Isn’t it just typical, you get a few days off work and wham, you get ill! It’s like your body is just waiting for its chance to pounce and thank you for all the stress you have put it under of late. That’s been my Christmas this year. My last day in the office was the 23rd December, I was stuffed up with cold/flu by the 26th. Today is New Year’s Eve and I am still not right. On the 27/28/29th I was so out of sorts that I would have taken time off work sick had I not already taken it as holiday.

As 2017 approaches, the coughing has eased up, the sneezing has abated, but the end of my nose feels very sore to the touch and has a colouration that Rudolf the reindeer would fear the competition from. The ironing basket is overflowing with handkerchiefs that had seen active snot fighting duty.

​Still it could be worse, the latest batch of celebrity deaths has stopped me being too self-pitying (I’ll be honest, George Michael’s “Last Christmas” tune has felt rather more poignant this year).

I am confident though that George (and indeed Carrie Fisher) would have approved of the quantities of drugs that have been swallowed into my body this week.

I am fairly sure that I know who my infection came from but I can tell you without doubt that I passed it on too. Mrs Baldwin managed to avoid the lurgy for a few days, but she got it in the end and is now lagging behind me in the recovery process. Ours is a happy house right now I can tell you!

Fortunately the kids have avoided the virus so far, fingers crossed that it stays that way too. In my son’s case (a young teenager) he is so antisocial that it wouldn’t surprise me if he doesn’t even know his mum’s been poorly.

​When it was just me that was ill, Mrs B. may have mentioned a number of times that I looked terrible and should get some rest (and of course, as ever, she was right). I had been braving my way through the snot and hot/cold flushes (S&H/CF) without making any fuss.      

When Mrs B. got the S&H/CF she began to appreciate how low I had been – she even said, out loud and with others present (and this warrants a blog post by itself) “that if she’d known how bad I must have felt, she’d have given me more sympathy”.  

Of course, Mrs Baldwin has since been rather less reserved in looking for/expecting sympathy for herself.    

I saw a few of my elderly relatives over the festive break and I desperately hope that I didn’t infect them. With regards to my wife’s grandmother, I kept my distance as best I could and rang a bell declaring myself to be unclean (alright that last bit’s a fib – I just looked haggard enough to not need the theme tune at all).  On the 27th, I was in bed before 8pm!

On the 29th, we were supposed to be catering and had to rain-check that family get together. To the Morfitt clan, I/we apologise.

But Christmas hasn’t been all doom and gloom, there was Ethel and Ernest on the telly. Though it was the best thing I watched all Christmas, when they died at the end, it was a bit upsetting (spectacularly so for my daughter).  

My next door neighbour reversed into my car.

My Christmas presents from Mrs Baldwin were socks and pants.

I am about to turn another year older...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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On Wednesday night, I watched a fascinating programme on BBC4 entitled “Inside Chernobyl’s Mega Tomb”; the hour long documentary followed the efforts of an international project team (from 40 countries) to devise, build and move into place a new shroud for the ruined nuclear power plant.

The massive arch structure, looking like a steel airship hanger was a design success, a spectacular feat of engineering and a triumph of project management.

In presenting the solution to take over from the failing concrete sarcophagus hastily constructed in 1986, the film makers reprised much of the history of what happened on 26th April that year and in the aftermath.

Though I have seen, heard or read about much of the history, it was still depressing to re-cover it - the death, the ongoing illness, the exclusion zones, the 100,000 year toxic legacy (inside the doomed reactor 4) etc.   

The gamma rays being emitted from the old reactor meant that the new containment structure had to be built 327 metres away from the reactor because it wasn’t safe to be anywhere nearer - once completed, the 36,000 tonne structure would have to be moved into place remotely.

Some facts:

• Arch measures 257m wide, 162m long and 108m tall
• 7 years in construction
• Project was 18 years in the planning
• Arch was moved into place at 10 metres an hour and took five days
• The arch is the world’s largest moveable land based structure
• It cost £1.3 billion
• The shroud has a 100 year operating expectancy

The documentary was an interesting blend of determination/shared purpose/ingenuity/success (surrounding the civil engineering) and nervousness/fear/horror around the plant and all that it represented/still represents.

For me there were three key takeaways; first was that it was a damned shame that so much international engineering cooperation had to occur because of something so tragic. Still I suppose adversity breeds resolve and I know that the work was essential for the wellbeing of the world…

…but I found myself wondering what other goods to mankind could have been achieved if all the effort invested had been utilised elsewhere instead (if the disaster hadn’t happened).

​Second was that anyone who supported the construction of Hinkley Point C should be made to watch the programme and reflect upon what would happen if a similar reactor meltdown happened in the UK. And whilst watching, remember Fukushima too.

Finally, in terms of economics, the expense of Chernobyl (its original construction, its in-life service, the national emergency after the meltdown, the new containment costs and the future clean up/decommissioning costs) can’t possibly have been covered by the value the plant created when it was operational. I wonder if the economic value created by every single power station operated in the old USSR or the new territories would even come close to covering the costs of Chernobyl. In the UK the economics are bad enough at Sellafield (and it hasn’t gone bang).

Oh and just in case you are interested, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development funded the project - the finance comes care of the following countries  Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America as well as the European Community and the European Investment Bank. So whilst Putin is posturing and waving his nuclear weapons around right now (and invaded the Ukraine for fuck's sake), it's the rest of the world funding and fixing the nuclear fuck up caused when his beloved USSR was still functioning. 

The documentary is available on the BBC iPlayer and if you missed it on Wednesday night, I recommend you watch it on catch up.

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My journey to work prompted this post; M1 fog light related tension is the subject matter for today’s observations.

This morning, circa 7:30am, I was travelling down the M1 towards junction 14 when it began to get a little foggy. Though the stretch of motorway has street lighting, the thin, swirling fog caused an untold number of motorists to switch on their cars’ fog lamps.

The resultant eerie, blood red glow was like a depiction of hell, or a certain district in Amsterdam! Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds would have been a good musical accompaniment.

Now I understand why you might want your fog lights illuminated in a pea-souper, or when driving in country lanes late at night, but it drives me mad that drivers think they need them in traffic on the motorway in something edging towards daylight.

Fog lamps dazzle and are as annoying as high beams if you ask me. I was following a dark coloured Porsche Panamera (J1THA) that had a rear fog so bright/intense that it could have been seen from the international space station. It hurt my eyes to the point where I actually put my sunglasses on to reduce the glare.

Here’s what I think:

• If the vehicle behind you can see you, you really don’t need your fog lamps on
• If you keep your lamps on in traffic, you are an inconsiderate git
• If you turn on your fogs just because it is raining, you should be fined
• If you are using your fogs without any regards to other road users, don’t be surprised if you get mirrors full of full-beam. A dazzle for a dazzle if you like.

The morning road safety was being compromised by the fog lights - the traffic was concertinaing and then speeding up again because they look too much like brake lights to anyone not paying full attention.  

I rarely use my fog lights at all, but when I do I use them as considerately as I use my full beams. This post is the start of my crusade to encourage other motorists to do the same.

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​Friday 2nd December saw me attend a Bleach Boys gig at the Rose & Crown pub in Baldock. Regular readers will know that I am a long standing fan of the band (many other articles can be found on this site). It has obviously taken me a while to get around to writing this post, my only excuse is that December has flashed past and I don’t know where the time has gone (no doubt caused by a heady mix of stress and inexorably increasing age). Though the gig is history, the impact is still current (more about that in a moment).

The band has been touring to promote its latest release entitled “Fur Cough from the Grave” (for reference, The Bleach Boys were initially called “The Fur Coughs”). The LP, dedicated to former front man Simon Kelly who died last year, was manufactured by Rave Up (an Italian label) and includes a splattering of vintage tracks that were apparently discovered on some old reel-to-reel tapes in a band member’s attic.

Returning to the gig; bearing in mind how late this post is, you won’t be surprised to hear that I got to the pub a bit late on the 2nd too. 

Upon my arrival, circa 9:45pm, the support band Brocker was still playing. I had never come across Brocker before - the guys reminded me a bit of Green Day just more genuine-punk than pop-punk.

The three-member outfit from St. Albans was well into its stride but I was able to catch the last four or five tracks.

The penultimate tune (not including the encore) entitled “One Man Moshpit” was so good that after the set was done, I bought the band’s CD “Out of Order” from the bass player.

The album is a ten song tour-de-force and I love it. Having purchased the CD at the gig, it was constantly revolving in my car’s CD player until last Wednesday (told you the gig’s impact was still current). The Bleach Boys have a heritage that harks back to birth of the punk movement but bands like Brocker represent the future of the genre.

The Bleach Boys took to the floor (because there wasn’t a stage) at about 10:30pm. The fellas rampaged their way through 22 tracks, see set list below:

1. You Can’t
2. Wako
3. Taking the ‘O’ out of country
4. We Hate You
5. Stealth Bomber
6. Pogo
7. Nuclear War
8. Kill all Celebrities
9. Chloroform (old version)
10. Tapeworm
11. Guantanamo
12. Death List
13. Weirdo
14. Shithead
15. Cardboard Cut Outs
16. Zombie
17. All Over You
18. Stocking Clad NDSB
19. Slapper
20. Psycho
21. We’ve Got The Bomb
22. Move It (encore)

The Bleach Boys' mosh pit took a while to function, initially Brocker like in terms of its membership, but gradually increasing in scale. For once I didn’t participate in the dancing (unusual for me, many times have I been the one to start it); I had driven down to Baldock from Daventry and was driving home again afterwards. No drinking for me, and in all honesty, being completely sober is not conducive to throwing myself around like a looney. My usual mosh-mates weren't there to encourage me either.

It was okay though because others were less inhibited and/or more inebriated.

I mentioned above that “Fur Cough from the Grave” was released by an Italian label. Well the Bleach Boys' promotional tour included a launch gig in Rome as well. From Baldock to Rome, how’s that for a change of scene - a damn site better than Baldock to Daventry for sure!  

If you want to buy the LP/album, it is available from the band (can be bought at gigs, or via the website) or directly from Rave Up. The first 100 pressings (of a total run of 400) were in a slime green coloured vinyl (a limited edition of a limited edition) – I have one, see picture above. I suspect that they are long gone now, though you might get lucky. The LP will set you back £12 plus £4 P&P (unless you buy it at a gig) from the band, or more if you order it from Italy and pay the international postage.

Track list:

1. Cardboard Cut Outs
2. Oral Sex
3. We Hate the SU
4. Neutron Taste (previous title for “Nuclear War”)
5. Stocking Clad NDSB
6. Chloroform (original version)
7. Death Before Disco
8. Chloroform (later version)
9. Hooligan über Alles
10. One Toilet Town
11. Jesus Stole My Underwear
12. Stocking Clad NDSB (alternative version)
13. Slapper
14. Stuff The Jubilee (Live 1977)

It's a bit of a shame that are few of the tracks are duplicated, there are others that could have been used instead. The sound quality on "Stuff The Jubilee" isn't great, but then it was/is a live recording and, on the bright side, is one of three tracks I hadn't heard before. The reverse of the sleeve has a potted history of the band that is worth a read.

Buy one before they are all gone!

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The Bleach Boys http://www.thebleachboys.co.uk/homepage.htm
Rave Up records http://www.raveuprecords.com/eps/the-bleach-boys
Brocker https://www.brocker.band/
Gig photos by Peter Gill 

House moving, though I still haven’t yet, has occupied just about all my spare time for weeks now. My site has been a bit neglected so far in December even though there has been much to write about.

Here’s a quick round up of some of the things I thought I might write about individually and haven’t got around to. First up is F1.

The 2016 Formula One season finished a few weeks ago and throughout this year’s championship, I was firmly supporting Hamilton. During the last race in Abu Dhabi, I was really hoping to see Rosberg’s engine fail or for him to be swamped by his competitors. Neither happened, Rosberg won the drivers’ championship and I was a bit miffed.

Later though I’ll admit some grudging respect for Rosberg; he retired days later, which no one expected, and in doing so binned some big/easy money for years to come. I also found out that he is multilingual and therefore bright beyond Hamilton – he had his plan, he stuck to it, he avoided the media, the mind games and ended up on top.

Having achieved his goal, Rosberg walked away from the money and the glamour in order to prioritise time with his family. He dug deep, worked hard, was remarkably consistent and I am now willing to admit that he earned his luck as opposed to just getting lucky. I wish him well for the future and will look forward to seeing Hamilton back on top in 2017.

From F1 to car fun
Continuing the motoring theme for the moment, “The Grand Tour” has been available for a month or so now and I am delighted to see Clarkson, Hammond and May back on the silver screen. I have watched four of the five episodes so far and can report that I love it.

Episode one was terrific, episode two was a bit patchy, episodes three and four (set in Whitby) were great. I didn’t appreciate how much I had missed the trio. Top Gear was good fun in the absence of The Grand Tour but it has an insurmountable challenge to better it.

I’ll admit though that I am bored by the dying celebrities.

From dying to Dyer
I enjoy watching “Who do you think you are?” and the new BBC run of this series started with Danny Dyer. The actor reminds me so much of my cousin, Paul, that despite the fact I hate Eastenders, I was interested to follow Danny’s journey of discovery.  And blimey, what a discovery it was. Danny’s bloodline is directly descended from Edward the Third.

Danny, a no airs and graces type, was seen interacting with his gentrified distant relations and it was a pleasure to watch some worlds collide. When Dyer’s family tree reached Thomas Cromwell, there was no doubting he was into something spectacular.

Not since Matthew Pinsent has there been a WDYTYA with an outcome so amazingly cool.

From royalty to the bottom of the pit
Equally compelling was the two part BBC documentary called “The Last Miners”. The BBC followed the miners responsible for overseeing the final days of the last operational deep coal mine in the UK - Kellingley Colliery. Danny Dyer’s WDYTYA experience evidenced worlds within worlds and so did TLM. I couldn’t think of a job and a lifestyle less related to my own than a coal miner’s but I found myself warming to the guys.  Whilst I know nothing about pit work, I do know how looming redundancy feels and what it’s like to have to stop working with people that you have known for years.

From coal to China
Guy Martin is currently residing in my bedroom. I probably should add that it’s not that he’s lodging, or entertaining Mrs Baldwin…rather that I am reading his autobiography (and when I am not reading, it rests on my bedside unit).

I bought a copy after watching “Our Guy in China” because I wanted to better understand where this totally down to earth, unaffected by celebrity and seemingly thoroughly likeable chap came from. It’s a good read too, no pussy-footing around, no evidence of royal connections just hard work, commitment and achievement.

Watching the final episode in the Channel Four three part documentary saw Guy break a record for cycling across a miserable stretch of China. His bike didn’t even have gears. Incredible.

From daring to dancing
And that brings me to “Strictly”.

This series has been the best of the lot. I predicted (well that might be overcooking it) in early November that Ore Oduba would win and blow me down, I was right. I watched the final in awe of the celebrities and all that they had achieved since the series started.

I am not sure what I’d be less suited to, coal mining or dancing…

…but my inclination is that I’d make a better miner.

And coming firmly back to earth
To end this tenuously connected stream of words is Planet Earth 2. If you didn’t watch it, you missed a treat – stunning cinematography, spectacular locations, important messages - what a fantastic documentary series…

…no other words required. Well except for “more please”.

Unfortunately, aside from WDYTYA and TGT, everything else has now finished.

A bit like 2016 and indeed this post.

Bye for now.

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