Marty

I still have Mrs. 'Ardin's Kid LP on vinyl; along with half a dozen or so other of his LPs. When I was teaching second level in Swinton, I actually brought some of my pupils to watch him perform a few times. He was more than just a comedian; he was a social commentator as well (usually through comedy). Met him once around 1980 or 1981 in a church hall on Deansgate, when the then Eco Party (a forerunner of The Green Party), that I was involved with, put on a free public showing of The War Game, a film the BBC had made in 1965 (to mark the twentieth anniversary of Hiroshima) about the likely effect of a nuclear attack on Britain (and then decided not to show, as the government persuaded them not to, as they worried it might panic the general public). I borrowed the school projector to show the film. When I say I borrowed it, I didn't actually ask permission. I reckoned the headmaster would have said no.

Sweet! Do you know what sort? I saw an osprey (fish eagle) when I was trekking in the Grand Canyon back in 2014.

Good to see you back, @Mancunian! Here's hoping that the meeting between Danny and JJ goes well, and that JJ has been receiving the therapy he so obviously needs. Whilst I am not in favour of summary executions, I wasn't surprised at what happened to Bill and his accomplice. I did actually Google the word "skiv" when it first appeared in this chapter as, although I had he correct suspicion as to its meaning, I wasn't 100% sure. But I'm just hoping that the same justice isn't meted out to Mr P., if only because he may be able to name others involved in the likely paedophile ring. On a lighter note, the mention of Strangeways Prison reminded me of the following:

For some reason I seem to have missed this chapter when it was originally posted around ten months back. Indeed I had to go back and re-read the previous couple of chapters, just to refresh my memory of the various storylines. As I was reared in the Greater Manchester area, so many of the places mentioned are familiar to me, which makes the story all that more interesting to me. I'm wondering whether Peter is going to feature in future chapters. I get the impression that he may have an interesting backstory...

Hey, Albert. Fairly overcast day here, with the occasional small showers. Currently (coming up to 7:00pm) only around 13°C/55°F.

I've come across that Hans Island dispute in the past. It always makes me feel warm inside when I hear how Denmark and Canada manage to handle it. Just a shame others can't act the same way.

Well, I was more thinking long the lines of prolonging the birthday celebrations.

Agus tú fhéin, a Gary. (And yourself, Gary)

Yup, that's what we call them, as well. Although the garden centres often like to call them Kniphofia. My youngest sister still has some growing in her garden in England, that are root cuttings from a clump I planted in our garden when I was in my teens, back in the early 1960's.

Thanks, clo. I intend to!

Gee, thanks, Val! I just hope they all don't come at once.

Bar steward!

Tusind tak fra Irland, @Timothy M. Interesting (and somewhat sad) explanation below the comic, particularly so as I live very close to the border with Northern Ireland, where the display of flags can sometimes be contentious. Made me think of the following Eddie Izzard sketch: Warning: May be considered political by some:

lol !!! Not that it really matters, but my laptop tells me I beat you by one minute.

It's been a busy Friday. (Actually it's just become Saturday here.) So I'm going to head to bed shortly. But I suppose I shouldn't go without letting yous all see my week 23 black & white photograph: And today (Saturday) actually marks the 73rd anniversary of the birth of yours truly...

Hey, Albert!

He certainly has a great vocal range.

Hi, Gary!

Johnny Cash was my mammy's favourite singer. She always said the following song was the reason: I'll admit to still having a few vinyl LP's of his, although the final four or five album's of his are, in my opinion, some of his best work. Some of his interpretations of a number of classic rock songs are out of this world. The following video, where he performs Hurt by Nine Inch Nails, always brings me out in goosebumps...

Powerful! ❤️ Never come across Orville before. Thanks for bringing him to my attention, Gary.

Happy Friday, everyone! I really hope your day goes as well as mine is so far. So I dropped the blood pressure monitor back into the local health centre this morning. My GP asked me to wait outside until he had checked the results so we could discuss them. Fifteen minutes or so later he popped his head out of the door, and his exact first words to me were: "Your blood pressure is excellent. Probably better than mine." I can tell you I walked home with smile on my face and a spring in my step.

Hi, Albert! Fingers crossed it doesn't get too bad.

Hey, Gary. Just don't completely overdo things, my friend!

Sounds like a good exhausted to me.

Good night, folks! Early night for me, tonight. Have to be up early. Being fitted with a 24 hour blood pressure monitor first thing in the morning.