whizzbang.biz Blog

I’ve just found the site where you can watch all the highlights from this years Glastonbury Festival - Oooh cool *bounces up and down with excitement* They can all be watched here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury/2008/

Robert Harris’ latest novel “the Ghost is available for £2.99 when you buy The Times Newspaper at WHSmith, and according to various reviews I’ve read it is “truly thrilling” and an “intelligent thriller”, and is also “Compulsive reading” - Sounds good to me

It is set in contemporary Britain against the background of international politics and is about a ghostwriter who specialises in writing celebrity biographies, who is assigned to write the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister named Adam Lang for £250,000.

However, all is not as it should be; A previous ghostwriter - a loyal colleague of Lang’s - has already died in mysterious circumstances while working on the project, and as work on the revised memoir gets under way, the ex-PM, Adam Lang, finds himself exiled in Martha’s Vinyard with a war crimes indictment hanging over him, Unable to return to Britain, having been branded a war-criminal, Lang flees to Washington to protest his innocence, where he encounters a mysterious shadowy right wing organisation lurking in the background, but what do they want with him….

The Mail on Sunday isn’t the only newspaper doing David Bowie stuff - This weekend The Sunday Express newspaper offered readers the chance to get three David Bowie DVDs. Thinking it would be the start of a DVD Collection of David Bowie films I thought “Oh Goody”.

However on closer inspection it seems it was an advert to get you to join & rent from an online DVD rental place *rolls eyes* & I am reluctant to get involved in that sort of commitment, just to get three DVDs. Still the three DVDs that were on offer were:

* Labyrinth
* The Man Who Fell to Earth
* The Prestige

I’ve seen Labyrinth & The Man Who Fell to Earth & thought they were pretty good.

This weekend The Mail on Sunday gave away an album called iSelect, which is a 12 track retrospective of David Bowie’s favourite hits and rarities. I’ve listened to it & really enjoyed it, here is the track listing:

Life on Mars
Sweet Thing/Candidate
The Bewley Brothers
Lady Grinning Soul
Win
Some Are
Teenage Wildlife
Repitition
Fantastic Voyage
Loving the Alien
Time Will Crawl
Hang On To Yourself

Here are some of what I think are David Bowie’s best songs courtesy of YouTube

Space Oddity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhSYbRiYwTY
Life on Mars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueUOTImKp0k
Ashes to Ashes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r44OFO-MNPo
Let’s Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30AVhf-ZLwM
Ziggy Stardust
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5nL1AUPGr0
Heroes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEVNoYFpLps
China Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSfndZfKFNU
Jean Genie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA29BVtCCpM

Over the next two weekends (June 28, 29, & July 5, 6) the Severn Valley Railway will be going back in time & staging two 1940’s weekends, taking a nostalgic look at Britain during World War II. The event will feature various period vehicles, Military vehicles, people in costumes and re-enactments.

GWR 7802 Bradley Manor

There will also be 1940’s Entertainment, which will be provided by The Allen Francis Big Band, who will be playing Glenn Miller music at Kidderminster Station to add to that war time atmosphere. The Heywood & Middleton Youth Brass Band will also be playing at various stations along the route and there will also be two singing groups performing at various locations during the four days too, these are - “Cum Sing Wi We” & “Nostalgia Unlimited”.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, comprising of a Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane & a Douglas Dakota will also be flying up & down the 16 mile length of the Severn Valley Railway during the day, and The Engine House, Visitor & Education Centre at Highley, will also be open, and will be hosting some additional themed activities aswell

These events are always popular with people & I am certainly looking forward to going. I also hope to take some great photos during the event, which I will post next week.

A young blonde Portsmouth girl, down on her luck, decided to end it all one night by casting herself into the cold, dark waters off Gun wharf quay. As she stood on the edge, pondering the infinite, a young sailor noticed her as he strolled by.

‘You’re not thinking of jumping, are you, babe?’ he asked.

‘Yes, I am’ replied the sobbing girl.

Putting his arm around her, the kind sailor coaxed her back from the edge.
‘Look, nothing’s worth that. I’ll tell you what, I’m sailing off for Australia tomorrow. Why don’t you stow away on board and start a new life over there. I’ll set you up in one of the lifeboats on the deck, bring you food and water every night and I’ll look after you if you look after me - if you know what I mean. You just have to keep very quiet so that you won’t be found’.

The girl, having no better prospects, agreed, and the sailor sneaked her on board that very night. For the next 3 weeks the sailor came to her lifeboat every night, bringing food and water, and making love to her until dawn.

Then, during the fourth week, the captain was performing a routine inspection of the ship and its lifeboats. He peeled back the cover to find the startled blonde, and demanded an explanation. The girl came clean,

‘I’ve stowed away to get to Australia. One of the sailors is helping me out. He set me up in here and brings me food and water every night and he’s screwing me.’

The captain stared at her for a moment before he replied, ‘He certainly is, love. This is the Isle of Wight Ferry.’

Here are Faithless performing Insomnia & God is a DJ from last years Glastonbury Festival. Of course it’s not a patch on actually going and seeing them performing live, The atmosphere is amazing, but it gives you a flavour

Insomnia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otLEUwHao_E
God is a DJ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiczMZmyOnQ

Here is a selection of my favourite numbers from The Killers fantastic set at last year Glastonbury

Mr Brightside
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8PSod8dziQ
When You Were Young
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tdk60viEzA
Somebody told me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNDFSnblJDU
Bones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=781jN7idamw
For Reasons Unknown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1c_tbT2xmo

I have seen many great Glastonbury performances over the years, I shall be posting some of my favourites, courtesy of YouTube. To start with, here’s Orbital’s Headline performance from 1995

Orbital
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOiOY37Jxnk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-5uCh9_trQ&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGTQ8ulry-g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNwSPQ4Jyzc

Kein Trink Wasser/Impact
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzGq-T1X58k
Chime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gd-QkRA8Ik

This weekend It is the Glastonbury Festival 2008, . For those who are not going this year Here is the line-up on the Pyramid Stage & The Other Stage.

More information here
http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/

Looks like a pretty good line-up (Apart from Jay-Z & Shakin’ Stevens) - I think My favourites are The Verve, Editors, The Feeling, The Fratellis, The Enemy, The Zutons & Hot Chip

Pyramid Stage

Friday

Kings of Leon
The Fratellis
Editors
The Gossip
The Feeling
KT Tunstall
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
The Subways
Kate Nash

Saturday

Jay-Z
Amy Winehouse
Manu Chao
The Raconteurs
James Blunt
Crowded House
Seasick Steve 1 by StoneSeasick Steve
Martha Wainwright
Shakin’ Stevens

Sunday

The Verve
Leonard Cohen
Goldfrapp
Neil Diamond
John Mayer
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Gilbert O’Sullivan
Martina Topley Bird

Other Stage
Friday

Panic at the Disco
The Enemy
We are Scientists
Foals
The Hoosiers
Ben Folds
Vampire Weekend
Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong
The Rascals
Ida Maria

Saturday

Massive Attack
Hot Chip
Elbow
Duffy
The Wombats
Neon Neon
Black Kids
One Night Only
Los Campesinos!
The Golden Silvers
The Travelling Band

Sunday

Groove Armada
The Zutons
Pigeon Detectives
Mark Ronson
Scouting For Girls
Jack Penate
Newton Faulkner
Black Mountain
The Hoodoo Gurus
Black Cherry