GOFFA FROM THE BLOCK

Short version as my beloved often requests of me but I thought I'd lost access to edit Goffa From The Block.  Apparently there is some sort of security conflict between NTL/Virgin domain email addresses (whatever that means) and Blogger.  I thought I'd left it too long to do   the fix  apart from in typically Goffa fashion it turns out I actually did the fix.   Needless to say I'm excited and thrilled to be back.   I have a few ideas to post and I might even follow it through. All it remains for me to say for now is Happy New Year and here's a photo just 'cos I can post it.

Still gutted about yesterday's election result.  It reminds me of the feeling I used to have the morning after a mid-week defeat for Boro.  I don't get that anymore, there's no use fretting and the election result is a bit like that.  The people have spoken and our undemocratic election system has produced a decisive result.  The Conservatives have won an outright majority of seats after polling 36.9% of the total votes cast.   12.6% voted UKIP leading to them winning 1 seat (thank the lord) whereas SNP won 56 seats from 4.7% of the total votes cast.  Bonkers. That said, I went through with my promise and spoilt my ballot paper so it could be argued I'm a hypocrite.  I'm done with left wing idealism.  The markets rule and the powers that be will never allow anything other than a right wing or centre right/left party to govern Britain anytime soon.  It's taken 54 years for the penny to drop but the soft left of Blur's Britain is about as go...

Most of my friends will be voting Labour but it pains me to say I won’t be joining them.   In no particular order here are 9 reasons why. 1.      Tony Blair and the Iraq war. If it had been under the Tories watch? 2.      Being selfish, Middlesbrough’s   continued deterioration as a town and place to live 1997-2010.    3.      The madness of PFI’s under Labour’s watch 1997-2010. 4.      Gordon Brown shameful abolishing of the 10% tax rate band in 2007.    Trust me I’m a taxman. 5.      Labour not doing anything about Britain’s unbalanced economy and over-reliance on London and the South East of England 1997-2010. 6.      Labour’s contribution to Scottish devolution 1997-2010.   Taking Scottish Labour voters taken for granted for too long.   Good luck to the them at their next referendum. If the North East...

So here I am again.  Totally knackered in bed at 25 K mind.  Going to try and do a few posts over next few days.  Want to get my two penneth in about the election but not tonight though. Haven't spent too much time here in the last couple of months but it's nice when I do and the  bonus is there's usually a fist full of CDs greeting me when I walk through the door.  Today waiting for me were old school reggae Natty Dread Taking Over Anthology by Culture , Japanese post rockers Mono with You Are There  and a whimsical purchase, the Andy Kershaw  More Great Moments of Vinyl History .  Well I say a whim but it was always going to be a sure thing.  I've just finished reading Andy Kershaw's Autobiography No Off Switch  which whipped along magnificently.  Always so much better than John Peel for me. This one's a beaut off the Andy Kershaw compilation.

I wrote a beauty blog post this morning swimming up and down in the gym.  I thought I'll dictate this as soon as I'm changed and write it up tonight. Of course I didn't and I've forgotten it all now. Thought I'd post anyway.  Sure there's only me but that's ok. So how the hell am I (so self-indulgent nowadays)?  Been better to be honest. Haven't been up to much.  I've given up the guitar, making music and photography at least for now.  Also apart from an occasional outing to the Eagle I've pretty much stopped going out. Yeah, the Eagle has played a big part in my life one way or another and.  Back in 2013 somebody posted on the Fly Me To The Moon web-site that it was the roughest pub in Middlesbrough  but I don't think so.   The worst thing anybody in there is going to do is fall asleep on you. According to the Lost Pubs Project   it's gone to the Brewery Graveyard in the sky (go Yorkshire and then Middlesbrough) but it was sti...

My time for 3 miles (approx 5k) running at the gym.  Only my second run of any kind (apart from the occasional Dad jogs for the bus) since 3 May 2014 and possibly my longest continuous run ever. Well, I did the Great North Run in 1981 when Tony Landers dropped out with a week to go but I know I didn't do any training and from memory I stopped for a walk every half mile or so. I've never been one for running.  It's just too bloody hard and I'm just too bloody lazy.  If I'd been running on the road or round the track I would have stopped but I just set the treadmill for 6 mile per hour and counted the minutes down from 30. Of course there is a purpose.  There's a chance I might be doing the magnificent  Albert Park run  a week on Saturday and I wanted to try the distance to see if I could manage it. Why do the park run?  Well it's Boro and it's brill but mainly because Mike coming home on Sunday for a week and he usually does the run when he's h...

I missed my 9th birthday party on Friday.  Oh well,  will try and remember 10th birthday next year, God willing. Me and Sham went out for a nice walk this morning.  Albert Park to Ladgate Lane via Ayrsome Street, Linthorpe and Acklam and back via Grove Hill.  As we walked past the old Ayrsome Park, it occurred to me that today is 46 years ago today since I went to my first Boro match.   4th January 1969 Boro vs Millwall .  I was 7 years old.  It's easy to remember the date because it was the 3rd round of the FA Cup which is always the first Saturday in January. My Uncle Joe took me.  He lived at 6 Cromer Street behind the old Telephone Exchange on Marton Road with my Grandma.  I can't remember how I got to his house, maybe my Dad took me down but he didn't come to the match with us.  I remember Joe buying me a big bag of fruit pastilles and I ate the lot.  What a greedy get. We walked to the ground via Albert Park getting ...

How many times to we say Happy New Year?  When is it ok to start?  30/12? 31/12, 1/1.  When is the latest you can wish somebody HNY (seems to be the latest thing to abbreviate)?  1/1? 2/1? 3/1?  The first time you see somebody in the new year?  What if you don't see or speak to somebody until March? Should you/is it still ok to wish them Happy New Year?  Think I might go with first time I see/speak up to end of January so no offence if I don't see you until April and I don't wish you HNY. In the interests of full disclosure I confess I didn't avoid Hootenanny completely, I saw about 2 minutes (11.57 to approx 11.59).  We broke off from our Homeland  series 4 cramathon (not bad) to consciously see the New Year in.  We tried Beeb 2 where Queen appeared to be doing a Karaoke with singers from the audience (they must be really pissed off with Freddie Mercury for dying before they made any money).  It was horrific and in a moment of m...