Ceridwenscauldron

Was the Who at Charlton Football Club back in 1974

sad to think that Moony and and the Ox are no longer with us, Also on the bill were were Lindisfarne (Alan Hull RIP), Bad company (Boz Burrell RIP), Humble Pie (Steve Marriot RIP), Lou Reed and Maggie Bell

I was there and I wanted to find Cozy Powell's drum solo featuring the 1812 overture, 633 Squadron and several helicopters, its not on YouTube so you will have to make do with this

I liked this line up the bass player (Colin Bomber Hodgkinson) in particular was briliant

Anybody else found people sending friends requests and then having them withdrawn if you don't accept straightaway.

I have had two recently (one yesterday in fact)

Now I don't know what the game is here, have they got pissed at me because I wasn't quick enough to realise how great they were or did they read my blog and discover that I was some kind of raving loony? Who knows but here is some guidance for anyone who is nuts enough to want me as a friend.

While I don't care what religion you are, whether you are gay, straight or bi or where you come from, I won't stand for any racism, homophobia or other forms of discrimination, daft brainwashing cults or intolerant extremist religious preaching that seeks to constrain others chosen way of life (whether Christian or Muslim). I guess essentially I'm a middle class Guardian reader out and proud.

I will not suffer commercial sites and will flag any that try it on here.

If you want to know what I like read my blog and then decide if I'm the sort of friend you want. Then send me a message saying why you want to be my friend, it does not need to be an essay. I will then read your blog to decide whether I want to accept your offer, but it may take more than a few days
as I have a lot of things going on.

Sad to hear about the death of Mrs Slocombe, must go out and buy all her DVDs

The question that is bothering us though who is getting possession of her pussy?

Some of you across the pond just won't know what I'm talking about so here you go

so swindler Bernard Madoff has been sent down for 150 years. OK he was a bit naughty but what is the point of giving a 71 year old 150 years in the clink?

Actually what is the point of giving anyone a sentence of 150 years, I mean come on the UK's oldest man is only 113 for Darwin's sake.

Bloody daft if you ask me

I see that after wasting about a billion quid on its stupid ID Card scheme the government looks like its going to bin the idea. Proposals to make the stupid things compulsory for airport workers (who will already have security clearance) have been dropped in what is hopefully a big climbdown over this latest infringement of our hard won civil liberties.

Former postie Alan Johnson has said that ID cards would be welcomed by over 18s wanting to buy booze, I suppose it must have sunk in that anyone who wants to blow themselves up won't be too bothered about having a plastic card in their wallet and that people who employ illegals won't be put off by the lack of an Id document. I think that just shows the depths this lot have sunk to in their efforts to make us all think that ID Cards are a good idea.

I see the government are taking the National Express East Coast service back into public ownership along with possibly other National Express franchises. Apparently Boredom Groan's lot will be forming a new public company to run the railway which is not as profitable as the poor darlings would like. Given the chronic overcrowding on those trains up to Scotland and fares of over a ton I can't begin to imagine how that is so, but then I guess privatising the railways was a triumph of dogma over common sense in the first place.

Now here's an idea combine the new public owned railways with the public owned track operator that replaced Railtrack and call the new company British Rail.

Headed north from the office today into Fitzrovia. I needed a paint scraper.

One of the landmarks of Charlotte street is this boozer

this is the Fitzroy Tavern from whence Fitzrovia is said to derive its name. The pub's name comes from Fitzroy the family name of the Dukes of Grafton who used to own much of what is now Fitzrovia. The first Duke of Grafton was the illegitimate son of Charles II and Barbara Villiers, I love a bit of Restoration Royal scandal.

This boozer has a great literary heritage, Dylan Thomas and George Orwell drank there together with the artist Augustus John, Michael Bentine and even the Great Beast Alistair Crowley. Sadly its been taken over by Samuel Smiths who despite doing a great job preserving the interior only sell their own keg beers so I won't be joining them.

As I was snapping the pub a cab pulled up right in front of me and out popped Justin Lee Collins on his way to lunch in Bertorelli's. He's not a natural blond you know! Anyhow there are lots of good restaurants in Charlotte Street making a wander a mouth watering experience.

I like this one

where you can get a reasonable Thai set meal for about £8 and Nabarros

which does excellent tapas, but is a bit more expensive and Il Pescatori

which is bloody expensive!

As you get to the top of Charlotte Street you get a great view of the the old Post Office Tower

before you get into Fitzroy Street and then Fitzroy Square. Fitzroy Square is quite lovely being designed by Robert Adam in 1792 and completed by his brothers James and William in 1798

Fitzroy Square has been home to the Pre-Rhaphaelite painter Ford Maddox Brown and the author Ian McEwan and George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf who both lived at no.29 though not at the same time. You can see Woolf's blue plaque here

On the corner of the Square is this statue

This is Francisco de Miranda, a liberator of Venezuela. After supporting the French Revolution and traveling round Europe, Miranda lived in London for a number of years before heading back to Venezuela, overthrowing the Spanish governor, then surrendering to Spanish forces after a catastrophic earthquake hit Caracas. He ended his days in a Spanish jail after Simon Bolivar decided he had been a traitor to surrender and handed him over to the Spaniards.

However while he was in London he lived here with his housekeeper and their children between 1803 and 1810

in Grafton Street just off Fitzroy Square, where amongst others he received Simon Bolivar and Andres Bello who persuaded him to head back to Venezuela. Appropriately its now the Venezuelan Embassy.

I understand Michael Jackson's CDs have been flying off the shelves and the various download charts are full of his back catelogue.

Now I'm not knocking the guy, he was a talented musician, but surely if you were a fan you'd already own whatever Jackson tracks you wanted already so why are people buying the stuff now?

Its like if say Lemmy or Ozzy died, I have already got everything of theirs that I want.

Don't get it.

I went for a wee walk today and found this rather wonderful building

Its in Hollen Street which backs onto Oxford Street. The building dates back to 1887, but Henry Heath had been making posh hats since the Regency. Of course its not a hat factory anymore, but home to various creative offices, where no doubt they appreciate the rather lovely lettering outside.

Anyhow if you take a walk around the corner into Oxford Street you see this ornate pile above the Officer's Club shop

This is where Heath's hat shop was. It was designed by the architects Christopher and White and if you look way up you can just about see three stone beavers

Cute you may think, until you investigate the beaver's role in the Victorian hat industry!

If you want to find this building its opposite the 100 Club.