Apples, Planet Rock, Rumble in the Jungle, Status Quo, and time for Gerard to go.

A pretty random blog this one…. Take apples for instance. I love apples, I probably eat two or three apples a week and I enjoy them. I have three apple trees in my garden, and we have one apple tree at work. I now have 739 apples ripe and ready to eat (maybe an exaggeration), but we have a lot. Same with the damsons, three trees full of damsons, which means we have millions of them. Don’t like them though. Nita puts them in old  ice cream tubs in the freezer. Really disappointing when you think you’re opening chocolate chip to get more damsons.

Planet Rock. I really really like this radio station, especially on Saturday mornings with Rick Wakeman. I think he’s a brilliant presenter. Like him on Grumpy Old Men, like him on this. Great music.

Muhammad Ali. My favourite sportsman of all time. Don’t know why it’s taken me so long to buy the definitive DVD and  book on him, but I have. The Foreman fight was arguably the best fight of all time, just read a piece by Andy Kershaw on the stadium that hosted the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in Zaire. apparently it’s in rack and ruin now. Shame.

Time he went.

Football, from the ridiculous to the sublime. Watched local village football on saturday…Ribchester Rovers. Both teams were arguing amongst themselves, both teams were arguing with each other, both teams were arguing with the referee, both teams were brilliant at effin’ and blinding, but pretty poor at football. Nobody was watching the game, and neither team seemed to have any managers, or trainers, or supporters. If this is grass roots football, England won’t win anything in a million years.

On Sunday I was lucky enough to go Old Trafford to see United v Liverpool, a fantastic atmosphere, and a superb match lit up by a Bulgarian, a Portugese, and an Englishman who doesn’t want to play for his country. United were a million miles better than Liverpool who have serious problems. My view is that Liverpool is a one man operation…it’s all about Gerard, the team is built around him, and everything goes through him, and recent seasons show that it doesn’t work. While the status quo remains, they won’t win anything and everyone else will be blamed. Only when Gerard has gone will Liverpool become a team again.

Talking of Status Quo, I’m treating Mrs J to their gig at Blackburn the day after her birthday…romantic or what…

Having a go at making some wine with all the apples…suppose it’s a bit daft having a wine shop in the family…and making your own!

Mark.

The Workhouse Blog is proud to announce over 33% off the Ribchester Calendar Girls 2010 calendar!

Today is my half ‘blogday’ which means I have been doing the Workhouse blog now for 6 months. During that time I have written 85 blogs, this being my 86th. As a self confessed expert  I wondered why my wife handed me the latest copy of Nat West Business Sense pointing at an article entitled ‘How to Blog’ encouraging me to read it. I noticed she had circled a small paragraph which said ” ….don’t spout off any old spurious rubbish; think about what your readers want to hear….”  Hmmmm.

So I checked out  the most popular search on my blog to discover what my readers want to hear ( I’m getting up to 4 hits a day on my blog now….) and it’s…….Ribchester Calendar Girls! Which reminds me that on Friday we’re exactly a third of the way through the year, so in an attempt to sell the remaining 25 calendars in my possession I can legitimately offer ” Ribchester Calendar Girls 2010 Calendar, now ONE THIRD OFF!…..was £7.50 now only £5…..and when they’re gone, they’re gone…don’t miss out!…”. Just let me know if you want one. And if you’re interested, here’s the four brave ladies who have already had their month in the sun!!

Miss April

Miss March

Miss February

Miss January

The calendar was shot at Workhouse Studios in our photography studio, even though I say it myself, one of the best photographic studios in Lancashire, certainly the newest and most purpose built photography studio. Andrew Woodhouse our in-house photographer who shot the semi naked women (and never been the same since), has been doing some really nice portraits recently which you can see on our other website http://www.workhousestudios.co.uk/Staff-Portraits/menu-id-96.html

The 6m high corner infinity cove at Workhouse Studios

Another anniversary occurs later this year, it being the 25th anniversary of Live Aid 1985. It seems only minutes ago that they brought out the DVD to celebrate 20 years of Live Aid. July 13th 1985 was Live Aid day and I remember it well. As much as I’d have loved to have been there I was working as a Product Manager for Visionhire Ltd, the TV and video rental company, and we had a store opening in the middle of Sheffield. We had a giant balloon race, I dressed as Father Christmas (in July?!), the Mayor showed up and it was a boiling hot day. We had all the TV’s tuned in to Live Aid and the music full on, it was a good opening. A heavily pregnant Nita and I were living in the South and I dashed back from Sheffield in time for us to attend a dinner party at friends of ours in North London, and stayed up to watch the Philadelphia leg after Wembley had finished. I’ve always been fascinated by the event, and via eBay I have the souvenir programme of the day. I am still gobsmacked how Bob Geldof managed to organise such a big event in such a small time, without a mobile or a laptop!

Back to the present day, and my son Tom (who was in the heavily pregnant Nita and was born 12 days after Live Aid) has just completed the first full week of trading for The Whalley Wine Shop. He has a final bit of training on his new EPOS today and hopefully we will have good and accurate stats showing his sales performance every which way. I know he’s happy with the way the week has been but it will be nice to see that reflected in the figures. He has a double page spread in the next issue of LIVE RIBBLE VALLEY magazine, and that will have a positive effect on sales.

And what a joy it is to see the sun shining and the blossom on the trees….and if you’ve got this far, you may as well listen to Status Quo opening Live Aid in 1985!

Mark.