Hangin’ with the Horse punchers

Well, it’s March and Spring is on the way. We’ve had another mild winter in the North West thus far. I think we’ve only had snow once on Walney Island.

This week has seen the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Hundreds and thousands of lives have been lost. Cities and homes have been decimated and families ripped asunder. Sadly, the only winners are defence companies who are seeing their profits and order books swell. Tory politicians take the opportunity to blame all their failures on the war. Fuel prices in the UK are crippling, people are dying because they can’t afford to heat their homes. It’s because of the war say the government. Why are we paying 3 to 4 times more than the rest of Europe then you twats? Brexiteers blame the war for the shit storm they have caused. While we’re on Brexit, fresh fruit and vegetables are in short supply in England. Supermarkets are limiting the amount customers can buy to avoid further shortages. This is down to bad weather affecting crops claim the Tories and the Brexiteers. Shelves are full in Europe. Wake up people, you are being lied to. They control you by making out that left leaning parties and politicians are evil and dedicated to making you worse off. Please, please, open your eyes before it is too late. You are being raped to make the rich richer. They hate you and laugh at your gullibility.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I don’t like to fail and they feel like an invitation to do so. I prefer to approach each New Year with a set of goals to aim for that is realistically achievable but won’t be the end of the world if they are not attained. This year, I aim to try and see a gig every month. I don’t have a regular social routine anymore so setting such a monthly goal is both realistic and desirable.   So, January’s gig was not music. We had tickets to see Peter Kay. Some will say that this show doesn’t qualify as a gig. Fair play to them but it was a gig to me and I’m judge and jury as to whether I achieve my goal.

We headed to Caitlin’s place in Crosby. It was great to stay in Liverpool at the weekend without paying crippling hotel prices. We headed to the M&S Bank arena via Uber. I enjoyed the journey into Liverpool. Kirkdale brought back memories of Everton trips. Definitely not the safest neighbourhood to visit but I only have good memories of the pub next to the station and the chippy that fuelled us up for the journey home after the game.

We had a couple of pints in the Central before heading for a  pre-show curry at the Sultan’s Palace on Victoria street. I would happily eat there again. Both food and service were excellent.

I normally hate attending arena shows, they are soulless places that are dedicated to making money rather than to the comfort and enjoyment of the audience. In fairness, The Liverpool arena is one of the better ones although drink and food choice is poor and priced extortionately. Our seats were good and the people sat by us were both friendly and funny.

We had booked to see Peter Kay in 2018 only for him to cancel the tour at short notice with no explanation given as to why. There has been much press speculation as to why the comic had all but disappeared from public view. When the new tour was unexpectedly announced, demand for tickets was enormous. The tour is booked up to 2025!

The show itself was brilliant. He did two sets, both around an hour long. Midway through the first set there was a pause while a heckler was removed from the audience. Kay dealt with this very professionally and therefore it didn’t spoil the show in any way.

It must be said that a significant part of the show was given up to re-hashing old themes. There was nostalgic singalongs of old TV commercials, singing mis-heard lyrics to popular songs both of which were very funny. Garlic bread made a cameo as did Uncle Nobhead. Kay fondly remembers his recently deceased 96 year old Nan and his funny stories about her are brilliant. The encores are spectacular and everyone leaves happy.

Post show, we adjourned to one of our favourite Liverpool pubs. The Baltic Fleet has a great selection of beers and always seems to have friendly punters.

We ventured back to Crosby a couple of weeks ago to see Caitlin and took the dog with us. We headed to Sefton Park in South Liverpool and enjoyed a walk with thousands of others enjoying the mild, dry weather

After an enjoyable walk around the park it was time for me to tick off one of my bucket list items. As a music lover I love to visit places associated with artists I love or admire. Liverpool boasts some fantastic bands but one stands out above all others

We headed back to Crosby and checked out Collect and Survive records on South Road. I loved this place. I found a copy of Shakedown street by the Grateful Dead in mint condition for a very reasonable price. I also picked up Pelican West by Haircut 100 and a Jason and the Scorchers album, both in mint condition at great prices. There is a large selection of collectable records, some at eye watering prices, which will appeal to the serious collector. The owner Allan is a really nice guy who I could have chatted to all day. I’ll definitely be back!!

The record shop is above a great bookshop called Write blend. Caitlin and I spent some time in there after I had finished buying records. It had a good selection of local books on offer as well as the normal book shop fayre. It was good to buy a few books and support another local business. I believe that the future of Britain’s High streets is independent shops and we should all try and support such noble enterprises.

The Bookshop

We believe independent shops are the heart of Liverpool and our bookshop is no different!

Write Blend is full to bursting with quality fiction and non fiction titles. The latest bestsellers jostle for attention with classics and modern classics. Authors you know and love are alongside new authors you may not have heard of, but soon will.

Our children’s section has one of the finest selections around of books for readers of all ages. There is also comfortable seating to allow young bibliophiles to inspect their purchases and plan their next ones!

We also sell a lovely selection of bespoke cards and gifts in store!

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We had a gig booked for February which I was really looking forward to. Suzanne Vega at the Sage theatre, Gateshead.

I didn’t check the Premier league fixture list before booking tickets. When I went to book a hotel in Newcastle I was shocked at the prices until I realised the Horse Punchers were playing the Koppite scummers that night. I ended up booking a Holiday inn in Jesmond. Definitely not cheap, but the same price as a Travelodge on the Quayside.

We checked in the hotel and went out for a walk to find the restaurant I had booked for later that night. After walking around lost for twenty minutes I dived into the first pub I saw to get out of the pissing rain.

The Cog and Wheel was a bad choice. It was packed out. No real ale and expensive. There were no seats so we sat outside under an umbrella. The clientele were much younger than us but didn’t seem to be enjoying life the same way that we did at their age.

It turned out we had taken a wrong turning and had walked in a big circle. The restaurant was only 5 minutes away. There was a pub next door called The Carriage which boasted a Vegan menu. This was a great pub. I started with a pint of Double Maxim which was a healthy 4.8 ABV. I followed up with a pint of Rivet Catcher at a slightly more sensible 4.5% ABV. Pat was enjoying the impressive Cider menu and tried one at an impressive 6.8 ABV! I stayed with the Rivet Catcher as it was damned good. There weren’t too many people in. There was a few horse punchers enjoying pre game beers but they were well behaved.

The Vegan menu looked good even to we dedicated carnivores and we would both happily eat at the Carriage should we get the chance to return.

After a quick power nap and a shower we headed for The Valley junction 397. This is an Indian restaurant, part of which is housed in an old railway carriage.  Despite it only being 6.0 pm the place was packed. The food was excellent and reasonably priced for somewhere promoted as an ‘upmarket Indian restaurant’. There is nothing better than going for a curry after you have had a few beers and are in a relaxed mood.

We took an Uber to the Sage theatre in Gateshead. This is one of the best venues for live music that we have been too. The setting is fantastic, overlooking the Tyne and the bright lights of the Newcastle Quayside. The seats are comfortable and the acoustics are incredible.

Sadly we missed support act Sam Lee. I don’t normally watch support acts but I really enjoyed Sam Lee’s last album.

We enjoyed a pre-show drink before finding our seats. Suzanne Vega started with Marlene on the wall which is my favourite song of hers. Gerry Leonard accompanied Vega on electric guitar. He was superb with a deft touch that never overshadowed her performance. The show was fantastic, highlighting just what a great songwriter she is. Left of centre, In Liverpool, Tom’s Diner and Luka were other set highlights. Her first encore was a cover of Lou Reed’s Walk on the wild side. Life doesn’t get much better.

Setlist

Marlene on the Wall

Small Blue Thing

Caramel

Gypsy

In Liverpool

The Queen and the Soldier

When Heroes Go Down

(featuring Lipstick Vogue by Elvis Costello)

Rock in This Pocket (Song of David)

Last Train from Mariupol

Solitude Standing

Left of Center

I Never Wear White

Some Journey

Luka

Tom’s Diner

Encore:

Walk on the Wild Side

Tombstone

Rosemary

Post show we walked across the Millenium bridge into Newcastle. We had a beer in the Offshore. It was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday night. I had a pint of Beavertown which wasn’t bad at all. We called an Uber and headed back to Jesmond. It was funny watching the youth of Newcastle wearing little more than swimming costumes on a cold, wet night as they crawled the fleshpots of the city centre.

Back at the hotel, we had a last drink before heading off to bed.

We had a good breakfast at the hotel before heading back home. I enjoy visiting Newcastle but I think that, increasingly, it is becoming a destination for young people. I don’t mind this but equally I’m sad that the Geordie heritage is fading. Amongst the many tribes of England – Scousers, Cockneys and Geordies reigned supreme. The Geordie accent is softening, as is the Scouse one. Cockneys are also now much softer spoken. I’m sure there are enclaves where these native tongues are still spoken in their purest form but they are moving away from their traditional heartlands and becoming sadly marginalised.

When I’m in Newcastle and I look over the Tyne I always think of Tom Scott. A great man, a great shipbuilder. Tom, you were a profound influence on me both professionally and personally. RIP bonny lad.

We’re off to Leeds tomorrow to see Will Sheff. The March gig comes early in the month. Sickeningly, the early game on Sky tomorrow is Notts Forest v Everton. A real relegation battle. Sadly, as Leeds are fellow relegation strugglers, I’ll have to be careful where I watch the game.

  Cherie Curie is playing Blackpool in a couple of weeks. There are two drawbacks to this

1. It’s a midweek show and I don’t want to take time off work
2. It’s in Blackpool

I fell in love with Cherie Curie the first time I heard The Runaways. She has not really had a career in music since leaving the band which is understandable when you read her autobiography. Parts of the book are truly harrowing. Still, Cherie’s a trooper and she has a successful career as a chainsaw artist.

I’ve not totally given up on going to the show.

Just in case anyone was wondering. Newcastle fans are known as horse punchers due to one of their fans being convicted of punching a police horse.