onionbagblog

Nine Below Zero’s Live at the Marquee debut, doubled up with Don’t Point Your Finger. It’s quite a statement to launch a live album as your debut, But Nine Below Zero were - and still are - a working band. You can almost hear the sweat seeping off the walls of the old Marque.

I’ve always had Nine Below Zero down as a horrid New British Metal band. How wrong I was. They broke through a year or two early for me to pick up on them.

The sound has more of a high energy mod rhythm, with the blues breaking through. It’s a brilliant English mismatch of style fusing together, aka a right old racket.

Live at the Marquee is great fun, from start to finish.

The left without class has failed – what comes next?

via Morning Star

I had to cycle off to see a woman about a hammock over in Great Bentley. It seemed like the perfect excuse to factor in a Bank Holiday bicycle ride around the Peninsular Loops circuit. Chapeau!

Operation Drop Off Hammock went smooth. A hammock was welly and truly dropped off. I hope it finds itself a happy new home. I never really did get my head - or body - around the art of dozing off and doing bugger all whilst being suspended above the lawn.

But anyway. About the Bank Holiday bicycle ride. The Union flags are still flying around the lampposts of Ainger’s Green. It’s an odd choice, for sure. Are you thinking what I’m thinking, etc? Whenever I see someone flying a Union flag, I want to congratulate them on embracing the inclusiveness of our bond across the nations. I don’t think I would get the response I would want over in Ainger’s Green.

My mind turned to more enjoyable matters as I reached the empty lanes. It wasn’t quite shorts weather, but it did feel like the first day of the cycling summer season. The freshly ploughed fields were all set for their first crops to be planted. As ever I was enthused to see the OCD approach to ploughing. That’s a job that I could do. Yep.

Things went a little downhill with four arsehole close passes. No worries, I’ve got you caught on camera, fellas. And soon Essex Police will as well. SHOUT OUT to the stunning pheasant that also close passed me. I don’t think Essex Police are interested in your chaotic approach to crossing a road.

I brought forward the annual diary date for the Weird Wiv bluebell walk for this year. I am a man of routine, but I am also out of sync with my bluebell calendar. In previous years I’ve gone exploring deep into Wivenhoe Woods early May. I usually hit jackpot with the carpets of bluebells, but they are often on the wain. Hey! Let’s fast forward a month.

There was a beautiful Bank Holiday blue sky early morning. Have sun rays, have flowering bluebells. Or so the theory goes. My man of routine persona even allowed me to deviate from the usual Wivenhoe Wood walking path. Phew. LIVE dangerously Jase, etc. I was rewarded by finding some new stretches of the bluebell coverings that my camera hasn’t troubled in previous years.

I chose to snap away using the very old Nikon D60. This is usually the camera that I reach for whenever I’m snapping away at live sport. It has a great shutter speed action, but is a little big and clumsy when it comes to bending down and trying to be agile whilst out in the field - or even the bluebell wood. The results were so so, but not quite the quality that I craved.

The bluebells didn’t disappoint, obvs. We weren’t alone in taking in the stench of the flowers waking up early morning. It was a little over-powering. For once I had a little time to keep on wandering, finding further new paths to explore.

The crazy world of rock ‘n’ roll, etc. It’s come to this.

The list of influences for Gaelle on the wiki page was impressive - Cocteau’s, Prince, Trevor Horn. My kinda girl, I thought. Sadly I heard none of the above throughout the album. It’s pleasant enough as the chords sweep over you. She’s got a half decent voice to match. But sadly not for me.

⭐ ⭐

Birdhouse In Your Soul is brilliant, but it also kinda gets on yet tits. A bit like much of this album tbh. It’s US college goof. I wonder if the Americans view Ian Dury through a similar cultural lens?

⭐ ⭐

“I fear that the art of building dams in the woods is just another of those important artisanal professions that die out due to ’the internet’. Perhaps I’ll host a £450 day-long course in the skill, and I’ll rejoice in the fact that Woody Guthrie wrote me a song about my exploits.”

via Caught by the River

A return to rolling out with the Colchester Cycle UK crowd early on Sunday morning. Woh - I’ve missed those guys. It’s been a few years since I’ve managed any consistent run of Sunday cycling club runs. Work has got in the way, meaning that I’ve missed out on the weekly rides to Gawd Knows Where.

I did check the route briefly before the 8:45am Leisure World meet up. Assington was the first coffee point check. Nope, me neither.

We had a vicious head wind once we had left Britain’s Oldest recorded; actually we had a vicious tail wind and a vicious cross wind. The arse end of Storm Dave was blowing out around the fringes of Sunny Colch.

Runners and riders were everywhere. We also came across a number of cycle tourists, with their impressive bar and frame bags as they made their way around the lanes.

I stuck close to the ride leader. I even picked up some new hand signals. We’re not talking the five-fingered shuffle, although the cyclist hand gesture for gravel ahead did have me giggling to myself.

The Barn at Assington was reached. Morning coffee was taken as we met up with some other riders. There was little appetite, so to speak, for a continuation on to a luncheon venue. A new route was plotted back to Sunny Colch.

Chapeau!

Part Two of the Community Day double header at the Essex Sports Arena saw London Cavaliers rock up to tip off against the Rebs. This season has been something of a struggle for the men. The team has shown promise in some games, but then struggled in others. This was the final home game of the season, with the Rebs never really threatening the play-offs.

This didn’t mean that the Our House atmosphere could take a night off. Big Dog Ballin' was in fine form ahead of tip off, dropping some absolute bangers including Arrested Development, old school Public Enemy and even some Dre.

There was a new Queen B mascot in town as well. The clue was in the slightly different body moves as each old time anthem was blasted out around the Arena.

The first quarter was low scoring. The initial atmosphere then went a little flat. Rebs trailed 21-17 at the first buzzer.

A tight second quarter followed, with Rebs still staying afloat in the game. They took a 36-34 lead into the break.

This was our signal to play musical chairs. I’m all for enthusiasm, but the little ankle biter sitting right behind us was screaming into my ear at every opportunity. No ta, mate.

Neither team looked like they wanted to take control in the third, with the scoreboard showing 54-53. Cavaliers then decided to put their foot down, and punish the Rebs for having a short bench. The final score of 59-75 felt harsh.

And so another season is over for the men at the Sport Arena. It’s been good to watch, but the team has a tendency to tire as the game progresses. Injuries have not been kind. It will be interesting to see what the roster is when we return in six months time.

Up the Rebs!

To the Essex Sports Arena! …late on Saturday afternoon. The occasion was a double header as part of Community Day for the Essex Rebels. The Rebs HQ carry off these themed games wonderfully well. All the face painting, outdoor eating and meet ‘n’ greets aren’t really for me. But good effort, all the same.

BLOODY good effort with the marketing for the game. The Sports Arena was pretty much full, with an overspill of fans sitting on the opened up opposite side of the Arena. With the campus students away over the Easter hols, this game had been marketed very much with local families in mind.

London Lions women are no longer the Euro basketball force that they once were. Two seasons ago and the team from the Copper Box were unstoppable. Financial issues and a scaled down recruitment policy has left them as one of the basement teams in the league.

This didn’t stop the Rebels from going about their business on court. The home team move the ball around the court at such pace this season. They can give any visiting team a run for their money on any given day. The Rebs took a 29-16 lead into the first buzzer.

The pace of the attack continued in the second. SHOUT OUT to Paige Meyer who had another one of her outstanding games, dominating all parts of the court with tremendous speed and skill. She is without a doubt the Player of the Season for the Rebs.

Half time came with the Rebs leading 46-30. The main entertainment during the break was a game of musical chairs that involved also sinking a basket before finding a spare seat.

London Lions attempted a physical comeback in the third. This became a very vicious quarter. Lions realised that the only way to compete was to foul the opposition and rough them up. But Rebs aren’t short of their own bruisers this season.

Whose House? OUR House, etc.

Chuck a Duck took place on court ahead of the fourth, with the Rebs leading 58-45. This was incredibly popular with over a hundred or so kids keen to chuck their ducks into the parachute target on centre court.

The fourth quarter was make or break for both teams. Rebs needed to pulled away early on, putting as much scoreboard distance between themselves and the Lions to make for a more relaxed final five minutes or so.

Meyer was dominant once again, sinking some key baskets. A final score of 84-66 for the Rebs was well deserved.