sime is also hosting a new years eve show.

sat at my paid job tonight and two young black ladies come in. as they’ve been in before (and are very easy on the eye) i smile and say hello. unlike normal, neither answer, nor do they return my smile. odd.

they continue their shopping. then return to the tills. again ignoring me. nothing unusual in that, but i am whistling along to the radio and one turns, tuts and says summat i can’t quite catch. the conversation that followed shocked me to my core.

i ask if i have done something to upset her and i am told i am a racist. ME!!

i ask her nicely to explain why and she says that every day i have smiled and said hello and they thought i was nice, but the previous night as they were leaving i “stared to whistle a slaves working son”

no, me neither!

i again ask her what she is talking about. again she says summat about my whistling. i tell her i ALWAYS either whistle or sing as it passes the tedium, but i hev never, nor will i ever racially abuse ANYONE let alone a customer. at this point a regular copper walks in, see me talking to two girls and says “stop flirting”… oh boy. talk about oil on flames? the copper looks at me, i shake my head, he asks where the sandwiches are. the girl making the accusation walks away with copper to show him, leaving me with the silent and cuter one of the two. i say to her “look my love, if i did said or whistled anything to offend then it was purely by accident as i am not a racist. ask anyone working here or the customers of many races creeds and colours that i talk to and have a laugh with. and if that doesn’t convince you then here” at which i get out my phone, turn on spotify and show her my extensive playlists. predominantly ska, reggae. i AM a skinhead love, but you have to understand that True skins embrace black culture and love it, we’re not racists. at this point her eyes take on a sparkle and she smiles. “i never heard you say a thing, and to be honest thought you were too nice a person to do such a thing. i don’t know what she’s on about”

her mate comes back. and the girl i’d been talking to grabs her and whispers summat in her ear. when she reurfaces, i say to girl one “ i am so sorry if anything i was whistling was offensive to you, but it was never my intent to cause any upset. i have no idea what the songs you say are slavery based are, and can only apologise again”. she said she believed me and said sorry! they then start to ask about jobs and when i say there are none, they say ok, thanks and start to go. at which point girl no2 just comes right out and asks for my phone number!

of course i decline to give it, as flattered as i was. at which point they leave. and i turn around and kick the nearest thing to me. odd times.

ttfn

sime.

i “know” someone who is part of “news thump” and they do daily spoof bulletins. this is one from yesterday. funny in it’s own right but i must point out that a certain Mr Bragg actually tweeted it & al;so posted it to his facebook page. not a bad stick eh?

Thursday 10 November 2011 by Spacey

Police disperse student protesters with impromptu Billy Bragg gig

The Police successfully avoided a repeat of the violence that marred last year’s student marches by deploying a middle-aged socialist with a guitar to help disperse protesters at yesterday’s demonstration in London.

David Cameron said on Tuesday that he would not criticise the police if they felt it was an operational necessity to use Billy Bragg on the student demonstrators.

Police utilised the singer songwriter and left-wing activist after concerns were raised of possible clashes between students hellbent on education and officers hellbent on hitting people with big sticks.

Police had hoped that by positioning Mr Bragg by St Paul’s that they might also be able to shift some of the Occupy London protesters.

Billy Bragg deployed

The organisers of yesterday’s protest, the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, condemned the use of lefty folk music to dispel protesters, with campaign leader Michael Chessum describing it as a “totally unprovoked attack on young people’s ears”.

“This was a shocking example of the underhand tactics used by police to try and stop people exercising their democratic right to peaceful protest,” he fumed.

The police have defended their actions and insisted that the decision to deploy Mr Bragg was not taken lightly.

“Using Billy Bragg was intended as a last resort,” admitted a Metropolitan Police spokesperson.

“However, we felt that the decision to use Bragg was justified in this case as it helped us to avoid having to reform The Style Council.”

well last night it was time for the boy’s first ever gig, and who better for him to see than The Specials?

up, washed and dressed, and ready to go.

some a bit more eager than his dad. if that was possible.

managed to get to notts arena, sort the boy out with a t and a badge, sort his dad out with a pint (or three) and hang about for the rest of the #sfrcollective.

looked nice those hot dogs. tasted nice too.

nearly as big as the boy himself! told the boy i would try and snaffle him one of those posters, but every time i tried a member of security came past. and after they’d all already gone. grrr…

turned out the rest of rent a mob were already inside the gig, so it seemed the chance to meet them had passed. oh well, into the arena we go then. second support band, By The Rivers were on. not overly fussed. Ben told me later that Stone Foundation were very good. i always manage to miss the good supports. 

“it’s loud!” said the boy.

“you aint heard nowt yet fella” was the reply…..

they finished, the lights came up, and after some furious tweeting along wandered Ben, Carl and Fiona! 3 twitter friends finally made flesh. and like the complete set of arses we are, not one of us took a photo!

as they were setting the stage up, someone must have caught a bass string cos there was a ‘kerdung’ and a thundering through the floor. “what was that?” asked the boy. “THAT, well, i told you it was going to get loud yes? well, that was the bass guitar”. he seemed to get even happier!

thirsty stuff this gig going. pint of Liffy Water? the apple doesn’t fall far.

time to show off purchases. HIS choice of T-shirt. i’d have gone for a “date” one, but hey, his decision.

gotta have a badge too. (i got nowt. wasn’t about me last night)

and then…. AND THEN! THE SPECIALS hit the stage!

“why must you record my phone calls?”

happy much?

just when you think things can’t get any better, some random bloke walks past and hands the boy a sheet of paper. “here you go young man”ah, ANOTHER flyer for some after show party or what not…

NO! NO WAY HAVE YOU JUST BEEN GIVEN THAT! JAMMY LITTLE SOD!

i tried my damndest at Leeds to get one of those! and at most gigs i have been to. he gets one at his first?

ben & carl seem to be enjoying it. (white glasses, red shirt)

ah, thats a better one. just

more Specials?

i have to admit, my facade of manliness left me completely as they played Monkey Man. this is a song the boy grew to love as a toddler in the days of the old analogue Sky channel P-Rock. firstly the Reel Big Fish version, but as he grew older, he admitted The Specials version was his favourite. so to be skanking and singing along to it, with him, at his very first gig, well, dad kinda lost it for a moment!

all good things come to an end though, and that was true of last night. a rousing version of You’re Wondering Now and lights up. quick wave and shout to the #sfrcollective and we’re out of there.

a safe and steady journey home, calling at some services to empty the tank, then up to the enemy’s mums to collect the hound, then a Maccy D’s and home to bed.

up this morning and ooh, wonder what the boy might put on? ha ha, bingo.

and what does he want to listen to? yup. ah, my boy!

the only question yet to answer from last night….

“who we going to see next dad?”

ttfn folks.

barnsley sime.

FOR MORE DETAILS GO TO THE BALLS TO CANCER WEB SITE

it’s taken so long because it was started in 2009 and i have read it from the start. unlike the others which aren’t (or don’t seem to be) sequential and/or contain a strict story line, the tale of Edmund does.  i can’t say much about it, other than it does what it says in the title. the best thing to do, if you have the time is to go to the link above and read it yourselves. from the start. all the way to the latest. it’ll take a while, but you’ll thank me for it. here’s a couple of single frame entries to give you a taste.

please go take a look.

ttfn.

sime