From: Joe Stead [joe_at_joestead_dot_com]
Sent: 30 June 2014 11:15
Subject: The Ramblings of an old Codger - Volume 166 - July 2014
Joe Stead ? The Ramblings of an old Codger ? Volume 166 - July
2014
I don't quite know if I'm amused or bemused
when I get letters from people quoting 'Seegerisms' at me. They come from
time to time for sure, and as far as I can tell they always come from people
who had never met Pete; but they all know exactly how Pete would have thought
and what he would have said etc. Now I am a contentious writer, sometimes
not for my own good I admit that, and if it were not so none of you would ever
bother to write to me. Except perhaps, not wishing to over
discombobulate, to wish me a happy birthday which you all lamentably missed yet
again this month. However I now discover that poor old Pete is turning in
his grave because I dared to tell you something you all know, something some of
you might actually applaud and that is quite simply that UKIP is on the rise
stealing votes from all the other main parties. I didn't vote in May, had
I done so I admitted that I might have been tempted to vote UKIP had a UKIP
candidate been standing. There is in my opinion oceans of difference in
being tempted into something and not doing it, than there is into actually
doing it. Perhaps I have no right to comment on politics if I don't vote.
It is a statement I've heard many times over the fifty five years I've been an
eligible voter. My problem as I said last month, is that I don't anymore
trust any of the people seeking office. Of course if none of us voted we
would end up with a dictatorship and hopefully none of us want that. But
I've voted twice for a war criminal and it leaves a dirty taste in my mouth
that I can't seem to get rid. I did a benefit concert for Mr. Blair and
similar to Seeger, but dissimilar to most artistes performing benefit concerts,
I donated 100% of the takings to the Labour Party whereas most artists take
either their fees or at least expenses away first. I appreciate that this
is something only solo artists, or perhaps duos, can do as groups are
invariably an amalgamation of people with dissimilar political views and groups
invariable have PA's and sound engineers to lug around with them. The
days of 'The Weavers' are long past where four people came together performing
acoustically, without the accoutrements aforementioned but with the same
political outlook. Meanwhile Blair who should be languishing in a prison
somewhere (preferably Turkey or Morocco would be my choice, although Russian
comes to mind as a nice place for him too; some lovely prisons there) is appearing
world wide on television apparently oblivious of the misery and suffering he
has caused in an Iraq now war torn and raped beyond belief, toting the idea
that the job is only half done and we should all pick up our guns and ride
gung-ho back into Iraq. I'm leaving Bush out of this tirade because he
was and still is a fucking idiot, it was Dick Cheney driving the bus in March
2003.
Now I'm not going to dare to tell you how Pete
thought or what he might have said about the Ramblings of an old Codger.
But I do know two things. Pete believed all people were created equal and
he also maintained throughout his life that if something is wrong, then someone
should speak out about it. It is a maxim passed down from Charles his
father who had studied music at Harvard and became the youngest full
professor of the
That, however, was one hundred
years ago and a whole lot of water, a lot of it dirty, has flowed under the
bridge since then. It was a time when the black man in
I for one should have died at
least three times by now. In 1947 I had a poisoned appendix and my life
was saved by a very swift operation probably, judging by the scar, done by a
foot specialist (I should complain) and then by penicillin. I've
had a pulmonary embolism after tracking through
But I digress, I ramble, as I'm wont to do.
By the way if you are one of
those nice people who posted me a 'Happy Birthday' on Facebook - thanks ever so
much. I might, or might not, have replied I seem to get into a terrible
mess with the whole shooting-match which is one reason I never use it. If
you see anyone who wished me a happy birthday to whom I didn't say thank you
then please extend my thanks if you would be so kind. I think that's how
it works. I will not be sending you a Happy Birthday greeting by the
way. Not because I don't wish you a lovely day because I really,
really, really do. I won't be wishing you a 'Happy Birthday' for the
simple reason I won't know it is. Quite apart from the fact I won't know
how to send it anyway.
Fixture List for
Kimber's Men and
2014
Jun 27th (KM) Scottish Traditional Boat
Festival, Portsoy
Jun 28th (KM) Scottish Traditional Boat
Festival, Portsoy
Jun 29th (KM) Scottish Traditional Boat
Festival, Portsoy
Jul 4th (KM)
Jul 5th (KM)
Jul 6th (KM)
Jul 12th (KM) Helmsley Art Centre
Jul 18th
(KM) Stag Community Arts Centre,
Jul 19th (KM) The Black Pig,
Aug 20th (Joe)
Aug 29th (KM) Stradbally Hall, Stradbally, Co.
Aug 30th (KM) Stradbally Hall, Stradbally, Co.
Aug 31st (KM) Stradbally Hall, Stradbally, Co.
Sep 5th
(KM) The Theatre, 2 Spring Street, Chipping Norton,
Sep 6th (KM)
Sep 6th (KM) The Birds Nest, Deptford.
Sep 7th (KM) National Maritime Museum -
Oct 3rd (KM) Portmagee Festival
Oct 4th (KM) Portmagee Festival
Oct 5th (KM) Portmagee Festival
Oct 10th (KM) Harwich Festival of the Sea
Oct 11th (KM) Harwich Festival of the Sea
Oct 12th (KM) Harwich Festival of the Sea
Oct 16th (KM) Bar Onetwentytwo, 120 New St, Castlegate,
Oct 24th (KM)
Oct 25th (KM) Oxfordshire.
Nov 21st (KM)
Nov 22nd (KM) Samlesbury War Memorial Hall,
Nov 23rd (KM) Tosside Community Hall ,
Dec 6th (KM) The Workshop,
2015
Jan 17th (KM) Square Chapel Theatre,
Feb 5th (KM) Coronation Hall,
Mar 13th (KM) The David Hall,
Mar 14th (KM) Spring Arts Centre, East Street,
Havant,
Mar 21st (KM) Heron Theatre,
Apr 25th (KM) The Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone.
Dec 6th (KM) The Bothy Folk Club, Park
Golf Club,
Letters
Dear Joe,
Usually can't be bothered to respond to your
diatribes.
Didn't vote? Didn't have the courage of your
convictions?
I think there's a phrase from a novel by Naomi
Jacobs which describes a character as a 'fireside anarchist'
All these bloody foreigners coming over here,
singing our songs, dancing our dances, get off your ass and vote man, before
Nigel has a purge of intellectuals, vote for him, another member of the elite,
who wants us to work for nothing while he draws his European salary and pisses
on us all from a great height.
In the meantime keep writing the ramblings.
Ian Petrie
Hi Joe
I
occasionally read your ramblings mainly for mild amusement to see the sad state
that an old bugger can sink to if he listens to too much to his own crap
However
this time I need to respond.
To hear
your stupidly naive comments about UKIP and their policies, which can only lead
to a rise in the fascist fever that is gripping the
I agree
that the socialist has all but gone from the Labour Party and therefore
ordinary people are dis-enfranchised but now is not the time to do nothing
about it. If you have enough energy to write your self serving ego
ramblings why not use it to make a difference.
Malcolm
Hawksworth.
Hi Joe
I hope you're getting the treatment you need
and that it hasn't been too dreadful going through with everything. I think
about you often and wonder how you are.
I thought
I'd give you an update re getting the numerous inaccuracies corrected in
Derek's inquest report. I heard today that the so called 'inquest report' has
finally been changed to a more accurate account of what happened (and didn't
happen). An apology plus amendments will appear in tomorrow's paper as well as
corrections to the online report. At last! The papers have at last admitted
that they did make all the errors and misleading statements highlighted in the
original letter of complaint. They have agreed to print the amendment and
apology in the print version of the two papers and they will make all the
necessary corrections to the online version too (as requested back in
February!) We're still finalising the wording of the online version, and I will
let you know immediately I hear that it has at last been done. So, nearly
there!
Wishing you, Nora and family all the very best.
Take good care of yourself.
Annette Woolley xxx
Joe
Are you
suggesting that Steve Tilston is a lesbian? I'm pretty sure he isn't.
As for
Geoff Bartley, we love each other but we are not lesbians.
And you are
my favorite bearded guy.
Fishken
returns to the mother ship.
Best
wishes.
David
Fishkin.
Dear Joe,
I could not describe the feeling I have had
since you letter visited my mailbox. First of all, thank you so much, and I
would add, ?my dear friend?, because I feel like that, as all you have said
sounds so much like those deeply kept ideas and fragile feelings people usually
keep hidden until they go away.
Your songs sound like sea-tide, rolling into
the shore stones, and of course, if I was hoisting the sail, I would definitely
sing to myself something from your repertoire, like ?Just another folk singer?,
which I listened to for many times, and the tune is from time to time is in my
ears.
My father is a sailor, he wandered on fishing
ships a lot, all over Africa, and
But anyway, it looks like a good person, this
ship. Like a person who has seen and felt and thought a lot, and still is not
going to sink. So I wish you be the ship and the sea-wolf at the same time,
flowing along with the waves, singing, being like a lighthouse, and also stay
at home when elections come and enjoy the rain, it all is just real life,
instead of circus and noise over the bones thrown out by people whose
consciousness is still where money and tricks are, and they are not to blame,
as if they could do it all different way, they would do it... and would sing
instead. Such obsession with money and all this stuff is not something real, I
guess, its just a sort of illness, but you are wise, and you know it all better
than me, surely.
Sorry for some mistakes I did in the previous
letter, I felt like I was set on fire, and had to be in time with my letter to
you, so I was in a sort of state where you forget about checking the spelling
and grammar, about your ego and insignificant things like that, as your
thoughts are there with Pete and Joe, real Men, with their songs, which bring
you to a ship, sailing somewhere, and faces of Kimber?s Men, all looking so
unique and spirit-moving)
When I first saw the pictures of the band's
participants, of these Men, I thought to myself, well, Ship?s Cook looks like a
real cook, very open face, very kind look, inviting to join for a meal, and a
good one, not just some meal, but a delicious meal, and delicious both in
taste, atmosphere and sound over it and its preparation. Only afterwards when I
was reading about him, I got to know that I was right in my feeling about this
person. Powder Monkey looks very dynamic, very moving, so to say, alive at his
maximum, with eyes looking for a new destination or thinking up something
tricky, is he a master to monkey around, really? (Just asking because I wonder
about the origin of the nick name)!
Ship?s Bosun ? here I had no doubts, I knew it
is a ship?s bosun before I finished reading the post of this Man. Drummer Boy
looks very light and thin, like a drum stick, with his eyes radiant with some
rhythms from overseas. Finally, I see the Doctor, and I think to myself, is it
because I feel better after I listen to Joe?s songs, or is it because I know a
bit more from him now, when we write letters to each other, and I come to
understand deeper this Man? But I believe after I read your letter, that you
are a spirit-Doctor, and I am happy about this discovery.
Joe, can I call you by name only? The thing is,
you sound and look much more energetic than most of people I know, especially
among my mates, and that?s the part of the reason I would like to call you by
name, without Mr. But if its not the right way to sail, I don?t mind another,
so just let me know if I am ignorant here or if it is alright for two sailor
men.
I also operated a small vessel, like a barge,
back in the days when father used to take me along to his working place in the
sea port, when we used to live in Murmansk, the north most port town of Russia,
where piercing winds blow hard, polar nights and winter go hand in hand, polar
days with sun up all night make you think you?re never going to want to sleep
and a lot of lakes and forests with berries and mushrooms share all you need
for free without asking back for anything, very ego-free ones.
Do you have a recipe with some fish, by the
way, Joe? I would be happy to have one from you, and my family would, too! Or
may be you have some other recipes of your favorite dishes or drinks or pies or
something like that? I am so much wondering about that, and would love to share
with you some as well, and when you send me some of yours, I will see and feel
what would be a better thing to share with you, Joe.
What do you like to eat and drink, all in all?
Do you like to eat outside, at the shoreside if there is a chance like
this? Do you cook on your own, or may be there is something you love to
take care on your own, and do not trust it anybody else?
May be Ship?s Cook could share some recipe with
us (or, better said, with me, as you might have known his masterpieces by now)?
I would love to hear from him, really, as I do a lot of cooking at home, just
as I like it, dealing with food and making family people have a watering mouth
while me finishing the meal. Now when my parents are in the south, taking care
after 90-years old granny, who is unable to walk, I have my sister and nephew,
her son, to make pleased about food I do, so, I would share some with you, as a
sailor to sailor food-sharing! Old traditional and good will'd. That?s how I
would describe I felt after I received your letter, the same way written, as if
on paper, with ink, like brave old days letter. I am not in any way
complaining about emails, I am just saying, you have this spirit which e-mail
way of sending can't spoil!
I have received your letter and have read it
all twice now, I like the way you put your thoughts, organized, clean and
clear, with character and unfearful own opinion on what?s going on in the world
of people, may that be something ignorant, as usual, or something less
ignorant, as exception.
I wish you to add more to the exceptions box,
with your songs, spirit, which stands the storms in any sense of it, and hope
to hear from you again, as I have some thoughts more, just do not want to put
it all here and make it tiresome for you. Although I know, or, better, feel,
that you are the man who likes to read may be full-length letters, not
shortened or abridged versions, which are more like a toilet paper. I would
like to send it by post, even if it took time enough to be delivered, but I am
not sure if you?d like it this way.
You are in
I should finish it so that Joe will not say,
hey, enough this time, young man!
Joe, I wish you to have good days ahead and
hope to hear from you again! We are sea-related, and freedom is flowing in our
veins.
With sincere wishes, and hopefully this time
you will not find as much carelessness in spelling and grammar, as that time!
Please, keep me aware of any of the European
gigs you might have, I would do my best to come specially to see and sing
along, because
With deep respect for your music, songs and
spirit of a real Man,
Anton Chernyshevich -
Funnies
HOW THE INTERNET STARTED
In ancient
And Dot Com was a comely woman,
Large of breast, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often
called Amazon Dot Com.
And she said unto Abraham, her
husband, "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods
when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?"
And Abraham did look at her as
though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said,
"How, dear?"
And Dot replied, "I will place
drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you
have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. The
sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable
(UPS)."
Abraham thought long and decided he
would let Dot have her way with the drums.
And the drums rang out and were an
immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without
ever having to move from his tent.
To prevent neighboring countries
from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she
and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and
she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures - Hebrew To The
People (HTTP).
And the young men did take to Dot
Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called
Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.
And lo, the land was so feverish
with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed
that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother
William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. Indeed he did
insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads
and drumsticks.
And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham,
what we have started is being taken over by others."
And Abraham looked out over the
Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the
young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using
Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as
God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).
That is how it all began
And that's the truth
Mathematics: This
comes from 2 math teachers with a combined total of 70 yrs. Experience.
It has an indisputable mathematical logic.
It also made me Laugh Out Loud.
This is a strictly mathematical viewpoint...
it goes like this:
What
Makes 100%?
What
does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever
wonder about those people who say they
are giving more than 100%? We have all been
to those meetings where someone wants you
to
give over 100%.
How
about achieving 103%?
What
makes up 100% in life?
Here's
a little mathematical formula that might help you
answer
these questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is
represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
And
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5
= 96%
But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
And,
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%
AND,
look how far ass kissing will take you.
A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%
So,
one can conclude with mathematical certainty,
that
whileHard work andKnowledge will get you close,
andAttitudewill get you there, it?s the Bullshit and
Ass
Kissing that
will put you over the top.
Now you know why some people are where they are!
Keep
smiling, keep singing.
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