....and it's so lonely on a limb.

You may have spotted that a number of the titles of these posts have a reference to songs by The Smiths.

I am of an age when I got to see The Smiths live - both at the Hacienda in Manchester around 1983 and also later in Paris in 1984 I enjoyed these gigs immensely - those were the days when I was out at live music events ever week. I know that there was also a feeling from distractors that they were po-faced Mancs but who can't have smiled at the lines - I was looking for a job, and found a job, but Heaven knows I'm miserable now - and also have felt exactly that emotion.

I have slightly fallen out of love with the music of Mozza - though I think the intro and outro to his mid 90s album Vauxhall and I are difficult to beat. I suppose it says it all that my favourite album of his is nearly 17 years old.

I am always interested in hearing new things from the Smiths and a couple of sites have offered new songs / demos and remixes.

The following site offers an album of demos and instrumentals from the whole of The Smiths career

http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/showthread.php?t=112376

This site has followed up its excellent work on the Joy Division Factory singles with a run through of The Smiths singles - though it is still on in the run through

http://smithsrecycle.blogspot.com/

Listen and enjoy

Feed Me

Well it's snowing again here in East Lothian.

So the trips to the shops have been curtailed not just for us - but also others. Therefore we have been lucky to get some reduced vegetables - down to around 5p in some instances for beetroot and courgettes. It's amazing how low the price can go if you pick the right time for a supermarket trip.

So a chance to rediscover the art of preserving and pickling.

With the basics of vinegar, sugar and selected spices we have a range of chutneys and pickles for the rest of the winter. With a little sparkly tinsel we also have some potential Xmas stocking fillers.

If music be the food of love....

It's a difficult posting week. Because of the weather it feels like all I have done is go from home to work to home - with hardly a step to go and do the shopping.

However, on Saturday post thaw, I caught a shop stereo playing White Christmas by Bing Crosby - and the phrase "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas" provoked a hollow laugh after the past few weeks.

So I was really glad that the Guardian printed some suggestions for Xmas songs in the paper on Friday. The friday Click to Download section in the Culture pullout is a mine of information.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/dec/09/click-to-download-sound-of-2011

I have never been a great fan of Michael Jackson. I recognise the quality in his output in the 80s / 90s - but it was never where I was musically But my Summer 2010 listening was a mashup of his music with that of Fela Kuti. And I think my Xmas tune this year won't be Thurl Ravenscroft and the Pixies with "Santa's too fat for the hula hoop" but a mashup available below

http://falalalala.com/2010/12/santastic-v-snow-man/

So if you want an alternative Xmas musical experience - then the Guardian link will take you to a world where Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer can be found cheek by jowel with Roxanne.

Oh Blimey it's Christmas

Ho Ho Ho

Just been for my yearly pre-Xmas trip to Manchester. We try to go around now for the Christmas markets. Manchester seems to have got it right with the scale and variety of stalls. There are six or seven different areas ranging from Albert Square through the city to The Triangle on Corporation Street. Some areas focus on food, some on gifts / knick-knacks.

My favourite stall for kookiness was the one selling chocolate kebabs - i.e. chocolates on a BBQ stick. But for value, the chap who sells continental sausages is the best. For £10 you get seven different, high quality and flavoursome sausages - they last us around three months into the New Year.

This year we were walking by Harvey Nicks with my nephew who spotted that there were carol singers. We went in and the singing was accompanied by free Cava and mince pies - after a couple of glasses he looked at my smiling face and said - "you are living the dream" - I had to smirk.

And the image - that of Frank Sidebottom who sadly died this year - a Manchester legend.

St Andrews Day weekend

Yesterday was one of those classic Scottish days - sunscreen and sou'wester.

With it being the St Andrews Day weekend , the Government's agency responsible for a number of properties / castles - Historic Scotland - has a weekend where there is free access. I had heard positive things about a couple of places in East Lothian - Tantallon and Dirleton Castles. At nearly a fiver a pop, I had yet to take the plunge.

So this seemed a perfect weekend. I took the bus out to North Berwick and walked along to Tantallon Castle. It started with bright sunshine but I could see the weather coming in - with the Bass Rock slowly disappearing into the grey, snow-laden clouds. The wind whipped the hail into my face so hard that I had to hide behind a stationary van. By the time i reached Tantallon the sun was again shining. And it is a stupendous castle sitting high on a cliff with superb views across the Forth.

After a good troll round I stopped off to buy some sausages on North Berwick High Street and then took the five minute bus trip to Dirleton. This didn't have the same dramatic feel as Tantallon. However, it sits high on an outcrop of rock and I am looking forward to returning to have a look at the Gardens.

So thanks to Historic Scotland - and if you are looking forward in 2011 to a trip to Edinburgh then this weekend is well worth it with the start of the Winter Festivals as well.

I could have made bigger savings with a trip to Edinburgh castle where it is £12 a throw if you buy up on the day.

Unknown Leisure

It's been a very busy week this week.

The main reason was the excellent free Edinburgh Leisure pass that we obtained via a competition with ESPC. I was alerted to this by the Guardian's excellent Edinburgh blog. If you want to find out what's going on in the Edinburgh blogosphere - it's a superior resource.

So this week, we have been to classes such as BodyBalance and BodyCombat plus free access to Edinburgh's pools and gyms.

But the best bit has been the use of the Turkish bath at Portobello. A series of rooms lead you into the steam room where a myriad number of folk can be seen sweating through the steam. A quick shower - and then into the baltic plunge pool - where the temperature feels like it's straight from the Firth of Forth - to quote Tom Waits "...colder than a well digger's ass..." Three times then a lie down to relax chatting with friends. There is a clock - but it seems to be so steamed up that you are not really conscious of the time. Then a few lengths of the pool - and you can head out ready to face the trials and tribulations of the rest of day.

One chap today was taking rrelaxation to the nth degree - and could be heard to be gently snoring on his lounger.

Market Madness

One of the things I miss about living in Scotland is the lack of markets. Edinburgh has its farmers market but it doesn't have that slightly rough round the edges feel that a market should have. Classics include the Grainger in Newcastle and the Kirkgate in Leeds. Both of these are indoor markets and today we came across an equivalent in Glasgow - the Savoy Centre on Sauchiehall Street.

It had all the things you'd want - a butcher, a shop selling exotic vegetables, a greasy spoon and a place selling cheap and cheerful sweeties. There looked like there were a couple of barbers on the two floors of scranner delights.

We stopped off for a £5.70 business lunch at the Chinese cafe - soup followed by curry and rice which went down well. We also had Chinese tea which was a pleasant change from a beer.

Glasgow was great to shop in generally and we both came back with some delights.