Business Or No Business?: Goods ordered from Amazon are quick being delivered. The sellers are rated so it's in their interest to do so. But Murphy's Law prevails when I order a book for Mrs. B and, from previous experience, it should have been here on Saturday, and it still didn't arrive today.
I contact the seller.
'Oh, half term (last week), I've been away with the kids.'
Fair play.
But it had to happen with I book I was buying for her, didn't it!

Cats: are strange creatures. We give them a bowl for their food, and a mat for the bowl to stand on so that, cats being cats, when they drag to food from the bowl to eat it, they rest it on the mat. Oh, we should be so lucky. They drag it beyond the mat and eat it on the floor covering.

Gimme Back My Bullet Belt: A man could suffocate in them things.
http://sabrinasabrokband.com/img/main/mainband.jpg
Thanks to Eric Billett for the link.

'Emergency 2010": On Motorhead's 2009 UK tour (with Girlschool and The Damned), Andy Rance, the youth work coordinator for the Livewire Music Project in Saltash in Cornwall, asked if the Girls could re-record their 'Emergency' track as a charity single?
In aid of the victims of the Haiti earthquake tragedy, the Girls agreed, and Lemmy also contributed vocals, and Rudy Sarzo played some extra bass.
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/Lemmy-lends-helping-hand/article-3238236-detail/article.html
The song, 'Emergency 2010' by Young People Rock for Haiti is now available for download on Amazon, so please help the cause.
The song is dedicated to the memory of Kelly Johnson and Ronnie James Dio.

Lemmy, Skiing: on the piste, puffing up wispy clouds of snow as he swerves and dodges, with Phil and Mikkey not far behind has crazy, rebel James Bond imagery stitched into the very idea of it. Doubtful such a scene will ever be witnessed of our intrepid rock 'n' roll heroes, (well, maybe Mikkey, he's athletic in his drumming, and adores ice hockey), but should you need them, there are now Motorhead skis available -
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=154365
My thanks again to MHB Tim Shockley for the link.

Foo Fighters - 'White Limo': A new track with a catchy riff which, once you've heard it, it won't go away. But it's enjoyable rather than annoying, the sign of a great song, and Lemmy has fun in the video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebJ2brErERQ

More Motorhead Chicago: words and pictures, links from MHB Tim Shockley.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-live-0221-motorhead-review-20110220,0,5357772.story

http://www.youtube.com/results?uploaded=w&search_query=Motorhead+Chicago&search_type=videos&suggested_categories=10%2C24&uni=3

Motorhead Chicago Gig: MHB Tim Shockley found this little beauty -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziJ7m0hFIvg&feature=player_embedded

Mick Stevenson: Is no longer running his Motorhead Record Finding Service. With the Internet in general, and more especially, EBay, fans are finding their own 'wants.'
In 'the old days,' Mick travelled to Record Fairs far and wide to 'find' items fans were looking for. But even the Record Fair stall-holders have their stock on The Net - such is progress.
Mick has by no means given up his passion for the band, and his 'Collector's Guide' is still on the near horizon for publication.

American Gig Review:
http://blogs.kisw.com/ironmike/2011/02/08/friday-full-of-motorhead/
Sent by MHB Jason Ramos.

Also - Where To Order Your 'Lemmy The Movie' DVD & Merchandise -
http://store.lemmymovie.com/
This has been posted before, but it's interesting to note the '90 Minutes of Bonus Footage' over and above the 3 hours on the DVD, is only available as a download. Many MHB's believed this to be footage added to the DVD, but you are given the address of the site to download the extras.

Beer Tickers: Right, the title brought a big question mark for me, too. With Mrs. B working a night, she'd Sky+'d Emmerdale to see that bent, arsonist, detective being caught, and the ghost story drama, Marchlands.
Alan R. Bennett's 'Dorset Journey' book beckoned with its welcoming finger, but a quick slouch in the armchair with the remote found Mariella Frostrup's 'The Book Show.' Never enough about books and writing on TV, this is a must if remembered. Despite my invitation to appear having been lost in the post after my publisher sent a copy of 'Bournemouth Rocks!', clearly, Mariella, despite being married to ex-The Skids Richard Jobson for a few years, is now bereft of a rock 'n' roll heart.
But a rough old rocker like me wouldn't have fitted the continual line-up of throw-away young male and female writers, the chaff amongst classic authors like P.D. James and Terry Pratchett; amongst many other literary greats. (Their iplayer is worth a look for black leather jacketed history glamour girl, Bettany Hughes.)
On last evening's show, Wendy Holden was annoying, with two 'basically's' in the first half-minute, (when are they going to issue fines for saying that blasted word!), whilst constantly flicking her whispy hair; and Anthony Quinn, who has a desperate need to attend interviewee classes. He came over as a meek and pitiful character with no confidence, and if I had £1 for every 'Ummm' he uttered, I could have retired tomorrow.
But having weathered the up-and-coming achievers, we were then treated to some class, with 80 year old author, Edna O'Brien, who talked more sense, with no spluttering or annoying adjectives; a perfect model of how her co-conspirator's should have behaved.
As Sky Arts is also a great music channel, The Great British Invasion: Gerry & The Pacemakers was the next enjoyable hour. Their songs have weathered the test of time, and I didn't realise what a great guitarist Gerry is, or how many hits they enjoyed.
9pm. What is there to fill this hour? Hmm.
Beer Tickers.
What the heck's that all about?
http://beertickersfilm.com/
It's modern-day trainspotting. Travelling the UK (and the world) sampling real ale, and keeping a log of every brew, and 'ticking' your log book to say you've tried it. The website above will tell you more, it looks a great hobby.
Amazing.

Minette Walters: Is a Dorset-based author living near Dorchester.
She has written several Best Sellers, some I have read, some not, but they are on my 'to-read' list.
Nor have we met, but she is interesting in interview...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4zmtw_minette-walters-vo_creation

Does Anyone Know: Who came up with the idea of putting pink shirts, pink sweaters, and pink ties on sale for men to buy?
Men are happily wearing these things, and Mrs. B said: "Perhaps their wife bought it for them?"
Well, if Mrs. B tried it, she would need the receipt to take them straight back again for a refund.
As infants in the pram, the sex of the child is made obvious by dressing them in pink, or blue.
Pink is for girls!
Blue is for boys!
Why do presumably heterosexual males want, or feel inclined to; wear pink?
Well, I suppose they must feel comfortable, and someone has to buy them. But they are like garlick to a vampire in the world of us rockers.
Black is beautiful, and a Motorhead t-shirt of yore bore the legend: Good Guys Wear Black.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - 'Relax': with Lemmy and the stripper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMlUhIi5N-g
Has this been posted here before?
I don't care.
It's amazing.
Click, watch, and enjoy.

Mick Farren: Is continuing to write the 5th Victor Renquist novel, which fans of the other 4 volumes will be thrilled to hear.

Heard From Fast Eddie Clarke Today: A new Fastway album is nearing completion. One track will be titled 'Deliver Me,' and more news will be posted as and when it comes through.

Just Life:
Once we attended friends 21st Birthday pub crawls.
Then it was engagements and weddings.
After that, christenings.
Then 40th's, 50's, and now 60's - with the odd funeral thrown in here and there.
All part of growing older.

A Great Quote: I now have more past than future. We are all allocated those three score years and ten, but I will very soon be overdrawn.
(Miss Jane Marple / Agatha Christie.)

The Website Was Off-Air: For a couple of days, which, I hope, didn't inconvenience anyone too much.
Originally a 'free' site, after 8 years, many sites had just been left unused for months if not years, to no ones advantage. So they decided that if they charged a fee, they could ditch the sites that didn't respond and pay, thus allowing others who want one, the opportunity.
So, yesterday, I paid.
Today, everything has been reinstated.
My thanks to everyone who was concerned enough to email and ask what was going on? And webmaster, Sarmad, for his vigilance and wish to get it up and running a.s.a.p.

Apologies: for the main pages disappearing on site, they will be back shortly.

J.B Priestley's 'English Journey': A rather smoke-addled 1934 copy bought from Amazon is a joy to read, despite smelling like an ash tray whilst doing so.
In 1933, Priestley was commissioned by his publisher to travel the length and breadth of England to write a travelogue of what he saw, and experienced, mainly by road.
His writing and descriptions are quite something, and it is easy to see why he was, and still is, regarded as one of England's literary masters.
An excerpt: The next morning I went from one entrance of the Cotswalds to another, from the Eastern gate to the Northern, for my destination was Chipping Campden, where these Wolds narrow to a fine edge. The day was just right. There was shifting and broken mists below, and somewhere above, a strong sun, which meant that the country was never seen in one blank light. It was one of those autumn mornings when every bush glitters with dewy gossamer. One moved mysteriously through a world of wet gold. Nothing had boundaries or real continuity. Roads climbed and vanished into dripping space. A beech copse was the near end of an impenetrable forest. The little valleys were as remote as Avallon. The villages arrived like news from another planet. As we went, we would startle and scatter hosts of little birds, linnets and finches and even goldfinches, which flashed marvellously about us for a second and then were gone before we could really believe they were there. The trees, especially the great elms, still had indigo night tangled in their branches, but they would jump suddenly into sunlight and show us their patches of dead yellow leaves. And sometimes the mist would retreat dramatically from one bit of ground, perhaps an orchard, and we would see a bough bright with apples. We have been journeying through the England of the poets, a countryside made out of men's visions. At the end of the road was Chipping Campden, with not a wisp of mist about it, full and fair in the sunlight.

Frosty: From 50mph winds and low cloud, to a scene painted with a frosty brush. Every evening the sparrows sound like an excited playground full of schoolchildren as they nestle into the privet hedges here; and one wonders how their tiny bodies survive?
But they have, for thousands of years.
And when you think about it, the wildlife of the world hasn't changed anything.
It is us; we humans, with our carbon burning and CO2 output.
Only we are stupid enough to polute the stuff we need to breathe to stay alive.

RIP Gary Moore: A sandwich, champagne, brandy, dying by inhalation of his own vomit and a 30 year old girlfriend finding him sounds like the tragedy of rock star history repeating itself over again.

Bird Brain: Is a bit of an insulting, school-days term not so popular today. But spending a quiet Sunday five minutes looking into the back garden at a Blackbird bathing in the pond outlet water, and a couple of Rooks strutting around the lawn, I'm not so sure that it should equal stupid.
Mrs. B let a couple of eggs go out of date. She threw them, inside the egg box, into the bin. I took them out, and put them on the grass under the conifers at the top of the garden. The fox would enjoy cracking them open and chuckling back the golden vitamins inside, as long as they hadn't addled.
But the fox wasn't so lucky; the Rooks found them first, they ate one and hid the other in a divot in the earth under leaves and grass in the Willow living art structure. Where their Rookery is, or how large their territory covers we will never know, but what we make fun of as their 'bird-brains' are clever enough to remember where the eggs have been hidden.
So they must have a considerable memory of not only their immediate surroundings, which could be rather a lot of square miles; but also the back gardens of every property; enabling their return to, hopefully, find their stash.
It's not uncommon for other birds, such as the Magpie or the Jay, to raid these food stashes; so urban warfare is not uncommon if one is found to be robbing another.
They also hide pieces of bread in a similar manner, and again, sometimes it is raided. But that small 'bird-brain' must be far more intelligent than we imagine, and these avian maps quite intriguing, considering we humans have to draw them onto paper; a facility the avians do not have the faculties to enjoy.
Theirs, based upon repitition and familiarity with the locality, is rather like us with our daily excursion of going the same route to get to work; except their groundhog day is finding enough to eat to see them through the night.
But thinking about it, that's not too far removed from what we do, anyway.

Germ Warfare: After a niggle in the throat since late Wednesday, it blossomed into a dry cough and cold yesterday around 3pm.
So in fairness to my gigging pal, Barb, and everyone else attending the Counterfiet Quo / Jack the Lad gig last evening at Mr. Kyps, I stayed home.
They say the best laid plans always go awry; but at least it wasn't a Motorhead gig. But I missed a Southampton show a couple of years ago for much the same reason.
Looking forward to meeting up with Mossy and the band, and having a great evening, but it wasn't to be this time.
http://www.myspace.com/jaktheladrocks

Message Board: Not one for New Year Resolutions, (if I'm inclined to do something, I'll do it, I don't need the New Year as an excuse), I made my mind up to keep a more constant eye on it.
But I hope, in turn, MB regulars will also look here, where the latest news is more likely to appear.
After enjoying the Red River Hogs in Wareham town last week, the gig bug has bitten. Mr Kyps, our local Parkstone live venue, is calling, and this evening, Jak the Lad and a Quo tribute band will be in order.
Jak the Lad are a great local across-the-board covers band, and fingers crossed, Quo will be playing tracks from Ma Kelly, Dog Of Two Head, Quo, and Piledriver - the midpoint in their career when, for me, they were at their peak.

'The World Is Yours' USA Goodies:
http://store.imotorhead.com/motorhead/preorder/
Thanks again to Eric Billett who sent the link.

Some Brian Robertson News:
http://hardrockhideout.com/2011/02/01/legendary-guitarist-brian-robertson-signs-with-spvsteamhammer/
which buddy, Eric, dug out. As a Frankie Miller fan, he finds these things.
And it just goes to show, although somewhat smaller than before, SPV are still in business.

Kindle: It's quite something when you see a book you've written on Amazon USA at #3,400,000-ish in their top 100; my 'Thunder In A Bottle' being the case in point. Agreed, it's way off the planet, but good grief, at least it's on their listings and available in America which, not that many years ago would have been an impossibilty.
And rather like my diatribe about downloading songs, which spanned 3 or 4 page 2 editorials in the fanzine, it seems downloading books to Kindle or similar, is becoming just as popular. The Kindle was the top selling gift for Xmas 2010, and books aeons out of print are now available as downloads, so it must be a good thing.
But rather like the music downloads disposing of vinyl and CD pressing plants, so too will print binderies have to suffer the lack of work digital reading will cause.
On the plus side, however, the rain forests, the lungs of our planet, might well be spared due to the downturn in the feast for paper products. And POD (print-on-demand) publishing, which produces a book as and when it is ordered and sold, will also help.
Tree-huggers can now rejoice at these 21st Century technological marvels!
'Thunder In A Bottle' is also available on amazon.co.uk, of course, as well as abebooks.co.uk and many others.