need to put about two into a pot to feel the benefit. The pores open after the first brew, so you really feel the effects on the second and third. My favourite is the humble Chrysanthemum - it calms you when you are angry and helps you sleep. So there you have it, a brief introduction to Chinese tea culture. Whilst I am far from an expert, I am an enthusiast with eight tins in the kitchen. I only wish I could remember the Chinese names of my favourite varieties! |
Inside The Mind Of A Maniac
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