​Full disclosure, I made a mistake. Read on to find out why I still feel this post is necessary.

I have just received a parking fine for stopping in an area of a free car park for just over one minute. The fine issued by One Parking Solution was for getting off my motorbike in a layby area directly opposite the cashpoint at the Tesco Express store, Ashby Fields Local Centre, Wimborne Place, Daventry.

Getting off my bike, getting money out of the cashpoint, getting back on it and riding away took one minute and eight seconds – the fine was £100 (or £60 if paid within 14 days).

I have added some photos to show that it was hardly clear from the road surface that parking in that space was not allowed. A sign was up but I simply didn’t see it – my fault and my problem then. One Parking Solution was just doing the job it was contracted for.

In my defence though, it’s a free car park, I wasn’t even looking for a sign (though I did go back after the event to find it). And I would argue that no one riding up on a motorbike in a full-face crash helmet would have any chance of reading the sign without getting off of said bike … and thereby incurring a fine anyway.

I saw the red lines and avoided stopping on those. All this stated, I did break the rules, and I paid the penalty even though I think it is completely out of proportion to the offence.

I know that there are legal protections for the parking companies and case law in respect of such issues, but really!
I think the corporate behaviour (from the landowner as much as the parking company) is morally and ethically bankrupt and shouldn’t go unchallenged. To me the fine is nothing more than legalised extortion.

No law was broken, no harm was done, no inconvenience was caused for anyone. I understood that grace periods normally apply to carparks … but apparently that’s not necessarily the case when private land is involved. In this instance ‘zero tolerance’ was the reality.

The Google reviews for One Parking Solution make for grim reading, the company is reported to dismiss appeals, instruct bailiffs and take offenders to court. I therefore paid the fine, which maybe I shouldn’t have done.

It ended there from One Parking Solution’s perspective, but not from mine. I will leave my appeal to the court of public opinion; you dear reader can make your own mind up about what you think is fair and just.

I phoned One Parking Solution on the 3rd July and, after selection new business sales from the menu, I spoke to a chap called Jack (the call was recorded). I asked him if the fines generated are automated or subject to some form of employee review before they are issued. I also asked if the fines income is shared in anyway with the landlord. He wouldn’t answer me but just suggested I contact the business via this email address [email protected]. I will use that address to share this piece.

I was hoping to find out if any human being takes a sensible view about the appropriateness of issuing a fine for a minor indiscretion. I effectively came away with a ‘no comment’ response. If the fine is automated, the AI agent would simply follow the rules set for it. If a person signed off the fine, then I pity the individual and I’ll hope for karma.

I will share this article with Gavin Price the Sales Director via LinkedIn and see if I get a better response from him.

Ordinary people have no power against these companies, other than sharing their experiences and calling out poor corporate behaviours. My fightback is via the keyboard, my website and my social media channels.

I don’t know if Tesco is the landowner of the Ashby Fields Local Centre, it might just have a lease, but it is the most significant business and it’s negotiating power is ferocious and well known. The layby is right outside its store, right in front of its cashpoint and whilst Tesco isn’t levying the fines, it at best condones them or at worst is complicit.

For a business that trumps ‘every little helps’, I say shame on you for allowing this kind of thing to happen on your doorstep.

Arguably, the area I stopped in was originally created with visitors to the cashpoint in mind. It bothers me, but I think that locating the layby right in front of the cash point and then allowing one to be fined for stopping in it amounts to entrapment.

In these days of CSR strategies and ESG reporting, I’d hope that corporates might do better – I guess that’s just me being naïve.

I am a loyal Tesco customer and have been for years, but I will have to start spending my money somewhere else. Again, how else can I protest? This ticket will cost Tesco more than the £60 it cost me.

This post is born out of a sense of injustice, but I’ll go beyond moaning and offer a positive way to improve things.
There is a scenario where the process could have been less aggressive and even generate goodwill. What if the corporate tenants of the Ashby Fields Local Centre agreed with the landlord that One Parking Solution would only issue a warning for a first offence and that if the number plate cropped up again, there would be no leniency? If I had received a warning, I would have been grateful for it.

I did learn a lesson regardless, but not all lessons need to be so brutal!

Click on images to enlarge.

UPDATE 08/07/26

Here's an update to my post following on from email exchanges with Tim and James at One Parking Solution. The following text is verbatim:

From James at OPS 12:01pm 07/07/26 to me:
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your email,
The parking charge was issued as the vehicle parked in an area strictly reserved for:

Commercial delivery vehicles legitimately loading or unloading
Liveried taxi’s or private vehicles dropping off or picking up passenger(s)

This is stated on the terms & conditions of the signage on site, which also states no parking, waiting or idling is permitted at any time in this area for any duration. 

As the driver parked and made use of the land, a parking charge was issued.

From Me 12:31pm 08/07/26 to James at OPS:

Hi James,

Thank you for this email. Telling me what I did wrong was of little value.

However, stating in writing that private vehicles can drop off people or pick them up gives me a challenge to your charging process. It means a vehicle which you wouldn't charge could be stopped for longer than one minute and eight seconds in the same space as one you would charge. 

Easy to visualise someone being picked up, loading their shopping into their boot, getting belted in and leaving taking a couple of minutes at least.  That's double standards. You have a grace period in one instance and yet not in the other.

Interesting, and more fuel for the fire.

Kind regards,

Adrian 

This whole scenario is ridiculous and shouldn't be allowed to continue unchallenged. Please tell me if you disagree. I bet that the allowance for dropping off or picking up was negotiated by Tesco to stop the parents of their employees being busted for dropping the kids at work.

UPDATE 04/04/26
My post has been picked up by the Northampton Chronicle - https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/people/i-was-there-for-68-seconds-motorcyclists-anger-after-ps100-parking-charge-near-store-8836831 

UPDATE 05/08/26
Having written to Tesco, here's the correspondence so far:

Case ID 5957020 [#992775] JWL
Executive_Response, CS_Emails
8:30 AM (11 minutes ago)
to me

Hello Adrian,

Thank you for your email.

I apologise for the delay in responding to your correspondence.

Having reviewed your concerns, I can confirm that the car park you refer to is not owned or managed by Tesco. As such, Tesco is not responsible for the parking arrangements, enforcement activity, or the issuance of Parking Charge Notices at this location.

I note the information you have shared from both the blog article and the subsequent media coverage. However, as the car park is operated independently of Tesco, I am unable to comment on the circumstances of individual Parking Charge Notices or the policies applied by the landowner and their parking management provider.

If you wish to challenge the arrangements in place or appeal any Parking Charge Notice, this would need to be raised directly with the organisation responsible for managing the site or issuing the Parking Charge Notice.

John
Customer Service Specialist

Not much surpise, the response was basically 'not our problem', a typical corporate type response. My reply:

Adrian Baldwin
8:39 AM (3 minutes ago)
to CS_Emails

Hi John,

Thank you for coming back to me and clarifying that the carpark doesn't belong to Tesco. 

As you know that this problem is going on right outside the cashpoint at your Ashby Fields store, is Tesco's position that you support it? Are you comfortable that your customers get abused in this way?

I have always been a card carrying, flag waving, advocate of Tesco - the best of British brands in my opinion. I even worked for the company for a little while. I am hugely disappointed that you appear to be condoning extortion on your own doorstep. So much for every little helps.

You should do something about it; no doubt Tesco has a huge sway with the landowner. What is going on is simply wrong - and you are part of it! 

Kind regards,

Adrian 


Executive_Response, CS_Emails
8:55 AM (11 minutes ago)
to me

Hello Adrian,

Thanks for your email.

As I explained previously, the car park is neither owned nor managed by Tesco. Any parking terms and conditions, and any enforcement of those terms, are matters for the landowner and their appointed parking operator.

I appreciate that you disagree with the arrangements in place. If you wish to challenge them or raise concerns regarding their operation, this would need to be taken up directly with the owner of the car park.

As Tesco is not responsible for the management of the site, I am unable to comment further on the matter.
John

Customer Service Specialist
On behalf of the Executive’s Office

My response:

Adrian Baldwin
9:05 AM (1 minute ago)
to CS_Emails

Hi John,

A typical corporate type "not our problem" response. Whilst I expected it ... it's not right; Tesco has power with the landlord and you are choosing not to exercise it. 

Have you looked at the markings in the bay in question? Do you think that they are as clear as they could be? 

My suggestion, get your contractual/legal team to work with the landlord to have the red lines painted through the bay, or 'no stopping' painted into it.  You can stop this kind of legalised extortion - why would you choose not to?

Kind regards,

Adrian 
​ 

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Every so often I read an article that I just find bizarre and frustrating. I found this piece on the BBC News website and thought I’d share my sense of discombobulation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cew790ppn8jo

Some Israeli soldiers responsible for taking a sledgehammer to a statue of Jesus in Lebanon have been removed from active duty and/or placed in military detention (prison).

The whole scenario is ridiculous for a variety of reasons:

Israel has been bombing Iran and Lebanon and killing lots of innocent people in the process. There’s been no apology for any of the death and destruction. The Israelis seem to think they are righteous in causing this carnage.

However, when a piece of religious iconography is destroyed, the Israeli authorities seem to think it’s important enough to take some kind of moral stand. Really? Is it just me? Are there some fucked up priorities or what? The statue of Jesus was just a thing. Easy to replace and of little consequence. How can a piece of plaster (or marble, or concrete, or whatever it was made of) be more important than human beings?

Right now in Lebanon, the Israeli military, having invaded a sovereign country, has been levelling towns and villages in the buffer zone it wants to ‘protect’ Israel with.

So, if levelling a place means destroying everything to make it uninhabitable for the local population, why would you leave a religious site untouched? Why would leaving something standing, that could draw people to the site you don’t want them in, make sense? Weren’t the soldiers just doing what they thought was expected of them?

And why would destroying a statue be more concerning than displacing people and destroying their homes? It’s nonsensical.

Finally removing soldiers from active duty seems like an odd punishment. The soldiers get removed from the war zone where they are at the greatest risk – isn’t that arguably a good outcome for the soldiers?

With all the chaos brought on by Trump and Netanyahu waving their dicks around, how can anyone have the bandwidth to give a stuff about something so insignificant as a statue? It just baffles me.

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I followed the NASA Artemis Two moon mission with a real sense of excitement. To me, the whole thing was brave and bold and adventurous, and a little scary too (just in case it all went horribly wrong).

I stayed up late for the launch, followed the live updates over the days the mission was in progress, and had my fingers crossed during the atmosphere re-entry and return to earth phase. I consumed every piece of news the BBC published and would have been happy for more. While others were bemused by her, I shared the ‘oh wow’ joy of the BBC’s science editor, Rebecca Morelle - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c05d6pprdleo.

In my opinion the mission was the kind of thing that genuinely showcases the greatness of the United States of America. There aren’t many countries in the world that could have pulled the mission off … or even funded it.

Donald Trump’s MAGA movement has got it all wrong in terms of making the country be the inspiration for the world again. Starting and continuing wars based on flaky evidence and aggressive rhetoric does the complete opposite of making the country great.

NASA and the Artemis Two mission, alternatively, evidence to the world that the US is a beacon and leading the way.

I thought my excitement about Artemis would be shared … and it turns out I was a bit naïve.

Mrs B. thought the whole thing was a shocking waste of money and that there were far more important ‘earth’ issues to focus upon rather than bothering with the moon. And let’s be frank, she has a good argument.

I then spoke to an American army veteran friend of mine, who I thought might share some of the ‘wow’. But no, he was scathing of the whole enterprise. His view of his own government, and the decisions being made by it at the moment, were fascinating.

Essentially his perspective was the whole thing was a colossal waste of American taxpayers’ money and something that shafted ordinary people that are already struggling with cost-of-living issues. As to going to war with Iran, he was gutted about the stupidity of it, and the lack of clear strategy surrounding it.

I didn’t see Artemis Two as a public relations exercise, but those whose opinions matter to me saw it as just that. Going around the moon and back was perhaps little more than a ten-day attention distraction from all the other shit that is going on right now.

Still, it was exciting (for me) while it lasted.

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Mrs B. and I have a trip to Malta planned in April and we are quite excited about visiting a country that neither of us has ever been to.

But nothing is ever plain sailing, or rather plane flying in this instance!

Our flights were booked months ago, but the airline ‘rescheduled’ the flights a week or so ago.

Here’s the detail shared - “We regret to inform you that your flight has been rescheduled by the airline.”

​Instead of flying in and out of Gatwick, here was the alternative offered:

Outbound
London Heathrow (LHR) – Malta (MLA)
KM Malta Airlines
Inbound
Malta (MLA) – London Gatwick (LGW)
KM Malta Airlines

So the solution offered by the airline was to fly us out from one airport and back into another. How ridiculous is that? Totally, and intentionally, unhelpful!

The option for getting a refund was offered, and that was quite clearly the option that suited the airline.

It was the only sensible option for us, so we took it and had to rebook our flights at a higher cost with British Airways (BA) instead. The important thing is that we still have a holiday.

We haven’t actually got the refund yet, so the new flight costs have put another dent on the credit card. I hope that we aren’t messed around in that regard too.  

The news is full of woe about fuel pricing in light of the US/Israeli war with Iran. I guess that the airline, like many others, is making decisions that suit its bottom line rather than taking care of its customers.

I was miffed that we were treated so poorly; corporates have all the power and can decide to shaft customers at will and face no consequences.   

Amusingly, we had chosen KM Malta Airlines to fly with because that allowed us to avoid Ryanair (an airline that we both hate). Ryanair is well known for viewing customers as necessary evils - flying with that carrier has never been an enjoyable experience for us. Maybe Ryanair's Air Malta would have been better!

I have always viewed flying with British Airways as a bit of a treat. The BA experience is just better than any of the budget carriers.

BA is better at forward planning too. In the news last week was the proof. Here’s a link to an article that shows that BA has not hiked its fairs or started cancelling/rescheduling its flights. It had funded its fuel into the future and, so far, has avoided the price shocks that affect the budget carriers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87w4x0n3j0o

We haven’t made it to Malta yet, so things could still go wrong for us, but I am hopeful that BA will have been the saviour of our Maltese break.

In knocking KM Malta Airlines, I balance the negativity with a bit of flag waving for BA, our flag carrying carrier. I may be a bit naive, but I trust BA a lot more than KM Malta Airlines.

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Today I was well chuffed to get to see a delightful vehicle up close. For some time, I had seen this authentic Pakistani jingle truck from a distance and really fancied a better look.

The Bedford TJ 1090 is on private land some way from the road, and so I went and knocked on the door of the associated property and asked if I could have a look.

Of course, I accepted that I just might get told to ‘get lost’, but my view was that it was worth the risk. Afterall, don’t ask … don’t get!

Fortunately though, I was welcomed. I got to see the truck and spend some time chatting to the owner. This is the kind of vehicle that inspires enthusiasm, and Phil was pleased (maybe bemused too) to see my joy in seeing the truck matched his joy in owning it.

The amount of time and effort that had gone in to making this most cheerful of vehicles was obvious.

The chassis has a timber frame built around it that was subsequently embellished with paint, nickel, plastic, fabric, lights, aluminium, you name it. Pretty much all inner and outer surfaces had been decorated in a blaze of colourful words, shapes and designs. It’s a sensory riot that you could spend hours and hours studying. Every time I looked at it, I could see something new.

I absolutely loved it.

The only time I have ever seen a vehicle anything like this was at the visitor centre/museum at Stockwood Park in Luton. This Bedford TJ was just more - more of everything.

Back in the day, the TJ chassis was shipped around the world and local artisans used to augment it to suit their requirements. In Cyprus the TJ became a bus (I love those vehicles too), and in India and Pakistan the jingle trucks and jingle buses were created. They are referred to as ‘jingles’ because that’s what the chains around them do when the vehicles are moving.

Though he’s owned it for some time, Phil didn’t import the truck himself; he purchased it from a chap that brought it into the UK to help promote his restaurant – apparently there are videos of this vehicle on the road in London. Phil’s plans are to turn the truck into a holiday home. He has other vehicles that have already been converted for the same purpose.

How cool would it be to stay inside this piece of automotive artwork?

​Seeing the truck brightened up my day and I am grateful to Phil and his partner for giving me some of their time. I was a stranger, they didn’t know me from Adam, but they were good to me and I really appreciated it.  

Click on the photos to enlarge them

Every so often this website kicks off some good dialogue between visitors, typically on the rather more niche subjects. It’s the engagement with my readers that I find the most enjoyable aspect of running the site.

1980s Hi-Tec Tecs is one of those subjects where people might come across my site because not many others have written about them.

You can read the previous posts here to save me repeating myself.

Hi-Tec Tecs - a flash of pure trainer nostalgia and a Google let down (blog post)
Hi-Tec comes up trumps with Tecs shot

The latest exchange came as a result of Matt getting in touch to advise that decades after wearing out his Tecs, he still had the box they came in. You can see his comment in the blog post above.

Amazed that a box could have survived for so long, I dropped him a line and asked for some photos. Matt duly responded:

“I thought it was a long dead thread but I thought I'd give it a go! Here are some pics.”

The exchange with Matt prompted me to take to my keyboard.

Firstly, how amazing is it that a box has survived for so long? 

I have an old Hi-Tec box in the garage that I have stored Christmas baubles in for the last few decades. It’s easily thirty years old, but it most definitely isn’t forty something. My box was for some later shoes, Silver Shadows maybe. I can’t remember, I’ll have to check sometime. Not only does Matt still have the box, he has the inner wrapping too. Wow!

Secondly, and for the benefit of all Tecs fans out there, I couldn’t not share the pictures. 

Thirdly, even though this one started 13 years ago, a thread from my site is never really dead. If someone gets in touch, I am ready respond. 

And let’s keep the Tecs dialogue going, it might even encourage Hi-Tec to reissue the shoes.

Finally, I have a slightly tired old pair of shoes that I thought I would share with you. As I type, I can see them out of the corner of my eye. They aren’t Tecs unfortunately, they are ‘Highlights’ instead. They are too small for me, so their condition is not going to get any shabbier … but I think they have the right kind of vibe about them.  What do you think?

Ozzy was a legend, a larger-than-life heavy metal icon.

I own all his albums, had read all his books and had seen him perform live. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a ticket for ‘Back To The Beginning’ at Villa Park, but I watched the coverage/sets on YouTube and wished I was there.

After he died, I took the day off work to go to Birmingham and watch his funeral procession come down Broad Street. Whilst I was in Brum, I signed the books of condolence and toured the murals and other tributes that had been commissioned in the run up to Ozzy’s final gig.

A few months ago, I read ‘Last Rites’ the latest Ozzy Osbourne autobiography. It came out on the 6th of October, was ordered on the 7th, delivered on the 8th, and finished on the 10th.

I bought the book after watching the BBC documentary ‘Coming Home’ and prior to watching the Paramount+ documentary ‘No Escape from Now’.

I started writing this post in October and stopped because Ozzy was still all over the news and what could I add to the debate and why would anyone be that interested in anything I had to say? What brought me back to the keyboard was recently watching an interview on YouTube (link shared below) between Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne. The interview is/was moving and I urge fellow Ozzy fans to watch it.

In the interview, Sharon mentioned that, after Ozzy died, she got messages from Donald Trump and King Charles. When royalty and POTUS reach out to express their condolences, it’s clear that the Oz Man’s impact on the world was beyond doubt.

Sharon’s take down of Roger Waters is well worth enjoying too.
   
Like the vast majority of other fans, I didn’t appreciate how hard life had become for Ozzy. Having injured himself badly in a silly bedroom accident of his own making, his body was failing him, and a series of significant operations hadn’t enabled him to recover. He was the first to recognise the irony in him taking so many drugs everyday just to stay alive when all expectation throughout his life had been that drug abuse would kill him.

Ozzy and his family knew that doing Back to the Beginning could be the end of him, but he did it anyway. Respect to Ozzy because he lived, and ultimately died, on his own terms.

At the time of his death, I wondered if he had consciously decided his time was up, but there was no intervention, just a kind of poetry in the timing of his journey’s completion.

For the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness, Ozzy didn’t half shine brightly, and his passing left me feeling a genuine sense of loss.  The book, the documentaries, the funeral procession and the interviews all compounded it – the world is less interesting without Ozzy in it. 

Sharon and Piers interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaLMsEJKZEQ

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I credit Adam Ant for getting me into music, his song ‘Stand and Deliver’ was brilliant and fired up a whole new passion for me. Adam Ant posters decorated my bedroom, his records started building my vinyl collection, and he was discussed at length with my primary school buddies. Adam Ant made music exciting when I hadn’t found it particularly interesting before.

Even approaching 55 years old, I have an A2 Adam Ant Screen Scene poster magazine cover framed on the wall in my office.

On the 24th November, I went to the theatre in Milton Keynes (MK) to see Adam perform live for the first time. Having waited about 45 years to see my childhood hero, I hoped to come away from the gig as enthusiastic as I was when I saw Frank Carter and The Sex Pistols.

But for a variety of reasons, that was not to be. What follows is just my opinion, others may well have different perceptions and that’s a good thing.

The Venue
The theatre in MK is an odd gig venue in some ways, whilst it has great acoustics, it’s all seated and there are no standing areas (or mosh pits as I prefer to call them).

The impact of the style of venue was that people stayed seated, there was no dancing and there was even ‘polite’ silence between songs.

The audience were mostly ‘of an age’, which is no surprise I guess given that Adam’s biggest impact was at the beginning of the eighties.

Whilst the acoustics were good, they did make Adam’s occasionally ropey vocals all the more obvious. I’ll be honest, I winced at the start of Dog Eat Dog.

The stage show was minimal, which meant all the attention was on Adam, and at times he didn’t command the space in the way that I thought he might. Some more props could have helped him not feel/look quite so exposed.

On a positive note, the two drummers with their full drum kits were brilliant, the ‘two drum kits live experience’ was completely new to me and I liked it a lot.

Adam
When Adam took to the stage, I was impressed that he had kept his slim figure and that he looked the part in his black outfit and signature bicorn hat. For a man in his early seventies, he still had some ‘dandy highwayman’ about him.

I’ll be honest though, I expected more energy and more swagger from the seasoned front man. I got the impression that he was lacking some confidence; he didn’t make demands of the audience or move around like the space was all his to command. Maybe he was bothered that his voice was letting him down.

I don’t know if he was tired from the tour, not feeling his best, or just underwhelmed by the audience, but I felt he was not altogether in the moment (or perhaps going through the motions a bit).

When he sang Prince Charming, I hoped he would do the arm moves and instead he clutched his guitar with one arm and barely moved the other, to me he almost looked embarrassed. Even when the audience was singing along with ‘ridicule is nothing to be scared of’, Adam didn’t come alive. Though it’s one of his best-known songs, it wasn’t performed with the energy or arrogance that it deserved.

There were occasional moments of animation - he came to life for example on Kings of the Wild Frontier; he made a point of saying, in a quiet way, that he was still very proud of that particular song.

Some filler* when there could have been more killer
Set list:

1. Dog Eat Dog
2. Vive le Rock
3. Ant Music
4. Miss Thing*
5. Cartrouble
6. Zerox
7. Ants Invasion
8. Prince Charming
9. Lady
10. Young Parisians
11. Puss 'n Boots
12. Desperate but Not Serious
13. Kings of the Wild Frontier
14. Beat My Guest
15. Strip
16. Friend or Foe
17. Never Trust a Man (With Egg on His Face)*
18. Red Scab*
19. Killer in the Home*    
20. Los Rancheros
21. Goody Two Shoes
22. Stand and Deliver (encore)

The set list overall was okay, many of Adam’s hits and then some lesser-known songs. Some of the filler (in my opinion) could have been replaced with more of Adam’s better tracks - Deutsche Girls, Friends, Apollo 9, Room at the Top for example. There was nothing from Adam’s 2013 ‘Blueblack Hussar’ album, I would have liked to hear ‘Marrying the gunner’s daughter’.

The best song, in terms of its delivery versus the original, was Young Parisians – that one though is not one of my favourites.

It was good to hear Los Rancheros live.

Stand and Deliver, an absolute anthem of the eighties, was the encore, it should have been the best song of the entire evening … and it wasn’t as good as it should have been either.  

The verdict
The 2013 album ‘Adam Ant is the blueblack hussar in marrying the gunner’s daughter’, though unrepresented in the set list, was a metaphor for the MK show. The album had moments of greatness but was patchy in others and let down by some production issues.

I think there’s a good chance that I just got unlucky, other tour dates have had great reviews (though interestingly the Adam Ant Facebook account didn’t even celebrate the MK show when it did highlight others).

I wish I could have got the buzz from the concert that I had anticipated, rather than feeling like I am making excuses for an old hero. The fact is that when the gig was done, I wasn’t clamouring for more, I actually felt a little sad to be honest.

I went to a show that wasn’t supported by Toyah. Before the gig, I was a bit disappointed about that because when I saw her a couple of years back, she rocked. In hindsight, it was probably a good thing that the date wasn’t supported by Toyah, she would have outclassed Adam and that really would have been a shame.

This year’s tour was a re-scheduled tour from 2024 that was cancelled because of Adam’s ill health. The blue-black hussar might have had his last hurrah.

With that in mind, I am glad I went the gig, I would have regretted not making the effort if I didn’t buy a ticket. There were moments of excellence, but I sat in the audience thinking that I had waited too long and really should have found a gig to go to 20 years ago.

​Hot on the heels of my last post, which was also about joy, comes this one.

Some scene setting first if I may. I have been thinking about my time at camp a fair bit lately. There are a few reasons for this:

1. I am going to New York for a few days in November. I haven’t been back since camp ended in 1995.  I have been talking to my family about my previous visits to the city, which were all associated with the before/during/after camp experience.
2. It occurred to me that I could maybe meet up with some old Summit friends in New York and so some dialogue has started. A big shout out to Rommel Vigne in particular here. He was Summit royalty as far as I was concerned.
3. The heartbreaking news about Camp Mystic in Texas prompted much introspection
4. And then I became aware of Erica Buki…  

I haven’t written a Camp Summit related article since 2011, but it’s now time to write another one thanks to my interactions with Erica and her Madame Buki business.

I am a member of the Camp Summit Alumni Group on Facebook, and it was through that group's news feed that I became aware of Erica’s efforts to help Alumni members remember and re-celebrate their time on Camp.
Erica has produced a range of Summit themed goods marketed through her Madame Buki store.

I visited the store - https://madamebuki.myshopify.com/ - to see the tee shirts, caps, mugs etc. and, inspired by what I saw I reached out to Erica to ask about the art of the possible.

Back in my camp days, I inherited a Summit baseball cap from a young David Merkur. I kept that cap for the next 20 years or more before it went missing (in the last house move I think). I asked Erica if it was possible to recreate it, and it turned out that was very much doable.

What followed was:

1. A delightful exchange of emails, ideas and Summit related visual assets from my time on camp
2. Some new designs and store updates from Erica
3. An order from me for a tee shirt and three different caps

The Summit Mountaineers cap design for example was a direct result of our interaction.

As a marketing manager, I take an active interest in design and branding. As an ex-Summit counsellor, the nostalgic value of these things is high. And for anyone that knows me, or indeed this site, nostalgia is a common theme.

Having placed an order, the items were manufactured, and they were delivered quickly into the UK; I was delighted with everything too. Over time, as more items are added to the store, I expect to buy some more.

If you read this, visit the site, or are thinking about placing an order, I absolutely recommend buying from Madame Buki.

​When I am in the States later in the year, I will be wearing my new Summit gear with pride.

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Related posts from 2011:
Camp America and Camp Summit, Wurtsboro NY

1. The Summit kids from 1994/5 get in touch
2. A Baldwin and the Bronx (September 1995)
3. Snakes and conquering my fear of them
4. Law enforcement
5. The Summit Speedway Go-Karts
6. Colour War
7. Tee shirts and baseball caps
8. Adrian and Baldwin - towns in Michigan

Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference, the inconsequential (in the wider scheme of life) happenings that have a positive impact on one’s sense of wellbeing.

I read the BBC news every day and find myself almost desperate for some good news amongst all the miserable stuff that seems to fill the screen – war, environmental disasters, the Camp Mystic catastrophe, the death of Ozzy Osbourne...    

Given the good news is hard to find, I thought I’d share a few things that have happened to me recently that brought me some genuine joy.  

And, dear reader, I hope that you can compile a mental list of the little things that have brought joy to you as well.  When I find myself worrying, fire fighting or problem solving, taking a moment to celebrate the little wins helps to bring some much-needed balance.  

Marmite peanut butter

First up, Marmite peanut butter is back on the shelves in the supermarkets, back in my larder at home, and back on my toast in the mornings. Some while ago I wrote about its delisting by Unilever and made the point that a simple pleasure had been taken away.

A week or so ago, Mrs B. had been to Sainsburys. I got home to find a new jar of Marmite peanut butter waiting for me on the worktop and I kid you not, I felt a rush of elation. I may even have shouted ‘yay’ and fist pumped the air. Mrs B. bought the jar because she knew how pleased I would be.

Lyons Maid lolly sticks

Next up are a couple of developments in the Lyons Maid lolly stick saga (see earlier posts, there are a few, below). The first event involved a lady called Sophie McKay getting in touch, here’s what she said:

Hi - I came across your website because I happened to find one of the lolly sticks washed up next to a lake in Wanstead Park in London. It’s the Penguin one - a bit dented but good condition! I kept it as it looked interesting. I was searching for someone who would have more use for it than I do - your story was really interesting and heartwarming! Let me know your address and I can send to you - Sophie

I responded to Sophie and, bless her, she did post the stick to me, and it arriving in the mail made my day. How really nice of a stranger to do something so kind!

I was that chuffed that I shared the story with John, he had commented on my posts in the past and is a bone fide Lyons Maid expert. Long story short, he sent me a Kevin Keegan ‘Goal’ stick to add to my collection. That was two new sticks in short succession. When the Goal stick arrived, it felt a bit like Christmas.

Kevin isn’t a DC character, but he came first and is an honorary super hero in my books.
​
Both are now stuck to my monitor, and they make me smile every time I look at them – which, as I am typing, includes right now.

An Oldsmobile

A few weeks back, I went to a classic car meet at North Kilworth Sports Club and was delighted to finally see an Oldsmobile that I had been desperate to have a look at for two years … and had just never been in the right place at the right time.

I had passed this car on the road, it had turned up at meets after I left, or at meets I couldn’t make it to.

I watched the Olds pull into the sports ground and felt a surge of elation. I had finally got lucky; I just had to rush across the field to have a look.

I met the owner, Andy, who was nice enough to indulge a clearly over enthusiastic fan by letting me sit in his spotless car and have my photo taken.

‘Yay’ and ‘yay’ again.

And that brings me full circle, at the start of this post, I talked about inconsequential things that bring happiness. A sit in car, a jar of spread, a couple of pieces of plastic won’t bring back the dead, improve the macro environmental doom and gloom, one’s health, or wealth or solve one’s problems, but thank goodness for the little things that make a difference to the daily grind.

To Sophie, John, Andy, you all rock.   

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Lyons Maid related posts:
2012 https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/lyons-maid-supermans-superheroes-ice-lolly.html
04/12/2012 http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/the-sequel-to-the-supermans-superheroes-stick-story
25/02/2015 http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/fantastic-plastic-perranporth-find
15/02/2017 http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/first-class-ice-lolly-cool-cornwall-catwoman
10/03/2019 https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/lolly-stick-happiness
13/03/2019  https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/lyons-maid-supermans-superheroes-lolly-sticks-in-colour
19/03/2019 https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/lolly-legacy
​15/04/2019 Lyons Maid - Goal!
24/04/2019 A Second Goal!