onionbagblog

To the Essex Sports Arena!

…on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday afternoons are BALL GAME afternoons, right?

Erm yep, if that ball happens to be volleyball.

Gosh.

Time and tide - and fixture dates - kept me away from the Rebels volleyball teams for most of last season.

But here we had a rare Saturday double header as both women and men teams took on strong opposition from Durham.

The Rebs were not only in it to win it, but there was ambitious talk of SMASHING the UK crowd record for an indoor volleyball game.

The Rebels already hold the current record. Once everyone was inside the Arena, a final crowd tally of 653 confirmed that a new benchmark had been set.

It may not compete with Premier League crowds, but getting over 600 people into an Arena in Colchester on a Saturday afternoon is no mean feat.

It’s not just about record breaking, either. The Rebs are keen to push volleyball, leading the way domestically. They also offer a genuine pathway for some very talented young athletes to compete and study.

I arrived slightly fashionably late. The women were one set down in a first to three race.

This was a top of the table clash. The Rebs have won both their games so far. Durham are serious championship contenders.

The third set went to the Rebs, but Durham then pulled away with a 3-1 road victory.

Entertainment in-between matches included the ever enthusiastic (and rather good) University Dance Team, as well as an on court volleyball competition that involved wearing granny pants.

The Rebs know how to put on a game day.

The men followed, with most of the bumper crowd remaining. They lost the first set.

Steady the buffers, etc.

Some killer serves from the home team turned it around. Rebels walked away with a 3-1 home court win.

The organisation continues to grow - basketball, volleyball, and also women’s cricket at an elite level, all now added to the roster.

Up the Rebs, etc.

The new album from Tortoise is very, very good. They’re a band that hasn’t really troubled me. But each time I hear about them, I only hear good things.

I’ve had little more time this week to listen to new music. Ive finally cleared the Gilles Peterson backlog of downloads that were sitting on my phone.

Much love, as always, to GP.

Plus the stupid international break has led to less Forest podcast action.

And so instead, Tortoise’s new Touch album has been on the online turntable.

It reminds me a lot of Ozric Tentacles - without the tie dye.

I’m increasingly drawn towards instrumental albums these days. It’s far from background music, but it’s what I need whilst I’m working away.

Touch isn’t exactly a… light touch. It’s incredibly unsettling in places. The distorted and out of sync drums add to the sense of confusion.

Post-rock - whatever that means these days - has become a feature for me in recent weeks. Bark Psychosis, Tortoise, and even some Clinic.

None of these are going to be pushing for that Christmas number one.

“It was difficult to tell what song he wrote and what song he didn’t write, because sometimes I noticed that he said he wrote a song and he didn’t, and other times I thought he didn’t write a song and he did.”

Richard Williams on Box Set 18 (1!) of the Dylan Bootleg Series.

Free bike schemes in deprived communities improve people’s health, wellbeing and social mobility, report shows

It’s always a joy seeing one of the five hundred orange framed bicycles distributed for free to some communities around these Estuary Wilds parts.

We had a rare Friday Film Night - a double header as well. With the bloody Estuary Wilds rain pissing it down all day and all evening, this was no time to be tripping the light fantastic outdoors.

And so we went in early. Work tools were downed at strictly 5pm, and then the first screening soon followed. A short break for an evening meal, and then the second sitting of Film Night.

Being screened was That’ll be the Day, and then Stardust - the David Essex films from the mid 70’s that document the rise and fall of a rock star.

Sounds familiar? Both films are rock ‘n’ roll cliches; both draw heavily on The Beatles, Bowie and Bolan.

I’ve seen That’ll be the Day before, although I wasn’t overly familiar with all the plot twists and turns. Stardust was new to me.

My interest was prodded through a casual name check of both films in the excellent This is Clobbered podcast - a YT channel that is taking up my time, and my monthly clothes allowance.

The two Marks explained how the first film gets the look and style of early UK rock ‘n’ roll spot on; Stardust meanwhile was referenced as being something much, much darker, and a very different proposition altogether.

They weren’t wrong.

That’ll be the Day is bloody great.

Ringo! Keith Moon! Shagging!

Plus more SHAGGING!

You couldn’t get away with some of the scenes and scripts these days, etc.

It roughly tells the story of working class dreams and failures. BALLS to The Man and the life path you are expected to take. Why not run away and join the fairground instead?

There’s a fantastic soundtrack throughout. You really can’t go wrong with early rock ‘n’ roll.

I’d forgotten that the film has anything but a happy ending. It was a bit of an oh, is that it moment, when the end credits rolled.

Not so.

A brief break for a meal, and then we streamed Stardust.

wtf.

Where to start?

tl’dr with a MAJOR spoiler:

It’s a classic tale of a Rock ‘n’ Roll suicide. But there’s still some unintentional comedy moments to be found.

Both films have roles from actors either on the way up, or on the way down.

Blimey! There’s JR Ewing - or rather Larry Hagman - muscling in on Adam Faith as the business manger for David Essex’s rock star role. And he’s basically playing JR in an English music movie.

The storyline goes BONKERS way too early.

It was however a clever move to trackback with a funeral for a character from the first film. This allows the connection to be made. Without this, That’ll be the Day and Stardust would have little to no narrative between them.

The timeline takes a huge leap. One moment we’re all Buddy Holly in the first film, and then without much cultural explanation or reference, we’re BALLS deep in the world of Bowie and Bolan.

That’ll be the Day is by far the more authentic film; Stardust is more interesting.

Robert Elms had another ACE Cover to Cover on BBC Radio London this morning. Up for consideration was Tainted Love - Gloria Jones Vs, well, you know what.

As ever with Cover to Cover, the original was played first. I always thought the Soft Cell cover was the original until relatively recently.

The Gloria Jones Northern Soul stomp was first released in 1964. The Soft Cell version followed seventeen years later.

It’s not a major lapse of time in the chronology of popular music. But they sound worlds apart. One is huff and puff Northern Soul, the other is the future.

SHOUT OUT to erm, Ed Cobb who originally wrote the song. Plus Glenn Campbell weirdly plays guitar on the Gloria Jones version.

I found the original to be lacking in any hook. That synth double beat riff which defines the Soft Cell version is so underplayed. The song is pretty much over before it’s started.

Soft Cell meanwhile is a youth club classic for me. The highlight of each month for me was dancing away to the 12" at the youth club disco as Tainted Love morphs into Where Did I Love Go?

It’s a killer drop, especially the segue, which still has me dancing more than four decades later.

The reason for Elms selecting Tainted Love was of course the passing of Dave Ball. His production and synth arrangement here is magical. It sounds like seedy Soho of the time.

As soon as the opening seconds of the synth whip kick in, you know you’re there.

No surprises that Soft Cell won.

Holy Quack! Duck Tours Are Returning To London

And if they’re anything like the old yellow duck predecessors, they’re a right pain for any passing cyclists.

We Asked This MP If He Really Wanted to Be in Your Party. Then He Quit

💩 Show

An album that all the nerds at schools use to have wet dreams over. I was too busy with 2Tone and girls. Time to see if the nerds won the long game?

tl;dr nerds never win.

At the end of Oxygène 1 I was ready to bail. Wait. There’s five more servings of this shit sandwich to come?

It sounds more like the annoying soundtrack for an early 80’s video game console. It’s got a crap cover as well.

UP YOURS, nerds.

⭐

The Inside Story of How the Green Party Turned Red

A return to The Trail for the firs time in a fortnight. The leaves have dropped, the ferry has been put away to bed for another season. We’re on the cusp of the end of autumn, approaching stupidly early Christmas planning.

I had chores and admin that I really should have been seeing to indoors. But the forecast for the bloody Estuary Wilds for tomorrow is a shocker. You need to get out, whilst you can.

Further down the Trail and the cormorant was sitting proud on top of his pole vantage point, drying his wings out. We watched the latest shitty Jurassic Park film last night. He wouldn’t have looked out of place in that.

Make the most of these Golden Days, Mr Cormorant. You appreciate the sun all the more when it’s pissing it down 24/7 outside. Good luck with the wing drying thing in the morning.

Here’s some geezer music for you: I bring you Good Health Good Wealth.

This time next year we will be millionaires, etc.

Which also happens to be the title of their debut album, out on Friday.

I first caught the duo on BBC Introducing for London. It’s a cheeky chappy mix of Streets style stories, with some tight beats brought up to date.

They look the bollocks as well.

Some of the tracks get a little dark. GWGH are not afraid to explore their own feelings, all behind the uplifting beats.

They’re also giving Sleaford fucking Mods a run for their money in the profanity stakes.