Sunday [17 till close of play]

(1730) Evening all. Lovely day earlier.

25.  For Ivan

24.  Many in Britain today experienced spring

… the sun was out, the sky was blue, the fluffy clouds hung, then slowly moved by. A nice Sunday here, warm with the heater still on late April:

Spring is not the same here as in the south of France or in the US or downunder but the flora and fauna are very pretty, no doubt about it … and a dour, stoic people can unwind a bit, go for a decent walk, enjoy it while we can. There was a tweet earlier today (can’t find it now) along those lines … about the stoicism, the grim humour, a certain belligerence and reserve.

It’s certainly within me, nowt I can do about it … but there are some other traits in me too, different to that … possibly from my mother’s Irishness, possibly from downunder … clear skies, heat, open roads for hundreds of miles, road trips, road-trip music in the car … and the era in which I did those long, long trips with my mates, my gal, less so family by then, was the 70s, during the time I was down there.

And the music was not from Oz, not with us … road trip music was Allman Bros, Marshall Tucker, The Band, The Eagles, JJ Cale and so on.  Why? It just suited the road, that’s all … in a way ELP or Fairport or The Clash or Queen or Floyd did not.  Thus it burnt into souls … so when Toodles appeared on the scene some years back, I was already half over there in her south-east … it didn’t take a huge cultural leap.

Interestingly, she doesn’t naturally relate to this song as she might to, maybe, Elvin Bishop or Marshall Tucker but this song, to my mind, needs the back story first to appreciate it … one American reviewer called it hokey.  Really?

Dicky Betts had a native Canadian girlfriend (later wife for two years), called Blue Sky. He wrote the song and Duane Allman insisted he sing it too … it was all about his love after all. He wanted much of it to be about happy spring and summer things … blue skies, sunshine … just as we had here today.

Two lead guitars, not one, two drummers, not one, plus that bass .. once Duane Allman … about to die in a crash … got going on the solo … suddenly the mood changes to intense pathos, pain and that is actually his tribute to Dicky Betts … one of the last times Duane Allman played. Dicky Betts takes over the lead halfway and by then, it’s obvious that those two are carrying the whole thing through the crying of the guitars. Finally, another two short verses finish it.

Long song … maybe one sixth opening lyrics, one third Duane Allman’s guitar, one third Dicky Betts’ guitar, one sixth closing lyrics. None of the reviewers were ready for that, all knew though that something pretty special was happening, someone was paying tribute to someone … too much intensity otherwise.

Fair to say I only really felt this song decades later, now knowing the back story. Had always liked it but maybe not to this point. Now I do.

23.  Andy

22.  Quick question for Brits

Whose birthday was today? Also, which film was Sat-mat?

21.  Andy

Due to a lapse of concentration I didn’t add the correct link. Here it is. | https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/28/nick-bostrom-controversial-future-of-humanity-institute-closure-longtermism-affective-altruism

20.  Leaving aside the grammar and nose stud

... the heart is in the right place:

19.  The danger of RFK

18.  Dearieme at AKH

https://akhaart.blogspot.com/2024/04/let-us-guess-prescription.html

17.  Steve

War Room snippets...

a.  Louis Murray On The Border: “They Can Turn It Up And Turn It On The Way You Dial Up Your Television” | https://rumble.com/v4rxg3l-louis-murray-on-the-border-they-can-turn-it-up-and-turn-it-on-the-way-you-d.html

b.  Jack And Tanya Posobiec Live From Romania | https://rumble.com/v4rxg30-jack-and-tanya-posobiec-live-from-romania.html

c.  Naomi Wolf Raises Alarm Of US Birthrate Hitting Record Lows After Mass mRNA Vaccination Campaign | https://rumble.com/v4rxgqc-dr.-wolf-raises-alarm-of-u.s.-birthrate-hitting-record-lows-after-mass-mrna.html

d.  Ben Harnwell: UniParty-aligned GOP knifed MAGA re the $61bn in order to give Biden a foreign policy win | https://rumble.com/v4rxjp8-harnwell-uniparty-aligned-gop-knifed-maga-re-the-61bn-in-order-to-give-bide.html