metalman

OK, thanks for that. Would be interesting to know what happens to the ones that get taken to the recycling centres - are they recyclable or do they go to landfill, which would be somewhat ironic really.

We've been told to leave our blue bin and blue box out tomorrow whether they're full or not. I presume this heralds the arrival of the brown bin, but do they take the blue box away at the same time? We'd quite like to hang onto ours.

Just finished 'The Kidnapping of Madame Storey' by Hulbert Footner, the last of a series of novels and short story collections that Footner wrote in the 1920s and 30s about the beautiful Madame Rosika Storey, who, together with her plainer sidekick Bella Brickley, thwarts criminals with a combination of detection and action. I wouldn't really call them detective stories, they lean a bit too much towards the thriller for that, but I quite enjoyed it. Now just started 'The Mystery at Stowe' by Vernon Loder, first published in 1928 and recently reprinted by Collins in their Detective Story Club imprint. Loder was an author who churned out 22 titles over the next decade, all well thought of at the time and all pretty much unobtainable since, so it's good to see him back in print.

Just finished 'The word is murder' by Anthony Horowitz; I thought this was even better than Magpie Murders so again, definitely recommended to crime fans. Now on to 'November Joe' by H. Hesketh Prichard; the title character uses his skills as a backwoodsman in Canada to solve crimes there (so in a way a bit of a forerunner to Arthur Upfield's Australian detective Bony). Prichard had first hand experience in the environment he was writing about and led a very adventurous life (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesketh_Hesketh-Prichard), though he's probably best remembered today for writing an exceptionally good book of ghost stories with his mother under the name E. & H. Heron, about the adventures of psychic detective Flaxman Low.

Recently read 'The Verdict of You All' by Henry Wade, his first detective story from 1929; and 'The Colour of Murder' by Julian Symons, which has just been reprinted by the British Library as part of their classic crime series (though my copy is a tatty old Fontana paperback from the 60s). Both very good.

Great song from a great album. Nobody sings a depressing song better than June Tabor.

Just started listening to a 9CD box set called Acousmatrix: The history of electronic music. This is definitely in musique concrete/electroacoustic territory - the first two discs are by Gottfried Michael Koenig and date mainly from the 50s and 60s. I do love this stuff, but it does tend to drive everybody else up the wall.

Emily Portman - The glamoury (simply gorgeous folk album. Listen to her excellent version of the old murder ballad that was also the basis for Pentangle's Cruel Sister )

Given the thread title, I was wondering who Carson Stationer was. You could have just said they've closed down.

Various - This is dubstep vol. 2 Various - This is dubstep vol. 3 Various - This is dubstep 2012 (what's up with me?) Blue Drift - Mariner (excellent prog album from about 15 years ago - my copy is on some obscure Russian label but they come from Wiltshire I think)

You know your luck's really not in if your car boot gets rained off this summer!

To be fair, it's not been as much of a nightmare as i'd feared; parking's been OK on our road and I've been out in the garden all afternoon and have hardly heard it. To be honest the biggest inconvenience has been not being able to drive down Dixon Road on the way to Hillsborough.

So I presume that means that those roads are basically closed to drive along as well then? As Middlewood Road is for an hour when the event closes. Quite why a private company is allowed to do this is beyond me.

The University closed down their own (docked) bike hire scheme when Ofo started theirs. Don't think I ever saw anybody riding one of the University ones so it wasn't much of a loss. Seems a bit unlikely that another operator would open up here given all the adverse publicity about Ofo.

Just finished Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz - highly recommended to any fans of crime and detection! Now reading something a bit more 'literary': The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon.

I see from a post on Facebook that part of Hillsborough Park is going to be closed for 18 days to allow for the setting up and taking down of this event. Seems a bit excessive to me.

Went to this this morning and found it was cancelled. Shame they couldn't be bothered to publicise the fact.

I know this won't mean anything to anybody who's not a fan of psytrance, but I read on Facebook today that Bansi (real name Joseph Quinteros), who was one half of the Growling Mad Scientists and a member of other psytrance groups like 1200 Mics, has just passed away today from cancer aged 42.

Last read: N or M by Agatha Christie. Wartime effort in which the Beresfords hunt the mastermind behind a spy ring in a seaside boarding house. Quite entertaining but very easy to spot the villain. Now reading: Hagar of the Pawn-Shop by Fergus Hume. For those who have that cartoon strip in mind, this Hagar is not a Viking but instead a gipsy girl who takes over a pawn-shop in a poor part of London and encounters various adventures based on its customers. Hume was English but grew up in New Zealand and Australia, where he published his first book, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, which became the best selling detective story of the time. Unfortunately he'd sold the rights for £50 so never saw any of the proceeds, and he struggled to repeat its sucess with any of his (many) later books. I'm rather enjoying this one. Someone on Goodreads has been daft enough to complain about its racial stereotyping, but surely if you want to read something that's politically correct you wouldn't pick a book written in 1898?

Andreas Grosser - Venite Visum (recorded back in the late 70s by East German synthesist who collaborated with Klaus Schulze on the album Babel; now reissued on the Running Back label. Great old (Berlin) school synth music.) Laetitia Sadier - Something shines (jangly avant-pop from former Stereolab frontwoman)

Really? I hardly ever see any pedestrians on that stretch particularly.

Deadly Avenger - Deep Red (great album, why has it taken me 16 years to discover it?) Dee Jay Punk-Roc - Chicken eye (one of those breakbeat albums that were all the rage in the 90s) Venetian Snares - The chocolate wheelchair album (not as frenetic as some of his others; depending on your point of view this may or may not be a good thing) Tangerine Dream - The Virgin Years 1974-78 (five classic TD albums: Phaedra, Rubycon, Ricochet, Stratosfear and Cyclone. In a box. Rubycon was the third record I ever bought and what an inspired choice it was).

Just whizzed through 'The Sleeping Tiger' by D.M. Devine (also known as Dominic Devine - this title seems to have been published under both names). He was a much underrated crime novelist who died in 1980 but produced a stream of really good books in the 60s and 70s; I've never been disappointed by one of his yet. Now onto a bit of lighter fare with 'Garden Rubbish' by Sellars & Yeatman; they also did the much more well known '1066 and all that'.

Vulture perhaps?

So are we to assume that should Jeremy Corbyn get elected, he would take a much bigger salary then?