TAPE | Sunday, February 7, 2021
#TAPE: feeling more of a mug than usual - found my old tape deck (1994) at mum’s, so brought it back and plugged it in, chucked in a tape recorded off vinyl 24 years ago, and it sounded excellent. Did we get completely scammed by 320K streaming? I really should know better… Geez this pandemic has me looking back in the rear-view mirror a LOT. Stay tuned for next week’s episode: Minidisc! #cassette #technics #retro #tapehead
RADIOGRAM | Tuesday, February 2, 2021
#RADIOGRAM: so, this has arrived, a 1961-ish #Ferranti #SRG1073. As the name suggests, it combines a radio with a gramophone, in this instance, a #Garrard #autoslim with a stacking spindle for playing your singles. At 16, 33, 45 and 78 rpm. I’ll have to dig some of those out. Things are working but the radio and turntable both need an overhaul but should work perfectly when I’m done. Not sure whether to keep or sell on, since the glossy lacquer is still beautiful on the top and sides, and it’ll never take the place of my stereo… someone else will love this delightful piece of furniture once I’m done though… More close-ups soon. #radio #stereo #vintagehifi #vintagestereo
THEBLUELOTUS | Sunday, January 31, 2021
#THEBLUELOTUS: does anyone else occasionally search the internet for things they used to have in their youth and were stolen/lost/broken? I bought my original key ring from the Tintin Shop on Floral Street in Covent Garden in the late 1980s, pretty sure with English titles but I could be wrong, and kept it with me all the time until it was tiefed many years later. Naturally they were never made again but I came across a seller on eBay with a load of them, hoping they had my favourite and we could be reunited. Lockdown has had me looking back a LOT. Little things make us happy, because little things often upset us. #tintin #lelotusbleu #retro #keyring #lombard #casterman
SALVAGE | Saturday, January 30, 2021
#SALVAGE: I grew up literally next door to this scrapyard, separated by a narrow alleyway, and woke up to either the sounds of cars being crushed, or the distant sounds of brass bands practicing at #KnellerHall, the Military School of Music. Times change, and Trevor from Whitton Salvage sadly passed away last year - the place is closed and one of the few light industrial spots around is being transformed into housing. Probably. #whitton
BULGARIANSNACKS | Thursday, January 28, 2021
#BULGARIANSNACKS: I know zilch about #Bulgaria, the closest I ever came was when @vtwingrin and I biked through #Europe in 2016 just after the referendum on our apology/MotoGP tour, and took the opposite direction to the rain every chance we could. Early on, we kept passing Bulgarian trailers and trucks that carried or towed British cars, around 15-20 years old, and occasionally another British car being driven behind. Curious. Our route diverted us well away from the main drag, and it wasn’t until a big storm on the horizon persuaded us to blast from #Trieste in #Italy (lovely, you must go, take my car) to #Romania in search of the greatest road in the world. We caught up with one of these Bulgarian trucks at a #Slovenian fuel stop, and asked them about their cars. It takes three days to get to the UK, they guy said, and I buy three cars and take them back to Bulgaria, where they will fetch good money. That was it? Three days to drive to the UK, buy some cars, and drive three days back? Yes. Well, fair play to these guys, it is true that used British cars are way cheaper than used cars in Europe, with much lower mileage, probably because right-hand-drive cars have limited utility outside of the island, but still, that’s a heck of a trek. I can imagine that parting out the cars would be well worth it, but the guy’s junior who was driving a 2002 Merc that looked knackered seemed to be enjoying his ride. That business will have ground to a standstill a few weeks ago, like so many others, so we’ll probably have a pile-up of old crappy cars soon. All of that to say that I have some Bulgarian snacks in my possession, the sort of typical ultra-processed stuff that I love to try the moment I reach a new country. I doubt these snacks go back further than 1989, but I hope that a whole generation grew up with them. Obviously nothing can compete with the riches of English Confectionary, for where else could have inspired Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but its influence is everywhere… #snacks #motorbikes
