Summary: I was sad to hear of the loss of my dear friend Monty Lister who was a presenter on Radio Merseyside for many decades...I worked with him on his popular Sunday morning show "Tune Tonic" for 5 years....but knew him for many years before that...he interviewed many top entertainers from Bing Crosby to The Beatles (being the first to interview them)...he also produced many travelogues for his programme...for a lot of which I took care of the sound....we made trips all over Europe on one day excursions which has left me with many memories and anecdotes.....Monty was a gentleman and a good mate....and a broadcasting legend who I will never forget. We also lost another great character this week....Freddie Starr....Freddie was unpredictable and was difficult to control which sadly was his downfall but to me he was a comedy genius.....I remember seeing him many times with his band in the early sixties and it his massive talent was obvious then.....he was brilliant and a sad loss...they don't make 'em like him any more. Still on the showbiz front Danny Baker has been on the news after his brainless tweet which was claimed was aimed at the royal birth....which he denies....the BBC have sacked him.....I always found Danny Baker to be a loudmouth who thought he was bigger than he was.....and this stupidity has put him in his place...a very silly man........and on the silly man front David Beckham has lost his driving licence for 6 months after being caught using his mobile phone whilst driving....nice to know he never got away with this one on a technicality....it isn't difficult complying with the law....it's there for the safety of others....when you choose to ignore the law you know exactly what you are doing....unless you are an idiot........maybe Dave will now realise he is the same as the rest of us. I watched the BAFTAS as there was NOTHING worth watching on TV as usual....as I don't watch soaps I didn't have a clue who most of them were.....and I see Ant and Dec were up there for their contribution to Britain's Got Talent....I am at a total loss as to what they do on this show....giggling at the side of the stage must obviously deserve an award............and I went up to The Lakes for a couple of days and decided to spend a morning in Morecambe on the way....it has a delightful waterfront which has been recently renovated....what I had overlooked was it was 20 degrees so out come the trendy pensioners in their droves with their shaved heads...baseball caps...ill fitting huge shorts and flip flops and faded tattoos.....and not a chance of them moving to one side as you pass them....because they are just as tough as they used to be 50 years ago....or think they are.......I often wonder what these aliens see when they look in the mirror......in future I will be saving Morecambe for a dull windy day when they have all gone back to bed....and these are the one's who VOTE. I have a good friend who is an Indian doctor....he is a brilliant surgeon....yet after he had been in the country for 10 years he was required to take an exam to achieve British citizenship......which was an hour long...he finished it in 5 minutes but had to stay for the hour......this chap SAVES LIVES with his special talents.....this country should be grateful for the likes of him and his compatriots...and should welcome them with open arms.....perhaps we should make burglars and muggers take exams and kick them out if they fail...that would make more sense...I know which one of the two I would rather be looking up at from the operating table. I was at school when rock and roll broke out...and like many others learnt to play the guitar and formed a skiffle group....one of the lads came in one day and told me of a new record by Ricky Nelson called "Poor Little Fool" and wrote out the chords....all four of them....which gave us a step up from the three skiffle chords....I became a big fan of Ricky and enjoyed all (continued)
