Issue 122

.. culture in which process BBC radio and TV played a pivotal role. The preservation of The Arts as a rarefied pleasure reserved for those of noble birth couldn’t be sustained and so the definition of culture had to be broadened, and broadened in such a way as to include and respect the way of…

..self-assigned speed ratings. I had put myself in the class that would be able to average between 20 and 25 kph for the distance . And so it felt like I waited 30 minutes before I cleared the start line and wobbled off along Eastern Beach. I had been inveigled into this sporting event, the…

.. brand-new in-balance ears on that very same night – and not just any mix, but a headphone mix. Now, every recording engineer will tell you that headphone mixes can be very dangerous, especially over a prolonged period. As you and your ears get more tired the volume tends to edge up to compensate and…

..think where I would insert a car chase into ‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ or ‘War and Peace’ I am sure that roar of a seven litre V8 bouncing off the rev limiter would add wider audience appeal. Which brings me only slightly indirectly, much like a TomTom GPS car navigation system in the…

.. their lack of salesmanship, because after twenty minutes of standing in the bitterly cold wind that was whipping round the schoolyard in a numbed kind of reverie interrupted only by the unwanted blandishments of the blotchy-faced woman in the crocheted poncho selling wax cups of tea and $2.00 raffle tickets (prizes of this year’s…

..bloke talking about an amazing band he’d seen in London. When he said they were called The Rolling Stones I was actually quite disappointed. I didn’t get the blues connotation and thought the name sounded like they were just another folk band – and you had to live through the folk boom of the early…