Summary: .I spent the weekend in Caernarfon in Wales and paid a visit to the Llanberis Slate Museum which is so interesting...I have been before but it never loses its fascination....it is situated on an old disused quarry and shows the history of Welsh coal mining with the unbelievable conditions they had to work under....it really is a credit to the area and it's FREE !! I also went to Holyhead to have a stroll around the harbour which was a strange experience....the recent weather has really taken its toll on the place....there were sunken boats all over the place and luxury yachts which had been hauled up on to the quayside totally wrecked....it was like a horror movie....never seen anything like it. 2.Maths has hit the news with some bright spark in the government has deciding that the results are well below standard and is arranging courses to help students get to grips with the subject.....I was pretty good at maths because we had a good teacher who made it interesting and we learnt our tables parrot fashion in junior school so my age group can instantly multiply two numbers without thinking....I think maths wrongly has the scary factor which defeats students before they start. 3.Oh dear the Aussies have been cheating at cricket....SHAME.....they have been tampering with the ball which has created world wide news......when I played cricket in our school team we used to polish one side of the ball on our trousers and rub the other side in the dust which had the effect of making the ball swing....I suppose it adds a bit of spice to a very boring sport....and this has brought up the "it's not the winning...it's the taking part" old chestnut.....I have played a lot of sport over the years ... mainly one on one...tennis...squash...golf... and to cheat is only fooling yourself....but then again here was no big money involved with me....and kids should be taught how to lose and get over it. 4.I saw your Facebook entry featuring Emile Ford....I saw him in 1961 on the Liverpool Empire...also on the bill was Bob miller and The Miller Men...Clyde McFatter....Duane Eddy...and Bobby Darin....Emile Ford totally stole the show....I loved his records with the minimal sound of his group The Checkmates...great stuff... I also watched a programme on Ritchie Blackmore who to my mind was and still is one of the best guitarists ever....and what a stage presence.....and this was before Hendrix and all the others...I do enjoy a bit of heavy rock and I thought Deep Purple were ahead of their time and when Blackmore formed Rainbow it was the ultimate rock band....he now plays olde English ballads with his folk group and is still brilliant...the programme was a fascinating insight into a great guitarist. 5.The song this week is another jingle I did for Norman Thomas on Radio City.....he used to have a daily competition where the listeners have to guess what he is holding in his hand....with Norman giving them clues....it was very popular at the time....the song is called "What Have I Got In Me Hand?"....sadly Norman is no longer with us....he was a great guy.
